|
|
| May 11, 2007 | Friday | Rabi-us-Sani 23, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistan arrests scores ahead of pro-judge rally KARACHI, May 11 (AFP) Pakistani authorities rounded up scores of opposition activists and deployed 15,000 police and paramilitary troops Friday ahead of a rally to be led by the country's suspended top judge Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, officials said. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is set to address lawyers and opposition party supporters in Karachi Saturday. “We have detained over 100 people as part of preventive measures,” Karachi police chief Azhar Farooqi said. More people may be detained over the next 24 hours to maintain law and order, he said. The Pakistan People's Party of exiled former premier Benazir Bhutto said 300 of its workers were seized, while Pakistan's main alliance of religious parties said more than 500 of its activists were detained. “We have taken all possible security measures in view of the highly charged atmosphere and over 15,000 police and paramilitary rangers have been deployed,” Sindh province interior secretary Brigadier Ghulam Muhammad Muhtaram said. “The situation is tense and we are holding negotiations with all parties in order to avoid clashes,” he said.(Posted @ 14:20 PST)
Two suicide car bombers strike police patrols in Baghdad BAGHDAD, May 11 (AP) - Two suicide car bombers struck police patrols in Zafaraniyah area of Baghdad on Friday , killing at least 11 people and wounding nearly 20, police said. The blasts struck in quick succession. First, the driver of a Sedan ploughed into police cars parked near a bridge where a checkpoint was being established. That was followed within minutes by the explosion of a fuel truck near another nearby bridge, police said. The 11 killed included six policemen, police said, adding that 17 people were wounded, including nine policemen. The explosions occurred three hours after the end of a weekly driving ban aimed at preventing such attacks during Friday prayers in Baghdad. (Posted @ 20:22 PST)
Taliban say French hostage freed KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, May 11 (Reuters) - The Taliban Friday freed a French aid worker it had kidnapped last month, a spokesman for the group said. Qari Mohammad Yousuf said the Taliban handed over Eric Damfreville to tribal elders in the province of Kandahar who then submitted him to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Damfreville worked for Terre d'Enfrance, an agency helping children . (Posted @ 19:40 PST)
Musharraf reviews pace of federal projects in Balochistan QUETTA May 11 (PPI): President General Pervez Musharraf Friday said that Gwadar is our main focus in Balochistan's development strategy. Addressing a high level meeting held to review pace of ongoing projects under federal government in the province he ordered the. lining of Kachhi canal and assured that Balochistan's request for shares in Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) after its privatisation would be reviewed. (Posted @ 18:48 PST)
Pakistan-Saudi ties source of strength for Muslim Ummah: PM ISLAMABAD, May 11 (APP): The close historic ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are a source of strength for the Muslim Ummah, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Friday while receiving a message from King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz. The message was delivered by Saudi Ambassador Ali S. Awadh Asseri who inter-alia appreciated Pakistan’s efforts to organize the OIC conference on refugees in the member countries and presented a cheque of 500,000 dollars as contribution of his country. The conference is scheduled to be held in Islamabad next year in coordination with OIC and UNHCR. (Posted @ 18:40 PST)
3600 cases of HR violations by Indian troops in occupied Kashmir ISLAMABAD, May 11 (APP): Chairman of so-called Jammu and Kashmir Human Rights Commissions Justice M.Y.Kawoosa said the commission has received at least 3600 cases of human rights violation by Indian army. “Allegations of rights violations from Indian security forces and militants have been widespread in occupied Kashmir for the past 17 years, amid wide discontent against Indian occupation. An unspecified number of people have disappeared after being taken away for questioning. Civilians have been found dead after being branded freedom fighters,” Kawoosa told daily Hindustan Times . (Posted @ 18:32 PST)
House rejects 9-month withdrawal for troops, guarantees funds only through July WASHINGTON, May 11 (AP) The Democratic-controlled House voted to pay for military operations in Iraq on an installment plan, defying President George W. Bush's threat of a second straight veto in a fierce test of wills over the unpopular war. The 221-205 vote Thursday was largely along party lines and sent the measure to a cool reception in the Senate. ''Democrats are not going to give the president a blank check for a war without end,'' speaker Nancy Pelosi said, advancing two bills for votes during the day. The first required the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq within nine months. It fell, 255-171, with almost all Republicans in opposition along with 59 Democrats. A few hours later, the House passed legislation providing funds for the war in two installments. The first portion would cover costs until Aug. 1 - $42.8 billion to buy equipment and train Iraqi and Afghan security forces. Under the bill, it would take a summertime vote by Congress to free an additional $52.8 billion, the money needed to cover costs through the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year.(Posted @ 09:15 PST)
Cheney vows Iran will not get nuclear weapons ABOARD THE USS JOHN C STENNIS, May 11 (AFP) - US Vice President Dick Cheney warned Friday from the hangar deck of a US aircraft carrier churning through the Gulf that the United States will not let Iran get nuclear weapons. “We'll stand with others to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons and dominating this region,” he told thousands of sailors on the nuclear-powered USS John C. Stennis as it cruised roughly 240 kilometres from Iran. (Posted @ 17:54 PST)
Hockey: Australia & Malaysia in Final IPOH, Malaysia, May 11 (AFP) – In the first semi-final of Sultan Azlan Shah Cup field hockey tournament on Friday Australia outplayed South Korea by six goals to two. Result: Australia 6 (Desmond Abbott 9, 69, Andrew Smith 22, Liam Deyoung 37, 60, Eli Matheson 51); South Korea 2 (Jeong Yun-sang 11, Lee Sung-min 57) (H-t: 2-1). In the other Semi-Final Malaysia defeated India 2-1.(First Posted @ 17:40 PST Updated @ 20:28 PST)
President inaugurates BITE QUETTA May 11 (APP) - President General Pervez Musharraf Friday said that skilled and educated youth are a guarantee to the bright future of Balochistan province as well as the country. He was speaking at the opening of Balochistan Institute of Technical Education (BITE) established by Army’s Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (EME) Centre Quetta in collaboration with NAVTEC, Dawood Yamaha, Atlas Honda and SKB and where every student is provided with free accommodation, food, medical facilities uniforms, books besides a stipend of Rs. one thousand per month. (Posted @ 17:38 PST)
Thirty one killed in eastern India road accidents PATNA, India, May 11 (Reuters) - At least 31 people were killed and several injured in two separate road accidents in eastern India on Friday, officials said. A bus carrying 38 passengers skidded off a bridge and fell into the Ganges riverbed, killing 20 people, an official said. Most of the passengers were asleep when the accident occurred near the state capital, Patna. In neighbouring Orissa, 11 people were killed and four seriously injured when a jeep they were in collided with an oil tanker in Mayurbhanj district. An official said the death toll could rise as many of those injured were in a serious condition. (Posted @ 17:10 PST)
Suicide raid hurts 2 US soldiers in Afghanistan KHOST, Afghanistan, May 11 (Reuters) - A suicide bomber rammed his car into a convoy of U.S.-led coalition troops on a road in Urgun district of southeastern Paktika province on Friday, wounding at least two U.S. soldiers, government and coalition officials said (Posted @ 17:08 PST)
Iraq: three more US soldiers killed; 27 bodies found Baghdad, May 11 (Reuters) - Thrre more US soldiers were killed in Iraq during the past 24 hours. One U.S. soldier was killed and nine were wounded by an explosion on Thursday during combat operations in Diyala province, the U.S. military said. Another U.S. soldier was killed on Thursday when his patrol came under small-arms fire in Diwaniya, while the third was killed by small-arms fire on Thursday in southern Baghdad, the U.S. military said. Meanwhile, U.S. troops killed four militants suspected of involvement in car bomb networks, including one believed to have links to senior al Qaeda in Iraq leaders in a series of raids in and around Baghdad and in Mosul over the past two days, the U.S. military. Police said they found 20 bullet-riddled bodies in different districts of Baghdad on Thursday and another six bodies in different districts in Mosul besides an unidentified bullet-riddled body bearing signs of torture on Friday in Hawija, 70 km southwest of Kirkuk. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
India salutes 'martyrs' of 1857 uprising against British NEW DELHI, May 11 (AFP) - India paid homage with full pomp and honour on Friday to the “martyrs” who battled British rule 150 years ago in the country's “first war of independence.” Thousands of flag-waving marchers retraced the route of rebellious soldiers at the Mughal-built Red Fort in Old Delhi, for ceremonies kicking off a year-long celebration of the bloody uprising. (Posted @ 16:15 PST)
Britain's Brown admits 'mistakes' in Iraq LONDON, May 11 (AFP) - Britain's likely next prime minister Gordon Brown admitted Friday that “mistakes” had been made in Iraq, as he launched his bid to succeed Tony Blair. “I accept that mistakes have been made,” he said, when asked if he would apologise for the war in Iraq. But he insisted that Britain remained committed to ongoing efforts to bring peace to the violence-scarred country. “We will keep our obligations to the Iraqi people,” he said. (Posted @ 15:45 PST)
Sixteen dead in new Afghan violence KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, May 11(AFP) Four policemen and a dozen Taliban were killed in southern Afghanistan, officials said Friday. Ten militants were killed when war planes bombed a village in Helmand province’s Sangin district, a district governor said. Afghan and coalition forces estimate a “significant number of Taliban fighters” were killed, the US-led coalition said in a statement Friday. In a separate incident, four policemen and two more insurgents were killed when fighting erupted late Thursday after a group of militants attacked a police post, a provincial police chief said. “Four police were martyred, two police were wounded and two Taliban bodies were left at the battlefield,” he said. Four suspects were arrested in a follow-up operation Friday.(Posted @ 14:30 PST)
Ten wounded as Palestinian clashes resume in Gaza GAZA CITY, May 11 (AFP) Palestinian shootings wounded 10 people in the Gaza Strip Friday, security sources said. Eight Palestinians, including civilians and security officers from agencies controlled by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and dominated by his Fatah party, were wounded in shootouts in Gaza City. Another two civilians were hurt when militants from the armed wing of Hamas opened fire in the refugee camp of Jabaliya, north of Gaza City. A national security service officer was captured by unknown assailants in Gaza City, while clashes elsewhere were reported between Hamas and members of the intelligence service. (First Posted @ 10:50 PST, Updated @ 11:54 PST)
Four killed in Taiwan military jet crash TAIPEI, May 11 (AFP) Two Taiwanese fighter pilots and two Singaporean servicemen were killed Friday when a F-5F jet crashed into a military compound during an exercise, defence minister Lee Jye said Friday. (First Posted @ 09:10 PST, Updated @ 11:25 PST)
Grenade blast wounds eight in Sri Lanka refugee camp COLOMBO, May 11 (Reuters) An unidentified attacker threw a grenade into a camp housing hundreds of war-displaced in eastern Sri Lanka’s Batticaloa district’ Kattankudi town overnight, and the ensuing blast wounded eight civilians, police said Friday. (Posted @ 11:05 PST)
Five people shot on Chicago public bus CHICAGO, May 11 (AP) A gunman boarded a Chicago Transit Authority bus Thursday afternoon and opened fire, wounding five teenage passengers, two of them critically, police spokesman John Mirabelli said. The suspect exited the bus and ran south after the shooting, police said.(Posted @ 09:05 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 20.73 points: KARACHI, May 11: At the close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 12367.62, up 20.73 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 15:59 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, May 11: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.67 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 15:59 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Editor: Abbas Nasir
The DAWN Group of Newspapers
Haroon House, Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed Road, Karachi 74200, Pakistan.
Phone:+92 (21) 111-444-777 Fax: +92 (21) 569-3995
webmaster@dawn.com
Make sure to reload these pages so you're viewing the current version.
|
|
|
Contributions |