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| June 09, 2007 | Saturday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 23, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistan's Musharraf withdraws curbs on media ISLAMABAD, June 9, (AFP) - Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf Saturday agreed to withdraw curbs recently imposed on private television channels that sparked wide criticism at home and abroad, officials said. He took the decision during a meeting with Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) representatives at his office in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, a top information ministry official said. The official said PBA would develop and present a draft code of ethics for electronic media to the government within three days. Musharrraf issued a decree on Monday giving the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) extra powers after the media criticised his suspension of the country's chief justice. “The President has agreed to withdraw the PEMRA ordinance after assurances by PBA that they would submit a new code of ethics for the electronic media,”said the official. (Posted @ 20:04 PST)
Millions suffer as China storms kill at least 23 BEIJING, June 9, (REUTERS) - Rain storms and floods have killed at least 23 people across southern China in recent days and made thousands homeless, Xinhua news agency said on Saturday. “Millions of people are suffering,” it said. Storms killed seven people and left four missing in the southern province of Guizhou on Friday and Saturday. Nearly 20,000 hectares of cropland were flooded and 3,000 houses destroyed, Xinhua said. (Posted @ 23:18 PST)
At least six dead in Australia storms SYDNEY, June 9 (APP/AFP) - Six people were confirmed dead and another two were missing on Saturday as wild storms continued to lash Australia's east coast, smashing boats, flooding roads and cutting power to 200,000 homes. The Hunter Valley and Central Coast regions north of Sydney were declared disaster zones after being pounded by gale-force winds and torrential rains for a second day. (Posted @ 22:44 PST)
Three Lebanon soldiers killed in siege camp clashes NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon, June 9, (AFP) - Three Lebanese soldiers were killed on Saturday in new clashes with Islamist militants holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp, as mediators announced a setback in efforts to broker a peaceful end to the 21-day siege. “Three of our soldiers were killed and a dozen wounded by Fatah al-Islam snipers,” an army spokesman said. A fourth soldier, wounded in fighting on Thursday, also died. (Posted @ 22:06 PST)
Suicide truck bomb kills 12 south of Baghdad HILLA, Iraq, June 9, (AFP) - A suicide truck bomb struck an Iraqi army base on Saturday southwest of Baghdad, killing 12 soldiers and wounding 30, army and medical officials said. Iraqi Army Lieutenant Mohammed Fatlawi said the attack took place at a base near the town of Iskandiriyah, 60 kilometres (35 miles) south of Baghdad. Doctor Ali Shammari from the town's general hospital also confirmed the attack. (First Posted @ 20:10 PST Updated @ 21:34 PST)
Tennis: Henin completes French Open hat-trick with crushing win PARIS, June 9, (REUTERS) - World number one Justine Henin completed a rare French Open hat-trick by crushing Serbia's Ana Ivanovic 6-1 6-2 in the women's final on Saturday. Belgian Henin totally dominated her 19-year-old opponent, seeded seventh, to become the first woman to win three successive Roland Garros titles since Monica Seles in 1992. (Posted @ 20:22 PST)
'Time is up' for resolving Kosovo issue: Bush ROME, June 9, (AFP) - No more time should be wasted in bringing the issue of Kosovo's future status issue “to a head,” US President George W. Bush said during his visit to Italy on Saturday. (Posted @ 20:16 PST)
Pakistan unveils 2007/2008 budget ISLAMABAD, June 9 (Reuters) - Pakistan's Minister of State for Finance Omar Ayub Khan presented the government's 2007/2008 (July-June) budget to parliament on Saturday. (Posted @ 19:34 PST)
Attacks kill 11 policemen in Afghanistan KABUL, June 9, (AFP) - Attacks across Afghanistan left 11 policemen and a dozen Taliban fighters dead, authorities said Saturday as the US military announced it had killed “several” Taliban and Al-Qaeda men. In one incident, a group of Taliban fighters attacked a town in the southern province of Kandahar late Friday, sparking a battle that killed 12 of the rebels and five policemen, the provincial police chief said. Another three policemen were wounded in the attack on the district headquarters in the small town of Ghorak, police chief Ismatullah Alizai said. (Posted @ 16:40 PST Updated @ 19:12 PST)
Six killed in attack on U.S. prison in Iraq BAGHDAD, June 9(Reuters) - Six civilian detainees were killed and at least 50 wounded when rockets or mortars were fired into the U.S.-run Camp Bucca prison in southern Iraq on Saturday, the U.S. military said. Military spokesman Lt-Col Christopher Garver said the “indirect fire” attack involved an unspecified number of mortar rounds or rockets fired into the prison but he gave no further details. (Posted @ 18:26 PST)
Mild earthquake jolts Balochistan PESHAWAR, June 9 (APP) A mild earthquake with 3.5 intensity jolted Balochistan and was felt in Quetta Saturday morning. According to Seismological Network of Pakistan Meteorological Department the earthquake originated at 1029 hours and its epicentre was 500 kilometres southwest of Peshawar. (Posted @ 15:00 PST)
Baghdad protests Turkish bombardment of Iraq BAGHDAD, June 9 (APP/AFP) Iraq's foreign ministry Saturday filed an official complaint to Turkey over recent Turkish bombardments of the northern Kurdish region of the country, a ministry statement said. “The foreign ministry delivered a letter to the charge d'affairs of Turkey protesting the bombardment of Iraq around Dohuk and Arbil which caused huge damage, fire and spread panic among the people,” the statement said. (Posted @ 14:58 PST)
Bush visits Pope and Prodi;Rome braced for protest ROME, June 9 (Reuters) U.S. President George W. Bush met Italy's president Giorgio Napolitano Saturday, and was due to see Pope Benedict for the first time. About 10,000 police secured central Rome as leftists and pacifists opposed to the war in Iraq and to the expansion of a U.S. military base in northern Italy took trains to Rome for protests. “Bush is the biggest international terrorist. It's a disgrace the Italian government elected by the votes of pacifists should invite him to this country,” said Elio Luppoli, arriving in Rome with about 70 protesters from Milan. (Posted @ 14:55 PST)
Toll in Iran from cyclone climbs to 12 TEHRAN, June 9 (Reuters) Flooding caused by Cyclone Gonu which swept southern Iran this week killed 12 people and damaged more than 1,000 villages, the Mehr News Agency reported Saturday. Officials said the hurricane affected the provinces of Hormuzgan, Kerman and Sistan-Baluchistan, damaging roads, bridges and houses. “So far 12 people in Sistan-Baluchistan and Hormuzgan have been killed and 9 have been injured due to floods,” Mehr reported, quoting an emergency services official. (Posted @ 14:50 PST)
Three killed in Baghdad attacks BAGHDAD, June 9 (AFP) Three people died in separate attacks in Baghdad Saturday. A car bomb detonated next to a National Police patrol killing a policemen and a bystander and wounding 12 others in Baghdad's northeast neighbourhood of al-Shaab, a defence official said. Another policeman was killed in a separate clash with armed men in the same neighbourhood. In Zafaraniyah in southern Baghdad, three people were wounded by a roadside bomb aimed at a police patrol, a medic at Ibn Nafis hospital said. (Posted @ 14:45 PST)
Sri Lanka troops kill 30 Tigers in jungle battle COLOMBO, June 9 (AFP) At least 30 Tamil Tiger rebels and one soldier were killed when Sri Lankan troops overran four guerrilla jungle bases, the defence ministry said Saturday. Soldiers captured the bases of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during an offensive late Friday and early Saturday in the eastern Batticaloa district, the ministry said. (Posted @ 14:40 PST)
Militants kill 'US spy' in Pakistani tribal region ISLAMABAD, June 9 (AFP) Militants shot dead a 30-year-old man suspected of spying for the US, near Alikhel village, 12 kilometres west of Miranshah, the main town in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal area, an official said Saturday. Rahim Khan's bullet-ridden body was found late Friday. “A note left on the body said Rahim was spying for the US forces stationed across the border and has met his fate,” a security official in Miranshah said. (Posted @ 12:05 PST)
Israeli tanks re-enter southern Gaza GAZA CITY, June 9 (AFP) Israeli tanks and troops pushed early Saturday into the southern Gaza Strip where they traded gunfire with members of the armed wing of Hamas, the army and Hamas said. An army spokesman confirmed that an incursion by tanks and infantry units was under way east of the town of Rafah. (Posted @ 11:49 PST)
Bush signals Central Europe shield to go ahead GDANSK, Poland, June 9 (Reuters) President George W. Bush thanked Poland Friday for being ready to host the U.S. missile shield and sent a clear signal he would not scrap the plan in the face of an alternative offer from Russia. Bush met Polish President Lech Kaczynski to discuss missile defence and Russia's vehement opposition to its positioning in Moscow's former backyard in central Europe. “First let me say I appreciate the support for the deployment of the missile defence interceptors here in Poland,” Bush told a joint briefing with Kaczynski. “We will negotiate a fair agreement that enhances the security of Poland and the security of the entire continent against rogue regimes who might be willing to try to blackmail free nations.” (Posted @ 10:45 PST)
Afghan, Pakistani official report progress in talks on return of Afghan refugees DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, June 9 (AP) Afghanistan and Pakistan edged closer to agreement on how to return more than 2 million Afghan refugees to their homeland after they fled to Pakistan 27 years ago, an official from the U.N. refugee agency said. ''We have now reached an agreement on the language of the text'' on the voluntary repatriation, said Salvatore Lombardo, UNHCR representative for Afghanistan, after the two sides held talks Friday in Dubai. ''I think in that respect it (meeting) was quite successful.'' The two sides have been convening every three months under UNHCR auspices. The draft text, Lombardo said, is going back to the two governments for approval before signing. Lombardo said the Pakistani plan envisages the refugees returning to their original homes in Afghanistan, not merely to new camps across the border. ''Those who are landless, the government will give them land,'' said Afghan executive minister of refugees and repatriation, Abdul Qader Ahadi. (Posted @ 10:43 PST)
Rice defends Bush foreign policy legacy, says history will see it favourably NEW YORK, June 9 (AP) U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said history will remember President George W. Bush's foreign policy favourably despite current troubles in Iraq, Iran, North Korea and the Middle East. ''History's judgment is rarely the same as today's headlines,'' she said Friday in an interview with The Associated Press. Rice said she believed the world was more dangerous before Bush took office in January 2001 than it is now. “Six years ago ... it wasn't a very nice world. Al-Qaida was preparing to attack the twin towers, Pakistan was allied with the Taliban, Afghanistan was the base from where al-Qaida was going to operate, the Israelis and Palestinians had given up,'' she said. ''I think that what this president has done is ... to set up the long struggle that we are going to have to resolve particularly the problem of the growth of extremism in the Middle East, which was clearly there underneath the surface and exploded on Sept. 11.'' Asked how long it would take for the Bush administration's initiatives to succeed, Rice counselled patience. ''I think that you will see that we are now at the beginning of a historic transformation and some of them may still work out on our watch and some of them may not,'' she said of today's problems. (Posted @ 09:43 PST)
Blast near Lebanese port town TYRE, Lebanon, June 9 (AFP) An explosion shook an area near the southern Lebanese port town of Tyre late Friday but without causing casualties, police said. The blast occurred in a field in Howsh area, four kilometres east of Tyre. (Posted @ 09:21 PST)
Atlantis blasts off on first shuttle mission of the year CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida, June 9 (AFP) The space shuttle Atlantis successfully blasted off Friday from Kennedy Space Centre for a mission to the orbiting International Space Station. The space shuttle's rocket boosters successfully separated from the orbiter two minutes after lift-off. During their 11-day trip the seven Atlantis astronauts plan to install a new, 16-tonne truss segment on the ISS and deliver a third set of solar panels, as well as batteries for the orbiting laboratory. Three spacewalks lasting six-and-a-half hours each are planned on the fourth, sixth and eighth days of the mission. (Posted @ 09:20 PST)
Two dead, five missing in Australia storms SYDNEY, June 9 (AFP) Wild storms lashed eastern Australia again Saturday as authorities confirmed two deaths and expressed grave fears for a family of five whose car was washed away when raging waters cut a highway. The Hunter Valley and Central Coast regions north of Sydney were declared disaster zones, with flash flooding and gale-force winds cutting power to at least 60,000 homes and forcing the evacuation of 200 people. Police said they had found the bodies of a couple in their 50s whose car washed off a bridge. The Bureau of Meteorology said the storm dumped 300 millimetres of rain on some areas, with winds that peaked at 120 kilometres per hour. (Posted @ 09:17 PST)
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