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| June 22, 2007 | Friday | Jamadi-us-Sani 06, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistan police arrest ex-minister in suspected murder of Canadian woman ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 22 (AP) - Authorities arrested former Cabinet minister Shahid Jamil Qureshi Friday in connection with the suspected murder of a Canadian woman at their shared home inIslamabad. Detectives have been investigating Shahid Jamil Qureshi since he took the body of Kafila Siddiqui, a Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin, to an Islamabad hospital on June 9. A judge on Friday granted a police request for his official arrest after detectives told a court they believed Kafila was murdered, said Ghulam Mohammed Baqir, a senior police official involved in the case. The ex-minister was led away in handcuffs for further questioning, Baqir said. (Posted @ 13:46 PST)
NA demands withdrawal of Title from Rushdie ISLAMABAD, June 22 (APP) National Assembly Friday reiterated firm resolve to uphold Islamic norms and demanded of the British Government afresh to withdraw the Title of Knighthood conferred on Rushdie. Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Dr Sher Afgan Niazi put the consensus resolution to the House which was unanimously adopted by the House. “This House, in reference to its previous resolution, resolves that the British Government and the British Prime Minister has not only disappointed the Pakistani nation but also has hurt its sentiments, by not withdrawing the knighthood title from Rushdie,” the resolution stated as read out by Dr Niazi on the floor of the House. “This House again demands from the British Government and British Prime Minister to immediately withdraw the title from Rushdie and seek an apology from Muslim Ummah,” it added. (Posted @ 22:46 PST)
PM Aziz slams Rushdie knighthood ISLAMABAD, June 22 (AFP) Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Friday lashed out at Britain for awarding a knighthood to author Salman Rushdie amid fierce protests against the decision. “We condemn the decision to award a knighthood to Rushdie,” Aziz said in the national assembly. “It has hurt the feelings of Muslims. Muslims will never tolerate derogatory remarks against the last Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him),” he added. (Posted @ 20:52 PST)
Iran denies minister's comments on 'uranium stockpile' TEHRAN, June 22 (AFP) The Iranian interior ministry Friday denied media reports that the minister announced Iran had ramped up its nuclear capacity and built up a significant stockpile of enriched uranium. Interior Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi was quoted by the ISNA news agency late Thursday as saying Iran had enriched and stored more than 100 kilogrammes of enriched uranium. “We have currently 3,000 operational centrifuges and delivered more than 100 kilogrammes of enriched uranium to warehouses,” Pour-Mohammadi was quoted as saying, adding that Iran had also stocked more than “150 tonnes of uranium gas.” However, his ministry's public relations office quickly denied that the remarks were made in a speech Thursday in Khuzestan province. (First Posted @ 13:46 PST Updated @ 20:36 PST)
National Assembly approves Finance Bill 2007 ISLAMABAD, June 22 (APP) The National Assembly Friday approved the Finance Bill 2007 to give effect to the financial proposals of the Federal Government for the year beginning on the first day of July 2007 and to amend certain laws, with a majority vote. In the second reading, the bill moved by Minister of State for Finance and Revenues, was taken up clause by clause and in the third overall reading the bill was passed by the House. All clauses moved by the treasury benches were adopted while all amendments by the opposition members were dropped. (Posted @ 20:14 PST)
Pakistanis protest against Rushdie knighthood ISLAMABAD, June 22 (AFP) Hundreds burned effigies of Salman Rushdie in Pakistan Friday as the country's parliament renewed a call for Britain to withdraw his knighthood. A crowd of around 300 people in Islamabad chanted “Our struggle will continue until Salman Rushdie is killed!” ”Britain must withdraw the knighthood and hand Rushdie to Pakistan to be punished under Islamic laws,” Fazlur Rehman, a leader of the parliamentary opposition, told the protesters. In Karachi more than 1,000 people chanting “Death to Rushdie” gathered outside the city's main Binori mosque after Friday prayers. In Multan there were several protests, the largest drawing some 600 people. Members of the local paramedics association torched effigies of Rushdie, an AFP photographer said. A further 150 protesters gathered in Lahore to hear a speech by Qazi Hussain Ahmed, chief of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, in which he called for the Muslim world to stand united over the issue. In Quetta there was a demonstration by around 300 people while protests were planned later in Peshawar. Earlier Pakistan's national assembly unanimously passed a resolution again calling for London to revoke Rushdie's honour. “This house again demands the British government take back the award from blasphemer Rushdie and apologise to the Islamic world,” said the new resolution, moved by parliamentary affairs minister Sher Afgan Niazi. (Posted @ 19:48 PST)
Cricket-England name Collingwood as new one-day captain LONDON, June 22 (Reuters) Durham batsman Paul Collingwood was named Friday as England's new one-day captain, taking over the reins from his friend and test captain Michael Vaughan. Collingwood, 31 takes up the captaincy after Vaughan relinquished it after four years Monday. (Posted @ 19:36 PST)
PML government wants to ensure socio-economic justice to masses: PM Aziz ISLAMABAD, June 22 (APP) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Friday said the objective before Pakistan Muslim League and its allied parties is to ensure socio-economic justice at grassroots level and together they would move to serve the people. This was stated by him during a meeting with a group of parliamentarians, including ministers, in his chamber at the Parliament House this afternoon. Aziz said that socio-economic in-equalities would be targeted so that the people could gain confidence in the functioning of the system. The Prime Minister said that the government has always focused on providing maximum opportunities to the people and this is the reason that 98 percent funds of the PSDP has been utilized in the current financial year. Aziz said that this record spending on Public Sector Development Programme would lead to further progress of the socio-economic sector, by providing the people with basic utilities of life, creation of socio-economic opportunities and direct and indirect jobs. (Posted @ 19:08 PST)
52 Pakistanis nationals arrested in Iran DALBANDIN, June 22 (APP) Iranian border security force Friday handed over 52 Pakistanis to Taftan levies who had entered Iran without legal documents. Levies sources told APP that a human smuggling agent is also among the arrested. The levies authorities would hand over the arrested to FIA for further investigation. (Posted @ 18:52 PST)
Niger rebels kill 15 soldiers in desert raid NIAMEY, June 22 (Reuters) Nomadic Tuareg rebels in northern Niger killed 15 government soldiers in an attack on an army outpost in the Sahara desert Friday, a military officer in the West African country said. (Posted @ 18:38 PST)
At least 12 killed in Kenya violence BANANA, Kenya, June 22 (Reuters) Three Kenyans were hacked to death and police killed at least nine others in areas around the capital Nairobi, authorities said Friday. Police gunned down at least nine suspected gangsters overnight after an attack at a bar in the Kariobangi area, a police spokesman said. In Banana, a village in Kiambu district just north of Nairobi, police overnight found three young men hacked to death. (Posted @ 18:12 PST)
Abbas sacks security chief after Gaza rout RAMALLAH, West Bank, June 22 (Reuters) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sacked a top security chief Friday who commanded the forces routed by Hamas in Gaza last week, officials said. Abbas issued a decree firing Rashid Abu Shbak, the head of internal security and a leader in the Fatah movement, saying he “is stripped of his tasks as general director”. Abbas issued two other decrees Friday to further consolidate his control over the occupied West Bank. One of the decrees dissolved a national security council, effectively preventing Hamas from having any role. The Palestinian leader also cancelled the clause of a law requiring approval of cabinet minister appointments by the Palestinian parliament, where Hamas has a majority. (Posted @ 17:46 PST)
US forces kill 17 Qaeda gunmen in Iraq BAGHDAD, June 22 (AFP) US helicopters armed with missiles killed 17 suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen southwest of the town of Khalis in Diyala province Friday, the military said. (Posted @ 17:28 PST)
Storms leave hundreds stranded at Frankfurt airport BERLIN, June 22 (AFP) Hundreds of passengers had to camp out overnight at Germany's Frankfurt airport after storms forced the cancellation of more than 240 flights, an airport spokesman said Friday. About 30,000 passengers have been affected by the cancellations Thursday which hit both arrivals and departures at the city's airport in western Germany, Wolf-Dieter Schaller said. (Posted @ 17:16 PST)
Pakistan builds third nuclear reactor for bombs: ISIS report ISLAMABAD, June 22 (AFP) Pakistan appears to be building a third plutonium nuclear reactor to significantly boost its production of atomic bombs, a US research group said Friday. Satellite images show work progressing rapidly at Khusab, 100 kilometres from Islamabad, where the other two reactors are sited, the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) said in a report. The construction work would “imply that Pakistan's government has made a decision to increase significantly its production of plutonium for nuclear weapons,” the institute said. “Almost all of the third reactor construction visible in the June 3, 2007 image has taken place in the last 10 months,” the Washington-based group added. Pakistan's Foreign Office said the report was based on speculation. “Off and on there are speculations of this nature. Pakistan has a nuclear weapons programme and Khusab is a declared nuclear site, that is not a new revelation,” spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said. A Pakistani defence source said that there was “an expansion programme in Khusab” but would not give any other details. The third reactor is several hundred metres away from the second and appears to be a “replica”, although building work is progressing more quickly on the latest version, the ISIS said. (Posted @ 17:08 PST)
Sri Lankan Tamil rebel boat explodes in eastern sea, three killed COLOMBO, June 22 (AP) A Tamil rebel boat exploded off Sri Lanka's east coast Friday, killing at least three insurgents, as clashes between rebels and soldiers in the north left four guerrillas dead, the military said. Separately, army troops found the bodies of 15 separatist Tamil Tigers killed in battles this week as the military launched a major push to flush rebels from the island's east. (First Posted @ 11:50 PST Updated @ 17:02 PST)
Fighting in Somali port city of Kismayo kills at least seven, wounds 11 MOGADISHU, June 22 (AP) Clans whose gunmen used anti-aircraft missiles and machine guns battled for control of this strategic port city Friday, killing at least seven people and wounding 11. The fighting between the Majerten and Marehan clans broke out about 19 kilometres north of Kismayo. (Posted @ 16:52 PST)
Afghan air raid kills 25 civilians, 20 Taliban KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, June 22 (Reuters) An air strike by foreign-led forces killed 25 civilians, including 12 members of a family, and 20 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province’s Girishk district, the provincial police chief said Friday. Hussien Andiwal said the raid took place Thursday night as part of an operation against Taliban fighters by foreign forces and Afghan troops. (First Posted @ 13:46 PST Updated @ 16:40 PST)
Pakistani militants behead alleged US spy KHAR, Pakistan, June 22 (AFP) - Pro-Taliban militants in Pakistan's troubled tribal belt beheaded an Afghan national for allegedly spying for US-led forces in Afghanistan, officials said Friday. The head and body of the man were stuffed in a sack and dumped by the side of a road near Khar, the main town in Bajaur Agency, security official Mahmoor Khan told AFP. “We also found a note with the body saying 'Whoever spies for the Americans will meet the same fate'.” Authorities named the man as Sarwar Khan, 45, a livestock trader originally from Afghanistan's eastern Kunar province, who was living with his family in Bajaur. The body had been handed over to relatives, they said. (Posted @ 13:53 PST)
Afghan air raid kills 12 civilians, 20 Taliban KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, June 22 (Reuters) - A U.S.-led air strike killed 12 members of an Afghan family and 20 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, the provincial police chief said on Friday. Hussien Andiwal said the raid took place on Thursday night as part of an operation against Taliban fighters by U.S.-led forces and Afghan troops. (Posted @ 13:46 PST)
Iran has 100 kg ”enriched uranium materials”-report TEHRAN, June 22 (Reuters) - Iran has 100 kg of enriched uranium material in storage, the interior minister said. “More than 100 kg of enriched uranium materials have been delivered to storages,” Mostafa Pourmohammadi said in a speech in south-western Iran late on Thursday, according to the ISNA news agency. Iran would need at least 500 kg of enriched uranium for use in one bomb, experts say. (Posted @ 13:46 PST)
Strike in occupied Kashmir over Rushdie row SRINAGAR, June 22 (AFP) - Business in occupied Kashmir's main commercial hub halted Friday as traders heeded calls by angry Muslims to strike over Britain's award of a knighthood to author Salman Rushdie. Shops in Srinagar were shuttered. Traffic was normal and most schools and offices were open. Police said they were gearing up for anti-Britain protests after midday Friday prayers. (Posted @ 13:45 PST)
Blackout traps nearly 20,000 in Tokyo trains TOKYO, June 22 (AFP) - Nearly 20,000 passengers were trapped Friday for more than four hours in packed commuter trains in suburban Tokyo due to a power failure, with some 45 people falling ill, officials said. Six trains carrying 18,300 people came to a halt during morning rush hour at stations near Saitama north of Tokyo, said an official of JR East, which operates the line. The JR East official said the blackout was caused by a cut in overhead wires on the rails near Saitama station. (Posted @ 13:45 PST)
NKorea positive to six-party meeting in early July SEOUL, June 22 (AFP) -North Korea has indicated it will take part in six-party nuclear disarmament talks in early July, South Korea's chief nuclear envoy said Friday. (Posted @ 13:44 PST)
Blair to convert to Roman Catholicism: reports LONDON, June 22 (AFP) - Britain's Protestant Prime Minister Tony Blair has decided to convert to Roman Catholicism, newspapers said Friday, as he prepares to meet with Pope Benedict XVI before he leaves office next week. Informed sources quoted by The Guardian newspaper said Blair has already taken his decision, and it was now just a matter of when he will announce it, though he will not do so during his visit with the pope on Saturday. His wife Cherie is a devout Catholic. (Posted @ 13:43 PST)
Sri Lanka says it found 15 decomposing bodies killed in eastern clashes COLOMBO, June 22 (AP) - Sri Lankan Army found the bodies of 15 Tamil rebels and nearly a hundred anti-personnel mines when they searched territory captured this week from the guerrillas in eastern Sri Lanka, an official said Friday. A rebel spokesman denied that the Tigers lost any camps, and said 15 government soldiers and 10 rebels were killed in Tuesday's clashes. (Posted @ 11:50 PST)
Taliban attack kills 3 police in eastern Afghanistan KABUL, June 22 (AP) - Suspected Taliban militants attacked a police patrol in Nangarhar province's Chaparhar district late Thursday, killing three officers and wounding another, while U.S.-led coalition and Afghan troops killed several militants in the south, an official said Friday. The assailants fired two rocket-propelled grenades, hitting and destroying one police vehicle. In the south on Thursday, U.S.-led coalition and Afghan troops clashed and killed “several enemy fighters,” during three separate battles in Shah Wali Kot district in Kandahar province, a coalition statement said. (Posted @ 11:48 PST)
2nd in command says 80 percent of top al-Qaida leaders fled Baqouba BAQOUBA, Iraq, June 22 (AP) - More than three-quarters of the senior al-Qaida leaders holed up in Baqouba escaped as American soldiers launched an offensive earlier this week, the U.S. ground forces commander Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno said on Thursday. During a one day trip to the battlefield where about 10,000 U.S. troops are fighting to oust suspected al-Qaida militants, he said: “We believe 80 percent of the upper level (al-Qaida) leaders fled, but we'll find them.” (Posted @ 10:52 PST)
Lebanon declares victory in war on militants BEIRUT, June 22 (Reuters) - Lebanon declared victory on Thursday in its 33-day war against an al Qaeda-inspired militant group at a Palestinian refugee camp and said its military operation there was over. “I can tell the Lebanese that as of now the military operation in Nahr al-Bared is finished,” Defence Minister Elias al-Murr told Lebanon's LBC television. “All the positions of the terrorists have been crushed,” he said, adding that the surviving members of Fatah al-Islam had pulled back from the edges of Nahr al-Bared into civilian areas deep in the camp.Murr said the army would maintain a siege around the camp until all Fatah al-Islam militants surrendered, including their leader Shaker al-Abssi. “They have to surrender ... It's not good enough to say Abssi was killed, if he is dead, give us the body,” he said. Murr said the army was continuing some mopping up operations and defusing mines and booby traps at the outskirts of the camp. A source at a grouping of Palestinian Muslim clerics, which had tried to mediate an end to the battles, said Fatah al-Islam official Shahine Shahine told the mediators the group welcomed the Lebanese announcement of an end to the operation. “He told us that Fatah al-Islam declares a ceasefire,” the source told Reuters. (Posted @ 10:03 PST)
Buddhist killed, soldiers hurt in bomb attacks in Thai south NARATHIWAT, Thailand, June 22 (AFP) - A Buddhist was shot dead and 10 people, including five soldiers, wounded in bomb attacks in Thailand's restive Muslim-majority south, police said Friday. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
Hill leaves NKorea after positive talks BEIJING, June 22 (AFP) -US nuclear envoy Christopher Hill said Friday he had positive meetings with senior North Korean officials during a visit to Pyongyang, and disarmament talks would resume soon, Chinese state press said. “I think we're talking about trying to have a six-party meeting as soon as possible,” Hill told Xinhua at the airport before heading to Seoul as part of his east Asian tour to try and instill momentum in the six-party process. He did not specify a date for the resumption of formal talks, which also involve China, Russia, Japan and South Korea. (Posted @ 09:52 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 153.33 points: KARACHI, June 22: At the close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 13392.47, down 153.33 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:02 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, June 22: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 61.1 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:39 PST)
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