|
|
| July 14, 2007 | Saturday | Jamadi-us-Sani 28, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Suicide blast kills 24 Pakistani soldiers ISLAMABAD, July 14 (Reuters) A suicide car-bomber killed 24 Pakistani paramilitary soldiers and wounded 29 Saturday in an attack that may be linked to an army assault on a radical mosque in the capital, military spokesman Major-General Waheed Arshad said. The attacker rammed his car into a paramilitary convoy in the North Waziristan region on the Afghan border, 20 km southeast of its main town of Miranshah. It was the second attack on security forces in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday. Two security officials were wounded in an earlier blast near the town of Bannu in North West Frontier Province. (First Posted @ 13:12 PST Updated @ 20:10 PST)
Qazi Hussain Ahmad quits Parliament to protest Lal Masjid raid ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 14 (AP) Qazi Hussain Ahmad, lawmaker and head of a six-party coalition of Islamic groups, the Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) or United Action Forum announced his decision Saturday to quit Parliament to protest an army raid on Islamabad’s Lal Masjid. ''I am resigning from the Parliament against the army operation against Lal Masjid,'' he said, adding ''I will submit my resignation to the Speaker of the National Assembly in the next two or three days.'' (Posted @ 18:46 PST)
Lal Masjid operation not a matter of victory or defeat: President Musharraf ISLAMABAD, Jul 14 (APP) President Pervez Musharraf Saturday eulogized the troops who took part in the Lal Masjid operation and appreciated the professionalism with which they conducted it and succeeded in saving the lives of innocent students of Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa. He was addressing the officers and troops of the forces that took part in Lal Masjid Operation, here at the Convention Centre. The President said that “this is not a matter of victory or defeat”, adding that the elements present in the complex were misinterpreting Islam for their own benefit and were misleading the people by creating chaos in their minds. The President said that the government took every possible step to solve the matter in a peaceful manner by holding talks with the administration of Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa but every such effort was disregarded by them and it became inevitable for the government to take action against the militants present in the premises of Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa. The President expressed his grief over the tragic loss of lives. “Though it is a matter of sorrow for all of us but I appreciate the courage of the troops who took risk of their lives for evacuating the innocent students of Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa, as it was the policy of the government that maximum number of lives be saved and that the loss of the lives be kept at minimum”. The President said that the officers and troops of the forces deserve high appreciation for their bravery and courage. (Posted @ 20:00 PST)
Pakistan's top judge in Lahore to address rally LAHORE, Pakistan, July 14 (AP) Pakistan's suspended chief justice Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry was expected to address a rally later Saturday. Chanting anti-government slogans, more than 2,000 supporters including lawyers and opposition parties welcomed Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry at Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport. Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry's motorcade passed through Lahore peacefully Saturday, and city police chief Malik Mohammed Iqbal said they had deployed thousands of police to ensure peace. One organizer, Mohammed Azhar said Justice Chaudhry's speech was to start at 11 p.m., but witnesses said the judge's convoy was moving slowly because of heavy traffic and might not address the rally until after midnight. (First Posted @ 12:56 PST Updated @ 20:04 PST)
South Korean-flagged ship sinks off Iran, 13 missing TEHRAN, July 14 (Reuters) A South Korean-flagged cargo ship with 23 people on board sank off the coast of Iran and 13 people are missing, state radio reported Saturday. Masih Momeni, an official with Iran's ports and shipping organisation, said the ship carrying iron from China sank in the Sea of Oman, 110 nautical miles southeast of Iran's port of Chahbahar, the radio reported. Ten of the crew were picked up by passing vessels, Momeni said. (Posted @ 21:32 PST)
Iraq's 'Chemical Ali' to be hanged in Halabja: deputy PM SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq, July 14 (AFP) Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh Saturday said the notorious “Chemical Ali,” cousin and aide of Saddam Hussein, would be executed in the northern Kurdish town of Halabja. Saleh made the announcement in the northern city of Sulaimaniyah during a meeting with the Halabja Victims' Society, a non-profit organisation representing the victims of a poisonous gas attack there in 1988. (Posted @ 21:16 PST)
Algerian army kills four militants ALGIERS, July 14 (AFP) The Algerian military killed four armed militants Saturday in an operation launched three days after a suicide bombing on an army barracks left 10 soldiers dead, a security source said. An unknown number of militants managed to flee after the surprise morning attack in the mountainous Kabylie region, east of the capital Algiers, which also left three Algerian soldiers injured, the source said. (Posted @ 20:46 PST)
Two anti tank mines planted in a car defused PESHAWAR, July 14 (APP) The bomb disposal squad defused two anti tank mines planted in a car parked in front of a bank situated in the famous Green Shadi Hall building in the cantonment Saturday. (Posted @ 20:32 PST)
Curfew lifted from Islamabad G-6 sector ISLAMABAD, July 14 (PPI) The government Saturday lifted the 11 days long curfew from the sector G-6 of Islamabad clamped in the area for conducting operation against the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa. However the road leading from Aabpara to Melody Market and Federal Services Hospital via Lal Masjid was still blocked for all kind of traffic. As soon as the curfew was lifted, the residents who temporarily shifted to other sectors of the capital, started coming back to their homes. (Posted @ 20:18 PST)
Ten die in Bangladesh bus crash DHAKA, July 14 (Reuters) At least 10 people were killed and 40 injured when a bus plunged off a bridge in Bangladesh Saturday, police said. The accident occurred in hilly countryside near the town of Khagrachhari, 280 km southeast of Dhaka. (Posted @ 19:48 PST)
US 'ready' to resolve issues in US-India nuclear pact WASHINGTON, July 14 (AFP) Washington said Saturday it is “ready to resolve” the outstanding issues in the US-India nuclear cooperation agreement in talks next week with top Indian officials. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement that India's National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan, Department of Atomic Energy Chairman Anil Kakodkar, and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon will be in Washington on July 16-19 for talks on the two countries' Nuclear Cooperation Initiative, which includes a pact for bilateral peaceful nuclear cooperation known as the 123 agreement. (Posted @ 19:46 PST)
Three immigrants found dead in truck in Italy VENICE, Italy, July 14 (Reuters) The bodies of three men apparently trying to enter western Europe illegally were found in a refrigerated truck near Venice Saturday, police said. A fourth man also hidden in the truck, which had arrived in Italy by ferry from Greece and was bound for Germany, was taken to hospital and was in critical condition. The men were believed to be of Middle Eastern origin, they added. (Posted @ 18:32 PST)
Gunmen kidnap seven workers in southeastern Nigeria LAGOS, July 14 (Reuters) Gunmen abducted seven staff of a local dredging firm in the southeastern Nigerian state of Anambra, police and private security sources said Saturday. The workers were seized near the commercial hub of Onitsha located on the banks of the River Niger, late Thursday and taken by speedboat to Enenchele Island. (Posted @ 18:08 PST)
Two Lebanese soldiers die as bombardment of militants in north continues BEIRUT, July 14 (AP) Lebanon's army resumed its bombardment of al-Qaida-inspired militants entrenched in a Palestinian refugee camp Saturday, pounding them with artillery and tank fire, a senior military official said. In response, Fatah Islam gunmen fired at least three Katyusha rockets on a coastal town about five kilometres from the camp, causing no casualties, the National News Agency reported. The militants also unleashed a volley of rocket-propelled grenades and machine gunfire at army positions around the besieged camp. One Lebanese soldier was killed in Saturday's clashes and another died of fatal wounds he received Friday, the official said requesting anonymity. (Posted @ 18:00 PST)
16 people killed in road accident in Syria DAMASCUS, Syria, July 14 (AP) Sixteen people, including six from one family, were killed in Syria Saturday when a speeding truck collided into two vehicles, SANA news agency reported. The accident occurred in a village in the northeastern province of Raqaa, about 550 kilometers from Damascus, when a truck trying to make a curve at a high speed collided with two small cars, SANA said. (Posted @ 17:54 PST)
Third man charged over failed British car bombs LONDON, July 14 (AFP) A third man, Indian doctor Sabeel Ahmed, was charged Saturday in connection with last month's failed car bombings in London and Glasgow, police said. Ahmed, 26, was charged under the Terrorism Act 2000 and would appear before City of Westminster Magistrates Court in central London later, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement. (Posted @ 17:50 PST)
Cricket-Pakistan poised to name Australian Lawson as coach KARACHI, July 14 (Reuters) The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will name former Australian fast bowler Geoff Lawson as their new coach Monday, sources said Saturday. The PCB has entered into final negotiations with Lawson after deciding to appoint him from a shortlist of three candidates, including fellow Australians Dav Whatmore and Richard Done. The 49-year-old Lawson, currently working with the New South Wales state team in Australia, played 46 tests and 79 one-day internationals. (Posted @ 16:08 PST)
Canadian, Afghan troops kill at least 15 Taliban SANGSAR, Afghanistan, July 14(Reuters) Canadian troops drove Taliban insurgents into an Afghan army ambush on Saturday and then called in air strikes to hit the fleeing insurgents, killing at least 15, the Canadian army commander said. The Canadian troops opened fire at first light, with Afghan army units waiting in ambush for the group of around 60 Taliban insurgents along their predicted line of retreat. “We estimate that we got about 15 to 20 of them,” an army spokesman said (Posted @ 15:50 PST)
Russia pulls out of key European arms treaty MOSCOW, July 14(AFP): Russia has frozen its participation in a key arms control treaty that limits the deployment of military forces in Europe, the Kremlin announced on Saturday. President Vladimir Putin signed a decree halting Russia's application of the 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) arms control treaty due to “exceptional circumstances.” Russia has threatened several times to pull out of the treaty amid unease over US military encroachment into territory once part of the former Soviet Union, including Washington's plans to develop a missile defense shield in Europe. Putin's decree ordered the foreign ministry to immediately inform the other signatories of Russia's decision, triggering the automatic suspension of Russia's participation 150 days later. But the move “does not mean that we have closed the door on dialogue,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. (Posted @ 15:43 PST)
Hamas rejects Abbas's new government as illegal GAZA, July 14(Reuters): Hamas on Saturday rejected as unconstitutional a new government appointed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to replace a Hamas-led administration. A Hamas spokesman said the caretaker government was illegal. He said Hamas “will not deal with it in any way or form, and we call upon our people not to deal with it”. Hamas has called for a special session of the Palestinian parliament to be convened on Sunday to challenge Abbas's decisions. Hamas won a majority of the seats in parliament in a January 2006 election, but Israel has arrested about half of the group's 74 legislators and it can no longer assemble a majority. (Posted @ 15:22 PST)
Muralitharan takes 700th Test wicket KANDY, Sri Lanka, July 14 (AFP): Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan on Saturday became the second bowler after Australian Shane Warne to capture 700 Test wickets. The off-spinner reached the landmark when he had Bangladesh's last man Syed Rasel caught in the deep by Farveez Maharoof on the fourth day of the third and final cricket Test at the Asgiriya stadium here. The dismissal signalled Sri Lanka's victory by an innings and 193 runs to give the hosts a 3-0 sweep of the series. Muralitharan finished with six wickets in both innings to claim 10 wickets or more in a Test for the 20th time. Muralitharan, 35, is now just nine wickets away from surpassing the retired Warne's world record (Posted @ 13:00 PST)
Sri Lanka bomb LTTE camp COLOMBO, July 14(Reuters): Sri Lanka fighter jets bombed a Tamil Tiger camp in the island's northwest hours after a soldier was killed in a clash in the far north which left many rebel casualties, the military said on Saturday. “We bombed the LTTE camp in Mannar and it was very successful,” an air force spokesman told Reuters. The air raids came hours after the Tigers killed one soldier and injured 11 in the northern district of Vavuniya, which borders rebel territory. (First Posted @ 11:22 PST Updated @ 14:51 PST)
Eight killed in Afghan clashes KABUL, July 14(AFP): Two policemen and six insurgents were killed in a firefight in southern Afghanistan, police said onSaturday, after coalition forces earlier reported several Taliban deaths in a seperate clash. The police officers died on Friday when they were ambushed in the Arghandab district of the southern province of Kandahar, provincial police commander, Sayed Agha Saqeb told AFP. “Six Taliban were killed and their bodies were recovered in the area. (Posted @ 14:20 PST)
Taliban behead 7 Afghans in 10 days SPIN BOLDAK, July 14(Reuters):The Taliban have beheaded seven Afghan civilians accused of spying for foreign and Afghan government forces in the past 10 days, a senior Afghan intelligence official said on Saturday. “In the last 10 days the Taliban beheaded seven Afghan civilians without any proof,” said the intelligence official who declined to be named. He said the killings had taken place across the country, but mostly around Kandahar, Ghazni and other areas of the south. (Posted @ 13:50 PST)
US air strike kills six in Iraqi province BAGHDAD, July 14 (AFP) - A US air strike on Saturday in Diyala province killed six alleged militants who took shelter amid a group of women and children on the rooftop of a building, the military said. According to the military the terrorists on the roof-top brought several women and children to their fighting positions as human shields but later released them and allowed US-led forces to move them off the battlefield. However, they continued to rain down small arms fire from the rooftop, prompting the ground forces to call in an air strike. (Posted @ 13:10 PST)
Australian man arrested after suburban tank rampage MELBOURNE, July 14(Reuters): A man appeared in court in Sydney on Saturday after taking an armoured personnel carrier on a rampage through the city's suburbs in which he destroyed six mobile phone towers. The 45-year-old man had been arrested on his way to damaging a seventh tower. Australian radio reported the man did not apply for bail during the court appearance, and the case was adjourned until Monday. (Posted @ 12:33 PST)
UN nuclear inspectors arrive in North Korea BEIJING, July 14 (AFP) - UN inspectors arrived Saturday in Pyongyang to supervise the start of the denuclearisation of North Korea, in the IAEA first inspection mission in five years, Chinese state media reported. (First Posted @ 10:08 PST Updated @ 11:53 PST)
Iraq: eight of a family killed; 21 bodies found Baghdad, July 14 (Reuters) - A car bomb killed at least one person and reduced an apartment building to rubble in southern Baghdad, police said. In Another incident, eight men from the same extended family were shot dead in a pre-dawn attack in the town of Jbela, 65 km south of the capital. Meanwhile, 21 bodies were found dumped in different parts of Baghdad on Friday, police said. (Posted @ 11:38 PST)
Malaysian airforce helicopter missing KUALA LUMPUR, July 14(AFP): A Malaysian airforce helicopter with six crew members on board went missing during a routine flight from Kuala Lumpur to the central Pahang state, an official said Saturday. Major Zulkiflee Abdul Latiff, public relations officer with the Royal Malaysian Airforce said, “a massive air and ground search and rescue operation has been launched.” (Posted @ 11:36 PST)
Three Muslims shot dead in Thai south BANGKOK, July 14 (AFP) - Three young Muslims were shot dead Friday by insurgents in an ambush in Thailand's troubled Songkhla province, police said Saturday. (Posted @ 11:25 PST)
Typhoon Man-yi lashes southern Japan, injures dozens TOKYO, July 14 (Reuters) - A strong typhoon lashed southern Japan with high winds upto 216 km and heavy rain on Saturday, injuring at least 35 people. Kyodo news agency said 389 flights to and from Kyushu had been cancelled. After moving along the coast of Japan's southeastern island of Shikoku, the typhoon was expected to brush by Tokyo late Sunday and Monday. (Posted @ 10:14 PST)
First oil shipment under nuclear deal reaches NKorea SEOUL, July 14 (AFP) - A South Korean ship carrying the first fuel oil delivered under a nuclear disarmament deal reached North Korea on Saturday, a report said, ahead of the expected arrival of UN atomic inspectors. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
Taliban leader vows more attacks against West WASHINGTON, July 13, 2007 (AFP) – Mansour Dadullah, a Taliban commander, has warned Western nations in an interview shown on ABC News Friday that they can expect more attacks on their soil. “These Americans, Canadians, British and Germans come here to Afghanistan from faraway places,” Dadullah said on the video. “Why shouldn't we go after them?” (Posted @ 10:04 PST)
Australian police charge Indian doctor over British bomb plot SYDNEY, July 14 (AFP) - Australian police on Saturday charged an Indian doctor with supporting terrorism almost two weeks after arresting him over attempted car bombings in Britain. Mohammed Haneef, 27, was charged with providing “reckless” support to a terrorist organisation allegedly behind the three failed bombings in London and Glasgow last month, the Australian Federal Police said. (Posted @ 09:26 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 |