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| July 18, 2007 | Wednesday | Rajab 02, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Transformer explosion rocks midtown Manhattan NEW YORK, July 18 (Reuters) An transformer exploded in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, creating a huge plume of smoke and sending pedestrians fleeing from the scene, but police said the blast did not look suspicious. “It doesn't look suspicious at this time,” a police spokesman told Reuters. A witness reported that a building had collapsed, but New York City police said the building had not fallen, but was “shaky.” “There is debris falling, get back,” a fireman told onlookers. People were being kept a block away. “There was a thundering noise like a hundred freight trains going by and a plume of what looks like steam as high as 10 stories,” said former Reuters correspondent Irwin Arieff. The explosion took place near 42nd Street on the east side of midtown Manhattan during the evening rush hour. Subway trains were diverted away from Grand Central station. (First Posted @ 03:22 PST; Updated @ 03:40 PST)
34 dead in Pakistan militant battles MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, July 18 (AFP) - Pakistani soldiers Wednesday fought fierce gunbattles with militants after two separate ambushes in the North Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border, leaving 17 troops dead and at least the same number of rebels, the army said. In the first attack, insurgents fired rockets at a military convoy and then opened fire with automatic weapons near the village of Lwara Mundi, chief military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said. “Seventeen soldiers were martyred and more than a dozen miscreants were also killed when troops returned fire,” he said. “Initial reports say that the fighting was heavy,” a senior security official based in the area said. The mountainous area where the ambush took place is near where Pakistani forces earlier this year erected the first 35-kilometre fence along the border with Afghanistan. About six hours later another clash erupted after militants attacked troops in Mir Ali, about 50 kilometres away in the same region. Five rebels were killed and there were no military casualties, General Arshad said. In another violence overnight a roadside bomb blast in North Waziristan injured six civilians and a soldier. The civilians were in a car which fell into a ditch by the impact of the bomb blast. Separately a landmine exploded overnight outside the home of politician Mohammad Ajmal Khan, who served as federal sports minister in the 1990s, in Miranshah, the main town in the tribal area. The blast destroyed his front gate but caused no casualties, officials said.(Posted @ 18:45 PST)
Chief Justice, judges accountable: Justice Ramday ISLAMABAD, July 18 (APP) - Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday, head of a 13-member bench hearing the petition of chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry,observed Wednesday that there was no dispute over accountability of superior courts' judges and chief justices. He made the observation during the presentation of arguments by Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada, counsel of the Referring Authority, who spoke about qualities of a “Qazi” in Islam. Sharifuddin Pirzada said according to Islamic injunctions a Qazi should be pious, honest, trustworthy and of strong moral character. He argued that even in small matters, a Qazi is required to abide by this code. He said all these qualities have to be kept in mind while appointing judges. “It should be,” Pirzada replied, when Justice Ramday asked him whether this criteria of honesty and piety was being followed in appointment of judges. Justice Ramday observed that in Islam everyone including Qazi and rulers are accountable and “we should all follow Islamic teachings in letter and spirit.” He pointed out that Islamic tenets were followed during the golden period of Islam.Referring to a judgement of former chief justice of the country, Justice Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui in Haji Mohammad Nawaz Khokar case, Sharifuddin Pirzada said accountability should be equal and for all according to that verdict. Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi said Qazi and everyone else is accountable and Justice Ramday added that there is greater punish for an erring Qazi because he is supposed to be a symbol of justice. Pirzada recalled that in 1954 a constitutional commission had proposed that in case a chief justice is held to account the senior most judge after him should become acting chief justice, but this draft proposal was not incorporated into the 1956 constitution. He said according to the 1956 constitution the parliament was to decide the fate of a judge facing charges, but the relevant article was changed in 1962 constitution and the mechanism of a supreme judicial council was introduced for accountability of judges by judges.About appointment of acting chief justice by the President on March 9, Pirzada said it was legal and constitutional and pointed out that judges of the Supreme Court sat in the benches constituted by the acting chief justice. He said the present full court was also constituted by the acting chief justice appointed by the President and its constitutional validity was not in question.Pirzada also said that chief justice is also a judge and article 209 of the constitution is applicable.Justice Faqir Mohammad Khokhar observed that in judicial history of Pakistan there is no distinction between chief justice and judges of the Supreme Court regarding accountability.He said there were three modes in the world regarding accountability of judges -- parliament, peers or special tribunal. Referring to PO 27, Pirzada maintained that the sending of chief justice on forced leaver under this order was valid and legal. He also said that the Supreme Judicial Council had powers to issue an order restraining the chief justice from performing his functions.Ch. Aitzaz Ahsan, counsel of the chief justice, will use his right of reply on Thursday. The bench is expected to announce a short order on Thursday or Friday.(Posted @ 19:20 PST)
Pakistan in 'direct confrontation' with militants: Pervez Musharraf ISLAMABAD, July 18 (AFP) President Pervez Musharraf said Wednesday that Pakistan was in “direct confrontation” with militant forces and vowed to attack those responsible for a wave of suicide blasts in the past week. “We are in direct confrontation with extremist forces. It is moderates versus extremists,” a top government official who attended a meeting between President Musharraf and local media quoted the president as saying. “We have to attack the source where suicide bombers are sprouting. We have a fair idea of who is behind that... we must attack those who sponsor them,” Musharraf said. (Posted @ 14:50 PST)
Musharraf urges moderate political forces unite against extremists Rawalpindi, July 18 (PPI):- President General Pervez Musharraf talking to a group of editors Wednesday said it was imperative for future of Pakistan that moderate political forces get together to meet challenge of extremism, specially in post election scenario. He described extremism neither a pro-religion nor an anti-religion issue. “I am pro-religion, but do not support misinterpretation of Islam or an extremist interpretation of Islam.” He reiterated that general elections would be held on time in the country. “I have no doubt in my mind in this regard. A caretaker government will be announced before general elections according to the Constitution.” He underlined the need for comprehensive measures to contain Talibanisation in FATA and some settled areas of NWFP. He said NWFP government was fully on board and beefing up of security forces was being carried out in consultation with its Chief Minister. The President said that he was willing to hold an All Parties Conference to evolve a common strategy for ridding the country of malaise of extremism and terrorism.(Posted @ 18:30 PST)
President Musharraf says no state of emergency ISLAMABAD, July 18 (AFP) President Pervez Musharraf said Wednesday that he would not impose a state of emergency despite a spate of militant attacks, and pledged the violence would not derail planned elections. “There will be no emergency. Elections will be held on time,” a top government official who attended a meeting between Musharraf and local media quoted the president as saying. (Posted @ 15:05 PST)
Brazilian airliner crashes into building, killing 200 SAO PAULO, July 18 (AFP) A Brazilian passenger plane skidded off a runway in driving rain and crashed into a building bursting into flames and killing 200 people on board and on the ground, a fire service chief told local media. Tam Arlines, Brazil's largest, said the Airbus 320 was carrying 170 passengers and a crew of six when it crashed into the airline's own offices across from the airport, which is located inside Sao Paulo city limits. Tam's flight JJ3054 from Porto Alegre, to the south, skidded off the runway, which was wet from rain, crossed a road and slammed into a Tam Express office across from the airport that handles packages and equipment, the airline said. (Posted @ 08:30 PST)
Twelve killed in attacks across Iraq BAGHDAD, July 18 (AFP) - At least 12 people were killed in Iraq on Wednesday, including four in a double roadside bombing near a fuel station in Baghdad, medics and security officials said. Two bombs went off near fuel station near Baghdad’s Al-Amin neighbourhood.Seven people were wounded. “We have received bodies of four men killed in the attack and the seven wounded are also being treated here,” a medic said. Later in the day, an Iraqi police officer was killed when gunmen opened fire on his patrol in central Baghdad, police said. In Sukh al-Shukh town , near Nasiriyah, a child and a policeman were killed when a mortar shell hit a house in the centre of the town. In Nasiriyah itself, seven policemen were wounded when a roadside bomb struck a passing patrol. In Kut, gunmen shot dead a civilian on Wednesday in the Al-Jamahir neighbourhood. Another civilian was gunned down by armed men in a village south of Kut, and in the city of Amara a former member of the Baath party was shot dead by unknown gunmen, police said. Gunmen assassinated a tribal Sheikh south of Kirkuk while a civilian was gunned down in the eastern part of the city. Meanwhile, US military reported the deaths of three soldiers killed by roadside bombs in Baghdad on Tuesday, taking the military's losses since the start of the war to 3,621, according to an AFP count based on Pentagon figures.(Posted @ 20:40 PST)
Afghanistan attacks kill 15 amid call for NATO boost KABUL, July 18 (AFP) - Taliban suicide bombings and attacks left more than 15 people dead in Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday as Britain urged its NATO allies to commit more troops to avoid the country failing. One of the suicide blasts targeted Turkish NATO soldiers in Kabul, wounding a member of the Turkish special forces and an Afghan civilian, Afghan officials and the foreign ministry in Ankara said. The bomber “apparently tried to enter an armoured vehicle in the Turkish convoy, but failed since the doors were locked and blew himself up next to the vehicle.” Another suicide bomber, wearing a police uniform, blew himself up at a provincial police headquarters in Khost city, killing three policemen and a civilian and wounding eight others, police said. Separately, a police convoy on Kandahar-Kabul road was hit by gunfire and rocket propelled grenades from insurgents in Zabul province, killing six police. Another policeman was killed overnight in a clash in Nuristan province, governor Tamim Nuristani said, denying Taliban claims that the rebels had captured the two districts. Taliban rebels also attacked a private road construction company Wednesday in southeastern Paktia province, killing an Afghan and a Philippines national and wounding four others, police said. Also gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead an Afghan working for a local NGO and his driver were gunned down on Wednesday morning in Logar province, officials said. In a separate incident four militants were killed, several wounded and two captured following a gun-battle in the southern province of Kandahar, police said.(Posted @ 20:30c PST)
Pakistan rejects 'unsubstantiated' US Al-Qaeda report ISLAMABAD, July 18 (AFP) - Pakistan on Wednesday said a US intelligence report alleging that Osama Bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network has regrouped in the country's northwest is unsubstantiated. Foreign office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said the report contained “some unsubstantiated assertions” and asked for evidence to back up Washington's claims. “We would firmly act to eliminate any Al-Qaeda hideout on the basis of specific intelligence or information,” she said in a statement. “It does not help simply to make assertions about the presence or regeneration of Al-Qaeda in bordering areas of Pakistan. What is needed is concrete and actionable information and intelligence sharing,” she added. Aslam said Pakistan had done more than any other country to combat extremism and “is determined not to allow Al-Qaeda or any other terrorist entity to establish a safe haven on its territory.” She rejected criticism over a peace deal the government signed with tribal militants in Waziristan and also ruled out the involvement of foreign troops in the fight against terrorism. “Our position is very clear that any counter-terrorism action inside our territory will be taken by our own security forces. This is the basis of our cooperation,” she said.(Posted @ 19:30 PST)
Federal Cabinet approves Trade Policy 2007-08 ISLAMABAD, July 18 (APP): The federal cabinet on Wednesday approved the Trade Policy 2007-08, raising the export target to US$ 19.2 billion from US$ 18.7 billion last year.Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz addressing the cabinet said the government is encouraging trade diplomacy to ensure free market access for country's products in the international market. He said Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed with China is a landmark. The government, he added, is pursuing FTAs with other countries also. “Trade, not aid, is the hallmark of our trade policy since it ensures creation of permanent jobs for our people,” the Prime Minister said. He said Pakistan seeks level playing field for its exports and expressed the hope that Doha Round of talks would be completed successfully. In his remarks on law and order, the Prime Minister said the nation is fully determined to face the challenges of extremism and militancy. He emphasized that “madaris” are playing a useful role in imparting religious education and the government supports such madaris.(Posted @ 19:15 PST)
Violent thunderstorms kill dozens in China BEIJING, July 18 (AFP) - At least 32 people died as thunderstorms of unprecedented intensity rocked southwestern China, smashing rainfall records and paralysing transportation, state media reported Wednesday. Lightning struck more than 40,000 times in the Chinese metropolis of Chongqing during a frightening 16-hour downpour on Tuesday, the Beijing News reported. The storms dropped 226.6 millimetres of rain on the city centre, the largest 24-hour total since records were first kept in 1892, smashing the old record of 206.1 millimetres.So far more than 19,600 homes have been destroyed, said Xinhua. “A storm of this intensity is unprecedented for Chongqing,” the Beijing News quoted local meteorologists as saying, a year after the region was plagued by a rare drought. The storms stranded 5,000 passengers at the city's airport, as at least 240 flights were affected, Xinhua said.(Posted @ 18:50 PST)
UN launches US$ 38 million Flash Appeal to assist flood-hit people in Pakistan Geneva, July 18 (PPI): The United Nations launched a USD 38 million Flash Appeal Wednesday in Geneva to assist hundreds of thousands of people struggling to survive widespread flooding in the aftermath of cyclone Yemyin, which ravaged Pakistan’s Balochistan and Sindh provinces in late June. An estimated 2.5 million people have been affected by the flooding which followed four days of drenching cyclonic rains leaving 296 people dead, 195 missing and over 377,000 people displaced. John Holmes, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, speaking at the launch of the appeal in Geneva, “ urged the world to respond urgently and generously to this appeal. If we don't act quickly their plight is likely to deteriorate further.” The projects identified in the appeal will provide urgent assistance over the next three months, focusing on shelter, water and sanitation, health, food security and early recovery activities.(Posted @ 18:10 PST)
Lawyers boycott courts to protest Islamabad bombing LAHORE, July 18 (APP): Lawyers throughout Pakistan boycotted courts on Wednesday to protest the suicide bombing at Islamabad Tuesday night. They also staged protest sit-ins, held meetings and adopted resolution to condemn the attack which occured at the scheduled time of the lawyers meeting which was to be addressed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Pakistan Bar Council, Supreme Court Bar Association, bar council s and bar associations had announced a two-day mourning for those killed in the suicide bombing.(Posted @ 17:40 PST)
4 men sentenced in Britain over blasphemous cartoon protest LONDON, July 18 (AP) - Four men in Britain were sentenced to prison Tuesday for their role in a fiery protest against the publication of blasphemous cartoons. Mizanur Rahman, 24, Umran Javed, 27, and Abdul Muhid 25, were convicted of incitement to murder and sentenced to six years each. During a February 2006 protest in front of the Danish Embassy in London, they had called for the deaths of those responsible for the publication of the cartoons, prosecutors said. A fourth defendant, Abdul Saleem, 32, was sentenced to four years in prison for inciting racial hatred.(Posted @ 17:30 PST)
Pakistan steps up security ISLAMABAD, July 18 (Reuters) Police in the Pakistani capital further tightened security on Wednesday after Tuesday evening’s suicide attack near the venue where the country's suspended chief justice was due to address a lawyers convention. Police have set up checkpoints on all main roads into the city and roads inside the city. They also mounted extra patrols. Security in other parts of the country including the major cities like Karachi and Lahore has been similarly stepped up, officials said.(Posted @ 17:20 PST)
Three Turkish soldiers killed in rebel mine blast DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, July 18 (Reuters) - Three Turkish soldiers were killed and five were injured on Wednesday when a mine, planted on a road by Kurdish rebels, exploded in Cukurca district of Hakkari province near the border with Iraq, security officials said.(Posted @ 17:10 PST)
Boats, helicopters help Pakistanis stuck in flood KARACHI, July 18 (Reuters) - Pakistani rescue workers are using boats to reach to hundreds of people still stranded in the country's south after severe flooding, while army helicopters are trying to evacuate them, officials said Wednesday. More than 2.2 million people have been affected in 6,400 villages in Sindh and Baluchistan provinces. Thousands of homes have been destroyed, while at least 280 people have been killed in the two provinces.“In some areas, people are still stranded, and we are sending them food with boats,” said Syed Anwar Haider, relief commissioner for Sindh province. According to the Pakistan army, more than 5,000 people were still stranded on roads and embankments in the province, and helicopters were trying to evacuate them. The situation in neighbouring Baluchistan province is improving, with most road links now restored. “We're done with rescue and relief and have now moved to rehabilitation,” said Baluchistan relief commissioner Khuda Baksh Baloch. The government was setting up hundreds of camps to provide shelter, while also arranging food supplies, he said.(Posted @ 17:10 PST)
Indian soldiers kill top militant in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR,occupied Kashmir, July 18 (AFP) - Indian soldiers in revolt-hit occupied Kashmir have shot dead a top militant believed to have been coordinating attacks across the country, police said Wednesday. “Soldiers have shot dead Abu Umar, the all-India coordinator of Lashkar-e-Toiba militant group,” a police spokesman said adding that he was shot dead in a “brief” gunbattle late Tuesday. A Muslim woman was also killed during the gunbattle.(Posted @ 16:25 PST)
Bomb kills four policemen in south Russia MAKHACHKALA, Russia, July 18 (Reuters) A bomb killed four policemen in the southern Russian province of Dagestan Wednesday during their morning exercises in a school yard, a police spokesman said. The bomb exploded at 0440 GMT in the town of Kizilyurt, about 50 kilometres from the capital Makhachkala, the police spokesman said. (Posted @ 12:25 PST)
North Korean nuclear talks begin: South Korean official BEIJING, July 18 (AFP) Six-nation talks aimed at eliminating North Korea's nuclear programme began here Wednesday, a South Korean official said, with envoys seeking to implement the next stages of a disarmament accord. The envoys - from China, the two Koreas, the United States, Russia and Japan - held a series of bilateral meetings Wednesday morning, before the official group discussions began around 2:30 pm, he said. The talks, which are scheduled to last for two days, began shortly after the UN atomic watchdog confirmed that North Korea had shut down all the facilities at its main nuclear reactor site. (Posted @ 12:05 PST)
One dead in attack on pilgrims in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, July 18 (AFP) One person died and 15 were injured in an attack by suspected militants on pilgrims trekking to a revered cave shrine in occupied Kashmir, an official said Wednesday. The grenade attack occurred Tuesday evening near the entrance to a mountain camp, the official said. Most of those injured in the blast in Baltal, around 80 kilometres northeast of Srinagar, were local shopkeepers, labourers and vendors. (Posted @ 11:35 PST)
Democrats make all-night push for change in Iraq WASHINGTON, July 18 (Reuters) The U.S. Senate continued debating the Iraq war in a rare session that was expected to run into Wednesday, when a showdown vote was set on a Democratic plan to withdraw combat troops by April 2008. Bracing for an around-the-clock session that began Tuesday morning, Senate leaders arranged for portable beds and food deliveries to sustain senators. Republican leaders, using a procedural hurdle, seemed certain to stop a Democratic proposal backed by a majority of the Senate to withdraw U.S. combat troops by April 30, 2008. (Posted @ 09:25 PST)
Congo truck accident kills 18 BRAZZAVILLE, July 18 (Reuters) A truck driver in Congo Republic overturned his packed vehicle at high speed Tuesday, killing 18 passengers before fleeing the scene, police said. Police quoted one survivor as saying the driver was drunk and lost control of the truck on a patch of sand on the road at Louvoulou, near the central African state's main oil exporting port of Pointe Noire. (Posted @ 09:10 PST)
Colombian plane skids into the sea; nine injured BOGOTA, July 18 (AFP) Nine people were injured Tuesday when a Colombian plane with 54 people on board skidded off the runway on landing and ended up nose-first in the sea in the Caribbean coastal city of Santa Marta, 950 kilometres north of Bogota, civil aviation authorities said. The Aerorepublica airliner broke through the fence at the end of the runway at Simon Bolivar airport after landing in driving rain, Civil Aviation said in a statement. The plane, an Embraer 190 with a crew of five, took off earlier from Cali, 500 kilometres southeast of Bogota. (Posted @ 08:40 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 394.10 points: KARACHI, July 18: At the close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 13659.84, down 394.10 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:15 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, July 18: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.97 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:15 PST)
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