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| July 22, 2007 | Sunday | Rajab 06, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistan troops kill 19 militants, US backs Musharraf MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, July 22, (AFP) - Pakistani troops killed 19 militants in clashes near the Afghan border, officials said Sunday, a day after the US president fully backed Islamabad's efforts to combat extremism. Six rebels died in a gunbattle Sunday after they ambushed a troop convoy with a roadside bomb in the tribal agency of North Waziristan, where fighting continued with helicopter gunships, the army said. Troops also killed 13 pro-Taliban fighters in overnight clashes after the rebels attacked several military checkpoints in the region, where authorities were simultaneously trying to revive a 10-month-old peace deal. Fighting in the rugged border lands has intensified amid a wave of bloodshed that has killed more than 200 people nationwide, sparked by the army's storming of the Lal Masjid in Islamabad earlier this month. (Posted @ 16:26 PST)
Body, gun found in Pakistan's Lal Masjid ISLAMABAD, July 22, (AFP) - Pakistani authorities on Sunday discovered an unidentified body and an assault rifle at Islamabad's Lal Masjid, a week and a half after a deadly army assault on militants holed up inside. The body was found in the basement of the sprawling compound as government labourers carried out repairs following the bloody July 10-11 assault, which the army previously said killed 11 soldiers and 75 people inside the mosque. (Posted @ 21:24 PST)
Cricket: India 137-3 against England LONDON, July 22, (AFP) - India were 137 for three against England, needing a further 243 runs to reach their victory target of 380, at stumps on the fourth day of the first Test at Lord's here Sunday. Dinesh Karthik was 56 not out and Sourav Ganguly 36 not out. This was the first of a three-Test series. (Posted @ 23:55 PST)
Pakistan denies Osama bin Laden on its soil ISLAMABAD, July 22, (AFP) - Pakistan Sunday denied a US claim that Osama bin Laden is in the country's tribal areas, saying that if Washington knows the Al-Qaeda leader's whereabouts then it should inform Islamabad. US intelligence chief Mike McConnell told American television on Sunday that he believed bin Laden is alive and sheltering in parts of Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan. “Our stance is that Osama bin Laden is not present in Pakistan,” the country's Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao told AFP. “If anyone has the information he should give it to us, so that we can apprehend him.” (Posted @ 23:28 PST)
Harry Potter book breaks global record at Borders NEW YORK, July 22 (Reuters) - The final book about boy wizard Harry Potter broke a single-day record at Borders Group Inc. selling about 1.2 million copies worldwide. “This is the highest single-day sales of any title ever in Borders history,” the book store company said on Sunday in a release. Fans have lined up outside book stores around the globe for a copy of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”, the seventh and final volume of the series written by J.K. Rowling. (Posted @ 23:06 PST)
Pakistan slams US over Al-Qaeda reports WASHINGTON, July 22, (AFP) - Pakistan's government lashed out Sunday after US officials said Al-Qaeda was regrouping on Pakistani soil and refused to rule out unilateral strikes against the extremist group's bases. “Pakistan's commitment cannot be doubted by anybody, and that is why some of our people do not like what we read in some of your newspapers, which are more like leaks and calculated leaks,” Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri told CNN. Instead of intelligence estimates, the United States should give Islamabad “evidence, actionable intelligence” on the Al-Qaeda presence inside Pakistan, he said. “Let the United States provide us with actionable intelligence, and you will find that Pakistan will never be lacking,” Kasuri said, attacking US media criticism “despite all the sacrifices that Pakistan has been making”. A new report by the US intelligence community last week said that Al-Qaeda had regrouped in its Pakistani “safe haven” on the Afghan border, and was determined to inflict mass casualties through new attacks on the United States. (Posted @ 22:38 PST)
Speeding Philippine truck flips over, killing at least 10 MANILA, Philippines, July 22, (AP) - A speeding truck carrying more than 40 people hit a motorcycle and flipped on its side Sunday in a central Philippine city, killing at least 10 and injuring 33 others, police said. Most of the people riding in the back of the truck were youngsters who had hitched a ride home on the truck after registering in Calbayog city for youth council elections later this year, police said. (Posted @ 21:58 PST)
Bin Laden alive in Pakistan: US spy chief WASHINGTON, July 22, (AFP) - Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden is alive and sheltering in parts of Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan, US intelligence chief Mike McConnell said Sunday. McConnell blamed the Pakistani government of President Pervez Musharraf for allowing Al-Qaeda to regroup through a controversial peace pact last year with tribal leaders in the border areas. But Musharraf remains a key ally, he said. (Posted @ 21:34 PST)
Taliban extends deadline for SKorean hostages by 24 hours KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, July 22, (AFP) - The Taliban said Sunday it had extended by 24 hours the deadline for demands to be met for the release of South Korean hostages held in Afghanistan. The militants had earlier threatened to kill the 23 South Koreans if an equal number of rebel prisoners was not freed by 1430 GMT on Sunday, but they later entered into talks with the government. (Posted @ 20:52 PST)
Israel kills four Gaza militants GAZA, July 22, (REUTERS) - Israel killed four Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, two in a ground assault and two in an air strike against militants launching rockets at the Jewish state, Palestinian witnesses and medics said. The violence was the worst in coastal Gaza in 10 days, and came a day before Tony Blair makes his first visit to the region as envoy to the Quartet of Middle East power brokers. (Posted @ 20:24 PST)
Israel launches Gaza air strike: witnesses GAZA, July 22 (Reuters) - Israel launched an air strike in northern Gaza on Sunday and there appeared to be casualties, Palestinian witnesses said. The Israeli army had no immediate comment on the attack that came shortly after an Israeli woman was lightly injured by a rocket fired from Gaza that struck an Israeli school building. (Posted @ 20:08 PST)
Militants kill 2 Lebanese troops in camp fighting NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon, July 22, (REUTERS) - Two Lebanese soldiers were killed in pitched battles with al Qaeda-inspired militants at a Palestinian refugee camp on Sunday as Lebanon's worst fighting since the civil war entered its 10th week. Security sources said six more soldiers were wounded in the fighting with Fatah al-Islam militants at Nahr al-Bared camp. There was no immediate word on militant casualties. (Posted @ 19:38 PST)
Three kids killed in roof collapse KASUR, July 22 (APP) - Three children were killed while two others including their maternal grandmother injured when the roof of a house collapsed at Chunian, some 20 kilometers off here Sunday. According to police, the daughter of Barkat Ali Rehmani came to see his parents along with her children at Kumharan Wala, Chunian. Today morning, her children were playing on the rooftop of the house when it caved in due to rain. (Posted @ 19:12 PST)
Blast near Baghdad kills 5 Sunni leaders: police BAGHDAD, July 22, (REUTERS) - Five Sunni tribal leaders opposed to al Qaeda were killed and 12 other persons were wounded when a suicide bomber drove a minivan packed with about half a tonne of explosives into a house north of Baghdad on Sunday, police said. The Sunni tribal leaders were meeting in an area known as Jurf al-Milih near Taji, about 20 km north of the Iraqi capital, to discuss joining U.S. and Iraqi forces in fighting al Qaeda in their mainly Sunni Arab area. (Posted @ 18:52 PST)
16 die in truck accident in southeastern Uganda KAMPALA, Uganda, July 22 (APP/AP) - A truck filled with people overturned in southeastern Uganda, killing 16, a senior police officer said on Sunday. The driver was speeding when he lost control of his truck late Saturday at Buswabulongo village, about 60 kilometers northwest of the capital, Kampala, said Moses Otalla, police chief of Mityana district. Fourteen of the passengers died instantly in the crash and two others died as they were being rushed to the nearby Mityana Hospital, said Otalla. (Posted @ 18:22 PST)
Seven killed, 14 wounded in Layyah road crash ISLAMABAD, Jul 22 (APP) - Seven persons were killed and 14 others wounded Sunday in a traffic accident in district Layyah. The accident occurred at Mianwali-Muzaffargarh road near Chowk Azam when a wagon while overtaking a bullock cart collided with a passenger coach proceeding to Mianwali from Multan, a private TV channel reported. (Posted @ 17:48 PST)
At least 21 Polish pilgrims killed in coach crash GRENOBLE, France, July 22, (AFP) - At least 21 people were killed Sunday when a coach carrying Polish pilgrims skidded and fell into a mountain stream near Grenoble, in eastern France, emergency services said. Twelve people were critically injured and six were missing, they said. The coach, with 49 passengers and two drivers on board, was going down a steep and winding road between Gap and Grenoble in the French Alps when it had problems with its brakes at around 9.30 am (0700 GMT) near the town of Vizille, officials said. (Posted @ 17:24 PST)
8 dead, 24 injured after train slams into wedding party bus in southern Romania BUCHAREST, Romania, July 22 (APP/AP) - A train slammed into a bus carrying guests home from a wedding in southern Romania early Sunday, killing eight people and injuring two dozen. The accident happened at a crossing in the village of Gura Ocnitei some 80 kilometers north of Bucharest at 4:50 a.m. (0250 GMT). The train pushed the bus some 300 meters along the track, police said. (Posted @ 17:06 PST)
German's body found, fears for 23 Koreans held by Taliban KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, July 22, (AFP) - The body of one of two Germans kidnapped by the Taliban was found in Afghanistan, police said Sunday, sparking fresh fears for 23 South Koreans also threatened with death by the militants. The discovery came after the Taliban said it had killed both of the German captives. Kabul and Berlin however insisted that one of them was still alive and that they were trying to rescue him. Afghan and international troops meanwhile cordoned off areas where the South Koreans were being held after their capture on Thursday, one day after the Germans, the defence ministry said. (Posted @ 16:08 PST)
Olmert says Israel must leave many West Bank areas JERUSALEM, July 21 (Reuters) Israel will have to withdraw from "many areas" in the occupied West Bank, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in remarks broadcast on Saturday, part of a drive by Middle East power brokers to resume peace efforts. "Anyone living with some kind of dream detached from reality that we can keep all the (occupied) territories, isn't making a correct assessment," Olmert said at a collective farm. (Posted @ 13:30 PST)
Hamas says two gunmen killed by Israeli troops in northern Gaza GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip, July 22 (AP) Israeli troops operating in the northern Gaza Strip early Sunday shot and killed two Hamas gunmen, the militant group and the army said. (Posted @ 10:50 PST)
SKorea's cabinet holds crisis meeting over kidnapped workers SEOUL, July 22 (AFP) South Korea's cabinet and security chiefs held an emergency meeting Sunday as an apparent deadline loomed for the fate of 23 nationals kidnapped in Afghanistan by Islamic extremists. The meeting, details of which have not been released, came as a South Korean crisis team was due to arrive in Kabul to spearhead efforts to try to win the release of the nationals. The team, led by Vice Foreign Minister Cho Jung-Pyo, was expected to meet Afghan authorities in the capital later in the day, officials here have said. (Posted @ 10:45 PST)
Polls open in legislative elections in Turkey ANKARA, July 22 (AFP) Voters went to the polls across Turkey on Sunday for early legislative elections in which the ruling Islamist-rooted party is tipped to secure a second mandate in power, the CNN-Turk news channel reported. (Posted @ 10:40 PST)
China flood toll keeps rising BEIJING, July 22 (AFP) Another 68 people have died in floods in western and southwestern China as authorities warned that levees holding back the swollen Huaihe River in the heavily populated east are at risk of bursting. The latest reported deaths from heavy rains included 59 killed in recent days in the mountainous southwestern province of Yunnan, state-run Xinhua news agency said in a report late Saturday. Another eight people remain missing. And nine people have been confirmed killed by floods in far-western Xinjiang province, with two more missing, Xinhua said. (Posted @ 10:30 PST)
3 killed, 50 injured as Iraqis celebrate soccer win Baghdad , July 22 (Reuters): At least three people were killed and around 50 wounded in Baghdad when jubilant Iraqis, celebrating the national soccer team's passage into the semi-finals of the Asian Cup, fired weapons into the air causing thousands of bullets to come back down at speed across Baghdad. (Posted @ 10:20 PST)
Violence across Iraq: 17 bodies found BAGHDAD, July 22 (Reuters): U.S. forces killed six insurgents and wounded five overnight in a helicopter strike near Husseiniyah town, north of Baghdad, the military said. Iraqi police and residents said the strike killed 18 civilians and wounded 21. Authorities found 17 bodies across Baghdad throughout Saturday, police said. Most of the killings are believed to be part of sectarian violence. Four people were killed and 14 wounded in separate mortar attacks on various predominantly Shi'ite districts in Baghdad, police said. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
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