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| August 01, 2007 | Wednesday | Rajab 16, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistani forces rescue three kidnapped soldiers after fighting with militants, one hostage killed MIRAN SHAH, Pakistan, Aug 1 (AP) Security forces Wednesday raided a militant hide-out and fought a fierce gunbattle in Pakistan's northwestern town of Bannu to try to free seven soldiers taken prisoner a day earlier, officials said. One captive soldier was killed, three rescued, and the militants escaped with the remaining three. The seven soldiers were seized by suspected militants Tuesday in the North West Frontier Province as they rode in two vehicles. Dozens of troops launched the attack before dawn Wednesday, and rescued three of the captive soldiers after a ''fierce shootout,'' a local police official said. (Posted @ 12:00 PST)
Trade between India, Pakistan soars despite political disputes NEW DELHI, Aug 1 (AP) - India and Pakistan agreed Wednesday to boost two-way trade by more than five times to US$10 billion by 2010 as they defused a dispute over the export of a variety of basmati rice. They also agreed to open bank branches in the other's territory by the end of December after an absence of four decades as part of ongoing efforts to improve economic ties, Syed Asif Shah, Pakistan's commerce secretary, told reporters. India agreed to buy cement from Pakistan and sell more tea to its neighbour and expedite removing non-tariff barriers in select sectors such as textiles and cement, Shah said at the end of the fourth round of India-Pakistan talks on economic and commercial cooperation. India agreed to look into Pakistan's objection to New Delhi recently announcing that it had approved “Super Basmati rice” for exports. Pakistan developed “Super Basmati rice” in the 1960s and has been exporting it since the 1990s, Shah told reporters. He said Pakistan has no objection to India selling the same variety of rice under a different name. India has agreed to look into the matter, according to a joint statement issued at the end of the talks.(Posted @ 19:40 PST)
Talks with President Musharraf to establish democracy: Benazir Bhutto Dubai, Aug 01 (PPI) :- Rejecting the view that she has reached an understanding with President Pervez Musharraf for personal gains, PPP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto says talks with (President Musharraf) are aimed at facilitating a transition to democracy and level playing field for all political parties. “If I wanted to do a deal to safeguard my own interest I could have done it a long time ago. This is to facilitate a transition to democracy, a free and fair election and level playing field for all political parties,” she told Gulf News in a telephonic interview from London. However, the PPP leader refused to confirm or deny that she had met General Musharraf for secret talks in Abu Dhabi. “I am not confirming that meeting took place or that a deal has been struck. But I can confirm that we have been engaged in negotiations, that we have been talking to military regime for some time now”. She also said: “Of course I want to return to Pakistan. Of course I want politically motivated cases against me to be dropped”. “But if I wanted to do a deal with the military I could have done that a long time ago. I could have accepted the LFO (Legal Framework Order) I could have had all charges brought against me dropped as far back as 2000.”(Posted @ 18:40 PST)
70 killed, 100 injured in two bomb blasts in Baghdad Baghdad, Aug 1(Reuters) - At least 70 persons were killed and more than 100 injured in two suicide bomb blasts in Baghdad on Wednesday, police said. A suicide car bomb killed 20 people and wounded 40 near al-Hurriya Square in the Karrada district of central Baghdad. In the other incident, a suicide bomber killed 50 people and wounded 60 after luring motorists to a fuel truck near a petrol station in Baghdad's western Mansour district. Meanwhile, Iraqi soldiers killed 14 insurgents and arrested 89 during the last 24 hours, the Iraqi army said in a statement. Separately, gunmen killed Major-General Maher Nouri, a senior traffic police officer, in a drive-by shooting in central Baghdad. Meanwhile, the bodies of 19 people were found in different areas of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.(Posted @ 17:40 PST)
Pakistan cabinet approves bill to regulate human organs transplant ISLAMABAD, Aug 1 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Wednesday emphasized that the process of transplant of human organs had to be regulated to eliminate exploitation of the poor and helpless, as a cabinet meeting chaired by him approved a bill for the purpose. He said the government was keen to help all those unfortunate people who needed organ transplantation but would do so only under a transparent regulatory regime and not at the cost of poor donors.The new Building Code of Pakistan (Seismic Provisions 2007) was also approved by the cabinet. It will cover the whole of Pakistan. The prime minister told the cabinet that Pakistan will continue to cooperate with the international community to combat terrorism but will not allow anyone to violate its territorial integrity. “Terrorism and militancy in a section of the Tribal Areas of Pakistan is threatening the entire country and Pakistan was, therefore, fighting terrorism in its own national interest”. On the issue of Judiciary, he emphasized that both the President and he himself had always respected and supported the independence of the Judiciary and shall continue to do so in the interest of a democratic, stable and progressive Pakistan.(Posted @ 20:35 PST)
16 drown as passenger van falls in River Neelum MUZAFFARABAD, Azad Kashmir, Aug 1 (APP): At least 16 people were feared drowned and seven others suffered injuries when an overloaded Tau Butt-bound passenger van carrying 24 passengers skidded off a narrow section of the road and fell into River Neelum Wednesday. According to police, 16 persons were swept away by the strong current. So far nine bodies have been recovered by the Army and Police personnel who were making hectic efforts to fish out the remaining bodies.(Posted @ 20:00 PST)
Two killed, 19 injured in accident near Hyderabad HYDERABAD, Pakistan, Aug. 1 (APP):-Two persons were killed and 19 injured in a head on collision between a passenger coach coming from Karachi and a truck at Jamshoro Toll Plaza near Loonikot, Wednesday morning.(Posted @ 19:50 PST)
Obama says Pakistan must act against Taliban WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama said Wednesday the United States must be willing to strike al Qaeda targets in Pakistan with or without the approval of the Pakistani government. “If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will,” Obama said. In remarks prepared for delivery that if elected in November 2008, he would make hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. military aid to Pakistan conditional, Obama said:“I would make our conditions clear: Pakistan must make substantial progress in closing down the training camps, evicting foreign fighters, and preventing the Taliban from using Pakistan as a staging area for attacks in Afghanistan.”(Posted @ 19:30 PST)
Eleven dead in bomb attacks, shootings in Thai south YALA, Thailand, Aug 1 (AFP) - A series of bomb blasts rocked Thailand's Muslim-majority south Wednesday, killing one and wounding at least 19, while a string of shootings left 10 people dead, police said. Seven coordinated blasts occurred around 7:45 am Wednesday at locations around Narathiwat, one of three provinces hit by deadly separatist unrest.(Posted @ 18:55 PST)
Rice urges Mideast to seize chance for peace JERUSALEM, Aug 1 (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on Arabs and Israelis on Wednesday to seize the opportunity to resolve their intractable conflict, on the latest leg of a regional tour. “This is a time for opportunity, a time to seize opportunities,” Rice said in a press conference with her Israeli counterpart, Tzipi Livni, shortly after arriving from Saudi Arabia. Livni echoed the sentiment. “This is a crucial point in time,” she said. “There is a Palestinian government which meets the requirements of the international community ...Israel is not going to miss this opportunity.”(Posted @ 18:45 PST)
Pakistan Navy takes over command of multi-national task force BAHRAIN, Aug 1 (APP):Pakistan Navy on Wednesday took over the command of the Combined Task Force (CTF-150) of the navies of 20 nations, which maintains security and stability in the maritime environment and complements counter-terrorism efforts in littoral waters of the regional states. At a ceremony, Commodore Khan Hasham Bin Siddidue of Pakistan Navy formally took over the command of CTF-150 from the out going Commander Rear Admiral Alain Hinden of France. The major countries in the CTF-150 are US, Britain, France, Australia, Italy, Japan, Germany, Netherlands and Spain.(Posted @ 18:30 PST)
1 NATO soldier, 10 suspected Taliban killed in Afghanistan KABUL, Aug 1 (AP) - A gun battle with militants in eastern Afghanistan left a NATO soldier dead Wednesday, while a clash in the south killed 10 suspected Taliban militants, officials said. The clash in eastern Afghanistan also left another soldier wounded, the alliance said in a statement In Kandahar province, police fended off a Taliban attack at their checkpoint in Zhari district on Tuesday, leaving 10 suspected militants and one policeman dead, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Two militants were also wounded in the clash, the statement said.(Posted @ 18:15 PST)
Six killed in Sri Lanka gunbattle COLOMBO, Aug 1 (AP) - Sri Lankan soldiers killed three Tamil Tiger rebels fleeing the island's northeast early Wednesday, a day after a bomb blast blamed on rebels killed three soldiers in the north, the military said.(Posted @ 18:10 PST)
Hostage rescue bid begins in Afghanistan GHAZNI, Aug 1 (Reuters) - A military operation to rescue the remaining 21 Korean hostages held by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan began on Wednesday, hours after a Taliban deadline expired, said Khowja Seddiqi, chief of Ghazni's Qarabagh district. He did not give more details or say which forces were involved. The kidnappers have split the 18 women and three men into small groups and are holding them in different locations across the mainly flat terrain, he said. “The national army has dropped leaflets from helicopters telling people in several districts to evacuate their houses because it wants to launch an operation,” he added.(Posted @ 17:40 PST)
Two killed, three injured in latest Israeli incursion in Gaza GAZA CITY, Aug 1 (AFP) - Israeli troops killed two Palestinians on Wednesday in the Gaza Strip during their latest incursion in the territory controlled by Hamas, officials said.Gunfire exchanges erupted after more than a dozen Israeli armoured vehicles and two bulldozers penetrated about 500 metres into the coastal strip near the northern town of Beit Lahiya, witnesses and medics said.(Posted @ 17:30 PST)
Ten dead as Indian army battles militants in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Aug 1 (AFP) - Ten people, including a colonel, were killed in a clash between troops and militants near Uri sector on Tuesday, the army said Wednesday. “We have shot dead eight militants in (northern) Uri sector during an operation that started Tuesday and is still continuing (Wednesday),” an army spokesman said. The army officer killed in the clash was Colonel Vasant Venugopal, who commanded a light infantry unit, and was the highest ranking officer to have been killed in occupied Kashmir this year. Separately Indian troops Wednesday shot dead three militants, including a commander who had been active in the region for the past decade, a police spokesman said.(Posted @ 17:15 PST)
69 trapped miners in China rescued after three-day ordeal BEIJING, Aug 1 (AFP) - Sixty-nine men trapped in a flooded Chinese coal mine for more than three days were pulled out alive on Wednesday, authorities said, ending a terrifying ordeal in which they survived on milk and pumped-in oxygen. Dramatic footage broadcast on state-run television showed the filthy miners stumbling as they emerged from the mine in central China's Henan province wearing blindfolds to give their eyes time to adjust to daylight again. There were 102 workers underground when the pit flooded. Thirty-three miners escaped immediately but the other 69 were trapped in a section of 600 metres of tunnels that were submerged.(Posted @ 17:0 PST)
Saudi to send mission to Baghdad, rebuffs US criticism JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Aug 1 (AFP) Saudi Arabia said Wednesday it will send a diplomatic mission to Baghdad to explore reopening its embassy but rejected as “astounding” US criticism it was not doing enough to help stabilise Iraq. Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal charged at a press conference with the visiting US secretaries of state and defence that Iraq was not doing enough to control its borders and prevent militants from moving into Saudi territory. Saud was asked about recent criticism by the US ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, who said Saudi Arabia was undermining stability in Iraq by withholding support for the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. (Posted @ 15:10 PST)
Iraq's main Sunni bloc resigns from government BAGHDAD, Aug 1 (AFP) All six ministers from Iraq's largest Sunni bloc tendered their resignation from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's coalition government Wednesday following a month-long row. “The Front announces its withdrawal from the government of Nuri al-Maliki and the deputy prime minister and the ministers will submit their resignation today,” MP Rafea Issawi said at a Baghdad press conference. Tareq al-Hashemi will remain vice-president, Issawi said, and the bloc's 44 parliamentarians will continue to attend the National Assembly when it returns from recess in September. (Posted @ 14:40 PST)
Bomb kills three U.S. soldiers in Baghdad BAGHDAD, Aug 1 (Reuters) Three U.S. soldiers were killed and six wounded Tuesday when a roadside bomb detonated near their patrol in Baghdad, the U.S. military said Wednesday. (Posted @ 14:05 PST)
Crowded boat sinks in flooded river in India, killing 28 LUCKNOW, India, Aug 1 (AP) An overcrowded boat evacuating people from a flooded village capsized in a north Indian river Wednesday, killing at least 28 people, a government official said. Rescuers were looking for another seven people missing in the accident near Maharajgang, a village 300 kilometers southeast of Lucknow, a state government official said. ''Forty-five people swam to safety, while 28 bodies have been fished out,'' the official said. (Posted @ 14:00 PST)
US says quick Iraq pullout 'very harmful' MANILA, Aug 1 (AFP) US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte Wednesday said a quick withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq would be “very harmful.” Speaking on the sidelines of an Asian security meeting in Manila, he was asked about this week's call by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for a troop pullout to help Iraq's return to “normalcy.” ”I think our military presence plays a very supportive and a stabilising role in Iraq,” Negroponte told GMA7 television. “And I think a sudden withdrawal of our forces from Iraq could have very, very harmful circumstances,” he said. Foreign ministers from the 10-country bloc called in their statement for a “phased and calibrated withdrawal.” (Posted @ 10:45 PST)
UN approves up to 26,000 troops, police for Darfur UNITED NATIONS, Aug 1 (Reuters) The U.N. Security Council authorized Tuesday up to 26,000 troops and police for Darfur and approved the use of force to protect civilians in Sudan's arid western region. The combined “hybrid” U.N.-African Union operation aims to quell violence in the region. The resolution invokes Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, under which the United Nations can authorize force. The measure allows the use of force for self-defence, to ensure the free movement of humanitarian workers and to protect civilians under attack, but acknowledges Sudan's sovereignty. (Posted @ 10:30 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 49.84 points: KARACHI, Aug 01: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 13689.03, down 49.84 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Aug 01: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 61.02 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
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