|
| August 09, 2007 | Thursday | Rajab 24, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Bush urges Pakistan to hold free, fair elections WASHINGTON, Aug 9(Reuters): U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday urged Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to hold free and fair elections. “My focus in terms of the domestic scene there is that he have a free and fair election, and that's what we've been talking to him about and hopeful they will,” Bush said at a White House news conference. (Posted @ 20:02 PST)
Musharraf decides against emergency ISLAMABAD, Aug 9(AFP): Embattled President Pervez Musharraf decided on Thursday not to impose a state of emergency in Pakistan, ignoring the advice of aides who wanted strong action to prevent more instability in the troubled nation. Facing the greatest challenge to his leadership since he seized power in a 1999 coup, heopted against the move, which would have postponed elections, Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani told AFP. “President Musharraf has decided not to impose the state of emergency in the country as suggested by some political parties and others,” Durrani said. “The decision was taken because the priority of the president and present government is to have free, fair and impartial elections in line with the constitutional requirements,” he said. (Posted @ 17:38 PST)
Afghanistan, Pakistan must work together: Karzai KABUL, Aug 9 (AFP): Afghan President Hamid Karzai told hundreds of Afghan and Pakistani tribal leaders on Thursday that both nations could defeat Al-Qaeda and Taliban if they worked together. Karzai's remarks came as he opened three days of talks on rising extremism. He was joined by Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, in calls for unity at the peace jirga, but both leaders also repeated often-traded accusations on the roots of the unrest. President Pervez Musharraf announced he would not attend the meeting the day before and sent the prime minister. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said, it should not be forgotten that “first and foremost the Taliban are Afghans. And Afghanistan cannot blame others for the lack of reconciliation among its people, he said. He strongly condemned Al-Qaeda, which he said had to be dealt with firmly and mainly through military means. (First Posted @ 14:30 PST Updated @ 18:54 PST)
Any US action inside Pakistani territory unacceptable: Kasuri ISLAMABAD, Aug 9 (APP) Pakistan Thursday categorically stated that it will not accept any US action inside its territory and make every effort to maintain nuclear parity in South Asia. Winding up a four-day debate on Foreign Policy in the National Assembly, Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri refuted that there were any safe havens for terrorists in Pakistan saying they were on the run and in hiding. “Any US action inside Pakistani territory is unacceptable,” he said.Kasuri said that any counter-terrorism measure inside Pakistani territory will be carried out by Pakistani troops who were capable of dealing with any untoward situation. Commenting on US-India nuclear deal, the Foreign Minister reiterated Pakistan's position of a criteria-based approach. He said the deal would have implications on a strategic balance in the region as it would enable India to produce significant quantity of fissile material from unsafe-guarded nuclear reactors. “It would not be helpful to the shared objectives of stability in south Asia and global non-proliferation regime,” he said. “Pakistan will not accept any discriminatory treatment by nuclear suppliers group member states to take account of Pakistan's growing energy needs”, he said. “We will take every step to maintain nuclear parity in the south Asia through our indigenous human and material infrastructure.(Posted @ 1540 PST)
UN Security Council delays vote on Iraq by 24 hours UNITED NATIONS, Aug 9(AFP): The UN Security Council delayed on Thursday its vote on a resolution to expand the United Nations role in Iraq by 24 hours to give the Iraqi government time to review it, diplomats said. The United States and Britain, the draft's co-sponsors, wanted to make sure that recent minor changes to the text were backed by the Iraqi government. But Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was on an official trip in Iran, forcing a delay of the vote until Friday, the US ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters. The resolution would extend the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (Unami), which expires on Friday, by one year. (First Posted @ 19:54 PST Updated @ 20:12 PST)
14 Guantanamo detainees formally declared 'enemy combatants' WASHINGTON, Aug 9(AFP): Fourteen top terrorist suspects, including the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks, have been officially designated “enemy combatants” after reviews at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a Pentagon spokesman said on Thursday. Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England “has approved today the tribunal determination that the 14 detainees meet the criteria for designation as enemy combatants,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. (Posted @ 21:24 PST)
SKorea's nuclear institute mistakenly burnt uranium: report SEOUL, Aug 9(AFP): South Korea's nuclear research institute mistakenly incinerated two kilograms of uranium earlier this year, but there was no leak of harmful radiation, an institute official said on Thursday. The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute burned a box containing the natural, depleted and enriched uranium after mistakenly sorting it as ordinary industrial waste, the official said. “The uranium was such a small amount that it wasn't to the level that could cause harm to the human body or the environment in the course of the incineration,” the official, requesting anonymity, was quoted by Yonhap, South Korea's official news agency (Posted @ 20:54 PST)
Migrant boat capsizes off Sicily, one dies ROME, Aug 9(Reuters): One person drowned when a boat carrying 25 migrants from North Africa capsized in the seas off the island of Sicily, the Italian coastguard said on Thursday. The boat, which overturned 64kms off the Sicilian coast, was first spotted by a Russian cargo ship. The surviving 24 migrants were then picked up by a coastguard vessel. (Posted @ 20:26 PST)
Syria reveals army deaths from militant campaign DAMASCUS, Aug 9(Reuters): Syria is facing a violent campaign by Islamist militants and six border soldiers died after attacks from inside Iraq, a senior Syrian security official said on Thursday. This is the first time Syria has disclosed publicly details of the fight against militants, which intensified this year. “We are conducting operations against terrorist cells and we have taken martyrs,” Mohammad Mansoura, head of the Political Security branch of Syria's intelligence apparatus, told a closed door session of an international security conference on Iraq. (Posted @ 17:26 PST)
Gunmen strike after Yemen police kills Qaeda militants SANAA, Aug 9(AFP): A gang armed with rocket-propelled grenades and machineguns attacked Yemeni government targets and clashed with police in Marib region on Thursday, a day after security forces killed four wanted Al-Qaeda militants. In a series of pre-dawn raids, the gunmen struck police checkpoints, a government building and an electricity sub-station in the area which lies about 150kms east of the Yemeni capital Sanaa, witnesses told AFP. It is not yet known if anyone was killed or injured. (First Posted @ 15:40 PST Updated @ 19:08 PST)
Czech climber dies in Pakistan mountain accident PRAGUE, Aug 9(AFP): A mountain climber from the Czech Republic died during a climb on the Gasherbrum 1 in northern Pakistan, press reports said here on Thursday. “It happened a little before the summit. I don't know the details, but it wasn't an avalanche”, the brother of one of the other Czech group members, Miloslav Klimes, told the press. The 8,068-metre (26,469-feet) Gasherbrum 1, located on the borders of China, India and Pakistan, is the world's 11th highest summit. (Posted @ 18:38 PST)
Two beheaded, clinics attacked in south Thailand YALA, Thailand, Aug 9(AFP): Two Buddhist health workers were gunned down in a clinic in Thailand's restive south, while two others were beheaded in a grisly killing spree blamed on separatist rebels, police said on Thursday. Three other people were killed in shooting attacks around the Muslim-majority region bordering Malaysia, in violence this month, police said. The attacks came as authorities stepped up a crackdown on separatists in the region. (Posted @ 17:20 PST)
Two British soldiers killed, two injured in Iraq LONDON, Aug 9(AFP): Two soldiers have been killed while on patrol in southern Iraq, the defence ministry in London said on Thursday, taking the number of British fatalities there this week to four. The soldiers from the 1st Battalion The Irish Guards were killed and two others were seriously wounded by an improvised explosive device, which went off just after midnight local time, the ministry said in a statement. (Posted @ 17:12 PST)
Thousands evacuated as China braces for twin tropical storms BEIJING, Aug 9(AFP): Southern China late on Thursday braced for the arrival of two powerful tropical storms, with more than 250,000 people evacuated as a precaution. Tropical storm Pabuk was 90kms off the mainland in the South China Sea, packing winds of up to 18metres, the China Meteorological Administration said on its website. The storm would make landfall in southern Guangdong province, during the night or early Friday. A second tropical storm, named Wutip, formed over the Pacific Ocean, was forecast to hit southeast Fujian province on Friday afternoon, the agency said. “It would be more powerful than Pabuk,” Lin Xinbiao, deputy director of the Fujian Meteorology Observatory, told Xinhua. (Posted @ 17:08 PST)
Japan nuclear plant hit by arson wave TOKYO, Aug 9(AFP): A Japanese nuclear plant was hit on Thursday by the latest in a series of suspicious small-scale fires, the operator said, amid rising public concern about the country's nuclear industry. Six suspected arson incidents have been reported since July 3 at the Tomari nuclear power plant, on the southern tip of Japan's northern Hokkaido island. “We found the scorched remains of toilet paper today at an office for workers outside the main construction site,” where a new reactor is being built, Hokkaido Electric Power Co. spokesman Shinichi Ishide said. (Posted @ 17:02 PST)
Dinosaur mass grave discovered in Switzerland ZURICH, Aug 9(Reuters): An amateur paleontologist in Switzerland may have unearthed Europe's largest dinosaur mass grave after he dug up the remains of two Plateosaurus. The dinosaurs' bones came to light during house-building in the village of Frick, near the German border. “A hobby paleontologist looked at a construction site for a house and happened to discover the bones,” said Monica Ruembeli from the Frick dinosaur museum. The finds show that an area known for Plateosaurus finds for decades may be much larger than originally thought. (Posted @ 16:44 PST)
Vintage mortar kills 4, wounds 2 in Philippines MANILA, Aug 9(Reuters): A World War Two mortar shell found on a seashore exploded in a fishermen's village in the southern Philippines on Thursday, killing four men and wounding two, police said. Manuel Barcena, chief of police in Zamboanga City, said the explosion destroyed several houses on stilts in the Rio Hondo area of Zamboanga City. The 81mm mortar shell was found by a group of fishermen on the shore. “Four men were killed on the spot,” Barcena told reporters, adding two others were rushed to a nearby hospital.(Posted @ 16:30PST)
Muslim activists attack Bangladeshi author in India HYDERABAD, India, Aug 9(AFP): Activists of a Muslim party on Thursday attacked self-exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen at a book launch in southern India, police and witnesses said. Nasreen was on the stage at the press club in Hyderabad, when about 60 protesters from the Majlis-e-Ittehadul-Muslimeen forced their way in. The activists, led by three state legislators, broke up the function, police said. Television footage showed activists hitting Nasreen with a bunch of flowers, throwing a satchel at her and threatening to lob chairs. They also snatched copies of her translated book lying on a table and threw them at her, witnesses said. A visibly shaken Nasreen was shielded by several organisers and escaped when police arrived and bundled her into a car.(Posted @ 15:45PST)
Mild quake wakes up Los Angeles LOS ANGELES, Aug 9(AFP): A mild earthquake hit the thickly populated US metropolis of Los Angeles early on Thursday, waking up residents but causing no reported damage, monitors and officials said. The United States Geological Survey measured the quake at magnitude 4.5 on the Moment Magnitude scale. It struck at 00:58 am (0758 GMT) near Chatsworth, a town in the northwest of the vast sprawl around Los Angeles and was felt 100kms away.(Posted @ 15:35PST)
Supreme Court hears Nawaz Sharif’s exile appeal ISLAMABAD, Aug 9 (AFP) Pakistan's Supreme Court Thursday began deliberating an application by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to have his exile overturned and be permitted to return to the country. The application was heard by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. “It is Nawaz Sharif's unconditional and unequivocal right to return to the country, which cannot be either curtailed or denied,” his lawyer Fakharuddin Ibrahim told the court. Returning to Pakistan was a “fundamental right,” Ibrahim said, adding that Sharif's desire to come home was “linked with his concerns for the future of democracy in the country.” ”We are concerned with the future of parliamentary democracy in the country, which cannot be undone by a gentleman in uniform,” Ibrahim said.(Posted @ 15:05 PST)
Small earthquake hits Los Angeles area LOS ANGELES, Aug 9 (Reuters) A small earthquake hit the northern Los Angeles area just before 1 a.m. Thursday, waking residents across a broad swathe of the area, but there were no immediate reports of significant damage. The 4.5 magnitude quake, was only 5 km deep and was centred 4.1 miles north-northwest of the suburb of Chatsworth, about 32 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Residents reported pictures falling off the walls, and television sets wobbling on cabinets.(Posted @ 15:00 PST)
Two dead in British military chopper crash LONDON, Aug 9 (Reuters) Two people were killed and 10 injured, some seriously, after a military helicopter crashed in northern England, police said Thursday. The Royal Air Force (RAF) Puma helicopter was carrying three RAF crew and nine army personnel as passengers when it crashed in a wooded area west of the Catterick Garrison military base in North Yorkshire late Wednesday. “Two fatalities have been confirmed at the scene,” a North Yorkshire Police spokesman said. The cause of the crash was unknown and an investigation was underway, an MoD spokeswoman said. (FirstPosted @ 08:55 PST, Updated@ 14:50 PST)
Israeli army kills Palestinian near Gaza border GAZA, Aug 9 (Reuters) Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian in the Gaza Strip near its border with Israel, Palestinian medics and the Israeli army said Thursday.(Posted @ 14:30 PST)
Militants target Pakistani posts MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, Aug 9 (AFP) Militants attacked security posts and targeted an army convoy with a roadside bomb in Pakistan's tribal region near the Afghan border Thursday, officials said. An improvised bomb exploded on a road in North Waziristan minutes after an army convoy passed by, a security official said. No troops were injured in the blast, which happened on the road between Miranshah and nearby Mir Ali town, he said. The blast early Thursday followed an early morning rocket attack on a military base in Miranshah, which triggered retaliatory artillery fire by troops, another official said, adding there were no casualties. “Militants lobbed five rockets, they all missed the target,” the official said, adding that one landed near the helipad outside the army base but caused no damage. Three rockets were also fired at a nearby check soon after midnight Thursday, also without casualties. Residents said a military helicopter flew overhead but there was no bombing.(Posted @ 14:20 PST)
US presidential candidate Obama talks of Pakistan as 'constructive ally' OAKLAND, California, Aug 9 (AP) Democratic presidential contender Senator Barack Obama said it is critical for Pakistan to be a constructive ally in fighting al-Qaida, one week after threatening military action to hunt down terrorists if President Musharraf does not act. Obama and his spokesman offered measured criticism of the Bush administration's actions and policies on Pakistan. The candidate twice declined an opportunity to explain the difference between his proposals and the White House's, but expressed sympathy for President Musharraf. ''President Musharraf has a very difficult job, and it is important that we are a constructive ally with them in dealing with al-Qaida,'' Obama said Wednesday. Asked Wednesday whether there was any difference now between his position and the Bush administration, Obama twice sidestepped the question, once saying he did not know Bush's stance and then saying he did not speak for the White House. Obama repeated his insistence that, ''We can't send millions and millions of dollars to Pakistan for military aid, and be a constant ally to them, and yet not see more aggressive action in dealing with al-Qaida.'' Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said the senator's broader criticism is that Bush ''has not asked more of the Pakistanis.''(Posted @ 12:50 PST)
Democratic senator Durbin defends Pakistan's efforts against Al-Qaeda WASHINGTON, Aug 9 (AP) Following a meeting with Pakistan's leader, the Senate's second-highest ranking Democrat Dick Durbin Wednesday defended the country's efforts to battle Al-Qaeda along its border with Afghanistan. Speaking with reporters in a conference call from Iraq, Durbin said President Musharraf voiced concern over news reports that portray him as not doing enough to eradicate al-Qaida. ''It would be a mistake to conclude that they are not making the effort. I believe they have,'' Durbin said, citing the deaths of 600 Pakistani soldiers. ''I just believe they can be more effective in the way they're doing it.''(Posted @ 12:40 PST)
CIA spymaster identified WASHINGTON, Aug 9 (AFP) The CIA's top spymaster was publicly identified Wednesday for the first time as Jose Rodriguez, who was brought out of the shadows with an announcement that he is retiring. CIA director Michael Hayden praised Rodriguez for a three decade career “that took him to the top of his profession as director of the National Clandestine Service.” He said the Puerto Rico-born Rodriguez “guided some of the agency's greatest counter-terror victories.”(Posted @ 11:00 PST)
Death toll hits 2,000 from South Asia floods NEW DELHI, Aug 9 (AFP) The number of deaths triggered by monsoon flooding in India, Bangladesh and Nepal since June passed 2,000 Thursday, even as the torrents receded, officials said. India's home ministry disaster management division reported 1,521 deaths up to Wednesday afternoon alone. In Bangladesh, the toll rose to 346 after at least 18 more deaths were reported Thursday, a spokesman for the Food and Disaster Management Ministry saidKathmandu has reported 95 dead since the monsoon started in June and 330,000 people were displaced. In Bihar's capital Patna, officials said Thursday that 28 more people had died, while neighbouring Uttar Pradesh reported four more deaths overnight.(Posted @ 10:40 PST)
NASA Endeavour lifts off, sending first teacher into space CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida, Aug 9 (AFP) NASA's space shuttle Endeavour blasted off Wednesday sending the first teacher, Barbara Morgan, 55, into space 21 years after the Challenger explosion tragically ended the dream of another pioneering teacher. Teacher-turned-astronaut Morgan has become the star of the second shuttle mission to the International Space Station this year. Her chance to fly into space finally came with Endeavour's launch at 6:36 pm Wednesday from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. The booster rockets separated about two minutes after the shuttle lifted off, and Endeavour was hurtling toward space at a speed of 15,000 miles per hour, a NASA official said. The shuttle is to reach the orbiting International Space Station on Friday at 1753 GMT. (Posted @ 08:55 PST)
Militants kill nine Philippine troops in ambush MANILA, Aug 9 (Reuters) Nine Philippine soldiers were killed and two were wounded when militants with suspected ties to a regional terror network ambushed a convoy in the south Thursday, an army general said. Major-General Ruben Rafael said rebels from the Abu Sayyaf group attacked the soldiers near Maimbung town at about 7:30 a.m. on the southern island of Jolo. “We've sent reinforcement to evacuate our casualties,” Rafael told reporters. (Posted @ 08:50 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 382.48 points: KARACHI, Aug 9: At the close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 13181.94, down 382.48 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:30 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Aug 9:The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.85 to the US Dollar in the open market.(Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:30 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 |