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| August 12, 2007 | Sunday | Rajab 27, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistan, Afghanistan agree on fighting militants KABUL, Aug 12 The presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan pledged on Sunday to work together to combat the common security threat of Taliban and al Qaeda militants. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf addressed the peace jirga. Which strongly recognised the fact that terrorism is a common threat to both countries and the war on terror should continue to be an integral part of the national policies and security strategies of both countries”. “There is no other option for both countries other than peace and unity, trust and cooperation,” Musharraf told the jirga. “There is no justification for resorting to terrorism”. “There is no doubt Afghan militants are supported from Pakistan soil. The problem that you have in your region is because support is provided from our side,” he said. Both countries pledged not to allow any sanctuaries or training centres for militants on their soil. “It is a very happy event that the jirga between two countries was convened,” Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in a short speech. “It is ending with good results, achievements and a message for both countries.” (Posted @ 15:00 PST)
Bomb kills one in southwest Pakistan QUETTA, Pakistan, Aug 12, (AFP) - A bomb blast killed one man and injured three others Sunday in the industrial town of Hub, 30 kilometres northwest of Karachi, police said. The blast knocked down an electricity pylon, disrupting power supplies to Hub and the nearby town of Uthal. Meanwhile, two separate grenade attacks elsewhere in Baluchistan wounded five people, including two police officers. Three people, including the two police, were wounded in Quetta when motorcyclists lobbed a grenade at them late Sunday. (First Posted @ 22:12 PST Updated @ 23:16 PST)
U.S. military: 4 American soldiers killed, 4 wounded in blast south of Baghdad Baghdad, Aug 12 Five American soldiers were killed south of Baghdad, including four in a single roadside bombing, the military said Sunday. The blast that killed the four soldiers and wounded four others occurred Saturday during combat operations south of the capital, the military said. The brief statement provided no more details, but the high number of casualties suggested it was likely caused by an explosively formed penetrator, an armor-piercing weapon that the military believes is being smuggled from Iran. Tehran denies the allegation. Another soldier was killed Saturday by small-arms fire during a foot patrol southeast of Baghdad, the military said separately. (Posted @ 15:10 PST)
Exiled Pakistani leaders reject Musharraf call ISLAMABAD, Aug 12, (AFP) - Pakistan's main opposition leader Benazir Bhutto have roundly rejected President Pervez Musharraf's call not to return home until after the forthcoming general elections, party officials said Sunday. Musharraf said on Saturday that former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, who pose the biggest threat to his continued rule, should stay away to avert possible political turmoil in the country. Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) said any elections held in her absence could not be free and fair. “Benazir Bhutto will come before elections. We have rejected Musharraf's call because elections cannot be free and fair in her absence,” her spokesman Farhatullah Babar told AFP. (Posted @ 19:48 PST)
Cricket: England 56-0 against India LONDON, Aug 12, (AFP) - England were 56 without loss, needing a further 444 runs to reach their victory target of 500, at stumps on the fourth day of the third and final Test against India at The Oval here Sunday. Andrew Strauss was 23 not out and Alastair Cook 27 not out. The highest fourth innings score to win a Test is the 418 for seven made by West Indies against Australia in May 2003 in Antigua. India lead the three-match series 1-0. (Posted @ 23:34 PST)
Hackers protest US, Israeli actions on UN website UNITED NATIONS, Aug 12, (AFP) - The official website of the United Nations appeared to have been hacked early Sunday, and was displaying a message protesting US and Israeli policies in the Middle East. The section of the site reserved to statements by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon showed a message, repeated several times, that read: “Hacked By kerem125 M0sted and Gsy That is CyberProtest Hey Ysrail and Usa dont kill children and other people Peace for ever No war.”The message also appeared on other web pages that usually display quotes and speeches from the secretary general. The address for the UN chief's website is http://www.un.org/News/ossg. (Posted @ 19:04 PST)
12 killed in fresh Sri Lanka violence COLOMBO, Aug 12, (AFP) - At 12 people have been killed in fresh violence across Sri Lanka's northern and eastern regions where a bitter ethnic war has raged for decades, military and Tamil rebel sources said Sunday. Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels set off a powerful land mine against a military patrol in the Jaffna peninsula Sunday, killing four soldiers and wounding at least 13 others, military officials said. (Posted @ 18:24 PST)
29 dead in Afghanistan fighting KABUL, Aug 12, (AFP) - A wave of Taliban attacks across Afghanistan killed 29 people, including four international soldiers and nearly two dozen militants, military officials said Sunday. Three soldiers with the US-led coalition and their Afghan interpreter were killed near the border with Pakistan when they were hit by a bomb during combat, the force said in a statement. (Posted @ 17:12 PST)
Pakistan releases 100 jailed Indian fishermen ISLAMABAD, Aug 12, (REUTERS) - Pakistan on Sunday released 100 Indian fishermen, including 28 children, ahead of the 60th anniversary of independence being celebrated by the South Asian neighbours next week, officials said. India is also expected to release Pakistani fishermen in the coming days, said Tariq Shah, deputy inspector general of jails in the southern city of Karachi. (Posted @ 16:22 PST)
Muslims meet in Jakarta for pan-Islamic state talks JAKARTA, Aug 12 About 80,000 people gathered in the Indonesian capital on Sunday for a conference hosted by a radical international Muslim group, Hizbut Tahrir. Hizbut Tahrir said the gathering was aimed at strengthening Muslims' commitment to revive the Caliphate, a single Muslim government across the Islamic world, through peaceful means. (Posted @ 12:40 PST)
23 killed in week of violence in India's northeast GAUHATI, India, Aug 12 (AP) A week of violence in India's insurgency-wracked northeast has left 23 people dead and many more injured, police said. A group of gunmen entered Dolamora village, 250 kilometers east of Gauhati, Friday and killed11 people. In another incident militants threw a hand grenade from a moving car into a crowded market, killing a 2-year-old girl and wounding seven others. Also Friday, a bomb exploded in a market wounding 13 people, including two policemen, police said. Both explosions occurred in the Karbi district, 185 miles southeast of Gauhati. In all, 23 people were killed during the week, police said. (Posted @ 10:30 PST)
Alleged US spy in Pakistani tribal region killed MIRAN SHAH, Pakistan, Aug 12 (AP) Suspected militants decapitated an Afghan after accusing him of spying for the United States in North Waziristan tribal region , an intelligence official said Sunday as Pakistan army helicopters strafed a suspected militant facility west of the main town Miran Shah. The body was found early Sunday by the road side on the outskirts of Miran Shah, the official said on condition of anonymity. A note found with the body identified the man as Habibur Rehman of Zurmat tribe from Afghanistan's Ghazni province, the official said. The note said that Rehman was spying for the United States in Miran Shah and Mir Ali, another North Waziristan town, and received US$200 a month from the U.S. for the job, he said. The note warned that no one should perform a funeral for the slain man, the official said. Another intelligence official meanwhile said Pakistan army helicopters strafed a suspected militant facility late Saturday west of Miran Shah, but there were no reports of casualties. The facility included a residential area and an arms storing facility, located in a rugged area about 40 kilometers from Miran Shah, he said. Military officials were not immediately available for any confirmation of the reported raid. (Posted @ 10:20 PST)
Iraq: 15 more bodies found Baghdad, Aug 12 (Reuters) Eleven more bodies were found in different areas of Baghdad in the past 24 hours, while the dismembered bodies of four people were found in Ishaqi, 100 km north of Baghdad police said. In other acts of violence, a mortar attack in southwestern Baghdad's Jihad district wounded 10 people, while eight electricity workers were killed and two wounded when U.S. aircraft fired on their van near Samarra, 100 km north of Baghdad, on Friday. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Tennis-Federer to meet Djokovic in Montreal final MONTREAL, Aug 12 (Reuters) Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, the rising star of the men's tour, will square off in the final of the Montreal Masters after both recorded hard-fought semi-final victories on Saturday. Federer edged past unseeded Czech Radek Stepanek 7-6, 6-2 while third seed Djokovic stunned world number two Rafael Nadal 7-5, 6-3. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Taliban say two SKorean hostages freed GHAZNI, Afghanistan, Aug 12 (AFP) Taliban said they had freed two female South Korean hostages captured more than three weeks ago, but officials could not immediately confirm the claim. “Our leadership council decided to free unconditionally and as a gesture of goodwill two women hostages who are sick,” said Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi. He said they might not yet have arrived at the point where they would be handed over to authorities “due to some transportation difficulty. But what I can tell you is the leadership council has said they must be freed, so they're freed”. Taliban say they will release two women captives on Monday, the governor of Afghanistan's Ghazni province announced late Sunday.(Posted @ 09:50 PST)
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