|
| August 14, 2007 | Tuesday | Rajab 29, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistan marks 60th anniversary of independence ISLAMABAD, Aug 14 (AP) Pakistan is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its independence Tuesday with traditional zeal and enthusiasm. In the capital, Islamabad, 31 artillery guns boomed at daybreak, marking the start of ceremonies. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was the chief guest at the flag hoisting ceremony. Independence Day celebrations, including 21-gun salutes and flag-raising ceremonies, were also held in the capitals of Pakistan's four provinces and Azad Kashmir capital Muzaffarabad. The change of guard ceremony at the mausoleum of the Quaid-i-Azam marked the start of the ceremonies at Karachi, the birth place of the Father of the Nation. Rallies, march-past, seminars, symposia and host of cultural activities and sports meet will be held throughout the day, while large- scale illuminations will give a befitting climax to the day-long festivities. (Posted @ 10:30 PST)
PM Aziz outlines policies Islamabad, Aug 14: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Tuesday reiterated the resolve not to allow any foreign force to violate the territorial integrity of Pakistan. Speaking at the flag hoisting ceremony to mark the 60th Independence Day anniversary at Islamabad he also said Pakistan was a nuclear power and knew well how to safeguard its nuclear assets. Pakistan will not allow anyone to cast an evil eye on it, he said. In his speech the prime minister covered a whole range of issues of national importance and made special mention of the Kashmir dispute reiterating the nation’s resolve to stand by the people of Kashmir who have been engaged in the struggle for the right of self-determination for more than six decades. (Posted @ 11:40 PST)
Kidnapped Pakistani soldier beheaded in Waziristan PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Aug 14 (Reuters) Pro-Taliban militants beheaded one of 16 Pakistani paramilitary troops kidnapped on Aug. 9 in South Waziristan near the Afghan border, and threatened to kill more unless 10 comrades are freed, officials said Tuesday. Residents found the body near a football ground on Tuesday in Jandola, 50 km east of South Waziristan's main town of Wana, said Latif-ur-Rehman, a senior government official in the region. A note found near the body said others would meet a similar fate if the kidnappers' demands were not met. (Posted @ 10:30 PST)
Ten feared drowned in Pakistan boat capsize MULTAN, Pakistan, Aug 14, (AFP) - Ten people were feared drowned when a river ferry carrying revellers marking Pakistan's Independence Day capsized near the central city of Multan on Tuesday, police said. The boat was carrying 13 people who were returning to their homes after a picnic on the banks of the River Chenab, 25 kilometres (15 miles) west of Multan, senior police officer Tanveer Ahmed Bhatti told reporters. Three people were rescued following the capsize and a search for those missing was underway, the official said. (Posted @ 21:52 PST)
Gunmen kidnap Iraqi oil official, two bodyguards BAGHDAD, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Gunmen kidnapped a general manager at Iraq's state oil marketing organisation (SOMO) and two of his bodyguards on Tuesday, police and an oil industry source said on Tuesday. They did not give the name of the official. Details of the incident were not immediately clear. (Posted @ 21:18 PST)
Suicide bomber destroys key Iraqi bridge, killing eight people BAGHDAD, Aug 14, (AFP) - A suicide truck bomber destroyed a key bridge outside Baghdad on Tuesday, as US and Iraqi troops swept through flashpoints seeking to rein in militants ahead of the Holy month of Ramadan. The blast shattered the concrete bridge linking Baghdad to northern provinces and sent three civilian cars plunging into the river below, killing eight people, security officials said. (Posted @ 20:26 PST)
NATO soldier killed in Afghanistan KHOST, Afghanistan, Aug 14, (AFP) - A soldier with the NATO-led international force was killed Tuesday and five Afghan troops wounded in an ambush on a patrol in eastern Afghanistan, military officials said. Three other soldiers with ISAF were wounded in separate incidents across insurgency-plagued Afghanistan, where NATO has deployed around 36,000 troops to fight the Taliban. (Posted @ 19:40 PST)
Mogadishu fighting kills 31 MOGADISHU, Aug 14, (REUTERS) - Heavy fighting between Somali government forces backed by Ethiopian troops and insurgents in Mogadishu has killed at least 31 Somalis and wounded 60 in the past 24 hours, a local human rights group said on Tuesday. “The killings were from gunshots and explosions in different parts of the city,” head of Elman Human Rights Group, Sudani Ali Ahmed, told Reuters. (Posted @ 17:52 PST)
Five killed in Thai south NARATHIWAT, Thailand, Aug 14, (AFP) - A bomb hidden in a motorcycle killed one person and wounded six others Tuesday in further separatist violence in the south of Thailand, police said, while two men were shot dead. The bomb exploded outside a grocery store in Narathiwat, one of three Muslim-majority provinces hit by the separatist bloodshed which has killed 2,400 people since January 2004. The shop owner was killed, while two policemen and four passers-by were injured, local officials said. (First Posted @ 16:44 PST Updated @ 19:08 PST)
U.S. troops launch big new Iraq offensive BAGHDAD, Aug 14 U.S. forces launched a big offensive in Iraq's Diyala province on Tuesday as part of a major new countrywide push against Sunni and Shi'ite militants announced this week. The military said 16,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops were involved in Operation. (Posted @ 13:55 PST)
No new face-to-face talks planned yet after release of 2 Korean hostages GHAZNI, Afghanistan Taliban leaders and South Korean officials were continuing negotiations by telephone over the fate of the remaining 19 hostages, but no new face-to-face talks had been planned, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Tuesday. (Posted @ 13:55 PST)
Cricket: 250,000-dollar India bonus for England scalp NEW DELHI, Aug 14 (AFP) Rahul Dravid's triumphant Indians were on Tuesday rewarded with a 250,000-dollar bonus by the country's cricket chiefs for a rare Test series win in England. India won the three-match series 1-0 after the final Test ended in a draw at the Oval on Monday. The tourists had won the second Test at Trent Bridge after being saved by rain in the drawn first Test at Lord's. It was only the third series win by India in England following the 1-0 win by Ajit Wadekar's team in 1971 and the 2-0 victory by Kapil Dev's men in 1986. Indian cricket board chief Sharad Pawar announced the bonus of 10 million rupees (250,000 dollars) for the 16 players, interim manager Chandu Borde and assistant coaches Robin Singh and Venkatesh Prasad. (Posted @ 12:05 PST)
Four Palestinians killed in Israeli Gaza incursion GAZA CITY, Aug 14 (AFP) Four Palestinians, including two civilians, were killed and 13 wounded in an Israeli incursion in the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, medics and the army said.The operation saw Israeli tanks roll into the Palestinian territory and air strikes carried out against targets near the southern town of Khan Yunis, they said. (First Posted @ 11:00 PST Updated @ 11:55 PST)
Iranian president arrives in Afghanistan KABUL, Aug 14 (AFP) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Kabul Tuesday for talks with Afghan leaders on his first visit to the country since he assumed office, the Afghan president's office said. (Posted @ 11:55 PST)
Indian army depot blaze toll reaches 17 SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Aug 14 (AFP) Rescuers have pulled more bodies out of an Indian military ammunition dump in occupied Kashmir wrecked by a fire, lifting the death toll to 17 with nine soldiers still missing, the army said Tuesday. The blaze that sent artillery shell and mortars exploding into the air and raining down on surrounding villages also injured more than two dozen people. The flames and explosions displaced more than 20,000 people, who have been housed in temporary camps. Two militant groups fighting New Delhi's rule in occupied Kashmir claimed responsibility for the blaze, but Indian authorities said it appeared to have been an accident. (Posted @ 11:00 PST)
3 U.S. soldiers killed in explosion near vehicle in northern Iraq BAGHDAD, Aug 14 (AP) Three U.S. soldiers were killed and another was wounded in an explosion near their vehicle during operations Monday in the northern Ninevah province, the military said Tuesday. (Posted @ 10:40 PST)
Gul to proceed with Turkey presidential bid ANKARA, Aug 14 (AFP) Turkey's ruling party decided Monday to stick with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul as its presidential candidate. The decision to stay with Gul was taken at a meeting of the Justice and Development (AK) party's leadership chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the media reported. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Hundreds dead, missing in NKorea floods: report SEOUL, Aug 14 (AFP) North Korea late Monday said hundreds of people were dead or missing and thousands of houses destroyed in torrential rains which battered the country over the past week. Torrential rain left hundreds of persons dead or missing and destroyed more than 30,000 houses for over 63,300 families, or rendered them inundated, official KCNA news agency said. At least 800 public buildings, more than 540 bridges and sections of railway were destroyed in the heavy rain, the news agency said. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Train derails in Russia following suspected blast, 60 injured MOSCOW, Aug 14 (AFP) A passenger train derailed Monday between Moscow and Saint Petersburg due to what may have been an explosion, leaving some 60 people injured, railway officials and Russia's emergency ministry said. The blast occured on the Burga-Malaya Vishera link, with 12 carriages going off the rails in the Novgorod region, the Russian Railway agency said in a statement. The accident was possibly due to an explosion, it said but gave no further details. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
China bridge collapse kills 22, dozens missing BEIJING, Aug 14 (AFP) A bridge under construction in central China collapsed into a river just before it was to be put into use, killing at least 22 people and 22 injured with 46 missing, authorities said Tuesday. The 268-metre bridge over Tuo river in Hunan province crumbled while workers were removing steel scaffolding erected during the construction process. (Posted @ 09:50 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 |