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| August 28, 2007 | Tuesday | Sha’aban 14, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Militants free 18 Pakistani soldiers, one government official kidnapped near Afghan border ISLAMABAD, Aug 28 (AP) - Militants on Tuesday released 18 soldiers and a government official kidnapped near the Afghan border earlier this month, the army and the militants said. Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad said the hostages were released in South Waziristan tribal area. A militant leader, Rehmanullah Mehsud, said the captives were handed over to tribal elders in Kaniguram, a village north of Wana, South Waziristan's main town. “Now they are heading to Wana to be handed over to government officials,” Mehsud told The Associated Press by telephone. General Arshad told a private television channel that the hostages were released unconditionally. Militants had seized 16 paramilitary soldiers after they left their base in a van on Aug. 9. One was later decapitated and his body dumped in a soccer filed in the town of Jandola. The other freed men were an army colonel, two soldiers and a security official who were seized last week near Laddha, another village in South Waziristan. Dawn News TV on Monday aired excerpts of a video showing the kidnapped soldiers surrounded by masked militants with guns and rocket-propelled grenades. The TV station said the video also showed the beheading of the one soldier who was killed. (Posted @ 17:40 PST)
19 security personnels including Lt. Col. Shahid return to Wana WANA, Aug 28 (APP): The kidnapped 19 FC personnels including Lt. Col. Shahid were released and handed over to political administration in Wana on Tuesday. The political agent South Waziristan Agency (SWA) Husain Zada and APA Ladha Mohammad Yahya Akhunzada have confirmed their release. The political authorities of SWA have appreciated the role of the 21 members peace jirga, including MNA Maulana Mairajud Din, Senator Saleh Shah and other elders of the area. (Posted @ 20:00 PST)
Pakistani police arrest alleged mastermind of suicide bombings in capital ISLAMABAD, Aug 28 (AP) - Authorities have arrested the alleged mastermind and four other suspects believed to be behind two recent suicide attacks in Islamabad that killed 31 people, Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said Tuesday. investigators have also identified the two bombers _ both Pakistani tribesmen _ who blew themselves up in separate attacks in Islamabad last month, he said. “Fasiullah Khan was the mastermind, planner, and directing the suicide attacks in and around Islamabad,” Cheema said at a weekly news conference. Khan spent six months at the Lal Masjid, where he produced 400 petrol bombs, Cheema said, citing investigators. The first suicide attack killed 18 people on July 17 at a rally in support of Pakistan's chief justice. Ten days later, another bomber hit a restaurant, killing 13 people, many of them police officers. Cheema said investigators have identified the two bombers as Yar Mohammed and Khana Din, both from Waziristan, a rugged tribal region bordering Afghanistan and an alleged haven for Taliban- and al-Qaida-linked militants. Cheema had announced the arrest of two of the five men last week. He did not give any further details about when the five were arrested or say if they had been charged yet. He did not say whether the bombers or suspects arrested were affiliated with any group. (Posted @ 18:40 PST)
Turkish foreign minister wins presidency in parliamentary vote ANKARA, Turkey, Aug 28 (AP) - Turkey's foreign minister, Abdullah Gul, was elected president on Tuesday. Gul received 339 votes in a parliamentary ballot, Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan said. The victory made him the first head of state with a background in political Islam in a country with strong secularist principles. Ruling-party legislators broke into applause when the result was announced. (Posted @ 18:34 PST)
Taliban agree to free SKorean hostages SEOUL, Aug 28 (AFP) -Afghanistan's Taliban agreed Tuesday to release 19 South Korean aid workers held hostage for nearly six weeks, the presidential office announced. “The agreement was reached on conditions that South Korea withdraw its troops stationed in Afghanistan by the year's end and impose a ban on missionary activities” by its Christian groups, presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-Seon said. “The South Korean government welcomes the agreement on the hostage release,” he added. He did not say when the hostages held by the hardline militia would be freed but said they are expected to be moved to Kabul after further consultations with the captors. In Afghanistan, Taliban representatives said that the Korean hostages would be freed “soon”. “Both sides agreed that South Korean military forces and their missionary groups would leave Afghanistan and the Taliban would free the hostages very soon,” said a Taliban representative, who asked to remain anonymous. Sixteen women and seven men were seized on July 19. The Taliban killed two of the men to press their demands for the release of jailed insurgents, a demand rejected by the Kabul government. (Posted @ 18:12 PST)
Curfew imposed in Karbala to stop pilgrimage violence BAGHDAD, Aug 28 (AP) - Police ordered a curfew Tuesday in the holy city of Karbala and ordered more than one million pilgrims to leave after two days of violence claimed at least 10 lives. The police issued the order after heavy shooting broke out in the centre of the city Tuesday. Trouble started late Monday when scuffles broke out between police and pilgrims said to have bean angry over strict security. Gunshots rang out Tuesday in the area near the city's two major Shiite shrines which are the focal point of celebrations. The festival was to have reached its high point Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. At least five people were killed in gunfire Tuesday that apparently re-erupted when the pilgrims tried to push past frustratingly slow security checkpoints near the mausoleum of Hazrat Imam Hussein. Two men and two women were killed in a similar melee near the mausoleum Monday night. One of the wounded died overnight. (Posted @ 17:16 PST)
Clashes in Kerbala kill 27, injure 147 BAGHDAD, Aug 28 (Agencies) - Twenty-seven people were killed and at least 147 injured in fierce clashes between security forces and gunmen in the holy city of Kerbala on Tuesday, a senior security source in Baghdad said. He said many of the dead were police. The clashes erupted during a major religious event being attended by an estimated one million pilgrims. (Posted @ 18:30 PST)
Over 100 Taliban killed in southern Afghan battle, US-led coalition says KABUL, Afghanistan, August 28, (AP) - U.S.-led and Afghan troops battled suspected Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, calling in air strikes, leaving over 100 insurgents dead and three coalition soldiers wounded, a coalition statement said. The battle, which is still continuing, took place in northern Kandahar province's Shah Wali Kot district, the statement said. The joint force was ambushed by a large group of insurgents who tried to overrun their position several times, before being strafed by air strikes, it said. The causality figures could not be independently verified due to remoteness of the area where the clash took place. (Posted @ 23:24 PST)
Gul upholds secularism, stresses religious freedoms ANKARA, Aug 28 (AFP) - Abdullah Gul , sworn in Tuesday as president of Turkey, pledged loyalty to the secular system and called for respect for religious freedoms in his inaugural speech. “The Turkish Republic is a democratic, secular and social state based on the rule of law... I will work with determination to protect and strengthen all those tenets,” Gul told parliament after being sworn in following his election in a third-round parliamentary vote. “The principle of secularism is both a model that ensures freedom for different lifestyles and a rule of social peace... The principle of secularism also includes freedom of conscience and religion,” he said. (Posted @ 22:38 PST)
Malakand-III hydropower project inaugurated DARGAI, Pakistan, Aug 28 (APP): Chief Minister of NWFP Akram Khan Durrani Tuesday formally inaugurated the Malakand-III Hydropower Project ( cost Rs 4.42 billion), designed 100 percent by the Pakistani engineers and consultants. It will generate Rs.1.5 billion annual revenue for the province, generate 81.69 megawatts of electricity and irrigate 20,000 acres of barren land in Malakand Agency and Mardan district. This is the third hydel project after Dargai and Jabban Power Stations in Malakand Agency. (Posted @ 21:16 PST)
World's biggest diamond dug up in S Africa ISLAMABAD, Aug 28 (APP): A small South African mining company has claimed to have discovered the world's biggest-ever diamond. A shareholder in the unnamed mine told the stone had been unearthed at their operation in the north-west province on Monday afternoon, BBC reported. He said the giant gem was about 7,000 carats - which would be twice the size of the Cullinan Diamond, centre- piece of the British crown jewels. (Posted @ 20:40 PST)
Coalition forces realize mistake, retract their statement: ISPR RAWALPINDI, Aug 28 (APP): A spokesman of ISPR Tuesday said that it has been noted with satisfaction that following a strong protest by Pakistan both verbal and in writing, Coalition Forces have realized their mistake and retracted their irresponsible statement issued yesterday that Pakistan permitted Coalition Troops to carry out strikes in Pakistani Territory which led to killing of 19 local militants. It goes to prove that there were no insurgent positions inside Pakistan as alleged, no permission was granted for firing and no firing was carried out by NATO Forces across the border in to Pakistan, the spokesman said. (Posted @ 20:35 PST)
Israeli, Palestinian leaders tackle thorniest issues JERUSALEM, Aug 28 (AP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas tackled the biggest issues dividing the two sides at their two-hour meeting on Tuesday _ final borders, Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees, an Israeli official said. It was the first time the two men covered these matters in depth, the official said. “These core issues have to be discussed on the way to finding a diplomatic solution of two states for two peoples,” an official in the prime minister's office quoted Olmert as saying. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told reporters the two leaders did not discuss the issues in detail or prepare any documents. But he said the sides must act, not talk. “We are at a stage to reach decisions,” Erekat said. (Posted @ 20:30 PST)
Iran dismisses attack warning by 'inexperienced' Sarkozy TEHRAN, Aug 28 (AFP) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday brushed off a warning by Nicolas Sarkozy that Iran risked being bombed over its nuclear drive, saying his “inexperienced” French counterpart did not know what he was talking about.“He (Sarkozy) only recently came to power and wants to find a place for himself in the world,” Ahmadinejad told reporters. “He is still inexperienced, meaning that maybe he does not really understand the meaning of his own words. “I think what he said is for the consumption of his inner circles. For us, it is of no political value.” (Posted @ 20:24 PST)
7 innocent Kashmiri youth martyred in Kupwara ISLAMABAD, Aug 28 (APP): In occupied Kashmir, Indian troops martyred seven more innocent Kashmiri youth, during violent crackdowns. Four of them were shot dead in a single incident at Machhil in Kupwara district on Tuesday while the other three were killed at Dorswani Kanghar in Lolab, KMS reported. Meanwhile, a trooper of Mahinder Garh Light Air Defence Regiment was killed after an explosive device went off at an Indian army post in Rajouri. Two Indian police personnel were injured in a mysterious fire, which broke out at Sheeri in Baramulla district. Separately, a large number of people staged protest demonstrations in Bandipora against arbitrary arrest of a horse-pulled taxi driver and his son who, reports said, were taken to the local army camp where they were tortured. The protestors blocked vehicular traffic on Srinagar- Bandipora road for several hours. (First Posted @ 11:50 PST Updated @ 20:10 PST)
OPEC chief says there is no crude shortage, blames U.S. refineries for high oil prices LUANDA, Angola, Aug 28 (AP) - OPEC's Secretary General said Tuesday he saw no need to increase oil output and blamed refinery problems in the United States for keeping prices high. “We see there's no reason for a higher price because there's enough oil in the market,” Abdalla Salem el-Badri told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview during a trip to Angola. “There's no shortage (of crude) whatsoever.” “If you add more crude into the market, the crude will not go to refineries because refineries cannot handle it, it will go into stocks,” he said. “The American refinery industry is really affecting the market at this time and prices are going up because of American refinery outages,” he said. (Posted @ 18:42 PST)
Rocket from Gaza lands in Sderot; one Israeli injured JERUSALEM, Aug 28 (AP) A Palestinian rocket hit a house Tuesday in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, injuring one citizen, the army said. Damage was caused to the home, the army added. (Posted @ 14:00 PST)
US assaults in Iraq kill 41 suspected rebels BAGHDAD, Aug 28 (AFP) - A series of US-led air and ground assaults in Iraqi flashpoints has killed at least 41 suspected rebels, the American military said Tuesday. Eight militants were killed and 11 detained in separate ground and air assaults in the provinces of Kirkuk and Salaheddin. On Monday, in a major operation in the town of Gobia in Diyala province, US and Iraqi troops killed 33 militants. The military said the clashes occurred when security forces were carrying out a mission to restore essential services to the nearby key town of Khalis. (Posted @ 18:16 PST)
Kidnapped deputy oil minister freed in Iraq BAGHDAD, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Kidnapped Iraqi Deputy Oil Minister Abdul Jabbar al-Wagga was freed on Tuesday along with three other oil officials, a spokesman for the Oil Ministry said. “He is in good health along with the others. They are now at home,” said the spokesman, Asim Jihad. According to Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani 100 gunmen had carried out the attack, carrying “sophisticated weapons” and wearing official uniforms. He described the kidnapping as political. (Posted @ 16:58 PST)
Three NATO soldiers killed as Afghan violence rages KABUL, Aug 28 (AFP) - A suicide bomber in eastern Afghanistan killed three NATO soldiers Tuesday as six Afghan troops and more than 20 Taliban rebels were reported dead in new insurgency-linked attacks across the country. The suicide blast struck soldiers working at an under-construction bridge, the NATO-led alliance said. Six other soldiers were wounded in the attack, it said in a statement but did not give the nationalities of the soldiers or the location of the attack. Three coalition soldiers and two Afghan troops were also killed in a Taliban ambush on Monday in eastern Afghanistan, while a NATO trooper died in a nearby area on the same day. Two other NATO soldiers died in attacks on Sunday. In other violence, six troops from the US-sponsored Afghan National Army were killed in two separate bomb explosions near the country's eastern border with Pakistan in the past 24 hours, the defence ministry said in a statement. Elsewhere, NATO troops and Afghan soldiers killed 15 militants near the major Taliban stronghold of Musa Qala in the opium-producing province of Helmand on Monday, ISAF said. In another incident on Monday, Afghan forces backed by US-led coalition soldiers foiled an attempted Taliban ambush in the neighbouring province of Kandahar, killing seven insurgents, the coalition said. (Posted @ 18:02 PST)
Nearly 30 killed in Afghan battles KABUL, Aug 28(AFP): Fierce fighting and roadside bomb blasts in Afghanistan killed six Afghan soldiers and more than 20 Taliban rebels, officials said on Tuesday. The six troops from the US-sponsored Afghan National Army were killed in two separate bomb explosions, the defence ministry said in a statement. Elsewhere, NATO troops and Afghan soldiers killed 15 militants near Musa Qala in Helmand province on Monday, the alliance said. (Posted @ 12:55 PST)
Pakistan's maiden crops insurance policy launched ISLAMABAD, Aug 28 (APP): National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) has for the first time in Pakistan introduced the insurance policy for crops. It would cover losses in the wake of drought, flood and other seasonal hazards besides ensuring agriculture development and enhancement in the agriculture output, a private TV channel reported. (Posted @ 17:58 PST)
Flood leaves 3, 71,092 homeless in Sindh, Balochistan ISLAMABAD, Aug 28 (APP): Around 3, 71,092 people are shelterless in flood-hit areas of Sindh and Balochistan provinces, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) sources said Tuesday. Among the displaced people 2,21,092 are in Sindh where 33,344 houses were destroyed . About 1,50,000 was displaced in Balochistan. The sources said upto 36,462 people are living in relief camps in the two provinces. “Around 4,083 people are lodged in relief camps in Balochistan and another 32,379 in Dadu and Qamber districts of Sindh,” sources said. “Assessment of damage to houses is being carried out and final report would be published soon,” an official of the World Bank said. (Posted @ 17:52 PST)
Economy must take precedence over politics: Salman Shah LAHORE, Aug 28 (APP): Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance, Dr Salman Shah Tuesday said that economy must take precedence over politics to ensure the continuation of the country's march on the road to rapid development and prosperity. Speaking at the inaugural session of the 2-day National Conference on Technology Upgradation in Industry, he said that owing to the huge economic growth experienced over the last seven years, Pakistan is presently poised to benefit from the ongoing process of globalization. Pakistan, with the sixth largest population in the world after China, India, USA, Russia and Indonesia, has the potential to become one of the top five markets. He also talked about the profiles of the markets of United States, European Union, Japan, China and India, urging the business community to take advantage of the opportunities available to them in these regions. Responding to a question, he said that South Korea, which followed the model of Pakistani economy in the 1960s, has a five times bigger GDP as compared to Pakistan today, and urged the private sector to take the lead in national economic uplift, especially in human resource development. (Posted @ 17:44 PST)
Economic Diplomacy is need of the time: Kasuri KARACHI, Pakistan, Aug. 28 ( APP):- Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri Tuesday said the foreign policy of Pakistan with a focus on the role of economic diplomacy is need of the time. Addressing the members of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry he said the present government's vision is to develop Pakistan as a modem, progressive, moderate and forward looking Islamic welfare state with stable democracy, strong national defence and a knowledge based economy. Pakistan today has all the attributes of a modern emerging economy, with a clear sense of direction and commitment to maintain a stable and peaceful environment, internally as well as externally. The country was also pursuing a path of social and economic progress in the country, the region and the world, he said adding that our foreign policy is essentially shaped and upderpinned by national security concerns and well-being of the people of Pakistan. (Posted @ 17:42 PST)
Three killed, 15 feared dead in Indian boat tragedy NEW DELHI, Aug 28 (AFP) - Three people drowned Tuesday and another 15 were feared dead after a boat capsized in a flood-swollen river in India's eastern Bihar state, officials said. The accident took place in Khagaria district as a group of 18 villagers attempted to flee houses submerged after a tributary of the Kosi River breached its banks, they said. “I don't think anyone survived as the currents were very strong. It is very sad,” he said. (Posted @ 16:48 PST)
Cricket: No recognition for India's rebel league, says ICC MUMBAI, Aug 28 (AFP) - The International Cricket Council on Tuesday ruled out recognising an unofficial multi-million dollar league in India until it was approved by the country's cricket administration. ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said the breakaway Indian Cricket League (ICL) needed support from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) before it could be considered a legitimate series. “BCCI is the only body recognised by the ICC to run official cricket in India,” Speed told reporters. “We have not got any application from the ICL for recognition yet, but we have already have a five-step process to decide on such issues.” The ICC needed to know if the series was being run for the development of the game, who were the players involved and if they were contracted to their parent bodies, when and where was the series to be played and if anti-corruption measures had been put in place, said Speed. “In the last stage we ask applicants if the member board of the country had approved it,” he added. “If the answer is no, we would not give it our recognition.” Speed cited the example of a tournament that was planned in the United States last year which was shot down by the ICC for not fulfilling the required criteria. (Posted @ 16:46 PST)
India seeks bids for 126 fighter jets NEW DELHI, Aug 28 (AFP) - India on Tuesday invited bids from defence contractors around the world for its purchase of 126 fighter jets in a deal estimated at nearly nine billion dollars, the defence ministry said Tuesday. The contenders will have to meet “three guiding principles” -- meeting the operational requirements of the Indian air force, a “fair and transparent” selection process and the deal should also benefit domestic arms firms. (Posted @ 16:40 PST)
U.N. says floods affect 100,000 Ethiopians ADDIS ABABA, Aug 28(Reuters): More than 100,000 people have been affected by floods in Ethiopia and 17 have died of waterborne disease, the United Nations said on Tuesday. “About 103,000 people in Amhara, Tigray, South Sudan Nations and Nationalities Peoples State and Gambella regions have been affected by floods,” the U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA said in a report following days of heavy rains. (Posted @ 15:00 PST)
Two shot at Notting Hill Carnival LONDON, Aug 28 (Reuters) Two young men were shot during the Notting Hill Carnival as sporadic violence broke out Monday afternoon, police said Tuesday. A 14-year-old was hit in the leg and a 17-year-old suffered a shoulder wound. A small number of people suffered minor stab wounds when a group of youths tried to disrupt the Bank Holiday street festival in west London. Arrests totalled 206. Two people w ere arrested for attempted murder, while others were arrested for crimes including indecent assault, having an imitation firearm or offensive weapon, criminal damage, possession of drugs, being drunk and disorderly and handling stolen goods. (Posted @ 13:15 PST)
IAEA publishes agreement with Iran on clearing up suspicions about its nuclear program VIENNA, Austria, Aug 28 (AP) Iran has offered some cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency in its probe of an alleged secret uranium processing project linked by U.S. intelligence to a nuclear arms program. The pledge was contained in a memorandum reached between Iran and the IAEA and published Monday on the agency's Web site at the request of Tehran's mission to the agency. In it, Tehran also outlined its timetable for providing other sensitive information sought by the IAEA in its probe of more than two decades of nuclear activity by Iran. The document reiterated Iran's allegations that the search for information on the so-called ''Green Salt Project'' was ''politically motivated'' and founded on ''baseless allegations.'' But as a ''sign of good will and cooperation with the agency … Iran will review'' documentation on the project provided by the agency ''and inform the agency of its assessment,'' according to the memorandum. (Posted @ 11:00 PST)
Three Sri Lankan soldiers killed in fire-fight: rebels COLOMBO, Aug 28(AFP): At least three Sri Lankan soldiers were killed and five more wounded in a gun-battle in Vavuniya district, the Tamil Tiger rebels said on Tuesday. The rebels said they did not suffer any casualties in Monday evening's clash. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Bangladesh lifts curfew after peace restored DHAKA, Aug 28 (Reuters) Bangladesh's government lifted a curfew imposed in Dhaka and five other cities following widespread student riots, the home ministry said. A ministry statement issued late Monday said the government decided to withdraw the curfew as the unrest had subsided and peace was restored. The curfew was imposed Wednesday after protests by Dhaka University students against the presence of army troops at a campus football match spread across the country, killing one man and injuring around 300 people. “There will be no curfew after midnight on Monday as the country has returned to complete peace,” the statement said. (Posted @ 09:00 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 85.63 points: KARACHI, Aug 28: At close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 12040.89 , up 85.63 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:17 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Aug 28: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.95 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:17 PST)
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