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| September 17, 2007 | Monday | Ramazan 04, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
India, Pakistan to resume peace talks NEW DELHI, Sept 17(AFP): India and Pakistan will resume talks Tuesday to improve bilateral ties and finetune a joint mechanism to combat militancy, the Indian foreign ministry said on Monday. The two sides will kick off the talks with negotiations on “conventional confidence-building measures” in New Delhi on Tuesday, which will be followed by discussions on nuclear safeguards a day later, a ministry statement said. On Saturday, the two countries will hold talks on the joint anti-terrorism mechanism, it said. The statement did not elaborate but said Islamabad has confirmed its participation in the discussions. (Posted @ 20:17 PST)
Pakistani forces kill 16 militants in clash ISLAMABAD, Sept 17(Reuters): Pakistani security forces have killed 16 pro-Taliban militants after they attacked a paramilitary checkpost near the Afghan border, intelligence officials and residents said on Monday. The incident occured late on Sunday in Shawal, 70 kms southwest of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan. A Reuters reporter in the area said a mosque later appealed for funds for the burial of 16 militants. A military spokesman said there had been clashes but he said he had no details. An intelligence official said one soldier was killed and four wounded in the battle. (Posted @ 16:25 PST)
Pakistan protests India glacier tourism plan ISLAMABAD, Sept 17(AFP): Pakistan protested to India on Monday over its plans to open up the disputed 6,300-metre (20,800-feet) high Siachen glacier in Kashmir to tourists, saying it could hurt an ongoing peace process. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam told a weekly briefing that India's deputy ambassador had been summoned on Monday to receive a “strong protest” over the Siachen plan. Experts say India has around 5,000 troops on the glacier, while Pakistan has less than half that number. (Posted @ 15:20 PST)
Pakistan court hears challenges to Musharraf ISLAMABAD, Sept 17 (AFP) - Pakistan's Supreme Court on Monday began hearing petitions by the opposition against General Pervez Musharraf's plan to be re-elected as both president and chief of the powerful army. The challenge comes days before Musharraf is expected to file his nomination papers for the parliamentary ballot -- due before October 15 -- on his intention to secure another five-year term. “The hearing of the petitions has begun,” a Supreme Court official said. The petitions have been filed by the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami party, the outspoken cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, and an association of pro-democracy lawyers. They all argue that Musharraf should not be allowed to hold his military and civilian offices at the same time. They also oppose Musharraf's aim to be re-elected by the outgoing parliament and provincial assemblies, saying there should be a general election first. (Posted @ 11:19 PST)
Pakistan seeks Chinese cooperation in building shipyards at Gwadar and Port Qasim BEIJING, Sept 17 (APP): Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Dr. Salman Shah held meetings with key Chinese bankers, financial institution and shipbuilding companies for cooperation in setting up two giant shipyards (capacity 600,000 dwt) at Gwadar and Port Qasim”, a senior official at Pakistan mission here said. The Adviser was in Dalian to represent Pakistan in the “New Champions” seminar organized by World Economic Forum (WEF) from Sept 6-8. The shipyards will cover an area of 500 acres each and that includes two dry docks of approximately 600,000 dwt thus catering for building of heavy ships. Pakistan wants to build these shipyards in cooperation between Pakistani private sector and Chinese corporate sector while government will also participate, the official said. In these meetings Dr. Salman Shah also briefed them about the joint Sino-Pak 5-Year Economic Development Programme, Free Trade Agreement and China Specific Special Economic Zones being developed in Pakistan and the opportunities available for Chinese investors there. (Posted @ 10:37 PST)
Injured Mirza pulls out of Kolkata Open KOLKATA, Sept 17(Reuters):India's Sania Mirza has pulled out of the Kolkata Open with a wrist injury, organisers said on Monday. Mirza, 20, who reached the final last year, has not played since the U.S. Open because of the injury. (Posted @ 20:25 PST)
Rockets kill two soldiers in southwest Pakistan QUETTA, Sept 17(AFP): Rockets fired by suspected tribal rebels Monday killed two Pakistani soldiers and injured four others in southwestern Balochistan, officials said. The attack took place at Talli village near Sibi, some 120kms southeast of Quetta while troops were clearing mines for road construction, a security official said. “Two soldiers were killed and four others were injured when miscreants fired rockets on them from the nearby hills,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. (Posted @ 20:10 PST)
Taliban say any talks must see Western troops leave KANDAHAR, Sept 17(AFP): The Taliban said on Monday they would only hold talks with the Afghan government if they resulted in the withdrawal of the tens of thousands of Western troops. The movement's spokesman said in a statement, “if these talks... rescue our country's independence and result in finding a way for the withdrawal of foreign forces, (Taliban) are ready to participate.” But he said the Taliban did not believe the Afghan government had the authority to meet such conditions. (Posted @ 20:00 PST)
U.S.-led forces kill 7 Al-Qaeda linked militants, detain 31 in raids against insurgents BAGHDAD, Sept 17(AP): U.S. and Iraqi forces killed seven Al-Qaeda militants and detained 31 suspects during operations in central and northern Iraq on Monday, in raids that targeted Al-Qaeda in Iraq operational networks, the U.S. army said. (Posted @ 19:55 PST)
Nepal's Maoists may quit government over monarchy KATHMANDU, Sept 17(Reuters): Nepali political parties were making last ditch efforts on Monday to try and convince the former Maoist rebels not to quit the interim government and to withdraw their planned protests in a row over the monarchy. (Posted @ 19:50 PST)
Afghan economy expected to grow 13pc in 2007: ADB KABUL, Sept 17(AFP): Afghanistan's economy is expected to grow 13 percent this financial year, mainly because of the inflow of billions of donor dollars for reconstruction, the Asian Development Bank said on Monday. The growth, up from 7.5 percent the previous year, is mainly driven by construction, the service industry and agriculture, the ADB's country director in Afghanistan told reporters. (Posted @ 19:45 PST)
Saudi buys 72 Typhoon jets RIYADH, Sept 17(Reuters): Saudi Arabia said on Monday it had signed an agreement with the British government to buy 72 Eurofighter Typhoon jets for 4.43 billion pounds ($8.84 billion). “A contract was signed between the two governments to buy the plane on Tuesday, September 11,” a statement on official news agency SPA said, attributed to a Defence Ministry official. (Posted @ 16:30 PST)
Iraq cancels US security firm's licence BAGHDAD, Sept 17(AFP): Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani ordered the cancellation on Monday of the operating licence of US security firm Blackwater after it was involved in a shootout that killed eight people, an offical told AFP. (Posted @ 16:30 PST)
Koroma wins Sierra Leone presidential poll FREETOWN, Sept 17(Reuters): Sierra Leone opposition leader Ernest Bai Koroma has won the West African country's presidential election, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) said on Monday. It said the candidate of the opposition All People's Congress (APC) won 54.6 percent of the votes from the Sept. 8 run-off poll, while his rival, Vice-President Solomon Berewa of the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), obtained 45.4 percent. (Posted @ 16:00 PST)
Three killed, 10 wounded in suicide car bomb blast in Baghdad market BAGHDAD, Sept 17(AP): A suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden car Monday near a busy Baghdad market, killing three people and wounding 10, a police officer said. The 0930 GMT blast apparently targeted a police patrol on the main street of the capital's Jamila district, next to a bustling marketplace. Two policemen were wounded in the explosion, according to the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity. (Posted @ 15:55 PST)
Blast in restaurant kills nine in China BEIJING, Sept 17(Reuters): An explosion at a restaurant in central China killed nine people and injured 25, Xinhua news agency reported on Monday, citing police who said the blast appeared to have been deliberate. The explosion occurred on Sunday in Wenjiashi, Hunan province, when more than 30 people were dining at the invitation of a local villager who had been “in dispute with the guests over family issues”, Xinhua said, citing an unnamed police spokesman. (Posted @ 15:25 PST)
Suicide blast in Afghanistan kills eight KANDAHAR, Sept 17(AFP) A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a district police headquarters in southern Afghanistan Monday, killing four policemen and three civilians, the interior ministry said. (Posted @ 15:10 PST)
Five dead in motorway crash LONDON, Sept 17(Reuters): Five people died in a crash in the early hours of Monday morning on the M4 in Wales, the ambulance service said. Three youths who were travelling in one car with an 18-year-old man, and a couple who were in another vehicle, died at the scene of the collision. The two-car crash happened on the eastbound carriageway between junctions 25A and 25 near Newport at around 3:15 a.m. (Posted @ 15:10 PST)
Pakistan army, militants agree to ceasefire in South Waziristan PESHAWAR, Sept 17(AP): The Pakistan Army has agreed to a cease-fire with militants holding some 260 soldiers hostage, officials said on Monday. The soldiers were seized on August 30 in South Waziristan. Tribal leaders acting as mediators have managed to establish the cease-fire, said Arbab Arif Khan, a government official responsible for security in the tribal belt. “They are now in session with the militants to secure the release of the hostages,” he said. “We don't yet know what the terms would be.” Army spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad confirmed the agreement to stop the fighting. (Posted @ 14:57 PST)
Eight killed in Tuareg attack in northern Mali BAMAKO, Sept 17(AP): Eight people were killed in an attack by Tuareg rebels in northern Mali, according to a statement released on Monday by Mali's defence ministry. The attack on a military unit occurred Sunday morning. One soldier and seven of the assailants were killed. (Posted @ 14:51 PST)
Police kill two rebels in restive Russian south MAKHACHKALA, Sept 17(AFP): Two fighters were killed in an ongoing standoff with police on Monday in Russia's restive southern region of Dagestan, which neighbours Chechnya, a police spokesman told AFP. He said police had surrounded a house where an unspecified number of armed men were holed up in the village of Novy Sulak, 60 kilometres north of the regional capital. (Posted @ 14:48 PST)
Two killed in Thai south NARATHIWAT, Thailand, Sept 17(AFP): Suspected rebels on Monday shot dead two Muslim men in the insurgency-hit Thai south, police said. The victims were found dead in their pick-up truck in Narathiwat province, local police told AFP. (Posted @ 13:55 PST)
Musharraf plans to quit army for presidency ISLAMABAD, Sept 17 (Reuters) - President Pervez Musharraf plans to stand down from the powerful position of army chief after securing his re-election for a second term in October, Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Secretary-General of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League said Monday. “We expect that after his re-election process next month, God willing, General Musharraf would take his oath of office as a civilian president before Nov. 15,” he said. “Yes, I have no doubt that the President will keep his commitment and ... he is clear on this issue,” Sayed, who recently met Musharraf, told Reuters. (Posted @ 12:54 PST)
Thai plane toll at 89, with 55 foreigners BANGKOK, Sept 17 (AFP) - The Thai plane crash on the resort island of Phuket killed 89 people, the airport's director said Monday. “The latest death toll is 89. Of these, 85 bodies have been recovered and four are still trapped underneath the plane debris,” he said . “There are 41 survivors -- 15 Thais and 26 foreigners,” he said. (Posted @ 10:42 PST)
China truck-tractor crash kills 11 BEIJING, Sep 17 (Reuters) - Eleven people were killed and 12 injured when a truck collided head-on with a tractor in the remote Ningxia region on Sunday, Xinhua news agency said on Monday. (Posted @ 09:57 PST)
Gunmen kill 11 people in Sao Paulo SAO PAULO, Brazil, Sept 17 (AFP) -Gunmen shot and killed 11 people in two separate attacks at bars over the weekend, in a spate of gun violence that rattled northern neighbourhoods of Sao Paulo, police said Sunday. (Posted @ 09:46 PST)
Greek Socialist leader concedes defeat in general elections ATHENS, Sept 17 (AFP) -Greek Socialist leader George Papandreou early on Monday conceded defeat in general elections as early results showed his Pasok socialists trailing the ruling New Democracy party by over four percent. “The people have decided... and the result is an unfavourable one,”Papandreou said in a televised address. Early results on over 60 percent of polling stations showed the New Democracy conservatives of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis leading the Pasok socialists by 43.34 percentage points to 38.5. (Posted @ 09:41 PST)
Palestinian youth killed in Ramallah by Israeli troops RAMALLAH, West Bank, Sept 17 (AFP) - Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian youth early Monday in Ramallah, Palestinian medical sources said. (Posted @ 09:36 PST)
Exploding balloons injure over 60 students in China BEIJING, Sept 17 (AFP) - More than 60 students at a school in Lanzhou city, Gansu province, suffered burn injuries when hundreds of small hydrogen balloons exploded, state media reported Monday. The students were taking part in a sports event on Sunday when more than 1,500 balloons meant to be used at the opening ceremony caught fire., Xinhua news agency reported. (Posted @ 09:34 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 12.20, points: KARACHI, Sept 17:At the close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 12791.88, up 12.20, points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 01:00 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Sept 17: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.75, to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 01:00 PST)
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