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| September 19, 2007 | Wednesday | Ramazan 06, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Militants kidnap 7 soldiers in northwest Pakistan PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Sept 19 (AP) - Dozens of gunmen raided a checkpost near a stronghold of Taliban and al-Qaida militants in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday and kidnapped seven soldiers, a local official said. It was not immediately clear exactly who abducted the soldiers in the village of Buland Khel, said Ghani ur-Rahman, the mayor of nearby Hangu town. He said authorities were contacting tribal elders to seek their help in releasing the men. Army spokesmen were not immediately available for comment. Meanwhile, authorities on Wednesday sent a delegation of tribal elders to South Waziristan to seek the release of some 260 soldiers kidnapped there on Aug. 30. Local militant leaders are demanding that the government withdraw troops recently deployed in their areas. (Posted @ 15:56 PST)
Musharraf meets McKinnon, expresses resolve to hold free, fair, transparent elections RAWALPINDI, Sep 19 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf Wednesday reiterated his firm resolve to hold free, fair and transparent elections in the country. Talking to visiting Commonwealth Secretary General John McKinnon, the President said his focus was on ensuring political stability in the country in the run up to general elections. McKinnon said he was greatly reassured with President Musharraf's statement in the Supreme Court about his decision to relinquish the post of Army Chief, if re-elected for the next term. He also praised President Musharraf for the robust economic growth in Pakistan following a string of wide-ranging economic reforms introduced in diverse fields. He briefed the President on the preparations for, and the key issues likely to be discussed at, the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Uganda, in November this year. McKinnon also met Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz besides High Commissioners of Commonwealth member countries in Pakistan. During the meetings he also enquired about plans for the forthcoming elections to National and Provincial Assemblies. (Posted @ 18:25 PST)
Pakistan warns opposition of 'extreme decisions' ISLAMABAD, Sept 19 (AFP) - Pakistan's government warned Wednesday of “extreme decisions” if the opposition resigns from parliament over President Pervez Musharraf's bid to be re-elected in uniform. “If the opposition adopts an extremist policy, it could lead to extreme decisions which could be unfortunate for the country,” Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid told a private TV channel. The minister did not elaborate. (Posted @ 15:25 PST)
Indian soldier killed in held Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Sept 19(AFP): An Indian army soldier was killed and four others hurt in Indian occupied Kashmir on Wednesday in the first ambush by militants during Ramadan, police said. The daylight attack on the army convoy took place in Gund, about 40kms northeast of Srinagar. (Posted @ 14:04 PST)
At least nine killed in Lebanon car bombing: police BEIRUT, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) - At least nine people, including an anti-Syrian MP, were killed on Wednesday in a car bombing in a Christian suburb of Lebanon and dozens of others were injured, a police spokesman told AFP. (Posted @ 22:00 PST)
Cricket: South Africa beat New Zealand by six wickets DURBAN, South Africa, Sept 19 (AFP) - Hosts South Africa defeated New Zealand by six wickets here on Wednesday to record their second win in the Super Eights of the Twenty20 world championships. Both teams have two wins in group E and will advance to the semi-finals if India lose to England later on Wednesday. If India win and also beat South Africa in their last match on Thursday, a three-way tie will be decided on net run-rates. England, who lost their first two matches, have been knocked out of the tournament. Brief scores: New Zealand 153-8 in 20 overs; South Africa 158-4 in 19.1 overs. (Posted @ 20:20 PST)
Beirut car bomb kills at least five BEIRUT, Sept 19 (Reuters) - A car bomb exploded in the Christian eastern part of Beirut on Wednesday, killing at least five people and wounding four in an attack that may have targeted a political figure, security sources said. Television footage showed several cars on fire and bodies being carried away from the scene. “The explosion took place in the Sin el-Fil area near the Metropolitan hotel,” a security source said. (Posted @ 20:10 PST)
Commonwealth: Musharraf doffing uniform would be 'important step' for democracy in Pakistan ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Sept 19 (AP) - President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's resignation as army chief if he is re-elected president would be an “important first step” for deepening democracy in Pakistan, the Commonwealth said through a spokesman Wednesday. Don McKinnon Secretary-general Don McKinnon met with Musharraf at the start of a three-day visit to assess to the political situation in Pakistan ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections. “It would be an important first step in deepening democracy in Pakistan,” said a Commonwealth spokesman, Manoah Esipisu, after McKinnon's talks with Musharraf. (Posted @ 19:11 PST)
ECNEC approves projects worth Rs154.1bn ISLAMABAD, Sept 19 (PPI) - The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) Wednesday approved about 45 development projects worth Rs.154.1 billion pertaining to social welfare, energy, water resources, physical planning, education, transport & communications, higher education, industries, commerce, agriculture and health. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz presiding ver the meeting said our focus has been on provision of roads, water, electricity and gas to the people. (Posted @ 19:37 PST)
Indian troops suffer losses; five more Kashmiri youth martyred ISLAMABAD, Sept 19 (APP):- Indian troops martyred five more innocent Kashmiri youth across occupied Kashmir, Kashmir Media Service reported.. Three youth were shot dead at Machil in Kupwara while bodies of two other youngsters were recovered from the debris of a house destroyed by the troops' shelling at Chanot in Baderwah. Unidentified gunmen also shot dead a civilian at Sheerpora in Pattan while dead body of a missing person was recovered from Shopian area. Meanwhile, one trooper was killed and 14 others injured in an attack by freedom fighters at Ganiwan on Srinagar-Leh highway. In another attack, five more troops, including a Major and a Sub-Inspector of Special Task Force, were injured at Chinot in Bhadarwah. (Posted @ 19:30 PST)
Cyprus should not be used as excuse to slow down Turkey's EU membership: Gul NICOSIA, Cyprus, Sept 19 (AP) - Turkey's president Abdullah Gul called on European nations Wednesday not to use the dispute over Cyprus as an excuse to slow down Turkey's European Union membership. Speaking in the parliament of the Turkish Cypriot state Gul said: “It is not right to link the Cyprus problem with Turkey's EU membership. This is a wrong assessment. The Cyprus issue should not be used to slow down or prevent Turkey's EU membership process.” (Posted @ 19:21 PST)
2 Danish soldiers wounded in Afghan shootout COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Sept 19 (AP) - Two Danish soldiers were wounded in a firefight Wednesday with Taliban militants in the Helmand province of Afghanistan, Denmark's military said. The shooting occurred during a joint military operation with British troops in Helmand province where about 2,500 Afghan and NATO troops began a new military operation Wednesday in the Gereshk region. (Posted @ 19:20 PST)
Helicopter crashes near Moscow ring road MOSCOW, Sept 19 (Reuters) - A helicopter crashed near Moscow's busy MKAD ring road on Wednesday, Interfax news agency reported. The helicopter had seven people on board, the news agency said. (Posted @ 19:05 PST)
Police officer killed, 4 troops wounded in southern Russia attacks NAZRAN, Russia, Sept 19 (AP) - A police officer was killed and four federal serviceman were wounded in two separate attacks in southern Russia's Ingushetia region, officials said Wednesday. Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered in Ingushetia's main city, Nazran, to express anger over frequent abductions in the region after two ethnic Ingush men were abducted in neighbouring Chechnya. (Posted @ 18:10 PST)
Three US soldiers killed in Iraq blast BAGHDAD, Sept 19 (APP/AFP) - Insurgents killed three American soldiers and wounded another three when they triggered an explosion in Iraq's Diyala province northeast of Baghdad on Tuesday, the US military said. (Posted @ 16:30 PST)
Four killed 11 wounded in road accident RAWALPINDI , Sep.19 (APP): Four people were killed and 11 others sustained injuries when a college bus hit a passenger van at Charring Cross on Wednesday. Police said the accident occurred because the bus driver lost control due to brake failure. All the victims were passengers of the ill-fated van. (Posted @ 16:10 PST)
Rice in Mideast on latest peace mission JERUSALEM, Sept 19 (AFP) -US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Israel on Wednesday on her latest peace mission to prepare for a “serious and substantive” Middle East conference later this year. On Wednesday she was due to meet senior Israeli officials before dining one-on-one with Olmert, officials said. On Thursday she heads to Ramallah for meetings with Abbas and prime minister Salam Fayyad. “This meeting has to, in a substantive way, support the activities and the efforts of the parties to lay the foundations for the negotiation of a Palestinian state as soon as possible,” she told journalists travelling with her to the Middle East. (Posted @ 15:23 PST)
Three Muslims shot dead in Thai south YALA, Thailand, Sept 19(AFP): Three Muslims, including a suspected militant, have been shot dead in Thailand's south, police said on Wednesday. Rebels and army rangers exchanged gunfire in a pre-dawn clash on Wednesday in Pattani, killing a 28-year-old Muslim militant, police said. In nearby Yala province, a 45-year-old Muslim woman was shot dead by insurgents in a drive-by shooting early Wednesday. Militants also shot dead a 27-year-old Muslim man at his house, wounding his three-year-old daughter. (Posted @ 14:11 PST)
Two killed in India over Hindu god row BANGALORE, Sept 19(Reuters): A mob torched a bus and burnt two people to death. The police blamed Hindu activists angry over the latest chapter in a row over the existence of Hindu gods. A mob attacked the bus late on Tuesday night as it travelled from Bangalore to Tamil Nadu. “There were 26 passengers. All escaped but for two passengers who may have been asleep. Their bodies were charred beyond recognition,” said a police inspector. Another officer said the attackers were Hindu activists, enraged by Tamil Nadu's chief minister, M. Karunanidhi’s comments, who has appeared in public several times questioning the existence of Lord Ram. Shortly before the bus attack, a mob threw stones at the Bangalore house of Karunanidhi's daughter, where police found a hand-written note demanding Karunanidhi's arrest. (Posted @ 12:56 PST)
Palestinian killed in second day of Israeli raid on West Bank refugee camp NABLUS, Sept 19(AP): A handicapped Palestinian man was shot to death Wednesday as Israeli troops and Palestinian militants traded heavy gunfire in an Israeli army raid on a West Bank refugee camp. The Israeli army, which launched the raid on Tuesday, claimed its troops shot a militant while trying to root out a cell of Hamas and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine fighters. (Posted @ 12:50 PST)
Al-Qaeda fighters seize control of Iraqi village BAQUBA, Sept 19(AFP): Al-Qaeda militants seized control of a village in Diyala province after a two-day battle with a rival Sunni insurgent group, police said on Wednesday. Dozens of Al-Qaeda fighters arrived in boats on Monday and launched an attack on Al-Shuan village on the banks of the Diyala river, police said Members of the rival Brigades of the 1920 Revolution fought back but the village eventually fell to the Al-Qaeda militants. (Posted @ 12:43 PST)
French defence minister says no military plan against Iran PARIS, Sept 19(AFP): French Defence Minister Herve Morin said on Wednesday that France had no military plan to attack Iran's nuclear programme. He said that speculation of a looming conflict was “fantasy”. “Nobody should think for a single instant that we are imagining and preparing military plans concerning Iran,” Morin said in an interview with local television. (Posted @ 12:19 PST)
Suicide bomber wounds eight policemen in Afghanistan KANDAHAR, Sept 19(AP): A suicide bomber on foot blew himself up next to a police vehicle Wednesday in Garmsir district of Helmand province, wounding eight policemen, an official said. The attack left three of the wounded officers in critical condition, said the provincial police chief. (Posted @ 10:43 PST)
China launches Brazilian-made satellite BEIJING, Sept 19(AFP): China on Wednesday launched a satellite co-developed with Brazil to take high-definition photographs of the Earth's surface, state media reported. The satellite, named 02B, lifted off shortly before noon on a Long March 4B carrier rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in north China's Shanxi province, the Xinhua news agency said. This is the third Sino-Brazilian satellite to enter into orbit, following launches in 1999 and 2003. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Gunmen attack ex-governor's convoy in Philippines: 9 killed MANILA, Sept 19(AP): Unidentified gunmen opened fire on Wednesday on a two-car convoy carrying a former provincial governor in the southern Philippines, leaving nine people dead in a fierce shootout, the military said. The former governor of Maguinandao province, Norodin Matalam and his wife were critically wounded, said the local army commander in nearby North Cotabato province. (Posted @ 08:54 PST)
Oil hits new record over $82 SINGAPORE, Sept 19(AFP): Oil prices topped $82 on Wednesday, soaring to a fresh record in Asian trade after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates to boost the US economy. At 0220 GMT, New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for October delivery, was trading at a new all-time high of $82.32 a barrel, up 81 cents from its close of $81.51 in late US trades Tuesday. (Posted @ 08:52 PST)
Indian left asks govt to delay nuclear deal 6 months NEW DELHI, Sept 18(Reuters): India's main communist party asked the government on Tuesday not to pursue a controversial nuclear deal with the United States for six months and warned of a “political crisis” if it went ahead. The Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M), made this demand on the eve of a second meeting of a joint panel formed to resolve differences between leftist parties and the government over the agreement. (Posted @ 08:49 PST)
Top surviving Khmer Rouge leader arrested in Cambodia PAILIN, Cambodia, Sept 19(AP): Police detained the top surviving leader of the Khmer Rouge, Nuon Chea, on Wednesday over his role in the notorious former Cambodian regime that caused the deaths of 1.7 million people in the late 1970s. He was taken in police escort from his home in Pailin, northwestern Cambodia and was flown to the capital Phnom Penh, where he was formally arrested.(Posted @ 08:48 PST)
More than 100 toddlers in northern Vietnam hospitalised for food poisoning HANOI, Sept 19(AP): More than 100 children at a kindergarten in northern Vietnam were hospitalised for food poisoning after eating a school-prepared lunch, a health worker said on Wednesday. The children, aged 2 to 5, were hospitalised Monday, suffering from vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach aches, said a health worker in Phu Tho province. (Posted @ 09:05 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 175.09, points: KARACHI, Sept 19:At the close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 13127.69 , up 175.09, points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 13:00 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Sept 19: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.7, to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 13:00 PST)
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