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| September 23, 2007 | Sunday | Ramazan 10, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Tribal fighting leaves nine dead in Khyber Agency PESHAWAR, Sept 23(AFP): Fighting between two rival groups over a business dispute left at least nine people dead and 12 others injured on Sunday in Khyber Agency bordering Afghanistan. The deaths occurred in a where the long-standing rivals fired rockets and mortars at each other, a senior government official told AFP. The dead include three women who were killed after a mortar shell hit their home. The clash continued for more than four hours. (Posted @ 17:40 PST)
Ban, Karzai chair meeting on Afghanistan UNITED NATIONS, Sept 23(AP): U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Afghan President Hamid Karzai co-chaired a high-level meeting on Sunday of key nations whose support is needed to help bring peace and stability to Afghanistan including the United States and neighbours Iran and Pakistan. The 24 participants are members of a board established to implement the Afghanistan Compact, a five-year blueprint adopted by the Afghan government and the international community in January 2006 to help the nation build a stable future after two decades of war. (Posted @ 21:45 PST)
Two militants killed, contractor beheaded in N. Waziristan MIRANSHAH, Sept 23(AFP): Suspected militants in North Waziristan beheaded a local contractor who supplied food to Pakistani security forces, officials said on Sunday, Two militants were killed elsewhere in a clash with troops, officials added. The two militants were killed after an exchange of fire with security forces deployed near the tribal town of Mir Ali late Saturday, he said. (Posted @ 21:25 PST)
Hindu god row intensifies in India after attacks CHENNAI, Sept 23(AFP): A row over a proposed sea corridor between India and Sri Lanka escalated on Sunday with supporters of a local party ransacking offices of Hindu rightwing groups. Activists of southern Tamil Nadu state's chief minister M. Karunanidhi smashed office windows and stoned vehicles belonging to India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and allied groups in Chennai city, police said. The attack comes after a Hindu priest allied to the BJP offered gold as reward to anyone who cut off Karunanidhi's head for dismissing a deity worshipped by millions as a big lie. (Posted @ 21:15 PST)
NATO friendly fire kills four in eastern Afghanistan KABUL, Sept 23(AP): NATO helicopters, responding to a rocket attack at an Afghan army base, fired on a group of suspected insurgents, killing four and wounding 12 others in what may have been a case of mistaken identity, the alliance said on Sunday. The Afghan government and NATO were still trying to determine the “official status” of the casualties, with initial reports indicating they were Afghan police and road construction security guards “dressed in civilian attire and carrying weapons on an uncoordinated patrol,” NATO's International Security Assistance Force said in a statement. “The 12 wounded are civilians,” said an Afghan army commander. (Posted @ 20:55 PST)
Explosion in Quetta QUETTA, Sep 23 (PPI): An explosion rocked Satellite Town on Sunday afternoon damaging two vehicles. The windowpanes of houses in the vicinity were also shattered. (Posted @ 19:40 PST)
U.S. troops kill 10 suspected insurgents, detain 22 others BAGHDAD, Sept 23(AP): U.S. troops on Sunday killed 10 suspected insurgents - six of them said to be foreign fighters - and detained 22 others in operations targeting Al-Qaeda in central Iraq, the military said. (Posted @ 19:40 PST)
NATO soldier killed in Afghanistan KHOST, Sept 23(AFP): A soldier with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force was killed on Sunday in eastern Afghanistan, the alliance force said. ISAF did not immediately have details of the incident in which the soldier died or the location. An Afghan government official in the eastern province of Paktia said meanwhile that a bomb struck a Western military convoy in the volatile Zurmat district, causing some troop casualties. (Posted @ 19:40 PST)
Four Tamil Tiger rebels killed, as Sri Lanka urges return to peace talks COLOMBO, Sept 23(AP): Sri Lanka's top defence official urged the Tamil Tiger rebels Sunday to return to peace talks, as clashes between government troops and Tigers in the country's north left four combatants dead. Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse said in an interview that the government would not exploit what he called “an environment conducive for further military action” if the rebels return to the negotiating table. There was no immediate response from the rebels. (Posted @ 19:00 PST)
Railway tracks, station blown up in India ISLAMABAD, Sep 23 (APP): Railway tracks were blasted and a station blown up in Jharkhand during the strike called by CPI (Maoists) in three states on Sunday, heavily damaging railway property and disrupting train services. The Maoists blew up the Kajarat Nawadih railway station on Garwah Road-Sonenagar railway route under Mugalsarai in Palamu district. Activists blasted the rail track at Chengro on Dhanbad-Gaya section under East Central Railway.Train service on the route was badly disrupted following the incidents. (Posted @ 16:40 PST)
Israel agrees to free 90 Palestinian prisoners JERUSALEM, Sept 23(Reuters): Israel agreed on Sunday to free another 90 Palestinian prisoners to try to bolster President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of a U.S.-sponsored conference on Palestinian statehood, officials said. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's cabinet approved the release in principle and said a ministerial committee would meet later on Sunday to finalise the list of prisoners. The Israeli government had been expected to release more than 100 Palestinian prisoners. It was not immediately clear why the number was cut back. Ashraf Ajrami, Palestinian minister for prisoner affairs, said the release of 90 prisoners was meaningless given the thousands of Palestinians who remain in Israeli jails. “Israel is speaking about goodwill but if it wants to show goodwill, it needs to release 1,000 prisoners or more, not 90,” Ajrami said. (Posted @ 16:36 PST)
Ruling party picks Fukuda to lead Japan TOKYO, Sept 23(Reuters): Japan's ruling party on Sunday picked Yasuo Fukuda, an advocate of warmer ties with Asian neighbours, to be the next prime minister, but the 71-year-old lawmaker faces a likely policy deadlock in a divided parliament. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) rallied behind Fukuda, who is seen as a competent moderate, hoping he can bring stability and stave off calls for an early election after a year of scandal and missteps that ended in the sudden resignation of Shinzo Abe. (Posted @ 16:30 PST)
Two Italian soldiers missing in Afghanistan KABUL, Sept 23(AP): Italy's Defence Ministry said on Sunday that two Italian military personnel were missing in west Afghanistan. The two Italians, their driver and a translator drove through a police checkpoint in Shindand district of Herat province on Saturday, and have not had any contact with anyone since, said the chief of police criminal investigations in western Afghanistan. The defence ministry said that their families had been notified and an investigation was under way. (Posted @ 16:15 PST)
U.S. soldier killed, another wounded in Baghdad BAGHDAD, Sept 23(AP): A soldier was killed and another wounded when a roadside bomb hit their patrol in eastern Baghdad, the U.S. military announced in a statement on Sunday. The identity of the soldier was not released pending notification of relatives. (Posted @ 16:10 PST)
20,000 march in Myanmar against mly junta YANGON, Sept 23(AP): About 20,000 people led by Buddhist monks demonstrated against Myanmar's military junta on Sunday. Some 10,000 monks marched from the famous Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar's biggest city, Yangon, to the nearby Sule Pagoda before passing the U.S. Embassy, witnesses said. The monks shouted support for detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, while a crowd of about 10,000 people protected them by forming a human chain along the route. It was the sixth straight day monks have marched in Yangon and the protest was the largest in the latest series. The monks’ defiant activities have given new life to a protest movement that began a month ago. (Posted @ 15:15 PST)
Gas explosion in Ghana injures 130 KUMASI, Ghana, Sept 23(AFP): A gas explosion in Ghana's second-largest city Kumasi has wounded about 130 people, a hospital official said late Saturday. “Initially 123 people were brought in and late in the night about seven more came,” the head of the accident and emergency centre at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, told AFP. No deaths were reported. (Posted @ 15:05 PST)
B'desh allows appeals over killing of former leader DHAKA, Sept 23(Reuters): Bangladesh's Supreme Court has granted five former army officers sentenced to death for killing the country's independence leader 32 year ago permission to appeal against their convictions, court officials said on Sunday. “The Supreme Court has asked five detained convicts to submit their appeal against a High Court verdict that ordered them to hang, by Oct. 30,” a court registrar said. The Awami League expressed shock at the decision. (Posted @ 14:52 PST)
Veteran mime artist Marcel Marceau dead at 84 PARIS, Sept 23(AFP): Marcel Marceau, one of the world's best loved mime artists, has died at the age of 84, one of his children told AFP on Sunday. “He died yesterday evening,” his daughter Camille said, adding that details of the funeral arrangements and burial at Pere Lachaise would be given out later. Marceau, whose real name was Marcel Mangel, became internationally famous for his 1947 creation of Bip, a sad, white-faced clown in a striped jumper and a battered silk opera hat. (Posted @ 14:50 PST)
House fire kills 10 Saudis, including infant RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Sept 23 (AP) - A fire started by a short-circuit in an air conditioning unit swept through a Saudi home Saturday killing 10 family members, including an infant, an Interior Ministry official said. “Ten people suffocated to death as they were sleeping, ranging from 8 months to 28 years old,” he said. “Three others survived after being rushed to the hospital.”(Posted @ 13:30 PST)
Migrant workers in limbo at Kuala Lumpur airport waiting for employers to collect them KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Sept 23 (AP) - Thousands of migrant workers camp for days in a stuffy car park at the airport here sleeping on the floor surrounded by garbage and urine, while they wait for their new employers to collect them. Every day, more than 1,000 migrant workers arrive, with the number swelling to 3,000 at the weekend. Most of them arrive from Bangladesh, and a few from Nepal, Pakistan, India and other countries, eager to join a burgeoning labour force of menial workers, such as carpenters, cleaners, security guards, waiters and shop clerks who help keep Malaysia's economic success humming. Complaints prompted authorities to set up a makeshift immigration processing centre in the airport's multistory car park to facilitate speedy processing but many workers were forced to wait several nights because their employers or agents were either late or did not show up at all, an official said. Officials say they have started moving workers to a nearby centre previously used for illegal immigrants with proper toilets and food provided. They will be housed there for a maximum three days before being deported if their employers do not show up, they said.(Posted @ 13:30 PST)
Cricket-Sussex retain English county title LONDON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Sussex retained the English county championship on Saturday when they claimed an emphatic victory over Worcestershire at Hove while rivals Lancashire were beaten by Surrey. It was Sussex's third title triumph in five years. Pakistan leg-spin bowler Mushtaq Ahmed was the Sussex hero, taking 13 wickets for 225 runs in the match as the defending champions claimed their victory by an innings and 14 runs. Having emerged triumphant in their own game at lunchtime, Sussex had to wait for more than four hours before they could celebrate as Lancashire attempted to score 489 and claim victory in their final game.In the end, Lancashire fell short by 25 runs and missed out in their attempt to win the title outright for the first time since 1934. Sussex team manager Mark Robinson termed it as “the most exciting championship ever.”(Posted @ 09:25 PST)
China colliery fire traps 15 miners BEIJING, Sept 23 (Reuters) - A fire at a coal mine in Shanxi province in northern China has trapped 15 workers and has been burning since Wednesday, the official Xinhua news agency said. Rescuers have already found three bodies, though 18 people managed to escape, the report on Sunday said. “It is not clear whether the 15 trapped miners are still alive or not, and the fire is yet to be quenched,” it added.(Posted @ 09:15 PST)
British soldier dies in Iraq LONDON, Sept 23 (AFP) - A British soldier died in Britain after he was seriously injured in an accident on Wednesday involving a forklift truck at Basra Air Station , the Ministry of Defence said Saturday.(Posted @ 09:05 PST)
Israel seized North Korean nuclear material from Syria: Sunday Times LONDON, Sept 23 (AFP) - Elite Israeli forces seized North Korean nuclear material during a raid on a secret military site in Syria before Israeli warplanes bombed it September 6, Sunday Times reported Sunday.It quoted well-placed sources as saying the commandos seized the material from a compound near Dayr az-Zwar in northern Syria and that tests of it in Israel showed it was of North Korean origin. An unidentified senior American source quoted by The Sunday Times added that the US government sought proof of nuclear-related activities before allowing the air strike by F-151 warplanes to go ahead.(Posted @ 09:00 PST)
Presidential election in Lebanon BEIRUT, Sept 23 (AFP) - Lebanon's presidential election has to take place in parliament between September 25 and November 24 when incumbent President Emile Lahoud's term ends.Under an unwritten agreement following Lebanon's 1943 independence, the president is a Maronite Christian while the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament a Shiite Muslim.(Posted @ 09:00 PST)
High-level talks discuss greater UN role in Iraq UNITED NATIONS, Sept 23(AFP) - A high-level meeting on Iraq ended here Saturday with support for a bigger UN role in the war-scarred country but acknowledgment that this would require greater improvement in the security situation. UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who co-chaired the meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, outlined plans for a modest hike in the world body's presence but cautioned that although security has been improving in Iraq, “much more needs to be done.””There was an emphasis by many speakers on the key UN role in helping to promote national reconciliation,” Ban said during a joint press conference with Maliki.“There was clear agreement that the international community cannot turn away from or ignore Iraq,” he added.(Posted @ 09:00 PST)
Fujimori back in Peru to face trial LIMA, Sept 23 (AFP) - Seven years after fleeing Peru, former president Alberto Fujimori was back in Lima Saturday to face trial on charges of corruption and responsibility in death squad massacres during his rule. Fujimori, 69, was immediately flown by helicopter to a temporary detention facility at the Special Police Operations Directorate (DIREOS) after landing in Lima following his extradition from Chile.(Posted @ 09:00 PST)
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