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| October 11, 2007 | Thursday | Ramazan 28, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
50 foreign militants said killed in North Waziristan clashes MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, Oct 11 (AFP) Pakistan's army said Thursday 50 foreign militants including Arabs were among 200 rebels killed in North Waziristan clashes. Tribesmen revealed that “foreigners” were among the dead during a meeting in the North Waziristan tribal area aimed at brokering a formal end to days of intense fighting, the military said. Of the dead foreign rebels “25 have been recognised as Uzbek and the remaining 25 are from Tajikistan, Afghanistan and of Arab descent,” a military statement said, citing the tribesmen. “This is one of the heaviest tolls suffered by the foreigners,” a security official said separately. Residents said many of the dead were civilians, while the army says that 47 Pakistani troops also died in the fighting that erupted Sunday. Efforts to broker a formal ceasefire after this week's clashes came under threat Thursday when the army said two roadside bombs targeting military convoys had exploded in North Waziristan. “Since there is no ceasefire, whenever militants do something, we will take action,” chief military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said. Thousands of people have fled the village of Ippi and the nearby town of Mir Ali. The army said elders from two villages near Mir Ali had sought army protection “because militants use their compounds, which are ultimately targeted by retaliating security forces... and inflicting collateral damage on civilians.” Meanwhile, militants blew up six music shops in North West Frontier Province while a policeman was killed in a resulting firefight, officials said. Militants also bombed a hair salon, blowing off a barber's hands. (Posted @ 16:40 PST)
Cricket- Shoaib Akhtar fined, banned for 13 matches for hitting teammate LAHORE, Pakistan, Oct 11 (AP) The Pakistan Cricket Board Thursday suspended fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar for 13 matches for hitting fellow paceman Mohammed Asif in South Africa last month, a board official said. Akhtar was also given a 3.4 million rupee ($US57,000) fine, Shafqat Naghmi, the board's chief operating officer said after a disciplinary hearing. ''Shoaib Akhtar is banned for 13 international matches,'' Naghmi told a news conference. (Posted @ 17:05 PST)
Benazir files application for withdrawal of NAB cases RAWALPINDI, Oct 11 (APP) Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari filed separate applications for the withdrawal of six corruption references in the wake of promulgation of the national reconciliation ordinance, 2007, here Thursday. The Judge accountability court Justice Mohammad Hanif Khan issued notice to the National Accountability Bureau for tomorrow (October 12) and also summoned the record of the cases. Their lawyer Farooq Naik in his application stated that since the NRO, 2007 has been promulgated the proceedings in six references may be stopped and these should be treated as withdrawn. (Posted @ 18:05 PST)
SC directs for crackdown on hoarders ISLAMABAD, Oct 11: Supreme Court in a suo moto hearing regarding price hike of edibles Thursday directed the police for a countrywide crackdown on hoarders. A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry conducted the hearing and directed all provincial police chiefs to initiate crackdown against hoarders to check price hike in their respective provinces. The court later adjourned the hearing for November 12. (Posted @ 17:30 PST)
North Waziristan tribal elders try for ceasefire: MIRAM SHAH, Oct 11 (AFP): Tribal elders tried to broker a formal ceasefire between militants and the army on Thursday. The talks were being held in Miram Shah, the main town in North Waziristan, after days of fierce fighting that officials say left around 250 people dead, including 47 soldiers. “We hope both sides will agree to ceasefire and roads will be opened,” MP and leading negotiator Nek Zaman told AFP before heading to talks with the local administration. So far there is no “breakthrough” in the talks, a tribal elder close to members of the jirga said. (Posted @ 13:10 PST)
Bomb kills barber in NWFP: PESHAWAR, Pakistan Oct 11 (AP): A bomb exploded on Thursday in front of a barber shop in Karak, a down in n.w.f.p killing the owner and damaging the building. The device exploded when the barber picked it up after finding it wrapped in a bag in front of his shop, said the conservative town’s mayor. Hours before another bomb damaged two music shops in the town’s bazaar. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Seven killed in held Kashmir fighting: SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Oct 11 (AFP): Two Indian soldiers and five militants were killed on Thursday, police said. The soldiers, including an officer, died when militants ambushed a military convoy about 70 kilometres north of Srinagar. The militants died in two separate clashes with troops. (Posted @ 14:10 PST)
Benazir returning on 18th confirms PPP spokesman: ISLAMABAD, Oct 11 (AP): A spokesman for Pakistan People's Party, Farhatullah Babar, said former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was sticking to her plans and return on October 18. “Mohtarma Bhutto will come on Oct. 18 as scheduled,” Babar told The Associated Press. He denied a report that Bhutto would discuss a possible delay with senior aides on Thursday. He confirmed the meeting was taking place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, but said a postponement was not on the agenda. (Posted @ 12:28 PST)
Plane catches fire after emergency landing in Turkey ISTANBUL, 11 oct 2007 (AFP) - An Egyptian passenger jet made an emergency landing at Istanbul airport Thursday and caught fire, Turkish television station NTV reported. No casualities were reported after the accident, according to NTV. (Posted @ 22:30 PST)
Three killed and 18 hurt in bombing at Indian Muslim shrine JODHPUR, India, Oct 11 (Reuters) Three worshippers died and 18 others were wounded in a bomb attack Thursday at one of India's most revered shrines in the northern state of Rajasthan, police said. India sounded a nationwide alert after the attack. “It was a low intensity explosion. Preliminary information suggests a lunch box appeared to be packed with something which exploded,” Rajasthan's home minister, Gulabchand Kataria, told AFP. The explosion, for which there was no immediate claim of responsibility, happened outside the Dargah Sharif, or holy Dargah, in the state's pilgrimage town of Ajmer. The Sufi shrine is venerated by Hindus and Muslims. (First Posted @ 19:05 PST, Updated @ 21:30 PST)
Cricket- Pakistan's Salman Butt fined for umpiring outburst LAHORE, Oct 11 (Reuters) Pakistan's vice captain Salman Butt has been fined 50 percent of his match fee for his outburst against some of the umpiring decisions in the test series against South Africa. International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee Alan Hurst said Butt had been fined after being found guilty of public criticism and inappropriate comment on a match-related incident or match official. Butt criticised some umpiring decisions Thursday during the second test, saying they had gone against Pakistan. (Posted @ 21:25 PST)
Indian bus plunges into river, 40 dead LUCKNOW, India, Oct 11 (Reuters) A bus carrying pilgrims from a Hindu shrine in northern India swerved off a mountain road and plunged into a river Thursday, killing at least 40 people, an official said. The accident occurred when the driver lost control while negotiating a sharp bend and the vehicle fell into the Alakananda River high in the Himalayas. A district official said the passengers were all pilgrims from the eastern state of Orissa. (Posted @ 21:20 PST)
Govt encourages politics of reconciliation: PM Aziz ISLAMABAD, Oct 11 (APP) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the government was encouraging politics of national reconciliation and urged the people from different political disciplines to assemble at a single platform to promote national unity and prosperity here on Thursday. The Prime Minister was talking to Qari Gul Rahman, MNA Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal Karachi, who called on him at the PM House. Aziz welcomed the support by Qari Gul Rahman for president's re-election and said Pakistan would become stronger if people from different affiliations come together. He said the PML government had strengthened democratic institutions in the country and implemented a programme for the people's welfare and development according to its manifesto. Aziz while referring to the need for improving education said that we need to focus on both religious and general education. He termed the role of madrassas very important in imparting religious education and said the government was mainstreaming them so that they could teach other disciplines as well. (Posted @ 21:13 PST)
Cricket- Pakistan chase unlikely victory against South Africa LAHORE, Oct 11 (Reuters) Pakistan were 108 for one at close of play on the fourth day of the second test, chasing an improbable victory target of 457 after centuries from South Africa captain Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis. At the crease, Kamran Akmal was on 49 and Younis Khan had made 48 as Pakistan fought hard after the early loss of opener, Salman Butt for six. South Africa declared on 305 for four at tea leaving Kallis unbeaten on 107 for his third century of the series. (First Posted @ 14:53 PST, Updated @ 20:15 PST)
National Reconciliation Ordinance 2007 challenged in Sindh High Court Karachi, Oct 11 (PPI) A constitutional petition to declare the National Reconciliation Ordinance in violation of the Constitution, void ab-inito and suspend its operation was filed in the Sindh high Court on Thursday. Advocate Zahid Farooq Mazari submitted that according to Constitution no discriminating law or ordinance could be promulgated and enforced by state, which was inconsistent and in violation of Constitution. He stated former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif, former Senator Asif Ali Zardari, former Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif and other prominent personalities were found involved in corruption and abuse of power. NAB conducted inquiries against them, made references and initiated proceedings still pending in the Accountability Courts of Pakistan and also in Swiss Courts. (Posted @ 20:05 PST)
Car bomb attack on Iraqi general kills seven people KIRKUK, Iraq, Oct 11 (Reuters) A car bomb targeting the traffic police chief in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk killed at least seven people and wounded 50 others Thursday, police said. Brigadier-General Salar Ahmed Amin was wounded in the attack on his convoy, police said. Some of the victims were motorists queuing at a fuel station in a Kurdish area of Kirkuk. One police source said seven cars had been set ablaze and that three of the dead were Amin's bodyguards. (Posted @ 17:45 PST)
India PM meets IAEA head, nuclear deal clock ticks NEW DELHI, Oct 11 (Reuters) The U.N. nuclear watchdog head Mohamed ElBaradei met India's prime minister Thursday in a long-scheduled trip as time started to run out for the government to press forward with a nuclear deal with the United States. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in India on an ostensibly technical visit, sped away from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence without comment. The deal has been heralded as a landmark in U.S.-Indian relations and crucial for the country's energy needs by reversing years of anti-proliferation policies and allowing international cooperation to develop its civilian nuclear industry. (Posted @ 17:42 PST)
Doris Lessing wins Nobel literature prize STOCKHOM, Oct 11 (AFP) British writer Doris Lessing Thursday won the Nobel Literature Prize for five decades of epic novels that have covered feminism, politics as well as her youth in Africa. Lessing, who will be 88 next week, is only the 11th woman to have won the prize since it started in 1901. The Swedish Academy described Lessing as “that epicist of the female experience who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilization to scrutiny.” (Posted @ 16:25 PST)
Four people killed in Thai south NARATHIWAT, Thailand, Oct 11 (AFP) A suspected separatist rebel was shot dead during a gunfight with police, officials said Thursday, while insurgents killed three others in southern Thailand. The militant was killed and two police officers were injured in the shoot-out in Narathiwat province, police said. A retired janitor and a 43-year-old volunteer security official were also killed Thursday in separate drive-by shootings in Narathiwat, where late Wednesday a cloth vendor, aged 35, was shot dead by rebels. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Shamsul Mulk sworn in as Caretaker Chief Minister of NWFP Peshawar, Oct 11 (PPI) Former chairman WAPDA and ex-provincial minister Shamsul Mulk took the oath of caretaker chief minister of NWFP here Thursday. Governor Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai administered the oath. The oath taking ceremony, held in Governor House, was attended by chief secretary Frontier Riaz Noor, IG Frontier Constabulary Malik Naveed, former speaker Frontier Assembly Bakht Jahan Khan, Federal Minister for inter provincial coordination Salim Saifullah and other civil and military officials. (Posted @ 16:10 PST)
Iranian training plane crashes on Tehran highway, two killed TEHRAN, Iran, Oct 11 (AP) An Iranian training plane crashed Thursday morning on a highway in northeastern Tehran Thursday, killing the pilot and a passenger, state television reported. The plane crashed in the morning on a highway in a northeastern section of the capital. State TV said the two on board the craft were killed, but there were no casualties on the ground. (Posted @ 16:05 PST)
Israeli cluster bomb kills British deminer in Lebanon TYRE, Lebanon, Oct 11 (AFP) A British member of a demining team was killed Thursday by a cluster bomb dropped by Israeli forces during last year's war in Lebanon, officials said. The 36-year-old was killed in the village of Kunin, some 30 kilometres southeast of the city of Tyre, a spokeswoman for the Mine Action Coordination Centre, told AFP. (Posted @ 15:56 PST)
Cricket-Australia beat India in fifth one-day international: Baroda, India, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Australia beat India by nine wickets in the fifth one-day international at Baroda on Thursday to lead the seven-match series 3-1. Scores: India 148 all out (Tendulkar 47, M. Johnson 5/26); Australia 149-1 (A. Gilchrist 79 not out) (Posted @ 14:55 PST)
U.S. kills 13 in al Qaeda in Iraq military: BAGHDAD, Oct 11 (Reuters): Thirteen suspected insurgents, including three members of Al Qaeda in Iraq were killed in a U.S. air strike, the U.S. military said on Thursday. The strike on Wednesday west of Baghdad came hours after an imam who had been preaching against Al Qaeda, was killed. (Posted @ 13:55 PST)
Four Gazans wounded in Israeli incursion: GAZA CITY, Oct 11 (AFP): Israeli troops and armoured vehicles rolled into the central Gaza Strip on Thursday, in an incursion that wounded four Palestinians, witnesses and medics said. Around 20 armoured vehicles thrust into an area around the Al-Maghazi refugee camp where clashes broke out between Israeli troops and Palestinians, witnesses said. (Posted @ 13:15 PST)
Police grill Israel PM again in corruption probe: JERUSALEM, Oct 11 (AFP): Fraud squad officers were to grill Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for a second time on Thursday over his alleged abuse of influence in the privatisation of one of the country's leading banks. Investigators arrived at Olmert's official Jerusalem residence shortly after 0700 GMT and were scheduled to start questioning him under caution an hour later, force spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP. Questioning someone under caution means that anything he says could be used against him in court if charges are pressed. (Posted @ 12:30 PST)
US Marines propose moving force from Iraq to Afghanistan: WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (AFP): The US Marine Corps wants to withdraw its entire force from Iraq to focus its combat efforts on Afghanistan, the New York Times reported Thursday citing senior military and Pentagon officials. The proposal was made last week to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. would sharply change the structure of US forces in Afghanistan while leaving the US-led fight in Iraq in the hands of the army, the paper reported. The move would entail removing all 25,000 marines from the 160,000-strong US force currently in Iraq, and transfering them to Afghanistan, where there are currently no marines among the 26,000 US troops. (Posted @ 11:57 PST)
Sri Lanka captures two Tamil Tiger boats after naval battle: COLOMBO, Oct 11 (AP): The Sri Lankan navy captured two boats belonging to the Tamil Tiger rebel group after a sea battleon Thursday, including one carrying a remote-controlled plane and a small toy remote-controlled helicopter, the military said. The fighting began about 5:30 a.m. when the navy saw the two small boats just north of the northwestern port of Talaimannar, said a military spokesman. (Posted @ 11:48 PST)
Turkey slams US House panel over genocide bill: ANKARA, Oct 11 (AFP): Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Thursday denounced as “unacceptable” the endorsement of a measure branding as genocide the large scale deaths of Armenians by a key US congressional committee. “This unacceptable decision of the committee... has no validity and respectability for the Turkish people,” Gul told the Anatolia news agency. Shortly before the vote, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that the resolution would harm ties between the two NATO allies. If the bill is adopted “the United States will see a significant weakening of its partnership with a very important ally in this region,” Erdogan told television. Bush administration regrets vote: WASHINGTON: The US State Department on Wednesday expressed “regret” that American lawmakers voted to label the World War I massacre of Armenians as “genocide.” (Posted @ 10:12 PST)
Grenade attack kills one in Turkey: DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Oct 11 (Reuters): A policeman was killed and five people wounded in a grenade attack on a police vehicle in southeast Turkey on Wednesday, the regional governor said. Security officials said they believed Kurdish separatists were behind the attack. The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels have killed 15 security personnel this week. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Attack on US base in Iraq kills 2, wounds dozens: BAGHDAD, Oct 11 (Reuters): An “indirect fire” attack on a major U.S. military base in Baghdad overnight killed two coalition forces members and wounded 38 others, the U.S. military said on Thursday. A Western security contractor at the Camp Victory military base said he heard nine mortar rounds being fired and four explosions inside the perimeter after dusk. The military said two third country nationals had also been wounded, but gave no nationalities. The number of casualties is the highest in months. Indirect fire attacks usually refer to mortars or rockets. (Posted @ 09:40 PST)
Israelis kill Palestinian in Jenin, arrest Hamas leader in West Bank: BETHLEHEM, Oct 11 (AFP): Israeli soldiers on Wednesday night kidnapped a Hamas leader from the West Bank during an incursion in Bethlehem, a Palestinian security official said. Adel Jarawish and another member were taken by Israeli forces, said the official. An Israeli army source confirmed the arrest. Militant wounded: GAZA STRIP: At least one Palestinian militant was wounded when Israeli aircraft launched an attack overnight in the northern Gaza Strip. The Israeli aircraft launched three air-to-surface missiles, wounding people. Palestinian shot dead: JENIN: Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian during an incursion into Jenin, Palestinian security officials said on Thursday. (Posted @ 09:32 PST)
At least 28 dead in Brazil traffic accident: BRASILIA, Oct 11 (AP): A truck coming down a hill plowed into rescue workers and gawkers at the site of an earlier collision, causing a double accident that killed at least 28 people and injured 90, police said. The first crash occurred when one truck tried to pass another on a curve and smashed into an oncoming bus with about 20 people aboard in Santa Catarina state. Six people on the bus and the truck driver were killed. About 90 minutes later, another truck arrived and ran over, firefighters, police, people at the scene. Posted @ 09:23 PST)
Teenage gunman wounds four, commits suicide in Ohio high school: CHICAGO, Oct 11 (AFP): A 14-year-old gunman opened fire at an Ohio high school on Wednesday, wounding at least four people before killing himself in the latest school shooting to rock the United States. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said two students and two adults were wounded in the shooting at SuccessTech Academy. “The shooter is a 14-year-old student from the school. He has committed suicide,” Jackson said at a press conference. (Posted @ 09:10 PST)
Suu Kyi ally dies after torture, says rights group: YANGON, Oct 11 (AFP): A member of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party has died after torture and interrogation, a rights group said on Wednesday, as possible talks between her and the junta failed to develop. Win Shwe, a member of the opposition National League for Democracy, was arrested on September 26 near Mandalay, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said in a statement. “He died as a result of torture during interrogation. Hhis body was not sent to his family and the interrogators indicated that they had cremated it instead,” the Thailand-based watchdog said. (Posted @ 08:50 PST)
Bush allows torture: Jimmy Carter: WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (AFP): US President George W. Bush's administration tortures detainees in defiance of international law, former US president Jimmy Carter charged on Wednesday. “I don't think it, I know it, certainly,” Carter told CNN television when asked if he believed the US administration allowed the use of torture. Carter rejected Bush's statement last week that the United States does not torture terror suspects. (Posted @ 08:40 PST)
Two Ethiopian soldiers killed in suicide attack near Somali PM: BAIDOA, Somalia, Oct 11 (AFP): A suicide bomber rammed a vehicle on Wednesday into an Ethiopian army base in Somalia, killing two soldiers, in a bid to assassinate Somalia Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi. Gedi, staying in a nearby hotel in the city of Baidoa, was unhurt. Ethiopian troops and Somali forces immediately sealed the area. Five civilians were meanwhile killed as violence pitting Ethiopian-backed government forces against militants flared across the country. Three people were killed in Mogadishu and two more died in a roadside bomb attack against an Ethiopian officer in the southern coastal town of Kismayo where nine other people were wounded. (Posted @ 09:10 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 19.94, points: KARACHI, Oct 11:At the close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 14466.12, down 19.94, points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 13:00 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Oct 11:The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.6, to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 13:00 PST)
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