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| October 21, 2007 | Sunday | Shawwal 8, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Protests in Sindh for third day KARACHI, Oct 21 (AFP/AP) - Protesters burned tyres and hurled stones for a third day on Sunday to protest against the attack on former premier Benazir Bhutto's convoy that killed 139 people. Around 10 groups took to the streets in Lyari, an AFP correspondent said. Some hurled rocks at passing vehicles while others torched tyres. Similar protests took place in Hyderabad, Nawabshah, Sukkur and other districts, officials said. “There are reports about mild protests and burning of tyres in different districts,” Home Secretary Ghulam Mohammad Mohtarram told AFP. “The situation is under control,” he added. Benazir visits wounded in hospital: Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto visited bomb blast victims on Sunday in her first public outing since the attack. She spent about 15 minutes at Jinnah Hospital with survivors and distributed money among them, a senior doctor at the hospital said. PPP leaders file case: On Sunday, Benazir Bhutto's top aides file a case at a Karachi police station demanding the bombing be investigated to the fullest. The aides brought a statement, signed by her, asking that police “register the case and investigate so that the accused and their conspirators may be brought to book and punished according to the law.” Police officials said the case had already been registered, but that the statement would be added to the file. However, the aides noted that police had not yet met with Bhutto to discuss the attack. (Posted @ 16:46 PST)
Benazir calls for international help with blast probe KARACHI, Oct 21 (AFP): Former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto on Sunday called for international help with police investigations into last week's bomb blasts that killed 139 people in Karachi. “We want the government of Pakistan to seek the assistance of the international community,” she told foreign reporters including AFP. “They have anti-terrorism experts who have the technical expertise to investigate attacks of this nature,” she said. (Posted @ 17:06 PST)
Girls' school blown up in Miram Shah MIRAM SHAH, Oct 21 (AFP): Militants blew up a girls' school in Miram Shah, the tribal area bordering Afghanistan, security officials said on Sunday. The school building was destroyed after militants planted explosives there late Saturday, a security official said on condition of anonymity. “There were no casualties as the building was empty,” he added. The attack on the school was the second in two days after a similar incident in another town, Khar, in Bajaur district. (Posted @ 16:56 PST)
India, Pakistan set to resume anti-terror talks NEW DELHI, Oct 21 (AFP): Top Indian and Pakistani security officials and diplomats meet on Monday to resume anti-terror talks as part of a peace process launched to cool regional tensions, an official said. The ongoing talks launched earlier this year, are to put in place a mechanism to share intelligence on cross-border militant activity. (Posted @ 17:54 PST)
Iran faces 'serious consequences' over nuclear drive: Cheney LANSDOWNE, Virginia, Oct 21 (AFP): Vice President Dick Cheney on Sunday said the United States and its allies would not permit Iran to get nuclear weapons and warned of “serious consequences” if it continues to enrich uranium. “The Iranian regime needs to know that if it stays on its present course, the international community is prepared to impose serious consequences,” he said in a speech to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.(Posted @ 22:14 PST)
Rice calls Benazir KARACHI, Oct 21 (AFP): US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Benazir Bhutto on Sunday to condemn last week's suicide bombings that targeted the former Pakistan premier, her party said. Rice condemned the attack and expressed her sympathies to the families of the victims.(Posted @ 20:36 PST)
23 injured in Jamrud road accident KHYBER AGENCY, Oct 21 (APP): At least 23 persons sustained injuries when two passenger pickups collided with each other in Tehsil Jamrud here on Sunday.The incident occurred when one of the passenger pickups coming from Peshawar to Jamrud collided with another vehicle at Teday bazzar. The condition of all the injured was stated to be out of danger. (Posted @ 20:40 PST)
44 killed in fighting between Turkish soldiers, Kurdish rebels ANKARA, Oct 21 (AFP): Thirty-two Kurdish rebels and 12 Turkish soldiers were killed on Sunday in heavy clashes in southeast Turkey prompted by a rebel attack on a military patrol, the Turkish army said.The earlier toll stood at 23 rebels and 12 soldiers. Clashes erupted after a large group of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels infiltrated from northern Iraq and attacked the soldiers shortly after midnight on Saturday, said a statement on the general staff's Internet site. Sixteen Turkish soldiers were wounded in the fighting. (First Posted @ 19:35 PST Updated @ 20:38 PST)
Gaza hospital to stop surgery as it runs out of gas GAZA, Oct 21 (Reuters): A Palestinian health official said on Sunday Gaza's main hospital would be forced to stop surgery because Israel had banned imports of anaesthetic gas. He said the hospital had barely two canisters of gas left and would have to halt surgery soon. “This is a crime against humanity. Israel is killing patients, including women and children,” he said.(Posted @ 19:37 PST)
New Delhi deputy mayor dies after monkey attack NEW DELHI, Oct 21 (AP): A senior government official died on Sunday after falling from a balcony during an attack by wild monkeys at his home in the Indian capital, media reported. New Delhi Deputy Mayor S.S. Bajwa was rushed to a hospital after the attack by the gang of Rhesus macaques, but succumbed to head injuries sustained in his fall, the Press Trust of India news agency and The Times of India reported. (Posted @ 18:30 PST)
First Malaysian in space returns to Earth MOSCOW, Oct 21 (AFP): Two Russian cosmonauts and the first Malaysian in space returned to Earth on Sunday after leaving the orbiting International Space Station, Russian mission control said. The Soyuz craft with Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, who carried out experiments for Malaysia's Genome Institute, and Russians Yuri Yurtshikin and Oleg Kotov touched down on the Kazakh steppe at 1043 GMT, it said. (Posted @ 17:52 PST)
Police officer killed during attack in Chechen capital GROZNY, Oct 21 (AFP): A police officer was killed on Saturday night during an attack on a patrol car in the Chechen capital of Grozny, police officials said on Sunday. “Bandits fired on the vehicle from a building. One policeman was wounded and died shortly after in hospital. The assailants reportedly fled after the attack,” the official said. (Posted @ 17:20 PST)
Thirty rebels killed in, Afghanistan KABUL, Oct 21 (AFP): Security forces claimed on Sunday they killed about 30 rebels in new operations while two Afghan civilians died in separate incidents. The Afghan defence ministry said 20 “enemies of the people” were killed in an overnight operation by Afghan and US-led coalition forces in Kunar province istan. The coalition said separately it killed two militants in the province. The Kunar governor said a woman was also killed and three children hurt in the incident. About eight more rebel fighters were killed in days of operations that wound up Saturday in Ghazni province. (Posted @ 17:16 PST)
35 dead in Turkey-Kurd clashes ANKARA, Oct 21 (AFP): Twenty-three Kurdish rebels and 12 Turkish soldiers were killed on Sunday in an attack on a military patrol in southeast Turkey which the army blamed on Kurd separatists. Clashes erupted after a large group of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels, infiltrating from northern Iraq, attacked the soldiers shortly after midnight Sunday, said a statement on the general staff's Internet site. Sixteen Turkish soldiers were wounded in the fighting. Earlier reports from the region had 16 soldiers killed, 17 wounded and about 10 missing, but made no mention of PKK casualties. Fighting was continuing, the statement said. (First Posted @ 16:38 PST Updated @ 17:02 PST)
At least 49 killed in U.S. Baghdad strikes BAGHDAD, Oct 21 (Reuters): U.S. air strikes killed at least 49 people and wounded 52 early on Sunday in the northeastern Baghdad district of Sadr city, two police sources said. One of them said the strikes left several houses, shops and cars ablaze. A health ministry source said 10 bodies and 42 wounded had been taken to one hospital in Sadr city while another body and 25 wounded had been received at a second hospital. The U.S. military confirmed it had conducted early morning operations. (Posted @ 16:34 PST)
Afghan president travels to Britain KABUL, Oct 21 (AFP): President Hamid Karzai left on Sunday for Britain on a four-day visit where he will meet Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and Prime Minister Gordon Brown for talks on post-Taliban Afghanistan, the palace said. (Posted @ 16:28 PST)
At least 10 killed in fresh Sri Lanka clashes COLOMBO, Oct 21 (AFP): At least 10 people were killed and more than 50 wounded in clashes between Tamil Tiger rebels and Sri Lankan troops, the defence ministry said on Sunday. Eight guerrillas were killed and 20 wounded on Saturday in two clashes in the north, the military said, putting its losses at one dead and seven wounded. In clashes elsewhere, one soldier was killed and five wounded, while 20 rebel cadres were wounded, the ministry said. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Four die in helicopter crash in Russia MOSCOW, Oct 21 (AP): A privately owned helicopter crashed on Sunday in Siberia, killing all four people on board, emergency officials said. The MD-600 helicopter crashed near the village of Mundybash in the Kemerovo region in central Siberia, said a spokeswoman. (Posted @ 16:14 PST)
Grenade blast kills three children in Philippines ILIGAN, Philippines, Oct 21 (AP): A man hurled a grenade into a crowd near a public market in this southern Philippine city 780 kilometers southeast of Manila,, killing three children and wounding six other people, police said on Sunday. Police arrested a man who witnesses claimed had thrown the grenade late Saturday. (Posted @ 16:04 PST)
Rebel group claims killing 140 Ethiopian soldiers ADDIS ABABA, Oct 21 (AP): Ogaden militants said on Sunday they had killed 140 Ethiopian soldiers. About 1,000 fighters of the Ogaden National Liberation Front attacked Ethiopian troops on Saturday in southeastern Wardher, about 780 kilometers southeast of Addis Ababa, the group said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press. (Posted @ 15:58 PST)
Nine killed in Mogadishu clashes MOGADISHU, Oct 21 (AFP): Clashes between insurgents and Ethiopian troops in the Somali capital left two Ethiopian soldiers and seven civilians dead, residents said on Sunday. Residents said two Ethiopian forces were killed and several wounded in overnight clashes with insurgents who ambushed a patrol. (Posted @ 15:54 PST)
Gunmen seize 7 workers from Nigerian oilfield LAGOS, Oct 21 (Reuters): Gunmen in speedboats kidnapped seven workers including three foreigners from an offshore Nigerian oilfield. The three contractors to Royal Dutch Shell, a Croat, a Russian and a Briton, were taken from a support vessel at the EA field off the southern state of Bayelsa on Saturday night, security sources said. (Posted @ 15:52 PST)
10 killed, over 40 injured in clashes with US in Iraq BAGHDAD, Oct 21 (AFP) - Fierce fighting between the US military and militants in Baghdad's Shiite bastion of Sadr City killed at least 10 people and wounded more than 40 early on Sunday, medics and security officials told AFP.(Posted @ 11:40 PST)
Son of Indian immigrants is elected governor of US state Louisiana BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, Oct 21 (AP) - U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal, the Oxford-educated son of Indian immigrants, won the Louisiana governor's race, becoming the country's youngest governor and the first non-white to hold the state's post since the 1870s. Jindal, a Republican, had 53 percent with 625,036 votes _ more than enough to win outright and avoid a Nov. 17 runoff. His nearest competitors: Democrat Walter Boasso with 208,690 votes or 18 percent; Independent John Georges had 1167,477 votes or 14 percent; Democrat Foster Campbell had 151,101 or 13 percent. Eight candidates divided the rest.(Posted @ 11:40 PST)
One US soldier killed, eight injured in Baghdad Baghdad, Oct 21 (Reuters) - One U.S. soldier was killed and eight others wounded by a roadside bomb targeting their vehicle during fighting in eastern Baghdad on Thursday, the U.S. military said Sunday. Meanwhile, five bodies were found in different parts of Baghdad on Saturday, police said adding that the Iraqi army also found the decayed and buried bodies of three women and one man in Amiriya district of western Baghdad. Separately, a suicide car bomb targeting an Iraqi police checkpoint killed two policemen and wounded four others in northern Falluja, 50 km west of Baghdad. Also, several mortar rounds landed near an Iraqi army base killing one soldier and wounding three others in the eastern outskirts of Kerbala on Saturday, police said.(Posted @ 11:20 PST)
Israeli navy shoots dead two Palestinians off Gaza coast GAZA CITY, Oct 21 (APP/AFP) - Two Palestinian fishermen were shot dead on Saturday by an Israeli military patrol boat that fired on their vessel off the Gaza Strip coast, according to Palestinian medical sources. Hours earlier, three people were wounded after an Israeli missile was fired in the northern Gaza Strip. A n army spokesman said the three were all armed and were approaching the fence separating Gaza and Israel. This was disputed by a Palestinian medical official who said the missile had been fired at an apartment block and that the three were civilians.(Posted @ 10:45 PST)
RugbyU: Springboks capitalise on English errors to win World Cup PARIS, Oct 21 (AFP) - A ruthless South Africa punished England's ill-discipline for a tight 15-6 win over the defending champions in the rugby World Cup final here Saturday. Full-back Percy Montgomery kicked four penalties and 20-year-old centre Francois Steyn one to hand the Springboks their second World Cup triumph after their victory on home soil in 1995.(Posted @ 10:20 PST)
Cricket: Shoaib Malik and Pakistan team fined for slow over-rate DUBAI, Oct 21 (AFP) – Skipper Shoaib Malik and the Pakistan team have been fined for slow play, the International Cricket Council said on Saturday, following their 25-run victory over South Africa in their second day-night international at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Saturday. Match referee Alan Hurst said: “The Pakistan team finished three overs short of the required number of overs, although they were fully updated throughout the innings of their progress by the umpires. “And although captain Shoaib Malik was not on the field for much of the innings because of injury, he is still accountable in these circumstances,” he added. Malik was fined 50 per cent of his match fee. The other players were each fined five per cent of their match fees for every over Pakistan failed to bowl in the time allowed. As a result, Malik's team mates were each 15 percent out of pocket following the match.(Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Three Palestinians killed in factional clashes in Gaza GAZA, Oct 21 (AFP) - Three people were killed Saturday during clashes between Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, including a woman and a 13-year-old boy, that also left 45 people wounded, medical sources said.(Posted @ 10:05 PST)
Benazir must take responsibility for blast deaths: niece KARACHI, Pakistan, Oct 21 (AFP) - Benazir Bhutto bears the responsibility for the deaths of 139 people in an attack on her homecoming parade by exposing them to danger for the sake of her own “personal theatre”, her estranged niece said. Newspaper columnist and poet Fatima Bhutto, the granddaughter of late Pakistani premier Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, also told AFP in an interview that her aunt's return from exile would plunge the country further into turmoil. “She insisted on this grand show, she bears a responsibility for these deaths and for these injuries,” the 25-year-old said at her plush family home in Karachi two days after the bombings. Fatima Bhutto is the daughter of Benazir's late brother Murtaza, who was killed by police in Karachi in 1996 amid murky circumstances that led to the collapse of her second term in government.(Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Poles at the polls, as voting begins in snap elections WARSAW, Oct 21 (AFP) - Voting began in Poland's snap parliamentary elections Sunday, after polling stations opened at 6:00 am (0400 GMT).(Posted @ 09:50 PST)
China to name its new leadership team on Monday BEIJING, Oct 21 (AFP) - China will name its new leadership team for the coming five years on Monday, the official Xinhua news agency announced. A new Standing Committee of the Politburo, China's top political organ currently made up of nine people, will be endorsed on Monday by the roughly 200 members of the new Central Committee named by the Congress, Xinhua said Sunday. Xinhua had earlier announced that three members of the Standing Committee, including Vice President Zeng Qinghong, would stand down. Another position in the Standing Committee is already vacant due to the death of vice premier Huang Ju in June this year. This means that as many as four new faces may be named alongside President Hu Jintao in the party's top body, if it continues to comprise nine people. The Central Committee is widely expected to give Hu, 64, a second term as party general secretary, paving the way for the nation's parliament to rename him president and military head at its annual session in March next year. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao is also expected to secure his spot in the party's Standing Committee, allowing him to receive another five-year term to head the nation's government in March when parliament meets.Among the younger officials expected to go into the Standing Committee are Xi Jinping, current head of Shanghai, and Li Keqiang, chief of northeastern China's Liaoning province, a known political ally of Hu.(Posted @ 09:45 PST)
China's Communist Party Congress ends BEIJING, Oct 21 (AFP) - China's Communist Party ended its five-yearly Congress on Sunday after amending its charter to include President Hu Jintao's vision for the nation and endorsing leadership changes. Hu declared the event over in a short ceremony to mark the end of the week-long meeting that gathered more than 2,200 top cadres in Beijing.(Posted @ 09:40 PST)
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