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| October 30, 2007 | Tuesday | Shawwal 17, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Supreme Court orders govt to let Nawaz Sharif return ISLAMABAD, Oct 30 (AFP): The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, on Tuesday ordered the government to allow Nawaz Sharif to return home, saying its deportation of the former prime minister in September violated an earlier court ruling. Hundreds of Sharif supporters clapped and shouted slogans against President General Pervez Musharraf outside the Supreme Court after the move by chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The judge also accused Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz of disobeying the Supreme Court's orders when Sharif was put onto a plane to Saudi Arabia on September 10, hours after ending his seven-year exile. “The judgment passed by this court is very much intact... and is required to be implemented in letter and spirit,” Chaudhry told the court as he adjourned a hearing on appeals against the deportation until November 8. The chief justice earlier expressed anger that in the days just before Sharif was sent packing, “steps were being taken to violate the orders of this court by the prime minister. (Posted @ 17:48 PST)
Benazir vows to visit bomb-hit Rawalpindi KARACHI, Oct 30 (AFP): Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto said she would address a public meeting in Rawalpindi next month despite a suicide attack near President Musharraf's office there on Tuesday. “I will go to Rawalpindi despite the bomb blast that occurred there today and will hold a public meeting on November 9, as per the party's decision,” Bhutto told reporters on Tuesday during a visit to a Karachi hospital. However, she said she had decided not to lead a procession in Rawalpindi because of growing security concerns. (Posted @ 18:10 PST)
Seven dead in suicide blast near Musharraf's HQ RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Oct 30 (AFP/Reuters/PPI): - A suicide bomber blew himself up near President Pervez Musharraf's army headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on Tuesday, killing seven people and injuring 20 others, officials said. “It was a suicide attack. The area is sensitive -we don't know what the exact target was. seven people were killed,” Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid told AFP. The blast happened within a kilometre of Musharraf's military camp office in the city, and was also near the office of the chairman of Pakistan's joint chiefs of staff, witnesses said. Private television channels said the attack occurred as Musharraf was meeting with top officials to discuss the security situation following a spate of recent attacks. It was not immediately clear if that meeting was held in the Rawalpindi office. But the interior ministry denied that the bomber meant to target the army. “The suicide bomber blew himself up at a police post, killing five people. Eleven others were wounded including five policemen. It appears to be an attack targeting police,” Interior ministry spokesman Javed Cheema told AFP. Police official Mohammad Tahir said that the bomber was on foot and was stopped by police at a checkpoint in the city. “He then detonated explosives strapped to his body,” he said. The victims included two policemen and a cyclist, he added. (Posted @ 13:30 PST)
Pakistan: Calm prevails in Swat valley SWAT, Pakistan, Oct 30 (AP): - An uneasy calm prevailed in Swat valley in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, a day after militants announced a cease-fire following four days of fighting with security forces that left more than 100 people dead. Residents said they had not heard any gunfire since Monday, though traders were still reluctant to open their shops. “We are happy that there is no fighting today. We hope that both sides will respect the cease-fire,” said Maulana Mohammed Alam, an influential local cleric. Residents say militants used the break in hostilities to bury the dead, but were still using loudspeakers in mosques and vehicles to issue calls for jihad in Charbagh, a village at the center of the fighting. (Posted @ 12:40 PST)
Fugitive militant demands halt to mly operations at mass rally KHAR, Oct 30 (AP): About 5,000 tribesmen joined a rally in Bajaur Agency on Tuesday led by Faqir Mohammed, an alleged Pakistani associate of Al-Qaeda's No. 2 leader. They were demanding the military halt operations against militants in Swat, North and South Waziristan. Faqir, wanted by Pakistan for allegedly harbouring foreign militants, was guarded by hundreds of supporters, many wearing masks and carrying assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. The rally marked the first anniversary of a missile attack on a Bajur madressah that killed 80 people. (Posted @ 19:32 PST)
Pakistan calls for assured nuclear fuel supply to meet world's energy needs UNITED NATIONS, Oct 30, (APP) - Pakistan told the U.N. General Assembly on Monday that it would support a mechanism that would supply nuclear fuel on a non-discriminatory basis to meet growing worldwide demand for nuclear energy. “The basis of acceptance of any such mechanism will be that of trust in the system. It should encourage expansion of nuclear power through the assured supply of nuclear fuel and other related services in a non-discriminatory manner,” Pakistan's U.N. ambassador Munir Akram said. (Posted @ 23:36 PST)
Three US soldiers killed in Iraq BAGHDAD, Oct 30, (AFP) - Insurgents killed three US soldiers southeast of Baghdad on Tuesday in a bomb attack, the military said. The soldiers were killed when their patrol was struck by the bomb, it said. The US military's overall losses in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion touched 3,842, according to an AFP tally based on Pentagon figures. (Posted @ 22:46 PST)
Indian troops martyr one more innocent youth in Occupied Kashmir ISLAMABAD, Oct 30, (APP) - In occupied Kashmir, Indian troops martyred one more innocent Kashmiri youth in Bandipora today in a fake encounter. The Islamabad (IHK) Bar Association, took out a protest march against the Indian troops atrocities and boycotted the court proceedings. (Posted @ 21:54 PST)
Major powers expected to meet on Iran this week WASHINGTON, Oct 30, (REUTERS) - Major powers plan to meet in London this week to discuss new U.N. sanctions on Iran amid a spat between Washington and the U.N. nuclear watchdog over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, U.S. officials said on Tuesday. (Posted @ 21:22 PST)
India PM says U.S. nuclear deal delayed, not dead NEW DELHI, Oct 30 (Reuters): Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Tuesday his country's controversial nuclear deal with the United States had been delayed but was not dead. “There is some delay but we have not reached the end of the road,” Singh told a joint news conference with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Indian capital. (Posted @ 20:04 PST)
Brazil to host 2014 Football World Cup ZURICH, Oct 30 (AFP): Brazil was officially named by FIFA President Sepp Blatter as hosts of the 2014 World Cup here on Tuesday. The five-time world champions were the only candidates in the race to host the event. (Posted @ 19:48 PST)
Gas explosion near Paris injures 30 people PARIS, Oct 30 (Reuters): Some 30 people were injured, 10 seriously, in a gas explosion in a building north of Paris, in the city of Bondy, police and local officials said on Tuesday. Police said the explosion happened after workers hit a gas main. (Posted @ 19:46 PST)
US not about to attack Iran: White House WASHINGTON, Oct 30, 2007 (AFP): The United States is not about to attack Iran, the White House said on Tuesday, amid spiralling tensions over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. “There is no reason for people to think that the president is about to attack Iran,” White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. Asked by reporters if she was sure, she replied: “I'm positive of that, and we're pursuing a diplomatic track.” (First Posted @ 19:38 PST Updated @ 19:42 PST)
US spends $43.5 billion on intelligence: official WASHINGTON, Oct 30 (AFP): The US intelligence budget for fiscal 2007 was 43.5 billion dollars, national intelligence chief Mike McConnell disclosed on Tuesday, making public a figure that has been kept secret for nearly a decade. He announced the 2007 aggregate appropriations for the national intelligence program to comply with a law passed by Congress requiring the disclosure. The figure includes appropriations for the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, other Defense Department intelligence collection agencies, State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research, and FBI intelligence programs. It does not include the intelligence budgets of the separate military services. (Posted @ 19:22 PST)
Ponting, Gilchrist and Afridi join new Indian league NEW DELHI, Oct 30 (Reuters): Eleven Australian players led by skipper Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist, as well as Pakistan all rounder Shahid Afridi, have signed up for the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL), organisers said on Tuesday. The 44-day IPL event will feature eight franchises in the inaugural season with each squad containing 16 players. They will play home and away games leading up to a grand final. (Posted @ 19:04 PST)
Afghan, foreign troops kill 20 insurgents HERAT, Oct 30 (Reuters): Afghan and foreign forces killed more than 20 Taliban insurgents and wounded 20 in western Afghanistan on Tuesday, an Afghan provincial official said. The latest fighting broke out in Gulistan district of Farah province when militants stormed the district centre, a police official said. “Six civilians and one Afghan policeman were killed and two other Afghan soldiers were wounded during the firefight”, said the police commander for western Afghanistan. (Posted @ 18:34 PST)
Taliban overrun Afghan district, several dead HERAT, Oct 30 (AFP): Taliban rebels overran a western Afghan district, sparking a fierce battle on Tuesday that left seven civilians and a policeman dead and 20 militants killed or wounded, officials said. Around 400 Taliban from Helmand province joined forces with fighters in neighbouring Gulistan district of Farah province on Monday night, provincial police chief said. The Taliban have kept control of Musa Qala district in Helmand province for almost a year now. They have seized other districts, mainly in the south, for short periods. (Posted @ 16:55 PST)
Thai army ordered to free 85 people held for 'job training' BANGKOK, Oct 30 (AFP): Courts near Thailand's insurgency-hit south on Tuesday ordered the army to release 85 people being held on military bases supposedly for job training, officials and advocacy groups said. A human rights organisation told AFP that courts ruled that the detention of the mostly-Muslim young men was unconstitutional -- possibly setting a precedent for hundreds of people detained without charge in the south. (Posted @ 16:25 PST)
Eight get life for Indian Gujarat Muslim massacre NEW DELHI, Oct 30 (AFP): An Indian court on Tuesday sentenced eight people to life in jail for their role in the massacre of Muslims during rioting in western Gujarat state five years ago, media reports said. Another three people were given a jail term of three years in the same case related to the murder of seven people, of which two women were also gang-raped, the Press Trust of India reported. “Eleven were convicted, rest 29 were released (acquitted). We will go to the high court (against the acquittals),” prosecution lawyer Siraj Malik told the NDTV news network. (Posted @ 15:45 PST)
Bangladesh ex-minister jailed for 17 years over illegal weapon DHAKA, Oct 30 (AFP): A former Bangladeshi interior minister onTuesday was jailed for 17 years for illegal possession of a revolver and ammunition, a state prosecutor said. The gun and 25 bullets were found during raids on the home of Lutfozzaman Babar after he was arrested on separate charges of corruption. The once-powerful minister is the latest high-profile victim of a campaign by the country's emergency government to clean up Bangladesh's notoriously corrupt and often violent political scene. (Posted @ 15:40 PST)
At least 17 killed in southern India heavy rains HYDERABAD, India, Oct 30 (AP): At least 17 people have died in floods in southern India and nearly 33,000 displaced as heavy rains hammered the region for a second day, officials said on Tuesday. Most of the victims died in Nellore district, a southern area in the state of Andhra Pradesh, said the state revenue minister. (Posted @ 15:35 PST)
Shark in Iraqi irrigation channel! NASSIRIYA, Iraq, Oct 30 (Reuters): A two-metre shark was caught in a river in southern Iraq more than 200 km from the sea. Karim Hasan Thamir said he was fishing with family when they spotted a large fish thrashing in his net. “I recognised the fish as a shark,” he told Reuters. The shark was pulled from the mouth of an irrigation canal that joins the Euphrates River. The Euphrates joins the Tigris River further east to form the Shatt al-Arab waterway which flows south past Basra into the Gulf. The assistant dean of the college of science at Thi Qar University said barriers in river estuaries usually prevent sharks swimming upstream. “In this case, I think this animal was there for a long time but no one had managed to see it,” he said. Locals blamed the U.S. military for the shark's presence. A teacher said there was a “75 percent chance” Americans had put the shark in the water. (Posted @ 15:30 PST)
China opposes further nuclear sanctions on Iran BEIJING, Oct 30 (AFP): China said on Tuesday it remained opposed to further sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme, insisting diplomacy was the best way to resolve the issue. “We consider the decision to impose sanctions should not be made lightly. At present, the Iranian side is seeking to solve the issue through talks,” a foreign ministry spokesman told reporters. (Posted @ 15:25 PST)
At least 30 burnt to death in Nigerian petrol truck crash LAGOS, Oct 30 (AFP): A petrol tanker crashed in Nigeria at the weekend engulfing six other vehicles in flames and burning at least 30 people to death, police said on Tuesday. “We have removed no fewer than 30 burnt bodies from the scene of the tragedy on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway,” a police officer told AFP. (Posted @ 15:20 PST)
Four soldiers killed as Turkish troops clash with Kurdish rebels ANKARA, Oct 30 (AP): Turkish attack helicopters fired rockets into Kurdish rebel positions in mountains near the Iraq border, one of several clashes as government forces kept up pressure on the guerrillas. Four Turkish soldiers were killed in the fighting, according to reports. The fighting on Monday occurred as Turkey celebrated its 84th anniversary as a republic. (Posted @ 15:20 PST)
Chad charges six French citizens with kidnapping 103 children N'DJAMENA, Oct 30 (AP): Authorities on Tuesday charged six French nationals with kidnapping after a failed attempt to fly 103 children from Chad. The interior minister said if found guilty, they would face up to 20 years in jail. A judge in the eastern city of Abeche agreed late Monday to allow prosecution charges of complicity against three French journalists, said the justice minister. A seven-person flight crew also would be charged with complicity, he told The Associated Press. (Posted @ 15:15 PST)
Indian police rescue child workers from factory NEW DELHI, Oct 30 (AFP): Fourteen children working in a textiles factory have been rescued after media reports said an Indian clothing supplier to US retailer Gap was employing underage workers, an activist said Tuesday. Police carried out the raid after alerts by a non-profit organisation which acted on a British newspaper report that Indian children as young as 10 were working for a Gap supplier in New Delhi. The children were rescued late Monday. (Posted @ 14:40 PST)
Coalition soldier killed in Afghanistan KABUL, Oct 30 (AFP): A US-led coalition soldier was killed during a military operation in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, while another coalition soldier and an Afghan policeman were wounded, the military said. A coalition soldier was killed Monday in a similar incident in Helmand province in a roadside bomb blast targeting a convoy delivering supplies for Afghan army forces. (Posted @ 14:40 PST)
Bomb blast kills four policemen in Samarra Baghdad, Oct 30(Reuters): Four policemen were killed and eight others wounded when a car bomb exploded near their patrol in Samarra on Monday, 100 km north of Baghdad, police said. Meanwhile, four bodies were found in different districts of Baghdad on Monday, while one more body was found shot and tortured near Kirkuk. (Posted @ 13:45 PST)
Dozens hurt in Israel Druze village clashes JERUSALEM, Oct 30 (AFP): Dozens of police and protestors were injured Tuesday in clashes in a Druze village of northern Israel where demonstrators charge a mobile phone mast has caused cancer outbreaks. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said 30 people were injured in the troubles when police went to Pekiin to make arrests over the uprooting two days earlier of a mobile phone transmission antenna outside the village. Sixteen police officers were among the injured, including two with serious head injuries caused by stone throwers, he said. Six people were arrested. (Posted @ 13:40 PST)
Intelligence chief, 3 others, die in Afghanistan blast KABUL, Oct 30 (AP): - A roadside blast killed the intelligence chief of Qarghayi district in Laghman province and three of his bodyguards in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, Nezamuddin, a spokesman for Laghman's governor said. The blast took place as he was traveling in his car, the spokesman said adding that the vehicle was completely destroyed in the blast. (Posted @ 12:25 PST)
Israel can't cut power to Gaza: Israeli Attorney General JERUSALEM, Oct 30 (Reuters): Israel's attorney general told the government on Monday it could not cut electrical power to the Gaza Strip as part of its sanctions against the Hamas controlled territory, although he did approve other measures. The European Union has also warned Israel against imposing “collective punishment” on the 1.5 million Palestinians in the coastal strip by reducing the territory's fuel supplies. Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EU's commissioner for external relations, said after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem, that the new sanctions “will have very grave consequences for the life of the local population” and serve to bolster Hamas and other militant groups. “There should not be collective punishment,” she added. (Posted @ 12:15 PST)
NASA extends shuttle mission to space station CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Oct 29 (Reuters): NASA added a day to the shuttle Discovery's visit to the International Space Station to allow time for spacewalkers to study a troubled but critical part of the outpost's power system, the agency said Monday. (Posted @ 12:10 PST)
Jordan's king urges China to play greater role in Mideast BEIJING, Oct 30 (AFP): Jordan's King Abdullah II Tuesday urged China to play a greater role in maintaining stability in the Middle East and helping to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “We are looking forward to a stronger role that China plays,” the king said in response to a student's question after delivering a speech at the prestigious Peking University. During his four-day trip, Abdullah will also travel to the commercial hub of Shanghai to witness the signing of economic agreements aimed primarily at encouraging the transfer of Chinese technology to Jordan. (Posted @ 12:00 PST)
Dissidents oust ex-Bangladesh PM Zia as party chief DHAKA, Oct 30 (AFP): Dissidents in Bangladesh's largest political party have ousted former prime minister Khaleda Zia as leader while she is under arrest on corruption charges, officials said Tuesday. Former finance minister M. Saifur Rahman, seen as a dissident in the BNP, said he was made acting party chief in Zia's absence after a marathon party meeting late Monday. Hafizuddin Ahmed, another former minister and a key BNP rebel, was also made acting secretary general in place of Zia loyalist Khandaker Delwar Hossain - who is sick. “We cannot make any comment right now. We have to see whether the changes were made as per the party's constitution,” A.S.M Hannan Shah said. (Posted @ 11:55 PST)
Five shot dead in Thai south YALA, Thailand, Oct 30 (AFP): Suspected rebels shot dead five people in separate attacks in southern Thailand late Monday. A couple in their 20s was gunned down by militants in Yala, police said. In nearby Pattani province, a 35 year-old teacher was killed in a drive-by shooting, while two workers were shot dead in neighbouring Narathiwat province. Police added a 32-year-old woman and her teenage daughter were wounded in a drive-by shooting on Tuesday in Yala. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
13 Tamil rebels killed in Sri Lanka COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Oct 30 (AP): Government troops and separatist Tamil Tiger rebels clashed in three areas of northern Sri Lanka, leaving 13 guerrillas dead, the military said Tuesday. Soldiers Monday night foiled an attempt by the rebels to breach the defence line in Muhamalai on northern Jaffna peninsula, killing eight guerrillas, an official at the Defence Ministry information centre said. Troops killed two more rebels near the defence line of Nagarkovil, also on the peninsula, early Tuesday, the official said requesting anonymity. Soldiers also observed a group of rebels further south in Vavuniya district, and fired artillery killing three more rebels, the official said. (Posted @ 09:15 PST)
Tropical Storm Noel kills 20 as it lashes Caribbean island of Hispaniola SANTO DOMINGO, Oct 30 (AFP): At least twenty people were killed and another twenty were missing as Tropical Storm Noel lashed the Caribbean island of Hispaniola shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, officials said Monday. As Noel made its way across Haiti, authorities in the Dominican Republic blamed at least eleven deaths on the storm's passage since the weekend. Another 13 people were reported as missing. Several communities across the country were cut off by flooded rivers as bridges reportedly collapsed in several areas. (First Posted @ 09:00 PST, Updated @ 14:50 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 364.94, points: KARACHI, Oct 30: At the close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 14028.54,down 364.94, points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Oct 30: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.75, to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
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