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| November 05, 2007 | Monday | Shawwal 23, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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CJ says he is virtually arrested
By Mubashir Zaidi
ISLAMABAD, Nov 5: Chief Justce Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, who the government says stands deposed since the proclamation of emergency, has said that he has been virtually arrested. In a statement, Justice Chaudhry said that an army major came to his house on Monday morning and locked the doors of his residence and took away the keys. Along with Justice Iftikhar several senior judges of the apex court who have not been invited to take oath under Provisional Constitutional Order remain confined to their residences at Judges Enclave. According to former Registrar Dr Faqir Hussain some judges and their children need immediate medical assisstance which is not provied to them. Even their families are not allowed to go out of the house. Dr Faqir Hussain said he has spoken to the Chief Justice who has told him that his eleven year old son needs immediate medical help but is not provided. Dozens of Supreme Court and High Courts judges who had refused to take oath, have been put under virtual house arrest in an attempt to prevent them from going to their respective courts as a new set of judges were in the process of taking charge over there. In Karachi the Chief Justice of Sindh High Court Sabihuddin Ahmed told Dawnnews that he has not been allowed to leave his house by security forces. He further said that he has been informed by his friends that his son has been arrested. In Lahore pitched battles between lawyers and security forces continue at Lahore High Court. In Islamabad all roads leading to the Supreme Court building on Constitution Avenue and Judges Enclave at F-5 remained cardoned off by security forces. Newsmen were prevented from entering Supreme Court and not allowed to come near the Judges Enclave. (Posted @ 14:50 PST)
Musharraf promises elections, gives no date: report ISLAMABAD, Nov 5 (AFP) - Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf Monday promised foreign diplomats that planned elections would be held and defended his controversial decision to impose a state of emergency, state media said. Musharraf told envoys at his official residence that the “superior judiciary paralysed various organs of the state and created impediments in the fight against terrorism,” the official Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said. He accused the country's media of helping the cause of extremists “by showing the gory scenes of suicide bombings that encouraged these elements to carry on with their heinous acts.” Musharraf also “reaffirmed his commitment towards a complete transition to democracy, saying that elections would be held” without specifying the date, the agency said. “A number of decisions and deliberations have to be taken in view of the new legal situation very soon,” the APP report said. He urged the international community to understand the “ground realities” in Pakistan and the decision taken to stabilise the situation in the country, APP said. As he spoke to the diplomats, the country was rife with rumours that Musharraf had been arrested -- speculation quickly dismissed by the government. (Posted @ 19:16 PST)
Musharraf pledges elections 'as close as possible to schedule’ ISLAMABAD, Nov 5 (AFP) President Pervez Musharraf has promised that elections due in January will be held “as close as possible to the schedule” despite a state of emergency, presidential spokesman Rashid Qureshi said Monday. “Efforts are to stay as close as possible to the schedule of elections. There are legal implications,” Qureshi quoted Musharraf as telling foreign ambassadors. (Posted @ 20:46 PST)
Pakistan election by mid-January: Attorney-General ISLAMABAD, Nov 5 (Reuters) The Pakistan government has decided to hold a general election by mid-January, the government's top lawyer Attorney-General Malik Mohammad Qayyum said Monday. Qayyum said Pakistan's National and provincial assemblies will be dissolved in 10 days' time. “It has been decided there would be no delay in the election and by November 15, these assemblies will be dissolved and the election will be held within the next 60 days,” Qayyum told Reuters. (Posted @ 20:34 PST)
General elections according to schedule: PM Aziz ISLAMABAD, Nov 5 (APP):Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Monday said under the third phase of the political process in the country, general elections will be held according to the schedule. Addressing a news conference he said: “Elections will be held according to schedule as we want democracy to flourish in Pakistan.” Before the elections, there is a need to conclude some court cases including the one pertaining to the presidential poll, after which the election activity will get momentum. He said the National Assembly session has been called for Wednesday at 5 pm and resolutions will be passed on the current situation in the country. He also said the cabinet in its meeting on Wednesday will discuss the emergency and the presidential elections. (Posted @ 22:16 PST)
Musharraf, Aziz review situation ISLAMABAD, Nov 5 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Monday called on President General Pervez Musharraf, discussed the prevailing political and security situation in the country, and emphasized the need for holding of free and fair elections in a peaceful atmosphere. They expressed the confidence that the Code of Conduct circulated by the Election Commission of Pakistan as well as the security code issued by the Ministry of Interior would pave the way for successful completion of the election process. While reviewing the law and order situation, they felt that normalcy prevailed throughout the country and the people attended their normal activities, a press release issued from the PM House said. They also discussed measures taken in Swat and FATA to address the situation and to curb extremism. The meeting also discussed various aspects of the emergency rule and emphasized the need for closer cooperation and collaboration between the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary in the larger national interest. (Posted @ 22:20 PST)
Alarmed US calls for Pakistan return to democracy WASHINGTON, Nov 5 (AFP) The United States sharply criticized Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf Monday for imposing a state of emergency, and urged him to call elections in January as scheduled and quit his military post. President George W. Bush, who was briefed on the crisis at least five times over the past two days, was to make his first public remarks after a 1:15 pm meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said the White House. At the White House, spokeswoman Dana Perino urged Musharraf to hold “free and fair” parliamentary elections in January as scheduled and for the general to “take off his uniform.” ”The government of the United States is deeply disturbed by the proclamation of emergency in Pakistan,” she said. “We cannot support a path that does not put them back on the road to democracy.” ”We cannot support emergency rule or the extreme measures taken during the emergency. Such actions are not in Pakistan's best interest and damage the progress Pakistan has made on its path to democracy,” she said. White House national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe advised patience, noting: “It's only been 48 hours since he (Musharraf) issued the decree. Events on the ground have been troubling but let's see where things go.” ”Hopefully, they will get back on the democratic path soon,” he said. (First Posted @ 19:46 PST Updated @ 21:08 PST)
UK says world united in urging Pakistan poll in Jan LONDON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Britain said Monday that world powers agreed Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf must resign as army chief, go ahead with January elections, release political prisoners and lift media restrictions. After talks with U.S. and European counterparts, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he had discussed Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the foreign ministers of Germany and Portugal, current holder of the European Union's presidency. He had also spoken to former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and planned talks with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. “It is very strongly in the interests of the stability of Pakistan that democracy and the rule of law are the order of the day. I hope that the government of Pakistan listens to this,” he told reporters. “There's real unity in the international community that this is what we should be saying,” Miliband said. (Posted @ 21:50 PST)
Rice urges Musharraf to cut affiliation with military RAMALLAH, West Bank, Nov 5 (AP) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday said Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf should cut his affiliation with the army and restore civilian rule. At a news conference, Rice urged Musharraf to follow through on past promises to “take off his uniform.” “I want to be very clear. We believe that the best path for Pakistan is to quickly return to a constitutional path and then to hold elections,” she said. “The more quickly and the more urgently that the Pakistani leadership and President Musharraf act on their stated desire to get back to a constitutional path, it will be for the better of everyone,” she said. Rice said Sunday the U.S. would review aid to Pakistan. But on a Mideast trip overshadowed by the unfolding crisis in nuclear-armed Pakistan, Rice indicated the U.S. would not suspend aid wholesale. The U.S. has provided about US$11 billion (euro7.6 billion) to Pakistan since 2001, when Musharraf allied his presidency with Washington after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Bush, who has received steady updates on developments in Pakistan, was likely to make his first public comments later Monday. (Posted @ 17:54 PST)
PML, allied parties endorse emergency: PM Aziz ISLAMABAD, Nov 5 (APP) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Monday said that PML and allied parties fully support President Musharraf's decision to impose emergency. He was talking to a cross section of PML and coalition party leaders including PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain, and ministers Aftab Sherpao, Muhammad Ali Durrani, Sheikh Rashid, Ijaz-ul-Haq, Zahid Hamid, Dr. Sher Afgan, Tariq Azeem and Chief Whip Sardar Nasrullah Khan Dareshak. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain endorsing the views of the Prime Minister said the country's security and solidarity was important. (Posted @ 18:26 PST)
Police beat, arrest 150 lawyers in Islamabad, Karachi ISLAMABAD, Nov 5 (AFP): The police on Monday baton-charged and arrested more than 150 protesting lawyers in Rawalpindi and Karachi witnesses said. They were protesting the state of emergency imposed by President General Pervez Musharraf. Police and paramilitary soldiers sealed off the high court in Karachi and barred journalists and lawyers from entering, before charging at lawyers outside the building, lawyers and witnesses said. “It has never happened in Pakistan’s history that such huge number of lawyers have been arrested,” former Sindh High Court judge Rashid Razvi, told reporters. “More than 100 lawyers were arrested in Karachi after police foiled their attempt to hold a bar association meeting,” he said. The Karachi police also cordoned off the house of former chief justice Sabihuddin Ahmed, who was removed under emergency rule, and arrested his son, witnesses said. Two judges who refused to take oath under Musharraf's order for emergency rule and the suspension of the constitution were turned back when they reached the high court. Rawalpindi police arrested at least 50 lawyers said a senior lawyer and “whisked them away in waiting vans.” Another half a dozen lawyers were mercilessly beaten for chanting anti-government slogans. Police ordered journalists at the scene not to take pictures. At least 10 lawyers were arrested in Peshawar overnight. Similar protests and boycott of the courts by the lawyers was also reported from scores of major towns and cities through out Pakistan.(First Posted @ 09:40 PST, Updated @ 12:30 PST)
Police tear gas, injure lawyers in Lahore LAHORE, Nov 5 (AFP): Several lawyers were wounded on Monday when police fired tear gas and launched a baton charge at the high court during protests against emergency rule, witnesses said. “Police lobbed more than a dozen tear gas shells at lawyers gathered in the high court and then beat them with batons,” a lawyer at the court, told AFP. He said several lawyers had bleeding head wounds. Lawyers in black suits were seen being bundled into waiting police vans near the court. An AFP correspondent at the scene said several lawyers were injured in the melee and some had fainted because of the dense clouds of tear gas smoke. Police had taken virtual control of the historic court building, he said,Witnesses said police arrested about 250 lawyers after the clash.(Posted @ 13:00 PST)
US suspends defence talks with Pakistan: Pentagon BEIJING, Nov 5 (AFP): The United States has suspended annual defence talks with Pakistan, a Pentagon's spokesman said.The Undersecretary of Defence for Policy was supposed to head a US delegation for the talks beginning on Tuesday, but he will not go until political conditions improve, the Pentagon spokesman said. Meanwhile Defence Secretary Robert Gates called on General Pervez Musharraf to return his country to a constitutional democracy. “We urge President Musharraf to return his country to a law-based, constitutional and democratic rule as soon as possible,” Gates told reporters in Beijing. But Gates emphasised that any US steps against Pakistan should not have an impact on global efforts to fight terrorism. (Posted @ 11:15 PST)
Bombs target military vehicles in Pakistan MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, Nov 5 (AFP) - Separate bombs planted on roadsides hit two military vehicles in northwest Pakistan Monday, killing one soldier and wounding two others, officials said. The soldier was killed near Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan tribal district, when a military convoy moving towards Datta Khel village struck a roadside bomb, a security official said. “A soldier was killed and another was injured and their vehicle was damaged in Kharqamar village,” the official said. Separately, a roadside bomb hit a military vehicle in the town of Nowshera in North West Frontier Province, another security official said.. One person was injured,” a security official said. (First Posted @ 10:15 PST Updated @ 19:08 PST)
US says ties with Pakistan at risk over emergency rule WASHINGTON, Nov 5 (AFP) - The United States warned Monday that its ties with Pakistan may not “remain the same” unless President Pervez Musharraf reverses his decision to impose emergency rule. “We think this is a setback. We think there needs to be a reversal of this decision,” Tom Casey, a State Department spokesman, told reporters when asked whether Washington preferred stability over democracy .“We think Pakistan needs to go ahead and have elections as scheduled by January 15. We do think that it is difficult to see how our relations could remain the same if this step is not, in fact reversed,” he said. (Posted @ 23:12 PST)
UN chief alarmed by Pakistan developments UNITED NATIONS, Nov 5 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who is “greatly concerned” about the imposition of emergency rule in Pakistan, has urged the country's authorities to free those detained and return to democratic rule, his spokeswoman said Monday.“The secretary general is greatly concerned about the recent developments in Pakistan and the imposition of emergency rule,” spokeswoman Michele Montas said in a statement. She added that the secretary general called on Pakistani rulers “to immediately release those detained, lift restrictions on the media and take early steps for a return to democratic rule.” (Posted @ 23:04 PST)
Punjab CM says Assemblies term not to be extended LAHORE, Nov 5 (PPI): Punjab Chief Minister Ch. Pervaiz Elahi says term of assemblies would neither be extended nor general elections delayed. “Certain elements are creating such news to avoid elections as they cannot face PML(Q), but they would not succeed in their designs. PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto wants to get polls delayed but we will bring her to court of people,” he told a news conference Monday. (Posted @ 22:38 PST)
Benazir Bhutto slams Pakistan protest crackdown KARACHI, Nov 5 (AFP) Former premier Benazir Bhutto Monday condemned a police crackdown on lawyers rallying against a state of emergency and called for those arrested to be released. “We strongly condemn the violence against lawyers and media people. This force and brutality should be kept away from our society,” Benazir told a news conference in Karachi. “All political prisoners should be released.” (Posted @ 21:45 PST)
Western nations reviewing aid to Pakistan in response to emergency rule AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Nov 5 (AP) Western governments on Monday condemned President Pervez Musharraf's decision to impose emergency rule, and several said they will reconsider financial support to his military government. The Netherlands was the first to take action, announcing a freeze on almost all of its millions in aid in hopes of pressuring Musharraf to restore democratic and constitutional processes and to confirm Pakistan's intentions to hold parliamentary elections as scheduled in January, Foreign Ministry spokesman Francesco Mascini said. German Development Ministry spokesman Markus Weidling said his country would reconsider funding for some projects in areas such as energy development, but others aimed at ''the advancement of civil society, particularly women and children, will be supported in future as well, without limitation.'' (First Posted @ 17:20 PST Updated @ 21:12 PST)
No Truth in Army command change: DG ISPR
By Mateen Haider
Islamabad. November 4, 2007: The Director General Inter Services Public Relations and Military Spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad has denied that top command of the Pakistan Army has been changed and Vice Chief of Army staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has taken over as new commander. Arshad was asked to comment about rumour which gripped the country that as a result of the counter-coup, General Pervez Musharraf has been removed and General Kayani taken over as next chief. “There is no such thing, these are just rumours” Arshad told dawn News. Earlier, a strong rumour gripped the country that Chief of Army Staff General Pervez Musharraf had been replaced by Vice chief of Army staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and that there was troops movement around Aiwan-e-Sadr. (Posted @ 14:15 PST)
Lawyers defy police; boycott courts ISLAMABAD, Nov 5 (AFP) Police used tear gas and batons to crush countrywide protests by lawyers against President Pervez Musharraf on Monday, despite spiralling international anger at the imposition of a state of emergency. Dozens of lawyers were wounded and hundreds more arrested as protests erupted outside courtrooms in a number of cities. The biggest protest was in Lahore, where lawyers with bleeding head wounds were bundled into vans after police fired tear gas at around 1,000 protesters outside the high court, an AFP correspondent witnessed. In Karachi, police and paramilitary soldiers sealed off the high court and charged at lawyers who were outside the building, detaining another 100, witnesses said. Clashes were also reported in Rawalpindi, Multan and Peshawar, while reports of lawyers protests and boycott of the courts were also received from scores of other cities and major towns throughout the country. “It has never happened in the history of Pakistan that such a huge number of lawyers have been arrested,” said one former Karachi High Court judge, Rashid Razvi. Private television channels remained off the air for the third successive day. (Posted @ 20:08 PST)
Police raid Karachi Press Club: make arrests KARACHI, Nov 5 (AFP) Police Monday raided the Karachi Press Club and arrested nine people, including five journalists, an AFP reporter said. (Posted @ 19:48 PST)
Pakistan rounds up 1,500 in emergency crackdown ISLAMABAD, Nov 5 (AFP) Pakistan has detained about 1,500 people in a police crackdown since President Pervez Musharraf declared an emergency in the country at the weekend, police sources said Monday. A senior police official in Punjab province said 700 people have been detained or arrested, the majority of them lawyers, while police in Sindh put their figure at 500. The rest of the detentions were in Islamabad, North West Frontier Province and Balochistan, the sources said. The massive round-up also included political leaders and workers, and civil society and human rights activists. “Police have detained potential troublemakers, law-breakers and those who defied a ban on rallies,” interior ministry spokesman Javed Cheema told AFP. He said he did not have firm figures of the total number of arrests. (First Posted @ 17:20 PST Updated @ 19:38 PST)
Ghinwa Bhutto criticizes emergency, arrests Karachi, Nov 5 (PPI) Chairperson Pakistan People's Party (Shaheed Bhutto) Ghinwa Bhutto criticizing emergency and PCO termed them a threat to national stability. In a statement on Monday she also said that a 'so called biggest political party' was befooling masses, as it was covertly supporting the emergency and PCO. (Posted @ 18:46 PST)
Lawyers announce three day boycott KARACHI, Nov. 5 (APP):- Karachi lawyers observed complete strike and boycotted proceedings in High Court of Sindh , City Courts and Malir Courts on Monday to protest against proclamation of emergency and arrest of their colleagues and confinement of judges to their residences. SHC Bar Association, Sindh Bar Council, Karachi Bar Council and Malir Bar Association decided to boycott the court proceedings for next two days as well , in line with the announcement by Pakistan Bar Council and Supreme Court Bar Association. The newly appointed High Court judges tried to hear cases in their courts but no advocate appeared before them. Judges who took oath under Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) remained in their chambers without holding courts. A group of SHC judges, who declined to take oath under PCO, tried to enter SHC premises , but were stopped by the police at outside gates. The lawyers raised slogans and the police fired tear gas shells to disperse the agitating lawyers. Police also entered SHC premises and arrested dozens of lawyers ;many from SHC Bar Canteen. At the City Courts premises police arrested more than two dozens lawyers including President of KBA, Iftikhar Javed Kazi , advocate Naheed Afzal and others from within premises of the courts. (Posted @ 18:06 PST)
U.N. urges Pakistan to release detained judges, lawyers GENEVA, Nov 5 (AP) - Pakistan should release hundreds of judges, lawyers and activists arrested or detained since declaring a state of emergency, U.N. human rights officials said Monday. The U.N.'s top rights official, Louise Arbour, urged Pakistan not to detain individuals “for the peaceful exercise of their political beliefs,” her spokesman Jose Diaz said. “A state of emergency should only be used to deal with a dire security threat to the nation, not to undermine the integrity and independence of the judiciary,” Arbour said in a statement. (Posted @ 17:58 PST)
U.S. urges Pakistan to end media curbs, free detainees ISLAMABAD, Nov 5 (Reuters) The United States embassy in Islamabad said it was “gravely concerned” by the curbs placed on Pakistani media and detentions of lawyers, politicians and rights activists following the imposition of emergency rule. “We urge the government of Pakistan to quickly lift the detention orders and immediately permit broadcasters to resume their programming, thereby ensuring that all citizens can take a constructive role in peaceful progress toward democratic elections,” the embassy said in a statement. (Posted @ 17:44 PST)
Britain urges restoration of Pakistan constitution, January polls LONDON, Nov 5 (AFP) Britain wants Pakistan to restore the normal constitutional process and to hold elections as planned in January, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman said Monday. “From our point of view we would like to see elections on schedule in January and we do want to see the restoration of the normal democratic and constitutional process,” the spokesman said. He reiterated that London was “gravely concerned” about the situation in Pakistan after President Pervez Musharraf imposed a state of emergency and suspended the constitution. The spokesman also repeated a warning that Britain was reviewing its aid to Pakistan, in light of events. “We are considering the implications for our development and other assistance programmes in Pakistan,” he said. (Posted @ 17:26 PST)
Police raid newspaper office in Karachi KARACHI, Nov 5 (AFP) Police on Monday raided a printing press belonging to the Jang group of newspapers, officials said. They stormed the Karachi premises of Urdu eveninger Awam, a sister publication of Jang group, following reports it was bringing out a special supplement on the emergency imposed by President Pervez Musharraf at the weekend, they said. “The police searched the premises and found that no special supplement was being printed and they left,” said a newspaper official, Mohammad Raza. (Posted @ 16:50 PST)
Cricket- India beat Pakistan by five wickets in first ODI GUWAHATI, India, Nov 5 (Reuters) India beat Pakistan by five wickets in the first one-day international Monday. Brief scores: Pakistan 239-7 in 50 overs (S. Butt 50, M. Yousuf 83 not out); India 242-5 in 47 overs (M. Dhoni 63, Y. Singh 58). (First Posted @ 09:10 PST, Updated @ 16:00)
US shuttle Discovery undocks from space station WASHINGTON, Nov 5 (AFP) The US space shuttle Discovery successfully undocked from the International Space Station early Monday to begin a journey back to Earth, space officials said. After saying goodbye and closing the hatches, Discovery crew members smoothly sailed away from the ISS at 5:32 am. (Posted @ 16:00 PST)
Taliban briefly capture Khaki Safed district HERAT, Nov 5 (AFP): Taliban extremists briefly captured a third district in western Afghanistan early Monday but were driven out by Afghan forces and their international allies, officials said. Taliban fighters in about 40 vehicles stormed into Khaki Safed district in Farah province around 1:30 am and took the administration headquarters. Later Afghan police, army and ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) retook control. (Posted @ 14:55 PST)
Hollywood writers begin strike in pay dispute LOS ANGELES, Nov 5 (AFP): Hollywood's screen writers downed pens Monday at the start of an indefinite strike that is likely to result in the US film and television industry's biggest crisis in decades. “Talks are ongoing but the strike is on,” Writers Guild of America spokeswoman Sherry Goldman told AFP. (Posted @ 14:40 PST)
Five militants killed in Philippine assaults ZAMBOANGA, Philippines, Nov 5 (AFP): Philippine troops killed five militants from the Abu Sayyaf group in a series of assaults in the south, the military said Monday. Marines swooped on a rebel stronghold near the town of Akbar on Basilan island at dawn Monday. The marine battalion commander said troops clashed with 10 bandits for 10 minutes, resulting in the death of Commander Abdul Karim Jamjali. (Posted @ 14:40 PST)
7 Tamil rebels killed in Sri Lanka COLOMBO, Nov 5 (Reuters): Seven Tamil Tigers and a soldier were killed in fresh fighting in northern Sri Lanka, the military said on Monday, hours before the funeral of the rebels' political wing chief. The latest fighting was reported from the northern districts of Vavuniya and Jaffna, a military spokesman said. (Posted @ 14:35 PST)
Yemeni tribesmen blow up oil pipeline SANAA, Nov 5 (AP): Yemeni tribesmen on Monday blew up a pipeline that carries crude oil to a Red Sea export facility but export operations were unaffected, security and oil officials said. A security official said the bombing did not appear to be linked to militants, according to preliminary investigations. (Posted @ 12:50 PST)
Eight killed in turbulent Thai south YALA, Nov 5 (AFP): Eight people have been killed in a string of shootings across Thailand's insurgency-hit southern heartland, local police said Monday. A 60-year-old Muslim man was killed on Sunday in Narathiwat. A 25-year-old Muslim was also killed in the region,.one of three provinces hit by unrest in which more than 2,600 people have died since January 2004. (Posted @ 12:45 PST)
Key aide of ex-Bangladesh PM jailed for 10 years DHAKA, Nov 5 (AFP): The political secretary of former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia, Harris Chowdhury, has been sentenced in absentia to 10 years in jail as part of the military-backed government's anti-graft crackdown, a report said Monday. He was found guilty late on Sunday of giving a car belonging to a government tea company to his brother-in-law, the state-run BSS agency said. He was also fined 1.05 million taka ($15,280). (Posted @ 11:40 PST)
Prison blaze kills 29 in Argentina BUENOS AIRES, Nov 5 (Reuters): A fire set by inmates swept through a prison in Argentina, killing at least 29 people, authorities said on Monday. Many of the deaths were caused by asphyxiation as inmates were overcome by smoke, the Justice Minister for the Santiago del Estero province said. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
28 die in Russian retirement home fire MOSCOW, Nov 5 (AFP/REUTERS): 28 people died in a fire that swept through a retirement home near Tula, central Russia, Ria-Novosti news agency said Monday. More than 100 firefighters and 22 vehicles were sent to the scene, where 293 people including 17 nurses were evacuated, said an emergency official. (Posted @ 09:20 PST)
US transfers 11 Guantanamo prisoners WASHINGTON, Nov 5 (AFP): The United States transferred 11 inmates from Guantanamo Bay prison camp for suspected terrorists, sending eight to Afghanistan and three to Jordan, the Defense Department said on Sunday. There are now some 320 inmates left there, the department said. (Posted @ 08:55 PST)
Nine men found shot dead in Russian forest MOSCOW, Nov 5 (Reuters): The bodies of nine men with gunshot wounds were found on Sunday in a forest in the north Caucasus Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, Interfax reported. The men were found near two abandoned automobiles in a wooded area near the village of Lechinkai, local police said. (Posted @ 08:50 PST)
Plane crashes in Sao Paulo, seven killed SAO PAULO, Nov 5 (AFP): A twin-engine plane crashed into a house on Sao Paulo's north end Sunday killing seven people and injuring two others, local media reported. Quoting police spokesmen, local television and radio said seven bodies had been removed from the home. A woman and an 11-year-old girl were rescued and taken to hospital, the reports said. (Posted @ 08:45 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 635.44 , points: KARACHI, Nov 05: At the close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 13279.60,down 635.44 , points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Nov 05: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.95, to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
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