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November 08, 2007

Thursday

Shawwal 26, 1428

Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)

Cricket: Pakistan beat India by four wickets MOHALI, India, Nov 8 (AFP) - Pakistan beat India by four wickets in the second one-day international here Thursday to draw level at 1-1 in the five-match series. Brief scores: India 321-9 in 50 overs; Pakistan 322-6 in 49.5 overs (Younus 117). (Posted @ 22:42 PST)

Carla Khan wins Iran Open LONDON, Nov 08 (APP): Pakistan's Carla Khan appearing in her first Women International Squash Players Association (WISPA) World Tour final for more than two years, earned the perfect reward when she upset top seed Donna Urquhart of Australia to lift the Iran Women's Squash Open title in the north western Iranian city of Rasht. Carla beat Urquhart 9-4, 9-1, 5-9, 9-7. (Posted @ 22:32 PST)

$ One bn container terminal to serve as transshipment hub for region: Musharraf ISLAMABAD, Nov 8 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf Thursday said the construction of US one billion dollar Deep Sea Container Terminal at Karachi would turn the country into a major transshipment hub for the regional countries, further bolstering Pakistan's trade and commerce. Speaking after the signing ceremony between the Karachi Port Trust and the Hong Kong based Hutchison Port Holdings limited (HPH) at Aiwan-e-Sadr the President said the government has also decided to set up facilities for ship building and repair at the Gwadar deep sea port. “Pakistan will be on the world map of ship building, repair and deep sea container handling in three to four years time,” Musharraf said. (Posted @ 22:26 PST)

Benazir reaffirms decision to address Liaquat Bagh meeting Friday ISLAMABAD, Nov 08 (PPI) - Chairperson, Pakistan Peoples Party, Benazir Bhutto, while announcing end of talks with the government reiterated the decision to address a public meeting at Rawalpindi’s Liaqat Bagh tomorrow (Friday)and gave call of a three-day long-march from Lahore to Islamabad on November 13 if the government did not announce the revival of Constitution, election schedule, and retirement of General Musharraf as Army Chief by November 15. Addressing a news conference after the party's Central Executive Council she appealed to all the political parties, and the people at large to join the long march which she termed as the “Caravan-e-Jamhooriat” Ms Bhutto reiterated that General Musharraf should fulfil his commitment to shed uniform before November 15, revive Constitution, announce election schedule, end of political victimization, lifting of curbs on press, reconstitution of Election Commission, neutral interim caretaker government, election reforms for a fair vote count, and other reforms enumerated in All Parties Conference election proposals. When we are talking about the revival of Constitution it means that we are talking about the reinstatement of the judges sacked under the PCO, she said. (Posted @ 22:06 PST)

Suu Kyi says she is ready to cooperate with junta SINGAPORE, Nov 8 (AP) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has said she is ready to cooperate with her country's junta in pursuing a dialogue for national reconciliation, according to her statement released by a U.N. envoy on Thursday. “In the interest of the nation I stand ready to cooperate with the government in order to make this process of dialogue a success,” said Suu Kyi in her statement, released by the envoy, Ibrahim Gambari.Gambari met Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest, for an hour just before his departure Thursday from Myanmar. He flew to Singapore where he read out a statement issued by Suu Kyi at a news conference. He is supposed to return to U.N. headquarters in New York by Monday. (Posted @ 21:48 PST)

Seven killed in Dubai bridge collapse DUBAI, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Seven people were killed and about 15 others injured when a bridge under construction collapsed in Dubai on Thursday, deputy police chief Jamal al-Marri said. The collapse appeared to be the result of a construction problem, he told Reuters by telephone. (Posted @ 21:22 PST)

Myanmar's Suu Kyi to meet party members after key UN visit YANGON, Nov 8 (AFP) - Myanmar's junta on Thursday announced a meeting between Aung San Suu Kyi and her pro-democracy party, hours after a UN envoy wrapped up a visit aimed at pushing the regime toward dialogue and reform. UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari. flew out of Myanmar on Thursday after a six-day mission, and the UN said he had made progress toward establishing a dialogue between the junta and Aung San Suu Kyi. “We now have a process going which would lead to substantive dialogue between the government and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as a key instrument in promoting national reconciliation in an all-inclusive manner,” the UN said in a statement. (Posted @ 21:02 PST)

Former SC judges not under detention: Attorney General ISLAMABAD, Nov 8 (APP):- Former judges of the Supreme Court who ceased to hold office following the promulgation of Provisional Constitution Order were not under detention, Attorney General Malik Mohammad Qayyum said Thursday. Talking to reporters he said the former judges could move freely and three of them -- Tassadque Hussain Jillani, Syed Jamshed Ali Shah and Raja Fayyaz Ahmed -- had already left Islamabad for their home towns. He also said anyone could meet the removed judges who were still present in the capital and there were no restrictions.The former chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and others have spoken to media as there was no bar against them. Answering a question he said there was no move to do away with suo motu jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. There was also no intention to fix tenure of service for chief justices of the superior courts, he added. To a question about the statement by justice (retd) Wajihuddin Ahmed, one of the presidential candidates, he said agreed with him to the extent that the President's election case was still pending and would be heard by 11 more judges of the Supreme Court. (Posted @ 20:44 PST)

Cricket-South Africa all out for 226 v New Zealand JOHANNESBURG, Nov 8 (Reuters) - South Africa were bowled out for 226 by New Zealand on the first day of the first test on Thursday. Score: South Africa 226 all out (H. Gibbs 63; Bond 4-73) (Posted @ 20:20 PST)

White House lauds Pakistani election plans WASHINGTON, Nov 8 (Reuters) The White House Thursday lauded the announcement by President Pervez Musharraf that national elections would take place before February 15, 2008. “We think it is a good thing that President Musharraf has clarified the election date for the Pakistani people,” White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. (Posted @ 19:58 PST)

Cricket: Tendulkar (99) steers India to 321-9 against Pakistan MOHALI, India, Nov 8 (AFP) -Sachin Tendulkar fell one short of his century as India posted a strong 321-9 in the second one-day international against Pakistan here Thursday. (Posted @ 19:10 PST)

US military helicopter crashes near Aviano airbase ROME, Nov 8, 2007 (AFP) A US military helicopter on a training flight with 11 people aboard crashed Thursday in northern Italy, a spokesman at Aviano air base said, amid reports that at least four people had been killed. Italian news agency ANSA put the death toll at five. (Posted @ 19:08 PST)

Seven police killed in Afghan ambush KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Nov 8 (AFP) Militants ambushed a police patrol in Zabul province Thursday, killing seven policemen, a police commander said. (Posted @ 19:05 PST)

Former judge, lawyers' leaders arrested in Hyderabad Hyderabad, Pakistan, Nov 8 (PPI) Hyderabad police in a crackdown against lawyers and political workers continued raids and arrests on the 4th day of the protest against imposition of emergency and PCO. Among those arrested were the president of high court bar Kazi Abdul Sattar and president Hyderabad District Bar Shaikh Aziz, besides Justice Zafar Sherwani, who had refused to take oath under PCO, who was on his way to Karachi after addressing the members of the bar in Hyderabad. Police denied his arrest but independent sources said he was taken to circuit house for two hours and was then handed over to Karachi police at Super Highway Toll Plaza in Jamshoro district. Police also raided the residence of Allah Bachayo Soomro, secretay general of HCBA Hyderabad at Tando Agha, but he was not present at home. According to a spokesman of Sindh Taraqi Pasand Tehrik police had so far arrested its 500 workers throughout Sindh. (Posted @ 19:02 PST)

Elections by February 15 says Musharraf ISLAMABAD, Nov 8 (APP) President General Pervez Musharraf on Thursday said general elections in the country would be held by February 15 next year. Talking to reporters after chairing the meeting of National Security Council he said he was committed to holding general elections and the transition to full democratic civilian rule in the country. Musharraf said the tenure of National Assembly and provincial assemblies were ending on different dates and after studying the option whether to hold elections on separate dates, it was decided to go for holding the elections for the national and the provincial assemblies simultaneously on or before February 15. Asked about his uniform General Musharraf said the Supreme Court had ordered not to notify the results of the presidential election and the matter was now with the Supreme Court. He said whenever the honourable court would allow for the notification of results that would be the time when he could take oath as president and doff the uniform. (First Posted @ 16:40 PST, Updated @ 18:36 PST)

Muslim clerics ban Quranic ringtones after Makkah meet RIYADH, Nov 8 (AFP) - The Saudi-based Islamic Jurisprudence Council has banned the use of Quranic verses as mobile phone ringtones after a six-day meeting in the holy city of Makkah, a statement said on Thursday. “It is forbidden to use verses of the Holy Quran as mobile telephone ringtones because any such use would damage the holy Quran by their abrupt interruption of the psalm verses or by sounding in inappropriate places,” said the fatwa issued by the council. Around 70 Muslim clerics attended the meeting chaired by Saudi Arabia's grand mufti, Sheikh Abdelaziz Al-Sheikh, and held under the auspices of the Muslim World League. (Posted @ 18:18 PST)

Benazir denounces Musharraf election pledge ISLAMABAD, Nov 8 (AFP) Ex-premier Benazir Bhutto Thursday said that President Musharraf's pledge to hold elections by mid-February was insufficient, adding that he must quit as army chief by next week. “We want an exact election date, schedule of elections and a clear date of Musharraf hanging up his uniform,” Benazir told a news conference. “This is yet another vague announcement. We want him to hang up his uniform by November 15.” Benazir has vowed to hold a protest rally in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on Friday and then a “long march” from Lahore to Islamabad on November 13 if Musharraf does not meet these demands and rescind a state of emergency. (Posted @ 18:06 PST)

Protests against emergency continue across Pakistan ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov 8 (AP) - Islamabad police chased about 20 high-school students into the city's bar association headquarters after they showed up in solidarity with dozens of protesting lawyers, who were observing the fourth day of a nationwide strike against emergency. In Lahore, more than 100 university professors boycotted classes and marched on the campus of the state-run University of the Punjab. Lawyers in other parts of the country including Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and other towns boycotted the courts, held rallies inside the premises of the courts, and passed resolutions against the imposition of emergency and the Provisional Constitution and the release of the arrested lawyers, reports said. (Posted @ 17:50 PST)

Musharraf says elections by Feb 15 ISLAMABAD, Nov 8 (AFP) - President Pervez Musharraf announced Thursday that elections in Pakistan will be held before February 15 and confirmed his pledge to quit as army chief, state media said Thursday.. “General elections in the country would be held by February 15 next year,” the official Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Musharraf saying after chairing a meeting of the National Security Council. Pakistan TV also reported that Musharraf renewed his pledge to quit as army chief before taking the oath for his second term in office, but did not give a date. Musharraf's re-election for another five-year term in office is still awaiting validation by the Supreme Court -- thought to be the main reason that Musharraf declared a state of emergency on Saturday. The report gave no further details but it came after the attorney general, Malik Mohammad Qayyum, told AFP earlier Thursday that the polls would be in February. “The emergency will be lifted in one or two months,” Qayyum, the government's chief lawyer, added. Musharraf imposed the state of emergency, suspended the constitution, sacked the chief justice and clamped curbs on the media. The move has sparked days of sporadic protests and led to more than 3,000 arrests including hundreds of lawyers. (First Posted @ 16:40 PST, Updated 17:15 PST)

Musharraf promises polls before February 15 ISLAMABAD, Nov 8 (Reuters) General elections in Pakistan will take place before February 15, President Pervez Musharraf said Thursday. Pakistan had been scheduled to hold elections by mid-January until Musharraf imposed emergency rule Saturday and suspended the constitution. “It was my commitment and I am fulfilling it,” Musharraf told official media after chairing a meeting of the National Security Council. (First Posted @ 16:40 PST, Updated @ 17:05 PST)

India bars hundreds of Kashmiris from hajj pilgrimage SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Nov 8 (AFP) – India has barred 300 Kashmiri Muslims from making this year's hajj pilgrimage because they allegedly had ties to rebels, occupied Kashmir's hajj minister, Peerzada Mohammed Sayeed, told reporters. Security officials argue that Kashmiris may use the annual event to link up with their Pakistani contacts. Kashmir is in the grip of an 18-year-old insurgency against Indian rule that has so far claimed more than 42,000 lives. More than 8,000 Muslims from occupied Kashmir are expected to head to Saudi Arabia for this year's pilgrimage. (Posted @ 16:55 PST)

Musharraf promises polls before February 15 ISLAMABAD, Nov 8 (Reuters) General elections in Pakistan will be held before February 15, President Pervez Musharraf told reporters Thursday. Pakistan had been scheduled to hold elections by mid-January until Musharraf imposed emergency rule on Saturday and suspended the constitution. (Posted @ 16:40 PST)

Maldives says 10 bomb suspects now in Pakistan MALE, Nov 8 (Reuters) Maldives police said Thursday 10 suspects in a September bomb attack that wounded 12 foreign tourists were on the run in Pakistan and they were seeking Interpol assistance to arrest the fugitives. “They masterminded the bombing and then fled to Pakistan,” a police spokesman said. Eleven suspects are in custody. Three of the men have made a confession, he added. Two of the suspects in Pakistan, Ali Shameem and Abdul Latheef Ibrahim, both Maldives nationals, were on a travel blacklist but they slipped out of the country with the assistance of an immigration officer who has been arrested, police said. Extradition orders have been prepared and Pakistani police have been alerted through Interpol, a police spokesman said. (Posted @ 16:15 PST)

Pakistan charges Bizenjo, Mustikhan, Sahi and Ayub Qureshi with treason KARACHI, Nov 8 (AFP) - Pakistan on Thursday charged three politicians and a trade union leader with treason for making speeches against President Pervez Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule, court officials said. The four were remanded in custody for two weeks by a court in Karachi, two days after they were arrested for criticising Musharraf in addresses at the city's press club, they said. Treason -- or sedition, as the activists have been formally charged with -- carries a maximum sentence of death. The arrested men are Baluch nationalist leader Hasil Bizenjo, his party's provincial chief Ayub Qureshi, the vice-president of the National Workers Party, Yusuf Mustikhan, and trade union leader Liaquat Sahi. The men were also accused of distributing pamphlets against the state of emergency , police and Bizenjo's party spokesman Jan Buledi told AFP. On Wednesday, Karachi police also registered sedition cases against eight lawyers, including a woman, on charges of inciting people against the state of emergency. The lawyers have gone into hiding. Earlier this week police beat and arrested hundreds of lawyers for launching a campaign against emergency rule. (First Posted @ 13:35 PST, Updated @ 15:55 PST)

Three dead in fire in Paris Indian quarter PARIS, Nov 8 (AFP) - A fire Thursday in an apartment building in the Indian district of Paris killed two women and a 10-year-old girl, all of Indian origin, police said. Nine people suffered injuries in the blaze including a firefighter when the flames spread from a stairwell in the five-storey building. Dozens of people were evacuated from the building located in the Brady pedestrian mall that is home to many Indian and Pakistani families along with Chinese and Vietnamese. (Posted @ 15:50 PST )

Twelve die as Yemen tribesmen, oil firm guards clash SANAA, Nov 8 (Reuters) Twelve people were killed when Yemeni tribesmen clashed with the security personnel of a Ukranian oil firm during a protest, the Yemeni ruling party's website said Thursday. Six guards and six tribesmen were killed in the clash, which has ended, the website said. (Posted @ 15:40 PST)

Blast in Philippine village kills two people MANILA, Nov 8 (Reuters) A powerful explosion ripped through a residential village south of Manila, killing two people Thursday, police said. Fidel Posadas, police chief in Cavite province, said several two-storey houses were damaged by an explosion at about 4 p.m. in a residential area in Bacoor town. “We're still investigating what caused the explosion,” Posadas told reporters. (Posted @ 15:35 PST)

Bush administration pushing Musharraf on several fronts to reverse state of emergency Washington, Nov.08 (PPI): Bush administration officials have begun pushing Gen. Pervez Musharraf on several fronts to reverse his state of emergency, quietly making contact with other senior army generals and backing Pakistan's opposition leader as she carries out back-channel negotiations with the general. Military attaches from the United States and several other Western nations are discreetly contacting senior Pakistani generals and asking them to press General Musharraf to back down from the emergency decree, according to Western diplomats, the New York Times reported Thursday. (Posted @ 15:00 PST)

US military frees 500 Iraqi detainees BAGHDAD, Nov 8 (AFP): The US military released 500 detainees on Thursday in Camp Victory, a base near Baghdad airport, a US army spokesman told AFP. Their release is part of a programme undertaken by Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi's office in collaboration with the US military for the speedy release of those held without charge for a long time. Around 20,000 detainees are held in US-run prisons in Iraq mostly in Camp Bucca near Basra and at Camp Cropper near Baghdad. Many have been held without charge for months or years. (Posted @ 14:30 PST)

Aung San Suu Kyi meets UN envoy YANGON, Nov 8 (AFP): Myanmar's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi met Thursday with UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari, a Myanmar official told AFP. Gambari is in Myanmar to try to push the ruling junta towards democratic reform. (Posted @ 14:25 PST)

India win toss, elect to bat in second ODI MOHALI, Nov 8 (Reuters): Indian skipper Mahendra Dhoni won the toss and chose to bat first against Pakistan in the second one-day international on Thursday. India recalled attacking batsman Virender Sehwag into the playing eleven, omitting left-arm spinner Murali Kartik for the day-night game. (Posted @ 14:05 PST)

Irish police arrest reputed IRA chief on tax evasion charges DUBLIN, Nov 8 (AP): Irish police said the chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army, Thomas “Slab” Murphy, has been arrested and was scheduled to appear Thursday in court on tax-evasion charges associated with money laundering and fuel smuggling. Police said Murphy faced nine charges of failing to file tax returns. (Posted @ 13:50 PST)

Israel wants UN nuclear chief removed JERUSALEM, Nov 8 (AFP): Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz called Thursday for Mohamed ElBaradei to be removed as head of the UN nuclear watchdog, saying he had turned a blind eye to Iran's nuclear ambitions. The call for ElBaradei's dismissal comes just days before the International Atomic Energy Agency is due to publish a new report on Iran's nuclear programme. (Posted @ 13:40 PST)

Seven more bodies unearthed in Anbar BAGHDAD, Nov 8 (AP): Seven more decomposed bodies have been unearthed in Iraq's Anbar province, police said Thursday. The victims, who were blindfolded and handcuffed, were found Wednesday in Lake Tharthar area, a police officer said. Meanwhile, a senior politician in Basra, Qahtan al-Mousawi, survived an assassination attempt when a roadside bomb exploded next to his convoy, police said.Two of his bodyguards and two pedestrians were injured. (Posted @ 13:40 PST)

Four charged with treason in Karachi KARACHI, Nov 8 (AP): Three politicians and a union activist were charged with treason for making anti-government speeches in the city i, a court official said Thursday. They are the first to be charged with treason, which carries a maximum sentence of death, since President General Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency and suspended the constitution. The four were arrested Monday and interrogated by police before being formally charged Wednesday, said a court official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. (Posted @ 13:35 PST)

Three Kurdish rebels killed in Iran TEHRAN, Nov 8 (AFP): Iranian security forces have killed three Kurdish rebels in the western province of Kordestan, the government daily Iran said Thursday. “Three armed members of the PJAK terrorist group were killed in Kamyaran county, Kordestan province,” the report said, without specifying when the incident took place. (Posted @ 13:05 PST)

Mongolian parliament accepts PM's resignation BEIJING, Nov 8 (AFP): Mongolia's parliament Thursday accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Miyegombo Enkhbold, who is stepping down after being ousted as head of the dominant political party, Chinese official media said. Enkhbold, who was prime minister since January 2006, submitted his resignation to the national parliament on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported. (Posted @ 13:00 PST)

China arrests 25 in 4.5-ton platinum smuggling ring BEIJING, Nov 8 (AFP): Customs officials on China's border with Hong Kong have cracked two smuggling rings and confiscated 4.5 tons of platinum valued at 1.64 billion yuan ($220 million), state media said Thursday. Police arrested 25 people, including six Hong Kong residents, who were trying to cheat tax authorities of up to 248 million yuan in false rebates, Xinhua news agency said. (Posted @ 12:50 PST)

Elections in February: official ISLAMABAD, Nov 8 (AFP): Elections will be held in Pakistan in February and a state of emergency will be lifted within one or two months, the country's attorney general told AFP on Thursday. “Elections will be held in February, it has been decided,” attorney general Malik Mohammad Qayyum said. “The emergency will be lifted in one or two months,” he added. (Posted @ 12:40 PST)

Zimbabwe attorney general arrested HARARE, Nov 8 (Reuters): Zimbabwe's attorney general has been arrested and charged with corruption in connection with allegations he promised to help a fugitive banker who had fled the country, police said on Thursday. (Posted @ 12:30 PST)

Three soldiers, militant die in held Kashmir clash SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Nov 8 (AFP): Three Indian army soldiers were killed and six injured in a gunbattle with militants Thursday that also left one militant dead in Indian occupied Kashmir. The clash, the first major skirmish in Indian occupied Kashmir happened near northern Patan town, about 30 kilometres north of the main city of Srinagar. “The fighting started late Wednesday and ended Thursday morning,” an army spokesman told AFP. (Posted @ 12:20 PST)

Gunmen kill cleric in Tank town PESHAWAR, Nov 8 (AFP): Masked gunmen on a motorcycle Thursday shot dead a Shia cleric in Tank town, police said. Ghulam Abbas, 50, was shot dead outside his home a police official said. The assailants left their motorcycle and fled into a nearby forest, the official told AFP. (Posted @ 12:10 PST)

US soldier killed in Iraq BAGHDAD, Nov 8 (AFP): Insurgents killed a US soldier in a bomb attack when he was on a dismounted patrol south of Baghdad, the US military said on Thursday. The soldier died from the wounds received from the attack on Wednesday. The US military's overall losses in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion have now reached 3,857. (Posted @ 12:05 PST)

Court frees 300 lawyers on bail LAHORE, Nov 8 (AFP): An anti-terrorism court Thursday granted bail to more than 300 lawyers arrested during protests against President Pervez Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule, attorneys said. The 331 lawyers were detained in Lahore on Monday on terrorism, rioting and attacking public property and police charges, their counsel Aftab Ahmed Bajwa told AFP. “The judge allowed their bail applications. They were to be released after paying surety bonds of 20,000 rupees (333 dollars) each,” he said. Another 20 senior lawyers and rights activists, said by police to be the ringleaders of the protests, remained in custody, he added. (Posted @ 12:00 PST)

Ex-PM Khaleda Zia's top aide held over feud DHAKA, Nov 8 (Reuters): Bangladesh security forces have detained a top aide of former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia amid a violent feud within her party, police said on Thursday. They said retired Brigadier-General Hannan Shah was picked up from his Dhaka home late on Wednesday for violating emergency rules and provoking violence. “He has been arrested under emergency rules,” said a police officer, adding that the move followed sporadic clashes between rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) activists at a party anniversary. (Posted @ 11:55 PST)

Gas explosion kills two in Tajikistan DUSHANBE, Nov 8 (Reuters): A gas explosion flattened part of an apartment building in Tajikistan on Thursday, killing two people including an Iranian citizen, police said. Five people were injured in the blast which shattered windows and ruined part of the nine-storey building in the capital of the impoverished ex-Soviet state, police said. (Posted @ 11:50 PST)

Eight suicide attackers in Rawalpindi: police ISLAMABAD, Nov 8 (AFP): Suicide bombers have infiltrated Rawalpindi where former premier Benazir Bhutto plans a protest against a state of emergency, police said Thursday. “We have very specific intelligence reports that suicide bombers have entered Rawalpindi,” city police chief Saud Aziz told AFP. He said said up to eight bombers may be in the city and could “target big gatherings and kill innocent people.” Police have informed Bhutto “there are serious, serious threats from the bombers,” he added. (Posted @ 11:30 PST)

60 Tigers, 11 Sri Lankan soldiers killed in battle COLOMBO, Nov 8 (AFP): Sri Lankan forces killed at least 60 Tamil Tiger rebels for the loss of 11 of their own men in heavy fighting in Jaffna peninsula, the defence ministry said Thursday. Security forces advanced into an area held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) late on Wednesday, the ministry said. But the Tigers said they killed 20 government soldiers for the loss of one guerrilla. (Posted @ 10:35 PST)

Three soldiers bodies found near Miram Shah MIRAM SHAH, Nov 8 (AP): The bullet-riddled bodies of three soldiers kidnapped by militants this week were found Thursday near the border with Afghanistan. The men were among four Frontier Corps personnel who went missing Tuesday from Razmak, a town in North Waziristan, where remnants of Al-Qaeda and Taliban are believed to be hiding. “Their bullet-riddled bodies were spotted last night,” a security official said. (First Posted @ 10:25 PST, Updated @ 10:30 PST)

Three soldiers bodies found in Miram Shah MIRAM SHAH, Nov 8 (AP): Security officials say they have found the bodies of three Pakistani soldiers kidnapped this week near Afghan border.(Posted @ 10:25 PST)

U.S. chides Israel for curbs on Palestinian forces NABLUS, Nov 8 (Reuters): The United States has complained to Israel that it is undercutting the ability of Palestinian forces to expand their security control of the occupied West Bank before a U.S.-sponsored peace conference. Western officials said Washington was unhappy at Israel for seizing body armour belonging to the Palestinian Presidential Guard and conducting early-morning raids in Nablus, despite the deployment of Palestinian forces. (Posted @ 10:20 PST)

Two people killed in Thai south NARATHIWAT, Thailand, Nov 8 (AFP): Suspected rebels have shot dead two civilians in Thailand's insurgency-hit southern provinces, police said Thursday. A 44-year-old driver for the local mayor was killed on his way home from a market on Thursday, police said. A woman was also gunned down. Violence appears to be escalating in the south, with 25 people killed since Sunday. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)

Cholera and dengue threaten Mexican flood victims VILLAHERMOSA, Mexico, Nov 8 (Reuters): Tens of thousands of Mexicans forced into makeshift shelters by massive flooding are threatened by ailments ranging from colds to cholera, health officials said on Wednesday. About 80,000 people from the flooded city of Villahermosa have taken refuge in crammed schools, churches and a multistory parking garage. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)

Belgium in crisis after Flemish force vote BRUSSELS, Nov 8 (Reuters): Belgium plunged into a constitutional crisis on Wednesday when French-speaking parties suspended marathon coalition talks after Flemish parties forced through a divisive parliamentary vote. Four-party talks to form a new government, in progress for 150 days since June elections, appeared on the verge of collapse after the unprecedented unilateral vote to break up the greater Brussels electoral district. A day of high drama revived media speculation about a possible break-up of the 177-year-old nation, seat of the European Union's main institutions, even though polls show most Belgians favour unity. (Posted @ 10:05 PST)

Two Swiss banks accused in Brazil remittance fraud BRASILIA, Nov 8 (Reuters): Brazilian authorities Wednesday accused employees of two Swiss banks, UBS and Clariden Leu, of participating in an illegal remittance scheme. Police arrested 20 people on Tuesday, including businessmen, bankers, and black-market foreign exchange operators on suspicion of money-laundering and making illegal currency remittances. (Posted @ 09:35 PST)

Police arrest 400 PPP supporters: party ISLAMABAD, Nov 8 (AFP): Police rounded up about 400 supporters early Thursday of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto in a crackdown hours after she called for mass protests against emergency rule. Pakistan People's Party workers and supporters were detained in raids across Punjab, said the party's provincial secretary general, Ghulam Abbas. “Police launched a crackdown at village, town and city level and detained around 400 workers from different areas across Punjab,” he told AFP. Police confirmed 50 arrests. A federal government official said the government had ordered no crackdown” against Bhutto's party. (Posted @ 09:35 PST)

Former Illinois governor enters prison CHICAGO, Nov 8 (Reuters): Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan entered a federal prison in Wisconsin Wednesday to begin serving a 6-1/2 year sentence for corruption, proclaiming his innocence to the end. (Posted @ 09:20 PST)

Mexico orders extradition of ex-governor to U.S. MEXICO CITY, Nov 8 (Reuters): Mexico will extradite former state governor Mario Villanueva to the United States to be tried there on drug-smuggling charges, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. Villanueva, serving a six-year sentence for money-laundering, is accused of helping a Mexican cartel smuggle cocaine into Quintana Roo, the state he governed from 1993 to 1999. (Posted @ 09:20 PST)

One killed, six injured in protests against Chavez reforms CARACAS, Nov 8 (AFP): One person was killed and six were injured, two of them from gunfire, in an armed attack Wednesday on Venezuelan students protesting proposed reforms by President Hugo Chavez that would strengthen his power. (Posted @ 09:15 PST)

Georgia declares 15-day state of emergency TBILISI, Nov 8 (Reuters): Georgia has declared a 15-day countrywide state of emergency, the country's Economic Development Minister Georgy Arveladze told reporters on Wednesday. The prime minister earlier said there had been a coup attempt after protests in the capital. (Posted @ 09:10 PST)

Finnish school gunman dead: official HELSINKI, Nov 8 (AFP): The 18-year-old gunman who killed eight people in a school shooting in Finland on Wednesday before turning the gun on himself has died, a doctor at the hospital where he was being treated told AFP. “He died of a one-bullet injury in the head,” said a doctor at Helsinki University Hospital. Police identified the killer as Pekka-Eric Auvinen. (Posted @ 09:05 PST)

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