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| November 28, 2007 | Wednesday | Ziqa’ad 17, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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Troops seize Fazlullah's base: PESHAWAR, Nov 28 (AFP): Troops Wednesday captured the base of radical militant cleric Maulana Fazlullah in Swat Valley where nearly two weeks of clashes have killed around 250 militants, officials said. “Security forces entered Imam Dheri town, the main base of Maulana Fazlullah,” a provincial government spokesman told AFP. The cleric controlled a huge complex in Imam Dheri including a mosque and a madrassa spread over two square kilometers. Some 200 armed followers used to guard the complex prior to the recent clashes. The base, some eight kilometres from the valley's main town of Mingora, is in Kabal district, where most towns have fallen to the government in the past two days. Fazlullah’s whereabouts remain unknown. Security sources said the cleric's close aides had fled, including his spokesman, Maulana Sirajuddin. They quoted residents as saying they were seen heading for the mountains. (Posted @ 17:10 PST)
President Musharraf hands over command as army chief RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Nov 28 (Reuters) President Pervez Musharraf handed over the baton of army command to his successor General Ashfaq Kiyani Wednesday, ending eight years of military rule. He passed the cane at a ceremony of martial pomp at army headquarters in Rawalpindi, a day before he is due to swear a new oath of presidential office as a civilian. Many of the dignitaries and invited guests applauded as Musharraf picked up the baton from a wooden and brass stand and placed it in Kiyani's outstretched hands, in a ceremony broadcast live on television. “The system continues, people come and go, everyone has to go, every good thing comes to an end, everything is mortal,” Musharraf told the top brass and government leaders at the change-of-command ceremony. (FirstPosted @ 11:05 PST, Updated@ 11:50 PST)
Saudi authorities arrest 208 suspected militants RIYADH, Nov 28 (AFP/AP): The Saudi Arabian authorities have arrested 208 suspected militants who formed six cells, one of which plotted to attack an auxiliary oil facility, interior ministry spokesman General Mansur al-Turki said Wednesday. The authorities Wednesday arrested eight men who allegedly were planning to attack oil installations in the kingdom, security officials said. They said the eight were part of a terrorist cell led by a non-Saudi man, who was also arrested. The planned attacks were to take place in the eastern region, which is home to Saudia's main oil resources, the official said. The pan-Arab satellite TV stations Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera said the arrested men were also allegedly plotting to kill religious leaders and security officials. (Posted @ 20:50 PST)
White House welcomes Musharraf decision to quit military WASHINGTON, Nov 28 (Reuters): The White House Wednesday welcomed a decision by President Pervez Musharraf to quit as army chief. “The president certainly considers that to be a good step,” White House press secretary Dana Perino said. “President Musharraf followed through on his commitment to remove the uniform. It was significant for him.” But Perino repeated the White House's call for Musharraf to end emergency rule in Pakistan. (Posted @ 20:15 PST)
General Kiyani takes over as COAS ISLAMABAD, Nov 28 (AFP) On Wednesday General Ashfaq Kiyani took over as Pakistan’s army chief. President Musharraf handed the baton of military command to Kiyani, his 55-year-old deputy, in a colourful ceremony on a parade ground at military headquarters in Rawalpindi. Musharraf paid rich tribute to him in a speech, saying he had known him for 20 years and adding: “I know his professional acumen. He is an excellent soldier.” Musharraf said he was “confident that the army will remain loyal to him (Kiyani) as it has been with me”. Kiyani is a former head of the Rawalpindi Corps. In 2004, Musharraf appointed him to lead the Inter-Services Intelligence agency. Kiyani joined the army in 1971 and commanded several infantry units, according to a military statement. He is a graduate of Fort Leavenworth military college in the United States.(Posted @ 12:00 PST)
Benazir says PPP in no hurry to accept him as civilian leader KARACHI, Nov 28 (AFP): Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto Wednesday welcomed President Pervez Musharraf's resignation from the army but said she was in no hurry to accept him as a civilian leader. “We welcome President Pervez Musharraf taking off his uniform and quitting the army. We are not in a hurry to accept Musharraf as a civilian president. We'll take any decision in this regard after detailed deliberations” Bhutto told reporters in Karachi. (Posted @ 17:40 PST)
Musharraf resignation as army chief a good step but more needed: US WASHINGTON, Nov 28 (AFP): US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday President Pervez Musharraf's resignation as army chief was a good first step but that he should now lift emergency rule. “This is a good step, a good first step But the decision now needs to be taken to end the state of emergency to allow free and fair elections to take place,” Rice told NBC television. (Posted @ 17:35 PST)
PIA flies off EU banned airline list BRUSSELS, Nov 28 (AFP): The European Commission on Wednesday lifted all restrictions on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flying in the 27-nation bloc. In March, the EC banned most of PIA's planes amid safety fears. PIA “successfully completed implementation of a corrective action plan following inclusion in the list,” an EC statement said. EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said this shows “when airlines take rapid and sound corrective action to comply with safety standards, they can be withdrawn from the list quickly. (Posted @ 18:05 PST)
Turkish president to visit Pakistan: ministry ISLAMABAD, Nov 28 (AFP): Turkish President Abdullah Gul is to visit Pakistan at the weekend, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. Gul will hold talks with President Pervez Musharraf during the state visit on Sunday and Monday, Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq told a weekly briefing. The spokesman said Gul's visit would focus on “issues of bilateral, regional and global importance.The fact that President Abdullah Gul is visiting Pakistan within a few weeks of assuming office reflects the sense of deep-rooted friendship and solidarity between the two countries,” Sadiq said. The Turkish leader would be accompanied by his wife, senior officials, business leaders and “top media personalities of Turkey,” he added.(Posted @ 16:10 PST)
60y illegal migrants escape in Mauritania NOUAKCHOTT, Nov 28 (Reuters): Sixty illegal African migrants escaped custody in Mauritania, where they were being held after their boat was stopped from reaching Spain's Canary Islands, a Red Cross official said Wednesday. They were among 125 migrants captured by the Mauritanian navy on Monday off the coast. The remaining 65 have already been repatriated to Mali and Senegal, the official said. (Posted @ 20:05 PST)
26 Indonesian sailors feared dead: officials TAIPEI, Nov 28 (AFP): Twenty six Indonesian sailors are feared dead after their Panamanian freighter hit rough seas off Taiwan's north coast, officials said late Wednesday. Television images showed coast guards plucking one surviving sailor from the sea. Transport ministry official Ho Wen-chih said he feared the others were dead. (First Posted @ 17:15 Updated @ 19:45 PST)
Muslims lack religious rights in Angola: UN expert GENEVA, Nov 28 (Reuters): Muslims lack key religious rights in Angola and are stigmatised in the media and by government officials because of a perceived link to international terrorism and crime, a U.N. report said on Wednesday. The report cited Asma Jahangir of Pakistan, a special investigator for the U.N. Human Rights Council, as saying the Muslim community had not been officially recognised and authorities had temporarily closed down some mosques last year. (Posted @ 19:40 PST)
Germany arrests Georgian opposition leader BERLIN, Nov 28 (Reuters): German police have arrested exiled Georgian opposition leader Irakly Okruashvili following a request from Georgian authorities and he could be extradited, the Berlin state prosecutor said on Wednesday. A spokesman for the state prosecutor said the courts were looking at a preliminary request for extradition on charges of embezzlement. (Posted @ 19:40 PST)
Second attack in Sri Lanka capital kills 16: military COLOMBO, Nov 28 (Reuters): Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers killed 16 people in a second bomb attack in hours in the capital, Colombo Wednesday, the military said. “There are 16 bodies in the hospital and 43 people wounded,” a military spokesman said, referring to the second attack, which took place near a shopping centre in a residential quarter of the city. A Tamil Tiger suicide bomber blew herself up near the office of a minority Tamil minister earlier on Wednesday, killing his personal secretary. (First Posted @ 18:20 PST Updated @ 19:08 PST)
Soccer: British police arrest four in corruption probe LONDON, Nov 28 (Reuters): British police arrested four men on Wednesday in connection with an investigation into corruption in English soccer, a City of London police spokeswoman said. The four were arrested in locations “across the country”, but no other details about the arrests were given other than the ages of those detained -- 69, 55, 48 and 30. (Posted @ 18:50 PST)
Israeli missiles kill two Hamas police officers GAZA, Nov 28 (Reuters): Israeli missiles that struck a Hamas security position in the southern Gaza Strip killed two Hamas naval police officers Wednesday, Hamas and Palestinian medical workers said. An Israeli army spokesman said there had been an air strike at a Hamas position. Two Hamas members were killed and three others wounded during the missile strike on a Hamas naval base near the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, medical workers said. (Posted @ 18:50 PST)
80 Indians charged with taking part in illegal rally KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 (AP): At least 80 ethnic Indians were charged in court Wednesday with talking part in a massive, banned rally to demand equal rights for minority Indians in country. The Indians, who were charged in at least five different courts, pleaded not guilty. Some were also charged with refusing to disperse and trying to hurt police officers.(Posted @ 15:00 PST)
Militants issue moral code in tribal area in Pakistan KHAR, Pakistan, Nov 28 (AFP) Pro-Taliban militants in a Pakistani tribal district have warned residents not to put musical ring tones or pictures in their mobile phones, witnesses said Wednesday. A pamphlet distributed in Khar, the main town of Bajaur tribal district, also told people not to shave their beards, listen to music or smoke cigarettes and hashish. The pamphlet, handwritten in Pashto language, also forbade tribesmen from leaving their homes without caps or to carry weapons without permission from the militants.(Posted @ 13:55 PST)
President Musharraf wants to lift emergency before polls ISLAMABAD, Nov 28 (AFP) President Musharraf, who resigned as army chief Wednesday, wants to lift emergency rule before elections in January but is still weighing his options, a senior official said. The comment came as Dawn News television, quoting unidentified sources, reported that Musharraf was set to end the November 3 state of emergency within 48 hours. “The president is still weighing the options,” the senior government official told AFP requesting anonymity. “He has indicated to his aides that he would like to lift the emergency before the elections but it is not yet decided when to do it,” the official said. Presidential spokesman Rashid Qureshi said Musharraf would make a televised address Thursday night. “He will address the nation tomorrow night as a civilian president after being sworn in,” Qureshi said. Attorney General Malik Mohammad Qayyum said he was not aware of any plans to end the emergency and restore the constitution. “There is no proposal for lifting of emergency and there is nothing of the sort in my knowledge also,” Qayyum said.(Posted @ 12:40 PST)
Japan arrests former defence bureaucrat TOKYO, Nov 28 (AFP) Japanese prosecutors Wednesday arrested the defence ministry's former top bureaucrat on allegations of accepting bribes in a scandal that has touched the finance minister, officials said. Former vice defence minister Takemasa Moriya was arrested after hours of questioning, the prosecutors’ office said in a statement. Prosecutors also said they raided Moriya's residence in Tokyo and arrested his wife. Kyodo News said investigators believe he gave preferential treatment to two Japanese companies in military deals.(Posted @ 13:35 PST)
Assailants kill three soldiers in southwestern Pakistan QUETTA, Pakistan, Nov 28 (AP) Assailants attacked security forces in Pakistan's Balochistan province Wednesday, shooting to death three troops and wounding five others, officials said. Two pickup trucks carrying the troops back from a nighttime patrol came under fire in a mountainous region southwest of Quetta, a local police officer said. Three troops from the Frontier Corps. paramilitary force were killed, the official said requesting anonymity. An official at the Frontier Corps headquarters in Quetta confirmed that three soldiers died.(Posted @ 13:30 PST)
Female suicide bomber wounds seven US troops in Iraq BAGHDAD, Nov 28 (Reuters) A female suicide bomber wearing an explosives vest blew herself up in Baquba, 65 km north of Baghdad, wounding seven U.S. soldiers and five Iraqi civilians Tuesday, the U.S. military said Wednesday.(Posted @ 12:15 PST)
Air strike kills 12 Afghan workers ASADABAD, Afghanistan, Nov 28 (AFP) A US-led coalition warplane dropped a bomb on a tent in northeastern Afghanistan, killing 12 Afghan roadworkers, a provincial governor said Wednesday. “We had reports that rebels were there. There was an airstrike by coalition forces but later we found out that 12 people, all local road workers, were killed,” Nuristan governor Tamimi Nuristani told AFP.(Posted @ 10:30 PST)
Kyrgyz prime minister resigns ahead of vote BISHKEK, Nov 28 (Reuters) Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev resigned Wednesday just weeks before a snap parliamentary election in the Central Asian state. “The president accepted Atambayev's resignation today,” said Nurlanbek Shakiyev, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's spokesman.(Posted @ 10:10 PST)
Six, including five Indian Sikh pilgrims, injured in road incident in Pakistan WAH CANTT, Pakistan, Nov 28 (APP) Six people, including five Indian Sikh pilgrims, were injured when a vehicle collided with another here on Hazara road Tuesday evening. Police and hospital sources said the vehicle was carrying Sikh pilgrims from Gurdwara Punja Sahib to the local railway station.(Posted @ 09:55 PST)
Three Palestinians hurt in Israeli air raid GAZA CITY, Nov 28 (AFP) An Israeli air raid injured three Palestinians Tuesday night in the southern Gaza Strip, Hamas said, adding that the attack targeted one of its positions in the Khan Younis area.(Posted @ 09:50 PST)
More than 100 demonstrate outside peace summit in Annapolis ANNAPOLIS, Nov 28 (AP) More than 100 activists demonstrated outside the U.S. Naval Academy gates Tuesday, offering their very public take on the Israeli-Palestinian dispute as diplomats met inside to chart a course toward peace. A spokesman for the Annapolis Police Department, said there were no arrests during demonstrations. When demonstrators marched from St. Anne's to the historic City Dock, they encountered rival protesters and several shouting matches broke out. The different groups soon went their separate ways and the formal demonstrations were over by mid-afternoon.(Posted @ 09:50 PST)
Suspected separatists kill 10 workers in India's northeast GAUHATI, India, Nov 28 (AP) Suspected separatists fatally shot 10 saw mill workers and injured eight others in two attacks in India's northeastern Assam state late Tuesday, police said Wednesday. The attacks occurred near Umrangshu, a town 300 kilometres south of Gauhati.(Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Two U.S. soldiers killed; eight corpses found across Baghdad BAGHDAD, Nov 28 (Reuters) Two U.S. soldiers died of wounds they sustained after an explosion near their vehicle when they were conducting an operation in the northern province of Salahuddin Tuesday, the U.S. military said. Two other soldiers were wounded in the incident. Separately, eight corpses were found in different parts of Baghdad, police said.(Posted @ 09:40 PST)
One dead, 35 injured in explosion at Ecuadoran gold mine PONCE ENRIQUEZ, Ecuador, Nov 28 (AFP) One person died and 35 others were injured in an explosion at a gold mine in Ecuador, firefighters said Tuesday, correcting a higher death toll given earlier. Rescue teams determined that one person who was handling dynamite was killed in the blast at the mine in Ponce Enrmquez, 350 kilometres southeast of Quito. Officials were investigating the cause of the blast.(Posted @ 09:20 PST)
Mexico bus skids off cliff, kills nine MEXICO CITY, Nov 28 (Reuters) A bus fell down a 328-feet-high cliff in western Mexico, killing nine passengers and injuring 25, emergency workers said Tuesday. The accident occurred Monday evening in the Pacific coast state of Nayarit, when the bus was hit by a van and knocked off the road, a local Red Cross official said.(Posted @ 09:20 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 89.44 points: KARACHI, Nov 28: At close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 13884.90 , up 89.44 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Nov 28: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 61.3, to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
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