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| December 04, 2007 | Tuesday | Ziqa'ad 23, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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Militants kidnap six Pakistani security personnel KHAR, Pakistan, Dec 4 (AFP) Suspected pro-Taliban militants abducted six Pakistani security personnel and blew up their checkpoint in the Bajaur tribal region, officials said Tuesday. The attackers stormed the security post about 12 kilometres northeast of Khar, the main town in Bajaur tribal district, late Monday, said local paramilitary forces commander Mamoor Khan. “They blew up the post and abducted six security officials,” Khan told AFP. “We strongly believe it is the work of local Taliban.” (Posted @ 13:10 PST)
Female suicide bomber killed in Peshawar blast PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Dec 4 (AFP) A female suicide bomber blew herself up at a checkpost in Peshawar Tuesday, police said. There were no other casualties in the blast. It happened in a high-security zone where intelligence services buildings and a Christian convent school are located, provincial police chief Mohammad Sharif told AFP. “This is the first suicide attack carried out by a woman in Pakistan,” Sharif said. Other officials also confirmed that the bomber was female. “The suicide bomber was a woman,” senior police official Kadir Khan told AFP. “She came to the army checkpost, she was stopped but she blew herself up.” Military personnel and police cordoned off the area, an AFP reporter at the scene said. A security official said that the woman was thought to be an Afghan refugee aged about 40. (First Posted @ 14:40 PST, Updated @ 15:10 PST)
JI not to contest elections: Qazi Peshawar Dec 4 (PPI): The Jamaat-e-Islami Chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad formally announced that the JI would boycott the January 8 elections. Qazi Hussain announced this after chairing the Provincial Executive Committees meeting of Jamaat-e-Islami. He made the announcement in an address to the national and provincial assembly candidates at provincial head quarter of JI on Tuesday. (Posted @ 20:42 PST)
Gunmen kill soldier near Quetta: police QUETTA, Dec 4 (AFP): Gunmen killed a paramilitary soldier and injured a policeman at a checkpost late Tuesday, police said. The shooting took place on the outskirts of Quetta. “Unknown gunmen fired at the checkpost from the roof of nearby houses and a paramilitary soldier was killed and a policeman injured,” senior police official Rehmatullah Niazi told AFP. “We have cordoned the area and launched a search for the attackers,” he said. (Posted @ 20:48 PST)
Man arrested for Balochistan madrassa blast QUETTA, Dec 4 (AFP): Thei authorities have arrested the main suspect in a bomb blast that killed six students at a madrassa in Qila Saifullah, the interior ministry said Tuesday. “The culprit involved in an explosion in a madrassa in Qilla Saifullah has been arrested and is under investigation,” interior ministry spokesman Javed Cheema told a briefing in Islamabad. Local officials said Monday that the bomb was left by an Afghan student who stayed overnight at the Imdadul Uloom seminary. Cheema gave no details about his identity. The motive for the attack is not yet known and there has been no claim of responsibility. (Posted @ 18:32 PST)
Pakistan opposition thrash out vote demands ISLAMABAD, Dec 4 (AFP) The committee set up on Monday by Pakistani opposition leaders Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto will have its maiden session on Tuesday, the chairman of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party, Raja Zafarul Haq, told AFP. “It has been left to the committee members to formulate the demands on the basis of discussions held between the leaders last night.” he said and added that “we are talking about free and fair elections”. “The committee is expected to finalise its work soon, I think in two or three days.” Senator Raza Rabbani, a senior official from Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, stressed the need for an independent election commission and said local authorities were giving “undue favour” to pro-Musharraf candidates. “Obviously the core issue is ensuring free and fair elections,” Rabbani said. (Posted @ 12:40 PST)
President Musharraf in Quetta QUETTA Dec 4 (PPI) - President Pervez Musharraf arrived here Tuesday on a two day visit. It is his first visit as civilian president and farewell visit to Quetta Garrison as former Army chief. (Posted @ 23:08 PST)
Russia to supply 347 main battle tanks to India NEW DELHI, Dec 4 (APP): Russia will supply additional 347 T-90S main battle tanks to India under a deal worth $1.237 billion signed between both the countries. Media reports here quoting Russian state-run Radio Mayak said all the tanks will not be supplied in finished form. Under the deal, part of these 347 tanks will be assembled at Avadi Factory in Tamil Nadu. Currently, India has 310 T-90S MBTs in its arsenal. India will produce 1000 main battle tanks under Transfer of Technology and licensed production deal. (Posted @ 22:38 PST)
Gabon has 25 years before oil runs out: World Bank LIBREVILLE, Dec 4 (Reuters): Gabon has just 25 years in which to diversify its oil-dependent economy before its dwindling reserves of petroleum completely run out, a World Bank official said Tuesday. (Posted @ 20:44 PST)
Forty Al-Qaeda leaders killed, caught in Iraq in November: U.S. BAGHDAD, Dec 4 (Reuters): Forty senior al Qaeda in Iraq members were either captured or killed in November, including a senior adviser to the group's leader, the U.S. military said Tuesday. “There is no question Al-Qaeda in Iraq remains a threat to the Iraqi people and to the security forces and the coalition forces,” U.S. military spokesman Major-General Kevin Bergner told a news conference. (Posted @ 20:30 PST)
Eight killed, 30 hurt in suicide blast in Baghdad police station BAGHDAD, Dec 4 (AP): A suicide bomber blew himself up near a police station northeast of Baghdad Tuesday, killing at least eight people and wounding 30, police and hospital officials said. The attack occurred as local Iraqi police were gathered near the main gate of the station in Jalula with Kurdish troops who came to the area as part of a security crackdown, police said. The dead included four Iraqi police, two Kurdish troops and two civilians, police said. (Posted @ 20:18 PST)
Turk solider, six Kurd rebels killed in clash ANKARA, Dec 4 (Reuters): One Turkish soldier and six Kurdish PKK guerrillas were killed Tuesday in a clash in mountainous Sirnak province in southeast Turkey, the military said. (Posted @ 20:04 PST)
Israel invites bids for new settlements in east Jerusalem JERUSALEM, Dec 4 (AFP): Israel has invited bids for the construction of more than 300 new housing units in Har Homa in annexed east Jerusalem, officials said on Tuesday, the first settlement expansion since peace talks with the Palestinians were revived. Har Homa was captured and annexed by Israel in 1967, a move not recognised by the international community. (Posted @ 19:34 PST)
Blast on passenger train in Assam ISLAMABAD, Dec 4 (APP): A major disaster was averted early Tuesday in Assam when a powerful explosion rocked the engine of a passenger train, officials said. A railway spokesman said the blast took place around 1.35 am near Kathkhati in the eastern district of Karbi Anglong, 260 km from Assam's main city Guwahati, a private channel reported. “The locomotive of the Kamrup Express was partially damaged although there were no casualties,” the railway spokesman said. (Posted @ 18:46 PST)
Somali president hospitalised 'in serious condition' NAIROBI, Dec 4 (AFP): Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was hospitalised in Nairobi “in serious condition”, a hospital official told AFP Tuesday. “The Somali president has been admitted here. He is in serious condition,” said the official, who declined to be identified. A presidential aide confirmed that Yusuf was in a Nairobi hospital but played down the seriousness of his condition, insisting he would be travelling abroad shortly. (First Posted @ 17:20 PST Updated @ 18:42 PST)
Six killed in blast in Thailand NARATHIWAT, Thailand, Dec 4 (AFP): Six people were killed and more than 20 injured late Tuesday when a bomb exploded in a restaurant in south Thailand, police said. The bomb exploded at a busy restaurant selling rice porridge in Pattani, one of three insurgency-plagued provinces bordering Malaysia, police said. (Posted @ 18:20 PST)
Malaysia charges 26 ethnic Indians with attempted murder KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 (AFP) Twenty-six ethnic Indians were charged Tuesday with the attempted murder of a policeman during last month's anti-discrimination protests, their lawyer and officials said. “Twenty-six Indians were charged in court today for attempted murder of an individual on November 24 during a protest in Batu Caves,” their lawyer N. Ravi told AFP, adding that they had pleaded not guilty. Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail said if convicted, the accused faced up to 20 years in jail. (Posted @ 18:04 PST)
US report confirms Iran 'no imminent danger': IAEA official VIENNA, Dec 4 (AFP) A US intelligence report saying Iran halted its nuclear weapons programme four years ago confirms the UN atomic watchdog's assessment that Tehran represents “no imminent danger”, a senior IAEA official said Tuesday. The report “validates the (International Atomic Energy Agency's) statements over the last years that inspectors have found no concrete evidence of an undeclared nuclear weapons programme in Iran,” said the official, who declined identification. The report also validates IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei's assessment “that he has not seen an imminent danger and that there is ample time for negotiations,” the official added. (Posted @ 17:24 PST)
Govt committed to bringing peace, development in FATA: Caretaker PM Soomro ISLAMABAD, Dec 4 (APP) The government is committed to bringing peace and development in FATA so that people of the area can live a better life, said Caretaker Prime Minister Mohammadmian Soomro. He said as a result of continued dialogue with local tribes the law and order situation in tribal areas has improved which will ensure continued socio-economic development of the region. The Prime Minister was talking to a group of notables of FATA, led by Malik Zahir Shah Afridi from Khyber Agency, who called on him here. He said the government wants the tribal people to play their part in promoting peace and security in the region and disallowing elements conducting activities prejudicial to the security of Pakistan or any other country to use tribal areas as their staging point. (Posted @ 17:10 PST)
Operation in Swat to continue till elimination of militants: Major General Waheed Arshad ISLAMABAD, Dec 4 (APP) Director General Inter Services Public Relations, Major General Waheed Arshad Tuesday said military operation in affected areas of Swat will continue till the elimination of militants from the area. “Operation is continuing satisfactorily and the troops are positioned on high place in surroundings of Matta”, Arshad told a private television channel. To a question, he said so far 230 miscreants have been killed and 75-80 have been arrested. (Posted @ 17:02 PST)
Four ministers resign in Somalia day after swearing in MOGADISHU, Somalia, Dec 4 (AP) Four Somali Cabinet ministers resigned late Monday, less than 24 hours after they were appointed, saying their clan is not adequately represented in the new prime minister Nur Hassan Hussein’s government. ''We feel that there is scorn against our clan, which violates the power-sharing system our government is based on,'' said Hassan Mohamed Nur, who resigned as minister of national security. He and the other ministers who resigned are members of the Rahanwein clan, one of Somalia's four major clans. (Posted @ 16:58 PST)
Contempt notices issued to two police officers for not arresting Shahbaz Sharif ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec 4 (AP) Nawaz Sharif's brother Shahbaz Sharif faced possible arrest Tuesday over murder charges dating back to 1998. An anti-terrorism court in Lahore issued contempt notices to two police officers for not arresting Shahbaz Sharif for having allegedly ordered security forces to kill suspected criminals in a shootout eight years ago, when he was chief minister of Punjab province, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported Tuesday.(Posted @ 15:50 PST)
Cricket-India v Pakistan second test drawn KOLKATA, India, Dec 4 (Reuters) The second test between India and Pakistan ended in a draw Tuesday. India lead the three-match series 1-0. Brief scores: India 616-5 dec. (W. Jaffer 202, S. Ganguly 102, V. Laxman 112 not out) & 184-4 dec. (W. Jaffer 56) v Pakistan 456 (K. Akmal 119, Misbah-ul-Haq 161 not out, Harbhajan 5-122) & 214-4 (Y. Khan 107 not out). (First Posted @ 10:50 PST, Updated @ 15:25 PST)
12 injured in road mishap in Sindh KOT GHULAM MOHAMMAD, Pakistan, Dec 4 (PPI) Twelve people suffered injuries when three vehicles collided near Kot Mirs village Tuesday morning. A coaster was hit by a Mirpurkhas-bound bus and a coach in the village. Twelve persons sustained injuries. (Posted @ 14:25 PST)
U.S. soldiers shoot four Iraqi civilians, one killed BAGHDAD, Dec 4 (Reuters) U.S. soldiers shot four Iraqi civilians, killing one, during operations against al Qaeda militants, the U.S. military said Tuesday. U.S. soldiers had detained a suspected al Qaeda fighter in Tarmiya, 30 km north of Baghdad, Monday when they were approached by a car that did not obey an order to stop. The car continued moving towards the soldiers despite two sets of warning shots. U.S. soldiers then fired on the car, hitting the four people inside. One of the passengers died while being taken to a military hospital for treatment. (Posted @ 14:05 PST)
Three killed in road accident in Pakistan BAHAWALPUR, Pakistan, Dec 4 (APP) Three people were killed and two injured in a roadside accident near Ahmedpur road in Bahawalpur district Tuesday. Police said the accident occurred when a speeding bus collided with a car coming from the opposite side. (Posted @ 12:40 PST)
Bangladesh academics jailed over student unrest DHAKA, Dec 4 (AFP) Four Bangladeshi academics were sentenced to two years in jail each Tuesday for fuelling student unrest in August that prompted the country's emergency government to impose a curfew, police said. The professors from the western Rajshahi University were found guilty of breaking emergency laws banning protests and all gatherings, police inspector Mahbub Siddiqui said. The August 20-22 demonstrations began at Dhaka University after students were allegedly mishandled by army personnel. (Posted @ 13:50 PST)
Four policemen killed in Afghan ambush GHAZNI, Afghanistan, Dec 4 (AFP) Taliban rebels ambushed a police patrol in southern Afghanistan’s Ghazni province late Monday, killing four policemen but also losing four of their own fighters, a local police commander said Tuesday. (Posted @ 13:45 PST)
Taliban control no more than five Afghan districts: NATO KABUL, Dec 4 (AFP) Afghanistan's Taliban control no more than five out of 59 districts in the south of the country, the NATO-led ISAF said here Tuesday. The insurgents are also isolated in the south, ISAF spokesman Brigadier General Carlos Branco told reporters travelling with US Defence Secretary Robert Gates who arrived late Monday for a surprise visit. “As an insurgent movement, the Taliban have failed. After six years they only control small pockets. They can't confront the ISAF forces,” the Portuguese general said. Gates visited the ISAF headquarters in Kabul Tuesday for talks with commanders of forces in the south, which sees the worst of the violence, ahead of a meeting with these countries in Scotland this month.(Posted @ 12:30 PST)
Suicide bomber targets NATO convoy in Kabul, 22 civilians wounded KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec 4 (AP) A suicide car bomber targeted NATO’s two-vehicle convoy in Afghanistan's capital on Tuesday, wounding 22 civilians passing nearby, officials said. The attack came as visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates planned to meet with President Hamid Karzai in Kabul. Gates was “nowhere near the blast,” said a U.S. Embassy official. There were no casualties in the NATO convoy, said Lt. Col. Thomas Dillschneider, an ISAF spokesman.The attacker's car was completely destroyed and three private vehicles, including a minibus, were damaged. Ten people who were riding in the minibus near the blast were among those wounded, said a police officer. (First Posted @ 10:20 PST Updated @ 12:15 PST)
Israeli airstrike kills three Hamas militants in Gaza GAZA CITY, Dec 4 (AFP) An Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip killed three Hamas militants overnight, medics said Tuesday. The victims were all members of Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades. One of them died instantly and the other two died of wounds in hospital, they said. (First Posted @ 10:10 PST Updated @11:55 PST)
Turkish President leaves after 2-day visit ISLAMABAD, Dec 4 (APP):Turkish President Abdullah Gul was given a warm send off when he left late Monday night after completing 2-day state visit to Pakistan. At the Chaklala Airbase the Turkish President was presented a salute before his departure. During the visit, the Turkish President held talks with President Pervez Musharraf and also met several leading political leaders of Pakistan. (Posted @ 10:35 PST)
Storms pound North America on both coasts MONTREAL, Dec 4 (AFP) Major storms pounded North America's Atlantic and Pacific coasts Monday, grounding flights, forcing schools to close and creating dangerous road conditions that have left at least 10 people dead. Snow forced severe flight delays at major airports in Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal, while children stayed home as hundreds of schools closed in eastern Canada. Nearly all flights were cancelled or delayed at the international airport of Montreal, where 9.5 inches snow fell overnight. Up to 35 centimetres of snow fell in parts of provinces of Ontario and Quebec. IN the USA, the state of Washington took a beating from a wintry mix of powerful winds, heavy rain and massive snow fall, all resulting in mudslides, flooding and avalanches. Sixty centimetres to one meter of snow fell in the Cascades mountain range, triggering avalanches that forced one major state road to shut down, he said. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
Iran expels Canadian ambassador to Tehran OTTAWA, Dec 4 (AFP) Iran has expelled Canada's Ambassador to Tehran. Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier said Monday the expulsion resulted from an impasse between the two countries over Ottawa's failure to approve Iran's proposed diplomatic representation to Canada. There was no immediate comment from Iran to the minister's statement. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
China FM in flurry of phone calls after US report on Iran released BEIJING, Dec 4 (AFP) China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi held a round of telephone diplomacy with EU and US counterparts, his ministry said Tuesday, after a US report stated Iran had halted its nuclear weapons drive. Yang held talks with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana late Monday and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice early Tuesday, the ministry said. In a Tuesday morning call to Rice, Yang “exchanged views on the Iranian nuclear issue,” it added, without going into details. China has long maintained that sanctions on Iran are not productive to resolving the row over whether Tehran is seeking to develop atomic weapons. Beijing has also insisted that Iran should be allowed to develop peaceful uses of nuclear technology under the oversight of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
Indonesia hit by quake but no tsunami threat JAKARTA, Dec 4 (AFP) A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia's Sulawesi island on Tuesday but there was no threat of a tsunami and no immediate word of damage, a meteorologist said. The earthquake, which hit at 11:37 am (0337 GMT), occurred at sea 138 kilometres northwest of the city of Bitung in North Sulawesi province, at a depth of 35 kilometres. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 113.33 points: KARACHI, Dec 04: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 14037.01, up 113.33 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Dec 04: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 61.5 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
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