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| December 09, 2007 | Sunday | Ziqa'ad 28, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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Musharraf says will lift Pakistan emergency on December 15 WASHINGTON, Dec 9, (AFP) - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said in a CNN interview broadcast Sunday that he would lift his state of emergency on December 15 and guaranteed free and fair elections next month. Confirming remarks by Pakistan's attorney general that the emergency would be lifted a day earlier than previously planned, Musharraf said “the emergency will be finished on the 15th; I mean every word of it”. ”I give commitments which I always follow and honor,” Musharraf said in the interview on CNN's “Late Edition,” which was taped on Saturday. (Posted @ 23:18 PST)
11 including 3 policemen killed in Swat suicide attack SWAT, Dec 9 (APP): Eleven persons including three policemen were killed when a suicide bomber exploded his car at Ningwalai check post here on Sunday, police sources said. Seven civilians including two children were among the dead. Law enforcement agencies cordoned off the crime scene and special teams arrived to collect clues and evidence. (First Posted @ 15:10 PST Updated @ 20:48 PST)
Rockets fired at Pakistani base, girls school bombed PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Dec 9 (AFP) Suspected militants fired rockets at an air force base in northwest Pakistan early Sunday and also bombed a girls school but there were no casualties, police said. Two rockets landed in an open field at Peshawar air force base, while a third one exploded on a road near the area after midnight but caused no damage or casualties, senior police official Mohammad Tahir Khan told AFP. Separately, suspected militants bombed a girls high school in Michni neighbourhood of Peshawar which caused damage to its main gate and boundary wall, another police official said. (Posted @ 11:55 PST)
Sharif alliance undecided on Pakistan poll boycott: official LAHORE, Pakistan, Dec 9, (AFP) - An alliance of Pakistani opposition parties led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif Sunday failed to agree on whether to boycott upcoming general elections, officials said. “The meeting could not evolve consensus on whether or not to take part in election,” said Raja Zafarul Haq, a senior leader of Sharif's party. (Posted @ 22:28 PST)
Pakistan asks diplomats not to comment on domestic politics ISLAMABAD, Dec 9 (AFP): Pakistan has asked foreign diplomats stationed here not to publicly comment on the domestic political situation, officials said Sunday. The advice came after ambassadors of the United States and European Union member countries last week held a series of talks with Pakistani opposition leaders and gave on-spot television interviews after the meetings. “We have no objection to their meeting with anyone, but diplomats should not make public comments after such meetings,” foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq told AFP. “We expect them to follow the standard behaviour and diplomatic etiquette,” Sadiq said. He added that it was general advice and whenever there is a violation diplomats are summoned and told not to interfere. (Posted @ 18:02 PST)
47 parties allotted symbols for Election 2008 ISLAMABAD, Dec 9 (APP): The Election Commission of Pakistan Sunday allotted election symbols to 46 individual political parties as well as the religious alliance Muttahida Majlas-e-Aml (MMA). Earlier, the Election Commission had kept pending the decision to allocate Book symbol to MMA after the ANP, PPPP and PKMAP raised objections that the symbols of Book was misused during 2002 polls to exploit the voters’ religious emotions. Symbols to 46 parties were issued during the day and the decision to allocate the book as symbol to MMA came when the Election Commission issued the final list of the political parties who were given symbols. (First Posted @ 11:50 PST Updated @ 20:04 PST)
Nawaz Sharif opts for poll, not boycott: aides ISLAMABAD, Dec 9 (Reuters): Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif wants his party, PML-N, to take part in the election after failing to clinch a boycott pact with Benazir Bhutto, party aides said Sunday. Sharif had hoped Bhutto would join an alliance of parties seeking to isolate President Musharraf in protest at his declaration of emergency rule, but now feels he has no choice but to participate. “After failing to get Pakistan People's Party on board, he does not want the field to remain open for Musharraf's loyalists and he wants to turn the election into a referendum,” said PML-N spokesman Ahsan Iqbal. “His recommendation is that after failing to have People's Party on board, he is in favour of taking part,” he said. (Posted @ 15:25 PST)
Two dead in shooting at US missionary center LOS ANGELES, Dec 9, (AFP) - A young gunman opened fire inside a Christian youth mission center outside Denver early Sunday, killing two people in their mid-20s and wounding another two, police said. The victims, a man and a woman died in hospital, while two other men are receiving treatment for gunshot wounds, the police in the Colorado town of Arvada said in a statement. (First Posted @ 20:32 PST Updated @ 22:58 PST)
Second NATO soldier killed in fight for Taliban town: ISAF KABUL, Dec 9, (AFP) - A second NATO soldier was killed Sunday as Afghan and international troops advanced on Musa Qala in a major operation to remove Taliban rebels who seized the southern town 10 months ago, defence forces said. (Posted @ 21:50 PST)
Passenger plane crashes near Kiev, 5 dead: ministry KIEV, Dec 9, (REUTERS) - A chartered passenger plane flying from the Czech republic to Kiev crashed near the Ukrainian capital on Sunday killing five people, Ukraine's emergency ministry told Interfax news agency. (Posted @ 21:15 PST)
Four security men hurt in land mine explosion QUETTA Dec 9 (PPI): Four security men were injured in Dera Bugti when their vehicle struck a land mine Sunday. Security forces personnel were patrolling in Toba Notkani, District Dera Bugti when their vehicles struck a land mine. The vehicle was badly damaged in the explosion. The injured security personnel were taken to hospital. (Posted @ 20:36 PST)
Two killed, four wounded in Russia bus blast ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia, Dec 9 (AP): An explosion on a bus Sunday killed two people and wounded four others in southern Russia, officials said. The blast occurred when a bus traveling from Pyatigorsk to Stavropol stopped in the city of Nevinnomysk, said a spokesman for the Emergency Situations Ministry's branch in southern Russia. (Posted @ 20:06 PST)
New US assault to target Al-Qaeda in Iraq BAGHDAD, Dec 9 (Reuters): About 1,400 U.S. soldiers will launch a fresh assault next week against Al-Qaeda fighters in areas south of Baghdad, where an Iraqi police chief was killed on Sunday, U.S. military commanders said. The new offensive will begin on or about Dec. 15 and will target small hamlets and fishing villages along the Euphrates River valley in Babel province south of Baghdad. (Posted @ 19:38 PST)
Ex-Bangladesh PMs charged over graft deals: officials DHAKA, Dec 9 (AFP): Two former Bangladesh prime ministers were charged Sunday over multi-million dollar deals awarded to a Canadian gas company, officials said. Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina Wajed, who between them ruled the country for 16 years, awarded three gas fields to Niko Resources in an alleged bid to profit from the deals, an anti-corruption commission spokesman said. “We have filed two corruption cases against the two former prime ministers,” the spokesman said. (Posted @ 19:30 PST)
Germany defeats Australia to lift Champions Trophy, Netherlands finish third KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 (AP): Germany defeated Australia 1-0 on Sunday to lift the Champions Trophy, winning the tournament for a record ninth time, as defending champion Netherlands took third place. (Posted @ 19:20 PST)
Israeli extremists march to set up new outposts in West Bank MAALE ADUMIM, West Bank, Dec 9 (AFP): Israeli right-wing activists marched up a hill outside the occupied West Bank's largest settlement on Sunday aiming to set up a symbolic new wildcat settlement outpost. Their action came on the 20th anniversary of the first Palestinian intifada that eventually led to mutual recognition between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and that passed quietly on Sunday without commemoration on either side. (Posted @ 18:46 PST)
Russia successfully launches new military satellite MOSCOW, Dec 9 (AP): A Russian booster rocket successfully launched a new military satellite into orbit on Sunday, officials said. The Proton-M rocket, launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, placed the Kosmos-2434 satellite into a designated orbit, the Russian Space Forces said in a statement carried by the Russia news wires. (Posted @ 17:50 PST)
NASA cancels Atlantis launch CAPE CANAVERAL, Dec 9 (AP): NASA cancels the launch of space shuttle Atlantis, after a gauge in the shuttle's fuel tank failed during fueling. (Posted @ 17:48 PST)
Roadside bomb kills provincial police chief, two guards BAGHDAD, Dec 9 (AP): A roadside bomb struck a convoy carrying the police chief of a Babil province south of Baghdad Sunday, killing him and two of his bodyguards, police said. The explosion, which occurred in Babil’s capital, Hillah, 95 kilometers south of Baghdad, killed Brigadier General Qais al-Maamouri and two guards, a local officer said. Police announced an indefinite curfew and the streets quickly emptied of residents amid fears of arrests and clashes in the wake of the killings. (First Posted @ 16:38 PST Updated @ 17:22 PST)
Pakistan 86-1 in reply to India's 626 BANGALORE, Dec 9 (AFP): Pakistan were 86-1 in their first innings at stumps in reply to India's 626 on the second day of the third and final Test here on Sunday. Brief scores: India 626; Pakistan 86-1. (Posted @ 16:54 PST)
Indian left issues new threat over US nuclear deal NEW DELHI, Dec 9 (Reuters): India's communists have fired a fresh salvo at the government over a controversial nuclear deal with the United States, asking it to stop talks with a U.N. nuclear watchdog to clinch the pact or prepare for elections. The new threat by the chief of the largest communist party, which shores up Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's coalition, is one of the most explicit in recent months and marked yet another turnaround in the stance of the left parties. (Posted @ 16:46 PST)
India, Cambodia sign defence, development agreements NEW DELHI, Dec 9 (AP): India and Cambodia signed several business and military-related agreements after a visit by Prime Minister Hun Sen to New Delhi, an External Affairs Ministry statement said. A comprehensive defence agreement signed covers the exchange of intelligence and cooperation in military research, the statement released late Saturday said. It also provides for exchanges of military personnel and hardware. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Malaysian police detain 21 people for illegal rallies KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 (AP): Malaysian police detained 21 people Sunday for taking part in a banned human rights march and 12 opposition members who rallied last month to demand electoral reforms, activists said. Among those arrested was Tian Chua, a senior member of the opposition People's Justice Party, which is part of a coalition planning to hold a second demonstration for electoral reforms on Tuesday outside Parliament, a coalition spokesman, told The Associated Press. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
7.6 magnitude quake hits South Pacific WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters): A 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck near the Kermadec Islands, a group of uninhabited islands about 1,000 km northeast of the tip of New Zealand, Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quake, which hit at 0728 GMT, was centered 348 km north of Raoul Island at a depth of (188 km, the USGS said. (Posted @ 16:15 PST)
6 dead, 4,000 evacuated after flash floods hit Malaysia KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 (AP): Heavy rains caused flash floods throughout Malaysia leaving six people dead and leading to the evacuation of more than 4,000 others, police said Sunday. Four people, including a 3-year-old boy, drowned in northeast Kelantan state, and 1,671 others were placed in temporary shelters, said a police official Mohamad Rizal. (Posted @ 16:15 PST)
Car bomb kills 2 Iraqi soldiers BAGHDAD, Dec 9 (Reuters): A suicide car bomb killed two Iraqi soldiers and wounded seven in the oil refining city of Baiji 180 km north of Baghdad, on Sunday, an army source said. The attack came a day after a car bomb killed eight people and wounded 40 in the city. (Posted @ 16:10 PST)
Two senior Taliban leaders captured KABUL, Dec 9 (Reuters): Afghan and NATO-led forces captured two senior Taliban commanders in Afghanistan during their offensive to retake the insurgents' most important stronghold, Musa Qila, the Defence Ministry said Sunday. U.S. and British forces began the operation on Friday. (Posted @ 15:45 PST)
Iran, China set to sign major oil deal TEHRAN, Dec 9 (AFP): Iran and China's Sinopec could sign a long-awaited final multi-billion-dollar agreement for the development of the Yadavaran onshore oilfield, as early as Sunday, the Iranian oil minister said. “Iran could probably sign a contract this evening with Sinopec to develop Yadavaran,” Gholam Hossein Nozari told reporters. Yadavaran in southwestern Iran, is estimated to hold more than three billion barrels of recoverable crude. (Posted @ 15:40 PST)
Four dead, many hurt in Bangladesh building collapse DHAKA, Dec 9 (AP): At least four workers were killed and about 50 others were injured when the roof of a 22-storey building collapsed in Dhaka, police and witnesses said Sunday. An unspecified number of workers were also believed trapped inside the building, which was being demolished when it collapsed on Saturday night, they said. (First Posted @ 09:50 PST Updated @ 15:20 PST)
16 Tamil rebels killed in S. Lanka COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Dec 9 (AP) - Gunbattles and mortar fire between soldiers and Tamil Tiger fighters along the front lines in northern Sri Lanka killed 16 rebels, the military said Sunday. Soldiers repelled a rebel mortar attack Saturday, killing 10 guerrillas in Periyathampanai village in the district of Vavuniya, just south of rebel-held territory, a defence ministry official said. Two soldiers were also injured, he said. Four insurgents were killed in a clash in nearby Mannar district, while troops killed two other rebels who attacked soldiers guarding the front lines in northern Jaffna peninsula, he said. (Posted @ 12:10 PST)
Iraq proposes U.S.-Iran talks in Jan TEHRAN, Dec 9 (Reuters) Iraqi officials have proposed holding the next round of talks between the United States and Iran to discuss security in Iraq in January and Tehran is studying the idea, Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. “We have received a number of suggestions and recommendations from the Iraqi officials and they are proposing next January as the time for the next round of discussions,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told a news conference broadcast on Iran's English-language Press TV. (Posted @ 12:00 PST)
British defence secretary in Afghanistan KABUL, Dec 9 (AFP) British Defence Secretary Des Browne conferred with his Afghan counterpart in Kabul Sunday as troops from both nations pushed ahead with an operation to oust Taliban from the southern town of Musa Qala. Browne, who arrived in Afghanistan on Saturday, held talks with Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak before travelling to Herat, the British embassy said. (Posted @ 12:00 PST)
Leak stopped but SKorea oil spill fight goes on TAEAN, South Korea, Dec 9 (APP/AFP) Thousands of troops and volunteers struggled Sunday to clear a thick layer of pungent crude oil off South Korea's stricken southwest coast after the country's worst ever oil spill. More than 6,600 people, backed by 90 boats and six planes, fought to remove oil drifting at sea or washing onto beaches. “The tanker has stopped leaking since early Sunday,” an official said, adding “they are still mopping up oil, but it's not work to be done in a few days.” (Posted @ 11:40 PST)
Blast hits Philippine government office MANILA, Dec 9 (AFP) A makeshift bomb exploded outside an elections office in the southern Philippine island of Jolo, causing minor damage but no casualties, police and officials said Sunday. The bomb was left in a rubbish bin outside the entrance. (Posted @ 10:25 PST)
Militants target trains in Assam New Delhi, Dec 9 (APP): A blast took place under the Arunachal Express near Harisinga in the Rangiya subdivision of Northeast Frontier (NF) Railway last evening. However, no damage was caused to either the train or the tracks, UNI reported. The blast occurred as the train was bound for Murkokcheleng from Rangiya. Train services were not disrupted in the sector. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
2 small planes collide over Florida Everglades POMPANO BEACH, Florida, Dec 9 (AP) Two small planes collided Saturday over the Everglades, crashing into the swamp, and authorities said there were likely no survivors. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
11 Chinese miners rescued; 33 people detained in second accident that killed 105 BEIJING, Dec 9 (AP) Officials in northern China rescued all 11 men Sunday from a collapsed iron and gold mine where they had been trapped for more than five days, the al Xinhua News Agency said. Elsewhere in the country's mining industry, authorities detained 33 people over a coal mine explosion that killed 105 people last week, state media reported. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
US Justice Dept investigating destroyed CIA tapes WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) The Justice Department said Saturday it had opened a preliminary investigation into the CIA's destruction of videotapes that showed terrorism suspects being subjected to severe interrogation techniques. The preliminary inquiry is aimed at gathering initial facts to decide whether there is enough reason to launch a full investigation. (Posted @ 10:0 PST)
British soldier killed in Afghan operations LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) A British soldier was killed on Saturday during operations in Southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said but did not say exactly where or in what circumstances the soldier was killed. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Moderate earthquake in Tanzania WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) A moderate 5.7 earthquake struck 128 miles west-southwest of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, at 1955 GMT, the U.S. Geological Survey reported on Saturday. The quake occurred away from populated areas and no reports of damage had been received. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Boxing: Khan toasts birthday with 72-second victory BOLTON, England, Dec 9 (AFP) Britain's Amir Khan celebrated his 21st birthday in blistering style on Saturday with a 72-second win over compatriot Graham Earl to defend his Commonwealth lightweight title. The referee stopped the fight after Khan, an Olympic silver medallist in 2004, sent Earl to the canvas twice in the first round. (Posted @ 09:40 PST)
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