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| December 18, 2007 | Tuesday | Zilhaj 7, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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Two children killed in Pakistan gunbattle MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, Dec 18 (AFP) - Two children were killed when Pakistan security forces and suspected pro-Taliban militants traded fire in Banda village of North Waziristan tribal district late Monday after militants fired 11 rockets at a military checkpost and troops retaliated with artillery, a security official told AFP. Some shells hit a few houses in the village and two children, aged five and 11 years old, were killed. Six people, two children and four women, were wounded, the official said. It was not immediately clear whose fire caused the damage and casualties, he said. US officials say Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants, who infiltrated Pakistan's tribal belt after the fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in late 2001, have regrouped in the region. (Posted @ 12:10 PST)
Muslim pilgrims prepare for climax of Haj ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Muslim pilgrims poured on to the plain of Arafat east of Makkah on Tuesday as the sun rose over the rocky hills for the day marking the climax of the annual Haj pilgrimage. They came on foot, by bus and in pick-up trucks from Mina adding to a throng which will reach more than 2.4 million including about 1.6 million from around the world in the afternoon. They chanted prayers including prayers seeking God’s mercy and help for fellow Muslims in areas of conflict especially Palestine, Chechnya, Kashmir and Sudan. The afternoon at Arafat, known in Arabic as the wuqouf or “standing”, is an essential part of the pilgrimage. The noon prayer and sermon at the Namera Mosque is a major event. (Posted @ 12:30 PST)
EC rejects Sharif's election bid appeal ISLAMABAD, Dec 18 (Reuters): The Election Commission has upheld an election ban on former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his lawyer, Akram Sheikh, said Tuesday. Sharif had challenged the ban but the Election Commission rejected his appeal saying it should be filed with an election tribunal. “We told the Election Commission these tribunals are not properly constituted because that was done in consultation with the president but they said 'no, we cannot make an exception for Nawaz Sharif',” the lawyer told Reuters. “Nawaz Sharif has taken a principled stand that he would not appeal before the PCO judges,” Sheikh said, referring to a provisional constitutional order promulgated by Musharraf after he invoked emergency powers. A spokesman for Sharif said the rejection of the Sharifs' nominations was part of government plan to rig the election. (Posted @ 18:05 PST)
Benazir, Nawaz, Asfandyar hoodwink APDM: Liaqat Baloch RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Dec. 18 (APP): Deputy Secretary General of Muttahida Majlas-e-Amal (MMA) Liaqat Baloch Monday said that Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif and Asfandyar Wali are taking part in elections by deceiving All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) and would be held accountable for it. Addressing a seminar on Election Boycott he said Nawaz Sharif had initially taken a very strong stance on election boycott issue but took a U-turn just for power. Baloch congratulated the 161 candidates for National Assembly, 243 candidates for provincial Assemblies, and some 44 women and minorities who withdrew their candidature. Benazir Bhutto, Asfandyar Wali and Maulana Fazlur Rehman had deceived the people by not boycotting the polls and would face the consequences. (Posted @ 10:45 PST)
Rebels bomb train in eastern Sri Lanka: military COLOMBO, Dec 18 (AP): Suspected rebels detonated a bomb near a mail train in eastern Sri Lanka on Tuesday evening, the military said. There were no immediate reports of casualties, a military spokesman said. The attack took place about 8:30 p.m. near Kantale railway station, outside the eastern city of Trincomalee, when a claymore mine detonated near the train's engine, he said. (Posted @ 21:26 PST)
Iraq Kurdish leader snubs Rice over Turkey raid ARBIL, Iraq, Dec 18 (Reuters): The president of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region refused to meet U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday because of Washington's tolerance of Turkish military attacks, his prime minister said. “There was supposed to be a meeting between Rice and Mr Masoud Barzani in Baghdad, but because of the U.S. position regarding the Turkish attacks and bombings, he preferred not to go,” Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani told reporters. (Posted @ 21:08 PST)
Turkish troops withdrawing from Iraq: Kurdish presidency ARBIL, Iraq, Dec 18 (AFP): Turkish troops who crossed into northern Iraq early Tuesday have started withdrawing, said the office of Massud Barzani, President of Iraq's northern Kurdish government. “They have started to withdraw back into Turkish territory,” a statement said. (Posted @ 21:00 PST)
Ex-judges tell political parties to secure neutral EC KARACHI, Dec 18 (APP): Former Judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, who recently formed a Committee for the Rule of Law (CRL), have called upon political parties to secure a neutral Election Commission. The CRL includes jurists, who declined to take oath on January 26, 2000, under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO-2000). A CRL spokesman said it was imperative for holding free and fair election to reconstitute the Election Commission. He called for a fully empowered Election Commission acceptable to all political parties taking part in the election. (Posted @ 20:28 PST)
India FDI jumps 65 percent in first half to $7.2bn NEW DELHI, Dec 18 (AFP): Foreign investment in India jumped 65 percent in the first half of the fiscal year that began in April compared with a year earlier, the country's commerce minister said Tuesday. He said India saw 7.2 billion dollars in inflows, retaining its place as the second most attractive foreign investment destination after China, according to a Press Trust of India agency report. (Posted @ 19:56 PST)
Chinese student jailed in France for spying VERSAILLES, Dec 18 (AFP): A Chinese woman was sentenced to two months in jail on Tuesday for spying on a major French car parts maker, Valeo, while on a student internship near Paris. Li Li, now 24, was arrested in May. A court, found her guilty of abuse of confidence, but dismissed the more serious charge of industrial espionage, sentencing her to two months in jail with a further 10 months suspended. (Posted @ 19:50 PST)
Brother imprisoned for life for slaying BJP leader MUMBAI, Dec 18 (AP): The Mumbai Sessions Court found Pravin Mahajan guilty Monday of murdering his brother, Pramod, in Mumbai in April last year. Pramod Mahajan was a powerful member of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and a former federal minister. Pravin was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday. (Posted @ 19:12 PST)
Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline talks resume TEHRAN, Dec 18 (APP) The new round of Iran-Pakistan talks on a gas pipeline started in Tehran Tuesday. The two sides discussed the remaining details of the gas contract and their talks will most likely conclude by Wednesday. The Pakistani delegation, led by petroleum secretary Farrakh Qayyum was to discuss draft GSPA and IFGA of the multi-billion dollars project with an Iranian team headed by Ghanimifard. The Joint Working Group (JWG) could not finalize the draft in its last meeting in Islamabad on Dec 10 and 11. Officials said that Pakistan and Iran had already worked out the project's gas sale purchase agreement (GSP) and only technical and legal issues were left to be settled. (Posted @ 19:02 PST)
SC issues notices in Geo tv channels case ISLAMABAD, Dec 18 (APP) A three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar Tuesday issued notices to the Federation, PEMRA and the Attorney General after hearing arguments of the counsel of Geo tv channels regarding appeals against ban on their satellite transmissions. The bench adjourned till January one the hearing of the appeals filed by Independent Media Corporation Private Limited and Birds Private Limited, which own four Geo tv channels. (Posted @ 18:14 PST)
Six killed by car bombs in Iraq BAGHDAD, Dec 18 (AFP) Insurgents killed at least six people in car bomb attacks in Iraq Tuesday, security officials and medics said. Four people were killed and seven others were wounded when a car bomb exploded in central Baghdad’s Al-Nidhal street, they said. In another incident, a suicide bomber exploded his explosives-laden car at a police checkpoint in central Baquba, north of Baghdad, killing two people and wounding 15, a police officer said. (Posted @ 17:58 PST)
Poland prepares Iraq withdrawal for October 2008 WARSAW, Dec 18 (AFP): Poland's new liberal government Wednesday asked conservative President Lech Kaczynski to extend the country's mission in Iraq until the end of October 2008, at which point it wants a troop withdrawal. “The government requests the extension of the mission of the Polish military contingent in Iraq to October 31, 2008,” a government statement said. (Posted @ 17:46 PST)
Marines kill two Abu Sayyaf militants on southern Philippine island MANILA, Philippines, Dec 18 (AP) Philippine marines killed two Abu Sayyaf gunmen in an assault on the militants' encampment early Tuesday in a southern island province, a military commander said. There were about 40 militants at the camp, comprising both Abu Sayyaf and ''rogue elements'' of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said Lt. Col. Vincent Teodoro. One marine was wounded in the gun fight in the remote Ungkaya Pukan township, about 880 kilometres south of Manila, he said. (Posted @ 16:50 PST)
President Gul says Turkish army doing 'what is necessary' ANKARA, Dec 18 (AFP) Turkish President Abdullah Gul said Tuesday that the army was doing “what is necessary” to combat Kurdish rebels when asked to confirm if troops had crossed into northern Iraq, the CNN Turk news channel reported. The military “is doing what is necessary in the fight against terrorism,” Gul was quoted as saying in the central city of Konya. “Turkey has only one target (in Iraq), and that is terrorism,” he said. Northern Iraqi officials said some 300 Turkish troops crossed the border early Tuesday and reportedly penetrated several kilometres inside Iraq from an area called Seed Qan. (First Posted @ 15:50 PST, Updated @ 16:20 PST)
Rice arrives in Baghdad BAGHDAD, Dec 18 (AFP): US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Baghdad Tuesday after visiting the northern oil city of Kirkuk, an AFP correspondent travelling with her said. In Kirkuk Rice's mission was aimed at supporting UN reconciliation efforts in the city that is claimed by both Arabs and Kurds. (First Posted @ 12:15 PST, Updated @ 15:45 PST)
Israel kills 13 Palestinian militants in Gaza Strip GAZA, Dec 18 (Reuters): Israel killed at least 13 Palestinian militants in air strikes in the Gaza Strip Tuesday. Islamic Jihad said four of its members were killed as they walked out of a mosque in the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza. Hours earlier, air strikes killed seven Islamic Jihad militants, including a senior Gaza commander. In the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, an Israeli air strike on a Hamas security position killed at least two members of the group, Hamas officials said. (First Posted @ 11:15 PST, Updated @ 15:40 PST)
Ukraine parliament approves Tymoshenko as PM KIEV, Dec 18 (Reuters): Ukraine's parliament Tuesday restored Yulia Tymoshenko as prime minister, sealing a political comeback for a leading figure from the former Soviet country's 2004 “Orange Revolution”. Tymoshenko, who confronted a powerful coalition led by outgoing prime minister Viktor Yanukovich, won 226 votes in the chamber, the exact number required to take office. She heads an “orange” coalition of her own bloc and his Our Ukraine party. (Posted @ 15:25 PST)
Roadside bomb kills prison guard in Grozny GROZNY, Russia, Dec 18 (Reuters): One prison guard was killed and five were wounded Tuesday by a roadside bomb near their vehicle in Russia's Chechnya region, a prison official said. The guards were riding in a convoy of vehicles escorting detainees to a local court and had just crossed a bridge when the explosion occurred, the official said. No detainees were wounded and all were returned to the jail. (Posted @ 15:25 PST)
Gunmen kill seven in northern Iraq MOSUL, Iraq, Dec 18 (Reuters): Gunmen killed seven men and wounded two others when they stormed into their home near the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar late Monday, the town mayor and local police said. Mayor Dakheel Qasim Hassoun said the victims were all from the same extended family. Later, as a police patrol attempted to retrieve the bodies and evacuate the wounded, a roadside bomb wounded three policemen and a gunbattle with militants ensued in which police killed three militants. (Posted @ 15:10 PST)
Pakistan optimistic it will nab escaped Briton suspected in trans-Atlantic jet plot ISLAMABAD, Dec 18 (AP): Pakistani officials expressed optimism Tuesday that they will recapture British suspect Rashid Rauf in an alleged plot to blow up trans-Atlantic jetliners, saying they have arrested five people, including two police officers, on suspicion they helped him escape. Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz called Rauf's escape ''unfortunate'' and a serious security lapse. ''We have one or two very good leads which we are working on, and the people who were closely involved in his escape have also been apprehended,'' he told The Associated Press. He said Rauf's possible escape routes have been blocked but he had a ''good eight-nine hour start that has given him some advantage.'' Nawaz said he did not know if al-Qaeda was behind the escape, pending completion of an investigation. ''Until then, it is all guess work,'' he said. A police official, requesting anonymity, earlier said the two police officers were being investigated for negligence and possible links with Rauf's two uncles. Rauf's lawyer, Hashmat Habib, has called the escape a ''mysterious disappearance,'' saying he never opposed deportation. Habib said police commandos had escorted Rauf on earlier trips to court. ''How can it happen that only two policemen were travelling with him on Saturday?'' Habib asked. (Posted @ 14:55 PST)
APDM poll boycott meetings QUETTA, Pakistan, Dec 18 (PPI): All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM), Balochistan chapter, has announced a programme for protest meetings against January 8 elections. The programme was finalised at the meeting on Monday under the chairmanship of Sajid Tareen, Central Vice President of Balochistan National Party. According to the programme a protest meeting would be held in Pishin on Dec 24, and another in Quetta on Dec 31. Central Convenor of APDM Mahmood Achakzai, Amir Jamaat Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmad, President of National party Dr Hayee Baloch, TI Chief Imran Khan, Acting President BNP Dr Jahan Zeb Jamaldini and others would address. Similar meetings would also be held in Chaman on Dec 27, Noshki Dec 29, Khuzdar January 1. The meeting resolved that. unless the superior judiciary was restored to pre-Nov 3 position, and constitution is revived to Oct 12, 1999 position and an independent Election Commission is established, the elections will not be acceptable to the people.. (Posted @ 13:50 PST)
Bodies of 56 migrants found on Yemen coast SANAA, Dec 18 (AFP): The bodies of 56 clandestine migrants, mostly Somalis and Ethiopians, have been found on the south coast of Yemen, the SABA news agency reported Tuesday. It said the bodies of the shipwreck victims, washed up overnight on Sunday and Monday, had been retrieved by members of the Doctors Without Borders organisation. (Posted @ 13:40 PST)
Mild quake jolts Pakistan ISLAMABAD, Dec 18 (AFP): A 5.1-magnitude earthquake jolted central Pakistan Tuesday but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, officials said. The epicentre of the quake was around 300 kilometres southwest of Peshawar, a seismological department official told AFP. “The quake originated at 10:56am from the border area between Punjab and Balochistan provinces,” he said. (Posted @ 13:05 PST)
Mortar fire kills six people in Mogadishu MOGADISHU, Dec 18 (Reuters): Fighting between government troops and insurgents in northern Mogadishu has killed at least six people including three family members, residents said Tuesday. Residents were forced to flee under a hail of fire as the soldiers, backed by Ethiopian allies, attacked an insurgent hideout in the SOS area for most of Monday afternoon. Residents said two insurgents were killed in the fighting that also killed a man in a neighbouring village. (Posted @ 12:55 PST)
7 rebels, 1 soldier killed in Sri Lanka fighting COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Dec 18 (AP) - Fighting between Sri Lankan troops and Tamil separatists killed seven rebels and one soldier, the military said Tuesday. The rebels said they killed five soldiers in the fighting. (Posted @ 12:35 PST)
15 guards killed in Taliban ambush HERAT, Afghanistan, Dec 18 (AFP) -Fifteen Afghan security guards working for a private US firm were killed in a Taliban ambush in western Afghanistan on Tuesday, police said. Around 10 other guards with the company, identified as USPI, were wounded in the attack in the Bala Buluk district of Farah province, a local police official, Colonel Saydo Khan, told AFP. (Posted @ 12:10 PST)
Kaka wins FIFA World Player of the Year award ZURICH, Switzerland, Dec 18 (AP) - Brazil midfielder Kaka completed a virtual sweep of annual awards Monday by winning FIFA's World Player of the Year. He also won European soccer's Golden Ball and World Soccer magazine's player of the year award. (Posted @ 10:30 PST)
19 killed in Mexico truck accident MEXICO CITY, Dec 18 (Reuters) - A truck carrying between 80 and 85 coffee pickers skidded off a road in the Mexican state of Puebla and plunged 15 feet into a shallow ravine, killing at least 19 people, a Red Cross official said. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Cricket-Indian team arrives in Australia SYDNEY, Dec 18 (Reuters) - The Indian cricket team arrived in Australia on Tuesday. They begin the tour with a three-day match against Victoria on Thursday before the first test starts in Melbourne on Dec. 26. They will also play tests in Sydney, Perth and Adelaide before Sri Lanka join them and Australia for a triangular limited-overs series. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
Five killed in rebel attacks in Thai south YALA, Thailand, Dec 18 (AFP) - Separatist Islamic militants have killed five people, beheading one of them, in a spate of attacks in Thailand's Muslim-majority south, police said Tuesday. Four Muslim men who were part of a volunteer defence force were killed early Tuesday when militants ambushed their truck in Yala. After the shooting, the militants beheaded one of the victims, police added. Late Monday in Yala, a Myanmar migrant worker was also shot dead, they said . Two soldiers were also injured Tuesday in Yala when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle, police said. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Japan shoots down test missile in space TOKYO, Dec 18 (AFP) -Japan said Tuesday that it had successfully shot down a ballistic missile over the Pacific as part of joint efforts with the United States to erect a shield against possible attacks from North Korea. Japan tested interceptor from a warship in waters off Hawaii, becoming the first US ally to successfully intercept a target using the system. (Posted @ 09:35 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 36.11 points: KARACHI, Dec 18: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 14508.11, down 36.11 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Dec 18: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.8, to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
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