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| December 19, 2007 | Wednesday | Zilhaj 8, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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Pilgrims complete haj MINA, Dec 19 (Reuters): Pilgrims threw pebbles at a wall symbolizing stoning Satan outside Mecca, shaved their heads and bought sacrificial animals on Wednesday, the third day of the haj pilgrimage to Mecca. After the three main duties on Wednesday – stoning satan, shaving of the head for males and the sacrificial animal -- the pilgrims can take off the two pieces of white cloth they put on when they entered a state of ritual purity on Monday morning.They have to go back to the jamarat on Thursday and Friday for further rituals. (Posted @ 20:45 PST)
38 killed, 150 injured in Karachi Express derailment: ISPR SUKKUR, Dec. 19 (APP): Thirty-eight persons were killed and 150 injured when the Lahore bound Karachi Express deralied near Mehrabpur in the early hours of Wednesday. According to Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), 38 bodies and 150 injured have been taken out so far from the affected bogies. Railways officials said in a statement the accident claimed at least 35 lives with hundred people injured. Twelve bogies and engine of Karachi Express were derailed and 10 bogies overturned. Seven bogies completely destroyed. (First Posted @ 08:35 PST, Updated @ 18:10 PST)
Gulgee, wife found murdered at home KARACHI, Dec 19 (Reuters): Pakistan's most prominent artist, Ismail Gulgee, was found murdered on Wednesday along with his wife and a maid in their Karachi home, police said. He was 81. They said the three were found gagged in different rooms of the house in Clifton.The hands of his wife, Zarina, were tied. “All three were suffocated. This happened around three days ago,” said a senior Karachi police officer. He said Gulgee's body was found in the bedroom, his wife's body in the kitchen and the maid in the main hall. The bodies were found by police after a neighbour complained of a bad smell. Gulgee trained as an engineer in the United States before turning to painting works of modern art. He won various awards. (Posted @ 17:30 PST)
Two killed, five injured in blast at PML-Q public meeting in Dera Bugti QUETTA, Dec 19 (APP): Two people were killed and five others seriously injured when a bomb went off Wednesday in a PML-Q election campaign meeting in Bekar town of Dera Bugti district, police told APP. Tariq Massuri Bugti, the PML-Q candidate for PB-24 Dera Bugti, was proceeding to the public meeting when a remote control bomb planted in the meeting ground went off. Massuri himself escaped uninjured while two of his cousins were killed on the spot. The injured were taken to Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) Hospital Sui for treatment. (Posted @ 15:20 PST)
14 school children, driver killed in road accident in Pakistan KASUR, Pakistan, Dec 19 (APP): An accident involving a truck and a cycle rickshaw carrying 14 school children resulted in on the spot death of all students and the rickshaw driver on Multan road, tehsil Pattoki, about 70 kms from here early Wednesday. District police officer (DPO) Kasur, Tariq Abbas Qureshi told reporters that the long vehicle overturned while negotiating a sharp turn and crushed the motorcycle rickshaw causing instant death of all the 14 minors as well as the driver. The school children were coming from Renala Khurd, district Okara, towards Habibabad. Police and rescue teams reached the site to recover the bodies. (Posted @ 13:55 PST)
Airstrike last month wounded top Tamil rebel leader COLOMBO, Dec 19 (AP): A Sri Lankan airstrike last month wounded Tamil Tiger rebels' reclusive leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, the military said Wednesday. “Intelligence sources confirmed Prabhakaran had sustained injuries in the airstrikes carried out by four aircraft of the Sri Lanka Air Force on a bunker complex in Jayanthinagar, Kilinochchi on 26th November,” a defense ministry statement said. (Posted @ 22:00 PST)
13 dead as minibus plunges in ravine in Morocco RABAT, Dec 19 (Reuters): Thirteen people were killed and 14 seriously injured Wednesday morning when a minibus overturned on a road in Morocco's northern Rif mountains and tumbled 100 metres down a ravine, state news agency MAP reported. (Posted @ 21:15 PST)
Fair elections not possible in Pakistan: HRW ISLAMABAD, Dec 19 (AFP): Fair and free elections in Pakistan are “impossible” following the dismantling of an independent judiciary and a crackdown on critics by President Pervez Musharraf, New York-based Human Rights Watch said Wednesday. The 84-page report, titled “Destroying Legality: Pakistan's Crackdown on Lawyers and Judges,” presents eyewitness accounts of police violence, arbitrary arrests, and mistreatment of detained lawyers under emergency rule. The watchdog noted that in such a “repressive” political environment, the January 8 vote, cannot be “free or fair.” (Posted @ 21:15 PST)
Al-Qaeda invites journalists to send questions to Al-Zawahri CAIRO, Dec 19 (AP): Al-Qaeda has invited journalists to send questions to its No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, the first time it has offered an “interview” with one of its top leaders since the 9/11 attacks. The invitation issued by Al-Sahab, the group's media arm is the latest in Al-Qaeda's efforts to get out its message. (Posted @ 21:00 PST)
First ever Sino-Indian joint war games start Dec. 20 NEW DELHI, Dec 19 (APP): The first ever Sino-Indian joint military exercises begin Thursday in a hilly terrain near the capital of China's southwestern Yunnan province. Sources said an Indian Air Force aircraft carrying 98 officers and jawans left for the eight-day long exercises with the People Liberation Army (PLA) on counter terrorism, said the Deputy Director General (public information) at Army Headquarters. (Posted @ 20:55 PST)
Denmark pulls its small air force contingent out of Iraq this week COPENHAGEN, Dec 19 (AP): Denmark is pulling its four helicopters and small air force staff out of southern Iraq this week, the defence minister said Wednesday, adding the Iraqis will take over the Danes' support role to the British military. (Posted @ 20:25 PST)
Fire at White House office building WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (AFP): Emergency vehicles raced to the White House Wednesday as thick black smoke gushed from windows of the office building across from the West Wing that houses US President George W. Bush's office. The fire appeared to be burning in the vicinity of Vice President Dick Cheney's ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, according to White House insiders. (Posted @ 20:10 PST)
Former IOC chief Samaranch hospitalised in Madrid MADRID, Dec 19 (AFP): Former International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch was taken to hospital in Madrid Wednesday with cardio-vascular problems, Spanish national radio said. Hospital sources confirmed that the 87-year-old Samaranch had been admitted, but gave no further details. (Posted @ 20:00 PST)
Russian spy chief says 93 spies uncovered in 2007 MOSCOW, Dec 19 (AFP): Russia's counter-intelligence services unmasked 93 spies in 2007, said the director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), Nikolai Patrushev, Russian news agencies reported. “This year we have put an end to the activities of 22 controllers and 71 agents of foreign special services,” Patrushev was quoted as saying by Interfax. (Posted @ 19:50 PST)
India tests surface-to-air missile BHUBANESWAR, Dec 19 (AFP): India Wednesday tested its surface-to-air Akash missile twice, the latest in a series of tests of the short-range, defensive weapon, defence officials said. The missile blasted off from the Chandipur-on-Sea testing site in Orissa state on India's eastern coast in successful back-to-back afternoon tests, Defence Research and Development Organisation officials said. The 700-kilogram missile has a striking range of 27 kilometres and can carry a 55-kilogram warhead. (Posted @ 19:15 PST)
Spanish court sentences 46 Basque independence supporters MADRID, Dec 19 (AP): Spain's National Court Wednesday sentenced 46 people to jail terms for their links to the armed Basque group ETA. The sentence reading was interrupted when more than 20 of the accused, stood up with clenched fists and began singing a Basque independence song. The jail terms totaled more than 500 years. (Posted @ 18:20 PST)
Conservative wins S. Korea presidency by landslide SEOUL, Dec 19, 2007 (AFP): Lee Myung-Bak of the conservative opposition Grand National Party (GNP) had won just over half of total votes cast ending a decade of left-leaning rule. TV exit polls, released after voting ended at 0900 GMT said. (Posted @ 18:10 PST)
Hamid Karazi to visit Pakistan Dec 26-27 ISLAMABAD, Dec 19 (APP): Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai will arrive here December 26 for a two-day goodwill visit and talks on expanding multifaceted relations and enhancing cooperation against terrorism and extremism. “The visit is in response to the invitation extended by President Pervez Musharraf and the meetings are expected to focus on bilateral relations, reconstruction in Afghanistan,” the Foreign Office spokesman told a weekly briefing. (Posted @ 17:50 PST)
Third Test: Sri Lanka 384-6 v England on second day close GALLE, Dec 19 (AP): Sri Lanka reached 384 for six at the close on the second day of the third and final test against England on Wednesday. Brief scores: Sri Lanka 384-6 (Jayawardene 149 not out, T. Dilshan 84; Harmison 3-72) (Posted @ 17:40 PST)
Jerusalem patriarch says Holy Land not only Jewish JERUSALEM, Dec 19 (Reuters): Jerusalem's Latin Patriarch criticised Israel on Wednesday for insisting Palestinians recognise it as a Jewish state and said God made the Holy Land for Muslims and Christians too. Michel Sabbah, the Holy Land's Roman Catholic leader, said in his annual Christmas message that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict had unleashed “forces of evil” across the Middle East and it was up to Israel to make a relaunched peace process work. He told a news conference in Jerusalem's Old City, “the one who will decide is Israel. If Israel decides for peace, there will be peace.” Sabbah said he was concerned about Israeli demands, rebuffed by the Palestinians, that Israel be recognised as a Jewish state because that would discriminate against Muslims and Christians. (Posted @ 17:20 PST)
Nauru president ousted in no-confidence vote SUVA, Dec 19 (AP): President Ludwig Scotty of the South Pacific nation of Nauru was ousted in a no-confidence vote Wednesday after a group of lawmakers accused his government of taking no action on corruption allegations, a spokesman for the opposition group said. Marcus Stephens, Nauru's former champion weightlifter and a Commonwealth Games medalist, was elected as the new president, the spokesman said. (Posted @ 17:00 PST)
Two killed in Bosnia clearing minefield SARAJEVO, Dec 19 (AP): Two men were killed in southeastern Bosnia while clearing a minefield left from the 1992-95 war, the mine clearing agency said Wednesday. The Bosnian Mine Action Center did not identify the victims, but said the two men were killed Tuesday when a land mine they were trying to defuse near the town of Trebinje exploded. The Mine Action Center said 34 Bosnians have been fatally injured in mine clearance operations since the end of the war. (Posted @ 16:55 PST)
Polish PM visits troops in Iraq for Christmas BAGHDAD, Dec 19 (Reuters): Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Defence Minister Bogdan Klich visited their country's 900 troops in Iraq on Wednesday. “They are meeting soldiers for Christmas, to give them their best wishes,” a Polish military spokesman said by telephone from the Polish base, Camp Echo, in Diwaniya city south of Baghdad. The two ministers were due to fly back to Poland later on Wednesday. (Posted @ 16:50 PST)
Militants vow end to random grenade attacks in held Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Dec 19 (AFP): The main group fighting Indian occupation in Kashmir announced Wednesday a complete ban on militant grenade attacks in public places. The move by Hizbul Mujahideen is to ensure safety of the public. “There is a complete ban on grenade attacks by Hizbul and other outfits or fellow members of the United Jihad Council,” Hizbul Mujahideen's operations chief Gazi Misbah-ud-Din said in a statement carried by local newspapers. (Posted @ 15:55 PST)
Magnitude 7.3 quake jolts Aleutian Islands TOKYO, Dec 19 (Reuters): An 7.3 magnitude earthquake jolted Alaska's Aleutian Islands in the northern Pacific on Wednesday, Japan's weather agency said, triggering a tsunami advisory for Hawaii. The quake, with its focus about 40 km below the seabed, occurred at 0930 GMT, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The U.S. Geological Survey, which put the magnitude at 7.2, said it was 2,000 km west-southwest of Anchorage. (First Posted @ 15:20 PST, Updated @ 15:45 PST)
French train hits lorry, one dead, 25 injured PARIS, Dec 19 (Reuters): A French high speed train hit a lorry Wednesday, killing the vehicle's driver and injuring 25 passengers, officials said. The accident happened near the village of Tossiat, in eastern France and near the Swiss border, a local government spokesman said. (Posted @ 15:10 PST)
Uganda army kills two Congolese soldiers in shootout KAMPALA, Dec 19 (Reuters): Uganda's military said Wednesday it had shot dead two Congolese soldiers on the volatile border between the two countries, after they tried to resist being arrested on suspicion of raping two teenage girls. An army spokesman for western Uganda said the two soldiers had crossed illegally into Uganda on Tuesday. A string of shootouts between the two former foes along their border at Lake Albert -- where oil was discovered this year -- has killed several civilians since August. (Posted @ 15:05 PST)
Two Muslims shot dead in south Thailand: police YALA, Dec 19 (AFP): Suspected separatist militants have shot dead two Muslim men in Thailand's restive south, police said Wednesday, while six security officials were wounded in bomb attacks. (Posted @ 14:35 PST)
Muslims celebrate Eid in parts of Asia KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec 19 (AP): Muslims in parts of Asia observed the opening of the religious festival of Eid al-Adha Wednesday. Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in an address marking the first day of Eid in Afghanistan, urged the United States and its allies to take their fight against al-Qaeda and Taliban beyond Afghanistan's borders and to attack terrorists' sanctuaries outside the country. At Kabul's mosques, religious leaders asked Afghans to pray for the jobless and for less violence. In Indonesia, the world's most populous Islamic country, Muslims offered Eid prayers before slaughtering cows and goats. (Posted @ 13:30 PST)
Floods kill 29 in Malaysia KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 (AFP): The death toll in Malaysia's floods has risen to 29 with more than 34,000 people evacuated, reports said Wednesday. In north-eastern Kelantan state which borders southern Thailand, 14 people were killed while some 8,352 people were forced to flee their homes, the Star newspaper said. In Pahang, 11 people died as rescue officials found two bodies floating in the Endau Rompin river. At least 22,549 people have been evacuated to relief centres in the state, the Star said. In southern Johor state neighbouring Singapore, four deaths were reported and 814 were being housed in relief centres. (Posted @ 12:25 PST)
Eight killed in clash between Philippine marines and militants MANILA, Philippine, Dec 19 (AP): Guerrillas attacked marines as they held a dialogue with villagers on southern Basilan island, sparking clashes that killed at least eight people, a Philippine marine general said Wednesday. Four members of the Abu Sayyaf group and two marines were killed in Tuesday's clashes in Ungkaya Pukan township and nearby villages. Gunfights erupted sporadically in the mountainous region Wednesday, killing two more militants, marine Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban said. Five marines and seven Abu Sayyaf militants were wounded in the initial attack in Ungkaya Pukan, about 880 kilometres south of Manila, he said. (Posted @ 12:20 PST)
US Senate approves 70 billion dollars in war funds WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (AFP): The US Senate late Tuesday passed a half-trillion dollar budget bill for 2008 that includes 70 billion dollars for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, dealing a major victory to President Bush. The Senate voted 70-25 to approve the catch-all budget bill, passed late Monday by the House of Representatives, but added extra war funds after the House version included 31 billion dollars solely for US-led efforts in Afghanistan but none for Iraq. (Posted @ 10:35 PST)
Four injured as settlement attacked in Indonesia JAKARTA, Dec 19 (AFP): Militants attacked a settlement in a village on the main island of Java, resulting in a clash that left four injured, police and reports said Wednesday. “The incident took place around noon Tuesday with more than 100 members of Kompak (the Muslim Coalition of Kuningan) attacking houses and places of worship belonging to Ahmadiyah members,” said a policeman in West Java's Kuningan district. The attack in Manis Lor village left 14 houses and two small Ahmadiyah mosques damaged, the policeman said. Members of the sect responded by pelting with stones the attackers, four of whom were injured, he said. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Turkish army deals 'heavy blow' to Kurd rebels in Iraq ANKARA, Dec 19 (AFP): Turkey's military said it dealt a “heavy blow” to Kurdish separatist rebels based in northern Iraq in a cross-border ground operation Tuesday and in air raids at the weekend. “A small-scale operation conducted by ground troops as part of hot pursuit... dealt a heavy blow” on a group of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants who had tried to infiltrate Turkey overnight, the Turkish military said on its website late Tuesday. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
Four dead, seven missing in Egypt crash CAIRO, Dec 19 (Reuters): Four Egyptians, including two children, died and seven from the same family are missing after a small bus flipped into a tributary of the Nile river south of Cairo, security sources said. Rescue forces saved another eight of the vehicle's occupants but said there was little hope for the missing, who included four children. (Posted @ 09:35 PST)
Bermuda's ruling party wins general election HAMILTON, Dec 19 (Reuters): The ruling party on the North Atlantic island of Bermuda won victory and a third straight term in office Tuesday after a knife-edge election on the British territory. The Progressive Labour Party of Prime Minister Ewart Brown won at least 21 seats in the 36 seat parliament, according to an official website, defeating the opposition United Bermuda Party. (Posted @ 09:15 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 152.08, points: KARACHI, Dec 19: At the close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 14660.37, up 152.08, points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:17 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Dec 19: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.8, to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:17 PST)
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