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| December 28, 2007 | Friday | Zilhaj 17, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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Satellite Parameters for DAWN NEWS Satellite: Intelsat 10, Band -C Downlink Frequency: 4126.05 Mhz Symbol rate: 3255 Ks/s FEC: 3/4 Polarization: Horizontal 
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Sunroof, not bomb or bullets, killed Benazir Bhutto ISLAMABAD, Dec 28 (AFP) - Benazir Bhutto was killed after smashing her head on her car's sunroof while trying to duck, and that no bullet or shrapnel was found inside her head or neck, interior ministry spokesman Brigadier Javed Cheema told a news conference on Friday.. He also said the ministry had intercepted a phone call from a top Al-Qaeda figure congratulating a militant for the attack on Benazir Bhutto on Thursday, and added that there was “irrefutable evidence” the group was trying to destabilise the country. “If she had not come out of the vehicle, she would have been unhurt, as all the other occupants of the vehicle did not receive any injuries,” Brig Javed Cheema said. He said the post-mortem on Benazir Bhutto found her mortal wound came when she tried to duck after the bomber attacked. The bomber also apparently fired three times at her but missed, Cheema said. When she ducked, she hit the lever of the sunroof of the car. “The lever struck near her right ear and fractured her skull,” Cheema said. “There was no bullet or metal shrapnel found in the injury.” Cheema showed a brief video of the moments before the attack and the blast itself but it was unclear. He said intelligence services had intercepted a call Friday from the man considered to be a top Al-Qaeda figure for Pakistan, Baitullah Mehsud, congratulating a militant after Benazir Bhutto's death. He said there was “irrefutable evidence that Al-Qaeda, its networks and cohorts are trying to destabilise Pakistan”. “We have recorded his conversation in which he is congratulating a militant for the attack,” Cheema said, adding that Mehsud was also behind the suicide attack on Bhutto's homecoming rally in October that killed 139 people. “He is responsible for most of the attacks that have taken place in the country,” the spokesman said, calling for national unity “to eliminate the proponents of death and destruction who are trying to destabilise Pakistan.” Pakistani authorities say Mehsud is based in the troubled tribal region of South Waziristan, where troops have been battling Islamist rebels since the fall of the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2001. Mehsud had until recently been described by officials as the top pro-Taliban militant commander in the region but is increasingly said to have links to bin Laden's Al-Qaeda group. (Posted @ 22:14 PST)
Benazir Bhutto laid to rest GARHI KHUDA BUX, Pakistan, Dec 28 (APP): Amidst tears, sobs and sighs of grief, opposition leader and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was laid to rest Friday, next to the grave of her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, at the family graveyard in Garhi Khuda Bux, 32 kms from her hometown Larkana in Sindh province. A pall of gloom hung over the atmosphere as the body of the assassinated Chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party was lowered into the grave in the white mausoleum of her father. Tens of thousands of people, carrying party flags, walked for miles or travelled by all means of available transport to attend the funeral . Her husband Asif Zardari, along with children Bilawal, Bakhtawar and Asifa who had arrived late Friday night from Dubai and had accompanied the body to Larkana, besides Benazir’s sister Sanam and other family members paid their last respects before the funeral procession left the Bhutto House. The mourners walked along the coffin-carrier, reciting the Kalima, as it passed through the dusty village roads towards the mausoleum in Garhi Khuda Bux. The funeral prayers were led by Imam of Garhi Khuda Baksh Mosque, Prof Mufti Abdul Rahim, in the large ground next to the mausoleum. (First Posted @ 16:50 PST Updated @ 18:02 PST)
Pakistan's Nawaz Sharif also at risk of attack: ministry ISLAMABAD, Dec 28 (AFP) - Pakistan's interior ministry said Friday that opposition leader Nawaz Sharif is one of several politicians under threat of attack following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. “There are other people who are under threat and whenever we receive information we pass it on to the concerned people,” ministry spokesman Brigadier Javed Cheema told a news conference. Asked to give examples, he named Sharif as well as Maulana Fazlur Rehman and former ministers Sheikh Rashid and Aftab Sherpao. (Posted @ 22:16 PST)
Grief, anger at Bhutto funeral procession
NAUDERO, Pakistan, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Thousands of mourners wept and beat their heads and chests as the body of Benazir Bhutto, slain former Pakistan prime minister, left her ancestral home at the start of the funeral procession on Friday. Her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, accompanied the closed coffin draped with the green, red and black tricolour of her Pakistan People's Party as it began the 7-km journey by ambulance to the family mausoleum at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, a village set among paddy fields in the southern province of Sindh.Anti-Musharraf and anti-US slogans were heard from the throng lining the road and standing on rooftops. Some protesters chanted defiance: “No matter how many Bhuttos you will kill, a Bhutto will emerge from each house.” Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan's first popularly elected prime minister, lies alongside his sons Murtaza and Shahnawaz in the white-domed mausoleum Benazir Bhutto ordered to be built. (Posted @ 16:30 PST)Bhutto's body arrives for burial in family graveyard ISLAMABAD, Dec 28 (AFP): The body of slain Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto arrived in Naudero before dawn Friday for burial in the family's graveyard, party officials said. The plane landed in Sukkur from where the body and members of her family were flown by helicopter to Naudero, her spokesman Farhatullah Babar told AFP. Her husband Asif Zardari, their three children and some senior leaders of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) travelled on the plane. (Posted @ 09:40 PST)
No decision yet on Pakistan vote: PM Soomro ISLAMABAD, Dec 28 (AFP) - Pakistan's government has not yet made a decision on whether to postpone national elections on January 8 and was consulting parties on the next step, caretaker prime minister Mohammedmian Soomro said Friday. Asked whether the vote would be postponed, he said: “For now, the elections stand as they were announced. We'll take the next step after consulting political parties. I'll be writing letters to them,” Official sources meanwhile said that the ultimate decision would be taken by President Musharraf, who held a top-level meeting on Thursday and was expected to hold another meeting on Friday afternoon with political aides. “The government will take the decision about whether to postpone the January 8 elections, or go ahead with them, only after consultation with all political parties,” the official said. The official said that if the parties agree to it, the government would convene a conference of all parties next week to take stock of the situation. In so far as the other main opposition party, the PML-N, is concerned, its president Nawaz Sharif announced the election boycott after an emergency party meeting on Thursday. However, Benazir Bhutto’s PPP has not yet made its position clear on the issue. (Posted @ 18:10 PST)
Nawaz Sharif says elections now would destroy Pakistan ISLAMABAD, Dec 28 (AFP): Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif said Friday if the government went ahead with parliamentary elections next month, it will “destroy the country. If the government is adamant about holding elections on January 8, it is going on a self-destructive path which will not only destroy the government itself but will also destroy the country,” he said. Wants Musharraf to resign: Mr Nawaz Sharif said the “number-one demand” of the nation was for President Pervez Musharraf to resign as soon as possible. Mr Musharraf has to step down. This is the number-one demand of the nation today. And I can see that people want this to happen as quickly as possible without any delay,” he told reporters. (Posted @ 14:20 PST)
Pakistan forces get shoot-on-sight orders in Karachi: official KARACHI, Dec 28 (AFP): Paramilitary forces in Karachi were Friday ordered to shoot rioters on sight to prevent unrest after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, a paramilitary officer said. “Rangers have been given orders to shoot on sight if they see miscreants indulging in anti-state activities, attacking government property or setting on fire private property,” Major Athar Ali told reporters. He said the force had deployed 16,000 troops in Sindh, 10,000 of them in Karachi alone. (Posted @ 14:10 PST)
Military deploys in south Sindh before funeral ISLAMABAD, Dec 28 (AFP): Military troops were sent into several cities of Sindh ahead of the funeral of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, the chief army spokesman said Friday. Troops were sent into Larkana, Sukkur, Shahdadkot and Rohri, spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told AFP. “Troops have been pre-positioned in these cities,” Arshad said without disclosing their number. “Troops will remain present in these cities and assist local authorities in case of any eventuality,” he said. (Posted @ 14:00 PST)
US intelligence studies if Al-Qaeda involved in Bhutto death CRAWFORD, Texas, Dec 28 (AFP) - US intelligence is still trying to determine whether or not Al-Qaeda operatives were involved in the assassination of Pakistan former premier Benazir Bhutto, a White House spokesman said Friday. “There have been many claims of responsibility. Our intelligence community is still looking into it,” Scott Stanzel told reporters. (Posted @ 23:14 PST)
Inquiry into Benazir Bhutto's assassination ordered ISLAMABAD, Dec 28 (PPI): Caretaker Prime Minister Mohammadmian Soomro on Friday ordered a judicial inquiry into assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Addressing a news conference after chairing a special cabinet meeting, he said inquiry would be headed by a High Court judge who would be appointed in consultation with family of Benazir Bhutto and Pakistan Peoples Party leadership. The investigations of inquiry would be made public. Replying to a question, he warned saboteurs and anti-state elements who are trying to exploit the situation and said the government would fulfil its responsibility to protect individual and public properties. Replying to a question Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz who was present said the postmortem was not carried out at the desire of the Bhutto family. To another question he said jammers were not effective against suicide attack. These could only thwart a remote-controlled explosion. (Posted @ 23:04 PST)
Qazi Husain Ahmad calls for consensus civilian government LAHORE, Dec 28 (APP): Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed Friday stressed the need for establishing a civilian government having consensus of all the political parties of the country. Addressing a press conference he termed the assassination of PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto as “target killing” and demanded formation of an inquiry tribunal comprising deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice (R) Saeeduz Zaman Siddiqui and Justice (R) Wajihuddin Ahmed to probe the matter. He also called for convening an all parties conference to chalk-out a joint strategy to pull the country out of crisis. (Posted @ 22:40 PST)
India suspends train service to Pakistan NEW DELHI, Dec 28 (AP) - India suspended train service to Pakistan on Friday after violence erupted following the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, a government statement said. “The trains have been cancelled on security considerations with immediate effect until further notice,” a Indian Railways Ministry statement said. There are two train routes that connect the countries. “Thar Express” connects the Pakistani town of Khokrapar to the Indian border town of Munabao, in the western state of Rajasthan. A second rail link is provided by “Samjhauta Express,” which travels between New Delhi and the Pakistani city of Lahore. (Posted @ 22:34 PST)
Pentagon says Pakistan nuclear arsenal secure WASHINGTON, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Pakistan's nuclear weapons arsenal is secure despite political turmoil after the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, the Pentagon said on Friday. “Our assessment is that the Pakistani nuclear arsenal is under control,” said Pentagon spokesman Col. Gary Keck. “At this time, we have no need for concern.” U.S. military and defence officials have said Pakistan's nuclear weapons remain securely under the control of the Pakistani military. These officials have repeatedly called the Pakistani military a responsible steward of the arsenal and said it would remain out of country's political conflict. (Posted @ 22:26 PST)
Six burnt to death as mob attacks factory in Karachi KARACHI, Dec 28 (AFP) - Six people were burnt to death when a mob enraged by the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto torched a factory in Korangi industrial area of Karachi on Friday, police said. “The mob stormed into a leather factory, set it on fire and as a result six labourers were burnt to death,” police official Latif Siddiqi told AFP. The workers had stayed in the factory overnight because of shutter-down strike and there was no transport to get them home. Siddiqi said rioters also burnt down a car showroom and ransacked a medicine factory and a private hospital in the same area of the city. (Posted @ 22:18 PST)
Swiss investigation against Bhutto for alleged money laundering closed GENEVA, Dec 28 (AP) - A Swiss investigation against late Benazir Bhutto for alleged money laundering was declared closed, her lawyer said Friday. A parallel investigation against her husband Asif Zardari continues, however, said Alec Reymond, Bhutto's lawyer in Geneva. He said “the file is closed because the death of the suspect requires the termination of public proceedings” but proceedings would continue against Asif Ali Zardari and another individual, who are also suspected of corruption. He declined to identify the third suspect. (Posted @ 20:40 PST)
Army called into streets as violence in Pakistan kills at least 23 people KARACHI, Pakistan, Dec 28 (AP) - Army soldiers patrolled the streets of the cities of Hyderabad and Karachi in Sindh province on Friday in an effort to quell violence following the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. The violence has killed at least 23 people, said Ghulam Mohammed Mohtaram, home secretary for Sindh province. In Hyderabad, soldiers patrolled the streets and refused to let people out of their houses, witnesses said. Mohtaram confirmed that the provincial government requested army's help “to control the law and order situation” in Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah and Ghotki. Earlier, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad said troops were put on alert in four cities in Sindh as a precaution but were not yet patrolling the streets. (Posted @ 20:26 PST)
Imran Khan says Pakistan heading 'towards chaos' MUMBAI, Dec 28 (AFP) - Cricket legend Imran Khan Friday warned that Pakistan was heading “towards chaos” and called for President Pervez Musharraf to quit. “General Musharraf's time is up. He should step down as there's no end to terrorism in Pakistan,” Imran, who leads Pakistan's Tehreek-i-Insaf party, told reporters here. “Pakistan is going towards chaos. Musharraf kept saying he will crush terrorism... today terrorism is crushing us,” he added. He said he would head back to Pakistan on Saturday and added that the polls now appear increasingly in doubt. “I do not feel threatened, but the truth is that anyone can be bumped off in Pakistan and blame it on the Al-Qaeda,” he said in reply to a question. (Posted @ 20:10 PST)
Karachi-upcountry train service remains suspended KARACHI, Dec 28 (APP): Train service between Karachi and rest of the country remained suspended again on Friday owing to insecurity of railway stations in various parts of Sindh province. According to Karachi Railway Division sources, except for Sindh Express, stranded at Hyderabad Railway Station, rest of the trains in Karachi and Sukkur Divisions were either badly damaged or put on fire. Four locomotives were also burnt - two attached with Shah Lateef and Mehran Express trains and two others at Detha and Jungshahi Stations, they said. “It is impossible to operate trains in such a situation”, DS Railway Karachi Division Mir Mohammed Khaskheli, told APP. He said railway authorities were in contact with the District administrations, Rangers and Army for providing security to railway installations. Railway sources said a number of railway stations in Karachi and Sukkur Divisions have been set ablaze. These included Gaddar, Jungshahi, Kotri, Sindh University, Bhan, Tandojam, and Tando Adam stations. Railways communication system was also badly damaged, as a result, they added. (Posted @ 19:00 PST)
Nine including grandson of Wali-i-Swat killed in bomb explosion SWAT, Pakistan, Dec 28 (APP): Nine persons including Asfandyar Amirzaib, the grandson of Wali- i-Swat, were killed and several others injured in an explosion after an election meeting in Mingora on Friday. Asfandyar Amirzaib, a former provincial minister and district Nazim, was a pro-Musharraf PML-Q party candidate for a provincial assembly seat (PF- 81), police said. As he came out of the meeting, a powerful explosion occurred killing him and eight others on the spot, witnesses said but the police confirmed death of only four persons including Manglore Union Council Nazim Bakht Mand Khan. It could not be confirmed whether it was a suicide bombing or the bomb was triggered with a remote control device. (First Posted @ 15:00 PST; Updated @ 17:35 PST)
Afghanistan flag to be at half-mast for Bhutto KABUL, Dec 28 (AFP): President Hamid Karzai ordered Friday that Afghanistan's flag be flown at half-mast at home and abroad for 24 hours in sympathy for the assassination of Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. The national flag would be lowered from 8:30 am Saturday “as a mark of respect for the martyrdom of Mrs Benazir Bhutto... and sympathy with the people of Pakistan,” a statement from Karzai's office said. (Posted @ 14:50 PST)
Hyderabad police open fire on protesters, five hurt HYDERABAD, Dec 28 (Reuters): Police opened fire on protesters in Hyderabad on Friday, wounding five, as violent disturbances over Benazir Bhutto’s assassination intensified, police said. “We opened fire when protesters got more violent and we failed to disperse them. Five of them have received bullet wounds,” said a police officer. (Posted @ 14:45 PST)
Bhutto’s killing: police in held Kashmir clash with protestors SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Dec 28 (AP): Police in Indian-occupied Kashmir clashed Friday with hundreds of stone-throwing demonstrators, protesting against the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, police said. Police used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators who took to the streets in Srinagar. (Posted @ 14:05 PST)
Pakistan police fire tear gas on protest RAWALPINDI, Dec 28 (AFP): Police fired tear gas Friday to try to quell protests in Rawalpindi, the city where Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. An AFP reporter said a crowd was trying to march toward the office of former railways minister Sheikh Rashid, a close ally of President Musharraf, when police fired several tear gas rounds on the crowd. The demonstrators also tore election campaign posters of Rashid. Police also fired tear gas elsewhere in the city. Armoured police vehicles were on patrol throughout the city, the reporter said. (Posted @ 14:00 PST)
Mob torches PML-Q office in Peshawar PESHAWAR, Dec 28 (AFP): A mob ransacked and then torched the office of the pro-government Pakistan Muslim League-Q party in Peshawar on Friday, as anger boiled over after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. About 1,500 people paraded in the streets and then stormed the PML-Q offices, an AFP reporter said. The crowd -- many chanting “Bhutto is alive!” -- set the office ablaze and also pelted a cinema with stones, the reporter said. He said police were keeping a low profile. (Posted @ 13:03 PST)
Indian held Kashmir on alert as businesses shut down to protest Bhutto assassination SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Dec 28 (AP): Police in Indian-controlled Kashmir were on high alert Friday as shops and businesses shut down in protest against the assassination of Pakistan leader Benazir Bhutto. The strike was called by Syed Ali Shah Geelani who favours independence from mostly Hindu India or a union with Pakistan. “We're shattered to hear this tragic news. This is a barbaric act of terrorism,” said Geelani. “We strongly feel that its a conspiracy to weaken Pakistan. In this hour of grief we pray for Pakistan's stability.” (Posted @ 12:32 PST)
India orders “high state of vigil” on Pakistan border NEW DELHI, Dec 28 (Reuters): India has ordered its border forces to “a high state of vigil” after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto raised the spectre of chaos in Pakistan spilling over to its nuclear-armed neighbour. “There has been a general advisory to all the border forces to maintain a high state of vigil. You can guess why,” a Home Ministry spokesman told Reuters on Friday. “There are no specific threats as yet. They have been put on alert, there have been various speculations, jihadis, the spillover effect.” (Posted @ 11:15 PST)
Bhutto said Musharraf failed to protect her: email WASHINGTON, Dec 28 (AFP): Slain PPP leader Benazir Bhutto blamed President Pervez Musharraf for failing to protect her in the volatile months preceding her assassination, an email released by US media Thursday showed. If harmed in Pakistan, “I wld (would) hold Musharaf (sic) responsible,” Bhutto wrote in the October email, revealed on air by CNN journalist Wolf Blitzer, who received it from Bhutto's friend and US spokesman Mark Siegel. “I have been made to feel insecure by his minions,” Bhutto wrote of Musharraf, detailing security measures which she said were not granted her after her return. “There is no way what is happening in terms of stopping me from taking private cars or using tinted windows or giving jammers or four police mobiles to cover all sides cld (could) happen without him.” Siegel told the channel that Bhutto had asked authorities to provide protection including a four-car police escort and jamming devices against bombs, but had not received them. The news channel revealed the email hours after Bhutto, 54, was killed in a suicide attack. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
US scrambles to respond to Bhutto assassination WASHINGTON, Dec 28 (AP): The assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has dealt a severe blow to U.S. efforts to restore stability and democracy in critical ally, Pakistan. The recent Bush administration policy on Pakistan had focused on promoting reconciliation between Ms Bhutto and increasingly unpopular president, Pervez Musharraf, ahead of elections set for January 8. In Washington and Islamabad, U.S. diplomats urged that elections should not be postponed and strongly advised against a reimposition of emergency rule that Musharraf lifted just weeks ago. FBI and Homeland Security officials sent a bulletin late Thursday to U.S. law enforcement agencies citing Islamist Web sites as saying al-Qaida had claimed responsibility for the attack and that the group's No. 2 leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, had planned it. (Posted @ 09:31 PST)
Global stocks rattled by Bhutto murder TOKYO, Dec 28 (AFP): Asian stock markets fell in early deals Friday following heavy losses on Wall Street as the murder of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto sparked jitters about global security, dealers said. Bhutto's assassination, together with weak US economic data, sent nervous investors fleeing to safe haven investments, dealers said. (Posted @ 09:31 PST)
US shares sink after Bhutto murder NEW YORK, Dec 28 (AFP): US stock markets retreated Thursday after the murder of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto raised geopolitical security concerns, and manufacturing data pointed to sluggish economic growth. The assassination of former premier Bhutto rattled investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 190.86 points (1.41 percent) to 13,360.83 shortly after the closing bell. The tech-rich Nasdaq composite dropped 47.62 points (1.75 percent) to 2,676.79 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 21.15 points (1.41 percent) to 1,476.51. (Posted @ 09:31 PST)
Gunmen kill policeman in Karachi KARACHI, Dec 28 (Reuters): Gunmen shot dead a policeman in Karachi on Friday, a day after Pakistan Peoples Party leader Benazir Bhutto was killed in a suicide attack in Rawalpindi, police said. “Unknown people gunned down a police constable in Lyari this morning,” said a senior police official. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
World condemns Bhutto assassination, and fears for stability of Pakistan KARACHI, Dec 28 (Agencies): From Moscow to Washington to New Delhi and points in between, dismay and condemnation poured forth over the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, along with concern for the stability of the volatile region. World leaders lauded her bravery and commitment to democratic reform. World leaders condemn Bhutto murder, praises her courage: LONDON: Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Benazir Bhutto was killed by “cowards afraid of democracy” as he led tributes to the slain politician in Britain. Brown said Bhutto's death was “a sad day for democracy” and “a tragic hour for Pakistan”. He said Bhutto was a “woman of immense personal courage and bravery”. “She risked everything in her attempt to win democracy in Pakistan and she has been assassinated by cowards afraid of democracy,” Brown said. CANBERRA: Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Friday strongly condemned the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, praising her courage in fighting religious extremism. “I strongly condemn the murder of Benazir Bhutto and of all those killed in this terrible act,” Rudd said in a statement issued in Canberra. KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia condemned the assassination describing it as a “cruel act” and said the perpetrators must be brought to justice. “I feel very shocked to hear the news that Benazir Bhutto has been killed while campaigning for the elections in Pakistan,” Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said in a statement. “I strongly condemn this cruel act which also killed many innocent people,”he added. MANILA: Philippines President Gloria Arroyo condemned the as an “assault on democracy.” “We mourn with the nation of Pakistan over the deaths of Benazir Bhutto and others killed in the shooting and bomb attack in Rawalpindi,” Arroyo said in a statement. (Posted @ 10:40 PST)
Lebanon's presidential vote postponed to Jan 12: speaker BEIRUT, Dec 28 (AFP) - Lebanon's Parliament speaker Nabih Berri has postponed a parliament session to vote for a new president to January 12, his office announced Friday. MPs had been due to convene on Saturday to elect a successor to Emile Lahoud. (Posted @ 23:10 PST)
Cricket-West Indies 146-8 v S. Africa at close on 3rd day of 1st test PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa, Dec 28 (Reuters) - West Indies were 146 for eight in their second innings, an overall lead of 359, at the close of the third day of the first test against South Africa on Friday. Scores: West Indies 408 and 146 for eight; South Africa 195. (Posted @ 22:24 PST)
NATO hopes Pakistan army will continue to cooperate BRUSSELS, Dec 28 (AFP) - NATO hopes the Pakistani military will continue to help combat insurgents near the Afghan border despite the killing of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, an alliance official said Friday. The official underscored that while security in Pakistan is “very volatile” in the wake of Bhutto's assassination Thursday, NATO does not intend to change its military plan in Afghanistan or to boost force levels there. “It is clearly necessary that Pakistan should be part of the solution in Afghanistan and not part of the problem,” the official told AFP, on condition of anonymity. (Posted @ 22:18 PST)
Car bomb in Baghdad kills 14, wounds 64 BAGHDAD, Dec 28 (AP) - A car bomb detonated in the middle of a busy market in central Baghdad on Friday, killing at least 14 people and wounding 64, police and hospital officials said. Meanwhile, U.S. military said it had killed four heavily armed gunmen tied to al-Qaida in Iraq in an operation Friday near Muqdadiyah in Diyala. Another was killed in a predominantly Sunni area south of Baghdad. (Posted @ 20:24 PST)
Nepal lawmakers approve abolition of monarchy KATHMANDU, Dec 28 (AFP) - Nepal lawmakers Friday formally approved a decision to abolish the monarchy and declare the country a republic as part of a deal with former Maoist rebels. However, King Gyanendra will remain on the throne for the time being as the agreement can only be put into effect at the first meeting of a new constituent assembly polls for which are due to be held by mid-April. In Friday's vote, out of 321 parliamentarians, 270 voted for abolition of the monarchy and three voted against. (Posted @ 19:06 PST)
Two Israelis, Palestinian killed in West Bank JERUSALEM, Dec 28 (AFP) - Two young Israeli settlers and a Palestinian were killed after an apparent exchange of fire in the south of the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Friday, emergency services said. The two men in their 20s had been out walking with a female friend to Hebron and the settlement of Telem when they came under fire and shot back with their personal weapons. The woman escaped unharmed. (Posted @ 19:04 PST)
No sign of bird flu mutation after Pakistani dies: WHO GENEVA, Dec 28 (APP/AFP) - The World Health Organisation on Friday ruled out any mutation of the potentially fatal H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus after confirming the first case of inter-human transmission of bird flu in Pakistan. “There is no suggestion that the virus has changed into a form that poses a broader risk,” WHO spokesman John Rainford told AFP. “If that had been the case, we would have witnessed more cases of human transmission.” Rainford said that the genetic sequencing of the virus involved in the latest case was being continued. (Posted @ 18:04 PST)
Seven die in flooded river as heavy rain brings new woes to Zimbabwe HARARE, Dec 28 (AP): Seven people drowned when flood waters swept their truck down a raging river in remote southern Zimbabwe, police said Friday. The incident Thursday brought the number of drownings in heavy seasonal rains in the past month to at least 21, said police spokesman Andrew Phiri. (Posted @ 15:50 PST)
Three shot dead in south Thailand: police NARATHIWAT, Thailand, Dec 28 (AFP): Three people, including a policeman, were shot dead as militants ambushed a police car in south Thailand on Friday, police said. Suspected rebels killed a 30-year-old police sergeant after a 15-minute gunfight in Narathiwat, one of three insurgency-torn provinces, they said. The militants fled but later returned, after officers had set up a cordon, and began shooting again. Police killed two rebels in the second gunfight. (Posted @ 12:47 PST)
Iran gets nuclear fuel delivery from Russia TEHRAN, Dec 28 (Reuters): Iran has received a second delivery of nuclear fuel from Russia for use at its Bushehr nuclear power station, the state news agency IRNA said Friday. “The second shipment of containers with fuel for Bushehr was delivered to Iran on Friday (Dec. 28),” Ahmad Fayyazbakhsh, Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation's deputy head in charge of power plants, told IRNA. Russian officials said the final shipment of fuel to Bushehr would arrive in February, allowing Iran's first nuclear power station to start operating six months later. (Posted @ 12:02 PST)
Australia set India 499 to win first test MELBOURNE, Dec 28 (Reuters): Australia set India a mammoth target of 499 runs to the win the first test after they declared their second innings closed on 351 for seven late on the third day on Friday. Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh took three wickets for 101 runs. while India captain Anil Kumble two for 102. (Posted @ 12:00 PST)
25 rebels, soldier killed in Sri Lanka COLOMBO, Dec 28 (AP): Government troops and separatist Tamil Tiger rebels clashed in four separate battles that killed 25 guerrillas across Sri Lanka's restive north, while a soldier was killed in a blast believed set by the rebels, the military said Friday. (Posted @ 11:12 PST)
Three killed in Hindu, Christian violence in eastern India NEW DELHI, Dec 28 (AP): Police in eastern India killed at least three people while trying to quell the continuing violence between hard-line Hindus and Christians, officials said Friday. Police opened fire Thursday on a mob of Hindus who torched a police station in the eastern state of Orissa, complaining Christians set fire to several Hindu homes, the state's chief minister Naveen Patnaik told reporters Friday. Three people were killed, he said. The Christians were retaliating after about 19 small churches were razed in violence that broke out on Christmas Eve that was started by the Hindu majority. (Posted @ 10:27 PST)
Seven killed in Vietnam quarry rockslide HANOI, Dec 28 (AFP): Seven workers, six of them women, were killed in a rockslide at a central Vietnam quarry in Thach Ban commune, Ha Tinh province and one labourer dug out from the rubble was in intensive care, officials said Friday. (Posted @ 10:26 PST)
Seven Palestinians killed in Israeli raids in Gaza: medics GAZA CITY, Dec 28 (AFP): Seven Palestinian militants, one of them a senior commander, were killed and 16 other people wounded in the Gaza Strip on Thursday in four Israeli raids on the Hamas-run territory, medics and witnesses said. In the first Gaza raid three men were killed around the southern town of Khan Yunis. Six people were also wounded. Shortly afterwards, two Palestinians were killed and two wounded in an air raid in the central Gaza Strip, medics said. (Posted @ 09:57 PST)
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