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| January 01, 2008 | Tuesday | Zilhaj 21, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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Five militants killed, four soldiers kidnapped in Waziristan: military PESHAWAR, Jan 1 (AFP): Militants abducted four paramilitary soldiers in South Waziristan Tuesday in the first such incident since the death of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, officials said. Militants seized the soldiers as they descended from their observation post on a hill near Makeen in South Waziristan. The military said five rebels were killed and 20 others detained amid fighting following the abduction. Several militants were injured, but evacuated by their comrades, the official added. ”The rebels launched rocket and mortar attacks on a military base near Ladda town from rugged terrain bordering Afghanistan, a security official said. A local official said the attackers were loyal to Mehsud, who is alleged to be an Al-Qaeda leader in Pakistan. (First Posted @ 16:30 PST Updated @ 18:58 PST)
Bhutto had “proof” state, spy agency rigging poll KARACHI, Jan 1 (Reuters): Benazir Bhutto was poised to reveal proof that Pakistan's election commission and shadowy spy agency were seeking to rig an upcoming general election the night she was assassinated, a top aide said Tuesday. Senator Latif Khosa, who authored a 160-page dossier with Bhutto documenting rigging tactics, said they ranged from intimidation to fake ballots, and were in some cases unwittingly funded by U.S. aid. Bhutto had been due to give the report to two visiting U.S. lawmakers over dinner on Dec. 27, the day she was killed in a suicide bombing. “The state agencies are manipulating the whole process There is rigging by the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence), the election commission and the previous government, which is still continuing to hold influence. They were on the rampage” Khosa, a top Bhutto aide and head of her Pakistan People's Party election monitoring unit, told Reuters. (Posted @ 15:20 PST)
Irish peace prize for Benazir Bhutto DUBLIN, Jan 1 (AFP): Assassinated Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto is to be posthumously awarded Ireland's 2007 Tipperary Peace Prize, the organisers said Tuesday. Bhutto was recognised for her “courageous” work for democracy and reconciliation, said the Tipperary Peace Convention which has in the past honoured South Africa's Nelson Mandela and Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof. “Ms Bhutto fought all her battles through dialogue and political debate and was an example to all those who do not use or surrender to terrorism,” it said in a statement. “Her selection as Peace Prize recipient should act as an inspiration to those in Pakistan who seek to secure democracy and reconciliation for their country,” it added. (Posted @ 17:10 PST)
Musharraf to address nation Wednesday: spokesman ISLAMABAD, Jan 1 (AFP): President Pervez Musharraf is to address the nation at 8:00 pm (1500 GMT) Wednesday, his spokesman said, days after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto caused mass unrest. “The president will address the nation tomorrow at 8:00 pm,” presidential spokesman Rashid Qureshi told AFP Tuesday, without giving details of what Musharraf would discuss. (Posted @ 15:05 PST)
Benazir's children leave for Dubai KARACHI, Jan 1 (Reuters): The children of slain PPP leader Benazir Bhutto left for Dubai on Tuesday, an airport official said. Her 19-year-old son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, left for Dubai on an Emirates flight with sisters Bakhtawar, 17, and Aseefa, 14. “The three reached Karachi on a domestic flight from Sukkur this afternoon and then boarded the Emirates flight for Dubai,” an airport official told Reuters. (Posted @ 15:40 PST)
Pakistan vote on Jan 8 'looks impossible': Election Commission ISLAMABAD, Jan 1 (AFP): The spokesman for Pakistan's election commission told AFP Tuesday that holding parliamentary elections as scheduled on January 8 “looks impossible”. “It looks impossible to hold elections on January 8. The elections can be delayed,” said Kanwar Dilshad, the commission's spokesman and secretary. Dilshad said he had informed Pakistan's political parties about the situation in 13 districts across the country where there were security problems following the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. “We have also received reports from provinces about the situation and they have all mentioned the month of Muharram,” he said. “The election commission will hold another meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) and a decision is expected then,” he said. (First Posted @ 09:40 PST, Updated @ 13:15 PST)
Doctors cite pressure to keep silent on Benazir: Washington Post Rawalpindi, Jan.1 (PPI): The authorities pressured the medical personnel who tried to save Benazir Bhutto's life to remain silent about what happened in her final hour and removed records of her treatment from the facility, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. The report said doctors who were at Bhutto's side at Rawalpindi General Hospital said they were under extreme pressure not to share details about the nature of the injuries she suffered. “The government took all medical records right after Ms. Bhutto's time of death was read out,” said a visibly shaken doctor who spoke on condition of anonymity. Sweating and putting his head in his hands, he said: “look, we have been told by the government to stop talking.” Babar Awan, a top PPP official who said he saw Bhutto's body after the attack and identified two clearly defined bullet wounds -- entry and exit points. He said the principal professor of surgery at the hospital, Mussadiq Khan, was “extremely nervous, but eventually told me that Benazir had died of a bullet wound. Why was this man so nervous?” Awan said. “He told me firsthand he was under pressure not to talk about how she died.” Reached at his home in Islamabad, Dr Khan declined to comment. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Pakistan, India swap nuclear lists ISLAMABAD, Jan 1 (AFP): Pakistan and India Tuesday exchanged lists of their nuclear sites under an agreement between the South Asian rivals to swap such information annually on New Year's Day, the foreign ministry said. The information was exchanged under a 1988 agreement on the prohibition of attacks on each other's nuclear installations, a ministry statement said. (Posted @ 14:55 PST)
Pakistan stocks close 2.9 percent down KARACHI, Jan 1 (AFP): Share prices closed down 2.9 percent Tuesday as the market continued to reel from the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and turmoil over planned elections, dealers said. The benchmark Karachi Stock Exchange KSE-100 Index finished the day off 408 points at 13,667. It had opened down 3.8 percent before a slight recovery. The latest slump came as Pakistan's election commission said the date for parliamentary elections would be announced Wednesday, with a likely delay until February. (First Posted @ 10:30 PST, Updated @ 15:35 PST)
Train service restored between Lahore and Karachi LAHORE, Jan 1 (APP): Pakistan Railways announced restoration of train service between Lahore and Karachi and the first train from Lahore is to depart at 4.00 pm Tuesday for Karachi. Railways officials said Karakuram Express will depart from Lahore and Karachi simultaneously at 4.00 pm. Khyber Mail will leave Peshawar for Karachi and Karachi for Peshawar at 10.00 pm via Lahore. Tezgam and Super Express will run as per timetable from January 2. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
New Chief Justice of LHC takes oath LAHORE, Jan 1 (APP): The newly appointed Chief Justice of Lahore High Court, Justice Sayyed Zahid Hussain took oath of his office at a ceremony held at the Governor House here Tuesday. Governor Punjab Lt Gen (r) Khalid Maqbool administered the oath to the Chief Justice. (Posted @ 14:00 PST)
Peoples Party says vote delay will aid rigging ISLAMABAD, Jan 1 (AFP): Slain Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People’s Party Tuesday rejected any delay in the January 8 elections, accusing President Musharraf's allies of trying to buy time to rig the polls. The PPP demanded the vote be held on time after the country's election commission said that doing so was impossible. “The postponement in the elections is an excuse to buy time for former General Musharraf's cohorts to come up with means to rig polls in their favour,” a party statement said. “Delaying polls is an excuse for the caretaker regime to buy time to invent other means to send the PML-Q back to power. We will not accept that,” party spokeswoman Sherry Rehman said in the statement. Nawaz Sharif, another opposition leader, also demanded the elections be held on time. (Posted @ 18:20 PST)
Egypt to send 1,200 troops to UN peacekeeping force in Darfur CAIRO, Jan 1 (AP): Egypt is sending 1,200 troops to the joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur that just took over the wartorn region, a presidential spokesman said Tuesday. President Hosni Mubarak is to inspect the troops Wednesday, a spokesman told reporters, after which the troops will soon depart for Darfur. (Posted @ 23:22 PST)
Twelve people hurt in road accident near Kalat KALAT, Jan 01 (APP): Twelve people including women and children were hurt after a pickup overturned near Kalat Tuesday. The pickup was packed with passengers and overturned after one of its front tyres burst. Two of the wounded were in serious condition. (Posted @ 21:16 PST)
One killed two hurt in Balochistan DERA MURAD JAMALI: Jan 01 (APP): At least one security man killed and two others seriously hurt after their vehicle hit a landmine near Bakhtyarabad on Tuesday, police official said. (Posted @ 20:48 PST)
Israeli shell kills Hamas fighter in Gaza GAZA CITY, Jan 1 (AFP): Israeli shelling of a central Gaza stronghold of Hamas, killed one fighter Tuesday, Palestinian medics and witnesses said. Three other Hamas members were wounded in the artillery fire in Al-Bureij district, sources said. The Israeli army had no immediate comment. The latest death brings to 6,014, the vast majority of them Palestinians, the number of people killed since the start of the second Palestinian uprising in September 2000, according to an AFP tally. (Posted @ 20:32 PST)
Hamas steps up pressure on Fatah, 8 killed in Palestinian infighting GAZA CITY, Jan 1 (AP): Gaza's ruling Hamas launched a new crackdown on rival Fatah early Tuesday, arresting dozens of activists and barring public gatherings after Fatah anniversary celebrations sparked deadly violence throughout the Gaza Strip. The fighting stretched into a second day, leaving eight dead and 60 wounded, despite an unusually conciliatory speech toward Hamas by Fatah's leader President Mahmoud Abbas. (First Posted @ 16:50 PST Updated @ 20:18 PST)
Suicide bomber kills 30 at Baghdad funeral BAGHDAD, Jan 1 (AFP): A suicide bomber killed at least 30 people at a Baghdad funeral Tuesday, detonating his charge in the midst of the crowd of mourners, Iraqi police said. Another 38 people were wounded in the blast, which struck at around 1330 GMT in the Zayuna neighbourhood of east Baghdad. (First Posted @ 19:06 PST Updated @ 20:50 PST)
B'desh troops kill pirates, free captive fishermen KHULNA, Jan 1 (Reuters): Bangladesh security forces killed five pirates in a gun battle and freed 11 abducted fishermen Tuesday, officials said. A pirate was wounded in the shootout and arrested. Guns and ammunition were seized and seven fishing boats recovered from the hideout in Bangladesh's part of Sundarbans mangrove forests. (Posted @ 19:26 PST)
40-kg bomb defused in Swat MINGORA, Jan 1 (APP): The Bomb Disposal Squad Tuesday defused a 40-kilogram bomb planted on Kalam-Mingora road side near Charbagh in Swat district. Police said law enforcement agencies defused the locally-made remote control device with help from the Bomb Disposal Squad after they received a tip-off. The bomb was planted near Khwazakhela police station at Allabad. (Posted @ 19:24 PST)
Five journalists killed in Afghanistan in 2007 KABUL, Jan 1 (AFP): Five Afghan journalists were killed in Afghanistan in 2007, a media rights group said Tuesday, calling last year a “tough and troubling” one for the war-ravaged country's press corps. “Five Afghan journalists were killed... many others were threatened, jailed and beaten by various groups and individuals,” the Kabul-based South Asia Media Commission said in a report. (Posted @ 19:08 PST)
At least 70,000 displaced by Kenya unrest: Red Cross NAIROBI, Jan 1 (AFP): At least 70,000 people have been displaced in western Kenya by the post-electoral unrest that has engulfed the east African country, the Kenya Red Cross said Tuesday. “This is a national disaster,” Abbas Gullet, the agency's secretary general, told reporters. “From the area we visited today there are roughly about 70,000 (displaced).”Aerial video footage taken by the humanitarian group showed hundreds of houses on fire, farms set ablaze and road blocks every 10 kilometres. (Posted @ 21:18 PST)
30 killed in Kenya church NAIROBI, Jan 1 (AFP): At least 30 people were burned to death Tuesday in a church in western Kenya where they had taken shelter after fleeing tribal clashes sparked by disputed presidential elections, police and Red Cross sources said. “At least 30 have burned to death inside a church in the Kiama area,” a police commander told AFP. “We have been informed 42 have been taken to hospital with severe burns, but I am yet to confirm the death toll,” a Red Cross official told AFP. (Posted @ 18:50 PST)
EU says Kenya poll flawed, death toll nears 300 NAIROBI, Jan 1 (AFP): EU monitors cast doubts Tuesday on the results of Kenya's disputed presidential vote, stepping up the pressure on re-elected President Mwai Kibaki as his country reels from violence that has claimed nearly 300 lives. A second consecutive night of tribal conflict and clashes between police and protestors left more than 100 dead, with no end in sight to the post-election unrest that has plunged one of Africa's more stable democracies into crisis. (First Posted @ 09:50 PST Updated @ 20:04 PST)
US official dies after Sudan shooting: embassy KHARTOUM, Jan 1 (AFP): An American diplomat who was shot in an attack in the Sudanese capital on Tuesday has died of his injuries, the US embassy said. “Early this morning, January 1, 2008, in Khartoum, an American officer with the United States Agency for International Development was shot and wounded. This afternoon, the American officer succumbed to his injuries and passed away,” the embassy said in a statement. An embassy driver was killed earlier in the attack. (First Posted @ 15:15 PST Updated @ 18:36 PST)
Libya becomes UN Security Council president UNITED NATIONS, Jan 1 (Reuters): Libya took over the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday in a major step back to global respectability after decades as a pariah of the West. The North African country was elected in October, as were Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Croatia and Vietnam, to sit on the council in 2008-09 after the United States, which foiled two earlier bids by Tripoli, decided not to block it this time. (Posted @ 18:30 PST)
Suspected militants hit Nigerian oil city, 12 dead PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria, Jan 1 (Reuters): Militants attacked two police stations, a luxury hotel and a night club in Nigeria's oil city Port Harcourt on Tuesday killing 12 people, police said. The New Year's Day assault came after troops bombed rebel hideouts near the city last weekend and after the collapse of peace talks between militants and the government. (Posted @ 17:50 PST)
Iran slashes gas exports to Turkey: report TEHRAN, Jan 1 (AFP): Iran has slashed gas exports to Turkey after high domestic consumption and a halt in supplies from Turkmenistan left many Iranian towns without gas in freezing weather, the Fars news agency reported Tuesday. “After the sharp falls in temperature over the last days and the halt in deliveries by Turkmenistan, exports of gas to Turkey have been cut to a minimum,” the agency quoted an Iranian source as saying. In January 2007, Iran was forced to completely halt its gas exports to Turkey for five days to compensate for a domestic consumption crunch. (Posted @ 17:45 PST)
Japan's population fell in 2007: govt survey TOKYO, Jan 1 (AFP): Japan's population fell by 16,000 in 2007, a government survey said Tuesday, renewing fears of a demographic crisis with a smaller working population forced to support a mass of pensioners. The health ministry survey showed a projected net decline of 16,000 people last year, with births falling by 3,000 to 1.09 million while the number of deaths rose by 22,000 to 1.106 million. (Posted @ 17:40 PST)
Britain defies Russia on British Council ban MOSCOW, Jan 1 (Reuters): Britain on Tuesday defied a Russian order to close the regional offices of its cultural arm from New Year's day, but there was no evidence of Russian attempts to forcibly close British Council centres. Russia on Dec.12 ordered the British government's cultural arm to halt work from Jan. 1 at all its regional offices, saying Britain had broken a host of international and domestic rules. The move was part of the fall out from a bitter row over the murder of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko, a critic of the Kremlin who was poisoned by radiation in London in November 2006. (Posted @ 17:38 PST)
372 cars torched as France celebrates “calm” New Year PARIS, Jan 1 (Reuters): Vandals torched 372 cars as France celebrated the New Year, down on the figure last year after a night the police described as “relatively calm”. Cars are burned fairly regularly in France. “The night was relatively calm, without notable incident, there were very few direct clashes with the security forces,” said a spokesman for the national police. At 0500 GMT, the Interior Ministry said 372 vehicles had been burned -- 144 in the Paris region and 228 in the rest of France. That was down from 397 last New Year's Eve. (Posted @ 16:55 PST)
Two police killed in Chechnya attacks on New Year's Eve ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia, Jan 1 (AP): Unidentified assailants fatally shot two police officers in separate attacks on New Year's Eve in the capital of Russia's war-scarred Chechnya region, law enforcement authorities said Tuesday. In the first attack, gunmen opened fire from a vehicle, killing a Grozny police precinct chief on his way home after work. About two hours later, attackers with automatic rifles fired at a riot police unit commander in his car, fatally wounding him, officials said. (Posted @ 16:40 PST)
One killed, 20 missing in Bangladesh boat sinking DHAKA, Jan 1 (Reuters): A man was killed and 20 others feared drowned after a boat sank in a Bangladesh river on New Year's Eve, police said Tuesday. The sand-laden cargo boat carrying some 30 people, mostly labourers, sank in the Dhaleswari river near Munshiganj district town 30 km south of the capital Dhaka. The boat sank due to overloading, a police officer said. Nine people were either rescued or swam to safety. (Posted @ 15:25 PST)
Sudan says eight soldiers killed in Darfur fighting KHARTOUM, Jan 1 (AFP):Eight Sudanese soldiers were killed and 19 wounded in clashes with Darfur rebels backed by troops from neighbouring Chad, Sudan's military said Tuesday. The casualties were sustained in clashes which broke out Saturday in the Salie region of western Darfur between the Sudanese army and members of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), army spokesman Osman al-Aghbash said. (Posted @ 15:00 PST)
Four climbers killed in Japan avalanche TOKYO, Jan 1 (AFP): Four climbers caught in an avalanche in northern Japan were confirmed dead Tuesday, police said, but three others in their party emerged unscathed. Rescue workers at the scene on Mount Yarigatake in the Northern Japan Alps, confirmed the deaths and were to descend the 3,180-metre peak with the bodies Wednesday, police said. (Posted @ 13:55 PST)
US-led coalition, Afghan forces kill militants in southern Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan 1 (AP): Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces killed “several” suspected Taliban militants in an operation in Helmand province, the coalition said Tuesday. The joint forces searched residential compounds Monday for militants associated with the Taliban in the area, and for other militants helping foreign insurgents, the coalition said in a statement. During the search militants hiding in one of the compounds opened fire on the troops, who responded with gunfire and grenades, the coalition said. No civilians were killed or wounded in the violence, the statement said. (Posted @ 13:45 PST)
2007 deadliest year for US troops in Iraq BAGHDAD, Jan 1 (AFP): Despite a drop in US casualties in the past six months, 2007 has proved the deadliest year for American forces in Iraq since the invasion, with at least 896 soldiers killed, according to an AFP tally based on Pentagon figures. The previous most lethal year for the American military since the US-led invasion of March 2003 was in 2004, when 846 soldiers died. The military reported that a soldier died of non-combat related injuries Sunday, bringing the total number of American soldiers killed since the invasion to 3,901. (Posted @ 10:45 PST)
Sri Lanka opposition parliamentarian shot and killed COLOMBO, Jan 1 (Reuters): A Sri Lankan opposition minority Tamil parliamentarian was shot and killed Tuesday, the military said. Main opposition parliamentarian T. Maheshweran was shot at a Hindu temple Tuesday morning. “Inside the (temple) unidentified gunmen had shot Mr. Maheshawaran and it was reported he died after being admitted to the hospital,” said Military Spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara. (Posted @ 10:30 PST)
Lockheed to supply 18 F-16s to Pakistan WASHINGTON, Jan 1 (Reuters): Lockheed Martin Corp was awarded a $498.2 million contract to supply F-16 aircraft to Pakistan, the U.S. Pentagon said Monday. Lockheed will sell 12 F-16C plus 6 F-16D planes to Pakistan under the contract, the Pentagon said in its daily list of defence contract awards. The U.S. Defence Department did not say how soon the fighter jets would be delivered. The United States has agreed to sell Pakistan up to 36 new F-16 jets together with refurbished F-16s. (Posted @ 10:25 PST)
19 Egyptians die when bus plunges into river in country's south CAIRO, Egypt, Jan 1 (AP): Eighteen people - 17 passengers and a bus driver - died Monday when their coach plunged into a dugout branch of the Nile River near Egypt’s Beni Mzar village in Minya province, the MENA news agency reported. A pickup driver who had apparently caused the accident also died. The accident occurred as the bus driver scrambled to avoid a collision with the speeding pickup trying to overtake him, police chief Mahmoud Noureddin in Minya, 220 kilometres south of Cairo, was quoted as saying. As the bus swerved, the truck driver also lost control and overturned his vehicle. Some 40 surviving passengers were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, MENA said. (Posted @ 09:40 PST)
Seven police officers killed in attack in northern India LUCKNOW, India, Jan 1 (AP): Two assailants armed with guns and grenades attacked a police recruitment centre in northern India early Tuesday, killing seven police officers and one rickshaw puller, a senior police official said. The assailants approached the gate of the station in Rampur at about 4 a.m. and opened fire, killing two officers. The attackers then lobbed a grenade over the gate, killing five other officers, said Brij Lal, a senior police official in the state of Uttar Pradesh. A rickshaw puller outside the gate was killed in the ensuing crossfire, Lal said. It was unclear if the suspects were killed, he said. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 408.98 points: KARACHI, Jan 01: At the close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 13666.85, down 408.98, points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Jan 01: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 61.5, to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
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