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| January 03, 2008 | Thursday | Zilhaj 23, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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Musharraf says 'not fully satisfied' with Bhutto probe ISLAMABAD, Jan 38 (AFP): President Pervez Musharraf said Thursday he was “not fully satisfied” with the probe into the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. Speaking at a news conference a week after Bhutto was killed in a suicide attack, Musharraf said he had invited in British investigators to assist in the probe into her death to dispel any suspicions about official involvement in her assassination. “We don't mind going to any extent, as nobody is involved from the government or agency side,” he said. President Musharraf denied accusations the military or intelligence services were involved in the killing of Benazir Bhutto. He also denied there had been a security lapse and implied that Bhutto, who was greeting supporters through the sunroof of her armored vehicle at the time of the attack, was partly responsible. “Who is to be blamed for her coming out her vehicle?” he asked. 19 ATTACKS: He blamed militant leaders Baitullah Mehsud and Maulana Fazlullah for 19 suicide attacks in the past three months. Over the same period, militant related violence killed 400 people and wounded 900 others, he said. “We know these two people are responsible,” he said. Musharraf did not directly blame Mehsud in his news conference.(First Posted @ 19:48 PST Updated @ 20:08 PST)
Benazir’s assassination: Scotland Yard may find little to do in Pakistan ISLAMABAD, Jan 3 (AFP) - Scotland Yard's investigators may not have much to work with in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan, leading to an inquiry that raises more questions than answers, analysts say. A senior government official, who could not be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, said there might not be much the Scotland Yard team can do. “They will come here and ask for two things. Do you have a post-mortem report? Do you know the cause of death? They will ask for a detailed post-mortem report -- and we don't have any,” the official said. “I seriously do not think there is anything for them to investigate.” (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
Pakistani troops capture 52 militants ISLAMABAD, Jan 3 (AFP) -Pakistani troops captured 52 suspected Islamist militants Thursday in the restive northwestern valley of Swat, the military said. The arrests were made days after a remote-controlled bomb killed eight people including a politician from the pro-Musharraf PML. “These militants were apprehended in Shakardara area Thursday morning during a search operation,” the statement said. According to government reports, more than 300 militants have been killed in the area since the army operation on November 24. (Posted @ 14:15 PST)
Opposition parties want better security ahead of election ISLAMABAD, Jan 3 (AFP): The country's main opposition political parties Thursday confirmed they would resume the race to restore democracy but demanded better security as the nation prepared for a lengthy campaign ahead of February 18 elections. They said the government must ensure candidates are protected from the dangers posed by anyone determined to disrupt the polls. “We would like the government to provide foolproof security,” said Ahsan Iqbal, a spokesman for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Sherry Rehman, spokeswoman for Pakistan People's Party (PPP) said Bhutto's widower and the party's new leader, Asif Ali Zardari, would lead the campaign after its mourning period ended early next month. “The party's co-chairperson Asif Zardari will address major public meetings after February 7 all over the country,” she said. Farooq Naik, Bhutto's lawyer and top aide, said “the party will demand foolproof security from the government” during the election campaign. (Posted @ 16:45 PST)
Pakistani crisis appears to ease after vote date set ISLAMABAD, Jan 3 (Reuters): Pakistan's political crisis appeared to stabilise on Thursday with parties looking ahead to elections in which the party of assassinated opposition leader Benazir Bhutto is set to make gains.There were no reports of protests against an Election Commission decision on Wednesday to postpone the general election to Feb. 18, despite the objections of the two main opposition parties which had wanted it held on schedule on Jan. 8. (Posted @ 15:40 PST)
Iran FM to visit Pakistan TEHRAN, Jan 3 (AFP): Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki will come to Pakistan on Friday to pay respects to assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, state news agency IRNA reported. Mottaki will meet President Pervez Musharraf, interim Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro and interim Foreign Minister Inam ul Haque, IRNA citing the public relations department of the Iranian embassy in Islamabad said. During his one-day visit, Mottaki will also pay his respects to Bhutto at her grave. Iranian officials have condemned Bhutto's assassination as a “terrorist”action. (Posted @ 15:05PST)
Top senator hits US sale of F-16s to Pakistan WASHINGTON, Jan 3 (AFP) - Senator Joseph Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a Democratic Party presidential hopeful, Wednesday lashed the administration of President George W. Bush Wednesday for its decision to sell F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, calling it a sign of a “dangerously misguided” policy toward Islamabad. “How can the White House even think of green-lighting such a sale at such an incredibly sensitive time?” he said. “This is the time we should be putting the pressure on the government and military to fully investigate the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and to hold free and fair elections -- not let them off the hook,” Biden said. (Posted @ 10:05 PST)
Govt bars British envoy seeing detained lawyer ISLAMABAD, Jan 3 (Reuters): The police Thursday stopped British High Commissioner Robert Brinkley from meeting detained lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan in Lahore, the British High Commission said. The British envoy went to Ahsan's home but police posted there did not allow him in to see the lawyer. Police did not give a reason, a British High Commission spokesman said. Brinkley was allowed to meet Ahsan's wife and some other family members, the spokesman said. Mr Ahsan spearheaded the opposition to President Pervez Musharraf. (Posted @ 15:55 PST)
Musharraf must go if Pakistan is to survive: think tank ISLAMABAD, Jan 3 (AFP): President Pervez Musharraf must quit if Pakistan is to regain stability in the wake of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, a think-tank said Thursday. Musharraf is “no longer, if he ever was, a factor for stability,” warned the latest International Crisis Group briefing, an independent group that studies global conflict. “It is time to recognise that democracy, not an artificially propped-up, defrocked, widely despised general, has the best chance to provide stability and turn back extremists' gains,” said Robert Templer, ICG's Asia Director. ICG said in addition to Musharraf's resignation there must be full restoration of Pakistan's constitution and the reappointment of Supreme Court judges he dismissed in November when he imposed emergency. “Bhutto's death has drawn the battle lines even more clearly between Musharraf's military-backed regime and Pakistan's moderate majority, which will settle for nothing less than genuine parliamentary democracy,” said Mark Schneider, ICG's senior vice-president. The ICG agreed with the decision of Pakistan's Election Commission to postpone the parliamentary polls, but only if extra steps are taken to ensure the delay “creates conditions for free and fair elections. (Posted @ 18:02 PST)
India PM Singh to make first official China visit BEIJING, Jan 3 (Reuters): Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit China later this month, China's Foreign Ministry said Thursday, as the Asian heavyweights grapple with issues from border disputes to competition for resources. Singh will visit Jan. 13-15, his first trip to China as prime minister, with the two countries appearing far from resolving a long-running row over their Himalayan frontier that erupted into a brief war in 1962. (Posted @ 15:15 PST)
One dead, three hurt in chairlift accident in Switzerland INTERLAKEN, Switzerland, Jan 3 (AP): One person was killed and three were injured in a chairlift accident near the Alpine ski resort of Grindelwald, officials said Thursday. The incident happened around midday on the Kleine-Scheidegg pass above Grindelwald, said a spokeswoman for lift operator Jungfraubahnen Interlaken. Further details of the accident were not immediately available. (Posted @ 22:54 PST)
Car blast wounds at least 20 people in Turkey ANKARA, Jan 3 (AP): A car bomb exploded in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern city of Diyarbakir Thursday, wounding at least 20 people, including some military personnel, news reports said. Private CNN-Turk television said at least 20 people were hospitalized with injuries. (First Posted @ 20:32 PST Updated @ 20:40 PST)
Jordan king presses Israel PM on settlements AMMAN, Jan 3 (AFP): King Abdullah II of Jordan plied new pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to halt all settlement activity in occupied Palestinian territory at talks in the Red Sea port of Aqaba on Thursday. Just days before a landmark visit to the region by US President George W. Bush, King Abdullah warned that “a stalled peace process threatens the region's future and its security and stability,” the palace said. He said Jordan opposes “any settlement activity on Palestinian lands. (Posted @ 20:10 PST)
Three Iraqis killed by US forces: officials BAQUBA, Jan 3 (AFP): Three Iraqi civilians were killed by US military fire in two incidents on Thursday in Diyala province, Iraqi security officials said. Two people died in Al-Ghalibiyah town, west of the provincial capital Baquba, when a US patrol shot up their vehicle as it entered the main street from a side road while the convoy was passing, Iraqi army major Ziad al-Ani told AFP. In the other incident, US forces killed a civilian crossing the street near a gas factory in the centre of Baquba, said a police official without giving further details. (Posted @ 19:34 PST)
Heavy fighting grips Sri Lanka as truce ends COLOMBO, Jan 3 (AFP): Heavy fighting between government troops and Tamil Tigers broke out in northern Sri Lanka Thursday hours after Colombo announced it was pulling out of a tattered ceasefire agreement with the rebels.At least six Tiger rebels and a government soldier were killed in the latest clashes along the de facto border of the mini-state run by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the defence ministry said. (Posted @ 19:16 PST)
Flashman author dies after cancer battle LONDON, Jan 3 (Reuters): The author of the hugely popular “Flashman” books, George MacDonald Fraser, has died at the age of 82, his agent and publisher said Thursday. The former journalist and soldier died after a year-long battle with lung cancer, his British literary agent Vivienne Schuster said. (Posted @ 19:06 PST)
Six Iraqi soldiers, five civilians killed in attacks BAGHDAD, Jan 3 (AP): At least five people were killed in two separate attacks in Iraq Thursday, one targeting a local member of the prime minister's party, police said. There were also reports six Iraqi army soldiers were killed and two wounded while conducting joint operations with U.S. forces against Al-Qaeda in Abu Nakhal village, 50 miles north of Baghdad. In the other incidents, three people were killed and 11 injured when a bomb planted at the house of a local member detonated at dawn in southeastern Baghdad, a police official said. (First Posted @ 13:25 PST Updated @ 18:48 PST)
Three dead in freighter sinking on Azov Sea ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia, Jan 3 (AP): A Bulgarian ship carrying scrap metal sank early Thursday during a storm on the Azov Sea between Ukraine and Russia, killing at least three crewmen, officials said. The ship, the Vanessa, was carrying a crew of 10 and a Ukrainian pilot guiding the ship as it approached the Kerch Strait, which connects the Azov Sea to the Black Sea, said a spokesman for the Emergency Situations Ministry for southern Russia. (Posted @ 18:34 PST)
Suicide attack leaves 7 dead, 12 wounded in Afghanistan KANDAHAR, Jan 3 (AP): A suicide bomb attack targeting Indian road construction workers and their Afghan police escorts left seven dead and 12 wounded in southwestern Afghanistan, Thursday, an official said. The convoy was travelling on a main road toward Khash Rodcity in Nimroz province when it was first hit by a remote-controlled bomb planted on a motorcycle, wounding one policeman. The convoy stopped and a suicide bomber set off a second attack, leaving six policemen and an Indian worker dead. Ten policemen and two Indian workers were wounded. (Posted @ 18:32 PST)
Four killed in Kenyan vote violence: police NAIROBI, Jan 3 (AFP): Four Kenyans were killed Thursday, including three by police, in the latest incidents related to the country's disputed presidential election, police said. “A large group of armed Luos surrounded a police station in Migori, forcing police to open fire and kill three,” a top police commander told AFP. In Nairobi, “a man was elecrocuted after a police bullet hit and disconnected a live wire,” another police official said. The deaths bring to 346 the number of people who have died in post-election violence since the December 27 elections, according to an AFP tally. Two opposition MPs arrested in Kenya: Kenyan police on Thursday arrested two opposition lawmakers mobilising youths in the western city of Kisumu to stage a banned protest over the country's presidential election, police said. The freshly elected lawmakers from defeated presidential challenger Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) were detained as opposition supporters were attempting to regroup for a march. (First Posted @ 17:35 PST Updated @ 18:24 PST)
Ford picks India's Tata as top bidder for Jaguar, Land Rover DETROIT, Jan 3 (AP): Ford Motor Co. has picked India's Tata Motors Ltd. as the top bidder to buy Ford's Jaguar and Land Rover units, the U.S. automaker said Thursday. Ford said in a statement that it has entered into “focused negotiations at a more detailed level” with Tata, which means Tata has been picked as a preferred bidder for the storied British automakers. (Posted @ 18:12 PST)
9 Palestinians killed in new Israeli blitz on Gaza GAZA CITY, Jan 3 (AFP): 9 Palestinians, including two women, were killed in Israeli ground and air bombardments in Gaza on Thursday, local medical sources said, in the latest blitz against the Hamas-ruled territory. Israeli troops and tanks backed by combat helicopters were operating in Bani Suheila village near Khan Yunis town, witnesses and medical sources said. At least 30 people were injured and several houses destroyed, the sources said. (First Posted @ 14:15 PST, Updated @ 19:14 PST)
Gold shines at new record high near $868 LONDON, Jan 3 (AFP): Gold struck a new all-time peak of almost 868 dollars on Thursday as the precious metal benefited from its safe-haven status amid record high oil, a struggling dollar and Pakistan tensions, analysts said. The price of gold reached a historic $867.90 an ounce on the London Bullion Market. It later slipped slightly to stand at $866.90. (Posted @ 17:25 PST)
Afghanistan calls on Iran to delay decision on refugees KABUL, Jan 3 (AFP): Afghanistan's government called Thursday on Iran to delay its decision to expel or punish more than a million Afghan refugees living there without proper documents. Tehran has said it has warned one-and-a-half-million Afghan refugees living in Iran without proper papers that they face arrest and detention for up to five years. An Afghan foreign ministry spokesman said his government was not “formally” told about the move but called on the Iranian authorities to delay their decision. (Posted @ 16:50 PST)
Bangladesh court to rule on war crimes case after 36 years DHAKA, Jan 3 (AFP): A Bangladesh court has ordered police to submit a report on allegations a former minister committed war crimes during the country's fight for independence from Pakistan, an official said Thursday. Matiur Rahman Nizami leader of Jamaat-e-Islami is accused along with 13 other people of being responsible for the killing of pro-independence fighters during Bangladesh's 1971 war with then-controlling power Pakistan. A magistrate in Dhaka on Wednesday ordered police to submit the report by January 30, said a court official. (Posted @ 16:35 PST)
Heavy snow blankets Romania, Bulgaria BUCHAREST, Jan 3 (Reuters): Heavy snow blanketed Romania and Bulgaria Thursday cutting power to hundreds of towns and villages, blocking roads and forcing Bucharest's two airports and some Black Sea ports to close. Meteorologists said the snow, which had been falling for two days, was expected to continue throughout Romania until late Thursday. In Bulgaria, two days of heavy snow and high winds cut electricity supplies to more than 300 towns and villages, the country's Disaster and Emergency Ministry said. (Posted @ 16:30 PST)
Khamenei: Ties with US not currently in Iran's interest TEHRAN, Jan 3 (AFP): Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Thursday said Iran has “no benefit” in resuming ties with the United States at the current time, state television reported. “Cutting ties with the United States is one of our basic policies. We have never said that they will be cut for ever,” Khamenei told students in a speech in the central city of Yazd. “The conditions of the US government are such now that it is harmful for us to resume relations. The day relations with the United States are beneficial to the Iranian nation, I will be the first one to approve,” he added.The Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also vowed the country would not give up uranium enrichment, saying Iran should seek to have nuclear plants generating 20,000 megawatts of energy in 20 years. (First Posted @ 16:20 PST, Updated @ 16:50 PST)
Hundreds flee as high waves strike Indonesia coast KUPANG, Indonesia, Jan 3 (AFP): High waves lashed hundreds of homes in eastern Indonesia Thursday, forcing about 1,000 people to flee but causing no casualties, an official said. “Some 250 houses along the coastline were hit this morning by three-metre high waves, leaving dozens destroyed,” a senior official in East Nusa Tenggara province, told reporters. He said ongoing heavy downpours had hampered his teams' ability to complete site checks. “At least 1,000 residents have fled their homes,” he added. High waves have been lashing Indonesia's eastern islands for the past week. (Posted @ 16:15 PST)
Police battle opposition protestors in Kenya NAIROBI, Jan 3 (AFP): Kenyan police used tear gas and water cannon Thursday to disperse protestors marching on a Nairobi city centre to attend a banned rally organised by defeated presidential challenger Raila Odinga. Odinga had called for one million supporters to gather in a Nairobi park to protest the result of last week's election in which President Mwai Kibaki was re-elected amid widespread allegations of vote-rigging. The disputed poll triggered a wave of violence that has killed more than 340 people and displaced tens of thousands, mainly in western regions. (Posted @ 15:35 PST)
India sacks government in troubled Nagaland state GUWAHATI, India, Jan 3 (Reuters) - India dismissed the elected government in troubled Nagaland after a controversial no-confidence vote triggered political uncertainty there, officials said on Thursday. The state is due to elect a new legislative assembly within a few weeks. “The union cabinet has decided to impose president's rule in Nagaland because of the prevailing political uncertainty,” a senior home ministry official told Reuters by phone from New Delhi. “The state assembly has been dissolved.” The decision came after Nagaland's coalition government, backed by BJP, managed to stay in office even though it lost a no-confidence vote. (Posted @ 13:20 PST)
Cricket-India 216-3 v Australia (463) at close SYDNEY, Jan 3 (Reuters) - India were 216 for three at the close of play on the second day of the second test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday. Scores: Australia 463 (Symonds 162 not out, Hogg 79, Brett Lee 59, Ponting 55; Kumble 4-106, Rudra Pratap Singh 4-124); India 216-3 (Laxman 109, Rahul Dravid 53). (First Posted @ 09:55 PST, Updated @ 12:20 PST)
200 Taliban rebels killed in Musa Qala operation KABUL, Jan 3 (AFP) - More than 200 militants were killed in last month's major operation to retake the southern Taliban stronghold of Musa Qala, the Afghan defence ministry said Thursday. Seventeen Taliban commanders were among the dead. The rebels had held the town in Helmand province for 10 months, the ministry said. (Posted @ 12:20 PST)
Eight killed in India police firing GUWAHATI, India, Jan 3 (AFP) - Eight people were killed and 20 injured when police opened fire on protestors demanding village elections in northeastern India, police said Thursday. Protestors were trying to enforce a strike to press for their demand for elections in the area, which is run by an autonomous council of tribal people. Tribal people fear the loss of their control if elections are held. Soldiers were called in the state's Goalpara district and a curfew was imposed to prevent further unrest, deputy inspector general of Assam police G.P Singh said. (Posted @ 11:20 PST)
Nearly 50 dead in India cold snap LUCKNOW, India, Jan 3 (AFP) - At least 47 people have died because of a biting cold wave sweeping northern India over the last two weeks, media reports said Thursday. New Delhi recorded the season's lowest temperature of 1.9 degrees Celsius (35.42 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday. (Posted @ 10:35 PST)
2 Sri Lanka soldiers killed in blast COLOMBO, Jan 3 (AP) - A mine blast blamed on Tamil Tiger rebels killed two soldiers and injured another Thursday in the northern district of Anuradhapura, a day after the government withdrew from a cease-fire with the separatist insurgents, the military said. The mine blast struck an army truck that was transporting food. (Posted @ 10:25 PST)
Five killed in southern India temple stampede NEW DELHI, Jan 3 (Reuters) - At least five people were killed and 20 others injured in a stampede at a hill-top temple devoted to the goddess Durga near Vijayawada, about 250 km from Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh state, NDTV news channel reported. More than 100,000 people had gathered at the temple early on Thursday morning for a special prayer ceremony, but there was not enough security to control the crowds, the channel said. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
Three Indian students killed in Australian house fire MELBOURNE, Jan 3 (AFP) - Three Indian students died in a house fire in Melbourne early Thursday, police said. Police said the three men, aged 22, 24 and 30, were unable to escape from a front bedroom as the blaze ripped through a bungalow, but a couple in their 30s and their five-year-old daughter who lived at the property managed to escape by climbing through a window. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Cricket: British PM wants Zimbabwe's England tour shelved LONDON, Jan 3 (AFP) - British government has told English cricket's governing body that it wants them to pull the plug on Zimbabwe's planned tour here next year, The Sun newspaper said Thursday. Quoting an unnamed government source as saying that ministers had informed the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) that they did not want the tour to go ahead. “England's cricket authorities wanted assurance from us about what to do and now they have it,” the source was quoted as saying. Zimbabwe are due to play two Tests and three one-day internationals here in mid-2009 and compete in the Twenty20 World Cup, with England due to tour Zimbabwe in 2012. There was no immediate word from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Israeli air strike kills Hamas militant in Gaza GAZA CITY, Jan 3 (AFP) - An Israeli air strike Thursday killed at least one militant from the Hamas movement and wounded nine others, Palestinian hospital sources said. An Israeli armoured unit also moved into the same area of the southern Gaza Strip near Khan Yunis. Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians, including six militants, in pre-dawn strikes on Wednesday. (Posted @ 09:35 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 643.33, points: KARACHI, Jan 03: At the close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 13996.71, up 643.33, points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:15 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Jan 03: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 61.55, to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:15 PST)
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