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| January 08, 2008 | Tuesday | Zilhaj 28, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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Benazir’s assassination: Musharraf meets Scotland Yard detectives ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Jan 8 (Reuters) - President Pervez Musharraf said Tuesday his government was committed to finding the truth behind the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and he vowed to punish her killers. Musharraf met the Scotland Yard team on Tuesday and said the government was committed to “unearthing the evidence, finding out the truth and bringing those responsible for this heinous crime to justice”. “He assured the investigation team of fullest cooperation by all investigation agencies,” the government quoted him as saying. The British police said they were thoroughly sifting the evidence to ascertain the facts. (Posted @ 16:30 PST)
Chitral avalanche death toll now four, three missing CHITRAL, Pakistan, Jan 8 (APP): Death toll due to avalanche in Chitral in northwestern Pakistan has risen to four while eight officials of Chitral Scouts have been found alive but three others are still missing.The incident occurred late Monday night when a post of Chitral Scouts near Lowari Tunnel was buried under a heavy glacier. Chitral Scouts were guarding Korean engineers and others working at Lowari Tunnel Project, District Nazim (mayor) Chitral, Haji Maghrifat Shah told APP. He said a total of 15 persons were buried under the glacier out of whom eight have been recovered alive, four found dead and three are still missing. Rescue operations are continuing for the recovery of the missing persons from the debris of the snow covered building of the checkpost. He said heavy snowfall has blocked all roads , and disrupted water and power supply. So far, two feet of snowfall has been recorded and more is expected, he said.(Posted @ 18:07 PST)
Pakistan arrests Al-Qaeda-linked militant in Nov. 1 attack on air force bus LAHORE, Jan 8 (AP): Intelligence agents arrested an Al-Qaeda-linked militant and six of his associates in connection with an attack on an air force bus in November that killed eight people and wounded about 40 others, a security official said Tuesday. The suspect, identified as Ahsanul Haq, a retired major, was caught in Lahore last month following the Nov. 1 attack in Sargodha, about 200 kilometers south of the capital, Islamabad, the official said. Haq told security forces the name of the bomber, who belonged to an outlawed militant group, the security official said. “Ahsanul Haq was the mastermind of the attack on the air force bus, and six of his associates have also been arrested on his information,” the official said. (Posted @ 12:20 PST)
'Ideology of Z.A. Bhutto based on people's welfare': Ghanwa LARKANA, Pakistan, Jan. 08 (APP):- The ideology of Shaheed Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto was based on the welfare of the masses and was in total contrast with the feudal system, Chairperson of her faction of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP-SB) Ms. Ghanwa Bhutto said while presiding over a meeting of Provincial Council and senior party workers at Al-Murtaza here Tuesday. She was of the view that the politics, leadership and ideology of late Z.A. Bhutto were not the inherited property of anyone -- not even Fatima Bhutto and Junior Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto.She announced that after the general elections the party would be reorganized from union council level to federal level and in this connection conventions would be held in all the districts across the country.(Posted @ 20:58 PST)
Cricket: Security fears force Women's WC qualifiers out of Pakistan KARACHI, Pakistan, Jan 8 (AFP) - The International Cricket Council Tuesday announced the women's World Cup qualifying rounds have been shifted from Pakistan to South Africa on the guidance of independent security reports. “The eight-team qualifying rounds, scheduled to be staged in Lahore, Pakistan from 18-24 February, will now take place in South Africa instead,” the ICC said in a statement. The tournament was to originally take place in Lahore last November but was postponed for security reasons until after the proposed election date of January 8, the ICC said. “With the rescheduling of the elections in Pakistan until February 18, the decision was made to move the event to South Africa,” the statement added. The qualifiers involve eight teams -- Bermuda, Ireland, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, South Africa, and Zimbabwe -- with the top two sides going forward to the ICC Women's World Cup in Australia in 2009. “The decision to shift the event was made with the PCB's input,” a Pakistan Cricket Board spokesman said.(Posted @ 20:50 PST)
Benazir's son holds Press conference in London LONDON, Jan 8 (AFP) - Benazir Bhutto's son Bilawal warned Tuesday that Pakistan could face disintegration unless free and fair elections are held. In his first full press conference since taking over as head of the Pakistan People's Party, the 19-year-old renewed a call for a UN-backed probe into her death, casting doubt on the Pakistani government investigation. “The family's and party's request is for a UN sponsored investigation, because we do not believe that an investigation under the authority of the Pakistan government has the necessary transparency,” he said. “I was called and I stepped up to do what I was asked to do,” he said, rejecting questions about the undemocratic nature of his PPP succession. “It wasn't handed on like some piece of family furniture. They asked me to do it and I did,” he said, speaking in English, and looking relaxed after a tense start before the cameras. “I fear for my country. I fear that if free and fair elections are not held it may disintegrate,” he said. ”At present my role as chairman is one into which I shall step gradually and carefully,” he added. He appealed for privacy once he returns to Christ Church College Oxford when terms starts next week. “When I am at Oxford I hope that I can be left alone.”(Posted @ 18:50 PST)
Detective who solved Pearl case joins Bhutto murder probe ISLAMABAD, Jan 8 (AFP): The detective who solved the 2002 murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl has joined the probe into the killing of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, officials said Tuesday. Zubair Mahmood will work with a team of British detectives investigating the assassination. “He has joined the investigation and will coordinate with the Scotland Yard team,” a senior government official told AFP. (Posted @ 14:25 PST)
Asif Zardari slams Musharraf for death 'insult' NAUDERO, Jan 8 (AFP): Benazir Bhutto's husband Asif Zardari criticised President Musharraf for saying the opposition leader was to blame for her assassination. Zardari told AFP Musharraf's admission a bullet may have killed her -- not a blow to the head from the sunroof lever as officials previously said -- showed the authorities had “something to hide,” Zardari gave an interview late Monday at the Bhutto family ancestral home in Naudero. Asked if he felt insulted by Musharraf's comments, Zardari added: “It's a total insult to democracy that he could not save the one person that could keep Pakistan together.” He was also scathing about Musharraf's admission to CBS that a bullet may have caused the fatal injury. “They have changed stories four times... you change stories because you have something to hide,” he said. Looking tired after travelling to see his son off to a new term at Oxford University, Zardari admitted he feared for Bilawal's safety but said he had to honour his wife's last wishes. He said Bilawal was coping well despite his mother's death. “Bilawal is definitely made out of better DNA than I am,” he said. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
Musharraf takes serious notice of atta crisis Islamabad, Pakistan, Jan 08 (PPI)- President Pervez Musharraf has taken serious notice of the shortage of wheat flour in the country and has decided to monitor the situation himself. In an interview, the Presidential Spokesman Rashid Qureshi said that the President has summoned a meeting to assess the situation and to take remedial measures. Including action against the hoarders. He said the meeting will also review the shortage of power and gas supply, and steps will be taken to overcome the shortages.(Posted @ 19:03 PST)
42 shops gutted in Karachi fire KARACHI, Pakistan, Jan 08 (PPI):- Forty-two shops were gutted in a fire caused by electric short-circuit in an electronics market on Abdullah Haron Road in Karachi’s Saddar area late Monday night, eyewitnesses and Fire Brigade officials said Tuesday.The fire started at the ground flour of the three-storied building, housing over 100 shops, and spread to whole of the ground floor. The fire was controlled by 5:30am. About a dozen of shops dealing in mobile phones and domestic appliances were completely gutted, while 30 others suffered partial damage, officials said.(Posted @ 19:02 PST)
Bush endorses Turkey's bid to join EU, calls it a 'constructive bridge' between West and Islam WASHINGTON:President George W. Bush gave Turkey's bid to join the European Union a glowing endorsement on Tuesday and called the Islamic nation a ''constructive bridge'' between the West and the Muslim world, offering a much-needed boost to U.S.-Turkish relations.''I think Turkey sets a fantastic example for nations around the world to see where it's possible to have a democracy coexist with a great religion like Islam and that's important,'' he said.Bush spoke to reporters following a meeting with Turkish President Abdullah Gul. The two appeared together on the South Lawn of the White House, where Bush said he supported Turkey's efforts to fight the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK rebels, in northern Iraq.
Kenyan opposition leader rejects meeting with president, who names Cabinet he dominates KENYA:Kenya's opposition leader rejected a presidential invitation for talks, saying Tuesday that the proposal would undermine international attempts to end an election standoff that has left more than 500 people dead. The president named his Cabinet, undeterred by accusations he stole the vote.(Posted @ 23:09 PST)
India to continue tour, want Harbhajan cleared NEW DELHI, Jan 8 India will resume their suspended tour of Australia but will continue to protest a ban on spinner Harbhajan Singh for racial abuse during the second test, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) said on Tuesday.The BCCI laid the condition that the player should eventually be cleared of the charge and a three-match ban issued by the International Cricket Council dropped, a statement said.(Posted @ 22:25 PST)
Atomic chief fears for security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal BEIRUT, Jan 8, 2008 (AFP) -The head of the UN atomic watchdog Mohamed ElBaradei has voiced concern over the possibility that Pakistan's nuclear arsenal could fall into extremist hands. “I fear that chaos... or an extremist regime could take root in that country which has 30 to 40 warheads,” ElBaradei told the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat in an interview Tuesday. He stressed that he was “worried that nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of an extremist group in Pakistan or in Afghanistan.”. He further said: “I fear that a war in the Middle East or in the Muslim world could have grave repercussions in Pakistan, more than in Iran.” The UN nuclear chief, who is due to visit Tehran at the end of this week for talks on Iran's disputed nuclear programme, reiterated warnings against any attempts to solve the problem by force. “Any attack on Iranian nuclear facilities will only complicate the problem,” he said. The US intelligence “provides an opportunity for a peaceful dialogue to solve the problem through negotiation,” ElBaradei said.(Posted @ 20:30 PST)
Arab League chief takes political crisis plan to Beirut BEIRUT, Jan 8 (AFP) - Arab League chief Amr Mussa arrives in Beirut on Wednesday on a delicate mission to try to push Lebanon's rival political leaders to accept a plan aimed at ending the country's constitutional crisis.Armed with international support for his initiative, Mussa will seek the approval of all sides for the three-stage Arab League proposal to hold a vote in order to fill the Lebanese presidency, vacant since November 24.(Posted @ 19:45 PST)
Sri Lanka minister dies after roadside bomb attack COLOMBO, Jan 8 (Reuters): A Sri Lankan government minister died on the operating table Tuesday after his vehicle was targeted by a suspected Tamil Tiger roadside bomb north of the capital, a senior hospital official said. Nation Building Minister D.M. Dassanayake's vehicle was hit by the blast on Tuesday morning, in the town of Ja-Ela, 19 km north of Colombo, on the main road that leads to the island's only international airport. At least 10 other people were wounded in the blast. (Posted @ 12:40 PST)
Boy scout saves Maldives president from assassination bid COLOMBO, Jan 8 (AFP) -Maldives president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom escaped an assassination attempt Tuesday while on a tour of the Indian Ocean archipelago. A 20-year-old unemployed man tried to plunge a knife into Gayoom's stomach, but he was unhurt thanks to a boy scout who wrestled with the attacker before he was detained. “The president was greeting people when a young boy pulled out a knife and tried to stab him in the stomach,” Information Minister Mohamed Nasheed said by telephone from the island capital of Male. The attacker -- identified as 20-year-old Mohamed Murshid, who was unemployed and who had no previous criminal record -- had hidden the knife wrapped in a national flag, the president's spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef said. Gayoom said in a nationwide address after the attack that he had survived “thanks to Mohamed Jaisham and Allah.” (First Posted @ 11:55 PST, Updated @ 16:15 PST)
At least 19 killed, scores stranded in Afghan snowfalls HERAT, Afghanistan, Jan 8 (AFP) - At least 19 people have been killed and hundreds more are stranded or missing after heavy snowfalls hit Afghanistan, an official said Tuesday.Eight members of one family were killed when their mud-brick house collapsed under the weight of snow in Herat province overnight. Other people killed included six shepherds in the province and two others in a nearby district in an avalanche, he added. More than 250 policemen have been left stranded by the poor weather and at least 16 civilians are missing. In neighbouring Ghor province, three people escorting a UN food convoy were killed in an avalanche.(Posted @ 18:21 PST)
Four Bangladesh ministers resign DHAKA, Jan 8 (AFP) - Four Bangladesh ministers resigned Tuesday, officials said, just days before the military-backed emergency government marks its first year in power. The resignations were made by the ministers of health, information, industry and food. It was not immediately clear if they quit as part of a reshuffle or a new crisis in the impoverished country's leadership. “Four advisors (ministers) submitted their resignation letters to the chief advisor,” the head of the interim government Fakhruddin Ahmed, said Ahmed's press secretary Fahim Munaim. He said new ministers would be sworn in on Wednesday.(Posted @ 18:11 PST)
Iranian Revolutionary Guards denies speed boats threatened US Navy ships TEHRAN, Iran, Jan 8 (AP) - Iran's Revolutionary Guards corps on Tuesday denied that its boats sent threatening messages to a U.S. Navy convoy in the Gulf in an incident over the weekend, but it defended its right to ask American vessels to identify themselves.The Guards have said their boats approached the convoy early Sunday and asked the U.S. ships to identify themselves, then allowed them to continue into the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz .“No threatening messages were exchanged,” state television quoted a Revolutionary Guards official as saying Tuesday. The Pentagon however clamed that five small Iranian boats repeatedly “charged” three U.S. warships, dropped boxes in the water and warned U.S. ships that they would set off explosions”(Posted @ 17:20 PST)
Cricket-Harbhajan cleared to play while appeal pending MELBOURNE, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has been cleared to resume playing until his appeal against a three-match ban is heard, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Tuesday. ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said a code of conduct commissioner would be appointed within the next 24 hours, though a date for Harbhajan's appeal had not yet been set. “The code of conduct says if an appeal decision is not given before a match then that player is available to be selected,” Speed told reporters at a media conference. Speed said the appeal would involve going over the evidence presented in the original hearing in front of match referee Mike Procter. “That involves some 10 players and officials who have dispersed,” Speed said. “They will probably re-assemble before the third test in Perth but I don't know whether it will be able to happen before the test match or the next test match (in Adelaide).”Speed added that Australian wrist spinner Brad Hogg had been cited for using abusive language and would appear before Procter prior to the third test. Local media reported that Hogg had called two Indian batsmen “bastards”.(Posted @ 17:02 PST)
Three Muslims killed in restive Thai south NARATHIWAT, Thailand, Jan 8 (AFP) - Separatists killed three Muslims in a spate of attacks Tuesday across Thailand's Muslim-majority south, where a four-year insurgency has left more than 2,800 dead, police said. Three soldiers were also wounded in a roadside bomb attack in neighbouring Pattani province early Tuesday, police said. The region along Thailand's southern border with Malaysia was an autonomous Malay Muslim sultanate until Buddhist Thailand annexed it more than a century ago. (Posted @ 16:05 PST)
Kenyan opposition agrees to mediated talks NAIROBI, Jan 8 (AFP) - Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga will only meet President Mwai Kibaki for direct talks on the country's political crisis if the African Union chief and Ghanaian President John Kufuor acts as mediator, his spokesman said Tuesday. John Kufuor was due to fly into Nairobi later Tuesday. The opposition leader had previously made any negotiations conditional on the president acknowledging that the December 27 vote count was rigged. (Posted @ 15:55 PST)
Sarkozy hints at marriage plans with Carla Bruni PARIS, Jan 8 (AFP) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy Tuesday said his romance with Carla Bruni was “serious” and hinted that he was ready to marry the Italian ex-model and pop singer. “There is a strong chance that you will learn about it once it's already been done,” Sarkozy told a press conference when asked about reports that he was planning to marry Bruni next month. “It is serious,” he said of the romance that became public in December when photographs of the couple visiting the Disneyland theme park outside Paris were published in newspapers and magazines. “Carla and I have decided not to lie,” Sarkozy said. (Posted @ 15:50 PST)
India to develop anti-missile defence system by 2010: official VISAKHAPATNAM, Jan 8, 2008 (AFP): India will develop an indigenous defence system to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles by 2010, a defence official said. The system was currently being designed and would go on trial from 2009, said the chief controller of the Defence Research and Development Organisation. (Posted @ 14:15 PST)
Heavy fog brings Shanghai to a standstill SHANGHAI, Jan 8 (Reuters): Heavy fog in China's commercial hub of Shanghai on Tuesday closed roads and caused the suspension of ferry services and flights. Visibility at the main Pudong airport fell at one point to less than 100 metres delaying more than 100 flights and the cancellation of others, the official Xinhua news agency said. The fog has already started to disperse, it added. (Posted @ 12:15 PST)
Bucknor removed from India-Australia Test, mediator appointed: ICC MELBOURNE, Jan 8 (Reuters/AFP): The International Cricket Council's (ICC) chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle has been appointed to act as a mediator in the row between Australia captain Ricky Ponting and Indian skipper Anil Kumble. ICC President Malcolm Speed told a news conference Tuesday that the former Sri Lanka batsman would speak with the feuding captains during next week's third test in Perth to try and resolve their differences.Umpire Bucknor removed: NEW DELHI: The International Cricket Council bowed to India's demand to remove umpire Steve Bucknor from the ongoing Test series against Australia. (Posted @ 11:30 PST)
Former Taliban commander made Afghan governor KANDAHAR, Jan 8 (AFP): A former Taliban commander who switched sides and helped NATO-led forces take a troubled southern area in a major operation last year has been made local governor, officials said Tuesday. Abdul Salaam joined the government just before the start of the joint NATO-Afghan operation to retake Musa Qala in Helmand province. Deputy governor Pir Mohammad said Abdul Salaam was now running the district along with himself and Afghan army Colonel Dadan Lawang. (Posted @ 11:15 PST)
US Marines open rare 'court of inquiry' into Afghanistan shooting CAMP LEJEUNE, North Carolina, Jan 8 (AP): The U.S. Marine Corps launched a special tribunal Monday for the first time in more than 50 years to publicly investigate allegations a special forces unit killed 19 Afghan civilians in March after their convoy was hit by a car bomb. Many details including the exact number of civilians killed and injured remain in dispute, despite the attention the case attracted in Afghanistan and the U.S. military. (Posted @ 10:35 PST)
Afghan bomb kills two coalition soldiers: military KABUL, Jan 8 (AFP): Two soldiers serving with US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan were killed by a home-made bomb as they were securing an area of Kot in the east of the country, the military announced Tuesday. They were trying to make the area safe after the discovery of a home-made bomb when a second device went off near their vehicle late Monday. One died instantly and the other as he was being transported to hospital. A third soldier was injured but there was no word on his condition. (Posted @ 10:30 PST)
Suharto’s condition worsens: doctor JAKARTA, Jan 8 (Reuters): The health of former Indonesian president Suharto, deteriorated again Tuesday as his haemoglobin level dropped and fluid entered his lungs. “Suharto's condition deteriorated this morning,” the head of the medical team treating the former president, told a news conference. He said Suharto, 86, had been given a blood transfusion. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 161.40, points: KARACHI, Jan 08: At the close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 14324.51, up 161.40, points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:14 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Jan 08: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 62.2, to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:14 PST)
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