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| January 17, 2008 | Thursday | Muharram 07, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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Nine killed in Pakistan suicide blast: police PESHAWAR, Jan 17 (AP): At least nine people were killed and more than 25 injured Thursday in a suicide bombing at an imambargah in the city of Peshawar, police said. “Nine people died in the suicide blast and more than 25 have been wounded. Three bodies have been taken to hospital and five are still at the scene,”Peshawar police Deputy Superintendent Zafarullah Khan told AP. Interior ministry spokesman Brigadier Javed Cheema said a teenage boy blew himself up inside the gate of the mosque.(Posted @ 19:15 PST, Updated @ 23:24 PST))
Militants attack bases in Pakistan after seizing fort ISLAMABAD, Jan 17 (AP): Suspected militants attacked two Pakistani military bases with rockets and small-arms fire following the seizure of the Sararogha Fort in the Afghan border region that left 27 soldiers dead or missing, authorities said Thursday. Mortars apparently fired by the army in the region slammed into several homes, killing at least four civilians, including two women, and wounding 13 others, residents and an intelligence official said. Seven members of the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary were killed in the militant seizure of the fort late Tuesday, the military said. Twenty more were listed as missing after the rebels breached the fort’s walls. The military said Thursday the militants had withdrawn from the fort. It claimed the defenders killed 40 militants before being overwhelmed, but the rebels said only two of their fighters died. Separately, insurgents fired small arms and rockets at a military base in Ladha, another town in South Waziristan, late Wednesday, drawing retaliatory fire from troops, the military said in a statement. No casualties were reported in the clash. Separately, three rockets hit near an air force base early Thursday in Kamra, a town about 50 kilometres northwest of Islamabad, but no one was hurt, the statement said. (First Posted @ 10:45 PST, Updated @ 15:00 PST)
Soldiers flee second Pakistani post after threats from militants ISLAMABAD, Jan 17 (AP) Dozens of Pakistani troops abandoned an outpost near the border with Afghanistan Thursday after receiving threats from militants, an intelligence official, a local resident and a spokesman for the insurgents said. However, an army spokesman immediately denied that the post at Saklatoi in South Waziristan had been evacuated. ''I strongly contradict this news and this post is in our control,'' said Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas. The conflicting reports could not immediately be reconciled. The intelligence official, who requested anonymity, said the paramilitary troops fled the roadside post without a fight after the militants warned them to vacate or face attack. The official, who was in the area, said the troops had already reached a military base in the nearby Jandola town. Maulvi Mohammad Umar, a purported militant spokesman, said the troops surrendered after 500 fighters surrounded the post. ''We released them (the troops) under the spirit of Islam,'' he said by telephone from an undisclosed location. ''The Taliban have now hoisted their white flag on the fort.'' A resident in Jandola said the troops had abandoned the post, citing accounts from other tribesmen who had passed by the fort and seen it.(Posted @ 18:10 PST)
10 students burnt in Pakistan school fire RAWALPINDI, Pakistan,Jan 17 (APP): More than 10 students were badly burnt when fire erupted in their class room due to gas leakage here Thursday. The fire broke out in class fifth of F.G Middle School Gawalmandi, District Officer Civil Defence Raja Liaquat said. (Posted @ 11:25 PST)
Jirga refuses to proceed to South Waziristan without ceasefire PESHAWAR, Jan 17 (APP)A jirga of the Mehsud tribe Thursday refused to go to South Waziristan due to growing tension in the region and delayed its departure till the time a ceasefire between the security forces and local Taliban was arranged.(Posted @ 23:19 PST)
Israeli air strike kills 3 Palestinians in Gaza GAZA, Jan 17, (Reuters) An Israeli air strike on a car in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday killed three Palestinian, Hamas security sources and witnesses said.(Posted @ 23:17 PST)
Yemen says rebels kill two soldiers in ambush SANAA, Jan 17 (Reuters) Rebels killed two Yemeni soldiers in an ambush on Thursday, a senior official said, after sporadic skirmishes which threaten a six-month long truce. Supporters of (Abdul Malik) al-Houthi shot dead two members of the armed forces early this morning, the government official told Reuters, adding that 17 soldiers had been wounded in the attack.(Posted @ 23:16 PST)
Israel's foreign minister: Iran nuclear controversy should be resolved via sanctions Jan 17 (AP) Israel's foreign minister on Thursday called on Russia to support stronger sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, but her Russian counterpart said his country remained opposed to new penalties. Speaking at the Russian Foreign Ministry's Diplomatic Academy, Tzipi Livni said, ''I would like to see the translation of the understanding that the world cannot afford an Iran with nuclear weapons into more-effective sanctions at the United Nations Security Council.''(Posted @ 23:14 PST)
Greek PM to make rare official visit to Turkey ATHENS, Jan 17 (Reuters): Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis will visit Turkey next week, the first official visit by a Greek premier since 1959, in what the Greek government said on Thursday was part of its drive to strengthen bilateral ties. Karamanlis' uncle, Constantine Karamanlis, was the last Greek prime minister to visit Turkey in his official role, though unofficial visits have taken place since.(Posted @ 20:29 PST)
Suicide bombing kills 10 in Diyala province BAGHDAD, Jan 17 (AP): A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a mosque northeast of Baghdad Thursday, killing 10 people, police said. It was the second deadly suicide attack in two days in Diyala province. The latest bombing took place in a mosque on the outskirts of Baqouba, the provincial capital 60 kilometers from Baghdad.(Posted @ 20:19 PST)
Seven Canadian troops hurt in Afghan blasts: CBC OTTAWA, Jan 17 (Reuters): Seven Canadian soldiers were injured in two separate mine blasts in Afghanistan on Wednesday night, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. said on Thursday. Most of the men were slightly injured by the explosions, which occurred during a patrol, CBC reported. Defense ministry officials weren't immediately available for comment.(Posted @ 19:41 PST)
Afghanistan’s air force gets new aircraft, hangar KABUL, Jan 17 (AP): Afghan President Hamid Karzai opened a new $22 million U.S.-funded military hangar in Kabul on Thursday to house a fleet expected to triple in the next three years. Karzai thanked the U.S. for helping to buy six refurbished Mi-17 transport helicopters and six refurbished Mi-35 helicopter gunships from the Czech Republic as well as four An-32 transport planes from Ukraine. Some of the new aircraft were delivered last month. The rest are to arrive by April. Ten Mi-17s donated by the United Arab Emirates are to be delivered in the spring. The aircraft will help the Afghan air force transport Afghan troops on missions around the country.(Posted @ 18:49 PST)
Two killed in latest Israeli strike on Gaza GAZA CITY, Jan 17 (AFP): A Palestinian militant and his wife were killed on Thursday in the latest Israeli strike on Gaza. The Palestinians slammed the Israeli raids -- which have killed 26 people in three days in Gaza -- and appealed to Israel's main ally Washington to intervene to preserve renewed peace efforts. “The Israeli raids and military escalations aim to deliver a blow to the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations,” Nabil Abu Rudeina, spokesman for president Mahmud Abbas, told AFP.(Posted @ 16:40 PST, Updated @ 18:44 PST)
16 people killed, 15 wounded in heavy fighting in Mogadishu MOGADISHU, Jan 17 (AP) At least 16 people were killed and 15 wounded in heavy clashes between insurgents and Ethiopian and Somali troops in the Somali capital, witnesses said Thursday. (First Posted @ 18:12 PST, Updated @ 18:20 PST)
Kenya opposition says police kills seven protesters NAIROBI, Jan 17 (Reuters) Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga said police shot dead seven protesters in Nairobi Thursday during the second day of demonstrations against President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election. “Today, seven people have been killed in Kasarani constituency,” Odinga told reporters. “Police are shooting innocent civilians at will ... The government has turned this country into a killing field of innocents.” Police were not immediately available for comment. (First Posted @ 13:55 PST, Updated @ 17:41 PST)
Morocco building collapse kills 14 RABAT, Jan 17 (Reuters) Fourteen people were killed when a two-storey residential building under construction collapsed in Morocco's northwestern city of Khenitra, 40 km north of Rabat, government officials said Thursday. Twenty six people were injured in Wednesday's collapse and it was not known how many people might still be trapped beneath the rubble. (First Posted @ 15:55 PST, Updated @ 17:38 PST)
British Council suspends work of two Russian offices LONDON, Jan 17 (AFP) The British Council is suspending its operations in the Russian cities of Saint Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, its chief executive Martin Davidson said in London Thursday. “The Russian authorities have made it impossible for us to continue our work in Saint Petersburg and Yekaterinburg and I have therefore decided we will suspend our operations in both cities,” he told reporters.(Posted @ 17:27 PST)
Pilgrims throng Karbala KARBALA, Iraq, Jan 17 (AFP): Tens of thousands of pilgrims from across the Muslim world thronged the streets of Karbala in Iraq Thursday. Many joined sombre processions during which men and even some boys, accompanied by drummers, beat their own backs with chains in the devotional self-flagellation that characterises the Ashura rituals. According to the governor of Karbala, Akil al-Khazali, more than 3,400 pilgrims have already arrived from states as far away as India, Pakistan and Tanzania. At least 15,000 Iranians are also in the city. Khazali told a news conference Thursday that around two million devotees were expected for the climax in Karbala, 110 kms south of Baghdad. He added that some 20,000 security personnel have been deployed around the city for the event. Tents and small wooden rooms covered in black fabric have sprung up across the city, where pilgrims are fed and given a place to rest from the intense bustle of the streets. There is also a heavy police and army presence at Najaf, a stopping point for pilgrims about 50 kms from Karbala, witnesses said. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Air force jets destroy Tamil hide-out; clashes kill 30 insurgents COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Jan 17 (AP): Air force jets bombed and destroyed a hide-out occupied by senior Tamil Tiger rebel leaders Thursday in northern Sri Lanka while artillery fire and ground clashes killed 30 insurgents, the military said. The air force targeted the rebel hide-out Thursday near Kilinochchi, the insurgents' de facto capital, and pilots confirmed they had destroyed the target, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said. Pro-rebel TamilNet website reported however that a civilian area was targeted by the air force wounding seven people. Nanayakkara said soldiers captured a three-kilometre stretch of road connecting Uyilankulam and Adampan villages in northern Mannar district Wednesday after a battle that killed nine rebels. Early Thursday commandoes also advanced into rebel territory in Mannar and destroyed a bunker, killing four female rebels, he said. A lone rebel Thursday exchanged gunfire with soldiers in northern Jaffna but later he gave up the fight and committed suicide, he said. Defence officials Thursday also reported the deaths of seven rebels in several clashes across the north the previous day. (First Posted @ 10:35 PST, Updated @ 15:55 PST)
Navy helicopter crash during Texas training mission field kills three crew, injures one CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, Jan 17 (AP): A U.S. Navy helicopter crashed during a training mission, killing three crew members and injuring a fourth, a Navy spokesman said Thursday. The Navy MH-53 Sea Dragon helicopter was part of Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15 out of Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Ed Mickley, a spokesman for the Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command. It went down Wednesday night in a farmer's field about 4 miles south of Corpus Christi, he said. (Posted @ 15:45 PST)
Yemen troops battle militants SANAA, Jan 17 (AFP): Fierce clashes raged Thursday between troops and militants from the minority Zaidi community in northwestern Yemen, witnesses said. Insurgents have been encircling an army unit on Marran mountain in Saada province for the past week, one witness told AFP. The fighting which erupted more than a week ago escalated Wednesday, with troops firing around 20 rockets at the area where the rebel field commander Abdul Malak al-Huthi was thought to be holed up, the witnesses said. (Posted @ 15:40 PST)
Bhutan announces general election on March 24 GUWAHATI, India, Jan 17 (Reuters): Bhutan will hold its first ever general election on March 24, the Election Commission said Thursday. Bhutanese will vote to elect 47 members to the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament. The tiny Himalayan Buddhist kingdom has been preparing for democracy since former monarch Jigme Singye Wangchuck decided to hand power to an elected government. (Posted @ 15:35 PST)
Israel test-fires ballistic missile JERUSALEM, Jan 17 (AFP): Israel Thursday successfully test-fired a ballistic missile from a military base south of Tel Aviv, army radio said. “There was an important test, which was carried out successfully, of a ballistic missile,” the radio said without providing details. (Posted @ 15:25 PST)
Cricket- India 52 for one at stumps on second day of third Test PERTH, Australia, Jan 17 (AFP): India was 52 for one in their second innings, an overall lead of 170, at stumps on the second day of the third Test against Australia at the WACA Ground Thursday. India made 330 and Australia replied with 212. (Posted @ 15:25 PST)
Cricket- Kumble bags 600th wicket as Australia collapse PERTH, Jan 17 (Reuters): Anil Kumble became the third bowler to capture 600 test wickets as India snatched a 118-run lead over Australia, bowling them out for 212 on the second day of the third test Thursday. The Indian skipper picked up two wickets to join Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne as the only bowlers to take 600 test victims on a day when Australia's batting lineup wilted on a baking hot day at the WACA. (First Posted @ 09:15 PST, Updated @ 15:15 PST)
Southern Africa floods kill 40 BLANTYRE, Jan 17 (Reuters): Floods in southern Africa have killed about 40 people. Heavy rains have caused rivers in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi to burst, killing three people in Malawi since Friday and forcing hundreds of others to flee their homes. Seven people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced in Mozambique in the last two weeks, the national relief agency said. U.N. agencies say three have been killed in Zambia. In Zimbabwe, state media reported 27 people have been killed by floods since mid-December. (Posted @ 15:05 PST)
Iran nuclear negotiator in Beijing for talks: China BEIJING, Jan 17 (AFP): Iran's nuclear negotiator arrived here Thursday for talks with China on the Mideast country's atomic programme amid a US push for new UN action against Tehran, an official said. Saeed Jalili will meet with Chinese leaders over the next two days, a foreign ministry spokeswoman told reporters. “The two countries will exchange views on bilateral relations and the nuclear issue,” spokeswoman Jiang Yu said. (First Posted @ 12:45 PST, Updated @ 13:45 PST)
Twenty people dead in Bangladesh road accident DHAKA, Jan 17 (Reuters): At least 20 people were killed and 60 others were injured when two buses collided head-on at a Bangladesh highway Thursday, police and doctors said. The accident was caused by reckless driving by one of the buses on the Dhaka-Mawa highway at Rajendrapur, about 16 km south of Dhaka, police said. (Posted @ 13:25 PST)
10 hurt in North Caledonia in clashes between police, strikers NOUMEA, Jan 17 (AFP): At least 10 people were hurt early Thursday when police in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia used tear gas and rubber bullets to break up a strike by transport workers, union sources said. Police intervened to break up a protest near the headquarters of the territory's public transport company Carsud by about 400 workers belonging to a union representing New Caledonia's indigenous Kanak population. Several police cars were torched, witnesses said. Hundreds of workers were still facing off with police in the streets early Thursday, blocking the toll plaza on the main road into the capital Noumea, local radio reported. (Posted @ 13:20 PST)
Extortion trial of former Bangladesh PM begins DHAKA, Jan 17 (Reuters) - The trial of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, accused of extorting more than $400,000 from a businessman, opened on Thursday in a Dhaka court. (Posted @ 11:20 PST)
Tennis: Sania Mirza sets up Venus clash MELBOURNE, Jan 17 (AFP) – India’s Sania Mirza Thursday set up the Australian Open third round clash with six-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams when she beat Swiss qualifier Timea Bacsinszky 6-1, 4-6, 7-5. They haven't played each other since 2005 when the American won. “I'm just going to go for it. I have nothing to lose. I'm very excited, actually, to play Venus,” said Mirza, seeded 31. (Posted @ 10:50 PST)
10 Filipino crewmen rescued, 19 missing after ship sinks MANILA, Jan 17 (AFP) - Ten Filipino crewmen have been rescued but 10 others remain missing after a Panama-flagged cargo ship sank in rough waters off the northern Philippines, the coastguard said Thursday. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
US opposes Taiwan referendum on joining the UN BEIJING, Jan 17 (AFP) - US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte reiterated Thursday Washington's opposition to a Taiwan referendum on applying for United Nations membership, calling the vote “provocative.” ”From the perspective of the United States the conduct of such a referendum is a mistake,” he told journalists. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
Quake hits tremor-plagued region of Tibet BEIJING, Jan 17 (AFP) - A rural area of Tibet that was only recently hit by the region's worst earthquake in a decade was struck by yet another 6.0 intensity tremor, Chinese state media reported Thursday. The earthquake in Ngari prefecture in the western part of Tibet (population between 1,000 and 2,000) caused no casualties. (Posted @ 09:35 PST)
US to push China on new Iran resolution: Negroponte BEIJING, Jan 17 (AFP) - The United States will seek China's support during talks here Thursday for a new UN Security Council resolution against Iran over its nuclear programme, US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte told reporters. He said he would raise the issue in a biannual senior-level dialogue to be held in southwest China's Guizhou province Thursday and Friday. “We think it is important that there be an additional Security Council resolution because Iran is out of compliance with previously passed resolutions,” Negroponte said. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will further seek Beijing's support for a new resolution when she meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Berlin next week, Negroponte added. (Posted @ 09:25 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 171.76 points: KARACHI, Jan 17: At close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 13674.91 , down 171.76 , points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Jan 17: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 62.7, to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
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