|
| January 19, 2008 | Saturday | Muharram 09, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
|
Satellite Parameters for DAWN NEWS Satellite: Intelsat 10, Band -C Downlink Frequency: 4126.05 Mhz Symbol rate: 3255 Ks/s FEC: 3/4 Polarization: Horizontal 
Audio
|
Pakistan security forces arrest teen suspect in Benazir’s assassination DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan, Jan 19 (AP) Security officials in North West Frontier Province said Saturday they arrested a teenager allegedly involved in the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto. The suspect, 15-year-old Aitezaz Shah, told investigators he had been part of a five-man squad deployed that day in Rawalpindi, a senior intelligence official said requesting anonymity. In Islamabad, however, a government spokesman said he could not confirm the official's claim. Interior Ministry spokesman Jawed Iqbal Cheema said he had no information about any arrests, or about any new developments in the Bhutto case. The intelligence official said Shah told investigators that the team of assassins had been dispatched by Baitullah Mehsud. Benazir died when one member of the squad, whom Shah allegedly identified as Bilal, fired at her and detonated an explosive vest as Benazir was leaving an election campaign rally in Rawalpindi. A senior district police officer in Dera Ismail Khan, a town 280 kms southwest of Islamabad, confirmed Shah's arrest and said the suspect had made ''a sensational disclosure.'' The officer requested anonymity. Shah was arrested Thursday in Dera Ismail Khan with another militant identified as Sher Zaman, according to both officials. The intelligence official said that Shah had told investigators he was supposed to carry out a suicide attack on a mosque there Sunday during the Ashura, and that Zaman was going to provide him with an explosive vest. Shah named the man who assisted Bilal in the attack on Benazir as Ikram, the official said. In Karachi, police arrested five suspected militants who were planning a suicide attack there, said Azhar Farouqi, the provincial police chief. He said police also recovered explosives and detonators used for suicide vests.(Posted @ 16:47 PST)
Pakistan troops capture 50 militants WANA, Pakistan, Jan 19 (AFP) Pakistani troops captured 50 militants in an operation in the tribal region near the Afghan border, the military said Saturday. Troops also recovered 10 bodies of the rebels from Chaghmalai area of South Waziristan which was scene of a major clash Friday in which an estimated 30 militants were killed, chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said. “Security forces launched an operation in Chaghmalai area last night and captured 40 militants,” he told AFP. “The village has been completely cleared of the militants,” he said. Security forces also launched a search operation in Ladha town and arrested 10 militants including some of their local commanders, the spokesman said. (First Posted @ 14:00 PST, Updated @ 16:46 PST)
One killed in tribal area clash MIRANSHAH, Jan 19 (AFP) -A man was killed and two people wounded when Pakistani artillery pounded a suspected hideout after a rocket attack on their base near the Afghan border, security officials said Saturday. Suspected militants launched a barrage of 14 rockets on a military base in Razmak town in North Waziristan late Friday, a security official told AFP. Troops retaliated and several houses were hit in Makeen town killing a man and wounding a girl and another local man, the official said, requesting anonymity. On Friday Pakistani troops killed up to 90 militants after the rebels besieged a military base and ambushed a convoy in the neighbouring South Waziristan region. (Posted @ 12:00 PST)
Karachi police say avert bomb, cyanide disaster KARACHI, Jan 19 (Reuters) Pakistani police said Saturday they had averted a disaster with the arrests in Karachi late Friday of five militants planning to attack religious processions with cyanide and suicide bombs. “Their arrest has averted a big disaster ... but the threat of suicide attacks is still there,” provincial police chief Azhar Ali Farooqi told a news conference. The five militants belonged to different militant groups and were picked up in raids in different parts of the city, Farooqi said. “They planned to carry out suicide and grenade attacks on processions,” he said.Police seized 6 kg of explosives for use in suicide jackets, 2 kg ball bearings, one kg of nails, detonators, three hand grenades and two pistols. Police also seized 500 grams of cyanide that Farooqi said was going to be used to poison drinks handed out to people taking part in the processions. Separately, security forces arrested a suspected teenaged suicide bomber, Ismail Khan, in the northwestern city of Dera. Security officials said he was on his way to Karachi to attack religious processions. But senior security officials denied a report that the 15-year-old boy had confessed to being part of a five-member team that attacked and killed Benazir Bhutto on December 27. Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz said the report was a rumour.(Posted @ 16:48 PST)
10 miscreants arrested, explosives seized during search operation in Swat RAWALPINDI, Jan 19 (APP):Security forces during a search and cordon operation in Loe Namal area of Swat district on Saturday arrested 10 miscreants and seized huge quantity of explosive and other ammunition.(Posted @ 22:39 PST)
Five killed in flare-up of Kenyan ethnic violence NAIROBI, Jan 19 (Reuters) Five people hiding in a refugee camp in Kenya's Rift Valley were killed on Saturday by opposition supporters in the latest flare-up of violence in one of the regions worst hit by ethnic killings. A group of armed warriors attacked a village, leaving five people dead and property destroyed. These were refugees in a camp, people thought to have supported President Mwai Kibaki,Rift Valley Provincial Police Officer Everett Wasige said.(Posted @ 22:15 PST)
Kenyan opposition calls for fresh protests NEROBI: Jan 19, (AFP) Kenya's opposition called Saturday for another day of peaceful protest next week after a violent police crackdown on three days of demonstrations against President Mwai Kibaki's re-election left 33 people dead. “On Thursday, we will stage our next set of peaceful rallies throughout the country” Henry Kosgey, chairman of opposition leader Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), told a news conference.(Posted @ 22:13 PST)
Afghan, NATO troops kill, wound two dozen insurgents KABUL, Jan 19 (Reuters) Afghan and NATO-led forces killed or wounded more than two dozen insurgents in a 21-hour battle in the northeast of the country close to the border with Pakistan, the alliance said on Saturday.The clash began when troops from the Afghan army and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) attacked a group of fighters in the Watapoor district of Kunar province late on Thursday as they were massing to attack an ISAF base.(Posted @ 22:12 PST)
Suicide attack kills 5 police officers in Iraqi city of Ramadi BAGHDAD: Jan 19, (AP) Three suicide bombers attacked a police station west of Baghdad on Saturday, killing five police officers and wounding 10, police said.The attack took place in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province.Police shot and killed one of the attackers at the entrance of the station, but the two others managed to detonate their explosives.(Posted @ 22:11 PST)
Hindu hardliners ransack TV office in Ahmedabad AHMEDABAD, Jan 19 (AFP): Hindu right-wingers ransacked an Indian TV station Saturday to protest it running a poll for India's top civilian honour that included famed Muslim painter M.F. Husain as a contender. Viewers of the NDTV station in Ahmedabad in Gujarat state, which has a history of Hindu-Muslim violence. The 20 attackers belonged to the little known Hindu Samarajya Sena, or Hindu Kingdom's Army, and were armed with hockey sticks when they stormed into the NDTV office, smashing furniture and equipment, NDTV reported. The attackers also roughed up two employees, the station reported.(Posted @ 20:34 PST)
Dozens of civilians killed in fighting in DR Congo GOMA, Jan 19 (AFP): Dozens of civilians were killed during fighting between rebels and militia in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, both sides said Saturday, with each blaming the other. The National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) of renegade general Laurent Nkunda said the Mai-Mai militia was responsible for some 20 deaths, while the Mai-Mai Congolese Patriotic Resistance (Pareco) said at least 30 people had been killed. Local authorities accused the CNDP, saying Nkunda's fighters had massacred more than 40 villagers since Friday.(Posted @ 20:19 PST)
Plane with 10 passengers crashes in Angola LISBON, Jan 19 (Reuters): A plane with 10 people on board crashed into a mountain near Angola's city of Huambo, the director of Angola's national aviation centre, Celso Rosas, was cited as saying on Saturday. Rosas told Portuguese Lusa news agency he was unaware if there were any survivors. He said the aeroplane belonged to private company which operates chartered flights in Angola.(Posted @ 19:38 PST)
Spanish police arrest 14 in anti-terror raids MADRID, Jan 19 (AFP): Spanish police have smashed a suspected Islamist terror cell, arresting 14 people and recovering bomb-making equipment in overnight raids in Barcelona, the interior minister said on Saturday. “During our searches, we found various materials which could be explosives or be used to make explosives,” Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba told a press conference in Madrid. Those arrested included 12 Pakistanis and two Indians, he said.(Posted @ 13:05 PST, Updated @ 19:27 PST)
Bangladesh ex-PM, sons attend funeral on parole DHAKA, Jan 19 (Reuters): Detained former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia and her two imprisoned sons were given brief parole to attend the funeral of Khaleda Zia's mother on Saturday but did not meet, officials said. Security officials escorted them separately to see the body of Begum Taiyeba Majumdar, a Home Ministry official said. Taiyeba, 87, died of old age late on Friday at a hospital in Dinajpur district town, 450 km northwest of the capital Dhaka.(Posted @ 19:12 PST)
Seven killed in north Iraq Ashura attack: police BAGHDAD, Jan 19 (Reuters): Seven Iraqis returning from an Ashura gathering were killed in a rocket attack in northwestern Iraq on Saturday, a senior police officer said. Another eight people were wounded when a Katyusha rocket hit a group of people returning after participating in the Ashura ritual in Tal Afar, 420 km northwest of Baghdad, said a police officer.(Posted @ 18:55 PST)
Hamas says it has foiled Fatah plot to kill leader GAZA, Jan 19 (Reuters): A senior Hamas official in the Gaza Strip on Saturday accused rival Fatah of plotting to assassinate Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as he prayed and said the would-be suicide bomber had been arrested and had confessed.(Posted @ 18:40 PST)
Egypt cancels talks with EU officials CAIRO, Jan 19 (Reuters): Egypt has cancelled political talks with senior European Union officials after a European Parliament resolution criticised the state of human rights in Egypt, the Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. The talks had been expected to take place on Wednesday and Thursday.(Posted @ 18:33 PST)
20 Taliban killed in joint operation ASADABAD, Jan 19 (AFP): More than 20 Taliban rebels were killed and over a dozen wounded in a joint operation between Afghan and Western forces in eastern Afghanistan, officials said Saturday. The militants were killed late Friday in Kunar province, a troubled region on the Pakistani border, its governor said.(Posted @ 17:31 PST)
Musharraf urges nation to shun sectarianism through peace ISLAMABAD, Jan 19 (APP) President Musharraf Saturday urged the nation to rise above sectarian differences and strengthen peace and brotherhood in the society through Islamic teachings. “We have to adopt great teachings of Islam by rising above sectarian, regional and petty differences. We also have to strengthen peace, harmony and brotherhood in the society,” President Musharraf said in his message to the nation on Ashura, Muharram 10. President Musharraf said Pakistan was passing through such circumstances which required the spirit of Usswa-e-Shabbiri - the doings of Hazrat Imam Hussain - to be followed for the country's defence. He asked the nation to work hand-in-hand for the projection of prosperity and eradication of ignorance in the society.(Posted @ 16:49 PST)
Four communist guerrillas killed in Philippines MANILA, Jan 19 (AFP) Patrolling soldiers killed four communist guerrillas in a 30-minute gunbattle in the eastern Philippine island of Catanduanes, the local military commander said Saturday. One soldier was also wounded in the battle on the outskirts of Pandan town Friday, said Major General Jeffrey Sodusta.(Posted @ 16:48 PST)
Protests over power leave four dead in east India PATNA, India, Jan 19 (Reuters) At least four people were killed and dozens injured in overnight clashes between police and villagers protesting poor power supply in India's eastern state of Bihar, police said Saturday. Tensions over long periods of power outage in the Kahalgoan area of eastern Bihar state boiled over Friday when protesters turned violent, prompting police to use batons and open fire. Violence continued Saturday with protesters setting fire to two hospitals and some vehicles.(Posted @ 16:48 PST)
Hezbollah chief in public for first time in more than year BEIRUT, Jan 19 (AFP) Surrounded by dozens of bodyguards, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah appeared in public for the first time in more than a year to deliver a speech commemorating the Ashura in a stadium in the southern suburbs of Beirut Saturday. Hezbollah's Al-Manar television station said one million people had turned out for the event.(Posted @ 16:45 PST)
Fighting kills 35 Tamil rebels, one soldier in northern Sri Lanka COLOMBO, Jan 19 (AP) Battles between government troops and Tamil Tiger fighters killed 35 rebels and one soldier along the front lines in northern Sri Lanka, the military said Saturday. Soldiers destroyed three rebel bunkers and killed 12 guerrillas Friday in the Mannar district, southwest of the rebels' northern headquarters, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara. One soldier was wounded in the fighting, he said. In nearby Vavuniya district army troops killed nine insurgents, while on the northern Jaffna peninsula two separate confrontations killed eight rebels, he said. Nanayakkara said another clash in the northeastern Welioya village left six rebels and one soldier dead. There was no immediate comment from the rebels. (Posted @ 14:50 PST)
Russia could use nuclear weapons in preventive attacks in case of major threat MOSCOW, Jan 19 (AP) Russia's military chief of staff said Saturday that Moscow could use nuclear weapons in preventive strikes in case of a major threat, the latest aggressive remarks from increasingly assertive Russian authorities. ''We have no plans to attack anyone, but we consider it necessary for all our partners in the world community to clearly understand ... that to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia and its allies, military forces will be used, including preventively, including with the use of nuclear weapons,'' Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky said. (Posted @ 14:40 PST)
Mosque raid ends southern Iraq clashes; more than 70 killed NASIRIYAH, Iraq, Jan 19 (AFP) Iraqi security forces overran a mosque in southern Iraq where fighters of a messianic sect were holed up Saturday, ending two days of clashes in two cities that killed more than 70 people, police said. The mosque was the last stronghold of the cultists. They attacked police simultaneously early Friday afternoon in Basra and in Nasiriyah, about 350 kms south of Baghdad. Fighting raged through the afternoon in both cities. It died down in Basra during the night but continuing sporadically in Nasiriyah. A police official in Nasiriyah said Iraq's security forces raided hideouts of the cultists at daybreak Saturday, flushing them out of the mosque and houses they had occupied in Al-Salhiyah suburb. “Some of the insurgents were killed and arrested while others fled during the raid,” the police official told AFP, requesting anonymity. The security forces had found the mosque to be booby-trapped and disposal experts later triggered a blast which destroyed the building, he said. Police officials said at least 35 cultists were killed in Basra and 18 in Nasiriyah. A total of 14 police, two Iraqi soldiers and two civilians were also killed. At least 25 cultists were arrested in Naisiriyah and 75 in Basra. (First Posted @ 12:05 PST, Updated @ 14:40 PST)
Bombs strike Ashura procession in northern Iraq, kill at least two, wound five KIRKUK, Iraq, Jan 19 (AP) Two bombs hidden under trash struck devotees marking Ashura in northern Iraq’s Kirkuk city Saturday, killing at least two marchers and wounding five, Police Brig. Gen. Burhan Tayeb Taha said. (Posted @ 14:30 PST)
Cricket- India win third test against Australia PERTH, Jan 19 (Reuters) India beat Australia by 72 runs in the third test Saturday to hand the hosts their first loss since the 2005 Ashes series against England. India sealed victory in the final session of the fourth day when they bowled out the Australians for 340 after setting them an unlikely victory target of 413. (Posted @ 14:15 PST)
Two million attend Karbala ceremony in Iraq KARBALA, Iraq, Jan 19 (AFP) Two million devout Muslims attended the annual Ashura ceremonies in the Iraqi shrine city of Karbala, the provincial governor said Saturday. Huge crowds had packed the streets of Karbala, many beating their backs with metal chains in rituals commemorating the killing of Imam Hussein by armies of the Sunni caliph Yazid in 680. Karbala, 100 kms south of Baghdad, was heavily guarded as devotees from across the Muslim world passed through multiple security checkpoints to reach the focus of their pilgrimage - two shrines, one to Imam Hussein and the other to Imam Abbas. “Two million people have come to Karbala for Ashura,” Akil al-Khazali told a press conference. In Karbala, vast crowds started their long journeys home after sombre processions in which men, accompanied by drummers, beat their chests and engaged in the devotional self-flagellation that characterises Ashura rituals. (Posted @ 14:10 PST)
Twelve convicted over Gujarat riots NEW DELHI, Jan 19 (AFP) An Indian court has convicted 12 Hindu men, including a policeman, over the gang-rape of a pregnant woman and the murder of her family members in 2002 anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat state, a report said. Eleven men were found guilty of rape and murder while the policeman was convicted of trying to shield the culprits, the Press Trust of India reported late Friday. Seven others were acquitted because of lack of evidence and one man had died since the trial began. The crimes took place in western Gujarat state where the government, headed by Hindu nationalist chief minister Narendra Modi, was accused by rights groups of tacitly supporting the anti-Muslim riots. (Posted @ 13:55 PST)
US soldier killed in Iraq BAGHDAD, Jan 19 (APP/AFP) An American soldier was killed when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle during combat operations north of Baghdad Friday, the US military said in a statement Saturday. (Posted @ 13:45 PST)
Tennis: Seeds tumble out of Australian Open MELBOURNE, Jan 19 (AFP) - World number two Svetlana Kuznetsova became a shock casualty on day six of the Australian Open Saturday, with sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze and men's seventh seed Fernando Gonzalez also skidding out. Three top men's seeds have fallen -- ninth seed Andy Murray, Gonzalez, and sixth seed Andy Roddick, who was dumped out in the early hours of Saturday by Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber. (First Posted @ 11:05 PST; Updated @ 11:50 PST)
Seven bodies found in Thai lake BANGKOK, Jan 19 (AFP) -Seven bodies have been found floating in a reservoir in western Thailand, police said Saturday, adding that they were apparently Myanmar migrants who drowned while trying to slip into the country. The corpses of five women, one man and a young boy have been picked up since Thursday in the Srinakrin dam's reservoir, not far from the border with Myanmar, police said. “None of the bodies show signs of assault.” They possibly died after their boat capsized. (Posted @ 11:00 PST)
Israeli strike kills two Palestinian militants in Gaza GAZA CITY, Jan 19 (AFP) - A pre-dawn Israeli air strike north of Gaza City killed at least two Hamas militants and injured two others on Saturday, Palestinian medics said, updating a previous toll. Meanwhile, eyewitnesses reported a limited Israeli incursion involving around a dozen tanks in the east of the Hamas-ruled territory, where hostilities between Israel and the Islamist group have sharply escalated recently. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
Police find 6 bodies buried at northern Mexico home MEXICO CITY, Jan 19 (AP) - Federal agents acting on a tip Friday found six bodies buried in a shallow grave at a house in the northern city of Chihuahua. The agents began digging after an anonymous caller told police people were buried there, the federal attorney general's office said in a news release. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Bush names US general to head Afghan mission WASHINGTON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush has named the head of U.S. Army forces in Europe, Gen. David McKiernan, as the new leader of foreign forces in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Friday. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Qaeda associate gets life sentence in embassy bomb plots NEW YORK, Jan 19 (AFP) - A high-level Al-Qaeda associate was sentenced by a New York court Friday to life in prison for plotting to bomb US embassies in Manila and Singapore, in a case shrouded in secrecy since his arrest in 2002. Mohammed Mansour Jabarah, a Canadian citizen of Iraqi descent, pleaded guilty six years ago to conspiracy to kill US citizens in plots against the two embassies. According to US agents, Jabarah met Osama bin Laden and was sent by Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 attacks, to meet Jemaah Islamiyah figures in Southeast Asia to plan the bombings. Jemaah Islamiyah was blamed for the 2002 bombings on Indonesia's resort island of Bali, which killed 202 people, mainly foreign tourists. (Posted @ 09:20 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Editor: Abbas Nasir
The DAWN Group of Newspapers
Haroon House, Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed Road, Karachi 74200, Pakistan.
Phone:+92 (21) 111-444-777 Fax: +92 (21) 569-3995
webmaster@dawn.com
Make sure to reload these pages so you're viewing the current version.
|
|
|
Contributions |