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| January 28, 2008 | Monday | Muharram 18, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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Militants free 250 children at Pakistan school: ministry PESHAWAR, Jan 28 (AFP): Heavily armed militants took around 250 children hostage at a school in Pakistan Monday but freed them after tense negotiations with tribal elders, the interior ministry said. Rebels armed with rocket launchers holed up at the school in the remote village of Domail in North West Frontier Province after a failed attempt to abduct a local official that left one of them dead. Police surrounded the building while tribesmen negotiated with the insurgents, who had demanded safe passage in exchange for the release of the pupils, aged between eight and 12. “They have surrendered to the local jirga (tribal council) and released the children,” ministry spokesman Brigadier Javed Cheema told AFP after the seven-hour drama ended.(Posted @ 16:36 PST, Updated @ 19:41 PST)
Musharraf, Brown condemn incident LONDON, Jan 28 (AFP): President Pervez Musharraf said Monday the taking of some 250 children hostage at a school in frontier province was a “desperate act” and vowed to continue to clamp down on extremists. Musharraf, was giving his reaction to reporters after talks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London. The British prime minister condemned the incident. “Terrorism and hostage-taking is completely unacceptable. It is an affront against humanity,” Brown said. “To have taken hostage 200 children is something that the whole world will be both angry about and wanting to make sure is not something that will happen again,” he said at a joint press conference with Musharraf.(Posted @ 19:57 PST)
US diplomat found dead in Pakistan home ISLAMABAD, Jan 28 (AFP) A US diplomat was found dead at his home in Islamabad Monday after apparently shooting himself in the head, police said. Investigators said the man, believed to be in his 30s, was discovered with a bullet wound to the head. US embassy officials were not immediately available for comment. “He was found dead at his home. A bullet hit his head,” an investigation official told AFP. “Apparently he committed suicide, but we are investigating from all possible angles.” Officials from the US embassy and medical teams arrived at the scene before police were alerted, the investigator said. A senior security official also said that a US diplomat was found dead at his home in Islamabad after a suspected suicide. US rules out foul play: In Washington, the State Department said there is no suggestion of foul play in the death of a US diplomat found shot at his home in Islamabad on Monday. Spokesman Sean McCormack identified the diplomat as Keith Ryan, an attache from the Department of Homeland Security working on immigration and customs enforcement at the Islamabad embassy. “It's a sad, sad event,” McCormack told reporters, expressing condolences to Ryan's family.(Posted @ 17:36 PST, Updated @ 21:06)
Israel's Barak met Musharraf in Paris JERUSALEM, Jan 28 (AFP) - Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak held talks in Paris last week with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf even though their countries have no diplomatic relations, officials said Monday. The two men first met by chance in the hotel where Barak was staying and spoke briefly, a spokeswoman from his ministry told AFP. The following day, Musharraf invited Barak for a meeting and the two talked for about an hour, focusing on Iran's nuclear programme, she said. It may be recalled that Musharraf and the now coma-stricken former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon shook hands on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September 2005. Two weeks earlier, foreign ministers from the two countries met in the first such high-level encounter. (Posted @ 12:20 PST)
Pakistani soldier killed, nine wounded in new militant clashes PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Jan 28 (AFP): Militants killed one Pakistani soldier and wounded nine others in renewed heavy fighting near the northwestern border with Afghanistan, the army said Monday. A military statement said the trooper died in the tribal area of South Waziristan. “Heavy fighting is being reported in the surrounding areas of Kot Kai (in South Waziristan). In exchange of fire with miscreants, one soldier embraced shahadat (martyrdom) and five others got injured,” it said. Another four soldiers were wounded in an “intense exchange of fire” with rebels overnight in the Nawazkot area of South Waziristan, it added. Details of militant casualties were not available, the army said. Separately, the army said it had occupied positions abandoned by militants in the northwestern district of Darra Adam Khel. Residents said there was a heavy exchange of rocket and mortar fire just after midnight. “Huge explosions in the area continued to shake our homes for three hours,” a resident of Kohat, told AFP. (First Posted @ 12:40 PST, Updated @ 14:35 PST)
Pakistan denies escaped British terror suspect in detention ISLAMABAD, Jan 28 (AFP): Pakistan's interior ministry Monday rejected claims by the lawyer for British terror suspect Rashid Rauf that his client, who disappeared from police custody, was being secretly held by authorities. Rauf disappeared on December 14 while being escorted by two police officers along with his uncle to a fast-food restaurant and a mosque. Rauf's lawyer Hashmat Ali Habib told Britain's Guardian newspaper that his vanishing act last month “wasn't an escape from custody... You could call it a 'mysterious disappearance' if you like, but not an escape.” Interior ministry spokesman Brigadier Javed Cheema dismissed the claims. “There is no truth in reports that Rashid Rauf is being secretly held by authorities. This is not correct, this is nonsense,” Cheema told AFP. “There have been inquiries going on as to how he escaped.” (Posted @ 14:45 PST)
Suharto laid to rest with full military honours SOLO, Indonesia, Jan 28 (AP) - Former Indonesian President Suharto was laid to rest Monday at a state funeral with full military honours. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono led the ceremony, which began just before noon at the Suharto family mausoleum near the city of Solo, Suharto's hometown, some 400 kilometers east of the capital. Tens of thousands of mourners lined the streets of Solo to watch the motorcade carry Suharto's body to the mausoleum. Many of them waved Indonesian flags and threw flowers at his hearse. (Posted @ 10:50 PST)
West must understand problems facing Pakistan: Musharraf LONDON, Jan 28 (APP) President Pervez Musharraf on the final day of his UK visit on Monday urged the West to understand the challenges and problems facing Pakistan and said the country needs to be encouraged and supported in overcoming these obstacles and difficulties. Addressing senior members of the British media at Hotel Dorchester this morning, the President said his country's success in meeting these challenges will make the world more peaceful and tranquil.(Posted @ 23:15 PST)
Foreign aid workers among four dead in Somali blast MOGADISHU, Jan 28 (AFP): Four people, including two foreign aid workers, were killed Monday in an explosion in the southern Somali town of Kismayo, a local official, aid sources and witnesses told AFP.(Posted @ 22:17 PST)
Jordan buries Palestinian leader Habash AMMAN, Jan 28 (AFP): George Habash, founder of the radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine was buried on Monday in Jordan. Around 2,000 mourners carried Palestinian flags and pictures of the veteran guerrilla leader and chanted anti-Israeli slogans as his flag-draped coffin was taken from a Greek Orthodox church in Amman to a cemetery outside the capital.(Posted @ 22:07 PST)
Israeli troops kill Palestinian teenager in West Bank BETHELEHEM, Jan 28 (Reuters): A Palestinian teenager was killed and another was wounded by Israeli troops during a raid into the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Monday, Palestinian medical officials said. The officials said the teenager was shot in his stomach by the troops who were surrounding a building in the city.(Posted @ 21:39 PST)
Bush to seek $70bn in partial 2009 war funding WASHINGTON, Jan 28 (Reuters): The Bush administration will next week ask the U.S. Congress for $70 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other related operations for part of the 2009 fiscal year, the Pentagon said on Monday. “We'll send up the fiscal year '09 budget (next Monday),” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.(Posted @ 21:37 PST)
300 Afghans die from snow, cold over last 10 days KABUL, Jan 28 (AP): Some 300 Afghans have died in the past 10 days from bitter cold and heavy snow across the country, the health ministry said Monday. Officials said the dead included nomads who live in tents and villagers cut off from food and medical aid because heavy snow had blocked roads. Afghan officials reported on Jan. 15 that 85 people had died in the previous days from heavy snow, avalanches and cold weather.(Posted @ 20:05 PST)
Saudi women's rights body in pipeline: report RIYADH, Jan 28 (AFP): Saudi activists are working on setting up a group that will promote women's rights in ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia, one of them said in remarks published Monday. The social affairs ministry has given preliminary approval to the creation of “Ansar al-Maraah” (Supporters of Women) after two years of negotiations, Suliman al-Salman told the English-language daily Arab News.(Posted @ 20:04 PST)
Insurgents kill 5 U.S. soldiers in Mosul BAGHDAD, Jan 28 (Reuters): Five U.S. soldiers were killed when their patrol was hit by a roadside bomb and then came under small arms fire in Mosul city on Monday, the U.S. military said. The military said U.S. and Iraqi forces had secured the area following the incident, which was one of the deadliest attacks against U.S. troops in months. There were no further details.(Posted @ 19:59 PST)
Indian police bust illegal kidney transplant ring NEW DELHI, Jan 28 (AP): Police said they were raiding hospitals and guest houses Monday as part of their investigation into an illegal transplant racket that removed kidneys from up to 500 poor laborers and sold their organs to wealthy clients. Police suspect that dozens of doctors were involved in the kidney racket, which had a waiting list of some 40 people hailing from at least five countries.(Posted @ 19:49 PST)
Four killed in Chechnya clash ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia, Jan 28 (AP): A Russian serviceman and a local policeman were killed in a battle in Chechnya, officials said Monday. The clash occurred late Sunday when a group of federal servicemen and local police were conducting a security sweep in Nozhai-Yurt region in southern Chechnya's mountains and encountered a group of rebels. Two local police officers were wounded and two militants killed in the ensuing gunbattle, the Chechen branch of Russia's Interior Ministry said.(Posted @ 19:35 PST)
Six young people killed by train in Ukraine KIEV, Jan 28 (AP): A train in western Ukraine ran over and killed six young people who were crossing the railroad tracks in an unauthorized area, officials said Monday. The passenger train hit the group of five men and a woman, all aged 17-20, in the early hours of Sunday in the western Rivne region, the Emergency Situations Ministry said in a statement. Another young man who was with the group escaped injury.(Posted @ 19:27 PST)
Five convicted over Britain biggest cash heist LONDON, Jan 28 (AFP): Five men were convicted Monday over Britain's biggest cash robbery, which saw some 53 million pounds (71 million euros, 105 million dollars) stolen from a depot in southeast England. A jury at London's Central Criminal Court returned its verdict on a series of charges relating to the February 21, 2006 heist after eight days of deliberations and a seven-month trial.(Posted @ 19:10 PST)
Ten people die of cold in South Punjab Multan, Jan 28 (PPI): At least ten persons including two minor children have died of severe cold during last 24 hours in Multan, Muzaffargarh, Sargodha, Alipur, Rajanpur and Layyah. The District Health Officer Muzaffargarh confirmed two cold related deaths in Alipur and Muzaffargarh, while EDO Health Sargodha confirmed five cold related deaths. A coldwave has gripped Multan and its adjoining areas. The Pakistan Metrological Department has forecast similar conditions for the next two or three days.(Posted @ 18:49 PST)
Turkish headscarf issue delays EU-sought reform: MP ANKARA, Jan 28 (Reuters): The Turkish government's bid to lift a ban on wearing the Islamic headscarf in universities has delayed an EU-backed reform of a law used to prosecute writers, a senior deputy from the ruling AK Party said on Monday. But AKP deputy Nurettin Canikli told reporters the reform of the law restricting free speech remained on the government's agenda. Turkey is under pressure from the European Union to amend article 301 of its penal code, which makes “insulting Turkishness” a crime and has been used to prosecute dozens of writers.(Posted @ 18:28 PST)
Imran Khan, ex-wife protest against Musharraf in London LONDON, Jan 28 (AFP): Protestors including opposition leader Imran Khan and his ex-wife staged a noisy demonstration Monday as Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf held talks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Khan and his former wife Jemima were seen alongside some 400 demonstrators who booed and waved their fists as Musharraf arrived at Brown's Downing Street office. The protestors waved pictures of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, chanting “We want justice” and “Musharraf killer dog” shortly before the former army chief was due to arrive in Downing Street.(Posted @ 18:03 PST)
34 killed in western Kenya clashes: police NAIROBI, Jan 28 (AFP): At least 34 Kenyans were killed in fresh violence in western towns, police said Monday. “Eight people have been killed in the Rift Valley,” a police commander told AFP, raising an earlier toll of 26 from clashes across the region. Police said earlier that at least 20 people had died in slums near the lakeside town of Nakuru. At least 164 people have died in clashes across western Kenya in the past four days, according to police. Clashes continued Monday in western towns including Eldoret, a flashpoint in the first round of clashes.(Posted @ 14:15 PST, Updated @ 21:08 PST)
Two Germans killed in Kenyan coastal town NAIROBI, Jan 28 (AFP) Two German nationals were killed and another wounded by a gang of attackers south of the Kenya's coastal town of Mombasa late Sunday, police said Monday.(Posted @ 17:40 PST)
India minibus fire kills four schoolgirls MUMBAI, Jan 28 (AFP) At least four schoolgirls burned to death in Mumbai Monday when a school minibus caught fire after its compressed gas fuel tank exploded, police said. The victims, aged between five and 10 years old, were among 11 girls who had boarded the bus to return home from school when flames engulfed the vehicle after its driver switched on the ignition, officials said. The accident occurred in the Mumbai suburb of Millat Nagar. “The other children have sustained up to 50 percent burn injuries and are presently undergoing treatment in the hospital,” additional police commissioner Archana Tyagi said.(Posted @ 17:30 PST)
Russian ship with 17 crew missing off China coast BEIJING, Jan 28 (Reuters) Chinese search-and-rescue teams were helping the hunt for a Russian ship with 17 crew that went missing in the East China sea last week, Xinhua news agency reported Monday. China's Ministry of Communications was informed last Thursday that the ship, en route from the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido to Hong Kong, was missing about 212 nautical miles east of Shanghai.(Posted @ 17:06 PST)
Somalia blast kills four including two aid workers KISMAYU, Somalia, Jan 28 (Reuters): Two Somalis and two foreign aid workers from the Dutch arm of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) were killed by a roadside bomb Monday near the southern Somali port of Kismayu, witnesses said. (Posted @ 16:25 PST)
Three dead, 17 injured in Philippine apartment blast MANILA, Jan 28 (AFP): Three people were killed and at least 17 injured Monday when an explosion tore through a row of apartments in a town near Manila, Nonong Ricafrente, the mayor of Rosario town, said over ABS-CBN television. Several apartments were damaged in the blast. (Posted @ 15:25 PST)
Cyclone hits Fiji, two dead SUVA, Jan 28 (Reuters): A tropical cyclone with winds gusting up to 140 kpm hit Fiji's main island of Viti Levu Monday, flattening houses, causing flooding and bringing down trees and powerlines, officials said. Two men were killed when they were electrocuted by fallen powerlines, police said. Cyclone Gene, a category one storm, crossed the west coast of Viti Levu and is forecast to intensify and move in a southeast direction overnight towards the capital Suva, officials said. (Posted @ 15:15 PST)
Serviceman and policeman killed in clash with rebels in Chechnya ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia, Jan 28 (AP): A Russian serviceman and a local policeman were killed in a battle with rebels in Chechnya, officials said Monday. The clash occurred late Sunday when a group of federal servicemen and local police were conducting a security sweep in the Nozhai-Yurt region in southern Chechnya's mountains and encountered a group of rebels. Another two local police officers were wounded and two militants were killed in the ensuing gunbattle, the Chechen branch of Russia's Interior Ministry said. (Posted @ 15:00 PST)
Three killed in Thai south YALA, Thailand, Jan 28 (AFP) - Three civilians were shot dead and a soldier was injured in a bomb in a string of insurgent attacks in southern Thailand, police said Monday. Two people were killed in drive-by shootings late Sunday in Pattani province, police said. Later Sunday in neighbouring Yala province, four masked gunmen killed a local government official, police said. During the night a roadside bomb exploded as a military patrolled passed, injuring one soldier, police added. (Posted @ 14:45 PST)
Roadside bomb kills three in Baghdad; fire breaks out in Central Bank building BAGHDAD, Jan 28 (AP) - A roadside bomb struck a minibus in southeastern Baghdad’s New Baghdad neighbourhood Monday, killing at least three passengers and wounding five, police said. Elsewhere in Baghdad, a fire swept through the top four floors of Iraq's Central Bank building before dawn, engulfing the documents holding room as well as several offices of key officials, a police officer said. The blaze broke out about 4 a.m. in the central bank governor's office, the officer said. He said firefighters had the flames under control after about four hours. (Posted @ 13:25 PST)
8 Taliban killed in Afghanistan KANDAHARJan 28 (AP) - A clash between police and the Taliban in Dihrawud district of Uruzgan province in southern Afghanistan left eight militants dead and three officers wounded, police chief Juma Gul Himat said Monday. The battle started Saturday and carried over into Sunday, he said. The authorities recovered the bodies of the dead militants alongside their weapons, Himat said. (Posted @ 12:35 PST)
Russia completes nuclear fuel delivery to Iran TEHRAN, Jan 28 (AFP) - Russia Monday completed delivering fuel for Iran's first nuclear power plant in the Gulf port of Bushehr, the official IRNA news agency reported. “With the last consignment, Russia has fully delivered the 82 tonnes of fuel enriched by 1.6 to 3.6 percents along with the supplementary equipment,” said a statement from Iran's Organisation for Production and Development of Nuclear Energy. Monday's delivery was the eighth consignment of fuel, which Russia began delivering on December 17. Late last month, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the Bushehr reactor would be working at 50 percent capacity by mid-2008. However the Russian constructors insist that the 1,000-megawatt plant will not go on line until the end of the year. (Posted @ 12:30 PST)
Tigers shell Sri Lanka's key military base COLOMBO, Jan 28 (AFP) - Tamil Tiger rebels Monday shelled Sri Lanka's main military base in the island's north, defence officials said. There were no immediate reports of casualties. More than a dozen shells hit the Palaly military complex in the Jaffna peninsula, officials said, adding that security forces were carrying out retaliatory strikes. (Posted @ 12:25 PST)
'Serious consequences' if UN passes sanctions: Iran FM TEHRAN, Iran, Jan 28 (AFP) - Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki warned Monday of “serious consequences” if the UN Security Council adopted fresh sanctions against Iran. “If a resolution is passed ... it will have serious and logical consequences and we will announce it later,” Mottaki told a press conference. Foreign ministers of the five veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany agreed on a new set of sanctions last week. The UN Security Council is due to discuss them Monday. (Posted @ 12:25 PST)
Cricket-India and Australia draw fourth test ADELAIDE, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The fourth and final test between Australia and India ended in a draw at Adelaide Oval on Monday. Scores: India 526 (Tendulkar 153, Anil Kumble 87, Sehwag 63, Harbhajan Singh 63, Laxman 51; Mitchell Johnson 4-126, Brett Lee 3-101) and 269-7 (Sehwag 151); Australia 563 ( Ponting 140, Michael Clarke 118, Hayden 103, Phil Jaques 60; Irfan Pathan 3-112, Ishant Sharma 3-115) (Posted @ 12:15 PST)
India steps up vigil as bird flu spreads KOLKATA, India, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Bird flu has spread to 13 of West Bengal's 19 districts, with samples of dead chickens testing positive in two more districts, officials said on Monday. Experts fear the H5N1 strain could mutate into a form easily transmitted from person to person, leading to a pandemic, but there have been no reported human infections in India yet. “It is very difficult to contain the virus among backyard poultry as villagers hide their chickens and even smuggle it to homes of distant relatives,” said Anisur Rahaman, the state's animal resources minister. World Health Organization has said it is India's most serious outbreak of bird flu. Over 1.5 million birds have already been culled since earlier this month. Another half a million chickens and ducks will be slaughtered in the next few days, officials said. (Posted @ 10:40 PST)
Thailand chooses Thaksin ally to be country's next prime minister BANGKOK, Jan 28 (AP) - Thailand's parliament on Monday chose Samak Sundaravej, a close ally of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, as the country's new prime minister. Samak's People's Power Party, a new group backed by Thaksin, won the largest number of seats in elections last month. The PPP heads a six-party coalition with two-thirds of the 480 seats in parliament's lower house. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
Eight shot dead in Beirut opposition protests BEIRUT, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Eight Lebanese opposition supporters were shot dead in Beirut on Sunday in some of the worst street violence since Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war. A senior opposition source said all the dead were members of Hezbollah or Amal . At least 29 more people were wounded. The violence spiralled after an Amal activist was shot dead when the army moved to break up a protest over power cuts. Security sources said the army, seen as neutral in the political crisis, fired in the air to disperse the protest and that other gunman in civilian clothes were nearby. The army said it was investigating who was behind the shooting. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora declared Monday a day of mourning. Schools and universities were to be closed. In nearby Ain Roummaneh, a hand grenade wounded seven people, security sources said. Cars were set ablaze. Amal, led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, called on its followers to leave the streets. Hezbollah, which leads the opposition alliance, used loudspeakers to urge calm. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Cricket-Bond axed from New Zealand team after signing with ICL WELLINGTON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Fast bowler Shane Bond has had his contract with New Zealand Cricket (NZC) terminated after the player signed for the rebel Twenty20 Indian Cricket League (ICL), New Zealand Cricket said in a statement on Monday, adding that the door had been left open for Bond to represent his country again in the future. NZC was forced to comply with International Cricket Council regulations which prevented contracted players from taking part in the non-sanctioned ICL, chief executive Justin Vaughan said. After penning a three-year contract, Bond becomes the seventh New Zealand cricketer to sign with the ICL. All-rounders Chris Cairns, Nathan Astle, Chris Harris and Craig McMillan have all retired from international cricket while batsman Hamish Marshall and bowler Daryl Tuffey have been overlooked by selectors in recent times. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
Snow storms cause deaths in China BEIJING, Jan 28 (AFP) - The worst snows to hit parts of China for 50 years killed at least a dozen people at the weekend, state media said, with thousands more injured as they headed home for the Lunar New Year holiday. The conditions brought traffic to a standstill in eight provinces, cut off a key rail link and left thousands of vehicles marooned on icy highways, reports said, with the cold snap causing power cuts across more than half the country. A bus that overturned on an icy freeway in eastern Jiangxi Province left five dead early Sunday, including at least two children, Xinhua news agency said. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 24.45 points: KARACHI, Jan 28: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 13880.81, up 24.45, points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:15 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Jan 28: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 62.75 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:15 PST)
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