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| January 31, 2008 | Thursday | Muharram 21, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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Lawyers rally for release of former chief justice Chaudhry LAHORE, Jan 31 (AFP): Thousands of lawyers burned an effigy of President Musharraf during nationwide protests Thursday to press for the release of the country's deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, witnesses said. Around 3,000 attorneys chanted anti-Musharraf slogans at a rally in Lahore. Joined by members of Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf party and hundreds of other activists, the demonstrators later staged a sit-in outside the provincial parliament, an AFP reporter said. In what lawyers who organized the protests called “Iftikhar Day”, another 4,000 people shouting “Go Musharraf, go” and other slogans gathered in Karachi. About 1,000 lawyers carrying black flags staged a protest and a hunger strike camp outside the courts in Multan. Hundreds also held a rally in Peshawar. (Posted @ 15:30 PST)
Blast outside Pakistan court, three injured QUETTA, Pakistan, Jan 31 (AFP) - A bomb blast injured three people outside an anti-terrorism court and government offices in Balochistan’s capital Quetta on Thursday, police said. “The blast occurred after an unidentified man parked his bicycle in the stand outside DCO office and three people were injured,” senior police official Raja Ishtiaq told AFP. “It could be a locally-made bomb fixed under the seat of the bicycle,” he said. (Posted @ 12:25 PST)
Ex-military officers call for Musharraf to go ISLAMABAD, Jan 31 (AFP) A group of retired Pakistani military officers Thursday urged President Musharraf to step down and hand over power to ousted chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. The demand came at a meeting of the Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Society in Islamabad. “Musharraf should step down and hand over power to Justice Chaudhry, who is still constitutional chief justice,” former Pakistan Air Force chief Asghar Khan told reporters. He said Chaudhry should form a neutral caretaker government to supervise free and fair elections next month. “We do not recognize any electoral process under Musharraf and the present election commission,” Khan said. Former army chief General Mirza Aslam Beg, who headed the military from 1988 to 1991, said Musharraf had tarnished the image of the armed forces and called on all ex-servicemen to help restore it. “We should also work together to strengthen democracy by removing the only impediment in its way - Pervez Musharraf,” he told reporters Thursday.(Posted @ 17:06 PST)
Pakistan backed by West despite rights abuses: HRW NEW YORK, Jan 31 (AFP): Western powers have ignored undemocratic acts and rights abuses by Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf's government because of its support for the “war on terror,” Human Rights Watch said Thursday. The group said in its annual report that Musharraf imposed an emergency in November to head off a Supreme Court ruling on the legality of his re-election and crack down on a movement for judicial independence. Thousands of lawyers and political opponents were arbitrarily detained in 2007, most of the country's senior judges sacked and harsh curbs imposed on the media, it said. “The US, UK, and EU all issued statements urging Musharraf to end the state of emergency, release those arrested, and hold free and fair elections. However, their actions did not match their words,” the HRW report said.(Posted @ 20:17 PST)
Bomb explodes near Pakistan air force truck ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Jan 31 (AP) - A bomb exploded near a military truck on a main highway in Pakistan. No one was hurt in the remote-controlled bombing in Akora Khattak, about 120 kilometers northwest of Islamabad, a local police official said. Three air force personnel in the truck escaped harm, he said. An air force official confirmed the bombing and “slight” damage to the truck. (Posted @ 13:15 PST)
Pakistan People’s Party calls for Pakistan army to provide security at upcoming election ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Jan 31 (AP) Pakistan People's Party(PPP) called Thursday for army troops to be deployed at polling stations during upcoming elections because of the “grave” security situation in Pakistan. “The Election Commission of Pakistan must use all methods ... including calling the army of Pakistan to ensure peace and to avoid trouble” at polling stations, PPP Sen. Latif Khosa wrote in a letter to the commission ahead of the February 18 parliamentary vote. “The law and order situation in the whole of Pakistan is very grave, precarious and ominous,” Khosa said.(Posted @ 17:08 PST)
Top Qaeda Afghanistan operative Libi killed –Web DUBAI, 31 Jan (Reuters)A leading al Qaeda member in Afghanistan, Abu Laith al-Libi, has been killed, a Web site often used by the group and other Islamists said on Thursday. A banner on the Ekhlaas.org site said Libi had fallen as a martyr, without giving further details. It was not immediately clear if Libi's death was linked to a suspected U.S. missile strike that killed up to 13 foreign militants in Pakistan's North Waziristan region this week. The attack had targeted second or third tier al Qaeda leaders, according to residents in the tribal area. Tribesmen in the area had said a deputy of Libi, a senior al Qaeda leader, had been staying there and was among the dead, according to an intelligence official.(Posted @ 22:55 PST)
Report says US Army suicides rise as much as 20 percent WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (AP): As many as 121 U.S. Army soldiers committed suicide in 2007, a 20 percent jump over the year before, officials said Thursday. The rise comes despite efforts to improve the mental health of a force stressed by a longer-than-expected war in Iraq and the most deadly year yet in the now six-year-old conflict in Afghanistan. Papers prepared by the army show there were 89 confirmed suicides last year and 32 deaths that are suspected suicides and still under investigation. The report also shows an increase in the number of attempted suicides and self-injuries, some 2,100 in 2007 compared to less than 1,500 the previous year and less than 500 in 2002.(Posted @ 21:45 PST)
US flouts human rights with secret prisons, torture: HRW NEW YORK, Jan 31 (AFP): The United States continues to violate basic human rights by keeping secret detention facilities abroad, holding people illegally as “disappeared” and justifying torture, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Thursday. The Human Rights Watch World Report 2008 found no improvement in the human rights situation in the United States, despite efforts by the US Congress to end the alleged abuses carried out in its war on terrorism.(Posted @ 21:25 PST)
Climate change could devastate South Asia, Africa crops: study CHICAGO, Jan 31 (AFP): Climate change will cause severe crop losses in Africa and Asia within the next 20 years unless farming practices are changed, a study released Thursday has found. Those crop losses could lead to food shortages and a loss of livelihood among the world's poorest people, the authors warned. And since it typically takes 15 to 30 years to for major agricultural investments to be fully realized, work must start soon to help subsistence farmers increase their yields and switch crops, the study published in Science magazine said.(Posted @ 21:00 PST)
India revises 2006-07 economic growth, second only to China NEW DELHI, Jan 31 (AFP): India's economy expanded by 9.6 percent last fiscal, the fastest pace since 1989 and second only to China, according to data which revised the growth figure upward. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said on Thursday he was optimistic Asia's third-largest economy would grow by “close to nine percent” this financial year and hoped it might even exceed nine percent. The earlier official estimate had pegged economic growth in the financial year ending in March 2007 at 9.4 per cent.(Posted @ 20:36 PST)
Zimbabwe inflation at record 26,470.8 percent! HARARE, Jan 31 (Reuters): Zimbabwe's inflation jumped to a new record 26,470.8 percent in November, while the economy was estimated to have contracted by about 6 percent in 2007, central bank Governor Gideon Gono said on Thursday. He also announced a hike in interest rates to 1,200 percent from 975 percent.(Posted @ 20:20 PST)
Gaza blockade amounts to collective punishment: HRW NEW YORK, Jan 31 (AFP): Israel's blockade of Gaza denies 1.4 million Palestinians the food, fuel and medicine they need to survive, Human Rights Watch said Thursday, calling it collective punishment and a violation of international law. The US-based international rights group also said in its annual report for 2007 that indiscriminate rocket attacks on Israel by Palestinian militants in Gaza also violate international law. HRW also said that for the first time since the West Bank and Gaza Strip were occupied in 1967, more Palestinians were killed in inter-factional fighting than by Israeli attacks.(Posted @ 20:14 PST)
UK police smash people-smuggling ring LONDON, Jan 31 (Reuters): More than a dozen people were arrested on Thursday as police smashed two of Britain's largest people-smuggling rings, Scotland Yard said. Culminating an 18-month operation, police swooped on a dozen properties in dawn raids across London and the Midlands. The gangs, who had close links to criminals in France and Belgium, were also involved in heroin trafficking and money laundering, police said.(Posted @ 20:02 PST)
Montenegro PM resigns PODGORICA, Jan 31 (Reuters): Montenegrin Prime Minister Zeljko Sturanovic resigned on Thursday citing health reasons, paving the way for the return to power of former PM Milo Djukanovic, the longest-serving politician in the Balkans. Sturanovic, who announced last year he had lung cancer, said in his resignation letter to parliament that his doctors had recommended a “significant decrease of his working activities.”(Posted @ 20:00 PST)
Five killed in Baghdad car bomb blast; rocket attack wounds three British soldiers in Basra BAGHDAD, Jan 31 (AP): A parked car bomb exploded in Kazimiyah, in Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least five people.The five people who were killed and eight wounded were passers-by on the sidewalk or in three cars that were damaged as they drove past the explosion. Meanwhile rockets slammed into a British base in southern Iraq, wounding three British soldiers and hitting Iraqi civilians lining up for work.(Posted @ 16:25 PST, Updated @ 19:48 PST)
Venezuela to build $5bn refinery in Ecuador VIENNA, Jan 31 (AFP): Venezuela is to build a five-billion-dollar oil refinery in Ecuador to go on stream in four years, Ecuador's oil minister Galo Chiriboga Zambrano said here on Thursday. The refinery, with a capacity to refine 300,000 barrels of crude per day, will be built in Manabi province, he said. It will be financed by both countries and supplied largely with crude from Ecuador.(Posted @ 19:30 PST)
Suicide bomber kills Afghan deputy governor, five others in mosque KANDAHAR, Jan 31 (AP): A Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up Thursday inside a mosque in southern Afghanistan, killing a deputy provincial governor and five other worshippers in the latest assassination of a senior official in President Hamid Karzai's government, officials said. The attack came hours after a suicide car bomber struck an army bus in Kabul, killing a civilian and wounding four other people.(Posted @ 14:30 PST, Updated @ 19:07 PST)
Tajikistan seizes 500kgs of Afghan narcotics, arrests eight smugglers DUSHANBE, Jan 31 (AP): Security officers in Tajikistan seized one of their largest hauls of illicit narcotics along the country's border with Afghanistan on Thursday. Special service officers seized about 500 kilograms of illegal narcotics, including 73 kilograms of heroin, and detained eight smugglers, said a state security service spokesman.(Posted @ 19:00 PST)
Blast at Istanbul fireworks plant kills 20 ISTANBUL, Jan 31 (AFP) A powerful explosion sparked by an accident at a fireworks plant killed at least 20 people, injured more than 70 and caused massive destruction Thursday at an industrial area in Istanbul, officials said. “The death toll has reached 20,” Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler said, the Anatolia news agency reported. The disaster in the industrial zone of Davutpasa appeared to result from a chain reaction that started with a small explosion and a fire in the plant. The explosion caused the building to cave in, destroying almost its entire facade. The windows of neighbouring buildings were shattered, large chunks of concrete smashed cars parked below and rubble and dust littered the street. (First Posted @ 14:00 PST, Updated @ 19:06 PST)
Explosion heard near Egypt-Israel-Gaza border CAIRO, Jan 31 (Reuters) Egyptian security sources reported hearing an explosion Thursday near the Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel, Egypt and the Gaza Strip. The sources had no further details on the cause of the blast, but said it was on either the Gaza or Israel side of the border. An Israeli army spokesman said he was not aware of any explosion in the area.(Posted @ 17:52 PST)
Bangladesh says Indian troops kill three villagers DHAKA, Jan 31 (Reuters) Indian troops shot dead three Bangladeshi villagers along the border between the two countries Thursday, an official of the Bangladesh border force said. An official at the Indian embassy in Dhaka said he did not have any information about the incident. “The shootout occurred near Rothnai border demarcating Bangladesh from India's eastern state of West Bengal,” an official of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) border force told Reuters. Another BDR official quoted villagers as saying the victims were trying to cross the border when they were gunned down. He said the border force had lodged a protest with Indian authorities and demanded the return of the bodies of the victims.(Posted @ 17:45 PST)
Court in Bangladesh sentences seven militants to life in prison for 2005 bombings DHAKA, Bangladesh, Jan 31 (AP) A court in northwestern Bangladesh Thursday sentenced seven militants to life in prison after finding them guilty of carrying out a series of bombings, a prosecutor said. The men took part in five separate attacks on August 17, 2005 in Chapainawabganj town, 232 kilometers west of Dhaka, said prosecutor Jahangir Mohammad Selim, citing the judge's verdict.(Posted @ 17:11 PST)
Second Kenyan opposition legislator shot dead NAIROBI, Jan 31 (Reuters): Kenyan opposition legislator David Kimutai Too was shot dead Thursday in the Rift Valley town of Eldoret, the second member of parliament for the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) killed this week, the party said. “He has been shot dead, by a traffic policeman in Eldoret, we think. The circumstances are very unclear,” said ODM spokesman Tony Gachoka. (Posted @ 15:35 PST)
Philippine troops kill militant accused of killing priest MANILA, Philippines, Jan 31 (AP): A militant who allegedly killed a Roman Catholic priest and abducted two other people in a raid on a school in the southern Philippines was killed Thursday in a clash with troops, officials said. Troops recovered the body of suspected Abu Sayyaf commander Wahab Upao after an hourlong clash in Panglima Sugala township in Tawi-Tawi province, said Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino. Upao was suspected of being part of a group that raided a Catholic school in Tawi-Tawi on January 15 and fatally shot priest Reynaldo Roda and seized two hostages, Dolorfino said. (Posted @ 15:10 PST)
Indian air force fighter jet crashes, pilot bails out KOLKATA, India, Jan 31 (AFP): An Indian air force MiG-21 fighter jet crashed Thursday in the eastern state of West Bengal, but the pilot managed to bail out safely, defence spokesman Ramesh Kumar Das told AFP. The aircraft, which took off from Hashimara airbase, 600 kilometres north of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state, crashed during a routine sortie, he said. The plane crashed because of “technical malfunction,” Das said. (Posted @ 14:55 PST)
One killed, 5 wounded in Kabul bomb attack; 4 road workers beheaded in the east KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan 31 (AP) - A suicide bomber exploded a car Thursday next to an Afghan army bus in Kabul's Taimani neighborhood , killing one person and wounding four others, while authorities in the east said they found the decapitated bodies of four road construction workers. A civilian was killed and four other people including a soldier were wounded in the explosion, Ministry of Interior said in a statement. Meanwhile, in eastern Nuristan province militants beheaded four road construction workers and dumped their bodies on the side of the road Wednesday, said deputy provincial police chief Mohammad Daoud Nadim. The four were kidnapped ten days ago while working on a road project in Kamdesh district, Nadim said. (First Posted @ 11:45 PST, Updated @ 12:35 PST)
Sri Lanka blast kills four COLOMBO, Jan 31 (AFP) -At least four people were killed in a powerful explosion in Sri Lanka's embattled northern peninsula of Jaffna on Thursday, officials said. The explosion at Thirunelveli was believed to be the work of a suicide bomber, a military official said. (Posted @ 12:25 PST)
Israeli Army kills Palestinian militant GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip, Jan 31 (AP) - Israeli troops on Thursday shot and killed a Palestinian militant in the southern Gaza Strip who approached the border with Israel, the army said. Palestinian militants reported clashes with the army east of Rafah and said one of their men was missing. (Posted @ 11:55 PST)
Unmanned spy plane crashes in SKorea SEOUL, Jan 31 (AFP) - An unmanned South Korean spy plane crashed Thursday near the border with North Korea during a routine training mission. The UAV slammed into an uninhabited lot near a plant in Pocheon, 50 kilometres north of Seoul, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. No casualties were reported. Yonhap news agency said the crash involved an Israeli-made craft called Searcher. North Korea frequently complains that South Korea and the United States operate spy flights over its territory. (Posted @ 11:40 PST)
Giuliani drops out, endorses McCain SIMI VALLEY, California, Jan 31 (AFP) - Former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani announced Wednesday he was dropping out of the Republican presidential race and throwing his support behind Senator John McCain. Giuliani informed reporters of his decision en route to California (Posted @ 10:25 PST)
Strong aftershock jolts eastern Indonesia JAKARTA, Jan 31 (AFP) - A strong 5.9-magnitude aftershock rocked an eastern Indonesian province on Thursday, one day after a 6.6-magnitude quake prompted a brief tsunami alert, the meteorology and geophysics office said. (Posted @ 10:20 PST)
Security Council urges quick end to violence in Kenya UNITED NATIONS, Jan 31 (AFP) - The UN Security Council on Wednesday deplored the continuing violence in Kenya spawned by last month's disputed presidential poll and urged the country's rival leaders to bring it to an end. Libya's UN Ambassador Giadalla Ettalhi, who chairs the 15-member body this month, read out a statement to reporters after the council heard a briefing from UN under secretary general for political affairs Lynn Pascoe on the latest developments in the volatile east African powerhouse. Ettalhi said all council members “underlined full support for the panel of eminent African personalities led by (former UN secretary general) Kofi Annan in seeking to resolve the crisis.” (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
Cricket: Australian squad for triangular one-day series MELBOURNE, Jan 31 (AFP) - Australian squad for the upcoming triangular one-day series against India and Sri Lanka was announced Thursday. It is: Ricky Ponting (c), Adam Gilchrist, Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Matthew Hayden, Brad Hogg, James Hopes, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds. (Posted @ 09:40 PST)
China's big freeze affecting 105 million people BEIJING, Jan 31 (AFP) - China's big freeze has affected 105 million people, leaving at least 64 dead and millions short of basic goods and sowing havoc on the transport and power networks, state media said Thursday. The mounting toll caused by the severest winter weather for half a century includes 2.5 million people who have been evacuated from the worst-hit areas, or are awaiting evacuation, the China Daily said. (Posted @ 09:35 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 26.83 points: KARACHI, Jan 31: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 14016.94, up 26.83 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:15 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Jan 31: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 62.7 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:15 PST)
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