|
| February 01, 2008 | Friday | Muharram 22, 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 air strike bodies buried, Al-Libi’s death not confirmed: army ISLAMABAD, Feb 1 (AFP): The bodies from a missile strike that killed several militants have been buried and it was impossible to confirm or refute if a top Al-Qaeda operative was among them, the army said Friday. The Al-Fajr Information Centre website reported Thursday that Al-Qaeda commander Abu Laith al-Libi was killed in Pakistan, and a western official said there were “very strong indications” that he had been slain. “Our position is that who fired, who ordered, who removed the bodies etc is not known to us,” chief Pakistani military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP. “We cannot negate nor confirm because the moment it happened, they removed the bodies and buried them. So, how would anybody confirm who got killed?” Abbas added, without elaborating on who buried the bodies. A Pakistani interior ministry spokesman said late Thursday that he had “no information” on the reported death of the Libyan militant. However, intelligence sources said Friday they believed al-Libi was killed in a US missile strike on his hideout in the country's tribal belt. “Al-Libi was there at the time of the strike. No one survived, we believe he was killed,” one of the intelligence officials, based in Miranshah, told AFP. (First Posted @ 10:45 PST, Updated @ 13:20 PST)
Musharraf rejects nuke concerns as Pakistan tests missile: army ISLAMABAD, Feb 1 (AFP) President Musharraf accused Pakistan's enemies Friday of spreading fears about the country's atomic weapons, as the military test-fired a nuclear-capable missile, the army said. “We have taken note of various imaginary scenarios being propounded by those who do not wish Pakistan well. Such elements have never reconciled to a nuclear Pakistan,” an army statement quoted Musharraf as saying. Musharraf said Pakistan was capable of thwarting all threats to its sovereignty and nuclear capability, and urged “such elements” to be cautious, according to the statement. He made the comments after witnessing the launch of the intermediate-range Ghari (Hatf V) missile. The missile, which has a range of 1,300 kilometres, was launched at the end of annual field training exercises. Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani, senior military officers and scientists also witnessed the test, the statement said. Musharraf congratulated the team behind the latest launch on “achieving high standards of training and excellent results.” ”The nation has developed a strong nuclear deterrence capability and expects that officers and men entrusted with the task of deterring aggression would continue to train hard and maintain professional excellence,” he said. (First Posted @ 11:40 PST, Updated @ 12:20 PST)
2 more lawyers released in overture to Pakistan's restive legal community ISLAMABAD, Feb 01, (AP) Pakistani authorities Friday released two more lawyers who had been placed under house arrest three months ago for opposition to President Pervez Musharraf. Firebrand speaker Ali Ahmed Kurd and retired judge Tariq Mahmood were freed in Quetta and in Islamabad after authorities in the two cities decided not to extend their detention.(Posted @ 23:10 PST)
Suicide blast kills five troops in Pakistan tribal area MIRAMSHAH, Pakistan, Feb 1 (AFP) - A suicide car bomber killed five troops and wounded eight Friday in Pakistan's troubled tribal belt, near where a top Al-Qaeda militant was believed killed earlier this week, the army said. The attacker rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into a security checkpost at Khajori, near the town of Mir Ali in the North Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan, chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said. “Five security personnel were killed and another eight were wounded in the vehicle-bound suicide attack today,” Abbas told AFP, updating an earlier toll. Separately, on Friday, two soldiers suffered minor injuries in a roadside bomb blast just outside Wana, the main town in the neighbouring tribal region of South Waziristan, Abbas said.(Posted @ 18:21 PST, Updated @ 20:02 PST)
Aitzaz vows to continue struggle for independent judiciary LAHORE, Pakistan, Feb 1 (APP):- Aitzaz Ahsan, president of Supreme Court Bar Association Friday vowed to continue the struggle for reinstatement of deposed judges and an independent judiciary. Addressing the members of Lahore High Court Bar Association which he visited soon after his release after a three- month detention, he said that detention and arrest of lawyers would not discourage the lawyers community. “The journey we started on March 9, 2007 for the independence of judiciary has not yet ended, and Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry as well as other deposed judges are our heroes,” he observed. Aitzaz Ahsan criticised government for creating problems like shortage of wheat flour, electricity, gas and other utililties and said this was owing to negligence of the authorities. “The government should answer why it failed to arrange the postmortem of Benazir Bhutto along with that of other martyred persons of Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi tragedy,” he said, adding that it should also explain what's wrong with conducting a probe by United Nations' team.(Posted @ 16:15 PST, Updated @ 21:23 PST)
No information to confirm killing of Al-Libi: Minister ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb 1 (APP): Pakistan’s caretaker Interior Minister Lt. Gen (R) Hamid Nawaz Khan Friday said the government had no information to confirm reports that a top Al-Qaeda operative Abu Laith al-Libi had been killed. Talking to newsmen he said the place where the explosion occurred near Mir Ali town in North Waziristan tribal area had already been cleared by militants when security personnel reached there. “We cannot confirm al-Libi's death because the militants had removed bodies from the site where the explosion happened and the security personnel did not find any corpse,” he said. Replying to another question he said the law and order situation in Dara Adam Khel was improving with the help of local jirga. Hamid Nawaz said acquisition of equipment for detection of suicide bomber and explosive material is underway.(Posted @ 19:02 PST)
Soomro, Yemeni PM discuss economic, energy issues SANA, Yemen, Feb 1 (APP): The visiting caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan Mohammadmian Soomro and his Yemeni counterpart Dr Ali Muhammad Mujowwar Friday held one-on-one meeting and underscored the need to exchange knowledge and experience to address issues in diverse fields including economy and energy. Earlier, the visiting prime minister and the members of his entourage offered Jumma prayers at the historic Masjid-i-Shuhada, near the palace.(Posted @ 11:15 PST, Updated @ 18:56 PST)
Independent judiciary must to overcome crisis: Nawaz RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Feb 01 (PPI)- Former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif Friday said that restoration of the pre-Novemebr 3 judicairy was a must for the country to overecome the current political crisis. Addressing the members of the Rawalpindi Bar Association the PML (N) chief said that his party's election candidates would take oath to struggle for the restoration of pre-Nov 3 judiciary.(Posted @ 20:01 PST)
Elections to bring further instability, insecurity in country: Qazi Husain PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Feb. 01 (APP):- President of MMA and Amir Jamaat-i- Islami Qazi Hussin Ahmed Friday said the elections would add to the existing political turmoil, unrest and lawlessness. The election boycott campaign of the APDM has become a movement and the entire nation will support APDM on February 18, he said while addressing a gathering at Ziarat Kaka Sahib in Nowshera District. Political stability and peace could be restored only if a consensus interim government, independent election commission and judiciary conducted the elections. He demanded that security forces should be withdrawn from Balochistan, Waziristan, Swat and Darra and drastic changes should be made in the present policy. He said pursuing US policy would plunge the country deeper into problems.(Posted @ 21:22 PST)
Female bombers strike pet markets in Baghdad, killing 73, wounding 167 BAGHDAD, Feb 1 (AP) - Two female suicide bombers blew themselves up Friday in a coordinated attack on Baghdad pet bazaars, killing at least 73 people and wounding at least 149, police said. Iraqi officials said the women apparently were mentally disabled and the explosives were detonated by remote control. In the first attack, a woman detonated explosives hidden under her traditional black robe al-Ghazl market, killing at least 46 people and more than 100 wounded. About 20 minutes later, a second female suicide bomber struck another bird market in southeastern Baghdad, killing as many as 27 people and wounding 67, according to police and hospital officials. The chief Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, claimed the female bombers apparently had Down's syndrome and the explosives were detonated by remote control. Bolstering that claim, local police said the woman in the first attack sold cream in the morning at the market and was known to locals as “the crazy lady.” Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said about 70 people were killed in both attacks.(Posted @ 13:20 PST, Updated @ 20:59 PST)
Kenya's parties agree plan to stop violence NAIROBI, Feb 1 (Reuters) Kenya's feuding parties agreed on Friday to a four-point framework for talks they expected would resolve a violent political crisis within 15 days, chief mediator and former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said. “We believe within 7 to 15 days, we should be able to tackle the first three agenda items,” Annan told reporters. “The first is to take immediate action to stop the violence.”(Posted @ 23:10 PST)
Five killed, 40 injured in Pakistan road mishap HYDERABAD, Pakistan, Feb 1 (APP): Five persons were killed and 40 others received injuries in a head- on collision between a passenger coach and a trailer on National Highway on Hala Road near Servery Petrol Pump. The passenger coach was coming from Bannu and was proceeding to Karachi. Edhi ambulances shifted the bodies and injured persons to Liaquat University Hospital Hyderabad.(Posted @ 21:32 PST)
Nine die in Kenya violence as UN chief reaches Nairobi NAIROBI, Feb 1 (AFP) - More clashes left at least nine people dead in western Kenya Friday as UN chief Ban Ki-moon arrived here and called for calm. Police said at least eight people had been killed and dozens of houses torched in fresh tribal fighting in western Kenya, after police earlier shot dead a demonstrator in Kisumu, western Kenya. “The killing must stop. The violence must end for the sake of the Kenyan people and for the sake of Kenya,” the United Nations secretary general told a news conference in Nairobi. Ban arrived in Kenya to add his diplomatic weight to efforts led by Kofi Annan to break the political deadlock.(Posted @ 14:00 PST, Updated @ 20:47 PST)
NATO patrol shoots dead Afghan truck driver KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb 1 (AP) - A NATO patrol shot and killed an Afghan truck driver Friday, after he failed to heed their calls to stop near a military airport in southern Afghanistan, the alliance said in a statement. The incident happened near Kandahar airfield after the truck driver approached the alliance's security patrol, NATO said.(Posted @ 20:03 PST)
HRCP concerned over detention of deposed CJP Karachi, Pakistan, Feb. 01 (PPI): Secretary General of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Iqbal Haider Friday expressed serious concern at the 'illegal detention' of deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, and his defence counsels for more than 90 days. Addressing a press conference in connection with countrywide observance of 'Iftikhar Day' he applauded lawyers, political activists, and other civil society members for their ongoing struggle for the rule of law and supremacy of the constitution. He said that a neutral caretaker government and independent Election Commission were prerequisites for fair and free polls in Pakistan.(Posted @ 19:39 PST)
No complaints so far against nazims: CEC KARACHI, Pakistan, Feb 1 (APP): Chief Election Commissioner Justice (Rtd) Qazi Mohammad Farooq said Friday that the Election Commission had not received any complaint from district returning officers (DROs) against any nazim about interfering in election process. Talking to newsmen after chairing a meeting of the commission which reviewed arrangements for February 18 elections, he said: “Elections will be transparent from every aspect and tougher legal action will be taken against persons who indulge in rigging”. He said ECP has trained nearly 500,000 polling staff. Replying to a question he said provincial governments were also preparing list of sensitive polling stations. We are trying to verify these lists from our own sources, he said and hoped that the list of sensitive polling stations will be finalised within the next few days.(Posted @ 19:26 PST)
Dubai ruler names son Hamdan crown prince DUBAI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum named his British-educated son Hamdan crown prince on Friday, the WAM news agency said. Sheikh Mohammed, who has led Dubai's drive for growth, named his brother -- also named Hamdan -- and his other son, Maktoum, as deputy rulers of Dubai, WAM reported. Sheikh Hamdan, 25, is head of the Executive Council of Dubai, which runs Dubai's political and financial affairs and which outlined an ambitious development strategy last year.(Posted @ 18:45 PST)
OPEC agrees to maintain oil output ceiling: Nigerian oil minister VIENNA, Feb 1 (AFP) - OPEC agreed here on Friday to leave unchanged its oil production target, Nigeria's oil minister told reporters, snubbing US calls for an increase to cool prices. The decision to keep official daily production at 29.67 million oil barrels had been expected by financial markets.(Posted @ 17:17 PST)
Indian troops martyr 27 Kashmiris in January 2008 ISLAMABAD, Feb 1 (APP): In occupied Kashmir, Indian troops martyred 27 Kashmiris, including one in custody, during the month of January, Kashmir Media Service reported. Three Kashmiris went missing during custody, 90 were arrested and 111 persons were injured when the troops subjected them to severe torture, KMS report said During the month, Indian troops destroyed or damaged eleven houses with heavy mortar shelling during siege and search operations. (Posted @ 17:00 PST)
Six killed in Pakistan road accident ISLAMABAD, Feb 1 (APP): Six women workers on way to factory were killed and ten others seriously wounded, when two vehicles collided head-on Friday morning near Aliot, a suburban area of Rawalpindi. Three women workers died on the spot. Three others succumbed to their injuries while on way to hospital. (Posted @ 16:55 PST)
Oil & Gas exploration licence granted to new Horizon joint venture for Sindh ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb 1 (APP): Pakistan Government on Friday granted Petroleum Exploration Licence to the Joint Venture of New Horizon Exploration and Production Limited (60% Operator) and Kuwait Energy Company (40%) over Block No. 2468-9 (Jherruck) covering an area of 733.79 square kilometers. The block lies in Hyderabad and Thatta districts of Sindh, falling in Zone-Ill. (Posted @ 16:40 PST)
Dhow capsizes off Bahraini coast, rescuers save all 17 Indian sailors MANAMA, Bahrain, Feb 1 (AP) - Rescue workers managed to save all 17 Indian sailors after their dhow capsized off the coast of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf waters, an interior ministry official said Friday. The ship was sailing with a cargo of rice from India to Doha, Qatar. (Posted @ 16:30 PST)
11 Bangladeshi workers die in road accident in Saudi Arabia DHAKA, Bangladesh, Feb 1 (AP) - At least 11 Bangladeshi construction workers died in a road accident late Thursday near the city of Dammam in Saudi Arabia, two local tv stations reported Friday. The accident occurred when another vehicle collided head-on with a bus carrying the workers. At least 13 other Bangladeshi workers were injured. Channel I reported that several others, including some Pakistani and Indian nationals, were among the casualties. Details were sketchy, and officials in Saudi Arabia could not immediately be reached for comment. (Posted @ 16:25 PST)
India isolates 26 people on bird flu fears KOLKATA, India, Feb 1 (Reuters) - India put 26 people in isolation after they fell sick while culling poultry in West Bengal affected by bird flu, while medical staff were monitoring hundreds of others, officials said on Friday. “The preliminary tests for bird flu are negative, but more tests are being conducted and the list of sick people reviewed every day,” a senior health official, told Reuters. Bird flu has spread to 13 of West Bengal's 19 districts.(Posted @ 16:18 PST)
Pakistan finds H5N1 bird flu on Karachi farm KARACHI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities have detected H5N1 strain of bird flu at a poultry farm on the outskirts of Karachi, but officials said Friday there was no likelihood of any human infection. “Laboratory tests have confirmed the presence of the virus in a poultry farm in Karachi, and we are now monitoring the workers on the farm as well as another one adjacent to it,” said an official of the Sindh provincial government. Karachi is the capital of Sindh. “But there are no signs of any human infection,” the official said. Kamal Akhtar Siddiqui, general secretary of the Karachi Wholesale Poultry Association, said about 5,500 chickens at the farm had died because of the virus while 500 that survived had been culled. “There is no panic. The poultry farm where the virus has been found did not follow precautions and so faced trouble,” he said. (Posted @ 15:55 PST)
Hamas frees Palestinian PM aide amid exchange mediation GAZA CITY, Feb 1 (AFP) - Hamas Friday freed an aide to Palestinian premier Salam Fayyad detained for more than six weeks, amid reports that a release of Fatah and Hamas prisoners was being mediated. Hamas police had arrested Omar al-Ghul, 52, a political adviser to Fayyad who wrote editorials critical of Hamas for the Palestinian Authority's official newspaper, on December 14 from his Gaza City home. “Naturally I am happy to be released and to see freedom,” Ghul said outside a prison in Gaza City. Mohammed al-Harazin, an Islamic Jihad official, told AFP his radical group had mediated between Hamas and Abbas's Fatah party on Ghul and that the release of a number of Hamas members held in the West Bank would follow. Ghul said he would travel to the West Bank political capital of Ramallah on Saturday for talks with Abbas and Fayyad. (Posted @ 15:45 PST)
Ten killed in Indonesian landslides JAKARTA, Feb 1 (AFP) Ten people died in two landslides on separate Indonesian islands, with unknown numbers of victims also buried alive, officials said Friday. Eight people were killed in Aceh province on Sumatra island, health ministry official Rustam Pakaya told AFP, adding that one person is still reported missing. A landslide in Sulawesi's Gorontalo province claimed two lives, Pakaya earlier told AFP, though it is feared the bodycount could rise. (First Posted @ 09:15 PST, Updated@ 14:30 PST)
Sri Lanka troops kill 10 rebels in northern raid COLOMBO, Feb 1 (Reuters): Sri Lankan troops killed 10 Tamil Tiger rebels in a raid on their hideout in the northern Jaffna peninsula Friday, a military spokesman said. Two soldiers were killed in the attack in Muhamalai in Jaffna in which 10 rebel bunkers were destroyed, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said. (First Posted @ 11:05 PST, Updated @ 14:10 PST)
Egypt arrests 12 armed Palestinians CAIRO, Feb 1 (AFP): Egyptian security services have arrested 12 Palestinians in possession of arms and ammunition on suspicion of planning anti-Israeli attacks in the Sinai, a security official said. The official said late Thursday that the arrests were carried out separately near the Rafah crossing with Gaza and near the Ahmed Hamdi tunnel which leads to the sea resorts of southern Sinai. (Posted @ 13:50 PST)
Attack on Israeli embassy in Mauritania, five wounded NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania, Feb 1 (AFP): A group of six men opened fire with automatic weapons shortly after 2:00 am Friday on the Israeli embassy in Mauritania, wounding five people including a “foreign woman,” a witness told AFP. Ambassador Booz Bismuth told AFP that none of the embassy staff, Israeli or Mauritanian, had been hurt. (First Posted @ 09:35 PST, Updated@ 11:20 PST)
US soldier killed in Iraq mortar attack BAGHDAD, Feb 1 (AFP): One US soldier has been killed and another wounded in a mortar attack on a military support centre in northern Iraq Thursday, the American military announced Friday. It gave no further details of the incident. (First Posted @ 09:50 PST, Updated @ 10:55 PST)
New snowstorm kills three in central US LUBBOCK, Texas, Feb 1 (AP): Another storm swept across central United States, burying areas still recovering from an earlier wave of severe weather and killing at least three people. A 40-car pileup on Interstate 40 in northern Texas that killed at least one person was caused by blowing snow that limited visibility and left icy patches Thursday, said Wayne Beighle, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper. The storm was responsible for two other deaths, in and near Amarillo, officials said. Elswhere in Texas, firefighters in several counties battled wind-driven wildfires, including a 2,000-acre blaze northwest of Fort Worth. (Posted @ 10:50 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 42.61 points: KARACHI, Feb 01: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 13974.40, down 42.61, points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:00 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Feb 01: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 62.7 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:00 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 |