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| February 05, 2008 | Tuesday | Muharram 26, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Resolution of Kashmir issue is essential for peace in region, Soomro Islamabad, Feb 5, (PPI) Prime Minister Muhammadmian Soomro has said that the resolution of Kashmir issue is essential for the improvement of bilateral relations between Pakistan and India and peace and stability in the region. Addressing a convention to mark the Kashmir Solidarity Day here Tuesday evening, he said peace process should move beyond the confidence building measures. Prime Minister emphasised that we should address the malaise and not just symptoms. He said Pakistan wants a just solution of this issue and has shown flexibility and presented proposals to Indian for the resolution of this issue. Muhammadmian Soomro said it has been made clear to India that Kashmiri people are the main stakeholders and they should be the main beneficiaries of the outcome. The Prime Minister deplored that massive human rights violations are being perpetrated in Occupied Kashmir by some seven hundred thousand Indian troops.(Posted @ 23:31 PST)
Suicide bomber killed in explosion QUETTA Feb 5 (PPI): An alleged suicide bomber was killed when an explosive device blasted in his hand in Q Tuesday night. Police told PPI, An unidentified person was carrying explsoive device at Sabzal road in the outskirts here tonight. The explosive device went off in which he died on the spot. Police and bomb disposal squad reached the site and cordoned the area. Police found body parts including head of the bomber.(Posted @ 23:30 PST)
Hamas fires rockets on Israel, blacking out half of town as Israeli fire kills nine Palestinians JERUSALEM, Feb 5 (AP) - Gaza militants fired more than 10 rockets on southern Israel Tuesday, directly hitting a house and injuring one person, police said. Israeli TVs reported that power was out in half of the southern town of Sderot, of 24,000 residents, after a main electric line was hit. Earlier, rockets had hit factories, causing damage but no injuries. Militants from Hamas group said that, in one hour, they had fired 12 rockets. Palestinian militants launch rockets on Israel almost daily. Israel frequently conducts airstrikes and small land incursions in an effort to thwart the attacks. In Israeli operations Tuesday, two Hamas militants were killed in clashes with Israeli troops in the southern Gaza Strip. Israeli aircraft later killed six people in an airstrike on a Hamas police station, after the rockets struck the factories.(Posted @ 21:20 PST)
Al-Qaeda improving ability to attack US: US intelligence WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (AFP) - The US intelligence community warned Tuesday of the threat of terrorist attack against the United States as Al-Qaeda improves its ability to identify, train and position operatives for such operations. In an annual threat assessment, US intelligence said it had detected an influx of new western recruits to Al-Qaeda safe havens in Pakistan's federally administrative tribal areas since 2006. “Al-Qaeda is improving the last key aspect of its ability to attack the US- the identification, training, and positioning of operatives for an attack in the Homeland,” the report said.(Posted @ 21:17 PST)
Pakistan nuclear weapons vulnerable: US WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (AFP) - Political turmoil in Pakistan has not seriously threatened the military's control of its nuclear weapons “but vulnerabilities exist,” US intelligence said in a report Tuesday. “We judge the ongoing political uncertainty in Pakistan has not seriously threatened the military's control of the nuclear arsenal, but vulnerabilities exist,” the US intelligence community said in its annual threat assessment. Noting that the Pakistani army was responsible for the country's nuclear programs, the report said, “we judge that the army's management of nuclear policy issues -- to include physical security -- has not been degraded by Pakistan's political crisis.”(Posted @ 21:12 PST)
Nine dead as Israel strikes Gaza GAZA CITY, Feb 5 (AFP) - Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip killed nine Hamas militants on Tuesday Israel struck a police station near the southern Gaza town of Khan Yunis with an air raid hours after an early morning incursion by Israeli soldiers in the nearby border town of Rafah left two Hamas men dead. Medics said seven Hamas militants offering prayers were killed in the late afternoon airstrike and another two were wounded.(Posted @ 11:05 PST, Updated @ 21:12 PST)
Support to Kashmiris to continue: Halepota KARACHI, Pakistan, Feb 05 (PPI): Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister, Justice (retd) Abdul Qadir Halepota Tuesday reiterated that Pakistan would continue to support Kashmiris' struggle for freedom, saying political, diplomatic and moral assistance to Kashmiris would be continued at every level. Addressing a Kashmir Solidarity Day rally taken out from the mausoleum of the Quaid-i-Azam he hoped that President Pervez Musharraf's strategy and policies would help resolve the Kashmir issue.(Posted @ 20:35 PST)
Ghinwa Bhutto urges masses to elect honest candidates LARKANA, Pakistan, Feb 05 (PPI) :Pakistan People's Party-Shaheed Bhutto (PPP-SB) chairperson Ghinwa Bhutto Tuesday cautioned people to use their vote carefully, as there were many begging votes in the name of late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Addressing a big gathering on the occasion of the Chehlum of Benazir Bhutto , she said actual heirs of Z.A. Bhutto were the people of the country and not some particular personalities. She said Zulfikar Bhutto is the name of an ideology representing peoples aspirations for progress and prosperity. She advocated full provincial autonomy and deplored that although Pakistan was a nuclear power, it was being dictated by foreign powers.(Posted @ 20:27 PST)
'Political will' of Benazir Bhutto Ratodero, Pakistan, Feb 05 (PPI): Pakistan People's Party has released the 'political will' of Ms Benazir Bhutto written on October 16, 2007, two day prior to her return to Pakistan from exile. Addressing a press conference at Bhutto House, Naudero on Monday, PPP Central Information Secretary Sherry Rehman read out the will which reads: “To the officials and members of Pakistan Peoples Party, I say that I was honored to lead you. No leader could be so proud of their party, their dedication, devotion and discipline to the mission of Quaid-e-Awam Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for a federal democratic and egalitarian Pakistan as I have been proud of you. “I salute your courage and your sense of honor. I salute you for standing by your sister through two military dictatorships. “I fear for the future of Pakistan. Please continue the fight against extremism, dictatorial, poverty and ignorance. I would like my husband Asif Ali Zardari to lead in this interim period until you and he decided what is best .”I say this because he is a man of courage and honor. He spent eleven and a half years in prison without bending despite torture. He has the political stature to keep our party united. “I wish all of you success in fulfilling the manifesto of our party and in serving the downtrodden, discriminated and oppressed people of Pakistan. Dedicate yourself to freeing them from poverty and backwardness as you have done in the past.”(Posted @ 20:20 PST)
PPP releases Benazir’s will naming husband as successor NAUDERO, Pakistan, Feb 5 (AFP) - The party of slain Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto released her will to the public on Tuesday to prove that it names her husband as her political heir. The move follows a whispering campaign that Benazir had not handed the leadership of the Pakistan People's Party to her spouse Asif Ali Zardari, and that she instead picked their 19-year-old son Bilawal. The handwritten will -- dated October 16, two days before the former premier returned to Pakistan from exile -- also says that she feared for Pakistan's future in the face of extremism and dictatorship. “I would like my husband Asif Ali Zardari to lead you in this interim period until you and he decide what is best. I say this because he is a man of courage and honour,” said the will, unveiled at the Bhutto home in Naudero in southern Sindh province. Benazir Bhutto was assassinated at a political rally in Rawalpindi on December 27. The party named Zardari and Bilawal as co-chairmen three days later, after the will was read out to senior party members, but not to the public. The will says that Zardari “spent 11.5 years in prison without bending despite torture. He has the political stature to keep our party united.” “Some enemies wanted to create chaos in the party by spreading false speculation about the contents of the will,” party spokeswoman Sherry Rehman told a news conference as she made the document public. “That is why the party high command has decided to share the will with the public and the media to foil all such controversies and keep the party united.” Addressed to the “officials and members” of the party, the one-page will also says Bhutto was “honoured” to lead them and urges them to continue her work. “I fear for the future of Pakistan. Please continue the fight against extremism, dictatorship, poverty and ignorance,” it says. Sherry Rehman said the will would be included in her autobiography. Zardari and the party are set to kickstart campaigning for February 18 general elections when the official mourning period for Bhutto ends later this week. The will was earlier posted on the website of the US magazine Newsweek.(Posted @ 16:15 PST, Updated @ 20:11 PST)
APHC thanks Pakistan for observing Kashmir Solidarity day Srinagar, occupied Kashmir, Feb 05 (PPI)- The All Parties Hurriyat Conference Tuesday thanked the government and the people of Pakistan for observing Solidarity Day to convey to the world that the hearts of Pakistanis throb in unison with the suffering people of Kashmir, KMS reported. At a seminar in Srinagar, organised by the APHC, Maulana Abbas Ansari, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Shaikh Abdul Aziz, Bilal Ghani Lone, Fazl Haq Qureshi , Naeem Ahmed Khan and others expressed confidence that Pakistan would continue its political, moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri peoples right of self-determination. A resolution expressed full support to President Pervez Musharraf's four-point formula on Kashmir and urged India to reciprocate Pakistan's positive approach to resolve the Kashmir dispute. It also demanded immediate repeal of draconian laws. Despite heavy snowfall in Srinagar today, people gathered in large numbers at Lal Chowk, took out a rally and raised anti-India and pro-liberation slogans. APHC leaders who led the rally said the peoples of Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan were tied together by strong and deep-rooted religious, political, historical and cultural relations. In Brussels, a candle-lit solidarity demonstration was held in front of the Belgian Parliament and Prime Minister's office. The demonstration was led by the Executive Director of Kashmir Center, Barrister Abdul Majeed Tramboo.(Posted @ 19:52 PST)
Israeli air strike kills six Gaza militants GAZA CITY, Feb 5 (AFP) - An Israeli air strike on a Hamas position in the southern Gaza Strip near the town of Khan Yunis on Tuesday killed at least six militants, medics said. Hamas-run television said the six Hamas fighters were killed while offering afternoon prayers. Another two Hamas militants were killed during an Israeli raid near the southern town of Rafah earlier on Tuesday, Palestinian hospital sources said. Since Israel and the Palestinians formally returned to the negotiating table in November, at least 158 people have been killed in Israeli-Palestinian violence, the vast majority of them militants from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.(Posted @ 11:05 PST, Updated @ 19:35 PST)
Egypt rounds up hundreds of Palestinians in Sinai ISMAILIA, Egypt, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Egyptian police rounded up about 2,000 Palestinians in Sinai a day after clashes between masked Palestinian gunmen and Egyptian forces killed one person and wounded 59, a security official said on Tuesday. Egyptian police also locked up around 1,500 Palestinians inside a youth camp in the town of El-Arish. He said all of them had permits to reside abroad but wanted entry visas to Egypt. They will not be allowed to leave the camp until their paperwork is finalised, the official added. Police had detained around 500 other Palestinians in the border town of Rafah after the fighting in which at least 45 Egyptian policemen and 14 Palestinians were wounded, the official said. They would all be deported to the Gaza Strip. North Sinai Governor Ahmed Abdel-Hamid told a news conference: “It is time to take decisive measures to prevent anyone coming near the border between Egypt and Gaza.”(Posted @ 19:20 PST)
Israel kills five Hamas members in Gaza strike GAZA, Feb 5 (Reuters) - At least five Hamas members were killed in an Israeli missile strike on a Hamas security position in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the Islamist group said. Israeli army confirmed the air strike.(Posted @ 19:01 PST)
Cricket: Rain ruins second tri series match BRISBANE, Australia, Feb 5 (AFP) - The second match in the triangular one-day cricket series was abandoned here on Tuesday when heavy rain stopped Sri Lanka from taking the field in pursuit of India's total of 267 for four. Tuesday's match suffered the same fate as Sunday's tri series opener between Australia and India. Earlier, India finished on 267 after at one stage slumping to 83-4, losing three wickets for just three runs. Gambhir made an unbeaten 102 from 101 balls and Dhoni 88 from 95 deliveries.(Posted @ 18:57 PST)
Three jailed for 1999 Indian plane hijack NEW DELHI, Feb 5 (AFP) - A court in the northern town of Patiala on Tuesday handed down life terms to three Indian nationals (Abdul Latif, Bhupal Man Damai and Dalip Kumar Bhujel) found guilty of conspiracy in the 1999 hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight, a report said. The Kathmandu-New Delhi flight, carrying 183 passengers and crew, was hijacked and flown to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan on December 24, 1999 by five armed men who India says were Pakistani nationals. One passenger was stabbed to death while the remaining hostages were freed a week later after New Delhi swapped them for three imprisoned Kashmiri militants. The hijackers and the three freed rebels were in turn allowed by the Taliban to go free, and they have never been caught. Indian police arrested Latif, Damai and Bhujel in early 2000 in Mumbai. Defence lawyer Sodhi said his client, Latif, had been made a “scapegoat.” The three convicts, all Indian nationals, can appeal against the verdict in a higher court.(Posted @ 18:57 PST)
Benazir’s will released by party ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The party of assassinated Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto published her political will on Tuesday in which she called for her husband to lead the party and said she feared for the country's future. Spokeswoman Sherry Rehman said the will was being released to end any doubts about Benazir Bhutto's wishes for the leadership of the party. The one-page, hand-written document was dated Oct. 16, two days before she returned to Pakistan from eight years of self-exile, according to copies shown on Pakistani television. Sherry Rehman read out the document at a news conference. She said it was Bhutto's political will. Her personal will, dealing with her assets, was private, she said. Another party spokesman, Farhatullah Babar, said there had been questions about why the will had not been made public at the time of her funeral. “Everybody now can see it. It's her own writing and any doubt or misgivings there are about leadership of the party will be set aside,” Babar said.(Posted @ 17:54 PST)
Iran will have nuclear weapon in three years: Mossad JERUSALEM, Feb 5 (AFP) - Israel's Mossad spy agency estimates Iran will develop a nuclear weapon within three years and continue to provide rockets to regional armed groups, a newspaper reported on Tuesday. Mossad director Meir Dagan, in an intelligence assessment presented to Israel's powerful foreign affairs and defence committee on Monday, said the Jewish state would face increased threats on all fronts, Maariv daily said. In Monday's report, Dagan also predicted that Tehran would continue to supply more and better rockets and training to Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip. Dagan added that Iran's allies Syria and the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah were also working to develop an increased rocket ability. “Syria is improving its surface-to-surface missile system and today the quantity of missiles and rockets is twice as large as two years ago,” Dagan said, according to Maariv.(Posted @ 17:43 PST)
Pakistani police tear-gas justice Iftikhar’s supporters ISLAMABAD, Feb 5 (AFP) - Riot police used tear-gas on Tuesday to disperse hundreds of protesters who tried to reach the residence of the deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry inIslamabad, witnesses and officials said. The procession -- originally held to mark a national “solidarity day” with the people of Kashmir -- was stopped before it reached the house of justice Chaudhry. Police fired three tear-gas shells at the stone-throwing demonstrators who dispersed and no arrests were reported. The protesters were led by Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed. The demonstrators chanted anti-Musharraf slogans. Qazi Husain Ahmed told the rally that his party would continue to fight “until the judiciary is restored.” He said his party would also hold a solidarity march to the house of nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, who has been under house arrest since 2004.(Posted @ 17:39 PST)
Suicide bomber kills eight anti-Qaeda members TARMIYAH, Iraq, Feb 5 (AFP) - A suicide bomber Tuesday killed eight members of an anti-Qaeda front and wounded several others as he triggered his explosive vest at a checkpoint outside the home of Sheikh Shathr al-Obeidi, leader of a tribal “Awakening” group in Awad village near Taji, about 40 kilometres north of Baghdad, a police officer said. “The target of the attack was Sheikh Shathr al-Obeidi.”(Posted @ 17:31 PST)
Pakistan observes Kashmir Solidarity Day LAHORE, Feb.5 (PPI):- Kashmir Solidarity Day is being observed throughout Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir in their struggle for the right of self-determination and to pay homage to those who have sacrificed their lives for the noble cause. Various political, social and cultural organizations held rallies, took out processions and oganised meetings, seminars etc. APHC’s AJK and Pakistan Chaper took out a rally in Islamabad. In Lahore, a meeting was held under the aegis of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) at the residence of former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif. The Jamaat-Dawa Pakistan organized a conference at Mall Road - Masjid-i-Shuhida. Similar meetings were held in all cities and towns across the country and in Azad Kashmir including Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Kotli etc.(Posted @ 17:31 PST)
APHC calls on World community to pressurize India to resolve Kashmir issue ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb, 05 (PPI): All-Parties Hurriyet Conference’s AJK and Pakistan Chapter Tuesday called on the world community to exert pressure on India to resolve the issue of Kashmir in accordance with the wishes of Kashmiri people. Convenor Syed Yousuf Naseem addressing the participants of a rally outside the Indian Embassy on the occasion of the Kashmir Solidarity Day said durable and lasting peace can not be achieved in the region without the resolution of Kashmir issue. India has deployed 800,000 troops in occupied Kashmir who are committing atrocities against the innocent Kashmiri people, he said but affirmed that despite Indian repression Kashmiri people will not abandon their independence struggle till the achievement of their goal. Other leaders including Manzoor-ul-Haq Batt , and Syed Akram Shah also addressed the rally.(Posted @ 17:05 PST)
Pakistan poultry workers being tested for bird flu ISLAMABAD, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Health authorities in Pakistan including a team from the World Health Organisation are doing tests on 12 workers from a farm in Karachi where the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus was detected in poultry, a Health Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday. “Preliminary samples were taken and found negative but the WHO wants to confirm it,” said the spokesman, Orya Maqbool Jan Abbasi.(Posted @ 16:46 PST)
Afghanistan could become failed state as insurgency spreads LONDON, Feb 5(AFP) - Afghanistan risks becoming a failed state if NATO troops do not defeat the Taliban, boosting Islamist extremism worldwide, a study said Tuesday, warning the West is struggling with a lack of resources. The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) also lamented growing signs that the insurgency is expanding from the south of the country into northern provinces, with rebels learning lessons from Iraq. Elsewhere the London-based think tank noted progress by the so-called surge in Iraq, but warned that US and other troops face being in the country for a generation.(Posted @ 16:30 PST)
Two killed as Indian police fire on protesters KOLKATA, India, Feb 5 (AFP) - Two people were killed and at least 20 injured when police in India opened fire on a rally protesting at unemployment levels in poverty-hit West Bengal state, an official said. Police said the rally had turned violence when demonstrators threw stones, adding that officers first responded with a baton charge but then opened fire to control the crowd. Hundreds of leftwing Forward Bloc party members joined the protest in West Bengal's northern Cooch Behar district, some 600 kilometres from Kolkata. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
PPP to release Benazir's will: party officials LARKANA, Pakistan, Feb 5 (AFP) Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party is to publicly release her will on Tuesday to prove that it names the slain Pakistani opposition leader's husband as her political heir, party spokesman Farhatullah Babar said. The move follows a whispering campaign that the document had not named her spouse Asif Ali Zardari, and that she had instead picked their 19-year-old son Bilawal to lead the party. A copy of the handwritten will dated October 16 -- two days before she returned to Pakistan from exile and just over two months before her assassination -- was posted on the website of the US magazine Newsweek. “I would like my husband Asif Ali Zardari to lead you in this interim period until you and he decide what is best. I say this because he is a man of courage and honour,” the will says. “He spent 11 1/2 years in prison without bending despite torture. He has the political stature to keep our party united.” “This is the will and it is going to be released by the party today in Naudero,” the ancestral home of the Bhutto family, spokesman Farhatullah Babar told AFP. “This (will) was read out as part of her will by chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in the meeting” on December 30, senior party official Taj Haider told AFP. “It was on the basis of this letter that Mr Zardari was given the leadership and on his proposal Bilawal was made the chairman. The party unanimously accepted these decisions,” Haider said. Addressed to the “officials and members” of the party, the letter says Bhutto was “honoured” to lead them and urges them to continue her work. “I fear for the future of Pakistan. Please continue the fight against extremism, dictatorship, poverty and ignorance”. Zardari and the party are set to kickstart campaigning for February 18 general elections when the official mourning period for Bhutto ends later this week. Bilawal is currently studying in Britain. (Posted @ 16:15 PST)
Anger boils over as Egypt rounds up Palestinians CAIRO, Feb 5 (AFP) - Hundreds of Palestinians furious at being rounded up by Egyptian authorities following deadly clashes at the border with Gaza set fire to a government building on Tuesday, a security source said. “Egyptian authorities rounded up at least 500 Palestinians in the town of Rafah late Monday and took them to an administrative building,” after a Palestinian was shot dead in the border violence, the source told AFP. “They set fire to the building, broke windows and destroyed furniture,” the source said, adding that the Palestinians would be allowed back into Gaza “once the arrangements are made.” Another 1,500 Palestinians who live in other Arab countries and who need visas to leave Egypt have been taken to a youth hostel in Al-Arish, west of Rafah, until their papers are ready, the source said. (Posted @ 16:05 PST)
Roadside bombs kill seven in Afghanistan KANDAHAR, Feb 5 (AFP): Two roadside bombs killed seven people in Afghanistan in new attacks, five of them civilians from the same family, police said TuesdayA remote-controlled bomb struck an estate car (station wagon) in Helmand province on Monday, the provincial police chief told AFP. “Five people -- a woman, two children and two men, all members of the same family -- were killed in the roadside blast. One person was wounded,” he said. Another bomb, also remotely controlled, hit a police patrol in Kandahar province late Tuesday and killed two police, the provincial police chief said. Another three policemen were wounded, he said. (Posted @ 14:15 PST)
Iran angered over India's launch of Israeli spy satellite NEW DELHI, Feb 5 (AFP): Iran said Tuesday it had lodged an official complaint with New Delhi over India's commercial launch of an Israeli spy satellite last month. “The Indian government says the issue is a technical and commercial one, but we hope the matter can be considered from the point of view of protocol,” Iran's ambassador to New Delhi, Sayed Mahdi Nabizadeh, told reporters. “We hope that an independent and wise country like India will not give their space technology to launch any instruments of espionage. Our officials have expressed our point of view,” he added.(Posted @ 13:50 PST)
Rebels in Chad say they accept ceasefire NDJAMENA, Feb 5 (AFP): Rebels who attacked Chad's capital Ndjamena over the weekend said Tuesday they accepted the principle of an immediate ceasefire, as they blamed France for “enormous” civilian casualties. 20,000 Chad refugees in Cameroon; UNHCR: The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said Tuesday about 20,000 Chadians had taken refuge in Cameroon to escape fighting between rebels and government forces in Njdamena, The figure comes from a UNHCR team that has reached the Cameroonian border town of Kousseri, 15 kilometres from the Chadian capital, said a spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency in Geneva.(Posted @ 13:50 PST)
India says bird flu outbreak in east contained KOLKATA, Feb 5 (Reuters): India's worst outbreak of bird flu appears to be under control, with a massive cull of poultry to contain the disease almost completed, health officials said on Tuesday. More than 3.4 million birds have been culled in West Bengal, where 13 of the 19 districts have been affected by the H5N1 bird flu virus since the disease was first reported last month, state officials said. “Culling is almost over and we are now conducting mopping up operations in the infected areas,” the state's animal resources minister, told Reuters.(Posted @ 13:45 PST)
Singapore commissions three warships SINGAPORE, Feb 5 (AFP): Singapore commissioned three state-of-the art warships on Tuesday, further strengthening one of Asia's most modern armed forces. The new frigates join one that entered service last year. Two more are expected to become operational next year, the Ministry of Defence said in a news release. Under a technology transfer agreement with French shipbuilder Direction des Constructions Navales, the first ship was designed and built in France. The rest were built in Singapore, the ministry said.(Posted @ 13:45 PST)
Blast wounds one in Karachi KARACHI, Feb 5 (AP): A blast Tuesday wounded one person in an army district of Karachi Police initially reported that a bomb planted under a tree near a hospital had exploded, less than a kilometer) from the residence of the U.S. consul general, but later said the blast was caused by a concentration of gas in a pipe.Tahir Naveed, a senior police officer, said one passerby was injured.(Posted @ 13:40 PST Updated 12:40 PST)
Philippines troops kill eight civilians MANILA, Feb 5 (Reuters): At least eight civilians, including three women and two children, were killed when Philippine troops raided a coastal village on a remote southern island, local officials said on Tuesday. They said the civilians were killed during a pre-dawn mission on Monday by navy commandos to rescue two hostages held by the Abu Sayyaf rebel group. “We condemned this dastardly act,” said Abdusakur Tan, governor of Jolo island, where flags were being flown at half mast in a mark of mourning. (Posted @ 13:23 PST)
Two police killed, three wounded in Afghanistan roadside blast KANDAHAR, Feb 5 (AP): A roadside blast hit a police patrol in southern Afghanistan, leaving two officers dead and three others wounded, an official said Tuesday. The patrol was attacked inside Kandahar city late Monday, said Kandahar provincial police chief Sayed Agha Saqib. He blamed Taliban militants for the attack. (Posted @ 13:16 PST)
Strong quake rocks Indonesia's Sulawesi JAKARTA, Feb 5 (AFP): A strong 5.8-magnitude earthquake hit off the western coast of Indonesia's Sulawesi island Tuesday, seismologists said. Indonesia's meteorology and geophysics office said the quake that struck at 0556 GMT was centred 104 kilometres northwest of Majene town in South Sulawesi at a depth of 44 kilometres under the seabed. The United States Geological Survey measured the quake at 5.9. (Posted @ 13:10 PST)
Britain's Prince Andrew attacks Bush's Iraq policy LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters): Britain's Prince Andrew launched a forceful attack on Tuesday against United States President George W. Bush, accusing his administration of failing to listen and learn from Britain during the conflict in Iraq. In a rare newspaper interview ahead of a scheduled 10-day visit to America to support British business, the prince said the aftermath of the Iraq war had left Britons with a “healthy scepticism” towards what is said in Washington. The prince, who also carries the title Duke of York and fourth in line to the English throne, said that while Britain remained America's number one ally, the post-war situation in Iraq had many here to wonder: “Why didn't anyone listen to what was said and the advice that was given”. (Posted @ 12:50 PST)
Rebels battle government troops for third day in Chad's capital N'DJAMENA, Feb 5 (AP): African mediators are expected Tuesday in the capital from where thousands of people have fled as rebels renewed their most forceful attempt yet to oust President Idriss Deby. The fighting in N'Djamena threatened to further destabilize an already violent swath of Africa that is home to hundreds of thousands of refugees. Hours after the rebels went back on the attack Monday, the U.N. Security Council authorized France and other nations to help Chad's government. France has 1,800 soldiers backed by fighter jets in its former colony. (Posted @ 12:45 PST)
Bomb blast in Karachi, no casualties: police KARACHI, Feb 5 (AFP): A bomb exploded Tuesday in a high security area in the city of Karachi where the residence of the US consul general is located, but there were no casualties, police said. The small device was hidden under a tree and destroyed part of the boundary wall of a hospital, senior police official Tahir Naved told AFP. The tightly-guarded zone where the explosion happened houses the local army headquarters, the offices of a Pakistani intelligence agency and the US envoy's residence. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. (Posted @ 12:40 PST)
US, German officials wrangle over controversial Afghanistan letter WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (AFP): US and German officials had a sharp exchange of words over a controversial letter by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates to his German counterpart demanding troops and helicopters for insurgency-wracked Afghanistan. Eckart von Klaeden, foreign policy spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), said the note -- reported to be unusually stern -- was “not really helpful” in boosting US ties with Germany or Europe. (Posted @ 12:23 PST)
India 267-4 v Sri Lanka - innings SYDNEY, Feb 5 (Reuters): India made 267 for four from their 50 overs in their tri-series one-day international against Sri Lanka at the Gabba in Brisbane on Tuesday. Scores: India 267 for four from 50 overs (Gautam Gambhir 102 not out, Mahendra Singh Dhoni 88 not out). (Posted @ 12:23 PST)
Rawalpindi suicide blast bomber's head found ISLAMABAD, Feb 5 (AFP): The authorities Tuesday were reconstructing the severed head of a suicide bomber found at the site of an attack on a military bus that left seven people dead, officials said. Police said they hoped to trace those behind Monday's bombing which targeted army medical staff going to work in Rawalpindi. “We found the head of the suicide attacker and experts are doing a reconstruction of his face. We have several clues but no lead yet,” Rawalpindi police chief Saud Aziz told AFP. “Joint investigation teams of civilian and military officials have started work,” Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz told AFP. Chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said the death toll from Monday's bombing had risen to seven overnight, with 40 others wounded including seven civilians. (Posted @ 12:12 PST)
Fresh Sri Lanka fighting kills 20 rebels, two soldiers COLOMBO, Feb 5 (AP): Fresh fighting between security forces and Tamil separatists in Sri Lanka's north killed 20 rebels and two soldiers as air force jets bombed a rebel base, the military said Tuesday. The combatants were killed in 10 separate battles Monday in Mannar, Vavuniya and Welioya regions just south of the Tamil Tigers' de facto state, said a military spokesman. The air force also sent fighter jets to bomb a suspected rebel operations center Tuesday morning, the military said. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage in the air raid. A rebel spokesman did not answer a telephone call seeking comment. (Posted @ 11:15 PST)
Israeli troops kill two Hamas gunmen in Gaza GAZA, Feb 5 (Reuters): Israel said its troops killed two Palestinians from the Hamas movement on Tuesday near the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. The incident occurred after the group's armed wing claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed a woman in southern Israel on Monday. It was the first such attack inside Israel claimed by the group since 2004. (Posted @ 11:05 PST)
New Thai cabinet to be sworn in on Wednesday BANGKOK, Feb 5 (Reuters): Thailand's new civilian cabinet will receive royal endorsement and be sworn in on Wednesday, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said as the country returns to elected government following a 2006 coup. “Tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. I will bring the new cabinet to have an audience with His Majesty,” Samak told reporters on Tuesday. (Posted @ 11:05 PST)
Bangladesh gas worker took 145 million dollars in bribes: official DHAKA, Feb 5 (AFP): An employee of Bangladesh's biggest state-owned gas company who earned a mere 100 dollars a month managed to pocket a colossal $145 million in bribes over 12 years, an official said Tuesday. “It is a theft of unimaginable scale,” said the head of the government's anti-corruption body. He identified the culprit as a former sales assistant with the Titas Gas Distribution Company who made illicit cash by undercharging thousands of factories before leaving his job in 1997. (Posted @ 10:55 PST)
Cold weather kills 37 people in Afghanistan KABUL, Feb 5 (AP): Bitter cold weather and heavy snow left 37 people dead in central Afghanistan, the governor of Ghazni province said Tuesday. The victims, including 20 children, died in remote areas of the province in the last 24 hours, said Governor Faizullah Faizan. He said air drops of food and other supplies were needed in areas affected by freezing weather and snow after roads were blocked off and people unable to reach health centers and food distribution points. (Posted @ 10:43 PST)
China says 11 electricians killed trying to restore power after winter storms CHENZHOU, Feb 5 (AP): Workers rushed to restore power Tuesday to regions of China hard-hit by snow and ice storms in a struggle that state media said has already cost the lives of 11 electricians. The country's central and eastern districts suffered widespread blackouts after the freak storms that began on Jan. 10, paralyzing a region unused to harsh winter weather and woefully unprepared to clear ice and snow. (Posted @ 10:40 PST)
One killed, 44 wounded in Palestinian-Egyptian clash RAFAH, Gaza Strip, Feb 5 (AP): Egyptian forces and Hamas police exchanged fire across the Gaza-Egypt border Monday, a day after Egypt resealed the frontier and Hamas leaders warned they would not permit Gaza's only gate to the world to remain closed for long. One Palestinian was killed and at least 44 people -- 38 Egyptians troops and six Gazans --were wounded in the worst outbreak of violence since Jan. 23, when Hamas militants first breached the border wall. Monday's firefight erupted around dusk, and occasional gunshots could still be heard after nightfall. (Posted @ 10:40 PST)
Two earthquakes rattle Greek port ATHENS, Feb 5 (AP): Twoearthquakes of 5.4 and 5.5 magnitude rattled the western Greek port of Patras, seismologists said. The Athens-based Institute of Geodynamics said the first occurred at 2025 GMT Monday about 155kms southwest of Athens, and about 40kms outside Patras. The second occurred at 2215GMT Monday, in the same area. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. (Posted @ 10:30 PST)
Obama surges, Clinton tears up as Super Tuesday looms EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey, Feb 5 (AFP): Barack Obama revved up for the Super Tuesday national nominating showdown by wiping out Hillary Clinton's once-gaping opinion poll leads. Clinton, worn down by sleepless nights and days on the campaign trail, wiped a tear from her eye Monday as she visited Yale University, where her political journey started in the 1970s as a student. “Well I said I would not tear up, we are not exactly on the path,” said Clinton, 60, as she battled Obama for votes in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Obama, 46, rocked a rally in New Jersey, a Clinton stronghold where he is increasingly competitive, showing few signs of fatigue. The cliffhanger Democratic race contrasted with signs that McCain would all but settle the Republican nominating fight Tuesday, to complete one of the most staggering comebacks in recent US political history. A USA Today poll gave McCain a 42 percent to 24 percent lead over Romney, with former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee on 18 percent. (Posted @ 10:25 PST)
Seven Sri Lankan sailors missing after sea battle COLOMBO, Feb 5 (AFP): Seven Sri Lankan sailors and their craft were missing on Tuesday following a sea battle with suspected Tamil Tiger guerrillas off the island's northwest coast, military officials said. The clashes erupted when two navy speedboats moved to push back a fleet of poaching fishermen from neighbouring India, a military official said. “We suspect Tigers had taken the cover of Indian fishermen to attack the naval craft,” a military official said. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
Rice heads to London to discuss Afghanistan WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (AFP): Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was to fly to London Tuesday to discuss the stakes in Afghanistan as the United States and Britain pressed their allies to do more to crush a resurgent Taliban. In a campaign that has ruffled the feathers of some NATO allies, US officials are warning that the Taliban's defeat is not guaranteed -- more than six years after it was toppled by US-led forces at the end of 2001. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Poland to help Canada fight in Afghanistan OTTAWA, Feb 4 (AFP): Poland will lend Canada two military helicopters for use in Afghanistan, the Polish foreign minister said here Monday, answering his ally's call for more NATO troops and equipment to fight insurgents. Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said during an official visit to Ottawa, “we are increasing our presence, concentrating our contingent and moving towards where the Canadians are,” he said. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Chinese named World Bank chief economist WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (AFP): The World Bank named Peking University professor Justin Lin Yifu as the global development lender's chief economist, the first time a Chinese has held the job. “Justin Lin brings a unique set of skills and experience to the World Bank Group,” World Bank President Robert Zoellick said in a statement announcing the appointment. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
India win toss, bat against Sri Lanka SYDNEY, Feb 5 (Reuters): India won the toss and elected to bat first in the tri-series one-day international against Sri Lanka at the Gabba in Brisbane on Tuesday. Teams: India - Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Shantha Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma. Sri Lanka - Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Upul Tharanga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Chamara Silva, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedera, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ishara Amerasinghe. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Eight slain in southern Philippine clash: military ZAMBOANGA, Feb 5 (AFP): Three women, two children and two teenagers were among eight people killed in the southern Philippines during a clash between troops and militants, the military said Tuesday. An off-duty soldier also died in the battle on Monday near the town of Maimbung town in the island of Jolo. The bodies were found during clear-up operations after an earlier clash when three militants and two soldiers were killed. (Posted @ 09:05 PST)
Northern Chile, southern Peru hit by 6.3 quake SANTIAGO, Feb 4 (AFP): An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the moment magnitude scale rocked northern Chile and parts of southern Peru early Monday, the US Geological Survey said, as Chilean officials added there were no reports of casualties or damage. “It was a medium intensity earthquake,” the head of Chile's national emergency bureau told a Santiago radio station. She said local officials had measured the quake as 6.0 on the Mercali scale in the port of Iquique, some 2,000 kilometers north of Santiago. (Posted @ 09:00 PST)
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