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| February 08, 2008 | Friday | Muharram 29, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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Benazir Bhutto killed by bomb, not bullets: Scotland Yard ISLAMABAD, Feb 8 (AFP) - British detectives said Friday that Benazir Bhutto was killed by the force of a suicide bomb and not gunfire, backing the Pakistani government's version of how the opposition leader was assassinated. Scotland Yard said a lone attacker shot at Benazir as she waved to supporters at an election rally in Rawalpindi on December 27 -- but he missed and then detonated explosives which caused her head to fatally smash against her car. “In essence, all the evidence indicates that one suspect has fired the shots before detonating an improvised explosive device,” said the summary of the 70-page report delivered to Pakistani authorities earlier in the day. “The blast caused a violent collision between her head and the escape hatch area of the vehicle, causing a severe and fatal head injury,” added the summary, signed by British Detective Superintendent John MacBrayne. The British team of forensics and other experts spent two and a half weeks in Pakistan in January at the invitation of President Pervez Musharraf. The British team said its task was complicated by the “lack of an extended and detailed search of the crime scene, the absence of an autopsy, and the absence of recognised body recovery and victim identification processes.” But it added that there was sufficient evidence to draw “reliable conclusions”, including X-rays checked against Benazir's dental records and video footage taken by witnesses. “The only tenable cause for the rapidly fatal head injury in this case is that it occurred as the result of impact due to the effects of the bomb-blast,” it quoted British government pathologist Nathaniel Cary as saying. (First Posted @ 09:00 PST, Updated @ 16:35 PST)
PPP’s reservations on Scotland Yard report on Benazir assassination ISLAMABAD, Feb 08 (PPI) :Pakistan People’s Party Central Information Secretary Sherry Rehman Friday said the party would give a detailed response after studying the report of Scotland Yard probe team. “ The report has just been handed to us, and we will give our final reaction once the party has looked at all the aspects and details of the report” she told a private Tv channel on party’s response to the report on the investigation into the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. “ It is the government of Pakistan which has been muddying the waters into this investigation by giving multiple stories right after the tragedy. The Interior Ministry started this process by saying she was injured by the sunroof of her car, following which General Musharraf said that she was murdered by a bullet. We have provided our full cooperation to Scotland Yard, and have always maintained that they are working with limitations on their terms of reference in Pakistan. Critical forensic evidence had been destroyed by the government within hours of the event, and they were confined to working under the aegis of the Pakistan police. The PPP will continue its pursuit of an international investigation under the auspices of the United Nations as we are seeking more than the cause of death itself. We are seeking a larger probe into the hidden hands that organized, financed, sponsored and perpetrated this event. The party may also seek the services of private international investigators to assist us in this probe”. (First Posted @ 13:50 PST Updated @ 20:34 PST)
No free and fair polls possible in presence of President Musharraf: Qazi Hussain KARACHI, Pakistan, Feb 08 (PPI): Amir Jamaat-i-Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmed has said that APDM would continue its struggle for the restoration of real democracy. Talking to newsmen at the Karachi airport on Friday he said free and fair polls are not possible under the present regime and without an impartial interim government and an independent Election Commission. He also said that President Musharraf had illegally suspended the 60 honorable judges of the supreme court and the high courts. (Posted @ 18:06 PST)
Pak-Saudi naval exercise concludes KARACHI, Feb 08 (PPI):- The three-week Pak-Saudi joint naval exercise, Naseem Al-Behr, concluded with a debrief session at Naval Auditorium in Karachi. Chief of Staff, Vice Admiral Asaf Humayun, who was the chief guest termed the exercise as an excellent opportunity and platform to revise existing procedures and doctrines and enhance interoperability between two navies.He said that 21st century would see the Arabian Sea, Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea as a focal points of global economics and security calculus. Owing to the immense energy resources of the region and the cumulative impact globalization has made it imperative for the navies to re-strategize their structure and roles, he said. (Posted @ 17:58 PST)
Musharraf directs measures to meet energy crisis Rawalpindi, Feb 08 (PPI)- President Pervez Musharraf has stressed the need to overcome the prevailing energy crisis by taking all possible measures on emergency basis. Chairing a meeting alongwith caretaker Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro on “Energy and Power Generation” on Friday he asked the concerned ministries and departments to remove bottlenecks and procedural delays to reduce the time-leg between approval and implementation of the schemes. He underlined the need for a multifaceted approach for optimum utilization of the Thar coal reserves. The meeting was also attended by the Minister for Petroleum Ahsanullah Khan, Minister for Water and Power Tariq Hameed, and Chief Minister Sindh Abdul Qadir Halepota. (Posted @ 17:56 PST)
Next PM to be from PPP: Aitzaz LAHORE, Pakistan, Feb 08-(PPI): Supreme Court Bar Association President Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan said Friday elections would be held and rigged; but the next prime minister will be from Pakistan People's Party. Talking to newsmen after visiting Punjab Institute of Cardiology for a check- up, he said under the law police cannot receive a dead body from the medical experts unless the autopsy has been done. Commenting on Benazir death probe report, he wondered on what grounds Scotland Yard team ruled out the bullet to be the cause of death. Answering another question, the SCBA president said that the elections would surely be held and heavily rigged. However, the next Prime Minister would be a PPP candidate. Ahsan said he has no heart-related problem. (Posted @ 23:08 PST)
Iraq: US troops kill 8 suspects, capture 26 BAGHDAD, Feb 8 (AP) - U.S. troops killed eight suspected insurgents and captured 26 in two days of raids across Iraq, the U.S. military said Friday. The eight were killed Thursday and Friday in separate raids targeting al-Qaida across the country. Fifteen suspected militants were detained in Thursday's sweeps through Sadr City, and one person was killed, it said. (Posted @ 22:40 PST)
Avalanches kill 14 in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Feb 8 (AP) - Avalanches killed at least 14 people and forced hundreds more to leave their snowbound villages Friday in occupied Kashmir, officials said. Six members of one family died when cascading snow buried their village home, said Farooq Khan, a police deputy inspector general. Police rescued a 2-year-old girl, also a member of the family, from the debris, he said. Six members of another family of seven were killed when an avalanche destroyed their house in the village of Peth Halan, but a young male child was rescued from the site. One woman died after an avalanche struck her village near the LoC. The village received about 3.3 meters of snow this week, and the army and police evacuated hundreds of people from the area to shelters in school buildings in safer places. An avalanche killed a soldier and two civilians working for the army Thursday, officials said. (Posted @ 21:30 PST)
Annan hopes for Kenya political deal in days NAIROBI, Feb 8 Feb 8 (Reuters) - Kenya's feuding political parties have made progress and may reach a breakthrough within days on their major sticking point over a disputed Dec. 27 election, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Friday. “I sincerely hope that we will conclude our work on item three, the settlement of the political issues, by early next week,” said Annan, who is mediating the dispute. (Posted @ 21:24 PST)
Police seal PHC, disallow lawyers to enter courts premises Peshawar, Pakistan, Feb 8 (PPI)= After registering FIR against senior lawyers and members of Peshawar High Court Association, the police, on the directives of the registrar of PHC, Friday sealed the offices of Peshawar High Court Bar Association and did not allow the lawyers to assemble inside the PHC building. Heavy contingent of police was deployed to stop lawyers and PHCBA employees from entering the PHC premises. Police also raided the houses of the 15 accused lawyers for their arrest. They included Sohail Akhtar, brother of the deposed PHC Chief Justice Tariq Parvez Khan, and Babar Yusufzai, son of the deposed PHC second most senior judge Justice Shahjehan Khan Yusufzai, and several lady advocates. Meanwhile, NWFP lawyers association’s jirga comprising PHCBA president Abdul Lateef Afridi, PBC executive committee chairman Qazi Mohammad Anwar and Barrister Bacha met with the PHC Chief Justice Mohammad Raza Khan and other jjudges to demand withdrawal of the FIR against the lawyers. Justice Raza Khan assured the lawyers jirga that he will restrain police from arresting the lawyers till Feb 11 (Monday). On the other hand, the Frontier Lawyers Associations Joint Action Committee chairman Qazi Naeem, after a meeting, announced boycott of the PCO judges till Feb 20. (Posted @ 20:30 PST)
NATO chief says Afghan government must improve VILNIUS, Feb 8 (AFP) - NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer Friday called on Afghanistan to improve its government and boost support for its security forces to step up the fight against the Taliban. Speaking at a NATO defence ministers meeting where there has been wrangling over troop levels in Afghanistan, he warned that “governance must visibly improve, so that the Afghan people have trust in their leaders.” “The police need robust support to develop and they need it now. The narco-economy must be replaced by a legal, sustainable economy. And the Afghan army must get more support from NATO nations and from partners, to stand on its own feet and defend its own country,” he added. Scheffer said “NATO will play its part -- but NATO and ISAF are only part of the answer.” (Posted @ 19:50 PST)
6 missing, dozens hurt in US refinery explosion PORT WENTWORTH, Georgia, Feb 8 (AP) - An explosion rocked a sugar dust refinery in the southern U.S. state of Georgia, injuring dozens. Firefighters were still fighting the fire Friday morning, and six people were missing. Officials had not determined what caused the explosion Thursday night but said they suspect sugar dust, which can be volatile. There were 95 to 100 people believed to be working in the area of the explosion. More than 50 people were taken to hospitals. (Posted @ 18:58 PST)
'Prosperity and peace' at stake in November presidential election: Bush WASHINGTON, Feb 8 AP) - President George W. Bush, rallying conservatives for a battle against Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, says “prosperity and peace” are at stake in the upcoming election for his successor. “We have had good debates and soon we will have a nominee who will carry the conservative banner into this election and beyond,” Bush said in prepared remarks of a speech he was to give Friday to the Conservative Political Action Conference. “Prosperity and peace are in the balance,” the president said in speech excerpts the White House released on Thursday night. “So with confidence in our vision and faith in our values, let us go forward ... fight for victory ... and keep the White House in 2008.” Bush is not expected to mention by name John McCain, who almost surely will be the Republican Party's presidential nominee. (Posted @ 18:56 PST)
Putin's speech on Russian strategy MOSCOW, Feb 8 (Reuters) Russian President Vladimir Putin in a speech on Friday announced that Russia will elect a new president on March 2. Putin has backed his ally, First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, and his chosen successor is widely expected to win election. On the arms race issue Putin said: “It is already clear that a new arms race is being unleashed in the world. It's not our fault. We didn't start it.” He said Russia would not allow itself to be drawn into this arms race. On NATO expansion he said: “NATO itself is expanding. It's approaching our borders. We drew down our bases in Cuba and in Vietnam. What did we get? New American bases in Romania, Bulgaria. A new third missile defence region in Poland.” “We are categorically being told these actions aren't directed at Russia, and therefore our concerns are completely unfounded. That's not a constructive response.” Referring to the Russian economy Putin said: “Today, we have already completely restored the state of socio-economic development we lost in the 1990s. Last year, we had the highest GDP growth in the past seven years. We have entered the ranks of the seven biggest economies in the world.” (Posted @ 18:54 PST)
Sri Lanka says 55 Tigers killed as troops take rebel territory COLOMBO, Feb 8 (AFP) - Sri Lankan troops captured an area from Tamil Tiger rebels in the island's north Friday after fighting across the region killed 55 rebels, the defence ministry said Friday. Security forces took a village near Adampan in Mannar district, where 12 members of the LTTE were killed, the ministry said. It said two government soldiers were killed and five more wounded in the latest fighting. In separate clashes along frontlines in the adjoining Vavuniya district since Thursday, security forces killed 22 guerrillas while destroying three of their bunkers, the defence ministry said. It said another 21 rebels were killed in fresh fighting since Thursday in Jaffna and the north-eastern Trincomalee districts. (First Posted @ 11:25 PST Updated @ 18:28 PST)
Kosovo independence 'done' and widely accepted: PM PRISTINA, Serbia, Feb 8 (AFP) - Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia was imminent and set to be recognised by around 100 countries, its Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said Friday. “It is a done (deal). Everybody knows it. None of the authorities from Belgrade can affect the positive development of a declaration and recognition of the independence of Kosovo,” said Thaci. “We have confirmations of about 100 countries around the world which are ready to recognise independence immediately after the declaration of independence,” he told reporters after meeting with Joachim Ruecker, the head of the UN mission that has run Kosovo since the end of its 1998-1999 war. The statement was made as Serbia's minister for Kosovo, Slobodan Samardzic, said his government had information that Thaci would make an “illegal” declaration of independence on February 17. (Posted @ 18:25 PST)
Iran starts building new atomic power plant-Tass MOSCOW, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Iran has started building a second atomic power plant, Iran's Ambassador to Russia Gholamreza Ansari was quoted as saying on Friday by Itar-Tass news agency. “Now we need to think about the fuel for it,” Tass quoted him as saying. Iran has been building its first nuclear power plant near Bushehr, where Tehran says test operations could start later this year. (Posted @ 16:55 PST)
Cricket-Australia beat Sri Lanka by 128 runs SYDNEY, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Australia beat Sri Lanka by 128 runs in Friday's tri-series one-day international at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Scores: Australia 253-6 from 50 overs (Michael Clarke 77 not out, Gilchrist 61); Sri Lanka 125 all out from 31.3 overs (Nathan Bracken 5-47) (First Posted @ 12:10 PST, Updated @ 16:40 PST)
Zimbabwe elections dispute resolved: Mbeki CAPE TOWN, Feb 8 (AFP) - Zimbabwe's governing party and opposition have resolved all their major differences over the framework for next month's general elections, South African President Thabo Mbeki said on Friday. The South African leader, tasked by his regional peers to mediate between Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said that “substantive” matters had now been agreed by both sides.” “These include issues relating to the constitution, security, media and electoral laws, and other matters that have been in contention for many years”, Mbeki said in his annual state of the nation address to parliament (Posted @ 16:25 PST)
Afghan suicide attack kills child, soldier GHAZNI, Afghanistan, Feb 8 (AFP) - A suicide car bomb in the town of Ghazni in eastern Afghanistan on Friday killed a young child and an Afghan soldier and wounded several people including three soldiers, police said. The bomb exploded just metres from the entrance of an Afghan National Army base as an army vehicle passed. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Dozens killed in LRA attack in southern Sudan JUBA, Sudan, Feb 8 (AFP) - Ugandan rebels from the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) killed 136 people and looted property during an attack earlier this week in southern Sudan, a senior military officer said Friday. “On February 4, the LRA killed 136 people in areas in and around Kajo-Keji and looted their property,” Michael Kuel, a military intelligence officer with the Joint Integrated Unit (JIU), told AFP. The JIUs were formed as part of the 2005 north-south peace agreement in Sudan and comprise equal numbers of members of the armed forces and former southern Sudanese rebels from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). “When the SPLM arrived there, these fighters fled. We are still pursuing them,” Kuel added. (Posted @ 16:15 PST)
Rockets hit Israel after power cut JERUSALEM, Feb 8 (AP): Palestinian militants launched nine rockets and a mortar shell at Israel Friday morning, the Israeli military said, a day after Israel began cutting electricity to the Gaza Strip in an attempt to halt the barrages. Late Thursday, Israel cut back around one percent of the power it supplies to Gaza, Defence Minister spokesman Shlomo Dror said. Israel will continue gradually scaling back electricity until Hamas ends the rocket fire, he said Friday. Hamas has said it will not be cowed by the sanctions, and Friday's barrage was a further indication of their determination to continue attacking Israel. The projectiles caused no damage or casualties, the military said. (Posted @ 13:45 PST)
French parliament adopts EU treaty PARIS, Feb 8 (AFP): The French parliament Friday approved the European Union's new reform treaty, turning the page on the crisis sparked in 2005 when rebellious French voters shot down the EU's ill-fated constitution. Both the National Assembly and Senate voted resoundingly in favour of the treaty, a tailored-down version of the constitution that was consigned to oblivion in French and Dutch referendums. It is now to be formally ratified by President Nicolas Sarkozy, who played a leading role in drawing up the new text. France will be the fifth EU country - and the first major EU power - to ratify the new treaty, which must be approved in all 27 member states before it can come into force as planned in 2009. (Posted @ 11:05 PST)
Palestinian PM sees no '08 peace accord with Israel AUSTIN, Texas, Feb 8 (Reuters) Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Thursday a lasting peace accord with Israel was unlikely in 2008 despite renewed diplomatic efforts to resolve the long-running conflict. “I do not believe though that the final resolution ... will be complete in the course of this year. I don't think that is likely,” Fayyad said. On a trip to the Middle East last month, U.S. President George W. Bush said he believed a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians would be signed before he leaves office in January 2009. (Posted @ 10:50 PST)
Six dead in Missouri City Hall shooting KIRKWOOD, Missouri, Feb 8 (Reuters): A gunman killed five people after opening fire at City Hall in the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood Thursday night, media reports said. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the shooter killed a police officer outside City Hall and then entered the building and shot and killed another officer. “He shot three other people who were attending the council meeting. They also are deceased,” the newspaper quoted officer Tracy Panus as saying. The paper also quoted police as saying they later killed the gunman. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
At least 10 injured in apartment building explosion in Ukraine KIEV, Ukraine, Feb 8 (AP): An explosion ripped through an apartment building in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv Thursday, injuring at least 10 people, emergency officials said. The blast, whose cause was not immediately known, occurred shortly after 4 p.m. in the city, located about 550 kilometres west of the capital, Kiev, the Emergency Situations Ministry said in a statement. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Atlantis shoots into space on key mission for Europe CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida, Feb 8 (AFP): Shuttle Atlantis soared into orbit Thursday from the Kennedy Space Center on Florida’s east coast at 12:45 pm after a two-month delay on a mission to the International Space Station. Atlantis, on its 11-day flight, is now chasing the International Space Station some 350 kilometres above Earth and is scheduled to dock with the ISS Saturday. The shuttle is bringing to the station Europe's 10-ton Columbus laboratory. (Posted @ 09:20 PST)
Woman attacks pilots on New Zealand flight CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, Feb 8 (AFP): A female passenger on a domestic flight in New Zealand stabbed two pilots in the cockpit and threatened to blow up the 19-seat plane Friday before being restrained, police said. The aircraft was travelling from Blenheim to Christchurch on South Island when the mid-air drama unfolded, prompting pilots to send a mayday call. Christchurch police commander Superintendent Dave Cliff said the 33-year-old woman, a Blenheim resident, claimed there were bombs aboard the aircraft. One pilot received a minor cut to his hand and the other was wounded in the foot, police said. The woman was taken into police custody when the plane landed in Christchurch at about 8:00 am. (Posted @ 09:15 PST)
Bomb blast damages Basque court building MADRID, Feb 8 (AFP): A bomb explosion Friday caused considerable damage to a court building in the northern Basque town of Bergera but no injuries, Spanish media reported. The explosion shortly after midnight was preceded by an anonymous call to firefighters, the Europa Press news agency reported. (Posted @ 09:00 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 22.40 points: KARACHI, Feb 08: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 13970.35, down 22.40 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:00 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Feb 08: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 62.95 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:00 PST)
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