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| March 02, 2008 | Sunday | Safar 23, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
 40 killed in Peshawar suicide attack: officials PESHAWAR, Pakistan, March 2, (AP) - A suicide bomber blew himself up at a gathering of tribal elders and local officials in northwest Pakistan on Sunday, killing at least 40 people, hospital and security officials said. The blast took place in Zarghon village near the tribal town of Darra Adam Khel, said local security official Shireen Khan. The bomber, believed to be a teenager, approached the meeting of hundreds of tribesmen on foot and blew himself up, Khan said. At least 40 people were killed on the spot and more than 100 others wounded, he told AFP. At least 35 people with serious injuries were taken to two hospitals in Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province, where seven more people died, emergency services doctor Tariq Khan told AFP. (First Posted @ 13:00 PST Updated @ 16:22 PST)  Aitzaz Ahsan freed from house arrest: police LAHORE, March 2 (AP): Prominent opposition lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan, who was under house arrest since November 3 when President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency, was freed Sunday, police said. Mr Ahsan said the police who had been restricting him to his home in Lahore have left. Aftab Cheema, a senior police officer in Lahore, said Ahsan could again travel freely. He gave no reason why Ahsan was being freed, saying only that police were complying with a government order. Ahsan was expected to attend a rally of supporters in Lahore later on Sunday. He said the lawyers' movement to seek reinstatement of dismissed judges will continue. “Our struggle will continue until the judges are restored,” he said. LEADS RALLY: Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President, Aitzaz Ahsan soon after end of his detention here on Sunday led a rally comprising civil society members and lawyers. Addressing the participants, Aitzaz Ahsan urged the people to play their role for the restoration of deposed judges. He said the proposed long march had not been cancelled but postponed as the lawyers wanted to give some time to new Parliament for this purpose. (First Posted @ 17:22 PST Updated @ 20:22 PST)  PML-Q to sit in opposition: Chaudhry Shujaat KARACHI, March 2 (PPI): President Pakistan Muslim League -Q Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has said that his party had decided to sit in opposition. He said this talking to newsmen after a meeting with former prime minister and National Peoples Party chief Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi at his residence here on Sunday. Shujaat is in Karachi on the invitation of Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain. He was accompanied by Mushahid Hussain. MQM-PML-Q leaders hold talks: The Muttaheda Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Sunday announced unequivocal support to PML-Q. MQM chief Altaf Hussain said MQM had been with PML, is with it and remain with it in future also. Mr Hussain's assurance in this regard came in the wake of a meeting between PML-Q and MQM leadership in Karachi this afternoon. The meeting lasted for about 50 minutes.(First Posted @ 16:38 PST Updated @ 17:58 PST) Three killed, 36 injured in Sahiwal 12-vehicle pile-up SAHIWAL, March 2 (PPI): Three persons were killed and 36 injured early on Sunday morning in a collision involving 12 vehicles in Sahiwal. Reports said a trailer (9010-LS) was going to Karachi from Lahore. At Chak No. 187 / 9-L on GT Road, near Harrappa Railway Station, its driver hit the brakes to save a bicyclist. A car (4020-LRW) coming from behind smashed into the trailer and five persons in it were seriously injured. Meanwhile a coach (4700-LXC) bound for Dera Ghazi Khan smashed into the car and another coach (5186-SGA) struck them. Due to fog, 12 vehicles rammed into each other in few seconds of which two cars and a coach were badly damaged. Two coach passengers and a luxury bus passenger were killed on the spot and 36 passengers sustained serious injuries. The condition of eight passengers is said to be critical. (Posted @ 17:04 PST) 
 Six drowned, four missing as two launches collide KARACHI, March 2 (APP): At least six persons drowned to death and four others were missing following a collision between two sea-going launches here on Sunday, police said. The names of the dead or missing were not known immediately, police further said. Investigators have left for Ibrahim Haidery village where the incident took place. (Posted @ 23:18 PST) Indian troops in occupied Kashmir armed with Israeli rifles Srinagar, occupied Kashmir, March 2 (PPI): In occupied Kashmir, Indian troops have been armed with Israeli made Travor assault rifles to crush the Kashmiris righteous struggle. The TAR-21 Travor rifle costing around $6500, is one of the most modern assault rifles available in the world. According to Kashmir Media Service, the rifles are part of India's strategy to use them during siege and search operation in civilian areas in the disputed territory. (Posted @ 22:42 PST) 
Indian troops martyr two more Kashmiris ISLAMABAD, March 2 (APP): Indian troops, in fresh acts of state-terrorism, martyred two more Kashmiri youth and destroyed two residential houses with heavy mortar shelling during siege and search operation at Chewdoora in Beerwah area of Budgam district. Gunmen shot dead a youth at Warpora in Sopore, while a civilian was hanged to death at Gider Moulian in Jammu, KMS reported. The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front in a statement in Srinagar Sunday condemned using innocent locals as human shields by the troops during their gunfights at Chak Syedpora in Shopian, describing the action as worst type of state terrorism. (Posted @ 21:28 PST) Taliban destroy more Afghan mobile phone towers KABUL, March 2 (AFP): Two mobile phone antennas were destroyed in southern Afghanistan, officials said Sunday, after Taliban militants threatened to bring down such masts, alleging they are used to locate hideouts. In the new attacks, armed rebels scaled a mast just outside Kandahar city overnight and destroyed equipment, a local police officer said. Another antenna was destroyed in neighbouring Helmand province's Sangin district, a local official told AFP. (Posted @ 20:24 PST) 
Cricket: India lift under-19 World Cup title KUALA LUMPUR, March 2 (AFP): India won cricket's under-19 World Cup with a 12-run victory over South Africa in a rain-hit final at the Kinrara Oval here on Sunday. South Africa, set a revised target of 116 in 25 overs following a rain interruption of two hours, were restricted to 103-8 by the Indians. Brief scores: India 159 all out in 45.4 overs; South Africa 103-8 in 25 overs. (South Africa's target revised to 116 off 25 overs due to rain) (Posted @ 20:08 PST) Amnesty blasts Israel, Palestinians over Gaza violence LONDON, March 2 (AFP): The Jewish state's retaliation is disproportionate to rocket attacks from Hamas-held territory in the Gaza Strip into Israel. This shows “callous disregard” for civilian life by both sides.. Criticising both sides, London-based Amnesty International said on Sunday in a statement: “All unlawful attacks must stop.” Israeli forces must put an immediate end to disproportionate attacks and collective punishment in Gaza, and Palestinian armed groups must immediately stop the barrage of rockets into southern Israel,” it added. The director of Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa Programme, Malcolm Smart, said Israel had a legal obligation to protect civilians in Gaza and responding with ground and air strikes was excessive. (Posted @ 20:06 PST) OIC to send aid in face of Israeli war crime AMMAN, March 2 (AFP): The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) said on Sunday it was dispatching aid to the Gaza Strip, describing Israel's assault on the Hamas-run territory as a “war crime.” ”Four trucks laden with medical supplies are heading to Gaza today (Sunday), and more aid will follow,” OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told reporters in the Jordanian capital. “The Israeli assault on Gaza is a heinous war crime, and the international silence is shocking ”Israel has kept up a massive blitz in Gaza, killing 70 people, including children, since early Saturday. “The Security Council has failed to issue a resolution to condemn the killings of children,” Ihsanoglu complained. (Posted @ 20:04 PST) Russian election turnout nearly 50 per cent, says CEC: Kasparov protests poll MOSCOW, March 2 (Reuters): Forty-eight percent of Russian voters had cast their ballots by 1100 GMT in Sunday's presidential election, topping turnout by the same stage of the 2004 vote, officials said. About 109 million voters across the world's biggest country are eligible to vote in the election in which President Vladimir Putin's chosen successor, 42-year-old Dmitry Medvedev, is expected to win. Meanwhile chess legend turned Russian opposition leader, Garry Kasparov, was denied access to Moscow's Red Square on Sunday during a low-key protest against an election he described as a “farce. “Russian citizens are being forced to take part in a farce which is called an election, but is actually all Kremlin intrigue,” Kasparov told journalists near the Kremlin. (Posted @ 20:00 PST)
Spain arrests two suspected ETA members BILBAO, March 2 (Reuters): Spanish police said they arrested two suspected members of Basque separatist group ETA on Sunday, both of whom figured on the 'most wanted' police list of ETA activists. Oroitz Aldekoa-Otalora and Agurne Salterain could be linked to a bomb which exploded on Friday outside the headquarters of Spain's ruling Socialist party in the northern town of Derio, El Pais newspaper reported. No one was wounded in the blast. Security is extra tight at present in the run-up to parliamentary elections on March 9. (Posted @ 19:36 PST) BD to let detained politician go overseas for treatment DHAKA, March 2 (Reuters): Bangladesh's army-backed government has given detained former minister and Awami League general secretary Abdul Jalil, permission to go abroad for a month for medical treatment, a senior prison official said Sunday. “He has been granted permission to leave the country on health and humanitarian grounds,” Zakir Hasan, Inspector-General of Prisons told Reuters. Jalil's family plans to take him to Singapore for a kidney transplant. (Posted @ 19:18 PST) 25 supporters of Al-Qaeda killed in weekend operation in Algeria: news report ALGIERS, March 2 (AP): Two Algerian newspapers say security forces killed 25 members of an Al-Qaeda affiliate in North Africa in a weekend operation east of the capital. The two Arabic-language papers, Ech Chourouk and Al Djazair News, said in their Sunday editions that security forces chased some 30 militants planting roadside bombs Friday night back into their refuge. The papers, which sited informed sources, said troops then called in helicopters and assaulted the hideout early Saturday with rockets and helicopter fire, killing 25. There was no official confirmation of the operation. (Posted @ 19:14 PST) Senior Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, associate killed in Mosul: US military BAGHDAD, March 2 (AP): A U.S. military helicopter fired a guided missile to kill a Saudi Arabian Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq. U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Gregory Smith said Jar Allah, known as Abu Yasir al-Saudi, and another Saudi known only as Hamdan, were killed Wednesday in Mosul. A precision helicopter strike killed both and destroyed their vehicle. Smith said their deaths brought to 142 the number of Al-Qaeda activists killed or captured since the beginning of the year. (Posted @ 18:16 PST) Three dead in Philippine communist rebel attack TAGUM, Philippines, March 2 (AFP): Communist rebels attacked an army detachment in the southern Philippines on Sunday, triggering a four-hour gun battle that left a soldier and two insurgents dead, the military said. About 60 members of the New People's Army (NPA) staged the pre-dawn attack in the outskirts of the town of Carmen in Surigao del Sur province. A soldier and two NPA fighters were killed in the crossfire, said the local army commander. (Posted @ 18:08 PST) Sudan nomads clash with ex-rebels, dozens killed JUBA, Sudan, March 2 (Reuters): Dozens of armed nomads were killed in clashes with the former rebel group Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in a volatile north-south border area on Saturday, both sides said Sunday. Hassan Mohamed Sabahi, a leader of the Misseriya tribe, told Reuters: “The deaths on our side reached 37 ... about 62 were wounded.” Major General James Hoth, a senior SPLA commander, put the number of those killed among the tribe at 69. He said six SPLA soldiers were killed and 26 were wounded. (Posted @ 17:46 PST) 
Abbas suspends peace talks with Israel over Gaza RAMALLAH, , March 2 (Reuters): Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has suspended peace talks with Israel in response to an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip, a top aide said on Sunday. Nabil Abu Rdainah, the aide, said Abbas had ordered “the suspension of negotiations and all forms of contacts on all levels because it has become empty of any meaning in light of the Israeli aggression”. Arye Mekel, spokesman for Israel's chief negotiator, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, said the decision by the Palestinians to suspend the negotiations was a “mistake” and expressed hope the talks would resume “in the very near future”. (Posted @ 17:34 PST) Egypt opens border with Gaza to move wounded Palestinians to hospitals EL ARISH, March 2 (AP/Reuters): Egypt opened its only crossing with the Gaza Strip to receive wounded Palestinians on Sunday, a day after 71 people were killed in Israel's latest offensive against militants firing rockets from the territory, said a medical official. Egypt sent 27 ambulances to the Rafah crossing to transfer 150-200 wounded Palestinians to hospitals in the Sinai Peninsula and other cities on the mainland, said a medical official at el-Arish hospital near the Israeli border. Egyptian security sources said Egypt had not set a limit on how many Palestinians would be allowed in, but was expecting at least 100. Hospitals in the northern Sinai were on alert and state news agency MENA said some wounded could be taken to Cairo for treatment. (Posted @ 17:32 PST)
Somali troops raid three radio stations MOGADISHU, March 2 (Reuters): Somali forces closed down three radio stations during raids in search of militants on Sunday, the stations' directors said. Troops closed the independent stations a day after a gunfight in Mogadishu's central market between militants and government troops propped up and backed by Ethiopian forces killed nine people. Employees of Horn Afrik, Shabelle and Simba radios said troops took away computers, cameras and radio equipment. “Government troops entered the radio station and said we must stop working. They said the radio station is closed from now on,” one employee told Reuters. (Posted @ 17:00 PST) Bangladesh 54-5 at close in South Africa Test CHITTAGONG, March 2 (AFP): Bangladesh were 54-5 in their second innings at close after following on in the second and final Test against South Africa here on Sunday. Mushfiqur Rahim was batting on four while Abdur Razzaq was yet to open his account when stumps were drawn on the third day of the match. South Africa, 583-7 in their first innings, lead the series 1-0 after winning the opener in Dhaka by five wickets. (Posted @ 16:40 PST)
Five killed, 11 injured in Zohb gas cylinder blast ZOHB, March 2 (APP): Five persons including a child were killed and 11 others suffered injuries in a blast in Muslim Bagh's Afghan Refugee Camp some 170 km from Zohb on Sunday. The blast occurred in a gas cylinder shop and destroyed four shops nearby, police said. (Posted @ 15:40 PST) Security Council condemns violence in south Israel, Gaza UNITED NATIONS, March 2 (AFP) -The Security Council early Sunday condemned the escalating violence in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel and urged all parties to respect their obligations under international law. After emergency talks called to discuss Saturday's deadly Israeli incursion in Gaza, Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, the council chair this month, read out a statement saying members “underscore the need for all parties to immediately cease all acts of violence.” Council members “are deeply concerned about the loss of civilian life in southern Israel and Gaza and condemn the escalation of violence that has taken place,” Churkin added. The council members stressed that the violence “must not be allowed to deter the political process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority aimed at establishing two states -- Israel and Palestine -- living side by side in peace and security,” the Russian envoy said. Churkin spoke after the council held nearly five hours of hard-nosed consultations, at the request of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, on the Israeli air and land assault on besieged Gaza. (First Posted @ 09:15 PST; Updated @ 11:55 PST)
US trainers to help Pakistani paramilitaries WASHINGTON, March 2 (AFP) - The Pentagon is planning to send about 100 US military trainers to Pakistan to assist a paramilitary force that is operating along the border with Afghanistan targeting Al-Qaeda, The New York Times reported on its website late Saturday. Citing unnamed US military officials, the newspaper said that small teams of US special operations soldiers have already been sent to Pakistan to train Pakistani counterterrorism troops. But a classified plan now under review at the US Central Command would increase the contingent of US trainers to about 100, the report pointed out. These specialists will help train the Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force of about 85,000 members recruited from ethnic groups living on the Pakistani northwest frontier. “The US trainers will be primarily focused on assisting the Pakistan cadre who will do the actual training of the Frontier Corps troops.” A senior US military official said the trainers initially would be restricted to Pakistani bases, but could eventually accompany Pakistani troops on missions “to the point of contact” with militants, the paper noted. Britain is considering a similar training mission, according to the report. (Posted @ 09:25 PST) New Israeli strikes kill 7 in Gaza, death toll reaches 70 GAZA CITY, March 2 (AFP): New Israeli strikes killed 7 Palestinians in the north of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip early on Sunday as the military continued a massive blitz against militants, medics said. Three people were killed in two separate strikes early in the day in the north, where Israeli ground and air troops were operating for a second day. Another two people, whose identities were not immediately available, were fatally wounded near the northern town of Jabaliya, medics said. Two bodies of women were pulled out on Sunday from beneath the rubble of houses destroyed in Israeli strikes in Jabaliya the previous day, medics said. Since the military began its assault early on Saturday, 70 people have been killed by the Israeli military in Gaza, the bloodiest 24 hours in the territory since the start of the second Palestinian uprising in September 2000. The dead have included seven children and nine women. (First Posted @ 09:35 PST; Updated @ 18:06 PST) EU criticises Israel in Gaza assault BRUSSELS, March 2 (AFP): European Union president Slovenia criticised Sunday Israel's “disproportionate use of force” against the Palestinian population in Gaza, urging restraint by all parties in the escalating violence. In a statement, the presidency condemned “the recent disproportionate use of force by the Israeli Defense Forces against (the) Palestinian population in Gaza and urges Israel to exercise maximum restraint and refrain from all activities that endanger civilians”. The condemnation came a day after Israeli forces killed 66 people including children and other civilians, in a land and air blitz in the Gaza Strip. (Posted @ 15:20 PST) India beat Australia by six wickets SYDNEY, March 2 (Reuters): India beat Australia by six wickets in the first tri-series final match at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday. Scores: Australia 239-8 (Matthew Hayden 82); India 242-4 from 45.5 overs (Sachin Tendulkar 117 not out, Rohit Sharma 66) Series: India lead three match final series 1-0. (Posted @ 16:32 PST)
Sri Lankan clashes leave 24 dead: army COLOMBO, March 2 (AFP): At least 21 Tamil rebels and three Sri Lankan soldiers were killed in weekend clashes in the north and east, the army said Sunday. One soldier was killed Sunday morning by a roadside bomb blast in Vavuniya district, the army said in a statement. In a later statement, the defence ministry said 21 rebels were killed during clashes on Saturday, putting their own losses at two soldiers dead and six injured. There was no immediate comment from the Tamil Tigers over the casualty figures. (Posted @ 15:35 PST) Five killed in bomb attack on Iraqi bus BAQUBA, March 2 (AFP): Five people were killed and four wounded when a roadside bomb ripped into a passing minibus in Diyala province on Sunday, police said. A police major said the attack took place in Al-Kheraiz village east of Baquba, capital of Diyala some 60 kilometers north of Baghdad. Separately, a police officer was killed in a roadside bomb attack while on patrol in Buhruz region, just south of Baquba. (Posted @ 15:10 PST) Tanks, troops patrol Armenian capital after eight killed YEREVAN, March 2 (AFP): Tanks and troops patrolled the Armenian capital Yerevan on Sunday after eight people were killed during violent protests against alleged rigging of a presidential election. Authorities imposed a state of emergency following clashes between riot police and protesters that also left 33 police injured. A foreign ministry spokeswoman said seven civilians and one police officer had been killed. One police officer was in critical condition and 17 had been hospitalised for gunshot wounds, she said. (Posted @ 14:55 PST) POLL-Clinton trails in Texas, deadlocked in Ohio WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) - Democrat Hillary Clinton narrowly trails rival Barack Obama in Texas and the two are virtually tied in Ohio ahead of critical contests that could decide the fate of her presidential bid, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Houston Chronicle poll released on Sunday. Clinton faces heavy pressure to win in both big states on Tuesday and halt the Illinois senator's momentum after his 11 consecutive victories in their battle to become the Democratic nominee in November's presidential election. (Posted @ 11:15 PST) Ahmadinejad in Baghdad for landmark visit BAGHDAD, March 2 (Reuters) - Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, arrived in Baghdad on Sunday, making the first visit to Iraq by an Iranian president. He will hold talks with Iraq's top leaders during the two-day trip. A key issue likely to come up will be U.S. accusations that Iran arms and trains Shi'ite militias in Iraq. (First Posted @ 10:35 PST; Updated @ 11:10 PST) 2 killed, 2 injured in 2 plane collision at central Florida airport TITUSVILLE, Florida, March 2 (AP) - A small airplane that may have had trouble landing struck another aircraft that was taxiing at an airfield and both burst into flames Saturday, killing two people, authorities said. Two other people were critically injured. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Fire destroys 1,300 Bhutanese refugees' homes in Nepal; 10,000 endered homeless KATMANDU, Nepal, March 2 (AP) About 10,000 Bhutanese refugees were without shelter Sunday after a fire razed their camp in southeastern Nepal, an official said. He said 1,300 makeshift bamboo homes were destroyed at the Goldhap refugee camp Saturday night. More than 100,000 ethnic Nepalis _ a Hindu minority in Bhutan for centuries _ have been living as refugees in Nepal since the early 1990s, when they were forced out by Bhutanese authorities who wanted to maintain the country's dominant Buddhist culture. The refugees live in seven U.N.-run camps in southeastern Nepal. (Posted @ 10:00 PST) Six wounded in Philippine bomb blast JOLO, Philippines, March 2 (AFP) - A homemade bomb ripped through a bar near an army base in the southern Philippine island of Jolo on Sunday, wounding six four women and two soldiers, and we are still investigating the explosion,” an official spokesman said. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
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