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| March 05, 2008 | Wednesday | Safar 26, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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 Pakistan court drops graft cases against Asif Zardari ISLAMABAD, March 5 (AFP): A Pakistani anti-corruption court Wednesday officially terminated five cases against Asif Zardari and released his frozen assets, his lawyer said. “Allah has differentiated truth from lies and justice has been done,” Zardari's lawyer, Farooq Naik, told reporters outside the court in Rawalpindi. The court had “terminated” five cases against Zardari and unfrozen his assets, Naik said. Two more cases were pending but would be thrown out at the next hearing, he said. (Posted @ 13:55 PST)  Pakistani sentenced to death over US consulate attack: lawyers KARACHI, March 5 (AFP): A Pakistani court Wednesday sentenced a militant to death over a 2006 suicide bombing outside the US consulate in Karachi, which killed a US diplomat and three other people. Anwarul Haq was convicted by an anti-terrorism court in Karachi on four counts in connection with the attack on March 2, 2006, the eve of a visit to Pakistan by US President Bush. “The court found the suspect guilty in the incident and sentenced him to death on four counts,” public prosecutor Naimat Ali Randhawa told AFP. The court also sentenced Haq to 85 years imprisonment and fined him Rs1.5 million in connection with the 25 people who were wounded in the blast. Another suspect, Usman Ghani, was cleared of all charges. Randhawa said the two belonged to an Al-Qaeda-linked extremist group. (Posted @ 15:25 PST) 
Doctor A.Q. Khan hospitalised: army ISLAMABAD, March 5 (AFP): Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, who underwent cancer surgery two years ago, has been hospitalised with a suspected infection, the army said Wednesday. Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme, has been under house arrest since early 2004 when he confessed to passing atomic secrets to Iran, North Korea and Libya. An army statement said Khan had been in good health since he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in September 2006 but that on Tuesday “he complained of weakness and was provided immediate medical treatment at home.” ”Medical check-up revealed low blood pressure and fever, probably due to some infection. Doctors advised him to be hospitalised for a detailed medical checkup,” the statement said. The 71-year-old scientist was taken to hospital early Wednesday and was being cared for by the team of doctors who treated him earlier. “Doctors who are treating him are hopeful that Dr A.Q. Khan would return home fully recovered in a couple of days,” the statement said. (Posted @ 12:40 PST)  Police detain eight members of militant groups in probe into Lahore blasts LAHORE, March 5 (AP): Police have detained eight alleged militants after a suicide attack on Lahore’s Navy War College, an official said Wednesday. Members of outlawed militant organizations were detained in separate raids hours after Tuesday's bombing, said Chaudhry Masood Aziz, chief of anti-terrorism unit of Lahore police. The men have been picked up ''in an attempt to find any clue to identify the bombers or people involved in the attack,'' Aziz said. None of them was a suspect, he said. The heads of the two suspected bombers were recovered from the blast site and investigators will carry out DNA tests to try and establish their identity, said Tassaduq Hussain, the chief investigator of Lahore police. Parts of a motorcycle, believed to have been used by the attackers, its chassis and engine numbers have been recovered and police will try to find who owned it, a senior investigator said requesting anonymity. (Posted @ 13:10 PST) 
Indian PM says he wants peace, good ties with Pakistan NEW DELHI, March 5 (AFP): Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Wednesday he wanted good relations with arch-rival Pakistan and voiced hopes that talks as part of a slow moving peace process would soon resume. In a speech to the Indian parliament, he extended India's “warmest good wishes” as Pakistan “took steps to consolidate democracy. India wants to live in peace with Pakistan. The destinies of our two nations are interlinked. We need to put the past behind us,” he said. Singh said: “I hope that the newly elected leaders in Pakistan can quickly move forward with us on this.” (Posted @ 15:30 PST) NATO seeks Russia's help in Afghanistan: NATO official MOSCOW, March 5 (AFP): A senior NATO official said here on Wednesday the alliance was seeking Russia's help in Afghanistan, particularly with transporting NATO forces and equipping the Afghan army. Robert Simmons, NATO's special envoy for the Caucasus and Central Asia, told journalists Russian help could include “regular use of Russian transport to get supplies to NATO forces in Afghanistan, possible Russian contributions to the re-equipment of the Afghan army.” He said NATO and Russia had “common ground” on Afghanistan and that he would hold discussions with Russian officials on possible help from Moscow. Russia's President Vladimir Putin is due to attend a summit NATO in Romania on April 2-4. (Posted @ 16:35 PST) Big explosives cache seized in Mohmand Agency, two arrested MOHMAND AGENCY, March 5 (PPI): Police on Wednesday foiled a major terror plot in Mohmand Agency and seized a big cache of explosives. A police patrol intercepted a pickup at Pakka Gand check-post and found a large cache of explosive material from it during search. The police also arrested two men. (Posted @ 22:00 PST) Indian govt allies want military ties with Israel cut NEW DELHI, March 5 (AFP): Allies of India's coalition government demanded Wednesday an end to military ties with major arms supplier Israel over its blockade of the Gaza Strip and military strikes against the territory. Several smaller regional parties joined India's Communists, who prop up Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's minority government, in calling for a return to New Delhi's “principled stand of support” for the Palestinians. “Unfortunately the government has been evasive in its response” to military strikes as well as the economic blockade of Gaza, said Prakash Karat, India's main Marxist leader. India's “parliament should be able to demand that the government stop forthwith military collaboration with Israel,” Karat said. In keeping ties with Israel, “India is betraying one of its most principled positions,” he said. (Posted @ 21:45 PST) Sikh extremists still active abroad: Indian PM AMRITSAR, March 5 (AFP): Remnants of Sikh rebel groups abroad are helping attempts to revive an insurgency in India's northern state of Punjab, the country's prime minister warned in a letter obtained Wednesday. In a letter to the guardians of Sikhism's holiest shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said die-hard separatists were recieving support from sympathisers living overseas. “The government and our agencies have credible information of efforts being made by extremist groups to revive militancy in Punjab,” the premier said in the letter, a copy of which was made available to AFP. (Posted @ 21:30 PST) Mandela to reunite with apartheid trialists for 90th birthday JOHANNESBURG, March 5 (AFP): Nelson Mandela, sentenced to life in prison for trying to topple South Africa's apartheid regime, will reunite with his surviving co-accused next week to kick off his 90th birthday celebrations. The March 14 reunion will involve several old African National Congress (ANC) comrades who appeared alongside him in the dock in three major apartheid-era court cases, including the historic 1963-4 Rivonia trial, organisers from Mandela's charity told a press conference on Wednesday. (Posted @ 21:15 PST)
Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan settle old gas dispute BAKU/ASHGABAT, March 5 (Reuters): Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan settled an old gas debt dispute on Wednesday, removing a major obstacle to relations between the two energy-rich Caspian nations. Europe, seeking alternative energy supply routes to ease its reliance on Russian gas flows, wants Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan to cooperate more on the planned Nabucco pipeline, designed to give Europe direct access to Caspian gas. (Posted @ 21:00 PST) Strikes cause transport chaos in Germany BERLIN, March 5 (AFP): Strikes brought transport chaos to Germany on Wednesday as airport workers joined industrial action by other service industry staff, causing cancellations and long delays at airports around the country. The airports affected included Hamburg and Hanover in the north, Munich in the south and Stuttgart, Duesseldorf, Dortmund, Cologne and Frankfurt in the west. National carrier Lufthansa cancelled 142 flights, mostly on domestic routes. In Berlin, airports functioned normally but commuters battled to get to work as employees of the BVG public transport service also went on strike in support of wage demands. (Posted @ 20:45 PST) Turkey strikes northern Iraq: PKK spokesman ARBIL, Iraq, March 5 (AFP): Turkish warplanes and artillery fired on targets inside the Kurdish region of northern Iraq on Wednesday, a spokesman for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) said. The attacks began at 3 am and continued sporadically during the day, said PKK spokesman Ahmed Danis. He said there were no casualties. (Posted @ 20:00 PST) SAS goes on trial in Denmark over Asian air hostess hires COPENHAGEN, March 5 (AFP): Scandinavian airline SAS went on trial in Copenhagen on Wednesday for hiring Chinese and Japanese flight attendants without Danish work permits. The company stands accused of employing 65 Asian airline hostesses (34 Chinese and 31 Japanese citizens) without Danish work permits since 2005. (Posted @ 19:15 PST) Kenya police fire teargas to halt street protests NAIROBI, March 5 (Reuters): Kenyan police fired teargas on Wednesday to scatter street protests by hundreds of young men demanding the release of a former leader of the outlawed Mungiki gang from prison. Police in riot gear chased the protesters through downtown Nairobi, frightening residents still on edge after post-election violence which killed more than 1,000 people and forced 300,000 from their homes. (Posted @ 18:40 PST) Israelis, Palestinians to resume talks: Rice JERUSALEM, March 5 (AFP): US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday that Israelis and Palestinians intend to resume peace negotiations which have been frozen because of a military blitz on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. “I've been informed by the parties that they intend to resume the negotiations,” Rice told reporters after talks with Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni. In Ramallah, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas confirmed on Wednesday that he intended to resume Middle East peace talks, without specifying whether a truce was still a pre-condition. “The president affirms that he has the intention to restart the peace process and the negotiations to lead to the end of the occupation and the creation of a Palestinian state,” Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP. (First Posted @ 18:00 PST; Updated @ 18:45 PST) Four US Marines facing court-martial in Japan: report TOKYO, March 5 (AFP): Four US Marines will be court-martialled for allegedly gang-raping a Japanese woman in one of a string of cases that has caused a public uproar, a report said Wednesday. The US military will court-martial the four sometime after late April at the Iwakuni base near the western city of Hiroshima, Japanese public broadcaster NHK said. (Posted @ 18:30 PST) Pope to host Muslim leaders in November VATICAN CITY, March 5 (AFP): Pope Benedict XVI will host a ground-breaking “summit” of Catholic and Muslim leaders in November, the Vatican said Wednesday. The conference from November 6 to 8 will take place just over a year after 138 Muslim leaders from various sects from 43 countries issued an open letter last year urging peace. (Posted @ 18:00 PST) Russians kidnapped for their flats, gang grabs 300 flats: police MOSCOW, March 5 (AFP): Russian police have arrested an organized criminal group suspected of kidnapping Moscow flat owners to gain control over valuable real estate, police said Wednesday. Police swooped on members of the gang in three different regions, said a police spokeswoman. Two of those arrested had used various schemes to gain ownership of 300 flats in the centre of Moscow. (Posted @ 17:40 PST) 
China coal mine fire kills 17 BEIJING, March 5 (AFP): A fire at a coal mine in northeastern China killed 17 people on Wednesday, state media reported. The fire broke out in the morning at Jin'an Coal Mine in Liaoning province and later caused a tunnel collapse which prevented the victims escaping, Xinhua news agency quoted local officials as saying. (Posted @ 16:50 PST) Fighting in northern Sri Lanka kills 14 rebels, 2 soldiers COLOMBO, March 5 (AP): Sri Lanka's military pounded rebel positions with helicopter gunships and fought a series of ground battles with Tamil rebels that killed 14 guerrillas and two soldiers, the military said Wednesday. Meanwhile, a roadside bomb exploded near the town of Vavuniya inside government-held territory, injuring two police officers and two civilians, the military said. A rebel spokesman did not answer calls seeking comment Wednesday. (First Posted @ 09:30 PST; Updated @ 16:35 PST) US pushes India on nuclear deal NEW DELHI, March 5 (AFP): The United States Wednesday urged India to quickly complete all steps required to conclude a civilian nuclear technology deal with Washington before the US presidential polls in November. “Time is very tight” to get the deal through the US Congress before the United States goes into election mode, US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Richard Boucher, told reporters in New Delhi. (Posted @ 15:45 PST) 
Hijacker shot after taking Australians hostage in China BEIJING, March 5 (AFP): A hijacker armed with explosives took a group of Australian tourists and a translator hostage in China on Wednesday before police shot and killed him, an Australian embassy official and Chinese media reported. Initially 10 Australians were taken hostage on a tourist bus in the city of Xi'an in northwest China but nine were released soon after, a spokeswoman for the Australian Embassy in Beijing, told AFP. Chinese police agreed to let the hijacker change buses and head to the airport before shooting him as he approached the toll station, China's Xinhua news agency reported. It said the woman and translator were unharmed. (Posted @ 15:20 PST) Eight children die in China fire SHANGHAI, March 5 (AFP): Eight children died in southern China’s Guangdong province after a burning mosquito incense stick apparently set fire to their bed clothes, Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday. (Posted @ 13:45 PST) Three missing in Japan’s Inland Sea ship collision TOKYO, March 5 (AFP): Three vessels collided Wednesday in a strait in western Japan, sinking a cargo ship on which three Filipino crew are missing, the Japan Coast Guard said. The vessels - an oil tanker, a cargo ship and another boat - collided in the Akashi Strait in Japan's Inland Sea, a coast guard official said. (Posted @ 13:35 PST)
Two killed, five wounded in occupied Kashmir grenade blast SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, March 5 (AFP): Two people, one a woman, were killed in a grenade explosion inside their house in occupied Kashmir’s Reshinagar area, 50 kilometres south of Srinagar late Tuesday, a police spokesman said Wednesday. Five other people were seriously hurt. (Posted @ 12:30 PST) McCain claims Republican presidential nomination WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters): John McCain clinched the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday with four big victories that drove his last major rival, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, out of the race. The wins in Vermont, Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island gave McCain more than the 1,191 delegates needed to win the nomination, according to media delegate counts. (Posted @ 11:55 PST) Clinton takes Texas primary in third win of the day AUSTIN, Texas, March 5 (AFP): Democrat Hillary Clinton scored a huge boost in her White House campaign Tuesday, winning the popular vote in the Texas primary after taking Ohio and Rhode Island, US media said. With 76 percent of the precincts reporting, Clinton had taken 51 percent of the vote to 47 percent for her rival Barack Obama, CNN, MSNBC and CBS said. After 11 wins in a row, Obama notched up only one more victory Tuesday, when he took the small state of Vermont. (First Posted @ 09:10 PST, Updated @ 11:50 PST) Several Taliban killed and three car bombs discovered in Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan, March 5 (AP): Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces killed several Taliban insurgents and discovered cave complexes containing three car bombs and other explosive materials in southern Afghanistan, the coalition said Wednesday. The joint forces were patrolling northeast of Helmand province's Gereshk district when Taliban fighters fired on them Sunday with small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, a coalition statement said. The Afghan and coalition troops returned fire and called in airstrikes, killing ''several insurgents,'' the statement said. It did not give further details. (Posted @ 11:40 PST) Truck overturns in India, killing 11 people LUCKNOW, India, March 5 (AP): A truck carrying Hindu devotees overturned on a northern Indian highway, killing 11 of them and injuring 20, police said Wednesday. The driver, who was among the dead, apparently lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a sharp turn Tuesday night and hit a wall by the roadside, state police spokesman Surendra Shrivastava said. The accident occurred near Hathras, a town nearly 400 kilometres southwest of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state. (Posted @ 10:45 PST) Cricket- New Zealand 282-6 v England first test - close HAMILTON, New Zealand, March 5 (Reuters): New Zealand were 282 for six at the close of play on the first day of the first test against England on Wednesday. Scores: New Zealand 282-6 (J.How 92, R.Taylor 54 not out, B.McCullum 51; R.Sidebottom 2-39). (Posted @ 10:35 PST) Two policemen killed in Thai south YALA, Thailand, March 5 (AFP): Insurgents killed two policemen and injured three others in a bombing and a shooting in southern Thailand, police said Wednesday. A 40-year-old police sergeant was killed and his 52-year-old colleague seriously wounded when a bomb hidden under a bridge exploded in Pattani province early Wednesday, provincial police said. In nearby Yala province Tuesday night, a 48-year-old sergeant was shot dead and two other police officers were wounded when insurgents ambushed their pick-up truck, police said. Two civilians were also seriously injured in separate shootings in Pattani Tuesday. (Posted @ 10:20 PST) Peru bus plunges into ravine killing at least 19 LIMA, March 5 (AFP): A passenger bus plunged into a deep ravine in southern Peru Tuesday killing at least 19 people and injuring 30 others, a hospital chief said. “The death toll has risen from 12 to 19 in the last few hours after police brought in seven more bodies from the accident site,” Puquio Hospital director Luis Huamani told RPP radio. The accident happened when a passenger bus swerved off the road and careened down a deep ravine on the Puquio-Abaceny highway, in southern Ayacucho department. (Posted @ 09:45 PST) Moderate quake rocks Taiwan TAIPEI, March 5 (AFP): A moderate 5.5-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Taiwan Wednesday, the central weather bureau said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The tremor struck at 01:31 am and was centred 7.2 kilometres northwest of Taoyuan in southern Kaohsiung with a depth of 3.6 kilometres underground, the bureau said. An aftershock with a 4.9-magnitude occurred some five hours later, it added. (Posted @ 09:35 PST)
Five killed in Mexico border city amid drug war TIJUANA, Mexico, March 5 (Reuters): Five youths were tortured, sprayed with bullets and dumped in an empty lot Tuesday in the Mexican border city of Tijuana, where the army is battling a spike in killings by powerful drug cartels. The bodies were handcuffed and riddled with dozens of bullets, police said, in one of the bloodiest drug-related murders in Mexico so far this year. (Posted @ 09:15 PST) Karachi Stocks up 221.56 points: KARACHI, March 05: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 14957.90, up 221.56 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:17 PST) Forex update: KARACHI, March 05: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 62.9 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:17 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
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