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| March 14, 2008 | Friday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 5, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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 Pakistan court quashes final Zardari case ISLAMABAD, March 14 (AFP): A Pakistani court Friday quashed the last remaining graft case against Asif Ali Zardari, his lawyer said, removing the final possible hurdle to him standing for prime minister. Zardari was acquitted by the anti-corruption court Rawalpindi, in the last of seven cases that had been hanging over him for more than a decade, lawyer Farooq Naik said. “By the grace of God he has been honourably acquitted. I am very happy today that after a struggle of 11 years the state has failed to prove any cases against Asif Ali Zardari,” Naik told TV channels outside the court. “These are all politically motivated cases. After the long darkness in the tunnel the light has finally come and we hope that in future there will be no politics of revenge.” The case related to a BMW car which Zardari had allegedly imported without paying duty. (Posted @ 1235 PST)  Political chessboard still laid: Amin Fahim ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, March 14 (APP): PPP Senior Vice President Makhdoom Amin Fahim said Friday that the political chessboard has still been laid. Talking to newsmen In a joint briefing with Jamiatul Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman after meeting between the two leaders, he said the meeting was not a political but a personal one. Referring to meeting with Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali, Fahim he said it was not a scheduled meeting. (Posted @ 15:00 PST) 
 Jam Yusuf to be Opposition's joint candidate for PM slot ISLAMABAD, March 14 (APP): The opposition parties are mulling efforts to nominate a joint candidate for the slot of Prime Minister and PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain is said to be making efforts to form consensus over the name of former Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Muhammad Yusuf. He would discuss the issue at the parliamentary party meeting of the newly elected MNAs of the PML on March 17. (Posted @ 19:44 PST) Islamic summit hammers out new charter for OIC DAKAR, March 14 (AFP) - Muslim presidents, kings and other senior leaders held closed talks at a summit Friday to hammer out a new charter for the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, officials said. Leaders say a new charter is necessary to modernise and reform the group of 57 nations but there has been intense debate about issues ranging from whether to restrict eligibility for new membership to Muslim majority states and even how to define “self-determination” for the Palestinian people, diplomats said. A foreign minister who took part in talks this week told AFP on condition of anonymity it was “finely balanced” whether the heads of state would be able to reach an accord before the summit ends on Friday afternoon. If the talks fail, the decision could be put back to a later foreign ministers meeting or even the next OIC summit which is scheduled to be held in Cairo in three years. The absence of several prominent leaders -- including Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, Libya's Moamer Kadhafi and Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf -- has made a delay more likely, diplomats said. (Posted @ 19:18 PST) Militants kill 'US spy' in Pakistan MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, March 14 (AFP): Militants killed a tribesman after accusing him of working as a US spy and dumped his body on a road in Sham, a town between the North and South Waziristan tribal regions, officials said Friday. Rebels shot and then slit the throat of the 30-year-old man, a security official told AFP requesting anonymity. “They left a note claiming that he was a US spy and warning that anyone working for the US will suffer the same fate,” one official said. (Posted @ 12:55 PST) US firm, Indian CEO admit weapon, nuclear-linked export violations WASHINGTON, March 14 (AFP): A US company and the Indian head of an international firm have admitted to violating laws on export of weapons technology and nuclear power testing equipment to India, the US Justice Department said Thursday. Parthasarathy Sudarshan, the Indian CEO of Cirrus Electronics with offices in the United States, Singapore and India, pleaded guilty in Washington Thursday to a charge of shipping restricted weapons technology to the Indian government. He admitted exporting controlled microprocessors and electronic components to Indian state entities involved in developing ballistic missiles, space launch vehicles and fighter jets. In the second case, Minnesota company MTS Systems Corp. was fined 400,000 dollars after it pleaded guilty Wednesday in connection with submitting false US export license applications over proposed shipments to India, the Justice Department said. The company admitted to two misdemeanor counts of “false certification or writing” by omitting critical information linked to test equipment for nuclear-power plants. (Posted @ 09:25 PST) 
Bush acknowledges weakness in US economy NEW YORK, March 14 (AP) - Trying to calm jitters about the economy, President George W. Bush conceded on Friday that the country “obviously is going through a tough time” but expressed confidence about a rebound. In a speech to The Economic Club of New York, Bush said this was not the first time the economy has been rattled and he is certain that it will ride out its troubles. “These are uncertain times,” he said. (Posted @ 21:04 PST) Road accident kills 23 people, injures 35 in Syria DAMASCUS, Syria, March 14 (AP) - A bus carrying high school students rammed into a house in northern Syria on Friday, killing at least 23 people and injuring 35, the state-run SANA news agency reported. The accident occurred on a road liking the northern city of Idlib to the port city of Tartus when the brakes of the bus carrying the students failed, said the agency. It said the bus overturned after it hit the house, in the Sheik Badr area just north of Tartus, some 240 kilometers northwest of Damascus. (Posted @ 21:00 PST) Queen Elizabeth opens new Heathrow terminal LONDON, March 14 (Reuters) - Queen Elizabeth opened a giant, luxury terminal at London's Heathrow airport on Friday, despite security breaches by protesters opposed to expanding the world's busiest international air gateway. (Posted @ 20:56 PST) Mirwaiz appeals to OIC to continue support ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, March 14 (APP): The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq has said that the recent declaration of independence by Kosovo has encouraged the people of occupied Kashmir and hoped the international community would help in resolving the long-standing Kashmir dispute. Addressing the OIC Kashmir Contact Group in the ongoing 11th Islamic Summit at Dakar he maintained that the right to freedom never gets extinguished as had been proved by the Kosovo declaration. Mirwaiz proposed that OIC in conjunction with international community should visualize a constructive international initiative to compliment the slow paced dialogue between India and Pakistan and make it an instrument of change and added that this was not possible without including the genuine leadership of Kashmiris. (Posted @ 19:32 PST) 
Several dead in Tibet protests: Lhasa emergency centre BEIJING, March 14 (AFP) -Several people were killed in protests that erupted in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa on Friday, an official with the city's emergency centre told AFP. “We are very busy with the injured people now -- there are many people injured here. Definitely some people have died, but I don't know how many,” a female official at the centre said by phone. Radio Free Asia, citing unnamed witnesses, also reported that at least two people were killed in Lhasa on Friday. (Posted @ 19:10 PST) Cricket: South Africa beat Bangladesh to win series 3-0 DHAKA, March 14 (AFP) - South Africa crushed Bangladesh by seven wickets to clinch the three-match one-day international series 3-0 here on Friday. After bundling out Bangladesh for 143 in 42.5 overs, South Africa reached the target in 34.2 overs. Graeme Smith was the top scorer with 68 as South Africa became the top-ranked one-day side in the world ahead of Australia. (First Posted @ 09:20 PST, Updated @ 15:25 PST) Nepal closes Everest for Olympic torch KATHMANDU, March 14 (AFP) - Nepal will block access to Mount Everest in early May while China takes the Olympic torch to the roof of the world, the tourism minister told AFP on Friday. “Expedition teams will not be allowed to move from Nepal's Everest base camp from May 1 to May 10,” said the minister, Prithvi Subba Gurung. “We have received a request from China not to allow people on the mountain while the Olympic torch is on Everest,” the minister said. (Posted @ 1525 PST) 3 suspected Taliban killed in clashes with Afghan, foreign troops KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, March 14 (AP) - Afghan and foreign troops clashed with Taliban insurgents in Mizan district of Zabul province on Friday, leaving three suspected militants dead and two wounded, an official said. Militants ambushed the security forces with troops returning fire, said district chief Mohammad Younus Akhunzada. No troops were hurt but a police vehicle was damaged, he said. In the east, meanwhile, the U.S.-led coalition forces detained 11 suspected insurgents during a raid and searches of compounds in Tanai district of Khost province, the coalition said. (Posted @ 14:50 PST)
Eleven Bangladeshis killed in road accident DHAKA, March 14 (Reuters): Eleven people were killed when a truck hit a small vehicle carrying the victims on a Bangladesh highway Friday, police said. The victims were travelling in the three-wheeled vehicle when the speeding truck rammed into it after losing control at Gournadi, 300 km south of Dhaka. (Posted @ 14:00 PST) Israel, Palestinians resume high level-talks on peace process JERUSALEM, March 14 (AFP): Israel and the Palestinians resumed high-level talks Friday at a meeting with a top US envoy. Ehud Barak's office said he was sending an aide to Friday's talks with Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad and US Lieutenant General William Fraser. The meeting, to discuss implementation of the stalled 2003 peace roadmap, is the first at senior level since Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas suspended talks on March 2 to protest an Israeli blitz on the Gaza Strip. (Posted @ 13:40 PST) Nine killed, 49 hurt in Myanmar truck crash YANGON, March 14 (AFP): Nine people were killed and 49 others injured when a truck flipped over on a highway in central Myanmar as it was taking passengers to a religious festival, state media said Friday. The truck, crammed with 72 people, was heading to a festival at the Shwesettaw Pagoda in Magway division, 430 kilometres north of Yangon, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said. (Posted @ 12:10 PST) US Senate, House approve fiscal 2009 budget plans WASHINGTON, March 14 (Reuters): The U.S. Senate passed a budget plan Friday to eliminate the federal deficit by 2012 while spending more than President George W. Bush wants on domestic programs like schools and roads. After a 15-hour debate that began Thursday, the Senate voted 51-44 mostly along party lines to approve a nonbinding $3 trillion Democratic budget blueprint for the year beginning October 1. (Posted @ 12:00 PST) Iran votes in polls after reformists disqualifed TEHRAN, March 14 (AFP): Iranians on Friday began voting in polls expected to consolidate conservative control of parliament after the disqualification of reformist candidates by a vetting body. Reformists are only able to contest half of the 290 seats in parliament after the Guardians Council vetoed hundreds of their candidates for being deemed insufficiently qualified to stand. (Posted @ 11:45 PST) House goes behind closed doors to debate surveillance bill WASHINGTON, March 14 (AP): The House of Representatives held a closed session Thursday for the first time in 25 years to discuss a hotly contested surveillance bill. Republicans requested privacy for what they termed ''an honest debate'' on the new Democratic eavesdropping measure that is opposed by the White House and most Republicans in Congress. Lawmakers were forbidden to disclose what was said during the hour-long session. The extent to which minds were changed, if at all, should be more clear Friday, when the House was expected to openly debate and then vote on the bill. (First Posted @ 09:55 PST, Updated @ 11:05 PST) Cricket-England (342 &) 4-0 v New Zealand (198) - close WELLINGTON, March 14 (Reuters): England were four without loss in their second innings at the close of play on the second day of the second test against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve on Friday. Scores: England: 342 (T. Ambrose 102, P. Collingwood 65, A. Cook 44; J. Oram 3-46, M. Gillespie 4-79) & 4-0; New Zealand: 198 (R. Taylor 54, D. Vettori 50 not out; J. Anderson 5-73). (First Posted @ 09:20 PST, Updated @ 10:45 PST) Eight killed in Ethiopian landmine blast ADDIS ABABA, March 14 (AFP): A bus hit a landmine near the disputed Ethiopian-Eritrean border Thursday, killing at least eight people and wounding 27 others, state media reported. “Eight people died when a landmine planted by Eritrean government-backed elements blew up a public bus in Humera,” Ethiopian Television reported, although there was no claim of responsibility for planting the device. “Another eleven people suffered light injuries while sixteen others suffered heavy injuries from the blast,” the report added. (Posted @ 10:25 PST) Sri Lanka says 23 more rebels killed COLOMBO, March 14 (AFP): Heavy fighting between security forces and Tamil Tiger rebels in northern Sri Lanka has left at least 23 guerrillas dead and five government soldiers wounded, the defence ministry said Friday. Clashes erupted in the Wanni region as well as the Jaffna peninsula, along the de facto border of the mini-state of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Thursday, the ministry said. (Posted @ 09:45 PST) Avalanche near China gas project buries workers BEIJING, March 14 (Reuters): An avalanche near a gas pipeline project in far western China buried at least 12 workers, with four confirmed dead, the Xinhua news agency reported Friday. The snow-slide struck part of the west-to-east natural gas pipeline project in Xinjiang, where the workers were building a tunnel near Huocheng County, Xinhua said. (Posted @ 09:40 PST) Karachi Stocks up 12.55 points: KARACHI, March 14: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 15087.47, up 12.55 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:00 PST) Forex update: KARACHI, March 14: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 62.95 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:00 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
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