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| March 29, 2008 | Saturday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 20, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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 New Pakistani PM Gilani secures assembly’s unanimous approval ISLAMABAD, March 29 (Reuters) - Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani secured the unanimous approval of the National Assembly on Saturday without a vote of confidence after the opposition said it supported him. A new prime minister is required by the constitution to secure the backing of the lower house of parliament through a vote of confidence. But a vote is not necessary if the opposition voices support. Gilani is from assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's party, which won the most seats in Feb. 18 parliamentary elections and he is set to lead a coalition government. (First Posted @ 10:05 PST, Updated @ 12:15 PST)  PM Gilani asks militants to abandon path of violence; vows restoration of deposed judges ISLAMABAD, March 29 (AFP): Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani Saturday urged militants to renounce violence and offered to hold talks with those who give up arms and join the new democratic era. Addressing the parliament after wining a unanimous vote of confidence, Gilani said terrorism was the biggest threat undermining Pakistan's stability. “Our first priority will be restoration of law and order and elimination of terrorism from the country,” said Gilani. “The fight against terrorism is our own fight because it has claimed innocent lives of children and young men of Pakistan…unfortunately some people have made violence a means to express their views. I appeal to all those people to abandon the path of violence and join us in the journey of democracy.” Gilani promised a special package of political and economic reforms in tribal areas as part of government strategy to fight terrorism and extremism. Gilani also said his government would continue efforts to reinstate judges ousted by President Musharraf in November last year under emergency rule and said the government would ensure the independence of the judiciary. (First Posted @ 13:25 PST, Updated @ 14:40 PST)  Supreme Court staff take possession of judge’s house ISLAMABAD, March 29 (AFP): The staff of the Supreme Court took possession of house that was in the use of a judge who was removed under the November 3 emergency. A private TV channel reported that the court’sw junior staff appeared at the residence of Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday and began to remove the belongings of Justice Ramday and his family stating that the house had been allotted to Justice Musa Leghari. The private television also reported that the action had been taken on the orders of Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar. (Posted @ 21:36 PST) US-Afghan-Pakistan military center opens on border TORKHAM, March 29 (AP): U.S., Afghan and Pakistani officers opened the first of six joint military intelligence centers along the Afghan-Pakistan border Saturday, in an effort to cut down on militants' movement in the region. The centers represent the latest step in American efforts to get Afghanistan and Pakistan to coordinate in the fight against the Taliban and Al-Qaida. The centers are to be staffed by about 20 personnel from the three countries, and meant to let Afghan and Pakistani officials use U.S. intelligence-gathering resources. (Posted @ 21:48 PST) Two US soldiers killed in eastern Baghdad BAGHDAD, March 29, (AFP) - Militants killed two US soldiers in eastern Baghdad in a bomb attack on their vehicle on Saturday, the American military said. The military did not specify the exact location of the attack, which happened at 5:30 pm. (Posted @ 23:20 PST) Two killed in Nepal mosque bombing: official KATHMANDU, March 29, (AFP) - At least two people have been killed in a bomb attack on a mosque in southern Nepal, an official said Saturday. “Two people have been killed and two have been injured in a bomb explosion Saturday evening inside the mosque,” senior local official Madhav Prasad Regmi told AFP. (Posted @ 23:02 PST) 
Gaddafi says Arabs should not alienate Iran DAMASCUS, March 29 (Reuters): Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi urged fellow Arab leaders on Saturday to improve ties with non-Arab Iran, saying it was not in their interest to antagonise the Islamic republic. “You have no escape from Iran. It is a neighbour and Muslim brother and it is not in your interest to be its enemy. We have no interest at all in turning Iran against us,” Gaddafi told an Arab summit meeting in Damascus. (Posted @ 22:44 PST) Palestinian President calls for Arab, international troops DAMASCUS, March 29 (AP): Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sharply criticised Israel on Saturday, accusing it of wrecking peace negotiations with settlement construction. He also urged Arab leaders to send troops to protect Palestinians. Abbas spoke to a summit of Arab leaders in Damascus. In his speech Abbas took a pessimistic tone over Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations launched in December. The summit comes as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is heading to the region this weekend for talks with Arab and Israeli leaders on the peace process. (Posted @ 22:20 PST) 
1000 unmarked graves found in Baramulla: rights group Srinagar, occupied Kashmir, March 29 (PPI): A human rights group says it has found 1,000 unmarked graves in Baramulla district and urged international agencies to help identify the bodies. Kashmir Media Service said Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) members fear their relatives who disappeared following arrest by Indian troops might be buried in these graves. APDP found the graves during a yearlong survey in the region around Uri town. Releasing its survey report “Facts under ground,” the APDP said the survey shows the total number of such graves in Boniyar, Uri and Baramulla was 940. (Posted @ 21:18 PST) Sri Lanka fighting kills 27 rebels: defence ministry COLOMBO, March 29 (AFP): Sri Lankan security forces killed at least 27 Tamil Tiger rebels during fighting across the island's embattled northern district, the defence ministry said Saturday. Ground troops advanced further into Mannar on Saturday killing 10 Tamil Tiger rebels and smashing two rebel bunkers, the statement said. The military said they destroyed rebel bunkers and killed 17 guerrillas on Friday and placed its own losses at seven soldiers injured. There was no immediate comment from the LTTE, but a pro-rebel website said a a soldier died on Friday after accidentally touching a live electric fence along the northern defence line. (Posted @ 21:10 PST) Three dead after fishing vessel capsizes off Canada TORONTO, March 29 (Reuters): Three seal hunters died on Saturday after a fishing vessel capsized in the icy waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, marking the first accident of Canada's 2008 seal hunt season. The vessel was carrying a crew of six men. Two were rescued by another fishing boat right after the vessel flipped. Divers were still searching for a fourth man. (Posted @ 21:00 PST)
9 German tank trainers attacked by youths in Chile IQUIQUE, Chile, March 29 (AP): Nine German soldiers sent to Chile to instruct troops on driving German tanks were attacked and tied up by a group of youths in an apparent robbery bid, police said Saturday. None of the Germans was seriously hurt and the five attackers, aged 14 to 20, were arrested by police following the assault in the northern port city of Iquique, said a police official. In Berlin, the German army confirmed the incident, which took place on Friday. (Posted @ 20:30 PST) Troops shell Somali market, killing 11 MOGADISHU, March 29 (Reuters): At least 11 people were killed in Mogadishu on Saturday when troops at the Villa Somalia presidential palace returned fire against militants who attacked it with mortar bombs, witnesses said. Residents said Ethiopian soldiers guarding President Abdullahi Yusuf who was in residence at the time, shelled the city's Bakara Market, killing a number of people, an aide told Reuters. (Posted @ 20:14 PST) PML-N to stay out, if MQM joins Sindh Govt. ISLAMABAD, March 29 (APP): Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) Vice-President and former Governor Mamnoon Hussain has said that if the MQM becomes part of the Sindh government, his party would not join the government. (Posted @ 20:10 PST) Scores injured in Angola police building collapse LUANDA, March 29 (Reuters): Scores of detainees were injured Saturday when a six-storey police building collapsed in the Angolan capital Luanda, state news agency Angop reported. The Angolan police chief Ambrosio de Lemos said the cause of the collapse of the National Criminal Investigation Department (DNIC) building was so far unknown but no “external factor” was involved. The BBC reported on its Web site that more than 80 people were injured. (Posted @ 19:40 PST) EU ministers break ice with Serbia BRDO, Slovenia, March 29 (Reuters): European Union foreign ministers broke the ice with Serbia on Saturday, holding their first talks with Belgrade since most EU countries recognised Kosovo's declaration of independence. Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic met counterparts from all 27 EU states for breakfast, but left before the EU met other Western Balkans countries including Kosovo. “It was a very friendly, constructive discussion,” Dimitrij Rupel, foreign minister of EU President Slovenia, told reporters afterwards. (Posted @ 19:32 PST) 5.4 earthquake rattles Peru coast LIMA, March 29 (AP): A 5.4-magnitude earthquake rattled Peru's coast near the capital early Saturday, but no damages or fatalities were immediately reported. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck in the Pacific Ocean at 7:51 a.m. local time, 15 kilometers west of Lima, shaking startled Peruvians out of bed. The quake came about six hours after a magnitude 4.4 temblor struck 75 kilometers north of Lima. (Posted @ 19:30 PST) Cricket: South Africa 131-1 in First Test second innings CHENNAI, March 29 (AFP): A spirited fightback by South Africa left the first cricket Test against India headed for a draw on Saturday. Earlier, India were all out for 627 by tea on the fourth day. The tourists closed the day at 131-1 in their second knock with opener Neil McKenzie with an unbeaten 59. Hashim Amla was the other batsman at the crease on a fluent 35. (Posted @ 18:56 PST) Turkish army says 15 PKK militants killed in N. Iraq ISTANBUL, March 29 (Reuters): Turkey's army killed 15 members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq on Thursday using long-range land weapons, it said on Saturday. It followed up the attack on the Kurdish separatists with air strikes on Friday, the Chief of General Staff said on its website. (Posted @ 18:50 PST) Israeli army kills Palestinian near Gaza-Israel border fence GAZA CITY, March 29 (AP): Palestinian medics said they retrieved the body of a Palestinian on Saturday who was killed by Israeli army fire near Gaza's border fence with Israel. The man belonged to a faction affiliated with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party. Israel does not allow Gaza residents to approach the border fence it shares with the territory. (Posted @ 18:26 PST)
Nepal crackdown on Tibet protests: 84 held KATHMANDU, March 29 (Reuters): Nepali police broke up a pro-Tibetan rally in Kathmandu on Saturday and detained dozens of demonstrators. Police said they detained 84 people protesting against Chinese rule in Tibet as they tried to demonstrate in front of a Chinese consulate office in the centre of Nepal's capital. They will probably be released later in the day, police said. (Posted @ 18:24PST) 11 die in Egypt road accident CAIRO, March 29 (AFP): Eleven members of a family were killed and another 16 seriously injured Saturday in a road accident in Egypt, the MENA news agency reported. It said the vehicle carrying the victims was driving at “a crazy speed” on the highway linking Cairo and the northern port city of Alexandria when it collided with two oncoming trucks. The injured, all of whom where gravely hurt, were taken to hospital, MENA added. (Posted @ 17:15PST) Six killed, dozens missing in Tanzania mining accident DAR ES SALAAM, March 29 (AFP): At least six people died and dozens went missing when a mine was flooded in northern Tanzania Saturday, a police official told AFP. “We have so far received six bodies and we are still searching for others,” said the official requesting anonymity. “The owners of the pits said 87 were underground at the time of floods.” (Posted @ 16:40 PST)
Sadr followers reject Iraq PM's call to surrender arms NAJAF, Iraq, March 29 (AFP): The followers of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr Saturday rejected Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's call to lay down their arms, a top aide of Sadr told AFP in Najaf. “Sadr has told us not to surrender our arms except to a state that can throw out the occupation,” Haider al-Jabari, a member of Sadr movement's political bureau, told AFP. On Wednesday, Maliki gave a 72-hour deadline to militants to surrender their weapons in Basra where he launched a crackdown against them Tuesday. The deadline was effective from Tuesday and expired Friday. (Posted @ 16:15 PST) Nearly 230 killed in Iraq clashes: AFP tally BAGHDAD, March 29 (AFP): Almost 230 people have been killed in Iraq since fierce clashes between militants and Iraqi troops broke out five days ago, according to an AFP tally based on reports by security officials. Unconfirmed reports put the death toll much higher. Fighting has raged since Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Tuesday ordered security forces to raid strongholds of militiamen mostly loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, in the port city of Basra. Subsequent street battles have left hundreds more wounded. Fighting was reported in some Basra neighbourhoods on Saturday for the fifth straight day, with at least 23 people killed since hostilities began, according to Iraqi security officials and aid organisations. (Posted @ 14:55 PST) Arab summit opens in Syria, Lebanon absent DAMASCUS, March 29 (Reuters): An Arab summit opened in the Syrian capital Damascus Saturday in the absence of Lebanon and of Arab leaders critical of Syria's role in the Lebanese crisis. Eleven heads of state from the Arab League's 22 members were present at the opening session. (Posted @ 14:55 PST)
7 killed as building collapses in New Delhi NEW DELHI, March 29 (AFP): At least 7 people were killed and more than 20 injured when a multi-storey building being built in the northeast of New Delhi collapsed early Saturday, the Press Trust of India said, quoting police. The casualties were mainly labourers working at the construction site. (First Posted @ 14:45 PST Updated @ 22:48 PST) 12 killed in Karbala clashes KARBALA, Iraq, March 29 (AFP): Iraqi troops clashed with militants in Karbala overnight Saturday, killing 12 militants, Karbala police chief Major General Raed Jawdat Shakir said. “We launched an operation last night in which 12 outlaws were killed and 25 were captured,” Shakir said. (Posted @ 13:40 PST) Strong earthquakes rattle northern Philippines MANILA, March 29 (APP/AFP): Two strong earthquakes rattled the Philippines Saturday, but there were no reports of damage or injuries, US and Filipino seismologists said. The first quake had a 5.7-magnitude with an epicentre about 30 kilometres south of the Batan Islands and some 225 kilometres north of the archipelago's largest island of Luzon, the US Geological Survey said. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology put the quake's magnitude at 5.2, with the epicentre 32 kilometres northeast of Basco town in Batan. A second earthquake, with a magnitude of 5.7, was felt off the eastern coast of the Philippines, with an epicentre about 149 kilometres northeast of the central island of Samar, the Philippine institute said. (Posted @ 13:00 PST) Eight killed in Basra air strike BASRA , Iraq, March 29 (AFP) - An air strike early on Saturday in Basra killed eight people, an AFP journalist reported from the scene. Bombs were dropped on the Al-Baath neighbourhood of northwest Basra, he said, adding that several houses in the area were damaged.Witnesses said the strike was carried out by US-led coalition warplanes and that several more people were feared killed in the bombing. (Posted @ 12:15 PST) Two dead after Afghan blast KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, March 29 (AFP) - Two employees were killed and several wounded on Saturday after a bomb blast caused an electricity department building in Gereshk district of Helmand province to collapse, Helmand province police commander, Mohammad Hussein Andiwal, said. (Posted @ 11:30 PST) Five killed in helicopter crash in Iran TEHRAN, March 29 (AFP) - An Iranian police helicopter crashed in the northwestern East Azerbaijan province killing five on board, l IRNA news agency reported Saturday quoting the province's police chief. Three of them were the helicopter crew and the other two were the heads of the crime prevention and traffic police of the province. “The commanders were on a traffic control mission in the area.” (Posted @ 11:20 PST) Cricket-India's Sehwag dismissed for 319 in first test CHENNAI, India, March 29 (Reuters) - India opener Virender Sehwag was dismissed for 319 early on the fourth day of the first test against South Africa on Saturday. Sehwag added 10 runs to his overnight total before edging a rising delivery from paceman Makhaya Ntini to Neil McKenzie at first slip in the fourth over of the day. Sehwag joined Bradman and Lara as the other batsmen who have scored two test triple hundreds. (Posted @ 10:00 PST) Five dead in Canada airplane crash OTTAWA, March 29 (AFP) - Five people died in the crash of a single-engine plane en route from Edmonton to Winnipeg in western Canada, search and rescue officials said Friday. “There were no survivors,” they said. (Posted @ 10:00 PST) US installs interim commander in Iraq, Afghanistan TAMPA, Florida, March 29 (AFP) - US Admiral William Fallon was replaced Friday as head of US military operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, a post he quit following reports he opposed President George W. Bush's policy towards Iran. The number two commander overseeing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, US Army Lieutenant General Martin Dempsey, temporarily took charge of US Central Command in a ceremony at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
'Reach out to the Taliban': British defence secretary LONDON, March 29 (AFP) - Britain should reach out to elements of the Taliban militia in Afghanistan who can be won over to the side of democracy, Defence Secretary Des Browne said in an interview published in Daily Telegraph Saturday. Browne said conflict resolution was about persuading people who believe that violence is the way to achieve their aims to try to fulfil their ambitions through politics instead. And that meant engaging with individuals or groups, even if their views were disagreeable. He applied the argument to Taliban insurgents as well as Lebanon's Hezbollah. His comments come after Jonathan Powell, who was former prime minister Tony Blair's top adviser, said in a March 15 interview with The Guardian that Western nations should talk to the likes of the Taliban, Hamas and Al-Qaeda. (Posted @ 09:50 PST) Website withdraws Dutch MP's anti-Islam film after threats THE HAGUE, March 29 (AFP) - A Britain-based Internet site said Saturday it had removed anti-Islam film by far-right Dutch MP Geert Wilders after receiving threats to its staff amid protests by Muslim nations and the UN chief. (Posted @ 09:40 PST) Quake jolts eastern Indonesia JAKARTA, March 29 (AFP) - A 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Indonesia on Saturday but no immediate reports of damages or injuries were reported, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said. The centre of the quake, which struck at 11.23 am (0223 GMT), was about 85 kilometres northwest of North Maluku province's provincial capital Ternate, an official at the agency said. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
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