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| April 15, 2008 | Tuesday | Rabi-us-Sani 8, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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 Pakistan coalition leaders take major decisions ISLAMABAD, April 15 (PPI) The leaders of Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Awami National Party (ANP) Tuesday reiterated commitment made in Bhurban Declaration for the restoration of deposed judges of the superior judiciary. The three leaders viz Asif Ali Zardari, Mian Nawaz Sharif and Asfandyar Wali held the crucial meeting at Zardari House. It was also attended by PPP leaders Raja Pervez Ashraf, Raza Rabbani, Khurshid Shah, Farooque Naik, Sherry Rehman and Naveed Qamar and PML (N)'s Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, Khawaja Asif, Chaudhry Nisar Ali and Ahsan Iqbal. Their spokespersons Sherry Rehman and Farhatullah Babar later told newsmen that the meeting discussed three main issues viz the restoration of judges, war on terror, and the current law and order situation with particular reference to Karachi and Multan. Babar said the meeting reiterated commitment made in Bhurban Declaration for the restoration of the deposed judges and decided that the resolution regarding the restoration of the deposed judges would not be included in the constitutional package. The leaders also discussed a strategy for the initiation of dialogue process to bring peace to the tribal areas, particularly Waziristan. It also took note of and condemned the conspiracies against the newly elected government. In this connection the leaders expressed concern over the recent incidents in Karachi as a conspiracy against the Sindh government and that in Lahore and Multan as part of the conspiracy against the new Punjab government. The meeting resolved to foil with the help of the people all conspiracies hatched by anti-democratic forces. (First Posted @ 16:10 PST Updated @ 19:26 PST)  China to assist Pakistan on trade, defence BEIJING, April 15 (APP): China is ready to assist Pakistan in the development of energy, mineral and mining sectors, extend cooperation in financial sector and upgrade communication and transportation links. A joint statement issued simultaneously from Beijing and Islamabad at the end of President Pervez Musharraf's visit said “both sides agreed to further strengthen defence cooperation and enhance collaboration between their respective defence industries.” The two countries also signed 10 Memoranda of Understanding in various sectors. The communiqué stated the resolve expressed by China and Pakistan to optimally utilize the bilateral FTA and to complete the FTA on Trade and Services at the earliest. “China expressed its full support for Pakistan's efforts to preserve its sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and expressed appreciation for Pakistan's important role in promoting peace, stability and security, and its contribution to counter terrorism.” Both sides expressed complete satisfaction on the development of comprehensive cooperation in all fields and agreed to further enhance their ties in economy, trade, science and technology, culture and people to people relations. China also expressed its full support to the efforts of Pakistan to promote socio-economic development and expressed its full readiness to assist Pakistan for development of energy, mineral and mining sectors and extend support for projects under the Pakistan China Joint five year Economic and Trade Cooperation Plan. The two sides also agreed to work together to achieve the trade target of US 15 billion dollars as early as possible. (Posted @ 19:06 PST)  Pakistan parliament slams blasphemous film, cartoon ISLAMABAD, April 15 (Reuters) - Pakistan's parliament passed a resolution on Tuesday denouncing the blasphemous film made by a Dutch politician and the reprinting of a cartoon in Danish newspapers. “This House strongly condemns the printing and reprinting of the sacrilegious and blasphemous caricatures of the Holy Prophet of Islam and release of an offensive and derogatory documentary on Islam titled 'Fitna',” read the resolution adopted by the National Assembly, parliament's lower house. The resolution called on the United Nations to take steps to ensure respect for all religions. Pakistan's Senate, parliament's upper house, last month denounced the Wilders' film as an effort to denigrate Islam. In February, Pakistani authorities ordered Internet service providers to block the YouTube Web site after several films purporting to be Wilder's 15-minute movie appeared on it. The ban was later lifted after YouTube removed the content. (Posted @ 20:04 PST) Pakistan gears up to welcome Olympic torch ISLAMABAD, April 15 (AFP) - Pakistan geared up on Tuesday for the arrival of the Olympic torch in Islamabad early Wednesday from Oman on the first stop in its Asian leg of the tour. The torch was initially to travel through the boulevards of the capital before reaching a stadium for a ceremony but the relay will now be confined to the city's heavily guarded Jinnah Stadium. The ceremony will be attended by President Pervez Musharraf. Lt-Gen (retd) Arif Hasan, President of Pakistan Olympic Association, said the public would not be allowed to see the relay but at least 8,000 specially selected guests had been invited to the ceremony at the stadium, which would also be shown live on television. He said that there would be two sessions of the ceremony involving 65 runners from China and Pakistan. Meanwhile, in New Delhi, the torch's next stop after Pakistan, police Tuesday detained more than a dozen demonstrators in an area that will be sealed off for the relay. (Posted @ 18:28 PST) Ali Gilani seeks UN probe into mass graves in occupied Kashmir ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, April 15 (APP): Veteran Kashmiri leader Syed Ali Gilani has demanded an international probe into the recent discovery of mass graves in Baramulla. Addressing a party meeting at Rajbagh in Srinagar, he said: “The international community should, in the wake of discovery of mass graves, acknowledge the fact that Indian Army is perpetrating war crimes in the occupied territory on a large scale to quell the ongoing freedom movement. Moreover, this discovery has further deepened the apprehensions about the fate of 10000 disappeared persons. It is obligatory on the part of United Nations to send a team of its tribunal for war crimes to occupied Kashmir to ascertain the facts and take steps to ensure the safety of civilians from Indian sponsored terrorism.” (Posted @ 17:25 PST) US will support Pakistan's efforts to reduce tension with India Washington, April 15 (PPI): United States will support Pakistan's efforts to reduce tensions with India as well as for closer economic integration with nations of South and Central Asia, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. “We have a unique opportunity to foster lasting security of a troubled region, a region that is of vital interest to our nation,” she said accepting first honorary doctorate conferred by U.S. Air Force in a ceremony in her home state of Alabama. From “partnerships with newly democratic Pakistan and a free Afghanistan that is fighting Taliban, not governed by it, to our growing strategic partnership with India,” the U.S. is in a dramatically different and better position in this region than it was after Sep 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, she said. Giving assessment of U.S. diplomatic and military operations in the region, Rice said a new strategic opportunity comes from transition to democracy that is underway in Pakistan, a nation that, like Afghanistan, America had neglected too long. “Pakistan has been an ally in war on terror since September 11 and yes, this has necessitated a strong programme of military assistance and cooperation. After 2001, we supported President (Pervez) Musharraf's efforts to chart a moderate, modern path for that nation,” she said. “Our engagement, however, has always been multidimensional.” Rice noted America has invested $300 million each year to help Pakistani people by supporting health programmes, educational reform, as well as building of civil society. “We will greatly expand our support for efforts of Pakistani civilians to strengthen democratic institutions and rule of law”. The U.S. will also support Pakistan's efforts to develop fruitful links with its neighbours and with community of responsible nations. “This includes intensified Pakistan-Afghan dialogue on regional security, continued efforts to reduce tensions and reconcile with India, and closer economic integration with nations of South and Central Asia,” Rice said. Noting Pakistani people have made a transition, she said: “There is a broad based Pakistani government which we intend to engage, as Government of Pakistan, as we would engage any other democratic government”. At the same time, Washington “will engage armed forces in military training and in military cooperation in the way that we do (with) militaries around the world, many of them from democratic countries”. “Pakistan now will also need to find a way to have very solid civilian control of armed forces,” she said. “So we will engage across a broad front... I believe that coming of a democratic government in Pakistan is a new strategic opportunity. It is opportunity for an ally in the war on terror.”(Posted @ 20:46 PST) Land mine explosions kill 3 in Balochistan QUETTA, April 15 (AP): Police said land mine blasts killed three men and injured five others in Balochistan province. Police officer Bashir Ahmed said two men riding a camel early Tuesday in Dera Bugti Town hit a land mine, killing one man and the animal and injuring the second man. In the same area, one man was killed and another injured when their motorcycle hit another land mine. In another incident, another land mine explosion late Monday killed a worker for the state-run power company and injured three others near Quetta. (Posted @ 11:10 PST) Pakistan may tax rice exports, buy more wheat-trader SINGAPORE, April 15 (Reuters) - Pakistan could double its wheat imports this year and may slap a tax on rice exports to rein in inflation, trade circles said on Tuesday. As major rice exporters Vietnam and India clamp down on shipments, buyers have rushed to Pakistan, the world's fifth-largest seller, said Najib Balagamwalla, chief executive of Sea Trade, a leading Pakistan-based commodities trader. But with inflation at a 13-year high, Islamabad could join the growing list of governments seeking to tame rising prices by discouraging overseas sales. At the same time, with nearly half the country at risk of running short of food, it may buy as much as 3.5 million tonnes of wheat, he said. (Posted @ 16:50 PST) Bomb blasts kill about 70, injure over 100 across Iraq Baghdad, April 15 (Reuters) A series of bomb blasts and suicide bombing incidents killed about 70 people and injured over 100 others across Iraq on Tuesday. A car bomb killed 40 people and wounded 80 in the city of Baquba, while a suicide car bomb killed 13 people and wounded 14 others near a restaurant in western Ramadi, 110 km west of Baghdad, police said. Separately, gunmen attacked a small town near the city of Kerbala, killing five people including two women and wounding six others. The attackers also blew up 14 houses, police said. Gunmen also wounded an aide to the country's top Shi'ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in a drive-by shooting in Basra. The aide's bodyguard was killed. In Mosul, a roadside bomb wounded four policemen when it struck their patrol in eastern Mosul, Brigadier-General Khalid Abdul-Sattar said adding that two Iraqi soldiers were wounded by a roadside bomb in western Mosul. In Baghdad, three people were killed and eight wounded in car bomb attack in central Baghdad. The target was an Iraqi police convoy. Separately, six people were killed and 26 wounded in fighting in the Sadr City district overnight, police and hospital sources said. The U.S. military said it had killed at least 10 fighters in Sadr City. Three were killed in one gunbattle in the slum, before U.S. troops ordered air strikes that killed another three, the military said in a statement. A spokesman said U.S. forces in a tank killed another four militants who attacked them in a separate engagement. (First Posted @ 14:25 PST Updated @ 20:22 PST) Six die, eight injured in Bannu road accident PESHAWAR, Pakistan, April 15 (APP): At least six persons were killed and eight others injured in a head-on-collision between two passenger pickups on Indus Highway in Bannu district of North West Frontier Province on Tuesday. The accident occurred near Landi Qalandarabad due to rash driving and overtaking, police said. (Posted @ 17:20 PST) 
FC man killed, another injured in Quetta QUETTA, Pakistan, April 15 (APP) : A Frontier Constabulary (FC) man was killed while another got serious injuries when two unknown assailants on a motorcycle opened fire at them on Sabzal Road near Sasoli Chawk on Tuesday, police sources said. The FC men were at a shop buying edibles when the armed men targeted them. (Posted @ 22:48 PST) Bush urges swift end to Zimbabwe crisis - W.House WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush raised Zimbabwe's post-election crisis with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday, saying it had dragged on too long and should be resolved peacefully, the White House said. “President Bush said (in a telephone call to U.N. Secretary-General Ban) it's important for the situation in Zimbabwe to be resolved peacefully and soon. It's gone on too long,” White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. (Posted @ 20:54 PST) ANP to work for ending armed clashes in Kurram Agency: Khattak PESHAWAR, Pakistan, April 15 (APP): Provincial President of Awami National Party Afrasiab Khattak said Tuesday his party would take concrete steps to stop the ongoing armed clashes in Kurram Agency by initiating peace initiatives. Talking to a representative delegation of tribesmen from Kurram Agency he assured the tribesmen that ANP led NWFP coalition government would extend allout support inthis respect while the “NWFP Governor would also be asked to take concrete steps for halting the riots there,”. He said ANP would evolve a new peace strategy for the Fata by May 01. Earlier, the tribesmen said that due to closure of the Thall-Parachinar road for the last one-month, the inhabitants were facing great hardship owing to acute shortage of flour, diesel and other items of daily use. (Posted @ 20:36 PST) Only 6 survivors of 85 onboard DC-9 plane KINSHASA, Congo, April 15 (AP) - Government officials say there are only six known survivors from the 85 passengers and crew members onboard a DC-9 plane that crashed in the town of Goma. Julien Mpaluku, the governor of the province, says there were 79 passengers onboard and six crew members. He said Tuesday the crash site is engulfed in flames, making it difficult to determine if the bodies being pulled from the wreckage are those of passengers or residents of the congested residential neighborhood where the plane crashed. (First Posted @ 18:56 PST Updated @ 20:34 PST ) Oil sets new record high above $113 LONDON, April 15 (Reuters) - Oil set new record highs above $113 a barrel on Tuesday as investors sought to hedge against a battered dollar. U.S. crude rose $1.80 to $113.56 a barrel at 1405 GMT, after touching a record high of $113.93. (First Posted @ 09:40 PST Updated @ 20:06 PST) Muslim states slam Dutch at UN on Islamophobia, film GENEVA, April 15 (Reuters) - Muslim countries led by Iran and Pakistan called on the Netherlands on Tuesday to combat what they called rising Islamophobia and discrimination against immigrants in Dutch society. Condemning a blasphemous film released by Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders they also urged Dutch authorities to prosecute its author for inciting hatred against Muslims. “Despite an impressive array of (Dutch) laws and an elaborate framework to combat racism and xenophobia, recent actions by individuals to incite racial hatred and religious intolerance have shocked Muslims around the world,” Pakistan's ambassador Masood Khan told the U.N. Human Rights Council. He called on the Dutch government to complete its investigation into the film's release and to prosecute the author for “inciting hatred against Muslims in the Netherlands and all around the world”. Iran's ambassador Alireza Moaiyeri also denounced discrimination against minorities in the Netherlands. Nebahat Albayrak, Dutch state secretary for justice and one of two Muslims in the cabinet, told the Geneva forum her government had opposed the release of the film. Albayrak, who is Turkish-born, said her government was drawing up a plan to combat racial discrimination on the labour market, in law enforcement, criminal investigation and on the Internet. “Combating prejudice and respecting freedom of Muslims to practice their religion are key themes of our integration policies,” she said. The Dutch public prosecutor was investigating a possible criminal offence in connection with the film, she added. (Posted @ 19:52 PST) Durrani appointed PM's Advisor on security Islambad, April 15 (PPI)- Former ambassador of Pakistan to USA, Mehmood Ali Durrani, has been appointed as Advisor to Prime Minister for National Security, a notification of the cabinet division said. (Posted @ 19:38 PST) Pakistan to utilize all sources of energy to meet growing demands: Musharraf URUMQI, China, April 15 (APP): President Pervez Musharraf Tuesday said the country would utilize all sources of energy including nuclear, hydel and thermal modes besides alternative sources to meet energy shortfall in the country. President Pervez Musharraf and his delegation are in the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous region on the last leg of his six-day state visit. (Posted @ 19:10 PST) 
Putin to lead ruling party, become premier MOSCOW, April 15 (AFP) - President Vladimir Putin agreed Tuesday to lead the ruling United Russia party and also confirmed that he would become prime minister after leaving the Kremlin next month. “With gratitude I accept the proposal of the party members and their leadership.... I am ready to take on the additional responsibility and head United Russia,” he told a party congress in Moscow. (Posted @ 16:00 PST) China to launch biggest ever Olympic festival BEIJING, April 15 (AFP) - China will stage the biggest Olympic cultural festival ever seen during the August Beijing Games, headlined by top international and domestic stars, Zhao Dongming, head of the Beijing Olympic organising committee's cultural division said Tuesday. The festival starts June 23 and will fill Beijing's theatres until the end of the August 8-24 Games with the “richest and most diverse” programme ever run in a Games host city, he said. “This Olympic cultural festival will last for the longest in Olympic history, and be the biggest and involve the largest number of performers and enjoy the highest standard of any cultural activity we've organized,” said Zhao. (Posted @ 17:56 PST) Five teenagers killed, two missing in NZealand river WELLINGTON, April 15 (AFP) - Five high school students were killed and two missing Tuesday after they were swept away by a storm-swollen river in New Zealand. Police said five bodies had been found and the search would continue for the two others still missing, TV One reported. The seven students were on an outdoor education course, police said. (Posted @ 17:52 PST) Five wounded as Israeli troops clash with Gaza fighters GAZA CITY, April 15 (AFP) - Israeli forces entered the southern Gaza Strip early on Tuesday and carried out searches accompanied by exchanges of fire and explosions, wounding at least five people, medics said. About 20 armoured vehicles accompanied by bulldozers and two helicopter gunships moved 1.5 kilometres inside the Hamas-controlled Strip near the Kissufim crossing point with Israel. “Five people were wounded by gunfire and missiles fired by the Israeli occupation. One of them is in a serious condition,” Dr Muawiya Hassanein, the head of Gaza emergency services, told AFP. He added that three were wounded when an Israeli tank shell struck a house east of Al-Qarara village. (Posted @ 17:50 PST)
Iran would 'eliminate Israel' if attacked: army general TEHRAN, April 15 (AFP) - Iran would “eliminate Israel from the global arena” if it was attacked by the Jewish state, the deputy commander of the army warned on Tuesday, amid an intensifying war of words between the two foes. “We are not worried by Israeli manoeuvres, but if Israel takes such action against the Islamic Republic of Iran, we will eliminate it from the global arena,” General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency. (Posted @ 15:55 PST) 19 Ugandan schoolchildren, two adults burn to death KAMPALA, April 15 (APP/AP): Ugandan police said 19 primary school students aged 7 to 10 burned to death with two of their matrons when their dormitory caught fire. A Uganda police spokeswoman said police were investigating the cause of the fire at Buddo Junior School, 12 kilometers from the capital, Kampala. (Posted @ 14:00 PST ) Three killed in Thai south on Buddhist New Year NARATHIWAT, April 15 (AFP): Suspected rebels fighting for a separate state in Thailand's far south shot dead three men during the Buddhist New Year holiday, police said Tuesday. A 49-year-old Muslim man was shot dead while walking home from a mosque on Monday morning in Narathiwat province, police said. Later a 52-year-old Buddhist was killed in a drive-by shooting. In nearby Pattani province, a 47-year-old Muslim villager was shot dead Monday. (Posted @ 13:15 PST) Two killed as Kenya gang protests for second day NAIROBI, April 15 (Reuters): Police shot dead two people when Kenya's dreaded Mungiki gang took to the streets again on Tuesday, presenting a brazen challenge to Kenya's new coalition government in only its second day in existence. Police presence across the Kenyan capital was heavy, a regular sight in the nation since a disputed Dec. 27 election spilled into ethnic violence. (Posted @ 11:55 PST) Roadside bomb kills two police in Afghanistan KANDAHAR, April 15 (AP): A roadside bomb hit a police vehicle in southern Afghanistan, killing two policemen and wounding three others. The Kandahar province police commander said the remote-controlled bomb went off Tuesday on the main highway in Spin Boldak district. One of the injured policemen was in critical condition. (Posted @ 11:40 PST) 15,000 Bangladesh garment workers on strike DHAKA, April 15 (AFP): At least 15,000 Bangladesh garment factory workers went on strike Tuesday to call for higher wages as food prices in the impoverished nation soar, police said. Bandladesh's garment industry, crucial for the economy as the leading export earner, saw dozens of factories idle at Fatullah industrial area, 20 kilometres south of Dhaka, the local police chief said. (Posted @ 11:15 PST) Two killed by grenades in Chechnya MOSCOW, April 15 (Reuters): Two teenagers were killed on Tuesday when they threw a grenade into a fire in Russia's southern region of Chechnya, Itar-Tass news agency reported. “Sixteen-year-old teenagers found a VOG-25 grenade ... which they put in fire and it exploded. As a result of their injuries, they died immediately,” Tass reported, quoting a local source. (Posted @ 10:55 PST) 7 rebels, 2 soldiers killed in Sri Lanka fighting COLOMBO, April 15 (AP): Gunbattles between government forces and Tamil separatists in Sri Lanka's north killed seven rebels and two soldiers, the military said Tuesday. In Monday's most violent battle, five rebels and two soldiers were killed in Welioya region, a military spokesman said. Thirteen rebels and eight soldiers were wounded, he added. Gunbattles elsewhere killed two rebels, he said, adding that nine rebels and four soldiers were wounded. (Posted @ 09:35 PST) Physicist John Wheeler dead at 96 WASHINGTON, April 15 (AFP): US physicist John Wheeler, one of Albert Einstein's last collaborators who helped build the atomic bomb and gave black holes their name, died at the weekend, his family said. He was 96. Dr Wheeler collaborated with scientists such as Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr on projects that changed the course of history. Wheeler, involved with the Manhattan project that built the world's first atomic bomb, died April 13 of pneumonia at his home in Hightstown, New Jersey, said his daughter. (Posted @ 09:20 PST) Karachi Stocks up 100.61 points: KARACHI, April 15: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 15538.45, up 100.61 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST) Forex update: KARACHI, April 15: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 64.1 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
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