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| April 18, 2008 | Friday | Rabi-us-Sani 11, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Oil prices cross 116 dollars a barrel in New York NEW YORK, April 18 (AFP) - Crude oil prices crossed 116 dollars here for the first time Friday after a pipeline attack in Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, analysts said. New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, shot up to 116.10 dollars around 1520 GMT, then eased back to 115.46 dollars. (Posted @ 23:04 PST)
Conspiracies being hatched against coalition government: Raza Rabbani Karachi, Pakistan, April 18 (PPI):- Mian Raza Rabbani, Leader of the House in the Senate Friday vowed that the coalition government will crush all the conspiracies with the strength of the working classes of Pakistan. In a statement he said a brief analysis of the facts, circumstances and events that have followed the results of the Feb 18 elections and more recently after the formation of the coalition government in the federation and the provinces clearly indicates a systematic program to destabilize and circumvent the verdict of the people. (Posted @ 20:50 PST)
Federal govt employees to get houses, Gilani assures NA ISLAMABAD, April 18 (PPI)- Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani Friday said the government has decided to provide houses to federal government employees upon their retirement under a comprehensive policy. Intervening during the Question Hour in the National Assembly he said it has been planned to build one million houses for this purpose and this scheme will be implemented soon. He said employees having ten year of service will be entitled to a house on their retirement. Provinces have also been asked to start implementing similar schemes for their employees. (Posted @ 20:44 PST)
Militants in Bara release FC personals except line officer Peshawar, Pakistan, April 16 (PPI) - Militants in Bara, Khyber Agency, Friday released all the seventeen kidnapped Frontier Constabulary personnel except the line officer Nawaz Khan, sources told PPI. Armed men of Mangal Bagh- led Lashkar Islam had kidnapped 17 Khasadars and their Line officer from Sam Ghakhi post in Bara where they were on duty. (Posted @ 20:36 PST)
Multi-pronged strategy on cards to counter terrorism, extremism: PM Gilani ISLAMABAD, April 18 (APP): Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani Friday reiterated the government's resolve to fight terrorism and extremism, and said a multi-pronged strategy was being evolved to confront the issue effectively. Talking to the US Ambassador Anne W. Patterson he said Pakistan was consistently fighting terrorism and sacrificed a lot including the assassination of its leader Benazir Bhutto. Gilani said the government would pursue both long and short term initiatives which include political, socio-economic and administrative measures to address the issue. Economic empowerment of the people in FATA was the key to counter extremism in the area, he said . Gilani said Pakistan accords high priority to its strategic relationship with the US and was keen to further expand its relations in various fields Including education, health, energy, science and technology. The US Ambassador appreciated Pakistan's efforts in fighting extremism and terrorism, and expressed the desire for developing a stable and multi-faceted relationship with Pakistan. She assured complete support of the US administration to the new government and expressed confidence that democracy would lead Pakistan towards progress and prosperity. She said the US administration would be pleased to work with the new government and extend all possible assistance for the economic development as well as substantiating Pakistan's efforts in confronting the crises of food and energy shortage. (Posted @ 20:32 PST)
Pakistani Taliban demand Islamic law in tribal areas KHAR, Pakistan, April 18 (AFP) - Pakistani Taliban on Friday urged the government to abandon President Pervez Musharraf's pro-US policy and enforce Islamic Sharia law in tribal areas of the country, witnesses said. The demand was made at a gathering in the Bajaur tribal district convened by the Pakistan Taliban Movement and attended by tribal elders, religious scholars and local MPs, witnesses said. Senior Taliban leader Maulvii Faqir Mohammad welcomed the government's offer of dialogue and its decision to abolish the British colonial era Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) in the semi-autonomous tribal region. He said the Taliban were observing a ceasefire offered to the new government but they would continue their fight against US and allied forces in Afghanistan. He demanded replacement of the FCR by Islamic law to achieve peace in the region. “People in the tribal area are not ready to accept anything except Islamic law,” Faqir Mohammad told the gathering. He added removal of President Musharraf and a change of his pro-US policy were also “vital for peace” in the country. He described Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, Afghani Taliban leader Mullah Omar and Pakistani militant leader Baitullah Mehsud as Islamic heroes. (Posted @ 20:08 PST)
Carter meets Hamas chief in Syria DAMASCUS, April 18 (AFP) - Former US president Jimmy Carter on Friday started talks with exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in the Syrian capital, according to an AFP photographer. The controversial meeting is being held at a Hamas office in Damascus and attended by top Islamist leaders Musa Abu Marzuq and Mohmmed Nazzal. Abu Marzuq said Carter and Meshaal will discuss the fate of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants in June 2006. “They will also hold talks on a truce (with Israel) and ending the sanctions on the Palestinian people,” he told AFP ahead of the meeting. Carter, snubbed by Israel and harshly criticised by the United States for plans to talk to Hamas, is in Syria on the latest leg of his regional tour to boost the Middle East peace process. (Posted @ 20:06 PST)
Graduation condition deprives 97 % of population from contesting elections: AG ISLAMABAD, April 18 (APP): Attorney General Malik Mohammad Qayyum Friday told the Supreme Court that the graduation condition has deprived about 97 per cent population of the country from contesting elections, which is contrary to the fundamental rights guaranteed in various articles of the Constitution. Only 1.4 percent of the country's 160 million people and less than four percent of 68.1 million total registered voters were graduates, he said during the hearing of a petition challenging the graduation condition. The restriction was imposed through an “extra constitutional legislation”, he said and gave various references in favour of the petition seeking removal of the graduation condition for contesting elections. The condition will create a new class of rulers and “elite democracy,” he said adding that surprisingly one who did not have the B.A. degree could cast vote but could not contest election. The seven-member bench directed the Attorney General to submit complete data about total population, registered voters and registered graduates, especially province-wise, at the next hearing on Monday. Kamran Murtaza advocate, representing the petitioners Nasir Mehmood and Shameer Ahmed, said that the condition was imposed through an ordinance amending the Representation of Peoples Act and was only meant for general elections held in October 2002. Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar who heads the bench observed that the condition of graduation was not included in Articles 62 and 63, which relates to the qualification and disqualification of a candidate to become member of the Parliament and provincial assemblies. Justice Faqir Mohammad Khokhar observed that the ordinance was given protection in Article 270 AA of the Constitution through 17th Amendment. The bench asked the counsel to prove first that the restriction affects the fundamental rights and that the petition relates to public interest. Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokhar also observed that special seats were allocated for graduates in India but non graduates could also contest election. Earlier, Mohammad Aslam Khaki submitted a Civil Miscellaneous Application (CMA) pleading that the legislation for imposing condition of graduation was a right legislation and it should stay as every job or profession requires certain qualifications. The bench allowed the CMA of Aslam Khaki and permitted him to argue the case on Monday after the competition of arguments of Kamran Murtaza. (Posted @ 18:54 PST)
Pakistan in tough pool 'B' of Beijing Olympics Hockey KARACHI, April 18 (APP): Pakistan has been drawn in tough pool “B” of Beijing Olympics Hockey Tournament. According to message received from International Hockey Federation on Friday. Pakistan is placed with reigning champion Australia, the Netherlands, Great Britain, South Africa and Canada. Pool A comprises Germany, Spain, Korea, New Zealand, Belgium, and China. (Posted @ 18:22 PST)
Pakistan activist seeks prosection of Musharraf over Lal Masjid killings ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, April 18 (AP) - A Pakistani activist has demanded police register a criminal case against President Pervez Musharraf and other officials over a crackdown on Islamabad’s Lal Masjid that left at least 100 people dead in July last year. Khalid Khawaja said he submitted the application to police in Islamabad on Friday. About 200 hard-liners rallied outside the mosque before marching to the police station with Khwaja. Officer Shabbir Hussain confirmed police had received the application but did not say whether they would register a case against the president. Hussain said police would proceed “according to the law.” (Posted @ 18:14 PST)
Magnitude 5.2 quake rattles U.S. Midwest WASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) - A 5.2 magnitude earthquake rattled eastern Illinois before dawn on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, and television reports showed some minor damage. The quake, media reports said, was felt in several states. (Posted @ 17:50 PST)
Militants kill female health worker in Pakistan PESHAWAR, Pakistan, April 18 (AFP) - Suspected militants shot dead a female health worker overnight in the village of Baotha in Mohmand tribal district. in northwest Pakistan, officials said Friday. An unknown number of assailants raided the health facility late Thursday and gunned down 35-year-old Nihar Begum , residents said and blamed local Taliban who, they said, oppose women's activities in every field. Local official Haseeb Khan said “we have arrested three suspects and are interrogating them.” (Posted @ 17:40 PST)
Three civilians killed in Afghan bomb blast KABUL, April 18 (AFP) - Three Afghan civilians died and another wounded when their vehicle hit a bomb laid on a road frequently used by Afghan and international forces in Logar province just south of Kabul, police chief Ghulam Mustafa said. The attack follows a suicide bomb blast in the southwest province of Nimroz on Thursday evening that killed two dozen people including two senior police officials. (Posted @ 17:35 PST)
56 fishermen missing as China braces for Typhoon Neoguri BEIJING, April 18 (AFP) - Fifty-six Chinese fishermen were missing Friday as one of the earliest typhoons to hit the region in six decades barrelled down on the southern island of Hainan, state media reported. Authorities ordered tens of thousands of fishing boats back to port and evacuated about 120,000 people from fish farms and low-lying coastal areas of Hainan as Typhoon Neoguri was expected to make landfall on the island province Friday night or Saturday morning, Xinhua said. (Posted @ 17:30 PST)
Iran should defend Islamic world: top cleric TEHRAN, April 18 (AFP) - A high-ranking Iranian cleric on Friday said the country should grow into a military super power to defend all Muslims, following an army parade at a time of mounting tension with the West. “In a not so distant future, we should reach a point to have the most powerful military equipment in the world so that no one even think about invading our borders.” Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said in his Friday prayer sermon carried live on state radio.“And not only that of the Islamic republic, but also the borders of Islam ... We must defend oppressed Muslims everywhere so that the enemies do not dare to attack Afghanistan, Palestine and Iraq.” On Thursday's annual Army Day celebration in Tehran, dozens of fighter jets and other aircraft flew over the parade ground in a bid to show the power of the air force. Also on display was Iran's Shahab-3 missile, whose range includes Israel and even the fringes of Europe. (Posted @ 17:25 PST)
Eight killed in fresh Sri Lanka fighting COLOMBO, April 18 (AFP) At least six Tamil Tiger guerrillas and two soldiers were killed in fresh fighting in northern Sri Lanka, the defence ministry said Friday. Two members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were killed in the Mannar district while four others were killed in nearby Weli Oya district Thursday, the ministry said. The fighting also claimed the lives of two government soldiers, the ministry said. (Posted @ 13:50 PST)
Yemen lawmaker killed in ambush SANAA, April 18 (Reuters) Gunmen ambushed and killed Yemeni lawmaker Saleh al-Hindi early Friday in a volatile northern region where government forces are battling Zaydi rebels, a tribal source said. It was not clear who was behind the attack on Hindi but the lawmaker is known to support government efforts to subdue rebels led by Abdul-Malik Houthi in the Saada province. Hindi's son was also killed in the attack, the source said. (Posted @ 13:50 PST)
Runaway Pakistani boys return home from India KARACHI, April 18 (AP) Two boys who ran away from home and crossed the border into India were back in Pakistan Friday after Indian authorities swiftly deported them. Azhar Ansari, 17, and Zohaib Ali, 11, appeared on television on April 14 telling Indian police that they had run away because their parents beat them with sticks to make them go to school. Indian border guards handed over the boys at a frontier crossing called Zero Point Thursday, said Capt. Fazal Mahmood, a spokesman for Pakistan's paramilitary Rangers. Mahmood said Rangers, who guard the Pakistani side of the frontier, would escort the pair back to their hometown in Sindh province later Friday. The boys' 10-day escapade began when they left their homes in Tando Allahyar, some 250 kilometres north of Karachi, on April 7 to go to school. (Posted @ 13:30 PST)
Nauru parliament dissolved for April 26 election CANBERRA, April 18 (Reuters) The tiny Pacific nation of Nauru will have elections next week after President Marcus Stephen declared a state of emergency and dissolved parliament in a bid to end a bitter row with the opposition. “We can't stand by any longer while the opposition pursues its self-serving agenda of economic destruction, which is now starting to hurt every Nauruan,” Stephen said in a statement, declaring elections would be held on April 26. (Posted @ 13:20 PST)
Nine killed in Philippine bus accident MANILA, April 18 (AFP) Nine people were killed when a commuter bus plunged into a deep ravine in the northern Philippines Friday, a police report said. The bus had just left the northern city of Cabanatuan when the accident occurred. The cause of the accident was still undetermined although police suspected the driver may have swerved to avoid another vehicle. (Posted @ 13:15 PST)
CM Punjab Dost Mohammad Khosa gets confidence vote LAHORE, April 18(APP) Chief Minister Punjab Dost Mohammad Khosa secured confidence of the house by securing 264 votes in the Punjab Assembly Friday. Sardar Khosa, the youngest chief executive of the province, sought vote of confidence, under article 130(3) of the constitution, from the Punjab Assembly as it met this morning. MPA Malik Nadeem Kamran moved the resolution for formally initiating the process of voting while the session was chaired by Speaker Punjab Assembly Rana Mohammad Iqbal. (First Posted @ 12:25 PST, Updated @ 13:10 PST)
Landmine blast kills two soldiers in Pakistan QUETTA, Pakistan, April 18 (AFP) A landmine blast ripped through a vehicle carrying Pakistani soldiers Friday, killing two of them and wounding another in southwestern Balochistan province, an official said. The paramilitaries, said to be involved in mine-clearing operations in the region, were driving to the town of Dera Bugti when their vehicle hit the mine planted on the road, a local security official said. The official said the mine was planted by tribal rebels. (Posted @ 13:00 PST)
Two killed in Thai south BANGKOK, April 18 (AFP) Insurgents killed two people in southern Thailand Thursday evening, police said Friday. A 57-year-old man was killed in a drive-by shooting in Pattani province, police said, while a 55-year-old man, who police said was a government informant, was shot dead in nearby Yala province. (Posted @ 13:00 PST)
Punjab Assembly session begins, CM to get confidence vote ISLAMABAD, April 18 (APP) The Punjab Assembly session began Friday in which newly elected Chief Minister of Punjab Sardar Dost Mohammad Khosa will get vote of confidence while the new provincial cabinet will also take oath. According to sources, the provincial cabinet will consist of 18 members in first phase as per formula agreed between PML-N and PPP in the centre. (Posted @ 12:25 PST)
Seven injured in Pakistan road mishap NOWSHERA VIRKAN, Pakistan, April 18 (APP) Seven people in a motorcycle rickshaw were injured when their vehicle was hit by a bus at Karyal Road here Thursday night. (Posted @ 11:05 PST)
Mauritania soldiers shoot French security man NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania, April 18 (Reuters) Mauritanian troops guarding a base in the capital Nouakchott shot and wounded a French private security contractor late Thursday after mistaking him for an attacker, a senior police officer said. “At around 2100 (GMT) someone in a vehicle with tinted windows passed in front of the military base in Nouakchott and the soldiers guarding it panicked and opened fire onto the vehicle,” a senior police official said. “The person inside was a French national working for a private security firm which was helping the army secure the base,” the official said, requesting anonymity. (First Posted @ 10:00 PST, Updated @ 10:45 PST)
Israeli troops kill militant in West Bank NABLUS, West Bank, April 18 (Reuters) Israeli troops killed a Palestinian militant and arrested another during a raid in West Bank Friday, witnesses and medical officials said. They said soldiers surrounded the hideout of an al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades member in Balata refugee camp near the city of Nablus, and called on him to surrender. He refused, and the troops opened fire on the building killing him, witnesses and medics said. An Islamic Jihad member was also in the building and was wounded and arrested. (First Posted @ 09:30 PST, Updated @ 10:40 PST)
Suicide bomb kills 16 in southwestern Afghanistan KABUL, April 18 (AP) A suicide attack in front of a mosque in southwestern Afghanistan’s Nimroz province Thursday killed 16 people and wounded more than 30 others, provincial governor Ghulam Dastagir Azad said. The attack took place as men were getting ready for the evening prayer at the central mosque in provincial capital Zaranj, Azad said. (Posted @ 10:35 PST)
US lacks anti-terrorism plan in Pakistan WASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) The United States has failed to eliminate the terrorist threat in Pakistan's tribal areas and has no comprehensive plan to do so, U.S. government investigators said Thursday. Instead, Washington has relied on Pakistan's military to address U.S. national security goals since 2002, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office(GAO) said, adding that al Qaeda has now regrouped in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas. “The United States has not met its national security goals to destroy terrorist threats and close the safe haven in Pakistan's FATA,” the congressional investigations agency said in a report. “No comprehensive plan for meeting U.S. national security goals in the FATA has been developed, as stipulated by the National Strategy for Combating Terrorism, recommended by the independent 9/11 Commission, and mandated by congressional legislation.” U.S. officials rejected the findings. The Pentagon said U.S. government had a full strategy coordinated with the Pakistani government to target areas used by al Qaeda. The GAO said that beyond limited efforts, the U.S. government has not developed a plan that incorporates military, intelligence, diplomatic, development, economic and law enforcement activities in Pakistan's tribal areas. “U.S. reliance on Pakistan's military stemmed from the lack of a comprehensive plan to guide embassy efforts and the sense that the Pakistani military was the most capable institution in Pakistan to quickly undertake operations against al Qaeda,” the GAO said. “Senior embassy officials stated that this may have led to an 'over-reliance' on the Pakistani military to achieve U.S. national security objectives in Pakistan.” (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Zawahiri calls to make Iraq 'fortress of Islam' WASHINGTON, April 18 (AFP) Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri said that building Iraq as a “fortress of Islam” is the “most important duty” for Muslims, in an audio message released Thursday, the SITE monitoring service said. In a nearly 16 minute audio file posted on Internet forums, Zawahiri called on Muslims to fight for creating a greater Muslim state. “We will only get our rights back with our own hands and not through beggary or fraudulent elections,” he said, according to SITE's summary. The monitoring service said he called on Muslims to make Iraq a “fortress of Islam” and referred to a plot against Iraq by the United States together with Iran, which he said would lead to the Mideast region exploding. (Posted @ 10:05 PST)
Two foreigners shot at gate of Mauritanian presidency NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania, April 18 (AFP) Mauritanian soldiers injured two foreigners, described by a hospital official as ‘Europeans,’ Thursday, after opening fire on their car at the gates of the presidential building, national television reported. The guards opened fire on the car with tinted windows after it failed to respond to instructions to leave, slightly injuring the two men inside. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Olympic torch arrives in Bangkok BANGKOK, April 18 (AFP) The Olympic flame arrived in Bangkok early Friday for what Thai authorities hope will be a trouble-free leg of the torch relay after high-security outings in Pakistan and India. The torch and its entourage of Chinese security arrived by charter plane at Bangkok's military airport about 2:40 am from India. About 30 Thais of Chinese descent came out to welcome the torch, waving Chinese and Olympic flags as the plane came in to land, witnesses said. On Saturday afternoon, 80 Thai torchbearers will carry the flame for about 10 kilometres through Bangkok's Chinatown, where it will be protected by thousands of police and soldiers. Police said Thursday that Thai authorities were ready to deport any foreign activists who came to Bangkok to try and disrupt the relay. The torch will be kept in a hotel in downtown Bangkok under Chinese guard. The main ceremony and parade begins at 3:00 pm Saturday. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
Israeli troops kill three Palestinians in West Bank, Gaza JENIN, West Bank, April 18 (Reuters) Israeli troops killed two Palestinian militants and a teenager in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip Thursday, Palestinian medical and security officials said. In West Bank, an Islamic Jihad member and a 16-year-old youth were shot by soldiers who surrounded a house in Qabatiya refugee camp near Jenin, the officials said. Separately, Israeli troops firing into the northern Gaza Strip killed a Palestinian militant during clashes Thursday near Jabalya, the Popular Resistance Committees militant group said. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Democracy unfinished By Miriam Mannak
A NEW report by the Geneva-based Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) has shown that women are changing the priorities and sometimes the tone of legislatures around the world.
But, it also highlights the slow pace at which the number of parliamentary seats held by women is increasing.
In 1975, when the first United Nations World Conference on Women took place in Mexico City, some 11 per cent of places in single chamber legislatures and lower houses of parliament were occupied by women. By 2008, there had been scant progress on this front: now, just under 18 per cent of legislators worldwide are women, far lower than the 30 per cent that is widely deemed necessary for women to begin influencing the direction of parliamentary affairs.
Equitable representation of women in legislatures is clearly “an ideal, not a reality” notes the report, titled ‘Equality in Politics: A Survey of Women and Men in Parliaments’.
The study examines gender equality in legislatures from a variety of perspectives, based on responses from approximately 300 parliamentarians in 110 countries –– and follows on a similar report published in 2000, ‘Politics: Women’s Insight’.
‘Equality in Politics’ was released at the 118th assembly of the IPU, underway, April 13-18, in the South African port city of Cape Town.
The union is an umbrella organisation for parliaments around the globe.
There have been advances in Africa and Asia, for instance, with about 17 per cent of parliamentary posts in the two regions now held by women. Rwanda leads the field globally, with women accounting for some 49 per cent of those in its lower house of parliament. As regards countries that managed to have women occupy more than 30 per cent of parliamentary posts, half are developing nations.
“Developing and emerging countries have made great progress, while the situation in the so-called old democracies has not moved forward much,” said IPU Secretary General Anders Johnsson.
Asked to discuss measures that could see more women elected, the parliamentarians spoke in part of the need to alter perceptions of women’s place in society through education programmes –– and to consider the introduction of childcare facilities to free women for political pursuits.
The report also highlights the usefulness of gender quotas to bring greater numbers of women into legislatures.
According to Yassina Fall, senior economic adviser at the United Nations Development Fund for Women, “Women understand what other women need.”
The report states, however, that women parliamentarians can experience difficulty translating their priorities into political change, sometimes because of unsympathetic ruling parties.
Amongst a host of other observations, ‘Equality in Politics’ notes that for substantive change to take place concerning women’s representation in legislatures, political will must be brought to bear.
“Men and women must agree and acknowledge that women’s inclusion and equal participation in parliamentary processes not only benefits societies...but is also necessary for legitimate democracy.”
Or, in the words of a female legislator from Ireland quoted in the study: “Our democracy is unfinished when women are absent from policy making.” n
—IPS News
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