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| May 08, 2008 | Thursday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 2, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Acting head of Mexico's federal police shot dead MEXICO, May 8 (AP): The acting chief of Mexico's federal police has been shot dead, said an official. The Public Safety Department said Edgar Millan Gomez was shot 10 times and died hours later in a hospital. Two of his bodyguards were wounded. A police official said Gomez had been temporarily heading the federal police for a month. Police arrested a suspect but have not determined a motive for the pre-dawn attack Thursday. (Posted @ 23:10 PST)
Bosnia to hold local election on Oct. 5 SARAJEVO, May 8 (Reuters): Bosnians will go to polls to elect local councils and mayors on Oct. 5 and for the first time since the end of the 1992-95 war will be able to vote for ethnic minorities, the election commission said on Thursday. The municipal vote is an important indicator of the mood at the national level and local councils wield much power in the highly decentralised state, split in two autonomous regions -- the Muslim-Croat federation and the Serb Republic. (Posted @ 22:38 PST)
Spain claims $500 million in sunken treasure from Florida deep-sea explorers MADRID, Spain, May 8 (AP): Spain laid formal claim Thursday to a shipwreck that yielded $500 million in treasure, saying it has proof the vessel is Spanish and demanding that a U.S. deep-sea exploration firm that recovered the booty give it all back. Culture Ministry officials said the 19th-century shipwreck at the heart of a year-old dispute with Odyssey Marine Exploration is the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, a Spanish warship sunk by the British navy southwest of Portugal in 1804 with more than 200 people on board. (Posted @ 21:54 PST)
Heavy fighting claims 77 lives in Sri Lanka: military COLOMBO, May 8 (AFP): At least 74 Tamil Tiger rebels and three Sri Lankan soldiers were killed in the latest battles, according to the defence ministry on Thursday. It said the three days of fighting that ended on Thursday occurred in Vavuniya, Mannar and Weli Oya areas. The latest casualties raise to 3,471 the number of rebels the defence ministry says have been killed since the start of the year. It has admitted losing 261 soldiers in the same period. (First Posted @ 12:50 PST Updated @ 21:02 PST)
Five killed, ten injured in road accident near Sohrab KALAT, May 8 (APP): At least five people were killed and ten others sustained injuries, five of them serious in a head on collision between a pickup and a jeep near Sohrab, here on Thursday, police said. The vehicles which belonged to the FC and FWO collided near Kharan Cross on the National Highway. (Posted @ 20:34 PST)
Explosions, gunfire rock Beirut, clashes escalate in Lebanon BEIRUT, May 8 (Reuters/AFP): Explosions and gunfire rocked Beirut on Thursday as fighters loyal to Hezbollah battled pro-government supporters in the Lebanese capital, security sources said. They said fierce clashes were under way in at least two Beirut districts. There was no word on casualties. Officials said clashes between government supporters and the opposition in Lebanon escalated on Thursday, with gunfights in several parts of the country, roads blocked and Beirut's airport effectively shut down. At least eight people were reported wounded in clashes. In a tersely worded statement, the army command warned, “if this situation continues, everyone will lose and this will affect the unity of the military.” And newspapers drew parallels with the lead-up to the devastating 1975-1990 civil war. (Posted @ 20:30 PST)
Car bomb kills four, rockets hit Baghdad BAGHDAD, May 8 (AFP): A car bomb killed four people and wounded eight in the Iraqi capital on Thursday, shortly after two rockets slammed into the city centre, killing two civilians, police said. Three policemen and a civilian were killed by the car bomb in the once upscale Mansur neighbourhood of west Baghdad, a police official said, adding that two policemen were among the wounded. Two Katyusha rockets hit Sadoon Street around 0900 GMT, killing two people and wounding four more, police said. A roadside bomb that apparently targeted a minibus in the Al-Jadida neighbourhood of Baghdad killed another person and wounded four more, a police official said. In Sadr City, gunbattles between militants and US forces killed seven people and wounded 20 others, Iraqi security and medical officials said on Thursday. (First Posted @ 18:36 PST Updated @ 20:16 PST)
Greek cruise ship carrying 1,200 passengers discovers crack, forced to dock ATHENS, May 8 (Reuters): A Greek cruise ship carrying more than 1,200 passengers and crew was ordered to make an emergency stop on the Aegean island of Milos after discovering a large crack in its hull, Greece's Merchant Marine Ministry said. The crack, which is above sea level, was discovered after the ship left the island of Crete for a cruise of the Aegean with 872 Greek and foreign passengers and about 400 crew, it said. (Posted @ 20:04 PST)
US Ambassador, Sindh Assembly Speaker perform ground breaking of new US consulate KARACHI, May 8 (APP): US Ambassador Anne W Patterson and Speaker Sindh Assembly Nisar A. Khuhro on Thursday jointly performed the ground breaking of new US consulate general building to be constructed at a cost of $175 million. The US envoy said the new consulate will be completed in 2010 over an area of 20.5 acres. (Posted @ 19:44 PST)
Russia expels two US military attaches from Moscow WASHINGTON, May 8 (Reuters): Russia has ordered the expulsion of two U.S. military attaches from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, said the State Department on Thursday. “They have been asked to leave. We object to the action but will comply with the request,” said a State Department official. He declined to provide reasons given for the expulsion. (Posted @ 19:18 PST)
Ethiopian troops massacre 25 civilians in Somalia: witnesses MOGADISHU, May 8 (AFP): At least 35 people were killed in Somalia in clashes between occupying Ethiopian troops and militants striving to throw them out, witnesses and officials said Thursday. Some 23 were killed late Wednesday near Garsani village, some 300 kilometres north of Mogadishu, when militants ambushed an Ethiopian military convoy. Witnesses said at least 13 civilians and eight Ethiopian soldiers were killed in the fighting while the militants lost two fighters. The Ethiopians killed 13 civilians including four children in revenge, a resident said. Ethiopian forces late Wednesday killed at least 12 nomads in Walaweyne, about 90 kilometres east of Mogadishu, bringing the death toll to 35. (First Posted @ 10:45 PST Updated @ 19:02 PST)
Taliban governor killed in raid: Afghan ministry KABUL, May 8 (Reuters): Afghan police killed the governor and provincial police chief of Taliban in the western province of Ghor on Thursday, the interior ministry said. The pair, identified as Governor Mullah Sarajuddin and the police chief named only as Mawlavi, were killed along with five other militants while planning to carry out a “sabotage” plan, the ministry said. There were no casualties among the police, it said in a statement. (Posted @ 18:55 PST)
Arabs say racism on rise as Israel turns 60 SAKHNIN, Israel, May 8 (Reuters): Salwa Abu Jaber’s story shows Israel discriminating against its Arab citizens, 60 years after the state was established as a haven for Jews. The 32-year-old mother of four from northern Israel said her five-year-old daughter has never seen her father, who lives in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Separated from the man for five years, she says she has been forced to divorce him. Thousands of families have been similarly split by a 2003 ban on Palestinians in the West Bank from reuniting with their families inside Israel, imposed citing security reasons. This week, as Israel celebrates the anniversary of its foundation, its supreme court has said it found merit in the position of numerous petitions filed by rights groups against the law that keeps the families apart. (Posted @ 18:40 PST)
Rocket lands in Baghdad park, kills 2 civilians BAGHDAD, May 8 (AP): A rocket hit a downtown Baghdad park Thursday, killing two civilians even as U.S.-backed forces tried to weaken Shiite extremists and disrupt rocket and mortar strikes from the militia stronghold of Sadr City. It was the second rocket that landed in a downtown park in three days, apparently after failing to reach the U.S.-protected Green Zone, which includes the U.S. Embassy and key Iraqi government offices. (Posted @ 18:36 PST)
Bhutan holds first parliament session as democracy THIMPHU, Bhutan, May 8 (AFP) The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan Thursday held its first parliament session, marking its shift from absolute monarchy after elections in March, officials said. Jigme Tshultim, speaker of the Bhutan National Assembly, or the lower house in parliament, led the joint session in the 72-member parliament. The lawmakers - 47 members of the National Assembly and 25 members of the National Council, or the upper house - met at the renovated parliament in Thimphu, capital of the Buddhist nation. (Posted @ 16:35 PST)
26 dead in occupied Kashmir bus plunge JAMMU, occupied Kashmir, May 8 (AFP) At least 26 people died and four were injured after a bus plunged into a river in occupied Kashmir Thursday, police said. “Twenty-five bodies were recovered at the site of the accident and five critically injured passengers were airlifted to Jammu,” senior police superintendent Salim Baig told AFP. “Out of the five, one succumbed to his injuries.” The 42-seater bus was heading from Jammu to Kishtwar district, some 240 kilometres to the northeast. (First Posted @ 13:55 PST, Updated @ 16:35 PST)
Four Yemeni soldiers killed by rebels SANAA, May 8 (AFP): Four Yemeni soldiers were killed and two others were wounded Thursday when they were ambushed by suspected rebel gunmen in the northwestern region of Amran, a local official said. The attack targeted the convoy of army colonel Hamid al-Qoud as it passed through Harf Sufian market in Amran, 55 kilometres northwest of the capital Sanaa, the official said, requesting anonymity. He said the gunmen, thought to be Huthi rebels, fled the scene in a car after the attack. (First Posted @ 16:05 PST, Updated @ 16:25 PST)
Four Yemeni soldiers killed by Shiite rebels SANAA, May 8 (AFP) Four Yemeni soldiers were killed and two others were wounded Thursday when they were ambushed by suspected Shiite rebel gunmen in the northwestern region of Amran, a local official said. The attack targeted the convoy of army colonel Hamid al-Qoud as it passed through Harf Sufian market in Amran, 55 kilometres northwest of the capital Sanaa, the official said, requesting anonymity. He said the gunmen, thought to be Huthi rebels, fled the scene in a car after the attack. (Posted @ 16:05 PST)
Moderate earthquake jolts small town in southern Iran TEHRAN, May 8 (AP): A 4.7-magnitude earthquake jolted a small town in southern Iran Thursday, Iranian state radio reported. There were no reports of casualties from the quake that hit Roudbar district, some 1,000 kilometers southeast of Tehran. (Posted @ 15:50 PST)
Shahbaz Sharif, Khwaja Asif leave for London ISLAMABAD, May 8 (APP): President Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Shahbaz Sharif and federal minister Khwaja Asif Thursday left for London to assist former premier Nawaz Sharif in talks on judges’ reinstatement with Asif Ali Zardari. The PML-N leaders left for London from Lahore. Talking to newsmen, Khwaja Asif denied any differences in the ruling coalition over reinstatement of deposed judges except difference of opinion over the procedure. “The May-12 deadline will not be extended,” he further said. “The legal experts have explained procedures for reinstatement of the deposed judges, which will be discussed by Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari in London,” he added. (Posted @ 15:30 PST)
Russian parliament confirms Putin as PM MOSCOW, May 8 (AFP): Russia's parliament confirmed Vladimir Putin as prime minister Thursday after new President Dmitry Medvedev said his former boss would retain a “key role” in running the country. The lower house of parliament, the State Duma, voted 392 to 56 in favour of Putin's candidacy. Medvedev nominated Putin after being inaugurated as president Wednesday. (Posted @ 15:10 PST)
Bus plunges into river in occupied Kashmir killing at least 22 SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, May 8 (AP): At least 22 people were killed and three others injured when a bus travelling through a mountainous area in occupied Kashmir plunged into a river Thursday. Deputy Inspector-General of Police Hemant Lohia said the accident took place near Warda, a village 93 miles southeast of Srinagar. (First Posted @ 13:55 PST, Updated @ 15:05 PST)
Asif Ali Zardari leaves for London ISLAMABAD, May 8: Pakistan People’s Party’s co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari left for London Thursday to hold talks with former premier Nawaz Sharif on judges’ reinstatement, private television channels said. Zardari, accompanied by his sister Azra Pechoho and federal advisor for interior Rehman Malik, left for London from Islamabad. He will also meet MQM leader Altaf Hussain in London, said Jameel Soomro, a Zardari House spokesman. Zardari will return to Pakistan on Monday, Soomro said. (Posted @ 15:05 PST)
Soccer- Belgian striker killed in crash BRUSSELS, May 8 (Reuters): Belgian striker Francois Sterchele was killed Thursday morning in a car crash, local media reports said. The 26-year-old, leading scorer in the Belgian top flight with Germinal Beerschot in the 2006-2007 season, was also leading scorer for Club Bruges this term with 11 goals. Sterchele made his internationl debut in March 2007. (Posted @ 14:55 PST)
Shutter down strike paralyzes life in Quetta QUETTA, Pakistan, May 8 (APP): A complete shutter down strike was being observed in Balochistan’s provincial capital Quetta Thursday on the appeal of traders’ union and the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party against the killing of two traders in a failed robbery attempt. Almost all shopping centers and markets stayed closed and the number of vehicles on the roads was extremely thin. A large number of police and other security personnel were deployed at sensitive points and security vehicles could be seen patrolling on roads to meet any untoward situation. (Posted @ 14:10 PST)
Ten dead after bus plunges into river in occupied Kashmir JAMMU, occupied Kashmir, May 8 (AFP): At least 10 people died and another 20 were feared killed after a bus plunged into a river in occupied Kashmir Thursday, police said. The accident occurred as the bus was heading from Jammu to Kishtwar district, some 240 kilometres to the northeast. “So far, we have recovered 10 bodies,” senior police superintendent Salim Baig told AFP, adding that 20 more people were feared dead in the Chenab River. (Posted @ 13:55 PST)
Central Somalia fighting kills 23 MOGADISHU, May 8 (AFP): Heavy fighting between Ethiopian troops and militants in central Somalia left at least 23 people dead, witnesses and officials said Thursday. The fighting broke out late Wednesday near the village of Garsani, some 300 kilometres north of Mogadishu, when insurgents ambushed an Ethiopian military convoy. Several witnesses said at least 13 civilians and eight Ethiopian soldiers had been killed in the fighting, while the insurgents admitted to losing two fighters in the battle. (First Posted @ 10:45 PST, Updated @ 13:50 PST)
Cricket- Gavaskar quits as ICC cricket panel chief NEW DELHI, May 8 (Reuters): India's Sunil Gavaskar has resigned as the International Cricket Council's (ICC) cricket committee chairman, the governing body said Thursday. “Mr Gavaskar confirmed his decision to the ICC on Wednesday, a day after chairing this year's meeting in Dubai,” an ICC statement said. The former India captain was asked to choose between his position with the ICC and his job as a paid media pundit. (Posted @ 13:50 PST)
At least three dead in Philippine bombing COTABATO, Philippines, May 8 (AFP): At least three people were killed and many others were wounded when a powerful explosion tore through a van near this southern Philippines city Thursday, police said. A homemade bomb was the likely cause of the blast that hit the vehicle shortly after it left a bus depot in the town of Midsayap on Mindanao island, local police chief Superintendent Chino Mamburam said. “The IED (improvised explosive device) exploded inside the van. Initial reports said at least three were killed and (many others) were wounded,” Mamburam said. No one claimed responsibility for the attack. (Posted @ 13:25 PST )
Seven killed in Baghdad battles BAGHDAD, May 8 (AFP): Fresh gunbattles between Shiite fighters and US forces in Baghdad's Sadr City killed seven people and wounded 20 others, Iraqi security and medical officials said Thursday. A security official said the clashes erupted before midnight and continued until Thursday morning. A medic at Al-Sadr hospital said seven bodies had been brought in. The US military was not immediately available for comment. (Posted @ 13:25 PST)
Two killed in Israeli raid in Gaza GAZA CITY, May 8 (AFP): A Palestinian woman was killed by an Israeli tank shell during a military incursion in the southern Gaza Strip Wednesday, a Palestinian medical official said. Wafa al-Dagma, 33, was killed at her home near Khan Younes, according to Muawiya Hassanin, who heads Gaza's emergency services. He said the tank shell was fired as Israeli forces were withdrawing from an incursion they had launched in the area earlier Wednesday. An Islamic Jihad fighter was also killed Wednesday in an Israeli air strike, he said. (Posted @ 13:20 PST )
Heavy fighting claims 66 lives in Sri Lanka COLOMBO, May 8 (AFP): At least 64 Tamil Tiger rebels and two Sri Lankan soldiers were killed in the latest battles in the island's north, the defence ministry said Thursday. It said the two days of fighting on Tuesday and Wednesday occurred in the Vavuniya, Mannar and Weli Oya areas, from where government forces are trying to push into the guerrillas' northern mini-state. There was no immediate comment from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). (Posted @ 12:50 PST)
Militant attack on police station kills 1 soldier in northwest Pakistan ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, May 8 (AP) - Suspected militants attacked a checkpoint near the police station in the Swat Valley town of Kabbal early Thursday, killing one paramilitary soldier and wounding another. A military statement said troops from the Frontier Corps were manning the checkpoint. In a separate incident, militants burned six rooms, furniture and records at a girls' high school in another Swat town, Matta, police officer Jan Bahadur said (Posted @ 12:40 PST)
Burundi army and rebels clash, 52 killed BUJUMBURA, May 8 (Reuters) - Burundi's army said Thursday it had killed 50 fighters from the country's last active guerrilla group in clashes outside the capital Bujumbura.“The Forces for National Liberation (FNL) ambushed our troops on patrol, the army then entered into heavy battle with the insurgents ... two soldiers were also killed,” army spokesman said. The FNL could not immediately be reached for comment. (Posted @ 12:30 PST)
Khurshid Shah calls on Saudi Haj Minister ISLAMABAD, May 8 (APP): Pakistan Haj and Religious Affairs minister Syed Khurshid Shah Wednesday called on the Saudi Haj Minister, Fawad Abdul Salam Al-Farsi and discussed matters related to forthcoming Haj arrangements. He lauded the role of Khadimul Haramain Al-Sharifain King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz who had dedicated himself for services to Hujjaj. Khurshid Shah said he was well aware of the problems of accommodation etc, but hoped that a large number of the pilgrims from Pakistan would be accommodated. The meeting discussed issues relating to transport, passport, accommodation in Makkah Al Mukarramah and Madina Al Munawara and services especially provision of the medical facilities to the pilgrims. (Posted @ 11:00 PST)
Roadside bomb kills 8 troops in Somalia BAIDOA, Somalia, May 8 (Reuters) - A roadside bomb killed eight Somali government soldiers and wounded six others when it tore through a convoy in the central town of Baidoa on Wednesday, witnesses said. A nurse at Baidoa Hospital said “the death toll might rise because the injured are in critical condition.” (Posted @ 10:45 PST )
Clinton refuses to bow out of White House race SHEPHERDSTOWN, West Virginia, May 8 (AFP) - Democrat Hillary Clinton Wednesday vowed she would not quit the party's bitter White House race. “I am staying in this race until there is a nominee,” Clinton told reporters in West Virginia, which holds its presidential primary next Tuesday. “I am going to work as hard as I can to become that nominee.” Clinton leapt straight back onto the campaign trail with a hastily arranged stop here, after being trounced by Obama in Tuesday's North Carolina primary and winning by only a hair's breadth in Indiana. (Posted @ 10:35 PST)
Strong earthquakes hit Japan TOKYO, May 8 (AFP) - A series of strong earthquakes including one with a magnitude of 6.7 hit the Tokyo area early Thursday, briefly cutting off power to more than 4,000 homes and causing light injuries, officials said. The latest quakes have dealt no damage to nuclear power plants or nuclear processing facilities, officials said. (Posted @ 10:20 PST)
Estimated 80,000 cyclone dead in one Myanmar district: official LABUTTA, Myanmar, May 8 (AFP) - An estimated 80,000 people have died in the remote Myanmar district of Labutta in the Irrawaddy delta since cyclone Nargis struck last weekend, a local military official told AFP on Thursday. Dozens of the 63 villages surrounding the town of Labutta have been wiped out, he said. National officials could not be reached to confirm the number, but official state media have put the number of dead and missing at more than 60,000. Shari Villarosa, US charge d'affaires in Yangon, said there could be more than 100,000 dead in the Irrawaddy delta region where 95 percent of buildings were reported to have disappeared. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Pakistan test-fires nuclear-capable cruise missile ISLAMABAD, May 8 (AFP) - Pakistan on Thursday successfully tested a ground-hugging cruise missile capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads, the military said. The Hatf-VIII (Ra'ad) missile, developed exclusively for launch from the air, has a range of 350 kilometres (217 miles), a statement said. “It has enabled Pakistan to achieve a greater strategic stand-off capability on land and at sea,” it said. “It is a low-altitude, terrain-following missile with high manoeuvrability, and can deliver all types of warheads, with great accuracy,” it said. The firing comes just a day after neighbouring India tested a ballistic, nuclear-capable missile capable of hitting targets deep inside China. President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani congratulated the Pakistani scientists and engineers on their “outstanding”success. “The missile test is part of a continuing process of validating the design parameters of the weapon system,” the statement said. Last month Pakistan military carried out a training launch of Shaheen II, or Hatf VI, a long-range nuclear-capable missile which can hit targets far into India. Pakistan's arsenal includes short-range, medium and long-range missiles named after Muslim conquerors. India and Pakistan routinely carry out missile tests since both demonstrated nuclear weapons capability in 1998. (Posted @ 10:05 PST)
Olympic flame reaches Mount Everest summit BEIJING, May 8 (AFP) - Chinese climbers carrying the Olympic flame reached the summit of Mount Everest on Thursday, in an historic moment for China exactly three months ahead of the Beijing Games. Tibetan female climber Cering Wangmo reached the top of the world's highest mountain bearing a special extreme-altitude torch, triggering celebrations in China. “Beijing welcomes you!” joyous team members said as they stood at the 29,028-foot summit, with the event broadcast on national television. Others shouted: “We are on top of the world!”, and “One World, One Dream!”, the official slogan of the Beijing Olympics. The team halted just four metres below the summit to light the torch, with five climbers then relaying it the final metres to the top, where others had already gathered to unfurl small banners showing the Olympic rings. (Posted @ 10:05 PST)
5,000 sq km of Myanmar still underwater: UN BANGKOK, May 8 (AFP) - About 5,000 square kilometres of Myanmar's cyclone-hit regions remain underwater, with more than a million people in need of emergency relief, a UN spokesman said Thursday. (Posted @ 09:55 PST )
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