Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Sharif says party to quit Pakistan cabinet over judges
ISLAMABAD, May 12 (AFP) - Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif said Monday that his party had decided to quit the government over differences regarding the reinstatement of judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf.All ministers from his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party will resign from their posts on Tuesday, but the move will not destabilise the country's new-found democracy, Sharif told a news conference. “Our ministers will submit their resignations to the prime minister tomorrow,” he said after chairing a crucial meeting of his party’s parliamentary party and the central working committee However, he said the PML-N would not take any decision that would strengthen what he called a “dictatorship” under Musharraf. “We will not be part of any conspiracy aimed at strengthening dictatorships,” he said. “We want the unconditional, dignified and honourable return of the judges,”he said, adding that the PML-N would not rock the new government. “We will not sit on opposition benches for the time being,” he said. Sharif also announced he will contest a by-election on June 26 and vowed to continue the struggle for the judges' reinstatement. “We will become part of the movement for an honourable restoration of the judges. Nawaz Sharif himself will participate in it along with lawyers and civil society,” he said. PML-N had nine ministers in the 24-member federal cabinet, formed six weeks ago. The decision to quit came after negotiations in London with Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of the PPP, failed to bridge their differences over the restoration of some 60 judges. Sharif expressed disappointment after the talks failed, adding that he had made sincere efforts but the deadlock could not be broken. “I am personally anguished over pulling out of the coalition government,” he said. Information minister Sherry Rehman told reporters that her PPP party will wait for Sharif's ministers to come back. “We want to go on the path of reconciliation, but as he is being advised his path may lead to confrontation,” she said, adding that her party will not file candidates against PML-N in by-elections. Meanwhile, several political parties and lawyers groups observed a day of protest, staging anti-Musharraf rallies in major cities and towns. Lawyers boycotted courts and demanded the reinstatement of the judges, witnesses said. (First Posted @ 19:12 PST Updated @ 21:06 PST)
China quake: 5,000 dead in just one county
BEIJING, May 12 (Reuters)- A 7.8 magnitude earthquake in southwest China has killed up to 5,000 people and left as many as 10,000 injured, state media said, as hundreds of children remained trapped in at least eight collapsed schools .An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people were killed in Beichuan county of mountainous Sichuan province alone after the quake hit the region during the early afternoon on Monday, Xinhua news agency said, citing the local government. As many as 10,000 in Beichuan county (population 161,000) were feared injured and 80 percent of the buildings there had been destroyed, the report said. The quake's epicentre was in the nearby county of Wenchuan and its force caused buildings to sway across China and as far away as the Thai capital Bangkok. Buildings were toppled in at least six counties near the epicentre, Xinhua said. In Beijing which will host the summer Olympics in August, there was no visible damage to the Olympic stadium. Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Chengdu and President Hu Jintao ordered an “all-out” rescue effort, Xinhua reported. Thousands of army troops and paramilitary People's Armed Police carrying medical supplies also headed to the region, state television said. But a landslide had blocked a mountain road leading to Wenchuan, preventing troops from reaching the scene, state radio said. Xinhua said there was no immediate impact to the Three Gorges Dam project. (Posted @ 19:04 PST)
PML-N to back coalition: PM's office
ISLAMABAD, May 12 (Reuters): The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) pledged on Monday to maintain support for the country’s 6-week old coalition government, whatever the party decides to do over an impasse over the restoration of judges, the prime minister's office said in a statement. Mr Nawaz Sharif is expected to meet other leaders of the party before announcing his next step following the failure to break the deadlock during talks over the weekend. There is speculation that PML-N ministers could quit Gilani's cabinet, but maintain support for the coalition from outside the government. “Senior Federal Minister for Food, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan called on Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani this morning and assured him that PML (N) members would continue to support the coalition government, regardless of the decision taken by the party leadership today,” Gilani's office said. (Posted @ 12:30 PST)
Commonwealth lifts suspension of Pakistan
LONDON, May 12 (AFP) The Commonwealth lifted Monday its suspension of Pakistan from the grouping, its secretary general said after a meeting of key ministers in London. “Pakistan is now restored to the councils of the Commonwealth,” said Kamalesh Sharma after the talks at the Commonwealth's Marlborough House headquarters. Pakistan was suspended from the councils of the 53-nation Commonwealth on November 22 last year, with the organization saying that conditions under President Musharraf were in violation of its fundamental values. (Posted @ 18:08 PST)
May 12 incidents: Govt. would form judicial commission if police failed to probe: CM Qaim Ali Shah
KARACHI, May 12 (PPI): Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah Monday said nobody could forget the killings of May 12, 2007 and declared that the government would impartially probe the matter through an independent judicial commission if the police failed to investigate. Talking to the newsmen after attending the Quran Khani at Peoples Secretariat in memory of May 12 martyrs, he said the previous government did not take a single step in this regard. “I was present on May 12, 2007 at Sharah-e-Faisal and witnessed all incidents and free movement of assailants. ” But today as chief executive of Sindh province I can not lodge FIR and probe myself. However, I would testify, if needed. He said the government would soon compensate the families of victims and give them jobs, funds and houses. He said that police was independently probing into the incidents of May 12 but it would take time, adding if government felt it insufficient, a judicial commission would be constituted to probe into May 12, 2007, April 09 and October 18 incidents. Qaim Ali Shah said that today the home ministry had issued the withdrawal letters to the relevant prosecutors for the bogus cases lodged only on the basis of political victimization after December 27, 2007 incidents. (Posted @ 20:06 PST)
Five killed 20 injured in Pakistan road accident
SUKKUR, Pakistan, May 12 (APP): Five persons, including a child, were killed and 20 others injured in a head-on collision between a pick-up and a passenger bus in the limits of Ubaro police station in Sindh province late Sunday night. Three persons died on the spot while two others succumbed to their injuries on way to hospital. (Posted @ 23:10 PST)
Oil price hits record high 126.40 dollars
LONDON, May 12 (AFP) - The price of crude oil struck a record high 126.40 dollars a barrel on Monday amid tensions in the Middle East and ongoing supply fears in Nigeria, traders said. New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, beat its all-time peak of 126.27 dollars, reached last Friday. (Posted @ 22:16 PST)
Afghanistan says thousands flee fearing NATO strikes
KABUL, May 12 (AFP) - Up to 6,000 people have fled their homes in Garmser district in Helmand province fearing NATO strikes amid a large-scale operation against Taliban militants, an official said Monday. The mass exodus comes as NATO-led troops hunt Taliban militants and their allies in an operation that kicked off two weeks ago. “Around 900 families, counting for about 5,000 to 6,000 people, have left the area,” refugee ministry spokesman Shamsuddin Sarhadi told AFP. The displaced families were being put up in a government-run camp in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand which is 50 kilometres from Garmser, he said. The military says Garmser is a rebel gateway into Afghanistan from Pakistan. (Posted @ 21:10 PST)
China quake leaves 8,533 dead in one province: Xinhua
BEIJING, May 12 (AFP) - A total of 8,533 people have died in China's Sichuan province after a powerful earthquake struck there on Monday, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing the local government. Casualties were also reported in other provinces close to Sichuan, Xinhua said. (First Posted @ 20:20 PST Updated @ 20:44 PST)
Bangladesh elections in December
DHAKA, May 12 (AFP) - The head of Bangladesh's military-backed government said Monday that elections would be held in the third week of December, 16 months after a state of emergency was imposed. “National elections will be held on any day in the third week of December this year,” Chief Advisor Fakhruddin Ahmed said in a televised address. Meanwhile, media reports said the government had also issued a notification relaxing the ban on “indoor politics.”The move means political parties could hold meetings starting Tuesday, said the private UNB news agency. Under its anti-graft drive, the interim government has arrested and jailed scores of high-profile politicians on corruption charges. They include the two most recent prime ministers -- Sheikh Hasina Wajed of the Awami League and Khaleda Zia, whose Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led a coalition government until October 2006. (Posted @ 20:22 PST)
Nepal sets May 28 as date for abolition of monarchy
KATHMANDU, May 12 (AFP) - Nepal's government announced Monday that its new constitution-drafting body would meet for the first time on May 28 when it is due to formally abolish the monarchy and declare the country a republic. The Maoists, who scored a surprise victory in landmark elections last month, have vowed that the monarchy would be scrapped during the first sitting of the assembly. “The prime minister has sent letters to all the participating political parties calling for the first meeting of the constituent assembly on May 28,”Aditya Baral, adviser to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, told AFP. King Gyanendra's fall from power will mark the end of the world's only Hindu monarchy, which has been on the throne for 240 years. (Posted @ 20:14 PST)
Bye-polls:Shahbaz files nomination papers from PP-10
RAWALPINDI, May 12 (PPI) - President, Pakistan Muslim League-Zawaz (PML-N) Mian Shahbaz Sharif Monday filed his nomination papers for contesting the bye-elections from PP-10.The seat was left vacant by MNA Malik Mohammad Ibrar of PML (N). (Posted @ 20:10 PST)
Hockey: Pakistan claim third victory beating Canada 2-1
IPOH, Malaysia, May 12 (AFP) - Pakistan came back from a goal down on Monday to edge Canada 2-1 and register their third win in the Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament being held in Malaysia. Pakistan now have 10 points from three wins and a draw. They have two matches left to play against Belgium on Wednesday and India on Thursday. (Posted @ 19:18 PST)
China quake buries hundreds in chemical plant
BEIJING, May 12 (AFP) – The 7.8 magnitude earthquake Monday buried hundreds of people in two chemical plants in southwestern China, forcing the evacuation of more than 6,000 people nearby, the Xinhua news agency reported. (Posted @ 19:14 PST)
Fierce fighting erupts in north Lebanon
TRIPOLI, Lebanon, May 12 (AFP): Fierce clashes broke out again in the northern city of Tripoli Monday between supporters of the government and militants loyal to the Hezbollah-led opposition, a security official and witnesses reported. (Posted @ 15:40 PST)
Russia names new cabinet, key figures stay
MOSCOW, May 12 (Reuters): Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced his cabinet line-up Monday, re-appointing his previous finance, economy, foreign and defence ministers and keeping former prime minister Viktor Zubkov in the team as fisheries minister and first deputy prime minister. Putin read out the names, which included a new ministry of Tourism and Sport, at a government meeting attended by reporters. Former Kremlin administration chief Sergei Sobyanin moves with Putin to become chief of Putin's staff in the government. Former Kremlin deputy chief-of-staff, Igor Sechin, will become a deputy prime minister. (Posted @ 15:35 PST)
Indian soldiers kill intruder at camp in occupied Kashmir
SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, May 12 (AP): Indian soldiers shot and killed a suspected militant who sneaked into an army camp in occupied Kashmir Monday. Kondaveeti Rajendra, inspector general of police, said the army suspects the man escaped from Sunday's fighting between soldiers and suspected militants and entered the camp in the village of Ding Ambh, some 225 miles south of Srinagar. Indian army spokesman Lt. Col. Shantanu Das Goswami confirmed the shooting, but gave no details. (Posted @ 15:10 PST)
Turk planes hit PKK targets in northern Iraq
SULAIMANIYA, Iraq, May 12 (Reuters): Turkish war planes bombed Kurdish separatist PKK rebel positions in northern Iraq overnight but there were no casualties, a security spokesman in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region said Monday. Jabbar Yawar, spokesman for Iraq's Kurdish Peshmerga security forces, said the strikes occurred in a remote part of Dahuk province near the border with Turkey. (First Posted @ 11:40 PST, Updated @ 13:25 PST)
Two killed, 25 wounded in clashes in Sadr City
BAGHDAD, May 12 (AP): Two people were killed and 25 were wounded in overnight clashes in Baghdad’s Sadr City, despite a reported cease-fire in the area, Iraqi health officials said Monday. (Posted @ 13:00 PST)
15 Tamil rebels, 3 soldiers killed in Sri Lankan fighting
COLOMBO, May 12 (AP): Fifteen Tamil rebels and three government soldiers were killed in northern Sri Lanka in a series of battles. The latest fighting took place throughout Sunday in Vavuniya, Welioya and Jaffna regions, a defence ministry official said. Soldiers killed 10 Tamil Tiger rebels in Vavuniya in a battle that also killed one soldier, the official said. Other battles in Jaffna and Welioya killed five rebels and two soldiers, he said. The rebel spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment. (Posted @ 11:35 PST)
Developing countries eye nuclear power: U.S. newspaper
WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters): More than 40 developing countries have recently approached United Nations officials to express interest in starting nuclear power programs, the Washington Post reported on Monday. The interest among developing countries ranging from the Gulf to Latin America is a concern to proliferation experts, who say it could provide the building blocks for nuclear arsenals in some of the countries, the Post said. The newspaper said much of the interest in nuclear power is driven by economic considerations including the high cost of fossil fuels. (Posted @ 11:15 PST)
Arab FMs divided over Lebanon
CAIRO, May 12 (AFP): Arab foreign ministers holding crisis talks in Cairo were divided on Sunday over a draft resolution implicitly condemning Hezbollah for deadly clashes in Lebanon, delegates said. The draft resolution underlined the Arab League's “rejection of the use of armed violence to achieve political goals outside the framework of constitutional legitimacy, and the need for a withdrawal of all weapons from the streets,” said a copy obtained by AFP. The text was drawn by Egypt and put forward with the support of six other pro-Western Arab governments -- Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, delegates told AFP. Syria, which did not send its foreign minister to the Cairo meeting and was represented by its ambassador to the Arab League, Ahmed Yussef, had objected to the draft. (Posted @ 10:55 PST)
Western, Arab air forces conduct joint exercise
MANAMA, May 12 (AFP): The air forces from the United States and several Western and pro-Western Arab countries started a joint exercise, the official Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported on Sunday. BNA did not give its exact location or duration but said that Bahrain's armed forces chief of staff, Sheikh Duaij bin Salman al-Khalifa, attended part of the drills on Sunday. It said the exercise, which has been conducted almost every year since 1988, involves the United States, France, Italy, Australia, Egypt, Jordan and the six Gulf Cooperation Council member states -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. (Posted @ 10:50 PST)
Separatists kill 10 in India's northeast: police
GUWAHATI, May 12 (AFP): Tribal separatist rebels shot dead at least 10 railway workers in two weekend attacks in India's northeast, police said Monday. Heavily armed rebels from the Dima Halam Daoga (DHD) group raided a railway construction site in Assam state Sunday. “Seven people were killed on the spot when the militants fired indiscriminately,” said S. Singh, a senior police official. In another attack, DHD rebels shot dead three railway construction workers on Saturday in the same district, south of Assam's main city Guwahati. The rebels said the attacks were in retaliation for an Indian army operation in which 12 of their cadres were killed. The army however said no anti-insurgency operation had been conducted in recent days. (Posted @ 10:05 PST)
Sudan arrests opposition leader Turabi: aides
KHARTOUM, May 12 (Reuters): Sudan arrested opposition leader Hassan al-Turabi and at least four other top members of his party on Monday after the attack on Khartoum by Darfur rebels historically linked to him, aides said. “Security forces came early this morning and arrested Turabi,” Awad Babiker, Turabi's private secretary, told Reuters. (Posted @ 10:05 PST)
US soldier killed in Baghdad blast
BAGHDAD, May 12 (AFP): A US soldier was killed in a road side blast in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, the military said on Monday. The victim was killed in a blast in an area outside Baghdad's Sadr City. The latest US military death raised the number of US troops confirmed killed in Iraq to 4,074 since the invasion of the country in March 2003, according to an AFP tally. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
Fire at Buddhist temple kills 7 in Indonesia
JAKARTA, May 12 (Reuters): A fire ripped through a Buddhist temple in Indonesia's North Sumatra province at the weekend, killing seven people and injuring eight, police said on Monday. The victims were sleeping on the second floor of the Vihara Buddhist Aloviestra temple when the fire broke out before dawn on Sunday, said Eriwan Saragih, a local police officer. Some people were hurt after they flung themselves off the second floor to escape the fire, the officer said. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Lithuania drops veto on EU-Russia talks
VILNIUS, May 12 (AP): Lithuania has agreed to drop its objections to European Union talks with Russia on a new strategic partnership, the Baltic country's foreign minister said Sunday. Lithuania had blocked the negotiations because it first wanted Moscow to improve its ties with immediate neighbors. Foreign Minister Petras Vaitiekunas said Sunday the EU had agreed to include Lithuania's concerns in the mandate for the negotiations planned for next month. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Serbia's pro-European camp claims shock poll win
BELGRADE, May 12 (AFP): Pro-West Serbian forces claimed an emphatic victory after general elections on Sunday, giving them a strong mandate to move closer to the European Union despite Kosovo's independence. “At this moment, it is important to say the citizens of Serbia have undoubtedly confirmed a clear European path for Serbia,” President Boris Tadic, the flag-bearer of the pro-European forces, told a press conference. The non-governmental Centre for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID) estimates gave the DS coalition 39 percent versus 28 percent for the Radical Party. EU hails 'clear victory': BRUSSELS: The Slovenian presidency of the European Union hailed Sunday what it called “a clear victory” by pro-European forces in Serbia's general elections. “The EU presidency warmly welcomes the clear victory of pro-European forces at the Serbian general elections,” it said in a statement on its website. (Posted @ 09:20 PST)
Haiti: at least 20 dead, dozens missing as ferry capsizes
PORT-AU-PRINCE, May 12 (AFP): A ferry capsized late Saturday off the coast of Haiti, killing at least 20 people, including five children, and leaving dozens more missing, authorities said Sunday. “Haitian police and peacekeepers from the UN mission in Haiti recovered the bodies of some 20 victims. The search continues,” police inspector general Fritz Jean told AFP. More than 100 people were aboard the vessel, according to police. Parliament member Accluche Louis-Jeune said there were as many as 200 passengers aboard the ferry when it sank at about 11:00 pm Saturday (0400 GMT Sunday), a few kilometers from Port-au-Prince. (Posted @ 08:55 PST)
Tornadoes kill at least 22 across US
WASHINGTON, May 12 (AFP): Rescue crews searched through rubble for survivors a day after tornadoes tore across the United States killing at least 22 people, officials said. The tornadoes hit the states of Missouri, Oklahoma and Georgia. Missouri's department of emergency management said 14 people were confirmed dead in the state, with scores more injured. Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry declared a state of emergency in the disaster area. The storms killed one person and damaged hundreds of homes in the southeastern state of Georgia. (Posted @ 08:55 PST)
60 years on, Palestinian refugees visit lost Jerusalem homes
JERUSALEM, May 12 (Reuters): Eighty-year-old Beatrice Habesch sobbed when she caught sight of her father's house in Jerusalem on Sunday and remembered how it was taken over by Jews in 1948. “This is our house! This is my house!” she shouted as fellow Palestinians held her back from running towards the building. Some 300 Palestinians marked 60 years since Israel's founding in May 1948 with a protest walk through affluent Jewish parts of west Jerusalem that were once home to many Arabs. They wore black T-shirts with “This is my House” printed on the back. The Palestinians said their families had owned houses in Talbiyeh, German Colony and other districts until Israelis drove them away or they fled in the Arab-Jewish fighting that accompanied the creation of the state of Israel. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 57.94 points:
KARACHI, May 12: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 14286.61, up 57.94 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:17 PST)
Forex update:
KARACHI, May 12: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 69 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:17 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Editor: Abbas Nasir
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