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| June 03, 2008 | Tuesday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 28, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (06:00 GMT)
 Four killed in Kurram Agency landmine blast: officials PESHAWAR, June 3 (AFP): Four people were killed, including two children, and seven others injured when their van hit a mine in Pakistan's troubled tribal belt bordering Afghanistan Tuesday, officials said. The vehicle struck a landmine on a road in Kurram tribal agency in northwestern Pakistan, they said. “Four people were killed and seven others seriously injured when a minivan hit the mine and exploded. The dead include two children,” a local security official said on condition of anonymity. (Posted @ 19:58 PST)  U.S. military chief visits Pakistan for third time ISLAMABAD, June 3 (Reuters): Admiral Michael Mullen, the Chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday for talks with the Pakistani military leadership focused on cooperation in the war on terrorism. Mullen has been chairman for less than a year and visited three times since February. Mullen is expected to meet army chief Ashfaq Kayani, and General Tariq Majid, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to discuss military cooperation and exchanges. (Posted @ 20:22 PST) Pakistani officials discuss US wheat cooperation WASHINGTON, June 3 (APP): A Pakistani delegation met here chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and discussed ways for US support in procuring wheat as part of the country's efforts to meet the staple food requirements this year. The Pakistani government's special envoy M B Abbasi and additional Secretary of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture Shahid Raja explored ways with Senator Tom Harkin including the possibility of concessional credit facility. “We've had a very good meeting and Senator Harkin has pledged to extend his full cooperation,” Abbasi said after delivering a letter to the senator from PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on the Pakistani government's endeavors to overcome wheat shortage and the possibility of cooperation in the face of the country's requirements in the current year. Estimates say Pakistan is facing a shortage of 2.5 to three million tons of wheat this year. The country plans to get about 500,000 tons of wheat from the United States. (Posted @ 12:55 PST)  Accidental blast kills five children in Quetta QUETTA, June 3 (AP): Police said five children died after the accidental detonation of a mortar shell at a scrap metal business in Pakistan. Police officer Rehmatullah Niazi said one of the scrap dealer's children bought three shells for recycling in Quetta. He said the boy dropped one shell in the house, where the business was also located, causing the blast. Five of the merchant's children were killed --four boys and a girl-- and four others were injured. The officer said the merchant was an Afghan refugee and that his children often helped him. (First Posted @ 18:06 PST Updated @ 20:45 PST) Pakistani Taliban likely behind Danish embassy blast: officials ISLAMABAD, June 3 (AFP) - Pakistani Taliban militants likely carried out a suicide attack on the Danish embassy in Islamabad in revenge for the blasphemous cartoons, officials said Tuesday. But the car bombing on Monday was believed to be a one-off and would not scupper peace talks between the militantss and Pakistan's new government, a senior government official said. “This attack was not born out of the events in the country or the region, rather it was part of global outrage in the Islamic world against publishing blasphemous cartoons,” the official said. A senior security official said the bomb contained at least 25 kilograms of the same type of explosive used in a massive suicide bombing at FIA's offices in the eastern city of Lahore in March. The preparations for the Danish blast were “meticulous, similar to previous attacks by Taliban linked to Al-Qaeda” and involved a car stolen from the northwestern city of Peshawar, the security official said. However the attack itself was “poorly executed” and the bomb went off several metres from the gate of the embassy, they said. Security officials warned however that the attack showed the Taliban network remained intact and exposed the problems that lie ahead “in case of reopening of hostilities between the government and the militants.” (Posted @ 11:20 PST) Danish intelligence: Al Qaeda or affiliate 'likely' behind embassy attack in Pakistan ISLAMABAD, June 3 (AP): Al Qaeda or an affiliate was “likely” behind a car bomb outside the Danish Embassy in Islamabad that killed six people including one Danish citizen, Denmark's intelligence service said. On Tuesday, Pakistani investigators sifted through the rubble at the scene of the explosion. Danish investigators were expected to join the search. The Danish Security and Intelligence Service, known as PET, said in a statement late Monday that the embassy was the likely target. “It is PET's assessment that Al Qaeda or an Al Qaeda-related group likely is behind the attack,” agency director Jakob Scharf said. He added “a series of other militant groups and networks in Pakistan also could have the intention and the capacity to hit Danish targets in Pakistan.” Officials were trying to determine if it was a suicide attack. Mohammad Mustafa, one of the Pakistani investigators conducting a search of the scene Tuesday, said they were “just trying to find any clue, any evidence.” Ben Venzke, CEO of IntelCenter, a U.S. group that monitors Al Qaeda messages, said that Al Qaeda called for attacks against Danish diplomatic facilities and personnel in a video last August, and repeated its threat in April. (Posted @ 15:05 PST) Cricket: Pakistan's Asif arrested in Dubai on drugs charges LAHORE, Pakistan, June 3 (AFP) - Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Asif has been arrested at Dubai airport on charges of possessing illegal drugs, Pakistan Cricket Board officials said Tuesday. The 25-year-old Asif was arrested while returning home from India after featuring in IPL-Twenty20 event which ended on Sunday, they said. “Yes, we can confirm about Asif's arrest. He was stopped at Dubai airport on charges of carrying opium and was supposed to be brought before the magistrate on Tuesday,” the official said. PCB human resources director Nadeem Akram said he was in Dubai and has also hired a lawyer to assist Asif. “I am in Dubai as part of the PCB's efforts to get Asif cleared. As far as we know a contraband item was in his wallet which he himself did not know and it's in a very small quantity,” Akram told AFP by telephone. “He was detained at the airport and was interrogated. As far as we know no first incident report has been lodged as yet but police have conducted several tests on Asif including a urine test. A lawyer has also been hired,” he said. The PCB was due to hold a news conference later on Tuesday. (First Posted @ 12:50 PST, Updated @ 14:10 PST) US to tighten visa restrictions for Europe, Japan WASHINGTON, June 3 (AFP): The US government is set to announce Tuesday tighter visa restrictions for short-term travelers from Japan and Western Europe, a Department of Homeland security official told AFP.The new rules, to take effect in January, will require three days' advance registration and aim to make it more difficult for potential terrorists to enter the United States from places such as France, Germany, Switzerland, Britain, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Singapore, New Zealand, Japan and Australia. (Posted @ 23:26 PST) 7 die as car plunges into river in Upper Dir ISLAMABAD, June 3 (APP): Seven persons were killed in an accident in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Reports said seven people were killed in Upper Dir when a car plunged into the River Panjgur. Four bodies were recovered from the river. Police said the accident occurred in Warai area of Upper Dir. Police said the motor car was on its way from Timergara to Nehag Darra and its driver lost control of the vehicle in Gorgoro Gat area and plunged in the river. A rescue operation was in progress to recover the remaining bodies. (Posted @ 23:08 PST) Two top generals removed in Bangladesh: official DHAKA, June 3 (APP/AFP): Two top-ranking army generals were removed from key positions, an official said Tuesday. Principal Staff Officer Lieutenant General Masud Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury, considered the second most powerful general in the military was transferred. He was appointed Commandant National Defence College, a low-key post, the official said. Lieutenant General A.T.M Jahirul Alam was made an ambassador, he said, adding that the foreign ministry would announce his destination. A leading political expert at Dhaka University said the moves bolstered the power of army chief General Moeen U Ahmed. (Posted @ 22:58 PST) Syria says wants nuclear energy under Arab umbrella DUBAI, June 3 (Reuters): Syria is not seeking nuclear weapons but wants access to atomic energy for peaceful purposes through a collective Arab project, President Bashar al-Assad said in remarks published on Tuesday. The Dubai-based Gulf News quoted Assad as saying “acquiring nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is an international trend that all countries are rightfully pursuing. In Syria, we want this to be done within an Arab context, which was discussed and agreed during the Arab Summit in Riyadh,” he said during a visit to the United Arab Emirates. (Posted @ 22:44 PST) Kenyan jets patrol Somali border after attack NAIROBI, June 3 (Reuters): Kenyan war planes and military helicopters flew over the border with Somalia on Tuesday, close to where suspected Somali insurgents attacked Kenyan police on Saturday, residents said. Locals said the militants who launched the raid in Dadajabula belonged to Somalia's Al Shabaab group. “Kenyan fighter jets and choppers are flying over us ... The town is tense,” a resident of Doble, just across the border in Somalia, told Reuters by telephone. (Posted @ 22:15 PST) 12 house gutted near Jacobabad Jacobabad, June 3 (PPI): Twelve houses were gutted when fire erupted in a village in Jacobabad district on Tuesday. The fire broke out in Abdullah Lashari village and gutted around twelve houses. The cause behind the fire could not be ascertained. (Posted @ 21:38 PST) Two soldiers killed in Afghan blast: NATO KABUL, June 3 (AFP): Two NATO soldiers were killed in a bomb blast in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, the alliance force told AFP, as the Taliban group said it had carried out the attack. The 40-nation International Security Assistance Force did not give the nationalities of the troops killed in the blast in the province of Paktia. Most of the foreign soldiers in the area are US nationals. The troops died in the province's Zurmat district, an ISAF provincial official told AFP. (Posted @ 21:04 PST) Thousands of doctors protest in Vienna VIENNA, June 3 (AP): Police say about 4,500 doctors protested in downtown Vienna against government plans for reforming parts of Austria's health care system. The doctors are hoping to persuade the government against restructuring the state-run health insurance system before the cabinet meet on the issue Wednesday. They say the proposed changes would lead to worse health care among other things. (Posted @ 20:58 PST) At least 6 die as rains hit interior Sindh Karachi, June 3 (PPI): Dust storms and rains hit parts of interior Sindh late on Tuesday, killing six persons, injuring dozens and damaging property worth millions of rupees, besides causing power breakdowns in many areas. Reports said three persons including a woman died and several others suffered injuries in roof collapse incidents in Kandhkot Town in Jacobabad district. Heavy winds also damaged houses, crops and electricity poles in Jacobabad, Kandhkot and Jafarabad. Badin and Sukkur also received showers. In Sukkur and adjoining areas, there was no electricity for seven hours as heavy winds uprooted poles near the grid station. (Posted @ 20:54 PST) Medvedev sacks Russian armed forces chief MOSCOW, June 3 (AFP): Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday sacked the head of the armed forces in a move seen supporting government efforts to reform the military. “The new head of the general staff will be Nikolai Yegorovich Makarov,”said Medvedev. The 58-year-old general will replace General Yury Baluyevsky, 61, who has headed the armed forces since July 2004 and was widely seen as opposing reforms spearheaded by Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov. (Posted @ 19:42 PST) Israeli strikes in Gaza after rocket barrage GAZA, June 3 (Reuters): An Israeli air strike injured three Islamic Jihad militants in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday after cross-border rockets fired from the territory wounded five Israelis. One of the militants was critically injured near the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, medical officials said. (First Posted @ 19:00 PST Updated @ 19:20 PST) 22 dead in China bus, truck collision: state media BEIJING, June 3 (AFP): Twenty-two people were killed when a bus and a truck collided in northern China, state media reported Tuesday. The accident happened in Shuozhou, a big city in northern Shanxi province, Xinhua news agency said, quoting local government officials. Two other people were injured and receiving treatment in hospital, the report said, without giving any further details on how the crash happened. (Posted @ 19:10 PST) Tainted cooking oil kills 8 in Ethiopia ADDIS ABABA, June 3 (Reuters): Authorities closed 16 cooking oil factories in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Tuesday after eight people were killed and scores sickened by food cooked with contaminated oil. In a statement, the health ministry said 94 people were in hospital with suspected poisoning, and urged the public to only buy cooking oil marked with government safety stamps. (Posted @ 18:42 PST) Moderate quake hits Indonesia's Sumatra JAKARTA, June 3 (AFP): A moderate 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia's Sumatra island on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said. The quake hit at 1015 GMT, 185 kilometres southwest of the city of Sibolga in North Sumatra province, the USGS said. It was 35 kilometres deep. There were no immediate reports of damage and the Indonesian meteorology and geophysics agency had not issued a tsunami warning. (Posted @ 18:18 PST) Floods kill 17 in Sri Lanka COLOMBO, June 3 (AFP): The death toll from a week of torrential rain across Sri Lanka has risen to 17 and more than 253,000 people have been driven from their homes, the island's disaster management centre said Tuesday. Heavy monsoon downpours have disrupted life in several districts but Kalutara on the south coast is worst affected with 11 deaths and more than 100,000 people displaced by floods and landslides, the centre's emergency relief director, Brigadier N.B. Weregama said. He said the overnight death toll from Monday had risen from 11 to 17 adding that more rain was predicted in the days ahead. (Posted @ 16:10 PST) UN chief calls for food production increase at crisis summit ROME, June 3 (AFP): UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for a huge rise in food production as world leaders started a summit on the food price crisis that threatens to plunge millions more people into poverty. The UN secretary general said food output had to rise 50 percent by 2030 to meet rising demand, increased finance for agriculture and the elimination of “trade and taxation policies that distort markets.” Ban said it was also essential for the Doha round of World Trade Organization talks to be completed as quickly as possible to alleviate the crisis. About 50 heads of state and government at the three day summit heard Ban say: ”I call on you to take bold and urgent steps to address the root causes of this global food crisis,” he said at the Food and Agriculture Organisation headquarters in Rome. With food prices at a 30-year high, Ban warned that while the world must “respond immediately,” but put the long-term focus on “improving food security.” Rising use of biofuels, trade restrictions, increased demand from Asia to serve changing diets, poor harvests and increasing transport costs have all been blamed for the price rise. (First Posted @ 14:25 PST, Updated @ 15:50 PST) Three die in floods in southern Germany BERLIN, June 3 (Reuters): Three people drowned in heavy floods following thunderstorms in southwestern Germany overnight, police said Tuesday. One woman died when she was surprised by the rising waters in her cellar, a spokesman said, adding two other people were killed when their car was swept away by the floods. Water levels were several meters high overnight in the Killertal valley in southern Germany, police said. The floods had swept cars away and damaged several buildings. (Posted @ 15:40 PST) Three Indian labourers killed in UAE roof collapse DUBAI, June 3 (AFP): Three Indian labourers were killed and three are missing after the collapse of a hotel ceiling being constructed in the United Arab Emirates, local press reported Tuesday. The incident took place Monday while workers were pouring concrete into the ceiling of the basement of a hotel being constructed on the coast of Ajman, one of the seven emirates forming the UAE federation. The supervising engineer said a leakage was reported and he ordered some workers to go down and check. “Within minutes the whole thing went down,” he was quoted by the Gulf News as saying. Three bodies were found by Tuesday morning, the paper said. All six workers involved in the accident were Indian. (Posted @ 15:25 PST) UAE president's brother dies in air crash DUBAI, June 3 (Reuters): The brother of the United Arab Emirates president died when his helicopter crashed into the Gulf overnight, the WAM news agency said Tuesday. Sheikh Nasser bin Zayed al-Nayahan will be buried later on Tuesday, it said. Officials declined to immediately say what caused the crash or how many people were on the aircraft. Sheikh Nasser was the brother of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nayahan, the president of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi emirate. (Posted @ 14:45 PST) New NATO commander General David McKiernan takes over in Afghanistan KABUL, June 3 (AFP): US General David McKiernan on Tuesday took command of 52,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan, vowing to deal with “insurgents, foreign fighters, criminals and others.” McKiernan took over from US General Dan McNeill who headed the International Security Assistance Force for the past 16 months. ISAF's role was to support the government in bringing security, development and effective governance, McKiernan said at a handover ceremony attended by Afghan President Hamid Karzai and other senior officials. (Posted @ 14:40 PST) China quake death toll rises to 69,107 BEIJING, June 3 (AFP): The death toll from China's earthquake rose on Tuesday to 69,107, with another 18,230 missing, the government said. The new toll, given by the Xinhua news agency, marked an increase of 88 from the day before. Another 373,577 people sustained injuries in the May 12 quake. (Posted @ 14:25 PST) Cricket-Australia 244 for six at close v West Indies, 2nd test North Sound, Antigua, June 3 (Reuters): Australia were 244 for six in their second innings at the close of the fourth day of the second test at North Sound, Antigua, on Monday. Scores: Australia 479-7 declared (Katich 113, Ponting 65, Clarke 110, Lee 63 not out) and 244-6 (Jaques 76) v West Indies 352 all out (.Marshall 53, Sarwan 65, Chanderpaul 107 not out; Lee 5-59) (Posted @ 12:40 PST) Suicide bomber kills nine, injures 46 at Iraqi police HQ MOSUL, Iraq, June 3(AFP) - A suicide bomber killed at least nine people, four of them policemen, and injured 46 others on Monday when he blew up his vehicle at police headquarters in the city of Mosul, police said. Just hours earlier, another bombing in Mosul killed a university professor. Monday's bombing was the deadliest in Mosul since the Iraqi authorities announced nine days ago that they had succeeded in dismantling Al-Qaeda's network in the city, regarded by US commanders as the jihadists' last urban bastion. (Posted @ 11:40 PST) Senator Kennedy undergoes 'successful' brain surgery DURHAM, North Carolina, June 3 (AFP) - US Senator Edward Kennedy underwent “successful” brain cancer surgery Monday, his doctor said, as the political icon vowed a return to work and to campaigning for presidential hopeful Barack Obama. Kennedy, 76, the last surviving brother of assassinated President John F. Kennedy, reportedly told his wife, Victoria, afterward: “I feel like a million bucks. I think I'll do that again tomorrow,” said the senator's office, cited by US media. “After completing treatment, I look forward to returning to the United States Senate and to doing everything I can to help elect Barack Obama as our next president.” (Posted @ 11:25 PST) Roadside mine kills six civilians in Sri Lanka COLOMBO, June 3 (AFP) – The LTTE Tuesday accused the Sri Lankan government commandos of killing six civilians including two children with a roadside mine inside the Tamil Tiger-held north of the island. There was no immediate comment from the Sri Lanka defence ministry. (Posted @ 11:15 PST) Five killed in Thai south as death toll rises to 3,300 YALA, Thailand, June 3 (AFP) -Suspected separatists killed five people in Thailand's Muslim-majority south, police said Tuesday, as the death toll in the region soared to 3,300 in more than four years of violence. A spree of shootings hit the far south on Monday evening, with two Muslim men killed in separate attacks across Narathiwat province, local police said. In nearby Pattani province the same night, a Buddhist man was shot dead, while in Yala province militants attacked a house, killing a Muslim boy and injuring his four-year-old sister. (Posted @ 11:05 PST) Karachi Stocks up 198.27 points: KARACHI, June 03: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 12479.47, up 198.27 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:15 PST) Forex update: KARACHI, June 03: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 68.1 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:15 PST)
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