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| June 14, 2008 | Saturday | Jamadi-us-Sani 09, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (06:00 GMT)
 Protesters rally in Islamabad for deposed judges ISLAMABAD, June 14 (AP): Tens of thousands of protesters swarmed into Islamabad Friday for a rally led by lawyers demanding the reinstatement of deposed judges. After about 30 hours on the road, senior lawyers, joined by politicians, took to a stage atop shipping containers a few hundred yards from Pakistan's floodlit Parliament. They addressed a crowd of about 20,000 people early Saturday. Former premier Nawaz Sharif unleashed a blistering attack on Musharraf, demanding he be put on trial and “held accountable” for his eight and a half years in power. “Listen Pervez Musharraf! The nation has given its verdict against you. Listen Musharraf to what the nation is saying and what the nation is demanding!” Sharif said. The biggest contingent was in a convoy of hundreds of vehicles that left Lahore Thursday evening carrying flag-waving political activists and attorneys on the final leg of a grand procession that began from the corners of Pakistan early this week. Police estimated 40,000 had joined the procession at its height. Authorities declared the government district and a compound housing foreign embassies off-limits to the protesters. Coils of barbed wire and hundreds of police were deployed to channel visitors through security checks. Helicopters circled overhead. As he rode atop a truck into the city, lawyer leader Aitzaz Ahsan said the scale of the rally should “open the rulers' eyes” about the strength of support for an independent judiciary. “There will be no closure of this issue until the fearless, independent judges are reinstated,” he said. Ahsan, however, did not support calls from a group of protesters to stage a sit-in outside Parliament to press their demand and eventually urged people to go home. “We will fight the war at the right time and at the right place,” he said. As dawn broke Saturday, the crowd dispersed. (Posted @ 13:10 PST)  Desperate hunt for 1,100 who fled Afghan jail in Taliban raid KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, June 14 (AFP): A desperate hunt was under way Saturday for more than 1,100 prisoners who escaped a jail in southern Afghanistan when Taliban militants blasted it open, killing 15 guards, officials said. The prisoners fled when the rebels attacked the facility in Kandahar city late Friday, blasting it open with suicide bombs before shooting the guards. The NATO force in Afghanistan said more than 1,100 prisoners were on the loose. “A massive operation is under way to find the escaped inmates. The Afghan security forces are searching for them within the city and along the main and secondary roads,” deputy justice minister Mohammad Qasim Hashimzai told AFP. None has yet been caught, he added. A Taliban spokesman, Yousuf Ahmadi, said the rebels used suicide bombs and detonated a bomb-laden water tanker in the attack. “First we exploded two suicide attacks and then our mujahideen riding motorcycles entered the prison and killed the remaining security guards…we successfully freed all prisoners, including our jailed Taliban and other prisoners,” he told AFP. Authorities had so far recovered the bodies of at least 15 security guards, Ahmad Wali Karzai, the head of the Kandahar Provincial Council told AFP. (First Posted @ 11:50 PST, Updated @ 14:15 PST) Pakistan needs time to deal with situation along Afghan border: Robert Gates Brussels, June 14 (PPI) United States Secretary of Defence Robert Gates said here Friday that the new civilian government in Pakistan should be given more time and space to deal with the situation along Pak-Afghan border where “Taliban and Al Qaeda remnants are active.” “It's important to give this new civilian government in Pakistan time to inform itself about the situation northwest,” Gates told reporters after NATO defence ministers' meeting at the military alliance's Brussels headquarters. Speaking of Islamabad's efforts to strike peace deals with some tribal elements, Gates said “we just have to give them space to be able to pursue this.” “I think it's fair to say that we have some skepticism, based on past experience, whether some of these agreements will work out, but it's their country. We have to give them chance to try and deal with it in the way that they think is best,” he said. He said Washington stands ready to render help to Pakistan government if the latter asks for it. Gates stressed Pakistan's status as an important partner for the U.S. in the war on terror. “I just can't emphasize enough how important a partner Pakistan is in dealing with terrorists,” he said, adding Pakistan could also be an important facilitator in terms of what they have accomplished in the conflict in Afghanistan. His remarks came just two days after a U.S. air strike killed 11 Pakistani paramilitary soldiers in the country’s Mohmand tribal agency Tuesday night. (Posted @ 17:34 PST) Govt fully committed to freedom of expression: Raza Rabbani ISLAMABAD, June 14 (APP): Leader of the House in Senate Mian Raza Rabbani told the Upper House Saturday that the government was fully committed to freedom of expression and has not pressurized any television channel to close its programmes. Replying to a point of order raised by Senator Kamran Murtaza he said that the government has already moved a bill in the National Assembly to undo the black law of PEMRA. He further said that the peaceful handling of the long march and its comprehensive coverage by the media has further established the government's democratic credentials. (Posted @ 16:55 PST) Eight Indian troops killed in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, June 14 (APP): Eight Indian troops, including a lieutenant colonel, were killed in an attack in occupied Kashmir’s Kishtwar district Friday evening. A party of Indian troops was attacked at Watsar in the district in which Lt Col Ajay Kumar Verma, Major S.K. Singh and Naik Rajinder Singh were among the killed personnel. (First Posted @ 13:45 PST, Updated @ 15:10 PST) Boy dies, 13 injured in blast in Tando Adam TANDO ADAM, Pakistan, June 14 (PPI): A boy was killed and 13 others were injured, two critically, in a bomb blast at a shop near Ghas Mandi in the town of Tando Adam in Sindh province on Saturday. According to police, an unidentified man came to a shop to buy a packet of tea leaves and after paying the amount left his shopping bag with the shop-keeper. As soon as the customer had left, the bomb exploded, killing a boy standing nearby and injuring 13 other persons. Officials of the bomb disposal squad later said it was a remote-controlled device. Later reports said police had held two suspects for interrogation. (First Posted @ 14:45 PST, Updated @ 17:20 PST)  Cricket: Pakistan beat India by 25 runs in tri-series final June 14, (REUTERS) - Pakistan beat India by 25 runs in the final of the triangular one-day series at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka on Saturday. Scores: Pakistan 315-3 (Salman Butt 129 retired hurt, Younis Khan 108) v India 290 all out in 48.2 overs (Yuvraj Singh 56, Mahendra Singh Dhoni 64). (Posted @ 23:40 PST) Pak-India Judicial Committee recommends early release of prisoners ISLAMABAD, June 14 (APP): The Pakistan-India Judicial Committee Saturday recommended to both the governments that all the prisoners who have completed their sentences and whose national status has been confirmed by their respective High Commissions should be released immediately. The members of the Indian Chapter of the Committee, following their visit to Pakistani jails and meeting the Indian prisoners, said with regard to those prisoners whose national status has not been confirmed, exercise in respect of their national status be finalized within one month and in any case before the Committee's next meeting in India. According to a joint statement issued by the Foreign Office the Committee noted that lists of prisoners exchanged by the two Governments on 31st March, 2008 are not complete and do not mention names and details of all detenues/prisoners. Therefore, the Committee expected that the procedure for preparation and updating such lists shall be streamlined and the next lists to be exchanged on 1st July, 2008 will be complete and without omissions. Such lists shall contain information about the date of arrest, details of sentence, charges under which the prisoner was sentenced and the expected date of release, the Committee added. (Posted @ 19:12 PST) Cricket: Tribunal reduces Shoaib Akhtar ban LAHORE, Pakistan, June 14 (AFP) - An appeal tribunal Saturday reduced Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar's five-year ban to 18 months and imposed a seven million rupee (105,000 dollar) fine. “We have in consensus decided that the ban on Akhtar is reduced to one-and-a-half years and impose a fine of seven million rupees,” the three-member tribunal chief Justice Aftab Farrukh told reporters. He said one member of the tribunal suggested scrapping the ban but increasing the financial penalty to 20 million rupees. The 32-year-old paceman was banned for five years on a series of discipline charges on April 1 this year. The ban was last month suspended for 30 days to allow the fiery paceman to play in a domestic event in India. (Posted @ 19:24 PST) Punjab budget on June 16 LAHORE, June 14 (PPI): Punjab Assembly secretariat has issued the tentative schedule for the budget session according to which the finance minister will present the Punjab budget for 2008-98 on June 16. (Posted @ 19:18 PST) Governor summons Sindh Assembly's budget session KARACHI, June 14 (APP): Governor Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan has summoned the Provincial Assembly of Sindh to meet on June 16 at 5 P.M.. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah will present the budget of Sindh Province for fiscal 2008-09. (Posted @ 19:04 PST) Seven wounded in West Bank clashes BETHLEHEM, West Bank, June 14 (AFP) - At least seven Palestinians were wounded on Saturday when hundreds of people clashed with Israeli troops near Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian security officials said. The fighting broke out when around a dozen Israeli military jeeps surrounded an apartment building in Al-Doha village and closed off nearby roads. Hundreds of Palestinians, mostly young men, massed in the area and hurled rocks at the soldiers, who responded with gunfire and called in another dozen vehicles, including armoured bulldozers, they said. The seven wounded were hit by live rounds and rubber bullets, a security official said. (Posted @ 22:42 PST) Six killed in KhangGarh fire crackers blast ISLAMABAD, June 14 (APP): Six persons are reported to have been killed and five injured in a blast that occurred in a stock of fire crackers in a house in Khangarh in Punjab province. (Posted @ 21:56 PST) Indian minister warns Kashmir violence could worsen BANGALORE, India, June 14 (Reuters)- India's defence minister warned on Saturday that attacks by separatist militants in occupied Kashmir could increase as local elections draw near. The comments by A.K. Anthony came a day after suspected rebels killed five people, including four Indian soldiers, and injured 12 civilians in two separate attacks in the Himalayan region claimed by both India and Pakistan. Earlier on Saturday, three people, including a policeman, were injured in a grenade attack at a police post outside the chief minister's office in Srinagar. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the region since a revolt against New Delhi broke out in 1989. (Posted @ 20:24 PST) Baghdad minibus bombing kills two BAHGDAD, June 14 (AFP) - A bomb blast ripped through a minibus in Baghdad on Saturday, killing two people and wounding another eight, an Iraqi security official said. A man and a woman died in the attack after the bomb planted inside the public bus detonated, the official told AFP. (Posted @ 19:28 PST) Bush, Sarkozy warn Syria, Iran PARIS, June 14 (AFP) US President George W. Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy Saturday jointly urged Syria to break with Iran and bluntly warned that they would not let Tehran obtain nuclear weapons. “Iran getting a nuclear bomb is unacceptable, that's clear. It's an unacceptable threat for the stability of the world,” Sarkozy said, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Bush at a press conference after talks in Paris. “A nuclear-armed Iran is incredibly destabilizing,” Bush said hours after Tehran rejected new world demands to halt uranium enrichment in return economic and diplomatic rewards. “It would be a major blow to world peace.” The US president had a blunt message for Damascus: “Stop fooling around with the Iranians and stop harboring terrorists” and warn Tehran “that the west is serious” about curtailing the Islamic republic's nuclear program. Sarkozy underlined that Damascus must guarantee neighbour Lebanon's independence. The French president said he wanted “that Syria break as much as possible with Iran in its quest to develop a nuclear weapon” in order to pursue improved diplomatic relations with Paris. “I am disappointed that the leaders rejected this generous offer out of hand. It is an indication to the Iranian people that their leadership is willing to isolate them further,” Bush said. A tough sanctions regime is “the only solution for convincing the Iranians” that they need to bow to international demands, said Sarkozy. Bush also expressed confidence that Baghdad and Washington would successfully reach a deal on the rules for US forces in Iraq after the UN mandate for the occupation ends late this year. “If I were a betting man - we'll reach an agreement with the Iraqis,” he said. “Of course, we're there at their invitation. It's a sovereign nation and therefore we're working hard with the elected government of Iraq,” said Bush. “We're going to work hard to accommodate their desires.” (Posted @ 18:24 PST) Heavy rains and landslides kill 14 in India's northeast GAUHATI, India, June 14 (AP) Landslides and house collapses caused by two days of heavy rains around Itanagar, capital of Arunachal Pradesh state, killed at least 14 people and injured over 50 others, government official Bidol Tayeng said, adding that the death toll is likely rise as rescue efforts continue. (Posted @ 18:08 PST) At least six dead, eight missing, 144 injured as 7.2 magnitude quake hits Japan KURIHARA, Japan, June 14 (AP) A magnitude 7.2 earthquake ripped across the mountains and rice fields of northern Japan Saturday, killing at least six people as it sheared off hillsides, jolted buildings and shook nuclear power plants. At least eight people were missing and another 144 were injured. Officials said landslides trapped 100 bathers at a hot spring resort. At a nuclear power plant in Fukushima, the jolt splashed five gallons of radioactive water from two pools storing spent fuel, operators said. However, government said there was no leakage outside the plant. The force of the quake, which was followed by some 153 aftershocks, buckled many roads, including one highway. The 8:43 a.m. quake was centered in the northern prefecture of Iwate, and was located about 5 miles underground. It was felt as far away as Tokyo. (First Posted @ 09:40 PST Updated @ 18:00 PST) Football: More than 100 arrests follow Euro matches ZURICH, Switzerland, June 14 (AFP) Swiss police said on Saturday they made more than 100 arrests following scuffles between soccer fans in Friday's Euro matches between Holland and France and Italy and Romania in Berne and Zurich. In Berne, 158 people were treated for knife wounds and one person suffered a broken jaw. In Zurich, where Italy and Romania played 1-1 draw, six fans were arrested Friday evening outside the Letzigrund stadium after causing trouble and injuring a steward. Police spoke of five other arrests Saturday after scuffles in central Zurich. (Posted @ 17:56 PST) Kurdish rebels wound five in rocket attack in southeast Turkey ANKARA, June 14 (AP): Kurdish rebels launched a rocket attack on an apartment building housing police families in southeast Turkey and wounded five people, authorities said. A policeman's wife was seriously wounded in the attack in the town of Yuksekova, near the borders of Iran and Iraq, Gov. Ayhan Nasuhbeyoglu, of Hakkari province, said. Nasuhbeyoglu said Saturday a policeman was also wounded in the attack late Friday. The Kurdistan Workers' Party has been fighting for self-rule in southeastern Turkey since 1984. The violence has killed tens of thousands of people. (Posted @ 17:15 PST) Rebels kidnap 16 Iranian border policemen as Pakistan sends four suspects back to Iran TEHRAN, June 14 (AP): Rebels kidnapped 16 Iranian border policemen in the southeast of the country and took them to Pakistan, the IRNA news agency said. Pakistan, meanwhile, handed over to Iran Abbulhamid Rigi, brother of the leader of the Jundallah group, and three others for their role in a low-level insurgency campaign in southeastern Iran. (Posted @ 16:35 PST) G8 calls for oil output boost to ease economic threats OSAKA, June 14 (AFP): World finance chiefs warned on Saturday runaway oil prices could imperil global economic growth, calling on producers to open up the taps and tasking the IMF to investigate wild market swings. The weakness of the dollar and the role of speculators in the latest oil shock were also in the spotlight during two-days of talks here between finance ministers from the Group of Eight rich nations. High oil and food prices pose “a serious challenge to stable growth worldwide” and may worsen poverty and stoke global inflation, the G8 said. The G8 - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States - urged oil producing countries to hike production and to invest money to ensure they can pump out enough supply in the future. They asked the International Monetary Fund to lead a probe into the recent spike in crude oil prices. (Posted @ 15:55 PST) Blast kills four U.S.-led soldiers in western Afghanistan KABUL, June 14 (Reuters): An explosion killed four soldiers from the U.S.-led coalition force Saturday in Afghanistan, the U.S. military said.The soldiers were conducting an operation when an improvised explosive device went off in western Farah province, the military said in a statement. “Four coalition service members were killed and another was seriously wounded today while conducting operations in Farah province following an IED strike this morning,” it said. (Posted @ 15:45 PST) China blast kills 27 coal miners, seven trapped SHANGHAI, June 14 (Reuters): Twenty-seven miners were killed and another seven remained trapped after an explosion in a Chinese coal mine, the Xinhua news agency said Saturday. The explosion in a facility of Anxin Coal Mining Co in China's northern Shanxi province occurred Friday morning, when 58 miners were working underground, Xinhua said. Fifteen miners had managed to escape, and another nine were rescued, it added. “Explosives” blew up at the bottom of the shaft at the mine in Luliang in the coal-rich province, initially trapping 43, Xinhua reported Friday, citing local officials. A landslide on a mountain in Luliang killed at least 19 workers at a rural brick factory, with one worker rescued, Xinhua said Saturday. It added that another two people remain trapped, citing rescue sources. (First Posted @ 09:00 PST, Updated @ 14:50 PST) EU's Solana delivers nuclear deal to Iran TEHRAN, June 14 (AFP): EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana Saturday presented a new offer to Iran on ending the six-year standoff over its nuclear drive but Tehran once again rejected the proposal's key demand. The package was drawn up by six world powers and offers Iran economic and trade incentives in exchange for halting uranium enrichment. Solana presented the offer during talks Saturday with Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, his spokeswoman said in a statement. “Solana handed the proposal to Mottaki,” said the statement. But just hours into Solana's visit, Iran's government spokesman rejected the main condition of the offer - that Tehran suspends uranium enrichment. “Iran's stance is clear. The precondition of a halt and suspension of nuclear activities cannot be brought up,” Gholam Hossein Elham told reporters. “If it exists (a demand for a suspension of enrichment) it cannot be considered at all. If the issue of suspension is relied upon, the (nuclear) issue will not change,” said Elham. (First Posted @ 13:25 PST, Updated @ 14:25 PST) Sri Lanka fighting kills 11 Tamil rebels, seven soldiers on northern fronts COLOMBO, June 14 (AP): Government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels fought battles on the northern fronts, leaving 11 rebels and seven soldiers dead, the military said Saturday. The new fighting took place in the Mannar, Welioya and Vavuniya regions bordering the rebels' de-facto state in the north Friday, a defence ministry statement said. In the Welioya area, separate clashes killed seven rebels and four soldiers, while three confrontations in Vavuniya and Mannar killed four rebels and three soldiers, it said. Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not immediately be reached for comment. (Posted @ 13:50 PST) Landslides kill 11 in Myanmar's 'valley of rubies': state media YANGON, June 14 (AFP): Eleven people were killed in landslides caused by heavy rains that pounded Myanmar's famed “valley of rubies,” source of some of the world's finest gems, state media said Saturday. “The floodwater rose from two to three feet and caused landslides that destroyed three houses, leaving seven men and four women dead,” the official New Light of Myanmar newspaper said. The landslides came after the northern town of Mogok received record rainfall of 8.07 inches late Wednesday and early Thursday, causing the Yeni creek to flood and swamp the town, it said. (Posted @ 11:45 PST) Cricket: Australia 35 for 0 at close of play on second day, BRIDGETOWN, June 13 (Reuters): Australia were 35 without loss at the close of play on the second day of the third test on Friday. Scores: Australia 251 (A.Symonds 52) and 35 for 0; West Indies 216 (S.Chanderpaul 79 not out). (Posted @ 09:40 PST)
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