|
| June 16, 2008 | Monday | Jamadi-us-Sani 11, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (06:00 GMT)
 Oil price strikes record high $139.89 a barrel LONDON, June 16 (AFP): The price of crude oil struck a record high of 139.89 dollars a barrel on Monday even as Saudi Arabia said it was preparing to increase output. New York main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for July delivery, beat its all-time high of 139.12 dollars recorded on June 6. (Posted @ 19:30 PST)  Asif Zardari hints at Musharraf's ouster LAHORE, June 16 (AFP): The co-chairperson of Pakistan People’s Party, Asif Ali Zardari, on Monday vowed his party would soon appoint its own president -- hinting at Musharraf's ouster in the near future. “God willing that day is not far when Pakistan People's Party will have its own president and the presidency will echo with slogans of “Long Live Bhutto,” Zardari told cheering party supporters waving PPP flags. Mr Zardari's comments at a party workers' gathering in Lahore will intensify pressure on Musharraf, the US-backed former army chief, who has come under increasing pressure from lawyers and the ruling coalition to step down. (Posted @ 21:42 PST) Bush says US can help 'testy situation' on Afghanistan-Pakistan border LONDON, June 16 (AP) U.S. President George W. Bush said Washington can help calm the “testy situation” along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Speaking at a news conference in London Monday, Bush said the mission for the U.S. remains to deny safe haven to extremists who want to kill innocent people. “That's the strategy of Afghanistan. It needs to be the strategy of Pakistan,” Bush said. Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan are strained over allegations that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda find sanctuary in Pakistan's border regions. Bush said, “we can help calm the situation down.” (Posted @ 16:56 PST)  Four killed in Dera Ismail Khan mosque blast KARACHI, June 16: At least four persons were killed in an explosion in a mosque in Dera Ismail Khan on Monday evening, a local TV news channel reported. (Posted @ 21:30 PST) Punjab Finance Minister Tanvir Ashraf Kaira presents Rs 416.94 billion annual budget LAHORE, June 16 (APP): Punjab Finance Minister Tanvir Ashraf Kaira Monday presented Rs 416.94 billion annual Punjab budget with Rs 160 billion for development and Rs 17 billion subsidy on basic amenities for the poor. Giving break-up of the budget 2008-09, the minister said next fiscal year's revenue estimated at Rs 389 billion, while expenditure estimated at Rs 256.94 billion including Rs 17 billion of subsidy grant, and a grant of Rs 160 billion had been allocated for Annual Development Programme (ADP). Tanvir Ashraf Kaira said next financial year's estimated revenues are nine per cent higher than current fiscal year. The minister elaborated that Rs 160 ADP had been allocated as surplus grant in revenue account estimated at Rs 132.94 billion, capital account Rs 13.59 billion, public account Rs 1.22 billion and Rs 12.23 billion for foreign funded projects. (Posted @ 15:45 PST) Rs267.7 billion Sindh budget presented KARACHI, June 16 (APP): A Rs267.7 billion Sindh budget for fiscal 2008-09 was presented by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah in Sindh Assembly on Monday. Against total expenditure of Rs267.764 billion, the budget shows total receipts at Rs253.754 billion. The chief minister in his budget speech said the government plans to finance the deficit by improving revenue collection and mobilising additional revenues; undertaking an austerity drive for containing cuurrent expenditure. (Posted @ 20:18 PST) Rs170.904 billion tax free surplus NWFP budget presented PESHAWAR, June 16 (APP): Provincial Finance Minister Humayun Khan Monday presented a Rs170.904 billion tax free surplus annual budget 2008-09. The ANP-PPP led NWFP coalition government’s first budget includes a record Rs.41.545 billion annual development program, registering a 39 percent increase over the outgoing fiscal. The budget session of the NWFP Assembly started with Speaker Karamatullah Khan Chagarmatti in the chair. Total revenue has been estimated at Rs170.904 billion against total expenditures of Rs170.559 bill showing a surplus of Rs345 million. (Posted @ 19:18 PST) Panel on Africa says food crisis could drive 100 million people into poverty LONDON, June 16 (AP): Rising global food prices threaten to destroy years of economic progress in Africa and drive 100 million people into poverty, a high-profile international panel said Monday. The Africa Progress Panel also said wealthy countries are likely to fail in their promise to deliver billions more in aid to the continent by 2010. “Africa has made substantial progress in recent years,” said former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who chairs the panel. “The food crisis threatens to reverse many of the hard-fought gains that have been made,” he said. “With 100 million people on the brink of abject poverty, the cost of food will not be measured in the price of wheat and rice, but in the rising number of infant and child deaths across Africa.” (Posted @ 23:38 PST) NATO chief, Ukraine leader dismiss Russian membership veto KIEV, June 16 (AFP): NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko on Monday dismissed the idea of Russia vetoing Ukraine's membership bid, saying the decision was a matter for NATO alone. At a news conference in the Ukrainian capital, the alliance leader stressed that “decision making in NATO is by the 26 allies and by them only.” Yushchenko also rejected the idea of a Russian veto and said he hoped Ukraine would be approved as a formal membership candidate this year. (Posted @ 23:22 PST) EU says no agreement on new Iran sanctions LUXEMBOURG, June 16 (Reuters): The European Union said Monday it had agreed no new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme, apparently contradicting British statements announcing new measures on its financial and energy sectors. A spokeswoman for the Slovenian EU presidency also said she was not aware of any agreement on Monday on sanctions. (Posted @ 23:08 PST) Israel-Syria talks end, agree new rounds: Turkish source ANKARA, June 16 (Reuters): Israel and Syria on Monday ended a second round of peace talks mediated by Turkey and agreed to resume negotiations, a Turkish government source told Reuters. The government source, who declined to be named, said the parties had agreed on the timing of the third and fourth rounds of talks but declined to give further details. (Posted @ 22:56 PST) US-led coalition says 35 militants killed in Afghanistan KABUL, June 16 (AFP): Thirty-five insurgents were killed by Afghan and US-led coalition forces over the weekend in two separate clashes sparked by militant ambushes, the coalition said on Monday. In the first clash on Saturday militants attacked a joint Afghan and coalition patrol in the troubled Sangin district of southern Helmand province, it said in a statement. The coalition said no coalition or Afghan forces were wounded in either battle. (Posted @ 22:46 PST) Britain to boost Afghan force to 8,030: minister LONDON, June 16 (Reuters): Britain will increase its force in Afghanistan by 230, taking the total number of British troops there to 8,030, Defence Secretary Des Browne told parliament on Monday. “I have approved the removal of around 400 posts from the Afghan operational establishment. These posts are no longer,” he said. “We have identified a requirement for, in total, 630 new posts creating a net increase in our forces in Afghanistan of some 230 personnel to around 8,030 by spring 2009,” Browne said. (Posted @ 22:32 PST) Suspect in Benazir Bhutto attack freed: police KARACHI, June 16 (AFP): The authorities released an alleged Al-Qaeda-linked militant who was held over a bombing at Benazir Bhutto's homecoming parade which killed 139 people, police said Monday. Qari Saifullah Akhtar, who was accused by the former premier of plotting against her in a book published after her assassination in December, was freed last week, Inspector General of Prisons Yameen Khan told AFP. “We released him on Friday after the expiry of his detention period.” Akhtar's lawyer Hashmat Habib said he was freed because of a lack of evidence. Akhtar returned to his home in Lahore, he said, adding that the authorities “facilitated” his return. Benazir Bhutto was unharmed in that attack, but was killed two months later at an election rally in the northern garrison city of Rawalpindi. (Posted @ 21:28 PST) At least 40 dead, 100 missing after migrant boat sinks off Libya CAIRO, June 16 (AFP/Reuters): At least 40 people drowned and around 100 are missing after a boat carrying illegal immigrants from Libya to Italy capsized, an Egyptian security official said on Monday. A boat carrying 150 African migrants en route to Europe sank off the Libyan coast and the Libyan authorities have recovered one survivor and 21 bodies, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said Monday. The boat sank on June 7 after sailing from the Libyan town of Zuwarah, close to the Tunisian border, and was heading for Italy, a ministry spokesman said. (First Posted @ 20:50 PST Updated @ 21:14 PST) U.N. finds 89 bodies in disputed Sudan oil area KHARTOUM, June 16 (Reuters): The United Nations found 89 bodies in the disputed oil-rich Abyei region of Sudan from fighting that erupted last month, a senior U.N. official said Monday. The U.N. official, who declined to be named, said 89 bodies had been found in Abyei. A joint north-south force was to deploy on Monday but put back to Tuesday because of administrative delays in flying them in on U.N. planes, said the force's commander. (Posted @ 20:38 PST) Chad rebels say third town taken in eastern attacks GOZ-BEIDA, June 16 (Reuters): Chadian rebels said they captured another eastern town on Monday, the third in three days, as their columns harassed government forces around a major centre for international aid operations. The rebels, who say their aim is to overthrow President Idriss Deby, have been moving westwards from the border with Sudan in several fast-moving attacks in the Ouaddai region, where European Union troops are protecting civilian refugees. “Biltine has just fallen,” a spokesman for the anti-Deby rebel National Alliance, told Reuters by telephone. There was no immediate reaction from the government or independent confirmation of the fall of Biltine to the rebels. (Posted @ 20:34 PST) Six killed in Iraq attacks, security forces gear up for offensive in Amarah BAGHDAD, June 16(AP): Bombings and a mortar strike targeted Iraqi security forces Monday as at least six people were killed nationwide in violence. Rockets also slammed into the British base at Basra airport, forcing the runway to be temporarily closed to aircraft, the British military said. The deadliest attack occurred when a roadside bomb hit a car carrying fighters from a group that had turned against Al-Qaeda in Iraq. The attack near a village outside Buhriz, about 60 kilometers north of Baghdad, killed three and wounded another, a police official said. A mortar shell slammed into a building housing Iraqi soldiers and members of an anti-Al-Qaeda group about noon in Khadra area in western Baghdad, killing one soldier and one member of the “awakening council,” police and army officers said. Eight people were wounded in the attack. Another bomb in the northern city of Mosul killed one civilian and wounded two others, a police official there said. (Posted @ 18:40 PST) Abbas expects Gaza truce within days RAMALLAH, West Bank, June 16 (AFP): Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas expects Israel and Hamas to reach a truce in and around the Gaza Strip within days, his spokesman said on Monday. “President Abbas had a series of phone conversations with the Egyptian leadership to support Egypt's efforts for a truce,” a spokesman told AFP. “During the talks, he expressed hope a truce agreement would be reached in the next days,” he added. Abbas asked Israel to reopen border crossings with the impoverished territory as part of a truce agreement, the spokesman said. (Posted @ 18:28 PST) Britain announces new sanctions against Iran LONDON, June 16 (AP) Britain will freeze assets of Iran's largest bank in a further move to discourage the country from developing nuclear weapons, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Monday. Brown, speaking at a news conference with U.S. President George W. Bush, said that Britain will work to convince Europe to follow suit. “Britain will urge Europe and Europe will agree to take sanctions against Iran,” Brown said. “Action will start today in new phase of sanctions on oil and gas. We will take any necessary action so that Iran is aware of the choice it needs to make.” Brown said his government wanted to do all it could to maintain a dialogue with Tehran. “But we are also clear that if Iran continues to ignore (United Nations) resolutions, to ignore our offers of partnership, we have no choice but to intensify sanctions,” the prime minister said. (Posted @ 17:40 PST) Two small bombs explode outside anti-government protest leader's office in Bangkok BANGKOK, June 16 (AP) Two small bombs exploded harmlessly overnight outside the office of an anti-government protest leader as rallies intensifying political tension in the Thai capital entered a fourth week, police said Monday. Followers of the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy meanwhile tied up traffic for hours in downtown Bangkok in a Monday morning protest, targeting the political legacy of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. No casualties were reported after two men riding a motorcycle threw small explosives at a house used as an office by Sondhi Limthongkul, a leader of the anti-government alliance, said police Lt. Banyong Daengmankong. The bomb did not make it past the house's compound wall and exploded on the sidewalk nearby, Banyong said. On Monday, about 4,000 People's Alliance for Democracy protesters marched to the headquarters of the Election Commission to call for the resignation of some commissioners whom they accused of taking actions favoring the ruling coalition parties. Police barricaded the commission building and the protesters dispersed after a few hours. (Posted @ 17:14 PST) Karzai threat seen as pressure tactic in Pakistan ISLAMABAD, June 16 (Reuters) Afghan President Hamid Karzai's threat of a cross-border pursuit of militants is more of a tactic to build pressure on Pakistan than a signal of real intent, analysts said Monday. “When communication breaks down, opinions get fertilized,” said Afrasiab Khattak, a senior leader of Awami National Party. “I think it's high time for them to open communication to avoid any further escalation,” said Khattak. Analysts said Karzai's threat was a repeat of what some U.S. and NATO officials had suggested in the past, and the Afghan army couldn't act independently of U.S. and NATO military command on such a matter. “Now he has spoken their language,” said Rustam Shah Mohmand, a former ambassador of Pakistan to Kabul. The former envoy suspected Karzai was seeking to divert criticism, after getting back from an international donors conference in Paris last week. While donors pledged $20 billion in aid to Afghanistan they said Karzai must fight corruption and improve governance. Analysts said they did not expect any let up in selective air strikes, nor did they foresee U.S. ground forces being let off the leash in Pakistan. Another analyst said Karzai's warning was linked to U.S. efforts to discourage Pakistan from making peace with militants. (Posted @ 16:54 PST) Pakistan summons Afghan envoy over Karzai comments ISLAMABAD, June 16 (AFP) Pakistan stoked tensions with Afghanistan Monday, summoning the Afghan envoy and vowing to defend its sovereignty after President Hamid Karzai threatened cross-border attacks on militants. Karzai said Sunday Afghanistan would be justified to attack Taliban insurgents on Pakistani soil, saying it had a right to do so in self-defence. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said in a statement that he would “like to make it absolutely clear that Pakistan shall defend its territorial sovereignty.” Qureshi described Karzai's comments as “irresponsible”. “Since the two countries were faced with a common enemy it was all the more necessary that Afghanistan refrained from making irresponsible threatening statements,” he said. The Afghan ambassador to Islamabad, Anwar Anwarzai, was summoned to the foreign office “and a strong protest was lodged over President Karzai's statement,” Pakistani foreign office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq told AFP. The spokesman refused to give further details of what was said at the meeting. “In my view, the only way to win the war against terrorism and extremism is by showing full respect to the territorial sovereignty and non-interference in each others' internal affairs,” foreign minister Qureshi was quoted as saying. (First Posted @ 13:55 PST Updated @ 16:28 PST) Rice on surprise visit to Lebanon BEIRUT, June 16 (AFP) US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made an unannounced visit to Lebanon Monday to show support for the country's new president and efforts to form a national unity government. “I am looking forward to going to Lebanon to meet with the president and to talk with various Lebanese officials,” Rice told reporters on her way to Beirut from Tel Aviv. “But I am also going to express the United States support for Lebanese democracy, for Lebanese sovereignty.” She said her visit was also aimed at discussing “how the United States can support the institutions of a free Lebanon including the work that we do to support the armed forces, to support the Lebanese economy and the Lebanese civil society.” (Posted @ 16:14 PST) Child, two militants killed in new Afghan violence KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, June 16 (AFP): A roadside bomb killed a child going to school in eastern Afghanistan, while an airstrike by US-led forces left two Taliban dead and a woman and baby girl wounded, police said Monday. A 12-year-old, fifth-grade student was on his way to a school in Khost province’s Yaqoubi district when he was killed by a roadside bomb blast Sunday, an interior ministry statement said. A similar blast struck an Afghan National Army vehicle in the Girishk district of Helmand province the same day, wounding two soldiers, provincial police chief Mohammad Hussain Andiwal told AFP. Separately, Afghan and US-led coalition troops carried out an operation against Taliban rebels in Zabul province’s Arghandab district, killing two militants late Sunday, police said. “Coalition aircraft targeted a Taliban position as part of the same operation which wounded a woman and a child,” deputy provincial police chief Faridullah Khan told AFP. (Posted @ 15:35 PST) Six killed in communist attacks in Philippines DAVAO, Philippines, June 16 (AFP): Six police and soldiers were killed in a wave of attacks by communist insurgents in the southern Philippine city of Davao, officials said Monday. On Monday, an army patrol fought a brief fire fight with over a dozen guerrillas of the communist New People's Army (NPA) in a banana plantation on the outskirts of the city. Although there were no casualties on the government side, evidence from the scene indicates the NPA may have suffered some dead or wounded, said local army commander, Major Lyndon Panisa. On Saturday two traffic policemen were shot dead by motorcycle-riding gunmen, a police report said Monday. In another incident Saturday a military unit was ambushed by the NPA in Davao City, leaving four soldiers dead, said local military spokesman Major Armand Rico. (Posted @ 15:30 PST) Bush meets Brown, Blair as Europe tour wraps up LONDON, June 16 (AFP) Wrapping up a farewell Europe tour, US President George W. Bush held talks Monday with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, notably on Iraq, as well as Mideast envoy Tony Blair. The US president was also to visit Belfast for talks on the future of Northern Ireland. Bush met with Blair for breakfast talks on his efforts for peace in the Middle East, then headed to 10, Downing Street, for talks with Brown. The meeting with Brown was likely to center on ways to curb Iran's nuclear program - a central theme of Bush's Europe swing - and plans to reduce troop levels in Iraq. Bush will then set off to Belfast, and along with Brown and Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen, will meet with Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson and his deputy Martin McGuinness. (Posted @ 15:18 PST) Soccer fans held in occupied Kashmir over pro-Pakistan slogans SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, June 16 (Reuters) About a dozen spectators were detained in occupied Kashmir for shouting pro-Pakistan slogans at a soccer match aimed at generating goodwill and ending alienation among locals, police said Monday. Those detained were among 5,000 people who had come to watch Sunday's final of the Indian national soccer championship, a rare major sporting event held in the region. They shouted “we want freedom, long live Pakistan” before police led them away, a senior police official told Reuters. “Ten persons have been detained for provocative sloganeering and for inciting others,” said the official, who requested anonymity. (Posted @ 15:04 PST) Afghan protesters back Karzai's Pakistan threat KHOST, Afghanistan, June 16 (AFP) More than 2,000 Afghan tribesmen gathered in Afghanistan’s Paktika province Monday to voice support for President Hamid Karzai's threat to target militant leaders in Pakistan, provincial government spokesman Ghamai Khan Mohammadyar said. About 1,500 people including tribal elders and pro-government religious leaders gathered in the provincial capital Sharan to back Karzai, Mohammadyar said. “About 1,500 people were gathered in a hall in Sharan and several hundreds of others in the town of Urgun…to express their support for the president's statement,” Mohammadyar told AFP. He quoted the tribal elders as saying: “We are ready to fight the Pakistani Taliban with our own weapons and money.” Tribal chief Amin Jan told AFP from Sharan: “We support Karzai. Pakistanis are coming to Afghanistan and we have evidence.” The gathering in Urgun comprised around 600 people including tribal chiefs, clerics and residents, Mohammadyar said. (Posted @ 14:58 PST) Zambia bus accident kills 26 people LUSAKA, June 16 (Reuters): Twenty-six people were killed and 52 injured when a bus burst a tyre and crashed in eastern Zambia, state radio reported Monday. A police officer said the driver lost control when a front tyre burst on a turn on the way to Lusaka Saturday. The accident occurred in Nyimba, 330 km east of the capital. (Posted @ 14:20 PST) Israel to build 40,000 homes in Jerusalem JERUSALEM, June 16 (AFP) - Israeli authorities have approved a plan to build 40,000 new homes in Jerusalem, including in the annexed Arab eastern sector of the city, over the next decade, the municipality said on Monday. The plan was approved by the National Planning and Building Committee on Sunday, municipal officials said. Municipality spokesman declined to say how many of the housing units would be build in east Jerusalem, which Israel seized in the 1967 Middle East war and whose annexation is not recognised by the international community. A total of 245,000 Palestinians live in east Jerusalem alongside more than 200,000 Jewish settlers. (Posted @ 14:00 PST) One killed, three wounded in attacks on military, police in Russia's Ingushetia province NAZRAN, Russia, June 16 (AP): Unidentified militants killed a Russian soldier and wounded another Monday in the North Caucasus region, police said. The attack occurred near the village of Ordzhonikidzevskaya in Ingushetia province, the regional police said. Two local police officers were also wounded late Sunday in a separate ambush in the town of Malgobek. (Posted @ 13:45 PST) Rice holds three-way Mideast talks JERUSALEM, June 16 (AFP): US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held talks Monday with Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad, on the final day of her trip to the Middle East. Rice also held one-on-one talks ahead with Barak ahead of the meeting which wraps up her two-day visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank. The talks were expected to focus in part on Israeli restrictions on movement of Palestinians in the West Bank, where the army maintains more than 600 roadblocks. (Posted @ 13:05 PST) Two more Ministers join Sindh Cabinet KARACHI, June 16 (APP): Two more Ministers took oath on Monday as members of Sindh Cabinet. They are: Syed Sarrdar Ahmed of the MQM and Muzaffar Ali Shajrah of the PPP. Sindh Governor, Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan administered the oath. (Posted @ 13:05 PST) Britain says high risk of attack in UAE DUBAI, June 16 (AFP): Britain has warned that there is a high risk of a terror attack in the United Arab Emirates, according to a statement posted on its embassy website. “There is a high threat from terrorism. We believe terrorists may be planning to carry out attacks in the UAE,” said a travel advice posted online on Saturday. “Attacks could be indiscriminate and could happen at any time, including in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers such as residential compounds, military, oil, transport and aviation interests,” it said. It informed Britons in the oil-rich Gulf state that they should “maintain a high level of security awareness, particularly in public places.” The embassy said that over a million British visitors travelled to the UAE in 2006, and more than 100,000 British nationals are resident there. (Posted @ 13:00 PST) Israeli troops kill three gunmen on Gaza border GAZA, June 16 (Reuters): Israeli forces killed three Islamic Jihad gunmen on the Gaza Strip border Monday, the Palestinian militant group said. It said the gunmen were operating near the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis. (First Posted @ 11:00 PST, Updated @ 12:55 PST) Security forces check post attacked in Kahan DERA MURAD JAMALI, Pakistan, June 16 (PPI): Unidentified persons attacked security forces check post in Kahan of Kohlu district in Balochistan province on Sunday but took to their heels on return of fire by the security forces. According to officials, five rockets were fired on Naal check post but there was no report of any damage. (Posted @ 12:20 PST) Flash floods, mudslides kill 25 in India's northeast GUWAHATI, India, June 16 (AFP) - Flash floods and mudslides unleashed by heavy monsoon rains have claimed 25 lives and displaced 200,000 people in northeastern India, officials said Monday. Six people drowned overnight in Assam state as they tried to escape gushing floodwaters in bamboo rafts, state relief and rehabilitation minister Bhumidhar Barman said. The death toll in a series of mudslides on the weekend in the neighbouring state of Arunachal Pradesh has mounted to 19. Army and paramilitary soldiers were called out Monday in Assam's Sonitpur and Lakhimpur districts to rescue marooned villagers. Hundreds of people trapped in their houses were brought to safety and at least 50 makeshift camps have been set up for displaced villagers. (Posted @ 10:50 PST) One killed, 10 injured as wagon falls into ravine in Azad Kashmir MIRPUR (Azad Kashmir), June 16 (APP): One person was killed and ten others injured, three of them seriously when a passenger wagon skidded into a deep ravine near Choki village of Samani valley in Bhimbher District of Azad Kashmir on Sunday. The ill-fated vehicle was on its way from Bhimbher city to adjoining village Choki when it met with the accident near Pacce Ghala village. (Posted @ 10:35 PST) Fireworks explosion: Two kids, girl recovered alive from rubble MUZAFFARGARH, Pakistan, June 16 (APP): Rescuers have recovered two kids and their teenage sister alive after removing the rubble of a house destroyed in the fireworks explosion that claimed lives of five members of their family in Basti Majal Wala of Khangarh tehsil in Punjab province. They were identified as Arsalan (7), Usman (4) and their teenage sister Nadia (16). Officials have also recovered 25 kilogram of un- exploded fireworks material from the site. (Posted @ 10:25 PST) Eight injured in explosion in Istanbul cafe ISTANBUL, June 16 (AFP) -An explosion whose cause is still unknown, but which one witness attributed to a bomb, injured eight people Sunday in a cafe in the Turkish city of Istanbul, Anatolia news agency reported. The blast blew out windows and destroyed one car parked near the cafe in the outlying Buyukcekmece quarter on the European side of the Bosphorus, it said. (Posted @ 09:50 PST) Motorcycle suicide bomber kills 12 police in Sri Lanka COLOMBO, June 16 (AFP) -A suspected Tamil Tiger rebel detonated explosives on his motorcycle outside a police office in Vavuniya town, 258 kilometres north of Colombo, Monday, killing at least 12 nine policemen and three female constables, officials said. Forty people, including school children, were also wounded. Meanwhile, the defence ministry reported that 19 rebels and five security personnel were killed in weekend battles in the north of the island. (Posted @ 09:50 PST) Karachi Stocks down 497.43 points: KARACHI, June 16: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 12444.13, down 497.43 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:17 PST) Forex update: KARACHI, June 16: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 68.1 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:17 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah The DAWN Media Group |
| | About Us | Advertising info | Subscription | Feedback | Contributions | Privacy Policy | Help | Contact us | |