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| July 02, 2008 | Wednesday | Jamadi-us-Sani 27, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Cricket: Pakistan beat India by eight wickets in Asia Cup Karachi, July 2, (REUTERS) - Pakistan beat India by eight wickets to win their Asia Cup super league match at the National Stadium, Karachi, on Wednesday. Score: India 308 for seven off 50 overs (M.S. Dhoni 76, R. Sharma 58); Pakistan 309 for two off 45.3 overs (Younis Khan 123 not out, Misbah-ul-Haq 70 not out, Nashir Jamshed 53 retired hurt). (Posted @ 23:56 PST)
Cricket: India 308-7 v Pakistan in Asia Cup Karachi, July 2, (Reuters) - India scored 308 for seven wickets against Pakistan in an Asia Cup super league match at the National Stadium, Karachi, on Wednesday. Score: India 308 for seven off 50 overs (M.S. Dhoni 76, R. Sharma 58). (Posted @ 21:16 PST)
Three killed, 45 injured in Jerusalem bulldozer attack JERUSALEM, July 2 (Reuters) - A Palestinian construction worker rammed a bulldozer into buses and cars on one of west Jerusalem's busiest streets on Wednesday, killing three Israelis and wounding upto 45 others before he was shot dead. Israeli police said the driver of the 20-tonne earthmoving vehicle was killed by a civilian and a policeman who clambered onto the cab as it wrought havoc along Jaffa Road, overturning a city bus and crushing cars along a 500-metre stretch. There was no immediate claim of responsibility from militant groups. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said the attack “was an act of senseless, murderous violence”. An aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called it an attempt to wreck peace negotiations and urged Israel to show restraint in its response. U.S. President George W. Bush called Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to offer condolences, Israeli spokesman Regev said. Television footage showed bystanders pursuing the yellow roadworking vehicle as it ploughed through the early lunchtime traffic. Medical officials said more than 40 people were taken to hospital. Two Israeli men and a women died. (First Posted @ 16:28 PST Updated @ 20:54 PST)
US helicopter shot down in Afghanistan but no fatalities Kabul, July 2 (Reuters) - A U.S.-led coalition UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter was shot down by small-arms fire on Wednesday in Logar province, to the south of Kabul, but there were no serious injuries, the U.S. military said. Separately, the governor of the southwestern province of Nimroz survived a suicide car attack on Wednesday, but three of his body guards who were travelling with him in a convoy were killed, officials said. There were fears of casualties among civilians too. Meanwhile, a suicide car bomber targeted a NATO convoy on a road near the town of Spin Boldak on Wednesday, wounding two Canadian soldiers, three Afghan police and two civilians, police said. Also, one Afghan civilian was killed and several were wounded on Wednesday when a militant mortar attack directed at a coalition base in the eastern Kunar province missed and struck near a group of locals, the U.S. military said. The militants, 300 metres inside Pakistan, repeatedly fired mortars at a coalition base and missed, it said, adding coalition forces returned artillery fire and the militants retreated and that all of its rounds landed inside Afghanistan. Late on Tuesday, four Taliban insurgents were killed while planting a roadside bomb in Ghazni province, an official said. Meanwhile, Afghan forces freed overnight the Chinese road engineer who was seized along with his driver in Wardak province a day earlier, an official said. There was no resistance as the captors had already left the place. (First Posted @ 16:38 PST Updated @ 20:46 PST)
US must stop harassing OPEC: secretary general el-Badri MADRID, July 2, (APP/AFP) - The United States must stop harassing OPEC members, the organisation's secretary generalAbdallah el-Badri said in an interview published Wednesday. “As the world's major power, I want them to stop harassing OPEC countries,” he told the Spanish newspaper El Pais, when asked about a move by the US Congress to allow the Justice Department to sue OPEC members for conspiring to restrict supplies or drive up prices. “With the boycott of Libya, the boycott of Iran and the problem created in Iraq, there are five to six million barrels per day lacking on the market,” the Libyan official said. The soaring price of oil is not due to “the myth” of the lack of supplies as Western countries have said, but to speculation sparked by the subprime lending crisis in the United States, he said. (Posted @ 20:02 PST)
Clashes in Somalia kill 47, dozens wounded MOGADISHU, July 2 (Reuters) - At least 47 people were killed in Somalia when insurgents clashed with Ethiopian troops and Ugandan peacekeepers in separate battles, a human rights group said on Wednesday. “A total of 47 people died yesterday in central Somalia and in the capital Mogadishu last night,” Ahmed Sudan, chairman of the Mogadishu-based Elman Peace and Human Rights organisation, told Reuters. Among the dead on Tuesday were Moalim Farhan, commander of the militant group, and Abdullahi Ali Farah, also known as Sheikh Aspro, a spokesman for the insurgents told Reuters. “We buried 27 Somalis,” shopkeeper Ismail Olad told Reuters from Mataban. “We do not know the number of Ethiopians killed.” (Posted @ 19:56 PST)
Cricket: Zimbabwe may escape ICC ban NEW DELHI, July 2 (Reuters) - The International Cricket Council (ICC) is not expected to bow to demands that Zimbabwe's board be banned, but the organisation is set to discuss a possible suspension for the country's limited-overs side. “It is difficult for the ICC to remove Zimbabwe,” an ICC official told Reuters from Dubai, where the governing body's executive board began a two-day meeting on Wednesday. An ICC spokesman later said no decision was made on the first day and a news conference tentatively scheduled for Wednesday would not take place. “We cannot comment until the board meeting is finished (on Thursday),” he told Reuters from Dubai. (Posted @ 19:54 PST)
Pakistan must focus on problems, not Musharraf-Boucher ISLAMABAD, July 2 (Reuters) - Pakistani politicians should stop squabbling over the fate of President Pervez Musharraf and focus on pressing problems of rising militancy, soaring prices and energy shortages, US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher told a news conference after talks with Musharraf and other leaders on Wednesday. “Frankly, President Musharraf is not the issue right now. This is not the problem that Pakistan faces right now,” he said. “The problem Pakistani people face is the danger of bombings, suicide bombers, rising food prices. There are energy difficulties,” he said. Boucher said the United States backed a Pakistani strategy to negotiate with ethnic Pashtun tribal elders to get them to stop attacks in Pakistan and into Afghanistan and to expel foreign militants. However, he reiterated the United States was opposed to deals with hard-core militants. “We don't support making concessions to violent leaders like Baituallah Mehsud,” he said. “We don't support releasing terrorists in the wild so that they can strike again.” Boucher said he had discussed cross-border militant movement in his meetings but repeated that Washington wanted Western and Afghan forces to tackle militants in Afghanistan, and Pakistani troops to act on their side of the border. Boucher also welcomed a sweep launched by Pakistani forces last Saturday aimed at militants in the Khyber region who had been threatening the city of Peshawar. (Posted @ 19:52 PST)
Pakistan would allow US drone strike on bin Laden: report WASHINGTON, July 2 (AFP) - Pakistan long ago gave Washington the right to launch an immediate Predator drone strike on Osama bin Laden, without first notifying Islamabad, if he is located in Pakistani tribal areas, The Washington Times reported Wednesday. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf granted this exception to other limits on US counterterrorism operations in his country “early” in the war against Al-Qaeda, launched in Afghanistan in October 2001, the Times said, citing “a knowledgeable official.” Islamabad does not allow US military ground forces on its soil, limiting the US presence in Pakistan to “scores” of CIA and paramilitary operatives, the Times noted, even though the Al-Qaeda chief is widely thought to be holed up in rugged Pakistani tribal areas. Earlier this year, Pakistan rejected a request from President George W. Bush to increase the number of CIA personnel there, the Times said. But military officials believe that if bin Laden's exact location were determined, a missile-equipped Predator drone could be airborne or redirected in flight “in a matter of minutes. ”Special operations forces, by contrast, would have to be assembled, briefed and then flown to the location by helicopter, a time-consuming and risky process, the paper said. (Posted @ 19:48 PST)
Ali Gilani rules out talks with India Srinagar, occupied Kashmir, July 02 (PPI) - Veteran Hurriyet leader Syed Ali Gilani has ruled out any talks with the Indian government unless it accepts the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir and release all political prisoners, reports KMS. Addressing a public meeting in Srinagar he said, “India has tried hard to suppress the sentiments in Kashmir but has failed to do so in the past sixty years.” ”It cannot succeed even if it doubles the number of troopers in the territory.” Referring to the Amarnath land transfer issue, Syed Ali Gilani said that India was politicising the Yatra to reinforce its occupation. Lashing out at pro-India parties, he said they were responsible for the situation prevailing in the region. (Posted @ 19:20 PST)
Indian troops martyr seven more Kashmiris Srinagar, July 02 (PPI) - Indian troops have martyred seven more Kashmiri youth in Kupwara district. KMS reported. It said troops of 20-Rashtriya Rifles and 16- JAT regiment killed the youth during military operation in Karnah area of the district. Earlier, a Junior Commissioned Officer of 20-Rashtriya Rifles was killed in an attack in same area. Separately, 13 people including an Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were injured in a grenade blast in Bhadarwah town. (Posted @ 19:16 PST)
India cannot suppress Kashmiris: JKLF Srinagar, occupied Kashmir, July 02 (PPI)- Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Yasin Malik, has emphasised that India cannot suppress the wishes and aspirations of Kashmiris through its military might, reports KMS. He was paying tributes to the martyrs of the 9-day protests against the transfer of land to non-Kashmiris while visiting the bereaved families at Mazhama in Magam, Budgam town and Badamwari, Karfali Mohalla and Bemina in Srinagar and other places. Other JKLF leaders including advocate Bashir Ahmed Butt, Ghulam Rasool Dar, Showkat Ahmed Bhakshi and Shaikh Abdul Rasheed accompanied him during the visit. He said that valiant struggle of Kashmiris had frustrated the Indian designs to change the demographic composition of the region. The overwhelming response had also conveyed a strong message to Indian authorities that Kashmiri people would never compromise on their basic rights and they would continue their struggle till the goal of freedom was achieved. (Posted @ 19:10 PST)
Utility Store in every LC: cabinet decision KARACHI, July 2 (APP): The Federal Cabinet which met Wednesday at Governor House under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani took stock of the price situation and decided to open a Utility Store in each UC to provide relief to the common man. Briefing newsmen after the Cabinet meeting, Federal Minister for Information Sherry Rehman said it was also decided to start Women Health Programme in every Union Council with a special quota of Lady Health Visitors for FATA and PATA, besides recruitment of 10,000 people with special quota for Balochistan. In the context of the Privatization policy it was decided that in future privatization will be undertaken with 10 percent shares for workers. Advisor for Interior Rehman Malik briefed the cabinet on security situation in the country and it was reiterated that the government is determined to establish its writ and started operation in FATA at the request of Governor and Chief Minister of NWFP. She said coalition partners were also consulted for the launch of the operation. The Prime Minister directed that every action must be result-oriented and that locals must be saved from inconveniences. (Posted @ 18:54 PST)
Musharraf, Boucher discuss Pak-US relations ISLAMABAD, July 2 (APP):- United States Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard A Boucher called on President Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday. Pakistan-US relations, counter-terrorism cooperation and regional developments of mutual interest were discussed. The President underscored the importance of multifaceted cooperation between Pakistan and the United States. He also underlined the need for deepening cooperation in the agreed areas of economy, energy, education, and science and technology. The President also emphasised the need for enhanced market access for Pakistani products in the U.S. President Musharraf reiterated Pakistan's commitment to fighting extremism and terrorism highlighting the elements of the three-pronged counter- terrorism strategy. Boucher expressed US commitment to a strong and broad-based relationship with Pakistan. He also appreciated the government's efforts to address extremism and terrorism and expressed U.S support for economic and social development of Pakistan. (Posted @ 18:42 PST)
Curfew in Jammu over Hindu trust land row JAMMU, occupied Kashmir, July 2 (Reuters) - Authorities in occupied Kashmir imposed an indefinite curfew in Jammu on Wednesday, following protests by Hindus against the government for backing down from a decision to transfer forest land to a Hindu shrine trust in the Muslim-majority part of Kashmir. India's main opposition, the Hindu Nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has also called a nationwide strike on Thursday to protest against the decision. “It will be a complete shutdown tomorrow as the decision by the government is completely unacceptable,” Balasubramanium, a BJP spokesman said in New Delhi. On Wednesday, 10 Hindu protesters were injured when a grenade exploded near them during a protest rally in Doda district of occupied Kashmir, officials said. “After assessing the situation, we have decided to clamp indefinite curfew in and around Jammu city from early this morning,” a police spokesman said. Earlier Muslim protesters shut down much of the region over last week in one of the biggest protests in decades. At least five people were shot dead by police during the demonstrations against the government decision to hand over nearly 100 acres of forest to a shrine trust for building temporary shelter for Hindu pilgrims. (Posted @ 18:36 PST)
Pakistan must focus on problems, not Musharraf: Boucher ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 2 (Reuters): Pakistani politicians should stop squabbling over the fate of President Pervez Musharraf and focus on pressing problems of rising militancy and soaring prices, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher told a news conference Wednesday. “Frankly, President Musharraf is not the issue right now. This is not the problem that Pakistan faces right now,” he said after talks with Musharraf and other leaders. “The problem Pakistani people face is the danger of bombings, suicide bombers, rising food prices. There are energy difficulties,” he added. (Posted @ 18:18 PST)
Twelve die in two-day Kashmir clash SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, July 2 (AFP): Eleven militants and an Indian soldier have been killed in two days of fierce fighting in Kupwara district of occupied Kashmir, the army said Wednesday. “The two days of fighting left eleven terrorists dead. We are looking for more militants in the mountainous area,” he said, adding that an army officer was also killed and the fighting was among the fiercest so far this year. Militants are engaged in an 18-year-old insurgency against Indian occupation of Muslim-majority Kashmir. The insurgency has left more than 43,000 people dead by official count. (First Posted @ 12:05 PST Updated @ 18:15 PST)
Three killed in Thailand's south: police NARATHIWAT, Thailand, July 2 (AFP): Three Buddhists were killed in drive-by shootings in the latest incidents of violence in Thailand’s insurgency-hit south, police said Wednesday. (Posted @ 17:54 PST)
Pakistani forces patrol empty bazaar, arrest militants in bloodless operation BARA, Pakistan, July 2 (AP)- Heavily armed paramilitary troops blocked roads into the town of Bara in northwestern Pakistan and patrolled its deserted bazaar Wednesday as an operation against miscreants rolled into its fifth day with more arrests but no sign of fighting.Troops arrested 10 suspected supporters of a local militant chief, Mangal Bagh, and confiscated submachine guns, rifles and ammunition from their pickup truck, about three miles from Bara, the focus of the operation in Khyber tribal region. A senior officer said the men were detained as they attempted to transport the weapons in the remote Tirah Valley. Rival militant groups Ansar ul-Islam and Bagh's Lashkar-e-Islam _ which have gained sway in Khyber in recent months _ have fought with each other in the valley this week, even as Pakistan launched the military operation in the more accessible area around Bara. Since the military operation began Saturday, authorities say forces have destroyed several militant centers, including a radio station, and recovered some men kidnapped by militants and criminals for ransom. But only one militant has been reported killed in fighting. In Bara town on Wednesday, the bazaar _ usually bustling with traders selling cloth, electronics, foodstuffs and even hashish _ was empty. Frontier Corps troops sat atop shop roofs with machine guns. About 80 local people were blocked at a checkpoint into the town, as the security forces tightened their control of access into the area. A round-the-clock curfew is in force and about 20 people were arrested Wednesday for violating it, a local administrator said, requesting anonymity. (First Posted @ 12:25 PST Updated @ 17:48 PST)
Palestinian kills 3 in Jerusalem bulldozer attack JERUSALEM, July 2 (Reuters): A Palestinian rammed a bulldozer into an Israeli commuter bus, cars and pedestrians on one of Jerusalem's busiest streets on Wednesday, killing at least three people and wounding dozens, emergency services said. Police said the driver of the highway construction vehicle was shot dead by police and a soldier who climbed onto the vehicle, while television footage showed several people, including civilians, in pursuit of the vehicle. (First Posted @ 16:28 PST Updated @ 17:32 PST)
Maoist rebels derail train in eastern India PATNA, India, July 2 (Reuters) - Maoist insurgents blew up railway tracks and derailed a train in eastern India on Wednesday, police said. No one was injured, but dozens of trains were held up or cancelled as rebels used explosives to blow tracks in two separate districts of Bihar state, police said. The Maoists accuse police of violence against villagers falsely accused of being rebels. The rebels distributed fliers asking villagers to support the protest, which shut down shops and held up traffic. (Posted @ 17:36 PST)
Egyptian police injured in Gaza border clash RAFAH, Egypt, July 2 (Reuters): Palestinians clashed with Egyptian police at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip on Wednesday when some of the Palestinians tried to force their way across. Dozens of Palestinians pelted Egyptian border police with stones, injuring at least six of them, an Egyptian police source said. Egyptian forces responded by firing water cannons and hurling rocks as they sealed the gates to the crossing, the only corridor between Gaza and Egypt. The border opened on Tuesday to let sick and injured Palestinians through, as well as Palestinians with residence or work permits in third countries, and to allow Palestinians to return to their homes from Egypt. (First posted @ 17:18 PST Updated @ 17:32 PST)
Egypt uses water cannon as Palestinians storm border EL-ARISH, Egypt, July 2 (AFP): Egyptian security forces on Wednesday used water cannons to keep thousands of Palestinians from storming across the border between Gaza and the Sinai peninsula. “Egyptian security forces are using water cannons to control thousands of Palestinians who are trying to enter Egypt,” a security official said. “Palestinians are angry because they say the numbers being allowed into Egypt are limited,” he added. Dozens of empty lorries were also lined up on the Palestinian side of the Sufa crossing waiting to load the shipments of cement and other supplies. (Posted @ 17:18 PST)
Two killed in Pakistan missile attack: security official KHAR, Pakistan, July 2 (AFP): Two people were killed and two wounded Wednesday when a missile fired from Afghanistan landed near a border post in Bajaur Agency. It was not clear if the missile was launched by Taliban militants in Afghanistan or international forces fighting them. The missile apparently “fired from the eastern Afghan province of Kunar landed near a Pakistani check post” in Sakhi Pass area of the tribal district, senior security official Javed Khan told AFP. It killed an Afghan refugee and a local resident. Two others including a security official and a taxi driver were wounded, residents and local officials said. (Posted @ 16:50 PST)
Govt keen to promote investment in housing, energy: Gilani KARACHI, Pakistan, July 2 (APP): Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said housing, agribusiness, and energy are some of the areas in which the government is keen to promote domestic and foreign investment to generate and expedite economic activity in the country. Talking to a delegation of bankers in Karachi on Wednesday, he said that foreign investment invariably follows domestic investment and the best way to promote it is through establishing joint ventures. He also said the government will provide level playing field to local and foreign investors by allowing foreign investors to hold 100% equity without restriction on the movement of capital. (Posted @ 16:44 PST)
Helicopter shot down in Afghanistan but no fatalities: NATO Kabul, July 2 (Reuters) - A U.S.-led coalition UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter was shot down by small-arms fire on Wednesday in Logar province, to the south of Kabul, but there were no serious injuries, the U.S. military said. In another incident a suicide car bomber targetted a NATO convoy on a road near the town of Spin Boldak on Wednesday, wounding two Canadian soldiers, three Afghan police and two civilians, police said. Separately, four Taliban insurgents were killed while planting a roadside bomb late on Tuesday in Ghazni province while eight Taliban fighters were killed in a clash with Afghan army after the militants ambushed an army convoy on Tuesday in Kandahar province, the Defence Ministry said. Afghan forces meanwhile freed overnight a Chinese road construction engineer who was seized in Wardak province a day earlier, an official said. (Posted @ 16:38 PST)
Two killed, 30 injured in Jerusalem bulldozer attack JERUSALEM, July 2 (AFP): Two people were killed and 30 more people wounded when a Palestinian man rammed a bulldozer into a bus and a car in west Jerusalem on Wednesday before he was shot dead, medics and police said. Israel police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld described it as “terrorist incident.”(Posted @ 16:28 PST)
Nine dead in Siberian helicopter crash MOSCOW, July 2 (AFP): A civilian Mi-8 helicopter carrying 12 passengers crashed in Siberia on Wednesday killing nine people, Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said. (Posted @ 16:14 PST)
Abducted Chinese engineer freed in Afghanistan GHAZNI, Afghanistan, July 2 (AFP): A Chinese road engineer who was kidnapped Monday in Jalrez district of Wardak province was freed overnight in a raid on his captors' hideout by Afghan forces, provincial governor Ali Ahmad Khashi said Wednesday. “Afghan forces raided the compound where the Chinese engineer was being held and freed him safely with no harm to him,” he said, adding that the kidnappers had already fled the area. (Posted @ 16:06 PST)
One killed in Jerusalem bulldozer attack JERUSALEM, July 2 (AFP): One woman was killed and 30 more people were injured by a Palestinian man who rammed a bulldozer into a bus and a car in west Jerusalem on Wednesday before he was shot dead, medics and police said. Police described the incident as a terror attack. (Posted @ 16:00 PST)
Helicopter downed, suicide bomber injures civilians in Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan, July 2 (AP): A suicide bomber targeting a NATO patrol wounded several Afghans on Wednesday, while a U.S.-led coalition helicopter crew escaped without serious injury after being shot down south of the capital, officials said. NATO said the suicide car bomber tried to hit a patrol near the town of Spin Boldak near the Pakistan border. No troops were reported injured, but two construction workers and two security guards were wounded, according to police. In a separate incident, a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was downed in the Kherwar district of Logar province, reportedly by RPG fire. The pilots landed the aircraft and evacuated before it caught fire. (First Posted @ 11:20 PST; Updated @ 14:50 PST)
Millions of Indian truckers go on strike NEW DELHI, India, July 2 (AP): Millions of truck drivers went on strike across India on Wednesday to protest rising fuel prices and road tolls, union leaders said, in a move that could paralyze much of the Indian economy. Talks between the main truckers' union and the government broke down Wednesday and the “strike is on until there is a solution from (the government's) side,” a union leader said. The All India Motor Transport Congress, which represents 4.8 million truckers, is demanding lower taxes on diesel and the repeal of a recent hike in toll road fees. (Posted @ 14:45 PST)
Security forces arrest 18 militants in Khyber operation in northwest Pakistan ISLAMABAD, July 2 (AP) Security forces destroyed two major militant sites and arrested 18 resisting insurgents as part of an operation in the Khyber tribal region that entered its fifth day Wednesday, the Interior Ministry said. Separately, 46 alleged criminals were detained in raids in the northwestern city of Peshawar, the ministry said. The militants were captured Tuesday at the home of cleric Mufti Munir Shakir. They skirmished with paramilitary forces, who destroyed Shakir's home. Also destroyed was the residence of cleric, Pir Saifur Rehman, according to a ministry statement issued late Tuesday. In a separate statement, the ministry and local political administrators said recent police raids led to arrests of 46 alleged criminals in Peshawar. The government said the “basic purpose of restoring normalcy and law and order has been achieved with minimum damage and without collateral losses.” So far during the military operation in Khyber, authorities say forces have destroyed several militant centers, including a radio station, and recovered some men kidnapped by militants and criminals for ransom. (Posted @ 12:25 PST)
Flooding, house collapses kill 11 in northern India LUCKNOW, India, July 2 (AP) Flooding and house collapses caused by heavy rains killed at least 11 people in northern India over the past two days, officials said Wednesday. The eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh state, where all the deaths took place, have been lashed by heavy rains since Monday and all major rivers in the region have flooded over, said Ramendra Singh, a revenue official. (Posted @ 12:25 PST)
Five dead in Mongolia post-election violence ULAN BATOR, July 2 (Reuters) Five people were killed and more than 300 injured in a riot in Mongolia's capital, among people alleging fraud in a weekend election, the country's justice minister said Wednesday. At least one foreigner, a Japanese citizen, was among those injured, the minister told a news conference. Some 700 people were detained for their part in the violence, which led to the president declaring a state of emergency. (First Posted @ 10:40 PST, Updated @ 12:15 PST)
Eight die in two-day occupied Kashmir clash SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, July 2 (AFP) Seven militants and an Indian soldier were killed in two days of fierce fighting in occupied Kashmir’s Kupwara district, the army said Wednesday. “The two days of fighting has left seven terrorists dead,” an army spokesman said, adding an army officer was also killed. “The operation is still going on in the area,” he said. (Posted @ 12:05 PST)
Blast goes off near Russian troops in Georgia MOSCOW, July 2 (Reuters) A blast shook a post used by Russian troops in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia Wednesday but no-one was injured, Interfax reported, citing local peacekeepers. Interfax said a device exploded near the de-facto border between Georgia and Abkhazia in the Zugdidi region. “There are no casualties,” Interfax quoted a spokesman for Russian peacekeepers as saying. (First Posted @ 11:50 PST, Updated @ 12:00 PST)
Blast goes off near Russia troops in Georgia MOSCOW, July 2 (Reuters) A blast shook a post used by Russian peacekeepers in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia, Interfax news agency reported Wednesday, quoting Georgian television. Rustavi 2 television channel reported a device exploded near the administrative border between Georgia and Abkhazia in the Zugdidi region. (Posted @ 11:50 PST)
Sri Lanka fighting kills 27 rebels, two soldiers in north COLOMBO, July 2 (AP) New fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels along Sri Lanka's northern front lines killed 27 rebels and two soldiers, the military said Wednesday. Fighting erupted Tuesday in the Vavuniya and Welioya regions bordering the rebels' de facto state in the north. The fighting in Vavuniya killed 16 rebels and one soldier, while in the nearby Welioya region, 11 rebels and one soldier died, the military said. Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not immediately be reached for comment. (Posted @ 11:30 PST)
U.S.-led force helicopter shot down in Afghanistan KABUL, July 2 (Reuters) A helicopter of U.S.-led troops was shot down by small-arms fire to the south of the Afghan capital Wednesday, but there were no serious injuries to the people on board, the U.S. military said. The pilots landed the aircraft safely and evacuated all personnel before it caught fire in Logar province’s Kharwar district. “There were no serious injuries to the crew or passengers,” the military said in a statement. (Posted @ 11:20 PST)
Mideast leaders meet in Japan on economic project TOKYO, July 2 (AFP) Senior officials from Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority held talks Wednesday in Japan in a bid to lay the groundwork for peace by improving the Palestinian economy. Japan hopes the talks will lead to a deal on its signature project in the region - starting an agro-industrial park in the West Bank. The proposed project near Jericho “demonstrates an understanding of the relationship between prosperity and ensuring a lasting peace in all of our region,” Jordanian Foreign Minister Salah Bashir told reporters at the talks. But he said the best way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was to deliver on a two-state solution endorsed by a summit last November in Annapolis. Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura opened talks with the head of the Israeli delegation, Environmental Protection Minister Gideon Ezra, ahead of a four-way meeting with Bashir and Palestinian planning minister Samir Abdullah. The Jordanian foreign minister pressed Israel to stop building settlements, which he said undermined confidence-building between the two nations. “It is also important to address the issue of movement of natural persons and goods. Both of these elements would... significantly improve the lives of the Palestinians on the ground,” Bashir said. (Posted @ 11:10 PST)
Four people killed in Mongolian unrest ULAN BATOR, July 2 (AFP) Four people were killed and about 400 policemen injured during riots that swept through the Mongolian capital amid anger over disputed elections, Mongolian National Broadcasting (MNB) reported Wednesday. Two of the four people were shot to death in the unrest that broke out Tuesday, MNB reported. Further information on the four deaths was not immediately available. MNB also reported that 400 policemen had been injured. About 6,000 people rampaged through Ulan Bator Tuesday to protest what they claimed was the alleged rigging of weekend elections by the former communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party. The MPRP has claimed victory in the polls, but its main rival, the Democratic Pary, has alleged widespread vote-rigging. (Posted @ 10:40 PST)
Two dead, nine hurt in Russian building blast MOSCOW, July 2 (Reuters) Two people were killed and nine injured in an explosion which ripped through a 12-storey apartment building in a suburb in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, Interfax news agency reported early Wednesday. It was unclear what had caused the blast. “The first to the fourth floors of a 12-storey building have been destroyed,” Interfax quoted the regional deputy director of the Emergency Situations Ministry, Nikolai Shustov, as saying. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
US says it cannot accept North Korea as nuclear weapons state WASHINGTON, July 2 (AFP) The United States emphasized Tuesday it would not accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state, saying that disbanding the communist state's atomic arms program was critical. “I must say, without denuclearization, it's tough to move ahead on anything with North Korea,” top US envoy Christopher Hill said five days after Pyongyang submitted a declaration of its nuclear program criticized in Washington as incomplete. “I mean, we're not going to accept North Korea as a nuclear state. I mean, we're going to have to get that part done,” Hill said at a forum held by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies on his return from Northeast Asia. The White House said the declaration did not answer US allegations of nuclear proliferation to Syria, or its claims of a past secret enriched uranium weapons program, and left doubts about how many plutonium bombs North Korea may have produced. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Eighteen killed in China coal mine collapse BEIJING, July 2 (Reuters) Eighteen people were confirmed dead after a coal shaft collapsed in northwest China, the Xinhua news agency said Wednesday. At least 28 workers were working underground when the accident happened at noon Tuesday in Shaanxi province's Shenmu county, it said. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
At least 13 killed in Mogadishu clashes MOGADISHU, July 2 (AFP) At least 13 civilians were killed Tuesday in fighting that erupted after militants attacked bases housing Somali, Ethiopian and African Union forces in Mogadishu, residents said. The fatalities occurred in three southern neighbourhoods of the Somali capital after more than two hours of clashes punctuated by machine-gun fire, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Tennis: Wimbledon results - collated LONDON, July 2 (AFP) Collated Wimbledon results on Tuesday, the eighth day of the 2008 championships at the All England Club (x denotes seeded player): Women's singles: Quarter-finals: Elena Dementieva (RUS x5) bt Nadia Petrova (RUS x21) 6-1, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3; Venus Williams (USA x7) bt Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) 6-4, 6-3; Serena Williams (USA x6) bt Agnieszka Radwanska (POL x14) 6-4, 6-0; Zheng Jie (CHN) bt Nicole Vaidisova (CZE x18) 6-2, 5-7, 6-1. Men's doubles: Quarter-finals: Lukas Dlouhy/Leander Paes (CZE/IND x9) bt Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram (ISR/ISR x3) 6-3, 6-3, 6-3; Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjic (CAN/SRB x2) bt Kevin Anderson/Robert Lindstedt (RSA/SWE) 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3; Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan (USA/USA x1) bt Marcel Granollers-Pujol/Santiago Ventura (ESP/ESP) 7-6 (7/3), 6-2, 6-0; Jonas Bjorkman/Kevin Ullyett (SWE/ZIM x8) bt Philipp Petzschner/Alexander Peya (GER/AUT) 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Editor: Abbas Nasir
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