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| July 11, 2008 | Friday | Rajab 7, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (06:00 GMT)
 Pakistan, UN reach understanding on Benazir slaying probe UNITED NATIONS, July 11 (AFP) - Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi reached a tentative deal with UN chief Ban Ki-moon Thursday on setting up an independent panel to probe the slaying of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. A UN statement said broad understanding was reached on the nature and composition of the proposed panel, funding modalities, unhindered access to all sources of relevant information and elements to safeguard “the objectivity, impartiality and independence” of the commission. It said Ban told Qureshi during their meeting here that “further consultation with Pakistan and others within the Organization would be required to examine the modalities and structure” of the panel. Qureshi meanwhile told reporters that during his UN visit this week, he also called on envoys of the Security Council's five veto-wielding permanent members: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States. He was to head for Washington Friday for talks with his US counterpart Condoleezza Rice, other top administration officials and members of Congress. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)  Occupied Kashmir put under federal rule SRINAGAR, July 11 (AFP): Occupied Kashmir was put under federal rule Friday following the collapse of the state government over a land row that prompted more than a week of rioting in the Muslim region, officials said. Occupied Kashmir’s state governor, N.N. Vohra, “issued a proclamation on Thursday evening and assumed, with immediate effect, all the functions of the government of the state,” an official statement said. Vohra, New Delhi's top representative in the region, also dissolved the state assembly, the statement said, making him the administrator of the troubled region. It is the third time the scenic Himalayan region will be directly ruled by New Delhi since the insurgency, which has left at least 43,000 people dead, broke out 18 years ago. (Posted @ 12:55 PST) Nine people hurt in Pakistan mortar attack PESHAWAR, July 11 (AFP): At least nine people, seven of them soldiers, were injured overnight in a mortar attack in a tribal area bordering Afghanistan, a security official said Friday. A market and a Frontier Corps camp in the Angoor Ada area of South Waziristan came under attack from across the border, following an assault by Taliban insurgents on a camp of US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan. “Many mortars were fired from across the border, which hit a market and the Frontier Corps camp, injuring two civilians and seven soldiers,” a local security official told AFP. (First Posted @ 13:10 PST, Updated @ 13:30 PST) Pakistan calls for progress on the Kashmir issue at OIC meeting UNITED NATIONS, July 11 (APP): Pakistan Thursday called for progress on the decades-old Kashmir issue to help its efforts to build cooperative relations with India. “Tangible progress on this issue will contribute to Pakistan's endeavour to build cooperative relations with India and to enable South Asia to emerge as a zone of prosperity and peace,” Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said at the OIC ambassadorial meeting at UN Headquarters in New York.“I wish to also thank the members of the OIC for their continued support to the just cause of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and for their internationally recognized right to self-determination,” he said in a wide-ranging speech that dealt with a number of subjects, including Pakistan's ties with Afghanistan, the challenges to Islam and Muslim world, terrorism and UN Security Council reform. (Posted @ 10:35 PST) Hostages will be slain if insurgents are not released: Pakistani Taliban PESHAWAR, Pakistan, July 11 (AP) Militants will start killing a group of hostages if several militant prisoners are not released by Saturday afternoon, Pakistani Taliban spokesman Maulvi Umar Friday said. Umar claimed the Taliban kidnapped 29 people, most of them security forces. However, Hangu district official Haji Khan Afzal said 16 or 17 people were being held. The hostages were taken during a militant siege of a police station Wednesday. A man named Rafiuddin suspected of being a deputy to top Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud is believed to be among those prisoners. Umar said the government must release the prisoners by Saturday afternoon or the hostages will be killed. (Posted @ 19:20 PST) Quake jolts northwestern Pakistan, no casualties ISLAMABAD, July 11 (AFP) - A moderate earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter Scale jolted northwestern Pakistan Friday but there were no reports of casualties or damage, an official said. Tremors were felt in Peshawar and Islamabad at 8:04 am (0204 GMT), a seismological department official told AFP. The earthquake's epicentre was located about 300 kilometers north of Peshawar in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan, he said. A devastating 7.6-magnitude earthquake in northwestern Pakistan and Kashmir killed some 74,000 people and displaced 3.5 million in October 2005. (Posted @ 10:50 PST)  Oil price hits record high above 147 dollars LONDON, July 11 (AFP) The price of London Brent crude oil hit a record high point above 147 dollars per barrel in afternoon deals Friday, traders said. London's Brent North Sea oil for August delivery surged as high as 147.25 dollars, which beat the previous record of 146.69 set on July 3. New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, hit another record peak of 146.90. (Posted @ 21:18 PST) U.S. may launch unilateral offensive in Pakistan’s tribal areas by July 20: Hameed Gul ISLAMABAD, July 11: Former ISI chief, Hameed Gul, said Friday he had information that the U.S. could launch unilateral offensive in Pakistan’s tribal regions by July 20. In a statement issued here, Hameed Gul said U.S. forces have so far attacked 46 times in different parts of Pakistan, but this time the offensive will be more intense compared to the previous ones. “There is also a possibility of U.S. forces taking control of the tribal areas,” he said. (Posted @ 20:58 PST) Somali troops kill seven alleged militants MOGADISHU, Somalia, July 11 (AP) Somali troops shot and killed seven civilians in southern Mogadishu after accusing them of being militants who have recently launched a series of hit-and-run raids on government targets, witnesses said Friday. Witness Liban Ahmed said government soldiers killed at least seven civilians and wounded four during an operation in Daynile neighborhood in the capital. (Posted @ 20:54 PST) Bosnia mourns Srebrenica victims on massacre anniversary SREBRENICA, Bosnia-Hercegovina, July 11 (AFP) Some 30,000 Muslims from across Bosnia gathered Friday to remember the 1995 Srebrenica massacre and bury the remains of more than 300 newly identified victims. The sombre funeral ceremony for the 308 Muslims, who were among 8,000 killed in Europe's worst atrocity since World War II, was held at a memorial site just outside the eastern town. The remains of the victims, aged between 15 and 84, were exhumed from mass graves after the end of Bosnia's 1992-1995 war and identified by DNA analysis. In Belgrade, President Boris Tadic vowed Serbia's new government would do its utmost to “arrest” former Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic, still wanted on genocide charges in relation to the massacre. Mladic and the other main accused, his former political leader Radovan Karadzic, remain at large and are thought to be hiding in Serb-run parts of the Balkans. Thousands more are yet to be exhumed and identified in the area, where some 70 mass graves have been uncovered. Srebrenica remains a part of the Serb-run entity of Republika Srpska, which along with the Muslim-Croat Federation makes up post-war Bosnia. (Posted @ 20:08 PST) Lebanon forms unity government BEIRUT, July 11 (Reuters) Lebanon formed on Friday a unity government that gave Hezbollah and its allies effective veto power as agreed under a deal that ended a political crisis in the country. A presidential decree announced the formation after a meeting between Prime Minister-designate Fouad Siniora and President Michel Suleiman. The opposition was granted 11 of the cabinet's 30 seats under the May 21 Qatari-mediated deal that ended a conflict which had triggered the worst fighting since the 1975-90 civil war. (Posted @ 19:48 PST) Family killed by elephant herd in Bangladesh CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh, July 11 (AFP) Four members of one family were trampled to death early Friday after a herd of wild elephants strayed into a remote village in southeastern Bangladesh, police said. The incident happened in Banderbon district, around 140 kilometres south of the port city Chittagong, the area's deputy police chief Syed Tariqul Hasan told AFP. Hasan said a farmer, his wife, their 10-year-old son and five-year-old daughter were killed when the elephants destroyed their home while they were sleeping. (Posted @ 18:28 PST) Bus carrying Polish tourists overturns in Serbia; six killed, dozens hurt BELGRADE, July 11 (AP) A bus carrying Polish tourists overturned north of Belgrade Friday, killing six people and injuring nearly 40, Serbian police said. Police said 68 people were on the bus when the accident happened at about 6:30 a.m. on the road between the Serbian capital, Belgrade, and the northern city of Novi Sad. The Polish bus “for a so far unknown reason swerved off the road and overturned, falling on its right side,” a police statement said. Two children, a woman and three men were killed, and nearly 40 were admitted to the hospital in Novi Sad, seven of whom were seriously injured, police said. (Posted @ 18:24 PST) Five killed by explosives left over from the Vietnam War HANOI, Vietnam, July 11 (AP) Five people, including three children, died in central Vietnam when 30-year-old unexploded ordnance left behind from the Vietnam War exploded, police and state media reported Friday. Three boys, aged 12 to 14, were killed in an explosion Thursday in the Hai Lang district of Quang Tri province, said a district police officer. The boys discovered four unexploded bombs in bushes and the explosives went off when they examined them, he said. On Tuesday, two men were killed in the central highlands province of Kon Tum when an artillery shell they were cutting up for scrap metal exploded, the Tuoi Tre newspaper reported. (Posted @ 18:04 PST) Population growth rate to be reduced to 1.55% in 5 years: PM Gilani ISLAMABAD, July 11 (PPI): Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani Friday said the government was committed to bringing the country’s population growth rate down 1.55 per cent per annum in the next five years through the Population Welfare Programme. He made the remarks while addressing the National Population Convention organized by the Ministry of Population Welfare to mark World Population Day. The Prime Minister said the government would provide complete budgetary support and political backing for the success of project. He also expressed concern over the country’s rapidly growing population, which he said had direct impact on socio-economic development. “It is obvious that in a developing country like Pakistan, a net addition of 2.9 million people every year will nullify and eat up all the achievements in the socio-economic sectors,” he said. Gilani called for the establishment of more family welfare centers, a reproductive health centre at every tehsil, and a male worker at every union council level to promote reproductive health and family planning. (Posted @ 18:00 PST) 300 Tibetans held in Nepal KATHMANDU, July 11 (AFP) Police in Nepal detained around 300 Tibetan exiles on Friday for demonstrating outside a Chinese embassy building in Kathmandu, police said. “Some 300 Tibetan protesters have been held,” police officer Bharat Lama told AFP, but added that “all of them will be freed later in the day.” Riot police blocked the protesters as they tried to run towards the main gate of the embassy building and quickly bundled them into waiting vans and trucks after a brief tussle. (Posted @ 17:54 PST) Nigerian gunmen kidnap two foreign construction workers PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria, July 11 (Reuters) Gunmen kidnapped two foreign workers with a German construction firm in the southern Nigerian oil city of Port Harcourt on Friday, the security forces said. “Two expatriate staff of Julius Berger were abducted at about 7 a.m. this morning,” said Rita Inoma-Abbey, a spokeswoman for the police in Rivers state, of which Port Harcourt is the capital. A spokesman for the military taskforce responsible for security in the state also confirmed the abductions but said the nationalities of the pair could not immediately be ascertained. (Posted @ 17:50 PST) Gunmen ambush Sri Lanka passenger bus, killing child, three women COLOMBO, July 11 (AP) Suspected rebel gunmen ambushed a crowded passenger bus Friday as it traveled down a small rural road in southern Sri Lanka, killing a 9-year-old boy and three women, the military said. The attack came amid a sharp spike in fighting in the war between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels in the northern jungles. A group of gunmen hiding by the side of the road near the southern village of Buttala raked the passing civilian bus with gunfire, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara. The bus driver sped through the ambush, only stopping when he reached safety, Nanayakkara said. He blamed the rebels for the attack, which he said killed a boy and three women and wounded 25 others. Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not be reached for comment. (First Posted @ 12:50 PST Updated @ 17:46 PST) Eight dead in Kurd rebel clash in SE Turkey: sources ISTANBUL, July 11 (Reuters): Seven Kurdish guerrillas and a state-sponsored village guard were killed in a clash in the southeastern Turkish province of Sirnak, military sources said on Friday. The clash began around midnight local time (2100 GMT) on Kato mountain after security forces detected a group of about 20-25 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants entering Turkey from northern Iraq, the sources said. (Posted @ 15:20 PST) 47 civilians killed in US-led strikes: investigation JALALABAD, Afghanistan, July 11 (AFP): An official investigation has found that US-led air strikes in the Deh Bala district of eastern Nagarhar province a week ago struck a wedding and killed 47 Afghan civilians, most of them women and children, an official said Friday. “We found that 47 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed in the air strikes and another nine were wounded,” said Burhanulla Shinwari, deputy speaker of Afghanistan's senate and member of a nine-person team appointed by President Hamid Karzai to investigate the incident. “They were all civilians and had no links with Taliban or Al-Qaeda,” he told AFP. Around 10 people were missing and believed to be still under rubble, he said. The US-led coalition has steadfastly denied that it killed civilians in the July 6 strikes in the mountains of eastern Nangarhar province, saying only extremist militants had died. (Posted @ 15:05 PST) Female S. Korean tourist shot dead by N. Korea troops SEOUL, July 11 (AFP): North Korean soldiers on Friday shot dead a female South Korean tourist who strayed into a military zone while visiting the resort of Mount Kumgang in the communist state, officials said. (Posted @ 12:45 PST) Israeli troops kill gunman in West Bank clash JERUSALEM, July 11 (AP) - Israeli troops killed an armed militant in a West Bank clash that also left an officer wounded. The military said the gunman fired on an Israeli civilian driving near the Palestinian town of Qalqiliya early Friday. When troops arrived to comb the area, the gunman shot and wounded the officer before the troops returned fire and killed him. (Posted @ 11:55 PST) Pakistan urges Islamic countries to jointly address political, security challenges UNITED NATIONS, July 11 (APP): Stating that the Islamic countries are in the vortex of several volatile political and economic transitions, Pakistan on Thursday called for jointly addressing the underlying political and security challenges facing them. “We should try to play a more active role at the United Nations and other organizations to resolve the issues of Palestine, Islamophobia, international terrorism, and development,” Foreign Minister Shah mahmood Qureshi told an OIC ambassadorial meeting at UN Headquarters in New York. “Most of these threats affect us collectively and threaten the peaceful existence of our countries. It is necessary to respond to them collectively and wisely. We should endeavour jointly to address the underlying political and security challenges facing the Islamic countries. “Pakistan has always been at the forefront in advancing the causes of the OIC, particularly the legitimate cause of Palestine. We desire a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East and an end to the occupation of all Arab territories.” (Posted @ 10:50 PST) India allows 6,000 Kashmiris to perform Haj NEW DELHI, July 11 (APP): India has allowed 6,228 Kashmiris to perform Haj this year, selected out of 16,000 applicants in occupied Kashmir, it was officially announced. (Posted @ 10:45 PST) Small plane crashes in south chile town, 9 dead PUERTO MONTT, Chile, July 11 (Reuters) - A small plane crashed on the outskirts of a southern Chilean city on Thursday, killing nine people, including a baby, police said. The light plane hit a scrub area in Puerto Montt, 657 miles south of the capital Santiago. It narrowly missed a cluster of several hundred houses. (Posted @ 10:25 PST) Three women die, 183 migrants land in Malta VALLETTA, July 11 (Reuters) - Three women, one pregnant, died and 183 migrants were rescued from small boats by Malta's armed forces on Thursday, the largest influx of migrants so far this year. They were located by patrols or fishermen in waters between Libya and Malta. (Posted @ 10:20 PST) Hamas arrests first rocket squads since truce GAZA, July 11 (Reuters) - Hamas arrested seven Palestinians who fired rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip on Thursday, a militant faction said, in the first such detentions since the truce with Israel last month. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a group linked to President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah group, said Hamas men pursued three of its members after the attack and “abducted them” in Jabalya refugee camp. No one was hurt in the strike with two rockets on southern Israel. Four more men were arrested as they tried to fire rockets at Israel after darkness fell, an al-Aqsa official said. (Posted @ 10:15 PST) New iPhone hits shelves TOKYO/WELLINGTON, July 11 (Reuters) - Apple's new iPhone made a glitzy debut on Friday as frenetic buyers in New Zealand and Japan, some of whom had camped in line for days, stormed outlets to get their hands on the gadget. The new iPhone -- a music and video player, cell phone and Web terminal in one -- is an updated version of the original that sold to 270,000 people within days of its June 2007 launch. After New Zealand and Japan, the sales of the 3G iPhone will roll out to more than 20 countries across the globe. (Posted @ 10:10 PST) Cricket: England 309-3 against South Africa LONDON, July 11 (AFP) - England, after losing the toss, were 309 for three against South Africa at stumps on the first day of the first Test at Lord's here Thursday. Kevin Pietersen was 104 not out and Ian Bell 75 not out. This match is the first of a four-Test series. (Posted @ 10:05 PST) Two NATO soldiers killed in Afghanistan KABUL, July 11, 2008 (AFP) - “Two ISAF soldiers died and one was wounded in Paktika province today when their patrol struck an IED,” ISAF said in a statement, referring to an improvised explosive device. It did not give the nationalities of the soldiers. (Posted @ 10:05 PST) ISAF requests more spy planes from NATO BRUSSELS, July 11 (AFP) - NATO's ISAF in Afghanistan has asked headquarters for more AWACS radar planes to support its operations against the Taliban, an official said. “They are considering the request,” the NATO official told AFP. The official did not say how many AWACS aircraft were being sought by the ISAF chief, US general David McKiernan. NATO has 18 E-3A AWACS planes, which are loaded with electronics for detecting and tracking aircraft movement, under its command. (Posted @ 10:00 PST) Gunmen kill 16, including police chief in Mexico MEXICO, July 11 (AFP) - Gunmen killed 16 people, including a police chief, in a spate of separate shootouts across Mexico. Six of the murder victims in Culiacan were inside a car repair shop, while three others were killed outside, the state attorney's office said. In northern Chihuahua state, a state police chief was dragged out of his house and shot execution style by gunmen, the local attorney general's office said, adding that the murdered officer had escaped another attempt on his life two weeks ago. Some 450 police officers have been killed in Mexico since the launch of a massive federal anti-drugs operation in December 2006. (Posted @ 09:55 PST) Firefighters keeping California blazes at bay LOS ANGELES, July 11 (AFP) - Firefighters held the line against hundreds of wildfires blazing across California on Thursday as officials said 702,394 acres had been consumed by flames since June 20, when lightning from thunderstorms triggered a series of infernos. A total of 322 fires continued to burn across California, down from a peak of nearly 1,800. Although the series of fires make the current crisis the largest in Californian history, so far there have been no direct fatalities and only 99 homes have been destroyed. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger made a fresh request to President George W. Bush on Thursday for more federal resources in the shape of extra firefighters and air-tankers. (Posted @ 09:45 PST) Karachi Stocks down 77.30 points: KARACHI, July 11: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 11695.82, down 77.30 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 13:30 PST) Forex update: KARACHI, July 11: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 70.5 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 13:30 PST)
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