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July 23, 2008

Wednesday

Rajab 19, 1429

Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)

Coalition partners agreed on continuing dialogue Islamabad, July 23 (PPI) Coalition partners has arrived at a consensus that the situation warrants evolution of a long term policy across the board with the support of all political partners.The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani.Briefing newsmen about proceedings of the meeting and decisions taken, Information Minister Sherry Rehman said it was noted that Pakistan's national security and internal stability is paramount and no one would be allowed to challenge the writ of the state.It was also agreed in principle that in order to mobilize public support for greater national consensus on Pakistan's battle against extremism and militancy, parliament will discuss the formulation of a national policy to address the situation.Greater cooperation between federal and provincial governments was also stressed while strengthening of law enforcing agencies was emphasized in the meeting.She said to pursue the objectives of making inhabitants of the affected areas as stake-holders for durable peace, the meeting decided to increase investment in education, development, employment and infrastructure.The main thrust of the coalition partners multi pronged strategy to counter the challenge of extremism will be political engagement of the people.The coalition partners also reitnerated that Pakistan's territory will not be used for terrorist attacks nor will attacks from external forces on Pakistan's soil be tolerated.The meeting was attended by PPP Co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari, PML(N) President Shahbaz Sharif, JUI(F) Amir Maulana Fazalur Rehman and ANP Chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, and top Government officials. Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani who joined the meeting in the afternoon briefed the participants about the law and order situation and the measures taken so far to bring peace in the area.End (PPI)(Posted @ 21:50 PST)

Indian officer reveals truth about Dr Guru's assassination ISLAMABAD, July 23 (APP): An Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and presently Chief Information Commissioner, Wajahat Habibullah has made a chilling disclosure that the assassination of Dr Abdul Ahad Guru, a senior cardiologist of Kashmir in 1993 was orchestrated by Jammu and Kashmir Police. According to Kashmir Media Service, Habibullah said the police made an arrangement with Zulqarnain, then in custody, who agreed to kill Guru in exchange for his release. But to ensure that this collusion remained secret, Zulqarnain was killed shortly thereafter and the Director General of Police trumpeted his death as a triumph for the security forces. The revelation can be a source of embarrassment for establishment. The official verdict of Dr Guru's killing was that the Hizbul Mujahideen had killed him.(Posted @ 21:45 PST)

Libyans protest arrest of Kadhafi son, warn of reprisals TRIPOLI, July 23 (AFP): Dozens of Libyans on Wednesday held a protest outside the Swiss embassy in Tripoli to protest last week's arrest of a son of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, saying he had been mistreated. The demonstrators, mainly members of Kadhafi's revolutionary committees, also handed a statement to Swiss ambassador Daniel Von Muralt, warning of reprisals unless Switzerland officially apologises for the arrest. Hannibal Kadhafi, 32, was arrested along with his wife at a Geneva hotel on Tuesday last week after being accused of assaulting some of their staff. The couple was released on bail two days later.(Posted @ 21:30 PST)

US warns Iran of more sanctions WASHINGTON, July 23 (AFP): The White House said Wednesday it was hopeful Iran would suspend its nuclear activities, but warned of more international sanctions if Tehran does not.“We hope Iranians provide a answer,” to world powers offering incentives for Iran to halt sensitive nuclear fuel work, national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. But “if they do not, the international community is united that more sanctions are coming,” he said. Earlier Wednesday Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed that Iran would not yield in the crisis.(Posted @ 21:30 PST)

Iran tells British AFP journalist to leave PARIS, July 23 (Reuters): The Iranian authorities have told a British journalist working for AFP in Iran to leave without giving an explanation, the French news agency said in a report. Stuart Williams, AFP's deputy bureau chief in Tehran, had worked in the country for two years and held a renewable resident's permit which was valid until Aug. 28, AFP reported. AFP said he was told on Monday that he must leave within days. In Tehran, an Iranian official confirmed Williams had been asked to leave but did not give further details.(Posted @ 21:30 PST)

Nigeria militants say plan to destroy oil pipelines LAGOS, July 23 (Reuters): The main militant group in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta said on Wednesday it would attack major oil pipelines in the next 30 days to prove it had not received payment from the government to end its campaign. The head of the state-run oil firm NNPC was quoted in Nigerian newspapers on Wednesday as saying the company had paid militant groups $12 million to protect facilities including the Chanomi creek pipeline in Delta state.(Posted @ 21:15 PST)

Collision between tug, tanker closes Mississippi River at New Orleans NEW ORLEANS, July 23 (AP): The Coast Guard closed 30 kilometers of the Mississippi River at New Orleans after a 183-meter tanker and a barge loaded with fuel oil collided, breaking the barge in half. Nobody was injured, but more than 1.5 million liters of heavy fuel oil spilled from the barge, said a Coast Guard spokeswoman. The double-hulled tanker Tintomara was loaded with about 15.9 million liters of biodiesel bound for Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and nearly 4.9 million liters of styrene bound for Hamburg, Germany, but was not leaking, said the president of ship management company Laurin Maritime (America) Inc. in Houston.(Posted @ 21:00 PST)

Ukraine officially blames Soviet leaders for 1932-33 famine that killed millions KIEV, July 23 (AP): The Ukrainian government on Wednesday blamed Soviet leaders for a famine that killed millions of people in 1932-33 as part of its campaign to persuade the international community to recognize the tragedy as genocide. The national security service published archive documents it said proved Soviet leader Josef Stalin and his subordinates were responsible for the famine. The scale of the death toll is contested, some historians believe 3.5 million perished while the country's leaders say up to 10 million died.(Posted @ 20:45 PST)

Three killed, 7 injured in Swat district SWAT, July 23 (APP): Three persons, including two women were killed and seven others injured in a firing incident at Tehsil Kabal, Swat district on Wednesday. Police officials, some persons opened indiscriminate firing on a car near Manja, Tehsil Kabal, district Swat, in which several members of the same family were killed and injured. The injured have been shifted to Saidu Sharif Hospital for treatment.(Posted @ 20:30 PST)

Turkish police detain 20 more over alleged Ergenekon coup plot: agency ANKARA, July 23 (AFP): Police country-wide rounded up 20 more people Wednesday in an ongoing investigation into “Ergenekon,” an alleged plot to topple Turkey's Islamist-rooted government, the Anatolia news agency reported. Prosecutors have brought terrorism-related charges against 86 people so far, while 10 others, including two retired four-star generals, are awaiting charges in prison. Among those detained Wednesday weare three members of the small leftist Labour Party, officials of the group whose chairman, Dogu Perincek, is one of the 86 suspects said.(Posted @ 20:15 PST)

Five school students die as boat capsizes in Bangladesh DHAKA, July 23 (AP): Five teenagers died Wednesday after a boat they were riding in capsized in a lake in Bangladesh's capital of Dhaka, a police official said. A Dhaka Metropolitan Police official said two students were rescued and two others swam ashore. Rescuers later pulled five bodies out of the water. He said the accident occurred when they went boating in Beguntali Lake in Dhaka's Mirpur residential district. The boatman told reporters that the boat sank after the students started dancing on the boat, ignoring his warning.(Posted @ 19:40 PST)

Bush drops opposition to Democratic-sponsored housing bill WASHINGTON, July 23 (AP): President George W. Bush has dropped his opposition to legislation that aims to calm the chaotic housing market despite his opposition to a $3.9 billion provision, the White House said Wednesday. Under the bill, the government would help struggling homeowners get new, cheaper loans and would be allowed to offer troubled mortgage giants a cash infusion. The House was expected to vote on the bill Wednesday, and it could become law as early as this week.(Posted @ 19:25 PST)

Iran satellite channel says Cairo bureau closed over Sadat film CAIRO, July 23 (AFP): Egypt has closed down an Iranian television channel's Cairo bureau, with the channel saying it was targeted over a controversial a film about former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat that has shaken Iran-Egypt relations. An Egyptian security official told AFP on Wednesday that police raided the offices of Al-Alam satellite channel on Monday and confiscated equipment including cameras because it did not have a licence to operate in Egypt. However, the channel's website said it was raided because of its alleged involvement in a film which says that Sadat was killed for signing the 1978 Camp David Accords that led to a 1979 peace treaty with Israel, the first by an Arab country.(Posted @ 19:10 PST)

British PM faces new poll test LONDON, July 23 (AFP): Voters in one of Britain's most deprived areas are to vote Thursday in a by-election seen as the latest test for embattled Prime Minister Gordon Brown. All eyes will be on whether Brown's governing Labour Party will see a haemorrhage of support in the Glasgow East constituency, or even lose in what has traditionally been its heartland. Labour has lost two by-elections in recent months -- one a safe seat in northwest England and another where they trailed in fifth behind the far-right British National Party -- and is desperate to avoid another failure.(Posted @ 19:00 PST)

Cricket: Sri Lanka 85-2 in first India Test COLOMBO, July 23 (AFP): Sri Lanka were 85-2 in their first innings at stumps on the opening day of the rain-hit first Test against India at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground here on Wednesday.(Posted @ 18:25 PST)

Nepal's first president sworn in KATHMANDU, July 23 (AFP): Nepal's first president, Ram Baran Yadav, was sworn into office on Wednesday, officials said. Yadav took his oath in the country's new constitutional assembly, which had voted on May 28 to sack unpopular king Gyanendra and abolish Nepal's 240-year-old monarchy.(Posted @ 17:45 PST)

Three killed, two hurt in Thai south as army warns of attacks YALA, Thailand, July 23 (AFP): Three people have been killed and two soldiers injured in separate incidents across Thailand's insurgency-hit south, as the army warned Wednesday of an escalation in separatist attacks. Two privates assigned to protect teachers in the Muslim-majority southern province of Yala were seriously wounded in a roadside blast early Wednesday, officials said. A 46-year-old school bus driver was later killed in a drive-by shooting by suspected rebels in Pattani province, police said, while an unidentified man was shot dead by security forces at a check-point. Army spokesman Colonel Acra Tiproch told AFP that they were on high alert after intelligence reports suggested militants may launch more attacks in the three southernmost provinces between Friday and Monday. (First Posted @ 10:40 PST, Updated 17:40 PST)

Bodies of 114 fighters arrive in Syria JDEIDET YABOUS, Syria, July 23 (AP): Thousands of Syrians and Palestinians are lined up Wednesday at the Syria-Lebanon border to welcome home the bodies of 114 Arab fighters returned last week in a prisoner swap with Israel. Relatives of the dead are showering the coffins with rice and rose petals as black-clad Muslim women utter cries of joy, watching the convoy snake toward the Syrian capital Damascus for a burial ceremony later Wednesday. The coffins are wrapped in Palestinian and Syrian flags and covered with wreaths. They arrived at the border Wednesday after Hezbollah positively identified the fighters' remains in Beirut. (Posted @ 17:10 PST)

Nepal's first president takes oath of office KATHMANDU, July 23 (AP): Nepal's first president has been sworn into office after being elected earlier this week. Ram Baran Yadav took the oath at the presidential house in Katmandu on Wednesday in the presence of high level officials. The event was broadcast live on national television. The oath was administered by Chief Justice Kedar Giri. Yadav is the first president to take office in the Himalayan nation since its centuries-old monarchy was abolished in May by the Constituent Assembly. (Posted @ 17:05 PST)

3 hurt in ferry collision at Greek island port ATHENS, July 23 (AP):A collision between two ferryboats carrying more than 1,500 passengers at the Greek island port of Rafina on Wednesday injured three people, authorities said. (Posted @ 16:25 PST)

Militants kill British soldier, police chief in Afghanistan KABUL, July 23 (AP): A British soldier died in southern Afghanistan, while U.S.-led coalition troops killed several militants near the capital, officials said Wednesday. Militants killed a district police chief in the eastern Nangarhar province Wednesday after striking his convoy with a roadside bomb, said a provincial official. The militants attacked the British patrol in Kajaki district of southern Helmand province on Tuesday, a British Ministry of Defence statement said. A soldier was killed and two other troops were wounded, it said. (First Posted @ 12:50 PST, Updated @ 16:15 PST)

Five slain in Mexico after president's visit CIUDAD JUAREZ, July 23 (AFP): Five people including a police officer were shot dead Tuesday, two of them near an industrial zone visited earlier the same day by President Felipe Calderon, authorities said. The killings between Monday and Tuesday took the toll in a wave of gun violence to 101 in July, and to 651 this year, in the northern state of Chihuahua, where Ciudad Juarez is located, the state prosecutors' office said. (Posted @ 16:10 PST)

Afghanistan might be tougher job than Iraq: Obama JERUSALEM, July 23 (AFP): Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Afghanistan might end up being tougher to subdue than Iraq, days after visiting both war zones. “I think in Afghanistan, looking at the landscape and the extraordinary poverty involved, makes you realise what a daunting task our efforts there are going to be,” Obama told Time. “Both issues (Iraq and Afghanistan) are very difficult. Both situations are very difficult, but it is not clear to me that in the long term Afghanistan isn't a tougher job than Iraq is.” (Posted @ 16:05 PST)

Sri Lanka wins toss, elects to bat against India COLOMBO, July 23 (AP): Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene won the toss Wednesday and elected to bat against India in the first cricket test at Sinhalese Sports Club. Play began after a five-hour delay because of rain overnight and for most of the morning. Spinner Ajantha Mendis was named for his test debut for Sri Lanka, which chose six batsmen and four bowlers with Prasanna Jayawardene as wicketkeeper. India named six batsmen, wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik, and four bowlers. (Posted @ 16:00 PST)

PM's meets with coalition partners continues ISLAMABAD, July 23 (APP): Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani Wednesday chaired a meeting of the government's coalition partners to discuss the current political and security situation in the country. The ongoing meeting at the Prime Minister House is being attended by PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari, PML(N) President Shahbaz Sharif, JUI (F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and ANP leader Asfandyar Wali. Information Minister Sherry Rehman and Advisor to Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik are also present. (Posted @ 15:25 PST )

Fighting in northern Sri Lanka kills 29 rebels, 3 soldiers: military COLOMBO, July 23 (AP): Sri Lankan troops attacked a rebel bunker line in northern Sri Lanka, sparking a three-hour battle that killed 12 Tamil Tiger fighters, the military said Wednesday.The battle in Murunkaiadipiddi was part of a wave of fighting along the front lines of Sri Lanka's civil war Tuesday that killed 29 rebels and three soldiers, the military said. Both sides routinely exaggerate enemy death tolls while underreporting their own.(Posted @ 15:00 PST)

Landslide kills 4 construction workers in northern Vietnam HANOI, Vietnam, July 23 (AP): A Vietnamese official says a landslide killed four sleeping construction workers after it buried the house they were building in Ha Giang province of northern Vietnam.(Posted @ 14:30 PST)(Posted @ 14:30 PST)

Helicopter to try to rescue trapped Italian climbers from Nanga Parbat ROME, July 22 (AFP): Rescuers plan to send a helicopter Wednesday to try to pick up two Italian climbers trapped for nine days on Nanga Parbat, the world's ninth-highest mountain, a member of the rescue team said. Sending a helicopter “is the most sensible solution,” said Agostino Da Polenza, who is coordinating the rescue in Gilgit from the Italian city of Bergamo. “The boys are tired. They don't have much equipment and they gladly accepted” the offer of a helicopter, he told the Italian news agency ANSA. (Posted @ 13: 20 PST)

NATO soldier killed in Afghanistan: ISAF KABUL, July 23 (AFP): A NATO soldier was killed in Afghanistan Tuesday, the alliance force said in a statement Wednesday. The soldier died of wounds suffered in fighting with insurgents in Helmand province, NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said. “An ISAF soldier died of wounds when a patrol came under fire from insurgents in Kajaki (district), Helmand, on July 22,” the force said in a statement. (Posted @ 12:50 PST)

15 dead, 24 hurt in occupied Kashmir bus plunge JAMMU, occupied Kashmir, July 23 (AFP): At least 15 people were killed and 24 others hurt, 12 of them seriously, when a bus they were in plunged into a gorge in occupied Kashmir on Wednesday, police said. The bus, packed with migrant workers, sped off a mountain highway into a 200-metre deep gorge, police officer Showkat Ahmed said. (Posted @ 11:15 PST)

One killed, two hurt in Thai south YALA, Thailand, July 23 (AFP): A bomb in southern Thailand injured two soldiers and a villager was shot dead. Two privates assigned to protect teachers in the southern province of Yala were seriously wounded in a roadside blast early Wednesday, provincial authorities said. On Tuesday evening, a 41-year-old man was shot dead in Narathiwat province by four militants. (Posted @ 10:40 PST)

Israel was right to bomb suspect Syrian site: Barack Obama WASHINGTON, July 23 (AFP): Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama said Tuesday that Israel was right to bomb a site in neighboring Syria last September which the United States and Israel suspected was a nuclear facility. When asked if it was appropriate for Israel to take out the Al-Kibar site in a remote desert area of northeastern Syria, Obama said “Yes. I think that there was sufficient evidence that they were developing a site using a nuclear ... or using a blueprint that was similar to the North Korean model,” Obama told CBS News in an interview. As for Israel's strategy towards Iran, Obama said he “will not hypothesize” on the possibility of an Israeli strike against Tehran and its nuclear facilities. “I think Israel has a right to defend itself, but I will not speculate on the difficult judgments that they would have to make in a whole host of possible scenarios,” Obama said. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)

Obama calls for better India-Pakistan ties AMMAN, July 23 (Reuters): U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Tuesday the U.S.-led war against militants in Afghanistan might be made easier if the United States worked to improve trust between India and Pakistan. Obama, who is on a foreign fact-finding trip and visited Afghanistan over the weekend, described Afghanistan as the central front in the war against terrorism and said the situation there was “perilous and urgent”. Trying to reduce tensions between traditional rivals India and Pakistan could help, he said. “A lot of what drives, it appears, motivations on the Pakistan side of the border, still has to do with their concerns and suspicions about India,” Obama told a news conference in the Jordanian capital Amman. “We haven't had a conversation between the Indians and the Pakistanis that has been sustained and meaningful about how they can arrive at a more sensible arrangement between the two countries that could relieve some of the pressure and help us go after ... some of these forces along the border regions.” Obama said Al Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban militant group were planning more attacks on the United States as well as mounting a growing offensive on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border regions. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)

Iraq parliament passes key provincial election law BAGHDAD, July 23 (AFP): Iraq's parliament said Tuesday it passed a key draft provincial election law that would allow voting to take place in the country's 18 provinces later this year. The provincial elections aim to offer more powers to Iraq's provinces, especially in economic projects. Last week, the 275-member parliament voted on the law but it failed to pass because Kurdish lawmakers boycotted the session. On Tuesday, the Kurds again boycotted the vote but parliament still managed to get the law passed, a crucial move if the electoral commission is to make the necessary preparations for polls to go ahead as scheduled on October 1. The Kurds have opposed the bill because of disputes over how to constitute the provincial council of Kirkuk, the northern oil province claimed by both the Arabs and Kurds. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)

Italian Senate passes immunity bill into law ROME, July 23 (AFP): Italy's Senate on Tuesday passed into law a bill that effectively grants Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi immunity from prosecution during his time in office, the ANSA news agency reported. The law grants political immunity to the incumbents of Italy's four most powerful positions, including the position of president and the speaker of the two parliamentary chambers as well as the prime minister's post. (Posted @ 09:15 PST)

South Korean hostages in Mexico released SEOUL, July 23 (AFP): Five South Koreans held hostage in Mexico were released unharmed on Tuesday, the foreign ministry in Seoul said Wednesday. The five “were released unharmed at 7:00 p.m.,” said Lee Jeong-Gwan, director general for consular affairs, in a statement. The five, including a woman, were looking for work when they were seized on July 14 in Reynosa, a city on the Mexico-US border in the state of Tamaulipas. The kidnappers were demanding a ransom of 30,000 dollars, a South Korean diplomat told AFP. Lee's statement said Mexican authorities, at the urging of Seoul, apparently applied “strong pressure” on the abductors. It was not clear if they had been arrested. The diplomat said the group had been held in a house and was in good condition. (Posted @ 09: 10 PST)

Three South Korea marines killed as guard post collapses SEOUL, July 23 (AFP): Three South Korean marines were killed Wednesday when the guard post at their base collapsed on them, military officials said. A 22-year-old corporal and a 20-year-old private were found dead under the debris of the two-storey building in the southeastern city of Pohang, a Marine Corps spokesman told AFP. Yonhap news agency said an initial investigation suggested that the guard post, built in 1970, caved in under the weight of sandbags placed on its roof for protection against the elements. (Posted @ 09:05 PST)

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