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| July 26, 2008 | Saturday | Rajab 22, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (06:00 GMT)
 PM arrives in London on way to Washington LONDON, July 26 (APP/Agencies): Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani arrived here on Saturday afternoon for an overnight stay on his way to Washington. The prime minister on arrival was received by Pakistan High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hassan and senior officials of the chancery. Gilani was presented a bouquet by two children. The prime minister was accompanied by Minister for information and Broadcasting Sherry Rehman, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik and Special Assistant to PM on Economic Affairs Ms Hina Rabbani Khar. Earlier, Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani vowed to fight extremism and terrorism as he embarked Saturday on an official visit to Washington where he will meet US President George W. Bush. “It is in the interest of Pakistan to curb extremism and terrorism,” Gilani told reporters before leaving on a three-day official visit, which is his first trip to the US since becoming Prime Minister in March. Gilani and Bush will discuss stepping up efforts against militants launching attacks on NATO and US forces in Afghanistan. (First Posted @ 12:35 PST, Updated @ 19:54 PST)  Pakistan’s interior ministry to look after ISI, IB KARACHI, July 26: Two of Pakistan’s premier intelligence agencies, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) will work under the interior ministry, a local television channel reported on Saturday. A report said a notification issued by the federal government said the interior ministry will look after the administrative, financial and operational matters of the ISI and IB. The notification was issued by the Cabinet Division in Islamabad. (Posted @ 22:14 PST) 29 students including five seriously injured in Murree road accident MURREE, July 26 (APP): At least 29 students were injured, five of them seriously when a college bus plunged into a deep ravine while negotiating a sharp turn near Murree on Saturday. Police said the college bus No.IP 7220 of Boys Elementary College Loralai, Balochistan carrying 36 students, was going to Murree from Ayubia. When it reached near Kooza Gali the drive lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a sharp turn and it fell into a deep gorge. Twenty nine students were injured and the condition of five is serious. (Posted @ 18:58 PST)  15 dead, scores wounded in India serial blasts AHMEDABAD, India, July 27, (AFP) - At least 15 people were killed and scores wounded Saturday in a string of coordinated bomb attacks in the tinderbox western Indian city of Ahmedabad on Saturday, officials said. “All the explosions occurred within a span of one hour and one of the bombs appeared to have been kept in a passenger bus,” a police spokesman said. Two of the blasts occurred in Ahmedabad's Maninagar residential district, the constituency of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. The series of more than a dozen blasts came just a day after a similar wave of bombings in the southern technology city of Bangalore. (First Posted @ @ 20:05 PST Updated 23:16 PST) Indian troops fire at Pakistani soldiers along LoC: military ISLAMABAD, July 26 (AFP): Indian forces fired on Pakistani troops deployed at a forward checkpost along the de-facto border dividing Kashmir between the two countries, a senior military official said Saturday. Pakistani troops returned fire but there was no report of casualties. “Indian troops fired mortars and machine gun at Battal in Rawalakot sector at 11am (PST) Saturday but there were no casualties on our side,” chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP. He said Pakistani troops retaliated with “full force” to stop the “unprovoked” Indian fire. “We have demanded an immediate flag meeting between senior military officials of the two countries,” Abbas added. This was the second violation of ceasefire on Line of Control which separates the Indian and Pakistani parts of the Himalayan territory, since early this month. (Posted @ 14:40 PST) Pakistan and UK agree on support against extremism and terrorism BIRMINGHAM, July 26 (APP): Pakistan and the United Kingdom share a common interest in tackling extremism and terrorism through economic and social development and uplift of the tribal areas, the Pakistani and British foreign ministers declared during a joint press conference following a meeting with members of the British Muslim community Friday evening. British Foreign Minister David Miliband affirmed his government’s support for Pakistan’s multi-pronged strategy the issue. “We stand united in our determination against the danger posed by terrorism not only to UK but also to Pakistan,” said Miliband. “We need to make sure that we work bilaterally as well as to recognise that we share interests within the borders of Afghanistan and outside.” Miliband also reiterated UK’s support for democracy in Pakistan, saying that Britain backed up its support not only with political statement but with a very large economic package. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi meanwhile stated that Pakistan required international support and assistance to deal with the menace of extremism and terrorism. He said the objective is to wean away those with extremist tendencies through talks and though uplift of the under-developed areas. He also stated that the Pakistani government was not talking with the militants but with tribal elders and elected representatives of FATA. (Posted @ 13:05 PST) Forty injured as bus falls into canal near Sheikhupura SHEIKHUPURA, July 26 (APP): A passenger bus coming from Lahore was hit head-on by a rashly driven tractor trolley and fell into the nearby Khanpur canal, 14 km from Sheikhupura Saturday morning. Police said that about 40 passengers were injured in the mishap, while four are said to be in serious condition. No loss of life has been reported and work is under way to lift the bus from the canal. (Posted @ 15:30 PST) Two Pakistanis illegally arrested in Afghanistan Karachi, July 26 (PPI): Former Federal Minister for Human Rights and Chairman Ansar Burney Trust, Ansar Burney has demanded that two Pakistani men arrested in Kabul on July 2 be released immediately. The trust said two Pakistanis Syed Furqan Shah and Mohammad Inam Ullah working at the 5-star Safi Landmark Hotel in Kabul were arrested by Afghan security police for no reason other than being Pakistani nationals. (Posted @ 23:35 PST) Six houses burnt as 11000kv wire breaks, causes fire in Khairpur Khairpur, July 26 (PPI): Six houses were gutted by a fire caused by a falling 11000KV electricity wire on Saturday. A section of the main 11000KV power line broke and fell on six houses near Gharihi Bridge destroying them. No one was injured in the incident. (Posted @ 22:54 PST) Two British women held for emergency landing in Germany FRANKFURT, July 26 (Reuters): German police detained two British women on a Greece to Manchester flight after one of them tried to open the plane's cabin door at an altitude of 10,000 metres, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing. A spokesman for police at Frankfurt International Airport, said the plane flying from Kos to Manchester made the unscheduled landing on Friday after the women, aged 27 and 26, became violent with flight attendants over Austria. The 26-year-old woman repeatedly tried to strike a flight attendant with a vodka bottle she had carried with her on the plane after the crew refused to serve the two any more alcohol. She then tried unsuccessfully to unlatch a nearby cabin door. (Posted @ 22:38 PST) Two die, five hurt in rickshaw-trailer crash in Sindh Mirpur Mathelo, Sindh July 26 (PPI): Two persons were killed and five injured when a trailer hit a rickshaw on Saturday. A speeding trailer hit a rickshaw near Al-Nisar Petrol Pump, killing two persons on the spot and injuring five others. (Posted @ 21:02 PST) Cricket: Pakistan unconcerned by trophy boycott threat KARACHI, July 26 (AFP): Pakistan's cricket chief Saturday said he was not worried over the prospect of top players pulling out of the Champions Trophy, which the South Asian country hosts in September. “If some players do not come it would not make any difference,” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Nasim Ashraf told AFP. Holders Australia and other key nations could pull out of the Trophy after the International Cricket Council (ICC) decided Thursday to go ahead with the tournament in Pakistan despite security fears. The ICC announced an eight-member taskforce will ensure security in Pakistan for the September 11-28 showpiece but even that has failed to allay the security concerns of the non-Asian countries. (Posted @ 20:50 PST) Iran has up to 6,000 enrichment centrifuges: Ahmadinejad TEHRAN, July 26 (AFP): President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday that Iran has boosted the number of uranium-enriching centrifuges to up to 6,000. “Today they (West) have agreed that the existing 5,000 to 6,000 centrifuges do not increase and that there is no problem if this number of centrifuges work,” Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by state radio. World powers, seeking to resolve the standoff, have offered to start pre-negotiations during which Tehran would add no more uranium-enriching centrifuges and in return face no further sanctions. Ahmadinejad said the US presence in at the Geneva talks was a “success” for Iran regardless of its outcome, state radio reported. (Posted @ 19:36 PST) Explosion at central Romania sawmill injures 23 workers BUCHAREST, July 26 (AP): Officials said an explosion at a sawmill in northwestern Romania injured 23 workers. Police said the explosion occurred in a sawdust dryer inside the Transylvania Industry plant early Saturday. National news agency Agerpres said that firefighters were called to the mill in the town of Gheorgheni to extinguish a fire that broke out following the explosion. An investigation into the cause of the accident is under way. (Posted @ 18:20 PST) Police find eighth bomb in Bangalore NEW DELHI, July 26 (AP): Police found a bomb near a popular shopping mall in Bangalore, India's high-tech hub, on Saturday, a day after seven small blasts shook the city, killing two people and wounding at least five others, officials said. The eighth bomb was found and defused by police outside Forum Mall in Bangalore, the capital of the southern Indian state of Karnataka, said Srikumar, the state's director general of police. On Friday, seven bombs exploded within several minutes of each other at different spots across the city, police said. (Posted @ 17:52 PST) Karadzic's lawyer has lodged last-minute appeal against extradition: report BELGRADE, Serbia (July 26): Radovan Karadzic's lawyer filed a last-minute appeal against extradition of the former Bosnian Serb leader to the U.N. war crimes court in the Netherlands, a leading Serbian daily reported Saturday. The newspaper Politika quoted Karadzic's attorney Svetozar Vujacic as saying he lodged the motion late Friday, apparently to stall the handover of his client to the tribunal in The Hague. (Posted @ 17:05 PST) Cricket: Sri Lanka win first India Test COLOMBO, July 26 (AFP): Sri Lanka beat India by an innings and 239 runs on the fourth day of the opening Test here on Saturday to gain a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Brief scores: Sri Lanka 600-6 declared; India 223 and 138. Muttiah Muralitharan finished with ten wickets for the match Saturday to guide Sri Lanka to a record victory of an innings and 239 runs in the first test against India. (First Posted @ 12:30 PST, Updated @ 16:40 PST) Gunmen kidnap eight expats off oil vessel in Nigeria LAGOS, July 26 (Reuters): Gunmen kidnapped eight foreign oil workers from a vessel off Nigeria's Niger Delta early on Saturday, bringing to 16 the number of industry workers seized in the past 48 hours, security sources said. The men were taken from a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker off the mouth of the Bonny river, a network of mangrove creeks opening into the Gulf of Guinea which is home to Africa's biggest oil industry, two private security contractors said. The men were believed to have been working for Global Gas and Refining Ltd, a Nigerian subsidiary of U.S.-based Global Energy Inc. (Posted @ 16:20 PST) Thailand names career diplomat as foreign minister BANGKOK, July 26 (Reuters): Retired diplomat Tej Bunnag has been appointed Thailand's new foreign minister, two weeks after his predecessor resigned over a land dispute with Cambodia, a government spokesman said on Saturday. “Mr Tej Bunnag was appointed as the new foreign minister and he will be granted with His Majesty the King to be sworn in tomorrow,” government spokesman Vichienchot Sukchokrat told Reuters. (Posted @ 16:20 PST) Seven killed, five missing in torrential rains in South Korea SEOUL, South Korea, July 26 (AP): Torrential rains that lashed South Korea this past week killed seven people and left five others missing, the government said Saturday. Six people were injured, including one critically, in landslides and flash floods triggered by heavy rains that started battering the country on Wednesday, the National Emergency Management Agency said. (First Posted @ 10:20 PST Updated @ 16:05 PST) Obama meets Blair for Middle East talks LONDON, July 26 (AFP): US presidential hopeful Barack Obama on Saturday met Tony Blair, the international Middle East peace envoy and former British prime minister, opening the final day of his foreign tour. Blair visited the Democratic nominee for a breakfast meeting at Obama's London hotel, where their talks focused on the Middle East peace process, Blair's spokesman said. “They exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East and its wider implications, in light of Senator Obama's visits this week and Mr Blair's continuing efforts to promote peace and prosperity,” the spokesman said. Blair represents the Middle East Quartet -- the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States -- which is holding negotiations for a lasting peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. The two also discussed Blair's work on climate change, an issue on which he has worked since leaving office in June 2007. (Posted @ 16:00 PST) Hamas arrest 120 Fatah men after 6 die in Gaza blast GAZA, July 26 (Reuters): Hamas security forces in the Gaza Strip arrested 120 men aligned with the rival Fatah faction on Saturday after an explosion there killed five Hamas gunmen and a girl, Hamas and Fatah said. Friday's blast next to a car used by the armed wing of Hamas killed three gunmen and the girl, and two others later died of their wounds in hospital, officials said. At least 19 other Palestinians were hurt, medical officials said, many of them passersby on their way to the beach. Hamas's armed wing issued a statement blaming “members of the fugitive party” – a derogatory term for Fatah – for Friday night's blast at a major junction outside Gaza City. Fatah denied involvement and said it was part of Hamas infighting. (First Posted @ 10:55 PST, Updated @ 15:40 PST) NATO soldiers kill four Afghan civilians KABUL, July 26 (AFP): NATO-led soldiers killed four civilians and wounded three others Saturday after opening fire on a car that did not stop at a checkpoint in Sangin district of Helmand province, the alliance's force said. “ISAF soldiers fired warning shots in a safe direction away from the vehicle but were eventually forced to fire at it when it refused to stop, fearing an insurgent attack,” the International Security Assistance Force said in a statement. (Posted @ 15:10 PST) Dozens dead in heavy fighting across Sri Lanka: govt COLOMBO, July 26 (AFP): At least 66 Tamil Tiger rebels and eight government soldiers have died in the latest fighting in northern Sri Lanka, the island's defence ministry said Saturday. The fighting on Friday was centred around Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya and the Weli Oya regions, the ministry said. There was no immediate comment on the claims from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). (Posted @ 14:35 PST) Nine killed, 50 injured in sectarian fighting in Lebanon TRIPOLI, Lebanon, July 26 (AFP): Nine people including a boy were killed and 50 injured in fierce sectarian clashes which raged through the night in the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli, a security official said on Saturday. The Lebanese army sent in reinforcements after militants from the rival Sunni Muslim and Alawite communities fought each other with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons in the latest bout of fighting to rock the Mediterranean city. (Posted @ 13:10 PST) Murray ousts defending champ Djokovic in straight sets at Rogers Cup TORONTO, July 26 (AP) - Andy Murray upset defending champion Novak Djokovic at the Rogers Cup with a 6-3, 7-6 (3) win in the quarterfinals Friday night. Meanwhile, seventh-seeded James Blake became the latest big-name player to lose at the Rogers Cup when he was routed 6-1, 6-2 by Nicolas Kiefer of Germany. The following are the Toronto Masters men's singles quarter-final results on Friday :Rafael Nadal (Spain) beat Richard Gasquet (France) 6-7(12) 6-2 6-1; Andy Murray (Britain) beat Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 6-3 7-6(3); Nicolas Kiefer (Germany) beat James Blake (U.S.) 6-1 6-2; Gilles Simon (France) beat Marin Cilic (Croatia) 3-6 6-2 6-3(Posted @ 11:00 PST) Peace talks with Philippine government collapse: Muslim separatists ZAMBOANGA, Philippines, July 26 (AFP) -Peace talks between the Philippine government and Muslim separatists collapsed after Manila tried to go back on an earlier agreement, rebel spokesmen said Saturday. Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief negotiator Mohaqer Iqbal charged “the talks collapsed because the government was undoing settled issues on ancestral domain.” This forced the cancellation of a meeting to resume formal talks on August 5, Iqbal said in a statement issued from Kuala Lumpur, where informal negotiations were being held. (Posted @ 10:45 PST) Bomb blast on minibus wounds 9 in Karbala BAGHDAD, July 6 (AP) - A bomb explosion aboard a minibus injured nine civilians in the holy city of Karbala on Friday. The bomb was left in a plastic bag and it exploded some 500 meters from the shrine to Imam Al-Abbas in the city center. Police said some of the injured were passengers and others were bystanders. (Posted @ 10:30 PST) Love row forces Swiss army head to tender resignation GENEVA, July 26 (AFP) - The head of the Swiss army, Roland Nef, handed in his resignation on Friday after being suspended in a furore over his alleged rough treatment of a former lover. (Posted @ 10:05 PST) World Bank gives 1.2 billion dollars to Congo KINSHASA, July 26 (AFP) - “The World Bank has granted 1.2 billion dollars to the Democratic Republic of Congo over the next three years to help finance projects in the fields of agriculture, forestry, water, energy, mining and infrastructure,” its managing director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said Friday at a news conference in Kinshasa at the end of a three-day visit to the country. Three hundred million dollars will be handed over this year, she said. (Posted @ 10:05 PST) At least six dead in Guatemala trash dump collapse GUATEMALA CITY, July 26 (AFP) - Six people died and 10 were missing Friday in an avalanche at a trash dump near the Guatemalan capital, according to rescue officials. Ten people were also rescued after the mountain of trash collapsed. Last month eight people were killed in a similar collapse at Guatemala City's main trash dump, located to the south of the capital. (Posted @ 09:55 PST) Polls show tight race for White House WASHINGTON, July 26 (AFP) - New polls Friday suggested Barack Obama's shine was wearing off at home even as he dazzled Europeans on his tour there, with Republican John McCain picking up ground on Obama in several important states. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll published Wednesday showed 55 percent of US voters considered Obama the riskiest choice for US president, while just 35 percent said the same of McCain. The same poll found that 58 percent of voters identified more closely with McCain's values and background, while 47 percent said the same of Obama. A separate study published Thursday by Quinnipiac University showed McCain has gained ground in several key battleground states, and has surpassed Obama in Colorado. The survey showed McCain is close on Obama's heels in Michigan and Minnesota, and other polls have shown McCain ahead in some key states usually considered Democratic bastions, such as New Hampshire. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
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