|
| July 30, 2008 | Wednesday | Rajab 26, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (06:00 GMT)
 Pakistan expects same US-India nuclear deal: PM Gilani WASHINGTON, July 30 (APP): Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani Tuesday said Pakistan expects from United States the similar kind of nuclear deal it made with India. “There should be no discrimination. If they want to give such nuclear status to India, we expect the same for Pakistan,” Gilani said in a conversation with Richard N. Haass, President of Council on Foreign Relations at a meeting jointly organized with the Middle East Institute here. The Prime Minister spoke at length on a variety of issues including terrorism and extremism, Pak-US relations, economy and the scope of democracy in the country. He said the government wanted to have cordial relations with all its neighbours including India and Afghanistan, considering it a guarantee to regional peace. “With India, we want to resolve all issues including the core issue of Kashmir,” he said when asked about the relationship with its eastern neighbour. (Posted @ 12:15 PST)  Pakistan clash kills 25 Taliban, 5 soldiers MINGORA, July 30 (Reuters): Twenty-five Taliban militants and five soldiers were killed in a fierce clash in Swat valley in Pakistan's northwest on Wednesday, the military said. The fighting broke out after about 70 militants attacked a security post in Ucharai Sar area near Matta, a militants stronghold ants in the region. “The attack was successfully repulsed, resulting in the death of 25 miscreants,” the military said in a statement. It said one officer was among the five soldiers killed. A spokesman for militants led by cleric Fazlullah, confirmed the clashes but said only one of their fighters was killed. Separately, militants shot and killed an Afghan woman accused of being a U.S. spy in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region on the Afghan border. (First Posted @ 11:40 PST Updated @ 19:34 PST) Curfew imposed in Swat valley PESHAWAR, Pakistan, July 30 (AP): The Pakistani military says a round-the-clock curfew has been imposed in Swat amid a spike in militant violence. The curfew has been declared throughout the valley for an indefinite period of time, the army spokesman's office said Wednesday. Troops are patrolling and security forces have exchanged fire with militants in some areas of the valley. (Posted @ 11:55 PST)  Turkish court rules not to close AK Party ANKARA, July 30, (Reuters) - Turkey's top court on Wednesday ruled against closing the governing AK Party for Islamist activities but decided to impose partial financial penalties on the party, chief judge Hasim Kilic said. The verdict was set to ease months of political uncertainty, which has battered Turkey's financial markets on fears that the democratically elected party would be closed down. (Posted @ 21:34 PST) CIA cites Pakistan ISI’s ties to militants NEW YORK, July 30 (AP): The CIA has confronted senior Pakistani officials with evidence showing that members of Pakistan’s Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) have deepened their ties with some militant groups responsible for a surge of violence in Afghanistan, The New York Times reported. A top CIA official traveled to Islamabad this month with new information about ties between the ISI and militants operating in Pakistan's tribal areas, the newspaper said on its website late Tuesday. Its sources were American military and intelligence officials it did not identify. The Times said the CIA assessment pointed to links between the ISI and the militant network led by Jalaluddin Haqqani, which American officials believe maintains close ties to senior figures of Al Qaeda in Pakistan's tribal areas. The visit to Pakistan by the CIA official, Stephen R. Kappes, the agency's deputy director, was described by several American military and intelligence officials in interviews in recent days, the Times said. In an interview broadcast Tuesday on PBS television show “The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer,” Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said that to say that some in the ISI are “sympathetic to the militants, this is not believable. ... We will not allow that.” CIA spokeswoman Marie Harf refused to comment on the Times report late Tuesday. Kappes made his secret visit to Pakistan on July 12, joining Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for meetings with senior Pakistani civilian and military leaders, the Times said. (First Posted @ 10: 00 PST, Updated @ 11:55 PST) Syria, Israel to hold new talks next month-source ISTANBUL, July 30 (Reuters): Israel and Syria will hold their next indirect peace talks in Turkey in mid-August after failing to move on to face-to-face negotiations, a source close to the talks said Wednesday. The fourth round of Turkish-mediated talks ended in Istanbul on Wednesday, the source said. The long-time foes launched the talks in May but have not agreed to hold direct negotiations. “The fourth round has ended. It was positive. The fifth round will be in mid-August, and again indirect,” said the source. The source said he also expected a sixth round in September, but did not specify whether that round would be face-to-face. (Posted @ 23:38 PST) Cricket: England 231 v South Africa, first day, third test BIRMINGHAM, July 30, (REUTERS) - England were dismissed for 231 having won the toss and deciding to bat on the first day of the third test against South Africa at Edgbaston on Wednesday. Score: England 231 (A. Cook 76, I. Bell 50) v South Africa. (Posted @ 23:06 PST) 30 Taliban killed in southern Afghanistan KABUL, July 30 (AP): A series of clashes in southern Afghanistan killed 30 Taliban militants, while insurgents and a roadside blast killed five police, officials said Wednesday. The militants were killed during three days of clashes in southern Uruzgan province, said provincial police chief Juma Gul Himat. Nine other militants and five policemen were wounded during these battles, he said. Authorities detained 10 other militants following the operation near the provincial capital of Tirin Kot, Himat said. The report could not be independently verified. (Posted @ 22:48 PST) Seven killed, 21 injured in mishaps in occupied Kashmir Srinagar, occupied Kashmir, July 30 (PPI): Seven persons, including a 13-year old boy, were killed and twenty-one others injured in road mishaps at different places in Indian occupied Kashmir. Kashmir Media Service said two youth were killed when a troops' vehicle deliberately hit them at Nagrota on Jammu-Srinagar highway. Two persons were killed and 12 critically injured when a passenger bus in which they were travelling skidded off the road and fell into a gorge at Malothi in Doda. A 13-year-old boy was killed at Bandi in Baramulla and nine persons injured in different road accidents. (Posted @ 22:14 PST) Sri Lankan jets bomb rebel base, fighting kills 24 COLOMBO, July 30 (Reuters): Sri Lankan fighter jets bombed a rebel base in the far north of the island on Wednesday, the military said, as government forces continued their push against the rebels' northern stronghold. The military said ground troops had also killed 20 Tamil Tiger rebels in earlier fighting. Four soldiers were also killed. (Posted @ 21:18 PST) Bulgarian govt survives no-confidence vote SOFIA, July 30 (Reuters): Bulgaria's Socialist-led government survived a no-confidence vote on Wednesday after the opposition accused it of losing millions of euros in European Union funding because of widespread corruption. The three-party coalition, which has a clear majority in the 240-seat chamber, defeated the motion -- the sixth since it came to power in 2005 -- by 150 votes to 84. The European Commission suspended more than 500 million euros in aid to the Balkan country last week and barred two payment agencies from receiving EU funds, demanding action against corruption and crime. (Posted @ 20:38 PST) Nine detained over Istanbul bombings: report ISTANBUL, July 30 (AP): Turkey's state-run news agency reported that police had detained nine people for alleged links to bombings that killed 17 people last weekend. Anatolia said in a report Wednesday that the nine are suspected of having ties to the bombers. Two blasts at a packed Istanbul square killed 17 people and injured more than 150 others Sunday. The government blames the bombings on Kurdish rebels who deny responsibility. (Posted @ 20:24 PST) Karadzic taken to Hague for genocide trial THE HAGUE, July 30 (Reuters): Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was taken to a prison cell in The Hague on Wednesday. Karadzic is to face trial at a U.N war crimes tribunal on charges of genocide during the 1992-95 Bosnia war. Karadzic, arrested near Belgrade last week, was flown out of Serbia by plane at night under tight security. Shortly after dawn, he was whisked from Rotterdam airport to the Scheveningen detention centre near The Hague. He will appear before the tribunal for the first time at 1400 GMT on Thursday, and asked to enter a plea to the charges against him, the court said. (First Posted @ 08:55 PST Updated @ 19:56 PST) Pakistan needs 16,000MW electricity to overcome ongoing power crisis Washington, July 30 (PPI): Pakistan requires 16,000 megawatts electricity to overcome its ongoing power crisis. The country will need to spend $30 billion for these projects till 2015, said Water & Power Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf. He said an agreement with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on import of electricity would be finalized on August 4. He said Pakistan's first windmill would start functioning at Jhimmpir in Sindh next month while 50 more windmills would be installed by August 14 which would produce 200MW. (Posted @ 19:30 PST) 80 people injured in Serbia BELGRADE, July 30 (AP): Serbian doctors said 80 people were injured in clashes during protests in support of war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic. Belgrade's emergency clinic said it has treated 51 policemen and 23 civilians. The city's military clinic reported treating three policemen and three civilians. All were injured in clashes late Tuesday between police and nationalist rioters. (Posted @ 19:16 PST) Pakistan cricket players clear dope tests RAWALPINDI, July 30 (AP): Paceman Shoaib Akhtar was among the Pakistan players cleared by doping tests ahead of the Champions Trophy, the Pakistan Cricket Board said Wednesday. The PCB said in a statement that 26 of the 30 probable Pakistan players had been returned clean samples following testing by the World Anti-Doping Agency on July 19 at Lahore. The remaining four --Younis Khan, Khurram Manzoor, Bazid Khan and Yasir Arafat-- were unavailable on the testing date and will provide samples later. (Posted @ 19:14 PST) BBC fined 400,000 pounds for fake quizzes LONDON, July 30 (Reuters): Media watchdog Ofcom fined the BBC 400,000 pounds on Wednesday, the largest financial penalty it has ever issued against the public broadcaster, for misleading the public through fake quizzes and competitions. Ofcom said eight BBC shows, four on TV and four on the radio, were guilty of “very serious” failings. “The investigations found that in come cases the production team had taken pre-meditated decisions to broadcast competitions and encourage listeners to enter in the full knowledge the audience stood no chance of winning,” Ofcom said. (Posted @ 18:56 PST) One dead in gangster shooting in southern Japan TOKYO, July 30 (Reuters): One man was killed in a gangster shooting near a junior high school in Sue, about 900 km southwest of Tokyo, police said on Wednesday. The 66-year-old man died after he was shot in front of his home and a man with a gun was caught, police said. Domestic media reported that one person was still on the run. (Posted @ 18:10 PST) Iran to pursue nuclear path: Khamenei TEHRAN, July 30 (Reuters): Iran will pursue its nuclear path, the country's highest authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Wednesday, speaking just before a deadline set by world powers in a nuclear dispute. Khamenei, quoted by state radio, said: “They (the West) know that the Iranian nation is after using nuclear energy to provide electricity but they say because this work gives you capability, we will not allow it.” Western powers gave Iran two week from July 19 to respond to their offer to hold off on imposing more U.N. sanctions on Iran if Tehran would freeze any expansion of its nuclear work. (Posted @ 17:28 PST) Rival factions clash in Nigeria oil region; 4 dead PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria, July 30 (Reuters): Rival militant factions in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta clashed in an apparent turf war, killing at least four people, security officials said Wednesday. The fighting started late on Tuesday at Abonnema, around 14 km west of the main oil industry city of Port Harcourt, a military spokesman said. Security sources said they believed the clash was between fighters loyal to two rival factional leaders with links to the main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). (Posted @ 17:15 PST) Hamas militant dies of injuries GAZA CITY, July 30 (AP): The Islamic Hamas group that rules Gaza said one of its members had died of injuries sustained in a clash with a shadowy group. A Hamas spokesman said the man died in Gaza hospital on Wednesday. Hamas police engaged in a gunbattle with loyalists from the Army of Islam on Sunday after attempts to arrest them turned violent. Hamas cracked down on opposition groups over the weekend after a mysterious car bombing killed five of its members. Hamas sees the heavily armed group as a threat to public stability. (Posted @ 16:30 PST) 13 illegal immigrants dead in Istanbul ISTANBUL, July 30 (Reuters): Thirteen illegal immigrants, found dead in a field on the outskirts of Istanbul on Wednesday, suffocated in a packed truck, Turkish police said. The truck was carrying 138 illegal immigrants through Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, a local official told the state-run news agency Anatolian. The bodies were dumped in a field on the outskirts of the European part of the city, in Istanbul's Kucukcekmece district. Media reports said the majority of the dead were Pakistani, but no other details were immediately available. (Posted @ 16:05 PST) UK soldier killed by explosion in Afghanistan LONDON, July 30 (AP): Britain's Ministry of Defence said a British soldier had been killed in southern Afghanistan. It said the soldier was fatally wounded during a reconnaissance mission in Helmand province Tuesday. The soldier is the 114th British serviceman to be killed in Afghanistan since operations began there in November 2001. (First Posted @ 10:25 PST, Updated @ 15:55 PST) Army soldier killed in eastern Lebanon attack BEIRUT, July 30 (AP): Gunmen attacked a military post in the eastern Lebanese province of Hermel at dawn Wednesday, killing a soldier and wounding another, a security official said. Soldiers fired back at the attackers who fled, the official said, requesting anonymity. (Posted @ 14:057 PST) Car bomb kills two police in Russia’s Ingushetia NAZRAN, Russia, July 30 (AP): At least two officers were killed by a car bomb that exploded outside the regional police headquarters in the southern Russian republic of Ingushetia, officials said. The Wednesday morning blast took place in the parking lot of the headquarters of Ingushetia's Interior Ministry. Ministry and emergency officials variously gave the death toll at two or three officers, with at least three others seriously wounded. (Posted @ 13:20 PST) Gas pipeline blown near Sui QUETTA, Pakistan, July 29 (PPI): Unknown persons blew up a gas pipeline near Sui on Tuesday, suspending supply on the Loti to Pir Koh line. Meanwhile, unknown persons opened fire on security forces check post in Sui before fleeing the scene; no losses were reported. (Posted @ 13:10 PST) PM Gilani rejects any unilateral U.S. attacks WASHINGTON, July 30 (AP): After meeting with Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani declared he was opposed to any unilateral U.S. military attacks should terrorist leaders be found hiding in Pakistan. “We can do it ourselves,” Gilani said Tuesday night after a speech. He added, however, that Pakistan wanted better cooperation with the United States to share intelligence about foreign militants. “We are not able to control them, and you are not able to control them,” he said. Gilani said Pakistan is “no one's surrogate” in the fight against extremists. “We are fighting to save the soul of our homeland,” he said. Obama said at a fundraising luncheon Tuesday that he told Gilani in their meeting that “the only way we're going to be successful in the long term in defeating extremists ... is if we are giving people opportunities. If people have a chance for a better life, then they are not as likely to turn to the ideologies of violence and despair.” (First Posted @ 09:40 PST, Updated @ 10:40 PST) Lawmakers ask US not to upgrade Pakistan F-16s now WASHINGTON, July 30 (Reuters): Two senior U.S. lawmakers said Tuesday they had asked the Bush administration not to shift $226.5 million in U.S. counterterrorism aid to Pakistan to upgrade Pakistani F-16 fighters for the time being. The Democratic lawmakers, House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman of California and Rep. Nita Lowey of New York, said they feared the plan could hinder counterterrorism efforts and wanted more time to study it. Congressional staffers, requesting anonymity, said the Bush administration could still transfer the money if it wished but sought to respect such requests from lawmakers. A U.S. official who asked not to be named said the administration was weighing how to respond but noted that there was a deadline on Thursday to make a payment to Lockheed Martin Corp, the military contractor that would upgrade the planes. In a statement, Berman and Lowey said legislation passed by Congress last year “specifically required that military aid to Pakistan be used for counterterrorism and law enforcement activities directed against al Qaeda and the Taliban.” “We are concerned that the administration's proposal to use military assistance to pay for the F-16 upgrades will divert funds from more effective counterterrorism tools like helicopters, TOW missiles, and night-vision goggles,” they added. Berman and Lowey said they wanted to help Gilani's government cope with a budget crisis brought on by rising fuel and food prices and proposed that Congress provide $200 million in economic aid to help address this. (Posted @ 09:25 PST) Three workers killed in explosion at US paper mill TOMAHAWK, Wisconsin, July 30 (AP): A storage tank explosion at a northern Wisconsin paper mill Tuesday killed three workers and injured a fourth, the company that owns the mill said. Packaging Corp. of America said in a news release that the three workers were fatally injured when a tank used to store recycled fiber exploded while they were performing maintenance on top of it. (Posted @ 09:05 PST) Blast destroys Hamas training camp in Gaza, five hurt GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip, July 30 (AP): A huge blast late Tuesday destroyed a training base run by Hamas in southern Gaza, and at least five people were hurt, witnesses and a health official said. It was not immediately known what caused the blast. Hamas had no comment. Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Palestinian Health Ministry said two of the five wounded Hamas militants were in critical condition. Witnesses said the blast destroyed the base, and a fire was burning there an hour afterward. They said a second, smaller blast was heard about 15 minutes after the first one. (Posted @ 09:00 PST) Earthquake strongly jolts Los Angeles LOS ANGELES, July 30 (Reuters): An earthquake struck just east of Los Angeles on Tuesday, rocking tall buildings across Southern California, but causing no serious injuries or major structural damage. The quake hit at 11:42 a.m. about 30 miles east of Los Angeles in suburban Chino Hills and registered magnitude 5.4. It was followed in the next few hours by more than two dozen aftershocks, the largest measuring 3.6. The U.S. Geological Survey said Tuesday's quake was shallow, about 8.5 miles deep. Across Southern California, the temblor was felt as a strong jolt, swaying tall buildings in downtown Los Angeles and Orange County. (Posted @ 08:40 PST) Bus, truck collision kills 11 in north China BEIJING, July 30 (Reuters): A head-on collision between a bus and a container truck killed 11 people and injured 17, eight seriously, in north China, local media said Wednesday. The accident happened early Tuesday in Linyi, an underdeveloped area in the coastal province of Shandong, the Beijing News newspaper said. (Posted @ 08:35 PST) Karachi Stocks up 404.83 points: KARACHI, July 30: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 10853.02, up 404.83 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:17 PST) Forex update: KARACHI, July 30: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 72.3 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:17 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah The DAWN Media Group |
| | About Us | Advertising info | Subscription | Feedback | Contributions | Privacy Policy | Help | Contact us | |