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| July 31, 2008 | Thursday | Rajab 27, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (06:00 GMT)
 Bomb blast near Pakistani consulate in Afghan city HERAT, Afghanistan, July 31 (AFP) A small bomb exploded Thursday near Pakistan's consulate in Afghanistan's western city of Herat, injuring a policeman and a woman, police said. The bomb, attached to a bicycle, appeared to have been detonated remotely, deputy city police chief Ghulam Sarwar Haidary told AFP. “A bomb placed on a bicycle exploded near the Pakistan consulate. One policeman, guarding the consulate, and a woman passer-by were wounded,” the official said. The bomb caused little damage, blowing out some windows nearby. It was not known who was behind the blast and there was no immediate claim of responsibility. (Posted @ 15:05 PST)  Pakistan summons Afghan envoy over consulate blast ISLAMABAD, July 31 (AFP): Pakistan said Thursday it had summoned the Afghan ambassador to the foreign office to convey “grave concerns” over a bombing outside the Pakistani consulate in the western Afghan city of Herat. Afghan authorities said a policeman and a woman were wounded when a small bomb attached to a bicycle was remotely detonated Thursday near the consulate building. “The government of Pakistan condemns the bomb explosion outside its consulate in Herat,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. “The ambassador of Afghanistan is being summoned to the foreign office to convey the grave concerns of the government of Pakistan.” The statement said Pakistan “holds the government of Afghanistan responsible for the safety and security of its personnel in its embassy in Kabul and consulates in Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad and Mazar-i-Sharif. “We hope that the government of Afghanistan will take its responsibility seriously.” (Posted @ 16:40 PST) 13 dead in Swat clashes MINGORA, Pakistan, July 31 (Reuters): At least 13 people, including two women, were killed in clashes between troops and militants on Thursday in Pakistan's Swat valley, police said. The fatalities included villagers whose houses were hit by mortar bombs overnight around Kabal. “The dead include seven of a same family including two women killed by mortar bombs,” a police official said. Residents say the militants have not been using mortars. Security forces said they had targeted militants. Militants on Thursday torched a girls’ school and attacked a police checkpost. There was no immediate word on casualties from those attacks. (Posted @ 13:40 PST)  Pakistani troops vacate fort in South Waziristan PESHAWAR, Pakistan, July 31 (AFP) Officials said Thursday that Pakistani troops were vacating a key fort in a tribal area bordering Afghanistan. The British-era fort in South Waziristan’s town of Ladha is being turned into a hospital for local tribesmen and some 300 troops have begun leaving, said Major General Mohammad Alam Khattak, head of the paramilitary Frontier Corps. Khattak denied that pressure from the militants was behind the decision to vacate the fort. “The decision has been taken to provide health facilities to local tribesmen,” Khattak told reporters. “The fort had no strategic value for us. It was located in a depression surrounded by populated area,” he said, adding that the troops would be moving to Wana, the main town in South Waziristan. (Posted @ 18:52 PST) PM Gilani says U.S. visit successful in achieving set targets MANCHESTER, July 31 (PPI) Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani Thursday said his visit to the United States was “successful in achieving set targets.” He was talking to newsmen in Manchester during a brief stopover on way back home from Washington. He said during his meeting with President George W. Bush and interaction with other U.S. leaders he found that they “fully respect the sovereignty of Pakistan.” (Posted @ 18:20 PST) U.S. House Speaker assures bi-partisan support to Pakistan's democracy, economic development WASHINGTON, July 31 (PPI) Speaker of United States House of Representative Nancy Pelosi assured Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani of bi-partisan support for democracy and economic development in Pakistan. During a meeting with Gilani here, she spoke of close relations between the U.S. and Pakistan. “The relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan is very important. Issues like fighting terrorism, stability in South Asia and economic development in Pakistan are important to both the countries,” she noted. Prime Minister Gilani reiterated that Pakistan would continue to fight extremism and terrorism in “its own interest.” Later, talking to members of a key U.S. Senate Panel, Gilani underlined the importance of fostering long term Pak-U.S. relations. He also met Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senators Joseph Biden, Richard Lugar, John Kerry and Russ Feigngold. (Posted @ 18:08 PST) Pakistan, India agree to thrash out issues: Pakistan FM COLOMBO, July 31 (AFP): The premiers of India and Pakistan will meet this weekend to thrash out a plan to improve ties strained by border clashes and bomb attacks on Indian targets, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Thursday. He said he and Indian foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee had “agreed mutually” that the countries' prime ministers would “come out with a comprehensive statement on (future) bilateral engagement.” Qureshi was speaking to reporters after the two foreign ministers met to lay the groundwork for Saturday's talks between the two leaders on the sidelines of a South Asian summit in Colombo. He added his talks with Mukherjee had helped “clear the air” between the two countries. (First Posted @ 14:25 PST Updated @ 21:14 PST) 36 Nepalese pilgrims die in Indian bus crash DEHRADUN, India, July 31 (AFP): At least 36 Hindu pilgrims from Nepal were killed Thursday when their bus plunged into a river in the mountainous northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, officials said. The passenger bus carrying 40 people spun out of control and fell 100 feet into the rain-swollen Alaknanda river in Chamoli, district administrator D.S. Garbiyal said. “Four survived the crash and have been hospitalised in very serious condition,” he told AFP by telephone from Chamoli, 300 kilometres north of state capital Dehradun. Police said 20 bodies had been recovered from the wreckage of the bus. (Posted @ 23:46 PST) Japan closes India visa office, warns over bombings NEW DELHI, July 31 (Reuters): The Japanese government closed the consular section of its embassy in India and warned its citizens to avoid crowded places such as markets and train stations after receiving an e-mail warning of a possible attack. Japan's embassy in New Delhi said in a statement in Japanese on its website that it had received an e-mail warning of an attack on New Delhi's popular market district of Sarojini Nagar, where at least 66 people were killed in a 2005 bomb attack. The consular section of the embassy would be closed from July 30 “for a while,” according to a spokesman. (Posted @ 23:16 PST) 700 Pakistanis imprisoned in Turkish jails on charge of illegal entry: Ambassador ISLAMABAD, July 31 (APP): Pakistan’s ambassador to Turkey Lt. General (r) Iftikhar Hussain Shah said more than 700 Pakistanis were imprisoned in various Turkish jails on the charge of illegal entry into the country. “We are making arrangements for their early return to Pakistan,” he told BBC Radio. He said almost 70 Pakistani immigrants are being intercepted at Iran-Turkish border weekly after summer season set in. Commenting on a recent report about recovery of 13 bodies of illegal Pakistani immigrants near Istanbul, he said the embassy has the report about two bodies of Pakistanis and their relatives have also been informed in this connection. (Posted @ 22:48 PST) Pole dead, Czech missing in Kyrgyz mountains BISHKEK, July 31 (AFP): A Polish climber has died trying to scale one of Kyrgyzstan's highest peaks and a Czech climber is missing, the authorities here said Thursday. The Pole fell to his death close to the summit of the 7,000-metre mountain Khan Tengri, said a statement from the Kyrgyz emergency situations ministry. The body of the Pole had just been found, the ministry said. In a separate development, rescuers were seeking a Czech citizen. One of a group of nine climbers, trying to scale another mountain, Peak Lenin, she went missing on July 12-13. (Posted @ 22:18 PST) Hizb-ut-Tahrir marches in Gaza for first time GAZA CITY, July 31 (AP):Hizb ut-Tahrir supporters calling for a worldwide Islamic state have marched through Gaza for the first time. About 3,000 demonstrators waved black flags and shouted slogans calling for a global Islamic government Thursday. The group's activities are outlawed in the West Bank. This week in the West Bank city of Hebron, 20 members were arrested. The group was founded in Jordan in 1953 and is banned in several countries, including Russia, Germany and some Arab states. The tiny group opposes the Islamic Hamas, which rules Gaza. (Posted @ 20:32 PST) Cricket: India 214-4 v Sri Lanka, close first day, second test GALLE, Sri Lanka, July 31 (Reuters) India were 214 for four at the close of the rain-interrupted first day of the second test against Sri Lanka on Thursday. Scores: India 214-4 (Sehwag 128 not out, Gambhir 56) v Sri Lanka. (Posted @ 19:04 PST) Bush cuts U.S. troop Iraq combat tours to a year WASHINGTON, July 31 (Reuters) U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday said U.S. troops sent to Iraq in the future will serve shorter combat tours, 12 months instead of 15 months, as conditions improve in the war zone. “Troops deploying to Iraq will serve 12 month tours instead of 15 month tours,” Bush said. “This relieves the burden on our forces.” (Posted @ 18:48 PST) One feared dead in attack on Turkish military vehicle ANKARA, July 31 (AP) Assailants attacked a military vehicle in eastern Turkey Thursday, the Anatolia news agency said. The assailants opened fire on the vehicle patrolling a town in Sivas province. One soldier was killed, Anatolia said. The Dogan news agency said a group of about 15 people attacked the vehicle and one soldier was missing. (Posted @ 18:24 PST) Militants kill one, wound 18 in Thai south PATTANI, Thailand, July 31 (Reuters): Suspected militants shot dead a teacher and detonated a small bomb in a busy market in southern Thailand Thursday, wounding 18 people, police said. The teacher, 57, was shot dead in Pattani province. In the nearby Narathiwat province, a militant used a mobile phone to detonate a 5-kg bomb hidden in a motorcycle at a market, wounding two soldiers and 16 civilians, police said. (Posted @ 15:35 PST) Bomb defused on occupied Kashmir pilgrimage route SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, July 31 (AFP) Indian troops defused a bomb Thursday on a key occupied Kashmir highway used daily by hundreds of Hindus to reach a revered cave-shrine high in the Himalayas, officials said. “Our men detected a powerful bomb planted on the pilgrimage route,” Prabhakar Tripathi, spokesman for the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force, told AFP. Tripathi said the bomb was defused in Manigam, 35 kilometres east of Srinagar. (Posted @ 15:05 PST) Suicide car bomb kills three Iraqi policemen BAGHDAD, July 31 (AP): Iraqi police say a suicide car bomb attack targeting a police station has killed three policemen and wounded four near the northern city of Mosul. (Posted @ 14:05 PST) Afghan, NATO troops kill 20 Taliban GHAZNI, Afghanistan, July 31 (Reuters): Afghan and NATO-led troops backed by air power killed more than 20 Taliban insurgents southwest of Kabul, a provincial official said Thursday. The latest fighting broke out in the Andar, Ghazni province, after a vehicle belonging to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) hit a roadside bomb that wounded four its soldiers, ISAF and the district governor said. “The aerial bombings by foreign forces during the fighting killed more than 20 insurgents and their dead bodies are still on the battlefield,” said Andar district governor Abdur Raheem Desiwal. An ISAF spokesman confirmed the incident and the use of air support, but could not confirm any insurgent casualties. (Posted @ 14:00 PST) Five dead as storm wreaks havoc in China BEIJING, July 31 (AFP): Five people were killed and tens of thousands moved to safety as tropical storm Fung-wong lashed eastern and southern China, state media reported Thursday. (Posted @ 13:35 PST) Nine killed in Nepal after landslide hits house KATMANDU, Nepal, July 31 (AP): A landslide swept away a house in a village in mountainous western Nepal killing at least nine people, an official said. Government administrator Govinda Mani Dhurtel said the landslide hit the house in Mulpani village, 250 miles west of Katmandu, during the early hours of Thursday killing all nine people inside. (Posted @ 13:00 PST) Sri Lanka fighting kills 25 COLOMBO, July 31 (AP): The Sri Lankan army launched attacks against Tamil Tiger separatists in the north, sparking battles that killed 24 rebels and one soldier, the military said Thursday. The new fighting came as officials from eight South Asian nations gathered in Colombo for a regional conference that is to culminate in a top-level summit this weekend. Fighting raged throughout Wednesday in Welioya and Vavuniya regions along the front lines. Troops attacked a rebel bunker line in one battle that lasted 11 hours and killed seven rebels. Troops also attacked Kattikulam area Wednesday, killing six rebels, the military said. Another 11 rebels and one soldier were killed in scattered battles, the military said. (Posted @ 12:40 PST) Non-aligned countries back Iran's nuclear program TEHRAN, July 31(AP): More than 100 non-aligned nations backed Iran's right to peaceful uses of nuclear power on Wednesday, an endorsement sought by Tehran in its standoff with the U.N. Security Council over its refusal to freeze uranium enrichment. Senior Iranian officials depicted the support, coming from a high-level conference of the 120-nation Nonaligned Movement, as deflating claims by the U.S. and its allies that most of the international community wanted Iran to stop enrichment. Ali Ashgar Soltanieh, Iran's top representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the conference sends a “strong positive signal that the only way is negotiation and dialogue” over the nuclear standoff. “ (Posted @ 12:00 PST) US sees rise in Pakistani fighters in Afghanistan WASHINGTON, July 31 (Reuters): A growing number of militants who earlier operated only inside Pakistan and Kashmir are joining the intensifying resistance in Afghanistan against U.S. and NATO forces, allege U.S. officials. The rise in the number of Pakistanis involved in the Afghan resistance was confirmed by several U.S. officials, including senior military officers, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The chief concern for U.S. officials is Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud. Defence officials say he has stepped up recruitment of fighters for Afghanistan, as well as supply of weapons, ammunition and logistic support. (Posted @ 11:25 PST) US Navy cites smoking as likely cause of carrier fire SAN DIEGO, July 31 (AP): Smoking appears to have sparked a fire that caused $70 million in damage to the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington, Navy officials said. The announcement Wednesday by the Navy came as Admiral Robert F. Willard, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, ordered that the carrier's commanding officer, Captain David C. Dykhoff, and the executive officer of duty Captain David M. Dober be relieved of duty. (Posted @ 10:35 PST) Ex-Thai PM Thaksin's wife jailed for tax fraud BANGKOK, July 31 (Reuters): Thailand's Criminal Court sentenced the wife of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to three years in jail on Thursday after finding her guilty of tax evasion. The verdict is the first in several lawsuits prepared against Thaksin and his family and associates by anti-graft investigators appointed after a 2006 coup. Potjaman Shinawatra, her brother Bannapot Damapong and her secretary were charged with colluding to evade tax worth 546 million baht ($16.3 million) in the transfer of shares in a telecoms firm Thaksin founded. The court then bailed Potjaman Shinawatra after sentencing her, a court official told reporters. Potjaman Shinawatra, her brother Bannapot Damapong and her secretary were freed on bail of 5 million baht ($149,300) each after the verdict. (First Posted @ 09:55 PST, Updated @ 10:15 PST) China lashes out against critical US bill BEIJING, July 31 (AP): China lashed out Thursday against a resolution passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that criticizes Beijing. Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said the bill “fully exposed their evil motives to politicise the Olympics and interrupt and sabotage the Beijing Olympics. We urge the American side to stop the disgusting actions of this small group of anti-Chinese lawmakers,” Liu was quoted as saying on the ministry's Web site. (Posted @ 10:00 PST) Bush signs new rules for spy agencies WASHINGTON, July 31 (AP): President George W. Bush approved an order Wednesday that rewrites the rules governing spying by U.S. intelligence agencies, both in the United States and abroad. Executive Order 12333 lays out the responsibilities of each of the 16 agencies. The new order gives the national intelligence director, authority over any intelligence information collected that pertains to more than one agency, an attempt to force greater information exchange among agencies traditionally reluctant to share their most prized intelligence. (Posted @ 09:30 PST) Israelis wound 9 Palestinians at boy's funeral RAMALLAH, West Bank, July 31 (Reuters): Israeli troops wounded nine Palestinians in the occupied West Bank Wednesday in a clash with protesters at the funeral of a 10-year-old boy killed a day earlier, Palestinian medics said. They said the Israelis shot the protesters with rubber bullets. A 21-year-old Palestinian was hit in the head and doctors described him as brain dead. A doctor at Ramallah hospital said the 21-year-old man was hit in the head by two steel-coated rubber bullets. The governor of Ramallah, Said Abu Ali, said an autopsy on the boy killed on Tuesday near the West Bank village of Nilin showed he had been shot in the head by live bullets. “There was a big hole in his head and we couldn't save his life,” said a medic who was at the scene. He said the boy had been shot at close range. One demonstrator said the protest had begun peacefully, with several boys watching as Israeli bulldozers cleared land for the barrier. “After the bulldozers finished their work, a military jeep belonging to the border police pulled over and one soldier knelt down and aimed his rifle at us and shot at us. (Posted @ 09:10 PST) More than 20 injured in Argentine protests BUENOS AIRES, July 31 (AP): More than 20 people were injured in violent clashes between police and protesters in one of Argentina's largest provincial cities. The protests were in response to a proposal by the governor of Cordoba province that would cut state pensions by 20 percent for those making more than 5,000 pesos (US$1,600) a month. The proposal is being debated in the provincial legislature. (Posted @ 09:00 PST) Karachi Stocks down 269.44 points: KARACHI, July 31: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 10583.58, down 269.44 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:10 PST) Forex update: KARACHI, July 31: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 72.25 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:10 PST)
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