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| August 02, 2008 | Saturday | Rajab 29, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (06:00 GMT)
 India, Pakistan premiers agree to keep up talks: diplomat COLOMBO, Aug 2 (AFP) The prime ministers of nuclear-armed India and Pakistan ended closed-door talks in Colombo Saturday with an agreement to keep alive their peace process despite growing tensions, an Indian diplomat said. Indian foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon said Premier Manmohan Singh and his Pakistan counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani agreed recent events such as last month's deadly bomb attack on India's embassy in Kabul had “cast a pall on the peace process.” But “both prime ministers said we need to overcome these (problems) and move forward,” Menon told reporters, adding Gilani agreed to probe charges Pakistani intelligence was behind the embassy suicide attack that killed some 60 people. (First Posted @ 18:45 PST Updated @ 20:40 PST)  PM Gilani urges SAARC members to address poverty, energy, food challenges COLOMBO, Aug 2 (Agencies): Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani Saturday urged the eight-member South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) for joint efforts to fight poverty, meet energy needs and overcome food shortages, afflicting the region. Speaking here at the inaugural session of the 15th SAARC summit, he called for measures to achieve greater food security, strengthen communication and transportation among the member states to generate greater economic activity. Gilani said South Asia was rich in natural resources and a concerted effort was required to boost cooperation in areas of hydro energy, laying of oil and gas pipelines to address the shortages and enhance industrial growth. “We should think of launching Greater Asia Food Security Programme,” gilani added. The leaders of the eight-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) plan to sign four agreements, including one on legal cooperation to combat terrorism at the summit in the Sri Lankan capital. The two-day summit will also frame a declaration on food security for the region. But concern about terrorism dominated the summit as speaker after speaker underscored the need to fight terrorism unitedly, alongside securing food and energy security.(First Posted @ 12:55 PST, Updated @ 16:15 PST) 15th SAARC Summit begins in Colombo COLOMBO, Aug 2 (PPI): The 15th SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) summit began here Saturday with a call by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa for greater cooperation among member states to eliminate poverty and unemployment, and devotion of all their energies to protect the people from the menace of terrorism. Inaugurating the summit after being elected SAARC chairman, he observed: “Our region faces challenges of energy and food shortage and there is a dire need to set up SAARC food bank and fund to cope with the prevailing situation.” Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai felt the South Asian region is prone to many challenges with “terrorism most destabilizing one which has put our future gravely at risk.” He underlined the need for implementation of SAARC framework to effectively deal with challenges of poverty, food, energy shortage and environmental degradation. Chief Executive of Bangladesh Fakharuddin said: “We should launch joint efforts to improve living standard and ensure supply of food to the people.” Bhutan's Prime Minister Jigme Thinley said member states should implement SAARC commitments and declarations. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said “terrorism remained the biggest threat to progress in the region, hampering efforts to eradicate poverty and spur economic growth. “We cannot afford to lose battle against ideology of hatred, fanaticism and against all those who seek to destroy our societal fabric,” he said. “We must fight jointly against this scourge,” he added. (Posted @ 16:50 PST) Karzai says terrorism gaining deep roots in Pakistan COLOMBO, Aug 2 (Reuters): Terrorists were gaining a deeper grip in Pakistan, and were receiving institutional nurturing and support, Afghanistan's president said on Saturday, calling on South Asian countries to stop playing geo-political games. “In Pakistan, terrorism and its sanctuaries are gaining a deeper grip as demonstrated by the tragic assassination of shaheed (martyr) Benazir Bhutto,” Karzai told the Saarc summit attended by South Asian leaders, including Pakistan's prime minister. “While existing on the absolute fringes of our tolerant and peace loving societies, terrorists in our region receive, institutional nurturing and support. “It is this imbedded nature of terrorists that make it a much more sinister threat,” Karzai said. (Posted @ 13:55 PST)  Roadside bomb kills 8 policemen in Pakistan’s Swat valley MINGORA, Pakistan, Aug 2 (Reuters) - A bomb blast killed at least 8 Pakistani policemen and injured several others on Saturday, part of a resurgence of violence in the northwestern Swat Valley since the collapse of a peace deal with pro-Taliban militants, police said. The policemen were heading towards Kabal, a militant stronghold, when their vehicle hit the bomb. Three to four policemen were wounded. Ali Rehmat Khan, the local police chief, said 15 policemen were travelling in the vehicle. “We were returning from holiday and going to Kabal when the bomb exploded under our vehicle,” Inspector Mohammad Wisaal, one of the wounded men, told Reuters in a hospital in Swat's main town, Mingora. (Posted Posted @ 18:10 PST Updated @ 20:20 PST) Pakistan says no information on CBS's Zawahiri report: Taliban deny ISLAMABAD, Aug 2 (AFP): Pakistan's military said Saturday it had no information on a US media report that Al-Qaeda's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri may have been wounded or killed in a missile strike. US television channel CBS said it had obtained an intercepted letter from Baitullah Mehsud urgently requesting a doctor to treat Zawahiri following the attack in the South Waziristan tribal area last week. “There is no evidence or information in this regard. We have no reliable information,” chief Pakistani military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP. A senior military official based in northwestern Pakistan said he was checking the CBS report that Zawahiri was also hit during the missile strike. “We have seen the media report that al-Zawahiri was killed or wounded in the July 28 strike. We are investigating the authenticity of the report,” the official said requesting anonymity. The official said authorities were also trying to obtain Mehsud’s letter. An intelligence official based in South Waziristan said they had heard rumours about Zawahiri being targeted a few days ago “and we checked it but we have not been able to confirm it.” . CBS said the letter from Mehsud dated July 29 carried his seal and signature, refers to Zawahiri by name and says the Egyptian is in “severe pain” and his “injuries are infected.” A Pakistani Taliban spokesman denied the report. “Zawahri has been killed by them several times. But once again this claim is wrong. This is baseless,” Maulvi Omar told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location. (First Posted @ 14:00 PST, Updated @ 17:45 PST) 16 people die, over 50 injured in rain-related incidents in Pakistan’s Punjab MULTAN, Pakistan, August 2 (PPI): At least 16 persons died and 56 were injured during a heavy downpour in Multan and other parts of southern Punjab province. Nine persons were electrocuted while another four were buried alive under the debris of their dwelling in Sahiwal. Hospital authorities said Saturday as many as 16 dead bodies and more than 50 critically injured people were brought to hospitals. (Posted @ 16:15 PST) Mild intensity earthquake in Swat PESHAWAR, Aug 2 (PPI): An earthquake of mild intensity was felt in Swat at 0107 PST on Saturday. According to the Seismological Centre in Peshawar, the earthquake’s intensity was 4.7 on the Richter scale. Its epicenter lay about 300 kilometers north of Peshawar in the Hindu Kush range. (Posted @ 16:40 PST) Army called out in occupied Kashmir religious protests JAMMU, occupied Kashmir, Aug 2 (AFP): Indian soldiers were patrolling the streets in two districts of Indian-occupied Kashmir Saturday after protesters clashed with police in a row over transfer of land in the Muslim region to Hindus. The army was deployed after more than two dozen people were injured as angry demonstrators attacked government buildings and torched a police post late Friday in Jammu. Protesters and the local media said two people were killed in police firing. “The army conducted a flag march in sensitive areas of Jammu city and Samba town and made announcements from public address system asking people to stay indoors,” a defence spokesman said. (Posted @ 11:40 PST) Kashmiris' will must for solution: Washington peace conference Washington, Aug 2 (APP): The 9th International Kashmir Peace Conference at Washington has emphasised that a sustainable and just solution of the Kashmir dispute can be achieved only through ascertaining the will of the Kashmiri people, KMS reported. The declaration adopted at the conclusion of the two-day conference jointly organized by the Kashmir Centre Washington and the Association of Humanitarian Lawyers said that in the context of the Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's pledge for zero tolerance against human rights abuses in occupied Kashmir, an independent and credible commission should be set up to probe into the rights abuses including the issue of mass graves recently discovered in occupied Kashmir. It also called for accelerating the pace of Indo-Pakistan dialogue process, and stressed that Kashmiris be made an integral part of the process. It called for release of all political prisoners, and repeal of all draconian laws. Prominent among those who addressed the conference were Yusuf Buch, Ahsan Iqbal,. Farzana Raja, Justice Sachar, Hamida Bano Ved Bhasin, Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, Aneesa Zeb Tahirkheli, Major General (r) Jamshed Ayaz Khan, Taqdis Geelani, Bharat Bhushan, Rajinder Sachar, Jatinder Bakhshi, Zahid Muhammad, Professor Angana Chatterji, Rodney Jones and Professor Nazir Ahmed Shawl. (Posted @ 19:20 PST) Bride, groom among 13 civilians killed in Kandahar landmine blast KANDAHAR, Aug 2 (Reuters) A bus carrying a wedding party hit a landmine in Kandahar's Maroof district on Friday, killing thirteen civilians, including the newly married couple, and wounding six others, witnesses said. Separately, in Uruzgan province, Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces backed by air power killed more than a dozen militants Friday after being hit by a roadside bomb and an ambush, the U.S. military said. In Farah province, U.S.-led coalition forces killed “several” militants in an airstrike Friday, the U.S. military said in a statement. Also in Farah, Afghan police Friday arrested three Taliban kidnappers, the Interior Ministry said. While in the eastern Paktia province, three Taliban insurgents were killed Friday when the roadside bomb they were planting exploded, the Interior Ministry said Saturday. In Logar province, Afghan security forces killed the leader of a Taliban kidnapping gang, the Interior Ministry said, adding that Afghan police also arrested five Taliban militants in the northern province of Baghlan on Friday. (First Posted @ 13:30 PST, Updated @ 19:15 PST) Cricket-England set South Africa 281 to win third test BIRMINGHAM, England, Aug 2 (Reuters) - South Africa will chase a victory target of 281 in the third test at Edgbaston after bowling out England for 363 in their second innings on the fourth day on Saturday. (Posted @ 18:05 PST) Cricket-India 200-4 v Sri Lanka (292) in 2nd test GALLE, Sri Lanka, Aug 2 (Reuters) - India reached 200 for four at stumps, extending their first innings lead to 237, on the third day of the second test against Sri Lanka on Saturday. Brief scores: India 329 (Sehwag 201 not out, Gambhir 56, Mendis 6-117) and 200-4 (Sehwag 50, Gambhir 74) v Sri Lanka 292 (Warnapura 66, Sangakkara 68, M Jayawardene 86, H. Singh 6-102) (Posted @ 18:00 PST) Ailing poet Ahmad Faraz flying back home NEW YORK, Aug 2 (APP): Arrangements are in hand to fly back noted poet Ahmad Faraz from USA to Pakistan, his physician Dr Iftikhar Nasim said. He will be flown from Chicago to Toronto on Sunday for onward journey to Islamabad, he said, adding that Ahmad Fraz was “well enough” to travel back home. The decision was made at the request of family members. He will be accompanied by his sons – Shibli and Sarmad – and a male nurse. The poet was no longer on life-support systems, Dr Nasim said. (Posted @ 18:00 PST) Hamas police battle pro-Fatah fighters in Gaza GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip, Aug 2 (AP): Gunfire and explosions shook Gaza City on Saturday as Hamas forces battled fighters from the Fatah-allied Hilles clan, where they say suspects in a deadly bombing were hiding. Two Hamas police officers were killed and 35 people wounded. The wounded included several Hamas policemen in a critical condition. A police spokesman said 15 people were also arrested. (First Posted @ 14:30 PST, Updated @ 16:35 PST) Six separatists dead in fighting with Georgia TBILISI, Georgia, Aug 2 (AP): Six separatists were killed in a night of fighting with Georgian forces that included sniper and mortar fire, officials in Georgia's separatist republic of South Ossetia said. Georgia said it opened fire in response to South Ossetian attacks on several villages and that those attacks injured five civilians and a police officer. The fighting started Friday evening and continued through Saturday morning. (Posted @ 14:55 PST) Toll in India train fire climbs to 31 NEW DELHI, Aug 2 (AFP): The death toll from a fire which broke out on an Indian train as passengers slept has climbed to 31, a railway official said Saturday. Some 360 people were aboard the packed train which was travelling through a rural part of southern India when the pre-dawn blaze erupted Friday. “The death toll is 31,” South Central railway spokesman Shakeel Ahmed told AFP. (Posted @ 14:50 PST) Kurdish rebel clash kills five in Turkey TUNCELI, Turkey, Aug 2 (Reuters): Kurdish guerrillas killed five Turkish village guards in a clash in southeast Turkey overnight, military sources said Saturday. The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels opened fire on the state-sponsored militia as they embarked on a patrol in the mountainous province of Sirnak, along the border with Iraq, on Friday, they said. Turkish military forces backed by helicopters subsequently launched an operation in the area in search of the militants. (Posted @ 14:20 PST) US military says 10,000 detainees freed in Iraq BAGHDAD, Aug 2 (AFP): The US military said Saturday it has freed more than 10,000 people from its two detention centres in Iraq so far this year - more than the 8,900 released the during the whole of 2007. A military statement said there are currently around 21,000 detainees in the two centres - Camp Cropper near Baghdad's airport and Camp Bucca near the southern oil city of Basra. Of those now in detention, 12 are women, more than 300 are juveniles, 200 are third country nationals and about 200 are over the age of 60, the US military statement said. (Posted @ 14:10 PST) Battles kill 35 rebels, 14 soldiers in Sri Lanka COLOMBO, Aug 2 (AP): Fierce fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels across Sri Lanka's northern region killed 35 rebels and 14 soldiers, the military said Saturday. The new fighting took place throughout Friday as army troops pushed into rebel-held territory and attacked in the Vavuniya, Mannar and Welioya regions, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara. In the worst battle, 11 soldiers and nine rebels were killed in the village of Mallavi in Vavuniya, he said. Other fighting in Vavuniya killed 12 rebels and one soldier, he said. Scattered battles in Mannar and Welioya killed 14 insurgents and two soldiers, Nanayakkara said.Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan was not immediately available for comment. (First Posted @ 10:05 PST, Updated @ 13:50 PST) Three shot dead in Thai south YALA, Thailand, Aug 2 (AFP): Three people, including a militant, were shot dead in separate attacks across southern Thailand, police said Saturday. A 29-year-old teacher was killed Saturday morning in a drive-by shooting by two militants, Yala province police said. In Pattani province, a 28-year-old militant was killed after a ten-minute shoot-out at a school Friday evening between rebels and about 200 soldiers and police officers who had been searching the building. Three suspected militants were later arrested. On Friday in Narathiwat province, a 25-year-old man was shot dead by unknown gunmen, police said. (Posted @ 13:09 PST) Five Palestinians die in Egypt-Gaza border tunnel GAZA, Aug 2 (Reuters): At least five Palestinians suffocated to death and 11 were injured on Friday while digging a smuggling tunnel beneath the Egyptian-Gaza border, hospital workers said. Witnesses said the tunnel was being dug to smuggle goods from Egypt into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Many Gazans use tunnels to bypass an Israeli blockade that was tightened after Hamas seized the coastal strip last year. (Posted @ 11:15 PST) 290 Mexicans die crossing US border in 2008: lawmaker MEXICO CITY, Aug 2 (AFP): A total of 290 Mexicans have died trying to cross the border into the United States in the first half of 2008, according to a lawmaker in Mexico's Chamber of Deputies. The number compared to 520 Mexicans who died in the whole of 2007, said Edmundo Ramirez Martinez, secretary of the committee on population, border and immigration affairs. “There is an increase in deaths of Mexicans on the northern border,” he said, adding it was a trend over six years. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
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