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| August 21, 2008 | Thursday | Sha'aban 18, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (06:00 GMT)
 Suicide blasts kill 64 at Pakistan arms factory WAH, Pakistan, Aug 21 (AFP) Two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside Pakistan's main military arms factory Thursday, killing 64 people. The attackers struck almost simultaneously as a crowd of workers was streaming out of the huge factory complex in the northern town of Wah, near Islamabad. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and warned of further blasts if army operations in the tribal areas are not stopped. “Two men apparently blew themselves up outside the factory during a shift change. The bombers were on foot and they exploded themselves less than a minute apart,” local police chief Nasir Durrani told AFP. He said 64 people were confirmed dead and around 100 wounded. A fleet of around 25 ambulances was needed to ferry the wounded to hospital. “The blast took place as staff were leaving after finishing their day's duty and it was very crowded,” a rescue official told AFP. The charred body of a man, believed to be one of the bombers, lay on the road outside one of the gates, an AFP journalist saw. Dozens of troops, police and military rescue workers in orange jackets milled around the scene. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the attack and “directed the authorities to make efforts to expose the hidden hands behind the incident,” the Associated Press of Pakistan said. A spokesman for Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility. “Our bombers carried out today's attack. It is in reaction to military operations in Swat and Bajaur,” spokesman Maulvi Omar told AFP by telephone. “Similar attacks will be carried out in other cities of Pakistan including Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi,” he said. The Pakistani Ordnance Factories at Wah is a cluster of about 20 industrial units producing artillery, tank and anti-aircraft ammunition for the Pakistani armed forces. It employs around 25,000 to 30,000 workers. (First Posted @ 15:35 PST Updated @ 23:14 PST)  Pakistan parliament demands repatriation of Dr Aafia Siddiqui ISLAMABAD, Aug 21 (AFP): Pakistan's parliament Thursday demanded the immediate repatriation of Dr Aafia Siddiqui held in the United States on charges of trying to kill US officials in Afghanistan. A resolution moved by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and adopted unanimously by the lower house also demanded immediate information on the whereabouts of Dr Afia Siddiqui's three children. Siddiqui, 36, disappeared from Karachi in 2003. She then featured on a list of US suspects linked to Al-Qaeda the following year. She is said to have been held in prisons in Afghanistan and tortured brutally. The US authorities in Afghanistan showed Dr Siddiqui was arrested on July 17 in Afghanistan, extradited to New York on August 4 and indicted the next day on a charge of attempted murder. They claimed she was wounded during an alleged shootout with FBI agents and US military officers when she was questioned in Afghanistan. (First Posted @ 21:10 PST Updated @ 22:00 PST) Confront terror threats before they emerge: PM Gilani ISLAMABAD, Aug 21 (APP): Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday said Pakistan is a frontline state in the war against terrorism and it needed to confront the worst threats before they emerge. “The war on terror cannot be won on defensive. We have to take the battle to the doorsteps of the extremists,” the Prime Minister said while addressing the graduation ceremony of a women’s only course for the Crisis Response Team sponsored by the Interior Ministry and U.S. State Department. “We are not being attacked by any outside military or a known army. Our enemy lurks silently within our society. This is our own war,” he said. Gilani said there was a need to be vigilant and try to identify the enemy. “It is our cumulative duty to help them in this fight through public cooperation. We have to dig the faceless terrorist out of his hiding, disrupt his plans, and confront the worst threats before they emerge,” he said. The ceremony was also addressed by Advisor on Interior Rehman Malik and U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson. (Posted @ 16:40 PST)  Zardari’s name for president put forward without consulting PML-N: Ahsan Iqbal ISLAMABAD, Aug 21 (AFP): The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of former premier Nawaz Sharif said Asif Ali Zardari's name for president had been put forward by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmakers without their advice. “There was an understanding between the coalition partners that the presidential candidate would be decided by mutual consensus,” Ahsan Iqbal, a senior PML-N member, told AFP. “They have unilaterally floated the name of Mr. Zardari - it is their prerogative, but we have not been consulted yet,” he added. Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar said Thursday PPP’s executive committee will make a final decision on its choice of candidate at a meeting Friday in Islamabad, after PPP MPs voiced their support for Zardari at a dinner he hosted Wednesday at his Islamabad residence. (Posted @ 13:56 PST) Bush calls PM Gilani: information minister ISLAMABAD, Aug 21 (AFP): US President George W. Bush phoned Pakistani Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani Thursday, a minister said. “President Bush called Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and congratulated him over the smooth transition of power,” information minister Sherry Rehman told reporters in parliament. The two leaders discussed the situation after the resignation of the president, she said. “Bush assured him that US support will continue for Pakistan, its government and democratic forces,” she said. Rehman said that the schedule for electing a new president would be announced in the next two days. (Posted @ 19:44 PST) Sharif threatens to quit Pakistan coalition – Wall Street Journal SINGAPORE, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has threatened to pull his party (PML-N) out of Pakistan's ruling coalition it it does not decide by Friday to reinstate judges purged by former president Pervez Musharraf, the Wall Street Journal reported. Sharif told the newspaper that the sacking of the judges last year had shaken the foundations of the country and it was necessary to restore them to their jobs. “We will not try to bring the government down,” Sharif said in remarks published on Thursday. “But of course we then have no choice but to sit in the opposition.” The PPP led by Bhutto's widower Asif Ali Zardari, has wavered over restoring the judges. Leaders of two small parties (ANP and JUI-F) in the four-party alliance have played down the dispute but said they had been given three days to resolve the problem between the big parties. Sharif said Zardari had earlier assured him that the judges would be reinstated within 24 hours of Musharraf's impeachment. “We supported him on impeachment. It's now his turn to support us on the reinstatement of judges.” Sharif said he bore no grudges toward the former military ruler but he must be held accountable for his actions. “I'm not a man who believes in revenge. Although he mistreated me, I don't have any score to settle with him. But somebody who dismisses the parliament, subverts the constitution, arrests the judges must tell the people why he did that. He must answer these questions under whatever forum the law provides.” he said. (Posted @ 11:00 PST) Olympic hockey: Pakistan lose to NZ 2-4 and finish 8th Beijing, Aug 21 (Reuters): In their worst ever Olympics, Pakistan finished in eight position when they lost to New Zealand by two goals to four in men’s field hockey tournament on Thursday. (Posted @ 10:55 PST) Trans-Kashmir bus service resumes amid fresh protests SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Aug 21 (AFP): A trans-Kashmir bus service resumed Thursday after it was suspended in the wake of massive demonstrations in Indian occupied Kashmir, officials said. “The bus service has started again,” police officer Pervez Ahmed said, adding that 60 people had departed for Azad Kashmir. Most of those travelers were residents of Azad Kashmir, eager to go home after witnessing weeks of protests, Ahmed said. Anti-India protests hit the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley last week, forcing authorities to halt the route. The demonstrations were triggered by police firing on Muslim protesters, which left at least 22 people dead. (Posted @ 23:28 PST) Indian Maoists attack police, eight dead PATNA, Aug 21 (Reuters): At least eight people, including six policemen, were killed in a gunbattle with Maoist rebels in the eastern Indian state of Bihar on Thursday, police said. A rebel and a civilian were also among those killed when the guerrillas riding motorcycles fired on a police van in the Raniganj area, a Maoist stronghold. The rebels also made off with some police weapons. An officer told Reuters the security team walked into a Maoist trap after it was informed that criminals were looting a nearby bank. “But when the police rushed to the spot, they were attacked,” said S.K. Bhardwaj, a chief of anti-Maoist operations. Bihar is among a dozen Indian states fighting a four-decade Maoist insurgency. (Posted @ 23:08 PST) India's inflation hits new 13-year peak NEW DELHI, Aug 21 (AFP): India's inflation has accelerated to a 13-year peak, official data showed Thursday, fuelling expectations of more monetary tightening. Annual inflation jumped to 12.63 percent for the week ended August 9, from 12.44 percent for the previous week, according to the Wholesale Price Index, India's most-watched cost-of-living monitor. The inflation rise announced late Thursday was in line with analysts' forecasts, but far above the central bank's end-of-year target of seven percent. (Posted @ 22:52 PST) Some Hindus to stop paying tax over Kashmir land row JAMMU, occupied Kashmir, Aug 21, (Reuters): Hindu leaders locked in a violent land row with Muslims in Indian Kashmir asked people on Thursday to stop paying government taxes, seeking to expand their street protests into a mass civil disobedience movement. “We will not be paying VAT (value added tax), electric and water bills and passenger tax,” said Leela Karan Sharma, a Hindu leader in Jammu. On Thursday, hundreds of Hindus in Jammu chanting anti-government slogans came out on the streets and burned effigies of ruling politicians, blaming them for failing to resolve the crisis. (Posted @ 22:28 PST) 70 skulls found at hotel near India-Nepal border KOLKATA, Aug 21 (AP): At least 70 human skulls were found inside two bags at a roadside hotel in a remote area near the India-Nepal border on Thursday, police said. Local police official Kundan Lal Tamta said the hotel owner claimed a man from Nepal left the bags with her earlier in the week and said he would return for them. The man did not return and, acting on a tip, police found the bags and discovered the skulls Thursday. “These skulls and skeletons appeared to be old and are being sent for forensic examination,” said Tamta. (Posted @ 22:12 PST) Oil price jumps back above 120 dollars per barrel LONDON, Aug 21 (AFP): Oil prices jumped back above 120 dollars on Thursday as traders tracked geopolitical tensions between the United States and Russia, a weak dollar and a large drop in US motor fuel reserves. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, hit a two-week high of 120.89 dollars per barrel. (First Posted @ 18:04 PST Updated @ 21:06 PST) Russia to keep 500 troops in Georgia buffer zone SOCHI, Russia, Aug 21 (Reuters): Russia intends to keep 500 troops in a security zone surrounding Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday. “Tomorrow, 8 checkpoints will be established in the security zone in which 500 peacekeepers will be deployed, no more than that,” Lavrov told reporters. “Other peacekeepers will be moved to South Ossetia, while other troops will be moved to Russia.” Lavrov did not specify how many troops Russia planned to keep in South Ossetia. (Posted @ 21:02 PST) Prehistoric Swiss Alps objects date back to 4,500 BC: experts GENEVA, Aug 21 (AFP): Prehistoric clothing and weapons found in the Swiss Alps date back to as far as 4,500 B.C, making them the oldest such finds in that region, experts said Thursday. The objects are therefore 1,000 years older than Oetzi the Iceman -- a 5,100 year-old frozen body found high above the mountains in 1991, the University of Bern said during a conference of archaeologists and climatologists. (Posted @ 20:28 PST) Two quakes hit China-Myanmar border in quick succession: USGS BEIJING, Aug 21 (AFP): Two earthquakes shook the border between China and Myanmar on Thursday in quick succession, the US Geological Survey said, a day after a tremor hit the same area. The quakes, measuring 5.0 and 5.9, struck less than four minutes apart more than 200 kilometres from the city of Dali, a popular tourist spot in southwest China. They happened 61 and 36 kilometres respectively from Myitkyina in northern Myanmar early Thursday evening, a statement on the USGS website said. The epicentre of the quakes, which both hit at a depth of 10 kilometres, were less than 30 kilometres away from a 5.3-magnitude tremor in the area on Wednesday morning. (Posted @ 20:04 PST) Russia ready to sell Syria new weapons: reports MOSCOW, Aug 21 (AFP): Russia is ready to sell Syria new weapons that will not alter the balance of power in the Middle East, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday, quoted by news agencies. “We are ready to deliver weapons of a defensive character that do not violate the strategic balance of power in the region,” Lavrov said, quoted by ITAR-TASS and RIA Novosti news agencies. Lavrov was briefing journalists after a meeting between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi. (Posted @ 19:22 PST) Iran truck accident kills 30 Afghans TEHRAN, Aug 21 (AFP): At least 30 Afghans were killed and 83 injured when a truck overturned in southern Iran on Thursday, the official news agency IRNA reported. Local medical official Mohammad Ali Ghanaat Pisheh told the news agency that the casualties were among a total of 125 Afghan illegal immigrants travelling in the 10-wheeler. The cause of the early morning accident in the village of Khiareh in Fars province was still under investigation, he added. (Posted @ 18:14 PST) Nuclear Suppliers Group discusses India-US nuclear deal VIENNA, Aug 21 (AFP) The Nuclear Suppliers Group, which controls the export and sale of nuclear technology worldwide, debated Thursday whether to amend its rules and allow India to share US knowhow. Gathering at Japan's permanent mission to the IAEA, the 45-member NSG began a special two-day plenary to discuss a US proposal to grant India an exemption and allow it access to US nuclear materials and technology. Under NSG rules, all nuclear trade with India is banned because it refuses to sign the NPT. No delegates to the NSG were willing to make any comment to reporters upon entering Thursday's meeting. Vienna-based diplomats said the NSG was not expected to make a final decision this week, and that another meeting in early September could be necessary to reach consensus. Two Democratic lawmakers, writing Wednesday in the New York Times, said the deal between New Delhi and Washington threatens to accelerate India's arms race with Pakistan. “This deal was foolish when Pakistan was relatively stable; with Mr. Musharraf gone, an arms race on the subcontinent would likely be more difficult to control,” warned Edward Markey and Ellen Tauscher. (Posted @ 18:00 PST) Rice presses Iraqis on security deal BAGHDAD, Aug 21 (AP) U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pressed Iraqi leaders Thursday to agree quickly to a U.S.-Iraq security deal that outlines the withdrawal of American troops. Flying into Baghdad on an unannounced trip, Rice said the two sides were nearing an agreement after months of painstaking negotiations but stressed there were still unresolved issues, including when U.S. soldiers will leave and what their operations will consist of until then. “The negotiators have taken this very, very far,” she told reporters aboard her plane. “But there is no reason to believe that there is an agreement yet.” “There are still issues concerning exactly how our forces operate,” Rice said, adding that “the agreement rests on aspirational timelines.” Rice said it was “very premature” to conclude the agreement had been finalized. The United States had hoped to seal the deal, which will replace the U.N. mandate for international forces in Iraq that expires December 31, by the end of last month. (First Posted@13:40 PST Updated @ 17:52 PST) British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in Afghanistan KABUL, Aug 21 (AP) British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told his country's troops Thursday that by fighting Taliban militants in southern Afghanistan they are preventing terror attacks back home. Brown also said the current plans to increase the Afghan army's strength to 120,000 by 2013 from its current number of 60,000 would not meet Afghanistans needs. “I believe that in time the figure for the Afghan army, given the size of this country, needs to be higher than the 120,000,” Brown said during a joint news conference with President Hamid Karzai in Kabul. Brown also called on Afghanistan and Pakistan to cooperate more, “particularly in dealing with the insurgents who are coming across the border from Pakistan into Afghanistan.” “I accept that Pakistan and the problem of terrorism there, and coming from there, is something that's got to be raised with Pakistan's government and I will continue to do so,” Brown said. Brown is stopping in Afghanistan on his way to the Olympics in Beijing. Britain has some 8,500 troops serving in the NATO-led force in Afghanistan, most of them in Helmand province. (First Posted @ 14:08 PST Updated @ 17:45 PST) US general in Georgia for talks on military aid TBILISI, Aug 21 (AFP): The top US military commander in Europe, General John Craddock, arrived in Tbilisi on Thursday for talks on rebuilding Georgia's armed forces that were routed by Russia two weeks ago. “I'm sure we are going to talk about their military,” Craddock, who is also NATO's supreme allied commander in Europe, told reporters after arriving in Tbilisi from Brussels. “We will have to help them rebuild because they are a partner in the war on terror. They are going to ask us, I'm sure, to replace and rebuild. I think that is probably what will happen.” Craddock was to meet President Mikheil Saakashvili and Georgian military leaders during his two-day visit to Tbilisi. (Posted @ 17:36 PST) 11 die in Sri Lanka violence COLOMBO, Aug 21 (AFP): Fighting in Sri Lanka left at least 11 people dead, including eight Tamil Tiger rebels, the defence ministry said Thursday. One soldier died in clashes with rebels Wednesday in northern Sri Lanka, the ministry said. The ministry also accused the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of gunning down two civilians gathering firewood in the northeastern district of Trincomalee Wednesday. The LTTE did not comment on the military claims. (First Posted @ 13:34 PST, Updated @ 17:30 PST) More than 50 killed in Darfur tribal clashes KHARTOUM, Aug 21 (Reuters): More than 50 Arab tribesmen were killed on Wednesday in armed clashes over water and grazing land in the Abu Jabra region of South Darfur, a senior member of one of the groups said on Thursday.Senior members of the two tribes, which have historically had strong relations, are due to meet in Khartoum on Thursday to try to reach a settlement, said Nimir. (Posted @ 15:50 PST) Pakistan fires across Line of Control: India SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Aug 21 (AFP): Pakistani troops Thursday fired mortars at Indian army positions across the Line of Control (LoC) dividing Kashmir between the two nations, the Indian army said. Pakistani troops launched five mortar shells towards Indian forward posts in the southern Nowshera sector, army spokesman S.D. Goswami told AFP. “The Indian army did not retaliate,” he said, adding there were no casualties or damage. (First Posted @ 13:46 PST, Updated @ 14:45 PST) Two vessels seized by pirates off Somalia KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 (Reuters): Two vessels, an Iranian bulk carrier and a Japanese-operated tanker, were seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia Thursday, the International Maritime Bureau said. “Both ships were attacked and hijacked this morning,” said Noel Chong, head of the International Maritime Bureau piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur. The Japanese tanker had 19 crew on board, but no Japanese nationals, Chong said. (Posted @ 14:15 PST) Civilians said killed in U.S.-led air raid that killed over 30 ‘insurgents’ KABUL, Aug 21 (Reuters): More than a dozen civilians were killed in an air strike by U.S.-led troops in eastern Afghanistan's Laghman province, two provincial officials said Thursday. However, the U.S. military said Wednesday's operation killed more than 30 insurgents. A military spokesman said he had no knowledge of non-combatant deaths. The Taliban could not be reached immediately for comment on the incident. (First Posted @ 11:15 PST, Updated @ 14:10 PST) Russian army pulls back from key Georgia town MOSCOW, Aug 21 (Reuters) Russian army units have begun a pullback from the key Georgian town of Gori Thursday morning, the Interfax news agency quoted the Russian Defence Ministry as saying. “Units of the follow-up forces, which were earlier brought into the conflict zone, are being pulled back now,” Interfax quoted a ministry spokesman as saying. (First Posted @ 10:20 PST Updated @ 13:44 PST) 15 people killed in Mexico violence CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico, Aug 21 (AFP): Fifteen people were killed Wednesday in northern Chihuahua state, including four men found dead in an empty lot in Ciudad Juarez, police said, adding that four suspected hitmen were killed in a shootout with police also in Ciudad Juarez. (Posted @ 13:10 PST) Russia freezes military cooperation with NATO: Norway OSLO, Aug 21 (AFP): Russia has decided to freeze its military cooperation with NATO and allied countries until further notice, the Norwegian defence ministry said Wednesday. “Norway has received information that Russia has decided to 'freeze' all military cooperation with NATO and allied countries until further notice,” the ministry said in a statement. A ministry spokeswoman, Heidi Langvik-Hansen, told AFP “the Russian defence ministry has telephoned the Norwegian embassy in Moscowinforming Norway of the development. Russia and Norway were due to hold a meeting Thursday on the freezing of military cooperation, Langvik-Hansen said. (Posted @ 13:05 PST) Philippines cancels peace deal with militant group MANILA, Aug 21 (Reuters): The Philippines announced Thursday it had cancelled a peace deal with the country's biggest militant group after fighting broke out this week. “The cancellation of the memorandum of agreement is a painful step in our collective effort to come to an agreement with the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front),” Lorelei Fajardo, a spokeswoman for President Gloria Arroyo’s government, told reporters. The peace deal has been halted by the Supreme Court pending hearing an appeal by Christian groups that it was unconstitutional. The MILF rejected any possibility of re-negotiating the deal. “We will not re-negotiate, it's already finished,” Mohaqher Iqbal, the group's chief negotiator, told reporters. (First Posted @ 10:25 PST, Updated @ 13:00 PST) Blast kills three NATO soldiers in Afghanistan KABUL, Aug 21 (Reuters): Three soldiers from the NATO-led force were killed in a roadside bomb blast in eastern Afghanistan, the alliance said Thursday. The soldiers were in a vehicle when the improvised explosive device went off Wednesday, the alliance said. (Posted @ 12:50 PST) Thirteen injured in explosion in Turkey ANKARA, Aug 21 (AFP): Thirteen people, including policemen and soldiers, were injured Thursday in an explosion in the western Turkish city of Izmir, the NTV news channel said. The explosion ripped through a car on a road near a police residential complex where minibuses transporting police and soldiers were plying at the time, it said. Seven police officers, three soldiers and three civilians were injured in the blast. The cause of the blast was not immediately clear. (Posted @ 12:45 PST) Iran truck accident kills 30 Afghans TEHRAN, Aug 21 (AFP): At least 30 Afghans were killed and 83 injured when a truck overturned in southern Irans Fars province’s Khiareh village Thursday, the IRNA news agency reported. Local medical official Mohammad Ali Ghanaat Pisheh told IRNA the casualties were among a total of 125 illegal Afghan immigrants travelling in the 10-wheeler. (Posted @ 12:40 PST) 153 killed in Madrid airline crash MADRID, Aug 21 (AFP) - Investigators Thursday sought to determine what caused a Spanish tourist jet to break up in flames as it took off from Madrid's airport, killing 153 people in the country's worst air disaster in decades. One engine of the Spanair MD-82 caught fire during the attempted takeoff. The unstable aircraft then veered off the right of the runway, before breaking up, with fire spreading rapidly through the fuselage. Transport Minister Magdalena Alvarez said 153 people were killed and 19 injured, two of whom remain unidentified.There were 162 passengers on board along with 10 crew members, four of whom were traveling as passengers. Twenty two children were among the passengers, two of them infants. (Posted @ 10:45 PST) Polish-US missile deal pushes Europe into arms race: Russia MOSCOW, Aug 21 (AFP) - A missile defence deal signed by Poland and the United States will help fuel a new arms race on the European continent and beyond, Russia's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.“Such actions create mistrust and spur an arms race on the continent and beyond its borders,” the ministry said in a statement, referring to a missile defence agreement signed by Washington and Warsaw on Wednesday. “It's clear to us, and the American leadership doesn't deny it, that the so-called missile shield in Europe will be widened and modernised. In that case Russia will be compelled to react -- and not only by diplomatic protests,” the statement said. (Posted @ 10:25 PST) Karachi Stocks down 289.33 points: KARACHI, Aug 21: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 10236.66, down 289.33 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:15 PST) Forex update KARACHI, Aug 21: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 76.5 to the US Dollar in tn market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:15 PST)
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