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| August 22, 2008 | Friday | Sha'aban 19, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistan PM seeks parliament, press support to tackle extremism, terrorism Islamabad, Aug 22 (PPI): Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani Friday said parliament is “supreme” and should take decisions on how to tackle extremism, terrorism and devise a policy for future after thorough deliberations. Media also needs to play role in this regard, he told newsmen. About his telephonic talk with President George W Bush on Thursday, he said it was due to his efforts that Pakistan got F-16s fighter aircraft. Answering another question Gilani said “unpopular decisions need to be taken to strengthen economy. We want to provide subsidy to sectors related to employment, food commodities while increasing support prices.” (Posted @ 21:56 PST)
Bhutto's party nominates Zardari for Pakistan presidency ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (AFP) - Lawmakers from the party of slain former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto on Friday unanimously nominated her widower, Asif Ali Zardari, to run for president, information minister Sherry Rehman told reporters in Islamabad. “Zardari thanked Pakistan People's Party of which he is the co-chairman and said he will announce his decision within the next 24 hours,” Sherry Rehman said. She said party members unanimously nominated Zardari as their presidential candidate during a meeting of the grouping's central executive committee. “Zardari thanked party members for their gesture and promised to look into their request,” she added. “Presidency is the right of our party and that is why party lawmakers asked Zardari to run for this post,” Rehman said. (First Posted @ 21:05 PST Updated @ 21:46 PST)
Coalition air strikes kill 76 Afghan civilians: government KABUL, Aug 22 (AFP) - An operation by international forces in western Afghanistan Friday killed 76 civilians, most of them women and children, the Afghan interior ministry said, announcing it had opened an investigation into the incident. (Posted @ 21:36 PST)
Asif Zardari proposed for Pakistan president ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug 22 (AP) – The leaders of Pakistan's main ruling party, Pakistan Peoples Party, have proposed Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, to become the country's next president. The decision was taken at the party’s central executive committee meeting on Friday, PPP spokeswoman Sherry Rehman said. The party leadership was unanimous in backing Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of PPP, to replace Pervez Musharraf, who resigned on Monday to avoid the threat of impeachment, she added. The Election commission announced Friday that federal and provincial lawmakers will elect Musharraf's successor on Sept. 6. (Posted @ 21:05 PST)
Somali rebels take Kismayu, death toll hits 70 KISMAYU, Somalia, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Islamist rebels seized control of the southern port of Kismayu in Somalia on Friday after the worst fighting there for months killed 70 people, residents said. “Kismayu is under our control. We overpowered them and concluded the fighting,” Sheikh Mukhtar Robow, a spokesman for the Islamists, told Reuters by telephone. Local rights activists and residents said 70 people died in fighting that started on Wednesday. Scores were wounded. (Posted @ 21:00 PST)
NATO’s artillery fire into Pakistan KABUL, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Soldiers from the NATO-led ISAF fired artillery rounds into Pakistan from the eastern province of Paktika on Friday in a coordinated attack with the Pakistani military, the ISAF said. ISAF could not confirm how many insurgents were killed but said there were no civilian casualties. Meanwhile, a bomb killed a soldier from the U.S.-led force in eastern Afghanistan on Friday, the U.S. military said in a statement. (Posted @ 20:30 PST)
ICRC says 200,000 have fled violence in Pakistan GENEVA, Aug 22 (Reuters) - More than 200,000 people have fled fighting in northwestern Pakistan this month and are in urgent need of relief assistance, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Friday. The humanitarian agency said it had launched an initial aid operation to help 64,000 of the 200,000 people forced to flee Bajaur where Pakistan has launched military operations against militants. The figure includes 50,000 people who have left for relatively safer areas of Pakistan in the North West Frontier Province, including Peshawar, as well as 14,000 who have crossed into eastern Afghanistan, the ICRC said in a statement. “...these displaced people are in urgent need of basic necessities such as food, clean water and shelter,” said Pascal Cuttat, head of ICRC's delegation in Pakistan. “Lack of medical care is a problem for sick people, particularly children.” Along with the Pakistan Red Crescent Society, the ICRC has delivered medical supplies to hospitals receiving the bulk of the injured, according to the Geneva-based agency. Blankets, clothing, tarpaulins, soap and other supplies were being distributed to the displaced, and food was on its way. Host families who have taken in the displaced were already poor and their food resources are dwindling further, it said. The ICRC was planning to deliver emergency food and non-food aid on Saturday to 14,000 people from Bajaur who have fled into Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan. The ICRC called on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and allow the delivery of emergency relief and medical supplies. (Posted @ 19:42 PST)
Thirty dead in southern Philippine clash COTABATO, Philippines, Aug 22 (AFP) - Clashes left 30 rebels dead in the southern Philippines overnight, just hours after the government scrapped a controversial peace deal with the Muslim guerrillas, the military said Friday. The rebels were slain in villages bordering the Liguasan marshes around Maguindanao, a military spokesman said. “All were killed in two days of simultaneous air and ground assaults,” he said adding that the number of soldiers wounded had risen to 12. The MILF attacks came after President Gloria Arroyo scrapped the deal Thursday after Christians and politicians in Mindanao island objected to what they saw as an unconstitutional move to create an independent Muslim state. (First Posted @ 10:05 PST Updated @ 19:40 PST)
McCain letters not dangerous WASHINGTON, Aug 22 (AFP) -A threatening letter sent to Republican White House hopeful John McCain's headquarters near Denver, Colorado contained a phony powder substance that posed no danger, US media said Friday. The letter, which briefly sparked panic among staffers who were evacuated and placed under quarantine, was mailed by a prisoner at a nearby jail, officials told the Denver Post. (First Posted @ 09:00 PST Updated @ 19:22 PST)
Pakistani troops kill 16 militants PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Aug 22 (AFP) -Pakistani troops Friday killed 16 militants, including two suicide attackers, in clashes at a check-post near the restive northwestern town of Hangu near the Afghan border, the army said in a statement. Sixteen miscreants” were killed in a gun-battle that broke out after they refused to leave a vehicle at the check-post. “One individual got down from the vehicle and started moving towards the check-post. He was cautioned to stop and on refusal was engaged with fire. Resultantly, he exploded,” the statement said. “The vehicle was engaged with fire by the security forces due to which the vehicle also exploded,” likely from the detonation of another suicide bomber's device, the statement said. One militant was captured alive and the two suicide bombers both appeared to be foreign militants, the statement said, without giving their nationalities. Local police officer Sher Bahadur, who gave a death toll of 15, told AFP that the militants “hurled grenades and opened fire at the soldiers” after the vehicle was stopped at a check-post. (First Posted @ 16:10 PST Updated @ 19:16 PST)
Typhoon Nuri shuts down Hong Kong, flights cancelled HONG KONG, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Typhoon Nuri churned through Hong Kong on Friday, shutting down most of the financial hub with gale-force winds and disrupting hundreds of flights. The tropical cyclone signal was upgraded to a relatively rare No. 9, one short of a direct hit, as Nuri closed in on the city after wreaking a path of destruction in the northern Philippines. (Posted @ 18:54 PST)
Cricket-South Africa withdraw from Champions Trophy in Pakistan LONDON, Aug 22 (Reuters) - South Africa withdrew on Friday from next month's Champions Trophy in Pakistan because of safety and security concerns. “After extensive discussions and frank exchange of views, the board resolved not to send our team at this time to Pakistan to participate in the ICC Champions Trophy,” Cricket South Africa president Norman Arendse said in a statement. (Posted @ 18:15 PST)
No retreat on Kashmir stance,FM Qureshi tells NA ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (APP):Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mehmood Qureshi Friday said Pakistan has maintained its historic stance for resolution of the Kashmir dispute in compliance with the UN resolution. Replying to a question, he told the National Assembly that during the Musharraf regime too the Ministry of Foreign Affairs never inched back from the stance. Regarding the Indo-US nuclear deal, the Minister said if it is signed Pakistan has also the right to exploit all means to meet energy demand. (Posted @ 18:05 PST)
US Commander holds talks with Gen Tariq Majid RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Aug 22 (APP): Admiral Eric T. Olson, Commander, Special Operations Command, USA, called on Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), General Tariq Majid on Friday and held wide ranging discussions on matters of mutual interest and bilateral cooperation. Gen Majid while discussing regional security issues emphasized on the need to evolve a regional approach and coordinated holistic strategy suiting the local dynamics to deal violent extremism and militancy in the troubled border regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. He also stressed that due to contiguity of the troubled areas, ethnic and social linkages events on either side of the border have a spillage effect on the other side and the coalition partners need to synchronize their efforts to achieve the ultimate objective of peace and stability in the region. Admiral Olson appreciated the efforts by Pakistan to fight terrorism and expressed satisfaction over ongoing military to military cooperation especially in the field of training and discussed way forward to further enhance these ties. (Posted @ 18:00 PST)
Sindh assembly’s unanimous support to Zardari Karachi, Aug 22 (PPI): Sindh Information Minister Ms Shazia Marri Friday said Article 58-2B of the Constitution would be annulled before the election of the President or soon thereafter. Earlier, the Sindh Assembly passed a resolution to show its unanimous support to Mr Asif Ali Zardari as the new president of the country. “New President of the country should be from Sindh instead of other provinces and PPP Co-Chairman is most suitable for this office”, she told newsmen after the assembly had passed the resolution. (Posted @ 17:50 PST)
Five civilians, 25 rebels killed in Afghanistan KABUL, Aug 22 (AFP) - Five civilians and 25 militants were killed early Friday when Afghan and international soldiers fought with Taliban close to the western district of Shindand on the border of Herat and Farah provinces, also calling aircraft to strike the area, the Afghan army said. The US military said 30 insurgents were killed. Among the 25 dead rebels were two “famous” Taliban commanders, Afghan defence ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi told AFP. (Posted @ 17:40 PST)
Thousands mass for Kashmir separatist rally SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Aug 22(AFP)- Tens of thousands of people massed in occupied Kashmir's main city Srinagar on Friday to protest against India's rule, in the second major demonstration here this week. Protesters began marching from early morning toward the site of the rally, the “Martyrs' Cemetery” where many of those killed in the nearly two-decade-old revolt against New Delhi's rule are buried. “The rally is to show to the world that we are against India's occupation of Kashmir,” said separatist leader Shabbir Shah, who has spent more than 20 years in Indian jails. The demonstrators, carrying black and green flags shouted “azadi” or freedom. It was the second show of strength by separatists this week. On Monday, tens of thousands of Muslims took to the streets of Srinagar to demand that the United Nations recognise the Himalayan region's right to self-determination. Security was tight for Friday's rally, which closed down shops, businesses and schools in Srinagar. People from other towns and villages arrived in cars, jeeps, buses and trucks with those on board chanting, “We want freedom.” (Posted @ 17:30 PST)
Russian says troops withdrawing TBILISI, Aug 22 (AFP) -Russian forces said they had started withdrawing from Georgia on Friday, but insisted they will keep hundreds of troops inside a buffer zone in the neighbouring republic. “They are going, but extremely slowly,” Vova Djugali, police chief at the nearby ethnic Georgian village of Igoeti, told AFP.“I don't think it (the withdrawal) will be today. I think it will be tomorrow around midday and then I can send in my police forces.”In the west of the country, troops left a barracks in Poti, a key oil port, an AFP correspondent saw. However they were dug in at a checkpoint between the towns of Senaki and Zugdidi and also between Poti and Senaki. (Posted @ 17:20 PST)
Pakistan's Nawaz Sharif sets new deadline for judges restoration ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (AFP) - Former Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif and chief of Pakistan Muslim League-N set a Wednesday deadline for the restoration of judges sacked by former president Pervez Musharraf, an issue that threatens to split the ruling coalition. Sharif, whose party is the second biggest in the coalition after that of slain ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto, had earlier threatened to pull out of the alliance if the judges were not reinstated by Friday. “Wednesday should be the day for reinstatement of judges,” Sharif told a news conference after meeting the leaders of two smaller parties in the coalition, the ANP and the JUI-F, who had been trying to mediate on the dispute. Sharif said that representatives of his and Bhutto's party would draft a resolution on restoring the judges over the weekend and then introduce it in parliament on Monday, with a vote on Wednesday. “We do not want to quit the coalition and wish to go along with our coalition partners,” Sharif said. But there was no immediate comment from Bhutto's party, which is now led by her widower, Asif Ali Zardari. A resolution would require its support, but it has shown no sign yet of keeping its earlier pledge to restore the judges. The fate of the 60 judges, including chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, who were deposed by Musharraf under emergency rule in November, has become a political sticking point with crucial repercussions for the coalition. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Pakistani airstrikes kill five militants in Bajaur Peshawar, Pakistan, Aug 22 (AFP) - In Pakistan’s tribal region of Bajaur, bordering Afghanistan, military helicopter gunships killed five militants, officials said. A major military offensive in Bajaur in the last two weeks has left more than 500 people dead, most of them militants, officials say. Three died when gunships destroyed their vehicles as they were driving outside the region's main town of Khar on Friday, a senior security official said on condition of anonymity. Two more militants were killed when gunships targeted a compound in Salarzai village, the official added. In another strike near the same village 11 suspected militants were injured. Separately, Taliban militants fired rockets overnight at a police station in Bada Bahr, near the northwestern city of Pehsawar, killing one policeman and wounding two others, police said. (Posted @ 16:10 PST)
15 militants killed in northwest Pakistan PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Aug 22 (AFP) - Pakistani troops killed 20 Taliban militants Friday in operations near the Afghan border, a day after a double suicide bombing killed 64 people in Wah, the site of a major arms factory, officials said. Police said fifteen militants, including several would-be suicide bombers, were killed in return fire when they attacked an army checkpost near the town of Hangu on Friday. “The army stopped a vehicle carrying these militants at the checkpost, but they hurled grenades and opened fire at the soldiers,” local police officer Sher Bahadur told AFP. “In the ensuing gunbattle, 15 militants were killed and one was arrested alive.” Chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas confirmed the clash but said he did not have details of casualties. (Posted @ 16:10 PST)
MQM “not to support parliamentary resolution to restore deposed judges” ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (APP): Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Friday announced “not to support any parliamentary resolution to restore the deposed judges”. Talking to journalists at the Parliament House, Deputy Leader of the Opposition Haider Abbas Rizvi said his party believed the deposed judges could not be restored by a resolution. “There is also a verdict by a full bench of the Supreme Court that a resolution could not restore the judges,” he said. He said his party believed in a principled stance that “no PCO judge is credible”. “We believe in article 3 (a and b) of Charter of Democracy (CoD) signed by both PPP and PML-N that says both the parties would not allow any judge who took oath under Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO). It is unfortunate that both PPP and PML-N do not implement the CoD which was signed by them,” said Rizvi. He said MQM was not taken on board over the reported resolution to reinstate the judges. (Posted @ 13:40 PST)
Sri Lankan aircraft pound rebel bases for third day COLOMBO, Aug 22 (Reuters): Sri Lanka's air force assaulted Tamil Tiger rebels for a third straight day Friday, hitting a supply base in the separatist group's de facto capital and bunkers elsewhere, the military said. It said ground troops also killed 24 rebels and wounded 40. Four soldiers died and 14 were wounded in the ground battles, the military said. “We have taken two targets this morning ... MI-24s (helicopters) attacked a line of bunkers in Tunukkai in Mullaitivu and fighter jets completely destroyed a LTTE logistics facility in Kilinochchi,” air force spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara said. The rebels were not immediately available for comment. (Posted @ 13:40 PST)
Pakistan presidential election on Sept 6 ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (AFP): Pakistan will hold a presidential election on September 6, the election commission said Friday, following the resignation of Pervez Musharraf this week. “Presidential elections will be held on September 6. The nomination papers can be filed from August 26,” election commission secretary Kanwar Dilshad told a news conference. Nomination papers will be scrutinized on August 28 and the final date for any withdrawals will be August 30, Dilshad added. The new president will be elected by a simultaneous sitting of the upper and lower houses of the national parliament and the four provincial assemblies, he said. (First Posted @ 12:55 PST, Updated @ 13:35 PST)
Gas wagons explode in Uzbek city, injuring two TASHKENT, Aug 22 (AFP): A series of powerful blasts rang out in the Uzbek city of Samarkand late Thursday as eight train wagons of liquefied natural gas accidentally ignited, emergency officials said. “The incident occurred on Thursday night during the discharging of liquefied gas by a private firm that had violated fire safety regulations,” a city emergency situations official told AFP. Two people were injured and the fire was fully extinguished, the official said. (Posted @ 13:00 PST)
Pakistan to hold presidential election on Sept 6 ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (AFP): Pakistan will hold a presidential election on September 6, the election commission said Friday, following the resignation of Pervez Musharraf this week. “Presidential elections will be held on September 6. The nomination papers can be filed from August 26,” election commission secretary Kanwar Dilshad told a news conference. The president will be elected by a simultaneous sitting of the upper and lower houses of the national parliament and the four provincial assemblies, he said. (Posted @ 12:55 PST)
30 ‘militants’ killed in Afghanistans Herat province KABUL, Aug 22 (AP): Coalition troops killed 30 Taliban militants in a clash in western Afghanistans Herat province, the U.S.-led coalition said. A coalition spokesman said troops clashed with militants in the province’s Shindand district Thursday. Five other militants were detained after the clash. The coalition troops also used airstrikes. An Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman, Gen. Mohammad Zaher Azimi, confirmed the clash but said 25 militants and five civilians were killed in the clash and airstrike. (Posted @ 12:55 PST)
Police arrest suspect in Wah blasts; say bombers came from Khyber tribal area ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (AFP): Police said Friday they had arrested a would-be suicide bomber after two others blew themselves up outside Pakistan’s main army munitions factory, killing 70 people. The young man was caught while trying to flee in a taxi from the scene of Thursday's blasts outside the complex in the town of Wah, about 30 kilometres west of Islamabad, police said. Security was tight as hundreds of people gathered to attend funeral prayers for the victims. Markets and shops in the area were closed in the town to protest the attack. A senior official said police had recovered an explosives-packed suicide jacket that the suspect had left in a mosque's toilet close to the factory. “During initial interrogation, the man who identified himself as Hamidullah Khan confessed he wanted to blow himself up at the arms factory but lost heart at the last minute,” the official, who requested anonymity, told AFP. The official said the three suspects came in a taxi cab and put on the suicide vests in the mosque's toilet. “Khan stayed back and then tried to run away, when he was caught,” the official said. Punjab police chief Shaukat Javed told AFP police were working on leads but declined to give details because it could affect the ongoing investigation. “We have got important leads and have an idea about the identity of the bombers and where they came from,” Javed said. The police source said the bombers came from Khyber tribal district and were trained in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal district. (Posted @ 12:40 PST)
UNSC condemns 'in strongest terms' twin suicide attacks in Pakistan UNITED NATIONS, Aug 22 (APP): The UN Security Council has condemned “in the strongest terms” Thursday's twin suicide terrorist attacks in Pakistans Wah Cantonment, which caused some 70 deaths and 102 injuries. In a statement read by its President for the month of August, Jan Grauls of Belgium, the 15-nation Council expressed deep sympathies and condolences to the victims of the heinous act, as well as to their families and the people and Government of Pakistan. It also underlined the need to bring the perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors to justice. The Council further reaffirmed the need to combat, by all means, in accordance with the United Nations Charter, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts and reminded States that they must ensure that any measures against terrorism comply with their obligations under international law. (Posted @ 12:15 PST)
Five die, nine injured in Indus Highway road accident HYDERABAD, Pakistan, Aug 22 (APP): Five persons, including two women, lost their lives while nine other received serious injuries in a head-on collision between two trucks at Indus Highway near Barkando Stop, some 50 kilometers from Hyderabad, early Friday. (Posted @ 12:10 PST)
Car bomb blast kills two, injures 33 in Thai south NARATHIWAT, Thailand, Aug 22 (AFP): A rescue worker badly burned in a car bomb blast in southern Thailand died early Friday, police said. The explosion late Thursday in Sungai Kolok killed a Thai newspaper journalist and also left 33 people injured, four seriously. The rescue worker had dashed to the scene of a smaller blast that went off just moments before the car bomb. The explosion caused damage over a 100-metre radius, destroying nearby vehicles. (Posted @ 10:50 PST)
Second China quake in same area kills three, injures hundreds BEIJING, Aug 22 (Reuters) A second earthquake in two days in the same county of southwest China killed at least three people, injured more than 100 and prompted the evacuation of over 120,000, the Xinhua news agency reported Friday. The quakes jolted western Yunnan province, south of mountainous Sichuan where a devastating quake on May 12 killed at least 70,000 people. Thursday's tremor, measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale, hit Yingjiang county, bringing down houses and cutting electricity supplies throughout the region, Xinhua said. At least 20 people were seriously injured. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
10 dead in southern Philippine clash COTABATO, Philippines, Aug 22 (AFP): Clashes killed 10 people in the southern Philippines overnight, the military said Friday. Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters ambushed government troops late Thursday in Guindulungan town on strife-torn Mindanao island, local military spokesman Colonel Julieto Ando said. “During the firefight, five soldiers were wounded and 10 MILF rebels killed,” he told AFP, adding that two civilians were also injured by stray bullets in the gunbattle. Local army commander Colonel Marlou Salazar said parts of the highway linking Davao and Cotabato cities were closed to traffic Friday because MILF fighters were occupying some of the bridges. “We are still clearing the highway and I am confident it will be open soon,” he said. (Posted @ 10:05 PST)
Eight troops dead in Afghanistan in 24 hours KABUL, Aug 22 (AFP): Eight international troops including three Poles and three Canadians were killed in Afghanistan over the last 24 hours, a military source said Thursday. The three Canadians were killed in a roadside blast, while doing reconnaissance Wednesday, its military said Thursday. The soldiers were combat engineers on patrol in the Zhari district of southern Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle at 10:30 a.m., said Brigadier-General Denis Thompson. Also Wednesday, three Polish troops also attached to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were killed in similar circumstances in Ghazni province. One coalition soldier under US command was killed by gunfire in western Afghanistan Wednesday, while the eighth died in the east of the country. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
Crisis-hit Pakistan coalition to meet ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (AFP): Pakistan's ruling coalition was set for a make-or-break meeting Friday on the choice of president to replace Pervez Musharraf after he stood down on Monday and on the issue of deposed judges’ reinstatement. “Coalition leaders are expected to meet Friday. The talks will focus on the judges issue,” Siddiqul Farooq, a spokesman for Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N), told AFP. Farooq said at the talks on Friday two junior coalition members, Awami National Party (ANP) leader Asfandyar Wali Khan and Jamiatul Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, “were to give their suggestion on the judges’ issue.” Ishaq Dar, a senior PML-N member, told reporters late Thursday: “They (Rehman and Wali) are mediating and we hope they will come up with a solution.” Another coalition source said the leaders will also discuss who should be the new president after Pakistan People's Party (PPP) proposed that Asif Ali Zardari be Musharraf's successor. (Posted @ 09:35 PST)
Security Council still divided on Georgia crisis UNITED NATIONS, Aug 22 (AFP): The Security Council ended fresh talks on Georgia Thursday, with members still divided on two rival draft resolutions seeking to put a UN stamp of approval on a French-brokered peace plan agreed by Moscow and Tbilisi. Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters after the closed-door meeting that he was “looking forward to support from council members for our resolution.” On Wednesday, Churkin put forward a draft that he described as a “repetition of the six principles” contained in the French-brokered deal signed by Moscow and Tbilisi to end their conflict. The Russian draft was meant to counter an earlier French draft that called for an immediate Russian troop withdrawal and reaffirmation of Georgia's territorial integrity. Diplomats said most council members did not support the Russian draft but instead wanted to find consensus on a text that would lead to a comprehensive settlement of the crisis. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Lebanese cabinet approves diplomatic ties with Syria BEIRUT, Aug 22 (AFP): Lebanon's new cabinet passed a resolution Thursday to establish diplomatic relations with Syria, Information Minister Tareq Mitri announced after the meeting. “The council of ministers has decided to establish diplomatic relations between Lebanon and the Syrian Arabic Republic, including setting up an embassy in Damascus,” Mitri said. (Posted @ 09:20 PST)
UK court rules against government in key Guantanamo case LONDON, Aug 22 (Reuters): A British court ruled Thursday the government must disclose evidence to a defendant being held at Guantanamo Bay. In its ruling, the High Court said Britain's Foreign Office must provide Binyam Mohamed, a British resident detained in Pakistan in 2002 and now held at Guantanamo, with information relating to his time in detention. His lawyers say the material supports his claim to have been “extraordinarily rendered”, tortured and forced into a confession on terrorism charges. Lord Justice Thomas and Lord Justice Lloyd Jones said the Foreign Office had a duty to “disclose in confidence” the information Mohamed was seeking in order for his lawyers to mount a proper defence of the charges against him. In a statement, the Foreign Office said it was considering the implications of the court's rulings “very carefully” and said it had only not divulged the information so far because of national security reasons. “For strong reasons of national security, to which the court accepted we were entitled to give the highest weight, we could not agree to disclose this information voluntarily,” the statement said. Lawyers for Mohamed, an Ethiopian national, say the information relates to interrogations he was subjected to by Britain's secret services while being held in Pakistan in 2002. Following those interrogations, lawyers say Mohamed was flown by the CIA to Morocco in July 2002, where he was tortured. He was held there for 18 months, they say, and quizzed about information they argue could only have come from British questioning. In January 2004 Mohamed was flown to Kabul and then transferred to Bagram air base. U.S. authorities deny that Mohamed was extraordinarily rendered or tortured and have only provided details of his detention in Afghanistan. He is being tried before a U.S. military commission on terrorism charges. (Posted @ 09:10 PST)
Massive floods as Tropical Storm Fay holds still over Florida MIAMI, Aug 22 (AFP): Tropical Storm Fay began a second slow slog across mainland Florida Thursday, as President George W. Bush declared an emergency in the waterlogged, wind-battered state. “The president today declared an emergency exists in the state of Florida and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts, due to the emergency conditions resulting from Tropical Storm Fay,” spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in a statement. Fay dumped rains of 50 to 75 centimeters in some parts of the state, and caused widespread flooding. As of 5 p.m., Fay's center was just west of the location where it made landfall two and a half hours earlier, at Flagler Beach, 120 kilometers north of Cape Canaveral. The storm had maximum sustained winds of near 95 kilometers an hour with higher gusts. (Posted @ 09:00 PST)
Staff quarantined after McCain offices get threat letters WASHINGTON, Aug 21 (AFP): Staff members at two campaign offices for White House hopeful John McCain were quarantined Thursday after threatening letters containing a suspicious powder substance were received, officials said. The first letter arrived at the Republican's campaign headquarters in a suburb of Denver, Colorado. A second letter was later reported to have been received at a McCain office in Manchester, New Hampshire. Both buildings were evacuated and staff members sent to medical facilities for treatment under quarantine while FBI and Secret Service agents joined hazardous materials experts at both scenes. Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren told AFP that the envelope received in Centennial, a Denver suburb in the western state, “also contained a generic warning regarding the contents,” but gave no further details. Between five and 25 staff and volunteers were at the McCain office in the Denver suburb of Centennial when the letter arrived in the mail, and that those people had been taken to hospital. (Posted @ 09:00 PST)
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