|
| August 26, 2008 | Tuesday | Sha'aban 23, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (06:00 GMT)
 260,000 displaced in Pakistan military offensive: UN ISLAMABAD, Aug 26 (AFP) The military offensive against Taliban militants in Pakistans Bajaur tribal region has displaced more than 260,000 people, the UN said Tuesday. Security forces moved into the region earlier this month. The government says at least 500 militants have been killed since then. “There are 264,011 people displaced by the military operation in Bajaur,” a spokesman for the UN Resident Coordinator's office, Fawad Hussain, told AFP. The UN has set up 34 camps in North West Frontier Province for those fleeing the violence. “The UN will assist provincial government in accommodating 39,859 families who fled the military operation in the camps,” Hussain said. UN agencies plan to spend 10 million dollars on hygiene, health, education, food and rehabilitation of the displaced people. The amount was allocated Monday night by the UN central emergency response fund in New York. (Posted @ 17:50 PST)  Bomb wounds 20 at rally in southwestern Pakistan QUETTA, Pakistan, Aug 26 (AP) - At least 20 people were injured in a bomb blast at a political rally in southwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, police official Nazir Ahmad said. The bomb had been rigged to a motorcycle parked near the stage of the rally in the town of Jaaferabad, he said adding that some of the injured were in critical condition. Ahmad said the injured belonged to the party of late Nawab Akbar Bugti, who died on Aug. 26, 2007, when a cave in which he was hiding collapsed during a military operation against him in the southwestern Baluchistan province. Bugti was a former Baluchistan governor and had led a violent campaign to pressure the central government to give his impoverished province a larger share of money from oil and gas extracted from there. (First Posted @ 11:55 PST, Updated @ 12:25 PST) Occupied Kashmir protests despite curfew SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir , Aug 26 (AFP) Indian police used teargas and gunfire to disperse hundreds of protesters in occupied Kashmir on Tuesday as the death toll among demonstrators rose to five, officials said. Officers said they also used batons as protesters gathered in southern Achabal village a day after four people were killed in police shootings and over 100 injured in clashes. One of the injured died in hospital Tuesday, doctors said. “A strict curfew remains in force all over the Kashmir valley,” police officer Pervez Ahmed said in Srinagar. The latest troubles were triggered by a state government plan made public in June to donate land to a Hindu shrine trust in the occupied Kashmir valley. The decision was later reversed after massive Muslim protests, angering Hindus. Since June, at least 37 Muslims and three Hindus have died in police shootings on protesters in the region. (First Posted @ 12:20 PST, Updated @ Posted @ 15:00 PST) US diplomat escapes attack in Peshawar PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Aug 26 (AFP): Gunmen opened fire on the car of a senior US diplomat in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar Tuesday, but she escaped unhurt, police and US officials said. The diplomat, Lynne Tracy, was on her way to the US consulate in the city when a vehicle suddenly appeared and blocked the road, local police officer Arshad Khan told AFP. “A man in the intercepting Land Cruiser rolled down the window and opened fire with a Kalashnikov rifle, but the diplomat remained unhurt,” he said, adding that Tracy was travelling in a bullet-proof vehicle. The diplomat's driver threw the car into reverse and hit an auto rickshaw, he said, adding that the rickshaw driver suffered minor injuries. The attackers fled the scene, Khan said. Later, the US consulate issued a brief statement saying: “There was a security incident in Peshawar this morning involving a US consulate vehicle and three employees. “There were no injuries and minimal damage to the vehicle. We are coordinating with Pakistani authorities investigating the incident,” it said. An official who requested anonymity said the US diplomat was accompanied by her driver and a security officer. Tracy is a top official at the US consulate in Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province. Foreign Ministry condemns: APP adds: In Islamabad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tuesday condemned the incident. The Spokesman for Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Muhammad Sadiq, in a statement said, “police and provincial authorities are in contact with the US Consulate and the incident is being investigated.” He said steps for enhanced security have been taken. The spokesman said the government is committed to ensuring all possible measures for the security of the diplomatic community. (First Posted @ 10:30 PST, Updated @ 18:00 PST) Four held in plot to kill Obama: report DENVER, Colorado, Aug 26 (AFP) - Four people have been arrested in Denver amid fears of a plot to kill Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama, a local report said Monday. Denver-based CBS34 said one of the men arrested had told authorities they were “going to shoot Obama from a high vantage point using ... a rifle ... sighted at 750 yards (meters).”The shooting was supposed to happen on Thursday when Obama will accept the nomination as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate for the November elections at the 75,000-seat Invesco stadium, the television station reported. One man was arrested on Sunday after police found two high-powered rifles in a rented pick-up truck he was driving, it added. The US Attorney's Office in Denver has scheduled a press conference on Tuesday to discuss the incident, but Attorney Troy Eid told CBS34 he did not believe there was a real threat to Obama. The alleged plot was being investigated by the Secret Service, which is in charge of coordinating security for the Democratic Party convention as well as the FBI and the joint terrorism task force. (Posted @ 11:15 PST) Pakistan coalition split won't affect war on terror: US WASHINGTON, Aug 26 (AFP) - The United States said Monday that the withdrawal of ex-Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharif party from the ruling coalition in Islamabad would not hamper joint “war on terror” efforts. “That is very much an internal Pakistan matter,” said State Department spokesman Robert Wood. “I don't anticipate it would have any impact on our joint efforts to combat extremism.” He said it was “important” for Pakistan and the United States to cooperate closely on fighting the extremist Taliban and other militants “who threaten the stability not only in Pakistran but also Afghanistan.” On Washington's position on the sacked judges, Wood said it had advocated “all along that whatever happens with regard to those judges, they be in accordance with Pakistan's constitution. “And that remains our policy,” he said. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)  Asif Ali Zardari files nomination papers for Pakistan presidential polls ISLAMABAD, Aug 26 (AFP): Co-Chairman Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Asif Ali Zardari, filed his nomination papers Tuesday to contest September 6 presidential elections, officials said. The papers were submitted by a delegation of senior PPP members, election commission secretary Kanwar Dilshad told AFP. “Asif Ali Zardari has filed his nomination papers to contest the election,” he added. “We are pretty confident of our victory as the party believes it has support of the required number of parliamentarians,” information minister Sherry Rehman told reporters. (Posted @ 13:45 PST) Justice (R) Saeeduz Zaman Siddiqui submits nomination papers ISLAMABAD, Aug 26 (APP) After submitting his nomination papers at the Election Commission of Pakistan Tuesday, PML-N's presidential candidate Justice (R) Saeeduz Zaman Siddiqui pledged that if elected as the President of Pakistan, he would reinstate the deposed judges immediately. “Democracy is incomplete without an independent judiciary. Therefore my first order after election as President of Pakistan will be for restoration of deposed judges on Pre-November 3, 2007 positions,” he told newsmen. (Posted @ 15:45 PST) SC adjourns hearing in Sharif brothers’ disqualification case till Sept 9 ISLAMABAD, Aug 26 (APP): The Supreme Court of Pakistan Tuesday adjourned hearing of disqualification case against Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif for September 9. The three-member bench comprising Justice Moosa Khan Leghari, Justice Zawwar Hussain Jaffery and Justice Sheikh Hakim Ali heard the plea against Lahore High Court's decision of June 24, in which it disqualified Nawaz Sharif from contesting the elections while conditionally allowed Shahbaz Sharif to hold office of Chief Executive of Punjab province. The case was adjourned on the request of Deputy Attorney General Iftikhar Hussain Shah who sought some time for study of the case. (Posted @ 14:15 PST) Presidential Election: 35 nominations papers on behalf of 10 candidates filed ISLAMABAD, Aug 26 (PPI) A total of 35 nomination papers on behalf of 10 candidates were filed for the election of Pakistans new President with the Chief Election Commissioner in Islamabad. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) filed papers for its Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari while former Chief Justice of Supreme Court Justice (rtd) Saeeduz Zaman Siddiqui filed papers as candidate nominated by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Mushahid Hussain Syed filed nomination papers as nominee of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid. Fourteen nomination papers were filed on behalf of Asif Zardari by Makhdoom Amin Fahim, ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan, MQM leader Dr. Farooq Sattar, Rehmatullah Kakar, Shahid Hassan Bugti, Sardar Sanaullah Zehri and Shahbaz Bhatti. PPP also submitted nomination papers of Faryal Talpur as covering candidate. Nomination papers of Justice (rtd) Saeeduz Zaman Siddiqui were filed by PML-N leaders Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Khawaja Saad Rafiq and Ahsan Iqbal. Former bureaucrat Roaedad Khan filed his papers as PML-N’s covering candidate. Leader of opposition in National Assembly Chaudhry Pervez Elahi and Kamil Ali Agha filed papers for Mushahid Hussain. Four independent candidates who filed papers include Mehar Mohammad Ramzan, Manzoor Ahmed Bhatti, Rao Javed Ali Khan, Ms. Kasam Saba and Waheed Kamal. (First Posted @ 13:45 PST, Updated @ 16:20 PST) Questions arise over UN envoy's ties to Asif Zardari: report WASHINGTON, Aug 26 (AFP): Senior officials in the administration of US President George W. Bush have questioned US ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad over “unauthorized” ties to Pakistan's Asif Ali Zardari, the New York Times reported Tuesday. US officials, who have insisted on their neutrality in the Pakistan political process, are puzzled and angry over Khalilzad's frequent contact with Zardari. Khalilzad had spoken with Zardari by phone “several times a week for the past month until he was confronted about the unauthorized contacts,” The Times quoted a senior US official as saying. (Posted @ 21:25 PST) PPP to fulfill commitment on deposed judges: Farooq Naek ISLAMABAD, Aug 26 (APP) Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) would fulfill its commitment on the reinstatement of deposed judges but cannot give any timeframe, said Minister for Law, Justice and Human Rights Farooq H. Naek here Tuesday. “Deposed judges will be reinstated in accordance with the law but we cannot set any deadline in this regard,” he said, adding that the PPP has never retracted any agreement with the coalition partners and “still stands on the same stance on the reinstatement of the deposed judges.” (Posted @ 16:00 PST) Cricket: England thrash S.Africa to go two up in series LONDON, Aug 26 (Reuters): Stuart Broad returned a career-best five for 23 to help England thrash South Africa by 10 wickets in the second one-day international at Nottingham on Tuesday. The visitors went 2-0 down in the five-match series after collapsing to 83 all out in 23 overs, their second lowest total in a one-dayer. Wicketkeeper Matt Prior picked up six catches to equal the world record for a one-day international innings held by Australian Adam Gilchrist, England's Alec Stewart and Mark Boucher of South Africa. The home team then raced to victory in 14.1 overs, Prior hitting 45 not out and Ian Bell an unbeaten 28. (Posted @ 23:30 PST) Sudanese passenger plane hijacked from Darfur-Al Jazeera KHARTOUM, Aug 26 (Reuters) A Sudanese passenger plane has been hijacked between the town of Nyala in Darfur and the capital Khartoum, the Arabic satellite channel Al Jazeera said on Tuesday. It gave the news in a text flash during a broadcast. (Posted @ 22:50 PST) One million trapped as Indian river shifts course PATNA, Aug 26 (AFP): More than one million people are trapped by floodwaters in eastern India after heavy monsoon showers caused a major river to shift its course, a minister said Tuesday. Massive rains in Bihar state caused the Kosi River to swell, breach its banks and flow through a channel it had previously abandoned. Water levels in the new river, about 1.6 kilometres across, are not receding, said Bihar Disaster Management Minister Nitish Mishra. The torrential water washed away villages and small dwellings in its path and trapped “not less than one million people in the widespread flooding,” he said. (Posted @ 22:30 PST) Kurdish rebels clash with Turkish military, 11 die DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Aug 26 (Reuters): At least 11 Kurdish separatists and one member of Turkish security forces were killed on Tuesday during fighting in southeastern Turkey, a military source told Reuters. The clashes came nearly a week after an Iraqi border guard said Turkey's military launched an air raid on Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) positions in northern Iraq. The PKK has been weakened by Turkey's military presence in the southeast as well as by bombings of its camps and arms depots in northern Iraq. (Posted @ 22:00 PST) Total reshuffle in Federal Cabinet after Presidential elections Islamabad, Aug 26 (PPI): Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani said there will be ''total reshuffle'' in the Federal Cabinet after elections of the country's new President scheduled on September 6. Talking to reporters here Tuesday evening, he said the Cabinet was not expanded as the resignations of PML-N ministers had not been accepted. PML-N will once again be requested to rejoin the coalition, he stated. He reiterated that all the deposed judges including the Chief Justice would be restored and ten per cent work has already been done in this regard. (Posted @ 22:15 PST) Somali president, premier sign deal to end wrangles ADDIS ABABA, Aug 26 (AFP): Somalia's President Abdullah Yusuf Ahmed on Tuesday signed an agreement with Prime Minister Hassan Hussein Nur to end months of political wrangling, following talks in the Ethiopian capital. “We are very much happy that we have solved our differences. We now have the same view on the responsibilities we have to fulfill,” Hussein told reporters in Addis Ababa, where he and Yusuf held talks under Ethiopian mediation. (Posted @ 20:30 PST) 11 killed in chemical plant blast in China BEIJING, Aug 26 (AP): Explosions ripped through a chemical plant Tuesday in southwest China, killing at least 11 people, injuring dozens and forcing the evacuation of thousands of nearby residents, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The first explosion occurred at around 6 a.m. in Yizhou city in Guangxi province, Xinhua said. Eight people were reported missing following the accident and another 57 people injured. The explosions continued until 1 p.m., spreading fire over a nearly 10,000-square-meter area, Xinhua said, citing an unidentified firefighter in the rescue operation. The government evacuated 11,500 residents in case of further blasts and chemical leaks, Xinhua said. (First Posted @ 13:05 PST, Updated @ 20:11 PST) Slovenian mountaineer dies in fall in Pakistan LJUBLJANA, Slovenia, Aug 26 (AP): A Slovenian climber ascending a 7,273-meter mountain in northern Pakistan fell to his death and his stranded companion called home for help with a mobile phone, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. The pair began their ascent of Mustagh Tower on Monday, but one of them, Pavle Kozjak, fell into a chasm and died of injuries, the ministry and the Alpine Association said. They said his colleague was stranded at about 6,400 meters, where he spent the night without any equipment or food. He used a mobile to call his colleagues back home to seek help. (Posted @ 20:00 PST) Cricket: South Africa win toss and bat in second one-day match LONDON, Aug 26 (Reuters): South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first against England in the second one-day international at Trent Bridge on Tuesday in a day-night game. England, who won the first match at Headingley on Friday by 20 runs, recalled former captain Paul Collingwood, who has now served his four-match ban for failing to prevent a slow over rate, in place of Ravi Bopara. (Posted @ 19:30 PST) Cricket: Fourth India-Sri Lanka match called off due to rain COLOMBO, Aug 26 (AFP): The fourth one-day international between India and Sri Lanka at the Premadasa Stadium was called off without a ball being bowled due to rain here on Tuesday. The match will now be played on Wednesday -- the reserve day. India lead 2-1 in the five-match series. (Posted @ 19:25 PST) 25 Africans reported missing in boat off Spain MADRID, Aug 26 (Reuters): A group of African migrants rescued off Spain's coast said they had to throw the bodies of 25 companions overboard as their overcrowded boat drifted for days in the Mediterranean, government officials said on Tuesday. A container ship found 25 people aboard the half submerged inflatable dinghy on Monday and took them to the southern Spanish port of Malaga. The migrants said 50 people were originally aboard the boat and officials are checking the information. (Posted @ 19:20 PST) Afghans free kidnapped Japanese aid worker KABUL, Aug 26 (Reuters): Afghan police freed a kidnapped Japanese aid worker in a raid on Tuesday, hours after he was seized by a group of gunmen, an official said. “He is freed and is fine,” interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said. He said one of the kidnappers was wounded in the encounter with police in eastern Nangrahar province, from where the Japanese man was seized while working on a construction site. (First Posted @ 13:30 PST, Updated @ 18:10 PST) Three blasts kill at least 34 in Iraq BAGHDAD, Aug 26 (Reuters): Three blasts killed at least 34 Iraqis on Tuesday, most of them in a suicide car bombing that struck a group of police recruits, officials said. Two of the bombs went off in Diyala province. In Jalula town, 125 kms from Baghdad, an assailant drove a car toward a building where new police recruits had assembled, said the local police chief. The driver then detonated the explosives and 25 people were killed and 40 wounded. Elsewhere in Diyala, a roadside bomb struck a van carrying a family near Mandali town along the Iranian border. Five members of the family were killed, including two women and two children, the spokesman said. Also Tuesday, a bomb planted in a parked car killed four people and wounded six, including three policemen, in Tikrit city north of Baghdad. (First Posted @ 15:55 PST; Updated @ 17:20 PST) Curfew imposed after religious riots in east India BHUBANESWAR, India, Aug 26 (Reuters) Authorities imposed a curfew in parts of the Indian state of Orissa Tuesday after two people were burnt to death and more than a dozen churches torched by suspected Hindus angry over the murder of their leader. Hundreds of police were deployed in three towns in Orissa's Kandhamal district as they tried to end two days of violence in which a Christian orphanage was also torched by suspected Hindu mobs. Violence erupted after armed men killed a Hindu leader linked to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and four others last week, an attack Hindus blamed on Christians. (Posted @ 17:15 PST) Russia postpones NATO chief's visit MOSCOW, Aug 26 (AFP) Russia is suspending cooperation with NATO on a range of issues, including postponing a visit by the military alliance's secretary general, Russia's ambassador to NATO said on Tuesday. “This issue will be postponed until a later time after we have reached a new understanding about our relations with NATO,” said the envoy, Dmitry Rogozin, referring to a planned visit in October by NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. (Posted @ 17:00 PST) Mugabe opens Zimbabwe parliament, optimistic of deal HARARE, Aug 26 (Reuters) Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe officially opened parliament Tuesday and said there was “every expectation” that all parties would agree to a power-sharing deal. “Landmark agreements have been concluded, with every expectation that everyone will sign up,“ said Mugabe, who was heckled by opposition MDC parliamentarians when he started addressing parliament. (Posted @ 16:25 PST) US-led force says five Afghan civilians killed in strikes KABUL, Aug 26 (AFP) The US-led coalition acknowledged Tuesday that five civilians - two women and three children - were killed in air strikes on Taliban militants which an Afghan investigation has found killed 90 civilians. The coalition previously insisted only 30 Taliban, including a well-known commander, were killed in the strikes Friday on Azizabad village in Heart province. But an ongoing investigation revealed there had been civilian deaths, US Lieutenant Nathan Perry told AFP. “Among the 30 bodies, five of them we believe now were not combatants,” Perry said. The military was still investigating, Perry said. A commission appointed by President Hamid Karzai visited the area at the weekend and said it found the strikes had destroyed about 15 houses and killed more than 90 civilians – mostly women and children. (Posted @ 16:10 PST) Goods still held up at Karachi port: traders KARACHI, Aug 26 (Reuters) Lorry drivers at Pakistan's main port said they were ending a week-long strike on Tuesday after a meeting with the government over fuel prices, but traders said their goods were still not being moved. Traders estimated millions of dollars worth of perishable goods had been stranded by the strike. “On the one hand, their leaders say the strike has ended, but on the other, the drivers are not moving the trucks,” rice exporter Salman Paracha told Reuters. But Noor Khan Niazi, president of the Karachi Goods Carriers' Association, told Reuters the dispute had been resolved at a meeting between the drivers and the government. “All I can tell you is that the strike has ended,” Niazi said. One drivers’ representative said the government had agreed to cut highway taxes by 40 percent but had not cut fuel costs. “Our main demand of cutting diesel prices is still there but they almost forced us to end the strike,” said the representative, requesting anonymity. (Posted @ 15:50 PST) Settlements unhelpful to Mideast peace talks: Condoleezza Rice JERUSALEM, Aug 26 (AP) U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday urged Israel to stop expanding settlements on disputed territory hours after a new report came out saying the Jewish state has nearly doubled such activity in the past year. Rice is visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories in hopes of furthering the announced goal of brokering a Mideast peace deal by year's end, but she offered few signs of progress saying only the talks were “serious and intensive.” Speaking alongside her Israeli counterpart, Rice said the Israeli construction has threatened to undermine the talks. “I think that it is no secret, and I've said it to my Israeli counterparts, that I don't think the settlement activity is helpful to the process,” she said. “What we need now are steps that enhance confidence between the parties and ... anything that undermines confidence between the parties ought to be avoided.” The Israeli group Peace Now released a report Tuesday saying that while talking peace with the Palestinians, Israel's government has dramatically ratcheted up its construction in the West Bank. Some 2,600 new homes for Israelis are currently under construction in the West Bank - an increase of 80 percent over last year, Peace Now said. In east Jerusalem the number of new government bids for construction has increased from 46 in 2007 to 1,761 so far this year, the report said. After meeting Israeli Foreign Minister and chief negotiator, Tzipi Livni, Rice was holding a joint meeting with Livni and the chief Palestinian negotiator, Ahmed Qureia, before heading to the West Bank for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Earlier, Rice met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for an hour, discussing the peace process and other regional issues, said Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev. (Posted @ 15:40 PST) Philippine air force plane crash kills nine crew MANILA, Aug 26 (Reuters): A Philippine air force transport plane crashed into the sea minutes after it took off and there were no survivors among the two pilots and seven crew members aboard, the air force said Tuesday. The C-130 plane took off from Davao airport in the south on Monday evening and radio contact was lost 10 minutes later, air force chief Lieutenant-General Pedrito Cadungog told reporters. “We recovered one body belonging to the crew of the missing aircraft,” Cadungog said, confirming that the C-130 Hercules plane had crashed into the Davao Gulf. (First Posted @ 11:50 PST, Updated @ 14:25 PST) Thousands of Thai protesters enter government compound BANGKOK, Aug 26 (AFP): Thousands of Thai protesters broke through a barricade and spilled into the main government compound Tuesday in their campaign to force out the prime minister, police and witnesses said. Thai television showed crowds waving flags and banners sitting on the lawns of the seat of government. The atmosphere appeared calm, and no demonstrators have tried to storm Government House itself. Police said between 15,000 to 17,000 protesters broke a chain on a gate and entered the grounds. A coalition of anti-government groups brought about 20,000 protesters onto the streets of Bangkok Tuesday. They stormed the headquarters of a state-run TV station, and surrounded other key ministries and government buildings. The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) has been demonstrating since May, demanding that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej step down. They claim Samak is running Thailand on behalf of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and is barred from holding office. (Posted @ 13:55 PST) Malaysia's Anwar won 61 percent of vote: party exit polls PERMATANG PAUH, Malaysia, Aug 26 (AFP): Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's party said Tuesday its exit polls indicate he has won 61 percent of the votes in a by-election expected to return him to parliament. “From our exit poll figures and what we are tracking, Anwar is safely leading in the polls and... I think that it is right to say about 61 percent,” said Sivarasa Rasiah, vice president of the Keadilan party. Sivarasa said that the candidate from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, Arif Shah Omar Shah, had garnered about 39 percent of the vote. Polling booths opened at 08:00 a.m. and are due to close at 05:00 p.m. Results are expected to be released by 10:00 pm. (Posted @ 13:50 PST) Ryanair plane loses pressure, 16 in French hospital LONDON, Aug 26 (Reuters): Sixteen people were taken to hospital when a Ryanair flight to Spain from Britain made an unscheduled landing at Limoges airport in France after a loss of cabin pressure, the airline said Tuesday. The flight, which left Bristol airport for Barcelona late on Monday with 168 passengers on board, “experienced an inflight depressurization incident,” the airline said. “As a safety precaution the captain descended and diverted the aircraft to Limoges airport at approximately 23:30 local French time,” it added in a statement. (Posted @ 13:40 PST) US soldier killed in Iraq BAGHDAD, Aug 26 (AFP): An American soldier died Monday from injuries sustained when his foot patrol came under small arms attack in northern Baghdad, the US military said Tuesday. (Posted @ 13:30 PST) Thirteen injured southwest England motorway crash LONDON, Aug 26 (Reuters): Thirteen people were injured Tuesday in a motorway crash involving three lorries, three cars and a coach, in southwest England, Wiltshire police said. (Posted @ 13:20 PST) 22 killed in Sri Lanka fighting COLOMBO, Aug 26 (AFP): Sri Lankan security forces killed at least 15 Tamil Tiger separatists for the loss of seven soldiers in an upsurge in clashes in the embattled north, the defence ministry said Tuesday. Four soldiers were killed in a single confrontation in the district of Mullaittivu where government forces are trying to dismantle a de facto state of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the ministry said. It placed total Tiger losses in fighting since Monday at 15 killed and 13 wounded, with the military suffering a total of seven killed and 12 wounded. (Posted @ 13:05 PST) Large quake hits Indonesia, tsunami alert lifted JAKARTA, Aug 26 (AFP) - A powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck at sea off the Indonesian island of Java on Tuesday, triggering a tsunami warning which was lifted after an hour, officials said. There were no immediate reports of damage from the quake which struck 125 kilometres northwest of Ujungkulon in West Java , meteorological officials said. (First Posted @ 09:50 PST, Updated @ 11:30 PST) Israel releases 198 Palestinian prisoners as Rice arrives RAMALLAH, West Bank, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Israel freed nearly 200 Palestinian prisoners to a hero's welcome in the West Bank on Monday as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began visit to secure a peace agreement by December. She said she still aimed for a peace deal before President George W. Bush leaves office in January but played down chances of any partial accord in time for the September U.N. General Assembly. Some 11,000 Palestinians are in Israeli prisons. The longest-serving Palestinian prisoner in Israeli custody, Said al-Atabeh, 57, was among those freed. (Posted @ 10:40 PST) Afghan cabinet demands review of international presence KABUL, Aug 26 (AFP) - The Afghan cabinet demanded Monday a renegotiation of agreements regulating the presence of international troops in Afghanistan after more than 90 civilians were killed in US-led air strikes. The cabinet said the review should focus on the “authorities and responsibilities” of international troops and demand a halt to air strikes on civilians, illegal detentions and unilateral house searches, a statement said. A resolution adopted by the ministers said they had tasked the foreign and defence ministries with negotiating with “officials of international forces.” ”The presence of the international community in Afghanistan must be reviewed through a mutual agreement,” it said. (Posted @ 10:25 PST) Bush warns Russia, sends Cheney to Georgia CRAWFORD, Texas, Aug 26 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush on Monday warned Russia not to recognize Georgia's rebel regions as independent countries and sent Vice President Dick Cheney to the battered ally in a show of support. Bush declared he was “deeply concerned” by the Russian parliament's passage of motions urging President Dmitry Medvedev to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia. “I call on Russia's leadership to meet its commitments and not recognize these separatist regions,” the US president said in a statement. In a show of support for other former Soviet republics looking, like Georgia, to closer ties to the West in defiance of Moscow's anger, Cheney was to leave September 2 for Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Georgia, as well as Italy. (Posted @ 10:20 PST) US, NKorea fail to break nuclear deadlock WASHINGTON, Aug 26 (AFP) - The United States and North Korea have failed to break an impasse over measures to verify Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program in special talks held in New York, US officials said. Washington would continue to hold talks with the communist state in a bid to break the deadlock, a spokesman said. (Posted @ 10:15 PST) Gunmen kill police investigator, 8 others in Mexico attacks CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico, Aug 26 (AFP) - Nine people, including a senior police investigator, died in suspected drug-related violence in the past 24 hours in northern Mexico, local authorities said Monday. Mexican drug turf wars have claimed the lives of more than 2,700 people so far this year, despite a crackdown by authorities on drug trafficking and related violence. (Posted @ 10:00 PST) Karachi Stocks down 383.37 points: KARACHI, Aug 26: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 9430.29, down 383.37 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:15 PST) Forex update: KARACHI, Aug 26: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 76.6 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:15 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah The DAWN Media Group |
| | About Us | Advertising info | Subscription | Feedback | Contributions | Privacy Policy | Help | Contact us | |