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| January 03, 2009 | Saturday | Muharram 04, 1430 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Debutant Elba restrict Railways to one-goal win LAHORE: Railways edged past newcomers Elba Pure Water in the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) League Group ‘B’ match at the Model Town Football Academy (MTFA) ground on Saturday. It was an impressive debut for Elba who managed to restrict the two-time national champions to a 1-0 win. The match displayed fine sportsmanship too with no card shown to the players of either side but Railways’ midfielder Mohammad Afzal was injured and carried off the field on a stretcher in the 14th minute. (Posted 20:39 PST)
US Soldiers shoot Iraqi TV producer in Baghdad BAGHDAD: American soldiers shot and wounded a woman, identified by an Iraqi television station as one of its producers, after she failed to heed warnings to stop near a Baghdad checkpoint recently targeted by suicide and car bombs, Iraqi and US military officials said Saturday. The US military said in a statement that the woman was 'acting erratic' and didn't respond to warnings from Iraqi and American troops near the checkpoint in the central neighborhood of Jadiriyah on Thursday. (Posted 19:32 PST)
Dilshan rallies Sri Lanka with century CHITTAGONG: Tillakaratne Dilshan smashed a superb 162 off 165 balls to lead Sri Lanka's fightback on the opening day of the second and final Test against Bangladesh here on Saturday. Dilshan hit two sixes and 21 fours for his sixth Test century as the visitors recovered from a shaky 75-4 to reach a healthy 371-6 in their first innings at stumps after electing to bat. (Posted 19:17 PST)
Ghana opposition leader wins presidential election ACCRA: Ghana's opposition leader John Atta Mills won a last run-off vote and was declared president-elect on Saturday, sweeping his party back to power after eight years. Results of voting in a final constituency on Friday showed Mills, of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), narrowly defeated Nana Akufo-Addo of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP). The NPP lost its parliamentary majority last month. (Posted 19:19 PST)
Seven killed as militant groups fight in Somalia MOGADISHU: At least seven people were killed in fighting between rival Islamic groups in Somalia on Saturday, one of the factions said. The clashes between relative moderates and al Shabaab militants flared a day after Ethiopia announced it had begun withdrawing troops who have been backing up a weak transitional government in the Horn of Africa nation. 'Shabaab attacked us again this morning but we chased them and killed six of them,' said Sheikh Abdullahi Abu Yusuf, a leader of the Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca group. 'Al Shabaab has killed one of our Sheikhs near Mogadishu,' he told Reuters. 'We shall fight them till the story of Al Shabaab becomes extinct.' (Posted 18:43 PST)
Three injured in Colombo explosion COLOMBO: At least three people were injured and several vehicles damaged in an explosion in Sri Lanka capital Colombo on Saturday, officials said. The cause of the blast was not immediately known. A spokesman for Sri Lanka's army, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, said there had been an explosion inside a van. (Posted 17:35 PST)
Landmine kills two soldiers in Dera Bugti Saturday, 03 Jan, QUETTA: Two paramilitary soldiers were killed and four wounded in a landmine explosion in southwest Pakistan on Saturday, an official said. The soldiers were patrolling a gas field in the town of Dera Bugti, in gas-rich Balochistan province, when a landmine planted on a roadside exploded under their vehicle. 'Two soldiers were killed and four others wounded in the incident,' a spokesman for the paramilitary Frontier Corps told AFP. A spokesman for the Baloch Republican Army, Sarbaz Khan, later claimed responsibility of the attack. Hundreds of people have died in violence in the province since the insurgency flared in late 2004, with militants demanding political autonomy and a greater share of profits from the region's natural resources. (Posted @ 17:12 PST)
Police use tear gas to break up power protests Saturday, 03 Jan, LAHORE: Police in Pakistan's industrial hub of Faisalabad launched tear gas shells and fired in the air Saturday to disperse hundreds of protesters angered by months of rolling blackouts, witnesses said. Angry mobs burned tyres in the streets and pelted police with stones during a day of protests across Faisalabad, which is located 250 kilometres south of Islamabad. More than 30 people were arrested. Many of the protesters were workers at local textile factories, which have suffered badly during the months of electricity load-shedding, or rolling blackouts, due to a nationwide power shortage. 'The protesters attacked offices of the state electricity company and torched office records and furniture, prompting the police to fire tear gas shells and baton-charge the people,' local police official Rommen Akram said. (Posted @ 16:58 PST)
Senior Taliban figure arrested in Pakistan Saturday, 03 Jan, PESHAWAR: Pakistan has arrested a former Taliban spokesman released by Afghanistan in 2007 in exchange for a kidnapped Italian journalist, security officials said. An intelligence official said authorities detained Ustad Mohammed Yasir in Peshawar, near the Afghan border. Yasir was Taliban leader Mullah Omar's spokesman after the regime's fall in Afghanistan in 2001, the official said Saturday. He said Pakistan first arrested Yasir in 2005 and sent him to Afghanistan, where he was released along with four other Taliban figures for journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo. A Peshawar police official confirmed the arrest. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity. (Posted @ 16:38 PST)
Hanif, Imran and Miandad in ICC Hall of Fame Saturday, 03 Jan, SYDNEY, Jan 2: Three Pakistani cricketing legends Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan and Javed Miandad have figured among the 55 former players named on Friday in the ICC’s inaugural Hall of Fame list as part of its centenary celebrations. Launching the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said the initiative, in association with Federation of International Cricketers’ Association (FICA), would provide the chance for the game to recognise its greatest achievers. ‘Given a key theme of the ICC’s centenary year is celebrating the game’s heritage then the foundation of the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame is an entirely logical step,’ he said. ‘It will provide a means of recognising the historical contribution of past players, officials and even institutions in making cricket what it is today, a great sport with a great spirit,’ he added. (Posted @ 16:11 PST)
Iraq won’t be used to threaten neighbours: Maliki Saturday, 03 Jan, TEHRAN: Iraq's prime minister, who started a visit to Iran on Saturday, told Iranian state television his government would not allow Iraq to be used as a base to threaten its neighbours. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told Iran's Arabic news channel on Friday that Iraq 'will not let Iraq be a launching ground to threaten any country,' Al-Alam said on its website. US forces in Iraq came under Iraqi mandate on Jan 1, a move Maliki said restored sovereignty nearly six years after the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Iran is embroiled in a row over its nuclear plans with the United States, which has refused to rule out military action if diplomacy fails to end the dispute. Washington and its allies accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies. (Posted @ 15:48 PST)
Pavlyuchenko double as Spurs beat Wigan in FA Cup Saturday, 03 Jan, LONDON: Two goals for Roman Pavlyuchenko and a clever header by a prone Luka Modric gave Tottenham Hotspur a 3-1 home win over Wigan Athletic in the opening game of the third round of the FA Cup on Friday. Tottenham, without a win in their previous five games, had struggled through the first half against a Wigan side that had won five of their previous six matches. However, Russia striker Pavlyuchenko's 52nd minute penalty changed the game and the eight times FA Cup winners deserved their place in Sunday's fourth round draw as they maintained their record of never having lost to the north-west club. (Posted @ 14:39 PST)
Hamas attacks on Israel an 'act of terror': Bush Saturday, 03 Jan, WASHINGTON: President George W. Bush on Friday branded the Hamas rocket attacks on Israel an ‘act of terror’ and outlined his own condition for a cease-fire in Gaza, saying no peace deal would be acceptable without monitoring to halt the flow of smuggled weapons to terrorist groups. Bush chose his taped, weekly radio address to speak for the first time about one of the bloodiest Mideast clashes in decades. It began a week ago. Israeli warplanes have rained bombs on Gaza, targeting the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has traumatized southern Israel with intensifying rocket attacks. ‘The United States is leading diplomatic efforts to achieve a meaningful cease-fire that is fully respected,’ Bush said. (Posted @ 04:18 PST)
Oil prices rebound above $46 per barrel Saturday, 03 Jan, NEW YORK: Oil prices ended higher on the first day of 2009 trading on Friday as investors focused on commodities amid tensions over Israel's onslaught on Gaza, and a Russia-Ukraine gas row. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for February, rose 1.74 dollars from its closing price on Wednesday to end at 46.34 dollars Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in February advanced 1.32 dollars to settle at 46.91 dollars a barrel on the InterContinental Exchange. Traders said prices were extremely volatile in a reflection of thin market turnover as many investors remained in a New Year holiday mood ahead of the weekend. The market experienced a tumultuous 2008, soaring to record highs above 147 dollars a barrel in July before a sharp global economic downturn slashed demand for energy and pulled prices sharply lower, dropping below 35 dollars in December. (Posted @ 03:56 PST)
PM seeking replacements for key positions Saturday, 03 Jan, ISLAMABAD: The Prime Ministers Secretariat is busy searching for suitable replacements to fill the important positions of Secretary Establishment, Cabinet Divisions and Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. The positions are currently lying vacant, sources in the establishment division revealed to Dawn. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani is considering a number of officers in the top bureaucracy to fill these key positions, they added. Kashif Murtaza Secretary Railways, is the front runner to become the next Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. According to sources, the prime ministers secretariat is taking extra care in filling this position, which is of critical importance. KB Rind Secretary Narcotics, is being considered as the next Secretary Establishment. Meanwhile, Secretary Environment Khushnood Akhtar Lashari and Secretary Kashmir Affairs Salman Saddique, are on the top of the list for the position of Secretary Cabinet division. (Posted @ 02:40 PST)
Zardari assures US Ambassador of cooperation Saturday, 03 Jan, ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday assured the US government that it will do it’s best to act against non-state-actors involved in the Mumbai terror attacks, if India shares evidences of their involvement. This was conveyed to the US government by President Asif Ali Zardari in a meeting with US Ambassador to Pakistan, Anne W Patterson who called on him at President House. An official announcement was issued about the meeting which said the current regional situation and bilateral issues came under discussion. Analysts said the meeting of the US envoy was in continuation of the US efforts for de-escalation of tension between nuclear powers—Pakistan and India that surfaced after the Mumbai carnage. (Posted @ 01:37 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Editor: Abbas Nasir
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