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| December 23, 2008 | Tuesday | Zilhaj 24, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
No action without evidence: Malik Tuesday, 23 Dec, ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik said on Tuesday that action will be taken against any person accused of being involved in the Mumbai attacks if India provided credible evidence against them. Malik said India has not provided any official information to Pakistan on the arrest of any Pakistani national and it has also not shared any intelligence reports on the Mumbai attacks. The PM’s adviser told reporters that the foreign office has received a letter from Ajmal Kasab, wherein he has reportedly sought legal assistance. ‘The letter is being examined by experts and the foreign office will issue a report regarding the contents of the letter,’ he said. (Posted @ 23:44 PST)
India has not shared info on Mumbai: Interpol chief Tuesday, 23 Dec, ISLAMABAD: The chief of Interpol said Tuesday that India had not yet authorised the sharing of any information with the global police agency about those allegedly involved in the Mumbai attacks. Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble made the statement after talks with Pakistani interior ministry chief Rehman Malik about the ongoing investigation into the attacks, which India has blamed on Pakistan-based militants. 'To date, India's government has not authorised India's police agencies to enter any data relating to the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai into Interpol's databases,' Noble told a joint press conference. (Posted @ 22:32 PST)
Iraqi parliament approves foreign troop deal Tuesday, 23 Dec, BAGHDAD: The Iraqi parliament voted on Tuesday to allow the presence of non-US foreign troops after December 31, giving British troops a legal basis to remain beyond the expiry of a UN mandate. A vast majority of the 223 MPs in attendance voted to approve the resolution, a parliamentary source told AFP, but the exact breakdown was not immediately available. The United States, which supplies 95 per cent of foreign troops in Iraq, has already signed a Status of Forces Agreement with the Baghdad government, under which its combat forces can remain in the country until the end of 2011. (Posted @ 21:28 PST)
Iraqi parliament approves foreign troop deal BAGHDAD: The Iraqi parliament voted on Tuesday to allow the presence of non-US foreign troops after December 31, giving British troops a legal basis to remain beyond the expiry of a UN mandate. A vast majority of the 223 MPs in attendance voted to approve the resolution, a parliamentary source told AFP, but the exact breakdown was not immediately available. (Posted 21:28 PST)
Attack foiled in Indian-administered Kashmir JAMMU: India has reportedly arrested three suspected Islamic militants – including a Pakistani soldier – accused of planning a suicide attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said on Tuesday. The arrests come amid rising tensions and increasing pressure from India on Pakistan to crack down on militant groups operating from its territory in the wake of the Mumbai attacks. (Posted 20:42 PST)
UN says Pakistan acting against terror groups NEW YORK: Pakistan has satisfactorily complied with the UN's sanctions on terrorist groups, a top UN official has said. Richard Barrett the Coordinator of the Security Council established al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Monitoring Committee, which has the task of monitoring sanctions imposed by the Security Council on individuals and organisations declared as terrorist told CNN-IBN in New York that it was difficult to implement the sanctions completely, but the UN has found all Pakistani agencies were cooperative. 'I found in all my dealings with officials in Pakistan, whether it's the government, elected officials, ministries or the intelligence services or the Army, and we deal with all of those bodies - I found very good atmosphere of cooperation between them as well as with us,' Barrett told CNN-IBN. (Posted 20:17 PST)
Putin warns 'no more cheap gas' MOSCOW: Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that the world financial crisis and rising costs mean the price of natural gas is going to rise. 'Costs of exploration, gas production and transportation are going up, it means the industry's development costs will skyrocket,' he said. 'The time of cheap energy resources, cheap gas is surely coming to an end.' (Posted 19:24 PST)
Zimbabwe's cholera toll up to 1,174: UN GENEVA: The toll from Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic rose again Tuesday with 1,174 people now known to have died from the disease since August, the United Nations children's fund UNICEF said. 'The disease is still popping up in the country which means it is still not under control,' UNICEF representative in Zimbabwe Roeland Monasch told a press conference in Geneva by telephone. (Posted 19:08 PST)
Oil slips below $40 as recession cuts demand LONDON: Oil prices eased below $40 a barrel on Tuesday, weakened by evidence of falling oil demand as the world economy slows. Final third-quarter US gross domestic product data due later on Tuesday is likely to underscore the ailing economy as a series of stimulus measures and policy moves, including China's fifth interest rate cut, fail to halt a slide towards the worst recession in decades. (Posted 18:25 PST)
Explosion in Karachi residential area kills two KARACHI: A bomb explosion in a house in the Ancholi area of Karachi has killed two and injured three persons, private television channels report. Locals in the area say that they heard a loud explosion go off in the house, setting the house on fire. Fire fighters have been able to control the fire but television pictures show the house to be badly damaged by the fire. (Posted 18:15 PST)
Top US Commander seeks assurance from Pakistan WASHINGTON: Top United States Marine commander, General James Conway, Monday visited Pakistan for talks with army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani. With thousands of additional American troops heading to Afghanistan, Conway said he wanted to express to Kayani the 'concern that we can do a lot in Afghanistan, but unless the problem in Pakistan gets solved, it's not over,' CBS News radio correspondent, Cami McCormick, travelling with General Conway reported. (Posted 18:06 PST)
Hamas says it may consider new truce with Israel GAZA CITY: A tense calm reigned over the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Tuesday as the Palestinian militant group said it might be willing to agree to a new truce with Israel. Gaza militants fired one rocket which hit without causing damage or injury, and Israel did not launch any raids on the territory after Hamas announced on Monday that it would not launch rockets or fire mortars for 24 hours. (Posted 17:48 PST)
Seven Russian tourists dead in Egypt coach crash DAHAB: Seven Russian tourists were killed when their coach overturned on a highway near the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Dahab, according to a new death toll on Tuesday. Eighteen other people were injured in Monday's crash, including three Egyptians, a medical source said. Five of the injured remain in critical condition. (Posted 17:34 PST)
Coup in Guinea follows death of President Conte CONAKRY: A military-led group declared a coup in the West African nation of Guinea on Tuesday, announcing it had dissolved the government and constitution hours after the death of the country's longtime dictator. The mineral-rich but impoverished nation of 10 million has been ruled by only two men since it gained independence from France half a century ago, and it had long been predicted that a military coup would follow the death of President Lansana Conte. (Posted 17:23 PST)
Nobody wants war: Singh Tuesday, 23 Dec, NEW DELHI: India's prime minister Manmohan Singh said 'nobody wants war,' seeking to lower tensions with Pakistan over the Mumbai attacks. Manmohan Singh on Tuesday renewed the call for Pakistan to crack down on militant groups blamed for the attack on India's financial capital of Mumbai last month. But Singh said 'the issue is not war. The issue is terror and territory in Pakistan being used to promote and abet terrorism.' The investigation into the attacks that killed 164 people has heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, longtime rivals that have fought three wars since gaining independence from Britain in 1947. (Posted @ 16:58 PST)
Tribesmen execute two for murder: officials Tuesday, 23 Dec, PESHAWAR: Pakistani tribesmen on Tuesday publicly executed two criminals accused of a series of murders and kidnappings for ransom in a troubled area near the Afghan border, officials said. Tribesmen blindfolded the two criminals and tied their hands behind their backs before shooting them with rifles in Bara, the main town in Khyber tribal region, an AFP photographer witnessed. Around 500 local tribesmen watched the executions, which took place after the suspects were tried in a self-styled court headed by local militants, a local administration official said. The official said the two men had been accused of several crimes, but were sentenced to death after pleading guilty to the recent murder of a taxi driver. (Posted @ 16:55 PST)
No meddling to be allowed in Pakistan’s matters Tuesday, 23 Dec, ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is a sovereign country and the nation will not tolerate anyone's interference in its internal matters, Leader of the House in Senate Raza Rabbani said Tuesday. 'We have condemned all kind of terrorism and asked the Indian government for a joint investigation soon after the Mumbai attacks,' Rabbani said in the Senate. He said India did not provide any evidence in this regard and it is unfortunate that India is still indulging in blame game. No Pakistani national will be handed over to any other country, he said, adding that if India provides evidence of any Pakistanis involved in the Mumbai attacks, they would be punished according to local laws. (Posted @ 16:46 PST)
India wins series 1-0 after drawn 2nd test Tuesday, 23 Dec, MOHALI:India clinched the two-test series 1-0 against England on Tuesday after Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh batted the tourists out of the contest on the last day of the second match. Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni belatedly declared at 251 for seven when Gambhir was dismissed for 97, leaving England an almost impossible target of 403 in less than two sessions. Gambhir fell three runs short of becoming only the fourth Indian batsman to score centuries in both innings. (Posted @ 16:13 PST)
Attack foiled in Indian-administered Kashmir Tuesday, 23 Dec, JAMMU: India has arrested three suspected Islamic militants – including a Pakistani soldier – accused of planning a suicide attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said on Tuesday. The arrests come amid rising tensions and increasing pressure from India on Pakistan to crack down on militant groups operating from its territory in the wake of the Mumbai attacks. The suspects are members of Jaish-e-Mohammed, one of more than a dozen groups that have been fighting since 1989 to oust India from Kashmir, Kuldeep Khoda, director-general of police in Indian administered Kashmir, told reporters. (Posted @ 15:42 PST)
Six suspected militants killed near Kabul Tuesday, 23 Dec, KABUL: US-led forces killed six suspected militants in an area outside Kabul Monday where 10 French soldiers were killed in an ambush four months ago, the coalition said Tuesday. The six were killed in Sarobi district, about 60 kilometres east of Kabul, 'to diminish the Taliban's terrorist network in Kabul province,' the force said in a statement. Three other suspected militants were captured in the operation, which targeted one insurgent believed to be coordinating Taliban activities in and around Kabul, it added. 'As coalition forces approached the militant's compound they were engaged by small-arms fire. The force returned fire, killing two armed militants,' it said, adding that four more rebels were killed in a subsequent gunfight. Several dozen women and children in the compound escaped unharmed, the statement said. (Posted @ 02:58 PST)
Probe accuses Georgia of genocide in conflict Tuesday, 23 Dec, MOSCOW: A Russian probe into the country's August war with Georgia has found evidence that Tbilisi committed genocide against the people of South Ossetia in the conflict, prosecutors said on Tuesday. 'We can say that we have witnessed the genocide of the Ossetian people,' the head of the Russian prosecutors' investigative committee Alexander Bastrykin told reporters. He said 162 South Ossetian civilians were killed in the conflict — a figure much lower than that of 500 given by South Ossetian rebel authorities and that of over 1,500 given by Russian officials after the outbreak of hostilities. 'What is important is not the number. What is important is that we have established that there was a conscious and planned action to destroy the Ossetians as an ethnic group,' he said. (Posted @ 14:55 PST)
All square after New Zealand give up runs chase Tuesday, 23 Dec, WELLINGTON: The second test between New Zealand and West Indies in Napier ended in a draw on Tuesday after the hosts gave up the run chase with an hour to go. New Zealand finished their second innings on 220 for five, still 92 runs behind the winning target of 312, with Jesse Ryder on 59 and James Franklin two. New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori and West Indies counterpart Chris Gayle agreed to call the game off with nine overs to go after it became apparent neither side was in a position to win. (Posted @ 02:18 PST)
China urges India, Pakistan to improve ties Tuesday, 23 Dec, BEIJING: China on Tuesday urged India and Pakistan to improve their relations after the Mumbai terrorist attacks, which have raised tensions between the two neighbours. India blames Pakistan-based militants for the deadly November 26-29 siege of parts of Mumbai that killed 163 people and has refused to rule out a military response. 'We hope that the two countries can have dialogue and consultation to solve relevant issues and improve their relations as major countries in South Asia,' foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters. (Posted @ 13:44 PST)
Interpol chief in Pakistan for talks on Mumbai Tuesday, 23 Dec, ISLAMABAD: The chief of global police agency Interpol on Tuesday met with Pakistan's interior ministry chief after pledging to help India investigate last month's attacks in Mumbai. Ronald Noble met with Rehman Malik, who has been leading Pakistan's counterterrorism efforts, to discuss both the Mumbai investigation and the devastating September suicide attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad. Noble was to hold a press conference after his talks with Malik, interior ministry spokesman Shahidullah Baig told AFP. Interpol said in a statement that Noble would 'seek Pakistan's agreement to work through Interpol to help identify terrorists worldwide, including those behind the deadly 26-29 November terrorist bombings in Mumbai.' (Posted @ 13:32 PST)
Fiji and New Zealand expel ambassadors Tuesday, 23 Dec, WELLINGTON: Relations between New Zealand and Fiji's military regime sank to a new low Tuesday with the announcement they would expel each other's ambassadors. Despite assurances by Fiji on Monday that it was trying to improve relations with New Zealand, acting high commissioner Caroline McDonald was summoned to Fiji's foreign affairs ministry Tuesday and told she had one week to leave the country, New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said. (Posted @ 12:21 PST)
Five Iraqi police killed in bombing Tuesday, 23 Dec, TARMIYAH, Iraq: Five Iraqi policemen were killed when their convoy was hit by a roadside bomb in the town of Tarmiyah north of Baghdad on Tuesday, local police chief colonel Towfiq Ahmad al-Janabi said. The bomb targetted the convoy of Faisal Ismail, the police chief in the nearby town of Mashaada, Janabi told AFP. Iraq's security forces are a constant target for attack by insurgents. (Posted @ 12:24 PST)
Six suspected militants killed near Kabul Tuesday, 23 Dec, KABUL: US-led forces killed six suspected militants in an area outside Kabul Monday where 10 French soldiers were killed in an ambush four months ago, the coalition said Tuesday. The six were killed in Sarobi district, about 60 kilometres east of Kabul, 'to diminish the Taliban's terrorist network in Kabul province,' the force said in a statement. Three other suspected militants were captured in the operation, which targeted one insurgent believed to be coordinating Taliban activities in and around Kabul, it added. 'As coalition forces approached the militant's compound they were engaged by small-arms fire. The force returned fire, killing two armed militants,' it said, adding that four more rebels were killed in a subsequent gunfight. Several dozen women and children in the compound escaped unharmed, the statement said. (Posted @ 12:05 PST)
Mullen urges 'productive' India-Pakistan ties Tuesday, 23 Dec, WASHINGTON: The Pentagon said on Monday that America’s top military official was in Islamabad for emphasising the need to catch those responsible for the Mumbai terrorist attacks while the State Department said the United States wants the culprits brought to justice. The two statements coincide with reports in the US media that Washington has re-launched its efforts to prevent an armed conflict between India and Pakistan. The Pentagon press release identified Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, chief of the Army Staff, and Director General ISI Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha as the two Pakistani officials who participated in the talks with Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen, who arrived in Islamabad earlier Monday. (Posted @ 02:41 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Editor: Abbas Nasir
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