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| January 19, 2006 | Thursday | Zilhaj 18, 1426 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Bush picks AIDS assistance coordinator to head USAID WASHINGTON, Jan 19, 2006 (AFP) US President George W. Bush has chosen the US global AIDS assistance coordinator, Randall Tobias, to lead the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the White House said Thursday. If confirmed by the US Senate, Tobias would replace Andrew Natsios, whose departure was announced last month. He previously served as chairman, president and chief executive officer of the pharmaceutical giant.(Posted @ 21:58 PST)
Drought worsens Somalia humanitarian crisis -U.N. NAIROBI, Jan 19 (Reuters) A severe drought, the worst in a decade, in Somalia's western and southern region has pushed 1.7 million people in the anarchic Horn of African country needing food aid deeper into poverty, the United Nations said in a statement on Thursday. The statement said that the World Food Programme (WFP) has a shortfall of 59,000 tonnes of food it needs to feed the most threatened Somalis, revising the total amount of food required to 95,000 tonnes from the previous 18,000 tonnes estimate.(Posted @ 21:56 PST)
Iranian president wins Syrian support on atomic row DAMASCUS, Jan 19 (Reuters) Syria said on Thursday Iran had a right to acquire nuclear technology for peaceful means and demanded Israel be stripped of its suspected nuclear arsenal. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at the start of a two-day visit to Damascus, his first since he took office in August. "We support the right of Iran and any state in the world to acquire peaceful technology," Assad told a joint news conference after the talks. Assad renewed Syria's call for a Middle East free of nuclear weapons and said "the beginning should be with Israel". (First Posted@15:30 PST Updated @ 21:56 PST)
Six-way tie for Pakistan Open lead KARACHI, Jan 19, 2006 (AFP) Six players were tied for the lead on Thursday after an action-packed first round of the Pakistan Open, which is making its debut on the Asian Tour. Local hope Imdad Hussain carded a fine four-under-par 68 at Karachi Golf Club to share the lead with Indian trio Jeev Milkha Singh, Ashok Kumar and Amandeep Johl, Welshman Mark Mouland and Australian Pat Giles. A further stroke back in the 200,000-dollar event were England's Chris Rodgers, who won the Asian Tour Qualifying School last weekend, Sweden's Olle Nordberg, Indian duo Amritinder Singh and Arjun Singh and Japan's Akinori Tani.(Posted @ 21:54 PST)
ESA, Galileo Industries sign contract for first four Galileo satellites BERLIN, Jan 19, 2006 (AFP) The European Space Agency (ESA) and Galileo Industries signed Thursday a 1.5-billion-euro contract for the delivery of four satellites to be used in an ambitious navigation system that Europe hopes will rival the reigning US GPS network. ESA and the Galileo consortium officially signed the contract for delivery of the four satellites, which are to be followed by a further 26 satellites between now and 2010.(Posted @ 21:52 PST)
Attacks on US being prepared: Osama bin Laden tape DUBAI, Jan 19, 2006 (AFP) Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden warned that new attacks were being prepared on the United States, according to an audiotape attributed to him and broadcast on Al-Jazeera television Thursday. Bin Laden had previously not been heard of since a December 27, 2004 audiotape in which he anointed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Iraq's most wanted man, as Al-Qaeda's leader in the war-torn country.(Posted @ 21:50 PST)
Italy says to withdraw 1,000 Iraq troops by June ROME, Jan 19 (Reuters) Italy will withdraw 1,000 of its 2,600 troops in Iraq by June and aims to finish its mission there by the end of this year, Defence Minister Antonio Martino said on Thursday. Martino told a parliamentary committee Italy will "gradually end" its military presence and phase into a new type of presence he said would be "substantially civilian in nature". Italy faces a general election next April where the unpopular Iraq war is likely to become an issue. Most Italians and all opposition parties were opposed to the troop deployment.(Posted @ 21:49 PST)
Danish government gets support to keep troops in Iraq COPENHAGEN, Jan 19 (Reuters) Denmark's centre-right government on Thursday won support from the opposition for its proposal to keep troops in Iraq until July 1. Denmark's mandate to keep around 530 of its soldiers serving with U.S.-led forces in Iraq expires on Feb 1. "We support an extension (of the mandate), but at the same time it is our opinion that the Danish forces must be withdrawn as soon as possible and on July 1 at the latest," s foreign policy spokesman of the leading opposition Social Democrats, told parliament.(Posted @ 21:48 PST)
Egypt authorities release 453 Muslim Brotherhood activists CAIRO, Jan 19 (Reuters) Egyptian authorities on Thursday released 453 Muslim Brotherhood activists arrested during a crackdown on the opposition group during parliamentary elections, the Brotherhood said. Muslim Brotherhood deputy leader Mohamed Habib said some 300 activists rounded up in the elections were still in jail.(Posted @ 21:46 PST)
Iraq police fear 34 recruits killed after ambush TIKRIT, Iraq, Jan 19 (Reuters) As many as 34 Iraqi police recruits may have been killed by insurgents after being ambushed in an area north of Baghdad, police said on Thursday. An official said 35 recruits were being driven to Samarra on Tuesday when they were stopped by gunmen near Tarmiya; one wounded man told police he was the sole survivor of a group of 15 thrown into a well and sprayed with bullets. The fate of the other 20 recruits was unclear as the area was too dangerous for police to venture in, even to retrieve the bodies of those known to be dead.(Posted @ 21:45 PST)
Bombs kill 22 as Iraq locks down for vote results BAGHDAD, Jan 19 (Reuters) Insurgents killed at least 22 people in two simultaneous bomb blasts in central Baghdad on Thursday, challenging a security clampdown on the capital ahead of the release of the results of last month's elections. Hours after police had set up extra checkpoints throughout the city, a police patrol was hit by a blast in central Baghdad. "At the same time a suicide bomber went inside the coffee shop and blew himself up," a policeman at the scene said, adding that 22 people had been killed in the two blasts. Body parts lay scattered in the streets and several cars were on fire.(Posted @ 21:45 PST)
Suicide bomber wounds more than dozen in Tel Aviv TEL AVIV, Jan 19 (Reuters) A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a Tel Aviv restaurant on Thursday, wounding more than a dozen people, Israeli officials said. It was the first attack in the Jewish state since Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was incapacitated by a massive stroke on Jan. 4. The bomber walked inside a restaurant on a busy pedestrian mall near Tel Aviv's old central bus station and detonated his explosives, police said. Israeli media said at least 16 people were wounded in the blast. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the explosion.(Posted @ 21:45 PST)
Five foreign militants arrested in Pakistan ISLAMABAD, Jan 19, 2006 (AFP) Security forces in northwest Pakistan on Thursday arrested five suspected foreign militants, all believed to be Afghans, officials said Thursday. They were seized in two raids in the town of Matta, the officials said, near a troubled tribal area bordering Afghanistan where four alleged Al-Qaeda insurgents were thought to have been killed last week. "They appear to be Afghans and are suspected to be involved in militant activities," a senior security official said.(Posted @ 21:45 PST)
India, US hold crucial talks on civilian nuclear deal NEW DELHI, Jan 19, 2006 (AFP) Officials from India and the United States held talks Thursday on closing a landmark deal that would give India access to previously forbidden civilian nuclear technology. Indian foreign secretary Shyam Saran met US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns in New Delhi on the proposal which includes fuel and reactors.(Posted @ 16:46 PST)
Singapore, Pakistan end second round of free-trade talks SINGAPORE, Jan 19, 2006 (AFP) Singapore and Pakistan have ended a second round of negotiations for a free-trade agreement (FTA), the city-state's trade ministry said Thursday. The talks were held from January 16-18 in Islamabad, Singapore's trade ministry said in a statement. "Both sides had fruitful discussions and made further progress on the key issues tabled during the first round in the chapters on trade in goods, rules of origin, trade in services, investment, and the legal elements of the FTA," it said. Both sides also commenced discussions on telecommunications, e-commerce, government procurement, customs, and technical barriers to trade.(Posted @ 16:45 PST)
Security clampdown in Baghdad on eve of poll results BAGHDAD, Jan 19 (Reuters) Iraqi security forces launched a major clampdown in Baghdad on Thursday to guard against insurgent attacks as authorities prepared to publish the final results of the Dec. 15 parliamentary poll on Friday. Witnesses reported seeing an increase in the number of military and police checkpoints throughout the city. Cars were being stopped and searched, causing traffic jams, as soldiers patrolled the streets.(Posted @ 16:40 PST)
Israeli police raid Hamas office in East Jerusalem JERUSALEM, Jan 19 (Reuters) Israeli police on Thursday shut down a Hamas office used to campaign in Arab East Jerusalem in a parliamentary election on Jan. 25, a police spokesman said.(Posted @ 16:40 PST)
Tennis-Hingis wins again as Pierce is knocked out MELBOURNE, Jan 19 (Reuters) Martina Hingis rolled back the years to reach the third round of the Australian Open on Thursday while Mary Pierce was left feeling her age after being dumped from the first grand slam of the year. Hingis thrashed Finland's Emma Laine 6-1 6-1 to reach the third round. Pierce was sent packing by unseeded Czech Iveta Benesova 6-3 7-5, joining Dinara Safina, Ana Ivanovic, Sania Mirza, Gisela Dulko, Marion Bartoli and Anna-Lena Groenefeld on the seeded casualty list.(Posted @ 16:40 PST)
38 killed in Kenyan border cattle raid NAIROBI, Jan 19 (Reuters) Ethiopian and Sudanese cattle raiders attacked Kenyan herdsmen in a cross-border raid that killed 38 people in the remote and lawless northern region, local authorities said on Thursday.(Posted @ 15:40 PST)
Cricket-Zimbabwe's woes clear way for India-Pakistan-Australia tri-series FAISALABAD, Pakistan, Jan 19, 2006 (AFP) Zimbabwe's decision to suspend its Test status for the rest of the year has given India and Pakistan a chance to firm up plans for a lucrative one-day series later this year. The tri-series, which will be held in India or Pakistan, will replace Zimbabwe's scheduled tour of Pakistan in September. "We now have the option of going ahead with the tri-series," Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan said Thursday. "When we discussed it with Indian officials earlier this month, the only hurdle was that Zimbabwe was due to tour Pakistan in September…but now that Zimbabwe have themselves withdrawn their Test status, that hurdle has gone."(Posted @ 15:15 PST)
Pakistan rebuilds clinics in quake zone MUZAFFARABAD, Azad Kashmir, Jan 19, 2006 (AFP) Pakistan has started to rebuild clinics destroyed by October's huge earthquake as harsh winter weather fuels fears of disease outbreaks, officials said Thursday. "We have started rebuilding 61 basic health units and seven rural health centres with pre-fabricated materials in Muzaffarabad and the Neelum valley," a local health chief said. Groups including the United Nations Children's Fund and the UN Population Fund were helping the government with the work. The health official said that before the quake Muzaffarabad had 400 hospital beds but now more than 700 were available, some of them at field hospitals set up by local and foreign aid agencies in remote areas. Meteorologists Thursday forecast more rain and snow in mountain areas. "All quake-hit areas are still in the grip of a dying out westerly wave, expected to produce more rain and light to moderate snow over the mountains above 6,000 feet during the next two to three days," Pakistan's meteorological department said on its website.(Posted @ 15:00 PST)
Seven injured in gunbattle in snowbound Occupied Kashmir village SRINAGAR, Occupied Kashmir, Jan 19, 2006 (AFP) Five civilians and two Indian soldiers were injured in a gunbattle with alleged militants in a snowbound village in Occupied Kashmir, an army spokesman said Thursday. "Militants attacked an army foot patrol in the snowbound village of Surigam in (northern) Kupwara district late Wednesday, injuring an officer and a soldier," a spokesman said. The spokesman added that the alleged militants managed to escape from the area under cover of darkness.(Posted @ 14:45 PST)
Fifth seed Pierce dumped from Australian Open in second round MELBOURNE, Australia, Jan 19 (AFP) - Fifth seed Mary Pierce crashed out of the Australian Open second round Thursday when she failed to find the sizzling comeback form that swept her to two Grand Slam finals last year. The Frenchwoman fell 6-3, 7-5 to Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic in scorching conditions.(Posted @ 13:15 PST)
Six Iraqi women detainees to be released-ministry BAGHDAD, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The Iraqi justice ministry said on Thursday that U.S. forces would release six Iraqi women prisoners but that the move was not related to the demands of a militant group that kidnapped an American journalist and have threatened to kill her unless all Iraqi women detainees are freed. The U.S. military did not confirm the releases would take place. A spokesman said it could not discuss individual cases of detainees or ongoing reviews.(Posted @ 11:47 PST)
Mobile telephones cut in Nepal's capital KATHMANDU, Jan 19, 2006 (AFP) - Mobile telephone services in Nepal's capital Kathmandu were cut Thursday, a day before banned anti-government demonstrations were set to take place, a telecom official said.(Posted @ 11:45 PST)
Sri Lanka recalls Jayasuriya for Australia tri-series COLOMBO, Jan 19, 2006 (AFP) - Sanath Jayasuriya has returned to Sri Lanka's squad for the remaining triangular series matches in Australia after recovering from a shoulder injury, the selectors announced Thursday. He will join the squad in Sydney and is available for selection for the third game, Sri Lankan selector K. M. Nelson said. Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka have posted one victory each. Sri Lanka will take on Australia in their next game at Sydney on Sunday.(Posted @ 11:30 PST)
Militants attacks 50 phone towers in restive Thai south YALA, Thailand, Jan 19, 2006 (AFP) - Some 200 militants set dozens of telephone towers ablaze overnight in Thailand's Muslim-majority south, in attacks officials said Thursday could be reprisals for government instructions to cell phone users to register their lines so that authorities can track phones used to detonate bombs in the region. "There were more than 50 arson attacks in four provinces, but no one died," regional police commander, Lt- Gen Adul Seangsingkaeo told reporters. "The attacks involve more than 200 teenaged militants," he added. The militants threw petrol bombs at mobile phone relay towers and phone booths. Seven militants have been arrested, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters in northeastern Thailand.(Posted @ 11:20 PST)
Earthquakes killed nearly 90,000 in 2005; US Report ISLAMABAD, Jan 19 (APP): Nearly all worldwide quake-related fatalities for 2005 - more than 87,000 - occurred when a 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit Pakistan on October 8, said a report of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released recently. Although there were fewer deaths worldwide in 2005 due to earthquakes, the number of seriously injured was much larger - more than 89,353, and once again overwhelmingly in Pakistan, the report said. The USGS locates about 80 earthquakes each day or nearly 29,000 a year. On an average, 18 major earthquakes (with magnitudes of 7.0 to 7.9) and one great earthquake (8.0-magnitude or higher) occur each year worldwide. Several million earthquakes occur in the world each year, but many go undetected because they occur in remote areas or have very small magnitudes. In the third deadliest earthquake year on record, more than 283,000 died in the December 26, 2004, 9.0-magnitude Sumatra quake and the resultant tsunami.(Posted @ 11:15 PST)
Zimbabwe suspends its Test status HARARE, Jan 19(APP/AFP) - Zimbabwe cricket lurched into another crisis on Wednesday when it suspended its national team from Test matches for the rest of the year, the Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) union said in a statement. (Posted @ 10:05 PST)
Lowari Top, key highways closed after heavy snowfall in Chitral ISLAMABAD, Jan 19 (APP): After widespread rain and snowfall over the mountains in Chitral, Lowari Top and some other roads have been closed for traffic. Chitral-Garam Chashma road and Bony, Torko, Shagram and other key links in the area have been closed for Vehicular traffic after blizzard, NWQFP works department said. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
UN agency links with Pakistan govt to help rural poor tap into credit UNITED NATIONS, Jan 19 (APP)- UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Pakistan signed a $26.5 million loan agreement in Rome Wednesday that will give country's rural poor access to innovative financial services. The loan will help finance the $30.5 million Microfinance Innovation and Outreach Programme, meant to support pilot projects that will test new microfinance products and services. At least 180,000 households are expected to benefit. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
Cricket-India postpone 2007 tour of New Zealand MELBOURNE, Jan 19 (Reuters) - India's planned tour of New Zealand next year has been postponed until 2008 because of a scheduling clash with the World Cup, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chief executive Martin Snedden said on Thursday. The tour was supposed to take place in February and March 2007 but was rescheduled after the International Cricket Council (ICC) switched the start of the World Cup, to be played in the West Indies, from April to March. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
India's Mirza dumped out of Australian Open MELBOURNE, Australia, Jan 19 (AFP) - Indian tennis star Sania Mirza failed to live up to expectations Thursday when she was dumped out of the Australian Open second round by Michaela Krajicek of the Netherlands. She struggled in the searing heat to lose 6-3, 7-5 in 81 minutes. (Posted @ 09:15 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 24.70 points: KARACHI, Jan 19: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 10259.87, up 24.70 points from Wednesday's close. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:05 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Jan 19: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 58.9 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:05 PST)
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