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| February 27, 2006 | Monday | Muharram 28, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Militants attack train in Pakistan QUETTA, Pakistan, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Suspected tribal militants attacked a passenger train near Baneri, around 80 km southeast of Baluchistan's capital Quetta on Monday, opening fire on paramilitary guards on board but there were no casualties, officials said. The train derailed when the driver braked after hearing an explosion, Mohammad Mushtaq, Chief Controller of Pakistan Railways' Quetta Division, said. An engine and two carriages jumped the track, but did not overturn and no one on board the Lahore-bound train was injured either in the derailment or the firing, he said. Earlier in the day, three paramilitary troopers were wounded after coming under fire from gunmen while escorting railway workers to repair a section of track damaged by an explosion in the Harnai area of northern Baluchistan. One of the troopers later died from his wounds, a doctor said. Baluchistan's Home Minister, Shoaib Nausherwani, said "we suspect today's incidents are links of the chain of attacks by miscreants. They want to target government servants and people from Punjab.(First Posted @ 12:50 PST Updated @ 21:40 PST)
Train Service Suspended Quetta, Feb 27(APP) Train service between Balochistan and other provinces was suspended here Monday after rocket attack on Chiltan Express near Sibi, Divisional Transport Officer(Railway) Mohsin Yousaf said. The train driver applied the brakes soon after the attack which caused derailment of the engine and a few bogies. Resultantly, the track was damaged and the Railway authorities had to suspend the train service, he added. A team of engineers is still engaged in repair work which is likely to be completed within the next few hours, he added. Miscreants also opened fire on a goods train on Sibi-Hurnai section as a result of which three personnel of law enforcement agencies were injured. The firing caused no damage to the train or its crew, the DTO said.(Posted @ 22:00 PST)
Pakistan confirms presence of bird flu strain on poultry farms ISLAMABAD, Feb 27, 2006 (AFP) Pakistan has detected H5-type bird flu in chickens on two poultry farms in the country's northwest bordering Afghanistan, officials said Monday. Authorities ordered the slaughter of all birds on the farms and tests were underway to determine if the virus was the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain, Agriculture Ministry spokesman Mohammad Afzal said. "We have found H5-infected birds at two farms at Charsadda and Abottabad districts in North West Frontier Province and requested the owners to cull all the birds," Afzal told AFP. "We have not ruled out that it is H5N1 but it appears to be a low pathogenic strain," he said. Pakistan had sent samples from infected birds for testing at the EU Reference Laboratory for avian influenza in Weybridge, England, and results were expected "within a week or so", he said. (Posted @ 15:50 PST)
Air Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed designated as next Chief of the Air Staff ISLAMABAD, Feb 27 (APP): The government has designated Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Amir Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed as the next Chief of the Air staff. He will assume command of Pakistan Air Force on March 20, 2008 on the retirement of Air Chief Marshal Kaleem Saadat, the current Chief of the Air Staff. The Air Marshal decorated with Sitara-e-Basalat, Sitara-e- Imtiaz (Mil) and Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Mil) is serving as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff for over two years.(Posted @ 21:45 PST)
Pakistan, US to discuss broad-based agenda during Bush visit ISLAMABAD, Feb 27 (APP): Pakistan and United States will discuss a broad range of issues including anti-terrorism efforts, the Kashmir dispute and cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy when US President George W. Bush visits Islamabad this week, Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said Monday. "The visit underscores strong relations between Pakistan and US and will focus on broadening and deepening bilateral cooperation in diverse fields," she said at the weekly media briefing. Responding to a question, the spokesperson said that an interview of President Bush widely reported in Indian and other media had been distorted. President Bush made no reference to training camps, she added. Answering a question, the spokesperson said that OIC members and contact groups were in touch and consulting each other on the issue of publication of blasphemous sketches. On the reported killing of four Kashmiri boys in Kapwara by Indian troops she said police had since registered a case against Rashtaria Rifles which was involved in the killing.(Posted @ 23:20 PST)
PIA to buy 29 new aircraft in next five years: Tariq Kirmani KARACHI, Feb 27 (APP)- PIA will add 29 new aircraft to its existing fleet of 40 aircrafts during the next five years, national career’s chairman and CEO Tariq Kirmani said Monday at a ceremony at Karachi airport to mark the induction of fourth Boeing 777-200 LR into the airline fleet. PIA is to buy 12 Boeing 777-200 both LR and ER versions with the 5th aircraft to be received in March 2006, Kirmani said. PIA will also procure ATRs with first delivery to start from May this year and then one aircraft after every two months. He said PIA will get three ATRs this year, four next year and three bigger 75 seaters thereafter.(Posted @ 22:10 PST)
Indian Troops martyr three more Kashmiri youth in IHK ISLAMABAD, Feb 27 (APP):In occupied Kashmir, Indian troops, in their fresh act of state-terrorism, blasted a residential house at Shamsipora in Islamabad IHK. Dead bodies of three youth were recovered from the debris, PTV reported.(Posted @ 21:50 PST)
Ready-made bridges to be provided in quake-hit areas ISLAMABAD, Feb 27 (APP): Federal Relief Commissioner, Maj Gen. Farooq Ahmed Khan has said that ready-made bridges will be provided for efficient communication in the earthquake affected areas of NWFP and AJK. Talking to a 22-member delegation of NWFP led by Lt. Gen. (R) Salahuddin Tirmizi, he said that these bridges will be provided for quick and efficient transportation of relief goods and construction materials. The delegation comprising Nazims, Councillors and business community members from Balakot, Kaghan and Mansehra apprised the Relief Commissioner about the problems being faced by their respective constituencies after the October 8 earthquake. Gen. Farooq said that extending micro credit and other loan facilities for re-starting small businesses will be coordinated by Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority. He said affectees of Balakot have got compensation for 57,988 houses while a total of 276,000 affected families from NWFP have got compensation for damaged houses. Gen. Farooq said that the Federal Government has released an amount of Rs. 22 billion to the AJK and NWFP governments in the first phase for compensation to the affectees. He said donor agencies including USAID, DFID, WFP, IUCN, ILO, UNDP, CIDA and JICA have been requested to support the livelihood programme in areas where agriculture is hit by the quake.(Posted @ 21:48 PST)
Iraqi forces capture Zarqawi aide-state TV BAGHDAD, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Iraqi Interior Ministry forces have captured a senior aide to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Iraqi state television said Monday. It named the man as Abu Farouq and said he was captured with five others in Ramadi, west of the capital. It said Abu Farouq al-Suri, previously unknown to the media, was captured by the Wolf Brigade. U.S. military spokespeople were unaware of the capture.(Posted @ 21:18 PST)
India outlines formula for nuclear deal NEW DELHI, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh on Monday outlined a formula on how the government will separate its civilian and military nuclear programmes as it tries to clinch a landmark nuclear deal with Washington. But he stood firm, saying India would not be pushed into a deal. He told parliament the government's offer to Washington would involve the listing of nuclear reactors that generate about 65 percent of atomic power as civilian and thus open to international scrutiny. "We have judged every proposal made by the U.S. side on merits, but we remain firm in that the decision of what facilities may be identified as civilian will be made by India alone, and not by anyone else," Singh said.(Posted @ 21:12 PST)
EU approves euro120 million in aid for Palestinians BRUSSELS, Feb 27 (AP) _ The European Union agreed Monday to provide euro 120 million (US$143 million) in urgent aid for Palestinians before a government led by Hamas takes office. The funds were required to avoid ``economic chaos'' from paralyzing the Palestinian Authority, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said. Officials said the aid package comprises euro40 million (US$48 million) to pay for the Palestinian Authority's energy and other utility bills, euro64 million (US$76 million) for health and education projects and euro17.5 (US$21 million) to help the authority pay its employees.(Posted @ 21:05 PST)
Boat carrying pilgrims sinks in Bangladesh river; 1 dead, 20 missing BARISAL, Bangladesh, Feb 27 (AP) A boat packed with about 100 pilgrims returning from an religious gathering capsized in Kirtankhola river near Barisal city on Monday, leaving one person dead and about 20 missing, survivors said. Most passengers were able to swim ashore because the boat sank close to the bank of the river, but people found a body inside the sunken boat. They used fishing boats to search for about 20 missing people. Divers located the sunken boat under about 45 feet of water, said Shahjal Haque, a regional official of the government's Inland Water Transport Authority. ``We fear some bodies are still trapped inside the small vessel,'' he added.(Posted @ 21:02 PST)
Pakistan welcomes US president's involvement in Kashmir dispute ISLAMABAD, Feb 27 (AP) _ Pakistan welcomed U.S. President George W. Bush's plan to push for a peace agreement on Kashmir when he visits New Delhi and Islamabad this week, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said Monday. Bush had told state-owned Pakistan Television he would use his visit to New Delhi and Islamabad `to urge the leadership to continue solving this issue with the idea that it can be solved.'' The spokeswoman said the US President’s approach was welcome and consistent with his recently stated policy. ``We do encourage and appreciate the international community's engagement with Pakistan and India on Kashmir,'' she told reporters. ``The U.S. has been, in a way, engaged in this process.'' She said Bush's speech last week to the Asia Society in Washington ``clearly spells out the U.S. policy direction.''(Posted @ 20:58 PST)
Gorbachev accuses U.S. of unilateralism in world affairs MOSCOW, Feb 27 (AP) _ Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on Monday warned the United States against unilateralism in global affairs and said that the Iranian nuclear crisis should be solved through patient diplomacy. Gorbachev, who turns 75 Thursday, also hailed the Kremlin's invitation for Hamas to visit Moscow and criticized the West for trying to shun the militant Palestinian group. Gorbachev said the United States had failed to use the end of the Cold War for purposes of global development and abused its position as the world's only superpower. ``There is only one superpower now and it doesn't know what to do with its status,'' Gorbachev said at a meeting with foreign reporters. ``As a result, we got Yugoslavia and Iraq, and the situation has only got worse.'' He counselled the global community to continue patient efforts to persuade Iran to observe theNPT adding that Tehran's insistence on its right to develop peaceful nuclear energy was perfectly legitimate. Gorbachev also strongly backed Putin's invitation to Hamas to visit Moscow, saying that the move offers an opportunity to draw the militant group into the peace process.(Posted @ 20:30 PST)
Gunmen open fire on two police cars in southern Russia, wounding one officer NALCHIK, Russia, Feb 27 (AP) _ Gunmen attacked two police cars in the southern Russian region of Karachayevo-Cherkessiya, wounding one officer, regional prosecutors said Monday. The attack occurred late Sunday in the city of Karachayevsk,where the assailants hid out in a partially constructed building and managed to escape. Witnesses said intense shooting continued for about 40 minutes, during which time the street lights went out, and that a number of ambulances had been brought to the scene of fighting. Russia's southern regions have increasingly been plagued by violence _ some of it spilling over from the separatist conflict in Chechnya. Karachayevo-Cherkessiya in particular has suffered an upsurge in tension. Young Muslims were detained en masse on Sunday, the Islamic spiritual administration of Karachayevo-Cherkessiya told The Associated Press.(Posted @ 20:25 PST)
Twelve hurt in accidental blast at Israeli military facility JERUSALEM, Feb 27, 2006 (AFP) - Twelve people were injured Monday when a large explosion rocked state-owned Rafael military research facility in Kiryat Bialik near the Israeli port city of Haifa.Police spokesman Mickey Rosen said the "explosion was the result of a work accident, which occurred because of a dangerous substance which was kept in a bottle," but did not give details. Police and medical sources said 12 people were injured, all but two of whom were only lightly hurt.(Posted @ 20:20 PST)
Iraq orders tank deployment in Baghdad BAGHDAD, Feb 27, 2006 (AFP) - Iraq has ordered the deployment of its own tanks in Baghdad following unprecedented sectarian strife last week, an Iraqi general said Monday. The government also ordered soldiers to arrest anyone carrying weapons illegally, General Abdel Aziz Mohammed, chief of operations at the ministry, told a news conference.It was not immediately known in what part of the capital the tanks were being deployed. "This decision was taken last night and the tanks are in place now," the general said. He also said the army had been ordered to use force if necessary to disarm militias on the streets. "The orders are clear, meaning no groups can carry weapons on the streets. Anyone carrying weapons on the streets will be detained. If they do not comply, the army will use force," he added.(Posted @ 20:14 PST)
Imran Khan hits back after arrest over cartoons rally LAHORE, Pakistan, Feb 27, 2006 (AFP) - Pakistani cricket hero-turned politician Imran Khan on Monday hit out at his detention for taking part in a protest rally against blasphemous cartoons in Lahore on Sunday. "I was kept at a police station in Lahore. They released me after three hours' detention," he said. Imran said his Justice party would back further rallies in Pakistan, including a nationwide strike on March 3 followed by calls by Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), for a rally in Karachi on March 5 and in Quetta on March 7. He said: "These caricatures are part of an anti-Islam conspiracy. If a debate on the holocaust is a crime then the blasphemous cartoons must also be declared a crime." The authorities have banned rallies in Lahore, and police detained dozens of people, including MMA chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed and several other opposition leaders on Sunday. The MMA chief has been confined in his party headquarters in Lahore under a 30-day house arrest order but he left the building on Monday to address more than 800 women, led by his daughter Sameea Raheel Qazi, who staged a protest rally outside. Lahore High Court on Monday heard a petition against the house arrest order on Qazi Husain Ahmed and ordered the government of Punjab province to respond by March 2.(Posted @ 18:40 PST)
Iran says 'impossible' to halt nuclear program: Japanese official TOKYO, Feb 27, 2006 (AFP) - Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Monday it was "impossible" for the Islamic republic to stop its nuclear program, a Japanese official said. "Iran's nuclear development is experimental research. So it is impossible to stop it again," Mottaki told his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso, according to a Japanese official who attended their talks. "Iran has no intention to seek nuclear weapons. It is important to both remove international concern and secure Iran's right. It is our right to use nuclear energy for a peaceful purpose," Mottaki was quoted as saying.(Posted @ 18:22 PST)
Kashmir Shiites burn Bush effigy, appeal to UN over Iraq attack SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Feb 27, 2006 (AFP) - Several thousand Shiite Muslims Monday held demonstrations for a fourth consecutive day in revolt-hit occupied Kashmir to protest at the bombing of their shrine in Iraq, witnesses said. The biggest demonstration was held in Srinagar with protesters burning an effigy of US President George W. Bush, who is due in India later in the week, they said. The effigy was set alight in front of a small UN military office in Srinagar as protestors, many wearing black headbands, shouted anti-US slogans. The demonstration was led by Aga Syed Hassan, a member of the moderate separatist alliance. He later presented a memorandum to UN officials addressed to Secretary General Kofi Annan urging him to hand out "exemplary punishment to those who desecrate holy shrines." Muslims, predominantly the Shiites, have been holding demonstrations since Thursday over the desecration of the holy shrines.(Posted @ 18:15 PST)
US has Afghan jail like Guantanamo: report WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (APP/AFP) - A US prison in Afghanistan houses about 500 terror suspects indefinitely held without charges and in poorer conditions than the better-known camp in Guantanamo Bay, The New York Times reported. Pentagon officials have described the former machine shop at Bagram Air Base, 65 kilometers north of Kabul, as a screening center, the Times said. "Bagram was never meant to be a long-term facility, and now it's a long-term facility without the money or resources," an unnamed Pentagon official who knows the facility and compared it to the one at Guantanamo was quoted as saying in the daily. "Anyone who has been to Bagram would tell you it's worse" than the Guantanamo prison, the official said. The Times said some of prisoners have been held at Bagram for as long as two or three years and have no access to lawyers or to hear the allegations against them.(Posted @ 17:25 PST)
Four dead, 30 injured in Afghan prison riot KABUL, Feb 27 (APP/AFP) - At least four prisoners were killed and 30 wounded in a weekend riot in a block at Afghanistan's main prison, officials said Monday. The riot erupted late Saturday in a block of the Pul-e-Charkhi prison on the outskirts of Kabul that contains more than 1,300 inmates, including about 300 allied to the ousted Taliban government and Al-Qaeda. Police and soldiers have surrounded the block since then but have been unable to enter to collect the dead and wounded because of the rioting. A police official and a separate source close to negotiations with the prisoners said on condition of anonymity that at least four prisoners had been killed. "There are four dead inside and 30 wounded," the police official said. The figures could not be confirmed officially, with authorities saying it was difficult to know the exact situation until they were able to enter the block.(Posted @ 17:22 PST)
UK based Charity to set up three villages in quake hit areas ISLAMABAD, Feb 27 (APP): The UK based charity 'Innocent Child ' plans to establish 150 houses mainly for destitute children and women at an estimated cost of Rs 2500 million in Mansehra, Ghari Doppatta and Balakot. Each village would have a community centre, school and recreational centre, and infra-structure would be created to enable inhabitants to earn their living. The charity supplied 85 tonnes of relief goods including blankets, tents, medicines, etc for the earthquake survivors in November 2005. Over 200 tents were imported from China.(Posted @ 17:04 PST)
Pakistan's strong defence can bring stability to the region; PM KAMRA, Feb 27 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Monday said Pakistan with its strong defence capabilities can play a major stabilising role in the region. "The region has lot of challenges and if we look around the neighbourhood,having a strong credible defence capability can only add to peace," he said at a ceremony to the mark the inaugurate manufacturing of parts for Boeing aircraft by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex. "Like any sovereign country we will always defend our soverignty," he said and vowed that the government would provide all resources to "enhance and maintain" its defence capability.(Posted @ 16:58 PST)
Mortar attack kills four in Baghdad-police BAGHDAD, Feb 27 (Reuters) - A mortar attack killed four people and wounded 13 others in Shola, a Shi'ite district in Sunni-dominated western Baghdad on Monday, police said.(Posted @ 16:48 PST)
Russia calls on Iran to resume moratorium on enrichment MOSCOW, Feb 27, 2006 (AFP) - Russia called Monday on Iran to return to its voluntary moratorium on enrichment of uranium. "Russia wants a moratorium on enrichment of uranium in Iran," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters.(Posted @ 16:38 PST)
Printing blasphemous cartoons 'shallow': Japan's FM TOKYO, Feb 27, 2006 (AFP) Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Monday it was "shallow" for some European media to have printed blasphemous cartoons which triggered massive protests in Muslim nations. "Even people like us who are not Muslims know the fact that there is no idolatry" allowed over the Holy Prophet in Islam, Aso told a parliamentary panel. "If those who are well aware of the fact did so, I personally would say it could have been shallow," the outspoken foreign minister said. (Posted @ 16:10 PST)
Baghdad curfew lifted after civil war threat BAGHDAD, Feb 27, 2006 (AFP) Life returned to the streets of Baghdad on Monday after Iraqi authorities lifted a curfew and other restrictions imposed on the city in the wake of an unprecedented wave of sectarian killings that had threatened to spark civil war. A three-hour extension to the usual seven-hour night curfew will however continue for the time being in Baghdad and the three central provinces of Salaheddin, Bail and Diyala, officials said. Meanwhile, a bomb exploded in the centre of the capital shortly after noon, but there were no immediate casualty reports. On the other hand, the trial of Saddam Hussein was set to resume in the capital on Tuesday with his appointed lawyers, who are expected to end their boycott of proceedings, saying the ousted dictator has given up on his hunger strike.In another development, Iraq's national security adviser, Muwaffak al-Rubaie, announced that 10 people, including four security guards, have been arrested in connection with Wednesday's bombing of Samarra's golden domed shrine. "These leads are very, very good in our investigations," al-Rubaie said. Wednesday’ tragedy sparked the worst sectarian violence in the country since the 2003 US-led invasion, and officials acknowledged that some 120 people were killed nationwide between Wednesday and Friday. (Posted @ 16:05 PST)
World court opens landmark Bosnian genocide case against Serbia THE HAGUE, Feb 27, 2006 (AFP) The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday opened a landmark genocide case brought by Bosnia against Serbia-Montenegro, the first state-level genocide case ever to be heard past the preliminary stages by the United Nations's highest court. "The armed violence which hit our country like a man-made tsunami in 1992. destroyed the very character of Bosnia Hercegovina, and certainly destroyed part of the non-Serb population," Sakib Softic, the representative for Bosnia, told the court in his opening statement. The Bosnian war, which lasted from 1992 to 1995, claimed up to 200,000 lives and left millions of refugees homeless. Bosnia's legal team will rely heavily on evidence gathered by prosecutors in earlier cases at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and is expected to focus especially on the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of some 8,000 Muslims by Bosnian Serb troops. (Posted @ 15:45 PST)
Saudi forces kill suspected militants after siege RIYADH, Feb 27 (Reuters) Saudi forces on Monday killed five suspected militants believed to be linked to an al Qaeda attack on the world's biggest oil processing plant, the interior ministry said. A shootout erupted at dawn after security forces besieged suspects in a villa in east Riyadh where several Western residential compounds are located. An official statement said one other suspected militant was arrested elsewhere in the capital. Security sources said police had tracked down the militants after pursuing two vehicles that appeared on the surveillance video of the Abqaiq facility shortly before it was attacked. One source said the men were also traced through Internet monitoring. (First Posted @ 09:50 PST Updated @ 14:15 PST)
Nepal Maoists ambush army patrol, kill three troops KATHMANDU, Feb 27 (Reuters) Dozens of Maoist rebels ambushed an army patrol in eastern Nepal on Monday and shot dead at least three soldiers, an army officer said. One civilian was also killed in the crossfire during the gun battle in Kavre district, 80 km east of Kathmandu, the officer said without elaborating. The attack came a day after the army said it killed at least 16 rebels in the west of the country.(First Posted @10:25 PST Updated @ 14:10 PST)
Two bombs rock Iranian oil cities, four hurt TEHRAN, Feb 27 (Reuters) Two bombs exploded in the southern Iranian cities of Dezful and Abadan on Monday wounding four people, the official IRNA news agency reported. The IRNA bulletin said the bombs were planted in the governor's offices in both cities. (Posted @ 14:10 PST)
Iranian president arrives in Kuwait for brief visit KUWAIT CITY (AP) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived Monday for a brief visit to Kuwait, the same day Egypt's president was scheduled to visit. It was not known if they would meet. Ahmadinejad will meet with Kuwait's new emir, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, and speak to the press before he leaves in the early afternoon. (Posted @ 14:10 PST)
Arroyo steps up purge of suspected coup plotters MANILA, Feb 27 (Reuters) A purge of leftists and soldiers suspected of plotting to topple Philippine President Arroyo went into high gear on Monday as police filed cases against 16 people, including a former hero of the 1986 "people power" uprising. Arroyo appeared on state television, but gave no indication of when the emergency rule would be lifted, and instead revived an old pledge to improve the lot of the country's demoralised military forces. Police said three of the group had already been arrested.(First Posted @ 10:55 PST Updated @ 12:43 PST)
Troops await orders after Afghan prison riot PUL-I-CHARKHI, Afghanistan, Feb 27 (Reuters) Police and troops backed by armoured vehicles ringed Kabul's main jail on Monday after hundreds of inmates led by Taliban commanders and a kidnap gang leader took over cell blocks, officials said. The rioters, who numbered more than 1,000, appeared to have taken over the women's section of the jail and may be holding hostages, a human rights official involved in negotiations said. (Posted @ 12:40 PST)
German intelligence gave Iraq's defense plan to US: report NEW YORK, Feb 27, 2006 (AFP) Germany passed intelligence on Saddam Hussein's plan to defend Baghdad to US commanders a month before the United States invaded, The New York Times reported Monday citing "a classified study by the United States military". The Times reported that "in providing the Iraqi document, German intelligence officials offered more significant assistance to the United States than their government has publicly acknowledged. The plan gave the American military an extraordinary window into Iraq's top-level deliberations, including where and how Mr. Hussein planned to deploy his most loyal troops. The report said Germany was not the sole case of a nation which publicly opposed the war while it "privately facilitated it", citing Egypt and Saudi Arabia as other examples. "Egypt gave access for refuelling planes, while Saudi Arabia allowed American special operations forces to initiate attacks from its territory, United States military officials say." (Posted @ 12:40 PST)
US soldier killed in Iraq BAGHDAD, Feb 27, 2006 (AFP) US military Monday announced the death of a third soldier who was killed in Baghdad on Sunday. Earlier on Sunday the military had announced deaths of two soldiers from a roadside bomb attack in the capital. (Posted @ 10:55 PST)
Blasphemous cartoon issue highlights need to respect diversity: Yudhoyono JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) The controversy surrounding blasphemous cartoons highlights the need to define the balance between freedom of expression and religious sensitivities, Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Monday. ``How we deal with the cartoon crisis today is an important lesson to how we will deal with (future crises) in different forms but perhaps with greater damage,'' Yudhoyono said as he opened an international conference on terrorism in the Indonesian capital. ``If we do not address this issue rightly, I fear that we will lose more people in the Islamic world in this battle for the hearts and minds,'' he added. (Posted @ 10:20 PST)
18 dead or missing in China mine blast BEIJING, Feb 27, 2006 (AFP) Eighteen miners were killed or missing after a gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in central China's Hunan province, the government said Monday. The explosion occurred Saturday afternoon at the Dayuan coal mine, leaving six miners confirmed dead and 12 others missing, the State Administration of Work Safety said on its website. (Posted @ 10:20 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 355.05 points: KARACHI, Feb 27: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 11191.74, down 355.05 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:25 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Feb 27: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.05 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 10:00 PST)
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