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| June 3, 2006 | Saturday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 6, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
There is an excellence in Dubai which can be exported to Pakistan: PM Aziz LONDON, June 3 (Financial Times website) Dubai is poised to become the biggest foreign investor in Pakistan following the announcement of property, financial service and infrastructure projects worth billions of dollars, UK’s Financial Times reported Saturday. The Pakistani government welcomed the plans - revealed during a visit by Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, to Islamabad - as a significant vote of confidence in the country's two-year-old economic recovery and said Pakistan would take extraordinary measures to facilitate UAE investors. "There is an excellence in Dubai which can be exported to Pakistan," Shaukat Aziz, Pakistan's prime minister, told the FT. "These investment plans run in to several billion dollars - the largest investment of its kind and something which signifies a great deal of investor confidence." Details of the projects have not been released but some reports say business groups Emaar and Dubai World are poised to invest in property projects worth more than $30bn. Dubai Islamic Bank has also sought permission from Pakistan's central bank to establish between 50 to 70 new branches across the country - the largest expansion by a foreign bank ever. Aziz said investors from the UAE had already begun increasing their stakes in Pakistan since last year's privatisation of Pakistan Telecom - the main telecoms utility, whose 26 per cent stock and management rights were taken over by Etisalat, the UAE-based telecoms company. One of Pakistan's six mobile phone companies and one of the three largest public sector banks, which was privatised three years ago, are owned by UAE investors, the FT report added.(Posted @ 18:08 PST)
Court issues arrest warrants for Benazir, Zardari ISLAMABAD, June 03, (PPI) A district and sessions judge of Islamabad court Saturday issued non bail able arrest warrants for former prime minister and chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Benazir Bhutto, and her spouse Asif Ali Zardari. The court directed the Ministry of Interior to present them in court on July 3 after their arrest through the Interpol. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed two separate applications in the court accusing both Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari of submitting false statements and declaration of their assets with the election commission of Pakistan. On a previous date of hearing the judge had issued summons directing Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari to appear before the court on June 3. The court also took serious note that neither the accused nor their counsels had turned up to face the court proceedings.(Posted @ 18:45 PST)
Military plane crashes in east China BEIJING, June 3, (AFP) - A military transport plane with 40 crew members as well as passengers onboard crashed during a mission in eastern China on Saturday, state media said. It was unclear if there were casualties, news agency Xinhua quoted a military source as saying. Rescue workers have arrived at the crash site in Anhui province. The cause of the crash was being investigated, the agency said. (Posted @ 22:32 PST)
Death toll from Basra car bomb 15 BASRA, Iraq, June 3 (Reuters) At least 15 people were killed and 30 wounded on Saturday after a car bomb exploded in Iraq's southern city of Basra, police said.(Posted @ 20:44 PST)
Pakistan's defence doctrine based on minimum deterrence: PM Aziz ISLAMABAD, Jun 3 (APP): Pakistan is a peaceful country and its defence doctrine is based on minimum credible deterrence in the interest of maintaining peace in the region, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Saturday. Talking to Eritrean Defence Minister, General Sebhat Ephrem who called on him at the Prime Minister House, he said Pakistan is not in an arms race with anyone and its defence policy is aimed at safeguarding the country's integrity and sovereignty. "Sustainable peace in the region will not be possible without the resolution of the Kashmir issues and only peace will help South Asia achieve its true potential”, he said. General Sebhat Ephrem expressed the desire to expand cooperation with Pakistan in all areas including defence, particularly for training of their armed forces personnel in training institutions of Pakistan. He briefed the Prime Minister on Eritrean's policies and their relations with neighbouring countries.(Posted @ 17:58 PST)
Textile unrest spreads in Bangladesh DHAKA, June 3, 2006 (AFP) Thousands of Bangladeshi textile workers staged fresh walkouts Saturday as unrest over low wages spread to other areas amid government calls for calm, officials said. Police and paramilitary forces were called to the Dhaka Export Processing Zone (DEPZ) at Ashulia, north of the capital, where workers from several factories held demonstrations, said Dhaka police chief. On Saturday, at least seven factories in the DEPZ were shut following walkouts by several thousand workers demanding increased salaries, overtime and a weekly mandatory holiday, said an official. Commerce Minister Hafizuddin Ahmed told workers he would sit with their representatives and foreign investors Sunday to find a "peaceful solution" to the labour unrest. (Posted @ 17:55 PST)
Top Australian lawyers condemn Guantanamo Bay detention SYDNEY, June 3, 2006 (AFP) A group of 76 senior lawyers Saturday urged Prime Minister John Howard to condemn the detention of an Australian at the US military base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for more than four years. The lawyers, including four former Federal and Supreme Court judges, made the call for the release of David Hicks in an open letter to Howard. The treatment of Hicks, dubbed the "Australian Taliban" by the media, is illegal under international law, states the letter. "Whether or not Hicks is guilty or innocent is not the issue. The illegality lies in the process of indefinite detention and unfair trial by military commission," the lawyers said. The letter calls on Australia to join Britain in condemning the violations of law perpetrated by the detentions at Guantanamo Bay.(Posted @ 17:52 PST)
Pakistan gets specialist advice on Shoaib Akhtar's injury LAHORE, Pakistan, June 3, 2006 (AFP) The Pakistan Cricket Board has asked a South African specialist for advice on fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar's ankle injury before deciding on his inclusion on the tour of England, coach Bob Woolmer said Saturday. "We had a scan on his injured ankle, but its not clear. There may or may not be a fracture, so to get a second opinion we are sending the scan to an ankle specialist to South Africa," Woolmer said. Woolmer said Akhtar's fitness will be reassessed in a week. Pakistani selectors are due to announce a 16-man touring squad on June 9 and there are signs Akhtar will be included in the squad as 17th man. The first test begins at Lord's on July 13.(Posted @ 17:50 PST)
NATO chief says force in Afghanistan up to job THE HAGUE, June 3, 2006 (AFP) NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the alliance's troops stationed in southern Afghanistan are capable of meeting the demands of the mission, the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant reported Saturday. He added that the recent clashes with militants of the ousted Taliban regime and other armed groups in the southern Uruzgan province must be seen as "tests" by the enemy on the NATO-led troops which are set to replace the US forces in the coming months.(Posted @ 17:48 PST)
Nearly 30 Taliban killed in new Afghan unrest, district retaken KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, June 3, 2006 (AFP) Nearly 30 Taliban rebels were killed in the latest strikes in Afghanistan while Afghan and coalition troops took back a district that had been in rebel hands for days, officials said. Coalition planes meanwhile bombed an "enemy stronghold" in the south while an Afghan working for a Bangladeshi aid group was shot dead in the north and an influential tribal chief was killed in a mosque in the east. Dozens of troops were dropped from coalition aircraft into a remote, mountainous district of Uruzgan province late Friday and recaptured the area which had been overrun by Taliban nearly three days earlier, the defence ministry said in a statement. "At least 15 Taliban dead bodies were found. The overall Taliban casualties are believed to be 20," the statement said. The government said another 12 suspected Taliban were killed after police resisted an attack on a checkpost in southern Kandahar province late Friday. A suicide bomb blast in the same area late Friday killed three civilian men. It was apparently aimed at a passing Canadian and Afghan army convoy that was unscathed. In neighbouring Helmand province, police rounded up 18 suspects after another police checkpost was raided, officials said Saturday. The coalition on Friday also dropped three precision guided bombs on "enemy extremists" loading munitions into a truck from a cave in Helmand's Musa Qala district, a coalition statement said. It was too early to tell how many people had been killed, it said. (First Posted @ 12:20 PST Updated @ 17:46 PST)
New Delhi will not meddle with Myanmar: Indian defence minister SINGAPORE, June 3, 2006 (AFP) India will not join other countries in pushing for democratic reforms in military-ruled Myanmar, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here Saturday. "Our basic principle is to live in peaceful co-existence and we do not believe in exporting ideologies," Mukherjee said at a forum in Singapore when asked why India was not pressing its neighbour to undertake reforms. "It is for the people of the country to decide what type of government they would like to have," said Mukherjee. He also said India would be ready to do its part to ensure peace and stability in East Asia including helping protect the busy Strait of Malacca. Security in the straits is important for India as more than 50 percent of its maritime trade passes through it, the minister said. India fully supports the peace process in Sri Lanka but will not play an active role because it may "complicate" the situation, he said during a question-and-answer session. "India is not actively participating in this process" because of ethnic reasons and its proximity to Sri Lanka, he added.(Posted @ 17:44 PST)
U.S. defence secretary says Pakistan president doing an excellent job in fighting terrorism SINGAPORE, June 3 (AP) _ U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Saturday lavished praise on Pakistani president's campaign against terrorism, but sidestepped charges that Islamabad has not done enough to flush out Taliban fighters hiding along the border with Afghanistan. Speaking at a security conference, Rumsfeld described President Gen. Pervez Musharraf as a ``courageous man'' who understands the danger of terrorism. ``President Musharraf has done an excellent job in a difficult country in a difficult environment, and is clearly dedicated to defeating terror,'' Rumsfeld said. ``He has shown terrific leadership, courageous leadership.'' Answering a question by a delegate on whether he, in his speech earlier, was right in praising Musharraf as a key player in the fight against terrorism. ``I think I am right,'' Rumsfeld replied. Rumsfeld said Musharraf's security forces have been ``highly successful'' in rooting out extremists from urban areas, but acknowledged that they have been nowhere near as successful in controlling the problem in tribal areas.(Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Two Kurdish rebels killed in clash in Turkey DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, June 3 (Reuters) Two Kurdish guerrillas have been killed in a clash with troops in Turkey's southeast, a security official said on Saturday. The clash occurred on Friday night in a remote district of Bingol province as troops combed the mountains for guerrillas after two privates were injured by a landmine, he said.(Posted @ 17:35 PST)
Quake on Iranian island kills one, hurts several TEHRAN, June 3 (Reuters) An earthquake on an island off Iran's southern coast killed a young girl and injured several other people on Saturday, an official said. The 5.2 magnitude struck at 10:45 a.m. (0715 GMT). The full extent of the damage was not yet known. A spokeswoman for the Red Crescent aid network said rescue teams had been sent to the area.(Posted @ 17:00 PST)
Gunmen kill six Iraqi policemen in checkpoint attack BAQUBA, Iraq, June 3 (Reuters) Gunmen opened fire at a checkpoint in the Iraqi town of Baquba on Saturday, killing six policemen and wounding two, police said.(Posted @ 17:00 PST)
Russian embassy says one diplomat dead, four kidnapped MOSCOW, June 3 (Reuters) An official at Russia's embassy in Baghdad said on Saturday one diplomat had been killed and four embassy employees kidnapped in Iraq, Russia's Interfax news agency reported. "We confirm that one diplomat died and four have been kidnapped," Interfax quoted the embassy official.(Posted @ 16:55 PST)
Pakistan to relocate 55,000 earthquake survivors MUZAFFARABAD, Azad Kashmir, June 3, 2006 (AFP) Some 55,000 earthquake survivors will be relocated due to the danger posed by monsoon landslides in Azad Kashmir, officials said Saturday. "A strategy is being evolved to relocate some 50 to 55 thousand people from areas prone to landslides before the start of monsoon season," the region's top administrator said, adding that 18 villages were likely to be affected. Depending on how many people need to be resettled the government may have to buy land near Muzaffarabad, he added. The government already pays 25,000 jobless survivors a monthly benefit of 3,000 rupees under a six-month grant programme. It has also paid 4.27 billion rupees to 58,000 survivors whose houses were damaged by the earthquake.(Posted @ 16:40 PST)
Pakistani policeman killed by bomb near Afghan border KHAR, Pakistan, June 3, 2006 (AFP) A policeman was killed and two others injured when a bomb exploded under their vehicle in Bajaur district’s Khar region bordering Afghanistan, officials said Saturday. The blast happened late Friday when the trio were on a routine patrol, a local official said. Separately, suspected militants fired three rockets at a security checkpost in Mamoond village but they missed the target, the official said.(First Posted @ 12:25 PST Updated @ 16:35 PST)
Thousands demand Taiwan president's ouster TAIPEI, June 3 (Reuters) Thousands of people rallied in the capital of Taiwan on Saturday, joining an opposition call to demand President Chen Shui-bian's resignation over an insider trading scandal involving his son-in-law. Ma Ying-jeou, chairman of the main opposition Nationalist Party, called on Saturday for a no-confidence vote in parliament against the cabinet because the opposition lacks the two-thirds parliamentary majority for a recall motion to pass.(Posted @ 15:50 PST)
UAE won't pay 'political price' for US trade deal DUBAI, June 3 (Reuters) The United Arab Emirates is not willing to make any political concessions to secure a free trade agreement with the United States, the country's prime minister told a London-based daily on Saturday. Asked what price the UAE would pay to sign the deal with Washington, given the U.S. concerns over its labour laws, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum was quoted as saying: "The UAE will not pay a political price for any trade agreement with the United States or any other country." Sheikh Mohammed said UAE was inthe process of reviewing its laws to prepare for membership in the World Trade Organisation and other agreements. Commenting on the fast-paced growth of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed dismissed analysts' fears of a bubble about to burst. "If we had listened to talk of the bubble we would never have done anything ... if you ask those who are speaking of the bubble what they mean, you would get a 'bubble response' that has no relation to economics or development or science or reality," he said.(Posted @ 15:35 PST)
Iraq says will press on with own Ishaqi probe BAGHDAD, June 3 (Reuters) Iraq's government believes the U.S. military's exoneration of U.S. troops accused of killing civilians in the town of Ishaqi in March was unfair and will press on with its own investigation, an aide to the prime minister said on Saturday. Adnan al-Kazimi also said the government would demand an apology from the United States and compensation for the victims in several cases, including the massacre in the western town of Haditha last year.(Posted @ 15:30 PST)
EU's Solana ready to present Vienna plan to Iran BRUSSELS, June 3 (Reuters) Europe's foreign policy chief Javier Solana is ready to travel to Iran to present a package of incentives agreed by world powers for Tehran to give up atomic fuel work, Solana's spokeswoman said on Saturday. "We are prepared to travel to Tehran to present, in the name of the participants of the meeting in Vienna last Thursday, the far-reaching proposals that were agreed," the spokesperson said, adding no date had yet been set for the trip."It will not be a negotiating trip. It will be a presentational trip," she added.(Posted @ 15:20 PST)
Iran says will examine nuclear proposal, won't stop enrichment TEHRAN, June 3, 2006 (AFP) - Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Saturday the Islamic republic would examine a proposal to ease a crisis over its nuclear programme but repeated there would be no suspension of uranium enrichment.(Posted @ 13:10 PST)
UK police hunt for "dirty" chemical bomb -papers LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - British anti-terrorist police are hunting for a "dirty" chemical bomb that could be used in an attack in Britain after a major raid failed to uncover a device they believe exists, newspapers reported on Saturday. More than 250 officers, some wearing chemical, biological and radiological protection suits, shot one man and arrested another during a dawn raid on an east London house on Friday. Police made no official comment on the reports but said nothing suspicious had been found in an initial search of the property. Some newspapers, citing unnamed security sources, said police believed suspected militants had made a "dirty" chemical device. "We are absolutely certain this device exists and could be used either by a suicide bomber or in a remote-controlled explosion," one source told the Sun newspaper. "We're 100 percent certain that an attack was being planned.If we haven't stopped it, it could take place very soon," the Daily Mirror quoted a police source as saying.Meanwhile, the 23-year-old man, shot at the house during the raid is now recovering in hospital. He has been arrested on suspicion of "the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism". A second man was also arrested at the house under the Terrorism Act. Neighbours said the family who lived at the house were Bangladeshi, describing them as friendly and "very religious".(Posted @ 13:00 PST)
Top Afghan police officials sacked after riots KABUL, June 3 (Reuters) - President Hamid Karzai has sacked dozens of senior police officials in an effort to boost security in Kabul, an official said on Saturday. The shake-up may also include Kabul's police chief, General Jamil Junbish, whose forces failed to prevent rioters from rampaging through the city on Monday after a U.S. military truck crashed into Afghan vehicles and killed at least five people. Karzai has ordered the replacement of more than 80 interior ministry generals, the official said on condition of anonymity. Police generals are in charge of precincts and departments under Interior Ministry.(Posted @ 12:35 PST)
Twelve suspected Taliban killed, 18 captured in new Afghan clashes KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, June 3 (AFP) - Afghan security forces said Saturday they had killed 12 suspected Taliban and captured 18 more in violence in insurgency-hit southern Afghanistan. In one incident, dozens of suspected Taliban stormed a police checkpost late Friday north of Kandahar city. "Four of our policemen were injured but they killed 12 Taliban fighters," Daud Ahmadi, spokesman for the Kandahar governor said. In another incident, a band of militants attacked a police checkpost in Helmand province with four policemen wounded in the clash, provincial spokesman Moheedin Khan said. Eighteen men were rounded up afterwards. "We believe that at least six of those captured were directly involved in the attack," Khan said. The rest were suspected of links to the attackers and were being questioned.(Posted @ 12:10 PST)
U.S. clears troops in March Iraqi civilian deaths WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) - A U.S. military probe has exonerated U.S. troops in the deaths of Iraqi civilians in Ishaqi, north of Baghdad, in March, finding American forces followed standard procedures and committed no misconduct, defence officials said on Friday. Police said six adults and five children were shot dead in a U.S. military raid on a home on March 15. U.S. military maintained that there were four dead in the incident, including a guerrilla, two women and a child, and they died after troops were fired upon from the house as they arrived to arrest an al Qaeda suspect. The defence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said an investigation found no wrongdoing by U.S. forces.(Posted @ 10:32 PST)
Rumsfeld questions Iran's involvement with Shanghai Cooperation Organization SINGAPORE, June 3 (AP) _ U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Saturday questioned Iran's involvement with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, saying the regime's terrorist links clashed with the aims of the SCO. Speaking at a regional security conference, Rumsfeld said he found it ``strange'' that the SCO would include Iran, given the group's stated opposition to terrorism and extremism. Iran is an observer to group, which also includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and has applied for full membership.(Posted @ 10:10 PST)
Canadian police arrest at least 10 in terror sweep OTTAWA, June 3 (AFP) - More than 10 people were arrested Friday on "terrorism-related" charges in police raids in Toronto. "We've arrested in excess of 10 people for terrorism-related offenses in the Greater Toronto area," said Corporal Michele Paradis of Canadian police. "They'll be charged tomorrow," she said.(Posted @ 09:35 PST)
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