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| June 14, 2006 | Wednesday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 17, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Italian FM calls for Israeli 'moderation' ROME, June 14, 2006 (AFP) - Italy's new Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema called on Israel on Wednesday to exercise "moderation" amid increasing violence in the Middle East. "We call on the Israeli government to show moderation in its legitimate exercise of self-defence. Such moderation is necessary to avoid the destruction of so many human lives," D'Alema told lawmakers. On Tuesday 11 Palestinians, including nine civilians, were killed in Gaza in an Israeli air strike.(Posted @ 23:00 PST)
Israel PM warns unilateral border plan is unstoppable PARIS, June 14, 2006 (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned on Wednesday that his contested plan to set Israel's borders on the West Bank with or without agreement from the Palestinians was unstoppable. "My plan cannot be stopped and is the most that Israel is prepared to agree to," he told reporters accompanying him on a state visit to Paris, where he sought to win President Jacques Chirac's backing for his proposal.(Posted @ 22:35 PST)
Iran president arrives in China, bringing nuclear issue to summit SHANGHAI, June 14, 2006 (AFP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Shanghai Wednesday, renewing the focus on the role China may play in resolving the standoff over the Islamic republic's nuclear program. "I don't believe having discussion or not having discussion of the Iran nuclear issue is the determinant of the relevance of this conference," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a briefing in Shanghai. Ahmadinejad is only a guest at Thursday's summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which groups China, Russia, and four Central Asian states. Iran is an observer nation along with Pakistan, India and Mongolia. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf and the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and Uzbekistan were all in town for the meeting.(Posted @ 21:45 PST)
Afghan forces kill 26 Taliban rebels in southeast KHOST, Afghanistan, June 14, 2006 (AFP) - Afghan forces killed 26 Taliban rebels in an ongoing operation along the country's southeast border with Pakistan on Wednesday, the provincial governor told AFP. The security forces launched the operation in Paktika province's Ziruk district in retaliation for attacks by Taliban groups, governor Mohammad Akram Khapelwak told AFP.(Posted @ 19:25 PST)
President Musharraf calls for world peace SHANGHAI, June 14 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday called for a strong UN system, resolution of conflicts such as Palestine, Kashmir etc. and sustained efforts against terrorism to ensure a peaceful and prosperous world. Speaking to a gathering at the Shanghai Institute of International Studies, he also underlined the need for tolerance and understanding among different cultures and the promotion of a just economic order to seize the opportunities offered by the globalization. He also called for concerted international action to bring conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan to an end and said, "we see no alternative to a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue or the six-party talks on North Korea." He added that "extremism and violence grow in an environment where people feel denied of justice, basic dignity and freedom".(Posted @ 18:45 PST)
Two Kurdish guerrillas killed in eastern Turkey TUNCELI, Turkey, June 14 (Reuters) Turkish troops killed two Kurdish guerrillas during an operation in Tunceli province in eastern Turkey, army sources said on Wednesday. "The operation is continuing and a fresh clash could be imminent," said an army official.(Posted @ 16:35 PST)
India's Maoists protest human rights "onslaught" RANCHI, India, June 14 (Reuters) Trains were halted and shops shut in parts of eastern and central India on Wednesday after Maoist rebels called a strike to protest what they called a human rights "onslaught" by the state. A goods truck in the state of Jharkhand was set ablaze, and some people stayed at home. "Only a few vehicles are running on highways which look deserted," police said. "More than 250 tribals have been killed by goons of Salwa Judum and the security forces," rebel chief Ganapathi said in a statement. "Three thousand houses have been torched in 500 villagers, while many women have been raped." He said the security forces were putting innocent people in the firing line, and called the Salwa Judum a "fascist onslaught" on tribal people. Train services in parts of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh were suspended, as railway authorities feared attacks. In West Bengal, no buses were running in three districts. (Posted @ 16:22 PST)
Iraq's PM says door open to talks with some rebels BAGHDAD, June 14 (Reuters) Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Wednesday he was ready to open talks with some insurgent groups, even as a security crackdown got under way in Baghdad. "The door is open for dialogue with gunmen who oppose the political process and now want to go back to political activity under pledges," Maliki told a news conference. (Posted @ 16:18 PST)
Crowd attacks Iranian consulate in Iraq's Basra BASRA, Iraq, June 14 (Reuters) A crowd of demonstrators attacked Iran's consulate in the Iraqi city of Basra on Wednesday, setting fire to a reception area of the building, a Reuters television footage showed. Hundreds of protesters outside the consulate chanted slogans against an Iranian satellite station, accusing it of insulting a cleric in Iraq. A cleric who addressed the crowd demanded an apology from the government in Iran. "If our demand is not met we will not be able to hold back these angry crowds," he told the demonstrators. (Posted @ 16:18 PST)
Clashes erupt on second day of Bangladesh strike DHAKA, June 14 (Reuters) At least 50 people were injured in the Bangladeshi capital on Wednesday as opposition activists fought pitched battles with police on the second day of a two-day strike to press for electoral reforms. The clashes in Dhaka erupted after police fired tear gas and used batons to stop activists gathering in the streets to enforce the strike called by the opposition alliance Awami League. Stick-wielding party men set fire to at least one car, damaged half a dozen others and attacked the police with rocks. (Posted @ 16:16 PST)
U.N. experts urge Guantanamo closure after suicides GENEVA, June 14 (Reuters) Five United Nations human rights experts on Wednesday urged the closure of the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay after last week's suicides there. The experts said the simultaneous suicides of three inmates on June 10 heightened concerns about the mental health of the camp's approximately 460 detainees. In a statement released in Geneva, the group said the three deaths were "to a certain extent foreseeable in light of the harsh and prolonged conditions of their detention and reinforces the need for the urgent closure of the detention centre." The five envoys are: Leila Zerrougui, who reports on arbitrary detention, fellow Algerian Leandro Despouy, who covers the independence of judges, torture rapporteur Manfred Nowak of Austria, Pakistan's Asma Jahangir, who focuses on religious freedom and New Zealand's Paul Hunt, rapporteur for health. (Posted @ 16:10 PST)
Fifteen feared dead as jeep plunges into Pakistan river PESHAWAR, Pakistan, June 14, 2006 (AFP) Fifteen people were feared drowned Wednesday after an overcrowded jeep plunged into a river in the area of Pakistan devastated by last year's earthquake, police said. The driver had allowed too many people onto the vehicle and lost control while negotiating a sharp bend near the destroyed north-western city of Balakot, police said. "Police teams have rushed to the scene for rescue work but we have not yet received the exact casualty figures as the roads are bad and the communications system is poor in the area," police added. (Posted @ 16:00 PST)
Gunmen kill Iraqi journalist in Fallujah BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) Gunmen killed an Iraqi journalist in Fallujah for allegedly working for a newspaper accused by insurgents of publishing U.S. propaganda, police said Wednesday. Ibrahim Seneid, an editor with the local al-Bashara newspaper, was killed late Tuesday in a drive-by shooting in the city. (Posted @ 13:35 PST)
Palestinian demonstrators storm parliament, force speaker to flee RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) Dozens of Palestinian civil servants stormed the parliament building on Wednesday to demand long-overdue salaries, forcing the parliament speaker to flee the session. The demonstrators chanted slogans and banged on the door of the building before entering the hall. (Posted @ 13:35 PST)
Taiwan, China reach deal to relax air links TAIPEI, June 14 (Reuters) Taiwan and China have agreed to regular direct passenger flights over holidays and allow cargo charters for the first time, policymakers on both sides said on Wednesday. "This is a small breakthrough in the negotiations between the two sides," Joseph Wu, chairman of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, told a news conference. Applications could be accepted as early as two weeks and passenger flights could take place at around the Mid-Autumn Festival this October, Wu said. Taiwan had banned direct air links with China since their split in 1949 amid civil war. (Posted @ 13:30 PST)
Hamas gunman killed, security chief wounded in clash GAZA, June 14 (Reuter) A Hamas gunman was killed and a senior Palestinian security official from a force loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas was wounded in Gaza on Wednesday. Security sources said the gunman was shot dead after he and other masked militants ambushed a car carrying the official, Refat Kullab, who heads the Preventive Security Service in the southern town of Khan Younis. Kullab was wounded in both legs and was in a moderate to serious condition in hospital, the security sources said. (Posted @ 13:30 PST)
Two foreign soldiers, 14 Taliban killed in Afghanistan KABUL, June 14 (Reuters) Two foreign soldiers and 14 rebels were killed in latest Afghanistan clashes, military officials said on Wednesday. An American soldier died in an ambush in the southern province of Helmand on Tuesday, said a spokesman for international forces in southern Afghanistan. The ambush triggered a fierce clash in which coalition forces backed by helicopters and planes attacked Taliban positions. "We believe 12 suspected Taliban were killed in the bombing," the spokesman added. The U.S. military said another foreign soldier was killed in eastern Kunar province on Tuesday but did not give his identity. Two Taliban fighters were killed in a separate gunbattle in Zabul province after they ambushed a U.S. convoy, wounding two American soldiers. Taliban officials could not be immediately contacted.(First Posted @ 12:17 PST Updated @ 13:30 PST)
Tamil Tigers clash with Sri Lankan soldiers, three killed COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) Tamil Tiger rebels attacked government soldiers who were planting land mines in rebel-held territory in northern Sri Lanka, sparking a gunbattle that killed two guerrillas and a soldier, the rebels and a truce monitor said Wednesday. The clash occurred Tuesday in Nedunkerny village, the rebels said on their Web site. (Posted @ 12:30 PST)
Huge anti-Taliban operation under way in Afghanistan KABUL, June 14, 2006 (AFP) Coalition and Afghan forces are conducting their biggest counterinsurgency operation since the Taliban regime fell in late 2001 and are preparing to move into new insurgent strongholds, the coalition announced Wednesday. The campaign, named Operation Mountain Thrust, was launched in southern Afghanistan in mid-May, a coalition spokesman said. The operation involves 11,000 coalition troops -- including from Britain, Canada and the United States -- as well as Afghan soldiers. "We are moving to the next phase of the operation in the northern provinces of southern Afghanistan," he said. (Posted @ 12:30 PST)
Car bomb kills one, wounds five in Baghdad BAGHDAD, June 14 (Reuters) A car bomb killed one person and wounded five in Baghdad on Wednesday, a police source said. No other information was immediately available about the blast. (Posted @ 12:25 PST)
Putin reassures US on Russia-China 'Shanghai' club MOSCOW, June 14, 2006 (AFP) A new Central Asian security group led by Russia and China aims to strengthen Eurasian stability but is open to dialogue with the United States or any other country outside the region, President Vladimir Putin said in a newspaper article published Wednesday. Putin said the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a club founded a decade ago, was setting "an excellent example of even-handed partnership in the Eurasian space" while enhancing the region's security and stability. "I underscore that the SCO is open for dialogue, prepared for joint work for the sake of peace, stability and development," he added. (Posted @ 10:20 PST)
Afghan man beheaded in Pakistan MIRAN SHAH, Pakistan (AP) An Afghan man was beheaded and his body dumped in Dhabi village near Miran Shah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal region, Wednesday after pro-Taliban militants accused him of spying for the United States, officials and a local resident said. The official identified the victim as Asim Khan and said he had been kidnapped by unidentified gunmen three days ago. The official gave no further details, but a local resident said he saw a letter near the man's body that said ``anyone spying for Americans will face the same fate.'' (Posted @ 10:20 PST)
Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir released from prison JAKARTA, June 14, 2006 (AFP) Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, an alleged leader of radical group Jemaah Islamiyah, was freed Wednesday after serving nearly 26 months in prison for his role in the 2002 Bali bombings. (Posted @ 09:35 PST)
European states 'partners in crime' on US rendition: Amnesty LONDON, June 14, 2006 (AFP) Amnesty International on Wednesday accused seven European countries of complicity in US rendition of security suspects and demanded that the EU launch an immediate crackdown. Amnesty said Britain, Germany, Italy, Sweden and non-EU members Turkey, Macedonia and Bosnia-Hercegovina were all implicated in six rendition cases detailed in its report, "Partners in Crime: Europe's Role in US Renditions". It cited the case of Bisher Al-Rawi, 38, and Jamil El-Banna, 44, who were arrested after flying from Britain to Gambia in November 2002, according to the report. Amnesty said they were handed over to American security officers and transferred to the Guantanamo Bay US naval base in Cuba via a US airbase in Bagram, Afghanistan. Both men continue to be held at Guantanamo, Amnesty added. (Posted @ 09:20 PST)
Flash floods kill 19 in southwest China BEIJING, June 14 (Reuters) Flash floods have killed at least 19 people in remote towns in southwest China where 31 are missing, while the northeast is suffering sustained drought, state media said on Wednesday. (Posted @ 09:10 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 545.96 points: KARACHI, June 14: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 8768.95, down 545.96 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:17 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, June 14: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.55 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:17 PST)
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