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| November 19, 2006 | Sunday | Shawwal 26, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistan tied to terror war for years to come: Blair, Musharraf LAHORE, Pakistan, Nov 19, 2006 (AFP) Pakistan will be increasingly bound to the west's fight against terror for the foreseeable future, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said Sunday. The two leaders agreed that their countries "would need to work increasingly closely together for many years to come" on counter terrorism because "its causes had spread," a joint communique said after they held talks in Lahore. As part of that cooperation London was more than doubling its development aid to Pakistan to 480 million pounds (909 million dollars) over the next three years. The bulk of the cash would go towards promoting "a climate of enlightened moderation" in Islamic schools, or madrassas, that have been blamed for radicalising Muslim youth including radical Britons. Musharraf and Blair agreed to bolster cooperation on counter-terrorism with a new working agreement between their interior ministries and intelligence services. But they also pledged to fight the drugs trade, illegal immigration and international organised crime. For counter-narcotics operations, Britain said it will deliver two Mi-17 helicopters to Pakistan's anti-drugs police force for use against smugglers, particularly along the long Afghan border. On Afghanistan -- where about 4,500 British troops are fighting Taliban militants in the volatile south -- both Blair and Musharraf pledged to take "effective action" which Afghan leader Hamid Karzai's government and the international community have urged to curb insurgent violence. (Posted @ 13:10 PST)
Blair urges support for 'global struggle' against extremism LAHORE, Pakistan, Nov 19, (AFP) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Sunday that the west and its allies are engaged in a "difficult global struggle" against Islamic extremism and must support moderates to win. Blair, speaking at a press conference in Lahore with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, also pledged his country's commitment to Afghanistan where a Taliban insurgency has flared up in recent months. "We are in the middle of what is a difficult global struggle which has many aspects, one of which is in Afghanistan, one of which is here in Pakistan," Blair said when asked about a US general's comments that unchecked extremism could spark a third world war. (Posted @ 17:14 PST)
Pakistan, UK sign development partnership agreement ISLAMABAD, Nov 19 (APP): Pakistan and Britain Sunday signed Long-term Development Partnership Arrangement to reduce poverty and achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Pakistan through active partnership between the two countries. The agreement was signed by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and British Prime Minister Tony Blair here at Prime Minister House following the talks between the two prime ministers. Under the agreement, the British government will provide pound 480 million in next three years through the Department for International Development (DFID) of the UK. The agreement will provide a long-term development partnership between Pakistan and Great Britain through a transparent framework for mutual accountability for implementation of the development partnership between the two countries. (Posted @ 19:54 PST)
Pakistan, Britain pursuing strategic partnership to address radicalisation ISLAMABAD, Nov 19 (APP): Pakistan and Britain are pursuing a strategic partnership to address radicalisation through a series of measures including reconstruction, development, health and education. This was stated by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and British counterpart Tony Blair while talking to reporters after a meeting here on Sunday. The two leaders who had an exclusive one-on-one meeting followed by delegation level interaction reiterated their resolve to further strengthen their multi-faceted bilateral cooperation. Prime Minister Blair while underscoring the need to address the issue of international terrorism said both the countries were cooperating to defeat those elements bent upon disrupting world peace. (Posted @ 19:40 PST)
Gunmen kidnap Iraq's deputy health minister BAGHDAD, Nov 19, (AFP) - Gunmen kidnapped Iraq's deputy health minister Ammar al-Assafar from his home in Baghdad's Sunni district of Adhamiyah on Sunday, a security source told AFP. "Gunmen came in four cars and kidnapped the minister from his home in Adhamiyah," the source said. (Posted @ 23:08 PST)
Elderly man killed in Israeli strike on Gaza car GAZA CITY, Nov 19, (AFP) - An elderly Palestinian was killed and nine other people wounded, including two Hamas militants, in an Israeli air strike on a car in Gaza City on Sunday, medical and security sources said. The 70-year-old, who lived in the Zeitoun neighbourhood where a warplane slammed missile into the vehicle, died of his wounds after the raid in which he lost both legs and hands, a medical source said. (First Posted @ 20:22 PST Updated @ 22:50 PST)
Blair indicates policy shift in West's "war on terror" ISLAMABAD, Nov 19, (AFP) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Sunday indicated that the West's approach to the "war on terror" has changed, as Pakistan's leader called for less emphasis on military action in Afghanistan. Blair gave a broad hint that Western policy towards tackling global extremism had shifted amid anticipated changes to coalition strategy in Iraq and calls for US foes Syria and Iran to be involved in the Middle East peace process. Asked whether the United States and its allies like Britain were winning the "war on terror", he told a news conference: "We begin to win when we start to fight properly and I think we are now fighting properly but we've got to do more." (Posted @ 22:02 PST)
Two troops injured in grenade blast: occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, November 19 (PPI) In occupied Kashmir, two Indian troops, and a woman, were injured in a grenade explosion in downtown Srinagar on Sunday. According to Kashmir Media Services. (Posted @ 20:56 PST)
Mubarak to propose changes in presidential voting CAIRO, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Sunday he would send to parliament a constitutional amendment making it easier for opposition parties to field candidates in presidential elections. "I will submit a new request for an amendment to Article 76," he said in a speech at the opening of a new parliamentary session. Article 76 sets out procedures for presidential elections. One of the aims would be "to reinforce the chances of parties taking part in presidential elections", he added. (Posted @ 18:46 PST)
Egypt MPs demand debate over minister's veil remarks CAIRO, Nov 19, (AFP) - Eighty Egyptian lawmakers on Sunday called for a parliamentary debate to discuss Culture Minister Faruq Hosni's controversial remarks describing the Islamic veil as regressive, parliamentary sources said. "Eighty deputies from the (ruling) National Democratic Party, the (opposition) Muslim Brotherhood, as well as independents have demanded that Hosni's statements be debated in parliament as soon as possible," an official said on condition of anonymity. In an interview published Thursday, Hosni said that the ever-growing number of women wearing the Islamic veil in Egypt was regressive. (Posted @ 18:02 PST)
30 labourers killed in Iraq attacks HILLA, Iraq, Nov 19, (AFP) - A suicide car bomber posing as a contractor looking for workers blew himself up among a crowd of labourers in a mainly Shiite city in Iraq on Sunday, killing at least 22 people. In another attack on labourers, gunmen killed eight farm workers travelling in a minibus near a restive city northeast of Baghdad, police said. (First Posted @ 13:00 PST Updated @ 17:38 PST)
Triple car bombing kills five at Baghdad bus station BAGHDAD, Nov 19, (AFP) - A triple car bomb attack at a Baghdad bus station on Sunday killed at least five people and wounded 32, a security source said. The source said the three car bombs were set off within minutes of each other at the bus station in the largely Shiite southeast neighborhood of Al-Mashtel. (Posted @ 17:20 PST)
Iran urges nuclear-free Korean peninsula TEHRAN, Nov 19, 2006 (AFP) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for the Korean peninsula to be free of nuclear weapons, the state news agency IRNA reported Sunday. "The Islamic Republic of Iran wants nuclear weapons disarmament all over the world, including the Korean peninsula," he was quoted as saying in a meeting Saturday with visiting North Korean parliamentary speaker Choe Thae-Bok. (Posted @ 14:45 PST)
India tests nuclear-capable surface missile BHUBANESWAR, India, Nov 19, 2006 (AFP) India Sunday successfully tested a nuclear-capable ballistic missile from a test range in the eastern state of Orissa, defence sources said. The 8.5-meter (28-foot) surface-to-surface missile covers 150 kilometers in 300 seconds and has a range of up to 250 kilometers. (Posted @ 13:05 PST)
Major battle of Baquoba kills 18 BAGHDAD, Iraq Nov 19 (AP) Iraqi and American forces fought insurgents in an hours-long street battle Saturday in the increasingly violent city of Baqouba, as residents fled in doors under the rattle of automatic weapons fire and the blasts of rocket-propelled grenades. City police said at least 18 people were killed and 19 wounded. Nationwide, police and morgue officials said the death toll was 53, including those killed in Baqouba. The U.S. military initially reported three Iraqi policemen were killed and three were wounded, but after nightfall the police media office said the toll was far higher. The Americans reported no dead or wounded among U.S. forces. Elsewhere, coalition forces raided the Sadr City searching for dozens of Iraqi hostages and combed through a rural area of southern Iraq where four Americans and an Austrian were kidnapped when their security convoy was hijacked. But both rescue efforts appeared to come up empty handed Saturday. (Posted @ 11:30 PST)
China says NKorea 'should get the message' on nukes HANOI, Nov 19 (AFP) The leaders of the United States and China said Sunday that North Korea "should get the message" that the world community will not tolerate its possession of nuclear weapons, a Chinese official said. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
26 injured in train derailment in western Japan TOKYO, Nov 19 (APP/AP) A local train derailed Sunday in western Japan, injuring all 25 passengers and the driver, police said. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
Israel calls off air raid after Gaza protest GAZA, Nov 19 (Reuters) The Israeli army cancelled a planned air raid on the home of a Gaza militant on Sunday after several hundred Palestinians barricaded themselves inside the building, an Israeli military spokesman and witnesses said. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Six students trampled to death in China school BEIJING, Nov 19 (Reuters) Six students were trampled to death at a middle school in Duchang County in the province of Jiangxi in eastern China and 39 were injured when a sudden panic caused them to swarm into a staircase, Xinhua news agency reported Sunday. It was unclear what triggered the panic. (Posted @ 09:40 PST)
Abbas holds first meeting with prime minister hopeful GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip, Nov 19 (AP) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Saturday held his first meeting with Mohammed Shabir, the former university president expected to head an emerging unity government, an official in Abbas' office said. There were no details on how long the meeting lasted or what the men discussed. But it indicated progress in efforts by Abbas' Hamas movement and the rival Hamas party to form a unity government. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Bush woos China, Russia on NKorea HANOI, Nov 19 (AFP) US President George W. Bush on Sunday courted support from China and Russia on North Korea, hoping they can persuade Pyongyang to make real concessions ahead of planned nuclear disarmament talks. "China is a very important nation, and the United States believes strongly that, by working together, we can help solve problems such as North Korea and Iran," Bush said as he met with Hu. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
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