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| November 07, 2007 | Wednesday | Shawwal 25, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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Satellite Parameters for DAWN NEWS Satellite: Intelsat 10, Band -C Downlink Frequency: 4126.05 Mhz Symbol rate: 3255 Kbps FEC: 3/4 Polarization: Horizontal |
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Shaukat Aziz says election decision by November 14 ISLAMABAD, Nov 7 (AFP) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Wednesday that the date for parliamentary elections would be decided by November 14, an official said. “A decision will be taken by the 14th of November,” Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azeem quoted Aziz as telling a meeting of ruling party lawmakers. President Musharraf also addressed the meeting, telling legislators: “I have listened to the opinion of MPs, now we will decide. We want the deviation from the election schedule to be kept as little as possible.” (Posted @ 17:30 PST)
Benazir Bhutto calls for mass protests against emergency ISLAMABAD, Nov 7 (AFP) Former premier Benazir Bhutto called Wednesday for a mass uprising against President Pervez Musharraf over his imposition of a state of emergency. “I appeal to the people of Pakistan to come forward. We are under attack,” Benazir told a news conference after holding talks with other opposition leaders in Islamabad. She vowed to hold a rally in Rawalpindi on Friday in spite of police threats of a crackdown and also called for a “long march” on November 13 from Lahore to Islamabad. “How many people can they put behind bars? We will produce so many that they will not have enough jails,” Benazir said. “I call on all political forces to join hands and I will be travelling to Lahore. I want them to join us and we (will) go for a long march on November 13 from Lahore to Islamabad.” (Posted @ 16:34 PST)
Nawaz Sharif warns of Pakistan chaos, urges west to abandon Musharraf ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov 7 (AP) Exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif urged the west Wednesday to abandon President General Pervez Musharraf. Sharif told The Associated Press that Pakistan was heading deeper into chaos and Musharraf had outlived his usefulness in fighting terrorism. Sharif also ruled out teaming up with Benazir Bhutto unless she cut off talks with Musharraf. ''One man is holding the entire nation hostage for his personal interests,'' Sharif said. ''The political forces, the lawyers and civil community that believe in moderation and democracy, they are sidelined today. Who is going to get the benefit? It will be the radicals and extremists, they will thrive now,'' Sharif said in a telephone interview from Saudi Arabia. He predicted that unless the state of emergency was reversed and Musharraf ousted, the country could be pitched toward ''catastrophe.'' Sharif told the AP that unless he was able to return to Pakistan before parliamentary elections the vote would be a ''farce.'' (Posted @ 19:16 PST)
Police tear gas Benazir supporters in Islamabad ISLAMABAD, Nov 7 (AFP) Police tear-gassed supporters of Benazir Bhutto near parliament house in Islamabad Wednesday. At least 200 activists from Benazir’s Pakistan People's Party chanted “No martial law!” as they tried to get to the parliament building, an AFP reporter witnessed. Police baton-charged the demonstrators and fired tear gas shells. At least three party workers were arrested and bundled into waiting police vans. (Posted @ 17:56 PST)
APNS urges government to immediately suspend implementation of recent amendments in Press Laws KARACHI, Nov 07 (PPI):- All Pakistan Newspapers Society Wednesday urged the government to immediately suspend implementation of recent amendments to press laws and all action taken under this law including notices issued to publications. The suspension of implementation of amendments would be a pre-requisite for meeting with publishers to find way out of crises created by abrogation of press rights, an APNS press release said after an emergency meeting of its executive committee in Karachi. (Posted @ 20:28 PST)
Patience with Pakistan not 'never-ending:' US warns WASHINGTON, Nov 7 (AFP) The White House on Wednesday warned President General Pervez Musharraf that US patience is not “never-ending,” and that it expects him to return “soon” to the path of democracy. “This is not a never-ending process,” said US national security council spokesman Gordon Johndroe. “They need to release the people that they've arrested, they need to stop beating people in the streets, they need to restore press freedom and they need to get back on the path to democracy soon - now.” (Posted @ 20:12 PST)
Militants capture Kalam in Swat Valley PESHAWAR, Nov 7 (AFP): Dozens of paramilitary troops and police surrendered their weapons to militants and retreated from the mountain town of Kalam in Swat Valley early Wednesday, a police official said. Announcements about the advance were made on a pirate FM radio station run by Mullah Fazlullah, as militants hoisted their party flag on police stations and government buildings, and distributed sweets. Fazlullah's aide, Maulana Shah Dauran, said in a radio address that the militants also took control of a paramilitary base in Kalam manned by a platoon. Some 40 Frontier Corps soldiers had left the paramilitary base before the militants arrived, residents said. Militants have seized more than two-thirds of Swat Valley in northwest Pakistan. (Posted @ 14:20 PST)
Small bomb explodes in Fatah chief's car in Lebanon AIN AL-HILWEH, Lebanon, Nov 7 (Reuters) A small bomb exploded inside a car belonging to a local Fatah commander Ali Shabaytah at a Palestinian refugee camp near the port city of Sidon in south Lebanon Wednesday but he was not hurt, security sources said. (Posted @ 21:40 PST)
Strike rages on at world's tallest tower in Dubai DUBAI, Nov 7 (AFP) Thousands of migrant construction industry workers in Dubai remained on strike Wednesday, including many at the world's tallest tower, the emirate's construction giant Arabtec acknowledged. “The situation has not changed and the workers are still on strike,” Arabtec spokesman Ammar Tuqan told AFP when asked about the status of the firm's 34,000 staff. (Posted @ 21:10 PST)
Georgia to expel several Russian diplomats TBILISI, Nov 7 (AFP) Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili Wednesday said several Russian diplomats were to be expelled for spying. “Several employees of the Russian embassy were engaged in subversive, espionage activity in Georgia. In the near future these employees of the Russian embassy must leave Georgia,” he said in a televised address. (Posted @ 21:02 PST)
Peshawar lawyers boycott courts Peshawar, Pakistan, Nov 7 (PPI) - Continuing their protest for the third consecutive day the lawyers established hunger strike camp at the premises of Peshawar High Court on Wednesday and announced in a joint meeting of Peshawar High Court Bar Association and District Bar Association that no lawyer would attend the courts till restoration of constitution and the judges who refused to take oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO). Meanwhile, in the city of Multan in Punjab, about 1500 lawyers also held a rally inside the district court premises and boycotted the courts on Wednesday as twelve of the layers arrested earlier were sent to judicial remand by a local court. (First Posted @ 20:38 PST Updated @ 20:54 PST)
9 killed in Finnish school shooting HELSINKI, Nov 7 (AFP) At least 9 people were killed Wednesday and around a dozen wounded when a gunman went on the rampage at a school in southern Finland, medical officials said. “Six are students and one is a middle-aged woman,” a hospital official said. (Posted @ 20:46 PST)
Iran, Pakistan talks on gas pipeline TEHRAN, Nov 7 (APP): A Pakistani delegation is visiting Tehran November 7-9 to finalize the text of a contract for the proposed gas pipeline project, Iranian officials said Wednesday. (Posted @ 19:56 PST)
Five lawyers held n Rawalpindi RAWALPINDI, Nov 7 (APP): The police detained five of the lawyers who were holding a demonstration on Murree road on Wednesday against the imposition of emergency. (Posted @ 19:46 PST)
Fierce gunbattle kills 3 soldiers, 1 militant in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Nov 7 (AP) - Three Indian soldiers and a suspected militant died in a fierce gunbattle late Tuesday in Pattan, a town just north of Srinagar, police Inspector General S.M. Sahai said. The battle continued to rage Wednesday evening. Additional troops were deployed to cordon off the area, he said. More than 68,000 people, most of them civilians, have died since the rebellion against Indian occupation began. (Posted @ 19:24 PST)
France urges Pakistan to stick to election timetable PARIS, Nov 7 (AFP) France urged President Musharraf Wednesday to lift the state of emergency and allow elections to be held by January as previously planned. “We underscore the importance that we accord to the respect for the rule of law and public freedoms,” said French foreign ministry spokesman Pascale Andreani. “We therefore demand a lifting of the state of emergency and that elections be held according to the planned timetable,” he said. (Posted @ 19:08 PST)
Britain urges Pakistan poll date, warns over aid LONDON, Nov 7 (AFP) Britain called on President Musharraf Wednesday to set a specific date for January elections, and warned that the current crisis could impact on British aid to the country. Foreign Secretary David Miliband also called for the release of political prisoners, the easing of restrictions on the media and for Musharraf to honour a commitment to stand down as head of the army. “We call on the government of Pakistan to first declare now a specific date for January elections,” he said in a statement to parliament. “The point that I've made to the government of Pakistan at the most senior levels is that it's massively in their interest to provide clarity about when the election should take place. “They must take place in January and the most suitable time is January 15 which is when they (had) been set for,” he added. (First Posted @ 17:28 PST Updated @ 17:54 PST)
Justice Jalandri sworn in as SC judge ISLAMABAD, Nov 7 (PPI) Justice Rashid Ahmad Jalandri was sworn in as Judge of the Supreme Court on Wednesday morning. Chief Justice Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar administered oath to him. (First Posted @ 16:36 PST Updated @ 17:18 PST)
Iran's nuclear programme “irreversible:” Ahmadinejad TEHRAN, Nov 7 (Reuters) Iran's nuclear programme is “irreversible,” President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday. He also reiterated that Iran now has 3,000 centrifuges, used to enrich uranium, in its underground Natanz nuclear plant. “The Iranian nation has entered the phase of industrial scale of nuclear fuel (production) and the train of the Iranian nation's progress is irreversible,” Ahmadinejad told a rally in South Khorasan province broadcast live on state television. “Today, we've reached 3,000 centrifuges,” he said. (Posted @ 17:08 PST)
Two Pakistan cities ban sales of satellite dishes ISLAMABAD, Nov 7 (Reuters) Authorities have stopped sales of satellite dishes in two Pakistani cities to block access to private news channels, salesmen said Wednesday. The channels were taken off air Saturday after the government imposed emergency rule. “Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority has temporarily suspended transmission of independent news TV channels till further instructions,” says a message flashed by operators to its clients. Police went to various electronic markets in at least two cities – Rawalpindi and Karachi - and asked shop-owners to close, according to traders and witnesses. “We were not shown any orders, but simply told to close,” said Mohammad Imran, a shop-keeper in Rawalpindi’s Imperial Market. “They told us it is being done as various channels are airing contents that are creating tension and confusion.” Rawalpindi's city police chief, Saud Aziz, denied any orders have been issued for shops to close or stop the sale of satellite equipment. (Posted @ 16:40 PST)
Pakistan denies Indian claims of forces' pull out ISLAMABAD, Nov 7 (AFP) Pakistan's military Wednesday denied reports from India that it had withdrawn tens of thousands of troops from the border to deploy them against militants in restive tribal areas. Top military spokesman and Director General Inter Services Public Relations Major General Waheed Arshad told AFP that Pakistan did not station troops along the recognised international border with India during peacetime. But he said Pakistan did have troops deployed on the Line of Control as well as on the Siachen glacier in the Himalayas. “Not a single soldier had been pulled back from these two deployments,” he said. A top Indian defence ministry official said Wednesday that Pakistan's troop numbers along the frontier had hit an “all-time low” during the summer as soldiers were sent to the North West Frontier Province. “Our estimates are based on tested intelligence inputs from within Pakistan and feedbacks from our watch on their frontier assets,” added an official from India's director-general of military intelligence. India's military establishment estimates the redeployment has left “gaping holes” in Pakistan's eastern flank facing India. (First Posted @ 11:45 PST, Updated @ 15:55 PST)
Heavy fighting kills 30 rebels, six soldiers in northern Sri Lanka COLOMBO, Nov 7 (AP) A fierce battle between soldiers and Tamil Tiger fighters raged across the front lines in northern Sri Lanka Wednesday, killing 30 rebels and six soldiers, the military said. Fighting erupted about 5:30 a.m., when insurgents attacked government positions along the front lines at Muhamalai in the Jaffna Peninsula, just north of rebel-held territory, said a Defence Ministry official who spoke requesting anonymity. (Posted @ 15:45 PST)
Iraqi Army finds 17 bodies in mass grave BAGHDAD, Nov 7 (AP): Iraqi soldiers found 17 decomposed bodies early Wednesday north of the Iraqi capital, an Iraqi army officer said. The mass grave was discovered in an area of brush near a school in Hashimiyat, an area west of Baqouba, an army officer said. (Posted @ 15:10 PST)
Pakistan protests Indian visa refusal to minister ISLAMABAD, Nov 7 (AFP): Pakistan summoned the Indian deputy ambassador to the foreign ministry on Wednesday and lodged a protest over the denial of a visa to Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid, officials said. “The Indian Deputy High Commissioner was summoned to the Foreign Office and a strong protest lodged,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. (Posted @ 15:00 PST)
PML-N says no to talks with PPP ISLAMABAD, Nov 7 (AP): A senior leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has said that his party had rejected the idea floated by political circles of holding talks with the PPP. He said his party had snubbed the idea of holding talks with Benazir Bhutto, saying she must cut her links with President General Pervez Musharraf. The leader also requested anonymity. (Posted @ 14:33 PST)
Mortar kills two children near Baghdad BAGHDAD, Nov 7 (AP): Two children were killed early Wednesday when a mortar struck their house southeast of Baghdad, police said. The children, aged 4 and 8, were members of a family mired in a local feud with, an officer said. Meanwhile in Kut, gunmen broke into the home of an Iraqi soldier and shot him to death, the officer said. (Posted @ 13:05 PST)
Strong quake jolts Bangladesh coastal areas COX's BAZAR, Nov 7 (AP): A strong earthquake shook coastal areas in southern Bangladesh, causing residents to rush out of their homes in panic, witnesses said. The magnitude of the quake that hit around 0710 GMT was not immediately known, the Meteorological Office in Dhaka said. (Posted @ 12:45 PST)
Bomb attacks kill four, wound five in Thai south YALA, Nov 7 (Reuters): Suspected separatist rebels launched two bomb attacks in Thailand's south, killing four people and wounding five, including a Muslim boy, police said on Wednesday. Three members of a bomb squad were killed and one wounded when they went to check out what turned out to be a remote-controlled bomb on a bridge in Pattani, one of the provinces caught up in nearly four years of insurgency. In the nearby province of Yala, a roadside bomb killed an army captain, wounded two soldiers and a man and his 5-year-old son. (Posted @ 12:35 PST)
Imran Khan issues video message from hiding ISLAMABAD, Nov 7 (AFP): Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan made a haggard-looking appearance in a video issued from hiding Wednesday, calling for protests against President General Musharraf's state of emergency. “If we don't resist, it will take Pakistan on the path of destruction,” Khan said in the short video message broadcast on a private television channel. (Posted @ 11:35 PST)
Police will prevent PPP Rawalpindi rally: mayor ISLAMABAD, Nov 7 (AP): The Pakistan People’s Party vowed Wednesday to hold a rally against emergency rule in Rawalpindi, despite threats from officials to crush it by force. “We denounce the government ban, and want to make it clear that our supporters and leaders will reach Rawalpindi for the rally,” Babar Awan, a senior member of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, told The Associated Press. The Mayor of Rawalpindi, Javed Akhlas, said police would be out in force to prevent anyone reaching the park where Benazir Bhutto plans to address supporters on Friday. “We will ensure that they don't violate the ban on rallies, and if they do it, the government will take action according to the law,” the mayor told AP. (First Posted @ 10:15 PST, Updated @ 11:05 PST)
UN chief rejects Pakistani protest UNITED NATIONS, Nov 7 (AP): Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday rejected Pakistan's protest over his statement expressing serious concern at the imposition of emergency rule and again urged the government to release all detainees and restore democratic rule. Pakistan's Ambassador Munir Akram met Ban on Monday “and conveyed his protest on the issuance of a statement by him regarding internal developments in Pakistan,” according to a statement from the mission. Asked whether he believed President General Pervez Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule was an internal matter or a matter for possible U.N. action, Ban told reporters “I stand by my statement which I issued yesterday.” The UN chief said he met Akram at his request “and again expressed deep concern and regret at what had happened in Pakistan. I also urged strongly that Pakistani government should return to democratic rules.” (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
Restricted US aid: Musharraf contacts leading Democrats WASHINGTON, Nov 7 (AP): President General Pervez Musharraf is using personal persuasion to ward off congressional restrictions or outright cuts in U.S. aid to protest his suspension of Pakistan's democratic system. Musharraf telephoned Senator Joseph Biden and Representative Tom Lantos, both Democrats, who head the committees of the Senate and House of Representatives that deal with foreign relations. Biden said he told Musharraf it was critical that he allow elections in January as planned and that he “take off his uniform” and “restore the rule of law.” Lantos, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, would not to comment. Also this week, Democratic Sen. John Kerry, a member of Biden's committee, was drafting a resolution that would condemn the military crackdown. The Bush administration is reviewing its aid package to Pakistan, and several lawmakers have said they want to see new restrictions. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Oil crosses $98 for the first time SINGAPORE, Nov 7 (AFP): Oil breached 98 US dollars a barrel in Asian trade Wednesday for the first time ever, as traders anticipate another decline in US energy reserves, dealers said. At 0400 GMT, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery traded at 97.99 dollars a barrel, up $1.29 from its all-time closing record of $96.70 in US trades Tuesday. The contract had earlier traded at a new high of $98.03 before falling to below 98 dollars. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Astronomers discover five-planet system orbiting star LOS ANGELES, Nov 7 (AP): Astronomers said they have discovered a fifth planet orbiting a sun-like star 41 light years away, making it the first planetary quintet outside our solar system. The newfound planet joins four others circling the nearby star 55 Cancri in the constellation Cancer. Although it resides in the star's so-called habitable zone, a place where liquid water and mild temperatures should exist, it is more like Saturn than Earth and therefore not likely to support life. (Posted @ 09:25 PST)
Facelift for world's tallest ancient Buddha statue BEIJING, Nov 7 (AFP): The world's tallest ancient Buddha statue, suffering from years of environmental damage, will get its latest facelift to fix damage from weathering and acid rain. A scientists’ team is conducting preparation work for repairs next year on the 71-metre Leshan Buddha, in southwestern Sichuan province. (Posted @ 09:00 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 74.70 , points: KARACHI, Nov 07: At the close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 13500.81,up 74.70 , points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Nov 07: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.98, to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
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