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| December 08, 2007 | Saturday | Ziqa’ad 27, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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Swat valley cleared of militants: Pakistan army MINGORA, Pakistan, Dec 8 (AFP): Pakistan's army claimed Saturday it has cleared almost all of northwestern Swat valley of militants, killing 290 rebels and arresting another 143 in recent weeks. However pro-Taliban cleric Fazlullah was on the run in the valley's mountains, along with hundreds of his loyal fighters, the army's chief operations commander told reporters. Major General Nasser Janjua said some 20,000 troops backed by helicopter gunships and artillery had driven militants out of their strongholds in the ongoing military operation. “Fazlullah is still on the run with hardcore militants estimated to be between 200 to 400, including some foreigners,” Janjua told reporters at the army's makeshift headquarters in Mingora, the valley’s main town. “The militants have retreated to two places in the mountains in the northwest of the valley and we will chase them there,” the commander said. Janjua said five soldiers and six civilians had been killed in the operation and around 20 civilians were also wounded. He said it would take up to four months to stabilise the region and at least 12 months to reopen the region to tourists. He said Fazlullah had been involved with the “enemy”, and when pressed he named Al-Qaeda as having played a role in unrest in the region. “The Taliban and Al-Qaeda are looking for safe havens and trying to recruit the youth here,” he said. (First Posted @ 14:40 PST, Updated @ 15:40 PST)
Gunmen kill three PPP supporters in Balochistan QUETTA, Dec 8 (AP): Three supporters of Pakistan Peoples Party were killed Saturday when gunmen attacked the party's office in Naseerabad, about 250 kilometers east of Quetta, police said. Officers were investigating the incident, said the district police chief. Police had no immediate information about the motive for the attack or who was behind it, he said. (Posted @ 10:45 PST)
Pakistan emergency rule to end December 15: Attorney General ISLAMABAD, Dec 8 (Reuters): President Musharraf will lift emergency rule and restore the suspended constitution on December 15, a day earlier than planned, Attorney General Malik Mohammad Qayyum said Saturday. “It will be on the 15th,” Qayyum said by telephone, adding he did not know why. “Everybody says the emergency must be lifted, so earlier the better.” “Maybe it's because December 16 is a Sunday.” Musharraf's spokesman said he did not know if the date had been brought forward. Nawaz Sharif Saturday hinted his party could participate in the vote. “If we decided to take part in elections, then it will prove a referendum against Pervez Musharraf,” Sharif told hundreds of supporters on the outskirts of Lahore on his way to a pre-election rally in Gujranwala. While Benazir, who is on a private trip to Dubai to visit her family, says the next parliament should decide whether to reinstate the deposed judges. However, a Sharif party official said the two opposition leaders would meet again next week to continue consultations. (Posted @ 16:15 PST)
Qazi Hussain Ahmed meets Nawaz Sharif Lahore, Dec 8 (PPI): President of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal Qazi Hussain Ahmed Saturday held talks with Nawaz Sharif here and exchanged views on matters regarding boycotting the upcoming general elections. A final decision in this regard will be taken by component parties of All Pakistan Democratic Movement in its meeting here on Sunday. Qazi Hussain told reporters after the meeting that MMA will remain intact despite differences. ''If steps taken on November 3, 2007 are not withdrawn then only lifting of emergency is meaningless,'' he asserted. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Palestinian 'settlement' protests Israeli expansion JERUSALEM, Dec 8 (AFP) Activists built a mock Palestinian “settlement” in the West Bank on Saturday to protest a potential Israeli expansion there as Israel's housing minister vowed to proceed with a similar project in east Jerusalem. Around 40 activists gathered in the hotly contested E-1 corridor early Saturday morning to erect a small shanty-style house near the massive Maale Adumim settlement in the West Bank outside Jerusalem. (Posted @ 21:22 PST)
All nations must join climate fight: Bali draft NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Dec 8 (Reuters) All nations must do more to fight climate change, with deep cuts in greenhouse gases by rich nations to avoid the worst impacts, a draft proposal at U.N. talks said Saturday. The four-page draft, written by delegates from Indonesia, Australia and South Africa as an unofficial guide for delegates at the Dec. 3-14 190-nation talks, said developing nations should at least brake rising emissions as part of a new pact. It said there was “unequivocal scientific evidence” that “preventing the worst impacts of climate change will require (developed nations) to reduce emissions in a range of 25-40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.” (Posted @ 20:00 PST)
Nawaz Sharif says if APDM takes part, polls to prove crucial LAHORE, Dec 8 (PPI) Former premier Nawaz Sharif said if All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) parties decide to take part in election, they will prove to be ''crucial'' for the country. Addressing people Saturday at Muridke, he urged them to fully support PML(N) candidates. He asked masses to question rival PML(Q) candidates when they come for vote, about killings in Lal Masjid, supporting dictatorship and plundering national wealth in their tenure. Later addressing people at Kamoke, he criticised house arrest of deposed Chief Justice of Supreme Court Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and demanded reinstatement of all deposed judges. (Posted @ 19:54 PST)
Iran, Pakistan gas pipeline project talks underway ISLAMABAD, Dec 8 (PPI) The new round of negotiations between Iran and Pakistan on the gas pipeline project have started in Islamabad. Experts and negotiating officials of the two countries aim to prepare the text of contract the heads of states would sign later. Iran's special envoy for gas peace pipeline talks, Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, joined the team of Iranian and Pakistani experts holding talks on the deal Thursday. After previous round of talks held in Tehran on November 10, Ghanimifard said text of gas contract was finalized and both parties reached an agreement on all points legal experts had outlined. (Posted @ 18:48 PST)
Chief of Air Staff meets General Tariq Majid RAWALPINDI, Dec 8 (APP) Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed called on Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Tariq Majid at Joint Staff Headquarters Saturday. He remained with him for some time and discussed matters related to professional interest, said an ISPR press release issued here. (Posted @ 18:46 PST)
SAARC Foreign Ministers call on Indian PM NEW DELHI, Dec 8 (APP) Foreign Minister Inam ul Haq along with other Foreign Ministers from SAARC countries called on Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here Saturday and discussed matters relating to promotion of goals set by the SAARC. Earlier, Inam ul Haq held a bilateral meeting with Afghan Foreign Minister and discussed matters concerning both the countries.Later, some of the Foreign Ministers left here for Agra to continue their informal interaction relating to SAARC. Inam ul Haq left here this evening for Pakistan. (Posted @ 18:44 PST)
Afghan, NATO operation leaves 14 dead, including two children, in south KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Dec 8 (AP) A NATO and Afghan operation to retake a Taliban-controlled town has left 14 dead including two children, as U.S.-led coalition airstrikes killed several suspected insurgents nearby in southern Afghanistan. Afghan and NATO troops positioned themselves to the east, west and south of Musa Qala, and at least 12 Taliban fighters and two children were killed in the fighting, according to the Defence Ministry. (First Posted @ 11:20 PST Updated @ 18:18 PST)
At least three dead in Egypt university stampede CAIRO, Dec 8 (Reuters) At least three people were killed and more than 100 were injured in a stampede caused by an electrical fire in a university in Egypt's Nile Delta town of Zagazig on Saturday, security sources said. The sources said students in the local branch of al-Azhar University's women's college panicked after a fire broke out in a packed lecture hall, and a stampede started with hundreds of students trying to exit the hall. While the fire did not spread, the commotion led to a general panic throughout the college, and security sources said some of the students leapt from second floor windows to escape the building. (Posted @ 18:14 PST)
US troops kill 12 suspected Qaeda militants in Iraq BAGHDAD, Dec 8 (AFP) US air and ground assault teams killed 12 suspected Al-Qaeda militants and detained 13 more in raids across Iraq Saturday, the American military said. Ten suspected militants were killed near Yusifiyah south of Baghdad in an operation targeting Al-Qaeda members, it said in a statement. During the raid the ground troops called for air support and in the ensuing firefight 12 suspected militants were killed, the military said. In two other separate raids two more suspected militants were killed, it said, adding that the raids also led to detention of 13 other suspects. (Posted @ 17:50 PST)
Methane gas kills four Indian workers at car plant NEW DELHI, Dec 8 (AP) Four Indian workers died after inhaling poisonous methane gas while working on a sewage treatment plant at a car plant in southern India late Friday, company official Rajeev Mitra said Saturday. The accident occurred in Irrungatukottai in Tamil Nadu state. (Posted @ 17:38 PST)
Two gunmen kill Philippine vice mayor and rights advocate inside town hall MANILA, Dec 8 (AP) Two gunmen barged into a central Philippine town hall and killed the vice mayor, officials said Saturday. Vice Mayor Regolo Moran, already wounded in the close-range shooting Friday, wrestled with one of the attackers but was shot again by the other and died in a car during the two-hour trip to a hospital, said left-wing lawmaker Rep. Crispin Beltran, a friend of Moran. Two of Moran's employees were wounded in the assault in Masbate province's Dimasalang town, about 350 kilometres southeast of Manila. (Posted @ 17:12 PST)
Gates sees Iran as threat to US and Mideast MANAMA, Dec 8 (AFP): US Defence Secretary Robert Gates Saturday said Iran's foreign policy was a threat to the United States, the Middle East and all countries within range of missiles which he said Tehran was developing. “There can be little doubt that their destabilising foreign policies are a threat to the interests of the United States, to the interests of every country in the Middle East, and to the interests of all countries within the range of the ballistic missiles Iran is developing,” Gates told delegates attending a conference on regional security in the Bahraini capital, Manama. He claimed Iran was also “funding and training” militias in Iraq and supporting “terrorist organisations” and said Tehran was developing “medium-range ballistic missiles that are not particularly cost-effective unless equipped with warheads carrying weapons of mass destruction.” (Posted @ 16:45 PST)
Cricket-India 365-5 v Pakistan third test - close BANGALORE, India, Dec 8 (Reuters): India were 365 for five at the close on the opening day of the third and final test against Pakistan in Bangalore, India on Saturday. Brief scores: India 365-5 (S. Ganguly 125 not out, Y. Singh 169). (First Posted @ 09:20 PST, Updated @ 16:40 PST)
Shuttle launch postponed third time: NASA CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida, Dec 8 (AFP): The US space agency Saturday delayed the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis for a third consecutive day and announced plans to strengthen safety rules governing launches. Liftoff is now set for 3:21 pm Sunday, said Kennedy Space Center spokesman Allard Beutel. Problems with fuel gauges on the shuttle's external tanks had forced NASA to put off launches scheduled first on Thursday and then Friday. (Posted @ 16:30 PST)
Suicide truck bomber attacks police station in northern Iraq oil hub, killing seven BAGHDAD, Dec 8 (AP): A suicide truck bomber attacked a police station in Beiji, one of Iraq's major oil hubs, Saturday, killing at least seven people and injuring 13, police said. The bomber on approached the police station in an explosives-laden truck about five kilometres north of the city centre, a police official said. The official said five policemen and two civilians were killed in the blast, which damaged nearby homes and sent shards of glass flying through the air. (Posted @ 15:55 PST)
Iran drops dollar from oil deals: report TEHRAN, Dec 8 (AFP): Major crude producer Iran has completely stopped carrying out its oil transactions in dollars, Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said Saturday, labelling it an unreliable currency. “At the moment selling oil in dollars has been completely halted, in line with the policy of selling crude in non-dollar currencies,” Nozari was quoted as saying by ISNA news agency. “The dollar is an unreliable currency, considering its devaluation and oil exporters' losses,” he added. (Posted @ 14:35 PST)
Cyclone batters Fiji island SUVA, Dec 8 (AFP): A devastating cyclone flattened much of the tiny Fiji island of Cikobia on Saturday with most houses and vegetation destroyed, but its 69 villagers survived by hiding in caves, officials said. Communications to the remote island were knocked out in the storm but a brief radio telephone message confirmed all the villagers were accounted for. (Posted @ 13:15 PST)
Afghan abductors free Bangladeshi aid worker DHAKA, Dec 8 (Reuters): A Bangladeshi aid worker kidnapped in Afghanistan nearly three months ago was freed by the abductors, the aid agency said Saturday. Noor Islam was working for Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) when he was taken away in Logar province, south of Kabul, on Sept. 15. “He was freed on Friday night and is now under the safe custody of the Afghanistan authority,” a BRAC official said in Dhaka. (Posted @ 12:35 PST)
Sri Lanka military says 24 rebels killed in north COLOMBO, Dec 8 (Reuters): Sri Lankan troops killed 24 Tamil Tiger rebels in clashes, the military said Saturday. The latest clashes took place in Mannar district. In another clash in Varuniya, one soldier was killed, a spokesman at the Media centre for National Security said. The Tigers were not immediately available for comment. (First Posted @ 09:20 PST, Updated @ 10:15 PST)
Serbs scuffle with NATO peacekeepers in Kosovo GORAZDEVAC, Serbia, Dec 8 (AP): Kosovo Serbs scuffled with NATO peacekeepers Friday during an orchestrated attempt by Belgrade to intimidate Kosovo's international administrators, the top U.N. official for the province said Friday. A group of middle-aged Serbs crowded NATO's top commander, Lt. Gen. Xavier Bout de Marnhac and the U.N. administrator, Joachim Ruecker, in the village of Gorazdevac, a Serb enclave of Kosovo some 90 kilometers west of the capital Pristina. Neither official was hurt. (Posted @ 09:15 PST)
Thieves rob credit union inside US mly base SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Dec 8 (AFP): Thieves managed to rob a credit union inside a heavily-guarded US military base in Puerto Rico, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported Friday. The thieves stole an undisclosed amount of cash from the financial institution, which is used by active and retired soldiers, at Fort Buchanan, just outside San Juan. Access to Fort Buchanan is strictly controlled by armed guards at the base's only two gates. (Posted @ 09:15 PST)
World's largest spitting cobra species found in Kenya: study NAIROBI, Dec 8 (AFP): A new giant species of spitting cobra -- about 2.6 metres long and with enough venom to kill up to 20 people in one bite -- has been discovered in Kenya, a study said Friday. The large brown spitting cobra, initially included under the black-necked spitting cobra species, was discovered at a snake farm in June 2004, but confirmed as a separate species this year. (Posted @ 09:15 PST)
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