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| December 26, 2007 | Wednesday | Zilhaj 15, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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Musharraf says terror 'destroying' Pakistan, Afghanistan ISLAMABAD, Dec 26 (AFP) President Pervez Musharraf said Wednesday at a joint news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai that extremism and terrorism were “destroying both our countries.” Following talks between the two presidents in their first meeting since August, Musharraf said they had discussed the need for intelligence cooperation on fighting militancy. He said the two countries had to work together to counter “this menace of extremism and terrorism which is destroying both our countries.” Musharraf said Karzai had referred to the neighbours as “twins” in their talks. “These twins will gain together, will suffer together, will profit together, will lose together,” Musharraf said. “We have to work together to function well for the mutual benefit of both the countries, and that is what Pakistan looks forward to,” he said. (First Posted @ 16:35 PST Updated @19:45 PST)
Benazir Bhutto vows to fight for workers WAH, Pakistan, Dec 26 (Reuters) Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto vowed to fight for workers' rights Wednesday as she took her campaign for January general elections to an industrial belt near the capital. Benazir told a crowd of about 600 people in the town of Wah, 30 km northwest of Islamabad, she would help the poor. “We believe that Pakistan can only be a strong state when labourers and poor people become strong and empowered,” she said. “We assure you we will not leave labourers alone and we'll not ignore them,” she said, promising to reinstate sacked workers and beef up labour laws. Benazir was travelling up the Grand Trunk road. Small groups of people beside the road waved Benazir’s party’s flags and threw rose petals at her convoy as she passed. She later addressed a rally of several thousand people in Peshawar. (First Posted @ 18:35 PST, Updated @ 20:40 PST)
President Musharraf for early completion of compensation, development package for Swat ISLAMABAD, Dec 26 (APP) President Musharraf Wednesday directed the federal and provincial governments for early finalization of socio-economic development package for the people of Swat and adjoining areas, following the return of peace and normalcy. The President stated this while co-chairing a meeting with caretaker Prime Minister Mohammadmian Soomro to review the prevailing situation in the area. The Director General Military Operations, Pakistan Army, briefed the meeting about the military operation in Swat. President Musharraf directed immediate damage assessment to finalize the compensation for the families affected during the militant activity. He appreciated the people of Swat for their support and cooperation extended to the Armed Forces during their operation against the militants. He said the Army will stay in the area till it is fully cleared of the terrorists. The meeting was attended by chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Governor and Chief Minister North West Frontier Province, Ministers for Interior, Law and Finance and senior officials. (Posted @ 19:20 PST)
Teen arrested with explosives at Benazir rally PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Dec 26 (AFP) Pakistani police said Wednesday they arrested a teenager carrying a small quantity of explosives at an election campaign rally for opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. The boy, aged about 16, was caught at the gate of the rally, held amid tight security. “He was carrying explosive material. We are investigating,” city police chief Mohammad Tahir told AFP. He gave no details. Shaheen Khan, an official who was on security duty at the rally, said the boy was carrying explosive material and nails in his pocket. He said the quantity of explosives - about 200 grams - would not have caused casualties but could have set off panic in the crowd. The boy said he had attended a wedding the previous night and forgot to empty his pocket before coming to the rally, Khan said. (Posted @ 18:55 PST)
Election Commission redressing complaints: Kanwar Dilshad ISLAMABAD, Dec 26 (APP) Election Commission has set up a complaint cell to take immediate action on complaints by the candidates contesting the general elections, Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Kanwar Mohammad Dilshad said. Talking to PTV, he said ECP received a large number of complaints against nazims on violation of electoral code of conduct. He said the lists of sensitive spots and polling stations across country are being compiled. At these polling stations army could be called to ensure the maintenance of law and order situation. He said that international observers are monitoring the performance of the complaint cell aiming to ensure level playing field for all candidates. Observers have confirmed that the complaint redressal system of ECP was working satisfactorily. He said Election Commission was taking elaborate measures to ensure free, fair and transparent elections. He said printing of ballot papers would be completed by January 5. There is no chance of making fake ballot papers because these are printed on special paper. Kanwar Dilshad said that transparent ballot boxes would be provided at all polling stations. More than 81 million registered voters will be eligible to cast their votes. (Posted @ 18:35 PST)
Pakistan bars rebel league players from domestic game KARACHI, Dec 26 (AFP) Pakistan cricket authorities announced Wednesday that all players who featured in a rebel Indian league will be banned from domestic matches. Several stars, including former national skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq, signed up to play in the breakaway Indian Cricket League (ICL) despite warnings of future restrictions. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) communications director Ahsan Malik said the ICL players were now ineligible to play in PCB-organised events. “We have added a clause to the domestic playing conditions rule, according to which any player featuring in any unauthorised event in Pakistan or abroad will not be eligible to play in our events,” Malik said, adding that the new ban will be approved at the PCB governing body's meeting next month. (Posted @ 17:50 PST)
Pakistan allows over 200 observers for election: FO ISLAMABAD, Dec 26 (APP) Pakistan has processed the cases of over 200 observers from different parts of the world to monitor the election process. “The cases of over 200 observers including journalists, members of NGOs and officials have been completed and visas issued for the elections scheduled for January 8,” said Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq during a weekly briefing Wednesday. Replying to a question, Sadiq said no visa has so far been rejected to any observer for the general elections scheduled for January 2008. Commenting on the report published in New York Times regarding US aid for FATA’s development, the spokesman said there are misleading speculations being generated in the press on this issue. Regarding the recent test of missiles by India, he said Pakistan was always against the introduction of new weapon system and was of the view that maximum resources should be allocated for the people’s welfare. He however said Pakistan is fully aware of its needs regarding security and integrity. Answering a question, Sadiq said there are 450 Pakistanis in Indian jails while 500 Indians are in Pakistani jails. Sadiq said committee of judges, four each from India and Pakistan will meet in India very soon to review the process of releasing these prisoners. He said the next round of Pak-India composite dialogue process will start early next year when the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries meet. Answering a question on the latest developments on Pak-Afghan Jirga Commission, Sadiq said the two countries are in touch with each other and 25 members from each side are being finalized. (Posted @ 17:05 PST)
Karzai arrives in Pakistan for talks on fighting militants, other issues ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec 26 (AP): Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai arrived in Pakistan Wednesday for talks aimed at coordinating the fight against Taliban and al-Qaeda militants along the countries' shared border. At the start of his two-day visit, President Karzai planned to meet President Musharraf to discuss economic ties as well as the battle against militants, said Mohammed Sadiq, spokesman for Pakistan's Foreign Ministry. Karzai landed at an air base near Islamabad Wednesday afternoon. Sadiq described Karzai's trip as an ''important political visit.'' ''All the issues which are important for the bilateral relationship will be on the table during this visit,'' he told newsmen. (Posted @ 16:35 PST)
India hopes Pakistan, Iran attend regional naval chiefs conclave New Delhi, Dec 26 (PPI): India hopes Pakistan and Iran will attend the Regional Naval Chiefs Conclave being held in February 2008. The Indian Navy is hosting a regional Naval Chiefs conclave and international symposium on Indian Ocean region from February 13-19 to which 31 countries have been invited. Experts will discuss issues including sea piracy, terrorism through the sea, security of sea lanes in Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea and Red Sea at the conclave. (Posted @ 13:00 PST)
German private jet crashes in Almaty, killing one person ALMATY, Kazkhstan, Dec 26 (AP) A privately owned German jet crashed and exploded while taking off from an airport in Kazakhstan's commercial capital Wednesday, killing one passenger and injuring three crewmembers, officials said. The jet had been on its way from Hannover, Germany, to Hong Kong and landed for refuelling at the Almaty airport. While taking off early Wednesday, it veered off the runway and exploded, Almaty rescue service said in a statement. Two pilots and a flight attendant were injured and the single passenger on board died in the accident, it said. (Posted @ 20:25 PST)
Panama finds three bodies, one survivor in crash of plane PANAMA CITY, PANAMA, Dec 26 (AP) Rescuers in a remote, mountainous region of Panama struggled Wednesday to evacuate a 12-year-old American girl, the only survivor of a small plane crash that killed a California businessman, his teenage daughter and their Panamanian pilot. The bodies were found Tuesday afternoon in an uninhabited region known as Las Ovejas, 270 miles west of the capital, Panama's civil protection agency said. (Posted @ 20:10 PST)
Death toll in Egypt building collapse rises to 20 CAIRO, Dec 26 (Reuters) The death toll from the collapse of a 12-storey residential building in Egypt's Mediterranean city of Alexandria rose to 20 Wednesday, security sources said. Authorities had said they thought 25 to 30 people had been buried under the rubble. The building disintegrated Monday as construction workers carried out repairs on the first floor. (First Posted @ 12:20 PST, Updated @ 19:45 PST)
Britain's MI6 in secret talks with Taliban LONDON, Dec 26 (AP) British spies organized secret meetings with senior Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan over the summer, The Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday citing an unidentified intelligence source. Officers from Britain's MI6 have engaged in peace talks with up to a dozen Taliban officials. ''The SIS officers were understood to have sought peace directly with the Taliban, with some of them coming across as some sort of armed militia,'' The Telegraph quoted the source as saying. ''The British would provide mentoring for the Taliban.'' Britain's Foreign Office did not immediately return a phone message Wednesday, a national holiday in Britain. The Telegraph said the meetings were held up to half a dozen times on the outskirts of Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand province. The meetings took place in the presence of Afghan officials in compounds secured by the British military, the paper said. (Posted @ 18:20 PST)
Christmas Day pipeline fire kills 45 near Lagos ABAGBO, Nigeria, Dec 26 (Reuters) At least 45 people were burned to death on the outskirts of Lagos when fuel they were siphoning from a buried pipeline caught fire, officials said Wednesday. Philip Daferiogho, a Red Cross official who was at the scene Wednesday, said rescue workers had buried 45 charred bodies in three mass graves near Tuesday's fire. (First Posted @ 13:50 PST, Updated @ 18:00 PST)
Bodies of 17 men are found north of Baghdad BAGHDAD, Dec 26 (Reuters) The decomposed bodies of 17 men have been found in Iraq's Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, the Iraqi army said Wednesday. The bodies were found in a town near the provincial capital of Baquba, 65 km north of Baghdad, in the past two days. All had gunshot wounds in the head. (Posted @ 17:50 PST)
Sri Lanka frees detained French TV crew COLOMBO, Dec 26 (AFP) A Sri Lankan judge Wednesday freed two foreign television reporters held for two days by police while making a documentary about people detained under emergency laws, officials said. The two-member crew of France 24 were detained overnight at Ratgama, 105 kilometres south of the capital, after they were taken into custody by the military on Christmas Eve. “They were taken before a judge in Colombo after being questioned by the Terrorist Investigations Department,” a court official said. “The judge ordered them to be freed without any charges.” (Posted @ 17:30 PST)
Police corner Somali kidnappers of aid workers BOSASSO, Somalia, Dec 26 (Reuters): Security forces fought and surrounded Somali kidnappers Wednesday hours after they abducted a Spanish and an Argentine aid worker with the medical charity Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF). “The police captured two of the kidnappers after a heavy exchange of gunfire, and they are now surrounded,” Puntland Trade Minister Abdishamad Yusuf Abwan told Reuters. In the abduction in the semi-autonomous northern Puntland region, the women's car was ambushed by a gang with machineguns in Bosasso port as they drove to a hospital. But they were pursued by authorities and engaged in a gunfight shortly after, locals said. (First Posted @ 12:35 PST, Updated @ 16:45 PST)
Iraqi cabinet approves draft general pardon law BAGHDAD, Dec 26 (Reuters): The Iraqi cabinet approved a draft law Wednesday that will offer a general pardon to thousands of prisoners in U.S. military and Iraqi custody, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said. “The cabinet has passed the general pardon law, which will define who is eligible to be freed from all prisons, both Iraqi and American,” al-Dabbagh told Reuters. The law still needs to be approved by parliament. The Iraqi authorities now hold 24,000 detainees and U.S. forces 26,000. (Posted @ 16:25 PST)
Mob kills two Kenyan policemen in electoral violence NAIROBI, Dec 26 (AFP): Two Kenyan policemen were killed by an angry mob of opposition supporters who accused the government of trying to rig presidential polls, police said Wednesday as tension mounted on the eve of the vote. The pair were among hundreds of policemen deployed about 300 kilometres from the capital Nairobi, in western Nyanza province to reinforce security ahead of Thursday's election, a tight race between incumbent President Mwai Kibaki and rival Raila Odinga. (Posted @ 15:55 PST)
Sri Lanka says 40 rebels killed in sea battle COLOMBO, Dec 26 (AFP): At least 40 Tamil Tiger rebels were killed during a heavy sea battle that erupted off Sri Lanka's northern coast of Jaffna, the navy said Wednesday. The navy destroyed six rebel boats, including two suicide craft, while 40 terrorists were killed in the sea battle, said a navy spokesman. He said one naval craft was damaged. However, the rebels claimed to have sunk a navy fast attack craft during the sea battle, the pro-rebel Tamilnet.com web site reported. Two naval vessels were also damaged in the attack which began around noon Wednesday, the web site said. (First Posted @ 14:55 PST, Updated @ 15:40 PST)
Landslides leave 81 dead or missing in Indonesia JAKARTA, Dec 26 (Reuters): Landslides caused by torrential rains overnight have left 81 people dead or missing in Indonesia's Central Java province, the emergency response agency said Wednesday. A provincial official said the landslides were the worst to hit the region in quarter of a century as thousands of people moved to rescue shelters after their homes were buried or washed away. (First Posted @ 09:25 PST, Updated @ 15:15 PST)
One dead, three missing in Malaysian landslide: report KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 26 (AFP): A 56-year-old woman was killed and three others buried alive in a landslide caused by heavy rainfall in the eastern Malaysian state of Sarawak, state media reported Wednesday. At least 29 people have died in the last two weeks because of monsoon floods in Malaysia and thousands of people have sought shelter in relief centres. (Posted @ 14:50 PST)
Turkish warplanes strike N. Iraq -Iraqi official SULAIMANIYA, Dec 26 (Reuters): Turkish warplanes struck northern Iraq on Wednesday but inflicted no casualties in the latest in a series of small-scale strikes, a spokesman for Iraqi Kurdish security forces said. A spokesman for the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces, said the strike lasted about an hour in a mountainous border region of Dahuk province. (Posted @ 13:50 PST)
Bangladesh starts trial of ex-PM for extortion DHAKA, Dec 26 (Reuters): A Bangladesh court started prosecution on Wednesday against detained former prime minister Sheikh Hasina for alleged extortion. “The hearing has just begun over one of the two extortion charges,” a court official said without giving details. The court later adjourned the session and refixed Dec. 31 to resume the hearing, as defence lawyers sought time to collect material documents of the case. (Posted @ 12:45 PST)
Australia 337-9 v India, first test MELBOURNE, Dec 26 (Reuters): Australia were 337 for nine at the close of play on the first day of the first test against India in Melbourne on Wednesday. Scores: Australia 337-9 (M. Hayden 124, P. Jaques 66; A. Kumble 5-84, Z. Khan 3-93) (First Posted @ 08:50 PST, Updated @ 12:35 PST)
Hindus burn churches in India: one dead, 30 hurt BHUBANESWAR, Dec 26 (AFP): Hindus on Christmas night attacked at least 10 churches in eastern India leaving a man dead and 30 injured, police said Wednesday. Protesters backed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) set fire to six churches and ransacked another four in the heart of Orissa state, a police officer told AFP. One young man was killed and 30 more people hurt. Police would not specify the religion of the casualties. The authorities imposed a curfew on four towns in Kandhamal district, where the violence broke out some 300 kilometres southwest of the state capital Bhubaneswar (Posted @ 12:30 PST)
15 rebels killed in Sri Lanka clashes: military COLOMBO, Dec 26 (AP): A series of gunbattles between government troops and Tamil separatists across Sri Lanka's north killed 15 guerrillas, the military said Wednesday. An official speaking on condition of anonymity said the soldiers suffered no casualties. (Posted @ 12:25 PST)
New Zealand beat Bangladesh by six wickets AUCKLAND, Dec 26 (AFP): New Zealand beat Bangladesh by six wickets at Eden Park here Wednesday in the opening one-day cricket international of a three-match series. Bangladesh, sent in to bat first, were all out for 201 in the 47th over. New Zealand reached the required 202, for the loss of four wickets, in the 43rd over with opener Jamie How making 92. (First Posted @ 08:55 PST, Updated @ 11:25 PST)
Three Thai soldiers killed in clash: police YALA, Dec 26 (AFP): Three Thai soldiers were killed Wednesday in a clash with separatists in the kingdom's insurgency-hit south, police said. The troops were on patrol in Yala province when the insurgents confronted them and opened fire, prompting a 20-minute gun battle that left three of them severely injured. The soldiers died later in hospital, police said. (Posted @ 10:30 PST)
Moderate earthquake hits Kyrgyzstan WASHINGTON, Dec 26 (Reuters): A 5.4 magnitude earthquake shook Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said in a posting on its Web site. The quake at a depth of 29 km was 26 km south-east of Osh, the second largest city of Central Asian republic. (Posted @ 10:25 PST)
Bollywood blockbuster producer dies NEW DELHI, Dec 26 (AFP): Bollywood veteran G.P. Sippy, who produced Indian cinema's biggest blockbuster “Sholay” (Flames), died on Tuesday night in Mumbai at the age of 93, said a report on Wednesday. Sippy died from “age-related ailments,” the Press Trust of India said. He was best known for the legendary 1975 film, which was directed by his son Ramesh Sippy. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 22.93, points: KARACHI, Dec 26: At the close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 14814.85, up 22.93, points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Dec 26: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 61.05, to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
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