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| February 17, 2008 | Sunday | Safar 09, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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Kosovo declares independence PRISTINA, Kosovo, Feb 17 (AP/AFP): Kosovo declared itself a nation on Sunday, mounting a historic bid to become an “independent and democratic state” backed by the U.S. and key European allies but bitterly contested by Serbia and Russia. “Kosovo is a republic, an independent, democratic and sovereign state,” parliament speaker Jakup Krasniqi said as the chamber burst into applause. Across the capital, Pristina, tens of thousands of flag waving people packed the capital, waved red and black Albanian flags and honked car horns in jubilation at the birth of the world's newest country. Serbia rejects Kosovo independence: BELGRADE: Serbia will never recognise the independence of Kosovo, President Boris Tadic said in a statement as the Albanian-majority province's parliament made the historic declaration. (First Posted @ 18:54 PST Updated @ 20:08 PST)
UN Security Council meets Sunday on Kosovo: diplomat UNITED NATIONS, Feb 17 (AFP): The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting at 1800 GMT Sunday on Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia, following a request from Russia, a diplomat said. In a statement Sunday Russia's foreign affairs ministry has asked the UN mission and NATO administration in Kosovo to annul the proclamation of independence. (First Posted @ 20:30 PST Updated @ 21:04 PST)
15 killed, 40 injured as bus falls from bridge LAHORE, Feb 17 (APP): Fifteen passengers were killed and 40 injured when a Sadiqabad bound bus fell from an overhead railway bridge at Habibabad near Pattoki late on Saturday night. The Regional Police Officer Sheikhupura range told APP a passenger bus (LSC-878) heading towards Sadiqabad from Lahore on Saturday night fell from an overhead bridge while trying to overtake another bus. (Posted @ 17:08 PST)
Four security men killed in Dera Bugti blast Multan, Feb 17, (PPI): Four security men died and another injured when a jeep carrying security forces personnel hit a landmine at Pir Koh area near Dera Bugti on Sunday. The personnel were on routine patrolling in the area, police said. One official was taken to hospital in critical condition. (Posted @ 15:22 PST)
Toll rises to 46 in Pakistan suicide blast ISLAMABAD, Feb 17 (AFP) - The death toll from a suicide bombing at an election rally in Pakistan's northwestern city of Parachinar rose to 46 Sunday, a security official said. “Now the death toll is 46. There are around 50 critically wounded people. They are being evacuated to Peshawar,” the official told AFP. The town was tense and streets were empty ahead of Monday's parliamentary elections. Paramilitary soldiers had taken up positions in the town to control violence. Angry supporters of the candidate on Saturday night burned down several shops and damaged some government buildings. (Posted @ 11:37 PST)
Two kidnapped Red Cross staff freed GENEVA, Feb 17 (AFP) - Two Pakistani Red Cross employees kidnapped two weeks ago in Pakistan have been freed without a ransom being paid, the organisation said.The two were on a routine logistical mission in an ICRC-marked vehicle to Torkham, a border town between Pakistan and Afghanistan, when they were seized on February 2 by an unidentified group. One was freed on Saturday, while the other was released several days ago, the ICRC said in a statement. The ICRC employs nearly 400 people in Pakistan, including 44 expatriates. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Kosovo set to declare independence PRISTINA, Serbia, Feb 17 (AFP) - Kosovo was poised to become the world's newest state on Sunday, albeit under the guidance of the European Union and the United States, as it prepared to declare independence from Serbia. The parliament is expected to proclaim independence around 3:00 p.m. local time (1400 GMT), in the wake of a night of euphoric celebrations in the capital Pristina. Diplomatic recognition by Washington and key European capitals would follow within 24 hours or so. “The constitution is ready and national symbols are ready,” said Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, who a decade ago led an ethnic Albanian guerilla war against the then Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic's security forces. (Posted @ 09:56 PST)
Britain nationalizes mortgage lender Northern Rock LONDON, Feb 17 (Reuters): Britain said on Sunday it will nationalise ailing mortgage lender Northern Rock (NRK.L) for a temporary period as it was not in the taxpayer's best interests to sell it to the private sector now. “In the current market conditions we do not believe the two proposals deliver sufficient value for money for the taxpayer,” Finance minister Alistair Darling told a news conference. “So the government has decided to bring forward legislation to bring Northern Rock into a temporary period of public ownership.” (Posted @ 23:10 PST)
Egypt arrests 51 members of Muslim Brotherhood CAIRO, Feb 17 (AP): Egyptian police on Sunday arrested 51 members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest opposition movement, the group's lawyer and its Web site. The dawn arrests in three provinces were the latest in an ongoing crackdown on the Brotherhood and came three days after more than 50 other members were arrested in sweeps elsewhere in Egypt. The group's official Web site said Sunday it expected more arrests in the coming hours. (Posted @ 23:02 PST)
Musharraf says he will act as father figure to new PM LONDON, Feb 17 (AP): President Pervez Musharraf believes he can act as a father figure to the country's new prime minister following national elections, a British newspaper quoted him as saying Sunday. “My role as a president is simply the checks and balances, the seatbelts ... a sort of father figure to the Prime Minister, but I won't have to see him for weeks,” Musharraf was quoted as telling the Independent on Sunday newspaper. Musharraf told the newspaper he had solid support from Western leaders, without specifying exactly whom he was referring to. (Posted @ 22:48 PST)
Georgian regions to ask Russia to recognise independence: report MOSCOW, Feb 17 (AFP): The breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia plan to ask Russia and the UN to recognise their independence following the declaration of independence by Kosovo on Sunday, Russia's Interfax news agency reported. The leaders of both regions that are backed by Moscow said the moves were prompted by Kosovo's decision to declare independence on Sunday. (Posted @ 22:08 PST)
10 bombs defused in Bajaur Agency BAJAUR AGENCY, Feb 17 (APP): At least 10 bombs were defused on Sunday in Bajaur area by the authorities and Levies Force. Political Administration officials said mortar bombs were planted near the polling station established at Govt.Commerce College, Bajaur Agency. They received a tipp-off and defused the bombs. (Posted @ 21:06 PST)
Deal between key Iraq Shia groups collapses NAJAF, Feb 17 (AFP): Radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's movement Sunday announced it was cancelling a pact it signed four months ago with its main rival aimed at reducing tension between the two groups. The agreement between the Sadrists and the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC) of Abdel Aziz al-Hakim “has failed and is cancelled,” a spokesman for the Sadr bloc in parliament, told AFP. (Posted @ 19:42 PST)
Indian troops kill 20 Maoists after police carnage BHUBANESWAR, Feb 17 (AFP): Indian troops killed at least 20 Maoist guerrillas on Sunday in clashes following the killing of 13 policemen by insurgents in Orissa state, officials said. Three police commandos also died in skirmishes after security forces backed by army helicopters launched a retaliatory attack in the state's dense forests. “At least 20 Maoist rebels were killed during Sunday's encounter,” Orissa Home Secretary Tarun Kanti Mishra told a news conference in the state capital Bhubaneswar. “The encounter will continue,” he warned as heavily-armed troops poured into the jungles. (First Posted @ 16:30 PST Updated @ 19:24 PST)
Woman suicide bomber kills two in Baghdad BAGHDAD, Feb 17 (AFP): A woman suicide bomber fled into a Baghdad shop chased by Iraqi troops on Sunday. She then triggered her explosives, killing two people, Iraqi security officials said. The suicide attack in which at least 10 people were wounded occurred near the National Theatre in Baghdad's central Karrada neighbourhood, defence and interior ministry officials said. (Posted @ 19:08 PST)
Israel hits Gaza, kills four Palestinians JERUSALEM, Feb 17 (AFP): Israeli troops killed four Palestinians, three of them militants, in its latest assault on the Gaza Strip on Sunday. Troops supported by helicopters moved into the southern Gaza Strip overnight, killing a civilian and members of the Hamas movement that has ruled the Strip since June, medics said. An Israeli military spokesman told AFP the army conducted an operation and withdrew its forces from Gaza after arresting 20 Palestinians, army radio reported. (Posted @ 19:08 PST)
Britain plans to issue Shariah law-compliant bonds LONDON, Feb 17 (AP): Britain's Treasury is likely to back plans to issue Shariah law-compliant bonds, officials said Sunday amid continuing debate about the application of Islamic laws in the U.K. Treasury chief Alistair Darling, who will present his annual budget on March 12, plans to issue the Islamic bonds, known as sukuk, to tap into a fast-growing market in the products. “We want the City of London to be one of the gateways globally for Islamic financial products,” a Treasury spokesman said. (Posted @ 18:52 PST)
Winter storm leaves Greece blanketed in snow ATHENS, Feb 17 (AP): A winter storm left Greece blanketed in snow cutting access to villages and disrupting travel across the country. Temperatures were forecast to plunge to minus-11 degrees Celsius in parts of northern Greece. In Athens, the capital, the temperature was not expected to rise above freezing, while conditions were expected to deteriorate later Sunday, meteorologists said. About two dozen villages were snowed in while authorities worked to keep major highways open. (Posted @ 18:12 PST)
South Korean president-elect questioned over alleged financial fraud SEOUL, Feb 17 (AP): Special prosecutors questioned South Korean President-elect Lee Myung-bak over allegations of financial fraud just a week ahead of his inauguration, a news report said Sunday. The investigation was made in Seoul where Lee was quizzed over claims that he was involved in a 2001 stock manipulation case, Yonhap news agency said. (Posted @ 18:06 PST)
Three Bangladesh militants sentenced to death DHAKA, Feb 17 (AFP): A fast-track court in Bangladesh on Sunday sentenced three militants to death for masterminding a suicide bombing that killed eight people in late 2005, a state prosecutor said. Two of the three who belonged to the banned Islamic group Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh were present in the Dhaka courthouse when the judge announced the sentence. Another man was tried in absentia while one person was acquitted. (Posted @ 18:02 PST)
Iran plays down rare US encounter TEHRAN, Feb 17 (AFP): Iran on Sunday played down a rare encounter with the United States at an anti-money laundering watchdog in Paris, insisting that no direct talks had taken place with its arch-foe. Tehran also said that the latest round of its talks with the United States on Iraq had been postponed for “technical reasons,” but did not give any date for when the next discussions could take place. (Posted @ 17:54 PST)
Cricket: Australia beat India in one-day match ADELAIDE, Feb 17 (AFP): Australia beat India by 50 runs in a tri-series one-day match here on Sunday. India made 153 in reply to Australia's 203 for nine. (Posted @ 16:05 PST)
20 injured in Beirut street clashes BEIRUT, Feb 17 (AFP): Twenty people were injured in street clashes between rival political factions in Beirut on Saturday, which saw shops and cars set ablaze as rioters fought each other with stones and clubs. “Eighteen people were wounded by stones and baton blows and two others were lightly wounded from shots fired during the clashes,” a senior security official told AFP on Sunday. Soldiers and police were out on patrol on Sunday but the situation was calm. (Posted @ 15:55 PST)
Nepal ethnic group protests turn violent: police KATHMANDU, Feb 17 (AFP): At least 45 people were hurt in violent protests as a strike in Nepal's southern lowlands continued Sunday, causing nationwide food and fuel shortages, police said. Shops, schools and government offices have been shut for five days in the country's southern belt following a general strike called last week by the United Democratic Mahadhesi Front (UDMF) to push for more representation in federal politics. (Posted @ 15:37 PST)
Defending champ Pakistan thrash Malaysia on U19 World Cup opening day KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 (AP): Defending champion Pakistan thrashed Malaysia by eight wickets with 40 overs to spare on Sunday's opening day of the Under-19 World Cup. Pakistan, in Group A, elected to bowl, dismissing Malaysia for 75 in 24.4 overs. Right-arm seamer Adil Raza took 6-29 and Mohammad Amir 3-11. Nik Azril top scored with 28, but nine of the 11 Malaysian batsmen failed to reach double figures. Pakistan reached the target in only 9.3 overs. (Posted @ 15:06 PST)
Iran ayatollah drops dead during election speech TEHRAN, Feb 17 (AFP): An Iranian ayatollah died suddenly of a heart attack during an impassioned speech lashing out at insults against the family of revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in the run-up to elections, the press reported on Sunday. Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Tavassoli, a former head of Khomeini's office, died while delivering the speech to Iran's main arbitration body, the Expediency Council, of which he was a member, daily Kargozaran reported. (Posted @ 15:02 PST)
Afghan dog fighting blast kills 80: police KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Feb 17 (AP) - A bomb that tore through a dog fighting match in Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar Sunday killed 80 people and wounded another about 40 people, a senior police official said. (First Posted @ 11:35; Updated @ 15:00 PST)
Sri Lanka military claims 20 Tiger rebels killed COLOMBO, Feb 17 (AFP) - Sri Lankan forces killed at least 20 Tamil Tiger guerrillas in clashes in the north of the island at the weekend, defence officials said Sunday. Government forces backed by war planes attacked LTTE along the front lines while the air force made attacks at targets inside rebel-held territory. There was no immediate comment from the Tigers (Posted @ 11:40 PST)
Mullen appreciates Pakistan's sacrifices, military relationship WASHINGTON, Feb 17 (APP): Admiral Michael G Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, while acknowledging Pakistan army's sacrifices in the fight against terrorism, has reaffirmed the desire to continue nurturing relationship with the ally. “What is clear to me is the sacrifices that the Pakistani army has made in fighting this war, and I very much appreciate their sacrifices and the relationship we have and we need to continue to nurture,” he told military analysts at the Pentagon. The Pakistanis, he said, understand the danger from violent extremists and are working to counter insurgents in the regions bordering Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, Mullen characterized progress as mixed. “The insurgency is growing,” he said, noting that the president's decision to send 3,200 Marines to the country beginning in March is an indication of the U.S. government's concern. He said the NATO countries need to meet their commitments in Afghanistan. (Posted @ 11:30 PST)
2 killed as airplane, helicopter collide in mid-air in New Zealand WELLINGTON, New Zealand, Feb 17 (AP) - Two people were killed when a light plane and a helicopter collided in mid-air north of New Zealand's capital Sunday, police said. The helicopter, crippled by the collision, crashed onto the roof of a hardware store but nobody inside the building was hurt. The light plane crashed onto a street, narrowly missing a house. (Posted @ 10:50 PST)
Crash at street car race kills 8 near Washington WASHINGTON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Eight people were killed and at last five injured Saturday when a car plowed into roadside spectators watching an illegal high-speed street race in a town near Washington, according to media reports. A sedan, which had not taken part in the race, crashed into the crowd gathered along a highway in Accokeek, Maryland, 20 miles south of Washington, The Washington Post said. “The driver told police that he was blinded by a cloud of white smoke and debris kicked up by the spinning wheels of two vehicles that had just finished racing,” it said. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Israeli forces kill Hamas militant in Gaza GAZA, Feb 17 (Reuters) Israeli troops killed a Hamas militant during clashes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday. Six other gunmen and a civilian were wounded as Israeli troops backed by aircraft clashed with Palestinian militant groups in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, Hamas security sources said. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
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