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| June 02, 2008 | Monday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 27, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (06:00 GMT)
 Eight dead, 30 hurt in suicide blast at Danish embassy in Pakistan ISLAMABAD, June 2 (AFP/AP): A suicide bomber blew up a car outside the Danish embassy in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad on Monday, killing eight people and wounding 30 others, state media and officials said. The bomb badly damaged the mission and a nearby UN agency, and left a huge crater in the road. Dozens of cars were wrecked by the force of the explosion, an AFP reporter said. “It was a suicide attack carried out in a vehicle, apparently targeting the Denmark embassy,” a senior security official told AFP. Interior Secretary Kamal Shah told reporters that a possible link to the row over the cartoons, which were first printed in 2005 and again by Danish papers in February, “will be part of the investigation.” Government-run television and the state news agency said eight people died. Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the attack, officials said. There was no claim of responsibility for the massive blast. Danish minister says attack aimed at ruining relations: COPENHAGEN: Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller said the “totally unacceptable” attack was an attempt to ruin Pakistan's ties with the West. He warned Danes against all travel to Pakistan. He said a Pakistani cleaner employed at the embassy died and three other local employees were hurt, but the embassy's four Danish staffers, including the charge d'affaires, were unharmed. “I of course condemn this attack. It is terrible that terrorists commit such acts,” Moeller told Danish television. (First Posted @ 13:30 PST Updated @ 20:00 PST)  Danish PM condemns embassy attack COPENHAGEN, June 2 (AFP): Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen vehemently condemned a suicide bombing on his country's embassy in Pakistan on Monday, describing the attack as “cowardly” and unjustifiable. EU condemns attack on embassy: BRUSSELS: EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Monday condemned the bombing at Denmark's embassy in Pakistan. “I condemn this morning's outrageous terrorist attack against the Danish Embassy in Islamabad,” Solana said in a statement. (Posted @ 20:04 PST Updated @ 21:08 PST) Suspected missile strike near Miranshah MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, June 2 (AFP): A suspected missile strike destroyed buildings including a mosque in a Pakistani tribal area early Monday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties, security officials told AFP. At least two blasts ripped through the compound in Spilga, a village on the outskirts of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, officials said. No casualties were reported after the explosions, which happened shortly after midnight. Officials in Islamabad said they had no details. (Posted @ 13:30 PST) Blast in Mardan ISLAMABAD, June 2 (APP):- A blast at the gate of a government Girls school in Mardan district of North West Frontier Province damaged the gate and the boundary wall on Monday morning. Police said an explosive device was planted in a plastic box along the main gate of the school in Baizokhurki area in tehsil Takht Bhai. However, no loss of life was reported. (Posted @ 13:15 PST)  OIC condemns anti-Danish attack in Pakistan JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, June 2 (AFP): The Organisation of the Islamic Conference condemned on Monday a suicide bombing against the Danish embassy in Islamabad, saying it flouted Islamic tenets. OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu was “deeply upset by this violent and extremist act,” the 57-nation bloc said in a statement. “Islam rejects violence and terrorism in all its forms,” the statement quoted Ihsanoglu as saying. (Posted @ 23:50 PST) Afghanistan disbands 300 illegal armed groups in three years: officials KABUL, June 2 (AFP): Afghanistan has disbanded 300 illegal armed groups over the past three years under an internationally backed scheme, but some 2,000 more are yet to be dissolved, officials said Monday. More than 60,000 militiamen loyal to former anti-Taliban commanders and warlords were disarmed under the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programme, according to Afghan authorities. “Based on our assessments about 300 illegal armed groups have been disbanded,” Deputy Interior Minister Munir Mangal told a news conference. (Posted @ 23:18 PST) Syed Ali Gilani put under house arrest Srinagar, occupied Kashmir June 2 (PPI): Senior Kashmiri Hurriyet leader, Syed Ali Gilani has been put under house arrest in Indian occupied Kashmir, to prevent him from attending the All India Convention of Minorities, scheduled to be held in Amritsar on Wednesday. Gilani was invited by the Dal Khalsa to be chief guest on the 24th anniversary of Operation Blue Star against the Golden Temple to be held on June 4. Thousands of Sikhs were killed by Indian troops in June 1984 during the operation. (Posted @ 23:04 PST) Shahbaz Sharif elected MPA unopposed from Bhakkar Bhakkar, Punjab, June 2 (PPI):The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President, Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, was elected unopposed as an MPA from PP-48 Bhakkar-II as all the other contesting candidates withdrew their nomination papers. This was announced by the Returning Officer PP-48 on Monday. It may be recalled that this seat was vacated by Saeed Akbar Khan Niwani who had been elected from two constituencies, PP-48 Bhakkar-II and PP-49 Bhakkar-III. He retained PP-49 seat and vacated PP-48 on which Mr Shahbaz Sharif filed his nomination papers. (Posted @ 22:42 PST) Taliban flee U.S. Marines onslaught in Afghanistan KABUL, June 2 (Reuters): Taliban insurgents are fleeing south towards the Afghan border with Pakistan in the face of a U.S. Marines offensive in volatile Helmand province, the NATO commander in Afghanistan General Dan McNeill told a news conference. Monday. While McNeill was careful not to name any country, the only nation with which Helmand shares a border is Pakistan. “If there are insurgencies in places not in Afghanistan, but very close by, and security forces are not taking them on, I don't think that bodes well for the whole region,” said McNeill, who is to hand command of NATO's 50,000-strong International Security Assistance Force to another U.S. general on Tuesday. (Posted @ 22:28 PST) Indian troops kill four more Kashmiris Srinagar, occupied Kashmir June 2 (PPI): Indian troops in occupied Kashmir killed four more Kashmiri youth at two places in the latest violation of human rights. Two young men were shot dead in Chuntipora village in Handwara while another two persons were killed in Watergam in Baramulla. Thousands of people, shouting anti-India and pro-liberation slogans in Watargam, took to the streets to protest against the killings. In other violence perpetrated by Indian occupation forces, at least 30 people including women were injured when Indian police used brute force to disperse protestors in Khushpora area of Rafiabad. Another protest was held in Pakherpora area of Pulwama against police manhandling of a doctor. (Posted @ 21:48 PST) Five killed in Iraq violence BAGHDAD, June 2 (AFP): Five people were killed in violence in Iraq on Monday, including a civilian man who died in a roadside bomb attack that targeted a police patrol in Baghdad. A police official said six civilians were also wounded when the bomb exploded in the northern Baghdad district of Bab al-Muadham. A police officer and a pro-government militiaman were killed near the city of Baquba, north of the capital, a security official said. The US military said its troops killed two “terrorists” during operations targeting Al-Qaeda in the northern town of Tikrit. The military also detained 31 suspects, a statement said. (First Posted @ 16:40 PST Updated @ 21:10 PST) Iraq: US kills 2 suspects, captures 31 others in raids BAGHDAD, June 2 (AP): U.S. troops killed two suspects, captured 31 others and destroyed bomb-making materials over the past two days in raids targeting Al-Qaeda in Iraq in central and northern swaths of the country, the military said Monday. The two deaths occurred northwest of Tikrit when American soldiers returned fire and called in air support after coming under machine-gun fire,” according to a U.S. military statement. (Posted @ 20:52 PST) One Filipino dead, two injured in Iraq attack: Philippines MANILA, June 2 (AFP): A Filipino man has been killed and two female compatriots injured in a mortar attack inside the fortified US compound in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, the Philippines government said Monday. Jonasis Saguid, 32, who worked as a cook, sustained fatal injuries in Friday's attack on the Green Zone, the foreign department said. Two Filipina workers were injured but their lives were not in danger, the department said, citing a report from the Filipino embassy in Iraq. (Posted @ 20:45 PST) Sri Lanka battles kill 20: military COLOMBO, June 2 (AFP): At least 17 Tamil Tiger rebels, one soldier and two politicians died in fresh violence across Sri Lanka's tense north and east, the defence ministry said Monday. Fighting across the northern regions of Vavuniya, Jaffna, Weli Oya and Mannar Sunday left 31 Tiger rebels and two soldiers wounded, the ministry said in a statement. On Monday unidentified gunmen shot dead two local administrators in the coastal district of Batticaloa, the ministry said. Both victims were members of the Tiger breakaway TMVP political party, which last month won a majority in the eastern provincial council elections. (First Posted @ 12:15 PST Updated @ 20:24 PST) One killed, 30 hurt in Bangladesh hotel blasts DHAKA, June 2 (Reuters): Blasts at a multi-storey hotel in the Bangladesh capital overnight killed a man and injured nearly 30 others, police and fire authorities said on Monday, adding the explosions appeared to have been caused by gas leaking from a room heater. They said two explosions rocked the nine-storey Orchard Plaza hotel in Dhaka's Nayapaltan area late on Sunday night, setting two upper floors on fire. A hotel staff member died at a hospital later on Monday and at least two other locals were in serious condition, police said. (First Posted @ 11:00 PST Updated @ 20:10 PST) Edward Kennedy to undergo brain surgery Monday WASHINGTON, June 2 (AFP): US Senator Edward Kennedy will undergo brain cancer surgery early Monday, he announced in a statement. “This morning, I will be undergoing surgery with Doctor Allan Friedman at Duke University Medical Center and expect to remain there to recuperate for approximately one week,” the current head of the Kennedy Democratic dynasty said. (Posted @ 19:46 PST) Five feared dead in Kazakhstan mine accident PARIS, June 2 (APP/AFP): Five people are missing feared dead following an accident Monday at an ArcelorMittal coal mine in Kazakhstan, the company said in a statement. “Emergency services are at the scene and every effort be made to locate the missing, but it is likely that they died following the accident,” said the statement issued in Paris. Ninety-five other workers were evacuated unharmed following the accident which occurred before dawn at a mine in Tentekskaya, in the Karaganda region of central Kazakhstan. (Posted @ 19:34 PST) 6 killed in French schoolbus-train crash ANNECY, June 2 (AFP): 6 children were killed and 12 injured on Monday when a train collided with a school bus in the French Alps, local officials said.The accident occurred at around 1200 GMT in the town of Mesinges, when a regional train linking nearby Annemasse and Thonon-les-Bains ploughed into a bus carrying around 50 children. “6 children were killed. Six are seriously injured and six slightly injured,” said an official at the local prefecture. Local authorities have set up a crisis cell and the deputy prefect has travelled to the scene. (Posted @ 19:20 PST) Fashion icon Yves Saint Laurent dies at 71 PARIS, June 2 (AFP): French fashion legend Yves Saint Laurent, who changed the silhouette of 20th century woman with a daring new dress code, has died aged 71. The reclusive Saint Laurent died at his Paris home of a brain tumour late Sunday after a prolonged illness and is to be buried Thursday, said his long-time partner Pierre Berge. Mentally and physically frail through most of his life, the bespectacled Saint Laurent retired from haute couture in 2002 after a four decade career. (Posted @ 19:14 PST) Times of India Group buys Britain's Virgin Radio LONDON, June 2 (AFP): British media company SMG said on Monday it had sold its Virgin Radio unit to a division of the Times of India Group for 53.2 million pounds. The division, TIML Golden Square, did not buy the Virgin brand name and will instead operate the radio stations through British-based Absolute Radio, TIML chief executive A.P. Parigi said in a statement. The Times of India Group is owned by Bennett, Coleman and Co, the largest media group in India. (Posted @ 19:08 PST) Two Britons die in light aircraft crash in Italy LONDON, June 2 (Reuters) Two Britons died in a light aircraft accident in northeastern Italy, the foreign office said Monday. “We can confirm the death of two British nationals in a light aircraft accident near Rovereto,” said a foreign office spokesman. (Posted @ 17:45 PST) Foreign Office asks agencies to beef up security at diplomatic zones ISLAMABAD, June 2 (APP): Foreign Office on Monday asked the security agencies to strengthen safety measures at embassies, after a bomb blast outside Danish embassy killed eight people and injured several others. Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq told APP that security agencies had been requested to ensure protection of diplomatic staff working at the embassies. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi condemned the bomb blast outside the Embassy of Denmark and expressed deep sorrow over the loss of innocent lives. (Posted @ 16:25 PST) Iraqi troops arrest 49 after deadly bombing BAGHDAD, June 2 (AFP): Iraqi security forces arrested 49 suspects in a major sweep after a suicide bomber killed nine people, including a top police officer, in a weekend attack, the US military said Monday. Troops supported by local police then carried out a search operation Sunday in Hit, west of Baghdad, it said in a statement. Forty-nine people were detained on suspicion of links to the bombing. (Posted @ 16:15 PST) Norway closes embassy in Islamabad after attack on Danish mission OSLO, June 2 (AFP): Norway temporarily closed its embassy in Islamabad on Monday after a suicide bomb attack outside the Danish embassy in Islamabad killed at least eight people, the Norwegian foreign ministry said. “We've closed our embassy,” ministry spokesman Tor-Henrik Andersen told AFP. (Posted @ 15:55 PST) At least 52 dead in Mongolia snowstorm BEIJING, June 2 (AFP): At least 52 people were killed in Mongolia by a severe snowstorm that also froze to death more than 200,000 livestock, Xinhua news agency reported Monday. Fourteen children were among those killed by the storm, which has raked various parts of the country with strong winds and heavy snow, it said in a report from Mongolia’s capital of Ulan Bator. As well as the 200,000 livestock dead, another 200,000 were missing in the storm, the Mongolian General Authority for Emergency Management said. (Posted @ 15:55 PST) Aitzaz denies report in NY Times ISLAMABAD, June 2 (APP):- President of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan has denied the report in New York Times in which he was quoted incorrectly on the issue of the corruption charges against Asif Ali Zardari, Co-Chairman of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. Talking to Dawn News television he said that he has been misquoted as he had repeatedly mentioned that these were the allegations against Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari. He said: “I referred specifically because I was asked about the references in which the entire allegation was that their assets were not compatible to their expenses.” “I just mentioned that these were the allegations in that reference. I did not say that these were correct or had substance,” he said. (Posted @ 15:10 PST) King agrees to go, says Nepali home minister KATHMANDU, June 2 (AFP) - The ex-king of Nepal has agreed to quit his palace before a June 12 deadline and live as a commoner after a decision by a constituent assembly to abolish the monarchy, the home minister said Monday. “He said he is ready to live life as a common citizen,” Home Minister Krisna Prasad Sitaula told reporters after a 10=minue meeting with Gyanendra. (Posted @ 15:00 PST) Cricket-Pakistan announce squad for triangular series KARACHI, June 2 (Reuters) - Pakistan selectors have named senior batsman Mohammad Yousuf in their 16-man squad for a triangular one-day series in Bangladesh from June 8. They have also called up left- arm pacer Wahab Riaz and batsman Nomanullah, who made their one-day debuts recently. Squad: Shoaib Malik (Capt), Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Rao Iftkhar, Wahab Riaz, Nomanullah, Fawad Alam, Bazid Khan. (Posted @ 14:15 PST) Indian Maoist rebels destroy railway tracks, buildings PATNA, India, June 2 (Reuters): Maoist insurgents blew up railway tracks and three government buildings in eastern India Monday, police said. A section of track was damaged in Bihar state, derailing a train and disrupting the eastern rail network, a senior police officer said. “We have dispatched forces to provide security to people and the railway workers who are restoring the damaged lines,” Vinay Kumar, a senior police officer said from Jamui district, where the incident took place. No one was injured, he added. Officials said Monday that in Munger district, Maoist rebels used powerful explosives to blow up three government buildings. (Posted @ 13:55 PST) China to provide Erra $ 300 million soft loan ISLAMABAD, June 2 (APP): China would provide Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra) a soft loan of $ 300 million for development and reconstruction of quake ravaged Azad Kashmir capital Muzaffarabad. A delegation of Chinese experts and representatives of the contracting firms, recently held a meeting with Erra officials to discuss the details of the Muzaffarabad City Development Plan according to which the city has been divided into five zones. Teams have been constituted to complete route marking of roads and streets in sector-I of Muzaffarabad within 15 days. The master plan has proposed construction of new ring roads, bypass roads, bridges and widening of the existing streets, roads and markets, sources added. (Posted @ 13:25 PST) Dozens of militants killed in strikes in northwestern Afghanistan HERAT, Afghanistan, June 2 (AFP): Afghan security forces under attack in northwestern Afghanistan’s Badghis province’s Bala Murghab district called in NATO air strikes in heavy clashes that left dozens of Taliban fighters dead, authorities said Monday. The deputy governor of Badghis province, Abdul Ghani Saber, told AFP that around 55 Taliban were killed in the fighting late Sunday. NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed that it had carried out air strikes in the area and said its information was that 10 insurgents had been killed. “Yesterday, about 300 to 400 Taliban attacked our police posts in Bala Murghab district. With the help of coalition air support, we killed about 55 Taliban,” Saber said. The toll was based on intelligence from the area, he said. (Posted @ 13:25 PST) Sri Lanka floods kills seven, displace tens of thousands COLOMBO, June 2 (AFP): Heavy monsoon rains killed seven people and drove 73,000 from their homes across Sri Lanka, the island's disaster management centre said Monday. The centre's emergency relief director, Brigadier N.B. Weregama, said that soldiers, navy and airforce personnel had been deployed to ferry the displaced to nearby schools, temples, churches and other public buildings. Some roads in Colombo and in worst-hit central and southern Sri Lanka have been rendered impassable, he added. (Posted @ 13:15 PST) Bus truck collision kills at least 11 in Vietnam HANOI, June 2 (AFP): At least 11 people died when a passenger bus heading north from Ho Chi Minh City collided with a container truck in southern Vietnam’s Binh Thuan province early Monday, police said. The accident killed nine people instantly while two others died after being hospitalized, said traffic police official Le Truong Son, adding that at least 18 others were injured. “We don't know yet the cause of the accident, as well as the number of passengers on the 50-seat bus when the two vehicles hit each other,” he told AFP. (Posted @ 13:10 PST) Japan fire kills three unattended mentally disabled TOKYO, June 2 (AFP) - A fire on Monday gutted a home for mentally disabled people in Japan when the caretaker was away, killing three residents and seriously injuring one more, police said. The blaze broke out early morning at the wooden two-storey house in Kanagawa prefecture, southwest of Tokyo, which was home to seven adults with disabilities, police said. “The seven residents were unattended as a caretaker who was supposed to stay with them had been out on a trip,” a local police spokesman said. Two men and one woman were killed while another man, 51, was hospitalised. The remaining three women residents escaped, he said. (Posted @ 11:55 PST) Eight die of suffocation during soccer match in Liberia MONROVIA, Liberia, June 2 (AP) - At least eight people suffocated to death in an overcrowded stadium during a soccer match between Liberia and Gambia on Sunday, a doctor and first-aid worker said. The 33,000-seat stadium in Monrovia had been packed beyond capacity for the World Cup qualifying match. Liberian Red Cross rescue worker Emmanuel Johnson said the victims suffocated in the crowd. Johnson put the death toll at 10.. Liberia and Gambia tied the match 1-1. (Posted @ 11:45 PST) Pakistan batsman Younus Khan signs with South Australia ADELAIDE, Australia, June 2 (AP) - Pakistan batsman Younus Khan will play for South Australia in the next Australian domestic cricket season. Team officials said Monday that Khan will play for the Redbacks until the end of this year, and return from international commitments if South Australia makes the finals. “Securing a batsman of Younus' caliber will provide our young South Australian batsmen with unprecedented experience,” Redbacks coach Mark Sorell said. “We expect Younus will play a key role in making sure the Redbacks are competitive this season.” Khan, 30, has scored 15 centuries and averages more than 49 from his 58 test matches. (Posted @ 11:25 PST) Macedonia PM wins election in shadow of violence SKOPJE, June 2 (Reuters) - Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski claimed victory in Sunday's parliamentary election, a vote marred by alleged fraud and shootings that could cloud the country's European Union ambitions. He said his conservative VMRO-DPMNE party was expecting to have 60 deputies in the 120-seat assembly, over a third more than it won in the last election in 2006. (Posted @ 11:15 PST) Cricket-W.Indies 255-4 v Australia 479-7 in 2nd test North Sound, Antigua, June 1 (Reuters) - West Indies were 255 for four in reply to Australia's 497 for seven declared at the close of play on the third day of the second test at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium, North Sound, Antigua on Sunday. Scores: Australia 479-7 declared (Katich 113, Ponting 65, Clarke 110, Lee 63 not out); West Indies 255 for four (Marshall 53, Sarwan 65, Chanderpaul 55 not out) (Posted @ 11:10 PST) Palestinians injured by police gunfire NAPLOUSE, West Bank, June 2 (AFP) - Five Palestinians were injured Sunday by Palestinian police gunfire near Naplouse in the north of the West Bank, a security force source said. Palestinian officers deployed in the area under a deal with Israel came to Bet Furik to reclaim stolen cars, but were attacked by locals throwing stones, causing the police to open fire, the source said. (Posted @ 10:55 PST) Clinton to super delegates: I will win SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, June 2 (AFP) - Hillary Clinton used the springboard of a hefty win in Sunday's Puerto Rico primary to demand that party elders crown her, and not Barack Obama, as the Democrats' best bet to seize back the White House. However, Obama remained in sight of the Democratic presidential nomination after a fractious deal on Florida and Michigan struck at the weekend, ahead of Tuesday's climactic contests in Montana and South Dakota. With 85 percent of the vote counted on the Caribbean US territory of Puerto Rico, Clinton was far ahead of her rival from Illinois with 68 percent to 32, according to US television networks. (Posted @ 10:50 PST) Karachi Stocks up 150.69 points: KARACHI, June 02: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 12281.20, up 150.69 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:15 PST) Forex update: KARACHI, June 02: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 68 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:15 PST)
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