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| June 04, 2008 | Wednesday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 29, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (06:00 GMT)
 Iran and Libya were supplied nuclear technology by European companies: Dr. Khan WASHINGTON, June 4 (AFP): Pakistani nuclear scientist Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan told US media Tuesday that he was not responsible for passing nuclear secrets to Iran and Libya. In an interview with the McClatchy news organization in Pakistan, Dr. Khan said he introduced Tripoli and Tehran to western businesses who provided the know-how on building a nuclear weapons program. He said he had merely given Iran and Libya “very small advice” on where to acquire the technology. “When Iran and Libya wanted to do their program, they asked our advice. We said: 'OK, these are the suppliers, who provide all.'” Dr. Khan said the companies that provided the technology to the two regimes were European. “The Germans have those drawings. The South Africans have those drawings. The French have those drawings. They were the suppliers. You can't blame me for it. They were selling. They were making money. Why put blame on me?” Dr. Khan said during the interview from his residence in Islamabad, where he remains under house arrest. He said nuclear secrets obtained by North Korea came from Russia. “All the North Korean scientists and engineers studied in Russia,” Khan said, describing Pyongyang's program as having “excellent technology” with “very sophisticated designs.” Dr. Khan complained that accomplices in Pakistan had gotten away “scot-free” while he had become a “black sheep” for offering advice on nuclear weaponry. (Posted @ 09:15 PST)  Barack Obama makes history, clinches Democratic nomination ST PAUL, Minnesota, June 4 (AFP): Democrat Barack Obama made history Tuesday, capturing the Democratic presidential nomination as the first black candidate to top a major-party ticket, after a giant-slaying win over Hillary Clinton. “Tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States,” Obama, 46, said. “Tonight we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another - a journey that will bring a new and better day to America,” Obama said. Clinton, however, signalled she was not yet ready to hand her army of supporters over to her rival, congratulating him on an “extraordinary” race but refusing to formally conceding defeat. “This has been a long campaign, and I will be making no decisions tonight,” Clinton said. Television networks projected Obama would surpass the 2,118 delegates needed to claim the Democratic party banner, minutes before Clinton snapped up a victory in South Dakota's primary. Obama won the final primary in Montana, television networks projected. Obama had zeroed in all day on the winning post of 2,118 delegates, after top party officials or superdelegates declared their support in a flood, finally consigning Clinton to mathematical defeat. Clinton meanwhile said for the first she may be ready to serve as Obama's vice president, in a phone call with New York state lawmakers, a staffer with the New York delegation told AFP. (Posted @ 09:10 PST)  Three hurt in Kohat bomb blast KOHAT, Pakistan, June 4 (Reuters): A bomb exploded in a music shop in the northwestern Pakistani city of Kohat Wednesday, wounding three people, one of them seriously, police and witnesses said. “The bomb was apparently planted inside the shop. The son of the owner is seriously wounded,” said a police official. (Posted @ 13:40 PST) One killed, six hurt in Peshawar gas station blast ISLAMABAD, June 4 (APP): One person was killed and six injured in an explosion at a gas station in Peshawar, police said. A car was being filled with compressed natural gas at the Peshawar Cantonment gas station when a gas tank exploded, private television channels reported. A man died as a result of the explosion and six of his family members were injured. The gas station was also damaged in the explosion. (Posted @ 13:55 PST) Two bombings near Algerian capital, one killed ALGIERS, June 4 (AP): Two bombs exploded just east of the Algerian capital Algiers on Wednesday, killing at least one person and injuring six others, a security official said. One bomb exploded in front of a cafe, and the other appeared to target the entry to a military barracks, according to witnesses and the security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of his service's policy. The bombs exploded in the Lido neighborhood, a coastal area on the edge of Algiers. An international trade fair is due to begin nearby this weekend. (Posted @ 23:44 PST) 16 dead, 75 hurt as truck loaded with rockets explodes in Baghdad, 3 US soldiers shot north of capital BAGHDAD, June 4 (AP): A tractor-trailer loaded with Shiite militia rockets accidentally exploded Wednesday in a densely populated area of northeast Baghdad, killing 15 people and wounding 75, the U.S. military said. Iraqi police said the blast was a suicide truck bomb that struck near the home of an Iraqi police general, killing his nephew and injuring his elderly parents. They put the overall death toll at 16. But the U.S. military said Shiite extremists were positioning a large truck of loaded with rockets and mortars, aiming the weapons at a U.S. combat outpost 700 meters (yards) away, when it mistakenly exploded. Also Wednesday, three U.S. soldiers were shot dead in northern Iraq, and the decaying bodies of at least 23 Iraqis were discovered in a shallow grave and a sewer shaft at separate sites near Baghdad. The Americans were killed when gunmen opened fire on them in the northern Iraqi village of Hawija, according to a brief military statement. (Posted @ 23:30 PST) Two villagers killed in landmine explosion in Dera Bugti QUETTA, June 4 (APP): Two people were killed after they stepped on a landmine in Sobho Sudrani, in District Dera Bugti on Wednesday, police said. Officials said, two villagers Fateh Din and Sher Ahmed were on their way home when they stepped on the landmine accidentally. Both received critical injuries and died after a short while. Man killed in Sariab: Armed men gunned down a man in Killi Kamalo, Sariab, police said Wednesday. Abdul Khaliq was shot dead in his village Killi Kamalo in Sariab. (Posted @ 23:12 PST) Indian troops murder nine more Kashmiri youth SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, June 4 (PPI) - Indian troops in occupied Kashmir, in fresh acts of state terrorism, murdered nine more Kashmiri youth at different places. Reports said three youth were shot dead by the troops in Keran area of Kupwara and Peer Gali in Rajouri while two at Sarpathri in Shopian. The Indian troops also killed a 33-year-old man in a fake encounter at Brar in Bandipora. (Posted @ 22:24 PST) Iran shelling wounds two in Iraqi Kurdistan SULAIMANIYAH, June 4 (AFP): Iranian shelling of five villages in Iraqi Kurdistan close to the border wounded at least two civilians on Wednesday, a security official told AFP. The pre-dawn bombardment of the villages near the town of Sayed Sadiq lasted two hours, said a spokesman for the peshmerga, the militia which provides security in the Kurdish autonomous region of northern Iraq. The shelling of the villages of Kal-Daza, Jomursi, Borye, Siamio and Kani Sif started at 0100 GMT and lasted until 0300 GMT, he said. It was the first time that the area had been shelled by the Iranian army, he added. (Posted @ 21:30 PST) Hunger, water scarcity displaces thousands of Afghans KABUL, June 4 (Reuters): Thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes in Balkh province due to food and water shortages in northern Afghanistan, the government said Wednesday. Many parts of Afghanistan did not receive enough rain and snow this year, increasing concern the country may face drought again, amid global soaring food prices that have already hit the war-torn country. The exodus comes despite the government sending food and some water for distribution among the people under a food for work project, the government said. (Posted @ 20:46 PST) Polish foreign minister makes surprise visit to Afghanistan WARSAW, June 4 (AFP): Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski arrived Wednesday in Afghanistan, where Warsaw has deployed 1,600 troops in a NATO-led force, the Polish news agency PAP reported. Citing security grounds, Sikorski's office refused to comment on the visit, which had not been announced. PAP said that Sikorski was due to hold talks with Afghan officials. (Posted @ 20:14 PST) Suicide blast on Nato kills 2 Afghan children KANDAHAR, June 4 (Reuters): A suicide car bomber rammed a car into a convoy of NATO-led forces in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing two Afghan civilians and wounding three alliance soldiers, police officers said. The attack occurred on a road in Spin Boldak's town which lies on the border with Pakistan. Smoke could be seen rising from the site of the incident and soldiers had cordoned off the area, the officers said. In a separate suicide attack in the southeastern province of Khost, another bomber drove a car into a government building, provincial governor Arsala Jamal said. He had no more details. (Posted @ 19:56 PST) Extra French troops to be deployed near Afghan capital KABUL, June 4 (AFP): About 700 French reinforcements to the NATO force battling a growing insurgency in Afghanistan are to be sent to the volatile province of Kapisa near Kabul, the French force told AFP. President Nicolas Sarkozy announced the extra troops, on top of about 1,670 already here, at a NATO summit in Bucharest. French military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Frederic Thomazo told AFP this week the troops are due to arrive in July or August. (Posted @ 19:38 PST) Cricket: Pakistan drop detained Asif for tri-series LAHORE, June 4 (AFP): Pakistan dropped paceman Mohammad Asif on Wednesday for the tri-nation series in Bangladesh because he is set to remain in detention in Dubai for several more days, officials said. Promising fast-bowler Sohail Khan will take the place of the 25-year-old Asif, who was held at Dubai airport on Sunday after an allegedly illegal substance was found in his wallet. “As we don't know about Asif's release as yet, Sohail has been named as his replacement for the tri-series,” chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed told AFP. The tri-series, which also involves India, starts in Dhaka on June 8 and the Pakistan squad flies out to the Bangladesh capital on Friday. (Posted @ 19:20 PST) Homemade bomb injures two near Mumbai: police MUMBAI, June 4 (AFP): At least two people were injured Wednesday in a small bomb blast on the outskirts of India's financial and entertainment capital of Mumbai, police said. The blast took place in the car park of a theatre in Thane city, about 40 kilometres north of Mumbai, police said. “It was a crude device which burst just ahead of a play that was to be staged. Two people were injured,” joint commissioner of police Madhu Shinde told AFP. (First Posted @ 17:40 PST Updated @ 19:00 PST) Bangladesh starts graft trial of ex-PM Khaleda DHAKA, June 4 (Reuters): Former Bangladesh prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia went on trial Wednesday on corruption charges over a port deal, while she accused the government of setting the stage for a “farcical election” through its imprisonment of her and another ex-prime minister. Also facing prosecution in the same case are Khaleda's second son Arafat Rahman, plus 15 others including ex-ministers and former senior officials. All have pleaded not guilty. This is the latest graft case to come to trial as part of what the military-backed interim government says is its drive to rid the country of corruption and ensure free and fair elections by the end of the year. (Posted @ 18:50 PST) Manila to buy 10 military helicopters from Singapore MANILA, June 4 (Reuters): The Philippines is negotiating to buy 10 second-hand combat helicopters from Singapore to beef up the military's efforts to defeat Muslim and communist rebels, a senior general said on Wednesday. The air force general, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the government had allocated $9 million to buy the night-capable refurbished aircraft from Singapore in a commercial deal. “This is not the first time we're entering into a deal with Singapore to acquire U.S.-made UH-1H helicopters,” the general said, adding 20 similar single-engined aircraft had been transferred by Singapore in 2005. (Posted @ 18:24 PST) Iraq police arrest five men wanted for over 720 murders KARBALA, June 4 (AFP): Iraqi police in the holy city of Karbala have arrested five men wanted in connection with 721 murders committed over a period of 18 months, a senior officer said on Wednesday. Major General Raed Shaker Jawdat, head of police in the central city, said the men were questioned about the sectarian murders and they said the victims were loyalists of the Baath party of executed dictator Saddam Hussein. “When we searched the background (of the victims), we found that only 11 of the 721 were in fact Baathists,” Jawdat said. He said the five men in custody were supected of leading a criminal gang of some 150 people. Investigators have found mass graves containing the victims of the wave of killings, some of them women or children. Police did not give a date for the arrests, saying only that they were made recently. (Posted @ 18:18 PST) Indonesian police detain 59 radicals JAKARTA, June 4 (AFP): Indonesian police launched a major crackdown Wednesday on a radical Islamist group blamed for a weekend attack on a rally for religious tolerance, arresting 59 including the outfit's firebrand leader. Police said the pre-dawn operation involving more than 1,000 officers was in response to Sunday's attack at the Monas national monument in Jakarta by stick-wielding fanatics from the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI). “Fifty nine people, including the head of FPI, Rizieq Shihab, were taken to the Jakarta police headquarters for questioning in relation to the incident in Monas on Sunday,” the Jakarta police chief told AFP. (Posted @ 17:40 PST) Spain arrests 32 Chinese citizens MADRID, June 4 (AP): Spanish police have arrested 32 Chinese citizens in a crackdown on a suspected music and video bootlegging operation. Police said they seized dozens of CD and DVD-burning computer towers as well as hundreds of thousands of pirated discs. A police statement said the raids were carried out Wednesday in 10 cities in Spain. (Posted @ 17:05 PST) Turkish president kicks off first visit to Japan TOKYO, June 4 (AFP): Turkish President Abdullah Gul arrived in Japan Wednesday with a major trade delegation on the first visit by a Turkish head of state to Asia's largest economy. Gul is on a five-day visit to Japan. The Turkish president, accompanied by several ministers, will also attend economic forums in Tokyo and Osaka. “Investment and trade will be a big issue, given that a delegation of nearly 150 business leaders is accompanying the president,” a Japanese foreign ministry spokesman said. (Posted @ 16:35 PST) Cricket: Inzamam signs up for Hong Kong Sixes HONG KONG, June 4 (AFP): Pakistan batting legend Inzamam-ul-Haq is the latest big name to sign up for the Hong Kong Sixes tournament, organisers said Wednesday. The former Pakistan skipper has confirmed he will take part in the annual showpiece on November 8-9. Inzamam, 38, will appear alongside Australia's Damien Martyn and ex-New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming in the All-Stars team. (Posted @ 16:20 PST) Parts of Indonesian capital swamped by tidal wave JAKARTA, June 4 (Reuters): A tidal wave of over 2 metres flooded parts of Jakarta overnight as the city government and citizens raced to hold the water back with emergency embankments, a government official said on Wednesday. The height of the water was far greater than earlier predicted. The World Bank, which has been monitoring flooding and tidal waves in Jakarta, warned last week of a 1.2 metre tidal surge in parts of the city. (Posted @ 16:10 PST) 12 killed as rival rebel factions clash in India's remote northeast GAUHATI, June 4 (AP): At least 12 people were killed and one injured Wednesday in fighting between rival rebel factions in India's remote northeast, police said. “Heavily armed cadres of two rebel factions clashed Wednesday morning, leading to the death of 12 militants and injuries to another,” Leiremo Lotha, Dimapur superintendent of police, told The Associated Press. Factional battles between rival Naga rebel factions around Dimapur, Nagaland state's commercial hub, have led to the deaths of more than 30 people in the past month. Wednesday's gunbattle was between rival factions of the separatist National Socialist Council of Nagaland, which has been fighting for a half-century to create a separate country for the Naga people. (Posted @ 15:00 PST) Three soldiers dead in Philippine rebel ambush LEGASPI, Philippines, June 4 (AFP): Three members of an elite Philippine army unit were killed Wednesday in a communist guerrilla ambush near this eastern city, the military said. The three army scout rangers were riding a motorcycle to the town of Magallanes on Luzon island's southeastern tip when they were attacked by New People's Army (NPA) militia, a military spokesmen here said. The 5,000-member NPA has been waging a Maoist armed campaign since 1969. (Posted @ 13:50 PST) Child killed in Afghan bombing near Spin Boldak KABUL, June 4 (AFP): A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden car close to a NATO military convoy near the Afghan town of Spin Boldak Wednesday, killing a child, border police commander Abdul Raziq told AFP. The troops, believed to be Canadians, were unharmed in the attack, Raziq said. “There was a suicide car bomb attack targeting NATO forces on the road near Spin Boldak. The troops did not suffer any casualties but a child nearby was killed,” he said. (Posted @ 13:35 PST) US, Pakistan military chiefs meet in Islamabad ISLAMABAD, June 4 (AFP): US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen held a second day of counter-terrorism talks with Pakistani army top brass Wednesday, officials said. Mullen held a second meeting with Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Kayani following his arrival Tuesday on a two-day visit. Mullen is not scheduled to meet Musharraf or the new political leadership, said US embassy spokeswoman Elizabeth Colton. “There is no plan for that. The emphasis of the visit is military-to-military cooperation,” Colton told AFP. She said Mullen met Kayani soon after his arrival and was holding a second meeting with him Wednesday. “They are going to be continuing their discussion on military-to-military cooperation and specially their cooperative role in the war on terror,” Colton said. “They are going to be discussing terrorist threats here and around the world as well as military exchanges and all the other areas of cooperation between the two strategic allies,” she said. A Pakistani military official also confirmed that Mullen was due to hold a second meeting with Kayani and would also meet joint chiefs of staff chairman General Tariq Majid and national security adviser Mehmood Durrani. A senior security official told AFP late Tuesday that the peace dialogue with Taliban militants would figure prominently in talks between the two sides. (Posted @ 13:00 PST) Militants blow up video, music stalls in Pakistan MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, June 4 (Reuters): Militants blew up two dozen video and music stalls Wednesday in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region, witnesses said. No one was hurt in the attack on the market in the northwestern town of Miranshah. “About 25 masked militants came at about 1:30 a.m., planted explosives and blew up the entire market,” said Mohammad Sakhi, who runs a workshop next to the market. (Posted @ 12:35 PST) Over 10,000 arrested in Bangladesh crackdown DHAKA, June 4 (AFP): At least 10,000 people have been detained over the past week in a major crackdown on crime in emergency-ruled Bangladesh, the country's police chief, Nur Mohammad, told AFP Wednesday. Mohammad said the operation was aimed at improving security ahead of the country's scheduled return to democracy with elections by the end of the year. The police chief said more than 1,700 people had been detained over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of arrests to more than 10,000 since the crackdown was launched on the night of May 28. “We are arresting only those against whom there are specific allegations, cases or warrants. Many of them are smugglers and owners of illegal arms. There is no political motivation behind the arrests,” he said. (Posted @ 12:25 PST) US Congress notifies delivery of refurbished F-16s to Pakistan WASHINGTON, June 4 (APP): The US Congress Tuesday notified delivery of 10 refurbished F-16 fighter aircraft to Pakistan. Of the 12 refurbished planes Pakistan is getting from the United States, two have already been delivered. Pakistan will receive eight jets over two months, four each in June and July this year, while the remaining two F-16s will be delivered subsequently. Pakistan is receiving the planes as a major non-NATO ally of the United States. (Posted @ 12:15 PST) Central America storms kills at least nine BELIZE CITY, Belize, June 4 (AP): Flash flooding carried away houses and ripped a child from his father's grasp in Belize, while falling trees killed two people in Honduras Tuesday, raising the death toll from Central America's twin tropical storms to at least nine. Over the weekend, Pacific Tropical Storm Alma swept over Belize hours before Tropical Storm Arthur roared in from the Caribbean at the Mexico-Belize border. (Posted @ 11:15 PST) 18 hurt in Sri Lanka rail bombing COLOMBO, June 4 (AFP): At least 18 people were wounded Wednesday in a rush-hour bomb attack on a packed train just outside Sri Lanka's capital, officials said. The bomb exploded between Colombo's Wellawatte and Dehiwela areas when the train was rolling past, police spokesman Ranjith Gunasekera said. “Eighteen civilians, 15 males and three females, who suffered minor injuries have already been admitted to the nearby Kalubowila hospital,” the defence ministry said. The ministry did not say who was responsible for Wednesday's attack. (First Posted @ 09:00 PST, Updated @ 10:45 PST) American man admits to plotting bombings in US, Europe CHICAGO, June 4 (AFP): A US-born man, Christopher Paul, pleaded guilty Tuesday to helping to train fellow Al-Qaeda agents to carry out bombings in Europe and the United States, after a five-year global investigation, officials said. The targets included European tourist resorts frequented by Americans, as well as US military bases, embassies and consular offices in Europe. Paul, an Ohio native, “joined Al-Qaeda in the early 1990s, fought in Afghanistan and Bosnia and conspired with others to target Americans both at home and abroad,” said Acting Assistant US Attorney General Patrick Rowan. Paul, 44, was arrested in April 2007 on charges of providing material support to terrorists and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction. He agreed to a sentence of 20 years in prison in exchange for having two of the three charges dropped during a change of plea hearing at an Ohio court Tuesday. Paul admitted he traveled to Pakistan in the early 1990s to join the mujahedeen and was trained by Al-Qaeda to fight in Afghanistan. Upon his return to Ohio, he began recruiting “local individuals with extremist intentions in order to establish a jihadist group in Ohio,” the US Justice Department said in a press release. (Posted @ 10:40 PST) Canadian soldier shot to death in Afghanistan OTTAWA, June 4 (AFP): A Canadian soldier on a foot patrol in southern Afghanistan was killed Tuesday in a melee with insurgents in the Panjwai district, the military said. “The incident occurred during a dismounted security patrol with our Afghan partners” at about 9:30 a.m., a military spokesman told a press conference at Canada's base in Kandahar City. (Posted @ 10:25 PST) Four killed in Thai south YALA, Thailand, June 4 (AFP): Four people were killed in attacks by suspected separatists across southern Thailand, police said Wednesday, including one woman who died when a bomb ripped through a fair in Yala province Tuesday evening. Four people were seriously injured in the blast in Yala, police said. In the same province late Tuesday, two men and a woman were killed when insurgents sprayed their house with gunfire, local authorities said. (Posted @ 10:25 PST) Quake hits off Indonesian islands JAKARTA, June 4 (AFP): A strong 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit off the Indonesian island of Flores Wednesday, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage. The quake struck 170 kilometres west northwest of the town of Endes on Flores at 1:31 a.m. local time, the US Geological Survey said. The quake, 10 kilometres deep, came hours after a moderate 5.2 magnitude quake hit off Indonesia's Sumatra island further northwest. (Posted @ 09:25 PST) Canadian parliament votes to grant asylum to US war resisters OTTAWA, June 4 (AFP): Canadian Parliament Tuesday voted to allow US resisters of the Iraq war who fled to Canada to stay in the country, thus avoiding military court-martial in the United States. The non-binding motion passed 137 to 110, with support from all three opposition parties, which hold a majority of seats in the House. It urged the government to allow conscientious objectors “who have refused or left military service related to a war not sanctioned by the United Nations” to stay in Canada. “This country should continue to recognize conscientious objectors, particularly to a war which international law has held to be illegal and which this country chose by an act of deliberate policy, chose not to join,” opposition Liberal MP Bob Rae told reporters. As many as 200 Iraq War resisters are said to be currently in Canada, many of them living underground. (Posted @ 09:25 PST) Cricket- West Indies draw second test with Australia NORTH SOUND, Antigua, June 4 (Reuters): West Indies and Australia drew the second test on the final day at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua on Tuesday. Australia, who lead 1-0 in the three-match series, retained the Frank Worrell Trophy. Scores: Australia 479-7 declared (Katich 113, Ponting 65, Clarke 110, Lee 63 not out) and 244-6 declared (Jaques 76) v West Indies 352 all out (Marshall 53, Sarwan 65, Chanderpaul 107 not out; Lee 5-59) and 266-5 (Sarwan 128, Chanderpaul 77 not out). (Posted @ 09:20 PST) Karachi Stocks up 610.03 points: KARACHI, June 04: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 13089.50, up 610.03 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:12 PST) Forex update: KARACHI, June 04: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 68.5 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:12 PST)
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