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| July 19, 2008 | Saturday | Rajab 15, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (06:00 GMT)
 Judges restoration: lawyers convention gives Aug. 14 deadline to govt LAHORE, July 19: The All Pakistan Lawyers Representative Convention held a press conference in Lahore, in which it issued an August 14 deadline to the coalition government in Islamabad to restore the judiciary, a local television channel reported. The lawyers convention warned it would start a civil disobedience movement from August 15, if the pre-November 3 judiciary was not restored. (Posted @ 21:46 PST)  Nine Indian soldiers killed, 16 hurt in occupied Kashmir explosion SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, July 19 (AFP): Nine Indian soldiers were killed and 16 others were injured Saturday in the Himalayan region of Kashmir when the bus they were in drove over a landmine, the army said. “We have nine fatalities,” Indian army spokeswoman Neha Goel told AFP. She said over dozen others were hurt in the explosion in Narabal on the outskirts of Indian Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar. A police officer confirmed nine had died and 16 others were hurt in the explosion. A militant group Hizbul Mujahedin claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to the local Current News Service. “We have carried out the blast and killed more than 20 soldiers,” a Hizbul Mujahedin spokesman claimed.(First Posted @ 18:28 PST Updated @ 20:08 PST) Rival militant groups clash in northwest Pakistan, at least 10 killed PESHAWAR, July 19 (AP): At least 10 Taliban died in fierce fighting between two rival militant groups in northwestern Pakistan, a government official said. Syed Ali said Saturday that between 10 and 15 men died Friday when hundreds of supporters of Baitullah Mehsud clashed with a breakaway faction of the group in the Mohmand tribal region. A spokesman for Mehsud's group who identified himself as Dr. Asad claimed they killed 15 militants of the rival group and captured 120 others, including their top commander Shah Khalid. He says they would try them under Islamic laws. A representative of Khalid's group could not be immediately reached for comment. (Posted @ 12:55 PST) Operation underway to rescue Italian climbers: embassy ISLAMABAD, July 19 (AFP): A rescue operation was launched Saturday to rescue two stranded Italian climbers in northern Pakistan's Nanga Parbat peak, the Italian embassy said, after a third died. Italian mountaineer Karl Unterkircher died while trying to scale the Nanga Parbat, the world's ninth highest mountain, while his two fellow climbers, Walter Nones and Simon Kehrer, were left stranded on the inhospitable peak. The two had been spotted from a rescue helicopter on Saturday, Italian embassy spokesman Ogdo Sargio told AFP. “The two climbers are well and waved hands as they saw the helicopter,” the spokesman said. “The two rescuers, who arrived from Italy Friday, dropped a radio communication set and food to the stranded climbers but hostile winds drifted them away,” he added. “Our efforts are right now focused on how to drop food and establish radio communication with them,” he said. It was not clear when the dead climber's body would be retrieved, he said. The 38-year-old Unterkircher, from northern Italy, fell into a deep crack on the surface of a glacier while climbing the peak at 7,000 metres (23,000 feet) above sea level. (First Posted 15:05 PST, Updated @ 16:30 PST)  Bombs, clashes kill 9 Taliban, 4 police KANDAHAR, July 19 (AP): Afghan troops clashed with Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan, killing nine militants, while roadside blasts killed four policemen, officials said Saturday. The militants were killed after they attacked a supply convoy for NATO-led troops in Zabul province, said provincial police official Jalali Khan. There were no casualties among the Afghan troops, he said. In Kandahar province, a blast struck a police patrol in Maywand district, killing four officers and wounding another, said a police official. A suicide bomber attacked a police checkpoint near the main NATO base just outside Kandahar city, wounding a child and a policeman, said another police official. (Posted @ 22:28 PST) Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan OTTAWA, July 19 (AFP): A Canadian soldier died following an explosion while on patrol in southern Afghanistan, the Canadian army announced Saturday. Corporal James Hayward Arnal died shortly before midnight local time Friday in Kandahar province, becoming the 88th fatality in Canada's military mission in Afghanistan since 2002. “The soldier was killed by an improvised explosive device while on a foot patrol in Panjwayi District,” the army said in a statement. (Posted @ 22:04 PST) Tunisia jails five on terrorism charges TUNIS, July 19 (Reuters): A Tunis court jailed five Islamists, including two police officers and a teacher, for up to nine years on charges of belonging to a terrorist cell and planning attacks, their lawyer said on Saturday. A police officer and a sports teacher were given nine years in jail and three others including a second police officer were sentenced to jail terms ranging from four to eight years, lawyer Samir Ben Amor said. “The verdict is bizarre. Normally the sentence for withholding information is one year or a deferred sentence but in this case it was four years,” he said. The men, who were arrested last year, all denied the charges. (Posted @ 23:48 PST) Gunmen attack Mali outpost, seize soldiers, weapons BAMAKO, July 19 (Reuters): Suspected Tuareg-led rebels attacked a remote paramilitary outpost in Mali on Saturday, kidnapping soldiers and seizing weapons, ammunition and vehicles, an army source said. Two soldiers were wounded and about a dozen more kidnapped, the source added, saying he believed the pre-dawn raid was carried out by a faction of the rebels who have been fighting a year-long insurgency in Mali's Saharan north. (Posted @ 23:32 PST) Somali teenager shot at Norwegian asylum centre OSLO, July 19 (Reuters): A 16-year-old Somali boy was in critical condition on Saturday after being shot by an assailant with a large-calibre weapon at a centre for asylum seekers near Oslo, police said. The Somali was hit in the stomach after a bullet pierced through the wall of the building on Friday in the town of Asker. “We don't know who and we don't know why,” a senior policeman told Reuters. “We found the spot a few hundred metres from the centre where the shots were probably fired with some heavy gun.” Police are still hunting whoever was behind the attack. At least three bullets hit two buildings at the centre, which houses about 120 teenage asylum seekers. (Posted @ 23:08 PST) Ex PM Khaleda Zia's son accused in corruption case goes abroad for medical treatment DHAKA, July 19 (AP): Former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia's son who is accused of corruption left Saturday for Thailand to seek medical treatment, a lawyer said. Arafat Rahman, the businessman son of ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, was arrested last September on charges of abusing power in awarding two lucrative deals to a local company to operate a container terminal in the capital, Dhaka. Zia, who held office in 2001-2006, is the lead suspect in the case. She and several former cabinet members are behind bars awaiting trial. (Posted @ 22:48 PST) French defence minister pledges Afghan support KABUL, July 19 (AFP): France's defence minister told President Hamid Karzai in talks in Kabul Saturday that his country would stand by Afghanistan, which is battling an extremist insurgency, the president's office said. Defence Minister Herve Morin visited Karzai after arriving on a surprise two-day trip to meet French reinforcements deploying to a base near Kabul as part of a NATO-led force battling Taliban and other insurgents. In their talks, Morin “assured his government stands by the people of Afghanistan,” Kazai's office said in a statement. (First Posted @ 18:24 PST Updated @ 21:24 PST) Six including four cops injured in road mishap OKARA, July 19 (APP): Six persons including four policemen were injured when a police vehicle overturned after hitting a motorbike here on Saturday. The vehicle of a police patrol hit a motorcycle and turned turtle. As a result, four policemen, a motorcyclist and the pillion rider were injured. (Posted @ 21:14 PST) Fifteen killed in new Afghan violence: police KANDAHAR, July 19 (AFP): At least 15 people including 10 policemen were killed in Afghanistan, authorities said Saturday. Four police officers died on Saturday when a remote-controlled explosion hit their vehicle in the southern province of Kandahar, police said. Also in Kandahar, a suicide bomber blew up near a police post on a road leading to the biggest NATO-led base the southern city, injuring a policeman and a child, a police officer said. Four police officers were killed when militants stormed their outpost in eastern Paktia on Friday, the interior ministry said. Another police officer was killed Friday when a roadside bomb hit the convoy of the police chief of central Ghazni province. The police chief survived, the ministry said. Seven Afghan security guards working with NATO-led forces were killed in two separate bomb explosions Friday in the southern province of Helmand. (First Posted @ 17:15 PST Updated @ 20:22 PST) Huge crane collapses at Houston refinery, killing 4 workers and injuring 7 others HOUSTON, July 19 (AP): Hitting the ground with enough force to lift a worker off the ground, one of the nation's largest mobile cranes collapsed at a Houston oil refinery, killing four workers and injuring seven others. The 30-story-tall crane, capable of lifting 1 million pounds (0.45 million kilograms), fell over at a refinery in southeast Houston about 2 p.m. Friday, said the company's vice president for refining. (Posted @ 20:06 PST) Obama in Afghanistan pushing foreign policy credentials, McCain talks up economic strengths WASHINGTON, July 19 (AP): Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama arrived Saturday in Afghanistan aimed at helping him bolster his foreign policy and national security credentials. The Illinois senator arrived in Kabul as part of an official congressional delegation and flew to eastern Afghanistan. Obama and two other senators were making a brief stop in Jalalabad airfield, in Nangarhar province, to visit soldiers stationed there. The delegation also met top military leaders and troops at Bagram Air Base, the main U.S. military base in the country, according to a U.S. military officer. This is Obama's first visit to Afghanistan, coming less than four months before the general election. He is also expected to stop later in Iraq. (First Posted @ 14:45 PST Updated @ 20:02 PST) Nepal assembly fails to elect first president: state media KATHMANDU, July 19 (AFP): Lawmakers on Saturday failed to elect the country's first president and end weeks of political deadlock following the abolition of the monarchy, official television said. No candidate won the 298 votes necessary to become Nepal's first post-royal head of state, Nepal Television reported after a vote in the the country's constitutional assembly. The leading candidate, Ram Baran Yadav, got 294 votes, the channel reported. The hung result further delays efforts by former rebel Maoists, who hold the most assembly seats but not a majority, to form Nepal's first republican government. (First Posted @ 14:15 PST Updated @ 19:22 PST) Ten Kurdish rebels killed in clashes in S.E. Turkey DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, July 19 (Reuters): Ten members of the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) were killed in clashes with Turkish military forces in southeastern Turkey late on Friday, security sources said on Saturday. Six were killed in the firefight which broke out in a rural region of Siirt province after Kurdish guerrillas detonated an improvised explosive device under a minibus carrying schoolchildren, injuring two people. Security forces said the clashes began after they launched an operation to find the group responsible for the attack. (First Posted @ 17:15 PST Updated @ 19:12 PST) Iraq's Sunni Arab bloc rejoins government BAGHDAD, July 19 (Reuters): Iraq's main Sunni Arab bloc has rejoined the Shi'ite-led government in a breakthrough for national reconciliation after parliament accepted its candidates for vacant ministerial posts on Saturday, lawmakers said. (Posted @ 17:25 PST) No artificial timetable for troop cuts in Iraq: PM Brown BAGHDAD, July 19 (AFP): British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Saturday said he favoured a reduction in Britain's troop numbers in Iraq but he was against an “artificial timetable” for such a drawdown. “Our intention is to reduce our troop numbers but I am not going to set out an artificial timetable,” Brown told reporters in Baghdad. (Posted @ 16:55 PST) Unification Church founder injured in S. Korea air crash SEOUL, July 19 (AFP): The founder of the Unification Church Sun-Myung Moon was among seven people injured when a helicopter made an emergency landing in South Korea Saturday, Yonhap news agency reported. The agency said the medical helicopter carrying 16 people burst into flames after making an emergency landing at Gapyeong 40 kilometres east of Seoul. (Posted @ 16:50 PST) Strong quake hits Solomon Islands: seismologists SYDNEY, July 19 (AFP): A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 struck off the Solomon Islands on Saturday, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage and a tsunami alert was not issued. The undersea quake struck at 0927 GMT, 287 kilometres east of Kira Kira, which is located on San Cristobal island, and 527 kilometres east of the capital Honiara, the US Geological Survey said. It occurred at a depth of 38 kilometres, the organisation said. (Posted @ 16:50 PST) Pakistan urges UN to address food and energy crises UNITED NATIONS, July 19 (APP): Pakistan has called on the UN to take the lead in generating money and technology vitally needed to deal with the food and energy crises afflicting many nations, especially developing countries. “Without this, poverty and despondency will grow, with potentially destabilizing effects on a large number of countries,” Raza Bashir Tarar, the Pakistani delegate, told the UN General Assembly during a debate on the issue Friday evening. Underlining the huge challenges, the Pakistani delegate said, “We can not afford to falter any further on the agreed development commitments and goals. Procrastination and inaction will be catastrophic. We need to act and act now.” He also urged rich nations to support developing countries in solving their balance-of-payment problems. In this regard, the Pakistani delegate welcomed Saudi King Abdullah's $500 million contribution. (Posted @ 15:50 PST) Conspiracy being hatched against democratic government: Afrasiab ISLAMABAD, July 19 (APP): Awami National Party (ANP) President Afrasiab Khattak Saturday said that the Taliban’s threat to the NWFP government was part of the conspiracy being hatched against the democratic system. Speaking to private TV channel, he said many people did not like the present democratic set-up and had started their work against the government. “However people were with us and the conspirators were insulting the mandate of masses”, he added. (Posted @ 15:40 PST) Pakistan wants peace in region: Haqqani WASHINGTON, July 19 (APP): Pakistan is working for reconciliation in the region as the elected government is committed to South Asian peace and stability with respect and dignity, Islamabad's envoy to the United States said in an interactive session with participants of a conflict resolution programme. He reiterated Islamabad's desire for normalization of relations with India, saying “The composite dialogue between the two nations is moving forward – it seeks to resolve outstanding disputes including Jammu and Kashmir – and the international environment is conducive to better Pakistan-India relations.” (Posted @ 15:30 PST) One killed, 40 injured in accident at Northern Bypass KARACHI, July 19 (APP): A four-year old child was killed and 40 others injured when two passenger buses collided head-on at Northern Bypass on Saturday, an official of Edhi Ambulance service said. He said that one bus was coming to Karachi from Turbat while the other was heading towards Turbat when they collided at the Northern Bypass Lucky 'Chahriah' Point. The injured were moved to the Civil Hospital Karachi. (First Posted @ 11:20 PST, Updated @ 15:20 PST) 19 Tamil Tiger rebels killed in northern Sri Lanka clashes COLOMBO, July 19 (AP): Sri Lankan government forces killed 19 Tamil Tiger rebels in fresh fighting along the front lines of the island nation's civil war, the military said Saturday. Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said Friday's worst fighting took place in northern Vavuniya district, where nine rebels were killed. Seven insurgents were killed along the Welioya front, while three more were killed in Jaffna, he said. No government soldiers were killed in the fighting but a few were wounded, Nanayakkara said. Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not be immediately reached for comment. (Posted @ 13:45 PST) Sri Lanka army chief says war nearly won COLOMBO, July 19 (AFP): Sri Lanka's army chief said Saturday his forces had wiped out two-thirds of the Tamil Tigers' military capability, and that the decades-old conflict with the rebels was at its tail-end. Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) would gradually start collapsing, the state-run Daily News paper said. “We are almost at the beginning of the end... we are nearing the turning point now, through the way LTTE is reacting. In another three to four months time you would see very clearly how the things change,” he said. (Posted @ 13:05 PST) US fires long-range missile in missile defence test WASHINGTON, July 19 (AFP): The United States fired a long-range target missile over the Pacific Friday to test an array of radars and other sensors in its missile defence system, the Pentagon said. The target missile was fired from Kodiak island in Alaska at 2247 GMT with a mock warhead and countermeasures, the agency said in a statement. “This was the most challenging flight test of the missile defense system's command and control software to date,” the agency said. (Posted @ 11:15 PST) Tsunami warning in northeast Japan after strong quake TOKYO, July 19 (Reuters) Japan's Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning in northeast Japan Saturday after an strong earthquake struck off the east coast of Honshu. The U.S. Geological Survey said the 7.0 magnitude tremor struck beneath the north Pacific Ocean, 77 miles east northeast of Iwaki, Japan at 0239 GMT at a depth of 25 miles. There were no initial reports of damage from the quake. The quake was epicentred in the same area as a June 14 tremor which killed at least 10 and left as many again missing. (First Posted @ 10:05 PST, Updated @ 11:10 PST) Taiwan storm death toll rises to 15 TAIPEI, July 19 (AFP): Thousands of workers continued search and rescue operations on Saturday after Tropical Storm Kalmaegi wreaked havoc across Taiwan, leaving 15 dead and 10 missing, officials said. The casualties from floods or mudslides were reported in worst-hit central and southern Taiwan, where up to 950 millimetres of rain fell in less than two days, said the National Fire Agency. Eight people, believed to have been washed away by floods or buried alive, remained missing while eight others were injured, it said. (Posted @ 10:15 PST) Crane collapse kills four, injures six in Texas CHICAGO, July 19 (AFP): Four people were killed and at least six others were injured when a massive crane collapsed at a chemical plant in Houston, local media reported. All of the people injured were contract workers, a spokesman for LyondellBasell told reporters. “At this point, we're very unsure as to the cause of the failure of the crane,” KHOU news quoted the spokesman as saying at a press conference. (Posted @ 10:10 PST) 14 killed in Nepal bus plunge KATHMANDU, Nepal, July 19 (AFP): At least 14 people were killed when a passenger bus skidded off a mountain highway into a river in southern central Nepal, police said Saturday. “We have recovered 12 bodies from the Trishuli river and two died while undergoing treatment at a hospital,” police officer Rabindra Bahadur Singh told AFP from Chitwan district, 70 kilometres southwest of Kathmandu. The bus carrying more than 50 passengers was en route for the southern town of Bhairahawa from Kathmandu when it plunged into the Trishuli river at Chandi Bhanjyang village overnight. Twenty-six people were rescued but police said the death toll could rise. (Posted @ 10:05 PST) Two French aid workers taken hostage in Afghanistan PARIS, July 19 (AFP): Two French aid workers were kidnapped in Afghanistan Friday, Action Against Hunger (Action Contre la Fain - ACF) said in a statement. The pair - whose identities were not revealed - were kidnapped in the early hours of the morning as they slept in the NGO's guest house in Nili, in Day Kundi Province, the Paris-based organization said. “According to ACF knowledge, the two expatriates are alive,” it stated. ACF said it had suspended all its relief operations in Afghanistan and condemned the kidnapping, saying it affected the integrity of humanitarian organizations and threatened assistance to civilians. (Posted @ 08:45 PST)
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