PAKISTAN
More cooperation stressed among Asia countries in tele-com sector
(Updated at 2140 PST)
ISLAMABAD: The Asia Pacific Tele-community in its 29th meeting has pressed on increased cooperation in tele-communication field amongst Asia countries to compete against needs of the present era.
The 29th meeting of the Asia-Pacific Community Management Committee opened here today and was attended by 28 countries.
The meeting highlighted needs for mounting need of tele-communication for boost of education, health, industry, trade and other sectors of human activity.
Apart from it, the meeting also put forward recommendations for rapid economic progress, e-government, e-commerce and bilateral contacts between the Asian countries.
Proposed rectifications for the tele-communication were also reviewed in the meeting, which agreed for kicking off different projects progress of the tele-communication sectors of the region.
The meet would wind up on December 8 of the ongoing year.
Polls 2007 will again bring PML-Q into power: State minister
(Updated at 2040 PST)
SHANGLA: State Minister for Water and Power and acting president Pakistan Muslim League-Q (NWFP) said following elections in year 2007 PML would be a ruling party at the Center and in provinces.
He was addressing a public gathering here today. He said: “The nation has confidence in the policies introduced by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.”
The acting president, who is also working as provincial coordinator for relief work, assured each quake-affected would be given relief.
PIDC bomb incident: culprits confessed crime
(Updated at 1825 PST)
KARACHI: The detained suspects involved in 15th November’s PIDC car bomb blast confessed their crime, here today.
Prosecution inspector of police while talking to Geo TV informed that the two culprits Aziz Khan and Mangla Khan who are brothers in relation, admitted their crime in front of Judicial Magistrate South Khushi Mohammad.
Moreover, police sources reveled that the two brothers belonged to Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) who were identified by two eyewitnesses on 23 November. The miscreants would be produced before the Anti Terrorism Court tomorrow (06-Dec), they explained.
Bhawalpur police encounter kills accused in robbery cases
(Updated at 1120 PST)
BHAWALPUR: The accused Nehao involved in several cases of robbery was killed in a police encounter here at Tehsil Ahmadpur Sharqia, while the firings of accused also injured a citizen.
Ahmadpur Sharqia DSP, Mian Irfan told that the police encounter ensued with the arrival of police at a time, when the accused Nehao involved in more than thirty cases of robbery and murder with his three accomplices was fleeing after snatching Rs10000 at gun point from Wahid Bakhsh oil agency in Widhnor area of Naushehra Jadid police station and the area people had started chasing them.
The accused fired on the pursuing citizens and the police, when Nehao got killed in counter-firing and a civilian Nabi Bakhsh was injured by the firing of the accused, who was later admitted into the hospital. However, the accomplices of the accused managed to flee from the scene.
WORLD
France disappointed with British budget proposal
(Updated at 0130 PST)
PARIS: France said Monday it was not satisfied with British proposals to break a deadlock over the EU budget, with Foreign Minister Philippe Dosute-Blazy saying the plan "does not seem likely to bring the agreement we all want".
U.S. military says former Iraqi premier al-Zubaidi has died
(Updated at 0105 PST)
BAGHDAD: Former Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Hamza al-Zubaidi has died at a U.S. military hospital in Baghdad, an American military spokesman said Monday.
Al-Zubaidi, 67, died of heart failure on Friday and the U.S. military is awaiting autopsy results to determine his death, according to Lt. Col. Barry Johnson
The U.S. military on Saturday reported the death of an unnamed 67-year-old at the 344th Corps Support Hospital.
Al-Zubaidi, a Shiite Muslim, was a leading member of Saddam Hussein's once-ruling Baath Party and led Saddam's forces in central Iraq during the initial stages of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
He was linked to the suppression of a Shiite uprising in southern Iraq following the 1991 Gulf War that freed Kuwait from Iraqi occupation. He was also in charge of Iraqi forces in Kirkuk during the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war.
The military statement said the deceased's remains will be transferred to the family upon completion of an autopsy.
Natwar meets Sonia under pressure to quit
(Updated at 0015 PST)
MONDAY: Former external affairs minister Natwar Singh met Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday night.
He is under pressure to resign as Union Minister in the wake of the Volcker controversy that once again rocked Parliament, with both Houses being adjourned over the issue.
The chaos signalled that it was increasingly becoming politically unviable for former external affairs minister Natwar Singh to stay on as minister.
First, a late night meeting chaired by Congress President Sonia Gandhi decided to remove him from the Steering Committee, which is the Congress's main decision-making body.
And then, there came a not-so-subtle hint from Congress leader and lawyer Kapil Sibal that the party wants to distance itself from his conduct.
"In the light of all statements made, we considered it was not proper for Natwar Singh to continue as member of the Steering Committee," Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said.
He also said it was now up to the former external affairs minister whether he should resign.
Britain arrests three after probe into international terrorism
(Updated at 2345 PST)
LONDON: Three men were arrested on Monday in central England following an investigation into "international terrorism overseas", a British police spokesman said.
Israel to resume target killings after suicide bombing
(Updated at 2315 PST)
JERUSALEM: Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz gave his green light for the army to carry out targeted killings of Islamic fighters after a Palestinian suicide attack in which five Israelis died Monday, military radio said.
Britain to forgo 8 bln euros of EU budget rebate
(Updated at 2300 PST)
LONDON: Britain would forgo eight billion euros of its EU rebate in 2007-13 to help cover the cost of enlargement under proposals unveiled Monday by the British EU presidency to break a budget deadlock, a British official said.
Deaths, injuries reported from East Africa quake-UN
(Updated at 2200 PST)
KINSHASA: A strong earthquake damaged homes in the town of Kalemie in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday and local residents reported deaths and injuries, a United Nations official said.
"There is quite a lot of damage to these poorly constructed houses. Residents told us that some people had died and others were injured but we do not have any figures yet," Michel Bonnardeaux, spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Kinshasa, told Reuters.
A local community leader said he had also heard of casualties. "I have heard of at least one death and many injuries, but we need to check more (in poor neighbourhoods) where houses have been damaged," Fidel Muteba said.
Bonnardeaux said relief workers were checking the hospitals in the town of just under 200,000 inhabitants on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, which was reported to be close to the centre of the magnitude 6.8 earthquake that was felt from Congo to Kenya.
The quake shook buildings in the town and residents ran out into the streets, witnesses said earlier.
Saddam trial adjourned until Wednesday
(Updated at 2125 PST)
BAGHDAD: The trial of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was adjourned until Wednesday after a first full day in court on Monday, judge Rizkar Mohammed Amin announced.
The court adjourned after a marathon session, characterised by harrowing testimony from the first witness who gave evidence of the mass arrest, murder and torture of Shiite villagers, met by frequent interjections from the dock.
Saddam and seven of his aides, who have pleaded not guilty, are on trial for the massacre of almost 150 Shiite villagers in 1982 in a case that has captivated the world.
They face the death penalty if found guilty.
Beijing vehicle collision kills 24
(Updated at 2040 PST)
Beijing: At least 24 people were killed and nine others injured in a vehicle collision on an expressway in Beijing, police said yesterday.
The accident took place when a calcium carbide-loaded truck from north China's Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region crashed into a Beijing passenger bus due to brake failure at a section of the Badaling Expressway in Changping District.
The two vehicles overturned and fell into a 20-meter-deep ditch and caught fire, killing 24 on the spot.
South African parliament evacuated after bomb threat
(Updated at 1900 PST)
JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's parliament building in Cape Town was evacuated on Monday following a bomb threat, police said.
"We received an anonymous phone call with a bomb threat to parliament in Cape Town," police spokeswoman Bernadine Steyn told.
"We cordoned off the streets around parliament and at this stage the police are on the scene with sniffer dogs," Inspector Steyn said.
The building in central Cape Town is home to the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces, both of which remain in session until December 15.
French engineer kidnapped in latest hostage crisis
(Updated at 1900 PST)
BAGHDAD: A French engineer working in Iraq was kidnapped in a wealthy Baghdad neighborhood on Monday, bringing to six the number of Westerners abducted over the past week in a resurgence of hostage-taking.
The French foreign ministry named the man as Bernard Planche and said he was working in Iraq for an organization called AACCESS, "in the social and economic sector", without elaborating.
His abduction comes amid a surge of appeals by international figures for the hostages to be released as the war-torn nation experiences a fresh spike in violence in the run-up to a general
election on December 15.
According to Iraqi police, four armed militants, including a woman, broke into Planche's house in the Mansour neighborhood around 9:20 am (0620 GMT) and dragged him out. When Planche refused to enter the car he was pistol whipped.
A nearby policeman witnessed the event and opened fire. The gunmen returned fire and fled with their hostage. The policeman said blood was visible on the doorstep.
According to the online minutes of a water and sanitation coordination meeting held in March at UNICEF offices in Amman, which Planche attended, his company works on US contracts.
"AACCESS has started two small rehabilitation projects with funds from the US army, but will still need more projects to make it viable to work in Iraq," said the minutes of the meeting, which
included a number of UN organizations.
Just a day earlier, one of the most prominent US Muslim bodies, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, became the latest group to demand the release of the four Western Christian peace activists kidnapped last week.
The two Canadians, one Briton and an American, are linked to the US and Canada-based Christian Peacemaker Teams opposed to the continued presence of US-led foreign troops in Iraq.
"Those who left the comfort of their homes to advocate for the rights of others that do not share their faith, ethnicity or language should be celebrated and honored by Muslims, not humiliated by being made captives or, God forbid, killed," said Parvez Ahmed, the organization's chairman.
On Sunday, Christian Peacemakers said the families of the four hostages had filmed video messages to their captors asking for their freedom.
"Please release him," pleaded the mother of Canadian hostage James Loney, alongside a similarly emotional appeal from the daughter of American Tom Fox.
Concern was also rising for a 43-year-old German woman, Susanne Osthoff, who was snatched in Mosul, in northern Iraq, three days after the expiry of a kidnappers' reported demand for Berlin to stop training local police or she would be killed.
Strong earthquake hits East Africa - USGS
(Updated at 1730 PST)
NAIROBI: A strong earthquake hit East Africa on Monday in the Lake Tanganyika region, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said on its web site.
The USGS said the 6.8 magnitude quake struck at 1219 GMT in a region it named as Congo-Tanzania and placed it 55 km southeast of the town of Kalemie in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Hundreds of people evacuated office buildings in the centre of Nairobi after the earth shook and waited for any information about what was going on.
The quake was also felt in the Rwandan capital Kigali, which lies directly north on a USGS map.
First witness testifies in person at Saddam trial
(Updated at 1710 PST)
BAGHDAD: The first witness to speak in person in the trial of Saddam Hussein began testifying Monday after the proceedings got underway following a 90-minute recess.
Saddam lawyers walk out as trial resume
(Updated at 1610 PST)
BAGHDAD: The defence team in the trial of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has walked out of court, bringing the third day of hearings to an abrupt halt.
The incident happened after the chief judge refused to allow defence lawyers to address the special Iraqi court in Baghdad to question its legitimacy.
Saddam Hussein and seven former aides deny involvement in a 1982 massacre.
The defence argues it cannot present its case properly. Two defence lawyers have been murdered in recent weeks.
Four dead in Israeli mall suicide bombing
(Updated at 1510 PST)
TEL AVIV: At least four people were killed and dozens more wounded on Monday in a suicide bomb attack at a shopping mall close to the city of Tel Aviv, Israeli police and medical sources said.
The blast went off at around 11:30 am (0930 GMT) at the entrance to the Hasharon shopping centre in the upmarket resort town of Netanyahu, which has been the scene of several previous Palestinian suicide bombings.
Police told public radio that four people were known to have died in the blast while sources put the death toll at five and said 35 people had also been wounded in the attack. It was not immediately clear if the toll included the suicide bomber.
The Palestinian faction Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Iran to build new nuclear power plant
(Updated at 1410 PST)
TEHRAN: Iran's government has given the go-ahead for the construction of a nuclear power plant in the southwestern province of Khuzestan using "domestic technology", Iranian media said on Monday.
The official news agency said the plan was approved during a cabinet meeting headed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Iran has already announced plans to build 20 nuclear power plants to produce 1,000 megawatts of electricity within the next 20 years, and officials have said they would soon open an international tender for two of them.
French engineer kidnapped in Iraq
(Updated at 1310 PST)
BAGHDAD: A French engineer working in Iraq was kidnapped Monday morning from a wealthy west Baghdad neighborhood, police said.
The engineer was driving through the upscale al-Mansour neighborhood where he lived when gunmen stopped his car and kidnapped him around 9:20 am local time.
Documents proving him to be French were found in his abandoned car. According to police he worked in a water purification plant.
Heavy rains kill 21 in Andhra Pradesh
(Updated at 1230 PST)
HYDERABAD: Torrential rains have killed 21 people and rendered thousands homeless in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, officials said on Monday.
The heavy rains, which began on Saturday, were caused by a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal. Cyclonic rains have killed over 150 people in Andhra Pradesh since July.
Senior government official said 15 people died in Nellore district and six in Chittoor due to drowning, electrocution and house collapses.
Officials said nearly 30,000 people living in low-lying areas had been shifted to relief camps following the rains, which also caused breaches in minor irrigation tanks.Rail and road traffic was also affected.
Kazakhstan's president wins landslide re-election
(Updated at 1030 PST)
ASTANA: Oil-rich Kazakhstan's veteran President Nursultan Nazarbayev has scored a landslide re-election to a new seven year term, officials said on Monday.
Nazarbayev, 65, won 91.01 percent of ballots cast in Sunday's poll in the giant Central Asian country, according to preliminary results, said Central Election Commission chairman Onalsyn
Zhumabekov in the capital Astana.
According to officials, leading challenger Zharmakhan Tuyakbai secured just 6.64 percent. Former labour minister Alikhan Baimenov got 1.65 percent, Yerasyl Abilkasymov of the People's Communist Party 0.38 percent, and Mels Yeleusizov of the environmentalist Tabigat movement 0.32 percent.
Roadside bomb wounds 3 US troops in Afghanistan
(Updated at 1010 PST)
KABUL: Three U.S. soldiers were wounded when a roadside bomb hit their convoy in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said on Monday.
The incident occurred on Sunday near Dai Chopan district in Zabul province, it said. The wounded soldiers were in stable condition.
Road accident kills 20 in China
(Updated at 0920 PST)
BEIJING: A cargo truck and a bus collided on an expressway outside of Beijing, killing at least 20 people and injuring eight others, a state-run newspaper said on Monday.
The accident occurred late Sunday on the Badaling Expressway about 49 kilometers (30 miles) outside of the city center, the report said.
The bus was carrying 29 people, the report said, but it wasn't clear how many people were in the truck.
Both vehicles caught fire, it said.The cause of the accident was under investigation.
Mild earthquake jolts Japan
(Updated at 0850 PST)
TOKYO: A mild earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 shook northeastern Japan early on Monday, but there was no danger of a tsunami, the Meteorological Agency said.
The quake was centered off Japan's northeastern coast of Miyagi and originated about 20 kilometres below the seabed in the Pacific Ocean, the agency said.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries from the quake.The shaking was most strongly felt in Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures (states), the agency said. It was hardly felt in the Tokyo area.
Ruling Venezuela coalition wins all parliamentary
(Updated at 0740 PST)
CARACAS: The ruling coalition in Venezuela has won all 167 seats in the National Assembly in parliamentary elections largely boycotted by the opposition, the ruling party leader announced.
Australia to sign climate pact if it is comprehensive: Minister
(Updated at 0710 PST)
SYDNEY: Australia's environment minister said Monday Australia would be prepared to sign a climate change pact to follow the Kyoto Protocol, but only if it is ``comprehensive.''
Australia and the United States, which pumps out nearly a quarter of the world's carbon emissions, have refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol, saying it would harm their economies.
Speaking before heading to Canada to take part in a major U.N. climate change conference, Environment Minister Ian Campbell said he did not know what form a post-Kyoto treaty would take.
``But I think it is useful for Australia to go there, saying that we will be part of some future framework as long as it is comprehensive, as long as it puts a pathway to action for a significant portion of the world's emissions,'' he said.
The Australian government objects to the Kyoto Protocol's mandatory targets and says the pact does not include enough of the world's polluters. However, the government says that despite rejecting Kyoto, Australia is on track to meet its targets for cutting carbon emissions.
"The scientists tell us, to make something useful and comprehensive, you need about 85 percent of the world's emitters in that future compact,'' Campbell said.
"We do need something that is a lot broader,'' he added. ``I have been pushing what I call a multiple track approach which sees the Kyoto mechanisms significantly improved and made more efficient.''
Canadian Environment Minister Stephane Dion, who is presiding over the 10-day U.N. Climate Change Conference in Montreal, was among thousands of people who took to the streets around the world over the weekend demanding urgent action on global warming.
The conference is reviewing and updating the Kyoto Protocol. Next month, Australia will host the inaugural meeting of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, which brings together the U.S., Australia, China, India, South Korea and Japan with the aim of inventing and selling technologies ranging from ``clean coal'' and wind power to next-generation nuclear fission as a means of reducing pollution and addressing climate concerns.
At least eight dead in Russian swimming pool roof collapse
(Updated at 0625 PST)
MOSCOW: At least eight people were killed and several more injured when the roof of a public swimming pool collapsed in the Urals region of Russia, officials said early Monday.
Of the eight victims, five were children between nine and 12 years old and three women, local emergency ministry official Anatoly Shinakov said as quoted a news agency, adding that seven bodies had already been recovered.
"Perhaps there are more bodies under" the 100 square-metre (1,100 square-foot) roof, which collapsed on Sunday at the municipal pool in Chusovoi, a town near the city of Perm in the Ural mountains, Shinakov said, adding that up to 30 people could have been in the pool at the time of the accident.
Earlier a spokeswoman for the Perm provincial governor's office, Anna Klimova, said the toll from the accident had reached nine.
Rescuers were continuing to work at the scene of the reinforced concrete building and already managed to take away over half of the collapsed roof, Shinakov said.
Officials did not immediately give a reason for the collapse. An abrupt change in the weather which brought heavy snowfalls was thought to be a possibility.
China to order about 100 Airbus aircraft: report
(Updated at 0545 PST)
PARIS: China will sign a contract for about 100 Airbus A320 jets on Monday, a source close to the sales negotiations said night.
BUSINESS
China signs deal for 150 Airbus planes: official
(Updated at 1700 PST)
PARIS: China on Monday signed a deal to buy 150 Airbus planes, officials said in Paris after a meeting between Chinese Prime Ministers Wen Jiabao and his French counterpart,
Dominique de Villepin.
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