PAKISTAN
Five killed in Lahore firing incident
(Updated at 0050 PST)
LAHORE: Five persons including Union Council Noorkot Shakargarh Nazim were killed and two others injured in firing by unidentified gunmen at Multan Road here on Sunday.
Five persons including Ch Afzal Gumtala Nazim UC Noorkot Shakargarh, his friends Abdullah Khan, Abdul Rauf and his driver Shahid. The passersby Maqsood and Sharif were injured.
The injured were removed to hospital and police attributed the incident to old enmity.
Two killed in Pakistan-Afghan border clash
(Updated at 1800 PST)
MIRANSHAH: A soldier and a suspected militant were killed on Sunday after troops and militants traded fire in a restive Pakistani tribal area near Afghanistan border, the military said on Sunday.
"A soldier and a suspect were killed on Sunday in Shakai valley of South Waziristan" some 60 kilometres (37 miles) southwest of Miranshah, Pakistan's military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan told.
"The soldiers traded fire with miscreants during a search operation which had been launched after an improvised explosive device exploded in the area," Sultan said.
Local intelligence officials said that a suspected militant had been captured by troops who cordoned off the area after the blast.
In a separate incident, suspected insurgents fired about five rockets at government and paramilitary installations in Mirali, some 25 kilometres east of Miranshah but caused no damage.
"A rocket hit the main electricity line late Saturday after which the power supply to the area was suspended," a local administration official told a foreign news agency on condition of anonymity.
No hasty decision on water reservoirs: PM
(Updated at 1630 PST)
KARACHI: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said no hasty decision will be made on construction of large water reservoirs. He was talking with representatives of Sindhi media on Sunday at the state guest house here.
The prime minister said that the reports submitted by all committees regarding building of water reservoirs including A.G. N. Abbasi committee report will be brought before the people.
The decision on construction of water reservoirs will be taken with consensus, he said.
Former provincial minister Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh also called on Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and briefed him about the cases registered against him.
Six tribesmen arrested in N. Waziristan
(Updated at 1530 PST)
MIRAN SHAH: North Waziristan political authorities have arrested six tribesmen under tribal responsibility law for rocket attacks in the agency.
Unknown miscreants had fired two rockets at the Frontier Constabulary checkpost yesterday.
Political authorities issued a notice to Miran Shah clan under tribal responsibility law. The authorities in absence of any positive reply have started action against the clan.
Six people of the Miran Shah clan were arrested while further action was underway, Political Agent North Waziristan Syed Zaheer-ul-Islam said.
Essential items’ prices shoot up in Battgram by chilly winter
(Updated at 1350 PST)
BATTAGRAM: The chilly winter setting in here has triggered spiraling of the prices of essential goods, giving rise to a pathetic situation where the miseries of the quake-affected people further compounded.
District Nazim, Ehsanullah told Geo here that the demand for burning wood was shooting up with the severity of the harshness of winter, which besides price-hikes was also endangering the forests around here.
He told that the prices of tin sheets have also gone high due to demand-push emanating from tripping down of mercury.
He further said that 90 percent of the tents provided to quake-hit people have lost its utility because of it not being waterproof. He appealed to the federal and provincial governments for providing winterized tents to the victims urgently.
WORLD
Canadian soldier injured in Kandahar attack
(Updated at 0150 PST)
MONTREAL: A Canadian soldier was wounded lightly Sunday in a suicide attack on a patrol in Kandahar, Afghanistan, an official of the Defence Ministry said Sunday.
The attacker blew himself up near a Canadian forces patrol vehicle which was on routine patrol in the city, said Jae Malana, spokesman for the ministry.
The soldier suffered only superficial injuries and rejoined his unit after a medical examination.
It was not clear if it was the same attack as the suicide bombing against a US-led military convoy Sunday in Kandahar, which killed one civilian.
That attack was reported as the eighth in Afghanistan in just over two months.
Five wounded in clashes with 'terrorists' in Syria
(Updated at 0130 PST)
DAMASCUS: Five people were wounded in clashes between security forces and "a terrorist group" in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Sunday, a foreign news agency reported.
West African central banker Banny appointed ICoast PM
(Updated at 2330 PST)
ABIDJAN: The governor of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), Charles Konan Banny, has been appointed prime minister of Ivory Coast, a source close to the rebel New Forces said on Sunday.
Iraqi counter-offensive kills 20 rebels
(Updated at 2330 PST)
BAGHDAD: Iraqi forces said Sunday they killed 20 rebels in a counter-offensive in a town where 19 Iraqi troops were killed a day earlier, as US forces wrapped up their latest
operations in the restive Al-Anbar province.
Iraqi troops swept through the town of Al-Adhaim, 100 kilometers (65 miles) north of Baghdad, in the aftermath of Saturday's ambush, security sources said.
The operation, which lasted through to Sunday morning, resulted in "20 rebels killed and five taken prisoner," said the defence ministry, with another 75 suspected insurgents arrested.
Saturday's attack came after 10 US marines on night patrol were killed in the restive western city of Fallujah, also by a roadside bomb, in the bloodiest single attack on US forces since August.
The western province of Al-Anbar, which contains Fallujah, has been the focus of a series of joint US-Iraqi anti-insurgent operations over the last several weeks.
The US military announced on Sunday the completion of Operation Shank in the provincial capital of Ramadi, resulting in the "detention of four suspected members of Al-Qaeda in Iraq".
The US military said the operation was part of a campaign being carried out to make the area secure ahead of the December 15 parliamentary elections.
US envoy assures Iraqi Sunnis over elections
(Updated at 2300 PST)
ISTANBUL: The US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, on Sunday assured Iraqi Sunnis that his government was determined to help maximize the disenchanted community's
participation in upcoming elections.
"Iraq is going through a difficult transition process. For Iraq to succeed, it needs ... the participation of all communities of Iraq in upcoming elections," Khalilzad told reporters here.
"I have told the Iraqi leaders that the US is committed to work as hard as we can to ensure the participation of all Iraqi groups, especially those who did not participate in previous elections, in
the upcoming elections," he added.
Khalilzad was speaking after flying at short notice to join talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and a senior Iraqi Sunni leader on Sunni participation in the December 15 legislative
elections.
Most Sunnis boycotted the January elections for an interim parliament, a move that many now acknowledge was a mistake since it largely sidelined them from politics over the last year.
Last month, three Sunni political parties -- the Conference of the People of Iraq, the Islamic Party and the Iraqi National Dialogue -- announced that they intend to run on one list under the
name of the Iraqi Concord Front.
Tareq Al-Hashimi, the number two of the Iraqi Islamic Party which was representing Sunni groups in the Istanbul talks, underlined his community's desire to participate in the elections and have a say in the political process, but also voiced a number of concerns which he said he conveyed to Khalilzad.
Iran denies intentions for talks with America on any matter
(Updated at 2125 PST)
TEHRAN: Irani government said prevalent security problems in Iraq were Iraq’s own internal crisis and it didn’t have any intentions to hold talks with America on this score.
Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Raza said, “Tehran doesn’t want to hold talks with American government over Iran’s nuclear programme or current law and order situation in Iraq including any other sort of matter. For, doing so does not make part of Iran’s agenda.”
Two injured as suicide attacker explodes car
(Updated at 2200 PST)
BAGHDAD: A suicide attacker blew up his car, injuring two people after he failed to break into house of top a key judge in Qudat area of Iraqi capital Baghdad, sources reported on Sunday.
Baghdad police said that a suicide attacker while driving a car tried to break into house of Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq’ chief Mudhat al-Hamudi.
The attacker’s bid was foiled when security guards at the house intercepted him. Later, he exploded his car in compound of the house, which rendered two people injured, added the police.
Iraq minister says Syria stopping rebels crossing border
(Updated at 2100 PST)
KUWAIT CITY: Iraqi Interior Minister Bayan Baqer Solagh said Sunday that Syria is now "more disciplined" in stopping insurgents crossing into Iraq after months of accusations that
Damascus did little to stop them.
"Iraqi-Syrian borders have now become more disciplined ... Syrian forces are now contributing to preventing terrorists from crossing into Iraq," Solagh told journalists in Kuwait City.
Syrian authorities have recently erected four-meter (yards) high sand berms on some parts of the common border, Solagh said.
He said Iraqi authorities have not arrested any alleged insurgents near the Syrian border for the past two weeks.
"This is something positive. We hope calm will continue," he said.
U.S. Govt reluctant to certify Al-Qaeda chief’s killing
(Updated at 2040 PST)
WASHINGTON: Government of the United States has said that killing of Al-Qaeda chief commander Abu Hamza rabia could not be certify for the time being, sources reported on Sunday.
National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley while talking to news men here said: “The U.S. Government is at present reviewing reports with regard to Abu Hamza rabia’s killing; however, it is not in a position as yet to certify the killing.”
The advisor said further in case the Al-qaeda commander had really been killed, then it was a pivotal success in a war on terror.
It may be mentioned here as to yesterday Al-Qaeda authorities while denying reports of the killing of Abu Hamza rabia said the commander was safe and sound still.
Israel warns diplomacy on Iran nuclear work will fail
(Updated at 1820 PST)
TEL AVIV: Israel's army chief Dan Halutz predicted Sunday that diplomatic efforts on arch enemy Iran's controversial nuclear programme would fail but suggested a military
strike was not yet on the cards.
"I believe that the political means that are being used by the Europeans and the Americans to convince the Iranians to stop will not end in stopping them," Halutz told reporters.
"The Iranians are determined to get a nuclear capability. From Israel's viewpoint such a situation is unacceptable... We should be prepared for the worst scenario."
But referring to the possibility of a pre-emptive strike against Iran, Halutz said: "Alternatives (to diplomacy) are not being considered yet."
"The other pressure is physical pressure. The question is who will be the one to implement it. When will it happen? I am not going to answer that but there are options worldwide," he added.
The Europeans are involved in efforts to persuade Iran to abandon uranium enrichment, a process which can make both nuclear fuel and the explosive core of a weapon.
The United States and Israel accuse Iran of using a nuclear fuel programme as a cover for developing the atomic bomb, charges Tehran has consistently denied.
Asked when Iran may have nuclear weapons capabilities, Halutz said: "Enrichment is the next step in order to have all the ingredients to create a meal.
"But cooking will take a few years...it varies from three six years, unless they already have a warhead. Maybe they have something, no-one knows."
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon meanwhile reiterated his pldege that Israel would not allow Iran to come into possession of nuclear weapons and expressed hope that Tehran would soon be dragged before the UN Security Council over its nuclear ambitions.
"I hope that Iran will be brought soon before the security council and sanctions will be imposed against her so that the nuclear process will stop," the prime minister said at a press
conference in Jerusalem.
Six injured in two US helicopter emergency landings in Afghanistan
(Updated at 1810 PST)
KABUL: Five American servicemen and an Afghan soldier were injured Sunday when two US Chinook helicopters made emergency landings in separate locations in southern Afghanistan, the US military reportedly said.
In the first incident, one Afghan National Army soldier was hurt during the landing at a forward operating base south of Tarin Kowt but was in "a stable condition," the military said in a statement.
The second incident, in which five US soldiers were injured, occurred north of Kandahar and resulted in severe damage to the aircraft.
The injured, who were not seriously hurt, were evacuated to a nearby US medical facility for treatment and were in a stable condition, it said.
Afghan and US forces were conducting recovery operations. "Both CH-47 aircrafts were involved in combat operations against enemy forces in southern Afghanistan. The causes of the incidents are under investigation," the statement said.
Meanwhile a spokesman for the ousted Taliban militia claimed that they shot down the US helicopter near Kandahar.
"We shot down a coalition chopper while it was landing in Shawali Kot district of Kandahar," Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi told a foreign news agency by telephone.
Sadr representative gunned down in Baghdad
(Updated at 1415 PST)
BAGHDAD: A representative of cleric Moqtada Sadr was found shot dead in his car on Sunday morning in the southeast Baghdad neighborhood of Zayouna, said source in the
defense ministry.
Sheikh Abdel Salam Abdel Hussein al-Maliki, who was Sadr's representative in the southern neighborhood of Al-Shaab, was killed amid a spate of assassinations of religious political leaders across the country, in the run-up to Iraq's December 15 parliamentary elections.
Afghan MP killed in factional fighting
(Updated at 1320 PST)
JALALABAD: One of Afghanistan's newly elected parliamentarians was killed Sunday when his armed faction fought a rival group in the country's east, a provincial governor's
spokesman said.
Esmatullah Muhabat, who won a lower house seat for eastern Laghman province, was the first legislator to be killed since the September 18 election for Afghanistan's first national assembly in about three decades.
"Commander Esmatullah Muhabat, who was elected for the parliament, was killed in a factional fighting involving his militia and another armed group," spokesman Hizbullah said.
One of the men in his group was also killed and three others were wounded, Hizbullah said.
The spokesman said he did not know what had caused the fighting. The rival group was led by a businessman, he said. "The fighting has ceased and the area has been sealed off by police," he said.
Six soldiers killed in Sri Lanka blast
(Updated at 1300 PST)
COLOMBO: At least six soldiers were killed Sunday in a powerful landmine blast in northern Sri Lanka, a military official said.
The soldiers were onboard a tractor trailer when it was hit by a landmine in the northern peninsula of Jaffna, 400 kilometres north of the capital Colombo, the military official said.
There had been tension in the Jaffna peninsula after the killing of two Tiger rebels on Friday by unidentified gunmen.
42 miners trapped for second day in flooded China coalmine
(Updated at 1220 PST)
BEIJING: Forty-two miners were trapped for a second day Sunday in a flooded mine in central China, as more than 200 rescuers raced against the clock to pump out water to save them, state media said.
The miners have been trapped since shortly before midnight Friday when the Sigou mine suddenly flooded, according to the state news agency. The mine is located in Shisi township in Henan province.
In Henan, the miners stranded are in a pit with more than 3,000 cubic meters (105,000 cubic feet) of water. It will take more than 20 hours to pump out enough water so that
rescuers can go down the shaft, repair the damaged tunnel and find the miners, officials said.
There is still a tunnel above the water level. Some of the workers who escaped saw some miners running towards higher levels, a county official said.
Three Iraqi security forces men killed in Baghdad
(Updated at 1125 PST)
BAGHDAD: In three separate attacks, three members of Iraq's security forces, including a high-ranking officer, were killed in Baghdad on Sunday morning, according to police.
Assailants gunned down Lieutenant Colonel Abdel Razzak Abdel Latif, of the police's criminal department, in the neighborhood of Al-Jamiaa, in east Baghdad.
A soldier was shot dead as he left his home in Hay al-Amin, in the southeast of the capital, while another was killed in Al-Bayyaa, in southern Baghdad.
Arms sales to Iran only for defence, says Russia
(Updated at 0955 PST)
MOSCOW: Russia has confirmed it had signed an arms deal with Iran but sought to ease U.S. concerns over the sale, saying the weapons were only for defence.
The Foreign Ministry on its Web site confirmed the deal had been signed but added it did not violate any international laws in doing so.
"All contracts we sign in the military and technical sphere are in full compliance with our international obligations, including non-proliferation obligations, and fully conform with
Russian legislation," Foreign Ministry representative Mikhail Kamynin said in the statement.
Former senator killed in roadside ambush in Colombia
(Updated at 0815 PST)
BOGOTA: A former Colombian senator who said he owed leftist rebels ransom money for the release of his kidnapped sons was killed in a roadside ambush, authorities said Sunday.
Jaime Lozada, whose kidnapped wife is still being held by rebels, was attacked as he drove with his son in the department of Huila, about 300 kilometers (190 miles) from Bogota.
The assailants triggered an explosive device that stopped Lozada's car then opened fire on the vehicle, police said. Lozada's son, Jaime Felipe, was wounded in the attack.
Police spokesman Alberto Cantillo said the ambush had the hallmarks of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, but that no one had been detained in the attack.
Lozada's sons, Juan Sebastian and Jaime Felipe, were freed in July 2004 after being held by the FARC three years at hidden jungle camps in southern Colombia.
Australian PM rules out death penalty campaign
(Updated at 0725 PST)
SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister John Howard ruled out launching an international campaign to abolish the death penalty Sunday, as the body of a convicted drug trafficker hanged in Singapore arrived home.
Howard said that while he opposed last Friday's execution of Melbourne man Nguyen Tuong Van, he did not believe a diplomatic push from Canberra to abolish capital punishment would succeed.
"We have to be realistic about what can be achieved," Howard said. "We're not going to change the attitude of countries in the region about capital punishment.
"When you talk about the region you have to include in that, of course, China. China executes people on a regular basis, (and) the United States has capital punishment."
Howard was speaking after a plane carrying Nguyen's body touched down in Melbourne early Sunday, ahead of the 25-year-old's funeral on Wednesday.
Polls open in Kazakhstan's presidential election
(Updated at 0700 PST)
ASTANA,: Polls opened Sunday in Kazakhstan's presidential elections, with veteran leader Nursultan Nazarbayev widely expected to defeat his four challengers and win a new
seven-year term.
Israeli air raid on Gaza Strip
(Updated at 0610 PST)
GAZA CITY: Israeli aircraft early Sunday carried out a raid on the Gaza Strip, a foreign news agency reported.
PCB chairman says there be no more Pak-India matches
(Updated at 2020 PST)
MUMBAI: Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Shehryar Khan said on Sunday India and Pakistan cricket teams should no more play matches. Because, this dilutes importance for the contests whilst 14 matches were played yester year.
The chairman PCB said this in an interview after his arrival in Mumbai for talks with newly-appointed president of the Indian Cricet Board Sherdarpur.
He said further: “As all are pre-engaged in Pakistan-England series, Pak-India series too are nearing and this unit will kick off after 28 days.”
However, venues for the series and playing terms and conditions would have to be finalized, he added.
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