Abbas Warns Hamas to 'negotiate'
Updated at 1725 PST
Ankara: Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas warned the Hamas party on radio Monday that he will fire the government that if it does not negotiate with Israel.
Speaking on a foreign news channel, he stated he has "clear and definite authority to remove a government from power, but I don't want to use this authority. Everyone should know that by law this power is in my hands."
Abbas said the Hamas-led government "is still acting as if it were in opposition" and that it must face reality and be in contact with Israel. However, he added, "Let's wait and see if it will change."
One Hamas leader in Gaza responded that its government will not accept dismissal quietly.
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Saddam trial adjourned to May 15
Updated at 1500 PST
BAGHDAD: The trial of Saddam Hussein on charges of crimes against humanity was adjourned on Monday until May 15.
The trial was adjourned after the prosecution presented a handwriting report that found the signatures of Saddam and seven other defendants matched documents linking them to the massacre of 148 Shiites in the Dujail village in the 1980s.
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Afghan, Pakistan, U.S. troops to hold joint exercise
Updated at 1420 PST
KABUL: Afghan, Pakistan and U.S. troops will conduct a joint military exercise for the first time in the volatile Afghan-Pakistan border region, the U.S. military said Monday.
The operation, to be called Inspired Gambit, will be an ``air assault exercise'' involving a small contingent of Afghan soldiers and an unspecified number of Pakistani troops, U.S. military spokesman Col. Laurent Fox said during a press conference in the Afghan capital, Kabul.
``We feel that it is important that the only way we will solve the terrorism and insurgency problem is to work closely together with each other,'' Fox said.
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Pakistan Navy holds command of international task force
Updated at 1400 PST
Karachi: Pakistan Navy was handed over command of the international Task Force 150 on Monday. Rear Admiral Shahid Iqbal is the new commander of the force.
A formal ceremony for handing over of the command took place today in Bahrain.
CTF-150 is part of the Global War on Terror and responsible for operations in the Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and the North Arabian Sea.
This is the first time for the Pakistan Navy at the helm of this important task force, other members of which are Britain, United States, France, Australia, Italy, Japan, Germany, Spain and Holland.
The task force was setup under the United Nations Security Council resolution No: 1373 in September 2001. CTF-150 is part of regional maritime security operations that preserve the free and secure use of the world’s oceans for legitimate mariners and prevent terrorists from using the world’s oceans unchecked.
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One dead in Afghan plane crash
Updated at 1350 PST
KANDAHAR: A young child was killed and at least nine people were injured when a unidentified plane skidded off a runway and crashed in southern Afghanistan Monday, police said.
The aircraft crashed while coming in to land in Lashkargah, the capital of restive elmand province, hitting some nomad tents and some houses, deputy provincial governor Mullah Amir Akhund told French news agency. The cause was unclear.
"The incident caused casualties in the nomad tents and houses it hit, we are now taking out the wounded and possibly dead people out of the rubble," Khan said.
Deputy provincial police chief Mohammad Ayob Ansari, who was at the crash site, told the media that a three-year-old child was killed and six Afghan civilians were injured. All were on the ground, he said.
Another three people on board were injured and were evacuated from the crash site, he said.
Ansari said the plane was Russian-built and chartered by a military agency but had no further details.
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Justice Osmani sworn in as acting CJ SHC
Updated at 1340 PST
KARACHI: Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmani sworn in as acting Chief Justice (CJ) Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday due to departure of CJ SHC Justice Sabihuddin for a visit to UK.
Senior judge of the Sindh High Court Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali administered the oath to Justice Osmani in a simple ceremony here at SHC.
Justice Sabihuddin left for London on a four-day trip.
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Voting for by-elections in held Kashmir
Updated at 1320 PST
SRINAGAR: Voting to fill vacant state assembly seats was being held in four districts of held Kashmir on Monday amid tight security after overnight attacks on three polling stations, officials said.
"The voting in all four constituencies has started," said state election official. He said 364 voting stations opened their doors at 7:00 am (0130 GMT) and would close them at 5:00 pm (1130 GMT).
Only 20 voting stations have been declared normal, while the rest have been marked as "sensitive and hyper-sensitive" to violence, he said.
The by-elections are to fill four vacant state assembly seats in held Kashmir.
Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad is one of 17 candidates running for the four seats. About 288,000 people are eligible to vote in the four districts.
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Miscreants attack security post in S Waziristan
Updated at 1300 PST
WANA: Unknown miscreants carried out rocket attack at security forces check post at Khumrang area in tribal region of South Waziristan.
According to official sources, miscreants fired six rockets and five mortar shells at Daray Naray post in Khumrang area, which landed at empty ground near the check post. Security forces started retaliatory fire injuring one miscreant.
Meanwhile, another person named Ahmad Khan who had sustained injuries during a clash between security forces and armed men in Miranshah area of North Waziristan was succumbed to injuries, which brought the death toll to four. Three persons including a security official injured in the clash are still under treatment.
Political administration has announced curfew relaxation in Miranshah from 6 am to 7 pm.
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Car bomb kills three in Baghdad
Updated at 1230 PST
BAGHDAD: A car bomb exploded in a busy area of central Baghdad on Monday, killing at least three people and wounding 20, police said.
The parked car exploded during morning rush hour on a major street near the Tigris River, close to Medical City, one of the capital's largest hospitals; a complex of government buildings; a bus station; and a busy traffic roundabout.
The blast in the Bag al-Muadim section of the capital destroyed at least three other cars and heavily damaged shops, blowing out their windows, said police 1st Sgt. He said at least three people were killed and 20 wounded. The injured included two policemen who were directing traffic, he added.
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US asks diplomat families to leave Nepal
Updated at 1210 PST
KATHMANDU: The US embassy in Nepal on Monday told the families of diplomats and some staff to leave the country because of security concerns after almost three weeks of violent anti-king protests.
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Man, wife killed in Lahore accident
Updated at 1150 PST
LAHORE: A man and wife killed in a hit and run incident in Lahore’s Race Course police station precinct.
Jawed Maseeh while walking at Upper Mall roadside with his wife Safia Bibi was hit by an unknown car and killed on the spot, police said. His wife Safia Bibi sustained critical injuries and was died at the Services Hospital.
Police handed over the bodies to family members.
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HIV cases in India rise to 5.2 million
Updated at 1130 PST
NEW DELHI: The number of people living with HIV/AIDS in India has increased. The latest figures compiled by National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), using improved data collection strategy, have shown that an estimated 5.21 million adults in India are living with HIV.
The previous figures, compiled in 2004, had shown that India had 5.13 million people infected by the deadly virus. Of the estimated adults living with HIV in India, over 38% are females and 57% are of rural background.
Besides, 90% of the infected people do not know that they are carrying the infection. According to the latest figures available with us, 5.206 million people are HIV infected.
This has made NACO decide to increase the number of centers that assess the spread of HIV/AIDS virus in the country. The number of detection centers will be increased to 1,150 from 750 at present.
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Israeli troops kill Palestinian in Gaza
Updated at 1100 PST
GAZA: Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian gunman in an exchange of fire along the Gaza-Israel border early on Monday, Israeli and Palestinian security sources said.
"A Palestinian gunman opened fire along the Gaza border. Soldiers arrived at the scene and exchanged fire with him. We identified a hit," an army spokeswoman said.
The gunman was the third militant to be killed by Israeli forces in two days.
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Five Maoists, soldier killed in Nepal attacks
Updated at 1030 PST
KATHMANDU: Five Maoists and a soldier were killed during an overnight rebel attack on a telecommunications tower and a police station in crisis-hit Nepal, an army official said on Monday.
Maoists launched simultaneous attacks with guns and grenades after 9:00 pm
(1515 GMT) Sunday in Chautara, about 120 kilometres (75 miles) northeast of the
capital Kathmandu.
"Five bodies of Maoists were recovered from the clash site Monday morning and one of our men also died," said the official from army headquarters on condition of anonymity.
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Sri Lankan troops kill two rebels
Updated at 1010 PST
COLOMBO: Sri Lankan troops shot dead two men who were trying to set up a Claymore mine Monday intended for security forces in the island's east, a defence official said.
The men were killed at Vandaramullai in the district of Batticaloa as army soldiers conducted an operation to clear the main road of mines planted by Tiger rebels, the official said.
The two men had lobbed a grenade at security forces when they were challenged, the official said, adding that a soldier had been wounded.
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Bin Laden's tape genuine, says US
Updated at 0945 PST
WASHINGTON: U.S. intelligence authorities have informed the White House that the audiotape attributed to al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was authentic, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
In the tape, bin Laden also urged followers to go to Sudan, his former base, to fight a proposed UN peacekeeping force.
It was the first message by the al-Qaida leader for three months. The voice on the tape sounded strong and resembled that another recordings attributed to bin Laden.
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US finds abuse at Iraqi detention facilities: report
Updated at 0935 PST
WASHINGTON: The US military has discovered evidence of abuse of detainees at least six more Iraqi detention centers run by the interior ministry, a US reported on Monday.
Two sources involved with the inspections, one Iraqi official and one US official, said abuse of prisoners was found at all the sites visited through February, the report said.
US military authorities confirmed that signs of severe abuse were observed at two of the detention centers, according to the paper.
"A lot of the Iraqis had separated shoulders and problems with their hands and fingers too," the official is quoted as saying. "You could also see strap marks on some of their backs."
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New daytime curfew in Nepal
Updated at 0930 PST
KATHMANDU: Nepal's royal government on Monday imposed a fresh daytime seven-hour curfew and shoot-on-sight orders, following 18 days of strikes and anti-monarchy protests, state-run television announced.
The curfew will run from 11:00 am (0515 GMT) until 6:00 pm in the Nepalese
capital Kathmandu, the report said.
"During curfew hours, people should not come outside and those who violate the curfew order can be jailed for at least one month or shot on sight," according to a scrolling message broadcast on the news channel.
Nepal's seven-party opposition alliance, which is demanding an end to King Gyanendra's absolute rule, have called for a major protest on Tuesday in Kathmandu, urging protesters to proceed to the gates of the royal palace.
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US, Japan make troop cost deal
Updated at 0920 PST
TOKYO: Japan and the United States have resolved a dispute over the costs of relocating 8,000 US marines from Okinawa to the Pacific island of Guam.
Tokyo had objected to US calls for it to pay 75% of the estimated $10bn cost.
But after talks in Washington on Sunday, a compromise deal was reached under which Tokyo will contribute $6.1bn towards the cost of relocation.
The dispute has held up agreement on overall realignment plans for the US military presence in Japan.
The agreement was due to have been finalised at the end of March.
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Seven dead, 51 injured in Philippine bus crash
Updated at 0900 PST
MANILA: Seven people were killed and up to 51 injured when a commuter bus ran off the road and fell into a deep ravine south of the Philippine capital on Monday, civil defense and television reports said.
The bus was traveling from the Bicol peninsula to Manila when it ran off the mountain road in Pagbilao, 120 kilometers (74.4 miles) from the capital, the civil defense office said.
The local television said seven people were killed and 51 injured, adding that metal cutting equipment had been sent to the site.
The civil defense office said seven people were dead but only 36 were confirmed injured so far.The cause of the accident is unknown.
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Nepal rebels attack security bases, government buildings
Updated at 0850 PST
KATMANDU: Communist rebels attacked security bases and government buildings overnight in Nepal's mountainous north-central region, officials said on Monday.
Details were sketchy about the overnight attack at Chautara, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) northeast of Katmandu, but officials reached at neighboring districts confirmed the attack. The area has a strong rebel presence.
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