today news by j.iqbal

 10 fishermen missing as boat capsizes off Karachi coast   Updated at 1530 PST   KARACHI: Ten fishermen were missing while seven rescued when a fishing boat capsized Tuesday in open sea five nautical miles off Karachi coastline, fire brigade officials here said.

According to officials a boat Al-Tahir went to sea for fishing on Monday but capsized in open sea at Chhota Talhar point about five nautical miles off the coast.

Fire Brigade personnel found two fishermen of the boat Tuesday morning close to Rahman Goth beach in near unconscious condition, which informed them about the boat capsize.

Maritime Security Agency and Navy personnel soon after getting the report started search with a helicopter and small ship for remaining fishermen on the boat. They found five other fishermen swimming in the sea near Nathiagali beach, which were rescued by the navy divers.

According to the survivors the engine of the boat was ceased in the open sea and water entered in the boat, which overturned the boat.

Search operation was continued for 10 missing fishermen.  

Hezbollah rockets hit Haifa   Updated at 1520 PST   HAIFA: Hezbollah fired at least 10 rockets at the Israeli port city of Haifa on Tuesday, and one hit a city bus and another a house. Five people were hurt, one seriously and two
moderately, doctors and medics said.

Two of the rockets hit very close to a Haifa hospital, doctors told local media. Israeli police told the TV about a dozen rockets had hit the city.One rocket hit a city bus but only the driver was on board at the time.

 

Fourteen killed in Iraq attacks   Updated at 1500 PST   BAGHDAD: Six police and eight civilians were killed in a series of attacks in and around Baghdad overnight and early on Tuesday, police said.

As night fell on Monday, gunmen ambushed an Iraqi police unit in central Baghdad, triggering a gun battle in which six officers were killed and 30 were wounded.

The clash took place on Haifa Street near the west bank of the Tigris River, north of the fortified Green Zone, the seat of the Iraqi government and the US embassy.

On Tuesday, two roadside bombs exploded in the city, killing two civilians and wounding two bystanders and a policeman.

In another attack, gunmen ambushed a family of who had been threatened by a sectarian death squad as they fled a neighbourhood south of the city, medical
and defence officials said.

Two of the family was killed and one was wounded when their removal van was sprayed with bullets.

Four other civilians were shot dead around the capital, two of them in drive-by shootings, while the corpses of two tortured murder victims were also found by the roadside, police said.

 

Six die in rain-related incidents in Lahore   Updated at 1430 PST   LAHORE: Six people have been killed and 10 wounded Tuesday in various incidents in Lahore amid ongoing monsoon spell in eastern and northern parts of Punjab.

The wet spell has badly hit the telecommunication system and also affected schedule of domestic and overseas flights from Lahore.

Metrological department has forecast that the rainy spell started this morning will possibly continue till tomorrow. Lahore has received 75 millimeters rain in monsoon.

At least three persons were reported killed this morning in various parts of Lahore due to roof collapse incidents, while three more killed in other incidents. Two persons Nasir and Muhammad Sameer were killed and another injured when rooftop of a factory building in Baghbanpura caved in this morning.

A 15-year old boy died in Sahwari area when a portion of a dilapidated building collapsed during the rainfall.

A man killed in another rooftop collapse incident in Madeena Town area of Ghaziabd, while two children drown in Tapuri scheme.

Five people were injured as rooftop of a house caved in in Chhalaran, a Katchi Abadi in Lahore Cantt. The injured were admitted in Mayo and Shalimar hospitals in Lahore.  

Boat capsizes off Karachi coast, 11 missing   Updated at 1330 PST   KARACHI: A boat with 16 persons onboard capsized Tuesday near Cap Mount off Karachi coast, a Maritime Security Agency (MSA) official here said.

According to MSA official Ateeq-ur-Rahman a fishing boat with 16 fishermen onboard was capsized in the sea five miles off the Cap Mount coast. Five of the 16 boatmen swim safely to land, while 11 others were reported to be missing.

A MSA rescue ship was sent to the area in search of the missing fishermen, he added.

Further details yet to come  

15 killed in Bangladesh bus accident   Updated at 1320 PST   DHAKA: At least 15 people were killed and 40 others injured on Tuesday when a packed passenger bus skidded and plunged into a roadside ditch in southeastern Bangladesh.

The speeding bus plunged into the ditch in Luxmipur district, 100 kms southeast of Dhaka, a local TV channel reported.

At least 15 people were killed, most of them on the spot, and 40 others injured in the accident, the report said. Some people died on way to hospital.

 

Six cops killed in Baghdad ambush   Updated at 1300 PST   BAGHDAD: Gunmen ambushed an Iraqi police unit in central Baghdad and triggered a gun battle, which left six officers dead, and 30 more injured, police said on Tuesday.

The 30-minute clash erupted as night fell on Monday on Haifa Street near the west bank of the Tigris River just north of the fortified Green Zone, the seat of the Iraqi government and the US embassy.

Following the clash, two roadside bombs exploded overnight in the city, killing one policeman and one civilian and leaving two bystanders injured.

And the corpses of two tortured murder victims were found abandoned by the road side, a police officer said.

 

Two die in Lahore traffic mishaps   Updated at 1230 PST   LAHORE: Two people were killed in traffic accidents in Lahore on Tuesday.

A speedy truck hit and killed a 10-years child cyclist Mubeen Ahmed s/o Abdul Sattar at Multan Road in Chauhang area of Lahore.

Police have detained truck driver Abdul Rahman and registered a case against him. The truck was also taken into police custody.

A 50-years old unidentified man was injured by motorbike hit near Chowk Yateemkhana in Nawankot area of Lahore. The wounded man was taken to hospital but he was succumbed to injuries.

Police was looking for heirs of the deceased after sending the dead body to mortuary.  

Dunga named new Brazil soccer coach   Updated at 1220 PST   RIO DE JANEIRO: Former Brazil captain Dunga was appointed as the five-time World Cup winners' new coach here, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said.

Dunga, who skippered Brazil to victory at the 1994 World Cup, replaces Carlos Alberto Parreira who resigned last week following the South Americans' disappointing campaign at this year's finals in Germany.

The 42-year-old has been entrusted with leading Brazil to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and possibly beyond, said CBF President Ricardo Teixeira.

A veteran of three World Cups -- he also played at the 1990 finals in Italy -- Dunga also won a silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles during an internatoinal career that spanned 91 caps and six goals.  

Palestinian PM urges US to force an end to Israeli offensive   Updated at 1210 PST   GAZA CITY: Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said he wanted visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to force Israel to end its nearly month-old offensive in the Gaza Strip,but Rice will not meet him.

``All that we ask the American administration is to take a moral stance toward the Palestinian people, and the Palestinian suffering and to bear its responsibility as a superpower in this world,'' Haniyeh told foreign news agency in an interview. He called on America ``to restrain the Israeli aggression and stop it.''


 

Libya was close to building nuclear bomb in 2003: Kadhafi   Updated at 1150 PST   TRIPOLI: Libya was close to building a nuclear bomb before abandoning a weapons of mass destruction programme in 2003, Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi said, according to
the country's official news agency.

"Libya was on the point of building a nuclear bomb: that is no longer a secret," Kadhafi was quoted Monday as telling a group of engineers. "The Americans and the International Atomic Energy Agency were well aware."

In a dramatic move that has seen his former pariah state returned to the international fold, Kadhafi announced in December 2003 that Libya was abandoning plans to build weapons of mass destruction.  

Israel to continue Lebanon offensive: Olmert   Updated at 1140 PST   JERUSALEM: Israel is determined to continue its fight against Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas and will take the ``most severe measures'' against those firing rockets on Israel, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Tuesday.

Olmert acknowledged ``humanitarian difficulties'' caused by Israel's two-week military campaign in Lebanon, and said Israel would work with the U.S. to try to solve some of those problems.

He spoke before a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Rice said both Israelis and Lebanese were suffering as a result of the fighting.
   Two US soldiers killed in Iraq   Updated at 1130 PST   BAGHDAD: Two US soldiers were killed in combat in western Iraq's restive Al-Anbar province, the US military said on Tuesday.

The troops died "due to enemy action" in separate incidents on Monday, it said. No other details were given.

The latest fatalities bring the number of US military deaths in the Iraq conflict since the 2003 invasion to 2,563, according to a count based on Pentagon figures.

 

ASEAN demands Israel to halt Lebanon offensive   Updated at 1110 PST   KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi accused Israel on Tuesday of excessive military reprisals in Lebanon and urged his Southeast Asian
neighbours to take a tougher stand against the Jewish state.

The moderate-Muslim leader urged foreign ministers from the Association of South East Asians (ASEAN) to be blunt about Israel's offensive.

"The latest developments in the Middle East are gravely threatening international peace and security," Abdullah said in an opening address to the ASEAN meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

"I feel that we in ASEAN must make our voices heard, loudly and clearly, that we cannot continue tolerating the subjugation and repression of the Palestinian people by Israel."

"We should not tolerate Israel's excessive military reprisals against Lebanon," Abdullah said, calling for U.N. peacekeepers to be sent into southern Lebanon to prevent an
Israeli invasion.

"The collective punishment inflicted on the Lebanese people and the destruction of towns and cities are unconscionable."

 

Three death row convicts executed in Jhelum prison   Updated at 1105 PST   JHELUM: Three murder convicts were hanged to death at Jhelum Jail early morning on Tuesday.

Manzoor Hussain, Tasawwar Hussain and Younus had gunned down their three relatives Nazeer, Liaquat and Arshad in Nathwalla village on March 30th , 1993.

Local court handed the accused death penalty in the triple murder case and Punjab high court and the Supreme Court also maintained the sentence. President had also turned down the mercy plea of the convicts.

The convicts Manzoor Hussain, Tasawwar Hussain and Younus were executed early morning today, the jail officials here said. The dead bodies were handed over to the heirs, they added.  

Israel seizes key Lebanon border town   Updated at 1100 PST   JERUSALEM: The Israeli army said on Tuesday it had seized a key border town in Lebanon after deadly fighting in the area with Hezbollah guerrillas as its forces pushed deeper into its northern neighbour.

"Beit Jbeil is in our hands," General Alon Friedman, one of Israel's top commanders for its northern region, told Israeli radio.

Beit Jbeil, the main town in the border region and a Hezbollah stronghold, lies north of the strategic hilltop village of Marun al-Ras, which the Israeli army captured at the weekend.

"Our aim in Beit Jbeil is to destroy the infrastructure of Hezbollah and to liquidate that organization's terrorists in order to reduce the (rocket) attacks on the north," Friedman said.