Pak repulses Indian major attack

By: Salman Alvi

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan said on Friday that India launched a major attack on an army post located north of Kargil inside Azad Kashmir but Pakistani troops caused heavy casualties to the enemy army.

The incident took place as both countries prepared for talks with a high-profile US envoy.

According to ISPR Pakistani troops killed dozens of Indian soldiers carrying out an unprovoked assault in the Gultari section of the territory on Thursday night.

Spokesman for President General Pervez Musharraf, Maj. General Rashid Quereshi said that the Indians, frustrated at making no headway, then bombed the area, an act which he described as escalatory and irresponsible.

He said that Pakistan would bring the matter to the attention of the international community.

But Indian army spokesman Colonel Shrutikant said that while there had been routine firing in the area, no particular incident had occurred and no Indian soldiers were killed.

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Israel deploys anti-ballistic missiles

By: Ahmad Hammadi

JERUSALEM: Israel has deployed anti-ballistic missile systems near its nuclear research reactor at Dimona in the Negev desert in the south of the country to intercept incoming Iraqi missiles in the event of a conflict with Baghdad, reports said Friday.

The American-built Patriot anti-missile missiles would protect the nuclear plant if Iraq attacked Israel as part of a reaction to a possible US strike against it. In the event of a US attack on Iraq, it is widely believed Iraq would attack Israel.

Military officials called the deployment a routine training exercise, adding that the battery would be removed after the exercise was finished.

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Two Palestinians martyred in Gaza Strip

By: Ahmad Hammadi

GAZA STRIP: At least two Palestinians have been martyred on Friday in attack on an Israeli military post near a Jewish settlement in the Gaza strip, the army said.

According to reports an Israeli soldier was also injured in the incident, which took place near the Kfar Darom Jewish settlement.

Separately, the Israeli army said it flattened the house of a Hamas military chief accused of masterminding a deadly hotel bombing in March.

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US curbs N Korea for selling missile parts to Yemen

By: Nabil Raza

WASHINGTON: The New York Times reported the White House has decided to impose sanctions on a North Korean company for selling Scud missile parts to Yemen.

The curbs are a symbolic gesture since no trade relationship exists between the United States and North Korea.

The report said the Scud missile components were sold to Yemen during the administration of former US president Bill Clinton.

“We are making a statement to the world that North Korea engages in dangerous and illicit activity,” one unidentified US official said. “We are making it clear that if you are a friend of the United States or civil society these are characters you do not want to be associated with.”

The Washington Post also carried the story without identifying the country to which the components were sold. It said that the sanctions are expected to last for two years.

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Mugabe condemns US criticism

By: Special Reporter

HARARE, Zimbabwe: Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has condemned American and other western criticism of his government as a racist campaign to undermine his nation's independence.

In a speech in southern Zimbabwe, Mugabe said: “Today, Britain, America, New Zealand and Australia, what color are they, most of the people there? White. They are the ones leading in the fight against Zimbabwe, the fight of resisting the completion of the independence process that began in 1980.”

“We are not made as a government in Washington,” State television quoted Mugabe Thursday as saying. “Let Mr. Bush know that we are made as the government by our people here. Let foolish Blair also know that.”

The remarks followed the comments by senior US officials that the United States did not consider Mugabe the legitimate leader of Zimbabwe and that Washington was working with other governments to try to isolate him.

Within hours of Mugabe's speech the US State Department reaffirmed that it was working with other nations to foster democratic change in Zimbabwe.

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China evacuates 600,000 people from Hunan

By: Khadija Chinese

BEIJING, China: As Dongting Lake in Hunan Province - China's second largest freshwater lake - threatens to overflow, Beijing is evacuating 600,00 people from around the lake.

According to the media the rain-swollen Dongting Lake, covering almost 4,000 square kilometers, continues to rise, despite attempts by 800,000 citizens and thousands of soldiers to shore up dikes.

The official China Daily newspaper Friday said flooding in Hunan has already left at least 16 people dead and more than eight million people affected. It quoted statistics from the Ministry of Civil Affairs as saying 27,000 houses have collapsed and more than 400,000 hectares of farmland have been damaged.

The Hunan government is spending more than $3 million on emergency relief work. China's Red Cross has delivered hundreds of thousands of dollars in aid to flooded areas. Flooded roads are hindering relief efforts.

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