The Daily Star: Internet Edition Mon. September 04, 2006

Vol. 5 Num 809

Mon. September 04, 2006


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International

200 Taliban killed in major Nato offensive
3 Canadian soldiers also slain in fighting
Around 200 insurgents were killed in the first two days of a major anti-Taliban operation under way in southern Afghanistan, a Nato military source said yesterday.

Pro-Taliban militants ink peace deal with Pakistan
Pro-Taliban militants encouraged by tribal elders signed an agreement with Pakistan's government Saturday to ensure "permanent peace" in this volatile northwestern tribal region near the Afghan border,

Floods make 1.5 million homeless in Orissa
Kashmir put on alert
Flooding triggered by monsoon rains in the past few days has left 1.5 million people homeless and damaged thousands of acres of paddy crop in Orissa, officials said yesterday.

Lanka fighting hits lull
Phone lines up, aid sent in
A lull in fighting yesterday between Sri Lankan troops and Tamil rebels near a strategic port allowed mobile phone lines in the area to be restored and aid supplies to be rushed in, residents said.

Palestinians to form unity govt in 10 days
Says Abbas
A Palestinian national unity government will be announced within 10 days, a spokesman for president Mahmud Abbas said Saturday following weeks of wrangling between his Fatah party and the ruling Hamas

Israel could release 800 Palestinians for hostage soldier
Under secret talks being brokered by Egypt, Israel could release up to 800 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for a soldier captured by Gaza militants in early June, a report said yesterday.

Israel to lift blockade of Lebanon in a week
Says Israeli defence minister
Lebanese Defence Minister Elias Murr said Saturday he had been assured Israel would lift its air and sea blockade within a week, during a meeting with UN special envoy Geir Pedersen.

US sanctions threat a psychological game
Says Iran over nuke row
Iran said yesterday the threat of sanctions was a "psychological game" aimed at putting pressure on the Islamic Republic over its nuclear programme, which the West fears is aimed at producing atomic weapons.

European probe smashes into moon
Europe's first spacecraft to the moon ended its three-year mission yesterday with a planned crash, hitting its target after ground controllers had to manoeuvre it around a looming crater rim.

US Muslims plagued by discrimination after 9/11 attacks
Discrimination and harassment by law enforcement have come to plague American Muslims in the years since the terrorist attacks of September 11.

Military Command Handover
Iraq, US lock horns
Talks between the United States and Iraq over the transfer of operational command of Iraq's armed forces were deadlocked yesterday, with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki demanding more independence fromthe

US policies fuelling terrorism: Khatami
Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami said late Saturday that US foreign policy was fueling terrorism and warned a conference of Muslims in Chicago of the dangers of allowing "narrow minded viewpoints

al-Qaeda deputy urges Americans to convert to Islam
al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri urged Americans to convert to Islam in a video featuring a converted US national sought by the FBI, who spoke particularly to American soldiers, but the US said it

Scientists begin human tests on 'bionic eye'
Australian researchers developing a "bionic eye" say early tests have succeeded in stimulating limited visual sensation in people suffering a rare form of genetic blindness.

Blair's ministers do the dirty work to prove they are 'in touch'
British government ministers are hurling themselves into filming video diaries of them doing everyday jobs to show they are "in touch" with ordinary workers, The Sunday Times newspaper reported.