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| March 18, 2008 | Tuesday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 9, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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 Pakistan coalition parties finalise power-sharing formula ISLAMABAD, March 18 (PPI): Pakistan People's Party, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), Awami National Party and Jamiat Ulema Islam(F) on Tuesday finalised a formula for power-sharing in their coaltion government. A committee at a meeting decided they would share power and distribute slots in federal cabinet according to their numerical strength in the two houses of parliament, PPP Information Secretary Ms Sherry Rehman said adding that the parties had agreed on a “formula for power-sharing.” Senior PML-N leader Ishaq Dar described the understanding as “very judicious and equitable formula based on numerical strength of the four parties in National Assembly” The formula will include “weightage for the strength of the parties in the Senate,” he said that Tuesday’s meeting marked the final round of discussions among the parties on modalities for forming the government. “A consensus formula has been agreed upon and this will be sent by the committee to respective party leaders. We hope to have very smooth sailing from now on,” he added. (Posted @ 20:08 PST)  50 pc more power for Karachi ISLAMABAD, March 18 (PPI)- Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) and NTDC enhanced 50 percent power supply to Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) whereas KESC would pay dues directly to PEPCO. This was decided in a meeting here Tuesday held under the Chairmanship of Minister for Water and Power. The meeting reviewed the issues of KESC regarding payment of outstanding dues and the additional supply of power to KESC. It was decided that KESC would make all payments directly to PEPCO. It said that keeping in view the difficulties being faced by the citizens of Karachi, it was decided that PEPCO/NTDC would enhance current supply KESC by 50% i.e. from existing 200 MW to 300 MW till March 31. The meeting was attended by Secretary Water and Power, Additional Secretary Finance, MD PEPCO, MD KESC and other high officials from the Ministries and Departments concerned. (Posted @ 20:16 PST)  Rana Iqbal likely to be CM before Shahbaz reaches PA: PML-N LAHORE, March 18 (APP) Various names are under the consideration of PML-N leadership for nomination as Chief Minister of Punjab, for the interim period until Shahbaz Sharif contests the by-election and becomes a member of the provincial assembly and becomes eligible to take over as the chief executive of the province. Rana Iqbal Khan from Pattoki is considered a favourite for the slot, PML-N sources said, adding that the name of Sardar Dost Mohammad Khosa, son of Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa is also being considered. According to these sources Shahbaz Sharif may contest from PP-154 where elections were not held on February 18 due to the assassination of PML-N candidate Chaudhry Asif Ashraf. Shahbaz Sharif has already been acquitted in Sabzazar encounter case for which his nomination papers were rejected earlier. PML-N sources also said that Hamza Shahbaz Sharif may contest the by-elections from NA-119 where polling was postponed due to the death of PML-Q ticket holder Tariq Banday. (Posted @ 18:50 PST) Papers for speaker, deputy speaker slots approved ISLAMABAD, March 18 (APP): The nomination papers of Dr. Fahmida Mirza (PPP), Israr Tareen (PML-Q), Faisal Karim Kundi (PPP) and Khushbakht Shujaat (MQM) for the slot of speaker and deputy speaker respectively were approved after scrutiny on Tuesday. The elections would be held tomorrow (Wednesday) when the adjourned session of the National Assembly is resumed. (Posted @ 18:44 PST) Supreme Court discusses welfare of retired judges ISLAMABAD, March 18 (AFP) Pakistan's Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, chaired a rare full meeting of the court's 15 judges in Islamabad on Tuesday. A court statement after the meeting however said the judges reviewed the handling of cases over the last four months “and noted that proper attention could not be paid to the disposal of cases during the year 2007.” The statement was referring to the judicial crisis throughout last year which culminated in the sacking of the judges and disrupted the court's business. It also discussed the welfare of the retired judges and the formation of special benches for some criminal and civil cases, including a number involving the death sentence. (Posted @ 19:18 PST) Pakistan’s Intelligence Bureau chief resigns ISLAMABAD, March 18 (Reuters): Ijaz Shah, head of Intelligence Bureau (IB), one of Pakistan’s three security services, regarded as a dangerous enemy by assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, will quit his job before her party comes to power at the head of a new coalition. Shah held a “farewell meeting” with caretaker Prime Minister Mohammadmian Soomro on Monday. “He sent his resignation several days back. It's been accepted and yesterday he paid a farewell call on the prime minister,” a senior government official told Reuters. The government controls the IB, whereas the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence are part of the military. (Posted @ 15:45 PST) Pakistan fighter jet crashes, pilot safe MULTAN, March 18 (AFP): A French-built Pakistan Air Force Mirage fighter jet crashed in central Pakistan Tuesday, but the pilot ejected safely, officials said. The jet came down near Rajanpur district, 22 kilometres from Fareed Airbase in Punjab province while coming in to land, district police chief Azhar Hameed Khokhar told AFP. An air force spokesman said the jet was on a “routine operational training mission during which it developed some technical fault.” An inquiry had been ordered into the crash, air commodore Sarfraz Khan told AFP. “The pilot ejected safely and there was no loss of life or property on the ground,” Khan said. (Posted @ 14:50 PST) Cricket-Pakistan fill Australia void by hosting Bangladesh KARACHI, March 18 (Reuters) - Bangladesh have agreed to play five one-dayers and a Twenty20 match from April 6 to 22, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Tuesday. PCB chief operating officer Shafqat Naghmi also told reporters the board was holding talks about hosting a one-day series with Sri Lanka in April and May. “They (Sri Lanka) are keen to come and help us out,” said Naghmi. “We are confident of finalising the itinerary shortly.” Bangladesh are to play their first two games in Lahore followed by matches in Multan, Faisalabad and Karachi. The Twenty20 game will also take place in Karachi. (Posted @ 19:58 PST) Pakistan beat China 3-1 in third hockey Test LAHORE, March 18 (APP): Pakistan hockey team continued their winning streak defeating Asian Silver Medallist China 3-1 in the third hockey test at Changzhou on Tuesday. Pakistan which lost the opening match now lead the five match series 2-1 after striking two victories in a row. (Posted @ 20:40 PST) President wants better working relations with the new government: Spokesperson ISLAMABAD, Mar 18 (APP): President Pervez Musharraf wants better working relations with the forthcoming government for stability and prosperity of the country, said spokesman Major General(R) Rashid Qureshi. (Posted @ 23:20 PST) 
US Marines back-up arrive in Afghanistan KABUL, March 18 (AFP) - Hundreds of the 3,600 US Marines due in southern Afghanistan to reinforce international efforts against extremists are on the ground and preparing for their mission, their unit said Tuesday. The “majority” of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit of 2,300 soldiers had arrived, Staff Sergeant Robert Piper said without providing a number for security reasons. Another batallion from the 7th Marine Regiment will make up the other 1,300 personnel. “These Marines will bring the total number of Marines deployed to Afghanistan to approximately 3,600,” Piper said. The full deployment is expected to be on the ground by late April. (Posted @ 20:38 PST) US-Russia fail to end missile defence dispute MOSCOW, March 18 (AFP) - The United States and Russia failed in two days of talks here to resolve a dispute over US missile defence plans, but top officials voiced optimism about improving strained bilateral ties. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference after discussions with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that the two sides still “don't agree” on a planned missile defence shield in Europe and the future of the main strategic weapons treaty. Rice, who was joined at the talks by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, acknowledged that differences over US plans to deploy missile defences in Poland and the Czech Republic had not been resolved. “We still have work to do,” she said. But Rice said she and Gates had “very good discussions” with Lavrov and the Russian defence minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, and said the two countries had worked out a new “strategic framework” to govern future US-Russian ties. “We have agreed that there should be a joint strategic framework document for the presidents to be able to record all of the elements of the US-Russia relationship as we go forward into the future,” Rice said. “We've agreed on essentially what elements would go into this strategic framework,” the top US diplomat added. (Posted @ 20:24 PST) Bomb blasts kill seven in Iraq BAGHDAD, March 18 (AFP) Insurgents killed at least seven people in attacks across Iraq Tuesday, including two policemen in Baghdad, security officials said. Two policemen and a civilian were killed and seven others wounded when a roadside bomb exploded in Baghdad's neigbourhood of Al-Binuk. Another bomb explosion in a market in Baghdad's Al-Shaab neighbourhood killed one civilian and wounded 13 others, while a car bomb attack in the restive northern city of Mosul killed three civilians and wounded 40 others. The US military said it exploded near an electronics store and the adjacent four-storey building was destroyed. (Posted @ 19:22 PST) Six killed over land dispute in Pakistan GUJRANWALA, March 18 (APP) A longstanding land dispute claimed six lives on Tuesday, in a rural area of Gujranwala district in Punjab province, police said. Police official Muazzam Ali said the killings took place when the accused indiscriminately fired at the rivals who were sitting in their out-house early Tuesday morning, and escaped in the cover of heavy firing. (Posted @ 19:12 PST) 
Karachi transporters observe strike against rise in oil prices KARACHI, March 18 (APP) The commuters faced hardship on Tuesday as public transport remained off the road following a strike call by Karachi Transport Ittehad (KTI) against rise in the prices of petroleum products. Hardly any bus, coach or mini-bus was seen on the road since morning, causing problems for office goers, school and college students. Attendance was also thin in offices and in major hospitals. Police has also confirmed reports of stone pelting on vehicles in certain areas including Sohrab Goth and Korangi. (First Posted @ 18:58 PST Updated @ 19:08 PST) Sharp downturn in US economy: Paulson WASHINGTON, March 18 (AFP) - The US economy has turned down sharply, US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson acknowledged Tuesday. “What's important is we know we're in a sharp down-decline, and there's no doubt that the American people know that the economy has turned down sharply, ”Paulson told NBC television when asked if the United States was in a recession. “There's turbulence in our capital markets and it's been going on since August. We're all over it,” Paulson added. “We're looking for ways to work our way through it. I've got great confidence in our markets. They're resilient. They're flexible. But this has taken some time and we're focused on it.” (Posted @ 18:18 PST) Two killed in Yemen school blast near US embassy SANAA, March 18 (AFP) A schoolgirl and a policemen were killed in a bomb attack against a girls' school near the US embassy in the Yemeni capital Tuesday, police said. About 15 children and four policemen were also wounded, a police official told AFP. (First Posted @ 17:06 PST Updated @ 17:45 PST) Five Yemen soldiers wounded in bomb attack ADEN, Yemen, March 18 (Reuters) Five Yemeni soldiers were wounded in a bomb attack against a government compound in the southern Yemeni province of Abyan Tuesday, a provincial government source said. (Posted @ 16:50 PST)
Greek military helicopter crashes in northern Greece, killing all three on board THESSALONIKI, Greece, March 18 (AP): A military helicopter crashed in northern Greece, killing all three people on board, Greece's state TV reported. The Greek army helicopter went down near a special forces camp, about 30 kilometres east of the port city of Thessaloniki. (Posted @ 15:00 PST) Iraq reconciliation meeting off to shaky start BAGHDAD, March 18 (Reuters): A conference to reconcile Iraq's warring political groups began to unravel even before it got under way Tuesday, with the main Sunni Muslim Arab bloc pulling out and protesting it had not been properly invited. The Accordance Front, the main Sunni Arab bloc, had said it would attend but pulled out as dozens of political leaders gathered at a hotel in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. “The Front will not attend the conference, not because it does not believe in reconciliation ... but because the invitations were sent to members of the Front and not formally to the Accordance Front,” spokesman Salim al-Jubouri said. (Posted @ 14:45 PST) Blast near Philippine presidential palace wounds 15 MANILA, March 18 (Reuters): Fifteen people were injured, two seriously, by a blast outside a college near the presidential palace in Manila, Philippine police said Tuesday. Manila's police chief said they were investigating whether the blast, which occurred about 300 metres from the palace gates, was caused by a grenade. “A safety lever of a hand grenade was found,” said Geary Barias. (Posted @ 14:40 PST) Suspected separatists kill 11 workers in northeastern India GAUHATI, India, March 18 (AP): Suspected separatists fatally shot 11 migrant workers in three separate attacks in India's remote northeast, police said. Seven migrant workers, believed to be from northern Uttar Pradesh state, were shot and killed Monday night on the outskirts of Imphal, the capital of Manipur state. A police officer who requested anonymity said another four workers were killed in two separate shootings Tuesday. No one has claimed responsibility for the killings. (First Posted @ 10:35 PST, Updated @ 13:25 PST) Indian police kill 14 Maoist rebels RAIPUR, India, March 18 (Reuters): At least 14 Maoist rebels were killed in a shootout with police in a remote central Indian jungle Tuesday, a senior officer said. Police said the toll from the clashes, which took place in a forested district of Chhattisgarh state, could be higher. A special force formed to fight the Maoists surrounded the rebels, preventing them from escaping into the jungle, Ankit Garg, a top police officer, told Reuters. The rebels say they are fighting for the rights of poor farmers and landless labourers, and often attack police patrols and destroy government property. (Posted @ 13:25 PST) Afghan security forces kill two Taliban militants, capture five KABUL, March 18 (AFP): Afghan security forces killed two Taliban militants who were involved in a recent attack on a mobile phone tower in western Afghanistan, police said Tuesday. Five other rebels were captured following the clash in Herat province’s Obe district late Monday, regional police spokesman Abdul Rauf Ahmadi told AFP. One of the captured men was wounded, he added. “The terrorists killed were part of a group which is responsible for attacking a cell phone mast in the district on March 11,” Ahmadi told AFP. (Posted @ 13:05 PST) Cheney says U.S. will complete mission in Iraq BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq, March 18 (Reuters): The United States intends to complete its mission in Iraq and will not allow the country to become a staging ground for further terrorist attacks on Americans, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said Tuesday. “All Americans can be certain that we intend to complete the mission so that another generation of Americans does not have to come back here and do it again,” Cheney told about 3,000 U.S. troops at Balad Air Base 70 km north of Baghdad. “We have no intention of abandoning our friends or allowing this country ... to become a staging ground for further attacks against Americans,” Cheney told the soldiers at Balad. (Posted @ 12:15 PST) Sri Lanka fighting kills 12 Tamil rebels, three soldiers: govt COLOMBO, March 18 (AP): Fighting across northern Sri Lanka killed 12 Tamil Tiger rebels and three government soldiers, the military said Tuesday. A roadside bomb exploded in Mannar district killing a soldier. Mortar fire in Jaffna peninsula killed another two soldiers Monday, a military spokesman said. Meanwhile, fighting along the front lines surrounding rebels' controlled territory in the north killed 12 rebel fighters, he said. A Tamil Tiger spokesman called the government casualty figures incorrect, but he did not provide figures of his own. (Posted @ 12:00 PST) Kuwaiti emir to return home after political crisis KUWAIT CITY, March 18 (AFP): Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah is to cut short a private visit to Morocco and return home Tuesday following the surprising resignation of the cabinet, local media reported. The cabinet of the oil-rich emirate resigned on Monday alleging a lack of cooperation by the opposition-dominated parliament and plunged OPEC's fourth largest producer into another political crisis. (Posted @ 11:40 PST) Karbala bomb attack death toll rises to 52 KARBALA, March 18 (AFP): The death toll from a bomb attack in the Iraqi city of Karbala has risen to 52, a health official told AFP Tuesday. A bomb exploded near the shrine of Hazrat Imam Hussein in the centre of the city, on Monday. A Karbala health directorate spokesman said the death toll from the attack was now at 52, while 75 others were wounded. (Posted @ 11:10 PST) South African accuses Indian peacekeepers of rape: report NEW DELHI, March 18 (AFP): A South African woman has accused Indian peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo of raping her while on leave, the Indian Express reported Tuesday. South African police detained three Indian army officers working with UN peacekeeping forces in the central African nation on March 12 following the accusations, the report said. The men have since been released and India's defence minister A.K. Antony has asked for a report on the incident, the newspaper said. The woman said the men raped her while they were on holiday in South Africa, the report said. A South African delegation brought the matter to the Indian authorities’ attention in New Delhi last week, the report said. (Posted @ 10:10 PST) Karachi Stocks down 314.93 points: KARACHI, March 18: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 14728.47, down 314.93 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:13 PST) Forex update: KARACHI, March 18: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 63.2 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:13 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
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