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| October 06, 2008 | Monday | Shawwal 06, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Credit crisis threatens disastrous squeeze on aid Monday, 06 Oct, GENEVA: Paying hundreds of billions of dollars to rescue the world's financial industry looks set to squeeze humanitarian aid and crimp international efforts to fight disease, feed hungry children, and shelter refugees. Charitable giving and foreign aid flows are likely to dry up as the global economy sours, with rising unemployment and inflation pinching already-tight household budgets, and as big corporate bailouts push governments to the fiscal brink. Celine Charveriat, Oxfam's deputy advocacy and campaign director, warned of ‘disastrous consequences’ for poor countries if the bank crisis and related belt-tightening prompt donors to cut aid from a current $104 billion a year, as many expect. ‘Donors must not make overseas aid the first victim of the economic crisis,’ Charveriat said. (Posted @ 23:44 PST)
Six militants killed as Bajaur operation continues Monday, 06 Oct, KHAR: Security forces killed six militants during a gunfight in Khazana area of Bajaur tribal region on Sunday night amid reports that administration has launched crackdown against Afghan nationals after expiry of the three-day deadline. The Frontier Corps (FC) said that the six militants killed had disguised themselves in militia uniforms and occupied a house in Khazana area. Sources said that troops had consolidated their position in key locations and established check points. Forces backed by tanks and artillery have cleared one and a half kilometers area from Rashakai to Lowi Sam and combed the area to mop up hidden explosives. Militants positions in others areas were also attacked. The FC said that militant strongholds had been destroyed, and during the mop-up operation a large amount of weapons and Afghan currency was recovered. It added that five improvised explosive devices planted on the road were defused. (Posted @ 22:30 PST)
30 die after 2 strong quakes hit Tibet Monday, 06 Oct, BEIJING: Two earthquakes jolted the capital of China’s province of Tibet and surrounding areas Monday, killing 30 people and causing hundreds of houses to collapse, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The U.S. Geological Survey said the first quake measured magnitude 6.6 and struck at 0830 GMT, 80 kilometers west of Lhasa, more than 2,600 kilometers from Beijing. The second temblor measuring magnitude 5.1 hit about 15 minutes later, about 96 kilometers west of the Tibetan capital, it said. Xinhua said 30 people died after the first quake struck, and hundreds of houses collapsed near the epicenter. Some people were still trapped under the rubble, and soldiers and rescue workers have already been sent to the site, it said. (Posted @ 22:18 PST)
Global stocks, oil plunge as crisis fears widen Monday, 06 Oct, NEW YORK: Fears of deepening bank problems in Europe and wider economic woes around the world slammed global equity markets and pushed oil prices lower on Monday, sending investors fleeing to safe-haven investments. US and euro zone government debt gained, gold futures jumped more than 5 per cent and the yen soared across the board amid heavy selling of riskier positions. Crude prices fell below 90 dollars a barrel to their lowest in eight months at one point, before paring some losses, pressured by expectations energy demand will fall sharply due to slowing economic growth worldwide. US stocks slid at the open as the widening fallout from the credit crisis fueled jitters about the economy and corporate profits. European shares fell more than 5 per cent. ‘This is a stampede,’ said Valerie Plagnol, chief strategist at CM-CIC Securities in Paris. (Posted @ 21:28 PST)
'No consent given for US strikes inside Pakistan' Monday, 06 Oct, ISLAMABAD: The government said on Monday that President Asif Ali Zardari had not given any form of consent to the United States or allied forces to carry out strikes inside Pakistan. “The president has been saying consistently that if the coalition forces see any evidence of cross-border activity then that actionable intelligence should be shared with Pakistan immediately so we can take action on the ground. At all forums the president has clearly asked all allies and forces to respect Pakistan's territorial integrity. At no point will the president or this government compromise on Pakistan's sovereignty,” Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sherry Rehman said in a statement. The remarks came after Zardari’s interview with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) raised many eyebrows. (Posted @ 21:22 PST)
Bangladesh NGO to form new political party Monday, 06 Oct, DHAKA: A leading non-government organisation in Bangladesh said on Monday it is launching a new political party with a mission to restore democracy and reduce poverty. Proshika, which boasts of being Bangladesh's biggest NGO, will formally launch the new party, the United Citizens Movement (UCM), later this week, Proshika chairman Qazi Faruque Ahmed told reporters on Monday. ‘Poor labourers, professionals, women and freedom fighters are the blood and basic strength of our new political platform,’ he said. ‘The principal aims of the UCM will be to fight for the rights of the poor, reduce poverty, assert basic rights and to restore democratic rule.’ (Posted @ 20:34 PST)
High Court directs ministry to submit reply in Aafia case Monday, 06 Oct, ISLAMABAD: The chief justice of the Islamabad High Court has directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to determine first whether Dr Afia Siddiqui, presently detained in America, was kidnapped from Pakistan or she had been living abroad. Barrister Mohammad Iqbal Jafree while pleading the case of Dr Afia said that it seemed to him that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had not submitted a reply before the court as per the direction of the court as he had yet to receive the copy of the reply of the ministry. The petitioner maintained in the court that he had written several letters to the concerned ministry, but had not received any reply. Mansoor Ahmad, Director American Desk in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that it was not necessary for the ministry to reply to the letters written in individual capacity. Barrister Jafree meanwhile said that it appeared to him that the government had not submitted a written request for the extradition of Dr Afia and still there was a verbal discussion going on. (Posted @ 20:28 PST)
Immigrant clashes claim 10 lives in Assam Monday, 06 Oct, GUWAHATI: Tribal people armed with guns and bows and arrows raided a village in India's troubled northeast Assam state, killing three Muslim villagers in the latest clashes with Bangladeshi settlers, police said on Monday. Another seven people died in hospital after clashes over the weekend died on Monday reported Reuters. At least 43 people had lost their lives and thousands left homeless in violence that started over the weekend between indigenous Bodo tribes and Bangladeshi settlers. At least 12 people were killed by police firing. The violence is the latest communal violence to hit India. More than 1,000 federal police have been deployed in the state, but the state government says it still needs more forces to contain the violence. (Posted @ 19:58 PST)
Google, Yahoo delay search ad partnership Monday, 06 Oct, WASHINGTON: Google Inc and Yahoo Inc have decided to delay implementing a controversial search advertising partnership, Yahoo said on Friday. ‘The companies have agreed to a brief delay in implementing this agreement to continue our ongoing discussions with the (US) Department of Justice,’ Yahoo said in a statement. We have had discussions with regulators and look forward to responding to their questions about this agreement.’ Google issued a similar statement. ‘When we announced our advertising agreement with Yahoo in June we agreed to delay its implementation until October to give regulators time to look at the details. As we are still in conversation with the Department of Justice we have agreed to a brief delay in implementing the agreement while those discussions continue,’ the company said. (Posted @ 19:32 PST)
Eight suspects arrested in Darra Adamkhel Monday, 06 Oct, KOHAT: Security forces arrested eight accomplices of a local militant in a raid at a house in Darra Adamkhel, sources told Dawn on Monday. Relatives of Shah Iran, the militant who was killed in a missile strike in Miramshah the other day, buried him in Mullahkhel area. Later, security forces raided his house in Akhorwal area and picked up eight suspected militants from the hujra of the deceased. They were shifted to the Spina Thana and then to an unknown place for interrogation. (Posted @ 19:24 PST)
UN agrees Afghan war cannot be won militarily Monday, 06 Oct, KABUL: The war in Afghanistan cannot be won militarily and success is only possible through political means including dialogue between all relevant parties, the UN's top official in the country said on Monday. His comments come a day after Britain's top military commander in Afghanistan told the Sunday Times that the war could not be won and that some form of insurgency would exist even after international troops left the country. Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith said if the Taliban were willing to talk, that might be “precisely the sort of progress” needed to end the insurgency. “I've always said to those that talk about the military surge ... what we need most of all is a political surge, more political energy,” Kai Eide, the UN special envoy to Afghanistan, told news conference in Kabul. (Posted @ 19:20 PST)
Kashmiri leaders flay Zardari's remarks Monday, 06 Oct, NEW DELHI: Rejecting Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's statement that Kashmiri militants are terrorists, separatist leaders in the Kashmir Valley said he was ‘ignorant about the sub-continent's history'. Dismissing Zardari's statement, mainstream Peoples’ Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti said, ‘He is unaware about the ground situation in Kashmir,’ according to Rediff.com The National Conference, however, preferred to go though the statement before any reaction. Chairman of Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who did not hesitate to criticise the former President Parvez Musharraf for softening his stand on Kashmir issue, reacted sharply to Zardari's statement, in which he was quoted to have said that Kashmiri militants are terrorists and there was no threat to Pakistan from India. (Posted @ 19:02 PST)
Turkish planes bomb Kurdish hideout in Iraq Monday, 06 Oct, ANKARA: Turkish warplanes bombed a Kurdish rebel hideout in northern Iraq on Monday, the third air strike in retaliation for an attack that killed 15 soldiers three days ago. The military said its warplanes bombed the Avasin Basyan region of northern Iraq after spotting a group of rebels. Turkish fighter jets had struck suspected rebel hideouts in northern Iraq on Friday and Saturday. And Turkish artillery units pounded suspected rebel positions in the Avasin Basyan region Sunday, the military statement said. In a statement on its Web site, the military said that all planes involved in Monday's attack returned safely and said it took precautions to avoid civilian casualties. (Posted @ 18:46 PST)
Lashkar-i-Taiba founder flays Zardari over India Monday, 06 Oct, ISLAMABAD: The founder of one of Pakistan's most feared armed Islamist groups accused President Asif Ali Zardari of being too dovish towards India, and criticised him for referring to militants in Indian-held Kashmir as “terrorists”. Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a major militant group fighting in Indian Kashmir, described Zardari's comments as “a clear violation and digression from the consistent policy of Pakistan”. Though India and Pakistan have fought three wars since their partition in 1947, Zardari told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published on Saturday, that “India has never been a threat to Pakistan”. (Posted @ 18:40 PST)
1 in 4 mammals faces extinction: scientists Monday, 06 Oct, WASHINGTON: Conservationists have taken the first detailed look at the world's mammals in more than a decade, and the news isn't good. ‘Our results paint a bleak picture of the global status of mammals worldwide,’ the team led by Jan Schipper of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature in Gland, Switzerland, concluded. ‘We estimate that one in four species is threatened with extinction and that the population of one in two is declining,’ the researchers said in a report to be published Friday in the journal Science. The findings were being released Monday at the IUCN meeting in Barcelona, Spain. (Posted @ 18:30 PST)
Taliban reject reports of Saudi peace talks Monday, 06 Oct, KABUL: The Afghan government said Monday it was hoping for peace talks with the insurgent Taliban movement but denied a media report that a first round of negotiations took place in Saudi Arabia last month. A spokesman for the Taliban also rejected the US media report that representatives of the militia had met Afghan government officials in Mecca between September 24 and 27. Afghan religious scholars visited the Islamic country during the holy month of Ramadan and attended a dinner with King Abdullah but there were no negotiations with the Taliban, a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai said. (Posted @ 18:02 PST)
Suicide blast targets MNA's house Monday, 06 Oct, BHAKKAR: A suicide bomber blew himself outside Rasheed Akbar Nawani's house in Bhakkar, Punjab. People had been visiting the PML-N MNA for Eid when the blast occured on Monday, killing about 17 people and injuring about 15 people. Nawani has also been reported injured in the blast according to local television network reports. Teams have been sent to investigate the site while police have closed off the area. PM Gilani has strongly condemned the incident. (Posted @ 17:22 PST)
S&P downgrades Pakistan further into junk territory Monday, 06 Oct, HONG KONG: Standard & Poor's cut Pakistan's sovereign rating further into junk territory, saying the country's worsening external liquidity may imperil its ability to meet about $3 billion in upcoming debt obligations, FReuters reported. The widely expected action comes after Pakistan said on Saturday its foreign reserves fell $690 million to $8.1 billion in the week ended Sept. 27, an announcement that helped send the Pakistani rupee to a record low against the dollar on Monday. The country's central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan, said its reserves fell to $4.7 billion from $5.4 billion previously, representing a little over two months of import cover. S&P's downgrade of Pakistan was its second this year, as the country faces the prospect it will default on its debt due to dwindling foreign currency reserves. (Posted @ 17:12 PST)
2008 Nobel season kicks off with the Medicine Prize Monday, 06 Oct, Two French scientists who discovered the AIDS virus and a German who found the virus that causes cervical cancer were awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize for medicine or physiology on Monday, Oct. 6, 2008. Luc Montagnier, director of the World Foundation for AIDS Research and Prevention, and Francoise Barre-Sinoussi of the Institute Pasteur won half the prize of 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.4 million) for discovering the deadly virus that has killed millions of people since it gained notoriety in the 1980s. The two French scientists identified virus production in lymphocytes from patients in the early stages of acquired immunodeficiency and in blood from patients with late stages of the disease. The virus became known as human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. (Posted @ 16:44 PST)
Spielberg to leave Paramount Monday, 06 Oct, LOS ANGELES: Legendary Hollywood director Steven Spielberg and his longtime partner Paramount Pictures formalized their divorce on Sunday, but intend to stay good friends, announced Paramount. As part of a Hollywood trend to reach out to the booming ‘Bollywood’ movie industry, Spielberg is to form a new Hollywood-based film venture worth 1.5 billion dollars with India's Reliance ADA Group. Spielberg, director of such legendary works as ‘Jaws,’ ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark,’ ‘ET the Extraterrestial’ and the ‘Indiana Jones’ franchise, will hold a CEO position in the new venture alongside current Dreamworks' CEO and co-chairman Stacey Snider. The deal was finalized by David Geffen, co-founder with Spielberg of the Dreamworks film studio, and Reliance CEO Anil Ambani, ranked the world's sixth-richest man in 2008 by Forbes Magazine. (Posted @ 16:02 PST)
Government borrowing up 100 pct in early 08/09 KARACHI: Pakistan's government borrowing rose over 100 percent in the first eleven weeks of the fiscal year of 2008/09 (July/June), central bank data showed. The government borrowed a total of 173.23 billion rupees ($2.21 billion) from July 1 to Sept 13, all of which was covered by the central bank, Reuters reported. (Posted @ 15:03 PST)
Learning from the US financial crisis Is there some meaning – some lessons to be learned – for a developing country such as Pakistan from the financial meltdown in the United States? It is a fair question to ask, especially given the concerns it has raised and the damage it has already done in America and Europe. The United States has seen the collapse of a number of investment banks and, with the demise of Washington Mutual Bank, it has also witnessed the largest bank failure in its history. Is the crisis likely to spread to the developing world, including Pakistan? This question has two answers. (Posted @ 14:55 PST)
Poverty engulfing NWFP MORE and more people are being trapped in poverty owing to soaring food and oil prices, fragile macroeconomic conditions and mass displacements as a result of ongoing military operations against insurgents in different parts of the NWFP. Wheat is the staple food of over 25 million people of the province with a consumption of around 3.412 million metric tones annually, 90 per cent of which is imported. The consumers are also vulnerable to market manipulation. (Posted @ 14:07 PST)
Recruitments in health dept launced KARACHI: The Sindh health department has planned to start the recruitment of hundreds of skilled paramedical and administrative personnel for government health institutions this week from October 9th. Sources in the provincial health department said that the top hierarchy in the government believed that public sector hospitals and health-care facilities badly needed doctors and nurses as well as technical and administrative staff and a fresh recruitment process should be launched. (Posted @ 13:47 PST)
Numb to violence NOT only has the spectre of violence across Pakistan terrorised the population, it has, conversely, also brutalised it. Far from taking steps to ward off its pernicious effects on mind and body, we have come to accept blood and gore as part of our daily life. Routine crime, armed guards, suicide bombings and the presence of millions of illegal weapons in the country are the most obvious manifestations of the culture of violence that now defines our society. (Posted @ 13:40 PST)
Land reforms in Sindh The government of Sindh has announced the distribution of 21,2864 acres (136784 barrage, 45358 katcha, 307, 57 Barani) land among landless haris (farmers), preferably amongst the women workers in almost all the districts of Sindh, under a land grant policy. In the first phase, the scheme covers 160 union councils and those districts where state land is available for free distribution. The government has also lifted a ban on the grant of state land amongst haris in accordance with land grant policies. (Posted @ 13:19 PST)
Cheap roti, anyone? BETWEEN supply and demand lies the government. This is how the market for wheat and wheat flour has been operating in Punjab for decades. This equation is increasingly becoming unsustainable, if not redundant. The reason is simple: spending money raised through taxes to keep the prices of commodities under control is a flawed mechanism that seldom benefits the consumers. Two latest initiatives by the Punjab government explain why. (Posted @ 12:52 PST)
Medical Notes: Chasing Polio The Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) was introduced to the world in 1955 through the efforts of Dr Jonas Salk, states a recent issue of the Journal of American Medical Association. Further work by Dr Albert Sabin brought about the development of the Oral Polio Vaccine in 1961. Polio virus type 2 was eradicated in 1999. Routine childhood vaccination has been very successful in developed countries, but is slack the developing world. Supplemental mass administration of OPV to support routine administration brought about polio eradication in 1985 in Cuba, Brazil, Mexico and Costa Rica. In 1994 the Regions of the Americas were declared polio free. Similar successful strategies lead to 37 Western Pacific countries to reach a polio free status in 2000. European Region was declared polio free in 2002. The four endemic countries which have not been certified are Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Nigeria. (Posted @ 12:40 PST)
Warren of tunnels a lifeline for besieged Gaza RAFAH: Smuggling is so rife across the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt that the number of tunnels along which traffickers bring in contraband has swollen into the hundreds, their operators claim. “The ground at Rafah is a real Swiss cheese. If there were an earthquake the whole lot would cave in,” the boss of one of the tunnels told AFP. (Posted @ 12:32 PST)
Curfew in occupied Kashmir to prevent protest rally SRINAGAR: Police warned Monday they would shoot any violators of an indefinite curfew imposed in occupied Kashmir to prevent a pro-independence rally. Thousands of police and paramilitary soldiers in riot gear drove through neighborhoods and went to people's homes warning them to stay indoors, said Ghulam Nabi, a resident of Nowhatta district in Srinagar. (Posted @ 12:08 PST)
Kyrgyzstan quake kills 58 BISHKEK: A weekend earthquake killed 58 people in Kyrgyzstan and destroyed dozens of houses in the rural south of the Central Asian nation, the emergencies ministry said on Monday. The earthquake, measuring 6.3 according to the US Geological Survey, jolted an area between Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — Central Asia's most densely populated corner prone to instability and ethnic tension. (Posted @ 11:15 PST)
Rupee sinks to another record low KARACHI: Import payments drove the rupee to a record low of 78.65 to the dollar in early trade on Monday, amid gloom over the deepening economic morass and acute insecurity in the country, dealers said. The rupee was quoted at 78.47/57 to the dollar at 10:08 a.m. The previous low was made at 78.55 on September 22. (Posted @ 11:13 PST)
Monthly revision of power tariff by Nepra ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority has decided to revise electricity tariffs every month and has asked all distribution companies of the Pakistan Electric Power Company, Wapda and Karachi Electric Supply Company to submit their power purchase costs by the 15th of every month to ensure timely calculation of tariff. Distribution companies are now required to submit their calculations in average sale rate due to variation in power purchase price billed by the Central Power Purchase Agency (CPPA) according to the prescribed transfer prices. (Posted @ 10:55 PST)
Capitalism’s crisis, lessons for Pakistan A crisis is usually considered something bad that either needs to be averted or overcome. However, a period of crisis can sometimes be an ideal opportunity for soul-searching and finding creative solutions to seemingly intractable problems. A crisis may be necessary to bring about much-needed change in taken-for granted assumptions about how we order our collective existence as a nation. (Posted @ 10:30 PST)
Suicide blast kills 22 in Sri Lanka COLOMBO: A suicide blast in the north-central Sri Lankan town of Anuradhapura killed 22 people including an opposition leader who is a former army general, Sri Lankan police said on Monday. ‘A suicide bomber went inside and exploded. My senior officer there said 22 people were killed and among the dead were Janaka Perera and his wife,’ Deputy Inspector General K.P.P. Pathirana told Reuters. (Posted @ 10:04 PST)
The genius of Jhang Every October, the Nobel Academy announces the names of individuals whose genius has earned them its coveted prize. The winners are awarded the prize by the King of Sweden in a formal ceremony. The prize in physics garners much attention, focusing as it does on the fundamental forces of nature. (Posted @ 10:04 PST)
Germany crush Pakistan 6-1, win Hamburg Masters HAMBURG: World and Olympic champions Germany showed their scoring fire-power on the final day of four-nation Hamburg Masters Hockey Tournament at Hamburg on Sunday by trouncing Pakistan 6-1. The Germans proved too good in the first half as they forged 5-0 ahead. (Posted @ 09:35 PST)
Tribal volunteers launch crackdown on militants KHAR: Hundreds of tribal volunteers marched in Mamond and Wara tehsils, strongholds of militants in Bajaur Agency, on Sunday and warned pro-Taliban elements to either surrender or leave the area. The armed tribesmen did not encounter any resistance. (Posted @ 09:06 PST)
Taliban ‘furious’ over US strike in N. Waziristan DERA ISMAIL KHAN: The Taliban are furious about the latest US missile strike in Pakistan, indicating a senior militant may be among two dozen people killed, officials and residents said. In the case of Friday’s American strike in the North Waziristan, government officials have been notably quiet. The Taliban, however, were reportedly responding with fury. (Posted @ 07:37 PST)
Haqqani hopes for better Pakistan-US relations ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Ambassador to United States Hussain Haqqani says he is focusing on encouraging continuity and predictability in bilateral relations between Pakistan and United States. “For too long, our relationship has been one between certain individuals in the US and Pakistan. This has created anti-Americanism,” the ambassador said in an interview to the Washington Mutual magazine published in its October issue. (Posted @ 05:37 PST)
Smaller provinces still mistreated: Mengal QUETTA: Veteran Baloch Nationalist leader, Sardar Ataullah Mengal, has underlined the need for using all possible political options to secure the rights of the Baloch people. Talking to a group of newsmen at his residence in Wadh on Sunday, he said: “The Parliamentary form of struggle should not be left for the enemies who can use the Parliament, at the provincial and federal level, in framing anti-Baloch laws which will be detrimental to the Baloch interests the world over”. (Posted @ 04:54 PST)
Obama accuses McCain of sordid attacks ASHEVILLE: Barack Obama hammered Republican White House rival John McCain Sunday for wanting to “turn the page”on the US economic crisis and engage in low-blow personal attacks a month from election day. The Democrat hit back with a new television spot after McCain's running mate Sarah Palin accused Obama of consorting with “terrorists,” in a blistering attack on his ties to former anti-Vietnam War militant William Ayers. (Posted @ 04:14 PST)
50-billion-euro rescue package for German bank BERLIN: The German government, the Bundesbank central bank and market regulators agreed with the private banking sector Sunday on a new 50-billion-euro rescue package for stricken bank Hypo Real Estate, the finance ministry said. On top of a public-private deal last month to extend a 35-billion-euro credit line to Germany's fourth biggest bank, the financial sector will offer an additional 15 billion euros, the ministry said in a statement. (Posted @ 04:06 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Editor: Abbas Nasir
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