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| October 09, 2008 | Thursday | Shawwal 9, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Carter, Bishop Tutu see Cyprus peace deal near Thursday, 09 Oct, NICOSIA: War-divided Cyprus is close to reaching a peace settlement, former US President Jimmy Carter and other members of an international peace initiative said Thursday. Carter is visiting Cyprus with South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former Algerian Foreign Minister Lakhdar Brahimi. They are part of an organization known as The Elders, a group of 12 Nobel laureates and human rights activists created to help resolve global crises. Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat relaunched reunification talks last month and are due to hold their fourth meeting Friday. (Posted @ 23:38 PST)
Jagger and Lennon wanted money, not revolution Thursday, 09 Oct, LONDON: Pop culture icons John Lennon and Mick Jagger were clever capitalists who cashed in on the mood of the 1960s, not spokesmen for a generation seeking revolution, a British academic said Thursday. Cambridge University historian David Fowler said that so-called ‘Swinging London’ was in fact beyond most normal people, ‘less a golden age for the nation's young than a celebration of wealth by its social elite.’ ‘The 1960s are often viewed as the point at which youth culture in this country exploded, but in many ways they were the years in which the idea began to fall apart,’ said Fowler. ‘Groups like The Beatles were basically capitalists interested in enriching themselves through the music industry. They did about as much to represent the interests of the nation's young people as The Spice Girls did in the 1990s.’ (Posted @ 23:24 PST)
Wall Street effect: Bollywood tightens its purse strings Thursday, 09 Oct, MUMBAI: As the world reels under the weight of the worst financial crisis in the US since the Great Depression, the ripple effect is being felt in some unexpected quarters - the glitzy, starry world of Bollywood. With banks becoming weary of giving out credit and lending to each other, Bollywood too is tightening its purse strings, citing lesser funds and an increasingly cautious audience, for whom entertainment could go down the priority list as they become more thrifty spenders. (Posted @ 23:14 PST)
US drone fires missile into North Waziristan Thursday, 09 Oct, MIRANSHAH: A suspected US drone fired a missile on Thursday into Pakistan's North Waziristan, a tribal region on the Afghan border, a Reuters witness said. ‘It was a huge blast,’ said the journalist, who saw and heard the explosion from the rooftop of his house in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, shortly after 10:00 p.m. (1600 GMT). ‘Initial reports indicate that three people were killed in a missile attack,’ an official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Local TV channels were reporting much higher figures. The target was in Tappi, a village 20 km east of Miranshah that has been hit before in recent days. (Posted @ 22:56 PST)
Sea levels could rise one metre by 2100 Thursday, 09 Oct, BERLIN: Sea levels could rise one metre (3.3 feet) by 2100, a leading German research institute said Thursday, much more than even the most pessimistic projection by the UN climate panel. 'We should prepare for a rise of sea levels of one metre this century,' said Joachim Schellnhuber, head of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), which advises the German government on environmental policy. (Posted @ 22:50 PST)
Foreign faces loom large over Bollywood Thursday, 09 Oct, MUMBAI: Bollywood's junior artistes and workers are not only victims of irregular pay and lack of payment structure, but also face what is becoming a global problem - foreigners taking over. ‘Producers bring in foreign extras and junior artistes because they look nicer, and our people lose out on their jobs,’ said Dharmesh Tiwari, general secretary of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees, the umbrella union for Bollywood employees. A three-day strike by more than 100,000 junior artistes and workers affiliated to the FWICE was called off late on Friday, after four producers' bodies promised timely payment and proper recruitment of extras. (Posted @ 22:44 PST)
Scientists make ultrathin superconducting films Thursday, 09 Oct, CHICAGO: US researchers have developed ultrathin films that when sandwiched together form a superconductor, an advance that could lead to a new class of fast, power-saving electronics. The films can be used at relatively high temperatures for superconductors, making them easier to handle and produce, they said on Wednesday. ‘What we have done is we have put together two materials, neither of which is a superconductor, and we found their interface -- where they touch -- is superconducting,’ said physicist Ivan Bozovic of the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory. ‘This superconducting layer is extremely thin. It is thinner than 1 nanometer, which is 1 billionth of a meter,’ added Bozovic, whose findings appear in the journal Nature. (Posted @ 21:44 PST)
IAEA inspectors barred from North Korean nuclear site Thursday, 09 Oct, VIENNA: The UN atomic watchdog's inspectors at North Korea's facilities at Yongbyon are barred from the site's nuclear installations, the agency announced Thursday. ‘The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has today informed IAEA inspectors that, effective immediately, access to facilities at Yongbyon would no longer be permitted,’ the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement. ‘They are no longer allowed to carry out the monitoring and verification of any nuclear activity whatsoever,’ IAEA spokesman Marc Vidricaire also told AFP. (Posted @ 20:34 PST)
Money market freeze-up unaffected by measures Thursday, 09 Oct, PARIS: Frozen money markets, at the centre of the global financial meltdown, turned a cold shoulder to massive new measures to break the ice-jam on Thursday when two key rates remained around record high levels. The so-called Libor rate, which determines vast amounts of lending around the world but which has almost seized up, rose to 4.7500 percent from 4.5237 on Wednesday. That rate, the London interbank offered rate, is for money borrowed for up to three months in dollars. (Posted @ 20:16 PST)
Global markets improve amid bank rescues, rate cuts Thursday, 09 Oct, LONDON: European stock markets rebounded slightly on Thursday as governments rushed to protect ailing banks and their savers, while Asian shares ended mixed after world indices endured sharp falls a day earlier. ‘Trading will remain fragile for some considerable time, but we can hope that the worst of the panic might now be over,’ said Simon Denham, managing director at Capital Spreads in London. Heading into afternoon trade the London stock market rose 0.61 percent, off earlier gains of more than three percent, and after closing down more than five percent on Wednesday. Paris rose 1.95 percent in early afternoon deals and Frankfurt gained 1.30 percent. (Posted @ 19:20 PST)
Ponting ends India lean trot with crafty century Thursday, 09 Oct, BANGALORE: Skipper Ricky Ponting ended his run drought on Indian soil with a superb century as Australia came back strongly after a shock start in the first Test on Thursday. Ponting hit 123 to steer the tourists away from the first-over dismissal of Matthew Hayden to a more comfortable 254-4 by stumps on the opening day at the Chinnaswamy stadium here. Ponting, who won the toss and elected to take first strike in good batting conditions, put on 166 for the second wicket with Simon Katich after Hayden was caught behind off the third ball of the match. Left-handed Katich justified his selection ahead of Phil Jaques by following up back-to-back centuries on the preceding tour of the West Indies earlier this year with a dour 66. (Posted @ 18:54 PST)
Frenchman Le Clezio clinches Nobel for literature Thursday, 09 Oct, STOCKHOLM: French writer Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, whose early work in the 1960s was acclaimed for its wordplay and imagery and who later delved into childhood themes, won the 2008 Nobel prize for literature on Thursday. The Swedish Academy, which decides the winner of the prestigious 10 million Swedish crown ($1.4 million) prize, praised Le Clezio for his adventurous novels, essays and children's literature. The award marked the first time a French writer has won the Nobel literature prize since 2000, when it was won by Chinese writer Gao Xingjian, a political refugee who had settled in France and become a French citizen. French-born writer Claude Simon also won it in 1985. (Posted @ 18:50 PST)
Bangladesh upset New Zealand in first ODI Thursday, 09 Oct, DHAKA: Zunaed Siddique and Mashrafe Mortaza scripted Bangladesh's first-ever victory over New Zealand in one-day cricket with a comfortable seven-wicket win in the opening match on Thursday. Left-hander Siddique scored a brilliant 85 for his maiden half-century to anchor his team's successful chase of a 202-run target in 45.3 overs at Shere Bangla National Stadium after paceman Mortaza took 4-44 to jolt the tourists. Mohammad Ashraful notched a return-to-form 60 not out to guide Bangladesh to their first win over the Black Caps in 12 one-dayers, as the home team skipper and Siddique added 109 for the third wicket to upset their formidable opponents. (Posted @ 18:32 PST)
Arab shares rebound after turbulent week Thursday, 09 Oct, KUWAIT CITY: Most Arab stock markets rebounded on Thursday, bolstered by interest rate cuts and infusion of fresh liquidity, following this week's battering by concerns over the global financial crisis. Six of the seven Gulf stock markets showed moderate to strong gains at the close though all of them finished the week sharply down after panic about the global financial meltdown took a heavy toll on share prices. The seven Gulf markets have shed more than 160 billion dollars of their capitalisation this week. The Kuwait Stock Exchange, the second largest in the Arab world, finished up 3.8 percent at 11,905.70 points, spurred by reports of a massive government package worth more than 20 billion dollars to assist the financial system. (Posted @ 18:28 PST)
US to press NATO to attack Afghan drug trade Thursday, 09 Oct, BUDAPEST: The United States will ask NATO on Thursday to allow troops in Afghanistan to target the lucrative opium trade that funds the Taliban insurgency and encourages government corruption. 'We need to have the opportunity to go after drug lords and drug laboratories and try and interrupt this flow of cash to the Taliban,' US Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Budapest. The Pentagon chief supports a proposal from NATO's supreme allied commander, Gen John Craddock, to give military forces approval to attack laboratories, trafficking networks and drug lords. Crop eradication is not part of Craddock's proposal. While allies have been considering the plan, some oppose any NATO involvement in a counter-narcotics campaign for fear it could worsen a security situation which has deteriorated over two years. (Posted @ 18:24 PST)
NFC as a healer? Thursday, 09 Oct, THERE is considerable excitement in provincial capitals about the first meeting of the new National Finance Commission (NFC), which is due later this month. All parties, Punjab and Sindh in particular, are reported to be preparing for a battle royal. The only point on which all provinces agree is to get the provincial share of the divisible pool raised to 60 per cent of the total collection, according to one report. But if that is all the NFC is going to do, its performance will be no better than the 2006 award when Gen Musharraf, as the supreme arbiter, had resolved the deadlock in the commission by nominally raising the provincial share and mandating an annual one per cent increase. Under that formula the provinces will be entitled to 50 per cent of the resources in the divisible pool in 2010-11. (Posted @ 17:58 PST)
Blast kills US-allied militia chief in Iraq Thursday, 09 Oct, BAQUBA: An Iraqi Sunni militia leader working with US forces was killed in a roadside blast along with two of his children and a nephew on Thursday north of Baghdad, security officials said. Abbas Khudair, who heads a Sahwa, or Awakening group, that is paid by American forces, was targeted as he drove with his family in the Al-Uthaim area in Baquba, the capital of Diyala province, officials said. An AFP photographer said the bodies of Khudair, his son and daughter and the nephew were taken to the local hospital, where five more relatives were being treated for blast wounds. Sahwa members are mostly former insurgents who fought US and Iraqi forces after dictator Saddam Hussein's fall in 2003, but helped curb violence since late 2006 after they sided with the Americans to battle Al-Qaeda. (Posted @ 17:56 PST)
Archeology DG gives stark synopsis of Makli crisis KARACHI: The land of the Makli necropolis will be resurveyed and its boundaries will be properly marked to keep encroachers at bay, an official told Dawn on Tuesday. Archaeology Department Director-General Dr Fazaldad Kakar, who on Monday visited the Makli necropolis, said he was not satisfied with an earlier survey conducted by the revenue department and other officials. (Posted @ 17:06 PST)
Quetta blast targets Baloch Constabulary QUETTA: A blast has been heard near the barracks of the Baloch Constabulary in Quetta, private television channels reported. No casualties have yet been reported. The bomb was allegedly planted in a car near the Constabulary headquarters. (Posted @ 15: 58 PST)
Seven killed in Dir DIR: Four policemen and three prisoners were killed when a remote controlled bomb targeted a prison van on Thursday. (Posted @ 15:32 PST)
Pakistan names new finance chief amid payment crisis KARACHI: Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani appointed a new finance ministry supremo on Wednesday as a balance of payments crisis brewed in the country. The Pakistani rupee sank to a record low of 80.30 to the dollar due to unrelenting pressure from import payments and an erosion of confidence in an economy facing multiple problems. (Posted @ 14:07 PST)
In-camera parliamentary briefing resumes ISLAMABAD: Pakistani lawmakers gathered on Thursday for the question-and-answer portion of a rare private briefing from military officials about the domestic threat posed by al Qaeda and Taliban militants entrenched in regions bordering Afghanistan. The civilian government called the joint Parliament session in an effort to build a national consensus on the Muslim nation's role in the US-led war on terror. (Posted @ 13:26 PST)
Eight dead in bombing at Islamabad police complex ISLAMABAD: At least eight people were killed in a car bombing at the main police complex in Islamabad on Thursday, police said. 'Initial reports are that a car bomb exploded within the Police Lines complex. Eight people were killed,' a senior Islamabad police official said on condition of anonymity. The targeted area is the main police complex in Islamabad, containing training and residential facilities for police officers. Thousands of police are based at the centre. (Posted @ 13:05 PST)
Bomb blast in Islamabad, several injured ISLAMABAD: A bomb exploded in the anti-terrorist wing barrack in Islamabad's Sector H-11 Thursday, wounding several, private television channels reported. One wall of the building collapsed as a result of the explosion. (Posted @ 13:05 PST)
Stuck in a rabbit hole Years ago, a well-to-do Pakistani cousin met a not-so-well-off Indian cousin in Canada. The meeting happened in the penthouse of a fancy hotel where the Pakistani was staying with her fabulously rich banker husband. The Indian, who worked with a local human rights group, happened to be leading an employees’ strike at the same hotel. Asked what he was doing in Canada for a living, the Indian explained he organised workers to fight for their rights. 'But all this you could have done in India,' said the Pakistani passing him a plate of cheese and caviar. (Posted @ 11:34 PST)
Pakistani air strike inflicts 'heavy militant casualties' ISLAMABAD: Pakistani fighter jets and helicopter gunships Thursday destroyed a militant facility in the restive northwest, inflicting heavy casualties, security officials said. The air strike targeted a militant stronghold in Piochar, a village in the Swat valley, which has been the site of numerous clashes and bombings since last year. (Posted @ 11:10 PST)
Forgotten by the world Last week’s UN Security Council meeting on the issue of Palestine caused hardly a stir, for it was seen as a mere public relations exercise. But it did reinforce the pervading sense of frustration and apathy among Palestinians, who could not but lament the convenience with which their fundamental right to a viable, independent state appears forgotten by the international community. (Posted @ 09:37 PST)
War briefing It remains to be seen whether Wednesday’s joint session of parliament that heard a top general on the Fata situation helps evolve a national consensus on how the war against terrorism is to be conducted. The war against terrorism is Pakistan’s own war. Those who doubt this should perhaps revisit the hulk of the Islamabad Marriott and recall the agony of the dead and the dying on that Ramazan evening on September 20. (Posted @ 08:46 PST)
Anti-US bias in Nobel Literature announcement? STOCKHOLM: The Swedish Academy will announce the winner of the Nobel Literature Prize on Thursday, amid critics' charges that anti-American bias was blocking literary figures such as Philip Roth from clinching the award. The list of nominees is never disclosed, leaving observers to speculate wildly up until the moment the Academy's permanent secretary Horace Engdahl announces the laureate at 01:00 p.m. (Posted @ 08:32 PST)
Gitmo techniques applied on US soil: rights groups WASHINGTON: Internal documents show the US military exported the 'brutal interrogation techniques' from Guantanamo prison and applied them to three terror suspects in US jails, civil rights groups said Wednesday. The so-called 'Guantanamo protocols' — sleep and sensory deprivation, prolonged isolation and death threats — have been applied to mainland prisons despite attempts by some military personnel to improve harsh conditions, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Law Clinic at Yale Law School said in a statement. (Posted @ 07:06 PST)
US court blocks Uighurs' release from Guantanamo WASHINGTON: A federal appeals court on Wednesday temporarily blocked the release of 17 Chinese Muslims held at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The appeals court granted the Bush administration's emergency request for a stay of a federal judge's order that the members of the Uighur ethnic group be released into the United States at the end of this week. (Posted @ 07:04 PST)
Will briefing the Parliament yield any real results? ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's incoming spy chief showed lawmakers images of militants slaughtering people Wednesday in a rare, private briefing on the country's battle against Taliban and al-Qaida fighters in its tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, attendees said. The government called the special session of parliament as it sought political unity to stabilize this key US ally in the war on terror. (Posted @ 05:38 PST)
Anti-religious film preaches to converted DALLAS: In Bill Maher's new film 'Religulous,' the comedian says he wants his fellow non-believers to 'come out of the closet' to counter what he views as religion's dangerous influence on the world. Judging from reviews and audience reaction in some U.S. theaters this past weekend, it may be that all Maher has done with the movie that skewers Christianity, Islam and Judaism is preached to his own choir. (Posted @ 04:24 PST)
Finance ministry shrugs off possibility of default LAHORE: Federal finance ministry officials shrug off reports of Pakistan’s possible default on its foreign obligation over the next several months as mere rumours. But they also don’t see dollars flowing into the country any time soon. ‘This is all hot air,’ a senior finance ministry official, who requested anonymity, said of speculations that Pakistan could default on its foreign repayment obligation when they become due in February if it didn’t receive immediate bilateral and multilateral assistance to shore up its foreign currency reserves. (Posted @ 04:41 PST)
Scientists map genomes of malaria parasites WASHINGTON: Scientists have mapped the genomes of the parasite that causes most cases of malaria outside Africa and a monkey parasite that is emerging as an important cause of malaria in people in Southeast Asia. This information should help guide efforts to develop new drugs and vaccines to fight the mosquito-borne disease, two teams of researchers wrote in the journal Nature on Wednesday. (Posted @ 02:46 PST)
Devolution in Pakistan: Reform or Regression? ISLAMABAD, Oct 8: The devolution plan of the former president Gen ® Pervez Musharaf was aimed to weaken the civil service’s elite district management group (DMG) and pave way for the army to take over administrative powers at every level. Targeting the DMG was also an attempt to capitalize on the division within the civilian bureaucracy in order to expand direct military control over administration, says the International Crises Group Report. (Posted @ 02:41 PST)
Government to finally launch BISP to help the poor SLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari will formally launch the ‘Benazir Income Support Programme’ today (Thursday) to provide first-ever direct cash relief of Rs1000 per household to some 3 million poorest of the poor of the country to off-set negative effects of the rocketing prices of food items, unemployment and the under-paid labourers. BISP announced in the national budget in June was twice delayed as earlier it was to be launched on August 14 and then before Eid ul Fitr. (Posted @ 02:18 PST)
UN backs Serbia in judicial move on Kosovo UNITED NATIONS: The UN General Assembly on Wednesday approved Serbia's request to ask a UN court if Kosovo's secession was legal, a move many Western states fear will slow down Kosovo's integration into the world community. It is expected that the International Court of Justice in The Hague will take one to two years to issue its opinion. Belgrade says seeking neutral judicial advice will help ease tensions in the region, but Kosovo's supporters say it will slow down Pristina's integration into the world community. (Posted @ 01:51 PST)
Government refuses to pass oil relief to consumers ISLAMABAD: Though crude oil price in the international market has dropped to below $80 a barrel from $100, the government has no intention to pass on this relief to domestic consumers when it will review prices of petroleum products on October 16, sources told Dawn on Wednesday. During the fortnight review of petroleum prices on September 31, the government had kept prices unchanged while it was expected to announce Rs5 per liter reduction in price of petrol. (Posted @ 01:23 PST)
Maulana Fazlullah issues ultimatum to government MINGORA: Tehrik-e-Taliban Swat chief Maulana Fazlullah has offered amnesty to all those political leaders and government functionaries who stop resistance to Taliban activities in the region. The hardliner cleric, in his address on his private FM Radio from an undisclosed location in Swat on Wednesday morning, warned that those legislators, politicians, and other pro-military operation elements would be made glaring example for others. (Posted @ 01:02 PST)
Turkey extends mandate for Iraq operations ANKARA: Turkey's parliament on Wednesday approved a government request to extend a mandate to launch military operations against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, days after a cross-border attack killed 17 soldiers. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and the military have pledged to step up a campaign to crush separatist guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) based in Iraq after Friday's attack, the deadliest against the military in a year. (Posted @ 12:58 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Editor: Abbas Nasir
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