|
| November 21, 2008 | Friday | Ziqa'ad 22, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Uproar in National Assembly over 'Pakhtunkhawa' Friday, 21 Nov, ISLAMABAD, Nov 21: An uproar in the National Assembly on Friday pointed to a steep road ahead for the PPP-led coalition government's plan to name of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) as “Pakhtunkhawa”. Some key members of the two main opposition parties, Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q), briefly put aside sharp differences between their own organizations to unite against even mentioning the NWFP as “Pakhtunkhawa” (land of Pakhtuns, or Pashtuns) in parliamentary proceedings until exponents of the idea could get Pakistan’s constitution amended to give the province a new name. (Posted @ 21:46 PST)
Government approves increase in gas prices Friday, 21 Nov, ISLAMABAD: As winter starts to take the whole country in its grip, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has approved a per unit increase of Rs20.56 and Rs18.55 in gas supplied by the SNGPL and SSGCL respectively. The move has come within six days of the reduction announced by the government in petrol and diesel prices. (Posted @ 21:28 PST)
Bangladesh batsmen, weather hold up South Africa Friday, 21 Nov, BLOEMFONTAIN: Determined batting and heavy rain stopped South Africa's push for victory on the third day of the first Test against Bangladesh at Springbok Park on Friday. Bangladesh were 67 for three in their second innings when the umpires took the players off the field 26 minutes before the scheduled lunch break because of a rapidly approaching electrical storm. (Posted @ 19:43 PST)
Pakistan jets kill 14 Taliban militants Friday, 21 Nov, KHAR: Pakistani fighter jets killed 14 Taliban militants Friday when they bombarded hideouts in Bajaur tribal area, officials said. The rebels were killed in two areas of Bajaur district, scene of an ongoing military operation against militants, local government official Mohammad Jamil said. ‘The airstrike killed 14 militants and wounded 10 others,’ Jamil told AFP. (Posted @ 19:10 PST)
Military convoy attacked near Miramshah Friday, 21 Nov, MIRAMSHAH: A military convoy was attacked with a remote-controlled bomb near Miramshah in the North Waziristan tribal region on Friday, wounding two soldiers, officials said. The convoy was heading from its garrison in Bannu to Miramshah when one of the vehicles hit a roadside bomb near Pirkali area, some 10 kms from here. The vehicle was partially damaged. (Posted @ 18:57 PST)
Pakistani boy released from Indian jail Friday, 21 Nov, LAHORE: A Pakistani boy detained in an Indian jail since August this year was released by Indian authorities and returned home on Friday. Nasir Sultan, 15, returned through the Wagah Border on Friday, where his father Sultan Zareen and representatives of the Ansar Burney Trust were present to receive him. The Indian government’s case against teenager, who had been in Indian jail since August under the Foreigners Act, was dropped after hectic efforts by the Ansar Burney Trust. (Posted @ 18:26 PST)
Pakistani rupee ends flat, steadied by IMF deal Friday, 21 Nov, KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee ended flat on Friday, steadied by expectations that the first tranche of a $7.6 billion loan will be released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next week. The rupee was quoted closing at 79.25/35 to the dollar compared with Thursday's close of 79.30/35. The emergency loan should help the rupee stabilise, at least in the short-term, after a sharp depreciation this year as a balance of payments crisis developed, dealers said. (Posted @ 17:33 PST)
Afghan army base hit by suicide attack Friday, 21 Nov, KABUL: Three civilians were killed and four Afghan soldiers were wounded Friday when a suicide car bomb exploded in front of an army base in southern Afghanistan, officials said. The blast occurred in Shahjoy district of Zabul province, provincial vice governor Gulab Shah Alikhil told AFP. ‘The driver of a vehicle blew himself up in front of the (Afghan army) base, killing three civilians who were employees queueing to enter. Four soldiers were also wounded in the explosion,’ he said. (Posted @ 16:54 PST)
Troops patrol Kashmir to thwart protests Friday, 21 Nov, SRINAGAR: India deployed thousands of troops in Kashmir's main city on Friday and erected barricades in what amounted to an undeclared curfew to thwart planned protests against ongoing state elections. Police and soldiers in riot gear patrolled deserted streets, littered with dry brown leaves, in Srinagar, the capital of the mainly Muslim Kashmir Valley, and warned residents to stay indoors. ‘We are sick and tired of this, every second day they impose curfew,’ said 27-year-old bank employee, Tania Khan. (Posted @ 14:18 PST)
Baghdad locked down for Sadr demo against pact Friday, 21 Nov, BAGHDAD: Iraqi forces shut streets in Baghdad and placed snipers on rooftops on Friday before a protest by followers of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr against a pact allowing U.S. troops to remain for three more years. Scores of soldiers with armoured vehicles and sniffer dogs blocked off Saadoun Street through the centre of the capital ahead of the march after Friday prayers later in the day. (Posted @ 13:31 PST)
Blast punctuates sectarian violence in D I Khan Friday, 21 Nov, DERA ISMAIL KHAN: A bomb blast killed at least seven people and wounded 40 at the funeral for a Shia Muslim on Friday in the northwest Pakistani town of Dera Ismail Khan, a hospital doctor told Reuters. The attack sparked an outbreak of shooting around the hospital where the dead and wounded were brought, and police fired tear gas in an attempt to restore order, according to journalists at the scene. 'We have seven people dead and 40 wounded,' Ashiq Saleem, medical superintendent of city's main government hospital told Reuters. The funeral was for a man killed on Thursday, but a Shia cleric was also killed on Friday morning before the funeral. (Posted @ 12:27 PST)
China says earthquake school toll over 19,000 Friday, 21 Nov, BEIJING: Schools that collapsed during China's May earthquake killed more than 19,000 people, nearly a quarter of the total deaths, an official said on Friday, giving the first government estimate. The deaths of children, many buried under ruins of shoddily built classrooms while nearby buildings withstood the tremors, has been the most controversial aspect of the disaster. The 7.9 magnitude quake killed more than 80,000 people and horrified China but spurred both government and private individuals into a largely effective and widely praised response. (Posted @ 12:13 PST)
Five dead, two missing in Philippine landslide Friday, 21 Nov, MONKAYO: Five people were killed and at least two others were missing after a landslide demolished part of a shanty town in the southern Philippines, officials said Friday. The bodies of the five were recovered after they were buried in a landslide near the mountain town of Monkayo, said town councillor Glenda Veralino. An earlier report said the landslide occurred near Sitio Dipo. Three of the dead were believed to be children, according to civil defence official Antonio Clomo. (Posted @ 11:56 PST)
CIA involved in shooting down of missionary plane Friday, 21 Nov, WASHINGTON: The CIA obstructed inquiries into its role in the shooting down of an aircraft carrying a family of US missionaries in Peru in 2001, the agency's inspector general has concluded. The inspector-general's report said a CIA-backed programme in Peru targeting drug runners was so poorly run that many suspect aircraft were shot down by Peruvian air force jets without proper checks being made first. (Posted @ 11:46 PST)
Two officials commit suicide in China quake zone Friday, 21 Nov, BEIJING: Two officials in southwest China's quake zone have committed suicide, leading psychologists to warn anxiety and overwork may be pushing people there to the limit, state media said Friday. He Zonghua, a 40-year-old employee at a human resources department, leapt from the 15th floor of a hotel building on Wednesday in the city of Mianyang, Sichuan province, the China Daily reported. He had suffered from severe depression, with colleagues saying he complained of insomnia and bad health, according to the Xinhua news agency. (Posted @ 09:48 PST)
World oil prices fall further below 50 dollars Friday, 21 Nov, SINGAPORE: World oil prices fell further below 50 dollars on Friday -- at levels unseen in more than three years -- on growing fears a worldwide recession could ravage energy demand, analysts said. New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for January delivery, dropped 88 cents to 48.54 dollars a barrel. The December contract plunged 4.00 dollars a barrel before ending at a closing price of 49.62 on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday, when it expired. The contract earlier hit an intraday low of 48.64, a level last seen in May 2005. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
UN to conduct fact-finding mission to Afghanistan Friday, 21 Nov, UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council on Saturday will go on a fact-finding mission in Afghanistan to evaluate the ongoing situation in a country wracked by 30 years of war and violence and considered a major global security threat, AFP reported. Headed by Italy's UN Ambassador, Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata, the delegation includes representatives of the 15 council members, including Afghan-born US Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad. (Posted @ 07:50 PST)
British companies keen to invest in power sector Friday, 21 Nov, ISLAMABAD: After a green signal from International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout package to Pakistan, friendly countries have started looking for lucrative investment opportunities in the country. British High Commissioner in Pakistan Robert Brinkley held a series of meetings with various economy related ministers on Thursday and assured them that the United Kingdom would help Pakistan access European Union markets. He also said the British companies wanted to expand investment portfolio in Pakistan. (Posted @ 06:03 PST)
Bush, Olmert to meet, review peace efforts Friday, 21 Nov, WASHINGTON: President George W. Bush will meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday to review Middle East peace efforts that the US leader had once hoped would produce an agreement before he left office. Both leaders are leaving office in the next few months, Bush will leave the White House on Jan. 20 and Olmert is Israel's caretaker prime minister pending an election in February. 'The president looks forward to discussing with the prime minister the strong bilateral relationship between the United States and Israel, our continuing, mutual efforts to bring peace to the Middle East, and a wide range of regional and international issues,' White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. (Posted @ 05:44 PST)
Major shippers skirt Gulf of Aden to avoid pirates Friday, 21 Nov, MOGADISHU: Rampant piracy off Somalia is forcing shipping companies to avoid the Suez Canal and send cargoes of oil and other goods on a longer journey around southern Africa, industry officials said on Thursday. Denmark's AP Moller-Maersk is routing some of its 50 oil tankers around the Cape of Good Hope instead, and Intertanko said many other tanker firms were doing the same. (Posted @ 05:39 PST)
Democrats set deadline for automakers to offer plan Friday, 21 Nov, WASHINGTON: Democratic congressional leaders seeking to salvage a bailout of the Big Three automakers demanded car executives provide a business survival plan on Thursday in exchange for their support for up to $25 billion in loans. Democrats acknowledged growing public resentment over government bailouts of US business in slowing the automakers' drive for aid, instead saying they will take a look after the auto industry provides a roadmap to its survival. (Posted @ 04:20 PST)
South Africa to withhold Zimbabwe aid Friday, 21 Nov, HARARE: South Africa said Thursday it will withhold aid for Zimbabwe until a representative government is in place, in what appeared to be the first punitive measure by a regional country to enforce a power-sharing agreement. Toughening its stand, the South African government said it was 'extremely concerned' about Zimbabwe's political impasse, which has deepened a humanitarian crisis. It called for mature leadership to resolve outstanding issues. (Posted @ 04:00 PST)
Obama eyes Arizona gov for Homeland Security Friday, 21 Nov, WASHINGTON: President-elect Barack Obama is considering Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to be U.S. Homeland Security secretary, heading a sprawling agency formed to bolster civil defense in the wake of the September 11 attacks, a senior Democrat said. 'She's in the mix. She may be the front-runner,' the Democrat told Reuters. Napolitano is a former US Attorney for Arizona and state attorney general, giving her law enforcement experience that the current secretary, Michael Chertoff, has said was a key qualification. (Posted @ 03:23 PST)
PML-Q groups wrangle over lists of CEC and CWC Friday, 21 Nov, ISLAMABAD: Wrangling between the two groups of Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) was intensified on Thursday as the dissident leaders led by Hamid Nasir Chattha refused to recognize the list that was sent by the ruling Chaudhry group. The 30-member Central Executive Committee which is of advisory in nature will meet on Saturday and 200-member Central Working Committee is convened on Sunday. (Posted @ 02:29 PST)
Khanani, Kalia handed over to FIA in Karachi Friday, 21 Nov, LAHORE: The district and session judge Lahore, Syed Nasir Ali Shah, has granted permission to handover the money changers arrested on charges of smuggling dollars, Kalia and Khanani, to Karachi FIA, on a three day remand. The judicial magistrates court ordered the accused to be sent to jail,after which FIA officials requested that the two accused be presented in front of a Karachi judicial court for further remand. The judicial magistrate, Faisal Jameel, after being granted permission from Session judge Lahore, Nasir Ali Shah, handed over the two accused to the FIA in Karachi. (Posted @ 01:54 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Editor: Abbas Nasir
Make sure to reload these pages so you're viewing the current version.
The DAWN Media Group
|
|