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| November 26, 2008 | Wednesday | Ziqa'ad 27, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
EU launches 200-billion-euro stimulus package Wednesday, 26 Nov, BRUSSELS: The European Commission called on Wednesday for a 200-billion-euro (259-billion-dollar) stimulus package to snap Europe's economy out of recession through spending hikes and tax breaks. ‘Coordinated European action can and will make a difference,’ commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso stressed as he unveiled the wide-ranging package. (Posted @ 21:41 PST)
Karzai wishes to down US planes bombing villages Wednesday, 26 Nov, KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Wednesday he would bring down US planes bombing villages if he could, in a sign of growing tension between Afghanistan and its western backers as the Taliban insurgency grows in strength. As western dissatisfaction with Karzai has grown over his failure to crack down on corruption and govern effectively, the Afghan president, facing elections next year, has hit back over the killing of dozens of civilians in foreign air strikes. (Posted @ 21:23 PST)
Thai PM rejects army call for new election Wednesday, 26 Nov, BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat on Wednesday dismissed a call by the country's powerful army chief to hold fresh elections, saying that his government is ‘legitimate’.In a televised address to the nation, Somchai said anti-government protesters who have occupied Bangkok's international airport and government offices were trying to subvert the democratic process. (Posted @ 21:20 PST)
Iran signals nuclear work expansion Wednesday, 26 Nov, TEHRAN: Iran now has 5,000 working uranium enrichment centrifuges, a senior official was quoted as saying on Wednesday, signaling an expansion of work the West fears is aimed at making nuclear weapons. The comments by the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, Gholamreza Aghazadeh, made clear once again that the Islamic Republic has no intention of bowing to Western pressure to halt or freeze its disputed nuclear programme.(Posted @ 20:24 PST)
Al-Qaeda's focus is Pakistan: senior US commander Wednesday, 26 Nov, WASHINGTON: Pakistan has replaced Iraq as al-Qaeda's main focus, and the terror group has stepped up its efforts to destabilise the nuclear armed South Asian nation, a senior US military commander said. 'Iraq is now a rear-guard action on the part of al-Qaeda,' said General James Conway, head of Marine Corps and a member of Joint Chiefs of Staff, in an interview with Wall Street Journal correspondent Yochi J. Dreazen. 'They've changed their strategic focus not to Afghanistan but to Pakistan, because Pakistan is closest place where you have the nexus of terrorism and nuclear weapons.' (Posted @ 20:16 PST)
China slashes interest rate to spur growth Wednesday, 26 Nov, BEIJING: China announced its biggest interest rate cut in 11 years on Wednesday to spur private borrowing and support a multibillion-dollar stimulus package to boost slowing economic growth. The 1.08 percentage-point rate cut _ the fourth cut in three months _ reflects the government's urgency about raising private consumption and investment to supplement state spending on the stimulus package. (Posted @ 19:46 PST)
Tropical storm lashes south India, killing 32 Wednesday, 26 Nov, CHENNAI: At least 32 people have died in floods caused by a tropical storm in southern India and thousands more have been evacuated to higher ground, officials said on Wednesday. Heavy rains brought down mud houses, uprooted trees and damaged paddy crops in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, officials and witnesses said. (Posted @ 19:18 PST)
Iraqi lawmakers set to endorse US pact Wednesday, 26 Nov, BAGHDAD: Iraqi MPs are expected Wednesday to endorse a wide-ranging accord that will allow US troops to remain another three years, despite reservations by Sunnis and fierce opposition by Shia hardliners. The 275-member assembly is due to vote by a show of hands on the wide-ranging accord, which would require US troops to withdraw from Iraqi cities by the end of June and from the rest of the country by the end of 2011. (Posted @ 18:31 PST)
DR Congo rejects Indian troops for UN force Wednesday, 26 Nov, KINSHASA: Democratic Republic of Congo refuses to accept Indian troops in the reinforcements planned for the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, government spokesman Lambert Mende said Wednesday. Mende confirmed the government had written to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon last weekend rejecting any Indians in the 3,000 extra troops planned for the peacekeeping mission known as MONUC. (Posted @ 18:08 PST)
Ghana fuel tanker fire kills more than 20 Wednesday, 26 Nov, ACCRA: More than 20 people were killed and many others seriously injured when a tanker truck carrying fuel caught fire after it crashed in western Ghana on Wednesday, police and an eyewitness said. The tanker crashed near the town of Tanoso, some 240 km from the capital Accra and close to Ghana's border with Ivory Coast. The vehicle exploded in flames as local people were collecting spilled petrol. (Posted @ 17:33 PST)
Former Fed chief Volcker to advise Obama: report Wednesday, 26 Nov, WASHINGTON: The former chairman of the Federal Reserve Paul Volcker will be appointed by president-elect Barack Obama to head an executive advisory committee on the economy, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. Obama will appoint Volcker, to be chairman of a 'new White House advisory board tasked with helping to lift the nation from recession and stabilize financial markets,' the daily reported, quoting unnamed Democratic officials. (Posted @ 17:04 PST)
Iran reports successful rocket test launch Wednesday, 26 Nov, TEHRAN: Iran has successfully launched a rocket called 'Kavosh 2', which means 'Explorer 2', Reuters reported on Wednesday. The report follows an announcement earlier this month that Iran had test-fired a new generation of surface-to-surface missile. The news comes amid tension between Iran and Israel and the West over Tehran's disputed nuclear work. (Posted @ 16:11 PST)
Thai army commander urges fresh poll to end crisis Wednesday, 26 Nov, BANGKOK: Thailand's army chief told the elected government on Wednesday to step down and call a snap election as a way out of a deepening political crisis. At a news conference in Bangkok, Anupong Paochinda also told the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protest movement to withdraw from Bangkok's international airport and cease its anti-government campaign. (Posted @ 15:30 PST)
Impeachment bid against Arroyo rejected Wednesday, 26 Nov, MANILA: Philippine lawmakers allied to President Gloria Arroyo on Wednesday voted to throw out the latest impeachment bid against her for alleged large-scale corruption.Voting 42-8, members of the House of Representatives Justice Committee said the complaint was 'insufficient in substance' to impeach the president, committee chair Matias Defensor said. It was the fourth impeachment attempt against the president in the past four years. Arroyo is to end her six-year term in 2010 having also survived two coup attempts. (Posted @ 14:51 PST)
Acid attack schoolgirls were warned to stay home Wednesday, 26 Nov, KABUL: Schoolgirls sprayed with acid in southern Afghanistan had been warned not to go to school a week before the attack, AFP reported Wednesday. Authorities have arrested 10 suspects in connection with the November 12 attack in which two men on a motorbike used a water pistol to spray acid on the girls as they arrived at school in the city of Kandahar. (Posted @ 14:40 PST)
US-led forces kill 10 in Eastern Afghan operations Wednesday, 26 Nov, Kabul: US-led coalition forces killed 25 militants in a series of raids against Taliban commanders in Afghanistan, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Violence has sharply escalated in Afghanistan this year, the bloodiest period since the Taliban's removal in 2001, and has raised doubts about the prospects of security in the country despite the increasing number of foreign troops. (Posted @ 14:37 PST)
Russian mayor killed near Georgia rebel region Wednesday, 26 Nov, LADIKAVKAZ: The mayor of the capital of Russia's North Ossetia province was shot dead Wednesday, said officials in the region, which neighbours the Georgian separatist enclave of South Ossetia. 'The mayor has died,' a hospital source told AFP, after Vladikavkaz Mayor Vitaly Karayev was delivered to an emergency room following the incident. 'It happened around 9 a.m. in the courtyard of his home as he was going out. He received several bullet wounds as he stepped outside. Evidently it was a sniper,' a regional interior ministry source told AFP. (Posted @ 14:33 PST)
US-led forces kill 10 in Eastern Afghan operations Wednesday, 26 Nov, KABUL: Soldiers killed 10 militants and arrested four in US-led operations targeting extremists in eastern Afghanistan linked to the Al Qaeda terror network, AFP reported Wednesday. Five armed militants were killed and four arrested in a raid Tuesday, which took place in the province of Paktika and targeted the radical Haqqani network that is linked to Al-Qaeda. Another raid on Tuesday targeted a senior Taliban commander in Paktya province who was believed to be a liaison between Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. (Posted @ 13:23 PST)
Britain welcomes Pakistan reforms: Miliband Wednesday, 26 Nov, ISLAMABAD: British Foreign Secretary David Miliband welcomed on Wednesday the ‘reforming zeal’ of Pakistan government that he said was turning the country into an outward-looking force for regional cooperation. Miliband arrived in Islamabad from neighbouring Afghanistan where 8,000 British soldiers are battling an escalating Taliban. ‘The reforming zeal and instincts of the government are coming to the fore in Pakistan in a positive way and are gaining the confidence of the international community,’ Miliband told reporters after talks with his Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureishi. (Posted @ 13:19 PST)
Four killed in Peshawar gun battle Wednesday, 26 Nov, PESHAWAR: At least four people, two of them Taliban militants, were killed during a gun battle in Peshawar, police said on Wednesday. The militants attacked civilians in the Mattni area on the outskirts of Peshawar Tuesday night, triggering gunfire between civilians and rebels, a local police official said. ‘As a result, two Taliban were killed and five others wounded,’ he told AFP. (Posted @ 13:01 PST)
Ship sunk by India was trawler, not pirate - official Wednesday, 26 Nov, KUALA LUMPUR: An official was quoted by the AP as saying that the ship that was sunk by the Indian Navy last week was in fact a Thai fishing trawler, and not a pirate vessel as reported - Details to follow. (Posted @ 12:02 PST)
Protesters shut Thailand’s international airport Wednesday, 26 Nov, BANGKOK: Thailand’s main international airport cancelled all flights on Wednesday as protesters thronged the complex in efforts to bring down the government, stranding thousands of tourists. The airport takeover was one of the boldest gambles yet by the People’s Alliance for Democracy in its four-month campaign to topple Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, whom it accuses of being the puppet of a disgraced fugitive predecessor, billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra. (Posted @ 10:39 PST)
US finds trace of melamine in baby formula Wednesday, 26 Nov, WASHINGTON: US health officials have found trace amounts of the chemical melamine in one sample of infant formula sold in the United States, a Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman said on Tuesday. ‘There's no basis for concern because we're talking about trace levels that are so low ... that there's absolutely no risk,’ FDA spokeswoman Judy Leon said. Melamine-tainted formula was found earlier this year in China, where thousands of children fell ill and several died. In September, the FDA sought to assure parents and said there was no similar contamination threat in the United States. (Posted @ 10:22 PST)
Bank 'went wrong' in real estate: Citigroup CEO Wednesday, 26 Nov, NEW YORK: Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Vikram Pandit on Tuesday blamed prior management for diving too deeply into real estate, causing losses that led to this week's massive government bailout of the second-largest US bank by assets. ‘What went wrong is we had tremendous concentration in the sense we put a lot of our money to work against US real estate,’ Pandit said in an interview on PBS' Charlie Rose show. ‘We got here by lending money, and putting money to work in the US real estate market, in a size that was probably larger than what we ought to have done on a diversification basis.’ (Posted @ 09:47 PST)
Israelis develop software to improve your looks Wednesday, 26 Nov, JERUSALEM: Want to optimize your looks without radically altering them? An Israeli team of computer scientists may have the answer. They have developed a computer software model based on the innate preferences that studies show we have for human faces. ‘This technology could become a product where for example there's a web service where people upload their photographs and have them enhanced or beautified by our software,’ said Professor Dani Lischinksi of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. (Posted @ 09:01 PST)
European big guns sail into last 16 Wednesday, 26 Nov, LONDON: Defending champions Manchester United led a sweep of seven more teams into the last 16 of the Uefa Champions League on Tuesday after a 0-0 draw with Villarreal. Nine-time winners Real Madrid, four-time champions Bayern Munich, two-time winners FC Porto, Lyon, Arsenal and Villarreal also advanced to the knockout phase with a game to spare. That means 10 teams have already made it with Juventus, Barcelona and Sporting Lisbon also having advanced. (Posted @ 08:37 PST)
Beatles' iTunes talks ‘stalled’: McCartney Wednesday, 26 Nov, LONDON: Talks to put The Beatles' catalogue on Apple's iTunes online music store have stalled, former Fab Four member Paul McCartney told the BBC. The Beatles is one of the few big acts left whose music is not available on iTunes, but the settlement of a trademark dispute between Apple and The Beatles' company Apple Corps Ltd last year was seen as finally clearing the way. ‘We'd like to do it,’ McCartney was quoted as telling the BBC on its website on Tuesday. ‘We are very for it, we've been pushing it. But there are a couple of sticking points, I understand.' (Posted @ 08:16 PST)
Universal HIV tests would have big impact: Study Wednesday, 26 Nov, LONDON: Near-universal HIV tests and immediate drug treatment for people who test positive would almost eliminate transmission of the deadly virus within a decade, a computer model showed on Wednesday. Doing this would cost more initially but then save money down the road because there would be fewer HIV-infected people to treat, Reuben Granich and colleagues at the World Health Organisation wrote in the journal The Lancet. The researchers emphasised their findings do not represent new WHO policy or any other guidance but rather stand as a call for discussion on how to better tackle the AIDS epidemic and the role of so-called antiretroviral drugs. (Posted @ 07:20 PST)
Gates to stay as Pentagon chief: reports Wednesday, 26 Nov, WASHINGTON: Defense Secretary Robert Gates has agreed to stay in his job when president-elect Barack Obama takes office in January, with an announcement expected next week, reports said late Tuesday. Politico.com, ABC News and CNN said the highly regarded Gates would stay at the Pentagon at least for president Obama's first year and execute the Democrat's signature policy of withdrawal from Iraq. 'It is a done deal,' ABC cited a source close to the process as saying, and said the formal announcement would be made by Obama's transition team after Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday. (Posted @ 04:29 PST)
Deposed chief justice defends judicial activism Wednesday, 26 Nov, WASHINGTON: Deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has defended judicial activism, saying that courts have a duty to protect the fundamental rights of a citizen and keep the government within parameters of the Constitution. Addressing a gathering at the law school of the Georgetown University in Washington on Tuesday, Justice Chaudhry said the Constitution of Pakistan allowed superior courts to take suo moto actions whenever necessary. “In the case of Supreme Court, there is not even a need for an application by an aggrieved person,” he said. “The Supreme Court may take up a matter suo moto provided that it feels that a question of public importance relating to the enforcement of fundamental rights is involved.” (Posted @ 02:36 PST)
'Various options under study to check US incursions' Wednesday, 26 Nov, ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Tuesday that Pakistan would consider a number of options to stop incursions of US and Nato forces into Pakistani territory. Speaking in an interview to a private television network, the prime minister said the Parliament's committee would decide the ways to counter the attacks. “Let the committee hold its first meeting. We have a number of options that we can consider to counter these attacks apart from going to the UN,” he said. (Posted @ 01:47 PST)
Pakistan needs $13.4bln external funding: IMF Wednesday, 26 Nov, KARACHI: Pakistan's gross external financing requirement for the 2008/09 (July-June) fiscal year is $13.4 billion, a senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) official said on Tuesday. The IMF will provide $4.7 billion of that total, Juan Carlos di Tata, senior adviser in the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Department, told reporters. The gross external financing requirement for the 2009/10 fiscal year is estimated at $12.2 billion, Tata said. (Posted @ 01:30 PST)
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Editor: Abbas Nasir
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