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| December 04, 2008 | Thursday | Zilhaj 5, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
SC stays NA committee from probing Dogar issue Thursday, 04 Dec, ISLAMABAD: In a surprise move the Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the National Assembly Standing Committee on Education from probing into the up ward change in the marks sheet of daughter of the incumbent Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar in her higher secondary school examinations. The move however was challenged and defied immediately by the chairman of the committee indicating a possible constitutional crisis in the offing. 'We do not take dictations from others and nobody can stop us as the matter concerns the supremacy of the parliament,' Abid Sher Ali said while talking to Dawn. (Posted @ 21:10 PST)
Pakistan must cooperate with India: US Thursday, 04 Dec, WASHINGTON: The White House on Thursday called on Pakistan to 'act with resolve, urgency' in cooperating with India on the probe into attacks in Mumbai that stoked tension between the nuclear rivals. 'Pakistan needs to act with resolve, urgency. They need to cooperate fully and transparently and they need to keep the line of communication open between their country and India,' said spokeswoman Dana Perino. 'We will continue to try to help to make that happen,' she said. (Posted @ 20:34 PST)
Two blasts rock southern Philippines, five wounded Thursday, 04 Dec, MANILA: Two powerful blasts rocked a city in the southern Philippines late on Thursday, wounding at least five people, officials said. A crude bomb exploded near a drug store in Isulan City on the troubled island of Mindanao, city police chief Ruel Sermese told reporters. All five wounded in that blast were passers-by, he said. Minutes after the first blast, another crude bomb went off a short distance away outside the office of an electric cooperative. (Posted @ 20:13 PST)
France unveils 26-billion-euro stimulus plan Thursday, 04 Dec, DOUAI: President Nicolas Sarkozy unveiled a 26-billion-euro stimulus plan on Thursday to help France resist the global slowdown with massive state investment and aid for the struggling car industry. France's contribution to a Europe-wide economic revival drive, the plan combines big state infrastructure projects such as four new high-speed TGV train lines with measures to shore up hard-hit businesses and boost housing. (Posted @ 19:04 PST)
IMF blocks Pakistan stocks bailout: bourse official Thursday, 04 Dec, KARACHI: The International Monetary Fund is blocking the Pakistani government's plan to help provide a fund to help distressed investors liquidate holdings in the stock market, a senior exchange official told Reuters on Thursday. 'The IMF is not allowing any government guarantee for a fund to bail out the stock market,' said the official, who requested anonymity because the market authorities were still discussing ways to handle the situation. Authorities in late August imposed a floor on Karachi Stock Exchange benchmark 100-share index after a fall of nearly 35 percent for the year. (Posted @ 18:40 PST)
BJP demands govt action against Pakistan Thursday, 04 Dec, NEW DELHI: The leader of India's main opposition party urged the government Thursday to 'avenge the repeated terror attacks' and hit back at arch-rival Pakistan, the Press Trust of India said. Speaking a week after coordinated Islamic militants in Mumbai - which India has blamed on a Pakistan-based group - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Rajnath Singh said patience had run out. (Posted @ 18:08 PST)
Iraq presidential council approves US security pact Thursday, 04 Dec, BAGHDAD: Iraq's presidency council approved a security pact with the United States that paves the way for a complete US troop pullout by the end of 2011, a spokesman for the council said on Thursday. The pact, which brings in sight an end to the US military presence that has lasted since the 2003 invasion, passed through parliament last month after protracted negotiations. It is supposed to be put to a public referendum next year. (Posted @ 18:06 PST)
Bank of England cuts interest rates by 1% Thursday, 04 Dec, LONDON: The Bank of England slashed interest rates by a full percentage point on Thursday to shore up Britain's crumbling economy and head off the threat of deflation. The cut took rates to 2.0 percent, their lowest level since 1951. UK interest rates have never gone below this level since the central bank was created in 1694. Analysts had widely expected the move following business indicators suggesting the economy could be heading for an even deeper recession than most people had predicted. (Posted @ 17:45 PST)
Pakistan army vows peace Thursday, 04 Dec, ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's army chief Thursday vowed to maintain peace and security in the region after a meeting of top military commanders on Thursday. The pledge came as the chief of the army staff, General Ashfaq Kayani, addressed the 113th Corps Commanders' conference held at General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, an official statement said. Kayani said the ‘Pakistan Army stood for peace and security,’ according to the statement, which was released after the meeting. (Posted @ 17:32 PST)
Israel evacuating settlers from Hebron house Thursday, 04 Dec, HEBRON, West Bank: Israeli forces on Thursday began removing hardline Jewish settlers from a disputed building in the West Bank city of Hebron after days of stone-throwing clashes with Palestinians, witnesses said. Tensions have been high in the flashpoint city since the Israeli High Court on Nov 16 ordered settlers to vacate the building they have been occupying since March 2007. Israeli television footage showed Israeli police dragging settlers out of the building. Israel's ZAKA emergency rescue service said Israeli forces used tear gas. (Posted @ 17:14 PST)
Suicide attack kills policeman in Afghanistan Thursday, 04 Dec, KABUL: A suicide attacker detonated an explosives-laden vehicle in the entrance of the Afghanistan intelligence agency's headquarters Thursday killing a policeman, officials said. The explosion took place at the National Directorate of Security (NDS) headquarters in Khost city, the capital of Khost province, deputy provincial governor Tahir Khan Sabari told AFP. 'One policeman was killed in the suicide blast today,' he said. (Posted @ 16:45 PST)
Taliban rocket attack kills policeman in Bannu Thursday, 04 Dec, MIRANSHAH: Rockets fired by Taliban militants early Thursday killed a policeman and wounded three of his colleagues in a northwestern Pakistani town, police said. Militants fired rockets at Haveda police station in the garrison town of Bannu, a base for Pakistani military operations in the tribal region. ‘One policeman was killed and three others were injured after militants fired rockets at the police station,’ local police official Khurshid Khan told AFP. (Posted @ 16:26 PST)
LeT coordinated Mumbai attacks: police Thursday, 04 Dec, MUMBAI: The gunmen who attacked Mumbai took orders from the operations chief of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, Reuters reported on Thursday. The lone surviving gunman told his interrogators he and the other nine attackers were in contact with Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who - according to the United States - is the operations chief of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayiba (LeT) militant group. LeT made its name fighting Indian rule in the disputed Kashmir region and is on US, UN and Indian terrorist lists. (Posted @ 16:15 PST)
Karzai leaves for Turkey for talks with Zardari Thursday, 04 Dec, KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai left for Istanbul Thursday to attend a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari, his office said. 'Afghan President Hamid Karzai left for Turkey today to attend the second trilateral meeting of Presidents of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey,' a statement from his office said. (Posted @ 16:04 PST)
China urges Pakistan, India to cooperate Thursday, 04 Dec, BEIJING: China on Thursday urged Pakistan and India to work together to address the fallout from last week's deadly terrorist attacks in Mumbai, AFP reported. 'Pakistan and India are both good neighbours of China,' foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters. 'We sincerely hope that India and Pakistan will step up cooperation and dialogue and jointly safeguard peace and stability in East Asia, which is in the interest of both countries and the region.' During a press briefing, Liu had been asked about the potential for heightened tension between Pakistan and India in the wake of the attacks. (Posted @ 15:08 PST)
Double suicide bombing in Iraqi city of Fallujah Thursday, 04 Dec, FALLUJAH: Two suicide car bomb attacks targeting Iraqi police ripped through the city of Fallujah on Thursday, causing casualties, police said. The attacks targeted two police posts which were badly damaged in the blasts. An AFP correspondent said that several bodies were left sprayed out on the ground. On November 9, a female suicide bomber exploded in front of a hospital near Fallujah, killing a woman, a doctor and his wife. Fallujah is one of the main cities in the western province of Anbar, which was the epicentre of the Sunni-led rebellion against US forces in the months following the March 2003 invasion. (Posted @ 14:56 PST)
Credit Suisse to cut 5,300 jobs after $2.5 billion loss Thursday, 04 Dec, ZURICH: Swiss bank Credit Suisse said on Thursday it was cutting another 5,300 jobs, as it revealed it made a net loss of about 3 billion Swiss francs ($2.5 billion) in October and November. In an update on its fourth-quarter performance to the end of November, the bank said the loss, primarily in investment banking, where most of the job cuts will fall, was due to adverse market conditions and risk reduction. In addition, it will take a restructuring charge of 900 million Swiss francs, mostly in the fourth quarter. (Posted @ 14:35 PST)
Thai crisis shifts to king as airport gets going Thursday, 04 Dec, BANGKOK: Thailand's crippling political crisis shifted its focus on Thursday from Bangkok's gradually opening Suvarnabhumi airport to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who will address the nation on the eve of his 81st birthday. The revered monarch, thrust into the centre of the political fray by the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy's (PAD) persistent invocation of his name, is due to make his remarks on radio after 0900 GMT. (Posted @ 14:10 PST)
Pakistan committed to Mumbai probe: Rice Thursday, 04 Dec, United States Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice held a press conference in Islamabad following discussions with Pakistan's civilian government on Thursday in which she highlighted Pakistan's commitment to 'bring the perpetrators (of the Mumbai attacks) to justice.' Rice was in Islamabad following comprehensive discussions with the Indian leadership on Wednesday. The high-level diplomatic initiative from the US came in the wake of a string of accusations and recrimination between some officials in India and Pakistan following a terror attack on Mumbai which left over 183 people dead and over 300 injured. (Posted @ 14:09 PST)
Pakistan delivers clear message to Mullen Thursday, 04 Dec, ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday reiterated that it was not involved in the Mumbai carnage. In a message intended for the US, Pakistan made it clear that any aggression from the Indian side would result in troops being shifted from the tribal areas to the Indian border. This was conveyed by President Asif Zardari to the visiting US Joint Chief of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, who arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday and held meetings with top military and political leaders. Admiral Mullen also held separate meetings with Army chief, Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen Tariq Majeed, National Security Adviser Mahmud Durrani and Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt-Gen Shuja Pasha. (Posted @ 10:49 PST)
White House agrees Pakistan intersects terror map Thursday, 04 Dec, WASHINGTON: The White House said on Wednesday that it agreed with the bipartisan congressional commission’s report that Pakistan was closest to the intersection of nuclear weapons and terrorism. 'I have no reason to disagree with it,' said White House Press Secretary Dana Perino when asked if the White House agreed with the report. The bipartisan Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism reported earlier on Wednesday that if there was a WMD attack on the United States, it would originate in Pakistan. (Posted @ 03:51 PST)
India puts Pakistan on notice Thursday, 04 Dec, NEW DELHI: In an escalation towards an uncertain denouement, India warned Pakistan on Wednesday that it would use any means to thwart cross border terror attacks on its territory. Visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also hinted that last week's massacre in Mumbai could have an al Qaeda hand. 'Whether there is a direct al Qaeda hand or not, this is clearly the kind of terror in which aleQaeda participates,' she told a press conference during the one-day visit here. (Posted @ 01:34 PST)
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Editor: Abbas Nasir
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