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| December 19, 2008 | Friday | Zilhaj 20, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Oil import bill registers drastic increase Friday, 19 Dec, ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s oil import bill edged up to its highest level by 45.36 per cent during the first five months of the current fiscal year (compared to last year), despite the fact that the oil prices plunged at international level. The oil bill is still on the higher side despite the fact that the past two months recorded a slight slow down in import value, due to the more than 30 per cent deprecation of the rupee, which has increased the cost of imports. In absolute term, the import value of oil increased to $5.482 billion in July-Nov from $3.771 billion over the same months last year, showing an increase of 45.36 per cent, suggested data issued by the federal bureau of statistics on Friday. (Posted @ 21:02 PST)
Mideast, parts of Asia suffer Internet cuts Friday, 19 Dec, CAIRO: Internet service in Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and other Middle Eastern countries was cut on Friday after submarine cable failed in the Mediterranean Sea, said the company tht runs the service. Three cables linking Italy and Egypt failed for yet unknown reasons, Shaheed al-Sateeh, a manager with Reliance GlobalCom, told AFP from Dubai. ‘We know three cables have been cut. We still don't know why or where. They cover all the Middle East and India and other countries,’ said Sateeh, Middle East sales director for the company. (Posted @ 20:53 PST)
Bush to give automakers $17.4bn bailout Friday, 19 Dec, WASHINGTON: President George W. Bush on Friday said the government will provide loans to ailing US automakers but the companies will be required to restructure and prove by March 31 that they can survive. ‘The automakers and unions must understand what is at stake and make hard decisions necessary to reform,’ Bush said. The White House announced about $17.4 billion in loans for the automakers, of which about $13.4 billion would be provided in December and January. (Posted @ 19:54 PST)
Iran urges Pakistan to clampdown on terrorism Friday, 19 Dec, NEW DELHI: Iran’s deputy foreign minister urged Pakistan on Friday to boost its counter-terror efforts, three weeks after the Mumbai attacks. ‘Our Pakistani friends, they should also take the lessons and they should also deal with the terrorists in a very strong manner,’ Mohammad Mehdi Akhondzadeh told reporters in New Delhi. ‘I believe the Pakistan leadership could also make that strong commitment that they are not tolerating terrorist activities,’ Akhondzadeh said. (Posted @ 19:06 PST)
Oil price slumps below 34 dollars a barrel Friday, 19 Dec, LONDON: The price of New York oil sank under 34 dollars per barrel on Friday for the first time for more than four and a half years, as weak global demand overshadowed a record OPEC output cut, traders said. The fresh falls prompted OPEC President Chakib Khelil to stress that the cartel would continue cutting output until prices stabilise. In morning trading, New York's light sweet crude for delivery in January dived as low as 33.44 dollars a barrel, which was the lowest point since April 2, 2004. (Posted @ 19:00 PST)
US considering new security assistance for Pakistan Friday, 19 Dec, WASHINGTON: The Pentagon is working on a proposal to provide additional security assistance to Pakistan in support of its counterterrorism efforts along the Afghan border, according to APP. A senior US Department of Defense official said on Thursday that the proposal for new assistance for the key South Asian anti-terrorism partner has come from Central Command and is at early stages. The proposed funding is in addition to existing programs including the coalition support fund and foreign military financing. (Posted @ 18:43 PST)
United, Chelsea get Italian opponents in last 16 Friday, 19 Dec, NYON: Holders Manchester United and fellow 2008 finalists Chelsea will have to battle their way to potential Champions League glory after being paired with Inter Milan and Juventus respectively on Friday. But in a draw for the first knockout round that produced some mouth-watering fixtures between European football’s big guns United and Premier League rivals Chelsea were not alone in facing tough opposition. Liverpool, winners in 2005, are also assured a tough passage to the quarter-finals of the competition after being drawn with nine-times champions Real Madrid. (Posted @ 18:31 PST)
Stocks end 18 per cent lower for week Friday, 19 Dec, KARACHI: Pakistani shares fell to end at an almost three-and-a-half year low on Friday, taking the loss for the week to 18 per cent since a floor on the main index was removed. The Karachi Stock Exchange 100-index fell 3.48 per cent, or 270.84 points, to end at 7,514.42 points, its lowest close since Aug. 24, 2005. Turnover was 32.7 million shares and dealers said most trade was in third-tier shares with almost none in heavyweights. ‘Until now we have not seen any investor interest in blue-chips,’ said Sajid Bhanji, a dealer at brokers Arif Habib Ltd. (Posted @ 17:52 PST)
Life sentence for Briton guilty of directing terrorism Friday, 19 Dec, LONDON: A man convicted of being a member of al Qaeda – the first person to be found guilty of directing a terrorist organisation in Britain – was jailed for life on Friday. Muslim Rangzieb Ahmed, 33, was told he would serve at least 10 years in prison after being found guilty of belonging to Osama bin Laden’s group and of leading a three-man terrorist cell engaged in the plotting of an attack, possibly overseas. His co-defendant Habib Ahmed, 29, who is not related, was given a total of 10 years in jail, nine for being a member of al Qaeda and an additional year for possessing a document for terror-related purposes, the Press Association reported. (Posted @ 17:06 PST)
Yemeni tribesmen release German hostages Friday, 19 Dec, SANAA: Three German hostages being held by Yemeni tribesmen were freed early on Friday after a five-day ordeal in remote mountains near the capital, a tribal source said. ‘The three Germans were released on Friday at 10 am after mediation by a tribal dignitary from the Bani Dhabyan region,’ where the abductors are from, the source said. The three, a German woman working in Yemen and her visiting parents, were seized on Sunday in Bani Dhabyan region, some 80 kilometres east of the capital Sanaa. (Posted @ 15:08 PST)
Protesters burn Indian flag, Singh’s effigy in Chaman Friday, 19 Dec, CHAMAN: Hundreds of Pakistani protesters on Friday burnt an Indian flag and an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, underscoring mounting tensions in the wake of the Mumbai attacks. Tribal elders, politicians and residents attended the anti-India rally in the southwestern town of Chaman, in Baluchistan province on the border with Afghanistan. ‘India wants to steal our water in Kashmir, and that is why it is piling pressure on Pakistan following the attacks in Mumbai,’ local politician Naseer Ahmed Bacha Khan told the protesters in Chaman. (Posted @ 14:53 PST)
Gambhir, Dravid lift India in Mohali Test Friday, 19 Dec, MOHALI: Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid struck fifties to guide India to 134 for one at tea on the first day of the second and final test against England on Friday. The in-form Gambhir was on 78, his ninth test half-century, with Dravid 50, his 54th half-century, showing signs he was regaining his touch after a lean patch. The pair added 128 runs after Virender Sehwag fell for a third-ball duck to Stuart Broad in the second over after the hosts won the toss and chose to bat in overcast conditions. (Posted @ 14:51 PST)
Chanderpaul ton lifts Windies in second test Friday, 19 Dec, WELLINGTON: New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori struck in the last over to reduce the West Indies to 258 for six at the close of a fascinating first day of the second test in Napier on Friday. Vettori bowled West Indies wicketkeeper Dinesh Ramdin with the first ball of the 91st over to undo some of the damage from a fighting 163-run partnership by the reliable Shivnarine Chanderpaul and newcomer Brendan Nash (74). Chanderpaul finished on 100 not out with first test century maker Jerome Taylor alongside him on one following a day of fluctuating fortunes. (Posted @ 14:33 PST)
S&P raises Pakistan’s foreign currency rating to ‘CCC+’ Friday, 19 Dec, HONG KONG: Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services raised its long-term foreign-currency credit rating on Pakistan to ‘CCC+’ from ‘CCC,’ and affirmed the ‘CCC+’ long-term local-currency rating. Standard & Poor’s also affirmed its ‘CCC+’ issue rating on Pakistan’s senior unsecured local-currency debt and the ‘B-’ transfer and convertibility (T&C) rating on Pakistan. The upgrade of Pakistan incorporates the disbursal of the first tranche (US$3.1 billion) of the US$7.6 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan facility in November 2008. (Posted @ 13:55 PST)
Zardari’s Kabul trip postponed Friday, 19 Dec, ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari was forced to postpone a trip to Afghanistan for talks with his counterpart Hamid Karzai on the anti-terror fight due to bad weather, officials said on Friday. The two leaders were due to discuss how to combat the Taliban staging deadly attacks on both sides of the border, but Zardari was unable to leave Pakistan. The President, who was to have made his first official visit to Afghanistan since taking office three months ago, said he hoped to reschedule the trip ‘at an appropriate future time,’ Karzai’s office said in a statement. (Posted @ 13:33 PST)
Amnesty International slams Indian anti-terror law Friday, 19 Dec, NEW DELHI: Amnesty International on Friday slammed India’s new anti-terror legislation to beef up police powers in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, saying it violates international human rights treaties. The London-based human rights group called on India’s president not to approve the legislation, which would double the number of days police can detain terror suspects before filing charges, from 90 days to 180, as well as boost their powers to conduct searches. Both houses of India’s Parliament passed the bill this week, following last month’s attacks on Mumbai by suspected Islamic terrorists that killed 164 people. It now needs President Pratibha Patil’s approval before becoming law. (Posted @ 13:16 PST)
Top Lashkar-e-Tayiba militant killed in Kashmir Friday, 19 Dec, JAMMU: A top field commander from the Muslim militant group blamed for the Mumbai attacks was killed Friday in a shootout with Indian security forces in Kashmir, an Indian military spokesman told AFP. The senior militant, identified only as Mudassir, was killed along with two other gunmen from the Lashkar-e-Tayiba rebel group fighting Indian rule in divided Kashmir, the spokesman said. India says it has firm evidence - backed by US intelligence - that the militants who attacked Mumbai last month were trained by the Kashmir-based Lashkar outfit. Friday’s shootout occurred in the southern Kashmiri district of Doda. ‘The security forces had cordoned off an area on a tip off. The militants were asked to surrender, but refused and a fierce gunfight erupted,’ the spokesman said. Another alleged top Lashkar operative was killed in Doda on Thursday. Indian-administered Kashmir is been host to a violent long-term insurgency against Indian rule. (Posted @ 12:35 PST)
Sri Lanka confirm Pakistan cricket tour Friday, 19 Dec, KARACHI: Sri Lankan cricket authorities have confirmed their tour to Pakistan in January and February, a Pakistan Cricket Board official told Reuters on Friday. Pakistan had invited Sri Lanka to play three tests, three one-day internationals and a Twenty20 game after the Indian government refused to permit its team to undertake their test tour of Pakistan from next month. ‘Sri Lanka has agreed in principle to tour for the series. We are now working out the final details of the tour with them,’ Saleem Altaf, the chief operating officer of the PCB told Reuters. (Posted @ 12:30 PST)
Russia to abandon missile plans if US drops shield Friday, 19 Dec, MOSCOW: Moscow is ready to abandon plans for a wholesale renewal of its nuclear missile arsenal if Washington stops deployment of a controversial missile shield, a top Russian general said on Friday. 'If the Americans give up their plans to deploy the third position area and other elements of strategic missile defence, then undoubtedly we will respond in kind,' said Nikolai Solovtsov, commander of Russia's strategic missile forces, quoted by Interfax news agency. 'And an array of programmes, expensive programmes, will simply not be necessary for us,' he added. (Posted @ 12:28 PST)
Ceasefire in Gaza over, violence set to rise Friday, 19 Dec, GAZA: A six-month Egyptian-brokered truce between Israel and Palestinian factions, led by Hamas Islamists, in the Gaza Strip ended on Friday, raising the prospect of fresh cross-border fighting, Reuters reported. ‘We announce that the calm between us and the Zionist enemy has finished entirely and it will not be renewed as a result of the occupation’s denial of its fundamental conditions and obligations,’ said Hamas’s armed wing, Izz el-Deen al-Qassam, in a statement issued at 0400 GMT, which Hamas said was the official deadline for the truce to expire. Hamas and other militant groups in the Gaza Strip said they were prepared for any military escalation with Israeli forces and possible Israeli army raids into the territory. They said their gunmen had undergone training during the six-month truce. (Posted @ 10:36 PST)
Gwadar Port to begin operations on 21st Friday, 19 Dec, QUETTA: Gwadar Port will become functional on Dec 21 with the arrival of a large ship carrying fertiliser. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will attend the inauguration ceremony at the port. Balochistan Chief Minister Aslam Raisani told Dawn on Thursday that the port would become fully functional and more cargo ships would anchor at the port next month. He said the port was important for economic activities and also had significance for national defence. 'Starting economic activities formally at Gwadar Port was my mission and it is a moment of great pleasure for me that the port is going to become functional,' Mr Raisani said. He said President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani had extended complete cooperation in this regard. (Posted @ 09:06 PST)
Last South Korean troops sent to Iraq return home Friday, 19 Dec, SEOUL: South Korea, which once had the third-largest contingent of foreign soldiers in Iraq, ended its mission there on Friday by bringing home all of the troops it had deployed to the country. Several hundred South Korean soldiers who had been given a non-combat assignment in a relatively safe Kurdish area of Iraq were greeted by a band and presented with flowers after arriving in Seoul. The South Korean government earlier this year said it no longer saw the need to keep soldiers there. The government had sent the troops upon the request of its major ally, the United States. (Posted @ 08:01 PST)
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Editor: Abbas Nasir
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