DINA for the issue of November 01, 2011

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D A W N I n t e r n e t N e w s A l e r t
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November 01, 2011 Tuesday Zilhaj 04, 1432
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The DAWN Internet News Alert (DINA) is a free daily news-service
from Pakistan's largest English language newspaper, the Daily
DAWN.

We encourage comments & suggestions. We can be reached at:

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(c) Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt.) Ltd., Pakistan - 2011

The link at the end of each extract can be used to access the
complete story on DAWN - the Internet Edition.


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Nominal cut in petrol price; no change for diesel
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By Kalbe Ali
ISLAMABAD, Oct 31: The government has decided not to pass on to consumers the full impact of declining oil prices in the international market in order to cover adjustments made in petroleum levy. It reduced the price of petrol by only Rs1.54 per litre to Rs87.41 and kept that of diesel unchanged at Rs94.15 per litre for the month of November.

The federal government deregulated the prices of almost all petroleum products in June this year and allowed refineries and oil marketing companies to announce ex-refinery and ex-depot prices every month, keeping in view the import parity price. However, prices are notified by the Oil and Gas Regulation Authority (Ogra)...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/01/nominal-cut-in-petrol-price-no-change-for-diesel.html


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Punishment for admitting Palestine: US stops Unesco funding
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By Azfar-ul-Ashfaque
WASHINGTON, Oct 31: The United States said on Monday it is stopping financial contributions to Unesco after the Palestinians were admitted to the organisation as a full member.

The United States also acknowledged that it could lose international influence as it would lose its right to vote in the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation if it makes no payments over the next two years...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/01/punishment-for-admitting-palestine-us-stops-unesco-funding.html


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CJ orders PR chief to send corruption cases to NAB
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By Nasir Iqbal
ISLAMABAD, Oct 31: A Supreme Court hearing on the state of affairs in Pakistan Railways exposed on Monday an amazing tale of ineptness where one of the largest state entities was turned into a cesspool of corruption in a systematic and deliberate manner.

"Ninety metric tons of silver worth millions was sold for mere Rs28,000 as scrap, while a light bulb worth Rs60 is being purchased at Rs400, whereas absence of maintenance turned expensive locomotives into junk one by one, besides a Grade-18 officer, a blue-eyed boy of the railways minister, is promoted to hold a Grade-20 post of secretary purchase," deplored Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, who is heading a two-judge bench that had taken notice of the recent death of a pensioner...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/01/cj-orders-railways-chief-to-send-corruption-cases-to-nab.html


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Taliban attacks not to foreclose talks: US
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By Anwar Iqbal
WASHINGTON, Oct 31: A militant bombing that killed 13 US troops this week does not foreclose the option for talking to the Taliban to seek a negotiated settlement of the Afghan crisis, a senior Obama administration official said on Monday.

The official noted that the US had "dreaded hearing about" such an attack and it had further strengthened its resolve for continuing "aggressively and robustly" its military offensive against the militants...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/01/taliban-attacks-not-to-foreclose-talks-us.html


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Nisar lashes out at Imran and MQM
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By Amir Wasim
ISLAMABAD, Oct 31: Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly and PML-N stalwart Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said on Monday that the "Zardari group" had taken the country to a situation from which no single party could steer it out.

When asked if the PML-N would contact other parties to broaden its anti-government campaign, Chaudhry Nisar, who was addressing a press conference, said: "There is a need to prepare ground rules first. If the parties, including Jamaat-i-Islami, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F and Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf, agree to that with the sole aim of saving Pakistan then the PML-N will welcome them."..
http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/01/nisar-lashes-out-at-imran-and-mqm.html


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Eid holidays
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By A Reporter
ISLAMABAD, Oct 31: The government has declared Eidul Azha holidays on Nov 7 and 8 and Nov 9 a holiday on account of Iqbal Day.

Now government and most private sector employees will have five non-working days, from Saturday till Wednesday...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/01/eid-holidays.html


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'Gas management' plan on the cards as severe shortage looms
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By Khaleeq Kiani
ISLAMABAD, Oct 31: Amid a severe shortage of gas, the government is working on a gas management plan for winter which, among other measures, would require a political decision to divert to Punjab 100 million cubic feet per day of gas meant for a fertiliser plant in Sindh.

Sources told Dawn that Petroleum Minister Dr Asim Hussain was expected to preside over a meeting on Friday to discuss Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's instructions to ensure that gas shortfall did not affect domestic and commercial consumers...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/01/gas-management-plan-on-the-cards-as-severe-shortage-looms.html


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Rain likely along Makran coast
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By Our staff Reporter
KARACHI, Oct 31: A strong weather system that has developed over the Arabian Sea is unlikely to hit the coastal areas of Pakistan but may cause widespread rains in the southern parts of the country from Tuesday to Thursday

The meteorological department said on Monday that the well-marked low pressure area that had intensified into a 'tropical depression' about 1,200km south-southwest of Balochistan coast on Sunday was now located at 15ºN and 60ºE and likely to move towards the Oman coast during in 24 to 36 hours. The coastal areas of Pakistan are unlikely to be directly hit by the system...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/01/rain-likely-along-makran-coast.html


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Lease of life for old Rs500 note
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By Our Reporter
ISLAMABAD, Oct 31: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has extended the life of the old design 500-rupee currency note by one year and commercial banks will now exchange it with new notes till Sept 30, 2012.

An official handout issued here on Monday said the prime minister approved the extension at the request of the general public and parliamentarians...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/01/lease-of-life-for-old-rs500-note.html


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US seeking ISI's help to end Afghan war, says NYT
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By Our Correspondent
NEW YORK, Oct 31: Just a month after accusing the Pakistani intelligence agency, ISI, of supporting the Haqqani network in its attacks on US troops in Afghanistan, the Obama administration is seeking the agency's help to organise reconciliation talks aimed at ending the war in Afghanistan, the New York Times reported on Monday.

It said the revamped approach, which US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called "Fight, Talk, Build" during a high-level US delegation's visit to Kabul and Islamabad last month, combined continued American air and ground strikes against the Haqqani network and the Taliban with an insistence that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency get them to the negotiating table...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/01/us-seeking-isis-help-to-end-afghan-war-says-nyt.html


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Three killed in drone attack
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MIRAMSHAH, Oct 31: A US drone strike on Monday killed three militants in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region, officials said.

The drone fired two missiles into a moving vehicle as it drove through a village near Mubarak Shah town about 15km east of Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan district, security officials said...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/01/three-killed-in-drone-attack.html


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$70bn loss suffered in terror war: Zardari
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ISTANBUL, Oct 31: President Asif Ali Zardari has said Pakistan has lost over 36,000 innocent men, women and children and suffered a direct economic loss of over $70 billion in the fight against terrorism.

In an interview with leading Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, Mr Zardari, who is in Istanbul to attend a trilateral summit on Afghanistan, said: "No country has made greater contributions and sacrifices in fighting terrorism than Pakistan. We have lost our great leader and my wife Benazir Bhutto at the hands of terrorists. No-one should question our commitment or intentions in fighting the war."..

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/01/70bn-loss-suffered-in-terror-war-zardari.html


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'Haqqanis may be linked to new attack'
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KABUL, Oct 31: The Haqqani network may have been involved in a weekend bombing in Kabul that was the deadliest ground attack against western troops in 10 years of war, officials said on Monday.

The suicide bombing on Saturday killed 13 foreigners...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/01/haqqanis-may-be-linked-to-new-attack.html


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Karachi Stocks Up 302.10 Points:
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KARACHI, Oct 31: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 11863.77, up 302.10 points.
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Forex Update:
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KARACHI, Oct 31: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at 87 to the US Dollar in the open market.
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