Dina for the issue of 04 December, 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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December 04, 2011 Sunday Muharram 8, 1433
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The DAWN Internet News Alert (DINA) is a free daily news-service
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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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Clinton phones Gilani: Plea to review Bonn meeting boycott turned
down
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By Anwar Iqbal and Amir Wasim
WASHINGTON/ ISLAMABAD, Dec 3: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton telephoned Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Saturday, urging him to reconsider Pakistan's decision to stay out of the Bonn conference on Afghanistan, diplomatic sources told Dawn. The conference is scheduled to begin on Monday.

But Mr Gilani told Mrs Clinton that a review of the decision was not feasible at this stage since the Parliamentary Committee on National Security..

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/04/clinton-phones-gilani-plea-to-review-bonn-meeting-boycott-turned-down.html


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Shaikh calls for early restructuring of energy sector
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By Shamim-ur-Rahman
KARACHI, Dec 3: Finance Minister Dr Hafeez Shaikh said on Saturday that the energy sector needed restructuring by increasing the role of private sector since the government could no longer sustain "such a heavy burden", recalling that "we have already provided one trillion rupees in subsidy over the past four years".

The present situation amounts to providing electricity below the actual cost of generation, said Mr Shaikh in a speech at the Karachi Press Club...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/04/shaikh-calls-for-early-restructuring-of-energy-sector.html


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Strike on Iran may miss N-targets, says US
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WASHINGTON, Dec 3: Pentagon chief Leon Panetta has warned there is no guarantee a US military strike on Iran will hit intended targets linked to Tehran's nuclear programme, saying the sites are "difficult to get at".

The US defence secretary has recently voiced his misgivings about bombing Iran in a series of public remarks, amid speculation Israel may take pre-emptive action to prevent Tehran from acquiring atomic weapons...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/04/strike-on-iran-may-miss-n-targets-says-us.html


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Issue to be raised at ICJ
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SIALKOT: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has said that Pakistan will soon take the issue of Nato strikes on its two border posts to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Speaking at a peace conference on Saturday, the minister said the government would never disappoint the nation, adding the Nato air attacks were a matter of national sovereignty and integrity and the decision to take the case to the ICJ reflected people's aspirations.—Correspondent..

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/04/issue-to-be-raised-at-icj.html


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Khosa pulls out as memo probe panel chief
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By Nasir Iqbal
ISLAMABAD, Dec 3: Three days after the Supreme Court named him to probe the 'memogate' scandal, Tariq Khosa regretted on Saturday that he was unable to accept the job.

Political circles attributed the refusal to speculations about, and even veiled criticism, in media of the appointment...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/04/khosa-pulls-out-as-memo-probe-panel-chief.html


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Ban on jobs in federal departments to go, PM assures party MPAs
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By Khalid Hasnain
LAHORE, Dec 3: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has lifted a ban on recruitment in the federal government and assured provincial legislators of the People's Party that they would get job quotas and funds for development projects.

The prime minister made the announcement at a meeting of the Punjab PPP's parliamentary party at the Governor's House on Saturday. The PPP MPAs complained that the provincial government was not giving them funds for development...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/04/ban-on-jobs-in-federal-departments-to-go-pm-assures-party-mpas.html


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Pakistani prisoners at Bagram wait for justice
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By Razeshta Sethna
MORE than 2,400 prisoners, including about 30 Pakistanis, have been in Afghanistan's Bagram prison for the last decade, the US Joint Task Force 435, the military unit in charge of the jail, has revealed.

"These poor villagers were swept up in night-time raids, with no useful information," human right activists say...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/04/pakistani-prisoners-at-bagram-wait-for-justice.html


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Brotherhood eyes victory in Egypt elections
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CAIRO, Dec 3: Early results from Egypt's first post-revolution election showed Islamist parties sweeping to victory on Saturday, including Salafists, with secular parties trounced in many areas.

Partial figures trickled in throughout the day for the areas of the country that voted in record numbers on Monday and Tuesday, confirming earlier predictions that Islamist parties would win at least two thirds of the ballots cast...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/04/brotherhood-eyes-victory-in-egypt-elections.html


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'Email, internet transaction data being leaked': Surveillance of entire nations is on: Assange
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NEW DELHI, Dec 3: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said on Saturday that governments worldwide are curbing personal liberty, privacy and free speech by misusing technology.

"Bulk surveillance of entire nations is on," Assange said in an address from Britain via video to a media conference in New Delhi..

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/04/email-internet-transaction-data-being-leaked-surveillance-of-entire-nations-is-on-assange.html


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Islamists, liberals clash outside Tunisian assembly
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TUNIS, Dec 3: Supporters of Islamist parties descended on central Tunis on Saturday to confront liberal demonstrators rallying against extremism as lawmakers draft a new constitution for Tunisia.

Separated by barriers and police, they shouted insults at each other outside the Bardo Palace where the constitution is being drawn up after a vote that saw the moderate Islamist Ennahda party win most seats on the drafting body...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/04/islamists-liberals-clash-outside-tunisian-assembly.html


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Pakistani pleads guilty in terrorism case
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WASHINGTON, Dec 3: A Pakistani man living in
the United States faces up
to 15 years in jail after
pleading guilty to provi-
ding material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group.

US justice officials said Jubair Ahmad, 24, posted a propaganda video for LeT "glorifying violent jihad" in 2010, three years after he arrived in the United States with his parents and two younger brothers...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/04/pakistani-pleads-guilty-in-terrorism-case.html


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Bomb kills three Nato troops in Afghanistan
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KABUL, Dec 3: Three troops from the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) were killed by a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, officials said.

Isaf did not say which country the slain troops were from or give further details of the incident, in line with policy...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/04/bomb-kills-three-nato-troops-in-afghanistan.html


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Myanmar govt allows 'peaceful' protests
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YANGON, Dec 3: Myanmar's president has approved a bill allowing citizens to protest peacefully if they have permission, state media reported on Saturday.

The bill, signed by President Thein Sein on Friday, requires that demonstrators inform the authorities five days in advance of when, where and why they wish to protest, according to the official Myanmar Ahlin newspaper...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/04/myanmar-govt-allows-peaceful-protests.html


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France reduces Tehran embassy staff
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TEHRAN, Dec 3: France is to pull out part of its diplomatic staff from Tehran following the recent ransacking of Britain's embassy by a pro-government mob, adding to the international backlash against an increasingly defensive Iran.

The decision — a temporary precaution, French diplomats said on Saturday — underlined the seriousness of the crisis developing between Iran and the West amid the ratcheting up of sanctions over Tehran's controversial nuclear efforts...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/04/france-reduces-tehran-embassy-staff.html


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India shelves opening of retail market to foreigners
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NEW DELHI, Dec 3: India's government has "suspended" plans to open the nation's huge retail sector to global competition that have paralysed parliament, a key ally of the ruling coalition said on Saturday.

The move to allow foreign investment by Wal-Mart and other supermarket giants in India's estimated $470 billion retail industry was the first big reform to be announced since the government began its second term in 2009...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/04/india-shelves-opening-of-retail-market-to-foreigners.html


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Extent of 'honour' crimes in UK revealed
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LONDON, Dec 3: More than 2,800 so-called honour attacks — punishments for bringing shame on the family — were recorded by Britain's police last year, according to figures released on Saturday.

At least 2,823 incidents of "honour-based" violence took place, with the highest number recorded in London, the Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation (IKWRO) found...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/04/extent-of-honour-crimes-in-uk-revealed.html


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