Dina for the issue of 05 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 05, 2011 Monday Muharram 9, 1433
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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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White House rebuts Ijaz claim about May 2 raid: Strikes not deliberate, Obama tells Zardari
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By Anwar Iqbal
WASHINGTON, Dec 4: US President Barack Obama on Sunday telephoned President Asif Ali Zardari and assured him that last week's Nato strikes at military posts in Mohmand were not a deliberate attack on Pakistan.

Earlier, the White House rejected claims that President Zardari and the former Pakistani ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, had advance.

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/05/white-house-rebuts-ijaz-claim-about-may-2-raid-strikes-not-deliberate-obama-tells-zardari.html


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Iran says it shot down drone; Isaf hints at US ownership
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KABUL, Dec 4: The Nato-led military force in Afghanistan said on Sunday that a drone which Iran reported shooting down in its territory "may" belong to the United States.

"The UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) to which the Iranians are referring may be a US unarmed reconnaissance aircraft that had been flying a mission over western Afghanistan late last week," the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/05/iran-says-it-shot-down-drone-isaf-hints-at-us-ownership.html


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All accords with US and Nato to be reviewed: PM
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By Khalid Hasnain
LAHORE, Dec 4: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Sunday that his government had decided to review the agreements made by the government of president Pervez Musharraf with the United States, Nato, Isaf and the United Nations.

Talking to representatives of print media at the State Guest House, he said: "Soon after the Nato attack, which left many of our innocent soldiers martyred, we took up this issue very seriously by involving all stakeholders, including military and political leadership. We first started protesting massively both at national and international levels by boycotting the Bonn conference in order to make the world realise that Pakistan has an important role in the war against terror."..

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/05/all-accords-with-us-and-nato-to-be-reviewed-pm.html


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President to address MPs after Ashura
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By Syed Irfan Raza
ISLAMABAD, Dec 4: President Asif Ali Zardari has decided to address a joint session of parliament after Ashura, his spokesman Farhatullah Babar said on Sunday.

Mr Babar urged PPP workers "to show patience and refuse to be provoked into any aggression" in the wake of opposition onslaught against the ruling party...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/05/president-to-address-mps-after-ashura.html


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PML-N terms address a diversionary ploy
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By Amir Wasim
ISLAMABAD, Dec 4: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz suspects that President Asif Ali Zardari's coming address to parliament is a part of a 'game plan' to evade the Supreme Court's notice to him to reply to the party's petition regarding the memo controversy.

"If Asif Zardari has to clear his name, he has the forum of the Supreme Court to do that. A mere speech (in parliament) will not clear him," said Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, at a hurriedly-called news conference on Sunday...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/05/pml-n-terms-address-a-diversionary-ploy.html


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Announcement
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THE offices of Dawn will remain closed on Monday (Dec 5) and Tuesday on account of Muharram holiday. Arrangements have, however, been made to bring out the newspaper on Tuesday. There will be no newspaper on Wednesday...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/05/announcement.html


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Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project — an engineering marvel
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By Khaleeq Kiani
MUZAFFARABAD, Dec 4: On paper it might be just another project whose cost has risen from Rs102 billion to Rs333 billion that is expected to be regularised on Wednesday when Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani chairs a dedicated meeting of the cabinet committee on energy.

On the ground, however, the Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project seems to be an engineering marvel, the completion of which will not only provide 969MW of cheap electricity to the national grid, but also secure Pakistan's water rights over the Neelum River, currently under threat from India's water aggression...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/05/neelum-jhelum-hydropower-project-an-engineering-marvel.html


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Australia's ruling party for end to India uranium ban
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SYDNEY, Dec 4: Australia's ruling Labour party voted on Sunday to lift a long-standing ban on exporting uranium to India after a passionate debate about nuclear weapons and reactor safety following Japan's quake crisis.

Labour passed Prime Minister Julia Gillard's proposal with 206 votes to 185, reversing a decades-old policy excluding New Delhi from Australia's uranium trade because it is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/05/australias-ruling-party-for-end-to-india-uranium-ban.html


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Legendary actor Dev Anand dies at 88nations is on: Assange
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By Jawed Naqvi
NEW DELHI, Dec 4: Iconic Indian actor Dev Anand died of a heart attack in London on Saturday leaving behind at least three generations of distraught fans across the world. He was 88.

The Press Trust of India said in a report from London that Anand, who with Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar formed the legendary troika in the golden age of Bollywood, was unwell for the last few days...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/05/legendary-actor-dev-anand-dies-at-88.html


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Crackdown on Muharram rallies in Kashmir; 20 hurt
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SRINAGAR, Dec 4: Over 20 people were injured when authorities used batons, tear gas and water canons to break up Muharram processions held on Sunday in defiance of a curfew in Srinagar, police said.

At least 70 people were detained after police imposed the curfew in parts of Srinagar to prevent gatherings from developing into anti-India protests, police chief Ashiq Bukhari said...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/05/crackdown-on-muharram-rallies-in-kashmir-20-hurt.html


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Putin's party losing support: exit polls
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MOSCOW, Dec 4: Exit polls cited by Russian state television showed Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's party with less than 50 per cent of the vote in Sunday's parliamentary elections, a significant drop reflecting Russians' growing weariness with his rule.

The first official results with 15 per cent of the vote counted also showed only about 46 per cent for United Russia, compared to 64 per cent in 2007...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/05/putins-party-losing-support-exit-polls.html


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Five militants, two policemen killed in Kazakhstan clash
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ASTANA, Dec 4: Five militants and two members of an elite police force were killed in an operation in southern Kazakhstan, prosecutors said on Sunday, amid concerns about rising Islamist unrest in the Central Asian state.

The clash took place during a special operation against suspected militants in a village just outside Kazakhstan's largest city and former capital of Almaty, where prosecutors said they had been planning attacks...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/05/five-militants-two-policemen-killed-in-kazakhstan-clash.html


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Blast near UK embassy in Bahrain
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DUBAI, Dec 4: A small explosion took place in a bus parked near the British embassy in the Bahraini capital on Sunday, without causing casualties, the interior ministry said in the Gulf state swept by unrest earlier this year.

Five other cars parked in the area were also damaged but there were no casualties, a ministry spokesman said. "Security services are present in the area to take the needed legal measures," he said, adding security was boosted around embassies in Ras Rumman area...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/05/blast-near-uk-embassy-in-bahrain.html


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McCain wants check on military aid
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WASHINGTON, Dec 4: An influential Republican lawmaker said on Sunday that the United States should link its military aid to Pakistan's cooperation on security.

Senator John McCain, a leading Republican voice on security issues, alleged that Pakistani intelligence continued to support a militant group that killed Americans, and he noted that Pakistani troops in the past had fired across the poorly marked Afghan border...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/05/mccain-wants-check-on-military-aid.html


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Taliban's absence from Bonn limits hopes for peace
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KABUL, Dec 4: The Taliban's boycott of the Bonn conference on Afghanistan raises grave doubts about what progress it can make towards peace, experts say.

The leaders of the country's decade-long resistance will not attend Monday's international talks in Germany, saying the meeting will "further ensnare Afghanistan into the flames of occupation"...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/05/talibans-absence-from-bonn-limits-hopes-for-peace.html


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