Dina for the issue of 06 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 06, 2011 Tuesday Muharram 10, 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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Pledge at Bonn conference: West to prop up Kabul govt after pullout
in 2014
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BONN, Dec 5: The Bonn conference convened on Monday to discuss Afghanistan's future after Nato troops leave in 2014 pledged sustained support for another decade, assuring the Kabul government that "we will not let you meet the same fate as your predecessors met after the Soviet pullout".

Participants, including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, vowed to stand by Afghanistan as it struggles to establish security and stability..

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/06/pledge-at-bonn-conference-west-to-prop-up-kabul-govt-after-pullout-in-2014.html


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Pakistan's role vital, says Clinton
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BONN, Dec 5: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday it was unfortunate that Pakistan had boycotted the Bonn conference on Afghanistan, but it still had a crucial role to play in the country. Afghan President Hamid Karzai also said he was prepared to work with Pakistan.

Ms Clinton said at a press conference on the sidelines of the international meeting that she was encouraged by a statement by a Pakistani official that the country would continue to cooperate with Afghanistan, including on terrorism...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/06/pakistans-role-vital-says-clinton.html

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Strict security for Youm-i-Ashur
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ISLAMABAD, Dec 5: Strict security arrangements were made on Monday around Imambargahs and routes of mourning processions and other sensitive places across the country for Youm-i-Ashur on Tuesday.

The day is observed with reverence and religious fervour to pay homage to Hazrat Imam Hussain and his companions for the supreme sacrifices rendered by them for the cause of truth, justice and righteousness...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/06/strict-security-for-youm-i-ashur.html


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Gilani for resetting relations; State dept non-committal
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LAHORE, Dec 5: Pakistan wanted to rebuild ties with the United States despite the ongoing retaliation over Nato air strikes in Mohmand Agency last month, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Monday, stressing that he believed "it won't take long" to achieve a new relationship with Washington.

"We really want to have good relations with the US based on mutual respect and clearly defined parameters," he said in an interview with the Associated Press. "I think that is doable. I think that it won't take long."..

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/06/gilani-for-resetting-relations-state-dept-non-committal.html


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Islamabad stresses sovereignty
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan boycotted the Bonn conference because it wanted to make the world realise that it must respect the country's sovereignty, the Foreign Office said on Monday. Pakistan, however, wanted peace and stability in Afghanistan, spokesman Abdul Basit said in an interview with Pakistan Television.

"Pakistan wants to see a peaceful Afghanistan, but after the Nov 26 incident in which Nato forces directly attacked the country's sovereignty, it was impossible for us to participate in the conference."..

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/06/islamabad-stresses-sovereignty.html


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Munter confirms Shamsi base being vacated
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ISLAMABAD, Dec 5: The United States is vacating an airbase in Pakistan used by American drones that target Taliban and Al Qaeda militants, complying with a key demand made by Islamabad in retaliation for the Nato air strikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, the US ambassador said on Monday.

The move is not expected to significantly curtail drone attacks in Pakistan since Shamsi airbase in Balochistan province was only used to service drones that had mechanical or weather difficulties...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/06/munter-confirms-shamsi-base-being-vacated.html


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7 Pakistanis freed in Afghanistan
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PUL-I-ALAM (Afghanistan), Dec 5: Seven Pakistani workers kidnapped in Afghanistan were released on Monday after five days in captivity, police said.

The Pakistanis — engineers and workers on a hospital construction project in Logar province — were freed unharmed, provincial police chief Ghulam Sakhi Roghliwani said...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/06/7-pakistanis-freed-in-afghanistan.html


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Majority in PML-N against boycotting president's speech
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By Amir Wasim
ISLAMABAD, Dec 5: While the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-N is to decide its strategy for President Asif Ali Zardari's planned address to a joint session of parliament after Ashura, the dominant thinking in the party leadership is against boycotting the speech.

Talking to Dawn, a number of PML-N legislators, including some office-bearers, however, did not rule out a rumpus if the president uses the occasion to speak about his role in the ongoing memo controversy — the issue the PML-N has taken to the Supreme Court...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/06/majority-in-pml-n-against-boycotting-presidents-speech.html


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'Water for agriculture' policy to go: Govt projects hydel output at 26,000MW in 10 years
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By Khaleeq Kiani
ISLAMABAD, Dec 5: In a major policy shift, the government is expected to introduce new water operating rules to give priority to use of additional storages for hydropower production over the historic principle of 'water for agriculture' and encourage low water consuming provinces to sell their unutilised shares to needy provinces.

The fresh policy guideline has emerged as a 'doable approach' after a series of consultations between the federal and provincial authorities as part of talks with the water sector task force of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP) for improved economic output of water resources, according to a senior government official...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/06/water-for-agriculture-policy-to-go-govt-projects-hydel-output-at-26000mw-in-10-years.html


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Ashura bomb blasts claim 35 lives in Iraq
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BAGHDAD, Dec 5: A series of bombs tore through Ashura processions in Iraq on Monday, killing at least 35 people, mostly women and children, and wounding scores more, local police and witnesses said.

The attacks underscored Iraq's fragile security as the last US troops withdraw from the country by the end of the year...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/06/ashura-bomb-blasts-claim-35-lives-in-iraq.html


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Fresh leak of radioactive water from Japan plant
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TOKYO, Dec 5: A fresh leak of radioactive water into the open ocean has been discovered at Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear complex, its operator said on Monday as cleanup efforts continued.

Crews were dispatched to find the cause of the runoff, which was discovered on Sunday near a system used to treat contaminated water, according to Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco)...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/06/fresh-leak-of-radioactive-water-from-japan-plant.html


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Five Afghans die in blast
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KABUL, Dec 5: A minibus full of Afghan civilians struck a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan on Monday, setting off an explosion that killed five passengers.

One woman and four children died and another six passengers were wounded, said Fareed Ayal, a spokesman for the Uruzgan provincial police...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/06/five-afghans-die-in-blast.html


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Brazil's minister quits over corruption
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BRASILIA, Dec 5: Brazil's Labour Minister Carlos Lupi has become the sixth member of President Dilma Rousseff's government to resign amid mounting allegations of corruption.

"Given the political and personal persecution by the media with which I have had to deal for the past several months; and considering the release of the Ethics Committee findings, ... I decided to submit my resignation irrevocably," Mr Lupi said in a statement on Sunday...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/06/brazils-minister-quits-over-corruption.html


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No sign drone lost in Iran was downed, says US
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WASHINGTON, Dec 5: The Pentagon said on Monday there was no indication that US drone lost in Iranian territory was shot down, contradicting Tehran's claims.

Iranian media said late on Sunday that an RQ-170 unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down after making an incursion into Iran's eastern airspace...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/06/no-sign-drone-lost-in-iran-was-downed-says-us.html


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Eight Ferraris damaged in Japan crash
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TOKYO, Dec 5: Speeding was fingered as a possible cause on Monday of what is believed to be Japan's most expensive ever road accident when up to $4 million-worth of supercars ended up in a crumpled heap on a highway.

Eight Ferraris and a Lamborghini — plus a Toyota Prius — were among the vehicles involved in the crash, which witnesses said happened when a speeding car slid across a wet road surface...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/06/eight-ferraris-damaged-in-japan-crash.html


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Europeans moving money out of euro
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LONDON, Dec 5: Europe's richest investors are moving money out of euros amid fears the single currency may not survive a sovereign debt crisis, with US dollars and yen among the favoured destinations, bankers say.

One private banker at a global group, who specialises in clients worth at least $5 million, said his team had seen a pick-up in clients fleeing the euro since Germany's central bank had to step in to prevent failure of a bond auction last month...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/06/europeans-moving-money-out-of-euro.html


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Assange wins new battle in fight against extradition to Sweden
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LONDON, Dec 5: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is fighting extradition to Sweden over rape and sexual assault allegations, won the right on Monday to ask Britain's Supreme Court to hear his case, prolonging his stay in Britain.

Two High Court judges threw Mr Assange a fresh legal lifeline when they ruled that the case raised a question "of general public importance" which should be decided by the Supreme Court "as quickly as possible"...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/06/assange-wins-new-battle-in-fight-against-extradition-to-sweden.html


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