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Abbottabad raid: US denies Mansoors allegations
PPP presents new LG draft bill to MQM, PML-F
Champions Trophy: Rain washes out 2nd day's matches
Karzai accuses Pakistan of stalling talks with Taliban
Pakistan pays Rs 1 trillion in energy subsidies: Hafeez
Arab League gives Syria Sunday deadline on observers
Syria rejects UN rights violation as 'unjust'
Iran missile projects unaffected by blast: general
France reduces Tehran embassy staff
Five killed in Iraq attacks
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood pleads for understanding
Afghan minister urges foreign support beyond NATO pullout
Brazil: 36 dead in truck-bus crash
Argentina wins Davis Cup doubles to stay alive
Dope tests for Nadal, Ferrer . in middle of doubles

Abbottabad raid: US denies Mansoors allegations

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White House has categorically denied Mansoor Ijaz’s latest allegations that President Asif Ali Zardari and the then envoy to US Husain Haqqani were aware of May 2 US raid in Abbottabad which killed Osama bin Laden. “Reports claiming Ambassador Haqqani or President Zardari had advance knowledge of the May 2 Abbottabad operation are groundless”, said White House spokesperson Caitlin Hayden. “In order to safeguard our men-in-action as well as the mission itself, the intelligence was not shared with anyone”, Hayden added. Hayden was categorical that US made it sure that no one in Pakistan knew they were going to attack Osama Bin Laden’s compound in the country’s army’s hometown.

PPP presents new LG draft bill to MQM, PML-F

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The bill was presented in the meeting of the Pakistan People s Party (PPP), Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) and Pakistan Muslim League (PML-F) core committees  at the Chief Minister House on Saturday. Speaking to the media following the meeting Imtiaz Sheikh of PML-F said that the commissionerate system had been finalised and now negotiations were underway on the local government system. Agha Siraj Durrani of MQM while speaking on the occasion said that the PPP had promised that all coalition partners would be taken into confidence over the local government system in Sindh. Sources added that the next meeting to discuss the local government system will be held after Ashura.

Champions Trophy: Rain washes out 2nd day's matches

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Heavy rain washed out play on day two of the Champions Trophy men s field hockey tournament in Auckland on Sunday. Organisers said that, weather permitting, the four matches scheduled for Sunday would be played instead on Monday.

Karzai accuses Pakistan of stalling talks with Taliban

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Afghan President Hamid Karzai accused Pakistan, which is boycotting an international conference on Afghanistan starting Monday in Bonn, of sabotaging all negotiations with the Taliban. "Up until now, they have sadly refused to back efforts for negotiations with the Taliban," Karzai told Der Spiegel weekly in comments reported in German and due to be published on Monday. The Bonn meeting will seek to chart a course for Afghanistan after the NATO withdrawal, but a boycott by Pakistan has dealt a stinging blow to hopes for a roadmap. Pakistan is seen as vital to any prospect of stability in the war-ravaged country a decade after US-led forces ousted the Taliban, which had offered safe harbour to Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. But Islamabad pulled out after the killing of 24 soldiers in NATO air strikes on two Pakistani posts a week ago, although sources close to the German foreign ministry said it would be kept informed of progress at the conference. Karzai also appealed for continued aid to his war-ravaged nation after 2014 -- when NATO troops are due to pull out. Stressing that Afghanistan will be "more than ever on the frontline," he said: "If we fail in this war, which threatens all of us, it will mean a return to the situation before 9/11." The Afghan leader conceded that "sadly we have not been able to provide security and stability to all Afghans, this is our greatest failure." Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rasoul appealed Saturday for international support for his country after NATO troops pull out. "After 2014, we will continue to need long-term support from our friends in the international community," Rasoul said at a discussion forum in Bonn. His German counterpart Guido Westerwelle vowed at the forum that the world would not abandon Afghanistan, while also stressing the importance of the role of women in the county, where they currently face major discrimination. In an interview to appear in Sunday s Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Westerwelle again voiced his regret over the Pakistani boycott of the conference, which will gather delegates from 100 nations. "Pakistan has more to gain from a stable and peaceful Afghanistan than any of its neighbours," he said.

Pakistan pays Rs 1 trillion in energy subsidies: Hafeez

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Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said Saturday that the largest burden on the national economy is payment of Rs 1 trillion for the subsidy and losses of state-run power entities in the last four years. “This is a huge money”, he said while speaking at Karachi Press Club (KPC) on national economy. This means that the government is providing electricity to the consumers at a lower price than its cost, he added. The minister said that inefficiency and corporate mis-governance are other reasons for incurring colossal losses. He underlined the need for enhancing the role of private sector in state-run power sector organisations by encouraging public-private partnership to improve their performance and reduce losses. He said the government has to improve corporate governance, devise an ideal fuel mix, improve tariff structure and speed up future power projects to resolve energy crisis in the country. He said the tax collection has improved in the country due to government efforts to tax rich people. This will ensure self reliance. In the previous five months of current fiscal year, the revenue collection was higher by 28 percent to record Rs 640 billion compared to same period last year. This is more than the target, he noted. Dr Hafeez said that the current revenue collection target is Rs 1,952 billion which is higher by 25 percent over last year’s Rs 1,558 billion, up by 17 percent over 2009-10. He pointed out that the government has paid Rs 50 billion under Benazir Income Support Programme to poor under a cash transfer scheme.  This is targeted subsidy programme to ensure that the poorest segment of the society should not be left behind, he added. He said that the government was trying to focus on the economy for the last five months to ensure economic stability in the country Referring to the flood 2010, the minister said that this catastrophe inflicted a colossal loss of $ 10 billion on the economy and eaten up 2 percent of the GDP. Responding to a question about the possible stoppage of US financial support to Pakistan under present circumstances and the preparation of the government, he said that there was no big change in US policies relating to financial support to Pakistan. Pakistan will continue to get $ 500 million every year from USA, he noted. Recalling the political achievements of the present government, he said that an additional Rs 800 billion are being provided to the provinces under NFC award. “Now the provinces are getting 60 percent of the total national resources while the federation is getting only 40 percent from the national kitty. Prior to current NFC Award, federation was getting 54 percent of the national resources while provinces were getting 46 percent, he added.

Arab League gives Syria Sunday deadline on observers

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An Arab League ministerial committee on Saturday slapped 19 Syrian officials with a ban on travel to Arab states and gave Damascus until Sunday to accept observers to monitor the country s unrest. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani announced the deadline after a meeting in Doha to discuss a set of Arab League sanctions decided against Damascus over its bloody crackdown on months of anti-regime protests. The meeting issued a list of 19 Syrian officials banned from traveling to Arab countries and whose assets are being frozen by those countries. "During the meeting we contacted Damascus... and we asked them to come tomorrow (to Doha) to sign" the protocol on sending observers to Damascus, the prime minister said. "We are waiting for a reply," he said. "As Arabs we fear that if the situation continues things will get out of Arab control." The Arab League last Sunday approved sweeping sanctions against Assad s government over the crackdown -- the first time that the bloc has enforced punitive measures of such magnitude on one of its members. The measures included an immediate ban on transactions with Damascus and its central bank and a freeze on Syrian government assets in Arab countries. The vote on sanctions came after Damascus defied an earlier ultimatum to accept observers under an Arab League peace plan and put an end to the eight-month crackdown. Syria s Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said last month that the wording of the text to send observers undermined the country s sovereignty because it "totally ignores the Syrian state, even coordination with the Syrian state."

Syria rejects UN rights violation as 'unjust'

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Syria on Saturday condemned a UN vote on rights violations by the country s security forces as "unjust," and said it was based on false information from the regime s foes. The UN Human Rights Council resolution passed in a vote on Friday was "unjust and "prepared in advance by parties hostile to Syria," the foreign ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SANA. The vote followed a report by a commission of inquiry that was "politically motivated and based on false information circulated by parties outside Syria and dishonest press organs," the ministry said. At an emergency meeting, the council passed a resolution "strongly condemning the continued widespread, systematic and gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms by the Syrian authorities." For Damascus, the council s "decisions aim to prolong the crisis and convey a message of support" to the regime s armed opponents. The meeting in Geneva was called to address the findings of the Commission of Inquiry which said security forces had committed crimes against humanity, including the killing of 307 children, in a crackdown on dissent since March.

Iran missile projects unaffected by blast: general

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A deadly explosion at a missile development plant last month has not affected Iran s ballistic missile programme, its top general said in comments published on Saturday. Armed forces chief of staff General Hassan Firouzabadi said the death of Iranian military experts at the Bid Ganeh base outside Tehran on November 12 "had no effect on the self-sufficiency unit" of the elite Revolutionary Guards -- responsible for weapons research, the Resalat newspaper reported. "The forces and military weapons of the Islamic republic, including ballistic missiles, are more than ready to confront the enemy," he said. The blast killed at least 36 members of the elite Revolutionary Guards, including a key figure in Iran s ballistic missile programme, Major General Hassan Moqaddam. Firouzabadi reiterated repeated assertions by Iran that the blast was accidental, suggesting that safety measures may have been neglected. Iranian commanders "who have experienced dangerous situations (during the 1980-88 war with Saddam Hussein s Iraq)... do not take safety measures seriously," he said. Following the blast, Firouzabadi had said that work at the plant had been delayed by only two weeks as a result. But commercial satellite photographs of the facility released by a private Washington institute suggested the explosion had caused serious destruction, with some buildings completely razed. "The entire facility was essentially destroyed," said Paul Brannan, a senior analyst at the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), which posted the images this week. "It looks like almost half of the buildings are gone and what s left are the skeletons of the buildings. I would call that a complete destruction of the facility," Brannan, who wrote an analysis of the pictures said. Tehran denies any such ambition and says its nuclear programme is for civil energy and medical purposes only.

France reduces Tehran embassy staff

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France is to pull out part of its diplomatic staff from Tehran following the ransacking of Britain s embassy this week by a pro-regime mob, adding to the international backlash against an increasingly defensive Iran. The decision -- a temporary precaution, French diplomats said 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. Britain has already evacuated all staff from its Tehran embassy following Tuesday s rampage, and ordered Iran s mission in London closed. The expelled Iranian diplomats arrived back in Tehran early on Saturday, passing through airport service corridors to avoid media -- and a pro-regime welcoming crowd of 150 yelling "Death to Britain." The European Union on Thursday slapped extra sanctions on Iran and warned more could be on the way because of the embassy assault, while the US Congress is poised to pass a law aimed at disrupting Iran s oil revenues processed through its central bank. Political tensions are rising in tandem with speculation that Israel is mulling air strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, with or without US backing. France s decision to downsize its diplomatic representation came after the French, German, Dutch and Italian ambassadors were recalled for consultations on the British embassy assault. Several of France s embassy personnel will be pulled out in the next few days along with all families and dependants of all the staff, French diplomats told AFP. They did not give precise figures for how many of the roughly 30 diplomats in Tehran would go. The 700-strong French community in Tehran -- mostly Iranian-French dual citizens -- has not received any instructions.

Five killed in Iraq attacks

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Gun and bomb attacks in Iraq killed five people, including an army brigadier general, and wounded three others on Saturday, security officials said. Unknown gunmen shot dead army Brigadier General Fadhel al-Azul and his wife in the Urr neighbourhood in northern Baghdad, an interior ministry official said. And a liquor shop near Camp Rashid in central Baghdad was bombed, wounding three people, the official said. Two people were killed when unknown gunmen stormed a house in the southern part of the north Iraq city of Mosul, a first lieutenant in the Mosul police said. And another person was shot dead by gunmen in a nearby area of Mosul, the officer said. Violence has declined in Iraq since its peak in 2006 and 2007, but attacks remain common. A total of 187 people were killed in November, according to official figures.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood pleads for understanding

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The Muslim Brotherhood, expected to win 40 percent of votes in the first phase of Egypt s post-revolution election, stressed Saturday it was a moderate force, not to be confused with hardliners. The Brotherhood s Freedom and Justice Party is set to emerge as the dominant force in the country s lower house of parliament for which voting began in a third of Egypt s districts on Monday and Tuesday. "The people have chosen candidates who represent their Islamic identity and who they have confidence in," spokesman Mahmud Ghozlan told AFP. "Fears about us are unfounded and have nothing to do with reality. We represent a sort of centrist, moderate Islamism. We won t impose anything by force," he added. The group has already said it plans to align itself with a secular, liberal alliance in the new parliament, rather than hardline Salafi Islamists who are forecast to have won an unexpectedly high 20 percent of votes this week. The showing by the Salafists, who advocate an ultra-conservative interpretation of Islam and Sharia law, was "higher than we expected," he said. Partial results have been released, showing the Muslim Brotherhood as the leading new power centre, but full results are being held back without explanation by the election commission four days after voting ended. The prospect of an Islamist-dominated parliament has raised fears among liberals about civil liberties, religious freedom in a country with the Middle East s largest Christian minority, and tolerance of multi-party democracy. Israel is also set to be concerned by the rise of Islamist parties seen as hostile to a 1979 peace agreement between the neighbours. The Freedom and Justice Party says it strives for a "civil state, defined as a non-military, non-religious state... that respects human rights," according to its political programme. Egypt s current constitution, to be re-drawn by the new parliament once it is fully elected by March next year, names Islam as the country s official religion and says it is a source of inspiration for legislation.

Afghan minister urges foreign support beyond NATO pullout

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After 2014, we will continue to need long-term support from our friends in the international community, Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rasoul said at a discussion forum in Bonn, ahead of a major international conference on Afghanistan on Monday. His German counterpart Guido Westerwelle vowed at the forum that the world would not abandon Afghanistan, while also stressing the importance of the role of women in the county, where they currently face major discrimination. Monday s meeting in the German city of Bonn will seek to chart a course for Afghanistan after the NATO withdrawal, but a boycott by Pakistan has dealt a stinging blow to hopes for a roadmap. Pakistan is seen as vital to any prospect of stability in the war-ravaged country a decade after US-led forces ousted the Taliban, which had offered safe harbour to Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. But Islamabad pulled out after the killing of 24 soldiers in NATO air strikes on two Pakistani posts a week ago, although sources close to the German foreign ministry said it would be kept informed of progress at the conference. In an interview to appear in Sunday s Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Westerwelle again voiced his regret over the Pakistani boycott of the conference, which will gather delegates from 100 nations. "Pakistan has more to gain from a stable and peaceful Afghanistan than any of its neighbours," he said. In Bonn on Saturday, several thousand people -- 4,500 according to organisers -- demonstrated in protest at the conference and the German army s role in Afghanistan.

Brazil: 36 dead in truck-bus crash

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A police spokeswoman said that authorities were still investigating the cause of the accident, which also saw 13 people injured in the town of Milagres, 250 kilometres (155 miles) from the state capital Salvador. The bus, which was operating illegally, was carrying sugar cane cutters from the central state of Mato Grosso to the northeastern state of Pernambuco when the crash occurred, she said. Authorities said the accident occurred after midnight as one of the vehicles passed the other, but it was still unclear which caused the crash. Witnesses told CBN radio that a third vehicle crashed head on with the bus, which then was hit by the truck. Brazil has one of the world s highest road accident fatality rates -- 18.3 for every 100,000 inhabitants, according to the World Health Organization.

Argentina wins Davis Cup doubles to stay alive

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Argentina kept their Davis Cup final hopes alive on Saturday when David Nalbandian and Eduardo Schwank defeated Spain s Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 to cut the deficit to 2-1. The result means the final will be decided on Sunday when Rafael Nadal tackles Juan Martin del Potro before David Ferrer is scheduled to meet Juan Monaco in the last reverse singles. Nalbandian and Schwank were playing together for the first time but they overwhelmed the Spanish pair who have now lost 11 of their 12 matches in the competition. Nadal and Ferrer had won Friday s opening singles as they aim for a fifth Davis Cup title and history remains on their side -- the last team to recover from a 2-0 deficit in the final was Australia in 1939. Argentina are bidding for a first Davis Cup title having lost both their previous finals -- against Spain in 2008 and Russia in 2006. Six-time French Open champion Nadal will again hold the key in the reverse singles. His easy 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 win over close friend Monaco on Friday was his 19th win in 20 singles rubbers for Spain. His only loss came to Czech Jiri Novak on his debut -- as a 17-year-old -- in February 2004. He is 15-0 in clay-court rubbers. Nadal will take a 6-3 career lead into his clash with former US Open winner Del Potro, a record which includes the pair s only previous meeting on clay, a straight sets win in the first round at Roland Garros in 2007. The world number two also boasts a formidable record having won 66 of 67 best-of-five-sets match on clay, with his sole defeat coming at the hands of Robin Soderling at Roland Garros in 2009. Del Potro will go into Sunday having played for almost five hours on Friday when he lost 6-2, 6-7 (2/7), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to Ferrer.

Dope tests for Nadal, Ferrer . in middle of doubles

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Spanish stars Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer were forced to undergo doping tests on Saturday right in the middle of the Davis Cup final doubles clash that they were watching from the sidelines. Nadal and Ferrer had to leave the action, where team-mates Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco were losing to Argentina s David Nalbandian and Eduardo Schwank, after being summoned by drug testers. "We have said that we are happy with the tests and controls so that there is a clean sport because nobody wants to play against a doped player, but there are different ways of doing things," said Verdasco. "I don t think it s nice that during a game they take colleagues out to go to a test. They could wait until the end of the match, and they could have allowed them to cheer us and then do the test afterwards."

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Cricket - Sports

Sunday, December 4, 2011

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