Dunya TV

Quetta: 6 security personnel shot dead
Chinas manufacturing rises in January
Euro, dollar rangebound in Asia
Pakistan directly helping Taliban: NATO report
US wants dialogues with Pakistan: Grossman
New rains spell from Friday
US confirms possible release of Taliban from Gitmo
Reward for info about dead Puget Sound sea lions
Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive
Space outside our solar system looks different
Cyber attack brings down key Palestinian websites
Syria troops push back rebels as UN fight looms
US, Israel discuss Iran's nuclear plan
Hina Khar due in Afghanistan today
Head of UK press regulator says change needed

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As per details, miscreants targeted a check post in Coal Mines area, leaving at least six miscreants dead. Security officials’ retaliation pushed the miscreants to flee from the scene. After the incident, law enforcement agencies cordoned off the area and launched search operation.

Chinas manufacturing rises in January

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The official purchasing managers index (PMI) rose to 50.5 in January, up slightly from 50.3 in December, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said in a statement. Manufacturing continued to expand for the second month, after contracting for the first time in 33 months in November, when the PMI stood at 49. A reading above 50 indicates the sector is expanding while a reading below 50 suggests a contraction. The improvement came despite mounting evidence that China s overall economy is slowing as Europe s sovereign debt crisis and weakness in the United States hit the world s second-largest economy. "China s process of economic contraction is gradually stabilising," Zhang Liqun, a researcher at government think-tank the Development Research Centre, said in the statement. China s economy grew 9.2 percent last year, well down from 10.4 percent growth in 2010, and most forecasts put this year s expansion at between 8.0 percent and 8.5 percent. But Zhang warned that slowing export growth could spell trouble for China s economy later this year. New export orders fell to 46.9 in January, down from 48.6 last month, according to the official data released Wednesday. "Changes in external factors may impact the economy, requiring close attention," he said. Still, analysts said the latest reading showed China s economy was headed for a "soft landing". "This reading is quite supportive of our soft landing call," Bank of America-Merrill Lynch said in a research report. "We believe the growth momentum is stable in China."  The market had expected PMI to return to contraction in January with a forecast of 49.5, according to a poll by Dow Jones Newswires. But a separate PMI measure for China released by British banking giant HSBC has departed from the official reading. HSBC s preliminary PMI stood at 48.8 in January, up only marginally from 48.7 in December, as China s manufacturing activity contracted for the third straight month.

Euro, dollar rangebound in Asia

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The euro was rangebound against the dollar in Asian trade Wednesday, as investors tracked ongoing talks on restructuring Greece s debts. The euro bought $1.3074 and 99.60 yen in early Asian trade, compared with $1.3080 and 99.74 yen in New York late Tuesday. The dollar stood at 76.18 yen from 76.24. After a summit on Monday, European Union president Herman Van Rompuy called for deals on a Greek debt writedown and a new 130 billion euro ($172 billion) rescue package "a week from now". As pressure has risen to speed up action and reach a deal to save Greece from financial collapse, experts have predicted that Portugal may also need its own restructuring or second bailout later this year. "If we do see that there is general improvement that is expected, it should support the euro," BNZ strategist Kymberly Martin told Dow Jones Newswires. Risk aversion was mounting following weaker-than-expected US data that showed continuing softness in home prices and slumping consumer confidence, dealers said. Investors were looking to the US ISM Manufacturing index to be released later Wednesday for cues, a senior trader at a major bank in Tokyo said, adding the euro s upward trend also seemed to be waning. "I get the impression more people are inclined to sell the euro when it rises," he told Dow Jones Newswires.

Pakistan directly helping Taliban: NATO report

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Pakistan s intelligence agency is directly helping the Taliban in Afghanistan and knows where its senior leaders are hiding, the BBC is reporting, citing a secret NATO report. The report is based on 27,000 interrogations with more than 4,000 captured Taliban, al-Qaeda and other foreign fighters and civilians. Though it has not yet officially commented, Pakistan s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency has denied previous allegations that it supports or is linked to the Taliban. The BBC s Kabul correspondent said the report "fully exposes for the first time" the relationship between the Taliban and the ISI. The Pentagon has not seen the NATO report, a spokesman told the BBC. "We have long been concerned about ties between elements of the ISI and some extremist networks," said Capt. John Kirby. Sunday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on CBS  60 Minutes he still believes that someone in the Pakistani government must have known where Osama bin Laden was hiding, though he added he has no proof.

US wants dialogues with Pakistan: Grossman

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Talking to Dunya News Director Current Affairs Nasim Zehra, US Special Envoy to Pakistan and afghanistan Marc Grossman said that the two countries would be able to forge a wide-ranging relationship based on mutual interests and respect. “I hope that whatever review comes out and whatever conversation follows the review, that we can have a respectful relationship, and an active relationship,” Grossman told. Grossman said that the US very much wants a respectful relationship with Pakistan. “The most important thing I will say to the people of Pakistan is that we respect the people of Pakistan. That is why we are pursuing policies such as civilian assistance, support for the democratic government and this idea that we ought to be able to find our shared interests together and act on them together.” He said that US is ready for talks whenever Pakistan wants. Pakistan should decide about safe haven of terrorists because Taliban are continuing Afghan war from these areas, Grossman added. He said that Taliban would have to separate from international terrorism if they wanted to open consulate in Qatar. He maintained that US wants only talks between Afghan government and Taliban.

New rains spell from Friday

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The Met Department forecasted rains and snow falling in Murree, Gilliat Baluchistan, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtwankhwa provinces and Kashmir from Friday to Monday. The department predicted dry weather during next 24-hours.

US confirms possible release of Taliban from Gitmo

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U.S. intelligence officials acknowledged Tuesday that the United States may release several Afghan Taliban prisoners from the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as an incentive to bring the Taliban to peace talks. Meanwhile, Afghan officials told The Associated Press that a plan to give Afghanistan a form of legal custody over the men if they were released satisfied their earlier objection to sending the prisoners to a third country. Director of National Intelligence Jim Clapper told Congress Tuesday that no decision had been made whether to trade the five Taliban prisoners, now held at Guantanamo Bay, as part of nascent peace talks with the Taliban. He and CIA Director David Petraeus did not dispute that the Obama administration was considering transferring the five to a third country. U.S. officials and others spoken had previously only vaguely, and usually anonymously, about the proposal to send the prisoners to Qatar, a Persian Gulf country that has played a central role in framing talks that might end the 10-year U.S. war in Afghanistan. The lead U.S. negotiator trying to coax the Taliban into talks also had acknowledged publicly the possibility of a release but had said there was no final decision. The prisoners proposed for transfer include some of the detainees brought to Guantanamo during the initial days and weeks of the U.S. invasion that toppled the Taliban government in Afghanistan in 2001. At least one has been accused in the massacre of thousands of Shiite Muslims in Afghanistan, according to U.S. and other assessments, but none are accused of directly killing Americans. "I don t think anybody harbors any illusions about it, but I think the position is to at least explore the potential for negotiating with them as a part of this overall resolution of the situation in Afghanistan," Clapper said during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing. The Obama administration recently has embraced the possibility of negotiations much more openly, saying that although they remain cautious they are also encouraged that the militants may be ready to bargain. Peace talks, if they should happen, would include the elected Afghan government and, at least at the outset, representatives of the U.S. government. With nearly 100,000 troops in Afghanistan and a war and development budget in the billions of dollars, the U.S. remains the largest power broker in Afghanistan. Afghan President Hamid Karzai supports a prisoner release as a means to build confidence among the Taliban militants that talks are worthwhile, but he had balked at the U.S.-backed plan to send them to Qatar instead of home to Afghanistan. That plan appeared to undercut his authority and offend Afghan sovereignty, Afghan officials said. Karzai yanked his ambassador from Qatar, saying Qatar had not kept him properly informed. Recent discussions between Karzai and U.S. negotiators found a way around the Afghan objections, a senior Afghan diplomat and another official said. Speaking on condition of anonymity because the arrangement still is under discussion, the officials said Afghanistan could assume a sort of legal custody over the prisoners and then, with the prisoners  own consent, agree to consign them to house arrest in Qatar. An Afghan delegation would prepare the way for that arrangement by visiting the prisoners at Guantanamo and signing off on the transfer plan, one official said. The Obama administration does not want to send the prisoners to Afghanistan, in part for fear they might be released. The men are considered "enemy combatants" who were, at least until recently, considered too dangerous to release. Afghan custody of the men, even if only on paper, could provide sufficient political cover for Karzai against criticism at home that the arrangement is a snub. Karzai already has reluctantly endorsed Qatar publicly as the site for a militant political office that would serve as a headquarters for talks. U.S. officials would not confirm the possible solution but did not dispute it. Separately, Afghan officials said their government plans to explore talks with militants under the auspices of Saudi Arabia or others. Those talks would complement talks in Qatar, not undermine them, and carry at least an implicit stamp of approval from U.S. negotiators, the officials said.

Reward for info about dead Puget Sound sea lions

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But a conservation group has offered up $10,000 for information that helps convict the perpetrators. At least seven dead sea lions and one harbor seal have washed up in Puget Sound and on the Washington coast since early December, Brian Gorman, a spokesman with NOAA Fisheries Service in Seattle, said Tuesday. One of the animals was a federally endangered Stellar sea lion. Bullets or bullet fragments have been found or recovered from all seven sea lions, but biologists are working to determine whether the bullets killed them, Gorman said. He noted that stranded mammals have been found with old bullet wounds that aren t fatal. The number of dead marine mammals is unusual but not alarming so, authorities say. "This is not uncommon to have dead marine mammals killed intentionally," said Mike Cenci, deputy chief of enforcement for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, which is assisting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the investigation. "I m not saying it s rampant, but we investigate a number of these a year." Another dead harbor seal, a yearling, was reported Tuesday at a park in Edmonds, but it wasn t immediately clear how it died, said Kristin Wilkinson, a marine mammal specialist with NOAA Fisheries Service. It s not uncommon for dead harbor seals to show up this time of year, and because the animals have ear holes rather than external ear flaps, some mistakenly think they ve been shot, she said. Salmon-hungry sea lions often get entangled in fisherman s nets or catches, and some consider them to be nuisances. "They re not warm and cuddly. These are big guys. They re stinky. They re carnivores, and they re doing what they do best they re hunting for fish," which puts them in conflict with fishermen, Gorman said.

Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive

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Biden spelled out a blunt reelection message for his boss President Barack Obama on Tuesday -- "Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive." Biden s comment at a Texas fundraiser came as Obama stepped up his drive to claim credit for rescuing the iconic US car industry, as he took a spin around the Washington auto show and declared "the US auto industry is back." The vice president boiled down Obama s State of the Union message into some pithy sound bites at a fundraiser in Fort Worth expected to raise more than $150,000 dollars for the reelection campaign. Biden hailed Obama as a champion of America s hard-pressed middle classes as they emerge from the deepest recession since the 1930s and said the president had kept his promise to pull US troops out of Iraq. "But the best way to sum up the job the president has done --- if you need a real shorthand -- Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive," Biden said, adding that he was passing on a line suggested to him by a supporter. Biden also suggested that the bitter race for the Republican nomination was helping his and Obama s chances in November s presidential election. "For the first time, the Republicans are not hiding the ball. ... They are saying what they believe, God love them. They are not even pretending." "This is going to be one heck of a race. I think we are doing better and better every day, ... in no small part because they are making it clear what they are for." Obama earlier made a more prosaic attempt to claim credit for an auto bailout which is credited with saving General Motors and Chrysler from going bust, as he toured a selection of gleaming new hybrid vehicles at the Washington auto show. The bailout plan featured prominently in his annual address to Congress last week, along with the US special forces raid that killed Al-Qaeda leader bin Laden last year and bolstered Obama s national security credentials. "When you look at all these cars, it is testimony to the outstanding work that s been done by workers -- American workers, American designers," Obama said. "The fact that GM is back, number one, I think shows the kind of turnaround that s possible when it comes to American manufacturing," said the president, who favors using government to create conditions for jobs growth. "It s good to remember that ... there were some folks who were willing to let this industry die. Because of folks coming together, we are now back in a place where we can compete with any car company in the world." Obama s comments appeared to be a swipe at Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney over his initial criticism of the idea of shoring up iconic auto giants General Motors and Chrysler with federal funds. The president argues that his federal funding and bankruptcy plan for the two firms, inherited from former president George W. Bush, saved the US auto industry. Romney, apparently seeking to capitalize on public fatigue with bailouts, argued that the firms should have gone through bankruptcy -- which they later did -- without a prior cash injection which eventually hit $82 billion. Obama signed off on the risky and unpopular bailout, seeking to save thousands of jobs, after concluding that if GM and Chrysler had failed, the entire auto parts support industry, as well as a third firm, Ford, could have also gone under.

Space outside our solar system looks different

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NASA s announcement Tuesday came from observations by an Earth-orbiting spacecraft studying the edge of the solar system. The probe is the first to directly measure interstellar matter streaming into the solar system. Among the new findings: There are more oxygen atoms within our solar system than in the immediate neighborhood outside. Scientists say it s possible the life-supporting element could be locked up in dust or ice. The spacecraft called Interstellar Boundary Explorer was launched in 2008 and is circling 200,000 miles (321,855 kilometers) above Earth.

Cyber attack brings down key Palestinian websites

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Wafa s chief editor, Ali Hussein, and Maan s technology supervisor, Haitham Moussa, said they don t know who is behind Tuesday s attacks. Hussein says the website of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas  Fatah movement was also targeted. The attacks came several days after hackers disrupted the websites of an Israeli hospital, a leading newspaper and Israel s official cultural festival. Those attacks were seen as part of a politically motivated cyber attacks against Israeli sites. The Israeli Haaretz daily said at the time that its site was hacked by a group calling itself Anonymous Palestine.

Syria troops push back rebels as UN fight looms

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The U.N. Security Council met Tuesday to discuss the draft, backed by Western and Arab diplomats. But Russia, one of Assad s strongest backers, has signaled it would veto action against Damascus. "The Western draft Security Council resolution on Syria does not lead to a search for compromise," Russia s Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov wrote Tuesday on Twitter. "Pushing this resolution is a path to civil war." Russia has stood by Assad as he tries to crush an uprising that began nearly 11 months ago. In October, Moscow vetoed the first Security Council attempt to condemn Syria s crackdown and has shown little sign of budging in its opposition. Moscow s stance is motivated in part by its strategic and defense ties, including weapons sales, with Syria. Russia also rejects what it sees as a a world order dominated by the U.S. The fallout from the conflict in Libya is a factor, as well. Russia fears the new measure could open the door to eventual military intervention, the way an Arab-backed U.N. resolution led to NATO airstrikes in Libya. The diplomatic showdown came as Syrian government forces took back control of the eastern suburbs of the capital, Damascus, after rebel soldiers briefly captured the area in a startling advance last week. The fact that rebels made it to the doorstep of Damascus, the seat of Assad s power, was a dangerous development for the regime. The military launched a swift offensive Monday and on Tuesday crushed the remaining resistance in Zamalka and Arbeen. But the suburbs were not entirely quiet. On a government-sponsored media trip, Syrian journalists heard at least seven explosions Tuesday from the eastern suburb of Rankous. It was not clear what caused the blasts. Violence also was reported in the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs in central Syria, a hotbed of opposition to the regime. Activist Mohammed Saleh said he heard hours of shelling and machine-gun fire, and thick black smoke was rising in the distance. The smoke was believed to be from a pipeline that was struck, but details were not clear. Activists said regime forces  fire hit the pipeline, but that could not be confirmed. The U.N. estimated several weeks ago that more than 5,400 people have been killed in the Syrian government crackdown, but has not been able to update the figure. The death toll from Monday s offensive was around 100 people, making it among the bloodiest days since the uprising began in March, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees, an opposition group. Activists said Tuesday s death toll was at least seven, although the LCC put the figure at up to 28. Syria prevents independent reporting, making it difficult to confirm events on the ground. The bloodshed in Syria has increased in recent days as Western and Arab countries stepped up pressure on Russia over Security Council action. The draft resolution demands that Assad halt the crackdown and implement an Arab peace plan that calls for him to hand over power to his vice president and allow creation of a unity government to clear the way for elections. If Assad fails to comply within 15 days, the council would consider "further measures," a reference to a possible move to impose economic or other sanctions. A French official said the draft U.N. resolution has a "comfortable majority" of support from 10 of the Security Council s 15 members, meaning Russia or China would have to use their veto power to stop it. Russia had agreed to negotiate on the draft, said the official spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with department rules. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, who was planning to attend the Security Council meeting, ruled out foreign military action. "Things are very different from what happened in Libya," he told French radio Europe-1 shortly before flying to New York on Tuesday. "For example, in Syria you have communities that are divided and any exterior intervention could lead to a civil war." The Syrian uprising, which began with mostly peaceful protests, has become increasingly violent in recent months as army defectors clash with government forces and some protesters take up arms to protect themselves. The violence has inflamed the sectarian divide in the country, where members of Assad s Alawite sect dominate the regime despite a Sunni Muslim majority. Assad s regime has warned that the turmoil will throw Syria into chaos, religious extremism and sectarian divisions, a message that resonates among Alawites and minority Christians who fear reprisals from the Sunni majority. On Tuesday, Syrian reporters were taken north of Damascus to see the Sednaya Convent, believed to have been build in A.D. 547. The site was damaged by artillery fire Sunday, in an attack the government blamed on "armed terrorists." No casualties were reported. "Providence has salvaged this holy site," said Sister Verona, the head of the Sednaya Convent. Also Tuesday, army defectors gained full control of the central town of Rastan after days of intense clashes, according to a town activist who identified himself as Hassan. He refused to give his full name, fearing reprisal.

US, Israel discuss Iran's nuclear plan

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The head of Israel s intelligence service paid a secret visit to Washington last week to discuss Iran s nuclear programme, the CIA director and a top US lawmaker said Tuesday.  Mossad chief Tamir Pardo flew to the US capital to consult with his American counterparts amid speculation over a possible Israeli strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, CIA director David Petraeus and Senator Dianne Feinstein revealed at a congressional hearing. Sensitive trips by intelligence chiefs are usually kept secret but Feinstein, the chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, mentioned Pardo s visit at a televised hearing as she discussed how Israel views Iran s nuclear ambitions. "Well, the vice chairman and I have just met this past week with the director of Mossad, so that is a classified meeting," Feinstein said at the hearing. The Central Intelligence Agency director confirmed the meeting and said he was frequently talking to Israel s leaders, who he said viewed Iran s nuclear program as an "existential threat." "Like you, obviously, I met with the head of Mossad when he was here," Petraeus said. "That is part of an ongoing dialogue that has also included conversations that I ve had with Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu and with (Defense) Minister (Ehud) Barak -- the latter almost on a monthly basis in the nearly five months that I ve been in the job," he said. Feinstein cited her meeting with the Mossad director after asking US intelligence chiefs about the likelihood of possible pre-emptive military action by Israel against Iran s nuclear sites. US National Intelligence Director James Clapper replied that sanctions would hopefully convince Tehran to abandon its nuclear work but said he would prefer to answer the question in a closed-door session. Israeli officials have sent conflicting messages about potential military strikes on Iran. President Shimon Peres on Tuesday reaffirmed that "no option should be excluded against the program of Iran, which seeks to acquire weapons of mass destruction." "The regime of the ayatollahs is the most corrupt in the world, from a moral point of view," Peres told a conference in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv. The United States and other Western governments accuse Iran of seeking an atomic weapons capability, something Tehran has always denied. Israeli leaders fear a nuclear-armed Iran would pose an existential threat to the Jewish state, which has the Middle East s sole if undeclared nuclear arsenal. Some Israeli media reported in October last year that the option of pre-emptive air strikes on Iran was opposed by the country s intelligence services but favored by Netanyahu and Barak.

Hina Khar due in Afghanistan today

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Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar was due to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai on a one-day visit to Kabul Wednesday (today) aimed at warming frosty ties between the two neighbours. "This visit will mark a new cooperation phase between the two countries," Afghan foreign ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai told reporters ahead of what will be Khar s first visit to Afghanistan since taking office in July. Kabul, which accuses Islamabad of supporting the 10-year Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, put relations on ice after the September murder of its peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani, which one Afghan minister blamed on Pakistani spies. The Kabul government said the bomber who killed Rabbani was a Pakistani and accused the Pakistani government of hindering the investigation. "After the death of Rabbani we boycotted some of the bilateral and trilateral meetings (including the US) with Pakistan," a senior official in Karzai s office told AFP. "This visit is aimed at improving our relations as well as at resuming those meetings." In December, Pakistan boycotted the Bonn conference on the future of Afghanistan to protest against US air strikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers along the porous Afghan border on November 26. Khar meets her Afghan counterpart Zalmai Rasoul and Karzai amid tentative moves towards negotiations in Qatar between Washington and the Taliban, who were ousted from power by the 2001 US-led invasion. Karzai has given his blessing to the Taliban opening a political office in the Gulf state, but is wary of being sidelined and has insisted that his government has a central role in any peace talks. In Islamabad, foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said Khar s talks would cover "the security situation in Afghanistan and the reconciliation process". "We hope the visit would further enhance mutual understanding on major issues and bring the two countries closer," he told AFP. Pakistani analyst Rahimullah Yusufzai said Khar s trip was important because it is her first to Afghanistan and comes after a gap in Pakistani official visits to Kabul. He said both governments "feel a bit left out" of the Qatar negotiations and "would be trying at least to find out what is happening and maybe try to coordinate their own policies accordingly". But he said many problems between the two countries remain unresolved, including the Rabbani assassination, adding: "I don t expect any real breakthrough at these talks."

Head of UK press regulator says change needed

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Press Complaints Commission chief David Hunt told Britain s media ethics inquiry Tuesday that the media needs to regain public trust, but this should not be done through a "press regulation act." The judge-led inquiry was set up in the wake of a scandal about illegal phone hacking by Rupert Murdoch s now-defunct News of the World. Victims of tabloid intrusion have described the complaints commission which newspapers join voluntarily as a toothless organization. In a witness statement, Hunt says the existing structure "is not viable" and should be replaced by a body with powers to impose sanctions on newspapers that breach ethical guidelines.--AP

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