ALLATOXNEWS

HEADLINES

2011-09-19T22:03:00.001-07:00

Italian scientists on trial for manslaughter over 2009 quake

The six leading scientists and a government official are accused of manslaughter by playing down the risks of the devastating L’Aquila earthquake.

(21 minutes ago) TodayRead more...

EU response to Libya refugee crisis ‘abysmal’: Amnesty

“We have witnessed an abysmal response to the plight of displaced refugees on Europe's doorstep,” said Nicolas Beger.

(49 minutes ago) TodayRead more...

Senior Qadhafi general captured in south: official

“General Belgacem Al-Abaaj, Qadhafi's intelligence chief in the Al Khofra region, was captured” some 100 kilometres (60 miles) from southern Libyan town of Sebha.

(1 hour ago) TodayRead more...

New era for US military as gay ban expires

Nearly 10 years later, Hall said he hopes to rejoin the military that discharged him when a ban on openly gay and lesbian troops officially expires on Tuesday.

(1 hour ago) TodayRead more...

Standard and Poor’s downgrades Italy debt rating

The rating agency said it had downgraded Italian debt a notch because of “Italy’s weakening economic growth prospects.”

(1 hour ago) TodayRead more...

US, Israeli military chiefs meet

Panetta and Barak “focused on a range of issues, including Iran, political changes in the region, counterterrorism and global economic conditions.”

(1 hour ago) TodayRead more...

Governments use terror threat to erode rights: minister

Store, and his counterpart from Indonesia said declaring “war” may be good for a politician's speeches but it does not help to combat militants.

(1 hour ago) TodayRead more...

Two killed in US marine helicopter crash

Two US marines were killed when an attack helicopter crashed during training at a California military base.

(2 hours ago) TodayRead more...

Palestinians hurtle towards UN showdown

Abbas set a collision course with Israel and the US determined to try to force a vote on his bid for full UN membership for a Palestinian state.

(2 hours ago) TodayRead more...

Zardari sets up cell to monitor relief

Mr Zardari said that no excuse would be tolerated for any slackness by top government officials in the supply of food and water to rain and flood victims.

(6 hours ago) TodayRead more...

Bomb attack in Peshawar claims five lives

Capital City Police Officer Imtiaz Altaf told Dawn that explosives attached to a motorcycle had been detonated through a remote control.

(6 hours ago) TodayRead more...

2011-09-19T21:57:00.001-07:00

Great news: Not only will Netflix be more expensive, it'll be twice as ...
By Allahpundit
The big news is that the service you originally got to know as Netflix—DVD by mail—isn't going to be called Netflix anymore. It'll be called Qwikster, and it'll be a completely separate business from Netflix—which will become strictly a streaming ...
Hot Air » Top Picks

News Corp. Unit to Pay $4.7 Million Tied to Dowler Hack - Cassell ...
By Cassell Bryan-Low
News Corp.'s U.K. newspaper unit has agreed to pay about £3 million ($4.7 million) tied to recent allegations that its News of the World tabloid hacked the phone of a murdered teenage girl in 2002, according to a person familiar with the ...
AllThingsD

News Corp Reaches Blood Money Settlement With Dead Girl's Family
By Hamilton Nolan
In your mordant Monday media column: News Corp pays up for Milly Dowler, Janet Robinson tweets in secret, Ted Koppel could head to NBC, Americans think Fox News is "the best," and a Senator's wife finally resigns from a newspaper.
Gawker:

Freakonomics » Movie Review Bias: Time Warner vs. News Corp.
By Freakonomics
A new paper from two Berkeley economists, Stefano Delavigna and Alec Kennedy, studies NewsCorp. and Time Warner, and approaches the big question through a small window: movie reviews. Here's the abstract: Fueled by the need to cut ...
Freakonomics

Exclusive: Queen Putting Together Own Tribute Band for 2012 Tour ...
Queen drummer Roger Taylor was recently in his hometown when he saw a poster that caught his attention. It said, 'Queen on stage,' Taylor tells Rollin.
RollingStone.com: All News

FREE adsense acount

2011-09-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

ADSENSE ACOUNT TOTALY FREE HA OR IS KA KOI PAISAY NI HAY LOGO NA DOSRO KO LOTNAY KA LIE PAGAL BANATAY HA 500 MA 100 MA 1000 MA ACOUNT BNWAAIN

Clinton presses Pakistan for action on Haqqani network

2011-09-18T21:22:00.000-07:00

(22 minutes ago) Today

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) shakes hands with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar (L) before their meeting on September 18, 2011 at a hotel in New York. Both are in New York for the upcoming United Nations General Assembly. - AFP Photo

NEW YORK: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed Pakistan on Sunday to take action against Haqqani militants the United States blames for an attack on the US embassy in Kabul, officials said.
Clinton met in New York with Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar for 3.5 hours of “very substantial” and “very candid” talks that began and ended with counter-terrorism, Clinton spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
A senior State Department official also told reporters on condition of anonymity that the talks began and ended with concerns about the Haqqani network Washington suspects receives Pakistani government support.
The September 13 attack on the US embassy in Kabul, which left 15 dead, “changed the nature” of the previously planned gathering, which lasted longer than expected, according to the official.
Meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Khar made clear to Clinton that Pakistan “couldn’t condemn more” the attack, adding “that this kind of terrorism was a threat to Pakistan” as well, the official said.
“We were specific about the need for Pakistan to take action on the Haqqani network.” The Pakistanis “understand the threat the Haqqanis pose to them,” and that “it is time” for them to take action, he said when asked about the Pakistani reaction,” according to the senior US official.
Cameron Munter, the US ambassador in Islamabad, bluntly cited evidence Saturday linking the Pakistani government to the Haqqani network of militants, blaming the group for the Kabul siege.
But the US official said the “evidence” was not raised in Clinton’s talks with Khar.
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has warned that the United States would retaliate against Pakistan-based insurgents.
Washington has long urged Pakistan to take action against the Haqqani network and suspected the group enjoys support within Pakistan’s intelligence services.
But the public comments are a mark of strained ties between the fragile anti-terror allies, with relations fractious since the US raid in Pakistan that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in May, without Washington first informing Islamabad.

New nuclear security plan tops IAEA talk’s agenda

2011-09-18T21:19:00.001-07:00

(56 minutes ago) Today

The deal must now be ratified by the 151 member states at the IAEA general conference, which runs until Friday. - File Photo

VIENNA: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) talks open in Vienna Monday focusing on a new nuclear security plan following the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima plant and amid fears over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Last week the IAEA board of governors announced a safety action plan, which they hope will raise safety standards and enhance environmental protection.
The move came in the wake of the nuclear leak disaster at Fukushima, caused by a quake-induced tsunami, which was the biggest accident in the sector since Chernobyl in Ukraine in 1986.
However the watered-down draft plan will not be legally binding, leading critics to describe it as toothless.
The deal must now be ratified by the 151 member states at the IAEA general conference, which runs until Friday.
The non-binding nature of the agreement, which also lacks any deadlines, is a result of pressure from the United States and China.
Germany, and to a lesser extent France, voiced criticism at the code of conduct’s lack of teeth.
Paris is “satisfied” with the new IAEA plan but will put forward suggestions Monday for “more ambitious” action,, French Energy Minister Eric Besson told AFP.
On Iran’s controversial nuclear programme, Washington is pressing the US agency to provide more information on the growing concern over the suspected military nature of Tehran’s ambitions.
Western powers accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of civil energy programme, a charge which Tehran denies.
A report presented to the 35-member IAEA board in Vienna Wednesday said the agency was “increasingly concerned” about a possible military dimension to Iran’s nuclear work, about which it “continues to receive new information”.
Glyn Davies, US envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told reporters in the Austrian capital last week that “the real fear is that Iran is continuing … and has over many years continued to explore and to develop technologies with no applications other than in the military sphere,” Also on the IAEA menu will be North Korea’s nuclear programme.
Pyongyang abandoned six-party talks – grouping China, Japan, the United States, the two Koreas and Russia – aimed at scrapping its nuclear arsenal in April 2009 and conducted its second nuclear test a month later.
But diplomatic efforts to restart the dialogue have picked up in recent months, with nuclear envoys from the two Koreas holding a rare meeting in Bali in July followed the same month by bilateral US-North Korea talks in New York.
Last month North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il held his first summit with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Siberia, and voiced hopes for the resumption of the so-called six-party nuclear disarmament talks.
The delegates will also discuss Syria which has said it is willing to meet nuclear inspectors in Damascus next month to discuss a desert site bombed by Israel in 2007 and thought to have been a secret nuclear facility.
Finally the 55th IAEA general conference will ponder the idea of creating a nuclear arm-free zone in the Middle East.
Israel is though to have developed a nuclear arsenal, though it has not officially said so.

Eight private bills on Senate agenda

2011-09-18T21:14:00.001-07:00

(7 hours ago) Today

The 32-point ‘Orders of the day’ list issued for the private members’ day contains seven motions and eight resolutions — most of which have been on the house agenda for more than a year. — File Photo

ISLAMABAD: There are eight private members’ bills on the agenda for the Senate’s Monday session. Included are two constitution amendments seeking an end to immunity enjoyed by elected representatives and simplification of the process for creating new provinces in the country.
The 32-point ‘Orders of the day’ list issued for the private members’ day contains seven motions and eight resolutions — most of which have been on the house agenda for more than a year.
The amendment bills seeking abolition of Article 248 regarding immunity to elected representatives, particularly the president and governors, and the simplification of the process of creating new provinces by amending Articles 1 and 239 have been submitted by Senator Salim Saifullah Khan of the breakaway Likeminded faction of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q.
Under Clause 2 of Article 248 “no criminal proceedings” can be “instituted or continued against the president or a governor in any court of law during term of office”.
Similarly, under Clause 3 no court can initiate or issue any “process for the arrest or imprisonment of the president or a governor during the term of office”.
Talking to Dawn on Sunday, Senator Khan said he had moved the bill seeking an end to the immunity being enjoyed by the president, governors, prime minister and federal and provincial ministers from appearing before any court because he believed that this article was against the basic teachings of Islam regarding equality.
Moreover, he said, to ensure justice in society each law should be applicable to every citizen irrespective of his or her position or status.
Through the bill seeking amendments to Articles 1 and 239, Mr Khan seeks an end to the condition of a two-thirds majority vote for creation of a province.
The PML-Q senator said that like India the process for creating a new province should be simplified and there should be a provision in the Constitution for creating provinces through a piece of legislation requiring a simple majority vote.

Eleven killed as 6.9 quake rocks India, Nepal

2011-09-18T12:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday

Residents stand together outdoors after an earthquake tremor in the eastern Indian city of Patna September 18, 2011. A magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit a remote area in northeastern India. -Reuters Photo

GUWAHATI: A strong 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit northeast India on Sunday, killing at least 11 people, including three caught in a wall collapse at the British Embassy in neighbouring Nepal.
The US Geological Survey said the quake struck the small, landlocked Himalayan state of Sikkim, which borders Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet, at around 6:10pm (1240 GMT).
The epicentre was just over 60 kilometres (40 miles) northwest of the Sikkim state capital Gangtok, which was plunged into darkness by a power cut after the quake.
“There is no electricity. Everybody is out on the road,” Gangtok resident C.K. Dahal told the CNN-IBN television news channel.
“We all ran out our houses, some even jumped out of their windows. You can see some buildings that have developed cracks,” Dahal added.
Powerful tremors were felt across a wide region, including Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Indian cities of Guwahati and Kolkata, and even as far away as the Indian capital New Delhi.
In Nepal, police said three people were killed, including a motorcyclist and his eight-year-old daughter, when a wall collapsed at the British Embassy compound in the capital Kathmandu, 270 kilometres west of the epicentre.
“Another two died in a separate incident in eastern Nepal,” national police spokesman Binod Singh told AFP.
A budget debate in Nepal’s parliament was stalled for 15 minutes while lawmakers leapt to their feet and fled the chamber as the entire building shook.
Telephone landlines to Sikkim, India’s least populous state, were knocked out and mobile networks were swamped, making communication with the affected area difficult.
The quake was followed by two strong aftershocks, one with a magnitude of 6.1.
Sikkim Chief Secretary Karma Gyatso told AFP that five people had been killed and 60 injured in and around Gangtok as the result of mudslides, building collapses and falling debris.
“We have reports of dozens of collapsed houses, and roads to many towns have ben blocked by landslides,” Gyatso said.
Another person was reported killed in a stampede by panicked residents in a town in the eastern state of Bihar.
Manish Sharma, a doctor attending a conference in Gangtok, told the NDTV news channel that guests in his hotel had all run for the doors as soon as the first tremors were felt.
“I am standing in front of the legislative assembly and I can see one of the outer buildings… the upper side is in two parts,” Sharma said.
“I can see light coming out of that particular portion. It has not collapsed but it is in two parts. One part has moved aside,” he said. “The police are trying to calm people down.”
In New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called an emergency meeting of the National Disaster Management Authority, and Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth said that air force planes carrying rescue teams and relief supplies had been despatched to Sikkim.
Strong tremors were felt in Guwahati, the main city in Assam state, some 600 kilometres away, sending panicked residents running into the streets.
“Our apartment block was literally swaying,” said housewife Anamika Das. In Kathmandu, traffic came to a standstill as hotels and bars were evacuated.
Hundreds of anxious tourists and residents waited for news in car parks and on the streets as the seasonal monsoon rain lashed down.
In Bhutan, buildings in the capital Thimphu were also rocked. “Our wooden house is safe. Jars fell in kitchen, books fell from shelf,”Thimphu resident Aby Tharakan, a media consultant, said in a message posted on
the microblogging website Twitter.
India’s seven northeastern states, joined to the rest of the country by a narrow sliver of land, are located in an area of frequent seismic activity.

Pakistan edge Zimbabwe by five runs

2011-09-18T10:30:00.001-07:00

(58 minutes ago) Today

Pakistan's Misbah ul-Haq (C) and Sohail Khan celebrate victory as Zimbabwe batsman Tatenda Taibu (R) walks off the pitch in the second and final Twenty20 international between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Harare Sports Club. -AFP Photo

HARARE: Pakistan completed a clean-sweep of Zimbabwe by winning the second and final Twenty20 international by five runs at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday.
Pakistan made 141 from their 20 overs with Mohammed Hafeez top-scoring with 51 before Zimbabwe were held to 136 for seven.
Teams:
Zimbabwe: Vusi Sibanda, Chamu Chibhabha, Cephas Zhuwao, Hamilton Masakadza, Charles Coventry, Brendan Taylor, Tatenda Taibu, Elton Chigumbura, Ray Price, Prosper Utseya, Kyle Jarvis
Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Rameez Raja junior, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Sohail Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Yasir Shah, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan

At least 15 killed in anti-Saleh march in Yemen

2011-09-18T10:29:00.001-07:00

(1 hour ago) Today

Students shout slogans as they protest outside Sanaa University in support of boycotting university studies as part of protests demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa. -AFP Photo

SANAA: At least 15 protesters were killed in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Sunday, when gunfire broke out at one of the biggest demonstrations against President Ali Abdullah Saleh in recent months, a Reuters witness said.
Scores were wounded when security forces opened fire on the crowds and sprayed them with tear gas as tens of thousands spilled out of Change Square, where many youths have camped out, demanding an end to Saleh’s 33-year rule, a Reuters witness said.
Dozens of men were slumped on the ground, overcome by tear gas inhalation. Men on motorbikes and ambulances whisked them away from the scene.
The Defence Ministry said on its website protesters threw petrol bombs, setting a police car ablaze. It blamed leading Islamist opposition party, Islah, for opening fire on the march.
Frustrated by Saleh’s tenacity and their failure to dislodge him, protesters are seeking to ratchet up demonstrations, which have dragged into their eighth month.
“Escalation, escalation,” they chanted, flooding side streets where there were large numbers of security forces and armed anti-Saleh tribesmen, who have appointed themselves as defenders of Yemen’s protest movement.
Earlier on Sunday, fighting broke out in a northern district of Sanaa, the latest breach of an uneasy ceasefire between tribesmen opposed to Saleh and troops loyal to him.
Shelling could be heard near the home of a prominent anti-Saleh tribal leader in the Hasaba district, the site of weeks of fighting. The family of Sadeq al-Ahmar said the Republican Guard, commanded by Saleh’s son, had shelled their house.
Saleh, recovering in Saudi Arabia from a June assassination attempt, is holding on to power despite international pressure to quit and eight months of protests against his 33-year rule which have bought the impoverished Arab state to the brink of civil war.
The United States and Saudi Arabia fear unrest in Yemen will embolden al Qaeda’s Yemen-based regional wing to launch strikes in the region and beyond.
On Thursday, mediators from neighbouring Saudi Arabia intervened to help end the street fighting, which was the fiercest in recent weeks, diplomatic sources said

Magnitude 6.8 quake hits northeast India

2011-09-18T10:28:00.001-07:00

(3 hours ago) Today

“Cracks have developed in some buildings in Gangtok. Most phone lines are down and there is no electricity now. People have come out on the street,” said Gangtok resident Bobby Dahal. - File Photo

NEW DELHI: A magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit a remote area in northeastern India on Sunday evening, causing panic as far as the capital of neighbouring Bangladesh, but officials did not initially report large scale casualties or damage.
The US Geological Survey said on its website the quake was centered 64 km (40 miles) north west of Gangtok, capital of northeastern state Sikkim. It was 10 km (6.2 miles) deep.
“Cracks have developed in some buildings in Gangtok. Most phone lines are down and there is no electricity now. People have come out on the street,” said Gangtok resident Bobby Dahal.
“It is too early to ascertain any damage. We are trying to get in touch with the state government of Sikkim to know if they need any help from us,” Sujata Saunail, joint secretary of he National Disaster Management Authority, told Reuters.
Sikkim is India’s least populous state, located in the Himalayas between Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet.
The quake was felt all the way to Bangladesh, shaking buildings in the capital and neighbouring areas, but no casualties or damage were reported immediately. Thousands of panic-stricken families in Dhaka ran out of high-rise buildings on to the streets as the ground under their feet shook.
Several earthquakes have hit north and east India this year, but none have caused major damage or injuries.
“We do not expect major damage as the quake was moderate despite being strong. But we do expect some aftershocks,” said G. C. Debnath, a director at state-run India Meteorological Department’s Kolkata unit.
There were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage.
Powerful tremors were felt in Guwahati, the main city in neighbouring Assam some 600 kilometres away, sending panicked residents running into the streets.

UAE beat Pakistan 2-0 in AFC U-16 Championship qualifiers

2011-09-18T10:27:00.001-07:00

(4 hours ago) Today

UAE's Mayed Al-Zaabi (R) challenges Pakistan's Muhammad Sohail. -Reuters Photo

LAHORE: Pakistan’s fall to more illustrious Middle East sides continued as they were beaten 2-0 by the UAE at Mohammad Ali Hamad Stadium in Kuwait.
The loss is a huge blow for Pakistan’s attempts to get a good standing in the group for qualification to final round, espescially since rivals Kuwait beat Maldives 5-0 while Afghanistan prevailed 2-1 over Yemen.
According to the press release issued by the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF), Pakistan team coach Sajjad Mehmood said that team’s better finishing in front of goal could have decided the tie in their favor as striker Muhammad Bilal missed three sure shot chances.
But UAE maintained an upper hand as two goals from defender Rashed Ali Suleiman in either half helped them get another precious three points.
The result leaves Pakistan now struggling on 3 points from 3 games in 5th place, ahead of lowly Maldives with 0 points, while Kuwait lead the pack with seven points, with UAE and Afghanistan in 2nd and 3rd places with five points each, while Yemen lie 4th with four points.
Pakistan now face a daunting task as they must win their final two games against impressive surprise package Afghanistan and a gutsy Yemen side if they want any chance of finishing higher in the group.

More fighting breaks ceasefire in Yemen capital

2011-09-18T10:26:00.001-07:00

(4 hours ago) Today

Students shout slogans as they protest on the Sanaa University campus to show their support for a boycott of university studies as part of protests demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa,Yemen, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011. The Arabic on banners at left reads, “for the blood of the martyrs, I will convey my revolution from inside the university to each house.” – AP Photo/Hani Mohammed

SANAA: Fighting broke out in a northern district of the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Sunday, the latest breach of an uneasy ceasefire between tribesmen opposed to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and troops loyal to him.
Shelling could be heard near the home of a prominent anti-Saleh tribal leader in the Hasaba district, site of weeks of fighting that began in May and brought the impoverished Arab state to the brink of civil war.
The family of anti-Saleh tribal leader Sadeq al-Ahmar said the Republican Guard, commanded by Saleh’s son, had shelled their house.
State media and a security source blamed the fighting on the tribesmen, who have sided with protesters demanding the resignation of Saleh, saying they had attacked the Interior Ministry building in Hasaba armed with a variety of weapons.
Several civilians were hurt in the attack by the tribesmen, state television said.
Tensions that have been bubbling in the past week have led to two earlier outbreaks of fighting in the capital.
On Thursday, mediators from neighbouring Saudi Arabia intervened to help end the street fighting, which was the fiercest in recent weeks, diplomatic sources said.
Saleh, recovering in Saudi Arabia from a June assassination attempt, is holding on to power despite international pressure to quit and eight months of protests against his 33-year rule.
The United States and Saudi Arabia fear unrest in Yemen will embolden al Qaeda’s Yemen-based regional wing to launch strikes in the region and beyond.

Netanyahu says Palestinian UN bid doomed to fail

2011-09-18T05:49:00.001-07:00

(2 hours ago) Today

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, talks during a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011. – AP Photo

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that next week’s bid by the Palestinians for UN membership had no chance of success and that they would ultimately seek renewed talks.
“Their attempt to be accepted as a member of the United Nations will fail,” he said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting.
“That attempt will fail, since it has to pass through the Security Council.”
President Mahmud Abbas has promised Palestinians he will seek UN membership from the Security Council next Friday, despite stiff opposition from Israel and the United States, who say that only direct negotiations can resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Washington, Israel’s main ally, has already announced it will use its veto to block the Palestinian bid in the Security Council.
“As a result of the actions of the United States, which is working closely with us, and of other governments with which we and the Americans are working, I predict that this attempt will fail,” Netanyahu said.
“In the end, after the smoke clears and after everything that happens at the UN, the Palestinians will come to their senses, I hope, drop these moves to bypass negotiations and return to the table in order to bring peace to us and our neighbours.”
Netanyahu compared the Security Council to the UN’s government, while the General Assembly, he said was more like a parliament.
“There you can pass almost any resolution,” he said. “They could decide that the sun rises in the west and sinks in the east but it doesn’t have the same weight and the same importance as the Security Council.”
Netanyahu has said he too will go to the UN to explain Israel’s opposition to the Palestinian move. Like Abbas, he is to speak on September 23, a government official said.
The White House says he is also likely to meet President Barack Obama in New York.
Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians foundered nearly a year ago in a dispute over Israel’s continued construction of Jewish settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

2011-09-18T05:48:00.001-07:00

Fighting erupts in besieged pro-Qadhafi town

2011-09-18T03:07:00.001-07:00

(43 minutes ago) Today

Anti-Qadhafi fighters take cover as they come under fire at the entrance of the besieged desert town of Bani Walid September 18, 2011. - Reuters Photo

NORTH OF BANI WALID: Powerful explosions and sustained machinegun fire rattled the Libyan desert stronghold of Bani Walid on Sunday as fighters loyal to Muammar Qadhafi shelled positions held by interim government forces around the town.
Forces backed by Libya’s new rulers said fighting had continued overnight on the outskirts of Bani Walid, one of the ousted leader’s last bastions, as their opponents put up strong resistance.
“We fought all night. We have surrounded the city from all sides with the range of 40 km (25 miles),” anti-Qadhafi field commander Absalim Gnuna told Reuters at the northern gate of Bani Walid.
“Most areas north of the central valley are clear. It is a big fight,” he said, as his fighters squatted behind walls and vehicles to shield themselves from heavy shell fire

Dengue claims three more lives; death toll reaches 31

2011-09-18T03:06:00.001-07:00

(1 hour ago) Today

A nurse attends a patient suffering from mosquito-borne disease dengue fever at a local hospital Lahore, Pakistan Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011. - AP Photo

LAHORE: The recent outbreak of dengue has claimed three more lives bringing the total fatalities from dengue fever to 31 in the country.
Two patients passed away in Lahore while one was reported dead in the Thatta city of Sindh on Sunday, DawnNews reported.
According to the Health department 6147 patients have been confirmed with dengue virus out of which 5715 patients belong to Lahore.
However, the unreported number of dengue patients exceeds the official figures.
Chief Minister of Punjab, Mian Shahbaz Sharif presided over a meeting for dengue control in Punjab. The Sri Lankan experts were also present in the meeting.

2011-09-18T02:55:00.000-07:00

ONLINE POKIES AUSTRALIAFREESHOUTBOXblack jackJACKPOT CITYONLINE CASINO REVIEWS

US drone crashes in S.Waziristan, militants claim responsibility

2011-09-18T01:52:00.000-07:00

(1 hour ago) Today

The drone crashed in South Waziristan, part of the lawless tribal belt that Washington calls a global headquarters of Al-Qaeda, the officials told AFP. - File photo

MIRANSHAH: An unmanned US drone crashed in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal district on Sunday, Pakistan security officials said.
Tehreek-e-Taliban have claimed responsibility for the crash and said the US drone was shot down, DawnNews reported. Meanwhile security officials claimed that the drone had crashed due to technical difficulties.
The drone crashed in South Waziristan, part of the lawless tribal belt that Washington calls a global headquarters of Al-Qaeda, the officials told AFP.
“The American drone crashed in Zangara village of South Waziristan, apparently because of some technical faults,” a security official in Peshawar said.
Zangara is 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Wana, the main town of South Waziristan.
Two intelligence officials in Wana confirmed the incident. It was an armed Predator drone, they said.
The United States uses unmanned surveillance aircraft in its war against the Taliban in Afghanistan to monitor militants in Pakistan, from where Al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked fighters launch attacks in Afghanistan.
It also uses Predator armed drones to launch missile attacks aimed at militants in Pakistan’s unstable northwestern border areas.
US drone crashes are very rare in Pakistan, but a surveillance drone equipped with a camera crashed in southwestern Pakistan on August 25.
In September 2008, tribesmen in South Waziristan claimed to have shot down another surveillance drone in Jalal village, near the Afghan border.
The Pakistani army said at the time that it was investigating that incident but did not make the results of the probe public.
The US drone campaign is deeply unpopular among an anti-American Pakistani public and the government has publicly demanded an end to the attacks.
However, in private, Pakistani military and civilian leaders are thought to co-operate with the programme and Washington says it has been successful in eliminating a number of Al-Qaeda- and Taliban-linked militants in Pakistan.
Around two dozen drone strikes have been reported in Pakistan since elite US forces killed Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in a suburban home near Pakistan’s main military academy in Abbottabad, close to the capital, on May 2.
The raid humiliated Pakistan and prompted allegations of incompetence and complicity in sheltering bin Laden.
Pakistan is seen as a key ally for the United States in its fight against militancy, but relations soured after the bin Laden raid, which both countries say was carried out without Islamabad being warned.

Police arrest suspect target killer, torture cell discovered

2011-09-18T01:51:00.000-07:00

(2 hours ago) Today

The suspect was arrested on Saturday night in an operation by the Specialized Investigation Unit of police from near the Kati Pahari area of Orangi Town. - File Photo

KARACHI: Police arrested a suspected target killer from the troubled area of Orangi Town on Saturday, DawnNews reported.
The suspect was arrested on Saturday night in an operation by the Specialized Investigation Unit near the Kati Pahari area of Orangi Town.
According to police, the alleged target killer admitted to committing three murders during investigation. The suspect was also reported to have had two pistols in possession at the time of the arrest.
Based on information provided by the suspect, police further discovered a torture cell in a raid on the Shah Faisal area of Orangi Town. Moreover, a dead body was also found to be buried at the location.
The victim was identified to be a resident of Kati Pahari.

Fifteen killed as militants attack Khyber checkpost

2011-09-18T01:50:00.000-07:00

(2 hours ago) Today

Ten militants were also reported to be killed in retaliatory fire by security forces. - File Photo

PESHAWAR: At least fifteen people were killed when Taliban militants attacked a checkpost manned by pro-government tribesman and security forces in northwest Pakistan, officials said on Sunday.
Armed with assault rifles and hand grenades, the militants killed four ethnic Pashtun tribesmen and a paramilitary soldier in the late Saturday attack.
Members of a tribal militia and security forces retaliated, killing 10 militants, said a senior government official in the Khyber region near the Afghan border, where the incident took place.
“A large number of weapons from the militants were also confiscated,” said the official, Rehan Khattak.
Pakistan’s Taliban have stepped up attacks on Pashtun tribes who have raised militias to help security forces.
At least 40 people were killed and 68 wounded when a suicide bomber attacked a funeral of a member of a pro-government tribe in the northwestern Lower Dir district on Thursday.
Militants also claimed responsibility for an attack on a school bus on Tuesday which killed five people, saying the children on the bus were from a pro-government tribe.
The Taliban are also holding more than 20 young men hostage from a pro-government tribe in an area straddling the Afghan border and have demanded the release of scores of prisoners and an end to support of military offensives against them.
Pakistani authorities have been encouraging the Pashtun tribes to revive traditional militias to counter the growing number of militants fighting the Pakistani state.
Under a centuries-old tradition, the tribes raise the militias, or lashkars, in their semi-autonomous regions to fight criminal gangs and enforce their tribal codes.

Three killed in attack on passenger bus in lower Kurram

2011-09-18T01:49:00.000-07:00

(3 hours ago) Today

Unidentified armed assailants opened fire on a passenger vehicle in Lower Kurram on Sunday, killing three people in the process. - File Photo

PESHAWAR: Three people were killed on Sunday when unidentified armed assailants opened fire on a passenger bus in the Haider Khan area of lower Kurram Agency, DawnNews reported.
According to sources, the three men were traveling from Parachinar to Alizai when the armed attackers opened fire on their vehicle. Moreover, it was reported that all three of them were members of the Tori tribe belonging to the blockaded Parachinar region.

Pakistan to end IMF programme

2011-09-17T21:20:00.001-07:00

Yesterday

This is the eighth programme with the IMF to conclude on an unsuccessful note. – File Photo by AFP

ISLAMABAD: The finance minister and his team are off to Washington to preside over the end of the current IMF programme. Of the nine programmes that Pakistan got into with the Fund, eight have been unsuccessful.
The government’s inability to implement three major economic policy commitments — limiting fiscal deficit to 4.7 per cent of GDP, introducing integrated value added tax (VAT) and power sector reforms — will lead to technical completion of an unsuccessful $11.3 billion programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on September 30, according to Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh.
This is the eighth programme with the IMF to conclude on an unsuccessful note. On the eve of the departure of Pakistan’s economic team for Washington to attend annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank, the finance minister told journalists that Pakistan would not waste its energy on revival of the incomplete programme or seek a fresh programme owing to a comfortable external balance of payments position.
He, however, said the government would stay on course on power sector reforms and macroeconomic adjustment and stabilisation programme and take steps so that it has reasonable credibility to return to the IMF programme with ease in case of any difficulty with external account.
The economic team will remain in the United States till September 27, another official said. The government had secured a $11.3 billion programme in 2008 and got disbursements of about $7.6 billion, but failed to get the remaining $3.7 billion due to slippages in performance criteria, leading to suspension of the programme since May 2010. The programme was extended for nine months until September 30, but disbursements were not resumed owing continuous non-observance of agreed measures.
Officials said the government might have to increase electricity tariff by 10-12 per cent if it succeeded in pushing forward the power sector reforms to reduce subsidies. The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Dr Nadeem ul Haque, said he could not even imagine the quantum of tariff increase required to be introduced in case reforms failed to progress because the power sector’s financing gap stood at about Rs250 billion this year.
Officials said the government had committed to the IMF to contain the fiscal deficit below 4.7 per cent of the GDP after the last year’s floods, which was later revised to 5.3 per cent of the GDP. However, the government could not meet even the revised fiscal deficit limit which officially exceeded 5.9 per cent at the end of the financial year on June 30 this year.
The government also could not introduce the value added tax in an integrated form and then it could not show a good performance on power sector reforms which also contributed to higher than anticipated fiscal deficit.
The official said both the government and the IMF understood that spending energy on revival of existing programme for a couple of billions of dollars were of no use.
The government’s comfortable feeling stems from anticipated $37 billion earnings from a five per cent growth in exports and strong workers’ remittances during the current fiscal year, enough to meet the country’s foreign exchange requirements with a current account deficit of about 1-2 per cent.
The officials said the government would have to repay $1.2 billion to IMF during the current year in two instalments and it estimated a gap of $500 million to a maximum of $2 billion during the year.
The finance minister tried to explain how the government could remain fiscally responsible in the absence of an IMF programme when elections were fast nearing. Reminded that the previous government had given up the IMF programme prematurely which later led to a freezing of power tariffs and build-up of oil-related subsidies and that the current government was also following the same path ahead of elections to leave a poor economy for the next government, the minister said elections were never discussed in any official meeting.

US can prove Pakistan’s ties with Haqqanis

2011-09-17T21:18:00.001-07:00

(5 hours ago) Today
“The attack that took place in Kabul a few days ago, that was the work of the Haqqani network,” Cameron Munter, the US ambassador to Islamabad, told Radio Pakistan in an interview aired on Saturday. – File Photo by AP

ISLAMABAD: The United States accused Pakistan on Saturday of having ties with the Haqqani network, a group which Washington held responsible for an assault earlier this week on the US embassy in Kabul and also for attacks on Nato troops across Afghanistan.

“The attack that took place in Kabul a few days ago, that was the work of the Haqqani network,” Cameron Munter, the US ambassador to Islamabad, told Radio Pakistan in an interview aired on Saturday.

“There is evidence linking the Haqqani network to the Pakistan government. This is something that must stop.”

Militants in a bomb-laden truck occupied a building in Kabul on Tuesday, raining rockets and gunfire on the US embassy and other targets in the diplomatic quarter of the Afghan capital, and battled police during a 20 hour siege.

Five Afghan policemen and 11 civilians were killed in the multi-pronged attacks, which also included three suicide bombings at police compounds.

Cameron Munter suggested ties with Pakistan were still heavily strained, despite recent comments from both sides on strong counter-terrorism cooperation.

“These relations today need a lot of work,” he said.

Observers in Washington interpreted the interview as supporting speculations that the US had now decided to take direct military action against the Haqqani network with or without Pakistan’s support.

Washington has long accused Islamabad of sheltering militants who carry out attacks inside Afghanistan. Islamabad says its forces are taking high casualties fighting militants, and dismisses any allegation it provides support for fighters.

Defence Secretary Leon Panetta warned Pakistan on Wednesday the United States would “do everything we can” to defend US forces from Pakistan-based militants staging attacks in Afghanistan.

The Haqqani network is perhaps the most divisive issue between the two allies. The United States has repeatedly pressed Pakistan to go after the network, which it believes is based in North Waziristan.

Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani virtually ruled out a full-scale operation against the Haqqani network on Friday. At a meeting of Nato’s defence chiefs in Seville, Spain, he reiterated Pakistan’s “resolve and commitment” in the struggle against terrorism, but at the same time stressed that Islamabad had the “sovereign right to formulate policy in accordance with its national interests”.—Reuters

Anwar Iqbal adds from Washington: The United States has been quietly taking legal action to link the Haqqani network of terrorists to Pakistan long before the US ambassador went public with the allegation.

The US State Department took first such legal action on March 25, 2009. In a recently released joint article, Senator Dianne Feinstein, chairperson of the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the US Senate Armed Services Committee, also blamed Pakistan for backing the Haqqani network and other militant groups.

“Most disturbing are Pakistan’s continuing ties to extremist militant groups, particularly the Haqqani group in North Waziristan and the Afghan Taliban shura in and around Quetta,” they wrote.

“Pakistan provides safe harbor to the Haqqani insurgent group responsible for attacks against US and coalition forces across the border in Afghanistan. Regardless of what Pakistan knew about Bin Laden’s whereabouts, the Haqqani sanctuaries are well-known.”

Senator Feinstein told a recent congressional hearing that the Pakistani army resisted attacking North Waziristan and the Haqqanis because it wanted to use the group to influence future political changes in Afghanistan.

But long before US officials and lawmakers went public with their complaints, the US State Department had been quietly highlighting Pakistan’s alleged link to the network. In its March 25, 2009, executive order, which offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the location, arrest, or conviction of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the State Department clearly said that the terrorist leader was “located in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan”. The department also claimed that Sirajuddin Haqqani used his sanctuaries inside Pakistan to coordinate cross-border attacks on US and coalition forces in Afghanistan and also had participated in some of these attacks.

On July 23, 2010, the then State Department spokesman, Philip J. Crowley, noted that all UN members must implement a travel ban restriction, asset freeze and arms embargo against leaders of the Haqqani network. “Pakistan, as a UN member, must implement this international action,” he added.

On May 11, 2011, the State Department designated another network leader Badruddin Haqqani, a foreign terrorist commander who “operates from North Waziristan Agency” in Fata. “Badruddin sits on the Miramshah Shura, which has command and control over all Haqqani network activities, and helps lead insurgents and foreign fighters in attacks against targets in southeastern Afghanistan,” the announcement said.

“In Nov 2008, Badruddin accepted responsibility for keeping New York Times reporter David Rohde” who also was kept in Fata, the State Department said.

On Aug 16 this year, the State Department designated Sangeen Zadran, the shadow governor for Paktika province, a foreign terrorist associated with the Haqqani network.

Sangeen is accused of bringing the network’s fighters from Fata for carrying out attacks inside Afghanistan and also of kidnapping Afghans and foreigners in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The annual US State Department report on terrorism in South Asia, released on Aug 18 this year, claimed that groups such as the Taliban’s Quetta Shura and the Haqqani Network were using “western Pakistan to plan attacks against American interests in Afghanistan”.

The groups had increased their use of improvised explosive devices and coordinated attacks using multiple suicide bombers in Afghanistan, “while their leadership remained hiding in their safe havens in Pakistan”, the report said.

ALLATOXNEWS

HEADLINES

FREE adsense acount

Clinton presses Pakistan for action on Haqqani network

New nuclear security plan tops IAEA talk’s agenda

Eight private bills on Senate agenda

TOP STORIES

TOP STORIES

Eleven killed as 6.9 quake rocks India, Nepal

Pakistan edge Zimbabwe by five runs

At least 15 killed in anti-Saleh march in Yemen

Magnitude 6.8 quake hits northeast India

UAE beat Pakistan 2-0 in AFC U-16 Championship qualifiers

More fighting breaks ceasefire in Yemen capital

Netanyahu says Palestinian UN bid doomed to fail

TOP STORIES

Fighting erupts in besieged pro-Qadhafi town

Dengue claims three more lives; death toll reaches 31

US drone crashes in S.Waziristan, militants claim responsibility

Police arrest suspect target killer, torture cell discovered

Fifteen killed as militants attack Khyber checkpost

Three killed in attack on passenger bus in lower Kurram

Pakistan to end IMF programme

US can prove Pakistan’s ties with Haqqanis