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The Express Tribune Newsletter: May 08, 2012
Dunya TV
Dunya TV |
- Last rehearsal of Victory Day Parade held in Moscow
- US foils Al Qaeda bomb plot against sirliner
- Lahore: AFC Presidents Cup begins today
- Polio eradication a common challenge: PM
- Govt not acting upon our suggestions on power crisis, say Dar
- Ambassador to Pakistan set to leave post
- Blue clay makes debut at Madrid Open
- Facebook's Zuckerberg seeks investor friends in New York
- No negotiation with Al Qaeda for release of Weinstein: US
- Layyah: 3 killed while resisting bank robbery
- KSE starts week with mixed trend
- Two shot dead in firing incident in Karachi
- Junior Asia Hockey Cup: Pakistan reach semi-final
- No negotiation with Al-Qaeda for US citizen release: White House
- PSG struggle to beat Valenciennes
| Last rehearsal of Victory Day Parade held in Moscow Posted: <p> </p><p>The parade will mark the 67th anniversary of the capitulation of Nazi Germany in 1945. On the Victory Day, Vladimir Putin will inspect the troops as the Russian president again after four years.</p><p> </p><p>More than 14,000 people from Russian armed forces and military schools will participate in the parade, and many modern military equipment and weapons will be put on display.</p><p> </p><p>"We watch the parade every year, not only for weapons and equipment, but also for the morale of soldiers," said a Moscow resident.</p><p> </p><p>According to the government, more than 12,000 celebrations will be held in Moscow on the Victory Day, and a firework display will be staged in the evening.<br /> </p>
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| US foils Al Qaeda bomb plot against sirliner Posted: <p> </p><p>The United States has foiled a plot by Al Qaeda s branch in Yemen to blow up an airliner and recovered an explosive device, officials said Monday, stressing the public was never in danger.</p><p> </p><p>"The device was for use by a suicide bomber on an airliner," a US counterterrorism official told AFP on condition of anonymity.</p><p> </p><p>The plot hatched by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was uncovered at an early stage and represented a "success story" for US authorities working closely with allies, he added.</p><p> </p><p>"At no point were any airlines at risk," the official said, as news of the plot was revealed just days after the first anniversary of the killing of Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden by US commandos at his Pakistan hideout.</p><p> </p><p>The bomb had "notable differences" from the explosive employed in a failed attempt also linked to the Al Qaeda affiliate to blow up a US-bound airliner on Christmas Day 2009 using plastic explosives hidden in a Nigerian man s underwear, the official said.</p><p> </p><p>According to the FBI, the improvised explosive device was seized abroad and was currently in its possession. Agents were "conducting technical and forensics analysis on it."</p><p> </p><p>"Initial exploitation indicates that the device is very similar to IEDs that have been used previously by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in attempted terrorist attacks, including against aircraft and for targeted assassinations," the FBI statement added.</p><p> </p><p>The bomb was "a non-metallic device," the counterterrorism official said, presumably to avoid detection by airport security. "This suggests AQAP is adapting its methodology, its tactics et cetera."</p><p> </p><p>President Barack Obama was briefed about the plot in April and was told by his deputies that lives were never in danger, said Caitlin Hayden, deputy spokeswoman for the National Security Council.</p><p> </p><p>"While the president was assured that the device did not pose a threat to the public, he directed the Department of Homeland Security and law enforcement and intelligence agencies to take whatever steps necessary to guard against this type of attack," she said in a statement.</p><p> </p><p>AQAP has been linked to the 2009 Christmas plot in which a bomb hidden in an attacker s underwear failed to detonate on a plane bound for Detroit.</p><p> </p><p>And it is also suspected of having a hand in a 2010 attempt to blow up cargo planes heading to the United States with explosives concealed in printer cartridges.<br /> </p>
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| Lahore: AFC Presidents Cup begins today Posted: <p> </p><p>AFC President’s Cup Football Tournament will start today in Lahore. The coaches of Mongolia’s domestic champions Erchim FC, Chinese Taipei’s Taiwan Power Company and Pakistan’s KRL held a press conference at the FIFA Football House in Lahore.</p><p> </p><p>The visitors from Mongolia and Chinese Taipei expressed satisfaction over the security arrangement for the tournament.</p><p> </p><p>The opening match of the tournament will be played between KRL and Erchim FC today.<br /> </p>
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| Polio eradication a common challenge: PM Posted: <p> </p><p>Addressing a meeting of the National Task Force on Polio Eradication in Islamabad, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said called for redoubling of efforts for eradication of polio from the country.</p><p> </p><p>The Prime Minister said that Pakistan in among the three countries where polio still exists. Commending the overall progress made in the country in polio eradication with 16 cases reported so far this year as against 36 cases in the corresponding period last year, the Prime Minister said he was happy to note that there had been a progressive improvement in the polio campaign coverage which has shown a significant upward trend with 80 percent districts having over 95 percent coverage as against only 42 percent districts having over 95 percent coverage in December 2011.</p><p> </p><p>The meeting was attended among other by Governor and Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chief Minister Balochistan, Health Minister from Sindh, Acting Prime Minister AJK and Chief Secretaries of Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan alongside Chief Commissioner Islamabad.<br /> </p>
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| Govt not acting upon our suggestions on power crisis, say Dar Posted: <p> </p><p>Addressing a delegation of traders in Rawalpindi, opposition leader in Senate Ishaq Dar said that 0.2 million labourers in Faisalabad became jobless and the national exchequer incurred Rs 2 billion loss due to power crisis.</p><p> </p><p>Ishaq Dar said that coal reserve can be used to generate enough electricity to overcome the power crisis. He asked the provinces to pay PEPCO dues. <br /><br /><br /> </p>
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| Ambassador to Pakistan set to leave post Posted: <p> </p><p>US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter announced to his staff Monday morning that he was stepping down this summer after serving less than two years on the job.</p><p> </p><p>We’re told his early departure — ambassadors usually serve three-year tours and Munter has only been in Islamabad since October 2010 — is not related to any particular policy dispute, either with the administration or the Pakistanis.</p><p> </p><p>There was a bit of tension all around, however, in March 2011 when a drone strike killed 44 people and wounded 50 more in North Waziristan. The attack came the day after former CIA contractor Raymond Davis was released and left the country after being detained for shooting and killing two Pakistanis.</p><p> </p><p>Word is that Munter, a veteran career diplomat whose prior postings had been in Bonn, Prague and Warsaw and as ambassador to Serbia before becoming a senior official in Iraq in 2009 and 2010, simply wasn’t a good fit with the Pakistani government — and perhaps not with the Obama administration as well<br /> </p>
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| Blue clay makes debut at Madrid Open Posted: <p> </p><p>Defending champion Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer preview blue clay courts being used for the first time ever at the Madrid Open.</p><p> </p><p>A two-week break following the death of his grandfather has allowed Novak Djokovic to regain his focus in time to defend his Madrid Open title this week. <br />Djokovic, like most of the competitors in Madrid, has been questioned about the controversial blue clay courts being used for the first time in a tournament.</p><p> </p><p>"We have the blue clay courts for first time in the history of our sport and it is definitely interesting for everybody to see what is going to happen, you know, throughout this week," he said on Monday.</p><p> </p><p>Traditional red clay has been dyed blue for the event - the theory is that the ball can be seen more clearly. Djokovic is among those who are not "a big fan" of the change.</p><p> </p><p>Nadal was pleased to practice in front of the Spanish fans. The world number two is confident after winning the Monte Carlo and Barcelona titles but faces a tough first round opponent, Russian Nikolay Davydenko, in the new blue clay court.</p><p> </p><p>"We will see, we will this week. I am not a big fan of the blue clay but that is the way it is today and I will just try to adapt my game as good as possible to play well here and that is the most important thing today - just keep pressing hard and put everything on court to have a good result," Nadal said.</p><p> </p><p>Number three seed Roger Federer, who received a first-round by together with Djkokovic and Nadal, will face the winner of the first round match between big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic and former world number three from Argentina David Nalbandian in his opening round.</p><p> </p><p>"This year obviously a bit different, we got some blue clay coming (for) the first tournament and it is a tricky one especially knowing how well all the other players are already playing but I hope I get through the early rounds and then hopefully find my range and to start to play really great tennis," Federer said.<br /> </p>
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| Facebook's Zuckerberg seeks investor friends in New York Posted: <p> </p><p>Facebook Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg fielded questions about the No. 1 social network s slowing revenue growth and its $1 billion purchase of Instagram as he kicked off a cross-country roadshow to promote the company s $10 billion initial public offering.</p><p> </p><p>Wearing his trademark "hoodie" sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers, the 27-year-old chief executive said he would do the Instagram deal again if he had to, according to people who attended the event.</p><p> </p><p>Hundreds of investors attended the presentation at New York s Sheraton Hotel, which was closed to the media, on Monday.</p><p> </p><p>The world s largest social network aims to raise about $10.6 billion, dwarfing the coming-out parties of tech companies like Google Inc and granting it a market value close to Amazon.com Inc s.</p><p> </p><p>The 8-year-old social network that began as Zuckerberg s Harvard dorm room project indicated an IPO range of $28 to $35 a share on Thursday, which would value the company at $77 billion to $96 billion.<br /> </p>
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| No negotiation with Al Qaeda for release of Weinstein: US Posted: <p> </p><p>The US officials on Monday made clear that they would not enter into any sort of negotiations on the demands made in the newly released video of a US national, Warren Weinstein, to secure his release from Al Qaeda.</p><p> </p><p>The White House spokesman, Jay Carney stated that the US administration was concerned about the safety of Mr. Weinstein, a 70-year old worker of a development agency abducted from Lahore in Pakistan last July. "We condemn the kidnapping and call for his immediate release," he said adding that the US would continue to undertake efforts for his release.</p><p> </p><p>On another question about the video released by Al Qaeda, Carney said he did not believe the president had seen the video. In the said video, Warren Weinstein is shown wearing a traditional Pakistani dress and has pleaded for help saying that he would be killed unless President Barack Obama agrees to the demands of his kidnappers.</p><p> </p><p>On the other hand, the deputy spokesman of the US State Department, Mark Toner also rejected the possibility of giving in to the demands made in the video. "As you know, we don t make concessions to terrorists," he said in a firm tone while saying that the authenticity of the released video was still being ascertained.</p><p> </p><p>When asked if the video proved that Mr Weinsein was still alive, Toner said the appropriate agencies were looking at this and trying to make a judgment on it. "Taking this video for face value, yes. But we haven t done the rigorous analysis I think that would prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that it s credible when it s him, and that it would put a kind of time-date on it," he said.</p><p> </p><p>"We can t even right now say for certain that it s a credible video of him. I think analysis is ongoing about, you know, when it was taken and whether it s a valid video or not of him," he went on to add.</p><p> </p><p>When asked if the US had any idea of where he s being held, the spokesperson said that it appeared to be the tribal area of Pakistan. "We think he s probably or most likely being held in the tribal areas of Pakistan. But we don t have any way to confirm that," he observed. He refused to divulge any other details of the case adding that the investigations were still underway.</p><p> </p><p>"We obviously remain very, very concerned about the safety and well-being of Mr. Weinstein. We have called and continue to call for his immediate release, and we continue to cooperate closely with Pakistani authorities on the ongoing investigation. And we re obviously also in close contact with Mr Weinstein s family, offering appropriate consular assistance as they request it", he explained.</p><p> </p><p>On Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar s statement that she wanted Secretary Clinton or the United States to give evidence that Ayman al-Zawahri was in Pakistan following Secretary Clinton s statement on the same matter, Toner was unaware that it had been formally communicated.</p><p> </p><p>"You know where we are in our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan. We continue to view it as a threat to both our countries, and we want to take steps to work cooperatively with Pakistan," he stated.</p><p> </p><p>"With respect to what Secretary Clinton said earlier today in India, you know, we ve been very clear why our Rewards for Justice programme was put in place. We want to see this individual (Hafiz Saeed) brought to justice. You know, as you remember at the time, there was a lot of speculation on why we did this, because everyone knows he s in Pakistan. What we want to do is give the Pakistani authorities the judicial wherewithal to bring this guy to justice. You know, at the time we used the phrase -- and then continue to use evidence that can withstand judicial scrutiny. You know, whether he s tried in a Pakistani court or in a US court or wherever, we want to see him brought to justice," Toner explained.</p><p> </p><p>When asked what kind of pressure tactics Secretary Clinton was talking about when everything was already at a standstill and whether such statements would further rile up Pakistanis, Mark Toner disagreed. "I don t think it s fair to say right now that everything s at a standstill with Pakistan.</p><p> </p><p>We ve had a series of high-level meetings over the past month to two months that we believe is laying the groundwork for renewed cooperation. We ve had this parliamentary review completed. We had Ambassador Grossman over there talking to Pakistani officials. And our counterterrorism cooperation has continued throughout this period," he emphasised.</p><p> </p><p>"We don t see eye to eye with Pakistan on every issue, that s for sure. But I think we approached, you know, the outcome of this parliamentary review with an open mind. I think we re willing to discuss all the issues that were raised by it. But that dialogue s really just begun", he stated in response to a question about the talks during Ambassador Grossman s visit ending in a stalemate.</p><p> </p><p>- Contributed by Awais Saleem, Dunya News correspondent in Washington, DC<br /> </p>
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| Layyah: 3 killed while resisting bank robbery Posted: <p> </p><p>According to detail, four robbers on motorcycles tried to enter into a bank in Pir Jagi area of Layyah when bank guard Ghulam Rasool resisted and held a robber but the other opened fire killing the guard and two bank clients including 22-year-old Abdulah Nasir and 70-year-old Allah Ditta on the spot while bank manager Amanullah and another person Ghulam Murtaza critically injured.</p><p> </p><p>The robbers fled from the scene while residents of the area protested against police for arriving lately and blocked the road by burning tyres.<br /> </p>
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| KSE starts week with mixed trend Posted: <p> </p><p>The market started the day with upward trend and once gained 94 points. But the selling pressure pulled the index in negative zone and the index closed the day at 13,617 points with only five points gain.</p><p> </p><p>Trade volume remained at 274.7 million shares.<br /> </p>
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| Two shot dead in firing incident in Karachi Posted: <p> </p><p>As per details, unidentified armed men opened fire at a hotel, killing at least two people, while injuring another two. The deceased were identified as Muhammad Ali and Jhangir.</p><p> </p><p>The injured persons have been shifted to the nearby hospital.</p><p> </p><p>Police have registered a case and started investigation. <br /> </p>
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| Junior Asia Hockey Cup: Pakistan reach semi-final Posted: <p> </p><p>In a one-sided contest, Pakistan outclassed Sri Lanka. By the end of the first half, Pakistan was leading by 8-0. In the second half, Pakistan hit the goal post for another six times. Captain Umar Bhutta and Muhammad Tausiq scored hit-tricks.</p><p> </p><p>Muhammad Dilbar scored two goals while Shah Ali, Muhammad Irfan, Ali Shah, Muhammad Jafar and Muhammad Rizwan chipped in with one goal each.</p><p> </p><p>Both the semi-finals will be played on May 10. The first semi-final match will be played between India and host Malaysia.</p><p> </p><p>Pakistan will face South Korea in the second final. All four teams have already qualified for Junior Hockey World Cup.<br /> </p>
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| No negotiation with Al-Qaeda for US citizen release: White House Posted: <p> </p><p>The White House said Monday that it would not negotiate with Al-Qaeda over the fate of an elderly US aid worker seized in Pakistan, after he made an emotional video plea to President Barack Obama.</p><p> </p><p>"We cannot and will not negotiate with Al-Qaeda," White House spokesman said, adding that officials were greatly concerned for the safety of the aid worker Warren Weinstein, and were working to find him.</p><p> </p><p>Earlier, the elderly Weinstein appeared in an Al-Qaeda video for the first time since he was kidnapped in Pakistan just days before he meant to return home last August.</p><p> </p><p>The two minute, 40 second video was posted on jihadist forums by Al-Qaeda s media arm as-Sahab on Sunday, according to the US monitoring service SITE.</p><p> </p><p>Dressed in a traditional Pakistani tunic and speaking impassively in English, he urged US President Barack Obama to respond to his kidnappers demands.</p><p> </p><p>"If you accept the demands, I live; if you don t accept the demands, then I die," he told Obama in the video.</p><p> </p><p>Weinstein, 70, suffers from asthma, heart problems and high blood pressure.</p><p> </p><p>Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has demanded that Washington end air strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen, and release the 1993 World Trade Centre bombers along with relatives of Osama bin Laden.<br /> </p>
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| PSG struggle to beat Valenciennes Posted: <p> </p><p>Paris St Germain recovered from a disastrous start to move level with Montpellier on points at the top of Ligue 1 with a dramatic 4-3 victory at Valenciennes.</p><p> </p><p>PSG were 2-0 down after 11 minutes but goals by Nene, Maxwell, Blaise Matuidi and Jeremy Menez lifted them to 73 points with two games left and they lead Montpellier, who play their game in hand against Stade Rennes, on goal difference.</p><p> </p><p>At Valenciennes, the PSG defence cracked twice in the opening 11 minutes but Carlo Ancelotti s side were brilliant up front and eventually sealed a much-waited win.</p><p> </p><p>Valenciennes went ahead on eight minutes when Vincent Aboubakar netted with a deflected crossed shot. Three minutes later, Salvatore Sirigu failed to block Abaoubakar s low shot and Remi Gomis poked the ball home to make it 2-0.</p><p> </p><p>It took PSG only three minutes to hit back as Nene collected a fine chip from Jeremy Menez in the area to fire past Nicolas Penneteau. Nene set up Maxwell with a through pass five minutes from the interval for his fellow Brazilian to beat Penneteau with a low, angled shot.</p><p> </p><p>PSG went 3-2 up on the stroke of halftime when Matuidi latched on to Javier Pastore s defence-splitting pass. Menez wrapped up victory shortly before the hour by curling a low shot into the net after being set up by Nene.</p><p> </p><p>Renaud Cohade pulled one back for Valenciennes with a direct free kick on 85 minutes.<br /> </p>
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