BRIEF NEWS UPDATE: 01.12.2011

Clinton regrets Pakistan boycott of Afghan meet

BUSAN: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday voiced regret that Pakistan had announced a boycott of a meeting on Afghanistan in Germany and urged it to consider.Speaking at an aid conference in South Korea, Clinton reiterated the US stance that the border killing of Pakistani soldiers was a 'tragic incident' and pledged an investigation 'as swiftly and thoroughly as possible.''Frankly this is regrettable that Pakistan has decided not to attend the conference in Bonn because this conference has been long in the planning,' Clinton told reporters.'Pakistan like the United States has a profound interest in a secure, stable and increasingly democratic Afghanistan,' Clinton said.Clinton voiced hope that Pakistan would find a 'follow-up way' to take part in talks on Afghanistan s future.Nato air strikes killed 24 Pakistani troops on the Afghan border in disputed circumstances, inflaming new tensions between Islamabad and the West.

Obama not to offer formal condolences over Nato attack: NYT

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama is not considering offering formal condolences to Pakistan over the deaths of 24 soldiers in a Nato airstrike last week, a report in the New York Times stated.
The report, quoting administration officials, said that Cameron Munter, the United States Ambassador in Pakistan, had requested the White House to issue a formal video statement from Barack Obama so that rapid deterioration of relations between the two countries could be prevented.
The White House, however, refused the request and said that expressions of remorse offered by senior administration officials and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton were enough.
The US president was unlikely to say anything further on the matter in the coming days, the officials told New York Times.

Pakistan has developed smartest nuclear tactical devices

Ansar Abbasi/I>ISLAMABAD: Pakistan s nuclear programme has made some extraordinary progress by developing one of the world s smartest nuclear tactical devices, it has been learnt.According to a western diplomat, the former dictator and the then President General Pervez Musharraf, during one of his meetings with US officials, had deemed it proper to convey it to the Americans what Pakistan possessed and how the country s nuclear scientists had secured the defence of Pakistan.The diplomatic source said that New Delhi also knows what Pakistan has produced and what is really unmatched. The Indians got this source said and believed that Musharraf intentionally conveyed this to the Americans so that the country is not treated by the US like Afghanistan and Iraq Pakistan is neither a signatory to NPT nor CTBT, however, it has unilaterally decided to use its nuclear programme only as deterrence against any foreign aggression.After becoming the target of the Western capitals particularly Washington, which have been unleashing all sorts of propaganda against Pakistan s nuclear programme, Islamabad has developed one of the most credible and foolproof command and control systems for its nuclear programme. The US authorities have acknowledged the credibility and security of Pakistan s nukes.Wikipedia quotes a Washington-based science think tank as saying that Pakistan is increasing its capacity to produce plutonium at its Khushab nuclear facility. The website said that the estimated Pakistani nuclear weapons was probably in the neighbourhood of more than 200 by the end of 2009. It, however, adds that the actual size of Pakistan s nuclear stockpile is hard for experts to gauge owing to the extreme secrecy, which surrounds the programme. Pakistan s nuclear programme was started by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto while the country conducted its nuclear test on May 28, 1998 during Nawaz Sharif s tenure.

Fire breaks out in private bank building

ISLAMABAD: Fire broke out at 8th floor of a private bank building in Blue Area of Islamabad on Thursday morning, Geo News reported.

According to details, the 8th floor of an 18-storey building of a private bank on Jinnah Avenue caught fire due to unknown reason.

Fire brigade and rescue teams of 112 reached the spot and efforts are underway to take control of the situation.

No fresh clash between Pak Army, Nato forces: ISPR

RAWALPINDI: There was no fresh clash between Pakistani troops and NATO force on Pak-Afghan border on Wednesday, an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Spokesman said here.He also contradicted a news report published in a US newspaper in this regard.

Zardari offers Korea to set up economic zone in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday offered Korea to establish its economic zone in Pakistan to boost trade ties between the two countries.
The President was chairing a meeting to discuss his forthcoming visit to Korea and to highlight investment opportunities for the Korean businessmen and investors in Pakistan.
Representatives of Korean companies were also present.
Briefing about the meeting Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar said President Zardari invited Korean companies to take advantage of most attractive investment opportunities available in Pakistan in different sectors including oil and gas, mining, trading, energy, information technology and telecom, food and agriculture, Small and Medium Enterprises, infrastructure and tourism.
Zardari said he looked forward to his visit to Korea which would help boost economic and trade ties between the two countries.
He said with emerging market of 180 million people, Pakistan was a potential hub of the economic activities in the region as it was located at the crossroads of West Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and China and provided shortest access to North and South Asia through Gwadar Port.
He said Pakistan was a force multiplier for the economies of the countries in the region and held the key to economic development in the area.
The Spokesperson said the President appreciated managers and heads of Korean companies operating in Pakistan for their investment and their interest to further explore business opportunities here.
He assured the participants that Pakistan government would continue to extend maximum facilitation and provide them with every possible support in realizing their investment objectives.
He said the government was keen to transform the existing relationship with the Republic of Korea into economy-oriented equation for the benefit of the two countries.
“We need to translate our existing relations in economic terms,” the spokesperson quoted the President, “so as to take advantage of each others’ resources and opportunities.”
Highlighting Pak-Korea relations, the President mentioned landmark infrastructure projects completed with the help of South Korean companies and said it testified lasting relationships between Pakistan and the Republic of Korea.
The Korean companies represented Star Hydro Power, Lotte Pak PTA Co Ltd. Karachi, SAMBU Pak (Pvt) Ltd, Hyundai Engineering Co, Lotte Engineering and Construction Co, Deokjae Connecting Roads (Pvt) Ltd, Daewoo Pakistan Express Bus Service Ltd, Daewoo Pakistan Motorway Service Ltd. Karachi, LS Cable, Hyundai Corporation Karachi and Poonsan Corporation.
The meeting of the President with the heads and executives of leading Korean companies was also attended by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Communications Minister Dr. Arbab Alamgir Khan, Finance Minister Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Makhdoom Shahabuddin, Federal Minister for Textile Industry, Syed Naveed Qamar, Federal Minister for Water and Power, Secretary General to the President M. Salman Faruqui and Chairman BOI Saleem H Manndviwala.

Prices of diesel, petrol raised

ISLAMABAD: The government has again decided not to reduce prices of petroleum products despite a decline in oil prices in the international market, apparently to cover adjustments made in petroleum levy.
It added to the woes of already overburdened consumers by increasing the price of high speed diesel (HSD) by Rs4.67 to Rs98.94 per litre and that of petrol by 48 paisa to Rs87.89 per litre for the month of December.
The federal government deregulated the prices of almost all petroleum products in June this year and allowed refineries and oil marketing companies to announce ex-refinery and ex-depot prices every month, keeping in view the import parity price.
However, prices are practically determined by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources and notified by the Oil and Gas Regulation Authority (Ogra).
According to a notification issued by Ogra on Wednesday night, the price of country’s only bio-fuel (E-10) has been increased by 48 paisa to Rs85.39 per litre.
The price of high octane blending component (HOBC) has been raised by six paisa to Rs106.78 per litre, kerosene by Rs3.48 to Rs89.24 per litre and light diesel oil (LDO) by Rs4.79 to Rs86.78 per litre.
LDO is used in certain pumps and machines, mainly in rural areas.
Ogra said the government had decided to increase the prices of petroleum products because of changes in international prices and exchange rate.
Sources said Ogra had suggested measures to reduce prices of key petroleum products for December, but the final summary approved by the petroleum ministry came up with an increase in the prices. The measures rejected by the ministry included reduction in IFEM (internal freight equalisation margin) and adjustments in petroleum levy.
A petroleum ministry official said petroleum levy had been increased for petrol, HOBC and HSD to mitigate budgetary constraints.
The petroleum levy on petrol has been increased from Rs9.52 to Rs9.94 per litre, on HOBC from Rs6.13 to Rs7.62 and on HSD from Rs4.44 to Rs5.09 per litre.
However, petroleum levy is still lower than the budgeted amount of Rs8 per litre for HSD, Rs14 for HOBC and Rs10 for petrol.

Business News

Thu, 1 Dec 2011 -Wall St. rallies on cbanks help for Europe NEW YORK: Stocks surged on Wednesday after major central banks agreed to make cheaper dollar loans for struggling  -Euro holds firm on central bank liquidity moves TOKYO: The euro firmed against the dollar and yen in Asia Thursday after moves by major central banks to pump liqu  -Asian shares surge on central banks'' move HONG KONG: Asian markets surged Thursday after the world s top central banks took action to boost liquidity for th  -KSE registers moderate recovery KARACHI: Stock prices ended higher at Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) but in thin volume as investors were on the sid  -Govt hikes prices of petroleum products ISLAMABAD: Government on Wednesday revised upward the prices of petroleum products which will be effective from 12  -Rupee hits record low at 88.73 to Dollar KARACHI: The rupee s slide continued for a third day on Wednesday, with increased import payments, negative sentim  -SBP keeps policy rate unchanged at 12% KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Wednesday announced to keep its key policy rate unchanged at 12 percent  -Euro holds firm on hopes for bailout fund TOKYO: The euro firmed against the dollar and yen in Asia on Wednesday after European finance ministers boosted th  -Asian markets down on European struggles HONG KONG: Asian markets slipped on Wednesday following two days of gains as eurozone finance chiefs struggled to  -CNG closure in Sindh hit commuters KARACHI: Commuters in Sindh region were hit by CNG closure as the supply was halted from 11 pm on Tuesday, Geo New  -Crude edges down in Asia SINGAPORE: Oil prices dipped in Asian trade Wednesday as an unexpected rise in US crude stockpiles dampened market  -Wall Street up for second day NEW YORK: The Dow and SP 500 advanced for a second day on Tuesday as stronger-than-expected consumer confidence d  -Tetian company files plea for int''l arbitration ISLAMABAD: Tetian Copper Company has submitted a plea for international arbitration with a view to protect its min  -Stocks slide by 153 points on Pak-US strained ties KARACHI: Share prices ended lower at Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) on concerns about relations between Pakistan and  -Asian shares mostly up on Europe hopes HONG KONG: Asian markets mostly climbed for a second day Tuesday on optimism that Europe s finance leaders are closed
LATEST/BRIEF NEWS: ·        Blast destroys DCO office wall in Peshawar ·        Reason behind Nato attack incomprehensible: Musharraf ·        NATO attack: Dempsey questions logic of Pakistani accusations ·        Obama not to apologize to Pakistan: White House ·        Attack on Pak troops not deliberate: US ·        Bonn conference boycott: Gilani unmoved by Merkel’s gentle nudge ·        Obama not to offer formal condolence to Pak: NYT ·        Fire breaks out in private bank building in Islamabad ·        Pak army says no fresh clash at Afghan border ·        Britain has ordered all Iranian diplomats to leave the country within forty eight hours following the ransacking of the British Embassy in Tehran. ·        Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has said that great potential exists to increase the quantum of trade between Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. ·        CNG-halt hurts Karachiites for 2nd day ·        Forced-out Wall St protestors vow return ·        China army denounces U.S.- Aussie pact ·        Russia may also cut Nato supply line Mohammed Saleem Mansoori