LATEST NEWS UPDATE:14.06.2012

US, India see progress with nuclear deal

WASHINGTON: The United States and India sought on Wednesday to dispel doubts over their relationship as a US company signed a deal on nuclear power, long a source of disappointment between the countries.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who once called US affection for India an “affair of the heart,” said that the world’s two largest democracies had entered a “new and more mature phase” in their partnership.
“With respect to affairs of the heart, they usually have ups and downs, but that does not make them any less heartfelt or any less of a commitment,” Clinton said as she held annual talks with India.
“There is less need today for the dramatic breakthroughs that marked earlier phases, but more need for steady, focused cooperation,” Clinton said as she met with Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna and other senior officials.
But the deal that was arguably the most dramatic of the past breakthroughs between India and the United States – a 2008 agreement on nuclear power – has increasingly been cited as proof that the US-India relationship has not lived up to its potential.
On Wednesday, US-based Westinghouse Electric Co. announced that it was signing a preliminary deal with the state-run Nuclear Power Co. of India to build the first US nuclear reactors in the South Asian nation.
Westinghouse, a unit of Japan’s Toshiba Corp., said that it had agreed to conduct initial licensing and site development work to build reactors at the Mithivirdi site in the western state of Gujarat.
Clinton called the agreement “a significant step toward the fulfillment” of the landmark US-India nuclear agreement, but acknowledged that the deal was preliminary and there was “still a lot of work to be done.” Krishna, speaking later at a solo news conference, said the Westinghouse agreement carried “special importance” in light of the concerns expressed earlier by US businesses.
The deal “opens up new vistas of opportunities for business in the United States,” Krishna said.
Former president George W. Bush spearheaded the 2008 deal, which recognized India’s global stature by giving it access to civilian nuclear technology after decades of being treated as a pariah for building nuclear weapons.
But US companies have been reluctant to get to work in India as they are seeking greater protection from liabilities in the event of a nuclear disaster – a dispute that could still potentially affect the Westinghouse deal.
The United States argues that other countries such as Russia and France enjoy an unfair advantage as their nuclear companies have the backing of the state which can handle liabilities. The issue is sensitive in India, where thousands died in 1984 in a leak from a US-owned pesticide factory in Bhopal.
India has pledged to move ahead with nuclear power to support its growing economy and reduce the need for oil imports and dirty coal, despite rising global concerns about atomic energy since Japan’s Fukushima disaster.
Despite concerns on both sides about the nuclear agreement, overall relations have been growing between the United States and India with the two governments forecasting that two-way trade may hit $100 billion for the first time this year.
The United States and India, which had uneasy relations during the Cold War, have also found common cause on security issues. India is one of the most enthusiastic supporters of US-led efforts in Afghanistan as extremists consider New Delhi a top target.
Clinton welcomed the $2 billion given by India to Afghanistan since the 2001 war overthrew the Taliban. Pakistan has fiercely opposed its arch-rival’s influence in Afghanistan, but US relations have sharply deteriorated with Pakistan.
“I am very pleased that Afghanistan is getting this kind of encouragement and tangible support because it’s in everyone’s interests that Afghanistan be as secure and stable as possible,” Clinton said.
Clinton also welcomed India’s reductions of oil purchases from Iran. On Monday, Clinton exempted India from new US sanctions on countries that maintain trade with Iran despite Israeli and Western concerns over its nuclear program.

WB sees firm recovery in Pakistan’s economic growth

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has forecast firm recovery in Pakistan’s economic growth over the next two years, estimating that the growth is expected to be 3.8 per cent and 4.1 per cent in fiscal years 2012-13 and 2013-14.
In its medium-term outlook for South Asia contained in the just-released ‘Global Economic Prospects 2012’, the World Bank says that the GDP growth in Pakistan was estimated to have increased to 3.6 per cent in the 2011-12 fiscal year after the sharp deceleration experienced in 2010-11.
Despite the pick-up, growth remained well below the regional average and per capita growth below 1.5 per cent.
Lower foreign investment inflows and IMF debt payments coming due could exacerbate balance of payment difficulties, feared the World Bank report.
The economic growth of Pakistan, the second largest economy in the region accounting for nearly 10 per cent of regional GDP, has remained sluggish. High inflation, power shortages and political situation have hampered investment activity and industrial output, and led to a sharp decline in foreign direct investment.
After experiencing heavy damages during devastating floods in 2010, agricultural production revived in 2011-12. However, recurrent power shortages and heavy rains that have damaged standing crops in some parts of the country could result in relatively subdued agricultural performance, the report says.
The report noted that net FDI inflows to Pakistan shrunk by nearly 50 per cent in the first nine months of 2011-12 fiscal year mainly because of deteriorating macroeconomic fundamentals, energy shortages and a difficult political environment.
The current account went from near balance to a deficit of 1.7 per cent of GDP in the first nine months of the 2011-12 fiscal year despite a 21.5 per cent year-on-year increase in remittances to nearly $10 billion during this period.
The report warned that tax base in Pakistan remains very narrow, with a small fraction of the population paying taxes despite recent efforts by the government to improve tax collection and reduce evasion.
The World Bank report points out that South Asia on average has the highest fiscal deficits among the six developing regions.
Pakistan’s fiscal deficit remained close to 7 per cent of GDP. High prices of imported crude oil compared to average levels in previous years have similarly resulted in an increasing subsidy burden in Pakistan.
According to the report, there are signs of an uptick in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, where annualised quarterly inflation is in excess of 14 per cent. However, in Pakistan, the inflation rate is expected to fall modestly from the current high rate.
The report states that GDP growth in South Asia is expected to slow further to 6.4 per cent in 2012, partly due to a weak carryover from the sharp deceleration in the second half of 2011, and to increase modestly to 6.5 per cent and 6.7 per cent respectively in 2013 and 2014.
Economic activity in the region is expected to remain subdued in the medium-term mainly due to continuing external weakness and domestic concerns, including fiscal deficits, high inflation and energy and infrastructure constraints.
Private capital inflows are likely to reach the level reached in 2010 only 2014, says the report.
The fiscal balances of South Asian countries are likely to remain under considerable pressure if crude oil prices remain close to the average level in 2011 and in particular if adjustment of domestic subsidised prices closer to international prices is delayed further, the World Bank report cautioned.
About regional trade, the report says that recent progress on reducing barriers to intra-regional trade in South Asia, if sustained, could expand markets within the region and bring significant benefits, in particular to South Asian economies
other than India.
However, tackling South Asia’s “behind the border” constraints remains key to improving the region’s growth prospects, the World Bank report points out.

Militant still wages hate from Pakistan: S.M Krishna

WASHINGTON: India’s foreign minister said on Wednesday the mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks is still using Pakistan for a ”hate India campaign.”
External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told The Associated Press that the peace process between the South Asian rival nations would continue but that Pakistan has to help ”checkmate” terrorist groups for relations to be normalised.
Krishna will visit Pakistan next month. He said India only has to look on Pakistani television to see that militant leader Hafiz Mohammad Saeed remains free.    ”Assurances have been given to India by the leadership of Pakistan that Pakistan territory is not going to be used for anti-India activities,” Krishna said after attending high-level US-India talks in Washington.
”But we know for a fact and have evidence and we can see it on Pakistani TV that the brains behind the Mumbai attack, led by Hafiz Saeed, goes scot-free in Pakistan, still carrying on a hate India campaign.”
”This does not connect very well with a nation’s intention if it was to extend the hand of friendship to normalise relations,” Krishna said.
The Lashkar-i-Taiba group Saeed founded is blamed for the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people, the worst terror attack suffered by India.
New Delhi has long accused Pakistan of supporting militants to wage attacks inside India, with which it has fought three wars.
Pakistan has resisted Indian demands to do more against Saeed, saying there isn’t sufficient evidence. He was kept under house arrest for several months after the attacks but authorities released him after he challenged his detention in court.
In April, the US put a $10 million bounty on Saeed. Days later, he held a provocative news conference, close to Pakistan’s military headquarters, saying the United States should give the reward to him, as it could contact him directly.
Despite that irritant in relations, Pakistan and neighboring India are taking steps to open up trade that has been restricted by their six decades of enmity.
Both sides hope that can help ease tensions, but the peace process is moving slowly, although Krishna maintained he was cautiously optimistic about the future.
In April, Pakistan’s president, Asif Ali Zardari, traveled to India for his first face-to-face meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in three years.
Singh accepted an invitation to visit Pakistan, but Krishna said a date has yet to be set.

LATEST/BRIEF  NEWS:

·        US drone policy widely opposed: survey

·       Federal Cabinet focuses on power crises

·       Contempt case: Malik Riaz appears in SC

·       Drone strike kills 3 in North Waziristan

·       Nato supply closure costing US millions

·       Sharjeel Memon appointed as Information Minister

·        SC to resume CJP son Dr. Arsalan case today

·       Full court meeting tomorrow

·       Imran slams Riaz allegations against judiciary

·       Qaeda plans suicide bombings across Pakistan

·       Sherry thwarts US Senator move against Islamabad

·       Nato still hopes for Pakistan transit agreement

·       BCCI seek Indian govt clearance for Pakistan series

 Business News:

Wed, 13 Jun 2012
-	Pakistan-US rift over Nato routes drags KSE down ISLAMABAD: Country s main stock market index ended down on Wednesday with the mood dampened by the ongoing rift be
-	Oil lower on US, eurozone concerns SINGAPORE: Oil prices inched lower in Asian trade Thursday as weak US consumer data and the eurozone s financial w
-	Rupee firms up a little against US dollar KARACHI: The rupee firmed slightly to close at 94.32/38 against the dollar, compared to Tuesday s record low of 94
-	Petrol, diesel rates likely to decline from June 16 KARACHI: Prices of petrol and diesel are expected to be brought down by Rs9 and 5 per litre from June 16 in the wa
-	USC lowers prices of Ghee, cooking oil by Rs4/kilo KARACHI: Utility Stores Corporation (USC) has slashed the prices of ghee and cooking oil by Rs4/ per kilo/litre wi
-	Euro slides in Asian trade as caution weighs TOKYO: The euro eased against other major currencies in Asian trade on Wednesday as traders await eurozone economi
-	Asian markets mixed as Spain, Greece in focus HONG KONG: Asian markets were mixed Wednesday with a positive lead from Wall Street and Europe offset by ongoing c
-	Oil lower ahead of OPEC meeting SINGAPORE: Oil was lower in Asian trade Wednesday on the eve of an OPEC ministerial meeting in Vienna to discuss p
-	Senate recommends 145 budget proposals to NA ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Tuesday recommended 145 proposals to National Assembly for incorporation in the budget se
-	Asia markets fall as euphoria fades over Spain bank deal HONG KONG: Asian markets tumbled on Tuesday following overnight losses on Wall Street and the euro weakened as inv
-	Euro weak in Asian trade on Spain bank deal doubts TOKYO: The euro was weak in Asian trade Tuesday as optimism fizzled over a eurozone deal to save Spain s troubled
-	Oil extends losses as eurozone optimism fades SINGAPORE: Oil extended losses in Asian trade Tuesday as investors euphoria over a weekend deal for Spanish banks
-	Apple unveils own maps program, challenging Google SAN FRANCISCO: Apple unveiled its own mapping program Monday for its iPhone and iPad devices, moving onto turf alr
-	Sindh presents Rs578bn deficit budget KARACHI: The coalition government of Sindh unveiled the province s annual budget for 2012-13 envisaging a total ou
-	Rs179b Balochistan?s budget unveiled QUETTA: Balochistan s next financial year, 2012-13 budget envisaging an outlay of Rs179 billion was presented in t

MOHAMMED SALEEM MANSOORI