WORLD IN FOCUS 11th January- 10th February 2012

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

14-01-2012/Dawn
All cases terminated under NRO reopened: The National Accountability Bureau has reopened all 155 cases terminated under the National Reconciliation Ordinance at different stages of court proceedings, Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari, the NAB chairman, told media.

15-01-2012/Dawn
IT project named after Arfa Karim: Acknowledging the achievement of the late computer prodigy Arfa Karim Randhawa, the Sindh government named its IT Media City after her.

16-01-2012/Dawn
NA passes varsity bill: The National Assembly unanimously passed a bill for the establishment of a university in the federal capital. The Shifa Tameer-i-Millat University Bill 2011 was moved by chief whip Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah.

17-01-2012/Dawn
PPP turns to Aitzaz for PM’s defence: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had chosen none other than Aitzaz Ahsan as his counsel to represent him in the Supreme Court to contest the contempt notice.

18-01-2012/Dawn
Pakistan’s economy recovering, says WB: Economic activity in Pakistan firmed in the second half of 2011 although it continues to markedly lag behind other nations in South Asia, says a World Bank report released. Pakistan is South Asia’s second largest economy, representing about 15 per cent of regional GDP.

18-01-2012/Dawn
Agreements for $513m signed with ADB: The Asian Development Bank and the government signed two loan agreements worth $513 million for improving irrigation and power transmission systems. Under the agreements, ADB will invest $270 million for construction of new Khanki Barrage and $243 million for improving the country’s power transmission systems.

19-01-2012/Dawn
PM bows before law, soothes nerves: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani with his counsel Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan told the Supreme Court respectfully that he had no intention of defaming or ridiculing the judiciary. But, he said, he believed that the Constitution provided a blanket protection to President Asif Ali Zardari.

19-01-2012/Dawn
Women’s commission bill passed by NA: In a most significant pro-women move, the National Assembly unanimously passed a government bill to create a powerful National Commission on the Status of Women.

19-01-2012/Dawn
SC wants by-polls held on new voter lists: The Supreme Court ordered the Election Commission to postpone the February 20 by-elections for five National Assembly and one provincial assembly seats’ four in Punjab and one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’ until new and verified voter lists are complete.

20-01-2012/Dawn
South Korea gives $78m loan for tunnel project: The South Korean government announced the grant of a soft loan of $78 million from its Economic Development Cooperation Fund to support the construction of Malakand tunnel project. The total length of Malakand tunnel is 9.7 km, including approach roads on both sides and three bridges.

20-01-2012/The News
State Bank launches financial literacy programme: Yaseen Anwar, governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said at the launching ceremony of Nationwide Financial Literacy Programme that the financial literacy programme will help in improving financial inclusion and also serve the interests of all financial sector stakeholders.

21-01-2012/Dawn
Sindh loses Rs. 10bn to ‘ghost workers’: A verification exercise conducted in collaboration with Nadra has revealed the existence of thousands of ‘ghost employees’ in Sindh government departments.

Disclosing this at a press conference, provincial Information Minister Shazia Marri said the government had so far lost over Rs.10 billion on account of salary payment to these non-existent employees.

21-01-2012/Dawn
Ajrak made part of girls’ uniform in Larkana: Ajrak has been made an integral part of school uniform for girl students of class IX and X in Larkana district in a bid to promote Sindhi culture.

21-01-2012/Dawn
Pir Pagara elected Functional chief: Sibghatullah Shah Rashdi, the eighth Pir Pagara of Hur Jamaat, was unanimously elected president of the Pakistan Muslim League Functional at a meeting of its central council in Pir Jo Goth.

21-01-2012/Dawn
VC okayed: Punjab Governor Sardar Latif Khan Khosa approved the appointment of Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran as vice chancellor of the Punjab University for the second consecutive four-year term.

23-01-2012/Dawn
Ijaz refuses to visit Pakistan over security concerns: A day before his scheduled appearance before the memo investigation commission, Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz refused to come to Pakistan and said his statement should be recorded and evidence received from him abroad.

23-01-2012/The News
First-ever on-grid solar system installed: On-grid solar power generation systems of 178 kilowatts (KW) each have been installed at Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) and at Planning Commission, under the Grant-Aid project from the Government of Japan.

24-01-2012/Dawn
Pakistani wins Oscar nomination: Pakistani journalist and film-maker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s latest documentary ‘Saving Face’ has won an Oscar nomination in the ‘best documentary (short subject)’ category.

24-01-2012/Tribune
Afghan Taliban share ‘peace’ blueprint with Pakistan: The Afghan Taliban have shared with Pakistan the ‘functional blueprint’ of their formal talks with US officials in the Gulf state of Qatar. It is possibly the first time that the Taliban have shared details of what they will be discussing with US negotiators, even though they haven’t divulged what had been previously discussed.

25-01-2012/Dawn
Gilani retracts remarks against Kayani, Pasha: In what was seen here as yet another backtracking, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said that his remarks about replies filed in the Supreme Court in the memo case were not against the army chief and the director general of ISI.

‘The remarks were made in a different context’ the prime minister said, adding that the remarks on that occasion had been made in a unique situation when things were overlapping and there was no clarity.

25-01-2012/Dawn
Zardari confers Benazir award on Suu Kyi: President Asif Ali Zardari conferred the Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Award for Democracy on Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in recognition of her outstanding services for the cause of democracy.

25-01-2012/The News
Pakistan wins UNIDO’s external auditor election: Pakistan has won election for external auditors of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) for the third consecutive two-year term.

25-01-2012/The News
Secretary privatisation assumes charge: Amjad Ali Khan, an officer of the District Management Group in BS-22, has assumed the charge of the office of Federal Secretary Ministry of Privatisation, a statement said.

Prior to this he has served as Federal Secretary in the Ministries of Inter Provincial Coordination, Wafaqi Mohtasib and Overseas Pakistanis, it said.

25-01-2012/Daily Times
Zahir re-elected as chairman of ISE board: Muhammad Rashid Zahir has been re-elected as chairman of the Board of Directors of Islamabad Stock Exchange (ISE).

30-01-2012/Dawn
Court lifts Haqqani travel restrictions: The Supreme Court hearing the controversial memo case lifted travel restrictions imposed on former ambassador Husain Haqqani on December 1 last year and allowed him to go to Washington to meet his family.

30-01-2012/Dawn
ICIEC inks MoU with State Bank: The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) will help Pakistan to promote trade and investment, including Shariah compliant insurance coverage to Letters of Credit (LC) opened for exports and imports. The State Bank and ICIEC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard.

30-01-2012/The News
Kuwait extends $40m for Neelum-Jhelum power project: Kuwait has extended $40 million to Pakistan for the construction of the de-sande’ a vital part of the strategic $333.3 billion Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project.

02-02-2012/Dawn
Senate adopts bill to set up women’s rights commission: The Senate unanimously passed a bill for establishment of a commission with financial and administrative powers aimed at promoting social, economic, political and legal rights of women.

03-02-2012/Dawn
GB appellate court gets new chief: Justice (retd) Rana Mohammad Arshad Khan, former judge of the Lahore High Court, has been appointed as Chief Judge of Supreme Appellate Court of Gilgit-Baltistan, official sources said. His predecessor Justice (retd) Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi retired after completing his three years tenure.

04-02-2012/Dawn
Rs. 1.1bn loans written off: The government has written off loans of about Rs. 1.1 billion in Malakand, Swat, Buner and Chitral districts through budgetary support under fiscal relief for Khyber-Pahtunkhwa, FATA and PATA.

06-02-2012/Dawn
SC suspends 28 legislators: Supreme Court ordered suspension of 28 members of the Senate and national and provincial assemblies elected in by-polls conducted by an Election Commission without meeting the criteria of the 18th Amendment.

Their membership will remain suspended till approval by parliament of the 20th Amendment to give constitutional cover to by-elections held in the absence of a properly-constituted ECP.

06-02-2012/Dawn
Pakistan receives F-16 planes from US: Pakistan received the last of the 18 ‘new buy’ F-16 fighter jets, marking the conclusion of one part of the defence deal that is often flaunted as the icon of post-9/11 bilateral re-engagement. Alongside the last F-16 D Block 52 aircraft, arrived the first two of the upgraded fighter jets.

06-02-2012/Dawn
Punjab, Google sign MoU: The Punjab government and the Google Inc. signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in information technology. The Google Inc. will provide access to historical and tourist attractions on the Internet to promote worldwide awareness about Punjab’s heritage.

06-02-2012/The News
Pakistan to import 500mcf LNG per day from Qatar: In a landmark economic accord, Pakistan and Qatar inked agreements to collaborate in multiple areas, mainly on the import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from the Gulf state and cooperation between the two governments on security. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said Pakistan was interested in importing 500 million cubic feet LNG per day from Qatar, which produces 77 million tonnes of LNG per annum.

07-02-2012/The News
Pakistan, Qatar convert ties into strategic partnership: Pakistan and Qatar have decided to convert their ties into a strategic relationship as Qatari ruler Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani said the ongoing visit of Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani to Qatar had opened a new chapter in the relationship of the two brotherly countries and new vistas of cooperation.

08-02-2012/Dawn
Contacts with Nato and Isaf resume: A meeting of senior military officials of Pakistan, Afghanistan and coalition forces based in Afghanistan held for discussing border security and coordination marked the formal resumption of military contacts with the US and Nato after months of estrangement in the aftermath of November 26 strikes on Pakistani border posts.

08-02-2012/The News
Pak soldiers decorated with UN Peace Medal in Darfur: Pakistani soldiers were decorated with the covered UN Peace Medal at Medal Parade Ceremony of Pakistan Contingent held at El-Geneina United Nations Mission at Darfur.

10-02-2012/Dawn
Accord with Sri Lanka to bolster strategic ties: Pakistan and Sri Lanka have agreed to bolster their strategic ties by enhancing trade and strengthening defence and security cooperation. The two countries are aiming to increase bilateral trade to $2 billion mark over the next three years and pledged to support each other at regional and international forums.

10-02-2012/Dawn
Supreme Court throws out PM’s appeal: Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan failed to convince the Supreme Court with his argument in favour of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and the eight-member larger bench of the court dismissed his appeal against the summoning of the premier in a contempt case.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

11-01-2012/Dawn
Jammat leader jailed in BD on war crime charges: A Bangladeshi tribunal sent Ghulam Azam, former chief of Jamaat-i-Islami party and country’s top Islamist leader, to jail to await trial on charges of war crimes. The 90-year-old leader is facing trial for helping the Pakistani army during the 1971 war.

11-01-2012/The News
India dominates Man Asian book prize shortlist: Indian writers dominate the shortlist of authors competing for Asia’s top English-language literary prize, with a debut Pakistani novelist also among those vying for the $30,000 award. An unprecedented seven authors, including three from India and writers from Pakistan, South Korea, Japan and China, will compete for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize after judges expanded the shortlist from its usual five.

11-01-2012/The News
Azerbaijan trains 15-year-olds in espionage: Azerbaijan launched free military intelligence courses for teenagers as young as 15 as the ex-Soviet state remains mired in an unresolved conflict with neighbouring Armenia.

11-01-2012/The News
Scotland clashes with London over independence vote: Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond fuelled a tense constitutional clash with London, insisting that his government can organise its own independence referendum in 2014.

London announced it would give Edinburgh legal powers to hold a vote on a break-up of the 300-year-old union, but said it would be unlawful unless done with London’s approval of the timescale and conditions.

12-01-2012/Dawn
Food prices hit record highs in 2011: The price of basic foodstuffs hit a record high in 2011, with the cost of cereals surging by more than a third over the last 12 months, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation said. The FAO said that its monthly Food Price Index averaged 228 points in 2011, the highest level since records began in 1990.

12-01-2012/Dawn
Myanmar govt signs ceasefire with Karen rebels: Myanmar’s government signed a ceasefire agreement with ethnic Karen rebels in a major step toward ending one of the world’s longest-running insurgencies and meeting a key condition for better ties with the West.

12-01-2012/Dawn
Bosnian parliament votes in new PM: Bosnia’s parliament voted in Vjekoslav Bevanda as the country’s new prime minister as he pledged to focus on reviving the economy and efforts to join the EU. His appointment ends 15 months of political crisis which further crippled the already ethnically-divided country in the wake of general elections in October 2010.

12-01-2012/Dawn
Australia ranked first, N. Korea last on nuclear safety: Australia has the tightest security controls among nations with nuclear material while North Korea poses the world’s greatest risks, a new index by experts said.

The Nuclear Threat Initiative, in a project led by former US senator Sam Nunnand the Economist Intelligence Unit, aims to draw attention to steps that nations can take to ensure the safety of the world’s most destructive weapons.

13-01-2012/Dawn
Japan, Australia in $34bn gas deal: Japanese energy firm Inpex and French giant Total announced a huge $34 billion gas project in Australia, as Tokyo looks for alternatives to nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.

13-01-2012/The News
N. Korea test-fires short-range missiles: North Korea test-fired three short-range missiles off its east coast. The North lobbed what appeared to be KN-02 missiles with a range of 120 kilometers (75 miles) into the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

13-01-2012/Dawn
Myanmar sets free political prisoners: Myanmar freed at least 200 political prisoners in an amnesty that could embolden the opposition and put pressure on the West to lift sanctions as one of the world’s most reclusive states opens up after half a century of authoritarian rule.

15-01-2012/Dawn
S. Arabia, China sign energy agreements: China signed energy deals with its top oil provider Saudi Arabia as its Premier Wen Jiabao visited the kingdom with tension over Iran’s nuclear programme sparking fears of major oil supply disruptions.

15-01-2012/Daily Times
Taiwan’s Ma wins vote but faces tough second term: Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou’s re-election is a relief for China and the US, but observers say he could face a tough second term, forced to balance demands from Beijing with fears he is selling out.

15-01-2012/Dawn
Bahraini king vows to widen powers of parliament: Bahrain’s king promised that the strife-wracked Gulf nation would move ahead with political reforms that widen the powers of the elected parliament to oversee governments selected by the ruling monarchy.

The reforms are part of recommendations that emerged last year from talks between various political and civil groups on easing tensions in the kingdom, which has faced more than 11 months of protests.

16-01-2012/Dawn
World tourism grows: Global tourism expanded in 2011, shaking off an economic crisis, the Arab spring and Japanese disasters, but growth will slow in 2012, the UN World Tourism Organisation said.

16-01-2012/Daily Times
Kazakh ruling party scores landslide victory: The ruling party of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev scored a landslide victory with over 80 per cent of the vote in parliamentary polls which observers said failed to meet democratic standards.

17-01-2012/Dawn
Iran urges Saudi Arabia not to open oil taps: Iran warned Saudi Arabia to reconsider its vow to make up for any shortfall in Iranian oil exports under new sanctions, saying Riyadh’s pledge to step into the market was unfriendly.

17-01-2012/Dawn
Syria rejects Arab troops; UN urged to step in: Syria ruled out any deployment of Arab troops as proposed by Qatar to halt 10 months of deadly unrest, as army defectors appealed to the UN Security Council to intervene in the crisis.

18-01-2012/Dawn
Attack on Iran will be ‘catastrophe’, warns Russia: Russia warned that a military strike on Iran would be a “catastrophe” with the severest consequences that risked inflaming existing tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslims.Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also accused the West of trying to suffocate the Iranian economy and incite popular discontent with new sanctions such as a proposed oil embargo.

18-01-2012/Dawn
Disasters cost $366bn in 2011: Natural disasters such as the huge earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan caused a record $366 billion damage in 2011, the UN disaster risk reduction agency UNISDR said. A total of 29,782 people were killed in 302 disasters last year, the body said.
Storms and floods accounted for up to 70 per cent of catastrophes but earthquakes were the biggest killer.

18-01-2012/Dawn
Scientists confirm rocks fell from Mars: Scientists are confirming that 15 pounds of rock collected recently in Morocco fell to Earth from Mars during a meteorite shower last July. This is only the fifth time in history that scientists have chemically confirmed Martian meteorites that people witnessed falling. The fireball was spotted in the sky six months ago, but the rocks were not discovered on the ground in North Africa until the end of December.

18-01-2012/Dawn
Wikipedia, Google slam US piracy bills: Wikipedia and Google joined hundreds of other websites in a sprawling online protest against legislation in the US Congress intended to crack down on Internet piracy. Wikipedia shut down the English version of its online encyclopedia for 24 hours to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa) introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate version, the Protect IP Act (Pipa).

19-01-2012/Dawn
Bangladesh coup plot foiled: The Bangladesh army said that it had foiled a plot by more than a dozen ‘religiously fanatic’ officers to overthrow the elected government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

19-01-2012/The News
Thailand recognises Palestine: Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas thanked Thailand for recognising a Palestinian state, according to a statement carried by the WAFA news agency.

19-01-2012/Dawn
Norwegian security chief quits over spy disclosure: Pakistan and Norway scrambled to contain the fallout of disclosure about presence of Norwegian intelligence operatives in Pakistan. Norwegian security chief, Janne Kristiansen, had earlier made a startling disclosure in her country’s parliament (Stortinget) that agents affiliated with the ‘E wing’ of Norway’s military intelligence were present in Pakistan.

19-01-2012/Dawn
Kodak files for bankruptcy: Century-old photography pioneer Eastman Kodak, which brought photography to the masses, filed for bankruptcy early, succumbing to a 15-year digital assault by rivals.The company hopes that seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection will give it time to reorganise its businesses and possibly sell off its valuable patent portfolio to avoid being shut down entirely.

19-01-2012/Tribune
Michael L. Mussa, 67 leading US economist dies: Michael L. Mussa, a former chief economist for the International Monetary Fund who was known for his blunt and often witty economic assessments, died in Washington. He was 67.

20-01-2012/Daily Times
France threatens to pull out of Afghanistan after troops’ death: France is suspending military operations in Afghanistan and may accelerate its planned troops withdrawal if the security situation does not improve, President Nicolas Sarkozy said after the killing of four more French soldiers.

20-01-2012/Dawn
Turkey fixes president’s term at 7 years: Turkey’s Parliament has set President Abdullah Gul’s term in office at seven years after a 2007 amendment appeared to lower it to five.Gul was elected for a one-time seven-year term in August 2007, but a few months later Turkey enacted constitutional changes that reduced the presidential term to five, with the right to stand for re-election.

22-01-2012/Dawn
Embattled Yemen president calls it a day: Outgoing president Ali Abdullah Saleh apologised for ‘any shortcoming’ in his 33-year rule before leaving Yemen for the United States, paving the way for a transfer of power after a year of unrest.

23-01-2012/The News
London’s Big Ben is leaning, parliament sinking: The landmark clock tower containing Big Ben at Britain’s Palace of Westminster, is tilting, while media reports said the mother of all parliaments was slipping into the River Thames, raising fears over its future.

23-01-2012/Dawn
Egypt’s new parliament elects Islamist as speaker: Deputies in Egypt’s first post-revolution parliament elected Saad al-Katatni, a leading member of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, as speaker. Katatni won 399 votes out of 496 in the first session of the lower assembly.

24-01-2012/Dawn
Jobs wife invited to State of the Union speech: US President Barack Obama will honour the life of Steve Jobs by welcoming the late Apple visionary`s wife Laurene Powell Jobs to his State of the Union address.Powell Jobs will watch Obama’s showpiece annual address from First Lady Michelle Obama’s box in the House of Representatives.