WORLD IN FOCUS December January 2011

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

11-12-2011/Dawn
US vacates Shamsi airbase; FC in control: The United States completed evacuation of the Shamsi airbase when two aircraft took off with the last contingent of 32 troops. Frontier Corps personnel took over the airbase after departure of the American soldiers.

13-12-2011/The News
Senate passes bill to provide financial aid to jailed women: A pro-women legislation aimed at providing financial and legal assistance to women languishing in jails smoothly sailed through the upper house. “The Women in Distress and Detention Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2011 aimed at amending Women in Distress and Detention Fund Act, 1996 was moved in the House by Leader of the House Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari.

15-12-2011/Dawn
Civilian, military leaderships face off in Supreme Court: If the first act of the memo controversy ended with the resignation of ambassador Husain Haqqani, the curtains came down on the second act evening when the Supreme Court received the replies it had asked the president, Haqqani, the Chief Of Army Staff, the ISI head and Mansoor Ijaz to submit.

19-12-2011/Dawn
EC starts enforcing law against dual nationality: The Election Commission (EC) has started enforcing a law that bars dual-nationality holders from becoming members of parliament.

Candidates in the by-election for a Senate seat from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be required to submit a declaration with their nomination papers that they have not acquired the citizenship of any other country.

19-12-2011/Dawn
Federal health division set up: The cabinet secretariat has notified the establishment of ‘federal health unit’ in the Cabinet Division.

22-12-2011/Dawn
Govt, Army on collision course: A sense of foreboding gripped the country as a showdown between the civilian arm of the government and the army-led security establishment looked imminent, with the Supreme Court also making it abundantly clear that instead of backing off from the so-called ‘memogate’ scandal, it would like to take it to its logical conclusion.

22-12-2011/Dawn
US offers compensation to Pakistan: The United States has offered to send a team to Pakistan to brief the military on the findings of its investigation into the Nato raid, the State Department said. According to the statement, The US was prepared to offer compensation to the families of troops who lost their lives.

23-12-2011/Dawn
COAS affirms faith in democracy, resolves to pursue memo case: Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani reaffirmed his commitment to democracy, but made it clear that the military would not back down from ‘memogate’ standoff with the government.

‘Irrespective of all other considerations, there can be no compromise on national security, Gen Kayani said.

23-12-2011/Dawn
Currency swap accord with China: A landmark bilateral Currency Swap Arrangement (CSA) was signed between the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the People’s Bank of China (PBC).

The CSA has been concluded in Chinese Yuan 10 billion and Rs.140 billion for promoting bilateral trade and investment and strengthening financial cooperation. The currency swap would expire in three years, but could be extended with mutual consent.

23-12-2011/Dawn
Pak Army did not fire first: ISPR: The Pakistan Army rejected key findings from a US investigation into American air strikes of Nov 26, 2011, that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and said the report was unlikely to repair the severely damaged relationship between the two countries.

23-12-2011/Dawn
WB okays $5.5bn aid: The World Bank has agreed to give $5.5 billion in development aid to Pakistan to support poverty reduction and economic growth.

The funding will provide support to critical social services such as education and health and back infrastructure programmes aimed at creating jobs and restoring long-term growth.

25-12-2011/Dawn
‘Tsunami’ sweeps Karachi: The Imran Khan wave, which the cricketer-turned-politician prefers to call ‘tsunami’, reached Karachi with a large turnout at a Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf meeting which surprised many political analysts, some of whom termed it one of the largest rallies recently held in the city.

25-12-2011/Dawn
Pak ranks 43rd in scientific research publication: Though the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has made enormous efforts to promote research work, Pakistan ranked 43rd in the world in terms of published scientific papers in the year 2010. According to the worldwide scientific journal ranking (SJR), Pakistan published 6,987 research documents in 2010.

26-12-2011/Dawn
Pak and India resume conventional CBM talks: Pakistan proposed to India deployment of artillery and mortars 30 kilometres away from the Line of Control (LoC) as the two sides revived talks on conventional and nuclear confidence-building measures (CBMs) after a gap of four years.

26-12-2011/The News
SMEDA launches project for SMEs: The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) launched the Pro-poor Governance for Legal Empowerment of the Poor (Pro-Gole) project for small and marginalised businesses.

27-12-2011/Dawn
Pakistan and India agree to extend nuclear pacts: Senior Pakistani and Indian officials agreed on extending pacts on reducing risks of nuclear accidents and pre-notification of ballistic missile tests.

28-12-2011/Dawn
Biogas plant set up by UN: A plant set up in Sanghar, Sindh, by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is generating 50 cubic metres of biogas sufficient to energise 20 households in addition to producing 200kg of liquefied and 150kg of solid fertilizer a day by using 400kg of agricultural waste.

29-12-2011/Dawn
Kharotabad case forensic investigator shot dead: Police surgeon Dr Syed Baqir Shah, who had conducted the post-mortem on the bodies of five foreigners killed by security forces in the infamous Kharotabad shooting, was gunned down.

30-12-2011/Dawn
Judicial Commission for memo case probe: The Supreme Court accepted PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif’s petition on the ‘memogate’ issue and set up a judicial commission comprising Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman and Sindh High Court Chief Justice Mushir Alam. The commission has been asked to come up with its findings in one month. District and Sessions Judge Islamabad Raja Jawwad Abbas Hassan will act as its secretary. The commission will hold its meetings in the IHC building.

31-12-2011/The News
Reference against GB judge for threatening governor: In a unique case of judicial history, a judge of the apex court in Gilgit-Baltistan has been formally charged to have hurled serious threats, including life threats, at the GB governor, and may even face removal from office.

The chief judge of the GB Supreme Appellate Court and chairman GB Supreme Judicial Council, Justice Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi, has filed a reference before Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to initiate the proceedings against the judge ‘Justice Syed Jafar Shah.

01-01-2012/Dawn
Asma criticises memo commission, quits as Haqqani lawyer: Prominent lawyer Asma Jehangir has categorically stated that she has ‘no confidence’ in the judicial commission constituted by the Supreme Court to investigate the memogate scandal and refused to represent former ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani in the case.

01-01-2012/Dawn
Pakistan to challenge UN decision in world court: Pakistan has decided to challenge in the International Court of Arbitration a decision of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to grant carbon credits to India on a controversial hydropower project without mandatory clearance of its trans-boundary environmental impact assessment.

01-01-2012/Dawn
Pakistan starts UNSC stint: Pakistan along with Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco and Togo assumed seats as new non-permanent members of the 15-nation UN Security Council. Pakistan has previously served in the Security Council in 1952-53, 1968-69, 1976-77, 1983-84, 1993-94 and 2003-04. It will be the fourth time Pakistan’s term will overlap with India’s, as it did in 1968, 1977 and 1984.

06-01-2012/The News
10 years tax holiday allowed in SEZs: Ten years tax holiday shall be allowed to industries to be set up in the new Special Economic Zones (SEZ) being set up in the federal capital, in the provinces, Azad Kashmir and Fata. The SEZ bill was approved by the Special Standing Committee for Law and Justice and Frontier Regions.

10-01-2012/Dawn
Senate body wants Derawar Fort on World Heritage List: The Senate functional committee on problems of under-developed areas has recommended to the federal government to get the crumbling Derawar Fort in Cholistan on the World Heritage List.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

11-12-2011/Dawn
British Deputy PM at odds with Cameron over EU vote: British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg opened up tensions in the coalition government, warning that the country risks becoming an international “pygmy” after vetoing a new European Union treaty.

11-12-2011/The News
Species, threats grow in Mekong region: Scientists identify a new species every two days in the Greater Mekong region, the WWF said, in a report detailing 2010’s more unusual finds such as a leaf warbler and a self-cloning lizard. More than 200 species were newly recorded last year in the Greater Mekong, which includes Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and the South-western Chinese province of Yunnan.

11-12-2011/Dawn
Climate conference reaches landmark agreement: A UN climate conference reached a hard-fought agreement on a far-reaching programme meant to set a new course for the global fight against climate change. The 194-nation conference agreed to start negotiations on a new accord that would ensure that countries will be legally bound to carry out any pledges they make. It would take effect by 2020 at the latest. Currently, only industrial countries have legally binding emissions targets under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

13-12-2011/Tribune
Malaysian sultan sworn-in as country’s oldest new king: An 84-year-old Malaysian state sultan was sworn-in as the country’s new king. Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah became the oldest constitutional monarch in the south-east Asian nation’s history.

13-12-2011/Dawn
Palestinian flag raised at Unesco headquarters: Palestinians raised their flag at the headquarters of the UN cultural agency in Paris as the agency’s 195th member, a historic move and symbolic boost for their push for an independent state.

13-12-2011/Dawn
Canada becomes first nation to pull out of Kyoto Protocol: Canada became the first country to announce it would withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, dealing a symbolic blow to the already troubled global treaty.

Environment Minister Peter Kent broke the news on his return from talks in Durban, where countries agreed to extend Kyoto for five years and hammer out a new deal forcing all big polluters for the first time to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

13-12-2011/The News
Scientists narrow search for ‘God particle’: Physicists said that they had narrowed the search for the elusive sub-atomic Higgs boson particle that would confirm the way science describes the Universe.

Experiments at Europe’s giant atom smasher have ‘reduced the window where scientists think they will find the Higgs boson,’ also known as the God Particle, said Bruno Mansoulie, a researcher at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN).

13-12-2011/The News
655,000 malaria deaths in 2010: Malaria caused the death of an estimated 655,000 people last year, with 86 per cent of victims children aged under five, World Health Organisation figures showed. The figure marked a five per cent drop in deaths from 2009. Africa accounted for 91 per cent of deaths and 81 per cent of the 216 million cases worldwide in 2010.

13-12-2011/Tribune
A jumping cockroach is discovered in South Africa: The scientists have discovered a cockroach that jumps. Just four-tenths of an inch long, this roach can jump up to 50 body lengths in a single jump. The newly discovered leaproach, which looks like a cockroach but acts like a grasshopper, is described in the journal Biology Letters. The insect was found in the Silvermine Nature Reserve in the Table Mountain National Park in South Africa. It lives in grasslands and feeds on grasshopper droppings.

13-12-2011/The News
Tunisia opposition veteran Marzouki sworn-in as president: Tunisia’s opposition veteran Moncef Marzouki was sworn-in as the country’s first elected president since the North African nation’s revolution sparked the Arab Spring.

14-12-2011/Daily Times
Kuwait emir swears-in new cabinet: Kuwait’s emir swore-in a new cabinet that closely resembled its predecessor to take the Gulf oil producer into a parliamentary election expected next year. The 50-member parliament has long tussled with governments dominated by the ruling al-Sabah family.

15-12-2011/Dawn
Opium cultivation surges in SE Asia: Opium cultivation in Southeast Asia has doubled since 2006 with significant increases in Myanmar and Laos this year, according to a UN report.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime said the lack of security, political stability and sustainable development was the key reason for a 16 per cent increase in the amount of land sown with poppies in 2011.

The estimated value of opium production in Myanmar, Laos and Thailand’ the countries where most of the region’s cultivation takes place ‘rose 48 per cent in 2011 from last year to $319 million, according to the UNODC.

15-12-2011/Dawn
New telescope captures ‘starburst’ galaxy: Europe’s state-of-the-art Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Paranal, Chile, has captured some of the most detailed images ever taken of a spiral galaxy. The Silver Coin Galaxy, known to scientists as NGC 253, gleams about 11.5 million light years away in the southern constellation of Sculptor.

15-12-2011/Dawn
Chirac found guilty of corruption: Former French president Jacques Chirac was convicted of graft but escaped jail, receiving a suspended two year sentence for running ghost workers at Paris city hall.

15-12-2011/Daily Times
112 countries recognise Palestine as a state: At least 112 countries around the world have formally recognised Palestine as a state, stretching from Africa to Asia, Europe to Latin America. In Latin America, Uruguay and Peru joined the growing ranks of countries which recognised Palestine this year, with 12 out of the region’s 13 countries formally recognising it as a state.

17-12-2011/Dawn
440 killed, 200 missing after Philippines storm: Tropical storm Washi whipped the southern Philippines, unleashing mammoth floods across vast areas that left 440 people dead and nearly 200 missing.

18-12-2011/Dawn
US troops quit Iraq 9 years after invasion: The last US forces left Iraq and entered Kuwait, nearly nine years after launching a divisive war to oust Saddam Hussein, and just as the oil-rich country grapples with renewed political deadlock.

18-12-2011/Dawn
Pakistani made deputy leader of Scottish party: Scotland’s opposition Labour Party elected Johann Lamont as its new leader, with a 28-year-old lawmaker of Pakistani ethnic origin Anas Sarwar voted in as her deputy. The former dentist is the son of Pakistan-born Mohammad Sarwar, a former MP for Glasgow, who was Britain`s first-ever Muslim lawmaker. Anas Sarwar holds his father’s former seat.

19-12-2011/The News
N. Korea test-fires short-range missiles: North Korea test-fired two short-range missiles off its east coast, the same day it announced the death of leader Kim Jong-II, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said.

22-12-2011/Dawn
Hamas moves to join PLO umbrella: The rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas took an important step toward reconciliation, announcing plans for the Islamic militants to join the umbrella group that has overseen two decades of on-and-off peace talks with Israel. Under the agreement, Hamas’ supreme leader, Khaled Mashaal, joined a committee that will prepare for elections of the PLO’s parliament in exile. He will serve alongside Abbas.

22-12-2011/Dawn
French lower house adopts genocide bill: France sparked a diplomatic row with Turkey by taking steps to criminalise the denial of genocide, including the 1915 mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks, prompting Ankara to cancel all economic, political and military meetings. Lawmakers in France’s National Assembly ‘the lower house of parliament’ voted overwhelmingly in favour of a draft law outlawing genocide denial, which will be debated next year in the Senate.

22-12-2011/Dawn
Ankara cuts some ties with Paris: Turkey reacted with fury to a vote by French lawmakers to outlaw denial of the Armenian genocide, immediately cutting military ties and warning of ‘irreparable damage’ to relations.

This is politics based on racism, discrimination and xenophobia, thundered Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ordering home Ankara’s ambassador to Paris and banning political visits between the two Nato allies.

22-12-2011/Daily Times
Norway panel approves report declaring killer insane: A Norwegian psychiatric report concluding that an anti-Islam militant who killed 77 people in July was insane and unfit to serve prison time was approved by a medical review commission, strengthening the likelihood he will avoid jail.

22-12-2011/Dawn
10,000 US troops pulled out of Afghanistan: US military officials say that President Barack Obama’s order to withdraw 10,000 American troops from Afghanistan this year has been accomplished, a little more than a week before the year-end deadline.

23-12-2011/Dawn
US, Japan, EU boycott UN ‘silence’ for Kim: The United States, Japan, South Korea and leading European nations boycotted a minute of silence at the UN General Assembly demanded by North Korea for its late leader Kim Jong-Il. The UN tribute was the highest profile international move sought yet by the North’s government as it seeks global recognition for the hard-line leader who died at the age of 69.

23-12-2011/The News
Leftist Milanovic Croatia’s new PM: Driven, self-confident and smart but criticised for lacking a common touch, Zoran Milanovic was sworn-in as Croatia’s new prime minister faced with a troubled economy and the challenge of EU integration.23-

12-2011/The News
Suu Kyi registers party: Myanmar’s democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi registered her opposition party and visited the national parliament for the first time, as she prepares to enter the mainstream political arena.

24-12-2011/Dawn
Islamist sweep second round of Egypt poll: Egypt’s main Islamist parties won 65 per cent of votes for party lists in the second round of a historic election for a new parliament after Hosni Mubarak’s ouster. The Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) won 36.5 percent of the vote for party lists, with 4.058 million out of 11.173 votes, according to figures provided by the electoral committee for the second round which was held on December 14. The Al Nur Party won 28.78 per cent, with 3.216 million votes.

25-12-2011/Dawn
Ancient seal found in Jerusalem: A rare clay seal found under Jerusalem’s old city appears to be linked to religious rituals practiced at the Jewish Temple 2,000 years ago, Israeli archaeologists said. The coin-sized seal found near the Jewish holy site at the Western Wall bears two Aramaic words meaning pure for God.

25-12-2011/Tribune
UN General Assembly cuts 2012-13 budget by 5 per cent: The UN General Assembly has approved a 5 per cent decrease in the United Nations’ budget for 2012-2013, only the second time in 50 years that the world body has slashed its spending.

26-12-2011/The News
Coup foiled in Guinea-Bissau, navy chief held: Guinea-Bissau’s army said it foiled a coup attempt in the impoverished West African country and arrested the navy chief, accusing him of being the mastermind of the attack. Army chief of staff General Antonio Indjai said loyal troops had defeated the assault by renegade soldiers on army headquarters, which came while President Malam Bacai Sanha is undergoing medical treatment in France.

26-12-2011/Dawn
Brazil: sixth biggest economy: Brazil has overtaken Britain as the world’s sixth largest economy, a London-based research group said. In its latest World Economic League Table, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said Asian countries were moving up while European countries were slipping down.

27-12-2011/The News
Russia test-fires long-range missile with new warhead: Russia successfully test fired its long-range ballistic missile RS-18 from its Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with a new warhead aimed at overcoming Western air defence systems.

28-12-2011/Daily Times
Afghanistan signs first major oil deal with China: Afghanistan signed an oil deal with China which could earn the war-torn country $7 billion over 25 years.
Afghanistan’s first major oil exploration contract will see state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation develop three oil fields in the relatively peaceful north of the country along the Amu Darya river.

28-12-2011/Dawn
The Times names Tunisian fruit-seller ‘person of 2011’: The Times newspaper in London named Mohamed Bouazizi, the Tunisian fruit-seller who unwittingly started a wave of protests known as the Arab Spring, as its person of 2011. The 26-year-old from a poor family set himself alight in the town of Sidi Bouzid on Dec 17 last year in protest against harassment by officials, and died from his burns in early January.

28-12-2011/Dawn
Russia, Turkey clinch gas pipeline deal: Russia said it had clinched a deal with Turkey allowing it to lay the South Stream natural gas pipeline to Europe through its territorial waters.

29-12-2011/Dawn
Turkish air attack leaves 35 Kurds dead: Turkish warplanes killed 35 people in an air strike on the Iraq border, officials said.

30-12-2011/Dawn
Jamaica opposition sweeps poll: Jamaica’s leading opposition People’s National Party has won a landslide election in a vote driven by concerns about crime, corruption and poverty on the picturesque Caribbean island.

01-01-2012/Dawn
Defiant Iran tests missile as US unleashes new sanctions: Iran announced that it had tested a new missile and made an advance in its nuclear programme after the United States unleashed extra sanctions that sent its currency to a record low.

01-01-2012/Dawn
Foreigners to buy Indian shares: India announced that it would open up its stock market to individual foreign investors for the first time, in a major economic reform designed to boost overseas investment.

01-01-2012/The News
Warmest weather in Paris since 1883: Revelling Parisians enjoyed the warmest New Year’s Eve in Paris since 1883 with temperatures hitting 12.3 degrees Celsius (54.1 degrees Fahrenheit), weather service Meteo France said.

02-01-2012/Dawn
Iran tests missiles near key strait: Iran tested missiles near the Strait of Hormuz, underlining its threats to close the vital oil-transit waterway as the West readies to impose more economic sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear drive.

02-01-2012/Tribune
Bird flu virus can’t spread through humans, officials say: The strain of H5H1 bird flu cannot spread among people, a Chinese health agency said. Genetic analysis indicated the virus spread directly from poultry to the victim. ‘Though it is highly pathogenic to human beings, the virus cannot spread among people’ the statement said.

02-01-2012/Dawn
10pc of Libyan assembly seats for women: Ten per cent of the seats of the proposed Libyan Constituent Assembly will be reserved for women, a draft election law published said. ‘The General National Congress (constituent assembly) is to be composed of 200 members elected freely and directly. 10 per cent of the seats will be reserved for women’ said the draft released on the website of the election preparatory committee. The constituent assembly election is scheduled to be held in June.

03-01-2012/The News
Moroccan king names Islamist-led govt: Moroccan King Mohamed VI named a new government led by moderate Islamist Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane.

05-01-2012/Dawn
Former Israeli PM indicted for graft: Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was indicted alongside a number of other people for allegedly taking bribes in a massive property scandal.

05-01-2012/Dawn
EU stands firm on airline emission fee: The European Union refused to back down from a disputed airline emissions fee despite China’s refusal to pay the new charge to land in Europe. The 27-nation EU began to require all airlines to buy pollution permits to fly to Europe on January 1 despite stiff opposition from the United States, China and many other countries.

06-01-2012/Dawn
Turkey’s former army chief held: The former head of Turkey’s armed forces, General Ilker Basbug, was in custody on charges of trying to overthrow the government, a stunning move by the country’s judiciary against a military that was once the ultimate power in the land.

06-01-2012/Dawn
S. Sudan massacre claims, 3,141 lives: Over 3,000 people were killed in South Sudan in brutal massacres last week in an explosion of ethnic violence that forced tens of thousands to flee, the top local official said.

08-01-2012/Dawn
Arabs give Syria mission green light to continue: Arab ministers meeting in Cairo gave a widely criticised observer mission to Syria the green light to continue and called for an immediate end to the violence there. The Arab ministerial committee on Syria ‘has decided to give Arab League observers the necessary time to continue their mission according to the protocol’ which states that the mission is for the duration of one month.

09-01-2012/Dawn
Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim acquitted, vows to win elections: Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was acquitted in a stunning climax to a two-year sodomy trial and quickly set his sights on ousting the long-ruling coalition in upcoming polls.

09-01-2012/The News
IAEA confirms Iran enriching uranium at new plant: The UN atomic agency confirmed that Iran has started enriching uranium to 20-per cent purity at a new site in a difficult-to-bomb mountain bunker. ‘The IAEA can confirm that Iran has started the production of uranium enriched up to 20 per cent in the Fordo Fuel Enrichment Plant’ the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna said in a statement.

09-01-2012/The News
Astronomers make biggest map of dark matter in universe: International astronomers said that they have created the largest map of dark matter ever observed in the universe, using data from potent telescopes that scanned 10 million galaxies.

10-01-2012/Tribune
23 new animal species found near deep-sea hot spots: Researchers using a remote-controlled vehicle that dived about 1.5 miles, or 2.5 kilometres, below the surface of the Southern Ocean near Antarctica have discovered 23 new animal species living in the hot, dark environment around hydrothermal vents.

10-01-2012/Dawn
Suu Kyi becomes party chief: Democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi has become head of her political party National League for Democracy (NLD), a spokesman said, as she prepares to fight by-elections to enter Myanmar’s army-dominated parliament.  ‘According to our party structure Daw Aung San Suu Kyi became the chairman of the NLD’ spokesman Nyan Win said. Daw is a term of respect.

SPORTS

11-12-2011/Dawn
Amir loses titles to Peterson in split verdict: Britain’s Amir Khan lost his WBA super-lightweight and IBF light-welterweight titles after he was deducted two points and dropped a split decision to American Lamont Peterson.