Shabnam flies off to Dhaka - DAWN.com

KARACHI, May 14: Former Pakistani film star Shabnam and her husband music composer Robin Ghosh left for Dhaka by a PIA flight on Monday afternoon following a three-week visit to Pakistan.

Speaking to journalists at Karachi airport, the famous actress said she was taking back a lot of loving memories with her and would never forget the kind of affection and warmth with which she was received by her hosts on her visit to Pakistan.

She said she liked the idea of working in Pakistani films again provided the script and director(s) were worth it.

Shabnam and her husband were seen off by her hosts and members of the film journalist community. The plane, supposed to take off at 12.30am, was delayed by half an hour.

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Tourism hit as Huangyan dispute escalates - China Daily

SHANGHAI - Chinese tourist numbers to the Philippines are dropping as the ongoing territorial dispute continues over Huangyan Island in the South China Sea.

Many Chinese travel agencies have halted tours to the Philippines, which China accuses of "making trouble" in the waters around the disputed island for over a month.

A department manager surnamed Zhang with China International Travel Service (CITS) said the company started to see a decrease in tour applications to the Philippines at the end of April and the number dropped dramatically at the beginning of May.

Before the Huangyan dispute, the company used to organize eight to 10 tourist groups to the Philippines per month and each group was composed of about 20 Chinese, according to Zhang.

The Chinese travel agency Ctrip.com has also stopped organizing tours to the Philippines and is persuading those who have booked independent and semi-independent traveling to the archipelago to cancel their plans.

The company has promised to totally refund the tickets of those who cancel their trips.

He Yong, a department manager of Ctrip, said about 300 tourists have been affected.

Yang Yanfeng, researcher with China Tourism Academy, said safety is the precondition for tourism, and Chinese agencies' suspension of tours in the face of threats is a timely and rational response that reflects their strong sense of social responsibility.

Airlines are also facing economic losses.

Airport authorities in Shanghai told Xinhua that from May 1 to 15, some 2,600 tourists flew from Shanghai to the Philippines, while the number was more than 4,100 during the same period last month.

China Eastern Airlines said it had canceled its non-scheduled service to the Philippines and arranged no flights to the country during the past half month.

China's Southern Airlines has also announced that it will reduce its flights to the Philippines in May and June.

Tourism Impacted

China alleges that in early April the Philippines sent a warship to harass 12 Chinese fishing vessels that had sailed into the island's waters to seek shelter from a bad weather.

The month-long tensions over Huangyan Island prompted China's National Tourism Administration to issue a travel warning last Thursday calling on Chinese tourism operators to postpone tours to the Philippines.

Almost all Chinese participating in group tours are expected to return to China by May 16, as that is the final contract day for the remaining groups of Chinese tourists currently traveling in the Philippines, an unidentified official with the administration said Sunday.

The drop in Chinese tourists to the Southeast Asian nation is likely to have a big impact on the Philippines' tourist industry.

Manager Zhang with the CITS said many local agencies in the Philippines are extremely worried about the current situation and have asked the CITS to make more efforts to promote tours to the Philippines.

Yu Weihua, manager of the overseas travel department of the Shanghai China Travel International Ltd., said the suspension of tours will have a far-reaching effect on the Philippines.

"It is unlike suspensions caused by natural disasters, which can be resumed when the disaster is over," he said. "Many Chinese tourists who had given up their tours to the Philippines are driven by a sense of patriotism, and may wait a long time to again choose the country as a tourist destination."

Chinese tourist numbers to the Philippines are substantial -- ranking the fourth highest compared with other countries, after those from the Republic of Korea, the United States and Japan.

Tourist arrivals from the Chinese mainland rose 78 percent in the first quarter of this year, to 96,455 or 8.4 percent of the total, according to the data from the Philippine government.

Traveling to the nations' picturesque islands had become increasingly popular for Chinese, and Boracay had been an especially hot tourist destination for Shanghai tourists, Yu said.

Long-term economic effects

Some fear that the impact of heightened tensions over Huangyan Island will affect other areas of bilateral relations between China and the Philippines.

China-Philippines trade amounted to $27.7 billion in 2010, making China the third largest trade partner of the country, and the two sides had pledged to double their trade volume to $60 billion in five years.

Qu Xing, head of China Institute of International Studies, said the deterioration of the two countries' relations will certainly have negative economic effects, and the anti-Chinese sentiment in the Philippines will hurt the development of trade between the two countries.

China is a great potential market for Western countries as well as the emerging economies, and losing the Chinese market will severely hurt the Philippines' economy, Qu said.

As for China's impounding Philippine bananas alleged to carry pests, Qu said the move was not related to the Huangyan dispute, as China had adopted new inspection standards before the dispute arose.

The newspaper Manila Standard Today said Tuesday that the Philippine Stock Exchange benchmark index dropped 1.4 percent on Monday, its sharpest decline in two months.

Shi Yinhong, professor with Renmin University of China, said the economic loss that the Philippines will suffer by losing the Chinese market could be as much as that of a real war.

The attitude of the Philippines decides the situation of the crisis, and hopefully, the Philippines can be rational enough to take a stand to end the dispute, Shi said.

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Cautious Suu Kyi nod to US sanctions freeze - News24

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

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Pakistan will Restore Conditional Nato Supply - PakTribune.com

16 May, 2012

By Zaheerul Hassan

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has been invited to attend a Chicago conference. According to President's spokesman Sectary General of Nato has called President Zardari on Phone and officially invited him for North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato).

The invitation comes amid speculations that Pakistan is all set to re-open its ground routes for Nato supplies, which it closed after a cross border attack in Mohmand Agency that killed its 24 soldiers in November last year. Early on May 11, 2012, Nato Secretary Gen Andre Fohg Rasmussen said that Pakistan had not been invited to Nato conference in Chicago.

According to the reliable sources the meeting of the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) at Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is in progress. Reportedly, the participants of the said meeting have been agreed to conditional supply of food items and other stuff (less arms and ammunition) to 130000 Nato's troops deployed in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, on May 14, 2012 Foreign Minister, Hina Rabbani Khar while talking to press conference indicated that Pakistan intend to restore the Nato supply suspended six months ago and causing tension between the west and Islamabad. She also stated that Pakistan and the US have divergence in some areas while share views in other areas and "we want to move to some positive zone over all the issues". Pakistani willingness of restoring of Nato supply reveals that apparently, US and Nato countries remained successful in played dirty tricks of pressurizing Pakistan over the Nato issue instead seeking apology over violating Pakistan sovereignty while attacking Salala Check Post.

I think it was the matter of nerves; Pakistan should take firm stand on the issue of drone attacks, raid on Check Post and should not restore Nato Supply unconditionally. It is mentioned here that if US is serious in improving and normalization of relationship with her former frontline ally of war on terror then she must avail golden chance of seeking apology on Salala Check Post at the occasion of Chicago Conference.

Pakistan should claim tariff for passages of Containers since it badly damaged our infrastructure. At present , a total of 3,676 military vehicles, including military hardware, arms and 1,732 containers belonging to Nato forces are at the port which was suppose to be cargo to Afghanistan. Actually, the discontinuation of supplies has frustrated Nato and U.S has weighed various options of supply of cargo but failed to go for change in supply route since it can bring devastating effects on already crumbling U.S and European economy.

Nevertheless, US and Western countries cannot afford to lost an ally like Pakistan when Osama has been killed last year and Obama has strong desire of leaving the region through clean exit from Afghanistan by 2014 and American masses also demanding of the withdrawal of soldiers back to their sweet homes as early as possible.

Anyhow, attendance of Chicago Conference will also provide a platform to Pakistan for putting across her point of view. At the same time US and Nato countries should have to stop playing dirty tricks against Pakistan. They must acknowledge the sacrifices of Pakistani civilians and security forces. Nato should take steps to share the finical burden of over 80 billions$. Thus we can say that deadlock in Pak-US relations will help in establishing regional peace. Moreover, Washington should know that that no solution to Afghan Conundrum is possible without taking into confidence the main player (Pakistan) of GWOT.

Pakistan should also ask US to release outstanding Coalition Support Fund (CSF) worth $1.2 billion, which has been withheld since December 2010. Government should ensure that restoration of Nato's supply through Pakistan should not be free of cost. In this connection fresh rule of business has to be evolved and Nato should be asked to pay the taxes for maintaining the infrastructure from Karachi to Pak-Afghan border. US should also be asked to give guarantee of stopping drone attacks, non interference in Balochistan and in Pak-Iran Gas Pipe Line Project.

The writer can be approached through zameer36@gmail.com

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Foreign Policy: Who Has The Better Inaugural Bling? - NPR

Enlarge Antoine Antoniol/Getty Images

French President Francois Hollande arrives to attend a ceremony to pay respect to the Unknown soldier at Arc de Triomphe on Tuesday in Paris, France.

Antoine Antoniol/Getty Images French President Francois Hollande arrives to attend a ceremony to pay respect to the Unknown soldier at Arc de Triomphe on Tuesday in Paris, France.

When it comes to presidential style, the new leaders of France and Russia couldn't be more different. Francois Hollande, after all, used to travel to work on a scooter, while Vladimir Putin has been spotted getting around with a horse, a race car, a Harley Davidson motorcycle, and a water-bombing plane. So perhaps it's no surprise that their inaugurations this month were a study in contrasts.

In yet another effort to distance himself from outgoing French President Nicolas Sarkozy's "bling bling" lifestyle, Hollande participated in a modest swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday — well, modest as far as presidential inaugurations go. The French leader didn't invite many personal guests to the event (even his children didn't attend), and he drove to the Elysee Palace in a hybrid Citroen DS5, stopping at traffic lights and even waiting patiently in a traffic jam. In his first speech as president, Hollande promised to govern with "dignity but simplicity" and to demonstrate "scrupulous sobriety in behavior." (Hollande's plans for a no-drama inaugural were later foiled when lightning struck his plane en route to Germany.)

The atmospherics differed so much from the pomp and circumstance surrounding Putin's inauguration on May 7 that one YouTube user has already spliced together footage of the Russian leader's black limousine barreling through the empty streets of Moscow with images of Hollande's motorcade wending its way through the crowded avenues of Paris (to compare the inaugurations at length, see here and here). So will Putin and Hollande end up seeing eye to eye? Putin did call Hollande to congratulate him on his electoral victory, and the leaders will meet next month at a sustainable development summit in Brazil. But if their remarkably different inauguration ceremonies are any indication, these two men have quite the gulf to bridge.

In the picture above, Francois Hollande, accompanied by Republican Guardsmen on horseback and motorcycle, arrives at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris for a solemn ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier before his inauguration. Hollande outfitted the open-roof vehicle with a flat floor and a rail that he could grip while standing up so that he could wave to the public — in the pouring rain, no less.

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Ratko Mladic masterminded of brutal ethnic cleansing campaign, court told - Vancouver Sun

THE HAGUE—Former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic went on trial Wednesday accused of carrying out a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing and Europe’s worst massacre since World War II.

"Ratko Mladic assumed the mantle of the criminal goal of ethnically cleansing Bosnia," prosecutor Dermot Groome told judges as the trial opened at the Yugoslav war crimes court in The Hague.

Mladic, 70, has been indicted on 11 counts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the Balkan country’s brutal 1992-95 war that killed 100,000 people and left 2.2 million homeless.

"The prosecution will present evidence that will show without reasonable doubt the hand of Mr Mladic in each of these crimes," Groome added after Mladic, dressed in a dark grey suit and patterned tie, sarcastically applauded judges as they entered the courtroom.

Mladic pleaded not guilty to the charges at an earlier court hearing last June.

Outside the court, a group of 25 women belonging to the "Mothers of Srebrenica" organisation representing widows and victims of the Srebrenica massacre, held a demonstration.

"This is the biggest butcher of the Balkans and the world," Munira Subasic, 65, told AFP. She lost 22 relatives to Bosnian Serb military forces when the enclave of Srebrenica was overrun in July 1995.

Almost 8,000 Muslim men and boys were systematically murdered as Bosnian-Serb forces under General Mladic’s command overran the town and Dutch UN peacekeepers helplessly looked on.

Groome displayed population maps showing the ethnic distribution in Bosnia before and after the war, explaining how mixed or predominantly Muslim municipalities became exclusively Serbian after a campaign of ethnic cleansing he said was one of Mladic’s "strategic objectives".

The prosecutor said the very first objective was to "separate the Serbs from the other two national communities" — Bosnians and Croats.

"Thousands of families were forced from their land," Groome added, as he told the court how groups of non-Serbs were executed and others forced to jump from a bridge by soldiers under Mladic’s command.

Judge Orie warned both Mladic and people sitting in the public gallery not to make eye contact during the trial, after one of them was heard to utter the word "vulture".

"Mr Mladic, try and focus your attention on what’s happening inside the courtroom," the judge said.

Prosecutors also hold him responsible for the 44-month siege of Sarajevo where his forces waged a "terror campaign" of sniping and shelling that left an estimated 10,000 people, the vast majority of them civilians, dead.

"Sarajevo was a model of diversity, a cosmopolitan city," said Groome.

"They (Bosnian Serb leaders) sought to destroy it, to sever the city in half, with the Serbs living in one part and the non-Serbs in another part."

It was in pursuit of a "Greater Serbia" that Mladic allegedly also ordered his troops to "cleanse" other Bosnian towns, driving out Croats, Muslims and other non-Serbs.

After the war, Mladic continued his military career but went into hiding in 2000 after the government of his ally in Serbia, Slobodan Milosevic, fell.

Indicted for war crimes, he was on the run until May 2011 when he was arrested at a relative’s house in Lazarevo, northeastern Serbia and flown to a prison in The Hague a few days later.

Two days ahead of the trial, his lawyers filed a request for a six-month adjournment, saying they needed more time to prepare a defence.

The judge said Wednesday the court was still considering whether to postpone the case, on the grounds that the prosecution made a "significant error" which could affect the course of the trial.

During a string of pre-trial hearings, the ageing former general complained of his poor health and asked Orie if he could wear his military uniform.

Defence lawyer Branko Lukic said Mladic suffered three strokes in 1996, 2008 and 2011 and was partly paralysed on his right side.

Mladic however appeared in better shape than at his first appearance when the former general told the court he was a "sick man".

Lukic told journalists on Wednesday that Mladic had had extensive medical and dental surgery since his capture.

"He lost a lot of teeth" during his years as a fugitive, Lukic said.

The trial was due to continue on Thursday, before resuming on May 29.

Mladic faces life imprisonment if found guilty.

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Iran tough stance in nuclear talks reflects 'political capital' in standoff - Chicago Tribune

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The negotiating stance from Iranian officials never varies: The Islamic Republic will not give up its capabilities to make nuclear fuel. But embedded in the messages are meanings that reach beyond Tehran's talks with world powers.

It points to the struggles within Iran's ruling system as it readies for the next round of talks scheduled to begin next week in Baghdad.

Iran's Islamic leadership — which crushed an opposition groundswell nearly three years ago and later swatted back a power grab by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — has now staked its political credibility on its ability to resist Western sanctions and hold firm to its rights under U.N. treaties to enrich uranium.

Any concessions — either too great or too fast — could risk internal rifts within Iran's power structure. And that could draw powerful forces into the mix, including the Revolutionary Guard that acts as defender of the theocracy and overseer of the nuclear program. As talks deepen, so do the political considerations for an Islamic establishment that cannot afford to appear to come away empty handed.

"Insisting on a halt to enrichment is a deal breaker," said Tehran-based political analyst Behrooz Shojaei. "It is Iran's red line."

This means smaller targets are likely necessary to keep dialogue alive after the Baghdad session next Wednesday between Iran and the six-nation group comprising the permanent U.N. Security Council members plus Germany.

A possible steppingstone goal for the U.S. and allies is to seek to halt Iran's production of uranium enriched to 20 percent levels, the highest-grade material acknowledged by Tehran. The enrichment level is far above what's needed for Iran's lone energy-producing reactor, but it is appropriate for use in medical research. It also could be boosted to weapons-grade strength in a matter of months.

Iran insists it has no interest in developing atomic weapons, but it sees its uranium labs as a mainstay of its technological advances that include long-range missiles and an aerospace program that has promised another satellite launch this month. There still could be some room, however, for bargaining.

Iran has signaled it could consider ending the 20 percent enrichment. In return, though, it wants Washington and Europe to ease some of the most painful new sanctions, including those hitting Iran's oil exports and its access to international banking networks.

Such demands would directly test the West's flexibility.

Previously, Washington and European allies have insisted that Iran must take the first step and suspend all uranium enrichment as required by several U.N. Security Council resolutions. They also are under pressure from Israel to avoid protracted give-and-take negotiations.

Last week, the European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met with Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to discuss the upcoming talks. Later, Ashton said she hoped for "concrete" results in Baghdad.

But the semiofficial Fars news agency quoted Gen. Yadollah Javani, a Revolutionary Guard adviser, as saying it's too early to be optimistic.

"Iran does not trust the West," he said. "The West should build the trust in the long run."

Netanyahu derided the opening round of talks last month in Istanbul, mocking them as a "freebie" that gave Iran international cover to continue enriching uranium. Iran, in turn, has accused Israel of trying to destroy the negotiations as pretext to a possible military strike.

"All the sides are moving with extreme caution," said Mustafa Alani, a regional affairs analyst at the Gulf Research Center based in Geneva. "It seems no one wants to give too much or say too much at this stage. But also no one wants to be portrayed as the side that killed the talks."

This is the tricky ground being navigated by Iran.

Its leaders are desperate to avoid any impression of caving under the Western economic squeeze. Any serious rollbacks — without Western concessions in return — could open room for hard-liners to take pot shots at the ruling clerics. It also could put the Revolutionary Guard in the awkward position of defending the Islamic system against ultra-nationalists who normally side with the Guard.

The timing, too, brings added concerns for Iran.

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Judge to lead Greece to fateful June 17 election - Malaysia Star

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece put a senior judge in charge of an emergency government on Wednesday to lead it to new elections on June 17 and bankers sought to calm public fears after the president said political chaos risked causing panic and a run on deposits.

Head of Greece's Left Coalition party Alexis Tsipras (C), accompanied by party officials, leaves from the Presidential palace following a meeting with political leaders and the Greek President in Athens May 15, 2012. REUTERS/Yorgos Karahalis

Greeks have been withdrawing hundreds of millions of euros (dollars) from banks in recent days as the prospect of the country being forced out of the European Union's common currency zone seems ever more real - although there has so far been no sign of a run on bank branches in Athens.

Political leaders failed to form a government following an inconclusive parliamentary election on May 6, leaving the state with its coffers almost empty and no elected cabinet in place to satisfy lenders it deserves the money needed to stay afloat.

After meeting President Karolos Papoulias, whose powers as head of state are limited, heads of various parties which won seats in parliament named the new interim leader as Panagiotis Pikrammenos, who runs the supreme administrative court.

A new poll confirmed what other surveys have shown: that radical leftists who reject a bailout agreed with the European Union and International Monetary Fund are now poised for victory, and the establishment parties that agreed the rescue are sinking further after an historic wipe-out 10 days ago.

The leftists argue they can tear up the bailout and keep the euro, but European leaders say if Greece fails to meet promises to them, lenders will pull the plug on financing, driving Athens to bankruptcy and a swift exit from the EU single currency.

On Monday, according to an official account, the president told party chiefs that figures collated by the central bank headed by George Provopoulos showed savers withdrew at least 700 million euros (559 million pounds) from banks.

"Provopoulos told me there was no panic, but there was great fear that could develop into a panic," minutes of the cabinet meeting quoted the president as saying.

"Withdrawals and outflows by 4 p.m. when I called him exceeded 600 million euros and reached 700 million euros," he said. "He expects total outflows of about 800 million euros, including conversions into German Bunds and other such things."

Several banking sources told Reuters similar amounts had also been withdrawn on Tuesday. Nevertheless, there was no sign of panic or queues at bank branches in Athens on Wednesday. Bankers dismissed suggestions that a bank run was looming.

A senior executive at a large Greek bank told Reuters: "There is no bank run, no queues or panic. The situation is better than I expected. The amount of deposit withdrawals the president mentioned referred to three days, not one."

Still, some were taking no risks. A 60-year-old textiles store owner who gave his name only as Nasos said he had transferred 10,000 euros over the phone to a bank in fellow euro zone state Cyprus on Tuesday afternoon.

"Any way you see it, things are difficult. If they call elections on June 17 - a Sunday - then everyone will take their money out on the Friday." That June 17 date was later confirmed.

BANK WITHDRAWALS

Greeks have already been withdrawing their savings from banks at a sharp clip - nearly a third of bank deposits were withdrawn between January 2010 and March 2012, reducing total Greek household and business deposits to 165 billion euros.

A senior bank executive said there had been withdrawals in recent days but there was no sign yet of a panic, as had happened in April 2010 when 8 billion euros were withdrawn just before Greece obtained its first foreign bailout.

Analysts predicted Greece would avoid a bank run, if only because so many people have pulled out their savings already.

"We have witnessed periods of tension before when the banks experienced large outflows. In my view, the majority of people with these concerns would have done so by now," said Alex Tsirigotis, Greek banks analyst at Mediobanca.

Greek banks have made up for vanishing deposits on their balance sheets by accepting costlier European Central Bank financing through the Greek central bank.

The spectre of Greece quitting the single currency sent the euro and European shares to a fresh four-month low on Wednesday and raised the yields on Spanish and Italian debt, reflecting the risk that other European countries will be hurt.

Patience is wearing thin among EU policymakers exasperated that a country which accounts for barely 2 percent of the euro zone's economy should drag the bloc into deep crisis yet again.

"The 16 other governments in the euro zone really are at the end of their patience with Greece. There isn't room or any willingness to move," said one official involved in talks over Greece at the European Commission. "The decisions are really in Athens's hands. But it doesn't look good."

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told a news conference in Brussels that Greeks must realise what was at stake in their election: "It is important that the Greek people now take a decision fully informed about the consequences." ($1 = 0.7828 euros)

(Additional reporting by George Georgiopoulos and Karolina Tagaris in Athens, and Luke Baker in Brussels; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

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Bunds extend losses; Spanish, Italian yields fall

Copyright © 2012 Reuters

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Rains cool off war in South Sudan - Christian Science Monitor

By Scott Baldauf, Staff Writer / May 16, 2012

South Sudanese returning from Khartoum sail on a barge as they arrive at the port in South Sudan's capital Juba on Wednesday, May 16.

Adriane Ohanesian/Reuters

Enlarge

The onset of rains may accomplish what senior diplomats and elder statesmen have been unable to achieve: an end to fighting between Sudan and South Sudan.

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When the six-month long rainy season comes to this part of the semi-arid Sahel region of Eastern Africa, hard meandering dirt roads become muddy and impassable. Troop trucks and tanks stay where they are, largely to prevent getting stuck up to the axles in mud. In a part of the world where asphalt roads exist only in the posh parts of larger towns, rainy season brings a natural halt to all traffic, warlike and otherwise.

Fighting doesn’t stop entirely, of course, and six months may not be enough time for these two sides to come up with compromises that they couldn’t come up with during the past seven years of relatively peaceful coexistence in the coalition government of a then-still-unified Sudan. But the respite is welcome.

As South Sudan Brig. Gen. Abraham Jongroon Deng told the Associated Press, “They relax and we relax. We wait until December. It will stop the war.” 

The troubles go back nearly 30 years to the outbreak of civil war between north and south Sudan, when rebel leader John Garang launched a rebellion against Khartoum for what he regarded as neglect and discrimination of the Christian and non-Arab tribes of the south by the Arab-dominated north. A 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement gave some breathing space for the two warring sides to share power in a unified government, but old animosities lived on through internal squabbles, and in January 2011, South Sudanese citizens voted overwhelmingly to secede from the north. When the countries did separate, in July 2011, South Sudan ended up with nearly three-quarters of the unified Sudan’s oil reserves.

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki, the African Union's appointed mediator in the Sudan crisis, is due to arrive in Khartoum tomorrow to restart the peace process, but South Sudan's lead negotiator, Pagan Amum told Agence France Presse that Khartoum was stalling its return to the peace table. 

Mario Morino of Morino Ventures LLC, photographed in Rocky River, OH on Friday April 20, 2012.

A little book has a big impact on how to run a charity

Mario Morino wrote a little book that's had a big effect – urging nonprofit groups to prove that they're really doing what they say they're doing.

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UN team in Syria evacuated from tense town - The Associated Press

Assad says Syrians support his reform efforts(AP) – 3 minutes ago 

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad has told a Russian state news channel that his country supports his reform agenda.

He says recent parliamentary elections in the country show that Syrians "up to this time support the course of reform."

The government has praised the May 7 vote as a milestone in promised political reforms.

But the opposition boycotted the polls and said they were orchestrated by the regime to strengthen Assad's grip on power.

The interview is to be broadcast on state news channel Rossiya-24 later Wednesday, but some excerpts were released in advance.

Assad's last interview with a foreign news outlet was in December.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BEIRUT (AP) — A team of international observers was evacuated Wednesday from a tense town in northern Syria a day after their convoy was hit by a roadside bomb, a U.N. spokesman said.

The team's vehicles were struck by the blast Tuesday during a mission in the northern town of Khan Sheikhoun. None of the observers was wounded, but they had to spend the night with rebel forces in the area. Ahmad Fawzi, a spokesman for international envoy Kofi Annan, said the observers were "reported to be uninjured and in good health."

Syria-based U.N. spokesman Hassan Seklawi said U.N. members picked up the team around noon Wednesday.

"They left in one convoy in the direction of Hama," Seklawi said referring to a central city south of Khan Sheikhoun.

Tuesday's attack, which came minutes after witnesses said regime forces gunned down mourners at a funeral procession nearby, dealt a fresh blow to Annan's peace plan and the U.N. effort to monitor compliance with a troubled cease-fire agreement.

Russian state television was to air an interview with Syrian President Bashar Assad later Wednesday.

Russia has been Syria's most powerful and loyal ally over the course of the uprising, selling weapons to the regime and blocking action against Damascus at the U.N. Security Council.

Activists said the violence continued Wednesday with regime forces opening fire from the outskirts of Khan Sheikhoun.

Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights activist group, said the heavy machine-gun fire has so far prevented people from holding funerals for some of the 20 mourners who were killed at the funeral on Tuesday.

The U.N. said rebel forces had given the observers shelter in the town, which has witnessed anti-government protests since an uprising against Assad's regime began in March last year.

Fawzi said in a statement that six staff members were "reportedly being treated well" while in rebel hands. He said the observers were caught up in the explosion as they met with the rebel Free Syrian Army. He said three vehicles were damaged.

More than 200 U.N. observers have been deployed throughout Syria to monitor the cease-fire agreement, which has been repeatedly violated by both sides since it took effect on April 12.

The bombing was at least the second time the U.N. observers have been caught up in Syria's violence. Last week, a roadside bomb struck a Syrian military truck in the south of the country just seconds after the Norwegian team leader Maj. Gen. Robert Mood rode by in a convoy.

It was not clear who was behind the blast and no one claimed responsibility.

A video posted by activists online appeared to show the exact moment the U.N. vehicle was struck. The video shows two white vehicles clearly marked "U.N" with people milling around it, and two others parked a few meters (yards) behind. Slippers apparently left behind by the mourners running away from the shooting earlier are seen strewn about on the ground.

The blast blew off the front of the first vehicle and sent up a plume of smoke as people screamed and frantically ran for cover. The four cars are then seen slowly driving away.

It was not clear how close the observers were to the funeral shootings, but if confirmed, a regime attack on civilians directly in front of the observer mission could put pressure on them to describe publicly what they are seeing in Syria. They report back to the U.N. but have not publicized their findings.

Also Wednesday, a Turkish official said the situation in Syria and discussions on the possibility of a NATO intervention were bound to come up during a NATO summit in Chicago next week. So far, the international community has shown little appetite for getting involved in another Arab nation in turmoil.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with Turkish government regulations, said NATO could become involved if the U.N. Security Council approved an intervention — a move considered unlikely given Russia and China's support of Assad — or if any of the NATO members feels threatened and calls for protection from the alliance.

The official said Turkey would call for NATO protection if "our national security and national interests are threatened or if there is an attack from Syria," though he added "there is no such situation at present."

Syria's state-run TV, meanwhile, reported Wednesday that authorities released 250 people who were involved in the uprising. Assad has issued several pardons releasing thousands of detainees since the crisis began.

The Observatory also said Syrian forces opened fire at the Naziheen Palestinian refugee camp in the southern city of Daraa, killing four people. The pro-government TV station Ikhbariyah blamed members of "an armed terrorist group," saying they fired two rocket-propelled grenades at the camp, killing a 4-year-old girl and wounding 15 other people.

Activists also reported intense shelling by Syrian troops of the rebel-held central town of Rastan, which witnessed intense clashes between troops and rebels earlier this week.

In the central city of Homs, activists said Syrian troops stormed the Shammas neighborhood late Tuesday, killing at least 15 people. The Observatory said some of those killed were subjected to "summary executions." An amateur video posted online showed about 10 dead men lying on the floor of a room said to be in Shammas neighborhood.

The reports could not be independently confirmed.

The Syrian uprising began with mostly peaceful protests calling for change, but a relentless government crackdown led many in the opposition to take up arms. Some soldiers also have switched sides and joined forces with the rebels.

The U.N. estimates the conflict has killed more than 9,000 people.

Tensions have spilled over the border, with Lebanese tribesmen loyal to Assad kidnapping Syrian opposition supporters to exchange them with relatives abducted in Syria recently.

Members of Lebanon's Jaafar tribe kidnapped seven anti-government Syrian citizens recently and exchanged them Wednesday for two men kidnapped in the Syrian border town of Zeita, according to Lebanese security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser contributed to this report from Ankara, Turkey.

Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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Iran calls for rallies against Saudi-Bahrain union - AFP

Iran calls for rallies against Saudi-Bahrain unionBy Farhad Pouladi (AFP) – 3 hours ago 

TEHRAN — Iran has called on its people to stage rallies after this week's Friday prayers to protest against what it described as a US plan to annex Bahrain to Saudi Arabia.

The Islamic Propagation Coordination Council, which organises state-backed protests, urged Iranians "to protest against the American plan to annex Bahrain to Saudi Arabia and express their anger against the lackey regimes of Al-Khalifa and Al-Saud."

Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) discussed on Monday plans to turn the bloc into a union, starting with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

"This dangerous plot is the result of the American-Zionist-Britain evil triangle to prevent popular uprisings spreading into other countries of the region and to control the internal crisis in Bahrain which has been caused by the inability of the Al-Khalifa regime to control the situation," the council said on its website.

"Al-Saud and Al-Khalifa should be aware that with this kind of plot they will not stop the popular movement in Bahrain and the movement of Islamic awakening in the region," it added.

The announcement comes after Tehran warned Riyadh's plans to form a union with Manama would deepen the crisis in Bahrain. Saudi Arabia had earlier told Iran to keep out of its relations with the tiny Gulf state.

"Any kind of foreign intervention or non-normative plans without respecting people's vote will only deepen the already existing wounds," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said.

Iranian MPs on Monday condemned the planned union between the two Gulf countries.

"Bahraini and Saudi rulers must understand that this unwise decision will only strengthen the Bahraini people's resolve against the forces of occupation," they said in a letter, referring to the Saudi-led forces.

Bahrain on Tuesday hit out at Iran for interfering in its affairs.

"These statements represent a flagrant interference in the internal affairs of the kingdom and an attack on its sovereignty," the foreign ministry said in a letter of protest handed to the Islamic republic's charge d'affairs, according to BNA state news agency.

Saudi-led Gulf forces rolled into Sunni-ruled Bahrain in March 2011 to boost the kingdom's security forces which a day later crushed month-old, Shiite-dominated protests.

Shiite-dominated Iran has repeatedly voiced support for the protests in Bahrain and strongly condemned the deployment of Saudi-led forces.

The GCC was formed in 1981 as the Sunni-dominated monarchies of the Gulf aimed to bolster security after the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran that was followed by an eight-year war between Baghdad and Tehran.

The Bahrain issue is sensitive one to Iran, where a nationalist-conservative movement within the Islamic regime still considers the island, controlled by Persia before being colonised by Britain and then to gain independence in 1971, as an Iranian province.

"The right is reserved for the Islamic republic, as patron and heir to the territorial integrity of Iran, to want the return of a separated province to the Islamic homeland," said Hossein Shariatmadari, the director of the hardline Kayhan newspaper.

"The Bahrainis essentially consider themselves to be Iranians and according to some reports they are eager to return to Iran," he added without specifying on which reports.

Copyright © 2012 AFP. All rights reserved. More »

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Three MQM activists among eight killed in Karachi - The Nation, Pakistan

At least eight persons including three activists of MQM were killed in separate incidents of violence in different areas of the city after Tuesday midnight.
According to details, bullet riddled and tortured bodies of two persons were retrieved from Malir Cantonment area. The bodies were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where they were identified as Muhammad Azhar Khan and Kamran Ali. The deceased were activists of MQM and hailed from Ehsanabad area in Scheme-33 of Sohrab Goth.
The Sohrab Goth area remained tense after the discovery of the two MQM workers’ bodies and the party leadership also protested against the double murder. They demanded that the authorities immediately arrest the murderers of the activists.
Armed motorcyclists gunned down senior MQM worker Anwer Alam alias Babu near the party’s sector office close to Noorani Kabab House in Ferozabad area.
Following the murder, armed miscreants resorted to aerial firing and forced the traders to close their businesses. Activists and the leadership of the MQM launched a protest and demanded that the authorities arrest the killers.
Syed Mehdi Raza, aged between 40 and 45, was shot to death in Nazimabad No-2 near the Jamia Imamia Imambargah.
Tension gripped the area after Raza’s slaying and unidentified men resorted to aerial firing and created panic among the locals. The funeral prayers of the deceased were offered at the Alay Aba Imambargah and he was buried at the Wadi-e-Islam in North Karachi.
Separately, Registrar of the Dawood College of Engineering and Technology Ghulam Shabbir Bhaghio and his 25-year-old son Farooq were shot at near Time Medicos on the National Stadium Road in the New Town police limits.
The victims lived in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal area. Both victims are struggling for their lives and remain in critical condition.
Two more bodies were found lying near the Navy Boundry Wall of Ilyas Goth in Ibrahim Haidri area. The bodies were shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).
Also, a tortured and bullet riddled body was found from the Malir City area near Bakra Piri. Police said that criminals kidnapped the victim from an unknown location and dumped his body in the area after brutally torturing the man and killing him. Meanwhile one person was killed and two injured when unknown miscreants hurdled a hand grenade at a hotel in Quaidabad area and fled the scene. The injured including a minor were rushed to hospital for treatment. The building of adjacent hotel was also partially damaged due to the blast.

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SC issued contempt notice to Rehman Malik - PakTribune.com

16 May, 2012

ISLAMABAD: According to reports, the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) has issued contempt of court notice to Interior Minister Rehman Malik on violating court's orders in Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) corruption case.

According to sources, the SC issued contempt notice to the interior minister on constituting a new investigating team in PSM corruption case without court's consent.

The court has directed him to respond in two weeks.

The SC issued the contempt notice while announcing the verdict in a suo moto case regarding an alleged corruption of Rs 26 billion in the PSM today. The verdict was announced by Justice Tariq Pervaiz.

The court expressed complete dissatisfaction over the investigations conducted by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and ordered to transfer the case to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The apex court ordered the NAB chief to carry out investigations under his supervision and to conclude the case in three months. The SC also ordered to cancel the bail of accused in the case.

On March 15, a three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, reserved judgement in this regard.

End.

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Nod given to 0.1m acres for the landless - The Nation, Pakistan

KARACHI – To further indicate its intent on empowering the farming community, the PPP-led Sindh government on Tuesday gave a policy guideline for the allotment of 0.1 million acres of state land to landless farmers in the next fiscal year. This scheme to distribute state land free of cost, among other uplift projects, is being seen as the ruling party’s deliberate attempt to enlarge its vote bank through presenting an election-oriented budget. A high-level meeting, chaired by Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, provided the policy to allot at least 25 acres to each farmer, especially to women farmers, in the next financial year. Revenue Department officials told the meeting that at present there were 53,208 acres available in “katcha” areas and 6,500 acres in “pacca” areas.As per the official data, the government has so far distributed 56,187 acres of land to 6,100 landless farmers. “Most of these allottees are facing litigation in Thatta and other districts of the province. Even, in some districts the agricultural land allotted could not be utilised due to the lack of irrigation water,” sources said. Contending that his government was representing all sections of society and striving to resolve the problems of labourers, peasants, students, the chief minister, while issuing the policy guideline, stressed that the process of land distribution should be carried out transparently, for which a proper publicity campaign be arranged after the submission of verified figures by deputy commissioners. It is still unclear whether Qaim’s instructions are carried out. He said that previously, every farmer was granted 16 acres of land, but the government was now going to grant 25-acre to each landless farmer, keeping in view the present conditions.The chief minister said the programme of distribution of land among landless farmers was an important one that aimed at helping the farming community to eke out living for their families, besides enhancing food production for the betterment of the national economy. Qaim further said that under the directives of President Asif Ali Zardari, assistance to the tune of Rs50,000, in the shape of agriculture inputs, such as seeds, fertiliser and water, had been provided to the allottees for a piece of 4-acre land.The chief minister stressed upon the deputy commissioners to pay full attention towards this prestigious task and also ensure implementation of the previously distributed land. He directed the Board of Revenue to furnish details of available state land in pacca and katcha areas together with any forestland. He said that committees already formed at the district level would be made active and functional, while all the deputy commissioners should conduct surveys to verify and confirm the vacant and available land figures in their respective districts.He also ordered the Irrigation Department to ensure water supply to the districts wherein farmers were given free land. The meeting was attended by CM’s Advisor, Sajid Bambhan, BOR senior member Shahzore Shamoon, consultant Nazar Muhamad Laghari and coordinator Faisal Uqaili.

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Survey of Punjab schools ordered - The Nation, Pakistan

LAHORE - Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has directed education department to undertake an emergency survey of the schools throughout Punjab for catering to their needs and providing them facilities required for the purpose of education.
He issued these instructions during a surprise visit to Government Girls Elementary School, Fareed Town, Gujranwala. Education Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman, MNA Khurram Dastagir Khan, Advocate General Punjab, Ashtar Ausaf Ali and PML-N local leaders were also present.
The CM said it needs consideration that despite provision of resources for education department, the projects for improving condition of schools could not be completed. He said that the schools of rural and thickly populated urban areas are facing shortage of proper furniture and had the officers of education department paid regular visits to the schools, their condition could have been improved within six months. He said that poor condition of schools is an outcome of indifference of district officers of the education department and added had authorities of education department acted with a sense of responsibility, he (the CM) would not need to go from one place to another to rectify the situation.
He said that he was shocked to see the dilapidated condition of Fareed Town Elementary School where almost no facility for 763 students is available. He said after observing the situation, he has decided that survey of all schools of the province be conducted and in the light of the data thus collected, planning should be made for the provision of necessary facilities to those schools on priority basis where there is an extreme shortage. During inspection of Government Girls Elementary School, he directed that 10 marla land adjacent to the school be acquired and construction of the new building of the school be completed within the summer vacation.
Under this project, a primary school equipped with all facilities will be constructed at the existing site and the middle classes of the school will be shifted to the high school which is located at a distance of 600 yards. The Chief Minister also went to the different classrooms of the school.
Commissioner Gujranwala Division said that top priority would be given to the provision of basic facilities to schools and in the light of the instructions passed by the CM.

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Sindh card has “run out of credit,” says Nawaz - DAWN.com

Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif addresses a public meeting at Dakhan, Shikarpur on Tuesday, May 15, 2012.—Online Photo

SHIKARPUR: Chief of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N), Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said that the Sindh card could no longer be used as it had “run out of credit,” DawnNews reported.

Speaking to reporters in Shikarpur, the PML-N chief blamed the country’s rulers of being disconnected from the people and oblivious to their problems.

He said it was time the government paid attention to the masses’ issues and served the people.

Moreover, the former prime minister alleged that Rehman Malik’s past was rife with graft cases, saying that the interior minister had previously been convicted by the courts.

“Who is he to accuse others? He is not an angel,” said Sharif. “He (Malik) joined forces with Zardari to save himself. Now they are only protecting each other.”

Malik has accused the PML-N chief of money-laundering and corruption worth $32 million — claims the interior minister vows to prove.

The Supreme Court is hearing a case into allegations that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) illegally financed politicians in the 1990s through the now defunct Mehran Bank Limited. The bank’s former chief, Younis Habib, claims he delivered money by hand to the PML-N chief, and paid his brother, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, a sum of Rs 2.5 million.

The PML-N denies the allegations, calling the claims baseless and a “pack of lies”.

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Corps commanders to meet today - The Nation, Pakistan

RAWALPINDI - Corps Commanders will meet here on Wednesday (today).
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is expected to take the corps commanders into confidence over a possible resumption of supplies to Nato troops in Afghanistan, sources were quoted as saying.
Islamabad shut its Afghan border to Nato supplies after US airstrikes killed 24 soldiers in November. But Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said on Monday that it was time to ‘move on’, conceding a key demand from the West in time for Pakistan to attend the Nato summit in Chicago on Sunday and Monday. Pakistan has called for an end to US drone strikes targeting Taliban and al Qaeda militants on its soil, and a formal apology for the November killings.
“It was important to make a point, Pakistan has made a point and we now need to move on and go into a positive zone and try to conduct our relations,” Khar told a news conference. “We are trying to put this relationship, you know, in a positive zone and I am quite sure that we will be successful in doing so,” she said.

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Contempt of court: SC to indict Babar Awan on Thursday - The Express Tribune

Awan’s counse­l mainta­ins that court cannot indict Awan withou­t having made decisi­on on uncond­itiona­l apolog­y. Awan’s counsel maintains that court cannot indict Awan without having made decision on unconditional apology. PHOTO: RASHID AJMERI/ EXPRESS

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan will indict former law minister, Babar Awan on Thursday, after he withdrew an intracourt appeal on Wednesday, Express News reported.

Awan had filed an intracourt appeal in the court after the court did not consider his unconditional apology. He had offered the apology twice to the court.

Heading a three-member bench, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry heard Awan’s appeal and allowed him to take his appeal back.

Awan’s counsel, Ali Zafar, maintained during the hearing that the court cannot indict Awan without having made a decision on the unconditional apology he offered twice to the court.

He said that the purpose of contempt of court proceedings is to maintain the respect of the judiciary not to “demean someone”.

The chief justice observed that different cases cited during the hearing were not relevant and that Awan’s counsel should let the court conclude its proceedings.

The former law minister was prosecuted for contempt of court adjudication after he criticised an apex court verdict handed down on December 1, 2011, pertaining to the formation of a judicial commission to probe the Memogate scandal.

In his apology letter, Awan had stated that his comments regarding the judiciary were unintentional, based on inadvertence and that he was offering an unconditional apology for his utterances that have been found prima facie to be disrespectful by this bench.

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Pakistani doctor Khalil Chishti returns home from India - BBC News

16 May 2012 Last updated at 10:40 GMT Khalil Chishti has been in jail or in detention in India for 20 years A Pakistani doctor, who spent 20 years in detention in India, has returned to a hero's welcome in Pakistan.

Khalil Chishti, 80, flew home in an aircraft sent by Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday night.

He was met on arrival in Islamabad by Interior Minister Rehman Malik and other officials.

The scientist spent 14 months in an Indian jail for a 1992 murder. Last month, the Supreme court granted him bail on humanitarian grounds.

Chishti has always denied the murder charge and says he was framed.

As he was brought out of the airport in a wheel chair, Chishti was showered with rose petals by activists of the governing Pakistan Peoples Party, the BBC's Hafeez Chachar reports from Islamabad.

Some of them waved party flags and chanted slogans praising President Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani for facilitating Chishti's return, our correspondent says.

Speaking to reporters, Chishti said he had lost all hopes about returning home.

He said he was grateful to President Zardari for his efforts in bringing him back.

President Zardari had raised the issue of Chishti's release at his lunch meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during a private visit to India in April.

Last week, India's Supreme Court allowed him to visit Pakistan, but ordered him to return to India to attend his next court hearing on 20 November.

Chishti was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in January 2011 for killing a man after a fight in the Indian town of Ajmer in 1992.

He was found guilty after an unusually long 18-year trial during which he was put under house arrest.

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Pak-US-NATO ties: 'Have to make vital decisions' - Zee News

Islamabad: Pakistan's relations with the US and NATO are passing through a "delicate phase" and Islamabad needs to make "critical decisions" linked to national interests, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Wednesday against the backdrop of a partial thaw in relations between Washington and Islamabad.

"Our relations with NATO and the US are passing through a delicate phase where we need to take critical decisions keeping in view our strategic importance in the region and our national interests," Gilani said in his remarks at a meeting of his cabinet that was convened to discuss key issues, including the ending of a nearly six-month blockade of NATO supply routes.

The premier's remarks came a day after the Defence Committee of the Cabinet, the country's highest decision making body on security issues, endorsed President Asif Ali Zardari's participation in a crucial NATO Summit next week and directed officials to conclude negotiations aimed at reopening supply routes for foreign forces in Afghanistan.

NATO yesterday extended an unconditional invitation to President Zardari to attend the summit to be held in Chicago during May 20-21 after Islamabad indicated it was prepared to end the blockade of supply routes imposed after a cross-border NATO air strike killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November.

The US had linked Pakistan's participation in the summit to the reopening of the supply lines.

"We did not and will not compromise on our principled stand but would also not take emotional decisions, which do not auger well for us in the long run," Gilani told the cabinet meeting in an apparent reference to Pakistan's demands for an apology for the NATO attack and for an end to US drone strikes.

Pakistan's insistence on an apology for the NATO air strike had hampered efforts by Washington and Islamabad to put their relations back on an even keel.

Recent remarks by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar have indicated that Pakistan intends to climb down on the demand for an apology.

Asked about the issue at a news conference on Monday, Khar had said the government had made its point by closing the supply routes for nearly six months in retaliation for the air strike.

She further said the time had come for Pakistan to "move on" and repair relations with the US.

Official sources said the government had decided in principle to reopen the NATO supply routes.

An agreement on terms and conditions for transporting supplies for foreign troops in Afghanistan, including levies to be paid to Pakistan, is expected to be finalised before Zardari's visit to Chicago.

A source familiar with decision-making on the issue told PTI that some officials wanted the President to announce the reopening of the supply routes during his speech at the NATO Summit.

Relations between Pakistan and the US plunged to a new low last year following a string of crises, including the unilateral American raid that killed Osama bin Laden and the NATO attack.

The Pakistan government is keen to attend the NATO Summit, which will focus on the endgame in Afghanistan, as it wants to retain its influence in the war-torn country after the expected withdrawal of Western troops by 2014. Pakistan had boycotted the last major meeting on Afghanistan that was held in Bonn in December.

Analysts said the decision-making in Islamabad has also been influenced by the linking of US aid to the reopening of the supply routes.

The Pakistan government, which is finalising the budget for the next fiscal, has an eye on the release of US aid of over one billion dollars for the war on terrorism.

Pakistan was earlier paid a fee of 160 dollars for every NATO container and is now negotiation for a fee of 300 dollars to 500 dollars, sources said.

The government has also said it will only allow the transportation of non-lethal supplies through Pakistani territory.

PTI

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SC rejects Musa plea to replace investigation officer - The Nation, Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Musa Gilani’s plea that he had been targeted for being the prime minister’s son and the case be assigned to any other official, as he had no confidence in Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) Director General Brigadier Fahim Ahmed Khan, who was the investigation officer in the matter.
The junior Gilani in a 12-page statement, submitted through his counsel Salman Akram Raja, expressed dissatisfaction over the conduct of Fahim, alleging that his continued involvement in the case would be prejudice against him.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who is heading a three-member bench also comprising Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, asked the defence counsel that the evidence should only be undertaken by the trial court.
“In the order dated 20 April we have asked the ANF authorities to conduct the investigation of the case fairly, independently and transparently and do not malign anyone unnecessarily in view of the importance of the case.”
The chief justice said it was very serious issue, which brought disgrace to Pakistan. The court issued a notice to Ministry of Narcotics Control Acting Secretary Zafar Abbas Lak after being informed that he had become very active in the investigation.
It noted Zafar Abbas got involved in the investigation and he also took over the charge of the ANF DG after assuming the office, adding that he had also transferred the then director Brig Fahim and Deputy Director Abid Zulfiqar by amending the SRO allegedly in back dates. Justice Jawwad remarked why the acting secretary had transferred the investigation officers. “We are here to find out truth,” he added.
During the proceeding, Brig Fahim said probe could not be completed due to non-availability of some of the persons involved in the crime as they were out of the country. He said hindrances were created in the investigation and the list of the persons visiting the PM’s House had not been provided so far.
Fahim further said Khushnood Lashari, the principal secretary to the prime minister, did not fully cooperate with the inquiry team. However, the court directed the ANF to provide fair opportunity to Lashari in joining the investigation.
Fahim and Abid Zulfiqar said it had been noticed Tanvir Ahmed, who worked as deputy director in Ministry of Health, was pressurised and compelled to give statement in favour of Khushnood Lashari. Zulfiqar also told that the FIA bundled up Tanvir and produced him before the magistrate Kamran where his statement was recorded under section 164 CrPC in the FIR No 40. The court observed if desired, the ANF could submit application mentioning the facts given by Tanvir Ahmed. Salman Raja representing Khushnood Lashari and Musa Ali Gilani denied the facts narrated that Lashari in a meeting with Fahim had asked him to remove the name of Musa Gilani from the case and they would ruin the two accused pharmaceutical companies.
Justice Jawwad, while addressing Raja, remarked he was accepting that a meeting took place between Lashari and Fahim at the PM’s House but not divulging the content of the discussion.
Brig Fahim told the court that out of a total of 9,000 kg of imported ephedrine, 6,500 kg was given to Berlex and 2,500 kg to DANAS pharmaceutical companies, adding that the DG Health Ministry gave permission for the import.
He further said according to the INCB, 6,400 kg ephedrine was seized in Iran and 750 kg ephedrine in Iraq that smuggled to in those countries from Pakistan. He said 200 kg ephedrine was seized in Karachi.
Salman Raja said the issue took place on 23-03-2010 but at that time ANF did not take any notice of it. But Fahim said an FIR 40 was registered against the accused in October 2011, when the 25 companies, to whom the quota was not provided, made a hue and cry and former health minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin raised the issue in the Parliament.
The court again issued notices to the respondents, mentioned in Sheikh Rashid petition, as they had not filed replies. Later, the bench adjourned the hearing for three weeks.

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ISE index falls marginally - Business Recorder

RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: Bears dominated the proceedings at the Islamabad Stock Exchange (ISE) where equities showed negative signs under the lead of hot favourite amid decrease in index.

ISE Ten Index was down by 0.03 points as the ISE Ten Index moved from 2,843.00 to 2,842.97 points.

The overall turnover amounted to 65,800 shares as compared to previous turnover of 24,503 shares.

Total 123 companies participated in buying and selling activity. Majority of stocks (73) closed in negative territory, 50 landed in plus column and no company remained pegged to its overnight levels.

The volume of Lotte Pakistan PTA was 35,000 shares. The volume of Bank of Punjab was 20,000 shares. The turnover of Askari Bank Limited was 5,000 shares.

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Top seat: Pakistan Business Council elects new chairman - The Express Tribune

Ali Habib is the chairm­an of Indus Motor Compan­y Limite­d; also overse­es the operat­ions of The House of Habib compan­ies ISLAMABAD: 

The Board of Directors of the Pakistan Business Council (PBC) in its meeting here Monday elected Ali S Habib, a founding director of the council, as its new chairman following the early retirement of Asad Umar.

Ali Habib is the chairman of Indus Motor Company Limited. He heads and actively oversees the operations of The House of Habib (HOH) companies.

The PBC includes Pakistan’s largest corporations and business groups including multinationals and is a non-political, not for profit section 42 company whose objectives include promoting policies that will lead to the improvement of the business environment and acceleration of economic growth in the country. The PBC in 2011 organised the Pakistan Economic Forum (PEF) which proposed solutions to five major issues confronting Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15th, 2012.

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German investor confidence falls - Independent Online

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Pakistan, Germany can trade in agri goods: CG - Pakistan Observer

Hyderabad?The Consul General of Germany Dr Tilo klinner has said there is a great potential for developing trade in agricultural goods between Pakistan and Germany.

?The cooperation in agriculture had not been developed to a satisfactory level,? he observed while talking to media at the residence of former Nazima of Tando Allahyar district Dr Raheela Magsi here on Monday.

He said that though the textile exports from Pakistan to his country were picking up and the future was more promising after Pakistan gets the General System of Preference (GSP) Plus scheme.

?As far as there is no global recession, the trade in textiles will continue to grow,? he said optimistically.

The consul general said Germany would want to import agricultural items, fruits specially mangoes and sea food from Pakistan. However, he added that there were certain trade conditions concerning the quality that would have to be met for the Pakistani imports to be allowed.

Klinner said the German companies were also working on the energy projects including Hydel and wind in addition to providing consultancy to the government on the Thar Coal project.

?The German power producing companies have great experience of ooharnessing the coal high in lignite content. There are 2 big mining sites in the eastern and western parts of the country where the projects are underway,? he said.

According to him, a great part of that country?s energy comes from the usage of coal as energy for electricity generation.

The consul general noted that Pakistan was relying considerably on gas for power production which was a wastage of the precious natural resource.

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Qamar warns aggressive defaulters to clear arrears - Pakistan Daily Times

Qamar warns aggressive defaulters to clear arrears

* Announces to form team to tackle defaulters

By Zeeshan Javaid

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Water and Power Naveed Qamar on Monday warned aggressive defaulters of the power sector to pay their arrears under the head of electricity bills and announced to form a special recovery team full of arms to tackle the defaulters, who retaliate against recovery officers.

Qamar said this while addressing Islamabad Electric Supply Company?s (IESCO) headquarter in a meeting hosted by Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Hydro Labour Union (WHLU).

He said that the country has been facing treacherous power load shedding and major reason of lesser power generation came up with financial constraint, adding, ?To trickle down the financial constraint, the government will ensure recoveries from power sector defaulters by using all means and handle retaliated defaulters by recovery force beset with weapons.

The Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) has yet to ascertain any comprehensive strategy to recover its estimated receivables amounting to Rs 360 billion from public holding offices as well as other power consumers.

Sources familiar to the latest development informed Daily Times that more than Rs 360 billion became overdue towards public holding offices of central and provincial governments along with local power consumers that create hurdles to minimise the circular debt volume of power sector.

According to estimates of PEPCO, an amount of more than Rs 39 billion is due on Sindh province, Rs 18 billion towards Balochistan, Rs 5 billion to Punjab, Rs 10 billion towards Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Rs 16 billion is due in the account of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province against electricity billing.

Sources further revealed that dues of the federal ministries have been increased up to bulk level of Rs 40 billion, while provinces and other federal institutions are defaulters of power sector up to Rs 80-90 billion, the power sector also claimed that central government has been providing electricity to AJK on cheap prices, while since the last couple of years, the AJK government didn?t pay any single chunk to the Centre.

Interestingly, National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) allowed the line losses up to 14 percent, however the negligence of power managers seemed helpless to control and draft the concrete policy to control the increasing losses and power theft cases in some specific regions of power distribution companies.

In the light of figures disclosed by the Central Power Purchase Agency (CPPA), the average annual loss of Rs 90 billion has been observed having no justification by the power managers, however interestingly this loss is besides to T&D losses allowed by NEPRA up to 13-14 percent. Qamar also dispelled the impression of privatisation of power sector giants including power distribution companies of WAPDA as well as thermal power generation companies as announcing, ?federal government is not interested to privatise any power sector?s public holding company?.

He said that the government has decided to implement the cut on all sectors in the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2012-13 as well as development scheme under Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the same fiscal year and invest money in power sector to resolve the ongoing energy crisis.

To culminate the public grievances of power load shedding, he added that federal government decided to shift over power generation through coal despite of using highly cost fuel base power generation. He announced bonuses for employees of all nine power distribution companies, hardship allowance for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, increase Employee Son Quota up to 33 percent from 20 percent and appointment of chief executive officers of power distribution companies after consultation of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.

PEPCO DUES:

Sindh Rs 39 billion

Balochistan Rs 18 billion

Punjab Rs 5 billion

KP Rs 16 billion

AJ&K Rs 10 billion

Home | Business

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Google opens up Google+ Hangouts to musicians - brand-m.biz

May 15th, 2012 by brand-m

Google+ Hangouts On Air just got interesting for artists. The search giant launched the broadcast facility on its social network last year to a limited number of users, and has now opened up it up to all and sundry.

That means musicians can now stream their music Hangouts live from Google+, a YouTube channel or a website to the rest of the globe. During broadcasts, they can also look inside Hangouts to find out how many people are watching their concerts live.

Once the broadcast’s over, Google uploads a public recording to the user’s YouTube channel, and to the original Google+ post, to make it easy to share and discuss the broadcast post-event.

Daria Musk last year claimed the first concert performed on a Google+ Hangout when she performed a six and a half hour virtual concert. The artist – who boasts close to 1.4 million people including her in their Google+ circles – followed that up with another global concert two weeks ago.

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Here's the 30 Second Zuckerberg Video That Should Terrify All Facebook Investors - Forbes

Image via CrunchBase

Two weeks ago, I wrote a post laying out a scenario whereby Facebook and Google could be dead (read: irrelevant) in 5 – 8 years.

I discussed how I believe there have 3 generations in the world of the Web: (1) Web 1.0/Portals, (2) Web 2.0/Social, and now (3) Mobile.

I made the case for why companies’ founding dates determine their generation and how each generation seems ill-equipped and incapable of really adjusting to subsequent generations.

Google was the best of the best search engine from Web 1.0.  It’s tried to adapt to social and now mobile but it really hasn’t yet — at least in terms of revenues and profits.

Facebook is the king of its social generation.  However, I argued that I doubt it will be able to truly adapt to the new Mobile generation, despite its acquiring the current king of Mobile – Instagram.

If you watch the 30 minute Facebook IPO Roadshow video, it’s clear – to me at least – that senior Facebook management sees Facebook as defined by its core product; the product that it first created and that still defines it today: its website, Facebook.com.

All the talk of social graph, and ads, and timeline are mere extensions of the core desktop PC Facebook experience.  It’s about supplementing that experience.

Now we have mobile.  So it makes sense that Facebook management would see mobile, again, as another mere extension of the core social website.

People are out on the go with their mobile devices and they need a way of logging back into the PC-based Facebook service.  So, Facebook gave them an app to do that.  Problem solved, right? Wrong.

What’s revolutionary about each new Web generation is that those born within that generation see the new dynamics of that experience as a tabula rasa – a blank sheet – instead as an add-on to the service they already have.

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Diamer-Bhasha affectees provided mobile health unit - The Express Tribune

Unit will serve as a facili­ty for people residi­ng in diffic­ult-to-reach areas. The mobile health unit, comprising a four wheel drive ambulance and all necessary medical instruments, was handed over by Wapda

LAHORE: The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) has provided a state-of-the-art mobile health unit to affectees of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam Project. The unit will serve as an expanded medical facility to people residing in difficult-to-reach areas adjacent to the project.

The mobile health unit, comprising a four wheel drive ambulance and all necessary medical instruments, was handed over by Wapda Chairman Shakil Durrani to project authorities here at Wapda House today.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chairman said the mobile health unit, in addition to existing health facilities in the area, will prove instrumental in the treatment of ailing individuals in the Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan and the Kohistan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Besides providing civic amenities to affectees of the project under a compensation package chalked out in accordance with standards laid down by international donors and financial institutions, Wapda will also upgrade District Headquarters Hospitals at Chilas, Gilgat and Skardu, he added. The chairman expressed satisfaction over the setting up of Wapda medical camps in the project area.

The Diamer-Bhasha Dam Project was formally initiated by the Prime Minister in October last year after the Council of Common Interest unanimously approved the project. For the $12 billion project, the land acquisition process is in progress; while 13 contracts for construction of Wapda offices, colonies, contractors’ camps, roads and infrastructure in the project area have already been awarded.

The Diamer-Bhasha Dam is a multi-purpose project which aims to store water for irrigation, mitigate flooding and generate low-cost environment-friendly hydel power. On completion, the project will store 8.1 million acre feet of water, besides generating 4500 megawatts of electricity. The project will add about 20 billion units of electricity annually to the national grid. Annual benefits of the project have been estimated at about $2.3 billion.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15th, 2012.

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Half of Americans say Facebook appeal will fade, IPO shares overpriced - GlobalNews.ca

Half of Americans think Facebook is a passing fad, according to the results of a new Associated Press-CNBC poll. And, in the run-up to the social network's initial public offering of stock, half of Americans also say the social network's expected asking price is too high.

The company Mark Zuckerberg created as a Harvard student eight years ago is preparing for what looks to be the biggest Internet IPO ever. Expected later this week, Facebook's Wall Street debut could value the company at $100 billion, making it worth more than Disney, Ford and Kraft Foods.

That's testament to the impressive numbers Facebook has posted in its relatively brief history. More than 40 per cent of American adults log in to the site —to share news, personal observations, photos and more— at least once a week. In all, some 900 million people around the world are users. Facebook's revenue grew from $777 million in 2009 to $3.7 billion last year. And in the first quarter of 2012 it was more than $1 billion.

Just a third of those surveyed think the company's expected value is appropriate, 50 per cent say it is too high. Those who invest in the stock market are more likely to see Facebook as overvalued, 58 per cent said so. About 3 in 10 investors say the expected value of shares is fair.

Do you think Facebook's appeal will fade? Is it overvalued? Share your thoughts on our - ahem - Facebook page. 

But price worries won't necessarily stop would-be investors. Half the people surveyed say they think Facebook is a good bet, while 31 per cent do not. The rest aren't sure. Americans who invest in stocks roughly agree, although investors who are more "active" — those who have changed their holdings in the past month —are more negative. Nearly 40 per cent say Facebook would not be a good investment.

Young adults, a majority of whom log on to Facebook daily, are more willing to dance to their hoodie-wearing piper, 28-year-old CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Among Zuckerberg's peers, adults under age 35, 59 per cent say Facebook is a good bet. Compare that to the views of senior citizens: Only 39 per cent age 65 and over say Facebook shares are a good investment. Nearly half of Gen X'ers (ages 35-44) say the company is a good bet, as do 55 per cent of middle-aged people.

Those under 35 are the generation most interested in Facebook's IPO because they've grown up immersed in the social network. They were the first users, logging in from their college dormitory rooms. Later, Facebook expanded to allow high school-age and even younger students to sign up. It's become an integral part of their lives, giving them a launching pad to spread the news of life's major developments through posts and pictures.

Conversely, it's the rare senior citizen on Facebook: Just 21 per cent have an account. Half of baby boomers — the generation born in the years after World War II — have one. But most of the 56 per cent of the country that's on Facebook is young — two-thirds of Gen X'ers and a staggering 81 per cent of people 18-35 use the social networking site.

Young people aren't just connected. They are constantly tethered to smartphones, tablets and notebook computers. Even with the rise of alternative social networks like Twitter and Google Plus, 55 per cent of Zuckerberg's peers go on Facebook every day. A third log on several times a day. Despite the intensity of their use, a narrow majority of young adults predict Facebook's appeal will fade down the road (51 per cent), fewer think it will stick around as a service (44 per cent).

The public overall is similarly divided on the company's future. Just under half of adults (46 per cent) predict a short timeline for Facebook, while 43 per cent say it has staying power.

Young people are more aware of Zuckerberg and have more positive views of the CEO, who celebrated his 28th birthday on Monday. Overall, one in five Americans say they've never heard of him, 30 per cent don't have an opinion and 14 per cent plain don't like him. Only about a third have a good impression of the CEO, who has alienated some with Facebook's ever-changing approach to user privacy.

But 46 per cent of people under 35 like him. And a scant 4 per cent of those younger adults say they've never heard of him.

The privacy issue is a stinger. Three of every five Facebook users say they have little or no faith that the company will protect their personal information. Only 13 per cent trust Facebook to guard their data, and only 12 per cent would feel safe making purchases through the site. Even Facebook's most dedicated users are wary — half of those who use the site daily say they wouldn't feel safe buying things on the network.

As for how Facebook makes most of its money —selling ads— 57 per cent of users say they never click on them or on Facebook's sponsored content. About another quarter say they rarely do.

Despite user discontent about privacy, Facebook and Zuckerberg have connected with many Americans. The survey suggests that his reputation and youth seem more like assets than liabilities. For those who have heard of the CEO, two-thirds are at least somewhat confident in his ability to run a large public company. Twenty-two per cent doubt he can handle the leadership role. As for the social network he created, 51 per cent of Americans clicked "Like."

The Associated Press-CNBC Poll was conducted May 3-7, 2012 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,004 adults nationwide and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

___

Associated Press Deputy Director of Polling Jennifer Agiesta and News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed this report.

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Social media's impact on kids merits big debate, says think tank - GMA News

Social media's impact on kids merits big debate, says think tank | GMA News Online | The Go-To Site for Filipinos EverywhereVideosPhotosRadio24 OrasSaksiSONAYouScoopPublic AffairsNews TVContact UsJob ClassifiedsBETA VERSIONMay 15, 2012 | 8:09pm PHL TimeGMA Network ?EntertainmentArtist CenterCommunityInternationalRadioFilmsRecordsKapuso FoundationCorporateHomeNewsUlat FilipinoSportsEconomySciTechPinoy AbroadShowbizLifestyleOpinionHumorGMA News OnlineSciTech » Social Media Social media's impact on kids merits big debate, says think tankROBERT MACPHERSON, Agence France Presse May 13, 2012 9:49pmWASHINGTON  - Facebook's big stock offering on Wall Street must be followed by an intensive debate on Main Street about social media's powerful impact on children, an expert on the topic says.
 
Jim Steyer, founder of Common Sense Media, a San Francisco think tank focusing on media and families, said the technology that Facebook represents is having "an enormous impact" on youngsters, families and schools worldwide.
 
"We need to have a big national, if not global conversation about the pros and cons of that," Steyer, a father of four who is also a civil rights lawyer and Stanford University professor, told AFP in an interview.
 
While social media such as Facebook, Google Plus and Twitter offer "extraordinary possibilities" in such areas as education, he said, "there are also real downsides in a social, emotional and cogitative development way."
 
"Hopefully, after the flurry of the IPO and after the valuation of Facebook is done, then we can have a very serious ongoing discussion of what this means," he said.
 
Steyer was in Washington to promote his just-published book "Talking Back to Facebook: The Common Sense Guide to Raising Kids in the Digital Age," which argues for greater parental involvement in their children's online lives.
 
"Whether we like it or not, kids are now spending far more time with media and technology than they are with their families or in school," -- as much as eight hours a day on average in the United States alone, he wrote.
 
Children face the triple peril of what Steyer calls RAP -- relationship issues, attention and addiction problems, and privacy issues -- as well as cyberbullying, online pornography and, for girls, body image fears.
 
Steyer is particularly critical of Silicon Valley tycoons -- he knows many on a first-name basis -- who, unbridled by government regulation, insist that privacy no longer matters in an increasingly interconnected world.
 
"This extraordinary revolution in digital media has been driven by young (software) engineers, many of whom are not parents, many of whom are somewhat socially awkward and many of whom have not really thought through the social and emotional consequences" of their products, he said.
 
"There is an arms race for data, and to build things as fast as possible ... but that's not a great strategy when you're talking about kids," he said, accusing tech outfits for "not respecting the concept of privacy."
 
Earlier this week, a Consumer Reports survey found nearly 13 million US Facebook users -- out of 157 million, and 900 million worldwide -- do not use, or are not aware of, the site's privacy controls.
 
Girls are especially vulnerable, Steyer said, with studies indicating that many body-conscious teens are photoshopping images of themselves so as to look thinner and score more "likes" among their friends.
 
By way of advice to parents, he recommended "personal technology time-outs" and banning smartphones at the dinner table. "Meal time should not be tech time," he said.
 
Children must also be taught to reflect before hitting the "send" button on something they might later regret, refrain from anonymous comments, and not to believe everything they read or see online.
 
On a governmental level, Steyer suggested the United States follow Europe's lead in privacy regulation and introduce an "eraser button" enabling users to wipe off anything they might have posted in the past.
 
"We need clear and simple rules (around privacy) for the tech companies, too, because right now they've dominated the debate and they've set the rules themselves," he said.
 
But the immediate responsibility, he said, falls on moms and dads.
 
"It's part of parenting 2.0 today, so you have to do your homework," he said.
 
"You have to actually learn the rules of the road... and then you have to set clear and simple limits for kids, set clear rules of behavior -- and you have to be a role model.
 
"If you're constantly addicted to your cellphone or your 'CrackBerry' then that's not sending a very good message to your kids." — Agence France Presse
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