The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Vienna-based U.N. watchdog, said it did not believe the radioactive particles were from Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant after its emergency in March. (Reuters)
Showing posts with label NEWS ALERT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NEWS ALERT. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Low levels of radioactive particles in Europe
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Vienna-based U.N. watchdog, said it did not believe the radioactive particles were from Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant after its emergency in March. (Reuters)
UN Security Council deplores attacks against embassies in Syria
 |
| Syrian women protesting in May 2011. Photos : UN |
The attacks follow the decision of the Arab League to suspend Syria’s membership until authorities end their continued crackdown on anti-Government protesters.
More than 3,500 people have died since an uprising, in line with similar protests in other countries across North Africa and the Middle East, began early this year, according to UN figures.
In a press statement issued today, the 15-member Council condemned the attacks, noting they resulted in intrusions into diplomatic premises.
The Council “recalled the fundamental principle of the inviolability
of diplomatic and consular premises and the obligations on host governments,
including under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and under the
1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, to take all appropriate steps to
protect diplomatic and consular premises against any intrusion or damage and
prevent any disturbance of the peace of these missions or impairment of their
dignity,” the statement said. (APP)
President appoints judges of Supreme Court, Islamabad High Court
Consequent upon confirmation of nominations by the Parliamentary Committee and on the advice of the Prime Minister, President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday appointed Mr Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Chief Justice Peshawar High Court, Mr Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Chief Justice Lahore High Court and Mr Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Senior Puisne Judge Sindh High Court, as judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said that earlier, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan had nominated them and Mr Justice Muhammad Athar Saeed former Judge Sindh High Court for appointment as Judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
However, as deliberation of the Parliamentary Committee on the recommendations of the Judicial Commission in respect of Mr Justice Muhammad Athar Saeed for his appointment as judge of the Supreme Court remained inconclusive, the provisions of the Clause 12 of Article 175 of the Constitution would become operative in his case.
The President on the advice of the Prime Minister also approved the appointment of Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, Judge Lahore High Court as Chief Justice of Lahore High Court.
Farhatullah Babar said that the President on Tuesday also confirmed Mr Justice Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi and Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan as Judges of the Islamabad High Court.
The President also appointed Mr Noor-ul-Haq N. Qureshi, Mr Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui and Mr Muhammad Azeem Khan Afridi as Additional Judges of the Islamabad High Court for a period of one year.
The confirmation of the two Judges of the Islamabad High Court and appointment of the three Additional Judges of Islamabad High Court for a period of one year was approved by the President in accordance with the procedure laid down in the the Constitution, the Spokesperson said. (APP)
However, as deliberation of the Parliamentary Committee on the recommendations of the Judicial Commission in respect of Mr Justice Muhammad Athar Saeed for his appointment as judge of the Supreme Court remained inconclusive, the provisions of the Clause 12 of Article 175 of the Constitution would become operative in his case.
The President on the advice of the Prime Minister also approved the appointment of Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, Judge Lahore High Court as Chief Justice of Lahore High Court.
Farhatullah Babar said that the President on Tuesday also confirmed Mr Justice Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi and Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan as Judges of the Islamabad High Court.
The President also appointed Mr Noor-ul-Haq N. Qureshi, Mr Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui and Mr Muhammad Azeem Khan Afridi as Additional Judges of the Islamabad High Court for a period of one year.
The confirmation of the two Judges of the Islamabad High Court and appointment of the three Additional Judges of Islamabad High Court for a period of one year was approved by the President in accordance with the procedure laid down in the the Constitution, the Spokesperson said. (APP)
Woman pleads guilty in US on Pakistan reactor scam
US prosecutors said that Xun Wang faces up to five years in jail and a fine of $250,000 for conspiring to violate US law by sending the high-quality paint coatings to Pakistan via China after being refused a US export license.
No sentencing date was set.
“At the end of last year, the Chinese subsidiary of a US company pleaded guilty to illegally exporting high-performance coatings for use in a Pakistani nuclear reactor,” said US Attorney Ronald Machen in the capital Washington.
“Today we are pleased to see the former managing director of that subsidiary accept responsibility for her role in the crime.
“We also welcome the defendant’s decision to cooperate with the government in our ongoing investigation of this blatant violation of US export laws.”
Wang, 51, the ex-managing director of PPG Paints Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, pleaded guilty to conspiring to export and ship high-performance epoxy coatings to the Chashma 2 Nuclear Power Plant in Pakistan (Chashma II).
The facility is run by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), the science and technology organisation responsible for Pakistan’s nuclear program, including the development and operation of atomic power plants.
In November 1998, following Pakistan’s first successful detonation of a nuclear device, the US Commerce Department added the PAEC to the list of banned end-users of such goods under American export regulations.
Wang has already paid a separate $200,000 penalty in connection with her case.
According to her plea documents, in January 2006, PPG Industries sought an export license for the shipments of coatings to Chashma II. In June 2006, the US Department of Commerce denied the application.
But Wang and her co-conspirators then agreed upon an illegal scheme to export and ship PPG Industries’ high-performance epoxy coatings from the United States to Chashma II, via a third-party distributor in China (AFP)
BBC reporter arrested in Iran
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| Photo: Tehrantimes |
The channel, launched Jan 14, provides eight hours of service daily, seven days a week, in Farsi language in peak viewing time of Iran and Afghanistan from London.
According to another agency, Hassan Fathi was arrested by the Iranian intelligence forces.
In September, Iran had arrested six other people, including a woman, for working for the BBC and distributing photos, videos and information to reflect a negative image of the country.(ONLINENEWS)
Kashmir importance, UN resolutions on dispute cannot be diminished
The UN resolutions allowing self-determination for the people of Jammu and Kashmir remain absolutely valid and provide a basis for settlement of the lingering dispute, top expert Ambassador Yusuf Buch said at a forum as American and international participants discussed ways to address security implications arising from the South Asian status quo.Speaking at the forum organized by the American Muslim Alliance Foundation on “Afghanistan-Kashmir and the Regional Jigsaw Puzzle,”Ambassador Buch said the passage of decades cannot obscure the value of the UN Security Council resolutions, which clearly call for addressing the dispute in accordance with will of the people.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Howard Shcaffer and renowned Norwegian sociologist Dr Johan Galtang also addressed the forum.
In his presentation, Ambassador Buch said the Pakistani-Indian trade and confidence building moves and some major powers’ current focus on Afghanistan cannot diminish the critical importance of the Kashmir to regional peace and nor lessen the importance of UN resolutions. The people of Kashmir have gone throughuntold sufferings in the face of repression in the heavily militarized Indian occupied region.
About the Line of Control, he said, it is perceived as the line of conflict and in no way represents any kind of provisional border negotiated at any point between India and Pakistan.
“On the contrary, it is but a glorified term conferred on the line demarcated in 1949. That line was a cease-fire line - drawn under the aegis of the United Nations Commission, preparatory to the withdrawal of forces by the parties and the holding of the plebiscite jointly agreed by them.
It was meant to keep the fighting stopped while the parties proceeded to further steps towards conclusive peace,” Ambassador Buch, who is a highly regarded as authority on UN role towards Kashmir settlement, explained.
While stresing the validity of the UN resolutions, Buch cautioned that retrieving an agreement on Kashmir does not mean mindlessly adhering to every period and comma in it.
“It does not exclude taking cognizance jointly of the changes that have occurred and making suitable amendments by mutual acceptance ----instead of a single plebiscite deciding the future of all the ethnic zones on a one-size-suits-all basis, a way has to be found to enable each zone to express its will independently of other zones.”
In his keynote address, Dr Galtung said a resolution to longstanding Jammu and Kashmir dispute would demand bold political leadership and moves on both sides. The writer of hundreds of books, Dr Galtung also questioned U.S. nuclear partnership with India due to the South Asian country’s unwillingness to address Kashmir and other socioal problems like caste system that plague the advancement of millions of its people.
He floated the idea that Azad Kashmir, Indian held Kashmir Valley and Jammu could be declared one area without borders, where people may move freely and felt that at a later stage people could decide their allegiance to the country of their choice.
He also envisioned the possibility of a broader region including Central Asia, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Kashmir as forming a verystrong economic zone.
Dr Galtung was presented Abdul Ghaffar Khan International Peace Builder Award at the event, where he recalled his meeting with the prominent political figure several decades ago.
In his speech, Ambassador Schaffer proposed a “grand bargain” in the current regional situation marked by tensions between Pakistan and the United States over situation in Afghanistan as well as the state of affairs in Kashmir and Afghanistan.
Under the bargain, he suggested, Washington should offer Islamabad what it wants in Afghanistan but argued that Pakistan must in return agree to settle the Kashmir dispute along the Line of Control which he called the current “geographic line.”
At the same time, he said, Pakistan should assume responsibility for preventing terrorism out of Afghanistan.
“This is not a panacea, nor would it be easy to execute,” he said.
Schaffer also acknowledged difficulties Pakistan would face in accepting such a bargain as Kashmir has a much tighter hold on national
heartstrings than Afghanistan. Dr Agha Saeed, founder chairman of American Muslim Alliance, Dr Jamal Barzingi, an Arab-American businessman and leader of the International Institute of Islamic Thought, Peter Erlinder, founding president of National Lawyers’ Guild, and Dr Salim Akhtar, National Director at AMA, also attended the event.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Howard Shcaffer and renowned Norwegian sociologist Dr Johan Galtang also addressed the forum.
In his presentation, Ambassador Buch said the Pakistani-Indian trade and confidence building moves and some major powers’ current focus on Afghanistan cannot diminish the critical importance of the Kashmir to regional peace and nor lessen the importance of UN resolutions. The people of Kashmir have gone throughuntold sufferings in the face of repression in the heavily militarized Indian occupied region.
About the Line of Control, he said, it is perceived as the line of conflict and in no way represents any kind of provisional border negotiated at any point between India and Pakistan.
“On the contrary, it is but a glorified term conferred on the line demarcated in 1949. That line was a cease-fire line - drawn under the aegis of the United Nations Commission, preparatory to the withdrawal of forces by the parties and the holding of the plebiscite jointly agreed by them.
It was meant to keep the fighting stopped while the parties proceeded to further steps towards conclusive peace,” Ambassador Buch, who is a highly regarded as authority on UN role towards Kashmir settlement, explained.
While stresing the validity of the UN resolutions, Buch cautioned that retrieving an agreement on Kashmir does not mean mindlessly adhering to every period and comma in it.
“It does not exclude taking cognizance jointly of the changes that have occurred and making suitable amendments by mutual acceptance ----instead of a single plebiscite deciding the future of all the ethnic zones on a one-size-suits-all basis, a way has to be found to enable each zone to express its will independently of other zones.”
In his keynote address, Dr Galtung said a resolution to longstanding Jammu and Kashmir dispute would demand bold political leadership and moves on both sides. The writer of hundreds of books, Dr Galtung also questioned U.S. nuclear partnership with India due to the South Asian country’s unwillingness to address Kashmir and other socioal problems like caste system that plague the advancement of millions of its people.
He floated the idea that Azad Kashmir, Indian held Kashmir Valley and Jammu could be declared one area without borders, where people may move freely and felt that at a later stage people could decide their allegiance to the country of their choice.
He also envisioned the possibility of a broader region including Central Asia, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Kashmir as forming a verystrong economic zone.
Dr Galtung was presented Abdul Ghaffar Khan International Peace Builder Award at the event, where he recalled his meeting with the prominent political figure several decades ago.
In his speech, Ambassador Schaffer proposed a “grand bargain” in the current regional situation marked by tensions between Pakistan and the United States over situation in Afghanistan as well as the state of affairs in Kashmir and Afghanistan.
Under the bargain, he suggested, Washington should offer Islamabad what it wants in Afghanistan but argued that Pakistan must in return agree to settle the Kashmir dispute along the Line of Control which he called the current “geographic line.”
At the same time, he said, Pakistan should assume responsibility for preventing terrorism out of Afghanistan.
“This is not a panacea, nor would it be easy to execute,” he said.
Schaffer also acknowledged difficulties Pakistan would face in accepting such a bargain as Kashmir has a much tighter hold on national
heartstrings than Afghanistan. Dr Agha Saeed, founder chairman of American Muslim Alliance, Dr Jamal Barzingi, an Arab-American businessman and leader of the International Institute of Islamic Thought, Peter Erlinder, founding president of National Lawyers’ Guild, and Dr Salim Akhtar, National Director at AMA, also attended the event.
This Articel Orignaly Published at APP
UN urges action to help millions of diabetes’ sufferers worldwide
With almost 350 million people worldwide now suffering from diabetes, and the number expected to keep rising, the United Nations Monday called on governments and drug companies to ensure that sufferers have the care and treatment they deserve.Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon used his message for World Diabetes Day,which is observed on 14 November each year, to raise awareness about the needs of people living with diabetes, which is becoming particularly prevalent in developing countries.
“Too often, the disease hits the poorest especially hard, leading to heart attacks, strokes, blindness, limb amputations, kidney failure and premature death,” Ban said.
“I call on governments and pharmaceutical companies to give real meaning to our commemorations by developing joint strategies to make essential medicines more available and affordable in developing countries, especially for the poorest people who need them.”
An estimated 346 million people have diabetes worldwide, with 277 million living in developing countries. The UN World Health Organization (WHO)has projected that the number of deaths from diabetes will double between 2005 and 2030.
A chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas either does not produce enough insulin or the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces,diabetes can lead over time to serious damage to the body, particularly the nerves and blood vessels.
In his message Ban noted that in September the General Assembly held its first-ever high-level meeting on the subject of non-communicable diseases,producing a political declaration that included a pledge to make it possible for more people to get quality medicines for diabetes by 2013.
The declaration also called for partnerships between governments and pharmaceutical companies to ensure access to affordable drugs in poorer countries.
“We have seen meaningful progress in this direction. One company has introduced a differential pricing scheme to supply generic insulin to the least developed countries (LDCs), benefiting three dozen States to date. But this facility cannot respond alone. We must bring in other partners. And we must address inefficient distribution systems, and the lack of sufficient public funding for medicines.”
“Too often, the disease hits the poorest especially hard, leading to heart attacks, strokes, blindness, limb amputations, kidney failure and premature death,” Ban said.
“I call on governments and pharmaceutical companies to give real meaning to our commemorations by developing joint strategies to make essential medicines more available and affordable in developing countries, especially for the poorest people who need them.”
An estimated 346 million people have diabetes worldwide, with 277 million living in developing countries. The UN World Health Organization (WHO)has projected that the number of deaths from diabetes will double between 2005 and 2030.
A chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas either does not produce enough insulin or the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces,diabetes can lead over time to serious damage to the body, particularly the nerves and blood vessels.
In his message Ban noted that in September the General Assembly held its first-ever high-level meeting on the subject of non-communicable diseases,producing a political declaration that included a pledge to make it possible for more people to get quality medicines for diabetes by 2013.
The declaration also called for partnerships between governments and pharmaceutical companies to ensure access to affordable drugs in poorer countries.
“We have seen meaningful progress in this direction. One company has introduced a differential pricing scheme to supply generic insulin to the least developed countries (LDCs), benefiting three dozen States to date. But this facility cannot respond alone. We must bring in other partners. And we must address inefficient distribution systems, and the lack of sufficient public funding for medicines.”
This Articel Orignaly Published at APP
Gilani invited to visit Turkmenistan
The Prime Minister said he was looking forward to the visit at a mutually agreed date. He hoped that the visit would further cement ties between the two countries. (APP)
Friday, November 11, 2011
Germany aims to cut hundreds from Afghan force
Germany currently has more than 5,200 troops in Afghanistan, serving in the country’s north. They serve under a parliamentary mandate which expires at the end of January and allows for the deployment of up to 5,350 soldiers.
All German military deployments abroad require parliamentary approval, typically on a yearly basis.
The US and other allies, including Germany, hope to withdraw combat troops and hand over responsibility for security to Afghan authorities by the end of 2014.
In a letter to caucus leaders, the ministers said they plan to reduce the contingent to 4,900 under the next mandate, which starts early next year.
By the end of January 2013, the government plans to cut the number of t0roops to 4,400, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere added.
Northern Afghanistan was long relatively calm but has seen increasing violence in recent years. Germany’s military mission there has become increasingly unpopular at home.
OnlineNews Pk
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Yunnan gas-leak mine 'is illegal'
The pit, in the south-western Yunnan province, lost its licence a year ago.
The government has tried to shut down illegal mines as it battles to improve the industry's terrible safety record. Read more
UN warns against force in Iran nuclear standoff
“He (Ban) reiterates his call for Iran’s compliance with all relevant resolutions of the Security Council and the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency,” UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters.
“The secretary-general reiterates his belief that a negotiated rather than a military solution is the only way to resolve this issue,” he said.
He added that Ban’s position is that “the onus is on Iran to prove the peaceful nature of its nuclear program.”
Tension over Iran’s nuclear program has increased since earlier this week when the IAEA reported that Tehran appeared to have worked on designing a bomb and may still be conducting secret research to that end.
Media speculation about possible US or Israeli military action has also intensified in recent weeks, denounced by Iran as “unbalanced” and “politically motivated.”
Since 2006, the UN Security Council has adopted six resolutions demanding that Iran halt its nuclear enrichment program, four of them imposing sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
The United States, European Union and their allies suspect that Tehran’s enrichment work is the core of a program to develop a nuclear arms capability. Iran, which refuses to halt its program, denies seeking weapons and says its nuclear ambitions are limited to peaceful electricity generation.(Reuters)
US welcomes Pakistani, Indian prime ministers’ meeting in Maldives
He was commenting hours after Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh discussed bilateral relations in the Maldives at the start of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit.
Their meeting emanated a message of peace and cooperation in the region,which, in the past, often witnessed lingering sharp differences on peace and security issues that sometimes spiralled into conflicts.
The United States and China are attending the meeting in Addu, Maldives,as observers. Since the start of Afghan conflict in 2001 Washington has maintained a high-stakes engagement in the region, particularly with nuclear powers Pakistan and India. (APP)
President of Maldives hosts dinner for SAARC leaders
The dinner was attended by Prime Minister of Pakistan Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai, Prime Minister of Bangladesh Ms. Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bhutan Lyonchhen Jigmi Y. Thinley, Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of Nepal Dr Baburam Bhattarai and President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Leading artists of Maldives presented traditional songs and dances on this occasion.
PM’s meeting with SCO leaders to bring positive economic results: Dr Asim
He said that Pakistan’s meetings with SCO leaders would bring positive results in days to come.He expressed the hope that implementation of the projects including oil and gas pipeline would bring prosperity for the people of Pakistan especially resolving the energy crisis facing the country.
To a question, the minister said that there were discussions for inter-connectivity of road, and rail links among the regional countries for boosting trade activities.
He said that Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani’s meeting with Russian and Chinese leaders was also very positive.
The Minister said that Russian and Chinese premiers had given assurances to Prime Minister for extending support in several projects which would further improve the relations between these countries.
Dr Asim said that Pakistan and China during the meeting had re-affirmed their relations for the benefit of the people of the two nations.
He said that both the leaders had also discussed issues relating to war on terrorism, and peace in Afghanistan.
He said that Russian leader assured the funding for Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran pipeline (TAPI) project.
Dr Asim said that the Russian premier also assured the modernization and expansion of Pakistan Steel Mills. He said that the regional countries also gave recommendation for the membership of Pakistan in the SCO.
Dr Asim Hussain said that several fruitful discussions were held in the SCO meeting for progress and prosperity of the region.
Replying to a question regarding the energy demand of Pakistan, the Petroleum Minister said “We had short term and long term planning for protecting the energy resources for our future.” (APP)
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Thursday 10 September Global News
NATIONAL:
Nine deaths during Eid holidays
India, Pakistan meets to build trust at conference
Swabi suicide bombed Tehsil Nazim’s son also dies
WORLD NEWS:
Asia stocks catch Italy contagion
Dozens trapped by deadly Turkey quake
Search for Turkey quake survivors
Tokyo police investigate Olympus
Service of EC secretary extended
16 die in Indian stampede
Non-conducive environment dents FDI
SPORTS:
Cricket: 100th century eludes Sachin
A big change has come to Pakistan: Imran
Spot-fixing sentence on Thursday 
Bangladesh votes against Pakistan in WTO
Test in balance after India bowl out Windies for 180
Toll from Dengue surges as 4 lose life
Adding radiotherapy boosts prostate cancer survival
HEALTH :
Clock change 'stops outdoor play'
'Opt-out' organs policy unveiled
Shahbaz turns red on assets query
LAHORE: Enraged Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Wednesday warned the media to refrain from asking provocative questions.
The media must stop delivering a lecture to us,” he said.
The chief minister while replying to questions by newsmen after offering Fateha at the mausoleum of Allama Iqbal, got offended when he was asked if he would declare his assets as per demand of PTI Chief Imran Khan.
He said he had already declared his assets on Nov 26, 2007, and the media should not try to instigate him by putting such questions time and again.
Shahbaz said strict accountability was imperative to steer the country out of the prevailing crisis.
He said the country was facing challenges like price hike, power shortage, unemployment and lawlessness, and the government should take practical steps to resolve these issues.
Paying a tribute to poet-philosopher Allama Iqbal, the chief minister said Iqbal created awareness among the Muslims of the sub-continent about the achievements of their forefathers and the glorious past of Islam. – APP
US confident on Pakistan nuclear safety
The United States on Wednesday voiced confidence in Pakistan’s ability to safegaurd its nuclear weapons, brushing aside claims made in a recent magazine report that doubted the safety of atmoic assets. “Our views have not changed regarding nuclear security in Pakistan,” State Department Deputy spokesman Mark Toner said at the daily briefing. “We have confidence that the government of Pakistan is well aware of the range of potential threats to its nuclear arsenal and is accordingly giving a very high priority to securing its nuclear weapons materials effectively,” he added in response to a question.The spokesman was commenting on claims made about Pakistan’s assets being insecure in a report published simultaneously in The National Journal and The Atlantic last week. Islamabad has already strongly rejected uncorroborated claims contained in the magazine report.
“I can’t speak to allegations, unconfirmed reports made in various press reports,” the State Department spokesman clarified, in a rejection of the underlying proposition in The National report.
“We continue to have confidence in the government of Pakistan that they both understand threat to their nuclear arsenal and are taking appropriate steps to safeguard them,” the spokesman said.(APP)
Pakistan, Maldives to expand trade, economic relations
Prime Minister Gilani appreciated the arrangements being made by Maldives for organizing the 17th SAARC summit and thanked for the hospitality given to the members of the Pakistan delegation.
The Prime Minister told the President of Maldives that he will discuss all issues with his Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh including Kashmir when he will meet him tomorrow on the sidelines of SAARC summit.
He said improvement of relations between Pakistan and India are important and SAARC could be made more effective and result oriented with the better Pak-India relations.
The Prime Minister said there had been meetings between the Foreign Ministers, Interior Ministers, Commerce Ministers of Pakistan and India to improve relations in these fields and now Commerce Secretaries of the two countries will meet this month to improve trade and economic activities.
Talking about the theme of the summit - Build Bridges, the Prime Minister said connectivity is the most important thing and he emphasised the need to improve it.
Prime Minister Gilani appreciated the role of President Maldives in the recently held Commonwealth Summit in Australia where President Mohammad Nasheed was very vocal, articulate and convincing.
The Maldivian President told the Prime Minister Gilani that Islam came to Maldives through Pakistan during 1147 AD adding “Our region, concept and vision are common”.
He said connectivity can play vital role in improving the economic and trade activities, therefore special emphasis should be given on this sector.
The President of Maldives said once PIA had regular flights to Maldives which should be resumed for improving connectivity.
He told the Prime Minister that there is vast scope for import of vegetable, fruit and other products from Pakistan.
The President of Maldives told Prime Minister Gilani that he had the vision to steer out of a situation and seize the opportunity for improving the bilateral relations with India. He also congratulated Pakistan for being elected member of the Security Council.
He told the Prime Minister that Pakistan’s mangoes are very delicious and he had been receiving these mangoes when he was in jail and hoped that these mangoes will keep coming to Maldives.
The Prime Minister told him that he would send him Pakistani mangoes.
This Articel Orignaly Published at APP
CIA following Twitter, Facebook
McLEAN: In an anonymous industrial park in Virginia, in an unassuming brick building, the CIA is following tweets - up to 5 million a day.At the agency's Open Source Center, a team known affectionately as the "vengeful librarians" also pores over Facebook, newspapers, TV news channels, local radio stations, Internet chat rooms - anything overseas that anyone can access and contribute to openly.
From Arabic to Mandarin Chinese, from an angry tweet to a thoughtful blog, the analysts gather the information, often in native tongue. They cross-reference it with the local newspaper or a clandestinely intercepted phone conversation. From there, they build a picture sought by the highest levels at the White House, giving a real-time peek, for example, at the mood of a region after the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden or perhaps a prediction of which Mideast nation seems ripe for revolt.
Yes, they saw the uprising in Egypt coming; they just didn't know exactly when revolution might hit, said the center's director, Doug Naquin.
The center already had "predicted that social media in places like Egypt could be a game-changer and a threat to the regime," he said in a recent interview with The Associated Press at the center. CIA officials said it was the first such visit by a reporter the agency has ever granted.
The CIA facility was set up in response to a recommendation by the 9/11 Commission, with its first priority to focus on counterterrorism and counterproliferation. But its several hundred analysts - the actual number is classified - track a broad range, from Chinese Internet access to the mood on the street in Pakistan.
While most are based in Virginia, the analysts also are scattered throughout US embassies worldwide to get a step closer to the pulse of their subjects.
The most successful analysts, Naquin said, are something like the heroine of the crime novel "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," a quirky, irreverent computer hacker who "knows how to find stuff other people don't know exists."
Those with a masters' degree in library science and multiple languages, especially those who grew up speaking another language, "make a powerful open source officer," Naquin said.
The center had started focusing on social media after watching the Twitter-sphere rock the Iranian regime during the Green Revolution of 2009, when thousands protested the results of the elections that put Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad back in power. "Farsi was the third largest presence in social media blogs at the time on the Web," Naquin said.
The center's analysis ends up in President Barack Obama's daily intelligence briefing in one form or another, almost every day.
After bin Laden was killed in Pakistan in May, the CIA followed Twitter to give the White House a snapshot of world public opinion.
Since tweets can't necessarily be pegged to a geographic location, the analysts broke down reaction by languages. The result: The majority of Urdu tweets, the language of Pakistan, and Chinese tweets, were negative. China is a close ally of Pakistan's. Pakistani officials protested the raid as an affront to their nation's sovereignty, a sore point that continues to complicate US-Pakistani relations.
When the president gave his speech addressing Mideast issues a few weeks after the raid, the tweet response over the next 24 hours came in negative from Turkey, Egypt, Yemen, Algeria, the Persian Gulf and Israel, too, with speakers of Arabic and Turkic tweets charging that Obama favored Israel, and Hebrew tweets denouncing the speech as pro-Arab.
In the next few days, major news media came to the same conclusion, as did analysis by the covert side of US intelligence based on intercepts and human intelligence gathered in the region.
The center is also in the process of comparing its social media results with the track record of polling organizations, trying to see which produces more accurate results, Naquin said.
"We do what we can to caveat that we may be getting an overrepresentation of the urban elite," said Naquin, acknowledging that only a small slice of the population in many areas they are monitoring has access to computers and Internet. But he points out that access to social media sites via cellphones is growing in areas like Africa, meaning a "wider portion of the population than you might expect is sounding off and holding forth than it might appear if you count the Internet hookups in a given country."
Sites like Facebook and Twitter also have become a key resource for following a fast-moving crisis such as the riots that raged across Bangkok in April and May of last year, the center's deputy director said. The Associated Press agreed not to identify him because he sometimes still works undercover in foreign countries.
As director, Naquin is identified publicly by the agency although the location of the center is kept secret to deter attacks, whether physical or electronic.
The deputy director was one of a skeleton crew of 20 US government employees who kept the US Embassy in Bangkok running throughout the rioting as protesters surged through the streets, swarming the embassy neighborhood and trapping US diplomats and Thais alike in their homes.
The army moved in, and traditional media reporting slowed to a trickle as local reporters were either trapped or cowed by government forces.
"But within an hour, it was all surging out on Twitter and Facebook," the deputy director said. The CIA homed in on 12 to 15 users who tweeted situation reports and cellphone photos of demonstrations. The CIA staff cross-referenced the tweeters with the limited news reports to figure out who among them was providing reliable information. Tweeters also policed themselves, pointing out when someone else had filed an inaccurate account.
"That helped us narrow down to those dozen we could count on," he said.
Ultimately, some two-thirds of the reports coming out of the embassy being sent back to all branches of government in Washington came from the CIA's open source analysis throughout the crisis. (AP)
President condoles demise of Mumtaz Rao
This Articel Orignaly Published at APP
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