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Afghan conflict still has devastating toll on civilians UN report

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Thursday, 23 May 2013

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U.S. Administration acknowledges deaths of four Americans in counterterror operations -

WASHINGTON, May 23 (APP): The Obama administration, facing criticism for covert nature of drone operations, Wednesday for the first time publicly acknowledged that U.S. counterterrorism operations overseas have killed four Americans since 2009.The official revelation came in a letter from Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to Congress. The letter, however, does not say how the four were killed.The American media reports say those killed include Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical cleric who was killed in a drone strike in September 2011 in Yemen. The other three killed include Samir Khan, who was killed in the same strike;Awlaki’s son Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, who was also killed in Yemen; and Jude Mohammed, who was killed in a strike in Pakistan.“These individuals were not specifically targeted by the United States,” Holder wrote in the letter, cited by major newspaper including The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Boost in trade can strengthen Pak-China friendship -

BEIJING, May 23 (APP): To commensurate with strong political and military ties, economic and trade cooperation between China and Pakistan should be deepen, experts say.“Compared with political ties, bilateral trade cooperation between China and Pakistan is still weak and the two countries should further encourage their economic and trade cooperation and communication, based on bilateral strategic mutual trust,” said Mei Xinyu, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation at the Ministry of Commerce.China is Pakistan’s second-largest trading partner, the second-biggest source of imports and the fourth-largest exports destination. “The Pakistani side expects two-way trade to surpass $15 billion in two or three years,” Xinhua News Agency quoted Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Masood Khalid as saying.The FTA between China and Pakistan, which was signed in 2006, has fostered China’s economic cooperation with the whole South Asian region. Meanwhile, the two countries have cooperated in infrastructure construction over the past few years.

Obama expected to address drone justification, achievements on Thursday -

NEW YORK, May 22 (APP): President Barack Obama is expected to discuss Thursday at the National Defence University his administration’s justification for drone strikes and what they achieved, with a leading newspaper saying that the number of strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has dropped sharply. Strikes in Pakistan peaked in 2010 and have fallen sharply since then; their pace in Yemen has slowed to half of last year’s rate; and no strike has been reported in Somalia for more than a year, the New York Times said in a report on Wednesday.

Pakistani journalist selected to cover upcoming UN General Assembly session -

UNITED NATIONS, May 22 (APP): A Pakistani is among four journalists selected by the Dag Hammarskjold Fund for Journalists, to cover the 68th session of the UN General Assembly opening in September, it was announced Wednesday. She is Maria Kamal of The News International. The others are: Rose Wangui (Kenya), Leda Balbino (Brazil) and Guslin Harman (Turkey). The prestigious fellowship programme was established by U.N. corps of correspondents in 1961 to honour the memory of Dag Hammarskjold, the second secretary-general. Since then young, working journalists from Africa, Asia and Latin America have been brought to New York to observe and report to their news organizations on the UN General Assembly, and also to improve their professional skills.

UN chief calls for int’l efforts to achieve ‘water secure world’ -

UNITED NATIONS, May 22 (APP): UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon has called on the international community to work towards a “water secure world” as part of the global ecosystem plan noted in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and post- 2015 agenda. “Although seemingly abundant, only a tiny amount of the water on our planet is easily available as freshwater,” the secretary-general said in a message issued here by his spokesperson to mark the International Day for Biological Diversity, which is being observed on Wednesday.

Sport News

Asif confident of Pakistan doing well in Asian Team Snooker

KARACHI, May 22 (APP): Reigning World Champion Muhammad Asif was confident of doing well in inaugural Asian Team Snooker and 6-Red Snooker Championship being held Doha (Qatar) from May 24 to 30. “All our players like Sajjad, Hamza and Majid are in a good nick and are in the best frame of mind to do well in Doha event”, Muhammad Asif told APP in an interview on Wednesday.
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National ranking boxing tournament next month

LAHORE, May 22 (APP): National ranking boxing tournament will be held from June 20 at Hyderabad under the aegis of Pakistan Boxing Federation. “It will be a top national level boxing activity being held after the elections of the present regime of the PBF,” said Secretary, PBF, Iqbal Hussain while talking to APP here on Wednesday.
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Pak snooker to leave for Doha

LAHORE, May 22 (APP): A four-member Pakistan snooker team is leaving, Thursday for Doha to take part in the first Asian team event and 2nd Red snooker championship being played from May 24-30.
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Latest scandal again damaged game’s image: Ex-cricketers

ISLAMABAD, May 22 (APP): Former Pakistan players perceive the recent spot-fixing scandal as a cause to faint the image of the game of cricket and has stone the ongoing Indian Premier League. Talking to private news channel, Former Test captain Zaheer Abbas said that he was shocked by the scandal involving Indian Test player, S.Sreesanth and two others Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan.
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Akhtar Rasool led team management to continue till World Cup

LAHORE, May 21 (APP): Pakistan Hockey Federation has decided to retain Akhtar Rasool led team management till next year’s World Cup adding few professionals in the team management staff to boost the performance of the team.
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Afghan conflict still has devastating toll on civilians UN report

UNITED NATIONS,Aug 8 (APP):Conflict-related violence in Afghanistan is still having devastating consequences for civilians despite the decrease in casualties this year, according to a United Nations report released Wednesday.The United Nations welcomes the reduction in civilian casualties, but we must remember that Afghan children, women and men continue to be killed and injured at alarmingly high levels, the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan, Nicholas Haysom, said in Kabul, according to a news release issued at UN Headquarters in New York.The 2012 Mid-year Report on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict states that during the first half of the year, conflict-related violence led to 1,145 civilian deaths and 1,954 injuries.While these figures represent a 15 per cent decrease compared to last year, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) stressed that more needs to be done protect civilians. The 3,099 civilian casualties documented in this report were ordinary Afghans struggling to go about their daily lives in the midst of an armed conflict, said Mr. Haysom, adding that out of the 3,099 casualties, 925 were women and children. I call on all parties to the conflict to increase their efforts to protect civilians from harm and to respect the sanctity of human life.

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