2 killed in blast in Bajaur Agency

Staff Report BAJAUR AGENCY: Two supporters of the government have been killed and two others injured through a remote control bomb, SAMAA reported Sunday. Sources told that Malik Zairullah and Malik Muhibullah were on the way to Bajaur Agency from Salrazai along with their fellows but an explosion hit their vehicle when they reached near Kasai. Malik Zairullah and Malik Muhibullah died on the spot. Shah Zaman and Tehsil Khan got serious injuries. Both injured have taken to Agency head quarter hospital. Political administration and the security forces have cordoned off the area and investigation is being carried out. SAMAA

Fazlullah's driver surrenders

Staff Report SWAT: The driver of Taliban commander Fazlullah has surrendered before the security forces, SAMAA report Saturday night. Sources told that Khadim Hussain along with his associate surrendered. Khadim Hussain hails from Nangplai and he was wanted to the security forces. Meanwhile, security forces seized a rocket launcher and weapons during the search operation in Barra Bandai. Four suspects have also been arrested from Mingora and Char Bagh. SAMAA

Pakistan 14-0 in 1st innings at stumps

SYDNEY: Pakistan were 14 runs for no loss at close on day first of rain-delayed second cricket Test match against Australia after bowling out Kangaroos for mere 127 runs in their first innings here at SCG on Sunday morning, Geo news reported. Earlier, Australian were dismissed for 127 runs in their first innings. Mohammed Sami and Mohammed Asif shone brilliantly from Pakistan as two contributed 9 wickets together. Mohammed Asif claimed 6-44 – his carrier best bowling, meanwhile, Mohammed Sami took 3 quick wickets and Umar Gul grabbed one wicket. Michel Johanson made hectic 38 runs – carrier best score, while two Aussie batsmen were gone for not.

Power crisis looms as 10 Tarbela units shut down

ISLAMABAD: Ten of the power generation units of Tarbela Power House have been shut down due to shortage of water while 380 megawatts are being generated with the help of 4 units. According to WAPDA sources, 10 out of 14 power generation units of Tarbela Power House had to be closed down due to rainless season and shortage of water in River Indus. Only four units are operating at the moment, producing 380 MW electricity. The total power generation capacity of Tarbela Power House is 3,478 MW. The shutting down of 10 power generation units will cause a major power crisis. Karachi, Faisalabad, Multan, Lahore and areas adjacent to Tarbela Power House will be directly affected by the power crisis.

Yemen deploys troops to attack Qaeda terrorists

SAN'A: Yemen deployed several hundred extra troops to two mountainous eastern provinces that are al-Qaida's main strongholds in the country and where the suspected would-be Christmas airplane bomber may have visited, security officials said Saturday. The reinforcements, aiming to beef up the military's presence in a remote region where the government has little control, were Yemen's latest move in a stepped-up campaign to combat al-Qaida. The United States plans to more than double its counterterrorism aid to the impoverished, fragmented Arab nation in the coming year to boost the fight. Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. general who oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and who announced the increased aid, arrived in Yemen on Saturday and met with President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a Yemeni government official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press. The confrontation with al-Qaida's branch in Yemen gained new urgency after the failed attempt on Christmas Day to bomb a U.S. airliner headed to Detroit. President Barack Obama said Saturday that al-Qaida's branch in Yemen was behind the attempt. A 23-year-old Nigerian accused in the attack, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, has told U.S. investigators he received training and instructions from al-Qaida operatives in Yemen. Yemeni security officials said Abdulmutallab may have travelled to Marif or Jouf provinces - remote, mountainous regions east of the capital where al-Qaida's presence is the strongest - though the officials cautioned that it was still not certain where he met up with members of the terror group. Yemeni Information Minister Hassan al-Louzi said Abdulmutallab's movements are "under investigation. They are trying to uncover where he went, who he met with." The security officials also said Abdulmutallab may have been in contact by email with a radical Yemeni-American cleric, Anwar al-Awlaqi, during his stay in Yemen. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.

Flaws in Augusta probe meant for safeguard Navy officials

ISLAMABAD: It has been revealed through an investigative report published in TheNews international newspaper of Jang Group of Companies that the probe into Augusta submarine accord was meant for safeguarding several Navy personnel and to neglect a controversial project worth of 550-million-dollar inked during first regime of Nawaz government, Geo news reported. Although, as a result of investigation, the former Naval Chief Admiral Mansoor-ul-Haq was deposed from office, lading to corruption cases against former Prime Minister deceased Benazir Bhutto and against her husband and prevailing president Asif Ali Zardari, but however, the facts obtained, through a thorough Augusta submarine investigation, were kept secret in order for extension of safe passage to several Navy officials, Thenew’s investigation editor Ansar Abbasi cited a Navy official on condition of anonymity. Moreover, the plot was hatched from Saif-ur-Rehman who was merely interested in all this just because he wanted to trap Benazir and Zardari, report said. According to former DGNI, the 550-million-dollar project was finalized in Nawaz’s first tenure as Prime Minister but neither Saif-ur-Rehman, neither Pakistan Navy and nor did National Accountability Bureau (NAB) initiate probe against that.

Rain pushes mercury down in Punjab amid thick fog

LAHORE: Several Punjab areas including Lahore are fog-blanketed; while the downpour has spurred the cold further, Geo News reported Sunday. The severe fog caused the flights in and out of Lahore to be lying suspended despite the lapse of 15 hours. However, Motorway has been re-opened for the traffic after ten hours of closure owing to extreme fog. The Motorway spokesman, urging against the travel except in dire need, directed to run vehicles slowly with appropriate gap maintained with other vehicles. The fog landed in Lahore since yesterday evening and it kept on assuming intensity in degrees in open and plain areas, badly paralyzing the life. Especially the motorists faced great problems owing to the low visibility. Most areas of Punjab including Lahore received light rain in the morning which pushed the mercury further down. During the next 24 hours, isolated rain with snowfall is expected over Balochistan, sub-mountain areas of North Punjab, upper NWFP and Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir. Mist/fog is likely to occur over plain areas of Punjab. The Met Office also forecast below normal winter rains during the month of January and February in most parts of the country. Due to abnormal dry weather conditions, Rabi crops, especially in rain-fed areas, would remain under severe moisture stress, and water scarcity in urban areas may aggravate. A spokesman for the Met Office said a high pressure area due to El-Nino weather pattern is prevailing over Pakistan since November 2009, and is blocking winter rains. The current El-Nino conditions that started in June 2009 and suppressed monsoon rains in Pakistan are still continuing and are expected to last until 2010 spring. Under these regional and global meteorological parameters, significantly below normal winter rains, ranging from 20 to 30 per cent, are expected in Pakistan from January to February.