W O R L D

Despite US opposition, China has its way on APEC free-trade deal
Beijing, November 11
Chinese President Xi Jinping held informal talks with his US counterpart Barack Obama here today in a bid to iron out differences between the world's top two economies even as China won support for its "historic" Asia-Pacific trade plan despite American opposition.

Chivalrous putin: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin puts a shawl on Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping as they arrive to watch a fireworks show in Beijing. AP/PTI

60 killed in Pak road mishap
At least 60 persons, including 21 women and 19 children, were killed and several others injured today when a overloaded passenger bus collided head-on with a speeding truck in Pakistan's southern Sindh province, in one of the worst road tragedies in the country.

Pakistani Rangers are pictured at the scene of a bus accident near the city of Khairpur, 450 km from Karachi, on Tuesday. AFP

Indian beauty: Miss India Jhataleka Malhotra displays the traditional consume during the Miss International Beauty Pageant in Tokyo on Tuesday. AP/PTI

37 militants, six soldiers killed in Pak
Islamabad, November 11
At least 37 militants, including some foreign fighters believed to be involved in the deadly Wagah Border attack, were killed today by Pakistani military which also lost six soldiers in the restive northwestern tribal region.

IS plans to have own currency?
London, November 11
The Islamic State (IS) terrorist organisation plans to introduce its own currency and bring back solid gold and silver coins, according to media reports. This is believed to be part of the IS's efforts to gain legitimacy and solidify its dominance.

sinking of mv sewol in south korea Ferry captain gets 36 yrs in jail Gwangju, November 11 The captain of the South Korean ferry that sank in April with the loss of more than 300 lives was jailed for 36 years today, but acquitted of murdering those who died in the disaster.     Lee Joon-seok, captain of the sunken Sewol ferry, arrives at a court in Gwangju. Reuters

mumbai attacks
$688 m sought from Pak-based accused
Washington, November 11
Nine American and Israeli victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks have demanded a compensation of USD 688 million from the Pakistan-based perpetrators of the terror assault, including JuD chief Hafiz Saeed.

Despite US opposition, China has its way on APEC free-trade deal

Beijing, November 11
Chinese President Xi Jinping held informal talks with his US counterpart Barack Obama here today in a bid to iron out differences between the world's top two economies even as China won support for its "historic" Asia-Pacific trade plan despite American opposition.

Making a difficult trip to China, soon after the poll reversal at home where the Republicans won majority in the Congress, Obama took a leisurely walk with Xi at the well- fortified Zhongnanhai, the home of China's top leaders, looking to strike a less confrontational relationship.

Obama who is here on a three-day visit to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is due to hold formal talks with Xi tomorrow.

Hours before the Xi-Obama meeting, top world leaders at the APEC summit today agreed to work towards possible adoption of a "historic" free-trade deal proposed by China, in a victory for the Communist giant as it strives for a bigger role in formulating global trade policy.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) members' endorsement of a roadmap for promoting the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) process was "a decision to be written into history books", Xi said here while wrapping up the two-day jamboree of the 21-member APEC summit held with an opulent display of Chinese hospitality.

The move was "a historic step we took in the direction towards realising the FTAAP," marking the official launch of the FTAAP process and demonstrating the confidence and determination of the APEC in advancing regional economic integration, Xi said at a press conference after the conclusion of the 22nd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting.

The FTAAP would build on other initiatives, including the smaller US-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), but China's firm push for its plan over US President Barack Obama's TPP proposal has added to Sino-US trade rivalry. The summit was virtually deadlocked over US-China differences on different free trade area arrangements.

The APEC summit endorsed a road map to study the FTAAP, which Chinese officials say will firmly keep it on the table of the influential bloc dominated by US and its allies.

The "endorsement" of a roadmap for promoting FTAAP process was "a decision to be written into history books", Xi said.

China virtually seized the initiative by announcing a $40 billion fund for its new Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road initiatives which caught the attention of a host of small countries in Asia and the APEC region.

Together with the China-floated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), for which India and 20 countries signed up with $50 billion subscribed capital and the BRICS Bank with $50 billion capital, it has firmly put China on a high pedestal in the region. — PTI

China vs US

• While Chinese President Xi Jinping pushed hard for Free-Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP), US counterpart Barack stuck to Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), which US is firming with 12 countries excluding China
• The US wants a TPP with very high standards to make China go for more economic reforms to meet the eligibility criteria to join it
• China hit back saying that FTAAP is more inclusive and serves the interests of all countries in the region

West vs Putin

• Russian President Vladimir Putin had a close-up brush with Western anger over the Ukraine crisis and the downing of Flight MH17, as the White House warned that his sanctions-hit government was staring at isolation
• But the Kremlin said Putin was not standing in the way of a full and transparent probe into MH17 disaster

60 killed in Pak road mishap
Afzal Khan in Islamabad

At least 60 persons, including 21 women and 19 children, were killed and several others injured today when a overloaded passenger bus collided head-on with a speeding truck in Pakistan's southern Sindh province, in one of the worst road tragedies in the country.

The bus was headed to Karachi from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province in the north-west when it collided with the truck near Theri bypass in Sukkur district of Sindh. The bus quickly caught fire after its fuel tank exploded.

An initial probe shows that the bus driver's carelessness caused the accident, the police said, adding the bus was carrying about 70 passengers and was clearly overloaded.

The driver had been earlier fined for overloading the bus, Inspector-General of Motorway police AD Khawaja said. "They were so many casualties because after the collision the fuel tank of the bus exploded," Khawaja said. However, most of those killed didn't die from burn related injuries, said Jam Mehtab, Sindh Health Minister.

"The casualties occurred on impact and those killed include 21 women and 19 children, all below the age of 14," Mehtab said, adding that several others were injured in the accident.

Medical Superintendent of Khairpur Civil Hospital Jaffar Soomro said, that the death toll is likely to rise.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has also expressed his condolences over the accident and ordered an enquiry.

(With inputs from PTI)

37 militants, six soldiers killed in Pak

Islamabad, November 11
At least 37 militants, including some foreign fighters believed to be involved in the deadly Wagah Border attack, were killed today by Pakistani military which also lost six soldiers in the restive northwestern tribal region.

Pakistan jets pounded militant hideouts in Daras area of Khyber along the Pak-Afghan border killing at least 13 militants, including some foreigners believed to be involved in the November 2 suicide blast at the Wagah Border with India in which 63 people died.

The ISPR said three militant hideouts were also destroyed in the airstrikes following an intelligence tip off in Khyber where rebels of Lashkar-e-Islam group are active. In other separate incidents in the northwest tribal region, at least six soldiers and 24 militants were killed today.

In Shirin Dara area of Orakzai district, militants attacked an army post resulting in a gunbattle between the terrorists and security forces. Fifteen militants and two soldiers were killed in the exchange of fire.

In Bannu, two security officials were killed in a bomb blast when a convoy was targeted.

In another incident, at least nine militants were killed and 12 others injured in the Akakhel area of Bara Agency. — PTI

IS plans to have own currency?

London, November 11
The Islamic State (IS) terrorist organisation plans to introduce its own currency and bring back solid gold and silver coins, according to media reports. This is believed to be part of the IS's efforts to gain legitimacy and solidify its dominance.

The militants want to bring back the original dinar, which is a currency from the ancient Islamic era, and religious authorities in Iraq have apparently announced the currency's return in mosques, the Daily Mail reported Monday.

The original gold and silver coins were first introduced during the Caliphate of Uthman in 634 CE.

The dinar is today used by a number of countries, but the coins are created from materials different from the originals. It is believed that the IS wants to use the independent currency in areas it controls as part of its war on the West, though the terror outfit has yet to confirm this. — IANS

Reviving dinar

• The militants want to bring back the original dinar, which is a currency from the ancient Islamic era
• The original dinar was a gold coin, equal in weight to 4.3 gm of gold.
• Its silver counterpart, known as the dirham, was a silver coin whose weight was equivalent to 3 gm of silver.
• Both were round in shape and one side of the coin was typically stamped with an Islamic message.

sinking of mv sewol in south korea
Ferry captain gets 36 yrs in jail

Gwangju, November 11
The captain of the South Korean ferry that sank in April with the loss of more than 300 lives was jailed for 36 years today, but acquitted of murdering those who died in the disaster.

In a ruling that followed five months of dramatic, often painful trial testimony, a three-judge court said prosecutors, who had demanded the death penalty, failed to prove that the MV Sewol's captain Lee Jun-Seok, 69, had acted with an intention to kill.

However, he was convicted of gross negligence and dereliction of duty, including abandoning his vessel while hundreds of passengers-most of them schoolchildren-remained trapped on board.

Victims' relatives who were present in the courtroom in the southern city of Gwangju, reacted furiously to the murder acquittal. "Where is the justice?" one woman shouted at the judges, while others wept openly.

"It's not fair. What about the lives of our children? They (the defendants) deserve worse than death," screamed another.

Three other senior crew members, who had also faced homicide charges, were sentenced to jail terms of between 15 and 30 years.

"We find it hard to conclude that the defendants ... were aware that all of the victims would die because of their actions," Judge Lim Joung-Youb said in announcing the verdict.

"Therefore the murder charges are not accepted." However, Lim stressed that had Lee and his crew acted properly as soon as the Sewol ran into trouble, then many lives might have been saved. "They did not honor their responsibility to protect passengers and abandoned them. As a result, countless lives were lost," he said. — AFP

mumbai attacks
$688 m sought from Pak-based accused

Washington, November 11
Nine American and Israeli victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks have demanded a compensation of USD 688 million from the Pakistan-based perpetrators of the terror assault, including JuD chief Hafiz Saeed.

In a re-submission before a New York court on October 30 and 31, the nine victims of the Mumbai attacks argued for a “trial by jury” and “default judgment” against Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD)/ Lashkar -e-Taiba (LeT).

They also argued for a “trial by jury” and “default judgement” against JuD chief Hafiz Saeed, LeT commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Sajid Majid, Azam Cheema and two other Pakistani nationals Major Iqbal and Major Sameer Ali.

Their attorney said the request for “trial by jury”, “default judgment” and a “USD 688 million compensation” was filed before the Eastern District Court of New York after November 1, 2013. — PTI