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Zardari’s “Kashmiri terrorists” statement not exactly what he meant: Pak Foreign Secy

Asif Ali ZardariBeijing, Oct 24 : Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir has said that his country’s President Asif Ali Zardari’s statement describing the Kashmiri fighters as “terrorists” was not exactly what he meant, as the definition of terrorism was not satisfactorily resolved yet.

New killing sends Croatia reeling

Croatia raises guarantees for savings to 75,800 dollars Zagreb - Even as it hopes for an invitation to join the European Union, Croatia on Friday reeled in the wake of another high- profile murder and fears that organized crime has overpowered the state.

Croatia's top security body met in an urgent session after a bomb killed journalist, editor and publisher Ivo Pukanic and the marketing director of his NCL Media Group, Niko Franic, on Thursday evening.

German minister bound for Pakistan and Gulf

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter SteinmeierBerlin - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is to fly to Pakistan on Monday at the start of a four-day diplomatic tour also taking in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, aides said Friday in Berlin.

The onslaught of terrorist attacks and the growing financial crisis in Pakistan will be topics when he meets with Pakistan's new president, Asif Ali Zardari, and senior ministers in Islamabad.

OPEC cuts output by 1.5 million barrels per day

Vienna - Oil ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided Friday in Vienna to cut their total production by 1.5 million barrels per day, in reaction to falling prices and slowing demand.

"There is an oversupply, and the stocks are very high," said OPEC President and Algerian Energy Minsiter Chakib Khelil, explaining the decision.

The cut, down from the current quota of 28.8 million barrels per day, would be effective from the start of November, OPEC said in a statement. One barrel equals 159 litres.

Khelil denied that the cartel's move would have any impact on inflation or global economic growth.

Nepal's former king and royal family face electricity cuts

King Gyanendra, NepalKathmandu - Nepal's former king and his family members face a possible cut in their electricity supply due to hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid electricity bills, officials said Friday.

The officials said they have had no response from former king Gyanendra or his family members despite notices warning them to pay the outstanding amount or face electricity cuts within 15 days.

The deadline is the first week of November.

Germany opposes EU plans for full-body scanning

Berlin, GermanyBerlin  - Germany is to oppose European Union plans to deploy full-body scanners at airports as protection against hijackers, a Berlin government spokesman said Friday.

The devices have been described as "strip scanners" because they construct an image of each traveller's body without clothing.

"I can tell you with complete clarity that we are not going to cooperate in this mischief," a Federal Interior Ministry spokeswoman said Friday at a government news conference.

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