From the News, Nation, Dawn, Pakistan Observer, Daily Times, Frontier Post, Nawa-i-Waqt (Urdu) and Jang (Urdu) newspapers                                                                            

3 April, 2009

LOCAL NEWS  

POLITICAL

-          Islamabad (By Our Correspondent) Pakistan came up with satisfactory answers to questions raised in the meeting of experts of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP) with regard to financial help worth $ 30 billion. (The News, p-18; Daily times, p-B5)   

ECONOMIC 

-     Islamabad (By Sajid Chaudhry) If Pakistan succeeds in getting assistance from Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP), there would be no need to approach IMF for $ 4.5 billion additional loan, said advisor to Prime Minister on Finance, Shaukat Tareen here on Tuesday. (Daily times, p-B5; The News, p-18; Pakistan Observer, p-17 & p-4 (Editorial))

INTERNATIONAL NEWS  

POLITICAL

-          Tokyo, April 2 (Reuters) Stabilising Pakistan’s economy and fighting poverty there are keys to combating the Taliban resistance in Afghanistan, a special advisor to ahead of a Pakistan donors’ conference this month. (Dawn, p-16; Daily Times, p-A12; The News, p-12)

-          Seoul (AFP) North Korea’s military threatened Thursday to attack “major targets” in Japan if Tokyo tries to shoot down a satellite it intends to launch as soon as this weekend. (The News, p-11; Dawn, p-13; Daily Times, p-A5)

-          Tokyo (AFP) Several dozen Myanmar protesters on Thursday rallied outside Japan’s foreign ministry, calling on Tokyo to freeze all aid to the military regime. (Daily Times, p-A5)

ECONOMIC 

-     Tokyo, April 2 (AFP) Japanese retail giant Aeon Co. on Thursday said it plans to open 200 convenience stores in China over the next five years as it looks for business beyond its recession-hit home market. (Dawn, p-9)  

MISC

-          Tokyo (Agencies) More than 32,000 people killed themselves in Japan last year, police reported Thursday, as experts warned that suicides may go up amid the country’s worst recession since World War II. (The Frontier Post, p-5)