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

8 January 2010

International News

Political

• Tokyo (Photo by AFP) Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama ( C ) communicates with Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi during a video conference at Hatoyama’s official residence on Thursday. Noguchi is staying in the International Space Station for five months and having various scientific research activities (Daily Times, p- A9)

Economic

• Tokyo (AFP) Japan’s new Finance Minister Naoto Kan is a former grassroots activist and co-founder of the ruling Democratic Party known for his sharp debating skills and sometimes short temper (Pakistan Observer, p- 3)

• Tokyo (Reuters) Japan’s new finance minister called for a weaker yen on Thursday and said he would work with the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to achieve an appropriate level, prompting a sharp slide in the currency against the dollar (Daily Times, p- B4)