Germany gives over $14 mn in aid to Pakistan

September 25th, 2009 NEW YORK - President Asif Ali Zardari has said that Pakistan wants peaceful relations with India, and urged resolution of the Kashmir issue, as it is the key to peace in the region. He said the only way forward with India is the dialogue, saying Pakistan hails the resumption of dialogue with India and Pakistan wants friendly relations with its neighbour.

September 19th, 2009 BERLIN - A new Al-Qaeda video threatening Germany of a terror attack ahead of the national elections has prompted the Germany government to beef up security across the country. In the 26-minute video, a man reportedly identified as Bekkay Harrach, speaking in German and using the pseudonym Abu Talha, demanded Germans to push their political parties to withdraw soldiers from Afghanistan to avoid "a rude awakening" after the polls on September 27.

September 1st, 2009 NEW YORK - Germany has taken charge of the UN maritime task force (MTF) deployed off the coast of Lebanon following the Israel-Lebanon war in 2006, WAM news agency reported. The naval force has been deployed at the request of the Lebanese government to secure the country's territorial waters, according to the report Monday.

July 3rd, 2009 BERLIN - Germany will send its advanced Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft to Afghanistan to help the NATO forces in the fight against Taliban, a media report said Friday. The decision to send four AWACS to the Central Asian nation was approved by the German parliament Thursday, the Online news agency reported.

June 19th, 2009 BRUSSELS - Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari during a meeting here with German Chancellor Angela Merkel Friday urged her to play a role for restoration of talks between Islamabad and New Delhi, a media report said. Apprising her of the ongoing military operation against the Taliban, Zardari said Pakistan wants peace and has continued its offensives against the terrorists, Geo TV said.

June 19th, 2009 BERLIN - Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and his German counterpart Gen Schneidrhan have pledged to boost defence cooperation and enhance strategic partnership, the Online news agency said Friday. During a meeting here, the two officials discussed the ongoing war on terrorism and the regional situation, among other issues, it said.

June 10th, 2009 US military: 4 more swine flu cases in GermanyBERLIN — The U.S. military says it has confirmed four more cases of swine flu among troops in Germany, for a total of six.

April 25th, 2009 LAHORE - US Special Representative on Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke has said there is no evidence that India is supporting violence in Pakistan. "If the Indians were supporting those miscreants in Pakistan that would be extraordinarily bad, really dangerous, but they are not doing so.

March 27th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - US President Barack Obama telephoned President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday to discuss mutual cooperation and the situation in the South Asian region. Obama and Zardari spoke about the "Friends of Democratic Pakistan" forum initiative, aimed at promoting and strengthening democracy in Pakistan, The Nation reports.

March 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Monday named Sudhir Vyas as India's next ambassador to Germany, an official statement said. 'Sudhir Vyas, currently ambassador to Bhutan, has been appointed the next envoy to Germany.

February 6th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - The Netherlands handed Olympic champions Germany a 7-1 drubbing in their last league match to set up a title clash with India in the Punjab Gold cup hockey tournament at the Sector 42 stadium here Saturday. The Netherlands thus cleared India's way to the summit clash as Germany needed to win to stay in the race for Monday's final.

January 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Stating that its investigations had confirmed that Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) had staged the Mumbai mayhem, the head of Germany's Federal Police Office Thursday said his country is seeking to fight terrorism in partnership with India. 'Based on whatever information we have, Lashkar-e-Taiba is responsible for the attack,' Joerg Ziercke told reporters here, adding that the terror outfit was also active in Germany.

January 1st, 2009 KARACHI - Pakistan Friday blocked its hockey and squash teams' tour of India because of the tense relations between the two countries, with Sports Minister Aftab Shah Jilani saying the authorities were concerned about the players' security in India in the current circumstances. 'We sought advice from the foreign ministry and took the decsion that it's not advisable to send the teams to India over security fears,' Jilani told reporters here.

December 29th, 2008 KARACHI - Pakistan will take a decision Friday on whether to send its hockey team to India for a quadrangular tournament, the country's sports minister Aftab Jilani said here Tuesday. Jilani told reporters that representatives of the sports ministry, foreign ministry and the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) will Friday sit together in Islamabad to take a decision over the issue.

December 26th, 2008 KARACHI - Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Saturday denied it has pulled out its team from a double-header in India, saying that it is still awaiting a word on the tour from the authorities. PHF secretary Asif Bajwa said that the federation is awaiting a reply from the Foreign Ministry on a request for a No Objection Certificate for the India tour.