US Army Major Kills 12 In Shooting Rampage

HOUSTON: A U.S. Army major firing two handguns killed 12 people and wounded 31 others in a shooting rampage on Thursday at Fort Hood base in Texas, a prime point of deployment for U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

HOUSTON: A U.S. Army major firing two handguns killed 12 people and wounded 31 others in a shooting rampage on Thursday at Fort Hood base in Texas, a prime point of deployment for U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The gunman is in a hospital in stable condition, contrary to previous reports he had been killed, an Army general said. ‘Our investigation is ongoing but preliminary reports indicate that there was a single shooter,’ Lieutenant-General Robert Cone told a news conference. ‘The shooter is not dead but in custody in stable condition.’ Cone said the suspect had been shot multiple times. U.S. broadcast media identified him as Major Malik Nidal Hasan, and said he was a psychiatrist who was facing an upcoming deployment to Iraq.

U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas told FOX news: ‘I do know that he has been known to have told people that he was upset about going (to Iraq).’ U.S. military officials say the shooter’s motives were still unclear.

The incident at Fort Hood, the largest military installation in the world, was one of the worst killings reported on a U.S. military base. In May a U.S. soldier at a base in Baghdad shot dead five fellow soldiers.

It raised new questions about the toll that six years of continuous fighting in Iraq and nearly eight years fighting in Afghanistan have taken on the U.S. military and on individual soldiers, many of whom have been on several combat tours.

In Thursday’s incident, the shooter opened fire at about 1:30 p.m. CST (1930 GMT) at the Soldiers Readiness Processing Center, where soldiers were getting medical check-ups before leaving for overseas deployments, the Army said.

The shooter killed one civilian police officer, Cone said.

Initial reports said two other soldiers had been detained as possible suspects. – Reuters.

FoDP, US To Disburse $1.2bn Soon: Hina

FoDP, US To Disburse $1.2bn Soon: Hina: Pakistan is expected to receive around $1.2 billion in the ongoing quarter, as disbursements from the Friends of Democratic Pakistan and the United States would materialise soon, minister of state for finance, Hina Rabbani Khar , said here on Thursday. Talking to newsmen after attending the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, she said around $500 million is expected to come from the pledges made at the Friends of Democratic Pakistan forum and disbursement of $530 in terms of Coalition Support Fund from the US is also expected to be in the system before December 2009. ‘We did not receive any assistance from FODP during the first quarter July-September period,’ she added.

FoDP, US To Disburse $1.2bn Soon: Hina: Pakistan is expected to receive around $1.2 billion in the ongoing quarter, as disbursements from the Friends of Democratic Pakistan and the United States would materialise soon, minister of state for finance, Hina Rabbani Khar, said here on Thursday.

Talking to newsmen after attending the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, she said around $500 million is expected to come from the pledges made at the Friends of Democratic Pakistan forum and disbursement of $530 in terms of Coalition Support Fund from the US is also expected to be in the system before December 2009.

‘We did not receive any assistance from FODP during the first quarter July-September period,’ she added.

The state minister said that release of $530 million as charges from Coalition Support Fund has been delayed due to various factors, including differences over accounting methods.

‘But we don’t expect any further delays in the release of this fund,’ she said and added that an amount of $174 million in terms of budgetary support from the US has been finalised and modalities for its utilisation are in advanced stage.

Ms Khar said Japan has shown its willingness to utilise its pledged money through World Bank’s assisted programme on Poverty Reduction initiatives and we would encourage other donors to route their pledges through the International Financial Institutions (IFIs).

‘By routing the inflows through this channel, Pakistan would save intermediation costs during the transaction,’ the minister said.

She informed media persons that Damage Need Assessment (DNA) of Swat and Malakand areas would be launched soon and the Trust Fund for Pakistan Development would be launched locally.

When asked what would be the total savings when proposed austerity policy would be implemented in the country, she replied that off-hand no such estimates are available as these measures relate to federal and provincial governments.

However, she informed that there were no differences on the proposed austerity policy and due to shortage of time, the special cabinet meeting deferred its formal approval.

The finance ministry had promised that parliamentarians would be briefed on country’s economic situation and supplementary grants situation on quarterly basis, and in the next meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance these details would be laid before the committee.

Earlier, replying to the questions by the members of National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, she informed that the country needed a permanent agriculture policy.

‘The country needs infrastructure development in agriculture sector to avoid the negative impact of fluctuations in international commodity markets,’ she said and added that the government has allocated Rs37 billion in the current fiscal year for development of storage facilities and more allocations would be made in research and development area from next year.