Pakistan, U.S. agree to resume joint intel ops: Foreign Ministry (Reuters)

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan and the United States have agreed to resume joint intelligence operations against Islamist militants, the Pakistani foreign ministry said on Friday, in a first step toward rebuilding trust between the two countries.

The announcement came a week after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed Pakistan's civilian and military leaders to take decisive steps against militant groups operating in the country after the discovery of Osama bin Laden in a garrison town.

"There will be joint operations. These could be intelligence sharing," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua told Reuters.

Asked whether Pakistan would allow U.S. troops to conduct operations along with their Pakistani counterparts, she said she would not go into details.

However, she added: "Obviously the question of sovereignty is supreme to us and everything will be done through consultations."

A U.S. official traveling with Clinton during her visit to Islamabad last week suggested at the time there could be special operations to attack militants in Pakistan, seen as a threat to not just foreign forces in Afghanistan, but also Western interests elsewhere.

Bin Laden's discovery and killing by American special forces in a garrison town just 50 km (30 miles) from the capital Islamabad on May 2 raised fresh doubts about Pakistan's reliability as a U.S. partner against militancy.

Joint intelligence operations between Pakistan and the United States since 2001 have led to the arrest of several key al Qaeda and Taliban figures in Pakistan.

However, such operations had been frozen since January following the arrest of CIA contractor Raymond Davis for shooting to death two Pakistanis. Davis was finally released after the paying of monetary compensation to the heirs of slain people under an Islamic law prevalent in Pakistan.

A Pakistan analyst said resumption of joint operations was a "step in the right direction" but both uneasy allies need to do a lot more to mitigate their mistrust.

"It shows they are trying to restore their confidence in each other and trying to get the best possible results through a joint approach rather then pursuing individual approaches," said Talat Masood, a security analyst and a retired general.

"(But) mistrust won't go away right away. ... We have to wait and see how this is implemented."

Washington sees Islamabad as a critical ally in its efforts to stabilize war-ravaged Afghanistan but their relations have always been shrouded in mistrust and suspicions.

In a sign of continuing difficulties in ties, Pakistan has asked the United States to halve the presence of military trainers, numbering around 130, stationed in the country.

U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen told reporters in Washington on Thursday that there would be a significant cutback in the number of U.S. trainers, but it was "not going to zero."

(Editing by Chris Allbritton and Sanjeev Miglani)

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Intel taps into new computing at Taiwan show (AP)

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Intel Corp. is touting a hybrid laptop 0.8 inches (20 mm) thick with sleek tablet computing features and ultra-sharp visual images that it hopes will create a market bridging traditional PCs and new devices.

The laptop also represents what the U.S. technology giant promises its latest generation of processors will be able to deliver by 2012, when they power new computers produced by companies like Taiwan's AsusTek Computer Inc.

"Computing is taking many forms," Intel executive vice president Sean Maloney said Tuesday at the opening of Taipei's Computex, the world's second-largest computing show.

He said that by the end of 2012, Intel aims to shift 40 percent of consumer laptops to its "Ultrabook" model, a new category of thin and light mobile computers.

Like many other tech companies, Intel is under immense pressure from Apple Inc., whose iPhones and iPads have swept through global markets with the force of a hurricane and show no signs of slowing.

Maloney described the Ultrabook as a laptop-tablet hybrid, featuring touch screens and instant log on, all with a price of less than $1,000.

The projected thickness of the new Intel-powered device would make it the sleekest laptop in the marketplace after Apple's MacBook Air 15" model, which ranges from .11 to .68 inches.

The devices will be based on Intel's "Ivy Bridge," a new generation of chips made with 22 nanometer manufacturing technology and the 3-D transistor the company unveiled early in May. It is slated to be on the market by 2012, Intel said.

The new transistor, with increased density, will make more powerful computing devices, it said.

Also by 2012, a new Intel chip designed for tablets and smartphones, named "Medfield," will be launched. It will give the mobile devices longer use-time, advanced imaging and more power efficiency, the company said.

Intel general manager for the Asia-Pacific region Navin Shenoy acknowledged the market is experiencing significant changes with "the explosion of smartphones and tablets."

"The industry is in constant change," he said. "We're more and more like the fashion industry. Nothing sticks forever."

"We win when we go after and create new markets," he said.

AsusTek is among the Taiwanese computer makers which have pledged to collaborate with Intel.

With the advent of tablets, "the whole industry is reshuffling, including the microprocessors and including operating systems," said AsusTek Chairman Jonney Shih.

"The boundaries between notebooks, tablets and smartphones are blurring," he told a news conference Monday. Laptops "have to evolve quickly to respond" and become "ultra-thin, ultra-light and ultra-responsive."

Also at Computex, Google Inc. pushed its Chromebook notebook, which is based on its web-browsing-oriented Chrome operating system — an up-and-coming rival in a field long dominated by Microsoft Corp.

Google is partnering with Intel and has engaged South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. and Taiwan's Acer Inc. to produce the Chromebooks, set to go on sale in June.

Google's Senior Vice President Sundar Pichai said the company has set up a center in Taipei to try to bring more manufacturing partners onboard, but declined to give specifics on his expectations for Chromebook's market share.

"Today my only goal is to make sure we deliver Chromebooks and make customers happy," he said. "That's the only criteria. Focus on quality of experience for consumers rather than quantity."

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Associated Press writer Debby Wu contributed to this report.

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