BAS BOHUT HO GYA

LONDON/MOSCOW: Russian tankers have supplied fuel to North Korea on at least three occasions in recent months by transferring cargoes at sea, according to two senior Western European security sources, providing an economic lifeline to the secretive Communist state. The sales of oil or oil products from Russia, the world’s second biggest oil exporter and a veto-wielding member of the United Nations Security Council, breach UN sanctions, the security sources said. The transfers in October and November indicate that smuggling from Russia to North Korea has evolved to loading cargoes at sea since Reuters reported in September that North Korean ships were sailing directly from Russia to their homeland. "The Russian vessels made transfers at sea to the North Koreans," the first security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters. The source said the transfers of oil or oil products took place on several occasions and were a breach of sanctions. A second source, ...

BERLIN: Former German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Saturday urged quick formation of a new government by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and Social Democrats, but said he could not rule out a minority government if no deal is reached. Germany’s constitution did not favour a minority government, but that remained an option, Schaeuble, a leading conservative who is now president of the Bundestag lower house of parliament, told the Tagesspiegel newspaper. A deal between Merkel’s conservative camp (Union) and the centre-left (SPD) is the German leader’s best chance of securing a fourth term in office, but her possible coalition partners are angling for concessions before talks start next week. "A stable alliance between the Union and the SPD would be preferable," Schaeuble said, adding that the chancellor could still form a minority government. "It would work one way or another," he said when asked about that possibility. Coalition talks should b...

BEIJING: A court in southern China has sentenced 36 people to prison terms of up to 25 years for gang crimes including homicide, assault and setting up illegal casinos, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday. Hainan gang leader Huang Tuwang was sentenced to 25 years for gang activity dating back to 2005, while other members were sentenced to terms between 12 months and 23 years for a range of crimes, Xinhua said. Chinese courts have sentenced several large mafia-style criminal gangs this year, often for offences involving gambling which is illegal in China. Huang Tuwang oversaw a range of illegal businesses including massage parlours, unlicenced lending outfits and casinos, forming "unlawful control" over certain regions and industries, said the report. The gang, which went by the name "Moon Help", was made up of more than 40 members and frequently recruited students and school drop outs, it said. Last month 27 gang members were jailed for up to 25 y...

SYDNEY: An Australian warship has seized almost eight tonnes of hashish in the Arabian Sea, with the defence department on Saturday estimating its street value at Aus$415 million. HMAS Warramunga has also confiscated 69 kilogrammes of heroin during maritime security manoeuvres in the area over the past three days. "The crew prepared extensively for a task like this and we were able to employ our helicopter and boarding crews to locate and board three suspect vessels," the ship’s commanding officer Dugald Clelland said. from The News International - World http://ift.tt/2DCofwk

MOSCOW: Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov on Saturday accused the United States of violating a key arms treaty by selling a missile defence system to Japan. "The US is deploying them (missile defence systems) at their military bases in Romania and Poland, that is near our western borders, which goes against the 1987 INF Treaty banning the deployment of such systems on the ground," Ryabkov said in a statement published on the Russian Foreign Ministry website. "The fact that such complexes could now appear on Russia’s eastern borders creates a situation that we cannot ignore in our military planning," said Ryabkov. On Thursday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the deployment of the US missile defence system would have a negative impact on relations between Tokyo and Moscow. "We consider the step made by the Japanese side as going against efforts of ensuring peace and stability in the region," Zakharova said, adding ...

BEIRUT: Syrian regime forces advanced against rebels on Saturday on the edge of the northwestern province of Idlib, the last outside government control, a monitor and the state news agency said. Government and allied forces backed by Russian warplanes have since Monday been fighting mostly Jihadist fighters in an area straddling the border between Idlib and Hama provinces. The fighting, which could signal the start of a major offensive to seize Idlib province from rebels dominated by a former al-Qaeda affiliate, escalated on Thursday. On Saturday, regime troops advanced, seizing several villages and surrounding areas, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said. State news agency SANA said regime forces had taken control of five villages, areas and "strategic hills" in the northeast of Hama province. An AFP correspondent said civilians continued to flee areas near the battle zone, heading north towards the provincial capital of Idlib with t...

ISTANBUL: A substantial portion of the funds promised by the European Union (EU) to help Syrian refugees in Turkey is still not being used actively to meet their needs, Turkey’s EU Ministry said on Saturday. Of the 6 billion euros agreed upon in two deals in 2015 and 2016, only 1.78 billion euros has been transferred to Turkish ministries and international organisations responsible for implementing the projects, the ministry said in a statement. "While Turkey has used more than $30 billion of its national funds for the needs of Syrians who have been in Turkey for approximately seven years, a substantial amount of the 3 billion euros promised by the EU in Nov 2015 has effectively not been used in the field." Of the 1.78 billion euros transferred so far, it said 1.3 billion went to international organisations, 270 million to the Ministry of Education, 120 million to the Ministry of Health, and 12 million to the Ministry of the Interior. Yet that did not equate to the funds ...

KATHMANDU: Nepal has banned solo climbers from scaling its mountains, including Mount Everest, in a bid to reduce accidents, an official said on Saturday. The cabinet late on Thursday endorsed a revision to the Himalayan nation’s mountaineering regulations, banning solo climbers from its mountains -- one of a string of measures being flagged ahead of the 2018 spring climbing season. "The changes have barred solo expeditions, which were allowed before," Maheshwor Neupane, secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, told AFP. Neupane said that the law was revised to make mountaineering safer and decrease deaths. Experienced Swiss climber Ueli Steck lost his life in April this year when he slipped and fell from a steep ridge during a solo acclimatisation climb to Nuptse, a peak neighbouring Everest. from The News International - World http://ift.tt/2CuG2q2

HARARE: His wife is a beauty queen, his troops unseated Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe, and his motorcade is fit for a president. General Constantino Chiwenga, head of the armed forces until earlier this month, is on a roll. On Dec 15 his 10-vehicle convoy, complete with soldiers toting AK-47 assault rifles, roared into a congress of the ruling ZANU-PF party. It was one of several displays of power by Zimbabwe’s generals since they helped oust Mugabe, the southern African nation’s ruler of 37 years, on Nov 21. Ostensibly Chiwenga, 61, is subordinate to the veteran politician who replaced Mugabe as president: Emmerson Mnangagwa, nicknamed the Crocodile. Mnangagwa, 75, was sworn in on Nov 24 and promised to hold elections in 2018.But since Mugabe was deposed and Mnangagwa installed, moves by senior military men have suggested the president is the junior partner in an army-dominated administration. Following a month of speculation about his role in Mnangagwa’s government, Chiwenga w...

DAMASCUS: Two mass graves containing dozens of bodies of civilians and Syrian troops killed by Islamic State Jihadists have been found in the west of Raqa province, state news agency Sana reported on Friday. The bodies were discovered based on information provided by residents near Wawi in the west of the province, which borders Turkey. It said they had been executed. Recovery operations were expected to last several days "due to the huge area of the two mass graves", Sana quoted a source from the Syrian civil defence as saying. It was not immediately clear when they had been killed, other than while Islamic State controlled the northerly province, SANA said. The Islamic State group, which proclaimed a "caliphate" over swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014, has now lost almost all the land it once controlled. It has been held responsible for multiple atrocities during its reign of terror, including mass executions and decapitations. from The News International -...

LONDON: Social media giants Facebook and Twitter are facing a deadline in Britain to cooperate with an inquiry into so-called fake news in the Brexit referendum campaign, a parliamentary committee chairman said on Saturday. The companies have been given until January 18 to share information requested by British lawmakers probing suspected Russian interference around the vote, according to Damian Collins, chair of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport select committee. He told AFP both his committee and the Government would review what action could be taken if the tech titans fail to comply. "It’s been over a month since we made the request to Facebook for this information and we need to see some action," Collins said. "They have ignored our requests... for information on any activity relating to fake accounts and in fact only responded in relation to accounts set up in the USA but not set up here." He added: "We have had similar issues with Twitter an...

KHARTOUM: Sudan’s president on Saturday announced a state of emergency in two states in the centre and east of the country, the official news agency said. President Omar al-Bashir issued a decree to install the state of emergency in North Kordofan and Kasala for six months, SUNA said, without providing any reason. Kasala is on the country’s eastern border with Eritrea. A state of emergency is already in force in seven other conflict-ridden states. These include the five states that make up the region of Darfur, where government forces have been battling rebels since 2003. The state of emergency also applies to the two states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, where government forces have been fighting insurgents since 2011. According to the constitution, parliament needs to approve the president’s decree within two weeks. from The News International - World http://ift.tt/2DDiKh8

DUBAI: Annual nationwide pro-government rallies were held in Iran on Saturday to mark the end of unrest which shook the country in 2009, state media reported, while local news agency and social media reports said a third day of protests had begun. State television showed a rally in the capital Tehran and marchers carrying banners in support of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Mashhad, Iran’s second largest city. Pro-government rallies were scheduled in more than 1,200 cities and towns, state television said, events held annually to mark the end of months of street protests which followed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election as president in 2009. At the same time, social media postings said a third day of protests broke out in cities including Tehran, Shahr-e Kord and Kermanshah, where a video showed dozens of protesters booing after police announced on a loudspeaker that any gathering would be illegal. The footage could not be authenticated. The semi-official news agency Fars s...

CAIRO: A Cairo criminal court sentenced former Egyptian president Mohammed Mursi and 19 others to three years in prison on Saturday, and fined him 2 million Egyptian pounds on charges of insulting the judiciary. Others tried by the court in the same case including leading Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah and lawmaker and television presenter Tawfik Okasha were instead given fines ranging from 30,000 to 1 million Egyptian pounds. The verdicts can still be appealed. Mursi, democratically elected after Egypt’s 2011 revolution, was overthrown in mid-2013 by then-general Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, now the president, following mass protests against his rule. He was immediately arrested and is now serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted of inciting the killing of protesters during demonstrations in 2012 and a 25-year sentence for spying for Qatar. Thousands of Islamists have been arrested and put on trial since the military ousted the divisive Mursi following mass protests demandi...

WASHINGTON: Transgender people will be allowed for the first time to enlist in the US military starting on Monday as ordered by federal courts, the Pentagon said on Friday, after President Donald Trump’s administration decided not to appeal rulings that blocked his transgender ban. Two federal appeals courts, one in Washington and one in Virginia, last week rejected the administration’s request to put on hold orders by lower court judges requiring the military to begin accepting transgender recruits on Jan 1. A Justice Department official said the administration will not challenge those rulings. "The Department of Defence has announced that it will be releasing an independent study of these issues in the coming weeks. So rather than litigate this interim appeal before that occurs, the administration has decided to wait for DOD’s study and will continue to defend the president’s lawful authority in District Court in the meantime," the official said, speaking on condition of...

TEHRAN: Tens of thousands of regime supporters marched in cities across Iran on Saturday in a show of strength for the regime after two days of angry protests directed against the country´s religious rulers. State television showed huge crowds of black-clad supporters gathering in the capital Tehran, second city Mashhad and elsewhere to mark the anniversary of the end of "the sedition", the last major unrest that followed disputed elections in 2009. The pre-planned rallies came just after anti-government protests, which had spread from Mashhad on Thursday to numerous towns across the country. Initially aimed against high prices, the anti-government protests quickly turned against the Islamic regime as a whole. Videos on social media showed hundreds marching through the holy city of Qom on Friday evening, with people chanting "Death to the dictator" and "Free political prisoners". There were even chants in favour of the monarchy toppled by the Islamic...

WASHINGTON: Transgender people will be allowed for the first time to enlist in the US military starting on Monday as ordered by federal courts, the Pentagon said on Friday, after President Donald Trump´s administration decided not to appeal rulings that blocked his transgender ban. Two federal appeals courts, one in Washington and one in Virginia, last week rejected the administration´s request to put on hold orders by lower court judges requiring the military to begin accepting transgender recruits on Jan.1. A Justice Department official said the administration will not challenge those rulings. "The Department of Defence has announced that it will be releasing an independent study of these issues in the coming weeks. So rather than litigate this interim appeal before that occurs, the administration has decided to wait for DOD´s study and will continue to defend the president´s lawful authority in District Court in the meantime," the official said, speaking on condition of...

SYDNEY: An Australian warship has seized almost eight tonnes of hashish in the Arabian Sea, with the defence department Saturday estimating its street value at Aus$415 million (US$325 million). HMAS Warramunga has also confiscated 69 kilogrammes of heroin during maritime security manoeuvres in the area over the past three days. "The crew prepared extensively for a task like this and we were able to employ our helicopter and boarding crews to locate and board three suspect vessels," the ship´s commanding officer Dugald Clelland said. "A thorough search by the boarding parties uncovered a large quantity of hashish and heroin intended for distribution around the world." The drugs will be disposed of at sea. Major General John Frewen, head of Australian Forces in the Middle East, described the seizure as a big setback for drug traffickers. "This operation will impact on the flow of narcotics around the world and the use of drug money to fund extremist organisati...

GAZA: Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets of Gaza and the occupied West Bank for the fourth Friday in a row in protests against US President Donald Trump´s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel´s capital. Palestinian health officials said at least 50 protesters had been wounded by live fire, mostly along the Gaza border. An Israeli military spokeswoman said soldiers had shot at the "main instigators" who she said posed a direct threat to the troops and who were trying to damage the border security fence. The spokeswoman said about 4,000 Palestinians across the West Bank and Gaza, some throwing rocks and fire bombs and setting tyres alight, confronted Israeli soldiers who responded mainly by firing tear gas. In Gaza, demonstrators chanted "Death to America, death to Israel, and death to Trump" and militants fired rockets into Israel, drawing strikes by Israeli tanks and aircraft. The military said it targeted posts that belonged to Hamas, the group that cont...

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad in a new year´s greeting that Russia will continue supporting Syria´s efforts to defend its sovereignty, the Kremlin said on Saturday. Putin stressed that Russia would "continue to render every assistance to Syria in the protection of state sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, in the promotion of a political settlement process, as well as in efforts to restore the national economy," the Kremlin said. Earlier this month Putin ordered the Russian forces in Syria to start withdrawing from the country, but said Russia would keep its Hmeymim air base in Syria´s Latakia Province as well as its naval facility at Tartous "on a permanent basis". Russia first launched air strikes in Syria in September 2015 in its biggest Middle East intervention in decades, turning the tide of the conflict in Assad´s favour. from The News International - World http://ift.tt/2Cw7aoz

BEIJING: Pakistan’s top leadership will be invited to attend two international conferences, scheduled to take place in China in 2018. The international events scheduled to be held in China in 2018 will continue to serve as important platforms for China to advocate its major proposals such as building a community of shared future for mankind, analysts said quoting official sources. China will host the Boao Forum for Asia and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Qingdao Summit, both to be attended mainly by neighboring countries, including Pakistan. Prime Minister of Pakistan is likely to participate in the two events of high significant. The Boao Form is scheduled to meet in the China’s Hainan Province on April 8-11. It will provide an important opportunity for the participating countries to enhance business interaction at bilateral and regional level. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit (SCO) 2018 will be held in coastal city of Qingdao in East China's Shandong province...

WASHINGTON: The United States on Friday condemned the arrest of protesters in Iran, telling Tehran that "the world is watching" as officials reported fresh demonstrations over the country´s struggling economy. Fifty-two people were arrested in Iran´s second city Mashhad on Thursday, the first day of the protests, which also took place in other areas and spread to the capital Tehran as well as Kermanshah the following day. "There are many reports of peaceful protests by Iranian citizens fed up with the regime´s corruption and its squandering of the nation´s wealth to fund terrorism abroad," the White House said in a statement. "The Iranian government should respect their people´s rights, including their right to express themselves. The world is watching," it said. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly taken aim at Iran, denouncing its government as a "fanatical regime" and accusing it of violating an international agreement aimed at curbing...

BEIJING: China on Friday rejected accusations that it had helped Pyongyang skirt sanctions after US President Donald Trump claimed on Twitter that Beijing was turning a blind eye to oil transfers to North Korea. Trump's tweet was the latest salvo in his battle to persuade China to tighten the economic screws on Pyongyang over its missile and nuclear programme, in a campaign that has seen him heap both praise and criticism on Beijing. "Caught RED HANDED - very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea," Trump wrote Thursday. "There will never be a friendly solution to the North Korea problem if this continues to happen!" The United Nations -- at the urging of the US -- has imposed a series of sanctions against North Korea aimed at getting it to halt its weapons development. China has supported the moves, but critics claim it is not rigidly enforcing the sanctions, fearful that too much pressure will cause the unpredictable regime to collaps...

KHARTOUM: Sudan´s president on Saturday announced a state of emergency in two states in the centre and east of the country, the official news agency said. President Omar al-Bashir issued a decree to install the state of emergency in North Kordofan and Kasala for six months, SUNA said, without providing any reason. Kasala is on the country´s eastern border with Eritrea. A state of emergency is already in force in seven other conflict-ridden states. These include the five states that make up the region of Darfur, where govt forces have been battling rebels since 2003. from The News International - World http://ift.tt/2Cw6VtF

KATHMANDU: Nepal has banned solo climbers from scaling its mountains, including Mount Everest, in a bid to reduce accidents, an official said Saturday. The cabinet late Thursday endorsed a revision to the Himalayan nation''s mountaineering regulations, banning solo climbers from its mountains, one of a string of measures being flagged ahead of the 2018 spring climbing season. "The changes have barred solo expeditions, which were allowed before," Maheshwor Neupane, secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, told AFP. Neupane said that the law was revised to make mountaineering safer and decrease deaths. Experienced Swiss climber Ueli Steck lost his life in April this year when he slipped and fell from a steep ridge during a solo acclimatisation climb to Nuptse, a peak neighbouring Everest. The ban is likely to anger elite solo mountaineers, who enjoy the challenge of climbing alone, even eschewing bottled oxygen, and who blame a huge influx of...

CAIRO: A Cairo criminal court sentenced former Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi and 19 others to three years in prison on Saturday, and fined him 2 million Egyptian pounds ($112,700) on charges of insulting the judiciary. Others tried by the court in the same case including leading Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah and lawmaker and television presenter Tawfik Okasha were instead given fines ranging from 30,000 to 1 million Egyptian pounds. The verdicts can still be appealed. Mursi, democratically elected after Egypt´s 2011 revolution, was overthrown in mid-2013 by then-general Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, now the president, following mass protests against his rule. He was immediately arrested and is now serving a 20- year sentence after being convicted of inciting the killing of protesters during demonstrations in 2012 and a 25-year sentence for spying for Qatar. —Reuters from The News International - World http://ift.tt/2Cw5bRi

BEIJING: A court in southern China has sentenced 36 people to prison terms of up to 25 years for gang crimes including homicide, assault and setting up illegal casinos, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday. Hainan gang leader Huang Tuwang was sentenced to 25 years for gang activity dating back to 2005, while other members were sentenced to terms between 12 months and 23 years for a range of crimes, Xinhua said. Chinese courts have sentenced several large mafiastyle criminal gangs this year, often for offences involving gambling which is illegal in China. Huang Tuwang oversaw a range of illegal businesses including massage parlors, unlicensed lending outfits and casinos, forming “unlawful control” over certain regions and industries, said the report. The gang, which went by the name “Moon Help”, was made up of more than 40 members and frequently recruited students and school drop outs, it said. Last month 27 gang members were jailed for up to 25 years for assault, robbery ...

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad in a new year´s greeting that Russia will continue supporting Syria´s efforts to defend its sovereignty, the Kremlin said on Saturday. Putin stressed that Russia would “continue to render every assistance to Syria in the protection of state sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, in the promotion of a political settlement process, as well as in efforts to restore the national economy,” the Kremlin said. Earlier this month Putin ordered the Russian forces in Syria to start withdrawing from the country, but said Russia would keep its Hmeymim air base in Syria´s Latakia Province as well as its naval facility at Tartous “on a permanent basis”. Russia first launched air strikes in Syria in September 2015 in its biggest Middle East intervention in decades, turning the tide of the conflict in Assad´s favour. TURKEY SAYS EU FUNDS NOT BEING USED FOR REFUGEES: A substantial portion of the funds promised by...

LUSAKA: Zambian President Edgar Lungu has directed the military to help fight the spread of cholera, which has killed 41 people in the nation´s capital and made more than 1,500 others sick since late September. The outbreak began on Sept. 28 but appeared to die down by Oct. 20, with fewer than five patients reportedweekly until Nov. 5. The number of cases then surged, with 136 in the week beginning Nov. 26, the World Health Organisation reported. Presidential spokesman Amos Chanda said in a statement late on Friday that the president believed emergencymeasureswere needed to contain the waterborne disease, including the closure of some markets. The outbreak was initially confined to densely populated parts of Lusaka where poor sanitation can aid its transmission, but the disease had now spread to low density areas, Chanda said. “The president is deeply concerned at rampaging advance of the epidemic and has therefore called on the defence forces to join other stakeholders . . . and thoro...

RAWALPINDI: A man who made his own family hostage in a Morgah Officers Colony house Friday night on some domestic dispute was finally overpowered in a police operation early Saturday morning. A total of 23 people, including six children, wife and close relatives of the hostage-taker, were got freed. The entire area looked like a battlefield, with the area people peeping from behind their doors and windows as the police engaged the accused. After an intense exchange of fire, the Elite Force commandos managed to overpower the injured accused and shifted him to Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Hospital. The man, identified as Abdur Rahim, 35, gunned down his father-in-law and injured an Elite Force commando Khurram Shahzad. SP Potohar Town Syed Ali Mehdi told The News that they received an information at around 10pm on Friday that a drunkard equipped with an automatic gun had made his family and close relatives hostage and might kill people anytime. One of the accused’s sons managed to steal ou...

RAWALPINDI: A man who made his own family hostage in a Morgah Officers Colony house Friday night on some domestic dispute was finally overpowered in a police operation early Saturday morning. A total of 23 people, including six children, wife and close relatives of the hostage-taker, were got freed. The entire area looked like a battlefield, with the area people peeping from behind their doors and windows as the police engaged the accused. After an intense exchange of fire, the Elite Force commandos managed to overpower the injured accused and shifted him to Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Hospital. The man, identified as Abdur Rahim, 35, gunned down his father-in-law and injured an Elite Force commando Khurram Shahzad. SP Potohar Town Syed Ali Mehdi told The News that they received an information at around 10pm on Friday that a drunkard equipped with an automatic gun had made his family and close relatives hostage and might kill people anytime. One of the accused’s sons managed to steal ou...

MANCHESTER: The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) ameer Senator Sirajul Haq, who is visiting UK and Europe on a weeklong trip, Friday said elections should be held on time and accountability should also be held side by side. Addressing a gathering in Oldham, he said all 436 people named in Panama Papers should be held accountable. “We all want accountability and it should carry on,” he said. He said the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) has been fully activated and it will combine its efforts to defeat other parties in the next general elections. He said all religious parties will discuss further political adjustments in a meeting sometime in February. Commenting on the all parties conference and Model Town report, he said it was sad indeed that 14 people were killed in broad day light and they are still awaiting justice. “We support this cause and whoever is responsible should be punished. A delegation from the JI will take part in the APC,” he said. To a question, he said it is very disappointing t...

KHARAN: Five Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were killed when oil tanker dashed against their vehicle near here Saturday. According to details an oil tanker with Iranian diesel was moving near here when the FC men spotted the tanker and chased it. The FC men came in front of tanker and signaled it to stop but the driver hit their vehicle. As a result five FC men including Subedar Badshah, Syed Yusuf, Naeem and Muhammad Yusuf died in the collision. Tanker driver escaped from the scene. Levies reached the scene and impounded oil tanker. Dead bodies were shifted to civil hospital for postmortem. from The News International - Top Story http://ift.tt/2DB3z7Y

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday said that Indian government has denied visas to pilgrims who were scheduled to travel to India to attend the anniversary of Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. Hundreds of Pakistani pilgrims visit the shrine in the Indian capital of New Delhi to pay homage to the revered Sufi saint. “Pakistan regrets the last-minute postponement and non-issuance of visas by India, for the visit of 192 Pakistani Zaireen (devotees) to participate in the Urs (annual gathering) of Hazrat Khwaja Nizamuddin Aulia (RA) in Delhi on January 1-8, 2018,” the foreign ministry said. Pakistan and India have an agreement which allows citizens of both countries visit religious sites. A foreign ministry statement said the visit was to take place under the provisions of the 1974 Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines and is a regular, annual feature. “As a result of this Indian decision, the Pakistani Zaireen would be deprived of the opportunity to participate in the U...

KARACHI: Urea manufacturers posted their best-monthly sales in November, growing volume by 60 percent to 602,000 tons on robust demand from the local farmers, though the government allowed further extension in export deadline, industry officials said on Saturday. They added that the sales of diammonium phosphate (DAP) hit a historic high during November 2017 getting a strong thrust by the government’s subsidy scheme, while urea off-take also remained in top gear fueled by a high demand for the major winter crops. “On a month-on-month basis, urea’s sale picked up 60 percent to reach 602,000 tons, while DAP’s surged 30 percent to hit 502,000 tons,” brokerage Taurus Securities said in its report covering the sector. It quoted the sale data released by National Fertilizer Development Centre (NDFC). “On a year-on-year basis urea and DAP cumulative (11 month of 2017) off-take reached 5.14 million and 2.22 million tons, showing an increase of 12 percent and 9 percent respectively.” “We e...

KARACHI: The government needs to widen the tax base and bring back assets held abroad to tackle the bloated external account gap and step up crucial reforms, a business advocacy body said on Saturday. The think tank, Pakistan Business Council (PBC), composed of the most prominent businesses in Pakistan, including 25 of the largest multinationals from 12 countries also welcomed the appointment of the new leadership at the helm of the country's finance and economic affairs. “PBC is particularly encouraged by the team’s resolve to broaden the tax base, reduce tax rates and encourage the return of assets held abroad to alleviate the pressure on the external account and create space for reforms,” it said in a statement. “PBC believes in (and hopes that the government will move swiftly to) encouraging domestic industry to create much needed jobs, build scale to develop export competitiveness and encourage import substitution.” PBC said Pakistan has had to resort to the International ...

ISLAMABAD: The newly-elected office-bearers of the country’s apex trade body would play their role in accelerating economic growth, an government minister said on Saturday. Greeting the United Business Group (UBG) Central Chairman Iftikhar Ali Malik and President Ghazanfar Bilour on their victories in the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) annual elections, federal Commerce and Textile Minister Pervaiz Malik assured of all-out support to the business community in removing bottlenecks, which are hampering speedy development. He said the government is taking a number of measures to increase the volume of overall exports. Pakistani products failed to get proper market share due to high input cost, and the government is taking remedial measures to resolve the issue, he added. Malik thanked the federal minister for his wishes and assured support to the business-friendly policies of the government. “We hope the federal commerce minister will make every effort...

LONDON: Companies seeking to "bulk up" to offset the uncertainty caused by Britain´s looming EU exit helped to spur a near doubling of domestic mergers and acquisition activity this year, according to Thomson Reuters data. The volume of UK domestic deals surged to $68 billion from $34.3 billion in 2016 as the number of deals between British groups jumped from 1,480 to 1,681, the highest level since 2008, the data show. They included online gambling company GVC´s purchase of bookmaker Ladbrokes Coral for as much as 3.9 billion pounds ($5.24 billion) and Hammerson´s 3.4 billion pound acquisition of rival shopping centre operator Intu Properties. It comes against a backdrop of often fractious Brexit negotiations between London and Brussels this year, talks that are yet to provide businesses with clarity about Britain´s future relationship with Europe. Bosses at British companies have also been eyeing new U.S. President Donald Trump, whose decisions have repercussions for bus...

KARACHI: High volatility in the currency market defined the year 2017 where the central bank apparently moved to flexible exchange rate regime to support economic growth and ease balance of payments difficulties.. The rupee was stable at an average of 104 in the interbank market throughout the first half of the year; however, it suffered its biggest one-day decline of 3.1 percent in almost four years on July 5, as it fell to 108.25/dollar from the previous closing of 104.90 in the interbank market. An abrupt depreciation in the rupee was attributed to the exchange rate adjustment in the market. It was also aligned with economic fundamentals. Justifying its move, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said the currency depreciation was necessary to address the emerging imbalance in the external account and strengthening the growth prospects of the country. That [currency depreciation] was not good news for the finance minister Ishaq Dar, who is on leave since late November. Dar adopted a ...

KARACHI: Analysts are reckoning Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) to grow around 20 percent in 2018 despite getting hit by a negative benchmark index return of 15 percent to become the worst performing emerging market of 2017. The benchmark KSE-100 index closed 2017 at 40,463.63 down from 2016’s closing of 47,806.97 points. With their net selling clocking in at $496 million in 2017, foreign sellers was blew a big hole in the market. Foreigners now have an estimated shareholding of $6.5 billion, which is 33 percent of the free float market and 9.0 percent of the total market capitalisation. Analysts expect market to pare most of the losses of 2017, but not before the second half of the election year 2018, when the new government’s economic policies will kick in. After recording strong gains during 2012-2016, where KSE-100 share index returned at a cumulative average growth of 33 percent soaring from 11,000 points to 48,000 points, the market has posted a significant decline in 2017. Prev...

NEW YORK: US markets bid 2017 goodbye on a modestly defensive note on Friday, but the year will be best remembered for leaving global investors wealthier. A pick-up in global growth boosted corporate profits and commodities during the year, while tame inflation kept central banks from snatching away the punch bowl of easy monetary policy. MSCI´s world equity index shed 0.12 percent on Friday, leaving it short of an all-time intraday high reached earlier in the session but nonetheless enough to give the index an unparalleled record of gains each month this year. The large and mid-size companies in the index of 47 countries added more than $8 trillion to their market value during the year. "By all accounts 2017 has been a great year for the market," said Arian Vojdani, investment strategist at MV Financial in Bethesda, Maryland. Craig James, chief economist at fund manager CommSec, said of the 73 bourses the firm tracks globally, all but nine recorded gains in local curren...

Given what we see in the economy, I believe that there is a reasonable chance that the extension of our (2.55 trillion euros) asset purchase programme decided in October can be the last —ECB board member from The News International - Business http://ift.tt/2EiNtB2

NEW YORK: Facing lawsuits and consumer outrage after it said it slowed older iPhones with flagging batteries, Apple Inc is slashing prices for battery replacements and will change its software to show users whether their phone battery is good. In a posting on its website Thursday, Apple apologized over its handling of the battery issue and said it would make a number of changes for customers “to recognize their loyalty and to regain the trust of anyone who may have doubted Apple’s intentions.” Apple made the move to address concerns about the quality and durability of its products at a time when it is charging $999 for its newest flagship model, the iPhone X. The company said it would cut the price of an out-of-warranty battery replacement from $79 to $29 for an iPhone 6 or later, starting next month. The company also will update its iOS operating system to let users see whether their battery is in poor health and is affecting the phone’s performance. “We know that some of you fee...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil fell on Friday, headed for a second day of decline, as it tracked losses in overnight soyoil on the Chicago Board of Trade. The market was also dragged down by high inventories, but could hold near current levels on expectations of improving demand and weaker output, said a trader. The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 0.5 percent to 2,509 ringgit ($618.44) a tonne at the midday break. Palm oil prices have been trending downwards since November, after India raised import taxes on edible oils to their highest in more than a decade, cutting demand. Palm oil futures have lost 3.6 percent so far in December, and have also shed nearly 20 percent in 2017. Trading volumes on Friday were thin at 8,909 lots of 25 tonnes each by the midday break. "The market is down on overnight soyoil, but seen holding well at current levels as we are looking at better exports and falling production," sa...