Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from February, 2018

Indonesia digs up cemetery to search for WWII sailors’ bones

BRONDONG, Indonesia: Indonesian authorities have excavated a cemetery to try to recover the remains of Dutch and British sailors which were illegally removed from World War II shipwrecks. Local officials, witnessed by representatives from the foreign affairs ministry and the Dutch embassy, dug up a cemetery at Brondong in East Java last week to search for the remains, which were dumped there after being taken from the shipwrecks. Workmen earlier admitted they had been hired to salvage scrap from the wrecks of Dutch and British warships sunk during the 1942 Battle of the Java Sea. "Before they cut up one of the ships, they cleaned it up and found human remains inside," the chief of Brondong sub-district Sariono told AFP on Tuesday. The workers told officials they had buried some of the bones in the cemetery and threw the smaller pieces into the ocean. "Based on their report, we dug up the cemetery on Thursday and found some bones, only enough to fill a small box,"...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dormant desert life hints at possibilities on Mars

MIAMI: It may rain once a decade or less in South America’s Atacama Desert, but tiny bacteria and microorganisms survive there, hinting at the possibility of similar life on Mars, researchers said late on Monday. The desert, which spans parts of Chile and Peru, is the driest non-polar desert on Earth and may contain the environment most like that of the Red Planet, said the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Lead researcher Dirk Schulze-Makuch, a professor and planetary scientist at the Technical University of Berlin, and colleagues took a trip to the desert in 2015 to learn more about what kind of life might exist there. Then, unexpectedly, it rained. Scientists detected an explosion of biological activity in the soil, and quickly began using sterile spoons to scoop up samples. Genomic analyses helped identify the several apparently indigenous species of microbial life -- mostly bacteria -- that had somehow adapted to live in the harsh environment by lyi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Turkish paedophile given ‘record 572-year sentence’

ANKARA: A Turkish court jailed a paedophile a record 572 years for abusing 18 children at the school where he worked, reports said on Tuesday, as alarm grows over the extent of child abuse in the country. The court in the southern province of Adiyaman convicted the janitor after it was found he raped children and would sneak into some of the pupils’ beds, Hurriyet daily said. The defendant was found guilty of multiple crimes including "child sexual abuse" for which he was given 30 years for each of the 18 boys he abused, the newspaper reported. He was also sentenced to 32 years for other crimes including "depriving someone of their liberty", "obscenity" and "blackmail", thus adding up to 571 years 11 months and 25 days, Dogan news agency and Hurriyet reported. The paedophile started working at a high school offering a specialised religious education, known as an Imam Hatip school, in 2012 but lived at the school between 2013 and 2015, the news...
Post a Comment
Read more

Five Colombian soldiers killed in presumed

BOGOTA: Five Colombian soldiers were killed and 10 others injured in an apparent roadside bomb attack by presumed ELN rebels near the border with Venezuela, the head of the army said on Tuesday. Army General Ricardo Gomez, who gave the toll, told W Radio station that the soldiers were on highway security duty in the department of Norte de Santander, when a blast hit the first vehicle of their group. Gomez blamed National Liberation Army guerrillas, who are active in the region, for the attack. Peace talks between the government and the ELN have been suspended since January, although on Monday the rebels announced a temporary March 9-13 ceasefire during the upcoming legislative elections. The ELN urged the government of President Juan Manuel Santos to return to negotiations, which he suspended after attacks blamed on the guerillas left eight police dead and dozens wounded. The ELN began peace talks with the Colombian government a year ago in the Ecuadoran capital Quito. Santos, who ...
Post a Comment
Read more

SL mosque, shops damaged in Buddhist-Muslim clash

COLOMBO: At least five people were wounded and several shops and a mosque damaged in a clash between majority Sinhalese Buddhists and minority Muslims in eastern Sri Lanka, police said on Tuesday. Renewed tension has been growing between the two communities since last year, with some hardline Buddhist groups accusing Muslims of forcing people to convert to Islam and vandalising Buddhist archaeological sites. Police had been deployed in the eastern town of Ampara to control the unrest after a Sinhalese mob attacked a mosque, four shops and several vehicles late on Monday, spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said. Gunasekara said no arrests had been made so far. The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka (MCSL), an umbrella body that includes most Muslim organisations in the country, condemned the attack and requested the government to conduct an impartial inquiry into it and arrest the perpetrators. "The government has the sole responsibility to ensure the safety and security of all its citizens i...
Post a Comment
Read more

As telcos struggle, Turkcell blazes its own digital trail

Growth is so hard to come by in the telecoms sector that Turkcell CEO Kaan Terzioglu pledged to grow a moustache when he took over in 2015 and only shave it off if he met his performance targets. Terzioglu still sports a thick handlebar but only, he says, because he lifted his goals after hitting them a year early - on the back of a digital overhaul he initiated at the Turkish company. "We call ourselves a digital operator – we managed to transform our value proposition," Terzioglu said in a recent video chat via messaging app BiP, Turkcell’s answer to Facebook-owned WhatsApp. Turkcell’s digital arm Lifecell has introduced subscription-based products such as BiP for online messaging, fizy for music, and TV+ for video streaming, which Terzioglu was promoting at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week. BiP is similar to Wechat, the popular all-purpose social media product developed by China’s Tencent, and allows users to send money to friends, or use the third-party...
Post a Comment
Read more

E.Guinea’s main opposition party dissolved, 21 convicted

The main opposition party in Equatorial Guinea has been dissolved by a court that also jailed 21 of its activists for more than 30 years, state media reported on Tuesday. The Citizens for Innovation (CI) party will be “withdrawn (from) the register of political parties in the country”, the presiding judge at the court in Mongomo, Jose Rafael Nguema, said on TVGE state television. The rulings were made Monday during the trial of 147 CI activists accused of “rebellion” in the small, oil-rich central African nation, ruled by unbending strongman President Teodoro Obiang Nguema since he seized power in 1979. “The dissolution is the consequence of (…) undermining state security, because according to the law governing political parties, any party that commits this offence is dissolved,” deputy chief prosecutor Anatalio Nzang said on TVGE. In an election last November, the CI won the only parliamentary seat that was not taken by Obiang’s ruling Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE),...
Post a Comment
Read more

China drowns out critics of lifetime Xi presidency

BEIJING: China's propaganda machine kicked into overdrive on Tuesday to defend the Communist Party's move to lift term limits for President Xi Jinping as criticism persisted on social media in defiance of censorship. The party has shocked many observers by proposing a constitutional amendment to end the two-term limit for president, giving Xi a clear path to rule the world's second largest economy for life. Censors have scrambled to block critical comments on social media but users of the Twitter-like Weibo website continued to speak out on Tuesday, two days after the party's announcement. "So pathetic, we have 1.3 billion people, no one can resist," wrote one user. Another lamented the lack of political reform: "I once believed that I could see a president elected by one man, one vote in my lifetime". Censors blocked searches for the phrases "I object", "proclaimed king", "tenure system" and "Winnie the Pooh...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hungary summons Ukraine envoy

BUDAPEST: Hungary said on Tuesday it had summoned Kiev’s envoy to warn againstrising "extremism" after an ethnic Hungarian cultural building in western Ukraine was attacked for the second time in a month. The headquarters of an ethnic-Hungarian cultural association (KMKSZ) was set on fire overnight in Uzhhorod, capital of the Transcarpathia region, according to Hungarian news agency MTI. Unidentified attackers threw a petrol bomb into the building which burnt out most of the ground floor, said MTI. No injuries were reported. The building also suffered minor damage in an attack earlier this month. "Extremist political views" are gaining ground in Ukraine and intimidating ethnic Hungarians, Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told public television channel M1. "All of this is unacceptable", said Szijjarto, adding that he had summoned Ukraine’s ambassador in Budapest. Over 100,000 ethnic Hungarians live in Transcarpathia, mostly in towns and villag...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cambodian court orders seizure of former opposition HQ

PHNOM PENH: A Cambodian court has ordered the seizure of the former opposition party headquarters, months after the groupwas dissolved as part of a wide-ranging crackdown. The ruling makes good on a threat by strongman PrimeMinister Hun Sen, who vowed to pursue ownership of the building as part of lawsuits against Sam Rainsy, co-founder of the now-banned Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). In a warrant dated February 26 and seen by AFP on Tuesday, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court decided to "temporarily seize the property (land and building)" of Rainsy following a request by a lawyer for both Hun Sen and the president of the National Assembly, Heng Samrin. The judge said the warrant would be cancelled when Rainsy deposited more than $1 million at the court, roughly the sum for which Hun Sen and Heng Samrin are suing him regarding separate defamation cases. Rainsy, who regularly accuses senior figures of corruption and mismanagement, lives in self-exile to avoid the many char...
Post a Comment
Read more

Kim Jong Nam believed life in danger before hit, court told

SHAH ALAM, Malaysia: The half-brother of North Korea’s leader expressed fears for his life months before he was assassinated inMalaysia in a Cold War-style hit, a court heard on Tuesday. The chilling new detail emerged at the trial of two women, Siti Aisyah from Indonesia and Doan Thi Huong fromVietnam, who are accused of murdering Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13 last year. Defence lawyers have argued that the women were recruited to take part inwhat they thought were prank TV shows but were instead tricked into becoming inadvertent assassins, in an elaborate plot by a group of North Korean agents. The women, in their 20s, have denied carrying out the murder of Kim Jong Un’s estranged half-brother by smearing a nerve agent on his face as he waited for a flight to Macau. They face death by hanging if found guilty. The High Court in Shah Alam, outside Kuala Lumpur, heard on Tuesday that someone whom Kim knew in Malaysia, called Tomie Yoshio, would send h...
Post a Comment
Read more

Second Maldives minister resigns, urges help to overcome crisis

MALE: Maldives State Health Minister Dunya Maumoon has resigned, she said in a letter on Tuesday, grieved by the arrest of her father, the island nation´s longest-serving leader, after President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency. The Maldives´ top court last week validated a 30-day extension of the state of emergency sought by Yameen over what he has called a national security threat and constitutional crisis. “Today, at this time of pain and crisis for both my family and my country, it is my sincere hope to see my father home at the earliest,” said Dunya Maumoon, who becomes the second minister to resign from Yameen´s ruling party since the crisis began on Feb. 1. “I therefore call upon the international community to support the Maldivian people to help us overcome this crisis and to build a stronger democratic system,” she said in the letter reviewed by Reuters. Her father, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, is Yameen´s half-brother and ruled the country for 30 years until 2008. He ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Afghanistan hosts talks on peace platform after Taliban offer to US

KABUL: Suicide attacks which killed around 150 people in Kabul last month have added urgency to diplomatic efforts to end more than 16 years of war in Afghanistan through talks with the Taliban. Officials from around 25 countries in the “Kabul Process” are due to meet in the Afghan capital on Wednesday, giving President Ashraf Ghani a chance to present a vision for the way forward and lay out issues he may be willing to negotiate on. “We are ready for unconditional peace negotiations with them,” Sayed Ehsan Tahiri, spokesman for the High Peace Council, the body overseeing efforts for starting peace talks, said. January´s attack on the Kabul Intercontinental Hotel, followed a week later by another in which an explosives-packed ambulance killed more than 100 people not far from where the meeting will be held, underlined what is at stake for Afghans. But a long record of unsuccessful attempts to start a peace process demonstrates how complicated and slow-moving it is likely to be. The o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Truce plan fails to halt bombing of Syria’s Ghouta

BEIRUT/GENEVA: A Russian call for a five-hour truce on Tuesday failed to halt one of the most devastating campaigns of the Syrian war, where residents said government warplanes resumed striking the eastern Ghouta region on Tuesday after a brief lull. Moscow and Damascus blamed rebels for the collapse of the truce, saying fighters had shelled a safe route intended for civilians to leave the enclave.The insurgents denied such shelling. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would press on with a plan to stage similar daily pauses in the fighting, allowing aid to be delivered to eastern Ghouta through what Russia describes as a humanitarian corridor. The United Nations said it was proving impossible to aid civilians or evacuate the wounded, and said all sides must instead abide by a full 30-day ceasefire demanded by the UN Security Council. “We have reports this morning there is continuous fighting in eastern Ghouta,” UN humanitarian spokesman Jens Laerke said. “Clearly the...
Post a Comment
Read more

After Unsuspecting Mom Is Crushed in Central Park, How to Spot a Troublesome Tree

Anne Monoky is still in a neck brace after the incident six months ago. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2FbFI3q via IFTTT
Post a Comment
Read more

Defamation notice to Imran: Shahbaz urges CJ to form bench

KASUR: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, in his first address as PML-N president, has predicted victory in the coming general polls. Addressing a rally in Pattoki on Tuesday, he said: “Nawaz Sharif's party presidency was snatched, but our love for him remains." He criticised the PTI chief and said he lied to people and the Orange Line Metro train project was delayed due to him. "Imran Khan has been lying to people for the last four and a half years. He [Imran] had claimed that he would create multiple dams in KP, but he did not make any. Imran has turned Peshawar into ruins. He is also now building a metro project which he had criticised repeatedly," Shahbaz said, adding that he had sent a defamation notice of billions of rupees to Imran, but the PTI chairman never came to court. He said he would now request the chief justice of Pakistan to form a larger bench to hear the case. Reiterating his government's performance in Punjab, he said the provincial gover...
Post a Comment
Read more

US judge blocks weed-killer warning label in California

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A U.S. judge blocked California from requiring that the popular weed-killer Roundup carry a label stating that it is known to cause cancer, saying the warning is misleading because almost all regulators have concluded there is no evidence that the product's main ingredient is a carcinogen. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2oBgD7C via IFTTT
Post a Comment
Read more

PHC suspends sentences of 25 convicts in Mashal lynching case

ABBOTTABAD: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) Abbottabad circuit bench on Tuesday accepted the bail plea of 25 accused in the Mashal Khan murder case and ordered their immediate release. An Anti-Terrorist Court (ATC) in Haripur had recently sentenced them to imprisonment. In a short order, the PHC division bench comprising Justice Lal Jan Khattak and Justice Syed Attique Shah approved the bail plea of the 25 accused who were each sentenced to three years imprisonment. The court after completing the arguments accepted the bail applications of 25 accused who were awarded sentences by ATC Judge Fazal Subhan on February 7. The ATC had acquitted 26 other accused due to lack of evidence. Senior lawyer Fazle Haq Abbasi, who appeared for the accused, told The News that the PHC accepted the petition of all the 25 accused who had prayed for suspension of their sentences. He said all the accused had undergone jail for almost one year. Mashal Khan, 23, a student of Journalism and Mass Communicati...
Post a Comment
Read more

Shelving of IP gas project: Iran threatens to take Pakistan to Hague

ISLAMABAD: In a new development, Iran has threatened to move arbitration court against Pakistan for unilaterally shelving IP gas line project invoking penalty clause of the Gas Sales Purchase Agreement (GSPA). Pakistan and Iran signed GSPA in 2009 under IP gas pipeline project in the era of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP). Since then the project could not get the shape. Now under the latest scenario, Tehran has asked for payment of over $1.2 billion, as under the penalty clause from January 1, 2015, Pakistan is bound to pay penalty of $1 million per day if it fails to have intake of gas from Iran under the IP project, a top official of the Petroleum Division told The News. Keeping in view the gravity of the issue, secretary Petroleum Division in an internal note, of which a copy is available with The News, has sensitised Prime Minister Shahid Khan Abbasi, saying there are vibes emanating from Iran to move the arbitration court seeking the imposition of penalty of $1.2 billion a...
Post a Comment
Read more

US finds faults with system of Pakistan for halting terror funding

ISLAMABAD: United States (US) has urged Pakistan to address the continuing presence of the Haqqani network and other terrorist groups within its territory, and reiterated the international community’s longstanding concern about ongoing deficiencies in Pakistan’s implementation of its anti-money laundering/counterterrorism finance regime. United States also informed Pakistan that it was seeking to move toward a new relationship with Islamabad, “based on a shared commitment to defeat all terrorist groups that threaten regional stability and security as well as on a shared vision of a peaceful future for Afghanistan which would enable the dignified return of Afghan refugees to their homeland.” This message was brought on Monday by Deputy Assistant to the President and the US National Security Council’s Senior Director for South and Central Asia Lisa Curtis. However, Tuesday saw that Washington’s praise for Pakistan was not unconditional. Two days after the US and China pushed Pakistan o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pak indicators positive on militants: US

WASHINGTON: The US military's Central Command has acknowledged that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) could serve as a stabilising, profit-generating project in the region, albeit improving China's military posture. The chief of the Command General Joseph Votel said here Monday that the "collection of infrastructure projects already provides China with access to Gwadar Port in Pakistan, which is operated through a Chinese-Pakistani agreement and has the potential to increase China's strategic presence in the Indian Ocean. Speaking before the Armed Services Committee, Votel maintained that Pakistan's cooperation remained imperative for the success of Donald Trump's South Asia strategy. "As the president made clear in the unveiling of the strategy last August, the United States expects Pakistan to take decisive action against the Taliban and Haqqani Network leaders that operate from its territory. Taliban and Haqqani leadership and fighters continue t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Musharraf faces most serious charge but enjoys usual court delays

ISLAMABAD: General (R) Pervez Musharraf though faces the most serious criminal case of high treason, he is lucky for having being tried by the country’s judiciary in its generally known snail’s pace. Criminal Complaint No. 1/2013 under Section 3 and 5 of the High Treason (Punishment) Act 1973 and Section 5 of the Criminal Law Amendment Special Act was instituted against General (R) Musharraf before the Special Court on 17-12-2013. More than four years have passed but still there is no hint as to when will the Special Court conclude the case. The Special Court had issued notice to usharraf to appear before the court on 24th of December, 2013. However, despite having been served the summons, the ousted dictator did not appear on various pretexts until it was announced on the 2nd of January, 2014 at 12:15 that although the accused had left his house under tight security to attend the court, on the way he experienced heart problem and decided to go to the hospital for getting medical assi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Budget deficit clocks in at 3.2 percent of GDP in July-Feb

ISLAMABAD: Budget deficit clocked in at 3.2 percent of gross domestic product between July 1, 2017 and February 15, officials said on Tuesday, below the deficit of 3.9 percent reported in July-March 2017 and well above 2.2 percent deficit in July-December this fiscal. Analysts said the country posted a budget deficit of Rs1,110 billion for the first seven and a half months of the fiscal year, avoided a potentially slip-up before September election but its fiscal challenge is likely to get harder. Economists said the eight-month fiscal deficit is still under control given that it stood at 3.9 percent or Rs1,238 billion for the first nine-month period of the last fiscal year of 2016/17. “But, it is yet to be seen how economic managers would avoid temptation to plunging into spending spree just ahead of ending their tenure within the next three months,” an economist said. Government managed to keep budget deficit at 2.2 percent of GDP for the first half of the current fiscal year, and...
Post a Comment
Read more

Govt plans to roll out amnesty scheme for foreign assets on March 15

KARACHI: Government is all set to roll out a planned tax amnesty programme on March 15 as it seeks to boost revenues by encouraging the repatriation of billions of dollars of funds stashed abroad, a minister said on Tuesday. Rana Muhammad Afzal, minister of state for finance and revenue, said the country, facing a sizable revenue shortfall, is counting on to bring home billions of dollars citizens have parked overseas to increase foreign exchange reserves and to meet debt obligations. “The government has already planned the amnesty scheme and it wants to give an opportunity to people to bring back their assets into the country,” Afzal told members of the Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association. The proposed amnesty scheme is the fourth to be launched by the present government. “The government is focusing to increase foreign exchange reserves as an amount of $3 billion is scheduled to pay (till June-end) to IMF (International Monetary Fund).” The minister said fore...
Post a Comment
Read more

Growth strong but countries must prepare for change: Lagarde

JAKARTA: International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Tuesday the global economy was showing broad-based growth, but the landscape was shifting with heightened risks of trade disputes, monetary policy normalisation and technological change. Lagarde, speaking to an IMF conference in Jakarta in preparation for the Fund´s annual meetings in Bali in October, said the IMF was expecting global growth to reach 3.9 percent in 2018 and 2019. This is unchanged from the IMF´s forecast in January and up from 3.7 percent in 2017.She said ASEAN countries were preparing for higher interest rates in advanced economies such as the United States and Europe, but cautioned that policymakers need to stay vigilant about its effect on financial stability and volatile capital flows. "We know this will have spillover effects across the world. We have known for some time that it´s coming," Lagarde said. "It remains uncertain how this transition is going to affect othe...
Post a Comment
Read more

US govt to help Pakistan tap renewable energy potential

ISLAMABAD: US government on Tuesday expressed interest in assisting Pakistan to formulate national energy policy to tap the country’s renewable power potential and address the electricity system’s inefficiencies. “United States will explore the ways and means to assist power division in establishment of Pakistan’s first Renewable Energy Institute and also share the expertise of the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory to enable its working as per international standards,” the US Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale said in a government statement. Hale was meeting with Minister for Power Division Sardar Awais Leghari. The US envoy further said they would also consider assisting Pakistan in the formulation of national energy policy and national electricity plan. He assured the minister to soon appoint a focal person for energy in the US embassy who will frequently interact with his counterpart at the power division regarding cooperation in the energy sector. Government is planning to...
Post a Comment
Read more

Major banks may take earning hit from pension liabilities

KARACHI: Major commercial banks could face earnings hit this year amid high pension liabilities following the apex court’s decision to increase payments to their former employees, analysts said on Tuesday. The Supreme Court of Pakistan announced its detailed verdict on the pension case relating to the Allied Bank Limited (ABL), Habib Bank Limited (HBL) and United Bank Limited (UBL) on the same day. As per the judgment, the above banks must pay at least Rs8,000/month to any pensioner (including their widows, where applicable), along with an annual increment of five percent in the aforesaid pension, that was effective immediately. The Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan took suo motu action citing the exorbitant disparity in the wages of bank executives and the pensions paid to the former employees of ABL, HBL and UBL. Many analysts agreed that banks have to book the expenses relating to the judgment's prospective application. “Though, it’s premature, but the impacts of S...
Post a Comment
Read more

PPL’s profit more than doubles in July-December

KARACHI: Pakistan Petroleum Limited’s (PPL) profit more than doubled to Rs22.36 billion translating into earnings per share (EPS) of Rs11.34 for the half-year ended December 31, 2017, a bourse filing said on Tuesday. PPL posted profit of Rs11.01 billion with EPS of Rs5.58 during the corresponding period of previous year, a company’s notice to Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) said. The company announced an interim cash dividend of Rs4/share on ordinary shares and Rs3/share on convertible preference share for the year ending 30 June, 2018. PPL’s profit surged 64.3 percent to Rs9.22 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2017, translating into EPS of Rs4.68. The company’s profit amounted to Rs5.6 billion with EPS of Rs2.84 in the same period a year earlier. “Increase in profitability was led by 15 percent increased oil production, 25 percent higher oil prices and sustaining gas production,” Faizan Ahmed, an analyst at JS Global Capital said. PPL’s sales revenue stood at Rs28.86 bi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stocks end flat as positive triggers remain out of sight

Stocks closed flat after a dull session on Tuesday as investors preferred to stay on sidelines with no positive triggers in sight and corporate earnings’ announcements coming to an end, dealers said. Analyst Ali Raza at Elixir Securities said equities closed marginally positive in a range-bound and lacklustre trading session with benchmark KSE-100 index falling five points short of reaching the 43,000 points level. “Market opened on a dreary note and witnessed extremely low turnover particularly in the early hours as most investors refrained from participation due to lack of direction and any positive triggers in sight. Later, institutional activity in select names picked up and helped market pair early losses,” he added. Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) KSE-100 shares index gained 0.2 percent or 83.94 points to close at 42,994.96 points. KSE-30 shares index gained 0.44 percent or 94.37 points to close at 21,586.14 points. As many as 354 scrips were active of which 165 advanced, 164 de...
Post a Comment
Read more

Apple plans biggest iPhone yet for 2018

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple Inc is preparing to release three new smartphones later this year, including the largest iPhone ever, a device that may have a bigger display than arch-rival Samsung´s flagship phone, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the products. The trio also includes an upgraded handset the same size as the current iPhone X and a less expensive model with some of the X´s key features. The new phones could revive the screen size wars of years past at a time when smartphone makers are straining to come up with new features to lure buyers in a saturated market. Global smartphone sales were down 0.1 percent last year, according to research firm IDC, with Apple and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd expanding shipments only 1.9 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively. The iPhone maker is already running production tests with suppliers and is expected to announce the new phones this fall. However, the plans could still change, the report said. Apple declined to com...
Post a Comment
Read more

Rupee unchanged

The rupee closed flat against the dollar on Tuesday amid soft dollar demand, traders said. In the interbank market, the rupee ended at 110.58 against the dollar, unchanged from the previous close. Traders said the rupee was steady in dull trade. “Bids and offers for the dollar remained in the ranges of 110.47 and 110.67,” a dealer said. “The rupee was quoted around the existing support level of 110.67/110.68,” he added. “There is not much activity today, as investors were reluctant to take new positions amid lacklustre demand,” another forex dealer said. In the open market, the domestic currency posted nominal gains against the greenback. The currency pair closed higher at 111.90 and 112.20 for buying and selling. It was traded at 112/112.30 against the dollar on Monday.  from The News International - Business http://ift.tt/2HTvqU2
Post a Comment
Read more

Dollar eases

SINGAPORE/TOKYO: The dollar eased on Tuesday as investors awaited a slew of economic data this week and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell´s testimony, which could determine whether the U.S. currency´s recovery from a three-year low has more room to run. The dollar´s index against a basket of six major currencies fell 0.1 percent to 89.728. The greenback, however, is still 1.7 percent above a three-year trough near 88.25 set on Feb. 16. The focus this week is Powell´s first congressional testimony, at a time when investors are nervous over the pace of U.S. monetary tightening as it unwinds years of stimulus. Powell will testify on the central bank´s semi-annual report on monetary policy and the economy on Tuesday, before the U.S. House of Representatives´ Financial Services Committee. Powell will probably sound optimistic on the economic outlook, but stress patience in assessing whether inflation will head higher, said Roy Teo, investment strategist for LGT Bank in Singapore. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Gold rises

Reuters London : Gold prices were up for a second day in a row on the back of a weaker dollar, while investors awaited U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell´s first congressional testimony for clues on the future pace of monetary tightening. Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,336.05 an ounce at 0116 GMT. U.S. gold futures were up 0.4 percent at $1,337.7 per ounce. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, was down 0.1 percent at 89.734. Powell´s testimony could determine whether the greenback´s recovery from a three-year low, that it hit on Feb. 16, can be sustained. The prospect of further interest rate increases by the Fed, more than what the market initially priced in, has bolstered the dollar in the last few weeks. from The News International - Business http://ift.tt/2HPQnz0
Post a Comment
Read more

Oil down

Tokyo : Oil prices on Tuesday erased earlier gains as investor concerns about rising U.S. oil output offset signs of stronger demand and faith in the ability of OPEC production curbs to curtail supply. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for April delivery was down 15 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $63.76 a barrel by 0532 GMT. The contract on Monday rose to its highest since Feb. 6 at $64.24.Brent crude in London was down 10 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $67.40 a barrel. Soaring U.S. production is upending global oil markets, coming at a time when other major producers - including Russia and members of the Middle East-dominated Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) - have been withholding output to prop up prices. The US will overtake Russia as the world´s biggest oil producer by 2019 at the latest, the International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Tuesday. from The News International - Business http://ift.tt/2oCAraG
Post a Comment
Read more

Cotton firm

Karachi : No trading was recorded at the Karachi Cotton Exchange on Tuesday, which kept the spot rates unchanged at the previous levels. The spot rates remained unchanged at Rs6,900/maund (37.324kg) and Rs7,395/40kg. Ex-Karachi rates also stood firm at Rs7,045/maund and Rs7,550/40kg after an addition of Rs145 and Rs155 as upcountry expenses, respectively. An analyst said trade activity remained very low in the local market, as buyers were going behind cotton imports, as they are enjoying sales tax and Customs duty cut on import of cotton. Due to the demand in the country, local buyers were importing around 2.5 million bales. Pakistan has recorded exports registration for 197,642 bales from August 1, 2017 till January 31, 2018. During this period, a total of 120,940 bales were also shipped. from The News International - Business http://ift.tt/2HSildA
Post a Comment
Read more

Copper up

Melbourne : London copper prices inched up on Tuesday, lifted in light trade by a weaker dollar ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell´s highly-anticipated first congressional testimony later in the day. London Metal Exchange copper had edged up 0.3 percent to $7131.50 a tonne by 0128 GMT, having finished up a touch in the previous session. Prices have been trading in a $7,000-$7,250 a tonne range since mid-month, slightly down from a four-year peak of $7,312.50 hit in December. Shanghai Futures Exchange copper eased by 0.3 percent to 53,290 yuan ($8,443) a tonne. Other metals, however, were all slightly higher reflecting a strong rally in Shanghai stocks. Sales of new U.S. single-family homes fell for a second straight month in January, weighed down by steep declines in the Northeast and South, which could raise concerns the housing market is losing momentum. from The News International - Business http://ift.tt/2oBcJvx
Post a Comment
Read more

Experts urge for better water policy management

KARACHI: Water experts and engineers at a seminar discussed Sindh Water Policy draft and urged for comprehensive water policy at the provincial and national level to avoid wasting the precious commodity. The seminar “Formation of Sindh Water Policy” was organised by Sindh government with the support of the Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (SIDA) and Trocaire, an Irish based development organisation at a local hotel on Tuesday. Speakers agreed that the lack of policy had instigated inter-provincial rifts on many occasions. Sindh Minister for Health Dr Sikandar Mandhro, who was the chief guest, said they needed standard policy to resolve the water issues. “We have conflict on water with India and at the inter-provincial level,” he said, and added that the lower riparian always cried against the injustices of the upper riparian. Mandhro asked for equal distribution of water so everybody received their due share without any fear. “Water policy should be formulated with the sugges...
Post a Comment
Read more

US to overtake Russia as top oil producer by 2019: IEA

TOKYO: The United States will overtake Russia as the world´s biggest oil producer by 2019 at the latest, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday, as the country´s shale oil boom continues to upend global markets. IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said at an event in Tokyo the United States would overtake Russia as the biggest crude oil producer "definitely next year", if not this year. "U.S. shale growth is very strong, the pace is very strong ... The United States will become the No. 1 oil producer sometime very soon," he told Reuters separately. U.S. crude oil output rose above 10 million barrels per day (bpd) late last year for the first time since the 1970s, overtaking top oil exporter Saudi Arabia. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said early this month that U.S. output would exceed 11 million bpd by late 2018. That would take it past top producer Russia, which pumps just below that mark. Birol said he did not see U.S. oil productio...
Post a Comment
Read more