Summary for cut in PoL prices sent to ministry

ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has dispatched to ministry for petroleum and natural resources a summary recommending Rs.2.37 per liter cut in petroleum prices here on Thursday, Geo news has learnt.

OGRA sources told Geo news the summary proposed Rs.2.37 per liter slash in petroleum prices meanwhile, another summary recommending Rs.2 per liter cut in Kerosene oil and Rs.0.14 per liter slash in Light diesel has been prepared which will be forwarded to ministry shortly.

The applicability of new prices will not require endorsement from Prime Minister Gilani, sources added concluding that new PoL prices will be applied from August 1st and onwards.

MQM apologetic over Mustafa Kamal statement: Qaim

KARACHI: Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah has said on Thursday the delegation from Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has issued apology over the rude behavior and disturbing statement made by Nazim Karachi Syed Mustafa Kamal.

He said the notification filed in court in regard to allotment of land in Karachi is being heard legally pursued and the decision on case will be pronounced in court.

This CM Sindh said amid talk with media men here at CM house on Thursday. Qaim said, “The conflicting issues standing in between MQM and PPP are settled before Core Committee and in case any third way gets hard to find for settlement of issues so I and Governor Sindh Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad arrange a joint sitting for their resolution.”

To a question, he said city government is not broke so they can pay salaries of their employees.

Responding to another question, Qaim Ali Shah said the powers need to be used with wisdom and pursuing legal battle will not in any way exert adverse effects upon reconciliation process.

Taliban ask Afghans to boycott elections

KANDAHAR: The Taliban demanded on Thursday that Afghans boycott August 20 presidential elections and instead ‘free their invaded country’ through holy war.

In a media statement, the Islamist militia ordered its fighters to block all roads on the eve of Afghanistan’s second presidential ballot and stop voters from going to polling stations.

‘To achieve real independence instead of going to fake election centres, they must go to jihadi trenches, and through resistance and jihad they must free their invaded country from the invaders,’ the statement said.

A surge in attacks by Taliban and other militants battling the government and allied Western troops has raised concerns that insecurity will lead to poor voter turnout and throw the election’s legitimacy into doubt.

The Taliban statement called for attacks on ‘enemy centres’, understood to refer mainly to bases of Western and Afghan forces.

The Taliban, however, did not directly order strikes on voting centres, according to an e-mailed copy of the Pashto-language statement seen by AFP.

Mujahideen ‘must launch operations against enemy centres,’ said the statement signed by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which means the Taliban.

‘They must prevent people from attending the elections and one day before the elections all roads and highways must be totally closed to government and civilian vehicles, and they must inform people,’ it said.

Thursday’s statement was released two days after the top UN official in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, urged the Taliban not to disrupt the elections, acknowledging there were ‘significant’ security concerns.

The Taliban labelled the poll a US ‘invention’ and a farce, accusing Afghan President Hamid Karzai of not having the courage to stand up to US ambitions in Afghanistan and telling its fighters to attack election-related targets and stop people from voting.

There have been three attacks against candidates or campaign officials in the past week, including Karzai’s vice presidential running mate Mohammad Qasim Fahim, the leader of US-backed Afghan forces that ousted the Taliban.

Karzai is a clear front-runner to win the poll ahead of a field of 36 challengers -- four have withdrawn from the original list -- with former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah and ex-finance minister Ashraf Ghani among few serious contenders.

US Envoy: Information-Sharing Key to North Korea Crackdown

The U.S. envoy working on enforcing United Nations sanctions against North Korea says sharing information among U.N. members is key to holding Pyongyang accountable for its banned nuclear activities.

Philip Goldberg spoke to reporters Thursday in New York after meeting the U.N. North Korea sanctions committee.

The U.N. imposed tough new restrictions on North Korea last month after the reclusive country launched ballistic missiles and conducted its second nuclear test.

The sanctions aim to cut off funding for Pyongyang's nuclear, missile and proliferation activities.

Goldberg called the measures "unprecedented," a word he also used to describe China's cooperation in implementing them.

He said the U.S. is advising its banks about activities related to North Korean entities.

He said he thinks other governments have taken similar positions, and they now have to share that information with each other.

The U.S. State Department says Goldberg will lead a delegation to Moscow on Monday.

The delegation will consult with Russian Foreign Ministry and financial officials about enforcing the sanctions.

Goldberg also is traveling to undisclosed Asian capitals for similar consultations in mid-August.

Nasa defends its spaceflight plan

Engineers developing Nasa's new rockets have denied that the agency's human spaceflight plans are too expensive, too risky and subject to long delays.

The US space agency has already spent four years developing its next-generation rockets, called Ares.

The engineers defended their work before a presidential panel tasked with reviewing Nasa's plans beyond 2010, when the shuttle is due to be retired.

They said Ares was the safest, fastest way to get Americans back into space.

Critics have asked questions about the technical scope of the next-generation human spaceflight programme, known as Constellation, and Nasa's ability to manage its cost.

Some have called for the Ares launchers to be scrapped in favour of adapting existing rockets.

"We have done what we said we would do and we are well on the way to our first test flight," said Steve Cook, head of the Ares project office at Nasa's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Speaking during a public hearing, Mr Cook dismissed suggestions by some that the space agency was on a flawed path with Ares.

"There have been several outside reviews since we began," he explained.

Jackson mother gets custody, Rowe gets visits: media

NEW YORK: Michael Jackson's mother will get custody of the late pop star's three children after reaching a agreement with her son's ex-wife Debbie Rowe, a lawyer for Katherine Jackson told CBS News on Thursday.

Rowe will have 'meaningful visitation rights' with her two biological children with Jackson, Prince Michael and Paris, US television networks CBS, ABC and NBC reported.

The biological mother of Jackson's third child, Prince Michael II, also known as Blanket, has never been revealed.

Jackson's mother, Katherine, was granted temporary custody of the children after his death on June 25.

'It's an agreement, an agreement for the best interests of the children. This is not a money deal. This is not about money,' Londell McMillan, Katherine Jackson's attorney, said in a an interview on CBS News' 'The Early Show.'

'All of the parties are resolved. There is no situation better for these children than for them to be raised and reared in the loving care of Mrs. Katherine Jackson,' he said.

A court hearing in Los Angeles on custody of the children is scheduled for Monday. Jackson said in his 2002 will he wanted his mother to care for the children if he died.

The 'Thriller' singer left his estate, valued at $500 million in an attachment to his will, to a family trust that benefits his children, his mother and charities.

'That estate is worth, in my estimation, a couple of billion dollars,' McMillan said, referring to the value of the estate if it achieves its potential earnings. You hear $500 million. Don't buy it.'

The coroner's report on the cause of the singer's death is still awaiting toxicology and other test results. His burial arrangements have not been announced. -Reuters

'No evidence Bin Laden is in Pakistan'

The Pakistan government on Thursday said there is no evidence that Al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden is present in the country and any claims in this regard should be backed up with "actionable proof".

Reacting to British High Commissioner Robert Brinkley's statement that bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Taliban chief Mullah Omar could be hiding in Pakistan's tribal belt, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said "there is no evidence that Osama bin Laden is present in Pakistan". "Those making claims of his presence in the country should provide actionable proof of it; and if our coalition partners have any suggestions for improving our actions against the terrorists they should convey it to us instead of making assumptions," Kaira said in a statement.

Al-Qaida and Taliban have threatened Pakistan, attacked its security forces, killed civilians and targeted the country's leadership, he said. "We are therefore combating terrorism in our own interest. We do not want our efforts to be undermined by hypothetical assumptions," he added.

Pakistan's losses in the war against terrorism were more than the combined loss of Afghanistan and the International Security Assistance Force and it had "a record of doing more than any other single country" in the campaign, he said.

source:www.ndtv.com

IMF discussing boosting Pakistan credit

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund said Thursday it is considering an increase for an aid package for Pakistan agreed on last November.

‘I can confirm an augmentation is under consideration,’ IMF spokeswoman Caroline Atkinson told journalists in response to questions on reports that Pakistan had requested an additional four billion dollars.

‘We do expect it to go to the (executive) board next Friday, August 7,’ she added.

‘The amount will be finally determined at that time by the executive board.’

Last year, the IMF approved a 23-month loan of 7.6 billion dollars, of which four billion has already been disbursed, as part of a program to help the South Asian nation weather the global crisis.

The IMF has increased credit lines in recent months to other countries including Belarus and Armenia, saying the impact of the global crisis was worse than expected.

Pak to exist forever, talks vital: Pranab

NEW DELHI: Ruling out war as an option, Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Thursday reinforced Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s position that there was no alternative but to keep talking to Pakistan but made it clear that there was no surrender by the government on the issue of combating cross-border terrorism.

“Neither have we succumbed to terrorism nor will we stop talking,” Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha during a debate on issues arising from the prime minister’s foreign visits, including his trip to Egypt where he met Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.

Action on terror was independent of any composite dialogue, he asserted.

“The NDA did it. The UPA did it. This is the way the world of diplomacy moves,” Mukherjee said while reminding parliament that over the last 10 years, governments across the political spectrum in India kept talking to Pakistan despite brief disruptions after terrorist attacks.

“We can’t erase Pakistan. It’s going to exist. War is no solution,” Mukherjee said while underlining the importance of keeping talks going with Pakistan.

Mukherjee, who was foreign minister when the Mumbai attacks took place, clarified that talking did not mean the resumption of a full-fledged dialogue.

“Keeping channels open does not mean surrendering our position on terrorism,” Mukherjee stressed, adding that Pakistan must act credibly and verifiably to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure operating from it’s soil.

He also defended the inclusion of Balochistan in the July 16 India-Pakistan joint statement saying a unilateral reference does not mean giving credibility to Pakistan’s allegations of any Indian role in unrest in Pakistan’s southwest province.

“We have no role to play in Balochistan,” he said.

Doctor focus of Jackson inquiry; chef talks about singer's last day

Michael Jackson's cardiologist is the central focus of a federal investigation into the singer's death.

While authorities have subpoenaed the records of various doctors who have treated Jackson over the years, "Dr. [Conrad] Murray is the only one we're looking at," the federal law enforcement official said.

The disclosure was among several developments Wednesday in a story that continues to gather steam more than a month after the death of the pop icon on June 25.

Also Wednesday:

• Jackson's personal chef, Kai Chase, recounted the day the singer died and how Jackson's children and his staff gathered in a circle to pray for him.

• Jackson's father, Joe, acknowledged that a 25-year-old Norwegian performer is Jackson's son -- even as the man himself denied the relationship in various news reports.

Supreme Court won't try Musharraf for treason

ISLAMABAD: Chief justice turned down a request on Thursday to launch a treason case against former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, saying the Supreme Court lacked the authority.

Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry's remarks could reassure both the fragile civilian government and military establishment, as they can ill-afford any fresh crisis at a time when the country is fighting a Taliban insurgency.

‘This is not the proper forum to initiate such case. We are not authorised to do so,’ Chaudhry told the court.

Musharraf was forced to quit as president almost a year ago to avoid impeachment and has been living in London for the past two months.

Hamid Khan, a lawyer who was at the forefront of a movement to oust Musharraf, asked a panel of 14 judges led by Chaudhry to begin treason proceedings on grounds that the general had seized power in a coup in 1999 and violated the constitution to extend his rule in 2007.

Musharraf declared emergency rule in November 2007 and purged the Supreme Court of judges, including chief justice Chaudhry, who might have ruled illegal his re-election while still army chief.

The court last week ordered Musharraf to explain allegations that he appointed new judges under emergency rule in violation of the constitution, but Musharraf and his lawyers have stayed away from the hearings.—Reuters

PAKISTAN Vs SRI LANKA

SRI LANKA BEATS PAKISTAN BY 36 RUNS

Oil hovers near $63 in Asian trade

SINGAPORE: Oil prices paused near $63 a barrel Thursday in Asia after signs of weak U.S. crude demand triggered a sharp sell-off this week.

Benchmark crude for September delivery was down 19 cents to$63.16 a barrel by midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday, the contract fell$3.88 to settle at $63.35.

Crude prices have slid from above $69 earlier this week on investor concerns that a slow recovery from a severe recession will undermine demand from the U.S.

Funds for Taliban largely come from abroad: Holbrooke

BRUSSELS: Taliban militants were receiving more funding from their sympathisers abroad than from Afghanistan’s illegal drug trade, the US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan said on Tuesday.

Richard Holbrooke also urged the international community to help Pakistan deal with refugees uprooted by the fighting in its Swat Valley because the region is a vital staging area for militant operations in neighbouring Afghanistan.

‘More money is coming from the Gulf than is coming from the drug trade to the Taliban,’ Mr Holbrooke told journalists at Nato headquarters in Brussels.

He didn’t identify the countries where the sympathisers were donating from, but nations located on the Persian Gulf include Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq.

Nato military officials in Afghanistan have estimated that the Taliban raise $60-$100 million a year from the trade in illegal narcotics, which has ballooned since the 2001 invasion of the country by US-led forces.

The Taliban deny they are collecting money from drugs, pointing out that they had largely abolished illegal production of drugs while they held power in Afghanistan.

Mr Holbrooke noted that the US was setting up an interdepartmental task force to deal with the problem. It would be led by the Treasury Department and include other relevant agencies such as the FBI and the Pentagon.

He said there was no evidence that governments in the Gulf or anywhere else were providing the financing. ‘The money is coming in from sympathisers from all over the world with the bulk of it appearing to come from the Gulf,’ he said, adding that he did not have hard figures for the amount of overseas funding reaching the Taliban.

‘What I believe happens is that the Taliban funds local operations in the Pashtun belt out of drug money, but the overall effort gets massive amounts of money from outside Afghanistan,’ Mr Holbrooke said.

A Nato official said it was a well-established fact that the militants continue to receive substantial amounts of cash from overseas. Drug money represents only a portion of their operational funding, but it’s not known how large that sum is compared with overseas donations, the official said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Mr Holbrooke briefed EU officials in Brussels on the progress of the anti-Taliban campaigns in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

He said more international assistance to the 2.5 million refugees from Pakistan’s Swat valley, recently retaken from the Taliban by the Pakistani army and security forces, was urgently needed.

‘This is more than a humanitarian crisis, this is a strategic issue as well,’ he said. ‘Those refugees are in the exact area where Al Qaeda and where the Taliban are, and it’s right up against the Afghanistan border.

‘In order to succeed in Afghanistan, we need to have some degree of stability and control on the Pakistan side of the border.’

The US has given $335 million to resettle the refugees in their homes. The EU offered Pakistan euro72 million in humanitarian relief aid, on top of euro485 million the bloc pledged at an international donors conference for Pakistan in April. — AP

Sri Lanka set Pakistan 233-run target in 1st ODI

DAMBULLA: Sri Lanka made 232-9 in the allotted 50 overs against Pakistan in the first One-day International of the five-match series here on Thursday.

Winning the toss, Pakistan captain Younis Khan sent Sri Lanka into bat and now his team has to chase 233 to win the match.

No Sri Lankan batsman could reach fifty as the highest individual score was 43, made by late-order batsman Angelo Mathews, followed by captain Kumar Sangakkara (36), Mahela Jayawardene (33) and tail-ender Muttiah Muralitharan (32 from only 15 balls with four boundaries and one six).

For Pakistan, pace-bowler Mohammad Aamer captured three for 45 on his international debut and Abdul Razzaq claimed two for 33 runs, respectively while Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi took one wicket each.

World not doing enough to help Pakistan’s IDPs: US

WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday denounced the international response to Pakistan’s humanitarian crisis as inadequate, with a senator saying that Gulf Arab states should contribute more.

The United Nations in May appealed for 543 million dollars to help the nearly two million people displaced by fighting in north-western Pakistan. UN figures show that less than 38 per cent of the appeal has been met.

The top US diplomat on refugee issues said that the United States had more than met its responsibilities with more than 320 million dollars for Pakistan – much of it not channelled through the UN appeal.

‘The humanitarian response has been inadequate,’ Assistant Secretary of State Eric Schwartz told a congressional hearing. ‘Other countries must come forward to help.’

‘This was one of the largest rapid displacements of people in recent memory,’ he said.

‘Pakistani authorities have responded effectively and returns have begun, but there are still 1.5 million people who have not returned.’

The massive displacement came after Pakistan launched a major offensive against Taliban fighters who had advanced perilously close to Islamabad.

Senator Bob Casey, who led the hearing, said that Gulf Arab states, most of which have large South Asian work forces, should give more money to relief efforts.

‘I’ve been disappointed, to say the least, by the lacklustre response by the international community to date, especially that of the Gulf states,’ said Casey, a member of President Barack Obama’s Democratic Party.

‘We’re not talking about military forces here – just financial assistance. It’s time our allies and friends step up to the plate,’ he said.

Casey pressed the Obama administration on why it has not done more to highlight US assistance, saying that many displaced people never learn that relief goods come from the United States.

Jon Brause, a senior official at the US Agency for International Development, said that most US assistance is openly labelled but acknowledged that the administration was trying to bolster Pakistan’s civilian government.

‘There are some activities that we support where we’re not advertising the role of the United States – we want the government of Pakistan to be seen as an effective government,’ Brause told the hearing.

But Wendy Chamberlin, the former US ambassador to Pakistan, called for more US visibility, saying that Washington successfully diminished anti-US sentiment through its relief efforts for the Kashmir earthquake in 2005.

‘The paradox is that while the US is doing more than any other nation to help the refugees and support the government’s campaign against unpopular Taliban, the United States is still deeply distrusted,’ said Chamberlin, who now heads the Middle East Institute think-tank.

Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, visited Brussels this week on his way back from the region and pressed European officials to deliver more aid for Pakistan’s displaced.

Holbrooke, addressing reporters on Wednesday in Washington, praised European efforts to support Afghanistan.

‘But the Europeans are quite quick to admit that they haven’t paid enough attention to Pakistan in the past. I would argue that perhaps we didn’t either,’ Holbrooke said.

The European Commission and member states have contributed more than 150 million euros (211 million dollars), according to EU figures. —AFP

Prince Karim Aga Khan visits East Africa

Prince Karim Aga Khan, accompanied by Princess Zahra, is currently on a brief tour of East Africa to review the progress of Aga Khan Development Network initiatives in the region.

In Mombasa, Aga Khan visited the Aga Khan Hospital where he toured some of the Hospital’s diagnostic services and specialist clinics. He also reviewed the construction of the new residential campus of theAga Khan Academy, and spoke with faculty members, dorm parents and students about their experiences.

In Nairobi, Prince Karim Aga Khan and Princess Zahra visited the construction site of the $50 million Heart and Cancer Centre of the Aga Khan University Hospital (Nairobi), which is expected to be completed next year. They also met with His Excellency President Mwai Kibaki and the Right Honorable Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Hospital CEO, Asmita Gilani, discusses a model of the proposed Heart and Cancer Centre with Mawlana Hazar Imam and Princess Zahra. Photo: Aziz Islamshah

Aga Khan will later travel to Tanzania and then to Zanzibar, where he will officially inaugurate Forodhani Park. The Park is situated in Zanzibar’s Historic Stone Town, and has undergone a $2.4 million restoration by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.

source: theismail.org