British Airways and insurers, such as Prudential led the FTSE 100 higher on Friday to seal the index's third weekly gain, while US jobs data calmed fears the economic revival had faltered.
Zambia is offering 100,000 hectares of land free of charge to foreign investors willing to put up almost $150 million to create a fourth large sugar firm in the southern African country, officials said on Friday.
Brazil's biotech regulator said on Friday it could clear new varieties of genetically modified (GMO) soy, corn, cotton and rice for commercial use by December, after five years of backlog.
London sugar futures skidded to close just off the day's lows on Friday, after New York failed to build on recent gains and both markets corrected lower, traders said.
NYBOT cotton prices fell 5.5 percent on Friday as traders took profit before a long weekend, relieved that Hurricane Frances was downgraded a notch, before reaching Florida and possibly cotton growing areas northward.
Grain farmers in South Africa are increasingly seeking protection against wild price fluctuations by taking hedging positions in the Johannesburg futures market, farmers and market players say.
Base metals continued to trade routinely during Friday's open-outcry sessions on the London Metal Exchange (LME), marking time ahead of US jobless data, traders said.
Gold slid to its lowest in almost three weeks on Friday, with prices testing support at $400 per ounce as US jobs data lifted the dollar and dented bullion on heightened expectations of an interest rate hike.
Arabica coffee futures fell more than 2.5 percent on Friday as producer selling knocked down prices from session highs driven by early fund buying, traders said.
Cocoa futures fell Friday for the fourth straight day as the West African harvest crept in, although some players squaring positions ahead of a long holiday weekend kept prices off early lows, traders said.
NYBOT raw sugar futures finished with modest losses in light volume on Friday as traders were content to take some profits ahead of the long holiday weekend, floor sources said.
Soft red winter (SRW) wheat futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were lower early Friday on slow exports and spill-over pressure from a drop in soybean prices, traders said.
Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade fell on Friday before the three-day holiday weekend as outlooks for a huge 2004 US corn crop and warm weekend weather triggered fund sales, traders said.
Soyabean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were weaker early Friday as forecasts for warm weather through early next week and outlooks for a big US soyabean crop sparked funds to sell, traders said.
COMEX copper futures trimmed losses from earlier nine-day lows on Friday but still closed lower on speculative selling, as the dollar gained after the monthly US payrolls report came in near forecasts.
Gold futures fell on pre-holiday profit-taking Friday morning, after the dollar shot up on relief that the economy created almost as many jobs as predicted in August.
A division bench of High Court of Sindh (SHC) comprising Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Justice Maqbool Sager on Friday allowed a miscellaneous application filed by Amin Fabrics seeking return of six Kalashnikovs deposited by the applicant company with t
Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) has congratulated Jehangir Tareen on his appointment as federal minister for Industries and Production and Special Initiatives.
A division bench of High Court of Sindh (SHC) comprising Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Justice Maqbool Sager on Friday dismissed the bail application of an accused Abdul Aziz Jatt, arrested in an accountability reference.
Amir of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and leader of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), Qazi Hussain Ahmed has said that the religious alliance wanted to resolve all issues including raids on the religious 'madaris' (seminaries) with government through talks.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Friday he was optimistic that the talks between Pakistan and India would lead to a peaceful resolution of Kashmir issue.
The first national chemistry contest, which began here on Wednesday at the Hussein Ibrahim Jamal (HEJ) Research Institute of chemistry, Karachi University (KU), continued for the third day on Friday.
Federal Minister for Water and Power Liaquat Ali Jatoi has directed to set up a complaint cell in the ministry to resolve the problems of the people on immediate basis.
Work on seven different development projects, worth no less than Rs 176.5 million has come to an almost halt at Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre (JPMC) since issuance of a letter by the Federal Health Ministry in July expecting donors to make their con
Sindh Minister for Education and Literacy Dr Hamida Khuhro has called the report from Secretary education for slow pace of implementation of De-centralising Elementary Education Programme (DEEP) and directed him to constitute two vigilance committees at D
Sindh Minister for Information Technology (IT) Syed Mustafa Kamal has said that foreign companies, coming up with investment in the IT sector, would be provided every possible incentives and facilities on priority basis.
The Basmati rice traders have to submit the following. This tender is akin to the revival of the RECP era by TCP purchasing rice in the market. It is also going back from the principle of private sector rice exports being promoted as opposed to the govern
Standing where his usual crop of chillis and onions should be sprouting, Herath Wanihami rubs a clod of parched terracotta-coloured soil between his fingers and a fine dust blows onto his white sarong.
The concept of Audit Committees (ACs) is not new and can be traced back to the 19th Century. What is notable, however, is the extent of their promotion and subsequent adoption by listed companies in several countries during the last quarter century.
The exchange of Pakistani and Indian prisoners at the Wagah border on Tuesday highlighted an enduring humanitarian issue between the two countries. The Pakistani authorities handed over 36 men to the other side and received 19 of our own nationals, includ
The dire consequences of the non-resolution of inter-provincial disputes over water management and distribution are beginning to be visible. The Indus River System Authority (IRSA) met in Islamabad on Wednesday to review the water situation, and its Secre
A 15-member delegation of Pakistan-Belgium Business Forum, led by A. Rajpar, president of the Forum, would start its tour of Belgium from 6th to 8th September.
The Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) has lauded the gestures of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and expressed hope that new premier would take Pakistan towards new horizons of development and prosperity.
The Directorate General of Ports and Shipping (DGPS) has set up a five-member committee to look into the complaints of exorbitant fee charged by Non-Vessel Operating Common Carriers (NVOCC), generally known as forwarding agents.
As part of its on-going teacher training programme, the Oxford University Press (OUP) Pakistan is conducting workshops for teachers of The Educators schools.
The past decade has witnessed a growing interest in bridge among Chinese women. Along with the senior players who picked the thread of the game in late sixties, a generation of young girls was also taking part with promising prospects in bridge. So much s
Leading organisations of farmers and provincial Irrigation Department have agreed on a proposal to face 60 percent water shortage during the Rabi season in order to save Kharif's major crops like cotton and rice, etc.
On a long sun-bathed day in a tri-nation tournament marred throughout by rain Pakistan missed the top honours against world champions Australia by a close margin of 17 runs. It was a case of misfortune.
NWFP Governor Lieutenant General Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah (Retd) inaugurated the Free Dialysis and Nephrology Unit, newly established by Ittefaq Traders Community Welfare Programme, a non-governmental organisation in collaboration with the District Gove
Pakistan's hope of an Olympic gold or a medal in hockey is still a mirage. Four years earlier in Sydney the country was blocked by South Korea in the semi-final and it finished fourth. This time in Athens once the formation faltered against the attacking
The Karachi Stock Exchange (Guarantee) Limited, Pakistan's largest stock exchange, has deployed Intel (R) Itanium (R) 2 processor based Unisys ES 7000 Aries servers to power comprehensive data analyses for stock trading and to provide better services to i
And at times one ends up doing channel surfing. What does channel surfing mean really? Why does one do it? What are the compulsions that drive one to playing with the remote control, and making others in the TV viewing area lose their patience, and their
Shehzad Khalil, an up-and-coming sitar maestro, who hails from a neglected area of northern Lahore, has already surprised many a music connoisseur and critic by his strong proclivity and passion for instrumental classical music
Highlights of the week included the annual Urs of Punjab Sufi poet Bulley Shah, obituary references about a couple of literati and a musician, Taufiq Rafat and Mirza Adeeb, clarinet player Ustad Sadiq Ali Khan Mando respectively, and the setting up of the
Over a 100 under privileged-handicapped and orphan-children were entertained for over three hours at a function organised by a visiting Pakistani artist and social worker Jimmy Engineer, at the Galadari Hotel here.
Hindustani cinema kay pachhaas saal is the title of the book under review, which is a compilation of several essays written by the author on different past occasions. It contains a brief history of the evolution, development and refinement of cinema in po
Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Riaz Ahmed Tata has urged Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to remove enormous bureaucratic hurdles impeding local and foreign investment in the country, which is a prerequisite for indu
Black gold, as it is known to be, coal has been one of the oldest sources of energy, used both for domestic and industrial purposes. Pakistan has vast coal reserves and is ranked at ## 7 in the world.
Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi presiding a high-level meeting on the organisation of the party here on Friday has said that Pakistan Muslim League was being reorganised to ensure public participation in the process of development and reforms
The week started out with a whirlwind of activities happening on all fronts. Cultural events were dominated with the usual gossip of the change of the face in the driver's seat in this merry go round of political gimmicks. What a laugh that one could beco
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has sent Deputy Chairman Planning Commission (DCPC) to Tharparkar to assess the needs and requirements of this backward district of Sindh.
Afghanistan is still suffering from the consequences of decades of civil war. An education offensive is to help bring peace to the country - and what it needs most is books.
The Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Standing Committee Chairman on Railways and Dry Port Ziaul-Haq Sarhadi has demanded of the government to establish a full-pledged modern dry port in Peshawar for promoting country's export to Afghanistan
It is too well known a fact that some poets got fame through their first collections of poetry and the majority of poets kept on piling up their collections without achieving even a nodding approval of poetry-lovers.
With a view to turning the page on the bitter past the newly formed government of Shaukat Aziz on Friday invited the opposition to a dialogue "to make a new beginning" in the larger interest of Pakistan. The olive branch was offered by Information Ministe
With a view to turning the page on the bitter past the newly formed government of Shaukat Aziz on Friday invited the opposition to a dialogue "to make a new beginning" in the larger interest of Pakistan. The olive branch was offered by Information Ministe
The other day "Newsweek" published an article on Pakistan titled "Mighty Musharraf." It praised Musharraf as a staunch ally of the West especially of USA in the war against "terrorism," but went on to run him down for accumulating personal power and not a
The Excise and Taxation Office (ETO) Rawalpindi region has earned a record Rs 3 million by auctioning 136 special numbers of new RLA series for motor vehicles in the region.
The Education, Minister Zobaida Jalal has finally decided to introduce changes in the curriculum of schools - colleges - universities a welcome sign. Some efforts were made in the past introduce changes but nothing materialised, except for some cosmetic c
Pakistan can fetch a substantial amount of foreign exchange by uplifting its floriculture business in accordance with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) standards.
The latest close of key indices on major world stock exchanges and the London closing values of the euro, the Japanese yen, the British pound and gold bullion (previous day's closes in brackets).
Indian and Pakistani peace activists converged on their countries' main border crossing on Friday to mark 10 years of campaigning for improved relations between the South Asian nuclear giants.
Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) President Mian Anjum Nisar and Vice President Shahzad Ali Malik have hailed Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz's decision to retain the portfolio of Finance Ministry with him.
Piaf-Founders Alliance, after winning the forthcoming election would work for ensuring peace and order in industrial and business areas and reduction in the utility prices like electricity, gas and petrol apart from bringing down tax rates.
The Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) will meet within a week to finalise its strategy vis-à-vis tabling of a no-confidence motion against National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain.
With one in five adults still unable to read and write, there are around 900 million illiterates in the world and two thirds of them are women. The situation with regard to educational activities and standards in poor and developing countries, is dismal a
Member Customs, Central Board of Revenue Mohammad Ramzan Bhatti will inaugurate the export terminal of Multan Dry Port Trust (MDPT) at Muzaffargarh on Saturday.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Friday telephoned Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and extended his heartiest congratulations on assuming the office of Chief Executive of Pakistan.