Euro zone swap rates fell sharply on Friday after the release of a newswire report that the European Central Bank may not raise interest rates as aggressively or quickly as financial markets had expected.
The government with the co-operation of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) distributed cheques amounting Rs 860.4 million among 7929 co-operative victims in 2006.
Chairman Task Force on Trade and Industry Mian Muhammad Riaz has said that government was making strenuous efforts for expanding industrial base in the Punjab. In an interview with Business Recorder here on Friday he added that a strategy was being
Punjab chief minister has approved an initial grant of Rs 30 million for the Tehsil Complex building in Kot Radha Kishan, work on which will commence within a few days, while a Rs 420 million gas supply project is in the pipeline.
On the instructions of Punjab Environment Minister Dr Anjum Amjad, police have launched a campaign against smoke-emitting vehicles in Multan and seven other cities of the province. The campaign is being run by the environment department of the City Distri
Chairman of Urdu Promotion Society (UPS) Syed Zaher Hussain Shah on Saturday lauded the recommendations of the federal cabinet regarding the use of the Urdu language at official ceremonies. In a press statement, he said the decision was much wanted and it
Former governor Punjab and Pakistan Thinkers Forum (PTF) Chairman Shahid Hamid has expressed sorrow over the demise of the father of journalist Shakil Sheikh. In his condolence message here on Saturday, he prayed for eternal peace for the departed soul an
Pakistan has the highest rate of breast cancer for any Asian population accounting to around 40,000 deaths every year while approximately 1 out of 9 Pakistani women will suffer from breast cancer.
A two-day New Silk Route (NSR) Conference will be held at a local hotel on February 10 and 11. NSR is a two-year British Council project involving expertise from the United Kingdom to promote creativity and design in countries of the Central and South Asi
Byram Avari, a prominent Pakistani entrepreneur, has recently become the first Etihad gold card member in Pakistan. Joost den Hartog, the Area Manager for Etihad Airways in Pakistan, made the announcement at the Avari Beach Luxury hotel.
The Embassy of Japan has arranged an exhibition of Japanese Calendars on February 7 and 8 here at the Archives Hall. The holding of Japanese Calendars Exhibition is an annual event that has become popular amongst the citizens of Peshawar.
The prices of good quality tomatoes that have gone up to Rs 100 per kg only two to three months ago have come down to Rs 4 per kg in the Sabzi Mandi and Rs 4 per kg in the retail market.
Dr Niaz Ahmed Khan, a well-known economist, has proposed a comprehensive Mutual Benefit Coupon (MBC) system for payment of government dues, bills and services. Addressing a seminar on 'Economic prosperity in days, instead of years and months', organised b
Tajikistan was hit by an earthquake of moderate intensity in the small hours of Saturday. According to Seismological Network of Pakistan Meteorological Dept, the earthquake originated at 0302 hours and its epicentre was about 600kms North of Peshawar in T
Excessive and unscientific use of chemical fertilisers by farmers in Punjab has adversely impacted the fertility of the soil in the province, which has led to a reduction in per acre crop yield. Punjab Agriculture Minister Arshad Khan Lodhi has drawn atte
The government has done well to ban, with immediate effect, import of live animals and meat, tallow containing protein, and feed ingredients, from BSE-infected countries, including the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, Falkland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxem
Walking on the world's longest stretch of beach on a balmy Saturday morning, one would expect to find the shimmering sands filled with sunbathing tourists and the calm blue sea with swimmers. The best bar in town should be buzzing with the thirsty jostlin
Six months after the US invasion, Esam Pasha, a 30-year-old Iraqi artist and writer, proudly painted a mural called "Resilience" over a giant portrait of Saddam Hussein on the wall of a government building. Now he lives in the United States.
Many Israeli feminists see the high-profile case of a president accused of rape as a significant triumph in a decades-old battle against macho workplace ethics in the Jewish state. "Who would have imagined women levelling charges like this say, 10 years a
I wish to draw your readers' attention to a yet another paradox that we as a Nation have become so much accustomed to. Perhaps it reflects more of apathy on our part than any intentional, or should I say sane, reasoning for doing so.
Tens of thousands of tons of grain are dumped into the Black Sea every 24 hours, and Ukraine's booming agricultural industry has taken close to a half-billion dollar hit, because of a failed law intended to hold down food prices.
Going to jail? - Join the waiting list - could soon be the advice given to British criminals as the country's prisons are full to bursting point with 80,000 inmates. For now, embattled Home Secretary John Reid has furiously denied leaks of alleged plans t
To improve its services and facilitate its customers, Pakistan Post has prepared a comprehensive restructuring and reorganisation plan. Sources in Pakistan Post told APP on Saturday.
Sindh University has completed its ongoing four development projects funded by Higher Education Commission (HEC) with allocation of Rs 44.807 million at its Allama I.I. Kazi Campus, Jamshoro.
The Executive District Officer Agriculture, Hyderabad, Shuhabuddin Siddiqui has directed the DDOs concerned to expedite the pace of development work to surpass the annual target of lining of 35 watercourses by end of year 2006-2007 under the National Prog
The head of Hurriyat Conference (Gilani) Syed Ali Shah Geelani may not attend the Kashmir Solidarity Day on February 5 in Islamabad. Jamaat-i-Islami had invited Ali Geelani to attend Kashmir solidarity rally in Islamabad, on February 5 and it was expected
The Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) has foiled a smuggling attempt, seizing 434 kilogram Charas and six kilogram opium from a car here at Kacha Ghari on Jamrud road and arrested two alleged smugglers on the spot, an ANF Peshawar official said on Saturday.
In order to observe Kashmir Solidarity Day with traditional zeal, the district government Hyderabad has organised a walk under the theme of "Kashmir Solidarity Day" on 5th of February, 2007 from Gymkhana to Press Club Hyderabad at 10.00 am.
The Senate Standing Committee on Education, Science and Technology on Saturday termed the promulgation of the Islamabad Capital Territory Private Educational Institutions (Regulation and Promotion) Ordinance 2006 a positive step for providing quality educ
Forty-six nations called for the creation of a more powerful UN environment agency on Saturday, saying the survival of humanity was at risk, but the United States, China and Russia did not sign up.
Grieving relatives of the 102 people on board an Indonesian airliner which vanished on New Year's day held an emotional ceremony Saturday at sea over the spot where its "black box" flight recorders were found. Indonesian navy hospital ship KRI Dalpele car
President George W. Bush will ask Congress for $99.7 billion for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars for the rest of fiscal year 2007 and more than $145 billion for fiscal year 2008, a Bush administration official said on Friday.
At least five people have been killed in severe floods in Indonesia's capital and surrounding areas with more than 100,000 left homeless after days of torrential rain, a disaster official said on Saturday.
The United States will expand assistance to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to include about 8,500 members of his national security forces and possibly 1,000 Fatah fighters based in Jordan, US documents show.
Nineteen people were killed when a wall of a warehouse under construction collapsed near India's financial capital on Saturday, police said. "We have recovered 15 bodies. Five or six more people can be under the rubble," said Ram Rao Wagh, police commissi
Toxic chemicals that leaked from a tanker truck in China's central Hubei Province killed one person and left more than 120 others hospitalised, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.
Protesters armed with sticks and dynamite clashed with police and troops on Saturday as they evicted them from two natural gas facilities in south-eastern Bolivia, the interior minister said.
Senior officials from rival Fatah and Hamas factions agreed on Saturday to pull their gunmen off the streets of Gaza and halt bloodshed which has killed 23 Palestinians in the last three days.
The Nato commander in Afghanistan vowed on Saturday to kick the Taliban out of a key southern town and reinstate tribal elders who struck a peace deal with foreign troops. Taliban fighters overran Musa Qala in the drug heartland of Helmand province on Thu
Hungary's Socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany pledged on Saturday to continue reforms, as riot police pushed anti-government demonstrators from the square outside parliament. Gyurcsany told a conference that reforms of education, pensions and other
Manila's military chief says he expects Muslim separatists to release him, a senior government official and more than 20 soldiers from their camp on a remote southern island on Sunday.
Police shot dead an ethnic Madhesi demonstrator in south-east Nepal on Saturday, an official said, taking the number of people killed in a fortnight of protests calling for autonomy to 15.
A total of 442 fishermen, many of them drunk, were rescued Saturday from ice floes off the island of Sakhalin in eastern Russia after a massive ice sheet broke from the shore, officials said.
High-ranking US officials and lawmakers are pressuring the State Department to take a more punishing tone with Venezuela, at the risk of tossing "red meat" to President Hugo Chavez, who now rules by decree, experts told AFP.
The chief US negotiator with North Korea said Saturday he expects progress in next week's multinational talks on scrapping its nuclear weapons. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill urged the communist state, which staged its first nuclear test la
Russia is alarmed by the growing military advantage enjoyed by Nato and the United States in Europe, for which there appears no need, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying on Saturday.
South Africa and Pakistan switch from Test to one-day cricket in a five-match one-day international series starting at Centurion Sunday, the last chance for both teams to tune up ahead of next month's Cricket World Cup in the West Indies.
World number one Maria Sharapova retired in the second set of her Pan Pacific Open semi-final against Serbia's Ana Ivanovic due to a hamstring injury. Ivanovic will play second seed Martina Hingis in the final of the $1.3 million tournament after the Swis
Batsman Virender Sehwag and medium-pacer Munaf Patel return to the Indian team for the first two one-day internationals against Sri Lanka next week. Opener Sehwag was dropped for the recent one-day series against West Indies due to loss of form.
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi has promised drastic measures to confront soccer violence after clashes by rampaging fans at a match left a policeman dead and over 150 people injured.
England's surprise win over Australia has left New Zealand under pressure to make the tri-series finals but Kiwi skipper Stephen Fleming could not be happier with the scenario. New Zealand looked to be assured of joining the Australians in the finals afte
Australia captain Ricky Ponting has been cleared to play in Sunday's tri-series one-day international against New Zealand in Melbourne. Ponting missed his team's 92-run loss to England in Sydney on Friday because of a hip problem but will lead the side ag
US blue chips eased on Friday after data showing moderate job creation in January suggested the Federal Reserve will not cut interest rates yet, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq edged higher.
Argentine stocks finished flat on Friday, as gains by banking stocks offset profit-taking in index heavyweight Tenaris, traders said. The MerVal index of 15 leading stocks closed down 0.01 percent at 2,081.27 points, after rising for three straight sessio
Brazilian stocks eked out gains on Friday despite softer US bourses, while the local currency eased back from its strongest in nine months. The Bovespa index of the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange rose 0.41 percent to 44,997.83 points. In local stock trading, sh
The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index ended lower on Friday, reversing three days of gains, as mining stocks slumped along with metal prices. The Toronto Stock Exchange S&P/TSX composite index closed down 33.17 points, or 0.3 percent, at 13,111.57. The
Chile stock indexes eked out a third straight record close on Friday as foreign and local investment funds kept buying. The all-market IGPA index advanced 0.34 percent to 13,198.26 points, while the trade-weighted blue chip IPSA index rose 0.39 percent to
Mexican stocks rose to a third straight record high close on Friday, buoyed by expectations of healthy quarterly corporate earnings. The IPC stock index finished up 0.32 percent at 27,933.07 points, after climbing as high as 28,005 earlier. "That's a heal
European stocks face a flood of earnings reports next week and focus will be on whether firms can sustain record profitability, while interest rate decisions are also due in the UK and from the European Central Bank.
Two Chinese firms are due to hold US initial public offerings next week, in a sign that New York markets remain attractive for companies despite recent talk of regulations driving them to other exchanges.
US government bond prices inched higher on Friday after a mixed jobs report reaffirmed investors' views that the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates steady.
US government bond prices inched higher on Friday after a mixed jobs report reaffirmed investors' views that the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates steady.
US corporate bonds were steady to a bit stronger on Friday after a weak jobs report suggested inflation remains tame and consumer confidence in January rose to the highest level in more than two years. The US economy added a modest 111,000 jobs in January
US corporate bonds were steady to a bit stronger on Friday after a weak jobs report suggested inflation remains tame and consumer confidence in January rose to the highest level in more than two years. The US economy added a modest 111,000 jobs in January
Emerging sovereign debt prices rose on Friday after a US employment report reinforced investors' view that the Federal Reserve is likely to maintain its monetary policy for some time. Brazil's global bond due 2040, considered the emerging market benchmark
Emerging sovereign debt prices rose on Friday after a US employment report reinforced investors' view that the Federal Reserve is likely to maintain its monetary policy for some time. Brazil's global bond due 2040, considered the emerging market benchmark
The Canadian bond prices pushed higher on Friday, following the lead of the larger US debt market, as the upwards US jobs revisions reaffirmed the view that US interest rates will not be cut for the foreseeable future. Canada's bond market often follows t
The Canadian bond prices pushed higher on Friday, following the lead of the larger US debt market, as the upwards US jobs revisions reaffirmed the view that US interest rates will not be cut for the foreseeable future. Canada's bond market often follows t
Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade settled higher in thin trade on Friday, rallying from early declines as soyabean futures surged to contract highs, traders said.
US cocoa futures contracts closed lower on Friday, the first day of side-by-side electronic and open-outcry trade, after early buying support waned, traders said.
US Plains hard red winter wheat basis bids were steady to firmer on Friday with farmer selling still limited, grain merchants said. The basis in Lincoln, Nebraska, was 5 cents firmer and the market generally continued to hold a firm tone amid the light fa
Trading activity picked up on the cotton market on Saturday as mills increased buying after the short arrival figure by the PCGA, dealers said. The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) official spot rate maintained the overnight level at Rs 2,525, without upc
Higher trend was witnessed on the forward cottonseed oilcake market on Saturday as supply was short of demand, dealers said. The March vaida was inert at Rs 692.00. Later, it picked kup Rs 4.50 to be day's best at Rs 696.50 and closing was seen at the sam
Sluggish business was seen on the grain market on Saturday as leading buyers were on the sidelines due to rising trend in the prices, dealers said. On the cereals side, urad Burma posted fresh gain of Rs 25 to Rs 1550-1850. Other commodities did not show
Rates applicable for conversion into rupees of Foreign Currency Deposits, Dollar Bearer Certificates, Foreign Currency Bearer Certificates, Special US Dollar bonds and profits thereon by all banks and also for providing forward cover on foreign currency d
Barclays bid rates, maximum rates for payment of interest by authorised dealers on deposits (other than those brought under FE Circular No: 45 of 1985) and on deposits (brought under FE Circular No: 45 of 1985) -- issued by the Foreign Exchange Rates Comm