The weather report on Sunday (September 23, 2012) and the forecast for Monday (October 01, 2012).

Comparative table of returns being given banks on their Profit and Loss Sharing Investment Accounts and Term Deposits.

Following currency fluctuations took place in foreign exchange rates during the last week. (September 24 - September 28 2012).

All timings are in PST (Pakistan Standard Time).

Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) has, over the years, built an extensive infrastructure for contributing to the socio-economic uplift of the country. Its activities span a wide spectrum: from nuclear power generation to minerals development, from

Pakistan is one of the first groups of countries that have recognised China. On May 21, 1951, the two countries officially established their diplomatic relations. Since then, China and Pakistan have witnessed smooth development of friendly and neighbourly

It gives me great pleasure to extend to the Government and the people of China most cordial greetings on the occasion of the 62nd birthday of the People's Republic of China. China's achievements are a source of pride and inspiration for Pakistan. China's

Pakistan and China are linked by common mountains and rivers. The friendship between our peoples has a time-honoured history, and our two countries regard each other as a good neighbour, good friend, good partner and good brother and have developed an exe

Its great pleasure for me to extend my congratulations to the people and the government of China, on the auspicious occasion of their 63rd National Day. This two-folded happiness moved our hearts too and we wish for Chinese people very prosperous, progres

I would like to commence my message by sending my best wishes and a warm message of admiration to the people of China on its 63rd National Day anniversary. The longstanding ties between the two countries have been mutually supportive. A close identity of

China -Pakistan friendship is time-tested and deep rooted, how do you see the future of this relationship?

Pir Sahab Pagara, Sibghatullah Shah Rashidi on Sunday said that he was trying to forge unity among all factions of the Muslim League. This was stated by Pakistan Muslim League (Functional) chief during a meeting with Pakistan Muslim League (Q) leaders Cha

A delegation of Pakistan Muslim League (Q), led by its president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, visited the Nine Zero on Sunday and held meeting with the members of MQM's Co-ordination Committee. Deputy Convenor of the Co-ordination Committee Nasreen Jalil led

The first Hajj flight of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will take off from Sialkot International Airport for Saudi Arabia with 503 pilgrims on board at 9:25pm on Monday. According to a PIA press release on Sunday, the flight will be seen off by Fed

Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) has accelerated construction work on Kachhi Canal project to an optimum level, so that the project could be completed as early as possible. This was stated by Wapda Chairman Raghib Shah during his vis

University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) is going to open four new campuses at Chishtian, Borywala, Layyah, and Mandi Bahauddin thereby to provide higher education opportunity at the doorstep of the people belonging to underdeveloped areas.

Sugar: The declining trend in sugar's wholesale price seems to have taken a back seat last week. Prices were reported well above Rs4,900 per 100 kg on September 27 in the wholesale markets of Karachi and Lahore, compared to the previous week when the whol

BR Research met with Naveed Siraj - Country Manager, Intel Pakistan Corporation, Naveed talks about latest trends in computing, Intel's new offering with the Ultrabook and Intel's education program in Pakistan.

BR Research met with Naveed Siraj - Country Manager, Intel Pakistan Corporation, Naveed talks about latest trends in computing, Intel's new offering with the Ultrabook and Intel's education program in Pakistan.

When it comes to US deficit reduction, many investors would rather Congress "kick the can down the road" again than let 2013 start with a blast of fiscal austerity not seen since the Vietnam War. While hardly optimal, a temporary deal that prevents a plun

Getting or not getting a visa for any reason whatsoever is not as important as the exploitation of the innocent visa seekers that has become the hallmark of most of the so-called countries of the First World. In earlier days, the nominal visa fee was char

The Federal Budget 2012-2013 is growth-oriented with a striking new balance between measures for macroeconomic management and stability. No new taxes have been imposed, nor have any existing taxes been increased.

Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal, President of Balochistan National Party (Mengal) and former chief minister of Balochistan's unexpected response to the Supreme Court summons on the heart rending case of forced disappearances, with some family members running fro

Of late the national landscape has been taken by storm of intense political activity - the kind of vista that generally obtains during the run-up to election. Incidents of politicians deserting their parties, some of them of their own free will or lured b

The ninth session of the Pakistan-Saudi Joint Ministerial Commission held in Islamabad ended on a call to further enhance bilateral economic ties in various sectors including banking, agriculture, investment, education, infrastructure development, energy

Ecuadoran authorities said Saturday they have rescued two women tourists, one from Britain and another from Australia, who were kidnapped a day earlier near the Colombian border. Police and armed forces staff "located and rescued the two girls, Australian

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is expected to reshuffle his cabinet on Monday, with changes aimed at cooling a raging maritime dispute with China, according to reports. Commentators say that as well as helping soothe the diplomatic wrangle, Noda's

Kenyan warships shelled the southern Somali port of Kismayu overnight after al Qaeda-linked rebels said they had abandoned the city, residents said on Sunday. Stunned by an assault by sea, air and ground forces late on Friday night, al Shabaab rebels fled

Tens of thousands of people on Sunday marched through the Melbourne suburb where murdered Irish woman Jill Meagher was last seen alive, in a peaceful demonstration against violence. The 29-year-old vanished in the early hours of September 22 as she walked

A firefight between Nato troops and their Afghan allies killed five people in circumstances that remained murky Sunday against a background of increasing "insider" attacks on coalition troops. A Nato soldier, a civilian contractor and three Afghan troops

Militants struck nine cities and towns in Iraq with bombings and shootings on Sunday, killing at least 32 people and wounding 104, in the latest wave of deadly attacks to hit the country. With the latest violence, at least 252 people have been killed and

Swiss luxury watches maker Longines said affluent but price-conscious Asian shoppers were snapping up its old-style timepieces, helping it weather a sharp slowdown in China which is shaking much of the luxury industry.

Japan's top trading house Mitsubishi Corp is expanding its small real estate financing business to benefit from rising property purchases by foreign investors in the country and an expected jump in refinancing of loans, a senior executive said.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's on September 25 lowered its long-term credit ratings on Sony by one notch, citing a slow recovery of its mainstay consumer electronics businesses. The agency downgraded its long-term corporate credit ratings on the Japanes

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's on September 25 lowered its long-term credit ratings on Sony by one notch, citing a slow recovery of its mainstay consumer electronics businesses. The agency downgraded its long-term corporate credit ratings on the Japanes

The looming fiscal cliff and weaker demand in Europe and China have driven US business leaders to their gloomiest outlook in three years, a survey released on September 26 showed. Chief executives of leading US companies have lowered their expectations fo

Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) is eyeing a doubling of its assets in Japan to $50 billion over the next five years, banking on pension funds there increasingly seeking emerging markets exposure and on retail investors flocking to high-yieldin

Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) is eyeing a doubling of its assets in Japan to $50 billion over the next five years, banking on pension funds there increasingly seeking emerging markets exposure and on retail investors flocking to high-yieldin

In the second half of 2010, a senior federal prosecutor in West Virginia drafted an impassioned plea to his bosses in Washington to end infighting as multiple government agencies pursued a high-stakes investigation of HSBC Holdings Plc.

Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has said that none of the institutions including government, armed forces and judiciary can resolve the issue of Balochistan. Speaking to media persons at Karachi Airport on Sunday, he sa

Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leaders at a function here Sunday stressed upon the provincial government leadership in Punjab to give schedule of the local government polls in two-month time, otherwise a movement would be launched by their party, they warn

Chairman Pakistan People's Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said despite all challenges, Pakistan is making its first constitutional and peaceful transfer of power from a democratic government to a new democratic government due to a strong and democratic set-

Jamaat-e-Islami on Sunday supported Baloch dissident leader Akhtar Mengal's six-point formula to bring peace in the province and said the whole nation supported the Balochistan National Party leader's genuine demands to redress grievances of the Baloch pe

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has criticised the new local bodies system in Sindh, saying his party opposes the dual system and supports the nationalist parties' stance towards the issue.

Without solving the energy crisis, industrial and economic stability is impossible. Uninterrupted gas supply to industry and emergent release of outstanding refund amounts will be treated on top priority to enable the textile exporters to retain their har

Arbab Khizer Hayat Khan, leader of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), said that every Baloch family is mourning the abduction of a youth. Immediate recovery of the missing persons, he stressed, should be ensured, as Baloch people, because of this very issue,

Majlis-e-Ahrar Islam Pakistan staged a protest demonstration against the US movie. A large number of workers participated in the protest outside the Lahore Press Club on Sunday.

Aasim A. Siddiqui has been elected unopposed as Chairman of All Pakistan Shipping Association (APSA) for the year 2012-2013 at the Annual General Meeting held, here recently. Cyrus Cowasjee of QICT was elected as unopposed Vice Chairman by the approval of

The newly established Punjab Revenue Authority has managed to collect Rs5.72 billion sales tax during July and August this year on 14 services covered under the Punjab Sales Tax Ordinance despite a confusion between PRA and FBR on the payment mode, a Fina

Myspace on September 24 provided a glimpse at a major overhaul of the music-centric online community striving to reclaim lost glory. A message atop the myspace.com home page promised: "Coming soon. The new Myspace," and provided a link to video showing a

A digital news venture from Atlantic Media launched on September 24, promising "bracingly creative and intelligent journalism" for reading on devices such as tablets and mobile phones. The effort baptised Quartz "is a digitally native news outlet, born in

Samsung launched September 26 the newest version of its oversized smartphone Galaxy Note, just a week after Apple's iPhone 5 hit shelves, in an apparent bid to outpace its rival with a wider range of gadgets.

Canadian banks and telecom providers are scrambling to introduce smartphone digital "wallets," but the dream of completely abandoning the traditional billfold in favour of a smartphone is likely several years away, according to speakers at an e-commerce c

Google said September 25 it was launching its Nexus 7 tablet computer in Japan, aiming to take on Apple's iPad in one of the most lucrative markets in the world. The Nexus 7's 16 gigabyte model, powered by the latest generation of Android software is avai

As Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones prove, good music lasts a long time; now Japanese hi-tech giant Hitachi says it can last even longer - a few hundred million years at least. The company on September 24 unveiled a method of storing digital information o

Facebook on September 27 added a feature that lets people send cupcakes, coffee, stuffed animals or other gifts to friends at the social network. Facebook said it was rolling Gifts out gradually, starting in the United States.

Online video fans in the United States prefer big screen televisions to computers when it comes to viewing, according to a report released on September 25 by NPD Group. The spread of Internet-connected televisions, gaming consoles with online entertainmen

Global sales of so-called smart connected devices - computers, smartphones and tablets - rose sharply in the past quarter, driven by smartphones and tablets, a survey showed on September 26. The IDC report said shipment reached 267.3 million units in the

A groundbreaking camera that decides itself when to take a shot will go on sale in Britain in November, in the first consumer application of technology developed by the British maker OMG Plc. The device, called the Autographer, uses five in-built sensors

Real Madrid and France striker Karim Benzema, who has struggled to hit the net in the opening weeks of the 2012-13 season, says he is starting to hit top form again. "I have felt very good in the last few matches. I notice that I am making progress and th

Argentine Juan Monaco battled for more than three hours to defeat Frenchman Julien Benneteau 7-5 4-6 6-3 in the Malaysian Open final on Sunday for his fourth ATP title of the year. Monaco, ranked 11th in the world, kept alive his hopes of qualifying for N

Substitute David Villa scored a superb last-gasp winner and Cesc Fabregas netted twice as leaders Barcelona came from two goals down to stun 10-man Sevilla 3-2 and extend their perfect La Liga record on Saturday.

Winger Cory James scored three of New Zealand's seven tries as the All Blacks put in a world champion performance to beat Argentina 54-15 and lift the inaugural Rugby Championship title on Saturday. The other New Zealand winger, Julian Savea, also scored

Shane Watson continued his impressive form with both bat and ball as Australia cruised to a comprehensive eight-wicket victory against South Africa in their Super Eight match in the World Twenty20 on Sunday. Watson picked up two wickets for 29 with the ba

Though Tiger Woods lost for a third time this week, the United States tightened their grip on the 39th Ryder Cup by taking a commanding 10-6 lead over holders Europe at Medinah Country Club on Saturday. After red-hot duo Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley

Andy Murray has promised to end the year on a high after a career-best season in which he captured Olympic gold and ended Britain's 76-year wait for a men's grand slam champion. The 25-year-old begins his defence of the Japan Open title this week in Tokyo

A British man was arrested in Colombo Sunday on a charge of stealing 100 tickets for the World Twenty20 match between hosts Sri Lanka and defending champions England, police said. The 54-year-old man identified as Caesar Antonio Buller from Manchester was

Honda's Dani Pedrosa cruised to victory at the Aragon Grand Prix ahead of championship leader Jorge Lorenzo of Yamaha on Sunday to trim the gap to his Spanish compatriot to 33 points with four races left. Lorenzo started on pole and led from Pedrosa in th

Richard Gasquet snapped a title drought stretching back two-and-a-half years as he beat close friend Gilles Simon 6-2, 6-1 in an all-French final on Sunday at the Thailand Open. The 67-minute victory came partly because Simon fell victim to a knee problem

The El Nino weather phenomenon could return within days but will be relatively weak compared with past episodes, the UN's weather agency said on September 25. The surface of the Pacific warmed in July and August, providing part of the mix necessary for El

The World Health Organisation issued a global alert on September 24 for a new SARS-like respiratory virus which left a man from Qatar critically ill in a London hospital and killed at least one more in Saudi Arabia.

In a new lead on Alzheimer's research, Johnson & Johnson is bankrolling a three-year pilot study of people with Down syndrome to identify the early changes that herald dementia, which afflicts up to 75 percent of adults with the condition.

A haemorrhagic fever that killed two people in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2009 and left a third person seriously ill was caused by a novel virus, researchers said. The newly-found microbe is likely to exist naturally among insects or animals but

The World Health Organisation saidon September 27 that governments in the Mekong region must act "urgently" to stop the spread of drug-resistant malaria which has emerged in parts of Vietnam and Myanmar.

A new study found marked molecular similarities between breast and ovarian cancer which scientists said could help lead to new treatments for hard-to-treat forms of breast cancer.

More than 100 million people will die and global economic growth will be cut by 3.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030 if the world fails to tackle climate change, a report commissioned by 20 governments said on September 26.

British banks must combine extra lending to help restore growth with efforts to strengthen their balance sheets to defend against threats from the euro zone, a senior UK financial regulator said on Sunday. "The challenge of helping banks' resilience and b

All seven stock markets in the energy-rich Gulf states failed to recover four years after the global financial crisis despite high oil prices, a Kuwaiti economic report said on Sunday.

Two of Japan's biggest steelmakers will formally merge on Monday, creating the world's second largest firm in the sector as they look to outpace their Chinese and South Korean rivals. Nippon Steel, the nation's number one steel company and third-ranked ri

French households and businesses can expect lower taxes in two years' time, but tough choices to fix an indebted welfare system are still needed, Budget Minister Jerome Cahuzac said on Sunday. The Socialist government unveiled a tough 2013 budget on Frida

After four years fighting the markets and a mushrooming economic crisis, Spain appears finally poised to cave in and apply for a sovereign bailout. The economic descent has accelerated in the past few days: rising anti-austerity protests; snap elections o

Talks between BP and the US government over a settlement for the 2010 oil spill have stalled because the US is insisting that the British oil giant pay at least $18 billion, British newspaper the Sunday Times reported. A settlement deal may not happen unt

Etihad Airways, the Abu Dhabi-based carrier which has been on a recent acquisition spree, is eyeing further investments if the right opportunity arises, its chief executive said on Sunday, adding 2012 revenue could top $5 billion for the first time.

General Motors is urging US authorities to reject a lawsuit by Dutch carmaker Spyker, which is seeking $3 billion in damages claiming the US automaker deliberately caused Saab to go bankrupt. The lawsuit, filed in early August, charges GM criminally inter

Oil payments from Baghdad to Iraq's Kurdish region will be transferred today, Kurdish Energy Minister Ashti Hawrami said on Sunday, offering hope that a long-running conflict between the central government and autonomous region is easing.

Swiss exporters need the central bank to defend the cap it imposed on the strong Swiss franc a year ago, even if they have become more efficient, Economy Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann was quoted as saying.

German public sector lender HSH Nordbank rejected a magazine report on Sunday that said the bank saw a rising likelihood that it would need to draw on a 7 billion euro ($9 billion) state guarantee facility. The bank, which specialises in the troubled ship

Iran's economy is edging towards collapse due to international sanctions over its controversial nuclear programme, Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Sunday.

German bond yields look set to leave their historic lows and start rising again, the head of Germany's debt agency told Reuters on Tuesday, also confirming that it would issue 52 billion euros in debt in the fourth quarter.

German bond yields look set to leave their historic lows and start rising again, the head of Germany's debt agency told Reuters on Tuesday, also confirming that it would issue 52 billion euros in debt in the fourth quarter.

Indian shares are expected to extend their rally and gain almost 5 percent by year-end, spurred by optimism that fiscal and economic reforms show the government is determined to mend the economy and regain the confidence of foreign investors.

Banco Santander SA's sale of shares in its Mexican unit on Tuesday is oversubscribed, sources close to the deal say, even as investors grumble about the stock's valuations. But analysts praise the bank's profitability and Mexico's outlook.

Bankers are pitching multibillion pound financing packages to back the potential sale or flotation of 107-year-old motoring services firm the AA and over-50's insurance and travel company Saga, banking sources said on Tuesday.

Japanese shares will likely be under pressure next week as investors look ahead to the release of Japan's Tankan economic sentiment survey and key China data, dealers said Friday. In the week to September 28, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo St

Wall Street will open October with a busy week, highlighted by low expectations for global manufacturing data and the US jobs report, but that could set the stage for positive surprises that help lift the market.

India's Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services plans to list its wind power business through an roughly S$400m-$500m (US $325m-$406m) business trust IPO in Singapore. The IPO is likely in early 2013 and the company has mandated Deutsche Bank, J. P

India's Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services plans to list its wind power business through an roughly S$400m-$500m (US $325m-$406m) business trust IPO in Singapore. The IPO is likely in early 2013 and the company has mandated Deutsche Bank, J. P

Morgan Stanley has ceased to be a bookrunner on Iraqi telecommunications firm Asiacell's initial public offer of shares, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, signalling the IPO will increasingly rely on local investors.

Promsvyazbank (PSB), one of Russia's largest privately owned lenders, said it will proceed with its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO), aiming to strengthen its capital and better position itself to compete with state-owned banks.

Inter bank buy/sell rates for the taka against the dollar on Sunday. 81.55-81.67 (previous 81.55-81.68).