International

Erra finishes Rs365 billion rehab project See on Page 8

SAfrica beat India by 3 wickets See on Page 8

'No-fly Zone' tops Arab League talks See on Page 8

Crude Oil (brent)$/bbl 113.84

Crude Oil (WTI)$/bbl 101.16

Cotton $/lb 204.94

Gold $/ozs 1,421.80

Silver $/ozs 35.94

Malaysian Palm $ 1,146

GOLD (NCEL) PKR 38,877

KHI Cotton 40Kg PKR 13,611

Yearly(Jul, 2010 up to 10-Mar-2011)

Monthly(Mar, 2011 up to 10-Mar-2011)

Daily (10-Mar-2011)

Total Portfolio Invest (5-Mar-2011)

195.76

-0.19

-4.02

2851

-0.34

-0.79

1.86

-1.46

0.17

0.30

0.25

SCRA(U.S $ in million)

Portfolio Investment

FIPI (11-Mar-2011)

Local Companies (11-Mar-2011)

Banks / DFI (11-Mar-2011)

Mutual Funds (11-Mar-2011)

NBFC (11-Mar-2011)

Local Investors (11-Mar-2011)

Other Organization (11-Mar-2011)

(U.S $ in million)

NCCPL

GDR update

Commodities

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Inflation CPI% (Jul 10-Feb 11)

Exports (Jul 10-Feb 11)

Imports (Jul 10-Feb 11)

Trade Balance (Jul 10-Feb 11)

Current A/C (Jul 10- Jan 11)

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Foreign Invest (Jul 10-Jan 11)

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Foreign Debt (Dec 10)

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GDP Growth FY10EPer Capita Income FY10Population

$17.37bn

14.33%

$15.33bn

$25.60bn

$(10.27)bn

$(81)mn

$6.96bn

$1.18bn

Rs 765bn

$58.39bn

Rs 5497.4bn

$338.2mn

2.20%

4.10%

$1,051

175.42mn

Economic Indicators

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$.Price

2.60

15.50

2.00

1.70

11.53

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110.85

132.17

42.64

36.24

39.31

T-Bills (3 Mths)

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09-Mar-2011

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12-Mar-2011

12-Mar-2011

12-Mar-2011

12-Mar-2011

12-Mar-2011

12-Mar-2011

13.39%

13.69%

13.86%

14.00%

13.39%

13.54%

13.75%

14.12%

14.26%

14.05%

14.10%

14.08%

14.50%

14.75%

14.93%

Money Market Update

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Awan says no room

for turncoats in PPPSee Page # 8

Karachi, Sunday, March 13, 2011, Rabi-us-Sani 7, Price Rs12 Pages 8

TOKYO: A Japanese nuclearpower plant exploded Saturday,television footage showed, aday after a massive earthquakedamaged the facility's coolingsystem, as nearby residentswere warned to stay indoors.

Nuclear authorities had earli-er warned that the FukushimaNo 1 plant, located about 250kilometers (160 miles) north-east of Tokyo, an urban area of30 million people, "may beexperiencing a nuclear melt-

down".The plant's cooling system

was damaged in the quake thathit Friday, leaving the govern-ment scrambling to fix theproblem and evacuate morethan 45,000 residents within a10-kilometre (six-mile) radius.

Public broadcaster NHKSaturday reported that a blasthad been heard at about 3:30pm (0630 GMT) and showeddelayed footage of smoke bil-lowing from the site, also

reporting that the reactor build-ing had been destroyed.

TV channels warned nearbyresidents to stay in-doors, turn offair-conditioners and not to drinktap water. People going outsidewere also told to avoid exposingtheir skin and to cover their faceswith masks and wet towels.

The developments raisedfears of a disastrous meltdownat the plant, which was dam-aged by Friday's 8.9-magnitudeearthquake, the strongest ever

recorded in Japan."We are looking into the

cause and the situation andwe'll make that public when wehave further information,"Chief Cabinet Secretary YukioEdano said.

"An unchecked rise in tem-perature could cause the core toessentially turn into a moltenmass that could burn throughthe reactor vessel," risk infor-mation service Stratfor said in areport before the explosion.

"This may lead to a release ofan unchecked amount of radia-tion into the containment build-ing that surrounds the reactor."

Earlier the operator releasedwhat it said was a tiny amount ofradioactive steam to reduce thepressure and the danger wasminimal because tens of thou-sands of people had already beenevacuated from the vicinity.

The unfolding natural disas-ter, which has been followed bydozens of aftershocks, prompt-

ed offers of search and rescuehelp from 50 countries.

The central bank said it wouldcut short a two-day policyreview scheduled for next weekto one day on Monday andpromised to do its utmost toensure financial market stability.

In one of the worst-hit resi-dential areas, people buriedunder rubble could be heardcalling out for rescue, Kyodonews agency reported.

See # 12 Page 7

Radiation leak feared at Japan nuclear plant

Special Correspondent/Agencies

KARACHI: Prime MinisterYousuf Raza Gilani said onSaturday that Pak-US relationscannot be held hostage becauseof the Raymond Davis case.

Speaking to the media, afterexamining the "Peace 2011"Pak Naval exercises, Gilanisaid that the US had promisedto provide the coalition supportfund and will not allow Davis'scase affect Pak-US relations.

"Pakistan is paying a heavyprice in the war against terror-ism but still wants to maintaingood relations with the UnitedStates," said Gilani.

Answering to a questionGilani said that the constitu-tional role of all institutionswas fixed and there will be noconflict between the institu-

tions because they will beadjusted in due time.

Speaking about the Pak navalexercises he said that largenumber of countries had attend-ed the naval exercises andexpressed confidence in its per-formance.

Answering to another ques-tion Gilani said that he alsobelongs to Karachi but hadappointed Interior MinisterRehman Malik for affairs relat-ing to the city.

Chief of Army Staff (COAS),General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani,Chief of Naval Staff, AdmiralNoman Bashir, Air Chief RaoQamar Suleman, ChairmanJoint Chiefs of StaffCommittee, General KhalidMehmood Wyne, Sindh ChiefMinister Syed Qaim Ali Shahand foreign dignitaries includ-ing diplomats were also pres-

ent.rime Minister congratulated

Pakistan Navy for conductingthe multinational naval exercis-es successfully and said that theNavy was capable enough todefend the sea frontiers of thecountry

He said Pakistan Navy wascommitted to peace in theentire region.

"By virtue of seas vastnessinteractive transport crimes arealso growing through non-stateactors which must be denied tothem," he said while referringto cases of sea piracy.

Gilani said that the sea faringnations need to collaborate andassist in protection of interestsof one another and added thatPakistan was already payinghigh price for war on terror andit was a peace loving nation.

See # 1 Page 7

No clash amongstate organs: PM

Pakistan Navy multi-national war games concludes

US promises to provide Coalition Support Fund soon

BAHAWALPUR: The DeputyGovernor, State Bank ofPakistan, Yaseen Anwar hasdisclosed that the central bankwill soon launch a 10 millionUK pound Financial InnovationChallenge Fund to spur innova-tions in the financial servicesproducts and delivery channelsin the country.

Speaking at the inaugural cer-emony of NRSP MicrofinanceBank Limited (NRSP MFB)here Saturday, he said SBP hasalso launched ImprovingAccess to Financial ServicesFund (IAFSF), for improving

financial literacy amongstexisting and potential microfi-nance clientele which willenhance their capability toaccess and make productive useof financial resources.

"A nationwide FinancialLiteracy Program will belaunched shortly in various dis-tricts on a pilot basis," headded.

Yaseen Anwar said the StateBank of Pakistan will continueto encourage mainstreaming ofmicrofinance into formal bank-ing system to achieve financialinclusion in a sustainable man-

ner."SBP believes that in the long

run institutional development isthe most critical factor for sus-tainable growth of microfi-nance in the country," he added.

SBP Deputy Governor saidthat the setting up of NRSPMFB was a result of successfultransformation of NationalRural Support Program(NRSP) into microfinancebank. "At SBP, we look for-ward to the success and posi-tive outcomes of this transfor-mation," he said.

See # 2 Page 7

Financial InnovationFund soon, says SBP

Fund to be launched with 10 million pounds

ISLAMABAD: TheAmbassador of Turkmenistan inPakistan Sapar Berdiniyazovstated that Turkmenistan,Afghanistan, Pakistan and India(TAPI) gas pipeline project willplay vital role in economicdevelopment of the region.

He expressed these viewswhile addressing a ceremonyheld in Preston University,Islamabad here the other day.

The AmbassadorBerdiniyazov highlighted thatPakistan and Turkmenistanenjoys excellent social, culturaland bilateral economic rela-tions.

Highlighting the importance

Turkmenistan gives to its rela-tion to Pakistan, he said thatPakistan was the first countryof the world to recognize inde-pendent Turkmenistan in1991.Pakistan, he said, wasalso the first country to haveestablished diplomatic relationswith Turkmenistan.

Ambassador Berdiniyazovsaid that relations between thetwo brotherly countries havegrown enormously during thepast 20 years and sincereefforts are being made to fur-ther bolster the existing cordialand mutually beneficial rela-tions in the years to come.

Ambassador Berdiniyazov

further said that theTurkmenistan, Afghanistan,Pakistan and India (TAPI) gaspipeline project when complet-ed, would prove to be of greatimportance and would playgreat role in economic develop-ment of both countries.

He said the project consists of1400 kilometer pipe line, halfof which would run throughAfghanistan, is estimated todistribute between 25-30 bil-lion cubic meters gas per year.

He said both countries notonly share economic ties butalso shares social, political andcultural relations.

See # 3 Page 7

TAPI to bring regionalstates closer: Tajikistan

ISLAMABAD: ElectionCommission of PakistanSaturday issued details ofdeclared assets of members ofUpper House of the Parliament.Senators Azam Swati, AmmarAhmad Khan, Babar Ghauri,Ishaq Dar, Wasim Sajjad andAbdul Nabi Bangash are amongthe wealthier members.

According to the details,Azam Khan Swati of JUI-Fstood at number first with $6.21million assets in USA, Rs82.5million property in Abbottabad,nine under construction housesworth Rs150 million at BahriaTown, eight plots worth Rs12million at Top City and inherit-ed property worth Rs56 million.

He also owns four vehicles,furniture worth $395,000 andjewelry worth $275,000.

Senator Ammar Ahmad Khanhas an asset worth Rs1.152 bil-lion including an investment ofRs1.107 billion and shares in

different houses in Lahore.MQM Senator Babar Ghauri

owns Rs61 million, Rs37.5 mil-lion and Rs32.5 million threehouses in Karachi. He alsomaintains two vehicles worthRs four million.

PML-N Senator Ishaq Darowns Rs45 million house inLahore, Rs.15 million, 45 kanalland in Islamabad, a bankaccount worth Dirham 10.1 mil-lion in UAE, an other bankaccount of Rs3.4 million, a carworth Rs11.1 million, 25 TolaGold and cash amount ofDirham 152,000 and Rs7.7 mil-lion. He also owns plots in dif-ferent housing-societies worthover Rs4.9 million.

Leader of the Opposition inSenate and PML-Q leaderWasim Sajjad has a share of Rs.23.5 million in three houses inLahore and owns a plot worthRs five million in Jhika Gali,

See # 4 Page 7

Assets say Swatirichest legislatorElection Commission issues details

Staff Reporter / Agencies

KARACHI: The death toll infresh violence incidents ofKarachi has mounted to 14 asunrest has gripped the metro-politan since last night, mediareported.

The violence erupted in vari-ous parts the city after an MQMworker was killed in Kharadararea.

According to police officials,motorcyclists shot one personnear a police kiosk in Kharadar.

The infuriated political work-ers afterwards resorted to aerialfiring and set ablaze the officeof People's Aman Committee(PAC) which is backed by rul-ing Pakistan Peoples Party.

Numerous cars and two buseswere also set ablaze byunknown miscreants after theincident. Armed men alsoforced shopkeepers and tradersof the area to pull shutter andclose all kind of business.

Unknown gunmen Saturdaymorning opened fire at twomotorbike riders killing both of

them on the spot. The slainyouth are yet to be identified.The dead bodies were shifted tocivil hospital after police com-pleted its formalities.

A security guard of a privatecompany was killed via his owngun at Ghani Chowrangi in Sitearea. The guard Shamsul Haqwas dead when his gun acci-dently went off during its clean-ing.

In further shootout incidents,two people in Garden Shoemarket, one in Azizabad, two inKorangi and one in SindhIndustrial Trading Estate(SITE) area of Karachi werekilled.

Two people, a 12-year childamong them, were reportedkilled in Gulistan-e-Jauhar.

In Orangi Town, a Pesh Imam(prayer leader) was shot downby unknown assailants.

The firing incidents triggeredmassive traffic jam in Sadar,Bolton Market, Shara-e-Faisal,Liaquat Abad and other areaswhere people were witnessed

See # 5 Page 7

Karachi violencedeath toll hits 14NICL Scam

Amin Dada’swarrantissued

KARACHI: An Anti-corrup-tion court in Karachi has issuednon-bailable arrest warrant forAmin Qasim Dada in NationalInsurance Corporation (NICL)corruption scam.

The court has directed theFederal Investigation Agency(FIA) to present the formerboard director of the NICL onMarch 25.

Qasim Dada, who is now acourt absconder, is one of thesix main accused in the Rs2.7billion NICL corruption scam.

He is said to be in hiding inBritain and had previouslyoffered to surrender before theFIA.

The court has also issuedorders to present former NICLchairman Ayaz Khan Niazi whowas arrested earlier in the cor-ruption scam. -Agencies

DG ISItenure to

be extended,says MuktharISLAMABAD: DefenseMinister Ahmed MukhtarSaturday said that extensionin tenure is being given toDirector General Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI)Shuja Pasha but stopped shortof mentioning the period ofextension, media reported.

However, he said the exten-sion being given is in accor-dance with the requirement.

Talking to media, defenseminister said that Judiciaryand Army had never consult-ed with each other for the res-olution of the problems,adding that Shahbaz Sharif'smight gave this advice inhurry.

On the occasion, QamarZaman Kaira said that hisparty respected the judiciary.

He said that governmentremained in contact with judi-ciary and army, adding thatthere is no other forum wherepolitical parties could consultwith them. -Agencies

KARACHI: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani along with the Army Chief GeneralAshfaq Parvez Kayani, Naval Staff Admiral Noman Bashir and Air Chief Marshal Rao

Qamar Suleman watching the maneuvers of Pakistan Navy on board PNS NASR at the con-cluding ceremony of naval exercises.-APP

Death toll passes 1400 mark; Japan stocks plunge 1.72pc on worries

2 Sunday, March 13, 2011

TV PROGRAMMES

SUNDAY

Time Programmes7:00 News

8:00 News

9:05 I Samaa (Rpt)

9:30 Taxi News (Rpt)

10:10 The Reema Show (Rpt)

11:10 Awam Ki Awaz (Rpt)

12:00 News

13:10 Faisla Aap Ka (Rpt)

14:10 Tafteesh (Rpt)

15:00 News

16:00 News

17:00 News

18:00 News

19:30 i Samaa

20:05 The Reema Show

21:00 News

22:03 Faisla Aap Ka

23:05 Crime Week

KARACHI: The 7thInternational Food,Equipment & TechnologyExhibition & Conference2011 opend up at theLahore Expo Centerorganized by CEMSPakistan Pvt. Limited.Rana Mashhood AhmedKhan, Deputy Speaker,Punjab Assembly inaugu-rated the three-day exhibi-tion attended by 220 for-eign firms from 17 coun-tries, including 8 fromneighbouring India.

He said Pakistan hasembarked on wide-rang-ing initiatives for the

growth in food and pack-aging sector. Whileexpressing good luck to allforeign exhibitors/dele-gates, he expressed confi-dence that food technolo-gy sector would keep itsdominance role inPakistan economy.

At the occasion CEO ofCEMS Pakistan Pvt.Limited Saleem KhanTanoli, the Exhibitionwould invite the directionof International StandardsSetter how to expand theirindustries so that the par-ticipants would introducetheir products.-NNI

Int'l Plastic &Food Technology

fair opens

KARACHI: As most ofthe textile industriesdepend on contract work-ers for their operations inSouth Asia includingPakistan, the social com-pliance requirements forthe foreign buyers hasbecome a little difficult forthe manufacturers, this wasstated by the NationalProjects Director, UNDP,Maham Nasira.

Addressing the partici-pants of the seminar organ-ized by PakistanReadymade GarmentsTechnical TrainingInstitute (PRGTTI) onSocial Compliance for theForeign Buyers held atPRGTTI, she said thatmajority of the textile unitslike sewing, finishing andpacking are employingcontract workers and facto-

ries owners pay to the con-tractors instead of workersdirectly.

She said that with theimplementation of socialcompliance, the exporterscould get at par with theirarch rivals in the industryincluding China, India,Turkey, Thailand, Taiwan,South Korea and Malaysia.

She said that sincearound more than 80 percent of the workers in atextile factory are hired oncontract basis being sup-plied and managed by thecontractors, managingrecords, payroll and tim-ings of the contract laborare the biggest tasks for thefactories to meet socialcompliance requirementsof international buyers.

She said that the PRGT-TI-CDC has organized two

sessions of seminar onSocial Compliance in orderto discuss and identifyissues of contract labor inachieving social compli-ance requirements andaddress the related issues.The session was a hugesuccess accompanied byoverwhelming responsefrom the industry.

HR managers/executives,factory representatives,compliance managers andDGM HR of leading exportorganizations attended thesession with their teamsincluding Liberty MillsLtd, The Towellers, YunusTextile Mills, ShahbazGroup, Rajby Industries,JNM Clothing, PrimeSafety, Mustaqim Dyeing& Printing, Midas safetyand International TextilesLtd. -Online

Seminar told

‘Social compliancecan boost Pakistan’s

textile exports’I S L A M A B A D :Unfortunately taxation hasnot been given properattention in Pakistan so itbecame an ineffective toolto form and influencesocio-economic policies.

There should be a freeand fair taxation policy inorder to raise revenues,broadening and simplifyingthe tax base is the need ofthe day and the governmentneeds to work on it,Mahfooz Elahi, Presidentof Islamabad Chamber ofCommerce and Industry(ICCI) said while address-ing the business communityat ICCI.

He said that many peopleavoid filing tax returnsbecause of their fear ofharassment by tax depart-

ment which were the mainreasons for insufficient taxcollection. Taxpayers yetfelt insecure because ofcomplications in the currenttaxation policy and lack oftrust in the present tax sys-tem, he added.

ICCI President was ofthe view that the govern-ment should bring taxevaders into the tax netinstead of milking the samecows.

He said that tax collec-tors should collect taxesand there should be noharassment. He anticipatedthat the country has apotential of increasing taxto GDP ratio by 3.5 per centfor next five years throughmaking the system, publicfriendly and equitable.

Widening tax net will allowreduction in tax rates, with-out reducing revenue, hesaid.

Elahi said that theencouragement of tax cul-ture can only take placethrough removal of corrup-tion from the tax depart-ments, which will encour-age and mobilize new tax-payers who are hesitant tocontribute and continue toremain outside the tax net.

ICCI president said thatonce people see the tangi-ble benefits of the taxespaid, there will be a betterresponse to tax compliance.Hence it is imperative forthe government to revampthe perceptions of public byproving that their money isspent on them. -Online

ICCI for of equitable,fair taxation policy

KARACHI: President ,Federation of PakistanChambers of Commerceand Industry SenatorGhulam Ali has said thatPakistan is an agriculturalcountry and agriculturesector cannot be ignored innational development.

He added that the pro-duction rate per hector ishigher in India, China andother country thanPakistan which needsresearch work in agricul-ture field. He also addedthat country is facing ener-gy crises and Ministry ofScience and Technology(MoST) must carry outresearch to introduce alter-nate sources of energy toovercome the energycrises in Pakistan.

FPCCI and its memberswill invest heavily in theprojects of MoST for theprosperity of the country.

He added that research ofMoST will help us toincrease exports and agri-culture production as wellas national GDP. He wastalking so Secretary MoSTIrfan Nadeem who calledon him at FederationHouse here on Saturday.

Haji Ghulam Ali saidthat Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MOU)was signed between MoSTand FPCCI to introduceresearch of MoST and itsinstitutions for investmentby the local investors,industrialists and businesscommunity.

He expressed the hopethat cooperation betweenboth institutions will bringprosperity in the countryand development goals willbe achieved. He urged thesecretary MoST to intro-duce cheap alternate energyresearch to overcome the

energy crises in Pakistan.He added that FPCCI willplay its role for the aware-ness of industrialists, busi-ness community and publicat large to introduce theresearch of MoST.

On this occasion,Secretary Science andtechnology told him that apresentation will be madeon March 19, 2011 byMoST and its researchinstitutions at FPCCI HeadOffice. He urged the apextrade body to ensureinvestment in the projectsintroduced by MoST toovercome the energycrises in Pakistan.President FPCCI assuredhis full cooperation to him.

Earlier President SindhBank Bilal Sheikh metwith the President FPCCISenator Haji Ghulam Aliand presented a detailedbriefing to him. -NNI

Agri sector plays vital rolein national development

Staff Reporter

KARACHI: TheSecretary, StatisticsDivision, Government ofPakistan, Asif Bajwa hassaid that a new statisticallaw has been proposed torestructure the entirenational statistical system(NSS) of Pakistan.

Inaugurating a one-dayseminar on "Contributionsand Achievements ofOfficial Statistics" at SBPLearning Resource Centrein Karachi on Saturday, hesaid that with the adoptionof this law by theParliament, PakistanBureau of Statistics will beestablished with the merg-er of Federal Bureau ofStatistics (FBS),Population CensusOrganization (PCO) andAgriculture CensusOrganization (ACO).

He said that a NationalStatistics DevelopmentStrategy (NSDS) is beingdeveloped to provide astrategy for strengtheningstatistical capacity acrossthe entire national statisti-cal system (NSS).Quarterly National

Accounts (QNA) which isan international obligation,is in its final stage and the1st QNA will be releasedprobably in the first quar-ter of the new financialyear, he added.

He disclosed that a newStatistics Research andTraining Institute (SRTI)will be established inLahore to train the offi-cials of statistical organi-zations. Bajwa said thatCensus 2011 has been ini-tiated and house listingwill be carried out in April2011 and enumeration willstart from September thisyear. He expressed thehope that Pakistan willqualify for IMF SpecialData DisseminationStandards (SDDS) duringthe current calendar year.

Bajwa also expressed thehope that the seminar willincrease awareness of theimportance of good statis-tics and will lead towardsenhanced cooperation andbuilding trust on the statis-tics generated by the statis-tical organizations.

Earlier, in his welcomeaddress, Riaz Riazuddin,Chief Economic Advisor,

State Bank of Pakistansaid that sound policydecisions always dependon up-to-date, efficientand timely statistics. He,however, emphasized thatthe quality of statistics canonly be improved throughcollaboration among thedata producing agenciesand other stakeholders.'The state of a country'sdevelopment can bejudged from the type andquality of statistics it pro-duces,' he added.

He said that the officialstatistics play a significantrole in understanding thecurrent economic condi-tion of an economy and isvital for formulation ofpolicies for the develop-ment of the country. Hesaid the Governor, StateBank of Pakistan hasalways taken keen interestin the development of sta-tistical system in Pakistan."I strongly believe SBPGovernor's continuoussupport for the statisticalactivities undertaken bythe State Bank of Pakistanwill go a long way in theproduction and availabilityof quality statistics in

Pakistan,' he added. Riazuddin hoped that

the interactive andknowledge sharing ses-sions at this seminar willdefinitely enhance theusers' confidence in theofficial statistics and willprovide opportunities forexploring new avenues ofresearch. 'The motivebehind organizing thisone day seminar on"Contributions andAchievements of OfficialStatistics" is to createawareness about the sta-tistical system of thecountry and significanceof the official statistics inanalyzing the prevailingeconomic conditions,' headded.

He expressed his confi-dence that this seminar willenhance coordination andinteraction among usersand producers of statisticsand will lead to improve-ments in the quality ofdata. He however, empha-sized that users' sugges-tions and feedback willhelp the organizations tomake their statistics moreuser-friendly and accordingto the needs of the market.

Importance of statistics highlighted

New law to revamp entirenational statistical system

Actionagainst fakeanesthetistsin the offing

Staff Reporter

KARACHI: Sindh HealthDepartment will take sternaction against unqualifiedprofessionals jeopardizingprecious human lives byadministering anesthesia tothe unassuming patients,undergoing interventionalprocedures.

This was assured by theSindh Secretary for HealthSyed Hashim Raza Zaidi toanesthetists during the twoday 31st Annual Conferenceof Pakistan Society ofAnesthesiology, inauguratedon Saturday.

He said government wascognizant of non availabilityof adequately trained andqualified anesthetists as wellas anesthesiologists in mostof the rural healthcare facili-ties. It is not only there but incertain cases in low incomeareas of urban centers, attimes, even dispensers aredischarging responsibilitiesthat require proper expertiseand extreme care.

"Survival and quality lifeof the patients are at seriousstake as any inadequacycould not only be life threat-ening but can also causeirreversible damage to thebrain," said Syed HashimRaza Zaidi.

"The department, howev-er, needed urgent support ofthe PSA to ensure that quali-fied anesthesiologists andanesthetists fill a bond toserve for a certain part oftime at the hospitals in theareas they belong to," hepleaded.

The health secretaryresponding to the complaintsmade by PSA office bearersabout vacant post of anes-thesiologists even in theurban centers said the trendto seek permission for postgraduate level training, thusget transferred to urban cen-ters, and ultimately leave forabroad in search of greenerpastures also needed to beaddressed on efficient lines.

"No one can deny any doc-tor the right to acquire high-er education and post-gradu-ate level training, however,they too need to realise theirresponsibility towards theircountry men," he said.

SIUT students'Spring

Festival today

KARACHI: StudentVolunteers of SindhInstitute of Urology andTransplantation (SIUT), aspart of annual volunteermobilisation event, willhold a 'Spring festival'today (Sunday).

Organizers on Saturdaysaid students serving asvolunteers at SIUT willhost the "spring festival,"during which special pub-lic awareness will bearranged about preventionof diseases and role ofSIUT.

These would be compli-mented by stalls of differ-ent items, games, food andmusic.-APP

Seminar oneconomic

developmenttomorrow

Staff Correspondent

ISLAMABAD: PakistanManpower Institute (PMI)is organizing a two-dayseminar on "SocioEconomic Developmentand Labour Migration" onMarch 14 at PakistanManpower Institute here.

The objective of theSeminar is to provide aforum to the participant todiscuss the issues andmeasures relating to migra-tion from different angles.

The role of non-govern-ment organizations andoverseas employment pro-moters to improve migra-tion will be highlighted,said a press release issuehere on Saturday.

The existing situation inPakistan will be reviewedwith focus on areas likeemployment, economicgrowth, structural changes,labour market, returnmigrants, remittances,HRD and making a criticalevaluation of existing gov-ernment policies pertainingto migration.

Policy measures wouldalso be recommended tofacilitate and improve thepublic and private sector'srole in overseas migration,it said. About 45 officersfrom public and privatesector organizations willparticipate in the course.Eminent speakers fromacademic institutionswould deliver lectures tothe participants.

Bank Alfalah

taking care

of low

depositorsKARACHI: By giving itssavings depositors a highrate of return on a depositas low as Rs.10,000, BankAlfalah's Islamic BankingGroup with its 80 branch-es in 32 cities is helping itscustomers fight inflation.

The Group is specificallytargeting depositors whootherwise receive lowreturn because of theirsmall deposit holding.However, at Bank Alfalah'sIslamic Banking Group,small depositors in FalahMahana Amdani get a bet-ter rate of return than manyterm deposit customers inthe industry.-PR

Powershortfall

reduces to

1,002MW ISLAMABAD: The powershortfall on Saturday fur-ther reduced to 1,002 MWfrom 1,380 as the powergeneration was recorded10,985MW against totaldemand of 11,987MW dur-ing the last 24 hours.

According to daily powergeneration report, thehydel generation stood at4,024MW, WAPDA ther-mal 1,866MW, IPPs5,033MW and Rentals62MW.

As many as 680 MW wassupplied to KarachiElectric Supply Company(KESC), the report furthersaid.

Water level at Tarbelaand Mangla dams wasrecorded as 1413.09 feetand 1095.95 feet withwater outflow of 37,000cusecs and 35,000 cusecsrespectively.-APP

LAHORE: Wife of Governor Punjab taking keen interest in the dressesdisplayed during an exhibition organized by Women Chamber of Commerce

at Royal Palm Country Club. -Online

RAWALPINDI: President Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce & Industry SyedAli Raza receiving Chairman Pakistan Bait-ul-Maal Zamurd Khan upon arrival

at RCCL. - Online

RAWALPINDI: Ladies taking keen interst in the dresses displayed during anexhibition organized by Association of Business Professional and Agriculture

Women. -Online

LAHORE: Federal Minister for Information & Broadcasting Dr. Firdous AshiqAwan in an informal interaction with senior columnists. -Online

ASUS Notebooks – U36JC LaptopASUS has been trying to differentiate itself for a long

time in the laptop market and to this end they’ve createdthe ASUS U36JC. It’s a 13.3 inch machine that’s only .76inches thick at its widest point. And how much would youexpect something so thin to weigh? How about just under4 pounds? So what do you get inside this little chassis?

The U36JC comes equipped with a Core i5-460Mprocessor and 4 GB of RAM. In addition, it’s packagedwith a NVIDIA’s GeForce 310M graphics card and a 500GB hard drive.

Latest keyboardfor Facebook

GeeksFacebook has become the largest social network

giant of the world. With every passing day, Facebookusers are increasing at an exponential rate. With thisincreasing pace, there needs to be ways that makesaccess to Facebook easier. Such resources (either soft-wares, apps or hardware) are always welcomed by themillions of users.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Latest Gadgets Veho Mimi

all-in-one wire-less input deviceWireless input devices have been present for a

while, but we never got a chance to experiencethe combination of all input devices into one,until now. Today we have hybrid controller thatcomes from Veho and this controller combineseverything that you need. This controller is acombination of keyboard, mouse, and a joystickso it’s perfect for almost all your needs.

Fiskar's '88'headphoneamplifier

There are headphone amplifiers, and thenthere's Fiskar's 88. Designer Edouard Urcadeztook the liberty of utilizing the Fiskar brandon this here concoction, which features anunorthodox form factor, larger-than-life vol-ume / tone knobs, an array of rear outputs anda Made in Finland badge. There's no theoreti-cal specifications to simmer on, but the inclu-sion of speaker outputs leads us to believe thatwe're looking at a dual-stage amp or one withfar more power than most headphone pushers.

Check outthis KonectUSB watch!Konect USB appears to be designed

for our post watch era. Seriously, Ihaven’t used a watch since I got mycellular phone, and I’m guessing thatI am not alone. The Konect comeswith a slot for a USB drive, and itdoes more than just keep it safe. Theuser will be able to access any tunesthat are on the USB.

Diesel-battery gener-ators could cut troopfuel use at least byhalf

The U.S. Armed Forcesare heavily burdenedby the financial and

tactical costs of transportingfuel to the battlefield. ThisJuly, in an effort to address theproblem, the United StatesMarine Corps will deploy apair of diesel generators cou-pled with powerful batteries tofrontline troops in Afghanistan.The hybrid power systemsshould cut by 50 to 70 percentthe amount of fuel needed tog e n e r a t eelectricity,acco rd ingto the man-u fac tu re r,Earl Energyo fPortsmouth,Virginia.

The gen-erators thatU.S. mili-tary campsc u r r e n t l yuse operateinefficiently because they needto handle sudden peaks indemand. "You may have a 10-kilowatt generator that at anytime is only producing 1.5kilowatts of power to satisfy itsload," says Doug Moorehead,president of Earl Energy. "Soyou are wasting 8.5 kilowattsof power that you aren't storingfor later use," he says.

The diesel-battery hybrid thecompany developed insteadruns generators for short burststo maximize energy utilization.Not only does this satisfy theimmediate energy require-ments of a camp, but the sys-tem also charges a bank oflithium-ion batteries. When thebatteries are fully charged, thegenerator shuts off and the sys-tem begins drawing powerfrom the batteries instead."Generators can go from run-ning 24 hours a day to three tofour hours a day—it's that goodin some cases," Mooreheadsays.

The hybrid systems to bedeployed in July will combine

an 18-kilowatt diesel genera-tor, similar to those currentlyused in the battlefield, with a40-kilowatt-hour bank of lithi-um-ion batteries. The systemwill also include a 10-kilowattphotovoltaic solar panel arraythat will further lower fuel con-sumption.

The entire system, includingphotovoltaics, sells for "over$100,000," as compared with$80,000 to $100,000 for a sim-ilarly sized conventional gen-erator, Moorehead says. Thecost to Earl Energy for just thebatteries—which have built-insafeguards against the hightemperatures and dusty fieldconditions of Afghanistan—is

$750 to $1,500 per kilowatthour of storage.

Moorehead estimates thesystem will pay for itself with-in seven to 12 months, depend-ing on the cost of fuel. Biggersavings would come fromusing the hybrid system with-out the photovoltaics, whichare expensive, and the compa-ny is now developing a stand-alone generator without theadded solar power, he says.

Maximizing the unit's energyefficiency requires repeatedlydeep cycling the batteries—discharging them to their fullcapacity before rechargingthem. Conventional lead-acidand nickel-cadmium batteriesquickly lose storage capacity ifrepeatedly deep cycled. Theadvanced lithium-ion technolo-gy in Earl Energy's batteriesallows them to last close to4,000 cycles, or 18 to 24months, according to the com-pany. Moorehead developedlithium-ion battery technologyfor battery maker A123Systems before joining Earl

Energy.The hybrid power system

also employs energy-manage-ment software that uses com-plex algorithms to maximizethe generator's efficiency.Steven Minnihan, an analyst atLux Research says this energymanagement, together with thepower electronics that allowthe system to quickly switchbetween generator and batterypower, is very important."Companies will speak quitefreely about the chemistry ofthe batteries they are using, butthey are very tight-lipped aboutthe energy-management sys-tems and power electronics,"he says. "It is becoming an

increas-i n g l yi m p o r -t a n tpiece ofintellec-t u a lp rope r -ty."

T h etechnol-ogy iscompeti-tive inthe bat-

tlefield because transportingdiesel fuel to the front lines inheavily armed convoys is veryexpensive. Moorehead, a for-mer Navy Seal, says deliverycosts for fuel transported to thefront lines in Afghanistan typi-cally range between $20 and$40 per gallon.

Reducing fuel use on thefront lines saves more thanmoney. Ray Mabus, Secretaryof the Navy, spoke of the "fullyburdened" cost of fuel at arecent DOE AdvancedResearch Projects Agency forEnergy (ARPA-E) conferencein Washington, D.C. "Forevery 24 [fuel] convoys, welose a soldier or a Marine[who] is killed or woundedguarding that convoy," Mabussaid. "That's a high price to payfor fuel."

Earl Energy hopes to beginscaling up production of itshigh-efficiency generator sys-tems. According to the compa-ny, the number of fuel convoyscould be cut in half if itsdevices are widely deployed.

Hybrid Powerfor the Frontline

For years Apple has driveninnovation in the market-place by providing top

notch designsand by payingclose attentionto the experi-ence generatedfor users oftheir products.Last weekexecutives atS a m s u n g ’ smobile division announced thatthey will revamp the design oftheir Galaxy Tab line ofAndroid Tablets to competemore directly with the AppleiPad 2.

The primary factors that willbe addressed by Samsung’sredesign efforts are the weight

of the Galaxy Tab and thedevice’s thickness. It seemsthat they are attempting to builda sleeker device that can com-pete in style, functionality,usability, and price with other

comparable devices on the mar-ket, namely the iPad 2.

Only time will tell if the engi-neers atSamsungwill beable toproduce ap r o d u c tthat cancompetein them a r k e t -

place with Apple’s hugely suc-cessful iPad line. I would bewilling to bet that it will takeseveral years before anyoneproduces a device that can cap-ture any significant mind share.

Apple iPad 2drives innovation

China's wary governmentis a world champion ininternet censorship, but

Communist Party leaders nowwant to master the trickier featof actively shaping onlineopinion.

The results so far don't matchthe zap and crackle of China'syoung, who have embracedmicroblogs as their latest toolfor spreading information andopinions that can make Partyofficials see red. But there's nomistaking the Party's determi-nation to reach China's 450million Internet users.

President Hu Jintao recentlycalled the "virtual world" hisnext battleground, and thenation's Party-run parliament,now in session, has brought talkabout how to win over or con-trol the country's microblog-gers. Hu recently called forfresh ways to "guide onlinepublic opinion," amid onlinecalls for Chinese people to emu-late the "Jasmine Revolution"sweeping the Middle East.

"This is all part of the longertrend in more interactive gov-ernance," said DavidBandurski, a researcher at theChina Media Project at theUniversity of Hong Kong.

"To what degree this is gen-uine and impacts citizens posi-tively, that's an open debate."

For now, Chinese officials'efforts to connect online appearto be more patronizing andfusty than feisty.

"Recently, a woman from aminority ethnic group wrote tome, saying 'over the past year,we local residents have gradu-ally felt the warmth of unityand love'," wrote the partychief of Xinjiang, ZhangChunxian, on his firstmicroblog message on QQ, aChinese social networkingwebsite, last Wednesday.

Zhang -- the highest knownParty official to joinmicroblogging according toXinhua news agency -- becameparty chief of China's far-west-ern region of Xinjiang lastApril, about nine months afterbloody ethnic riots in theprovince prompted authoritiesto shut down cellphone andInternet services.

Zhang, who has gained morethan 148,000 followers on hismicroblog, said it can "be usedto promote the government'sefforts in Xinjiang's develop-ment," he told the state-ownedChina Daily.

Microblogs inChina govt's fight

to win consent

Most mobile phone userswould agree that aphysical QWERTY

keyboard on a smartphone cannot compare with a virtual one.Samsung has found it necessaryto offer anA n d r o i dphone tothose whoneed to writemore.

S a m s u n ghas changedthe operatingsystem inter-face ofAndroid 2.2to fit thescreen of 2.8?horizontallyfor the newGalaxy Pro.

The smart-phone comeswith a 2.8-inch 320×240 touchscreen andboasts a 800MHz processor with512MB RAM, wireless networkcard, GPS and Bluetooth. Itsinterface is the ideal solution for

users who are constantly jug-gling with work and personalrelationships, using multiplesocial networks and receive alarge volume of messages and e-mails.

To simplifytheir lives, SocialHub Premiumincludes all e-mail accounts,instant messag-ing and socialnetworks in oneplace, providingdirect access toall the media. Toarrive out of thebox withAndroid 2.2Froyo, GalaxyPro will be ableto providesaccess to over150,000 appsand services

stored on the Android Market.Unfortunately, we have no infoon when upgrades to moreupdated versions of Android willbe available.

SamsungGalaxy Pro,

a smart-phone 1202 2,100

1203 2,050

1208 2,300

1209 2,250

1280 2,075

1616 2,450

1800 2,700

2220 Slide 4,500

2330 Classic 4,400

2600 Classic 4,950

2690 5,200

2700 Classic 6,900

2730 Classic 7,500

3600 slide 12,900

3610 Fold 9,600

5030 3,100

5130 8,300

5220 10,400

5230 13,600

5250 13,600

5233 11,500

5310 12,400

5320 14,900

5530 17,200

5630 17,200

5730 23,000

5800 22,000

6120 12,000

6220 Classic 17,900

6300 10,800

6303 11,300

6303i 11,000

6600 Slide 18,900

6600 Fold 17,800

6700 Classic 20,300

6720 Classic 19,800

6730 Classic 15,200

6760 Slide 18,800

7210 8,550

7230 10,750

7310 11,000

7510 14,000

7610 13,200

C1-00 3,000

C3 11,500

C5 14,200

E5 21,300

E52 21,200

E55 23,000

E63 16,800

E66 20,000

E71 21,300

E72 27,500

E75 24,000

N78 19,800

N79 26,300

N8 40,000

N82 26,000

N85 8GB 22,800

N86 31,500

N97 39,000

N97 mini 33,000

N900 37,000

X2 9,400

X3 12,000

X3 02 Touch and Type 15,900

X6 16GB 28,000

X6 48,000

T303 8,700

T707 16,800

W302 9,600

W380i 8,800

W350i 7,700

W395 9,700

W595 13,200

W705 19,000

W980 18,200

W902 43,500

W995 25,600

F305 9,400

S302 8,200

C510 12,700

C901 14,800

C902i 15,600

C903 16,100

C905 21,400

G502 14,500

G700 12,800

Aino 30,800

Jalou 17,300

U100 Yari 18,700

Satio Idou 38,700

Xperia X1 33,000

Xperia X10 47,000

B130 2,050

B220 Guru 3,900

B300 3,600

B3210 CorbyTXT 8,700

B3410 9,500

B3410W Chat WIFI 13,400

B5722 15,400

B7300 OMNIALite 24,000

B7320 Omnia PRO 19,200

Guru B100 2,450

E1080 2,200

E1100 2,450

E1125 3,200

E2125 6,050

E250 5,200

D980 (Dual Sim) 20,300

J150 6,550

J700 7,550

M150 5,100

M200 6,200

M620 6,250

M3510 Beat b 9,200

M3710 Corby Beat 12,700

M7500 Armani 30,300

M7603 Beat DJ 32,000

M8910 Pixon 12 40,600

C3010S 5,700

C3053 6,000

C3200 Monte Bar 6,900

C3212 7,300

C3303k Champ 7,600

C3510 Genoa 8,800

C5212 DUOS 9,800

S3310 7,900

S3653 Corby 10,600

S3653 WIFI 10,800

Star S5230 11,000

S5230W Star WIFI 12,300

S5350 Shark 12,000

S5550 Shark 2 14,500

S5560 Marvel 15,600

S5620 Monte 15,500

S7220 Ultra b 21,000

S7350 Ultra s 22,100

S8003 Jet 24,000

S8300 Tocco Ultar Edition 28,200

S8500 Wave 29,900

I900 Omnia 42,500

i5700 Galaxy Spica 25,000

i8000 Omnia II 49,500

i8510 INNOV8 37,000

i8910 Omnia HD 43,700

i9000 Galaxy S 16GB 49,000

Q3i 5,999

E900 6,999

Bold 9000 33,000

Curve 8900 30,900

Peral Flip 8220 30,000

Pearl 8120 27,000

Curve 8310 29,000

ALI ZHORAIZ JAFFRI

Nokia

Mobile Prices

Updated on 13 March, 2011

Sony Ericsson

Samsung

BlackBerry

QMobile

NOTE: Always visit your local shop for the exact

Mobile phone prices.

3Samsung

targets NokiaSymbian

developers

Samsung Electronics isluring developers work-ing on Nokia's Symbian

platform to change sides as theFinnish company is to aban-don this platform.

Nokia, the world's largesthandset maker, said last monthit would replace Symbian withMicrosoft's Windows Phone tochallenge Apple and Google inthe fast-growing smartphoneindustry.

"If you are a Symbian devel-oper unhappy about Nokia'srecent announcements, and arehence looking for a new plat-form to showcase your talents,we say 'Hello!' and 'welcometo bada (operating system),'said a newsletter posted by aSamsung developer on theInternet and quoted in onlinemedia.

"If you're new to the badadevelopment, or are movingyour app from Symbian, we'dlike to welcome you."

Google and Skype have saidopenly they are seeking to tapinto Finnish engineering talentlooking for new jobs follow-ing Nokia's announcement.

"There are clear similaritiesbetween Symbian and Badafor developers," said analystGeoff Blaber from Britishconsultancy CCS Insight.

"Bada will view Symbian'sdemise as an opportunity tocapture developers. WithAndroid dominating low-tiersmartphone development,Bada looks an increasinglyattractive alternative if it canaccelerate its move down theprice curve to fill the Symbianvoid," Blaber said.

Home WiFigives 30 pc

slowerconnection

Download speeds forconsumers using WiFistations are on average

30 percent slower than they arefor users of fixed connections,because of physical barriersand interference from deviceslike microwaves, a studyshowed on Thursday.

Broadband research firmEpitiro said the differences arerarely visible when surfingInternet, but higher latency andbigger loss of data transferredover WiFi connection couldwell hurt usage of online gam-ing, Internet telephony or videostreaming.

The advice to consumers issimple.

"Set up your laptop at loca-tion at home where you get agood signal," said professorAndy Nix from BristolUniversity.

"When you are far from theWiFi station, on battery, andyour microwave is on -- theconnection is not that great."

For the study Epitiro moni-tored performance of 14,001consumer broadband connec-tions in Britain, United States,Italy and Spain from November2010 to February 2011.

Disclaimer:All reports and recommendations have been prepared for your information

only. Summary and Analysis are not recommendation to buy or sell. This

information should only be used by investors who are aware of the risk inher-

ent in securities trading. The facts, information, data, indicators and charts

presented have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but their

accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. The Financial Daily

International and its employees are not responsible for any loss arising from

use of these reports and recommendations.

Risingdelinquencyof agriculture

sectorThe Agricultural Credit Advisory Committee

(ACAC) had set an indicative agriculturalcredit target of Rs270 billion for current fiscalyear. The target was 8.8 per cent higher than thedisbursement of Rs248 billion during last fiscalyear. Out of the total target, Rs181.3 billion wereallocated to commercial banks, Rs81.8 billion toZTBL and Rs6.9 billion to Punjab ProvincialCooperative Bank Limited (PPCBL). Accordingto credit disbursement details during first halfcurrent financial year five major banks as a groupdisbursed Rs55 billion, ZTBL disbursed Rs21billion, domestic private banks disbursed Rs22.7billion and PPCBL disbursed Rs2.9 billion.

Non-Performing Loans show a slight increaseas three agricultural provinces of the countryhave witnessed flood in August last year. Theflood has destroyed standing crops, of whichgrowers were unable to payoff their alreadyobtained loans. The State Bank of Pakistan hasrevealed that NPLs under head of agriculturefinancing has surge by 6.56 per cent to peak levelof Rs34.1 billion or 18 per cent of the outstand-ing loans as on December 31, 2010 as comparedto Rs32 billion or 17.7 per cent of the outstand-ing loans as on December 31, 2009.

Major increase was registered in NPLs ofZBTL, which have gone up by Rs4.2 billion toRs18.2 billion in December 2010. NPLs of fiveleading commercial banks have declined byRs0.9 billion to Rs6.4 billion in December 2010as compared to Rs7.5 billion in December 2009.NPls of domestic private banks has surged byRs300 million to Rs4.8 million. In addition, witha decline of Rs900 million the NPLs of PPCBLstood at Rs 4.9 billion from R 5.8 billion duringthe same period.

A closer look at the NPLs of ZTBL and fiveleading banks reveals interesting facts. WhileNPLs of ZTBL grew by Rs4.2 billion, NPLs ofbig five commercial banks declined by Rs0.9 bil-lion. This contrast can be attributed to one fact,better risk management by the big five throughcredit insurance. Many critics had expressed theirapprehensions on the unsatisfactory credit insur-ance arrangements made by ZTBL.

Insurance experts say that Pakistan has com-pleted the first phase of crop insurance and nowthey have to go a few steps forward. The first stepin to offer comprehensive insurance of fourmajor crops. The second step is formation ofinsurance pool, with Government of Pakistancontributing lion's share. The system is already inplace in India and can be easily replicated inPakistan.

Let one point be very clear in the minds of eco-nomic managers that comprehensive crop insur-ance has become need of the time and its successlargely depends on formation of pool by the gov-ernment. Since catastrophes are taking placemore frequently and the quantum of losses is alsoon the rise, it is advisable that comprehensivecrop insurance be introduced at the earliest.

4Sunday, March 13, 2011

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief: Amir A. Ashary

Editor: Shakil H. Jafri

Executive Editor: Manzar Naqvi

Honorary Advisory Board

Haseeb Khan, FCA

Asim Abbas Ashary, CPA

Akhtar M. Zaidi, FCA

Dr. A. Hadi Shahid, FCA

Muhammad Arif

S. Muneer Hussain Rizvi

Khurram Shehzad, CFA

Prof. Zakaria Sajid (KU)

Zahid Bukhari SVP HBL (retd)

Ismat SabirHead office

111-C, Jami Commercial Street 11, Phase VII, DHA KarachiTelephone: 92-21-35311893-6 Fax: 92-21-35388428

URL: www.thefinancialdaily.comEmail Address: editor@thefinancialdaily.com

Lahore office

24- Peshawar Block, Fortress Stadium, Lahore

Telephone: 92-42-6675595 Fax: 92-42-6664349

Email Address: editor@thefinancialdaily.com

The Financial Daily InternationalVol 4, Issue 126

The massive earthquake thatforced the closure of four nuclearpower plants in Japan has high-

lighted the grave risk of inadequateback-up generators at U.S. facilities, aleading U.S. scientist group said onFriday.

While the U.S. regulators made clearthat the national nuclear fleet is built towithstand the biggest earthquakes inhistory, scientists said they needed to domore to ensure that future quakes don'trisk the kind of reactor impact thatJapan is now grappling with.

. "We do not believe the safety stan-dards for U.S. nuclear reactors areenough to protect the public today,"Edwin Lyman, senior scientist, globalsecurity programs, at the Union ofConcerned Scientists, told Reuters. Thegroup supports nuclear power as ameans to combat global warming, butwants tougher safety measures.

The magnitude 8.9 earthquake thatrocked Japan on Friday knocked outpower to the backup cooling systems ofa reactor in Fukushima prefecture,north of Tokyo, forcing the evacuationof thousands of residents.

Operator Tokyo Electric Power Cosaid rising pressure inside the No.1

reactor had elevated the risk of a radia-tion leak, Jiji News reported onSaturday, although officials said earlierthere had not been a leak.

Lyman said U.S. reactors also do nothave enough backup power to ensure asafe shutdown during an emergency. If

reactors could lose both off-site powerand backup generators it could lead to acore meltdown in a short period of time.

Nuclear plants need power to keepwater flowing over the fuel rods to pre-vent overheating.

BUILT TO STAND

But news of widespread shutdownsacross the nuclear sector in Japan raisedquestions about how the United States'104 reactors would respond in the event

of a similar quake, one of the fivebiggest of the past century.

"There have been tremblers felt atU.S. plants over the past several years,but nothing approaching the need foremergency action," Scott Burnell, aspokesman at the Nuclear Regulatory

Commission said.Before any reactor is built in the

United States, owners are required toconduct geologic seismic studies todetermine the biggest earthquake tohave occurred in that area going backthousands of years. As in Japan, U.S.reactors are designed to safely shut inthe event of an earthquake.

If a bigger earthquake were to occur,Burnell said the plant safety systems

would continue to provide the level ofsafety needed to shut the plant but therewould likely be some degradation,though not more than the plant wasdesigned for.

Two U.S. nuclear plants along theCalifornia coast made preparations for apotential Pacific Ocean tsunami onFriday, but continued to operate nor-mally.

The reactors -- built by companiesincluding PG&E Corp and EdisonInternational -- are designed to safelyshut in the event of an earthquake thatbig, Burnell said.

There are multiple and redundantsafety systems at a nuclear plant used toshut the reactor and prevent the releaseof radiation during an accident.

These systems include an air tightsteel or reinforced concrete contain-ment building with walls between 4 to 8feet thick that is strong enough to with-stand the impact of a fully loaded pas-senger airliner without rupture, and areactor vessel containing the uraniumfuel rods that is made of high tensilesteel four to eight inches thick.

The two biggest nuclear operators inthe United States are Exelon Corp andEntergy Corp.-Reuters

Doubts about securityof US nuclear facilities

“We do not believe the safety standards for U.S.

nuclear reactors are enough to protect the public

today," Edwin Lyman, senior scientist, global

security programs, at the Union of Concerned

Scientists, told Reuters. The group supports

nuclear power as a means to combat global

warming, but wants tougher safety measures.

European leaders agreedSaturday to strengthenthe euro zone bailout

fund, make its loans cheaperand lower the interest rate onloans extended to Greece, amove to get on top of the year-long debt crisis.

In a bold series of steps thatmay help to calm some of thepressure in financial markets,the leaders of the 17 countriesthat share the European singlecurrency said they wouldincrease the guarantees theypay into the EuropeanFinancial Stability Facility,allowing its capacity to beincreased to the full 440 billioneuros, from a current level ofaround 250 billion euros.

They also agreed to lowerthe interest rate and lengthenthe maturity on loans extend-ed to Greece, reducing therate by 100 basis points tobring it into line with IMFlending. The term on the 110billion euros of EU/IMFloans was lengthened to 7.5years from three, givingAthens more time to repay.

"Pricing of the EFSF shouldbe lowered to better take intoaccount debt sustainability of

the recipient countries,"Herman Van Rompuy, the pres-ident of the European Council,told reporters after the summitof the leaders concluded.

Any loans made by the EFSFto any new potential applicantcountry would be in line withIMF rates. The EFSF nowcharges a 300 basis pointpenalty fee for its credit and 50basis point one-off charges.

Ireland, which received an 85billion euro bailout from theEU and IMF last November,could also benefit from thelower interest rates, but it willdepend on discussions on acommon corporate tax base,which Ireland strongly oppos-es.

Newly elected Irish PrimeMinister Enda Kenny said hehad made it clear during morethan seven hours of talks that aharmonized EU tax base wouldbe detrimental to Ireland,which has an attractive 12.5percent corporate tax rate.

"I made it perfectly clear thatthe (common consolidated cor-porate tax base) in my viewwas harmonization of the taxrates by the back door and thiswould be very detrimental to

Ireland and indeed to Europe,"Kenny said.

French President NicolasSarkozy said a deal on Irelandcould still be reached at a sum-mit on March 24/25, when EUleaders will meet to sign off on

what they have called a "com-prehensive package" to tacklethe debt crisis.

In further changes to try tomake the EFSF more flexibleand better able to stave offpressure in financial markets,the leaders agreed to let thebailout fund buy the bonds of

distressed euro zone memberstates in the primary market.

That will also be the casewith the European StabilityMechanism, a permanent facil-ity that will replace the EFSFfrom mid-2013 and will have

an effective lending capacity of500 billion euros.

"Financial assistance fromthe ESM and EFSF will takethe form of loans," VanRompuy said. "However, tomaximize the cost efficiency oftheir support, the ESM and theEFSF may also, as an excep-

tion, intervene in the debt pri-mary market in the context of aprogram with strict condition-ality."

As a further part of theirefforts to get on top of a crisisthat has engulfed Greece and

Ireland and con-tinues to threat-en Portugal, themember statesagreed thatplans should bein place to dealwith any bankthat demon-strates vulnera-bilities in stresstests that will becompleted inthe comingmonths.

Bad debts inthe Europeanbanking systemcontinue to

undermine efforts to get on topof the broader crisis, exacer-bating sovereign debt prob-lems. Many analysts say thesovereign debt crisis cannot beresolved without a solution tothe bad banking debts, whichcould involve debt restructur-ing.-Reuters

Euro zone leaders agreeto strengthen bailout fund

In a bold series of steps that may help tocalm some of the pressure in financial mar-

kets, the leaders of the 17 countries thatshare the European single currency saidthey would increase the guarantees theypay into the European Financial Stability

Facility, allowing its capacity to beincreased to the full 440 billion euros, froma current level of around 250 billion euros.

Regardless of whether hedgefund chief Raj Rajaratnam,the Sri-Lanka born

American, ends up testifying at hiscriminal trial, jurors are going to heara lot from him. Testimony resumeson Monday in the biggest Wall Streetinsider trading trial in decades, withNew York prosecutors expected toplay more of the Galleon Groupfounder's phone calls tapped by theFBI.

Rajaratnam is accused of makingabout US$45 million in illegal profitbetween 2003 and March 2009through stock tips supplied by well-placed friends. Nineteen people havepleaded guilty in the probe, whichshocked the hedge fund worldbecause of the government's wide-spread use of wiretaps, tactics usual-ly deployed in organised crime cases.

Back on the witness stand onMonday will be former McKinsey &Co partner Anil Kumar, who hasadmitted leaking details about theconsultancy's clients to Rajaratnam.Federal prosecutors on Thursdayplayed a recording of the two men,one-time business school classmates,discussing corporate information.

Rajaratnam's trial in Manhattanfederal court began last Tuesday andis expected to last at least twomonths. If convicted, he faces asmuch as 20 years in prison on the

most serious charge of securitiesfraud.

Lead defense lawyer John Dowdtold the 12-member jury in his open-ing statement that the government'sinvestigation "focused on snippets ofinnocent conversations taken out of

context" and the information "youhear discussed on those telephonecalls was public."

A spokesman for John Dowd hasdeclined to comment on whetherRajaratnam, 53, will testify.

Some lawyers not involved in thecase say that because the governmentmay play up to 173 audio recordingsfor the jury, the trial could be the rarehigh-profile case where the central

figure takes the witness stand."Tactically, I think it's going to be

necessary," said attorney Eric Fisher,of Butzel Long law firm and a formerfederal prosecutor. "They are goingto be hearing Rajaratnam's voiceover and over again and the defense

can't rely on arguments that the gov-ernment hasn't met its burden ofproof."

Kumar is the first cooperating wit-ness to testify for the government. Incalmly delivered testimony onThursday, he described getting paidby Rajaratnam for information aboutdeals involving chip maker,Advanced Micro Devices, aMcKinsey client.

When Rajaratnam's defenselawyers cross examines Kumar, theywill seek to damage his credibility.

Indian-born Kumar, 52, has plead-ed guilty to conspiracy and fraudcharges in the case and will be sen-tenced later this year. He told thecourt he has been under investigationby tax authorities and owed $1 mil-lion in back taxes, which he has sincepaid to the Internal Revenue Service.

Kumar said Rajaratnam deposited$500,000 a year in $125,000 install-ments every three months to a bankaccount in Switzerland. The moneywould be reinvested in a Galleonaccount in Bermuda under the nameof Kumar's housekeeper.

The Galleon probe has been embar-rassing to McKinsey, which has notbeen accused of wrongdoing. Its for-mer chief, Rajat Gupta, has also beenensnared in the case. The U.S.Securities and ExchangeCommission accused Gupta of leak-ing Goldman Sachs secrets toRajaratnam when he sat on thebank's board. Gupta denies the accu-sations.

Prosecutors say they will presentevidence of calls between Gupta andRajaratnam. To convict, the evidencemust convince the jury thatRajaratnam received informationfrom someone who had a fiduciaryduty not to disclose it.-Reuters

Rajaratnam tapes toget lots of play at trial

Kumar is the first cooperating witness to

testify for the government. In calmly

delivered testimony on Thursday, he

described getting paid by Rajaratnam for

information about deals involving chip

maker, Advanced Micro Devices, a

McKinsey client. When Rajaratnam's

defense lawyers cross examines Kumar,

they will seek to damage his credibility.

5 Sunday, March 13, 2010

Women are more affected thanmen by the intrusion of workinto their home-life through

e-mails, phonecalls and textsand report high-er levels of psy-chological dis-tress, accordingto new research.

A l t h o u g hwomen areequally adept atjuggling thedemands ofwork and home,they feel moreguilt when con-tacted by bosses,colleagues andclients at home.

"This guiltseems to be atthe heart of theirdistress," saidPaul Glavin, ofthe University ofToronto and thelead author ofthe study.

The scientistsanalyzed infor-mation on 1,042American work-ers nationwide.Their findings,which are published in the Journal ofHealth and Social Behavior, showedthat for women the guilt persists evenif the work intrusion does not interferewith their family life.

"Levels of distress and levels ofguilt are low overall," said ScottSchieman, a co-author of the reportand a professor at the University ofToronto in Canada.

"For women levels of guilt and dis-tress seem to be correlated quitestrongly with the frequency of contact.

Women expe-rience, onaverage, arise in guiltand distressas youincrease lev-els of thiscontact," heexplained inan interview.

Men whoreceived fre-quent work-related callsor texts out-side workinghours wereless affectedthan women.

S c h i e m a nadded that thefindings werec o n s i s t e n t ,regardless ofthe age of thewomen, theirmarital orparental sta-tus or socio-e c o n o m i clevel.

He suggeststhat although women have becomeeconomic providers in dual-incomehouseholds they have different expec-tations from men over the boundariesseparating work and family life.

"These forces may lead somewomen to question or negatively eval-uate their family role performancewhen they're trying to navigate workissues at home."

Women feel guilty

about work-home

intrusion Contrary to what some guidelines say,antibiotics may be a good treatmentfor middle ear infection if the diagno-

sis is certain, according to two new studies.The reports, out in the New England

Journal ofMedicine, show aspecific antibiot-ic cut the time ittook for symp-toms to disap-pear.

The results con-tradict the latestrecommendationby the AmericanAcademy ofF a m i l yPhysicians thatdoctors take awatchful-waitingapproach in mostcases.

In a journal edi-torial, Dr. JeromeO. Klein of theB o s t o nUniversity School of Medicine says the newfindings provide "the best data yet" forresolving whether antibiotics are the bestoption, "and the answer is yes."

"More young children with a certain diag-nosis of (middle ear infection) recover morequickly when they are treated with an appro-priate antimicrobial agent," Klein conclud-ed.

In one study, led by Dr. AlejandroHoberman of the Children's Hospital ofPittsburgh, nearly 300 infected toddlers weregiven ten days of treatment with eitherdummy pills or an antibiotic called amoxi-cillin-clavulanate.

After 10 to 12 days, doctors examining thekids' ear found that half of those on dummypills still had an infection compared to only16 percent of those getting the antibiotic.

"The results were even more impressivethan what we anticipated," Hoberman said in

a telephone interview.The second study involved 319 Finnish

children aged 6 to 35 months who had clearsigns of ear infection, including middle-earfluid and fever, ear pain or breathing prob-

lems.About 45 percent of the kids on dummy

pills remained sick after 7 days, versus lessthan one in five of those on the antibiotic.The difference between the two groups wasapparent within two days.

"Most of the patients who needed rescuetreatment had received placebo" and antibi-otics cut the need for rescue treatment withamoxicillin by 81% (p<0.001), coauthor Dr.Aino Ruohola of theUniversity of Turkusaid in a telephoneinterview.

The drug treatmentalso shortened theperiod with fever,poor appetite,decreased activity andirritability, theresearchers said. They

calculated that fewer than four childrenwould need to be treated to avoid one treat-ment failure.

"If the diagnosis of acute otitis media iscertain, as we tried to be in both of these

studies, these childrenbenefited from antimi-crobial treatment, nodoubt about it," Dr.Aino Ruohola of theUniversity of Turku,who worked on thestudy, said in a tele-phone interview.

But children in bothstudies who receivedthe antibiotic were sig-nificantly more likelyto suffer side effects,primarily diarrhea.

In the study inFinland, for instance,nearly half the kids onantibiotic treatmenthad diarrhea comparedto just more than aquarter of those not

getting the drug. Eczema was also more like-ly, although not as common; it appeared in 9percent of the treated children versus 3 per-cent of the youngsters on dummy pills.

Ruohola said that because half the childrenreceiving dummy pills recovered on theirown, some youngsters with middle ear infec-tion don't need antibiotics.

But identifying them remains a challenge,she added.

Antibiotics effectiveagainst ear infection

The "three-year glitch" hasreplaced the "seven-year itch" as thetipping point where couples start totake each other for granted, accord-ing to a new survey.

Weight gain, stinginess, toe-nailclippings on the bathroom floor andsnoring are a few of the passion-killers that have led to a swifterdecline in relationships in the fast-paced 21st century, said the studycommissioned by Warner Brothers topromote the release of comedy film"Hall Pass" in UK cinemas.

The survey of 2,000 British adultsin steady relationships pinpointed the36-month mark as the time whenrelationship stress levels peak andpoints to a new trend of "pink passes"and "solo" holidays away from part-ners and spouses that many Britonsresort to in order to keep romancealive.

"Longer working hours combinedwith money worries are clearly tak-ing their toll on modern relationshipsand we are seeing an increasing trendfor solo holidays and weekends awayfrom marriages and relationships inorder to revive the romantic spark,"said pollster Judi James who oversawthe survey.

The poll compared feedback fromthose in short-term relationships(defined as less than three years) and

people who were married or inlonger-term partnerships.

The findings showed that 67 per-cent of all of those surveyed said thatsmall irritations which are seeminglyharmless and often endearing during

the first flushes of love often expandinto major irritations around 36months.

More than half of the Brits sur-veyed (52 percent) who were inyounger relationships said theyenjoyed sexual relations at least threetimes a week, compared to just 16percent of those in relationshipsolder than three years.

This suggests that as we get oldertogether, romance gives way to dayto day practicalities, supported by thefact that 55 percent of busy people inlonger-term relationships admit thatthey now have to "schedule" their

romantic time.The report also said that those in

the first flush of love can look for-ward to an average of three compli-ments a week from their partners - afigure which falls to an average of asingle weekly compliment at thethree-year high tide mark.

The prognosis gets worse thelonger we stay in relationships, three

in 10 of those surveyed that havebeen in a relationship for five yearsor more said that they never receiveany compliments from their partners.

The findings also showed thatmore than three quarters (76 percent)of all people surveyed responded that"individual space was important"within a relationship and pointed to arise of individual activities.

A third (34%) of those who havebeen seeing their partners for longerthan three years have at least twoevenings a month defined as a "pass"or a "ticket" where it is accepted thatthey can pursue their own interestsand 58 percent of the same samplegroup enjoy regular holidays withouttheir partners.

The top 10 everyday niggles andpassion-killers: 1. Weight gain/lackof exercise, 13 percent; 2. Money &Spend thriftiness, 11 percent; 3. Anti-social working hours, 10 percent; 4.Hygiene issues (personal cleanli-ness), 9 percent; 5. In-Laws/extendedfamily - too much/too little, 9 per-cent; 6. Lack of romance (sex, treatsetc.), 8 percent; 7. Alcohol - drinkingtoo much, 7 percent; 8. Snoring &anti social bedtime habits, 6 percent;9. Lapsed fashion-Same old under-wear/clothes, 4 percent; 10.Bathroom habits - Stray nail cuttingsetc., 4 percent.

The 7-year itch is

now the 3-year glitch

As a new research reveals theside effects of size zero, wefind out if it's still a fad fol-

lowed by many...For those of you who want to dump

your curves and crave to be a sizezero, here is a warning. A newresearch done by a foreign universityreiterates something you guessedbefore: girls dieting to be size zerocould be risking their bones to long-term problems such as osteoporosis.The research conducted on 4,000young girls, shows that fat massplays an important role in buildingbones. Recent research conducted bya London based college, also foundthat constant images of reed-thin,size-zero models, pop stars andactresses fuelled a rise in eating dis-orders amongst young women.

In India, Bollywood hottie KareenaKapoor sparked the craze for sizezero after she reportedly lost eightkilos to acquire a bikini body for

Tashan in 2007.While celebs like her can take

pride in setting a trend, foryoung followers there could behealth hazards. Building strongbones is particularly importantfor women, as they are threetimes more likely to developosteoporosis and suffer up tothree times more hip fracturesthan men. Actress Gul Panagpoints out, "Size zero hassparked low self-esteem issues,resulting in bulimia, anorexiaand body dysmorphic disor-ders. Looking thin is like beinga poster girl for sickness andbad health. I believe it's moreimportant to be fit than be thinand look sick." Former MissIndia Parvathy Omanakuttanagrees with Gul."The term sizezero is a gimmick to sell certainproducts in the market."

Fitness experts point out that

size zero is unhealthy and not many are aware of what it really implies. "Size zero refers to maintaining aslim figure. Do the right kindof exercises under the guid-ance of a certified trainer andhave the right kind of foodthat can help you acquire aslim figure. Simply apingsuperstars and trying to be asize zero is something no sen-sible person will support,"concludes fitness expertDinaz Vervatwala.

Unhealthy fadIn early 2006, Brazilian

model Ana Carolina Reston,21, died of anorexia on theeve of a Paris photoshootafter living on a diet of applesand tomatoes

The death of Uruguayanmodel Luisel Ramos at theUruguay Fashion Week in2006 led to the ban on sizezero girls parading at theMadrid fashion shows.

Luisel's father claimed that she hadbeen fasting for days. The alreadyskinny 22-year-old had beeninformed by her model agency thatshe could "make it big" if she lost asignificant amount of weight. Shecollapsed while going for a final cos-tume change and died despite theefforts of an emergency team tryingto resuscitate her.

Six months later, Luisel's sister, 18-year-old model Eliana was founddead in her bedroom. Primary diag-nosis revealed that it was death dueto symptoms of malnutrition.

When Kate Moss first hit the mod-elling scene, she was compared toTwiggy for her skinny frame. Notlong after followed the accusationsthat she was anorexic.

Actress Nicole Richie was reportedto have collapsed on set. Citing dehy-dration, she has tried in vain toquench rumours that she sufferedfrom malnutrition.

Size zero and its side effects

All shops in England will be banned from openly displaying tobac-co products by April 2015 as part of a government package ofmeasures to cut smoking.

The Department of Health, announcing the legislation on national NoSmoking Day, said the new rules would be phased in to give retailerstime to adjust. Cigarettes and other tobacco products must be kept out ofsight in large stores and supermarkets by 2012 and in small shops by2015, ministers said.

Only temporary displays in "certain limited circumstances" will beallowed as the changes take effect, the Department of Health said."Smoking is undeniably one of the biggest and most stubborn challengesin public health. Over eight million people in England still smoke and itcauses more than 80,000 deaths each year," said Health SecretaryAndrew Lansley in a statement.

The rules were part of a strategy to stamp out smoking by stopping thepromotion of tobacco by making it less affordable and helping users toquit, he added. Just over 20 percent of adults smoke in England and thegovernment wants to reduce that to 18.5 percent by 2015.

The government said it would keep an "open mind" on whether manu-facturers should be forced to put cigarettes in plain packaging and isplanning a consultation on different options before the end of this year.

Britain's cigarette market is dominated by Imperial Tobacco, whichmakes Lambert & Butler and Japan Tobacco International which makesBenson & Hedges.

Together they control more than 80 percent of the domestic market.Pall Mall cigarette maker British American Tobacco has a share ofaround 6-7 percent. The tobacco companies are challenging the banthrough the British courts with a judicial review due in April.

UK to ban displays

of cigarettes,

tobacco in shops

6Sunday, March 13, 2011

International

Rebels trying to toppleLibya's Muammar Gaddafihave so far fought alone.

Help is not in sight, even as hestrikes back with tanks, artilleryand warplanes.

Gaddafi is widely reviled in theArab world, even by his fellowautocrats. Nor is he loved by theWestern powers that had courtedhim for his oil until the revoltagainst him.

Yet with the military momentumappearing to shift in his favour, theLibyan leader of 41 years may suc-ceed where Egypt's HosniMubarak and Tunisia's Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali failed, in clingingto power.

His willingness to use extremeforce, with no effective ripostefrom the outside world, could alsoset a dangerous example to otherArab rulers confronting disaffectedpopulations.

According to a sombre assess-ment by U.S. President BarackObama's national intelligencechief, James Clapper, Gaddafi is"in this for the long haul" and islikely to prevail.

Public calls are growing forsome action to save rebels andcivilians from the firepower ofpro-Gaddafi forces, now regainingground near Tripoli and along theeastern coast.

Yet nothing has been donebeyond sanctions in the form of anasset freeze and arms embargo,threatening prosecution for warcrimes, and French-led moves torecognise a rebel national council.

The rag-tag Libyan fighters bat-tling Gaddafi's military cannotfathom what the world is waitingfor, even as the leader's son Saif al-

Islam declares that they face a full-scale assault to crush their three-week-old uprising.

"I am disappointed as we haveasked for air and sea blockades,"Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, head of theopposition national council inLibya, told the BBC on Friday,saying that delaying action further"might allow Gaddafi to regaincontrol and remain in poweragainst the will of the Libyan peo-ple".

Yet there is no international con-sensus on robust action. Judgingby Thursday's meetings of the GulfCooperation Council (GCC), theAfrican Union and NATO, nonewill emerge soon. European Unionleaders were meeting on Friday todiscuss Libya.

MISSION CREEPMany fear mission creep if, say,

a no-fly zone were imposed."What happens if it is not the

Libyan air force that is gainingground, but their armour ... andheavy artillery?" asked TimurGoksel, a former U.N. peacekeep-ing adviser in Beirut.

"Then what do you do, attackthose? Because that's not a no-flyzone, it's war. It's a very complicat-ed decision. The Western countrieshave to think very hard," Gokselsaid.

For all their anti-Gaddafi rheto-ric, Western powers are wary ofplunging into another conflict in aMuslim nation in the absence ofany simple way to remove a leaderbent on survival.

The United States is hamstrungby its costly and contentious mili-tary campaigns in Iraq andAfghanistan. Russia and China,along with Arab nations such as

Algeria and Syria, are queasyabout any precedent for meddlingin another country's affairs.

So it is hard to get the U.N.Security Council to authorise mil-itary action -- no-fly zones orsending military advisers orweapons to rebels are arguablyacts of war -- and no nation oralliance is yet ready to step inwithout such approval.

The International Crisis Grouphas argued instead for a ceasefireand negotiations to end a bur-geoning Libyan civil war.

"Western calls for militaryintervention of one kind or anoth-er are perilous and potentiallycounter-productive. There are noquick or easy fixes," the conflictresolution group says.

"Insisting that Gaddafi stepdown will not make it happen.Imposing a no-fly zone, bombingairfields or arming the rebelscould tilt the balance of power inthe rebels' favour, but is unlikelyto swiftly bring down theregime."

The African Union, rejecting anymilitary intervention, plans to sendfive heads of state to Libya to seeka truce.

The Arab League has suspendedLibya's membership. Saudi Arabiaand its five partners in the GCChave voiced support for a no-flyzone and declared Gaddafi's ruleillegitimate.

The Arab League was due tomeet in Cairo on Saturday andofficials said it would not let a del-egation from Tripoli attend. Butdecisive action from the Leaguewould be a surprise.

"EMASCULATED BODY""The Arab League has become

an entirely emasculated body thatis essentially capable of doingnothing except rhetoric andspeeches," said Karim Makdisi,who teaches international relationsat the American University ofBeirut (AUB).

He said most Arab regimesremained intact despite the over-throw of leaders in Egypt andTunisia and popular unrest againstothers. None of them wanted theArab League to lead the way inintervening against the govern-ment of a member state.

NATO is also skittish about pro-posals to crimp Gaddafi's militarywith a no-fly zone. This wouldrequire evidence of war crimesagainst civilians, a clear legalbasis and firm regional support,said its secretary-general AndersFogh Rasumussen.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary

Clinton has signalled that hercountry will not go solo in impos-ing a no-fly zone on Libya.

"Absent international authorisa-tion, the United States actingalone would be stepping into a sit-uation whose consequences areunforeseeable," she said onThursday, belittling the effect ofpast no-fly zones in Iraq andSerbia.

Gaddafi, like Iraq's SaddamHussein, would portray anyWestern intervention as a selfish,colonial venture -- rhetoric thatfor many Arabs is grounded indecades of bitter reality.

"What we fear most is thisEuropean and Western eagernessto take control of Libya's oil,"said Omar Nashabe, an editor atBeirut's al-Akhbar newspaper,which is sympathetic toHezbollah.

Many Arabs feel outraged byGaddafi's bloody strikes againsthis foes, but might also mistrustWestern action, especially if an airembargo produced unintendedcivilian casualties.

"There is no belief that U.S.intervention will be brief, in theinterests of Arabs, or serve theinterests of stability," said AUB'sMakdisi. Many Arabs would see itas oil-motivated or as a U.S. bidto get ahead of the curve after fail-ing to respond adequately to thepro-democracy revolts in Egyptand Tunisia.

"The wider context is theabysmal failure of the Obamaadministration to have any coher-ent U.S. policy toward the MiddleEast," Makdisi said, citing its pastsupport for Arab strongmen andits ill-starred Israeli-Palestinianpeace drive. -Reuters

NO OUTSIDE HELP IN

SIGHT FOR LIBYAN REBELS* OUTSIDE POWERS RELUCTANT TO STEP INTO LIBYAN CIVIL WAR * U.N. AUTHORITY SEEN VITAL, BUT CONSENSUS

LACKING * IRAQI AND AFGHAN CAMPAIGNS HAUNT U.S. POLICYMAKERS

Gold prices are likelyto weather expectedrises in euro interest

rates this year as investorsfret over the region's debtcrisis and the damage tightermonetary policy can do toits patchwork of economies.

A rise in interest ratesmakes gold less attractive toinvestors who get improvedreturns from bank accountsor bonds.

When European CentralBank President Jean-ClaudeTrichet said on March 3inflation warranted "strongvigilance", the markets tookthat as the clearest signal yetthat rates will rise for thefirst time in two years.

The news stripped nearly 1percent off the gold price ina matter of minutes, but theeffect was short-lived.Within a couple of sessions,

gold prices rallied to recordhighs at $1,444.40 an ounce.

"What investors are reallylooking at is, in our view, acombination of the interestrate environment and expec-tations for inflation," saidTobias Merath, a commodi-ties analyst at Credit Suissein Zurich.

The ECB has a delicatebalancing act ahead. It iscommitted to tackling infla-tion, which has picked up asfood and energy prices havesoared, yet tighter monetarypolicy risks undermining theweaker euro zone membersand hurting the fledgingrecovery outside ofGermany, the bloc's richestmember.

Since Trichet flagged theECB's intentions, the eurohas fallen by 0.2 percentagainst the dollar, as the vul-

nerability of the euro zoneperiphery members hascome once again to the fore,while gold priced in euroshas risen by nearly 2 per-cent, shrugging off thethreat of higher rates.

"Last year bond yieldswere on a downtrend for themost part of the year andthat makes gold as a non-yielding asset more attrac-tive. We would argue thatthe longer yields remainlow, the more money willfind its way into the goldmarket," Merath said.

GOLDEN SHIELDThe bond markets hound-

ing Portugal to seek abailout and Moody's cuts tocredit ratings for Greece andSpain have highlighted thefragility of the bloc's indebt-ed members and lifted gold'sappeal for investors seeking

an alternative to stocks orbonds.

Furthermore, real rates inthe euro zone -- the ECB'sbenchmark refinancing rateminus inflation -- are nega-tive, and will remain sounless the nominal rate islifted by a lot more than the25 basis points the market ispricing in next month, aslong as headline inflation isabove the bank's 2 percenttarget.

"Real interest rates global-ly are still very low," saidStandard Bank analystWalter de Wet. "Even if theECB raises interest rates 50basis points, it seems, givenrising inflation expectations,real interest rates will prettymuch remain unchanged."

"The default, especiallyfor gold, remains what realinterest rates in the U.S. are

doing. We know the Fed isnot likely to change its mon-etary stance at all this yearand inflation expectationsthere are rising too."

Dollar-priced gold hasgained over 15 percentsince August, when theFederal Reserve signalled itwould inject over half a tril-lion dollars into the econo-my by buying governmentbonds. Money marketsshow investors expect theECB to raise rates to 1.75percent by the end of theyear from 1 percent now.But inflation is still likely topersist, especially withcrude oil trading well above$100 a barrel.

"Our view is that theeconomy should be able tohandle slightly tighter poli-cy. But a lot will depend onthe oil price. If that soars

above $120, maybe it woulddelay these expected rateincreases. It's by no means agiven that we will see ratesrise next month," saidCredit Agricole analystRobin Bhar.

Even if headline rates dorise, the violence stillsweeping the Middle Eastand North Africa is likely tooffset whatever residualunease this may lend to goldbulls, as it fuels fears of oil-led inflation and burnishesgold's safe-haven status.

The correlation betweengold and the euro turnednegative in late January,when protests eruptedacross the Middle East,prompting a flight to per-ceived safe-havens likegold, but returned to posi-tive territory a month laterwhen the ECB stepped up

its inflation-battling rheto-ric.

The two assets' normallypositive correlationreversed when Greece wasbailed out last April andremained negative until lateJuly, when market anxietyover the region's financestemporarily subsided withthe creation of a rescuefund, before flaring againwhen Ireland sought amulti-billion euro lifeline.

"As far as the euro isaffected, (the ECB) doeshave some bearing ongold," said ANZ head ofmetals sales Peter Hillyard.

"By and large I think goldis less interested in thesethings and tends to lookmore at the 'hot-spots' likethe Middle East or indeedtake a much bigger view." -Reuters

Gold Fends Off Ecb Hawks As Debt Crisis Deepens

Thai Prime MinisterAbhisit Vejjajiva saidon Friday he would

dissolve parliament by thefirst week of May, settingthe stage for an early elec-tion he hopes will helpcement his position after aturbulent two years.

The timing of the poll,which would have to be heldby early July, is favourableto Abhisit's ruling DemocratParty, which has launched aseries of populist pro-grammes to try to woo theworking class vote at a timethe opposition is in disarray.

Here is a snap analysisabout what could unfold.

* If the Democrats win amajority, Abhisit wouldfinally have a public man-date, which would boost thechances of medium-termpolitical stability after twoyears in office during which

he has faced repeated,bloody street protests.

His powerful opponents inthe "red shirt" movement,allied to ousted former pre-mier Thaksin Shinawatra,have vowed to respect theresult if the election is fairand they would have littlejustification for launchingfurther protests against him.

* If the Democrats retainpower and there is no chal-lenge to the election result,investors might see somepolicy continuity and astrengthening of regulatoryframeworks. A big win forthe Democrats could allowthe government to pressahead with long-awaitedinfrastructure projects, suchas a big expansion ofBangkok's mass transit sys-tems and several high-speedrail routes.

Plans such as changes to

taxation, a minimum wageincrease, better welfare, freeeducation and allocation ofland title deeds could goahead. Such moves mightappease millions of poorThais who feel they arebecoming increasingly dis-enfranchised.

But another weak coalitioncould be hobbled by infight-ing as well as directionlesspolicymaking.

* Retention of power byAbhisit might help economicstability and let authoritiesachieve their aim of GDPgrowth this year of up to 5percent.

Continued state subsidiesmight take the edge off foodand fuel price rises, helptame inflationary pressures -- in the short term -- andlimit public discontent.

* The Democrats areexpected to retain support in

the south and in Bangkok,and its strategists believe theparty has made inroads inthe centre and parts of thenorth.

Its financially-strongcoalition partner, BhumjaiThai, is hoping to gain moreseats in the north and north-east, traditional Thaksinstrongholds.

* Neither the Democratsnor the opposition pro-Thaksin Puea Thai Party areexpected to win an outrightmajority -- more than 250 ofthe 500 seats -- which raisesthe prospect of behind-the-scenes deal-making betweencoalition partners.

That might lead to allega-tions of interference by bigbusinessmen, the military orestablishment elites --claims that have fuelled redshirts protests in the past

* A coalition may give rise

to infighting, policy imple-mentation problems, parlia-mentary delays and fightingover cabinet positions,budgets and key appoint-ments.

* The Democrats may stillemerge as the leader of thenext government if the partyfinishes second in votingand Puea Thai is unable toform a coalition. Puea Thai'saffiliation with the red shirtsand Thaksin could present adilemma for smaller parties,who might see theDemocrats as a safer betthan a Puea Thai administra-tion likely to face challengesoutside parliament. But ifPuea Thai wins the mostvotes and cannot rule, itssupporters will cry foul.

* Puea Thai is currently ina state of disorganisation,factionalised and divided onstrategy. Some members

want to use Thaksin as abrand to win support, butothers want to distancethemselves from him.

* A Puea Thai victory can-not be discounted, however.Parties led or backed byThaksin have won everyelection in the past decade,thanks to the rural and urbanworking class vote.

* For investors, a PueaThai vcitory would probablybe a less favourable out-come because of intenseopposition to Thaksinamong the army top brass,influential conservativesand "yellow shirt" national-ists. Thaksin and his allieshave had a rough ride since2005; another proxy for himmight not last long.

* A win for Puea Thaiwould significantly increasethe possibility of a militarycoup. Even though this

would be a disaster forThailand's image amonginvestors and the interna-tional community, the ideaof Thaksin pulling thestrings again might be unac-ceptable to powerful figuresin Thailand.

* Botched capital controlsimposed in late 2006 by thelast army-appointed govern-ment prompted Thailand'sbiggest one-day stock mar-ket sell-off. Investors wouldfear that again.

* The next coup may notbe bloodless like the one inSeptember 2006. It wouldincense the red shirts andupset mainstream Thais withno political allegiance, rais-ing the possibility of a pro-longed crisischance of anintensification of the crisis,long protests and a heavy-handed military response. -Reuters

Thailand Set To Hold Early Election

Sunday, March 13, 2011 7

LONDON: Scientists whoreview large sets of drug trialsfor medical journals oftenignore financial conflicts thatmight warp the evidence,according to a study outTuesday.

That's more than just an aca-demic problem, experts say,because the reviews are con-sidered just about thestrongest evidence that med-ical science can muster.

"It influences how physi-cians make decisions and howguideline panels come upwith their guidelines," saidBrett D. Thombs, of McGillUniversity and the JewishGeneral Hospital in Montreal,whose findings are publishedin the Journal of the AmericanMedical Association (JAMA).

Thombs' team found that of

29 reviews, or "meta-analy-ses," of earlier drug trials --culled from top journals likeJAMA and The Lancet -- onlytwo reported who had fundedthe original trials included inthe review.

And none of the reviewsmentioned whether theauthors reporting on those tri-als had been paid by drug-makers.

Such financial ties havebeen linked to research inflat-ing the benefits of new drugsand downplaying the risks,said Thombs.

For instance, according to a2008 report, only half the tri-als on antidepressants sent tothe U.S. Food and DrugAdministration, whichapproves new drugs, got apositive review by the agency.

By contrast, from the med-ical literature it appeared thatmore than 90 percent of thetrials favored the drugs,because the majority of thosethat were unfavorable simplynever got published.

To flag potential bias forreaders, many medical jour-nals now require authors todeclare who funded theirstudy and whether they haveany financial conflicts ofinterest, such as paid consul-tancies for drugmakers.

Thombs' team found thatmore than two-thirds of theoriginal drug trials thatended up being included inthe 29 reviews were fundedby pharmaceutical compa-nies. Only 318 of the 509 tri-als reviewed gave the con-flict-of-interest information

in the first place.But most of the time, those

financial disclosures got lostin the reviews.

"What we noticed is thereis a gap between these twolevels," Michelle Roseman, agraduate student at McGillwho also worked on the newfindings, told ReutersHealth.

When the team contactedthe reviewers, the majorityadmitted they hadn't evenlooked at the issue.

"I think it's a blind spot,"said Dr. Cynthia Mulrow,secretary of the InternationalCommittee of MedicalJournal Editors, which haspublished guidelines for howto disclose conflicts of inter-est in medical journals. -Reuiters

Influential researchmisses financial conflicts

BERLIN: An employee works on a vaccine assembly line in the vaccine production factory of Sanofi-Pasteur. -Reuters

NEW YORK: British drug-maker AstraZeneca Plcagreed to pay $68.5 millionto resolve allegations by USstate regulators that its mar-keting of the multibillion-dollar antipsychotic drugSeroquel was deceptive.

The accord with 37 USstates and Washington, DC,is the largest multi-state,consumer protection-basedpharmaceutical settlementon record, said Paula Dow,attorney general of NewJersey, which is among thesettling states.

Regulators accusedAstraZeneca of unfair andmisleading practices in mar-keting Seroquel for unap-proved uses. They also saidthe company had failed toadequately disclose poten-tial side effects and with-held negative informationfrom scientific studiesregarding Seroquel's safetyand effectiveness.

"This case sends a mes-sage that we take seriouslythe duty pharmaceuticalcompanies have to supplyclear, accurate and completeinformation about theirproducts to health careproviders, and to markettheir products withoutdeception or misleadingclaims," Dow said in astatement.

Seroquel had worldwidesales of $5.3 billion in2010, including $3.75 bil-lion in the United States.

AstraZeneca said it previ-

ously set aside funds in liti-gation reserves to cover thesettlement and will not haveto take an additionalcharge.

The multi-state settlementis separate from the $520million AstraZeneca agreedto pay the U.S. governmentlast year to settle similarallegations.

Seven states -- Alaska,Arkansas, Montana, NewMexico, South Carolina,Mississippi and Utah -- did

not join the settlement andare still suing the company.

"AstraZeneca believesthat the remaining claims,which are in various stagesof litigation, are withoutmerit, and we intend to vig-orously defend ourselves,"company spokesman Tony

Jewell said.The multi-state settlement

did not include an admissionof guilt by the company.

"While we deny the alle-gations, we believe it isimportant to bring thesematters to a close and moveforward with our businessof providing medicines topatients," Jewell said.

The company had beenaccused of promotingSeroquel for uses notapproved by the U.S. Food

and Drug Administration,such as Alzheimer's disease,anxiety, dementia anddepression. While doctorsare free to prescribe drugsto patients as they see fit,companies can only pro-mote them for FDA-approved uses. -Reuters

AstraZenecain $68.5 millionsettlement deal* Deal on top of $520 mln settlement with US government

* 37 US states plus District of Columbia in settlement

* 7 other US states still suing AstraZeneca

SYDNEY: The Australian government willrestrict the number of new medicines it will sub-sidise until the federal budget returns to surplusin two years time, the Australian FinancialReview reported.

The report said that in a break with establishedpractice, the government was set to defer newlistings to the subsidy scheme unless the medi-cines will save lives or no treatment alreadyexists.

The change represents a higher bar to admis-sion to the A$8.3 billion PharmaceuticalBenefits Scheme, which subsidises the cost ofprescription medicines, the report said. Aboutthree-quarters of all prescription medicines aresold via the scheme.

The health portfolio is one of three big-spend-ing areas given multibillion dollar targets forspending cuts by the federal cabinet's expendi-ture review committee, the paper said. -Reuters

Australia to restrictsubsidies to new drugs

"World is facing the challenge of terrorism and extremism andno country can single handedly fight it out, it needs collectiveresponse from all the stake holders," he said.

The Prime Minister said that the navies of the world have toplay a role and bring harmony. "Exercise of AMAN-11 ofPakistan Navy is a positive step in right direction," he added.

Gilani said that despite limited resources, Pakistan would notcompromise on its security issues and would use its existingresources of Army, Navy and Air Force to meet challenges.

Later, talking to the media, the Prime Minister said that Pakistanenjoys time-tested friendship with China and would like to furtherexpand the bilateral cooperation in this regard.

To a question about Raymond Davis case, he hoped that itwould not affect the bilateral ties between the two countries andsaid that Pakistan has reservations about the drone attacks.

"Drone attacks have negative affect on war against terrorism,"he said.

Gilani said there was no clash among the institutions and thegovernment fully respects the rights and mandates of theprovinces.

Later, Gilani witnessed the naval exercises conducted byPakistan Navy and participated by 11 other countries.

The exercises were aimed at helping the navies to interact withone another about operational capabilities.

The participating countries, besides, Pakistan included:Australia, China, France, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, SaudiArabia,Turkey, Sri Lanka, UK and USA.

The observer countries included: Algeria, Azerbaijan,Bahrain, Brunei, Canada, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Kazakhstan,Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nigeria,Netherlands, Oman, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Russia,Singapore, South Korea, Sudan, Thailand, UAE, Thailand,UAE, Ukraine and Yemen.

Continued from page 1No #1

He however, emphasized that the 'transformation' of any micro-finance institution into a microfinance bank is not a one-timemove. "It's a long term and rigorous process in which the organi-zational behaviors have to be constantly modified to a new envi-ronment characterized by competitiveness and regulatory compli-ance," he said and added that with this transformation, the NRSPwill now be exposed to new set of challenges which will haveconsequences for the financial, operational, and strategic risks.

Yaseen Anwar said that since NRSP holds a market share ofalmost 22%, its commencement of business will result in a sub-stantial increase in the market share of regulated microfinancebanks within the overall microfinance sector.

Besides micro-credit, this transformation will also lead to theprovision of other important financial services (such as deposits,remittances etc.) in the rural areas of our country, he added.

"We foresee NRSP Microfinance Bank operating successfully inall the districts of Pakistan in near future. I believe that NRSPexperience will act as a change agent which will facilitate thetransformation of other larger MFIs into formal banking system,"he added.

He said that the State Bank has taken a number of policy andprogram initiatives to promote microfinance in the country.

"To facilitate the microfinance industry's growth on a sustain-able basis, SBP maintains fine balance in regulating the sector andallowing space for innovation and experimentation," he added.

He said the Microfinance Credit Guarantee Facility, launchedwith 10 million UK pound, has been able to mobilize private cap-ital from commercial banks to provide Rs2 billion for the micro-finance sector that will improve outreach considerably.

He said the Institutional Strengthening Fund, worth 10 millionUK pound, also set up at SBP since Dec 2008, aims at strengthen-ing institutional & human resource capacity of microfinancebanks and institutions.

Continued from page 1No #2

He said, Exchange of parliamentary delegations between twocountries and participation of Pakistani scholars, scientists, indus-trialists and journalists is playing a significant role in giving fur-ther boost to mutual relations between the two countries.

He particularly lauded Pakistan in providing professional train-ing to the officers of Turkmenistan armed forces of army, Navyand Air force .he said in this context we are so grateful and thank-ful to Pakistan. -Agencies

Continued from page 1No #3

a house worth Rs. 15 million in Islamabad, Rs30 million farmhouse in Islamabad in the name of his spouse.

He has paid an amount of Rs. 300 million in advance for twoKanal plot in Supreme Court Employees Housing Society Lahore.He also keeps Rs. 2.9 million assets, Rs. 10 million saving certifi-cates and two vehicles.

Senator Abdul Nabi Bangash of ANP has a property worth Rs.58.2 million in Pakistan. A house worth Rs. 25 million in UAE,Rs. 210 million and Rs. 190 million business in Dubai, Rs. 70 mil-lion assets, Rs. 6.6 million car, Rs. five million jewellery and bankbalance in millions of rupees also belong to him.

Senators Maulana Gul Naseeb, Maulana Abdul GhafoorHaidari, Abdul Rahim Mandokhel and Pervaiz Rashid wereamong the senators having lowest declared assets. -APP

Continued from page 1No #4

stranded in traffic mess for many hours.The firing incidents were also reported in Pehalwan Goth,

Sadar, Garden and other parts of the city.Heavy contingents of police and rangers have been deployed in

violence-hit areas in the wake of severe tension among politicalparties.

Continued from page 1No #5

"So far, grants of Rs400 million have been approved for 8microfinance providers in respect of 10 major projects which areaimed at addressing institutional strengthening needs of key play-ers," he added.

"The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) of the Economist mag-azine has ranked Pakistan at the top in microfinance regulations,"he said and added that the EIU report has come at the right timevalidating SBP's approach to microfinance development. -Reuters

PPP leader, Zakaria Butt and Faiza Malik, president PPPWomen Wing Lahore, were also present. -APP

Continued from page 8No #6

One-minute silence was observed in memory of late ShahbazBhatti. The Interior Minister said that country right now needsunity and by uniting we can foil the nefarious designs of anti stateelements.

He also issued on the spot instruction for immediate solution tothe problems being faced by over Pakistanis with respect toNADRA and Passport renewals.

"The government is aware of problems being faced by overseasPakistanis and will spare no efforts for their solutions," he said.

Malik said that Pervez Musharraf is not being made a target ofpolitical vindictiveness in Benazir Bhutto assassination case weknow at whose house the plotting was made and where the suicidejackets had come from.

He said lots of questions were asked from Musharraf regardingthe assassination of Benazir Bhutto but he had refused to giveresponse. -Online

Continued from page 8No #7

floods etc adding, Earthquake Rehabilitation andReconstruction (SERRA) is working for all the provinces of thecountry while Provincial Earthquake Rehabilitation andReconstruction (PERRA) is bound to look after the affairs inKashmir and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

He said that nearly 193 donor agencies are working with Erra

Continued from page 8No #8

Those who struggled for the cause of democracy would assemble under the leadership of MianNawaz Sharif, he observed. The majority of parliamentary party had taken stand against lota league,he stated.

Opposition had staged drama in Punjab Assembly on Friday, he said adding PML-N wouldrespond to it in a civilized and democratic manner.

The robbers and thieves were raising hue and cry against the verdicts of Supreme Court, he saidadding decisions of judiciary would be accepted at every cost. PPP Sindh card would not work, henoted. -Online

Continued from page 8No #9

minor injuries while the kid remained unhurt.The injured were rushed to Polyclinic Hospital who is said to be an official of Pakistan

Telecommunication Authority (PTA), sources added. -APP

Continued from page 8No #10

As compared to the corresponding week of last year, the SPI for the combined group in the weekunder review witnessed increase of 16.76 percent.

As compared to the last week, the SPI for the income groups from Rs.3001-5000 and Rs.5001-12000 increased by 0.54 percent and 0.49 percent respectively while for the income group aboveRs.12000, the SPI witnessed very nominal decrease of 0.01.

During the week under review average prices of 11 items registered decrease, while that of 29items increase with the remaining 13 items' prices unchanged. -APP

Continued from page 8No #11

TV footage showed staff at one hospital waving banners with the words "FOOD" and "HELP"from a rooftop.

Meanwhile, Japanese shares plunged 1.72 percent on Friday, falling sharply in the closing minutesof trade after the country was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami.

The Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 179.95 points to 10,254.43. The Topix indexof all first section shares tumbled 1.7 percent, or 15.33 points, to 915.51.

The market was already weighed down before the earthquake by unrest in the Middle East, euro-zone debt worries, a wider-than-expected US trade deficit and China's announcement of a rare tradedeficit for February.

It was too early to assess the economic damage, but the quake, centred in northeast Japan, was apotentially destructive 8.9 magnitude and caused a tsunami 10 metres (33 feet) high.

Amid the early damage was a fire blazing at an oil refinery near Tokyo.Trading volume spiked as the quake spurred last-minute selling, topping 3.15 billion shares, easi-

ly the most this year so far.Among major share movers, Honda Motor, Kyocera, and Fast Retailing all finished sharply down,

falling 2.6 percent to 3,310 yen, 3.0 percent to 8,170 yen and 2.9 percent to 12,250 yen. -Agencies

Continued from page 1No #12

for assistance purpose.To a question, he said that 54 per cent work in 'Bakaryal' City had been completed while the

remaining task would be accomplished within the shortest possible time.He said that accommodation facility had been provided to the survivors of Balakot city which was

badly affected by the earthquake. -APP

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CAIRO: Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa attends an emergency meeting of the Arab League

foreign ministers, to discuss Libya, at the headquarters in Cairo. -Reuters

LAHORE: Federal Ministerfor Law, Justice andParliamentary Affairs Dr BabarAwan said on Saturday thatexecutive powers cannot betransferred to anyone in accor-dance with provisions of theConstitution.

Addressing Pakistan PeoplesParty (PPP) workers at the resi-dence of Aziz-ur-RehmanChan, he said that it wasmandatory in the Constitutionthat the system of the countrywould be run by the electedrepresentatives of people.

There is no room for LFO,PCO, or any executive or judi-cial orders in the Constitutionfor the purpose, he added.

He said the constitutionalprocedure for executive powerscould not be modified orchanged. He said that office ofthe president was a politicalone, adding that presidents ofIndia, Iran, Afghanistan and theUnited States were also politi-cal presidents.

The president was elected bypolitical representatives of thepeople, he said, and questionedwhy it shouldn't be political?"Some people do not like poli-tics of the federation," headded.

The Minister said when elec-

toral college of the presidentoffice was political, then howcould the president be apoliti-cal?

He said that Punjab ChiefMinister Shahbaz Sharif hadproposed "judicial martial law"in the country, adding that itwas his routine demand.

The minister said that therewas no disappointment in thecountry and people who weredisappointed with the systemand demanding judicial martiallaw should go to shrines ofMadhu Lal Hussain, DataDarbar or Mian Mir.

He said the PPP had nevergiven legitimacy to turncoats asit was an insult to politicalworkers and people.

He said the media was oustedfrom the Punjab Assembly onFriday which was con-demnable, adding the PPPalways respected the media andit believed in a free media. Hesaid the PPP would ensure free-dom of the media at any cost.

Babar said that restoration ofjudges, NFC Award and 18thAmendment were achieve-ments of the PPP-led govern-ment but some people wantedto take credit for these positivesteps.

Criticising governance in the

province, he said that more than275,000 students could not par-ticipate in the examination inPunjab due to the non-provi-sion of roll-number slips and hequestioned was it a good gover-nance?

Babar remarked the PPPwanted to run the PunjabAssembly in a smooth and effi-cient manner and it would actas responsible opposition in theprovince.

He said the real problem wasthe upcoming senate electionsand the PML-N was preparingfor expected defeat in theSenate election in March 2012by using undemocratic meansand tactics.

He urged the PML-N not toavoid elections, adding that allpolitical parties should takepart in elections.

He directed Raja Riaz,Punjab Opposition Leader, toraise the problem of young doc-tors in the assembly.

He said the PPP wanted topass accountability law butsome parties were not support-ing it in the parliament.

Raja Riaz, Punjab OppositionLeader, Shaukat Basra, PunjabDeputy Parliamentary Leader,Malik Mushtaq Awan,

See # 6 Page 7

No room forturncoats inPPP: Awan

Executive powers not transferable under Constitution

CAIRO/ UQAYLAH: AmrMoussa, the secretary-generalof the Arab League, has calledfor a no-fly zone over Libya,and has said the bloc wants arole in imposing it.

His comments come as mem-bers of the organisation meet inthe Egyptian capital Cairo fortalks on the ongoing crisis.

"I do not know how nor whowill impose this zone thatremains to be seen. The ArabLeague can also play a role,that is what I will recommend,"Moussa said on Saturday in aninterview with a German mag-azine.

I am talking about a humani-tarian action. It consists, with ano-fly zone, of supporting theLibyan people in their fight for

freedom against a regime thatis more and more disdainful."

Support from the West for ano-fly zone appears to hinge onthe outcome of the meeting asconsensus is sought for such anaction.

Libya has been suspendedfrom the league, and the bodyhas decided not to allow a del-egation sent by Gaddafi toattend. It has yet to decidewhether to recognise a delega-tion sent by the opposition.

"We know that Saudi Arabiaand the Gulf Co-operationCouncil countries have saidthey support the idea of a no-fly zone.

"The dynamic of the leaguehave changed in the last monthor so," he said, noting Egypt

and Tunisia's diminished influ-ence that has come as a resultof political flux in both coun-tries.

Catherine Ashton, the EU'sforeign policy chief, will be inCairo on Sunday to discuss thesituation with Arab leaders.

On the other hand, Libyantroops forced rebels to retreatovernight from the outskirts ofthe oil town of Ras Lanuf,pushing the front line east-wards, and the rebel council'schief said more volunteerswere ready to fight.

The front line now standsbetween the rebel-held town ofUqaila and Ras Lanuf, whereoil storage tanks were hit dur-ing Friday's fighting. Rebelsblamed an air strike but the

government denied hitting theoil plant.

Libya's rebels said there weremore fighters standing by.

"The volunteers now at thefront are less than 30 percent ofthe people who are willing togo and fight, our people areready and determined to fightGaddafi's forces," LibyanNational Council chiefMustafa Abdel Jalil toldReuters in an interview.

It was clear the rebels hadretreated from Ras Lanuf, butwith a rapidly-moving battle-field, just how far was uncer-tain.

"We're out of Ras Lanuf.They've beaten us back withbombardment," rebel ColonelBashir Abdul Qadr told

Reuters. "We've moved back20 km (12 miles) from lastnight because we are alsoafraid the refinery willexplode."

"Yesterday evening there washeavy bombing from Libyanwar planes. This bombardmentmade us take positions backfrom Ras Lanuf, but not 20 kmas we heard, we are 3 km(away), rebel Colonel Hamedal-Hasi told Arabiya news net-work, adding:

"I advise journalists not toenter the field of operationsbecause we cannot guaranteetheir safety."

There were three air strikesclose to a checkpoint near thetown of Uqaylah, (40 km, 25miles from Ras Lanuf) unset-

tling the rebels who movedoff the road and into thedesert.

The colonel told Reuters that,according to engineers, therefinery at Ras Lanuf will blowup in the next five days due tothe damage sustained in theoperation to retake the townwith a fierce land, sea and airassault.

This could not be independ-ently corroborated.

Rebels, armed mainly withanti-aircraft and anti-tank guns,rocket propelled grenadelaunchers and light weapons,fought back to hold Ras Lanuf,about 590 km (370 miles) eastof Tripoli, but were over-whelmed by Gaddafi's fire-power.

"The city is a ghost town.The presence of civilians thereis very difficult because of theintensity of the bombardment.Gaddafi's forces are still pres-ent in Ras Lanuf, ... Under theaerial cover, they seized theopportunity yesterday," said al-Hasi, adding:

"The battles are far from theoil areas, the battles are on theoutskirts of Ras Lanuf."

Some 4x4 vehicles withheavy weapons moved backtowards Ras Lanuf from thefront line in this barren land-scape dotted with oil termi-nals that divides the westwith Tripoli as its capitalfrom the rebel-held east andLibya's second city ofBenghazi. -Agencies

'No-fly Zone' tops Arab League talks

GUJRANWALA: The PPPcentral information secretaryQamar Zaman Kaira Saturdaysaid that the nation is united tooppose the idea of PunjabChief Minister Shahbaz Shariffor seeking advice from armyand judiciary.

Talking to media men hereon Saturday, he said that thePPP, MQM and PML-N werepolitical rivals therefore theymay face some differences butthe leadership resolve the prob-lems in the interest of the coun-try.

"It is need of hour that thegovernments should completeits constitutional tenure", hesaid adding that all the politicalparties were aware of this need

therefore there was no chanceof mid-term election in thecountry and the governmentwould complete its tenure.

He said that the general elec-tion would be held transparent-ly and the government wasintroducing a computerisedsystem in the regard.

Kaira said that the PPPwould play a responsible roleof opposition in Punjab and thegood acts of the governmentwould be supported.

Qamar Zaman Kaira to aquestion said that the govern-ment will implement the courtorders in NAB Chief's appoint-ment, adding, legal formalitiesregarding the appointment willbe fulfilled. -NNI

Shahbaz idea awrong call: Kaira

ISLAMABAD: EarthReconstruction &Rehabilitation Authority(ERRA) has completed variousprojects worth Rs365 billion inearthquake-hit areas of thecountry and special attention isbeing given to achieve theremaining task in these areas.

Acting Deputy ChairmanErra Brig Masood Ahmedwhile talking to a news channelsaid so far, Erra has spentRs365 billion on various proj-ects while the remaining workworth Rs100 billion is yet to becompleted.

He said the government anddonor agencies had assisted theERRA in the rehabilitationprocess, carried out in theearthquake-hit areas.

He said that the governmentand donor agencies had playeda vital role after the deadlyearthquake of October, 2005.

However, he said, more atten-tion is needed to complete theremaining projects in thequake-stricken areas.

Replying to a question, thedeputy chairman said that theresponsibilities of Erra afterpermanent status haveincreased and assured that anytask in future would be done tothe complete satisfaction of themasses.

To a question he said thatErra has been given a perma-nent status after the approval ofthe parliament and added thatall available resources wouldbe utilized to improve the effi-ciency of the organization.

To another question he saidErra had internal and externalaudit system. While the donoragencies had their own systemto check the transparency inany project, he added.

He said that Erra had the abil-ity to utilize the expertise onconstruction of roads, water,sanitation, governance andelectricity projects.

He said that provinces hadtheir system to tackle the natu-ral calamities like earthquake,

See # 8 Page 7

Erra finishesRs365 billionrehab project

BRUSSELS: NATO hasendorsed a transition plan thatlists the first batch of provincesand districts to be turned overto Afghan control, thealliance's chief has said.

"Ministers from all 48nations contributing troops tothe ISAF mission have todaytaken a crucial step in this crit-ical mission. They haveendorsed the recommendationsof the joint Afghan-NATOtransition board for the first setof areas to be transferred toAfghan lead," Anders FoghRasmussen said in a press con-ference.

Nato's 28 defense ministers,together with their counterpartsfrom 20 other nations partici-pating in ISAF, met Friday atNATO headquarters to discussthe transition in Afghanistan,which is seen as a crucial stepfor NATO troops to start with-drawals.

The Nato chief declined to

give details about the transitionplan, which is set to beapproved by the Afghan gov-ernment and unveiled by theAfghan President HamidKarzai on March 21 (theAfghan New Year).

Diplomats and officials havesaid that six areas, includingthe provincial capitals ofLashkar Gah, Herat andMazar-i-Sharif, provinces ofBamiyan, Panshir and Kabulexcept for the Surobi district,are on the transition list.

There are currently around145,000 U.S. and NATO troopsdeployed in Afghanistan. Thenumber of Afghan soldiers andpolice are expected to reach305,000 by October.

Under mounting domesticpressure, NATO countries areeager to pull their troops out ofAfghanitan and want to com-plete the transition process inAfghanistan by the end of2014. -NNI

Nato givesa final look atAfghan transit

No pressurein Davis case,says Malik

LONDON: Interior MinisterRehman Malik said that inter-national pressure on RaymondDavis' issue was not acceptableand Pakistani courts woulddecide in this regard.

Addressing to Pakistani com-munity in London, Malik saidthat Pakistan was in a state ofwar and banned organisationslike Lashkar-e-Jhangavi,Tehreek-e-Taliban and AlQaeda nexus was on way todestabilise the country andsome forces were againstnuclear power of Pakistan.

He said that due to explosionsno one is investing.

He said that how muchresources these extremists hadas they were travelling in luxu-ry vehicles and certainly someforces were backing them whowill be exposed soon.

He said that overseasPakistanis should send theirmoney through legal channelsso that more foreign revenue isgenerated and country is put onthe path of prosperity.

Malik said that killing ofShahbaz Bhatti is againstnational identity.

See # 7 Page 7

Man dead asUS embassy

car hitsbiker

ISLAMABAD: A US embassyvehicle on Saturday hit amotorcylist in Blue Area leav-ing him critically injured.

According to Police officials,Maqbool Ahmed riding amotorcycle sustained severeinjuries as a US embassy vehi-cle bearing registration No MK743 over-ran him.

The police arrested the drivernamed Karlos, an official of theUS embassy, and shifted him toKohsar Police Station.

The police are investigatingthe driver.

The police informed thatMaqbool was also accompa-nied by his wife and child.Maqbool's wife suffered

See # 10 Page 7

Inflation up0.59pc WoW

ISLAMABAD: The SensitivePrice Indicator (SPI), for theweek ended on 10 March, forthe lowest income group up toRs3000, has registered increaseof 0.59 percent over the previ-ous week.

The SPI for the week underreview in the above mentionedgroup was recorded at 299.36points as against 297.61 pointsregistered in the previous week,according provisional figuresof Federal Bureau of Statistics(FBS).

The weekly SPI has been com-puted with base 2000 2001=100covering 17 urban centers and53 essential items for all incomegroups and combined.

SPI for the combined groupregistered increase of 0.25 percent as it went up from 284.88points in the previous week to285.59 points in the weekunder review.

See # 11 Page 7

SAfrica beatIndia by 3

wicketsNAGPUR: South Africa,

needing 13 runs off the lastover, broke the hearts of a par-tisan Indian crowd by pullingoff a thrilling three-wicket winin the World Cup on Saturday.

Sachin Tendulkar had set upan enthralling Group Bencounter with 111, his 99thinternational century and 48thODI ton. It also gave him hissixth World Cup three-figurescore.

That, along with 73 fromVirender Sehwag, left India ingreat shape at 267-1 but theirremaining nine wickets crashedfor 29 runs to leave them 296all out after 48.4-overs.

In response, South Africawere always adrift of therequired run rate althoughJacques Kallis (69), HashimAmla (61) and AB de Villiers(52) kept them in with a chanceuntil Robin Peterson (18 notout) blasted 16 off the final overincluding a six and two fours toedge the Proteas to a three-wicket victory with a ball left.

PPP nowa Zardari

party: RanaLAHORE: Punjab law minis-ter Rana Sanaullah has saidPPP remains no more Bhuttoparty but it has become Zardariparty adding all rotten eggshave assembled at one place.

Rana Sanaullah was talkingmedia men here in a local hotelSaturday. He held these rotteneggs were responsible for elec-tricity load shedding.

He underlined Q league wasnot a party but it was lota (turn-coat) league. It was a battalionof opportunists, he added. Adictator had created Q-leagueto serve his interests, he said.

Q-league stabbed in the backof democracy by siding withdictator, he alleged. What thedoom Q-league met in theassembly was witnessed by thewhole nation. Those whojoined hands with dictator andthose who sided with democra-cy had been isolated. Some rot-ten eggs of Q-league had joinedPPP and some good elementshad returned to PML-N, hemaintained.

See # 9 Page 7

Gaddafi pushes rebels from Ras Lanuf; White House says will continue to isolate Gaddafi