KHAR: Troops
killed 37 suspected militants, including foreigners, in
clashes in Bajaur Agency on Wednesday, officials said. The
authorities claimed the killing of 37 militants as security
forces backed by gunship helicopters pounded suspected
militants hideouts in the restive tribal belt, however,
independent sources confirmed the death of 20 people
including
KARACHI:
Eight of the judges sacked last November by former president
Pervez Musharraf have been reinstated while the number of
judges of Sindh High Court (SHC) has been increased from 28
to 40 on Wednesday. They took their oaths at the governor's
house in Karachi. Seven or eight more may be sworn in next
week. Musharraf sacked some 60 judges,
Sherry
says grade-1 to 15 govt employees to be regularised; no more
talks with TTP; daylight saving time will continue
Statesman Report
ISLAMABAD: The
Federal Cabinet Wednesday decided to repeal the National
Accountability (NAB) Ordinance and replace it with a new bill
which will be presented before the parliament. The cabinet also
approved a 50 per cent increase in taxes on import of 350 items
described as luxury goods including expensive vehicles. The
Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Syed
Yousuf Raza Gillani also decided to table a bill before the
parliament to regularise
PESHAWAR: Only a
few days are left in the arrival of Ramazan-ul-Mubarak. Every
year the federal government announces special packages for
giving relief to the poor people of the country during the holy
month of fasting, usually in the shape of slashing the prices of
the commodities of daily use provided through the utility
stores. However, this year hardly any difference is noticeable
in the prices of the essential commodities in the open market
and at the utility stores and as such there is no relief in
sight for the common man during the blessed month of fasting
beginning in a few days’ time.
MARDAN: Scores of
student activists of a particular student union on Wednesday
stormed the examination section of Board of Intermediate and
Secondary Education (BISE) Mardan where they allegedly
manhandled the staffers for not increasing the marks of a
student. According to board sources, a group of students
forcibly entered into secrecy where they allegedly pressurised
the staffers to increase marks in the DMC of a student. Upon
refusal, sources continued, the students got infuriated and
allegedly misbehaved and started threatening
TEHRAN: Iran
could hit back at Israel with missiles if the Jewish state
attacked it and could also rely on allies in the region to
strike, the commander of the Islamic Republic's
Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday. Israel, like the
United States, has not ruled out military action against
Iran if diplomacy fails to resolve a row over Tehran's
nuclear ambitions. The West and Israel accuse Iran of
seeking to build nuclear weapons, despite Iran's insistence
that it wants technology to make electricity so that it can
save more of its vast oil and gas resources for export.
NEW YORK: Top
seed Ana Ivanovic struggled but held on to win her opening
match, while a pair of wannabe number ones advanced in
straights sets during day two of the US Open. World No. 1
Ivanovic, who captured the French Open earlier this year for
her first Grand Slam title, didn't make the opening
statement she had planned on Tuesday. The 20-year-old
Serbian survived a scare by beating Vera Dushevina 6-1, 4-6,
6-4 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre.
"Obviously my lack of practice showed a little," Ivanovic
said.
LAHORE: The
Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged the
government to immediately announce economic roadmap as its
failure to give a proper economic strategy in the last four
months has virtually pushed the country to the wall. The
situation is so pathetic that the industry has no money even
to pay the salaries to its workers. He said that if the
situation remains the same for sometime, even the harshest
measures would not be enough to give the economy a
kick-start. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the LCCI
President Mohammad Ali Mian said that it has now
