LAHORE: Pakistan hockey team head coach and manager Akhtar Rasool termed participation of the team in the next year’s 20th Commonwealth Games very essential and advised all those at the helm of affairs to take a swift decision in this regard. Talking to Dawn, Akhtar Rasool said he came to know that there were some hurdles in sending the national team to the Commonwealth Games which he said should be removed to pave the way for team participation in the tough competition.
Apex court sets aside LHC decision
LAHORE, July 30: A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside the Lahore High Court’s decision about allocating Haj quota to the lowest bidders from among the newly-enrolled Haj Group Organisers. The bench headed by Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jilani said the LHC decision was interference in policy matters of the government. The bench passed this order on petitions moved by old HGOs. Representing the petitioners, Advocate Afzal A. Haider argued that the LHC had issued the order to grant Haj quota to the newly-registered organisers and it was beyond the jurisdiction of the court. He said the allotment of the quota was a policy matter of the government and courts had no authority to intervene into such matters.
Civilian casualties up 23 per cent in Afghan war: UN
KABUL: Civilian casualties in the Afghan war rose 23 per cent in the first half of this year due to Taliban attacks and increased fighting between insurgents and government forces, the UN said Wednesday. The increase reverses a decline in 2012 and raises questions about how Afghan government troops can protect civilians as US-led Nato troops withdraw from the 12-year war against the Taliban. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said 1,319 civilians died and 2,533 were injured as a result of the war from January 1 to June 30, up 23 per cent from the same period in 2012.
Govt intervenes to stabilise market
KARACHI: Gold importers disappeared from the currency market which suddenly reduced the dollar price gap in open and inter bank markets to Re1 from Rs3.5 per dollar on Tuesday. Informed currency dealers said that importers spent $500 million in July to import gold, causing a serious dent to country’s weak dollar reserves. Dealers said that the government’s decision to put a temporary ban on gold for one month would surely help stabilise exchange rate in favour of local currency and lift pressure on the open market.
Zawahri vows Al Qaeda to free Aafia, Guantanamo inmates
DUBAI: Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri said the group would spare no effort to free Aafia Siddiqui as well as the hunger striking inmates at Guantanamo Bay, according to an audio recording posted on the Internet on Wednesday. “The (hunger) strike by our brothers at Guantanamo unmasks the true ugly face of (the United States of) America,” Zawahri said in an audio recording posted on an Islamist website and whose authenticity could not be verified.
Road accidents kill 24 in Karak, Nawabshah
PESHAWAR: At least 24 people, including women and children, were died in two separate traffic accidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Karak and Sindh’s Nawabshah towns in Pakistan on Tuesday.At least 17 people, including three children, burned to death in northwest Pakistan when a gas cylinder exploded on a bus after it collided with a truck, officials said. The bus was carrying passengers to the city of Bannu when the collision happened on a highway around 140 kilometres (87 miles) from Peshawar, the capital of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Egypt’s ousted Morsi ‘well’: EU’s Ashton
CAIRO: EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met Egypt’s ousted president on Tuesday, saying he was “well,” but the country’s political crisis seemed no closer to resolution despite her efforts. Neither the interim government nor supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi showed any indication that they had shifted their positions after talks with Ashton, who left Cairo on Tuesday. And Morsi loyalists said they would continue their demonstrations throughout the day, despite stern warnings from the military and National Defence Council and the deaths of 82 people at a protest on Saturday.
53 million dollar jewellery heist shocks Cannes
CANNES: A robber carrying an automatic pistol stole jewellery and watches worth millions of euros from the luxury Carlton Hotel in Cannes on Sunday, police and judicial sources said. A man wearing gloves, with his face hidden by a scarf, burst into the hotel in the late morning and demanded to be handed several bags containing jewels and diamond-encrusted watches. “Everything happened very quickly,” a judicial source said, adding that there was no violence.
Pakistanis to submit 3,000-pound bonds for British visas
LAGOS: Britain’s Home Office confirmed Monday it will demand a 3,000-pound ($4,630) refundable bond for visas for “high-risk” visitors from six former colonies including Pakistan. The bond will be refunded when the visitor leaves Britain. The pilot scheme has brought warnings in Britain and abroad that it will damage trade. Britain said in a statement Monday that it will go ahead with the pilot scheme despite the outrage, charges of discrimination and warnings of retaliation.
Pakistan stocks end lower, rupee weakens, o/n rate rise
KARACHI: Pakistan’s main stock exchange closed lower on Monday, with the benchmark 100-share index of the Karachi Stock Exchange falling 0.77 per cent or 181.92 points to 23,315.15. Profit taking in cement and banking stocks caused the index to fall by 0.77 per cent. Media reports that the International Monetary Fund may insist that the government of Pakistan increase interest rates also affected investor sentiments, dealers said.
