Asian markets were mixed Friday and the euro sat at near-two year lows as weak European data added to pessimism after this week s disappointing summit on saving Greece from leaving the eurozone.

Positive leads from Wall Street and European markets were unable to provide a lift as Asian indexes gave up the gains made since the start of the year.

Tokyo traded flat, up 0.20 percent, or 17,01 points, to 8,580.39, Sydney eased 0.66 percent, or 26.6 points, at 4,029.2, while Seoul closed 0.53 percent higher, or 9.7 points up, at 1,824.17.

In afternoon trade Hong Kong was 0.17 percent lower while Shanghai was down 0.37 percent

As traders digested the outcome of Wednesday s summit in Brussels — which laid bare the divisions between Germany and France rather than solve Athens  problems — a string of data highlighted the woeful state of Europe s economy.

The latest surveys of eurozone business confidence showed the worst monthly fall in May for nearly three years, to 45.9 points on the Markit PMI index from 46.7 in April. Anything less than 50 signals a slowdown.

In Germany, the backbone of Europe s economic might, business confidence fell to a six-month low while a French leading index for manufacturing activity fell to the lowest level for 37 months.

And in non-euro member Britain, data showed that the recession was deeper than previously thought, with the economy shrinking 0.3 percent between January and March, worse than the prior estimate for a 0.2-percent contraction.

The euro bought $1.2540 and 99.87 yen in early Asian trade, compared with $1.2532 and 99.74 yen in New York late Thursday. The common currency sank to $1.2516 in New York, its lowest since July 2010.

The dollar was trading at 79.65 yen against 79.59 yen.

Global investors are increasingly concerned that Greece will end up exiting the euro as a June 17 election is expected to see a win for anti-austerity parties who have said they will tear up a bailout deal signed with the EU and International Monetary Fund.

"Investors still have very little confidence in the stock market and financial markets as a whole because of what s happening in Europe," said Francis Lun, managing director at Lyncean Securities.

"The fallout from Greece s possible exit from the euro would be catastrophic for the market," he told Dow Jones Newswires.

The talks on Wednesday ended with German Chancellor Angela Merkel facing down calls for jointly pooled eurozone debt, or eurobonds, from a growing number of her peers, led by newly-elected French President Francois Hollande.

Despite the gloomy picture in Europe the Dow on Wall Street rose 0.27 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index fell 0.38 percent and the S&P 500 gained 0.14 percent.

And European markets also closed higher, with London s FTSE up 1.59 percent, the DAX 30 in Frankfurt adding 0.48 percent and Paris  CAC 40 up 1.16 percent.

நியூயார்க் s main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in July was down two cents to $90.64 per barrel while Brent North Sea crude for July shed 23 cents to $106.32 in the afternoon.

Gold was at $1,553.62 an ounce at 0615 GMT, compared with $1,566.30 late Thursday.

In other markets:

– Taipei fell 53.26 points, or 0.75 percent, to 7,071.63.

HTC shed 3.95 percent to Tw$413.0 while TSMC was 0.74 percent lower at Tw$80.0.

– Welசதவீதம் wஅல்லது down 0.புள்ளிகள்cent, or, 9.956 points, at 3486.231.
 

Oil prices eased in Asian trade Friday on growing fears about the eurozone s debt troubles but the falls were tempered by worries about the nuclear standoff between the West and Iran, analysts said.

நியூயார்க் s main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in July was down two cents to $90.64 per barrel while Brent North Sea crude for July shed 23 cents to $106.32 in the afternoon.

"Oil prices continue to decline as macroeconomic sentiment continues to weaken, with the lack of concrete measures on the part of European policymakers to address the Greek issue," Barclays Bank said in a commentary.

It said the lack of a policy response to Greece s possible exit from the euro was "weighing significantly across all risk assets".

Shortly after a European Union summit that ended Thursday failed to produce a conclusive plan on dealing with Athens, a May survey of eurozone business confidence showed the sharpest monthly fall for nearly three years.

A Greek general election set for June 17 is expected to result in a win for anti-austerity parties who have said they will tear up a bailout deal with the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Such a move would in effect lead to the country s euro exit, which analysts warn could have disastrous knock-on effects for the global economy.

Investors are also keeping close watch on the nuclear row between Iran and the West after talks between the two sides ended on Thursday with few results except to fix a date to meet again next month.

P51 nations — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany — had laid out a new package of proposals to persuade Iran to suspend uranium enrichment, which was flatly rejected by Tehran officials.

Iran has faced a raft of sanctions from the international community over its nuclear programme, seen by many as a guise for atomic weapons push.

Iran has insisted that the programme is for purely peaceful purposes.

"Getting Iran to the table is one thing, getting them to back down is quite another," said Justin Harper, market strategist at IG Markets Singapore.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi next week during the first visit by an Indian premier to Myanmar in a quarter of a century, her party said Friday.

India has faced international criticism in the past for its engagement with Myanmar s former junta, and Singh s meeting with the veteran activist is seen as a sign that Delhi wants to reaffirm ties with the democracy activist.

Nyan Win, a spokesman for Suu Kyi s National League for Democracy (NLD), said the talks would take place on Tuesday, pushing back plans for the Nobel laureate to visit Bangkok in her first foreign trip in 24 years.

"She will fly to Thailand to attend the World Economic Forum (on East Asia) on Tuesday evening," he told AFP without giving further details.

Singh will also meet President Thein Sein, who is credited with instigating a series of political reforms in the country formerly known as Burma, on Monday in the capital Naypyidaw, according to Myanmar government officials.

Once an outspoken supporter of Suu Kyi, India began engaging the Myanmar junta in the mid-1990s on security and energy issues and as a counter to China s growing strategic influence.

The country s dealings with Myanmar s previous military regime drew international concern, however, with US President Barack Obama chiding New Delhi during a visit to India in 2010 for not speaking out over human rights abuses in the country.

Suu Kyi has a strong personal tie to India, where she studied while her mother was ambassador there.

The democracy icon, who entered parliament for the first time this month, also plans to travel to Europe in June.

The trip will include a visit to Norway to accept the Nobel Peace Prize she was awarded in 1991 and to Britain, where she lived for years with her family.

Suu Kyi s visit to Bangkok is expected to be brief, with the opposition leader spending just one night in the Thai capital before returning to Yangon, a member of her security detail said.
 

According to the technical staff of Pakistan Railways Locomotive, they demanded to increase technical allowance, to upgrade pay scale and asked for overtime which should be equivalent to double the amount of their pay if they work on their off day.

The protestors lamented that government has agreed to their demands but the railway officials are not implementing the orders.

England will take an unbeatable lead in their three-match series against the West Indies if they win the second Test at Trent Bridge starting here on Friday.

And, after a five-wicket victory in the first Test at Lord s, few would bet against Andrew Strauss s number one ranked side going 2-0 up in Nottingham.

The West Indies did take the first Test into the fifth day and twice had England wobbling as they pursued a modest target of 191.

The likes of opener Adrian Barath, Kieran Powell and Kirk Edwards can expect their techniques to be tested again by James Anderson and Stuart Broad, man-of-the-match at Lord s with an 11-wicket haul, at a Trent Bridge ground renowned for aiding swing bowling.

West Indies have won just twice in their last 31 Tests and are without a win in 15 Tests in England, a run including 13 defeats.

They badly need someone in the top order to lend more support to Chanderpaul and Marlon Samuels, who made 86 in the second innings at Lord s.

"Shiv and Marlon are leading from the front and the younger players are taking a pattern from their book," said West Indies wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin.

The West Indies suffered another setback when fast bowler Shannon Gabriel, who took four wickets on debut at Lord s, was subsequently ruled out of the tour with a back injury.

Gabriel s absence will mean at least one change for the West Indies with fit-again Ravi Rampaul set to come in ahead of Tino Best, summoned from the Caribbean on Tuesday.

And they could add some much needed variety to their attack by recalling spinner Shane Shillingford.

Despite taking 10 wickets in his previous Test appearance against Australia, Shillingford was omitted at Lord s where Samuels  part-time slow bowling posed few problems.

England all-rounder Tim Bresnan may have celebrated his 12th win in as many career Test appearances at Lord s but a match return of one for 144 has left his place vulnerable to a challenge from pacemen Steven Finn and Graham Onions.
 

Teams from all over the country, including Multan and Islamabad, are participating in the tournament.

In the opening match of the tournament, played at the Colony Ground, hosts Mirpur Khar outplayed Multan by 9 wickets.

Batting first, visitors from Multan were bundled out for just 41 runs. Multan’s captain Asif Iqbal made 12 runs. In reply, Mirpur Khas achieved the target for the loss of just one wicket.
 

Two people were in acts of violence in different parts of Karachi while Rangers have arrested 17 மக்கள், including six members of Lyari gang war, during raids in Maripur and Guzri areas.

According to details, 28-year-old Faisal was shot dead in Bahadurabad area while 25-year-old Abdul Shakoor was gunned down by some unidentified persons in Korangi.

On the other hand, Rangers on the tip off conducted raids in Maripur locality and arrested six accused of Lyari gang war. Those who were arrested included, Hakeem, Murad, Waqar, Haider, Muzammil and Amir Hamza. The Rangershave also recovered six hand grenades, two Kalashnikovs, 17 pistols, one repeater and 850 bullets from their possession. According to Rangers sources, the accused were wanted in cases of kidnapping for ransom, murder, extortion and several other heinous crimes.

In a separate raid in Guzri area, Rangers have arrested 11 accused and recovered arms from their possession. The accused were sifted to some undisclosed location. The rangers sources informed that the arrested person opened indiscriminate firing yesterday and forced the traders to shut their shops in the area.

இடை நேரம், residents of Model Colony nabbed a dacoit from 9C Stop and tortured him brutally. Police reached the spot and arrested the dacoit. According to police, the accused Riaz has injured a man on resisting the robbery attempt. Police also recovered a stolen Motorcycle and arms from his possession.

In another robbery attempt in Taj Colony in Lyari, dacoits injured a man on resistance while one person was injured in firing incident in Gulshan Iqbal area.
 

According to details, Naeem Mughal bought a 5-marla plot from his neighbor Rehmat in Kalar Abadi area in the jurisdiction of Police Station.

The female members of Naeem family were standing in front of their house when Muhammad Ameen along with his accomplices came their and after a verbal dispute opened indiscriminate fire, killing two real sister Afia Bibi and Tahira Bibi and injuring Naeem wife Saima and daughter Sidra. The injured were shifted to nearby hospital for treatment.
 

Police in southwest China have detained a man suspected of murdering more than a dozen boys and young men, chopping up their bodies and selling the flesh to unsuspecting consumers, reports said Friday.

Zhang Yongming, 56, was detained two weeks ago in Nanmen village in Yunnan province and is being investigated over the murder of a 19-year-old man in late April, the Guangxi News website reported.

Police searching Zhang s home found the young man s cellphone, bank card and other evidence, according to the website, which said more than a dozen other teenagers had gone missing from the village over the years.

It said Zhang had previously served almost 20 years in jail for murder.

Zhang was known in the village as the "cannibal monster," the site reported, quoting residents as saying they had seen green plastic bags hanging from his home, with what appeared to be white bones protruding from the top.

Local police declined comment when contacted by AFP Friday, saying information would be made available "at an appropriate time", and other reports on the gruesome case appeared to have been removed from Chinese websites.

But Hong Kong newspaper The Standard said Friday that police entering Zhang s home discovered human eyeballs preserved inside wine bottles and pieces of what appeared to be human flesh hanging in the house to dry.

Police feared that Zhang had fed human flesh to his three dogs, while selling other parts on the market, calling it "ostrich meat", according to The Standard.

Beijing has dispatched a team of experts to Yunnan to supervise the investigation into the missing teenagers and two local police chiefs have been dismissed from their positions, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Families of the missing suspected that they had been kidnapped and forced to work in illegal brick kilns, Xinhua said, adding that the government had urged a swift resolution to the case.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, son of President Asif Ali Zardari, on Thursday said Musharaff sabotaged his mother s security when she returned to her homeland in 2007, and said he is confident of his own security in Pakistan.

"I m confident that the Pakistani government will provide me with the adequate security, unlike the government at the time that sabotaged my mother s security in Pakistan," he told CNN in an interview.

The 23-year-old, who returned to Pakistan last year after studying at Oxford, said her assassination was due to a combination of extremists, and Musharraf s regime.

"Al-Qaeda issued the instructions to do it, the Taliban… carried out the actual attack, while Pervez Musharraf purposely sabotaged my mother s security when he knew there was going to be attacks, so she would be eliminated.

"He murdered my mother. I hold him responsible for the murder of my mother," he added. "He d threatened her himself in the past. He said:  Your security is directly linked to our relationship and our cooperation. 

"When he imposed emergency, and it was clear that he was pulling the wool over our eyes. He was not interested in returning democracy to Pakistan. And my mother started to speak out more against him, the security decreased."

He further said that he hopes to take a greater role in Pakistan s political life.

"I did not campaign in the last election, I went to university. I don t feel like at the moment I have the mandate to take a particularly active role," he said.

"I look forward to campaigning in the next election and playing a larger role then," he said. Asked if he hoped to be Pakistan s leader one day, he said: "I d like to help my people in any way I can.

"It s difficult times in Pakistan and we all have to help." 

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton says both sides have agreed to continue the discussions on June 18-19 in hopes of a breakthrough on international concerns about the Islamic Republic s ability to build atomic weapons.

Thursday s announcement caps two days of negotiations in Baghdad where at times it appeared Tehran would withdraw from the talks in frustration over the West s refusal so far to scale back tough economic sanctions on Iran.

Talking to a delegation of Supreme Court Bar Association led by its president Yasin Azad PM said that it is the PPP leadership which restored the constitution and strengthened institutions and democracy.

Prime Minister Gilani said progress of the country was possible only with the strengthening of democracy and sovereignty of any country cannot remain intact in the absence of a constitution.

He noted PPP was a federal political party working for the strengthening of democracy.

He observed PPP’s former Chairperson, Benazir Bhutto Shaheed preferred to remain in prison during the movement for the reinstatement of judiciary instead of compromising on her principles.

Prime Minister Gilani noted Benazir Bhutto handed the leadership of PPP to him, when she went into jail, following which a lawsuit was filed against him under Terrorism Act. Despite all this, he did not give up, the premier said. He also said, President PML-N, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif should learn from the past instead of criticizing the government.

President Supreme Court Bar Association, Yasin Azad said on the occasion that completion of the tenure of present government was indispensable for democratic stability, adding that general elections should be held when the time comes. Yasin Azad said Pakistan Bar Council and Supreme Court Bar had got the prerogative of giving a protest-call to the lawyers.

Appreciating the services of lawyers, Prime Minister said he would soon inaugurate a housing colony for the lawyers whereas he also announced a grant of a hundred million rupees for the construction of a building for Supreme Court Bar, also allotting two buses to the bar. It is pertinent to mention the Prime Minister had also announced, last year, a grant of 350 million rupees for the building of Supreme Court Bar.
 

The petition had been moved by Dunya News senior anchor person Mubashar Luqman.

The counsel for the petitioner, Ali Zafer Advocate, adopted the stance that the Punjab government had committed corruption while distributing laptops among students, adding that failed students were awarded with laptops.

The petitioner also advocated that the laptops were distributed by such people who were neither high official nor were entitled to do so.

The petitioner also claimed that this move just aimed at securing political benefits, with the prayer that legal action should be taken against the people committed negligence and corruption.

After hearing preliminary arguments, the court has accepted the petition for hearing.
 

Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has urged President Barack Obama to show “some courage” and apologize to Pakistan for the NATO airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at Salala and bring US-Pakistan relations back on track.

“Pakistan deserves an apology,” he said, noting that his current week-long visit to the United states was taking place at a crucial point in the relations between the two countries. The PPP chairman also called for an end to the drone attacks inside the Pakistani territory, saying they were illegal and violate international law and even the US’s war powers act.
 

Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wasan went abroad on one month leave and the sources have said that he has applied 15 days extension in his leave.

இடை நேரம், SSP Thatha, Muhammad Ali Wasan, a close relative of Manzoor Wasan has been transferred. The sources said that all the names sent by Home Minister for appointment in police department have been removed from the list.