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.

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." 

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.
 

The National Economic Council (NEC) which met here under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has approved Rs 873 billion for Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP 2012-13), with focus on water and power, social sector, health education, job creation and food security, for the socio-economic prosperity of the country.

Talking to media after the NEC meeting here on Thursday, Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said that government has planned a balanced development approach to equally develop Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan and Federally Administered Tribal Areas with other parts of the country.

The Minister said that the NEC also reviewed the progress of Federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) of Rs 300 billion during the outgoing financial year 2011-12 and it was observed that 170 big development projects have been completed with 100 percent releases for the projects.

During the last four years, National Development Expenditure has been Rs. 2.2 trillion, including Rs 1 trillion by the Federal Government. Our Government increased the size of development expenditure from Rs 416 billion in 2008-09 to Rs 710 billion during the current fiscal year. This shows an average annual increase of 19.5% during this period.

The government was able to achieve growth rate in the range of 3.4% during the last two years. We know that this growth rate is not sufficient to achieve the overarching targets of poverty reduction and enhancing employment opportunities. For that we need at least a consistent GDP annual growth of over 7% over a long period of time.

He said that the government is proposing a GDP growth rate of 4.3% for the next fiscal year, which is quite achievable due to the base provided by the Government.

Another positive development is the falling inflation rate. The CPI which witnessed increase of 20.8 percent during 2008-9, is now reduced to around 11 சதவீதம். Similarly the food inflation has been brought down from 23.7 percent in 2008-09 to around 11 percent during the current fiscal year and estimated to be in single digit by the end of next fiscal year.
 

The United States on Thursday voiced concern over extrajudicial killings and religious intolerance in Pakistan, including in its troubled southwestern province of Baluchistan.

In an annual report on human rights, the State Department said that the "most serious human rights problems" in Pakistan included extrajudicial killings, torture and disappearances by both security forces and militants.

"Lack of government accountability remained a pervasive problem. Abuses often went unpunished, fostering a culture of impunity," it said.
In presenting the report, senior US official Mike Posner also highlighted an uptick in violations of religious freedom, including through controversial anti-blasphemy laws, as well as violence in Baluchistan.

"We re very concerned about the violence in Baluchistan. We re concerned about the effects of those who ve challenged some of the laws, like the blasphemy law," said Posner, the assistant secretary of state for human rights.

Posner raised the case of Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death in November 2010 for alleged blasphemy. Assassins last year killed Salman Taseer, the governor of the central province of Punjab, and Shahbaz Bhatti, the minister for minority affairs, who both defended Bibi and sought reforms.

In her own remarks on the report, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did not name Pakistan but voiced concern over the treatment of religious minorities including the Ahmadi community.

The State Department report also accounted allegations of rights violations in Baluchistan — a highly sensitive issue for Pakistan.

The report, based largely on accounts by rights groups and officials, said that disappearances in Baluchistan "remained a problem" with the mutilated bodies of 355 missing people found between June 2010 and December 2011.

Baluch rebels rose up in 2004, demanding political autonomy and a greater share of profits from oil, gas and mineral resources in the region. The unrest comes as the United States an Pakistan focus on Islamic extremism in lawless areas on the Afghan border.

The State Department report also said that prison conditions were "extremely poor" in Pakistan, with accounts of torture, sexual abuse, overcrowding, inadequate food and medical care, and discrimination against minority inmates.
 

US senators scandalized by Pakistan s jailing of a doctor for helping the CIA find Osama bin Laden voted on Thursday to cut aid to Islamabad by $33 மில்லியன் — one million for each year in the doctor s sentence.

"It s arbitrary, but the hope is that Pakistan will realize we are serious," said Senator Richard Durbin after the unanimous 30-0 vote by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

"It s outrageous that they (the Pakistanis) would say a man who helped us find Osama bin Laden is a traitor," said Durbin, the Senate s number two Democrat.

The amendment was offered by Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican, and Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat. Earlier in the week an appropriations subcommittee slashed aid to Islamabad and warned it would withhold more if Pakistan does not reopen supply routes for NATO soldiers in neighboring Afghanistan.

The Pakistani doctor, Shakil Afridi, was sentenced to 33 years in jail Wednesday on charges of treason. He was accused of running a fake vaccination campaign, in which he collected DNA samples, that is believed to have helped the American intelligence agency track down bin Laden in a Pakistani town.

The al Qaeda leader was killed in the town of Abbottabad a year ago in a unilateral U.S. special forces raid that heavily damaged ties between Islamabad and Washington. Since then, there have been growing calls in the U.S. Congress to cut off some or all of U.S. aid.

Pakistan has been one of the leading recipients of U.S. foreign aid in recent years. Even after the cuts voted this week it still would receive about $1 billion in fiscal 2013, if the full Senate and House of Representatives approve.
 

An earthquake measuring 4.8 on Richter Scale jolted Quetta, Mastung, Sibbi and surrounding areas in the early hours of Friday. The epicenter of the quake was 90km north of Khuzdar.

Panic spread in the area after the quake and people came out of their houses. People were informed about the earthquake through aerial firing.

இடை நேரம், seven people including four children were injured during a stampede after the earthquake. The injured were shifted to Civil Hospital for treatment.

முந்தைய, a moderate earthquake hit Kalat and its suburbs at 10:00pm on Thursday.