US expects Pakistani president to recover quickly

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari addresses the annual World Future Energy summit in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi on January 17, 2011. (Getty …

Written on December 9, 2011 | Posted in 2011, Pakistan, Zardari, ad, dha, energy summit, unlmitie

Azerbaijan may participate in oil and gas exploration in Pakistan

Azerbaijan is ready to participate in exploration of oil and gas reserves of Pakistan. It was announced by the Industry and Energy Ministry of Azerbaijan. Industry and Energy Minister of …

Written on December 8, 2011 | Posted in Pakistan, UN, US, ad, industry, unlmitie

6-Nuclear power plants safe, says Pakistan …..

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) on Tuesday said that the …

Written on March 15, 2011 | Posted in Pakistan, ad, aid, islam, islamabad, unlmitie

Japan’’s nuclear crisis escalates further

SENDAI: Japan’’s nuclear crisis escalated Tuesday as two more blasts and a fire rocked a quake-stricken atomic power plant, sending radiation up to dangerous levels. Radiation around the Fukushima No.1 plant on the eastern coast had “risen considerably”, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said, and his chief spokesman announced the level was now high enough to endanger human health. In Tokyo, some 250 kilometres (155 miles) to the southwest, authorities also said that higher than normal radiation levels had been detected in the capital, the world’’s biggest urban area, but not at harmful levels. Kan warned people living up to 10 kilometres (six miles) beyond a 20 km (12-mile) exclusion zone around the nuclear plant to stay indoors. The fire, which was later reportedly extinguished, was burning in the plant’’s number-four reactor, he said, meaning that four out of six reactors at the facility are now in trouble. As well as the atomic emergency, Japan is struggling to cope with the enormity of the damage from Friday’’s record-breaking quake and the tsunami which raced across vast tracts of its northeast, destroying all before it. The official death toll has risen to 2,414, police said Tuesday, but officials say at least 10,000 are likely to have perished. The crisis at the ageing Fukushima plant has escalated daily after Friday’’s quake and tsunami which knocked out cooling systems. On Saturday an explosion blew apart the building surrounding the plant’’s number-one reactor. On Monday, a blast hit the number-three reactor, injuring 11 people and sending plumes of smoke billowing into the sky. Early on Tuesday a blast hit the number-two reactor. That was followed shortly after by a hydrogen explosion which started a fire at the number-four reactor. Chief government spokesman Yukio Edano said radioactive substances were leaked along with the hydrogen. “What we most fear is a radiation leak from the nuclear plant,” Kaoru Hashimoto, 36, a housewife living in Fukushima city 80 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of the stricken plant, told by phone. “Not much confirmed information is coming to us, so we are in trouble about how to cope with the situation.” Hashimoto said supermarkets are open but shelves are completely empty. “Many children are sick in this cold weather but pharmacies are closed. Emergency relief goods have not reached evacuation centres in the city. “I”m wondering how long we can manage with the food we have in stock. Everyone is anxious and wants to get out of town. But there is no more petrol. We are afraid of using a car as we may run out of petrol.” The UN’’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Tokyo had asked for expert assistance in the aftermath of the quake which US seismologists are now measuring at 9.0-magnitude, revised up from 8.9. But the IAEA’’s Japanese chief Yukiya Amano moved to calm global fears that the situation could escalate to rival the world’’s worst nuclear crisis at Chernobyl in the Ukraine in 1986. “Let me say that the possibility that the development of this accident into one like Chernobyl is very unlikely,” he said. Officials have already evacuated 210,000 people in the exclusion zone around the crippled plant. At one shelter, a young woman holding her baby told public broadcaster NHK: “I didn”t want this baby to be exposed to radiation. I wanted to avoid that, no matter what.” Further north in the region of Miyagi, which took the full brunt of Friday’’s terrifying wall of water, rescue teams searching through the shattered debris of towns and villages have found 2,000 bodies. And the Miyagi police chief has said he is certain more than 10,000 people perished in his prefecture. Millions have been left without water, electricity, fuel or enough food and hundreds of thousands more are homeless and facing harsh conditions with sub-zero temperatures overnight, and snow and rain forecast. Tokyo stocks, which were punished Monday when the markets reopened, sending indexes around the world sliding, plummeted another 12 percent by early afternoon on Tuesday. Panic selling saw stocks close more than six percent lower in Tokyo Monday on fears for the world’’s third-biggest economy, as power shortages prompted rolling blackouts and factory shutdowns in quake-hit areas. Kaori Ohashi, 39, a mother-of-two working in a nursing home for the elderly near the city of Sendai, spent two nights trapped in the building after its first floor was submerged by the tsunami. “Snow started to fall and it became dark. We lost power. I thought ”This is a nightmare”,” Ohashi said after she was rescued. At least 1.4 million people in Japan were temporarily without running water and more than 500,000 were taking shelter in evacuation centres, said the UN’’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. At a hospital in the fishing town of Kesennuma hit by the tsunami, an official said basic supplies were desperately needed. “We are critically short of water,” he said. “Water is very important here. To save it, we need a lot of disposable dishes. We need blankets as well.” Aid workers and search teams from across the world joined 100,000 Japanese soldiers in a massive relief push as the country suffers a wave of major aftershocks. The foreign ministry expressed its “heartfelt appreciation” for offers of help pouring in from around the world, and said rescue teams from 11 countries including China — Japan’’s traditional rival — were now on the ground. With ports, airports, highways and manufacturing plants shut down, the government has predicted “considerable impact on a wide range of our country’’s economic activities”. Leading risk analysis firm AIR Worldwide said the quake alone would exact an economic toll estimated at between $14.5 billion and $34.6 billion (10 billion to 25 billion euros) — even leaving aside the effects of the tsunami. (AFP)

Written on March 15, 2011 | Posted in 2011, Economy, Health, ISI, International, News, Oman, UK, UN, US, USA, War, ad, aid, ban, call, china, cia, fair, import, police, teams, uth, weather

IAEA approves safeguards for new Pakistani reactors

NEW DELHI: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tuesday gave its approval to a safeguards agreement for two new reactors that Pakistan said China was building for it at Chashma. The …

Written on March 8, 2011 | Posted in International, Pakistan, aid, china, unlmitie

Cricket World Cup: Shoaib too old for life in fast lane

COLOMBO: Former tearaway Shoaib Akhtar admitted on Monday that age has dimmed his energy and desire to deliver the 100 mph toe-crunchers that once made him the world’’s most feared fast bowler. The charismatic but controversial Pakistan seamer, whose career has been plagued by injury and disciplinary problems, knows that, at 35, it is sense rather than speed that will get wickets. “I left this race of bowling at 100 mph a long time ago. I am nearing 36 now and am more mature, so I am focusing (more) on getting wickets now than bowling fast,” said Akhtar, who broke the 100 mph barrier at the 2003 World Cup. However, he added: “But I crossed 159 kmh (98 mph) the other day.” Akhtar has played 162 ODIs with 246 wickets and 46 Tests, which yielded 178 wickets. (AFP)

Written on February 28, 2011 | Posted in 2011, IPL, ODIs, Pakistan, Sports, UN, US, World Cup, ad, aid, bowling, live, tests

Cricket World Cup: Pakistan grapple with Sri Lanka M-factor

COLOMBO: Pakistan will look to blunt Lasith Malinga and wily off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan in their Group A encounter against Sri Lanka on Saturday, with captain Shahid Afridi confident of a win. Co-hosts Sri Lanka, champions in 1996, and 1992 winners Pakistan are off to flying starts in the tournament with convincing wins against minnows Canada and Kenya, and are primed for their first big match. “I am confident that we are up to the Sri Lankan challenge and ready for anything they throw at us, whether its Malinga or Muralitharan,” said Afridi. Muralitharan, who has a world record 521 wickets in 342 one-day internationals, has a tally of 95 against Pakistan in 64 matches, and is even more dangerous in home conditions. “In Sri Lankan conditions and pitches, he (Muralitharan) is always very dangerous and he could probably turn the ball on the marble as well. He has so much experience and knows conditions well and that’’s why he is the best,” said Afridi. Afridi said Malinga, renowned for his slingy action, would find it tough after missing the Canada match due to a back strain. “Malinga is a very good bowler but he is coming back from an injury, so let’’s see how strong he is and how much he can adjust to the conditions,” said Afridi. Malinga has just ten wickets in nine matches against Pakistan including a best of 5-34. Pakistan have also handled spinner Ajantha Mendis well. He has ten wickets against them in six matches. Afridi hoped the sell-out match would be entertaining in a World Cup that needs a blockbuster clash between two of the big guns. “It will be a good game. If we bowl well, bat well and go with positive body language and show more readiness for the game and willingness to win, I am sure we can pull it off,” said Afridi. Pakistan have never lost a World Cup match against Sri Lanka in six previous attempts but they were all before Sri Lanka became one of the top sides in the world game. “The last match Sri Lanka played against us their fast bowlers did really well and they have a very good team combination. They”ve got good new guys in the side so we will have to play with our full strength and to win against them we need to give more than 100 percent effort,” said Afridi. Pakistan will look to improve on their starts — both in batting and bowling — at the match in Colombo. “We are not short on motivation and our energy levels are good,” said Afridi, looking to restrict the in-form Mahela Jayawardene, who scored a match-winning hundred during the team’’s 210-run win over Canada. Besides Jayawardene, captain Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga are in good form with the bat. Jayawardene acknowledged Pakistan were a dangerous side. “They (Pakistan) are a very good side, so we look forward to playing Pakistan. The boys showed great attitude in the match against Canada,” said Jayawardene. Sri Lanka will likely bring Malinga into the side in place of Thisara Perera, who took three wickets in the Canada match. Pakistan will try to squeeze in off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, who has not played since his father’’s death in January this year. (AFP)

Written on February 24, 2011 | Posted in 2011, Canada, International, Mali, Pakistan, Shahid AFridi, Sports, UN, US, War, World Cup, ad, afridi, aid, batting, bowling, captain, kenya, pta

No country has suffered more from terrorism than Pakistan: US

WASHINGTON: Acknowledging that Pakistan has been the biggest victim of terrorism, the United States has reaffirmed its resolve to assist Islamabad in addressing the challenge of violent extremism comprehensively. “We are trying to help Pakistan improve its government, improve that government’’s relationship with its people, help Pakistan develop the tools and the strategy to combat extremism within its borders,” Philip J Crowley, Assistant Secretary of State said at the daily briefing. He noted that extremism is, first and foremost, a threat to Pakistan itself and underscored the strategically located South Asian country’’s key importance to regional stability. “There’’s no country that has suffered more significantly from terrorism than Pakistan itself.” “It’’s a strategic country. It is important in terms of regional stability, it’’s important to the United States and others in terms of its links to extremism and the risk of terrorism that does affect all of us, including the United States. We are committed to a long-term partnership with Pakistan.” The Obama administration is purusing a regional approach to addressing the challenges, the spokesman said. “The challenge of political extremism is not just focused on any one country. There have been attacks against Indian interests in Afghanistan, in India. And this is why we”re deeply engaged across the region with Afghanistan, with Pakistan, with India to try to attack this extremism that affects all of our countries.” The acting Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Frank Ruggiero had a very successful trip to Pakistan to demonstrate that “we are committed to helping to build a stable, secure, and prosperous Pakistan,” Crowley added. During the visit, Ruggiero announced a contribution of $190 million to Pakistan’’s Citizen Damage Compensation Fund. This was part of the $500 million in Kerry-Lugar-Berman Act funds that late Ambassador Richard Holbrooke had previously committed to help Pakistan with its flood relief operations. Meanwhile, the spokesman said, the search is ongoing to determine successor of Ambassador Holbrooke who died in December 2010. Commenting on Islamabad’’s recent decision to roll back hike in petroleum prices, Crowley said the move has not dealt a blow to Washington’’s wide-ranging strategy for the country. “We are committed to helping improve the circumstances on the ground for the people of Pakistan from those areas that were significantly affected by the flooding, but we have a strategy that is focused on all of Pakistan, including bringing greater economic opportunity to those areas where we have concerns about the presence of extremists that are, that can affect Pakistan.” Questioned if the Obama Administration’’s strategy for Pakistan suffered a significant blow with the government’’s decision to reverse the energy price increase, the spokesman replied: “Not at all. A stable civilian government supported by the people of Pakistan is essential to be able to carry out the strategy that we have worked out together. The Secretary has described our specific concerns that economic reforms continue, but economic reforms have multiple dimensions. Gasoline is one, but there are a number of other areas, from agriculture to reform of state-owned enterprises. Pakistan has to make progress on all of these areas.” Crowley agreed with the significance of Islamabad getting market access as part of efforts to bolster its economy. “There is no question that economics is a very important dimension of boosting Pakistan. It not only has to have a viable economy, but it has to have access to markets. This is something that we continue to discuss with Pakistan.” On the long-delayed preferential trade program through establishment of Reconstruction Opportunity Zone in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the spokesman said the Obama Administration continue to discuss it with the Congress.

Written on January 11, 2011 | Posted in 2010, Economy, IPL, ISI, Pakistan, Politics, Terrorism, UN, US, ad, afghan, afghanistan, aid, cia, import, india, islam, islamabad, ngo, south asia, trade, uth

NXT Announces a Letter of Award to Conduct a US $ 2.66 Million SFD Survey in Pakistan

NXT Energy Solutions Inc. (“NXT” or “the Company”) (TSX VENTURE:SFD) (OTCBB:NSFDF) (FRANKFURT:EFW) is pleased to announce the receipt of a Letter of Award (LOA) from Pakistan Petro

Written on January 4, 2011 | Posted in Pakistan, UN, War, unlmitie

Stocks at KSE gain 28% in 2010

Pakistan`s main stock market closed out 2010 with a 28 percent annual gain, driven by foreign buying mainly in the energy sector, despite concerns about thecountry`s macroeconomic indicators after summer floods

Written on January 1, 2011 | Posted in 2010, Pakistan, UN, floods, unlmitie

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