PM sacks acting chairman of Pakistan Steel

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani sacked the acting chairman of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM), Rasul Bux Phulpoto.

According to reports, the appointment of Phulphoto as acting Chairman PSM has been annulled by the PM Gilani as he was not taken into confidence by the Ministry of Industries and Production over the decision.

On Tuesday, Premier Gilani had dismissed the then PSM chairman Moin Aftab Shiekh for corruption charges.Link...

Employees to get OGDC shares worth Rs36 billion

ISLAMABAD: Over 10,500 employees of the Oil and Gas Development Company will get 438 million shares worth Rs36 billion from government holding from Aug 26, says federal Minister for Petroleum Naveed Qamar.

Mr Qamar, who announced the scheme at a press conference here on Wednesday, said: ‘Twelve per cent shares will be allocated from government holding of 73 per cent in the company’ under the Benazir Employees Stock Option Scheme in State-Owned Entities.

Mr Qamar said that an employee would get between Rs270,000 (1 x 3,000 shares x Rs90 per share) and Rs5,400,000 (20 x 3,000 shares x Rs90) on the basis of the length of his service.

Based on the dividend paid last year, the employees would also benefit from dividends ranging from Rs14, 250 (3,000 shares x Rs4.75 per share) to Rs285,000 (60,000 shares x Rs4.75 per share) each.

He said employees would form a trust in which three representatives each of employees and the government would be nominated.

The minister said the shares being offered to the employees would be bought back on their leaving the service. In the event of death of an employee, his or her legal heirs would get the amount.

He said the shares could not be sold in the market. ‘The scheme would create a sense of ownership among the workers and they would do more drilling and discoveries which would directly benefit the entity, government and the workers in the future. The necessity to implement BESOS in the loss-making units was of much importance to make such entities profitable,’ he added.

Qamar said the government was trying to solve workers’ problems. ‘We are … reinstating sacked employees, restoring trade union activities and repealing anti-worker laws.’

He said the government would aggressively implement the workers’ shares scheme to make workers partners in the country’s future.

Corporatisation of state-owned entities established under a special act or ordinance would also be taken up soon by the Privatisation Commission. A cell will be created in the Privatisation Commission for the purpose.

OGDCL was established as a statutory corporation in 1961 and made self-financing in July 1989. The company was incorporated as a public limited company in October, 1997.

OGDC’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) of five per cent shares was conducted in November 2003 while Secondary Public Offering (SPO) of 0.5 per cent shares was held in April 2007.

The Global Depositary Receipt with 0.5 per cent shares of OGDC was conducted in December 2006 with its listing on the London Stock Exchange in December 2006.Link...

Two thousand tons of LPG reach Karachi

LAHORE: An imported parcel of 2,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas on Wednesday arrived at Karachi port to assist LPG marketing companies meet additional demand during Ramazan and mitigate pricing pressures.

A spokesman of the LPG Association of Pakistan (LPGAP) in a press statement said the LPG sector’s commitment to keep the demand-supply gap in check was evident from the record-high imports made during this calendar year by the private sector.

He said various LPG marketing companies increased prices this week. ‘Price rationalisation necessitated and regulated by market conditions and are being effected by LPG companies and retailers in response to these conditions,’ he said.

‘The prices of LPG marketing companies are and shall continue to remain well within the range of reasonability prescribed by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra),’ he added.

He said the LPG marketing companies was providing an 11.8-kg cylinder to their distributors at an average mid-country price of Rs725 in the first half of last month. This price dropped to Rs680 on July 18 and further came down to Rs670 on August 3, and settled at Rs640 on August 8.

He however said this average mid-country price was increased to Rs650 on Monday (August 17). Based on the current ex-plant producer price, the sale price of LPG marketing companies during the current month had been at an almost breakeven level, he added.

The real producer price for the month was Rs49,500 per ton.

The spokesman said that with the latest price increase, the average mid-country price charged by LPG marketing companies was close to Rs670 per 11.8-kg cylinder.

He said the price was Rs830 during last Ramazan. ‘LPG marketing companies shall closely coordinate with their distributors and the authorities to ensure product remains available at reasonable prices across the country in Ramazan,’ said the spokesman.Link...

Beer-drinking Malaysian model wants public caning

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno will be the first woman in the multicultural country to be caned under Islamic law

KUALA LUMPUR — A model who will be caned six times in Malaysia next week for drinking beer appealed Thursday for her punishment to be carried out in public to deter other Muslims.

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, 32, was also fined 5,000 ringgit (1,400 dollars) last month after she pleaded guilty to drinking alcohol at a hotel nightclub in the eastern state of Pahang last year.

She will be the first woman in the multicultural country to be caned under Islamic law, with the punishment set to be meted out in a female prison.

But the Malaysian mother of two, who lives in neighbouring Singapore, said Thursday that she wanted to be caned publicly.

"It will be a more effective way to educate Muslims not to drink if I am caned in public. I want to send this message to other Muslims and I am sincere," Kartika told AFP.

"I am willing to be caned publicly or in front of a mosque, but the prosecutor has told my dad today that this cannot be done. I also requested for journalists to witness the caning in prison but it is not allowed."

Kartika, who has lived in Singapore for 15 years after marrying a citizen of the city-state, said she had the support of her parents and husband to be publicly punished.

She denies using her sentencing as a way to boost her part-time modelling career.

"I am not thinking about popularity or modelling, I am only thinking about my religion and want to tell Muslims to stay away from alcohol," she said.

Malaysia, which has large Chinese and Indian minorities, has a dual-tracked legal system and sharia courts can try Muslims for religious offences.Link...

Reality TV star sought in death may be in Canada

This image provided by the Los Angeles Police Department shows Jasmine Fiore, who has been identified as the woman whose body was found stuffed inside a suitcase and placed in a dumpster and discovered Aug. 15, 2009. Police said Ryan Alexander Jenkins, 32, a reality TV personality, is a "person of interest" in her death. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Police Department)

BUENA PARK, Calif. — A county sheriff's office in Washington state said Thursday that a former reality television contestant wanted for questioning in the death of his ex-wife has apparently escaped into Canada.

Ryan Alexander Jenkins, 32, was a contestant on the VH1 reality TV show "Megan Wants a Millionaire." Police said Wednesday that they want to question him as a "person of interest" in the death of Jasmine Fiore, 28, a former model whose nude body was found over the weekend stuffed into a suitcase in a Buena Park, Calif., trash bin.

The Whatcom County Sheriff's Office in northwest Washington said deputies received word Wednesday that Jenkins, who is Canadian, could be in the county. They found his car and an empty boat trailer at a marina in Blaine.

They had a report that a man matching his description arrived by boat at Point Roberts, U.S. territory about 10 miles away at the tip of a peninsula reachable by land only from Canada. Authorities believe Jenkins walked across the border to British Columbia.

After taping for the VH1 series finished, Jenkins met Fiore in Las Vegas casino in March and the two soon got married, said Fiore's mother, Lisa Lepore.

But in May, "they had a big blowout," Lepore said. "She had the marriage annulled."

At least one actor who appeared on "Millionaire" with Jenkins at a mansion in the Hollywood Hills was shocked by the latest developments and remembered a suave bachelor who grew in confidence as taping progressed.

Jenkins earned the nickname "Smooth Operator" because of "his cheeky cockiness. And I mean that in a friendly way," said Rob Locke, who played the host, a butler named Niles.

"We were all under the impression that he was single. Then I saw on Facebook that he got married and there were photos of him and his wife. My personal observation was, 'Wow, that was quick,'" Locke said, adding that taping ended in March.

Fiore's mother said her daughter and Jenkins had been fighting after a quickie Las Vegas wedding, and that he was jealous of her ex-boyfriends.

Court records show that Jenkins was charged in June in Clark County, Nev., with a misdemeanor count of "battery constituting domestic violence" for hitting Fiore in the arm and will be tried in December.

Jenkins also has a criminal history in his hometown of Calgary, Canada. He was sentenced to 15 months of probation in January 2007 on an unspecified assault charge, according to the Alberta, Canada Ministry of Justice. No further details were available.

Neal Tomlinson, a partner at the law firm representing Jenkins in the Nevada case, declined to comment and declined to say if his firm was representing Jenkins in the current matter.

Fiore was last seen alive with Jenkins at a poker game in San Diego. Jenkins reported her missing Saturday night to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, police said.

It's still not clear how Fiore died, although a preliminary coroner's report indicated she was strangled.

Jenkins, variously described as an architect, real estate developer and investment banker from Calgary, appeared in three episodes of the series "Megan Wants a Millionaire," about a woman seeking to land a wealthy bachelor by putting suitors through their paces, such as designing a marketing campaign for her pet Chihuahua.

On the show, Jenkins was identified as an investment banker who had a couple million dollars.

A resume posted on the professional networking site LinkedIn.com says Jenkins graduated from Mount Royal College in Calgary in 1999, has a license to fly commercial airplanes and worked in investment sales and as president of a boutique development company focused on cutting-edge green technologies.

Fiore and Jenkins got married in Las Vegas on March 18, according to a Clark County marriage certificate.

It was a spontaneous marriage and by May, Fiore had the marriage annulled because "she didn't trust him because he was doing (things) behind her back," Lepore said. She declined to say what the incident involved.

Jenkins then went to Mexico to do another reality TV show, but struggled to get Fiore back when he returned. It was not immediately clear which show he appeared on.

"He convinced her during that month that he was really the guy for her," Lepore said. "He wrote poems and stories, and prayed, and (claimed he) had this huge spiritual awakening."

VH1 said in a statement Wednesday that it has postponed any future airings of the show. The statement also said that the show was an outside production licensed to VH1, but that it was produced and owned by 51 Minds Entertainment.

A message left at 51 Minds was not returned.Link...

1.3 million IDPs return home

ISLAMABAD: About 1.3 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) who fled a military offensive against the Taliban in Malakand Division earlier this year have returned home, a United Nations official said on Wednesday.

The push against the Taliban forced 1.9 million civilians from their homes, most seeking refuge with relatives and the rest packing into refugee camps, creating a humanitarian crisis for impoverished Pakistan.

"The best estimate that we can make now is that approximately 1.3 million displaced people have returned home," Pakistan's UN Humanitarian Coordinator Martin Mogwanja told reporters in Islamabad.

Pakistan launched the military operation in the districts of Buner, Lower Dir and Swat after armed Taliban advanced to within 100 kilometres of Islamabad last April in defiance of a peace deal.

Pakistan Army says it has now cleared the three districts of insurgents, and officials have urged the displaced people to return.

"While many of the IDPs are returning to Buner and Swat, the military operation is still going on in some parts of Swat and Lower Dir," Mogwanja said.

He said the UN had so far announced no individual awards for outstanding performance of any individual or any one organisation, outfit or entity.

He, however, announced an award for the media for outstanding reporting of the calamity and the problems of the IDPs.

Mogwanja said relief for the IDPs was an enormous challenge but the conduct of the government, the NGOs and the CBOs and above all the local community who opened their arms, hearts and even houses for the IDPs, was laudable and appreciable.

He also quoted a couple of examples where locals not only handed over their houses to IDPs and moved to relatives’ houses, but a widow even sold her jewellery to help the IDPs. He spoke highly of President Asif Zardari and the government for commendable efforts to provide relief to IDPs and announcement of the Award for them by Zardari on the Independence Day. agencies
Link...

Pakistan Taliban 'power struggle'

A major power struggle appears to have broken out between the diverse militant factions that make up the Taliban in Pakistan.

A leading militant, Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, has criticised two other Taliban members for saying that they are now leading the movement.

He said that they had no right to do this without approval from the "Taliban Shura council".

The row is the latest sign of major disunity within Taliban ranks.

The source of the disagreement is over whether or not the Taliban should officially recognise that commander Baitullah Mehsud is dead and who has officially taken over from him.

Mr Mehsud was reportedly killed in a US drone attack earlier in August. Some elements of the Taliban, however, continue to deny his death.

Disintegrating

Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, head of the Taliban in the Bajaur tribal region, told the BBC Urdu service on Wednesday that he was now the "temporary" head of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) organisation.

But two other militants, Hakimullah Mehsud and Waliur Rehman, have also said that they were in charge.

The organisation was formed by Baitullah Mehsud in a bid to unite all the various Taliban factions under one umbrella.

But now it appears to be disintegrating amid increasingly bitter recriminations.

Maulvi Mohammad was appointed deputy head of the TTP when it was formed, but has suffered a loss of prestige and power following the Pakistan army's operation in Bajaur.

The Taliban leadership there eventually agreed to an unconditional ceasefire following massive losses.

It accused Taliban militants in the South Waziristan tribal area of not doing enough to help them and of concentrating too much on the war in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Maulvi Faqir Mohammad said that while Hakimullah Mehsud and Waliur Rehman had the ability to lead, "the Taliban Shura has to be consulted before a final decision is reached".

He also said that he intended to change the name of the organisation to Tehreek-e-Ittehad Taliban (Movement of United Taliban).

The announcement is seen as another sign that the various Taliban factions are now openly jockeying for control of the TTP and its resources.

It could also mean the beginning of the end for Pakistan's largest militant organisation Link...

FBI agents give evidence at Mumbai attacks trial

MUMBAI — Agents from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Wednesday gave evidence at the trial of the sole surviving gunman of the deadly Mumbai attacks.

The first witness, an FBI electronic engineer and forensic expert, told a special prison court that he had examined one satellite phone and three global positioning systems recovered after the attacks.

The downloaded data from the devices showed a number of maps and routes, including one from off the coast of Pakistan to Mumbai, the FBI agent told the court, under condition of anonymity.

"This route starts in the ocean near the Gulf of Karachi and it goes to Mumbai. The route was stored by the user," he added.

Other locations found on the GPS system included areas of the cities of Karachi and Rawalpindi and of Mumbai.

The ten gunmen, who attacked Mumbai last November, killing 166 people and wounding more than 300 others, are said by the prosecution to have come to the city via the sea.

The surviving gunman, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, and an accomplice are alleged to have committed the bloodiest episode in the 60-hour reign of terror, opening fire with AK-47 assault rifles and throwing grenades at commuters at the city's main railway station.

Kasab is being tried on a string of charges, including waging war against India, murder and attempted murder. He faces the death penalty if convicted. link...

Oil demand firming weakly in 2009: IEA

PARIS — Oil demand is firming weakly this year, and a rally in 2010 driven by Asian economies is blurred by uncertainty over global recovery from the economic crisis, the IEA said on Wednesday.

The International Energy Agency said that Chinese demand had "rebounded" and that it saw "recovery in economic growth" outside the OECD area of advanced economies "prompting a demand rebound in 2010."

For 2009, the IEA revised upwards slightly its expected demand data but said that this was a mere drip compared to the overall fall from demand in 2008.

It also noted record low oil output by Nigeria but unexpectedly high production by Russia.

The agency said that the US driving season, a big factor in demand for petrol at this time of year, had "fizzled out" and that global demand for diesel fuel, used for trucks, engines and generators, was weak.

The agency said that it was "now among the bears for 2009 demand" which would fall by 2.3 million barrels per day from the 2008 average, marking contraction of 2.7 percent.

"Has the global recession ended?" the IEA asked, posing the pivotal question because demand for energy is tied to economic activity.

"The most that can be said is that the global economy may be stabilising -- but even if this is confirmed, it remains far from evident that growth will resume strongly before the end of the year."

It said: "Only in China and India is industrial production growth positive."

Elsewhere industrial production remained in a state of contraction even though the rate of decline had slowed slightly.

"More worryingly, industrial production has seemingly not reached the bottom in the US."

The monthly report said that shrinkage of demand for oil in Europe had increased to 900,000 barrels per day in the second quarter of this year.

"And the US 2009 gasoline (petrol) season now seems to have fizzled out before getting started."

Initial US demand for gasoline in July was 1.8 percent below the figure for 2008 after a fall of 1.6 percent in June.

"Green shoots of economic recovery there may be, but motorists have curbed driving and, at the margin, schemes to encourage vehicle fuel efficiency may begin to have an increasing impact."

The agency, the oil policy and monitoring arm of the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, said it had revised upwards expected global demand for oil this year by 190,000 barrels per day, and for next year by 70,000 barrels, because the outlook for Asian demand had risen for both years.

"This barely dents the sharp demand contraction to 83.94 mbd expected this year, while growth in 2010 is slightly lower than previously estimated, at plus 1.6 percent or 1.3 mbd to 85.25 mbd," the report said.

"The evidence of a bottoming out of the global recession is patchy, and global gasoil (diesel) demand -- a key indicator of economic health -- remains significantly subdued."

The IEA reported that global oil supplies had risen by 570,000 barrels per day to 85.1 million barrels per day in July.

Two thirds of this increase had come from producers outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Non-OPEC supply for this year was revised upwards by 160,000 barrels per day to 51.0 mbd, mainly because of unexpectedly strong Russian supply in recent months.

But supplies of crude oil from OPEC fell by about 100,000 barrels per day in July to 28.64 million barrels owing in part to record low output by Nigeria.

The IEA was at pains to list issues which fuzzed the outlook for 2010, saying that although "the global economy is expected to rebound next year" under the effects of massive stimulus action by authorities around the world, there was great uncertainty over what would happen as stimulus was withdrawn.

"It is also unclear whether a rebalancing of the world economy will occur ... as there is little sign that private consumption in key exporting economies, like Japan, Germany, China, is growing enough to offset its sharp fall in countries with large current account deficits, most notably the US.

"China's recent economic rebound, indeed, has been largely due to an investment surge as opposed to domestic consumption, raising the spectre of overcapacity, rising non-performing loans in state-owned banks and real estate and financial asset bubbles."

This suggested that "the country's economic growth could trend below levels seen in recent years." link...

Myanmar's Suu Kyi begins house arrest amid outrage

ANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi awoke at her lakeside home Wednesday to begin the first full day of her latest house arrest, following her globally condemned conviction that lawyers said they would promptly appeal.

Only China — Myanmar's top trading partner and key ally — asked the world to accept the decision.

"The international community should fully respect Myanmar's judicial sovereignty," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in a statement Wednesday. He said China hopes Myanmar can "gradually realize stability, democracy and development."

Suu Kyi, a 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was convicted Tuesday by a Myanmar court of violating her previous house arrest by allowing an uninvited American who swam to her home to stay for two days. She has already spent 14 of the past 20 years under house arrest — but Tuesday marked her first conviction.

Suu Kyi now begins 18 more months in detention behind a new barbed-wire fence that was erected at the lakeside entrance to her home, where American John Yettaw had entered.

She was initially sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor, but it was quickly reduced to 18 months of house arrest by the military-ruled country's chief, Senior Gen. Than Shwe. That will remove her from the political scene next year when the junta plans to hold its first elections since 1990, when her party won overwhelmingly but was never allowed to take power.

Suu Kyi's lawyers said they would appeal the conviction immediately and were applying for permission to visit her.

Later Wednesday, witnesses said a group of her lawyers visited her home. They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

According to the regulations for her new house arrest, Suu Kyi can receive visitors at her home only with permission from authorities.

The country's state-run newspapers, which many normally don't bother to read, were sold out Wednesday with people eager to learn about the verdict.

"I am not surprised that (Suu Kyi) was sentenced to three years because that is what the government wants to do, keep her locked up during the elections," said Soe Nyunt, a 34-year-old grocery shop owner.

"It was at least a relief that Daw Suu is kept in her house. I had thought the government would keep her inside Insein prison," said Moe Moe, a 45-year-old school teacher. Daw is a respectful term for a woman.

Her conviction and continued detention were condemned by world leaders and sparked demonstrations in cities from London to Japan on Tuesday. The European Union began preparing new sanctions against the country's military regime, and a group of 14 Nobel laureates, including the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, called on the U.N. Security Council to take strong action against the country.

President Barack Obama termed the conviction a violation of the universal principle of human rights and said Suu Kyi should be released immediately.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called for the release of more than 2,000 political prisoners, including Yettaw, who was convicted along with Suu Kyi and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment with hard labor.

Yettaw's lawyer, Khin Maung Oo, said Wednesday that he was preparing documents to file an appeal.

"I will try my utmost to get my client deported as quickly as possible, especially because of his health condition," Oo said, adding that he did not immediately know whether Yettaw was being detained in a cell or at the prison hospital.

Yettaw, 53, spent a week in the hospital for epileptic seizures before the verdict. He is also said to suffer from asthma and diabetes.

"How is he going to do hard labor if he is so ill?" his former wife, Yvonne Yettaw, told The Associated Press by telephone from Palm Springs, California. "Maybe they'll realize he won't make it seven years, and they'll send him home."

Virginia Sen. Jim Webb will visit Myanmar later this week as part of a five-nation Asia tour, prompting some speculation that he will try to negotiate Yettaw's handover to the U.S. — a prospect his lawyer said was unlikely.

"It is impossible that Mr. Yettaw will be sent back with the visiting senator. I think my client will finally be deported but not immediately," Khin Maung Oo said.

Webb's visit will be the first by a member of the U.S. Congress to Myanmar in over a decade. He is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's East Asia and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee. link...

Mumbai attack justice high priority for Obama - diplomat

By Krittivas Mukherjee

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Ensuring justice in last November's Mumbai attack is a "high priority" for President Obama and the United States will keep pressing Pakistan for action against its planners, a top U.S. diplomat said on Wednesday.

The comments by Timothy Roemer, the new U.S. ambassador to India, are the strongest remark from the United States in recent months as India complains of slow progress by Pakistan in punishing those behind the attack.

India blames Pakistan-based militants for the raid that killed 166 people and renewed tensions between the nuclear-armed South Asian rivals.

New Delhi said it was halting a 2004 peace process until Pakistan closed down "terrorist networks" on its soil.

"The al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba ... we have a common enemy with India. And we are pressing Pakistan hard on the Mumbai suspects," said Roemer, who served on the commission to investigate the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

"So this is a high priority for the president (Obama) and a high priority for the government to work with India on these efforts and to bring the perpetrators of this brutal attack, this blood-thirsty attack on Mumbai to justice."

India and Pakistan have shown signs of moving forward, opening an official level dialogue, partly pushed by Washington which wants the two countries to reduce tensions so that Islamabad can concentrate on fighting Islamist militants on its Afghan border.

But their formal peace process remains suspended. Continued... link.....