India successfully test fires Prithvi-II

NEW DELHI: India on Thursday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed surface to surface nuclear capable Prithvi II ballistic missile at 9 am from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, about 230 km east of Bhubaneswar. The launch was carried out as part of the regular training exercise of the Armed Forces.
Prithvi II, the first indigenous surface to surface strategic missile, capable of attacking targets at ranges of 350 km, reached the predefined target in the Bay of Bengal with a very high accuracy of better than 10 metres.

US denies Clinton seeking to be World Bank chief

WASHINGTON: Top US administration officials vehemently denied suggestions Thursday that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in talks to lead the World Bank.
"It's 100 percent untrue," Philippe Reines, a close advisor to Clinton, told.
"To be crystal clear," he added in a second statement, "Secretary Clinton has not had any conversations with the president, the White House or anyone about moving to the World Bank.
"She has expressed absolutely no interest in the job. She would not take it if offered."
White House spokesman Jay Carney also chipped in, saying: "The story is completely untrue."
US officials were referring to a report from the Reuters news agency that said Clinton was in discussions with the White House to leave her job next year and take over as head of the World Bank, replacing Robert Zoellick should he leave at the end of his term in mid-2012.
A source close to the global lender had earlier this week also indicated that the United States was studying her possible candidacy at the World Bank, where an American has traditionally holds the top job.
"It's a strong, serious hypothesis which they are working on," said the source, who was familiar with the matter but asked not to be named.
"There have been lots of signals" for the past months, the source added, saying they were mainly coming from the US Treasury Department.
A Treasury spokesperson declined to comment on the report.
Clinton has publicly said on several occasions that she will step down as secretary of state at the end of the current administration, and speculation has swirled around her future plans.

Prince Philip celebrates 90th birthday

 

LONDON: Prince Philip, the husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, turns 90 on Friday but will keep the celebrations at a minimum in keeping with the no-nonsense style that has defined a life behind the throne.
The gruff patriarch, the longest-serving consort in British history, will spend his birthday at work, hosting a charity reception and chairing a conference for military colonels.
Although still sprightly and remarkably fit, the Duke of Edinburgh is bowing to his age and intends to slow his hectic schedule of engagements.
But he is as quick as ever when making quips -- some of which have famously landed him in trouble -- and after a lifetime of getting on with it, he showed typical impatience when asked to analyse the past 90 years.
He admitted in a BBC interview that he had worked out his role by "trial and error", but when asked if he thought he had been successful, he replied: "I couldn't care less. Who cares what I think about it? I mean it's ridiculous."
However, in a sign of the public affection for him, the palace revealed that almost 2,000 birthday cards had been sent to the duke from across the globe, including New Zealand and Australia, Italy, Poland, France and Germany.

South American ash cloud causes major disruptions

BUENOS AIRES: The vast ash cloud spewing from Chile's Puyehue volcano caused major disruption to South American air travel on Thursday, grounding hundreds of flights and upsetting regional diplomacy.
All flights in and out of the Argentine capital were halted, as well as most arriving or departing the Uruguayan capital Montevideo, forcing President Jose Mujica to postpone a Buenos Aires meeting with his Argentine counterpart.
As the travel misery intensified, organizers were also forced to delay Friday's first annual meeting in Buenos Aires of finance ministers from the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) regional bloc. No new date was set.
The volcano, which rumbled to life on Saturday for the first time since 1960, is high in the Andes mountains, 870 kilometers (540 miles) south of the Chilean capital Santiago, near the border with Argentina.

Sindh Cabinet approves budget for 2011-12

KARACHI: Sindh Cabinet has granted approval to the provincial budget for the fiscal year 2011-12.
The meeting of Sindh Cabinet was held under the chairmanship of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah.
Sindh Finance Minister Murad Ali Shah briefed the participants of the meeting about the salient features of Sindh Budget 2011-12
Sindh Information Minister, Sharjeel Memon talking to media after the above meeting claimed that no new tax was imposed in the next year’s budget.
He said budget allocation for provincial security had been raised while support for flood affected people would continue.
In regard to ANP’s non-participation in the meeting, Sharjeel Memon said members of Awami National Party (ANP) had some reservations but hoped that they would attend the budget session.

Punjab announces Rs 655 bn budget

LAHORE: The Punjab Budget for fiscal year 2011-2012 was announced on Friday by Provincial Finance Minister Kamran Michael, Geo News reported.
A scuffle took place as the budget was being announced between opposition and government MPAs. The total outlay of the budget was Rs. 655 billion out of which Rs. 220 billion have been allocated for development programmes.
The budget also includes Rs 19 billion in foreign aid. The 2011-2012 Punjab Budget compared to last year’s saw an increase of Rs. 90 billion. A 15% increase in the salaries of government employees has been allocated in the budget. Rs. 23.90 billion has been allocated for education and Rs. 26.40 billion for health. Rs. 50 billion have been allocated for the Police and maintenance of law and order in the province.

Rs457 bn surplus budget presented for Sindh

KARACHI: Sindh Government Friday presented Rs457.54 billion surplus budget for the fiscal year 2011-12, Geo News reported.
Sindh Finance Minister Murad Ali Shah presented the budget envisaging a total outlay of Rs457 billion 15 with a surplus of Rs882 million.
He announced 15 raise in the salaries of the provincial government employees and 20 percent increase in pensions.
The total revenue receipts are estimated at Rs 458.42 billion while the funds to be received from federation are budgeted around Rs252 billion. Direct transfers are estimated at Rs53 billion.
The estimate of total provincial earnings including the sales tax on services has been made at Rs53 billion.