Pakistan Forex Reserves Edge Up To $16.51 Bln

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves rose to $16.51 billion in the week ended March 30, from $16.44 billion in the previous week, the central bank said on Thursday. Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) rose to $11.84 billion from $11.77 billion a week earlier, while those held by commercial banks remained unchanged at $4.67 billion. Foreign exchange reserves hit a record $18.31 billion in July last year, boosted by inflows of $411 million, including a $191.9 million loan from the World Bank and a $196.8 million loan from the Asian Development Bank. Higher exports and record remittances have also supported Pakistan’s reserves. Remittances...

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Pakistan Fuel Oil Imports Rise 18 Per Cent

Pakistan bought more than 450,000 tonnes of fuel oil in March, its highest level this year, led by higher imports of high-sulphur grade fuel, official data showed on Thursday. Total fuel oil imports, used for power generation, climbed 70,328 tonnes to 460,688 tonnes, up around 18 per cent, figures from the Oil Companies Advisory Committee showed. High-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) volumes rose by 132,492 tonnes at 392,499 tonnes, while low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) fell 62,164 tonnes to 68,189 tonnes. The rise was in line with expectations, as Pakistan imported only about 390,000 tonnes last month, out of the term volume of 890,000 tonnes state-owned...

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Taliban Kill Eight Afghan Police

Taliban gunmen killed eight local policemen in an attack on a remote post in westernAfghanistan, a provincial official said Thursday. The attack happened late on Wednesday, said Naqibullah Farahi, spokesman for the provincial administration of Farah, which bordersIran. Earlier a suicide bomb attack had claimed 12 lives in northern Afganistan the same day. “The Taliban attacked an Afghan local police post” in Khaki Safed district, he told AFP. “There were eight people in the post and all were killed.” Investigators have gone to the area, he added. Contacted by AFP, Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the attack...

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Oil Recovers In Asian Trade

Oil recovered in Asian trade Thursday after sharp overnight losses triggered by a larger-than-expected jump in US crude stocks, analysts said. New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in May, gained 49 cents to $101.96 per barrel while Brent North Sea crude for May settlement was up 33 cents at $122.67. Investor sentiment had taken a hit after the US Department of Energy said Wednesday in its weekly report that national crude reserves soared by nine million barrels in the week ending March 30. That was a far bigger increase than the average estimate of 1.9 million barrels, according to analysts polled by Dow...

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Kevin Pietersen Warned Over Switch Hit

Umpires warned England batsman Kevin Pietersen twice for changing his stance to attempt a switch-hit during the second Test against Sri Lanka on Thursday. The flamboyant Pietersen was spoken to by Bruce Oxenford and Asad Rauf after bowler Tillakaratne Dilshan had to stop twice in his run-up as the batsman turned around in his stance. The laws of the game say that the eye-catching switch-hit — a right-hander playing a shot with a left-hander’s grip — is legal but a batsman cannot change stance before the bowler has delivered the ball. The 31-year-old Pietersen, who smashed an explosive 151 off 165 balls studded with 16 fours and six sixes,...

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Real Stroll Chelsea Squeeze Through To CL Semis

Nine-time champions Real Madrid and Chelsea both booked their places in the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday but in vastly different fashions. Real beat the surprise packages of the competition APOEL Nicosia 5-2 at the Bernabeu – Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a double to take him to 49 goals for the season – and an 8-2 aggregate win to seal a semi-final meeting with four-time winners Bayern Munich. Chelsea, though, look far from being able to cope with holders Barcelona in their last four meeting if they repeat their performance in the wobbly 2-1 home win – 3-1 on aggregate – over a Benfica side that was down to 10 men after 40 minutes. The...

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Mohommad Amir Appears In Anti Corruption Video

Disgraced Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Amir has appeared in an official video from the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit of the International Cricket Council warning players of the dangers of corruption. The five minute video has been posted on the official ICC website. Highly-rated 19-year-old left-arm paceman Amir was released from a UK jail in February after serving half of a six-month sentence for his part in the spot-fixing scandal during the Lord’s Test between England and Pakistan in 2010. His former teammates Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif are serving sentences of 30 and 12 months respectively, handed down by a British court in...

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Euro Weak On Eurozone Debt Crisis Distress

The euro remained weak against the dollar and yen in Asian trade Thursday as new worries over Europe’s fiscal woes prompted traders to look for safer bets. The single currency bought $1.3136 and 108.12 yen in Tokyo in the morning, compared with $1.3141 and 108.35 yen in New York late Wednesday. The dollar edged down to 82.28 yen from 82.46 yen. On Wednesday, the euro unit hit $1.3107 at one stage, its lowest level since March 16 as Spain’s borrowing costs rose sharply at a disappointing bond sale, its first since passing a tough austerity budget last week. A key survey on Wednesday also showed that eurozone private sector activity retreated...

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Strauss and Cook Hit Intrepid Half Centuries To Lift England

Under-pressure skipper Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook hit gutsy half-centuries as England made a confident reply to Sri Lanka’s 275 in the second Test in Colombo on Wednesday. The left-handed openers compiled a 122-run partnership as England combated Sri Lanka’s pace and spin attack to reach 154-1 by stumps on the second day at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo. Strauss, under fire for his batting and leadership skills, roared back to form with 61, before he attempted to cut off-spinner Tillakaratne Dilshan and edged a catch to the wicket-keeper in the final session. It was his best score on England’s forgettable Asian sojourn so far this...

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Madonna Keeps Pop Crown “MDNA” Tops Billboard Chart

Madonna retained the title Queen of Pop by taking the throne of the Billboard 200 album chart for the eighth time on Tuesday, as her latest album “MDNA” beat Lionel Richie’s country themed “Tuskegee” to the top of the weekly sales list. Madonna’s 12th studio album, dedicated to club-friendly dance tracks, sold 359,000 copies in its first week according to Nielsen SoundScan, despite lukewarm reviews from critics and minimal promotional appearances by the singer. This is the fifth time in the 53-year-old singer’s career that her album has debuted at No. 1, following her 2008 CD “Hard Candy,” and she is the second woman to top the chart eight...

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10 Free Websites To Watch Full Length Movies Online

Of course, movies are the most preferred mode of entertainment and it is obvious that almost every human in this world likes to watch movies. Most people prefer going to the theaters to watch movies and some prefer to watch sitting at their homes itself. Movies are available in CDs as well as DVDs and are also available for downloads in the internet. You can watch these movies if you have a DVD player or a system having a DVD drive. Well, I must tell as well as assure you that you can watch full movies online via some free websites for which you need a system connected with internet. Erase those old ideas of getting a DVD to watch a movie...

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Trailer For Whitney Houston Final Film Debuts

The trailer for Whitney Houston’s final film, “Sparkle” debuted on Monday, offering a brief look at the last project made by the late singer and actress that she had hoped would help spur a career comeback. Houston, who died suddenly in Los Angeles in February at the age of 48 of accidental drowning due to the effects of cocaine use and heart disease, appears sporadically in the trailer that was shown on Monday’s “Today” show. In the film she plays the mother of three daughters in a successful singing group dealing with the fallout of fame and drugs. “Sparkle,” a $17 million remake of a 1976 film with the same name, stars former “American...

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Some Valuable Tips To Secure Online Transactions

In terms of transaction, now a days people want to be more flexible by getting used to the online transactions. You can see that most of the people are getting habituated with it and due to which they come up with easy transactions while shopping online, saves up their time, they can shop for anything straight from home and lots more other ways too. So, we come to a conclusion that at the time being transactions are no longer restricted to real world. With the speculation of Internet survey occurrence, now a days each and every renowned farms & companies including the other ones too have systematize their own e-commerce sites with various...

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