Business Recorder articles from March 2002, page 2

Business Recorder archives from March 2002

Grain markets.
March 31, 2002... KARACHI : Saturday saw very thin trade on the grain and seeds market, obviously due to the transporters' strike. Almost no change was observed in the prices of seeds, grains and other items.

Grain market rates.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT =================================== RAPESEED Nawabshah N/A Dadulane 540 to 545.00 Mirpurlane - Cakes 225 to...

Poultry rates.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT KARACHI : Wholesale and retail poultry rates for Sunday and Sunday. Saturday -- Eggs: Rs 540 - 545 per 30 dozen; Broiler Birds (live): Rs 47 per kilogram; Cull Birds (live): Rs 22 per kilo. Sunday -- Eggs:...

Bullion Rates.
March 31, 2002... ================================== KARACHI Gold Tezabi 5932.00 Silver Tezabi 90.87 LAHORE Gold Tezabi 5950.00 Gold (22-CT) 5454.00 Gold (21-CT) ...

Currency values in term of Special Drawing Rights.
March 31, 2002... ====================================================================================== March 29, 2002 ====================================================================================== Currency...

Steady conditions on cotton market.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT KARACHI : Cotton market remained steady where medium sized deals were reported on Saturday. Transporters' strike seemingly had no adverse effect on cotton business, sources added. KCA's official rate remained...

Low trading in cottonseed, oilcake futures.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT KARACHI : Trading on cottonseed oilcake futures market was below normal on Saturday. May vaida opened without any change at Rs 389.10. In the course of trading it rose to Rs 389.60 showing a gain of paisa 50,...

Cotton Spot Rates.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT ========================================================================================================== FOR BASE GRADE 3 STAPLE LENGTH 1-1/32" MICRONAIRE VALUE BETWEEN 3.8 TO...

Rates of Pipe Fittings.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT ============================= PIPE FITTING CHINA GALVANISED T G Brand ============================= TEE Rs ----------------------------- 1/2" ...

Egyptian Christian wins divorce under Islamic law.
March 31, 2002... CAIRO : An Egyptian court agreed on Saturday to let a Christian actress divorce her Coptic husband in a landmark ruling based on Islamic law, court sources said. Egypt passed a law two years ago allowing Muslim women to divorce even if...

Iron, steel and other metal rates.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT ==================================================================== IRON, STEEL PRICES ==================================================================== PRIME AND...

Bush mourns death of Queen mother.
March 31, 2002... CRAWFORD : US President George W. Bush said on Saturday he was deeply saddened by the death of Britain's Queen Mother, who died in her sleep aged 101. "The president and Mrs Bush are deeply saddened by the death of the Queen Mother,"...

Queen Mother's life spanned great changes.
March 31, 2002... LONDON : Britain's Queen Mother, who has died aged 101, outlived the 20th century and witnessed sweeping changes knocking at the monarchy's door. The widow of King George VI and mother of the reigning British sovereign was born into an...

Queen Mother waged 'vendetta' over abdication.
March 31, 2002... LONDON : Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, who has died aged 101, never forgave the king who forced her shy, stuttering husband George onto the British throne. She also maintained a vendetta against American divorcee Wallis Simpson, for...

Israel warns of storming Arafat office.
March 31, 2002... RAMALLAH : Israeli troops warned aides to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat on Saturday that they plan to storm his office within one hour, a Palestinian cabinet member said. Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said the Israeli...

Britain's Queen Mum - popular royal with common touch.
March 31, 2002... LONDON : The Queen Mother, who has died aged 101, changed the face of British royalty in seven decades of service to the crown, using a relaxed approach and ready smile to bring the old imperial monarchy closer to the people. But her...

Death toll rises in Burkina meningitis epidemic.
March 31, 2002... OUAGADOUGOU : Meningitis has killed 672 people so far this year in the poor West African country of Burkina Faso, the Health Ministry said on Saturday. It said in a statement it had recorded 4,758 cases of the disease, 60 percent of...

Colombia wins political battle against rebels: Pastrana.
March 31, 2002... MEXICO CITY : Colombian President Andres Pastrana said in an interview published on Saturday his government had won the political battle against Marxist rebels after pulling the plug on peace talks more than a month ago. Pastrana, in an...

Bush presses Arafat to do more to end terror.
March 31, 2002... CRAWFORD : President George W. Bush urged Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Saturday to do more to crack down on terror after a wave of suicide bombs in Israel and urged Israel's government to find a path to peace. Bush said he...

Zambia invites Congo's warring parties for talks.
March 31, 2002... LUSAKA : Zambia has invited the leaders of countries involved in Africa's biggest conflict, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for talks next week in a bid to advance ongoing peace efforts, an official said on Saturday. "We have called...

US-Russian arms talks in Moscow April 23-24.
March 31, 2002... WASHINGTON : Encouraged by the pace of talks, US and Russian arms negotiators will meet in Moscow on April 23 and 24 to work on the strategic arms agreement that Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin hope to sign at their summit in...

US to join call for Israeli troop withdrawal.
March 31, 2002... UNITED NATIONS : The United States responded favourably early on Saturday to a draft UN Security Council resolution that would call for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian cities, US officials said. The text, if approved,...

US teams find weapons caches in Afghan caves.
March 31, 2002... BAGRAM AIR BASE : US soldiers said on Saturday they destroyed large caches of al Qaeda and Taleban arms and ammunition in the Shahi Kot Valley of eastern Afghanistan. "Operation Anaconda" around Shahi Kot, the biggest ground campaign of...

US newspapers sceptical about Israel's offensive.
March 31, 2002... WASHINGTON : US newspapers questioned on Saturday Israel's decision to seize the West Bank headquarters of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and urged the US president to intervene to end the fighting. "The latest Palestinian acts of...

US military still hunting terror suspects.
March 31, 2002... WASHINGTON : Nine senior al Qaeda members have been killed and three captured during the Afghanistan war but the whereabouts of 15 more on a Pentagon list of most wanted terrorists is unknown, the Washington Post reported on Saturday. ...

US denies military tortured American Taleban Lindh.
March 31, 2002... WASHINGTON : US prosecutors denied on Friday that American Taleban fighter John Walker Lindh had been tortured by the US military after his capture in Afghanistan, saying he got medical treatment for his wounds, better sleeping conditions...

Washington confident of UN chemical weapons chief who defies US.
March 31, 2002... WASHINGTON : The United States said on Friday it was close to mustering enough support to convene a full conference of a global arms body in its bid to get rid of its Brazilian director, accused of mismanagement amid a diplomatic tussle...

UN Security Council resolution on Mideast.
March 31, 2002... UNITED NATIONS : Text of a resolution approved by the UN Security Council on Saturday that calls for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Ramallah and other Palestinian cities. Resolution 1402, drafted by Norway, was adopted on a 14-0...

Uganda army flushes Lord's Resistance Army out of Sudan camps.
March 31, 2002... KAMPALA : Uganda captured all four bases of the Lord's Resistance Army in southern Sudan on the second day of an offensive to crush their 16-year-old insurgency, Uganda's defence minister said on Saturday. "By early afternoon Friday our...

Thousands join pro-Palestinian marches in France.
March 31, 2002... PARIS : Thousands gathered across France on Saturday to call for an independent Palestinian state after Israelis thrust into Palestinian cities and smashed into the compound of their leader Yasser Arafat. Protesters gathered in...

"Terrorist Sharon must be stopped": Gulf media.
March 31, 2002... DUBAI : Gulf Arab commentators blasted Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Saturday as a "mass murderer" and a "terrorist" and called on Arabs to unite in the struggle against Israel. They roundly condemned Israel's assault on...

Taiwan arrests four for biggest ever arms smuggle.
March 31, 2002... TAIPEI : Taiwan has arrested four fishermen for attempting to smuggle a record hoard of firearms into the island from the Philippines, a coast guard official said on Saturday. Coast guard vessels chased a locally-registered fishing boat...

Spanish police seize big cocaine haul in Atlantic.
March 31, 2002... MADRID : Spanish police seized a Venezuelan fishing boat in mid-Atlantic on Saturday and landed a haul of almost two tonnes of cocaine, authorities said. Police boarded the boat some 900-km (550 miles) west of the Canary Islands and...

Spain warns against ruin of Palestinian Authority.
March 31, 2002... MADRID : Spanish prime minister and current European Union leader Jose Maria Aznar warned Israel on Saturday against wiping out the Palestinian Authority. "It is important the Israeli government understands that the destruction of the...

Six arrested over Northern Irish police break-in.
March 31, 2002... BELFAST : Police in Northern Ireland said on Saturday they had arrested six people in connection with a security breach earlier this month at an anti-terror unit inside Northern Ireland's most heavily fortified police station. The...

Singapore wants good ties with Malaysia, Indonesia.
March 31, 2002... SINGAPORE : Singapore wants to maintain good ties with Malaysia and Indonesia despite recent diplomatic hiccups, and will encourage the United States to stay in the region, Foreign Affairs Minister S. Jayakumar said on Saturday. ...

Russia sends 10 tonnes of aid to Afghan quake victims.
March 31, 2002... DUSHANBE : Russia dispatched 10 tonnes of humanitarian aid on Saturday from the Tajik capital Dushanbe to victims of the Afghan earthquake, the Russian emergencies ministry said. The aid, consisting of canned milk products,...

Romania warns against euphoria over Nato entry.
March 31, 2002... ATHENS : Romania said on Friday it was premature to rejoice over its chances of joining Nato this year along with Bulgaria, and that hard work was still needed to bring two of Europe's poorest nations into the alliance. Romania and...

Red Cross hands Kuwait citizen held in Iraq.
March 31, 2002... KUWAIT : The International Committee of the Red Cross said it handed over to Kuwait on Saturday a Kuwaiti citizen held for illegally entering Iraq but later released in a goodwill gesture by Baghdad. The hand-over was part of what...

Probe into Cuba's possible 'sunken city' advances.
March 31, 2002... HAVANA : Scientific investigators said on Friday they hope to better determine later this year if an unusual rock formation deep off Cuba's coast could be a sunken city from a previously unknown ancient civilisation. "These are extremely...

Police defuse bomb in restaurant in Philippine.
March 31, 2002... ILIGAN : Police defused a home-made bomb in a restaurant in the southern Philippines on Saturday, the 23rd such device found in Manila and other cities since last week. Police said the owner of the restaurant, in Iligan City, Lanao del...

Peacekeepers protest at shots fired in Kabul.
March 31, 2002... KABUL : International peacekeepers protested on Saturday to Afghan authorities about shots fired close to a German foot patrol in Kabul. There were no injuries in the shooting incident on Friday afternoon which International Security...

Palestinians welcome UN call, Israel critical.
March 31, 2002... JERUSALEM : A UN Security Council resolution calling for an Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian cities drew Israeli criticism and a qualified Palestinian welcome on Saturday. The United States joined other Security Council members in...

Palestinians die after killing Israeli policeman.
March 31, 2002... JERUSALEM : Two Palestinian fired on a police patrol in central Israel on Saturday, killing an Israeli border policeman before they were both killed, a police spokesman said. The shooting occurred in the Arab town of Baka al-Gharbiyeh,...

Israeli tanks ring security headquarters, Palestinian says.
March 31, 2002... RAMALLAH : A top Palestinian security official said on Saturday Israeli troops had ringed his West Bank headquarters, demanding he hand over wanted resistance fighters and threatening to shell the building if he failed to comply. Jibril...

North Korea slams Japan's stance on kidnap cases.
March 31, 2002... TOKYO : North Korea criticised on Saturday Japan's stance on the issue of Japanese nationals Tokyo believes were abducted in the 1970s and 1980s, a dispute that has hampered efforts to normalise ties. North Korea's official Rodong Sinmun...

North Korea positive on South's talks call: Megawati.
March 31, 2002... SEOUL : Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri said on Saturday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had responded positively to calls for dialogue in a message she carried to Pyongyang from South Korea. "Before I went to North Korea,...

North Korea faces South, US on last Cold War front.
March 31, 2002... PANMUNJOM : When Lieutenant Kim Kwang-il looks across the demarcation line into South Korea, he sees a land occupied by US invaders bent on destroying his way of life. On the other side, South Korean sentries in aquamarine uniforms peer...

Tremor jolts India's western Gujarat state.
March 31, 2002... AHMADABAD : A minor tremor shook a part of India's western Gujarat state on Saturday, but officials said there were no reports of damage or injuries. An India Meteorological Department official told Reuters the tremor, measuring 4.3 on...

Middle East envoys meet in Jerusalem.
March 31, 2002... JERUSALEM : Middle East envoys from the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia met in Jerusalem on Saturday to discuss the latest upsurge in violence in the region, a diplomatic source said. The meeting was held...

Masked men ram-raid French synagogue.
March 31, 2002... LYON : Masked ram-raiders smashed stolen cars into a French synagogue before setting them ablaze inside a central courtyard, witnesses said on Saturday. Around 15 youths, some wearing balaclavas, stormed the synagogue in the central city...

Malaysia by-election to show where Chinese leaning.
March 31, 2002... KUALA LUMPUR : A state by-election on Sunday will give Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad some sign of how much Malaysia's large ethnic Chinese minority is rallying behind his multicultural coalition ahead of the next general election. The...

Lebanese Palestinians protest against Israeli raids.
March 31, 2002... BEIRUT : Thousands of Palestinian refugees took to the streets across Lebanon on Saturday in a show of solidarity with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat as Israeli troops tightened their siege on his compound. Some 4,000 Palestinians...

Kuwaitis blast US in support of Palestinians.
March 31, 2002... KUWAIT : Kuwaitis took to the streets on Saturday to support Palestinians facing a new Israeli offensive, but there were also rare chants against the United States, the Gulf state's key political and military ally. "No God but Allah,...

Kuwait premier heads to Britain for medical tests.
March 31, 2002... KUWAIT : Kuwaiti Prime Minister and Crown Prince Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah al-Sabah left on a private visit to Britain on Saturday for routine medical tests. Sheikh Saad, 72, has flown abroad several times for tests since he underwent...

Key facts about Ukraine ahead of Sunday poll.
March 31, 2002... KIEV : Ukraine goes to the polls on Sunday in a parliamentary election closely watched by western investors and officials for signs the country has finally shed its Soviet past and is ready to implement stalled reforms. Following are...

Kazakh dissident leader sheltered by French mission.
March 31, 2002... ALMATY : Kazakhstan warned on Saturday the decision by the French embassy in Almaty to shelter an opposition leader accused of abuse of office could damage the country's relations with the European Union. Galymzhan Zhakiyanov, leader of...

Karzai vows to root out al Qaeda members.
March 31, 2002... BAGRAM AIR BASE : Interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai vowed on Saturday to press the fight against al Qaeda and Taleban holdouts until the threat they posed was eliminated from his war-torn nation. Karzai, praising the contribution of...

Jordanian first female parliamentarian re-arrested, two days after release.
March 31, 2002... AMMAN : Former Jordanian parliamentarian Tujan Faisal was re-arrested on the eve of a press conference she was due to give on Saturday, two days after her release from jail, judicial sources told AFP. State court prosecutor, Colonel...

Jordan warns Israel not to harm Arafat.
March 31, 2002... AMMAN : Jordan on Saturday warned Israel not to harm Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, saying its assault on his base threatened to end hopes of Arab-Israeli peace. "Jordan warns Israel any harm to the person of President Yasser Arafat,...

Japan strongly concerned about Mideast violence.
March 31, 2002... TOKYO : Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said on Saturday Japan was strongly concerned about violence between Israelis and Palestinians and called on both parties to agree to a cease-fire as quickly as possible. Kawaguchi's...

Israelis only a door away from Arafat's office, say aides.
March 31, 2002... RAMALLAH : Only a door separated Israeli soldiers from Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's private office on Saturday after a night of continuous shelling and shooting around his headquarters, aides said. Arafat spent the night in...

Israeli tank fires during Hebron incursion.
March 31, 2002... HEBRON : An Israeli force thrust into a Palestinian-held part of the West Bank city of Hebron on Saturday and a tank opened fire, witnesses said. A Reuters cameraman said he saw the tank firing Energa missiles about two km (one mile)...

Israel captures Fatah leader in Ramallah.
March 31, 2002... JERUSALEM : Israeli forces captured an elderly leader of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Saturday, Palestinian security officials said. They said Sakher Habash, a founding member...

Iraqis protest against Israeli attack on Arafat.
March 31, 2002... BAGHDAD : Some 10,000 Iraqis marched in Baghdad on Saturday in a show of support for Palestinian President Yasser Arafat as Israeli troops tightened their siege on his West Bank headquarters. "We call upon our beloved Saddam (Hussein) to...

Iraqi papers blame Washington for Israeli attacks.
March 31, 2002... BAGHDAD : Iraqi newspapers blamed the United States on Saturday for an Israeli assault on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's presidential compound. "(Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon and his criminal gang would not commit such...

Indian prime minister to visit China this year.
March 31, 2002... BEIJING : Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will visit China later this year as the two former foes work to improve diplomatic relations and meagre trade ties, India's foreign minister said on Saturday. Foreign Minister Jaswant...

India negotiating with Russia to make military spares.
March 31, 2002... BANGALORE : India is in negotiations with Russia on making military spare parts to market globally, Defence Minister George Fernandes said on Saturday. "I have raised this Issue with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov during...

Israel will pay for raid on Arafat: Hizbollah.
March 31, 2002... BEIRUT : Lebanon's Hizbollah group warned on Saturday that its fighters would not sit idle while Israel laid siege to Palestinian cities and forced its way into the headquarters of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. Speaking hours...

Hizbollah attacks Israeli troops near border.
March 31, 2002... KFAR SHOUBA : Israeli warplanes fired missiles near Lebanese border towns on Saturday after Hizbollah members attacked Israeli positions in a disputed frontier region, witnesses and security officials said. Hizbollah said it attacked...

German minister warns of Berlusconi media influence.
March 31, 2002... BERLIN : German Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin warned on Saturday against allowing Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's media empire gain influence in Germany in a rescue of the Kirch group. "I find the concentration of the...

French scientists clone bunnies in time for Easter.
March 31, 2002... PARIS : Just in time for Easter, French scientists say they have successfully cloned rabbits from adult cells for the first time. A research team from France's National Institute for Agricultural Research outside Paris made the...

French doctors strike during holiday weekend.
March 31, 2002... PARIS : French doctors demanding more pay began a strike over the long Easter weekend, the third time in three months many local surgeries have shut down to try to win concessions ahead of a presidential election weeks away. Medical...

Five US victims of Philippine crash found.
March 31, 2002... ZAMBOANGA : A US-led salvage team has recovered the bodies of five of seven US crewmen missing since their special forces helicopter crashed at sea in the southern Philippines last month, a US official said on Saturday. Eight Army and...

Five Palestinian policemen 'executed' 'in cold blood' by Israelis.
March 31, 2002... RAMALLAH : Palestinians said on Saturday that Israeli soldiers had shot dead five Palestinian policemen "in cold blood" in the West Bank city of Ramallah. They said the five policemen had been found on Saturday, one day after Israeli...

Fatah vows fierce response if Israel harms Arafat.
March 31, 2002... RAMALLAH : Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement on Saturday vowed an "unimaginable" response if Israel harms its besieged leader. Fatah said in a statement it had ordered a "general mobilisation" of its followers and...

EU backs UN vote on Mideast, urges full compliance.
March 31, 2002... BRUSSELS : The European Union backed on Saturday a United Nations Security Council vote on the Middle East crisis and urged Israel to fulfil a key UN demand and withdraw its forces from Palestinian cities. EU foreign affairs envoy Javier...

Dialogue only way out in Middle East: Jack Straw.
March 31, 2002... LONDON : British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has called for resumption of dialogue between Israel and Palestinians as it was the only way to a lasting peace in the Middle East. "It can only be through negotiation that there ever be a...

Dead voters to rob Ukraine's poll, says opposition.
March 31, 2002... KIEV : Dead voters, fake addresses and a glut of ballot papers will secure victory for forces loyal to President Leonid Kuchma in Ukraine's parliamentary poll and fuel widespread corruption, an opposition leader said on Saturday. ...

China gas blast traps 24 miners deep in shaft.
March 31, 2002... BEIJING : A gas explosion in a coal mine in the central Chinese province of Henan has trapped 24 miners in a shaft two kilometres (over a mile) deep, the semi-official China News Service reported on Saturday. The blast, triggered when gas...

China condemns Israeli attack, media warns of war.
March 31, 2002... BEIJING : China's Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan condemned Israel's attack on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's compound as "barbaric", and official Chinese media warned on Saturday the Mideast appeared headed for war. "We oppose and...

Over one million Zambians need emergency food: WFP.
March 31, 2002... LUSAKA : The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) said on Saturday 1.1 million people in Zambia would need emergency food aid, following the failure of the staple maize crop due to drought in most parts of the country in 2001/2002. "We are...

Bush reaffirms US commitment to Middle East peace.
March 31, 2002... CRAWFORD : US President George W. Bush on Saturday telephoned the leaders of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to reaffirm his commitment to the Middle East peace process and to reiterate that his envoy would remain in the region in a bid to...

Britain on course for mid-April Afghan deployment.
March 31, 2002... BAGRAM AIR BASE : The imminent deployment of 1,700 British commandos in Afghanistan does not herald an immediate offensive against Taleban and al Qaeda forces, British military officials said on Saturday. "You can expect from mid-April...