Italian FM to visit Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini will arrive here on Monday for a day-long official visit. During his stay, he will hold meeting with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi at the Foreign Office. The Foreign Ministers will review various aspects of bilateral relations between the two countries, official sources said. The Italian Foreign Minister will also call on President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani.

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Oil prices skid on jump in US crude stockpiles

NEW YORK: Oil prices skidded again Thursday, with New York crude closing below 70 dollars a barrel for the first time since August 2007 on government news of a surge in US oil stockpiles. The build in US petroleum reserves exceeded market forecasts and the data showed a steep decline in oil consumption in the world’’s largest energy consumer, heightening demand concerns. New York’’s main futures contract, light sweet crude for November delivery, dropped 4.69 dollars to close at 69.85 dollars. It sank as low as 68.57 dollars. In London, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in November slumped 4.48 dollars to settle at 66.32. Earlier it hit an intraday low of 65.45 dollars. After having lost nearly four dollars Wednesday, the New York futures contract fell below 70 dollars after the Department of Energy (DoE) reported sharper than expected increases in crude oil and gasoline reserves. The DoE said crude stockpiles leapt by 5.6 million barrels, to 308.2 million barrels, in the week ended October 10. Most analysts expected less than half that rise, at 2.2 million barrels.Gasoline stockpiles rose by 7.0 million barrels, to 193.8 million barrels, far exceeding market expectations of a 2.8 million barrel gain. Weakening demand fell again: consumption of petroleum products in the past four weeks slid 8.9 percent from a year ago, to an average of 18.6 million barrels a day.OPEC, worried about prices that have lost half their value since July record peaks, rescheduled a special meeting on the global financial crisis to October 24 from November 18.The OPEC cartel members “are now facing up to the realities of a plunging oil price and the growing realization that the world economy is already in recession,” said Lawrence Eagles at JP Morgan.

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U.S. oil prices rise more than $2 after settlement

SAN DIEGO: U.S. crude futures shot about $2.50 a barrel higher after Thursday’’s settlement.November delivery crude hit $72.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange’’s Globex trading platform. Earlier, crude settled at $69.85 a barrel, down $4.69 from Wednesday’’s settlement. Just three months ago, U.S. crude hit a record high of$147.27 a barrel.

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Rupee at new low on demand pressure

KARACHI: No change was witnessed in market trend as rupee touched another low price level against US dollar in interbank as well as open market on Thu

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40 Uzbek militants held in Kohat

KOHAT: The police and the Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel arrested 40 Uzbek militants at the Gulshan checkpoint and the Kotal Pass here on Thursd

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ICC avoid naming Pakistan as CT hosts!

ISLAMABAD: For the first time in recent times, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has avoided naming Pakistan as the official hosts for the 2009

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Six Malir Jail staffers suspended

KarachiAt least six staff members of Malir Jail, including a deputy superintendent, have been placed under suspension on charges of their fail

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Pakistan News

393 outlaws arrested in 10 months

Islamabad The Islamabad Police have arrested 393 outlaws including 134 proclaimed offenders, 238 court absconders and 21 military deserters du

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100-bed trauma centre to be added to PIMS

IslamabadThe Ministry of Health has, in principle, approved the establishment of a new 100-bed emergency and trauma centre with 10 operation t

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No shortage of wheat, flour in country: Gondal

Islamabad: Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Nazar Muhammad Gondal here Thursday categorically rejected any shortage of flour and

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