Tag: Hard

KARACHI - The Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) has so far drilled eight wells in FY11 against a total target of 26 wells. Among the drilled wells, only one is exploratory against a target of 10 exploratory wells in FY11. Similarly, the company has drilled a meager seven development and appraisal wells against a target of 16 wells.
The ongoing circular debt crisis, along with restricted security clearance, would continue to keep the exploration programme muted, said Nauman

KARACHI - The government's decision to levy GST on key agricultural inputs is believed to push up FY12E farm costs by five to six percent. This should be partly covered by higher farm revenue, as output prices have risen substantially during FY11. It is also likely farmer liquidity will be squeezed in the interim, which poses risk to near-term demand, in particular for DAP. In the case of urea, note the price differential will remain in favor of domestic producers, with domestic urea

MELBOURNE - Chinese tennis star Li Na said the early passing of her father taught her a significant lesson about the value of hard work that has held her in good stead in her playing career. Writing in The Age newspaper, she also said some young professionals aren't reaching their potential because they are being spoilt by over-indulgent mentors. The world number 11 advanced to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Sunday, with a straight sets win over 21-year-old Belarusian

MELBOURNE - Rafael Nadal has some practical advice for rising Australian teen Bernard Tomic if he is to realise his enormous potential and become a future top-liner in men's tennis.
The 18-year-old Tomic, ranked 198 places below the world number one, was far from overrun in a daunting night match on Rod Laver Arena, keeping the heavily perspiring Nadal on court for 2hr 30min before he went out fighting, 6-2, 7-5, 6-3.
Asked what Tomic had to do to take the next big step,

The boiling political situation seems to be running out of steam - what with the minority government capitulating to the numbers-strong opposition and reversing the petroleum prices to those of October 31, 2010.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani announced this decision after a marathon session with the parliamentary leaders of all political parties. The majority prevailed. Though the economic managers of the government were opposed to withdrawing the increase in Petroleum, Oil

HONG KONG - American tennis legend John McEnroe said Tuesday that there were no likely challengers who could break Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's stranglehold on the game's top tournaments.
"Federer and Nadal are two of the greatest players that have ever lived," McEnroe told reporters ahead of the exhibition Hong Kong Tennis Classic. "I see excellent players, bordering on great players, but I don't see them breaking and winning majors," he added.
The Swiss Federer and his

LAHORE: Slow economic growth, double digit inflation, high unemployment rate and the high cost of production is not only hampering the growth of industry but also hitting the microfinance sector hard.
Official figures show that Pakistan's real GDP growth rate plummeted from six percent in the financial year (FY) 2005 to 2.7 percent (estimated) in FY10, productivity fell sharply and average annual inflation rose from 4.8 percent in FY05 to 14.2 percent in FY10. Economists believe

LAHORE: Former Federal Minister for Industries, Production and Special Initiatives Jahangir Khan Tareen while talking to a select group of journalists on Tuesday has said that political policies are not a threat to the present government but bad management of the economy could hit it hard. He believed that the current political system was stable enough but the way present rulers were handling the economy was creating a potential threat. He predicted that inflation could rise by 20

LAHORE: Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq has said that every member of the team has to give his hundred percent to win the series against New Zealand.
Talking to journalists here on the sidelines of the training camp, Misbah said that Pakistan have the ability to win against any team and they can beat New Zealand. He further stated that the opening combination used during the series against South Africa should not be changed, and also said he wanted to play in all formats of

WASHINGTON: US military commanders want India to formally reject an Indian military doctrine they say is fuelling tensions with Pakistan and hindering the American war in Afghanistan, the New York Times reported on Saturday.
But New Delhi denied any such doctrine even existed. However, US officials say they do not expect President Barack Obama to broach the subject of the doctrine, known informally as Cold Start, the daily said.
At the most, it quoted unnamed officials as

WASHINGTON: The CIA's expanding operations in Pakistan have taken "a serious toll" on the Al-Qaeda network, the spy agency director, Leon Panetta, has told US media.
But he said it remained unclear whether the effort had prevented a possible terror plot against European cities, the Los Angeles Times quoted him as saying Tuesday.
Referring to stepped up operations, Panetta said the effort is "taking a serious toll" on Al-Qaeda's capabilities. "The basis for that increased

KARACHI: The Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) board has approved an increase of 15 percent in the salaries of PSM employees, as per the announcement made in the federal budget. The board has also directed the PSM chief executive officer (CEO) to assess whether the 50 percent rise in salaries, as announced in the federal budget 2010-11, would be feasible for the PSM or not.
The decision was made in the PSM board meeting held on October 7 in the wake of a letter written by PSM officers