Tag: Launch

SEOUL - US and South Korean troops on Monday launched major annual land, sea and air exercises, amid North Korean threats to turn Seoul into a "sea of flames" in the event of any provocation. The Key Resolve/Foal Eagle drills are the first of their type since the communist state's deadly shelling of a South Korean border island last November.
The US and South Korea said the exercises are defensive in nature while training their forces "to respond to any provocation". North Korea

ISLAMABAD - The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday announced that it would initiate a legal action against the parliamentarians having dual nationality. After holding consultations with political parties, ECP Secretary Ishtiak Ahmed Khan told a press conference that under Article 63 of the constitution, dual nationality holders could not become members of the Parliament.
"Currently, the ECP have no record of the MPs with dual nationality; however, we are working in

ISLAMABAD - Interior Minister Rehman Malik informed the National Assembly on Monday that the government, in collaboration with madaris organisations, would launch a de-radicalisation programme for jails, as they were harbouring militants. He was responding to a question regarding the achievement of the targets in the light of recommendations made by Jail Reforms 1997.
The National Assembly was told that the Punjab government had not fully achieved the objectives and targets set

LAHORE - The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) on Monday announced to launch a countrywide movement for demands of a "Special Salary Package for Doctors and Regular Service Structure with Time Scale Promotions" and a combined meeting of all doctors' organisations working in all provinces would be called at the PMA House soon in which final decisions regarding the protest and strike of doctors would be taken.
PMA office bearers Dr Ashraf Nizami, Dr Akhtar Rashid, Dr Tanveer

ISLAMABAD - The Privatisation Commission (PC) has planned to launch convertible bonds worth $1.384 billion of Oil and Gas Development Authority and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) in 2011. Deadline for the launch of convertible bonds of Oil and Gas Development Authority worth $1.08 billion and convertible bonds of Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) worth $304 million at the London Stock Exchange, as proposed by PC, is end of March.
A meeting of the sub-committee of Cabinet

KARACHI - The provincial government has decided to merge the Sindh Minority Affairs Ministry with the Religious Affairs Ministry due to the inefficacy of Sindh Minority Affairs Minister Mohan Lal Kohistani, said Pakistan Hindu Foundation (PHF) President DM Maharaj.
The PHF chief said that this decision regarding the Minority Affairs Ministry - constituted by the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) government three years ago - could adversely affect the religious minorities of the

LAHORE - The Punjab University Academic Staff Association (PUASA) on Thursday threatened to launch an anti-Vice Chancellor (VC) Campaign and warned the VC that if he did not stop favouritism and remove his advisor Colonel (r) Ikramullah, then no authority could save his chair. PUASA office bearers expressed concerns over the VC's alleged nepotism, favouritism and victimisation and said that teachers' body are united against favoritism and one-man show.
Addressing a press

MELBOURNE - Cricket Australia (CA) will launch a review of the team's performance and the governance of the sport later this month after the 3-1 Ashes loss to England. England held on to the coveted urn after handing out three innings defeats to Australia in the five-test series victory that concluded last month.
"The reviews will get underway once the terms of reference, scope and timelines have been finalised by the independent consultants to be engaged by the board," CA

TEHRAN - Iran plans to launch several home-built satellites by March 2012, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday after the unveiling of four new prototypes.
"I think from the end of this (Iranian) year (to March 20) and through the next year, we will see many launches" of domestically-built satellites, Ahmadinejad said at a ceremony in Tehran. The president's remarks coincide with celebrations of the 32nd anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution that falls on Feb

MUNICH - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched a landmark nuclear arms reduction pact with Russia on Saturday, a showpiece of Washington's "reset" of ties with its former Cold War enemy. The new START nuclear arms reduction treaty officially came into force when Clinton and Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov exchanged ratification documents at a security conference in Munich.
"Today we exchange the instruments of ratification for a treaty that lessens the nuclear danger

MARANELLO - Ferrari unveiled their new F150 car for the Formula One season on Friday, promising Fernando Alonso he now has the means to recapture the world title after last year's slow start and calamitous finish.
The Italian glamour team and oldest in the sport could not keep pace with eventual champions Red Bull in the early 2010 races but are confident they can make an immediate impression at the first 2011 grand prix in Bahrain on March 13. "We start off with reliability,

ISLAMABAD - The National Assembly Standing Committee on Privatisation was informed on Thursday that the government could generate $3 billion through the launch of convertible bonds for the three state owned oil and gas entities of OGDCL, PPL and PSO.
The Minister for Privatization Waqar Ahmad Khan informed this while briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Privatisation, chaired by Khawaja Sohail Mansoor here on Thursday.
The minister said that the

California - Oprah Winfrey says she's "grateful that we weren't embarrassed" during the much-anticipated first weekend that her new OWN network was on the air. For a network started from scratch, OWN delivered some impressive sampling on its Jan. 1 debut. At one point Saturday night, OWN was the third-ranked cable network behind ESPN and USA in the ratings. The challenge will be turning the curious into regular viewers.
"I am grateful that the first phase of what we wanted to

ISLAMABAD - Claiming that only political parties from Azad Kashmir have right to represent the Kashmiri people, AJK Prime Minister Sardar Atique Ahmad on Sunday warned that any intervention of non-Kashmiri political parties in the state would be a 'counter-productive' for the Kashmir cause and Pakistan itself.
He was addressing a meeting of the Central Executive Committee of the Muslim Conference held here. According to a source privy to deliberations at the meeting, the AJK

LAHORE - The Mutahida Muslim League (MML) has announced a public gathering in Lahore next month to launch its public-contact campaign.
This was decided at a meeting between Awami Muslim League President Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad and Pakistan Muslim League (Like-minded) provincial information-secretary Mian Muhammad Asif on Sunday.
Both leaders discussed in the meeting about current political scenario of the country and said in a joint statement that the country was facing

ISLAMABAD - The website of the recently launched mobile phone brand M9 of China Mobile's subsidiary Zong collapsed due to heavy traffic on Friday, an informed source disclosed.
M9, a new offer from Zong, received a tremendous response in the first few hours and its website was unable to sustain the traffic and crashed.
The sudden collapse of the web portal was rectified after three hours. The web portal is at present booking mobile numbers based on lucky numbers promising

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan will launch its first indigenously developed communications satellite on August 14, 2011, from a facility in China and the satellite's life span will be 15 years.
According to sources in Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), the satellite would be launched at a longitude of 38 degrees in geostationary orbit on the equatorial plane at an altitude of 36,000km above the earth's surface.
Paksat-1R will carry a communications payload to