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Govt to wait for OPEC decision before revising fuel prices
New Delhi, Oct 23 (PTI) Emphasising that state-run oil firms continue to make losses on fuel sales, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora today said government will watch for the impact of OPECs decision tomorrow on global oil rates before deciding on revision petrol, diesel and domestic LPG prices.
"We are watching international oil price scenario very closely. OPEC is meeting tomorrow (to decide on cutting its output in view of fall in prices) and we will see what happens (to oil prices)," Deora told PTI here.
While international crude oil prices have fallen from the highs of USD 147 a barrel in July, a sharp depreciation in the value of Indian rupee against the US dollar has wiped away some of the gains.
Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum were to break even on sale of petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene at USD 67 per barrel crude oil when one USD was equivalent to 41 Indian rupees.
However with rupee almost kissing the 50 mark, the break even point has now shifted to USD 57 per barrel. At yesterday's level of Rs 49.29 against a US dollar, the break even point is USD 59.
The basket of crude India buys yesterday averaged USD 61.47 per barrel and in second fortnight of October, it has averaged USD 65.71 a barrel.
"In spite of fall in oil prices, which is a welcome development, we are still incurring losses," Deora said.
Oil retailers sell petrol at a loss of Rs 2.41 a litre, diesel at Rs 6.42 per litre, kerosene at Rs 28.07 per litre and domestic LPG at a loss of Rs 344.72 per cylinder.
The three firms in April-September lost Rs 92,853 crore on fuel sales (audited figures) and are projected to lose Rs 147,486 crore in the full fiscal. PTI
Pak court lifts life ban and fine on Salim Malik
Karachi, Oct 23 (PTI) In a significant development, a civil court in Lahore today lifted the life ban as well as the fine imposed on former Pakistan captain Salim Malik for his alleged involvement in the match-fixing scandal, which rocked the cricketing world in 1999.
Malik was banned for life in 2001 and fined three million rupees by the Pakistan Cricket Board on the recommendations of a single bench judicial inquiry commission, which was constituted by the government in 1999 to look into allegations of match fixing against some Pakistani players.
The commission had also recomended fine on senior players like Wasim Akram, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis for their part in the scandal.
Justice Mian Mohammad Altaf, who heard Malik's appeal against the life ban, said the PCB had no jurisdiction to impose such a sentence.
The decision was accepted by the Board for whom legal counsel Tafazzul Rizvi said that since the court had passed the order, the PCB would honour it.
"We imposed the ban on the recommendations of the inquiry commission. So we have no problems following the orders of the court," Rizvi said.
Malik naturally was a happy man after getting a judgement in his favour.
"I served Pakistan cricket honestly for 19 years and they destroyed my life with the ban. I am so happy today that finally I have been exonerated of this match-fixing stigma but I have also suffered a lot of mental stress and loss of reputation," Malik said outside the court. PTI
Force India driver Adrian Sutil eyeing positive end to the long season
New Delhi, Oct 23 (PTI) After a forgettable Chinese Grand Prix, Force India driver Adrian Sutil has now turned his attention to the final race in Brazil with the only hope of ending his Formula One season on a positive note.
"It's the last one, and I'm looking forward to the end of the season, as it's been a long year," Sutil said longing for finally catching his breath after what has also been a tough year.
"Interlagos is a good circuit, I really like it. Hopefully, we'll have a better end to the season than last year, when I had a problem and had to retire. I really want to finish the race without any problems," he said.
The Chinese GP brought disappointment for Sutil, as a gearbox problem forced him out of contention after an unlucky 13 laps. It was a frustrating end to a race that had started reasonably well, and a potential one-stop strategy should have allowed him to leap frog some of the cars ahead.
"It was very frustrating to have another retirement, and it was one of those races which you really want to forget," he said.
Sutil started from 19th, but he instantly gained two places at the first corner when Jarno Trulli and Sebastian Bourdais tangled. He managed to briefly get ahead of some other cars as well. PTI
Rich should remain committed to development assistance: India
Dharam Shourie
United Nations, Oct 23 (PTI) India has asked rich nations of the world to ensure that the ongoing financial crisis does not adversely affect their commitments to poverty eradication programmes in the developing nations.
Contending that the world is not on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MGDs) especially on poverty eradication front, India asked the industrial nations to show greater enthusiasm in fulfilling their pledges to Official Development Assistance and debt relief for poor nations, besides market access and technology transfer.
"It is important that poverty eradication, which is the greatest global challenge facing the world today, should continue to receive the highest attention of the UN and the international community," Indian delegate Vishvjit P Singh told the Economic and Financial Committee of the UN General Assembly.
India, he said, considers industrial development to be a fundamental requirement for achieving high economic growth, without which the eradication of poverty and the achievement of the development objectives would not be possible.
Therefore, greater international support is required to assist the efforts of developing countries towards industrialisation, he said, adding, "we urge greater focus in industrial development cooperation on the crucial objectives of promoting the expansion, diversification and modernisation of productive capacities in developing countries." Referring to the "crucial question" of how to integrate pro-poor growth strategies with appropriate industrial policies, Singh said industrialisation must include support to small and medium enterprises, which leads to large employment generation. PTI
Indian PM to attend ASEM Summit for first time
Beijing, Oct 23 (PTI) India would be making its debut at the highest level at the Asia-Europe (ASEM) Summit here when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attends the meeting set to be dominated by the raging global economic turmoil.
After winding up his three-day official visit to Japan, Singh would be here to attend the Seventh ASEM meeting starting tomorrow and being attended by a host of other world leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
On the sidelines of the Summit, Singh would have meetings with Merkel, Chinese President Hu Jintao, President of Mongolia Nambaryn Enkhbayar, President of Bulgaria Georgi Parvarov, besides Italian and Vietnamese Prime Ministers Romano Prodi and Nguyen Tan Dung in a bid to promote bilateral ties and exchange views on issues of common interests.
There is no official word yet as to whether Singh would formally meet Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, who is also here to attend the Summit.
In Tokyo, Singh noted that the international financial crisis has revealed the extraordinary vulnerability of the global financial system even in the industrialised world.
"The crisis has choked credit flows and predictably spilled over to the stock market. We have to prevent the liquidity crisis from becoming a crisis of confidence in the international monetary and financial system," he said.
India would be attending this Summit at the Head of Government level for the first time.
In May 2007, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had attended the Ministerial meeting of the ASEM in Hamburg, Germany. But this is the first time the country is participating at the Summit level. PTI
US economy to remain in downturn till 1st half of 09: IMF
Washington, Oct 23 (PTI) Presenting a grim outlook of US, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said it expects the world's largest economy to remain in downturn till the first half of 2009.
"... Notwithstanding accommodative monetary, financial and fiscal policy - the IMF staff expects the US economy to enter a downturn in the second half of 2008 and first half of 2009," the IMF said.
In its report on the Regional Economic Outlook 'Western Hemisphere, Grappling with the Global Financial Crisis', the multi-lateral lending agency asserted that prospects for the American economy are weak.
According to the report which makes use of data as recent as October, the economic recovery would begin in the H2 of 2009 and would be more gradual than previous recoveries, due to the exceptional nature of the asset price adjustments taking place.
Moreover, IMF pointed out that overall growth in the advanced economies as a whole would be close to "zero at least until the middle of 2009." IMF noted that although the emerging markets are slowing, Asia's leading economies - India and China - are still expected to be the largest contributor to global growth.
"Levels of uncertainty and volatility are very high, presenting policymakers with a challenging environment to navigate," it said.
Even though inflation should ease in many emerging countries, the IMF said it expects elevated price pressures to remain in number of these nations. PTI
Gold dips below 12k-mark, silver plunges by Rs 500
New Delhi, Oct 23 (PTI) Tracking weak global cues gold prices today dipped below Rs 12,000-mark, on panic selling amid investors liquidating their holdings in commodities to meet the fresh losses in stock markets.
Standard gold and ornaments dropped by Rs 500 each at Rs 11,950 and Rs 11,700 per ten gram respectively. Sovereign fell by Rs 50 at Rs 10,450 per piece of eight gram.
"People are liquidating gold and other commodities as their losses in stock markets deepen," Delhi-based jeweller Gaurav Anand said.
He said the credit crisis and rising concerns of global inflation keep mounting pressure on the stock markets everywhere.
In the global markets the precious metal plunged to 13-month lows as dollar gained against leading currencies. It traded at 719 dollar to 769 dollar an ounce in just two trading sessions.
The euro fell to the lowest in almost two years against the dollar, while the pound traded near its lowest in more than five years.
While silver, also plunged owing to selling pressure on weakening trend in London besides reduced offtake by industrial units.
Silver ready plunged by Rs 500 at Rs 17,230 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs 400 at Rs 17,130 per kg. Silver coins dropped by Rs 200 at Rs 28,100 for buying and Rs 28,200 for selling of 100 pieces. PTI
Paramount delaying films an impact of fin crisis: report
New York, Oct 20 (PTI) Paramount Pictures' decision to delay two major holiday films -- including one with an Oscar aspirations -- may be a sign of Hollywood's retrenchment amid the US economic crisis, a media report speculates.
Paramount late last week announced that it would delay the release of 'The Soloist' -- a Los Angeles drama about a homeless violin player and a newspaper columnist who intervenes in his life -- until next March, the Wall Street Journal said.
The movie comes from DreamWorks, the Paramount unit whose principals, Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider, recently left to start a new film venture.
The decision to delay the movie came barely a month before its planned November 21 debut, resulting in "Soloist" star Robert Downey Jr's consideration for the Academy Awards to be put off till next year.
The limited release of "Defiance" -- a war picture with Daniel Craig from the studio's Paramount Vantage specialty unit -- has also been delayed until the end of 2008, meaning the film won't be in wide release until January, the paper said.
Paramount, a unit of Viacom Inc, announced the delays as part of a new business strategy under which it is cutting costs by reducing the number of films released each year from around 25 to 20.
To start cutting back in 2008, the studio delayed a couple of films, which puts off most of the cost of marketing and distributing the movies until next year, the Journal said. PTI
Craze for career in Bollywood brings Pak boy to Indian jail
Islamabad, Oct 20 (PTI) A Pakistani teenager's craze for a career in Bollywood has landed him in an Indian jail and his worried parents appeal for his release on humanitarian grounds.
Nasir Sultan, a Class 10 student and a diehard fan of the Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan, crossed over to India illegally to try and join the film industry.
After reaching Punjab in India, he called his parents in the North West Frontier Province to say he was in the neighbouring country.
Fifteen minutes later his parents got another call to say that their son had been arrested. Sultan's parents, who hail from Chukiatan, a small town of Dir district in NWFP, are now running from pillar to post to secure his release.
Like most Pakistani boys of his age, Sultan was an avid Bollywood fan and was fascinated by the many stunts in Hindi films that he hoped to excel at too. On August 16, Sultan left home for school wearing his uniform and carrying his schoolbag but instead crossed the border.
Two days later, his father Sultan Zareen, who works at a petrol pump, got a call from Sultan, who said he was on his way to Mumbai. This was followed soon after by the news of his arrest.
Sultan is being held in Faridkot Jail for the past two months. "I don't know what to do to secure his release as he is in another country where I have no influence or resources to use for winning his release," Zareen told The News daily.
Zareen said his wife was depressed and the Indian government should release his son on humanitarian ground. PTI
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1 U.S. $ = 50.000 INR
1 Japanese Yen = 0.5154 INR
1 British Pound = 80.861 INR
1 Canadian $ = 39.283 INR
1 Singapore $ = 33.242 INR
1 UAE Dirham = 13.612 INR
1 Saudi Arabian Riyal = 13.351 INR
1 Euro = 63.940 INR
1 Qatar Rial = 13.729 INR
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