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Officials said the head of a three-member team of British detectives which arrived here yesterday handed over the report to senior Pakistani police officials.
The report will be sent to the Pakistani Interior Ministry, the officials said.
The British High Commission is scheduled to release an "executive summary" of the Scotland Yard's report while police in Rawalpindi will hold a news conference later in the day.
A group of forensic, computer and explosives experts from the Counter-Terrorism Command of Britain's Metropolitan Police had come to Pakistan on January 4 after President Pervez Musharraf sought Scotland Yard's help to probe Bhutto's assassination.
Bhutto was killed in a suicide attack after addressing an election rally in Rawalpindi on December 27. Musharraf blamed Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud for masterminding the assassination, but the militant leader denied the charge through his spokesman.
Pakistani police yesterday announced the arrest of two "very important terrorists", Hasnain and Rafaqat, for alleged involvement in the assassination. PTI
Pak Supreme Court gets two more judges
Islamabad, Feb 8 (PTI) The strength of Pakistan's Supreme Court was today raised to 16 with two more judges taking the oath of office.
Justice Sheikh Hakim Ali of the Lahore High Court and retired judge Mohammad Farrukh Mahmood were administered the oath by Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by judges of the Supreme Court, law officers of the federal and provincial governments, advocates and senior officials.
During last year's emergency, President Pervez Musharraf sacked nearly 60 members of the superior judiciary who did not endorse the measure, and had packed the apex court with his hand-picked judges.
The military regime had dropped a proposal to cut the strength of the apex court.
However, it had to rope in several retired judges, as those serving and lawyers refused offers to become justices of the apex court. PTI
Sensex declines by 62 points on inflation concerns
Mumbai, Feb 8 (PTI) The markets continued its losing streak for the third day in a row with the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex losing over 60 points to end at 17,464.89, its third lowest closing level in 2008, on reports of inflation rate rising to above 4 per cent.
Today's trading was marked by selective buying and selling by investors with IT and FMCG counters attracting good buying support, while consumer durable, banking, metal, realty and capital goods suffering a sharp setback on heavy selling.
Mirroring a firm trend on the Wall Street last night, the 30-share BSE barometer resumed higher at 17,610.07 and touched a high of 17,688.73.
But the emergence of heavy selling pulled the Sensex down to a low of 17,203.06 before recovering some ground on positive opening in European markets.
The index closed the day at 17,464.89, a fall of 62.04 points, or 0.35 per cent over from its last close.
While the BSE barometer had lost more than 1,100 points in the last two trading sessions, today close at 17,464.89 points marks its third lowest closing level in this year.
Earlier on January 22, the Sensex had tumbled to 16,729.94 by more than 1400 points on weak global cues. It recorded its another lowest level on two days later on January 24 at 17,221.74.
The broad-based S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also declined by 12.90 points, or 0.25 per cent, to finish the day at 5,120.35 from previous close of 5,133.25.
Brokers said projection of a moderation in GDP growth from 9.6 per cent last fiscal to 8.7 per cent this year compelled operators and retail investors to book profits even today at the current lower levels. PTI
Rising prices push inflation to six-month high of 4.11 pc
New Delhi, Feb 8 (PTI) Rising prices of salt, cereals and bakery products have pushed up the inflation rate to a six- month high of 4.11 per cent.
The annual inflation rate, based on movement in Wholesale Price Index (WPI), pierced the 4 per cent mark after a gap of six months, justifying the cautious approach adopted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its quarterly review of the monetary policy last month.
The inflation rate, according to an official release, moved up to 4.11 per cent for the week ended January 26 from 3.93 per cent in the previous week. The annual rate of inflation a year ago was 6.69 per cent.
The previous high at 4.4 per cent was recorded for the week ended July 28, 2007.
Among the items of common consumption, the wholesale price of salt moved by 5 per cent during the week. In addition, maize, moong, wheat, bajra and bakery products too became expensive.
Although the index that reflects the prices of fuel remained static because the government refrained from increasing prices of diesel and petrol, the manufactured items and minerals became dearer during the week.
Price hike was witnessed in case of toilet soaps and industrial inputs like caustic soda, synthetic rubber, lime stone and iron ore.
The inflation data justified RBI's cautious approach of not changing the key interest rates in its quarterly review of the monetary policy on January 29, despite lobbying by the industry for a cut in benchmark rates. PTI
Gold prices up on heavy seasonal demand
New Delhi, Feb 8 (PTI) Gold prices moved up by Rs 70 at Rs 11,770 per 10 gram for the second day in the bullion market here today as marriage season demand continued.
Marketmen said local demand was so strong that reports of a fall in its prices in the overseas markets did not have any effect in the domestic market which usually follows the global trend.
They also said funds also seen shifting from weakening stocks to bullion, lending support to the precious metal The precious metal in overseas markets fell 92 cents to 909.59 dollar an ounce. It reached a record 936.92 dollar an ounce on February 1.
Standard gold and ornaments rose further by Rs 70 each at Rs 11,770 and Rs 11,620 per 10 gram respectively.
Sovereign followed suit and traded higher by Rs 25 to Rs 9,425 per piece of eight gram.
Silver also strengthened in line with the general trend and increased industrial offtake.
Silver ready jumped up by Rs 150 to Rs 21,000 and silver weekly-based delivery by Rs 295 at Rs 21,595 per kg. Silver coins also traded higher by Rs 100 to Rs 25,700 for buying and Rs 25,800 for selling of 100 coins. PTI
Govt to ensure 4 pc farm growth: Chidambaram
New Delhi, Feb 8 (PTI) A day after the Central Statistical Organisation projecting a sluggish agricultural growth this fiscal, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said the government will take all steps to ensure a four per cent expansion in the farm sector for next 10-20 years.
"First charge on our resources is for agriculture, so that it grows at 4 per cent or more for next 10-20 years" Chidambaram said at a NABARD function here.
"Everything can wait except agriculture," he said, adding that the government was committed to take all measures for growth of the farm sector.
Chidambaram said the government was ready to set up a technology fund for the farm sector.
Whatever may be the external factor, he said, through human intervention and technology it was possible to achieve and sustain a 4 per cent growth in agriculture.
Referring to CSO's advance estimates of GDP for the current year, he said "we are confident that agricultural growth would be higher than the advance estimates".
CSO has estimated that agriculture output would grow at 2.6 per cent this year, against 3.8 per cent last year.
The Finance Minister said, "Agriculture Ministry has reported yesterday that maize and soyabean production would be all time high this year, that is not reflected in advance estimates." "I am confident that final growth rate of agriculture would be better," he said. PTI
Rush to grow biofuel crops adds to global warming: studies
Meenakshi Ganjoo
Silicon Valley, Feb 8 (PTI) More harm than good is being done by the rush to grow biofuel crops, which actually increases the greenhouse gas emissions rather than reducing them, scientific studies have said.
The claim was made in two studies which have been published in the journal 'Science'.
One analysis found that clearing forests and grasslands to grow the crops releases vast amounts of carbon into the air -- far more than that spared from the atmosphere by burning biofuels instead of gasoline, the Los Angeles Times reported.
"We're rushing into biofuels, and we need to be very careful," Jason Hill, an economist and ecologist at the University of Minnesota who co-authored the study, said.
"It's a little frightening to think that something this well-intentioned might be very damaging." Hill's analysis looked at the amount of carbon in forests and grasslands that is released into the air when soil is overturned and existing vegetation rots or is burned away.
The study found that clearing an Indonesian peatland rain forest to make way for a biofuel plantation -- a conversion that is rapidly occurring to satisfy Europe's rising demand for biodiesel -- released so much carbon that it would take 423 years to start achieving a net reduction in emissions.
Even converting existing farmland for food to the one for biofuel crops increases greenhouse gas emissions, as food production is shifted to other parts of the world, leading to destruction of more forests and grasslands to make way for farmland, the second study found. PTI
School kids take journalism lessons at World Book Fair
Bishal Das & Sabi Hussain
New Delhi, Feb 8 (PTI) Armed with notebooks and pens an army of 'reporters' mingling with the crowds of book lovers at the ongoing World Book Fair is furiously at work.
The scribes, all children aged between ten and fifteen years, are busy in the task of chronicling the daily activities at the Fair, flooding many visitors with their questions.
The 'reporters' race to meet deadlines for the 'Akkad Bakkad Times,' a tabloid covering all the major events and happenings occurring on the sidelines of the mega event.
The paper, conceived by the National Book Trust (NBT) is an unique initiative in collaboration with National Bal Bhavan, to encourage children with a creative bent of mind.
Apart from covering the routine daily activities, 'Akkad-Bakkad Times' also includes interviews of eminent personalities visiting the Fair, a collection of humorous cartoons titled 'Natkhat-Soojhboojh', a variety of poems as well as editorials, all produced by children.
"It is a great pleasure that even the editorial is penned by these children. And to edit a copy written by a school-going child needs a lot of patience but at the end it is really exciting," says Manas Ranjan Mahapatra, editor, NBT.
The 12 'journalists', were chosen from different schools in Delhi by the National Bal Bhawan in its endeavor to explore their latent journalistic skills.
The tabloid is printed daily and distributed at all the stalls at the Fair apart from being dispatched to the NBT headquarters at the capital and the Bal Bhawan. PTI
Ratan Tata has done a first-class job: Russi Mody
New Delhi, Feb 7 (PTI) He once likened Ratan Tata to a circus performer, but Russi Mody, the former statesman-like head of Tata Steel, now admits that the Tata Group Chairman is a class act.
"I have not been in charge for the last fourteen years, but I think Ratan Tata and (Tata Steel Managing Director) B Muthuraman have done a first-class job in terms of performance of a steel company," Mody, 90, is quoted as saying in a biography 'Russi Mody: The Man Who Also Made Steel' written by Partha Mukherjee and Jyoti Sabharwal.
His admission, admiration and praise for Tata comes forth in the book that also tells his side of the story on the conflict between him and Ratan Tata over the issue of retirement of Tata Group officials and their present bonhomie.
Mody is said to have felt slighted by Tata, who, he sensed, had a hand in his ouster from TISCO (now Tata Steel) in the 1990s, but has since gotten over the episode. The two appear to have made peace and as recent as August 2007, Mody hosted Ratan Tata at his business suite in Taj Bengal, Kolkata.
The thirty-minute meeting was their first in public gaze, although they are reportedly known to have met privately twice earlier. PTI
Book: For some Sri Lankan women, military is the saviour
New Delhi, Feb 7 (PTI) Wives and mothers in militancy-infested Sri Lanka have come to accept the military as the sole avenue of employment for their husbands and children, however anguished they are about losing them in the war, a new book says.
"Given the absence of non-military public sector expansion and lack of employment opportunities even for the urban youth, agrarian devastation, closure of garment factories and breakdown of rural economies, wives and mothers have come to accept the military as the sole avenue of employment for their husbands and children," writes Neloufer de Mel in "Militarizing Sri Lanka: Popular Culture, Memory and Narrative in the Armed Conflict".
According to de Mel, women also have to constantly negotiate with paramilitary and para-legal entities in going about their daily business and are vulnerable to gendered abuse as these groups stand accountable neither to the government nor the law.
"Militarizing Sri Lanka" is about the work of militarism and militarisation in relation to the Sri Lankan armed conflict, and covers a period spanning the late 1980s to 2005.
The writer says women have also taken advantage of the military economy in various ways.
"During the war, a thriving sex industry operated in the north-central city of Anuradhapura, the site of a major transit camp for Sri Lankan Army soldiers either going to or returning from the battlefields of the north," de Mel, an English professor at University of Colombo, says.
From about 10 sex workers in the city in 1986, the figure shot up to 1,000 by 1996, she claims. PTI
Surajkund Mela: Taste of India with a global tint
Zafri Mudasser Nofil
New Delhi, Feb 6 (PTI) India's diverse arts, craft and music, have been brought alive at the vibrant Surajkund Mela in this Haryana village, where some foreign participants with their exquisite products are adding to the rural ambiance.
As one enters this "mini India", sounds of folk music and instruments rend the air. Dances varying from Haryana's Phag, Rajasthan's Kalbeliya, Assam's Bihu and West Bengal's Chhau only adds to the lively atmosphere.
Artisans and participants display their products under thatched-roof huts.
Brazil's Arminda Monterio, who has put up a stall here, is attracting people with her unique bobbin lace work.
"We weave thread wounded on bobbins with pins attached to a laced pillow," Arminda told PTI.
In this unique stitch-work, the lace-maker sits for hours before her cushion, and interweaves the threads, along with the sound of many pairs of bobbins, displaces the pins, advances in the weft and a web of stitches takes form.
"This is the way a lace is made," Arminda said.
Sharing the same roof is fellow Brazilian Rosario Carvalho, who has put up ceramic products.
"The theme of the ceramic products are mostly rustic and generally involve human beings," Rosario said.
"Local folklore inspires me to create these art pieces," she said.
There are also a number of participants from Thailand, displacing stained and stone jewelery products, artificial flowers, bamboo bags and plastic baskets. PTI
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