Ancient Egyptian boat to be reassembled

CAIRO: Archaeologists will excavate hundreds of fragments of an ancient Egyptian wooden boat entombed in an underground chamber next to Giza's Great Pyramid and try to reassemble the craft.The 4,500-year-old vessel is the sister ship of a similar boat removed in pieces from another pit in 1954 and painstakingly reconstructed.Experts believe the boats were meant to ferry the pharaoh who built the Great Pyramid in the afterlife.Starting Saturday, tourists were allowed to view images of the inside of the second boat pit from a camera inserted through a hole in the chambers limestone ceiling.

Sounds of music reverberated the air in Manipur

MANIPUR: Sounds of music reverberated the air in India's northeastern Manipur during a festival of traditional wind musical instruments that left the people enthralled with its melodious offering.Organised under the aegis of North East Zone Cultural Centre (NEZCC), the two-day festival saw a participation of 26 folk artistes from Nagaland, Assam, Tripura, Sikkim and Manipur.The main aim behind the organisation of the festival was to provide a platform for different tribes across the northeastern region of the country, to share their culture and tradition on a common stage and promote harmony and integrity through music.

OGRA releases new oil prices notification

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has approved a summary regarding further hike in the prices of petroleum products after that Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) released notification of new prices.According to notification, the government has approved Rs. 10 per liter raise in prices of petroleum products, diesel price by Rs. 7.45 and kerosene oil rate by Rs. 8.20 per liter. Earlier a summary was forwarded to the prime minister for increase in the petroleum prices and decision on the issue was expected on July 15. The decision on the summary however put off due to 100 days performance of the government. whereas common public was deeply struck with the recent oil price hike and rejected the new prices.with the new oil prices everything will increase their price, which will only hurt teh middle and lower income group.

Pakistani IT industry achieves US$ 2 billion size

KARACHI: The size of Pakistan's Information Technology and the IT-enabled services industry stands at (US$) 2 Billion annually with a 50% annual growth rate. The IT exports stand at US$1 billion, according to a research study commissioned by Pakistan Software Houses Association (PASHA). This was stated by Ms. Jehan Ara, President Pakistan Software Houses Association (PASHA) here on Sunday on the occasion of a day-long Career Expo for IT students and professionals. This very event was organized by the PASHA in a local hotel on Sunday.

LG net profit surges 84 percent

SEOUL: LG Electronics said Monday that second-quarter net profit surged 84 percent from the same period last year amid record mobile phone sales. LG Electronics Inc. earned 706.9 billion won (US$694.4million) in the three months ended June 30, the company said in a regulatory filing. LG posted a net profit of384.6 billion won a year earlier. Sales during the quarter rose 22.5 percent to 7.23 trillion won (US$7.1 billion) from 5.9 trillion won a year earlier, LG said.

Trade policy to help SAFTA implementation: SCCI chief LAHORE: SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry president Tariq Sayeed commenting on the recently announced trade policy appreciated some of the measures announced, and expressed hope that these will help in implementing the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) in true perspective. He hailed the government decision to enlarge the list of importable items from India, which at 8-digit level now comprises 1900 items out of total 6700 importable items from across the world, according to a media release received here Monday.

No mobile SIM to be issued without NIC

ISLAMABAD: The Government has decided that from now on no mobile SIM shall be issued without valid Identity Card and no SIM is to be handed over to any person but will be posted to the address given by the applicant. Any violation of this procedure shall be punishable under the relevant laws. Necessary instructions have been issued to Chairman, PTA in this regard.

JI to observe "Black Day" on Friday

LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami Punjab will observe ‘Black Day’ against fuel-price hike, poor law and order and power crisis on Friday.Amir JI Punjab Liaquat Baloch announced this while addressing a press conference here Monday.He said that his party fully supports the lawyers’ deadline of August 14 for deposed judges’ reinstatement, adding that the deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chodhry will be welcomed at each city during his proposed journey towards Multan.He said that the APDM will devise its strategy in view of the present political scenario of the country in its meeting scheduled to be held on July 28.

VimpelCom acquires Cambodian operator Sotelco

Russian and CIS mobile operator VimpelCom has acquired a 90 percent stake in the Cambodian operator Sotelco, which owns a GSM 900/1800 licence and related frequencies for the local market. VimpelCom's largest shareholder Altimo has acquired the majority stake in Sotelco's parent company, Atlas Trade Limited, for USD 28 million. The remaining 10 percent of Atlas will remain with a local partner, a Cambodian entrepreneur. In addition, VimpelCom has acquired a call option to purchase the 10 percent interest from the local partner.

Karachi Transporters Announce Strike From Tomorrow

KARACHI: Transporter organizations from allover city announced unspecified-period strike from tomorrow (Tuesday) against the recent fuel-price hike.It was deiced in a meeting on Sunday hosted by President Karachi Transport Ittehad Irshad Bukhari to chalk out a joint reaction against recent raise in fuel prices.Transporters in the meeting demanded the government to fix the fuel-prices as those were before February-18 general elections.

Leave ‘em wanting more

LONDON: Twenty20 started in England, as is the tendency with new forms of cricket, but soon received a considerable boost when Texan entrepreneur Allen Stanford invested some of his millions in the Caribbean in the format.Then India gave the game widespread publicity, pizzazz and pull by unveiling the IPL. Now there is a planned EPL in England, and Australia is considering an upgrade to their competition; Twenty20 cricket is suddenly all the rage, just like global warming, high fuel prices and the iPhone.

Skipper Malik backs Shoaib to fire in Champions Trophy

KARACHI: Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik is anticipating that his comeback pacer Shoaib Akhtar will regain full fitness ahead of September’s Champions Trophy. Malik said on Sunday that Shoaib’s expected return to the Pakistan team is good news for the country pointing out that the ‘Rawalpindi Express’ is a match-winning bowler. “Shoaib is a great fast bowler and has won many a match for Pakistan in the past,” Malik said at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore where he and fellow teammates had assembled to give urine samples for dope tests. “Shoaib has some fitness issues but we are all hopeful that he will overcome them in time to bowl in the Champions Trophy at full throttle.”

AB de Villiers strengthens Proteas’ grip at Headingley

LEEDS: AB de Villiers continued to defy England’s attack with an unbeaten century as South Africa all but batted Michael Vaughan’s men out of the second Test here at Headingley on Sunday.South Africa, at tea on the third day, were 480 for seven in reply to England’s first innings 203 - a lead of 277.De Villiers was 158 not out and Paul Harris 11 not out after vice-captain Ashwell Prince had made a Test-best 149, his second hundred in as many matches.South Africa wicket-keeper Mark Boucher, dropped twice on eight, helped de Villiers add 67 for the sixth wicket.

ICC can’t guarantee players’ safety

DUBAI: Cricketers were warned on Sunday that their security couldn’t be guaranteed in Pakistan during September’s Champions Trophy with the ICC delaying a final decision on the tournament venue until later this week.“If it was up to player representatives, they would prefer not to be in Pakistan because of the environmental or external risks,” ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat told The Associated Press.“They have got concerns because no guarantees, as far as safety and security are concerned, can be given by the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board), the ICC or security consultants.“We can do everything in our power to secure and safeguard officials, but we can never issue guarantees.”Lorgat said he knew of no threats to the September 11-28 tournament. However, he acknowledged that overcoming the perception of danger will be difficult before the ICC executive board delivers a definite decision within the next 72 hours on whether to move the One-day International tournament to an alternate host.Lorgat said Sunday’s briefing by the ICC’s security consultants stressed “great satisfaction” about the measures implemented by Pakistan at the recently completed Asia Cup.“But there are still concerns stemming out of the environmental and external factors — those issues are largely beyond our control,” Lorgat said.“Those external factors create the perception around the security and it is really difficult to deal with those perceptions ... but there is no specific threat to any sport, particularly cricket.”

Rain lashes Frontier districts

PESHAWAR: Weather turned pleasant as rain hits different districts of Frontier including Peshawar on Monday.According to met office, rain recorded in Syedo Sharif 30 mm, Balakot 17 mm, Parachinar 7 mm, Bannu 6 mm, Chirat 5 mm and 20 mm in Peshawar.Rain spell would likely continue during next 24 hours, met office predicted.

Blast injures 5 cops in Thai south

YALA: Five police officers were injured Monday when a bomb targeting their patrol exploded in Thailand's far south, where a bloody separatist insurgency is raging, police said. The blast was on a road leading to a village in Yala, one of the three Muslim-majority provinces beset by violence. Three of the policemen were seriously injured, while all of them have been hospitalised, local authorities said.

Inflation would be eliminated by positive policies, says PM LAHORE: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said that inflation would be eliminated through positive policies.Addressing a function here on Monday, Premier Gilani said that through appropriate planning, power load shedding would be ended within a year. Oil prices have been increased globally and it is not only the problem of Pakistan.Prime Minister Gilani also held the question-answer session with children at the beginning of the function.

7 including 3 kids die in Somali mortar attacks

MOGADISHU: Hours of fighting in the Somali capital killed at least seven civilians, including three young siblings who were leaving a religious school when a mortar landed nearby, witnesses said Monday. ``One of the shells landed near a Quranic school, killing three children from the same family,'' said resident Abdi Moalim Haji, who saw the carnage and recognized the children, aged 6, 8 and 11. About11 other people were injured, he said. His account was confirmed by another witness, Abdi Nur Ahmed. It was not immediately clear how many combatants died; each side claimed to have inflicted heavy losses.

Turkish engineers released in Afghanistan

ANKARA: Two Turkish engineers snatched earlier this month by unknown gunmen in Afghanistan have been released, a senior Turkish diplomat said Monday. "They are in good health and will be flown to Turkey today," the diplomat, who requested anonymity, told foreign news agency. He said it was not yet clear who the abductors were and could not give details on the circumstances of the release early Monday.The two engineers, who were working for a Turkish company building a road in western Afghanistan, were kidnapped on July 14 as they were driving to their compound on the outskirts of the city of Herat.

Trading hit by petroleum products’ price-hike
KARACHI: Following yesterday’s enhancement in prices of petroleum products, trading here today went sluggish.Karachi Retail Grocers Group’s General Secretary, Fareed Quraishi told this to Geo news. He said that the hike in prices of petroleum products trigger change reactions, which also lead to spiraling of prices of food items. Fareed Quraishi further said that the citizens’ purchasing power appears waning and the volume of trading has also shrunk by 50 to 60 percent. Bilal Traders’ Abdul Waheed told that the inflation rate would further go up.

US B-52 crashes with six on board

WASHINGTON: A US air force B-52 bomber carrying six crew members has crashed off the coast of Guam in the central Pacific.A statement from the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam said the B-52H Stratofortress crashed about 9.45am (1.25pm AEST) off the northwest coast of Guam. "Emergency responders are on scene working to locate the six crew members on board. No information is available regarding the status of the crew,'' the statement said.

Taliban capture remote Afghan district

KABUL: Dozens of Taliban militants captured a remote district in central Afghanistan overnight, killing one police officer and injuring two others, the interior ministry said Monday.Local security forces fled "under lots of pressure" after the insurgents stormed into Ghazni province's Ajiristan district, 200 kilometers (124 miles) southwest of Kabul, shortly after midnight, spokesman Zemarai Bashary told foreign news agency. "Security forces abandoned the district centre after Taliban attacked. They withdrew under lots of pressure," the spokesman said. "One police was killed and two others were injured," he said."We're working on a plan to retake the district," Bashary said, without giving details.

Nepal Maoists lose presidential vote

KATHMANDU: Lawmakers in Nepal on Monday voted in the country's first post-royal president, Ram Baran Yadav, rejecting a candidate backed by the Maoists, state television said. Yadav, who was backed by the centrist Nepali Congress party, won 308 out of 590 votes cast in Nepal's constitutional assembly. Die-hard republican Ramraja Prasad Singh, the candidate backed by the former rebels, won 282 votes, state television said. Although the presidency is a largely ceremonial position, the development could delay efforts by the Maoists -- who hold the most assembly seats but not a majority -- to form Nepal's first republican government.

Petroleum products’ recent price-hike challenged in IHC

ISLAMABAD: OGRA’s recent increase in petroleum products’ prices has been challenged in Islamabad High Court (IHC).Pakistan People’s Movement chairman, Muhammad Ashfaque Chaudhry in his petition filed in IHC here stated that OGRA has enhanced the prices of petrol, diesel and kerosene as many as six times during the last five months and after the recent raise, petrol price has shot up to Rs86 per litre. The petitioner, therefore, prayed for intervention of the court ordering withdrawal of OGRA’s recent notification for selling the petroleum products at their previous prices.

Moderate quake jolts northern Japan

TOKYO: A moderate 5.2-magnitude earthquake shook northern Japan on Monday, the Meteorological Agency said.The undersea quake struck at 6:07 pm (0927 GMT) off the northern prefecture of Miyagi at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), the agency said. It did not trigger a tsunami warning and there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

IHC gives verdict in Dr. Qadeer Khan case

ISALAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) has given the verdict in Dr. Qadeer Khan case on Monday. Dr. Qadeer’s house arrest has been eliminated. He would be allowed to carry out research work, can move within the country and meet with relatives after getting the clearance. He, however, could not allow giving interviews to the media.

China Telecom adds 890,000 broadband subscribers in June

China Telecom's local access lines in service in June fell to 214.89 million from 215.47 million lines in May. Broadband subscribers grew to 39.95 million compared to 39.06 million at the end of May. The figures include 320,000 local access lines and 90,000 broadband subscribers at Beijing Telecom, which was acquired in June.

Lattelecom posts 23% rise in internet user base

Latvian telecommunications service provider Lattelecom's permanent internet users base has jumped by 23 percent during the first six months of this year, to 168,700 subscribers. Lattelecom has the largest number of customers in the Riga region and Jurmala, with over 77,800 subscribers. The number of internet subscriptions outside the Riga region has climbed by 19 percent year-on-year. The regions where the company registered the most significant increase in the number of users are Jekabpils and Talsi, where the internet subscriber base rose by 31 percent. The cities with the largest internet subscriber bases are Jelgava with over 10,000, followed by Daugavpils and Liepaja. The growth of Lattelecom's internet subscriber base outside the Riga region was mainly generated by extended computer availability, increased internet content quality, as well as the launch of the Lattelecom TV service.

Zon Multimedia launches free Wi-Fi community in Portugal

Cable operator Zon Multimedia has launched the Zon@Fon Free WiFi Community, a free Wi-Fi service that will allow Zon Netcabo's customers to be part of the Fon Wi-Fi community. The service is based on the idea of a massive Wi-Fi network, built through the contribution of individual customers to allow everyone free access to the internet. Zon@Fon will be Portugal's largest Wi-Fi network and will consist of over 2,500 hotspots. Zon@Fon aims to have over 100,000 hotspots in Portugal and provide ubiquitous connectivity to the internet. Zon Netcabo will deploy access equipment with embedded Zon@Fon functionality that will allow customers to host their own hotspot at no additional cost. The internet connection provided by Zon Netcabo will carry all the hotspot's traffic but will be separate from the user's traffic and will not reduce bandwidth from internet access.

Sony Ericsson sees net profit evaporate to EUR 6 mln

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications shipped 24.4 million mobile devices during the second quarter of this year, in line with the 27 June interim announcement of 24 million units, but 500,000 less than the mobile phone manufacturer shipped during Q2 2007. At the same time Sony Ericsson revenues dropped by 9 percent year-on-year to EUR 2.82 billion, due to unfavourable exchange rate fluctuation, continued slowing market growth in mid- to high-end phones and increased competition. The quarterly operating loss of EUR 2 million compares with an operating profit in the second quarter of 2007 of EUR 315 million, while Sony Ericsson’s net profit dropped from EUR 220 million in Q2 2007 to EUR 6 million in the second quarter of this year. The profits dropped due to a less favourable product mix, with particular impact in Europe, and increased price competition in general, as well as due to higher R&D investments as a percentage of sales. The Average selling price (ASP) for Sony Ericsson decreased year-on-year from EUR 125 to EUR 116, due to the impact of a greater proportion of lower priced phones in the product portfolio, as well as increased price competition in the market for mid- to high-end phones. Sony Ericsson estimates that its global market share for the second quarter is to be around 8 percent

LG handset sales grow 38.6% in Q2

LG Electronics reported second-quarter revenues from its mobile communications business of KRW 3.85 trillion, up 34.3 percent from a year earlier. Handset sales rose 38.6 percent to KRW 3.75 trillion. The handset operating margin improved to 14.4 percent thanks to growth in high-end models and improvements in operational efficiency. The Korean company shipped in total 27.7 million phones during the quarter, up from 24.4 million in the first quarter, led by its popular Black Label series and growth in North America and strong emerging markets such as the Middle East, India, the CIS and Latin America. The strong mobile results helped LG's total quarterly sales increase 22.1 percent to KRW 12.74 trillion and net profit to grow to KRW 707 billion from KRW 385 billion a year ago. For the third quarter, LG warned that the global economic slowdown could impact sales. The market slowdown could lead to tougher competition and pressure on selling prices. LG said it will respond to market demand with "appropriate" prices and focus its marketing on its premium phones, while maintaining double-digit profit margins

MTN ends talks with Reliance

African mobile operator MTN Group and India's Reliance Communications have been unable to reach agreement on a proposed merger, and the companies have mutually decided to end their talks. MTN and Reliance Communications started exclusive negotiations on 26 May. The decision to stop talks was due to "certain legal and regulatory issues" around the deal, MTN said in a statement. Reliance was facing a claim on its shares by Mukesh Ambani, estranged brother of Reliance Communications chairman Anil Ambani, and the recent sharp drop in share prices created obstacles to completing a deal. A deal would have created an emerging markets operator with activities in about two dozen countries and around 120 million subscribers. The failure to reach a deal with Reliance follows a decision by India's leading mobile operator Bharti Airtel in late May to also end talks with MTN. Bharti said it had called off the talks after MTN proposed a new structure which would have seen the Indian group becoming a unit of the South Africa-based group.

HTC Benelux taps budding smartphone market

Since HTC launched mobile handsets under its own brand on the Benelux market, the company's performance has been quite good. HTC's 74% increase in the number of mobile devices sold in the first six months of this year is impressive. According to Mark Moons, the country manager for HTC Benelux, the Apple 3G iPhone will have only a limited impact on HTC sales, and the iPhone introduction will help to develop the smartphone segment in the Netherlands. This research brief is based in part on a Telecompaper interview with Mark Moons.

Clashes Kill 41 in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Gun battles between paramilitary troops and militants in Pakistan’s troubled southwest killed at 41 people Sunday, including nine soldiers, the state-run news agency reported. The fighting in the province of Balochistan is not connected to an ongoing military offensive in the country’s northwest, which also has claimed dozens of lives. Balochistan is rich in natural gas, and insurgents there have been fighting Pakistani military forces for self-rule. For years, they have complained that the government has paid little attention to them and their economic needs. After militants in the province attacked a convoy of soldiers Saturday, security forces launched an offensive in the district of Dera Bugti, local media said.

Facebook heads MySpace in unique visitors

Facebook, the fast-growing social network, has taken a significant lead over MySpace in visitor numbers for the first time, according to one popular measure of internet traffic. Facebook attracted more than 123m unique visitors in May, an increase of 162 per cent over the same period last year according to ComScore, a company that monitors websites. That compared with 114.6m unique visitors at MySpace, Facebook’s leading rival, whose traffic grew just 5 per cent during the same period.

Facebook sues ‘knock-off’ German site

Facebook on Friday filed an intellectual property lawsuit against a German company that it has accused of running a “knock-off” of the social networking website. In a complaint filed in a California court, Facebook accused StudiVZ - a German company that claims 10m users and calls itself “the most successful social network in Germany, Austria and Switzerland” - of “copying the look, feel, features and services” of the Facebook site. Facebook, which was founded in 2004 by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg, recently settled its own intellectual property dispute. It resolved a legal battle with ConnectU, a rival website launched at Harvard around the same time, whose owners claimed Mr Zuckerberg stole its idea for a site that allowed Harvard students to connect to each other online.

Treasury welcomes Freddie Mac fundraising

A senior US Treasury official has welcomed Freddie Mac’s efforts to continue raising capital from private ­investors after a ­government rescue plan for the troubled mortgage firm and its sister company Fannie Mae was announced. David Nason, assistant secretary for financial institutions and a key aide to Hank Paulson, Treasury secretary, on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, told the FT: “The fact that these organisations are still trying to think creatively about ways to raise private capital is a positive.”

Ex-heads of failed Japan bank acquitted

Japan’s supreme court has acquitted three former executives of the now-defunct Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan, ending a long legal case involving an institution that became a symbol of the country’s banking crisis in the late 1990s. The court ruled that Katsunobu Onogi, the LTCB’s ex-president, and Yoshiharu Suzuki and Masami Suda, former deputy presidents, were not guilty of understating the bad loans owed by its non-bank affiliates.

Peru hit by mine pollution emergency

Peru has declared a state of emergency at a mine near Lima over fears that arsenic, lead and cadmium from its tailings dam could pollute the main water supply for the capital. Gold Hawk bought the mine from Gestiones y Recuperaciones de Activos in 2006 for $12m and its subsidiary, the San Juan S.A. Mining Company, started production last year as gold prices doubled.

9 Afghan Police Officers Killed In MistakenCoaltition Air Strike

KABUL, Afghanistan — A misunderstanding between local police and coalition forces led to an air strike in southwestern Afghanistan Sunday that left nine police officers dead, a defense ministry official said. The nine officers were killed after they were mistaken for Taliban militants by coalition forces, said Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi. The aerial attack took place in the Anar Derah district in Farah province. It was conducted by U.S. soldiers along with troops from the Afghan army, Azimi said. He did not have any further information about the attack.