SBP Issues New 500-Rupee Notes

KARACHI, Pakistan News: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued new currency notes of 500 denomination with stepped up security features as guard against counterfeiting.

According to the SBP spokesman Waseemud Din, Pakistani flag has been added to the 500-rupee note, adding the green part of the flag has been added to the note with optical variable ink with crescent and star on it.

Earlier, this anti-counterfeit special feature was present in 5000 and 1000-rupee notes.

According to the central bank spokesman, these new currency notes in the denomination of 500 have been issued with the signature of the SBP governor Salim Raza.

Bong Nepro Raises New Hydroelectric Power Tariff Without Justification

ISLAMABAD , Pakistan News Updates: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has increased the power procurement tariff of the 84 MW New Bong Escape hydropower project from 8.3326 to 8.5453 cents per kWh, without any financial justification, after allegedly considerable manoeuvring between different agencies and the project’s sponsors, according to well-placed sources.

New Bong is Pakistan’s first hydro independent power producer (IPP), backed by Asian Development Bank (ADB), and had achieved its financial close after a series of extensions in the project deadline and almost doubling of the tariff–from 4.7 cents to 8.33 cents per kwh.

“The 84 MW New Bong Escape hydropower project successfully gained tariff increases over the years with the support of PPIB’s incumbent and former Managing Directors, Secretaries of Water and Power, and close aides to former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz,” sources said. A couple of extensions in financial close were granted on the insistence of Asian Development Bank, which approached the Secretary, Water and Power, for this purpose.

Nepra amended its previous decision of September 16, 2009 saying that Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA), in a letter dated October 29, 2009, had submitted that the final Power Purchase Price (PPA), duly signed by both parties ie CPPA and Laraib Energy Limited, for approval by the Authority was in accordance with Nepra’s interim power procurement (Procedure and Standards) Regulation, 2005.

According to the regulator, it considered the CPPA’s request and it was found that certain amendments/corrections had been incorporated in the final PPA. The observations of the Authority were conveyed to the CPPA for seeking its explanation and jurisdiction for such subsequent amendments in the PPA. Accordingly, a hearing/meeting with CPPA was held on December 7, 2009 wherein the CPPA explained the rationale, along with jurisdiction, in respect of all the amendments/corrections made in the PPA subsequent to the earlier decision of the Authority.

The Authority was assured by the CPPA that all these amendments had been made in consultation with the project lenders, including ADB, and the Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB) for clarity and text improvement which, however, would have no negative impact on tariff and its terms and conditions already approved by the Authority in its earlier decision of September 16, 2009.

After thorough examination of the amended and restated PPA on October 22, 2009, the Authority decided to amend its earlier decision as follows: (i) The amended and restated PPA signed between both the parties ie Laraib Energy Limited and CPPA/NTDC of October 22, 2009 is hereby approved.

Accordingly, Schedule-6 of the PPA is replaced with the finally amended schedule-6 of October 22, 2009. The typographical error of the rate expressed in cents “8.3326/kwh (7.5726+0.76 cents/kwh)” of the earlier decision of the Authority be replaced with “8.5453/kwh (7.7853+0.76 cents/kwh)”.

According to official documents obtained from PPIB, after detailed and extensive negotiations, prudence checks and verification of costs, a levelised tariff of 8.3326 cents /kWh (7.5726 cents/kWh+0.76 cents/kWh special ROE component) was agreed between NTDC and the company; and the government of Pakistan would consider a return on invested equity from year 2004 (signing of PPA and Implementation Agreements) instead of the previous date of LoS (1996).

The sponsors of the project are Hub Power Company Ltd ie Hubco (wherein majority shareholder is International Power of UK), Coate and Co (Private) Limited and Continental Power Limited who are investing $53.72 million through equity. The project is being financed with debt financing of $161.14 million through both local and foreign lenders.

The foreign lenders include Asian Development Bank (ADB), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Proparco of France, while the local lenders include Habib Bank Limited (HBL) and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP).

Holidays Vampire Sequel ‘New Moon’ at Box Office

LOS ANGELES, News update: The ‘Twilight’ vampire romance sequel ‘New Moon’ took a record-breaking bite out of the North American box office this weekend, final figures showed on Monday.

The second big-screen installment adapted from Stephenie Meyer’s phenomenally successful books raked in an astounding 142.8 million dollars in three days, the third biggest opening of all time, Exhibitor Relations said.

Only Batman sequel “The Dark Knight” with 158.4 million dollars and “Spider-Man 3″ with 151.1 million dollars have scored bigger openings.

However, the “New Moon” earnings are considered remarkable because the film was released in November, outside of the traditional summer blockbuster season.

Although the movie was unable to dethrone “The Dark Knight” or “Spider-Man 3″ for highest opening weekend, it did set records for biggest midnight opening and opening day, figures showed.

The “Twilight” franchise follows the fortunes of high school teenager Bella Swan, played by Kristen Stewart, and her vampire lover Edward Cullen, played by British heart-throb Robert Pattinson.

The success of “New Moon” left American football drama “The Blind Side” in second place.

The feel-good film, adapted from Michael Lewis’s 2006 book, is based on the real-life journey from rags to riches of Baltimore Ravens star Michael Oher.

Starring Sandra Bullock as the woman who helps Oher realize his dream, it earned a healthy 34.1 million dollars in its opening weekend.

In third place, end-of-the-world film “2012″ brought in 26.4 million dollars, more than double its next-runner-up, “Planet 51,” with 12.3 million.

“Disney’s A Christmas Carol” earned 12.2 million, trailed by acclaimed abuse saga “Precious” with 10.9 million dollars.

In seventh place was satire “The Men Who Stare At Goats,” starring George Clooney and Jeff Bridges as members of a military unit schooled in psychological warfare. The film took 2.8 million dollars.

Eighth spot was taken by comedy “Couples Retreat,” which earned 1.9 million dollars while extra-terrestrial drama “The Fourth Kind” was ninth with 1.7 million.

Michael Jackson concert movie “This Is It” completed the top 10 with 1.6 million dollars.

India Does Not Change the Borders of Kashmir: Manmohan Singh

NEW DELHI News: Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has reiterated that there is no question of New Delhi considering a proposal to redraw the international boundary that separates Indian occupied Kashmir and Jammu Kashmir.

In an interview given to the Editor of Newsweek International, Fareed Zakaria, in CNN’s Global Public Square (GPS) program here ahead of his four-day trip to Washington, Dr. Singh said: “I have publicly stated that there will be no redrawing of public borders. Our two countries can work together to ensure that peace is maintained, that trade is made free and ensure that encouragement is given for people-to-people contact.

He further said, “Pakistan has not done enough with regard to pursuing the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks.”

He said, that almost a year after the attacks militants like Masood Azhar and Hafeez Saeed, and other terrorists continued to move around freely on Pakistan soil.

New Moon Reviews

New Moon Reviews: Imagine waking up to realise that you have aged 60 years but the love of your life is still a handsome, youthful man of 17. That’s how Bella Swan feels at the beginning of the second instalment in author Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga, New Moon.

For the uninitiated, Bella (Kristen Stewart) is going out with Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), who happens to be a 109 year old vampire who stopped ageing over 90 years ago.

Edward and his vampire family Live in the small town of Forks where unlike other vampires they abstain from human blood, feeding instead off wild animals.

In New Moon, Bella begins to realise that it’s not safe for her to be human anymore, especially after her birthday where a little blood almost causes Edward’s vampire brother Jasper to attack.

To protect Bella, Edward decides that instead of turning her into a vampire and essentially damning her, he must leave her, causing Bella to spend months severely depressed — until she starts hanging out with Jacob Black.

Jacob (Taylor Lautner), becomes Bella’s best friend, whom she spends time fixing up some old dirt bikes with to indulge her new found rebellion.

A major heart throb in the series, 17-year-old Lautner received a collective squeal of delight when he first takes his shirt off, revealing his nicely toned chest and abs at which Lautner was forced to work extremely hard throughout filming to maintain.

The shirtless Jacob scenes leave fans excited for more, until you see Edward’s first shirtless scene later in the film — which in its pasty, scrawny comparison, disappoints!

When Bella finds out that her friend Jacob is a werewolf, you start to see some more action, including the transformations of Jacob and his wolf pack.

Despite the average special effects, the wolves are pretty scary and in general as a viewer you are so enthralled in the story you barely notice the special effects.

One thing you do notice however, is Jacob’s stunningly Hollywood white teeth — questionably too white for a guy meant to be a Native American werewolf!

Then there’s Edward, whose makeup in this film leaves you wondering if he just dipped his face in a bucket of pressed powder or had been crying all night wearing cheap eyeliner.

This game of opposites between Edward and Jacob is a theme carried out through the entire series. Cold versus hot, ‘good’ versus ‘bad’, tan versus pale, buff versus slim, old versus young, safe versus fun-loving… the list goes on.

Bella is forced to leave Jacob, her pillar of strength, to go and save Edward from the cruel vampire authority The Volturi, after he races to Italy under the impression that Bella was dead and wanting to end his own life by exposing his vampire traits (in this case, the fact that vampires sparkle in the sun) to the public in the Tuscan town of Volterra.
Source: take40.com

What Drives Edward Phase 4

latest news about, What Drives Edward Phase 4: Volvo launched a tie-in contest with the second movie Twilight New Moon, “What drives Eduardo?”

Twilight fans who participate in the contest can win tickets and premiere a new Volvo. Many fans are having trouble with “What drives Eduardo, Phase 4,” and a question on Yahoo answers points to a video that apparently helps. (Hard fans: Stephenie Meyer appeared on Oprah today to promote the New Moon.)

Then a video of “leading to Edward, phase 4″ of the challenge. I’m not playing, so I say in the comments, does it work?

Source: inquisitr.com

Britney Spears “upset” over Australian tour complaints

Britney Spears “upset” over Australian tour complaints: Britney Spears has done it again in the headlines during his first tour of Australia over a row about the synchronization of lips and his mediocre performance of the tour promoter said he had left “very upset”.

Australian media reported that the fans left the first of 14 performances Spears of Australia that was staged in Perth on Friday after just a few songs, which he described as “boring”, “rigidity” pantomimes and lack interaction with the public.

But the promoter of Australia Spears tour “Circus”, her manager and some fans rushed to his defense, saying that this merciless attack has left the U.S. pop singer traumatized.

“Britney is aware of this and is angered by it,” said Paul Dainty, promoter of the tour Spears, told The Australian newspaper on Monday.

“She is a human being. I’m embarrassed with the big international following here with Britney, to be part of the media in Australia, when I see such totally inaccurate information.”

Delicate said it was a complete lie to suggest that fans had left the show already the third song after paying $ 200 to $ 1,500 to see the 27-year-old singer who has rebuilt his career after a crisis of high profile.

Before their world tour began in March to promote her sixth studio album, Britney had made only a handful of live concerts in the last years of her personal life is out of control.

This included stints in psychiatric care, divorce, losing custody of her two children, shaving her head and partying without underwear.

Spears has been at the center of the debate on the lip synch since arriving in Australia last week, though not a secret that she cuddles as she dances in her circus-themed show.

The Minister of Fair Trading for the state of New South Wales, Virginia, the judge, started the debate by saying that Australians will not tolerate a “Mickey Mouse”, the performance of Spears, who shot to fame as a member of the “series Disney Mickey Mouse Club “TV show.

The judge suggested concert tickets must carry warnings about whether the parts were pre-recorded concerts and pantomimes.

Delicate said it was well known that part of the concert was dubbed Spears and criticized any inference that it is hidden.

“It was all over the internet for nine months,” Dainty said. “This program is about an incredible spectacle that is”.

Spears’ manager Adam Leber, took Spears Twitter account to defend the singer to his 3.7 million followers.

“Its unfortunate that a journalist in Perth not enjoy the show last night. Fortunately, the other 18,272 fans who attended did. – Adam” he wrote.

The management of the Burswood Dome in Perth, where he conducted show Spears, told local journalists who had not received any complaints from the 17,000 people who were at the fair. A similar number attended Spears show the next night too.
Source: apakistannews.com

El Salvador Floods, Mudslides kill 124

SAN SALVADOR: El Salvador floods, mudslides kill 124, the end of the hurricane season devastated parts of Central America on Sunday as floods and landslides killed at least 124 in El Salvador, where the president declared a state of emergency, and thousands left homeless in Nicaragua.

Hurricane Ida, which grew to a Category Two hurricane on Sunday, was moving into the southern Gulf of Mexico, but local officials said they had caused casualties or infrastructure damage in the popular resort town of Cancun.

Forecasters headquarters in Miami, USA National Hurricane Center said Ida had strengthened packing maximum wind speeds of 100 mph (160 kph) as it moved over Mexico’s Caribbean coast.

The tail of Ida, with a low pressure system in the Pacific caused extensive flooding in El Salvador that left 124 people dead, civil defense officials said. Mauricio Funes President declared a state of emergency.

Civil Defense chief Jorge Melendez added that “there could be more fatalities” in the eastern regions of Verapaz and Tepetitan.

In Tepetitan, landslides and overflowing rivers carrying about 30 homes, authorities said. Some residents had agreed to evacuate the area, but a number “refused to leave their homes”, said Mayor Ana Jovel.

In Verapaz, 71 miles (114 km) southeast of the capital San Salvador, officials reported a flood of mud, rocks and tree trunks, ripping through an entire section of the city, burying cars and homes.

A dozen bodies of the victims were removed from the devastation of a local chapel and covered with white sheets, covered with mud, while awaiting identification by relatives.

El Salvador has been in a state of alert since Thursday by heavy rains associated with Ida began to affect the region, destroying an estimated 930 homes and leaving around 13,000 people homeless in Nicaragua.

On Saturday, the president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega said his government hopes to make available 4.4 million dollars in aid for those affected by the storm.

At 0001 GMT on Monday, the National Hurricane Center said Ida was about 140 miles (225 km) west-northwest of the western tip of Cuba, moving about 12 miles (19 kilometers) per hour.

He said the center of the storm, currently a category two on the Saffir-Simpson scale with sustained winds of nearly 105 building mph (165 kph), but was forecast to weaken on Monday, the NHC said.

A hurricane watch was issued for parts of the Yucatan Peninsula and to the east of the Mississippi, Alabama, through the border area of northwest Florida.

The NHC said hurricane warning does not cover the city of New Orleans, which was devastated in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina.

Forecasters warned Ida could download three to five inches of rain in the Yucatan and western Cuba, with up to eight inches in some places, as well as storm surges and “large and destructive waves.

This year, El Nino Pacific Ocean warming phenomenon has resulted in an Atlantic hurricane season, especially in calm – a welcome respite for the Caribbean and southeastern U.S. residents still smarting from a 2008 pace.

There have been only two other hurricanes in the Atlantic 2009 season, which runs from June 1 through November 30.

Mummer Parade

Latest news about, Mummers parade is held every New Year’s Day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Local clubs called “New Years Associations” compete in one of four categories of “Comedy, fantasy, String Bands and Fancy Brigades. Organized by elaborate costumes and scenery are transportable to have months. This is done in clubs, many of which are in or near the street 2 street in the neighborhood “Pennsport” South Philly, which also provide places for social gatherings for members.
Mummers Parade is one of the world’s largest parades around 15,000 Mummers perform in the parade. You can estimate the cost of costumes and other expenses by this than in previous years, about $ 400,000 in prizes was awarded. The city is paying the prize money this year. Oath of pecuniary support from Verizon include $ 10,000, Geno’s owner Joey Vento the Electric Factory $ 40,000 “$ 10,000 a year for 10 years,” Forman Mills $ 22,000, and the Delaware Valley Regional Economic Development Fund $ 100,000 .

Mummers parade tradition started back to 400 BC and the Roman Saturnalia festival where American workers demonstrated in masks throughout the day of parody and gift exchange. This distinction integrated Celtic trick-or-Treat “and making terrible noise away evil spirits for the New Year. Reports of rowdy groups “parading” on New Year’s Day in Philadelphia date back before the revolution. Prizes were offered by traders of the 1800s. January 1, 1901 was the first “official” parade offered about $ 1,725 in prize money from the city.

The Mummers Parade is a celebration of New Year, but Philadelphia think of it as a serious business. The clubs in the locker room and practice all year to the day of her only in the sun (… wind, rain or snow). There are many lively debates over reach by the judges and obedience to the complex set of rules to be followed when protesters being judged. String Bands are judged on their musical presentation as well as the costumes. See and hear String Band in concert at the parade is a one-of-kind experience.

The outdoor parade was postponed in 2003, the first time in 13 years. There have been 22 weather-related postponements since 1922. There was no parade in 1919 due to WW1 and in 1934 due to depression and lack of prize money.
Source: makli.com

Floods, Landslides Kill 124 in El Salvador

SAN SALVADOR: A late season hurricane ravaged parts of Central America on Sunday as floods and landslides killed at least 124 in El Salvador, where the president declared a state of emergency, and thousands left homeless in Nicaragua.
Hurricane Ida, which grew to a Category Two hurricane on Sunday, was moving into the southern Gulf of Mexico, but local officials said they had caused casualties or infrastructure damage in the popular resort town of Cancun.

Forecasters headquarters in Miami, USA National Hurricane Center said Ida had strengthened packing maximum wind speeds of 100 mph (160 kph) as it moved over Mexico’s Caribbean coast.

The tail of Ida, with a low pressure system in the Pacific caused extensive flooding in El Salvador that left 124 people dead, civil defense officials said. Mauricio Funes President declared a state of emergency.

Civil Defense chief Jorge Melendez added that “there could be more fatalities” in the eastern regions of Verapaz and Tepetitan.

In Tepetitan, landslides and overflowing rivers carrying about 30 homes, authorities said. Some residents had agreed to evacuate the area, but a number “refused to leave their homes”, said Mayor Ana Jovel.

In Verapaz, 71 miles (114 km) southeast of the capital San Salvador, officials reported a flood of mud, rocks and tree trunks, ripping through an entire section of the city, burying cars and homes.

A dozen bodies of the victims were removed from the devastation of a local chapel and covered with white sheets, covered with mud, while awaiting identification by relatives.

El Salvador has been in a state of alert since Thursday by heavy rains associated with Ida began to affect the region, destroying an estimated 930 homes and leaving around 13,000 people homeless in Nicaragua.

On Saturday, the president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega said his government hopes to make available 4.4 million dollars in aid for those affected by the storm.

At 0001 GMT on Monday, the National Hurricane Center said Ida was about 140 miles (225 km) west-northwest of the western tip of Cuba, moving about 12 miles (19 kilometers) per hour.

He said the center of the storm, currently a category two on the Saffir-Simpson scale with sustained winds of nearly 105 building mph (165 kph), but was forecast to weaken on Monday, the NHC said.

A hurricane watch was issued for parts of the Yucatan Peninsula and to the east of the Mississippi, Alabama, through the border area of northwest Florida.

The NHC said hurricane warning does not cover the city of New Orleans, which was devastated in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina.

Forecasters warned Ida could download three to five inches of rain in the Yucatan and western Cuba, with up to eight inches in some places, as well as storm surges and “large and destructive waves.

This year, El Nino Pacific Ocean warming phenomenon has resulted in an Atlantic hurricane season, especially in calm – a welcome respite for the Caribbean and southeastern U.S. residents still smarting from a 2008 pace.

There have been only two other hurricanes in the Atlantic 2009 season, which runs from June 1 through November 30.

Next Page »