Ramazan relief package announced

ISLAMABAD: The relief package for the holy month of Ramazan has announced a reduction of 5-10 per cent in prices of 1500 items and will be applicable from June 23.

The price of oil, ghee and lentils, among 12 consumer items has been decreased by Rs10 per kilo.

The price of flour has been decreased by Rs6 per kilo, resulting in Rs120 decrease in the price of a 20 kilo bag compared to the open market price.

According to the announcement Chana Dal will retail Rs13 cheaper per kilo, while chickpea will retail Rs18 cheaper per kilo when compared to the open market prices.

Dates and Basmati Rice will retail Rs40 cheaper at the Utility Stores, where a 950 gram packet of Tea will retail Rs88 cheaper than the open market.

Moong Dal will retail Rs18 cheaper, Masoor Dal Rs12 cheaper and Mash Dal Rs15 cheaper per kilo.

Price of Tetra Pak milk will decrease by Rs12 per litre while the price of beverages will also decrease by Rs10 on 1.5 litre bottles.

MQM wants Rs150 bn uplift package for Karachi

KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Monday demanded of the government to approve Rs150 billion development package for Karachi.

MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar presented a shadow budget with a total outlay of 3.775 trillion for fiscal year 2014-15 here.

He demanded that the taxable income from any kind of source should be taxed.

Sattar said the sales tax be brought down from 17 to 9 percent and petroleum levy be abolished with immediate effect.

The present 10 percent policy rate of the State Bank of Pakistan be reduced to 7.5 percent, he said.

He warned that a last chance is being given to the Prime Minister government to resolve people’s issues or they will take to the street.

KP govt announces aid package for Sindh drought-hit people

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has announced a Rs100 million package for the drought-hit people in Sindh.

Chief Minister Pervez Khattak directed PDMA to procure rice, flour, pulses, sugar, tea, cooking oil, dates, salt, potable water, milk and medicines from local markets and immediately dispatch them to the victims.

Expressing sorrow over the situation in Tharparkar, the chief minister said that the KP government would not leave the victims alone.

 

US prepares $1 billion aid package for troubled Ukraine

Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Kiev on Tuesday to show US support for the fledgling Ukraine government, and the Obama administration announced with his arrival a $1 billion energy subsidy package.
The fast-moving developments came as the United States readied economic sanctions amid worries that Moscow was ready to stretch its military reach further into the mainland of the former Soviet republic.
Kerry arrived as the Ukraine government grapples with a Russian military takeover of Crimea, a strategic, mostly pro-Russian region in the country's southeast, and as Russian President Vladimir Putin said he wouldn't be deterred by economic sanctions imposed punitively by the West.

US prepares USD 1 billion aid package for troubled Ukraine

While on the ground, Kerry was planning to pay homage to the dozens of protesters who were slain on February 20 in anti-government demonstrations which culminated days later in the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych.
As Kerry arrived, the White House announced the package of energy aid, along with training for financial and election institutions and anti-corruption efforts. US officials traveling with Kerry, speaking on grounds of anonymity, said the Obama administration is considering slapping Russia with unspecified economic sanctions as soon as this week.
Additionally, the officials said, the US has suspended what was described as a narrow set of discussions with Russia over a bilateral trade investment treaty.
It is also going to provide technical advice to the Ukraine government about its trade rights with Russia. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to be quoted by name before the official announcement was made.
Putin pulled his forces back from the Ukrainian border on Tuesday, yet said that Moscow reserves the right to use all means to protect Russians in the country. He accused the West of encouraging an "unconstitutional coup" in Ukraine and driving it onto anarchy, declaring that any sanctions the West places on Russia will backfire.
Speaking from his residence outside Moscow, Putin said he still considers Yanukovych to be Ukraine's leader and hopes Russia won't need to use force in predominantly Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine.