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Pak may charge $1,000 for every NATO truck
Nigerian violence claims 162 lives |
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Chinese stir-fry
replaces chicken tikka as UK’s favourite
The Cantonese dish, full of fresh vegetables and noodles, is now the most frequently cooked meal in the UK and not Indian chicken tikka masala. ‘Negative list’ a hurdle in MFN status to India: Pak
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Pak may charge $1,000 for every NATO truck Islamabad, January 21 The government is contemplating the imposition of the fee to be collected by the army-run National Logistics Cell (NLC) as a condition for reopening the supply routes that were closed in retaliation for a cross-border NATO air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November. There is no proposal from the Federal Board of Revenue to impose a transit fee on ISAF and NATO containers but the government is considering a proposal to allow the NLC to charge a fee for transportation charges and for providing no objection certificates, sources privy to the development told The News daily. With the approval of Parliament, the Federal Board of Revenue introduced a provision in the Customs Act of 1969 to collect a transit fee last year. The mechanism and rate for this is yet to be finalised. “The proposed fee is not to be imposed by the FBR despite getting approval in the Finance Bill 2011,” an unnamed senior official of the FBR told the daily. Instead, the NLC will be tasked to collect the fee and to ensure that no pilferage of NATO supplies occurs during transit through Pakistan. The NLC currently charges a small fee for granting NOC and a proposal is being considered to raise this fee to $1,000 per container in case NATO supplies are restored, sources told the daily. Official documents tabled in Parliament last year estimated Pakistan’s economy has sustained losses of over $68 billion due to the war against terrorism. The government has claimed that the NATO trucks have damaged roads, bridges and other infrastructure from Karachi to Torkham while the country has charged nothing from US and its allies. — PTI n
Under an agreement signed by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf after he joined the US-led war on terror, NATO and ISAF forces were allowed to transport goods through Pakistan without paying any transit fee. n
Supplies for NATO troops are shipped to Karachi and then trucked across Pakistan, entering Afghanistan either in its south, through the Chaman border crossing in Balochistan, or in its east via the Khyber Pass. n
Over 4,000 container trucks and about 1,000 oil tankers passed through Pakistan every month before Islamabad shut supply routes last year.
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Nigerian violence claims 162 lives
Abuja, January 21
Rabiu Kwankwaso, the governor of Kano State, imposed a 24-hour curfew after the bodies, including those of several policemen, were found scattered all over the the state capital, Nigeria's second-largest city, which exploded into violence since yesterday. According to a media report, a purported spokesman for Islamist group Boko Haram had claimed responsibility for the violence, saying it was in response to Nigerian authorities' refusal to release its members from custody. Hospital sources said the death toll in the bombings and shootings that rocked Kano surged to 162 even as the country's police authorities hesitated in giving casualty figure. A doctor at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital said dead bodies and some wounded people were brought to the hospital. According to him some of the injured persons were foreigners, including Indians who live close to the SSS headquarters. A hospital worker who craved for anonymity disclosed this stating that dead bodies were piling up in a mortuary at Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital in Kano. He added that the number of the dead may increase because more bodies are being brought in from different parts of the city. An official of the Red Cross, Nwakpa O Nwakpa said his aid agency is still collecting the bodies of the dead and injured and taking them to emergency units of some hospitals or mortuaries. — PTI
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Chinese stir-fry replaces chicken tikka as UK’s favourite London, January 21 One in five Brits now have it at least once a week, with over two-thirds saying a large part of its appeal is that it is far easier to prepare than traditional British cuisine, with the average stir-fry only taking a few minutes to throw together and cook in a wok. Asian food has become increasingly popular in the UK and is now part of the nation’s staple diet as families opt for international cuisine over British dishes three out of seven nights of the week. Nine out of ten Brits’ favourite international meals are Asian. The study, carried out by Food Network UK, said that sushi and noodles were now eaten as regularly as spaghetti and potatoes. Having become accustomed to exotic spices, half of people also say traditional dishes such as cottage pie and sausages and mash are too dull. More than a quarter of Britons now eat more Chinese, Thai and Japanese cuisine than they did 10 years ago. Nick Thorogood, the managing director of Food Network, said: “Our research shows British palates have changed and we now have a penchant for exotic tastes. “It would have been unheard of for a typical family to tuck in to regular evening meals originating from Thailand or Japan a decade or so ago. “But now it is considered normal to be swapping a cottage pie for a Thai green curry. It shows that what were once considered exotic dishes are now considered everyday cuisine and we are becoming masters of the wok”. He said it is encouraging to hear children are experimenting with food from different cultures from an early age and are not afraid to try different flavours. — PTI
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‘Negative list’ a hurdle in MFN status to India: Pak Islamabad, January 21 The two countries are currently moving from a “positive list” regime to a “negative list” regime but even the “negative list” goes against the non-discriminatory trade that MFN status demands, Fahim told a news conference yesterday. The “positive list” agreed on by the two sides contains over 1,900 items that can be traded between the two sides. “We are working on the negative list. The items in the list will not be allowed for trade with India,” Fahim said. The statement cleared the confusion that has persisted since Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan announced that MFN status had been granted to India. — PTI
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Pakistani military will collect a fee of $1,000 for every container truck passing through the country under new conditions for the reopening of NATO supply routes, according to a media report today.
Chinese stir-fry has replaced Indian chicken tikka masala as Britain’s favourite dish, a new survey indicated today. The simplistic Cantonese dish, typically full of fresh vegetables and noodles, is now the most frequently cooked meal in the UK, the survey said.
