24 March 2004 Wednesday 02 Safar 1425 Pakistan set to achieve record sugar production KARACHI, March 23: The country is poised to achieve record sugar production at 4.1 million tons after harvesting good sugarcane crop resulting from heavy rains of last year and improvement in supply of irrigation water. ... WB opposes plan to recruit sans FPSC involvement KARACHI, March 23: The World Bank has not endorsed the federal cabinet decision made in early February to recruit grades 11 to 16 without involving the Federal Public Service Commission, and has observed that "it sends a disturbing signal". ... Islamabad to benefit in many areas: Trade with New Delhi KARACHI, March 23: Pakistan should avoid putting too many items in the sensitive list of trade so as to make the South Asian Free Trade Area (Safta) agreement successful. ... Balochistan to manage Gwadar affairs: Ghani QUETTA, March 23: Balochistan Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani has said that Gwadar will remain in the jurisdiction of the provincial government and the Gwadar Development Authority headed by the chief minister will fully run all its affairs. ... No fresh wheat cargoes sought SINGAPORE, March 23: Pakistan will not seek replacement wheat imports for four Australian cargoes it rejected on quality grounds, the head of the country's state-run grain storage firm told Reuters on Tuesday. ... Microsoft faces $613m anti-trust fine BRUSSELS, March 23: US software giant Microsoft faces a record fine of nearly 500 million euros and hard-hitting changes to its flagship product when European regulators announce their verdict to a five-year probe on Wednesday. ... Bangladesh plans not to privatize Sonali Bank DHAKA, March 23: The government of Bangladesh has finally decided not to privatize, liquidate or merge Sonali Bank, the largest public sector commercial bank in Bangladesh ... Blair urges Europe to step up reform LONDON, March 23: Europe needs to raise its game on economic reform to compete with the growing technological prowess of economies such as China and India, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Monday. ... Qatar opens world's largest LNG plant RAS LAFFAN, March 23: Qatar unveiled on Tuesday the world's largest LNG processing facility at this giant Gulf industrial city which has sent the first supplies of liquefied natural gas to India. ... Indonesia to eliminate pirated software JAKARTA, March 23: Indonesia is planning to eliminate the use of pirated software in government offices, an official said on Tuesday. ... Competition among LNG suppliers hots up DOHA, March 23: Competition among suppliers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Asia is hotting up, sending prices tumbling as big buyers such as China and India drive hard bargains in an oversupplied market. ... Saudi Arabia sees no inflation threat RIYADH, March 23: Saudi Arabia's economy, flush with cash from high oil prices, should record another strong performance this year without triggering an inflationary surge, a senior central bank official said on Tuesday. ...

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