KESC decides to sack 4000 employees again

KARACHI: Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) has once again decided to sack at least 4500 employees.

It should be mentioned here that the dismissal of these employees was announced some time back; however, the decision was reversed thanks to the protest that last several days.

KESC has presented to Sindh High Court (SHC) a proposal worth Rs. 5.35 billion for the Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) for 4000 employees, who will be paid up at least Rs. 700,000 and maximum Rs. 4.7 million.

KESC spokesman said the VSS will be announced on an appropriate time; however, the announcement of the scheme is contingent upon court’s permission.

Earlier also, these employees were sacked; however, they were restored to their jobs after KESC’s head office was besieged for at least one week. TrendPK

Benazir’s Blackberry sets found

KARACHI: Interior Ministry has recovered two Blackberry handsets of Benazir Bhutto from the servants of Bilawal House.

When contacted, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) confirmed the reports regarding recovery of Benazir Bhutto’s cell-phones that were lost in Liaquat Bagh Rawalpindi on the day of her assassination.

The investigative agencies were on the look for these mobile phones for three years.

The spokesman said they have not received the sets as yet, adding the records from the mobile phones will be extracted as soon as they are here.

Sources said the information from these mobile phones could provide some important clues and even breakthrough leading to the real culprits behind her assassination. TrendPK

US Air Force blocks news sites posting WikiLeaks

WASHINGTON: The US Air Force has blocked its workforce from visiting 25 media websites that published secret diplomatic documents released by WikiLeaks, a spokesman said Wednesday.

The move meant computers used by Air Force employees could not access newsites, including the New York Times, The Guardian and Der Speigel, that have posted the cables online, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan told AFP.

The Air Force took the action because classified information was posted on those websites, he said.

The decision was taken by the 24th Air Force, which is responsible for cyber warfare and security.

No other branch of the military had taken a similar action, and Lapan said the measure was “neither DoD-directed nor DoD-wide,” referring to the Department of Defense.

Some cyber analysts called it a clumsy overreaction and the New York Times said

Sweden: Two blasts rock center of Stockholm, one killed

Two blasts rocked the center of Stockholm on Saturday in a possible attack inspired by Sweden’s presence in Afghanistan, killing the bomber and wounding two other people.

Swedish news agency TT said that 10 minutes before the first blast, when a car exploded near a busy shopping street, it received an email with threats over the Swedish presence in Afghanistan and over a years-old case of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad by a Swedish artist.

Police spokesman said the car exploded at peak shopping hours. About 10 to 15 minutes later another explosion took place on a street 300 meters away.

A man was found dead near the second explosion and two people with minor injuries were also found nearby. When asked if the man blew himself up in some way, police spokesman said that It is possible.

Facebook shrinks Web page fonts

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook set some users to squinting by shrinking text size on pages of the world’s most popular online social networking service.

“We are constantly testing new ways to make the site more efficient for people,” a Facebook spokesman said on Wednesday, in response to an AFP inquiry regarding the smaller font at the website.

“We listen to feedback and always try to incorporate it in future product updates, releases and features.”

The change was getting harpooned online, with forums featuring playful squawks about making reading tough on the eyes of Facebook fans. AGENCIES

Facebook shrinks Web page fonts

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook set some users to squinting by shrinking text size on pages of the world’s most popular online social networking service.

“We are constantly testing new ways to make the site more efficient for people,” a Facebook spokesman said on Wednesday, in response to an AFP inquiry regarding the smaller font at the website.

“We listen to feedback and always try to incorporate it in future product updates, releases and features.”

The change was getting harpooned online, with forums featuring playful squawks about making reading tough on the eyes of Facebook fans. AGENCIES

KESC spares industrial areas from power outages

Staff Report

KARACHI: The Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) on Wednesday exempted industrial unit of the metropolis from electricity load shedding.

A KESC spokesman said that industrial load shedding has been completely ended.

The spokesman, however, said that three to four hours of power cuts would continue in residential areas.

He said that gas supply continues to remain at 70 MMCFD.

The prolonged and unscheduled power cuts ended after Pakistan State Oil (PSO) increased oil supply to the KESC.

A PSO spokesman announced that the KESC would get daily oil supply of 2, 500 furnace oil at the prices of gas.

The spokesman said that supply of furnace oil on subsidized rates was started in line with the government’s order. Trend Pk

China refuses to change policy of stapled visa for Kashmiris

China said that its policy of issuing stapled visas to Kashmiris would remain unchanged, in crucial comments ahead of a meeting between prime ministers of the two countries.
Weeks after External Affairs Minister S M Krishna hoped that Beijing would maintain ‘neutrality’ on the affairs related to Jammu and Kashmir and respect India’s sensitivities on the issue, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said, Though China had friendly relations with India, its policy towards the stapled visas for residents of the state remained unchanged. The comments come ahead of this week’s meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of East Asia Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam. The issue of stapled visa is likely to figure prominently at the talks.

SC reinstates 294 sacked KESC employees

Staff Report

KARACHI: The Supreme Court has reinstated 294 employees who had been fired by the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) on April 19, 2010 for various reasons.

A three-member bench of the apex court announced this verdict in a petition filed by KESC challenging the ruling of Sindh High Court (SHC).

SHC also ordered KESC to reinstate the sacked employees.

On the other hand, a KESC spokesman said that he was not aware of any such ruling by the apex court. SAMAA

Man throws book at Obama during campaign rally

During a weekend rally in Philadelphia, an overly excited author hurled a copy of his own book onto the stage where President Obama was standing.
The incident happened at a Philadelphia campaign rally in front of nearly 20,000 people but President Obama did not react to this incident. According to the reports that the Secret Service questioned and released the thrower after the law enforcement agency concluded that the man posed no threat to Obama. A Secret Service spokesman said the man had written the book and wanted the president to read it.

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