ISLAMABAD (September 02, 2010): The Cabinet has been informed that GDP will decline to 2.5 percent, from projected 4.5 percent, for the current fiscal year (2010-11) as a result of damage to various sectors of the economy by floods. The Minister for Information, Qamar Zaman Kaira, told media here on Wednesday at a news conference after the Cabinet meeting that budget deficit might touch 6 to 7 percent of GDP for the ongoing fiscal year and inflation 15 to 20 percent.

ISLAMABAD (September 02, 2010): Pakistan has suffered damages worth Rs 350 to Rs 500 billion to infrastructure, livestock and standing crops by the devastating floods. Addressing a press conference, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Qamar Zaman Kaira on Wednesday said about 20 percent of Pakistan's irrigation infrastructure, livestock and crops have been destroyed and perished by the recent floods.

WASHINGTON (September 02, 2010): The World Bank has increased funding to help Pakistan cope with catastrophic flooding by $100 million, to a total of $1 billion, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday. "The WB is committed to helping the people of Pakistan during this time of need and has made US $1 billion available to finance immediate recovery needs and longer-term reconstruction," the statement quoted WB President Robert Zoellick as telling Pakistan Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh in Washington.

ISLAMABAD (September 02, 2010): The Large Taxpayer Unit (LTU) at Lahore has detected short/non-payment of sales tax by several sugar mills of Punjab, causing huge loss to the national kitty. Sources told Business Recorder here on Tuesday that the audit teams of the tax department have framed Audit Observations against certain sugar mills falling in the jurisdiction of Lahore LTU.

ISLAMABAD (September 02, 2010): The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will get nothing in the form of sales tax despite sizeable escalation in the price of sugar in the open market as the prevailing method of sales tax calculation is based on assessable value of the commodity. Sources told Business Recorder here on Tuesday that the method of sales tax calculation on the basis of fixed assessable value of the commodity allows the manufacturers to pay sales tax at the nominal price.

ISLAMABAD (September 02, 2010): Turkmenistan, which failed to submit third-party certification of Dauletabad gas field reserves, has now offered a new supply source, Osman/ Yolatan gas field, which has raised serious concerns in Pakistan, sources exclusively told Business Recorder. Turkmenistan gas reserves are estimated to be around 14 trillion cubic metres (TCMs).

LAHORE (September 02, 2010): Thirty people were killed and over 200 others injured in three explosions at a Yaum-e-Ali procession here on Wednesday. The first blast of low intensity took place outside Karbala Gaamey Shah. Later, two suicide bombers blew themselves up in a crowd of thousands at Bhaati Chowk near Data Darbar. The blasts occurred within a span of thirty minutes after sunset.

WASHINGTON (September 02, 2010): President Barack Obama has declared an end to US combat in Iraq, calling on its people to chart their own destiny as Americans turn to combating al Qaeda in Afghanistan and rebuilding their own battered nation. In a major address Tuesday, Obama called on his country to steel itself for more bloodshed in Afghanistan, billing the fight there as "essential" to protecting the US homeland from the festering threat from al Qaeda.

CAMP VICTORY (September 02, 2010): Vice President Joe Biden Wednesday launched a new American military mission in Iraq, ushering in a fresh phase in a seven-year-old deployment that has cost the lives of more than 4,400 troops. Addressing soldiers at Camp Victory outside Baghdad a day after the US combat role in Iraq officially ended, Biden expressed confidence that the worst days of the conflict were over.

KARACHI (September 02, 2010): Seeking support from Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) for rehabilitation and reconstruction of the infrastructure in flood affected areas, President Asif Ali Zardari has called an emergency meeting to discus relief and development efforts.