Gilani seeks ties with US on equal terms

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani Monday conveyed strong feelings of Pakistani nation and the Parliament to Senator John Kerry against the unilateral raid by the US in Abottabd.

PM Gilani pointed out that Pakistan regards ties with US but they should be on equal terms. Kerry underlined the need to improve the relations between the two countries.

The two leaders met today. Kerry arrived late Sunday and went straight into talks with Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani who briefed him about the "intense feelings" within the army over the raid.

Power tariff hiked by 2pc

ISLAMABAD: The electricity tariff all across country has been increased by 2 percent from today, Geo News reported.

Meanwhile, Ministry for Water and Electricity has issued notification, which reveals that the raise in power tariff will be effective from Saturday, May 7, 2011.

According to notification, the raise is in form of surcharge, which will be applicable on all electric distribution companies including KESC.

Only those consumers will be exempted from fresh tariff hike that consume less than 50 units, the notification said.

Taking short breaks helps the heart

ISLAMABAD: People who sit for extended periods of time without taking short breaks are at risk for heart disease than those who take more frequent timeouts to stand up and walk around, suggests a study.

The cardiovascular risk that stems from remaining sedentary for prolonged periods of time (at the office, for example) manifests itself in the form of larger waists, higher blood pressure, increased body inflammation and lower levels of `good' cholesterol.

In developed countries people spend more than half of their day sitting, on an average. To explore the potential connection between short breaks and cardiovascular risks, researchers from UK followed 4757 men and women aged 20 years and above for three years.

All participants had been outfitted with an accelerometer on their hips, to monitor a week's worth of walking, running and sitting routines.

Researchers also looked at heart disease-related risk factors, including blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The most sedentary participants were found to sit a little more than 21 hours per day, while the least sedentary sat just under two hours per day.

It was found that the longer the participants spent being sedentary the larger was their waist circumference. Overall, those who took the most breaks from sitting were found to have the smallest waists.

FIA gets new boss

ISLAMABAD: Inspector General Police Balochistan Malik Muhammad Iqbal has been appointed Director General of Federal Investigating Agency (FIA) after Waseem Ahmed resigned from the post, Geo News reported.

Earlier, Waseem Ahmad sent his resignation to the prime minister who was in London on a private visit.

Waseem Ahmed has come under severe criticism from the Supreme Court over his performance. In his resignation letter he said: "Some very unusual circumstances emerged between the two state situations, the SC was asking me to quit while the government was insisting to continue".

CNG price up by Rs.3.33 per kilogram

ISLAMABAD: Only exception to the CNG consumers across Potohar Region, the prices have been hiked by Rs.3.33 per kilogram for the consumers dwelling in rest of country, Geo News reported.

Ghayas Paracha, chairman of the Supreme Council of All Pakistan CNG Association, told Geo News the raise in price of CNG was due to hike in electricity tariff.

He said the price of CNG per unit in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa and Potohar region is Rs.58.55.