London: More suicide cases among the British soldiers in Afghanistan were reported last year compared to those who lost their lives in combat with the militants. The BBC said 21 soldiers killed themselves last year, along with 29 veterans. Some soldiers’ families say the men did not get enough support. The British Defence Ministry called the cases as a “tragedy”. About 9,000 British troops in Afghanistan are scheduled to leave by the end of 2014.
First women
paratroopers
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s first group of female paratroopers completed training yesterday, the army said, hailing it as a “landmark achievement” for the country. Captain Kiran Ashraf was declared the best paratrooper of the batch of 24, while Captain Sadia, referred to by one name, became the first woman officer to jump from a MI-17 helicopter. In 2006, seven women graduated as fighter pilots, the most prestigious job in the powerful military which had been closed to women for six decades.
|slamabad to expand tax net
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue of Pakistan plans to access bank accounts of about 5,000 high-profile people where information exists about major transactions taking place, to broaden the tax base. The government, through the Finance Bill 2013, provided the board with access to accounts and mechanism is being devised to go ahead with the plan.
New envoys to US, UK soon
ISLAMABAD: The government is in the process of appointing an ambassador to the US and a high commissioner in the UK, it was learnt yesterday. “We will see these two posts fill up very soon,” a Foreign Ministry official said. The posts fell vacant after the envoys quit when the new government took over. Filling up these posts, especially the one in Washington, is crucial as high-level US delegations are expected to visit Pakistan this month.
Tobacco control success hailed
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has performed well in tobacco control as it has been placed among the countries which have prevented the most smoking-attributable deaths in the world over the last few years. Pakistan, Thailand and Turkey have the greatest number of such deaths averted, says an independent study in the latest World Health Organisation bulletin. According to the study conducted in 41 countries, Turkey averted 880,396 deaths, Pakistan 450,275 and Thailand 326,749 between 2007 and 2010 due to the governments’ smoke-free air policies.
Media law review urged
ISLAMABAD: A two-man media commission has highlighted the need for a comprehensive review of the media law, rules and codes. “While fundamental ethical values are eternal and universal, the definitions of terms, words and phrases in the context of usage by media and in the context of the immediacy of news coverage require re-visitation and possible reinterpretation,” the panel has recommended.
Agencies
