IMF asks Pak to cut Army funds

Lahore, Oct. 26: The International Monetary Fund has asked Pakistan to cut military spending by almost a third as fears grew that the country’s economic crisis was now so bad that its role in the war on terror was imperilled, according to a report in the Australian.

The report said the "secret IMF demand, one of several things that the country is being asked to agree to, for a bailout of its tanking economy, was disclosed as President Asif Ali Zardari prepared to go to Saudi Arabia for help".

Also on Friday, it was announced that US General David Petraeus would travel to Islamabad next week. The report quoted a senior military source in Islamabad as saying that a cut to military spending of "anything like that magnitude, even 10 per cent, let alone more than 30 per cent that is being demanded, would rip the heart out of the Army and its ability to operate effectively in a situation where it is in the frontline of the battle against Al Qaeda". —ANI

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Japan recalls sausages after cyanide scare

BY MARI YAMAGUCHI

Tokyo

Oct. 26: A major Japanese meat processor said on Sunday it was recalling millions of packages of sausages and pizzas after finding cyanide in water at one of its plants.

Itoham Foods Inc. said in a public notice published in national newspapers on Sunday that tests have found up to three times the government limit of cyanide in the well water normally used in the products. The announcement was the latest in a raft of recalls following reports of contamination. Melamine was found in a host of Chinese-made milk products in September, triggering massive recalls in dozens of countries, including Japan.

Separately, Japan’s top instant noodle maker, Nissin Food Products Co., announced domestic recalls on Friday of its Cup Noodle instant noodles after a woman grew sick from eating noodles that were later found to be tainted with an insecticide. The latest recall covers nearly 2.7 million packages of sausages and pizza sold in Japan. —AP