Islamabad, Dec 31 : A wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami organisation, Shabab-e-Milli, has issued threats to the provincial administration and owners of five star hotels and restaurants in Karachi over New Year celebrations.

The group has warned of dire consequences if they allowed "vulgar" celebrations during the New Year.

"We have requested the owners of hotels, motels and restaurants to refrain from Kharafaat (vulgar activities) during the holy month of Muharram, otherwise the Shabab-e-Milli's baton force will not hesitate in taking necessary steps," the Daily Times quoted Milli President Muhammad Yousaf Munir as saying at a press conference held in Idara Noor-e-Haq.

Following pressure from the National Housing Bank (NHB), housing finance companies (HFCs) may revise interest rates in the coming days. Revised interest rates for a loan of less than Rs 20 lakh are expected to be announced on January 1, 2009 by various institutional lenders.

NHB CMD, S Sridhar said, "As we have reduced the rates, we also expect HFCs to reduce rates and pass on the benefits to the end-customers. Many housing finance companies have already reduced rates by 50-75 basis points. I expect them to cut rates further."

Beijing, Dec. 31 : China has expressed deep concern over strained relations between India and Pakistan.

"As a neighbour of both countries -India and Pakistan - we hope that the two sides would solve relevant issues through dialogue and consultation, improve their relations and jointly commit to peace and stability in South Asia," The Daily Times quoted the Chinese Foreign Office spokesman Qin Gang, as saying.

The Deputy Foreign Minister of China, He Yafie, on his recent visit to Pakistan, informed Pakistan of China's stance on the recent developments in the region, Qin added.

He said that Islamabad has also expressed its willingness to work together with India and China to fight terrorism in the region.

The Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications has launched nationwide GSM services from December 31. The company is already operating almost all telecom circles with its CDMA services. The company would cover 11,000 towns and 3.40 lakh villages across the country by investing Rs. 10,000-crore in the field of mobile telephony. Reliance Communications has received spectrum to roll out GSM services in January this year and has set a record to launch services within a record low period.

Karachi, Dec. 31 : Pakistan's Information and Broadcasting Minister Sherry Rehman has rejected rumours of differences existing between President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Rehman said such news is being falsely circulated by certain mischievous elements.

"There are absolutely no differences," The Daily Times quoted Sherry Rehman, as saying.

She added that the President and the Prime Minister were working seamlessly together.

Satyam Computer Services would focus on core activities to try to restore the confidence of investors. It has asked to forget the previous developments and pledges to bring transparency in the system. The board of the company would meet on January 10, 2009 to discus all possible steps to boost the stakeholder's confidence.