To the best of my knowledge Alcohol is flammable.  If these bottles are actually filled with alcohol shouldn't these be like throwing bottle or petrol bombs?  Can someone please help me understand this?  If this is technically not possible, then it's worth investigating.

This picture appeared in Daily Times Page A3 today.  You can also see it on ABC News

In case you want to find out whether alcohol is flammable or not, you may click here.

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A persistent drought-like situation has endangered the yield of wheat crop in Barani as well as irrigated areas, according to federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Livestock Nazar Mohammad Gondal.

Expressing concern over the situation, Mr Gondal said: “We should pray for rain … Only prayers can avert low yield of wheat this year.”

Mr Gondal was talking to reporters after addressing members of the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI).

According to him, there was a 30 per cent decrease in sowing in barani areas and there was a three per cent increase in canal-fed crop area.

Sowing, which started in October last year, was affected by low rainfall.

Mr Gondal said that the crop in irrigated areas would also be affected if there was no rain.

An abundance of soil moisture in rain-fed and irrigated lands had helped seeds to germinate, but pesticides or fertiliser could not be applied to plants at an advanced growth stage without adequate presence of water in soil. The minister’s assertion was corroborated by Executive District Officer of the Punjab Agricultural Department Syed Hamidullah Shah.

Mr Shah said that not only the sowing was 30 per cent less in rain-fed areas, but “30 per cent of the remaining 70 per cent is also being threatened by lack of rain”.

Barani areas produce 10 per cent of the country’s wheat, and water available in small dams was inadequate for the crop. Without rain, he said, the standing canola crop in rain-fed areas would also be affected.

Mr Gondal said that the country was safe in terms of food security. “There is enough wheat in government stock. The government will not have to import wheat this year. However, there will be no export,” he said.

According to Mr Gondal, cotton production “will exceed 13 million bales this year”. Optimum agricultural produce could be guaranteed if growers got reasonable prices for their crops, he said.

The food minister said the government had approved 32 small dams in rain-fed areas to ensure adequate water supply.

He said that President Asif Zardari would inaugurate a small dam near Chakwal on Friday, adding that funds for 12 small dams had been released. He said the government was negotiating with a US seed company to “assist our farmers to increase yield”.

About post-harvest losses, he said the government had allocated Rs27 billion for building warehouses and storage facilities, adding that it was also giving 50 per cent subsidy on agricultural machinery.

Answering a question raised by Begum Nuzhat Sadiq, Industries and Production Minister Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani presented figures which indicated that the country was heading for yet another sugar crisis.

The minister said the annual consumption of sugar was 4.2 million tons, or 350,000 tons per month, and estimates suggested that production during 2009-2010 would be three million tons.

In order to meet the shortage, Mr Bijarani said, the government was importing 500,000 of tons sugar through the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) and 750,000 tons with the help of private sector by the end of March. He said that the government planned to maintain strategic reserves of 500,000 tons.

The government recently increased the official sugar price (at utility stores) by Rs7 to Rs45 per kg. But because of the persistent shortage, largely blamed on cartelisation in the sugar industry, and long queues at utility stores, people have to buy sugar at Rs70 per kg in the open market.

1. Habib Bank Limited wrote off loans worth Rs 49.62 billion of 5,728 borrowers, 
   
2. United Bank Limited wrote off 3,197 loans worth Rs 38.35 billion, 
   
3. National Bank of Pakistan 1,554 loans worth Rs 28.54 billion,
   
4. Allied Bank Limited 510 loans worth Rs 12.17 billion,
   
5. Muslim Commercial Bank 876 loans worth Rs 11.83 billion,
   
6. Industrial Development Bank 465 loans worth Rs 11.79 billion,
   
7. Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited 541 loans worth Rs 8.76 billion,
   
8. National Investment Bank 545 loans worth Rs 7.31 billion,
   
9. CitiBank National Association 2,691 loans worth Rs 5.56 billion, 
   
10. Royal Bank of Scotland 838 loans worth Rs 2.13 billion,
    
11. Faysal Bank 51 loans worth Rs 1.88 billion,
    
12. Askari Bank 45 loans worth Rs 1.87 billion,
    
13. Samba Bank 52 loans worth Rs 1.27 billion,
    
14. SME Bank 170 loans worth Rs 1.17 billion,
    
15. Bank of Khyber 27 loans worth Rs 1.12 billion,
    
16. Silk Bank 93 loans worth Rs 948.36 million,
    
17. Bank AlFalah 99 loans worth Rs 832.69 million,
    
18. Bank of Punjab 93 loans worth Rs 545.72 million,
    
19. Habib Metropolitan Bank 62 loans worth Rs 419.50 million,
    
20. Mybank 77 loans worth Rs 371.6 million,
    
21. Balk Al-Habib 25 loans worth Rs 352.05 million,
    
22. Meezan Bank four loans worth Rs 311.92 million,
    
23. Deutsche Bank 20 loans worth Rs 264.11 million,
    
24. Atlas Bank 69 loans worth Rs 261.83 million,
    
25. HSBC 10 loans worth Rs 255.3 million,
    
26. KASB 30 loans worth Rs 93.09 million,
    
27. Soneri Bank 19 loans worth Rs 76.30 billion,
    
28. Bank of Tokyo three loans worth Rs 60.42 million,
    
29. Albaraka Islamic Bank eight loans worth Rs 21.11 million,
    
30. First Women Bank six loans worth Rs 12.39 million,
    
31. Punjab Provincial Cooperative two loans worth Rs 2.82 million,
    
32. Arif Habib Bank five loans worth Rs 2.2 million,
    
33. Pak Libya Holding Company 42 loans worth Rs 1.16 billion,
    
34. Saudi Pak Industrial and Agricultural Investment Bank 33 loans worth Rs 478.4 million,
    
35. Pak Kuwait Investment Bank 15 loans worth Rs 272.13 million and Pak Oman Investment Bank three loans worth Rs 3.55 million.