<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Slash costs quickly
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PHOTO: AFP
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- 4 or less paragraphs so show all paragraphs first before showing the media and bkstry and stuffs --><!-- story content : start -->Pakistani peasants holding sickles during a protest against inflation and the escalating food crisis in Karachi yesterday.
<!-- story content : start -->The largely impoverished population of 168 million is suffering from soaring prices that hit a 30-year-high of 25.3 per cent in June, the last available figure, making staple foods and fuel unaffordable. <!-- story content : start -->The violence-ridden country is in danger of defaulting on its foreign debts and needs up to US$4.5 billion (S$6.75 billion) immediately to tackle the crisis.
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
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PHOTO: AFP
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- 4 or less paragraphs so show all paragraphs first before showing the media and bkstry and stuffs --><!-- story content : start -->Pakistani peasants holding sickles during a protest against inflation and the escalating food crisis in Karachi yesterday.
<!-- story content : start -->The largely impoverished population of 168 million is suffering from soaring prices that hit a 30-year-high of 25.3 per cent in June, the last available figure, making staple foods and fuel unaffordable. <!-- story content : start -->The violence-ridden country is in danger of defaulting on its foreign debts and needs up to US$4.5 billion (S$6.75 billion) immediately to tackle the crisis.
