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code to simple scrolling text Chief Justice summons session of returning officers today ECP to issue verdict in fake degree case today Terror bid foiled in Peshawar, 10-KG explosives defused World Health Day being observed today Nomination papers of Pervez Musharraf accepted for NA-32 Chitral PML-N talks with JI and JUI-F over seat adjustment stalled

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Tuesday 24 September 2013

7.8 magnitude quake kills 33, hurts several in Balochistan

By on Tuesday, September 24, 2013


  Last Updated On 24 September,2013 About 19 minutes ago
At least 33 persons died and several others injured after earthquake in Awaran area of Balochistan.

QUETTA (Dunya News / AFP) - A powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit southwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said, with tremors felt as far away as the Indian capital New Delhi.
According to Dunya News, earthquake tremors were felt in several cities of Balochistan and Sindh including Karachi Hyderabad, Khuzdar, and Kalat.
At least 33 people died and several others injured in Awaran area while three persons including a woman were killed as a house collapsed after the earthquake in Turbat area of Balochistan.
The earthquake tremors were felt for two minutes while people left their houses and offices due to fear of any loss.
The quake struck at 4:29 pm around 100 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of the city of Khuzdar in Balochistan province, at a depth of 15 kilometres.
USGS originally measured the earthquake at magnitude 7.4 and 29 kilometres deep but later revised their figure. Pakistan s meteorological office gave the magnitude as 7.7.
The area of the epicentre is sparsely populated, but the USGS issued a red alert for the quake, warning that heavy casualties were likely, based on past data.
A senior Pakistani meteorologist, Muhammad Riaz, told Dunya News it was a "major" earthquake and "heavy destruction" was likely.
Minor tremors were felt as far away as New Delhi, while office workers in the city of Ahmedabad near the border with Pakistan ran out of buildings and into the street.
Mumtaz Baloch, senior local administration official in Awaran district, 350 kilometres southwest of Quetta, told AFP: "There are reports of houses being collapsed in the district due to earthquake."
"We also have initial information about injuries to people as a result of the collapse of houses but there are no reports of any deaths."
"We have dispatched our teams to the affected area to ascertain the losses."
In April a 7.8-magnitude quake centred in southeast Iran, close to the border with Baluchistan, killed 41 people and affected more than 12,000 on the Pakistan side of the border.
People working in offices Karachi rushed out of their building and sat on the footpaths along the roads or stood away from the buildings.
"My work table jerked a bit and again and I impulsively rushed outside," Noor Jabeen, a 28-year woman working for an insurance company said while breathing heavily.
"It was not so intense but it was terrible," said Owais Khan, who works for a provincial government office.
"Whenever I feel jolts it reminds me of the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir," said Amjad Ali, 45, IT official standing on the road said.
A 7.6 magnitude quake in 2005 centred in Kashmir, killed at least 73,000 people and left several million homeless in one of the worst natural disasters to hit Pakistan.

Monday 23 September 2013

Govt mulls 'massive' action to combat terrorism

By on Monday, September 23, 2013



  Last Updated On 23 September,2013 About 49 minutes ago
The government has decided to go to any extend for the eradication of terrorism.

LAHORE (Dunya News) – The government is mulling massive action against the ongoing wave of terrorism across the country.
According to sources, the government has decided to go to any extend for the eradication of terrorism and restoration of peace in the country.
In this regard, the interior ministry is contacting provincial governments and other political parties. It is expected the government will announce a new strategy against the militants tonight.
Earlier in London‚ Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said incidents like attacks on a Church in Peshawar was not a good omen for dialogue with Taliban.
Prime Minister said that the government and the nation were unable to proceed any further after the tragic incident.
The Prime Minister said we had proposed dialogue with good intention after holding talks with major political parties.
He said the killing of innocent Christians had made the whole nation grieved, adding that the attackers were enemies of the country.

Typhoon Usagi veers from Hong Kong, hits China

By on Monday, September 23, 2013


  Last Updated On 22 September,2013 About 17 hours ago
The typhoon wreaked havoc on airport schedules in Hong Kong, nearby Macau and mainland China.

HONG KONG (AP) - The year's most powerful typhoon slammed into southern China on Sunday evening, forcing hundreds of flight cancellations, shutting down shipping and putting a nuclear power plant on alert after pummeling parts of the Philippines and Taiwan with heavy rains and fierce winds.
Typhoon Usagi veered away from Hong Kong at the last minute and made landfall northeast of the former British colony. Forecasters had warned earlier that it posed a "severe threat" to the southern Chinese city.
Usagi, Japanese for rabbit, was classified as a severe typhoon, packing sustained winds of 175 kilometers (109 miles) per hour, with gusts of up to 213 kph (132 mph).
The storm was downgraded from a super typhoon on Saturday, with its sustained winds falling below 241 kilometers (150 miles) per hour, as it passed through the Luzon Strait separating the Philippines and Taiwan, likely sparing residents in both places from the most destructive winds near its eye.
In the Philippines, Usagi left at least two people dead and two others missing, while in Taiwan nine people were hurt by falling trees on Kinmen island off China's coast.
The typhoon landed near the city of Shanwei in the Chinese province of Guangdong, about 140 kilometers (87 miles) northeast of Hong Kong, and was moving west-northwest at 22 kph (14 mph), the Hong Kong Observatory said. It was expected to skirt about 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Hong Kong overnight.
Ferry services between Hong Kong and nearby Macau and outlying islands were suspended as the observatory raised the No. 8 storm warning signal, the third highest on a five-point scale. It reported winds as strong as 68 kph (42 mph) and warned that a storm surge and heavy rains could cause flooding in low-lying areas.
Police in Shanwei ordered more than 8,000 fishing boats to return to port and more than 1,200 residents were taken to temporary shelters, China's official Xinhua news agency reported.
The typhoon wreaked havoc on airport schedules in Hong Kong, nearby Macau and mainland China, upsetting travel plans for many passengers who were returning home at the end of the three-day mid-autumn festival long weekend.
Hong Kong International Airport said 370 arriving and departing flights were canceled and another 64 delayed. Two of Hong Kong's biggest airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair, canceled flights to and from the city's airport starting at 6 p.m. Sunday, with plans to resume operations Monday if conditions permit.
Beijing-based Air China scrubbed 148 flights to and from Hong Kong, Macau and five nearby mainland cities. China Southern Airlines, based in Guangzhou, canceled all flights to and from Hong Kong and three mainland airports, Xinhua said.
Fujian province suspended shipping between mainland China and Taiwan, the news agency said.
Authorities in Guangdong initiated an emergency response plan for the province's nuclear power plants as Usagi approached, ordering four of six reactors at the Daya Bay nuclear power station northeast of Hong Kong to operate at a reduced load, Xinhua said. Outdoor work at two other nuclear power plants under construction in the province was suspended.
In Taiwan, more than 3,300 people were evacuated from flood-prone areas and mountainous regions. The storm also caused a landslide that buried a rail line on Taiwan's southeast coast, but rail services were restored by Sunday morning.
Another landslide late Saturday in the southeastern hot springs resort village of Chihpen sent mud and rocks crashing through the ground floor of a resort spa, forcing the evacuation of frightened guests. The Chihpen River breached its levies upriver, turning the village's main street into a rock-strewn stream, flooding homes and damaging vehicles.
In the Philippines, a 50-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman drowned when a passenger boat capsized in rough waters off northeastern Aurora province, the Office of Civil Defense said Saturday. Two other people were missing in the incident, while the remaining nine passengers and crew were rescued.
The typhoon set off landslides, flooded parts of six Philippine provinces and affected nearly 20,000 people, but disaster-response officials did not immediately report additional casualties.

Churches, missionary schools closed, protests continue against Peshawar blast

By on Monday, September 23, 2013


  Last Updated On 23 September,2013 About 1 hour ago
All the churches as well as the missionary schools in the country remained closed on Monday.

LAHORE (Dunya News) - Protests sparked across the country against Peshawar twin suicide blasts, demanding the government to take stringent measure for the security of the minorities.

All the churches as well as the missionary schools in the country remained closed in mourning for three days.
In Lahore, Christian rights, minority rights and civil rights bodies held rallies and protest demonstrations expressing their grief over the Peshawar Church bombing, terming it criminal negligence on the part of the provincial government.
The civil society also condemned terrorist attack on Peshawar church and termed it a brutal, inhuman act and against the values of Islam and humanity and also against the teachings of Islam.

Civil Society Network held a demonstration at the Cheering Cross in which the civil society leaders said Islam is religion of peace and tolerance and such human activities are not tolerable. They said it is state responsibility to safeguard human lives and under article 25 of the constitution 1973 all citizens are equal.
In Karachi, rallies were taken out in different areas to express solidarity with the Christian community. The demonstrators demanded the government to take stern action against the culprits.
In Rawalpindi and Islamabad, a large number of Christians staged protest demonstrations. Earlier on Sunday, they blocked D-Chowk, Zero Point, Islamabad Expressway near Iqbal Town, Benazir Bhutto Road, Mall Road, Airport Road and Peshawar Road and burnt tyres to block traffic on main roads.

The protesters, carrying banners and placards, pelted stones on public and private vehicles, raised slogans against the government and demanded end to terrorist activities. They also blocked GT Road.
In Multan, local Christians rushed out to roads outside Mission Hospital near Pakistan Radio office, Nawaz Shehr Chowk, Rasheedabad chowk, Mumtazabad and Jalilabad and blocked roads to register their protest.

Church blast: 10 out of 56 said to be in critical condition

By on Monday, September 23, 2013


  Last Updated On 23 September,2013 About 48 minutes ago
The death toll from twin suicide bombing rose to 81 today.

PESHAWAR (Dunya News) -  At least 56 people including 25 women injured in Peshawar church blast yesterday (Sunday) are being treated in Lady Reading Hospital where the condition of 10 is reportedly critical.
Relatives of patients have complained that the hospital staff was not providing them with basic facilities of treatment. They are bound to purchase medicines from private medical stores who sell medicine at high rates.
The attack on All Saints church in the northwestern city of Peshawar after a service on Sunday, claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban s group Junood ul-Hifsa, is believed to be the deadliest ever to target Pakistan s small Christian minority.
"We carried out the suicide bombings at Peshawar church and will continue to strike foreigners and non-Muslims until drone attacks stop," Ahmad Marwat, a spokesman for the group, told AFP by telephone.
Doctor Arshad Javed of the city s main Lady Reading hospital told AFP the death toll had risen to 81 overnight, including 37 women. A total of 131 people were wounded.
Christians demonstrated in cities around Pakistan, including Karachi and Faisalabad, to protest against the violence and demand better protection from the authorities.
In Islamabad more than 100 protesters blocked a major city highway for several hours during the Monday morning rush hour, causing long tailbacks.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the "cruel" attack, saying it violated the tenets of Islam.
Pope Francis also spoke out against the violence, calling it "a bad choice of hatred and war", while Pakistan s Ulema Council, an association of leading Muslim scholars, branded the attack "shameful".
Former minister for inter-faith harmony Paul Bhatti and provincial lawmaker Fredrich Azeem Ghauri both said the attack was the deadliest ever targeting Christians in Pakistan.

Attack on church not a good omen for peace talks: PM

By on Monday, September 23, 2013


  Last Updated On 23 September,2013 About 1 hour ago
PM Nawaz directs to devise new security plan for the minorities.

(Web Desk) - Talking to Pakistani media in London‚ Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said incidents like attacks on a Church in Peshawar is not a good omen for dialogue with Taliban.
Prime Minister said that the government and the nation was unable to proceed any further after the tragic incident.
The Prime Minister said we had proposed dialogue with good intention and this enjoyed the backing of all the political parties.
He said killing of innocent Christians had made the whole nation grieved.
Nawaz Sharif said the attackers are enemies of the country.

Federal govt announces 3-day mourning

By on Monday, September 23, 2013

  Last Updated On 23 September,2013 About 1 hour ago
KPK government announced Rs500, 000 each for families of those killed in church blast.

PESHAWAR (Dunya News) - Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan expressed grief and sorrow over the incident and announced a 3-day nation-wide mourning.
Talking to the media, after visiting Lady Reading Hospital, along with KPK Chief Minister Pervez Khatta, Nisar assured full support to the provincial government to complement efforts in connection with the medical treatment and other help to the victims.
Strongly condemning Pakistan’s one of the deadliest attacks, the Interior Minister said: “No Pakistani has any words to condemn such an inhuman act”. He said only anti-Islam forces could execute such heinous acts of terrorism.
On the other hand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government also announced Rs 500, 000 each for families of those killed in church blasts and Rs 200, 000 for the injured people.
A pair of suicide bombers detonated their explosives outside a historic church in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing 78 people in the deadliest-ever attack on the country s Christian minority, officials said.
 

Friday 20 September 2013

COAS, DG ISI discuss overall security situation with PM

By on Friday, September 20, 2013


The PM and military top brass reviewed progress regarding decisions taken in APC.

ISLAMABAD (Online) – Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and Director General ISI Lt Gen Zaheer-ul-Islam held a meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif here on Friday.
According to the sources, the PM discussed with the COAS and DG ISI the initiation of government’s dialogue with the militants.
Sources added that the PM held consultation with the army leadership over Taliban’s terms and conditions.
The PM and military top brass also reviewed progress regarding decisions taken in APC held earlier this months.
The political leadership had expressed its confidence in the government to initiate dialogues with Taliban in a bid to restore peace across the country, especially the tribal areas.
The Taliban have demanded of the government to announce ceasefire before starting the dialogue process and release their colleagues detained by Pakistani authorities.
Sources further added that all the participants agreed unanimously that dialogue process is imperative for peace and peace should be given a chance through the political process but at the same time vowed not to cave in to the TTP’s demands.
During the meeting, PM offered condolence over the demise of top Army officers in Upper dir incident.
Two senior army officers and a soldier last week in Upper Dir while the TTP had claimed responsibility for the incident.

US Ambassador calls on Interior Minister Ch Nisar

By on Friday, September 20, 2013



Richard Olson assured all kind of institutional support to strengthen security.

ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - US Ambassador Richard Olson today (Friday) called on Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar in Islamabad.
During meeting, the Interior Minister said that Pakistan intends to promote relations with the United States based on mutual respect and understanding.
Both sides discussed issues pertaining to bilateral relations with particular reference to security situation in the region.
Various aspects of the Strategic Dialogue between the two countries were also discussed at the meeting.
The Minister highlighted the efforts that Pakistan is trying its best to eliminate terrorism from its soil.
Olson said Pakistan can benefit from the experience of the United States in strengthening its security and offered all kind of institutional support in this respect.

Asin brings Pride of South Indian Cinema

By on Friday, September 20, 2013


Asin brings Pride of South Indian Cinema

Friday, September 20, 2013 13:11 IST
By Santa Banta News
Asin received the Pride of South Indian Cinema award at an event in Dubai recently.

The event specially celebrated South stars which made Asin particularly happy to receive the honours from Dhanush.