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Waqas Dar

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Blog Entries posted by Waqas Dar

  1. Waqas Dar
    Samsung Electronics is investigating claims by a German hacking group that it fooled the iris recognition system of the new flagship Galaxy S8 device, the firm said Wednesday.
    The launch of the Galaxy S8 was a key step for the world's largest smartphone maker as it sought to move on from last year's humiliating withdrawal of the fire-prone Galaxy Note 7s, which hammered the firm's once-stellar reputation.
    But a video posted by the Chaos Computer Club (CCC), a German hacking group founded in 1981, shows the Galaxy S8 being unlocked using a printed photo of the owner's eye covered with a contact lens to replicate the curvature of a real eyeball.
    "A high-resolution picture from the internet is sufficient to capture an iris," CCC spokesman Dirk Engling said, adding: "Ironically, we got the best results with laser printers made by Samsung."
    A Samsung spokeswoman said it was aware of the report and was investigating.
    The iris scanning technology was "developed through rigorous testing", the firm said in a statement as it sought to reassure customers.
    "If there is a potential vulnerability or the advent of a new method that challenges our efforts to ensure security at any time, we will respond as quickly as possible to resolve the issue."
    Samsung's hopes of competing against archrival Apple's iPhone had been pinned on the Galaxy S8 after last year's Note 7 disaster.
    The recall debacle cost Samsung billions of dollars in lost profits and hammered its global credibility, forcing it to apologise to consumers and postpone the S8 launch.
    But since it was released in April it has received positive reviews and strong orders.
    The CCC previously demonstrated a way to defeat Apple's TouchID fingerprint sensors -- using graphite powder, a laser etching machine and wood glue -- just weeks after the first iPhone 5s hit the shelves.
    Traditional PIN protection was "a safer approach than using body features for authentication", Engling said.


  2. Waqas Dar
    US President Donald Trump is visiting the Vatican on Wednesday for talks with one of his most high-profile critics, Pope Francis, after the two men exchanged sharp words during the US presidential campaign last year.
    Trump's meeting at the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, his third stop on a nine-day foreign tour due to end on Saturday, is part of his world tour of religions after meeting leaders of Muslim nations in Saudi Arabia and visiting holy sites in Jerusalem.
    But while his talks in Saudi Arabia and Israel were mostly friendly, the meeting between the head of the Roman Catholic Church and the thrice-married, blunt-spoken Trump could be a little more confrontational.
    The pope last year said a man who thinks about building walls and not bridges is "not Christian," a sharp reprimand for Trump's vow to build a wall along the US-Mexico border.
    Trump said it was "disgraceful" of the Argentine-born pope, who represents just over half of the world's two billion Christians, to question his faith.
    "If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS' ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been president," Trump said during the campaign.
    Trump's softer stance on environmental regulations also is at odds with Francis' view that climate change is caused mostly by human activity.
    The Vatican also took a dim view of Trump's anti-Muslim campaign rhetoric, although Trump softened his tone considerably in a major speech in Riyadh.
    Francis said last week he would be "sincere" with Trump but did not want to judge him before listening to him in person.
    Part of Trump's motivation for meeting the pope was to dramatise how the three major religions should rally against the threat from Islamist militants.
    ?We thought that this trip was essential to put together the Muslim faith, the Jewish faith and then the Catholic faith, the Christian faith," said a senior White House official who briefed reporters on Trump's Air Force One flight to Rome.
    "By putting everybody together you can really build a coalition and show that it?s not a Muslim problem, it?s not a Jewish problem, it?s not a Catholic problem, it?s not a Christian problem, it really is a world problem," the official said.
    Trump at first did not plan to stop in Rome during his visit to Europe, which some in the Vatican saw as a snub. When he changed his mind, the Vatican squeezed him in at 8:30am on a Wednesday morning, an unusual day and an unusually early time.
    Francis holds his weekly audience with the general public on Wednesday at 10am in St Peter's Square.
    After the meeting, Trump moves on to Brussels, Belgium for a NATO summit, followed by the last stop on his trip, to a Group of Seven summit in Sicily, Italy.


  3. Waqas Dar
    Photo: file  KARACHI: Six suspects were arrested and nine detained during Rangers and police operations in the city early Wednesday morning.
    A search operation was also held in Scout Colony in which more than 50 Rangers personnel participated. Two suspected criminals were arrested during the operation.
    According to Rangers, the suspects belonged to a banned outfit. Suspects have been taken to an undisclosed location for further questioning.
    During an operation in Shah Faisal Colony No 3, 4 and 5, nine suspects were detained. Weapons and stolen motorcycles were seized from their possession.
    Police arrested an alleged street criminal, identified as Muhammad Hussain, during a raid in Karachi?s industrial area. Weapons were seized from him.
    Suspect, Saeed, was arrested from Jackson Keamari. An unlicenced pistol was also recovered from him. Police registered a case against the suspect.
    Gulbahar police arrested two suspected drug peddlers from Haji Mureed Goth and Firdous Colony. Weapons and contrabands were seized. 


  4. Waqas Dar
    STOCKHOLM: Shaken by the deadly Manchester bomb attack, Manchester United's players arrived in Stockholm on Tuesday for a Europa League final against Ajax that has been scarred by tragedy.
    United manager Jose Mourinho said the attack, which left 22 people dead and 59 injured, had deeply affected his players, who held a minute's silence at their Carrington training base prior to leaving for Stockholm.
    United cancelled their eve-of-match press conference at the Friends Arena, but Mourinho and his players solemnly went ahead with a scheduled walk around the pitch before returning to the team hotel.
    "We're all very sad about the tragic events last night; we can't take out of our minds and hearts the victims and their families," Mourinho said in quotes published on United's Twitter account.
    "We have a job to do and will fly to Sweden to do that job. It's a pity we cannot fly with the happiness we always have before a big game.
    "I know, even during my short time here, that the people of Manchester will pull together as one."
    Announcing the decision to cancel their press conference, United said in a statement: "We are sure that, in the circumstances, you will all understand our position on this matter.
    "Our thoughts are with the victims at this terribly difficult time."
    Ajax coach Peter Bosz told his pre-match press conference: "The feeling that prevails is that the final doesn't have the glow it should have.
    "Tomorrow evening should be a football feast, but because of events in Manchester, we're all affected, particularly as we're playing against Manchester. It's horrible. My heartfelt sympathies."
    Young children were among the victims of the suicide bomb attack, claimed by the Islamic State group, which occurred after a concert by American pop star Ariana Grande at the Manchester Arena on Monday.
    It was the deadliest attack to hit Britain since the July 2005 attack on the London transport network, which left 52 people dead.
    A minute's silence will be held before Wednesday's game and a pre-match ceremony has been cut back, while United's players will wear black armbands.
    European governing body UEFA said it had "no specific intelligence" suggesting the Europa League final would be targeted by attacks.
    - Rooney 'devastated' -
    It said security arrangements had already been beefed up following last month's truck attack in the Swedish capital, which claimed five lives and injured around 15 people.
    UEFA urged fans to arrive at the stadium "as early as possible" on Wednesday as "detailed (security) checks will be made at the entrances".
    UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said he was "deeply saddened" by the "horrible terrorist attack".
    "It shocks me that so many innocent people lost their lives and I would like to send my condolences to the families of those affected," he added.
    England's Football Association said extra armed officers would be deployed for Saturday's FA Cup final between Arsenal and Premier League champions Chelsea at London's Wembley Stadium.
    It comes just over a month after the team bus of German side Borussia Dortmund was targeted by three roadside bomb blasts prior to a Champions League home game with Monaco.
    That attack, which left defender Marc Bartra with a fractured wrist, is believed to have been carried out by a man who hoped to profit from a fall in Dortmund's share price.
    United club captain Wayne Rooney expressed his shock on Twitter, writing: "Devastating news this morning. Thoughts and prayers are with all those affected."
    Former United player Cristiano Ronaldo published a picture of a British Union Jack flag bearing the word "MANCHESTER" on his social media accounts.
    "So sad to hear the news from Manchester," the Real Madrid superstar wrote on Instagram. "My thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims."
    A help centre was opened at Manchester City's Etihad Stadium for those affected by the blast.
    United are targeting victory in the Europa League final in order to complete their trophy collection and secure a place in next season's Champions League, having failed to qualify via the Premier League.
    Ajax will be appearing in their first European final since losing on penalties to Juventus in the 1996 Champions League final.


  5. Waqas Dar
    Uber on Tuesday said that it accidentally shortchanged drivers in New York City and plans to pay them what they are due, plus interest.
    While rolling out a new pricing system in the US, the San Francisco-based, on-demand ride service uncovered the error, which it said could cost tens of millions of dollars to correct.
    "We are committed to paying every driver every penny they are owed -- plus interest -- as quickly as possible," Uber US and Canada regional manager Rachel Holt said in a statement emailed to AFP.
    "We are working hard to regain driver trust, and that means being transparent, sticking to our word, and making the Uber experience better from end to end."
    Terms of a driver agreement dating back to 2014 specified that Uber would get a 25 percent share of fares, after subtracting taxes and fees.
    In New York, Uber mistakenly calculated its cut from full fares, taking more money than it should have, according to the company. Uber said it is reaching out to drivers to arrange refunds, which were reported to average about $900.


  6. Waqas Dar
    Violence has once again struck music fans with a suicide attack on Ariana Grande's Manchester show, but the booming concert industry hopes to withstand the new shock.
    The explosion Monday in the British arena, which killed 22 people moments after the US pop idol left the stage, comes a year and a half after another assault claimed by Daesh devastated a rock show at the Bataclan in Paris.
    With extremists looking for maximum public impact, the blast at the Manchester Arena was especially grisly as Grande's fan base is full of young girls, with an eight-year-old among the confirmed victims.
    The assaults come after a decade of soaring growth across the Western world in live music, which has far surpassed sales of recordings as the key money-maker for artists.
    Share prices of Live Nation, the concert giant behind Grande's tour, slumped by nearly one percent Tuesday on security jitters after a year in which their value jumped by nearly half.
    Joe Reinartz, news editor at the live music industry publication Pollstar, said he expected more parents to think twice about taking children to concerts or other crowded places.
    "Right now the answer it's just too early to tell and nobody has a crystal ball," Reinartz said of the Manchester attack's impact on live music.
    But he added: "I would say that there would probably be an immediate impact on all public gatherings of a massive size in the near future."
    Young fuel growth

    Live music is hardly the only target. Recent mass-casualty attacks in the Western world have included trucks slamming into pedestrians on the Nice promenade and a Berlin Christmas market, and a gun attack inside a gay nightclub in Orlando.
    James Donio, president of the Music Business Association, a US-based trade group, said it was human nature for parents to want to protect their children but also noted that foolproof security in a around venues was impossible.
    "This is the world we have been living in for a few years," he said. "You cannot say that you're going to have a guarantee of nothing happening or being completely safe, which is sad."
    "We're about keeping the music playing and encouraging people to enjoy what music brings to the world.
    "If that means that has to be balanced with waiting in a longer line to get in, that's part of what we have to do as fans."
    Young people, although not necessarily pre-teens, have been at the forefront of live music's expansion with summer festivals becoming a rite of passage for millennials of sufficient means.
    Analytical firm IbisWorld estimates that live music is a 28 billion a year industry in the United States alone, with growth averaging five percent annually for the past five years.
    Security already tight

    Security was already stepped up around the world following the Bataclan attack, with major venues setting up control rooms and promoters meticulously sifting through bags -- raising questions on how the Manchester assailant evaded detection.
    Daniel Colling, director of the 6,000-capacity Zenith in Paris, said the concert hall has ramped up both security personnel and screening since the November 2015 assault on Paris.
    "If new attacks hit concert halls, we will have to worry about a reduction in attendance, especially for shows that reach audiences made up of families, the young and foreigners," he said.
    Many concert promoters declined to discuss in depth the impact of the attack, feeling it was insensitive to talk business after so much human suffering.
    Michael Dugher, chief executive of the British industry umbrella group UK Music, said that music "has the power to bring people together and is so often a celebration of peace and love."
    "We will not let terrorism and the politics of violence, hatred and division conquer that spirit," he said in a statement.


  7. Waqas Dar
    Jose Mourinho said the victims of a deadly suicide bomb attack in Manchester were in the "minds and hearts" of his squad as United prepare for Wednesday's Europa League final against Ajax in Stockholm.
    The Daesh extremist group claimed responsibility for the attack that killed at least 22 people, including children, and injured dozens at a concert by US pop star Ariana Grande at the Manchester Arena on Monday.
    "We're all very sad about the tragic events last night, we can't take out of our minds & hearts the victims & their families," Manchester United manager Mourinho said in comments on the club's Twitter feed.
    "We have a job to do & will fly to Sweden to do that job. It's a pity we cannot fly with the happiness we always have before a big game."
    Mourinho, who joined United last year, added: "I know, even during my short time here, that the people of Manchester will pull together as one."
    The Portuguese led his players in a minute's silence on United's training pitches and the club said they were cancelling Tuesday's pre-match press conference in Stockholm.
    "Due to the tragic events in Manchester last night and the effect that this has had on everyone here at our club and within our city, we have decided to cancel this evening's pre-match press conference in Stockholm," United said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with the victims at this terribly difficult time."
    Meanwhile David Beckham, who made his name as a global football star at United, expressed his condolences via an Instagram message, saying: "Heartbreaking news from Manchester. As a father & a human what has happened truly saddens me. My thoughts are with all of those that have been affected by this tragedy."
    'Beyond evil'

    Gary Lineker, another former England international and now a television presenter, summed up a mood of widespread revulsion when he tweeted: "To target children at a concert is beyond comprehension. Beyond lunacy. Beyond evil. Heart goes out to all those who've lost loved ones."
    A help centre was opened at City's Etihad Stadium, which is close to the Manchester Arena, for those affected by the blast.
    "It's with great sadness we hear of the terrible events at the Arena," said a City statement. "Our hearts go out to all affected and to our city's emergency services."
    Current players from both clubs also sent Twitter messages of support, with City captain Vincent Kompany saying: "I would like to express my deepest condolences to the families of the victims. It's a sad day for the great city of Manchester. #Unity'."
    United's Jesse Lindgard wrote: "My thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by last nights attack on this beautiful city."
    'Support and solidarity'

    City manager Pep Guardiola tweeted: "Shocked. Can't believe what happened last night. My deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims. #Ilovemanchester."
    Dutch club Ajax sent their own message of support, saying: "From Amsterdam with love to Manchester. Our thoughts are with the victims and the loved ones of those affected."
    Spanish football giants Real Madrid and Barcelona also expressed their sympathy.
    "From Barcelona, all our support and solidarity for the victims and relatives of the attack in Manchester," said a message from the Catalan club.
    Their arch-rivals said: "Real Madrid C.F. expresses its deepest dismay at the attack committed in Manchester and wants to convey its solidarity with the victims and their families and friends. At the same time, it wishes the prompt recovery of the injured."
    There were plenty of messages from other sports too, with one from England women's cricketer Danielle Wyatt especially poignant as she had been in the audience on Monday.
    Wyatt, who was unhurt, tweeted: "Thank you for all messages - I'm safe. Was at the concert enjoying myself like many others - thoughts with victims & families. #WeStandTogether."


  8. Waqas Dar
    Two US astronauts successfully completed Tuesday what NASA described as a "critical" spacewalk to repair a failed piece of equipment that helps power the International Space Station.
    "We have declared victory," NASA commentator Rob Navias said about two hours into the emergency spacewalk by space station commander Peggy Whitson, 57, and flight engineer Jack Fischer, 43.
    The reason for the outing was the sudden breakdown on Saturday of a computer relay box known as a multiplexer-demultiplexer (MDM) unit.
    The MDM -- which is about the size of a small microwave oven and would weigh 50 pounds (23 kilograms) on Earth -- helps operate solar arrays, electrical power generation, and robotic equipment at the ISS.
    It also regulates the operation of radiators and cooling loops.
    Since there are two MDMs at the orbiting outpost, the loss of one did not jeopardize the lives of the crew or bring a halt to station operations.
    Still, a space agency spokesman described Tuesday's mission as a "critical contingency spacewalk" and called it a "high priority" to replace the failed box as soon as possible.
    Quick fix

    During the shorter than normal spacewalk -- which lasted just two hours and 46 minutes, much less than the typical 6.5 hours -- Whitson took the lead and replaced the MDM.
    After she took out the malfunctioning unit, she spotted some flakes of debris, and returned briefly to the airlock for equipment to clean the area before installing the new box.
    "We now have two healthy MDMs," Navias said afterward.
    Fischer, making the second spacewalk of his career, installed a pair of antennas on the US Destiny Laboratory module to enhance wireless communication capability for future spacewalks.
    It was unclear what caused the MDM to fail.
    The unit had just been installed in March during a spacewalk by Whitson and Expedition 50 commander Shane Kimbrough.
    Nor was it the first time an MDM unit failed.
    "A similar MDM replacement spacewalk was conducted in April 2014 by Expedition 39 crewmembers Steve Swanson and Rick Mastracchio of NASA," the US space agency said.
    New record for Whitson

    Whitson is the most experienced woman spacewalker in the world, and during the spacewalk she leapt to third place for the most time spent doing spacewalks.
    She now has a total of 60 hours, 21 minutes over 10 career walkabouts in space.
    The world record holder for spacewalking is Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyev, who completed 16 spacewalks totaling 78 hours, 21 minutes.
    In second place is Spanish-American astronaut Mike Lopez-Alegria, who has done 10 spacewalks totaling 67 hours and 40 minutes.
    Tuesday's spacewalk was the 201st in support and maintenance of the ISS.
    The $100 billion football-field sized orbiting laboratory has been continuously occupied by global astronauts since 2000.


  9. Waqas Dar
    The world-famous Egyptian Museum boasts 160,000 priceless artefacts crammed into the hallways and exhibition halls of a 19th century two-storey building in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
    The museum's artefacts "belong to the various Egyptian civilisation periods, starting from pre-historic eras, all the way to the Graeco-Roman period," Sabah Abdel Razik Saddik, the museum's general manager, told AFP.
    The museum's best-known piece is 18th dynasty monarch King Tutankhamun's golden funerary mask and the rest of his tomb's artefacts, located in the museum's top floor.
    Among the museum's "masterpieces" are statues of the royals who had the Giza pyramids built, including the only surviving statue of King Khufu.
    "The museum also has very important pieces from prehistoric eras," including two skeletons, one 35,000 years old and the other about 22,000 years old, as well as stone tools from 7,000 BC, Saddik said.
    The facility also has around 50,000 pieces in storage that are not exhibited, said Saddik.
    The museum was a tourist highlight before the January 2011 uprising toppled Hosni Mubarak, unleashing years of political turmoil which led to plummeting tourist numbers.
    Visitors would wait in long lines outside its entrance, while the building brimmed inside with both tourists and Egyptian visitors, including students on school trips.
    During the uprising, which was centred in Tahrir Square just outside the museum, looters broke into the building stealing and damaging several ancient treasures.


  10. Waqas Dar
    GENEVA: Ethiopia's Tedros Adhanom was elected Tuesday as the new head of the World Health Organization, diplomats said.
    The former Ethiopian health minister beat Britain's David Nabarro and Sania Nishtar of Pakistan in the race to lead the UN's public health body, replacing outgoing chief Margaret Chan of Hong Kong.
    The result was confirmed in a statement by the WHO after three rounds of voting on Tuesday.
    Tedros, a 52-year-old malaria specialist, will take over on July 1, succeeding Margaret Chan, a Hong Kong native whose decade-long tenure was marred by the agency´s fiercely criticised response to the Ebola epidemic in west Africa.
    In his final pitch to member-states before ballots were cast, Tedros vowed to staff the WHO with "a world-class workforce" while introducing strict accountability measures, which critics say have been sorely lacking at the Geneva-based agency.
    He listed delivering universal healthcare, especially to the world´s most impoverished, as his top priority.
    Tedros said he refused "to accept that people should die because they are poor."
    Ebola scars

    The WHO is perhaps the most influential United Nations agency, charged with emergency response and shaping baseline policies for treatment of major health challenges.
    The agency was broadly accused of failing the major test that followed the December 2013 Ebola outbreak, missing key warnings about the severity of an epidemic that
    ultimately killed more than 11,000 people.
    Health officials, including from Washington, a key WHO donor, said the agency´s new leadership needed to get emergency response right.
    "We know that the next health emergency is not a question of ´if´ but ´when´", US health secretary Tom Price said in Geneva earlier Tuesday.
    "When it happens the world will turn to the WHO for guidance and for leadership. We need to be sure it is up to the task," he told the Swiss Press Club.
    Tedros vowed to lead "robust responses to the health crises to come".
    An African victory

    Tedros will be the first African to lead the WHO and had unanimous backing from the African Union, which claimed that the continent deserved a shot to lead the agency.
    Nabarro, who had strong support from his native Britain and touted his decades of experience within the UN system, ultimately failed to persuade voters that the agency
    needed an insider in its top job.
    Nishtar, a former Pakistani health minister, won praise for a strong campaign but was always viewed a long shot.
    Tuesday marked the first time that the WHO´s 194-member states got to choose the agency´s leader.
    Previously the executive committee offered just one candidate for states to rubber stamp.
    ´Big changes´ needed

    The WHO has already initiated a range of reforms since it faced crushing criticism over its response to the Ebola crisis, but experts say the new chief still faces a huge task.
    "We need WHO to be more effective than it is today," the director of Harvard University´s Global Health Institute, Ashish Jha, said at the Swiss Press Club event.
    Mark Dybul, who heads the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said that Chan had "laid the foundations" for improvements but that "big, big changes need to be made".
    He underscored "massive" coordination problems between regional offices and the agency´s Geneva headquarters.
    This was identified as a significant issue in the Ebola crisis, when the African office in Brazzaville was accused of not sounding the alarm.
    Impressive record

    Tedros earned a doctorate from the University of Nottingham in Britain before being appointed Ethiopia´s health minister in 2005.
    He oversaw a drive to expand basic healthcare by building thousands of new clinics and boosting community-based health services.
    "I am astonished when I think of the path my life has taken," he said before Tuesday´s result.


  11. Waqas Dar
    Snapchat introduced custom stories on Tuesday, the feature allows users to create stories for select friends and family members or for contacts in a specific location.

    ?Today we?re announcing a new way to create custom Stories ? about anything, with any of your friends, even for a specific location,? Snapchat announced on their website.
    Users will now be able to choose who can add to the story and who can view it.

    As well as being able to select additional friends who can view the custom stories but won?t be able to contribute to it.
    Custom stories can be ideal for occasions such as trips, birthday parties, or any particular story limited to just a group of people.
    According to Snapchat, custom stories will disappear if no one from the group adds anything for 24 hours.
    Introducing Custom Stories - YouTube
    https://support.snapchat.com/article/group-stories song: "Sunroof" by courtship.
    In order to create your custom story, simply tap the ?Create Story? icon in the top right corner of the Stories page, give it a name, and then invite the friends you want to participate.


  12. Waqas Dar
    Britain has increased its security threat level to "critical" from "severe" following a suicide attack in Manchester that killed 22 people, including children, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday.
    May also said members of the armed forces would boost security at key sites and military personnel might be deployed at public events such as concerts and sports events.
    May said the independent body which sets the threat level had recommended it be raised after a man named by police as Salman Abedi set off an improvised bomb on Monday night as crowds streamed out of a concert.
    "It is now concluded on the basis of today's investigations that the threat level should be increased for the time being from severe to critical," she said in a televised statement following a meeting of the government's crisis response committee.
    "This means that their assessment is not only that an attack remains highly likely but that a further attack may be imminent."


  13. Waqas Dar
    MANCHESTER: Thousands of Manchester residents gathered in the centre of the northern English city on Tuesday in a show of defiance against a suspected suicide bomber who killed 22 people, including children, in an attack at a crowded concert hall.
    The vigil, held in warm evening sunshine in front of the Town Hall, drew representatives of different religions who, one by one, condemned Monday evening's bombing, which ripped through a crowd leaving a show by US singer Ariana Grande.
    Members of the city's Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Sikh communities said they wanted to show that Manchester, while shocked, would not be cowed.
    "It was incredibly emotional ... for us especially as Muslim citizens," said Muhammad Khursheed, an imam of a mosque in the Manchester suburb of Hulme. "We will stand together in spite of oppression, terrorism. A strong, powerful message today."
    British police on Tuesday identified the suicide bomber as 22-year-old Salman Abedi but gave no further details. US security officials, citing British intelligence officials, said Abedi was born in Manchester to Libyan parents.
    After speeches by officials, people attending the vigil gathered in small groups to talk among themselves. Some students took turns to hug a woman dressed in a burka.
    "Together. Unified," Daniel Liptrott, a 45 year-old businessman said when asked how the vigil made him feel. "A single act of terrorism isn't going to break that."
    After a moment of silence, when many wept, the crowd broke into repeated chants of "Manchester, Manchester."
    A placard read: "Hate will never tear us apart", alluding to the song "Love will tear us apart" by Joy Division, one of Manchester's best known music groups.
    Fans of the city's rival soccer teams Manchester United and Manchester City stood together at the protest.
    A local poet, Tony Walsh, read a poem from the steps of the Town Hall to the crowd which drew loud cheers and applause.
    "There's hard times again in these streets of our city, but we won't take defeat and we don't want your pity, because this is the place where we stand strong together with a smile on our face, Mancunians forever," Walsh said.


  14. Waqas Dar
    Ariana Grande returned to the United States on Tuesday, one day after a suicide bomber killed 22 people at the pop singer's concert in Manchester, England, People magazine reported, as questions lingered over whether she would continue her European tour.
    Grande, 23, was photographed landing at an airport in her hometown of Boca Raton, Florida, and being met by family members, the magazine said.
    The pop star has not been seen publicly since an explosion ripped through the packed Manchester Arena at the end of her performance there. Some of the 22 people who died in the attack were teens or young girls. Grande was apparently unharmed.
    British police have identified the man suspected of carrying out the massacre as 22-year-old Salman Abedi, who was born in Manchester to parents of Libyan origin. Daesh claimed responsibility for what it called revenge against "Crusaders," but there appeared to be contradictions in its account of the operation.
    In her only statement so far, Grande took to Twitter some five hours after the bombing to describe herself as "broken" in the aftermath of the attack.
    "from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don't have words," she said in the tweet.
    Grande was performing in Manchester during the European leg of a tour to promote her third album, "Dangerous Woman," which also has her scheduled to perform in London, Belgium, Poland, Germany and Switzerland in the coming weeks.
    Despite speculation that she would cancel the rest of the tour, no formal announcement had been made as of Tuesday afternoon. Grande's manager, Scooter Braun, did not respond to requests for comment by Reuters.
    "We mourn the lives of children and loved ones taken by this cowardly act," Braun said in a statement posted on Twitter on Monday evening. "We ask all of you to hold the victims, their families and all those affected in your hearts and prayers."
    Grande, a native of Boca Raton, starred in the Broadway musical "13" and on the Nickelodeon TV series "Victorious" before releasing her solo debut album, "Yours Truly."
    Best known for her singles "Problem" and "Break Free," Grande is credited with having an exceptionally broad vocal range for a pop star.


  15. Waqas Dar
    Five years have passed since the young Malala Yousafzai was shot at by the Taliban, but some people continue to dish out rumours and express doubts about whether the attack ever took place. 
    Social media was again abuzz when a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MNA Mussarat Ahmed Zeb claimed in a series of tweets that the attack on the Nobel peace prizewinner was staged and that the medics and the doctor who conducted the CT scan and examined her were awarded plots by the government.

    In a first, the neurosurgeon who was the first doctor to operate on Nobel Peace laureate appeared in Geo News show 'Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath' to put to rest all such claims.
    Dr Mumtaz Ali, a doctor at the Lady Reading Hospital in Swat, narrated how he got a call at around 1:30PM about an injury and started preparations to receive the patient. But Malala was instead shifted to the Combined Military Hospitals (CMH), he said. 
    Ali was called in the afternoon from the clinic to perform a checkup of Malala.
    ?She was unconscious [when I saw her]. She had a severe head injury,? he said.
    Malala to become youngest United Nations Messenger of Peace
    NEW YORK: Malala Yousafzai, the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is to become the youngest United Nations Messenger of Peace, the organisation´s chief said on Friday. Yousafzai, 19,...
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    The mother of Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai said she hopes to devote more time to helping others get an education








    The doctor then found a mark on her head made by a bullet which had entered her left temporal of the brain, which is responsible for speech functions. The bullet had passed through the neck to the shoulder.
    ?She looked pale and the CT scan showed the left part of the brain was severely injured,? Ali said.
    Ali said that he instructed his colleagues to not perform any other medical procedure and only administer medicines to Malala, and decided to perform a check-up after two hours. 
    At around 1:30PM, he got a call from his colleague who informed him that Malala?s condition was deteriorating.?They said she is going to die.? 
    Ali rushed to the hospital and gauged the situation. The doctors performed a tracheostomy and then an ?extensive surgery? on the brain and removed the bullet.
    The surgery ended at 4AM.
    Ali said that he, a senior neurosurgeon and a brigadier at the CMH performed a check-up of Malala and decided that no further treatment, apart from ?rehabilitation? was required. Malala was kept in CMH for two days and then was sent abroad for further treatment.
    Ali rubbished the claims that the attack did not happen, saying there is a marked difference in the way Malala now speaks due to an injured facial nerve on the left side of the face.
    He added that the procedure itself was not difficult, but the timeliness of the decision was.
    ?In case of a delay of 2-3 hours or perhaps even minutes, Malala might not have been around. And that would have laid to rest all these rumours as well.?
    Malala had fought for years for the right of girls to education in her home region in Pakistan.
    She leapt to global fame after a Taliban gunman shot her in the head on a school bus in October 2012 for defending her right to attend school.
    In April, Malala became youngest United Nations Messenger of Peace. She was also awarded honorary Canadian citizenship in the same month.


  16. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: The recent tragedy, claiming six lives in drowning incidents across different beaches of the metropolis, brought to the fore the dismal state of safety at the city?s beaches.

    The unsuspecting citizens, to beat the scorching heat throng to the seaside, not knowing this could be the last visit of their life.
    Every year the beaches engulf several people into their depths, bringing only one question to mind: Who is responsible for the beaches in the city?
    According to a rough estimate, there are more than seven million visitors annually to the beaches across the city.
    The responsibility of saving citizens falls collectively onto the shoulders of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, Clifton Cantonment Board, Karachi Post Trust and other local bodies. 

    There is a momentary stir following a drowning tragedy, which awakens these institutions -- but to no avail at the end.
    Former Commissioner Karachi Shoaib had inaugurated a rescue centre to prevent tragedies in 2014. It was claimed at the time that it would remain open for 24 hours.
    Six youngsters drown off Karachi beaches
    The number of bathers drowned in the last four days has jumped to 12
    The 48 lifeguards under the KMC remain quite irregular and most of them are fishermen living near the seaside.According to the Clifton Cantonment Board, it is the responsibility of 10 lifeguards to serve at the sea view, however, they hardly ever have been spotting performing their duties.




  17. Waqas Dar
    CANNES: Salma Hayek laid into Hollywood sexism on Tuesday, saying the system treats actresses like performing monkeys and wants to get rid of them once they realise they are smart.

    The Mexican star of "Frida" and "Desperado" lambasted the "macho" attitudes of Tinseltown, where fewer than seven percent of films are made by women.
    "Hollywood is not going to change and give it to women because it is all guys," she said.
    "From the beginning, I realised I wasn?t being treated equally as an actress," she said during a talk at the Cannes film festival.
    "It is true that maybe if you are pretty you can get parts easier but it?s really violent to assume if you are pretty you are stupid.
    "Hollywood?s particularly macho. If they realise that you are smart, their anger gets multiplied," Hayek said.
    To many movers and shakers young actresses are playthings, she claimed.
    "They say ?Get a monkey? and then the monkey talks and they say, ?Oh my God, maybe we are going to make money.? Then one day they see the monkey doing algebra and they say, ?Kill the monkey!?
    "It?s very violent, this natural force to try to suppress. That is why we have a problem with women behind the camera as directors and producers," she told one of the "Women in Motion" forums she organises each year at the festival.


    Studios ?ignorant?
    Despite being a soap star in Mexico, Hayek?s climb up the Hollywood ladder was far from easy.
    "Imagine, I came not only as a woman to Hollywood but as a Mexican Arab. People would laugh at me for having the dream of being able to work in Hollywood," said the actor, whose father is Lebanese.
    "I was the only Mexican or Latino in the drama school except for Benicio Del Toro, who is Puerto Rican, so kind of American, and he?s a man. And nobody laughed at him. They were laughing at me in Mexico too for having the idea of trying to break into that market. For every single agent and every single studio, it was a laughable concept."
    Hayek said Hollywood had disregarded and disrespected the female market.
    "They have not realised that women are a great economic power. These people don?t understand we are a huge audience. We have been neglected for so long they don?t know what we want to watch.
    "We don?t even know because we always think of who we will be watching the movie with -- the husband, the family, the children," she told the talk, sponsored by Kering, her husband Francois-Henri Pinault?s luxury goods empire.
    She blamed movie executives? "ignorance" for failing to properly play to the female demographic.
    "Today almost 80 percent of the decision-makers of what movie or television show to watch are female. Women work, we make money and we all want to go out and have fun much more than before, and they have not capitalised on that."
    While Hayek praised Europe, and particularly France where a quarter of films are directed by women, she did not spare Cannes from criticism.
    "In the 70 years of the Cannes film festival only one female has ever won the Palme d?Or and she only got half the Palme d?Or, not even a full one -- she had to share it with a Chinese man," she declared.
    New Zealander Jane Campion shared the festival?s top prize for "The Piano" in 1993 with Chinese director Chen Kaige?s "Farewell My Concubine".
    Hayek, who is 50, also caused a stir at the festival Monday when she appeared at the Kering "Women in Motion" Prix awards dinner with pink-tinged hair.


  18. Waqas Dar
    LONDON: South Africa´s team manager said his side had "genuine concerns" about remaining in England following the deadly terror attack in Manchester, but there are no immediate plans to return home.

    Daesh claimed responsibility for the suicide bomb attack at the end of a concert by US pop star Ariana Grande at Manchester Arena on Monday that killed 22 people, including children.
    Britain´s deadliest terror attack for 12 years took place just two days before the start of a three-match one-day series between England and South Africa in the nearby city of Leeds.
    It is the first international fixture of a lengthy, three-month tour for South Africa that includes the June Champions Trophy and subsequent four-Test series against England.
    No major international cricket has taken place in Pakistan since 2009 because of security concerns following an attack, while England one-day captain Eoin Morgan and opening batsman Alex Hales refused to tour Bangladesh because of safety fears.
    But having received security briefings from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), whose security advisor Reg Dickason is well-respected throughout the sport, South Africa team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee said his side is happy to remain in England as things stood.
    "As you can understand we have some genuine concerns, the players are uneasy... there was a lot of chatter at the breakfast table," Moosajee told reporters at Leeds´s Headingley ground on Tuesday.
    "I am happy to say we´ve had constant communications from the ECB and their security manager.
    "There have been guarantees put in place that security arrangements will be supplemented, starting today. We´re told there will be more visible police at the stadium, at practice sessions as well as the hotels we will reside at."
    Moosajee said the hotel the South Africans are booked in for in Manchester for the last Test "is literally walking distance from where events unfolded last night and there has been genuine concern.
    "The process has started to make the players reassured that arrangements are in place to keep them safe."
    While players had briefly talked about leaving England, Moosajee stressed: "As things stand there´s no mention of us even thinking of abandoning the tour. If the intelligence information tells us something else we would obviously have to reconsider."
    Champions Trophy tournament director Steve Elworthy was not anticipating any withdrawals.
    "We´re planning for all eight teams to be here," Elworthy said.
    "It´s critical and paramount that we deliver a safe, impressive and exciting tournament for everybody involved."


  19. Waqas Dar
    [embed_video1 url=http://stream.jeem.tv/vod/e4dd58aeeff3d5a5c0f819c256052a7a.mp4/playlist.m3u8?wmsAuthSign=c2VydmVyX3RpbWU9NS8yMy8yMDE3IDU6MTY6NDMgQU0maGFzaF92YWx1ZT1QWm1sZGtnaVdaOUovOWNsTXQ3NHVBPT0mdmFsaWRtaW51dGVzPTYwJmlkPTE= style=center]
    MANCHESTER:The suicide bomber who killed at least 22 people and wounded 59 at a packed concert hall in the English city of Manchester has been identified by US officials as Salman Abedi
    According to The Telegraph, Abedi was born in Manchester in 1994, the second youngest of four children. His parents were Libyan refugees who fled the Qaddafi regime and came to the UK.
    His mother and father, a security officer, reportedly emigrated to London before shifting to the south Manchester where they have lived for at least ten years.
    A member of the Manchester?s Libyan community describes Salman as ?quiet?, ?respectful? and devout and said he is astonished that Salman was behind the attack, the Guardian reported.
    Daesh, responsible for multiple deadly attacks across Europe, has accepted the responsibility for the attack. Threatening more attacks, the group said in a statement published on its social media channels: "One of the caliphate´s soldiers placed bombs among the crowds."
    Earlier, May had said police believed they knew the identity of the bomber and police then said a 23-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the attack carried out late on Monday evening as people began leaving a concert given by Ariana Grande, a US singer who attracts a large number of young and teenage fans.

    geo_embedgallery


    Manchester Arena blast: How it happened?
    Follow how the blast took place and the then-updates directly from Manchester
    "All acts of terrorism are cowardly...but this attack stands out for its appalling sickening cowardice, deliberately targeting innocent, defenceless children and young people who should have been enjoying one of the most memorable nights of their lives," May said outside her Downing Street office in London.
    "The attempt to divide us met countless acts of kindness that brought people closer together."
    The northern English city remained on high alert. A Reuters witnesses said they heard a "big bang" at Manchester's Arndale shopping mall and saw people running from the building. Police said they were dealing with an incident inside. The shopping center reopened soon afterward, a Reuters witness said.
    London Mayor Sadiq Khan said more police had been ordered onto the streets of the British capital.
    The blast came two and half weeks ahead of an election, in which Prime Minister Theresa May is predicted by opinion polls to win by a large majority.


    Monday's attack was the deadliest in Britain since four British Muslims killed 52 people in suicide bombings on London's transport system in 2005. But it will have reverberations far beyond British shores.
    Attacks in cities including Paris, Nice, Brussels, St Petersburg, Berlin and London have shocked Europeans already anxious over security challenges from mass immigration and pockets of domestic religious radicalism. Daesh has called for attacks as retaliation for Western involvement in the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.
    Witnesses related the horror of the Manchester blast, which unleashed a stampede just as the concert ended at what is Europe's largest indoor arena, full to a capacity of 21,000.
    "We ran and people were screaming around us and pushing on the stairs to go outside and people were falling down, girls were crying, and we saw these women being treated by paramedics having open wounds on their legs ... it was just chaos," said Sebastian Diaz, 19. "It was literally just a minute after it ended, the lights came on and the bomb went off."
    US President Donald Trump described the attack as the work of "evil losers". German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it "will only strengthen our resolve to...work with our British friends against those who plan and carry out such inhumane deeds."
    A source with knowledge of the situation said the bomber's explosives were packed with metal and bolts. At least 19 of those wounded were in a critical condition, the source said.
    A video posted on Twitter showed fans, many of them young, screaming and running from the venue. Dozens of parents frantically searched for their children, posting photos and pleading for information on social media.
    "We were making our way out and when we were right by the door there was a massive explosion and everybody was screaming," concert-goer Catherine Macfarlane told Reuters.
    "It was a huge explosion - you could feel it in your chest."
    Singer Ariana Grande, 23, said on Twitter: "broken. from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don't have words." May, who faces an election in two-and-a-half weeks, said her thoughts were with the victims and their families. She and Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, agreed to suspend campaigning ahead of the June 8 vote.
    Suicide bomber?
    There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, but US officials drew parallels to the coordinated attacks in November 2015 by militants on the Bataclan concert hall and other sites in Paris that killed 130 people.
    "It clearly bears the hallmark of Daesh," said former French intelligence agent Claude Moniquet, now a Brussels-based security consultant, "because Ariana Grande is a young singer who attracts a very young audience, teenagers.
    Seven arrested in probe into attack on UK parliament
    Police says four, including attacker, killed in the assault
    "So very clearly the aim was to do as much harm as possible, to shock British society as much as possible."
    Daesh supporters took to social media to celebrate the blast and some encouraged similar attacks elsewhere.
    Britain is on its second-highest alert level of "severe", meaning an attack by militants is considered highly likely.
    British counter-terrorism police have said they are making on average an arrest every day in connection with suspected terrorism.
    In March, a British-born convert to Islam plowed a car into pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge, killing four people before stabbing to death a police officer who was on the grounds of parliament. The man was shot dead at the scene.
    In 2015, Pakistani student Abid Naseer was convicted in a US court of conspiring with al Qaeda to blow up the Arndale shopping center in the center of Manchester in April 2009.
    Parents' anguish 
    Desperate parents and friends used social media to search for loved ones who attended Monday's concert while the wounded were being treated at six hospitals across Manchester.
    "Everyone pls share this, my little sister Emma was at the Ari concert tonight in #Manchester and she isn't answering her phone, pls help me," said one message posted alongside a picture of a blonde girl with flowers in her hair.
    Paula Robinson, 48, from West Dalton about 40 miles east of Manchester, said she was at the train station next to the arena with her husband when she felt the explosion and saw dozens of teenage girls screaming and running away from arena.
    "We ran out," Robinson told Reuters. "It was literally seconds after the explosion. I got the teens to run with me."
    Robinson took dozens of teenage girls to the nearby Holiday Inn Express hotel and tweeted out her phone number to worried parents, telling them to meet her there. She said her phone had not stopped ringing since her tweet.
    "Parents were frantic running about trying to get to their children," she said. "There were lots of lots children at Holiday Inn."


  20. Waqas Dar
    GENEVA: The World Health Organization (WHO) was electing its new leader Tuesday, with the race narrowed to two finalists who have vowed to shake up the fiercely criticised agency.

    After one round of voting WHO member states eliminated former Pakistani health minister, Sania Nishtar, several diplomats with direct knowledge of the closed-door result told AFP.
    That left former Ethiopian health minister Tedros Adhanom and British doctor and UN veteran David Nabarro as the remaining candidates to succeed Hong Kong-born Margaret Chan as the UN?s global health boss.
    A second round of voting was set to begin shortly.
    Chan?s decade-long tenure which ends on June 30 was notably marred by condemnation of the agency?s response to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.
    The WHO was accused of missing key warning signs about the severity of an outbreak that began in December 2013 and ultimately killed more than 11,000 people.
    "We know that the next health emergency is not a question of ?if? but ?when?", US health secretary Tom Price said in Geneva before voting was to start.
    "When it happens the world will turn to the WHO for guidance and for leadership. We need to be sure it is up to the task," he told the Swiss Press Club


  21. Waqas Dar
    [embed_video1 url=http://stream.jeem.tv/vod/e4dd58aeeff3d5a5c0f819c256052a7a.mp4/playlist.m3u8?wmsAuthSign=c2VydmVyX3RpbWU9NS8yMy8yMDE3IDU6MTY6NDMgQU0maGFzaF92YWx1ZT1QWm1sZGtnaVdaOUovOWNsTXQ3NHVBPT0mdmFsaWRtaW51dGVzPTYwJmlkPTE= style=center]
    MANCHESTER:The suicide bomber who killed at least 22 people and wounded 59 at a packed concert hall in the English city of Manchester has been identified by US officials as Salman Abedi, The Telegraph reported.
    According to the British newspaper, Abedi was born in Manchester in 1994, the second youngest of four children. His parents were Libyan refugees who fled the Gaddafi regime and came to the UK.
    His mother and father, a security officer, reportedly emigrated to London before shifting to the south Manchester where they have lived for at least ten years.
    Earlier, May had said police believed they knew the identity of the bomber and police then said a 23-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the attack carried out late on Monday evening as people began leaving a concert given by Ariana Grande, a US singer who attracts a large number of young and teenage fans.

    geo_embedgallery


    Manchester Arena blast: How it happened?
    Follow how the blast took place and the then-updates directly from Manchester
    "All acts of terrorism are cowardly...but this attack stands out for its appalling sickening cowardice, deliberately targeting innocent, defenceless children and young people who should have been enjoying one of the most memorable nights of their lives," May said outside her Downing Street office in London.
    "The attempt to divide us met countless acts of kindness that brought people closer together."
    The northern English city remained on high alert. A Reuters witnesses said they heard a "big bang" at Manchester's Arndale shopping mall and saw people running from the building. Police said they were dealing with an incident inside. The shopping center reopened soon afterward, a Reuters witness said.
    London Mayor Sadiq Khan said more police had been ordered onto the streets of the British capital.
    The blast came two and half weeks ahead of an election, in which Prime Minister Theresa May is predicted by opinion polls to win by a large majority.


    Monday's attack was the deadliest in Britain since four British Muslims killed 52 people in suicide bombings on London's transport system in 2005. But it will have reverberations far beyond British shores.
    Attacks in cities including Paris, Nice, Brussels, St Petersburg, Berlin and London have shocked Europeans already anxious over security challenges from mass immigration and pockets of domestic religious radicalism. Daesh has called for attacks as retaliation for Western involvement in the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.
    Witnesses related the horror of the Manchester blast, which unleashed a stampede just as the concert ended at what is Europe's largest indoor arena, full to a capacity of 21,000.
    "We ran and people were screaming around us and pushing on the stairs to go outside and people were falling down, girls were crying, and we saw these women being treated by paramedics having open wounds on their legs ... it was just chaos," said Sebastian Diaz, 19. "It was literally just a minute after it ended, the lights came on and the bomb went off."
    US President Donald Trump described the attack as the work of "evil losers". German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it "will only strengthen our resolve to...work with our British friends against those who plan and carry out such inhumane deeds."
    A source with knowledge of the situation said the bomber's explosives were packed with metal and bolts. At least 19 of those wounded were in a critical condition, the source said.
    A video posted on Twitter showed fans, many of them young, screaming and running from the venue. Dozens of parents frantically searched for their children, posting photos and pleading for information on social media.
    "We were making our way out and when we were right by the door there was a massive explosion and everybody was screaming," concert-goer Catherine Macfarlane told Reuters.
    "It was a huge explosion - you could feel it in your chest."
    Singer Ariana Grande, 23, said on Twitter: "broken. from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don't have words." May, who faces an election in two-and-a-half weeks, said her thoughts were with the victims and their families. She and Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, agreed to suspend campaigning ahead of the June 8 vote.
    Suicide bomber?
    There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, but US officials drew parallels to the coordinated attacks in November 2015 by militants on the Bataclan concert hall and other sites in Paris that killed 130 people.
    "It clearly bears the hallmark of Daesh," said former French intelligence agent Claude Moniquet, now a Brussels-based security consultant, "because Ariana Grande is a young singer who attracts a very young audience, teenagers.
    Seven arrested in probe into attack on UK parliament
    Police says four, including attacker, killed in the assault
    "So very clearly the aim was to do as much harm as possible, to shock British society as much as possible."
    Daesh supporters took to social media to celebrate the blast and some encouraged similar attacks elsewhere.
    Britain is on its second-highest alert level of "severe", meaning an attack by militants is considered highly likely.
    British counter-terrorism police have said they are making on average an arrest every day in connection with suspected terrorism.
    In March, a British-born convert to Islam plowed a car into pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge, killing four people before stabbing to death a police officer who was on the grounds of parliament. The man was shot dead at the scene.
    In 2015, Pakistani student Abid Naseer was convicted in a US court of conspiring with al Qaeda to blow up the Arndale shopping center in the center of Manchester in April 2009.
    Parents' anguish 
    Desperate parents and friends used social media to search for loved ones who attended Monday's concert while the wounded were being treated at six hospitals across Manchester.
    "Everyone pls share this, my little sister Emma was at the Ari concert tonight in #Manchester and she isn't answering her phone, pls help me," said one message posted alongside a picture of a blonde girl with flowers in her hair.
    Paula Robinson, 48, from West Dalton about 40 miles east of Manchester, said she was at the train station next to the arena with her husband when she felt the explosion and saw dozens of teenage girls screaming and running away from arena.
    "We ran out," Robinson told Reuters. "It was literally seconds after the explosion. I got the teens to run with me."
    Robinson took dozens of teenage girls to the nearby Holiday Inn Express hotel and tweeted out her phone number to worried parents, telling them to meet her there. She said her phone had not stopped ringing since her tweet.
    "Parents were frantic running about trying to get to their children," she said. "There were lots of lots children at Holiday Inn."


  22. Waqas Dar
    General Bajwa presiding over the 75th annual formation commanders' conference held at the GHQ. ? ISPR RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, while appreciating high state of operational readiness and morale of troops on Tuesday, asserted that any hostile action anywhere along the country's frontiers shall be responded "most befittingly," in spite of desire for peace with our neighbours.
    The COAS today presided over the 75th annual formation commanders' conference held at the General Headquarters (GHQ), according to the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR).
    The forum, attended by all general officers of the Pakistan Army, was briefed on geo-strategic environment, progress of operation Radd-ul-Fasaad, operational preparedness against conventional threat and other matters concerning national security.
    General Bajwa said the budding state of stability achieved after countless sacrifices by the security forces, law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and by the nation shall be consolidated to have a normalised Pakistan.
    Referring to his recent visits to frontline field formations along the eastern and western frontiers, the army chief appreciated the high state of operational readiness and morale of troops, especially demonstrated in response to recent border violations, the ISPR said in a statement.
    He said that not-with-standing our desire for enduring peace with our neighbours, any hostile action anywhere along our frontiers shall be responded most befittingly.
    The forum also deliberated on the situation in FATA, recent measures for better Pak-Afghan border management and impending FATA reforms, and reiterated requirement of the reform process in line with aspirations of people of FATA, the statement read.
    Improving situation of Balochistan was also deliberated upon, it added. The conference reiterated its resolve to continue meaningful contributions towards stability and progress of the province with support of its people.
    Discussing progress and security of CPEC, the participants stressed on maintaining focus on further securing environment for timely progress of this vitally significant mega initiative.
    The forum agreed that operations in Karachi, Punjab and elsewhere will be continued until achievement of sustainable stability. The participants expressed their complete satisfaction with the steps taken at Army level.
    They also voiced their resolve to protect geographical and ideological frontiers of the country.


  23. Waqas Dar
    Bollywood diva Katrina Kaif has come a long way since her 'Namaste London? days. Be it an item number about 'Sheila?s Jawani' or showing acrobatic moves in the song ?Kamli?, the actress has always flaunted her killer dancing moves at every stage with quite ease.

    This makes one wonder how the woman keeps up with her fitness regime to maintain flexibility and entertain fans with her flawless dance steps.
    The actress today posted a video of her gym workout, urging fans to practice an exercise which makes them sit without a chair.
    The Jagga Jasoos star will be a part of Aamir Khan?s much-awaited project Thugs of Hindostan.
    Not only that, she will reunite with Salman Khan in the sequel of Ek Tha Tiger; Tiger Zinda Hai. The movie is likely to release during Christmas.
    Also read: Katrina Kaif officially joins Instagram, shares first picture



  24. Waqas Dar
    LONDON: The suicide bombing at a concert by Ariana Grande in Britain that killed 22 people, including children, sparked an outpouring of grief and condolences from pop stars and other celebrities around the world.

    Here are some of the reactions:
    Ariana Grande
    The US pop star, who had just finished performing at an arena in the northwestern English city of Manchester, when the bomb exploded, tweeted that she was "broken" by the attack.
    "From the bottom of my heart, I am so so sorry. I don´t have words," the 23-year-old, who is popular with teenagers and pre-teens, wrote on her Twitter account, which has more than 45 million followers.
    Grande´s manager, Scooter Braun, who also represents Justin Bieber, published a longer statement on Twitter.
    "We mourn the lives of children and loved ones taken by this cowardly act," the sombre black and white picture statement read. "We ask all of you to hold the victims, their families, and all those affected in your hearts and prayers."
    Nicki Minaj
    The US rapper, who collaborated with Grande on hits "Bang Bang" and "Side to Side" tweeted: "My heart hurts for my sister, Ariana & every family affected by this tragic event in the U.K. Innocent lives lost. I´m so sorry to hear this."
    Taylor Swift
    The US pop princess, a friend of Grande, tweeted: "My thoughts, prayers and tears for all those affected by the Manchester tragedy tonight. I´m sending all my love."
    Katy Perry
    The US pop superstar, also a friend of Grande, tweeted: "Broken hearted for the families tonight. Broken hearted for Ari. Broken hearted for the state of this world."
    Liam Gallagher
    The Oasis rocker, a Manchester native, tweeted: "In total shock and absolutely devastated about what´s gone down in MANCHESTER sending Love and Light to all the families involved LG x".
    David Beckham
    The former star of the Manchester United football team expressed his condolences via an Instagram message: "Heartbreaking news from Manchester. As a father & a human what has happened truly saddens me. My thoughts are with all of those that have been affected by this tragedy."

    Cristiano Ronaldo
    "So sad to hear the news from Manchester. My thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims," said the Portuguese star, who played for United.
    Jose Mourinho
    The Manchester United boss said the team was "all very sad about the tragic events last night, we can´t take out of our minds & hearts the victims & their families."
    John Legend
    The US singer-songwriter, who collaborated with Grande on the soundtrack for "Beauty and the Beast", tweeted: "Sending love to the U.K., @arianaGrande and all of her supporters who were caught up in this awful attack. Heartbreaking."
    Sabrina Carpenter
    Up and coming American popstar Sabrina Carpenter, who recently played in Manchester with British pop rockers The Vamps, expressed her shock. "Just played Manchester.. crazy.. really don´t have words. I´m so sorry. should be a safe place. :( Thinking of all those affected," she tweeted.
    Johnny Marr
    The former guitarist for Manchester rock band The Smiths tweeted: "Manchester stands together."

    James Corden
    The British comedian, presenting "The Late Late Show" on the US television network CBS, said: "It shocks me every time we hear this sort of news, that attacks like this can happen, but especially when there will be so many children at this concert tonight.

    "Many of you won´t have been to Manchester, but you will definitely have heard of it," he told US viewers.
    "It´s famous all over the world for so many wonderful things - great football teams, Man City, Man United" and for "incredible music - Oasis and Joy Division."
    Harry Styles
    The British pop star, a member of the One Direction boy band, tweeted: "I´m heartbroken over what happened in Manchester tonight. Sending love to everyone involved."
    Christina Aguilera
    The US singer-songwriter tweeted: "Devastated by the news of what happened in Manchester at @arianagrande´s concert. Sending my thoughts and prayers to everyone affected.
    Cher
    The US pop legend tweeted: "My prayers go out to people of Manchester... had special times there from youth and beyond."


  25. Waqas Dar
    NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq - File photo  ISLAMABAD: Speaker National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq said on Tuesday Pakistan will not take any measures which will endanger its ties with its southwestern neighbour, Iran.

    The NA Speaker was speaking in Lahore, where he said that US President Donald Trump in his speech at the Arab summit did not praise Pakistan?s sacrifices in the war on terror.
    There were several other leaders at the summit who did not agree with Trump?s views, he said.
    On the topic of Kulbhushan Jadhav, Ayaz Sadiq said that the nation needs to unite over the issue of the Indian spy caught from Balochistan.
    A session of the Parliamentary committee on National Security will be summoned to address the issue of Jadhav.
    The US president had addressed the Arab Islamic American Summit on May 21 in Riyadh. Iran?s absence was quite conspicuous in the session attended by 55 Muslim countries? leaders.


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