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Waqas Dar

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  1. Waqas Dar
    PM says national and provincial governments are working in harmony for the country's development - Reuters File Photo   ISLAMABAD: Development [of the country] should not be politicised as it is for the prosperity of every citizen, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Friday.  
    Addressing participants of the National Economic Council, which is holding a meeting in Islamabad, he said that the federal and provincial governments are working in harmony for the country?s development and should continue on this path. 
    "Pakistan is now among the fastest growing economies of the world," the prime minister stated.
    Pakistan's economic indicators have significantly improved and this is acknowledged by international financial rating institutions, said the premier, adding that the GDP growth rate of 5.28% for the current financial year is commendable.
    He said during the recent Belt and Road Forum in China, all the chief ministers accompanied him which showed the world that Pakistan unanimously stands for development.

    Talking about power issues, he said the government is also focusing on a balanced mix of sources for energy including LNG, coal, hydel, solar and wind, he stated.
    Describing infrastructure as key to development, Sharif said the government is concentrating on establishing roads and communication networks.
    He also informed that the present government has increased the provincial share in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the next financial year three times more as compared to that in 2012-13. He said that FATA, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan are as important to the federal government as all other provinces.
    The meeting is expected to finalise the Annual Development Programme of 2017/18. The Annual Plan Coordination Committee has recommended to the NEC a development programme worth Rs2,113 billion for the next financial year.
    The prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, chief ministers of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan are in attendance, besides the KP governor and the relevant federal and provincial ministers.


  2. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: A meeting of the National Economic Council commenced in Islamabad on Friday.
    Chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the meeting is being attended by all the chief ministers, federal ministers and other members of the body.
    According to sources, the meeting will discuss and finalise the federal and provincial development budgets for the year 2017/18, said to total around Rs2,113 billion.


  3. Waqas Dar
    Englefield, United Kingdom, May 19, 2017 -Pippa Middleton hit the headlines with a figure-hugging outfit at her sister Kate´s wedding to Prince William but now the world-famous bridesmaid is becoming a bride herself.
    Once again, all eyes will be on her dress as the 33-year-old marries financier James Matthews on Saturday at a lavish society wedding where William and Kate´s children will play starring roles.
    The wedding will be a chance for younger royals to come to the fore following the announcement earlier this month that Queen Elizabeth II´s 95-year-old husband Prince Philip will retire from public duties later this year.
    William´s younger brother Prince Harry is expected to attend and a lot of the media attention will be on his US actress girlfriend Meghan Markle -- amid widespread speculation that the two could be announcing their own engagement soon.
    Harry issued a powerful and rare warning to media outlets last November not to harass his girlfriend, who is expected to come to the reception but not the wedding, where media will be allowed outside.
    Three-year-old Prince George, who is third in line to the throne after his father William and his grandfather Prince Charles, will be a page boy at the ceremony while his two-year-old sister Princess Charlotte will be a bridesmaid.
    The wedding is taking place in the Berkshire countryside west of London, near the Middleton family home.
    It will reportedly feature a flypast by a World War II-era Spitfire plane, a £100,000 ($130,000, 115,000 euro) temporary glass marquee and luxury portable bathrooms with oak fittings.
    Pippa Middleton rocketed into the public eye at her sister´s wedding in 2011, which had an estimated worldwide television audience of two billion.
    Pictures of her wearing her white Alexander McQueen maid of honour´s dress filled newspapers for weeks afterward.
    Hundreds of thousands joined the "Pippa Middleton Ass Appreciation Society" on Facebook, which six years on remains nearly 200,000 enthusiastic members.
    "It is a bit startling to achieve global recognition (if that´s the right word) before the age of 30 on account of your sister, your brother-in-law and your bottom," she once wrote.
    ´Ferocious ability to climb´
    Pippa is the second of the three Middleton children, a year younger than Kate and four years older than businessman James.
    Born on September 6, 1983, Pippa spent her early years in Amman where father Michael Middleton worked with British Airways, before attending a series of top private schools on the family´s return to Britain.
    She graduated from Edinburgh University with an English literature degree, then became a socialite on London´s posh party circuit.
    The Middleton girls were dubbed "the Wisteria Sisters": "highly decorative, terribly fragrant and with a ferocious ability to climb", according to the Daily Mail.
    When her sister married the future king, Middleton had the prime supporting role, appearing on the Buckingham Palace balcony with the royals.
    She initially seemed to enjoy the attention, but was confronted with the flip side of fame when a tabloid newspaper published pictures of her topless on a 2006 family holiday.
    She worked part-time for her parents´ party paraphernalia business then published a wholesome book on party planning in 2012, reportedly receiving a £400,000 advance.
     Love for boy racer 
    "Celebrate: A Year of British Festivities for Families and Friends" was widely mocked for offering glaringly obvious tips, such as when heating up milk for a latte, "be careful not to let it boil over".
    In a children´s sack race, "The first person to cross the finish line is declared the winner," it said.
    But Middleton insisted she had to cover the basics.
    She followed it up with a regular column in a magazine for upmarket British supermarket chain Waitrose.
    "´Pippa´s Friday Night Feasts´, will be an exciting opportunity to share my own passion and enthusiasm for food and entertaining," she said at the time.
    Her 2016 healthy recipes charity book "Heartfelt" caused less of a splash than her debut as a writer.
    A regular royal box guest at the Wimbledon tennis championships, Middleton remained visible on the social circuit.
    She had relationships with former England cricketer Alex Loudon and stockbroker Nico Jackson before falling for Matthews.
    The former professional racing driver is the heir to the Scottish title of Laird of Glen Affric. They got engaged on July 17 last year.


  4. Waqas Dar
    Assistant Commissioner Ali Asghar - File Photo ISLAMABAD: Assistant Commissioner Ali Asghar was allegedly shown the door after a polio team vaccinated the excise director's child ? against the family's wishes ? on Thursday.
    Excise Director Mariam Mumtaz reportedly expressed her anger when the child was vaccinated despite her husband's refusal, sources told Geo News. 
    Mumtaz conveyed her displeasure to the Islamabad Chief Commissioner Zulfiqar Haider following which Asghar's services were surrendered to the Establishment Division. 
    In a written response to the chief commisioner's explanation call, Asghar stated that he was willing to apologize to the female officer despite not being at fault.
    According to sources, Asghar received threats from Mumtaz's husband.
    On the other hand, Mumtaz claimed that she had resolved the matter by allowing the polio team to administer the vaccination to her child.
    "The chief commisioner should be contacted for further comments on the matter," she said.
    An unrest in officers of the administration surfaced following the incident, sources reported.

    [embed_video1 url=http://stream.jeem.tv/vod/1d196d0625f22231d4871ea904dc4a16.mp4/playlist.m3u8?wmsAuthSign=c2VydmVyX3RpbWU9NS8xOS8yMDE3IDc6MTU6NTkgQU0maGFzaF92YWx1ZT0yZjdMdDliMmdSV1N3MlNmQy81ZCtRPT0mdmFsaWRtaW51dGVzPTYwJmlkPTE= style=center]






  5. Waqas Dar
    Assistant Commissioner Ali Asghar - File Photo ISLAMABAD: Assistant Commissioner Ali Asghar was allegedly shown the door after a polio team vaccinated the excise director's child ? against the family's wishes ? on Thursday.
    Excise Director Mariam Mumtaz reportedly expressed her anger when the child was vaccinated despite her husband's refusal, sources told Geo News. 
    Mumtaz conveyed her displeasure to the Islamabad Chief Commissioner Zulfiqar Haider following which Asghar's services were surrendered to the Establishment Division. 

    [embed_video1 url=http://stream.jeem.tv/vod/1d196d0625f22231d4871ea904dc4a16.mp4/playlist.m3u8?wmsAuthSign=c2VydmVyX3RpbWU9NS8xOS8yMDE3IDY6NTQ6NDQgQU0maGFzaF92YWx1ZT1vQ09aMkxoT21uT2NwSjZuYXh5Yy9BPT0mdmFsaWRtaW51dGVzPTYwJmlkPTE= style=center]





  6. Waqas Dar
    Players train at Edgbaston ahead of Champions Trophy/PCB Twitter  With just a little over a week left before the Champions Trophy, the Pakistan cricket team has already shifted its training sessions into high gear.

    The Green Shirts took part in an intensive gym session at Edgbaston Cricket Ground on Thursday.
    Young spinning sensation Shadab Khan trains at gym/PCB Twitter Fast bowler Junaid Khan trains with teammates/PCB Twitter   The players were also put through indoor fitness tests at the historic ground, where Sarfraz?s men are set to lock horns with archrivals India in their opening match on June 4.

    Pakistan players during fitness test/PCB Twitter The team donned brand new training kits as they participated in the training and fitness tests.

    New training kits/PCB Twitter Pakistan will play their second and third group stage matches against South Africa and Sri Lanka on June 7 and 12, respectively.  



  7. Waqas Dar
    [embed_video1 url=http://stream.jeem.tv/vod/1835a4271f66e43ac6836c21725a39aa.mp4/playlist.m3u8?wmsAuthSign=c2VydmVyX3RpbWU9NS8xOS8yMDE3IDY6Mjg6MDUgQU0maGFzaF92YWx1ZT1FbW95V2dobVlJZnhubmhaQmpMbWp3PT0mdmFsaWRtaW51dGVzPTYwJmlkPTE= style=center]
    UMERKOT: Another incident of Sindh government?s apathy emerged on Friday when patients at Civil Hospital Umerkot were seen seeking treatment in tents in scorching heat.

    The hospital is currently under construction due to which the pediatrics, gynecology and general wards were closed and a tent was set up in front of the hospitals.
    However, there was no provision of pedestal fans in the tents and patients continued to wait in soaring temperatures while seeking treatment. The patients continued to complain but to no avail.
    Umerkot Civil Surgeon Dr Muhammad Jam remarked that he is not sure till when the construction of the hospital will be completed. 


  8. Waqas Dar
    File photo CHAMAN: The Friendship Gate on the Pak-Afghan border in Chaman remained closed on the fifteenth consecutive day on Friday.
    Two-way trade and transportation activities including NATO supply remained suspended after Afghan forces opened fire on Frontier Corps Balochistan soldiers on May 5 killing at least 11 and injuring several others.
    Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to maintain a ceasefire till a consensus is reached during a one-star border flag meeting between representatives of both countries at the Friendship Gate Chaman, the Inter-Services Public Relations said on Wednesday.
    The Pakistani delegation was led by DIG FC Balochistan and the Afghan delegation was represented by former Brigadier Afghan Border Police.
    During the meeting Afghan delegation asked the Pakistani troops, deployed within its international border at Killi Jahangir and Killi Luqman, to move out from the area before conducting census survey.
    However, the Pakistani delegation maintained that the troops were deployed along the international border on Pakistan side and shall remain there.


  9. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: The CCTV footage of the robbery at a mobile phone shop in North Karachi has been obtained by Geo News.
    The robbery took place on May 17 at an hour when many shops in the plaza were not open.
    The footage shows three robbers gathering in a deserted corner of the plaza, where shops had not opened yet. They distributed the weapons among themselves then headed to rob the shop that was open.    


  10. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: The CCTV footage of the robbery at a mobile phone shop in North Karachi has been obtained by Geo News.
    The robbery took place on May 17 at an hour when many shops in the plaza were not open.
    The footage shows three robbers gathering in a deserted corner of the plaza, where shops had not opened yet. They distributed the weapons among themselves then headed to rob the shop that was open.    


  11. Waqas Dar
    Bollywood superstar Aishwarya Rai Bachchan first came to Cannes in 2002 with the Hindi melodrama Devdas  CANNES, France: The Cannes film festival -- the world's greatest movie showcase -- celebrates its 70th anniversary this year.
    AFP asked actors and directors who made their names at the festival to recount their highs and lows at the star-studded event.
    Aishwarya Rai
    Bollywood superstar Aishwarya Rai Bachchan first came to Cannes in 2002 with the Hindi melodrama "Devdas".
    "It was the first time that an Indian movie was screened here... soon after, I was here as a jury member which was a first for any Indian actor. It was an honour and an incredible experience.
    "Down the years, it´s virtually like I am a part of the family here and I feel very much at home.
    "My first experience was truly memorable and exceedingly special.... We always heard how the duration of our cinema can sometimes be a bit overwhelming for the audience beyond (our) shores and ´Devdas´ by that measure is a long film," she said of the three-hour drama.
    "If I remember correctly, we got a 10-minute applause. It meant the world to us. It was by far the most touching and overwhelming experience for us because it was quite unexpected."
    Carlos Saura
    This veteran Spanish director attended Cannes for the first time in 1960 when his early work "Los Golfos" was nominated for the top Palme d´Or prize.
    "It was an extraordinary experience which gave me exposure in France and also gave me the chance of getting personally acquainted with Luis Bunuel who was kind enough to come to the screening. Since then and until his death, we had a friendly relationship.
    "In Spain, they took advantage of my being in Cannes to censor nearly 15 minutes of ´Los Golfos´. When I got back to Spain I was convinced I would never make a second film -- it was the era of Francoism. Happily, that wasn´t the case."


  12. Waqas Dar
    This photograph taken on May 18, 2017 shows a passerby taking pictures of luxury supercars displayed inside the AutoBahn Motors (ABM) building in Singapore - AFP1 SINGAPORE: A vending machine that dispenses luxury cars to well-heeled buyers is the latest space-saving innovation in land-starved Singapore -- just don´t try to shake it if it gets stuck.

    Used car dealer Gary Hong has taken to displaying his wares in a glass-fronted, 15-storey building.
    Like choosing a chocolate bar, the buyer can see everything on display, before pressing some buttons and having their choice delivered.
    Hong, 45, said he got the inspiration for the new showroom during a trip with his four-year-son to buy toy cars.
    "From there I realised that the Matchbox arrangement is a mini version of our inventories that can be displayed and arranged nicely," he told AFP.
    Some of the cars on sale - AFP  From the comfort of a plush sofa on the ground floor, potential buyers can order a Ferrari, Maserati or Lamborghini among other brands, all with the touch of a hand-held device.
    Once a selection is made, a promotional video of that car is played on a flat-screen television while the vehicle is automatically transported down by a lift.
    "When the customers see a car that is presented in the best way like a beauty pageant, they just decide that this is a winner, and we got a deal," said Hong, who added that sales have risen by 30 percent since the move to the new premises in December.
    With a population density ranked by the World Bank to be third highest in the world, behind Macau and Monaco, land comes at a premium in the tiny city-state.
    But Hong said his unorthodox Sg$3.0 million ($2.15 million) solution can boost land use.
    The company stores between 70-80 cars at its facility -- an amount that would otherwise require five times the space if the vehicles are parked traditionally, Hong said.
    A similar car vending concept currently exists in the United States, through online auto retailer Carvana, which was last reported by US media to have five such facilities around the country as of April.


  13. Waqas Dar
    FILE PHOTO: A man types on a computer keyboard in front of the displayed cyber code in this illustration picture taken March 1, 2017.   Two-thirds of those caught up in the past week's global ransomware attack were running Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system without the latest security updates, a survey for Reuters by security ratings firm BitSight found.
    Researchers are struggling to try to find early traces of WannaCry, which remains an active threat in hardest-hit China and Russia, believing that identifying "patient zero" could help catch its criminal authors.
    They are having more luck dissecting flaws that limited its spread.
    Security experts warn that while computers at more than 300,000 internet addresses were hit by the ransomware strain, further attacks that fix weaknesses in WannaCry will follow that hit larger numbers of users, with more devastating consequences.
    "Some organisations just aren't aware of the risks; some don't want to risk interrupting important business processes; sometimes they are short-staffed," said Ziv Mador, vice president of security research at Israel's SpiderLabs Trustwave.
    "There are plenty of reasons people wait to patch and none of them are good," said Mador, a former long-time security researcher for Microsoft.
    WannaCry's worm-like capacity to infect other computers on the same network with no human intervention appear tailored to Windows 7, said Paul Pratley, head of investigations & incident response at UK consulting firm MWR InfoSecurity.
    Data from BitSight covering 160,000 internet-connected computers hit by WannaCry, shows that Windows 7 accounts for 67 percent of infections, although it represents less than half of the global distribution of Windows PC users.
    Computers running older versions, such as Windows XP used in Britain's NHS health system, while individually vulnerable to attack, appear incapable of spreading infections and played a far smaller role in the global attack than initially reported.
    In laboratory testing, researchers at MWR and Kyptos say they have found Windows XP crashes before the virus can spread.
    Windows 10, the latest version of Microsoft's flagship operating system franchise, accounts for another 15 percent, while older versions of Windows including 8.1, 8, XP and Vista, account for the remainder, BitSight estimated.
    Computer basics 
    Any organisation which heeded strongly worded warnings from Microsoft to urgently install a security patch it labelled ?critical? when it was released on March 14 on all computers on their networks are immune, experts agree.
    Those hit by WannaCry also failed to heed warnings last year from Microsoft to disable a file sharing feature in Windows known as SMB, which a covert hacker group calling itself Shadow Brokers had claimed was used by NSA intelligence operatives to sneak into Windows PCs.
    "Clearly people who run supported versions of Windows and patched quickly were not affected", Trustwave's Mador said.
    Microsoft has faced criticism since 2014 for withdrawing support for older versions of Windows software such as 16-year-old Windows XP and requiring users to pay hefty annual fees instead. The British government cancelled a nationwide NHS support contract with Microsoft after a year, leaving upgrades to local trusts.
    Seeking to head off further criticism in the wake of the WannaCry outbreak, the U.S. software giant last weekend released a free patch for Windows XP and other older Windows versions that it previously only offered to pay customers.
    Microsoft declined to comment for this story.
    On Sunday, the U.S. software giant called on intelligence services to strike a better balance between their desire to keep software flaws secret - in order to conduct espionage and cyber warfare - and sharing those flaws with technology companies to better secure the internet.
    Half of all internet addresses corrupted globally by WannaCry are located in China and Russia, with 30 and 20 percent respectively. Infection levels spiked again in both countries this week and remained high through Thursday, according to data supplied to Reuters by threat intelligence firm Kryptos Logic.
    By contrast, the United States accounts for 7 percent of WannaCry infections while Britain, France and Germany each represent just 2 percent of worldwide attacks, Kryptos said.
    Dumb and sophisticated
    The ransomware mixes copycat software loaded with amateur coding mistakes and recently leaked spy tools widely believed to have been stolen from the U.S. National Security Agency, creating a vastly potent class of crimeware.
    "What really makes the magnitude of this attack so much greater than any other is that the intent has changed from information stealing to business disruption", said Samil Neino, 32, chief executive of Los Angeles-based Kryptos Logic.
    Last Friday, the company's British-based 22-year-old data breach research chief, Marcus Hutchins, created a "kill-switch", which security experts have widely hailed as the decisive step in halting the ransomware's rapid spread around the globe.
    WannaCry appears to target mainly enterprises rather than consumers: Once it infects one machine, it silently proliferates across internal networks which can connect hundreds or thousands of machines in large firms, unlike individual consumers at home.
    An unknown number of computers sit behind the 300,000 infected internet connections identified by Kryptos.
    Because of the way WannaCry spreads sneakily inside organisation networks, a far larger total of ransomed computers sitting behind company firewalls may be hit, possibly numbering upward of a million machines. The company is crunching data to arrive at a firmer estimate it aims to release later Thursday.

    Liran Eshel, chief executive of cloud storage provider CTERA Networks, said: "The attack shows how sophisticated ransomware has become, forcing even unaffected organisations to rethink strategies."
    Escape route
    Researchers from a variety of security firms say they have so far failed to find a way to decrypt files locked up by WannaCry and say chances are low anyone will succeed.
    However, a bug in WannaCry code means the attackers cannot use unique bitcoin addresses to track payments, security researchers at Symantec found this week. The result: "Users unlikely to get files restored", the company's Security Response team tweeted.
    The rapid recovery by many organisations with unpatched computers caught out by the attack may largely be attributed to back-up and retrieval procedures they had in place, enabling technicians to re-image infected machines, experts said.
    While encrypting individual computers it infects, WannaCry code does not attack network data backup systems, as more sophisticated ransomware packages, typically do, security experts who have studied WannaCry code agree.
    These factors help explain the mystery of why such a tiny number of victims appear to have paid ransoms into the three bitcoin accounts to which WannaCry directs victims.
    Less than 300 payments worth around $83,000 had been paid into WannaCry blackmail accounts by Thursday (1800 GMT), six days after the attack began and one day before the ransomware threatens to start locking up victim computers forever. 
    The Verizon 2017 Data Breach Investigations Report, the most comprehensive annual survey of security breakdowns, found that it takes three months before at least half of organisations install major new software security patches.
    WannaCry landed nine weeks after Microsoft's patch arrived.
    "The same things are causing the same problems. That's what the data shows," MWR research head Pratley said.
    "We haven't seen many organisations fall over and that's because they did some of the security basics," he said.


  14. Waqas Dar
    Iranians wait in a queue for the opening of the polling station to cast their ballots for the presidential elections in Tehran - AFP  Iranians began voting on Friday in a closely-fought presidential contest between pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani and hardline challenger Ebrahim Raisi that could determine the pace of social and economic reform and Iran's re-engagement with the world.
    State television showed long queues outside polling stations in several cities and said 56 million Iranians out of the more than 80 million population were eligible to vote
    "Everyone should vote in this important election ... vote at early hours," Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said after casting his vote in the capital Tehran.
    "The country's fate is determined by the people."
    Polls close at 6 pm (8:30am ET), although authorities often extend voting into the evening. Ballot counting will start at midnight and final results are expected within 24 hours of polls closing, the semi-official Fars news agency said. The elections are also for city and village councils.8:30am ET), although authorities often extend voting into the evening. Ballot counting will start at midnight and final results are expected within 24 hours of polls closing, the semi-official Fars news agency said. The elections are also for city and village councils.
    In a warning reflecting rising political tensions amid signs of an unexpectedly close race, Rouhani urged Iran's powerful elite Revolutionary Guards, believed to support Raisi, not to meddle in the election.
    Suspicions that the Guards and the Basij militia under their control falsified voting results in favor of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad led to eight months of nationwide protests in 2009. Dozens of people were killed and hundreds arrested, human rights groups say, in the worst unrest to hit the Islamic Republic.favor of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad led to eight months of nationwide protests in 2009. Dozens of people were killed and hundreds arrested, human rights groups say, in the worst unrest to hit the Islamic Republic.
    Raisi, 56, and Rouhani, 68, traded charges of graft and brutality on live television with an open vehemence unseen since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Both deny the other's accusations.
    "From the Revolutionary Guards to Friday prayer leaders, the hardline, unelected part of the establishment backs Raisi," a senior former Iranian official told Reuters.
    "But it is a risky decision. It might cause protests similar to those in 2009, as different walks of the society, desiring evolution inside the establishment, have united against Raisi."
    The Guards hope that a win for Raisi will give them an opportunity to claw back economic and political power lost in Shi'ite Iran's complex theocratic and republican governing structure since 2015, when Iran struck a nuclear deal with world powers that brought it out of international isolation.
    Iranian President and presidential candidate, Hassan Rouhani, casts his ballot for the presidential elections at a polling station in Tehran - AFP   Possible successor to Khamenei 
    Although Khamenei is guarded about his political preferences, he appears to back Raisi both as a presidential candidate and possible successor.
    But in an apparent reference to the 2009 disturbances, Khamenei, an unelected clerical hardliner who has the ultimate say in Iran, has previously warned he would confront anyone trying to interfere in the election.
    Rouhani, who championed the deal to lift most sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its disputed nuclear program, is a staunch supporter of engagement with the West and liberal reforms to the economy, now dominated by state institutions.
    He also says a hardline victory could put Iran back on a more confrontational, economically damaging course with the West, and would prevent the opening of society that a majority of Iranians, especially the youth, yearn to see.
    But hardline rivals hammered Rouhani over his failure to boost an economy weakened by decades of sanctions, even after most were rescinded following the nuclear agreement.
    Despite the removal of nuclear-related sanctions in 2016, lingering unilateral U.S. sanctions that target Iran's record on human rights and terrorism have kept many foreign companies wary of putting stakes in the Iranian market.
    A protégé of Khamenei, Raisi focused his campaign on the economy, visiting rural areas and villages, promising housing, jobs and more welfare benefits for the poor.
    "Unrealistic promises"
    Analysts have rejected Raisi's promises of jobs and cash handouts as unrealistic but admit these could win traction with voters who have felt few benefits so far from the nuclear deal.
    Raisi, a long-serving member of the judiciary who was one of four judges who sentenced thousands of political prisoners to death in 1988, gathered the hardline camp behind him after other conservative candidates dropped out of the race.
    But analysts agreed the gathering of Khamenei's powerful allies behind Raisi seemed to have the unintended effect of energising Rouhani's supporters, uniting opposition and pro-reform figures, artists and activists to back his re-election.
    "This is a polarized election - a race between powerful unelected centers of power and the rest of the country," said analyst Hamid Farahvashian.
    Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior Iran analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) in Washington, said Rouhani's warning to the Guards about electoral interference "could be aimed at forcing the establishment to back his second term".senior Iran analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) in Washington, said Rouhani's warning to the Guards about electoral interference "could be aimed at forcing the establishment to back his second term".
    The campaign was replete with caustic televised debates and bruising broadsides. Raisi accused Rouhani of "economic elitism, mismanagement, yielding to Western pressure, and corruption".
    Push for reform 
    Rouhani hit back in a sharper campaign strategy to mobilize Iranian women and young people who became jaded about the vote after losing hope in his ability to ease religious repression in society as promised in 2013, when he won by a landslide.
    While the vote may not have a decisive influence on foreign policy, which is set by Khamenei, the election of a hardliner could harm Iran's global image and further deter foreign trade and investment seen as vital to rebuilding the economy.
    Although rights campaigners say there have been few, if any, moves to bring about greater freedoms under Rouhani, many young Iranians see Rouhani as the sole choice, even if it is one they are likely to make without real enthusiasm.
    More than a third of Iran's 80 million population is under age 30 and yearns for reform. Women comprise more than half the population and have lesser rights than men in areas including inheritance, divorce and child custody.
    Some 350,000 security forces were deployed around the country to protect the election, state television reported.


  15. Waqas Dar
    Police secure an area near a car after it plunged into pedestrians in Times Square/AFP NEW YORK: A US Navy veteran with a criminal past -- but no apparent terror motive -- rammed a car into a crowd of people in New York´s Times Square on Thursday, killing a young woman and injuring 22 other people.
    The midday incident sparked fear in the heart of America´s most populous city after deadly car-ramming attacks in London, Berlin and the French city of Nice, but authorities said there was no evidence the crash was terror-related.
    Times Square, next to the famed Broadway theater district, is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the US financial capital and where police stepped up patrols in recent years after a car bomb was planted in 2010.
    "Based on the information we have at this moment, there is no indication that this was an act of terrorism," Mayor Bill de Blasio told a news conference at the scene.
    "That being said, we are reinforcing key locations around the city with our anti-terror units of the NYPD so out of an abundance of caution, major sites in the city will get additional police coverage," he added.
    Richard Rojas, a 26-year-old from the Bronx stopped twice in the past for drunk driving, drove his Honda onto the sidewalk at 11:55 am (1555 GMT), smashing into pedestrians for three blocks at high speed, police said.
    The vehicle collided with a metal pole and came to a stop at 45th Street and Broadway, police said.
    The vehicle flipped onto its side, smoke and flames spewing out of the hood as the injured littered the ground.
    An 18-year-old woman was killed and 22 other victims were injured, including the woman´s 13-year-old sister, officials said. Four were in critical condition.
    Witnesses spoke of fear and panic as the car hurtled through the crowd at the start of the lunch hour as people enjoyed one of the first warm days of summer in an area typically packed with tourists and office workers.
    "There was a maroon car just careening at high speed. It seemed like it was trying to hit everybody," witness Annie Donahey told AFP.
    ´Happened so quickly´
    "There were people on top of the hood that were being flown over the sides and the girl who had been walking next to me... was in a heap on the ground, and she was clearly dead, and it just happened so quickly," she added.
    Rojas was arrested and will be tested for drugs and alcohol, police said.
    "The perpetrator is in custody. He´s a United States citizen and a former member of the armed forces with the United States Navy," de Blasio told reporters.
    New York police said Rojas was arrested for driving under the influence in 2008 and 2015, and detained earlier this month for menacing.
    The US Navy said he served from September 2011 to May 2014, reaching the rank of electrician´s mate fireman apprentice. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, and had been based in Florida, Illinois and South Carolina.
    Broadway announced that shows would run as scheduled Thursday but urged theatergoers to allow extra time to arrive "due to an active investigation" in the Times Square area and road closures.
    A pipe bomb exploded last September in New York´s Chelsea neighborhood, lightly wounding 31 people in the last terror-related incident in New York. An American of Afghan descent, Ahmad Khan Rahimi, was charged.


  16. Waqas Dar
    File photo Hot and dry weather is expected in most parts of the country in the next twenty-four hours, the Pakistan Meteorological Department forecasted.

    However, rain and thunderstorm with gusty winds are expected at a few places in Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Bahawalpur divisions, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, FATA, and Kashmir.
    Read more: 7 easy hacks to beat the heat
    A shallow westerly wave is still affecting Kashmir and its adjoining hilly areas and likely to persist during 48 hours.
    Past weather
    The weather remained hot and dry in most parts of the country. However, rain and thunderstorm with gusty winds occurred at isolated places in Gilgit-Baltistan and Malakand division.
    Rainfall in the last 24 Hours (mm)
    Gilgit-Baltistan: Bagrote 07, Gilgit , Skardu, Bunji 02, Gupis, Astore 01. K.P: Malamjabba 06, Kalam 02.
    Yesterday's highest temperatures
    Dadu, Sh. Benazirabad, Larkana 47°C, Jacobabad, Sukkur 46°C, R.Y.Khan, Rohri, Moenjodaro, Turbat 45°C.




    Data courtesy: Pakistan Meteorological Department 


  17. Waqas Dar
    US President Donald Trump and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman at the White House on March 14, 2017/File photo RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is looking to assert its regional leadership by hosting a summit between visiting US President Donald Trump and Muslim leaders from around the world, analysts say.

    Trump, on his first foreign trip since taking office in January, will tell Muslim leaders of his "hopes for a peaceful vision of Islam" as he seeks support for the war against radicals, Washington has said.
    Muslim leaders may also be looking for Trump to build bridges after allegations of Islamophobia against his administration and its effort to bar travellers from six Muslim-majority countries.
    But for Riyadh, analysts say, a primary goal is to showcase its leadership of the Muslim world, especially in the face of regional rival Iran.
    "This is as much a sign of Saudi regional leadership" as of US assertiveness, and aims to show the extent to which the kingdom can gather key Muslim leaders, said Adam Baron, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
    Leaders and representatives of 55 countries -- from the southeast Asian sultanate of Brunei to Africa´s Niger and heavyweights including Turkey -- have been invited by King Salman for Sunday´s summit with Trump.
    The summit will be one of three weekend meetings, as Trump holds bilateral talks with top Saudi officials and with leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) which includes Saudi Arabia.
    The bilateral summit on Saturday comes with Saudi leaders rebuilding crucial ties with Washington after feeling that Trump´s predecessor Barack Obama tilted too much toward Tehran.
    The 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers including the United States was a major step toward ending Tehran´s international isolation but raised serious concerns in Arab capitals.
    Doing ´the dirty work´
    Iran, which holds a presidential election on Friday pitting moderate incumbent Hassan Rouhani against hardline jurist Ebrahim Raisi, is likely to loom large over Sunday´s summit, analysts said.
    "This summit has a very clear message to the radical Iranian regime that there will be a global consensus and global agreement between the United States and the Arab and Muslim world," said Salman al-Ansari, president of the Saudi American Public Relation Affairs Committee (SAPRAC), a private initiative to strengthen Saudi-US ties.
    The summit is part of preparations for a new US strategy mobilising the Muslim world against Daesh, as well as against groups such as Lebanon-based Hezbollah, said Mustafa Alani, a senior adviser to the Gulf Research Centre.
    "I think this is going to be important because it´s supposed to translate into action on the ground, financial participation, troop participation, intelligence exchange."
    Alani said the new US administration recognises that Saudi Arabia is a "super-regional state" whose help is required to contain Iran and combat "terrorism".
    "We are witnessing now a change in the tone, change in policy" from Trump, he said.
    Krieg agreed Trump needs a partner -- but one to do "the dirty work" for a country that does not want its own military deeply involved, reflecting Trump´s policy of "America First".
    "In the end ´America First´ means using the GCC and Arab partners as proxies and surrogates, propped up with US equipment and training (paid for by these partners), to implement US policy," he said.


  18. Waqas Dar
    The market value of the liquid heroin is estimated at Rs10 million - Geo News ISLAMABAD: In an operation at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport on Friday, the Airport Security Force (ASF) arrested a foreign national for attempting to smuggle narcotics out of the country.

    ASF officials said the passenger, en route to Nigeria, had concealed around 1.5 kilogrammes of liquid heroin inside a shampoo bottle in his luggage.
    Picture of suspect - Geo News  The market value of the contraband is said to be approximately Rs10 million.
    The suspect is in custody and further investigations are under way, said the officials.  
    On April 30, ASF personnel seized one-and-a-half kilogram heroin from a passenger at Karachi airport. 
    The passenger wanted to smuggle the heroin to Saudi Arabia, according to an ASF spokesperson. 




  19. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: As many as 67 suspects were taken into custody during law enforcement agencies? search operations in Sindh and Punjab.
    Operations were also carried out in different districts of Punjab. During the operations, 47 suspects were taken into custody. Weapons and contrabands were also seized from the suspect?s possession.
    Operations in Karachi
    About 15 suspects were detained during a Ranger?s search operation in Karachi?s Chanesar Goth. During the operation, the area was cordoned off and house-to-house searches were conducted.
    Moreover, a suspect was killed after an exchange of fire with police in Karachi?s Quaidabad area. Weapons, stolen mobile phone and looted valuables were seized from the suspect.
    A man, identified as 25-year-old Zafar, was killed after unidentified men opened fire on them. On the other hand, a person was injured after he resisted a robbery attempt in Saeedabad area.
    Three suspects were arrested during a search operation within the jurisdiction of Preedy police station. The suspects were allegedly involved in targeted killings, extortion and robberies cases.
    According to the Rangers spokesperson, the suspects belonged to Muttahida Qaumi Movement-London. Two dacoits were arrested during operations in Jamshed Quarters and Korangi.
    Related: 16 suspects detained following police operations in Karachi
    CCTV footage of bank robbery
    Geo News acquired CCTV footage of robbery at a mobile phone shop on May 17. At 11:15am, three dacoits entered a shop in North Karachi. One of the robbers had hidden the weapons in a plastic bag, he took the pistols out and gave them to the other two.
    Within three minutes, the dacoits stole dozens of mobile phones and cash. In the footage, the faces of three dacoits, wearing shalwar kameez, is quite evident. 


  20. Waqas Dar
    Supporters of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani chant slogans during a campaign rally in Zanjan on May 16, 2017 - AFP TEHRAN: Iranians head to the polls Friday for a vote that has become a referendum on President Hassan Rouhani's policy of opening up to the world and efforts to rebuild the stagnant economy.
    He faces stiff competition from hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi, 56, who has positioned himself as a defender of the poor and called for a much tougher line with the West.
    Rouhani, a 68-year-old moderate cleric, has sought to frame the election as a choice between greater civil liberties and "extremism".
    He has pushed the boundaries over the past fortnight, criticising the continued arrest of reformist leaders and activists, and calling on security agencies not to interfere in the vote.
    Raisi says he will stick by the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, that saw curbs to Iran's atomic programme in exchange for sanctions relief, but he points to the continued economic slump as proof that Rouhani's diplomatic efforts have failed.
    "Instead of using the capable hands of our youths to resolve problems, they are putting our economy in the hands of foreigners," Raisi said at a final rally in the holy city of Mashhad on Wednesday.
    Rouhani responded by calling on voters to keep hardliners away from Iran's delicate diplomatic levers.
    "One wrong decision by the president can mean war and a correct decision can mean peace," he said at his own Mashhad rally.
    The election comes at a tense moment in US-Iran relations.
    Rouhani gained a reprieve on Wednesday when the administration of US President Donald Trump agreed to continue waiving nuclear-related sanctions, keeping the deal on track for now.
    But Trump has launched a 90-day review of the accord that could see it abandoned, and is visiting Iran's bitter regional rival Saudi Arabia this weekend.
    Supporters of presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi outside a campaign rally in Tehran on May 16, 2017 - AFP Economic slump
    Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said a massive turnout was needed to show the continued popularity of the Islamic regime.
    "Faced with the enemy, the people should show their determination and calm," he said this week.
    Despite the global implications, it is the economy that has dominated the campaign.
    Rouhani has brought inflation down from around 40 percent when he took over in 2013, but prices are still rising by nine percent a year.
    Oil sales have rebounded since the nuclear deal took effect in January 2016, but growth in the rest of the economy has been limited, leaving unemployment at 12.5 percent overall, and almost 30 percent for young people.
    Rouhani has vowed to work towards the removal of remaining US sanctions that are stifling trade and investment deals with Europe and Asia, but he is unlikely to receive much assistance from Trump.
    Raisi has instead promised to triple cash hand-outs to the poor, hoping to pick up voters that once supported hardline populist Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
    Having proved too independent for the conservative establishment, Ahmadinejad was dramatically barred from standing by the Guardian Council last month as it disqualified all but six of the 1,636 people who signed up for the election.
    The presidential race has since narrowed to a two-horse race as the other candidates either pulled out or called on their supporters to back Rouhani or Raisi.
    Iranians will also be voting Friday for their local councils, with reformists particularly hoping to undo the conservatives' narrow majority in Tehran.


  21. Waqas Dar
    Director Pedro Almodovar, Jury President of the 70th Cannes Film Festival and Jury members Maren Ade, Jessica Chastain, Fan Bingbing, Agnes Jaoui, Park Chan-wook, Will Smith, Paolo Sorrentino and Gabriel Yared pose during the opening ceremony and screening of the film "Les fantomes d'Ismael" (Ismael's Ghosts) out of competition. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier  Actresses Uma Thurman, Susan Sarandon, and Vanessa Redgrave worked the Cannes red carpet on Thursday.
    Thurman, who is president of the jury for the 'Un certain Regard' category this year, walked the red carpet along with Sarandon and Redgrave for the premiere of Loveless. She embraced the festival's elegance wearing a full-length pink satin skirt and jewelled black sandals.
    70-year-old Sarandon, on the other hand, donned her trademark black sunglasses, opted for a floor-length black leather skirt, a white shirt, and a cropped black tuxedo jacket.
    And sporting a pair of trainers, Vanessa Redgrave, made her directorial debut in Cannes with Sea Sorrow, which screens out of competition, went for the comfortable option and stepped out in a pair of white trainers.
    Cast members Michelle Williams and Julianne Moore pose before the screening of the film "Wonderstruck" in the competition. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe  Susan Sarandon poses before the screening of the film "Nelyubov" (Loveless) in the competition. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard 









    Model Winnie Harlow poses before the screening of the film "Nelyubov" (Loveless) in the competition. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard  A bleary-eyed audience at the 8.30-AM screening gave Wonderstruck a hearty applause, enjoying its intertwined storylines, one of which plays as a black and white silent movie of the period, the other bathed in the warm colours of 1970s American movies.

    Cutting between black and white and colour, silent and talkie, the movie was warmly received at Cannes on Thursday where it is already hotly tipped for awards.
    Model Emily Ratajkowski poses before the screening of the film "Nelyubov" (Loveless) in the competition. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe 

    Model Lily Donaldson poses before the screening of the film "Nelyubov" (Loveless) in the competition. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier  Actress Sandrine Kiberlain, President of the Camera d'Or Jury, poses. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe  Following on from Carol, which competed at the film festival two years ago, director Todd Haynes once again gives viewers an evocative vision of period New York ? or in this case two: one in the 1920s and one in the 1970s.

    Haynes used the same technique for Wonderstruck, which tells the two stories ? that eventually meet ? of a deaf girl and boy who run away from their troubled homes.

    Director Takashi Miike poses with cast members Hana Sugisaki and Takuya Kimura during a photocall for the film "Mugen no junin" (Blade of the Immortal) out of competition. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier1 Cast member Michelle Williams poses during a photocall for the film "Wonderstruck" in the competition. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe 













    Cast members Jaden Michael poses during a photocall for the film "Wonderstruck" in the competition. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier1 Julianne Moore, whose first leading movie role was in Haynes' Safe in 1995, plays two characters ? a 1920s silent movie star who is the neglectful mother of her deaf daughter Rose, and, in the 1970s, Rose herself in her dotage.

    Jury members Will Smith and Jessica Chastain pose. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier

    Cast member Jeanne Balibar poses during a photocall for the film "Barbara" in competition for the category "Un Certain regard". REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier  Elsa Zylberstein poses on the red carpet during the opening ceremony and screening of the film "Les fantomes d'Ismael" (Ismael's Ghosts) out of competition. REUTERS/Regis Duvingau. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau 







    Loveless
    The makers of acclaimed Russian tragedy Leviathan screened their new movie at Cannes on Thursday, another personal drama with political overtones that the producer says politicians are sure to hate.
    Loveless is the story of a couple on the point of a bitter divorce when their 12-year-old son goes missing. Spoiler alert: the crisis does not bring the husband and wife any closer and things go from grim to horrific in a drama lightened by flecks of black humour.
    Cast member Marion Cotillard poses during a photocall for the film "Les fantomes d'Ismael" (Ismael's Ghosts) out of competition. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard  Mistress of Ceremony actress Monica Bellucci poses. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard 













    Singer Benjamin Biolay poses on the red carpet during the opening ceremony and screening of the film "Les fantomes d'Ismael" (Ismael's Ghosts) out of competition. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier1 The 70th edition of the film festival kicked off on Wednesday and runs until May 28.



  22. Waqas Dar
    A rampant Harry Kane netted four goals and livewire Son Heung-Min scored twice as Tottenham Hotspur thrashed Leicester City 6-1 in an action-packed Premier League clash on Thursday.
    The match was a effectively a dead rubber with Spurs already assured of finishing second behind champions Chelsea but Kane produced a superb individual performance to go top of the scoring chart as in-form Son also impressed.
    Having taken his tally to 26 league goals to move above Everton's Romelu Lukaku (24) and Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez (23), Kane vowed there would be no let-up in the final game of the season when Spurs visit relegated Hull City.
    "I wanted to get one or two goals at least and take it (the battle for the Golden Boot) to the final game," the England striker told Sky Sports after firing Spurs ahead and rifling in a second half hat-trick.
    "I am in the driving seat but there's still one more game. I am not resting on my laurels but I hope to get four more.
    "Hopefully I can get the Golden Boot and hopefully (Tottenham goalkeeper) Hugo Lloris can get the Golden Glove (for the most clean sheets)."
    Son set up Kane for a 25th-minute opener and made it 2-0 with a first-time shot on the turn in the 36th minute as the visitors dominated the opening half with some crisp passing.
    Ben Chilwell pulled one back for Leicester after the break before Kane made it 3-1 with a close-range header and Son curled in the fourth with a neat low shot from 25 metres after some dazzling footwork.
    The unstoppable Kane then put the icing on the cake with more clinical finishing in the closing stages, condemning Leicester to their first home defeat after five successive wins as Tottenham celebrated their 11th win in the last 12 games.
    Spurs manager Mauricio Pocchetino heaped praise on Kane and stressed he was in no mood to sell him to potential bidders.
    "He is great, he is one of the best strikers in the world," said the Argentine. "He will try to keep going in the next game and try to finish in the best way.
    "It is very clear we will keep the players we want to keep and we will maybe sell the players we want to sell. We are so, so calm about our key players. They are happy here, we have an exciting project."


  23. Waqas Dar
    Protesters wave a big Italian flag during a protest against Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in front of the Italian Parliament in downtown Rome April 5, 2011. REUTERS/Tony Gentile  A man stabbed an army officer and a policeman at the main train station in Italy's second city Milan on Thursday, a police spokeswoman said, adding that currently it was not being treated as a terrorist attack.
    Both officers were being treated in hospital as moderately critical cases, the spokeswoman said.
    Asked if the incident was terrorist-related, the spokeswoman said, "We don't think at the moment that that is the right hypothesis to explore."
    Police were nonetheless carrying out "the most rigorous checks", she said, and the suspected attacker, who was born in Milan in 1996, had been detained.
    The man allegedly drew a kitchen knife when he was approached by the agents who asked to see his identity documents at around 6 PM GMT.


  24. Waqas Dar
    Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras gestures as he addresses lawmakers before a parliamentary vote on the latest round of austerity Greece has agreed with its lenders, in Athens, Greece, May 18, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis  Greece has met its commitments on reforms and the country now expects its international lenders to do the same on debt relief, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told reporters just after parliament passed a bill on bailout reforms.
    "It's their (the lenders) turn to fulfil their commitments, just like we did," Tsipras told reporters at parliament.
    "We deserve and we expect from Monday's Eurogroup a decision regulating debt relief which will correspond to the sacrifices of the Greek people," he said.


  25. Waqas Dar
    Facebook logo is seen at a start-up companies' gathering at Paris' Station F in Paris, France, January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer  SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook Inc has struck a deal with Major League Baseball to show 20 of the league's games live this season in an agreement that expands the social media network further into the world of live programming.

    Facebook said in a statement on Thursday that it would stream one game a week beginning on Friday, and the broadcasts would be available to everyone on Facebook in the United States.
    Reuters reported in February that Facebook and MLB were in talks to stream one game per week as part of an aggressive push to become a destination for live sports.
    Rival US internet firms are racing for similar programming. Twitter Inc announced an agreement this month with the WNBA to show professional women's basketball, and last month Amazon.com Inc said it would stream men's professional football in a deal with the NFL.
    For the baseball broadcast, Facebook said it will use a feed from a participating team's local broadcast rightsholder.
    "Baseball games are uniquely engaging community experiences, as the chatter and rituals in the stands are often as meaningful to fans as the action on the diamond," Dan Reed, Facebook's head of global sports partnerships, said in a statement.
    "By distributing a live game per week on Facebook, Major League Baseball can re-imagine this social experience on a national scale," he said.
    Facebook says it has some 182 million daily active users in the United States and Canada.


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