FundayForum
Register
Forum Blogs Gallery Files Poetry Books
Portal Facebook YouTube Twitter
👀 You are watching:
Jump to content
👉 Click here to explore Remote Jobs, Work From Home & Global News – USA 🇺🇸 | UK 🇬🇧 | Canada 🇨🇦 | Pakistan 🇵🇰 ×
🚫 Guest Access Notice ×
LIVE UPDATES

Waqas Dar

🔥 Admin/Core Authority
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    11,279

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    552

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by Waqas Dar

  1. Waqas Dar
    KHAIRPUR: Opposition leader Khursheed Shah said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should reveal the details of his meeting with Indian business tycoon Sajjan Jindal.
    “If Prime Minister is the enemy of our enemy, then he is our friend. However, if he is the friend of our enemy, then he is our enemy as well,” he remarked.
    The opposition leader was addressing Hari festival in Khairpur on Sunday.
    “Why should the people pay their taxes?” he asked, alleging that PM’s children made offshore companies to evade taxes.
    He further said that the federal government does not think that agriculture is important for the government. “It is agriculture which is running the country,” he said, adding that even industrial development is connected to agriculture.
    Read: Khursheed Shah calls for immediate resignation of Chaudhry Nisar
    Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has tried its best to develop the agricultural sector, he claimed.
    “No one cares about the plight of farmers. Everyone is more interested in working people and farmers have become invisible to them,” he added.
    He also said that the country’s population is almost 210 million now. The farmers have to produce wheat for almost 210 million people. The country’s population is steadily increasing yet the government is not paying any heed to the plight of farmers.
    “PPP is standing with the farmers,” he said.


  2. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: Former Principal Information Officer at the Information Ministry Rao Tehsin Ali said on Sunday that he will challenge the Dawn Leaks inquiry commission recommendations in court, which said that he “would be proceeded against under the E&D rules 1973 on the charges based on the report findings”.
    Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday approved the recommendations of the committee, which ordered proceedings against Rao Tehsin and withdrew the portfolio of Foreign Affairs from the PM’s Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi.
    "The Prime Minister, having considered the findings of the Committee as to its terms of reference, is pleased to approve its recommendations in para 18 of the report," read an order released by the PM Office.
    Rao Tehsin told Geo.tv that he was awaiting the inquiry commission report and that his lawyer has asked for the classified copy of the report.
    “How could the commission recommend action against me without identifying those responsible for Dawn Leaks,” he asked.
    Read Also: Pakistan Army rejects govt notification on Dawn Leaks
    The order released by the PM office also said that the role of the editor of Dawn Newspaper, Zaffar Abbas, and reporter Cyril Almeida will be referred to the All Pakistan Newspaper Association (APNS) for necessary disciplinary action to be taken against them.
    It added that the APNS will be asked to develop a code of conduct for the media, "especially when dealing with issues relating to security of Pakistan and to ensure that stories on issues of national importance and security are published by abiding to basic journalistic and editorial norms".
    But, shortly after the government's announcement, the military's media Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued a short statement saying that Army rejects the government notification and that it is "incomplete and not in line with recommendations by the Inquiry Board".
    Later in the evening, Establishment Division issued a notification, transferring Principal Information Officer Press Information Department Rao Tehsin and asking him to report to the Division immediately.


  3. Waqas Dar
    NOWSHERA: Advisor to Prime Minister Engineer Amir Muqam said on Friday that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is an elected representative of 200 million people and no one has the authority to make him resign.
    “Nawaz Sharif did not get the office in charity,’” he said, while addressing a rally in Nowshera.
    Taking aim at political rival Imran Khan, Muqam said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa speaker was accused of corruption too but did not resign. “There are contradictions in Imran’s words and actions,” he said.
    Imran Khan has repeatedly asked for the prime minister's resignation, continuing with his demand after the Panama case verdict.
    Addressing a rally in Karachi, he again asked the PM to step down saying “a liar cannot be a prime minister of the country”.


  4. Waqas Dar
    LAHORE: Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Siraj-ul-Haq said that the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family have not been given a clean chit by the Supreme Court neither has he been declared ‘sadiq’ and ‘ameen’.
    Siraj-ul-Haq was speaking to a gathering of Jamiat Talba-e-Arabia group in Lahore on Sunday. He remarked that PM is just left with one option; to resign. If the PM does not resign then movements, such as those which came out in 1977, will take to the streets, he warned.
    “Corruption has destroyed the country,” he remarked.
    He also spoke about Prime Minister’s meeting with Indian businessmen Sajjan Jindal. He said that the PM should decide if he is with Indians or Kashmiris.


  5. Waqas Dar
    Multiple tornadoes ripped through a town in eastern Texas on Saturday evening, killing at least four people and injuring dozens of others, according to authorities, who warned the number of casualties could rise.
    Three tornadoes were confirmed by the U.S. National Weather Service in Canton, a city about 60 miles (95 kilometres) east of Dallas.
    "We have at least four fatalities," Canton Mayor Lou Ann Everett said at a news conference on Sunday. "It is a very fluid situation and that could change later today." Forty nine people had been treated for injuries, she said.
    Earlier local media reports said five people had died, citing the Canton fire department.
    Pictures and video posted online showed cars flipped over and two-story houses in the area all but destroyed.
    Texas Governor Greg Abbott deployed a search and rescue team to the area.
    Downpours that began on Friday were so intense the ground was unable to absorb the rainfall, making flooding highly likely, said meteorologist Kenneth James of the Weather Prediction Center, part of the National Weather Service.
    More than six inches of rain fell in some areas, flooding roads and prompting evacuations, meteorologists said.
    The governors of Missouri and Oklahoma declared states of emergency due to flooding.
    In the St. Louis area, severe thunderstorms are forecast through Sunday. Some people were told to evacuate and 33 rescues were conducted, mostly in the state's central and southwestern regions, Missouri Governor Eric Greitens said.
    Parts of Indiana received up to 8 inches (20 cm) of rain while areas in Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas have been drenched with up to 4 inches (10 cm), James said.
    Heavy rainfall in the Midwest was expected to continue on Sunday, along with wind gusts of 60 miles (95 km) per hour.


  6. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is holding ‘Huqooq-e-Karachi’ march on Sunday to protest against the day-to-day problems faced by the city’s residents.
    Imran Khan is addressing the rally at the protest march's end.
    PTI Chairman Imran Khan led the rally from Mazar-e-Quaid to Jail Chowrangi. PTI supporters gathered at the venue and set off for the final destination, Jail Chowrangi.
    The PTI chief while announcing the march had said that the walk aims to bring to the spotlight issues such as loadshedding, water shortage and garbage disposal.
    Earlier in the day, PTI and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s workers came face to face outside the Karachi Press Club. Workers of both the parties started chanting slogans and hurled stones at each other, although the situation was brought under control later on.
    The PTI Chief reached Karachi today, where he also spoke to media personnel. He claimed that the person who offered to pay Rs10 billion to him to be silent on the Supreme Court's decision over Panama leaks case, was ready to pay even more.
    Speaking on the problems facing Karachi residents, Khan said the issue of water scarcity was the most serious and would be the focus of today’s march.
    “Karachi is buried in filth. Money that should be spent on development of Sindh goes to Dubai instead,” the PTI chairman said.
    “I had promised the people of Karachi I would come here after getting done with the Panama case, and I am here now,” he remarked.
    A week ago, PTI took to the streets of Karachi to mobilise and invite the public for the ‘Huqooq-e-Karachi’ march. Legendary cricketer Wasim Akram is also set to join the march today.
    Meanwhile, PML-N leaders are also holding a rally in Karachi’s Baldia area.
    A heat wave is also forecasted in the city, with temperatures predicted to rise up to 41 degrees Celsius today.



  7. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: A female prisoner was caught while trying to escape the Central Jail on Sunday.
    The female prisoner had climbed the jail’s wall, which is on the side of the PIB Colony. She had reached quite high up and was trying to climb the wires around the jail’s boundary.
    The incident came into notice after the area residents saw the woman climbing the wall and then complained. The police then immediately reached the site.
    The police then took the female prisoner back to the jail.
    The incident speaks volume about the vigilance of the security officials deployed at the jail. The woman had almost climbed the wall when she was sighted by the area residents.


  8. Waqas Dar
    PESHAWAR: President of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman said that relevant institutions have valid concerns regarding Dawn leaks issues but the government has taken the measures it wanted to resolve the issue.
    JUI president was speaking to the media after the award distribution ceremony of the party’s workers for holding successful events throughout the year.
    He also remarked that the party will not allow people to amend the law pertaining to Quran and Sunnat.
    “We won’t take any wrong decisions due to our emotions,” he remarked.
    “We need to create unity among our ranks,” he said, adding “freedom is basic right of all human beings.”
    Let alone humans, violence against animals is also unacceptable, he added.


  9. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is holding ‘Huqooq-e-Karachi’ march on Sunday to protest against the day-to-day problems faced by the city’s residents.
    PTI Chairman Imran Khan is leading the rally from Mazar-e-Quaid to Jail Chowrangi. PTI supporters started arriving at the venue, where party leaders including Imran Khan will deliver speeches.
    The PTI chief while announcing the march had said that the walk aims to bring to the spotlight issues such as loadshedding, water shortage and garbage disposal.
    Earlier in the day, PTI and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s workers came face to face outside the Karachi Press Club. Workers of both the parties started chanting slogans and hurled stones at each other, although the situation was brought under control later on.
    The PTI Chief reached Karachi today, where he also spoke to media personnel. He claimed that the person who offered to pay Rs10 billion to him to be silent on the Supreme Court's decision over Panama leaks case, was ready to pay even more.
    Speaking on the problems facing Karachi residents, Khan said the issue of water scarcity was the most serious and would be the focus of today’s march.
    “Karachi is buried in filth. Money that should be spent on development of Sindh goes to Dubai instead,” the PTI chairman said.
    “I had promised the people of Karachi I would come here after getting done with the Panama case, and I am here now,” he remarked.
    A week ago, PTI took to the streets of Karachi to mobilise and invite the public for the ‘Huqooq-e-Karachi’ march. Legendary cricketer Wasim Akram is also set to join the march today.
    Meanwhile, PML-N leaders are also holding a rally in Karachi’s Baldia area.
    A heat wave is also forecasted in the city, with temperatures predicted to rise up to 41 degrees Celsius today.



  10. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: Pak Sarzameen Party chairman Mustafa Kamal announced on Sunday to invite all stakeholders, including religious scholars, civil society and the business community, to discuss 16 demands put forward by his party.
    Kamal said this in a media talk after meeting Mufti Naeem-ur-Rehman at Jamia Binoria in the S.I.T.E area.
    Accompanying PSP leader Anees Qaimkhani, Kamal said that he has been peacefully struggling for the rights of the city’s residents for a year but has not “even hurled a stone at anyone”.
    “The demands for which we have been protesting for 18 days are not for our personal interests, or for one particular group, or for our party; the demands, if met, will benefit a common citizen of Karachi,” he said.
    Before PSP, there was one party which was a representative of the Urdu speaking people and which remained a part of the government but the city’s issues remain as they are, said the PSP leader said in a clear reference to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement
    Kamal claimed the mandate given by the people was traded for personal interests.
    He also criticised the Pakistan Peoples Party, saying the party was given a clean chit to do whatever it wanted in the city.
    On the occasion, Mufti Naeem announced support for PSP’s million march, and suggested that Mustafa Kamal and MQM-P convenor Farooq Sattar make amends.


  11. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s workers came face to face on Sunday outside the Karachi Press Club, hours before the two parties scheduled rallies in the metropolis.
    A rally of the PTI was passing by, chanting anti-Nawaz slogans, which provoked PML-N workers present outside the press club.
    Workers of both the parties started chanting slogans and hurled stones at each other.
    Police reached the site of contention and brought the situation under control with the help of the local leaders of both the parties.
    In a video message earlier, Imran Khan called on the people of Karachi to join in the march to protest for their rights. The walk is scheduled to begin on Sunday (today), 3 pm from Mazar-e-Quaid.
    “I invite the people of Karachi to join me in the walk to demand their rights. The sole purpose of the march is to highlight the day-to-day problems faced by the residents of Karachi and to pressurise the government to resolve these problems,” Khan said in the message.
    The PTI chief added that the walk aims to bring to the spotlight issues such as loadshedding, water shortage and garbage disposal.
    Meanwhile, PML-N leaders are also holding a rally in Karachi’s Baldia area.


  12. Waqas Dar
    MUMBAI: Indian activists who rely on social media to share information in times of tension are being frustrated by a wave of internet shutdowns, with 22 sites closed in Kashmir this week alone.
    The clampdown in India - only Iraq closes as many sites each year - has hit doctors who treat rural patients via WhatsApp, and silenced journalists covering street protests.
    "It impacts crisis response and fuels rumours that can trigger further violence," said Ramanjit Singh Chima at Access Now, an advocacy group that is backing a global #KeepitOn campaign against the wave of internet shutdowns.
    "At the same time, it prevents journalists from freely reporting, and citizens from sharing information."
    Chima said a whole new way of information sharing was hit by the clampdown, citing examples of ordinary people offering shelter to their peers or relief agencies sourcing information from the ground during terror attacks and disasters.
    Human shield
    This week, the northern state of Kashmir ordered the shutdown of 22 social media sites, mobile phone message applications and video sites following street protests against alleged abuses by Indian forces..
    The ban includes Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Skype, Reddit and YouTube.
    The home ministry says shutdowns help check violence.
    "Messages and images that are spread through social media platforms during communal tension and ethnic conflicts can lead to such situations spiraling out of control. There is no option but to suspend the internet," an official said.
    Street protests have flared in recent weeks as thousands of Kashmiris vent anger against alleged abuses by Indian forces after a video emerged of a local man tied to the front of an army jeep and used as a human shield.
    The video circulated widely on social media, as have images of students throwing stones at security forces.
    While Kashmir has often shut mobile internet services during previous times of unrest, banning social media is a first.
    "It's a dangerous trend," Chinmayi Arun, executive director at advocacy Centre for Communication Governance in Delhi, said.
    Switchoff
    Besides Kashmir, where shutdowns have sometimes lasted weeks, internet clampdowns have also hit Gujarat, Haryana, Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
    Few countries rely so heavily on the internet, be it to conduct business, share information or socialise.
    India is the world's largest internet consumer base after China, and a majority of its 450 million subscribers access the internet through a mobile handset.
    Along with Iraq, India had the most internet shutdowns in the world last year, according to the US-based Brookings Institution. Economic losses from shutdowns in the year to June 2016 totalled $968 million, the most for any country, it said.
    But the clampdown also hurts free speech, denies poorer citizens access to health advice and curtails online educational opportunities, said Mishi Choudhary, legal counsel at advocacy Software Freedom Law Centre in Delhi.
    "With an increasing number of services being pushed online, and the preference for a cashless economy, internet shutdowns hurt small businesses and poorer individuals most," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
    Doctors are cut off from chatting online with patients and are unable to access patient data or seek second opinions on cases, said Lubna Khan, a physician and activist.
    "We are unable to provide care when and where it is needed. We are in a pathetic state," she said.


  13. Waqas Dar
    NEW YORK: Bruce Springsteen recently talked about his struggle to live in the real world rather than inside the lyrical songs he has composed over his 40-year career.
    The Born to Run musician, who revealed in a 2016 memoir that he had struggled with depression, called rock songs "three minutes of bliss and life compressed".
    He told a Tribeca Film Festival audience during a conversation about his career that he had sometimes seen his music "as a life preserver and as a safe space – you think you can live there".
    But Springsteen, 67, said that no artist could live only within his art.
    "At the end of the day it's just your job and just your work and life awaits you outside of those things. ... So that took me a long time to learn that lesson – thanks Patti – and it was a tremendous struggle for me," he added, referring to his wife of 25 years, Patti Scialfa.
    Springsteen spoke of his early days in music in New Jersey, buying his first guitar at age 15, and being a "stone-cold draft dodger" during the Vietnam War – a period that informed much of his writing, including one of his best known but most misunderstood songs, Born in the U.S.A.
    Springsteen said he had come to terms with people misinterpreting the 1984 song as patriotic. It was played, without his permission, during Donald Trump's rallies during the 2016 US presidential election.
    In rock songs, he said, "People hear the music, the beat, then they hear the chorus, and if they have the time or the inclination, maybe they get into some of the verses."
    "That's the way the political rock and roll ball bounces. It's one of those things," Springsteen said.


  14. Waqas Dar
    LAHORE: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has summoned a special meeting of close aides in Lahore on Sunday to discuss the prevailing national political situation.
    According to sources, issues related to the Dawn Leaks inquiry report would also be discussed in the meeting, which the Prime Minster would chair to deliberate upon the situation arising out of the controversy over the report.
    Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar would travel to Lahore in a special plane to attend the meeting, the sources said.
    The federal cabinet division on Saturday issued a notification ordering the withdrawal of the portfolio of Foreign Affairs from the Prime Minister’s Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi, over his alleged role in the Dawn leaks case.
    As per the order by the PM Office, Rao Tehsin Ali, the principal information officer at the Information Ministry, would also be sanctioned, while the editor of Dawn Newspaper, Zaffar Abbas, and reporter Cyril Almeida would be referred to the All Pakistan Newspaper Association (APNS) “for necessary disciplinary action.”
    Read more: Dawn Leaks: Publishing of story govt’s failure, says inquiry report
    Reacting to the statement, the Pakistan Army rejected the notification and said it was incomplete and not in line with the recommendations by the inquiry board.
    The Army announced the rejection in a tweet sent out by DG ISPR Major-General Asif Ghafoor from his official account: “Notification on Dawn Leak is incomplete and not in line with recommendations by the Inquiry Board. Notification is rejected.”
    Read more: Pakistan Army rejects govt notification on Dawn Leaks
    The English-language daily, Dawn, had published a story on October 6 in which journalist Cyril Almeida had written about an alleged civil-military rift during a National Security Committee (NSC) meeting over the issue of tackling jihadi outfits.


  15. Waqas Dar
    MOSCOW: Several hundred Russians lined up in central Moscow on Saturday under the gaze of riot police to hand over handwritten appeals for President Vladimir Putin to quit, as similar protests took place in other cities.
    Putin, who has dominated Russian politics for 17 years, has not said whether he will run in presidential elections in March 2018. But the 64-year-old politician, who enjoys high popularity ratings, is widely expected to do so.
    Saturday's protest in the capital – called "We're sick of him" – was organised by the Open Russia movement founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Once Russia's richest man, he was freed by Putin in 2013 after spending a decade in jail for fraud, a charge Khodorkovsky said was politically-motivated.
    One of the hundreds shepherded into a queue behind metal barriers by police before handing over their petitions one-by-one, Anna, a 16-year-old Moscow schoolgirl, said she hoped Putin would get the message and not run again.
    "Nothing positive has happened in our country on his watch and I have the sense that things are getting worse, and that the main problem is the fact that those in power are the same," she told Reuters.
    Her preference for president was opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who spent 15 days in jail last month after helping organise the biggest anti-government protests since 2012, which ended with over 1,000 arrests.
    Saturday's event, held in bright sunshine, was more modest, though authorities were taking no chances. A Reuters reporter counted at least 30 police buses and coaches in the area, packed with hundreds of riot police.
    Videos posted by Russian media showed police in riot gear detaining protesters in St Petersburg, where activists reported over 100 arrests. There was no official confirmation of the arrests.
    STEPPING UP PRESSURE
    Police said 250 people had shown up in Moscow, the Interfax news agency reported, while Maria Baronova, an Open Russia activist, said at least 500 people had handed over a petition.
    Irina Glushkova, 64, standing in the same line as the schoolgirl, said she and many others simply didn't agree with how Putin governed.
    "I'm sick of the situation," she said. "I'm the same age as Putin and I don't think I'm less intelligent than him, but my opinion is not taken into account at all."
    Authorities have stepped up pressure on Open Russia in recent days. The General Prosecutor's Office ruled on Wednesday that the activity of Open Russia's British arm was "undesirable" and accused it and other organisations of trying to discredit the election.
    On Thursday, police searched the Moscow offices of Open Russia's Russian branch. Activists said they confiscated 100,000 blank appeal forms that the foundation had hoped to hand out to people encouraging them to call for Putin to quit.
    On Friday, REN TV, a Russian TV channel, broadcast a documentary about Open Russia activists, some of whom it accused of having criminal records, of being drug addicts, and of cultivating close links with the US government.
    Activists dismissed the program as a cheap stunt designed to discredit them, with at least one noting that REN TV had somehow obtained video footage stored on his mobile phone.


  16. Waqas Dar
    An experienced Swiss climber died on Sunday after he fell in the Everest region of Nepal during preparations to climb the world's highest mountain, the first to perish in the current climbing season, officials said.
    Ueli Steck, 40, died after falling to the foot of Mount Nuptse, a smaller peak in the area, said Mingma Sherpa of the Seven Summits Treks company that organised Steck's expedition.
    Steck was in the area acclimatising ahead of a bid to climb Everest through the less-climbed West Ridge route and traverse to Lhotse, the world's fourth highest peak - at 8,516 meters (27,940 feet) in May.
    "His body has been retrieved and is being brought to Kathmandu," Sherpa told Reuters. Other details were not immediately available.
    Kamal Prasad Parajuli, an official with Nepal's Department of Tourism, confirmed Steck died while climbing Nuptse and that he had planned to attempt an Everest ascent.
    Hundreds of climbers are at Everest base camp as they prepare to climb the 8,850 meter (29,035 feet) Everest Summit in the current March-May climbing season.


  17. Waqas Dar
    RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited the Line of Control (LoC) at Haji Pir sector on Sunday, where he was briefed on the situation along the LoC and ceasefire violations by Indian troops, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
    COAS General Qamar Bajwa was also briefed on the operational readiness of the formation. General Bajwa appreciated the operational preparedness and high morale of the troops, the ISPR statement said.
    According to the ISPR, General Bajwa said that Indian aggression and frustration is vented out at the people of Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK) and Pakistani villages along the LoC/Working Boundary, but vowed that Pakistan would keep its response purely in military domain in accordance with its values.
    “The violence perpetuated by Indian forces in IoK is state-sponsored terrorism by all definitions. This violence riles up passions on this side of the LoC as well, as people of Pakistan cannot remain indifferent to the barbaric treatment meted out to defenceless Kashmiris including women and children,” General Bajwa said.
    The Army Chief said that the Kashmiris have a right to live without fear and repression.
    “We will always stand by their rightful political struggle for the right of self-determination and recourse to basic human rights,” he said.
    Earlier on arrival, the COAS was received by Commander Rawalpindi Corps Lieutenant General Nadeem Raza and General Officer Commanding Murree.


  18. Waqas Dar
    BRUSSELS: European Union leaders endorsed stiff divorce terms for Britain on Saturday and warned Britons to have "no illusions" about swiftly securing a new relationship to keep their access to EU markets.
    At a Brussels summit marked by unusual harmony among the 27 leaders, there was a flash of the cross-Channel acrimony which some fear could wreck any deal when officials accused London of cynically vetoing some EU spending and demanded it back down or face disrupting the start of talks next month.
    Meeting for the first time since Prime Minister Theresa May triggered the two-year countdown to Brexit in late March, her counterparts took just minutes as they sat down to lunch in Brussels to approve eight pages of negotiating guidelines hammered out by their diplomats over the past month.
    They greeted the decision with applause, officials said.
    The text will bind Michel Barnier, their chief negotiator, to seek a deal that secures the rights of 3 million EU expats living in Britain, ensures London pays tens of billions of euros Brussels thinks it will be owed and avoids destabilising peace by creating a hard EU-UK border across the island of Ireland.
    "We are ready," Barnier said. "We are together."
    With Barnier expecting to launch negotiations after the June 8 election May called to strengthen her position, the EU leaders also firmly ruled out discussing the free trade deal May wants until they see "significant progress" on key withdrawal terms.
    "Before discussing the future, we have to sort out our past," summit chair Donald Tusk told reporters.
    He criticised British politicians -- who have included May herself -- for speaking of a quick deal to reassure expatriates when the legal complexities required much more detailed talks.
    "We need a serious British response," Tusk said.
    In London, Britain's minister for leaving the European Union said he wanted the negotiations to be conducted in a "spirit of goodwill".
    "But there is no doubt that these negotiations are the most complex the UK has faced in our lifetimes. They will be tough and, at times, even confrontational," David Davis said in a statement in response to the guidelines.
    German Chancellor Angela Merkel repeated her concern that some in Britain had "illusions" about quick trade talks.
    "I sometimes feel some people in Britain, and I don't mean the government, are not so clear on the idea that there is an exit phase and then a phase on the future relationship," she said.
    BRITISH "UNDERESTIMATE" DIFFICULTIES
    European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU chief executive, took an even more combative tone, saying his officials had identified a "cocktail" of 25 different legal issues to settle just regarding expatriate residence rights.
    "I have the impression sometimes that our British friends -- not all of them -- underestimate the technical difficulties we have to face," he told reporters, three days after he and Barnier met May over dinner in London for "constructive" talks.
    Raising publicly the Commission's irritation with Britain over its 11th-hour decision to withhold consent on Wednesday to some 6 billion euros ($6.5 billion) in EU spending on approved programs, notably to handle the Mediterranean migrant crisis, Juncker warned that the issue could affect the start of talks.
    British officials said the "reserve" imposed via a Tuesday night email on a package of measures due to have been approved by EU ambassadors on Wednesday morning was a simple procedural matter prompted by the "purdah" period before elections, during which ministers prefer not to take "sensitive" decisions.
    Juncker was unimpressed: "It would facilitate the beginning of the negotiations if the UK were to be able to withdraw the reserve," he said.
    EU officials questioned British motives, saying it appeared unprecedented and affected policies which Britain had agreed during months of prior deliberation: "This is clearly not a technical decision," one said. "It could be show of force."
    An unusual unity has been forged by the shock of Brexit which broke a taboo and raised fears of further break-up at the hands of nationalists like far-right leader Marine Le Pen. She will contest France's presidential election run-off on May 7, though few expect her to beat centrist Emmanuel Macron.
    The EU considers it vital that Britain not be seen to profit from Brexit, to dissuade others from following suit.
    Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel warned against falling into a "trap" where Britain divided the bloc to its advantage.
    Also contentious among the 27 will be which cities scoop the prizes of hosting two EU agencies set to be moved from London.
    With most of the 27 offering to house the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and several wanting the European Banking Authority (EBA), Tusk and Juncker proposed they agree on selection criteria in June to avoid unseemly rows.
    In a mark of how last year's Brexit vote has called into question the unity of the United Kingdom itself, leaders also offered Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny a pledge that if Northern Ireland, which voted against Brexit, ever unites with his country, it will automatically be in the EU.


  19. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: The prices of petroleum products shall not change, said Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar while speaking to the media on Sunday.
    "The government will give subsidy to keep the prices unchanged," he said. "We will also not charge sales tax."
    These products are used on a daily basis by people belonging to low-income households, which is why the government will make sure there is not a substantial increase in their prices, Dar said.
    The Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) had submitted a petition to reduce the prices of petrol and diesel by Re1 per litre. On the other hand, public expectation was a reduction of Rs2 per litre.
    Although the reduction in prices hinders the Federal Bureau of Revenue from reaching their revenue targets, Dar maintained, the government will make sure the prices that were set on April 1 will remain the same throughout May. 


  20. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: A woman was found dead under mysterious circumstances inside a hotel room in Karachi late Saturday.
    The body of the woman, identified as Farheen, 21, was found in a room on the sixth storey of a hotel in Saddar area, SSP South Saqib Ismail said.
    She was allegedly strangled and efforts had been made to make the incident appear as a 'suicide', police said, adding that they were looking into the incident for both the possibilities: murder or suicide.
    According to police, the deceased had married a Pakistani-origin American man, named Shaheer, some two months ago after having fallen in love with him. The two had had a court marriage and had been living in the hotel for the past month. 
    The woman's family, which resides in Karachi's Gulshan-e-Iqbal area, said Farheen had left home after eloping two months ago. 
    The body of the deceased was shifted to a hospital for medico-legal formalities.
    The deceased woman's husband fled to Dubai after the incident, hours before the body was discovered, police said. 


  21. Waqas Dar
    GENEVA: Eleven people have died and five are in the hospital, Liberian officials said on Friday, after contracting a mystery illness the World Health Organisation (WHO) said was linked to attendance at the funeral of a religious leader.
    "We are still investigating. The only thing we have ruled out is ... Ebola," said Liberia's Chief Medical Officer Francis Kateh, adding samples from the victims had been sent abroad for further testing.
    On Wednesday, the WHO said Liberian health authorities were taking rapid precautionary steps after eight people died of a mystery illness, 10 months after the end of a two-year Ebola virus outbreak.
    "It seems all of these people were attending the funeral of a religious leader," WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told a briefing in Geneva.
    "They have taken samples from the dead bodies and all the samples came back negative for Ebola. They will be looking of course for other haemorrhagic fevers and for bacteria, if there was any common exposure to water contamination or food contamination," she said.
    Five people remain under observation in hospital in Sinoe county, a four-hour drive south-east of the capital Monrovia, and four have been discharged, Kateh said. The symptoms include fever, vomiting, and diarrhoea, said Chaib.
    Hospital staff are wearing protective equipment and contacts of the sick are being traced in the community to see if they have fallen ill, she added.
    "WHO, CDC (US Centers for Disease Control) and other partners are providing technical and logistical support to the rapid response team that has been activated at district and county levels," Chaib said.
    In June last year, the WHO declared Liberia free of active Ebola virus transmission, the last of three West African countries at the epicentre of the world's worst outbreak of the disease. The epidemic killed more than 11,300 people and infected some 28,600 from 2013 as it swept through Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, according to WHO data.
    A WHO advisory group of vaccine experts is due later on Friday to issue their findings after a three-day regular meeting on vaccines. The statement would include an update on "efficacy, safety and timelines for licensing Ebola vaccines", Chaib said.


  22. Waqas Dar
    Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif took the Instagram by storm the moment she debuted on the app.
    Without any surprise, the Jagga jasoos actress crossed one million followers on the app within 24 hours.

    The beautiful actress has shared three pictures until now which are hard to ignore.
    Recently, she shared a very beautiful picture of herself where she looked like an adorable sleeping beauty.
    The actress captioned the picture by saying, "This is me in the morning .... #iwokeuplikethis .... (or maybe ...)
    But, there is a twist.
    When you swipe the picture, you will see the hilarious and never-seen-before look of Katrina.
    In the picture, Kaif is seen looking shocked into the camera with messy hair.
    She posted the picture with a caption that said, "Just kidding... This is more like it #thankgodforfilters"

    Hilarious! Isn't it?


  23. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Sunday said that the person who offered to pay Rs10 billion to him to be silent on the Supreme Court's decision over Panama leaks case, was ready to pay even more.
    “Rs10 billion offer was just the start; [they] were ready to pay more,” Khan claimed while speaking to reporters, after arriving in Karachi earlier today to lead the ‘Huqooq-e-Karachi march’.
    Khan said he would reveal the name of the person who made the offer if the courts agree to provide protection to the person.
    Taking aim at Nawaz Sharif yet again, Khan said the Prime Minister had lost the moral authority to rule the country.
    “Nawaz Sharif is glued to his seat because of the billions of rupees in commission he gets from his contracts,” Khan claimed, adding that the rulers had chosen money over dignity.
    In a jibe at Asif Ali Zardari, Khan said the former president’s talks about the issue of corruption were a sign of the Day of Judgment.
    “I have never taken any U-turns. It’s the Prime Minister who lies all the time,” the PTI chief said, adding that he would be happy if the rulers take him to court over the claim of Rs10 billion offer.
    Read more: PML-N threatens to drag Imran to court over claim of Rs10bn offer
    Speaking on the problems facing Karachi residents, Khan said the issue of water scarcity was the most serious and would be the focus of today’s march.
    “Karachi is buried in filth. Money that should be spent on development of Sindh goes to Dubai instead,” the PTI chairman said.
    “I had promised the people of Karachi I would come here after getting done with the Panama case, and I am here now,” he remarked.
    'Stand up to protest for your rights'
    In a video message earlier, Imran Khan called on the people of Karachi to join in the march to protest for their rights. The walk is scheduled to begin on Sunday, 3pm from Mazar-e-Quaid.
    “I invite the people of Karachi to join me in the walk to demand their rights. The sole purpose of the march is to highlight the day-to-day problems faced by the residents of Karachi and to pressurise the government to resolve these problems,” Khan said in the message.
    The PTI chief added that the walk aims to bring to the spotlight issues such as loadshedding, water shortage and garbage disposal.
    “Today’s walk will send a message that when people don’t get their rights, they stand up and protest,” he said.
    A week ago, PTI took to the streets of Karachi to mobilise and invite the public for the ‘Huqooq-e-Karachi’ march. Legendary cricketer Wasim Akram is also set to join the march today.
    Meanwhile, a heat wave is forecasted in the city, with temperatures predicted to rise up to 41 degrees Celsius today.


  24. Waqas Dar
    A once-towering, ancient Roman temple will be brought back to its original grandeur in Israel.
     

    Image: Screenshot from Reuters video
     
    Archaeologists have begun excavations around the 2,000-year-old site located in the seaside town of Caesarea, once a vibrant Roman metropolis built in the honour of Emperor Augustus Caesar. The $27-million restoration seeks to turn this archaeological site into a top tourist attraction in Israel.
     

    Image: Screenshot from Reuters video
     

    Image: Screenshot from Reuters video
     
    Doron Ben-Ami, an archaeologist with Israel Antiquities Authority, commented on the matter, saying “The whole experience of the visitor would be completely different. [They] will be able to sense the atmosphere and actually to understand the essence of the building. This is something that you don't get at any other archaeological site today.”
     

    Image: Screenshot from Reuters video
     
    According to historians, the temple once loomed above the ancient skyline and could be seen from ships travelling to the Holy Land.
     


  25. Waqas Dar
    Alphabet Inc's non-advertising business, which houses its cloud unit, Pixel smartphones, and the Play store, has long been sandwiched between Google's advertising juggernaut and it's moonshot ventures that have captured the popular imagination.
    Not anymore.
    The business, categorized as "Other Revenue" in its earnings report, posted a 49.4 percent jump in revenue to $3.10 billion on Thursday – a sum already bigger than Twitter Inc's annual revenue.
    The business now represents about 13 percent of Alphabet's total revenue, compared with 10 percent a year earlier.
    That may not be a big jump but definitely shines a light on Google's efforts to cut down its dependence on revenue from advertising, where it competes with Facebook Inc.
    "(Google) is doing a good job, a much better job in diversifying revenue than Facebook is," said analyst James Wang of ARK Investment Management. "We think that is quite an impressive achievement."
    The alphabet does not break out revenue contribution within the "Other Revenue" segment. But analysts have said that cloud is the most prominent among the category's clutch of businesses.
    To be sure, Google's cloud venture is still much smaller than market leader Amazon.com Inc's Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Corp's Azure.
    But Google is investing heavily.
    "In Q1, our largest growth in headcount and capital expenditure was in the cloud," Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said on a call with analysts on Thursday.
    Amazon's cloud business grew 43 percent to $3.66 billion in the first quarter. Microsoft's cloud unit grew 93 percent.
    "We believe Google will continue to gain traction in the cloud market, and when combined with Google Play and sales of Google's hardware products, we see Google's 'other' revenue growing 38 percent to nearly $14 billion in 2017," Morningstar analyst Ali Mogharabi wrote in a client note.
    The company's hardware business also started gaining traction after Google released a pair of high-profile hardware products last year - the Pixel phone and the Google Home, a smart speaker like Amazon's Echo.
    "People are hankering for a really awesome Android phone that basically gives them the iPhone experience," Wang said, adding that the growth in Google's "other revenue" bucket this quarter "shows sustained momentum for the Pixel."
    Still, the lion's share of Alphabet's revenue comes from ads and that's not going to change anytime soon.
    Total advertising revenue increased 18.8 percent to $21.1 billion in the first quarter, the company reported on Thursday.
    Profit also rose 29 percent to $5.43 billion, beating Wall Street estimates.
    At least 10 brokerages raised their price targets on the stock after the earnings report.
    Alphabet's drive for diversification also includes its "Other Bets" business, considered the company's loss-making arm.
    The business, home to the Waymo self-driving car, Google Fiber and thermostat-maker Nest, posted a first-quarter loss of $855 million.
    Google's shares were up 4.6 percent at a record high of $932.73 on Friday morning. They have gained 12.5 percent this year up to Thursday's close.


  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...