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Waqas Dar

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  1. Waqas Dar
    This picture taken on July 10, 2017 shows residents evacuated from a flooded area taking shelter in a school in Hita, Oita prefecture Photo: AFP 3 The death toll from torrential rains and flooding that swept through Japan's south has reached 25, the government said Tuesday, as rescue teams battled through thick mud to rescue more than 100 still stranded.
    Further downpours were predicted to pound Kyushu after swathes of the southwestern island were devastated last week by overflowing rivers -- sweeping away roads, houses and schools and forcing thousands of people into makeshift shelters.
    But many remain stranded, with emergency services struggling to reach them amid treacherous conditions.
    This picture taken on July 10, 2017 shows a flooded area in Asakura city, Fukuoka prefecture. Photo: AFP  Some 150 people were still cut off as of Monday evening in hardest-hit Fukuoka and Oita prefectures, according to local government officials.
    A total of 25 people have died while at least 25 remain unaccounted for, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters Tuesday.
    Some 12,000 rescuers were making "utmost" efforts to find survivors and clear washed up driftwood hampering the search, Suga said.
    Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cancelled a visit to Estonia that was originally planned as the last leg of his European tour, which included the G20 summit in Germany, to come back to Tokyo on Tuesday afternoon to deal with the disaster.
    Abe will visit Fukuoka and Oita prefectures Wednesday to talk to staff at shelters and local government officials, Suga said.
    More than 50 centimetres (20 inches) of rain deluged parts of Kyushu over just 12 hours last week, while rains have continued intermittently since.
    Japan's weather agency on Tuesday warned of continued heavy rains in Kyushu.


  2. Waqas Dar
    "A USMC KC-130 mishap occurred the evening of July 10. Further information will be released as available," the US Marine Corps said. Photo: AFP  WASHINGTON: A US military aircraft has crashed in the southern state of Mississippi, killing 16 people, US media reported Monday.
    The US Marine Corps confirmed that a "mishap" involving a KC-130 occurred in the evening, without providing additional details.
    The Clarion-Ledger newspaper and CNN cited Leflore County emergency management director Fred Randle as confirming the death toll of 16.
    All 16 victims were on the Marine Corps aircraft and there were no survivors, Randle told CNN.
    The incident took place around 4 pm (2100 GMT), the Clarion-Ledger said, noting that firefighters sprayed the aircraft with huge layers of foam to quell the fire.
    The plane crashed in a soybean field on the Sunflower-Leflore county line, the paper said.
    Photos posted on its website showed plumes of black smoke billowing from a green agricultural field.
    "Please join Deborah and me in praying for those hurting after this tragedy. Our men and women in uniform risk themselves every day to secure our freedom," Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant said in a statement on Facebook.


  3. Waqas Dar
    Pakistan Stock Exchange. Photo: File  KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange reacted negatively to Monday?s damning report against the prime minister and his family by the Panama case Joint Investigation Team.

    The benchmark KSE 100-index dropped by 1,600 points, reaching 44,631 at around 10:30am.
    On Monday, the day the JIT report was submitted, the KSE-100 index experienced a gain of 2.33% or 1,051.66 points, to close at 46,273.81 points.
    The stock market has been taking hits since the past month or so for various reasons, including the ?unjust buildup? to its entry in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, ?unfriendly? measures in the new fiscal year?s budget and the ?political uncertainty? related to the Panama Papers case.

    On June 12, after the prime minister was summoned to appear before the JIT, the benchmark index fell by 1,855 points at the close of trading. 
    The JIT, in its final probe report into the Sharif family?s assets, held that the prime minister and his three children ? Maryam, Hussain and Hasan ? have accumulated wealth beyond their own known sources of income.

    The next hearing of the case is on July 17.
    The Supreme Court?s special implementation bench also directed on Monday for the registration of an FIR against Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan Chairman Zafar Hijazi for tampering records in favour of the Sharif family. 


  4. Waqas Dar
    Venus Williams appeared at her first Wimbledon in 1997, the year Jelena Ostapenko was born  LONDON: Venus Williams will feel at home when she plays Jelena Ostapenko on Centre Court in the Wimbledon quarter-finals on Tuesday.
    The American appeared at her first Wimbledon in 1997, the year the Latvian was born, and won it for the first time when Ostapenko was three.
    For 20-year-old Ostapenko, the newly crowned French Open champion, it will be a first outing on the most famous grass court in the world.
    Williams, at 37 the oldest woman in the draw with five Wimbledon singles titles to her name, has probably lost count of her appearances on the court.
    She said after trouncing Ana Konjuh 6-3 6-2 on Monday she was happy for the success of her young opponent in Paris.
    "I know she had an amazing moment there. She´s riding on that momentum. Confidence I´m sure. It´s just been such an amazing result for her."
    For Ostapenko, it will be a first outing on the most famous grass court in the world Ostapenko, though, can hardly remember ever watching Williams play, saying she had been keener on Venus´s sister Serena when she was growing up.
    "I think I was watching more her sister´s matches because she was my idol," Ostapenko said after dispatching fourth seed Elina Svitolina 6-3 7-6(6).
    Through her first four rounds here, the powerful young Latvian has appeared thoroughly relaxed and nerve-free.
    She will need to carry that feeling into the quarter-final against her supremely experienced opponent, whose movement round the court belies her age.
    "I just keep stretching. I have no secrets. I´m just doing what I always have done," Williams said.
    "I think I stretch a little harder now. But only because I enjoy it.?


  5. Waqas Dar
    Photo: Web TOKYO: Mark Karpeles, the former CEO of collapsed Bitcoin exchange MtGox, went on trial in Tokyo on charges stemming from the disappearance of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of the virtual currency from its digital vaults.

    Here are some key facts about the world´s most widely used cryptocurrency:
    What is Bitcoin?
    Bitcoin is a virtual currency created from computer code. Unlike a real-world unit such as the US dollar or euro, it has no central bank and is not backed by any government.
    Instead, Bitcoin´s community of users control and regulate it. Advocates say this makes it an efficient alternative to traditional currencies because it is not subject to the whims of a state that may devalue its money to boost exports, for example.
    Just like other currencies, Bitcoins can be exchanged for goods and services -- or for other currencies -- provided the other party is willing to accept them.
    Where does it come from?
    Bitcoin was launched in 2009 as a bit of encrypted software written by someone using the Japanese-sounding name Satoshi Nakamoto.
    Last year secretive Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright said he was the creator of Bitcoin, but some have raised doubts over his claim.
    Hundreds of other digital currencies followed but Bitcoin is by far the most popular, with an increasing number of merchants accepting digital currencies for payments.
    Transactions happen when heavily encrypted codes are passed across a computer network. The network as a whole monitors and verifies the transaction in a process that is intended to ensure no single Bitcoin can be spent in more than one place simultaneously.
    Users can "mine" Bitcoins -- bring new ones into being -- by having their computers run complicated and increasingly difficult processes.
    However, the model is limited and only 21 million units will ever be created.
    What´s it worth?
    Like any other currency, it fluctuates. But unlike most real-world units, Bitcoin´s value has swung wildly in a short period.
    When it first came into existence it was worth a few US cents. Several years later Bitcoin topped $1,000. It´s now worth more than $2,300, with commentators suggesting some are buying it as an alternative bet in times of global economic uncertainty.
    The chaotic withdrawal of high-value notes in India, and Chinese controls on the purchase of foreign currency have also been cited for its meteoric rise.
    There are presently more than 16 million units in circulation. Some economists say the limited number of Bitcoins mean its price will increase over the long run, making it less useful as a currency and more a vehicle to store value, like gold.
    But detractors point to Bitcoin´s volatility, security issues and other weaknesses as flaws that will eventually undermine it.
    What´s the future?
    Some commentators say that like many technological developments, the first iteration of a product will encounter difficulties, possibly terminal ones. But the trail it blazes might smooth the way for the next cryptocurrency.
    Problems include an apparent vulnerability to theft when Bitcoins are stored in digital wallets.
    A major Hong Kong-based Bitcoin exchange suspended trading last year after $65 million in the virtual unit was reportedly stolen by hackers.
    The virtual currency movement also faces legitimacy issues because of the way it allows for anonymous transactions -- the very thing that libertarian adopters like about it.
    Detractors say bitcoin´s use on the underground Silk Road website, where users could buy drugs and guns with it, is proof that it is a bad thing.
    If Bitcoin does become more widely accepted, experts say, it could lead to more government regulations, which would negate the very attraction of the concept.


  6. Waqas Dar
    MtGox CEO heads to trial in Japan over missing Bitcoins  TOKYO: Mark Karpeles, the former CEO of collapsed Bitcoin exchange MtGox, went on trial in Tokyo on Tuesday over the disappearance of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of the virtual currency from its digital vaults.

    The French national -- once the high-flying head of the world´s busiest Bitcoin trading platform, who reportedly lived in an $11,000-a-month penthouse -- is facing embezzlement and data manipulation charges.
    The 32-year-old was first arrested in August 2015 and released on bail nearly a year later over allegations he fraudulently manipulated data and pocketed millions worth of Bitcoins -- a disappearance that hammered the digital currency´s reputation.
    On Tuesday, it took nearly half an hour for the indictment against him to be read aloud in a Tokyo courtroom.
    Karpeles is alleged to have repeatedly manipulated computer data between 2013 and 2015 to "cover personal expenses" in a breach of his obligations as CEO, the court heard.
    Among those expenses, Karpeles transferred some 6.0 million yen ($52,500) to his own bank account to pay for a canopy bed, court heard.
    "I swear to God that I am innocent," Karpeles, speaking in Japanese, told the three-judge panel hearing his case.
    "The bankruptcy of MtGox caused a lot of damage for many and, as its CEO at the time, I apologise from the bottom of my heart."
    The Tokyo-based exchange, which claimed it once hosted around 80 percent of global Bitcoin trading, shuttered in 2014 after admitting that 850,000 coins -- worth around $480 million at the time -- had disappeared from its vaults.
    The company initially said there was a bug in the software underpinning Bitcoins that allowed hackers to pilfer them.
    Karpeles later claimed he had found some 200,000 of the lost coins in a "cold wallet" -- a storage device, such as a memory stick, that is not connected to other computers.
    ´Hacking attack´ 
    The one-time MtGox CEO, dressed in a dark suit and tie, repeated the hacking claims Tuesday.
    "The main reason for the Bitcoins´ disappearance was an external hacking attack," he told his trial.
    MtGox filed for bankruptcy protection soon after the cyber-money went missing, leaving a trail of angry investors calling for answers and denting the virtual currency´s reputation.
    "The charges may not cover all the things which have been happening at MtGox, so it is really just a question of waiting to see how deep the questions go," Kolin Burges, a British investor who lost several hundred Bitcoins in the MtGox collapse, said outside court Tuesday.
    Karpeles, who said he is working as an IT engineer, is active on social media and has commented on issues concerning Bitcoin but not on details of his criminal case.
    In the wake of the MtGox scandal, Japan passed a bill stipulating that all virtual currency exchanges must be regulated by its Financial Services Agency.
    Virtual currencies are generated by complex chains of interactions among a huge network of computers around the world, and are not backed by any government or central bank, unlike traditional currencies.
    Despite the demise of MtGox and concerns about security, Bitcoin and hundreds of rival digital currencies are becoming increasingly popular and accepted by merchants worldwide.
    Bitcoin has seen wild volatility during its short life, soaring from just a few US cents to around $2,500 now, more than double its value just a few months ago.
    Backers say virtual currencies offer an efficient and anonymous way to store and transfer funds online.
    Critics argue the lack of a legal framework governing the currency, the opaque way it is traded and its volatility make it dangerous.
    There are also security concerns.
    Bitcoin has suffered hacking incidents including one last year in which a major Hong Kong-based exchange Bitfinex suspended trading after $65 million in the virtual unit was stolen.


  7. Waqas Dar
    People react as Myanmar authorities demolish huts occupied by thousands of informal settlers on the city's suburbs, to clear the land for development, in Hlegu township outside Yangon, Myanmar June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun The United States on Monday called on Myanmar to allow a United Nations fact-finding mission to investigate widespread allegations of killings, rape and torture by security forces against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar's Rakhine state.
    The Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council established the inquiry in March, but Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of Myanmar's civilian government and also its foreign minister, has rejected the allegations and opposes the mission.
    A Myanmar official said on June 30 that the country would refuse entry to the UN investigators.
    The US ambassador to the United Nations in New York, Nikki Haley, said, "It is important that the Burmese government allow this fact-finding mission to do its job."
    "The international community cannot overlook what is happening in Burma ? we must stand together and call on the government to fully cooperate with this fact-finding mission," she said in a statement. Myanmar was formerly known as Burma.
    Some 75,000 Rohingya fled northwestern Rakhine state to Bangladesh after Myanmar's army carried out a security operation last October in response to deadly attacks by Rohingya insurgents on border posts.
    A UN report from February, based on interviews with some of the Rohingya refugees, said Myanmar's security forces have committed mass killings and gang rapes of Rohingya in a campaign that "very likely" amounts to crimes against humanity and possibly ethnic cleansing.
    "No one should face discrimination or violence because of their ethnic background or religious beliefs," Haley said.
    Myanmar's government regards the approximately 1 million Rohingya as illegal migrants from neighboring Bangladesh and denies them citizenship, even though Rohingya families have lived there for generations.


  8. Waqas Dar
    The State Bank of Pakistan. Photo: File  KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday began a probe into the largest single drop in the rupee?s value against the US dollar in nine years on July 5.
    ?The investigation into the matter will be completed within the decided time,? an SBP spokesperson said.
    The Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday had said responsible persons and entities would be identified and appropriate action would be taken against them in the national interest after the rupee plunged 3.1 percent in the opening hours of interbank trade on Wednesday, sparking a shortage of foreign currency in the open market.
    The US dollar surged to its 2.5-year-high against the Pakistan Rupee in the interbank market on July 5 as it gained Rs3.12 to hit Rs108 after closing at Rs104.90 on Tuesday.
    Dar immediately took notice of the spike in US dollar against the Pakistan Rupee in the interbank market.
    According to a press release by the finance division on Wednesday, the finance minister ?expressed deep concern, indignation, and disappointment at the fact that the current political situation is being exploited by certain individuals, banks and entities, resulting in the artificial rise of the interbank rate of the US Dollar versus the Pakistani Rupee.?
    Addressing the media after chairing a meeting with CEOs of all banks on Thursday, Dar attributed the sudden spike in the US dollar price to ?miscommunication between certain people? and assured that the market would adjust itself back to stability.
    The minister said the surge in the dollar?s value was ?surprising? and ?artificial.?
    ?The hike in the dollar was artificial and happened as a result of miscommunication between certain people. A transparent investigation into the matter would be conducted and we will gather all the facts, including who profited and who bore losses from this hike,? he asserted.


  9. Waqas Dar
    More than a dozen wildfires were raging across California on Monday, forcing thousands of residents of the most populous US state to flee their homes.
    Further to the north, the Canadian province of British Columbia was under a state of emergency as fire crews there also battled blazes fueled by searing temperatures and high winds.
    The worst of the brush fires in California was the Alamo fire in San Luis Obispo County, which had burned nearly 29,000 acres (117 square kilometers) as of Monday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection known as Cal Fire.
    More than 1,200 fire personnel were battling the Alamo blaze, Cal Fire said, adding that hot and dry conditions were expected to continue for the next several days and the inferno has been only 15 percent contained so far.
    The California fires have forced the evacuation of around 8,000 people while another 10,000 have fled their homes in British Columbia, Canada's westernmost province, where around 200 blazes of varying degrees of intensity have been reported.
    The Alamo fire, which began four days ago, has spread to Santa Barbara County, approximately midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, and is currently the state's largest active fire, according to Cal Fire.
    Fire containment efforts were particularly aimed at guarding mountain peaks holding vital infrastructure such as a high-voltage line that delivers power to nearby cities, according to the Los Angeles Times newspaper.
    Another fire in Santa Barbara County, the Whittier fire, is threatening hundreds of homes in the Santa Ynez Valley and forced the evacuation of nearly 150 children and counselors from a youth camp over the weekend, authorities said.
    DC-10 tanker aircraft were spreading retardant in a bid to prevent the blaze, which has engulfed some 10,800 acres, from spreading, according to the Los Padres National Forest service.
    The Whittier fire has destroyed 20 structures and is threatening 150 more, according to Cal Fire.
    State of emergency

    Area resident Sarah Gustafson told the Los Angeles Times that she was getting her tires changed when she saw a pillar of smoke rising and realized her six cats were trapped at home.
    She rushed back and managed to save the animals, and described a sky painted orange and black and "flames up on the ridge."
    "It was terrifying," she told the paper. "When I got home it was smokey with ash."
    She then scrambled back to a Red Cross shelter parking lot where she and her cats spent the night.
    Another blaze, the Wall fire in northern Butte County, has burned some 5,600 acres and has been 35 percent contained as of Monday morning, according to Cal Fire.
    Four people have been injured by the Wall fire, according to authorities.
    Most of southern California including metropolitan Los Angeles has been in the grips of a blistering heat wave with temperatures reaching as high as 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius).
    Wildfires are common in California and other parts of the American west over the summer.
    In British Columbia, the provincial government has declared a state of emergency as thousands of firefighters battle blazes across the sprawling territory.
    Several villages in the center of the province have been evacuated, leaving more than 10,000 people temporarily homeless, said Canadian public safety minster Ralph Goodale.
    "There are about 231 fires burning. Ninety-eight of these are new... At least 10 of them are very close to communities, which makes them particularly dangerous," he told a news conference.
    Kevin Skrepnek, chief information officer for the BC Wildfire Service, told the National Post that lightning storms on Friday had ignited many of the fires following a prolonged dry spell.
    "We're focusing now on public safety, keeping these fires away from communities, protecting transportation routes, things like that," Skrepnek said.
    Forecasters are not expecting rain in the region in the coming week.


  10. Waqas Dar
    The murderer absconds with a smirk, knowing he has covered his tracks like a pro -- no witnesses, no finger- or foot-prints, no stray hairs to betray his identity.
    But if a mosquito bit our cocky assassin at the crime scene, it could one day lead to a conviction, according to study published Monday in the journal PLOS ONE.
    That is because researchers at Nagoya University have shown that human blood extracted from a buzzing bloodsucker can be traced back to its original owner up to 48 hours after a skeeter has syphoned it off.
    "This technique can help police work out who was at a crime scene," lead scientist Toshimichi Yamamoto said in a statement.
    "In the future, it might provide evidence that can be used to convict offenders."
    No one knew how long human blood drawn by a mozzie kept an identifiable DNA profile, so Yamamoto and a team of forensic scientists decided to find out.
    They recovered blood from mosquitos who had bitten volunteers, and then used a technique called polymerase chain reaction -- PCR for short -- to examine it.
    PCR is a standard tool in forensics for amplifying a tiny DNA fragment up to thousands of times.
    The researchers found that they could accurately match the minuscule blood traces to the volunteers who had offered themselves up as a meal, even after two days of digestion in a mosquito's stomach.
    After three days, however, the blood completely broke down.
    The experiments were performed with two species, Culex pipiens pallens and Aedes albopictus, both found throughout much of the tropical and sub-tropical world.
    "We hope this will help crime scene investigators collect reliable evidence," Yamamoto said.
    With further research, he added, it might be possible to accurately estimate when a mosquito plunged his syringe into its victim.
    Most mosquitos do not travel beyond a radius of a few hundred metres and, depending on the species, have lifespans ranging from a few days to a couple months. Females -- the ones that bite -- generally live far longer than males.


  11. Waqas Dar
    BERLIN: German firms have lost millions of euros to organised crime in a scam dubbed "CEO Fraud" that uses faked memos from top executives to entice accounting personnel to transfer funds, Germany's federal cyber agency said on Monday.
    The BSI agency said officials investigating the new scam had secured a list of 5,000 potential targets and were notifying those individuals.
    Organised criminals were using the information they gleaned from social media networks, public company websites, job sites and even calls to the companies to fake the contact information for chief executives and other top executives.
    BSI said the Federal Criminal Police Office estimated that the scam had already cost firms millions of euros in recent months.
    The scam targets personnel in the accounting and auditing departments of a company who were authorised to transfer funds, often using time pressure and warnings about an alleged "secret project" to manipulate them to carry out the bogus orders.
    BSI President Arne Schoenbohm urged companies who had fallen prey to the scam to cancel the transactions and notify police.
    He also urged companies to warn all those authorised to carry out financial transactions about the scam.
    BSI did not identify affected companies.


  12. Waqas Dar
    Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) personnel walk in a destroyed building in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq July 9, 2017. Photo: Reuters  Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi was poised to declare victory over Daesh in Mosul on Monday as only a few dozen militants put up resistance in the city where their leader declared a caliphate three years ago.
    Gunfire and explosions could be heard as the US-led coalition pounded the remaining few Daesh positions.
    "They won't declare victory until the area is fully secured," said Iraqi army officer Firas Abdel Qassim. The militants were still controlling a small patch, he said.
    While defeat in Iraq's second largest city will deal a heavy blow to Daesh, the group controls several cities and towns south and west of Mosul.
    Daesh is also under heavy pressure in its operational headquarters in the Syrian city of Raqqa and its self-proclaimed caliphate that once straddled the two countries is crumbling.
    But the militants are expected to keep plotting attacks on the West and revert to the type of insurgency waged by al Qaeda that helped destabilise Iraq following the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.
    The stench of corpses along Mosul's streets was a reminder of the nearly nine months of gruelling urban warfare required to dislodge Daesh, which imposed a reign of terror in the city of 1.5 million.
    Seven bodies lay in an alley near a riverbank the militants reached on Sunday while attempting to escape.
    Humanitarian crisis
    Much of Mosul has been destroyed in the fighting, with rows of houses flattened by air strikes and centuries-old stone houses gutted by explosions.
    Thousands of people have been killed. The United Nations says 920,000 civilians have fled their homes since the military campaign began in October. Close to 700,000 people are still displaced.
    "It's a relief to know that the military campaign in Mosul is ending. The fighting may be over, but the humanitarian crisis is not," said UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq Lise Grande."Many of the people who have fled have lost everything. They need shelter, food, healthcare, water, sanitation and emergency kits. The levels of trauma we are seeing are some of the highest anywhere. What people have experienced is nearly unimaginable."
    Victory in Mosul will mark a vast improvement for Iraqi forces, who collapsed as Daesh swept through northern Iraq in 2014.
    Iraqi soldiers were relaxed. Some were swimming in the Tigris River. Another wiped the sweat off his face with a Daesh flag.


  13. Waqas Dar
    Representational image GENEVA: A cholera outbreak in Yemen has now surpassed 300,000 suspected cases, the Red Cross said Monday as the war-torn country reels from disease as well as the threat of famine.
    The International Committee of the Red Cross said the cholera epidemic "continues to spiral out of control" since it erupted in April.
    "Today, over 300,000 people are suspected to be ill," it said in a Twitter post. ICRC spokeswoman Iolanda Jaquemet said the death toll now stood at more than 1,700.
    ICRC regional director Robert Mardini said about 7,000 new cholera cases were being recorded daily in the capital Sanaa and three other areas.
    The collapse of Yemen´s infrastructure after more than two years of war between the Saudi-backed government and rebels who control Sanaa has made for a "perfect storm for cholera", according to the World Health Organization.
    Cholera is a highly contagious bacterial infection spread through contaminated food or water.
    Although the disease is easily treatable, doing so in Yemen has proved particularly difficult. The war has left less than half of the country´s medical facilities functional.
    The WHO´s own figures for the outbreak list 262,649 suspected cases and 1,587 deaths as of July 2, in 21 of 23 Yemeni governorates. It is expected to update those numbers shortly.
    The battle against cholera has caused aid groups to pull resources away from fighting malnutrition among Yemen´s war-weary people, raising the risk of famine as they struggle to find funds, a UN official warned last week.
    Jamie McGoldrick, the UN´s humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, said much of the $1.1 billion (966,000 euros) in aid pledged by donor governments in April to deal with the hard-pressed population´s needs had yet to be disbursed, leaving relief agencies struggling to get their hands on new money.
    "Humanitarian organisations have had to reprogramme their resources away from malnutrition and reuse them to control the cholera outbreak," he said in Sanaa on Thursday.
    "And if we don´t get these resources replaced, then using those resources for cholera will mean that food insecurity will suffer.
    "We´re trying to do our best, but it´s very much beyond what we can cope with."
    About 17 million people -- two-thirds of Yemen´s population -- are uncertain of where their next meal will come from, according to the World Food Programme.


  14. Waqas Dar
    Photo: Web A seasonal low lies over north-west Balochistan on Tuesday. Monsoon currents are penetrating in upper parts of the country and likely to continue during the next few days, the Pakistan Meteorological Department said.
    Rain/thunderstorm with isolated heavy falls are expected at a number of places in upper Punjab (Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Lahore, Faisalabad divisions), Islamabad and Kashmir, while at scattered places in southern Punjab (D.G. Khan, Multan, Bahawalpur and Sahiwal divisions), Zhob, Kalat divisions, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA, and Gilgit-Baltistan in the next 24-hours.
    Light rain/drizzle is also expected at a few places along the Sindh coast.
    Past weather
    Rain-thunderstorm occurred at a number of places in Kashmir, while at isolated places in Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Hazara and Kalat divisions on Monday. The weather remained hot and humid in other parts of the country.
    Rainfall (mm)
    Kashmir: Rawalakot 85, Muzaffarabad 11, Garidupatta 06, Kotli 01, Punjab: Sialkot (city 46, A/P 13), Murree 20, Mangla 05, Jhelum, Gujrat 01, KP: Kakul 12, Balochistan: Khuzdar 07.
    Today's highest maximum temperatures
    Dalbandin 51°C, Nokkundi 46°C, Sibbi, Dadu 45°C, Shaheed Benazirabad, Chillas 44°C.


    Data courtesy: Pakistan Meteorological Department 


  15. Waqas Dar
    CARACAS: Venezuela has been rocked by more than 100 days of protests against President Nicolas Maduro, during which 91 people have been killed.

    Venezuelan opposition activists clash with riot police during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on July 10, 2017. AFP/Juan Barreto  Here are five key things you should know about the crisis, the worst in decades to grip the South American oil producer.

    Government v. parliament
    The opposition's clash with Maduro's government became a constitutional crisis in January 2016, when the opposition won control of the National Assembly and put an end to 17 years of control by "Chavista" lawmakers loyal to late former President Hugo Chavez and his anointed successor Maduro.
    Opposition activists clash with the police during a demonstration marking 100 days of protests against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, on July 9, 2017. AFP/Federico Parra  The Supreme Court, seen as close to the government, has systematically blocked parliamentary votes. At the end of March, the court even briefly assumed the powers of the parliament, triggering opposition cries of a "coup" by the state.

    By doing so, the court "pulverised the separation of powers" under the Constitution, analyst Luis Vicente Leon told AFP.
    Venezuelan opposition demonstrators blocking the avenue during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro clash with riot police, in Caracas, on July 6, 2017. AFP/Juan Barreto  Among the criticism was a senior voice in Maduro's camp: that of attorney general Luisa Ortega, who decried what she said was "a breaking of the constitutional order." A loyal Chavista, she soon became one of the most prominent detractors of the socialist president.

    Economic collapse
    Public anger in Venezuela has swelled apace with the sharp decline of the country's economy, almost entirely dependent on oil exports.
    Venezuelan National Guard personnel in riot gear take part in a parade to celebrate Venezuela's 206th anniversary of its Independence in Caracas on July 5, 2017. AFP/Federico Parra  Since 2014, sharply lower oil prices have slashed revenue, meaning fewer imports of needed basic goods ? food and medicine ? could be bought, leading to shortages. Industries unable to get hold of raw materials have ground to a halt. According to unofficial evaluations, Venezuela's economy shrank 11.3 percent last year.

    Inflation is sky high, estimated to hit 720 percent this year, the highest in the world.
    Venezuelan opposition demonstrators block the avenue during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro clash with riot police, in Caracas, on July 6, 2017. AFP/Federico Parra  Maduro has blamed the downturn on an "economic war" waged against his socialist government by a conspiracy of right-wing opponents and the United States.

    All-important military
    Venezuela's army is a key player in the political crisis. That is reflected by the fact that current or former military officers fill 11 of the government's 32 ministerial posts.
    An injured opposition activist is taken away by volunteer medics during a protest against the government of President Nicolas Maduro, at the Francisco Fajardo highway in Caracas, on July 1, 2017. AFP/Federico Parra  Composed of 165,000 soldiers and 25,000 reservists, the army controls the production and distribution of basic foodstuffs as well as an oil company, a television network, a bank, an auto-assembly plant and a construction group.

    Although it has pledged its "unconditional" support to Maduro, it is under strong pressure. Ortega, the attorney general, has criticised it for violence during protests. The opposition has called for it to switch sides.
    A boy runs under a Venezuelan flag during a protest of journalists and media workers against the attacks on journalists, in Caracas on June 27, 2017. AFP/Juan Barreto  Analysts reckon the loss of the military's backing would spell the end of Maduro's reign. Recently, a retired general resigned as secretary of the national defence council to show his disagreement with Maduro.

    Appeal to voters
    The opposition, hoping to capitalise on its big 2015 legislative electoral victory, had wanted to bring about a referendum asking whether Maduro should be booted from power. But the initiative was blocked at every turn by electoral authorities on the grounds of irregularities.
    A Venezuelan opposition activist wearing a mask demonstrates against President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, on July 6, 2017. AFP/Federico Parra  Now, the opposition is calling for early elections, especially for the post of president. Maduro has rejected that, saying he will stay on until the end of his current term, at the end of 2018.

    But Maduro has called on voters to back a new body to rewrite the constitution. The election is due to take place on July 30.
    Members of the National Guard are caught up in a blast during protests in Caracas on July 10, 2017. AFP/Carlos Becerra  The president says that process will help bring about peace and prosperity.

    The opposition, however, sees it as means to bypass the parliament, and it has called for a symbolic vote on Sunday to reject the measure.
    Hopes for talks
    An effort at dialogue between the government and the opposition, organised under the auspices of the Vatican, was held in October 2016 but failed just one month later.
    A Venezuelan opposition activist shows pellets allegedly fired at them by riot police with their shotguns during clashes in Caracas on July 10, 2017. AFP/Federico Parra  For one analyst, Benigno Alarcon, that attempt "dearly cost" the opposition, which called off protests and found it difficult to get them going again.

    Hopes for a return to talks were raised over the weekend when the government release a high-profile opposition leader, Leopoldo Lopez, from prison and transferred him to home detention.
    A Venezuelan opposition activist wearing a mask demonstrates against President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, on July 6, 2017. AFP/Federico Parra  For some observers, that raised the prospect that the government wanted to ease tensions and find a way out of the crisis ? although both sides would have to swallow unpalatable concessions to get there.

    COVER PHOTO: Opposition activists in Venezuela block a road during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on July 10, 2017. AFP/Juan Barreto


  16. Waqas Dar
    France's new environment minister said Monday that nearly a third of the country's nuclear reactors could be shut under plans to scale back the amount of electricity produced from atomic power.
    In 2015, the previous Socialist-dominated parliament passed a law obliging the government to reduce the proportion of electricity generated from nuclear to 50 percent by 2025 compared with around 75 percent now.
    "We can all understand that to reach this target, we're going to have to close a certain number of reactors," Nicolas Hulot told RTL radio. "It will be perhaps as high as 17 reactors, but we need to look into it."
    Hulot, a celebrity environmentalist, was named minister for ecological transition in the first government of 39-year-old centrist President Emmanuel Macron, elected in May.
    He presented a Climate Plan last Thursday which included a number of ambitious targets for reducing emissions, such as stopping the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040, but it was criticised by some for lacking detail.
    France has 58 nuclear reactors operated by state-owned EDF, which produces some of the lowest-cost electricity in Europe. The country earns about ?3 billion ($3.4 billion) each year from exports to neighbouring countries.
    The ageing nuclear power network was once a source of national pride, but support fell after the disaster at the Fukushima plant in Japan in 2011 and the government is keen to encourage the transition to renewable energy sources.
    Around three-quarters of French plants will reach the end of their 40-year lifespan by 2027, having been built in the 1970s and 80s in response to oil-price shocks.
    They face lengthy safety vetting processes, hefty investment and political challenges to gain extensions in their operating life.
    "It's a very interesting announcement because it's the first time that we have a figure and a government that is prepared to take on the dogma about not shutting reactors," a spokesman for the Leave Nuclear campaign group, Charlotte Mijeon, told AFP.
    Closing the country's oldest nuclear plant in eastern France proved to be immensely difficult and was decided only in April this year at the end of ex-president Francois Hollande's term in office despite being a campaign pledge he made in 2012.
    Local officials and trade unions opposed its shuttering, as did many conservative politicians in Paris who believe that France should maintain its world-leading position in nuclear power.
    A new-generation nuclear plant is being built in Flamanville on the northwest coast of the country and is due to enter service in 2019, seven years later than first scheduled.
    Costs are now expected to be 10.5 billion euros ($12 billion), at least three times higher than the original budget.


  17. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: One suspect was killed during a police encounter late Monday night on Lyari's Mirza Adam Khan Road, Geo News reported. A policeman was also injured during the exchange of fire.
    Constable Muhammad Ali received a gunshot wound in his hand due to suspects' retaliatory firing, police officials said.
    The law enforcement agencies also detained a suspect in Lyari's gang war from the Phool Patti Lane, sources revealed.
    The arrestee ? identified as Chota Muslim ? has been involved in selling drugs, sources stated, adding that police also recovered a large amount of contraband from the suspect.
    According to the sources, Muslim was running Baba Ladla Group's drug dens.
    Two other suspects were taken into custody from Lyari's Agra Taj Colony last night, with police recovering a big stash of weapons with the arrestees' help, sources explained.
    The stash of ammunition included Kalashnikov, 8 mm rifles, hand grenades, and bullets, sources added.
    Sargodha hanging
    Three convicts were put to death by hanging in Sargodha's District Jail, police sources disclosed.
    The convicts ? named Imran, Yaqoob, and Ghulam Rasool ? had killed four people during a robbery back in 2008, jail officials said.


  18. Waqas Dar
    Image via CBS News LOS ANGELES: A staffer at a Christian summer camp in Colorado has told of his shock at waking to find his head clamped in the mouth of a bear.
    The 19-year-old survival instructor at Glacier View Ranch described his "immense pain" as he heard the black bear "crunching" on his skull.
    It dragged him around 12 feet (four meters) before being scared off by other campers and is being hunted by parks officials with dogs.
    "The crunching noise, I guess, was the teeth scraping against the skull as it dug in," the man, identified only as Dylan, told local news channel Denver 7.
    "It grabbed me... then pulled me, and then it bit the back of my head and dragged me. When it was dragging me that was the slowest part. It felt like it went (on) forever," he added.
    Dylan described feeling the bear´s breath on the back of his neck.
    "There´s four spots where its claws dug into me," he told KTVB-TV, showing bite marks on the back of his head from the animal.
    He had been in a sleeping bag on a lakefront alongside four other camp counsellors when the animal struck at 4:15 AM (3:15 PM PST) on Sunday in Ward, about 32 kilometres from Boulder, Colorado.
    "I thought I was dreaming for a second and then I thought this hurts too bad to be dreaming," he added.
    He was taken to hospital but came away with just nine staples to his head.
    Colorado Parks and Wildlife told local media had not been provoked and that such attacks were uncommon.
    "This is really a bear that could be a continual threat to people in this community," a spokeswoman said.


  19. Waqas Dar
    Brazilian elementary school teachers receive instruction on how to react in high-risk situations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 10, 2017. AFP/Mauro Pimentel  RIO DE JANEIRO: Teachers in violence-wracked Rio de Janeiro started a new course on Monday ? they are learning how to react to the shootings and violence plaguing the host city of last year's Olympic Games.

    Some 40 teachers attended the course organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross, and each educator will go back and instruct colleagues in their own schools on how to deal with a variety of violent incidents.
    "It's a question of knowing how to manage each situation ? how to react during a shooting, for example. These are simple courses of action that can make a real difference," said Lorenzo Caraffi, regional director of the ICRC in Latin America.
    Rio has more than 1,500 public schools, a third of them located in areas deemed to be at risk from violence.
    Since the start of the academic year, only seven of 120 school days have passed without at least one of the city's schools being shut down because of outbreaks of violence.
    Rio is in the grip of an increasingly bloody war between rival drug gangs operating in its favelas ? the poorer communities that lack adequate infrastructure or police, but which are home to a quarter of the city's six million inhabitants.
    Residents can all too often find themselves pinned down by gunfire, especially when the quasi-military police force battles with gangs in pitched shootouts.
    On Monday, as the first class on dealing with violence began, 18 schools were closed due to a police raid on the City of God favela, made famous in the movie of the same name by director Fernando Meirelles, who also orchestrated the opening ceremony of last year's Olympics.
    "The situation has really got much worse recently, so it's important to have extra tools available to deal with these chaotic situations," said Emiliane Tinoco, one of the educators taking part in the course.
    Tinoco coordinates human resources for schools in Rio's poorer northern zone where 13-year-old Maria Eduarda was killed by a stray bullet in her school on March 30.
    "Teachers know from experience that when a shooting breaks out, you have to lead the kids into a corridor and lie down. But they often feel very alone when faced with these stressful situations," she said.
    The daily newspaper O Globo said that 632 people had been hit by stray bullets in Rio between January 1 and July 2, an average of three a day. Sixty-seven of them died of their wounds.
    "We are not going to solve the problem from one day to the next, but we can't just do nothing," said Rio's public schools chief Cesar Benjamin.
    "Education is like Stalingrad ? it's the last bastion which must be defended whatever the cost," he said, referring to the World War II battle in the former Soviet Union.


  20. Waqas Dar
    British rock star Sting said on Monday he has donated the prize money from a prestigious Swedish music award to a non-profit project which helps young refugees in Sweden integrate through music.
    Known for promoting human rights through his music, the 65-year-old singer and US jazz star Wayne Shorter in February won the 2017 Swedish Polar Music Prize, which awards each laureate one million kronor (104,000 euros, $118,000).
    "I was deeply honoured to receive this year's Swedish Polar Music Prize and now, I am delighted to donate the prize money to the Swedish youth initiative Songlines," Sting said in a statement released on the project's website.
    "Music can help build bridges and this project highlights the vital role that music can play in providing young refugees the opportunity to connect with a new society," he added.
    The Songlines project involves young asylum seekers mostly from Afghanistan, Eritrea and Syria who have fled war and now stay at refugee shelters in Sweden. The project says it offers them musical activities to help them integrate into society.
    "Music is a fantastic tool for integration! Through music, new friendships are formed and language skills are developed," Julia Sandwall, national coordinator for Songlines, said in the statement.
    The project will spend the prize money on organising music camps, arranging concerts and buying musical instruments for the young refugees.
    Sting won international recognition as a member of the rock group The Police, which released its hit song "Roxanne" in 1979 and "Don't Stand So Close To Me" the following year.
    The Polar Music Prize honours two laureates every year to "celebrate music in all its various forms" and "to break down musical boundaries by bringing together people from all the different worlds of music."


  21. Waqas Dar
    MIAMI: Coffee addicts and aficionados often say drinking the bitter liquid makes life worth living, but the habit may also help them live longer, according to two major international studies Monday.

    Experts cautioned, however, that the US and European reports, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, failed to show that coffee was truly the reason that many drinkers appeared to have longer lives.
    Rather, the studies were observational in nature, meaning they showed an association between coffee-drinking and a propensity toward longevity but stopped short of proving cause and effect.
    The first study, led by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and Imperial College London, examined more than half a million people across 10 countries in Europe.
    Those who drank about three cups a day tended to live longer than non-coffee drinkers, said the study, which researchers described as the largest analysis of the effects of coffee-drinking in a European population.
    "We found that higher coffee consumption was associated with a lower risk of death from any cause, and specifically for circulatory diseases, and digestive diseases," said lead author Marc Gunter of the IARC, formerly at Imperial's School of Public Health.
    "Importantly, these results were similar across all of the 10 European countries, with variable coffee drinking habits and customs."
    The second study included more than 180,000 participants of various ethnic backgrounds in the United States.
    It found benefits to longevity whether the coffee was caffeinated or decaffeinated.
    Coffee drinkers had a lower risk of death due to heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and respiratory and kidney disease.
    Those who drank one cup a day were 12 percent less likely to die compared to those who didn't drink coffee.
    Those who drank two or three cups per day saw an even higher 18 percent reduced death risk.
    "We cannot say drinking coffee will prolong your life, but we see an association," said lead author Veronica Setiawan, an associate professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.
    "If you like to drink coffee, drink up! If you're not a coffee drinker, then you need to consider if you should start."
    A revered drink
    Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world. Some 2.25 billion cups are consumed every day.
    Many prior studies have hailed the benefits of coffee-drinking, saying the beverage imparts antioxidants, may improve liver function and reduce inflammation.
    But coffee may carry risks for some people, and pregnant woman and children are urged to avoid caffeine, which can be fatal in high doses.
    A report from the IARC last year that said drinking very hot beverages ? coffee, tea or otherwise ? is one probable cause of cancer of the oesophagus, the tube that runs from the throat to the stomach.
    Experts urge caution
    Experts who were not involved in the latest studies urged caution in interpreting the results.
    For instance, the European study excluded people who had cancer, heart disease or diabetes, meaning it took a measure of people over 35 who were already generally healthy.
    It also asked about coffee consumption just once, at the beginning, and did not update this figure over the span of the study, which included an average follow-up time of 16 years.
    Finally, it found signs of a link between women who drank large amounts of coffee and a higher risk of cancer death, but downplayed this finding, saying it "may be spurious."
    The "conclusions will not lead me to start drinking coffee or to recommend people drink more coffee as a way to lessen their risks for heart disease," said Naveed Sattar, professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow.
    "I remain unconvinced that the link between coffee and heart disease represents a true cause and effect relationship and that coffee is truly protective, regardless of how large a study suggests this."
    Sattar said that one downside to the research is the fact that many people stop drinking coffee ? or drink less of it ? when they are ill, a "bias is very hard to fully overcome."
    David Spiegelhalter, a professor at the University of Cambridge, described the research as "huge in size and carefully done," but nevertheless unable to prove cause and effect.
    "If these estimated reductions in all-cause mortality really are causal, then an extra cup of coffee every day would on average extend the life of a man by around three months, and a woman by around a month," he added.
    "So perhaps we should relax and enjoy it."


  22. Waqas Dar
    Romelu Lukaku revealed that his record move to Manchester United was inspired by Paul Pogba's arrival at Old Trafford as he began training with the Premier League giants in Los Angeles on Monday.
    A relaxed-looking Lukaku signed autographs for fans and posed for photos at UCLA's Drake Stadium, where United are training this week as their five-match pre-season US tour gets under way.
    The 24-year-old Lukaku joined up with the United squad just hours after his reported 75 million pound ($97 million, 85.5m euro) transfer from Everton was officially completed. The five-year deal -- which will see Lukaku pocket more than 200,000 pounds per week -- is a record transfer between two English clubs.
    The Belgian international striker quickly got into the groove, taking part in passing drills with French star Pogba and other team-mates in blazing sunshine at the UCLA facility near Beverly Hills.
    In his first interview since becoming a United player, Lukaku told the club's television channel that his decision to seek a move to Old Trafford had come after seeing Pogba join the club last year.
    Pogba and Lukaku, who share the same agent, are close friends and were on holiday in Beverly Hills last week together before the deal was completed.
    Pogba plays 'big role'

    Lukaku, who could make his debut in Saturday's tour opener against the Los Angeles Galaxy, told MUTV Pogba had played a "big role" in his transfer.
    "He is one of my best friends and he is my neighbour as well," Lukaku said.
    "We are always together on a daily basis so he would explain to me how things were going. Last season when he signed for United, to have witnessed that, it really triggered something in my brain and I knew that if one day I had the chance to sign then I would not say no.
    "You just know and realise how big the club is, and the hunger it has to win trophies. I would like to say, at the end of my career, that I played for a team that has always challenged for trophies and this is what the club has always done.
    "To be here now is a blessing and I will not take this opportunity for granted."
    Lukaku's transfer reunites him with Jose Mourinho, who famously sold the striker to Everton in 2014 during his second spell in charge of Chelsea.
    The two men engaged in an often spiky war of words following Lukaku's move to Everton, with Mourinho questioning the striker's "mentality" and motivation to be successful at Stamford Bridge.
    Dreaming of Mourinho

    However on Monday, as Mourinho declared Lukaku a "natural fit" for United, the striker said he was looking forward to working with the Portuguese manager once more, insisting the two had a solid relationship.
    "I am really looking forward to it, that is the most exciting part," Lukaku said.
    "Me and him, we have a really good relationship and I always dreamed to play under him since I was 10. To have the opportunity at 24 to work under him and to be part of his plans for challenges for trophies is exciting.to play under him since I was 10. To have the opportunity at 24 to work under him and to be part of his plans for challenges for trophies is exciting.
    "I think he is a manager to help us to win trophies and I can?t wait to start working under him again."
    Lukaku, who lives in Manchester, revealed he had harboured a long-time desire to play for United, who won their 42nd major trophy this year with victory in the Europa League final, putting them one clear of bitter rivals Liverpool with 41.
    "I live in Manchester so I pass Old Trafford many times when I want to go to the city centre," Lukaku said. "One night I said to my mum that I would play there one day. I thought so. I had a certain feeling."
    In the short term, Lukaku is looking forward to realising his goal of playing in the Champions League next season.
    "Finally! Finally! I have been a pro for eight years and I have never had a taste of the Champions League group stages," Lukaku said. "It is something I have always wanted, that competition has something, I want to see how it is and to have a taste."


  23. Waqas Dar
    Donald Trump Jr., the president's son, has hired New York lawyer Alan Futerfas to represent him in connection with Russia-related investigations, the lawyer and Trump Jr.'s office said on Monday.

    Futerfas ? a sole practitioner who specialises in criminal defence ? would not say when he was retained or whether he had any input into the statements Trump Jr. made over the weekend about a meeting with a Russian lawyer.
    Republicans have been voicing concerns about the meeting between Trump's son and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, held in June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York.
    Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and Trump's then-campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, also attended, according to the New York Times. It called the encounter the first confirmed private meeting of members of Donald Trump's inner circle with a Russian national.
    White House's role
    The White House on Monday said there was nothing inappropriate about a meeting US President Donald Trump's son had with a Russian attorney during the presidential campaign last year. It was short, it added, and produced "absolutely no follow-up".
    During a briefing, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said, "The only thing I see inappropriate about the meeting was the people that leaked the information on the meeting after it was voluntarily disclosed."
    Sanders stated that it was routine during political campaigns for people to call offering information. "Don Junior took a very short meeting from which there was absolutely no follow-up," she said.
    'Nothing to all of the media buzz'
    Congressional committees and a federal special counsel, Robert Mueller, are investigating whether Russia interfered in the election and colluded with the Trump campaign.

    Moscow denies any interference while Trump ? who became president on January 20 ? says there was no collusion.
    Trump Jr. has said he agreed to meet Veselnitskaya ? described by the Times as having links to the Kremlin ? after being promised damaging information about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
    Futerfas told Reuters, ?I look forward to assisting Donald Jr. and, quite frankly, there is nothing to all of the media buzz about the June 9th, 2016 meeting. That will be proven to be the case.?
    Earlier on Monday, Susan Collins ? a Republican member of the US Senate Intelligence Committee ? called on Donald Trump Jr. to testify before the panel, which is looking into accusations of Russian meddling in the election.


  24. Waqas Dar
    The Twitter logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo  Twitter Inc, in its latest step to curb abusive behaviour on its platform, rolled out new features on Monday to help users disable notifications from accounts that they want to avoid.

    The microblogging website said its "advanced filter settings" will now have options for users to mute notifications from accounts that they do not follow as well as from accounts that do not follow them.
    Users can also filter lower-quality content from notifications such as content that appears to be automated and mute notifications related to certain words and phrases.
    Twitter had said in March that it would introduce new filtering options for notifications to allow users to limit what they see from certain types of accounts, such as those that do not have a profile photo.
    Twitter and rival Facebook Inc have been facing a barrage of criticism for failing to tackle cyber-bullying, fake news, and extremist propaganda on their platforms.


  25. Waqas Dar
    Rafael Nadal's bittersweet relationship with Wimbledon endured another twist Monday when he was knocked out in a five-set, fourth round epic by Luxembourg journeyman Gilles Muller.
    Nadal's stunning 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 15-13 defeat came after defending champion Andy Murray and seven-time winner Roger Federer had cruised into the last-eight in straight sets.
    The four hour and 48-minute stunner on Court One had the knock-on effect of pushing Novak Djokovic's last-16 clash against France's Adrian Mannarino back to Tuesday.
    Djokovic had been the last match scheduled on the court but officials chose to postpone the tie instead of shifting it to Centre Court where it could, if necessary, have been completed under lights.
    Just weeks after winning his 10th French Open title, Nadal was condemned to his fifth exit before the quarter-finals in his last five visits to Wimbledon.
    "It was not my best match against a very uncomfortable opponent," said world number two Nadal, the 2008 and 2010 champion.
    "Well done to him. He played great, especially in the fifth set but I fought to the last ball."
    Muller tired but thrilled

    Nadal converted just two of 16 break points, while Muller fired 30 aces and 95 winners.
    Muller, seeded 16th, will make his first Wimbledon quarter-final appearance against former US Open champion Marin Cilic on Wednesday.
    "Tired! It was a long match. I did really well in the first two sets then Rafa stepped it up and in the end it was just a big battle," said Muller, who won on a fifth match point, more than an hour and a half after his first.
    In a pulsating final set, which stretched to 95 minutes, Nadal saved two match points in the 10th game and two more in the 20th.
    In between, Muller had to fight off a break point in the 13th game and four more in the 19th.
    Nadal was always chasing the score and he finally cracked in the 28th game of the decider when he went long with a return.
    "I said, 'just give it a shot, go 100 percent', and it's a great feeling to be winning that match," added Muller whose only other win over the great Spaniard also came at Wimbledon, 12 years ago.
    Murray through

    Defending champion Murray reached a 10th successive Wimbledon quarter-final with a 7-6 (7/1), 6-4, 6-4 win over France's Benoit Paire.
    World number one Murray will face Sam Querrey for a place in the semi-finals.
    "I thought I played well. Maybe a couple of sloppy service games in the first set but that was by far the best I'd hit the ball so far in the tournament. So I'm really pleased with that," said Murray.
    Only Federer and Jimmy Connors (11 each) have reached more consecutive Wimbledon quarter-finals than Murray.
    Murray's win meant that with Johanna Konta also making the last-eight in the women's tournament, it is the first time since 1973 that Britain has two players in the quarter-finals.
    Federer reached his 50th Grand Slam quarter-final and 15th at Wimbledon with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win over Grigor Dimitrov.
    The Swiss star will now face Milos Raonic, the 2016 runner-up, after the sixth-seeded Canadian clinched a 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 win over Alexander Zverev of Germany, the 10th seed.
    Raonic defeated Federer in the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2016.
    Federer, 35, is the second oldest man to make the quarter-finals at Wimbledon behind Ken Rosewall who was 39 when he reached the last-eight in 1971.
    "I'm thrilled to be back in the quarters again," said Federer who took his record over Dimitrov to 6-0.
    - Safety issue -
    The All England Club defended the decision not to switch Djokovic against Mannarino to Centre Court.
    "It was determined the match could not be moved to Centre Court due to the number of spectators remaining in the grounds," said a statement.
    "As late as 8:30pm, 30,000 people still remained in the grounds, and therefore moving the match would have created a significant safety issue.
    "Both players were explained the rationale of postponing the match."
    Querrey, the US 24th seed who knocked out Djokovic in 2016, made the quarter-finals for a second successive year with a 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, 6-7 (13/11), 6-3 over unseeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa.
    Seventh seeded Cilic downed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.
    Cilic will look to reach his first semi-final at the All England Club when he faces Muller.
    Czech 11th seed Tomas Berdych downed eighth-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria 6-3, 6-7 (1/7), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
    Berdych, the 2010 runner-up, will face either three-time champion Djokovic or Mannarino for a place in the semi-finals.


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