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
    Berlin on Wednesday summoned Turkey's ambassador over the detention of a German human rights activist and issued a fresh warning about the NATO partner's respect for the rule of law.
    "The Turkish government needs to immediately and directly hear the German government's outrage and incomprehension as well as its crystal-clear expectations in the case of Peter Steudtner, and this time without diplomatic niceties," foreign ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said.
    He said the envoy was told "in no uncertain terms" that the detention of Steudtner and five other activists including Amnesty International's Turkey director was "incomprehensible and also unacceptable".
    Berlin demanded Steudtner's "immediate release" as well as consular access.
    "The Turkish government representative said he would deliver this message immediately" to Ankara.
    A Turkish court on Tuesday ordered six human rights activists including Amnesty International's Turkey director to remain in custody for allegedly aiding a "terror" group, a charge Schaefer branded "absurd".
    Chancellor Angela Merkel has criticised the detention of the activists as "unjustified" and pledged to "advocate for (Steudtner) on all levels".
    Schaefer said Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel would interrupt his summer holidays and return to Berlin over the "dramatic escalation in Turkish actions" to determine which "further measures" could be taken.
    Martin Schulz, Merkel's challenger in September elections, said Berlin could toughen its security warnings for people who are either in or want to go to Turkey.
    On July 12, Germany advised its nationals in Turkey not to openly criticise the government.
    A Swedish citizen, Ali Gharavi, was among those arrested. "We have urged Turkey to quickly clarify the grounds for the accusations against him," said Swedish foreign minister Margot Wallstrom.
    - 'Isolating Turkey'

    Relations between Turkey and Germany, home to three million ethnic Turks, have been badly strained, particularly since the failed coup attempt a year ago against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
    Berlin has voiced deep concerns over mass arrests and sackings of alleged coup plotters, and a host of other civil rights controversies.
    One dispute centres on Deniz Yucel, a German-Turkish journalist with the Berlin-based newspaper Die Welt, who was imprisoned by Turkey on terror charges earlier this year.
    Schaefer also mentioned the ongoing detention of German reporter Mesale Tolu, who has been in Turkish custody since April.
    The NATO allies have also clashed over thwarted visits by German lawmakers to German troops stationed at Turkish bases.
    Last week Turkey asked legislators to postpone a scheduled visit to a NATO base in Konya, the German foreign ministry said, expressing "regret" about the decision.
    The dispute came after Germany last month pulled out 260 troops from Turkey's Incirlik base, from where a multinational coalition is fighting the Islamic State jihadist group, and redeployed them and their Tornado surveillance jets to Jordan.
    Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said Wednesday that in the current context, any progress on Turkey's bid to join the EU was "not on the cards".
    He pressed Ankara to consider what relationship it wanted to have with the 28-member bloc given the outstanding "questions about the rule of law" and democratic values in the country.
    "Turkey turning away from Europe is not in Germany's or Europe's interest," he said.
    "It is up to Turkey to determine its stance on these values."
    German Justice Minister Heiko Maas also weighed in on behalf of the detained activists.
    "Those who fight for human rights are not terrorists," he told DPA news agency.
    "Mr Erdogan is filling the prisons with his opponents and critics. That has nothing more to do with a state based on the rule of law. It must be clear to him that he is isolating Turkey politically and damaging it economically."
    With an eye to Turkey's lucrative tourism industry, Schaefer said the foreign ministry was stopping short of issuing a travel warning for Turkey.
    But he said its "poor human rights record" raised concerns about whether Germans should visit the country.


  2. Waqas Dar
    WASHINGTON: Veteran US Senator John McCain, a onetime prisoner of war and the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, has been diagnosed with brain cancer, his office announced Wednesday.
    The 80-year-old lawmaker underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from above his left eye last week and tests "revealed that a primary brain tumour known as a glioblastoma was associated with the blood clot," the Mayo Clinic said in a statement released by McCain´s office.
    "The senator and his family are reviewing further treatment options," the statement added, noting they may include a combination of chemotherapy and radiation.




  3. Waqas Dar
    Seated between Senators Dean Heller (R-NV), L, Tim Scott (R-SC), US President Donald Trump meets with Senate Republicans to discuss health care at the White House in Washington, US, July 19, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque WASHINGTON: Thirty-two million Americans would lose their health insurance by 2026 if Obamacare is repealed without a replacement, the US Congressional Budget Office reported late on Wednesday as President Donald Trump pushed fellow Senate Republicans to reach an agreement on overhauling the country's health care law.

    Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell planned to hold a vote for a straight repeal of the Affordable Care Act next week after a bill to repeal and replace collapsed on Monday with the Republican party sharply divided.
    According to the CBO, a nonpartisan office that analyses pending legislation, 17 million Americans would lose health insurance alone in 2018 with a repeal while premiums on individual insurance plans would rise 25 percent next year and double by 2026.
    Trump told 49 Republican senators at a White House lunch on Wednesday that he wanted more than a straight repeal.
    After taking a hands-off approach to the healthcare debate last week and suggesting on Tuesday that he was fine with letting Obamacare fail, Trump on Wednesday demanded that senators stay in Washington through their planned August recess until they can find common ground on health care.
    "We're close. We're very close," Trump said at the start of the meeting.
    He demanded that lawmakers keep their campaign promises to repeal and replace Obamacare and find a new approach to healthcare.
    "We can repeal, but we should repeal and replace, and we shouldn?t leave town until this is complete," he said.
    After the lunch, McConnell said he will go ahead with a vote early next week to begin debate on a repeal of the ACA, former President Barack Obama's signature legislation, despite indications it will fail after the defections on Tuesday of at least three Republican senators.
    Moderate Republican Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Shelley Moore Capito said they oppose McConnell's plan for a repeal that would take effect in two years, giving Congress time to develop a replacement. All three attended the lunch.
    With Democrats united in opposition to repeal, McConnell can only lose two votes from Republicans' 52-48 majority in the 100-seat Senate to pass health care legislation.


  4. Waqas Dar
    ABIDJAN: Gunfire was heard coming from two police installations in Ivory Coast's main city Abidjan late on Wednesday, according to two Reuters witnesses.
    Shooting broke out at around 9.30 pm (2130 GMT) in the Cocody neighbourhood near the national police and gendarmes schools and lasted for around an hour. Sustained gunfire was later heard near the base of the police anti-riot brigade in the Yopougon neighbourhood.


  5. Waqas Dar
    People wait at the arrival hall at Terminal 4 of JFK airport in New York City, US, June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Joe Penney/File Photo  WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court rejected on Wednesday a bid by President Donald Trump to include grandparents and other relatives of Americans in his travel ban on people from six Muslim-majority countries.

    But in a partial win for Trump, the court gave the government more leeway to enforce a separate ban on refugees that was included in a March 6 executive order the president said was necessary for national security.
    A federal judge had ruled against the government on the scope of both bans last Thursday, prompting the administration to seek Supreme Court intervention.
    The high court's mixed decision means that, for now, grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, and siblings-in-law are not covered by the 90-day travel ban on people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen who want to enter the United States.
    The court's action on refugees could block entry of up to 24,000 refugees who have a connection to a US resettlement agency, according to court papers. The Trump administration has said that even if all 24,000 were able to travel, not all of them would have been able to do so during the 120 days the refugee ban is in effect.
    The brief order said the court's decision is temporary while the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals considers a separate appeal on the same issue. Three of the conservatives on the court of nine justices noted that they would have granted Trump's request in full.
    In a statement, the US Department of Justice said it "looks forward to presenting its arguments" to the 9th Circuit.
    Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin, who challenged the bans in court, said in a statement that his office also is preparing arguments for the appeals court on the refugee issue. Chin said the Supreme Court had validated Hawaii's position "that the Trump administration over-reached in trying to unilaterally keep families apart from each other."
    Naureen Shah, senior director of campaigns at Amnesty International USA, said in a statement that the decision on refugees "jeopardises the safety of thousands of people across the world including vulnerable families fleeing war and violence."
    The Supreme Court also announced on Wednesday that it has scheduled oral arguments on broad questions on the lawfulness of the ban for Oct. 10.
    The Trump administration last Friday asked the high court to overturn a decision on Thursday by US District Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii, which limited the scope of the administration's temporary ban on travellers and the 120-day ban on refugees.
    The latest round in the fight over Trump's executive order began after the Supreme Court intervened last month to partially revive the two bans. Both had been blocked by lower courts.
    The Supreme Court said then that the bans could take effect, but that people with a "bona fide relationship" to a US person or entity could not be barred.
    The administration had narrowly interpreted that language, saying the ban would apply to grandparents and other family members. Hawaii asked Judge Watson to expand the definition of those who could be admitted and he ruled in favour of the state.


  6. Waqas Dar
    This photo, taken on May 3, 2015, shows Madonna attending the "China: Through The Looking Glass" Costume Institute Benefit Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. AFP/Mike Coppola NEW YORK: A judge on Wednesday halted an auction of intimate items of Madonna including a breakup letter from Tupac Shakur after the pop superstar said her privacy was violated.

    New York Justice Gerald Lebovitz ordered a hearing on the dispute for September 6 and barred the auction house Gotta Have Rock and Roll from holding the sale in the meantime.
    Madonna on Tuesday asked the court to intervene, saying that the items were taken without her permission.
    "The fact that I may have attained celebrity status as a result of success in my career does not obviate my right to maintain my privacy, including with regard to highly personal items," the Material Girl told the court in a statement.
    The items include a letter from Tupac Shakur, one of the defining figures of hip-hop, with whom Madonna had a relationship that was little known publicly until recently.
    In the 1995 letter, Tupac ? who would be shot dead the following year ? said he was upset with her for saying in an interview, "I'm off to rehabilitate all the rappers and basketball players." He also said his image could suffer by dating a white woman.
    Madonna seeks to stop NY auction of Tupac Shakur breakup letter
    The singer filed a request for a temporary restraining order against the NY auction house to halt the sale
    Many of the more than 100 items up for auction were identified as coming from Darlene Lutz, a New York art dealer who fell out with Madonna.
    Madonna said Lutz, while still a friend, had helped her pack up a house in Miami where much of the personal memorabilia was present.
    Lutz in a reply filed Wednesday does not deny much of Madonna's account although she said that several items, including a pair of underwear the singer sent to a love interest, came to the auction house from elsewhere.
    Lutz said she had helped Madonna build an art collection and had stored some shipments from the star's Miami home. She said that she reached a confidential settlement with Madonna in 2004 after their friendship soured.
    Among other items whose sale Madonna sought to block was a startingly frank letter to another former lover, actor John Enos.
    In the handwritten note from the early 1990s, Madonna said she envied the careers of singer Whitney Houston and actress Sharon Stone, saying they were "horribly mediocre" and had built on Madonna's foundations.
    "Maybe this is what black people felt like when Elvis Presley got huge," she wrote.


  7. Waqas Dar
    Demonstrators protest against the Grenfell Tower fire outside a Kensington and Chelsea Council meeting at Kensington Town Hall in London, Britain, July 19, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON: Furious survivors of the London tower block fire that killed at least 80 people booed the new leader of the local authority during chaotic scenes on Wednesday at the council's first meeting since the blaze.

    About 70 survivors of last month's fire at the Grenfell Tower apartment block and other local residents gathered to protest as councillors met amid tight security at Kensington Town Hall in north London.
    The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea council has been criticised by locals and politicians for its slow and ineffective response to the fire while many accuse the authority, which administers one of Britain's wealthiest areas, of having turned its back on social housing.
    "We did not do well enough in our initial response to the tragedy? tonight I want to reiterate my apology to you directly," said council leader Elizabeth Campbell.
    "No ifs, no buts, no excuses. I am deeply sorry. We did not do enough to help you when you needed it most."
    Kensington's previous leader Nicholas Paget-Brown resigned following his decision to abruptly suspend the last council meeting on June 29 when he said holding it in public could interfere with a future inquiry.
    Campbell promised there would be a new direction at the council and that it would spend some of the 250 million pounds ($325 million) it held in reserve on new housing for those who had lived in Grenfell.
    But her election was greeted with cries of "shame on you" and her subsequent speech was repeatedly interrupted by shouts and boos, while some residents who could not get into the meeting banged loudly on the council chamber doors.
    After Campbell's speech, a succession of survivors were invited to speak, many furiously berating the council for its failures.
    Holding up the key to her Grenfell Tower apartment and weeping Iranian national Mahboobeh Jamalvatan said: "Every time I look at this key, I wonder and I ask 'what?s the difference between us human beings?'. We are all created human beings.
    "The UK is accusing other countries about a lack of human rights, but there are lots of people from those counties living in the UK. Why don?t you care about human rights here?"
    British police have said the final death toll from the blaze that gutted the 24-storey block might not be known until next year.


  8. Waqas Dar
    The US launched its first round of trade talks with China since Donald Trump took office in an unusually blunt manner Wednesday, demanding more "fair, equitable and reciprocal" relationship, with more access to American made goods and services.
    Noting the more than 200 percent surge in Chinese exports to the United States in the last 15 years, creating a trade deficit of $309 billion last year, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross insisted change was necessary.
    "If this were just the natural product of free market forces, we could understand it, but it's not," Ross said in the opening ceremony of the one-day meeting between the world's top two economies.
    "So it is time to rebalance our trade and investment relationship in a more fair, equitable and reciprocal manner."
    The talks are a continuation of the process undertaken by the previous two administrations, which the Trump administration has rebranded as the US-China Comprehensive Economic Dialogue (CED).
    Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the talks with the Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Wang Yang would focus on concrete steps to provide greater access and a "level playing field" for US companies to the world's second largest market.
    "We need to work together to maximise the benefit for both sides. But this is only possible if there is a more fair and balanced economic relationship between the US and China," Mnuchin said.
    "It means addressing the imbalances cause by the Chinese intervention in its economy," he said, adding: "A more balanced economic relationship will create prosperity for our two countries and the world."
    During his campaign, Trump attacked China for unfair trade practices, but his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Florida resort in April prompted a change of rhetoric and the launch of a 100-day economic cooperation plan.
    That led to specific but narrow achievements, including opening the Chinese market to US beef exports, and pledges to remove barriers to US credit card transactions, credit ratings, and other financial services, including bond underwriting, that were to be concluded prior to Wednesday's talks.
    Wang said the key point about the meeting is the two countries are "having dialogue, not confrontation."
    "We don't need to defeat each other in handling differences," he cautioned, stressing that "confrontation will immediately damage the interests of both" countries.
    Wang quoted a passage from Trump's 2009 business advice book "Think Like a Champion" -- which in turn was quoting industry pioneer Henry Ford -- saying, "Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success."
    "China is ready to work together."




  9. Waqas Dar
    Arsenal were ravaged by food poisoning in Shanghai that ruled several key players out of their pre-season friendly with Bayern Munich on Wednesday, manager Arsene Wenger said.
    Wenger?s ailing men were outplayed for long periods by Bayern before salvaging a last-gasp 1-1 draw and then winning 3-2 on penalties.
    But the Frenchman said that the sickness that had swept the Arsenal camp, coupled with the severe heat in China and long flights, made for far-from-ideal preparations for another taxing campaign.
    Wenger was shorn of Olivier Giroud because of food poisoning, then captain Per Mertesacker pulled out of the game just moments before kick-off because he too fell ill with the same problem.
    New signing Sead Kolasinac had to come off before the break, while substitutes Aaron Ramsey and Theo Walcott both also felt unwell.
    Arsenal were particularly poor in the first half in the 36 degrees Celsius (97F) heat and Wenger admitted that the extreme conditions in Shanghai were ?a shock? after flying in from Australia, which is in its winter.
    ?We worked very hard on Monday and Tuesday so I was a bit scared that tonight we could have big problems and in fact in the first half we suffered a bit,? said Wenger, under pressure to get Arsenal back in the Champions League this season.
    ?Ramsey finished the game (feeling) bad and Walcott, Kolasinac, Mertesacker, Giroud, they all had a little food poisoning.?
    Wenger said the Premier League club ? who next travel to Beijing to face Chelsea on Saturday ? did not know what caused the food poisoning.
    Wenger added of the punishing pre-season schedule that many top European clubs now undertake to far-flung destinations for commercial reasons: ?If you ask me is it ideal physically to prepare? I?d say certainly not.
    ?Has it got other advantages? Yes because we can meet fans all over the world so that is very positive and the team bonding is easier as well because we live together for two weeks.?
    ?Nightmare?

    Reserve goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was the unlikely hero for Wenger and Arsenal, saving Juan Bernat?s soft spot kick after Gunners substitute Alex Iwobi nodded in the leveller right at the end of normal time.
    Robert Lewandowski had needed just nine minutes to fire German champions Bayern ahead from the penalty spot as they swept through Arsenal, before Iwobi?s late intervention meant the game went straight to penalties.
    Both sides fielded a mixture of first-team regulars and reserves, with new Bayern signing James Rodriguez and new Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette starting.
    Wenger?s team were thrashed 10-2 on aggregate by Bayern last season in the Champions League and the manager said his players were still hurting.
    ?I don?t think this kind of game wipes out what happened last season,? said the Arsenal boss.
    ?We will always remember that. We had a nightmare last season in the second half.
    ?But it?s still good to win against a team like Bayern.?
    Bayern play AC Milan in Shenzhen, southern China, in their next warm-up game on Saturday.


  10. Waqas Dar
    Wildfire evacuees from Williams Lake, Daniel and Hailey stand with their grandfather while in line for food outside of the evacuation centre in Kamloops, British Columbia. REUTERS/Ben Nelms  VANCOUVER: British Columbia's government took the unprecedented step on Wednesday of extending a state of emergency by two weeks as it battled 140 wildfires that have forced about 45,000 people from their homes.

    The province's Premier John Horgan said evacuated households would receive C$600 ($476.53) from the government to cover basic needs for every 14 days they cannot return home. The government announced the first such payment earlier this month after establishing a C$100 million fund.
    "Traditionally when an emergency is declared, people are usually back in their homes within the two-week period. That may not be the case for many individuals," Horgan told reporters, in his first major announcement since taking office on Tuesday.
    On July 7, the Canadian province declared its first state of emergency since 2003 as gusty winds fanned fires that were caused by lightning and humans in the tinder-dry central and southern regions.
    The fires have shut mines and timber operations and damaged homes and electrical infrastructure.
    Canadian military aircraft have joined thousands of firefighters from as far away as Australia to battle the fires.
    On Wednesday, 140 fires were raging in the province, down from 163 on Sunday, British Columbia chief fire information officer Kevin Skrepnek said, attributing the drop to cooler, less windy conditions.
    The estimated area of land burnt since the beginning of the wildfire season on April 1 was 353,000 hectares (872,282 acres), costing the province C$105.3 million, Skrepnek said.
    The Insurance Bureau of Canada said it was too early to provide cost estimates of the fire damage. Skrepnek said heavy smoke made it difficult to gauge damage to homes and other infrastructure.
    Mining and milling operations at the Gibraltar copper mine had resumed after being shuttered for four days as fires restricted access to the mine site, owner Taseko Mines said.
    Major pipeline companies in the region, including Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd, a unit of Kinder Morgan Inc, have created fire breaks, installed sprinklers, and taken other measures to protect operations.
    West Fraser Timber Co and privately held Tolko, among the largest Canadian producers of forestry products, and Norbord Inc, have suspended some operations.
    Residents of Cache Creek, a small ranching town of 1,000 in south-central British Columbia, were allowed to return home on Tuesday after 11 days in shelters.


  11. Waqas Dar
    LONDON: Children exposed to antidepressants during their mothers' pregnancies seem to have a slightly higher risk of autism than children whose mothers had psychiatric disorders but did not take antidepressants while pregnant, a study has found.
    But publishing their findings on Wednesday, researchers said the results should not cause alarm since the absolute risk of a child developing autism remains very small.
    Depression is common in women of childbearing age. In Europe, experts say that between 3 and 8 percent of pregnant women are prescribed antidepressants.
    Several previous studies have suggested associations between antidepressant use during pregnancy and autism in offspring, but researchers say it is not clear whether this is due to the illness itself, the antidepressants, or other unknown factors.
    A Canadian study published late in 2015 found that women who take antidepressants while pregnant may be more likely to have children with autism ? but it also noted that the overall risk is very low.
    For this research, a team led by Dheeraj Rai at the Britain's University of Bristol analysed data from more than 254,000 children living in Stockholm, Sweden, aged between 4 and 17.
    Their mothers were either women with no mental illness who had not taken antidepressants, women who'd had a disorder and taken antidepressants while pregnant, or women with psychiatric disorders who had not taken antidepressants during pregnancy.
    Of the 3,342 children exposed to antidepressants during pregnancy, the study found that 4.1 percent were diagnosed with autism, compared with 2.9 percent of the 12,325 children not exposed to antidepressants whose mothers had a history of a mental illness.
    The researchers stressed, however, that the absolute risk was small: More than 95 percent of women in the study who took antidepressants during pregnancy did not have an autistic child.
    They estimated that, even if the association between antidepressant use and autism is causal, only 2 percent of cases would be prevented if in future no women with psychiatric disorders took antidepressants when pregnant.
    In a commentary on the findings, published in the BMJ British medical journal, Diana Schendel at Denmark's Aarhus University said the findings "should be viewed through the kaleidoscope of possible causes of autism".
    She said the small apparent increased risk of a child developing autism "must be carefully weighed against the substantial health consequences associated with untreated depression."


  12. Waqas Dar
    A dog with his owner at a protest in Karachi, March 18, 2017. GEO/Haseem uz Zaman/File Photo  MIAMI: Dogs that are extra friendly share certain genetic similarities with people who are born with a developmental disorder sometimes called the "opposite of autism," which makes them hyper social, researchers said Wednesday.

    The report in the journal Science Advances pinpointed changes in two genes that are related to extreme social behaviour in dogs, and also in people who are born with Williams-Beuren Syndrome.
    People with this condition tend to be highly outgoing, gregarious, empathetic, interested in prolonged eye contact, prone to anxiety, and may have mild to moderate learning disabilities and intellectual impairment.anxiety, and may have mild to moderate learning disabilities and intellectual impairment.
    The findings offer new insights into how dogs became domesticated and split paths from their wolf ancestors thousands of years ago.
    "It was once thought that during domestication dogs had evolved an advanced form of social cognition that wolves lacked," said co-author Monique Udell, an animal scientist at Oregon State University.
    "This new evidence would suggest that dogs instead have a genetic condition that can lead to an exaggerated motivation to seek social contact compared to wolves."
    Survival of the friendliest
    Researchers studied 18 domesticated dogs and 10 captive grey wolves to see how social they were toward people and how they performed on problem-solving tasks.
    Given the task of lifting a puzzle box lid to get a sausage treat, the canines were rated on how much they turned to a human in the room for help.
    The wolves were more likely to figure out how to get the treat than dogs. The dogs were more likely to stare longingly at the nearby people.
    "Where the real difference seems to lie is the dog's persistent gazing at people and a desire to seek prolonged proximity to people, past the point where you expect an adult animal to engage in this behaviour," said Udell.
    Then, researchers took blood samples and to see how the wolves' and dogs' genetic traits lined up with their personalities.
    They found variations in two genes ? GTF2I and GTF2IRD1 ? "appeared to be connected to dog hyper sociability, a core element of domestication that distinguishes them from wolves," said the report.
    These genes have previously implicated in the hyper social behaviours of humans with William-Beuren Syndrome.
    The changes weren't identical in humans and dogs. For instance, in dogs, unique genetic insertions called transposons in these genetic regions were linked to a strong tendency to seek out human contact.
    Some of these transposons "were only found in domestic dogs, and not in wolves at all", said the report.
    In people, the deletion of genes from this region in the human genome is linked to Williams-Beuren syndrome.
    "We haven't found a 'social gene,' but rather an important [genetic] component that shapes animal personality and assisted the process of domesticating a wild wolf into a tame dog," said a statement by co-author Bridgett vonHoldt, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton University.
    How wolves became dogs
    Adam Boyko, an assistant professor at Cornell University and expert in dog genetics, called the study "truly interesting and important."
    "It may be one of the first studies to ever identify the specific genetic variants that were important for turning wolves into dogs," he said in an email.
    "That said, the overall sample size in the study is small, so validating the association of these variants in a much larger cohort of diverse dogs would be needed to prove that these are, in fact, the variants in the region driving both the association and the signature of positive selection."
    The topic of just when and how dogs become domesticated thousands of years ago is a subject of much debate in the scientific community.
    A separate study out earlier this week in Nature Communications suggested dogs first split from wolves about 40,000 years ago.
    It's unlikely that humans sought out to tame wild wolves. Rather, the process would have started with the animals approaching hunter-gatherer camps in search of food, researchers said.
    "Those wolves that were tamer and less aggressive would have been more successful at this" and more likely to befriend humans, explained the report.
    The research by Udell and vonHoldt lines up with this theory ? that sociability, rather than smarts, drove dogs to become man's best friend.me man's best friend.
    "If early humans came into contact with a wolf that had a personality of being interested in them, and only lived with and bred those 'primitive dogs,' they would have exaggerated the trait of being social," vonHoldt said.


  13. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: A new letter from the Qatari Prince Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabor al Thani was brought to light late Wednesday night in Geo News? program Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath ? this time marked with authentic state credentials.

    In the letter ? written on July 17, 2017 ? obtained by Geo News, the Qatari Prince promises a meeting in Doha with the Panama Papers? Joint Investigation Team (JIT) by the end of this week but on the condition of being provided immunity from any court-related matters and resulting investigation.
    The prince also vows to verify in the meeting the authenticity of two prior letters sent to Pakistan with regard to the Panama Papers case. The letters in question were slammed as bogus by certain political leaders, who alleged that it only surfaced to help the incumbent Prime Minister escape money laundering charges.
    The letter from Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabor al Thani, the Qatari Prince ? as obtained by Geo News ? wherein he promises a meeting with JIT in Doha to verify two prior letters against a promise of immunity from court-related matters. GEO NEWS/Handout via 'Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath'  The latest proposal for a meeting will only be applicable, according to the Qatari Prince?s letter, ?once I obtain acknowledgement from [the Panama case JIT] that I am not subject to the Jurisdiction and the laws of Pakistan, and that [the Panama case JIT] confirm that I am not subject to any investigation or required to appear before any court of law or tribunal for any purpose whatsoever?.

    As per the text of the letter, the prince also awaits a response in the context of the previous communication.
    The letter is written on the letterhead of Qatar?s Ministry of Law and is ratified by Qatar?s Foreign Ministry. According to sources, it has reached the JIT and been submitted to the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) as well.


  14. Waqas Dar
    Smart-mouthed, mayhem-prone anti-hero "Deadpool" made a virtual reality debut on Wednesday in a "Marvel Powers United" game being tailored for Oculus Rift gear.
    Developer Sanzaru Games collaborated with Marvel on the virtual version based on the comic character, which was a smash in an eponymous film released last year.
    The "fast-talking, butt-kicking Merc with a Mouth" joins Captain Marvel, Hulk and Rocket Raccoon in a game that lets players become superheroes fighting together against super-villains.
    Game fans will get their first shot at "Deadpool" in the Oculus VR game debut this week at Comic-Con in Southern California.
    More characters are expected to be added to "Marvel Powers United" by the time it is released next year. The price has yet to be announced.
    "Crack wise and crack skulls as you wield katanas and hand cannon pistols - because why bring a knife to a gunfight when you can have both?" a fact sheet for the game reasons.
    Players wearing Rift headsets use Touch controllers to whip semi-automatic pistols or Desert Eagle hand-cannons from holsters and blast adversaries, prompting trademark wise cracks from their "Deadpool" persona, an advance test of the game revealed.
    Katanas, the traditional Japanese swords, are unsheathed by reaching back over one's shoulders, and shuriken, the sharp-edged, star-shaped weapons, are thrown rapid-fire with wrist flicks as Hulk smashes, Rocket Racoon opens fire from above and Captain Marvel obliterates bad guys with photon beams.
    The ability of Deadpool to heal quickly from almost any injury meanwhile provides an edge as waves of enemies strike.
    "Marvel Powers United VR" was touted as a first-person, multi-player game featuring explosive battles in settings from the Marvel universe.
    Zombies and mutants

    The alliance with Marvel represented a coup for game publisher Oculus Studios, which has been striving to build a library of compelling experiences that will get people to buy Rift's virtual reality gear.
    Rift and Touch controllers got a temporary price cut this month, bundled together at a discounted price of $399.
    Zombies from the television series "The Walking Dead" and other demons are coming to life for video game players in virtual worlds.
    Gamers will be climbing into colossal war machines to battle high-tech armies, wandering mutant-infested post-apocalyptic wastelands and going toe-to-toe with demons in new virtual reality offerings unveiled at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) last month.
    The number of E3 exhibitors involved with virtual or augmented realities more than doubled to 126 from 53 last year.
    Sony built on the array of games for its PlayStation VR gear, which works with top-selling PlayStation 4 consoles.
    Sony, HTC and Facebook-owned Oculus are the top players in virtual reality head gear, each striving to stake out territory in the budding market.
    While Sony's VR headsets work with PS 4 consoles, competing gear requires computers that can handle the demand of processing rich, immersive graphics in real time.




  15. Waqas Dar
    Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata, subject to the Spain international agreeing personal terms and passing a medical, the Premier League champions said on Wednesday.
    British media reports said Chelsea would pay around 70 million pounds for Morata, which would shatter the club's current transfer record by eclipsing the 50 million they spent on Fernando Torres in 2011.
    "Chelsea Football Club and Real Madrid have agreed terms for the transfer of Alvaro Morata to Stamford Bridge," Chelsea said in a statement.
    The 24-year-old will give Chelsea manager Antonio Conte the attacking reinforcement that he has been searching for after he was reported to be frustrated by the club missing out on Belgium forward Romelu Lukaku, who joined Manchester United last week.
    Chelsea were in the market for a striker as Spain's Diego Costa is expected to leave the club having not travelled on their pre-season tour to China and Singapore.
    Morata, who had also been strongly linked by British media with a move to Manchester United earlier in the transfer window, helped Madrid win a second successive Champions League title last season, but spent much of the campaign as a substitute.
    The former Juventus forward scored 20 goals in all competitions in 17 starts, giving him the best goals to games ratio of all Real's forwards.
    It was, however, his knack of grabbing vital goals, including late winners against Sporting Lisbon, Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao, that made him a key component in Zinedine Zidane's double-winning side.
    Morata was an academy graduate at Real and made his debut in 2010, but left four years later for Juventus, where he spent two seasons.
    He helped Juve reach the 2015 Champions League final, scoring a decisive equaliser against Real in the semi-final, second leg. He also found the net in the 3-1 defeat by Barcelona in the final.
    Yet like at Madrid, Morata failed to hold down a regular place for Juventus despite his decisive cameo appearances.


  16. Waqas Dar
    Former England international cricketer Kevin Pieterson has refused to rule out the possibility of playing 2019 World Cup while playing for the South Africa.

    The 37-year-old batsman last played for England in January 2014, and he will be eligible to play for the Proteas from next year.
    Speaking in an interview, Pieterson said: ?I?ll play [Twenty20 cricket] in South Africa for the next two years, I?ll play in Australia for the next two years, I?ll play in Pakistan for the next two years.
    ?The issue with [playing in] England next year is I?m building a lodge in Africa and the time I?ll be there with my family and doing stuff in Africa is over this period, so I won?t be in England next year.
    ?And then I don?t think at 39 I fancy warm-ups in the summer,? further adding, ?It?s a possibility, wherever it happens we?ll wait until 2019. All I?m doing now is committing to the franchises. I don?t know, we?ll see.?


  17. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua on Wednesday briefed European Union envoys on the grave human rights situation in Indian-occupied Kashmir and continuous violation of the Line of Control by Indian forces, said Nafees Zakaria, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    In his tweets, Zakaria said that in her meeting with the EU Ambassadors at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ? she also spoke on Pakistan`s relations with the European Union and other geopolitical matters.
    Earlier, a nine-member delegation of Representatives of All Parties Hurriyat Conference called on Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz 
    On the occasion, Aziz said that Jammu and Kashmir remains the core dispute between India and Pakistan, and its resolution is imperative for bringing peace to South Asia. 
    He underscored that the valiant people of Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir are waging a heroic and just struggle against Indian occupation. 
    Pakistan pays rich tribute to Kashmiris for their unmatched sacrifices and unparalleled resilience.
    Aziz reaffirmed that people and the Government of Pakistan stand behind Kashmiris in extending political, diplomatic and moral support to their just struggle. 
    Pakistan continues to pursue its principled position on Jammu and Kashmir and extends its steadfast support to the Kashmiris in their just struggle, as Kashmir cause remains close to the hearts of every Pakistani, he added.
    The Adviser underlined that the international community has rejected Indian attempts to equate the indigenous self-determination movement of Kashmiris with terrorism. In this regard, he mentioned the outcome document of the OIC Summit in Istanbul last year, and the resolution adopted at the CFM, which was held in Abidjan last week. 
    He also noted that Kashmiri diaspora abroad, and members of the civil society in various countries have been holding events to highlight Indian atrocities in IoK.
    The Kashmiri delegation briefed Aziz on the grave human rights situation in Indian occupied Kashmir, and expressed concern over the policy of genocide being pursued by Indian forces, as manifested in the continued bloodshed of defenceless Kashmiris with impunity. 
    They expressed deep appreciation of Kashmiris for the effective efforts and strong support of the Government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to the Kashmiri cause. 


  18. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: In relation to the issue of the ownership of London properties, new documents obtained by the Sharif family show that Hussain Nawaz was the beneficial owner of Nielsen Enterprises Limited and Nescoll Limited, while PM Nawaz?s daughter Maryam Sharif was merely a trustee.

    Geo News obtained the new documents which belong to the company JPCA Limited, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands.
    According to the documents, the matters related to Nielsen Enterprises Limited and Nescoll Limited were managed earlier by Minerva company, while JPCA has been handling the administrative matters of the two companies since 2014.
    The documents further reveal that Maryam Nawaz never met the companies? officials nor gave them any directions.
    JPCA Limited has issued the certificate to Hussain Nawaz, declaring him beneficial owner of the two companies. 
    Sources said the ownership of the London flats would be proved in the apex court soon.

    [embed_video1 url=http://stream.jeem.tv/vod/b3fead77fcf71a68fd6902cc967c0b55.mp4/playlist.m3u8?wmsAuthSign=c2VydmVyX3RpbWU9Ny8yMC8yMDE3IDQ6NTA6MzAgQU0maGFzaF92YWx1ZT0xMWdwNUc0OHFWenVaNFh3S2JRWnd3PT0mdmFsaWRtaW51dGVzPTYwJmlkPTE= style=center]
    The Panama case implementation bench observed on Wednesday that they have to decide whether to hear the case themselves or send it to an accountability court.

    The bench directed the counsel for the premier's children, Salman Akram Raja, to present his arguments saying they want to hear him first.
    Raja informed the court that some new records have been obtained, which will be submitted to the court soon, whose copy Geo News recently received.
    According to the SC bench hearing the case, everything is clear except for the ownership of the London properties. The premier's counsel, Khawaja Harris said the prime minister is not the owner of the London flats.
    The apex court?s also remarked that the JIT report?s volume four is ?dangerous?.
    According to the Volume four, 22 topics including letter on the ownership of Nielsen and Nescoll companies are also addressed. Mossak Fonesca stated Maryam Nawaz as beneficial owner of the offshore companies.
    The sources belonging to Sharif family stated that these documents irrefutable evidence, alleging that the JIT on purpose ignored these.
    Earlier, according to the four critical evidences acquired by the JIT, the first page of the final report read: ?Summary of the Investigation: 2- During the course of investigation the following critical documentary evidence has been acquired by the JIT.
    ?Confirmation of the beneficial ownership of the Maryam Nawaz of BVI companies, namely; Nielsen Enterprises Limited and Nescoll Limited by the Financial Investigation Agency, British Virgin Islands ? (Volume V).?


  19. Waqas Dar
    The chief of a major party in India has claimed that China has installed nuclear arsenal in Pakistan and that ?China has made full preparation to attack India?, Indian media reported.
    Samajwadi Party leader and former Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav also said that China and not Pakistan is the enemy of India.
    ?India is today facing a big danger from China. I have been cautioning Central governments for many years. None of them paid adequate attention. China has joined hands with Pakistan. It has made full preparation to attack India. China is India?s biggest opponent. What has the government done?,? Indian news agency quoted Yadav as saying.
    China accuses Indian border guards of crossing into its territory
    Ties between China and India have long been frosty as a result of long-term territorial disputes
    The agency also says that Yadav is known for his tough stance on China.
    The politician also expressed concerns over the influx of Chinese goods flooding the Indian market.
    The comments come amid heightening tensions between the two countries about the dispute that concerns the land near where the boundaries of China, India and Bhutan intersect.
    China on the other hand warned India that the stand-off could escalate into a full-blown conflict and asked India not to ?trespass? into the Doklam area as a ?policy tool? to achieve its ?political targets,? Indian media reported.
    China says India violates 1890 agreement in border stand-off
    Previous Indian governments had many times affirmed the 1890 agreement, says China
    AFP reports: Bhutan has no diplomatic relations with China and is closely allied to India, which says its troops approached a Chinese army unit that entered the zone on June 16 to build a road.
    China has said it will hold talks with India only after Indian troops are withdrawn from the disputed territory.
    China and India have a number of border disputes, although the section currently in question is generally regarded as stable.
    The two fought a border war in 1962 in Arunachal Pradesh.
    In 2014, hundreds of Indian and Chinese troops faced off on the de facto border known as the Line of Actual Control that runs along the northwest Indian region of Ladakh.
    On Tuesday, an Indian junior home minister Kiren Rijiju told parliament that 73 new roads with "operational significance" were being constructed by India along the border, with 30 completed so far.
    The latest dispute has triggered international concern, with the visiting Australian foreign minister urging the neighbours to resolve the row amicably.
    "We don´t want to see any escalation of tensions that could lead to miscalculation and misjudgement," Julie Bishop said Wednesday.
    The US State Department has flagged concern while calling on the two nations to come up with "some sort of arrangement" for peace.


  20. Waqas Dar
    A top Indian diplomat said China is being unusually aggressive in a month-old border dispute with India that shows no sign of easing, media reports said Wednesday.
    Beijing has made virtually daily warnings to its neighbour over the deadlock on a remote Himalayan plateau, where Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a tense face off.
    Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar told lawmakers in a closed briefing on the dispute that India wanted a diplomatic settlement, the reports said.
    "Jaishankar told us that China´s aggression and rhetoric on the recent standoff is unusual," a member of the parliamentary panel at Tuesday´s briefing told Indian media.
    "We will continue to engage with them through diplomatic channels," the foreign ministry number two was quoted as saying by Press Trust of India news agency.
    The dispute concerns land near where the boundaries of China, India and Bhutan meet. China has alleged that Indian troops are on its territory. Bhutan and India say the area -- known as the Doklam plateau in India and Donglang to China -- is Bhutanese.
    Bhutan has no diplomatic relations with China and is closely allied to India, which says its troops approached a Chinese army unit that entered the zone on June 16 to build a road.
    China has said it will hold talks with India only after Indian troops are withdrawn from the disputed territory.
    China and India have a number of border disputes, although the section currently in question is generally regarded as stable.
    The two fought a border war in 1962 in Arunachal Pradesh.
    In 2014, hundreds of Indian and Chinese troops faced off on the de facto border known as the Line of Actual Control that runs along the northwest Indian region of Ladakh.
    On Tuesday, an Indian junior home minister Kiren Rijiju told parliament that 73 new roads with "operational significance" were being constructed by India along the border, with 30 completed so far.
    The latest dispute has triggered international concern, with the visiting Australian foreign minister urging the neighbours to resolve the row amicably.
    "We don´t want to see any escalation of tensions that could lead to miscalculation and misjudgement," Julie Bishop said Wednesday.
    The US State Department has flagged concern while calling on the two nations to come up with "some sort of arrangement" for peac


  21. Waqas Dar
    RAWALPINDI: A Pakistan Army soldier and two civilians were martyred on Wednesday after Indian troops opened unprovoked firing along the Line of Control (LoC), said a press release by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
    The incident also critically injured two soldiers and five civilians. 
    Indian troops targetted Army outposts and the civilian population in Nezapir, Sabzkot and Kayani sectors, added ISPR. 
    "Unprovoked cease fire violations shall always be responded strongly, aggressive and effectively by Pakistan Army" DG ISPR added.
    Retaliatory fire by Pakistan Army troops destroyed the Indian posts responsible for the firing and killed five Indian troops and injured many others.
    ISPR added that Indian guns fell silent after the response from the Pakistani side.  
    Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the incident and lauded the response by the Army. 




  22. Waqas Dar
    Sri Lanka had lost the final by six wickets against India  COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's sports minister gave his support Wednesday for an investigation into the country's controversial 2011 World Cup loss against India, amid fresh allegations of match fixing.
    The South Asian nation lost the World Cup decider by six wickets at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, stunning the cricket-mad island. Then Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara resigned soon after the match.
    Pressure has since been mounting for an inquiry into the shock defeat, with a former cricket captain and a previous sports minister going public with their suspicions that Sri Lanka deliberately lost the match.
    "The allegations merit an investigation," Dayasiri Jayasekera told reporters in Colombo.
    "As soon as I get a written complaint, I will start a probe."
    Sri Lanka, batting first, scored 274-6 off 50 overs and appeared in a commanding position when Indian superstar Sachin Tendulkar was caught for 18.
    India turned the game dramatically thanks partly to poor fielding and bowling by Sri Lanka.
    The sports minister at the time Mahindananda Aluthgamage has raised fresh concerns, telling local media there were "several disturbing factors about that game".
    Four last-minute changes were made to the Sri Lankan side without prior approval being sought from the sports minister, breaching convention.
    "Then there are also questions about the behaviour of a very senior player. During the match, instructions sent to the field were ignored," Aluthgamage said, without naming the player in question.
    The former minister said he launched an inquiry after the match, but the investigation was scuttled.
    His concerns followed quick on the heels of comments from former Sri Lanka skipper Arjuna Ranatunga, who last Friday demanded an inquiry be held to expose the "dirt" on dodgy cricketers.
    Last year, the International Cricket Council imposed a three-year ban on a top Sri Lankan official Jayananda Warnaweera for failing to cooperate with an anti-corruption investigation.
    Sri Lankan players and umpires have been accused of match fixing in the past, but Warnaweera was the first high ranking official to be found guilty and penalised.
    Betting is illegal in most of the cricket-mad Indian subcontinent, but backstreet bookmakers -- many with underworld links -- still flourish.
    Although no big-name Sri Lankan player has ever been convicted of corruption, several former stars have made allegations of match fixing or spot-fixing -- when players deliberately bowl or field badly to give away a set number of runs.


  23. Waqas Dar
    Irish rock group U2 asked a US judge on Tuesday to dismiss a lawsuit by a British songwriter and guitarist who claimed that the band lifted large parts of one of his works for a song on its 1991 blockbuster album "Achtung Baby."

    In a filing with the US District Court in Manhattan, U2 said ordinary listeners would find that its song "The Fly" and Paul Rose's 1989 instrumental "Nae Slappin" sound "nothing alike," and no reasonable jury could find them substantially similar.
    The band also questioned why Rose waited until February to sue, saying "nothing about 'The Fly' has changed in the quarter century since it was released."
    A lawyer for Rose had no immediate comment.
    Rose has said he is seeking at least $5 million in damages from U2 lead singer Bono; bandmates The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr, and UMG Recordings Inc, a Vivendi SA unit that releases records under U2's label Island Records.
    According to the complaint, Rose had given a demo tape of "Nae Slappin" to Island, and "The Fly" later incorporated its guitar solo, distortion and percussive effects.
    US District Judge Denise Cote is overseeing the lawsuit. There is no timetable for her to rule.
    The case is Rose v Hewson et al, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 17-01471.


  24. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: A bill has been approved by the parliamentary committee on electoral reforms and will be signed on Friday, informed 
    The committee on electoral reforms is chaired by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
    In a press conference along with other committee members, Dar said that the committee members, comprising representatives of political parties, approved the Election Bill 2017.
    Dar said the parliamentary committee conducted as many as 90 sessions, and added that the bill was drafted after taking advice from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and recommendations from political parties.
    Speaking on the occasion, Qaumi Watan Party Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao said that all political parties want better electoral laws and transparent elections in the country.
    Sahibzada Tariq, Jamat-e-Islami's representative in the committee, said his party expressed reservations over the 10 per cent women vote clause, further adding that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf expressed concerns over the electronic voting machines and right of vote for overseas Pakistanis.
    Meanwhile, PTI leaders staged a walkout from the committee proceedings.
    PTI leader Shireen Mazari said that the walkout was staged as the government did not respond to the party`s demands.



    ?We will announce our next course of action after the party`s consultative session at party chief`s residence at Bani Gala,? she said.


  25. Waqas Dar
    Spain's football federation (RFEF) president Angel Maria Villar is led by Spanish Civil Guards during a raid at the Spanish Soccer Federation headquarters - Reuters MADRID: The Spanish football federation has pushed back a draw for the upcoming football league calendar until Friday following the arrest of its president.
    The draw to decide fixture for the first and second divisions, originally scheduled for Thursday, will now take place Friday at 12:30pm (10:30 GMT) at the federation´s headquarters, it said in a Twitter message.
    The federation postponed the scheduled meeting from Thursday to Friday in the wake of the arrest of Angel Maria Villar in a major anti-corruption probe.
    His son Gorka along with federation vice-president and financial chief Juan Padron were also held in connection with the probe, which notably focuses on allegations of skimming profits from international matches.
    Earlier on Wednesday, the head of Spain's government sports council, Jose Ramon Lete, had said the draw would go ahead despite the arrests and cancelled meetings.
    "The draw, which is a purely administrative act, will take place," he told news radio Cadena Ser.
    The 2017/18 first division season will begin the weekend of August 19-20 and end on May 20, 2018.


  • Recently Browsing   0 members

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