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Waqas Dar

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  1. Waqas Dar
    Policemen at the entrance of the Supreme Court on July 17, 2017. Photo: File  ISLAMABAD: The three-member special Supreme Court bench will resume hearing of the Panama Papers case shortly.

    As was the case on Monday, Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid informally began the day's events by addressing the media. He said they [Sharifs] have no case. 
    The AML chief also criticised the Sharif family's claims against ISI's Brig (retd) Nauman Saeed ? one of two members of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) from military intelligence agencies.
    "Don?t mess with the judges and the generals. There were 19 cases against Nawaz Sharif and he was only tried in two," said Rashid.
    On Monday, the petitioners delivered their arguments in favour of the Panama case JIT report and against the Sharif family.
    Today, the bench is set to hear arguments against the JIT report by the respondents, who submitted their responses objecting to the mode of the investigation on Monday.
    Panama case: Petitioners plead PM's disqualification; respondents to be heard tomorrow
    Strict security measures were in place at the Supreme Court in light of today's hearing
    The counsels for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Sheikh Rashid presented their arguments during Monday?s proceedings.
    PTI counsel Naeem Bukhari pleaded with the apex court to summon Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for cross examination, disqualify him from Parliament and send cases against him and his family to an accountability court.
    The counsel for JI argued that the premier did not speak the truth during his speech in Parliament.
    Sheikh Rashid, presenting his arguments, said the nation was embarrassed to find out its prime minister is a paid employer of another company.
    Khawaja Harris, the Sharif family's lawyer, will continue his arguments today.
    Sharif family submits response in SC, says JIT exceeded mandate
    The response pleads the bench to dismiss the petitions and the JIT report
    In his brief remarks to the bench on Monday, Harris said a case against the Sharif family cannot be undertaken on the basis of the JIT report.
    The bench observed that an investigation was required based on the nature of the allegations and was thus directed. "The JIT was not conducting a trial...choose you words carefully," observed Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed.
    Later, the bench adjourned the hearing, with Justice Ejaz observing that they do not wish to waste the court and the nation's time.
    Meeting held at PM house after JIT's first hearing: sources
    Further course of action, after the opposition's submitted their reply, is under discussion
    During proceedings, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, who heads the bench, wondered if the JIT can trust the veracity of the documents while Justice Ijazul Ahsan asked the JI counsel to inform the bench to what extent could it implement the JIT?s findings and use its authority.
    The JIT, formed in light of the apex court?s April 20 judgment to probe the Sharif family?s money trail, submitted its 60-day investigation report to the court on July 10.
    The report highlighted the failure of the Sharif family to provide a money trail for its London apartments and claimed the prime minister and his children own assets beyond their known sources of income.
    Following the report's submission, the special bench issued notices to all parties to submit their responses. 


  2. Waqas Dar
    A Texas repairman found that one of the hardest parts about being trapped while servicing a bank's automated teller machine was convincing customers coming for cash that he was stuck.
    The ATM technician shouted and passed notes begging for help through the machine's receipt slot for about three hours on Wednesday but his appeals were mostly ignored, police said.
    "Most people thought it was a joke," Corpus Christi police spokeswoman Gena Pena said on Thursday.
    The man, who was not identified, left his phone in his vehicle, she said.
    Since the area housing the ATM had thick walls and his voice did not carry well outside, he wrote polite notes.
    "Please help. I'm stuck in here and I don't have my phone. Please call my boss," a note broadcast on Houston TV station KHOU showed. The station blocked out the number.
    One customer who received a note showed it to a police officer passing by, which prompted a call to the boss and a rescue operation. The man was found uninjured, police said.
    "The poor guy was just mortified," Pena said.


  3. Waqas Dar
    Some very "peculiar signals" have been noticed coming from a star just 11 light-years away, scientists in Puerto Rico say.
    The mystery has gripped the internet as speculation mounts about the potential for a discovery of alien life on the red dwarf star known as Ross 128 -- despite the best attempts of astronomers to put such rumours to rest.rumors to rest.
    "In case you are wondering, the recurrent aliens hypothesis is at the bottom of many other better explanations," said a blog post by Abel Mendez, director of the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo.
    Something unusual first came to light in April and May, when the team was studying a series of small and relatively cool red dwarf stars, some of which are known to have planets circling them.
    Ross 128 is not known to have planets, but "we realised that there were some very peculiar signals in the 10-minute dynamic spectrum that we obtained from Ross 128."
    The signals were observed May 13 at 0053 GMT, and "consisted of broadband quasi-periodic non-polarized pulses with very strong dispersion-like features," he wrote.
    "We believe that the signals are not local radio frequency interferences (RFI) since they are unique to Ross 128 and observations of other stars immediately before and after did not show anything similar."
    There are three main possibilities to explain the bursts.
    They could be emissions similar to solar flares.
    They could be emissions from another object in the field of view of Ross 128.
    Or they might be a burst from a high orbit satellite, Mendez wrote.
    Since the signals are likely too dim to be picked up by other radio telescopes in the world, Mendez said that scientists at the Arecibo Observatory joined with astronomers from SETI (Search for ExtraTerrestrial Life) would use the Alien Telescope Array and the Green Bank Telescope to observe the star for a second time late Sunday.
    The results of these observations should be posted by the end of the week, he said.
    "I have a Pina Colada ready to celebrate if the signals result to be astronomical in nature," Mendez said.


  4. Waqas Dar
    The path from pop to screen stardom is strewn with the wreckage of a thousand broken dreams but British singer Harry Styles may have pulled it off first time in wartime epic "Dunkirk".
    If initial reactions to the big-budget wartime epic -- which is released this week -- are anything to go by, Styles may be about to join a select club that includes David Bowie and Mark Wahlberg as rare exceptions to the rule.
    The One Direction singer plays a teenage British soldier desperate to escape northern France in 1940 as German troops push the Allies into the sea.
    "Harry put in an amazing performance," said the film's British director Christopher Nolan, the man behind some of the biggest blockbusters ever made.
    "He very much earned his seat at the table and did a wonderful job," the maker of "Interstellar", "Inception" and "The Dark Knight" told AFP.
    Critics canvassed after its red-carpet premiere this weekend were also pleasantly surprised by how well the pop star did, with one tweeting "Harry Styles can act!"
    The 23-year-old singer trained with the film's stunt crew before the arduous shoot on the same beaches from which 338,000 British, French and Canadian troops were evacuated despite constant shelling and bombing raids in the nine days that became known as the "Miracle of Dunkirk".
    Big gamble

    Styles has screen time alongside heavyweights Cillian Murphy, Kenneth Branagh and Mark Rylance in the movie.
    But co-star Jack Lowden said neither he nor the film's other big screen first-timers, British actors Fionn Whitehead and Tom Glynn-Carney, looked out of place in such company.
    "It's remarkable what the boys did," he told AFP.
    "On a set like this you could pick the wrong two or three guys and they could implode on you. Christopher Nolan took a gamble and it worked."
    Styles, whose debut solo single "Sign of the Times" topped the charts in 84 countries in May, admitted that the shoot, which was hampered by bad weather, was tough and that he was "overwhelmed" by his first few days on set.
    Unlike almost all big Hollywood directors, Nolan eschews special effects.
    He insisted on using the actual locations where the events took place, real warships and World War II aircraft and many of the original "little boats" that brought the soldiers safely to England.
    Nor did he stop filming when gales blasted the French coast, tearing lumps off historic jetty he had rebuilt.
    "The whole film was a bit of a challenge. We were not working in normal film set conditions," Styles told AFP before its premiere in Dunkirk on Sunday.
    "Chris is very visceral in the way he works, which can be intense at times. It was nothing of course compared to the real story... but yeah it was tough."
    Who's Harry Styles?

    Styles's character Alex is one of a group of young soldiers whose ordeal on the beaches is followed over a week in the film.
    "Alex has this edge to him. He comes off a little more hardened than the other guys. Alex likes the idea of being the tough guy, but he's also really scared," he said.
    "It is impossible to know how you would have reacted (in that situation). And luckily we haven't had to.
    "Growing up in England you learn a little bit about Dunkirk in school. But because it is not our finest moment it is often washed over and told quite quickly," Styles added.
    "It is this fairytale story of people who were on the beach and then were picked up and taken home" by the plucky little boats.
    Nolan, 46, who made his name with "Memento" starring Guy Pearce in 2000, admitted that he didn't really know who Styles was before he began casting for the film.
    "My kids talked about him, but I don't think I was that aware of how famous Harry was.
    "We were looking at thousands and thousands of young men in open casting calls" when Harry put himself forward, he said.
    "We were determined to cast fresh faces -- unknowns ironically... (but) Harry very much earned his seat at the table."




  5. Waqas Dar
    A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck in the northern Pacific Ocean between the tip of Alaska's Aleutian Islands and Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, the US Geological Survey said on Monday.
    The quake struck at 11:34 am on Tuesday (2334 GMT on Monday) some 125 miles (200 km) from the city of Nikol'skoye on Bering island off the Kamchatka Peninsula. The epicentre was west of Attu, the westernmost and largest island in the Near Islands group of Alaska's remote Aleutian Islands.
    The earthquake was very shallow, only 6 miles (10 km) below the seabed, which would have amplified its effect, but it was far from any mainland.
    The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said "hazardous tsunami waves were possible for coasts within 300 km (186 miles) of the earthquake epicentre."
    Tsunami waves, however, were unlikely to reach Kamchatka's eastern coast, some 500 km (310 miles) away.
    The quake was initially reported as a magnitude 7.7 before being revised down to 7.4 and finally upgraded to 7.8, a major quake normally capable of causing widespread and heavy damage when striking on or near land.
    The quake was followed by several aftershocks, including a couple above magnitude 5.0.


  6. Waqas Dar
    US President Donald Trump threatened on Monday to take "strong and swift economic actions" if Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro goes ahead with plans to create a super-legislature known as a Constituent Assembly in a July 30 vote.
    "Yesterday, the Venezuelan people again made clear that they stand for democracy, freedom and rule of law. Yet their strong and courageous actions continue to be ignored by a bad leader who dreams of becoming a dictator," Trump said in a statement issued by the White House.
    "The United States will not stand by as Venezuela crumbles. If the Maduro regime imposes its Constituent Assembly on July 30, the United States will take strong and swift economic actions," Trump said.
    Maduro's foes are demanding a presidential election and want to stop the leftist leader's plan to create the Constituent Assembly, which would have the power to rewrite the constitution and annul the opposition-led legislature.
    On Sunday, 98 percent of opposition supporters in an unofficial vote rejected the proposed assembly.
    Maduro insists opposition leaders are US pawns intent on sabotaging the economy and bringing him down through violence as part of an international right-wing conspiracy led by Washington and fanned by private domestic and foreign media.
    Senior White House officials told Reuters last month the Trump administration was considering sanctions on Venezuela's vital energy sector, including state oil company PDVSA, a major escalation in US efforts to pressure the country's government amid a crackdown on the opposition.
    The idea of striking at the core of Venezuela?s economy, which relies on oil for some 95 percent of export revenues, has been discussed at high levels of the administration as part of a wide-ranging review of US options.
    The White House officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the United States could hit PDVSA as part of a ?sectoral? sanctions package that would take aim at the OPEC nation?s entire energy industry for the first time.
    They made clear the administration was moving cautiously, mindful that if such an unprecedented step was taken, it could deepen the country?s economic and social crisis, in which millions suffer food shortages and soaring inflation.
    Another complicating factor would be the potential impact on oil shipments to the United States, for which Venezuela is the third largest oil supplier after Canada and Saudi Arabia. It accounted for 8 percent of US oil imports in March, according to US government figures.


  7. Waqas Dar
    NOTTINGHAM: South Africa took full advantage of an abject England batting display on Monday to complete a crushing 340-run win in the second test at Trent Bridge which levelled the series 1-1 with two games remaining.
    Defeat was Joe Root's first as captain in his second game in charge, and England's eighth loss in 13 matches. But it was the manner of their capitulation inside 45 overs and with a day and a half to spare that will trouble Root most.
    Instead of mounting the required rearguard action, England collapsed to 133 all out, with the last three wickets falling without the addition of a run.
    The wickets were shared among four bowlers with man-of-the-match Vernon Philander (3-24), Keshav Maharj (3-42) and Chris Morris (2-7) taking the honours.
    South Africa outplayed England in every aspect of the game, with the tourists' first innings lasting one ball longer, at 96.2 overs, than England's two combined.
    Hopes that England might chase down a world-record 474 runs for victory were dispelled by the second over when Philander removed Keaton Jennings' off-stump, following up soon afterwards by having Gary Ballance for lbw.
    Both Jennings (3) and Ballance (4) will find their positions under pressure after contributing just 44 and 85 runs respectively in four innings this series.
    With their departure, England looked to Root and former captain Alastair Cook for resistance but the excellent Morris claimed both batsmen before lunch, bowling Root (8) and bouncing out Cook (42) with a vicious lifter.
    The hosts fell away alarmingly after the interval when Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali surrendered their wickets to poor shots while Philander removed the dangerous Ben Stokes with the sharpest of return catches.
    The final indignity came when Stuart Broad, Mark Wood and Jimmy Anderson all fell on 133, leaving former England captain Michael Vaughan to post on Twitter, "This is absolutely terrible ....... Far too much talent in this team to play like this."
    Root offered a more diplomatic assessment, saying: "It has been a tough week. We weren't good enough with the bat for the whole game. We prepared very well and had two good practice days."
    England have delayed selection ahead of the third test, which starts at the Oval on July 27, and could make changes.
    By contrast, South Africa's captain Faf du Plessis was delighted, dedicating the win to absent coach Russell Domingo, who missed the game following a family bereavement. "It was for Russell," he said.
    Du Plessis added he admired the way his side refused to relinquish their stranglehold once they got on top.
    "It was important to get into a position of strength and not lose our momentum," he said.




  8. Waqas Dar
    Netflix Inc crushed Wall Street forecasts by adding 5.2 million new streaming customers in the second quarter and predicted continued momentum as it expands around the world, lifting its stock nearly 11 percent on Monday.
    Shares of the company that pioneered streaming television jumped to $179.16 in after-hours trading, beating their all-time intraday high of $166.87 on June 8.
    Netflix expects foreign growth to lead to its first full-year profit for overseas markets in 2017, the company said in a letter to shareholders.
    At the end of June, Netflix for the first time recorded more subscribers abroad than in the United States - 52.03 million vs. 51.92 million.
    The company said a strong slate of content, such as "13 Reasons Why" and the latest season of hit political drama "House of Cards," helped attract new customers in the second quarter, which is typically its slowest season of the year.
    Netflix added 4.14 million non-US subscribers, compared with the average analyst estimate of 2.59 million, according to data from analytics firm FactSet.
    In the United States, it signed up 1.07 million subscribers, beating analysts' average estimate of 631,000.
    Netflix is expecting international subscriber additions of 3.65 million for the current quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of 3.2 million.
    The guidance assumes much of this momentum will continue, the letter said, though it added that Netflix's forecasts had been too optimistic at times.
    Netflix is spending $6 billion a year on content to win new subscribers in a quest to become the dominant movie and TV streaming service around the world even as it faces a slowdown in US customer growth. It is customising content for different countries and adding shows in various languages.
    The Los Gatos, California-based company said it expected to report negative free cash flow "for many years" as it invests in content to add new subscribers.
    Netflix said revenue rose 32.3 percent to $2.79 billion in the quarter.
    The company's net income rose to $65.6 million, or 15 cents per share, in the latest quarter from $40.8 million, or 9 cents per share, a year earlier.


  9. Waqas Dar
    Thailand has amended a royal property law to formally give King Maha Vajiralongkorn full control of the agency which manages the multi-billion dollar holdings of the monarchy.
    The newly amended Crown Property Act, announced in a palace statement on Sunday, replaces three laws dating back to as early as 1936, and is the first amendment to legislation concerning crown property in decades.
    It is the latest change to give greater authority to the king, who has shown himself increasingly assertive since ascending the throne in December following the death in October of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who ruled for seven decades.
    The exact size of the Crown Property Bureau is not made public, but recent estimates have run to more than $30 billion through its holdings in real estate and other investments.
    The amendment places the management of crown property under the direct supervision of the king. It states that the bureau's properties, in addition to the king's private properties, will be managed "at His Majesty's discretion".
    It also states that the monarch can assign the Crown Property Bureau, any individual or agency to manage the properties and assets.
    It gives the king sole power to appoint a board of directors to manage crown property and appoint its chairperson, a position previously held by whoever was finance minister.
    Rich List
    Rich-list publisher Forbes once described the former king as the world's richest royal, but was rebuked by the Thai embassy in Washington, which said assets in the Crown Property Bureau were not his property but held "in trust for the nation".
    A distinction was made between the king's private property and crown property, which belongs to the monarchy as an institution and was under the direct management of the Crown Property Bureau.
    Crown property, but not the king's private property, had previously been exempted from tax. The amended law says both could now be subject to tax, though it did not elaborate.
    A member of the Crown Property Bureau declined to comment on the law when contacted by Reuters.
    The bureau holds a share of Siam Commercial Bank Pcl, Thailand's third-biggest commercial bank. It is also the largest shareholder of Siam Cement Pcl, Thailand's largest industrial conglomerate.
    Those two stakes are together worth more than $9 billion.
    The amendment to the law follows the transfer in April of various royal agencies from the government to the king's supervision.
    Thailand is a constitutional monarchy, but King Bhumibol wielded great influence and his son has shown himself to be assertive.


  11. Waqas Dar
    WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will "very shortly" make an announcement on Iran's nuclear agreement with world powers that President Donald Trump has called a "bad deal," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Monday.
    Under US law, the State Department must notify Congress every 90 days of Iran's compliance with the 2015 deal. Monday is the deadline, and a senior US official said last week the administration was very likely to say Iran was adhering to the agreement although Trump has reservations about it.
    "The secretary of state will have an announcement very shortly on that deal," Spicer told reporters. "I think you all know that the president has made very clear that he thought this was a bad deal, a bad deal for the United States."


  12. Waqas Dar
    Qatar said on Monday that a US media report had shown that the United Arab Emirates was involved in an alleged hack of Qatar's state news agency in late May that helped spark a diplomatic crisis in the Gulf.
    The UAE said the Washington Post report was untrue, and that four Arab powers were discussing imposing new sanctions on Qatar.
    Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt all cut off diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of financing militant groups and allying with their regional adversary Iran - allegations Qatar denies.
    The move came two weeks after Qatar's news agency, QNA, carried a story quoting Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, as praising Gaza's ruling Hamas movement and calling Iran an "Islamic power".
    Qatar said its emir had never given the speech, and that the story had been planted electronically, but its allies were outraged, and one of the most serious feuds in years between Western-aligned Gulf states began.
    "The information published in the Washington Post on 16 July 2017, which revealed the involvement of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and senior Emirati officials in the hacking of Qatar News Agency, unequivocally proves that this hacking crime took place," Qatar's government said in a statement on Monday.
    US officials have said that experts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) helping Qatar investigate the incident are convinced QNA was hacked, but that identifying the culprit will take time.
    In the meantime, Qatar's neighbours have banned its aircraft from their airspace, among other measures, and the wealthy natural gas producer has had to find alternative sources for the food imports on which it relies. Diplomatic efforts by Washington and Kuwait to broker a resolution have yielded little.
    Hacks "Discussed in May"
    The Washington Post cited unidentified US intelligence officials as saying they had learned last week of newly analysed information showing that top UAE officials had discussed the planned hacks on May 23, the day before they occurred.
    If confirmed, a hack of QNA would be a striking example of a cyber attack shaping global politics. The officials were quoted as saying it was unclear if the UAE had hacked the sites itself or paid for them to be hacked.
    Fellow Gulf states had already rejected Qatar's explanation and said Sheikh Tamim's reported remarks reflected deliberate ambiguities in Qatar's policies that have undermined stability in the region.
    "The Washington Post story today that we actually hacked the Qataris is also not true," UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash told the Chatham House think-tank in London.
    He said the four Arab powers were in the process of discussing additional sanctions on Qatar but did not elaborate, saying only that "there will be some tightening of the screws".
    Gargash said the UAE would not ask foreign companies to choose between doing business with it or Qatar, but suggested international monitoring of Qatar was needed.
    Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told his Kuwaiti counterpart that the sanctions were being maintained "in light of what the quartet states see as Qatar's stalling and procrastination, and lack of concern for the concerns of the four states".
    The demands include Qatar curtailing its support for the Muslim Brotherhood, shutting down the pan-Arab satellite broadcaster Al Jazeera, closing a Turkish military base and downgrading relations with Iran.
    Qatar has for years parlayed its enormous gas wealth and Al Jazeera's reach into broad influence in the region, and in 2011 supported "Arab Spring" revolts across the Middle East.
    But its Gulf Arab neighbours and Egypt have long been irked by its support for anti-establishment movements and for the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood that briefly won power in Egypt, which they regard as a political enemy.


  13. Waqas Dar
    Three years after Flight MH17 was shot down by a missile over war-torn Ukraine, nearly 2,000 relatives gathered Monday to unveil a "living memorial" to their loved ones.
    A total of 298 trees have been planted in the shape of a green ribbon, one for each of the victims who died on board the Malaysia Airlines flight en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
    Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima joined government and international officials at a solemn ceremony to dedicate the memorial in the park of Vijfhuizen, close to Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, where the flight took off from on July 17, 2014.
    The names of all the 298 passengers and crew killed in the disaster were read out by their emotional families, and the Dutch royals and others laid flowers.
    While most of the victims were Dutch, there were 10 nationalities on board including Australians, Britons, Malaysians and Indonesians.
    "It's three years to the day that MH17 was shot down in mid-air," said Evert van Zijtveld, the head of association of the victims' families.
    "But for us it was yesterday. That day... left a void in our lives. There is a life before and after July 17, 2014.
    "These victims can never be forgotten," he said. "This monument is for now and for future generations."
    "A tree symbolises 'hope' and 'future' in many cultures," the victims' families association said in a statement.
    "We not only want to honour the MH17 victims, but also want to create a place where everyone can keep their memories of the 298 passengers alive."
    Funded by donations, the project was designed by artist Ronald A. Westerhuis and landscape architect Robbert de Koning after it was chosen out of three proposals by relatives in late 2015.
    'Never forget'

    As the third anniversary of the tragedy dawns, no suspects have been arrested although it was announced this month that any trials would be held in The Netherlands.
    About 100 people are wanted in connection with the disaster, after Dutch-led investigators concluded the plane was shot down by a Russian-made BUK missile transported from Russia into areas held by pro-Moscow rebels.
    In Kiev, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Monday insisted Moscow must be held to account over the tragedy.
    "It was a barefaced crime that could have been avoided if not for the Russian aggression, Russian system and Russian missile that came from Russian territory," Poroshenko wrote on Facebook.
    Russia and the separatist authorities it supports, however, continue to deny any involvement and have sought repeatedly to deflect the blame onto Ukraine.
    UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a statement his thoughts were with the victims' families and urged "all states to cooperate fully with efforts to establish accountability" for the incident.
    Sunflowers

    The trees in the memorial will be surrounded by sunflowers, which bloom in July, and will "radiate a golden glow", the foundation said.
    The flowers also represent "the sunflower fields in eastern Ukraine where some parts of the plane wreckage were found".
    Each of the trees bears the name of one of the victims. And at the heart of the forest of 11 different tree varieties is a steel memorial shaped like an eye, turned upwards looking at the skies.
    One apple tree has been dedicated to 16-year-old Gary, from Rotterdam, whose body has still not yet been identified.
    "It's nice to think that he has a tree, since we have not received his body. We don't want Gary to be forgotten. We don't want any of the 298 victims to be forgotten," his father, Jan Slok, told the daily AD newspaper.
    The 16-metre-long steel eyebrow above the eye represents "the burden of the loss," the Trouw daily said, adding with time it will rust, a symbol of the slow passage of pain. The victims' names are also engraved in the pupil of the eye.
    "If you look inside, you can see both yourself and the name of your loved one," Westerhuis told Trouw.


  14. Waqas Dar
    Francesco Totti confirmed his retirement on Monday, the Roma legend announcing "a new adventure" in his storied career as he takes up a directorship role at the Serie A club.
    The 40-year-old played his final game for Roma in May after 24 years with the capital-city side, and decided to call it a day despite being linked with possible moves to Asia and the United States.side, and decided to call it a day despite being linked with possible moves to Asia and the United States.
    "The first part of my life as a football player is over and now another more important one is about to begin," Totti wrote on his Facebook page.
    "Until May 28 I only thought about playing football, having fun and making a significant contribution to the team.
    "Now I move on, I'm turning over a new leaf."
    Totti played 786 matches for Roma in total after joining as a schoolboy in 1989, scoring a club-record 307 goals, and won the 2006 World Cup with Italy.
    The former attacking midfielder will work alongside new Roma sporting director Monchi, who reportedly refused to give him a new playing contract, and recently-appointed coach Eusebio di Francesco.
    "I had 25 years and more of history with Roma," Totti added.
    "The field of play has given me so much and I tried to give so much to these people, who day after day have shown me so much love.much love.
    "The beginning of a new phase, a new adventure now starts... I want to be everything and nothing, I want to be an important figure for Rome and for Roma and truly understand what I'll do."
    Japanese side Tokyo Verdy came close to signing Totti, but local media reported on Monday that the deal had fallen through after his wife turned her nose up at a move to the Far East.
    Earlier in the close-season Totti, who made 58 international appearances, had been linked to a move to second-tier American outfit Miami, who are coached by his former Italy team-mate Alessandro Nesta.
    But the lure of staying at the Stadio Olimpico proved too strong, as Roma continue to look for a first Serie A title since Totti helped them to the Scudetto in 2001.
    "We start from square one. I need time to figure out, step by step, in a calm and sensible way, what role suits me better," he added.
    "For that reason, I'm putting myself at the disposal of the club at all 360 degrees, from the youth players to the President (James Pallotta)."
    Totti scored his 250th and final Serie A goal for Roma last September.
    He also has two Coppa Italia winner's medals, and claimed the Serie A player of the year award twice, along with the golden boot in 2007.
    The retirement of their highest appearance-maker marks the end of an era for Roma.
    Now they will turn their attentions to mounting a serious title challenge, having finished second behind Juventus three times in the last four Serie A seasons.


  15. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Khawaja Saad Rafique said on Monday that the Pakistan People?s Party is playing tricks, adding that it will not support his party as it was earlier claiming to.

    The federal minister for Railways Rafique passed these comments in Geo News Programme ?Aaj Shahzaib Khanzada Kay Sath?.
    He said that the PPP is primarily focused on the elections which are 10 months away, adding that the party will not extend support to the PML-N if the time calls for it.
    ?The PPP?s main competition is with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to gain the voter base of the PML-N in the next elections,? he said.
    When asked if the PML-N would take to streets in case the Panama case?s decision does not come in its favour, the federal minister said that if the party feels that justice hasn?t been done, it would consider other options rather than resorting to violence or agitation.
    Earlier, PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari urged Nawaz to tell the people regarding the ?conspiracy? so that other political parties stand up in support of democracy. PPP leaders also reiterated the same stance that the premier discloses the names of those hatching a conspiracy.
    PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira had said that if any schemes against democracy were being hatched then the PPP should be made aware.
    PPP does not see any conspiracy against prime minister, says Kaira
    We and the people of Pakistan are the guardians of democracy, says Kaira
    ?We have asked several times who is carrying out conspiracies against you, if there is any conspiracy against democracy tell us?we will save democracy?[but] the prime minister is not telling us anything,? the former minister had said.
    Saad Rafique had also called Panama Papers a ?foreign sponsored conspiracy? targeting Pakistan.


  16. Waqas Dar
    Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Sulaimania, IRAQ: A top Kurdish counter-terrorism official said on Monday he was 99 percent sure that Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was alive and located south of the Syrian city of Raqqa, after reports that he had been killed.
    "Baghdadi is definitely alive. He is not dead. We have information that he is alive. We believe 99 percent he is alive," Lahur Talabany told Reuters in an interview.
    "Don't forget his roots go back to al Qaeda days in Iraq. He was hiding from security services. He knows what he is doing."
    Iraqi security forces have ended three years of Daesh rule in the Iraqi city of Mosul, and the group is under growing pressure in Raqqa - both strongholds in the militants' crumbling self-proclaimed caliphate.
    Still, Talabany said Daesh was shifting tactics despite low morale and it would take three or four years to eliminate the group.
    After defeat, Daesh would wage an insurgency and resemble al-Qaeda on "steroids", he said.
    The future leaders of Daesh were expected to be intelligence officers who served under former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, the men credited with devising the group's strategy.


  17. Waqas Dar
    Pictured is the ill-fated vehicle being pulled out of the Chitral River. ? Geo News screengrab CHITRAL: At least three people died after a jeep loaded with passengers plunged into Chitral River on Monday, police and rescue members said.

    Police said the vehicle, carrying 14 people, plunged into river near Cheo Bridge. The passengers were en route to Chitral from Garam Chashma area.
    Locals rescued seven passengers, while three bodies, including one of a woman, were also recovered. Chital Scouts helped pull the jeep out of river through a crane.
    Four people were still missing and the search was on for them.


  18. Waqas Dar
    Anwar Gargash, the UAE state minister for foreign affairs. LONDON: The United Arab Emirates warned Qatar on Monday it could not belong to the Gulf Cooperation Council if it undermined regional security, calling for a "change of behaviour" but not "regime change".
    Anwar Gargash, the UAE state minister for foreign affairs, also denied a Washington Post report saying that his country had been behind an alleged cyber attack on Qatar in May which sparked a crisis.
    Speaking at the Chatham House international affairs think tank in London, Gargash repeated claims - denied by Qatar - that the country funds extremists.
    "This is our message: You cannot be part of a regional organisation dedicated to strengthening mutual security and furthering mutual interest and at the same time undermine that security," he said.
    "You cannot be both our friend and a friend of al-Qaeda."
    Saudi Arabia and its allies imposed sanctions on Doha on June 5, including closing its only land border, denying Qatar access to their airspace and ordering their citizens back from the emirate.
    The four Arab states accuse Qatar of ties to Iran and of funding Islamist extremist groups. Qatar has denied the accusations.
    The Gulf crisis is the worst to hit the region since the establishment of the GCC in 1981.
    "We´ve sent a message to Qatar. We´ve said we are not there to escalate. We are not after regime change. We are after a change of behaviour," Gargash said.
    "We need to do that and when we do that, come back to the fold and we can work together," he added.
    ´GCC in crisis´
    Gargash said there was a broader problem with financing for extremists in the Gulf but that countries like Saudi Arabia were "dealing with it".
    "The difference is that the Saudi government realises it does have an issue and the Saudi government is acting over the last years to deal with this issue," he said.
    Regarding the possibility of Qatar being excluded from the GCC, Gargash said: "The GCC is in crisis and I don´t think it serves our purposes to say let´s take Qatar out."
    "What we really do want is we either reach an agreement and Qatar´s behaviour changes, or Qatar makes it own bed and they can move on and we can move with a new relationship. But we cannot have a member who is undermining us and supporting extremism," he said.
    Qatar has accused its neighbours of being behind an alleged cyber attack on Doha´s state media which set into motion the current diplomatic crisis.
    The alleged hack of the Qatar News Agency website on May 24 attributed explosive remarks to Qatar´s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.
    The remarks covered sensitive political subjects such as Iran, Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, Israel and the United States.
    They were quickly seized on by news organisations outside Qatar, but Doha said they were false.
    Asked about a Washington Post report citing US intelligence officials saying the UAE may have been behind the hack, Gargash said it was "purely not true".


  19. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan Monday said that Sharif family has got nothing to say in its defence pertaining to the Panama Leaks case.

    Khan presided over a meeting of senior party members at his Banigala residence, which held consultation over today's hearing of the Panama Leaks case in the Supreme Court.
    Speaking at meeting, the PTI chief alleged Sharif family of speaking lies in the apex court and before the probe team. "They (Sharifs) submitted fake documents in the Supreme Court and to the investigation team."
    Khan said there should be criminal cases registered against PM Nawaz Sharif and his children.
    Panama case: Petitioners plead PM's disqualification; respondents to be heard tomorrow
    Strict security measures were in place at the Supreme Court in light of today's hearing
    About challenging the JIT report, he said the ruling Sharif family challenged the report "on the basis of assumptions".
    Earlier on Monday the Supreme Court held proceedings of the Panama Leaks case following the submission of the JIT.
    During the hearing, the counsels of petitioners - Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Awami Muslim League (AML) - laid their arguments and pleaded the PM's disqualification.
    Sharif family submits response in SC, says JIT exceeded mandate
    The response pleads the bench to dismiss the petitions and the JIT report
    While proceedings were underway, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, who heads the bench, wondered if the JIT can trust the veracity of the documents while Justice Ijazul Ahsan asked the JI counsel to inform the bench to what extent could it implement the JIT?s findings and use its authority.
    Prior to the start of the proceedings, the Sharif family and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar submitted their responses on the JIT report and objected to the mode of the investigation.
    They rejected the JIT report and stated that the investigators worked beyond their actual mandate.
    The hearing of the case was later adjourned till July 18 (tomorrow), when the respondents will be heard.


  20. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) have reported, in their annual security survey, that a higher number of expatriate business visitors have traveled to Pakistan during the last year due to an improvement in security concerns.
    The survey respondents, conducted in June 2017, experienced a reduction in street crimes, with a 69 per cent reduction in petty crimes and a 90pc decrease in high intensity crimes.
    Respondents across Pakistan reported a major reduction in crime as compared to 2016, ranging from 94pc decrease in Lahore, closely followed by rest of Punjab and KPK (93pc) and Karachi (92pc), said the survey?s report.
    ?The 2017 survey once again reaffirms that threats and security concerns have substantially reduced in Pakistan for all key stakeholders of businesses including OICCI members. The security environment has substantially improved not only for the survey participants, meaning foreign investors, but also for their customers, suppliers and employees,? said OICCI President Khalid Mansoor.
    He added that feedback points to a clear appreciation by the foreign investors of the various initiatives of the government and the security agencies in proactively tackling security, law and order challenges which had serious repercussions on the image of the country as a safe destination for foreign direct investment (FDI). 


  21. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: Founder of Institute of Business Management and renowned academician Shahjehan Syed Karim passed away in Karachi.

    Shahjehan Syed Karim?s death was caused due to a cardiac arrest. Karim served in Civil Services of Pakistan for 37 years. He also held senior posts in Sindh and federal government, and for quite some time he served at the United Nations as an international civil servant.
    In 1994, before retiring from the post of Chief Secretary Sindh, Shahjehan Karim also served as federal secretary information and chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority.
    Shahjahen Karim?s funeral prayers will be offered on July 18 at IoBM Korangi Creek campus at 1PM. 


  22. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: A worker reportedly affiliated with Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) was shot dead in the Orangi Town area of the metropolis on Monday. 
    Another worker affiliated with the political party was injured in the incident. 
    A PSP worker was killed in the same area of the city earlier in October 2016.
    The killers, according to witnesses, were wearing burqas when they carried out the attack.
    Kashif Sagheer, 28, was shot dead in Sector-12C of Orangi Town.


  23. Waqas Dar
    QUETTA: Chief Minister Balochistan Sanaullah Zehri on Monday alleged that the report by Panama case joint investigation team (JIT) is "against the facts", terming it a "conspiracy" against the prime minister.

    Speaking at presser together with the province's parliamentary parties heads, Zehri said a few elements tried to pit institutions against each other following the JIT report. "We understand that the report is based on malafide (intentions) and the fuss being made on it is beyond comprehension."
    He said the government submitted its reservations on the report on the very first day, noting that the head of investigation team acquired services of his cousin's firm in England, which he said was "illegal".
    "Premier Sharif's objections to the report are justified. It is against the facts and a conspiracy against an elected prime minister."
    The Balochistan CM said they support the role of political parties, having positive, constructive approach for saving the system, adding, "The government's objections cannot be overlooked".
    "Once again conspiracies are being hatched against PM Nawaz Sharif; it won't be in the country's interest to destabilise an elected government," he said.
    Maintaining that court's decision on the report should be awaited, Zehri said: "Political forces and parties in Balochistan stand by the prime minister and it is inappropriate to conspire against and topple the incumbent government."
    "The journey of peace and prosperity in Balochistan is an outcome of prime minister and the current government's efforts. The premier has discharged his responsibilities in a better way and no one should doubts about his patriotism."
    Zehri said that serving justice is not a single individual's job, only the people can do this, like the way Pakistan People's Party returned to the people after having run the country's affairs for five years.
    He also criticised Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan without naming him. "A man raises enough of hue and cry; he is yearning to become prime minister."


  24. Waqas Dar
    Total of 174 women were killed and 462 injured - an overall rise in casualties of 23pc. KABUL: The people of war-torn Afghanistan continue to bear the brunt of the grinding conflict with civilian deaths at their worst since records began, the United Nations said Monday.
    In the first half of the year, 1,662 civilians were killed and more than 3,500 injured with deaths in the capital Kabul accounting for nearly 20 per cent of the toll, according to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) report.
    The majority of the victims were killed by anti-government forces - including the resurgent Taliban and in attacks claimed by Daesh, the report said, underscoring spiralling insecurity in the country nearly 16 years after the US invasion.
    The UN has documented civilian casualties in the war-ravaged country since 2009.
    The first six months of the year have seen a significant rise in the number of civilian lives lost in highly coordinated attacks involving more than one perpetrator, with 259 killed and 892 injured - a 15pc increase on the same period last year.
    Many of those deaths happened in a single attack in Kabul in late May when a truck bomb exploded during the morning rush hour, killing more than 150 people and injuring hundreds.
    UNAMA put the civilian death toll at 92, saying it was the deadliest incident to hit the country since 2001.
    The UN´s special envoy to Afghanistan Tadamichi Yamamoto said the human cost of the conflict remains "far too high".
    "The continued use of indiscriminate, disproportionate and illegal improvised explosive devices is particularly appalling and must immediately stop," he added in a statement.
    The bloody toll of the first six months of 2017 has unsettled the government of President Ashraf Ghani, who has come under increasing pressure since the May attack in Kabul.
    Protests and deadly street clashes hit the Afghan capital in the wake of the May attack as people incensed by security failures called for his government´s resignation.
    ´Psychological trauma´
    Women and children have borne the brunt of the increase in civilian casualties, with UNAMA blaming the use of IEDs and aerial operations in populated areas for the jump.
    A total of 174 women were killed and 462 injured - an overall rise in casualties of 23pc on last year - while 436 children were killed in the same period, representing a nine percent increase.
    Save the Children expressed alarm at the heavy toll - a third of all civilian deaths - on the country´s youth.
    "It´s extremely concerning to see the number of children killed and injured by conflict increasing, reflecting the growing danger faced by young Afghans," the charity´s Afghanistan country director David Skinner said in a statement.
    The UNAMA report said that nearly half of Afghanistan´s 34 provinces have seen an increase in civilian deaths in the first six months of the year, mainly due to the rise in attacks by anti-government forces across the country.
    "The statistics in this report, horrifying though they are, can never fully convey the sheer human suffering of the people of Afghanistan," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra´ad Al Hussein.
    "Many Afghan civilians are suffering psychological trauma, having lost family and friends, and are living in fear knowing the risks they face as they go about their daily lives."
    The ground offensives by Afghan security forces are the second leading cause of civilian casualties, though UNAMA said there had been a 10pc decrease compared to the same period in 2016.
    NATO´s combat mission in Afghanistan ended three years ago, handing sole responsibility to the country´s security forces.
    Back in May, the office of the US government´s Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction described casualties among the security forces themselves as "shockingly high".
    In the first two months of the year, 807 troops from the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces were killed with 1,320 injured.
    According to the UN´s figures, more than 26,500 civilians have died and nearly 49,000 injured as a result of armed conflict in Afghanistan since January 2009.


  25. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People?s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto reiterated demand on Monday for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif?s resignation, saying that the premier has lost all the moral and legal ground for staying in the office.

    The PPP Chairman was addressing a gathering at National Press Club and spoke regarding the safeguard of journalists. He said that he will put forth the demand for a legislation for protection of journalists.
    The PPP Chairman said that he expresses solidarity with the journalist community.
    On the subject of Panama Papers, Bilawal Bhutto said that if Nawaz Sharif resigns, democracy will not be in danger.
    He said that the PPP has been demanding the premier?s resignation since a while and the demand goes in the interest of the people and country.
    The PPP Chairman said that his party would produce good results in the 2018 General Elections.
    Panama case: Petitioners plead PM's disqualification; respondents to be heard tomorrow
    Strict security measures were in place at the Supreme Court in light of today's hearing
    While responding to a question, Bilawal said if the Sharif family doesn?t accept the rule of law, the PPP will consider all other options.
    Today, the Supreme Court of Pakistan held proceedings of the Panama Papers case following the submission of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report on Monday. The Sharif family and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar submitted their objections on the JIT report to the court.
    The JIT, formed in light of the apex court?s April 20 judgment to probe the Sharif family?s money trail, submitted its 60-day investigation report to the court on July 10.


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