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Waqas Dar

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Blog Entries posted by Waqas Dar

  1. Waqas Dar
    A westerly wave is likely to enter upper parts of the country on Tuesday and expected to persist during the next 2-3 days, the Pakistan Meteorological Department forecasted.
    7 easy hacks to beat the heat
    We have compiled a few tips for you to beat the heat this summer.
    Thunderstorm and rain with gusty winds are expected in the next twenty-four hours at scattered places in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sargodha, Faisalabad divisions, FATA, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir. An overall hot and dry weather is expected in the rest of the country, the MET said.
    Past weather:
    The weather remained very hot and dry in most parts of the country. However, thunderstorm and rain with gusty winds occurred at isolated places in Hazara, Kalat divisions, and Kashmir.
    Rainfall in the last 24 Hours (mm):
    Balochistan: Khuzdar 05, Kashmir: Muzaffarabad 04, Garidupatta 02, KP: Balakot 04, Kakul 01.
    Today's highest temperatures:
    Sibbi 50°C, Bhakkar 48°C, Dadu, Gujrat, D.G khan, D.I khan, Kamra 47°C.


    Data courtesy: Pakistan Meteorological Department 


  2. Waqas Dar
    PESHAWAR: An overnight storm in the wee hours of Tuesday broke the distressing heatwave in Peshawar and adjoining areas.
    According to Met Office, howling winds were recorded at up to 87 kilometres per hour.
    The weather turned pleasant following the windstorm, as sweltering temperature came down much to the relief of the residents of Peshawar and adjoining areas.

    According to rescue authorities, the violent winds have left two people injured.
    The Provincial Disaster Management Authority has instructed the public to stay away from trees, signboards and electricity poles during the dangerous weather.



  3. Waqas Dar
    WASHINGTON: The US Department of Justice on Monday charged a federal contractor with sending classified material to a news organisation that sources identified to Reuters as The Intercept, marking one of the first concrete efforts by the Trump administration to crack down on leaks to the media.
    Reality Leigh Winner, 25, was charged with removing classified material from a government facility located in Georgia. She was arrested on June 3, the Justice Department said.
    The charges were announced less than an hour after The Intercept published a top-secret document from the US National Security Agency that described Russian efforts to launch cyber attacks on at least one US voting software supplier and send "spear-phishing" emails, or targeted emails that try to trick a recipient into clicking on a malicious link to steal data, to more than 100 local election officials days before the presidential election last November.
    The Justice Department declined to comment on the case beyond its filing. Federal Bureau of Investigation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    While the charges do not name the publication, a US official with knowledge of the case said Winner was charged with leaking the NSA report to The Intercept. A second official confirmed The Intercept document was authentic and did not dispute that the charges against Winner were directly tied to it.
    The Intercept's reporting reveals new details behind the conclusion of US intelligence agencies that Russian intelligence services were seeking to infiltrate state voter registration systems as part of a broader effort to interfere in the election, discredit Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and help then Republican candidate Donald Trump win the election.
    The new material does not, however, suggest that actual votes were manipulated.
    The Intercept co-founding editor Glenn Greenwald did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Winter's mother also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    While partially redacted, the NSA document is marked to show it would be up for declassification on May 5, 2042. The indictment against Winner alleges she "printed and improperly removed" classified intelligence reporting that was dated "on or about May 5, 2017."
    Classified documents are typically due to be declassified after 25 years under an executive order signed under former President Bill Clinton.
    The NSA opened a facility in Augusta in 2012 at Fort Gordon, a US Army outpost.
    The FBI and several congressional committees are investigating how Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election and whether associated of President Donald Trump may have colluded with Russian intelligence operatives during the campaign.
    Trump has dismissed the allegations as "fake news," while attempting to refocus attention on leaks of information to the media.
    Winner graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio in 2011. Investigators determined she was one of only six individuals to print the document in question and that she had exchanged emails with the news outlet, according to the indictment.
    US intelligence agencies including the NSA and CIA have fallen victim to several thefts of classified material in recent years, often at the hands of a federal contractor. For example, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden in 2013 disclosed secret documents to journalists, including The Intercept's Greenwald, that revealed broad US surveillance programs.




  4. Waqas Dar
    A strong 6.2-magnitude earthquake shook northern Peru on Monday, injuring at least two people and damaging at least one home, authorities said.
    The quake struck east of the city of Mancora at a depth of 18 kilometers (11 miles), the Peruvian Geophysical Institute said.
    "Two people have been reported injured and a home has been damaged" in the northern Tumbes region, the National Civil Defense Institute said on Twitter.
    Peru sits on the so-called Ring of Fire, an earthquake-prone zone spanning the Pacific.
    Its last major quake was in 2007, when a 7.9-magnitude quake killed 595 people.




  5. Waqas Dar
    WASHINGTON: The United States will quietly try to calm the waters between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, current and former US officials said on Monday, arguing that the small Gulf state was too important to US military and diplomatic interests to be isolated.
    US officials were blindsided by Saudi Arabia's decision to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar in a coordinated move with Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, the current and former officials said.
    In announcing the decision to cut ties, Saudi Arabia accused Qatar of providing support to Iran, which is in a tussle for regional supremacy with Riyadh, and to militants.
    Washington has many reasons to want to promote comity within the region. Qatar is host to the largest US air base in the Middle East at Al Udeid, a staging ground for US-led strikes on the Islamic State militant group that has seized parts of Syria and Iraq. US Donald Trump has made defeating Daesh a priority of his presidency.
    Further, Qatar's willingness to welcome organisations such as Hamas, which Washington brands a terrorist group, and the Taliban, which has fought US forces in Afghanistan for more than 15 years, allows contacts with such groups when needed.
    "There is a certain utility," one US official said on condition of anonymity. "There's got to be a place for us to meet the Taliban. The Hamas (folks) have to have a place to go where they can be simultaneously isolated and talked to."
    The current and former US officials said they were unable to identify precisely what may have triggered the four countries' coordinated decision to cut ties, which was later followed by Yemen, Libya's eastern-based government and the Maldives.
    They said the Saudis may have felt empowered by the warm embrace that Trump gave them when he visited Riyadh in May and adopted a harsh anti-Iran stance.
    "My suspicion is (they felt) emboldened by what Trump said on his visit and ... that they feel they have got some kind of backing," said a former US official. "I don?t know that they needed any more of a green light than they got in public."
    A senior administration official told Reuters the United States got no indication from the Saudis or Emiratis in Riyadh that the action was about to happen. The White House said on Monday it was committed to working to de-escalate tensions in the Gulf.
    In Riyadh, Trump made an impassioned appeal to Arab and Islamic leaders to "drive out" terrorists, while singling out Iran as a key source of funding and support for militant groups.
    SEEKING RECONCILIATION
    US officials in multiple agencies stressed their desire to promote a reconciliation between the Saudi-led group and Qatar, a state of 2.5 million people with vast natural gas reserves.
    "We don't want to see some kind of permanent rift and I suspect we won't," said the senior Trump administration official on condition of anonymity, adding the United States would send a representative if the Gulf Cooperation Council nations met to discuss the rift with Qatar.
    The GCC includes six wealthy Arab nations: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
    "There?s an acknowledgement that a lot of Qatari behaviour is quite worrisome not just to our Gulf neighbours but to the US," said the senior administration official. "We want to bring them in the right direction."
    Marcelle Wahba, a former US ambassador to the UAE and the president of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington think tank, said the United States had leverage but would use it discreetly.
    "The US will step up to the plate. How we will do it? I think it will be very quiet and very much in the background," she said. "I doubt very much we will sit on the sidelines and let this crisis get more serious."
    Qatar's backing of Islamists dates to a decision by the current ruling emir's father to end a tradition of automatic deference to Saudi Arabia, the dominant Gulf Arab power, and forge the widest possible array of allies.
    Qatar has for years presented itself as a mediator and power broker for the region's many disputes. But Egypt and the Gulf Arab states resent Qatar's support for Islamists, especially the Muslim Brotherhood, which they see as a political enemy.
    "We are engaging with all of our partners ... to find a way to reassemble some GCC unity to support regional security," said another US official, saying it was critical to "maintain the fight against terrorism and extremist ideology."


  6. Waqas Dar
    WASHINGTON: David Rank, the chargé d'affaires of the US Embassy in Beijing, has left the State Department over the Trump administration's decision to quit the 2015 Paris agreement to fight climate change, a senior US official said on Monday.
    A State Department spokeswoman confirmed Rank's departure, but said she was unable to verify Twitter posts that said he resigned as he felt unable to deliver a formal notification to China of the US decision last week to quit the agreement.
    "He has retired from the foreign service," said Anna Richey-Allen, a spokeswoman for the department's East Asia Bureau. "Mr Rank has made a personal decision. We appreciate his years of dedicated service to the State Department."
    Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, President Donald Trump's pick as the next US ambassador to Beijing, is expected to take up the post later this month.
    A tweet from China expert John Pomfret quoted unnamed sources as saying that Rank had resigned as he could not support Trump's decision last week to withdraw from the Paris agreement.
    Another tweet from Pomfret said Rank called a town hall meeting to announce his decision to embassy staff and explained that he could not deliver a diplomatic note informing the Chinese government of the US decision.
    A senior US official confirmed the account given in the tweets but added that after Rank announced his intention to retire on Monday in Beijing, he was told by the State Department to leave his post immediately. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.
    On June 1, the US State Department accepted the resignation of its top personnel officer, who had been among its few remaining senior Obama administration political appointees, another US official said.
    Arnold Chacon had served as the director general of the foreign service and director of human resources.
    The official said Chacon had tendered his resignation when Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20, along with all presidential appointees, who serve at the pleasure of the president and secretary of state.
    The acceptance of Chacon's resignation was first reported by the DiploPundit website.
    It was not immediately clear whether he would be offered another post at the department.
    Other than Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, his deputy John Sullivan and Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Shannon, the third-ranking US diplomat, most of the State Department's senior posts are currently vacant or filled by acting officials.
    Chacon and Rank, a career foreign service officer who took over the post of deputy chief of mission in Beijing in January 2016, could not immediately be reached for comment.
    Jonathan Fritz, the embassy's economics councillor, would serve as chargé in his place, Richey-Allen said.
    Rank had been with the department for 27 years and served as the political councillor at the US Embassy in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2012.
    Trump's announcement on Thursday that he would withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord, saying the agreement would undermine the US economy and cost jobs, drew anger and condemnation from world leaders and heads of industry.




  7. Waqas Dar
    The owner of the largest collection of Star Wars memorabilia said on Monday a longtime friend had robbed him of more than 100 items, including rare vintage US and foreign carded action figures.
    Steve Sansweet, who runs Rancho Obi-Wan, a non-profit museum north of San Francisco, said the theft took place over several months in late 2015 through 2016.
    "There were more than 100 valuable items stolen, the majority of them vintage US and foreign carded action figures, many of them rare and important pieces," Sansweet said in a statement.
    Sansweet, a former Wall Street Journal reporter who worked for 15 years as head of fan relations at Lucasfilm before retiring in 2011, identified the suspect as Carl Cunningham, a well-known Star Wars collector and R2-D2 builder from Marietta, Georgia.
    A spokesman for the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office confirmed to AFP that Cunningham on March 13 had been charged with felony grand theft.
    Reading from the charge sheet, Sergeant Spencer Crum said Cunningham had visited Sansweet three times in the past year "and had access to Sansweet's museum as he voluntarily dusted pieces and did cleanup work around the museum."
    Crum said the items stolen were estimated to be worth $153,000.
    The theft came to light after a major collector and owner of several Star Wars websites raised the alarm upon discovering that one of his collectibles -- a rare prototype rocket-firing Boba Fett action figure -- was stolen from his Texas warehouse.
    A toy dealer subsequently came forward to say he had purchased the item as well as a number of other rare Star Wars collectibles from Cunningham.
    Sansweet said he had known Cunningham for many years and considered him a good and trusted friend.
    "I, and the staff at Rancho Obi-Wan, are devastated that he is the alleged perpetrator of the thefts," he said. "Not only have important items been stolen from the collection, but also our time, energy and ability to trust unconditionally have taken a blow."
    He appealed to anyone who may have purchased any stolen Star Wars collectibles to come forward.
    "It is our goal to resolve this situation as quickly as possible and to continue to use the collection at Rancho Obi-Wan to 'Inspire through the Force' despite the destruction caused by one person," he said.


  8. Waqas Dar
    Andy Murray racked up his 650th career win to reach the French Open quarter-finals Monday where he was joined by 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka.
    World number one Murray, the runner-up in Paris to Novak Djokovic in 2016, brushed aside Karen Khachanov of Russia 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
    However, instead of discussing the match in the traditional on-court TV interview, Murray took the microphone to remember the 29 people who died in the recent outrages in London and Manchester.
    "Obviously there was terrible tragedy in London and Manchester. Paris has had its problems too in recent years," said Murray.
    "I am sure everyone will join me... we share our thoughts and prayers with everyone who has been affected.
    "I appreciate everyone still coming out to support the tennis. I am grateful that I can still perform in front of everyone."
    Murray broke the serve of the 21-year-old Russian, playing in a Slam fourth round for the first time, on five occasions.
    Before Monday, Khachanov had held serve for 48 successive service games.
    In his seventh Paris quarter-final, Murray will face Japanese eighth seed Kei Nishikori who defeated 33-year-old Fernando Verdasco of Spain 0-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-0.
    Nishikori, a beaten quarter-finalist in Paris in 2015, has now made the last eight of a Slam for a seventh time, a record for a Japanese man.
    Nishikori stunned Murray in five sets at the US Open last year although he insisted he had little memory of it.
    Memory man

    "I don't even know if I win or lost. I won?" he asked reporters of a win which was just his second in 10 meetings with the Briton,
    Wawrinka, the third seed, booked a place in the quarter-finals for the fourth time with a comfortable 7-5, 7-6 (9/7), 6-2 win over Gael Monfils, the last French player in the men's draw.
    Marin Cilic completed the quarter-final line-up when South Africa's Kevin Anderson retired with a thigh injury trailing 6-3, 3-0.
    He will take a 2-11 losing record against Wawrinka into his match with the Swiss star.
    It is Cilic's first Roland Garros last-eight spot while he is the first Croatian to get this far since Mario Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic in 2006.
    Seven of the top seeds have made the quarter-finals with Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta playing the role of gate-crasher having knocked out fifth seed Milos Raonic on Sunday.
    Czech world number two Karolina Pliskova needed three sets to get past Paraguay's Veronica Cepede Royg.
    The world number 97 had only won one match at the majors before this year's Roland Garros but she was the better player in the first set with Pliskova hitting just four winners.
    But the second seed steadied the ship to go through 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
    Pliskova next faces 28th seed Caroline Garcia who won her all-French grudge match with Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-4.
    The two compatriots have been involved in a recent feud over the Fed Cup and are barely on speaking terms.
    However, they exchanged smiles and a warm embrace at the net at the end of the tie.
    Title favourite and 2014 runner-up Simona Halep trounced Spain's Carla Suarez-Navarro 6-1, 6-1 to make the last eight without dropping a set or breaking sweat.
    Third seed Halep, who like Pliskova can become the new world number one if she wins the title, claimed her first victory on clay in six attempts against the Spaniard.
    "I played my best match of the tournament. I served well and opened up the court," said Halep.
    The 25-year-old Halep will tackle Ukraine's fifth seed Elina Svitolina for a semi-final place.
    The two met in the Rome final on the eve of Roland Garros when Halep was beaten and suffered an ankle injury which threatened her appearance in Paris.
    Svitolina reached the quarter-finals for the second time, ending the dream run of world number 290 Petra Martic with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 win.
    However, Martic, bidding to become only the 10th qualifier to make the last eight in Paris threw away a golden chance for victory.
    The 26-year-old led 5-2 in the final set before Svitolina rallied to race away with the last five games.


  9. Waqas Dar
    LONDON: Britain's election campaign resumed in earnest on Monday with Prime Minister Theresa May's opinion poll lead narrowing and the focus firmly on her security record after an attack by marauding militants killed seven people in the heart of London.
    In Britain's third militant attack in as many months, three men rammed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge on Saturday night before running into the bustling Borough Market area, where they slit throats and stabbed people indiscriminately.
    All three attackers were shot dead by police, who made at least a dozen arrests in east London on Sunday and carried out further raids on Monday morning.
    The attackers' identities are known but have not been disclosed.
    "This was an attack on London and the United Kingdom, but it was also an attack on the free world," May said.
    A Canadian and a French national were among those who died, while the 48 injured included people of many nationalities. Eighteen people remained in a critical condition.
    Britain has received messages of solidarity from numerous world leaders including Donald Trump, although the US president also struck a discordant note by issuing tweets criticising London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
    Trump accused Khan of making a "pathetic excuse" for saying on Sunday morning that Londoners should not be alarmed. A spokesman for Khan had noted in response to an earlier Trump tweet that Khan's comment referred to the increased police presence on London's streets. May said Khan was doing a good job and it was wrong to say anything else.
    A parliamentary election takes place on Thursday and May's spokeswoman said the government was working closely with police on security for the vote.
    Saturday's rampage took place less than two weeks after a suicide bomber killed 22 children and adults at a concert in Manchester. In March, five people died after a man drove a van into pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge and stabbed a policeman.
    New security barriers were in place on Monday morning on several bridges in central London, including Westminster Bridge.
    POLICE NUMBERS
    With the London attack dominating attention, a reduction in the number of police officers in England and Wales by almost 20,000 during May's six years as interior minister from 2010 to 2016 shot to the top of the election agenda.
    "It's just a fact that, over the last seven years, we as a city have lost 600 million pounds from our budgets. We have had to close police stations, sell police buildings, and we've lost thousands of police staff," said London Mayor Khan, who is from the opposition Labour Party.
    May did not answer repeated questions from reporters on the cutbacks but said counter-terrorism budgets had been protected and police had the powers they needed.
    Her main opponent, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, backed calls for her resignation over the police cuts.
    He said many people were "very worried that she was at the Home Office for all this time, presided over these cuts in police numbers, and now is saying that we have a problem".
    May hit back by criticising Corbyn, a pacifist who has opposed some security legislation in parliament and expressed reservations in the past about police responding to armed attackers with "shoot-to-kill" tactics.
    He sought to end that earlier controversy on Sunday by stating that he backed the ?full authority for the police to use whatever force is necessary to protect and save life as they did (at Borough Market), as they did in Westminster in March?.
    Corbyn's critics have often accused him of weakness on terrorism, citing his sympathy for members of the Palestinian group Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Sinn Fein, the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army. The IRA ran a 30-year armed campaign against British rule in Northern Ireland.
    May's Conservative Party's lead over Labour has narrowed markedly from 20 points or more when she called the election in April to a range between one and 12 points now, although the Conservatives are still widely expected to win a majority.
    The pound rose on currency markets, which favour May over Corbyn, after the latest ICM poll, taken between June 2 and June 4 and published on Monday, suggested the Conservatives were ahead by 11 points.
    "TELL THEM CHRISSY SENT YOU"
    Christine Archibald, a 30-year-old Canadian who had worked in a shelter for the homeless before moving to Europe to be with her fiance, was the first of those who died to be named.
    "Please honour her by making your community a better place. Volunteer your time and labour or donate to a homeless shelter," her family said in a statement. "Tell them Chrissy sent you."
    A vigil to honour the victims was due to take place at 6 p.m. (1700 GMT) at Potters Fields Park near London City Hall, which stands by the River Thames, a short walk from London Bridge.
    The Daesh militant group, which is losing territory in Syria and Iraq to an offensive backed by a US-led coalition, claimed responsibility for the London Bridge attack, though it is unclear whether the attackers had links to the group.
    London police chief Cressida Dick said that, while some of the recent attacks in Britain had international dimensions, they had a largely domestic "centre of gravity". Both the Westminster and Manchester attackers were British-born.
    Khan, the first Muslim to be elected mayor of a major Western European city, was among those who denounced the ideology behind the recent attacks.
    "I am angry and furious that these three men are seeking to justify their actions by using the faith that I belong to," Khan said. "I condemn this terrorist act but also the poisonous ideology these men and others follow."




  10. Waqas Dar
    Starc reacts during the match with Bangladesh - AFP LONDON: Australia face a make or break Champions Trophy showdown with England after their Group A clash against Bangladesh was abandoned due to rain on Monday.
    Steve Smith's side were chasing 183 to beat Bangladesh at The Oval when persistent drizzle forced the players from the field.
    Having scored 83-1 from 16 overs, Australia only needed to play for four more overs to be eligible to win via the Duckworth-Lewis rule for rain-affected games.
    Instead, Smith and his team-mates were reduced to anxiously looking at weather updates and peering upwards for any sign of a break in the slate grey sky.
    Unfortunately for Australia, who bowled out Bangladesh for 182, the rain became heavier and the match was called off at 2019 GMT.
    Australia will be cursing their luck as they were also frustrated by bad weather when their opening group fixture against New Zealand was abandoned, although on that occasion they were in a less commanding position.
    With England, who won their opener against Bangladesh, due to play New Zealand in the next Group A fixture, two-time champions Australia will have to beat the hosts in Birmingham on June 10 to qualify for the semi-finals.
    Tamim Iqbal walks off after being dismissed - Reuter Tamim Iqbal's 95 was the highlight for Bangladesh, who are winless and face New Zealand in their final group tie.
    Despite Iqbal's best efforts, Mitchell Starc's spell of four wickets in nine balls ensured Australia had the upper hand before the rain arrived.
    Aware that ominous clouds were gusting in, Australia needed to get off to a fast start to have a chance of winning on the D/L rule if the required 20 overs were bowled.
    Aaron Finch and David Warner both crushed a pair of fours as Australia raced to 37-0 in six overs.
    Warner was especially aggressive, pulling one tame delivery from Mashrafe Mortaza off his hip and away to the fence in a flash.
    Rubel Hossain briefly stemmed the tide when the Bangladesh seamer dismissed Finch lbw with an inswinger the opener couldn't handle as he played across his pads.
    When Warner's total reached 37 he had passed 4,000 runs in one-day internationals.
    Only South Africa's Hashim Amla and West Indies legend Viv Richards hit that milestone quicker than Warner's 93 innings.
    After the rain began to pour, Australia briefly had hope when the covers were taken off and the umpires announced play would start at 1930 GMT.
    But instead the rain returned before the game could restart and Australia's hopes of victory were washed away.


  11. Waqas Dar
    RAWALPINDI: Special Hotline Contact was established between Pakistan and Indian DGMOs on Monday in the backdrop of recent ceasefire violations by Indian Army along Line of Control and Working Boundary, an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement said.

    ?Pakistani DGMO Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza raised issues of unprovoked firing by Indian troops along LOC / Working Boundary and continuously targeting of innocent civilians particularly on June 1, 2017 in Battal, Hot Spring and Jandrot Sectors which resulted in the martyrdom of innocent civilians?, the statement read.
    Pakistan DGMO told his counterpart that killing of innocent civilians and inadvertent crossers at LOC and labelling them infiltrator is highly unprofessional and unsoldierly.
    According to ISPR, DGMO Pakistan Army asked for actionable evidence regarding alleged infiltration and also to look inwards for correct identification of the issue.
    ?Pakistan Army is committed to maintain peace and tranquillity along LOC / WB. However, any Indian misadventure from across / along LOC in any form shall be responded with full force at the time and place of our choosing with the onus of responsibility on Indian aggressive behaviour?, the statement further added.


  12. Waqas Dar
    LONDON: Police on Monday named two of the three men behind a terror attack in London as Khuram Butt and Rachid Redouane, saying Butt was known to security services but there had been no evidence of "attack planning".

    Butt was 27 and a British citizen born in Pakistan, while Redouane was 30 and "claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan", national counter-terrorism police chief Mark Rowley said in a statement.


  13. Waqas Dar
    BIRMINGHAM: Pakistan fast bowler Wahab Riaz has been ruled out of Pakistan's remaining matches of ICC Champions Trophy after he twisted his right ankle in the match against India.
    "A scan has confirmed that Wahab Riaz suffered a deltoid ligament complex after an eversion injury mechanism whilst bowling during the India vs Pakistan match on June 4th," said a statement from PCB.
    "It will take minimum 2 weeks to recover from this injury. Wahab will not be able to continue to play in remaining games of the Champions Trophy," the statement added.
    The PCB has sent the official request for the replacement to the ICC Technical Committee.
    Sources from PCB said Rumman Raees and Mohammad Abbas are being considered as a possible replacement for Wahab Riaz.
    The Pakistani pacer had to leave the game before completing the over, after which he was taken to hospital. He left for the hospital walking with the help of crutches, where he underwent X-ray tests.


  14. Waqas Dar
    NEW DELHI: India on Monday rejected US President Donald Trump's comments that it had linked its accession to the Paris climate control accord to receiving foreign aid and said it was committed to protecting the environment on its own.

    Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 agreement to cut emissions saying it undermined the US economy, cost US jobs, and put it at a disadvantage to other nations.
    He also complained that China and India were getting favorable terms under the accord, saying New Delhi had made its participation contingent on receiving "billions and billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid" from developed nations.
    But Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said India was not in the Paris accord for money or because it had faced pressure from other countries.
    "Anyone who says we have signed Paris because of the lure of money, I reject that as baseless. This is not the reality," she told reporters. "Our signature is not out of greed or fear."
    India is the world's third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases that cause global warming. It has said it remained committed to carrying out its obligations under the accord despite the US pullout.
    Developing nations agreed the 2015 Paris deal after the rich set a goal of raising climate finance from $100 billion a year from 2020 to help the poor limit greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to more heat waves, floods, storms and rising seas.
    Some countries such as Ethiopia said Trump's decision would make things harder for the least developed nation, but there were no plans for anyone to quit the Paris pact.
    Swaraj said India had a long tradition of respect for the environment. "Our commitment to the environment is 5,000 years old. We are a people who worship rivers, mountains, trees."


  15. Waqas Dar
    WANA: Six kidnapped Pakistani workers for a Polish oil and gas company have been freed, a local official said on Monday, more than six months after they were abducted.

    The six workers for oil and gas survey or Geofizyka Krakow were recovered on Sunday night and have been moved to the main city in Pakistan?s northwestern South Waziristan region, according to Muhammad Tahir, the city?s political administrator.
    The Polish Embassy referred all queries to the foreign ministry in Warsaw.
    The Pakistani workers were snatched from their vehicles in November, 80 kilometres from the northwestern city of Dera Ismail Khan.
    Geofizyka Krakow, which has been in liquidation since August, could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday.
    In May, its parent company, PGNiG, said every effort was being made to find the workers.


  16. Waqas Dar
    If you are in Lahore, the temperatures are showing no signs of climbing down, settling at 42 degrees and above. Since the mornings and afternoons will be spent in searing heat, on the upside, your evenings are about to look good.


    Restaurants around town are offering scrumptious iftar menus. There is a vast array of options, from buffets to a la carte, choosing from which will be quite a task. 
    But don?t sweat, we have you covered. 
    Here are Geo.tv?s recommendations for the most mouth-watering spots in Lahore to break your fast this Ramazan:


    Café Aylanto: Rs. 2,495
    C-1, 12 M. M. Alam Road, Lahore
    Aylanto?s menu starts with a classic Ramazan platter, including a small bottle of Ab-e-Zam Zam, and moves on to a buffet, with options ranging from Moroccan chicken to fettuccine pasta.




    Café Zouk: Rs. 1,799
    M. M. Alam Road, Lahore
    For Lahoris, Zouk is more than just a place to indulge in delicious food. It maybe an old-school deli, but it has managed to stay in the race, even as newer and flashier restaurants emerge around it. 
    This Ramazan, it offers you a wealth of options from its Thai and continental menu, including its signature chicken with cashew nuts.




    Bombay Chowpatty: Rs. 1199
    28 C/2, MM Alam Road, Lahore
    At the quick-service Bombay Chowpatty you can treat yourself to Pakistani dishes from the grill as well as some Chinese servings, with a local twist. 
    Oh, and there is falsa juice on the menu. What?s summer without falsas?




    Rice Bowl: Rs. 1650 ? 2860
    1 Main Boulevard Gulberg, Lahore
    Rice Bowl offers an exciting culinary journey. Keeping in mind that you won?t be breaking your fast alone, it has a selection of combo deals to choose from. Splitting the price tag between four seems quite economical.





  17. Waqas Dar
    ORLANDO: A man who had been fired in April from his job at a Florida company opened fire Monday at the Orlando business, killing five people before taking his own life, authorities said.

    Four people were killed at the scene, while a fifth died at the hospital, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings told reporters. Seven people survived the ordeal.
    The business, Fiamma, makes awnings for recreational vehicles.
    Demings said the incident was being treated as a "workplace violence incident" and did not appear to have any links to terror.
    The 45-year-old shooter, who was not yet identified by the authorities, had both a gun and a knife in his possession. All of the dead were former co-workers.
    The assailant allegedly beat up another employee at the business in 2014, but no charges were filed, the sheriff told reporters.
    "It is a sad day for us here once again in Orange County," Demings said.
    A year ago, Orlando -- a hub of Florida´s resort industry popular with tourists -- was the scene of a mass shooting in a nightclub that left 49 people dead and dozens more wounded.


  18. Waqas Dar
    Starc reacts during the match with Bangladesh - AFP LONDON: Tamim Iqbal offered Bangladesh´s lone resistance with a valiant 95 as Australia restricted his side to 182 all out in Monday´s Champions Trophy Group A clash.
    After hitting 128 against England in Bangladesh´s opening match on Thursday, Tamim was the main man once again, but this time he lacked support and was unable to stop Australia taking control at The Oval.
    While Tamim was rock solid, hitting his 95 off 114 balls with six fours and three sixes, Shakib Al Hasan was the next highest scorer on 29.
    Tamim Iqbal walks off after being dismissed - Reuter Pace bowler Mitchell Starc was Australia´s most effective force with four wickets from his 8.3 overs.
    Bangladesh lost to England in the tournament opener last week, while Australia shared points with New Zealand after their match was washed out by rain.

    The last completed ODI match between Australia and Bangladesh was held over six years ago, as their World Cup tie in 2015 was washed out.

    Squads
    Australia
    Bangladesh 




  19. Waqas Dar
    Starc reacts during the match with Bangladesh - AFP LONDON: Tamim Iqbal offered Bangladesh´s lone resistance with a valiant 95 as Australia restricted his side to 182 all out in Monday´s Champions Trophy Group A clash.
    After hitting 128 against England in Bangladesh´s opening match on Thursday, Tamim was the main man once again, but this time he lacked support and was unable to stop Australia taking control at The Oval.
    While Tamim was rock solid, hitting his 95 off 114 balls with six fours and three sixes, Shakib Al Hasan was the next highest scorer on 29.
    Tamim Iqbal walks off after being dismissed - Reuter Pace bowler Mitchell Starc was Australia´s most effective force with four wickets from his 8.3 overs.
    Bangladesh lost to England in the tournament opener last week, while Australia shared points with New Zealand after their match was washed out by rain.

    The last completed ODI match between Australia and Bangladesh was held over six years ago, as their World Cup tie in 2015 was washed out.

    Squads
    Australia
    Bangladesh 




  20. Waqas Dar
    Tamim Iqbal plays a shot/Reuters  LONDON: Mitchell Starc`s four-for restricted team Bangladesh to mere 182 runs in a must-win clash at The Oval on Monday. 
    A sure-footed 95-run inning by opener Tamim Iqbal was watered-down by the Australian bowlers as along with Starc, legspinner Adam Zampa also took two wickets in four overs, with an economy of 3.25 runs.  
    Bangladesh earlier won the toss and chose to bat first  against two-time Champions Trophy winners Australia.
    Bangladesh lost to England in the tournament opener last week, while Australia shared points with New Zealand after their match was washed out by rain.
    The last completed ODI match between Australia and Bangladesh was held over six years ago, as their World Cup tie in 2015 was washed out.

    Squads
    Australia
    Bangladesh 




  21. Waqas Dar
    BIRMINGHAM: Fast bowler Wahab Riaz is expected to be sent home from the UK after developing a foot injury during the Champion Trophy match against India on Sunday, informed sources.

    Doctors have recommended at least 10-day rest for Riaz to recover from the injury.
    Sources have also informed that Coach Mickey Arthur has requested the team management to send an immediate replacement for the fast bowler, however Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Shahryar Khan is reluctant to send a player to UK as he believes that with Junaid Khan and Faheem Ashraf in the squad there is no need for an alternative player.
    The Pakistani pacer had to leave the game before completing the over, after which he was taken to hospital. He left for the hospital walking with the help of crutches, where he underwent X-ray tests.


  22. Waqas Dar
    A diplomatic rift between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors may cost them billions of dollars by slowing trade and investment and making it more expensive for the region to borrow money as it grapples with low oil prices.
    With an estimated $335 billion of assets in its sovereign wealth fund, Qatar looks able to avoid an economic crisis over the decision on Monday by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to cut air, sea and land transport links.
    Saudi Arabia, Gulf states cut ties with Qatar; Iran blames Trump
    Egypt, Bahrain, UAE all accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism, extremism; Qatar denies charges
    The tiny state's newly expanded port facilities mean it can continue liquefied natural gas exports that earned it a trade surplus of $2.7 billion in April, and import by sea goods that used to come over its land border with Saudi Arabia, now closed.
    But parts of Qatar's economy could suffer badly if the dispute, over Riyadh's allegations that Doha has been supporting terrorism, drags on for months - a prospect that helped to push the Qatari stock market down more than 7 percent on Monday.
    Fast-growing Qatar Airways, at the center of the tiny state's effort to become a tourism hub, is likely to face losses from being barred some of the Middle East's biggest hubs.
    Qatar's government has been borrowing at home and abroad to help finance some $200 billion of infrastructure spending as it prepares to host the World Cup soccer tournament in 2022. A drop in Qatari bond prices on Monday suggested the borrowing will become more expensive - possibly slowing some projects.
    Bonds of other countries in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council barely moved on Monday, but some foreign bankers said the whole region could end up paying more to borrow if diplomatic tensions persisted.
    ?If this dispute goes on for a while, the ramifications could be huge,? said an international banker based in the Gulf, declining to be named because of political sensitivities.
    ?Asset managers will not differentiate between Qatar and the rest of the GCC, and international managers will take their hands off any credit from the GCC. If Qatar is seen as a terror financing or compliance issue, then asset managers will be cautious."
    Trade
    Because they all rely heavily on oil and gas exports, the GCC states have only weak trade and investment ties with each other, which will limit the economic fallout of their dispute. The UAE is Qatar's biggest trading partner from the GCC but only its fifth largest globally.
    Similarly, Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries traditionally account for only about 5 to 10 percent of trading on the Qatari stock market, according to exchange data, suggesting even a total pull-out would not sink the market.
    Nevertheless, Qatar will face higher costs in some areas. Saudi Arabia and the UAE provided $309 million of Qatar's $1.05 billion of food imports in 2015. Much of them, especially dairy products, came over the Saudi land border; Doha will have to make other arrangements for them.
    Construction costs in Qatar could also rise, fuelling inflation across the economy, because aluminum and other building materials can no longer be imported by land.
    Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar for eight months in 2014 over Doha's alleged support of extremist groups, but that had minimal market or economic impact because it did not involve a ban on transport links. Trade and investment went on much as before.
    This time, Saudi Arabia has promised to "begin legal procedures for immediate understandings with brotherly and friendly countries and international companies to apply the same procedures as soon as possible".
    It is not clear that Riyadh will be able to persuade more countries to cut links with Doha. But it could try to force foreign companies to make a choice between doing business with Qatar and obtaining access to its own, much larger market, which it is opening up as part of economic reforms.
    Cairo-based bankers said on Monday that some Egyptian banks had halted dealings with Qatari banks. It was not clear whether GCC banks would do the same; UAE commercial bankers told Reuters they were waiting for guidance from their central bank.
    Stock markets in Dubai and several other Gulf centers fell on Monday - although not by nearly as much as Qatar - in a sign that investors around the region were worried.
    ?Overall it's not good. I don?t think that the region has been in such turmoil so close to home. And I think everyone is speculating how far these steps will go forward," said Mohammed Ali Yasin, chief executive of Abu Dhabi's NBAD Securities.
    "Everyone is hoping that there will be intervention by wise people and things will cool down. But what we have seen is a gradual escalation."


  23. Waqas Dar
    MIAMI: A shooting on Monday at an industrial park in the Florida city of Orlando has resulted in "multiple fatalities," authorities said, without describing the circumstances of the incident.

    The Orange County Sheriff´s office said the situation had been "stabilised."
    "Multiple fatalities. Situation contained. Sheriff will brief as soon as info is accurate," the sheriff´s office said on Twitter.
    A year ago, the city -- a hub of Florida´s resort industry popular with tourists -- was the scene of a mass shooting in a gay nightclub that left 49 people dead and dozens more wounded.


  24. Waqas Dar
    Tamim Iqbal plays a shot/Reuters  LONDON: A sure-footed fifty by opener Tamim Iqbal stabilised Bangladesh after Australian pace attack struck early in a must-win clash for Bangladesh at The Oval on Monday.
    Bangladesh earlier won the toss and chose to bat first  against two-time Champions Trophy winners Australia.
    Bangladesh lost to England in the tournament opener last week, while Australia shared points with New Zealand after their match was washed out by rain.
    The last completed ODI match between Australia and Bangladesh was held over six years ago, as their World Cup tie in 2015 was washed out.

    Squads
    Australia
    Bangladesh 




  25. Waqas Dar
    U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stands at a press conference at the Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) at Government House in Sydney, Australia, June 5, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed  Senior US officials said on Monday the United States, under President Donald Trump, was committed to the region, reassuring nervous global partners even as it received criticism for pulling out of a major climate pact.

    Global leaders have said there was growing mistrust of the Trump administration, especially because of his withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership on trade and from the Paris climate accord.
    Trump's "America First" rhetoric and expectations that he would concentrate on a domestic agenda has stoked fears of a retreat from a traditional US security role that has underpinned the region for decades.
    But US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the Trump administration should be judged for its actions and not words.
    "I hope the fact that we are here demonstrates that is certainly not this administration's view or intention to somehow put at arm's length the other important allies and partners in the world," Tillerson told reporters in Sydney.
    "That's why we're here ... That's why we engage with our counterparts," Tillerson said.
    He is in Sydney for an annual conference along with US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford and the head of Pacific Command Admiral Harry Harris.
    Diplomatic ties were strained between the United States and Australia this year following a row over asylum seekers when Trump described a refugee swap arrangement as a "dumb deal" on Twitter.
    Despite the public dispute, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the nature of the bilateral relationship extends beyond the superficial.
    "We deal with the president, with his cabinet, and with the US administration on what they do, what they achieve, what their strategies are, and how we can work together," Bishop said.
    While Australia's government said it has not lost faith in the United States as a global leader, the decision to leave the Paris Climate agreement has drawn a wave of global criticism.
    Speaking for the first time on the decision, Tillerson appeared to distance himself from it, saying that it was Trump's "judgment" that the climate pact did not serve the American people.
    With growing fears that the United States could not be relied on to maintain a buffer against China's assertiveness, several Asian nations have bolstered informal alliances among themselves.

    Although reiterating US commitment to Asia, Tillerson said China should do more on the issue of North Korea, which has stepped up its nuclear and missile programs in defiance of US pressure and UN resolutions.
    North Korea has become a security priority for Washington since it vowed to accelerate its nuclear and missile programmers and to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the US mainland.

    Tillerson also said the United States could not allow China to use its economic power to "buy its way out of other problems, whether it's militarizing islands in the South China Sea or failing to put appropriate pressure on North Korea".
    Reacting to his comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said: "We hope the relevant side can fully respect and support the efforts of countries in the region to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea, and play a constructive role rather than the opposite".
    Some US officials have also expressed concern about the growth of Daesh and the return of foreign fighters in the region and said it is one reason the United States will continue to remain engaged.
    Authorities in the region have urged greater cooperation to counter the fallout from a raging battle with Daesh-linked militants in the southern Philippines, the biggest warning yet that the ultra-radical group is building a base in Southeast Asia.
    The region is home to 600 million people and includes Indonesia, which has the world's highest number of Muslims. Authorities in both Indonesia and Malaysia, also Muslim-majority, have said thousands of their citizens are sympathizers of Daesh and hundreds are believed to have traveled to Syria to join the militant group.


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