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Waqas Dar

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Blog Entries posted by Waqas Dar

  1. Waqas Dar
    Shoaib Akhtar-Sachin Tendulkar rivalry remains among the best legacies of cricket  KARACHI: Former speedster Shoaib Akhtar thinks Pakistan are hot favourites to win against archrivals India in the high-voltage Champions Trophy clash on June 4.

    Speaking to Geo.tv, Akhtar predicted that Sarfraz?s men will outclass Kohli-led India at Edgbaston.
    "I will give a 60 percent margin to Pakistan and it?s because the team is in a good nick and they will definitely be playing to outclass India," he said.
    ?I am expecting a cracking match. Pakistan have got a proper bowling lineup, we have spinners, we just need proper application," he added.
    The ?Rawalpindi Express? had a word of advice for the team.
    "Pakistan team doesn't have to go out there with a defensive mindset. They need to keep rotating the strike and go for a better total and mind you, there is no pressure. It?s just like any other game,? he said.
    A bit of sledging here and there - Champions Trophy 2004/Getty Images When asked about his favourite Pakistan-India moment, Akhtar said it was yet to come.

    "My favourite Pakistan-India moment is yet to come. It?s gonna be on June 4, when Pakistan will defeat India in the Champions Trophy," he said with a grin.
    Bowling out Tendulkar for duck ?best feeling in the world?, says Shoaib Akhtar
    It just never got better than a faceoff between fiery speedster Shoaib Akhtar and batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar
    For Akhtar, memories of India-Pakistan encounters are always worth cherishing. Reminiscing about the famous Kolkata Test in which he showed Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar the way back to the pavilion with back-to-back in-swing yorkers, the former right-arm pacer said that he has great memories from that particular match.
    "It was a very supportive crowd until I bowled out Sachin; as soon as I did, it was as if the entire Hindustan went against me,? he said.
    ?It was a great tour. The crowd was superb. It?s always been fun playing there.?
    "We receive a lot of love from the crowd but the love evaporates when you win against India," Shoaib added with a chuckle.


  2. Waqas Dar
    As we all know that Facebook keeps on trying to introduce new features and sometimes reintroduces the old ones.
    While sometimes the new features are so exciting to use, there are some features which are actually so annoying, just like the new Hello!
    Facebook which already has quite an annoying feature in form of 'Poke' has now come up with a similar, slightly creepy and uncomfortably direct feature in form of Hello.
     The new feature, called Hello, is essentially a Poke in the form of a Wave, allowing users to notify one another that they want to chat but don't quite have the words to say anything.
    The new Hello feature was first spotted by The Next Web's Matt Navarra, who's known for keeping tabs on the many new wrinkles and tests from the social network. 
    The feature Hello appears to be popping up on both Facebook's mobile and desktop versions, seems to be irritating the hell out of each other with the awkward invitation for a forced interaction.
    A Facebook rep said the feature is just another attempt to streamline communication. ?Saying hello is one of the universal things people do, so we're testing a feature that makes it easier to say hi on Facebook,?

    Planning to say Hello? But remember, it's not Adele's Hello.


  3. Waqas Dar
    ARIFWALA: Police arrested a man, identified as 40-year-old Ahmed Yar, for killing his three underage daughters and attempting to murder his wife in a village in Arifwala district early Saturday morning.
    According to the police, Ahmed Yar, a resident of 83 IB village, had a domestic dispute with his wife, Shakeela, after which his wife went  to live with her side of the family.
    Ahmed Yar then strangulated his three daughters, identified as 11-year-old Zainab, 7-year-old Zameera and 5-year-old Maryam and travelled to his in-laws? house and attacked his wife with a sharp edged instrument.
    As he was escaping, he was caught by the neighbours and handed over to the police.
    The daughters? bodies have been sent for a post mortem. 


  4. Waqas Dar
    File photo. Prime Minister House spokesperson Musadiq Malik early Saturday morning commented on the ongoing situation with the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), saying that the Sharif family ?is cooperating in all court-related matters?.
    ?There is no question of not obliging with the JIT,? Malik said in an interview on Geo Pakistan.
    The spokesperson also discussed how the government has been called ?Sicilian Mafia?, expressing his confusion as to how that even came to be. ?I am surprised they called the Sharifs that; what exactly do you see that compares with the ?Sicilian Mafia??? he asked.
    The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government on Thursday noted its 'deep sorrow and regret' over a Supreme Court judge?s remarks painting the government as a 'Sicilian mafia', adding that it was "against judicial traditions and code of ethics of the apex court".
    Malik, however, went on to explain that they respect the judiciary and that the Sharifs have appeared in the court whenever it summoned them to explain their stance and answer questions.
    In addition, talking about the Nehal Hashmi debacle, the spokesperson commented that PML-N issued a statement right after the politician?s video surfaced to clarify the speech stemmed from his ?personal views? and that his party membership had been revoked.
    Govt regrets SC judge's 'mafia' remarks in Nehal Hashmi case
    ?The honourable judge leveled baseless allegations against govt,
    On Wednesday, a video emerged of Nehal Hashmi in which he was seen threatening the ones "investigating the prime minister's son". The video drew an outpour of anger from various corners, prompting the PM to suspend basic party membership of Hashmi, followed by his resignation from the Senate.
    The controversy subsequently moved the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Saqib Nisar to take Suo Motu notice of Hashmi's outburst against the prime minister's 'enemies'.
    Malik, towards the end, concluded by saying that the PML-N government desires going forward hand-in-hand with the country?s political parties and institutions in future.


  5. Waqas Dar
    Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell had several prescription drugs in his system when he committed suicide last month in a Detroit hotel, according to the results of an autopsy released on Friday.
    Cornell, 52, had anti-anxiety drugs, sedatives, barbiturates and sinus congestion medication in his system, a toxicology report from the Wayne County Medical Examiner showed.
    The medical examiner last month determined that the grunge singer died by hanging himself on May 17 with an exercise resistance band in his hotel bathroom. He was found dead hours after playing a concert in Detroit with the band.
    Cornell had spoken openly in interviews of his struggles with drugs as a teenager and later with alcohol. But he said in 2007 that he had been sober since checking himself into rehab in 2002. He also spoke of periods of depression and agoraphobia.
    Cornell's wife, Vicky Cornell, has said her husband could not have been in his right mind when he died, saying his judgment may have been impaired by taking anti-anxiety drugs.
    In a statement issued on Friday after the toxicology report was released, she said that those who knew him well "noticed that he wasn't himself during his final hours and that something was very off."
    "After so many years of sobriety, this moment of terrible judgment seems to have completely impaired and altered his state of mind. Something clearly went terribly wrong, and my children and I are heartbroken and are devastated that this moment can never be taken back.?


  6. Waqas Dar
    Hussain Nawaz was probed for six hours during his last appearance before JIT on June 1. Photo: file  ISLAMABAD: The Joint Investigation Team, which is probing PM?s assets following Supreme Court?s verdict on Panama case, started its session Saturday morning.
    The JIT is working on compiling the progress report on the case, which it has to present before the SC on June 7.
    Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif?s elder son Hussain Nawaz is expected to appear before the JIT for the fourth time. However, the premier?s son has yet to leave the PM House.
    The security around the Federal Judicial Academy ? the office of the JIT ? has been tightened, and barbed wire along with road blocks were placed to bar the entry of unrelated individuals to the area.
    The JIT is investigating the global financial dealings of PM?s family in light of the Supreme Court's April 20 judgment.
    Hussain had appeared before the JIT on June 1 and was probed for about six hours regarding his London properties.
    After this third appearance, Hussain remarked, ?If the matters proceed in a fair manner then its fine otherwise we would present the issue before the Supreme Court and public.? 
    Panama JIT questions Hassan Nawaz for seven hours
    Prime Minister's younger son recently returned from London after being summoned by probe team
    Panama case: Hussain Nawaz expresses anger following statement to JIT
    Prime minister?s son has objected to two JIT members 'bias'








    Hussain Nawaz also said that no evidence will be found of any irregularity against him, his father (PM Nawaz) or any sibling in the investigation.
    Previously, he appeared before the JIT on May 28 and May 30.
    On Friday, premier?s younger son, Hassan Nawaz, appeared before the JIT and was probed for more than seven hours. He did not speak to the media after leaving the Federal Judicial Academy. 


  7. Waqas Dar
    Two children carrying explosives blew themselves up on Friday near a camp in northern Cameroon housing civilians displaced by Nigeria's Boko Haram militants, killing nine people and wounding 30, officials said.
    They entered the town of Kolofata, around 10 km (6 miles) from the border with Nigeria, before dawn, posing as refugees looking for food before the start of the daytime fast for Ramadan.
    "Two suicide bomber adolescents aged between 10 and 15 years infiltrated the town of Kolofata," Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary told state radio, adding that both had detonated their explosives.
    "The death toll is 1l, including the two suicide bombers, and 30 wounded, of which 10 are seriously wounded," he added.
    A local government official said the 10 gravely wounded had been transported to a hospital in a nearby town.
    "It was unbearable. People were screaming. Others were moaning. It was total horror," said a policeman present at the scene of the bombing.
    Northern Cameroon has in recent years suffered from the overflow of violence linked to Nigeria's Boko Haram insurgents. Nigerian refugees have flooded across the border and local residents have been forced to flee their homes.
    Boko Haram launches frequent cross-border raids in its bid to carve out a caliphate. Its eight-year insurgency has killed more than 20,000 people in the Lake Chad region and, according to the latest UN refugee agency figures, displaced 2.7 million.
    The agency said on Friday it was "stepping up its response as large numbers of refugees return from Cameroon to north-eastern Nigeria," including some 12,000 in May, often returning home to very harsh, unsanitary conditions.
    Villages and towns in the area have regularly been targeted by bombers. The officials said that Friday's bombing came a day after two young girls detonated their explosives in the nearby village of Djakana, killing themselves and lightly injuring two members of a local civilian self-defense force.
    Kolofata has repeatedly been struck in the past, including one attack that killed nine people in September 2015. Nigeria's army has retaken much of the territory once occupied by Boko Haram, and a military coalition of regional neighbours has helped fight the insurgents across the borders in Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
    The Cameroonian government has deployed thousands of soldiers, including elite units, to the Far North region.


  8. Waqas Dar
    Veteran Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon says Saturday's Champions League final against Real Madrid will have "special" personal significance as he approaches the end of his storied career.
    A world champion with Italy in 2006 and eight-time Serie A winner with Juventus, Buffon finished on the losing side in his two previous Champions League finals in 2003 and 2015.
    Now 39, he may never get a better opportunity to claim Europe's biggest prize and he concedes it is a source of extra motivation.
    "The emotions I feel might be different to any other guy who's younger, like Dani (Alves)," said Buffon, gesturing to his team-mate, who was sitting beside him at Friday's pre-game press conference in Cardiff.
    "Dani has already won this competition and he has four or five years ahead in his career. I have to rule out this possibility, so yes, it will be much more special for me.
    "I still feel like a young boy, even though I'm 39 years old. Tomorrow's match is very important to me.
    "I've played for Juventus for many, many years. I've got back more than I gave. It would be the perfect finale. And people like fairytales."
    One of Buffon's chief responsibilities at the Principality Stadium will be keeping out Madrid talisman Cristiano Ronaldo, who is chasing a fourth success in the competition and third in four years.
    Ronaldo also dreams of equalling his great rival Lionel Messi's tally of five Ballons d'Or and Buffon dismissed suggestions he might pip the pair to the sport's top individual prize.
    "I know that reporters have to write reports about these things because it's your job, but as far as I'm concerned, I'm not that conceited," he said.
    "I wouldn't dream of putting myself on the same pedestal as Cristiano. We play different roles. My role is to defend and his is to attack.
    "We are complete opposites. The only thing I can do is try and not concede goals. But he can determine much more the outcome of a match because of the role he plays and his history.
    "I'm pleased the media see the game as a challenge between myself and Cristiano, but it's not reality.
    "As for the Ballon d'Or, it's rewarding to hear it, but it's not important now. All that matter is the match tomorrow."
    President's promise

    Alves was on the winning side when Barcelona defeated Buffon's Juventus in the 2015 final in Berlin, but will line up alongside him against Madrid.
    The Brazilian right-back won three Champions League titles with Barcelona and when he signed for Juve last year, Buffon sent him a text message telling him to bring his expertise in the tournament with him.
    "That's the text message I sent when he signed for Juventus," Buffon said with a smile.
    "He's a bit like me. He's an optimist. He said, 'Yes, I will help you win the Champions League.'
    "Until now he's been a revelation for me. Not as a player. We've all seen what he can do on the pitch. I was able to get to know him in the dressing room and off the pitch, there's a lot more to him."
    Alves, meanwhile, played down the prospect of becoming the first player in history to win three European Trebles.
    "That's for the history books," he said. "When you stop your career, people will see what I've achieved. For me, it's really not much use.
    "Our objectives are much bigger than that. We have our ambition and will to win. We're hungry. We have a plate of food in front of us and we want to have it."
    He added: "The only extra motivation that might help is that the president (Andrea Agnelli) said maybe we might find some Ferraris that pop up.
    "That does motivate you a bit! I hope we bring the cup home and the president is true to his word."


  9. Waqas Dar
    File photo. KARACHI: Regardless of whether it is time to start or break the fast, citizens continue to face major power outages during the holy month of Ramazan, often resorting to protests that usually don?t bear any fruit.

    Saturday marks the seventh day of fasting and of recurring electric breakdowns in the metropolis, but it seems that K-Electric?s priority is one petty issue: to not let people term local faults as load-shedding.
    Demonstrations were held in various neighbourhoods of Gulistan-e-Johar, Korangi, and Malir, with people claiming that three-hour-long power cuts occur every hour. Moreover, numerous areas, which are usually exempt from electricity outages, are also experiencing 6- to 8-hour-long power breakdowns, Geo News reported.

    Back to Stone Age: Power outage in Karachi continues during second Sehri
    A K-Electric spokesperson acknowledged that some areas in Malir and Shah Faisal have no electricity
    Persistent power cuts test peoples' patience
    Many areas of Sindh were in the dark Monday night after tripping of Jamshoro Line










    Areas currently suffering from power outages include Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Malir, Gulistan-e-Johar, Millat Town, and Shah Faisal Colony (from Sehri till morning), alongside North Karachi, New Karachi, Buffer Zone, Liaquatabad, Gharibabad, Gulbahar, Garden, Lines Area, University Road, Mosamiat, and Abbas Town.
    According to sources, the present shortfall is estimated to be approximately 500 MW.
    KE, however, remained in complete denial about the matter, with its spokesperson saying there has been ?no unannounced load-shedding during Sehri or Iftar timings in any part of the city, bar local faults?. The power supplying authority, instead, referred to ?load management? procedures as one of the reasons behind electric outages.
    With regard to the local faults, KE said its teams are deployed round the clock to fix any issue that comes up.
    On the other hand, Minister for Water & Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif late Friday night tweeted the current position of electricity supply.
    Asif had mentioned in an earlier post that the government will eradicate load-shedding as per its promise and provided source-based electricity supply update.
    ?Hydel=6033 MW, Genco=3078 MW, [and] IPPs=9793 MW,? he wrote on his Twitter account.


  10. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: Spokesman of Edhi Foundation, on Saturday, declared the news of 600 casualties due to heatwave, as false rumours.
    The death certificates of all the bodies brought in the past twelve days are present, said Edhi official Anwar Kazmi.
    None of the deceased were declared dead due to heat stroke, he clarified.
    According to Kazmi, the heatwave in the city is prevalent but none of the deaths can be attributed to heat stroke.
    The public should not pay heed to such rumours, he appealed.
    In the past twelve days, Edhi Foundation received over 600 bodies.


  11. Waqas Dar
    File photo. Three suspects, including one woman, were arrested during a search operation conducted late Friday night here in Jackson area, police said.
    Security officials explained that the arrestees were wanted for numerous crimes, including murder, attempted murder, and robbery.
    During another operation carried out on Friday night in Pakistan Bazaar area of Orangi Town, two suspects were detained by police, Geo News reported. Security officers mentioned that contraband was recovered from the arrestees.
    On the other hand, two youths were taken into custody in Lahore?s Garhi Shahu area for loitering, Geo News reported, adding that the arrestees? neighbours staged a protest in front of the area?s local police station against their detention.


  12. Waqas Dar
    The Apple logo is seen on a computer screen in this illustration photo taken in Bordeaux, France. February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo  Apple Inc is expected to announce plans next week to make its Siri voice assistant work with a larger variety of apps, as the technology company looks to counter the runaway success of Amazon.com Inc's competing Alexa service.
    But the Cupertino, California-based company is likely to stick to its tested method of focusing on a small number of features and trying to perfect them, rather than casting as wide a net as possible, according to engineers and artificial intelligence industry insiders.
    Currently, Apple's Siri works with only six types of app: ride-hailing and sharing; messaging and calling; photo search; payments; fitness; and auto infotainment systems. At the company's annual developer conference next week, it is expected to add to those categories.
    Some industry-watchers have also predicted Apple will announce hardware similar to Amazon's Echo device for the home, which has been a hot-seller recently. Apple declined to comment.
    But even if Siri doubles its areas of expertise, it will be a far cry from the 12,000 or so tasks that Amazon.com's Alexa can handle.
    The difference illustrates a strategic divide between the two tech rivals.
    Apple is betting that customers will not use voice commands without an experience similar to speaking with a human, and so it is limiting what Siri can do in order to make sure it works well.
    Amazon, on the other hand, puts no such restrictions on Alexa, wagering that the voice assistant with the most "skills" ? its term for apps on its Echo assistant devices ? will gain a loyal following, even if it sometimes makes mistakes and takes more effort to use.
    The clash of approaches is coming to a head as virtual assistants that respond to voice commands become a priority for the leading tech companies, which want to find new ways of engaging customers and make more money from shopping and online services.
    Path to the money
    Now, an iPhone user can say, "Hey Siri, I'd like a ride to the airport" or "Hey Siri, order me a car," and Siri will open the Uber or Lyft ride service app and start booking a trip.
    Apart from some basic home and music functions, Alexa needs more specific directions, using a limited set of commands such as "ask" or "tell." For example, "Alexa, ask Uber for a ride," will start the process of summoning a car, but "Alexa, order me an Uber" will not since Alexa does not make the connection that it should open the Uber "skill".
    After some setup, Alexa can order a pizza from Domino's, while Siri cannot get a pie because food delivery is not ? so far ? one of the categories of apps that Apple has opened up to Siri.
    "In typical Apple fashion, they've allowed for only a few use cases, but they do them very well," said Charles Jolley, chief executive of intelligent assistant app-maker Ozlo.
    Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller said the company does not comment on its plans for developers.
    Amazon, however, did issue a statement, saying, "Our goal is to make speaking with Alexa as natural and easy as possible, so we?re looking at ways to improve this over time."
    Side dish, not entree
    Apple's narrower focus could become a problem, said Matt McIlwain, a venture capitalist with Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group.

    The potential of Apple's original iPhone did not come to light until thousands of developers started building apps. McIlwain said he expects Apple to add new categories at its Worldwide Developers Conference next week, but not nearly enough to match Alexa's number of skills.
    "To attract developers in the modern world, you need a platform," McIlwain said. "If Apple does not launch a 'skills store,' that would be a mistake."
    Neither Siri nor Alexa has a clear path to making money. Siri works as an additional tool for controlling traditional apps, and Apple pays money to owners of those apps. Alexa's skills are free, and developers are not paid.
    At the moment, because of their limits, voice apps are "a side dish, not the entree," according to Oren Etzioni, CEO of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence.
    Amazon was wise to not commit to an economic model at such an early state, Etzioni said. "Once a successful economic model for developers emerges, people are going to gravitate to it."


  13. Waqas Dar
    WASHINGTON: Several major US companies, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc, JP Morgan Chase & Co and IBM Corp on Friday said their CEOs will remain in an influential presidential advisory group despite objecting to President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Paris climate accord.
    Citing the need to stay engaged with the administration, business leaders said they would remain in their advisory roles to continue working to influence White House policies.
    Trump, a Republican, on Thursday said he would pull the United States from the landmark 2015 global agreement to fight climate change, drawing anger and condemnation from world leaders and heads of industry.
    Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and Walt Disney Co CEO Robert Iger reacted by leaving White House advisory councils after Trump's move.
    "Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world," Musk said in a Twitter post on Thursday. He was a member of the business advisory group, known as the President?s Strategic and Policy Forum. He also belonged to Trump's manufacturing jobs council.
    Asked about CEOs' criticism of the US withdrawal, White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Friday said some companies that expressed support for remaining in the agreement raised concerns about the emissions reduction targets.
    Spicer, speaking to reporters at a daily news conference, added he does not know if Trump will replace Musk and Iger on the business council.
    A spokesman for Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the largest US retailer, said on Friday that Chief Executive Doug McMillon will remain on the business council.
    McMillon said in a Facebook post late on Thursday he was "disappointed in today's news about the Paris Agreement. We think it's important for countries to work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."
    IBM CEO Ginni Rometty will remain on the council, the company said on Friday as it reaffirmed its support for the Paris accord.
    "IBM believes we can make a constructive contribution by having a direct dialogue with the administration ? as we do with governments around the world," a company spokeswoman said.
    Cleveland Clinic Chief Executive Toby Cosgrove will also remain on the council, a spokeswoman said.
    Another prominent chief executive, Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase & Co, criticized Trump's decision. The company acknowledged Friday that he would not step down from Trump's business group.
    "I absolutely disagree with the administration on this issue, but we have a responsibility to engage our elected officials to work constructively and advocate for policies that improve people's lives and protect our environment," Dimon said in a statement.
    PepsiCo Inc Chief Executive Indra Nooyi is expected to remain on the council. The company said in a statement on Friday that while it is "disappointed with the announcement, we hope there is a way for the accord to move forward with the US at the table."
    'LET'S GET A BETTER DEAL'
    Other chief executives also issued statements criticizing the decision to withdraw from the accord, including the heads of Facebook Inc, Alphabet Inc and Goldman Sachs.
    General Electric Co CEO Jeff Immelt, who is on Trump's manufacturing council, said on Thursday he was disappointed in the decision and added: "Industry must now lead and not depend on government."
    Immelt will remain on the council, a company spokeswoman said on Friday.
    AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, who is also on Trump's manufacturing council, called the withdrawal "a failure of American leadership." A union spokesman said on Friday that Trumka intends to remain on the council to serve "as a voice for working people." Boeing Co Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg also will remain on the manufacturing council, the company said.
    Trump administration officials pushed back against company criticisms in television interviews on Friday.
    National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn dismissed concerns about potential economic fallout from the climate deal withdrawal, such as the potential of other countries slapping tariffs on American manufacturers.
    In an interview on CNBC on Friday, Cohn said the move was part of the administration's efforts to boost US economic growth and help companies by increasing demand for US goods, along with other efforts targeting regulations, taxes and infrastructure.
    "If we can grow our economy, we're going to consume more and more products," he said. "We're going to need more manufacturing in the United States just to deal with domestic consumption."
    The issue could resurface later this month when, according to an administration spokesman, the White House plans to hold a June 19 meeting with technology leaders.
    Kellyanne Conway, a White House senior adviser, said on Fox News the deal would have "a statistically insignificant impact on the environment."
    "If you really cared about that piece, and you're one of these CEOs crowing today, then you would say 'let's get a better deal,'" she said in the interview on Friday, adding that Trump had said he was open to future negotiations.
    Trump created the business advisory group in December before taking office to assist him in making policy decisions. The council is led by Stephen Schwarzman, chief executive of Blackstone Group LP.
    Blackrock Inc Chief Executive Larry Fink said on Thursday he would continue to serve on Trump's business forum, despite reservations about the White House climate decision because he believes he can add to policy discussions and be a voice for investors.
    General Motors Co said Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra also would remain on the presidential advisory panel, while it remained unclear whether Ford Motor Co's new chief executive, James Hackett, would join the group.
    In February, Uber Technologies Inc CEO Travis Kalanick quit the business advisory council amid internal pressure over Trump's immigration policies.


  14. Waqas Dar
    Richard Spencer, a leader and spokesperson for the so-called ?alt-right? movement, speaks to the media at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, US. February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts  President Donald Trump plans to nominate Richard Spencer, who has worked as a financial industry executive, to be Secretary of the Navy, the White House said on Friday.
    Spencer also served as a captain in the US Marine Corps and spent five years on the Defense Business Board, most recently as Vice Chairman, the White House said in a statement.


  15. Waqas Dar
    WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump faces an uphill fight convincing the Supreme Court it should grant his emergency request to reinstate his travel ban on people entering the United States from six predominantly Muslim countries.
    His legal team on Thursday night asked the nine justices to allow his controversial March 6 executive order to take effect immediately despite being blocked by lower courts. The Supreme Court rarely grants emergency requests.
    At issue is a ban Trump has said is necessary to protect Americans from terrorist attacks. Critics say his reasoning is flawed and assail the ban as discriminatory. Trump's proposed ban was a centrepiece of his 2016 presidential campaign.
    The fight over the emergency application is likely to determine whether the ban ever takes effect. That is because if the court grants the request, the ban's 90-day term will have expired by the time the court decides the legal fate of the proposal.
    The 5-4 conservative majority on the high court means Trump, a Republican who took office on Jan. 20, likely has a better chance than he has had to date in more liberal-leaning lower courts.
    "Even though it?s a heavy lift getting a stay, it seems to me that the Supreme Court is the most favourable court they?ve had access to so far," said John Elwood, a Washington lawyer.
    The administration needs five votes on the nine-justice court to put the ban into effect. In this instance, the merits of whether it violates the US Constitution's ban on religious discrimination by targeting Muslims matter less.
    The court weighs several factors when considering emergency applications. One such application met with success when in February 2016 the court granted on a 5-4 vote a request by states and industry groups to block President Barack Obama's climate regulations.
    Under Supreme Court precedent, several criteria need to be met for an emergency application to be granted, including that there would be "irreparable harm" if denied and that there is a "reasonable probability" the court would agree to hear the case on the merits.
    In the government's request, Acting Solicitor General Jeff Wall wrote that the nationwide injunctions blocking the travel ban have caused irreparable harm by "preventing the executive from effectuating his national-security judgment."
    CHALLENGERS DISPUTE URGENCY
    The challengers contest the administration claim that urgent action is needed to protect Americans from terrorist attacks. They stress that the government did not previously ask the Supreme Court to intervene, even when lower courts denied earlier emergency applications seeking to lift the injunctions.
    "This is different from the kind of case you would expect the Supreme Court to grant the extraordinary relief of a stay, because of the lack of any demonstrable urgency or harm and because the law and the facts are on our side," said American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Omar Jadwat.
    The first step for the court will be to ask the various challengers, including the ACLU and Hawaii, to file responses. The administration is then likely to file its own response to the challengers' legal arguments before the justices issue an order granting or denying the application. That could happen within days.
    One thorny issue the Supreme Court may have to resolve if it grants the stay is whether the 90-day ban Trump sought to impose would begin from the day of the court's action or whether the clock has been ticking throughout the litigation, meaning it would expire in mid-June. Challengers will argue for the latter, which would mean it is almost set to expire. That would limit the practical impact if the application were granted.
    The court's conservative majority includes Justice Anthony Kennedy. He sometimes sides with the court's four liberals and could be the pivotal vote.
    The travel ban's challengers have relied in part on a concurring opinion Kennedy wrote in a 2015 Supreme Court immigration case. Kennedy wrote that in the immigration context, the government's actions can be questioned if there is evidence of bad faith.
    Another conservative justice is the man Trump appointed to the high court, Neil Gorsuch. During his US Senate confirmation hearing, Gorsuch vowed not to be a rubber stamp for any president when asked about Trump's statements criticizing judges who ruled against the travel ban.
    If the court agrees with Trump, the 90-day ban on people entering the United States from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen will be immediately revived. The court could also put a 120-day ban on all refugees into effect and allow the administration to consider new vetting procedures.
    Even if the court allows the travel ban to take effect, the bigger constitutional questions of religious discrimination and presidential powers raised by the order would not be considered by the nine justices until long after the ban periods have ended. The court begins its summer recess at the end of June and would not give the case a full hearing until its return in the autumn, by which time the ban would have lapsed.
    The emergency applications filed on Thursday night seek to block injunctions issued by judges in Maryland and Hawaii. The Maryland order was upheld on May 25 by the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia. The government's appeal of the Hawaii injunction is being considered by the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals. That court could issue its decision before the Supreme Court acts on the emergency application.
    Separate from the emergency application, the court also has to decide whether to hear the government's full appeal of the Virginia-based appeals court ruling.
    The justices are not required to hear any case, but this one meets important criteria cited by experts, including that it is the federal government filing the appeal and that it involves a nationwide injunction.




  16. Waqas Dar
    Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday urged the world to work with Donald Trump on climate, insisting he did not "judge" the US leader for quitting the landmark Paris accord.
    "You shouldn't make a noise about this, but should create the conditions for joint work," Putin said at an economic forum, adding that Trump had said he wanted to renegotiate a new deal.
    "If such a major emitter as the US is not going to cooperate entirely then it won't be possible to agree any deal in this area," Putin said.
    The Kremlin leader said that "in my view it was possible (for the US) not to leave the Paris agreement because it is a framework deal, and it was possible to change the US obligations inside the framework of these agreements."
    "But what has been said has been said. And we need to think what to do further," he said.
    Other world leaders have reacted with anger and defiance after President Trump announced that the United States, the world's second biggest carbon emitter, was quitting the 2015 Paris climate agreement.
    Led by Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Emmanuel Macron, they have branded Trump's decision as misguided and vowed to defend an accord they consider crucial to the future of the planet.




  17. Waqas Dar
    A Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft carrying French astronaut Thomas Pesquet and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy landed on the Kazakh steppe Friday, ending their marathon 196-day mission to the International Space Station.
    NASA TV showed recovery crews swiftly helping the pair out of the craft and whisking them away from the landing site as the sun began to set on a hot summer's evening in central Kazakhstan.
    The pair undocked as the International Space Station (ISS) orbited above the Chinese-Mongolian border, marking the beginning of a 400-kilometre (250-mile) descent back to Earth lasting just over three hours.
    "All is well. The landing has taken place," a spokesman for Russian mission control told AFP after the landing at 8:10 pm local time (1410 GMT).
    "All the operations for the descent from orbit and landing went to plan. The crew members feel well after returning to Earth," mission control said in a statement.
    First-time flyer Pesquet's long-duration trip fell just shy of the record space mission for a European Space Agency astronaut set by Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy back in 2015.
    "It's been a fantastic adventure and amazing ride," 39-year-old Pesquet tweeted a few hours before the undocking.
    Former Russia Air Force pilot Oleg Novitskiy, 45, was completing his second mission to the ISS.
    Empty seat

    Pesquet and Novitskiy arrived at the station on November 20 for a six-month mission with American Peggy Whitson, who holds the NASA record for cumulative time spent in space.
    Novitskiy and Pesquet came home in a spacecraft that had one empty seat -- a result of Roscosmos's decision last year to temporarily reduce the Russian presence on the space station from three to two cosmonauts to cut costs.
    Due to that decision, NASA veteran Whitson did not join the pair on the journey home as originally planned, and will instead remain on the ISS until September after NASA extended her stay.
    - 'Appreciate the fragility' -
    French president Emmanuel Macron called Pesquet after the landing, telling him "bravo to you," while the French astronaut told him "It's going well, I'm getting used to gravity. Even just holding this telephone is difficult."
    Pesquet voted in the French elections from the orbital lab and is set to meet Macron once he completes post-mission work at the ESA astronaut centre in Cologne.
    Pesquet won plaudits at home and abroad as well as over half a million followers on Twitter over the course of his preparations and time in space.
    "We saw that he is very qualified, a real professional... with a great desire to work in space," Yuri Malenchenko, a retired cosmonaut who worked with Pesquet in Russia's Star City, where ISS astronauts and cosmonauts train for missions, told AFP.
    "These qualities were confirmed during the flight," he added.
    Jean-Yves Le Gall, the head of CNES, France's space agency, told AFP Pesquet "worked in a remarkable fashion."
    Pesquet himself underlined the "fragility" of Earth in an interview to AFP from the ISS.
    "There are things that one understands intellectually, but which one doesn't really get," he said via video link, gently floating around in the zero gravity of space.
    When it comes to global warming, "we talk of two degrees (Celsius) or four degrees -- these are numbers which sometimes exceed human understanding.
    "But to see the planet as a whole... to see it for yourself... this allows you to truly appreciate the fragility."
    The record for the longest continuous mission in space by a European Space Agency astronaut is still held by Cristoforetti, who was in orbit for 199 days from November 2014 to June 2015 and also broke the record for the longest single mission for a woman.
    But that is far short of the 437-day mission by Russian cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, aboard the old Soviet-Russian space station Mir, from January 1994 to March 1995.
    Pesquet, France's 10th ISS astronaut, used his popular Twitter account to post photographs of Earth from space, including several of the French capital.
    "A last picture of Paris from the side? but you can never go wrong with Paris! Guess what time it was by the shadows '#workitoutlikeadetective#", he posted on June 1.
    The $100 billion ISS space laboratory has been orbiting Earth at about 28,000 kilometres per hour (17,000 miles per hour) since 1998.


  18. Waqas Dar
    KABUL: Protesters demanding the resignation of the Afghan government after this week's devastating truck bomb clashed with riot police in Kabul on Friday in a confrontation that resulted in at least four deaths.
    The protests added to pressure on President Ashraf Ghani's fragile and divided government, which has been powerless to stop a string of attacks in the capital that have killed hundreds of civilians in recent months.
    Wednesday's bomb attack, at the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, was one of the worst in the Afghan capital since the US-led campaign to topple the Taliban in 2001.
    More than 1,000 demonstrators, many carrying pictures of bomb victims, rallied in the morning near the site of the blast, which killed more than 80 people and wounded 460. They held Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah responsible.
    "The international community has to put pressure on them and force them to resign," said Niloofar Nilgoon, one of a relatively large number of women taking part in the protest.
    "They're not capable of leading the country."
    Protesters also carried banners bearing slogans such as "Ghani! Abdullah! Resign!" and pictures of Ghani and other leaders with their faces crossed out.
    Riot police used water cannon and tear gas to block protesters from reaching the road leading to the presidential palace. There were regular bursts of gunfire as they shot over the heads of the crowd, many of whom threw stones at security forces.
    At least four people were killed and another 15 wounded, said the city's Italian-run Emergency Hospital, which is located near the protest site. Some of the bodies, wrapped in white shrouds, were carried by protesters.
    A statement from Ghani's office repeated its condemnation of Wednesday's attack and urged demonstrators not to allow "opportunists to disrupt their civic movement and use this opportunity to sow chaos for their own benefit".
    ALARM
    But in an already tense political climate, the violence underlined the risk of protests exacerbating divisions and resentments between ethnic and political groups within the government camp.
    Abdullah appealed for calm in a televised address. In a sign of how alarmed Afghanistan's international partners have become at the violence and possible impact on political stability, the United Nations special representative in Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, also appealed for restraint.
    "I strongly discourage any actor from seeking opportunistically to use these very emotional and fragile moments to destabilise the situation and risk further harm to civilians," he said in a statement.
    Amnesty International condemned the security forces' actions, which it said showed "contempt for the lives of ordinary people" and called for an investigation.
    "While there are reports that a minority of protesters used violence, including throwing stones at the police, this does not justify such an excessive and deadly response," it said.
    As well as criticising the government, some protesters demanded that Ghani execute prisoners from the Haqqani network, the Taliban-affiliated militant group that intelligence officials blame for the attack.
    "Until we do that, we won't have peace. The only way to get security is to punish criminals," said protester Asadullah, who like many Afghans goes by only one name.
    A spokesman for the US State Department said Wednesday's attack was "horrific and barbaric" and Afghans were "naturally expressing their anger and shock at the events".
    "What is needed now is for all Afghans to come together to take steps towards peace,? he said.
    The unrest and the increasingly fractured political landscape complicates the choices facing US President Donald Trump's administration as it prepares its new strategy for Afghanistan.
    Officials are considering plans to increase the number of American troops in the country by between 3,000 and 5,000 to help break what US commanders say is a stalemate in the war.
    Taliban insurgents now control or contest about 40 percent of the country. Even before the attack, 715 civilians had been killed in the first three months of the year after nearly 3,500 in 2016, the deadliest year on record for Afghan civilians.


  19. Waqas Dar
    A still image taken from video shows people leaving the open-air weekend 'Rock am Ring' concert near the Nürburgring racetrack in Nurburg, Germany June 2, 2017. Instagram/@ZUZIA93/via Reuters TV  German police temporarily stopped an open-air weekend "Rock am Ring" concert near the Nürburgring race track on Friday due to a possible terrorist threat.
    "Due to a terror danger situation, we told the organiser to temporarily stop the concert as a precaution," police in the nearby town of Koblenz said in a statement.
    Der Spiegel magazine said that all those attending were asked to leave the concert and head to nearby camping grounds "in a controlled and orderly fashion".
    "The organiser of Rock am Ring, working closely with the security authorities, have ended ahead of schedule the festival today," the police said. "The background to this was a concrete warning that made it impossible to rule out a terror threat."
    Man, 19, arrested in connection with Manchester attack, bringing total to 15: GM Police
    The arrest was made during a raid in the Gorton area of Manchester on
    "We cannot provide any further details on the background information," the statement added.
    The suicide bombing at a pop concert in Manchester, England, on May 26 led to changes in the security planning for the German concert and the number of security officials was increased substantially to 1,200, the police said.
    "We take all tips and suspicious incidents extremely seriously and investigate closely," they added.

    Last year, the third and final day of the "Rock am Ring" was cancelled after lightning strikes injured 80 people, some seriously.


  20. Waqas Dar
    Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant denied deliberately staring down singer-actress Rihanna, a devout LeBron James fan, in the NBA Finals opener, but his glance in her direction stirred the internet.
    Durant scored 38 points on 14-of-26 shooting with eight rebounds and eight assists to power the Warriors over James and the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers 113-91 in game one of the best-of-seven series Thursday at Oakland.
    The moment that seemed to send sparks flying between the celebrity and the NBA star forward came late in the fourth quarter after the ball was stolen from James and Golden State's Stephen Curry flipped a pass to Durant, standing in front of Rihanna's courtside seat.
    Durant sank an uncontested 3-pointer and as he turned upcourt, swung a glance toward the 29-year-old Barbados-born Grammy Award winner.
    Asked about the moment, Durant said, "I don't even remember that." Told social media was buzzing about the move, Durant replied, "Really?"
    Curry, sitting beside Durant, interjected, "Don't get into that trap, man."
    "Yeah, I won't get into that," Durant said. "I'm cool. Have fun with that."
    Much fun was definitely had.
    Some reports had Rihanna heckling Durant before a free throw earlier in the game. But television replays showed it was Rihanna's long-time friend and assistant, Jenn Rosales, seated next to her, who shouted out "Brick."
    After making the third-quarter free throw, Durant shot a stare in Rihanna's direction, setting the stage for the later 3-pointer gaze.
    It's not Rihanna has not made her loyalties clear, tweeting an image of her gazing at a huge photo of James holding the NBA trophy in last year's victory celebration.
    Rihanna walked past television commentator Jeff Van Gundy to her seat at one stage, momentarily flummoxing the analyst.
    And she made her allegiance clear to spectators by bowing to James at one stage when he rushed past during the game.
    Rihanna also dismissed hecklers with a wave and a "dab" arm move at another stage.
    Durant has tweeted in the past his attraction to Rihanna, saying in 2011 he would wish to marry her.
    But even with Golden State's lopsided triumph, Durant's affections appear to be doomed.
    As she walked out of Oracle Arena past the Cavaliers locker room, Rihanna yelled, "The King is still The King," a reference to James's nickname.
    James is playing in his seventh consecutive NBA Finals and eighth overall, having gone 3-4 in prior appearances with Cleveland and Miami.
    Durant still seeks his first NBA crown after leaving Oklahoma City for Golden State last July. He reached the finals with the Thunder in 2012, only to lose to the James-lead Miami Heat.
    Rihanna will appear as a shape-shifting entertainer named Bubble in a movie to be released next month, Valerian and the City of A Thousand Planets.


  21. Waqas Dar
    A growing number of therapists are certifying their patients? pets as emotional support animals, allowing people to bring their cats, pigs and birds on planes and into rental homes even though it may not be medically necessary, a recent study suggests.
    Researchers asked 87 mental health professionals to review current laws and policies for determining when animals may qualify as emotional support animals in the US, including federal transportation requirements for air travel. Then, researchers questioned these professionals about how support animals should be certified.
    Overall, about 31 percent of the survey participants said they had previously recommended emotional support animals for people. However, 36 percent of them said they didn?t feel qualified to do make these recommendations, including two practitioners who had done so in the past.
    Study co-author Jeffrey Younggren of the University of Missouri explained the difference between service animals and emotional support animals.
    ?Service animals are formally trained to perform specific healthcare duties/function and their training matches the patients? needs and they are not considered pets,? he told Reuters Health by email. ?This is a formal process.?
    ?However, emotional support animals do not have any training requirements under the law nor are these certifications limited to dogs,? Younggren said. ?Ducks, turkeys and potbelly pigs have all been certified by somebody as emotional support animals.?
    Federal and state laws regulating emotional support animals (ESAs) often are convoluted and constantly changing, Younggren and his colleagues note in a report of their study, which is scheduled for publication in the journal Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.
    For example, landlords who normally prohibit pets must allow ESAs and waive any fees or pet deposits.
    Airlines are required to allow ESAs to accompany their owners in the main cabins of aircraft.
    The mental health professionals in the survey believed certifying emotional support animals can sometimes be appropriate, the survey found.
    But to sidestep potential legal and ethical problems, clinicians should not certify animals for patients they are already treating, the researchers argue. Mental health professionals who work in courts of law and who don?t have a prior relationship with a patient may be better able to make an impartial decision on whether an emotional support animal might actually benefit that person.
    These evaluations should be done with the same thoroughness and impartiality that is found in evaluations for any disability, the researchers also argue. This may require the development of professional guidelines for what assessments are done, who conducts them and how they are completed.
    Many mental health professionals may not understand that a conflict of interest exists when a patient asks for an animal to be certified because they want to make the patient satisfied and keep the patient engaged in therapy, said Dr. Paul Cherniack, a researcher at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine who wasn?t involved in the study.
    Another issue is that clinicians may rely on subjective reports from patients about how animals help them, especially in the absence of objective ways to measure the therapeutic benefits of these animals, Cherniack said by email.
    ?I believe there is no evidence yet that emotional support animals benefit people?s health,? Cherniack said. ?Other service animals like seeing eye dogs are different.?
    While better guidelines and standards for certifying emotional support animals is needed, there is some evidence to suggest that pets do have the potential to comfort people with mental health problems, said Dr Helen Brooks of the Mental Health Research Group at the University of Manchester in the UK.
    ?Pets helped their owners manage feelings by distracting them from symptoms and upsetting experiences such as hearing voices and suicidal ideation and provided a form of encouragement for activity,? Brooks said, who wasn?t involved in the current study, said by email. ?Pets provided secure relationships and unconditional support which were often not available elsewhere.?




  22. Waqas Dar
    LONDON: Twenty minutes stroll along the River Taff from the stadium that will host Saturday's Champions League final neat rows of tents stretch out across a picturesque park awaiting occupation.
    On the eve of the biggest football match ever staged in Cardiff, the expected invasion by fans of Real Madrid and Juventus was not materialising as locals went about their Friday morning business in peace.
    It was a similar story in Cardiff's city centre where small groups of Spanish and Italian fans ambled about in replica football shirts enjoying the castle views and a sip of beer.
    Fever pitch it most definitely was not.
    Some estimates said the showdown between two of Europe's grandest old clubs would see 150,000 extra people swarm in.
    But either they are leaving it late or the scare stories of Cardiff running out of accommodation appear to have kept the numbers down. Either way the Welsh capital's local businesses are in danger of missing an open goal.
    "Cardiff council originally wanted us to set up a campsite for 10,000 people," Rhian Evans, owner of Camping Ninja, told Reuters as her staff dealt with a trickle of arrivals.
    "In reality we are looking at maybe 1,000. There appears to not be the appetite for staying in Cardiff that people anticipated. I think people have been encouraged to stay elsewhere. It's put people off coming in.
    "I hear the hotels are full in Bristol and Swansea even. All the hostels here are slashed their prices. Cardiff is not full."
    While there is plenty on offer in Cardiff, especially in the Bay area where fans can enjoy a floating football pitch or marvel at an enormous inflatable Champions League trophy, the football festival is taking a while to fire up.
    Local police officers reported the streets around the iconic National Stadium of Wales, in the heart of the city, as quieter than a usual Friday afternoon and way down on Six Nations rugby weekends when for two days the myriad bars are crammed.
    TRANQUIL ATMOSPHERE
    A huge security operation with many roads closed to traffic added to the tranquil atmosphere with uniformed police, some armed, outnumbering fans. With memories of last week's Manchester bombing all to vivid, about 6,000 officers will be deployed in the city from Thursday to Saturday.
    "This is undoubtedly the biggest sporting event that Cardiff has ever hosted but I'm sure with our partners we'll host a really enjoyable and secure event," South Wales Police assistant constable Richard Lewis told Reuters.
    "The scrutiny and the eyes of the world are upon us."
    With hundreds of fans jetting in on special charter flights on Saturday morning - some flying back after the match -- and trains running to London until the small hours of Sunday morning, many will have just a fleeting Cardiff experience.
    But those who have made the trip - even without tickets for the match - are determined to enjoy themselves with whatever Cardiff has to offer, even the drizzle.
    Rafael Sanchez and his wife Lina trudged into the campsite on Friday having arrived from Bogota, Colombia via London.
    "We just wanted to enjoy the atmosphere," Rafael said. "We are supporting both teams in a way because Jean Cuadrado plays for Juventus and James for Real. But we really want Juve."
    With no giant screens erected for fans without tickets to come together, they planned to watch the game in a bar.
    "That's the point of the trip, to drink some Welsh beer," he said. "I hear they have one called Brains!"
    They could even end up at the Elevens Bar and Grill - a swish venue owned by none other than Real Madrid's Cardiff-born Gareth Bale. Several Madridistas had already discovered it.
    "I hear Bale will bring the team here if they win," said Ramon Perez while enjoying a pint with his Atletico Madrid-supporting girlfriend Carla. "Fingers crossed."




  23. Waqas Dar
    File photo What was the real reason behind the disgusting stench that filled Karachi a couple of days ago? While no governmental investigative agency has an explanation, the answer lies in marine life and ecological system.
    World Wide Fund (WWF) ? an organisation that works to promote a better, healthier environment ? claims the stench spread due to dying noctiluca, commonly known as sea sparkle.
    An unpleasant, overpowering odour pervaded throughout the metropolis, especially its coastal areas, on May 31 and every Karachiite talked about the mysterious smell that day.
    According to Dr. Nuzhat Khan, the Principal Scientific Officer at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), oil that spilt into the sea led to the stench, BBC Urdu reported. In this regard, her team is conducting further research as well.
    A long-exposure photo shows the glow from Noctiluca Scintillans' algal bloom along the seashore in Hong Kong. January 22, 2015. Image via The Atlantic.  However, the Government of Sindh?s Environmental & Alternate Energy Department has expressed indifference towards the matter.
    ?Our department does not the adequate tools to gauge, explore, and understand what is going on in the sea that is releasing this smell,? Dr. Ashiq Langah, the institute?s director for Karachi, told the publication.
    In addition, WWF Technical Advisor Muhammad Moazzam Khan said open waters are host to marine-dwelling species Noctiluca, which is found near Arabian Sea coast from Oman to Karachi. The sea sparkle is in such a huge number that they can turn the water green.
    According to Moazzam Khan, the sea sparkle was present in the Arabian Sea since approximately three to four months ? remember we told you about it ? and just as southwestern monsoon winds started blowing in the last week of May, turning the waves violent, a large number of Noctilucae died and were washed up on the shore.
    Back in March, Geo.tv reported that a thriving mixture of green slime sprouting from the Gulf of Oman started to spread in the Arabian Sea, and was then inching towards the coasts of Pakistan and India.

    A Mexico-sized algae bloom is threatening Pakistani coast
    The sea sparkles suffocate aquatic creatures with the ammonia they release and have a horrible stench that can adversely impact local tourism industries
    Although the blossoming algae look pretty from afar ? imitating the Mexican avocado-based dip guacamole ? they suffocate marine life through the ammonia they release.
    Moreover, they have a horrible stench that may have an adverse impact on the local tourism industries. This smell is exactly what Karachi experienced a few days back.
    During his career, the WWF official continued, he has never witnessed such a huge number of Noctilucae deaths ? and, of course, the resulting odour.

    ?The bloom of this microcosm sometimes turns poisonous, killing marine life ? exactly like the death of shrimps in the shallow waters near Oman?s coast ? but nothing of the sort has happened near Karachi?s shore,? Moazzam Khan said.
    Dr. Rashida Qari, director of University of Karachi?s Institute of Marine Science, however, disagrees. She says that the deaths of Noctilucae cannot cause such strong stench and that while it can reach coastal areas, it cannot spread throughout the city.
    Qari went on to say that she has never come across research that suggests these months are breeding season for sea sparkle. ?However, since it is so hot, it may be possible they started breeding. Or maybe, they migrated from some other region,? she stated.
    Image: The Wall Street Journal blog Moazzam Khan, on the other hand, mentioned that a likely possibility behind Noctilucae?s deaths could be the climate change. ?Nevertheless, manmade waste and pollution cannot be ignored either,? he added.
    Nonetheless, sea sparkles can surface at least twice a year and potentially affect almost 120 million people engaged in the fishing industry. Even more concerning is the fact that these appearances have been uncommon in the past decade.

    A researcher and microbiologist from Columbia University noted that ?something dramatic has changed in the Arabian Sea.?

    It is noteworthy that organisations working to further the cause of cleaner environment have time and again commented on the state of pollution in the oceans. According to their reports, apart from industrial waste, water pollution is also caused by domestic trash and garbage that is dumped into the seas.


  24. Waqas Dar
    PARIS: Nine-time champion Rafael Nadal lost just one game in a ruthless display to reach the French Open last 16 on Friday, but title-holder Novak Djokovic needed five sets to survive.
    Nadal demonstrated why he is once more considered the overwhelming favourite at Roland Garros with a brutal demolition of Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili.
    The Spaniard romped to a 6-0, 6-1, 6-0 win, narrowly missing out on becoming just the sixth man in the Open era to record a "triple bagel".
    "Perfection? I don't know about that," said Nadal, who plans to celebrate his 31st birthday on Saturday by watching Real Madrid take on Juventus in the Champions League final.
    "I think I played very well today. The most important thing is to be through and I played my best match in a while."
    Nadal will meet compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut for a spot in the quarter-finals.
    Reigning champion Djokovic escaped trouble against Diego Schwartzman, the second seed rallying from two sets to one down to prevail 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, 6-1.
    The 12-time major winner was embroiled in a bitter spat with umpire Carlos Ramos in the fourth set as Djokovic was warned for unsportsmanlike conduct after an earlier time violation.
    But Djokovic eventually proved too strong for Schwartzman, playing in the last 32 of a Slam for the first time, and goes on to face Spanish 19th seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas in round four.
    "I expected a tough match, there were lots of exchanges from the baseline and the conditions were heavy," said Djokovic.
    "I congratulate Diego on a great battle. He played very, very well."
    Goffin suffers freak injury

    Canadian fifth seed Milos Raonic advanced to the last 16 when Guillermo Garcia-Lopez retired with a thigh injury in the second set.
    Raonic, a quarter-finalist in Paris in 2014, led 6-1, 1-0 before the veteran Spaniard, ranked 153, quit after just 28 minutes.
    He will play Spanish 20th seed Pablo Carreno Busta, who dumped out Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.
    Dominic Thiem, a semi-finalist last year and the only player to beat Nadal on clay this season, brushed past American 25th seed Steve Johnson 6-1, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
    Belgian 10th seed David Goffin suffered a nasty ankle injury when he got caught up in court covers, forcing him to abandon his third-round tie with Horacio Zeballos of Argentina.
    Goffin was leading 5-4 when he chased down the ball towards the back of the Suzanne Lenglen court.
    However, his right foot got horribly jammed beneath the rolled-up tarpaulin before he tumbled into the wall and a linesman's chair.
    The 26-year-old was helped from the court by two officials and retired in the locker room.
    An MRI scan revealed that the Belgian had not suffered a break.
    Reigning women's champion Garbine Muguruza gained further momentum in the defence of her title with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Kazakh 27th seed Yulia Putintseva.
    The Spaniard closed out victory with an ace in a match that featured 11 breaks of serve in 20 games played.
    "I think the more matches I play and the toughest victories I think gives you self-confidence, successful feeling out there," said Muguruza.
    "I think it's important with all the three matches that I played that are not easy at all."
    Muguruza plays French 13th seed Kristina Mladenovic, who rallied from 5-2 down in the third set to beat American Shelby Rogers, for a place in the last eight.
    Venus Williams cruised past Belgium's Elise Mertens 6-3, 6-1, while 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova overcame China's Zhang Shuai 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 7-5.
    Australian 23rd seed Samantha Stosur, the 2010 runner-up, breezed into the fourth round with a 6-2, 6-2 rout of American qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
    Ons Jabeur's historic run ended as the lucky loser from Tunisia, the first Arab woman to reach the last 32 at a major, lost 6-2, 6-2 to Swiss 30th seed Timea Bacsinszky, a 2015 semi-finalist.


  25. Waqas Dar
    Google is working to block "annoying" ads in its Chrome browser, part of a broader effort by industry players to filter out certain types of marketing messages that draw complaints.
    "We believe online ads should be better. That's why we joined the Coalition for Better Ads, an industry group dedicated to improving online ads," said Sridhar Ramaswamy, Google's senior vice president for advertising in a blog post Thursday.
    "In dialogue with the Coalition and other industry groups, we plan to have Chrome stop showing ads (including those owned or served by Google) on websites that are not compliant with the Better Ads Standards starting in early 2018."
    Google's move, in the works for some time, could end up reducing some ads served and impact its own revenue, but it aims to improve the overall web experience and discourage third-party ad-blockers that could have a more dramatic impact.
    Ramaswamy noted that "annoying" ads prompt some people to use ad-blockers that stop all advertising content, hurting revenue for content creators.
    "The vast majority of online content creators fund their work with advertising," Ramaswamy said.
    "That means they want the ads that run on their sites to be compelling, useful and engaging -- ones that people actually want to see and interact with."
    But he noted that "it's far too common that people encounter annoying, intrusive ads on the web -- like the kind that blare music unexpectedly, or force you to wait 10 seconds before you can see the content on the page."
    Google is a founding member of the Coalition, which was formed last year and aims to maintain the online advertising ecosystem while eliminating ads that many find irritating.
    The group released guidelines earlier this year for ads on both mobile and desktop.
    But some analysts say it will be difficult for Google and others to set standards that please all parties.
    "It's smart for Google to be part of the push for limited ad blockers even if that may seem counterintuitive, because if it can focus that activity on egregious ads rather than all ads indiscriminately, it has a much better shot at protecting its own massive ad revenue than if others take more of a blanket approach," said Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research.
    "We can be certain that none of Google's own sites or ad formats will be affected by this filter, but we can also guess that there will be something of an outcry from publishers feeling that Google is favoring itself while disadvantaging others. It's going to be fascinating to watch this play out over the next few months."
    According to the research firm eMarketer some 27.5 percent of US internet users will use ad blockers this year.


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