shameen Nearly 60 million Pakistanis live below the poverty line, said a leading daily lamenting that “areas such as defence get the better of development”.
An editorial in the Dawn Wednesday said a study on poverty has brought Pakistan face to face with a reality that it will find hard to accept: “Every third Pakistani is caught in the ‘poor’ bracket i.e. some 58.7 million out of a total population of 180 million subsist below the poverty line.”
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday highlighted his country’s efforts in deepening ties with Afghanistan’s political leaders but said the illegal trade of heroin in the neighboring country was helping fund terrorist activities in the region and across the world.
Zardari emphasised that to have a stable and secure Afghanistan was in Pakistan’s own interest.
Pulling up the government, the Pakistan Supreme Court Wednesday said it must again revise a letter to Swiss authorities as the draft did not mention the reopening of corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.
The Supreme Court ordered the government to write the text strictly in the light of its guidelines. It gave the government time till Oct 5 to submit the draft.
“The judges took a strong exception to the revised draft of the letter submitted in the court for it did not mention the reopening of alleged cases of corruptions against Zardari,” reported Geo News.
Convicted radical Islamic cleric Abu Hamza Wednesday launched a last-minute appeal in a British court against extradition to the US, two days after a European court ruled he could be handed over to Washington on terrorism charges.
The Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) had rejected the appeal by Hamza and four other terror suspects to halt their extradition to the US on the ground that they would face inhumane treatment in the US if sent there.
Amidst increasing report of prosecution of religious minorities and violation of their human rights, an eminent American think tank has called to put Pakistan on genocide watch list.
A 30-year-old Australian man has been charged with threatening to burn down an Islamic school and spray it with pig’s blood, a media report said Wednesday.
The man reportedly made a phone call to the Australian Islamic College of Sydney at Mount Druitt Sep 21 in the wake of violent protests over an anti-Islamic film, the Australian Associate Press (AAP) reported.
In the phone call, the man allegedly threatened to burn down the private school and then spray it with pig’s blood.
The man was granted strict conditional bail and will be in court Oct 25.
A passenger ferry collided with a ship believed to be carrying liquefied natural gas and sank west of Indonesia’s main island this morning, killing at least eight people, News Agencies said.
More than 210 passengers and crew were rescued, said Heru Purwanto, an official at Bakauheni port on southern Sumatra island. More than 80 survivors have been hospitalized, including at least one who was in critical condition.
The search for survivors continued, though it was unclear how many might still be in the water.
More than 50 scholars from China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan met in Shanghai Wednesday to defend China’s sovereignty over the disputed Diaoyu Islands with historical and legal evidence, News Agencies reported.
The seminar was organised by the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, Fangxia Cultural Exchange Association and the National Society of Taiwan Studies.
It came a day after the Chinese government issued a white paper asserting the country’s indisputable sovereignty over the Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islets.
Babies, at the back please! A low-cost airline in Southeast Asia is introducing a ‘quiet zone’ on its long haul flights by moving babies at the back of the plane.
AirAsia, airline in Southeast Asia with hubs in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, will offer the ‘quiet zone’ starting February 2013, the carrier said on its website.
The airline will reserve the first seven economy class rows “exclusively for guests age 12 and above”, the company said.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) Wednesday issued an order banning the use of animals by political parties during campaigns.
In an advisory issued here, the Election Commission has asked political parties not to use any animals for campaign in any manner, animal rights group said.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India said that following repeated requests by animal activist, the Election Commission asked political parties and candidates to refrain from using animals for their campaigns.
A Delhi court Wednesday issued a warrant for 26/11 key suspect Abu Jundal to be brought before it Sep 28.
The court issued the warrant after taking note of the charge sheet filed against Jundal by the Delhi Police crime branch before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vidya Prakash Sep 20.
“Abu Jundal taught Hindi and local languages spoken in Mumbai to the 10 terrorists who perpetrated the 26/11 Mumbai attacks,” said police in their charge sheet.
Indian embassy in Kuwait has sought the intervention of the Kuwaiti authorities to ensure the welfare and safety of more than 1,000 Indian domestic workers who were arrested in a crackdown on September 19.
Vidhu P Nair, Charge de’Affaires said they are hoping that all those arrested Indian workers with valid residency will be released soon.
Nair said the arrested workers are safe and there are no complaints or any cases of harassment.
A meeting of the UPA coordination committee is being held on Thursday against the backdrop of the political crisis in Maharashtra that has seen cracks widen in the ruling Congress-NCP coalition in the state.
The committee was constituted last month to ensure cohesive functioning of UPA after Congress ally NCP had raised the issue of lack of coordination in the ruling alliance. This is the first meeting of the committee headed by Congress President Sonia Gandhi after Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress pulled out of UPA this month.
The government Tuesday said it is holding consultation process to ratify two key ILO conventions concerning workers’ rights to organise and collectively bargain and ensuring adequate safety and health at workplace.
“We are actively engaging in consultation process for ratification of ILO Conventions No 98 concerning Protection of the right to organise and collective bargaining and No 155 concerning occupational safety and health,” Labour and Employment Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said here.
Following the government move to allow FDI policy in the civil aviation sector, Chairman of debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines Vijay Mallya on Wednesday said the carrier was in talks with foreign airlines.
“Yes, we are in talks” he told reporters on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the UB Group promoted by him.
He, however did not provide details citing “privacy and confidentiality” reasons.
When asked how beneficial will be the new FDI policy, that allows foreign airlines to pick stakes in domestic air carriers for Kingfisher, Mallya said it was too early to comment.
Isha Sherwani moved her body effortlessly to different beats and tunes during her performances and mesmerised everyone with her dancing skills on ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa’, but the actress has decided to skip the grand finale of the dance reality show due to injuries.
The 27-year-old, who also wowed audiences with her aerial dance act with choreographer Salman Yusuf Khan, fell at a friend`s place and has reportedly suffered injuries on her face. She does not wish to come in front of the camera.
Actor Jackky Bhagnani, who was last seen in college drama ‘FALTU’, reportedly got injured while shooting an action sequence in his new film ‘Rangrezz’.
Jackky, 27, sustained an injury on the head while shooting for a scene that features him stopping a friend from hitting a third person with a rod.
“There was a little panic and chaos on the sets but, he managed to give the shot successfully, despite the injury,” a source said.
Doctors present on the sets attended to his injury immediately after which he resumed shooting.
Veteran actress Waheeda Rehman will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the forthcoming 14th Mumbai Film Festival.
The eight-day fest starts here Oct 18 and it is being organised by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI).
“This year we have decided to award the Lifetime Achievement Award to Waheeda Rehman for the extraordinary work she has put in the last 60 years,” Shyam Benegal, filmmaker and chairman of MAMI, told reporters at a conference here Monday.
Sudhir Mishra, Ramesh Sippy and Amit Khanna, chairman, Reliance Entertainment and trustee, MAMI, were also present.
Main Heroine Hoon is quite an apt song for this diva. As Kareena Kapoor gets set to rock you, are you really ready for it? Be careful ‘coz she’s too hot to handle!
Even though Heroine didn’t garner rave reviews from film critics, this hasn’t kept Kareena Kapoor fans away from movie theatres. The Madhur Bhandarkar film has collected approximately Rs. 25 crore within the first three days of release.
on Twitter: “#Heroine collected approx Rs. 25 cr nett in its opening weekend. Breakup:- Fri 7.5 cr, Sat 8.5 cr, Sun 9 cr.”
Scientists claim to have identified a gene which can increase the risk of male breast cancer by 50 per cent, a finding that could herald the development of new treatments for the rare disease.
During the world`s largest study into the disease, scientists screened the genetic codes of more than 800 male breast cancer patients which revealed that mutations in one particular gene play a role in the disease, and could lead to new treatments specifically for men.
The government is against controlling or governing the Internet but want a consensus among stakeholders to deal with issues that may arise in future, Communications and IT Minister Kapil Sibal today said.
“There should be no formal government interference in the dissemination of information through a medium which is perhaps quintessential representative of democracy… What we want is consensus and not a decision. Consensus which will then formalised through which we can deal in future,” Sibal said.
India’s advanced communication satellite will be launched Sep 29 on-board Ariane-V rocket from the European space port at Kourou in French Guiana, the Indian space agency said here Monday.
“The 3.4-tonne heavy satellite (GSAT-10) has been integrated with the Ariane-V rocket along with Astra-2F spacecraft of SES as co-passenger for the launch Sep 29 at 2.48 a.m. IST,” the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a statement.
Experts have sounded warning bells on ‘water bankruptcy’ for many regions, after conducting a 20-year review of 200 major global projects.
The Global Environment Facility (GEF), the largest public fund provider of projects to improve the global environment, in partnership with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), has come up with a report on water projects involving investments of more than $7 billion.
Despite several cricketing superstars arguing in favour of Sachin Tendulkar`s retirement from international cricket, Australian pacer Shaun Tait Monday said nobody has the right to dictate a legend like Tendulkar on the issue.
“I personally feel it is not fair to dictate a legend like Sachin on the matter of his retirement. It is absolutely his decision when to retire or not,” Tait told reporters on the sidelines of Blender`s Pride Fashion Tour here.
“He is a god to Indian cricket and has given so much to the game of cricket. It is only a matter of time before he is back among runs.”
Title aspirants Pakistan would look to ensure a Super Eight berth by topping their pool when they take on minnows Bangladesh in their final Group D clash of the ICC World Twenty20 cricket tournament here on Tuesday.
Pakistan and Bangladesh have clashed five times since the inception of the format and the former has always emerged victorious in the slam-bang battles.