VISAKHAPATNAM, India: Angry protesters carrying dead bodies stormed an Indian chemical plant on Saturday to demand the facility's closure after a toxic gas leak that killed 12 people days...

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SUKKUR: The 199th Urs of Sufi saint and mystic poet Hazrat Sachal Sarmast was observed without the traditional celebrations accompanying the festival due to the social distancing in vogue due to...

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ISLAMABAD: Textile Industry has submitted with the government its budgetary proposal for budget 2020-21 asking for abolishing turnover tax, reduction of corporate tax to 25 percent and withdrawal of...

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PESHAWAR: Contrary to the opinion of doctors, the small traders and general public are fed up with the prolonged lockdown and have started violating the restrictions put in place for their...

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LONDON: British Kashmiri Organisations have shown deep concern over brutalities of the Indian army keeping up in occupied Kashmir.Both the Kashmir Youth Assembly and the Organisation of Kashmir...

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LONDON: British Kashmiri Organisations have shown deep concern over brutalities of the Indian army keeping up in occupied Kashmir.Both the Kashmir Youth Assembly and the Organisation of Kashmir...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

ISLAMABAD: Textile Industry has submitted with the government its budgetary proposal for budget 2020-21 asking for abolishing turnover tax, reduction of corporate tax to 25 percent and withdrawal of...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

On the directives of Karachi Additional Inspector General of Police Ghulam Nabi Memon, Deputy Inspector General Police Security and Emergency Service Division Maqsood Ahmed chaired a video link meeting regarding the establishment of a video conference system for the protection of witnesses and...

NOUAKCHOTT: Worshippers packed Mauritania's largest mosque on Friday, mostly ignoring social distancing rules, after the West African state lifted restrictions on public prayers meant to curb coronavirus infections.The government said this week it would "progressively ease" a series of anti-virus...

MONROVIA: Liberian President George Weah has said he will partially lift restrictions on praying in mosques and churches aimed at curbing coronavirus, while extending a lockdown in the capital Monrovia. In a statement on Friday, the former international footballer said emergency measures announced...

KABUL: Seven people were killed when protesters angry over what they see as unfair food aid distribution during the coronavirus pandemic clashed with police in Afghanistan’s western Ghor province on Saturday, according to a local member of parliament.Fourteen more were wounded during the...

Washington: The United States has approved a $2.3 billion deal on attack helicopters for Egypt, but an official insisted Friday that Washington was still pressing on human rights concerns.President Donald Trump’s administration informed Congress on Thursday that it has given the green light...

Visakhapatnam, India: Angry protesters carrying dead bodies stormed an Indian chemical plant on Saturday to demand the facility’s closure after a toxic gas leak that killed 12 people days earlier.Thursday’s pre-dawn accident in the industrial port city of Visakhapatnam injured hundreds...

KATHMANDU: Nepal protested India´s inauguration of a new road to China that passes through territory claimed by Kathmandu on Saturday, with police arresting dozens demonstrating close to India´s embassy.Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday inaugurated via video link the...

GENEVA: Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Bern and other Swiss cities Saturday to protest restrictions put in place to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus, local media reported.Several hundred people gathered in front of the Swiss parliament in the capital, the Keystone-ATS news agency...

KATHMANDU: Nepal protested India’s inauguration of a new road to China that passes through territory claimed by Kathmandu on Saturday, with police arresting dozens demonstrating close to India’s embassy.Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday inaugurated via video link the...

FREETOWN: Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio has accused the political opposition of inciting "terrorist violence" after deadly disturbances linked to the coronavirus outbreak in the West African nation.In a televised address on Friday evening, Bio said that the opposition All...

VISAKHAPATNAM, India: Angry protesters carrying dead bodies stormed an Indian chemical plant on Saturday to demand the facility’s closure after a toxic gas leak that killed 12 people days earlier.Thursday’s pre-dawn accident in the industrial port city of Visakhapatnam injured hundreds...

NOUAKCHOTT: Worshippers packed Mauritania’s largest mosque on Friday, mostly ignoring social distancing rules, after the West African state lifted restrictions on public prayers meant to curb coronavirus infections.The government said this week it would "progressively ease" a series of...

EDINBURGH: Three people have been arrested and charged as more than £100,000 in stolen property was recovered.The items, including barbecues, bikes, lawn mowers and Christmas trees, were taken from Leslie’s Bike Store in Glenrothes, Fife, and two garden centres, one in Dunfermline,...

MANCHESTER: Anti-racism campaigners have staged a protest over police use of a Taser on a man in front of his distressed child.A group of up to 15 people observed Covid-19 social distancing rules as they gathered at a petrol station forecourt in Stretford, Manchester, where the incident took...

Rawalpindi : Deputy Commissioner Captain Anwar ul Haq Saturday said that profiteering and hoarding would never be tolerated especially in the holy month of Ramazan and those found violating the law would be dealt strictly.In a statement issued here, he said that no one would be allowed to cheat...

Rawalpindi : Unruly scenes were witnessed when the shopkeepers of the city and cantonment board areas opened their shops on Saturday but were forced to close down by the local administration and police. The shopkeepers started a protest demonstration and raised full throated slogans against local...

Islamabad : The founder of Islamabad Chamber for Small Traders and former President ICCI Shahid Rasheed Butt on Saturday lauded the decision of Prime Minister Imran Khan to restart the economy revival.The COVID-19 will affect the economy for months, maybe years, but reopening businesses cannot...

Rawalpindi: A prisoner of Adiyala Jail who was rushed to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences after contracting cardiac arrest and had died on the way from jail to hospital turned out to be a COVID-19 patient/The situation got dramatic, when PIMS authorities refused to give the body to the kin...

People across Pakistan crowded markets on Saturday after a nationwide coronavirus lockdown was eased, despite the country recording its second-highest daily infection toll.

The government has allowed businesses to reopen in phases from the weekend, citing the economic havoc the virus restrictions have wreaked on citizens.

In Rawalpindi, thousands of shoppers were preparing for Eidul Fitr, with many flouting social distancing rules and advice to wear masks.

In Karachi, shopkeepers set out their wares of shoes, clothes, bangles and fabrics, while in the capital Islamabad shoppers stood in tightly-packed queues as they waited for stores to open.

Similar scenes were played out in Lahore, Quetta and Peshawar.

Omar Shirazi, a banker shopping for clothes with his daughter in Rawalpindi, welcomed the move.

“Eid is approaching,” he said. “We have to buy new garments for our children. It's the responsibility of people to comply with rules and wear safety gear.”

Tehmina Sattar, who was shopping with her sister and sons, was more cautious.

“We are happy with this decision but at the same time I have a fear in my heart that if this disease spreads it could be devastating. People here are not taking preventative measures.”

Information Minister Shibli Faraz warned earlier in the day that the lockdown on businesses would be reimposed if safety guidelines were not followed, after authorities reported more than 1,700 new cases in the past 24 hours.

Infections have been rising steadily as testing has increased, with more than 28,000 cases and more than 600 deaths recorded.

The easing comes as many across the country have openly ignored restrictions on gatherings in public during the past month, especially during the evenings as people observe Ramazan.

Schools will remain closed until mid-July however, while there are no immediate plans to restart public transportation or domestic flights.

LAHORE: Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Independent Disciplinary Panel retired Justice Fazal-e-Miran Chauhan has said Umar Akmal ‘is not prepared to show remorse and seek apology’ in his detailed judgement in the spot-fixing case that saw the Pakistan batsman slapped with a three-year suspension from all forms of the game.

Umar was provisionally suspended hours before he was to appear for Quetta Gladiators in the opening match of the Pakistan Super League on Feb 20 and was charged with two breaches of Article 2.4.4 of the PCB Anti-Corruption Code on March 17. On April 9, the PCB referred the matter to the chairman of the Independent Disciplinary Committee after the batsman opted not to request for a hearing before the Anti-Corruption Tribunal.

“It appears that he [Umar Akmal] is not prepared to show remorse and seek apology, make admission that he failed to fulfill his responsibility under Anti-Corruption Code, Article 2.4.4, rather he tried to take refuge under the pretext that in the past whenever any such approaches were made, the matter was reported by him,” said Justice Chauhan in his remarks.

“As far as Charge No.1 is concerned, I do not see any circumstances to mitigate the nature of offence, particularly, when the participant [Umar Akmal] has not cooperated with the PCB Vigilance and Security Department and the investigating team.

“In view of the admission of the participant that he failed to disclose to PCB Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Department, the details of the approaches and invitations extended to him without unnecessary delay.

The charge as framed is proved and the participant has rendered himself liable to be punished for breach of Article 2.4.4.

“Charge No.2, breach of Article 2.4.4 of the Code by failing to disclose to the PCB Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Department of the PCB, full details of the approaches and invitations received by you [Umar Akmal] to engage in corrupt conduct under the Code in respect of matches in PSL 2020.

“It is also admitted by him [Umar Akmal] that he failed to report the approaches and invitation to the PCB Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Depart­ment, as required by the PCB Code, Article 2.4.4. In view of the above charge as framed, stood proven and participant has rendered himself to be punished under Article 6.2 of the PCB Code.”

Umar’s elder brother and Pakistan Test discard Kamran had already announced that his brother would file an appeal against the punishment. Umar has to file the appeal within 14 days as the PCB then will appoint an independent adjudicator to hear that.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2020

ISLAMABAD: Senior vice president of the main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has urged the commission of inquiry on the sugar scam to include Prime Minister Imran Khan and the then finance minister Asad Umar in the investigation to find out the truth.

Talking to reporters after appearing before the commission with another senior party leader and former minister Khurram Dastagir Khan here on Saturday, Mr Abbasi said he had told the commission there would be no worth of its report if it did not summon the prime minister and Mr Umar, the then chairman of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) that had allowed export of sugar despite knowing it was not available in stock.

“We do not talk politics. We have presented facts before the commission. If the prime minister and the [former] ECC chairman are not called [for interrogation] there will be no worth of the commission’s report,” said Mr Abbasi, who had served as prime minister after disqualification of Nawaz Sharif in July 2017 as a result of the Supreme Court’s verdict in Al-Azizia corruption case.

Mr Abbasi had himself written a letter to the commission and offered his services to it by sharing his experiences in probing the sugar scam. He had stated that he would inform the commission how sugar scandals developed in the light of his experience as a former chief executive of the country.

Mr Abbasi held the prime minister directly responsible for over Rs100 billion sugar scam, saying the inquiry commission should ask him the reason for allowing sugar export despite the fact that the commodity was not available in surplus in the country and for not taking any step to prevent increase in its price. He said the export continued for 16 months with 45 per cent increase in the sugar price in the country, but the government took no notice of it.

The former prime minister alleged that the sugar mill owners earned Rs30 per kilogram extra due to this decision of the government. He said the increase in sugar price proved the decisions of the cabinet and the ECC to export sugar were wrong.

“There can be three factors behind this wrong decision. Either the prime minister is incompetent or corrupt or he is both. The facts prove he is incompetent as well as corrupt and the people of Pakistan are paying the price for it,” he said.

Mr Abbasi said he had told the inquiry commission it would not be able to understand the issue until it would not summon the members of the cabinet and the ECC.

“Is it not a matter of conflict of interests?” he asked, alleging those who made billions through the sugar scam were part of the federal cabinet.

Mr Abbasi said it was a clear, open and shut case as facts showed sugar was exported against the advice of the relevant authorities and continued to be exported for 16 months while prices rose. He said not only that, the government also imposed a special tax on sugar import to ensure the rise in price and exploitation of the people.

Replying to a question, the former prime minister said when the PML-N had left the government in 2018, the sugar price was Rs54 per kg. He said the PML-N had also given huge subsidy of over Rs20bn and even allowed the export, but at the same time it kept check on its price and brought the price down.

Responding to another query, he said they had not given anything in writing or any document, but they were ready to do so, if asked. However, he said, the minutes of the meetings of the cabinet and the ECC would be sufficient as evidence.

The federal cabinet in its meeting on April 28 had allowed three more weeks to the Sugar Forensic Commission (SFC) to compile its report on last year’s food crisis after the expiry of the April 25 deadline given for the task.

The commission headed by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General Wajid Zia had reportedly made a formal request to the federal government to grant it more time citing multiple reasons, including the situation created by coronavirus.

The commission had been constituted by the government in the first week of April following the release of two separate inquiry reports of the FIA on the issue of artificial shortage of sugar and wheat in the country and sudden increase in their prices last year.

The inquiry report on sugar had revealed names of many bigwigs, including Jahangir Tareen, former secretary general of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and a close confidant of Prime Minister Imran Khan, who had allegedly obtained benefit during the crisis.

The report had showed in the past few years sugar production was historically more than the local requirement and said therefore it was imperative to include this aspect related to export of sugar, including any subsidy given, its impact on local sugar prices and eventually major beneficiaries of such export subsidies, if any. The inquiry committee had found the sugar export was not justified as sugarcane production was expected to be low in harvesting season 2018-19 and with the export of sugar in Jan 2019, the prices of sugar sharply increased.

After the release of the report, the opposition had demanded that the PM take stern action against those who had been declared responsible for the crisis by the FIA committee.

PM Khan had vowed to take action, but said he would do so after receiving the forensic audit report from the commission he had constituted on the recommendation of the ‘initial’ reports. The commission comprises officials from a number of agencies and departments, including Intelligence Bureau and the Federal Board of Revenue.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2020

NEW DELHI: Nepal has protested to India over a border road, which it claims traverses its territory, a charge New Delhi has denied, The Wire news portal said on Saturday. It said the protest also flowed from a new map of the region India drew after the bifurcation of occupied Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories in December last year.

“Rumblings in Nepal about the boundary with India have now resulted in a full-scale eruption since India inaugurated a new road in Uttarakhand which leads to territory that is claimed by Kathmandu, near the border with China,” The Wire said.

On Friday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated by videoconference the road between Dharchula and Lipu Lekh, which will reduce the length of the Hindu pilgrimage of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra inside China by several days.

Nepalese opposition leaders immediately raised the pitch, asking for the government to clear its public stance. A day later, Nepal’s foreign ministry expressed “regret” at India’s “unilateral act” and called upon India to refrain from carrying out any activity on Nepalese territory, portal said.

A new map of the region drawn by India after the bifurcation of occupied Jammu and Kashmir also behind the controversy

In a lengthy statement, Nepal’s foreign ministry reminded that Nepal claims all territories east of Mahakali river, “including Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipu Lekh” as per the 1816 Sugauli Treaty”.

“This was reiterated by the Government of Nepal several times in the past and most recently through a diplomatic note addressed to the Government of India dated 20 November 2019 in response to the new political map issued by the latter,” the statement said.

“The context of the last diplomatic note is that months ago, India had issued a new political map to show the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two new Union Territories. In it, it depicted Kalapani as part of Indian territory, which led to a strong objection from Nepal,” The Wire said.

It further pointed out that when India and China had agreed to include Lipu Lekh pass as a bilateral trade route in a May 2015 joint statement, Nepal had issued separate diplomatic protest notes to the two Asian giants for not obtaining Kathmandu’s consent.

On the latest move, Nepal stated: “This unilateral act runs against the understanding reached between the two countries including at the level of prime ministers that a solution to boundary issues would be sought through negotiation.”

Stating that Nepal sought a diplomatic solution in the spirit of friendly relations, its foreign ministry asserted: “In light of this development, the Government of Nepal calls upon the Government of India to refrain from carrying out any activity inside the territory of Nepal.”

The Kathmandu Post had reported that Nepalese Foreign Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi spoke to Indian Ambassador Vinay Kwatra on Friday.

The statement issued in Kathmandu also reiterated that Nepal had twice proposed dates for holding meeting between the foreign secretaries of the two sides after the Kalapani controversy gathered momentum last year.

Nepal’s Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali had told visiting Indian journalists in February that if India could solve longstanding and complex boundary disputes with Bangladesh, then it should be able to do so with Nepal. He had also highlighted that India had still not given a concrete response for a meeting of the two foreign secretaries.

On Friday evening, India’s Ministry of External Affairs responded that the road section “lies entirely within the territory of India”. “Under the present project, the same road has been made pliable for the ease and convenience of pilgrims, locals and traders,” The Wire quoted MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava as saying.

He added that both countries had an established mechanism on boundary matters and that the delineation of the boundary was still an “ongoing process”. “India is committed to resolving outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue and in the spirit of our close and friendly bilateral relations with Nepal,” said Srivastava.

On the demand for a meeting of foreign secretaries, he said that the meeting would be held “once the dates are finalised between the two sides after the two societies and governments have successfully dealt with the challenge of Covid-19 emergency”.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2020

Iraq's new government promised Saturday to release demonstrators arrested during mass protests that erupted in October and pledged justice and compensation to relatives of over 550 people killed during that unrest.

Washington has yet to respond to Iran about a prisoner swap, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei was quoted as saying by the government's website on Sunday, reiterating that Tehran was ready for a full prisoner exchange with the United States without preconditions.

Palo Alto, CA – Aha by HARMAN™ today announced that the new 2014 Mazda3to be launched in North America and Europethis fall will offer access to Aha's free service withthe ability to select presets from more than 40,000* audio and information stations.

CES 2014, LAS VEGAS – HARMAN, the premium global audio and infotainment group (NYSE:HAR), unveiled two new services for the automotive market that leverage the Aha by HARMAN Cloud Platform and HARMAN’s infotainment system design leadership to ensure safe, personalized and connected driving experiences throughout the life of the vehicle. Extending beyond the popular Aha Radio interactive content service, the new Aha Updates and Aha Analytics services take HARMAN’s expertise and investments in cloud infrastructure into new directions.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned on Saturday that if provinces move too quickly to reopen their economies, a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic could send Canada "back into confinement this summer."

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Apr. 13 - A team of self-described geeks in Taipei have taken to the streets on a bicycle equipped with a 3D printer which they're using to turn plastic waste into useful products. They call their printer the "Mobile Fab" and say it not only helps promote recycling, but also demonstrates how technology can be applied in a socially responsible way. Tara Cleary reports.

* Q4 profit likely 5.2 trln won, vs 5 trln won analyst f'casts

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Global smartphone leader Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Thursday confirmed expectations for its first annual profit decline since 2011, although a pickup in the fourth quarter hinted that earnings may have stabilized in the short term.

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Brazil's Economy Minister Paulo Guedes on Saturday said the country's central bank is likely to shower the economy with money in case of an economic depression.

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