Taufeeq Umar returns for Australia Tests

Taufeeq Umar, the left-hand opening batsmen, has made a comeback to the Pakistan Test squad for the two-match series against Australia in the UAE. Taufeeq played the last of his 43 Tests in July 2012.

بلوچستان کےعلاقے لسبیلہ میں پنجاب سے تعلق رکھنے والے 9 مزدوروں کی لاشیں برآمد

لسبیلہ کے قریب سے 9 مغوی مزدوروں کی لاشیں برآمد ہوئی ہیں ، مرنے والوں کا تعلق پنجاب کے مختلف علاقوں سے تھا اور وہ محنت مزدوری کیلئے لسبیلہ میں آئے تھے ۔پولیس کے مطابق مزدوروں کو گزشتہ رات اغوا کیا گیا تھا اوراتوار کی صبح ننگ ہار کے علاقے سے ان کی لاشیں برآمد ہوئیں۔ اغوا ہونے والوں میں سے ایک مزدور کو زندہ چھوڑ دیا گیا ہے ، پولیس نے مزدوروں کی لاشیں قبضے میں لے کر تفتیش کا آغاز کر دیا ہے۔

Science shines light on dark matter

Scientists from the University of Leicester say they may have solved one of the most enduring mysteries in modern physics - the nature of dark matter.
This is something that accounts for the difference between the observable mass of material in space, and the way it moves - which would suggest far greater mass.
Researchers say they have identified a signal which - if confirmed - would lay the blame on 'axions', emitted from stars.
These are one of the candidate particles physicists believe may account for 85% of the missing mass in the universe.

Balloon blast victim dies

LAHORE: A 15-year-old boy, who suffered critical burns along with 40 others when gas-filled balloons exploded on April 21, died at Mayo Hospital late on Friday.

Three children who had suffered three to four percent burns are still under treatment at Jinnah Hospital but their condition is stated to be normal. The injured had been rushed to General, Jinnahand Mayo hospitals following the incident. Mayo Medical Superintendent Dr Amjad Shahzad said Naveed Asghar of Dev Kalan village was referred here from Jinnah Hospital with above 40pc burns and was in a critical condition. He said a team of plastic and surgery department doctors was treating the patient but he succumbed to his wounds. He said Asghar was the only victim received by Mayo Hospital. During a ceremony on Walton Road to inaugurate a new fly over by the chief minister on April 21 near Dev Kalan village, Kamahan Road, several helium-filled balloons had landed in a make shift playground and caught fire when someone touched them with a cigarette, according to initial police inquiries. Jinnah Hospital received majority of the injured and relatives of some of the patients claimed doctors had discharged them in haste. MS Dr Muhammad Rauf denied the allegations saying most of the victims had been discharged after proper treatment. Presently, he said, only three children wereunder treatment at private rooms of the hospital. Dr Rauf said the discharged children had been visiting the health facility for follow-up treatment. On Saturday, he said the doctors called seven children for assessment and cleansing their wounds.

Two brothers re-arrested in Pakistan for cannibalism

Two brothers previously jailed for cannibalism and then released, have been arrested again after police discovered a child's severed head at their home in a remote village in northwest Pakistan. Mohammed Arif Ali was arrested early Monday after neighbors alerted police to a "foul smell" coming from his house in the village of Kahawar Khan in the Bhakkar district of Punjab, district police chief Ameer Abdullah Khan told Media.When they went to investigate, they discovered the decapitated head of an infant next to a burning stove. The head, which is now being examined at a hospital in the nearby village of Darya Khan, looked to be around five days old, Abdullah said Arif Ali was arrested at the scene, while his brother, Mohammed Farman Ali, was apprehended by police hours later on the outskirts of their village. Police said both men confessed to eating human flesh. The brothers were released from prison last year after serving a two-year jail term for similar offenses -- they admitted dismembering a woman's body they had stolen from a graveyard in Darya Khan where they lived at the time. With no explicit law on cannibalism in Pakistan, the two men were convicted of desecrating a dead body and other public order offenses in a case that provoked widespread revulsion across Pakistan.

Foreign investors keen to invest in Pakistan: Dar

Washington: Finance Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar says foreign investors have shown a keen interest in various sectors of Pakistan with a focus on energy after an improvement in the fundamentals of national economy.

He was talking to representatives of Standard & Poor's and Moody's in Washington. The Minister said the government is taking concrete steps to fill the gap between power production and supply. He said various projects are underway to add power to the national grid.
The Finance Minister said Pakistan's economy is gaining momentum and has successfully completed first two quarterly reviews of International Monetary Fund (IMF). He specifically mentioned privatization of public sector entities through capital market and strategic sale transactions.
Ishaq Dar hoped that Pakistan's GDP is expected to increase from 3.6 to 7 percent and tax to GDP ratio from 8.5 to 13 percent. He said inflation is expected to be contained within a single digit of eight percent. Dar said the stock market has been gaining momentum during the last few months. The representatives of rating agencies appreciated the launch of Pakistan Sovereign Bonds in international market. They also lauded the recent improvement in the economic performance of the government.

Saudi Arabia to build world's biggest botanical gardens

Saudi Arabia is set to lay the foundation stone for the King Abdullah International Gardens (KAIG) in Riyadh this week, with plans for the facility set to include the world’s largest botanical gardens, it was reported. Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs Prince Mansour Bin Miteb will perform the ceremony on Thursday at the site, which will be 2.5m square metres in size and will be one of the largest environment projects in the world. The plans include two separate elements: a covered section and an open area. The covered facility, which will be the largest of its kind in the world, will include two giant botanical gardens which will be five times bigger than the world’s largest geodesic domes at the Eden Project in the UK. The outdoor area will include an open museum for plants, seeds bank and rocky garden, while the plans will also include research institutes, retail and hospitality outlets and a theatre, it added. The project will focus on local plant life in the Arabian Peninsula and is designed to appeal to families and tourists. Construction is already underway, with the levelling of the site and fencing works already completed.

JF-17 Planes of Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif paid a visit to Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) Kamra for briefings on the exports of the Pakistan Air Force’s aircraft, the JF-17 Thunder, Express News reported on Wednesday.
Nawaz was the guest of honour at the inauguration event for the roll out ceremony of the 50th JF-17 aircraft. The event was attended by delegates from China as well as the PAF.
Speaking at the end of the inauguration, the premier appreciated China’s efforts to help Pakistan manufacture 50 JF-17s and also commended the bravery of the Pakistan Air Force.
“Pakistan’s skies are safe due to the efforts of the Pakistan Air Force”, Nawaz said.
Furthermore, he said the last time this project was supposed to be launched, the PAF met with political hurdles which the PML-N government had cleared.
During his speech Nawaz also stated that the inauguration of the planes is a means to “expand the friendship between China and Pakistan.”
Nawaz also reflected on the past joint ventures that Pakistan and China invested in together which include the Karakoram Highway, Chashma Power Plant and the Karachi Civil Nuclear Plant.
Concluding the speech, Nawaz said “We will fulfill all the needs of the Pakistani Air Force”.
The PAC JF-17 is a light weight, single engine, and multi combat aircraft which has been developed by the Pakistan Air Force, the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and the Chengdu Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAC) of China.
The aircraft is 15 metres long and is said to be able to tackle all kinds of weather.

پاکستانی فوج کے نئے سربراہ جنرل راحیل شریف نے راولپنڈی میںمنعقدہ تقریب میں باضابطہ طور پر بری فوج کی کمان سنبھال لی

جنرل راحیل شریف پاکستان کے بری فوج کے 15ویں سربراہ ہیں اور انھوں نے جنرل اشفاق پرویز کیانی کی جگہ لی ہے جو چھ سال تک پاکستان کے بری فوج کے سربراہ رہنے کے بعد ریٹائر ہوئے ہیں۔پاکستان کے سرکاری ٹی وی کے مطابق اس تقریب میں اعلیٰ فوجی اور سول شخصیات شریک ہوئیں۔کمان کی تبدیلی کی تقریب میں آزاد کشمیر رجمنٹ کے ایک دستے نے جنرل اشفاق پرویز کیانی کو اعزازی گارڈ آف آنر پیش کیا جس کے بعد اپنے الوداعی خطاب میں انھوں نے کہا کہ جو بھاری ذمہ داری انھیں سونپی گئی تھی وہ باعزت طریقے سے ان سے عہدہ برا ہوئے ہیں۔جنرل اشفاق پرویز کیانی چھ برس تک برّی فوج کے سپہ سالار رہےجنرل کیانی نے کہا کہ جب انھوں نے کمان سنبھالی تو فوج کو بہت سے چیلنجز کا سامنا تھا جن سے نمٹنے کےلیے یکسوئی کے ساتھ پیشہ ورانہ صلاحیتیں بروئے کار لانے کی ضرورت تھی اور آج جب وہ ریٹائر ہو رہے ہیں تو فوج اندرونی اور بیرونی خطرات سے نمٹنے کے لیے تیار ہے۔انھوں نے یہ بھی کہا کہ’میں نے اپنے دور میں جو بھی فیصلے کیے ان میں ملک و قوم اور فوج کا مفاد مقدم رکھا‘ اور یہ کہ اگر نیت صاف ہو تو مشکل وقت میں نئے در کھل جاتے ہیں اور خود ان کے ساتھ ایساہی ہوا۔ان کا یہ بھی کہنا تھا کہ قوموں کے سامنے مشکلات آتی رہتی ہیں لیکن ان سے نمٹنے کے لیے ’ہمیں اپنی صفوں میں اتحاد قائم رکھنا ہوگا‘۔تقریب سے خطاب کے بعد جنرل کیانی نے پاکستانی فوج کی کمان کی علامتی چھڑی ستاون سالہ جنرل راحیل شریف کے ہاتھ میں تھما دی جس کے ساتھ ہی پاکستانی فوج میں ان کا 42 برس سے زیادہ عرصے پر مشتملعسکری کریئر اختتام کو پہنچ گیا۔اس دوران جہاں وہ نومبر 2007 سے28 نومبر 2013 تک بری فوج کے سپہ سالار رہے وہیں انہوں نے ڈائریکٹر جنرل ملٹری آپریشنز، وائس چیف آف آرمی سٹاف اور پاکستانی فوج کی خفیہ ایجنسی آئی ایس آئی کے سربراہ کے طور پر بھی خدمات سرانجام دیں۔

Pakistan introduces its own drones

The Pakistani military on Monday announced its first fleet of indigenously developed surveillance-capable drones ata ceremony attended by the Army chief.According to a press release, the introduction of the two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), called the ‘Burraq’ and‘Shahpar’ systems in the Pakistan Army and Air Force, are “a landmark and historic event, wherein a very effective force multiplier has been added to the inventory of the armed forces.”Pakistan already has several types of unarmed surveillance drones in operation, but ‘Burraq’ and ‘Shahpar’ are the first to be developed locally.The drones have been developed in cooperation withthe National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM) is a civilian controlled Pakistani scientific research organisation.“In the future, these UAVs could also be gainfully employed in various socio-economic development projects as well,” said the release from ISPR, the media wing of the military.The unveiling ceremony was attended by Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Chief of the Air Staff Tahir Rafique Butt, Director General Strategic Plans Division Lt-Gen (R) Khalid Ahmed Kidwai, and senior officers from the armed forces, scientists and engineers, said the ISPR statement.The induction of the indigenously developed surveillance capable UAVs in Pakistan’s armed forces is a force multiplier, and will substantially enhance their target acquisition capabilities in real time, said the Army chief while appreciating the work of NESCOM scientists and engineers.The ISPR statement did not state whether the surveillance drones were also capable of being armed with precision missiles, like the UAVs that theUS uses to target suspected Taliban and al Qaeda militantsin Pakistan’s tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.According to earlier reports in the media, the Pakistani military has working to develop its own armed drones, but has been unsuccessful with a lack of precision munitions and advanced targeting technology.According to one report, Pakistan carried out weapons tests earlier last year with the Falco, an Italian drone used bythe air force for surveillance that has been modified to carry rockets.According to the same report, the military was also conducting similar tests with the Shahpar.An unarmed version of the Shahpar was unveiled for the first time at the International Defence Exhibition (IDEAS) in Karachi in November last year.Industry insiders say that the Chinese government has also reportedly offered to sell Pakistan an armed drone it has produced, the CH-3, whichcan carry two laser-guided missiles or bombs.

Death toll rises to 7 in Saudi Arabia floods

Flash floods sparked by torrential rain in largely desert Saudi Arabia have killed seven people over the past three days, the civil defense authority said on Wednesday.Five other people are still missing after parts of the capital Riyadh andthe northeastern city of Arar were inundated, authority spokesman Colonel Abdullah al-Harithi told theofficial SPA news agency.The storms that have accompanied the downpours have brought down power lines, sparking outages in parts of north Riyadh.Schools and universities in the capital have been closed since Sunday.Flooding of underpasses on major thoroughfares has sparked traffic chaos for Riyadh's more than five million residents.In May last year, around 20 people were killed in flooding sparked by the kingdom's heaviest rainfall in 25 years.

Bomb blasts killed two in Pakistani city of Quetta

A series of bomb explosions have killed at least two people and injured several others in the troubled southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, security sources say.The casualties came after coordinated blasts rocked Sirki roadand Moti Ram road areas in Quetta,the capital of Balochistan Province.The injured were shifted to a nearby hospital for necessary medical treatment.Law enforcement agencies say theyhave launched an investigation into the deadly bombings. Pakistani officials often blame Baloch separatist groups for such attacks. Quetta has experienced a fresh spate of violence and militancy over the past few months. Militant attacks and bomb explosions have killed hundreds of people in the volatile city so far this year.Pro-Taliban militants and some Baloch insurgent groups have carried out numerous attacks against security forces as well as civilians.The Pakistani army has launched several operations in the troubled northwestern and southwestern regions in a bid to flush out militants from the volatile areas.Despite the Pakistani government's operations against militants, they have still been able to spread their influence in various regions of the country and kill thousands of people, who have lost their lives in bombings and other militant attacks since 2001, when Pakistan entered an alliance with the US in the war on terror.