No ban on pillion riding in Khi on Eid

KARACHI: Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik has announced lifting ban on pillion riding in Karachi during three days of Eid-ul-Fitr, 

This he announced during his visit to Zainab Market Karachi. He said that there will be no ban on pillion riding on three days of Eid.

Khi operation: Four accused held, arms recovered

KARACHI: Police on late Monday night arrested four miscreants and recovered arms and ammunition from their possession in Baldia town, Police in a joint operation along with FC in sector 19-D of Baldia town arrested four accused and recovered two Kalashnikovs, two pistol and huge quantity of ammunition from their possession. Meanwhile, police during search operation in Khwaja Ajmer Nagri, Zareena colony and surrounding areas took five accused in custody while a suspected miscreant was arrested after exchange of fire in Muhammad Shah graveyard.

Indian Passengers plane bad landing

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM – Indian Passengers plane bad landing > Terrified passengers jumped out of a plane in India on Monday after it skidded to halt on landing, trying to escape before emergency ladders were put in place, officials said.Seven passengers were injured in the pre-dawn incidaent when the Gulf Air flight from Bahrain to Kochi in the southern Indian state of Kerala landed badly in wet weather conditions and veered onto muddy grassland.

 

“The Bahrain-Kochi Airbus 320 shot 10 metres (30 feet) off the runway. Some passengers in panic jumped out of the emergency exit before the ladders were brought,” A.C.K. Nair, Kochi Airport director, 

“Because the nose of the plane was damaged the emergency (inflatable) ladder did not work, so a rescue team started bringing ladders to the site. But before they arrived, people began to jump.”

“All those injured were injured because they jumped out too soon.”

Nair said 137 passengers were on board the flight.

One passenger remained in hospital and the runway was closed for several hours, Nair said.

“The preliminary investigation revealed bad weather and poor visibility caused the accident,” another airport 

Gaddafi wife and three children in Algeria

 Muammar Gaddafi's wife and three of his children entered Algeria on Monday morning, Algeria's Foreign Ministry said, drawing criticism from Libya's rebels who said granting refuge to the family was an "act of aggression."

Their arrival, a week after Tripoli fell into rebel hands, was reported to the United Nations and the Libyan rebel authorities, the state Algeria Press Service (APS) reported, citing a statement from the ministry.

"Muammar Gaddafi's wife Safia, his daughter Aisha, his sons Hannibal and Mohammed, accompanied by their children, entered Algeria at 08.45 a.m. (0745 GMT) through the Algerian-Libyan border," said APS.

Gaddafi's whereabouts remain unknown after Tripoli fell to his foes. The rebels have offered a $1.3 million reward and amnesty from prosecution for anyone who kills or captures him.

Gaddafi's son Khamis, who led the elite and widely feared Khamis brigade, was killed in a clash near the capital, a senior rebel officer said on Monday. No independent confirmation of the death was available.

ACT OF AGGRESSION

A spokesman for the National Transitional Council (NTC) said it considered Algeria's move granting refuge to the Gaddafi family members an act of aggression and it will seek their extradition.

"We have promised to provide a just trial to all those criminals and therefore we consider this an act of aggression," spokesman Mahmoud Shamman told Reuters. "We are warning anybody not to shelter Gaddafi and his sons. We are going after them in any place to find them and arrest them," he said.

NTC vice chairman Abdel Hafiz Ghoga echoed this: "All Gaddafi's family are wanted for financial crimes against Libya. His wife, daughter, all of them."

Libyan rebel officials had previously accused Algeria -- the only one of Libya's North African neighbors yet to recognize the NTC -- of backing Gaddafi, an allegation Algeria has denied.

Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci had held talks with a senior Libyan rebel official, APS reported earlier on Monday, the highest-level contact in months of fraught relations between Libya's new leadership and their Algerian neighbors.

Medelci met Mahmoud Jibril, head of the NTC's executive committee, on the sidelines of an Arab League meeting in Cairo.

Mohammed is the son from Gaddafi's first marriage. Last week, Gaddafi's forces helped him flee house arrest after he was captured by rebels. The loyalist fighters stormed the house where Mohammed was held and set him free after clashes with guards there, Al Jazeera news channel said.

Since the revolt began in February, Aisha Gaddafi has made several public appearances backing her father and attacking the rebels and Western powers trying to overthrow him. Hannibal Gaddafi has kept a low profile since the unrest began.

Vermont, New Jersey flooded as Irene spares NYC

 New Jersey and Vermont struggled with their worst flooding in decades on Monday, a day after Hurricane Irene slammed an already soaked region with torrential rain, dragging away homes and submerging neighborhoods underwater.

Spared from Irene's worst fury, New York City went back to work on Monday despite a partially crippled mass transit system and power outages that left 100,000 customers in the metropolitan area without electricity.

More than 12,000 East Coast flights were canceled and it could take three days to restore normal service, the industry group Air Transport Association said.

Overall, some 5.5 million homes and businesses were still without power from North Carolina to Maine, and utilities said it could take days to restore electricity in more accessible areas and weeks in the hardest-hit regions.

Total economic damage could reach $20 billion, Standard & Poor's Senior Economist Beth Ann Bovino said. Hundreds of thousands of homes suffered damage, raising questions about how much would be covered by insurance as many homeowner policies do not cover flood damage.

In Fairfield, New Jersey, about 20 homes near the Passaic River were submerged, some in at least five feet of water. Some people waded chest high or rode canoes down the street, while others just sat and witnessed the flood from their stoops.

"This is the worst flood we have ever had," said Mike Chiafulio, 52, who could only watch as the water continued to rise around his mother's house.

The flooding exceeding what he remembered from notable floods in 1968 and 1984.

"We've never seen anything like this and it's still rising," said Wieslaw Borek, 54, who has lived in the area for 17 years. "People have been forced to leave and get out. There could be looting, you never know."

21 DEAD IN UNITED STATES

At least 21 people died in the United States in addition to three who died in the Dominican Republic and one in Puerto Rico when the storm was still in the Caribbean.

"It's going to take time to recover from a storm of this magnitude," President Barack Obama told reporters in Washington. "The effects are still being felt across much of the country, including in New England and states like Vermont where there's been an enormous amount of flooding.

"I'm going to make sure that FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and other agencies are doing everything in their power to help people on the ground."

Vermont officials called it the state's worst flooding since 1927.

Air travel at New York City's three major area airports slowly resumed service, and financial markets operated normally, although volumes were low.

New York City subways returned to service, but many commuter lines to the city and national train carrier Amtrak were disrupted due to tracks that were flooded or blocked with fallen trees and debris.

While Irene failed to produce the devastation many had expected when New York City preemptively ordered unprecedented evacuations and a shutdown of its mass transit system on Saturday, it still left hundreds of thousands of homeowners with flood damage, especially in New Jersey and Vermont.

"I keep being somewhat disappointed by some of the national press that think because Manhattan wasn't hit, everything is fine. We're not Manhattan, but we have human lives here in Vermont, too," Governor Peter Shumlin said after surveying washed out roads and bridges and homes bobbing in the water.

Shumlin visited the Whetstone Studio for the Arts in Brattleboro, an artsy community of 12,000 along the Connecticut River. Gushing water ate away at the building and left its second floor dangling precariously over the flood.

MAJOR FLOODING

Some 5 to 15 inches of rain fell over a 24- to 36-hour period in northeastern states, said David Vallee, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service, creating moderate to major flooding in parts of eastern New York state, the Connecticut River valley and much of northern New Hampshire and Vermont.

"Right now in Vermont, they are still very much in a search-and-rescue to try to figure out where people are cut off and make sure they have everybody located and accounted for," FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate told reporters in Washington.

One person was killed after being swept into a river, and at least one of Vermont's historic covered bridges was washed away as Irene's rains sent rivers spilling over their banks.

Many northeastern rivers, already swollen from an unusually wet summer, were still cresting.

Fairfield, New Jersey, home to more than 7,000 people, was in danger of becoming an island as flooding from the Passaic River was expected to surpass that of a memorable flood in 1984, Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura said.

"We are surrounded already," said Gail Dupas, 36, who fled to a hotel after floodwaters on her street reached neck deep. "It's devastating. You have to grab what you can. Anything that's irreplaceable."

In Atlantic City, casinos started re-opening on Monday, creating backups as gamblers sought to check into hotels.

"We are still calculating the total revenue and profit loss from the shutdown but having to close our casinos the weekend before Labor Day in Atlantic City is significant to our business in Atlantic City," said Jennifer Weissman, spokeswoman for the Caesars Group, which owns several casinos there.

The costly cleanup will also further strain budgets of state and local governments, where economies have not recovered from the recession.

"It's a hit but not a fatal hit," said Joseph Seneca, a professor at Rutgers University's Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. "The ability of states to respond (to the hurricane) is more constrained," Seneca said.

(Reporting by Christine Kearney in Fairfield, New Jersey; Scott Malone in Brattleboro, Vermont; Karen Pierog in Chicago; Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Lauren Keiper in Boston; Ben Berkowitz, Josh Schneyer and Edith Honan in New York; Tabassum Zakaria and Jeff Mason in Washington; David Warner in Philadelphia; Beth Gladstone in Atlantic City, New Jersey; Matthew Goldstein in Millburn, 

Baghdad mosque attack kills MP, 27 others

 BAGHDAD: An elderly bandage-swathed suicide bomber blew himself up in Baghdad's biggest Sunni mosque, killing an MP and at least 27 others in an attack that was blamed on al Qaeda on Monday.

The blast was part of nationwide violence that left 35 dead on Sunday, just days before the conclusion of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and the Eid al-Fitr festival that marks its end, and was apparently carried out by a man who detonated his explosives in a crowd of worshippers.

An interior ministry official said 28 people were killed and 37 wounded in the attack late on Sunday. A defence ministry official put the toll at 29 dead and 35 wounded.

The suicide blast was quickly condemned by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi.

Among the dead was Khaled al-Fahdawi, an MP from western Anbar province allied with the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc, the interior ministry official said. Elderly men and children were also among the casualties.

Baghdad security spokesman Qassim Atta and Ahmed Abdulghafur al-Samarrai, head of the blue-domed Umm al-Qura mosque that was targeted and one of the founders of an anti-Qaeda militia force comprised of Sunni tribesmen in Baghdad, pointed the finger at al Qaeda.

"It is 100 percent certain that Al-Qaeda is behind this attack," Atta told AFP on Monday.

He added that the bomber "blew himself up in the middle of the people in the mosque to try to get the maximum number of casualties."

Samarrai, meanwhile, told Al-Sharqiyah television: "I am sure al Qaeda was behind this attack ... We will continue our fight against those criminals and unbelievers. They tried to drag the country into sectarian war before."

He said he had seen the attacker before at the mosque, describing him as an elderly visitor and adding: "That is why it was so easy for him to enter the mosque."

The suicide bomber apparently walked up to a crowd, covered in bandages, as the mosque chief was giving a speech and detonated his explosives, according to Samarrai.

The Umm al-Qura mosque, located in western Baghdad, is the largest Sunni mosque in Baghdad and the headquarters of the Sunni Endowment, which is responsible for maintaining Sunni Muslim religious sites across Iraq.

Samarrai is known for his sermons against violent extremism. He was one of the founders of the Sahwa, or Awakening, movement in the mostly Sunni north Baghdad neighbourhood of Adhamiyah.

The Sahwa are comprised of Sunni tribesmen who joined forces with the US military against Al-Qaeda from late 2006, helping turn the tide of the insurgency. As a result, Sahwa fighters are despised by Al-Qaeda insurgents, and Samarrai has received several threats against his life.

A car bomb and four roadside blasts in other areas of the capital killed one person and wounded 20 others earlier Sunday, according to the interior ministry official.

Meanwhile, separate gun attacks in the restive central province of Diyala left five people dead, including two policemen, according to an Iraqi army colonel in Diyala's security command centre.

Explosions in Mosul and Tuz Khurmatu, north of the capital, left a policeman dead and six others wounded, security officials said. 

Parts of KPK to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr on Tuesday

PESHAWAR: Mufti Shahabuddin Populzai of Qasim Ali Khan mosque Peshawar has announced that Shawwal moon has been sighted in Peshawar and Eid-ul-Fitr would be on Tuesday, 

Talking to media after a meeting of moon sighting committee, Mufti Shahabuddin said that the Shawwal moon has been sighted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and that they have received 10 witnesses.

It is pertinent to mention here that the not a single representative of the provincial government was present in the meeting.

Ruyat-e-Hilal Committee – the official moon sighting committee of Pakistan will meet on Tuesday.

PPP disowns Dr. Mirza's statement

 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has disowned the statement of former Home Minister Sindh Dr. Zulfikar Mirza and termed it an unacceptable violation of the party discipline and contrary to the well thought out policy of reconciliation,

This was said in a statement issued here from the President House following a meeting chaired by PPP Co-Chairman President Asif Ali Zardari.

The was attended by Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Speaker Sindh Assembly Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq, Mir Nadir Magsi, Sharjeel Memon, Manzoor Hussain Wasan, Muhammad Ayaz Soomro, Agha Siraj Durrani and Abdul Qadir Patel.

Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khursheed Shah, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Ms. Rukhsana Bangash and Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar were also present.

Army set to review Mirza’s statement after Eid

ISLAMABAD: The national security agencies have started to mull over Zulfiqar Mirza’s press conference and Pakistan Army is all set to review his statement in Corps Commanders Conference scheduled after Eid, .

According to sources, the post Eid corps commanders’ conference would also ponder specially over Zulfiqar Mirza’s claims regarding the national security.

Earlier this month, the last corps commanders’ conference expressed deep concerns over prevailing law and order situation in country including Karachi.

The COAS Ashfaq Parvez Kayani came to Karachi, last week, on a short trip where he was rendered an important briefing, by security agencies, over existing security situation in the metropolis

Eid-ul-Fitr in Saudi Arabia, UAE & Egypt on Tuesday

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia announced Monday that the Eid-ul-Fitr feast marking the end of the fasting month of Ramazan will be on Tuesday, in a statement aired on state television Al-Ekhbariyah.

Religious authorities in Saudi Arabia, said the Shawwal moon had been sighted and that Ramazan ends on Monday with the Eid to follow the next day.

Egyptian state television, quoting authorities, too declared that Eid al-Fitr will be on Tuesday.

The United Arab Emirates and Qatar also announced the end of Ramazan.

Blade Runner competes against able-bodied rivals

 JOHANNESBURG: Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius became the first amputee to qualify for the 400 meters semi-finals at the World Athletic Championships in Daegu, South Korea. 

The South African athlete known as ‘Blade Runner,’ due to his carbon fibre prosthetic legs, finished third in his race at 45.39 seconds while running alongside able-bodied athletes.

The 24-year-old, who had both legs amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old, came on strongly in the second half of the race and finished 0.1 sec behind winner Chris Brown, with Britain's Martyn Rooney coming in second.

Debate has raged whether Pistorius should have even been allowed to compete, as some argued that his carbon fibre blades gave him an advantage. However, support for him was palpable inside the stadium, with South African flags being waved and chants of 'We love Oscar' breaking out before he took to his blocks.

British HC says reports of Altaf arrest unfounded

ISLAMABAD: British High Commissioner in Islamabad Adam Thomson on Monday said there is no truth in reports regarding the attempt made by Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain to move out of UK besides the news of his arrest in London is also unfounded, 

Talking to media men here, the British HC described the present political scene of Pakistan as very interesting and that he was enjoying how the developments were unfolding.

To a question, he said investigations into the murder of Dr. Imran Farooq were underway.

When asked if Altaf Hussain had written any letter to the former British prime minister Tony Blair, he said had no knowledge of it nor 'do I know of any letter written by (MQM's) Nasreen Jalil.

ANP Sindh discusses Zulfiqar Mirza's outburst

 KARACHI: Awami National Party met here today under the chair of ANP Sindh President Shahi Sayed and asked Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to explain everything satisfactorily regarding the allegations leveled by Zulfiqar Mirza.

ANP Sindh discussed the situation in the aftermath of Zulfiqar Mirza's explosive press conference that has shook the power corridors.

Mirza said Altaf Hussain had told them that America had hatched a plan to break up Pakistan and he had come to know about it from well-connected people. Altaf Hussain told Mirza and Pir Mazhar that "he and his party had decided to support this American plan and therefore I (Altaf) will not stop the killing of Pakhtuns", Mirza said, adding that he did not want to sit with a leader who wanted to destroy Pakistan at the behest of a foreign country.

The party noted that the allegation to kill Pakhtuns is very serious one and demanded that top leadership of MQM should explain its position.

KSE hangs tough ahead of holidays

KARACHI: The Karachi Stock Exchange’s benchmark 100-share index on Monday closed 0.02 percent, or 2.12 points, higher at 10,903.88. 

The market made an intra-day low at 10,760.91.

Volume stood at 36.82 million shares, compared with 44.82 million shares traded on Thursday. The stock market was closed on Friday.

"Ahead of long holidays, activity remained dull and the focus was on selected stocks," said a broker. 

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Hong Kong shares rise 1.51% by noon

HONG KONG: Hong Kong shares rose 1.51 percent on Monday morning as traders welcomed a speech by US Fed chief Ben Bernanke that left the door open to monetary easing measures for the world's leading economy.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 296.63 points to 19,879.51 on turnover of HK$26.00 billion ($3.34 billion).

Altaf Hussain hospitalised in London

KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief, Altaf Hussain is under treatment in a London hospital for the last one week, said a MQM handout issued here today.

Altaf Hussain who is being treated by the specialists is recovering.

MQM Rabita Committee has appealed to all the workers, mothers, sisters, elders, children and the people at large to pray for his complete recovery and his long life, not to give ears to the rumors and maintain unity in their ranks.

Rabita Committee has also expressed its thanks to the President Asif Ali Zardari, Federal Minister, Rahman Malik and other dignitaries for sending the bouquets and enquiring about the health of Altaf Hussain. 

Hospital deluged with births as Irene batters North Carolina

 WILMINGTON: As Hurricane Irene lashed the U.S. East Coast, it brought a deluge of another sort to a North Carolina hospital - an unusually high number of newborn babies. 

Seventeen babies were born at the New Hanover Regional Medical Center during an 18-hour stretch on Friday and Saturday when the hospital was on lockdown during the storm, spokeswoman Carolyn Fisher said

MTV video awards honor Britney Spears, Katy Perry

 LOS ANGELES: Pop star Lady Gaga opened the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday dressed in drag and singing her "You and I" while Britney Spears and Katy Perry took awards, but it may be Beyonce who stole the show. 

The R&B singer whose hits include "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" appeared visibly pregnant as she showed up on the red carpet outside the show, posing for photographers and outlining a baby bump with her hands under her long gown.

Beyonce, who is married to rapper Jay-Z, avoided reporters waiting to ask whether she is pregnant. For years, her fans and the media have speculated whether and when the pair might have a baby.

Lady Gaga, who showed up last year at the MTV video awards in a dress made of raw meat, did an about face this year, opening the program in a man's dark suit and T-shirt as her male alter ego, Joe Calderon who gave the audience a lecture in just who Gaga is -- high heels, wild hair and crazy costumes.

"When she gets on stage, she holds nothing back," Calderon said.

Lady Gaga then launched into a version of "You and I," backed by a group of dancers and legendary rock guitarist Brian May of Queen. She danced on her piano and spewed beer from a bottle into the air in celebration.

The MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) annually give out honors for the top music videos and performances to singers and bands, and each year, audiences can count on at least one surprise.

Beyonce's picture-perfect baby news will likely be this year's unexpected event.

But awards are the focus of the night and the first winner was Spears for best pop music video "Till the World Ends."

The pop star took the stage and seemed surprised, saying she hadn't expected to win and thanking her family and fans.

Along with Spears, Foo Fighters picked up an early honor for best rock video with "Walk," and Nicki Minaj picked up the "Moonman" winner's statuette for her "Super Bass." Katy Perry and Kanye West were named best collaboration with "E.T."

Another major award still to come is best new artist, and Tyler, The Creator figures prominently in that race, too, alongside Wiz Khalifa with "Black and Yellow," Kreayshawn for "Gucci Gucci," Foster the People with "Pumped Up Kicks," and Big Sean (featuring Chris Brown) for "My Last."

British singer Adele with her chart-topping song "Rolling in the Deep" is vying for the top award, video of the year, against Katy Perry ("Firework"), Bruno Mars ("Grenade"), the Beastie Boys ("Make Some Noise") and Tyler, The Creator ("Yonkers").

Early performances included a duet by Jay-Z and Kanye West, singing a song from their new album, "Watch the Throne."

Other singers still to come include Lil Wayne, and there will be special tributes to Britney Spears and late soul singer Amy Winehouse.

Aussies, Sri Lanka set for tough Test battle

 GALLE: Rival captains Michael Clarke and Tillakaratne Dilshan will look to lead their young teams from the front when Australia and Sri Lanka begin their three-Test series on Wednesday.

Clarke, 30, begins his reign as a full-time Australian Test captain hoping to ease into the giant boots of Ricky Ponting, who quit as skipper after the World Cup in April.

Ponting, the world's most successful Test captain with 48 wins, will take the field as the senior statesman and the team's frontline batsman, but the focus will clearly be on the new skipper.

Clarke's lone Test as captain so far, when he stood in for an injured Ponting, was a forgettable experience as England swept to an innings and 83-run win at Sydney in January.

Ponting began his Test captaincy in Sri Lanka in 2004, leading Australia to a 3-0 sweep, and Clarke will hope for similar results even without retired greats like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist.

Dilshan, 34, also took over after the World Cup from Kumar Sangakkara and goes into his first home series as captain hoping to make up for the 1-0 defeat in England earlier in the year.

Dilshan will miss the experience of prolific off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, Test cricket's leading bowler with 800 wickets, who retired from the longer format a year ago.

Sri Lanka have not won a Test since Muralitharan bade goodbye, losing two and drawing six matches since July 2010.

The first Test at the Galle International Stadium marks the start of a new chapter for both teams looking to climb back in the Test rankings.

Former world number ones Australia have fallen to fifth place, while Sri Lanka, ranked second just a year ago, are fourth behind leaders England, South Africa and India.

With the top four teams due to contest the inaugural world Test championships in England in 2013, both Australia and Sri Lanka will hope to push their claims.

"I think it is going to take time for us to work our way back up the rankings," said Clarke. "But I'm confident with the talent we have and our dedication, I can see us having some success."

Clarke made a confidence-boosting start to the tour, winning the one-day series 3-2 before hitting a century in the drawn three-day practice match in Colombo ahead of the first Test.

Dilshan, meanwhile, was hoping his inexperienced bowling attack would perform well in home conditions where batsmen and slow bowlers have traditionally dominated.

The home squad has four spinners in its ranks, including the unorthodox Ajantha Mendis and leg-spinner Seekkuge Prasanna, 26, who has yet to make his Test debut.

Sri Lanka will be without sling-arm fast bowler Lasith Malinga, who rattled the Australians with his third one-day hat-trick last week, as he has quit Test cricket to concentrate on the shorter forms of the game.

Local media speculated that efforts were being made to convince Malinga to change his mind and make himself available from the second Test onwards.

Rookie paceman Shaminda Eranga, 25, is one of the four young seamers in the squad for the Galle Test alongside Suranga Lakmal, Dhammika Prasad and Chanaka Welegedara.

"There is a lot of variety in our bowling, but we must put up good runs on the board to put the Australians under pressure," said Dilshan. "The key to success is how we bat."

The remaining two Tests will be played in Pallekele (September 8-12) and Colombo (Sept 16-20)

Qadirpur gas field closed for 10 days

 ISLAMABAD: Qadirpur Gas Field that supplies 415 MMCFD (million million cubic feet per day) of gas supply to Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) has been closed for ten days for the annual maintenance of gas plant, OGDCL officials told

Qadipour Gas Field located in upper Sindh has been closed for the maintenance and repair of the plant for ten days as against the earlier schedule of 20 days.

Meanwhile, the gas distribution company in Punjab, SNGPL facing shortfall of 400 MMCFD has totally suspended its onward supply to the industry within its franchise areas for this period, while the supply to power and fertilizer sectors would partially continue and uninterrupted supply to the domestic and CNG seators would be 

At least 21 killed as a result of Hurricane Irene

 NEW YORK: Emergency officials said at least 21 people across the United States have died as a result of Hurricane Irene: six in North Carolina; four each in Virginia and Pennsylvania; two in New York; and one each in Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey and Florida. 

Authorities are trying to determine whether an additional death reported in New York is connected to the storm.

The youngest fatalities were a boy killed by a falling tree in his apartment in Newport News, a city on a coastal peninsula in Virginia, and a girl who died in North Carolina.

North Carolina emergency management spokesman Brad Deen said one of the six victims in his state was a man who had a heart attack on Friday while nailing plywood over his windows in preparation for the hurricane.

Two people were also killed in the state in separate driving accidents. Another North Carolina fatality was a man struck by a falling tree limb while outside feeding his animals.

Ruth Miller, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, told that four fatalities had so far been confirmed in her state.

In New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie initially said two people had been killed -- a woman trapped in her car by rising floodwaters and a firefighter who succumbed to his injuries during a rescue attempt.

But only the woman's death was confirmed -- the firefighter was still alive in a critical condition in hospital and Christie had spoken out of turn after being given inaccurate information by his staff.

One man was killed by a storm-related electrical fire in Connecticut, while another storm-related death was a 55-year-old surfer who took to his board in treacherously high waves off the Florida coast on Friday.

Irene barreled up the east coast Sunday into the densely populated northeastern states of Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

In Vermont, Governor Peter Shumlin told CNN that a woman was feared dead after being swept into a rushing river, but a spokesman for the state's Emergency Management Agency, Mark Bosma, said her death was not confirmed.

Millions of people are without power and officials warned that flood damage from Irene's heavy rains may be felt for days.

Irene earlier left at least five people dead in the Caribbean, including one in the US territory of Puerto Rico.

Rangers arrest target killer from Shah Faisal Colony

 KARACHI: Rangers have claimed that a target killer has been arrested from Shah Faisal Colony, According to sources, the criminal identified as Sanaullah alias ‘Charia’ belongs to a political party.

Sanaullah was involved in terrorist activity in Shah Faisal Colony and Malir and was arrested earlier but released on bail. Sources add that Sanaullah has admitted to committing numerous murders and other criminal acts. 

Karachi violence: SC adjourns hearing till Tuesday

 KARACHI: The Supreme Court’s Karachi registry began hearing the suo moto case regarding the security situation in Karachi, . The case is being heard by a five-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

During proceedings, IG Sindh Wajid Durrani informed the court that 306 people had been killed during July 24 and August 24. 25 bodies were recovered, 17 of which were recovered in gunny sacks. 332 cases were also lodged.

The Chief Justice asked the IG if he had investigated where the abducted people were taken and that he should have recorded the statement of at least one of the abducted. The IG informed the court that 20 criminals had been arrested but those abducted had failed to identity anyone due to fear. In his defense the IG told the court that those abducted on August 19 had been recovered.

In his remarks, the Chief Justice said the protection of life and property lay with institutions. He asked why SHO’s were not aware of crime in their jurisdiction. To this, IGP Sindh Wajid Ali Durrani replied that police and ordinary citizens were not allowed entry in no-go areas of Karachi. He also informed the court that extortion was a problem which was plaguing the city for the last 10-12 years.

Durrani informed the court about weapons which were present in the city, such as rocket launchers and anti-aircraft guns to which the Chief Justice asked where were these weapons coming from? The Chief Justice asked the IG where torture cells had been discovered, to which Durrani replied that the police had not found any.

The chief justice formed two benches for hearing cases at the Karachi Registry on August 29 and 30. The first bench is headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry while the second bench will be headed by Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali.

The families of the victims of target killings were also asked to volunteer their appearance before the apex court and may also submit any evidence, if available.

The court has adjourned the hearing till Tuesday. 

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