Reema weds Dr Shahab in Virginia

 (batkhela-movies)LAHORE: Lollywood barbie doll Reema Khan has officially tied knot with American cardiologist surgeon Dr Tariq Shahab Wednesday in Virginia court, Geo News reported. 

According to sources, the Nikkah took place at a local court in Virginia according to American law while Rukhsati will take place on November 18.

While talking to Geo News on telephone, Reema said that she considers herself very lucky as she will be a part of an educated and respected family. 

Regarding wedding preparations, the actress told that she has put amazing Hennadesigns on her palms and her family members have created a joyful wedding mood all around. 

Hassan Shehryar, who is a Pakistani fashion designer of international repute, has prepared the wedding dresses for the bride and groom.

The wedding ceremonies began from Monday with the Mayun function.

Reema is in the US with her parents and relatives who will attend the wedding functions. After marriage, the actress will stay in America for few weeks in a house bought by Dr Shahab for his wife.

India eye Test series win against Windies

(batkhela-movies) KOLKATA: India strengthened their chances of winning the second Test and the series despite the West Indies' improved batting show after a first-innings collapse on the third day on Wednesday.

The West Indies, dismissed for 153 in their first innings in reply to India's mammoth 631-7 declared, did better in their second innings to reach 195-3 at stumps at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

The tourists, who lost the opening Test of the three-match series by five wickets in New Delhi, face a stiff task to save the match as they still trail by 283 runs with seven wickets in hand.

Darren Bravo was unbeaten on 38 with the help of three sixes and Shivnarine Chanderpaul on 21 not out.Opener Adrian Barath (62) and Kirk Edwards (60) defied the Indian attack with a 93-run stand for the second wicket after the early dismissal of Kraigg Brathwaite (nine), who was caught behind off paceman Umesh Yadav.

Barath and Edwards played some attractive shots before fast bowler Ishant Sharma broke the stand immediately after the tea-break when he had Barath caught by Venkatsai Laxman, who held a low catch to his left at first slip.

Barath hit 10 fours in his third Test half-century.

Sharma struck again when he removed Edwards, trapped leg-before after hitting one six and six fours in his second Test half-century.

India gained the big advantage through their bowlers in the morning session as the West Indies could add just 119 runs in 36 overs after resuming at 34-2, with left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha finishing with 4-64.Yadav, who took one wicket on Tuesday, struck twice in the morning to finish with 3-23 in only his second Test match, while off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin bagged 2-49.

The West Indies' batsmen failed to apply themselves in the first innings on a pitch offering turn and bounce to spinners, with Bravo top-scoring with 30.Ashwin and Ojha did the early damage when they took one wicket each before Yadav jolted the West Indies by removing Bravo and Marlon Samuels (25) in successive overs.Ojha got a wicket in the fifth over of the day when he trapped Edwards (16) leg-before for his 50th Test victim in 13 matches after the batsman had added only four runs to his overnight score of 12.

Ashwin, who got married a day before the Test started, captured a big wicket in his opening over when he removed in-form Chanderpaul, who was also trapped leg-before.

Chanderpaul, who scored 118 and 47 in the opening Test, was able to contribute just four runs this time.

Bravo and Samuels played some attacking shots during their 46-run stand for the fifth wicket before falling in the space of seven runs to leave their team struggling at 99-6.

Skipper Darren Sammy tried to counter-attack but did not last long, caught behind off Ojha immediately after smashing the spinner for a straight six. He hit one six and two fours in his 14-ball 18.Ojha finished the innings when he trapped Fidel Edwards leg-before for 16. (AFP)

Memon accompanies Mirza to London

(batkhela-movies) LONDON: Information Sindh Sharjeel Memon has accompanied Dr. Zulfioqar Mirza to London, Geo news reported. 

Speaking to Geo News Memon said he would make an important announcement upon his return to Pakistan. 

Memon did not answer in what capacity he had travelled to London but did add that he does not take a decision without the consent of his party (PPP). 

Zulfiqar Mirza on Tuesday night left Karachi for London for stated purpose of pursuing the murder case of Dr Imran Farooq before the Scotland Yard and judiciary there.

Talking to the media at the Karachi airport and also in TV talk shows, the former minister said he was expected to meet officials of Scotland Yard.

Mirza claimed he was carrying two bags containing 'evidences' into killing of MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq, who was killed in London last year. Mirza said he would come back after one week and would give good news to the nation.

Buzz over Aishwarya in hospital for delivery

(batkhela-movies)MUMBAI: There was fresh round of speculation on Sunday evening that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan had been admitted to Seven Hills Hospital in Marol, Andheri east, for her much-anticipated delivery.

However, there was no official confirmation about it, with the family as well as hospital officials denying that Aishwarya had been admitted. Sources, though, said security around the hospital had been beefed up following rumours that the actor had been brought to the hospital.

Last week, there was speculation that Aishwarya would give birth on 11.11.11, but actor Amitabh Bachchan denied the reports on his Twitter account.

Shah Rukh Khan's Don 2 release in doldrums

(batkhela-movies)MUMBAI: The release of Bollywood mega star Shah Rukh Khan's next movie Don 2 is said to be doldrums over a copyright infringement.

The allegation of copyright violation has emanated from none other than the production house Nariman Films that produced the original Don movie starring Amitabh Bachchan in 1978, said reports.

According to Nariman films, Excel Entertainment, headed by Farhan and Ritesh, only had the copyright to remake the original Don movie which they did in 2006 with Don: The Chase Begins Again. The agreement for the remake expired in 2009 and was not renewed by Excel Entertainment.

Excel Entertainment has been served a legal notice for the infringement of copyright. 

It has been reported that Nariman films will be approaching the courts to halt the release of Don 2 on December 23.

Ladies vs Ricky Bahl trailer released

(batkhela-movies)MUMBAI: Official trailer of Ladies vs Ricky Bahl starring sizzling Anuskha Sharma and Ranveer Singh has been released.

Ladies vs Ricky Bahl is all set to hit the cinemas on December 9.

Maneesh Sharma's latest direction is about Ricky Bahl, a ‘classy’ conman, who cheats women across different cities for a living and finally meets his match in the sizzling Anushka Sharma in Goa.

Pak-India ready to ease visa regulations

 (batkhela-movies)NEW DELHI: Pakistan took further steps toward normalization of trade and travel ties with India on Tuesday, agreeing to broaden cooperation on many business fronts with its larger neighbour by February in the latest sign of a thaw in relations between them.

At a bilateral meeting in Delhi, the two countries' trade secretaries agreed that Pakistan will notify India by February of a "negative list" of items that it cannot trade with its neighbour, minutes of the meeting showed.

"There has been further progress," India's trade secretary Rahul Khullar said at a briefing after the meeting with his Pakistani counterpart.

Replacing the current limited "positive list" of items that can be traded with a short list of products that cannot, is a step towards regular trade ties.

Earlier this month, Pakistan promised to give India a most favoured nation trade status, a move that would end heavy restrictions on what India is allowed to export across the border.

India and Pakistan also agreed to push for easing of visa rules that severely restrict business travel across the heavily armed border. They will look at the feasibility of electricity trading and will open a second road trading post by February.

Pakistan's Trade Secretary Zafar Mehmood said the negative list would be drawn up within a couple of months and said an expert panel would decide in January on allowing the trade of oil products. 

NA passes Prevention of Anti-Women Practices Bill

 (batkhela-movies)ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Tuesday passed the "The Prevention of Anti-Women Practices Bill 2008" aimed at prohibiting certain practices leading to exploitation and discrimination against womenfolk.

The Prevention of Anti-Women Practices (Criminal Law Amendment Bill, 2008) was recommended for approval by the Standing Committee of National Assembly concerned. 

Speaker Dr Fahmida Mirza had deferred the bill during the last session as a number of suggestions were floated for incorporation in the bill by the parliamentarians. 

The bill moved by Dr Donya Aziz was pending since 2008. 

In the statement of objects and reasons, Dr Donya said that there were several practices and customs in vogue in the country which were not only against human dignity but also violated human rights.

She said the bill provided that such customary norms, which were contrary to Islamic injunctions, should be done away forthwith and the persons who continue such practices be dealt with severely by providing penal and financial liabilities.

The bill recommends punishment for giving female in marriage or otherwise in 'badla-e-sulh', wani or swara. The bill says, "Whoever gives a female in marriage or otherwise compels her to enter into marriage, as 'badla-e-sulh', wanni, or swara or any other custom or practice under any name, in consideration of settling a civil dispute or criminal liability, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years but shall not be less than three years and shall also be liable to fine of five hundred thousand rupees."

Besides the bill proposed prohibition of depriving woman from inheriting property, prohibition of forced marriage and prohibition of marriage with the Holy Quran. 

The violators will be handed over either imprisonment or a fine of five hundred thousand rupees for each crime. 

President pressured me to provide Davis immunity: Qureshi

 (batkhela-movies)MULTAN: Former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said it is time to seek fresh mandate from the masses and asked for an unbiased and independent election commission for polls, Geo News reported.

He was talking to media at Multan airport and said that he had resigned on January 30th and President Asif Zardari forced him to give immunity to Raymond Davis.

Qureshi noted that he would announce his future plan on November 27 in Ghotki. 

'I quit the portfolio by myself,' he said.

The former minister demanded early polls saying it is time to seek fresh mandate from masses and asked for an independent election commission. 

'The present setup lacks the ability to solve the issues faced by the country,' Qureshi said.

British police arrest four men in counter-terror probe

 LONDON: (batkhela-movies)Police said they arrested four men Tuesday in the central English city of Birmingham as part of an ongoing counter-terrorism investigation that has uncovered an alleged suicide bombing plot.

The men, three aged 19 and one 24, were detained under counter-terror laws in the Sparkhill area on suspicion of fundraising for terrorist purposes and of 
travelling to Pakistan to undertake terrorist training.

"Today's arrests were pre-planned and not made in response to any immediate threat to public safety. Officers were unarmed," said a statement from West Midlands Police.

They are the latest arrests in a counter-terror investigation in Britain's second biggest city which was launched in September.

Police say eight people have so far been charged as part of the probe, with seven remanded in custody after appearing in court in London.

Three men were charged with "planning a bombing campaign" and "stating an intention to be a suicide bomber".

Other charges the suspects faced included collecting money for terrorism, travelling to Pakistan for training in bomb making and making a "martyrdom" film. 

Hungry mosquitoes fly farther than you think

 (batkhela-movies)RODERWOLDE: How far does a mosquito fly? Harry Boerema wants to know.

Boerema lives near a drainage project, where Dutch authorities are dredging a huge meter-deep (3-foot) basin in the northern rural landscape to head off flood waters and protect towns and villages from disaster.

The project threatens to inflict hordes of mosquitoes on people living around the water retention area, so scientists set out to calculate how to keep the boundaries of the ditch far enough from human habitation to protect residents from pest infestation.

The question they needed to find out: How far does a common European human-biting mosquito fly?

What they found surprised them: A hungry female looking for a "host" will fly at least 150 meters (yards), three times farther than previously thought, said Piet Verdonschot, who conducted the research.

The 1,700 hectare (4,200-acre) basin, begun in 2003, is designed to collect heavy rainwater that will slowly be channeled to the North Sea. But frequent wet-dry cycles will be perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

Buzzing pests are nothing new for Boerema, a retired professor of architectural history who has lived for 36 years in his quiet cottage set amid dairy farms.

"I don't mind them to a certain extent. But not in surplus," he says. "I'm a nature lover, and mosquitoes are part of nature - although not the most likable ones."

Not everyone took the prospect of living on water's edge with such equanimity, and local complaints led authorities to commission the mosquito research, said project manager John Tukker.

At the outset, Verdonschot believed mosquitoes stay within about 50 meters (yards) of their breeding ground. The biggest nuisance for humans often originates in flower pots, buckets of collected rainwater or any kind of water left stagnant in the back garden or barnyard.

"The assumption in the literature is that people who suffer bites have bred their own specimens in their own gardens," he said.

Hundreds of mosquito species exist around the world - 36 in the Netherlands alone - but Verdonschot concentrated on the two species most common in the Dutch climate: the culex pipiens, which prefers birds to people but will still keep you awake at night during the summer, and the Culiseta annulata, larger, more aggressive insects active year-round. Neither normally carries dangerous diseases.

Verdonschot, an aquatic ecologist working for the private environmental research institute Alterra, hatched 40,000 mosquitoes in large tents in a grassy field. The tents were surrounded by concentric circles of traps set at 50 meters, 100 meters and 150 meters. Around the edges of the field were ditches with tall reeds and wild grasses on the banks.

The traps drew mosquitoes into smoke from dry ice then instantly froze them. At the end of each day researchers collected the corpses and counted them one-by-one, using tweezers under a microscope.

Verdonschot expected most mosquitoes to be caught in the closest traps. Instead, about 80 percent were found in the farthest, meaning most flew at least 150 meters from the tent where they were hatched.

Verdonschot then refined his experiment, placing evergreen shrubs within the inner circle of traps. The numbers caught in the closest ring of traps shot up by one-third. The bushes offered both shelter from predators and moisture evaporating from the leaves.

That discovery led Tukker, working in the north, to create small raised islands of vegetation in the middle of the retention area, which becomes a swamp after a heavy rain. Those islands deflect mosquitoes from nearby farms.

The experiments produced a few other surprises, too.

Mosquitoes are mostly quiet during the day, preferring to concentrate on the edge of a body of water. When females hunt for blood - necessary for reproduction - they move for about an hour at dusk or at dawn, staying close to the ground.

"They move differently than we thought, they move farther than we thought," Verdonschot said.

Verdonschot believes his team's research adds to scientific knowledge about mosquitoes. Tomes have been written about mosquito bites and the effects on human health, but little research has been done on their habits, he said.

Verdonschot's simple experiments this summer have value for others building catchment areas around Europe and for housing developers.

"The whole northwestern European climate is becoming more dynamic because of climate change, because of wetter summers. And all this urban infrastructure has to be protected from water excess," he said.

Boerema also has a mosquito trap in the hedge around his cottage, helping to keep track of the mosquito population during wet and dry periods. He is anxious to see the water storage project completed, recalling that he was ordered to evacuate his home during a 1998 flood.

"I think it will ease the danger," he said, even though he's likely to have more mosquitoes.

"We've always been bitten. I don't react very much, but my wife hates them - but not to the extent that we find it unbearable to live here."

Reconciliation being misconstrued as weakness: PM

(batkhela-movies)MANDI BAHAUDDIN: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that some people had mistaken the politics of reconciliation for 'weakness', Geo News reported.

Addressing a public gathering here, PM Gilani said 'whether one is Prime Minister or not is insignificant but the democracy must prevail'. "Those who don't want to see me as Prime Minister, have an option to bring a no-confidence vote', he added.

Gilani said the parliamentary system should continue to function in the country, adding that some 'forces' did not want PPP's success in the upcoming Senate elections. We will not allow any un-parliamentary move, he asserted.

The Prime Minister said: "We don't believe in politics of revenge, but some people have misconstrued our politics of reconciliation as weakness". PPP, he added, had rendered great sacrifices to win elections and had not come in power through back door.

CM takes notice of torture on boy, 2 suspended

 (batkhela_movies)LAHORE: Two police officials of Sabzazar police station blamed for torture on a boy have been suspended after Geo News broke the story.

Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif also took notice of the report regarding torture on a 15-year-old boy by Lahore police and instructed Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ahmad Raza Tahir to present a detailed report into the incident.

Lahore police tortured the boy after arresting him in connection with kidnapping children and later released him declaring innocent when he fainted.

Mohammad Syed, a resident of Khaarak, blamed Friday that Sabzazar Police took his son and tortured him for six hours forcing him to confess kidnapping allegations.

The police later called upon boy's father and handed over him the fainted boy. The police also instructed Syed to keep his mouth shut regarding the issue.

Syed said that he got the medical examination of his son from Ganga Ram Hospital certificate of which took away by the police. CCPO Ahmad Raza Tahir was also requested to take notice but to no avail. 

Father of victim had appealed to the Chief Minister Punjab for justice.

Berlusconi resigns, Italians celebrate

(batkhela-movies)ROME: Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi resigned on Saturday, ending one of the most scandal-plagued eras in recent Italian history amid the jeers of thousands of protesters gathered in central Rome to celebrate his departure.

Berlusconi, who failed to secure a majority in a crucial vote on Tuesday, handed in his resignation after parliament passed a package of measures demanded by European partners to restore market confidence in Italy's strained public finances.

President Giorgio Napolitano accepted Berlusconi's resignation after a meeting in the presidential palace, his office said.

Former European Commissioner Mario Monti is expected to be given the task of trying to form a new administration to face a widening financial crisis which has sent Italy's borrowing costs to unmanageable levels.

More than a thousand demonstrators waving banners mocking Berlusconi flocked to the president's residence at the Quirinale Palace and shouted "clown, clown, clown" as the motorcade carrying the billionaire media entrepreneur who has been Italy's longest serving prime minister entered.

The crowd grew so unruly that Berlusconi was forced to leave secretly via a side entrance and return to his private residence.

Cheers broke out when they heard that Berlusconi had resigned and the square broke out into a party atmosphere. They sang, danced and some broke open bottles of champagne.

An orchestra near the palace played the Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah. "We are here to rejoice," one said.

Demonstrators chanting "resign, resign, resign" also gathered outside the prime minister's office and parliament, heckling ministers as they walked between the two buildings.

A small group of pro-Berlusconi demonstrators gathered outside his residence but were outnumbered by opponents.

"This is something that deeply saddens me," the Italian news agency Ansa quoted Berlusconi as telling aides.

The presidential palace said Napolitano would begin consultations with political figures at 0800 GMT on Sunday morning. He was expected to formally ask Monti for form a government on Sunday night.

Italy, the euro zone's third largest economy, came close to disaster this week when yields on 10-year bonds soared over 7.6 percent, the kind of level which forced Ireland, Portugal and Greece to seek an international bailout.

Berlusconi, who failed to secure a majority in a vote on Tuesday, promised to resign once parliament passed the package of economic reforms demanded by European partners to restore confidence in Italy's battered public finances.

Monti, named by Napolitano as a Senator for Life on Wednesday, is expected to appoint a relatively small cabinet of technocrat specialists to steer Italy through the crisis.

With the next election not due until 2013, a technocrat government could have about 18 months to pass painful economic reforms but will need to secure the backing of a majority in parliament and could fall before then.

With a public debt of more than 120 percent of gross domestic product and more than a decade of anaemic economic growth behind it, Italy is at the heart of the euro zone debt crisis and would be too big for the bloc to bail out.

Financial markets have backed a Monti government and as prospects of Berlusconi going became firmer last week, yields dropped below the critical 7 percent level, although they remain close.

"We don't yet have a new government in Italy and we have to wait, but I'm sure if Mario Monti will be appointed he will do whatever is necessary in order to restore the confidence of the financial markets in Italy," Alessandro Profumo, former head of Unicredit, Italy's largest bank, told Reuters.

SIGNS OF OPPOSITION MOUNT

Berlusconi, fighting an array of scandals and facing trials on charges ranging from tax fraud to paying for sex with an under-aged prostitute, had been under pressure to resign for weeks as the market crisis threatened to spin out of control.

International leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde have expressed hopes a new government can be in place quickly.

Talks with Italian political parties are expected to begin on Sunday with hopes that a new government can be in place in time for the opening of financial markets on Monday.

However, even as preparations for a transition begin, signs of opposition have appeared, with Berlusconi's PDL party split between factions ready to accept a Monti government and others deeply opposed.

Berlusconi had a working lunch with Monti before the vote, suggesting the outgoing government will not try to block a quick handover, but the attitude of the centre-right as a whole remains unclear.

The PDL's main coalition ally, the regional pro-devolution Northern League, has declared it will go into opposition, underlining the risk that the new government will lack the broad parliamentary support it will need to pass deep reforms.

"The convulsions in the centre-right at the prospect of a government led by Mario Monti signal a danger: that a divided coalition may be tempted to unload its divisions on the country," the daily Corriere della Sera said.

The centre-left Democratic party and smaller centrist parties have pledged support to Monti. Italy's main business and banking associations and some of the moderate trade unions have also called for a government of national unity. (Reuters)

Milk prices up by Rs.2 per litre in Karachi

 KARACHI: Milk sellers have increased prices of fresh milk by Rs.2 per litre, Geo News reported. Fresh milk is being sold at Rs.70 per litre in the metropolis.

The retailers are selling milk Rs.10 per litre higher the prices set by city government. CDGK had fixed the milk prices at Rs.60 per litre.

Karachiites complained that the government had failed to fix the milk prices and it seemed there was no institution to control the prices.

Meanwhile, milk sellers said dairy farmers and wholesalers had raised prices, therefore, retailers were selling it at higher price.

Australia kicked out of kabaddi 'World Cup' for drugs

NEW DELHI: The Australian national team was on Sunday thrown out the kabaddi "World Cup" in India after failing multiple drugs tests as the tournament struggles to overcome a series of doping scandals.

The event, being held in the northern state of Punjab, has brought 14 teams together from across the world to play the popular and highly physical South Asian game, which mixes tag with wrestling.

The "World Cup" -- which is not officially recognised as there is no international governing body for the sport -- has so far seen 29 players test positive for banned substances since it began on November 1.

Five Australians failed dope tests and two others refused to give urine samples, leaving the country unable to field a team for their match against Afghanistan on Saturday.

"Five of Australia's players tested positive in anti-dope tests and two absconded maybe out of fear of facing such a test," organising secretary Pargat Singh told AFP.

"Since eight players have to be on the ground, Australia failed to have a quorum at a group stage match yesterday and so have been disqualified. They are out of the tournament."

Afghanistan were awarded the match in a walkover. Kabaddi players from Canada, Britain, the United States, Norway, Spain and India have been among those to have failed drug tests.

US team member Manjinder Singh allegedly tried to substitute his urine samples with water and verbally abused National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) staff when he was caught, the Times of India reported.

"With so many players caught in (the) doping net, it will be set a good precedent for next year," NADA director general Rahul Bhatnagar told the Times.

"But at the same time it leaves many questions unanswered on the fair play in the tournament. Doping is nothing but cheating. I don't know what organizers are going to do about it in this year's event."

Officials declined to identify the banned substances but press reports said some were for the anabolic steroid nandrolone.

Kabaddi involves an individual player raiding the opposition team's territory while chanting "kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi" until he runs out of breath. His opponents, who generally hold hands, try to snare him and stop him from returning to his home base.

Group stages of the World Cup are due to be completed on Wednesday, with 
India among the favourites to win the finals at the Guru Nanak stadium in 
Ludhiana on November 20.

Arch-rivals Pakistan lodged a complaint last week after members of the US team -- that they lost to 39-43 -- gave positive tests. The tournament is also running a women's event involving four national sides.

Pak Army Is The Best Iranian Military Domestic Technology

Iranian Military Domestic Technology, Surface to sea missiles, S 300, hidden silos Shahab 3

China says sanctions 'cannot solve' Iran issue

(batkhela.tk)BEIJING: China's foreign ministry said Thursday that sanctions could not "fundamentally solve" the issue of Iran's nuclear programme.

"Sanctions cannot fundamentally solve the Iran issue," said ministry spokesman Hong Lei, after the UN atomic watchdog said it had broadly "credible" intelligence suggesting the country had done work towards building nuclear warheads. (AFP)

Throw out differences for regional growth, urges Gilani

(batkhela-movies)ADDU: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani Thursday urged SAARC countries to throw out all the differences for the development in the region.

Addressing a SAARC summit here, Prime Minister said that he stressed upon the implementation of decisions taken in last two SAARC summits.

Gilani said that there was a need to fulfill all the promises that had been made during the conferences.

He also advised the summit to establish Regional Development Bank for building close relationship among the countries in banking sector.

PM said that terrorism is one of the biggest challenges for the world, adding that Pakistan supported to extend its cooperation for the elimination of the menace.

Sindh govt seizes all previous CDGK accounts

(batkhela-movies) KARACHI: Sindh Government has seized all the accounts maintained by City and/or District governments under the previous administrative system, Geo News reported Thursday.

Under the new system, the financial affairs will be carried out through divisional commissioners.

According to the Notification issued by Sindh Finance Department, the accounts being maintained under the previous local bodies system including those of city, district, towns, taluka and union councils had been seized.

It further said that as a result of the restoration of Local Government Ordinance 1979, funds would now be provided to commissioners for running the affairs at division and district levels.

The Local Bodies Department has also issued orders for scraping all the administrative set up of the previous city government along with all the district, town and taluka governments.

Indian Army not happy with Omar

 (batkhela-movies)SRINAGAR: Talks between the government of Indian Occupied Kashmir and Indian Army over controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) have collapsed.

The Indian Army is against the removal of the Act and insisted it must stay. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is strongly pitching for removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) "in areas where the Army has not operated for years". 

At the Unified Headquarters meeting called to review the overall security scenario and attended by top Army commanders, heads of various security forces and intelligence agencies, the CM said AFSPA had to be partially withdrawn from the state. 

Omar is facing stiff resistance from the army for removing the Act from some parts.

"What is the problem in removing AFSPA from those areas where the Army has not worked for years? When did they (Army) work in Srinagar or Budgam the last time?" he asked.

Private sector to run Shalimar Express train

(batkhela-movies)KARACHI: Pakistan Railways has decided to restore Shalimar Express train service between Karachi and Lahore from January next year through private sector.

The PR officials in Lahore told PPI on phone that ticket reservation and checking system of the train would be the responsibility of the private sector however he said that it could not be decided to whom the responsibility would be given. He said that a decision would soon be reached.

Meanwhile, sources in PR say that the department would earn Rs510 million annually from the deal. The train would depart to and from Lahore and Karachi at 6:30am on daily basis.

In Karachi, Chairman Pakistan Railways Workers' Union Chairman Manzoor Ahmed Razi criticized the decision and said that the move would further increase the deficit of Pakistan Railways. He said that if the private sector is interested in running trains then it should also bring its own locomotives, coaches and staff and use the tracks of the department.

"What kind of a deal is this when PR would be providing diesel, locomotives and staff and they would make profit only by selling tickets", he questioned.

He said that the proposal must be reconsidered and warned that if any agreement is reached then a nationwide protest will be launched by the employees of Pakistan Railways.

Australia all out for 47 in bizarre Newlands Test

(batkhela-movies)CAPE TOWN: Australia crumbled to 47 all out in their second innings of the extraordinary first Test against South Africa on Thursday. 

The lowest Test total ever was 26 by New Zealand against England in 1955 while Australia's lowest was 36 against England in 1902. 

A last-wicket stand from Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon avoided Australia beating those unwanted records.

Hosts South Africa had earlier been bowled out for 96 on a remarkable day two and a reasonable-looking wicket after the tourists had made 284 in their first innings with captain Michael Clarke scoring 151.

All four innings will take place on the same day with Australia leading by 235 and with a decent chance of winning the first match of the two-test series despite their woeful second innings effort.(Reuters)

Brangelina visit Japan to promote 'Moneyball'

(batkhela-movies)TOKYO: Actor Brad Pitt praised the "tenacity" of Japan in its post-quake recovery efforts Thursday, as the star brought his partner Angelina Jolie and family to a nation still confronting a nuclear crisis.

"You are bringing everything forward to rebuilding and reclaiming the lives for yourselves and for others. It's valued and inspiring to us," Pitt told a news conference ahead of the Japan release of his new movie "Moneyball."

"Your tenacity and perseverance and survival has a great effect on us, to the world community, and I applaud you all for that," he said.

Pitt's visit to Japan, together with Jolie and their six children comes nearly eight months after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake triggered a devastating tsunami that left 20,000 dead or missing, while sparking the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl 25 years ago.

The global community is "greatly and painfully aware of the cataclysmic catastrophe," Pitt said. "Our hearts and thoughts are still with you who have been touched by this event."

In the film directed by Bennett Miller, Pitt plays the Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane who turns to a statistician with a radical new system to evaluate players and put together a competitive team at a quarter of the cost.

Baseball is hugely popular in Japan both as a professional sport and among children, and the nation has exported stars to US Major League Baseball such as Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners and Hideki Matsui of the Oakland A's.

At the film's preview Wednesday, Pitt gave autographed balls to 10 teenage baseball players from the quake-hit northeast. (AFP)

Big chink found in malaria's armour

(batkhela-movies)PARIS: Researchers said Wednesday they had discovered a unique microscopic channel through which malaria parasites must pass to infect red blood cells, a finding that opens up a highly promising target for a vaccine.

The doorway mechanism is common to all known strains of the deadliest mosquito-borne pathogen, Plasmodium falciparum, which means that a future vaccine could in theory work against all of them, according to the study published in the journal Nature.

The death toll from malaria has declined by a fifth over the last decade, but the disease still claims some 800,000 lives every year, mostly children under five in sub-Saharan Africa.

"Our findings were unexpected and have completely changed the way in which we view the invasion process," said Gavin Wright of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the study's senior co-author.

The breakthrough "seems to have revealed an Achilles' heel in the way the parasite invades our red blood cells."

Up to now, scientists assumed that P. falciparum had several options for piercing the defences of blood cells.

But in experiments, Wright and colleagues showed that intrusion depends on the interaction between a specific molecule on the parasite, called a ligand, and a specific receptor on the blood cell.

Blocking this interaction repels the pathogen's attempt to breach the cell's protective wall, they found.

"By identifying a single receptor that appears to be essential for parasites to invade human red blood cells, we have also identified an obvious and very exciting focus for vaccine development," said co-author Julian Rayner, also from the Sanger Institute.

Early results from clinical trials in Africa showed that the world's first malaria vaccine, reported in a study last month, cut infection rates by roughly half. The vaccine, made by the British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, works by triggering the immune system.

"These reports are encouraging," said Adrian Hill, a researcher at Oxford's Jenner Institute. "But in the future more effective vaccines will be needed if malaria is ever to be eradicated."

Hill added: "The discovery of a single receptor that can be targeted to stop the parasite infecting red blood cells offers the hope of a far more effective solution."