KARACHI: Unidentified armed men attacked a shop with hand grenade in Mianwali colony in Manghopir area on late Tuesday night. Police said armed miscreants also resorted to firing before hurling hand grenade at the shop.

No loss of life has been reported in the incident.

The attack damaged nearby shops and a mosque.

The shop owner charged that extortionists attacked his shop after he refused to give extortion to them.


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BEIJING: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will look Wednesday to press China to make progress on bitter disputes across the region, while she will also try to tone down friction with the rising power. Clinton plans to meet the full Chinese leadership including President Hu Jintao and his expected successor Xi Jinping, at a time when tensions have been soaring over the South China Sea in particular.

Clinton has voiced hope that China, which claims virtually all of the strategic waterway, will agree to work out a code of conduct on the disputes and has encouraged Southeast Asian nations to stand united.

Opening her talks in Beijing, Clinton sought to reassure China, whose state media has repeatedly accused the United States of using its vaunted new strategic focus on Asia as a cover to contain Beijing.

"We are committed to building a cooperative partnership with China. It is a key aspect of our rebalancing in the Asia-Pacific," Clinton said as she entered a dinner Tuesday with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.

Yang, who will hold a rare joint news conference with Clinton on Wednesday, said that China "stands ready to work" with the United States.

"Maintaining the healthy and steady development of our relationship serves the fundamental interests of our two countries and two peoples and is conducive to stability, peace and development in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond," Yang said.

The conciliatory tone was at sharp odds with the state-run Xinhua news agency, which on the same day called on Washington to "stop its role as a sneaky troublemaker" in Asia.

The Philippines and Vietnam have accused China of intimidation of its ships in the South China Sea, the gateway for half of the world's cargo trade and where six nations or territories hold sometimes overlapping territorial claims.

China recently established a remote garrison in the South China Sea, angering Vietnam and the Philippines. Hanoi in June passed a law proclaiming its jurisdiction over the Paracel and Spratly islands.

In response to the tensions, President Barack Obama's administration has stepped up military ties with Southeast Asia, furthering its goal of nurturing relations with the economically dynamic and largely US-friendly region.

Clinton, asked in Indonesia about China's garrison, did not fault Beijing directly but called on all nations to avoid "steps that would increase tensions or do anything that would be viewed as coercive or intimidating to advance their territorial claims".

Beijing has also been in dispute with Japan, a close US ally, over a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Clinton will also be looking to coordinate with China on hotspots around the globe. China, which wields veto power on the Security Council, has rejected US-backed UN efforts to step up pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over mounting violence, although Beijing is seen taking a backseat to Russia.

Clinton's last visit to China, in May, was overshadowed by a row over dissident Chen Guangcheng, who escaped what he said were beatings under house arrest for the safety of the US embassy.

China agreed to allow Chen, who enraged authorities by exposing corruption in the country's one-child policy, to move to New York as a student.

Clinton's trip comes two months before elections in the United States, where Obama's Republican challenger Mitt Romney has vowed a tougher stance on China over its currency rate and its military build-up. (AFP)

QUETTA: The Balochistan High Court (BHC) on Tuesday accepted the bail plea submitted by former federal interior minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao in the Nawab Akbar Bugti murder case, Aftab Sherpao had submitted the bail application on Monday and today the court granted him bail against a surety of one million rupees and adjourned the hearing to Sept 3.

The former minister appeared before a two-member bench comprising Justice Jamal Mandokhel and Justice Ghulam Mustafa Mengal who heard the Akbar Bugti murder case today.

During the proceedings, counsel for the former minister Professor Mohammad Umer Farooq argued that his client had no knowledge about Bugti’s murder infact he came to know about the operation through media reports.

At this point, Aftab Sherpao told the court that he was named in the FIR as he was the member in the federal cabinet.

Speaking to the media after hearing, Sherpao said he had no role in the military operation in Balochistan, adding that, whatever took place, happened at the behest of the provincial government.

He said that Bugti was a great leader, adding that the problems could not be solved by killing anyone.

The complainant in the case is Akbar Bugti’s elder son, Jamil Bugti, who named in the FIR then president General (r) Pervez Musharraf, then prime minister Shaukat Aziz, then Balochistan governor Owais Ghani, then interior minister Aftab Sherpao, then Balochistan chief minister Jam Yousuf and then provincial home minister Shoaib Nausherwani.

Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti was killed during a military operation on Aug 26, 2006.

[Courtesy by geo news]

According to details, some unidentified persons opened fire and shot dead a man neamed Fazal Ameen in Aligarh Bazar in Orandi Town. In another incident of violence, gunmen shot dead Abdul Qayyum in Pakhtunabad while Zubair and Niaz were shot dead in firing at a shope in Qasba Colony.

 Police have also recovered two dead bodies from Sarjani Town and Gulistan Johar while some unidentified persons shot dead Noor Maalik in Frontier Colony.In yet another incident of violence, a police official and two passersby were wounded in firing at a bus near Qasba More.

(Courtesy by DUNYA NEWS) 

SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft on Thursday unveiled a new corporate logo for the first time in 25 years as the US tech giant geared up for a series of big product launches. It features a symbol made up of four separate colored squares -- reminiscent of the old Windows logo featuring wavy squares -- next to the name of the company. The previous logo was simply the italicized name.

"Today's new Microsoft logo is the first time the company has accompanied its logo with a symbol," a spokeswoman said.

The move comes with Microsoft ramping up the buzz for its Windows 8 operating platform and its first tablet computer, called Surface. The company is also making an aggressive effort to gain ground in the smartphone market.

"It's been 25 years since we've updated the Microsoft logo and now is the perfect time for a change," said Microsoft brand strategy manager Jeff Hansen.

"This is an incredibly exciting year for Microsoft as we prepare to release new versions of nearly all of our products. From Windows 8 to Windows Phone 8 to Xbox services to the next version of Office, you will see a common look and feel across these products providing a familiar and seamless experience on PCs, phones, tablets and TVs.

"This wave of new releases is not only a reimagining of our most popular products, but also represents a new era for Microsoft, so our logo should evolve to visually accentuate this new beginning."

The logo also includes the name Microsoft in the Segoe font that is used in products and marketing communications, along with the new squares.

"The symbol is important in a world of digital motion," Hansen said. "The symbol's squares of color are intended to express the company's diverse portfolio of products."

The new logo is being used starting Thursday on the Microsoft.com website and in three Microsoft retail stores today.

"It will sign off all of our television ads globally," Hansen said.

"And it will support our products across various forms of marketing.... We're excited about the new logo, but more importantly about this new era in which we're reimagining how our products can help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential."

Microsoft is set to release its Windows 8 next-generation operating system tailored for a world shifting from personal computers to smartphones and tablets on October 26.

Finnish telecom giant Nokia and Microsoft are expected to unveil a smartphone equipped with the Windows Phone 8 operating system on September 5. (AFP)

ISLAMABAD:Although the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz are major stakeholders at the centre, other political parties will be acquiring the lead role in provinces when the process to choose caretaker leaders starts later this month.

Leaders are planning to open formal negotiations aimed at selecting members of the interim governments both at the federal and the provincial level to administer the approaching polls.

The 20th Amendment passed by the parliament earlier this year enjoins dialogue between leaders in the national and provincial assemblies to select office-bearers for the interim set-up.

The prime minister is the leader of the house in the National Assembly, while chief ministers have this role in provinces.

At the centre, the PPP and the PML-N would assume the lead role with consultation between Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.

Battlefield reversal

In Punjab, the battle of nerves persists between these two parties but their roles are switched: the PML-N is the government and the PPP stands as the opposition. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Opposition Leader Raja Riaz would be competing to choose provincial-level caretakers for the elections.

The curious situation wherein the same parties have varying roles in both the government and the opposition offers opportunities and challenges at the same time, said PML-N leader Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khan.

“It means that the interests of various political groups in the entire spectrum are dependent on each other. That is why the failure is not a desirable option for everyone,” added Dastgir.

The same thing was expressed by a blunter Riaz: “If they (PML-N) create a problem for us in Islamabad (centre), we will not spare them in Lahore (Punjab).”

Provincial combatants

In Sindh the PPP and its ally Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) are in the government. The Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) of Pir Pagara will assume the role of opposition.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the negotiations would be between the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) of Maulana Fazlur Rehman which is the major opposition.

The situation in Balochistan is the most interesting: all but one member of the provincial assembly is in the government. Sardar Yar Muhammad Khan Rind, a dissident of Pakistan Muslim League-Q, is the only opposition lawmaker whose membership has been recently restored after some years of suspension. It is said he would join PML-N to become the one-man opposition in the province.

(Curtsy by tribune)

LAHORE:Punjab University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran has stated that the PU students will work as volunteer in Punjab government’s ongoing dengue awareness drive.

He was addressing a high-profile meeting of Punjab University’s Dengue Research Group (DRG), formed last year for scientific information about psychological effects, diagnose, preventive, curative measures etc regarding the disease at Al-Raazi Hall of Undergraduate Study Centre here on Thursday. Chief Social Mobilizer Mrs Shaista Pervaiz Malik, Head of Research & Development on Dengue Program Dr Waseem Akram, Acting Registrar Prof Dr Aurangzeb Alamgir, Chairperson Doctoral Programme Coordination Committee Prof Dr Shahida Husnain, Chairman Zoology Department Prof Dr Muhammad Akhtar, Chairman Dengue Research Group Prof Dr Saeed Akhtar, Director Centre for Applied Psychology Prof Dr Rkhsana Kausar, Director CEMB Prof Dr Tayyab Husain, Director School of Biological Sciences Dr Javed Iqbal, Chief Medical Officer Dr Nauman Ahmed, Prof Dr Muhammad Idrees,  Dr Khalid Saeed from UVAS, Dr Muhammad Aslam from UHS, CEO NUR Foundation and Member Board of Management Fatma Memorial Hospital Dr Haroon Ihsan, Advisor Students Affairs Prof Dr Muhammad Rafique and a large number of researchers were present on the occasion. The VC said that PU’s DRG was working on various aspects of dengue fever and its findings would help the government curb the disease and save mankind.

Chairman Dengue Research Group Prof Dr Saeed Akhtar gave a detailed presentation on Surveillance and Summary of Dengue Situation in Lahore. He also presented data analysis of various towns of Lahore and said that desert coolers were the largest container of larvaes and 66 percent of larvaes were detected from the desert coolers. He said that from Nov 2011 to August 2012, no larvae had been found in some ponds being watched for research purpose outside Zoology Department.

Dr Muhammad Idrees said that Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology had tested 4000 samples and free of cost diagnosis for DENV and its Sero-typing had been provided in all the cases in Punjab and samples from Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had also been tested. He said that the outbreak of dengue fever was not expected in KPK the current year as according to the test of samples sent by KPK government, the ratio of infested larvaes was 1.2 percent while for outbreak, the ratio required to be more than 20 percent. He said that 15 suspected cases were received the current year out of which 5 cases, four from Lahore and one from Rahim Yar Khan, were found positive and three were containing DHF-3 and two DF-2.

He said that the scale of the dengue outbreak could be measured if samples of larvaes were provided to the research team. He said that the group had cloned and sequenced five genes of Serotype 2, performed Phylogenetic analysis, studied partial sequences from DF and DHF patient and predicted the chances of DENV outbreak for KPK government by detecting virus in mosquitoes. Dr Aslam said that 27 percent of dengue patients were found female while the rest were male. He said Aedes Aegypti used to bite humans outdoors in the daylight and the peak hour of biting was around Asar prayer. He added that the mosquito did not stay indoors. Prof Dr Rukhsana Kausar said that under her supervision, CAP had done research on “Level Of Information And Precaustionar Practices Among Dengue Survivors And Non-Affected Individuals: A Case Control Study”, “Acute Stress, Disorder, Symptoms Severity And Satisfaction With Treatment In Dengue Fever Patients In Relation To Empathy And Altruism In Paramedic Staff”, “Psychological Impact Of Dissemination Of Dengue Related Information Through Media On Patients And General Population”, “Symptom Severity, Self-Efficacy And Psycho-Education For Dengue Fever Patients: A Case Control Study”, “Level Of Awareness And Precautionary Practices Regarding Dengue Fever Among Nomads” And “Psychological Distress And Quality Of Life Of Survivors Of Dengue Fever”.

She said that the results of the researches were eye-opener and very meaningful which could help in various areas. Dr Waseem Akram said that monsoon season had started late the current year so the time of the outbreak of dengue fever would be different. He said that we must maintain strict vigilance of breading places of the mosquito to avoid dengue outbreak at a large scale. A researcher said that there were positive results of research on Bio-control of dengue fever. Another researcher indicated that people must be made aware of implications of self-medication. Dr Haroon Ihsan also apprised the meeting of research being conducted by Fatma Memorial Hospital and pointed out various facts helpful for dengue control.

Concluding the meeting, Chief Social Mobilizer Mrs Shaista Pervaiz Malik said that we could solve any issues when we sit together. She said that only technical solution could not resolve the problem and we should move the society to curb dengue fever. She said that lack of education, religious beliefs etc were also a big challenge to control the disease. She said that some elements were uselessly politicizing Punjab government’s true efforts by hurling purposeless questions on Punjab government’s unprecedented efforts to curb dengue fever. She said that we were registering volunteers and would utilize their abilities in their respective areas to create awareness regarding dengue fever among people. She lauded Punjab University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran’s efforts in saving lives of people and supporting research activities in this area

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari and MQM Chief Altaf Hussain made a telephonic contact on Wednesday night.
Both the leaders exchanged views on prevailing political situation in the country besides Pakistan News national and international issues and matters of mutual interest.

MQM Chief greeted the President for Independence Day and Umrah.

The President hailed Altaf Hussain’s role for democracy in the country.

(Courtesy by GEO NEWS)

AAZAZ: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation suspended Syria, saying the Muslim world "can no longer accept a regime that massacres its people", as 31 people were reported killed in an air strike.

Regime forces were also bombarding the key battleground city of Aleppo in the north, activists said,Pakistan Breaking News while Damascus was shaken by a bomb attack targeting a military headquarters and a firefight near the prime minister's office.

As the world's main Muslim grouping the 57-member OIC wound up a summit in the Saudi holy city of Mecca early Thursday, UN investigators said the Syrian regime had committed crimes against humanity, including the Houla massacre in May.

A statement issued at the end of the emergency OIC summit said participants had agreed on "the need to end immediately the acts of violence in Syria and to suspend that country from the OIC".

The final statement said there had been Pakistan Breaking News "deep concern at the massacres and inhuman acts suffered by the Syrian people".

OIC chief Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told a news conference the decision sent "a strong message from the Muslim world to the Syrian regime".

"This world can no longer accept a regime that massacres its people using planes, tanks and heavy artillery," he added.

The move was welcomed by the United States as sending a "strong message" to President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

"Today's action underscores the Assad regime's increasing international isolation and the widespread support for the Syrian people and their struggle for a democratic state that represents their aspirations and respects their human rights," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

A report by the UN Commission of Inquiry said government forces and their militia allies committed crimes against humanity including murder and torture, while the rebels had also carried out war crimes, but on a lesser scale.

Pakistan Breaking News "The commission found reasonable grounds to believe that government forces and the shabiha had committed the crimes against humanity of murder and of torture, war crimes and gross violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law," the UN report said.

It said they were responsible for the massacre in the central city of Houla in May when 108 civilians, including 49 children, were killed in a grisly attack that Assad himself had said was the work of "monsters".

Rebel fighters were however not spared in the probe, which found them guilty of war crimes, including murder, extrajudicial execution and torture.

In the north of Syria, activists and residents reported another atrocity by the regime, with at least 31 people including children killed in an air strike in Aazaz, a rebel bastion near the second city Aleppo.

(Courtesy by GEO NEWS )

A training fighter jet of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) crashed in Hyderabad Thal area of Bhakkar while the pilot managed to eject safely Wednesday. According to sources, pilot Farooq was flying the training jet Meraj when it caught fire. Fortunately he managed to eject safely after the jet caught fire and landed safely while the aircraft crashed in a suburban area of Bhakkar.

Police has cordoned off the crash site.

(Courtesy by GEO NEWS )