Myanmar soldiers use a boat to help residents cross a flooded area in Swar town of Bago region on August 30, 2018. A large-scale rescue effort marches on into a second day to reach thousands of people stranded in their homes in Central Myanmar after a dam swollen by monsoon rain left the region inundated.
GUWAHATI: Firefighters douse a fire broke out in a residential area at Ulubari in Guwahati on Thursday.
LUCKNOW: Students protecting themselves from monsoon rain in Lucknow on Thursday.
SRINAGAR: Thirty-year-old Iram Habib, a resident of downtown Srinagar is set to become the first Kashmiri Muslim woman to fly a commercial aircraft.
Though she studied forestry from the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, she did not let her childhood ambition die.
“I pursued Ph.D. for one and a half years but left it and went to a US flight school,” she says. “I looked for things on my own and kept my dream alive,” The Tribune quoted Iram as saying.
Habib, belongs to a conservative Kashmiri Muslim society got the support from her father, a supplier of surgical equipment to government hospitals.
In 2016, Tanvi Raina, a Kashmiri Pandit, joined Air India as the Valley’s first woman pilot. Ayesha Aziz, 21, became India’s youngest student pilot last year.
Iram completed her training from Miami in the US in 2016 and is presently taking classes in Delhi to get a commercial pilot license. She will join as a first officer in Indigo next month.
“During my training and exams everyone would be surprised to see a woman from Kashmir as a pilot, but there was no discrimination. I worked hard and got a job offer from Indigo and GoAir. I am set to join as a first officer in Indigo next month,” she added.
SRINAGAR: Deserted street of Historic Ganta Ghar in Srinagar on Thursday as all the shops and business establishments were closed due to two-day strike called by separatists to protest against alleged attempts being made to abrogate Article 35-A.
HYDERABAD: Renowned Poet Varavara Rao under house arrest in Hyderabad on Thursday as per the Supreme Court Order on Wednesday. Varavara Rao was arrested by Pune police here on Tuesday.
MUMBAI: Karan Johar is the leader of the sass squad of the Bollywood fraternity. Known to give sassy comebacks and counter-trolling people on twitter. It seems like this actor/director has finally found his match as this one tweet finally left him at a lost for words.
Karan recently took to Twitter to share his recent discovery with his 15 million followers.
Few tweets leave me speechless….this is one of them…. https://t.co/jRNhE6A7ex
— Karan Johar (@karanjohar) August 30, 2018
The picture displays a man with an uncanny resemblance to the former. We get why he was left speechless.
The man identified as Usman Khan looks like a younger Karan Johar adding the final touches by donning Karan’s slightly tilted pose and pouty face.
Twitterati also responded to this tweet and they weren’t short of some sassy comments;
Oh boy so much alike. You’re the mirror image of KJo
— Jayanth Krishnan (@GyanFromJK) August 30, 2018
Sir, Make A Biopic Of Urself And Launch Him In Lead Role….
— Babu Bhaiya (@Shahrcasm) August 30, 2018
Launch him. Atleast that wont be nepotism.
— Vikram Samal (@VikramSamal) August 30, 2018
Karan arjun
— sk(surya
kajal) (@bsuryasiddardha) August 30, 2018
Now all Raakhee needs to say is mere Karan Usman aa gaye!
— Kavita A Chhibber (@KavitaAChhibber) August 30, 2018
Usman added to the story by saying that people also resemble him with Pakistani Cricketer Umar Akmal. Here see for yourself.
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ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said it was a great moral victory of the entire Muslim Ummah that the Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders cancelled plans to hold a contest of blasphemous caricature.
Wilders’ plan to hold the blasphemous event at his PVV party’s offices in parliament stirred extreme anger among the Muslims, particularly in Pakistan.
Qureshi, in a media talk, said the new government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf immediately after coming into power raised the issue internationally at all foras. He said the Parliament unanimously passed a resolution condemning the plans to hold the blasphemous caricature contest. He said the minority members were at the forefront in condemning this heinous act.
He said he discussed the matter with his counterparts from important Capitals and it was agreed to use the platform of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation OIC to present a unanimous stance and seek an end to repeat of such sacrilegious acts.
The Foreign Minister also recalled his phone call to the Dutch Foreign Minister and said he was informed that an act of an individual should not be allowed to hurt the sentiments of billions of Muslims across the globe.
However, he attributed the success to the blessings of Allah and said the cancellation has averted a major crisis. He said the Pakistani government fully endorses the sentiments of every Muslim, the religious scholars and Ulema.
Earlier Prime Minister Imran Khan in a video message assured that his government would use the OIC platform to raise the issue at the United Nations and seek a permanent solution to such acts that hurt the sentiments of the Muslims.
The TLP leadership later yesterday announced end of the long March, of thousands of people that had entered Rawalpindi late Thursday night, from Lahore.
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ISLAMABAD: Chipping in with the ongoing debate over ‘cheap’ cost of helicopter trip, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who himself owns an airline, stated that per minute of a helicopter commute is around Rs 20,000.
During a media talk, the ex-PM expressed surprised on statement of Fawad Chaudhary who said per kilometer cost of helicopter commute is Rs 55. “I must say every Pakistani is now waiting for the helicopter that costs Rs 55 per km,” he taunted.
On August 27, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry had said that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s commute via his helicopter costs between Rs 50 and Rs 55 per kilometer.
In an interview to a TV channel, the minister said PM Khan’s commute via helicopter doesn’t cost much and it’s around Rs 55 per km. He said helicopter isn’t much expensive if somebody owns it personally and not hired on rent.
He said it’s preferable to travel via helicopter instead of cavalcade on road that causes hardship to people. He underlined that four helicopters are already at the PM House from previous regimes, which is prerogative of any prime minister.
The statement by information minister triggered debate on the mainstream as well as the social media as how could helicopter travel cost be so cheap.
Yesterday, PTI leader Naeem-ul-Haq responded to criticism over use of a helicopter by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The special assistant to the prime minister issued a statement that Imran Khan only flew by helicopter twice, adding that an unnecessary debate is being created on the media.
He said that the prime minister does not want traffic to be stopped on the roads when he travels and that people should not be troubled.
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WASHINGTON: A serial cat killer is on the loose said that authorities after they found at least 13 cats brutally killed.
The 13th cat was found dead on Thursday. Most of the cats have been found in public places and did not appear to have been killed by wild animals.
According to a report in the New York Times, a cat was found earlier this week that had been surgically slit and laid out for people to see.
The police believe that all these cat killings are linked to a single individual.
In some cases, the felines’ spines were removed; some cats have been found dismembered. The methods used suggest an experienced killer.
“I feel for the animal owners because I’m an animal owner myself and just the manner these animals have died is extremely horrific,” said Thurston County Animal Services officer Erika Johnson earlier this month in relation to the seventh reported killing.
The killings can be dated back to February of this year.
A local animal sanctuary has now put a $36,000 reward on the killers head.
Kathy Harrigan’s deaf, 20-year-old cat Harley was one of the victims of the killings.
“He didn’t want to be indoors, so (he) lived in our yard. He was deaf and lacked muscle tone; disliked people but came to love my husband and myself, as we loved him,” she wrote.
“It is heartbreaking that he was killed and hurt in the way he was.”
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ISLAMABAD: The Senate was informed that a holistic approach will be adopted to provide full legal and humanitarian assistance to the Pakistani prisoners languishing in foreign jails.
Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari told the House on Thursday during question hours that consular services of Pakistani missions abroad will be upgraded for this purpose. She said a policy decision will also be taken to get in touch with different countries for repatriation of Pakistani prisoners.
The Minister for Human Rights said the present government will bolster efforts to produce skilled workforce keeping in view the demand of jobs in the gulf and other countries.
Adviser on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan told the house that Gwadar Port is a big national asset. He said currently limited exports and commercial imports are taking place from the port.
In a written reply, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told the house that safeguarding national security, promoting Pakistan’s economic interests and strengthening international partnerships have been some of the overarching themes of country’s foreign policy.
He said the foreign policy as in any other democratic country is formulated by the government. He, however, said the parliament, security agencies and some other ministries play an equally important role in providing crucial inputs. This practice, he said, is also followed in other countries as well.
The Senate also passed a resolution urging the government to immediately enact legislation to criminalize enforced disappearances. The resolution was moved by Mian Raza Rabbani of PPP.
The resolution also asked the government to join the international campaign to end enforced disappearances by ratifying the international convention on protection of all persons against enforced disappearances.
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KARACHI: A banking court on Friday granted pre-arrest bail to former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in fake bank accounts case.
Zardari, one of the suspects in money laundering through fake bank accounts case, appeared before a banking court here along with his legal counsel Farooq Naik.
On August 17, the banking court had issued non-bailable arrest warrants of the former president and other suspects in the ongoing probe. Nevertheless, on August 18, PPP co-chairman was granted a protective bail from the Islamabad High Court with additional directives to appear before the relevant court before September 3.
Asif Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur had appeared before the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) team in Islamabad, on August 28, in fake accounts case and faced grilling from the investigators for around 38 minutes.
The FIA officials handed over a questionnaire to the sibling duo after the questioning.
The lawyer of the former president, however, denied the reports of questioning to his client and handing him over a questionnaire.
Zardari and Ms Talpur appeared before the FIA after fourth summon in a case pertaining to fake bank accounts. They had not appeared before the FIA despite three previous summons.
Zardari and his sister were among over a dozen suspects declared absconders in the money-laundering scam.
In the FIA list, Anwar Majeed and his son’s names appeared on top of the list while those of Zardari and Talpur were on the 19th and 20th number, respectively.
According to the FIR registered by FIA, transactions of billions of rupees were made into suspicious accounts, including the one owned by the PPP leaders, the Zardari Group, which is accused of receiving Rs 15 million of the laundered money.
In December 2016, the Pakistan Rangers conducted raids at the Karachi office of the Omni Group of Companies and the residence of its owner Anwar Majeed, a close aid of Zardari, and confiscated record allegedly related with money laundering.
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These superhero movies were released a decade ago and are a favorite among sci-fi lovers. From Marvel to DC these movies surely make us feel old as they celebrate their 10th birthday.
2008 witnessed a tremendous bunch of Superhero movies that made a significant mark in the SciFi world. From Marvel’s Iron Man to DC’s Batman these five superhero movies wowed the audience 10 years ago.
This superhero movie featuring DC universe’s Batman is known to be a masterpiece. Directed by Christopher Nolan this movie is a sequel to the 2005 movie Batman Begins. This movie also showcases the famous Joker.
Ironman is undoubtedly Marvel universe’s most celebrated Superhero. Played by Robert Downey Jr. who is known to be the Godfather of “The Avengers” series this movie surely has a huge place in the hearts of superhero fanatics.
A lab experiment went wrong, this superhero turns into a gigantic green monster when provoked. A favorite amongst kids and adults alike. The incredible hulk premiered 10 years ago today.
Fed up with the way of the world, this Superhero lets himself go and proves to be a major disappointment but with the help of a trusted friend and another superhero in hiding Hancock rises from the ashes to save the world.
A sequel to the 2004 Hellboy, this film showcases a group of American superheroes. Adopted by humans Hellboy is a resident of outer space.
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LONDON: An overhang of homeless crude in the Atlantic Basin has halved in recent weeks, suggesting oil traders are bracing for a further supply loss from Iran due to US sanctions and a new rally in prices.
Iran’s oil exports are already dropping fast as refiners scurry to find alternatives ahead of a reimposition of US sanctions in early November, which in turn has helped drain a glut of unsold oil.
The millions of unsold barrels of crude that had pooled around northwest Europe, the Mediterranean, and West Africa over July and August are rapidly draining.
A months-long surplus in the West African market that depressed prices to their lowest in months has almost vanished.
Traders had said just one week ago that leftover crude from the August and September loading schedules amounted to some 30 cargoes, equivalent to an average 930,000 barrels per day (BPD).
Now, that overhang has dwindled to a handful of unsold cargoes, while demand for October-loading Angolan oil — the favoured West African grades for Chinese refiners — has been even more robust than that for September.
“The overall situation … is that US sanctions toward Iran are now increasingly kicking in, which will help to dry up the physical crude oil market and place it back into solid backwardation,” SEB head of commodities Bjarne Schieldrop said in a note this week.
“This will shift the front end Brent crude oil price into the higher $70s range with a touch of $80s.”
The belief that supply will fall short of demand is reflected in the futures market when the price of a prompt-dated contract rises above that of a longer-dated one, a situation known as backwardation.
With a little over nine weeks until possibly more than 1 million BPD of Iranian supply is off the market, Brent futures are now at their closest to backwardation in almost a month, leaving the front-month October contract just 35 cents below November, nearly half what it was in late July.
Concern over oil demand, particularly in China, has been put to rest, for now at least.
Consumption by China’s independent refiners, or teapots, has picked up sharply in August to around 1.4 million BPD, up 40 percent from near-record lows in July, as plants return from prolonged summer maintenance.
Shipments of West African crude to Asia generally have hit record highs of 2.59 million BPD in August, thanks in large part to Indian demand, while European refineries’ appetite for crudes similar to Iran’s has pushed the price of Russian Urals to its highest in nine months.
“Looking at the spreads, it’s starting to appear as if the market is somewhat tightening. The West African overhang has disappeared, so it looks as though that ramp-up in OPEC output in June and July is starting to be eaten into,” ING commodities strategist Warren Patterson said.
A number of major producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, are boosting output, after having agreed to cut by up to 1.8 million BPD since January 2017, to fill any gaps in supply left by the sanctions and prevent demand-damaging price spikes.
In Europe, the North Sea market is still suffering from a surplus of crude that grew so large earlier in August that traders resorted to keeping it on tankers, arguably the most expensive storage option.
This pool is finally shrinking.
According to Reuters data, some 16 million barrels of oil are still in floating storage around northwest Europe and the Mediterranean, including North Sea crudes, such as Forties and Ekofisk, Saudi Arab Light, Algerian Saharan, Russian Urals, US shale, and West African grades, such as Nigerian Bonny Light and Ghanaian Jubilee.
But this is down from nearly 20 million a few days ago.
Even though oil supply from outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) may grow next year, the output from Venezuela, Mexico, and Angola continues to decline and other big exporters like Libya and Nigeria are prone to disruption.
Add to that the years of underinvestment as a result of an oil price that struggled below $50 a barrel, and some big investors believe the market is ripe for a rally.
“We believe the bull market in oil … is set to dramatically accelerate to the upside. Stay long oil and oil-related investments,” wrote Leigh Goehring and Adam Rozencwajg, of New York natural resources asset managers Goehring and Rozencwajg Associates.
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WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump threatened in an interview with Bloomberg News on Thursday to withdraw from the World Trade Organization if “they don’t shape up,” in his latest criticism of the institution.
Such a move could undermine one of the foundations of the modern global trading system, which the United States was instrumental in creating.
“If they don’t shape up, I would withdraw from the WTO,” Trump said.
Trump has complained the United States is treated unfairly in global trade and has blamed the WTO for allowing that to happen. He has also warned he could take action against the global body, although he has not specified what form that could take.
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BEIJING: A wave of African nations looking to restructure debt with China on the eve of a major Beijing summit provides a reality check for the continent, where most countries still view Chinese lending as the best bet to develop their economies.
China has denied engaging in “debt trap” diplomacy, but President Xi Jinping is likely to use next week’s gathering of African leaders to offer a new round of financing, following a pledge of $60 billion at the last summit three years ago.
Ethiopia and Zambia, heavy borrowers from China, have expressed the desire to restructure that debt, while bankers believe Angola and the Congo Republic have already done so, though details of such deals are sparse.
The International Monetary Fund says Cameroon, Ghana and others face a high risk of debt distress, as does Djibouti, whose main source of foreign loans is China, the Fund says, and which holds the majority of the external debt.
But many countries, even those heavily indebted to China, still say Beijing offers far better terms than Western banks, and that European nations and the United States fail to match its generosity.
“Especially when you go to multilateral, it takes such a long time,” Aboubakar Omar Hadi, chairman of the Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority, told Reuters.
To develop its Doral Container Terminal, Djibouti borrowed $268 million from seven banks at 9 percent over nine years, he said.
By comparison, its first Chinese loan was $620 million over 20 years at 2.85 percent, and it came with a seven-year grace period.
“Where is America?” he asked. “Where is the investment from Europe? We are ready. Why are they leaving the whole continent for China? They have themselves to blame if here they are out of the game.”
Chinese officials have vowed to be more cautious to ensure projects are sustainable.
China’s push to cut debt at home, and the cooling of its economy, will affect “non-urgent projects”, said Yang Baorong, an expert on African debt at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
“The overall trend will not change, but the scale will certainly be different under the current circumstances.”
Chinese-backed infrastructure has not always translated into the kind of economic growth that makes rising debt sustainable and resource-based economies are reeling from a slump in global commodities, said Martyn Davies, managing director of emerging markets and Africa at Deloitte.
“The African states have this naïveté at times that this is somehow free money,” Davies said.
From 2000 to 2016, China loaned around $125 billion to the continent, data from the China-Africa Research Initiative (CARI) at Washington’s Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies shows.
It is the most significant contributor to high debt risks in three African countries, Congo Republic, Djibouti, and Zambia, CARI said this week.
In most other nations, traditional donors, multilateral agencies, and private creditors held significantly higher portions of debt, it added. The last decade has seen a boom in African Eurobond issuance.
Chinese officials say this year’s summit will strengthen Africa’s role in Xi’s “Belt and Road” initiative to link China by sea and land through an infrastructure network with southeast and central Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa.
Beijing has pledged $126 billion for the plan.
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