Press freedom is not a reward from our rulers, it's a fundamental human right

Tanzanian journalists and media stakeholders joined their counterparts in the world to mark the world’s Press Freedom Day with fear, doubt and dashed hope. Their fear, doubt and elusive hope are caused by the brutal events that have clouded the Tanzanian media industry during the past few months. Tanzanian journalists, especially those practising ‘watchdog’ journalism that stands for public interest, are in fear because they are being hunted like animals by their tormentors. If they are not kidnapped, tortured or jailed, they are simply shot dead in cold-blood murder by those who are supposed to protect them. Some have suffered acid attacks and are still nursing the wounds till today. If they survive all these deadly attacks, their newspapers or media houses face indefinite closure from the government, simply because these journalists have angered the ruling elite. Tanzania is rapidly becoming one of the worst places to be a serious journalist and, if the situation is not controlled, we shall find ourselves in another Somalia. Press freedom in Tanzania is at the crossroads. Behind this fear, doubt and shuttered hope, there’s a misleading lie that press freedom in Tanzania is a gift from our rulers. There are those who claim that the freedom of the press we have seen in this country is a reward from our rulers, which is a pure lie and, above all, cheap propaganda. Press freedom is a fundamental human right, which is not granted by any ruler and should be protected by the constitution. If we believe that Press freedom is a reward from our rulers, then we shouldn’t be surprised if the very same rulers take that freedom back once we have angered them for reporting what they call ‘bad stories.’ No leader in the world is willing to reward journalists press freedom and it has never happened anywhere. Leaders are forced by the constitution not to grant or reward press freedom but to protect it. Have we forgotten how former US President Thomas Jefferson took a dramatic u-turn when the very same media he had once praised and vowed to protect wrote negative stories about his leadership? This is what he first said, “The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." But when the very same newspapers wrote what he disliked, the same Jefferson later on said, “The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.” That’s why today we call upon all journalists and all well-wishers to understand that press freedom is not a gift given on a golden plate by our rulers; it’s our fundamental right as human beings, which can only be granted and protected by the constitution. Tanzanian journalists and media owners shouldn’t be fooled at all that press freedom is a reward from our ‘beloved’ rulers. That’s a total lie. We are in the process of making our new constitution and this is the best chance to ensure that press freedom is constitutionally protected. Not only that but also journalists and media owners should defend press freedom at any cost by practising their duty professionally, legally and bravely. The government should also stop the ‘madness’ of closing newspapers indefinitely because such practice signals dictatorship and brutality. If there are journalists or media houses that have broken the law, the government should go to court to seek justice; that’s what good governance is all about.

Syria: air strike hints at change in how far Israel will involve itself in conflict

The attack on a Syria-Hizbollah weapons transfer was the second this year by the Israelis. The targets and methods were similar, convoys believed to be delivering missile systems to Hizbollah's northern Lebanese heartlands, destroyed by air force jets hovering over the Lebanon-Syria border. The way the news was immediately confirmed by officials though was very different, indicating something has changed in Israel's calculations over how far to involve itself in the Syrian disaster, and perhaps America’s too. For 18 months or more, Israel tried to turn the other way over Syria. It had no love for Syria's Assad regime - it considered itself the "heart of the resistance", supporting both Hamas and Hizbollah, Israel's most immediate foes - but the Golan Heights border was one of the few with which it seemed to have little trouble. It was a miscalculation all the same. As Iran became ever more closely involved, and America and the West stood by and watched Syria fell apart, events crystallised into what Israeli officials now start to describe as a perfect strategic storm. Iran was drawn inevitably closer in, sending military advisers and, many believe, Revolutionary Guard ground forces to bolster the regime. Tehran is determined to ensure the survival of at least some sort of "resistance" rump state, a Shia-Alawite enclave that due to its natural insecurity would be far more dangerous to Israel, more beholden to Iran, than the old, complex, heterogeneous Syria was.

PM directs intelligence agencies to sharpen clues-gathering techniques

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Justice retired Mir Hazar Khan Khoso on Saturday directed the Intelligence Agencies to sharpen their information-gathering techniques so that the acts of terrorism could be foiled which might prove disastrous for the nation. The Prime Minister reiterating government's stance of zero tolerance for acts of terrorism, said that the Government would not compromise on the issue of law and order throughout the country for holding free and fair elections in a secure environment. Prime Minister Khoso was addressing the Federal Cabinet which met here to discuss the important agenda item of law and order situation with special reference to Elections 2013. The Prime Minister observed that the recent acts of terrorism were being carried out to create panic and fear amongst the masses. "Let me categorically declare that holding free, fair and transparent elections is the primary responsibility of the Caretaker Government," he added. He said that each and every patriotic citizen, irrespective of their political affiliation, realized that the country was passing through a critical phase but the Government assured the nation that with the help of Allah Almighty, it would succeed, in overcoming all problems being faced by the people. Prime Minister Khoso declared that the Caretaker Government would take all constitutional and legal steps to ensure impartiality, in collaboration with Election Commission for holding the general Elections on May 11. "Elections would be held on time following which government would be handed over to the elected representatives," he maintained. The Prime Minister alluding to national responsibility shared by each citizen, requested the masses to keep vigil on the movement of suspicious elements around them and inform the police immediately. "I am sure if every Pakistani decides to guard his homeland, cooperate with and assist the law enforcement agencies, we would defeat the criminal elements who want to destabilize the country and disturb the election process," he opined. The Prime Minister further informed that the security had been beefed up for sensitive polling stations, candidates and masses. The decision to deploy rapid response force was another step towards provision of conducive environment for the voters, he added. Expressing his optimism about active participation of voters on the polling day, PM Khoso said that he expected that all Pakistanis would come out of their houses to cast their votes for their beloved country and make the election process a success. Eulogizing sacrifices of Pakistani nation during acts of terrorism, he said his Cabinet saluted all those who had embraced Shahaadat, proving that the terrorists could not defeat the brave Pakistani citizens who offered their lives to protect the country. "I salute the Jawans of the Army, Police and Law Enforcement Agencies, who have been performing their duties with courage and dedication," the Prime Minister said.

Earth-Like Planets Discovered

Scientists have long been in the hunt for planets resembling the Earth in hopes of finding environment conducive to life. However, while there have been leads in the past, they have mostly been nothing more than false hopes. Curiosity, NASA’s rover’s latest mission to Mars proved that the Red planet did in the past hold water and could also have held life forms. However, whether the planet will sustain life in the future is still unknown. Another mission into outer space, that of Kepler, has provided some interesting insights into galaxies around the Milky Way and their ability to sustain life. Kepler has managed to narrow down on three planets that come closest to being described as sisters of the Earth. The three planets are neither too close nor too far from their parent star. The distance from the parent star often determines the temperature of the planet, a pre-requisite factor conducive to life on the planet. Comment facebook twitter google email Your Reactions? 5 FAIL 7 WOW 0 OMG 2 GEEKY 1 LOL Earth-Like Planets Discovered by Rutu Ladage , IndiaTimes | April 20, 2013, 5:00 pm IST - Posted 59 mins ago Science wow « Go Back to Homepage Kepler-69c planet which is a part of the Kepler-69 system. Image Courtesy: NASAKepler 69 system Scientists have long been in the hunt for planets resembling the Earth in hopes of finding environment conducive to life. However, while there have been leads in the past, they have mostly been nothing more than false hopes. Curiosity, NASA’s rover’s latest mission to Mars proved that the Red planet did in the past hold water and could also have held life forms. However, whether the planet will sustain life in the future is still unknown. Another mission into outer space, that of Kepler, has provided some interesting insights into galaxies around the Milky Way and their ability to sustain life. Kepler has managed to narrow down on three planets that come closest to being described as sisters of the Earth. The three planets are neither too close nor too far from their parent star. The distance from the parent star often determines the temperature of the planet, a pre-requisite factor conducive to life on the planet. Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f form part of the Kepler-62 system. Image Courtesy: NASAKepler 62 New Anthropocene Journal elementascience.org - www.elementascience.org Nonprofit, open-access, scientific Ads by Google Also, the three planets are just slightly larger than the Earth. Their exact mass is still unknown but their distance from the main star or the “sun” of their galaxy hints at the two main essentials for life being present of these planet. The first is water while the second is a strong, rocky surface. There have been many planets in the past to have a strong surface but the absence of water ruled out possibility of life. The three planets discovered are Kepler-62e, Kepler-62f and Kepler-69-c. Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f both orbit the parent star Kepler-62. A Kepler-62e year is 122 days while the Kepler-62f year is longer at approximately 267 days. While the first is almost 60 percent bigger to Earth, the latter is 40 percent larger. Kepler-69c has a year of 242 days. The Kepler-62e is the most conduccie to life forms as the planet is expected to hold a mix of rocky land and water or majority of oceans. The Kepler-69c is more like Venus as it is warmer than the other two. The planets are pretty distant from Earth but if climates are conducive, researchers might gain an important insight into the mystery of life on other planets.

Washcloth Experiment Yields Fascinating Results in International Space Station [Video]

In space, even the seemingly most mundane tasks can produce fascinating results. Take, for instance, wringing out a wet washcloth. Broadcasting from the International Space Station, the Canadian Space Agency's Chris Hadfield, the commander or the current research mission, continued what has become his ongoing gig as station front man and correspondent, sharing through a video and audio hook-up details about life on the station with folks down below. He's become widely recognized for the series of photos and videos he's transmitted back to earth. Like Us on Facebook A new piece of information delivered by Hadfield was prompted by students who asked Hadfield, the first Canadian to walk in space, about the dynamics of surface tension in space, according to a report by Discovery News. Surface tension is a tendency of the surface of a liquid to resist an external force, allowing, for example, some objects that are denser than the liquid, to float. The ways some insects, such as water striders, are able to run on the water surface is another example of surface tension, which is a result of the cohesion of similar molecules. The Canadian astronaut took to YouTube and demonstrated what happens when one wrings out a washcloth in a zero-gravity environment. Hadfield started the demonstration by taking a vacuum-packed washcloth, complete with official NASA insignia, and hydrating it with a stream of water he squeezed from a water bottle. It was after the cloth had absorbed the water that real fun began. Because, when Hadfield wrung out the cloth, much of the water covered the exterior of the cloth, like a transparent force field. Then some of the water traveled up his arms to cover his hands, appearing, at least, to have a consistency similar to that of slime. For suggesting the experiment, Canadian 10th-graders Kendra Lemke and Meredith Faulkner from Lockview High School in Fall River, Nova Scotia, won the grand prize in a national science contest. As their reward, the two high school students, along with many of their peers, got to see their experiment conducted by Hadfield live, during a video connection with the Station. "I was about your age when I decided I wanted to become an astronaut," Hadfield said to the 1,200 Lockview students watching from the school's gymnasium. "I hope that you remember today and continue to be curious about science and space. You are the space explorers of the future and the sky is no longer the limit."

Russian Becomes Oldest Spacewalker Ever

A 59-year-old Russian cosmonaut has become the oldest human to walk in space. Pavel Vinogradov took part in maintenance work outside the International Space Station on April 19. Until then, the oldest spacewalker had been retired NASA astronaut Story Musgrave, who was 58 when he helped fix the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993. The 6 1/2-hour space walk went well outside of one incident when Vinogradov lost his grip on an experimental tray that he was retrieving. Officials said the lost aluminum panel should not pose a safety hazard to the station, although it will add to the booming population of space junk.

Terrorism was allowed to grow for last five years, says JI Amir

n an interview, Syed Munawar Hasan said “we have been providing logistical support to terrorism by including known terrorists‚ extortionists and criminals in the government both at the centre and in Sindh in the name of reconciliation.” He said terrorism was there even before the United States formally launched war against terror twelve years ago and today it has become a full-blown tree. But at the same time‚ the JI Amir said‚ his party has been propounding that it is the US war and we should take ourselves out of it but instead we gave the United States bases and other logistical support. Asked why dialogue should be held with Taliban‚ Syed Munawar Hasan said “we have been holding dialogue with the United States even after it carried out aggression at Salala and Washington has not to-date offered an apology.” To another question he said operation in Swat was not transparent. He said “media reports bear testimony to the fact that our government faithfully acted upon the persistent demand of the United States to ‘do more'. He said the APC convened by then Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and attended also by the Army Chief and Director-General ISI adopted a resolution but it has not been implemented even by one percent. Replying to a question whether the cycle of terrorism would end with the departure of the United States from neighbouring Afghanistan‚ he said there would still be about forty thousand US troops in Afghanistan. He said the US is still there in Iraq despite claims about withdrawal. He said the United States should have been penalized for invading Iraq despite the fact that there were no weapons of mass destruction. When repeatedly pressed to clarify Jamaat's view point about terrorism and known militant outfits‚ Syed Munawar Hasan said why the government did not take any action against them. He said people gave mandate to the government to safeguard their lives and properties‚ eliminate unemployment and check price hike but instead it has been serving the US interests. He questioned whether mandate of the Interior Minister was just to pass on information about possible act of terrorism and terrorize people or take preventive measures. He said JI condemns whenever innocent lives become target of terrorism. NNI

OSCE welcomes Belgrade-Pristina agreement

The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara and the OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier welcomed the Belgrade-Pristina agreement facilitated by the EU High Representative Catherine Ashton in Brussels, the OSCE said in a news release. Calling the agreement “an important step in normalization of relations and stability in the region,” Minister Kozhara said, “I commend the leadership in Belgrade and Pristina for their courage and vision in reaching this agreement. This is the beginning of a new chapter and I support continuation of this dialogue that will improve the lives of all the communities in Kosovo.” The OSCE Secretary General added: “In welcoming this historic agreement I also call for its effective implementation. Where possible, the OSCE will provide concrete support in line with our mandate. We already have the largest international civilian presence in Kosovo, which is working on institution and democracy building and promoting human rights and the rule of law for the benefit of all communities.”

French hostages freed in Cameroon back in France

Seven members of a French family freed after being kidnapped by gunmen in Cameroon have arrived back in France. French President François Hollande greeted them as they landed in Paris. The Moulin-Fournier family were taken hostage by armed men on motorbikes in northern Cameroon on February 19. Tanguy Moulin-Fournier expressed his relief at being back home: “It was yesterday that I learned about French solidarity. I am pleased that France can act. There was so much emotion. I am so glad to be back in France.It is a great moment. The father Tanguy, his wife, four children and his brother were held by the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram. Boko Haram are engaged in an insurgency against the government of Nigeria following a crackdown on their members in 2009.

H7N9 Bird Flu Cases In China Rise By Four To 91; Half Have Had No Contact With Poultry

The number of confirmed H7N9 bird flu cases in China increased by four to 91 on Friday. Jiangsu province reported one new case, and Zhejiang province reported three, the state-run Shanghai Daily reported today. The number of dead was unchanged at 17. An increasing focus among public health officials and the media is prospect that transmission of the disease is not only animal-to-animal but also human-to-human. More than half of the victims have had no contact with poultry, the newspaper said. “This is still an animal virus that occasionally infects humans,” the newspaper quoted World Health Organization’s China leader Michael O’Leary as saying. “With rare exceptions, we know that people are not getting sick from other people.” Beijing and major eastern Chinese cities have closed live poultry markets and are taking other precautions to limit the spread of the new virus. Chinese media this week estimated that the poultry industry has lost 17 billion yuan, or $2.7 billion. Officials are concerned about the livelihoods and future source of bird supply from chicken farmers. Shares in Yum!, which has relied on China for much of its growth through its KFC chain, were little changed in New York yesterday. The company said earlier this month KFC same-store sales in China fell by 16% at a time when nervous consumers have shunned chicken, despite government advice that cooked meat is safe. Shanghai, the city with the most bird flu deaths so far, is playing host next week to one of the country’s most important auto industry conferences this year. Today kicked off a series of media daily promotions at the site by Ford, Toyota, Honda and many others. The venue this morning was rain-soaked and already crowded.

In Spain anti-capitalist nun gets into politics

MONTSERRAT: From her small convent in the mountains near Barcelona, Sister Teresa Forcades, a Harvard-educated Catalan nun, has emerged as a leading advocate of Spain's "indignant" protest movement against the excesses of capitalism. In an interview with AFP, Forcades denounced the austerity measures implemented by Spain's conservative government, which include cuts to health and education spending. The government imposed the cuts to rein in the public deficit. But Forcades said: "The cuts go against the needs of the majority and go in favour of the interests of a minority." Forcades, wearing her nun's black habit, spoke seated in the leafy garden of the convent at Sant Benet, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Barcelona, which she shares with 35 other nuns. This feminist and radical thinker has lived at the brick and rock convent near the Montserrat mountain since 1997. Forcades is a doctor by training. She rose to prominence during the height of the global swine flu outbreak in 2009 when she argued that vaccines against the disease rushed out by pharmaceutical companies had not been properly tested for public use. Now, together with Arcadi Oliveres, a 67-year-old economist who is one of the ideologues behind Spain's "indignant" movement, she has has launched a political manifesto. And in just two days it has collected 14,000 signatures. Among her proposals is a unilateral declaration of independence by Catalonia, a region of around 7.5 million people which has its own language and culture. She also advocates the nationalisation of banks and energy firms, housing rights and tough measures against corruption. "Why should there be a tax on basic goods and no tax on financial trading?" she said. But while she said she was against the abuses of capitalism, she did not oppose private enterprise. The goal of the two campaigners is to present a "citizen's list" of candidates to stand in the next regional elections in Catalonia in northeastern Spain. Those elections are scheduled for 2016 -- two years after the region is set to hold an independence referendum. "We think it is imperative, necessary and possible to change society" by non-violent means, said Forcades. "A break is needed because it is what people want," she added. Born in 1966 in Barcelona, Forcades said her family considered "the Church, like the monarchy, to be an outdated institution". But when she was 15-year-old she read the Bible for the first time and discovered her religious vocation. "It had an impact on me," said Forcades, who expresses her strong convictions in a soft voice and a friendly demeanor. She studied theology in the United States and in Barcelona after completing her studies as a doctor. But she said the basis of her religious convictions lay in Liberation Theology, a strand of Catholicism that emerged in the 1960s in Latin America which seeks to empower the poor. Forcades said the first theology book which she read was "Jesus Christ Liberator: A Critical Christology for Our Time" by Leonardo Boff, a Brazilian Franciscan professor known for his active support for the rights of the poor and excluded. The author of three books herself, including one on feminist theology, Forcades criticised the "misogyny" which she sees within the Church. "I would like it if within the Church, and within society, nobody, neither a man or a woman, has their access to the government or a liturgical position blocked because of their gender," she said. A defender of the use of contraceptives, Forcades argues the Catholic Church needs to "humanise" its position on abortion. Reforms will likely advance under Pope Francis, who may be more receptive than his predecessors to an "internal democratisation" of the Church, she said, as the bells of the convent rang out to call the nuns to prayer.

Suicide bomber attack Afghan, NATO troops convoy in Helmand

According to local authorities in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan, at least 7 people including 2 civlians and 5 police forces were injured following a suicide attack in this province. The officials further added, the incident took place after a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle packed with explosives into a joint convoy of Afghan and coalition security forces in Sangin district on Friday. Sangin district governor Mohammad Daud Noorzai confirming the report said the incident took place around 11am local time. In the meantime a spokesman for the Taliban group Qari Yosuf Ahmadi claimed responsibility behind the incident and said at least 10 Afghan security forces and 10 coalition forces were killed following the attack. Local officials however denied the claims by the Taliban group and said only 5 Afghan police officers from the public order forces were injured along with two other civilians.

Suspicious Letter Sent To German President Destroyed

German police have destroyed a package addressed to the country's president that was suspected of containing explosives. The office of President Joachim Gauck said the letter was found during routine checks on mail on April 19. The package was then destroyed in a controlled explosion in the park outside the presidential Bellevue residence in downtown Berlin. Gauck was not at his residence at the time, and no staff members were endangered. A spokeswoman for the presidential office said the substance in the package was being tested in a police laboratory.

Serbia, Kosovo Sign Pact to Normalize Ties

EU officials have announced that Serbia and Kosovo have agreed to a 15-point agreement to normalize ties, capping a two-year series of negotiations on the future status of the breakaway province, which NATO declared independent after attacking Serbia in 1999. The move was important for Serbia because its ascension to the European Union depended on reaching a deal on Kosovo, though EU officials say it is too soon to tell whether or not they’ll come up with some other reason to block Serbian membership. The deal followed several failed attempts by Serbia to negotiate a measure of autonomy in northern Kosovo, where ethnic Serbs have complained of persecution by the Albanian-dominated government. Though the 15 points remain a secret, the early indications are that Serbia backed off on almost everything, and in the end only got promises that ethnic Serbs would have some representation in the police force of Kosovo. The Kosovar Serbs are reacting negatively to the deal, condemning it as a “betrayal” on the part of the Serbian government, which had long promised to protect them. Whether this will mean continued resistance against the Pristina government remains to be seen.

Misbah believes tracks in England would not be difficult like SA

He made these observations in a post match press conference after Sui Northern Gas team defeated WAPDA to win the President Cup One-Day Cricket Tournament at National Stadium here on Friday and completed a double after winning President's Trophy first class event a few week ago. He said apart from playing conditions and pitches in South Africa, SA also had a strong and formidable team and that proved difficult for Pakistan team. Misbah's team suffered 3-0 loss to South Africa and lost the 5-match One-Day International (ODI) series 3-2. Pakistan got the consolation when they won the one-off T20 International match after their first match was washed out. Misbah said playing in South African conditions will help the team to perform well in the Champions Trophy. He said Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is holding the training camp of Pakistan team in Abbotabad to provide conditions similar to England. Responding to a question, he said it was not possible to prepare lively or fast tracks in Pakistan because of warm conditions here. "This is the last Champions Trophy and we want to make it memorable," he commented. He expressed the hope that just concluded one-day event will help in the build-up for the Champions Trophy. Misbah said players performed well in the event and that could benefit Pakistan team. Commenting on dropping of senior batsman Younis Khan, he said in circumstances or when a situation arises any one can be recalled. He said Younis Khan is a class batsman and anyone can be dropped or get unfit and that is part of the process.

China quake kills dozens, injures hundreds

undreds of people were killed or injured when a strong earthquake struck China's southwestern Sichuan province Saturday, local officials said, five years after a massive quake devastated the region. PHOTOS People gather to take shelter outside buildings in Chongqing, southwest China's Sichuan province, as a shallow earthquake struck close to the city of Ya'an on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. (AFP PHOTO) prev ENLARGE next BEIJING: Hundreds of people were killed or injured when a strong earthquake struck China's southwestern Sichuan province Saturday, local officials said, five years after a massive quake devastated the region. The shallow earthquake struck close to the city of Ya'an on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau just after 8:00 am (0000 GMT), setting off landslides, destroying buildings and triggering a major rescue operation. Four hours after the quake struck, the death toll stood at 56, the Xinhua news agency said, quoting the provincial earthquake relief headquarters. CCTV News had earlier reported 72 killed but revised that down to 47, with 600 injured, citing the Sichuan emergency authorities. The quake sent panicked residents in cities hundreds of kilometres away fleeing into the streets, some of them still in their slippers and pyjamas. Local seismologists registered the quake at magnitude 7.0 while the US Geological Survey gave it as 6.6 at a depth of 12 kilometres (seven miles). It was followed by several aftershocks. "The earthquake in Ya'an, Lushan, has injured or killed hundreds of people," the Sichuan earthquake bureau said. Local authorities, who were heavily criticised after Sichuan's 2008 quake left 87,000 people missing or dead, swiftly mobilised and President Xi Jinping ordered all out efforts to minimise casualties, Xinhua said. Premier Li Keqiang was flying to Ya'an, the People's Daily website said. Rescue workers heading for the quake zone were struggling to clear roads that had been blocked by debris, CCTV reported. "There are mountains on all sides, it is very easy to trigger mudslides and very dangerous," one user wrote on Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter. A Sina Weibo user posted a photo purportedly showing a badly-damaged kindergarten in Lushan, its dark red stone slabs lying on the ground beside a row of trees. The authenticity of the photo could not be verified. "Hang in there Ya'an!" the user wrote. The tremors were felt as far as the megacity of Chongqing, home to around 30 million people, several hundred kilometres to the east, with Xinhua showing images of residents outside their apartment buildings after fleeing the shaking. Xinhua said 2,000 troops were being dispatched to the area, with two helicopters from the Chengdu Military Area Command sent to assess developments on the ground. The military set up a quake relief and rescue headquarters and medical relief team for the quake-hit region. Xinhua quoted a resident in the provincial capital Chengdu, who was on the 13th floor when the quake hit, as saying he felt the shaking for about 20 seconds and saw tiles fall off nearby buildings. City residents ran onto the street to get away from high-rise buildings, making phone calls and crying, a Sichuan government website reported. A few had even packed bags in case they needed to take shelter elsewhere. In a photo published online by Xinhua, staff at a restaurant in Shifang city near the provincial capital Chengdu showed cracks that appeared in the wall after the quake struck. In downtown Chongqing, Xinhua quoted a resident as saying: "I saw the lamps were swaying and water in my fishbowl stirring." Weibo users said they felt the quake in a number of surrounding cities. In 2008 the province saw one of the country's worst earthquakes in decades. That quake, which struck west-northwest of Chengdu, generated an outpouring of support, with volunteers rushing to the scene to offer aid and then-premier Wen Jiabao also visiting. The disaster flattened swathes of the province along with parts of neighbouring Shaanxi and Gansu. There was public anger after the discovery that many schools fell while other buildings did not, creating suspicion of corruption and corner-cutting in construction. Earthquakes frequently strike the country's southwest, with twin tremors in neighbouring Yunnan province last September triggering landslides that left at least 80 people dead. Houses were toppled and people slept outdoors for fear of aftershocks, as emergency workers struggled to clear mountain roads blocked by the landslides to reach survivors. A 5.5-magnitude earthquake in Yunnan last June killed four people and injured more than 100. Another 5.4 tremor the year before near the border with Myanmar left 25 people dead and injured 250.

Almost like home: Astronomers find Earth-like planets

Washington, Apr 19: There may be no place like home, but a NASA survey has found three planets that may come close. The Kepler planet-hunting satellite has pinpointed three so-called “super-Earth” sized planets orbiting their stars at a distance that could support water and therefore life. Two of the planets seem ideal for life, and could even contain water or be completely covered in oceans, a separate study published in the journal Science said. The planets, known as Kepler-62e, 62f and 69c, are part of systems orbiting two different stars, one with five planets and the other two. Kepler-62f is the planet closest in size to Earth, only 40 per cent larger than our planet, and could be rocky, NASA said. Its companion planet 62e is 60 per cent larger than Earth. They orbit a star that is cooler and smaller than the sun. The third planet 69c orbits another star and is 70 per cent larger than the Earth and orbits a star similar to the Sun. The Kepler space telescope launched in 2009 is finely tuned enough to detect Earth-sized planets orbiting distant stars. The 590-million-dollar telescope programme is scanning a large swath of the Milky Way galaxy, which contains about 4.5 million stars. The most advanced cameras ever used in space are focussing on 100,000 to 150,000 stars deemed most likely to have orbiting planets. Data from the cameras are used to find planets by looking for distortions in the light emitted as an orbiting planet crosses in front of the star.

Almost like home: Astronomers find Earth-like planets

According to the Nature study, this primordial galaxy, which the astronomers have named HFLS3, is (was) roughly the same size as our own Milky Way Galaxy, but produces stars 2,000 times as quickly. Astronomers have seen galaxies that produce stars at higher-than-average rates before. They call them “starburst” galaxies. But according to Dominik Riechers, a Cornell University astronomer and lead author of the study, HFLS3 emits infrared radiation equal to 30 trillion suns, and thus exceeds the luminosity of virtually any starburst galaxy that astronomers have discovered thus far. In fact, it nears the upper limit at which a galaxy can release radiation and remain stable. This extreme brightness is why the telescope was able to pick it up at all. HFLS3 was an unlikely find otherwise, given that it is also the most distant starburst galaxy astronomers have ever found and is enshrouded within vast clouds of galactic dust. Only by conducting infrared mapping of the area, and then confirming with ground-based telescopes, were the researchers able to detect the faraway but immensely powerful light. This galaxy is remarkable for yet another reason: It was pumping out stars at this rate more than a billion years earlier than researchers had thought was possible. The conventional wisdom among researchers was that the primordial universe needed a few billion years for its first galaxies to aggregate enough matter and build up enough heat energy of their own before they could begin producing stars. HFLS3, however, was forming stars at astonishing rates at this 880-milion-years-post-big-bang mark and, furthermore, had already been doing so for quite some time. Chemical analyses show that this primoridal galaxy possessed chemical compositions similar to present-day starburst galaxies, meaning that the stars we are seeing in these 13-billion-year-old images were by no means its first. Based on this sighting, astronomers can push the origins for galaxy formation back much earlier, Riechers concludes. Read more: http://www.sciencerecorder.com/news/newly-discovered-starburst-galaxy-challenges-theories-of-universes-evolution/#ixzz2QtN60Yiq

7.0 quake hits Pacific Ocean, no tsunami warning issued

TOKYO: A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck in seas off far northern Japan and far eastern Russia on Friday, but no damage was expected. The Japan Meteorological Agency said sea changes were possible. No tsunami warnings have been issued. The tremor struck around midday in the Pacific Ocean at a relatively shallow depth of 10km. The US Geological Survey measured a stronger 7.2 magnitude. Japan and Russia both claim some of the sparsely populated islands in the remote region. The epicenter was 58km, east-northeast of Kuril'sk, Russia, and 528km northeast of Nemuro, Japan. The nearest land is the volcanic islands of Urup, Iturup and Sumushir. Hokkaido officials said the islands were not under Japanese control. The area is about 1,500km northeast of Tokyo. Associated Press

US Secretary of State going to Turkey, Europe

US Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Turkey and Europe to attend international discussions of various security issues, including Syria and Afghanistan. According to an official announcement, Kerry will travel to Istanbul today to meet the key partners and members of Syrian Opposition Coalition and explore ways that the international community can support the Opposition and accelerate a Syrian-led political transition, the State Department said. Kerry will then travel to Brussels from April 22-24 to participate in a meeting of the NATO foreign ministers, where NATO foreign ministers will meet in the NATO-Russian Council with their Russian Federation counterpart. The Secretary and his counterparts will also discuss how to maintain a strong alliance capable of protecting the member states against current and future threats, in light of regional and global security challenges, the statement said. They will also join with non-NATO contributors to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and representatives of the Government of Afghanistan to review the status of the joint Afghan/ISAF transition plan, and to discuss NATO’s post-2014 mission in Afghanistan, it said. While in Brussels, Kerry will meet with senior officials of the European Union and have other bilateral meetings, the statement said.

Pettersen defies winds to seize lead in Hawaii

KAPOLEI, Hawaii: Norway's Suzann Pettersen fired a three-under-par 69 on Thursday to seize a one-shot lead over defending champion Ai Miyazato after two rounds of the LPGA Tour Lotte Championship. Pettersen, a 10-time winner on the LPGA tour, had a 36-hole total of 10-under 134, with Japan's Miyazato alone in second after a 68. The Norwegian veteran, on even par for the round after one birdie and one bogey through 10 holes, birdied three of her remaining holes to take the lead and said patience was crucial in the gusty winds. "You're just really trying to play the course, what it gives us," Pettersen said. "There are certain holes you can take advantage of, and then others that are more - where par is a good score. "But I think today even on the holes where I felt like I should have made a birdie and I made a par, I said, 'par is not going to hurt me today.'" Miyazato, who had seven birdies and three bogeys in her four-under effort, welcomed the blustery weather that swept across Ko Olina. "It was definitely windier than yesterday, so it was pretty tough out there," Miyazato said. "I grew up in the wind and I like to play in this wind. This morning when I get to the golf course I'm like, 'Now I'm in Hawaii.' Hawaii is always a windy place and it's always fun to play these weather conditions." Spain's Beatriz Recari, winner of the Kia Classic last month, was tied for third with South Korean teenager Kim Hyo-Joo and South Korea's Seo Hee-Kyung. Recari briefly held a share of the lead but fell back with bogeys at 13 and 16 and settled for a two-under 70 for 137, while Kim posted a 71 and Seo shot an even-par 72. Kim, 17, played in a group with fellow teens Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand and New Zealand's Lydia Ko. Overnight leader Ariya could not build on her first-round 64, ballooning to a 75. "I hit a lot of bad shots today," said the 17-year-old, whose round included three bogeys and a double-bogey. "I cannot control my irons and I still miss a lot of short putts." Ko, the 15-year-old amateur who won the Canadian Open in August to become the youngest LPGA tour winner, carded her second straight 71 to lie eight off the lead. Stacy Lewis was alone in sixth after a 71 for 138. The American, who was toppled from the world number one ranking by South Korea's Park In-Bee this week, said the wind made the day something of an endurance test. "You just had to fight for every shot," Lewis said. "You couldn't really try to make too many birdies. You just had to kind of take some putts if they came and grind out a few pars. Anything under par today, I think, is a good score." -AFP

iPhone 5 Total Cost of Ownership Between Different Carriers

Last week, T-Mobile started offering the iPhone 5. With T-Mobile now offering Apple’s flagship handset, the four biggest cell phone carriers in the U.S. now offer the iPhone 5. If you’re a business debating whether or not to outfit your employees with iPhones, or a consumer looking to switch to the new iPhone 5, it can be confusing to understand all of the fees associated with owning the phone and subscribing to a service plan. The infographic below takes the guesswork out of calculating the total cost of ownership of the iPhone 5 across the major U.S. carriers which include Sprint, AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile. To calculate the total cost of ownership for the iPhone 5, the infographic assumes a new iPhone 5 is being purchased, as well as 24 months of unlimited talk and text, and also takes into account data limits for each cell provider. iPhone 5 Total Cost of Ownership Between Different Carriers [Infographic] image iPhone 5 Total Cost Of OwnershipiPhone 5 Total Cost of Ownership Between Different Carriers [Infographic] Of course, this infographic only covers the total cost of ownership for the iPhone 5. Businesses and consumers can compare cell phone plans using popular resources on the Internet, or each individual carrier’s website in order to determine the total cost of ownership for other handset models, manufacturers, and cell phone plans.Abbottabad Travel

‘American Idol’ Top 5 Night: Who You Calling a Diva?

Now with all those pesky boys out of the way, "American Idol" continued apace this week with the final five girls (the first all-female top five in "Idol" history), and so of course there was a "Divas" theme. But none of the girls really brought Mariah-style divaliciousness to the show, contrary to what the ridiculous amount of overpraise from the judges might have had viewers believe. (Seriously, these girls were getting more standing ovations than Joshua Ledet on a good night. I practically had flashbacks to the nicey-nice Steven Tyler/Jennifer Lopez "Idol" years.) However, during the episode--the first half of which featured a "Song From the Year You Were Born" theme, before moving on to diva songs in the second hour--there were a couple memorable moments that separated the women from the girls. Here's how everyone did: CANDICE GLOVER It seems longtime "Idol" viewers are missing the classic judging lineup featuring Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul; even show producer Nigel Lythgoe has admitted that the current panel doesn't share the chemistry of past casts. So maybe it was Candice's way of evoking a bit of early-"Idol" nostalgia, even on a subconscious level, by covering Paula's "Straight Up" for her birth-year song. Smart move. But of course, Candice didn't just do a straight-up cover version; she made it current. Just as she completely retooled the Cure's "Lovesong" last week, she once again proved she's a true song stylist--as much so as previous guitar-slinging boys like Phillip Phillips or David Cook--with this bossa nova-inflected performance. (Hey, you don't have to strap on a six-string or sit at a piano to be a real "artist," you know!) Candice just always impresses with her creative choices. Keith Urban was certainly impressed, saying, "Baby, that was so good, such a great version of that song. I never realized that was such a great song!" Said Nicki, "You showed you're the boss." Randy Jackson raved, "You're so in the zone. Can't nothing go wrong for you right now." Mariah called Candice a "genius" and said, "Nobody can do what you do." This performance was not on par with last week's "Lovesong," which was declared one of the greatest "Idol" performances ever by the judges, but it was a solid start to the show. For her diva song, Candice tried to go all double-diva, taking on both parts of the Prince of Egypt duet Mariah did with the late, great Whitney Houston, "When You Believe." Meh. This was dull. While Candice sang the ballad with ease, resisting the temptation so many other contestants would've had to pack the performance with a ton of superfluous runs, this effort didn't quite have the wow factor for me. The judges were wowed, however. "That is how you do a Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey song!" declared Nicki, before going off on some weird speech about how she used to lock herself in a room and listen to this song over and over when she was a little girl. (I couldn't tell if she was complimenting or insulting Mariah with this tale, and judging by the blank expression on Mariah's face, I don't think Mariah could tell, either.) Said Mariah, "Rest in peace to the late Whitney Houston. I think you did her justice." Keith declared, "Jimmy Iovine said you had to pull out all the stops. Well, you just ripped them out and annihilated them." And Randy went into his usual howling hyperbole and shouted, "Best vocal of the night! You got one of the best voices in the known world!" Sheesh. I thought this was good--but not THAT good. But, as I mentioned, over-the-top praise was a recurring theme this Wednesday, and Candice was far from the only contestant who received such lavish treatment. JANELLE ARTHUR Oh, poor Janelle. Her busing began last week (no more adoring "little marshmallow" comments from Nicki) and continued this Wednesday, when she was the only contestant that wasn't declared the Second Coming of Clarkson after each of her performances. Not that Janelle necessarily deserved that sort of praise--her two performances were far from amazing--but the way she was singled out was still obvious and jarring. Janelle's understated, old-school first performance, of Vince Gill's "When I Call Your Name," was actually really nice, warm and heartfelt, and it was clear that the song meant a lot to her. (Her parents used to play it to calm her down when she was a baby.) Three of the judges were kind: Nicki said Janelle's vocals were "pretty and angelic," Randy said Janelle was "back where she belongs," and Mariah said, "You were singing with your whole heart for us tonight. It was so raw and real." But then Keith, the country expert on the show, was very hard on Janelle, and he basically negated anything the other judges had said. "I am going to be the lone guy on this panel; apparently I heard a different song," he said. "When Vince sings it, you feel it. He lets every note breathe, and it's pure emotion. You hit all the notes, but I didn't feel it." I disagreed with Keith--I felt it--but I imagine most country fans in America will listen to what he said, so this was an unfortunate development for Janelle. For her diva song, Janelle switched up the mood and got playful, taking on Dolly Parton. I loved the artist choice (Dolly rules), and I did appreciate that Janelle wanted to showcase her fun, upbeat side that we saw a couple weeks ago when she covered Billy Joel's "You May Be Right." But Dolly's relatively unfamiliar "Dumb Blonde" may have been a dumb song choice. The staging was kind of dumb, too: Janelle sacrificed vocal power by running all over the place, slapping audience members' hands, and the performance felt hokey and desperate. She should have just stood at a mic with her guitar and tenderly sang "Jolene" or "Here You Come Again." That would have worked so much better. Keith said this was "not the ultimate Dolly song" to let Janelle shine. "This was a fun song for you, but vocally it didn't show anything different. There was more performance than a vocal kind of thing," shrugged Randy. Nicki gave Janelle props for her sunshiny, smiley attitude, and said she believed Janelle could be a huge recording artist in the real world--but said she thought Janelle would be in jeopardy this week. Nicki was probably right, on both counts. KREE HARRISON Kree is an amazing singer, but my one complaint about her has been her lack of onstage fire. Maybe her years as an industry demo/backup singer have trained to her to hold back too much. And never before had this fault of hers been more apparent than when she took on the Black Crowes' "She Talks to Angels" this week for her birth-year song. Anyone who's ever seen a concert by the Crowes' Chris Robinson, one of the greatest rock frontmen of the past two decades, knows that Kree did not bring nearly enough intensity to this performance. Where was the heartache, the soul, the storytelling angst? She could have dug so much deeper--but Kree never seems to allow herself to really go there. However, Randy actually thought Kree was emotional, and said, "What I love about you is all the naturalness in your spirit and in your voice. You've got a natural blues, soulful thing." Nicki thought this was the best performance of the night so far. Mariah and Keith disagreed with Randy and Nicki, though, with Mariah specifically pointing out that Kree didn't lose herself enough in the song. That's when Nicki and Mariah got into some silly disagreement, and Her Minajesty threw the kind of shade usually only seen on "RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked." (NICKI CALLED MARIAH "SIR." She actually told Mariah, "Simmer down, sir." Sir!!! Whoa.) "Just another episode of the family getting along," snarked Ryan Seacrest. Well, that was one way to bring fire and intensity to the show, I guess… For her second number, Kree "tapped into her inner diva" with a Celine Dion song, "Have You Ever Been in Love." It was a gentle tapping, of course, but this time, it worked--Celine always oversings anyway, so Kree's restraint was actually welcome in this case. She made the song sound warm and sweet and intimate, and she drew the listener in with her quiet strength. "Once again you've showed us your versatility, and that's something that cannot be faked. Keep doing that, and you're going to stay here a long time," said Mariah. "You're not country--you're worldly. You are iconic. You are one of those divas we can watch when they are 20 or 50. You elevated everything," said Nicki. "You can sing anything," agreed Randy. Keith loved the song choice and Kree's effortlessness. I still wish Kree would let loose a little bit more, but there was no denying that her voice and vibe were beautiful here. ANGIE MILLER In the interview video that ran before her birth-year performance, Angie revealed that the first song she wrote as a child was titled "Little Little Sparkle Dress." If Angie wins Season 12--and she very well could--then that needs to be her coronation song. Surely she'd sing it with more feeling than she did "I'll Stand by You." When I found out that Angie, a Massachusetts native, was planning to dedicate the Pretenders' poignant ballad to victims of Monday's horrific Boston Marathon bombing, I was expecting to be moved--I had a Kleenex box at the ready, just in case. And yet, I wasn't that moved. As usual, Angie didn't seem authentic…even in this special situation, when she must have had some real emotion to draw from. Yes, Angie can sing well, and she can play piano well, but she's no Chrissie Hynde; something about her performances just always rings hollow to me. And so, those Kleenex tissues stayed in the box. The judges refused to criticize this performance, however--maybe because they didn't want to seem insensitive or bash Angie's good intentions. "That was a beautiful dedication. Thank you for that. Such a beautiful thing to do," Mariah said nicely. "We're all feeling a little heavy about [Boston] tonight," Randy agreed. Keith said Angie's voice made him want to cry. And Nicki said the dedication was a "smart choice"--which may or may not have been a sneaky way of saying that she thought Angie's Boston dedication was a ploy to get votes. If that's what Nicki meant, then that was the closest thing Angie got to a negative critique. For her diva number, Angie did Beyoncé's "Halo," and again, I felt it lacked authenticity. Where was the passion? This was better than "I'll Stand by You," because it let Angie's irrepressible theatricality come through, but I still didn't feel like she was singing it to the love of her life. It didn't feel like a love song. The judges loved it, though. Keith told her she was "definitely top three material." Nicki raved, "You just did that song justice, like a queen could." Randy said Angie was "in it to win it." Angie may still win this season, but if she does, I hope she brings more true grit than this to her debut Interscope album. AMBER HOLCOMB Amber has been in the bottom two before, despite the judges desperately begging America to vote for her; they know that she is one of this season's most marketable and contemporary contestants, the kind of girl who can sell records once the show is over, so they don't quite understand why America isn't buying what's she's selling right now. I don't understand it, either, really. Sure, Amber was not flawless singing her birth-year song, Mariah Carey's version of "Without You." (Side note: Either Amber was born in 1970, or she thinks Mariah originally recorded "Without You." Second side note: Mariah Carey apparently thinks Harry Nilsson, not Badfinger's Pete Ham and Tom Evans, wrote "Without You." Third side note: TOTAL FACEPALM.) Sure, Amber did struggle in her lower register, and she only excelled when she got to hit the big power notes. But she was one of the few contestants who really emotionally connected with her material tonight, and at least I believed what she was singing. "It wasn't perfect, but I give you mad props, because I don't know if anyone else could have done this, singing that in front of this legend," said Randy, referring to the fact that the song was a massive hit for Mariah. Keith made a lame "Amber alert" joke (speaking of facepalms), immediately regretted it, then said, "Your singing has grown in leaps and bounds for me. It was beautiful, baby." Only Nicki didn't like this performance, and she took the opportunity to unexpectedly rave about how much better Mariah's 1994 version was. Was all this sudden Mariah-love Nicki's way of overcompensating for the diva fight they'd had earlier? I don't know, but it seemed about as insincere as some of the judges' sycophantic critiques this evening. Simmer down, sir, indeed. For the final number of the night, Amber did Barbra Streisand's "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life" (originally recorded by Michael Dees in 1969). Wow, taking on Mariah and Babs in a single episode--Amber's got guts, I'll give her that much. I'll give her more than that, actually: Although I don't think such an old-fashioned song choice was the best move at this crucial stage in the game (another Beyoncé song, like Amber sang last week, would've made more sense), she did do an admirable job of turning the song into something somewhat current. I just didn't quite understand why the judges went so nuts for this. Amber received a standing ovation, and Nicki called Amber a "young Whitney Houston" and gushed, "Simply perfection! I really, really hope America gets to see inside this beautiful human being that stands before me, because you don't get the credit you deserve." Randy described Amber as being like Rihanna--if Rihanna had a "giant voice," that is--and said, "You sang the I-don't-know-what out of that. This girl does not belong in the bottom!" Raved Mariah, "Classic, beautiful, elegant. AMERICA, PLEASE VOTE FOR AMBER!" Will America listen? We shall see. Actually, that brings me to my prediction, and I do think the combination of Amber's crazy praise and pimp spot will keep her safe for another week. The obvious at-risk contestant is Janelle, and if Janelle is in the bottom this Thursday, I think the judges will let her go. (Contrary to previous conflicting reports, it turns out the Judges' Save can be used in the top five week.) If any of the girls other than Janelle are up for elimination, however, I think the judges will use the Save rather than lose it--and then we'll be in for a top five redux next week. Tune in Thursday to find out what happens, and until then…Parker out.

Cancer patient takes wheel to save ambulance driver

A late-stage cancer patient has saved the life of an ambulance driver who suffered a heart attack, by taking the wheel of his vehicle and driving him to hospital, French medical officials said. By John Roderick Christian Nayet, a 60-year-old cancer sufferer from the northern town of Berck-sur-mer, rescued the driver on Apr 11 by taking him to a hospital in Lens, hospital emergency room manager Frederic Allienne said. Nayet told newspaper Voix du Nord the driver had suffered a heart attack while taking him to a hospital in Lille for a regular scan. “I told him: ‘Give me the keys, trust me! My life is not in danger, but yours is’,” Nayet said. “I couldn’t find the siren, but I managed to turn the lights on and told him to put his arm out the window to signal to the cars to let us pass.” They drove into the area reserved for ambulances, Allienne said, and the ambulance driver was immediately admitted to the emergency room. During the drive, Nayet had also administered a blood anticoagulant to the driver. Without his assistance, the driver “could have died,” Allienne said.

Rare leatherback turtle emerges on seashore

KARACHI - Along the coast of Pakistan, five species of turtles are said to be existing which include green, olive-ridley, hawksbill, loggerhead and leatherback turtles. Of these, leatherback is considered to be most rare and indeed one of the most endangered species of marine turtles. Though there were reports about existence of the species in Pakistan but no living leatherback turtle was ever recovered from the country. On April 16, 2013, a group of fishermen operating monofilament gillnet caught a leatherback turtles near Surbandar village at Gwadar. In order to get this leatherback turtle free from their net, the fishermen beached it. The WWF-Pakistan staff helped the fishermen to ensure safe release of the turtle back into the sea. The Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest marine turtle, rather the largest reptile is most widely distributed in Indian, Pacific and Indian Ocean including North Sea. In the Arabian Sea, it is known from India, Oman, UAE and Yemen but is the rarest of all species of turtles in the area. Leatherback turtle can grow up to 900 kg and has a teardrop shaped body. WWF-Pakistan Director Rab Nawaz has considered the report of leatherback turtle as good omen for the biodiversity in the country. He pointed out that the WWF-Pakistan has recently located a large population of olive-ridley turtles from offshore waters of Pakistan which was thought to be extinct from the area. Abdul Rahim, WWF-Pakistan Coordinator at Gwadar who played an important role releasing the turtle, appreciated the role of fishermen who sacrificed their expensive gillnet (about Rs14,000) to ensure safe release of the species. He pointed out that there is an increased awareness among the fishermen for the protection of marine turtles due to the efforts of WWF-Pakistan's Pakistan Wetland Programme. He further informed that WWF - Pakistan with the support of the provincial wildlife department has been conducting awareness programmes for the Sindh and Balochistan fishermen for the last two decades. Previously a dead leatherback turtle was recorded from Pushukan near Gwader in 2002. He pointed out that the leatherback turtle has survived for more than a hundred million years, but is now facing extinction. Recent estimates of numbers show that the species is declining precipitously throughout its range of distribution. He stressed the need for all stakeholders including fishermen, Wildlife Departments and NGOs to take necessary steps for protection of turtles mainly nesting beaches need to be monitored and patrolled for controlling disturbances and feeding by scavengers including feral dogs. Muhammad Moazzam Khan, Technical Adviser (Marine Fisheries) WWF-Pakistan has pointed out that since leatherback solely feed on jellyfishes, its occurrence in Pakistan may be on account of recurrence of jellyfish blooms in the coastal areas. He said that the global population of the species was estimated to be 115,000 adult females in 1982. By 1996, this had been revised down to about 30-40,000. Leatherback population in the Indian Ocean has undergone dramatic decline in the past forty years.

More games set for 3DS

A new game in the critically acclaimed Legend of Zelda series headlined Nintendo's latest raft of announcements for the 3DS system. Scheduled for launch closer to the holiday season, the new Legend of Zelda title takes place in the same world as the Link to the Past game for the Super Nintendo. The new title will take advantage of the Nintendo 3DS's 3D capabilities, while also allowing series hero Link to become a drawing and "move within walls". The third game in the Yoshi's Island series of platformers has also been announced for the handheld, starring Mario and titular hero Yoshi the dinosaur. Other upcoming 3DS titles starring Mario and/or Luigi include: role-playing game Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Brothers, puzzle/platformer Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move, Mario Golf: World Tour and a new Mario Party title. Additionally, Nintendo also shed light on other upcoming 3DS titles, such as platformer Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, role-playing game Bravely Default, puzzler Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy and RPG title Shin Megami Tensei IV. Wii U The company's focus was clearly on the 3DS, but that didn't stop them from shedding more light on selected Wii U developments. For one, Nintendo has confirmed that a software update for the home console is due next week. The new update will address oft-derided loading times and add a few new functions. On the gaming side of things, the company has confirmed that eagerly anticipated puzzler Pikmin 3 will launch in August, while Super Nintendo cult classic Earthbound will be available to download soon in Europe.

Google signs deal to buy, upgrade Provo city fibre network

Google has announced that it expects Provo, Utah, to be its third fibre city after Kansas City and Austin. The internet giant has signed an agreement to acquire iProvo, a fibre-optic network owned by the city. It plans to upgrade the network to gigabit technology and to complete network construction to enable every home along the existing iProvo network to connect to Google Fiber. The agreement with Provo awaits approval when the city council votes on 23 April. Google said it intends to start upgrading the network as soon as the deal is closed. The company plans to offer its free 5 Mbps service to every home on the network for at least seven years, provided they pay a USD 30 activation fee. The faster Google Fiber Gigabit Internet service and TV service will also be made available. Gigabit Internet service will be free for 25 local public institutions, such as schools, hospitals and libraries.

Analyzing varying reactions to Boston bombings

It is an odd thing how times like these tell us so much about the way America is viewed by the rest of the world. It seems, despite how "damaged" our image may be on the world stage, other nations still care when our citizens are senselessly killed. These compassionate sentiments have emerged via several channels, both official and otherwise. The official responses to the bombing have been aggrieved and compassionate, with our Western allies voicing their shock and outrage. Even more interesting than the official responses, however, have been the unofficial responses. People from around the world have flocked to the Internet to create memes and image macros expressing their support for the United States. Many of these images poke fun at America’s perceived tendency to overreact to terrorist threats, but also suggest that in this situation, someone has to pay. Even more interesting is the fact that Iran has come out condemning this bombing, in a backhanded sort of way. Of course, some Iranians took to the Internet to express their grief and sympathy, which was nice enough in its own right. But when Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei released a statement condemning the bombing for killing innocents, he made sure to point out that Iran would condemn any such attack in any country. He also did his best to reinforce his government’s anti-American image by throwing in some rhetoric about Western civilization being on the verge of collapse and railing against America’s drone strikes in the Middle East. This sort of odd mixture of goodwill and condemnation isn’t anything new when it comes to American-Iranian relations. A year ago, Somali pirates captured some Iranian sailors. The U.S. Navy found them and brought the Iranians back home and was met with what can only be described as reluctant gratitude. The funny part is that just days earlier, Iran had complained about the presence of the U.S. Navy in the Persian Gulf. It’s really an odd waltz that the U.S. and Iran are dancing. And while Iran’s leaders like to beat their chests and talk tough about the decadent evils of the west, many Iranians gathered for a candlelight vigil in the wake of 9/11. So, let this be a lesson to anyone who views Iranians as somehow evil or mindlessly opposed to America; it’s not that cut and dried, and it’s too easy to homogenize countries into one faceless group. Another unlikely sympathizer came out of the woodwork: Cuba. For those who aren’t familiar with U.S. policy toward Cuba, it has not been kind over the years. We tried to undermine their government for years during the Cold War via various means, and to this day we still have a trade embargo in place against Cuba preventing U.S. companies from doing business there. So, we aren’t exactly the best neighbors when it comes to Cuba. That’s why Cuba’s overtures of sympathy over the Boston bombing are all the more remarkable. Americans themselves differed greatly in their reactions to the attack. By and large, it’s safe to say that the majority of Americans were mortified and deeply wounded by the events unfolding in Boston. But a contingent of Americans is trying to try to use the bombing as an opportunity to put other such events around the world into perspective. They are arguing that bombings such as this are commonplace in some areas of the world, and that Americans are wrong for not being up in arms over each of those bombings, which are oftentimes more harmful than the ones in Boston. This view really fails to take into account that the more common an event is, the less newsworthy it is. Of course every bombing in Iraq and Afghanistan is horrific; not once has any sane person claimed that the Boston bombing matters more because those peoples’ lives are somehow more valuable. But bombings in some areas of the Middle East are quite commonplace, and as such aren’t the focus of much media attention. A bomb going off in a major U.S. city draws attention from around the world because it’s so rare and shocking that everyone is caught off guard. As much as people tripping over themselves to be politically correct are trying to use this bombing to prove a point, the point they’re making is diminished when we stop and consider what they’re actually saying. Is America the only nation in the world making a big deal out of these bombings? No, countries around the world are reacting to it and treating it as a wake-up call. In all of their arguing, these folks are so keen to blame America for trivializing other bombings that they forget the rest of the world does it, too. Do you see England holding a press conference to denounce each and every bombing taking place in Iraq? Is France up on their bully pulpit condemning every new incident of mob violence in India? A bombing in Boston is different, everyone knows it’s different, and to think otherwise is utterly laughable.

Great start for Zimbabwe

ZIMBABWE captain Brendan Taylor marked his return to form in emphatic fashion with a solid century, a career third and his second against Bangladesh, on the opening day of the first of two cricket Tests at Harare Sports Club yesterday. Report by Daniel Nhakaniso Taylor led a fightback after the tourists had thrown a couple of blows with two early wickets. But the right-hander made good use of the gift of two lives having been dropped on 35 with Zimbabwe precariously positioned at 92-3. At stumps, Zimbabwe had resurrected their innings to 217-4 with Malcolm Waller’s wicket (55) the last to fall while Taylor and Elton Chigumbura were unbeaten on 105 and six respectively. Seam bowler Robiul Islam struck in the first session to remove both openers Vusi Sibanda for five and debutant Tymcem Maruma for 10 runs after the two had made a painfully slow start having been sent in to bat by Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim who won the toss. Yesterday’s ton was also Taylor’s second consecutive century against Bangladesh after his maiden Test century against the same team almost three years ago. Taylor formed Zimbabwe’s biggest partnership with Waller of 127 runs before the latter fell to Rubel Hossain, but Zimbabwe were in better health at that stage. The momentum almost swiftly shifted in the tourists’ favour after Chigumbura was clean-bowled by Hossain, only to survive after replays showed that the latter had bowled a no-ball. In the morning, the Bangladesh pace duo of Robiul Islam and Rubel Hossain vindicated their skipper’s decision to bowl as they made life very difficult for the opening pair. Zimbabwe scored just 50 runs in the first session. Maruma, largely known as a middle order batsman, found the going tough and was lucky to survive the first over after being dropped by Shahriah Nafees in the slips off the sixth delivery of the over. While Maruma looked the most likely to go out, it was his more senior partner Sibanda who perished first after he had his middle stump dismantled by a well-directed yorker from Islam for just five runs. Islam maintained his accurate line and length and soon trapped Maruma four overs later. The entry of Masakadza (25) and Taylor and the introduction of the spinners saw the hosts increasing the run rate as they managed a 43-run third wicket partnership. Masakadza’s would become the third wicket to fall after being caught at first slip by Mahmudullah off the bowling of offspinner Enamul Haque Jnr to leave Zimbabwe in trouble on 65-3. Taylor had been short of runs recently and responded in the best way to help Zimbabwe recover from an early setback and after the match said they would try to bat as long as possible today. “The first hour will be crucial for us tomorrow (today). We will try to get through that passage of play and try to settle down and bat as long as possible. Their spinners are less of a threat here, but all the same there is still a long way to go in the game,” Taylor said after the first day of play.

Business Matters: Google Service Disruptions Show the Cloud Is Problematic – But Still the Future of Music

The cloud is the future of music, but the cloud -- or parts of it -- doesn't work properly from time to time. The service disruptions of many Google applications Wednesday morning was a reminder that cloud-based services inevitably experience service problems and users can be forgiving if the company deals with the issues correctly. Word spread quickly that Gmail for Google Apps, Google Drive (the cloud-based file storage service), Documents, Spreadsheets, Presentations, Google Chat and Google Analytics were experiencing service disruptions. Google apps experience occasional service disruptions, although it's rare that this many apps are affected at once. Google Drive has had three other disruptions in the previous month, according to Google's App Status Dashboard. Gmail last experienced a disruption on February 28th. Outages are unfortunate but accepted -- to some degree -- by consumers. Tumblr’s outage last month didn’t seem to hurt the company. Netflix’s service problems on Christmas Even, caused by a larger outage at Amazon Web Services, didn't leave a lasting mark. In fact, shares of Netflix are up 88% since December 26 and the company's foray into exclusive content has generated enthusiasm around the company. Pandora keeps growing in spite of regular service issues (as detailed in the comments section of the website Is It Down Right Now?). Spotify's outages in late 2011 didn’t prevent the company from more than doubling its subscribers to 6 million. Outages are inevitable because perfection is too expensive, writes Mike Pav, engineering vice president at Spanning Cloud Apps at ReadWrite. Pavs believes that achieving a 99.9% uptime would require an amount of time, money and resources that wouldn’t be worth the investment. “The extra cost inevitably would be passed along to consumers, all but negating the cloud’s cost advantages.” Instead, Pav believes Platform as a Service (PaaS) providers like Amazon Web Services should provide customers with a “well-reasoned plan” for handling any disruptions. They should say when service will be restored, report who was impact and whether data was lost, provide status updates and, once over, provide a plan to avoid future interruptions. It helps if companies upfront with people about service disruptions and outages. Dealing with unfortunate but inevitable problems comes down to good customer service. One CEO of a music B2B platform tells me his company tries to over communicate when it knows of a service instance of system wide issue. "Users are usually very understanding and appreciate the transparency." Spotify's use of social media is a good example of transparency. The music service has a Twitter account, @SpotifyStatus, that keeps users informed about unexpected outages and planned maintenance that could interrupt some users' service. The list of tweets show Spotify has had five instances of service issues in 2013 and many more in 2012. The company deals with each instance in a similar way each time: acknowledge the problem and let people know when it's been resolved. Listeners shouldn't be hesitant about a cloud-based future for music. From personal calendars to file storage, our lives are becoming more connected to servers in unknown, faraway places. Consumers have handled the occasional service disruptions and outages that throw a wrench into their lives. Music fans will be able to deal with these small bouts of adversity, too.

Egypt renew spectator ban at CAF fixtures

Thursday, 18 April 2013 11:24 Posted by Parvez Jabri E-mailPrintPDF imageJOHANNESBURG: Leading Egyptian football club Zamalek will host a CAF Champions League qualifier in an empty Cairo stadium this weekend after recent incidents triggered the renewal of a ban on spectators. Authorities allowed crowds limited to 3,000 for earlier fixtures this year involving Zamalek and fellow Cairo club Al-Ahly in the premier Confederation of AFrican Football club competition. But despite spectators being outnumbered by security forces at the 90,000-seat Borg El Arab stadium on the outskirts of Mediterranean city Alexandria, there was trouble at the matches. Zamalek supporters ripped up seats after a 7-0 thrashing of Chadian visitors Gazelle -- a strange way to celebrate a one-sided result that ensured the White Knights of overall victory. Ahly fans threw projectiles on the pitch during a game against Kenyan visitors Tusker with one landing close to the visiting goalkeeper just before the home team scored the second goal in a 2-0 win that secured qualification. While Zamalek host Saint George from Ethiopia in Cairo this weekend, Ahly visit Tunisia for a match against CA Bizertin. Both are first leg fixtures with the overall winners advancing to the lucrative mini-league phase. The incidents in Alexandria plus clashes between spectators and police in Ismaily after the home side were eliminated from the Arab Champions League convinced sports minister Farouk Al-Amry to act. "Because of incidents involving Ahly, Zamalek and Ismaily, which put the safety of fans at risk and damaged property, my ministry has decided to ban spectators from African and Arab club fixtures," he said. This is a massive blow for Ahly and Zamalek, the two most successful clubs in the Champions League with seven and five titles respectively, and serious title contenders this year. Ahly defied the odds to defeat old rivals Esperance of Tunisia and win the 2012 Champions League as the final was the only match of seven en route to glory in which spectators were permitted. Zamalek, with a much weaker team than this year, also had to play most games behind closed doors and made a timid group-stage exit after failing to win in six home and away outings. The decision to bring back closed-door fixtures drew an angry reaction from Zamalek fans with some protesting outside the sports ministry offices in Cairo this week and blocking entry to the building. A huge banner carried by fans of the White Knights read: "The stand is closed on the orders of the ministry and the ministry is closed on the orders of the stand." Egypt coach Bob Bradley told reporters: "A football match without spectators has no soul. Any footballer who has played in an empty stadium will confirm what an eerie, silent experience it is." American Bradley took over the national squad two years ago and has also suffered from the fan ban with none allowed for the opening 2014 World Cup qualifier against Mozambique in Alexandria last June. A few thousand were permitted to watch Egypt grab a 2-1 win over Zimbabwe at the same venue last month, keeping a 100 percent record in a group completed by Guinea and raising hopes of a first appearance at the finals in 24 years. "I told my players that when they look at the stands they must imagine there are 85 million supporters there because everyone in Egypt would be at the stadium if they had the chance." Egypt have one more home group fixture -- against Guinea at a venue still to be announced during September -- and it is unclear if they will suffer a similar fate as the clubs. While the national team and clubs have been allowed to fulfil international obligations, domestic football only recently resumed after a one-year ban when rioting after a match between Al-Masry and Ahly in Port Said claimed 70 lives.

Obamas comfort amid gun legislation frustration

President Obama has repeatedly been forced into the role of comforter-in-chief, traveling to communities traumatized by killings of civilians in random spates of violence. As the president flies to Boston on Thursday morning to provide consolation in the wake of Monday’s Boston Marathon bomb attack, his ability to respond with healing words will contrast with his own frustrated attempts to respond to gun violence with legislation. On Wednesday, the Senate voted down a compromise amendment that would have expanded background checks for gun sales, the one real hope of gun control advocates who were seeking a response to the Newtown, Conn., elementary school massacre. Related Prayer service to be a ‘defiance’ of terror The president has made gun violence a top priority, but has been unable to use the bully pulpit to convince Congress to go along. ‘He’s doing absolutely everything he can to break through.’ Quote Icon “He’s doing absolutely everything he can to break through, but he’s facing the greatest resistance that any modern era president has confronted,” said Garrison Nelson, a political science professor at the University of Vermont. “Can he capture this moment? Yeah,” Nelson added. “Can he make a difference? No. And that’s the sad thing about it. He will touch the hearts, but he won’t move the needle.” Gun control advocates were downcast on Wednesday, acknowledging changes that seemed within reach weeks ago are now out of of the question until at least after 2014. Proponents, including Obama, are determined to keep the issue alive in the midterm elections. “The ongoing effort — which is to communicate as vividly as possible the tragedy going on across America — has taken hold, and polling shows that,” said Tad Devine, a Democratic strategist who has worked with Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group pushing for more gun control. “But what hasn’t taken hold with elected officials – members of Congress — is that if they don’t get on the right side of this issue with voters, they’re going to lose their seat.” “We’re going to have to go into elections and beat people,” he added. “We’re going to have to demonstrate to elected officials [that] if they won’t do something as basic as background checks, they’re going to pay for it.” Devine did not put the blame on Obama, saying, “The bully pulpit may not be enough in this instance.” Politicians need to feel threatened from voters, he suggested, not the president. Obama and his wife, Michelle, will arrive in Boston on Thursday, for 11 a.m. services at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. “Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Boston,” Michelle Obama said Wednesday in her first comments about the bombings. “What happened on Monday was a reminder that in times of crisis here in America, we respond with courage and grit and selflessness. That’s exactly what we saw from the people of Boston.” Without a publicly identified suspect and motive for bombings in Boston, it is still unclear what type of response, if any, the president will mount. Under Obama’s administration and that of his predecessor, George W. Bush, the nation has already imposed rafts of security measures and antiterrorism monitoring programs. Obama has dramatically expanded the use of drones to kill terrorists and instigators of terror. But the use of cooking pots and household batteries to detonate blasts that killed three people and injured more than 170 on Monday only served to illustrate, despite all the countermeasures, how powerless the president is to stem attacks from determined criminals or deranged individuals. After episodes of gun violence, Obama has had a more obvious focal point for legislative action. Four days after Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head while holding a constituent meeting, Obama traveled to the University of Arizona for a memorial service for six killed. “You see, when a tragedy like this strikes, it is part of our nature to demand explanations, to try to impose some order on the chaos, and make sense out of that which seems senseless,” he said. “Already we’ve seen a national conversation commence, not only about the motivations behind these killings, but about everything from the merits of gun safety laws to the adequacy of our mental health systems.” After 12 people were killed by a shooter in a theater in Aurora, Colo., Obama gave a nationally televised address, again calling for unity and change. “I hope that over the next several days, next several weeks, and next several months, we all reflect on how we can do something about some of the senseless violence that ends up marring this country, he said. Some of his most profound remarks, and most direct legislative response, came after the shootings in Newtown, Conn. “This is our first task, caring for our children,” he said. “It’s our first job. If we don’t get that right, we don’t get anything right. That’s how, as a society, we will be judged.” Within weeks, the White House mounted a major legislative push. Vice President Joe Biden formed a task force and came up with a long list of recommendations. Obama placed calls to senators, he gave speeches, he held dinners. Family members of the victims gave interviews, and descended on Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers. There never was enough support to give momentum to proponents for an assault weapons ban or limits on magazine capacity. But intense negotiations produced a compromise on background checks that survived an initial filibuster last week. But in the end the National Rifle Association and allied groups, a handful of Democrats from rural states, and nearly all of the Senate Republicans combined forces to stymie the effort. Shortly after the measure failed in the Senate on Wednesday, Obama went to the Rose Garden at the White House, angry and pleading for help. “To change Washington, you, the American people, are going to have to sustain some passion about this,” he said. “You’re going to have to send the right people to Washington.”