ISLAMABAD, May 9 (APP):An earthquake measuring 6.4 intensity shook several parts of the federal capital on Wednesday.
The tremors were felt at 3:42 pm for 5 to 10 seconds. The earthquake magnitude was recorded to be 6.4 on the Richter scale.
The epicenter of the quake was Afghanistan-Tajikistan Border Region.
6.4 magnitude jolts Islamabad
Senate panel on IB&NH meets to discuss priorities
ISLAMABAD, May 9 (APP):Senate Standing Committee on Information, Broadcasting and Literary Heritage held its first meeting after election of its chairman this week to discuss their priority areas and issues which they would like to focus in coming meetings of the committee.
The members said the Pakistan Television had the services of senior producers and technicians enjoying good salaries and perks but it was observed that it was purchasing teleplays and other programmes from the private sector which was proving costly to the institution.
They said they would like to know what were the factors behind stoppage of PTV’s own production and would advise for revival of the past glory of the national broadcaster.
They also said they would like to take up the issue of exhibition of Indian films in local cinemas which had badly affected the local film production making directors, actors and technicians jobless.
However some members opined that as local film production had hit record low during past few years it was necessary to allow exhibition of Indian films in local circuit to keep local cinemas functional till local films production gets momentum.
They also said decrease in local films production tantamounts to retreat on cultural front which may damaging national identity, so revival of local films should be topmost priority.
They also expressed concern over exhibition of Indian cartoons on the television channels which was having negative impacts on the minds of the children and affecting their diction.
They said they would like that the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority should take corrective measures in this regard. Some members also showed their reservations on the contents of morning shows.
It is worth a mention that Senate Standing on Information Broadcasting and National Heritage on Monday held its first meeting and elected Senator Faisal Javed as chairman of the Committee unopposed.
The meeting was chaired by Senator Faisal Javed and attended by Sardar Muhammad Azam Khan Musakhel, Muhammad Tahir Bizenjo, Mushtaq Ahmed and Khushbakht Shujat.
Smugglers see migrants in Yemen as “a commodity”, UN warns
UNITED NATIONS, May 9 (APP)::With an estimated 7,000 migrants entering Yemen each month, most of them seeking to reach Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, the United Nations migration agency has called for greater efforts to protect them from smugglers and other criminals.
“I met teenagers in utter distress from what they had experienced already in their young lives,” said Mohammed Abdiker, Director of Operations and Emergencies at the International Organization for Migration (IOM), following a visit to Yemen this past week.
“They are just a commodity to smugglers,” he added, “something to make quick and easy money from and, if they die, the smugglers do not care as there are thousands of other people willing to pay for their services and risk their lives to simply build their parents a house, put their brother through school, or for any opportunity at all.”
The total number of migrants currently in Yemen is unknown, but nearly 100,000 arrived in 2017.
Migrants often leave their homes on foot and walk through Djibouti. From there, they take boats across the Gulf of Aden to the Aden, Lahj, Shabwah, and Hadramout Governorates in Yemen and then attempt to head north to the border with Saudi Arabia.
Some also end up in detention centres. Some take irregular work in Yemen to make money to fund the rest of their journey while others get caught up in the on-going conflict between the Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels, sustaining injuries – or dying in crossfire.
At various stages of their journey, these migrants face the risk of being exploited by ruthless smugglers and other criminals, including enduring physical abuse; torture for ransom; arbitrary detention for long periods of time; or grueling forced labour, without wages.
Last August, scores of Ethiopian and Somali teenagers dreaming of a better life were forced into the sea by smugglers off the coast of Yemen and drowned.
Abdiker believes without prosecuting those criminals, any humanitarian assistance would be just “a Band Aid.”
In 2017, IOM helped some 2,900 migrants and refugees return home from Yemen: 73 per cent of them were Somalis, 25 per cent Ethiopians, and 2 per cent other nationalities.
This year so far, IOM has helped 197 Ethiopians – together with 939 Somali migrants and refugees – return home voluntarily.
“Yemen is experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world; it is obviously not a safe route for migrants, nor is it safe for Yemenis themselves in many areas,” Abdiker said.
He said that more and more Yemenis who have fled, are returning from Saudi Arabia due to tightening regulations there.
Both migrants coming to Yemen, and Yemenis returning home, are in desperate need of greater support from the international community, and “neither group should feel forced to transit through or return to a conflict zone,” he added.
10th Power Gen Conference 2018 to be held on Friday
ISLAMABAD, May 9 (APP):The 10th Power Gen Conference 2018 with a theme “The Next Emerging Challenge Sustainability and Growth” will be held
here Friday
Energy Update in collaboration with Private Power & Infrastructure Board (PPIB) and Alternate Energy Development Board (AEDB) are jointly organizing the event which will offer an interactive discussion to enable local and international energy experts, high officials of ministry of water and power, IPP’s, power distribution companies (DISCOS’s) to come up with future energy solution.
Organizing Committee of Power Gen Conference Chairman Naeem Qureshi told APP here Wednesday that the conference
would also provide knowledge and awareness, networking and research and development opportunities exclusively designed for power generation through coal, nuclear hydro, renewable, alternate, thermal and allied industries.
He said engineering companies, regulators, power producers, academia to talk on latest advancements being adopted and utilized worldwide especially in Asia Pacific Region.
State Minister for Fiance and Economic Affairs Rana Muhammad Afzal will be the chief guest.
PPIB MD Shah Jehan Mirza, Rolf Michael Hay Pereira Holmboe, Ambassador Denmark Embassy in Pakistan, Dr Fiaz
Chaudhry, Professor of Practice and Siemens Chair, Department of Electrical Engineering – Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Helmut Von Struve, Managing Director – Siemens (Pakistan) Engineering Company Ltd, Dr Asad Rehman Gilani, Secretary (Energy) – Government of the Punjab, Arshad Chaudhary, Member Power, WAPDA, Anser Ahmed Khan, CEO Energas LNG Terminal, Sarim Sheikh, CEO/Country Head – GE Pakistan, Amjad Ali Awan, CEO – Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB), Adnaan Tapal, CEO – Tapal Energy, Dr Manzoor Ahmad, Chairman, Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL), Naveed Siddique, GM Energy Projects
Mirpurkhas Energy Ltd, N.A. Zuberi, Deputy CEO China Three Gorges, Atif ur Rehman, Minister Energy & Power, KPK and Saad Ahmed Qazi, Energy Business Group Mitsubishi Corporation Pakistan will also spoke on the occasion.
Arab youth overwhelmingly back reforms initiated by Crown Prince
ISLAMABAD, May 9 (APP):Arab youth overwhelmingly support the reforms Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, is spearheading and view him as a strong leader who will shape the region over the next decade, according to the 10th annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey 2018 released on Tuesday.
According to Saudi Gazette, asked about the reforms introduced by the Crown Prince, 88 percent of young Arabs support Saudi Arabia’s decision to allow women to drive and 86 percent (94 percent among young Saudis) support his anti-corruption drive.
An overwhelming 91 percent of respondents support Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman’s decision to appoint Prince Muhammad Bin Salman as the Crown Prince.
Some 90 percent of respondents believe that Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman will take Saudi Arabia in the right direction. A total of 97 percent of respondents consider the Crown Prince to be a strong leader.
An overwhelming 92 percent of Saudi youth (94 percent Saudi women and 91 percent Saudi men) are highly confident that the Crown Prince’s Vision 2030 will be a success.
Arab youth, particularly in Gulf Cooperation Council countries, expect the Crown Prince to have a bigger impact on the region over the next decade than any other Arab leader.
For this year’s survey, international polling firm PSB Research conducted 3,500 face-to-face interviews with exclusively Arab men and women in Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Yemen and the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain.
The sample comprised 50 percent male and 50 percent female respondents.
Ayaz seeks political parties’ recommendations for setting up special committee to probe NAB’s allegations
ISLAMABAD, May 09 (APP):National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq Wednesday asked the political parties to give their recommendations for constituting a special committee through a motion to investigate the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) allegations against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
For the time being, the Speaker deferred the proposed motion so that all parties may submit their views about it.
He asked the Parliamentary Affairs Minister to inform him about the proposal of the political parties in this regard after consultation with them.
Earlier, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in his speech called for constitution of a special committee to probe $4.9 billion money laundering allegations leveled by NAB against the former prime minister.
Responding to the prime minister, Pakistan Peoples Party’s Parliamentary Leader Syed Naveed Qamar said he would consult his party and respond tomorrow.
He said it was a big allegation and involved unbelievable big amount. He, however, added, “I think we will be creating a new precedent that we interfere in the working of an institution, which has been created by us.”
Though it was the prerogative of the government to form a committee, however, “we will do further consultation with the party and the opposition, and then decide whether we will participate in it or not,” he added.
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Asad Umar said it was the same parliament which the PTI had demanded to investigate the allegations surfaced from the Panama Papers, but it was asked to approach courts. Even the then prime minister himself went to the Supreme Court, he added.
He said in that background the demand for constituting a committee was surprising for him and categorically rejected the proposal.
Shaikh Salauhddin of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement said he would take his party on board on the issue.
Ayesha Syed of Jamaat-i-Islami said,” Earlier, we were asked to consult institutions for such allegations.” The institutions, she added, should not be targeted for political interests.
Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Shaikh Aftab Ahmed admitted that such issues should have been brought to the parliament instead of taking the same to the Supreme Court.
“We should decide issues of our house inside the house,” he said, adding,” We sit together and let the parliament play its role on the issue that has surfaced now.”.
He clarified that formation of the committee was not to challenge any authority, it was rather aimed at knowing the facts behind the grave allegation and educated the nation about it. “Our purpose is neither to challenge any institution nor to snatch its authority,” he added.
Minister for SAFRON Lt Gen (R ) Qadir Baloch said it was need of the hour to ascertain what was right and what was wrong.
“This is a serious allegation which needed to be looked into,” he said, adding,” We were representatives of 20 million Pakistanis, who must know what is right and what is wrong.”
He said laundering of $5 billion by the country’s prime minister was a serious allegation, which needed investigation and rejecting the proposal for investigation would affect the general election.
Mehmood Khan Achakzai of Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party said it was a grave allegation, so the formation of the
committee was necessary while Naeema Kishwar of Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam (Fazal), said the parliament being the supreme institution, should solve the issue.
Dangers persist for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh: WHO
UNITED NATIONS, May 9 (APP):Renewed efforts are underway in Bangladesh to protect nearly one million Myanmar refugees from cholera, amid a warning from the UN health agency on Tuesday that “we’re not out of the woods yet”.
Dr. Richard Brennan, Director of Emergency Operations at the World Health Organizati(WHO), issued the warning in Geneva, citing risks from other diseases, natural hazards and a serious funding shortage. “We’re not out of the woods yet”, he told journalists, adding that the majority of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh live in “overcrowded” unsanitary camps”.
“We are looking down the barrel of the monsoon season with the inherent risk of flooding, landslides, as well as the cyclone season,” he added.
The refugee crisis started at the end of August last year when more than 670,000 people fled a military campaign in Myanmar’s Rakhine State over the ensuing months, seeking shelter in neighbouring Bangladesh.
There are now nearly 900,000 displaced individuals living in a dozen camps in and around the border town of Cox’s Bazar, WHO’s Dr. Brennan said it was a “major achievement” that mortality rates had remained low.
The cholera vaccination campaign is a vital follow-up to an earlier inoculation drive in October and November last year.
The disease causes acute watery diarrhoea which can be fatal if left untreated.
Despite the threat, however, cholera is “only one health concern among a number of priorities”, the WHO official said, stressing the need to focus on water and sanitation facilities as the most effective guarantee against other water-borne diseases.
Some $950 million is required to help the refugees, Dr. Brennan said, but only around 16 per cent of this amount has been provided.The senior WHO medic also cited serious funding shortages which risked undermining efforts to protect already vulnerable Rohingya communities who had fled Myanmar with nothing, and suffered a litany of reported human rights abuses.
Resources are even more scarce when it comes to healthcare, with only 6.3 per cent of funding needs met.
As refugees continue to arrive in Bangladesh from Myanmar, the WHO official repeated the core UN demand that any future return of mainly-Muslim Rohingya communities would have to be “safe, voluntary and dignified”.
Concerns remain about the poor state of health services in Myanmar’s Rakhine State where the UN health agency has limited access providing disease surveillance, training, mobile clinics and medical supplies.
UN chief “deeply concerned” by US decision to exit Iran nuclear deal
UNITED NATIONS, May 9 (APP):UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he is “deeply concerned” over President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, calling on all other nations to support the agreement and preserve the deal.
President Donald Trump made the announcement at the White House, and immediately afterwards signed a memorandum to begin reinstating economic sanctions on Iran at “the highest level”.
In a statement released shortly afterwards, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: “I am deeply concerned by today’s announcement that the United States will be withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and will begin reinstating US sanctions.”
“I have consistently reiterated that the JCPOA represents a major achievement in nuclear non-proliferation and diplomacy and has contributed to regional and international peace and security,” he added.
“It is essential that all concerns regarding the implementation of the Plan be addressed through the mechanisms established in the JCPOA,” Mr. Guterres stressed, adding that “issues not directly related to the JCPOA” should be addressed separately.The JCPOA “ reached by Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the US and the European Union “ sets out rigorous mechanisms for monitoring restrictions placed on Iran’s nuclear programme, while paving the way for the lifting UN sanctions against the country.
The UN chief called on other JCPOA participants to abide fully by their respective commitments and on all other Member States to support the agreement.
Earlier this month, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a statement saying that according to its December 2015 Board of Governors report, “the agency had no credible indication of activities in Iran relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device after 2009.”
At the Board of Governors meeting in March, IAEA chief Yukiya Amano had said Iran was abiding by the deal and IAEA inspectors had been given access to all sites and locations, upon request.”
PM advisor Amir Muqam calls on CM
LAHORE, May 09 (APP):Advisor to Prime Minister, Engineer Amir Muqam called on Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, here Wednesday.
Talking on the occasion, Amir Muqam said Shehbaz Sharif had tremendously developed the province of Punjab. On the other hand, PTI which was the claimant of change had turned KPK into ruins. “The people
of KPK are desirous of development on the pattern of Punjab,” he added.
He said Shehbaz Sharif was a symbol of hard work, honesty and trust and the PML-N would achieve success in KPK in the next elections as well.
Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif said journey of development would be extended to KPK and real revolution would be brought there in health and education sectors. He said people in KPK were deceived in the name
of change and revolution and inquired that how those who had deceived in the name of billion trees tsunami could be the leader of the nation. Imran Niazi had disappointed the people of KPK and they would not be deceived by his hollow slogans anymore, concluded the Chief Minister.
Annan-led global leaders slam Trump for pulling out of Iran nuclear deal
UNITED NATIONS, May 8 (APP):A group of independent global leaders led by former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan strongly condemned President Donald Trump’s decision Tuesday to withdraw the United States from the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran — the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — under which the Islamic Republic agreed to limit its nuclear activities in return for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions.
The group — known as ‘The Elders’ — called on the other signatories to the deal including France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, China and the European Union to continue to do everything in their power to sustain its spirit and implementation.
Annan, chairman of The Elders, said, “In announcing the US withdrawal from the pact, Trump said he will reimpose economic sanctions on Iran at “the highest level of economic sanction” and target “any nation that helps Iran in its quest for nuclear weapons” with sanctions, too.
“The JCPOA was a hard-won diplomatic achievement and proof of what robust negotiations on the part of all those involved can achieve. I deeply regret President Trump’s decision to withdraw, and urge all other signatories to renew their commitment to the deal and avoid a broader escalation of tensions across the Middle East.”
The Elders emphasised that after the JCPOA came into effect in January 2016, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly confirmed Iran’s implementation of its provisions.
However, they also expressed alarm at recent threats by Iranian officials to resume nuclear fuel enrichment and even withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if President Trump proceeded with his threat to pull-out.
Ban Ki-moon, one of the Elders and UN Secretary-General from 2007-16, said:
“I am very worried about the risks of a new nuclear arms race, this time in the Middle East, as well as the negative implications for ongoing negotiations on North Korean nuclear issues. To prevent that frightening prospect, everyone must do what they can to keep the JCPOA alive and well. The UN Security Council ratified the agreement unanimously; no single country has the right to declare it dead.”
Gro Harlem Brundtland, Deputy Chair of The Elders and former Prime Minister of Norway, added:
“I believe that, in the end, common sense will prevail. So, I suggest that a seat at the table should be kept empty for the United States to return to this agreement. The NPT remains a critical element of international security architecture, and any withdrawal by Iran would not be in its long-term interests.”