RIYADH, Apr 19 (APP):Saudi Arab’s high-speed Express Train Haramain has carried
out its first trial journey from Jeddah to Makkah as it prepares to formally
launch operations in early next year.
The journey saw officials
including Prince Abdullah Bin Bandar Bin Abdulaziz, deputy emir of Makkah
region, Spanish state secretary for infrastructure, transport and housing Julio
Gomez and minister of transport Sulaiman Al-Hamdan make the journey alongside
media representatives, gulfbusiness.com reported.
The trial run started at
Al-Sulaimaniah station in Jeddah at 1:00pm on Tuesday and saw the train
transport more than 400 passengers towards King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC)
in Rabigh, according to reports.
The train then left for Madinah at 3:00pm after one-hour-15-minute stopover and reached its destination at 4:15pm. During this time the train reached its top speed of between 300 and
330kmph.
Mariano De La Vega, project
manager of train manufacturer Talgo, said the company was fully prepared for
the official opening.
“Everything is in working order.
The train will officially come into operation as soon as Saudi officials give
us the green light,” he was quoted as saying.
So far 10 Saudi drivers have been trained in
Spain to use the train system and the kingdom has received 11 of the 35 trains
it is expecting.
The line is 450km in length, with a full
journey between Makkah and Madinah expected to take roughly two-and-a-half
hours. Travel between Jeddah and Makkah will take around 20 minutes and between
Jeddah and Madinah roughly two hours.
The line is expected to be fully operational
in the first quarter of next year.
The project serves as a
qualitative addition to the transportation system in the Kingdom. It will
provide a fast, convenient, reliable and safe mode of transport between Makkah
and Madinah, as well as the cities of Jeddah and Rabigh.
The train will take passengers
from Makkah to Madinah through Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC).
The project is in its final
stages after 35 trains (with a capacity of 417 seats per train) were equipped
with all amenities.
The train will be managed with a
world-class operating system and will connect the province of Jeddah to Makkah
via a 78-km double-track line.
The Makkah station is located at
the main entrance to the city in the neighborhood of Al-Rusaifah. The station
is about 3 km away from the Grand Mosque in Makkah, while Al-Madinah station is
located in the Knowledge Economic City (KEC) on King Abdul Aziz Road.
There are two train stations in
Jeddah; the first is in Sulaymaniyah in the center of the city, and the second
is at King Abdul Aziz International Airport.
The Rabigh station is located
near King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST).
Saudi Arab’s high speed express train carries out first trial journey
UN launches global plan to protect internally displaced persons
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 19 (APP)::With multiple crises forcing millions of people away from their homes, United Nations agencies, governments and partners have announced the launching of measures to strengthen protection of internally displaced persons as well as find solutions to address their problems.
Addressing the protection needs of the forcibly displaced and seeking solutions to their plight contribute to greater stability for countries and whole regions, Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said in a statement about the three-year Plan of Action.
“The consequences of our failure to resolve internal displacement can be devastating,” he stressed.
The framework, formally called the Plan of Action for Advancing Prevention, Protection and Solutions for Internally Displaced People (2018-2020), calls on all relevant actors to step up efforts to prevent, respond to and resolve internal displacement.
It also proposes concrete activities to strengthen the participation of internally displaced persons in decisions concerning them, and expand national laws and policies on internal displacement as well as actions to improve data collection and analysis on displacements globally.
By the end of 2016, more than 40 million people were displaced within their own countries due to insecurity or rights violations. An additional 24 million were driven from their homes due to disasters. Every year, an estimated 15 million people are also displaced by development projects.
Given this complex conundrum, “bold and ambitious” steps are needed, Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, stressed.
“The Plan of Action seeks to galvanize a strategic dialogue, concerted action and adequate resources to address the plight of the internally displaced, while engaging them in the decisions that affect them,” added the independent expert.
In the same vein, Mark Lowcock, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs committed that the Organization will continue to work with affected Governments and displaced persons to ensure that their needs are addressed.
“The international community has pledged to leave no one behind,” Lowock, who is also the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, said, noting that this promise must extend to all those displaced.
The Plan of Action was drafted under the leadership of the Special Rapporteur, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Its launch coincides with the 20th anniversary of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, widely accepted as being the global standard for protecting and assisting internally displaced people.
Pakistan cricket team will depart for Ireland ,England on Monday
ISLAMABAD, Apr 19 (APP):Pakistan cricket team, announced for the Ireland and England tour, will depart on Monday (23 April 2018).
The national team have started its training camp under the supervision of Head coach Micky Arthur at Gaddafi stadium Lahore on Wednesday.
The 16-member team which includes five uncapped players in the test squad practiced on the first day on the training camp.
They will play one test against Ireland and two tests against England.
PM Abbasi commits to eradication of Malaria in Pakistan
LONDON, Apr 19 (APP):Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Wednesday delivered a speech at the Malaria Summit being held here concurrently with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018.
The Prime Minister noted the successes Pakistan and other Commonwealth countries have had in controlling Malaria but also acknowledged that more must be done.
He acknowledged the work of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in respect of Malaria and other healthcare causes globally and also in Pakistan.
He also noted the commitment of the Gates Foundation for a significant further commitment to support the eradication of Malaria in Commonwealth countries.
While relaying the statistics of and improvements in tackling malaria, the Prime Minister reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to the complete eradication of malaria in Pakistan.
The Prince of Wales addressed the Malaria Summit as the ketnote speaker while Bill Gates of Mallinda and Gates Foundation also spoke on the occasion.
Pakistan remains committed in fight against malaria: PM Abbasi
LONDON, April 18 (APP):Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Wednesday pointing out a significant reduction observed in the overall incidence of Plasmodium falciparum cases by more than 80 percent between 2013 and 2017 in Pakistan, said his country through its enhanced efforts and support of donors and partners remained committed to the fight against malaria.
“We have started mobilizing domestic resources and investing in the control and elimination of all communicable disease. The allocation for malaria control by the provincial governments has substantially increased and more than doubled in the last few years,” the Prime Minister said while speaking at the Malaria Summit held here alongside the 25th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM 2018).
Prime Minister Abbasi termed the summit “a timely initiative” and said despite challenges, the malaria control interventions in Pakistan were aligned with WHO Global Technical Strategy (GTS 2016-2030), adding, pursuing universal health coverage, malaria diagnostic and treatment services were being expanded to rural and far flung areas to cater to the needs of general population and marginalized communities.
He said expansion in diagnostic coverage was mainly being done through the provision of Rapid Diagnostic Test kits. Private sector was also being engaged for free of charge malaria case management interventions, he added.
The prime minister said the reduction of Malaria incidence was mainly attributed to the high impact interventions such as the use of Artemisinin based Combination Therapy and Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs). Plasmodium Vivax has proportionately increased to 85 percent, he added.
The prime minister said since 2013, around 12 million free of charge LLINs had been distributed in highest endemic areas of Pakistan.
The currently used Malaria Information System was being updated with a robust and online DHIS-2 to have reliable information, he said, adding, “We are working to bolster existing infrastructure to strengthen diagnostics and preventive areas.”
He said Pakistan was among the high Malaria burden sharing countries in WHO-Eastern Mediterranean Region, adding, Malaria each year caused significant ailments, deaths and economic losses.
The prime minister said that Pakistan had established a cross border malaria network with Iran and Afghanistan to effectively coordinate and collaborate malaria control efforts in the bordering areas of the three countries.
“In addition, we have joined hands with Asia-Pacific countries through Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance (APLMA) to re-affirm our commitment of malaria elimination from the region. Let me assure you that we will further enhance our efforts for complete elimination of Malaria both through increased resource allocation, in spite of many competing demands, and better coordination and management,” he maintained.
The prime minister said Pakistan sincerely appreciated the existing cooperation with WHO and Mallinda and Gates Foundation and looked forward to deepening and enhancing its engagement to augment its existing capacity.
The Prince of Wales, delivered the keynote address, while Bill Gates also spoke on the occasion.
The summit was also addressed by leaders of various Commonwealth member states including Gambia, Ghana, Guyana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Uganda, Solomon Island, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Tanzania and Zambia.
Muqam briefs Shahbaz about PML-N electoral campaigns in KP
PESHAWAR, Apr 18 (APP):Advisor to Prime Minister and PML-N provincial president Amir Muqam Wednesday briefed party’s
president Shehbaz Sharif about the preparations for upcoming general election in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Talking to media persons, after meeting with Chief Minister Punjab ,
he informed that applications from the candidates contesting general election on PML-N tickets
from KP would be invited from April 20.
He said the party’s parliamentary board would award party ticket on merit. He also outlined the schedule for the party chief’s public gatherings at divisional levels in the province starting
from Mardan on April 29.
Muqam recalled the measures taken by PML-N during its tenure and said that the mega project of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would help the country to overcome load shedding crisis and
make Pakistan a developed country.
He said so far 10,000 MW of electricity had been added in national grid station while work on
other power projects was in full swing.
Muqam said that the party’s leadership took bold decisions and with the help of Pak Armed forces and people, adding that Imran Niazi had struck KPK in heaps of never ending problems and
foreign loans.
He said Imran Khan used KPK as a platform to get premiership but failed in his designs, adding that the
result of upcoming general elections would be proved an end to Imran’s politics.
UK aid package to help stamp out human trafficking, child exploitation in Commonwealth
LONDON, Apr 18 (APP):A new aid package by the United Kingdom will help eradicate human trafficking and child exploitation in the Commonwealth as its more member countries have committed to take action to assist victims and bring perpetrators to justice.
The support, from the Department for International Development and the Home Office, would identify vulnerable people, mostly child labour, and strengthen law enforcement responses in a number of Commonwealth countries to crackdown on the horrific crime, a UK Government statement issued here Wednesday said.
According to the statement, the United Nations experts would determine where child labour was taking place, in what form, and map out where the greatest number of victims were.
“This work will show where we can help children the most and develop targeted plans to prevent and stop child labour, including in businesses and supply chains”, it added.
The experts would also focus on communities affected by conflict where there could be a higher risk of exploitation, such as Rohingya families in Bangladesh, who had already fled brutal violence and persecution.
The UK would also work in Commonwealth countries such as Sri Lanka and Malawi to build the capacity of police forces and prosecutors to root out human trafficking and rapidly increase the number of convictions to punish the perpetrators. “We will boost regional cooperation, train prosecutors, strengthen the protection of victims to encourage them to speak out and help to develop national policing strategies to break the business model of the traffickers,” the statement said..
The UK International Development Secretary, Penny Mordaunt, said his country and the Commonwealth were stepping up to fight one of the greatest injustices of the time – the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable people by predators.
He said the UK aid was helping to stamp out the evil practices, by smashing the traffickers’ exploitative business model, helping to punish the perpetrators and supporting vulnerable people and victims – who are all too often women and children – to rebuild their lives so they do not fall back into a cycle of abuse.
The UK Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, said: “Human trafficking, forced labour and child exploitation are cruel and horrendous crimes that no one should suffer.”
The UK, he said, was leading the world in tackling that form of abuse through the ground-breaking Modern Slavery Act 2015, which ensured victims were identified and supported, and provided law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to bring perpetrators to justice.
“But this is a global problem which requires a global response, which is why all countries must unite to end this to make these brutal crimes a thing of the past,” he said. “The UK continues to work with our Commonwealth neighbours to strengthen their response to human trafficking and child exploitation.”
The funding announced today, he said, would play a vital role in helping the countries identify and support the most vulnerable people in their communities, while supporting law enforcement to bring offenders to justice.
At the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting being held in London, eight more countries joined the global Call to Action to end Forced Labour, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, launched by the UK Prime Minister at the United Nations last year. Over 50 countries around the world have now endorsed the call to action, including more than a third of the Commonwealth.
Forced labour and trafficking affects an estimated 40 million people and thrives on desperation, discrimination and inequality in every country of the globe. Women and girls are particularly vulnerable and constitute 71 percent of all victims – such as in forced labour in the garment sector, exploitation and domestic servitude.
The UK’s work is enabling girls and women to make informed choices about their lives, including through access to skills and education.
Today’s package of support totals £5.5 million, delivered by the Home Office and DFID, which includes: £3 million to support Commonwealth governments to better identify, analyse and subsequently act upon instances of child labour through gathering information and building capacity to end the practice in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India.
“Our support will focus on areas affected by conflict where there could be a higher risk of modern slavery in global supply chains and communities like the Rohingya population in Bangladesh. Child labour is prevalent in areas like agriculture, the garment sector, fisheries and construction – raising the risk of products of child labour reaching the UK market,” the statement said.
£2 million is earmarked to strengthen law enforcement and justice systems in fighting human trafficking in India, Sri Lanka, Malawi and Zambia. This will develop and implement national policing strategies; raise criminal justice standards on trafficking, and boost the protection of victims.
£500,000 is allocated to support tough new legislation to prevent and tackle human trafficking and forced labour in nine Commonwealth countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, Pakistan, Uganda, Bangladesh, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, and Sri Lanka – and supporting the scrutiny and oversight of the response to human trafficking.
Wage Board to be promulgated in consonance with Constitution and law: Marriyum
ISLAMABAD, Apr 18 (APP):Minister of State for Information, Broadcasting, National History and Literary Heritage Ms Marriyum Aurangzeb, addressing a ceremony held at the National Press Club here Wednesday with regard to the notification for the Wage Board , said that the government had completed the process of constituting the Wage Board after a hiatus of seventeen years during which the journalists remained deprived of their rights.
She said that the difficulties faced by the journalist community had been overcome though collective efforts. The journalists had got the dividend for the efforts, which they had been making for the institution of Wage Board during the last seventeen years, she added.
The minister said that PFUJ President Afzal Butt and his team had played a significant role in that regard.
She said that democracy was completing its ten years in July and it would be befittingly celebrated.
Marriyum said that she was sorry to note that the media was trying to mute the part of the conversation of former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif yesterday in which he talked about respect of the vote notwithstanding the fact that he had made Pakistan a nuclear power, built infrastructure and network of roads and brought CPEC to the country. Nawaz Sharif, she said, had invariably talked about the sanctity and ascendency of law and the Constitution.
She said that whatever had been happening during the last seventy years and the traditions that were set, were absolutely wrong.
The minister said that the government by constituting the Wage Board had not done any favour to the journalists but given them their due right. The journalists, she said, were such a segment of the society who kept democracy going through the power of their pen and had always stood with it through thick and thin, and the ups and downs that it had to endure.
She said that she was well aware of the difficulties that the working journalists faced during the discharge of their professional assignments. She said that it was the good luck of the prime minister, the government and her that the notification of Wage Board was issued during the tenure of PML-N government. The real work in that regard was still to be done and hopefully it would be accomplished within the tenure of the government, she said, adding that the step had reinforced media-government relations that existed before it.
Marriyum said that the Eighth Wage Board would provide economic security to the journalist community solving their problems pertaining to household and education. She thanked the newspaper owners for their support in that regard.
She said that the government was also working on the bill regarding security and safety of the journalists. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had also played a significant role in the finalization of the Wage Board and its approval from the cabinet, she added.
The minister informed the audience that she would visit Sindh and Balochistan shortly.
Marriyum said that the Constitution delineated the powers and functions of the state institutions and if all of them worked within their stipulated spheres it would become a source of strength for all.
The minister while handing over the notification of the Wage Board to the leadership of the journalists, said that she would never forget the love and respect that she was given and also expressed her gratitude to them.
PFUJ President Afzal Butt, National Press Club president, IIUJ president and other representative bodies of journalists thanked Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbassi, federal ministers and Minister of State for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb for issuing the notification of Wage Board. The ceremony was attended by the representatives of the media bodies and a large number of journalists.
Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal meets UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd
LONDON, Apr 18 (APP):Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, who is here to attend the CHOGM 2018, met British Home Secretary
Amber Rudd MP at the House of Commons here Wednesday and discussed a wide range of issues of
mutual interest..
Accompanied by Syed Ibne Abbas, Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK, the interior minister
briefed Secretary Rudd about Pakistan’s successful fight against terrorism and
the sacrifices rendered to eliminate the menace.
The way forward, he stressed, was to engage the community with
a view to generating community ownership of the counter-terrorism efforts, augmented by law enforcement
agencies and security forces, a statement issued by Pakistan High Commission said.
Underscoring that the UK considers Pakistan an important partner in all areas, and mentioning her visit
to Pakistan last year, Secretary Rudd expressed her desire to further enhance cooperation between the two
countries.
Both sides agreed to continue their ongoing security cooperation noting that there was tremendous
the potential for further expansion, especially in terms of capacity building and technological up-gradation.
They acknowledged the growing menace of drugs, its linkages with terrorist financing, and resolved to
share experiences and explore avenues for further cooperation in that area.
The interior minister highlighted human rights abuses in Indian Occupied Kashmir, including murders,
torture, rapes as an instrument of war.
Ajoka Theatre to perform plays ‘Chaak Chakkar’, ‘Charing Cross’ from April 20
ISLAMABAD, Apr 18 (APP):Ajoka Theatre in collaboration with German Embassy and Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) will organize theatre performance “Chaak Chakkar” and “Charing Cross” on April 20, 21 at PNCA.
The play “Chak Chakkar” is an Urdu adaptation of Bracht’s play “The Caucasian Chalk Circle”. The play originally premiered in 1948, the play is a great example of Brecht’s “epic theatre”. It is a parable about a maid servant of the rich ruler who takes care of the royal baby, abandoned by his mother while running away after being overthrown.
The story was based on a Chinese legend and placed in the Soviet Union around the end of the
World War II.
Brecht uses the legend to present the question of social ownership and the greed and selfishness of the capitalist society.
The play was first performed by Ajoka in 1985 at the Goethe Institute Lahore.
The second performance is “Charing Cross,” the story of the play was centered around the area in Lahore known by the same name. Once functioning as the central point of the city, Charing Cross is recognized for its historical significance as a venue for protests and rallies; it was a common point for different people to gather and express their sentiments. According to Director play, Shahid Nadeem, “The play takes its audience on a whirlwind journey through Pakistan’s Political History and enables them to experience the events, the stories of shattered dreams and undying hope.
Charing Cross is a salute to the resilient and optimistic spirit of the people.
”Over the past 33 years, through the art of theatre, Ajoka has been bringing to light hidden narratives and alternate interpretations very courageously. The play progressed in a chronological order and included important political events in Pakistan’s history, starting from independence and taking the audience through the journey of the past 70 years in approximately two hours.