LAHORE, Feb 08 (APP):Title holders Lahore Lions continued its winning ways in the 2nd Women hockey super league with a 2-1 victory over Islamabad Shaheen at the national hockey stadium here on Thursday.
In the other match Karachi Dolphins earned a 2-2 draw against Quetta Panthers.
Lahore Lions were given a fright by Islamabad Shaheen as the capital side took the lead through Sidra Knwal in the fifth minute. Lahore made it 1-1 in the 12th minute when international Hamra Latif slammed a penalty corner in.
Intense battle ensued. Lahore made repeated raids but were foiled. Islamabad also had a few chances.
Finally, Lahore’s Sharika Sarwar netted the winning goal in the 44th minute. It was 11 year old prodigy’s third goal in the tournament in as many matches.
Scorers, Lahore: Humran Latif & Sharika Sarwar
Islamabad: Sidra Knwal
In the other match Karachi Dolphins twice came from behind to hold Quetta Panthers to a draw.
Quetta went ahead in the 5th minute when their captain Kalsoom Shahzadi utiltised a penalty corner. The lead did not last long as Karachi’s vice captain Tehmina equalized through open play. It stayed 1-1 at half time.
In the 37th minute, Quetta again went into ascendancy through a penalty corner converted by Iqra Hanif.
However, withing six minutes it was back to level terms. Sadaf Rafi brought parity also off a PC.
Scorers, Quetta: Kulsoon Shahzadi & Iqra Hanif
Karachi: Tehmina & Sadaf Rafi.
Victory for Lahore and Karachi in women super hockey league
Postal Services, Embassy of China organizes photo exhibition
ISLAMABAD, Feb 8 (APP):Ministry of Postal Services in collaboration with Embassy of China in Islamabad on Tuesday organized a photo exhibition in connection with China New Year celebrations.
Secretary of Postal Services Dr Saqib Aziz, Cultural Counselor Embassy of China You Yi and a large number of people from different walks of life attended the opening ceremony.
The photos displayed in the exhibition were depicting the culture of various cities of China. A documentary titled ‘Postmen in the Mountains’ highlighting the services of postmen were also screened on the occasion.
The film was set in the mountainous regions of the western Hunan province in the early 1980s.
The joint photo exhibition would further strengthen friendship between the two friendly countries.
Addressing the opening ceremony of photo exhibition, postal secretary said the joint initiative of photo exhibition and screening of documentary on the postmen would open more avenues for Pakistan Post and Embassy of China.
US-Mexico border migrant deaths rose in 2017 even as crossings fell, UN says
UNITED NATIONS, Fb 8 (APP):An increasing number of migrants have died at the border between the U.S. and Mexico during the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency, even as arrests have dropped.
The United Nations agency International Organization for Migration (IOM) recorded 412 migrant deaths in 2017, a three percent increase from the 398 recorded the previous year, according to figures compiled by the IOMs Missing Migrants Project.
The U.S. Border Patrol, however, reported a sharp decrease in detentions at the southwest border. According to IOM figures, authorities caught 341,084 migrants over the 2017 calendar year, compared with 611,689 apprehensions in 2016. These figures show an even higher drop than that declared by the U.S. Custom and Border Protection agency last month, which used the fiscal year 2017 as its time frame.
The increase in deaths is especially concerning, as the available data indicate that far fewer migrants entered the US via its border with Mexico in the last year, Frank Laczko, Director of IOM’s Global Migration Data Analysis Centre said in a statement.
According to the UN agency, prolonged exposure to the extreme environments in the border region, where temperatures often top 104 degree Fahrenheit (40 degree Celsius), combined with the difficulty of bringing assistance those in need in remote areas have repeatedly been cited as leading causes of death.
Texas, where 191 migrant deaths were recorded in the last year, is a particular area of concern and the 2017 total represents a 26 per cent increase over the 151 fatalities recorded in the state in 2016, added IOM in the press release.
At the same time, though data on migrant fatalities on the US-Mexico border are more accessible than in many other regions of the world, they remain incomplete and the number of deaths reported by the US Border Patrol, includes only those which agents deal with directly.
This means that federally reported figures could seriously underestimate the real number of deaths, said Julia Black, data collection coordinator for IOMs Missing Migrants Project.
IOM also reported that the vast majority of migrant border deaths recorded by the Project occur on the US side of the border though one reason for this may be that coroners, medical examiners, and sheriffs in US border counties are more likely to regularly report data on migrant deaths to the agency’s staff.
Reports of deaths south of the border often surface locally from radio stations and small newspapers, or from social media, the UN agency added, noting that the information on fatalities could come weeks, even months after they occur.
Since the start of the Missing Migrants Project, IOM has recorded 1,468 deaths on the US-Mexico border, including 14 deaths in January 2018.
Trump pledged during his election campaign that he would crack down on illegal immigration by building a big and beautiful wall across the southern border. He has also signed executive orders that call for the hiring of 5,000 more Border Patrol agents and 10,000 more immigration officers.
Chinese universities climb rankings in Asia
BEIJING, Feb 8 (APP):Chinese universities have made strong inroads in the Asia University Rankings 2018, taking five of the top ten places in the Times Higher Education report.
In the ranking of more than 350 Asian universities, China claims almost one fifth of the entries.
For the first time in the list’s six-year history, Tsinghua University is China’s top-ranked institution, following across-the-board improvements on its teaching, research, citation impact, international outlook and knowledge transfer.
It comes second in the overall rankings, behind the National University of Singapore. Peking University drops one place to third.
Of the top 10 universities in Asia, five come from China, three of which are from Hong Kong, including University of Hong Kong (4th), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (joint 5th), and Chinese University of Hong Kong (7th).
Nanjing University has climbed eight places to 17th, Tongji University has jumped eight places to 53rd, and Harbin Institute of Technology has risen 15 places to 62nd.
However, it is not just China’s elite universities that are registering improvements in performance; many institutions outside the top 100 have also upped their game.
The report said overall, universities from the Chinese mainland have received a large boost in their citation impact score and can boast high levels of industry income.
Elsewhere in Asia, only two Japanese institutions appear in the top 20 despite the country’s strong representation overall, with 89 universities ranked-a quarter of the top 350 list. South Korea is better-represented in the higher ranks, having five institutions in the top 20.
However, many Asian nations are feeling the competition. While India, Pakistan and Turkey have all increased their overall representation, several of their universities have fallen down the list.
“These countries will need to work hard to stand out among the heavy competition in the world’s largest continent,” the report added.
CPEC enhances Pak geo-political importance, make country prime choice for investors: Experts
PESHAWAR, Feb 08 (APP):Economics and political experts here Thursday said China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)
signed during PMLN Government tenure, has enhanced the geo-political importance of Pakistan and made the country a prime choice for local and foreign investors.
The experts said CPEC was a game changer project for Pakistan that would not only make very positive effects on Pakistan’s overall security but would make its western and eastern borders safe from external
threats and hostile foreign agencies.
Talking to APP, MPA Saleh Muhammad said CPEC was not a myth but a strong reality carrying immense importance for all sectors including economic development, energy, communication, and security perspective.
In presence of massive Chinese investment, he said, foe elements and hospital foreign agencies could not dare even to cast an ugly eye on our soil as attack on Pakistan would be tantamount an assault on China.
Terming CPEC as a gift of PML-N Government for people of Pakistan, he said it had not only restored confidence of foreign investors but will make the country a hub of trade and investment besides making its borders safe from foreign aggression.
Pakistan would make a lead role in the security, trade, communication and economy of the region once the Gwadar Sea Port was fully operational, he said, adding Government has made full arrangements
for protection of CPEC projects and foreign investors.
Punajb Government has raised Special Protection Unit (SPU) for security of CPEC projects and Chinese
nationals, enabling foreign and local investors to perform their duties without any fear and praised CM Punjab for raising SPU.
By linking Kashgar with Gwadar port through state of the network of roads and railway lines, he said, CPEC project has a vast potential to inject new life into the region’s economies besides making Pakistan a prime choice for investment.
The CPEC project would not only help Pakistan and China but other countries in South and Central Asia as well.
Balochistan and KP would be largely benefited from this mega project and less developed areas of these regions would come at par with developed parts of the country.
The project would help Pakistan’s investment-starved economy besides bringing massive improvement in
the KP ramshackle transport, economy and energy infrastructure.
More close contacts urged between Pakistan,Malaysia in trade
LAHORE, Feb 08 (APP):Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Malik Tahir Javaid Thursday said that private sector of Pakistan and Malaysia should establish more close contacts and ensure exchange of delegation on reciprocal basis as there is a lot to share and learn from each other.
According to a press release issued here, he expressed these views leading a delegation of the LCCI which was on a visit to Malaysia.
The delegation visited industrial areas in Kualalumpur and had B-2-B meeting with Malaysian industrialists besides visiting large-scale manufacturing units, including auto parts, rubber, oil palm processing and manufacturing, light manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, medical technology, electronics, tin mining and smelting, logging, and timber processing.
Objective of this visit was to set guidelines for knowledge and experience sharing that would be equal
beneficial for the private sectors of the two countries.
Malaysian top businessmen and government officials gave a detailed briefing to the LCCI delegation about industrial strength and economic reforms of the Malaysian government.
The LCCI president said that economic diversification and modernization was impressive in Malaysia.
He said that Pakistan is abundant with those resources that are available to just a few countries, adding that strategic location of Pakistan is ideal and attractive for the entire world while China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has added to its importance.
He said that textile, food processing, pharmaceutical, auto parts, surgical instruments, sports goods, construction and fertilizer were some of the most important industries of Pakistan while it exported finest quality garments, bed linen,cotton cloth, yarn, rice, leather goods, sporting goods, chemicals, surgical instruments, carpets and rugs.
He said that agriculture sector of Pakistan produced the best quality agri products and also had over 63.89 million labor force.
He urged the Malaysian investors to come forward and avail huge potential of Pakistan through joint ventures in various economic fields.
Malik Tahir Javaid said that United States, China, United Kingdom, Afghanistan and Germany were major trade partners of Pakistan.
He said that Pakistan was looking to broaden its exports base and wanted to add Malaysia in its most important trade partners.
He said that Pakistan gave highest value to its trade and economic relations with Malaysia and always welcome Malaysian investment.
The LCCI President lauded the efforts of Pakistani Embassy in Malaysia and Malaysian Embassy in Pakistan for cementing relations between the two countries.
India unleashes reign of terror in IOK: Masood Khan
ISLAMABAD, Feb 08 (APP):President Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Sardar Masood Khan said Wednesday that india had unleashed a reign of terror and oppression in Indian Occupied Kashmir.
He stated this while delivering a lecture, as the guest speaker, at AIR University Islamabad in connection to the Kashmir Solidarity Day.
The lecture titled “Changing Global Scenario and Kashmir Dispute” was attended by Vice Chancellor AIR University Air Marshal (R) Faaiz Amir, founding VC AIR University AVM (R) Qazi Javed, senior faculty members and a large number of students of the University.
Speaking on the occasion he said, Indian forces under the patronage of the central government at Delhi were torturing the local population in Indian Occupied Kashmir by mercilessly murdering peaceful Kashmiris, harassing the Hurriyat leadership, using lethal pellet guns, transforming the demography of Muslim populated areas, illegally incarcerating innocent protestors and dishonoring womenfolk.
The President said that Kashmiris have been made aliens in their own homeland and India has been maliciously transforming the demography by forcefully evicting local Muslims and illegally settling non-Kashmiri pundits and ex-army personnel in Jammu and Kashmir.
In 1947, over 247,000 Kashmiris were brutally massacred by the Dogra forces and RSS goons, all under the watchful eye of the central government, he said.
President AJK said that India has adopted the barbaric Ajit Doval doctrine of inflicting unbearable atrocities on the Kashmiris, excluding Kashmiris from the political dialogue and in turn avoiding any political dialogue with Pakistan for the resolution of this matter.
He affirmed that India through its coercion, economic blandishments and political maneuvers will never succeed in winning the hearts and minds of the Kashmiri people nor will it be able to quash the freedom movement in IOK, said President Masood.
India is propagating a false narrative of terrorism in IOK, he said. The President while categorically denying any form of terrorism in IOK said, “The unarmed Kashmiris have been cordoned off. The only terrorism in IOK is the state terrorism of the Indian government which has deployed 700,000 armed personnel in IOK and have been given absolute immunity from prosecution under the Public Safety Act and Armed Forces Special Powers Act”.
President Masood Khan said that the global scenario has seen massive transformations over the years. The US is cutting off ties with its allies, while Europe suffers from elements of xenophobia and Islamophobia.
The Middle East, he said, is a target of civil wars and our Muslim countries are divided. In these circumstances, he said, we need to forge unity and consensus in resolving the core issue of Kashmir which has been pending for over 70 years by re-strategizing our approach.
The President on the occasion said that we need to take the issue back to the international community especially to forums like UNSC, UN Human Rights Commission and other such platforms.
This effort, he said, must be taken up with renewed vigour, conviction, and consistency. He added by using modern means of communication, we must raise the profile of this issue and build inroads into the global civil society.
Highlighting the importance of strong Pak-Kashmiri diaspora community, he said that we must also leverage their strengths in approaching the parliaments of powerful nations and help raise the voice of our Kashmiri brothers and sisters.
Pakistan has been the only sovereign window for the Kashmiris and an economically, politically and militarily strong Pakistan will guarantee effective propagation of the Kashmir issue at the international front.
Pakistan has been made to pay for its inflexible and resilient stand on Kashmir, as Indian intelligence agencies are attempting to destabilize Pakistan and investing massive resources by directly sponsoring terrorist activities in various regions of our country and trying to create discontent by targeting our innocent civilians and Armed Forces across the LOC.
Talking about Azad Kashmir, the President said that the Azad State is the base camp for the freedom struggle.
The AJK Government has adopted a three-pronged strategy which includes accelerating the freedom struggle and support for people of IOK; making the AJK government a model of good governance by upholding merit and rule of law, transparency, accountability and access to justice; and lastly, the economic and social uplift wherein focus is being given to developing road infrastructure, increasing energy production and setting up new industries, improving education and health standards, introducing modern agriculture and promoting tourism.
Jordanian King gets red carpet welcome at PM House
ISLAMABAD, Feb 08 (APP):King of Jordan Abdullah II Thursday was given a red carpet welcome as he arrived at Prime Minister’s House here.
Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi received the Jordanian King and greeted him at the welcome ceremony.
National anthems of the two countries were played.
The contingents of the armed forces presented guard of honour to King Abdullah II.
Pakistan Air Force’s JF-17 Thunder jets also displayed a spectacular fly past while presenting salute to the dignitary. Wing Commander Kashif Kamal led the formation.
Later, the prime minister introduced the king with his cabinet. The visiting dignitary also introduced his delegation to the prime minister.
Afterwards, the two sides proceeded for the delegation level talks.
King Abdullah II, along with a high level delegation is on two-day visit here on the invitation of President Mamnoon Hussain.
US Embassy, FJWU renew partnership with Susan B. Anthony Reading Room
RAWALPINDI, Feb 8 (APP):Minister Counselor for Public Affairs Kathryn Crockart and the Vice Chancellor of the Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU) Professor, Dr. Samina Amin Qadir, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to renew the partnership with the Susan B. Anthony Reading Room in a ceremony at the university.
During the ceremony, Dr. Qadir expressed her appreciation for the opportunities to build exchanges and research capabilities with U.S. academic institutions that the Embassy has helped foster through the reading room, said a press release issued here on Thursday.
Ms. Crockart underlined the importance and value that women bring to society and the workforce and lauded Fatima Jinnah Women University and SBARR for their positive impact on education in Pakistan.
First established in 2008, the Susan B. Anthony Reading Room is the result of ten years of partnership between FJWU and U.S. Embassy Islamabad. The reading room is named after Susan B. Anthony, the nineteenth-century American known for her advocacy of voting rights and education for women, improved working conditions, and the abolition of slavery.
The Susan B. Anthony Reading Room regularly organizes programs for university students, faculty, and guests focusing on English language learning, educational advising and exam resources, U.S. exchange alumni and cultural programs, and information about the United States.
The reading room’s book and writing clubs are particularly popular among visitors. The reading room has also hosted programs to raise awareness about gender-based violence and discrimination and to promote knowledge sharing among entrepreneurs.
The Susan B. Anthony Reading Room’s Friends of the Corner volunteer program also provides students with opportunities to enhance their learning experience and position them for professional careers. During the visit, Ms. Crockart also congratulated a graduating group of volunteers for their contributions and commitment and awarded Certificates of Recognition.
The Susan B. Anthony Reading Room is part of the U.S. Embassy’s network of 18 Lincoln Corners in Pakistan. Lincoln Corners are resource centers and event spaces hosted in partnership with Pakistani libraries, universities, and cultural centers. They provide a platform for open dialogue between Pakistanis and Americans and strengthen people-to-people ties.
General Mikhail Kostarakos calls on COAS
RAWALPINDI, Feb 08 (APP):Chairman European Union Military Committee, General Mikhail Kostarakos called on Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General
Qamar Javed Bajwa on Thursday at General Headquarters (GHQ).
During the meeting, regional security issues and matters of mutual interest were discussed, said a statement issued here by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The visiting dignitary appreciated the resolve of Pakistan Army and its continuing efforts towards fighting terrorism and
bringing peace in the region.