Posts Tagged ‘Results’

Teams from Chinese Taipei, Magnolia “delighted” to be in Pakistan

Pakistan is hosting the AFC President’s Cup qualifiers from May 8 to 10 in Lahore. – File photo by White Star/Dawn.com

LAHORE: Captain of Chinese Taipei’s Taiwan Power Football Club said, on Monday, that Pakistan is a safe venue for hosting international sporting events.

Speaking on the eve of the AFC President’s Cup in Lahore, Taiwan Power FC’s Kno Yin Hung said the negative propaganda surrounding Pakistan is hurting sports in the country.

The tournament’s qualifying round for Group B, featuring TP FC, Pakistan’s KRL and Magnolia’s Erchim football club, will get underway at the Punjab stadium.

“We are delighted to be in Lahore,” Hung said, adding that his team is looking forward to a “thrilling football event.”

Hung, whose side are the defending champions, was speaking to reporters at Fifa House.

“We had a different picture (of Pakistan) in our minds but the moment we landed at Lahore airport and went for practice sessions, our thoughts changed,”

Mongolian team Erchim FC’s captain Enkhjargal and coach Batnasan termed their team the underdogs of the tournament.

“In the presence of the defending champions and with Pakistan playing in their backyard, the task will be challenging but we are fully focussed on winning,” they said.

Representing Pakistan at the event will be the Khan Research Laboratories team, who will be favourites to get good results on their home ground.

“It is not easy to beat the title holders, Chinese Taipei and a strong Mongolian side,” KRL captian Samar Ishaque said.

KRL’s Tariq Lutfi praised the talent in his team and they are fully determined to give an excellent performance.

Lutfi’s team will get the qualifiers underway on Tuesday, against Erchim FC.

Taiwan Power will face Erchim on May 10, while the last match will be played between KRL and TP FC on May 12.

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Via DAWN.com

Police, FC deployed; possibility of operation in Lyari

Policemen take positions during a fire fight with gang members near Karachi’s Lyari area. — Reuters File Photo

KARACHI: Heavy contingents of police and Frontier Constabulary (FC) were deployed in Lyari on Monday indicating start of “targeted operations” the IGP Sindh pointed out on Sunday, DawnNews reported.

There are reports of heavy contingents of FC officials reached at Eidgah, Kharadar and Risala police stations.

These officials will be deployed at entry and exit points of Lyari and adjoining business centres.

Earlier on Sunday, a news channel quoted the police chief as hinting at plans to launch targeted operations in some localities instead of a large-scale crackdown.

The police and Frontier Constabulary personnel had withdrawn from Lyari on Friday evening after failing to achieve desired results during the weeklong operation that had left at least 36 people, including five policemen, dead and over 150 others wounded.

Following the pull-out, Interior Minister Rehman Malik had told the media that the operation had been deferred for 48 hours only to be relaunched jointly by the police and Rangers.

But on Sunday, Sindh IGP Mushtaq Shah was quoted by a private TV channel as saying that the Lyari operation was not going to resume anytime soon. “An operation will not be carried out but targeted actions will be conducted in Lyari. The decision has been taken keeping in view the inconvenience caused to the residents during the operation.”

Meanwhile, CID police has arrested three suspects allegedly belonging to banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). According to police, they have recovered nine Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) and several rounds of bullets from their possession.

Police has also claimed that the arrested were supplying ammunition to criminals fighting in Lyari.

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Via DAWN.com

Greek political earthquake rattles eurozone

Voters pick ballots prior to casting their votes for Greece’s general elections in a polling station in Athens on May 6, 2012. — Photo by AFP

ATHENS: Greece stared into a chasm of uncertainty Monday after a stunning election shake-up by parties opposed to further austerity cuts, sending shockwaves through markets on fears of renewed eurozone turmoil.

Results of Sunday’s elections showed that the two mainstream parties missed an absolute majority in parliament after their share of the vote was 32.1 per cent — more than halved from 2009 election — plunging the country into political uncertainty.

Instead, voters angry after two years of cuts handed parties against the terms of Greece’s two international bailouts a stunning result — a total of 151 parliamentary seats between them, based on 99 per cent of votes counted.

The shock outcome throws Greece into disarray since top vote-getter Antonis Samaras of the New Democracy conservatives will find it very hard to form a government — once he is officially tasked to do so by the president later Monday.

Athens has already committed to finding in June another 11.5 billion euros in savings over the next two years.

Since left-wing Pasok and New Democracy, which formed the outgoing coalition led by technocrat Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, will not have a legislative majority, the possibility now looms of fresh elections.

Pasok, which along with New Democracy has dominated Greek politics for nearly four decades, was even relegated to third place by the leftist Syriza, which more than tripled its share of the vote from 2009 to 16.7 per cent.

“The parties that signed the memorandum (with the EU and the IMF) are now a minority. The public verdict has de-legitimised them,” Syriza head Alexis Tsipras said late Sunday, calling the election a “message of overthrow”.

In total seven parties were set to enter parliament compared with five after the last election.

Neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn was also set to enter parliament for the first time since the end of the military junta in 1974, with 6.5-7.5 per cent of the vote, making it the sixth-biggest party in the 300-seat chamber with some 20 lawmakers.

Leader Nikos Michaloliakos said his party would fight against “world usurers” and the “slavery” of an EU-IMF loan agreement he likened to a “dictatorship”.

“The time for fear has come,” he said.

Independent Greeks, a new right-wing party set up by New Democracy dissident Panos Kammenos, is slated to become the fourth-biggest party with 33 seats followed by the communist KKE with 26 lawmakers.

The Democratic Left, a Europhile new leftist party, will hold 19 seats in the new-look chamber.

Both Pasok and ND have said they want the “troika” of the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank to cut Greece more slack in their two bailout deals worth 240 billion euros.

But with voters angry at the painful austerity cuts demanded in response, many of the smaller parties, including possible kingmaker Syriza, want to tear up the agreements.

The communist KKE party wants to leave the eurozone and the neo-Nazis say they want to stop servicing Greece’s debts, an aim shared by Kammenos who advocates turning to Russia to prop up the country.

Panayotis Petrakis, economics professor at Athens University, expressed hope however that new French president-elect Francois Hollande “would prevent Europe treating us too harshly. There is still a little room for manoeuvre.”

Petrakis told AFP that the most likely outcome was another “government of technocrats” headed again by outgoing premier Papademos, or fresh elections.

The result, plus the victory of the left-wing Hollande, sent the euro lower in Asian trading, dipping at one stage to $1.2954, its weakest level since late January, while also slumping to 103.22 yen.

Japan’s top government spokesman said Tokyo will “carefully monitor” how Europe reacts to the French election.

“The trajectory of the European economy greatly affects our economy,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told reporters, adding that Japan considered discussions between France and European powerhouse Germany “important”.

Stocks on the DAX index in eurozone paymaster Germany plunged 2.2 per cent while France’s stock market slid 1.57 per cent. Greece stocks plunged 7.6 per cent in early trade.

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Via DAWN.com

Hate-mail and book burnings

,,I get fan mail. But I also get hate-mail. Some people are irked so much with my written word, that they put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). Through gritted teeth, they tell me that as a foreigner, my understanding of the suffering of Pakistan is minimal and often I am criticised for being too soft on the country. In some extreme cases I am dubbed a “dangerous Paki-lover”.

But still I write. I have reached a stage where I can’t not write any more. And I have reached a stage where I want to encourage others to do the same.

There are some that write under far greater thunder and threat. Take a look at the ,Afghan Women’s Writing Project,. One woman who stands out is ,Tabasom,, who would walk four miles to deliver a poem and who has sadly lost her life. It’s also worth looking back at the struggles of ,Nadine Gordimer,, South Africa’s first Noble Prize for literature winner who wrote during the apartheid era. But there are thousands of international examples of writers under fire, responding with literary expression.

,Pen International, campaigns on behalf of writers across the globe who are persecuted, harassed and attacked for what they have written, for having spoken out on behalf of others or simply for being a writer. They operate in dozens of countries – from Bangladesh, Bosnia and Brazil. One cannot write an article about the dangers of writing without referencing Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontiers) – ,who report, that Pakistan is the single most deadliest country for journalists, begging the question why Pen doesn’t have a group there?

Writers are smart – we have the internet now – we connect and share. As one writer gets imprisoned another tweets about it – sometimes with meaningful results. And some writers cleverly use allegory in their fiction.

For critical writer Walter Benjamin, allegory is key concept – touching on the philosophical, religious, political and the historical. Allegory is a device used to deliver ideas, principals or politics in a literary form – but can also be found in music and the visual arts. As a teenager I poured over the works of George Orwell and Franz Kafka – only understanding their allegorical mastery as an older person.

Iranian literature is well known for allegory. ,Conference of Birds, is an ancient Persian poetic text by Farid Ud-Din, laced with massive symbolism. More recently Samad Behrangi’s story ,Little Black Fish, has become a famous allegory of social injustice.

Politics and poetry are no strangers to one another – and as I walk the streets of the city I live in – Cambridge in England – I often consider the many great writers this city has hosted – including the Pakistani poet and politician Sir Muhammad Iqbal.

Cambridge seems a fitting place for me to launch a social enterprise publishing house with a competition that invites writers from all over the world to write a short story. Walter Benjamin famously said that “the art of storytelling is reaching its end because the epic side of truth, wisdom, is dying out”. The “epic side of truth” perhaps requires further picking apart, but if I can do anything to continue the art of story-telling, I must. The Afghan Women’s Writing Group go as far as to say that “To Tell One’s Story is a Human Right”.

Tragically Walter Benjamin killed himself in 1940 on the French-Spanish border, depriving the world of a master of the written word. He had the Nazi’s hot on his heels, so he was not without a real sense of persecution himself. But still he wrote.

The Nazis, like the Taliban, the USSR, China’s Qin Dynasty, Pinochet’s regime in Chile and many others all had policies of ,burning books,. Perhaps because they understood the old cliché, that the pen is mightier than the sword. Maybe that is why I understand that even hate-mail is expression and in many ways a right. Should I set fire to my emails or persuade my hate-mailers to produce some poetic allegory in response to my words?

To learn more about Caroline Jaine’s short story competition and how to enter please visit the ,Askance Publishing website,. Although a fiction writing competition, Askance particularly welcomes allegorical entries, and submissions from Pakistan and the Sub Continent – which are currently under represented. The competition is in support of ,ACT Charity, which supports patients at Cambridge University Hospitals.

,,Caroline Jaine is a UK based writer, artist and film-maker with a background in media strategy, ,training, and diplomacy. Her book ,A Better Basra,, about her time in Iraq was published in August 2011. More about Caroline’s work and her contact details can be found ,here, and on ,facebook,.

The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.

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Via DAWN.com

Socialist Hollande ousts Sarkozy in French vote

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A supporter of Socialist Party (PS) candidate for the 2012 French presidential election Francois Hollande waves a party flag on May 6, 2012 outside the party’s headquarters following the announcement of the estimated results of the second round of Presidential election. -AFP Photo

PARIS: Francois Hollande was elected France’s first Socialist president in nearly two decades on Sunday, dealing a humiliating defeat to incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy and shaking up European politics.

The result will have major implications for Europe as it struggles to emerge from a financial crisis and for France, the eurozone’s second-largest economy and a nuclear-armed permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Hollande won the vote with about 52 per cent, according to several estimates from polling firms based on ballot samples, becoming France’s first Socialist president since Francois Mitterrand left office in 1995.

Joyful crowds gathered in Hollande’s adopted hometown of Tulle and in Paris to celebrate his victory.

“We are rid of a poison that was blighting our society. A normal president! It gives us a lot to dream about,” said Didier Stephan, a 70-year-old artist who was among throngs of supporters at Paris’s Place de la Bastille.

Even before polls closed and broadcasters released estimates, supporters were chanting “President Hollande!” and “We Won!” at the iconic square.

Sarkozy urged leaders of his right-wing UMP party to remain united after his defeat, but warned he would not lead it into June’s parliamentary elections, according to political sources present at a meeting at his headquarters.

Hollande led in opinion polls throughout the campaign and won the April 22 first round with 28.6 per cent to Sarkozy’s 27.2 per cent — making the right-winger the first-ever incumbent to lose in the first round.

Grey skies and rain showers greeted voters across much of France, but turnout was high, hitting 71.96 per cent at 5:00 pm (1500 GMT) according to interior ministry figures. More than 46 million people were eligible to vote.

The election was marked by fears over European Union-imposed austerity and economic globalisation, and Hollande has said his first foreign meeting will be with German Chancellor Angela Merkel — the key driver of EU budget policy.

The 57-year-old Socialist has vowed to renegotiate the hard-fought fiscal austerity pact signed by EU leaders in March and to make it focus more on growth, but is facing resistance from Merkel.

The French vote coincides with an election in Greece, where voters were also expected to punish the incumbent parties for landing the country in its bleak economic state.

Anger over sputtering economies has brought down leaders from Ireland to Portugal since the debt crisis washed over the European continent.

Hollande has said he will move quickly to implement his traditionally Socialist tax-and-spend programme, which calls for boosting taxes on the rich, increasing state spending and hiring some 60,000 teachers.

Sarkozy fought a fierce campaign, saying a victory for Hollande would spark market panic and financial chaos and calling him a “liar” and “slanderer” in the final days of the race.

But Sarkozy failed to overcome deep-rooted anger at meagre economic growth and increasing joblessness, and disappointment after he failed to live up to the promises of his 2007 election.

Sarkozy, 57, was also deeply unpopular on a personal level, with many voters turned off by his flashy “bling bling” lifestyle — exemplified by his marriage to former supermodel Carla Bruni — and aggressive behaviour.

Hollande has vowed to be a “normal president” in contrast with Sarkozy, but some have raised concerns over his lack of experience.

Hollande, a long-time Socialist party leader and local lawmaker from the central Correze region, has never held a top government post.

The first round of the election last month was marked by a record score for Marine Le Pen of the far-right, anti-immigrant and anti-Europe National Front, when she took nearly 18 per cent of the vote.

Sarkozy turned increasingly to the right ahead of the run-off — vowing to restrict immigration and “defend French values” — but Le Pen refused to call on her supporters to back him and she cast a blank ballot.

Hollande won the backing of centrist Francois Bayrou, who took nine per cent in the first round, and Communist-backed Jean-Luc Melenchon of the Left Front, who took 11 per cent.

“This is a very big failure (for Sarkozy) against a candidate who has no experience in government,” said political analyst Stephane Rozes.

“It is not so much for the content of his policies that he has been punished, but for his way of being and acting,” Rozes said.

Hollande is expected to be sworn in by May 15 and after seeing Merkel will quickly set off for a series of international meetings, including a G8 summit in the US on May 18-19 and Nato gathering in Chicago on May 20-21.

The Socialists, Sarkozy’s right-wing UMP and France’s other political parties will now be focused on a parliamentary election to be held over two rounds on June 10 and June 17.

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Via DAWN.com

One of world’s largest frogs returns to Montserrat

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In this March 6, 2009 file photo released by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, an adult female mountain chicken frog in healthy condition sits in Fairy Walk on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. – AP Photo/Gerardo Garcia, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: Scientists are hoping that one of the world’s largest frogs is singing songs of love on the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat and not just singing in the rain.

Mating calls would mean the so-called mountain chicken frogs are looking to breed and hopefully dodge extinction. But scientists say the whooping calls they make by night could also be due to the rainy season.

The mountain chickens are the offspring of dozens of frogs weighing up to two pounds (0.9 kilograms) that were airlifted to Britain and Sweden in 2009 in hopes of saving them from a deadly fungus that has killed nearly 80 per cent of the species.

In the past year, scientists have brought back nearly 100 more frogs and released them into a rocky valley filled with small ponds where they like to hide. Breeding season has started, and scientists are anxiously waiting to see if the frogs actually mate.

‘‘We were entering a very difficult situation three years ago,’’ Andrew Terry, field program director with British-based Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, said Friday. ‘‘A species we knew well, that was already under pressure, was brought to the very edge of extinction.’’

Durrell is one of three institutions abroad that helped rescue the frogs and created a breeding program that has resulted in dozens of offspring. Frogs also were sent to The Zoological Society of London, Chester Zoo and Parken Zoo in Sweden.

The whooping calls on Montserrat is an encouraging sign, and the male frogs also have started to grow a black spur on their legs used to hold females during mating, said Sarah-Louise Smith, project coordinator with the island’s Department of Environment. But challenges remain.

Twelve of the 33 frogs released earlier this year have died, and the batteries of the radio transmitters inserted into the surviving frogs have lost power after transmitting data for three months, making it harder for scientists to track them.

Of the 64 other frogs released last year, nine have died from the fungus and the last one was seen in November, but Smith said she believes the others have moved elsewhere because they can cover great distances in limited time. One frog traveled 900 meters (3,000 feet), or the equivalent of nine football fields, in only a couple of hours, she said.

The chytrid fungus also remains a potent threat. Cane toads and tree frogs in Montserrat are still carrying the fungus but are not affected by it.

‘‘Their population remains high, and so does the fungus,’’ she said.

Scientists are awaiting lab results to determine the prevalence of the fungus compared to 2009, when it killed hundreds of frogs by causing the skin they breathe through to thicken. Chytridiomycosis also causes lethargy and convulsions. Eventually the frogs die of starvation or cardiac arrest.       Terry said Durrell will continue to breed the frogs that were flown to the institution and release the offspring into the wild.

‘‘It was a contentious and very carefully thought through decision to release animals back because we knew that the disease was still present in the environment,’’ he said. ‘‘We had to expect that some of the frogs would succumb to the disease.’’

The fungus already has devastated the mountain chicken frog in nearby Dominica, whose coat of arms bears the amphibian’s image and where the frog’s chunky legs were long considered a local delicacy.

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Via DAWN.com

UVAS develops vaccine for poultry disease

LAHORE, May 5: The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) has developed a vaccine for new castle disease in poultry birds that has killed millions of birds and cost the industry more than Rs7 billion in recent days.

According to Vice-Chancellor Prof Talat Naseer Pasha, the vaccine was successfully applied to birds in the university and its trial at the farm level was currently under way. These trials are now 22-days old, and results are encouraging so far.

The disease, which originated from Malaysia, regularly kills billions of birds around the world and Pakistan, where migratory birds brought it with them, has been no exception. “In the last few months, the industry has suffered a loss of over Rs7 billion, as the disease kept killing the entire flock of many farms,” says Maj Javed Bukhari of the Pakistan Poultry Association.

The disease is a global phenomenon and Pakistan has been regularly importing vaccine for it. However, there was some change in virus anatomy, which made traditional vaccine totally ineffective. This triggered panic in the industry as millions of birds fell victim to it. Things are still not fully under control, but situation has improved with new vaccine, he claimed.

According to Prof Pasha, the university and the industry, along with the government, were making efforts to control the situation. The Punjab government had already made committees for long- and medium-term solutions and legislation.

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Via DAWN.com

In northern Nigeria, Islamic police play matchmaker

In a photograph taken on March 28, 2012, divorcees and widows wait to be called in for a meeting with a screening panel, as part of a marriage scheme for widows and divorced women, in the northern Nigerian city of Kano. The sharia police known as the Hisbah in the city has come up with a match-making project to marry off 1,000 divorcees and widows to interested suitors. A six-man panel was set up to screen the would-be brides and prospective suitors, and has screened the first batch of 100 men and women. – AFP Photo

 KANO: A line of women wait their turn at a building in northern Nigeria, ready to participate in a programme local officials hope will bring two results: marriage and peace. Love might have to come later.

The programme run by the Islamic sharia police in Kano, the largest city in Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north, aims to match widows and divorcees with available men.

Officials hope it will in part help curb unrest in the north, which has been hit by deadly violence blamed on Islamist group Boko Haram, as well as reduce other social problems by providing a stable home for children.

Such a programme has the potential to raise obvious red flags, but local officials say the women participate strictly on a voluntary basis.

“With the current security situation in Kano, children with no proper parental guide and care are more likely to be influenced and fed with these extremist tendencies,” said Nabahani Usman, deputy head of the Hisbah, as the sharia police are known.

“It is very important they are saved from these destructive elements through this programme, where they can have stable family life with their mothers and step-fathers looking after them.”Analysts say unemployment and frustration among young people has helped feed the violence blamed on Islamists which has rocked Nigeria’s north, leaving more than 1,000 dead since mid-2009.

Whether marriage will have a positive effect remains to be seen, but for now women and men seem eager to participate. Arranged marriages are common across northern Nigeria, an impoverished region near the Sahara desert.

Health NGOs offer free HIV screening to the spouse-seekers, which the Hisbah has made mandatory to the applicants.

Radio announcements were aired in mid-February calling on men open to marrying selected widows and divorcees to come forward.

The women were located through an NGO called the Voice of Widows, Divorcees and Orphans of Nigeria (VOWAN).

On a recent day in Kano, 38-year old Amina Adamu clutched her handbag under her arm and walked toward a long table at the end of the hall to a bearded man for her screening interview.

She was among the first set of 100 women brought to the Hisbah headquarters in Kano for the programme.

Three other bearded men and two veiled women at the table called out names of dozens of applicants who sat on rows of plastic chairs

Broken homes

Questions include basic information, such as occupation, income and number of children. Men are asked why they want to get married again, among other things.

Those who qualify are then allowed to meet each other at the Hisbah office, choosing on their own among the participants who they might wish to marry.

A group wedding will be held later for participants, but those who prefer not to wait can also go ahead with their marriages.

“I need a mature, sincere and caring husband, which is why I want the Hisbah to be involved in my choice because I need security in my marriage,”Adamu told AFP shortly after being screened by the panel.

Outside in the courtyard, men in clusters waited to be called into the hall for the screening.

They included those who have been divorced or widowed, as well as bachelors and those looking for additional wives, as Islam allows a man to marry up to four women.

For the men, another important factor also plays a role: money.

Ismail Ibrahim, a 25-year-old bachelor and a school teacher, said he could not afford to get married since the dowry would be too expensive. The Hisbah programme takes care of that, paying the dowry and also providing a small grant to help them set up a home.

Officials have declined to say so far how much will be paid, though dowries in Kano typically range from 10,000 naira ($63) to 20,000 naira ($126).

“It is quite expensive to marry a young woman, which is why I want to be part of this initiative to enable me to marry the woman of my choice at low cost,” Ibrahim said.

Altine Abdullahi, head of VOWAN in Kano, also said divorce had become a problem in the city. Men who marry through the programme cannot divorce their wives without permission from the Hisbah.

“People change wives the way they change their wardrobes and we feel the best way to stop this and give security to our members is arrange marriages through the Hisbah,” she said.

She said the high number of divorces in Kano “leave (women) to fend for themselves and the children without any support from the fathers.””The children end up as menaces to society, which is why most teenage criminals here are from broken homes,” she said.

Hajara Adamu, a 48-year old widow, vowed to make the best of the programme.

“I will not make a hasty choice. I want a responsible, respectable and mature man and I’m confident I’ll get him here,” said Adamu.

The men involved in the programme ranged from the young to the not-so-young. Muhammad Tukur, 75, was looking for a third wife.

“I have not yet made my choice. I’m still waiting for the woman my mind is at peace with,”

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Via DAWN.com

London re-elects Boris Johnson as mayor

Boris Johnson makes a speech after being re-elected as mayor of London for a second term at City Hall, London, May 4, 2012. — Photo by Reuters

LONDON: London’s comic and outspoken mayor Boris Johnson won re-election Friday, triumphing in a closer-than-expected vote to secure a second term and his status as the unvarnished and unpredictable host of the 2012 Olympics.

Johnson’s victory, in election results confirmed late Friday, was a bright spot on a rough day for his colleagues in Prime Minister David Cameron’s governing Conservative Party, who took a drubbing in local elections.

Voters stripped both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats — the junior partner in Britain’s coalition government — of hundreds of local authority seats, punishing the government for biting austerity measures and Britain’s stalled economy.

But the Conservatives could take some solace when it was announced that Johnson — known best for his shock of blond hair and sometimes shocking foul-mouthed outbursts — had eked out a win against the opposition Labour Party’s Ken Livingstone and earned the privilege of leading London into the global spotlight when the Summer Games begin on July 27.

In his victory speech at City Hall after hours of waiting for results, Johnson did not mention the Conservatives’ dismal showing in local elections and instead thanked those who voted for him during the “long and grueling” campaign.

“I want to thank all of you for giving me a new chance and a new mandate to take us forward,” Johnson said, pledging to continue “fighting for a good deal for Londoners.”

He also somewhat sarcastically described Livingstone — his predecessor as mayor — as one of the “most creative and most original” left-wing politicians he’d seen — a reference to the at-times bitter exchanges between the two candidates.

Livingstone called the defeat the one he will “most regret” in his four-decade career in electoral politics — which appeared to be over late Friday.

“This is my last election,” he told City Hall.

Many had expected Johnson, 47, to handily defeat Livingstone, a veteran leftist known for his admiration of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez.

But he won by a tighter margin than expected — 51.5 per cent to 48.5 per cent — and the drama of the race was heightened by delays in counting ballots. The result was announced just minutes before midnight — more than 24 hours after polls had closed.

Johnson’s victory could be bittersweet for Cameron — offering relief from his party’s national woes, but cementing the outspoken mayor as a likely future leadership rival.

Cameron’s Conservatives took a bruising in votes in the 181 local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland which held polls this year, losing more than 400 seats — including some in the leader’s own political district.

Although the results won’t put Cameron’s leadership in jeopardy, they prompted grassroots Conservatives to urge him to ditch some of his more liberal policies, including the planned introduction of same-sex marriage.

Johnson, who has appealed to traditionalists with messages on tax cuts and looser ties to Europe, is increasingly seen as a plausible national leader — not least for bucking his party’s national slump.

“The best thing for Cameron would be to have Boris locked into the London mayoralty for the next four years and out of the way,” said Patrick Dunleavy, a political science professor at the London School of Economics.

Cameron also suffered a blow to his legislative hopes, as nine cities — including Manchester, Birmingham and Newscastle-upon-Tyne — voted down plans to have their own directly elected city mayors.

The leader had hoped that new city chiefs, and US-style elected police commissioners, would help deliver power away from Parliament and into the hands of local communities.

Bristol, in southwestern England, was the only city to vote in favor of electing a new mayor.

Like Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s Liberal Democrats — the junior partner in Britain’s coalition government — suffered a collapse, losing 336 councilors. That pushed their total number of local councilors below 3,000 for the first time since the party formed in 1988.

Main opposition Labour Party leader Ed Miliband toasted his own party’s revival after its ousting from national office in the 2010 national election. It won control of 32 more local authorities and claimed 823 new council seats.

“We are a party winning back people’s trust,” Miliband said. “People are hurting. People are suffering from this recession, people are suffering from a government that raises taxes for them and cuts taxes for millionaires.”

Cameron insisted his poll battering was to be expected at the midpoint before a 2015 national election, and with his government carrying out grueling economic repairs following the global economic crisis.

“These are difficult times and there aren’t easy answers,” Cameron acknowledged.

Elsewhere, the United Kingdom Independence Party — which advocates a British withdrawal from the European Union — made advances. The far-right British National Party saw its vote wiped out, losing all six council seats it held in the areas contesting elections.

In Scotland, Alex Salmond’s separatist Scottish National Party made local gains before an expected 2014 referendum on independence but win control of Glasgow’s council, a key target.

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Via DAWN.com

In northern Nigeria, Islamic police play matchmaker

In a photograph taken on March 28, 2012, divorcees and widows wait to be called in for a meeting with a screening panel, as part of a marriage scheme for widows and divorced women, in the northern Nigerian city of Kano. — Photo by AFP

KANO: A line of women wait their turn at a building in northern Nigeria, ready to participate in a program local officials hope will bring two results: marriage and peace. Love might have to come later.

The program run by the Islamic sharia police in Kano, the largest city in Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north, aims to match widows and divorcees with available men.

Officials hope it will in part help curb unrest in the north, which has been hit by deadly violence blamed on Islamist group Boko Haram, as well as reduce other social problems by providing a stable home for children.

Such a program has the potential to raise obvious red flags, but local officials say the women participate strictly on a voluntary basis.

“With the current security situation in Kano, children with no proper parental guide and care are more likely to be influenced and fed with these extremist tendencies,” said Nabahani Usman, deputy head of the Hisbah, as the sharia police are known.

“It is very important they are saved from these destructive elements through this program, where they can have stable family life with their mothers and step-fathers looking after them.”

Analysts say unemployment and frustration among young people has helped feed the violence blamed on Islamists which has rocked Nigeria’s north, leaving more than 1,000 dead since mid-2009.

Whether marriage will have a positive effect remains to be seen, but for now women and men seem eager to participate. Arranged marriages are common across northern Nigeria, an impoverished region near the Sahara desert.

Health NGOs offer free HIV screening to the spouse-seekers, which the Hisbah has made mandatory to the applicants.

Radio announcements were aired in mid-February calling on men open to marrying selected widows and divorcees to come forward.

The women were located through an NGO called the Voice of Widows, Divorcees and Orphans of Nigeria (VOWAN).

On a recent day in Kano, 38-year old Amina Adamu clutched her handbag under her arm and walked toward a long table at the end of the hall to a bearded man for her screening interview.

She was among the first set of 100 women brought to the Hisbah headquarters in Kano for the program.

Three other bearded men and two veiled women at the table called out names of dozens of applicants who sat on rows of plastic chairs.

Questions include basic information, such as occupation, income and number of children. Men are asked why they want to get married again, among other things.

Those who qualify are then allowed to meet each other at the Hisbah office, choosing on their own among the participants who they might wish to marry.

A group wedding will be held later for participants, but those who prefer not to wait can also go ahead with their marriages.

“I need a mature, sincere and caring husband, which is why I want the Hisbah to be involved in my choice because I need security in my marriage,” Adamu told AFP shortly after being screened by the panel.

Outside in the courtyard, men in clusters waited to be called into the hall for the screening.

They included those who have been divorced or widowed, as well as bachelors and those looking for additional wives, as Islam allows a man to marry up to four women.

For the men, another important factor also plays a role: money.

Ismail Ibrahim, a 25-year-old bachelor and a school teacher, said he could not afford to get married since the dowry would be too expensive. The Hisbah program takes care of that, paying the dowry and also providing a small grant to help them set up a home.

Officials have declined to say so far how much will be paid, though dowries in Kano typically range from 10,000 naira ($63) to 20,000 naira ($126).

“It is quite expensive to marry a young woman, which is why I want to be part of this initiative to enable me to marry the woman of my choice at low cost,” Ibrahim said.

Altine Abdullahi, head of VOWAN in Kano, also said divorce had become a problem in the city. Men who marry through the program cannot divorce their wives without permission from the Hisbah.

“People change wives the way they change their wardrobes and we feel the best way to stop this and give security to our members is arrange marriages through the Hisbah,” she said.

She said the high number of divorces in Kano “leave (women) to fend for themselves and the children without any support from the fathers.”

“The children end up as menaces to society, which is why most teenage criminals here are from broken homes,” she said.

Hajara Adamu, a 48-year old widow, vowed to make the best of the program.

“I will not make a hasty choice. I want a responsible, respectable and mature man and I’m confident I’ll get him here,” said Adamu.

The men involved in the program ranged from the young to the not-so-young.

Muhammad Tukur, 75, was looking for a third wife.

“I have not yet made my choice. I’m still waiting for the woman my mind is at peace with,” he said.

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Erroneous calculations, dubious results

ISLAMABAD – The economic managers of the country has decided to delay the announcement of budget for the fiscal year 2012-13 owing to the alleged wrong calculation of the GDP growth by National Accounts Committee (NAC) last week, sources said on Friday.
Sources informed The Nation that the budget was now likely to be announced in the first week of June instead of last week of May as announced …

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No fear, only sympathy for the once mighty Windies

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For what was once a world-beating side to be reduced to a three-Test series, mostly in May, ahead of world number one England’s showpiece encounter with South Africa is undeniably sad. -File photo

LONDON: It is a measure of how much things have changed since the West Indies’ glory days that the overwhelming feeling amongst home cricket fans ahead of their tour of England is sympathy.

From the mid 1970s through the 1980s the West Indies dominated world cricket with as fearsome a battery of fast bowlers as the game has known and dynamic, hard-hitting batsmen.

They seemed to reserve their most pulverising displays for England, the old colonial power.

Yet the English crowds, while they feared for the safety of their own batsmen and the figures of their bowlers, had no trouble relishing the exuberant skill of the West Indies.

Fast forward a generation, and this seems scarcely credible: the West Indies arrive in England having won just two out of their last 30 Tests.

For what was once a world-beating side to be reduced to a three-Test series, mostly in May, ahead of world number one England’s showpiece encounter with South Africa is undeniably sad.

Whether it is a lack of planning, inconsistent selection and questionable administration, many of the West Indies’ wounds are self-inflicted.

But certain developments in world cricket have been unkind to their cause.

For example the cash-rich Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament cuts across the West Indies’ domestic season. And that offers players a financial lifeline if, they are in dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board.

And that of course is just what happened with the hard-hitting opener, former captain Chris Gayle.

That may be good for Gayle — and indeed any other players who have fallen out with a WICB, whose “general incompetence” was criticised recently by former Wisden editor Scyld Berry.

But the West Indies have missed Gayle’s runs during an international exile of more than a year.

It does appear though that he will be available, after completing his IPL duties, for the one-day matches against England that follow the Tests.

Against this backdrop the tourists, recently beaten 2-0 in a home Test series by Australia, have arrived in cold, wet England, where the seam-bowler friendly conditions could suit the likes of West Indies quick Kemar Roach.

“I am quite confident our guys can put the English batsmen under pressure,” said West Indies captain Darren Sammy ahead of the tour opener against Sussex at Hove, which starts on Saturday.

But do the West Indies have the batsmen to counter the conditions in which they expect their bowlers to thrive?

Certainly, in the experienced left-hander Shivnarine Chanderpaul, now officially ranked the world’s best batsmen, they have a cricketer for whom the adjective ‘gritty’ was invented. Here is a man so experienced in salvage missions it is little wonder he hasn’t been asked to raise the Titanic.

Chanderpaul however is a middle-order batsman and even he can only do so much if those above him fall cheaply.

To his credit Sammy, whose team showed glimpses of their potential against Australia, didn’t duck the issue.

“Stats don’t lie and it is fair to say our top order has looked vulnerable,” he said.

“It did not click against Australia, but the selectors still have shown faith in Adrian Barath and Kieran Powell.

“They are quite young, they are still learning on the job.”

Sammy has won plaudits for his leadership skills but doubts remain over whether he is worth his place in the side.

After 24 Tests, the 28-year-old has just two fifties to his name and he averages nearly 31 with the ball.

“I have developed a formula for myself in which I could play and I worked out that once I play my way, the aggressive way, I get more results,” said Sammy.

“As a team, the culture and the environment is very good, and the players are starting to shape up as a family.”

For all those for whom the West Indies will always be their ‘second favourite’ side, they will hope Sammy is right about his own game and that of his team.

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The real Watergate

,,In the time it takes for a person to finish drinking a glass of water, three innocent children die somewhere in the world. According to Unesco, ,5,000 lives are lost each day, due to preventable water and sanitation-related diseases. Supplying clean water could vacate 40 per cent of hospital beds in developing nations such as Pakistan.

Providing clean drinking water to the world’s sixth most populous city is the responsibility of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB). Given the 15-million population of Karachi, which grows at six per cent every year, it’s an arduous task.

Since the media is not allowed into the premises of the KWSB water plant, I carried out an undercover survey to determine the quality of water supplied to the ever-expanding metropolis. Located at the COD Hills in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal area of Karachi, this plant supplies 120 million-gallons-a-day (mgd).

The chlorine dilemma

Two water treatment plants, imported from France and Germany, were included in the survey. These plants work on the principle of the pre and post chlorination, coagulation and precipitation of settled matter in sedimentation basin. The last stage involves further purification in rapid sand filter beds.

While this lengthy process is meant to provide clean water, tests conducted at independent laboratories showed starkly contrasting results, which revealed that no chlorine whatsoever was infused into the raw water. This being despite the fact, that the KWSB buy chlorine on a monthly basis. The board also openly claims to monitor the presence of chlorine in the water.

However, the absence of chlorine that I discovered was further strengthened by an official of KWSB who said that he had been working with the organisation for over 10 years and had never seen appropriate amounts of chlorine infused in the water.

Also suggesting the illegal selling of chlorine, a highly reputed official who runs a private business in the chemical industry, on condition of anonymity said, “A few years ago, I needed a chlorine cylinder, which I very easily bought from the KWSB at a reasonable amount.”

According to Farhat Naveed, a retired microbiologist of KWSB, who still serves at the organisation, chlorination tests are carried out “approximately three to four times a day.”

“We are working in collaboration with the Karachi University, Pakistan Council for Industrial and Scientific Research (PCSIR) and Agha Khan Laboratories and there are no chances of error at all,” she told Dawn.com, rejecting all claims of the absence of chlorine.

During this survey, I visited the laboratory at the COD water plant and discovered that the staff was not present on their seats or working rather they were indulging idly in chit chat. Some of the workers’ children, off from school were playing around on the premises.

Following-up on the microbiologist’s claims, I spoke to officials at PCSIR. Dr Askari, the institute’s director for planning and development confirmed that it conducts regular tests on water samples. Curiously, however, no representatives of the PCSIR are involved in the process of collecting samples from the plant.

A female medical officer was reached to comment on the consequences of this absence of chlorine in the water. She quoted, “Among the many cases of diseases that come in, at least 40-45 per cent are those of water borne diseases. Sadly, the situation is getting worse by the day, and due to a lack of awareness programs, people continue to fall prey to these diseases.”

Now it’s clean, now it’s not

In the subsequent process of clarifying, each sedimentary tank that was inspected was either not functioning or found to be in an unserviceable condition. When officials were inquired, they argued that the water coming from the Indus River is free of turbidity, hence, “diminishing the need of sedimentation in the tank.”

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A non-functional sedimentation tank. –Photo by author

With regard to this claim, a senior professor, currently working in collaboration with KWSB said, “The water is not only highly turbid but also contains high amounts of heavy metals which are hazardous for health and KWSB is fully aware of it.”

During the survey I found that only a few sub-plants were functional, especially in the last stage of the filtration process. The granular beds of the filtration plant (which separate the clean water from the impurities) were in dilapidated condition. Shockingly, there was a hole on the side of the bed, the water was forced to gush through it without being cleaned.

This ‘treated water’ is then distributed to Karachi.

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The water is passed through only from one side where no sand bed is present. –Photo by author

To verify the results of the observation, samples of raw water from the filtration plants and storage tanks were collected and checked at an independent laboratory.

The results depicted the true picture: While chlorine (which destroys disease-causing organisms in water) was infused at the initial stage, it was absent at the last stage, making the water harmful for health and leaving the consumers vulnerable to water-borne diseases such as cholera, typhoid and dysentery. Microbiological tests endorsed these findings.

‘A neglected body’

Interestingly, ,KWSB claims that it carries out tests, based on ‘random water sampling for bacteriological analysis’ at the COD Hills plant, as well as counter checking the samples through tests.

When probed about the standard of the water being cleaned and then distributed by the KWSB, officials denied being at fault. “The water is clean and pure until it leaves our premises (COD plant). It becomes unclean during distribution through the water lines, which are not looked after.”

However, according to the board’s website, it adopts remedial measures by expositing the line to locate the cause of any reported contamination in water.

Officials at the KWSB were quick to blame the government for a lack of interest in its grievances. According to one official, only 16 per cent of the city’s population pay their water bills.

“We cannot improve our technology and efficiency under such circumstances,” an official complained, claiming that if the board were provided the same resources as some of the other bodies, like the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC), it could improve the condition of the water plants and lines. Load-shedding, a problem plaguing the entire country is also one of the reasons for the board’s inefficiency, according to one of its chief engineer.

PCSIR’s Deputy Managing Director Ali Muhammad Palijo, when contacted, favoured KWSB’s stance.

“The water (received from Indus River) contains a small amount of turbidity, but the KWSB still infuses chlorine to ensure purity in the water provided to Karachi’s inhabitants,” he said.

Reiterating the board’s protest on lack of funding, he said: “The KWSB board doesn’t have enough funds, which affects the overall results. Eventually, at some stage, raw water does mingle into the treated water.”

Similarly, while officials at the board were reluctant to take the blame for the quality of water being distributed, they did admit that it wasn’t meeting health standards.

I was rather amused to learn from officials at the site that when high-ranking government officials visit the plant’s premises, they are served branded bottles of mineral water.

Officials offered me a visit to their ‘LED’ plant, assuring me that was in a much better condition, to which I inquired: “What is the fault of the people receiving water from the COD plant?” Befitting my expectations, they just smiled and said they don’t have any choice.

A PHD professor who is also conducting a research on the water quality of KWSB stated that he was only offered a visit to the LED plant, the COD water plant was not mentioned.

Problem faced by the journalist

Initially, I was helped by a person directly involved with KWSB, I promised to not disclose his identity through out the investigation, and I stand by my promise.

But somehow my source was disclosed by KWSB officials, after which he started pressurising me stop the survey, and subsequently the article. When I declined to do so, I started receiving threats from him.

I discovered from my source that the KWSB personnel, who had officially given me their statements, were threatening my source of severe consequences in the case that this article was published.

My source additionally said that after I met with the KWSB’s officials, chlorine was now being properly infused to delude the public and counter my claim.

KWSB officials are accusing me of manipulating the results, however, I’d be more convinced of their attempts were they not approaching my friends and calling me continuously to stop the article.

I also discovered that a political party’s interest is vested in the organisation which is hindering the efficiency of the organisation and increasing corruption in it.

During this ordeal, I was perhaps most disappointed when my own friend (also a lecturer in a reputed university) called me and requested that I stop writing on this. He simply said: “Do you really think the status quo will change by what you’re doing? Nothing will change!”

I have only stated the above so, that the readers of this article realise the odds against the media in trying to render services to the public. Hundreds of thousands of lives are at stake. And it is your awareness that will improve the chances of the KWSB working efficiently. It is your awareness that will challenge the status quo.

,,The writer is an Assistant Multimedia Producer at Dawn.com

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Giants of Turkish football embroiled in match-fixing scandal

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A woman wears a mask of Aziz Yildirim, the chairman of Fenerbahce football club. The match-fixing probe, under which managers from major clubs will be in the dock, has rocked Turkish football to the core. – File photo by AP

ANKARA: Top sides Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, Trabzonspor and Besiktas are among several teams set to appear before the country’s Professional Football Disciplinary Board (PFDK) over alleged match-fixing which has rocked Turkish football.

Turkish football federation (TFF) chief Yildirim Demiroren told a televised press conference on Monday that the PFDK would deliver its verdict within 48 hours after hearing all the defence statements.

“Football must be kept distant from any kind of speculation,” said Demiroren.

The TFF have also amended several articles of the football disciplinary law, to correct “disproportionate” penalties, Demiroren said.

One of those amended is Article 58, which had ruled that even attempts at match-fixing could result in a team being dropped from the league. The new version replaces that punishment with a 12-point deduction.

Demiroren downplayed the scandal which focuses on some 22 matches implying that results were not affected by the alleged fixing.

The PFDK’s internal process however is independent from an ongoing trial process involving nearly 100 Turkish club managers and players, including first division Fenerbahce boss Aziz Yildirim.

The investigation, which was launched in early 2011, led to a wave of arrests last summer after police became convinced that at least 19 first and second division matches were fixed during the 2010-1011 season.

Fenerbahce, the giant Istanbul club which won the 2011 Turkish League championship, has seen no fewer than 13 of its members charged, from its 59-year-old boss Yildirim to Brazilian-born player Gogcek Vederson, along with trainers, therapists and even the team’s Turkish-Portuguese interpreter.

Prosecutors are demanding jail terms of 147 years for Yildirim on corruption charges.

The unprecedented court case in Turkish football began in February, and another hearing of the trial continued on Monday at an Istanbul court as Yildirim stormed out of the courtroom in protest.

“The game is not yet over,” Yildirim said in a statement posted on the website of Fenerbahce club, ahead of the hearing.

The probe, under which managers from other clubs will also be in the dock including those from Besiktas and Trabzonspor, has rocked Turkish football to the core.

The TFF has banned Fernerbahce from the 2011-2012 Champions League, and Besiktas was forced to return the Turkish Cup it won last year.

But the president of the federation, Mehmet Ali Aydinlar, and his two deputies resigned in January after the federation failed to agree on further sanctions for the clubs involved. Aydinlar was replaced by Demiroren.

In a recent development, Turkey’s Fenerbahce dropped a case it filed against UEFA and TFF over their dismissal from this season’s Champions League.

But the club did not explain why it withdrew the case filed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

On Monday, Demiroren said his federation had nothing to do with Fenerbahce’s decision which he said was made by its own will.

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One-third Indians are “suffering,” survey finds

Indian farmers walk across a dry field. Gallup said the results might have been skewed by the timing of the survey – before harvest time in early 2012, which meant many farmers “likely had gone without pay for several months”. – File photo by AFP

NEW DELHI: More than three out of 10 Indians are “suffering”, an increase from 24 per cent last year, a survey from global polling group Gallup showed on Monday.

A total of 31 per cent of Indians aged 15 and older rated their lives poorly enough to be considered as “suffering”, while 56 per cent were “struggling” and only 13 per cent were “thriving”, Gallup said.

About 5,000 people were surveyed across India, with respondents asked to rate their current lives and future expectations on a scale of zero to 10.

Gallup said the results might have been skewed by the timing of the survey – before harvest time in early 2012, which meant many farmers “likely had gone without pay for several months”.

No further explanations for the increase in suffering were given, but Indians have been struggling with rising inflation and high interest rates which have resulted in slower economic growth.

The country recorded economic growth of 6.9 per cent in the last fiscal year, the second slowest pace in a decade.

Gallup noted that education seemed to play a big role in the mental well-being of respondents with most in the “suffering” category having the lowest educational qualifications.

“Suffering levels among the most educated and the least educated Indians suggest the gaps between the haves and have-nots may actually be widening,” Gallup said.

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Study about climate change impacts on forests completed

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The Pakistan Forests Institute (PFI), has completed a detailed study about climate change impacts on forests. – Reuters Photo

PESHAWAR: To offset the effects of climatic change and global warming in the country, the Pakistan Forests Institute (PFI), Peshawar has completed a comprehensive study to determine the climatic change scenarios in Pakistan’s various ecological zones and its impact on forests resources.

“It is the first professional attempt to address the emerging issues of climate change and global warming and its overall impact on the environment and weather of the country and region,” official sources in PFI told APP on Sunday.

The results of the study will help designing adaptation and mitigation measures in forestry sector to counterbalance the effects of global warming and climatic change.

The official said mapping exercise has been undertaken to plan monitor forests cover in all districts of the country with the help of Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing Technology (RST). This would help provide valuable and authentic information regarding precise extent of national forest cover and land use pattern and changes therein over time.

“The report has been finalized and would be made public after receiving feedback from all major stakeholders,” he added.

To strengthen forestry sector in Azad Jummu and Kashmir (AJK), a study on 3rd Party Evaluation of Management Interventions (PEMI) in forests of AJK has been completed to help its government in planning and devising appropriate strategies for sustainable conservation, protection and development of forests resources.

Facing ever increasing threat of water shortages at national-level, the official said we are working on a project to determine water stress survival range of different tree species and find out most suitable choice for future water deficient scenarios.

For a growing economy and booming construction industry, the official said wood and other forests produces are playing vital role to ameliorate socio-economic condition of poor people. To meet the growing demand of people for wood, PFI is working on a comprehensive plan to exploring ways for better utilization of available forests produces and particularly, utilization of low quality woods for valuable forests products and to reduce its wastage vital to protect green gold.

“Non Timber Forests Produce (NTFP) is important source of revenue for forests dwellers and plays key role in poverty alleviation,” the official said, adding quality research is being carried out to bolster economic production and marketing of medicinal plants and development of silk technology.

The fast growing tree species like eucalyptus and paulownia were introduced by PFI to increase forestry areas and raise income of farmers.

To bolster wildlife sector on modern scientific lines, the official said a study was recently conducted on Falcons and Migratory Cranes and have developed survey reports of Ramsar sites and digitized wildlife status maps of the country.

To improve quality of forestry education, the official said the curriculum at graduate level has been revised by introducing new subjects and modules, specialized streams of subjects and emphasis on particle learning.

“The revised curriculum has been shared with all forestry teaching universities and has been approved by Higher Education Commission (HEC) for uniform implementation. The new curriculum will transform the existing 2+2years BSc and MSc programme to unified four years BS programme as per the international requirements,” he told APP.

The official said the start and end of forestry sessions in PFI that was previously declared by as much as 7-8 months in last one decade due to various reasons have been brought back to its traditional start-end pint in October. This correction will facilitate planning and implementation of recruitment process in public sector and synchronize admission schedule with other educational institutions.

The faculty strength of Forestry Education Division has been doubled in the last one year and services of veteran foresters are acquired to transmit their rich professional experience to current and future generations of foresters, he informed.

The Institute has attained international stature in research and education and is contributing actively to conservation, development and sustainable management of forest resources in the country.

Established in 1947, PFI has produced 2555 forestry graduates including 122 foreigners and 199 female besides completing and publishing over 2100 studies and 1200 articles in Pakistan Journal of Forestry that create enormous wealth of knowledge in the field of forestry and allied disciplines.

The official lauded the support of Khyber Pakthunkhwa for making PFI as attached department of Environment Department after its devolution in 2011.

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Israeli ex-intel chief slams PM’s Iran stance

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In this May 15, 2005 file photo, Yuval Diskin arrives for a meeting at the President’s residence in Jerusalem. -AP Photo

JERUSALEM: The former head of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency has accused the country’s political leaders of exaggerating the effectiveness of a possible military strike against Iran, in a striking indication of Israel’s turmoil over how to deal with the Iranian nuclear program.

Yuval Diskin said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who have been saber-rattling for months, have their judgment clouded by ”messianic feelings” and should not be trusted to lead policy on Iran. Diskin, who headed Shin Bet until last year, said a strike might actually accelerate the Iranian program.

Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Israel, like the West, believes that Tehran is developing weapons technology, but there is intense debate over whether international economic sanctions accompanying the current round of negotiations might prevent Iran from developing a bomb, or whether at some point a military strike should be launched.

Diskin’s comments deepened the sense that a rift is growing between the hawkish Netanyahu government and the security establishment over the question of a strike.

In Israel, security figures carry clout well into retirement. Although they frequently pursue political careers, Diskin had been seen as relatively apolitical, perhaps lending his words even greater weight.

”I don’t have faith in the current leadership of Israel to lead us to an event of this magnitude, of war with Iran,” Diskin said at a public meeting Friday, video of which was posted on the Internet the next day and quickly became the lead news item in Israel.

”I do not believe in a leadership that makes decisions based on Messianic feelings,” he continued. ”I have seen them up close. They are not messiahs, these two, and they are not the people that I personally trust to lead Israel into an event.”

Diskin said it was possible that ”one of the results of an Israel attack on Iran could be a dramatic acceleration of the Iran program … They will have legitimacy to do it more quickly and in a shorter timeframe.”

Spokesmen for Netanyahu and Barak both refused comment on the issue.

Further complicating the picture is the widely held belief that Israel’s threats are actually a bluff of historic proportion and that indeed they have been effective in compelling the world to boycott Iranian oil and isolate its central bank.

From that perspective, criticism such as Diskin’s, based on a literal approach, could be presented as simplistic and damaging.

Israeli security officials have taken issue with the political leadership on several issues: whether sanctions will make a strike unnecessary, whether a strike will be militarily effective, and whether Israel should strike unilaterally if it cannot gain American approval.

Diskin’s speech came days after the country’s current top military commander, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, also seemed to disagree with the country’s leadership on the likelihood that Iran will pursue a nuclear weapon.

Gantz told The Associated Press this week that Iran is seeking to develop its ”military nuclear capability,” but that the Islamic Republic would ultimately bow to international pressure and decide against building a weapon. The key to that pressure, he said, were sanctions and the threat of a military strike.

One of the first criticisms voiced by a security figure came last summer from Israel’s recently retired spy chief Meir Dagan.

He called a military strike against Iran’s nuclear program ”stupid.” Dagan, who headed the Mossad spy agency, said an effective attack on Iran would be difficult because Iranian nuclear facilities are scattered and mobile, and warned it could trigger war.

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