Pakistan’s ‘Mother Teresa’ on floods frontline

KARACHI: Every morning Ruth Pfau stands short and frail before a tall crucifix in Karachi’s St Patrick’s Cathedral. She bows her head, shuts her eyes, places her right hand on her heart and prays.

It is the beginning of another long day for the 81-year-old nun known locally as Pakistan’s Mother Teresa, who has spent half a century caring for some of the country’s poorest and most ostracised people.

Pakistan is one of the most dangerous countries in the world, where Washington says Al-Qaeda is based. Its northwest mountains border Afghanistan and are subject to US drone strikes and Pakistani military operations.

Bombings have killed 4,000 people in three years, kidnappings are common, Islamist groups violently opposed to all but their extremist interpretation of Islam control significant territory.

Pakistan struggling to avoid follow on

Staff Report

ABU DHABI: Pakistan resumed playing at 317 runs for 6 wickets at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on the fourth day of the second test match against South Africa.

Pakistan faced a huge loss in the beginning of the day when skipper Misbah-ul-Haq returned to the pavilion after he was dismissed at 77 runs by Dayle Styen. Pakistan has made 332 runs at the loss of 7 wickets. Pakistan still needs 53 runs to avoid the follow on with its 3 remaining wickets.

South Africa had declared its first innings at 584 runs for 9 wickets. Trend Pk

Lisa Ray to host travel-based show

Lisa Ray made heads turn after appearing in the music video ‘Afreen’ and Bollywood film Kasoor. However, the pretty lady was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer (multiple myeloma) and went into exile for a few years.

After successfully fighting out the life-threatening disease, Lisa is now back with renewed vigour. The Canadian beauty has in fact been roped in by lifestyle channel TLC to anchor their new travel-based show that goes on air early next year.

The show aims to depict the cultural backdrop of India like never before and Lisa is mighty excited at this golden opportunity.

We hope that this marks the beginning of many more interesting things to come for the stunning Lisa Ray.

Darpan’s 30th death anniversary today

Staff Report

KARACHI: Pakistan’s one of the famous film actors Syed Ishrat Abbas alias Darpan passed away about 30 years ago but his acting is still alive.

Darpan was one of the original romantic heroes of the golden age of the Pakistan film industry.

Darpan was a top hero in the beginning of the 60s. He was introduced in film Amanat in 1950 and after one more Punjabi film Billo.

He died on November 8, 1980 in Lahore. Trend Pk

Thailand floods leave 57 dead

Heavy downpours that caused rivers to burst around Thailand have killed 57 people in nearly two weeks of flooding that officials are calling the worst in several decades, authorities said Wednesday.
The fatalities have occurred in central, eastern and northeastern provinces and have affected more than 3 million people in 36 of Thailand’s 76 provinces, government medical and disaster agencies said. The floods have eased in a third of those provinces.
More than 4 million sandbags were used to erect walls this week in Bangkok along stretches of the Chao Praya River, which has swelled with runoffs from upper provinces that officials feared could inundate the capital.
So far, flooding in Bangkok has been minimal but riverside residents were warned to be on alert through Friday, after which current high-tide levels were expected to subside.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva warned that new risks loomed next month.
We have to keep an eye on the situation closely, Abhisit said Wednesday, adding that tidal levels were expected to rise again early next month. The worrying period will return in the beginning of next month. The supervision must continue.
Last week, Abhisit said the flooding was the country’s worst in 40 or 50 years.

Obama ‘trapped’ by Bollywood kidnap comedy

MUMBAI: Ahead of Barack Obama’s visit to India next month, Bollywood has come up with a comedy kidnap movie whose plot is woven around the president’s efforts to put the US economy back on track.

“Phas Gaya Re Obama” (“Obama is Trapped”), made on a budget of just 35 million rupees (800,000 dollars), is a comic tale of small time gangsters in northern India, whose criminal activities are hit by the global economic downturn.

The movie, distributed by Warner Bros, is ready for release but will only hit screens on November 26, several weeks after Obama’s visit, which is scheduled for the beginning of the month.

“Phas Gaya Re Obama” has had to make way for a series of mega-budget movies which are traditionally released around the time of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, which falls on November 5.

There is no actual Obama character in the film, which

NATO aims to start Afghan handover early next year

BRUSSELS: NATO allies are expected to endorse a plan next month to start transferring security responsibility in Afghanistan to Afghan forces at the start of next year or by July at the latest, the head of NATO said on Monday.

Alliance Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he expected the NATO summit in Lisbon would also endorse Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s aim for Afghan forces to take responsibility for security all over the country by 2014.

Rasmussen stressed, however, that the timing would depend on how the battle against Taliban insurgents was faring and the readiness of Afghan forces.

“I would expect an announcement at the summit in Lisbon that transition to lead Afghan responsibility is about to start at the beginning of 2011; at the latest by July 2011,” he told a news conference.

“We will work on the basis of that road map.

Int’l Day of Non-Violence being marked today

KARACHI: The International Day of Non-Violence is observed across the world on October 2, the birth date of Mahatma Gandhi, pre-eminent political and spiritual leader of India who pioneered resistance to tyranny through civil disobedience and total non-violence.

This observance highlights the need to curb the extreme rise in violence and utter disregard for human life that is so pervasive in many communities worldwide and to focus on the importance for humankind to blaze a path towards a better awareness that each human being is significant and valuable.

The world is now at a historic phase of transformation. Economies of nations, trade, commerce and education impact the lives of billions of people. Since the beginning of time, efforts of most nations have been directed toward developments in which all people prosper and there is awareness that each human being is

Babri Mosque: Security at Hindu temples beefed up in Sindh

Staff Report

KARACHI: Security at Hindu temples in Sindh have been beefed up to avoid any mishap in retaliation to Babri Mosque’s decision by the Indian High Court.

The Indian High Court of Allahabad was to announce the long awaited decision on Babri Mosque of Ayodhya any time on Thursday. From the beginning of the day, authorities arranged for heavy contingents of police and rangers to be deployed at all Hindu temples and other sacred places in the province.

After waiting the day out, the Indian High Court of Allahabad announced its decision in favor of Hindus, rejecting the Indian Sunni Waqaf Board’s plea.

Fearing a harsh response from extremist elements of the country, authorities have mounted security arrangements at Hindu sacred places all across the province. SAMAA

Babri Mosque: Security at Hindu temples beefed up in Sindh

Staff Report

KARACHI: Security at Hindu temples in Sindh have been beefed up to avoid any mishap in retaliation to Babri Mosque’s decision by the Indian High Court.

The Indian High Court of Allahabad was to announce the long awaited decision on Babri Mosque of Ayodhya any time on Thursday. From the beginning of the day, authorities arranged for heavy contingents of police and rangers to be deployed at all Hindu temples and other sacred places in the province.

After waiting the day out, the Indian High Court of Allahabad announced its decision in favor of Hindus, rejecting the Indian Sunni Waqaf Board’s plea.

Fearing a harsh response from extremist elements of the country, authorities have mounted security arrangements at Hindu sacred places all across the province. SAMAA

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