Pakistan likely to scrap wheat exports on floods

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is likely to scrap plans to export 2 million tonnes of wheat after devastating floods washed away stored grain, threatening to further tighten global supplies hit by a severe drought across the Black Sea region.

Pakistan has lost at least 725,000 tonnes of wheat in the country’s worst flooding in 80 years, although traders said there are still enough stocks to meet demand until the next harvest, meaning imports are unlikely.

“Currently, there are no talks of exporting wheat,” one Pakistan food and agriculture ministry official, who is familiar with the discussions, told Reuters on condition of anonymity. “The plan to export 2 million tonnes of surplus wheat is likely to be shelved.”

A second official said that the government was closely monitoring the situation and confirmed the likely cancellation of the export plans. Given the

Dr Masood consults lawyer on plea against media ban

ISLAMABAD: President ARY Digital Network Dr Shahid Masood on Tuesday arrived here in the capital and consulted veteran lawyer of Supreme Court before filing a petition against ban on the ARY NEWS.

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Dr Masood consults lawyer on plea against media ban

Extreme weather fuels debate over global warming

PARIS: As Russia battles wildfires triggered by an unprecedented heatwave, flood waters surge across a drenched Pakistan leaving millions of people homeless, and questions are asked about global warming.

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Extreme weather fuels debate over global warming

Zardari returns home to flood crisis

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari returned home on Tuesday from official foreign visits to a chorus of criticism over government’s response to the country’s worst flooding in 80 years.

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Zardari returns home to flood crisis

11 missing in China landslides

BEIJING: Eleven people were missing after rain triggered landslides in southwest China on Monday, the latest victims of widespread flooding that has left 1,100 dead or missing, state media said.

The landslides occurred in a remote part of Yunnan, one of many provinces hit in recent months by heavy rains that have caused the country”s worst flooding in a decade.

Another 11 people were injured in the landslides which struck early Monday morning in the province”s Gongshan county, the official news agency said. National weather authorities have warned of still more rain in flood-hit areas, which are generally centred on the drainage basin of the Yangtze river, China”s longest.The persistent rains, often torrential downpours, have wreaked havoc in countless communities, killing 742 people and leaving 367 missing since the start of the year, according to the latest official figures on Friday.

Agreements Boosting Ties Signed Between Chavez and Kadhafi

PORLAMAR: Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, both traditional foes of the United States and Western powers, will sign eight cooperation agreements on Monday, state media said.

The accords will be signed in Caracas, according to Venezuela’s ABN news agency. Venezuelan Ambassador to Tripoli Afif Tajeldine said five agreements have already been signed with Libya, Venezuela’s top African ally, but he did not provide the figures or domain involved.

“Libya is the gateway to Africa for us because it is a country well-known for its socialist policies that plays an important and strategic role for us,” he added.

Kadhafi was on Venezuela’s scenic Isla Margarita, where a two-day summit began Saturday, bringing together nine South American presidents and some 20 African leaders.

Chavez’s other high-profile guests at the Caribbean resort destination included Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Joseph Kabila.

Marking his first visit to Latin America since he came to power 40 years ago, Kadhafi was also set to assist to a military parade on Monday flanked by Chavez and be decorated by Venezuelan authorities, according to diplomatic sources.

During his recent travels to Libya, Chavez received a medal commemorating the “40th Anniversary of the Great Revolution of Al Fateh” on September 1.

Libya’s official JANA news agency said the decoration was “awarded for the first and only time” as a sign of “thanks and respect” for Chavez’s participation in the “festival of festivals.”

Kadhafi found a warmer welcome in Venezuela for his preferred sleeping quarters — a traditional Bedouin tent — than in New York, where he caused a stir after trying to pitch his olive green encampment at an estate outside Manhattan.

In his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly since taking power four decades ago, Kadhafi launched into a rambling, 95-minute diatribe where he berated Western powers, accused the world body of failing to prevent millions of deaths and demanded trillions of dollars in colonial reparations.

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Agreements Boosting Ties Signed Between Chavez and Kadhafi was first posted on September 27, 2009 at 1:25 pm.
©2009 “News Trends“.

Tigers Escape From Zoo

HUNEDOARA: A full investigation has been launched after two tigers managed to escape from a zoo enclosure in Romania.

Tigers Dorinel and Silvia literally leapt at the opportunity to escape from their cage and explore the grounds they’d only ever seen from behind bars.

Both zoo keepers and visitors weren’t as excited.

Their disappearance sparked a full-scale emergency, with all visitors evacuated and firemen police, and even a local hunting squad called in to search for and recapture the wily felines.

It wasn’t until nightfall when a pair of bright green eyes was spotted in bushes nearby and zoo keepers were able to manhandle the tranquilised tigers back to their enclosure.

No one was injured during the big cats’ big day out and authorities are thankful the tigers strayed no further than the three hectare zoo park.

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Tigers Escape From Zoo was first posted on September 27, 2009 at 1:29 pm.
©2009 “News Trends“.

Flood Hit The Philippines Badly 72 Killed

MANILA: Rescue teams are stepping up efforts to reach flood victims in the Philippines, where at least 72 people are feared to have died following torrential rains.

Tropical Storm Ketsana set-off the worst flooding in decades in the capital Manila and nearby provinces.

Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said troops, police and civilian volunteers had rescued more than 4,000 people – many clinging to each other on roofs.

More than 250,000 have been driven from their homes, officials say.

Correspondents say the massive rescue was set to intensify as the weather began to clear and floodwaters began to recede on Sunday.

But some reports estimate that 80% of the capital is still under water.

The government has declared a “calamity” in Manila and 25 provinces, allowing access to emergency funds.

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Flood Hit The Philippines Badly 72 Killed was first posted on September 27, 2009 at 1:37 pm.
©2009 “News Trends“.

Flood Rocked Taiwan, 12 Dead and 52 Missing

TAIPEI: At least 12 people were confirmed dead and 52 others were missing in Taiwan on Monday after Typhoon Morakot caused the island’s worst flooding in half a century, the rescue services said.

The military was also trying to rescue thousands of people cut off by fallen bridges or raging rivers after the typhoon dumped a record 2.5 metres (100 inches) of rain on the island before it headed for the coast of mainland China.

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Flood Rocked Taiwan, 12 Dead and 52 Missing