SEOUL: A shallow 2.9-magnitude earthquake struck near North Korea’s nuclear test site before dawn on Friday, weeks after Pyongyang’s biggest detonation, but South Korean experts said the tremor did not appear to be man-made.

The tremor hit at 01:41 am (1641 GMT Thursday) with a depth of around five kilometres (three miles), the US Geological Survey said, with the epicentre located north of the Punggye-Ri testing site. “This event occurred in the area of the previous North Korean nuclear tests. The event has earthquake-like characteristics, however, we cannot conclusively confirm at this time the nature (natural or human-made) of the event,” the US agency said.

North Korea says ready to strike US aircraft carrier

But the Korea Meteorological Administration in the South said on its website that “analysis shows it was a natural quake”. “It is believed to have caused no damage,” it added. It came three weeks after a 3.5-magnitude earthquake struck near the same area, with seismic experts and a UN nuclear test ban watchdog calling that tremor on September 23 a likely aftershock of the North’s sixth and largest nuclear test.

The test on September 3 triggered a much stronger 6.3-magnitude quake that was felt across the border in China and sparked global condemnation, leading the United Nations Security Council to unanimously adopt tough new sanctions against Pyongyang. The strength of Friday’s quake was much lower than the tremors registered during any of North Korea’s previous nuclear tests, including its first detonation in 2006, which triggered a 4.1-magnitude quake.

UK ‘preparing for war with North Korea’

Tensions have soared in recent weeks following Pyongyang’s nuclear test as US President Trump engages in an escalating war of words with the North’s leader Kim Jong-un. Trump used his maiden speech to the UN in September to threaten to ‘destroy’ the nuclear-armed nation if Kim did not back down, referring to him as “Rocket Man”. Kim responded with a rare personal rebuke, calling Trump “mentally deranged” and threatening the “highest level of hard-line countermeasure in history”.

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Earlier this year, the world shook at the news of Chester Bennington’s untimely demise.

Bennington was the lead singer of largely popular rock group, Linkin Park which rose to popularity in the 2000s with their album Hybrid Theory.

PHOTO: FILE

The Carpool Karaoke show recently aired and streamed on the band’s official Facebook page.

Why Chester Bennington’s life mattered to so many Pakistanis in the end

The 23- minute video starts off with a a text saying, “With the blessing of Chester’s family and his bandmates, we share this episode, and dedicate it to the memory of Chester.”

The late, lead singer recorded this episode while driving around Los Angeles just six days before he committed suicide in his home. The episode also showed actor Ken Jeong of The Hangover fame.

Carpool Karaoke is a highly famed spin off web series from the The Late Late Show hosted by British comedian, James Corden.

Bennington seemed in high spirits singing and laughing with his band mates Mike Shinoda and Joe Hahn.

The band jammed to their hits such as Numb and did renditions of songs like OutKast’s Hey Ya.

Watch the full video below:

Linkin Park will reportedly do a tribute concert for their band mate in late October – and Blink 182, System Of A Down, Bring Me The Horizon and KoRn are all speculated to perform.

Twitter in tears after Chester Bennington’s untimely death

PHOTO: FILE

The video received emotional responses from fans all over world.

Some fans also commended the bands efforts to keep his spirit alive.

After Bennington met his tragic fate, the late front-man’s wife took it to Twitter to spread awareness regarding depression and suicide prevention. She posted a video of Bennington laughing with his kids, proving that depression doesn’t have a face and its about time mental health was given the same importance as physical health.

PHOTO: FILE

Bennington committed suicide by hanging himself and left behind a grieving wife and six kids.

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GENEVA: Qatar has asked the World Trade Organisation to set up a dispute panel to adjudicate on its row with the United Arab Emirates, Qatar said in a document published by the WTO on Thursday, escalating a trade complaint it lodged with the WTO in July.

The initial complaint, which also included Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, triggered a 60-day window to settle the issue in talks without entering years of litigation.

Qatar, neighbours trade barbs at Arab League over boycott

But on August 10, Qatar received a communication from the chairman of the WTO’s dispute settlement body stating that the UAE would not engage in consultations with Qatar, the Qatari submission to the WTO said. “As a result of the UAE’s refusal to engage in consultations with Qatar, the dispute has not been resolved,” it said.

The document did not mention Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and it was not immediately clear if Qatar would also ask for adjudication in its complaints against them.

They cut ties with Qatar – a major global gas supplier and host to the biggest US military base in the Middle East – on June 5, accusing it of financing militant groups in Syria, and allying with Iran, their regional foe, allegations Doha denies.

Blockade attempt to force Qatar into ‘trusteeship’: minister

They have previously told the WTO that they would cite national security to justify their actions against Qatar, using a controversial and almost unprecedented exemption allowed under the WTO rules.

Adjudication of the dispute is not automatic. Under the WTO’s rules, the UAE is allowed to reject Qatar’s first request for a dispute panel, so Qatar has to ask two meetings of the dispute settlement body before a panel will be set up.

It said it would make the first request at the next meeting on October 24.

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Ajoka’s three-day festival continued for the second day with a powerful adaptation of Intezar Hussain’s short story Shehr-i-Afsos. The play depicts the nightmarish world of three guilt ridden sceptres who lived through the bloodied times of both 1947 & 1971.

Ajoka Theatre to represent Pakistan at theatre festival in Cairo

The festival titled ‘Revisiting 70 years of Partition’ opened with the performance of critically acclaimed play Kaun hai yeh Gustakh on 10th October which enthralled the audience completely, stated a press release.

PHOTO: PUBLICITY

Written by Ajoka’s Shahid Nadeem, and directed by Madeeha Gauhar the play focuses on Saadat Hassan Manto’s life struggle after his migration to Pakistan in 1948. Enactments of his short stories Siyah Hashiye, Khol Do, Thanda Gosht and Toba Tek Singh depict the horrors of the violence which accompanied Partition.

Ajoka Theatre to perform at Humsaya Festival in Amritsar

In her inaugural speech, Ajoka’s artistic director Madeeha Gauhar expressed how painful events occurred at the time of Partition which inspired authors to write compelling stories on both sides of the border.

PHOTO: PUBLICITY

This festival presents selected stories through which the audience can witness the human suffering due to the forced mass migration.

Ajoka Theatre: All for a good cause

It will conclude with a performance of Anhi Maai da Sufna on 12th October, Shahid Nadeem’s play inspired by true stories of the generation dislocated and tormented by the Partition. The play has been directed by prominent Kolkata- based theatre director Usha Ganguly.

PHOTO: PUBLICITY

Ajoka’s Executive Director Shahid Nadeem said that the Partition Festival has been a great success and will be followed by other plays marking the 70th anniversary of independence.

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SARGODHA: The health department utilised Rs367.8 million funds out of total budget of Rs486 million for providing medical facilities in four districts of Sargodha Division, an official said on Thursday.

Battling mental health disorders and lack of support in the workplace

He added at least Rs174.3 million funds were provided to Basic Health Units (BHUs), Rural Health Centers (RHC) and other hospitals of Sargodha District, while Rs108 million funds were provided to Khushab District. He maintained that Rs104.3 million was released to health councils of Mianwali and Rs99.3 million to Bhakkar.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13^th, 2017.

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MULTAN: Officials of Rescue 1122 blocked the mobile phone numbers of 100 callers who were involved in making fake calls to the emergency service.

1,400 new emergency staff join Rescue 1122

The Rescue 1122 had been receiving fake calls for the last many months and action was taken against the callers by bringing these numbers into notice of the department concerned. This was disclosed by District Emergency Officer Dr Kaleemullah. He said that the percentage of fake callers had reduced to 50% due to awareness campaign launched by the Rescue 1122.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13^th, 2017.

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LAHORE: Virtual University of Pakistan will host the 33rd Annual Conference of Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) after acceptance of its proposal by the executive committee.

Going digital: VU launches smartphone app for students

Other proposals received by AAOU were from China and India. This conference is scheduled to be held in 2019 in Pakistan. The decision of the executive committee, taken two years in advance, was made during the recently-concluded 31st conference hosted by Universitas Terbuka, Indonesia.

Dr Naveed Akhtar Malik represented Virtual University of Pakistan in the conference as a panel speaker and also presented the proposal for holding the 2019 conference in Pakistan.

Futures at stake: VU enrolls 4,500 students without NoC

The holding of this conference will be a landmark achievement to bring together open and distance learning academicians, policymakers, practitioners and scholars of Asia. AAOU’s objective is to bring together universities from the Asian countries to improve the quality of education while promoting distance education at the same time.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13^th, 2017.

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LAHORE: Punjab University (PU) would now verify record of the candidates who would apply for registration from National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) for authentication of credentials regarding submitted identification.

In this regard, PU has entered into an agreement with NADRA and a ceremony was held at committee room of Vice Chancellor’s office. PU VC Dr Zafar Moeen Nsair, Examinations Controller Dr Shahid Munir, Treasurer Rao Sharif, additional controllers Shahid Javed and Rauf Nawaz, NADRA Public Service Directorate’s Director General Fizah Shahid, Verifications Director Qasim Rizvi and VERISYS Team Leader Asad Ali Bhatti were present on the occasion.

PU to probe controversial PhD admissions at ICS

According to the MoU, PU would forward the credentials entered by students to NADRA and NADRA would send verification report against each data in a few days. Dr Nasir said that the MoU was a part of administration’s vision to introduce digital reforms in the university and replace obsolete existing system with the modern ones. The meeting also explored further options of cooperation in various fields of mutual interest.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13^th, 2017.

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SAINT-OMER, FRANCE: On a rugby field overlooked by a towering cathedral, a group of young refugees has introduced a small northern French town to the beautiful game of cricket.

Saint-Omer lies 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of the Channel port of Calais, the main launchpad for attempts by migrants to smuggle themselves into England. As in many western European towns and cities, the integration of migrants is creating new challenges. But thanks to its new arrivals, Saint-Omer has become a rare centre of cricketing excellence in a country where football and rugby dominate.

Australia’s team bus attacked with stones in Guwahati

The town broke new ground in September when a group of Afghan and Pakistani refugees wearing the colours of the Saint-Omer Cricket Club Stars (Soccs) brought home the regional Hauts-de-France cricket title. “I didn’t know people played cricket in France!” said Ataullah Otmankhil, a devotee of the sport from northern Afghanistan with short, gelled hair and a trim beard.

When the athletic 21-year-old set out from his war-torn country for Europe “on foot, by train, truck, car, you name it”, his heart was set on reaching England. But his dreams of starting a new life in the home of Lord’s Cricket Ground came crashing down on the shores of the Channel. Day after day for six months he tried to clamber aboard a truck heading across the sea from Calais – to no avail.

When the squalid and sprawling, informal ‘Jungle’ migrant camp was dismantled in Calais last year, and its occupants relocated around the country, Otmankhil was placed with a host family and began studying to become an electrician. Picking up a bat again brings back memories of home, he said – a sentiment echoed by his 16-year-old Afghan teammate Oriakhil Shahid.

About 30 refugees, all from either Afghanistan or Pakistan whose ages range from 15 to 32, have joined the club, which has yet to attract any locals among its members. For Oriakhil, one of the youngest, the club is “like family”. “It’s for everybody, French, Afghan and others.”

But the sight of foreigners dashing around the rugby field, bats in hand, has not gladdened the hearts of all in this town of 16,000 souls, situated in the northern heartland of the anti-immigration National Front. “Sometimes I get insults, aimed at me personally or the club,” said Nicolas Rochas, one of a handful of volunteers who is trying to help the migrants integrate.

Pakistan tour my footprint on cricket, says Du Plessis

The pressure to ensure the players are above reproach at all times is acute. “As a club with young refugees we have an even greater duty to be exemplary on and off the pitch,” he admitted. So far the efforts of both volunteers and players appear to be bearing fruit.

All the team members have a roof over their heads, are either working or in school and wear their club’s navy jersey with its crest of crossed bats with pride. Less than a year after being created, the club managed to win the regional title giving the players a pass into France’s third division. Despite the opportunity however, the Soccs have decided to stay out of the big league for now.

They want to up their game first, starting by having a proper cricket ground slated for early 2018. Taking their adopted town to regional glory has already given the players a confidence boost. Rochas, who had to learn cricket on the fly, hopes it will endure. “The challenge for every sporting association is to last over the years. Our players are young, which is an advantage. The disadvantage is that cricket is a relatively unknown sport (in France),” he said. Oriakhil is hopeful that further glory lies ahead. “We will play well, God willing,” he said.

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