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Rescuers dig for Chile quake survivors as looting erupts
Concepcion (Chile), February 28
Chilean rescuers used shovels and sledgehammers today to find survivors of a huge earthquake in Chile that unleashed a Pacific tsunami and triggered looting by desperate and hungry residents.
Residents look at a collapsed building in Concepcion, Chile, on Saturday. — AP/PTI

Bollywood dance classes keep Pak women fit
Karachi, February 28
Indian movies and music have always left Pakistanis enchanted, but in a new trend more and more women here are taking up special Bollywood dance classes, not only to learn popular steps but also to keep in shape.

Campaigning in Lanka to begin this week
Formal campaigning for Sri Lanka’s next general election scheduled for April will kickoff this week with defeated presidential candidate and the country’s former army commander retired General Sarath Fonseka among those in the fray.

War if India doesn’t talk, says Saeed
Dubs Pakistan government ‘cowardly’
Islamabad, February 28
Notwithstanding the recent Indo-Pak Foreign Secretary-level meeting for which India took initiative, JuD chief Hafiz Mohd Saeed has said Pakistan will have to "fight a war at all costs" if New Delhi is not prepared to hold talks. "India wants war... If India is not prepared to hold talks, Pakistan will have to fight a war at all costs," Saeed said in an interview to a news channel.

UK on flood alert
London, February 28
Much of England and Wales was on flood alert today, with further prolonged heavy rain and strong winds expected after torrential downpours overnight.

Zardari says sorry to labourer
The episode of birth of a child to wife of a labourer in an auto-rickshaw during a traffic jam caused due to President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to Quetta on Friday, which has caused immense embarrassment to the government and generated public furore across the country, had a happy ending on Sunday.

51 killed as storm sweeps across Europe
Paris, February 28
Paris, February 28
A violent late winter storm with fierce rain and hurricane-strength winds ripped across western Europe today, battering France and four other countries, leaving at least 51 persons dead.

Rescuers dig for Chile quake survivors as looting erupts
Death toll tops 700; 100 feared trapped in building
Incoming Prez faces daunting reconstruction task
Quake causes tsunami waves in Japan, Russia

Concepcion (Chile), February 28
Chilean rescuers used shovels and sledgehammers today to find survivors of a huge earthquake in Chile that unleashed a Pacific tsunami and triggered looting by desperate and hungry residents. Saturday's quake, one of the most powerful in a century, killed more than 300 persons and devastated homes and highways, dealing a heavy blow to infrastructure in the world's No. 1 copper producer and one of Latin America's most stable economies.

In the hard-hit city of Concepcion, about 100 persons were feared trapped in a ruined apartment building and police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse a crowd of looters carrying off food and electrical appliances from a supermarket.

"People have gone days without eating," Orlando Salazar said. "The only option is to come here and get stuff for ourselves."

Two million people in Chile were affected by the 8.8-magnitude temblor, said President Michelle Bachelet, who added that it would take officials several days to evaluate the "enormous quantity of damage."

Crushed cars, fallen power lines and rubble from wrecked buildings littered the streets of Concepcion, which has 670,000 inhabitants and lies 70 miles (115 km) southwest of the quake's epicentre. A string of strong aftershocks have rocked the country and strong one-shook buildings in the capital, Santiago, early on Sunday. Thousands of Concepcion residents camped out in tents or makeshift shelters, fearing fresh tremors.

Firefighters used drills and shovels to search for signs of life in the rubble and battled to free dozens of people believed trapped in a collapsed apartment building. "We spent the whole night working, smashing through walls to find survivors. The biggest problem is fuel, we need fuel for our machinery and water for our people," Commander Marcelo Plaza said.

The government faces the task of helping rebuild an estimated half a million homes that were severely damaged as well as hundreds of buckled roads and collapsed bridges. The quake has raised a daunting first challenge for billionaire Sebastian Pinera, who was elected Chile's president in January in a shift to the political right and who takes office in two weeks.

"We're preparing ourselves for an additional task, a task that wasn't part of our governing plan: assuming responsibility for rebuilding our country," Pinera said late on Saturday. "It's going to be a very big task and we're going to need resources." The economic damage could be between $15 billion and $30 billion, risk assessor Eqecat said.

On the other side of the Pacific, Japan's northeastern coast registered waves of up to 4 feet (1.2 meters), but officials later lowered the state of alert. Hundreds of thousands of people in Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines and Russia's far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula were told to evacuate for fear of a tsunami caused by the Chilean quake, but there were no immediate reports of damage. — Reuters

Bollywood dance classes keep Pak women fit

Karachi, February 28
Indian movies and music have always left Pakistanis enchanted, but in a new trend more and more women here are taking up special Bollywood dance classes, not only to learn popular steps but also to keep in shape.

Women are willing to pay between Rs 5,000 to 15,000 for three classes a week being offered by dance schools and private clubs.

“It is true that most of these women belong to the upper strata of society but this definitely is a new trend that Bollywood dance classes are being held,” said Zeenat, a trainer.

She said the number of women taking up Bollywood dance lessens had grown over the last few months.

“These classes allow our women not only to express their freedom but also to keep fit and shed those extra pounds. And let’s face it, Bollywood dances and music have a universal appeal,” Pappu Samrat, one of Pakistan’s leading choreographer, said.

Another trainer at a private club pointed out that since European dance forms like Salsa and Tango were not very popular in Pakistan, Bollywood dances and music always had a special appeal here.

Samrat said with Indian films now being released in cinema halls in Pakistan, the attraction of attending Bollywood dance classes had also grown among women in Karachi and Lahore.

Aisha, who is 30 and mother of two daughters, spends her evenings mostly attending the dance classes. At times, she is also accompanied by her mother-in-law. Natasha, a trainer, said she had no choice but to learn Bollywood dance moves herself due to its growing popularity.

“The sad part is that nowadays our girls have also forgotten their traditional dances and like to take on Bollywood dance routines,” she said.

“May be it is also because ‘filmi dancing’ is fun, exciting and uplifting for many of these women who are willing to spend money.” Sheema Kirmani, who performs traditional dance forms, believes that Bollywood dance is not an art.

“... the heritage and discipline that comes with classic dance forms is missing in these Bollywood dance numbers,” she said.

Although Pakistani society had always been viewed as conservative, dancing had been a big attraction in the country. — PTI 

Campaigning in Lanka to begin this week
Chandani Kirinde writes from Colombo

War if India doesn’t talk, says Saeed
Dubs Pakistan government ‘cowardly’

Islamabad, February 28
Notwithstanding the recent Indo-Pak Foreign Secretary-level meeting for which India took initiative, JuD chief Hafiz Mohd Saeed has said Pakistan will have to "fight a war at all costs" if New Delhi is not prepared to hold talks. "India wants war... If India is not prepared to hold talks, Pakistan will have to fight a war at all costs," Saeed said in an interview to a news channel.

Asked about India's accusations about his involvement in planning and carrying out the Mumbai attacks, Saeed replied: "Let India prove it in any court, I will be ready to accept everything."

To another question on whether people should go to Kashmir for 'jehad' against India, he said there was "no doubt" in his mind that this should be done. He also said he had no doubt that the Pakistan government is "cowardly."

Saeed's comments came days after the Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan held talks in New Delhi on February 25, the first official parleys between the two sides since the Mumbai attacks.

Though there was no breakthrough in the talks, the world community welcomed the development in the hope that it would lead to normalisation of ties between the two countries. The JuD chief's face was not shown during the interview and he was filmed over his shoulder from the back. He said he did not wish to be filmed as it was not allowed by 'Shariah' or Islamic law.

Saeed, also the founder of the banned Lashker-e-Taiba, was placed under house arrest in Lahore in December 2008 after the JuD was declared a terrorist group by the UN Security Council in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks.

He was freed after about six months on the orders of the Lahore High Court.

The Pakistan government challenged his release in the Supreme Court, but no hearing has been held in the matter for several months after the case was adjourned for various reasons.

Several members of the LeT -including its operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, a former aide of Saeed - are currently being tried by an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi for their alleged role in planning and facilitating the Mumbai attacks. — PTI

UK on flood alert

London, February 28
Much of England and Wales was on flood alert today, with further prolonged heavy rain and strong winds expected after torrential downpours overnight.

The Met Office issued a severe weather warning for London and the south east of England, saying as much as 35 mm of rain was expected to fall on already saturated ground.

Three flood warnings and more than 90 flood watch alerts were issued by the Environment Agency, which said flooding of low lying land and roads could occur across much of England and Wales, with a risk of flooding to homes and businesses in the east of England.

“The Environment Agency is continuing to closely monitor river and sea levels and our teams have been out on the ground checking flood defences across the country,” said Craig Woolhouse, of the Environment Agency.

The Scottish Environment Agency also issued two alerts, with a risk of flooding in coastal areas from high tides and strong winds. — Reuters

Zardari says sorry to labourer
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

51 killed as storm sweeps across Europe

Paris, February 28
A violent late winter storm with fierce rain and hurricane-strength winds ripped across western Europe today, battering France and four other countries, leaving at least 51 persons dead.

The storm, named Xynthia, was the worst in France since 1999 when 90 people died. Many of the 45 victims in France drowned, while others died when hit by parts of buildings or trees and branches that were ripped off by the wind. At least a dozen people were missing today and 59 others were injured. Nearly 900,000 people in France were without electricity.

Rivers overflowed their banks in Brittany, while high tides and enormous waves swamped Atlantic Ocean communities. The threat of avalanches was high in the Pyrenees Mountains and the southern Alps.

In Paris, winds knocked over motorcycles and spewed garbage around the streets. Flights were delayed and at least 100 were cancelled at the two main Paris airports. A number of trains throughout France were delayed because of flooded tracks. — AP