 |
|
|
Mush says he will not fly away
Bugti son wants Pervez booked for murder
Finally, scientists grow blood in lab
|
|
|
Floods displace 40,000 in Nepal
Around 40,000 residents of at least 10 village development committees (VDC) along the Koshi river in Susari district in eastern Nepal have been forced to take shelter in local schools and their relatives’ houses as the swollen river has breached an embankment in the western side.
|
|
Mush says he will not fly away Islamabad, August 20 Listening to his favourite Rafi songs as a commoner on the first day out of office yesterday, he called a friend and said “I am here. I will not not run away. I am not not a "panchi" (bird) who will fly away from Pakistan.” In the face of intense speculation about his future ever since he stepped down as president on Monday, nine years after he had grabbed power in a bloodless military coup, Musharraf denied reports that he would leave the country and settle elsewhere. "My resignation as president does not reflect my defeat as I resigned in the interest of Pakistan and its people," Geo News channel quoted him as saying to several delegations that met him yesterday. The former army chief, who quit to avoid impeachment by the Pakistan People's Party-led ruling coalition, told the delegations that called on him that he did not not intend to leave Pakistan as it was his "first love". Musharraf described as “baseless” the media reports that he would move to the US, where his son runs a well-established business, after a pilgrimage to Mecca. Meanwhile, the government has decided to provide security in accordance with protocol to Musharraf. "We have a received a request from the former president regarding security and we will provide him the best possible security according to the standard operating procedure,” interior minister Rehman Malik said. He said Musharraf had demanded that one of his close aides, Colonel Ilyas, should be made in charge of his security. “The former president will be provided the kind of security he is demanding,” he said. The interior ministry had said last night that Musharraf would be provided the security cover of a VVIP as he was facing serious threats. It also said there were no no restrictions on Musharraf travelling abroad. An unnamed US official was quoted by "Dawn" daily as saying Washington wants the former President to be "treated with respect" and is willing to give him a visa if he wishes to go to America. "We have always said he is a friend of ours and he needs to be treated with respect," the daily quoted a State Department official as saying. Out of office, Musharraf seemed to be enjoying life listening to Rafi songs, mingling with family and friends who congratulated him on his “safe exit”. Tuesday began with breakfast with his family and he was "relaxed because there was no no hurry of going to office on time". There were courtesy calls on him from old friends.Musharraf sought their views on his resignation, the future of Pakistan after his stepping down and the election of the next President. — PTI
|
|
Bugti son wants Pervez booked for murder
While heated debate continues in the country on former president Musharraf’s indemnity or trial after he quit office on Monday, Nawabzada Talal Akbar Bugti, the son of slain nationalist Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, has fired the first salvo by submitting an application in the city police station, Quetta, requesting the registration of a case against Musharraf on charge of murder of his father. Talal Bugti went to the police station along with his bodyguards and handed over the application alleging that Musharraf and other high-ups of his government were responsible for the killing of his father and his 65 companions on October 26, 2006. The Balochistan assembly also passed a resolution on Friday expressing no confidence in Musharraf’s presidency and accused him of ordering the killing of Nawab Bugti. Talal Bugti in the petition also sought to implicate former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, former minister for interior Aftab Ahmed Sherpao, former defence minister Rao Sikandar, former minister for law and parliamentary affairs Dr Sher Afgan, former Governor Balochistan Owais Ahmed Ghani, former chief minister Balochistan Jam Yousaf, former home minister Balochistan Mir Shoaib Nosherwani and some military officials. The SP city police station, Khalid Masood, said the application would be sent to the authorities concerned for further action. Bugti strongly opposed any safe passage to Musharraf. “If any one gives a safe passage to Musharraf, he would also be held responsible for the massacre of Balochs,” he said.
|
|
Finally, scientists grow blood in lab New York, August 20 Researchers had previously grown blood cells from ESCs, but never achieved the “enucleation” step, which means that the cells can’t divide and become cancerous. Now, a team in the US created the red blood cells by exposing cultures of human ESCs to sequence of nutrients and growth factors, which turned them first into haemangioblasts, precursors to blood cells, and then into mature blood cells. The scientists said the crucial achievement was getting the cells to expel their nuclei just as they would in the body. “Experts said it was impossible, and we’re pretty surprised ourselves when it worked,” Robert Lanza said. Lanza is chief scientist at Advanced Cell Technology, the company which grew red blood cells in collaboration with researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester and the University of Illinois in Chicago. Subsequently, tests on the red blood cells suggested that they could deliver oxygen just as efficiently as donated red blood cells. The team was also able to produce the red blood cells in bulk, creating populations of nearly 100 billion cells, the new scientist reported. “You wouldn’t have to worry about shortages because you could create as many as you want. Stem-cell-derived blood cells would also eliminate the risk of transmitting the pathogens that cause hepatitis and HIV through transmissions,” the researchers said. The findings have been published in the latest edition of the 'Blood' journal. — PTI
|
|
|
Floods displace 40,000 in Nepal
Around 40,000 residents of at least 10 village development committees (VDC) along the Koshi river in Susari district in eastern Nepal have been forced to take shelter in local schools and their relatives’ houses as the swollen river has breached an embankment in the western side. According to local officials, the displaced people have been put up at 12 government-run schools, government offices and private homes in Inaruwa, the district headquarters of Sunsari. Dev Narayan Yadav of the Koshi Pidit Samak, an organisation of people victimised by the annual floods in the Koshi river, said the displaced, many of whom were in a very bad condition, were in a desperate need of food, shelter and medicines. According to Shankar Kharel, a local correspondent of The Kathmandu Post, a leading English daily in Nepal, hundreds of people have been missing and at least three persons had been swept away by the swollen river. The police said the bodies of two women and one man were found floating on the roof of an inundated house. Shripur and Haripur VDCs had been hit hard by the swollen river that forced its way to the settlements Monday afternoon after damaging embankments in the western Kushaha villages. Meanwhile, a team of the Nepal Army and the police, which are deployed in the flood affected sites, have rescued around 5,000 persons. Sunsari local development officer Guru Subedi said around 5,000 persons may still be stranded in these VDCs. Reports say floodwater has also crept into the some villages of the Indian state of Bihar forcing the local residents to flee.
|
Charles voted 'guardian of countryside' World War bomb explodes, Indian killed Climate change affects birds: Study 
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
