The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	China chill hits 28-year low Shanghai, January 5 Temperatures in China have plunged to their lowest in almost three decades, cold enough to freeze coastal waters and trap 1,000 ships in ice, official media said at the weekend. Since late November, the country has shivered at an average of minus 3.8°C, 1.3°C colder than the previous average, and the chilliest in 28 years, state news agency Xinhua said on Saturday, citing the China Meteorological Administration. Bitter cold has even frozen the sea in Laizhou Bay on the coast of Shandong province in the east, stranding nearly 1,000 ships, the China Daily newspaper reported. Zheng Dong, chief meteorologist at the Yantai Marine Environment Monitoring Centre under the State Oceanic Administration, told the paper that the area under ice in Laizhou Bay was 291 sq km this week. Transport around the country has been severely disrupted. Over 140 flights from the state capital airport in central Hunan province were delayed, while heavy snowfall forced the closure of some sections of the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau Expressway, the China Daily said. Temperatures in the northeast fell even further, reaching a 43-year low of minus 15.3°C, about 3.7°C below the previous recorded average. — Reuters All-round effect Nearly 1,000 ships stranded Over 140 flights delayed Some sections of Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau Expressway closed
	2012 was England’s wettest year Last year was the UK’s second-wettest ever and the wettest on record in England, it was confirmed on Friday. Total rainfall for the UK during 2012 was 1,330.7mm, just 6.6mm short of the record set in 2000. Four of the five wettest years on record have occurred this century, the Met Office in London announced. Professor Julia Slingo, chief scientist, Met Office, said: "The trend towards more extreme rainfall events is one we are seeing around the world, in countries such as India and China, and now potentially here in the UK." Climate change may be a factor in the higher rainfall. Global temperatures have risen by about 0.7°C since pre-industrial times that could lead to a 4 per cent rise in the moisture in the atmosphere, increasing the potential for rain. — The Independent
	Pak poll panel bans political ads using public money Afzal Khan in Islamabad The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has banned the direct or indirect promotion of political parties or candidates by carrying their logos or images in advertisements in print and electronic media with the use of public money. The ECP issued the directives amid an advertisement blitz ostensibly meant to propagate development or welfare projects but clearly projecting political leaders and parties. It asked the federal and provincial governments to ensure the implementation of its order. The ECP noted that advertisements of political parties were frequently appearing in print and electronic media which were meant to highlight the achievements of the incumbent federal and provincial governments. The advertisements with party symbols and images of party leaders were being used to promote political parties, noted the ECP. The notification maintained that such advertisements should not be promoting party interests at the expense of public money and termed those against the norm of “level-playing field”. This cannot be allowed to continue as it would amount to misuse of public resources for their own self-interest.
	5 terrorists killed in Indonesia Jakarta, January 5 Five suspected terrorists were killed in raids on militant camps in eastern Indonesia in the latest in a series of anti-terror operations, the police said today. National police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said the raids took place late yesterday and this morning on two separate militant training camps in West Nusa Tenggara province. "The police was forced to open fire as they (the militants) have explosive material," the spokesman said, adding that five pipe-bombs and materials to make explosives such as nitrate urea powder, scores of nails and batteries were seized during the operations. The raids came after the police yesterday killed two suspected Islamic militants carrying a handgun and grenades and arrested four in Makassar, capital of South Sulawesi province. — AFP
	Don’t derail democracy: Pak PM Islamabad, January 5 Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has appealed to the people to prevent democracy from being derailed, saying that political stability in the country was critically linked to national security. "The forces of doom and gloom thrive in an environment of chaos, uncertainty and instability. We need to guard against all the forces who are out to derail the system assiduously put in place after a protracted struggle," Ashraf was quoted as saying by the Dawn. "For a country to be able to protect its national security, it is incumbent that every institution works within the constitutional ambit," the Prime Minister said. On the issue of dialogue with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Ashraf called for preparing a comprehensive strategy for dealing with the terror outfit. "We have to redesign and redefine our military doctrine to achieve this objective," he said. Reminding the army of the importance of political support to its operations, he said: "No military action can succeed alone. Political will and support of the people are critical to its success." — IANS Cellphones new weapons of terror: Minister Islamabad: Mobile phones have now become a "weapon of terrorism" as most bombings in Pakistan are conducted through those, Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said. He said that during the month of Muharram, mobile phone services were suspended in many cities which helped in avoiding blasts, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported. — IANS A mobile phone user in Quetta. AFP
	Protests planned in UK against Delhi shame London, January 5 Protests against the rape of a 23-year-old paramedical student in Delhi continued to find their echo in the UK with a number of organisations planning major demonstrations over the next few weeks. Southall Black Sisters, a well-known ethnic minority women's rights organisation based in west London, has planned a protest meet outside the Indian High Commission here on Monday. Rahila Gupta, member of the managing committee of Southall Black Sisters, told PTI that the primary motive of the demonstration is to "show solidarity with the progressive sections of Indian women". "It looks like it is going to be absolutely massive. We have extended the hours till 7 pm after extraordinary demands from working women who wanted to join the protest," Gupta said. — PTI
	3 hostages, gunman killed in Colorado shooting Washington, January 5 The US city of Aurora, the scene of a movie theatre massacre last year, was shaken again by a hostage crisis that ended with the death of four people, including the gunman. A gunman, who was holed up in a house with several hostages, kept the police at bay for several hours, but the stand-off ended with the killing of three hostages and the gunman. Local media reports said that police broke into the house after hours of failed negotiations gunned down the culprit. Three victims were discovered dead inside the home, Denver News reported. Neighbours who heard gunshots from the house called the police at around 3 am (local time Saturday), following which police surrounded the house and evacuated the area. According to a report in the local KUSA news, one person inside the home was able to escape the hostage situation and alert authorities. The identities of the victims and the gunman were not released immediately. Last year in July, the Colorado city of Aurora witnessed a macabre shooting incident at a movie theatre screening The Dark Knight Rises, in which 12 people were killed and 58 were injured. The US was shaken last month when a gunman barged into an elementary school and shot dead 20 little children and six school staffers. — PTI
	Indian flooded with pesky calls in UK phone fiasco London, January 5 An Indian-origin picture researcher based here found himself at the receiving end of annoying calls and text messages after his mobile number was inadvertently broadcast on a Channel 4 show. Rakesh Sagar, 27, has complained to the UK's broadcasting watchdog, Ofcom, and is also seeking legal advice after he received around 300 calls and messages, some abusive in nature. Ofcom confirmed that it was "assessing" over 160 complaints made in reference to Channel 4's Big Fat Quiz of the Year, telecast on December 30. — PTI
	Earthquake measuring 7.5 strikes off Alaska Anchorage (Alaska), Jan 5 An earthquake of 7.5 magnitude struck in the Pacific Ocean off southeastern Alaska on Saturday. The quake occurred about 100 km southwest of Port Alexander at a depth of about 10 km at 0858 GMT, according to the US Geological Survey, which downgraded the magnitude from an initial 7.7. The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Centre in Palmer, Alaska, issued a tsunami warning for coastal areas of southeast Alaska and Canada’s British Columbia, but this was later cancelled. There had been no reports of damage. — Reuters