CM seeks Qureshi’s death probe report

Karachi

Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah on Saturday sought the latest report about the mysterious death of the chief of the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM), Bashir Qureshi.

The JSQM has planned to stage sit-in on Sunday (today) on the National Highway in the Benazirabad district (formerly Nawabshah) in protest against what it calls the lack of any progress in the investigations and the failure of the authorities to send the late leader’s viscera abroad for examination.

According to the chief minister’s spokesperson, in response to a statement of acting Chairman Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz Dr Niaz Kalani about the investigation into the death of JSQM chief Qureshi, the chief minister has asked the inspector general of police about the results of the samples “sent abroad” to ascertain the actual cause of his death.

The chief minister, who also holds the home portfolio, has inquired from the provincial police chief about the stage of the investigation. He directed him to expedite the probe and send him a report as early as possible.

On Friday, JSQM acting chief Dr Niaz Kalani had accused the provincial government of not fulfilling its commitment to send the viscera of Qureshi to the UK to ascertain the actual cause of his death. Kalani alleged that the chief minister was telling a “lie” that the body parts had been sent abroad. He claimed that the viscera had still not been sent abroad for examination.

Qureshi had died in Sakrand, Benazirabad district, on April 7 under mysterious circumstances. The provincial government had constituted a medical board that also allegedly gave a “vague” report about the cause of Qureshi’s death.

PM’s Quetta visit waste of time: Jamil Bugti

ISLAMABAD: The son of slain Nawab Akbar Bugti, Nawabzada Jamil Bugti on Saturday reacted strongly to the recent visit of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to Quetta, saying his visit was a sheer wastage of time and money, as he repeated in his speeches what the rulers in Islamabad had been saying for years. “Gilani said certain foreign forces have their eyes set on precious resources of Balochistan. By saying this you can’t hide the deep sense of alienation among my people and history bears testimony to the fact,” said the Nawabzada during a chat with The News. “One wonders if the country’s chief executive and so-called interior minister know to this extent that certain outside elements are involved in disturbances, then who will take on them and when,” he said. Asked if it was so then who would bring any improvement in the explosive Balochistan situation, he said even a common man on the street knew as to who called the shots in the province and how helpless the civilian dispensation was on this count. “You would hardly find the chief minister staying in the province continuously for a week, as he prefers to spend most of his time in the federal capital, hundreds of miles away from his people.” The province, he pointed out, was witnessing unprecedented surge in uncertainty, anxiety and bloodshed, whereas those sitting in Islamabad were least bothered about it. When asked had the increased allocation of multi-billions (funds) under the new NFC been helpful in changing people’s life in Balochistan, he replied vehemently in negative. Jamil Bugti noted that there was no let up in what he called the military operation across Balochistan, kidnapping of political workers and recovery of mutilated bodies, and claimed things had rather aggravated in recent years. “Billions of rupees have been given to legislators, but these were for them not for a common native of Balochistan,” he maintained. Jamil Bugti was of the view that the NRO-propelled lot of so-called rulers lacked the commitment and will to deliver, and this was what people had experienced during these four years.

Man arrested in Delhi for killing sister's lover

New Delhi, June 10 (IANS) A 20-year-old man who had murdered his sister's lover back home in Uttar Pradesh was arrested here, police said Sunday.

According to police, the accused - Aslam - a resident of Azamgarh murdered his sister's lover, Rohit Singh who was also their neighbour June 5 and had taken refuge in the capital since.

"He was embarrassed by the affair," said a police officer, adding that despite several warnings, Singh continued to remain in touch with Aslam's sister which infuriated him further.

Aslam decided to kill Singh and made a plan with his accomplices and on the night of June 5, the accused along with his friends invited the victim for a party where they consumed alcohol and drugs.

As soon as Singh was intoxicated, Aslam slit his throat with a dagger and the dead body was dumped in nearby sugarcane fields.

After committing the crime, Aslam came to the capital and had been searching for a shelter and a job in Anand Parbat area of north Delhi. However, some locals got suspicious and contacted the police.

Aslam was detained for questioning by police June 9 and he later confessed to his crimes.

Syrian forces kill at least 35 in renewed assault shelling on Homs: activists

 

Syrian residents carry the bodies of people whom protesters say were killed by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, during their funeral in Deraa June 9, 2012. Seventeen people, including 10 women, were killed overnight by shelling in the southern Syrian town of Deraa, where the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad erupted 15 months ago, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Photograph by: Handout , Reuters

AMMAN — At least 35 people have been killed in a renewed Syrian army effort to regain control of the province of Homs, epicentre of the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, opposition activists said on Sunday.
The army bombarded opposition strongholds in the city of Homs and the towns of Qusair, Talbiseh and Rastan. Free Syrian Army rebels had been intensifying attacks on army patrols, roadblocks and missile batteries in the area, the Syrian Network for Human Rights and other opposition campaigners said.
Abu Qassem, an activist in Rastan, 25 km north of Homs, said at least 500 rockets and shells had fallen on the town since Saturday, and army helicopters were firing machineguns into the area.
“The Free Syrian Army is far outgunned, but it is responding by mounting guerrilla attacks while trying to avoid direct exchange of fire,” he said.
He said among the rebels’ targets had been an army missile battery in the area of Ghanto near Rastan. Most members of the missile squadron defected and the battery fell under rebel control.
Rastan was once a reservoir of Sunni Muslim recruits for the military, whose senior ranks are dominated by members of Assad’s minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam.
After Syria’s revolt broke out in March last year and pro-democracy demonstrators in Rastan were killed, Sunni officers from the town began defecting.
Talbiseh to the south came under shelling and heavy mortar fire from loyalist troops after some soldiers from surrounding roadblocks defected on Saturday and drove two armoured personnel carriers into the town, according to opposition sources there.
“Five people have been killed, including a woman and her one-year-old daughter. They were among the few civilians who had not fled Talbiseh,” activist Abu Mohammad said by satellite phone.
In Homs, the army shelling was concentrated on the neighbourhood of al Khalidiya, inhabited mostly by Sunni tribal families from the desert to the southeast of Homs, activists said.

Six killed in helicopter crash-Nairobi

Kenya's internal security minister has been killed with five other people in a helicopter crash near the Kenyan capital, the vice president said.

Minister George Saitoti and his assistant were among those killed when a police helicopter crashed on the outskirts of Nairobi, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka said.

The victims' charred remains that were scattered in a forest near Nairobi.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga said at the crash scene that the death of Mr Saitoti was a "great tragedy that has befallen our country at this time as we are making elaborate preparations to hold peaceful elections".

It was not immediately clear what caused the accident. Kenyan police cordoned off the scene of the crash and said they were investigating.

Mr Saitoti, an American-trained economist and mathematician, was one of the most visible figures in Kenyan politics. For over a decade he was a deputy to former president Daniel arap Moi.

As security minister he was the government's spokesman on security matters including Kenya's decision to send troops to Somalia last year. Analysts say he played a key role in that decision. Mr Saitoti appeared often on national television to reassure the public in the aftermath of deadly attacks blamed on the Somali militant group al-Shabab.

Mr Saitoti announced last year that he would seek the Kenyan presidency in 2013.

Unborn babies could be tested for the 3,500 genetic faults

Scientists could soon be able to routinely screen unborn babies for thousands of genetic conditions, raising concerns the breakthrough could lead to more abortions.

An ultrasound scan of a human foetus Photo: ALAMY


A team has been able to predict the whole genetic code of a foetus by taking a blood sample from a woman who was 18 weeks pregnant, and a swab of saliva from the father.
They believe that, in time, the test will become widely available, enabling doctors to screen unborn babies for some 3,500 genetic disorders.
At the moment the only genetic disorder routinely tested for on the NHS is Down’s syndrome.
This is a large-scale genetic defect caused by having an extra copy of a bundle of DNA, called a chromosome.
Other such faults are sometimes tested for, but usually only when there is a risk of inheriting them from a parent.
By contrast, the scientists say their new test would identify far more conditions, caused by genetic errors.
However, they warned it raised “many ethical questions” because the results could be used as a basis for abortion.
These concerns were last night amplified by pro-life campaigners, who said widespread use of such a test would “inevitably lead to more abortions”.
The American scientists were able to map the baby’s genetic code principally from tiny traces free-floating DNA, which makes its way into the mother’s blood.
Blood sample DNA from the mother was also studied as well as DNA extracted from the father's saliva.
Fitting pieces of the genetic jigsaw together, scientists in the US were able to reconstruct the entire genetic code of an unborn baby boy.
They were then able to see what spontaneous genetic mutations had arisen.
Such natural mutations - called ‘de novo’ mutations - are responsible for the majority of genetic defects.
By checking their prediction of the baby’s genetic code with actual DNA taken after the birth, the team from the University of Washington in Seattle, found they were able to identify 39 of 44 such mutations in the child.
De novo mutations are thought to play a role in a number of complex conditions such as autism and schizophrenia.
The team also tested their approach on a woman who was earlier in her pregnancy than 18 weeks, and found it still worked.
Dr Jay Shendure, the lead scientist, said: "This work opens up the possibility that we will be able to scan the whole genome of the foetus for more than 3,000 single-gene disorders through a single, non-invasive test."
Jacob Kitzman, who worked on the project, added: “The improved resolution is like going from being able to see that two books are stuck together to being able to notice one word mis-spelled on a page.”
In future, a more refined and less costly version of the procedure could make pre-natal genetic testing far more comprehensive than it is now, the scientists say.
The research is reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
The scientists said the test would be a considerable improvement on current techniques, which involve inserting a probe into the womb to take fluid from the foetal sac or placental samples. This can be dangerous for both mother and child.
Such existing methods only enable doctors to check for a relatively small number of genetic disorders.
These include Down's syndrome and cystic fibrosis - which are both large-scale genetic defects - as well as muscular dystrophy and spina bifada, which can have hereditary elements.
As well as testing for thousands of genetic defects, the scientists said their test could give a wealth of information on the baby’s future health.
However, they warned: “The less tangible implication of incorporating this level of information into pre-natal decision-making raises many ethical questions that must be considered carefully within the scientific community and on a societal level.
“As in other areas of clinical genetics, our capacity to generate data is outstripping our ability to interpret it in ways that are useful to physicians and patients.”
Josephine Quintavalle, founder of the Pro-Life Alliance, put it more baldly.
She said: “One always hopes, vainly, that in utero testing will be for the benefit of the unborn child.
“But, whilst this new test may not itself be invasive, given our past track record, it is difficult to imagine that this new test will not lead to more abortions.”

An Open Letter to Apple

As a former Apple fan-boy, and a current user of a myriad of Apple products around my home and office (iPhone, Apple TV, Macbook Pro, etc.) I'm starting to come down off the Apple high that I had just a few months prior.

It all started with a cracked iPhone screen  but in recent weeks it's spiraled out of control with reports of Apple suing  to keep voice technology as well as auto-correct technology off of the Galaxy S3 and it culminated with reports that Apple has successfully patented the "wedge" shape  of it's Macbook Air. Ridiculous.

I fully understand the desire to protect intellectual property. I have no desire to see great ideas stolen by other companies, but you can't stifle creativity in the process. I mean, is the wedge shape really the reason people are buying the Macbook Air? No, of course not. It's light-weight and super portable. It has little to do with the shape.

Okay, before I go off on a full-blown tangent, let me tell you what got me started down this road. I went in to the Genius Bar (Apple's customer support desk) and tried to get the screen repaired on my iPhone 4s. After finding out that it wasn't covered under the warranty (screen repair constitutes abuse), I found out that I'd have to shell out $199 to replace the screen. This is the price I paid for the entire phone (with 2 year contract). Luckily, after a few minutes of searching, I found an iPhone repair  website that did the entire repair under $100 and had my phone back to me in just a couple of days.

This got me stewing, but the reports of the lawsuit against Samsung for using voice technology sent me over the edge. Apple didn't invent voice technology, and it's been around on cell phones for years.

Cyclist gearing up for Brighton's naked bike ride

About 1,000 people are expected to assemble at Preston Park at 12pm this afternoon before cycling through the heart of the city and along the seafront to Hove before finishing at the naturist beach.

This summer’s event wll also include a fun run and skinny dip in the style of the Olympics.

It is the seventh year the cycle ride, which is part of a world eco protest and celebration of body power, is being held in Brighton and Hove.

Co-organizer Duncan Blink- horn said: “The Naked Bike Ride is partly about facing our fears and challenging ourselves.

“In this Olympic year let us celebrate the awesome power of the human body.”

Mr Blinkhorn will be handing out bananas on the day to help 

Apple's blocking move irks Samsung

Samsung Electronics yesterday said it will vigorously oppose Apple's move to block sales of the Galaxy S III smartphone in the US.

It insists the latest Galaxy smartphone will be launched in the US as scheduled on 21 June.

Its statement comes after Apple asked a district court to ban sales of the S III in the US, claiming Samsung violated Apple's patents.

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