NEW DELHI: Secretary of State John Kerry will on Monday try to ease India’s concerns about the impending withdrawal of US troops from war-torn Afghanistan as he embraces a greater role for the regional power. Kerry meets Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other Indian leaders just days after the United States started a cautious but immediately troubled bid to hold peace talks with Taliban insurgents. In a speech after he arrived Sunday for the three-day visit, Kerry said that the United States was “very realistic” about the difficulties in Afghanistan and acknowledged that a final settlement “may be long in coming”.
Palestinian singer from Gaza wins Arab Idol contest
BEIRUT: Palestinian singer Mohammed Assaf on Saturday won a pan-Arab singing contest that has had millions of viewers fixed to their TV screens since March. Powerfully voiced Syrian singer Farah Yousef came second, and Egyptian Ahmed Jamal third in the Arab Idol competition, modelled on the Western Pop Idol. “Mohammed Assaf is the Arab Idol!” called out the presenter as coloured confetti rained down on the cheering audience.
H7N9 bird flu kills about 1/3 hospitalised patients: study
PARIS: The H7N9 bird flu that hit China this year killed over a third of hospitalised patients, said researchers Monday who labelled the virus “less serious” but probably more widespread than previously thought. They warned watchdogs not to take comfort from a lull in new infections, as the virus may reappear in the autumn.In what they described as the most complete picture of the virus’ severity, researchers in Beijing and Hong Kong found that H7N9 proved fatal in 36 percent of patients admitted to hospital in mainland China.
DSP traffic; driver shot dead in Peshawar
PESHAWAR: Unknown gunmen on Monday shot dead the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) traffic and his driver in Peshawar’s Faqeerabad area in a firing incident. Sources told Dawn.com that gunmen opened fire on DSP Amanullah and his driver Amjad when they were returning home from office. The deceased were subsequently shifted to Lady Reading Hospital.
Tribute to classical music maestro
KARACHI, June 21: A melodious thungri (instrumental) with Abdul Ghani on the harmonium, Irfan Haider on the tabla and Gul Ahmad Khan, a promising young sarangi player, set a perfect foreground for the classical music event organised by the Arts Council on Thursday evening to pay tribute to the late Ustad Ahmad Ali Khan. The evening marked the 14th death anniversary of the legend. Ustad Ahmad Ali Khan was born in 1942 in Amritsar, to the ‘Gwalior Gharana’, a family which rose to fame during the Mughal Emperor Akbar’s reign. He entered the realm of classical music with his brother Ustad Rehmat Ali Khan.
Debate on Balochistan budget: Opposition decries ‘insufficient’ funds for development
QUETTA: The Leader of Opposition in the Balochistan Assembly, Maulana Abdul Wasay of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, has criticised the government for having failed to identify development schemes in the new budget and allocating `insufficient’ funds for ongoing projects. Opening the debate on the budget for year 2013-14 on Sunday, Maulana Wasay told the house that the previous government had increased the budget to Rs180 billion from Rs50bn.
Mountaineers’ bodies taken to Islamabad
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan received at the Air Marshal Nur Khan Air Base in Rawalpindi on Sunday the bodies of 10 members of a trekking expedition killed in a terrorist attack in Gilgit-Baltistan. The ambassadors of China and Ukraine and officials of the Nepalese and Russian embassies were also at the base to receive the bodies. According to a handout, the minister conveyed his condolences to the dignitaries of the embassies and said the objective of the attack appeared to be to tarnish the image of Pakistan and damage tourism in the country.
Rs500bn circular debt: No plan to print currency notes, says Dar
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday put up yet another spirited defence against attacks from opposition legislators who criticised the proposed budgetary allocations in their cut motions. Responding to queries about the government’s plans to clear circular debt of over Rs500 billion within 60 days, and the ongoing talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Mr Dar told the National Assembly in categorical terms that there was no plan to print currency notes to clear the liability.
Arthur sacked as Australia coach: report
SYDNEY: Mickey Arthur has been sacked as coach of Australia just two weeks ahead of the start of the Ashes series against England after a series of poor results and a string of disciplinary issues in the squad, local media reported on Monday. Cricket Australia said they would be holding a news conference in Bristol, England, later on Monday, where chief executive James Sutherland would “discuss the coaching structure of the Australian team”.
Jennifer Lopez gets 2,500th Hollywood star
LOS ANGELES: Singer-actress Jennifer Lopez was honored Thursday with the 2,500th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, joined by celebrities including Jane Fonda and watched by screaming fans. “I really am overwhelmed,” she said at the ceremony on Tinseltown’s star-studded sidewalk, a tourist favorite. “This all feels, I don’t know, kind of surreal, but so real. It’s awesome.”
