Pak Prez warns delay in Kashmir dispute could spell disaster

Muzaffarabad [Pakistan], Feb. 25 : Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain has warned that delay in the settlement of the Kashmir dispute could ‘spell disaster for regional peace’. “The occupation forces have employed every brute tactic to suppress the Kashmiris…so much so that the pellet guns meant for hunting wild animals have also been ceaselessly used by them on the innocent and unarmed people of KashA mir,” Pakistan daily Dawn quoted Hussain who was speaking at a function held for the birth anniversary of Pakistan’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

UN reports more than 300 migrant deaths on Mediterranean crossing in first two months of 2017

New York, Feb 25 : An estimated 366 migrants died at sea during their Mediterranean journey to Europe in the first 53 days of 2017, down from 425 of the comparable period of last year, the United Nations migration agency said on Friday. International Organization for Migration has reported that 13,924 migrants entered Europe by sea through 22 February, sharply down from 105,427 a year earlier.

UN envoy and Church leaders in DR Congo condemn attacks against Catholic facilities

New York, Feb 25 : The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the National Episcopal Conference of Congo, known as CENCO have called for an immediate end to the spate of violent attacks against Catholic facilities in several parts of the country. The UN Organization Stabilization Mission and CENCO, along with the Apostolic Nunciature said they are deeply concerned about recent attacks on parishes and other Catholic facilities.

Chessmaster Nigel Short squares up to 23 opponents at former school

CHESS grandmaster Nigel Short proved he still had all the right moves when he went back to his old school – and took on 23 pupils simultaneously in a match. The Bolton School old boy was aiming to inspire the next generation of chess players, so he challenged pupils from the junior and senior school, age from eight to 18. Three junior boys, six junior girls, ten senior boys and four senior girls took their seats in the Arts Centre main hall to play against Mr Short.

India lobbies Trump admin to avert visa threat

US President Donald Trump is interviewed by Reuters in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, February 23, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst India has stepped up its lobbying effort against moves in the US Congress to impose curbs on visas for skilled workers that threaten the South Asian nation’s tech sector, which employs more than 3.5 million people.

Tributes being paid to victims of BDR carnage

Today is the 8th anniversary of the atrocious carnage at Pilkhana the then headquarters of Bangladesh Rifles in Dhaka that left 74 people, including 57 army officers, killed in 2009. In the photo, at Banani Graveyard this morning the chiefs of the three forces are paying their tribute to the people who were killed in the BDR carnage.

Authoritative and Volunteered Geographical Information in a…

With volunteered geographic information platforms such as OpenStreetMap becoming increasingly popular, we are faced with the challenge of assessing the quality of their content, in order to better understand its place relative to the authoritative content of more traditional sources. Until now, studies have focused primarily on developed countries, showing that VGI content can match or even surpass the quality of authoritative sources, with very few studies in developing countries.

Wellington photographer wins silver medal in Japan.

Amber Griffin Photography Amber Griffin, of Amber Griffin Photography Wellington, has been awarded a silver medal in the commercial category of the World Cup of Photography in Yokohama. This award validates Amber as a world-class commercial photographer as she was awarded the gold medal for the same category in Montpellier, France two years ago.

AP Explains: What chemical weapons N. Korea possesses

North Korea may have found a new use for its large stockpile of chemical and biological weapons, which are meant to attack South Korean and U.S. troops in case of another war. Malaysian police said Friday that a chemical weapon – the toxic VX nerve agent – was used to kill the estranged half brother of Pyongyang’s absolute leader at the Kuala Lumpur airport on Feb. 13. If North Korea’s involvement is confirmed, this would be an unusual and extremely high-profile use of its chemicals in an assassination.

Thomas L Friedman: Meet the five Trump administrations

It should be clear by now that there are five different Trump administrations swirling before our eyes – Trump Entertainment, Trump Cleanup, Trump Crazy, Trump GOP and the Essential Trump – and no one can predict which will define this presidency, let alone make a success of it. Trump Entertainment shows up every day now in the form of an outrageous “alternative fact,” a pugnacious news conference, a tweet denouncing the news media as “the enemy of the American people” – or as a pep rally in Florida, unconnected to any particular legislative agenda and organized entirely for the purpose of giving the president an ego sugar high.