Thousands of plant lovers have flocked to the northern Swiss city of Basel to see a giant, stinky flower bloom for the first time. The Basel Botanical Gardens expects 10,000 people to see its amorphophallus titanum, or corpse flower, in full glory before the bloom wilts late Saturday or Sunday. The plant is 17 years old and has never bloomed before. Visitors haven't been deterred by the strong stench
A UK based telecoms and cable giant Virgin Media said it will test the world's fastest broadband as demand grows for lightning-quick internet connections. The company said it planned to trial speeds of up to 1.5 gigabits per second - more than 10 times faster than its current fastest service of 100 megabits per second and 240 times quicker than the UK average. It would mean that customers could download
Four people including two personnel of Pakistan Navy were killed in two separate terrorist attacks targeting Pakistan Navy buses in Karachi on Tuesday morning, a spokesman of Pakistan Navy said. He identified the dead as Sub-Lieutenant Iqbal and Umar Farooq, a Sailor of Pakistan Navy, Dr. Nazia, a civilian working with Pakistan Navy, and Muhammad Sharif, a civilian employee of Pakistan Navy. Of the
Afghan insurgents proudly claimed they helped dig the long, narrow tunnel used by at least 475 inmates to escape Sarposa prison in the southern city of Kandahar.Some said they helped haul away the dirt during the last five months using pickup trucks, trailers and even donkey carts. The tunnel, measuring more than 1,050 feet long, reportedly began inside a Taliban sympathizer's mud-walled compound,
Pakistani born British Boxer Amir Khan ensured there were no more losses for him at the end of a costly week by stopping Paul McCloskey on a cut in the sixth round on Saturday night. The World Boxing Association (WBA) champion made a fourth successful world title defence by technical unanimous decision after a cut above McCloskey's left eyebrow, caused by a clash of heads, prompted referee Luis Pabon
Thousands of people came out (pillow) fighting today as the world celebrated International Pillow Fight Day. From Australia to Brazil, dozens of cities around the globe saw pillows brought into public squares for the fourth annual feather-fest. New York's Union Square became a bedding battleground as thousands gathered to smack each other about, and hundreds of thousands were expected to join in worldwide
Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), which had earlier banned transmission of Geo Super at the behest of government, has now issued verbal orders to cable operators to stop the transmission of Aag TV, another channel of Jang Group.The latest move has come as a series of government actions to punish Jang Group for holding mirror to its corrupti
Microsoft Corp. has announced the launch of the latest version of the world’s most-used browser with the release of Windows Internet Explorer 9 in 40 languages. Internet Explorer 9 is Microsoft’s most-downloaded browser beta of all time, with more than 40 million downloads, and it has already gained more than 2 percent usage on Windows 7. Already more than 250 top sites including www.rozee.pk,
The Indian Premier League cricket bandwagon rolls into action today with organisers hoping India’s World Cup victory last weekend will help the competition regain some of its lost sparkle. This year’s edition — spread over 51 days and comprising 74 matches across 13 venues — will be the first after the ousting of its outspoken founder Lalit Modi, who was forced out last year under a cloud of corruption
Indian foreign secretary Nirupama Rao has said that Indian cricket team is prepared to visit Pakistan. In a telephonic interview, foreign secretary said that it is not that we have forbidden our team from going there. Security is always an issue and we always like to be sure about security when we allow our teams to go there. I think cricket sometimes becomes an instrument of diplomacy,
After the infamous thrashing incident in an army-run university a year ago, a professor of the Pakistan Navy-run Bahria University has not only been roughed up but also terminated from service. His guilt: Asking questions about the regimental-style running of the university which has the Naval Chief as its pro-chancellor and a retired admiral as rector. When the professor signed a receipt on the register
Pakistan’s nuclear regulator on Tuesday ordered a safety review of the country’s two atomic power plants in the wake of Japan’s nuclear disaster, warning that further steps could be required.The Pakistan Nuclear Regulator Authority (PNRA) said it asked the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) “to revisit the safety aspects of the nuclear power plants at Karachi and Chashma”.Pakistan suffered
The Supreme Court proposed on Tuesday that the respondents in the Reko Diq copper and gold project case should handle the issue of mining lease with mutual understanding.When a bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Mohammad Sair Ali and Justice Ghulam Rabbani resumed hearing the case, the chief justice remarked that a verdict of the Balochistan High Court was a hurdle
The state-owned China Three Gorges Project Corporation (CTGPC) is exploring the possibility for investment and cooperation for setting up hydroelectric and renewable energy sector projects for adding 8,920MW of electricity to the national grid.CTGPC chairman Cao Guanging, who is heading a 10-member delegation, told Minister for Water and Power and Privatisation Syed Naveed Qamar here on Tuesday that
Aircraft flying through Pakistani airspace, or using Pakistani airports to refuel, are not being subjected to proper checks by the Civil Aviation Authority, whose upper echelons have advised the officials concerned to overlook their duties, it emerged on Tuesday.An official of the CAA, which regulates the aviation industry in the country, said he had been “told” not to check, pursue or carry out checking
The government has refused to listen to the increasing voices against devolution of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) under the 18th amendment, although the institution had played a major role in improving university education over the last one decade.Since the announcement of the HEC`s devolution plan by the Chairman, Parliamentary Commission on the Implementation of 18th amendment, Senator Raza
People who regularly work long hours may be significantly increasing their risk of developing heart disease, the world's biggest killer, British scientists said. Researchers said a long-term study showed that working more than 11 hours a day increased the risk of heart disease by 67 percent, compared with working a standard 7 to 8 hours a day. They said the findings suggest that information on working
Eight students charged with killing a fellow student of the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) were arrested here on Monday after their pre-arrest bail petition was dismissed by the high court, whereas a key suspect in the case managed to escape from the courtroom.Eyewitnesses said that soon after a single-bench comprising Justice Shahjehan Khan Yousafzai pronounced order in two cases,
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has planned to establish a new township with the name of ‘Peshawar Model City’ on the outskirts of the capital city to provide better residential facilities to the citizens.“The new township spread over 14,600 acres will have about 80,000 plots of different sizes, and as such this will be the largest township of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” officials in Peshawar Development
The International Cricket Council has confirmed a controversial decision to slash the 2015 and 2019 World Cups to just 10 teams, despite widespread objections. The world governing body endorsed the move at an executive board meeting in Mumbai. "The executive board confirmed their decision made in October 2010 that the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 in Australia and New Zealand and the ICC Cricket World
British Prime Minister David Cameron flew into Pakistan for talks on Tuesday, seeking a "fresh start" in relations with Islamabad, nine months after accusing it of turning a blind eye to terrorism. In his first trip to Pakistan since taking office in May 2010, the premier hopes to soothe tensions caused by his remarks during a visit to India last July, according to a pre-released extract of his speech. The
All Karachi Traders Alliance Association (AKTAA), representing small traders of the city, were observing shutter-down strike in the city today against increasing threats of extortion faced by Karachi traders. Atiq Mir of AKTAA said that the traders of Karachi would keep their shops closed on 5th April because they were facing lots of problems including killing of traders, extortion, kidnapping
Indian media revealed that the World Cup trophy handed over to Indian cricket team was not original and it was a fake trophy. This was reported that president of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Sharad Powar had given away the trophy to Indian team captain Mahindra Singh Dhoni in a ceremony at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai after they won the World Cup. However, that trophy was a fake one
