More than 10,000 Schools Damaged by Floods in Pakistan in 2010

Recent floods in the country has damaged more than 10,000 schools, affecting several million pupils and requiring massive investment in a nation struggling with literacy. Torrential rain began falling in northern area of the country in July and the floods have since moved slowly south, wiping out villages and farmland, and affecting an area roughly the size of England.

1.5 to 2.5 Mn Students Affected: “Five to six percent of all schools have been damaged by the floods. This means that between 1.5 to 2.5 million students have been affected,” Umar Amal said, an official with UNESCO. “That number can rise and it will rise,” he said, unable to estimate how much it would cost to repair the damaged infrastructure.
 I) More than 9,780 government schools were damaged — 2,700 fully and 7,000 partially.

 II) The number of private schools affected — a statistic not yet available — would push the  figure beyond 10,000.

Poor Education Standards: Education standards are poor in much of Pakistan, particularly in the most impoverished, rural areas worst hit by the floods.

• Primary school enrollment is around 57 percent and government expenditure on education  accounts for just 2.1 percent of Gross Domestic Product.
• The overall adult literacy rate is 57 percent and Pakistan has three years to meet a  Millennium Development Goal target of 88 percent.
• But many of the flood-affected areas have far worse rates — for example in rural parts of southwestern province Baluchistan female literacy can be as low as seven percent, Amal said.
• “Already before the floods, they were lagging behind… If 9,000 schools are partially  damaged and 2,000 schools fully damaged you need a huge investment in education to re-activate  it,” he warned.
• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said a further 5,563 schools are  still being used to shelter about 567,000 people displaced in the crisis.

UN’s Aid Appeal: The United Nations has issued a record two-billion-dollar appeal to cope the disaster, which UN agencies say affected 21 million people and and left 12 million in need of emergency food aid. The UN Children’s Fund has said over 10 million children have been affected by the flooding, including 2.8 million under five-year-olds.

Apple iPhone 4 (Face Time Feature)

 

FaceTime Phone Calls Like You Have Never Seen Before People have been dreaming about video calling for decades. iPhone 4 makes it a reality. With the tap of a button, you can wave hello to your kids, share a smile from across the globe, or watch your best friend laugh at your stories — iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 or to the new iPod touch over Wi-Fi. No other phone makes staying in touch this much fun.

 

One Tap Simple FaceTime works right out of the box no need to set up a special account or screen name. And using it is as easy as it gets. Let’s say you want to start a video call with your best friend. Just find her entry in your Contacts and tap the FaceTime button. Or maybe you’re already talking on a voice call with her, iPhone 4 to iPhone 4, and you want to switch to video. Just tap the FaceTime button on the screen. Either way, an invitation pops up on her screen asking if she wants to join you. When she accepts, the video call begins. It’s all perfectly seamless. And it works in both portrait and landscape modes.

 

Two Cameras made for Video Calling iPhone 4 has two built-in cameras, one on the front above the display and one on the back next to the LED flash. The front camera has been tuned for FaceTime. It has just the right field of view and focal length to focus on your face at arm’s length. So it always presents you in the best possible light.

 

Share what You see with the Back Camera Imagine your sister is away at school and can’t make it to your son’s birthday. So you’re cheering her up with a FaceTime call. As the cupcakes come out, your son’s eyes light up, and you just have to share it. Tap a button, and before you can say, “Make a wish,” iPhone 4 switches to the back camera, and to the birthday boy's big moment. Another tap switches back to the front camera and to you. Simple, fast, and fun.

New findings on clouds in the Amazon could facilitate climate calculations

Researchers already know that air pollution makes clouds denser, which in turn mitigates the greenhouse effect. However, they do not know how ‘polluted’ the clouds are. Now a research group has studied clouds in a completely clean environment in the Amazon. The results, which are published in the latest issue of Science, show that the clouds there have a completely different chemical make-up. The results also suggest a sophisticated interplay between the rainforest plants and the clouds. The findings provide a hint as to the role of humans in the formation of clouds and precipitation. It is hoped that this knowledge could form the basis for more accurate climate models in the future.

All cloud droplets are made up of minute particles, known as aerosols, to which the water molecules can attach themselves. The clouds over Europe and other industrialized regions usually contain equal amounts of organic particles, such as fungal spores and plant fragments, and non-organic particles such as salts and minerals. “Our results show that the clouds in the Amazon comprise up to 90 per cent organic material! The rest is primarily silicon, which is transported all the way from the Sahara, and salts that blow in from the sea”, explains Pontus Roldin, doctoral student in nuclear physics at the Faculty of Engineering and a co-author of the study.

The researchers also noted that the particle concentration in the rainforest is ten times lower than in Europe. In the Amazon the air contains 200 particles per cubic centimeter. The corresponding figure in industrialized countries is around 2 000 particles. It is hoped that the results will make it easier for climate researchers to find out how great the cooling effect really is; today there is great uncertainty around this. “The situation puts us in a tricky position. As regards global warming, cooling clouds are actually good. Meanwhile, every year hundreds of thousands of people die prematurely in Europe alone as a result of harmful particles in the atmosphere”, points out Pontus Roldin.

However, the aspect of the results that perhaps most fascinates the researchers themselves is how the plants and clouds appear to work together in a sophisticated manner. Could it be the case that evolution has favored the vegetation that releases the exact type of particle that causes precipitation to form where it is needed? “During the rainy season in the Amazon it rains almost every afternoon from high, heavy and cold Cumulus clouds. In order for rain to form easily, a certain type of large plant particle is needed, around which ice crystals can form. The number of particles of this type was very low compared with the other, smaller particles, but they still proved extremely important”, says Pontus Roldin.

Cricket survives Butt attack

Lord’s wasn’t full but it was resplendent. A healthy crowd enjoyed a perfect late summer’s evening, by the end of which you might have been excused for forgetting that international cricket was on the brink of calamity. Sensible heads in the ECB ensured that the fourth one-day international between England and Pakistan took place despite a unilateral attack by Pakistan’s bumbling chairman, Mr. Ijaz Butt.

Nerves were fraught following a night of anger in the England camp and bewilderment in Pakistan’s. The tension even spilled over into a pre-match clash between Jonathan Trott and Wahab Riaz, and it was still etched on the furrowed brow of Andrew Strauss at the post-match press conference and the perspiring forehead of Pakistan’s coach Waqar Younis.

Waqar, it seems, has become Pakistan’s one-man crisis management team. I’m not sure these delicate media situations come naturally to him but he has done admirably enough in fending off hostile questions, at least attempting to focus on cricket instead of fanning the flames of controversy. He described England as a great venue to tour and relations between the teams as superb. Although the latter statement might have been stretching the bounds of credulity, Waqar has always had affection for cricket in England despite the controversies.

He believes his squad composed of the young and the recalled deserves praise for its spirited performances in the one-day series, especially in light of the storm swirling around them and friendly fire striking amidships.

This series, however, is unlikely to be remembered for its cricket unless in relation to allegations of fixing of some variety. The 22 players made a noble attempt to reconnect supporters with the fascination of a hard-fought contest—and the crowd responded. The surreal mood of the morning was replaced by an uncharacteristic buzz of excitement at Lord's as England chased victory under lights.

For what it’s worth Pakistan have begun to excel again at defending a competitive total. With Shoaib Akhtar leading the line and Umar Gul smashing stumps, the last two internationals have been a throwback to the way Pakistan used to go about their business more than a decade ago. Even Razzaq’s blitzkrieg in the last two overs was an echo of past adventures.

There was also fight here from Shahid Afridi’s boys, a determination to show the world what they can do. How long it lasts is anybody’s guess but Pakistan have the momentum going into the final match of the series. England, meanwhile, were shell shocked, first by Butt’s unbecoming accusations and then by the passion of Pakistan’s fight back.

Yet all the players, English and Pakistani, must take credit for playing out an enthralling contest in probably the most controversial environment in the history of one-day internationals. By the finish there was renewed hope that the spirit of cricket lives on. The fumbling of the ICC and the damage caused by Pakistan’s cricket chairman might yet be contained. Pakistan’s players celebrated victory as if they had won back their souls from the devil.

The evening at Lord’s was a reminder that the fascination of cricket lies in the battle between national heroes and the interplay of that intense contest with the emotions of an enthusiastic crowd. These magic ingredients will live on when the mistakes of the ICC and the stupidity of Mr. Butt are consigned to the landfill of history. Match-fixing allegations in their various guises may be harder to shake. After all, they began on English fields in cricket’s earliest days.

Granta Celebrating Pakistan

At Granta magazine's London launch event, not only was every seat filled, but the event was a roaring success. Granta, Green Cardamom arts organization and Granta contributors Daniyal Mueenuddin and Nadeem Aslam participated in a panel discussion on the literature and contemporary art of Pakistan, which explored the relationship of art and literature in the magazine. Proceeds from the evening were donated to the DEC's Pakistan floods appeal and the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund.

 

Granta contributors, Green Cardamom, Granta staff and Asia House gather in the
Asia House library for a group photo.

Beware - Some Calls and SMSs Can Land You in Trouble (A Public Service Message from PTA)

Pakistani politician Imran Farooq murdered in London

An exiled Pakistani politician has been murdered outside his home in north London, leaders of his party have said. Imran Farooq, a senior member of the MQM party, was attacked in Green Lane, Edgware, on Thursday afternoon. The Metropolitan Police said a 50-year-old man had died after suffering multiple stab wounds and head injuries.

The MQM has declared a 10-day mourning period and violence has been reported in Karachi, with cars being set alight and guns fired across the city. It is understood nobody has been killed or injured. Hundreds of party activists have converged on Mr. Farooq's family home in the centre of Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan and the main base of support for the MQM (Muttahida Qaumi Movement).

Police in London were called to reports of a serious assault at 1730 BST on Thursday. Mr. Farooq was treated by paramedics but declared dead at the scene about an hour later. Mr. Farooq's next of kin have been informed. No arrests have been made. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "When officers arrived they found an Asian male, aged 50, suffering from multiple stab wounds and head injuries.

"He was treated by paramedics at the scene but was pronounced dead at 1837." Mr. Farooq disappeared from Pakistan in 1992 and is known to have been living in exile in London since 1999, when he claimed asylum in the UK.  He is understood to have been wanted by security forces and said in 1999 he had spent the previous seven years in hiding in Karachi. The former Pakistani parliamentarian was one of the founding members of the MQM. The party said it had declared a 10-day mourning period in Pakistan and in its offices across the world. Leaders said they expect to take Mr. Farooq's body back to Karachi for burial after legal formalities have been completed.

'Violent' past
The BBC's Shoaib Hasan in Karachi said he had spoken to party members and said "there's a lot of grief and a lot of sorrow going around". He said the activists who had headed to the dead politician's Karachi home appeared grief stricken and angry and many were weeping openly. Our correspondent added: "I spoke to an MQM leader who was at the home of Imran Farooq in Karachi with his parents. They said that they are relying totally on the Metropolitan Police, that they have great faith in the Metropolitan Police."

He said Mr. Farooq was in essence the party's deputy leader and added he had not returned to Pakistan since his arrival in England in the 1990s. Our correspondent said the MQM had had a "violent" past. In 1999 Mr. Farooq told the BBC charges against him in his home country were politically motivated. At the time he said he intended to campaign against the Pakistani government of the day from exile in Britain.

(Courtesy by BBC)

Suicide bomber strikes at Quetta rally, 59 killed

Quetta, Pakistan: A suicide bomber struck a rally in the Pakistani city of Quetta on Friday, killing up to 59 people in the second major attack this week, piling pressure on a government struggling with a flood crisis.

The attack on the Shi'ite rally expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people came as the United States said the devastating floods are likely to delay army offensives against Taliban insurgents.
"Unfortunately the flooding in Pakistan is probably going to delay any operations by the Pakistani army in North Waziristan for some period of time," US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in Afghanistan where he is visiting US troops.

More than 100 people were wounded in the Quetta attack, which like triple bombings at a Shi'ite procession in the city of Lahore this week, bore the hallmarks of the Taliban who often attack religious minorities to destabilize the government.

Earlier, the al-Qaeda-linked Taliban took responsibility for Wednesday's bombings in Lahore, further challenging the civilian government struggling to cope a month after devastating floods.

Aside from its battles against homegrown Taliban, Pakistan is under intense American pressure to tackle Afghan Taliban fighters who cross the border to attack US-led NATO troops.

Pakistan has said the army would decide when to carry out a full-fledged assault in North Waziristan, where Washington says anti-American militants enjoy safe havens, at the time it considers appropriate.

The Lahore blasts, which killed 33 people, were the first major attack since flood waters tore through the country. "It's revenge for the killings of innocent Sunnis," a spokesman for Qari Hussain Mehsud, mentor of the Taliban's suicide bombers, told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location.
In another attack on Friday in the northwest, a suicide bomber killed one person outside a mosque of the Ahmadi sect, who consider themselves Muslims but whom Pakistan has declared non-Muslims.

Attention has focused on the Pakistani Taliban again after US prosecutors this week charged its leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, in the plot that killed seven CIA employees at an American base in Afghanistan last December.

Islamist charities, some of them linked to militant groups, have at the same time joined in the relief effort for the millions affected by the worst floods in the nation's history.

U.S. officials are concerned that the involvement of hard-line groups in flood relief will undermine the fight against militancy in Pakistan as well Afghanistan.

Pakistan Faces $43 BILLION LOSS Due to Devastating Floods

Prime Minister of Pakistan Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani has claimed that due to some aspects Pakistan have suffered almost $43 Billion in economy.

In his address to the cabinet he estimated that the poverty will rise from 9.5% to 15-20% and the prices of vegetables, milk, meat, spices, rice, wheat and sugar will also rise. Pakistan devastating flood had made thousands of people homeless and jobless, making families to live without money. Last year the country was prospering at a rate of 4.5% but now it has been reduced to 2.2%. Due to the rise in the prices of daily necessities there is a greater risk to the food security. Other countries have promised to give aid of $95 million 37 Lacs to Pakistan.

The floods have affected 79 of the 124 districts — 24 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 19 in Sindh, 12 in Punjab, 10 in Balochistan and seven each in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

This economic loss is equal to the expenditures incurred on the war on terror over the past nine years.About one-fifth of the irrigation infrastructure, livestock and crops in the country has been destroyed.The Prime Minister said that income losses incurred by the floods would have serious consequences especially the agricultural sector would have the worst effects.

He said the floods had caused the largest number of displaced people since the country’s independence and affected more people than all recent major disasters throughout the world.

Paki Cricketers trying to revive their Career

Suspended Pakistan trio file replies to ICC

The three Pakistani players provisionally suspended by the ICC on allegations of spot-fixing began the process of clearing their names by filing replies to the game's governing body on Tuesday.

"Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have filed their replies to the notice of charge that the ICC had placed upon them," Taffazul Rizvi, the PCB's legal advisor, told ESPNcricinfo. Though the trio are back in Pakistan, the replies were filed through their London-based lawyer Elizabeth Robertson.

The three players were served notices on September 2 after the ICC felt they had "a case to answer" and had two weeks - till the coming Thursday - to respond.

ICC officials, however, offered no comment on receiving the replies from the three Pakistan players. "The ICC will not rush into any sort of decision," a source close to the investigation said. "It might take a lot of time and nobody really knows how much before anything is decided," ESPNcricinfo understands that the players have entered a plea of not guilty and have asked for the provisional suspensions to be lifted. It is likely that the players are seeking both extra evidence and time on the matter; the request for more time is a result of the PCB and players' concern that the Scotland Yard investigations are still on and if the ICC pursues the investigation as well, the players may end up being punished twice.

Since the players have filed their replies, the ICC can go ahead and form its tribunal to hear the case. Otherwise the governing body would have had to wait until the actual charge sheet was placed before the disciplinary committee and punishments were handed out. The three-member tribunal is chosen from the members of the Code of Conduct Commission, and generally includes the chairman, currently Michael Beloff QC.

The three players were questioned twice by police in London before returning to Pakistan, firstly in the immediate aftermath of the original story breaking then again a week later at Kilburn police station in north London. No charges were brought at any stage and the three flew back to Pakistan on Friday , but with an agreement with Scotland Yard that they would return at any time for further questioning.

Reference: Osman Samiuddin is Pakistan editor of ESPNcricinfo, Nagraj Gollapudi is assistant editor, ESPNcricinfo

Muhammad Talha on top of An International Journal