Six of a family gunned down in Nowshera

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NOWSHERA: Six members of a family including four women and a child were shot dead in Nowshera on Tuesday night, Geo News reported.

Police said the incident took place in Amangarh Labor Colony, where the accused opened fire after quarrel with brother. As a result, six members of the family including four women and child were killed.

Police have nabbed the accused and started further investigation.

US oil climbs on oil exports report

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SINGAPORE: US oil prices climbed in Asia Wednesday following a report that the United States, the world´s top crude consumer, has lifted a four-decade ban on exports.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for August delivery rose 70 cents to $106.73 in mid-morning trade after jumping nearly a dollar in early trading. It had slipped 14 cents in New York trade. Brent crude for August eased 41 cents to $114.05.

The Wall Street Journal reported late Tuesday that Washington has "cleared the way for the first exports of unrefined American oil in nearly four decades". Citing rulings that have not yet been announced, the newspaper said the Commerce Department has given two companies -- Pioneer Natural Resources and Enterprise Products Partners LP -- permission to ship a type of ultralight oil known as condensate for foreign buyers. The shipments could begin as soon as August, the paper said, citing people familiar with the matter.

"There have been some expectations for the ban on exports to be lifted and investors will now be watching to see if transportation links are up to mark to move supplies," Desmond Chua, market analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore, told AFP.

Producers have long been clamouring for the US government to lift the ban on exports with crude stockpiles near record levels, but less-than-satisfactory transportation links could still hinder the outflow of supplies from storage hubs. The US-to-Canada Keystone XL pipeline project has pitted environmental groups against the oil industry, which has argued that it will bring much-needed jobs and help fulfill the US goal of energy self-sufficiency.

Chua said investors are still monitoring the crisis in crude-producer Iraq, despite fading fears that it could result in a major supply disruption. "Unless we see any major disruption to Iraqi oil assets in the south, we aren´t going to see further risk premium associated with the crisis," he said.

Insurgents have captured swathes of Iraqi territory in a lightning offensive that began on June 9, but they have yet to directly threaten the key oil-producing region in the south. (AFP)

 

 

More than 1,000 killed in 17 days in Iraq: UN

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GENEVA: More than 1,000 people -- at least three-quarters of them civilians -- were killed this month as militants swept through large swathes of northern and western Iraq, the United Nations said Tuesday.

At least 1,075 people were killed and 658 were injured in the country in the 17 days from June 5 to 22, Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the UN human rights office told reporters in Geneva.

He said the numbers "should be viewed very much as a minimum."

At least 757 civilians were killed and another 599 injured in the provinces of Nineveh, Diyala and Salah al-Din, he said.

A number of the deaths were due to "verified summary executions and extra-judicial killings of civilians, police, and soldiers who were hors combat."

At least 318 more people -- not necessarily all civilians -- had been killed and 590 injured in Baghdad and areas in the south, "many of them as a result of at least six separate vehicle-borne bombs," he said.

Militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, have since early June overrun major areas of five provinces and driven to within less than 100 kilometres (60 miles) of Baghdad.

The militant onslaught has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, alarmed world leaders, and put Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki under pressure at home and abroad. (AFP)

 

Google makes voice search compatible with Indian diction

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New Delhi: Google on Tuesday said it has upgraded the technology under which voice search features become compatible with Indian diction.

The company hosted an event called 'Google Cafe' here showcasing the search experience for Indian users.

'From asking Google where you can watch the latest movie to finding out cricket scores at the touch of a button, Google is there to help you get the answers you need,' said Sandeep Menon, head of marketing, Google India.

'We are delighted to showcase the improvements we have made to Search for Indian users today. These features demonstrate Google's commitment to India and to continually improving Indian users' search experience,' Menon said.

The event also featured footballer Baichung Bhutia, singer and model Shibani Dandekar, and chef Kunal Kapur, who demonstrated the many ways Google can help users.

'Voice has always been the most natural way to interact with a phone, as speaking is typically faster and easier than typing. Google hopes to make Search accessible to an even larger group of Indian users, to help them find the information they need at just the right moment,' Google said in a statement.

IANS

Weight loss surgery may cause bone loss

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New York: Regarded as the most effective treatment for severe obesity, bariatric surgery may lead to bone loss for at least two years even after the body weight stabilises, says a study.

'The long term consequences of this substantial bone loss are unclear but it might put them at increased risk of fracture or breaking a bone,' said Elaine Yu, endocrinologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston in the US.

'Therefore, bone health may need to be monitored in patients undergoing bariatric surgery,' she added.

For the study, researchers measured bone density using three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) called quantitative CT and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, also called DXA.

They compared bone density at the lower spine and the hip in 50 very obese adults.

Two years later, bone density was 5-7 percent lower at the spine and 7-10 percent lower at the hip in the surgical group compared with the non-surgical control group.

'The bone loss in the surgical patients,' Yu said, 'occurred despite the fact that they were not losing any more weight in the second year after surgery and had stable blood levels of calcium and vitamin D.'

'Therefore, the cause of the bone loss is probably not related to weight loss itself,' she added.

IANS

Special team to probe Kadamboor school students harassment plaint

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Kannur: A special team was formed to probe the complaint of harassment and physical abuse of some class X students of Kadamboor HS School by the school faculty. The probe team includes a woman CI, 4 childline activists and will be headed by a DySP. The Childline activists would record the statement of the children. The Human Rights Commission would collect evidence from the school also. The students had also forwarded the complaint to DPI, DDE and Childline activists.

Malaysia asked to lift ban on use of 'Allah' by non-Muslims

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Bangkok: Amnesty International (AI) on Tuesday demanded that the Malaysian government abolish a decree that bans non-Muslims from using the word 'Allah' meaning God, a day after a federal court ratified the government edict.

AI condemned the law as an 'abuse' and a 'violation' of the freedom of speech and criticised the fact that violators can be criminally prosecuted as 'deeply disturbing'.

'The decree is not only repressive, but is dangerous. It poses a risk of inflaming more religious tensions in Malaysia by denying people the right to religious freedom,' Hazel Galang-Folli, AI delegate in Malaysia, said in a statement.

The Malaysian Federal Court ruled Monday in favour of the government's decree which was submitted in 2007.

The ruling was also a conclusive rejection of the appeal made by the Malay edition of the Christian newspaper, Herald.

Initially, in 2009, the Supreme Court had annulled the decree which triggered a wave of violence against Christian churches by radical groups prompting the government to appeal to the appellate court to reconsider its demand.

'The Malaysian authorities should immediately revoke this decree that puts Malaysian non-Muslims at a risk of being arrested for exercising their right to freedom of speech,' said Galang-Folli.

The use of the word 'Allah' by Malaysian Christians and Indonesians dates back to the Hebrew translation of 'Elohim' (God) as 'Allah' in the Malay Bible translated by the missionary Francisco Javier, who travelled through Asia in the 16th century.

Although the constitution of Malaysia guarantees religious freedom, the authorities and Muslim groups assert that the law prevents the use of Islamic terms by non-Muslims as it may cause confusion and the conversion of Muslims.

On Jan 2, the authorities confiscated 350 Malay Bibles from the headquarters of the Bible Society of Malaysia because of the use of the word 'Allah', meaning 'god' in Arabic.

The Vatican envoy in Malaysia, Archbishop Joseph Marino, had to apologise to the Malaysian authorities in 2013 for having declared his support for Christians who used 'Allah' in their Bibles or other religious texts.

Around 60 percent of the 28 million Malaysians practise Islam, most being moderates, while the rest follow Buddhism (19 percent), Christianity (9 percent), Hinduism (6 percent) and Taoism (2.6 percent) along with other minority religions.

IANS

8-yr-old sexually harassed at Vandiperiyar

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Idukki: An 8-year-old girl was sexually harassed at Vandiperiyar and police have booked a case against a person, who is the friend of the victim's mother. It was the Child Welfare Commitee which informed the news that happened in April to the police. The girl is presently under the custody of Child Welfare Commitee.

Samaras penalty sends Greece through, breaks Ivorian hearts

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FORTALEZA (Brazil): A stoppage time penalty from Giorgios Samaras sent Greece into the last 16 of the World Cup for the first time with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast.

The Africans were seconds away from heading into the second round themselves after Wilfried Bony's 74th minute equalizer looked to have given them the point they needed to progress.

But Samaras went down inside the box and rose to convert the penalty and send his team through to play Costa Rica in the second round.

Substitute Andreas Samaris gave Greece the lead in the 42nd minute beating Boubacar Barry following a mix-up in the Ivory Coast defense.

REUTERS

Firing at PIA plane leaves one woman dead, two staff injured

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Peshawar : One woman passenger was killed and two fight stewards injured when unidentified gunmen opened fire at a Peshawar bound PIA flight while landing at the airport here, an injured staff said.

The PIA flight PK756, carrying nearly 180 passengers from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to Peshawar, was fired upon for two
minutes before landing at the Bacha Khan International airport late yesterday night.

A woman passenger was killed and two flight stewards- Wajid and Ijaz- were injured.

Wajid, who sustained bullet injuries in his leg, said the plane was at an altitude of 250 to 300 feet height when
gunshot hit the plane at the back side. Luckily Captain Tariq Chaudhry safely landed the plane at airport and averted a
catastrophe.

The fire shots came from the adjacent Tehkal area side, he said.

His colleague flight steward Ijaz received three bullet wounds and shifted to CMH Peshawar and was being operated
upon, Wajid said.

Meanwhile, a Peshawar bound flight coming from Kuala Lumpur was diverted to Lahore airport as PIA authorities
immediately suspended flight operations at the airport.

Security forces immediately launched search operations in the suspected areas around the airport to nab the culprits.
PTI