CNG stations across Sindh closed for 24 hours

CNG stations across Sindh closed for 24 hours

KARACHI: CNG stations across Sindh including Karachi have been shut Friday morning at 8:00 AM for 24 hours, Media reported.

According to Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), the CNG supply would remain suspended from 8:00 AM Friday to 8:00 AM Saturday.

Long queues of all sorts of vehicles were seen waiting before the 24-hour suspension of gas supply to the CNG filling stations in the province.

International Cricket Council may favour Big Three' today

International Cricket Council may favour Big Three' today

SINGAPORE: The International Cricket Council (ICC) will meet in Singapore today (Saturday) to discuss and possibly vote on a plan to give the sport's most financially powerful nations -- India, England and Australia -- a greater say in running the world game

 

South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have strongly opposed the idea.

 

A day earlier, Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board, Zaka Ashraf, said he would fight Pakistan’s case in utmost good faith at ICC meeting.

 

"No matter how strong India maybe, we will have our say in the strongest of words:, said he talking to media before leaving for Singapore to attend the ICC meeting.

 

Ashraf had also said that would take Sri Lankan and South African cricket boards in confidence by holding one-on-one meetings with their chiefs, that too before the ICC meeting.

 

He was of the view that it would help them take a firm unified stand against this injustice.

 

“I will try to convince them that as we all are in the same boat then we must stand united and fight for what is fair for all the members”, said he.

 

Commenting on the controversy, former ICC president Ehsan Mani said it would be “sheer madness” for the governing body to effectively hand over control of the sport to India, Australia and England.

 

It was announced after a board meeting in Dubai last month that a new five-member ICC executive committee would be established to include representatives from the ECB, Cricket Australia and the Board of Control for Cricket in India. However, the plan has received widespread criticism.

 

The current executive committee includes representatives from all 10 test-playing countries, and some suggest the new proposals will allow the ‘Big Three’ to take over at the expense of other cricketing nations.

 

“If these proposals are accepted then the Big Three will decide how the ICC runs and what it does,” Mani told a foreign news agency.

 

“The board of the ICC cricket council will effectively have no powers apart from approving whatever India, Australia and England do,” Mani said.

 

“If these proposals are accepted they are going to be doing severe damage to world cricket. It would seriously affect the credibility of the ICC as the governing body.”

 

Mani believes three of the 10 test-playing nations will reject the new proposals.

 

“As far as I know, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Pakistan will not vote for it and without those three this cannot go through,” said the 68-year-old businessman who presided over the ICC between 2003 and 2006.

 

“Do you really want to run World Cups and such like without these countries and without South Africa who are the number one-ranked test team in the world? That would be sheer madness,” Mani exclaimed.

 

India have long been regarded as the traditional powerhouse among the test-playing nations and the Pakistani says England and Australia might think again about the new proposals if they are rejected.

 

“What will be interesting is what the Big Three will do if the plan is blocked,” said Mani.

 

Bangladesh and West Indies have only supported the Big Three because they’ve been given the incentive that they will get more tours from these countries, hence more money from television rights.

 

“I question the morality of that but if this move is blocked, then it will be a serious time for England and Australia to think about how much damage they might be doing to the game just to fall into line with something that India wants,” he further said.

Attempt to hijack Turkish plane to Sochi foiled

Attempt to hijack Turkish plane to Sochi foiled

ANKARA: A Ukrainian man tried to hijack a Turkey-bound flight to Sochi, Russia, as the Winter Olympics were kicking off Friday, but the pilot tricked him and landed in Istanbul instead, where he was stealthily detained after a four-hour stand-off on a plane full of passengers, an official said.

 

The hijacking drama came as the Winter Olympics opened in the Russian resort city, with thousands of athletes from around the world pouring into the tightly secured stadium amid warnings the games could be a terrorism target.

 

A Turkish F-16 fighter was scrambled as soon as the pilot on the Pegasus Airlines flight from Kharkiv, Ukraine, with 110 passengers aboard signaled there was a hijacking attempt, according to NTV television. It escorted the plane safely to its original destination at Sabiha Gokcen airport in Istanbul.

 

Officials credited the pilot and crew for convincing the 45-year-old-man, who claimed he had a bomb, that they were following his wishes.

 

"Through a very successful implementation by our pilot and crew, the plane was landed in Istanbul instead of Sochi," Istanbul governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu told reporters at the airport. "He thought it was going to Sochi but after a while he realized that (the plane) was in Istanbul."

 

He said the suspected hijacker was arrested after a stand-off during which a negotiator convinced him to first allow women and children to be evacuated and later agreed to let all other passengers off the plane as well.

 

"Our security units sneaked through various entrances during the evacuation of the passengers and with a quick and effective intervention the hijacker was subdued," Mutlu said. No bomb was found, he said.

 

The man's motive was unclear, but Mutlu said he had "requests concerning his own country" and wanted to relay a "message concerning sporting activities in Sochi." Mutlu said there was no immediate indication that the man was a member of any terror organization and Mutlu did not give his name.

 

"We were receiving through various channels information that there could be initiatives to sabotage the spirit of peace arising in Sochi, but we are saddened that such an event took place in our city," Mutlu said.

 

The governor said the man was being held at Istanbul police headquarters. The man was slightly injured during the struggle when he was detained, but no weapons were used, he said. The private Dogan news agency said later that the man was taken to a hospital for his injuries.

 

The Interfax news agency cited the Ukrainian Security Service, the country's main security agency, as saying the passenger was in a state of severe alcohol intoxication. Mutlu said the man was not drunk, but said he may have taken substances to help him remain alert. He did not elaborate.

 

Habib Soluk, the Turkish Transport Ministry undersecretary, told NTV earlier that the man rose from his seat, shouted that there was bomb on board and tried to enter the locked cockpit. The pilot signaled that there was a hijack attempt and the airport was placed on high alert.

 

Air traffic at Sabiha Gokcen was halted throughout the incident but had returned to normal after the man's arrest.

 

The plane landed at about 6 p.m. Turkish time, just as the opening ceremony for the Olympics was about to begin. The executive creative director of the Olympics opening ceremony told reporters afterward he heard of the threat but didn't alter the show's plans in any way.

 

"We had so much adrenaline in our veins that we could not grasp much," Konstantin Ernst said through an interpreter.

 

With about 100,000 police, security agents and army troops flooding Sochi, Russia has pledged to ensure "the safest Olympics in history." But terror fears fueled by recent suicide bombings have left athletes, spectators and officials worldwide jittery about potential threats.

 

"It would be wrong to make any comment before all the facts are known but any security questions are of course a matter for the authorities," International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said.

 

Security experts warn that Islamic militants in the Caucasus, who have threatened to derail the Winter Games that run from Feb. 7-23, could achieve their goal by choosing soft targets away from the Olympic sites or even outside Sochi.

 

Olympic organizers introduced blanket screening of all visitors, requiring them to share passport details to get a Winter Games spectator pass. Officials also cut access to vehicles lacking Sochi registration or a special pass, and guards were searching all train commuters. (AP)

15 injured in Kashmore bus attack shootout

15 injured in Kashmore bus attack shootout

KASHMORE: Two passenger buses reportedly turned turtle after gunshots fired by unknown gunmen burst their tires here on Friday night, Media reported.

According to details, a number of armed bandits opened fire on the buses to incapacitate them so that they could loot the passengers but things turned for the worse.

"The drivers of both the buses stepped on it to avoid the highwaymen but lost control after the gunshots blew holes in the tires. The coaches flipped over on their sides injuring scores”, sources quoted eyewitnesses as saying.

Reportedly, the police escorting the buses fired back giving rise to a shootout, which lasted for sometime.

Sources added that the gunfight left at least 15 people injured including two cops.

Further details are awaited.

First guidelines issued to prevent stroke in women

First guidelines issued to prevent stroke in women

NEW YORK: Just as heart attack symptoms may differ between men and women, so do stroke risks.

Now, the American Heart Association has issued its first guidelines for preventing strokes in women. They focus on birth control, pregnancy, depression and other risk factors that women face uniquely or more frequently than men do.

The advice applies to patients like Denise Miller, who suffered a stroke last year that fooled doctors at two northeast Ohio hospitals before it was finally diagnosed at the Cleveland Clinic. She was 36 and had no traditional risk factors.

"There was nothing to indicate I was going to have a stroke," other than frequent migraines with aura — dizziness or altered senses such as tingling, ringing ears or sensitivity to light, Miller said.

These headaches are more common in women and the new guidelines issued Thursday flag them as a concern. Miller recovered but has some lingering numbness and vision problems.

Each year, nearly 800,000 Americans have a new or recurrent stroke, which occurs when a blood vessel to the brain is blocked by a clot or bursts. Stroke is the third-leading cause of death for women and the fifth-leading cause for men. The key to surviving one and limiting disability is getting help fast, and recognizing symptoms such as trouble speaking, weakness or numbness in one arm, or drooping on one side of the face.

Stroke risk rises with age, and women tend to live longer than men. Women are more likely to be living alone when they have a stroke, to have poorer recovery, and to need institutional care after one.

Certain stroke risks are more common in women — migraine with aura, obesity, an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation, and metabolic syndrome — a combo of problems including blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar.

General guidelines for stroke prevention currently focus on controlling blood pressure and diabetes, quitting smoking, more exercise and healthy diets.

The new ones add gender-specific advice, said Dr. Cheryl Bushnell, stroke chief at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. She led the panel that wrote the guidelines, published in Stroke, a Heart Association journal.

Some highlights:

BIRTH CONTROL PILLS: Women should be checked for high blood pressure before starting on oral contraceptives because the combination raises stroke risks. The risk is small but rises steeply in women ages 45 to 49. More than 10 million American women use birth control pills.

PREGNANCY: Strokes are uncommon during pregnancy but the risk is still higher, especially during the last three months and soon after delivery. The big worry is preeclampsia, dangerously high blood pressure that can cause a seizure and other problems.

"It doubles the risk of stroke later in life and it quadruples the risk of high blood pressure" after pregnancy, Bushnell said.

Women with a history of high blood pressure before pregnancy should be considered for low-dose aspirin (around 81 milligrams) after the first three months of pregnancy, and calcium supplements anytime, to lower the risk of preeclampsia, the guidelines say.

Pregnant women with very high blood pressure (160 over 110 and above) should be treated with medications, and treatment may be considered for those with moderately high blood pressure (150 to 159 over 100 to 109). Certain blood pressure medicines are not safe during pregnancy, the guidelines note.

ASPIRIN: It's usually recommended for anyone who has already had a stroke unless the stroke was caused by bleeding rather than a clot, or if bleeding risk is a concern, Bushnell said. Aspirin also is often recommended for people with diabetes to lower the risk of stroke and other problems.

A low-dose aspirin every other day "can be useful" to lower stroke risk in women 65 and older unless its benefit is outweighed by the potential for bleeding or other risks, the guidelines say.

MIGRAINES: Women are four times more likely to have migraines than men, and they often coincide with hormone swings. Migraines alone don't raise the risk of stroke, but ones with aura do. Using oral contraceptives and smoking raise this risk even more, so the guidelines urge stopping smoking.

IRREGULAR HEARTBEAT: Women over age 75 should be checked for atrial fibrillation. Doctors do this by taking a pulse or listening to the heartbeat.

MENOPAUSE: Hormone therapy should not be used to try to prevent strokes.

The new guidelines put women's issues "on the table" so more doctors talk about them, said Dr. Shazam Hussain, stroke chief at the Cleveland Clinic. "Gender does make a difference. The medical community has neglected it for some time." (AP)

Sonic undergoes makeover for new game, TV series

Sonic undergoes makeover for new game, TV series

LOS ANGELES: The conference room inside Big Red Button Entertainment's offices would look unremarkable if it weren't for the vibrant panoramas of a cartoony, tree-filled world plastered next to portraits of colorful creatures and robots on the walls. At first glance, one of the critters looks like Sonic the Hedgehog — if he donned a brown scarf and sport tape around his appendages.

 

But it's not a blur. Or a shadow. That's indeed the intrepid new look of the iconic video game character, who originally raced into gamers' hearts in 1991 as the star of the fast-paced side-scroller "Sonic the Hedgehog" before becoming the face of game maker Sega. The latest makeover of Sonic isn't simply about accessorizing the 22-year-old character with new gear.

 

It's part of a "Sonic" revolution.

 

Sonic and his three pals — tinkering fox Tails, brutish echidna Knuckles and hammer-wielding hedgehog Amy — are starring together in a new Nintendo 3DS and Wii U game, as well as a Cartoon Network series set for release later this year, called "Sonic Boom." The games and TV series will share the new style, voice actors, locales, storylines and more. The collaborative take on "Sonic" will extend to merchandising, too.

 

"We're looking at this more than just a video game," said Marcella Churchill, senior marketing director of Sega of America. "Yes, Sega is primarily a video game company, but Sonic is a very viable character for us. We're always looking for new ways to expand the franchise, and we knew we wanted to grow the appeal of Sonic and reach many different touch points."

 

Churchill expects innovations on both the game and TV show formats to draw new fans, not only gamers nostalgic for the ring-hording hedgehog. For example, the TV series will forgo old-school cartoon cheesiness to instead blend action and comedy together, while the game will feature more open-world exploration than in Sonic's previous interactive escapades.

 

With split-screen, four-player functionality, the game — the third in Sega's deal to exclusively release "Sonic" titles on Nintendo platforms — serves as a prequel to the cartoon, the first "Sonic" series to be computer animated. Both the game and the TV series, which is being created by OuiDO Productions, will deeper emphasize the characters' personalities and teamwork.

 

The focus on Sonic's crew inspired the developers, animators and everyone else working on "Sonic Boom" to make each hero distinct, in both form and function. In the case of Knuckles, that meant putting the once Sonic-sized sidekick through puberty — not steroids — in an effort to make the burly red echidna stand out from the pack, as well as pack a punch.

 

However, the creators are quick to note that the sportier, teenaged rendition of Sonic and his team doesn't erase the depictions from four previous TV series and more than 70 games. "Sonic Boom" is merely a new branch of the "Sonic" universe with sensibilities they hope will appeal to modern youngsters who expect their entertainment to cohesively cross screens.

 

"When you have a franchise with the depth and fan base of this one, you can have more than one incarnation existing side by side," said Evan Bailey, executive producer of the TV show. "Look at Batman or Mickey Mouse. There are many iconic characters with more than one rendition and none is the definitive take, so hopefully fans don't firebomb our houses."

 

Unintentionally, "Sonic Boom" has become the franchise's biggest multicultural effort to date, with game developers and executives in California working in tandem with TV executives based out of New York, as well as animators in France, on a new iteration of a blue hedgehog born in Japan. Initially, however, the biggest barrier in crafting this Sonic wasn't language.

 

"Before we first met, we're thinking, 'Oh, boy. TV people," said Bob Rafei, CEO of Big Red Button. "They're gonna want to change everything. They're not going to understand games. To my surprise, Evan actually plays more games than I do. I don't know where he finds the time, but he understands the fundamental differences of mechanics and fiction."

 

Rafei, who previously worked on such landmark game franchises as "Crash Bandicoot" and "Jak and Daxter" at Naughty Dog, noted the most challenging aspect of taking on a "Sonic" game was illustrating the character's signature speed without sacrificing new gameplay elements. The other major issue? Figuring out just what the heck Sonic is allowed to wear.

 

"The clothing argument was a big one," said Rafei, leaning back in his chair in Big Red Button's conference room. "The most surreal moment in my life occurred when I was conveying with passion through a translator to the 'Sonic' team in Japan why Sonic needed to wear pants. Looking back at it, I'm glad they didn't go for it. Sonic wouldn't really be Sonic with pants on." (AP)