New York Gets First Swine Flu Vaccine Next Week

New York State will get its first doses of swine flu vaccine next week, with many reserved for health care workers, some of whom oppose the mandatory inoculations.

Upstate New York will be getting about 100,000 doses. New York City health officials don’t yet know how many would be supplied to them. In the first round, the vaccine will be made available to those the Centers for Disease Control’s considers at high risk. That includes health care workers, pregnant women, children, young adults and people between 25 and 64 with special health conditions.

New York is the first state to mandate flu vaccinations for health care workers.

PM-JUI meeting satisfied over coalition government , resolves to continue cooperation in future

A delegation of JUI(F) led by its Ameer Maulana Fazl ur Rahman, MNA called on Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani at the PM’s House here this
evening.

Other members of the delegation included Federal Minister for Housing and Works, Mr. Rehmatullah Kakar; Federal Minister for Science and Technology,Mr. Muhammad Azam Khan Swati and Senators Maulana Muhammad Khan Sheerani; Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri; Dr. Khalid Mahmood Soomro and Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan, besides Qazi Hameedullah Jan; Member Islamic Ideology Council, Maulana Muhammad Yousuf Khan; Leader of the Opposition NWFP Assembly, Mr. Akram Khan Durrani and Maulana Amjad Khan, while Federal Ministers Dr. Zaheeruddin Babar Awan, Mr. Rehman Malik, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah and Syed Naveed Qamar also attended the meeting.

The meeting expressed the satisfaction over the working of the coalition government and resolved to continue cooperation in future.

Talking to the delegation the Prime Minister said the government is taking all major political parties on board on important national issues, adding that today’s meeting is a part of this policy of reconciliation.

He agreed with Maulana Fazl ur Rahman to place reports/ recommendations of the Council of Islamic Ideology before Parliament which in turn will be referred to its relevant Standing Committee for deliberations.

Indonesia quake ‘traps thousands’

Thousands of people are trapped under rubble and at least 13 are dead after a strong earthquake shook the Indonesian island of Sumatra, officials say.

The epicentre was about 50km (30 miles) off the coast, near the city of Padang. It destroyed buildings and bridges.

A tsunami watch issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has been lifted.

It comes hours after a tsunami triggered by a separate earthquake in the South Pacific killed more than 100 people across a number of islands.

‘Extreme panic’

Rustam Pakaya, head of the health ministry’s crisis centre, told Reuters news agency a hospital was among the collapsed buildings.

Medical teams were on their way to Padang, capital of West Sumatra province, from neighbouring provinces, he said.

Local media reported the roof of the city’s airport had also collapsed.

Video Shows Leader Baitullah Mehsud is dead

Click here to watch the video

The Taliban in Pakistan have released a video confirming that their former leader Baitullah Mehsud is dead.

A video received by the BBC shows the body of the former head of Pakistan’s largest Taliban group lying in a room. It is not clear where it was taken.

Mr Mehsud was killed on 6 August in the tribal region of South Waziristan in a missile attack by a suspected US drone.

The video came as officials said at least six people had been killed in a fresh drone attack in North Waziristan

New decent look of Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman without his turban

What you see in the picture is definitely a new decent look of Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman because whenever some one talk about him the most common sketch which comes in the mind is a man wearing an orange turban (Paghri).

Whether it is a press conference or the session of National Assembly, he always wears that orange turban on his head which becomes the symbol of his personality.

But the picture of this new look was taken after Amir Jamiat Ulmaa-e-Islam (F) Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman had meeting with Federal Minister for Interior Senator A Rehman on Wednesday in Islamabad.

Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman also famous as pazlo is son of well known religious and political leader Maulana Mufti Mahmood

He is Ameer (President) of a faction of a political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Assembly of ‘Ulama-e-Islam). His faction is known as Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazal ur Rahman group or JUI-F. He is also the General Secretary of the Religious Alliance; Muttahidah Majlis-e-’Amal (Council of United Action) or MMA. He is originally from the Abdulkhel Banyala area in Dera Ismail Khan District of North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan. He was selected as Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly of Pakistan by the Speaker of the Assembly on May 25, 2004[1]. He remained in that post till his resgination from the assembly in 2007.

Controversies

Scandals During 1993-1996

Benazir Bhutto was the first female muslim woman head of a democratically elected government. During the second government of Benazir Bhutto (1993-1996) Fazl, the head of his own fundamentalist Islamic party, along with other parties, began to argue that it is was not allowed for a woman to head the government, but after he was appointed as to chair a committee in the National Assembly, he ceased raising the issue of whether a woman could serve as head of the government. This lead to the wildly held view that his change in attitude was a direct result of the appointment. Addition he was awarded a huge quota for Diesel fuel, which earned him the nickname of ‘Maulana Diesel’

Farah Dogar case: NA body directs ministry to take action against involved officials

The National Assembly Standing Committee for Education has directed the Education Ministry to take strict action against officials involved in awarding additional marks to Farah Hamid Dogar and summoned the former chairman of the Federal Board Air Comdr (Retd) S. M Shamshad.

The meeting of the committee was held here on Wednesday with its Chairman Abid Sher Ali expressed serious concerns over favoritism, corruption in appointment of teachers in schools and said favoritism and corruption damaged the nation and country.

The committee during its meeting called for strict implementation of merit in appointments of all employees in the educational institutions, directing the government to send back the present Director General of Federal Directorate of Education to college and appoint in his place deserved person by promotion.

The committee was informed that the ministry has decided to move Supreme Court against the decision of defunct Islamabad High Court decision validating Farah Dogar additional marks.

The report of the sub-committee in this regard was also presented in the meeting, which says the federal board has no law of reassessment and 20 additional marks given to Farah Dogar has no legal status and directed the Education Ministry to take strict action against involved officials.

Vice Chancellor Rifah International University told the committee that Farah Hamid Dogar was not allowed for entry test on mark sheet of 640 marks but the 2nd day, she presented marks sheet of 661 marks and then the institution had to give her admission according Meezan Foundation quota.

5 Pakistanis arrested on drug charges released: Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has released the five Pakistani nationals who were interned at King Abdul Aziz International Airport, Jeddah on charges of drug smuggling, after ascertaining that they had no relation with the drugs.

According to a press statement of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Islamabad the security authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, have released the five Pakistani nationals who were interned at King Abdul Aziz International Airport, Jeddah, on 9/6/1430 H, on charges of drug smuggling, after ascertaining that they had no relation with the drugs, which they were carrying without their knowledge.

This transpired after the concerned authorities in the Kingdom were briefed about the outcome of investigation carried out by the Pakistani security authorities with the real culprits who were apprehended in Pakistan, during the meeting of the Interior Minister His Excellency Mr. Rahman Malik, with officials of the Saudi Interior Ministry in his recent visit to the Kingdom, the statement said.

The Press Statement of the Saudi Embassy in Pakistan further said that the detainees after their release performed Umrah and visited the Prophet’s Mosque. The Embassy advised all those traveling to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to make sure that their luggage which they are carrying, does not contain any contraband item punishable by the rules of Saudi Arabia, particularly narcotics, which is punished by death sentence.

The annual Urs of Bulleh Shah to start from Oct 1st

The annual Urs of Bulleh Shah, the Punjabi mystic poet, will begin on October 1, 2009 and will conclude on October 3, 2009 in Kasur.

NWFP assembly members including CM submits details of their assets

Members of the NWFP Assembly along with Chief Minister have submitted details of their assets with the Election Commission on Wednesday.

The Members who submitted details of their assets in Election Commission included Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti, Senior provincial minister Basheer Ahmed Biolour, Rahim Dad Khan, Mian Iftikhar, Syed Tahir Ali Shah, Hamayun Khan, Abdul Akbar Khan, Akram Khan Durrani and others members of the respected assembly.

Out of 124 Members of the assembly, 100 have submitted details of its assets in Election Commission.

The deadline is December 30, sources say.

On the other hand, ECP has chalked out a comprehensive program so that transparency is maintained at all costs.

‘Grand welcome party for new students in PU’

A grand welcome party for the new students of Punjab University session 2009-2011 will be held on Thursday, October 1 at 10:00am in the Faisal Auditorium here at New Campus.

Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran will chair the ceremony.

The students would be welcomed on the occasion and briefed about the academic, research, social and literary traditions of the varsity.

They would also be advised to focus on their studies during the coming two years. Deans of all faculties, heads of teaching departments and a large number of students will attend the ceremony.