Sarajevo marks 100 years since killing that sparked WWI

SARAJEVO: Sarajevo on Saturday was to mark 100 years since the assassination that sparked World War I, an act that still deeply divides the people of the Balkans over the legacy of that fateful day.

On June 28, 1914 a Bosnian Serb nationalist shot dead the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, setting off a chain of events that sucked Europe´s great powers into four years of violence unprecedented in its scale and intensity.

Many of the former foes marked the centenary on the sidelines of an EU summit on Thursday with a low-key ceremony at Belgium´s Ypres, where German forces used mustard gas for the first time in 1915.But the deep Balkan divisions stirred up by the anniversary have made it impossible for heads of state and government to come together at the site of the assassination in the Bosnian capital.

Wildly differing interpretations of 20th-century history endure in a region where the scars of the wars that marked the break-up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, unleashing centuries of resentment and divisions, are still fresh.

And a particularly divisive figure is the archduke´s assassin, the 19-year-old Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip.

While the Muslim majority in today´s Sarajevo see Princip as a terrorist who unleashed calamity, the Serbs regard him as a hero seeking to liberate the Slavs from the Austro-Hungarian occupier.

Resenting the notion that Serb nationalism was to blame for triggering the Great War, Bosnian Serb leaders have refused to join the main Sarajevo commemorations that will feature a late afternoon performance by the Vienna Philharmonic, the symbolic envoy from the capital of a once-loathed empire.

Instead they will hold their own early afternoon ceremonies, unveiling monuments to Princip in a Serb area of Sarajevo as well as in eastern Bosnia and in Belgrade.

Princip´s brazen attack 100 years ago dragged almost half the world´s population into a cycle of violence of unprecedented scale and intensity.

Over 52 months, it left some 10 million dead and 20 million injured and maimed on its battlefields, while millions more civilians perished under occupation, through disease, hunger or deportation.

Four of the world´s most powerful empires -- Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman -- collapsed as the world map was redrawn and Europe´s ruin cleared the way for the rise of a new superpower, the United States.

And World War I fanned the emergence of many of the ideologies that fashioned the 20th century and its conflicts, including anti-colonialism, Communism, Fascism and Nazism.

Curfew clamped in Mingora, over 100 arrested

 

MINGORA: The security forces clamped a curfew in Mingora on Saturday at midnight and launched a search operation in the morning. The security forces and police arrested 100 persons during the search operation after reports of the presence of suspected persons in the area.
The sources said the security forces received information about the reported presence of suspected persons in Tahirabad, Banr, Yakh Kohay, Marghazar Town, Bathai, Rahmanabad and other areas in Mingora.

The security forces and police launched the search operation in the area and arrested 100 persons who were shifted to an undisclosed location for interrogation.

The sources said that the local people hoped that the curfew would soon be lifted to enable the residents to continue their routine life.INP adds: Several suspects, including a few high profile miscreants, were arrested during a door-to-door search operation by the police in the posh Hayatabad area in Peshawar.

The sources said that the police started a door-to-door search operation in the early hours today (Sunday) by cordoning off Phases 5, 6 and 7 of the Hayatabad area on the information that some suspected persons from among the North Waziristan evacuees had taken refuge in these areas.

A strong contingent of the police, including 700 female police, were deployed in checking the identity cards and other particulars of the residents in the area to flush out the suspected persons. The police by this time had made some arrests that included a few high profile targets.

Meanwhile, in a bid to preempt any likely reaction in South Punjab of operation Zarb-e-Azb, security in the entire area has been put on high alert, while several contingents of the Pakistan Army have been sent for deployment in Dera Ghazi Khan and Multan.

Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that in the backdrop of terror incidents in reaction to Zarb-e-Azb feared in southern Punjab, security had been put on high alert, while troops equipped with modern weapons and passion to face every challenge had been sent to DG Khan and Multan for immediate deployment to thwart any likely terrorist bid.

The contingents of troops constituting the Quick Reaction Force and Rapid Reaction Force are fully capable of meeting any emergency situation.According to reports, a joint operation and coordination centre headed by Major General Hasnat Amir has been set up, where the officers of the police, civil administration and sensitive organisations along with the army would be available for security in Multan, DG Khan and Sahiwal.

Meanwhile, Rangers and Police teams have increased their patrolling in the federal capital to ensure foolproof security following instructions by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Saturday.

More than 100 youths charged in NY gang wars

NEW YORK: More than 100 members of three New York City street gangs who waged years of deadly turf wars have been charged.

The three gangs operating in west Harlem were accused of two homicides, 19 non-fatal shootings and 50 incidents in which firearms were used, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said Wednesday.

The 103 indictments capped a 4.5-year investigation.

Many of those charged were taken into custody Wednesday.

"The deadly and dangerous feud between the Manhattanville and Grant Houses dates back decades," Vance said. "In the last four years, it has escalated into a bloody turf war marked by violence for the sake of violence.

"He said prosecutors and investigators analyzed more than 40,000 prison calls, screened hundreds of hours of surveillance video and reviewed more than a million pages of social media exchanges.

The gangs in some cases recruited members as young as 10 and 14 to carry out violent crimes, authorities said.

Malala makes it again to Time’s 100

NEW YORK: Malala Yousafzai is among the world’s most influential people, according to a list published by the Time magazine on Saturday.

Malala, 16, is the only Pakistani on the list of people, who according to the magazine have inspired others around the world.

The list also includes a profile by another star, explaining why the person deserves a spot.

Former US Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford who was shot in the head in Tuscon, Arizona, in 2011 paying tribute to Malala praises the Pakistani activist’s courage and resilience.

Gifford wrote for Time that she, like many people, draws inspiration and strength from Malala Yousafzai, who was also shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012.

“Malala is a testament that women everywhere will not be intimidated into silence.” “I have seen courage in many places, but Malala’s courage is uncommon,” Giffords wrote.

In July, Malala spoke at the UN and reminded viewers that everyone’s voice matters in the fight for education. “One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world.”

The teen activist, who published her first book I Am Malala in October, was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize last year.

Giffiord wrote, “I have seen courage in many places in the thousands of our nation’s military members I have met and represented; in those who ran toward the gunfire in a Safeway parking lot on January 8, 2011; and in our leaders who take the tough votes because it’s the right thing to do, but Malala’s courage is uncommon.”

“In the face of oppression and bitter injustice, she demands education and opportunity. In the face of violence from the hands of cowards, she refuses to back down.”

Malala was also selected to write the profile of former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, a potential presidential candidate in the next election, who also figures on the list of world’s most influential people, calling her “a symbol of strength for women across the world”.

The Pakistani activist wrote, “It was she (Clinton) who famously said, ‘Women’s rights are human rights’. She not only spoke those words, but also dedicated her life to empowering women around the world through politics and philanthropy. She has been a source of strength for many women, including myself, my family and those who stood by me after I was attacked.”

Saudi MERS deaths top 100 fuelling public fear

JEDDAH: The MERS death toll in Saudi Arabia topped 100 on Sunday as the authorities scrambled to reassure an increasingly edgy population in the country worst-hit by the infectious coronavirus.

Public fears have been fuelled by a rapid rise in the number of fatalities from the respiratory infection, with 39 people dying this month -- well over a third of the 102 deaths registered since the virus emerged in April 2012.

A nine-month-old infant was among eight new deaths from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome announced by the health ministry on Sunday.

It said the total number of cases diagnosed since the virus was first recorded in the kingdom has reached 339, representing the bulk of infections registered worldwide.

Among them were four medical staff at a single hospital in Tabuk in the northwest, two doctors -- one Egyptian and one Syrian -- and two Philippine nurses.

Panic over the spread of the virus among medical staff in the western city of Jeddah led to the temporary closure of a main hospital´s emergency room.

At least four doctors at Jeddah´s King Fahd Hospital resigned earlier this month after refusing to treat MERS patients for fear of infection.

Experts are still struggling to understand MERS, for which there is no known vaccine.

It is considered a deadlier but less-transmissible cousin of the SARS virus which erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

Riyadh dismissed the health minister earlier this month without saying why, and Labour Minister Adel Fakieh, appointed acting health minister, promised "transparency" over MERS.

Ailing King Abdullah himself travelled to Jeddah on Thursday to reassure the public and demonstrate that "exaggerated and false rumours" about MERS are false, said his son, National Guard Minister Prince Mitab.

Fakieh said on Saturday that three specialised medical centres have been set up in Jeddah, Riyadh and Eastern Province.

- Shortage of face masks -

But people are still not taking any chances.

"I´ve decided to keep my six-year-old daughter at home and not send her to school," said Umm Muntaha. "Prevention is better than cure."

Schools remain open despite rumours of possible closures, but many have asked parents to equip their children with face masks and disinfectants.

Pharmaceutical sources have already spoken of a shortage of masks in Jeddah because of rising demand.

"Demand for masks has grown 10 times during the past two weeks," said one pharmacist in Jeddah, who has now run out of stock.

The health ministry has not taken any "additional measures" at airports apart from the "usual preventive measures", a ministry official said. (AFP)

WFP, Balochistan to assist over 100,000 malnourished children, women

ISLAMABAD: The World Food Programme (WFP) and Balochistan government jointly launched a project to assist around 108,271 malnourished children, pregnant and lactating women suffering to prevent stunting and micronutrient deficiencies.

The project would be implemented with collaboration of Balochistan Department of Health from 2013 to 2015 in nine districts of Balochistan including Zhob, Musakhel, Lora Lai, Qilla Saifullah, Pishin, Nushki, Kharan, Washuk, Chagai by providing them food supplements through Lady Health Workers (LHWs).

It would also prevent their intergenerational transmission using locally produced specialized nutritious products and promoting appropriate infant and young child feeding practices utilising effective behaviour change communication strategies.

Balochistan is the second most affected province, where only 36.5 percent of the population were food secure. About 33.9 percent people were food insecure without hunger, Nicole Carn, World Food Programme (WFP) Chief in Balochistan told APP. In response to the nutrition situation in Balochistan, WFP has been assisting the Health Department of Balochistan to address the issue of malnutrition through Community Based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM), she added.

This will also contribute to reducing the incidence of low birth weight as maternal nutritional status of pregnant and lactating women will be improved. Out of 32 districts in Balochistan, there are nine districts where Balochistan Nutrition Cell, along with WFP was working to address the issue of malnutrition.

No Indian university in top 100 global list, Harvard voted best

None of the IITs have made it to the top 100 of a global list released by the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings on Thursday. 

CHENNAI: None of India's 700 universities and 35,539 colleges has made it to the top 100 list of the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings released on Thursday.

This means that academics don't think too highly of the capabilities and work of our higher educational institutions.

The ranking, drawn on the findings of an invitation-only academic opinion survey, is based on the subjective judgment of around 60,000 senior, published academics considered as "the people best placed to know the most about excellence in our universities".

Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University in the US lead the list followed by the UK's University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. Agency reports said that Punjab University, the alma mater of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, found a place in the unranked section of 226 - 300. It is followed by the IITs in Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur and Roorkee between ranks 351 and 400.

Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore is ranked highest among Indian institutions, at just below 200, from its 130th place last year. IIT-Bombay figures among the 210-220 group, and IIT-Delhi and IIT-Kanpur are ranked below 250.

The US has the most representation with more than 45 institutions figuring in the top 100 followed by the UK with 10 institutions, Germany with six and Japan and Australia with five. India is the only BRIC country that is not represented in the top 100 list. China has two of its institutions on the list while Brazil and Russia have one each.

Though based on perception experts said the reputation ranking cannot be taken lightly. In his article 'Credit check' on the website, Times Higher Education Rankings editor Phil Baty said that reputation is the currency of global higher education today, and is accepted by scholars, students, donors and industry.

"In today's academy, reputation is the currency: research has shown that institutional standing is the top consideration for academics when moving jobs, is vital for the formation of international collaborations, and is essential in persuading philanthropists to give and industrial partners to invest," Baty said.

According to data put together by the Institute of International Education on international student mobility in 2012, the number of foreign students registered in Indian higher education institutions in 2012 is 27,000, much lower than in other Asian countries like China (3.28 lakh) or Japan (1.37 lakh).

"Personal experience has shown that IITs are incredibly highly valued in institutions like MIT or Caltech. When we host international delegations in the realm of technology, we find that IITs are as good as any other institution," said R Nagarajan, dean, international and alumni relations, IIT-Madras. But he maintained the stand that it was unfair to compare IITs which are technical institutions with universities that also ran other courses.

VIT University chancellor G Viswanathan said that the visibility of Indian institutions outside the country is poor. "If we want to be known outside the country, we must have partners around the world and get international accreditation. Senior institutions like the IITs are only taking the initiative to get international students or faculty," he said.