Ground operation launched in NWA

 

PESHAWAR: The government finally launched a full-scale ground operation in North Waziristan Agency (NWA) after fighter jets pounded suspected militant hideouts, killing 80 militants, including foreigners.
According to ISPR, the military operation Zarb-e-Azb was launched against local and foreign terrorists.According to the military authorities, it was named after the prominent sword prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had used in two famous, wars, the Jang-e-Badr and Jang-e-Uhad, against the enemies of Islam.“It would be a comprehensive operation against the terrorists who had established sanctuaries in North Waziristan,” a military official said requesting not to be named.

Some media reports quoting security sources suggested that Uzbek commander and the mastermind of the Karachi airport attack Abu Rehman was also among the extremists killed in the air strikes.

The ISPR said a ground operation has been launched in NWA on the directives of the government. The security forces have besieged Miranshah and Mir Ali, the two main towns of North Waziristan. However, according to ISPR, civilians have been allowed to leave the area and surrender points have been established at various spots for the militants who are willing to surrender. The ISPR said the displaced people will be provided transport and shelter.

The ISPR said the operation has been launched against the local and foreign militants who were using North Waziristan for terror activities. Afghan forces have been asked to seal the border to stop the fleeing militants, and aerial surveillance has also been conducted in the area. The local tribespeople will be informed about further steps through announcements.

According to ISPR, the army has been given the task of eliminating the terrorists. It said the process of identifying terrorists’ sanctuaries has been completed.Though the government and military authorities made a formal announcement about the launching of the military operation on Sunday evening, the offensive had already began as Pakistan Air Force fighter jets had bombed Deegan village of Boya tehsil, 25 kilometers west of North Waziristan’s headquarters Miranshah, early in the day.

Military authorities claimed that the fighter jets had hit the sanctuaries of the militants and killed 80 militants, including foreign fighters.The ISPR statement said those killed included Uzbek militants.

A military official, who pleaded anonymity, claimed that a senior leader of the Uzbek militants, Abu Abdur Rahman Al Mani, was killed in the Sunday air strikes in Deegan village. This claim could not be verified through independent sources.

He said air strikes by Pakistani fighter jets were carried out on what he called ‘accurate’ intelligence information about the presence of local and foreign militants. Fearing a military operation in the tribal region against the local and foreign militants, a majority of the residents of North Waziristan had already left their homes and villages for safer places and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The government did not make any arrangements for the displaced tribespeople upon their arrival at the settled areas of the province and most of the people are living and staying with their relatives, friends and acquaintances or in rented houses. In Mir Ali, 95 percent of the residents have fled the area while 70 percent of the people of Miranshah have vacated their houses and villages.

However, the residents of Deegan village and other places in Dattakhel subdivision, which is the hometown of the Taliban chief Hafiz Gul Bahadur, were still waiting for the situation to improve.

Though the people had long feared that the government was preparing for a military operation, the formal announcement on Sunday by the government sent a wave of terror and concern among the tribespeople remaining in the trouble tribal region.

The Taliban headed by Hafiz Gul Bahadur had signed a peace accord with the government in 2006-07 in which both sides had promised that they would not attack each other.After the attack on the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, which another group of the Pakistani Taliban, headed by Maulana Fazlullah and Uzbek militants had claimed, the Pakistan government had asked the North Waziristan Taliban leader to expel those who came from other areas using the tribal region in the Pakistani state within two weeks or face military action.

A jirga was supposed to hold meetings with the North Waziristan Taliban shura or council to ask them to expel non-local militants from the tribal region and then inform the government and military authorities about the progress of their efforts.

The deadline had not expired yet and the elders of the tribal jirga were still negotiating between the government and militants when the jets started bombing the area.One of the jirga members told this correspondent that the government had sent them to Waziristan for a meeting with the Taliban but imposed curfew in the entire tribal region and it was not possible for them to move and meet the Taliban shura.

“We knew they would make an excuse and would start an operation but it’s not a fair game as they had given us a two-week deadline till June 20. Even the Taliban had extended their deadline till June 20 regarding the scrapping of their peace accord with the government. The government launched the offensive and thus violated the accord,” he said.

He said the Taliban had convened an emergency meeting of the shura and would soon chalk out their future strategy. He said the Taliban had denied reports about the loss of foreign militants and alleged those killed were local residents.

Meanwhile, tribal sources said the senior leadership of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had secretly left North Waziristan and shifted to Tirah valley in Khyber Agency and Shahbaz valley lying between North and South Waziristan.

The TTP leadership had earlier announced that they would fight shoulder-to-shoulder with Hafiz Gul Bahadur and his fighters against the government. He said all the political parties have thrown their weight behind the Pakistan Army in the operation against terrorists.The minister said a major military operation was the need of the hour but stopped short of giving details of the operation, saying the details cannot be made public at this stage.

Mass polio vaccine campaign launched after Iraq case

BAGHDAD: Authorities launched a massive polio vaccination campaign on Sunday in Iraq, Syria and Egypt after health officials found a suspected case of the virus in a young boy near Baghdad.

The five-day campaign aims to vaccinate more than 20 million children, including 5.6 million in Iraq alone, UNICEF said, with confirmed cases in conflict-hit neighboring Syria having sparked a region-wide alert. "Polio eradication is a global priority," UNICEF's representative in Iraq Marzio Babille said in a statement.

"I appeal to the people of Iraq to join hands in ensuring every child under the age of five is vaccinated during the upcoming April polio campaign, regardless of how many doses they've received previously."

Last month, Iraq's health ministry said it found a case of polio in a young boy in Bab Al-Sham, near Baghdad, the country's first such case in 14 years.

Health ministry spokesman Ziad Tariq said at the time that officials believed the case originated in Syria, which shares a long border with Iraq's restive western province of Anbar.

In early January, anti-government fighters took control of all of the Anbar city of Falluja, and parts of the provincial capital Ramadi, some of which they still hold.

A total of 27 children have been paralysed by polio in Syria through the end of March, according to the UN, including 18 in Deir Ezzor, the Syrian province across the border from Anbar.

Lebanon and Turkey will join the regional polio vaccination campaign on April 10 and April 18 respectively, according to UNICEF.

Mass polio vaccine campaign launched after Iraq case

BAGHDAD: Authorities launched a massive polio vaccination campaign on Sunday in Iraq, Syria and Egypt after health officials found a suspected case of the virus in a young boy near Baghdad.

The five-day campaign aims to vaccinate more than 20 million children, including 5.6 million in Iraq alone, UNICEF said, with confirmed cases in conflict-hit neighboring Syria having sparked a region-wide alert. "Polio eradication is a global priority," UNICEF's representative in Iraq Marzio Babille said in a statement.

"I appeal to the people of Iraq to join hands in ensuring every child under the age of five is vaccinated during the upcoming April polio campaign, regardless of how many doses they've received previously."

Last month, Iraq's health ministry said it found a case of polio in a young boy in Bab Al-Sham, near Baghdad, the country's first such case in 14 years.

Health ministry spokesman Ziad Tariq said at the time that officials believed the case originated in Syria, which shares a long border with Iraq's restive western province of Anbar.

In early January, anti-government fighters took control of all of the Anbar city of Falluja, and parts of the provincial capital Ramadi, some of which they still hold.

A total of 27 children have been paralysed by polio in Syria through the end of March, according to the UN, including 18 in Deir Ezzor, the Syrian province across the border from Anbar.

Lebanon and Turkey will join the regional polio vaccination campaign on April 10 and April 18 respectively, according to UNICEF.

Rahman-Sibal's Aa Bhi Jaa to be Launched

The video of Aa Bhi Jaa, the second single from A R Rahman and Kapil Sibal's collaborative album Raunaq, will be introduced in a 4K - ultra high definition version - on online video-sharing platform YouTube on Friday.

"It's a first in India and we are extremely excited to be launching this video. This version has not been used even in Bollywood films and watching a video in this ultra-high definition format is an immersive experience in itself," Sanujeet Bhujabal, Marketing Director, Sony Music India, said in a statement.

4K resolution is a generic term for display devices or content having horizontal resolution on the order of 4,000 pixels. Introducing the song's video in the special version, singer-producer Rahman said: "We wanted this video to be in a format that gives viewers a visual delight as the essence of the video is taken from Raja Ravi Varma's paintings."

Aa Bhi Jaa is a visual delight that has artistry inspired by Raja Ravi Varma's paintings. Featuring actors Yami Gautam and Muzammil Ibrahim, the video harkens back to the days of dynasties ruling India.

Rendered by singer Jonita Gandhi, the song is a mellow and slow track that blends seamlessly with poetry by Sibal. (IANS)

Banco Popolare approves cap hike to be launched on March 31

LODI: The shareholders of Italy's Banco Popolare on Saturday gave final approval to a 1.5 billion euro ($2.1 billion) capital increase to be launched on March 31.
The rights issue will end on April 17, the cooperative lender's Chief Executive Pier Francesco Saviotti said on the sidelines of the shareholders' meeting.
The fundraising will give the bank a core capital ratio, indicating its high quality or low-risk capital, of 10.8 percent, higher than the 10 percent level it indicated a month ago, and well above the minimum threshold of 8 percent set by the European Central Bank. Banco Popolare is one of 15 Italian lenders under review by the ECB in a Europe-wide review of the sector.
The move to boost the capital base could also give Italy's number four lender fresh funds to acquire a rival. If an opportunity arises, "we will not backtrack," said Saviotti, speaking about a possible acquisition among Italian mid-sized lenders.
However the CEO denied contacts with smaller rival Veneto Banca, which is in search of a strong partner. The shareholders meeting also approved a reverse stock split of the bank's shares at a ratio of one new common share every 10 outstanding shares.
Banco Popolare reported on Friday a full-year net loss of 606 million euros for 2013 after heavy writedowns on bad debts. Saviotti said he was confident the bank could return to pay a dividend in 2015.
A shareholders meeting scheduled for March 29 is expected to appoint Saviotti and the bank's Chairman Carlo Fratta Pasini for a new term, Fratta Pasini said.

New 2014 Honda City launched at Rs 7.42 lakh

The New City will be powered by a diesel engine for the first time. Bookings frenzy expected

Honda has finally launched the much awaited new 2014 City at a starting price of Rs 7.42 lakh for the petrol model. The new Honda City diesel’s prices start from Rs 8.62 lakh and the new Honda City Automatic will cost Rs 9.49 lakh. All prices are ex-showroom, Delhi.

This fourth generation City’s design is an evolution over the outgoing model rather than a revolution. But in its latest avatar, Honda has upped the game by making it a lot more upmarket. The car looks more premium, the quality of materials are better and there’s more space for the occupants. The Japanese carmaker has also focused on the rear seat, which now is plusher and gets more legroom. The new City also gets more features than before.

The most significant addition to the new City though is the diesel engine under its hood. After three generations of the petrol-only Honda City, this new car will cater to a wider customer base. The engine is the identical 1.5-litre i-DTEC block from the Amaze and delivers the same 100PS of power and 200Nm of torque but is mated to a new six speed gearbox. It promises to be one of the most fuel efficient sedans in the country with an ARAI certified economy score of 26Kmpl.

The petrol engine is the i-VTEC mill carried forward from the old City which delivers 119PS of power, one more than the last generation car. This petrol engine has two choices of gearboxes, a 5-speed manual and a CVT. The CVT is more efficient than the manual achieving an ARAI certified figure of 18Kmpl compared to 17.9Kmpl on the manual.

The new City will be available in five trims - E, S, SV, V and VX for the petrol manual transmission and diesel models and in the SV and VX trims for the CVT City. You will get a choice of six colours - Golden Brown, Carnelian Red Pearl, Urban Titanium, Alabaster Silver, Crystal Black and Taffeta White. Honda is offering a 2 year or 40,000km warranty on the new City.

The new City will be sold through 159 dealerships across the country and Honda has plans to open 11 more till March 2014.