Public, lawyers beat Gullu Butt at Model Town Katcheri

LAHORE: Gullu Butt, the man caught on camera damaging a number of vehicles outside the Minhaj-ul-Quran International (MQI) Secretariat in Model Town, was tortured by an angry crowd and lawyers at the Model Town Katcheri on Thursday.
Gullu Butt was handcuffed and his face was covered when an angry mob encircled him and tortured him. Only two policemen were escorting him at the time. Lawyers were demanding the authorities to try Gullu Butt under the anti-terrorism act.

Two police officers, who were escorting Butt, failed to protect him from the wrath of the angry mob and lawyers.Ironically, the policemen asked him “to lie down” to save his skin amid continuous pounding by kicks and fists. After being savagely assaulted by the public, the police personnel present on the occasion tried to take control of the situation. The scuffle left Gullu Butt unconscious. He was immediately shifted to hospital by the police in a rickshaw.

Later, a heavy contingent of police was deployed on the court premises and the police again produced Gullu before a judicial magistrate and sought his physical remand. However, a senior police officer told the court that the club he used to damage vehicles had already been recovered, so there was no need of a physical remand.

As this, the judge sent Gullu to jail on 14-day judicial remand.Police on Tuesday carried out an anti-encroachment drive to remove the barriers outside the MQI Secretariat and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahirul Qadri’s Lahore residence during which nine persons lost their lives.

Gullu Butt was arrested for vandalism after TV news cameras caught him damaging a number of vehicles outside the MQI Secretariat in Model Town in the presence of police on Tuesday.Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif issued orders for his arrest after watching the vandalism done by Butt captured in the news footage. The man was later identified as Gullu Butt alias Sher-i-Lahore, known to be a police tout in Model Town.

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)

2014 Pulitzer prize: Public service prize went to WP, Guardian reporters

NEW YORK: The 2014 Pulitzer Prize winners were announced at Columbia University on Monday. As was expected by many, the Public Service prize went to the Washington Post and Guardian reporters behind last year's NSA revelations, based on the documents leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden. It was also no surprise to see the Boston Globe staff win the breaking news award for its coverage following the Boston Marathon bombings.

This year, as Huffington Post's Michael Calderone pointed out, is the first time in a decade that no Pulitzer has been awarded in the Feature Writing category.

Journalism

Public Service
The Guardian US, and The Washington Post, for their coverage of the NSA. In case you were wondering, here's Edward Snowden's statement on the win.

Breaking News Reporting
Staff of The Boston Globe for "its exhaustive and empathetic coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings and the ensuing manhunt that enveloped the city."

Investigative Reporting
Chris Hamby of The Center for Public Integrity, Washington, DC for "his reports on how some lawyers and doctors rigged a system to deny benefits to coal miners stricken with black lung disease, resulting in remedial legislative efforts."

Explanatory Reporting
Eli Saslow of The Washington Post for "his unsettling and nuanced reporting on the prevalence of food stamps in post-recession America, forcing readers to grapple with issues of poverty and dependency."

Local Reporting
Will Hobson and Michael LaForgia of Tampa Bay Times for "their relentless investigation into the squalid conditions that marked housing for the city’s substantial homeless population, leading to swift reforms."

National Reporting
David Philipps of The Gazette, Colorado Springs, CO for "expanding the examination of how wounded combat veterans are mistreated."

International Reporting
Jason Szep and Andrew R.C. Marshall of Reuters for "their courageous reports on the violent persecution of the Rohingya, a Muslim minority in Myanmar that, in efforts to flee the country, often falls victim to predatory human-trafficking networks."

Feature Writing
No award

Commentary
Stephen Henderson of the Detroit Free Press for "his columns on the financial crisis facing his hometown."

Criticism
Inga Saffron of The Philadelphia Inquirer for "her criticism of architecture that blends expertise, civic passion and sheer readability into arguments that consistently stimulate and surprise."

Editorial Writing
Editorial Staff of The Oregonian, Portland for "its lucid editorials that explain the urgent but complex issue of rising pension costs, notably engaging readers and driving home the link between necessary solutions and their impact on everyday lives

Editorial Cartooning
Kevin Siers of The Charlotte Observer "for his thought provoking cartoons drawn with a sharp wit and bold artistic style."

Breaking News Photography
Tyler Hicks of The New York Times for "his compelling pictures that showed skill and bravery in documenting the unfolding terrorist attack at Westgate mall in Kenya."

Feature Photography
Josh Haner of The New York Times for "his moving essay on a Boston Marathon bomb blast victim who lost most of both legs and now is painfully rebuilding his life."

Letters, Drama, and Music

Fiction
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (Little, Brown)

Drama
The Flick by Annie Baker

History
The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832 by Alan Taylor (W.W. Norton)

Biography or Autobiography
Margaret Fuller: A New American Life by Megan Marshall (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Poetry
3 Sections by Vijay Seshadri (Graywolf Press)

General Nonfiction
Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation by Dan Fagin (Bantam Books)

Music
Become Ocean by John Luther Adams (Taiga Press/Theodore Front Musical Literature)

 

Looters of public money to be made an example: Shahbaz

MUZAFFARGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif on Sunday vowed to eliminate corruption root and branch and said those busy looting hard-earned public money will be made an example.
The chief minister said this while inaugurating a 50-bed state-of-the-art hospital at Rakh Khanpur situated in the flood-hit area of Muzaffargarh.

The Rs2 billion hospital has been constructed from the funds donated by the Turkish people. The hospital will be run by a trust. Dr Abdul Bari Khan of the Indus Hospital and the Punjab Government will sign an MoU in Lahore next week.

Shahbaz said he would abandon politics if he failed to wipe out corruption. He warned that corruption and negligence in healthcare would not be tolerated and stern action was being taken against those who had purchased rusted machinery for Lodhran Hospital.

He said the Turkish people had given sufficient donations for the construction of housing colonies, schools and hospitals for the flood-hit people of Dera Ghazi Khan. He said Turkey had become a role model for cities from Casablanca to Kuala Lumpur under the guidance of PM Tayyip Erdogan.

Shahbaz saluted the Turkish PM and said Turkey and Pakistan would walk shoulder to shoulder in every walk of life to get optimum benefit from each others’ potential.He said the Metro Bus Project assisted by Turkey had transformed Lahore into a modern and developed city. Shahbaz vowed to strengthen bilateral, trade, cultural, political and economic relations with Turkey.

“Pakistanis and the Turkish people enjoy historic brotherly relations. I am proud of this relationship,” the CM said.The chief minister took serious notice of the abduction of a newborn from the Muzaffargarh DHQ Hospital during a power shutdown.

Khawaja Salman Rafique, adviser to the CM, said the hospital was equipped with the latest healthcare facilities.Punjab Health Secretary Dr Ijaz Munir, Dean KE Medical University Prof Dr Arshad Cheema, Secretary Irfan Elahi, City Press Club President Dr Khalid Mehmood, Turkish representative Mehmoud Ahmed, Mian Ahsan of Lahore, Sohaib-bin-Amir, Minister Social Welfare Makhdoom Haroon Sultan and MPA Qaswar Kareem Langrial, Hammad Nawaz Tipu and MPA Mian Imran Qureshi were present on the occasion.