Sea level rises in Arabian Sea as cyclone intensifies

KARACHI: The sea level has risen as the cyclone in the Arabian Sea has intensified.

As result of the rise, water has entered homes in several neigbourhoods of Rheri Goth in Karachi. The cyclone is 680 KM away from Karachi and is travelling at 10 KM/hour towards Oman.

The MET office said there is no threat from the cyclone to Pakistan’s coastal areas, adding that some areas will receive rain from Friday night till Saturday.

The MET office has also advised fishermen not to be in the open sea from Friday till Sunday.

Meanwhile the Sindh government has placed the concerned departments on high-alert and cautioned people to avoid visiting beaches.

Death toll from Karachi airport attack rises to 22

KARACHI: Death toll from a brazen militant attack on Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport attack has risen to 22 after recovery of two more bodies from Cargo Terminal, according to a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority.

The spokesman said that the two men were burnt to death after a fire erupted at the terminal during the militant attack.

He further said that five people were still missing and efforts were underway to recover them.

Toll in Karachi violence rises to six

KARACHI: Five persons lost their lives in an hour in various violent incidents across the metropolis, raising the toll to six on Saturday, Geo News reported.

Details have it that four bodies were found from two different areas of the city. Rescue sources told that two bodies bearing torture marks were recovered from Quaidabad area of Madina Colony.

Two more bodies were found from Yaro Goth area of Surjani Town that were dumped in a Suzuki.

Rescue sources told that the deceased were aged between 25 and 30 years.

Moreover, two persons were killed when unknown persons opened fire in Orangi Town no.14 and Rais Amrohi Colony areas.

In another incident, two persons were injured when unidentified persons opened fire in New Karachi sector 5 area. The injured were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for treatment.

Saudi health minister sacked as MERS toll rises

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia dismissed its health minister on Monday just days after he visited a hospital at the centre of growing concerns about the kingdom's handling of the MERS virus.

Abdullah al-Rabiah was named adviser to King Abdullah and replaced by Labour Minister Adel Fakieh, said a royal decree carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

Saudi Arabia has registered by far the largest number of infections with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome since the disease's discovery in September 2012.

Of 243 confirmed cases across the planet, 231 have been in Saudi Arabia, according to the World Health Organisation.

Of those, 81 people have died, most recently two foreigners in the commercial capital Jeddah where there have been mounting fears of a potential surge in infections.

Panic over the spread of the virus among medical staff in Jeddah triggered the temporary closure of a hospital emergency room in the city earlier this month.

The now fired minister visited the facility last week in a bid to reassure the public but on Wednesday at least four doctors at the King Fahd Hospital reportedly resigned after refusing to treat MERS patients.

MERS was initially concentrated in eastern Saudi Arabia but it now affects other areas.

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

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

Saudi health minister sacked as MERS toll rises

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia dismissed its health minister on Monday just days after he visited a hospital at the centre of growing concerns about the kingdom's handling of the MERS virus.

Abdullah al-Rabiah was named adviser to King Abdullah and replaced by Labour Minister Adel Fakieh, said a royal decree carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

Saudi Arabia has registered by far the largest number of infections with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome since the disease's discovery in September 2012.

Of 243 confirmed cases across the planet, 231 have been in Saudi Arabia, according to the World Health Organisation.

Of those, 81 people have died, most recently two foreigners in the commercial capital Jeddah where there have been mounting fears of a potential surge in infections.

Panic over the spread of the virus among medical staff in Jeddah triggered the temporary closure of a hospital emergency room in the city earlier this month.

The now fired minister visited the facility last week in a bid to reassure the public but on Wednesday at least four doctors at the King Fahd Hospital reportedly resigned after refusing to treat MERS patients.

MERS was initially concentrated in eastern Saudi Arabia but it now affects other areas.

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

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

Death toll in Ebola outbreak rises to 121

DAKAR:An outbreak of Ebola in West Africa has been linked to the deaths of more than 120 people, according to the latest World Health Organization count.

There is no vaccine and no cure for the deadly virus, and its appearance in West Africa, far from its usual sites in Central and East Africa, has caused some panic.

Health workers are trying to contain its spread, tracking down anyone with whom the sick have had contact. Mali announced Tuesday that samples from all its suspected cases had tested negative for the disease.

Malian Health Minister Ousmane Kone said that the country had sent out 10 samples for testing at labs in the United States and Senegal, and all were declared negative for Ebola. There are no other known suspected cases in the country.

As of Monday, the U.N. health agency said it had recorded a total of 200 suspected or confirmed cases of Ebola, the majority of which are in Guinea. That figure includes some of the Mali cases that the government now says are negative. The organization said the deaths of 121 people in Guinea and Liberia have been linked to the disease.

Officials have said the current outbreak could last months.

Power outages intensify, loadshedding rises

LAHORE: The intensity of infamous outages or frequent power suspension has increased by at least one-third with rising demand of electricity amid a fairly mild weather.
The Lahore Electric Supply Company also officially increased duration of outages to eight hours a day from six hours, according to new load management schedule being implemented from this weekend. Presently demand in the Lesco areas, including districts of Lahore, Kasur, Sheikhupura and Okara stand at 3,100mw which saw a jump of about 600mw in just a few weeks.

With fading spring and approaching summer, outages tend to increase by at least two hours daily though people complain far greater cuts in power supply. Their complaints are justified especially when power demand and supply witnessed an abrupt imbalance, causing increase in frequency of outages. It happens due to shutdown of power generation plants or rising temperature in various parts of the country.

This fragile nature of power demand and supply is an ample proof that the electricity crisis in the country has yet to be managed prudently. The increasing unreliability in electricity supply is a key aspect that shows how whole power sector is being managed. Though overall duration of outages are less than the levels of last year during same days, smooth supply of power or announced outages is still a distant dream.

The main factor positively affecting electricity supply scenario in April 2014 if compared with corresponding period of last year, when incumbent government has yet to come into power, is a visible mild weather. Such a pleasant weather helped contained power demand below 12,000MW in the month of April this year in sheer contrast to last year’s demand that hovered around 14,000MW. The average demand of electricity in the whole month of April last year was 13,980MW while maximum demand observed in current month has been 12,500MW.

The power generation in present month and corresponding period of last year happened to be almost same-at around 9,500MW. The shortfall hence is on lower side only because of low demand of and partly because of a comparatively better management of generation capacity.

As per latest power demand and supply data released by National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC), generation of electricity stood on Sunday at 10,100MW as compared to the demand of 12,200MW, showing shortfall of 2,100MW. The contribution of hydel generation still low as it was recorded at 2,820MW while public sector thermal generation registered at 1,130MW. The independent power producers (IPPs) were generating electricity to the tune of 6,150mw.

TSX rises as jobs help offset mining retreat

TORONTO: Toronto's main stock index rose on Friday following better-than-expected US jobs data, with gains in energy stocks offsetting a decline in mining.
US jobs growth picked up sharply in February despite an unusually cold winter, with 175,000 new jobs created, compared with a loss of 7,000 in Canada. Sentiment in Canada is often influenced by news out of the United States, the country's largest trading partner.
"The US jobs number was the big positive driver for the markets today. I think there was enough there to even offset the job losses in Canada. So yeah, it's been a good day that way," said Brian Pow, vice president, research and equity analyst at Acumen Capital Partners in Calgary.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index closed 27.16 points, or 0.2 percent higher, to end the session at 14,299.08. Nine of the 10 main groups were in positive territory.
The index, which rose in four of the last five sessions, gained close to 0.7 percent on the week. It has gained 6 percent since it last troughed at the beginning of February.
Energy stocks were helped by stronger crude prices, which rose to $108 a barrel on supply concerns from the crisis in Ukraine and the US jobs number.
Canadian Natural Resources was up 1.9 percent at C$41.59, while Suncor Energy Inc rose 1.1 percent to C$36.91. The overall group climbed nearly 1 percent.
The heavily weighted financial group was up a modest 0.1 percent.
"Our index has the barbell between financials and resources that makes our markets somewhat less volatile, in terms of what's going on," said Paul Hand, managing director at RBC Capital Markets.
The materials group, comprised of mining stocks, capped some of the positive gains, with a 1.7 percent retreat, as gold and copper prices fell.
Goldcorp Inc was off 1.7 percent at C$29.97, while Barrick Gold Corp was down 1.1 percent at C$22.08.
Gold prices fell 1 percent as US jobs data helped soothe fears of an abrupt slowdown in the world's biggest economy.
Base-metals miner First Quantum Minerals Ltd led the decliners with a 5.4 percent drop to C$20.10 as copper hit a seven-month low on China growth worries. Teck Resources Ltd also slumped 3.4 percent to C$24.40.
In company news, Constellation Software Inc was also one of the biggest drivers on the positive side, jumping 12.2 percent to C$265.48. The company reported better-than-expected results after markets on Thursday and at least two analysts raise its price target on the company.
The overall technology group gained 1.7 percent. March 8, 2014