Geo restored in some cities, others still waiting

 

LAHORE: In various cities of the country, cable operators have restored the Geo TV transmission though people have complained about shifting of different Geo channels to later numbers. Complaints about illegal suspension of Geo News transmission are also pouring in from various parts of the country.
In Khanqah Dogran, where people launched a severe protest against the suspension of Geo News transmission from time to time, the cable operators have restored it. However, people complained that Geo News has been put at 33 number on cable instead of its real position on 14.

Expressing their pleasure at the Geo News restoration, they demanded the cable operators to place their favourite channel at number 14 again. Punjab Parliamentary Secretary for Information and Culture Rana Muhammad Arshad regretted that Geo News transmission was suspended for 17 days and Geo Tez for 40 days in Shahkot. He called upon the cable operators to restore the Geo channels immediately. He said the Geo channels are the most favourite channels of the people and the Geo TV network played an unforgettable role in the restoration of democracy and movement for an independent judiciary in the country.

In Gojra, people have expressed their pleasure at the restoration of Geo News on its real position at cable network. However, in various cities, including Karachi, Lah

Cold storage fire near Karachi airport still rages on

KARACHI: Fire at a cold storage facility near Karachi airport could not be doused even after a lapse of two days.

The cold storage had caught fire as a result of the deadly attack on the airport by terrorists equipped with modern weapons on Sunday night.

The officials of the city’s fire brigade and Airport Security Force (ASF) had made claims to distinguish the fire by today.

Still blocked Geo to sue Pemra for contempt of court

 

ISLAMABAD: Geo television has decided to knock on the doors of the Supreme Court again by moving a contempt of court petition against the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) after the apex court’s orders to restore the Geo transmission were completely ignored and the government’s ‘instructions’ on this count simply put into dustbin by the Pemra. As a result, Geo is still blacked out across the country.
After the horrible attack on Pakistan’s star journalist and Geo News senior anchorperson Hamid Mir on April 19 in Karachi, certain forces started getting the transmission of Geo News closed or shifting the channel to last numbers on cable networks. Within a few days, Geo News and other channels of the Geo family were either put off air or were thrown on the last numbers on cable networks in 70% areas of Pakistan.

Viewers could not watch their favourite channel on the last numbers because of limited channel carrying capacity of their TV sets or bad signal quality at those numbers. Geo continuously informed Pemra about the closure or obstruction in its transmission but the authority never took any action and remained mysteriously silent though it was its fundamental duty to resolve the complaints from any channel facing closure.

However, later the hidden forces intensified their action against the Geo News and all other channels of Geo family were put off air in more than 95% areas of Pakistan and the organisation itself announced that channels were completely closed in Pakistan. After failing to get any relief from Pemra even after filing five complaints, Geo moved the Supreme Court which in its judgment clearly ordered the authority to get the Geo News and all Geo channels restored immediately and shifted to their original positions.

After the Supreme Court had started its proceedings, the government also asked the Pemra to try to get Geo restored. The Pemra issued a letter to all the cable operators to restore all the Geo channels to their original positions.

However, Pemra’s action remained confined to issuing this letter and also taking action against the powerful cable operators at some places but the result was almost zero. The reason was backing of cable operators by some hidden forces and incompetence and insincerity of Pemra officials at many places. All this resulted in complete disregard of the Supreme Court’s May 26 judgment, which was not implemented anywhere asGeo is still facing a countrywide blackout and also terrible conspiracies against it and its staff on a daily basis.

Geo is the most popular channel of Pakistan known for open debates and independent and impartial analysis and comments. Geo is also known for providing the latest information and exclusive news to its tens of millions of viewers across Pakistan and many parts of the world.

Not only Geo is completely off in Pakistan and Pemra is unable to restore Geo and its channels and thus implement the clear judgment of the Supreme Court but the staff of Geo is also working under constant threats. Most interestingly, the so-called democratic provincial governments are so far unable to provide protection to Pakistan’s largest media house and its journalists and workers.

Former Iron Curtain still barrier for deer

PRAGUE: The Iron Curtain was traced by an electrified barbed-wire fence that isolated the communist world from the West.

It was an impenetrable Cold War barrier - and for some inhabitants of the Czech Republic it still is.

Deer still balk at crossing the border with Germany even though the physical fence came down a quarter century ago, new studies show.

Czechoslovakia, where the communists took power in 1948, had three parallel electrified fences, patrolled by heavily armed guards. Nearly 500 people were killed when they attempted to escape communism.

Deer were also victims of the barrier. A seven-year study in the Czech Republic's Sumava National Park showed that the original Iron Curtain line still deters one species, red deer, from crossing.

"It was fascinating to realize for the first time that anything like that is possible," said Pavel Sustr, a biologist who led the Czech project. Scientists conducting research on German territory reached similar conclusions.

The average life expectancy for deer is 15 years and none living now would have encountered the barrier.

"But the border still plays a role for them and separates the two populations," Sustr said. He said the research showed the animals stick to traditional life patterns, returning every year to the same places.

"Fawns follow mothers for the first year of their life and learn from them where to go," Sustr said.

Wildlife officials recorded the movement of some 300 Czech and German deer with GPS-equipped collars which sent data to computers.

"I don't think it's a surprising result," said professor Ludek Bartos of the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, who was not involved in the research. "These animals are really conservative."

Former Iron Curtain still barrier for deer

PRAGUE: The Iron Curtain was traced by an electrified barbed-wire fence that isolated the communist world from the West.

It was an impenetrable Cold War barrier - and for some inhabitants of the Czech Republic it still is.

Deer still balk at crossing the border with Germany even though the physical fence came down a quarter century ago, new studies show.

Czechoslovakia, where the communists took power in 1948, had three parallel electrified fences, patrolled by heavily armed guards. Nearly 500 people were killed when they attempted to escape communism.

Deer were also victims of the barrier. A seven-year study in the Czech Republic's Sumava National Park showed that the original Iron Curtain line still deters one species, red deer, from crossing.

"It was fascinating to realize for the first time that anything like that is possible," said Pavel Sustr, a biologist who led the Czech project. Scientists conducting research on German territory reached similar conclusions.

The average life expectancy for deer is 15 years and none living now would have encountered the barrier.

"But the border still plays a role for them and separates the two populations," Sustr said. He said the research showed the animals stick to traditional life patterns, returning every year to the same places.

"Fawns follow mothers for the first year of their life and learn from them where to go," Sustr said.

Wildlife officials recorded the movement of some 300 Czech and German deer with GPS-equipped collars which sent data to computers.

"I don't think it's a surprising result," said professor Ludek Bartos of the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, who was not involved in the research. "These animals are really conservative."

 

‘Queen’ still going strong, beats Sonam Kapoor’s ‘Bewakoofiyaan’

Kangana Ranaut's 'Queen' is still going strong at the box office beating this week's fresh release 'Bewakoofiyaan'.

Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut’s ‘Queen’ is still going strong at the box office beating this week’s fresh release – Sonam Kapoor and Ayushmann Khurrana’s ‘Bewakoofiyaan’. Queen has entered its third week.
‘Queen’ collected over Rs 11 crore on the second weekend, whereas last week’s fresh release ‘Bewakoofiyaan’ managed to collect a little above Rs 9 crore.
Read Review: Queen
Queen’s grand total however stands at Rs 32 crore. Taran adarsh gave the official figures. “#Bewakoofiyaan Fri 2.23 cr, Sat 2.51 cr, Sun 2.57 cr, Mon 2.06 cr. Total: ₹ 9.37 cr nett. India biz.” and “#Queen [Week 2] Fri 2.15 cr, Sat 3.75 cr, Sun 4.75 cr, Mon 2.50 cr. Grand total: ₹ 32 cr nett. India biz.”
‘Bewakoofiyaan’ boasted of a strong star cast – Rishi Kpaoor, Sonam Kapoor and Ayushmann Khurrana but because of a weak script the movie failed to cast its spell on the audience.
Read Review: Bewakoofiaan
Meanwhile, Kangana Ranaut’s ‘Queen’ is rock steady, mainly due to the strong word-of -mouth and good reviews. Many Bollywood celebs including Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Sonakshi Sinha, Deepika Padukone among others has endorsed Kangana’s performance and the film itself.
In fact, Deepika Padukone even went on to say that she was jealous of Kangana Ranaut for bagging the role.
Big B said, “In recent times I have never experienced so much word of mouth of a film as I have for ‘Queen’ .. delighted for its makers !!”
Aamir Khan had tweeted, “What a film!!! Guys you have to watch QUEEN !!! Anyone who hasn’t seen it please go now and see it… Thank you to Vikas Bahl and his team which made the film. And Kangana… you rock!!!”

What do exes John Abraham, Bipasha Basu still have in common?

Once Bollywood's hottest couple, John Abraham and Bipashu Basu have a lot in common even after their break up.

Once Bollywood’s hottest couple, John Abraham and Bipashu Basu have a lot in common even after their break up.
John and Bipasha, who are both touted as the fittest actors in the tinsel town, are both fitness freaks.
While Bipasha Basu, who recently released a new fitness DVD, is always ready for more exercises, John Abraham too is relentles when it comes to burning the calories and keeping in shape.
Bipasha Basu tweeted “Starting my Sunday on a strong note!#Unleash followed by #fitandfabulousyou routine!Burrrrn !”
The actress also added, “Sunday is your day to enjoy n relax, yes!But take out an hour to workout too!Get fit n strong n look awesome!Enjoy!” She also added, “Motivate yourself on Sundays too to work out!Starting now with #Unleash and following it with…”
Meanwhile, Bipasha’s ex beau John Abraham posted a picture on Insstgram captioning it “Time for a new John Abraham !!! Fitness is religion!!!”John Abraham and Bipasha Basu started dating during the filming of ‘Jism’ in 2003 and ended their relationship in early 2011. While John Abraham is now married to Priya Runchal, according to reports, Bipasha will soon be engaged to boyfriend Harman Baweja post the release of his film ‘Dhishkiyaoon’.

Karan Johar: Alia Bhatt still has a long way to go

According to the Times of India, Bollywood director Karan Johar says his ‘Student of the year’ star Alia Bhatt has yet to prove her acting versatility. Bhatt has garnered heaps of critical praise for her performance in Imitaz Ali’s ‘Highway’.However, Johar, who is set to release his second film with the 20-year-old actress, believes Bhatt has yet to cover a long way in the industry to prove her talent. The Times of India quoted KJo as saying, "Alia has a lot to be explored. What we have seen so far is tip of the iceberg. Whether it is Highway or 2 States and her subsequent films, it will all add up to her repertoire. We all hope that she will live up to the expectations." Bhatt’s next film '2 States', based on Chetan Bhagat's best-selling novel, is slated to release on April 18th. It will feature Arjun Kapoor as the ...

Govt to announce crucial decisions, still prefers talks: Nisar

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. — File photo

PESHAWAR: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Thursday said the government has made crucial decisions in relation to the country's security which it would be announcing soon, DawnNews reported.
Addressing a press conference at the Governor House in Peshawar, the minister said despite the events of the past several days, the government still preferred the route of peace talks with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Talks between government and Taliban representatives that began earlier this month were suspended after the killing of 23 paramilitary soldiers by the militants.
The military responded with a series of air strikes that have left more than 100 insurgents dead, but Khan said the government was still open to talks – with the right people.
“We will talk to those groups who are not against Pakistan,” he said adding, “We are in contact with groups that have never attacked Pakistan's interests, we have dialogue for them.”
He gave no details of which groups he meant.
His comments could revive fears that Pakistan is maintaining a policy of distinguishing between “good” militants who can be used to further strategic goals abroad, and “bad” militants who attack domestic targets.
Pakistan has come in for strong criticism from the United States and Afghanistan in recent years for sheltering and patronising militants such as the Haqqani network, who attack Nato and Afghan forces across the border.
On Wednesday, Chaudhry Nisar unveiled Pakistan's first-ever counter-terrorism policy, seven years since the TTP rose up and began its bloody campaign against the state.
The minister said every act of violence would in future be met with an attack on the militants' bases, which lie mainly in the North Waziristan tribal district on the Afghan border.
Commenting on the status of the dialogue between the government and Taliban representatives, Khan said Wednesday that while talks have been put on hold they could “resume anytime soon and both negotiations and targeted strikes will go hand in hand.”
He said the government was sincerely working towards establishing peace in the country, adding that it would remove all the stumbling blocks that lay on the road ahead.
The minister said acts of violence could not be tolerated on the country’s soil and that the government would appropriately respond to any such attacks.
Nisar said security forces were being provided with the latest equipment purchased from abroad, adding that new vehicles would also be provided to the forces, including the police.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Engineer Shaukatullah, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and Inspector General KP Police Nasir Durrani were also present during the press briefing.