Pakistan rugby to make Asian Games debut

<div> <strong class="location"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjihdAbX9guApqORS9Gv_3ovujmwhBB1fRWQPTnVDEwn0fhLFNFamgX-SK2aNMSqt9qf6iK0qbzNDN1SMwey1U_0Us-kLbF935mHJ7fia6iVbDC8VeyX1-VYbuCFH1ZW2-lJvhfprAvNU8/s1600/749624-RugbyPakistanAFP-1408230064-398-640x480.jpg" /></div> </strong></div> <div> <strong class="location">KARACHI: </strong> <strong>The Pakistan Rugby Union (PRU) will field the national team at the Asian Games for the first time in its history.</strong><br /> </div> The squad will participate in the sevens event and according to PRU Secretary Arif Saeed, this will be Pakistan’s first high-profile event.<br /> “Before this, we have been participating in Asian tournaments or test series with India, but this is a great opportunity,” Saeed told <em>The Express Tribune</em>. “It’s a breakthrough for us. If all goes well, we will compete at the Asian Games.”<br /> Saeed added that preparations for the tournament are taking place and the players are training with temporary coach Chris Kumeroa of New Zealand.<br /> “Kumeroa is here for a short-term assignment,” said Saeed. “He is a sevens specialist and we are hoping to get good results.<br /> “But the dynamics of the game will be different. In the Asian Games, we can only use indigenous players and the nature of game itself is very different from 15-a-side format.<br /> “In fact, most countries have a different team for the sevens event, so preparing the national side for the Asian Games will be a different experience for us this time.”<br /> Saeed added that Pakistan can defeat teams like India and Mongolia, who are in the same division as Pakistan. However, he said that Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and even Sri Lanka could give the national team a tough time.<br /> <strong>Olympics calling</strong><br /> Rugby will be featured in the Olympics for the first time since 1924. This time, 12 teams will get a chance to qualify for the 2016 Rio Games sevens event.<br /> “It’s a great step,” said Saeed. “However, Pakistan will be focusing on the 2020 Olympics. The qualification path is open for this time as well, but there are 100 countries that play rugby and only 12 will compete at the main event, so our chances are almost non-existent.”<br /> <em>Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2014.</em>

Pakistan rugby to make Asian Games debut

  KARACHI:  The Pakistan Rugby Union (PRU) will field the national team at the Asian Games for the first time in its history. The squad will participate in the sevens event and according to PRU Secr…

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Militants kill dozens in north Iraq ‘massacre’: officials

<span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_lblNewsDetailMain"></span><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijZIFV9YEcjxgS8S3YxXAM1FXyGqDqCiMtXbk9Gwy40Ni7H8RFw2rgDM4nYGQh6lsioXxFHDxFpTmCz1LMyc96k942POZYx-H74tqDKQ5fWjCq6HdxsEXhG8n3umSnvv1ngx0J8xmpy90/s1600/iraq-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijZIFV9YEcjxgS8S3YxXAM1FXyGqDqCiMtXbk9Gwy40Ni7H8RFw2rgDM4nYGQh6lsioXxFHDxFpTmCz1LMyc96k942POZYx-H74tqDKQ5fWjCq6HdxsEXhG8n3umSnvv1ngx0J8xmpy90/s1600/iraq-6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <b>BAGHDAD: Militants carried out a "massacre" in the northern Iraqi village of Kocho, killing dozens of people, most of them members of the Yazidi religious minority, officials said on Saturday.</b><br /> <br /> Militants from the Islamic State (IS) group are carrying out attacks against minorities in Iraq´s Nineveh province, prompting tens of thousands of people to flee.<br /> <br /> "We have information from multiple sources, in the region and through intelligence, that (on Friday) afternoon, a convoy of (IS) armed men entered this village," senior Iraqi official Hoshyar Zebari told.<br /> <br /> "They took their revenge on its inhabitants, who happened to be mostly Yazidis who did not flee their homes," Zebari said, referring to a religious community regarded as heretics by militants.<br /> <br /> "They committed a massacre against the people," he said. "Around 80 of them have been killed."<br /> <br /> Harim Kamal Agha, a senior official of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party in Dohuk province, which borders Nineveh, put the death toll at 81 and said the militants had taken women to prisons they control.<br /> <br /> And Mohsen Tawwal, a Yazidi fighter, told by telephone that he saw a large number of bodies in the village.<br /> <br /> "We made it into a part of Kocho village, where residents were under siege, but we were too late," he said.<br /> <br /> "There were corpses everywhere. We only managed to get two people out alive. The rest had all been killed."<br /> <br /> Militants-led insurgents launched a major offensive in June that began in Nineveh and swept security forces aside, overrunning large areas of five provinces.<br /> <br /> In one of the most dramatic chapters of the conflict, the militants stormed the Sinjar area of northwestern Iraq earlier this month prompting tens of thousands of people, many of them Yazidis, to take refugee in the mountains.<br /> <br /> Kurdish fighters on the ground and US air strikes eventually helped most of those trapped to escape after more than 10 days under siege, but some remain in the mountains.<br />

Militants kill dozens in north Iraq ‘massacre’: officials

BAGHDAD: Militants carried out a "massacre" in the northern Iraqi village of Kocho, killing dozens of people, most of them members of the Yazidi religious minority, officials said on Saturday. Mil…

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Boeing, South African Airways to make jet fuel from tobacco

<span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_lblNewsDetailMain"></span><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzF7apFycFbhyphenhyphenqLOmW92IczMVog7sWXJPr3kGV6ZBNJQJMq2WVkrKCUGZ8iohN4dBUJ1ENcvXrL4eEBFge8tJ4WxZUnZZs7YTEqBom-KFqiTEs76czeXavXbY4zmKzmJgNTGFVpsrIqvA/s1600/Boeing-Tobacco_8-7-2014_156139_l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzF7apFycFbhyphenhyphenqLOmW92IczMVog7sWXJPr3kGV6ZBNJQJMq2WVkrKCUGZ8iohN4dBUJ1ENcvXrL4eEBFge8tJ4WxZUnZZs7YTEqBom-KFqiTEs76czeXavXbY4zmKzmJgNTGFVpsrIqvA/s1600/Boeing-Tobacco_8-7-2014_156139_l.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <b>JOHANNESBURG: US planemaker Boeing has teamed up with South African Airways to develop jet fuel from a tobacco plant as part of efforts to cut carbon emissions and promote green energy in Africa's most advanced economy.</b><br /> <br /> The jet fuel will be made from a hybrid tobacco plant known as Solaris, which will be produced by alternative jet fuel maker SkyNRG, both companies said in a joint statement on Wednesday.<br /> <br /> Test farming of the plants, which are nicotine-free, is ongoing in South Africa, with biofuel output expected in the "next few years", the companies said.<br /> <br /> "By using hybrid tobacco, we can leverage knowledge of tobacco growers in South Africa to grow a marketable biofuel crop without encouraging smoking," Ian Cruickshank, SAA's Group Environmental Affairs Specialist, said.<br /> <br /> This biofuel has potential in several regions where traditional tobacco is cultivated, including Africa, southern and central Europe, Asia, Oceania and Latin America, Boeing spokeswoman Jessica Kowal said.<br /> <br /> South Africa has set the beginning of October next year as the date when fuel producers will start blending diesel and petrol with biofuel to cut its reliance on imported fuel.<br /> <br /> The biofuels industry in South Africa, the continent's biggest agricultural producer, has been held back by an inadequate regulatory regime and concerns that biofuels would hurt food security and impact food prices.<br />

Boeing, South African Airways to make jet fuel from tobacco

JOHANNESBURG: US planemaker Boeing has teamed up with South African Airways to develop jet fuel from a tobacco plant as part of efforts to cut carbon emissions and promote green energy in Africa's…

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Facebook buys cybersecurity startup PrivateCore

<span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_lblNewsDetailMain"></span><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMrWd7e2jYj2A-v123gh7xy66DTCF_75pnhNhMRUg7ELmWhkHCn6vl4iB10GlQ70XZamuY5cgoRgypbUonh-wNA6xvbYbA5Xl-TzdwHppf75-5q0JcfndbJaErRiGPSYj3J7Ovk8Uw-U0/s1600/world-facebook_8-8-2014_156191_l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMrWd7e2jYj2A-v123gh7xy66DTCF_75pnhNhMRUg7ELmWhkHCn6vl4iB10GlQ70XZamuY5cgoRgypbUonh-wNA6xvbYbA5Xl-TzdwHppf75-5q0JcfndbJaErRiGPSYj3J7Ovk8Uw-U0/s1600/world-facebook_8-8-2014_156191_l.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <b>NEW YORK: Facebook announced Thursday it was buying California-based cybersecurity startup PrivateCore, in a move to boost defenses of its vast server network.</b><br /> <br /> "I believe that PrivateCore´s technology and expertise will help support Facebook´s mission to help make the world more open and connected, in a secure and trusted way," Facebook´s Joe Sullivan said.<br /> <br /> "Over time, we plan to deploy PrivateCore´s technology directly into the Facebook server stack."<br /> <br /> PrivateCore was launched in 2012 in Palo Alto and specializes in protecting servers against malware and other kinds of intrusions.<br /> <br /> PrivateCore´s Oded Horovitz said in a blog post that the two firms "have an aligned mission."<br /> <br /> "Since the beginning, we have worked tirelessly on our technology to protect servers from malware threats, unauthorized physical access, and malicious hardware devices," he said.<br /> <br /> "Working together with Facebook, there is a huge opportunity to pursue our joint vision at scale with incredible impact."<br /> <br /> Terms of the deal were not announced. (AFP)<br />

Facebook buys cybersecurity startup PrivateCore

NEW YORK: Facebook announced Thursday it was buying California-based cybersecurity startup PrivateCore, in a move to boost defenses of its vast server network. "I believe that PrivateCore´s techno…

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Judge rejects $324.5 million settlement over Apple, Google hiring

<span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_lblNewsDetailMain"></span><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU55xmQFB4LPolDIyrtdAocCcZ_FhKi-Bqat2f9ZYKJECz-uMMqhZazvJoMPumeTduqq3CDe7sex7SFkRiDp4jq4_S1DOiSOHDYo4VK1bTlDVkCSZinDUMkZ92uzDwZuguAuNz5jMUV4g/s1600/google-apple-judge-settlement-reject_8-9-2014_156369_l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU55xmQFB4LPolDIyrtdAocCcZ_FhKi-Bqat2f9ZYKJECz-uMMqhZazvJoMPumeTduqq3CDe7sex7SFkRiDp4jq4_S1DOiSOHDYo4VK1bTlDVkCSZinDUMkZ92uzDwZuguAuNz5jMUV4g/s1600/google-apple-judge-settlement-reject_8-9-2014_156369_l.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <b>NEW YORK: Four Silicon Valley companies including Apple and Google failed to persuade a U.S. judge to sign off on a $324.5 million settlement to resolve a lawsuit by tech workers, who accused the firms of conspiring to avoid poaching each other's employees.</b><br /> <br /> In a ruling on Friday, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, said the class action settlement was too low, given the strength of the case against the companies. Intel and Adobe were also part of the proposed deal.<br /> <br /> There is "substantial and compelling evidence" that late Apple Inc co-founder Steve Jobs "was a, if not the, central figure in the alleged conspiracy," Koh wrote. The judge provided details in evidence of anecdotes involving Jobs and other Valley executives to show why she thought the workers deserved more.<br /> <br /> Representatives for Apple and Google Inc declined to comment. Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said the company is disappointed Koh rejected an agreement "that was negotiated at arm's length over many months," but appreciates that Koh provided additional information on her views.<br /> <br /> Lawyers for the workers, along with an Adobe representative, were not immediately available to comment.<br /> <br /> In their 2011 lawsuit, the tech employees said the conspiracy had limited their job mobility and, as a result, kept a lid on salaries. The case has been closely watched because of the possibility of big damages being awarded and for the opportunity to peek into the world of some of America's elite tech firms.<br /> <br /> The case was based largely on emails in which Apple's Jobs, former Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt and some of their rivals hatched plans to avoid poaching each other's prized engineers.<br /> <br /> PARIS BLUES<br /> <br /> Koh referred to one email exchange which occurred after a Google recruiter solicited an Apple employee. Schmidt told Jobs that the recruiter would be fired. Jobs then forwarded Schmidt's note to a top Apple human resources executive with a smiley face.<br /> <br /> Koh also disclosed a 2006 exchange over Google's plans to open an engineering center in Paris. Google sought to hire three former Apple engineers for the project, but Jobs objected. Jobs wrote that his company would "strongly prefer that you not hire these guys." Google then told Jobs it had scrapped plans for the Paris center, "based on your strong preference."<br /> <br /> The four companies agreed to settle with the workers in April shortly before trial. The plaintiffs had planned to ask for about $3 billion in damages at trial, which could have tripled to $9 billion under antitrust law.<br /> <br /> Plaintiff attorneys argued Koh should approve the deal because the workers faced serious risks on appeal had the case gone forward. Some tech workers filed objections to the settlement, however, saying both sides should go back to the negotiating table in the hopes of obtaining a larger amount.<br /> <br /> Daniel Girard, a lawyer for one of the objectors, said he is "very pleased that the court agreed with his position." It is unclear whether objectors would be included in any future settlement negotiations.<br /> <br /> In her ruling, Koh repeatedly referred to a related settlement last year involving Disney and Intuit. Apple and Google workers got proportionally less in the latest deal compared to the one involving Disney, Koh wrote, even though plaintiff lawyers have "much more leverage" now than they did a year ago.<br /> <br /> To match the earlier settlement, the latest deal "would need to total at least $380 million," Koh wrote.<br /> <br /> The judge also said the plaintiffs had strong evidence to prove how the no-poaching deals impacted wages. In response to hiring pressure from Facebook, Google co-founder Sergey Brin announced a policy in 2007 of making counteroffers "within one hour" to any Google employee approached by the social networking company.<br /> <br /> Google then tried to entice Facebook into a no-poaching deal, Koh wrote, but Facebook refused. The Facebook threat eventually led Google to alter its salary structure and increase all salaries by 10 percent, Koh wrote.<br /> <br /> A further hearing in the case is scheduled for September 10.<br /> <br /> The case is In Re: High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California 11-cv-2509.<br />

Judge rejects $324.5 million settlement over Apple, Google hiring

NEW YORK: Four Silicon Valley companies including Apple and Google failed to persuade a U.S. judge to sign off on a $324.5 million settlement to resolve a lawsuit by tech workers, who accused the …

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Australian hospital accidentally declares 200 patients dead

<span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_lblNewsDetailMain"></span><br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuCwdcFDZcD7rEXv0pQLFOwWfXjQsZvTZcZeI2AtEnap-wDH5haZUC1sMUfxRIjzpGJTx20BEDHjvpR39G0nON26Rl7leVDp8aWUdx5l9jn-LZwzQy1v_gF9tJlmRHfUObVQfQR1Egvco/s1600/australian-hospital-accidentally-declares-200-patients-dead-1408011841-7251.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuCwdcFDZcD7rEXv0pQLFOwWfXjQsZvTZcZeI2AtEnap-wDH5haZUC1sMUfxRIjzpGJTx20BEDHjvpR39G0nON26Rl7leVDp8aWUdx5l9jn-LZwzQy1v_gF9tJlmRHfUObVQfQR1Egvco/s1600/australian-hospital-accidentally-declares-200-patients-dead-1408011841-7251.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></div> <br /> <b>MELBOURNE: An Australian hospital apologised "unreservedly" Thursday after sending out notices to the doctors of more than 200 patients telling them they had died instead of being discharged.</b><br /> <br /> The error by Austin Hospital in Melbourne was spotted within hours and the doctors were contacted, but not before at least one had called a family member to express their condolences, the Herald Sun newspaper reported.<br /> <br /> Austin Health, which runs the hospital, said the notices -- which were sent on Wednesday, July 30 -- were a result of "human error" after changes to a death notification template were saved to the standard discharge template.<br /> <br /> "On recognising the error on the Wednesday morning, Austin Hospital immediately contacted all GP clinics affected," Austin Health spokeswoman Taryn Sheehy said in a statement.<br /> <br /> "We apologised unreservedly to affected clinics who, for the most part, were very understanding about the error."<br /> <br /> Sheehy added that patient care was not affected, but the president of the Australian Medical Association´s Victoria state branch, Tony Bartone, said the blunder was "unacceptable".<br /> <br /> "IT issues must not undermine patient care or trust in the Victorian healthcare system," he said in a statement.<br /> <br /> "Many of these GPs have long relationships with these patients and their families."<br /> <br /> It would have been distressing to receive such a fax, especially relating to the unexpected death of children and teenagers."<br />

Australian hospital accidentally declares 200 patients dead

MELBOURNE: An Australian hospital apologised "unreservedly" Thursday after sending out notices to the doctors of more than 200 patients telling them they had died instead of being discharged. The …

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Tsunami can even storm into PM house: Imran Khan

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk2137Xr4_afio-1cm1bSjH0aODagjE6MCvG4Hm0_HAaHwHChIaO0a7I4SWgC73H977UCjKbx9inVID3s6C1dZ6Bi3nxkhYzzm-VWx7y4fHJcRSKKLYeeWoDMnbROMKuUV1-4xZFWKHjw/s1600/azadi-march-pti-islamabad-pakistan-nawaz-go-imran-khan_8-16-2014_156998_l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk2137Xr4_afio-1cm1bSjH0aODagjE6MCvG4Hm0_HAaHwHChIaO0a7I4SWgC73H977UCjKbx9inVID3s6C1dZ6Bi3nxkhYzzm-VWx7y4fHJcRSKKLYeeWoDMnbROMKuUV1-4xZFWKHjw/s1600/azadi-march-pti-islamabad-pakistan-nawaz-go-imran-khan_8-16-2014_156998_l.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <div> <span style="height: 14px; vertical-align: bottom; width: 34px;"></span> </div> <b>ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan Saturday said enthusiasm can be contained only to a certain limit and warned that his Tsunami can even storm into the Parliament House and Prime Minister House.</b><span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_lblNewsDetailMain"><br /> “Mian sahab I am telling you to step down. I have been controlling the gusto of the marchers but the control also has a limit,” he warned while addressing the participants of his Azadi March here.<br /> <br /> Earlier, he congratulated the participants of the Azadi March, saying the first wicket had been blown away.<br /> <br /> “I had told the people of Lahore before embarking on Azadi March that I will return victorious,” Imran Khan clad in black shalwar kameez said to the cheering crowd.<br /> <br /> Without taking any names, he said, in a clear reference to Shahbaz Sharif that FIR is about to be lodged against the ‘small pharaoh’ in connection with Model Town tragedy.<br /> <br /> Earlier today a sessions court held the Punjab government responsible for the killings of people in Lahore’s Model Town incident.<br /> <br /> “Once the real story behind election rigging comes to the fore it will also throw the future of ‘big pharaoh’ in the oblivion of darkness,” the PTI chief said amid vociferous slogans of ‘go Nawaz go’. <br /> <br /> He said tonight the PTI will celebrate the independence of Pakistan.<br /> <br /> Imran Khan gave a choice to the marchers to go and rest in their homes tonight, saying, ‘I will spend the night here’</span>

Tsunami can even storm into PM house: Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan Saturday said enthusiasm can be contained only to a certain limit and warned that his Tsunami can even storm into the Parliament House an…

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