Earthquake rattles Tokyo

ALJAZEERA


A strong earthquake shook buildings in Tokyo, setting off car alarms as it rattled the Japanese capital on Saturday afternoon.

The US Geological Survey reported a 7.8-magnitude earthquake approximately 874km from Tokyo in the Pacific Ocean.

Zimbabwe cricket match blast was 'suicide bomb': Pakistan minister

PHOTO: Arif ALI

 

Agence France Presse(Daily Star)

 

A Pakistani minister admitted Saturday a suicide bomber was behind an explosion that killed two people outside the stadium during a Pakistan-Zimbabwe cricket match, as a spokesman for the hosts said the visitors would continue the tour.

 

Friday's explosion - which police still insist was an accidental blast - threatened to torpedo cricket-mad Pakistan's first series on home soil since an attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in March 2009.

 

The bombing, which did not affect the match itself, triggered a news blackout in Pakistani media and came despite heavy security in and around Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium.

 

"The incident has not affected the tour, Zimbabwe's tour will continue," a spokesman for the Pakistan Cricket Board said.

"Their players have gone shopping today."

 

Zimbabwe has not yet confirmed whether it will finish the tour.

 

"We heard a blast during the match on Friday. We do not know what it was. We have held a team meeting to inform everyone that our hosts are coming this afternoon to talk to us about this incident," said Zimbabwe team spokesman Lovemore Banda.

 

The third and final one-day international between the two sides is due to take place on Sunday in Lahore. Pakistan has so far won all of the matches in the series - two Twenty20 meets and two earlier one-day internationals.

 

 

Pakistan's information minister Saturday said the explosion outside the Gadhafi Stadium was a suicide bomb, despite police claims to the contrary.

 

"The suicide bomber failed to enter the stadium due to the bravery of our police," Pervez Rashid told private broadcaster Geo.

 

The attack took place about 1.5 kilometers (one mile) from the venue at "the outer security cordon of the stadium,"Rashid said.

 

Despite Rashid's comments, Lahore police insisted on Saturday that the incident was an "accidental blast" caused by an auto rickshaw's gas cylinder exploding.

 

"It was a gas cylinder explosion and not a terrorist act," a police spokesman told AFP. He said one policeman and the rickshaw driver died.

 

Police had earlier said the blast was a transformer explosion.

 

The news was blacked out in Pakistani media until the conclusion of the match in order to prevent panic, a decision Rashid praised in his remarks to Geo.

 

Security has been ratcheted up for the series with around 4,000 policemen guarding the stadium itself, and a further 2,000 along the route from the Zimbabwe team hotel to the venue.

 

Zimbabwe's tour is the first by a Test-playing nation to Pakistan since the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore left eight police and civilians dead and seven players wounded.

 

Pakistan have in recent years played their "home" matches at neutral venues such as the United Arab Emirates, resulting in financial losses amounting to $120 million, while several top-flight younger players were never able to experience the lifting effect of home crowds and pitches.

19 bus passengers killed in Pakistan

Aljazeera

 

Armed men have killed at least 19 passengers after forcing them off buses travelling from the western Pakistani city of Quetta to Karachi in the Balochistan province, authorities say.

“The attackers forced the buses to stop, abducted more than two dozen passengers, and then shot at least 19 dead,” said Ismail Ibrahim, a senior official in the province.

The attack occurred late on Friday in the town of Mastung, around 40km south of Quetta.

“The armed men were wearing the uniforms of the security forces,” Sarfaraz Bugti, Balochistan’s home minister, said.

The bodies of 19 passengers had been found so far in nearby hills, officials said.

Akbar Harifal, deputy district commissioner, said security forces had rescued five passengers after an exchange of fire.

“Police and paramilitary have cordoned off the area and an exchange of fire is still ongoing,” he said.

Myanmar intercepts boat with 727 migrants

  Aljazeera

 

Myanmar’s navy has intercepted a boat packed with 727 people off the country’s southern coast, about a week after it found a similar vessel carrying around 200 migrants.

Most of those on board this boat were from Bangladesh, a senior official from the president’s office, Zaw Htay, told Reuters news agency on Friday.

Myanmar’s Ministry of Information described them as “Bengalis”, using the term the government uses to describe the country’s persecuted Muslim Rohingya minority as well as people from Bangladesh.

Earlier in the day, at a regional crisis meeting in Thailand aimed at tackling the Southeast Asian migrant crisis, Myanmar insisted it was not to blame for Southeast Asia’s latest influx of “boat people”.

The UN says thousands of vulnerable migrants remained adrift at sea and need urgent rescue.

PDP National Chairman Mu’azu resigns, Secondus takes over

The Deputy National Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Uche Secondus, has taken over as the acting National Chairman of the party.

 

This followed the resignation of the party Chairman, Adamu Muazu.

 

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh,  confirmed this to journalists at the Wadata Plaza secretariat of the party, commended Muazu for his services to the PDP and love for the nation.

Syngenta Rejects $45 Billion Takeover Offer From Monsanto

Photo:Noah Friedman-Rudovsky

 The world’s largest maker of agrochemicals, Syngenta AG rejected a 41.7 billion Swiss-franc ($45 billion) takeover offer from Monsanto Co. because it undervalued the company and a merger would have “significant” execution risks.

“Monsanto’s proposal does not reflect the outstanding growth prospects of Syngenta’s integrated strategy and the significant future value potential of the company’s crop-focused innovation and market leading positions,” Chairman Michel Demare said. “While Syngenta’s valuation is currently affected by short-term currency and commodity price movements, the business outlook is strong.

“The offer fundamentally undervalues Syngenta’s prospects and underestimates the significant execution risks, including regulatory and public scrutiny at multiple levels in many countries”.

Russia, China agree to launch $2 bln agriculture investment fund

Russia and China have agreed to launch a $2 billion investment fund targeting agricultural projects in the two countries, a spokeswoman for the Russian Direct Investment Fund said on Friday.

The deal was signed  before talks were due to start between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is visiting Moscow for the 70th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War Two.

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JEREMY CLARKSON CAUSES LOSS TO BBC

Broadcasting maven,Jeremy Clarkson revered as Top Gear presenter has punched a hole on BBC’s coffers after he declared on stage that the BBC had sacked him. The BBC is set to lose a significant amount as his announcement has triggered disdain in quite a number of his fans. A significant number of Clarkson’s fans have demanded that he be reinstated.

This really sounds funny because his getting fired metamorphosed out of a punch! Clarkson got suspended from the show earlier this month after  punching a producer over a row about the lack of a hot meal at a hotel following a day's filming. His recent display on stage confirms that he is a clown. His speech tickled the fancy of all present as the scene turned into a bank of laughter.