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Saturday, February 27, 2010 ISLAMABAD: The Nation celebrated Eid Milad-un-Nabi (Peace Be Upon Him) with religious reverence and solemnity, renewing the pledge to follow true teachings of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH). Mehfil-e-Milad and public meetings were held in various cities. The processions to mark the birth of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) were taken out across the country. The celebrations started with the sighting of the Rabi ul Awwal moon; however, it culminated on 11 Rabiul Awwal night, when the mellow and soothing sounds of Durood and Salaam took us into the spiritual trance amid decorations and illuminations all around. The major congregation took place at Nishter Park where different processions from the city converged and was later addressed by Allama Syed Shah Turab-ul-Haq Qadri. The day began with special prayers for development, safety, peace, unity and brotherhood amongst the followers of Holy Prophet (PBUH). The nightlong Mehfil-e-Milad ...

Sunday, February 28, 2010 WASHINGTON: A tsunami triggered by the powerful quake that rocked Chile was Saturday racing across the Pacific Ocean towards Hawaii and Asia at around 450 miles per hour, a quake expert said. Estimating the depth of the wave's water column to be around four kilometers (2.4 miles) on average, Roger Bilham, a professor of geological sciences at the University of Colorado, calculated that at mid-ocean, the mass of water would be hurtling toward Hawaii at 200 meters per second, or 720 kilometers per hour (446 mph). "Mid-ocean, the wave is travelling at around the speed of a jet plane," Bilham told media. "The amplitude of the wave is small when it's mid-ocean, but it may rise to five to 10 meters when it reaches Japan or the Philippines," he said. A huge arc of nations around the Pacific, from New Zealand to Japan, have gone on tsunami alert, while sirens sounded warnings of destructive waves around Hawaii for the first time in ...

Saturday, February 27, 2010 BEIJING: Nineteen people were killed and 50 injured in southern China after a family celebrating the Lunar New Year with fireworks triggered an explosion, state media reported Saturday. The blast occurred Friday night in a village in Guangdong province, a local news agency reported, as millions of people around the country continued to set off festive explosives to mark the beginning of the Year of the Tiger. Thirteen people were killed in the explosion and six died later in hospital, the news agency said, citing a local public security official. The report did not provide further details on the dead and injured, or say if the 50 hurt in the blast were still in hospital. Police have detained two people over the incident, the report said. A villager living about 200 metres from where the explosion happened said the force of the blast caused the doors and walls of his house to crack, the news agency said.

Saturday, February 27, 2010 LONDON: Parts of the UK could be hit by floods, with heavy rain and high winds forecast to batter the country over the weekend. Snow has fallen on high ground in Scotland, while forecasters say up to 25mm (1in) of rain is expected over northern England. Seven flood warnings have been issued for north-east England, and 62 flood watches across Scotland and England. The warnings come after a woman died as a Land Rover was swept down a swollen river near Cropton, North Yorkshire. Police found the vehicle almost totally submerged under a bridge on the North York Moors. The floods could affect South East England on Sunday, with 40-50mph winds and up to 40mm of rain forecast. BBC forecaster Helen Willetts said: "The ground is very saturated after all the rain we've seen recently. "We're expecting more showers, particularly in southern areas, through Saturday. Then Sunday unleashes a really ferocious storm which is expected to batte...

Saturday, February 27, 2010 TOKYO Japan's meteorological agency said a magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit off Japan's southern coast, and has issued a tsunami warning in the region's coastal areas. The Meteorological Agency said the quake occurred off the coast of the island of Okinawa at a depth of 6.2 miles at 5.31am Saturday (2031 GMT Friday). The agency predicted a tsunami up to 3 feet near the Okinawan coast. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries.

Saturday, February 27, 2010 LAHORE: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has provided match fixing proves to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) against alleged involvement of wicket keeper Kamran Akmal and medium pacer Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan. PCB chairman Ijaz Butt on Friday made the startling revelation that ICC had provided PCB with the concrete proves of their alleged involvement in match fixing. Despite repeated questions, Ijaz Butt had refused to name the players. On investigation, a highly placed official in PCB exclusively told Voice of America on the condition of anonymity that “the two players were wicket keeper Kamran Akmal and medium pacer Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan”. Wicket keeper Akmal had come under heavy fire for his repeated fumbles on the Australian tour. Its worth mentioning that both players were dropped from the T-20 series against England recently played in Dubai. When asked if the proves were so concrete, why PCB included Akmal and Rana in the initial list of 30 pla...

27/02/2010 - A massive earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8 has struck central Chile, triggering a tsunami. The quake that devastated Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, in January was magnitude 7.0. The tremor shook the capital, Santiago, for a minute and a half early this morning, bringing down telephone and power lines. The quake centred 200 miles south-west of Santiago at a depth of 22 miles, according to the US Geological Survey. The epicentre was 70 miles from Concepcion, Chile's second largest city, with a population of around 670,000. The largest earthquake ever recorded struck the same area of Chile on 22 May 1960. The magnitude-9.5 quake killed 1,655 people and left 2 million homeless. Four SOS Children’s Villages in the greater area of Concepcion are ready to immediately provide temporary shelter for unaccompanied children and to support reunification with families. SOS Children’s Villages has a long experience of work in Chile. The organization started to oper...