Flood alert in Pakistan as India may release river waters

 Islamabad: The Pakistan Met Department has issued an alert on the chances of riverine flooding as India is likely to release rainwater upstream from its rivers after September 1.

“Currently, all water reservoirs in India have reached the maximum conservation level and it is expected that the showers that are expected on Wednesday and Thursday would prompt India to release extra water in the rivers, which would likely generate riverine flood in Pakistan,” PMD Director-General Ghulam Rasul told the Express News.

He added that although India, before

Britain keen to keep thousands of refugees in France

 London/Paris: Britain’s new interior minister, Amber Rudd, will meet her French counterpart in Paris on Tuesday to reaffirm the deal which allows Britain to make border checks in Calais and keep thousands of migrants and asylum seekers in France.

The meeting comes days after French presidential contender Nicolas Sarkozy said Britain should deal on its own territory with refugees camped in the northern town, joining similar calls by Alain Juppe, also a conservative presidential candidate.

There are close to 7,000 migrants

Hurricane Madeline heading for Hawaii

 Honolulu: Residents of Hawaii’s Big Island were evacuating animals and stockpiling water Tuesday, bracing for what could be the first hurricane to make landfall in the state in decades.

The National Weather Service issued a hurricane warning as the major Category 3 storm dubbed Madeline hurtled west toward the island, urging residents to rush through preparations to protect themselves and their property and expect hurricane conditions within the next 36 hours.

“Hopefully our roofs stay on, and our houses don’t float way or get blown away,” said Big Island resident Mitzi Bettencourt, who boarded up walls of glass windows at her brother’s oceanfront home.

Careem back in business in Abu Dhabi

 Abu Dhabi: After a brief suspension of operations in the capital, online ride-provider Careem on Wednesday resumed its services.
In a statement sent to Gulf News, the Dubai-based company said that it had been "back in Abu Dhabi from 8am".
"Careem is operating on a skeleton basis until we are able to regain most of our fleet. We decided to re-open our service primarily to support our

All you need to know about Eid Al Adha 2016

 When is it?

Eid Al Adha is an Islamic holiday, which is observed annually from the 10th day of Dhu Al Hijja, according to the hijri calendar. The celebration immediately follows Arafat Day, which is also expected to be a public holiday. This year, as far as the Gregorian calendar is concerned, Eid Al Adha is expected to fall on Monday, September 12 and Tuesday, September 13. Additionally, the day before Eid, known as Arafat Day will

Emma Thompson set for adaptation of Ian McEwan’s ‘The Children Act’

Emma Thompson is set to return to a starring role on the big screen with an adaptation of Ian McEwan’s 2014 novel The Children Act.
According to Deadline, the actor is in talks for the film, which will be directed by Richard Eyre, who hasn’t shot for the big screen since 2008’s The Other Man.
The Children Act follows Judge Fiona Maye, whose commitment to her often tricky cases sometimes strains her marriage. This is pushed to breaking point after she starts work trying to rule

Students arrested in Oman over ‘obscene’ video

Muscat: Three students were arrested for being involved in an obscene video at one of the private schools in Muscat governorate, local media reported.
The video clip that went viral on social media platforms showed two teenage boys, in what was deemed an immoral act.
The video was recorded by a third boy who later sent it to his friends.
The incident is under investigation by the Public Prosecution.
In April, the Muscat Primary Court sentenced three teenagers to one year in prison each for being

Saudi girl, 5, falls to her death from third floor of a shopping mall

Manama: A five-year-old Saudi girl fell to her death in a shopping mall in Jazan in the second tragedy to hit the commercial complex in southwest Saudi Arabia.

Fay was with her mother and uncle shopping for Eid when she fell from the third floor, local reports said.

Attempts by several people present at the scene to save her failed.

Shoppers who witnessed the drama said that the mother became hysterical upon seeing her daughter on the floor.

Trump’s campaign chief comes under a cloud

Washington: A domestic violence case and voter registration irregularities involving Donald Trump’s new campaign chief executive brought fresh scrutiny on Friday to how well Trump vets his most senior employees and advisers — another distraction from the themes the GOP nominee wants to emphasise less than 11 weeks from the election.
Records show Stephen Bannon changed his voter registration address in Florida this week as reporters were preparing a story about how he was registered at an address where he did not live. A spokeswoman provided a statement from someone who said Bannon had lived there but did not respond to a question about why he changed his registration to the new address.
Bannon is also under a spotlight after revelations that he was charged with misdemeanour domestic violence 20 years ago against his then-wife. The case was dismissed.
The new details about Bannon’s personal life could complicate Trump’s recent attempts to improve his standing among moderate voters, minorities and women.

Norwegian kidnap victim still missing after military rescue operation kills 11 Abu Sayyaf in Sulu

Manila: A Norwegian kidnap-victim remained missing after government soldiers killed 11 Filipino-Muslim Islamists in a rescue operation in the southern Philippines, a spokesman said.
The government troops did not see Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad who was believed to be with the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) that lost 11 men during a clash with government soldiers in Makaita, Patikul, Sulu last Friday, Western Mindanao Command spokesman Maj. Filemon Tan Jr. said in a report that reached a military headquarters in suburban Quezon City.
Seventeen soldiers were injured in the firefight that lasted for 45-minutes, said Tan.

Sushma Swaraj: Social media savvy Indian foreign minister excels as 'Supermum of State'

NEW DELHI: So far this month, India’s foreign minister has saved thousands of stranded Indian workers in Saudi Arabia — and helped a woman replace her lost passport so she could go on her honeymoon.

Since she took on the job two years ago, Sushma Swaraj, 64, has carved out an unlikely role for herself as a crusading Supermum of State, solving the problems of distressed Indians around the world who send her their concerns via Twitter.
Working late into the night at home, Swaraj tweets back, calling them “my child” and assuring them that help is on the way — whether they are trapped in conflict zones, experiencing visa problems or need to replace lost passports.
Imagine US Secretary of State John F. Kerry personally helping Americans who tweet to him about their troubles abroad every day. For this, BuzzFeed praised Swaraj as “the most badass foreign minister on the internet.”
But those who know the long-time member of Parliament are not surprised by her new persona.

First Turkish soldier killed in Syria

 Karkamis: Turkey on Saturday said the military suffered its first fatality in an unprecedented four day campaign inside Syria, blaming Kurdish militia in an increasingly combustible contest for control in the border region.

The Turkish army on Wednesday launched the two-pronged cross border offensive against Daesh jihadists but also Syrian Kurdish militia detested by Ankara, sending in dozens of tanks and hundreds of troops.

Tensions between Ankara and the Kurdish militia flared Saturday, with clashes taking place eight kilometres south of the town of Jarabulus, the border town recaptured from Daesh this week by Turkish-backed Syrian rebels, a monitoring group and Kurdish sources said.

Linda Thompson, Bruce Jenner’s ex wife, writes book

Linda Thompson, who lived with Elvis Presley and was married to Bruce Jenner, has kept the details of her high-profile relationships private over the years.

But Thompson has learned that if you’re in the public eye and you keep quiet, others will write their version of what happened. Case in point: the now fabled story about Elvis shooting his television.

Thompson says she has heard others say, “I was there when he shot the TV set out and Robert Goulet was singing,” but she was alone with Presley in his bedroom when it happened.

She writes about Elvis, Jenner and her ex-husband, music producer David Foster, in her new book, A Little Thing Called Life: On Loving Elvis Presley, Bruce Jenner, and Songs in Between (Dey Street Books).

“For so long I just let people surmise what they would about my life and my choices

Etisalat launches mobile wallet service in the UAE

Dubai: Telecom operator etisalat has announced the launch of its mobile phone-based commerce service — etisalat Wallet — in the UAE.

The app, available on Google and Apple app stores, allows customers to make purchases, pay utility bills, transportation fees, top-up etisalat’s mobile credit and much more.
“The service is available in 17 of its global operations. The scope of services introduced in each market varies based on consumer demands, market maturity as well as regulatory requirements,” Khaled Al Khouly, chief consumer officer at etisalat (UAE), told Gulf News.

Schools in UAE abuzz again as children return after summer

Dubai: UAE classrooms are buzzing again as more than a million children returned to school on Sunday morning for the new academic year after the summer break.
It was also a big day for parents as they dropped off their children to school again after months, braving the morning rush hour, before heading to work.

Virgin boss Richard Branson: ‘I thought I was going to die’

London: British billionaire Richard Branson said Friday he thought he was going to die in a biking accident in the British Virgin Islands earlier this week in which he injured his cheek and tore some ligaments.
Virgin boss Branson, who has built a vast business empire and is known for his daredevil stunts, said the accident happened when he was cycling with his children, Holly and Sam, and hit a bump on a road on the Caribbean island of Virgin Gorda.
“The next thing I knew, I was being hurled over the handlebars and my life was literally flashing before my eyes,” the 66-year-old wrote in a blog post, accompanied by graphic photos showing his injuries.
“I really thought I was going to die,” he said, adding that the helmet he was wearing probably saved his life. The bike fell off a cliff in the accident.
Branson said he had travelled to Miami for hospital scans but would still be able to take part next month in the biking, hiking and running Virgin Strive Challenge that he was training for.
Branson has set a series of aviation and nautical adventure records, although he failed, despite numerous attempts, to become the first person to circumnavigate the globe non-stop in a balloon.

Tunisian parliament approves unity government

 Tunis: Tunisia’s parliament on Friday resoundingly approved the unity government of Yousuf Shahed, backing a new cabinet line-up which will have to tackle the country’s pressing socio-economic and security challenges.
There were 167 votes in favour, 22 against and five abstentions. The cabinet, headed by Shahed — who at 40 will become the country’s youngest prime minister since it won independence from France in 1956 — is set to take office in the coming days.
The parliamentary vote of confidence for the unity government brings to an end some three months of intense negotiations.
President Beji Qaid Al Sebsi said in June that he would support a government of national unity, faced with rising criticism of the government of Habib Al Sid.
Chahed was appointed prime minister-designate by Al Sebsi early this month after lawmakers passed a vote of no confidence in then-premier Habib Al Sid’s government following just 18 months in office.

Evacuation begins from Syria’s Daraya

Damascus: Fighters in the Damascus suburb of Daraya began to leave with their families and other residents under an evacuation deal on Friday, effectively surrendering the town to the government after a gruelling four-year siege.
A Reuters witness saw six buses leaving the town. Footage on state television showed buses driving past a large group of soldiers through streets lined with rubble.
Peeping from the window of one of the vehicles was a small child no older than four or five, too young to remember life before the siege.
Only one shipment of aid has reached the area since the Syrian army surrounded the town in 2012, the UN says.
Syrian state television reported that all the buses that left on Friday had arrived at a housing centre in Herjalleh, a suburb west of Damascus.