Two dead in US university campus shooting

Two people were killed and four were wounded in a shooting Tuesday at the University of North Carolina´s Charlotte campus.

The university´s office of emergency management tweeted an alert warning that shots had been reported on campus shortly before 6:00 pm, on what was students´ last day of classes this academic year.

"Run, Hide, Fight. Secure yourself immediately," it said.

Local emergency services said two people had been killed, while another two sustained life-threatening injuries and two more were being treated for less serious wounds.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department identified the shooter as 22-year-old Trystan Andrew Terrell.

The University of North Carolina Charlotte (UNCC) campus police chief Jeff Baker told a press conference that his team "disarmed" and took custody of the suspect after receiving a call around 4:40 pm that someone was "armed with a pistol."

He declined to share details about the victims.

A local Fox television affiliate identified the dead as male teenagers aged 17 and 18.

Video footage posted on social media showed anxious students filing away from the school with their hands raised.

It was not immediately clear which part of the school the shooter targeted.

"It was a really scary experience to hear the shots and have to run... I didn´t think I would have to experience something like that," one student told NBC News.

Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said she was "in shock" after hearing of the rampage.

"My thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives, those injured, the entire UNCC community and the courageous first responders who sprang into action to help others," she wrote on Twitter.

The university said on Twitter that final exams have been canceled through Sunday.

The shooting comes just days after a teenage gunman opened fire on a synagogue in Poway, California, killing one person and injuring three others: the latest in a string of mass shootings across the US.

According to government figures, 40,000 people were killed by firearms in the United States in 2017 -- two thirds of them suicides -- the highest annual toll in five decades.

The perennial debate over gun control in America kicks up again at each shooting, a far too frequent occurrence.

Yet no solution has been found over the decades that satisfies both those seeking stricter gun controls to reduce such tragedies and those supportive of constitutional guarantees to the right to bear arms.

Efforts have always proved divisive, and Republican lawmakers have been highly successful at preventing what they describe as an assault on their right to bear arms under the Second Amendment of the US Constitution.

The number of firearms in circulation has continued to grow (now at 393 million in a nation of 326 million people), and mass shootings have become a disturbingly regular part of American life.

The worst school shootings to date were those at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut in 2012 (20 young children and six adults were killed) and at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida last year (17 dead).

But the power of an influential gun lobby and a long tradition of gun ownership have meant that little has been done to improve gun safety.

Extinction Rebellion has a message for the world: We've only just begun

After paralyzing parts of London, the co-founder of environmental group Extinction Rebellion has a message for the world: We’ve only just begun.

The group disrupted London with 11 days of protests that it cast as the biggest act of civil disobedience in recent British history. Iconic locations were blocked, the Shell building defaced, trains stopped and Goldman Sachs targeted.

The aim: A rebellion against the political, economic and social structure of the modern world in time to avert the worst devastation outlined by scientists studying climate change.

So what’s next?

For the next phase of what she describes as “a movement fueled by love”, Gail Bradbrook, a co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, told Reuters she wanted to provoke a mass refusal to repay debt that would upend the financial system.

“Economic growth tends to require the taking of resources from the Earth. So something has to change on a debt-based economy,” said Bradbrook, sitting in the group’s central London headquarters next to a coffin with “Our Future” written on the side.

“That would entail a mass refusal to pay off mortgages and student loans,” she said.

“Debt resistance” groups in Britain, the United States and elsewhere argue that refusing to pay debts would spark discussion about alternatives to the global economic system.

Extinction Rebellion wants non-violent civil disobedience to force governments to cut carbon emissions and avert a climate crisis it says will bring starvation and social collapse.

The group is backed by hundreds of researchers and scientists who fear that most people are unaware of the scale of the risks posed by accelerating environmental breakdown.

It is a revolt against the extinction of species including, the group says, our own. It made a “declaration of rebellion” against the British government outside parliament in October.

“I want the system to change so I think you could call that a revolution,” said Bradbrook, who graduated top in her year in chemistry at university before doing a molecular biophysics PhD.

With peaceful stunts - such as blocking Oxford Circus and Waterloo Bridge and stopping traffic outside the Bank of England - the group has garnered massive publicity.

Police said 1,130 arrests had been made since the main protests began. A picture of a semi-nude protest in parliament went viral. One activist glued her breasts to the road outside Goldman Sachs European headquarters on Fleet Street.

London police chief Cressida Dick said she had never seen a protest like this during her 36-year career.

Bradbrook said protesters also planned to disrupt other British cities.

LIFE ON EARTH

Extinction Rebellion’s headquarters in London look like a grungy version of a tech start-up. Activists with laptops sit at cluttered desks or on run-down furniture amid bags of clothes, boxes of campaign literature and mock skeletons.

Beneath the apparent chaos is a well-oiled organization that has inspired copycat actions across Britain and worldwide.

“The big goal - and it sounds crazy - is to save as much life on Earth as possible,” Bradbrook said. “So that’s not been achieved yet.”

The group is inspired by a variety of figures - from Nelson Mandela and India’s Vandana Shiva to Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh and Austrian Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl.

Bradbrook, once “a girly swot par excellence”, said Extinction Rebellion was also partly inspired by the clarity she gained taking psychedelic substances including iboga and ayahuasca, both powerful hallucinogens, in Costa Rica in 2016.

The experience, she wrote, “rewired” her brain. She returned to the UK, left her husband and, with a handful of others, founded the movement that became Extinction Rebellion.

The group has been criticized as largely middle-class, but Bradbrook’s father worked at a coal mine in northern England.

She lives with her two sons in Stroud, a picturesque town in southwest England with a reputation for new-age activities.

“Everyone is into yoni steaming,” she said of a therapy favored by actor Gwyneth Paltrow involving squatting over herb-infused water. “I’ve done it once,” she laughed.

Asked about the future, however, Bradbrook was more somber, describing herself as “about as optimistic as a person could be who also understands the science”.

“Has it landed with you that your kids probably won’t have enough food to eat in a few years’ time?” she asked.

She said a climate catastrophe was coming and food security, not civil disobedience, should really be our main priority.

“For every degree of warming you get a one percent collapse in growth. So just do the maths .... We’re heading for about four (degrees). That crashes the global economy.”

She added, with more hope: “I do have this belief in humanity . . . It’s time to stop as a human species and say, ‘It’s not really working, folks. What else shall we do?’”

Oil tanker overturns in Karachi, people engaged in collecting oil

An oil tanker overturned near Quaidabad bridge in Karachi on Wednesday morning, however, no casualties were reported in the incident.

Following the incident, a road track was closed due to spill of furnace oil at the site while the tanker was removed from the road to the bridge’s side.

Traffic police and other officials were present at the incident’s site, whereas, no safety measures were taken to prevent any uncertain situation due to the spill of furnace oil.

On April 10, an oil tanker carrying thousands of litres of fuel exploded and caught fire after overturning on Gulbai Flyover in the Shershah area.

Television footage showed thick plumes of smoke rising from the vehicle after it was engulfed by a huge fire.

Fire also spread to the nearby vehicles and godown. The blaze was caused by the oil spill from the tanker which later burst into pieces.

Upon being informed of the incident, a number of fire tenders reached the spot and launched operation to douse the blaze. The fire was brought under control after hours of efforts.

According to fire department officials, seven to eight fire engines took part in the firefighting operation.

Two godowns, one container and five motorcycles were damaged in the blaze, a rescue official said. The road was closed to all kind of traffic following the incident.

 

Huawei jumps ahead of Apple in tough smartphone market

China-based Huawei outsold Apple's iPhones in the first quarter of this year, seizing the California company's second place spot in a tightening smartphone market dominated by Samsung, a tracker said on Tuesday.

A total of 310.8 million smartphones were shipped globally during the first three months of this year in a 6.6 per cent decline from the same period in 2018, according to preliminary data from the Chinese-owned International Data Corporation.

It was the sixth consecutive quarter of decline for global smartphone shipments, the market tracker added.

IDC saw the results as a sign that 2019 will be another down year overall for smartphone shipments, apart from strong growth by Huawei.

"It is becoming increasingly clear that Huawei is laser focused on growing its stature in the world of mobile devices, with smartphones being its lead horse," said IDC mobile device program director Ryan Reith.

"The overall smartphone market continues to be challenged in almost all areas, yet Huawei was able to grow shipments by 50 per cent."

South Korean consumer electronics behemoth Samsung saw smartphone shipments drop 8.1 per cent to 71.9 million in the first quarter.

Huawei, meanwhile, weighed in with 50.3 per cent growth to ship 59.1 million smartphones and put it within "striking distance" of Samsung, according to IDC.

Apple had a challenging first quarter, with iPhone shipments dropping by a "staggering" 30.2 per cent from a year earlier to 36.4 million units, IDC reported.

Price cuts in China along with favourable trade-in deals were not enough to coax people into upgrading to new iPhones, the market tracker said.

Apple delivered stronger-than-expected financial results for the past quarter as gains in services helped offset slumping iPhone sales, sparking a rally in shares of the technology giant.

An overall slowdown in the high-end smartphone market has been seen as a symptom of people waiting longer to upgrade to new models and a lack of the kind of captivating innovation that inspires them to do just that.

"Consumers continue to hold on to their phones longer than before as newer higher priced models offer little incentive to shell out top dollar to upgrade," said IDC research manager Anthony Scarsella.

"Moreover, the pending arrival of 5G handsets could have consumers waiting until both the networks and devices are ready for prime time in 2020."

Pakistan making efforts for establishment of peace in Afghanistan: FM Qureshi

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi says Pakistan is hopeful that its sincere efforts for establishment of peace in Afghanistan will prove a success.

According to details Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was talking to an Afghan delegation comprising politicians, journalists, academics and businessmen in Islamabad on Wednesday.

The Minister assured the members of the delegation that Pakistan will continue its efforts for peace in the region, particularly in Afghanistan.

During the meeting, Pakistan-Afghan relations and matters of mutual interest, including Afghan reconciliatory process were discussed.

The delegation members appreciated the role, Pakistan has played for bringing the two sides on the dialogue table as part of the peace process.

The delegation presented its proposals to the Foreign Minister for building trust between Pakistan and Afghanistan and enhancing bilateral political and economic cooperation.

Bandish wraps up, leaving high hopes for horror TV in Pakistan

14 weeks (and 28 episodes later), horror drama Bandish has finally come to an end. And the end couldn’t have been better.

Sure, the drama's length could have been cut short by two episodes but that's a minor quibble when we consider the flawless synergy between the show's actors, editors, writers and director that resulted in one of Pakistan's finest horror works to date. Kudos to the entire team!

A recap

Sania (Hira Mani) is completely under the spell of black magic practitioner Sumbul (Farah Shah) – so much so that Sumbul is able to convince her that family friend Izhar Uncle is the one casting magic on her family. Sania gets into a fight with her mother Madiha (Marina Khan) and runs away to live with Sumbal. But soon she discovers Sumbal's real identity, who admits that her father Junaid's betrayal compelled her to curse the family.

All the while, Sumbul's evil little underling Antosh (Tasbeeha) has Sania's sisters Haanya and Aleena under her control. She makes them also leave their mother for their father's house.

When Madiha comes to see her, Sumbul tells her the truth too but manipulates her into doing some of her dirty work (that is, leaving a voodoo doll at a shrine) in exchange for Sania's safe return. In a truly thrilling scene, she takes Madiha to the room where she's holding Sania captive and shows her daughter levitating from the ceiling. Madiha agrees to do Madiha's bidding; however, Hamza intercedes and takes her to a spiritually gifted scholar who brings about situations that allow Sania to escape.

Eventually Junaid also believes that Sumbal is causing the upsets in his family life, though both Sumbul and her sister Sandal (who bewitched Junaid into marrying her) deny it. Sandal falls on the stairs and goes into a coma.

Sania gets possessed by Antosh and is taken to Sumbal, who realises that any kin of Madiha's can be used to do her dirty work, but she will have to sacrifice a family member; the only one left, Sandal.

This is Sumbal’s last chance and if she fails, all the black magic she has cast will backfire on her. However, with the scholar's help, Madiha is able to prevent Sania from doing the job and Sumbal’s end is something everyone who is into this stuff should see for themselves!

A script with many lessons

Even though the last few episodes dragged on for a bit, Bandish had a solid script with minimal gaps. From the first episode to the last, Syed Nabeel and Shahid Nizami co-wrote a horror script that not once lost track.

Their script also deserves praise for not making the women beg for any relationships and gave them equal footing as their male counterparts. Neither Sania nor Hania was a damsel in distress. Whether it was Hamza, Abyaan or even Izhar Uncle, none of the men were dismissive of the women.

The only exception is Junaid, but he disrespects Madiha because he was under a spell. As soon as it was lifted, he wasted no time in apologising to her. This is very important because even when men apologise in most dramas, it is almost never immediate due to an inflated sense of self-importance. I wish more writers would write such male characters, especially female writers.

Another important point about the characters is that Syed Nabeel and Shahid Nizami wrote the characters of Izhar Uncle and the other scholar who helps Madiha as calm, humble, and non-judgmental people. They weren’t yelling or putting anyone (especially women) down as most so-called scholars in dramas do. I can't emphasise enough how much we need more of this in serials. Hats off to Syed Nabeel and Shahid Nizami for writing such an amazing script and characters!

A stellar cast

Marina Khan and Sajid Hassan as Madiha and Junaid were great to watch. While Marina is perfection in every shot, I felt that Sajid Hassan's performance suffered in a few scenes with Sandal where he appeared to be just reading his lines and did not use his facial expressions effectively enough.

Hira Mani and Zubab Rana's acting surprised me. As Sania, Hira wasn’t just flawless, but every time she was on screen, you saw Sania and not Hira. This, to date, is her best work yet, especially in the scene where she is being kept in Sumbal’s house of horrors and thrown to the wall by Sumbal’s jinns. Zubab Rana is a new actor but also fit her character like a glove.

Farah Shah as Sumbal played her role well, but there were times her costume appeared OTT though. Fahad Sheikh as Hamza and Mani as Abyan both did justice to their roles.

But the winners were the kids, Hoorain and Tasbeeha as Aleena and Antosh. Their role posed quite a challenge to the child actors, from levitation to being possessed, yet they were flawless. Tasbeeha’s smile still freaks me out! These were not easy roles even for adults, but these girls managed to pull it off effortlessly.

 

Govt committed to provide maximum facilities to labourers: CM Buzdar

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was taking practical steps to improve living and working conditions of labourers.

In his message on the eve of ‘Labour Day’ CM Usman Buzdar said that that his government was committed to provide maximum facilities to the labourers.

According to a statement issued from his office, CM Buzdar said, “Islam has taught about the welfare of the labourers. Islam has highlighted the dignity of the labourers by terming them as the friends of Allah Almighty.”

He further said, “It has also directed to pay the remunerations of the labourers before any delay.”

The chief minister said that labourers had rendered unforgettable sacrifices in Chicago on May 01, 1886 and added that the day reminded them about the martyrs of Chicago and their struggle against tyranny and oppression.”

He said, “In new Pakistan, labourers will get their rights because the country belongs to them and labourers will live an honourable life.”

CM Buzdar said that trained human resource was the backbone of trade and industry and government was taking genuine steps for the welfare of the labourers.

He said, “Purpose of celebrating this day is to expedite the efforts of ensuring the dignity of labourers along with the provision of reasonable wages.”

The chief minister said that “This day provides an opportunity to reiterate the commitment of ensuring the rights of the labourers and we should also reiterate the commitment that we will fully support them for achieving genuine rights and the welfare of the labourers.”