Life in Sindh's flood-hit areas yet to become normalcy

BADIN: Life in Sindh flood-affected areas could not be improved to become normal again, as water level kept rising due to a breach in the Naukot drain (saim nala), which once again broke down after being plugged, while Sindh High Court has summoned Sanghar administration tomorrow for failing to drain out rain water there.

On the other hand in Mirpur Khas, several areas including some government buildings still remained inundated with rain water.

Several flood-hit towns in Khairpur were still giving a deserted look due to relocation of the residents. Hospitals are crowded with patients who are suffering from various diseases.

Badin’s several inundated areas were still waiting to drained out of rain water, while vast areas in Khairpur Kambo, Malkani Sharif to Bhagra Memon still remain flooded

Turkey earthquake leaves as many as 1000 people feared dead

ANKARA: An earthquake of 7.3 magnitude hit eastern Turkey on Sunday, leaving dozens of people injured after several buildings collapsed, seismologists and officials said.

At least 50 people were taken to hospital in the city of Van, Anatolia news agency said. There were no immediate reports of deaths but officials warned that they were struggling to assess the full extent of the damage. (AFP)

Student protests: Inter part-I results cancelled in Punjab !!!

LAHORE: Intermediate part-I results for several educational boards in Punjab were cancelled on Saturday, Geo News reported. The measure was taken following student protests across Punjab against the publication of wrong results on the internet. 

Speaking to the media provincial Education Minister Mujtaba Shuja said Intermediate Education Boards of Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Multan had cancelled first year results.

Results would be announced again after two months and students who scored between 600-900 would get their papers re-checked without being charged any fees.

125,000 displaced in Mexico floods

 MEXICO CITY: Some 125,000 people have been forced out of their homes and 500 kilometers (300 miles) of roadways have been washed away in flooding in southeast Mexico, Tabasco state Governor Andres Granier said Wednesday.

"We flew over the rivers and municipalities and we can say that Tabasco is practically under water," he told W Radio.

Granier said he asked for federal government for aid to help deal with the crisis. Hardest hit was Cardenas, a city of 250,000 which is around one-third under water, according to local officials.

The region, along with nearby Central American nations, have been hard hit by exceptionally heavy rains since July.

Mexico has seen 40 deaths and 400,000 displaced due to floods and mudslides over that period, after a 2010 season that was even worse.

Officials in Central American states of Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica reported 90 dead and 700,000 displaced in the past week after the region was hit by as much as 120 centimeters (47 inches) of rain in some areas.

Meteorologists say the rain is caused by two different low-pressure weather systems, the first from the Pacific and the second from the Caribbean. (AFP)

PEPCO facing 1500 to 2000MW power shortfall

LAHORE: Managing Director Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO), Rasool Khan Mehsood Tuesday said PEPCO was facing a shortage of 1500 to 2000 MW electricity, Geo News reported. Speaking in a programme of Geo News, the PEPCO MD cited slowdown in water flows in rivers as well as delays in transportation of furnace oil as the main reasons for the decline in power generation. He said the power generation has dropped to 3074 MW which had earlier jumped to 5000 MW. The other reason for the slowdown in generation is late arrival of ships carrying imported furnace oil by one-day besides the strike of oil tankers associations.