Click for detailed story A strong 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the northern coast of Japan’s main Honshu island on Saturday, seismologists said, but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of damage. The quake hit at 2:48 pm (0548 GMT) in the Pacific some 50 kilometres (31 miles) from Namie town near the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Daiichi plant, the United States Geological Survey …
Click for detailed story islamabad – Pakistan has never defaulted in its international obligations since 1947 and will never default, said Dr. Shahid Amjad Chaudhry, Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance. Pakistan’s economy is strong enough to meet its international obligations. “Japan is very special country for Pakistan and Pakistan acknowledges contribution of Japan in its development. Pakistan and …
TOKYO: The dollar sank against the yen in Asia on Friday after the Bank of Japan held off new easing measures at i
The quake rocked towns in the northernmost Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido, the US Geological Survey said.
Former presidents and prime ministers of developed countries like the US, UK, Japan and France must be envious of their Pakistani counterparts who are
Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan and is the part of the eastern sector of Afghanistan. This city is situated about 5,876 ft above the sea level and lodged between the mountains of Hindu Kush. The Kabul river flows along this narrowed valley. A highway linked this city with Mazar-e-Sharif, Heart and Kandhar. According to an estimate in 2012 its population is about 32 lakh and 89 thousand.
The history of Kabul is about 3,500 years old, Many emperors fought because of its tactical location. This city had the trade routes of Central Asia and South Asia that’s why it was the gold mine for many emperors. The great warrior Alexander defeated his rival Achaemenids and after that this city became the division of the Seleucid Empire. After that it was gone under control of Kabul Shahis, Ghaznavids, Ghurids and Saffarids. It also remained the capital of the Mughal empire in the period of king Babur.
Since 1978 after the Marxist revolution, Kabul had been the target of many militant groups like Taliban, Mujahideen, Hezb-e-Islam and Haqqani network. In early 1995 Taliban started bombarding and shelling in Kabul. In several months this was the first time when they attacked on residential areas and civilians were under the attack of rockets and shelling.
Taliban started their own court and without any hearing they started to give punishments to thieves. In October 2001 there began the operation of the US and United front forces to free the Kabul from Taliban. Taliban were trying to defeat US forces but they aimed to take the control of Afghan govt from Taliban. In 2001 Hammid Karzai took over the government officially.
Climate of Kabul is semi-arid. In winter and spring season we can observe snow falling. As compared to southwest Asia temperature of Kabul is cool and it is mainly because it is situated on a high sea level. The main products of Kabul include nuts, dried and fresh fruits, Afghan rugs, Sheepskin product, domestic clothes, beverages and leather.
Means of transportation in Kabul are usually buses, vans and cars. People travel by roads via private cars or national bus service. Roads are now being improved gradually. An international airport is also present in Kabul. The government of Japan builds an international terminal which has started operation since 2008. Here is also a Military terminal for the international flights. There is no railway line in Kabul. The government of Afghanistan is planning to start building railway line soon.
The economical situation of Kabul was not so good since the war of 1978 but, after the Karzai government economy of Kabul is heading toward progress. In the last decade many shopping malls and hotels have opened here. The Kabul City Center is an example which has also served as a hotel. Recently a new business complex has opened in Bagrami, where many companies can operate their business safely.
Here are many cultural sites in Kabul including Darul Aman Palace, National Museum of Afghanistan, tomb of Babur and Minar-e Istiqlal. Many bazaars are situated in old Kabul the famous bazaars are chicken streets and flower streets. Here is an interesting fact that Afghanistan is the only country in the world, where you can use three currencies i.e. Dollar, Afghani rupee and PKR. Many cinemas are also going to open in Kabul now.
Mayor of Kabul is trying to bring many reforms with the help of US agency for the development of Kabul city. Many new projects are going to start by Japan got and World bank for the green and cleaner Kabul.
TOKYO - The cooling system for a storage pool for fuel at one of the reactors at the tsunami-damaged nuclear plant in Japan failed on Friday, for the second in a month, although there was no immediate danger from the breakdown.
Nuclear Regulation Authority spokesman Takahiro Sakuma said an alarm went off in the afternoon about the problem at reactor No. 3. The cause was still under investigation.
The cooling system can be turned off for two weeks before temperatures approach dangerous levels at the spent fuel storage pools, according to Tokyo Electric Power Co., or TEPCO, the utility that runs Fukushima Dai-ichi in northeastern Japan. But if the water runs dry, the fuel rods, even spent ones, will spew enormous levels of radiation.
The plant went into multiple meltdowns after the March 2011 tsunami damaged backup generators and all cooling systems failed, including those for the reactors. The plant is being decommissioned, but continues to have glitches.
Last month, a power outage led to a cooling system not working for two days, and TEPCO later said it had found a dead rat near a switchboard and suspected that was the cause for the power going out at nine facilities at Fukushima Dai-ichi.
Fears are growing about the safety of nuclear plants, and people have periodically staged streets protests that are rare in Japan. Only two of the nation’s 50 working power plants are up, and the government is running beefed up safety checks on the plants, including scrutinizing quake faults right below or near the plants.
Shinzo Abe, who became prime minister about three months ago, has expressed a desire to restart nuclear plants. Japan lacks natural resources and relied on nuclear energy for about a third of its electricity needs prior to March 2011. Energy imports have soared over the last two years, putting a strain on the economy.
TOKYO: Stressing the need for jacking up exports of fruit, Ambassador of Pakistan to Japan, Farukh Amil, said that
ISLAMABAD:
CEO Harvest Tradings Ahmad Jawad has said that Pakistan has can avail a good opportunity of exporting mangos to Japanese market this summer as Japanese government has already approved the quality o…
Many young women helped build the A-bomb at a secret atomic research facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn.—but didn’t know what they were making, the Daily Beast reports. Denise Kiernan’s new book, The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II describes the weirdness of daily life at so-called “Site X.” One 18-year-old, for example, was told only to monitor and adjust gauge needles: “The idea was to get as much R as possible,” writes Kiernan, “so that when the men came to empty the ‘E’ boxes of the ‘D’ units there would be a nice amount in there.” What did it all stand for? “Smart girls didn’t bother asking.” But “Site X” had a darker side. Women had letters boldly censored, romantic outings monitored, were fired for discussing work, and laboured under Orwellian billboards—like one of a huge eye with a “swastika-embedded pupil” that read, “THE ENEMY IS LOOKING FOR INFORMATION GUARD YOUR TALK.” Meanwhile, black workers were treated poorly, banned from the swimming pool and any family cohabitation (white couples were allowed to live together). In the end, the plant’s workers were shocked to see the fruit of their labour dropped on Japan. Their curiosity, writes Kiernan, was replaced by “pride and guilt and joy and relief and shame.”