GEO UPDATES

18 hours load-shedding, shortfall up by 5,000MW Updated at: 1554 PST,  Friday, June 17, 2011  LAHORE: Power shortfall in the country has shot up to 5,000 megawatt, resulting in protracted load shedding and piling miseries on the people across the country.Hyderabad, Sukkur, Jacobabad, Nawabshah, Larkana and Mirpurkhas in the province of Sindh groaning hit by 8-10 hours of load shedding. Faisalabad industrial area witnessing 6 hours of load shedding, while the residential areas 10 grueling hours. Gojranawala, Jhang struck by 12 hours of loa .... Full Story

Forty names appear on terrorists' hit list Updated at: 1254 PST,  Friday, June 17, 2011  WASHINGTON: The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have alerted law enforcement about a terrorist "hit list" that was posted on a jihadi web site and names 40 prominent figures from government, the US military and the media who should be attacked. Among the names on the hit list, which includes photographs of the targets and biographical information, are a member of Congress, Pentagon officials, a conservative pundit, executives of an Am .... Full Story

Decrease in subsidies not to impact poor: Hafeez Shaikh Updated at: 1552 PST,  Friday, June 17, 2011  ISLAMABAD: The debate on the budget for fiscal year 2011-12 has concluded in the National Assembly Friday, Geo News reported.Finance Minister, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh while concluding the budget debate said that no new taxes have been introduced in the budget infact several other taxes have been abolished. He also said that regulatory duty on 392 goods has been eliminated while no excise duty has been imposed on 100 items.He added that government .... Full Story

Zulqarnain to appear before PCB committee today Updated at: 1526 PST,  Friday, June 17, 2011  LAHORE: Pakistan's runaway wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider will appear before the disciplinary committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) today (Friday), Geo News reported.In a long awaited hearing Zulqarnain will try to convince the disciplinary committee that his decision to desert the national team in Dubai and flee to London, where he sought asylum, was justified as he was under threat from alleged match-fixers.According to Zulqarnain, he .... Full Story

'Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows- Part 2' trailer released Updated at: 0944 PST,  Friday, June 17, 2011  LOS ANGELES: The trailer of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2," has hit the Interwebs Thursday (June 16).Even for those who have read the books over and over again and are fully prepared for what's going to unfold when the film hits theaters on July 17, this latest trailer is so action-packed, so full of intensity and emotion, it's almost too much to handle.The trailer opens with a distraught Lily Potter (Harry's mom) speaking to her .... Full Story

Epilepsy on rise in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Updated at: 1454 PST,  Friday, June 17, 2011  PESHAWAR: The province of Khyber Pakthunkhwa is experiencing a rise in the number of epilepsy patients, Geo News reported. Women are among the most affected. According to estimates by the health ministry, 3,000 new epilepsy patients have been registered which is a 30-40% increase from last year. Epilepsy is a brain disorder which involves repeated spontaneous seizures. These cause episodes of disturbed brain function that cause changes in attent .... Full Story

In China, professional mourners spice up funerals
Updated at: 0916 PST,  Friday, June 17, 2011

 CHONGQING: Hu Xinglian kneels before the corpse of Liang Zhicai and, with one hand on his metal coffin, lets out a piercing wail. But Hu is not at all grief-stricken -- she is a professional mourner.In parts of China, where rural pre-burial rituals are still observed, mourners known as "kusangren" are hired to guarantee that a funeral is a spectacle in grief. And the 53-year-old Hu is up to the task.She comes to work with a full sound-system, mul .... Full Story