ISLAMABAD: Days before Pakistan’s powerful army chief was due to visit Washington for talks on regional stability and fighting militancy, General Raheel Sharif engaged in thinly veiled criticism of the nuclear-armed country’s civilian government. A terse statement from the army’s PR wing underlined the tension between Pakistan’s military and its civilian government, just as the United States prepares to receive Sharif weeks after the prime minister held talks there. After top generals met to review a major crackdown on extremists, the Pakistani military said it would be “undermined” if the government did not take “matching governance initiatives”. That was taken to mean police reform, action on militant financing and better governance of restive tribal areas. “He (Sharif) is foreign minister, prime minister, president and army chief all rolled into one,” said a Pakistani newspaper editor, while also questioning the military’s motives. “His greatest achievement is that he ha
Oct 26, 2015- At least 124 people were injured when a high-speed ferry travelling to Hong Kong from Macau hit an object in the water, say officials. The ferry, with 174 passengers and crew on board, lost power close to Lantau island, at about 18:00 local time (10:00GMT) and began taking on water. Marine police boats were sent to rescue the passengers, with local media saying many had injuries to limbs and faces. Some passengers waited on board to be rescued for several hours. Emergency boats were sent out to rescue passengers from the drifting vessel "The lights suddenly went out. It was chaotic at first but then the passengers managed to calm down soon," one passenger told the South China Morning Post. The RTHK news site said five people were still in a critical condition on Monday morning. Hong Kong has one of the busiest waterways in the world, with the Macau route one of the most popular. Injured passengers were taken to several hospitals in Hong Kong Safety standards are high but there have been several serious accidents in recent years Dozens of people were injured in November in a similar incident with a ferry hitting an object in the water in 2013. In October 2012, 39 people died in a crash between the Lamma IV pleasure boat and a passenger ferry. The ferry captain was convicted of manslaughter.
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