Blast kills five, injures 50 in Karachi

KARACHI: At least five people have been killed while almost 50 others including women and children were injured in a huge explosion that took place near the Cantt Railway Station, here on Saturday. According to initial reports, the explosion occurred in a Sargodha-bound passenger bus which caught fire. Nearby vehicles and a hotel were also damaged in the explosion. Eight of those injured are said to be in critical condition and emergency has been declared at JPMC. Sindh police spokesman Imran Shaukhat said the cause of the explosion was not yet known. Interior Minister Rehman Malik has taken notice of the explosion and summoned a report from IG Sindh Fayyaz Leghari. However, SSP CID Chaudhry Aslam said no ball bearings were recovered from the bus, which indicated that a cylinder...

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Fond memories of a literary giant

Karachi I have very fond memories of eminent critic, scholar, translator and senior journalist Dr Mohammad Ali Siddiqui, who wrote a literary column every week in Dawn under the pen name, Ariel. I was introduced to him by my friend (late) Dr Qamar Abbas Nadeem in the early 1970s when we established Young Writers Forum. Dr Nadeem was also an excellent short story writer. In those days Siddiqui Saheb was Assistant Editor, daily Hurriyat, Dawn Group’s Urdu newspaper, and lived near Rizvia Society in a lower middle class locality. Previously, he was associated with the British Information Department. I had joined the Soviet Press & Information Department, Karachi, in those days. Very often we would meet at Dr Nadeem’s residence and at his house too. He was a bookworm and...

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Apple may launch iPhone Mini in 2014: Strategy Analytics

SEOUL: Samsung Electronics is expected to widen its lead over Apple in global smartphone sales this year with 35 percent growth, helped by a broad product lineup, market researcher Strategy Analytics told Reuters on Friday. Apple, returning the offensive, could roll out a smaller, cheaper 'iPhone Mini' next year to grab market share by targeting demand from users of lower-end smartphones, Strategy Analytics said. "We expect Samsung to slightly extend its lead over Apple this year because of its larger multi-tier product portfolio," Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics, said in an e-mail interview with Reuters. Global smartphone shipments will jump 27 percent to 875 million shipments this year, slowing from last year's torrid 41 percent pace as growth eased...

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