Free Republic

Even the elders in Pakistan's Sindh province admit they've never seen anything like it: whole trees encased in webs by millions of invading spiders. The mysterious phenomenon may be an unexpected result of the devastating floods that swept over Sindh in 2010, reports Wired. According to scientists, the spiders likely collected in the trees after fleeing from the rising floodwaters. At their height, the floods covered as much as a fifth of the country and displaced as many as 20 million people. One unexpected blessing from the bizarre post-flood event is that the hungry spiders seem to be significantly reducing...

KARACHI, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Security forces in the Pakistani province of Sindh have been issued orders to shoot violent protesters on sight as disturbances over the killing of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto flared, an official said. "Yes, shoot on sight anybody who wants to damage the life of innocent citizens and public property," provincial Interior Minister Akhtar Zaman told Reuters on Friday. (Reporting by Kamran Haider; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Already suffering from poverty and extreme drought, the Sindhi community would be greatly challenged if the river constructions continue. --------------------------------------------------- Several US Congressmen have asked Pervez Musharraf regime to end persecution of Sindhis and restore confidence among them, as the "serious economic imbalance" and neglect of these people threatened the integrity of Pakistan. "The government's reluctance to address these concerns further marginalises the Sindhis in Pakistan.... Such an economic imbalance threatens the integrity of Pakistan," eleven members of the US House of Representatives said in a hard-hitting letter to Musharraf. The letter was posted on the website of World Sindhi...

+3 Jun 2002 18:22:30 +0200 From: WHO Outbreak Response Team <outbreak@who.ch> Smallpox rumors - Pakistan: NOT ----------------------- Rumours reported by the media of a cluster of smallpox cases in Swabi district, Pakistan have been investigated by a team from National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, health officials from the North West Frontier Province and WHO. All cases were children and showed typical features of chickenpox. No evidence of smallpox was found. Samples are being tested at NIH. -- Outbreak Verification Team Department of Communicable Disease Surveillance and Response (CSR) World Health Organization Geneva <outbreak@who.ch> [Many thanks to the WHO...