Islamabad: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who is visiting Pakistan from today, will be conferred Nishan-e-Pakistan, the country’s highest honour. The two-day tour, “will provide an opportunity to Premier Li to meet the new leadership. It would also provide further impetus to Pakistan-China cooperation. Friendly ties and friendship with China is the cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy”, the Pakistani ministry of foreign affairs said. Li, coming here after India visit, will be accompanied by a high-level.
Climbers die on Everest
KATHMANDU: A climber from Bangladesh and another from South Korea have died on Mount Everest as hundreds flock to the highest peak during good weather, Nepalese tourism officials said yesterday. “Both men died while descending from the summit on Monday.” Sung Ho-Seo, 34, of South Korea was attempting the climb without supplementary oxygen and died on his way down the mountain. Mohammed Hossain, 35, from Bangladesh, died in his tent a few hours after climbing the summit. “The cause of his death is unknown, but altitude played a part,” said the official.
Japan to launch Epsilon rocket
Tokyo: The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will launch solid-fuel rocket Epsilon on August 22, carrying a satellite to observe Venus and Mars while orbiting Earth, the Science Ministry said yesterday. The three-stage rocket, the successor to the M-5 rocket retired in 2006, will blast off from the Uchinoura Space Centre in Kagoshima Prefecture in the southwest. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology said it will make “utmost efforts to successfully launch” the Epsilon and the satellite, which is a spectrographic planet observation satellite.
Todd’s family blasts inquest
SINGAPORE: The family of a US scientist found hanged last year in Singapore condemned coroner’s inquiry into his death and walked out yesterday, saying they had “lost faith” in the proceedings. The move came after their star witness, a US pathologist who never examined the body, came under intense questioning for saying Shane Todd may have been killed by assassins after quitting a high-tech project for two Asian firms. Authorities believe Todd, who had a history of depression, committed suicide and reject the conspiracy theory.
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