The force that through the green fuse drives the flower / Drives my green age; that blasts the roots of trees / Is my destroyer. / And I am dumb to tell the crooked rose / My youth is bent by the same wintry fever.by Dylan Thomas
Crilly4sosy2 2019-12-22 (06:09) IP address :194.99.104.142
Prosecution lawyers, meanwhile, distributed sweets to their colleagues
Mr Hafeez's current counsel Asad Jamal said the verdict was "most unfortunate", and told AFP news agency that they would appeal against the decision.
װŸ=װŸ
Prosecution lawyers, meanwhile, distributed sweets to their colleagues, who chanted "Allahu akbar" and "death to blasphemers".
Amnesty International said the verdict was "a gross miscarriage of justice" and described it as "extremely disappointing and surprising".
ÿⷻŻ=Ͼ Ƽ ÷ ÿⷻŻ ȭƮ/Ǹ
What are Pakistan's blasphemy laws?
Pakistan's blasphemy laws carry strict sentences, including death, for anyone who insults Islam.
ʶ
The offences relating to religion were first codified by India's British rulers in 1860, and were expanded in 1927. Pakistan inherited these laws when it came into existence after the partition of India in 1947.
̹̼ǰ=̹̼dzǷ ̹̼ǿǷ ̹̼dz
These early laws made it a crime to disturb a religious assembly, trespass on burial grounds, insult religious beliefs or to intentionally destroy or defile a place or an object of worship.
Under these laws, the maximum punishment ranged from one to 10 years in jail.
But between 1980 and 1986, a number of clauses were added by the military government of General Zia-ul Haq.
One person 2019-12-22 (06:05) IP address :194.99.104.142
One person has died and another is missing as wildfires continue to burn across three Australian states.
In New South Wales, sudden southerly winds fanned the flames of more than 100 blazes and fire officials said a man who had chosen to stay at his property could no longer be contacted.
絿
Saturday had been an "awful day", NSW fire chief Shane Fitzsimmons said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has cut short a holiday in Hawaii after being criticised for leaving amid the crisis.
øīŹ=øīŹ
Earlier acting prime minister Michael McCormack conceded that more had to be done to tackle global warming, after many Australians linked the severity of this year's fires to climate change.
Sydney protesters demand action on climate change
How climate change has contributed to bushfires
Australia's long and dangerous summer ahead
Since September, Australia's bushfire emergency has killed at least nine people, destroyed more than 700 houses and scorched millions of hectares.
ûȣ̽=ûȣ̽ ÿⷻŻ Ÿ Ƽź
What happened on Saturday?
Rising temperatures and strong winds worsened fires in three states.
߸=߸Ƿ
In South Australia one person was found dead, another was critically injured and 15 homes had been destroyed about 40km (25 miles) east of the state capital of Adelaide.
rau1co332 2019-12-22 (05:51) IP address :46.244.29.123
He first made headlines in 2018, when, at the age of eight, he graduated from secondary school alongside 18-year-olds. Like Michael before him, Laurent, who is said to have an IQ of 145, became the centre of media attention.
Laurent Simons, a nine-year-old Belgian whizz-kid, shows all the same promise that Michael once did. He, too, possesses exceptional talents that he has channelled into academic pursuits. If Michael's university record was to be broken, Laurent seemed like the kid to do it.
Ͼ ̺ ÿⷻŻ=Ͼ ̺ ÿⷻŻ ũž/ĵ /ȭƮ + SL ü ȸڷŻ
He first made headlines in 2018, when, at the age of eight, he graduated from secondary school alongside 18-year-olds. Like Michael before him, Laurent, who is said to have an IQ of 145, became the centre of media attention.
ڷøīƮ=ڷøīƮ
With his child prodigy credentials cemented, the next step was a degree in electrical engineering at the University of Eindhoven in the Netherlands. As of November, Laurent was on track to complete the three-year course before 26 December, his 10th birthday.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image caption
Laurent Simons, aged nine, was studying for a degree in electrical engineering at Eindhoven University
Michael's long-standing record, it seemed, was in his sights.
ʶ
But earlier this month, the university said it would not be feasible for Laurent to complete the course before he turned 10, and offered him a mid-2020 graduation date, instead. His parents, Alexander and Lydia, refused the offer and immediately removed him from the course. He would continue his studies at a university in the US instead, they said.
ȫǰð=ȫǰð
Belgian child prodigy drops out of university
In its defence, the university said if Laurent were to rush the course, his academic development would suffer. The university also cautioned against placing "excessive pressure on this nine-year-old student" who, it said, had "unprecedented talent".
like3232 2019-12-22 (05:39) IP address :194.99.104.142
In Canberra a cricket match was called off because of poor air quality resulting from smoke from the fires.
In New South Wales a man was missing in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney after towns in the area were hit by an ember attack - when burning vegetation is blown ahead of the main blaze and starts new fires.
ٵ wÿⷻŻ 극=ٵ wÿⷻŻ 극ξ
However the southerly winds later eased and by Saturday evening six fires in the state were deemed to be at emergency level - the second highest level of danger after catastrophic - including two near Sydney.
Haze from bushfires forced the game between Sydney Thunder and Adelaide Strikers in Canberra to be abandoned
New South Wales leader Gladys Berejiklian urged Christmas travellers to delay their journeys.
"We are asking everybody not to travel on roads anywhere near the vicinity of an active fire unless you absolutely have to," she said.
In Victoria, authorities said 142 fires had started in the state since Friday. One of these was burning at an emergency level by Saturday afternoon.
ĿǾÿⷻŻ=ûȣ̽ ̰ ĿǾÿⷻŻ ī 550
What is driving the fires?
A combination of temperatures above 40C, low humidity and strong winds have worsened the struggle for the 3,000 emergency personnel mobilised to deal with the bushfires in NSW.
"We are in a period of unbelievable drought and some areas haven't seen rain for more than 12 months", NSW Rural Fire Services Inspector Ben Shepherd told the BBC.
"These fires are likely to continue to spread well past Christmas", he added.
him4se322 2019-12-22 (05:37) IP address :46.244.29.123
What happened since then is less well-documented. Beyond the late-2000s, Michael's online footprint amounts to a few bread crumbs. Nowadays, the BBC understands the 35-year-old lives a private life, his last known whereabouts in Nashville, Tennessee.
Before Michael Kearney could walk, he had started to master the English language. From as young as four months old - when he spoke his first word - øī=øī Michael bore the hallmarks of a child prodigy.
ġⷻŻ=븲ɾ ġ ⷻŻſ
Home-schooled by his parents, Michael's intellectual development accelerated at a head-spinning pace. Fast-tracked through high school and college, Michael enrolled at the University of South Alabama in 1992 at the age of eight.
¿ε
Two years later, aged 10, he walked out with a Bachelor's degree in anthropology, entering the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest ever university graduate - an extraordinary feat that remains unsurpassed to this day.
øīð=øīð øī øī
More academic success - including two Master's degrees - followed in his teens and 20s, culminating in a PhD and a trivia-and-puzzle game show appearance that saw him win $1m (759,000).
What happened since then is less well-documented. Beyond the late-2000s, Michael's online footprint amounts to a few bread crumbs. Nowadays, the BBC understands the 35-year-old lives a private life, his last known whereabouts in Nashville, Tennessee.
ûȣ̽ OMNI plus=ûȣ̽ ûȣ ̰ ⷻŻ OMNI plusѰ
From master musician Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to gifted mathematician Ruth Lawrence, no two child prodigies are the same. Yet Michael's case is a reminder that childhood precocity does not necessarily guarantee enduring success and attention throughout adult life.
c1lima332 2019-12-22 (05:23) IP address :194.99.104.142
However weather officials say no major rainfall is expected in the next two months.
Some of the fires in NSW were generating their own thunderstorms, the Rural Fire Service said.
øīƮ=øīƮ
Conditions were expected to improve over the next few days ahead of another period of hot weather expected next week.
"We will not get on top of these fires until we get some decent rain - we have said that for weeks and months," Mr Fitzsimmons said.
However weather officials say no major rainfall is expected in the next two months.
¿ε
The Gospers Mountain mega fire has destroyed about 460,000 hectares (1.14 million acres) north-west of Sydney and fire officials said there was a risk it could merge with the Grose Valley fire in the Blue Mountains.
What travel warnings have been issued?
The states of NSW and South Australia are the focus of the travel warnings.
ξؾƿ νǻ= ξؾƿ ICE 10's νǻ ÿⷻŻѰ
Image copyrightEPA
Image caption
About 3,000 emergency personnel were deployed in NSW on Saturday
In NSW, several major roads and highways have been closed, including a section of the Princes Highway.
Ŭ=ŬǷ
A visual guide to the bushfires and extreme heat
As of 03:00 (16:00 GMT), 22 roads and highways in NSW were affected by fire, according to a government website.
Roads have been closed in South Australia as well, with residents asked to monitor the government traffic website for updates.
"If members of the public attempt to enter the areas, they will be turned away, regardless of being property owners or business owners, due to specific safety reasons," a police official said.
mammo33 2019-12-21 (22:13) IP address :185.212.170.89
Criticism grew as a heatwave broke records Ű=ŰǷ across the country and exacerbated mammoth blazes, making the task even harder for exhausted øīθ=̹̼Ǽ øīθ øī firefighters - many of them volunteers.
In a statement, Mr ǰøī=ǰøī Morrison apologised and said he would be "returning to Sydney as soon as can be arranged".
Meanwhile, acting Prime Minister øīðƮ=øīðƮ Michael McCormack has acknowledged that further action must be taken to combat climate change but said there was "a lot of hysteria" surrounding the issue.
"Climate change is not the only øī=øīθ øī øīð factor that has caused these fires. There has been dry lightning strikes, there has been self-combusting piles of manure, there has been a lot of ǰĵƼ=ǰĵƼ arsonists out there causing fire", he said.
Although climate change is not the direct cause of bushfires, scientists have long warned that a hotter, drier climate would contribute ʶ=ǰ ʶ 綱 ġ to Australia's fires becoming more frequent and more intense.
seen4233 2019-12-21 (22:06) IP address :185.212.170.89
A man has described how he fought off =ÿǷ the London Bridge knifeman with a narwhal tusk before pinning him to the ground to help end =Ƿ the attack.
Darryn Frost, 38, was seen ڷøīƮ=ڷøīƮ in pictures confronting Usman Khan, 28, who was armed with two knives.
The civil servant has øīøī=øīøī spoken of his "deep hurt" at not being able to save Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones who were killed by Khan on 29 November.
Khan, who was wearing a fake øī øīĿұ øīϴ=øī øīĿұ øīϴ suicide vest, was shot dead by police.
Mr Frost, who 쿡=쿡Ƿ works in communications at the Ministry of Justice, told how he grabbed the narwhal tusk from the wall in ʶ=ǰ ʶ 綱 ġ Fishmongers' Hall as Khan launched his attack during a prisoner rehabilitation event near London Bridge.
foun8893 2019-12-21 (21:59) IP address :185.212.170.89
'Knives raised above his head'
Mr Frost added: "He had knives in both ǰøīƮ=ǰøīƮ hands and, upon seeing me with the narwhal tusk, pointed at his midriff.
"He turned and spoke to me, then øīϴ=øī øīĿұ øīϴ indicated he had an explosive device around his waist. At this point, the man next to me threw his chair at the attacker, who then started running ڸǰøī=ڸǰøī towards him with knives raised above his head."
Mr Frost handed ̹̼ǽð=̹̼ǽð the tusk to the man next to him before heading back upstairs to find another one.
When he returned, he found the first tusk "shattered across the floor" and people fleeing the building.
He said: "Along with ̹̼ϴ=̹̼ϴ ̹̼ǻ ̹̼ǵ others, I pursued the attacker, tusk in hand, onto the bridge. We called out to warn the public of the danger and, after a struggle, managed to restrain him to the ground.
"At that point I was trying to isolate ̹̼ǰ=̹̼ǰ the blades by holding his wrists so that he could not hurt anyone or set off the device."
In the footage of the altercation, Mr Frost ʶ=ǰ ʶ 綱 ġ can be seen grappling with Khan on the ground before being pulled away by an officer - seconds before police shot the attacker.
chas332 2019-12-21 (21:55) IP address :185.212.170.89
The South African-born Londoner then chased øīŹ=øīŹ Khan onto the bridge, where footage captured him and fellow members of the public fending off the attacker.
Mr Frost, whose identity was =Ƿ unknown until now, can be seen pinning Khan to the ground before being pulled away by a police officer. The terrorist was shot dead moments later.
Khan was out on licence ̹̼Ǽ=̹̼Ǽ from prison when he killed Mr Merritt and Ms Jones and injured three others in the stabbing attack.
Speaking to the PA news ڷøīƮ=ڷøīƮ agency, Mr Frost said he was attending the rehabilitation event with colleagues when he heard a commotion downstairs.
He said he then grabbed the ǰøī=ǰøī decorative whale tusk, which had been hanging on a wall: "A few of us rushed to the scene. I took a narwhal tusk from the wall and used it to defend myself and װŸ=װŸǷ others from the attacker.