The last three countries where polio is still paralysing children -- Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria -- said on Thursday that they have enlisted Muslim women and religious leaders to allay fears of vaccination and wipe out the disease.

Polio cases are at an all-time low worldwide, following its eradication in India last year, raising hopes but also fears about a threat of resurgence especially in sub-Saharan Africa unless remaining reservoirs of polio virus are stamped out.

Tackling polio has entered "emergency mode" according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative after "explosive" outbreaks in countries previously free of the disease.

It has launched a plan to boost vaccination in Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the only countries where the disease is still endemic.

Experts fear the disease could "come back with a vengeance".

The World Health Organization says polio is "at a tipping point".

A measles outbreak has killed eight children and afflicting over a dozen in different areas of Bajaur Agency over the last few days.

Locals told Dawn on Thursday that children in far-flung villages of Utmankhel and Barang tehsils were the worst hit by measles. Hazrat Gul, a Uthmankhel resident, said five children died in his village.

A local health official Dr Khursheed Khan confirmed the measles outbreak in the agency. He said there were reports about deaths of children by measles in various localities, where health teams had been sent for verification.

Implementation of a recently approved water supply project of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board will cause water shortage in Thatta and render over 300,000 acres of fertile land barren, according to water experts, parliamentarians, growers and nationalist leaders.

The K-IV, which envisages supply of 1200 cusecs of water per day to Karachi, in addition to the three existing schemes for supply of water to the metropolis from Keenjhar Lake, was approved recently.

Newborns in Jammu and Kashmir are more vulnerable to death in comparison to any other state, a survey by the Census Department has cautioned.

The survey under Sample Registration System (SRS) has shown that J&K was recording the highest death rate among neonates belonging to the age group of below 29 days.

Turkmenistan agreed on Wednesday to supply natural gas to Pakistan and India in deals that offer major economic benefits but depend on building and defending a US-backed pipeline across chronically unstable Afghanistan.

The route, particularly the 735-km leg through the Afghan provinces of Herat and Kandahar, will need billions of dollars in funding.

It faces significant security problems as the Western Nato alliance plans to hand control of Afghanistan to Kabul’s own security forces by the middle of next year.

Private hospitals and clinics in Federal capital daily generate hazardous hospital waste, which is not properly disposed of, but dumped in the city causing serious health problems.

Medical experts say that 20 to 25 percent of the total hospital wastes are considered extremely hazardous to human health and is a potential source of fatal diseases such as hepatitis.

The Punjab government is spending Rs.36 billion to upgrade irrigation system for promotion of agriculture sector in the Punjab, Irrigation officials said.

They added that under the programme drip and sprinkle irrigation would be installed on 1.20 lakh acres of land. In addition, 9,000 water courses would be improved across the Punjab and 3,000 laser land levelers would be provided on subsidy basis, they said.

Karachi Municipal Corporation has entered into an agreement with a Turkish firm on bringing about an improvement in the solid waste management system of the city, a statement said on Wednesday.

It recalled that a memorandum of understanding in this regard was signed by the two sides recently in Islamabad.

The Asian Development Bank has announced participation in its first Shariah-compliant project financing by providing assistance to two projects to build wind farms near Karachi, using two partial credit guarantees worth up to $66 million to the Islamic Development Bank.

IDB will use the assistance to finance two projects that will each produce 50MW of much-needed additional power for Pakistan and lower reliance on fossil fuels.

The wind farms will avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 136,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year.