Former Pakistan cricketer Waqar Younis is ready to step down from his post as Cricket Affairs Advisor to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi just a few days after his appointment.
According to ARY, a new cricket advisor could be appointed in place of Younis. Some officers refused to cooperate with the former fast bowler, an act that left him bitter. He is now reportedly ready to resign from the post. He has been absent from the post since several days.
The former captain has been appointed a mentor in the Champions Cup starting next month, along with Misbah ul Haq, Saqlain Mushtaq, Sarfraz Ahmed, and Shoaib Malik.
Sources say Waqae’s tenure as Advisor Chairman of the PCB was until August 19. He was appointed for a short period.
Waqar Younis’s appointment was also challenged three weeks ago in the Lahore High Court (LHC). The petition challenged the PCB’s decision to make the appointment without advertisement.
While visiting the shrine of Ali Hajveri on Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar stated that Pakistan can progress if “invisible hands” do not pull the rug from under the government.
Dar recalled that Pakistan became a nuclear power during Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s era, vowing that the government will make the country an economic power as well.
“(We) can work wonders and make the country great, treading fast on the path of progress provided the invisible hands do not again pull the legs (of the government),” stated the senior PML-N leader.
Ishaq Dar also stated that when PML-N was elected in 2013, the country’s economy and international standing were poor, but the PML-N government worked wonders in just four years.
According to Dar’s claim, Pakistan became the 24th economy in the world at the time, and it was soon to join the G-20 club when the Nawaz government was toppled.
He then criticised the PTI government, which, according to him, pushed the country to 47th rank economy-wise.
Dutch football player Anwar El Ghazi has announced that he will donate 500,000 euros to the children of Gaza who are victims of Israel’s genocide.
The footballer was suspended last year by his club, FSV Mainz 05, for raising his voice in favour of Palestine in 2023, which resulted in the termination of his contract.
Ghazi appealed in court against the football club’s decision, where he got justice. The German court declared the club’s decision illegal. The club was ordered to pay the last nine months’ salary, which is worth a total of €1,700,000.
The Dutch footballer wrote on social media, “After receiving a substantial payment today from Mainz, I would like to make clear that my legal battle with Mainz has never, for me, been about money.”
He further wrote, “I would like to take this moment to thank Mainz for two things. Firstly, for the substantial financial payoff, €500k of which will be used to fund projects for the children in Gaza. I hope Mainz, despite their repeated failed attempts to avoid making the due payment, takes solace from the knowledge that they have, through me, contributed financially in trying to make life a little more bearable for the children of Gaza.”
“Secondly, in attempting to silence me, making my voice even louder for the oppressed and voiceless in Gaza.”
The footballer signed a contract with Championship team Cardiff City this month and had a contract with Mainz until 2025.
The Punjab police have successfully rescued Constable Ahmed Nawaz from Katcha dacoits in Machka, when he was abducted by bandits after police got ambushed, a police spokesperson has said.
District Police Officer (DPO) Rahim Yar Khan, Rizwan Omar Gondal, said, “The police department is working with full strength in the riverine areas,” Punjab Police Inspector General (IG) Dr Usman Anwar stated that the police prioritised Nawaz’s recovery.
Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz appreciated the police effort to ensure Nawaz’s safe return.
Last Thursday, Rahim Yar Khan’s riverine area was witness to a brutal ambush after Katcha dacoits attacked police with rocket launchers, resulting in 12 officers getting killed while six were injured, and two vehicles were also destroyed.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has predicted rain in Karachi in the evening or night today which will be extended to the coming week.
The weather department has said that the weather in the port city is likely to remain hot and humid for the next 24 hours with maximum temperature expected to remain between 34°C to 36°C.
Humidity levels are predicted to be at 78 percent, and a 14-kilometre-per-hour wind. PMD has recorded the minimum temperature in the city as 28.5°C.
The forecast comes against the backdrop of the prediction of light to heavy showers in Karachi from Tuesday to Thursday.
Geo News reported that the spokesperson of PMD has said that rain was likely to hit suburban areas of the megalopolis on Monday (today).
He also warned of urban flooding as the upcoming rain spell could be the most powerful of the current monsoon season.
Earlier, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab also imposed a rain emergency in the city due to predictions of heavy rainfall in southern parts of the country.
The move came after the PMD warned of a new rain system located over West Bengal that is likely to move westwards during the next couple of days. This will provoke strong monsoon currents in Pakistan’s southern parts, causing heavy rains from August 26 to 29.
The areas in Sindh that are likely to receive showers include Karachi, Hyderabad, Dadu, Thatta, Badin, Sajawal, Shaheed Benazirabad, Jamshoro, Tando Allayar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tharparkar, Nagarparkar, Mithi, Mirpur Khas, Umarkot, Matiari, Sanghar, Sukkur, Ghotki, Shikarpur, Kashmore, Khairpur, Larkana, Jacobabad and Naushero Feroze, as per Met department.
It’s standard for employers or senior executives to make phone calls or emails to employees after office hours to get work done. In such cases, it can be costly for employees to ignore their boss, and they may lose their jobs.
However, the Australian government has taken a revolutionary step for employees. It has introduced legislation that gives employees the legal right not to answer their employer’s calls or emails after office hours. The new law, dubbed the ‘Right to Disconnect’, was passed in February and will be effective nationwide starting today (August 26).
According to this law, employees are not bound to obey the orders of their officers or employers and answer their calls and messages after working hours. They have the right to disconnect their calls or not respond to emails, but no disciplinary action will be taken against them.
The law has been implemented in view of employers’ intrusion into people’s professional and personal lives, especially in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, with increasing reliance on methods such as digital communication and work from home.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, addressing a news conference, said, “If a worker is not paid 24 hours a day, he cannot be punished for being online 24 hours a day or available for office work.”
According to a report by the Australia Institute think tank, the average worker in Australia worked 5.4 hours of unpaid overtime a week last year, while workers aged 18 to 19 worked 7.4 hours.
Proponents of the law argue that employees are often physically out of the office but mentally in the office, as they constantly answer phone calls, emails, and texts while at home or with family. Sometimes, bosses’ or senior officials’ behaviour can cause severe stress among employees. Such calls disrupt their peace of mind, which can also lead to various diseases.
The right to disconnect from employers was first introduced in France in 2017 to protect workers from punishment for not answering calls after working hours. Later, more than 20 countries, including Spain, France, Ireland, and the Canadian province of Ontario, introduced similar policies.
At least 23 people, mainly from Punjab, were killed in the Musakhel district of Balochistan early on Monday morning after armed men checked the identities of victims on buses and trucks, shooting them to death.
Musakhail Assistant Commissioner Najeeb Kakar told Dawn News that the militants blocked the inter-provincial highway in the Rarasham area of the district and discharged passengers from buses.
Furthermore, the armed men set fire to 10 vehicles in the attack.
“Vehicles travelling to and from Punjab were inspected, and individuals from Punjab were identified and shot,” said AC Kakar.
Three of the victims were from Balochistan, while the rest of them belonged to the Punjab province.
In recent years, the security situation in Balochistan has been going downhill as terrorist organisations target civilians, especially from Punjab.
A similar incident took place in Noshki almost four months ago when nine passengers from Punjab were identified, taken away and later killed by the militant Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the terrorist attack.
“The terrorists responsible for this incident will be severely punished,” the PM vowed.
Kalat Attack
At least ten people, including police and levies personnel, were killed in Balochistan’s Kalat city in a lethal attack by armed militants last night.
According to SSP Kalat Dostain Dashti, the victims include a police sub-inspector, four levies officials and five civilians.
Five Levies personnel, including the Kalat Assistant Commissioner Aftab Lasi, were among the injured.
The militants managed to escape after the brutal attack while a gunfight ensued between the police and militants last night on the national highway in Kalat and in the city.
It should be noted that August 26 marks the death anniversary of the former governor of Balochistan and the Sardar of the Bugti tribe, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, who was killed during Pervez Musharraf’s era.
Dawn News reported that armed men attacked Levies and police stations in Mastung, Kalat, Pasni and Suntsar last night.
Similarly, reports of blasts and grenade attacks were also received from Sibi Panjgur, Mastung, Turbat, Bela and Quetta and the railway track linking Pakistan with Iran at the bypass area of Mastung was also blown up.
The Baloch Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for the Kalat attack.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has stated that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) postponed its August 22 rally in Islamabad due to “fear of rejection” by the people.
Khawaja Asif claimed that former Prime Minister Imran Khan would not have cancelled the rally if it was going to be successful. And to protect the image of its popularity, PTI is building a “false narrative.”
Khawaja Asif pointed out apparent differences between the PTI leadership regarding the August 22 rally and said that they have no “real intention” of getting Imran Khan freed from jail.
Responding to Imran’s meeting with Azam Swati, Khawaja said, “Meetings or conversations in jail cannot remain a secret; your every movement is recorded.”
He called Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Ali Amin Gandapur “Buzdar 2” and remarked, “A blame game is underway in the PTI-led province as his [Gandapur] cabinet members are calling him [a] thief.”
Disney/Marvel superhero comedy “Deadpool & Wolverine” clawed its way back to the top of the North American box office this weekend, taking in an estimated $18.3 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.
The Ryan Reynolds/Hugh Jackman vehicle has now topped the box office for four of its five weekends out, logging impressive total ticket sales of $577.2 million domestically and $634 million internationally.
Last weekend’s leader, sci-fi horror film “Alien: Romulus” from 20th Century Studios, slipped to second, earning $16.2 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period.
The tale of a terrifying encounter between space colonists and a face-eating alien is directed by Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Alvarez. Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux and Spike Fearn star.
Sony’s “It Ends With Us,” a romantic drama based on a popular Colleen Hoover novel, had $11.9 million in ticket sales. Blake Lively stars and co-produced the film, which has performed unexpectedly well for the genre, taking in a global total so far of $242 million.
“It’s among the highlights of the summer,” said analyst David A. Gross, adding that “it’s another sign of the industry’s improving health.”
New psychological thriller “Blink Twice,” from MGM Studios, placed fourth, at $7.3 million. The story of a cocktail waitress (Naomi Ackie) who visits the mysterious island of a tech billionaire (Channing Tatum) was directed by actress Zoe Kravitz (daughter of singer Lenny Kravitz and actor Lisa Bonnet) in her directorial debut.
Given the glutted field of crime thrillers, Gross said, how well such films perform is “almost always cast-driven.” In this case the cast, along with Ackie and Tatum, includes Christian Slater, Kyle MacLachlan, Haley Joel Osment and Geena Davis.
And in fifth was Sony’s new biblical drama “The Forge,” at $6.6 million, not a bad opening for a movie that cost $5 million to make. A spinoff from 2015’s inspirational drama “War Room,” it tells the story of a floundering, directionless 19-year-old who finds motivation to get himself together.
The Sindh government has announced that mobile phone service in major cities of the province, including Karachi, Hyderabad, Larkana, Sukkur and Khairpur, will be suspended on the occasion of Chelum of Shahada Karbala.
Mobile phone service will likely remain off in other sensitive areas across the country.
In view of the law and order situation on the occasion of Chehlum, strict security arrangements have been made, and aerial surveillance of the processions will also be conducted.
Geo News reports that mobile phone service has been suspended in different areas of Karachi since last night. These areas include North Karachi, New Karachi, Nazimabad, Liaquatabad, Tin Hatti, PIB, MA Jinnah Road, Sadar, Lions Area, Malir, and others.
The Sindh Home Department has confirmed that mobile phone services will be unavailable in Karachi from 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM. In Hyderabad, the suspension will last from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM.
Additionally, mobile services will be disrupted in other Sindh cities as follows: Mirpurkhas: 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM Shaheed Benazirabad: 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Larkana: 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM Khairpur: 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM
