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  • World Cup semi-final: Australia defeats South Africa by three wickets

    World Cup semi-final: Australia defeats South Africa by three wickets

    In the second semi-final of the ICC ODI World Cup, 5-time world champions Australia defeated South Africa by 3 wickets after a sensational match and qualified for the final for the 8th time.

    South African team captain Tamba Bavuma won the toss and decided to bat first against Australia.

    South Africa’s inning:

    Four players of South Africa were dismissed for 24 runs, however, due to rain the match was stopped for some time but then the game started again. In such a situation, Henrik Klaasen and David Miller took over the team and made a partnership of 95 runs, but then Klaasen got out after scoring 47 runs.

    David Miller scored a brilliant century while batting responsibly and he also returned to the pavilion after playing an innings of 101 runs in the final overs. Apart from this, Coetzee was dismissed for 19, Maharaj for f,our and Rabada for 10.

    Thus, the entire South African team got out after scoring 212 runs in 49.4 overs.

    For Australia, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins took three wickets each while Hazlewood and Travis Head took two wickets each.

    Australia’s inning:

    Australia’s pursuit of South Africa’s target got off to an aggressive start, with openers Travis Head and David Warner putting on a 60-run partnership in seven overs, but then Warner was dismissed for 29 runs.

    Australia suffered another loss in the form of Mitchell Marsh who was out for zero, Travis Head scored 62, Marence Labuchin 18, Steve Smith 30, and Josh Ingles scored 28 and returned to the pavilion.

    After losing 7 wickets at a total score of 193, Starc and Cummins faced the South African bowlers vigorously and remained at the crease with responsible batting and took their team to the final by winning the match.

    Mitchell Starc scored 19 off 38 balls and Cummins remained unbeaten on 14 off 29 balls.

    On behalf of South Africa, Tabriz Shamsi and Coetzee dismissed two players each while Rabada, Eden Markram, and Maharaj took one wicket each.

  • Palestinian content leaves Israel miles behind on social media

    Palestinian content leaves Israel miles behind on social media

    While activists and civilians flood the streets across the world protesting for Palestine, social media is actively reflecting the changing tides. Currently, the hashtag #FreePalestine has over 2 billion views on TikTok, while in contrast the hashtag #standwithIsrael has over 162.8 million views.

    In a statement posted on Monday, the social media platform responded to US Representative (R) Mike Gallagher’s allegations that TikTok was “controlled by America’s s foremost adversary, one that does not share our interests or our values: the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)”, calling for America to ban the app.

    TikTok said the overwhelming support teens have for Palestine is dominating the app’s algorithm.

    “Support for Israel (as compared to sympathy for Palestine) has been lower among younger Americans for some time. This is evidenced by looking at Gallup polling data of millennials dating as far back as 2010, long before TikTok even existed. A March 2023 Gallup poll, before the war, shows young adults have rapidly shifting attitudes towards the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. While an Echelon poll from October 26, 2023 shows that US TikTok users under 40 are more likely to support Israel (33% vs 28% for Palestine), and the proportions broadly reflect the split in the general under 40 population (32% for Israel, 23% for Palestine).”

    Other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram show more audiences engage with the pro-Palestinian content than with Israel’s. Instagram shows that the hashtag #FreePalestine has over 6 million views, while in comparison #IstandwithIsrael has gained only 233,000 views.

    Instagram was being taken to task by users for censoring and shadow banning prominent pro-Palestinian voices who were reporting on the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Freelance journalist Plestia Alaqad reported her Instagram account was hacked.

    Furthermore, journalist Ahmed reported he was locked out of his Instagram account and was warned it would be shut down for violating the company’s guideline.

    On Facebook, the #FreePalestine hashtag has over 11 million views while in comparison the #IstandwithIsrael hashtag has over 323,000 views.

  • Israel raids Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital: Day two

    Israel raids Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital: Day two

    Al Jazeera reports that a building for specialised surgeries at al-Shifa Hopital in Gaza has been fully wrecked from the inside while Israeli forces bombed a warehouse containing medicine and medical equipment inside the hospital.

    Reportedly the Israeli military “literally tore it apart – all the partitions, walls between the rooms, and all the medical equipment inside the building have been completely destroyed”, writes Al Jazeera.

    It has also been revealed that 200 people were “blindfolded and interrogated and taken to unknown areas; their fate is unknown.”

    Witnesses present inside the hospital informed Al Jazeera that Israeli soldiers stripped 30 people, leading them to the courtyard of the hospital.

    Al-Shifa hospital was surrounded by Israeli armed forces for the past few days, and is now being raided by Israeli soldiers.

    Israeli bulldozers have also fully knocked down the southern entrance to al-Shifa Hospital and all vehicles in its courtyard.

    Yesterday, BBC spoke to a journalist inside Al Shifa hospital who said that Israeli soldiers are checking through all the areas and interrogating people.

    Al Jazeera also reported that the Israeli military has stormed into the hospital’s main buildings “under the cover of heavy gunfire and tank shells”. They are reportedly inside the emergency department, the specialised surgeries department and the maternity ward.

  • Council of Islamic Ideology gives ‘conditional permission’ for women to perform Hajj without mehram

    Council of Islamic Ideology gives ‘conditional permission’ for women to perform Hajj without mehram

    In response to a query from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has given conditional permission to women to perform Umrah without mehram, The News has reported.

    The detailed response from the CII states that Jafria, Maliki, and Shafi’i schools of thought allow women to perform Hajj or Umrah without a mehram while Hanbali and Hanafi schools of thought do not consider Hajj and Umrah an obligation for women if their mehram is not available.

    Last year in October, the Saudi government allowed women from across the world to perform Haj and Umrah without a male relative.

    The CII, however, has said the performance of Hajj for a woman without a mehram should be in the company of trustworthy women in a group. It also asserted that the Ministry of Religious Affairs should properly scrutinise a Haj group in which a woman wants to perform Haj without a Mehram.

  • After months of treatment, 13-year-old Rizwana to be discharged from hospital

    After months of treatment, 13-year-old Rizwana to be discharged from hospital

    Rizwana, the underage domestic help tortured at work, will be discharged next week from hospital following months of treatment and surgeries.

    The 13-year-old has been undergoing treatment at the General Hospital in Lahore for the past five months.

    Talking to GeoNews, Principal Amiruddin Medical College Professor Al Farid Zafar said that Rizwana’s condition has improved and she is now walking and talking.

    He said that there have been requests from various departments to keep Rizwana, whichever department has better facilities, Rizwana will be shifted there.

    Professor Al Farid Zafar also said that after being discharged from the hospital, she will not go to Sargodha and will stay in Lahore.

    He also reported that one if Rizwana’s arms has mended while the other arm will be considered for surgery some time after discharge.

    The goal is to give Rizwana a normal life after discharge from hospital.

    In August, Rizwana went through plastic surgery.

    Rizwana had been allegedly tortured and abused while working at a civil judge’s home in Islamabad, after she was accused of stealing jewellery. Rizwana’s family revealed that the girl was not paid a single penny by the family for the extensive workload she was doing and was instead subjected to violence.

  • No relief for Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi

    No relief for Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi

    A National Accountability Bureau (NAB) team, comprising of four members, conducted a thorough investigation at Adiala Jail, where Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan is currently detained in connection with a £190 million scandal, as per Geo News.

    The team, which included Mian Umer Nadim, Asim Munir, and Prosecutors Rooh ul Amin, and Haroon Baloch, spent over two hours scrutinizing the jail premises.

    After approximately one and a half hours of investigation, the team concluded its inspection and left the jail premises.

    The team will interrogate Khan for three days.

    Bail Rejected

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has recently rejected the post-arrest bail petition of former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the cipher case, directing the trial court to conclude proceedings within four weeks.

    The case accuses him, along with Imran Khan, of “unauthorisedly” communicating the contents of a classified document received from Washington, with unauthorised people i.e. the public at large.

    It is also alleged that Qureshi and Khan had a meeting on March 28, 2022 at Banigala, Islamabad, where a conspiracy was hatched to divulge the contents of the cipher for political advantage.

    The Chief Justice observed that the charges against Qureshi are punishable by death, and if proven, bail relief is typically avoided in such grave cases.

    Qureshi’s counsel argued that there was no evidence proving that Qureshi divulged classified information to the public. The trial of Qureshi and Imran Khan is currently taking place in Central Jail Adiala, Rawalpindi, as notified on October 3.

    However, the counsel argued that the notification did not mention Qureshi’s name.

    The Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) special prosecutor countered by stating that Qureshi had aided, abetted, and incited Imran Khan, making him liable under Section 9 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923.

    The prosecution emphasized that charges had been framed, and three witnesses had already given their evidence.

    Justice Farooq observed that under Section 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code, liability of the person, who abets the commission of offence, is that of a principal offender.

    The court order stated, “Undoubtedly, bail ought not to be held as punishment but where sentence involved is death or life imprisonment, the court has to proceed with caution; in this regard, the balance is to be maintained that liberty of a person ought not be compromised but gravity of charge or allegation is also to be kept in view.”

    Subsequently, the court dismissed the bail petition, but directed the Special Court (Official Secrets Act) “to conclude the trial within four weeks from the date of receipt of this order”.

    Toshakhana Case

    In a related development, an IHC division bench comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri restored Imran Khan’s petition seeking bail in the Toshakhana case.

    Khan’s bail petition was dismissed by the accountability court for non-prosecution.

    The court revived the bail petition with a direction to hear Mr Khan’s arguments and decide it on merit.

    The bench, however, dismissed Mr Khan’s identical petition seeking bail in the 190 million pounds corruption case for being infructuous as NAB has already arrested the ex-premier in this case.

    The cases

    The former prime minister is currently being held in Adiala Jail after his arrest from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore on August 5.

    He was moved to the prison on September 26 from Attock Jail where he was initially kept after his arrest.

    Khan was first convicted by a lower court in the Toshakhana case in August and sentenced to three years of imprisonment. The IHC suspended his sentence the same month.

    The Islamabad accountability court issued arrest warrants for PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the Toshakhana and 190 million Al-Qadir Trust cases on Tuesday.

    Khan was arrested in the Al-Qadir Trust case on May 9 for the first time.

    The 190 million (approximately Rs60 billion) settlement case pertains to the money of property tycoon, Malik Riaz, being laundered and caught by the UK authorities during Imran’s government in 2019.

    The UK government had informed the Pakistani authorities regarding the money being caught.

    The former premier is already in prison as he was subsequently booked in the ‘cipher’ case.

    In the cipher case, Khan, along with his close aide and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, has been accused of leaking state secrets.

  • Saturdays off and artificial rains for Lahoris: Punjab Government

    Saturdays off and artificial rains for Lahoris: Punjab Government

    Lahore once again topped global charts in air pollution on Wednesday while the caretaker chief minister of Punjab called an important meeting to deal with the smog situation.

    Caretaker Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi discussed the closure of schools, colleges and universities in Punjab on Saturdays and fixed working hours for businesses that remain operational on Saturdays.

    For now, he announced that schools and offices will be closed this Saturday, November 18.

    During the meeting, it was decided that business centres, theatres and cinemas across Punjab will also be able to open after 3 pm on Saturday.

    Caretaker CM Naqvi also talked about the installation of smog air filter ioniser units at 12 places in Lahore. He additionally said that LWMC and WASA were spraying water on an area of 400 km daily and that consultations are also going on about artificial rain.

    It was also decided that a special meteorological laboratory will be established in Punjab.

    Previously, Lahore High Court ordered the closure of private and government schools and colleges on Saturday to control smog, adding that government and private offices should adopt a policy of working from home two days a week.

    During the hearing of petitions for the prevention of smog, the court remarked that smog is no longer the problem of just Lahore, it has become the problem of all of the Punjab.

  • Shehbaz asks ‘younger brother’ Bilawal to be politically mature

    Shehbaz asks ‘younger brother’ Bilawal to be politically mature

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president and former prime minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, has described Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari as a “younger brother”, a day after Bilawal advised PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif to “focus on Lahore”.

    While mentioning the coalition government of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), Shehbaz said that “Bilawal Bhutto is like a younger brother. [We have] worked together for 16 months.”

    Shehbaz Sharif’s comment came during a press conference in Quetta where the other PML-N leaders, including Nawaz Sharif, were gathered.

    The PML-N president’s statement was a response to Bilawal’s advice to Nawaz Sharif to “focus on Lahore”.

    “We should move towards mature politics. Crying and blaming will do nothing,” the PML-N president said.

    “Mian sahib has been advised to go to other provinces. I suggest he should stay in Lahore,” said the former foreign minister while addressing a presser in Mithi.

    Bilawal also said that Nawaz Sharif should focus on Punjab and address issues within the party.

  • ‘Special day copied blatantly’: Saboor Aly isn’t okay with Mannat Murad allegedly copying her wedding look

    Pakistani drama ‘Mannat Murad’ came under scrutiny when a viral episode, featuring main characters getting married, led to accusations of plagiarism.

    Viewers pointed out that Iqra Aziz’s look appeared similar to Saboor Aly. Viral tweets pointed out Iqra’s wedding look for the episode was exactly the same as Saboor Aly wedding look.

    Actress Saboor Aly has responded to the comments, to share she was disheartened her special day being copied. In her Instagram stories, the actress wrote:

    “And how am I suppose to feel about this? My moment, my memories, my sentiments. My vision and my look for the most special day of my life. My heart was put into every little details of my entire look. However, there is a difference between being inspired and copying special day copied blatantly.”

    “

  • World Cup 2023 semi-final: India defeats New Zealand by 70 runs

    World Cup 2023 semi-final: India defeats New Zealand by 70 runs

    In the first semi-final of the ICC ODI World Cup, India defeated New Zealand by 70 runs and qualified for the final.

    Indian captain Rohit Sharma invited the Kiwis to the field.

    India’s inning:

    India scored 397 runs for the loss of four wickets in the allotted 50 overs, with Virat Kohli scoring 117 and Shreyas Iyer scoring 105 runs. Apart from this, KL Rahul remained unbeaten with 39 runs while Surya Kumar Yadav scored one run.

    Tim Southee took three wickets and Trent Boult took one wicket for New Zealand.

    New Zealand’s inning:

    In pursuit of India’s target of 398 runs, Daryl Mitchell played an innings of 134 runs but he too could not take his team to the final.

    Kane Williamson scored 69 runs while Glenn Phillips was dismissed for 41 runs, and Dion Conway and Rachin Ravindra scored 13 runs respectively.

    Chasing the target, the entire team of New Zealand was bowled out for 327 runs in 48.5 overs and thus India won the match by 70 runs and qualified for the final of the World Cup.

    For India, Mohammad Shami took 7 wickets for 57 runs in 9.5 overs while Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav took one wicket each.