Noted Pakistani author and columnist Arif Anis has won Britain’s prestigious ‘Brain of the Year 2020’ awarded by Britain’s Brain Trust. Arif was recognised for co-founding the One Million Meals initiative in April this year. The initiative aimed to feed National Health Services (NHS) doctors, nurses, paramedics and key workers in the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to details, this award is presented every year to a leader who advances mental health through research, support and funding for individuals and organisations. The announcement of this award was made by Brain Trust Chairman and Grand Chessmaster Raymond Keene OBE.
Previous winners include Professor Stephen Hawking, English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author.
Anis is the author of I’MPOSSIBLE and Follow Your Dreams and the co-author of Made in Crises. In 2018, the Power100 British Parliamentary Review listed him among the ‘100 most influential trailblazers’ in Europe. He was awarded the ‘Global Man of the Year Award’ in 2019 in London for his contributions in the fields of learning and development.
United States (US) President Donald Trump has described the air in India as “filthy” as he denounced Democratic rival Joe Biden’s plans to tackle climate change.
At their second and final presidential debate, Trump renewed his criticism that action on climate change was unfair to the US.
“Look at China, how filthy it is. Look at Russia, look at India — it’s filthy. The air is filthy,” Trump saidat the debate in Nashville, adding, “I walked out of the Paris Accord as we had to take out trillions of dollars and we were treated very unfairly.”
Trump has repeatedly blamed countries like India and China for not doing enough on climate change, labelling them as regions with air that is impossible to breathe. He has continuously argued that countries like China and India are benefiting the most from the Paris agreement.
It is pertinent to mention here that the air in several cities in northern India is especially bad in winter months — November to February — when several factors, such as farmers burning crop stubble to clear their fields, vehicular and industrial pollution, festive fireworks and low wind speed, contribute to what doctors call a “deadly cocktail of poisonous gases”.
Despite the spikes in air pollution year after year, few concrete steps have been taken to control it.
During the debate, Trump also charged that Biden’s climate plan was an “economic disaster” for oil states such as Texas and Oklahoma.
Biden had said that climate change is “an existential threat to humanity. We have a moral obligation to deal with it.”
“We’re going to pass the point of no return within the next eight to 10 years,” he said.
The planet has already warmed by around one degree Celsius (34 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial levels, enough to boost the intensity of deadly heatwaves, droughts and tropical storms.
Trump’s remarks come days before Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper visit New Delhi for talks on building the growing US-India partnership.
At the first presidential debate, Trump also spoke critically of India, questioning its coronavirus data amid criticism of Trump’s handling of the pandemic.
Soon after Trump’s remarks, “filthy” and “Howdy! Modi” started trending on Twitter though many used the hashtag o highlight their concerns. The “Howdy, Modi!” event, held in Houston in September 2019 was attended by nearly 50,000 people. It was billed as one of the largest ever receptions for a foreign leader in the US and Mr Trump had called it a “profoundly historic event”.
Trump : Fruits of Friendship
1) Questions India’s COVID death toll
2) Says India sends dirt up into the air India “ air is filthy “
That Modi shamelessly campaigned for Trump, risked the lives of lakhs of Indians for him in the middle of a pandemic, & insulted the chair of the Indian PM by constantly prostrating in front of him due to his personal inferiority complex.
Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has said that he would himself travel to the United Kingdom (UK) if that is what’s needed to bring former premier Nawaz Sharif back to Pakistan to face the corruption charges against him.
Corruption convict Nawaz, who was last year granted bail and the permission to travel abroad for medical treatment, has been in London for almost a year now. He has time and again been accused by the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of faking health issues to flee the country and avoid accountability.
“I will travel to [the] UK and bring him [Nawaz] back myself if that is what’s needed,” the premier reportedly said in an interview that will air on ARY News tonight at 7 pm.
The statement comes after Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz said that the deposed PM will be in a Pakistan jail by January 15.
Addressing the media, the federal minister maintained that everything was being done to stop the legal process behind the arrest of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo. However, he added that the federal government was doing all in its power to bring Nawaz back.
Faraz said that PM Imran would not leave Nawaz off the hook, and that the government was building diplomatic pressure for the PML-N supreme leader’s return.
A 16-year-old girl in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh allegedly beat her father to death because he used to get drunk and abuse her mother.
According to reports, a police official said: “The man was unemployed and lived off the earnings of his eldest son, who works as a mason (a bricklayer). The family was dealing with a difficult situation as the man was an alcoholic and would abuse his family. He was especially violent towards his wife.”
The family was sitting together to discuss the eldest son’s marriage when the father started fighting with the mother again.
Furious and tired of the daily abuse, the 16-year-old picked up a washing bat and beat her 45-year-old father. He began bleeding but the girl picked up a lohangi (a traditional stick with iron rings) and kept hitting him.
After killing him on the spot, she called the police and confessed to the crime. She also told them that she was waiting to be arrested.
Bhopal Police have registered a case and sent the teenage girl to a juvenile shelter, which helps to enforce protection, rehabilitation, and restoration of juveniles (below the age of 18 years) convicted for a crime.
British-Pakistani boxer Amir Khan is all-praise for the Pakistan Army, saying the military was the “backbone of the country”.
In a couple of tweets, the former boxing champion, who was invited to enter the politics, said that he wouldn’t join the politics on the advice of his counsels. He added that Pakistan was run by an “amazing PM” whom “we trust”. But Khan said he would continue to do “charity work @AKFoundation in UK, Pakistan and rest of the world to make areas better and safer”.
Talked to my advisory team, I will decline the offer to join Pakistan politics. The country is run by an amazing PM @ImranKhanPTI and we all have trust in him. I prefer continuing my charity work @AKFoundation in UK, Pakistan and rest of the world to make areas better and safer
The boxer said he has “big respect” for the Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, and Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) head Major Gen Babar Iftikhar. “Every attack, floods, earthquakes the Pakistan army are the first to reach and help,” he added.
Politics aside… U can’t knock the work pakistan army are doing. That’s the back bone of the country. Big respect goes to Coas General Bajwa, ISI General Fes and @OfficialDGISPR. Every attack, floods, earthquakes the pak army are the first to reach and help. #Respectpic.twitter.com/yfoyU6qjfV
“I have been asked numerous times if I would join politics in Pakistan. Being a sportsman and being an ambassador for the country, I’m honoured to [be] asked if I would take part in politics, in fact, I would love to help the country,” said the former boxing champion after the visit.
He continued: “I’ve sat with many politicians and army generals agreeing and disagreeing on topics in the country. My heart is clean and I would want the best for Pakistan.”
PayPal, one of the largest merchant network for online payments has entered the cryptocurrency market, announcing that its consumers will be able to buy and sell Bitcoins and other virtual currencies using their PayPal accounts.
Other payment firms, such as Square’s Cash app and Revolut, have already offered cryptocurrencies for sale.
When it comes to using virtual coins, PayPal will convert the cryptocurrency into the relevant national currency, so the company being paid will never receive the virtual coins – just the correct amount of pounds or dollars.
Those virtual coins could then be used to buy things from the 26 million sellers which accept PayPal, the company said.
PayPal plans to roll out buying options in the US over the next few weeks, with the full rollout due early next year.
Bitcoin prices rose alongside the news, breaking the $12,000 (£9,170) mark.
The other cryptocurrencies to be added first will be Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash (a spin-off from Bitcoin).
All could be stored “directly within the PayPal digital wallet”, it added.
Cryptocurrencies are still a niche payment method because of the rapid change in prices they can experience as compared to traditional state-backed currencies. However, they became really popular among some types of investors.
PayPal said it was aiming “to increase consumer understanding and adoption of cryptocurrency”.
“As part of this offering, PayPal will provide account holders with educational content to help them understand the cryptocurrency ecosystem,” it said.
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is reportedly upset because of a secret meeting of three senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders with party president Shehbaz Sharif on the “request” of a senior representative of the establishment.
According to a local media outlet, Nawaz was reportedly unhappy because he was told that top party leaders Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal and Rana Tanvir Hussain met Shehbaz while he was in the custody National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on the “request of a senior representative of the establishment”.
However, PML-N Secretary-General Iqbal dismissed the reports, claiming that they had met their party president after duly informing the former premier.
While denying that the establishment arranged their meeting, the PML-N leader said they had only requested the accountability body for the meeting.
Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan is likely to appoint the brother of former PM Nawaz Sharif’s blue-eyed Fawad Hasan Fawad as his new special assistant on information and broadcasting, ARY News reported.
According to reports, Raoof Hasan will be replacing former Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director general (DG) Lt Gen (r) Asim Bajwa, who stepped down as the premier’s media aide earlier this month.
Interestingly, Raoof is the brother of former civil servant Fawad who served in BPS-22 grade as the principal secretary to two PMs, namely Nawaz Sharif and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
The former bureaucrat was accused of corruption and misuse of authority by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Ashiana Housing scam, which led to his arrest in July 2018.
He was accused of directing the Punjab Land Development Company (PLDC) management to cancel the contract of Ashiana Iqbal without any inquiry.In February 2019, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had granted Fawad bail but denied the same in another NAB case pertaining to assets beyond means.
Later, in January 2020, Fawad was set free on the grounds that no illegitimate asset belonging to him had been unearthed by the anti-graft watchdog, no charge had been framed and that there was no nexus between him and any asset, however, he had been arrested at the inquiry stage.
Fawad was also one of the first to be nabbed as part of the Imran-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s accountability drive.
Raoof, on the other hand, is the founder and chief executive of the Regional Peace Institute.
A video footage of the arrest of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Capt (r) Muhammad Safdar has surfaced, which shows two Sindh police officials breaking into the lawmaker’s room.
The footage acquired by Geo News showed that Safdar was detained by the officials of the Sindh police from his hotel room at 6:45am.
As per the video, two police vans entered the hotel premises at 6:08am and it took the cops approximately 35 minutes to detain the lawmaker from his room on the 15th floor. In the video, a plainclothed man can be seen taking instruction on phone, while another is busy in making a video of the arrested MNA.
The video was also tweeted by PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, who is the spouse of Safdar. She wrote that the video reflected that a ‘state above state’ existed in Pakistan.
ایک خاتون کے کمرے میں دروازہ توڑ کر زبردستی گھس آنا جب وہ سو رہی ہو،کیا انتقام کی آگ واقعی اتنا اندھا کردیتی ہے کہ انسان اپنے ہوش و حواس کھو بییٹھے؟ کونسی ریاست اپنی ہی بیٹیوں کے ساتھ ایسا سلوک کرتی ہے؟ مافیا کون ہے، ریاست کے اوپر ریاست کیا ہوتا ہے، آج سب کے سامنے ہے۔ pic.twitter.com/5oIr4cEEwD
Safdar was arrested from his hotel room in the early hours of Monday from his hotel room for raising slogans at the mausoleum of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, and jumping over the grill surrounding the grave. The Sindh government led by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had distanced itself from the matter soon after the arrest.
Afterwards, the Sindh police tweeted that the arrest was lawful, but the tweet was deleted soon after it was put up. But after a few hours, the tweet was updated again, wherein the police said that Safdar was arrested as per law.
Amid reports that the Sindh Rangers took IGP Mushtaq Mahar hostage to get Safdar arrested, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) asked army general Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa to launch a institutional probe into the incident. Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that every police officer in Sindh, from a station house officer to senior police officers, were wondering who had “surrounded IG Sindh Mushtaq Mahar’s office at 2am on Sunday night”, asking Gen Bajwa to take notice.
Subsequently, the military’s media wing tweeted that Gen Bajwa has ordered a probe into the episode. According to a statement shared by the ISPR, Gen Bajwa directed the Karachi Corps commander to “immediately inquire into the circumstances to determine the facts and report back as soon as possible”
Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri has rejected “false media reports” regarding Saudi Arabia’s role in the assessment of Pakistan’s Financial Action Task Force (FATF) action plan.
According to a press release, FO categorically rejected the story circulating on a segment of the media as false and baseless.
Earlier in the day, Azhar Mashwani, Punjab chief minister’s focal person for digital media, tweeted that reports of Saudi Arabia voting against Pakistan at FATF were fake and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would issue a statement on this.
⚠️ FAKE NEWS ⚠️
Reportedly, Ministry of Foreign Affairs will issue statement on this Fake News. pic.twitter.com/8PcZCr8HaQ
“Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong fraternal ties and the two countries have always cooperated with each other on all matters of bilateral, regional and international importance,” said the statement by the FO spokesperson.
“Pakistan greatly values its relations with the brotherly Saudi Arabia and firmly rejects such malicious propaganda.”
The statements come after renowned journalist, Sabir Shakir, claimed that Saudi Arabia had voted against Pakistan in the virtual plenary of the FATF.
There are rumours on social media that Saudi Arabia is going to vote against Pakistan at the FATF. Their source is ARY’s Sabir Shakir, who has claimed that not only a “friendly, brotherly” country had voted against Pakistan but it had asked Turkey to do so as well pic.twitter.com/qec7LElZtU
He had asserted that Saudi Arabia lobbied to woo the support of other Muslim countries including Turkey to move Pakistan into the blacklist of the global financial watchdog.
FATF:
According to Dawn, a virtual meeting of the FATF, from October 21-23, will decide if Pakistan should be excluded from its ‘grey list’, based on a review of Islamabad’s performance to meet global commitments and standards on fight against money laundering and terror financing (ML&TF).
The FATF plenary was earlier scheduled in June but Islamabad got an unexpected breather after the global watchdog against financial crimes temporarily postponed all mutual evaluations and follow-up deadlines in the wake of grave health risk following COVID-19 pandemic. The Paris-based agency also put a general pause in the review process, thus giving additional four months to Pakistan to meet the requirements.
The plenary had formally placed Pakistan in the grey list in June 2018 due to “strategic deficiencies” in anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) after a push from India supported by the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK) and some European countries.
The FATF will examine if the country had demonstrated remedial actions and sanctions applied in cases of AML/CFT violations, relating to terrorist financing (TF) risk management and TFS (terror financing sanctions) obligations.
The FATF will also judge if competent authorities were cooperating and taking action to identify and taking enforcement action against illegal money or value transfer services (MVTS) and had proven implementation of cross-border currency and bearer negotiable instruments (BNI) controls at all ports of entry, including applying effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions.
