Tag: Portugal

  • Pakistani researcher killed in Portugal

    Pakistani researcher killed in Portugal

     A young researcher from Lahore has been killed in Porto, Portugal, when he resisted a robbery attempt, Geo reported on Friday.

    Family members of the victim, Anthony Shoukat, said he went to Portugal for a research project of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital.

    They appealed the government to help them bring the victim’s body at the earliest and bring the culprits to justice.

    The victim’s family said Anthony had done his masters from Sweden and his PhD from Germany.

    In March, Fahimuddin, a Pakistani-German, was murdered and his family attacked with a knife in Germany. Fahimuddin had moved from Karachi’s Azizabad neighbourhood to Germany and made it his permanent home.

  • 40 countries to hold elections in 2024, including Pakistan

    40 countries to hold elections in 2024, including Pakistan

    The new year is just over one month away and it is going to be the biggest election year in history yet.

    40 countries are scheduled to vote in 2024 across the globe which, as calculated by Bloomberg Economics, represent 41% of the world’s population and 42% of its global GDP.

    The marathon will begin with Taiwan in January and end with the US in November.

    Here are some of the prominent countries lined up for elections: Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Gambia, and Libya in Africa; Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, the United States, and Venezuela in the Americas; Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Australia, and Pakistan in Asia and Oceania; Austria, Belarus, Belgium, the European Union, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom in Europe.

    There are, however, four elections that the world has eyes on — elections that are expected to alter geopolitics in the next decade.

    Russia will elect the new president in March who will govern until 2030, putting Russia-NATO relations at the forefront.

    In April-May, India will hold elections and as per analysts, Modi’s loss can push back investors.

    The European Union will conduct bloc-wide polls in June to appoint members of the European Parliament for the 2024-2029 which will be pertinent for the increasing friction between right-wing and left-wing policymakers on issues like immigration and Ukraine.

    The United States will hold legislative and presidential elections in November for 2025-2028, while everyone curiously waits whether Republicans will return to the White House or not.

  • Ronaldo a ‘gift from god’, Virat Kohli expresses love after football legend leaves in tears

    Ronaldo a ‘gift from god’, Virat Kohli expresses love after football legend leaves in tears

    Former India Cricket team captain Virat Kohli has come out in support of star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo after his Portugal side exited the ongoing FIFA World Cup on Saturday.

    Ronaldo is now more likely to complete his career without a World Cup trophy as a result of Portugal’s elimination from the competition. The popular Portuguese player, who is now 37, was seen crying on Saturday and was warmly embraced by the crowd.

    “No trophy or any title can take anything away from what you’ve done in this sport and for sports fans around the world. No title can explain the impact you’ve had on people and what I and so many around the world feel when we watch you play. That’s a gift from god. A real blessing to a man who plays his heart out every single time and is the epitome of hard work and dedication and a true inspiration for any sportsperson. You are for me the greatest of all time,” Virat posted on Twitter on Monday.

    According to India Times, Ronaldo’s elimination from the competition means that he will likely miss out on winning the World Cup because the following time it is held in the USA, in 2026, he would be 41. The five-time Champions League champion was a substitute in all of his team’s knockout stage games as Fernando Santos decided against starting him.

    While the great player has been struggling with his form, Virat has thrived in his position. On Saturday against Bangladesh, he was seen enjoying his 72nd ODI century. Virat moved up to second place in the list of players with the most hundreds at the international level with the tonne, passing Ricky Ponting, who had 71 hundred to his credit.

    Similar to Ronaldo, the former captain of India might play in his final World Cup in the ODI format the following year as India gets ready for the major tournament. Contrary to Ronaldo, Virat did win the World Cup in 2011 when India defeated Sri Lanka in the championship game.

    Lionel Messi is quietly going about his job as his Argentina team, who is in the final four and will play Croatia on Tuesday night, while all eyes are on Cristiano Ronaldo’s disappointment. Harry Kane, a close friend of Virat’s and the England captain, also experienced a disappointing departure when the English team fell to France.

  • Can only travel visa free to 31 countries, Pakistani passport ranks 4th worst in 2022

    Can only travel visa free to 31 countries, Pakistani passport ranks 4th worst in 2022

    The Pakistani passport has been placed at 4th position in the category of the world’s worst passport for international travel in a list released by the Henley Passport Index 2022.

    Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria ranked the top 3 worst passports in the world respectively.

    Overall, the Pakistani passport ranks at 108th position in the world for the third consecutive year with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 31 destinations around the world.

    India climbed up seven positions and ranked at 83rd on the list this year. India had previously ranked at 90th place after slipping from 85 in the year 2021.

    East Asian and European countries as usual dominated on the passport global ranking this year as well.

    Japan and Singapore have been placed at the top of the list of powerful passports in the global ranking which allows travel visa-free to 192 destinations.

    South Korea and Germany are placed in second place with total of 190 points whereas Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, and Spain gained 189 scores which made them into third place.

    France, Netherlands, and Sweden moved up at one spot and joined Austria and Denmark in fourth place with a score of 188.

    Ireland and Portugal received total scores of 187 and placed them in fifth place, and the United States and the United Kingdom rank in at number 6.

    Since 2006, the international firm, Henley & Partners has been regularly monitoring the world’s most travel-friendly passports under the “Henley Passport Index”.

  • Spain to consider pet custody in divorce battles

    Spain to consider pet custody in divorce battles

    A Spanish court has ruled that pets are also members of the family. In divorce cases, the husband and wife must share them when they get separated.

    There was already no doubt about it among animal lovers, but now pets are officially considered a member of the family in Spain. The new law, which came into force on January 5, recognises pets for the first time as living, sentient beings and not just as objects.

    “Animals are part of the family and when a family decides to separate, the fate of the animal must be regulated with the same importance as the fate of other family members,” said lawyer Lola Garcia.

    The court said that the courts are required to consider the welfare of animals. It aims to end the legal wrangling that often occurs between couples who keep pets.

    Owners must “guarantee” the pet’s well-being, and if either spouse has a history of animal cruelty, he or she may be refused or lose custody of the animal, according to the law.

    Spain is not the first country to do so; France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Portugal are among the European countries that recognise animals as sentient beings.

  • Bosses to face fine if they contact their staff after work hours, Portugal passes law

    Bosses to face fine if they contact their staff after work hours, Portugal passes law

    The Portuguese parliament passed a law on Friday and banned bosses from text messaging and e-mailing employees after working hours in order to improve work-life balance, reports BBC.

    Companies with more than 10 staff members can face fine if they contact their employees outside their contracted hours.

    The new law “right to rest” was introduced in response to an expansion of working from home in the country.

    Under this, companies will allow staff with children to work remotely, the companies also may have to contribute to higher household bills.

    Portugal’s Minister of Labour and Social Security, Ana Mendes Godinho, hoped that the enhanced labour protections would attract more foreigners to the country.

    Portugal already has a temporary resident visa scheme to attract entrepreneurs and freelancers.

    In parliament, there were some elements in the bill, for instance, the “right to disconnect”, which allows staff to turn off all work devices out of hours. However, it didn’t get approved.

  • Portugal knocked out of Euro 2020 despite Ronaldo being a top scorer

    Portugal knocked out of Euro 2020 despite Ronaldo being a top scorer

    The 2016 Euro Cup champions haven’t managed to defend their title as Portugal were beaten 1-0 by Belgium on Sunday in Seville.

    As per reports, the Portuguese footballer went home despite being the top scorer player with five goals in this championship. Ronaldo has become the oldest player to score for Portugal at a major tournament at age 36 years,130 days. He broke the record set by Pepe at World Cup 2018 (35 years, 124 days).

    Portugal’s team manager Santos complimented the team’s overall performance before stating that some of the players were “crying in the dressing room”. According to him, Ronaldo didn’t score on Sunday but he is a true captain in every sense of the word.

    The big moment came after the match when the official Twitter handle of Euro 2020 posted a video in which Ronaldo can be seen having a quick chat with Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. “Lucky, eh? (The ball) didn’t want to get in today! Good luck man,” Ronaldo was heard telling Courtois.

    Ronaldo’s performance was overshadowed by Belgian midfielder Thorgan Hazard as his 43-minute strike secured the big win. His brilliant goal was the standout of the night. “In these games, if you have a chance, you have to have a go. It went in, with a bit of luck and it was the goal that got us through. It’s a dream for me,” said Thorgan. 

    Belgium will now face Italy who beat Austria by 2-1, on Saturday. The match will be played on July 2 in Munich with full Covid-related SOPs as masks are mandatory in and around the stadium for the audience.