School children from Lahore have lodged an appeal in the Lahore High Court (LHC) against the hazardous level of smog and air pollution in the Punjab province.
Leila Alam and her class fellows through their appeal aim to draw the acting Chief Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh’s attention towards the worsening air quality in Lahore and its surrounding areas.
The children’s lawyer, Rafay Alam, told the court that the Environment Protection Department, Punjab, measured the air quality index (AQI) of 182 as safe to breathe when by international standards the index should not cross 50.
Last week, the city’s air quality index crossed safe limits and was recorded at well over 400. The city also has continued to be engulfed by a toxic blanket of smog since October.
Health
experts say that children and the elderly are most vulnerable to toxic air. The
LHC has directed the Punjab government to submit its reply in the next hearing.
One of the world’s leading technology company Microsoft tested out a four-day workweek in its Japan offices and discovered that employees were not only happier – but significantly more productive.
According to The Guardian, Microsoft experimented with a new project called Work-Life Choice Challenge Summer 2019 in the month of August. Under the program, the company’s entire 2,300-person workforce were given five Fridays off in a row without decreasing pay.
The shortened weeks led to more efficient meetings, happier workers and boosted productivity by a whopping 40%.
In addition to the increased productivity, employees took 25% less time off during the trial and electricity use was down 23% in the office. Employees printed 59% fewer pages of paper during the trial. The vast majority of employees – 92% – said they liked the shorter week as it led to a better work-life balance.
This is not the first time long weekends have been experimented with in the corporate world. Previously in 2018, a New Zealand trust management company also trialled a four-day workweek over two months for its 240 staff members. Employees reported experiencing better work-life balance and improved focus in the office while staff stress levels decreased by 7%.
Meanwhile, an experiment published by the Harvard Business Review shows that shorter workdays, a decrease from the average 8-hour workday to a 6-hour workday, increased productivity.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has featured on its social media a Pakistani American couple watching the first T20 match played between Pakistan and Australia on Sunday.
“Here’s a message we got from a fan in the US [United States],” ICC wrote as it shared the couple’s picture as well as the groom’s message.
“As a die-hard cricket fan, I wanted to submit a photograph from my wedding this past weekend. As per tradition, after the completion of the wedding, the bride is brought home for a little traditional welcoming ceremony among the close family,” Hasan Tasleem wrote, adding that as they reached back home around midnight in Detroit, the game was underway.
“Over the years, residing in North America, I’ve stayed up at all sorts of odd hours at night to catch Team Pakistan play. Even though it was my wedding night, I wasn’t going to miss the game,” he added.
On Sunday, rain abandoned the first T20I between Pakistan and Australia in Sydney. The hosts were motoring along at 41-0 in just 3.1 overs as they chased 119 in 90 balls. The match was, however, abandoned after rain interrupted play for the second time.
Australia won the second T20 on Tuesday by seven wickets with nine balls remaining.
PML-N leader Tallal Chaudry has come under fire again for passing derogatory comments and being rude to PTI MNA Kanwal Shauzab.
On a talk show, the PML-N and PTI members were in a heated debate on the ongoing ‘Azadi Marchi’ when Chaudry disrespected Kanwal by using abusive language and accusing her of the ‘things’ she has done to reach power.
“Main yahaan saari cheezain nahi bata sakta. Humaray peechay bhi phirti rahi ho. Iss baat ka jawaab do,” Chaudry said to Kanwal.
(Sister, I can’t discuss everything here. You also followed us. Do you have an answer to this?)
When Kanwal called him out for his “cheap” comments, Tallal responded, “Ghatiya tum ho gee (You are cheap). Keep your tongue in check.”
At this point, the host intervened and asked her guests to stay on the topic.
However, the two did not back down and continued to engage in an argument.
“Aap kay peechay kaun phir sakta hai? Aap toh khud dus jaghon say phir kar aye hain,” (Why would anyone follow you? You yourself have been at ten places), Kanwal remarked.
At this point, Tallal asked Kanwal to be quiet and act like a woman and earn her respect.
What was even more interesting to note that the JUI-F member Mufti Kifayatullah present on the show sat with his eyes closed.
Watch the video here:
Meanwhile, Twitter called out Tallal for being “rude and indecent”.
Ministers Shireen Mazari, Fawad Chaudhry and Zartaj Gul Wazir were among those who hit out at the lawmaker.
Talal Ch and his cohorts including Kh Asif abuse women in and out of parliament and don’t have the moral courage to apologise. https://t.co/fYh0OT9r9J
کل پیش آنے واقعے، جس میں طلال چوہدری نے انتہائی گھٹیا زبان استعمال کی میری ساتھی ایم این اے کنول شاہزیب کے بارے میں، اس کی بھرپور مذمت کرتی ہوں۔ طلال کا یہ لب و لہجہ اس کی پرورش اور ملنے والی خاندانی تربیت کی عکاسی کرتا ہے۔ یہ بندہ قابل ترس ہے اور اس کا میڈیا پر بائیکاٹ کیا جائے۔
Talal Ch’s behaviour is uncivilised, unethical& highly condemnable. All such characters irrespective of party affiliation who use abusive language,target women in public sphere should be banned by the leadership.They bring disrepute to politics @MaryamNSharif@CMShehbazhttps://t.co/lMGcWwdbF4
1. Usman Dar: it’s perfectly normal to throw in a ‘Pathan joke’. Casual racism doesn’t hurt anyone. #ShameOnUsmanDar2. Talal Ch: it’s alright to allege that a woman politician came into power by “giving favors”. #SlowClap for anchors who keep inviting them
This man is a disgrace! Talal Chaudhary should be condemned by all specially by women in politics as well as in media. Shame!! @KanwalMna Salute you for staying there listening to all that filth and still responding with words like ‘aap’. pic.twitter.com/xpvSvF6Hsl
This man is a disgrace! Talal Chaudhary should be condemned by all specially by women in politics as well as in media. Shame!! @KanwalMna Salute you for staying there listening to all that filth and still responding with words like ‘aap’. pic.twitter.com/8QoA3pVui1
This is not the first time Talal has come under fire for passing derogatory and sexist remarks. Earlier his comments on Firdous Ashiq Awan has sparked social media outrage.
“This is the kind of tabdeeli … if Baji Firdous Ashiq Awan got her face washed, the way her real looks would emerge from behind her makeup… she would appear as Firdous Khan instead. This is also the real face of this tabdeeli,” Chaudhary had said.
Following the backlash, Chaudhry had issued an apology on Twitter saying: “My intentions were not to hurt someone, if my statement or example was ‘inappropriate’ then I would like to apologise.”
Pictures of a man pretending to be a journalist from BBC has interviewed senators, including the Upper House’s Standing Committee on Interior Chairperson Rehman Malik, outside the Parliament House in what is being termed as a massive security breach.
The incident was brought to limelight by Tahir Imran, a journalist actually affiliated with BBC, as he tweeted images of the imposter and wrote, “Dear Senator Rehman Malik, this guy is an imposter who pretends to be a BBC journalist. He is not a BBC employee”.
Sharing the images, Tahir also urged Senator Malik to lodge a complaint and inform BBC’s local office in Islamabad about the imposter.
Responding to the tweet, the senator said that he had already ordered an inquiry as to how did the man enter a restricted space. “Have also informed the BBC head in Islamabad,” he tweeted, adding that he found the fake reporter suspicious after the latter’s claim of being affiliated with BBC Italy.
I have already ordered an inquiry as to how & who gave him the entry pass to the restricted area of Senate .hv also also informed the BBC head in Isb and sent him this interviews/ with other senators shall be used as evidence .i suspected him when on a Q he posed fromBBC Italy https://t.co/aACQCaOqSd
— Senator Rehman Malik former Interior Minister Pak (@SenRehmanMalik) November 5, 2019
“BBC Islamabad has confirmed that he is not a BBC employee and will be booked as an imposter under the law,” the senator added.
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vineet Agarwal Sharda has said alleged either Pakistan or China could have released poisonous gases into India to pollute its air, Pakistan Today reported.
According to the details, the BJP leader that our neighboring countries should be blamed for the high levels of pollution in Delhi and adjacent areas, adding that “I feel that Pakistan or China are afraid of us”.
“Ye jo zehreeli hawa aa rahi hai, zehreeli gas aayi hai ho sakta hai kisi bagal ke mulk ne chhori ho jo humse ghabraya hua hai (There is a possibility that this poisonous gas could have been released by any neighboring country which is afraid of us), BJP leader said.
“We must seriously consider whether Pakistan has released any poisonous gas,” Vineet Agarwal said.
Sharda said that Pakistan was “frustrated” ever since Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah took charge and was resorting to all sorts of tactics against India.
Terming Modi and Shah as Lord Krishna and Arjuna from Mahabharata, Vineet said that both leaders were capable of solving all problems.
Hashtag “#ShameOnUsmanDar” on Wednesday started trending on Twitter after Special Adviser to the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Youth Affairs, Usman Dar, made fun of Pashtun workers.
“In the end, they [the Azadi marchers] will get the same [returns] as those Pathan [vendors] who roam in streets and sell a blanket worth Rs500 for Rs50,” the PTI leader had said while appearing on Express News’ programme To the Point earlier this week.
He was immediately called out by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Hina Pervaiz Butt, who was also a guest on the show. “I want to condemn [the usage] of the word Pathan [randomly] like this. We are all Pakistanis,” she said.
Dar, however, continued to use the rhetoric until the show’s host, Mansoor Ali Khan, asked him to take his words back.
“Alright, I will take [my words] back,” the PTI leader later conceded.
WATCH VIDEO:
The remarks invited a backlash on Twitter, where “Shame on Usman Dar” became a top trend as users condemned the PTI leader’s choice of words.
MNA Mohsin Dawar also reacted to Dar’s statement, saying, “Pashtun displacement into Punjab is a cost of Pakistan’s strategic depth policy.”
Pashtun displacement into Punjab is a cost of Pak’s strategic depth policy. These Pashtuns won’t have left their homeland, if it wasnt used for strategic games & was allowed to grow to full potential. #ShameOnUsmanDar for making fun of those who are just making an honest living.
“These Pashtuns won’t have left their homeland, if it wasn’t used for strategic games and was allowed to grow to full potential. #ShameOnUsmanDar for making fun of those who are just making an honest living,” he added.
Government-constituted medical board that is overseeing the treatment of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, has recommended him a genetic test that is not available in Pakistan, The News International reported.
Reports quoted the head of the medical panel, Prof Dr Mehmood Ayaz, as saying that Nawaz needed to go abroad for treatment. “We will inform the Health Department in writing that Nawaz should undergo a genetic test abroad,” he reportedly said.
According to Dr Ayaz, a foreign visit would become essential if doctors want to examine Nawaz’s body tissues in order to diagnose the exact cause of his illness since the former prime minister (PM) was “not facing a minor genetic issue”.
With the panel head’s comments making headlines, rumour has it that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government — in both Punjab and centre — is paving way for the PML-N supremo to leave the country and “a deal has been struck”.
On Tuesday, Federal Minister for Interior Brig (r) Ijaz Shah had also hinted at allowing Nawaz to seek treatment abroad “if that turns out to be the only option”. According to some reports, incumbent PML-N chief Shehbaz Sharif is also trying to convince his brother to leave the country for treatment.
Influential men dig up and removed a woman’s body from her grave allegedly annoyed that she was buried near their local feudal landlords.
As per reports, men also attacked the
deceased woman’s relatives in the Sakhi Hassan Graveyard of Rahim Yar Khan’s
Khan Bela neighborhood, hurting at least three of them.
The men had reserved graves for feudal landlords without the local administration’s permission. They were upset that a woman who was not related to the landlords had been buried near their self-allocated graves and, therefore, desecrated the burial area.
Rahim Yar Khan police said they have
registered a first information report (FIR) over the incident and made sure
that the woman whose body had been removed was buried again.
The injured people were shifted to a nearby hospital whereas the other relatives of the family protested against the injustice. FIR was registered against more than 15
suspects. Authorities arrested at least two of the men suspects.
Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Wednesday directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman to visit the Azadi March sit-in site and determine what relief could be provided to the protesters.
“I have directed the CDA chairman to immediately visit the dharna site to assess what relief and assistance can be provided to the dharna participants,” he tweeted.
I have directed the CDA Chairman to immediately visit the dharna site to assess what relief and assistance can be provided to the dharna participants with the onset of rain and changing weather conditions.
PM Imran also said that the relief would be provided in view of the onset of rain and changing weather conditions.
On Tuesday, protesters had refused to let rain or the biting cold dampen their resolve as the anti-government sit-in continues and they demand the PM’s resignation.
Earlier, a picture of a few Azadi marchers preparing to go to sleep in the biting cold and rain under a plastic sheet had gone viral on social media.
