LOCAL
Asad Umar says that the world should act if it wants to prevent a third great war
“Pakistan armed forces will not sit back while Kashmiris are being persecuted,” Umar said while addressing the rally. “If the world does not want a third great war to take place and peace to be disrupted, this is the best chance” to raise its voice against Indian actions in occupied Kashmir, he added.The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf took out a rally in the capital on Thursday as the country observed August 15 as Black Day to protest Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir.
Party leaders including Asad Umar and Senator Faisal Javed were part of the rally, where a majority of the participants wore black.
Three soldiers from the Pakistan Army have been killed in firing by the Indian Armed forces from across the Line of Control
In a tweet from his official account, Ghafoor said that the Pakistan armed forces, in a counter-attack, had killed five Indian soldiers and injured several others while bunkers were also damaged. “Intermittent exchange of fire continues,” he wrote. He revealed that the Indian army had increased firing along the LoC as part of “efforts to divert attention from [the] precarious situation in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir”. The Pakistani soldiers who lost their lives include Naik Tanveer, Lance Naik Taimoor and Sepoy Ramzan. The firing offensive from Indian forces comes on Aug 15, India’s independence day. Pakistan is observing the day as Black Day in order to protest against the ongoing Indian atrocities, blatant human rights violations and imposition of curfew in occupied Kashmir. The protest by Pakistan follows New Delhi’s decision to scrap Article 370 of the Indian constitution, stripping occupied Kashmir of its special autonomy.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the biggest obstacle to Pakistan-India talks
Speaking to Geo News programme Geo Pakistan, Qureshi said, “Modi put Kashmir at stake to win the election. In February, he stoked the flames of tension to win the election.” When asked about the UNSC’s decision to address the Kashmir issue in its session on Friday, Qureshi said, “It is landmark diplomatic achievement for Pakistan that the UNSC will address the Kashmir issue after five decades. India is in a state of unease and is opposing the meeting of the UNSC on the Kashmir issue.” “Russia is aware of our stance. I presented Pakistan’s stance on the Kashmir issue in detail during my phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Hopefully, Russia will back our point of view at the Security Council,” Qureshi added. Our work is to present our point-of-view with sincerity at the Security Council, he asserted. He further urged the leadership of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to play its part, “Millions of people are looking at the OIC. I also urge the human rights organisations to take a look at the human rights violations taking place in Kashmir.”
Rainfall in Sindh and parts of Balochistan has increased the water level in Hub Dam to 318 feet, reducing water shortage in the region
The Managing Director of the Water Board has said that recent rainfall in the catchment area of the Hub Dam has increased the water graph in the reservoir to 307 ft, with the dam having the capacity to store 339 feet of water. The increasing water level in the dam will improve the water supply in District West and other areas of Karachi, which receive water from the reservoir. Karachi gets 100-gallon water daily from Hub Dam. In a spell of rainfall in the catchment area of Hub Dam in Balochistan and Sindh in February this year had increased the water level at the lake of the dam by 20 feet. The catchment areas of Hub Dam is spread over hundreds of kilometers in Balochistan and Sindh. Owing to the low supply from the dam, many areas in the western and central districts of the Karachi were facing acute water shortage.
GLOBAL
Israel is blocking two US Democratic lawmakers and prominent critics of Israel from visiting
Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib were due to visit the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem next week. Both have supported the boycott movement against Israel, but Israeli law allows supporters of the campaign to be banned from visiting. President Trump earlier tweeted it would show “great weakness” if the pair were allowed entry. On Thursday, Mr Trump took to Twitter to urge that they be blocked from visiting, adding that “they hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds”. The two US lawmakers have yet to comment on the decision.
Donald Trump has urged Xi Jinping to meet the protesters in Hong Kong who have been demanding democratic reforms
Hong Kong has been in turmoil for weeks, with protesters causing chaos at the airport earlier this week. Mr Trump had previously appeared to suggest that he himself should meet Mr Xi to discuss the crisis in the city. Millions of Hong Kong citizens have taken part in 10 weeks of anti-government protests. In an earlier tweet, Mr Trump said he had “ZERO doubt” that Mr Xi could “humanely solve the Hong Kong problem”. He also tied the protests to a US trade deal with Beijing, in the face of ongoing trade tensions. “Of course China wants to make a deal. Let them work humanely with Hong Kong first!” he tweeted. The controversial extradition bill has now been suspended, but the protests have evolved into a broader movement, with demonstrators expressing anger at alleged police brutality, and demanding democratic reform.
The BBC will expand its shortwave radio news coverage in Kashmir to reduce the impact of the communication blackout
The BBC said the number and length of programmes will grow in a variety of languages spoken in the densely populated region of the Indian-occupied Kashmir. “Given the shutdown of digital services and phone lines in the region, it’s right for us to try and increase the provision of news on our short wave radio services,” BBC World Service Director Jamie Angus said in a statement. “The provision of independent and trusted news in places of conflict and tension is one of the core purposes of the World Service.” The BBC said its News Hindi radio output will be extended by 30 minutes from Friday. News Urdu — the official language of Pakistan spoken by Muslims who comprise the majority in occupied Kashmir — will launch a 15-minute daily programme on Monday.
Gibraltar has freed an Iranian oil tanker detained last month on suspicion of sanctions-busting, despite US’s pleas
The UK territory received written assurances from Iran that the ship would not discharge its cargo in Syria. Grace 1, carrying Iranian oil, was stopped by Royal Marines on 4 July, triggering a standoff with Tehran. Gibraltar’s chief justice, Anthony Dudley, said no US application was currently before the court. An independent legal body would make a determination on the American request, Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said in a statement. It was not immediately clear when the tanker would put out to sea. The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office said Iran must abide by the assurances it had given that the tanker would not proceed to Syria, which is under EU sanctions.
SPORTS
Arsenal manager Unai Emery has confirmed that both Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac are mentally ready to play against Burnley this weekend
The pair were left out of the Gunners’ season-opening win over Newcastle because of “further security fears” after being involved in a carjacking attempt by an armed gang in July. Midfielder Ozil and left-back Kolasinac have now returned to training. “It’s good news for us because they can help us in matches,” Emery said. “My focus is to be positive and focus on making sure the players are 100% in their minds here. “I want to help them to be with us, back to normal training, thinking about football. Above all, I want them to be able to focus on each training session and each match. “They came back to training with us on Tuesday. I think each session gives us good information and good different options with them also to take the decision if they’re going to be with us on Saturday or be in the first XI. But we are going to wait until tomorrow, our last training session.”
Nick Kyrgios smashed two racquets and called the umpire a “tool” after losing the Cincinnati Masters match to Karen Khachanov
Kyrgios was fined $113,000 (£93,254) for five separate incidents of unsportsmanlike conduct. The ATP says it is also considering additional action, which could result in further fines and even a suspension. The Australian, 24, walked off court against the wishes of umpire Fergus Murphy after losing the second set. He slammed two racquets on the floor in a corridor and in the third set engaged in repeated disputes with Murphy. Russia’s Khachanov, 23, dominated the deciding set to win 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 and reach round three. Khachanov, who plays Lucas Pouille in the last 16, said Kyrgios has “great talent” but “sometimes the head is not in the right place”.
The United States women’s football team says they are ready to take their equal-pay lawsuit to court after mediation talks with football federation broke down
The US women’s team (USWNT) began legal action against the US Soccer Federation (USSF) over equal pay in March, four months before retaining the World Cup. The parties met in New York this week. “We entered this week’s mediation full of hope,” said players’ spokesperson Molly Levinson. “We must conclude these meetings sorely disappointed in the federation’s determination to perpetuate fundamentally discriminatory workplace conditions and behaviour.” All 28 USWNT members filed the lawsuit, which alleged they had been consistently paid less than their male counterparts despite superior performance to the men’s team, who failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. In July, the USSF said the women’s team had been paid more than the men over the last decade. The women, who won a fourth World Cup title in France this summer, responded by saying the numbers were “utterly false” and accusing the federation of a “ruse” before both sides agreed to mediation talks. After no resolution and with no further talks planned, Levinson said in a statement on Wednesday that it is “clear” that USSF and president Carlos Cordeiro “fully intend to continue to compensate women players less than men”.
TECHNOLOGY
According to researchers, more than a million fingerprints and other sensitive data has been leaked online by a biometric security firm
Researchers working with cyber-security firm VPNMentor say they accessed data from a security tool called Biostar 2. It is used by thousands of companies worldwide, including the UK’s Metropolitan Police, to control access to specific parts of secure facilities. Suprema, the firm that offers Biostar 2, said it was addressing the issue. “If there has been any definite threat on our products and/or services, we will take immediate actions and make appropriate announcements to protect our customers’ valuable businesses and assets,” a company spokesman told the Guardian. According to VPNMentor, the exposed data, discovered on 5 August, was made private on 13 August. It is not clear how long it was accessible. As well as fingerprint records, the researchers say they found photographs of people, facial recognition data, names, addresses, passwords, employment history and records of when they had accessed secure areas.
Huawei has delayed the launch for its foldable Mate X again, most likely to be released in November
The company told TechRadar at a press event in China that there is “no possibility” of the folding phone making its September launch date, which itself was pushed back from the original planned June release. The Mate X is also unlikely to be released before November, according to the report, though Huawei is said to be “certain” that it’ll come out at some point this year. TechRadar doesn’t elaborate on the reason for the delay. It’s not clear whether Huawei is doing extra technical diligence to avoid the kind of embarrassing false start Samsung experienced with the Galaxy Fold, or whether the company’s uncertain status with crucial partners like Arm and Google is holding the release back. Either way, it looks like the tweaked Galaxy Fold will beat the Mate X to market.
The PS4’s DualShock 4 controllers are getting 4 new fall colours
Sony’s DualShock 4 controller for the PS4 already has dozens of color variants, but that’s not stopping the company from announcing a few more today: electric purple, titanium blue, rose gold, and red camouflage (for blending in to a bright red forest, I guess?). All four controllers feature a subtle (or, in the case of the red camouflage, not-so-subtle) two-tone color scheme. The electric purple model, in particular, is getting some extra flair in the form of all-white icons for the face buttons in place of Sony’s iconic red / green / pink / blue colors. As is typical for non-black DualShock 4 controllers, the new colorways will be available for $64.99 in September. That’s $5 more than the standard (boring) version, which starts at $59.99 before the frequent discounts it tends to get.
ENTERTAINMENT
Matt Healy, the frontman of The 1975, has defied Dubai’s anti-LGBTQ laws by kissing a male audience member during an event
Fan footage showed Healy venturing into the crowd and kissing a man on the lips, to loud cheers, on Wednesday. He is then seen returning to the stage and declaring: “I love you bro. We’re all human, right?” Homosexuality is illegal in the Arab emirate, and any public displays of affection are frowned upon. Posting online afterwards, the singer said he did not regret his actions, which took place during their performance of the 2016 track Loving Someone. He tweeted: “I don’t think we’ll be allowed back due to my ‘behaviour’ but know that I love you and I wouldn’t have done anything differently given the chance again.”The socially-conscious band, who will headline the Reading and Leeds festivals next week, feature 16-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg on the first track of their forthcoming fourth album, Notes on a Conditional Form, which is out next February.
PEMRA has decided to ban all Indian Television Commercials on Pakistani television after banning content from Bollywood
According to its latest statement, any Indian advertisements or ads featuring Indian actors/characters are now prohibited from being aired on electronic media. According to its latest statement, any Indian advertisements or ads featuring Indian actors/characters are now prohibited from being aired on electronic media. “In the wake of recent escalation in tension between the two neighbouring countries on Kashmir issue, Government of Pakistan has announced to celebrate Independence Day on August 14, 2019 as ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’, however at the same time, advertisements produces in India carrying Indian actors/characters/talent are being aired on Pakistani media, negating the state policy,” says PEMRA in the latest statement.
The statement included 11 multinational brands whose content was banned from running on Pakistani TV “with immediate effect.”
Selena Gomez will be launching her own beauty line, with skincare, haircare and essential oils
First there was Rihanna, then there was Lady Gaga. Now it’s Selena Gomez’s turn. Gomez is joining the list of pop stars launching their own beauty lines. The “Same Old Love” singer filed for trademark of her name for cosmetics products on July 11 under the banner July Moon Productions Inc. The items include fragrances, bath items, skincare, haircare, soaps, moisturizers, cleansers, incense, nail products, essential oils and other beauty goods. She released Selena Gomez Eau de Parfum in 2012 with Givaudan perfumers, followed by Vivamore in 2013. Gomez is a brand ambassador for luxury fashion company Coach and athletic wear company Puma. The Dead Don’t Die actress released capsules with both labels within the past year, trying her hand at fashion design with bags, sweaters, sneakers, sandals and more apparel.
