The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is ready to conduct “free, fair, and transparent” general elections in Pakistan on February 8, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja said on Tuesday.
Sikandar Raja met with caretaker Prime Minister (PM) Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar at PM House to brief him about preparations for the upcoming general elections in the country.
During the huddle, PM Kakar reassured the CEC that the interim government will fully cooperate with ECP, providing all necessary resources to make the general elections free, fair, and transparent.
PM Kakar also said that the caretaker government will also provide funds and security to make polls possible.
On the other hand, CEC also invited PM Kakar to visit ECP to review preparations for the upcoming elections.
He further said the process of updating electoral lists is in the final phases, and they will soon be dispatched to all respective districts.
The world mourned the loss of Palestinian journalist Roshdie Sarraj who was killed after an Israeli airstrike hit his home in Gaza, leaving behind his wife and newborn daughter Dania.
Social media was moved to tears yesterday when the late journalist’s wife Shrouq posted a loving note for her husband on their baby’s birthday, honouring Roshdie as a devoted father and husband who died defending the truth.
“Habibi Roshdi,
Exactly one year ago today, you were holding my hand, comforting me during labor. Having you by my side made it so much easier. We chose the name Dania for our daughter, which means “close” in Arabic, so she would forever remain close to our hearts.
Today marks her first birthday, and we had planned a grand celebration, envisioning the memories we would create for her.
Habibi, it has been two weeks since you were tragically killed while eating breakfast together, and I still hold onto the hope that you will be here to help her blow out her first candle.
I am devastated by the idea of how she will remain “close” to Daddy’s heart without remembering his face. She is far too young to be orphaned, and I am far too young to be a widow. You were too young to lose your life simply for being a journalist.
Social media users expressed their grief in the comments and prayed Roshdie is resting in peace.
In another post, Shrouq shared a picture of her and Sorraj at the Holy Kaaba in Makkah. In the caption she asked her followers to pray for her husband:
“Pray for my beloved.. Pray for him a lot.. I swear it smelled like the smell of Kaaba.. Martyr my baby martyr”
Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal overturned the sports minister’s decision to sack the country’s crisis-hit cricket board and reinstated sacked officials pending a full hearing on Tuesday.
The court accepted a petition filed by board president Shami Salva on Monday challenging Minister Roshan Ranasinghe’s move to dismiss the Sri Lanka Cricket Board and appoint an interim committee. Ranasinghe has accused the board of widespread corruption while his sacking of its members came days after the islander’s men’s cricket team was thrashed by India at the World Cup.
As Tuesday’s court verdict was read, members of the interim committee headed by former captain Arjun Ranatunga walked out of Sri Lanka Cricket’s offices and restored officials took over.
The government is divided over the issue, with the cabinet appointing a rival committee headed by Foreign Minister Ali Sabri to resolve “remaining issues” at the cricket board.
Comedian Sarah Silverman drew the ire of the internet in October after she reshared a post slamming criticism of Israel cutting off Gaza’s water supply. She later deleted the post, claiming to be “stoned” when she reshared it on her Instagram account.
On November 6, it was announced that Silverman is set to return from Monday as the new host of The Daily Show, replacing Hasan Minhaj. The announcement came on the heels of Minhaj being removed from hosting due to a misleading New Yorker article controversy. The article accused Minhaj of fabricating stories about racism. The comedian then posted a 30 minute long video sharing evidence of how the journalist writing the piece refused to use evidence provided by Minhaj to discredit him.
Twitter users were appalled at the racism in American media that allows a brown Muslim comedian to be booted without any further thought due to a misleading, poorly fact-checked article, but a racist woman is offered a platform without consequence. As one user wrote:
“Hasan Minhaj loses the daily show gig due to an inaccurate hit piece that mostly confirmed that he, like EVERY comedian, embellished stories for his stand-up. Sarah Silverman posted her support for the collective punishment of Gazans and gets to host. Islamophobia is reality.”
Hasan Minhaj loses the daily show gig due to an inaccurate hit piece that mostly confirmed that he, like EVERY comedian, embellished stories for his stand-up.
Sarah Silverman posted her support for the collective punishment of Gazans and gets to host.
Countless journalists and public figures were attacked and removed from their offices, many of whom were Jewish and Palestine supporters. But Twitter users were outraged at how racist women like Amy Schumer and Sarah Silverman were granted platforms.
Americans around the country are being attacked, doxxed, fired simply for speaking up on Palestine. Meanwhile celebs like Amy Schumer & Sarah Silverman, who called for water to be cut off to a population of 2+ million civilians, are being rewarded for their genocidal rhetoric. https://t.co/7WUDDpU7TF
Boycott this show. This is absolutely vile, yet further proof that being racist and anti-Black is a benefit in American media rather than the curse it should be.
Australia’s Glen Maxwell played what is being described as one of the best ODI innings ever on Tuesday night, wrestling victory from Afghanistan just when the Asian team seemed poised to chalk up a historic win.
The Afghanistan team seemed to dominate Australia, sending seven kangaroo players back to the pavillion with only 91 runs on the board while chasing 292, but after that, Glenn Maxwell took charge. He got injured several times while batting but did not pause the relentless onslaught on runs.
He played an unbeaten inning of 201 runs on 128 balls with 10 sixes and 21 fours and led his team to victory.
Australia’s victory against Afghanistan has helped Pakistan to keep their hopes alive of reaching the semi-finals. Afghanistan was also a contender for semis alongside Pakistan and New Zealand. Now Afghanistan is almost out of the semis race because their NRR (Net Run Rate) is too low and their last match is against South Africa.
Maxwell201 and #QudratKaNizam started trending on social media after Australia’s win has opened the door for Pakistan to reach the semis. Social media users are sharing hilarious reactions after Maxwell’s unbelievable inning.
Bangladesh raised the minimum monthly pay for the country’s four million garment workers by 56.25 percent on Tuesday, a decision immediately rejected by unions seeking a near-tripling of the figure.
The South Asian country’s 3,500 garment factories account for around 85 percent of its $55 billion in annual exports, supplying many of the world’s top fashion names including Levi’s, Zara and H&M.
But conditions are dire for many of the sector’s four million workers, the vast majority of whom are women whose monthly pay starts at 8,300 taka ($75).
Workers have gone on strike to demand a near-tripling of their wages, with violent scenes in recent days, while employers offered 25 percent.
The minimum wage is fixed by a state-appointed board that includes representatives from the manufacturers, unions and wage experts.
“The new minimum monthly wage for garment factory workers has been fixed at 12,500 taka ($113),” Raisha Afroz, the board secretary, told AFP.
The figure was immediately rejected by unions, which have been demanding a 23,000 taka minimum.
Unions say their members have been hard hit by persistent inflation, which in October reached nearly 10 percent, and a cost of living crisis partly triggered by the taka depreciating about 30 percent against the US dollar since early last year.
“This is unacceptable. This is below our expectations,” said Kalpona Akter, head of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation.
Hundreds of workers staged an angry protest just yards from the labour ministry after the announcement.
“I reject this new monthly minimum wage,” said garment worker Sajal Mia, 21.
“It is an injustice to us. The authorities didn’t take the situation of the market into the account. They’re only concerned about their own interests,” he added.
The panel normally sits every five years and in 2018 raised the basic minimum from 5,000 taka to 8,000. Garment workers also get at least 300 taka per month as an attendance fee.
Earlier Tuesday, police fired tear gas at thousands of workers who set a bus on fire outside Dhaka, as tensions rose ahead of the announcement.
Police said violence broke out in the industrial city of Gazipur as about 6,000 workers walked out of their plants and staged protests.
“They torched a bus. We fired tear gas to disperse them,” Gazipur industrial police unit chief Sarwar Alam told AFP.
Police said around 600 factories that make clothing for many major Western brands were shuttered last week and scores were ransacked as the worst wage protest in a decade hit major industrial areas and a suburb of the capital.
Four factories were torched and at least two workers were killed in the violence, with tens of thousands of workers blocking highways and attacking factories.
There was no comment from top brands who source tens of billions of dollars of clothing from Bangladesh and for whom South Asian factories are a vital part of their supply chains.
But last month brands including Gap, Levi Strauss, Lululemon, and Patagonia wrote to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina calling for a “successful conclusion” to wage negotiations.
“The consultations should seek to raise the minimum wage to a level that corresponds with a wage level and benefits that are sufficient to cover workers’ basic needs and some discretionary income,” they said.
The protests have coincided with separate violent demonstrations by opposition parties demanding the resignation of Hasina ahead of elections due in January.
The federal government, in accordance with a notification issued by the finance division, has officially implemented a minimum monthly wage of Rs32,000.
The prescribed minimum wage, which is set at Rs32,000, applies to all civil employees of the federal government.
This also encompasses civilians who receive their remuneration from Defence estimates, including contingent paid staff and contract employees engaged for civil posts within the basic pay scales, under standard terms and conditions of contract employment.
Individuals whose gross monthly salary falls below the newly established minimum wage of Rs32,000 will be entitled to receive the difference as a “special allowance.”
It is worth noting that the government had previously announced an increase in financial compensation for individuals hired from the private sector for MP1, MP2, and MP3 positions within the bureaucracy earlier in the same month.
The revised minimum wage regulations will be in effect from July 1, 2023.
Honda Atlas Cars (Pakistan) Limited, a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. of Japan, has officially announced a temporary plant shutdown due to supply chain disruptions.
In line with their communication dated October 30, 2023, the company has made the decision to extend the plant closure from November 8, 2023, to November 9, 2023, as disclosed in their notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).
The automaker further said that any updates to this plan will be duly communicated.
The automaker had previously communicated the shutdown of its plant from October 24, 2023, to October 31, 2023, and later extended it to November 7, 2023.
This decision was attributed to significant inventory levels and disruptions in the supply chain, which have severely affected the company’s production capabilities.
Earlier this year, Honda Atlas Cars also suspended its production activities from March 9 to May 15, citing adverse economic conditions in the country and government-imposed restrictions on Letters of Credit (LC) issuance.
In the 39th match of the World Cup, Australian batsman Glenn Maxwell snatched victory from Afghanistan with what is bring called one of the best innings in ODI history.
The Australian batsman scored 201 runs to guide his team to victory after a defeat looked almost guaranteed.
Afghanistan scored 291 runs for the loss of five wickets in the allotted 50 overs with Ibrahim Zadran remaining unbeaten on 129 runs, becoming the first batsman to score a century for his country in the World Cup. Rahmat Shah scored 30 runs, Hashmatullah scored 26 runs, Azmatullah scored 22 runs, Rahmanullah Gurbaz 21 and Muhammad Nabi scored 12 runs. Rashid Khan was not out on 35 runs.
For Australia, Josh Hazlewood dismissed two players, Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell took one wicket each.
Chasing Afghanistan’s target of 292, Australia got off to a disappointing start, with the top-order disintegrating in front of Afghan bowlers. Half of the Kangaroos returned to the pavilion with the score at 69.
Australia was seven out for 91 runs, the match seemingly over, an Afghan win an almost certainty. But perhaps qudrat ka nizam played a factor when two easy catches were dropped, leaving Maxwell surviving.
Maxwell and Cummins put on a 202-run partnership for the 8th wicket, a partnership that included only 12 runs from Cummins, with Maxwell scoring the rest. Maxwell’s unbeaten innings of 201 runs off 128 balls helped Australia to qualify for the semi-finals by defeating Afghanistan by three wickets.
The Government of Punjab, after approval from the Chief Minister, has ordered “restricted movement” in some areas of Punjab to combat smog.
The areas of Lahore Division (District Lahore, Nankana Sahib, Sheikhupura, Kasur), District Gujranwala, District Hafizabad, and District Narowal, have the worst Air Quality Index (AQI), becoming potential hotspots for Conjunctivitis, and will go under lockdown.
From Thursday to Sunday i.e., November 9, 2023, to November 12, 2023, all markets, shopping malls, restaurants, cinemas, gymnasiums, schools
(public and private), and offices (public and private) will remain closed in these areas.
Also, movement of people will be limited to and from these areas by public and private transport.
