LOCAL Imran Khan has asked all deputy commissioners and heads of development authorities to identify benami properties within one month “The prime minister in a meeting held on August 20 on benami properties stressed upon the implementation of the Benami Act, 2019 in order to harvest its true potential in the national and global contexts,” read the notice, which was issued to all provincial chief secretaries. “The deputy commissioners, being collectors and custodians of the land record have a key role in collection of property records,” added the notice. According to the notice, heads of development authorities throughout the provinces may also be directed to identify such properties through their own records and monitoring mechanisms. The Federal Board of Revenue has asked the United Arab Emirates for details of Pakistanis holding an Iqama (work permit) from UAE The move is reportedly a reaction over suspicion that some people may have laundered funds to the country under the guise of a work permit. In the letter, however, the FBR’s directorate of internal taxes said information already received from the UAE was “not very substantial”. The government has recently started cracking down on people who don’t pay their taxes or file them. The FBR recently announced it would be taking action against schools that aren’t paying tax. It also issued a list of such schools. It also said it will be taking action against beauty salons that don’t pay tax. The Pakistani rupee has finally gained some value, with a Rs0.71 rise against the US dollar going from Rs158.23 to Rs157.52 However, according to Forex Association of Pakistan, the buying and selling rates of dollar in open market were recorded at Rs157.20 and Rs158.10, respectively. The SBP further said reported that the price of Euro in interbank also hiked Rs 0.75, trading at Rs174.20 compared to last closing of Rs175.45, where Japanese yen depreciated Rs0.01 to Rs1.47 against prior closing of Rs1.48. An increase of Rs0.29 was recorded in the UK Pound exchange rate (GBP), which traded at Rs192.45 as opposed to the previous closing of Rs192.16. Exchange rates of UAE Dirham and Saudi Rayal dipped Rs0.20 and Rs0.19, trading respectively at Rs42.87 and Rs42.00. The family of the Karachi teenager who was brutally murdered earlier earlier this week, filed a petition seeking the establishment of a joint investigation team The 16-year-old boy succumbed to his wounds on the way to the hospital. The incident shook the entire country with outraged masses widely sharing video clips of the lynching on social media and calling for stern punishment to the culprits. The family of the slain teenager filed a constitutional petition in the SHC today. They stated that the police are not cooperating with them and they have no clue of what is happening. The incident shook the entire country with outraged masses widely sharing video clips of the lynching on social media and calling for stern punishment to the culprits. The family of the slain teenager filed a constitutional petition in the SHC today. They stated that the police are not cooperating with them and they have no clue of what is happening. Rehan was killed in such a manner as if he was a terrorist, the relatives said. Their petition also sought to include relevant sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act in the case. The family further stated that filming the torture of the teenager falls in the category of cybercrime. GLOBAL The BBC reports that security forces in Indian-occupied Kashmir have clashed with protesters in the city of Srinagar yesterday, after friday prayers Hundreds of people took part in a demonstration after Friday prayers in the Soura neighbourhood. The march turned violent as protesters threw stones at security forces, who retaliated with tear gas and pellets. At least two were injured. Tensions have been escalating since the Indian government removed the region’s partial autonomy three weeks ago. Information has also been scarce, as internet and mobile networks have mostly been blocked. BBC correspondent Aamir Peerzada at the scene says one man was seen bleeding from his eye and another had suffered a neck injury. The final number of wounded protesters may remain unclear. Many people who are injured with pellets do not go to hospital for fear of being arrested.
France and Ireland say they will not be part of a huge trade deal with South American nations unless Brazil does more to fight fires in the Amazon French leader Emmanuel Macron said President Jair Bolsonaro had lied to him about his stance on climate change. There are currently a record number of fires in the Amazon rainforest – a major source of oxygen for the world. Environmental groups say the fires are linked to Mr Bolsonaro’s policies, which he denies. European leaders have also expressed dismay over the fires. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the fires “not only heartbreaking” but “an international crisis”. “We stand ready to provide whatever help we can to bring them under control and help protect one of Earth’s greatest wonders,” he added. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called the fire an “acute emergency… shocking and threatening not only for Brazil and the other affected countries, but also for the whole world”. Billionaire David Koch, the 11th richest man and a major donor to the Republican party, has died aged 79 He had been suffering from cancer. The former majority owner of Koch Industries was ranked by Forbes, jointly with brother Charles, as the 11th richest person in the world. Koch wielded huge political influence, bankrolling conservative causes for small government, low regulation and climate change scepticism. He was also a major donor to medical research, education and the arts. They gave a lot of money to Mitt Romney’s failed presidential campaign but fell out with President Donald Trump over his tough immigration policy and tariffs. In 2018 Koch stepped down from Koch Industries – which refines crude oil, produces fertiliser, and manufactures household products – citing his declining health. He had been a philanthropist to the arts, especially ballet, and donated to New York’s Lincoln Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center hospital. He ran for vice-president as a Libertarian in 1980, calling for the abolishment of many federal government agencies. According to Forbes, he is estimated to be worth $42.4bn (£34.7bn).
Sri Lanka has finally ended its four-month state of emergency declared after the Easter suicide bombings that killed 258 people President Maithripala Sirisena has been extending the emergency on the 22nd of each month since the April 21 attacks on three hotels and three churches. However, his office confirmed that Sirisena had not extended it for another term and thereby allowed the emergency to end on Thursday. “The president did not issue a fresh proclamation extending the emergency by a further period,” an official source said. The official government printer also confirmed that there was no notification reimposing the state of emergency, which gives sweeping powers to police and security forces to arrest and detain suspects for long periods. The Sri Lankan government used the emergency as it tightened security across the country and hunted members of a local militant group which was held responsible for the attacks and which claimed allegiance to the militant Islamic State (IS) group. SPORTS The Lahore High Court has suspended amendments that were just added in the PCB’s constitution, effectively restoring its previous status The petitioners — Munir Ahmed and Ahmed Nawaz — in their petition contended that the amendments were brought in the constitution without the approval of the PCB’s board of governors. Justice Shahid Mubeen signed the one-page decision, issuing a stay order till next date of hearing on Aug 27.Under the previous constitution, the existing board of governors of the PCB was supposed to continue for a period until, at least, four members of the BoG are notified from among a pool of seven members (three cricket associations and four independent members). The new regulations were supposed to change the composition of the BoG to include three members who are presidents of the cricket associations (on a rotation basis), two members nominated by the patron, four independent members, including at least one female member, the chief executive of the PCB, and federal secretary of the Ministry of IPC as ex-officio (non-voting) member.
England’s hopes of regaining the Ashes look all but over after they were bowled out for 67 by Australia The home side were skittled for their lowest Ashes total since 1948 before the tourists moved to 171-6 to lead by 283 at the end of a day when 16 wickets fell. It amounted to one of England’s most dismal home Ashes days in recent memory, where they went from genuine optimism over levelling the series to the brink of being 2-0 down with two Tests to play. Their reply to Australia’s first-innings 179 was simply awful. Yes, the visitors’ bowling was magnificent, but flimsy England were blown away in ideal batting conditions. Pace bowler Josh Hazlewood took 5-30, while Joe Denly was the only batsman to reach double figures – his 12 is the lowest to top-score in an England Test innings. Conor McGregor says he was “in the wrong” and will “face what’s coming” after an altercation in a Dublin pub in April Video footage of the incident released earlier in August appears to show McGregor, 31, punch a man in the head. The Irishman, who announced his mixed martial arts retirement in March, says seeing the video is “like a dagger into my heart”. “I must take accountability and take responsibility,” McGregor told ESPN. “It doesn’t matter what happened there – I was in the wrong. That man deserved to enjoy his time in the pub without having it end the way it did. “I have been making amends to be better – to be a better father, be a better human, to be a better role model to these kids. “I have to realise that is not the attitude or behaviour of a leader, of a martial artist or a champion. I must get my head screwed on and get back in the game, fight for redemption, retribution, respect – the things that made me the man I am. TECHNOLOGY PTA has asked people with dual SIM mobile phone to register both their IMEIs before August 31, even if they are just using 1 SIM PTA has observed such instances where mobile broadband subscribers who own handsets with dual SIMs have registered one IMEI number against the slot they use. Most users do not utilize the second slot and have either not registered the IMEI number against it or have forgotten to do so. According to a statement by PTA, “Mobile device users with one IMEI registered, and the second IMEI not registered are advised to register all IMEIs. After August 31, the unregistered IMEI in a dual SIM mobile handset will be blocked.” Moreover, PTA has detailed that in order to register such devices, users can send an email at typeapproval@pta.gov.pk with details such as a screenshot of the device showing all programmed IMEI, the screenshot of device box showing IMEI(s), copy of CNIC, and contact details of applicants. According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon is selling thousands of products that are mislabeled, banned, or declared unsafe by federal agencies The list of mislabeled, banned, and unsafe products found by the Journal is shocking, including “FDA-approved” products that the agency never vetted, medication that lacked child safety warnings, banned sleeping wedges for babies, illegally imported prescription drugs, electronics that falsely claim UL-certified safety ratings, toys with unsafe amounts of lead or potential choking hazards, and more. Many of the products found had the company’s Amazon Choice label, which isn’t something you should automatically put any trust in. Perhaps worst of all, the investigation found at least 157 items that Amazon said it explicitly banned. The issue here is Amazon’s massive network of third-party sellers that sell freely on Amazon and even ship from the company’s warehouses if they participate in the “Fulfilled by Amazon” program. Product pages for third-party sellers can be hard to tell apart from “Sold by Amazon.com” items. A small line of text is the only thing that indicates who the actual seller is. The US’s Federal Aviation Administration is worried that people might attach weapons to drones, leading the agency to remind the public that this is illegal to do so A dangerous weapon is broadly defined as “any item that is used for, or is readily capable of, causing death or serious bodily injury.” “Perhaps you’ve seen online photos and videos of drones with attached guns, bombs, fireworks, flamethrowers, and other dangerous items,” the FAA writes, nailing us to the wall. “Do not consider attaching any items such as these to a drone because operating a drone with such an item may result in significant harm to a person and to your bank account.” The agency helpfully reminds everyone in the notice that operating a drone that’s wielding a dangerous weapon is a violation of Section 363 of the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act, which can result in fines of up to $25,000 for each violation — unless, the FAA says, the drone operator receives “specific authorization from the Administrator of the FAA to conduct the operation.” (By the way, if you know of any of these approved flights, please don’t hesitate to let me know.) Other state and federal laws restricting the use of weapons could also apply to these dangerous drone flights, the FAA adds. ENTERTAINMENT Ellen DeGeneres says that her Instagram account was briefly hacked, with the hackers allegedly promising phony giveaways to her followers The hack posts have been deleted, but some responses from concerned Twitter followers of DeGeneres lingered. Apparently the phony giveaway included Apple products and Tesla cars. A screengrab of one of the now-deleted posts was shared on Twitter: “Did someone just hack @TheEllenShow Instagram account? The world is going bonkers,” tweeted one follower last night, while another wondered, “did someone hack Ellen IG account or is she really giving away those free gifts”. The list of giveaway goods included 2,000 iPhone’s, 1,000 Mac Books, 900 Apple Watches, and 30 Tesla cars, in addition to Play Station and Xbox gift cards. Scarlett Johansson has topped Forbes’ list of best-paid actresses for a second year, but is only the eighth highest paid actor overall The 34-year-old’s income of $56m (£45.7m) lands her below seventh-placed male actor Adam Sandler. She earned $15.5m (£12.6m) more than she did in 2018, thanks largely to the success of Avengers: Endgame. Modern family actor Sofia Vergara is the only other woman to break into the overall top 10. Earlier this week, Dwayne Johnson was announced as the highest-paid actor of the last 12 months, making $89.4m (£73.6m) according to the latest annual rankings from the financial experts. Notably all of the top 10 actresses earned above $20m (£16.3) this year, compared with last year when only the top two – Johansson and Angelina Jolie made that amount. Johansson is set to reprise her title role in the Avengers spin-off Black Widow next year. Critics think Taylor Swift’s newest album is “unapologetically bubblegum”, a “towering work” that shows her “at her most liberated”, but is “too long” The 18-track opus is “one big pop bubblegum blast” and is “her most mature collection as well as her most fun one”, according to Variety . But “not even Taylor Swift… can muster enough knockout tunes to fill 18 tracks”, wrote The Guardian’s critic . While the highly-anticipated album offers evidence that Swift is “a better songwriter than any of her competitors in the upper echelons of pop”, Alexis Petridis wrote that it’s padded out with “lightweight” songs. Its “something-for-everyone approach feels like consolidation, not progress”, he declared, while Rolling Stone’s Nick Catucci said it is “evolutionary rather than revolutionary”. He continued: “But nevertheless it feels like an epiphany: free and unhurried, governed by no one concept or outlook, it represents Swift at her most liberated, enjoying a bit of the freedom she won for her cohort.”
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