Everything That Has Happened In The Last 24 Hours

LOCAL The Meteorological Department warned of urban flooding in Karachi, Thatta and Hyderabad over the weekend as heavy rain expected  According to a Met Department notification, a “well marked low-pressure monsoon system has formed over the northern part of Bay of Bengal”. The system is likely to enter the lower parts of Pakistan late on August 9 [Friday] and stay in the region till August 11 [Sunday]. The system will cause widespread rains and thunderstorms in Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Thatta. Sporadic rains will also be witnessed in Zohb, Kalat, Naseerabad, Makran, Sukkur and Larkana division. All relevant departments have been asked to stay on high alert during the monsoon period. The rains will hit at a time when various clean-up drives have been started in Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur to make sure that the rains cause the least possible inconvenience to citizens. The Punjab Minister for Finance said the provincial government would run the metro bus project at all costs Talking to journalist, Jawan Bakht said that if the provincial government would withdraw subsidy on metro bus’s ticket, its fare would increase to Rs100. Responding to a question, the minister said that India had taken a wrong step by stripping occupied Kashmir of its special status. He said that the government would apprise world leaders about the nefarious designs of the Indian government. Jawan Bakht said that the Indian move had highlighted the Kashmir issue across the world. Earlier on March 7, the Punjab cabinet’s standing committee on finance had rejected a proposal to jack up the fares of the Metro Bus Services. Ahsan Iqbal has failed to satisfy the National Accountability Bureau during the investigation into corruption in the Narowal Sports City project Sources revealed that Ahsan Iqbal failed to give satisfactory answers to the anti-corruption watchdog which led to the NAB officials handing over an additional questionnaire to the politician. He was asked to submit his written response within two weeks, whereas, the NAB Rawalpindi will summon Iqbal again after the vacations of Eidul Azha, sources added. Earlier on July 3, Ahsan Iqbal had appeared before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Rawalpindi chapter, in a probe related to Narowal Sports City. Iqbal is accused of starting the project worth Rs3 billion illegally. Pakistan Sports Board is also accused of illegally using its authority for the construction of this project. Imran Khan talked to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson about the “serious situation in Kashmir” Both leaders agreed on the “importance of maintaining dialogue”, the statement added. The prime minister congratulated PM Johnson on assuming office as the UK prime minister. Both leaders underscored their “continued commitment to the bilateral relationship between the UK and Pakistan”.In a parallel development, Britain’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he had expressed concern to his Indian counterpart about the situation in the disputed Kashmir region. “I have to spoken to the Indian Foreign Minister,” Raab said on Wednesday. “We’ve expressed some of our concerns around the situation and called for calm, but also had a clear readout of the situation from the perspective of the Indian government.”
GLOBAL Donald Trump has visited Dayton, Ohio, at the start of a trip to the sites of two mass shootings after facing heavy criticism Earlier, Mr Trump said he was concerned about “the rise of any group of hate… whether it’s white supremacy” or any “other kind of supremacy”. But he himself has been accused of stoking hatred against Hispanic people. The Democratic congresswoman who represents El Paso, Veronica Escobar, is refusing to meet him, saying his “racist and hateful words & actions” had caused pain to her community and her country. The El Paso shooting is being treated as a possible hate crime. Much of the city identifies as Hispanic and the suspect is thought to be the author of a text posted online which said “this attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas”. Alice G. Wells has rejected reports that India consulted the United States before moving to end Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status “Contrary to press reporting, the Indian government did not consult or inform the US Government before moving to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status,” the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs said in a Tweeter statement.A US-based media watchdog earlier today urged India to ensure access to internet and communications services in occupied Kashmir, which were suspended in the valley three days ago, Kashmir Media Service reported. The Committee to Protect Journalists in a statement expressed alarm over communication blackout in Jammu and Kashmir. Monica Lewinsky co-produces the next season of American Crime Story, which will be based on the impeachment of Bill Clinton The latest series of American Crime Story will air in the run-up to next year’s presidential election. Lewinsky is among the producers on the FX show, which follows previous seasons devoted to the OJ Simpson trial and the murder of Gianni Versace. Booksmart actress Beanie Feldstein will play Lewinsky in the drama. Sarah Paulson, meanwhile, will play Linda Tripp, the civil servant who secretly recorded Lewinsky’s private phone calls about her affair with the president. It is not yet known who will play Bill and Hillary Clinton in the show, which will be based on a 2000 book by Jeffrey Toobin. In a statement given to Vanity Fair , Lewinsky said she was “hesitant” and “more than a little scared” to be involved in the Ryan Murphy production. But she said she had come around to the idea after “a lengthy dinner” with the American Horror Story producer and now felt “privileged to have this opportunity”. “People have been co-opting and telling my part in this story for decades,” she continued. “It wasn’t until the past few years that I’ve been able to fully reclaim my narrative. “I’m so grateful for the growth we’ve made as a society that allows people like me who have been historically silenced to finally reintroduce my voice to the conversation.” A female member of Kenya’s Parliament was removed after walking into chambers with her 5-month-old baby Zuleikha Hassan, a mother of three, told CNN she came to work with her youngest child after she was unable to find a sitter. A security guard stopped her from taking her baby into the chamber in the Nairobi capital on Wednesday, she said, but she insisted on being with her daughter. Rules do not allow children. A video shows security guards gathered around the MP as she held onto her baby, and Deputy Speaker Christoper Omulele repeatedly ordered her out of the chamber. “Honorable Zuleikha kindly withdraw with decorum… Honorable Zuleikha you are out of order,” Omulele says in the video. Hassan said she knew she would be sent out but had to attend the session. “I was just tired. I mean young women all over the country are facing worse situations. They can’t afford a nanny, and they have to decide whether they should breastfeed their child or go to work,” Hassan told CNN. SPORT Faf du Plessis has been selected as the captain for South Africa in the Test series against India in October Van Zyl, who was appointed to the acting role following the weekend purge of head coach Ottis Gibson and his coaching staff, said he would chair a selection meeting ‘in the next day-and-a-half’ to discuss future strategy, which would include planning for the 2023 World Cup. “Faf will be the captain of the Test team,” said Van Zyl. “But we need to look forward and we will talk about the white-ball strategy to 2023.” South Africa will play three Twenty20 Internationals in India next month ahead of the Test series, their first in the new World Test Championship, which starts on Oct 2. Another player bites the dust as England’s Olly Stone aggravated his previous back injury, ruling him out for the second Ashes Test Following an injury to James Anderson at Edgbaston, Stone was one of the candidates to replace him at Lord’s. But Stone has been ruled out of action for the next two weeks because of the injury to his left lower back sustained in training at Edgbaston on Tuesday. “It’s really disappointing for Olly,” said sport director Paul Farbrace. “To be ruled out of action for such an important two weeks of cricket because of a reoccurrence of his back injury. “At the moment there’s a bit of inflammation, but he will undergo a scan later this afternoon so that we know the full course of treatment that he can undertake with the club’s medical team and with the support of the ECB. Inter Milan are close to signing Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku after submitting a better bid In July, United rejected Inter’s £54m bid for Lukaku, who has been fined by the club after missing training without permission on Tuesday. Belgium international Lukaku, 26, has trained at his former team Anderlecht for the past two days. Lukaku’s agent, Federico Pastorello, flew to London on Wednesday in an attempt to resolve his future. The clubs had been some way apart in their valuation of the striker, with United wanting to recoup at least the £75m they paid Everton two years ago. Inter and fellow Serie A side Juventus have been competing to sign the forward, who did not play in the Premier League club’s pre-season matches because of injury. TECHNOLOGY A Facebook page inviting people to storm US Air Force base Area 51 was removed temporarily from the social network  It was removed by “mistake”, a spokeswoman for Facebook said. The page’s creator had received a message on Saturday saying his event broke Facebook’s community standards. Two million people have indicated they will attend, but the US Air Force has warned people not to go near the base. “What happened with the event? It disappeared a couple [of] days ago and is now back,” wrote one Facebook user on the reinstated Area 51 page. Area 51 has long been the focus of conspiracy theories that allege the base conceals information on alien life and technology. While there is no proof for this, there are many fans of the theory and this has made Area 51 an iconic location in alien-themed popular culture. The Facebook page has been flooded with jokes and memes about aliens since its creation. Microsoft workers will sometimes listen to Skype conversations that have been processed by translation software According to tech site Motherboard, some contractors for Microsoft review such conversations to check the quality of translations. However, the fact that humans may listen in to calls is not explicitly stated in Skype’s terms and conditions. Microsoft said it had users’ permission to collect and process their data. Skype’s Translator service translates dialogue during live audio and video calls. Motherboard said it obtained audio from translated Skype conversations in which users “spoke intimately to loved ones” and discussed personal matters, including weight loss and relationship problems. The tech site also said it had evidence that human contractors could hear voice commands spoken to Cortana, Microsoft’s virtual voice-activated assistant. “Microsoft gets customers’ permission before collecting and using their voice data,” a spokeswoman for the firm said in a statement. The PTA and FIA have seized illegal equipment and SIMs during a raid in Lahore Earlier last month, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) along with Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) carried out a successful raid on illegal Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) setup. And now again, a team of these three authorities has raided a similar illegal set up in Lahore. The use of illegal equipment and gateway exchanges have increased in Pakistan during the past few years. In its continuous struggle to curb the menace of illegal Gray Trafficking in the country, PTA has again carried out a raid on illegal VoIP setup in the area of Sabzazar, Block H Lahore. FIA and IB helped the country’s top telecom regulator in conducting a successful raid. According to the details reported by PhoneWorld, the joint raiding team of PTA, FIA, and IB seized around 10 operational illegal gateways and around 500 active SIMs along with other allied equipment including routers, modems, and laptops, etc. Two persons were arrested and further interrogation is underway. ENTERTAINMENT Halle Bailey opens up about the racially-motivated backlash she faced after being cast as the lead in the ‘Little Mermaid’  “I feel like I’m dreaming and I’m just grateful and I don’t pay attention to the negativity,” she told Variety at the Power of Young Hollywood gala Tuesday. “I just feel like this role was something bigger than me and greater and it’s going to be beautiful. I’m just so excited to be a part of it.”Many fans rejoiced on social media after Bailey’s casting was announced, but others had nasty things to say about Disney’s choice of a new black princess. Several people and organizations have since defended her against the backlash, including Disney-owned TV network Freeform, Sierra Boggess, who originated the role of Ariel in the Broadway adaptation of “The Little Mermaid,” and Jodi Benson, the voice of the original animated Ariel.   “Alright, I’m tired of this, listen again,” Boggess tweeted at the time. ” ‘Bright young women, sick of swimmin,’ ready to stand…’ I hear this being the cry of EVERY little girl, don’t you?”
Bollywood filmmakers are racing to claim film titles based on the Indian government’s decision to repeal Article 370 Quoting a source, The Quint reports that following the announcement, 20 to 30 producers have approached the Indian Motion Pictures’ Producers’ Association (IMPPA) register the titles ‘Article 370’ and ‘Article 35A.’ Other titles being eyed by the producers include ‘Kashmir Humara Hai’ and the literal translation of Article 370 and 35A in Hindi – Dhara 370 and Dhara 35A, according to The Quint. The IMPPA is yet to approve the applications and a decision in this regard will be made shortly. Earlier this year, as India and Pakistan were on the brink of war following the February 14 Pulwama terror attack that left over 40 CRPF personnel dead and several wounded, several Bollywood producers had rushed to register titles like ‘Abhinandan’, ‘Balakot’ and ‘Pulwama.’
Urwa and Mawra Hocane think that depression is caused by what food you eat Mawra and Urwa appeared on Nida Yasir’s morning show to promote their new clothing line, U X M and somehow the conversation shifted to talking about mental well-being. In a clip that is now making rounds on social media, it’s clear that they think depression is solely caused by your diet. Urwa went on to make a blanket statement: “There are so many problems these days, we hear someone say that they’ve got depression or mental ‘disease’, but its all because of food! There’s no other reason.” It’s what you put in your body”, added Mawra, nodding in agreement.