ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Tuesday exchanged views on matters of common interest with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during a telephone call.
The two leaders review the progress and resolved to further strengthen ties while recalling the decisions taken during the visit of PM Shehbaz to the UAE in April 2022.
According to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office, the two leaders resolved to further strengthen trade and economic ties with a particular focus on accelerating cooperation and building partnerships in areas comprising investments, energy, and infrastructure.
During the telephonic conversation, they reaffirmed the close fraternal ties between the two countries and agreed to work closely to further enhance bilateral cooperation in different fields.
PM Shehbaz also offered his condolences on the damage caused by the recent floods in the Emirates, resulting in the loss of precious lives including Pakistani nationals. He also expressed his deepest sympathies with the Emirati brethren.
The UAE president also extended heartfelt commiserations on the loss of precious lives in floods in Pakistan as well as on the sad demise of army personnel in the recent helicopter crash.
Highlighting the generous support extended by the UAE to Pakistan over the years, the premier welcomed the recent announcement by the UAE to invest $1 billion in various economic and investment sectors in Pakistan.
It should be noted that the UAE is Pakistan’s largest trading partner in the Middle East and a major source of investments, and hosts more than 1.6 million Pakistanis.
Pakistan and India are the first two teams to announce their squads for the upcoming Asia Cup. We take a look at all the squads for this year’s tournament as they continue to be announced.
The 2022 Asia Cup is a six-team tournament that will be held in UAE between August 27 and September 11.
Here are all the squads for this year’s tournament:
Australian golfer Cameron Percy told a Melbourne radio station that countrymen Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman are leaving for LIV after the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs. BOB HARIG5 HOURS AGO Cameron Smith, who won the British Open at St. Andrews with a final-round 64, is apparently headed to the LIV Golf Invitational Series along with fellow Australian Marc Leishman following the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Another Aussie golfer, Cameron Percy, told RSN Radio Australia in Melbourne that “unfortunately, yeah they’re gone,’’ and that the details are already done.
A LIV Golf representative would not comment on the radio interview and Bud Martin, the agent for both Smith and Leishman, could not be reached.
The next LIV Golf Invitational Series event is scheduled for Sept. 2-4, the week following the Tour Championship.
Smith is playing for the first time this week following his Open victory at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first of three FedEx Cup playoff events. Smith is second in the points standings behind Scottie Scheffler. Leishman, 38, the winner of six PGA Tour events, is ranked 62nd in FedEx points.
Ranked second in the world, Smith, 28, would be a big acquisition for LIV Golf. His relative youth along with his standing in the world rankings are huge positives, along with his recent status as a major winner.
In addition to his victory at the Old Course, Smith won the Players Championship this year—leading to the awkward possibility of the tournament not having its defending champion next year due to Tour sanctions—as well as the Sentry Tournament of Champions. He has six PGA Tour wins.
Prince Harry, who formally retired from the royal family’s employment at the end of March 2020, has been rumoured to join it again.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who are establishing their new lives and work in California and also bringing up their children Lilibet and Archie Harrison there, would return to the UK in future, according to Princess Diana’s ex-bodyguard Ken Wharfe.
Mr Wharfe, in his newly-released book ‘Diana: Remembering The Princess’ penned with author Ros Coward, drew a comparison between Princess Diana and her two sons.
Wharf also claimed that Princess of Wales would have likely maintained a “high profile role” in the charity world had she not died in a car crash in August 1997.
The former police protection officer wrote: “William and Harry are very much their mother’s boys in so many ways, even though there are differences between them.
“Although William has perhaps reverted to a world away from the limelight when it comes to his children, he does try to engage and to bring a more modernised approach.”
In the extract published by the Mail on Sunday, Mr Wharfe added: “But with Harry, we can see Diana’s legacy more clearly – and when he returns into the Royal fold, which I think he will do, I believe that will be even clearer.”
The Martyrdom Day of Imam Hussain is observed world over. In my books “The Testament of Truth” and “Moderate Meditations”, I have thrown ample light in some chapters on the mission of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain. I will very briefly write on this very sensitive matter to enlighten the younger educated rational generation. The sectarian minded and fanatic retrogressive people have marred the real spirit and mission of this great sacrifice. Particularly, the paid agents of the Arab monarchs have distorted the facts to save their monarchies.
When Amir Mouwiyya was ill and knew that his death is near, he visited Medina and asked some companions of the holy prophet to accept his son Yazid as his successor. He also visited the wife of the holy prophet Hazrat Aisha and sought her help in nominating his son as his heir. She refused to accept and acknowledge his proposal and retorted :” There is no monarchy in Islam. Let the senior companions of the prophet decide about the future caliph. Had the four earlier caliphs nominated their sons as their heirs or successors”? The dialogue between Amir Mouwiyya and Hazrat Aysha is recorded by many books of history. Actually, the stance of Hazrat Aysha depicted the political thought of Islam. She was very right and understood the difference between Islamic caliphate and monarchy. The Quran in Sura “The Counsel” in verse no 38 clearly says: “ who obey their Lord, attend to their prayers, and conduct their affairs by mutual consent”.
Again stressing on the importance of mutual counseling the Quran says : “ Their matters are decided by mutual counseling”. Yazid was the first monarch nominated by his father. When Imam Hussain was asked by the governor of Medina to take the oath of allegiance to Yazid, he abruptly said:” Should a man like me take the oath of allegiance of a man like Yazid? It was the matter of meritocracy and Islamic Political System and rejection of monarchy. It is pertinent to mention at this point that the Quran observes that the divine government will be given to the men of piety , knowledge and justice. Any government run by the callous, cruel, debauch, dictator, monarch , immoral and immodest person is the government of Satan. It is not the government of Islam. Yazid was a Satan- incarnate. He was a drunkard and the immoral person of the highest degree. Imam Hussain refused to accept him as a caliph.
I deem it necessary to mention for the clear understanding of the tragedy of Karbala that when Imam Hussain left Medina for Mecca and decided to perform pilgrimage, he was told that some soldiers and spies of Yazid had come to Mecca and during his pilgrim performance, he will be assassinated. He performed Umra and left for Kofa. From Mecca to Kufa nearly about at 70 places he stopped and addressed the people. He said he had not come out to gain pelf and power. He intends to reform the Ummah and preach the real Islam. He is the grand son of the holy prophet and it is his religious obligation and responsibility to reform the Muslim community and show them the Way of Allah. On the 10th of Moharrum, his sermon shows the real mission of his sacrifice. While addressing the army of Yazid he said: “ I am seeing that your freedom has been contained and curbed.
The government exchequer is being distributed among cronies and cohorts as a bribe. The morsels have been snatched from the mouths of the poor people. I am the grand son of your prophet and invite you to the way of Islam”. Such was the crux of many other addresses which he delivered at many places on his way to Kofa. Mehmood Abbasi in his notorious book titled” Khalafat- e- Mouwiyya oor Yazid”( The Caliphate of Mouwiyya and Yazid) writes that the battle of Karbala was between two princes and it was a tug of war for throne and crown. Actually, he could not differentiate between the Islamic concept of Caliphate and Monarchy. It was the battle between two principles. Either monarchy or Caliphate. Of course, these are the days of Mourning but we must not forget the mission of this Grand Sacrifice. When Hazrat Ishmael was saved and a lamb got slaughtered as a ransom, the Quran says, this sacrifice was altered into a Grand Sacrifice and postponed for the last Ummah. The holy prophet cried on the birth of Imam Hussain and told her dear daughter Hazrat Fatima that just Gabriel had informed him about the sacrifice of Hussain.
It was destined that Imam Hussain will lay his life with his kith and kin to save Islam. He stood for freedom and social justice. He challenged monarchy. This is the reason the Arab monarchs support Yazidiyat and oppose Hussaniyat. Monarchs are the successors of Yazid. The Muslims observe the Day of Martyrdom. They moan, mourn , grieve and groan. Dr. Iqbal in a couplet says: “ I moan in the woe of the martyr of Karbala; will I not get reward from Saqi- e- Kusar? To weep on any tragedy is natural. But in his Persian couplet he also says: “ Hussain wrote the name of Allah on desert with his blood; that is the way to our salvation”. What is that salvation? Dr. Iqbal says that we are ordained to reject monarchy and stand for human freedom and social justice as propounded by Imam Hussain. Moulana Moududi in his book “ Caliphate and Monarchy” has also paid great tributes to Imam Hussain for rejecting monarchy and sacrificing for the Islamic political system that is a democratic system. The real fight is between monarchy and democracy. In 21st century, Islamic political thought means Islamic democracy which means the government of educated, honest and pious people by democratic consensus. In my two English books titled “ The Message of Islam”, published in America and it second edition in recently published by Peace Publications Lahore and “ The Rational Study of Islam”, I have thrown light on the Islamic concept of state and Islamic concept of democracy. Great Muslim and non- Muslim thinkers and personalities such as Thomas Carlyle, Nelson Mandela, Mohatma Ghandhi and Edward Gibbon have paid tremendous tributes to Imam Hussain on his sacrifice for truth, justice , piety and freedom. Poets and saints like Hazrat Moin- ud- Deen Chishti Ajmeeri, Mir Anis, Mirza Dabir, Dr. Iqbal, Josh Malihabadi, Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Hafeez Jalnandari have also eulogized the sacrifice of the Chief of the Martyrs.
I would like to mention that great modern Islamic thinkers like Dr. Iqbal and Dr. Ali Shariatti have highlighted the Real Mission of the tragedy of Karbala. They believe that this sacrifice is to redeem mankind from oppression, tyranny , dictatorship and monarchy and to implement the Islamic code of life. From sobbing and groaning, we have to change the order and system to revolution. We have to wage war against the autocratic and monarchic systems. The Day of Mourning has to be made The Day of Revolution. Imam Hussain is above sectarian feuds. He is the asset of humanity. This day must be observed by all humans irrespective of their creed, cult, color and class. Imam Hussain is for all. I endorse and appreciate the couplet of great Urdu poet Josh Malihabdi who had said: “Let the humans wake up, every one will say Hussain belongs to me”. The people who oppose the observance of the Day of Imam Hussain are the agents of the monarchs and their purchased Mullahs. Some people have announced to observe the Day of Yazid on August 14, 2021. On the National Day of Pakistan, such a heinous announcement is treasonous and calculated to create sectarian clashes. These Mullahs are the agents of Israel and India. They must be arrested and trialed according to article 292 and 293 of the constitution of Pakistan for announcement to observe Yazid Day in an Islamic state.
Johannesburg: Moroccan club Renaissance Berkane will launch their bid for a record-equalling third CAF Confederation Cup title against Kwara United of Nigeria or AS Douanes of Niger.
The draw for the preliminary and last-32 rounds in Cairo on Tuesday pitted Kwara against Douanes during September with the winners advancing to confront Berkane in October.
Known as the Orange Boys because they hail from a region in northeast Morocco that grows citrus fruit, Berkane became a formidable force in the second-tier competition after a preliminary round exit in 2016.
They reached the quarter-finals in 2018, the final a year later and won the competition for the first time in 2020 by edging Pyramids of Egypt 1-0 in the title decider.
A shock exit at the group stage followed when they defended the title, but Berkane triumphed again last May, beating South African side Orlando Pirates on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Kwara should overcome Douanes, but their participation in the Confederation Cup for the first time since 2007 is likely to end in the following round against a Berkane side coached by Congolese Florent Ibenge.
The other Nigerian hopefuls, African debutants Remo Stars, were drawn against another Moroccan club, FAR, in the preliminary round.
FAR won the second edition of the Confederation Cup in 2005 and will hope for a longer run this season than last, when they lost at home and away against JS Kabylie of Algeria in a last-32 tie.
Ghana representatives Hearts of Oak, who won the maiden edition in 2004 of a competition modelled on the UEFA Europa League, await Douanes of Burkina Faso or Real Bamako of Mali and should progress.
Record three-time Confederation Cup title-holders CS Sfaxien of Tunisia have disappointed in recent appearances, reaching the knockout stage only once in three attempts.
However, it would be a shock if they failed to eliminate Fasil Kenema of Ethiopia or Bumamuru of Burundi and reach the play-offs in November against the CAF Champions League last-32 losers.
Preliminary round matches are scheduled for the weekends of September 9-11 and 16-18 with the last-32 fixtures set for October.
Kinshasa :Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said the United States was “concerned” by “credible” reports that Rwanda is supporting rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The resurgence of the M23 group in Congo’s restive east has exacerbated tensions between the neighbours, with Kinshasa accusing Kigali of backing the rebels.
Blinken was speaking in the Congolese capital Kinshasa, where he arrived on Tuesday for the second leg of a three-nation African tour and met President Felix Tshisekedi.
Rwanda has denied the allegations and Blinken is due to visit the country following a one-day stay in Kinshasa.
“We are very concerned by credible reports that Rwanda has supported the M23,” the top US diplomat told a press conference in Kinshasa.
“All countries have to respect their neighbours’ territorial integrity,” he added, saying he was “not turning a blind eye” and would discuss the issue with Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
Blinken said his trip to the region was to ensure US support for mediation efforts led by Angola and Kenya “to prevent further violence, to end conflict (and) to preserve the territorial integrity of the DRC”.
The DRC is seeking international support as it struggles with Rwanda over the M23, a primarily Congolese Tutsi group that is one of many operating in the troubled east.
After lying mostly dormant for years, the rebels resumed fighting late last year, seizing the strategic town of Bunagana on the Ugandan border in June and prompting thousands of people to flee their homes.
In a 131-page report to the UN Security Council seen last week by AFP, experts said Rwandan troops had intervened militarily inside the DRC since at least November.
Rwanda also “provided troop reinforcements” for specific M23 operations, the experts’ report said, “in particular when these aimed at seizing strategic towns and areas”.
Kinshasa and Kigali have had strained relations since the mass influx of Rwandan Hutus accused of slaughtering Tutsis during the 1994 Rwanda genocide.
Relations began to thaw after Tshisekedi took office in 2019 but the M23’s resurgence has revived tensions.
The group, also known as the “March 23 Movement”, first leapt to prominence in 2012 when it briefly captured the city of Goma before a joint Congolese-UN offensive drove it out.
Washington :President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed US ratification of bids by Finland and Sweden to enter NATO, taking expansion of the Western alliance in response to Russia’s Ukraine invasion one step closer.
Biden said the two northern European countries would become “strong, reliable highly capable new allies” by making the “sacred commitment” to mutual defense in the US-led transatlantic alliance.
Earlier this month, the Senate voted 95-1 in favor of the Nordic states’ accession, making the United States the 23rd of the 30 NATO countries to give formal endorsement. Unanimous support is needed for new membership.
Biden, who has made restoring traditional US alliances a cornerstone of his administration after Donald Trump’s move to upend ties around the world, praised NATO as “the foundation of American security.”
“The United States is committed to the transatlantic alliance.”
Biden also praised Finland and Sweden, saying both have “strong democratic institutions, strong militaries and strong and transparent economies” that would now bolster NATO.
President Vladimir Putin’s Russia “shattered peace and security in Europe” by invading Ukraine, Biden said. “Putin thought he could break us apart…. Instead, he is getting exactly what he did not want.”
Los Angeles NFL club owners voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve the sale of the Denver Broncos to Wal-Mart store heir Rob Walton and his family.
The final step in completing the record-shattering sale needed at least 24 of 32 votes from team owners.
Walton, his daughter Carrie Penner and son-in-law Greg Penner bought the Broncos from the Pat Bowlen Trust for $4.65 billion, the largest sale price for any North American sports team.
“We are grateful for the support and trust of the NFL and the 31 other teams,” Walton said in a statement for the ownership group. “We couldn’t be more excited.”
Among those with a stake in the Broncos ownership are seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton of Britain and former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
“It’s a responsibility and privilege to serve as stewards of such an iconic franchise,” Walton said. “We have tremendous respect for what Pat Bowlen has meant to the Broncos and look forward to building on this organization’s championship legacy.”
The Broncos won their third Super Bowl crown in 2016 but have not made the playoffs since. They went 7-10 last year for a fifth consecutive losing season.
Walton said the new ownership was “deeply committed to fielding a great team to win Super Bowls” and planned to “draw on our individual strengths and those of the players, coaches and staff who have shaped the Broncos’ storied history.
“Across the entire organization, we will all continue to listen and learn.”
Broncos president Joe Ellis, part of the organization for the past 27 seasons, said he will step down and serve as an advisor to ownership for the upcoming campaign.
“I’m confident the Walton-Penner family ownership group will add to the Broncos’ championship tradition,” Ellis said. “I’ve accepted their request to help in the transition however possible.”
Toronto : Reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu on Britain exited on Tuesday in the first round of the WTA Toronto Masters, losing 7-6 (7/0), 6-2 to Italy’s Camila Giorgi.
Defending WTA Canadian champion Giorgi won a combative first set and ran away with the second against the 19-year-old Englishwoman, whose title defence begins in less than three weeks in New York.
Giorgi needed just over an hour and three-quarters to advance to the second round over the ninth seed who broke into the ranking top 10 less than a month ago.
Raducanu had to hold on in a wild opening set, where serve was broken in six of the dozen games played.
The Briton saved a set point in the 12th game to bring on a tiebreaker, but collapsed to lose seven straight points as Giorgi took the set after 71 minutes.
Raducanu was broken three times in the second set as Giorgi finished off her victory.
Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last week infuriated China, which regards the self-ruled island as its own and responded with test launches of ballistic missiles over Taipei for the first time, as well as ditching some lines of dialogue with Washington. France 24 Armen Georgian tells us more.
Russia told the United States on Monday it would not allow its weapons to be inspected under the START nuclear arms control treaty for the time being because of travel restrictions imposed by Washington and its allies.
Inspection conditions proposed by Washington created “unilateral advantages for the United States and effectively deprive the Russian Federation of the right to conduct inspections on American territory,” the Moscow foreign ministry said in a statement.
Russia remained fully committed to complying with all the provisions of the treaty, it added.
The United States and its allies including Britain and the European Union closed their airspace to Russian planes as part of a barrage of sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s decision to send its armed forces into Ukraine in February.
The New START Treaty, which came into force in 2011, caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the United States and Russia can deploy, and the deployment of land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them.
U.S. President Joe Biden said last Monday that his administration was ready to “expeditiously” negotiate a framework to replace New START, which is due to expire in 2026, if Moscow demonstrated its willingness to resume work on nuclear arms control.
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But Russia’s mission to the United Nations said Washington had withdrawn from separate talks with Moscow on strategic stability over the Ukraine conflict, and needed to decide what it wanted.
The following day, the Kremlin said time was running out to negotiate a replacement for New START, putting global security at risk.
The conflict in Ukraine has raised political tensions to levels not seen since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, with politicians in both Russia and the United States speaking publicly of the risk of World War Three.
Moscow says it was forced to intervene in Ukraine to defend Russian-speakers from persecution and avert a Western threat to use Ukraine to threaten Russia’s security. Kyiv and its Western allies say these are baseless pretexts for an imperial-style land grab.
Los Angeles:Princess of pop Britney Spears will join forces with music maestro Elton John on a new single, the record company releasing the track said Monday.
The pair — who between them have 90 years’ experience in the music business — will collaborate on “Hold Me Closer,” Interscope Records said.
There were no further details, including when the track would be released, but it will be the first new music from Spears since the middle of the last decade.
The title of the song comes from the lyrics of the early 1970s hit “Tiny Dancer,” which John co-wrote with long-time creative partner Bernie Taupin.
The news comes after days of online speculation from fans that the pair would be teaming up.
It also comes just weeks after Spears announced a long-wished-for pregnancy had ended in a miscarriage.
The pregnancy, with Sam Asghari, came five months after a Los Angeles judge dissolved a conservatorship overseen by Spears’s father — an arrangement the singer said had prevented her from having a contraceptive IUD removed despite her desire for more kids.
Aside from her very public legal battle with her father, the “…Baby One More Time” singer has mostly only been seen on her social media account in recent years.
She has not given an interview in years, rarely makes public appearances and last performed in October 2018.
The superstar, who first came to public attention as a child in 1992, dropped four studio albums under the conservatorship, most recently 2016’s “Glory.”
She also was among the singers to stage wildly lucrative Las Vegas residencies in recent years. Her four-year “Britney: Pieces of Me” run grossed a reported $138 million.
But in January 2019, she abruptly canceled her planned return to Vegas, going on indefinite professional hiatus.
The multi-award-winning John — properly Sir Elton John — is one of Britain’s most bankable stars, whose showmanship and musicality have left their mark on the performing arts.
Since he first emerged in 1962, the singer — born Reginald Dwight — has been responsible for some of the most recognizable tunes in pop, including “Rocket Man,” “Your Song” and “I’m Still Standing.”
The Decoder is one of the chosen and representative poem of eminent poetess Ms. Olfa Philo of Tunisia. She writes poetry in Arabic and English. Her bilingual poetry is fascinating and fabulous. Her moony face and sparkling eyes depict her meditative and pensive soul. Great English poet William Wordsworth says that poet is hyper sensitive like barometer.
She also surges and swims on the tumultuous ripples of sensivity. It seems interesting to mention that she is a great swimmer as well. She is a fellow poet on Facebook. I appreciate her exuberant and superb imaginative and intuitive lyres. Her poetry is very powerful, inspiring and insightful. She has asked me to comment on her poem titled “ The Decoder”. This poem is an excellent emblem of powerful and wonderful word craft, embedded with sublime imagination. The poetess enjoys the moments of tranquility, solitude and seclusion and like a hermit loves to refrain from social gatherings and seeks resort in Nature and solitude. This poem has been translated into Italian and turned into a song by Mario Rigli and Fabio Martoglio. Very briefly, I would delve deep into the spirit of this excellent piece of poetry. First of all , I cite two initial couplets out of eleven couplets of the poem. She writes: “ You are the one who visited me in my sleep, Then daily in my dreams started to creep.
You are the one who decoded the language of my eyes, And with my past pains, you broke all ties.” This poem consists of eleven couplets. In the ten couplets, she addresses the lover and says “ you are the one” who mesmerized and maddened me by the magic wand of love. You are the healer of my heart wounds and my savior from the pangs of life.
Then, in the last couplet, she in a wailing and moaning tone writes that it was all a mirage and a deception. It breaks and wrenches her heart. So, her dream of love is a farce and is no more than a day dream. According to great English poet John Keats, poetry is the outcome of intermittent moments and grows like fresh leaves on branches in spring. In my opinion, as new branches sprout of a plant and fresh leaves grow on birches in spring season, the munificent Muse visits the poets in their pensive moments. As the thick fleshy leaves are succulent, the sighs of the grieved souls produce hot and crimson tears from the eyes of suitors. This is the story of pain of Olfa Philo depicted in this poem. In Scientific terminology, “ Code” is a system of letters, symbols, or prearranged signals by which messages can be communicated. “ Decode” means conversion from code”. This poem deals with psychological and spiritual codification and de- codification. Hallucinations, dreams, reveries, meditations, day dreaming and telepathy are different kinds of psychological and spiritual experiences. The true spiritual experience is a fact while sham mystical trances are fake. In this poem we find the desire of the poetess deeply engrained upon her subconscious mind to greet a person who loves her and cares for her. Each and every line is impassioned, dreaming for a world of love. She writes: “ You are the one who healed all my past grief, And restored laughter to my face in brief.”
She envisions the charm of the life of romance and the peace of mind by clasping the hand of a lover who succors her in the odd times and climes. By the flight of imagination, she acts like a day dreamer. Eventually, her dreams are shattered and she screams: “ Is this a predestined subtle alchemy? Or you are a mere infant of my fantasy?” This line shows that what she aspired and desired was a dream. She is grieved and shocked on the plight of practical reality of life that is bitter. To decode others is a hectic and arduous psychological phase. Some treacherous imposters use decoding devious devices which are deceitful and dreadful. They enter into the hearts of people and make their place just to hoodwink them. One must not trust people blindly. Things should not be taken on face value. The honest and sincere people are mostly cheated.
The personality code must be like a solid and safe fort. Everyone should not be allowed to enter into its vicinity. The philosophers call it the strong Fort of Selfhood. The wounds of body are curable but the wounds of soul are incurable. Olfa Philo is deeply hurt on the disloyalty of the people she trusted. Her poem depicts her deep melancholic mood and plaintive heart. Her soul is bruised. The moral of this poem is that one should be vigilant and protect his/ her Personality Code and let not permit people to swindle them by de- coding their Code.
London : England centre-back Conor Coady has joined Everton on a season-long loan from Premier League rivals Wolves, it was announced on Monday.
The Toffees were left short of defenders after both Ben Godfrey and Yerry Mina were injured during a 1-0 defeat by Chelsea in their opening match of the new league season on Saturday.
This move sees Wolves captain Coady, 29, returning to his home city eight years after leaving Liverpool, where he came through the Anfield club’s academy.
“It’s incredible to join Everton,” Coady told his new club’s website.
“As soon as I heard the interest, from the manager but also the football club itself, I really wanted to be part of it straight away. I’m over the moon to join.”
He added: “I’ve grown up around the city, I know the football club, how big this club is and what it means to the supporters.
“I’m someone who was desperate to come here, to play for this club. I’ve got family and friends who are massive Evertonians.
“I’m here to give absolutely everything I’ve got for this football club. It’s important I work as hard as I can to help my team-mates, help the club move forward and make people proud.”
Coady is the fourth player to arrive at Goodison Park during the current transfer window, following the Burnley duo of James Tarkowski and Dwight McNeil as well as Sporting Lisbon defender Ruben Vinagre.
“We are delighted to bring a player of Conor’s quality and vast experience to Everton and he fits into how we want to play as a team,” said Toffees manager Frank Lampard.
“As well as being one of the Premier League’s most reliable defenders and an England international, his leadership skills will be of huge benefit to us, too.”
Coady was on the bench for Wolves’ first game of the season, a 2-1 loss away to Leeds.
He moved to Wolves from Huddersfield in 2015 and has played in 196 out of a possible 198 league games during the past five seasons for the Midlands club.
Muir’s time finally arrives as Scot wins 1,500m gold
Aug 8 (Reuters) – Laura Muir ended eight years of waiting by winning gold in the women’s 1,500 metres at the Commonwealth Games on Sunday and the Scot said her previous disappointments had only made her stronger.
Muir had finished 11th in the 1,500m final in front of her home crowd at the 2014 Games in Glasgow and was unable to compete four years later on the Gold Coast due to veterinary medicine exams.
“I think I would have said to the Laura Muir of 2014 ‘your time will come’,” said the 29-year-old, who won Olympic silver for Britain in Tokyo.
“It’s rotten at the time but you learn from it and you come back stronger. This meant a lot to me – missing the Gold Coast (in 2018) as well, it’s been bugging me for eight years.”
Muir, who also won bronze in the 800m in Birmingham, clocked a time of four minutes, 2.75 seconds to take gold ahead of Northern Ireland’s Ciara Mageean and Australia’s Abbey Caldwell on Sunday.
“It is so nice to come here and not just get one medal but two and in such a competitive field,” she added. “Those girls are fast. It means a lot.”
HomeBollywoodLaal Singh Chaddha Director Advait Chandan’s ROFL Post On “Trolling Aamir Khan For Free” Laal Singh Chaddha Director Advait Chandan’s ROFL Post On “Trolling Aamir Khan For Free” “I am told there are people being paid to troll Aamir Sir,” wrote Advait Chandan New Delhi: Laal Singh Chaddha director Advait Chandan, managed to shut haters up and how with his latest Instagram story. The film, starring Aamir Khan in the titular role has been the unwilling centre of controversy. First, “#BoycottLaalSinghChaddha” started trending on Twitter. Later, a section of the Internet claimed that the trolls were “paid” to garner attention to the film. Reacting to the latter claim by a section of the Internet, Advait Chandan shared a humour-infused note on his Instagram story, in which he wrote: “I am told there are people being paid to troll Aamir Sir. This deeply upsetting to hear and it’s outright unfair. Why have I been trolling him for free?” He added the hashtag #PayEveryTroll. See Advait Chandan’s Instagram story here:
‘It’s A Flip Of A Coin’ – Pundit On Premier League Title Race Between Liverpool & Manchester City
A former Ireland international has said he finds it extremely difficult to pick this year’s Premier League title winner between rivals Liverpool and Manchester City
The two faced off in last week’s Community Shield where the Reds ran out 3-1 winners but former Sheffield United goalkeeper, Paddy Kenny, told Football Insider, he doesn’t think the result of that match will make a difference in this year’s title race
“It’s still so tight. If I’m honest, it’s a flip of a coin.
“Just because they won that match that doesn’t make them massive favourites or anything like that.
“It’s still the flip of a coin and maybe it’s just Man City because they have won four of the last five Premier Leagues.
“I won’t judge Liverpool in that game. They have to play each other twice in the season, those are the games that will decide it.”
Kenny went on to say that he can only see it being a two horse race again, and believes the dominance of the two clubs will only continue.
“It’s going to be exciting. It will only be Liverpool and Man City, it would be nice to get another team in there to make it interesting.
“This time next year we will be saying the same thing, Liverpool and Man City.”
Despite Liverpool’s below par performance at Fulham on Saturday, there still seems to be a lot of belief that they will be battling old foes for the title once more..
‘Fragile’ Gaza truce between Israel and Islamic Jihad holds
GAZA CITY – A “fragile” Egypt-brokered truce between Israel and Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza appeared to be holding early Monday, raising hopes that the recent intense conflict that has left at least 44 Palestinians dead, including 15 children, has ended.
The truce, which officially started at 11:30 pm (2030 GMT) Sunday night, aims to stem the worst fighting in Gaza since an 11-day war last year devastated the Palestinian coastal territory.
Though a flurry of strikes and rocket attacks took place in the run-up to the truce, with sirens sounding in southern Israel moments before and after the deadline, neither side had reported any major violations of the agreement after four hours.
In a statement sent three minutes after the ceasefire began, Israel s army said that “in response to rockets fired toward Israeli territory, the (military) is currently striking a wide range of targets” belonging to Islamic Jihad in Gaza.
In a subsequent statement, the army clarified that its “last” strikes took place at 11:25 pm.
While both sides had agreed to the truce, each had warned the other that it would respond with force to any violence.
US President Joe Biden welcomed the ceasefire, thanking Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for his country s role in brokering it. Biden also called for investigations into civilian casualties, which he called a “tragedy”.
In a statement, UN Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland said: “The situation is still very fragile, and I urge all parties to observe the ceasefire.”
Respond strongly –
Since Friday, Israel has carried out heavy aerial and artillery bombardment of Islamic Jihad positions in Gaza, with the militants firing hundreds of rockets in retaliation.
Buildings in Gaza have been reduced to rubble, while Israelis have been forced to shelter from the barrage of rockets.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid s office late Sunday thanked “Egypt for its efforts” as it agreed to the truce, but said it that “if the ceasefire is violated”, Israel “maintains the right to respond strongly”.
Islamic Jihad member Mohammad al-Hindi had already confirmed the militants had accepted the truce, but the group added in a statement that it too “reserves the right to respond” to any aggression.
In addition to the 44 people killed, 15 of them children, the Gaza health ministry said 360 people had been wounded in the Palestinian enclave, which is run by the Islamist group Hamas.
Israel insists several children in the territory have been killed by stray militant rockets.
Three people in Israel have been wounded by shrapnel, while 31 others have been lightly hurt, emergency services said.
Islamic Jihad s Hindi said the ceasefire deal “contains Egypt s commitment to work towards the release of two prisoners”.
The pair were named as Bassem al-Saadi, a senior figure in the group s political wing who was recently arrested in the occupied West Bank, and Khalil Awawdeh, a militant also in Israeli detention.
Terrifying –
Gaza resident Nour Abu Sultan had said earlier Sunday that she was “awaiting the declaration of the ceasefire on tenterhooks”.
“We haven t slept for days (due to) heat and shelling and rockets, the sound of aircraft hovering above us… is terrifying,” the 29-year-old said.
Dalia Harel, a resident in the Israeli town of Sderot close to the Gaza border, said she was “disappointed” at news of a truce despite her five children being “traumatised”.
“We re tired of having a military operation every year,” she said. “We need our military and political leaders to get it over with once and for all… we re not for war, but we can t go on like this.”
Islamic Jihad is aligned with Hamas but often acts independently. Hamas has fought four wars with Israel since seizing control of Gaza in 2007, including the conflict in May last year.
The Israeli army has said the entire “senior leadership of the military wing of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza has been neutralised”.
Muhammad Abu Salmiya, director general of the Shifa hospital in Gaza City, said medics were treating wounded people in a “very bad condition”, warning of dire shortages of drugs and fuel to run power generators.
The army said it had struck over a hundred Islamic Jihad positions, with the militants firing hundreds of rockets and mortars, some of them falling short inside Gaza.
Israel has said it was necessary to launch a “pre-emptive” operation Friday against Islamic Jihad, which it said was planning an imminent attack.
The army has killed senior leaders of Islamic Jihad in Gaza, including Taysir al-Jabari in Gaza City and Khaled Mansour in Rafah in the south.
Paris – Rights group Amnesty International has remained defiant under its high-profile secretary general in the face of a growing outcry over a report critics alleged boosted Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.
Its August 4 press release that accused Ukraine of endangering civilians by creating army bases in residential areas sparked one of the most explosive controversies for a major rights group in recent years.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, backed by a chorus of Ukrainian officials, lashed out at Amnesty saying it sought to shift “the responsibility from the aggressor to the victim.”
But the issue has also caused friction within the respected organisation founded in 1961, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977 and now has branches in over 70 countries.
The head of its Ukraine office, Oksana Pokalchuk, resigned, saying her team had not been properly consulted over a report “that sounded like support for Russian narratives.”
The controversy represents the biggest crisis yet for Amnesty under its secretary general Agnes Callamard, a battle-hardened French rights expert who was a big-name choice to lead the London-based body after serving as the UN’s special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions.
It was in that capacity that she led the international investigation into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate in 2018, producing a report that pointed the finger at the responsibility of crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Shortly after taking office, she took decisive action to reverse a decision by Amnesty to strip Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny of his “prisoner of conscience” status due to past nationalist comments.
‘Shredding its credibility’ After the Ukraine report was published, Callamard took issue with the “social media mobs and trolls” who were attacking the organisation’s research and vowed that this would “not dent our impartiality.”
On Friday, she told AFP in an email that Amnesty “fully stands by” the report that was subject to the “same rigorous standards” as all of Amnesty’s publications.
In a statement Sunday, Amnesty said it deeply regretted the “distress and anger” sparked by the press release while reaffirming that “We fully stand by our findings.”
Its statement, the organisation said, had documented how in all 19 towns and villages visited by its researchers there were instances where “Ukrainian forces had located themselves right next to where civilians were living.”
The assessment was based on the rules of international humanitarian law (IHL), Amnesty said, while also noting the multiple reports it had published over the last month accusing Russia of violations and war crimes in Ukraine.
But its defence has done nothing to dampen the opprobrium being heaped on the organisation both in Ukraine and abroad.
The Times of London wrote in an editorial that Amnesty was “shredding its credibility by serving as a megaphone for the propaganda of the Putin regime” with a report that “pays no attention to the realities of military operations.”
“Amnesty is now utterly morally bankrupt –- its anti-Western obsession has driven it into the gutter,” the right-wing Daily Telegraph added.
‘Little to none’ Meanwhile the report found an eager readership at the Russian embassy in London, usually no fan of Amnesty, which claimed in a tweet that the report’s findings confirmed “exactly what Russia has been saying all along.”
But in an article for the Ukrainska Pravda website, British human rights lawyer Wayne Jordash and Ukrainian lawyer Anna Mykytenko accused Amnesty of using “unclear” methodology and considering “little to none” of the military or humanitarian context.
“The conclusions are short on facts and analysis and long on intemperate accusation,” they wrote.
Amnesty has insisted it reached out to the Ukrainian government several days before the report’s publication, sharing GPS coordinates and other sensitive information it withheld from the press release to protect civilians on the ground.
Among Putin’s opponents, one of Navalny’s allies, Ivan Zhdanov, simply damned the report as “a typical example of ‘useful idiots’.”
The most lacerating criticism came from Pokalchuk, who said that the report, rather than “protecting civilians, instead has become a tool of Russian propaganda.”
“If you don’t live in a country invaded by occupiers who are tearing it to pieces, you probably don’t understand what it’s like to condemn an army of defenders,” Pokalchuk said.
Iran says it is examining EU’s ‘final’ text aimed at restoring 2015 nuclear deal Iran said Monday it is examining a “final text” presented by the European Union at the negotiations in Vienna aimed at restoring a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.
“As soon as we received these ideas, we conveyed our initial response and considerations… but naturally, these items require a comprehensive review, and we will convey our additional views and considerations”, state news agency IRNA quoted an unnamed foreign ministry official as saying.
The comments came after a European official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the EU has tabled the “final” version of the text, negotiations are finished, “and it will not be renegotiated.”
Talks aimed at reviving the agreement over Iran’s nuclear programme resumed on Thursday in Vienna, months after they had stalled.
Iranian sources have suggested an International Atomic Energy Agency probe is a key sticking point in reviving the nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
But the European official said: “That has nothing to do with” the JCPOA.
Iran on Sunday said the IAEA should “completely” resolve the issues related to questions over nuclear material at its undeclared sites.
The IAEA’s board of governors adopted a resolution in June, censuring Iran for failing to adequately explain the discovery of traces of enriched uranium at three previously undeclared sites.
The Iranian foreign ministry official added on Monday that, during the talks of the past few days, “we shared our positions with the other sides, and relative progress was made in some issues.”
He added that the negotiating team looks to “protecting the rights and interests of the Iranian nation” as well as “ensuring the benefits and guaranteeing the sustainable implementation of the other party’s obligations and preventing the repetition of US illegal behaviour”.
The negotiations to revive the deal began in April 2021 before coming to a standstill in March.
The 2015 agreement gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme to guarantee that Tehran could not develop a nuclear weapon — something it has always denied wanting to do.
But the US unilateral withdrawal from the accord in 2018 and the reimposition of biting economic sanctions prompted Iran to begin rolling back on its own commitments.
‘Little hope’ of saving beluga whale stranded in France’s Seine river Hopes of saving a malnourished beluga whale that has swum up the Seine river were receding on Sunday, as rescuers said they were in a race against time to find a solution.
Hopes of saving a malnourished beluga whale that has swum up the Seine river were receding on Sunday, as rescuers said they were in a race against the clock to find a solution.
The whale was first spotted on Tuesday in the river that runs through Paris to the English Channel. Since Friday, it has been between two locks some 44 miles north of the French capital.
But leaving it in the warm stagnant water between the lock gates is no longer an option.
US calls on Russia to stop military activity at nuclear sites
Aboard Air Force One – The White House called on Russia on Monday to cease all military operations around nuclear facilities in Ukraine. “Fighting near a nuclear plant is dangerous,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One during a flight to Kentucky, where President Joe Biden is to tour flood-damaged areas.
“And we continue to call on Russia to cease all military operations at or near Ukrainian nuclear facilities and return full control to Ukraine,” Jean-Pierre said.
Zaporizhzhia — Europe’s largest atomic power complex — was occupied by Russia early in its invasion and recent fighting there has raised fears of a nuclear accident.
Jean-Pierre said the United States is continuing to “closely monitor” the situation at the facility and radiation sensors have “thankfully” not shown any indications of an increase or abnormal radiation levels.
“We are also aware of the reports of mistreatment of the (plant) staff and we applaud the Ukrainian authorities and operators for their commitment to nuclear safety and security under trying circumstances,” she said.
The White House spokeswoman said the United States supports the efforts of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to assist Ukraine with nuclear safety and security measures.
Kyiv called on Monday for the establishment of a demilitarised zone around the nuclear power station in eastern Ukraine.
In recent days, it has been the scene of strikes that have damaged several structures, forcing the shutdown of a reactor. “What needs to be done is to remove occupying forces from the station and to create a de-militarised zone on the territory of the station,” said Petro Kotin, president of Ukraine’s nuclear energy company, Energoatom.
The recent fighting at the plant has prompted the IAEA to warn of “the very real risk of a nuclear disaster.”
The Kremlin on Monday accused Ukrainian forces of firing on the Zaporizhzhia plant, warning of potential “catastrophic consequences” for Europe.
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah claimed on Sunday that PTI’s announcement to host public gatherings across the nation was merely a “political farce” as Imran Khan was attempting to hide his thievery, according to Geo.tv.
The interior minister predicted that Mr. Khan will lose all nine of the National Assembly seats up for grabs after the NA speaker accepted the resignations of PTI MNAs in a statement.
Speaking on the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) investigation into illegal funding received by the PTI, the minister threatened to arrest anyone who did not comply with the FIA.
Mr. Sanaullah added that PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif would return to Pakistan prior to the 2023 general elections without providing a specific date. The PTI political committee resolved on Saturday to stage a power show in Islamabad on August 13. The decision was made at a meeting with Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudhry, Shireen Mazari, Omar Ayub, Saifullah Niazi, and others, which was presided over by Mr. Khan.
In response to Mr. Sanaullah’s remarks, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry warned the interior minister from criticising the PTI chairman in future statements.
Geo.tv quoted Mr. Chaudhry as saying, “Your [Mr. Sanaullah’s] value is not greater than a SHO of Kohsar police station.”
On Monday, oil prices rose from multi-month lows as investors’ appetite increased as a result of news on US jobs and Chinese exports that allayed fears of a recession.
By 0638 GMT, Brent crude futures had increased 81 cents, or 0.9%, to $95.73 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 75 cents or 0.8 percentage points at $89.76 a barrel.
Following an unexpected acceleration in job creation in July in the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer, both futures settled higher on Friday. China also astonished the markets on Sunday with a faster-than-anticipated increase in exports.
According to Stephen Innes, managing director of SPI Asset Management, indications of weak demand in US inventories from the previous week had encouraged trades based on a deteriorating outlook. The jobs and exports numbers, however, had partly altered that perception, he continued. Front-month Brent prices fell 13.7 percent last week, marking their greatest weekly decline since April 2020, while WTI prices fell 9.7 percent as worries about how a recession might affect oil demand weighed on prices. Both benchmarks reached their lowest levels since February.
According to customs data, China, the world’s largest oil importer, imported 8.79 million barrels of crude per day (bpd) in July, up from a four-year low in June but still 9.5 percent less than a year earlier.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan State Oil (PSO), a state-run company, has expressed its inability to only supply fuel to airports that are losing money if Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport’s profitable fueling facility is put up for auction. PSO officials have asked another state-owned organisation, the Civil Aviation Authority, to adopt a uniform policy for all airports throughout the nation in light of the current financial difficulties.
The country’s largest fuel supplier reminded the federal government that the PSO has already filed a complaint with the competition appellate tribunal against the Competition Commission of Pakistan’s (CCP) directive to tender the existing fuel farm, Eastern Joint Hydrant Depot, at Karachi airport, and notices had been issued to the CAA and other respondents on the matter.
PSO Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Syed Mohammad Taha stated in a letter to the petroleum secretary that the company maintained jet fuel refuelling facilities at 10 airports throughout Pakistan in accordance with international standards and had been spending millions of rupees annually to upgrade and maintain these facilities in order to increase productivity and efficiency.
NAROWAL: According to Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, the economy would strengthen in the next months as the value of the rupee versus the US dollar is quickly rebounding.
He told the reporters on Sunday in the tehsil Shakargarh, “The government’s top objective is to stabilise the country’s economy and all institutions are working on one platform to strengthen it.”
According to Mr. Iqbal, in order to comply with the constitution, the administration would serve out its full term.
“If we hold elections right away, there would be unrest in the nation for the following four months. The election will take three months, and the creation of the administration will take one month.
The new census procedure had begun, according to the federal minister, and it would be finished by February 2023. According to him, the procedure would be finished by August 2023 and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would need four months to create new constituencies based on the new census. According to him, all political parties, particularly those in the province of Sindh, believe that the future elections should be held in accordance with the results of the most recent census. He proclaimed that in order to meet constitutional duties, the federal government would serve out its term.
KARACHI: According to Pakistan Meteorological Department chief meteorologist Sardar Sarfaraz, there is a potential of further rain and thunderstorms in the port city today (Monday).
According to the most recent weather forecast, Karachi may have moderate to heavy rain today evening or tonight, and heavy rain may begin in the city on August 9 evening or night.
The probability of rain is present during this monsoon spell till August 14, and the intensity of the rain is anticipated to be high from August 12 to 13.
On the other hand, despite the poor pace of relief efforts in the flood-affected areas, another potent monsoon system may hit Balochistan. In Chaman, Pashin, Qila Abdullah, Qila Saifullah, Harnai, Ziarat, and other cities, flood victims are having issues.
The fourth monsoon phase is expected to arrive in Balochistan starting on August 10, and heavy rains may fall in the north-eastern and south-central regions.
A ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants held overnight, following three days of violence.
Isolated weapons fire from both sides in the minutes before and just after the Sunday night deadline failed to derail the Egypt-brokered truce.
At least 44 people have died in the most serious flare-up since an 11-day conflict in May 2021.
US and United Nations leaders urged both sides to continue to observe the ceasefire.
In a statement, US President Joe Biden praised the truce and called on all parties “to fully implement [it] and to ensure fuel and humanitarian supplies are flowing into Gaza”.
He also urged reports of civilian casualties to be investigated in a timely manner.
The ceasefire was mediated by Egypt – which has acted as an intermediary between Israel and Gaza in the past – over the course of Sunday.
But as it came into effect late on Sunday, the Israeli military confirmed it was striking Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) targets in Gaza in response to rockets fired just before. Israeli media also reported some isolated rocket fire from Gaza in the minutes after the deadline.
But no further violence was reported as the night wore on.
The latest violence began with Israeli attacks on sites in the Gaza Strip, which its military said was in response to threats from a militant group. It followed days of tensions after Israel arrested a senior PIJ member in the occupied West Bank.
By Sunday evening, the Palestinian health ministry said that 15 children had been confirmed among the 44 deaths recorded in the latest violence. Gaza’s health ministry has blamed “Israeli aggression” for the deaths of Palestinians and for the more than 300 people wounded.
Israel accused PIJ militants of accidentally causing at least some of the deaths inside Gaza – claiming on Saturday that the group fired a stray rocket killing multiple children in Jabalia.
Concerns over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where health officials warned that hospitals only had enough fuel to run generators for another two days, led to the ceasefire deal being agreed.
The Israel-Palestinian conflict explained The children who died in the 2021 conflict “We appreciate the Egyptian efforts that had been exerted to end the Israeli aggression against our people,” PIJ spokesman Tareq Selmi said.
Israel said that it “maintains the right to respond strongly” if the ceasefire is violated.
The latest conflict closely follows Israel’s arrest of Bassem Saadi, reported to be the head of PIJ in the West Bank, a week ago.
He was held in the Jenin area as part of an ongoing series of arrest operations after a wave of attacks by Israeli Arabs and Palestinians that left 17 Israelis and two Ukrainians dead. Two of the attackers came from the Jenin district.
Large crowds gathered on Sunday for the funerals of those killed in strikes on Rafah, in the south of the territory, including senior PIJ commander Khaled Mansour – the second top militant to have died. Demonstrations in support of Gaza have also been held in the West Bank city of Nablus.
PIJ, which is one of the strongest militant groups operating in Gaza, is backed by Iran and has its headquarters in the Syrian capital Damascus.
It has been responsible for many attacks, including rocket fire and shootings against Israel.
In November 2019, Israel and PIJ fought a five-day conflict following the killing by Israel of a PIJ commander who Israel said had been planning an imminent attack. The violence left 34 Palestinians dead and 111 injured, while 63 Israelis needed medical treatment.
Israel said 25 of the Palestinians killed were militants, including those hit preparing to launch rockets.
Sri Lanka has asked China to defer the planned visit of a Chinese survey ship to the island country after an objection from India, a government source told Reuters on Sunday. The Chinese research and survey vessel, Yuan Wang 5, was still on its way to Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port. It is scheduled to arrive there on Aug. 11, according to shipping data from Refinitiv. India worries that the Chinese-built and leased port of Hambantota will be used by China as a military base in India’s backyard. The $1.5 billion port is near the main shipping route from Asia to Europe. China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday. Last week, a spokesperson for the Sri Lankan government said the ship was only stopping at Hambantota for refuelling. China is one of Sri Lanka’s biggest lenders and has also financed airports, roads and railways, unsettling India. As Sri Lanka battles its worst economic crisis in seven decades, India this year alone has provided it nearly $4 billion in support. Diplomatic relations between India and China have been strained since clashes in 2020 between troops along a remote Himalayan border. At least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed in the fighting, which led to a massive build-up of troops on both sides. Foreign security analysts describe the Yuan Wang 5 as one of China’s latest space-tracking ships, used to monitor satellite, rocket and intercontinental ballistic missile launches.
