‘N’ accuses govt of ‘influencing’ GB polls

The PML-N has accused the Imran Khan government of pressurising its leaders ahead of Gilgit-Baltistan polls to change loyalties and openly violating the code of conduct to influence the election there this month.

“We have strong reservations on the code of conduct violations and the use of the federal government’s machinery for the Nov 15 polls in Gilgit-Baltistan and want the Supreme Court Gilgit-Baltistan and the election commission to take notice of pre-poll rigging of the PTI government,” PML-N secretary general Ahsan Iqbal told a press conference here on Thursday.

He alleged that at least nine leaders were forced by the federal government to change their loyalties. He said the prime minister election cell staff and federal minister Amin Gandapur visited every constituency in violation of the election code of conduct.

“During the last five-year tenure of PML-N there, exemplary law and order was maintained and the province progressed economically. Now the PTI government is bent upon winning the polls through rigging,” he said.

Mr Iqbal urged the judiciary to take notice of Imran Khan-led attack on PTV in 2014. He said Imran Khan was threatening the opposition like a ‘street goon’.

He stressed the need to make an action plan to curb terrorism like the Nawaz Sharif did after the APC tragedy.

He said [today] no country was standing with Pakistan on Kashmir only because of Imran Khan’s (failed foreign policy). He said Imran had made the country an ‘international beggar’ in the last two years and the government was busy awarding ‘certificates of traitors’ to its opponents.

Meanwhile, PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz spoke to the party workers in Model Town and told them that time had come to get rid of this incompetent governemnt of Imran Khan that came to power through a ‘manipulated’ election.

She said the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s December rally in Lahore would prove to be a last nail in the coffin of the PTI government.

“There is a possibility that a long march on Islamabad may not be held as after the Lahore power show this selected government is sent packing,” she said and added that the narrative of Nawaz Sharif -- give respect to the ballot -- had reached every home.

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‘N’ accuses govt of ‘influencing’ GB polls

The PML-N has accused the Imran Khan government of pressurising its leaders ahead of Gilgit-Baltistan polls to change loyalties and openly violating the code of conduct to influence the election there this month.

“We have strong reservations on the code of conduct violations and the use of the federal government’s machinery for the Nov 15 polls in Gilgit-Baltistan and want the Supreme Court Gilgit-Baltistan and the election commission to take notice of pre-poll rigging of the PTI government,” PML-N secretary general Ahsan Iqbal told a press conference here on Thursday.

He alleged that at least nine leaders were forced by the federal government to change their loyalties. He said the prime minister election cell staff and federal minister Amin Gandapur visited every constituency in violation of the election code of conduct.

“During the last five-year tenure of PML-N there, exemplary law and order was maintained and the province progressed economically. Now the PTI government is bent upon winning the polls through rigging,” he said.

Mr Iqbal urged the judiciary to take notice of Imran Khan-led attack on PTV in 2014. He said Imran Khan was threatening the opposition like a ‘street goon’.

He stressed the need to make an action plan to curb terrorism like the Nawaz Sharif did after the APC tragedy.

He said [today] no country was standing with Pakistan on Kashmir only because of Imran Khan’s (failed foreign policy). He said Imran had made the country an ‘international beggar’ in the last two years and the government was busy awarding ‘certificates of traitors’ to its opponents.

Meanwhile, PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz spoke to the party workers in Model Town and told them that time had come to get rid of this incompetent governemnt of Imran Khan that came to power through a ‘manipulated’ election.

She said the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s December rally in Lahore would prove to be a last nail in the coffin of the PTI government.

“There is a possibility that a long march on Islamabad may not be held as after the Lahore power show this selected government is sent packing,” she said and added that the narrative of Nawaz Sharif -- give respect to the ballot -- had reached every home.

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Strong earthquake strikes Aegean Sea, shaking Turkey, Greece

A strong earthquake of a magnitude of around 7.0 struck the Aegean Sea on Friday and was felt in both Turkey and Greece, local and international observatories said.

People flooded to the streets in the Turkish coastal city of Izmir after the earthquake, witnesses said. Footage from Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber showed a collapsed building in central Izmir.

Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) put the magnitude of the earthquake at 6.6, while the United States Geological Survey said it was 7.0. It struck at around 1150 GMT and was felt along Turkey's Aegean coast and the northwestern Marmara region, media said.

The epicentre was some 17 kilometres off the coast of the Izmir province, at a depth of 16 km, AFAD said. The US Geological Survey said the depth was 10 km and that the epicentre was 33.5km off Turkey's coast.

Residents of Samos, an island with a population of about 45,000, were urged to stay away from coastal areas, Eftyhmios Lekkas, head of Greece's organisation for anti-seismic planning, told Greece's Skai TV.

“It was a very big earthquake, it's difficult to have a bigger one,” said Lekkas.

Ali Yerlikaya, the governor of Istanbul, where the quake was also felt, said there were no negative reports.

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Tens of thousands of Muslims protest over Macron's Islamophobic remarks

Tens of thousands of Muslims protested in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Palestinian territories on Friday after the republication of blasphemous caricatures in France and the Islamophobic remarks of French President Emmanuel Macron.

In Pakistan, police fired tear gas at thousands of demonstrators marching towards the French Embassy in Islamabad, with some protesters trying to break through police barricades, witnesses said.

In Bangladesh, tens of thousands marched through Dhaka, the capital, chanting “Boycott French products” and carrying banners calling Macron “the world’s biggest terrorist”.

“Macron is leading Islamophobia,” said Dhaka demonstrator Akramul Haq. “He doesn’t know the power of Islam. The Muslim world will not let this go in vain. We’ll rise and stand in solidarity against him.”

Some Bangladeshi demonstrators also burned effigies of Macron and carried cutouts of the president with a garland of shoes around his neck.

In a Muslim-majority district of India’s financial hub Mumbai, some 100 posters showing Macron with a boot on his face and calling him a “demon” were pasted on pavements and roads.

Thousands of Palestinian worshippers rallied after Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, in Jerusalem’s walled Old City to condemn the republication of blasphemous cartoons in France. “A nation whose leader is Mohammad (PBUH) will not be defeated,” protesters chanted.

“We hold the French president responsible for acts of chaos and violence that are taking place in France because of his comments against Islam and against Muslims,” said Ikrima Sabri, the preacher who delivered the sermon at al Aqsa.

In Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestinians trampled on a large French flag and burned other French flags.

In Gaza, ruled by Hamas, hundreds of Palestinians took part in anti-France rallies, chanting: “With our souls and blood we will redeem the Prophet.”

In Somalia, thousands turned up for Friday prayers in mosques where sermons were dominated by curses and condemnation of Macron and his government.

A shopkeeper in Mogadishu, Abdirahman Hussein Mohamed, set aside all French products, including face wash, creams, perfumes and other cosmetics, with a large sign, “NOT FOR SALE”.

“I will never sell those products...as long as France does not apologise. France insulted our Prophet,” Mohamed told Reuters. Some women shoppers agreed.

“I used to be one of the consumers of French cosmetics. Now I will no longer buy,” said Anisa Ahmed, 22. “I will look for products of other countries.”

France raises security alert

France raised its security alert to the highest level on Thursday after a knife-wielding man beheaded an elderly woman in a church and killed two more people before being shot and taken away by police.

“We will not give any ground,” Macron said outside the church in the French Riviera city of Nice, promising to deploy thousands more soldiers to guard sites such as places of worship and schools.

France had been attacked “over our values, for our taste for freedom, for the ability on our soil to have freedom of belief”, he added.

The violence has come at a time of growing Muslim anger over France’s defence of the right to publish blasphemous cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), and protesters have denounced France in street rallies in several Muslim-majority countries.

French investigators said the man suspected of carrying out the Nice attack was a Tunisian born in 1999 who had arrived in Europe on Sept. 20 on Lampedusa, an Italian island off Tunisia that is a main landing point for migrants from Africa.

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Govt approves subsidy for farmers

The government on Thursday approved a fertiliser subsidy of Rs5.4 billion for farmers, two days after a ruckus in the federal cabinet over increasing inflation and the lack of a coordinated response to tackle it.

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet approved a subsidy of Rs1,000 per 50kg bag of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) fertiliser, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance.

The Rs5.4 billion subsidy has been worked out on the basis of 30% outreach to the farmers and the federal government will bear 70% of the cost, which comes to Rs5.4 billion. The remaining 30% cost will be borne by the provincial governments, according to the decision.

The Rs5.4 billion will be spent out of the Rs1.2 trillion prime minister’s package to mitigate the impact of coronavirus. Out of the Rs1.2 trillion fiscal stimulus package, Rs50 billion had been earmarked for the agriculture sector.

But the government could not utilise the Rs50 billion and so far only Rs10 billion has been committed to the agriculture sector.

The ECC also approved a subsidy of Rs250 per acre for weedicides and Rs150 per acre for fungicides.

The current DAP rate is Rs4,100 per bag, which will be reduced by about 25% to give a substantial relief to the farmers. But the price will still be higher by about Rs300 per bag than the rate prevailing a year ago.

The ECC approved Rs5.4 billion as the federal government subsidy share in Rabi crops. The food ministry had requested the ECC to approve half the amount or Rs2.7 billion upfront and the remaining would be released on the basis of food ministry’s recommendations.

Punjab will get Rs3.9 billion, Sindh Rs1.1 billion, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Rs194 million and Balochistan Rs150 million.

Out of the Rs50 billion agricultural relief package, Rs10 billion has so far been given to the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, which is being used for giving subsidy on agricultural loans of Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited and whitefly subsidy in Punjab.

“A large component of the agricultural package, Rs32.5 billion, reserved for fertiliser, remained unspent due to the reluctance of provinces as well as the lack of a common disbursement mechanism across provinces,” said the food ministry.

In order to give incentives to the farmers in the Rabi season, the federal cabinet in its meeting held on Tuesday had constituted a special committee for designing a package to reduce input cost for the farmers with the intent of increasing the production of wheat in the country, according to the Ministry of Finance.

During the last cabinet meeting, federal ministers and bureaucrats had blamed each other for the rising inflation and the lack of a coordinated response.

The subsidy of Rs1,000 per bag of DAP was part of an incentive package for increasing the minimum wheat support price and reducing the cost of input. On Monday, the ECC had approved the increase in wheat support price from Rs1,400 to Rs1,600 per 40 kg.

The price of Rs1,600 will only be higher by Rs13 or 0.8% compared to the production cost of Rs1,587 per 40 kg estimated by the food security ministry.

At this price and with average output of 28 maunds per acre, the farmers will get additional benefit of Rs5,600 per acre.

The federal cabinet has ratified the minimum wheat support price of Rs1,600 for the farmers and also set up a committee to finalise DAP subsidy.

However, the government faces the issue of a transparent mechanism to distribute the subsidy. The food ministry said in case of Punjab, an e-voucher scheme, which was relatively the best, would be used to disburse the subsidy.

In K-P, the subsidy would be distributed through a coupon system. The other two provinces will be asked to follow suit.

Provinces will distribute the subsidy in the already prevalent manner but will be responsible for ensuring transparency.

Federal funds for the subsidy will be directly disbursed by the Finance Division to the provinces on the basis of their share, keeping in view their system’s strength and overall outreach.

The Ministry of National Food Security would examine the provinces’ demand for funds and after its recommendation the Finance Division would transfer the funds to the provinces.

It was also decided that the provinces would expand, improve and upgrade their subsidy disbursement systems. The package will be presented in the next cabinet meeting on Tuesday for approval.

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Usman Wazir to defend Asian boxing title on December 19

Young Pakistani boxer Usman Wazir is all set to defend his Asian Boxing Council’s title in Karachi on December 19.

According to the details, Usman will fight against the opponent (name to come out closer to the time). Olympic gold medalist Hussain Shah is organizing the fight in Karachi and he is coming to witness the fight from Japan.

In a video message, Usman said he is confident to defend his title and aim to become a world youth champion. “I am looking forward to defending my title and my next target will be to become youth champion,” said Usman.

“For youth title fight, I will need the help of government as without financial assistance it is impossible to make it happen,” he concluded.

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Scientists identify prolific coronavirus strain which started in Spain

A coronavirus strain that emerged in Spain in June has spread across Europe and now makes up a large proportion of infections in several countries, researchers said, highlighting the role of travel in the pandemic and the need to track mutations.

The variant, which has not been found to be inherently more dangerous, was first identified among farm workers in the eastern Spanish regions of Aragon and Catalonia.

Over the last two months, it has accounted for close to 90% of new infections in Spain, according to the research paper, authored by seven researchers with backing by Swiss and Spanish public-sector science institutions.

It was posted on a so-called preprint server here and is yet to be peer reviewed for publication in a scientific journal.

The strain has crossed European borders and accounted for 40-70% of new infections in Switzerland, Ireland and the United Kingdom in September, they found.

The scientists said the strain’s characteristic mutation did not give it any apparent edge and its success may be down to the people who caught it first being particularly mobile and sociable.

But in some places outside Spain the variant’s journey developed a dynamic of its own, indicating it may have a transmission advantage.

“Its frequency in the UK has continued to increase even after quarantine-free travel was discontinued and the main summer travel period ended. Thus this variant might transmit faster than competing variants,” the researchers wrote.

Efforts to sequence viral genomes differ widely across Europe, limiting their research, they said.

“The rapid rise of these variants in Europe highlights the importance of genomic surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic… it is imperative to understand whether novel variants impact the severity of the disease.”The World Health Organisation said in July that there was no evidence mutations of the virus had led to more severe disease. It formed a working group to better understand how mutations behave.

All viruses make only imperfect copies of themselves when they infect a host but the tendency for this random drift varies between classes of viruses.

Coronaviruses, which were also behind the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak, are known to be more stable than, for instance, the seasonal flu, which requires a new vaccine every year.

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