Saturday, October 16, 2021

UK PM Johnson visits church where lawmaker was stabbed to death

UK PM Johnson visits church where lawmaker was stabbed to death
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday visited the church where lawmaker David Amess was stabbed to death a day earlier in what police say they are treating as a terrorist attack.

Amess, 69, from Johnson's Conservative Party, was knifed repeatedly in the attack at about midday on Friday in Leigh-on-Sea, east of London, during a meeting with constituents.

Johnson, interior minister Priti Patel, and leader of the opposition Labour Party Keir Starmer were among those to lay flowers in tribute to Amess at the scene of the murder.

Johnson and Starmer stood side by side in a moment of silence before leaving. On Friday, Johnson said Britain had lost a fine public servant and a much-loved friend and colleague.

In a statement early on Saturday, police said the early investigation had revealed a potential motivation linked to extremism.

Police arrested a 25-year-old British man at the scene on suspicion of murder, adding it is believed he acted alone.

As tributes poured in for Amess, politicians described the attack as an assault on democracy, and Patel said security for lawmakers, known as MPs, was being reviewed and strengthened.

“All measures are being put in place for the security of MPs so that they can carry on with their duties as elected democratic members,” Patel said in a broadcast clip following the visit.

“We live in an open society, a democracy. We cannot be cowed by any individual.”

In Westminster, where lawmakers do much of their work in parliament, armed police are on patrol. But in their electoral districts, known as constituencies, more often than not there is no security.

Amess was stabbed while holding a surgery — one-to-one meetings with voters, open to whoever turns up.

Conservative lawmaker Tobias Ellwood said that while engagement with the public was a vital part of the job, there was now huge anxiety among MPs and called for a pause in such meetings.

Patel said Amess was killed doing a job he loved, and lawmakers should remain accessible to the public.

“We will continue to absolutely stand by the principles that we are elected by: to serve our constituents in the open way in which we have been doing so, but also recognising that there are safety and protection measures that we have to undertake too,” Patel said.

Amess in the second lawmaker in little over five years to be murdered while out meeting constituents, after Jo Cox was shot and stabbed in June 2016, a few days before Britain voted to leave the European Union.



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‘Utterly shameful’: Opposition leaders lash out at govt over petrol price hike

PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif
Major political leaders and common Pakistanis were up in arms after the government announced a massive increase in the prices of petroleum products Saturday.

According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Finance today, the price of petrol has been increased by Rs10.49 per litre, High-Speed Diesel by Rs12.44 rupees, Kerosene Oil by Rs10.95 rupees and Light Diesel Oil by Rs8.84 per litre.

The notification further said that in the current scenario, the government has absorbed the pressure and provided maximum relief to consumers by keeping the Petroleum Levy and Sales Tax to a minimum.

Soon after the announcement, top political leaders and Opposition parties condemned the government's move and demanded Prime Minister Imran Khan's resignation.

'PM should resign'

PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif termed the increase as “utterly shameful” and said that the latest hike, along with the petrol bomb, will push people to the brink of starvation.

“No words to describe the extreme cruelty this selected PTI regime has inflicted on people in the form of yet another increase in prices of items of daily use,” the PML-N president said.

Shahbaz Sharif said PM Imran Khan has no right to remain in office and demanded his resignation.

“PM Imran’s resignation could provide some relief to the nation,” the PML-N leader said, adding that “mini budgets” are proof of the incumbent government's economic failures.

‘Tsunami of inflation’

In a statement, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto said the PTI government has brought a “tsunami of inflation” in the country, reacting to the hike in petrol price.

“The government is actually charging people for its incompetence. During the PPP era, the burden of rising petroleum prices and products in the world market was never shifted to the masses, he said.

“Only PPP’s people-friendly government can save the country from the tsunami of inflation.”

Bilawal Bhutto said increasing the price of petrol a day after the hike in power tariff proves Imran Khan is an anti-people prime minister.

He asked the people to support the PPP to get rid of the government which is pushing Pakistan into the mire of inflation.



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NADRA gives women choice to change surname after marriage

NADRA
The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has changed its policy that requires women to change their surname after marriage.

NADRA Chairman Tariq Malik, while addressing the Annual Rural Women’s Conference in Islamabad, said that the new policy would enable women to choose whether to replace their father’s name with their husband’s name after marriage.

He announced that a special department comprising female members for framing a policy for the registration of women with NADRA for the acquisition of a National Identity Card (NIC) has been set up.

Malik paid tribute to the female social workers' team that worked for the successful registration of 5,000 women with NADRA in Jacobabad. He stressed all women get their NICs issued at the earliest.

 



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‘Utterly shameful’: Opposition leaders lash out at govt over petrol price hike

PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif
Major political leaders and common Pakistanis were up in arms after the government announced a massive increase in the prices of petroleum products Saturday.

According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Finance today, the price of petrol has been increased by Rs10.49 per litre, High-Speed Diesel by Rs12.44 rupees, Kerosene Oil by Rs10.95 rupees and Light Diesel Oil by Rs8.84 per litre.

The notification further said that in the current scenario, the government has absorbed the pressure and provided maximum relief to consumers by keeping the Petroleum Levy and Sales Tax to a minimum.

Soon after the announcement, top political leaders and Opposition parties condemned the government's move and demanded Prime Minister Imran Khan's resignation.

'PM should resign'

PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif termed the increase as “utterly shameful” and said that the latest hike, along with the petrol bomb, will push people to the brink of starvation.

“No words to describe the extreme cruelty this selected PTI regime has inflicted on people in the form of yet another increase in prices of items of daily use,” the PML-N president said.

Shahbaz Sharif said PM Imran Khan has no right to remain in office and demanded his resignation.

“PM Imran’s resignation could provide some relief to the nation,” the PML-N leader said, adding that “mini budgets” are proof of the incumbent government's economic failures.

‘Tsunami of inflation’

In a statement, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto said the PTI government has brought a “tsunami of inflation” in the country, reacting to the hike in petrol price.

“The government is actually charging people for its incompetence. During the PPP era, the burden of rising petroleum prices and products in the world market was never shifted to the masses, he said.

“Only PPP’s people-friendly government can save the country from the tsunami of inflation.”

Bilawal Bhutto said increasing the price of petrol a day after the hike in power tariff proves Imran Khan is an anti-people prime minister.

He asked the people to support the PPP to get rid of the government which is pushing Pakistan into the mire of inflation.



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NADRA gives women choice to change surname after marriage

NADRA
The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has changed its policy that requires women to change their surname after marriage.

NADRA Chairman Tariq Malik, while addressing the Annual Rural Women’s Conference in Islamabad, said that the new policy would enable women to choose whether to replace their father’s name with their husband’s name after marriage.

He announced that a special department comprising female members for framing a policy for the registration of women with NADRA for the acquisition of a National Identity Card (NIC) has been set up.

Malik paid tribute to the female social workers' team that worked for the successful registration of 5,000 women with NADRA in Jacobabad. He stressed all women get their NICs issued at the earliest.

 



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T20 World Cup: PCB reveals much-awaited official kit

PCB reveals much-awaited official kit
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday revealed the official kit for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

The kit features a traditional green and yellow scheme.

A day earlier, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) unveiled its national team's kit for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, slated to begin from October 17.

The new kit is called the ‘Billion Cheers Jersey’ which replaces the 1992 World Cup pattern-like jersey the team had been wearing since late 2020.

The cricket board shared a picture of skipper Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah donning the new kit.



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Shredded Banksy artwork sells for $25.4 million at auction

Shredded Banksy artwork sells for $25.4 million at auction
A work by British street artist Banksy that sensationally self-shredded just after it sold at auction three years ago fetched almost 18.6 million pounds ($25.4 million) on Thursday — a record for the artist, and close to 20 times its pre-shredded price.

“Love is in the Bin” was offered by Sotheby’s in London, with a presale estimate of 4 million pounds to 6 million pounds ($5.5 million to $8.2 million).

After a 10-minute bidding war involving nine bidders in the saleroom, online and by phone, it sold for three times the high estimate to an undisclosed buyer. The sale price of 18,582,000 pounds ($25,383,941) includes an auction-house fee known as a buyer’s premium.

The piece consists of a half-shredded canvas in an ornate frame bearing a spray-painted image of a girl reaching for a heart-shaped red balloon.

When it last sold at Sotheby’s in October 2018, the piece was known as “Girl With Balloon.” Just as an anonymous female European buyer made the winning bid — for 1 million pounds ($1.4 million) — a hidden shredder embedded in the frame by Banksy whirred to life, leaving half the canvas hanging from the frame in strips.

Sotheby’s received some criticism at the time for failing to spot the hidden shredder. But the 2018 buyer decided to go through with the purchase, a decision that was vindicated on Thursday as the work’s price soared.

The work quickly became one of Banksy’s most famous, and Sotheby’s sent it on tour to cities including New York and Hong Kong before Thursday’s auction.

Auctioneer Oliver Barker joked that he was “terrified” to bring down the hammer to end Thursday’s sale. There were jitters among Sotheby’s staff to the last that Banksy had another surprise planned.

Alex Branczik, Sotheby’s chairman of modern and contemporary art, called the shredding “one of the most ingenious moments of performance art this century.”

“It has been a whirlwind to follow the journey of this now legendary piece and to have it back in our midst, offering it tonight in the very room it was created by the artist,” Branczik said. “Banksy is no stranger to making headlines and this latest chapter in his story has captured imaginations across the world — we can only begin to guess what might come next.”

Banksy, who has never confirmed his full identity, began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the world’s best-known artists. His mischievous and often satirical images include two male police officers kissing, armed riot police with yellow smiley faces and a chimpanzee with a sign bearing the words, “Laugh now, but one day I’ll be in charge.”



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Islamabad court dismisses Gill’s bail plea in sedition case

A District and Sessions court of Islamabad dismissed the post arrest bail petition of PTI leader Shahbaz Gill on Tuesday. Additional Dist...