KP Govt decides to extend summer vacations of schools till 31st August

The summer vacations of schools across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been extended till August 31.

According to the announcement issued by the Ministry of Education, the decision was taken in view of the increase in heat waves in the province in recent days.

The extension of holidays will be applied only to schools in hot areas.

The schools will reopen from September 1 instead of August 15. The extension of holidays will be applied to students up to matriculation.

 

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KP Govt decides to extend summer vacations of schools till 31st August

The summer vacations of schools across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been extended till August 31.

According to the announcement issued by the Ministry of Education, the decision was taken in view of the increase in heat waves in the province in recent days.

The extension of holidays will be applied only to schools in hot areas.

The schools will reopen from September 1 instead of August 15. The extension of holidays will be applied to students up to matriculation.

 

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Gold price declines by Rs1,400 per tola

Gold price was down Rs1,400 at Rs141,700 per tola and decreased by Rs1,200 to Rs121,485 per 10 grams. The rates of gold were Rs143,100 per tola and Rs122,685 per 10 grams.

The dealers had already anticipated the market to undergo a correction after the precious commodity scaled to new peaks. The gold hit an all-time high of Rs162,500 per tola on July 28.

Pakistan is a small market for gold at the global level. It meets the commodity’s demand through imports as it does not produce the commodity locally.

Accordingly, the gold price for local markets is determined by keeping in view its prices in world markets, rupee-dollar exchange rate, and demand and supply in domestic markets.

The latest price for local markets was determined to keep in view the prices at which trades took place among buyers and sellers.

It should be noted that the gold price is standing below cost. Gold is cheaper by Rs4,000 per tola compared to its price in Dubai.

 

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Lawmakers concerned about militants’ return to KP

Expressing his apprehensions at the success of talks with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday admitted on the floor of the National Assembly that anti-Taliban feelings were growing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) as people were holding protest demonstrations in various parts of the province against the Taliban presence in their area.

Responding to independent MNA from erstwhile Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) Mohsin Dawar who drew the attention of the house towards the rise in terrorism in KP after arrival of Taliban from Afghanistan, the defence minister admitted that the law and order situation was worsening in the province. He, however, termed it a “national issue”, instead of a provincial matter.

The minister regretted that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leadership, including former prime minister Imran Khan, had in the past welcomed the Taliban people in the province, but now the PTI’s provincial government was itself protesting against the presence of the Taliban in the province.

He said there were reports of the protests from Dir, Swat and other places in the province against the Taliban.

He also expressed his apprehensions about the success of the talks with the TTP. “This assembly was given two briefings [on the issue of talks with the TTP].

May Allah keep the affairs [talks] on track as per the briefings,” said the minister, adding: “the danger is gradually increasing.”

Mr Asif expressed the hope that the Taliban would not force imposition of their “own system and implement their “intentions” which they showed from time to time”.

The minister said that a committee comprising political elders had been constituted to visit the Pakistan-Afghanistan entry point at Ghulam Khan area in North Waziristan to persuade the protesters to open the trade route which they had closed in protest for the past two weeks over the killing of some JUI-F members and tribal people.

He hoped that the committee members would succeed in pacifying the protesters to resume the stalled trade activities with Afghanistan. He said the closure of roads had badly affected trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan, besides affecting economy of the area.

Speaking on a point of order, Mr Dawar earlier said the people of North Waziristan had been protesting for the past 26 days and they were only demanding “peace and protection”.

The lawmaker claimed terrorism had spread across KP and warned it would soon grip the whole country. Recently, he said, a PTI MPA was attacked and many of his companions were martyred. Similarly, he said, a police official and an army major were abducted from Swat.

Mr Dawar said the Taliban were telling the local people that their leadership had directed them to return to the area in the wake of the ongoing talks between Pakistani authorities and the TTP.

The MNA from Waziristan ridiculed the PTI leaders for protesting against Taliban, recalling that the previous PTI government had welcomed and celebrated the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan.

He criticised the “non-seriousness” of the authorities to tackle the issue, declaring that the people of KP would not accept “project-Taliban policy” and would resist it at all cost.

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Shajar Abbas creates new national record in 200m

Pakistan’s young sprinter Shajar Abbas has created a new national record in 200m as he finished first in his heats for Islamic Solidarity Games.

Abbas clocked 20.68 to surpass his previous best of 20.87 which he achieved during XXXII Qosanov Memorial in Almaty and manually recorded 20.7 by Liaquat Ali in the 2015 National Games.

World Athletics only recognises timing that has been tabulated from automatically recorded timings.

Shajjar had earlier also created a national record of 100m by clocking 10.25 in Islamic Solidarity Games in less than a week after clocking 10.38 in Birmingham during Commonwealth Games.

The Pakistani athlete finished first in his heat, followed by his countryman Mueed Baloch who clocked his personal best at 21.28. His previous personal best was 21.41.

This was Shajar’s seventh sprint in nine days and the athlete has managed to improve his own record despite fatigue.

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Man City’s Mendy goes on trial for rape, sexual assault

Manchester City and France footballer Benjamin Mendy on Wednesday began his trial for the alleged rape and assault of seven women, which could see his playing career end in jail if convicted.

Mendy, 28, arrived at Chester Crown Court in northwest England wearing a dark blue suit and tie to face eight counts of rape, one count of sexual assault and one count of attempted rape, relating to seven young women.

Flanked by an interpreter in the dock, the French player spoke in English to confirm his identity.

He pleaded not guilty in May to nine of the charges, and not guilty on Wednesday to a subsequent rape count that had not previously been put to him in court.

All the alleged offences are said to have taken place at Mendy’s home address in Prestbury near Macclesfield, also in northwest England, between October 2018 and August last year.

He is standing trial before a jury along with his co-defendant Louis Saha Matturie, 40, who has also pleaded not guilty.

Matturie denies eight counts of rape and four counts of sexual assault, relating to eight young women. His alleged offences span from July 2012 to August last year.

Both the defendants are on bail, with Mendy subject to what a judge previously called "stringent" conditions, including the surrender of his passport.

After his arrest last August he was initially held at Altcourse prison in Liverpool, and then a prison in Manchester, before being freed on bail in January.

The trial is due to last 15 weeks, with the prosecution set to open its case on Monday.

None of the women said to have been assaulted can be named under English law, which also places restrictions on what can be reported about the case.

On Wednesday, the court chose by ballots 14 jurors — eight men and six women, who are all white — to hear the case.

However, two of them will be discharged once the trial gets underway.

As part of the selection process, a panel of 38 potential jurors were required to fill out a questionnaire.

It queried whether they had connections to Manchester City or Manchester United football clubs or any police forces.

The form also asked if they were connected to five current or former City players — Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker, Riyad Mahrez and John Stones — who may be witnesses or could be referred to during the trial.

Earlier in the week, former Manchester United star Ryan Giggs also went on trial on charges of assaulting and coercively controlling his ex-girlfriend.

Mendy joined Premier League champions City from French side Monaco in 2017. He has played 75 times for Manchester City, but his playing time was limited by injuries and a loss of form.

He was suspended by City after being charged by police in August.

The last of Mendy’s 10 international caps came in November 2019. The defender picked up a World Cup winner’s medal after playing just 40 minutes of France’s successful 2018 campaign in Russia.

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Thousands evacuated as wildfires rage in France

A wildfire was advancing through the Gironde region of southwestern France on Wednesday, destroying homes and forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents, some of whom had clambered onto rooftops as the flames got closer.

More than 1,000 firefighters backed by water-bombing aircraft were fighting the fire that has razed more than 6,000 hectares and is still burning out of control.

France, like the rest of Europe, is struggling with successive heatwaves and its worst drought on record. Dozens of wildfires are ablaze across the country, including at least four other major ones.

In the village of Hostens in the Gironde, police went door to door telling residents to leave as the fire advanced. Camille Delay fled with her partner and her son, grabbing their two cats, chickens and house insurance papers before taking flight.

"Everyone in the village climbed onto their rooftops to see what was happening - within ten minutes a little twist of smoke became enormous," the 30-year-old told Reuters by telephone.

The local Gironde authority described the blaze as "rampant".

Firefighters said more evacuations were likely. Even so, some Hostens residents were reluctant to abandon their homes.

"It's complicated to go with the dogs and we cannot leave them here," said Allisson Horan, 18, who stayed behind with her father.

"I'm getting worried because the fire is in a plot of land behind ours and the wind is starting to change direction," she added.

The Gironde wildfire is one of many that have broken out across Europe this summer, triggered by heatwaves that have baked the continent and brought record temperatures to some places.

In Portugal, nearly 1,200 firefighters backed by eight aircraft have battled a blaze in the mountainous Covilha area some 280 km (174 miles) northeast of Lisbon that has burned more than 3,000 hectares of forest since Saturday.

Spain and Greece have also had to tackle multiple fires in the past few weeks.

The Gironde was hit by major wildfires in July which destroyed more than 20,000 hectares of forest and temporarily forced almost 40,000 people from their homes.

Authorities believe the latest inferno was a result of the previous fires still smouldering in the area's peaty soil.

Fires were also raging in the southern departments of Lozere and Aveyron. In the Maine et Loire department in western France, more than 1,200 hectares have been scorched by another fire.

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