FARUKH SHEHZAD

Karachi’s wedding, banquet and lawn owners have rejected the new coronavirus standard operating procedures (SOPs) rolled out by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC).

The Karachi Marriage Hall, Lawn, Banquet Owners Association held a press conference at the press club on Saturday to say that the new COVID-19 SOPs were economically marginalising them.

The association said thousands of employees and other businesses associated with weddings and marriages will also be effected due to more restrictions and bans.

The president of the association said that the new SOPs were against the Constitution, which allowed the freedom to earn lawful money to all citizens.

He explained that wedding hall owners and their thousands of employees had already faced a severe economic crisis when all the halls were closed between March 13 and September 15 during the lockdown period.

The association members lamented that when halls reopened after September 15, they did not get the anticipated business as most people prefer not to get married during Muharram and Safar, which took place after the halls were reopened.

The association said that there were an estimated 800 wedding halls in Karachi alone, adding that the livelihood of 50,000 people and their families were linked to these halls.

“Around 70 to 80% of our employees work on daily wages,” he said, adding that the earning of such employees depended on daily wedding events.

The association pointed out that there are roughly 13,000 wedding halls in the entire country, with which 650,000 labourers’ livelihoods are directly linked. Fifty per cent of the city’s industries, the association highlighted, were directly and the rest of the 50% were indirectly linked to wedding halls.

“With the closure of the wedding halls due the Covid-19 pandemic, millions of labourers will be directly or indirectly affected,” said the association’s president.

The government, which should be a role model, had itself failed to limit the number of people attending its political gatherings and implement the SOPs, stated the association said.

“We want to bring this into your knowledge that wedding halls is the only industry which didn’t get any relief from the government since the lockdown of March 13,” said Raees.

He said that even when wedding halls were allowed to open after September 15, they were sealed and fined in the city repeatedly in the name of SOPs violations.

He requested Prime Minister Imran Khan, the chief justice of Pakistan and army chief to look into the miseries of the wedding hall owners and their employees. “We demand SOPs be drafted for wedding ceremonies after taking us on board,” he said.

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Sohail Akhtar-led unit register 25-run win on Sunday

KARACHI - An all-round performance from David Wiese helped Lahore Qalandars in securing a berth in the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 edition as they thrashed Multan Sultans in the second qualifier by 25 runs at the National Stadium, Karachi on Sunday.

After being put in to bat first, Qalandars posted a mammoth total of 182-6 in their allotted 20 overs.

Star of the show with the bat in hand was Wiese who smashed an unbeaten 48 off 21 balls with the help of five fours and three sixes.

He was well supported by opening batsman Fakhar Zaman who scored 46 off 36 balls.

For Sultans, leg-spinner Shahid Afridi was the pick of the bowlers as he claimed figures of two for 18 in his quota of four overs. In reply, despite having an excellent beginning, Multan never kept the momentum going and were bowled out for 157 in 19.1 overs.

Adam Lyth was the top-scorer for the losing team as he managed to score 50 off just 29 balls.

For the winning team, pacer Haris Rauf and Wiese were the star performers as both of them claimed three wickets each.

Lahore will now face Karachi Kings in the final of the mega-event on Tuesday at the same venue.

That’s it from us today. We you liked our coverage. We will see you again on Tuesday for the final of the PSL 2020.

That was a very comprehensive performance from Lahore Qalandars who are a deserving finalist.

WICKET: And that’s it. Lahore Qalandars are in the final of PSL 2020.

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A litre of petrol will now cost Rs100.69

ISLAMABAD - The government has reduced the price of petrol by Rs1.71, the Finance Division said Sunday. A litre of petrol will now cost Rs100.69.

The price of high speed diesel has gone down by Rs1.79 to Rs101.43 per litre, it said in a statement.

However, the rates of Kerosene Oil and Light Diesel Oil have been kept unchanged at Rs65.29 and Rs62.86 respectively.

The new prices will take effect from November 16.

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We will now see you at the other side of the break. Wow. What a finish by David Wiese to help Qalandars set a mammoth target of 183 for Sultans to win.

WICKET: Another one bites the dust. Dangerous Ben Duck departs after scoring just three.

Lahore Qalandars 111-5 (14.2 overs)

WICKET: Careless from Fakhar Zaman who departs after trying too many shots against part-time spinner Adam Lyth.

Lahore Qalandars 105-4 (13.3 overs)

WICKET: Big breakthrough for Shahid Afridi and Multan Sultans as last night’s hero Mohammad Hafeez departs after scoring 19 off 21 balls.

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OSLO, NOV 2020 - According to an August study from Ipsos, many Norwegians slept in tents, hammocks, or under the night sky this summer.

In the survey, 34% of the respondents answered that they spent the night outside during the summer. 

That corresponds to almost 1.5 million people, according to the organization Norsk Friluftsliv.

“Nature and outdoor life are popular like never before. 

“This is not the first survey that indicates that we Norwegians are crazy about the outdoors,” Lasse Heimdal of Norsk Friluftsliv noted in a press release in August.

The survey from Ipsos was based on 1,008 interviews with people aged 15 and up. 

Children who have spent the night outside were not included.

Summer visits at DNT cabins in Oslo down 40% 

However, several DNT cabins in Oslo and the surrounding area will probably report a loss this year after having 40,000 fewer guests this summer compared to a normal season.

“This summer, around 60,000 people visited the 21 cabins of DNT Oslo and the surrounding area – compared to 100,000 in a normal summer season. 

“Several tourist cabins report that they are expecting a loss this year,” Henning Hoff Wikborg told newspaper Nationen at the time.

Although there has been a lot of demand, the coronavirus situation has led to restrictions on how many guests the tourist cabins can have at a given time.

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The United Arab Emirates will extend its “golden” visa system — which grants 10-year residency in the Gulf state — to certain professionals, specialised degree-holders and others, the UAE’s vice president said on Sunday.

Foreigners in the UAE usually have renewable visas valid for only a few years tied to employment. The government in the past couple of years has made its visa policy more flexible, offering longer residencies for certain types of investors, students and professionals.

All holders of doctorate degrees, medical doctors and also computer, electronics, programming, electrical and biotechnology engineers are eligible, UAE Vice President and the ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said in a statement.

Also eligible are those with specialised degrees in artificial intelligence, big data and epidemiology, as well as high school students living in the UAE who rank top in the country and students from certain universities with a GPA of 3.8 or higher.

After first announcing a long-term visa plan in 2018, the UAE in 2019 started granting 5- and 10-year renewable visas to certain foreign investors, entrepreneurs, chief executives, scientists and outstanding students.

The emirate of Dubai, a Middle East trade and tourism hub, in September said it would grant visas renewable every five years to wealthy foreign retirees.

An oil and gas producer, the UAE’s economy has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic and low oil prices, prompting many expatriates to leave.

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Big breakthrough for Multan Sultans as Junaid Khan removes settled Tamim Iqbal. Fakhar Zaman, Tamim Iqbal, Sohail Akhtar (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Ben Dunk (wicketkeeper), Samit Patel, David Wiese, Muhammad Faizan, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Dilbar Hussain

Multan Sultans playing XI:

Zeeshan Ashraf (wicketkeeper), Adam Lyth, Shan Masood (captain), Rilee Rossouw, Ravi Bopara, Khushdil Shah, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Ilyas, Imran Tahir, Junaid Khan

News from the centre is Multan Sultans captain Shan Masood has won the toss and elected to bowl first.

Hello and welcome to the live blog for the second eliminator of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020.

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ISLAMABAD, NOV 15 – The government and people of Pakistan have expressed their deepest condolences and sympathies to the Government and people of Romania as well as to the families of the victims of fire at Covid-19 intensive care unit in Piatra Neamt, the Foreign Office spokesperson said in a tweet on Sunday.

He further posted “We wish the injured quickest recovery”.

According to Romanian officials quoted by press, a fire spread through the intensive care ward designated for COVID-19 patients in Piatra Neamt had killed at least 10 people and critically injured seven others.

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ISLAMABAD, NOV 15 - Serena Hotels sponsored a three-day crafts extravaganza with Behbud Association called “Embroidering Dreams”, whichkicked off on Friday night with an inaugural event featuring an exclusive fashion show.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the exhibition, the First Lady Samina ArifAlvi said that even Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah believed that Pakistan could only progress if the women participated in industrious activities side by side with men.

She applauded Serena Hotels for supporting Behbud Association, a non-profit organization providing employment to thousands of women artisans for over 50 years at the grassroots level and reaching out to the underprivileged women in urban slums.

The opening event was attended by notable members from the diplomatic corps, foreign dignitaries, corporate and business sectors. Stringent compliance with Covid-19 health and safety protocols and SOPs were observed at the event.

Embroidering Dreams was an exhibition of exquisite handmade products promoting traditional needlework and embroideries of Pakistan. The three-day exhibition aimed to celebrate home based workers and women artisans of Pakistan, that continue to produce such marvelous artefacts under trying circumstances. Guests witnessed different types of traditional crafts/needlework that come from various regions of Pakistan including Ralli, Kantha, Chikankari, Block Printing, Smocking, Cutwork, Cross-stitch, Taarkashi, Phulkari, Crochet, Knitting etc. The master artisans were present at the stalls to showcase a live display of their craft and technique. A large number of people attended the exhibition on all three days and enjoyed the detailed tour of the exquisite crafts.

Mr. Aziz Boolani, CEO Serena Hotels appreciated Behbud Association for the wonderful work which he said was very inspiring and a model of learning for Serena Hotels, which also actively projects and promotes traditional crafts as part of its overall CSR initiative of supporting empowerment of rural women by enhancing their economic prospects. Mr. Boolani said Pakistan was blessed with so much talent in traditional crafts and it was a privilege for Serena to play a role in showcasing them.

Ms. Abida Malik said that Behbud was run entirely by women volunteers and has over the years evolved into Pakistan’s premier brand for ethical and sustainable fashion. Behbud, inaugurated in 1972, is ranked as one of the largest and oldest non-profit organizations in Pakistan, providing employment to thousands of women artisans for over 50 years. Having trained 300,000 artisans spanning five generations, Behbud, at its core, aids marginalized women by providing them with free of cost vocational training in local embroideries, free healthcare, counseling and education for their children. The non-profit also provides educational facilities in the form of a comprehensive adult literacy program, has set up a Behbud Primary School (in the capital’s Saidpur Village), a Behbud Model High School (in Rawalpindi) and eight home schools (from Pre-Nursery till Grade 5), for the children of the underprivileged communities in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

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Vote count in several cities in Gilgit-Baltistan began after polling, in what is arguably the most hotly contested election the region has ever seen, came to an end at 5pm.

Voting process in the region began at 8 am and continued until 5pm without any interval. Polling in most constituencies went smoothly throughout the day. In Gilgit city, women and the elderly showed their enthusiasm and turned up at polling stations to cast their votes. However, in Ghizer, Hunza, Sost and Baltistan heavy snowfall continued, restricting citizens to their houses.

Pictures and videos showed citizens lined up outside polling stations, wearing face masks and observing social distancing to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Many also braved heavy snowfall in the upper areas of GB to cast their vote.

Hundreds of passengers, headed to GB to cast their votes, were also stranded near Bisham since last night due to a blockade on the Karakoram Highway.

There were also power outages reported at some polling stations, slowing down the voting process as staff used torches to register voter data.

According to directives issued by the GB government, voters will be required to maintain a distance of six feet from each other. Meanwhile, 8,000 bags containing face covers, masks, gloves and sanitisers have been dispatched for staff at polling stations.

Further, more than 15,000 security personnel from GB, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan have been deployed at polling stations.

As many as 330 candidates, including four women, are vying for the 24 general seats in the third legislative assembly of Gilgit-Baltistan. However, polling in one constituency has been postponed, according to Radio Pak.

Over half of the polling stations have already been categorised sensitive. Out of 1,141 polling stations, 577 have been declared sensitive and 297 highly sensitive.

PPP demands disqualification of PTI candidates

Meanwhile, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who has been in the region for weeks and leading the party’s political campaign, said that the election commission must not fail the people and should ensure that “every vote is cast and counted”.

“The people’s enthusiasm is a testament to their commitment to democracy,” he said.

PPP Secretary General Nayyar Bukhari also demanded that candidates of the ruling PTI be disqualified from the election.

“The announcement of development projects during an election is a clear sign of rigging. The presence of government ministers in GB is tantamount to influencing the election,” he said in a statement, adding that PTI candidates from areas where projects have been announced should be disqualified.

“Efforts to influence the election are proving fears of rigging,” he said.

Addressing a press conference earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi responded to accusations by the opposition of pre-poll rigging.

“Parties win and lose, it is a part of politics. But the people’s trust in the election process must be maintained,” he said. He added that the opposition had gotten a “full opportunity” to campaign amid a peaceful environment.

“There were no clashes or fights, the campaign was completed. According to my assessment, their expectations might not be fulfilled. But if they make noise about rigging, it would not be correct,” he said while speaking to the media in Multan.

Information Minister Shibli Faraz added that the people of GB were exercising their democratic right to vote.

“Their passion illustrates their desire for change. Using the power of their vote, the people of GB will reject incompetent rulers that have never prioritised the people’s welfare,” he said.

Tough battle

The polls assumed much significance this time as the two main opposition parties held a vigorous campaign. These elections could serve as a test case for the ruling PTI as well as the two opposition party leaders — Bilawal and Maryam Nawaz.

With political temperature hitting boiling point, leaders of the three major parties organised public gatherings in various parts of the region, firing salvos against each other while ignoring around 100 notices issued by the GB Election Commission over violation of code of conduct.

Bilawal, who stayed in the region for weeks, has been leading the PPP’s campaign.

Prime Minister Imran Khan also made an appearance in Gilgit to attend a ceremony held on the occasion of the region’s Independence Day where he announced that the area would soon be given a provisional status of province.

Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur, Communications Minister Murad Saeed as well as PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz also actively participated in the campaign.

According to political analysts, a tough battle is expected between PTI and PPP.

For the upcoming polls, which were earlier scheduled to be held in August but were postponed due to the pandemic, PPP has fielded 23 candidates, while 21 aspirants represent the PML-N.

The PTI has entered a seat adjustment arrangement with Majlis-i-Wahdatul Muslimeen on two constituencies.

The party has also been strengthened with the recent joining of local leaders. Seasoned politician Fida Mohammad Nashad is one of them and has been awarded the party ticket.

Nashad had served as the legislative assembly’s speaker after the 2015 elections. Other former PML-N ministers and assembly members who have joined PTI include Mohammad Iqbal, Haider Khan and Ibrahim Sanai.

A recent Gallup Pakistan survey showed that PTI was in a strong position followed by the PPP.

Interesting contests in some constituencies

In GBLA-2 (Gilgit), former chief minister Hafizur Rehman of the PML-N and PPP’s Jamil Ahmed will face each other for the third time.

In 2015, Hafeezur Rahman had defeated Jamil Ahmed, while in 2009 both lost to Deedar Ali, an independent candidate.

In GBLA-10, Wazir Hassan of the PTI and Mohammad Sikandar Ali of the Islami Tehreek Pakistan (ITP), who have also been contesting against each other since 2009, are in the run again.

In 2009, Wazir Hassan, who was a PPP candidate back then, defeated independent Raja H. Khan Maqnoon and Mohammad Sikandar of the PML-Q. In 2015, Mohammad Sikandar contested the polls on Islami Tehreek Pakistan’s ticket and won. Nasir Abdullah of MWM was runner-up while Wazir Hassan (PPP) and Najaf Ali of PTI were also in the race.

This time, Wazir Hassan is a PTI candidate and will be facing Wazir Mohammad Khan and Mohammad Sikandar.

Chief of Baltistan National Front (BNF) Nawaz Khan Naji, an ardent supporter for the region’s autonomy, remained successful both in 2009 and 2015 polls. He is vying for a seat from the GBLA-19 constituency once again.

In GBLA-7 (Skardu) Mohammad Abbas of the ITP will be competing against his uncle, Raja Zakria Khan, who has been fielded by PTI. Others in the contest are former GB chief minister Syed Mehdi Shah who had won the seat back in 2009 but lost it in 2015.

Elections have been delayed in GBLA-3 following the death of PTI Gilgit-Baltistan President retired Justice Jaffer Shah from coronavirus.

PTI has now given the ticket to Jaffer Shah’s son after facing severe criticism over its earlier decision to grant ticket to former minister Iqbal, who left PML-N and joined PTI.

Despite joining PTI formally, Iqbal would be contesting the election as an independent candidate.

In a latest development, Tehreek-i-Nifaz-i-Fiqh-i-Jafria extended its support to PPP in the Gilgit-Baltistan elections.

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Armenia on Sunday was due to begin handing over disputed territory to Azerbaijan as part of a peace accord that ended six weeks of fierce fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Residents of the Kalbajar district in Azerbaijan that was controlled by Armenian separatists for decades began a mass exodus of the mountainous province in the days leading up to the official withdrawal day.

AFP journalists saw fleeing residents pile furniture and kitchenware into vehicles before leaving for Armenia and some among the departing ethnic-Armenians said they had exhumed graves they feared would be desecrated by Azerbaijanis.

Thick plumes of smoke were rising over the valley near the village of Charektar after residents set their homes on fire preferring to leave devastation in their wake and homes that would be uninhabitable by Azerbaijanis.

A Russian peacekeeping contingent deployed this week to Nagorno-Karabakh.

They set up checkpoints and positions in the region's administrative centre, Stepanakert, as part of the terms of the accord that sees Armenia cede swathes of territory that Azerbaijan's forces gained in the fighting.

Moscow's peacekeeping mission, which the military said included soldiers that previously were stationed in Syria, comprises some 2,000 troops for a renewable five-year mission.

The ex-Soviet rivals agreed to end hostilities earlier this week after efforts by Russia, France and the United States to get a ceasefire fell through during the nearly two months of clashes.

A key part of the peace deal includes Armenia's return of Kalbajar, as well as the Aghdam district by November 20 and the Lachin district by December 1, which have been held by Armenians since a devastating war in the 1990s.

Outrage over peace deal

Armenia conceded on Saturday that 2,317 fighters were killed in clashes in which both sides accused the other of targeting civilian infrastructure.

Azerbaijan has not revealed its military casualties and the real toll after weeks of fighting is expected to be much higher.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said the number of fatalities had surpassed 4,000 and that tens of thousands of people had been forced to flee their homes.

Before departing en masse, Armenians flocked to the Dadivank monastery nestled in a gorge in Kalbajar for a final visit before it was ceded to Azerbaijan, with AFP journalists witnessing a dozen women ask to be baptised at the religious site.

Kalbajar was almost exclusively populated by ethnic Azerbaijanis before they were expelled by Armenians in the 1990s war following the breakup of the Soviet Union, and a majority of the homes being abandoned previously belonged to Azerbaijanis.

The Armenian government controversially subsidised the region's settlement by ethnic Armenians.

The peace accord with Azerbaijan has sparked a week of protests in Armenia where demonstrations and opposition parties are calling for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign.

The former head of Armenia's national security service Artur Vanetsyan was arrested on Saturday on charges of plotting to kill Pashinyan and seize power.

Azerbaijan has pushed for Ankara's involvement in the settlement and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this week his country would jointly supervise the ceasefire with Russia.

Turkey, a key ally of Azerbaijan, was widely accused by Western countries, Russia and Armenia of dispatching mercenaries from Syria to reinforce Azerbaijan's army.

But Russia has ruled out Ankara's direct involvement in the peacekeeping mission and instead insisted Turkey would instead monitor the mission from an observation centre on Azerbaijan's territory.

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