FARUKH SHEHZAD

ISLAMABAD, JUL 14: MATSUDA Kuninori, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, on Wednesday expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives of Pakistanis and foreign nationals in the bus blast which occurred near the Dasu hydropower plant in Upper Kohistan on July 14th, leaving numbers of people dead and injured.

In his condolence message, the Ambassador conveyed his heartfelt grief and sympathies to the bereaved families and wished for a speedy recovery of the injured.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the KPK government and the families of those who have lost their dear ones in the tragic incident. Please accept our deepest condolences, and we wish for a quick recovery of the injured”, said the Ambassador.

The Ambassador prayed for the eternal peace of the departed souls and wished for the bereaving families to bear this irreparable loss with fortitude and equanimity.

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ABU DHABI, JUL 14 – The United Arab Emirates opened an embassy in Israel Wednesday, housed in Tel Aviv‘s new stock exchange building, in the latest normalisation move under a deal brokered by Washington last year.

The venue in the heart of Israel’s financial district highlighted the central role economic cooperation has played since the UAE became only the third majority-Arab country to recognise the Jewish state.

At the ceremony, attended by new Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Emirati ambassador Mohamed al-Khaja called the embassy opening “an important milestone in the growing relationship between our two countries”.

“The UAE and Israel are both innovative nations, we can harness this creativity to work towards a more prosperous and sustainable future for our countries and our region,” he said.

Herzog called for the “historic agreement” with the UAE to be “extended to other nations seeking peace with Israel.”

Israel and the UAE have signed a raft of deals — ranging from tourism to aviation to financial services — since normalising ties as part of the so-called Abraham Accords brokered by former US president Donald Trump’s administration.

Wednesday’s ceremony, held in the lobby of the stock exchange building two floors below the embassy, came after Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid made a landmark visit to the UAE last month, opening an embassy in Abu Dhabi and a consulate in Dubai.

The Palestinians were outraged by the UAE’s decision to establish ties with Israel, which broke with decades of Arab consensus that there should be no normalisation of ties without a comprehensive and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Following the UAE deal, Israel normalised relations with Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan, accords that also sparked Palestinian protests.

But Israel and UAE have sought to emphasise the economic dividend offered by normalisation.

Lapid told Emirati media last month that bilateral trade has reached over $675.22 million since the signing of the Abraham Accords in September 2020.

Israel’s spate of normalisation deals were agreed under former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Lapid was an architect of the coalition that ousted Netanyahu last month, but has, along with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, vowed to keep up Netanyahu’s policy of pursuing deeper ties in the Arab world.

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COURTESY Anews

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RAJA FURQAN AHMED

ISLAMABAD, JUL 13: Pakistan’s former High Commissioner to India Ambassador Abdul Basit called for the appointment of a special envoy on Kashmir to project the true spirit of the Kashmir cause internationally. 

Ambassador Abdul Basit, who is also the author of Hostility: A Diplomat’s Diary on Pakistan-India Relations, was speaking at an event organized by the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS). Ambassador Abdul Basit expressed his concern over the state of affairs in which India was portraying its willingness to negotiate with Pakistan as a concession to the latter.

He was firmly of the opinion that India was not interested in the resolution of the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan either under the UNSC resolutions or under any other formula that would change the status quo over Kashmir.

He had little hope about the restoration of the special status of IIOJK under the Indian Constitution as well. Ambassador Abdul Basit stated that Pakistan’s approach towards dialogue with India has historically been aimed at resolving contentious issues like Kashmir while the Indian approach has traditionally been to take up less contentious issues first.

He argued that the composite dialogue between 2004 and 2008 was an amalgamation of the two approaches in which both subjects were negotiated upon in tandem and a bit of progress was also made on some issues related to Kashmir, such as freedom of movement and trade across the LOC.

He added, however, that since then the relationship between the two countries has been one step forward and two steps backwards in which setbacks have tended to outpace progress.

He shared that 2016 was the worst year in the recent diplomatic history of India and Pakistan owing to incidents such as the capture of the Indian spy Kulbhushan Yadav in Balochistan, the militant attack in Pathankot in India, the extrajudicial killing of Kashmiri freedom fighter Burhan Wani, and the militant attack in Uri and its aftermath.

He further shared that in the same year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi threatened to disrupt the flow of water in his speech on 15 August stating that water and blood could not flow together further worsening the trail of diplomatically unfavourable events.

Ambassador Abdul Basit maintained that India had successfully propagated a narrative about Pakistan’s democracy being weak and the armed freedom struggle of Kashmiris as terrorism.

He was of the view that Kashmiris had all the right to defend themselves against the Indian occupation with whatever means they chose because India is an occupier in Kashmir and international defended the right of the occupied populations to resist occupation.

He urged a long-term policy and patient diplomacy with India. He further called for strengthening the capacity of state institutions in Pakistan as integral foreign policy tools when dealing with India over Kashmir in the current times.

President IRS Ambassador Nadeem Riyaz remarked that foreign policy was a complicated subject requiring specialized knowledge and skill. He cautioned against a diplomatic approach devoid of expert input.

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Google Adsense announced that anchor ads, the AdSense ads that stick to the top or bottom of the page as you scroll, now are supported on wider screens. Google launched anchor ads on AdSense in 2013 and has expanded its features over the years.

Google said "Anchor ads now support a larger range of screen sizes. For sites that have anchors turned on, anchor ads will soon start to appear on wider screens such as desktop. Our experiments show that anchor ads perform well on wider screens."

Anchor ads will begin to show on wider screens after July 19, 2021.

Google said if you do not want anchor ads on your wider screens, you can turn this option off using the new "Wide screen" control in your Auto ads settings.

As a reminder; AdSense anchor ads stick to the edge of the user's screen and Google says they are easily dismissible. These ads mainly serve on mobile but can appear on desktop too. 

They appear at the top of the user's screen unless we determine that this would negatively affect the user experience, in which case we show them at the bottom. 

When shown at the top, anchor ads only appear after the user has scrolled down far enough, so that they never cover your site's branding or navigation.

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COURTESY seroundtable

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KARACHI, JUL 12: The automobile manufacturers have announced to reduce car prices in Pakistan after getting the relaxations in taxes by the federal government under a new auto policy.

After the federal government made a tax cut for the automotive industry, the carmakers made reduction in the prices of the different models of Toyota, Suzuki and KIA vehicles.

Toyota Yaris

Sources told ARY News that the new prices of cars were effective from July 1 across the country as Indus Motors reduced the prices of Toyota Yaris, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Fortuner and Hilux Revo.

After the deduction of Rs100,000 million, the new price of Toyota Yaris GLI MT 1.3 is fixed at Rs2,409,000 from Rs2,509,000. The company reduced the price of Toyota Yaris GLI CVT 1.3 from Rs2,689,000 to Rs2,589,000.

The price of Toyota Yaris ATIV MT 1.3 was also reduced to Rs2,519,000 from Rs2,619,000, whereas, Toyota Yaris ATIV CVT 1.3 to Rs2,669,000 after the deduction of Rs100,000.

The company has made a reduction of Rs110,000 in the sale prices of Toyota Yaris ATIV X MT 1.5 as the model will now be sold at Rs2,717,000 from Rs2,929,000, Toyota Yaris ATIV X CVT 1.5 at Rs2,899,000 instead of Rs2,999,000.

Toyota Corolla

The sale price of the Toyota Corolla was also reduced as the model will now be available at Rs3,249,000 after the reduction of Rs120,000 in its previous price, Rs3,369,000. The new price of Toyota Corolla Altis CVT-i 1.8 is fixed at Rs3,579,000 while its previous sale price was Rs3,699,000.

A reduction worth Rs110,000 was made in the prices of Toyota Corolla Altis Grande CVT-i (Beige Interior) and Toyota Corolla Altis Grande CVT-i (Black Interior) as their new prices will be Rs3,869,000 and Rs3,889,000 respectively.

Toyota Fortuner

The auto manufacturer has reduced Rs300,000 in the price of Toyota Fortuner 2.7 G and the new price will be Rs7,649,000 instead of Rs7,999,000, whereas, Toyota Fortuner 2.7 VVTi’s price was decreased up to Rs8,899,000 from Rs9,299,000 after the reduction of Rs400,000.

Toyota Fortuner Sigma 4 will be available at the price of Rs9,269,000 after a reduction of Rs380,000 in its previous worth of Rs9,649,000.

Toyota Hilux

A reduction of Rs120,000 was made on three models of Toyota Hilux and the new prices were fixed at Rs6,429,000 for Toyota Hilux Revo GMT, Rs6,899,000 for Toyota Hilux Revo G AT and Rs7,379,000 for Toyota Hilux Revo V AT.

Suzuki vehicles

Pak Suzuki Motors announced to reduce prices of Alto, WagonR, Swift and Bolan.

The prices of different models of Suzuki Alto were announced as Rs1,113,000 was set up for Suzuki Alto VX after the reduction of Rs85,000, Rs1,335,000 for Suzuki Alto VXR after the reduction of Rs98,000, Rs1,521,000 for Suzuki Alto VXL AGS after the reduction of Rs112,000.

The price of Suzuki Cultus VXR was fixed at Rs1,655,000 after the reduction of Rs125,000, Cultus VXL Rs1,833,000 after the reduction of Rs140,000 and Cultus VXL AGS Rs1,975,000 after the reduction of Rs155,000.

The Suzuki Wagon R VXR price will be Rs1,530,000 after the reduction of Rs110,000, Wagon R VXL Rs1,610,000 after the price cut worth Rs120,000 and Wagon R AGS Rs1,760,000 after the reduction of Rs130,000.

The prices of other vehicles will be Rs1,972,000 for Suzuki Swift DLX 1.3 and Swift AT (Rs2,148,000).

Suzuki Bolan VX (Rs1,049,000) after the reduction of Rs85,000.

Kia vehicles

The automobile manufacturer, Kia, announced a reduction in the prices of Picanto, Sportage and Sorento.

The new prices of its models will be Rs1,781,000 for Kia Picanto 1.0 MT, Picanto 1.0 A (Rs1,922,000), Sportage Alpha (Rs4,294,000), Sportage AWD (Rs5,270,000), whereas, the price of Sorento 2.4 FWD was also reduced up to Rs163,000.

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COURTESY ARYNEWS

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ISLAMABAD, JUL 12: TopCity-1 a smart housing society starts urban afforestation in Islamabad. In this regard, a ceremony was held in TopCity-1 where the federal minister for aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan inaugurated the afforestation project of the society. Before this, Lakeshore tower was also inaugurated by federal minister.

Speaking on the occasion Kunwar Moeez Ahmad Khan chief executive officer TopCity-1 said, TopCity-1 is a first-ever smart city of Pakistan that has all the amenities required for the individual needs and civic life to prosper.

At TopCity we believe, in this fast pacing world, we are neglecting nature which is fundamental to our existence. 

To cope with the challenge of climate change and to serve our mother nature we have started this ambitious project of urban afforestation which will change the landscape not only of TopCity-1 but also of the surrounding areas. 

And more importantly, this project is in line with the vision of the prime minister of Pakistan of planting ten billion trees in the coming few years. 

We have already planted one million trees and this time too plan to plant same numbers of trees which will change the entire ecosystem of the surrounding areas. 

The federal minister while addressing on the occasion said, this government especially, the prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan is most concerned about climate change and the damages it will cause to our country. 

Pakistan is already on the list of most vulnerable countries to climate change. I’m very glad that people in Pakistan have started to realize this issue and now acting to cope with this issue of climate change. 

I’m very thankful to the management of TopCity-1 for realizing this need and embarking on such an ambitious and great project. 

I hope other housing societies will also follow the vision of TopCity-1 and will strive for urban afforestation which is the need of the hour.

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Brasilia, JUL 11: Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 at Maracana Stadium in Brazil on Sunday to become the Copa America champion.

The first few minutes of the match Brazil came close to scoring.

It missed an important chance when Neymar failed to connect in the 13th minute.

Richarlison missed another in the 20th minute.

Argentina shocked Brazil as Angel Di Maria did not miss an opportunity to score with an excellent pass from Rodrigo De Paul and Argentina made it 1-0 in the 21st minute.

Di Maria missed a chance to make it 2-0 as Brazil's defense blocked his shot in the 29th minute.

The first half ended with Argentina in the lead.

Brazil was more aggressive in the second half.

Their first major attempt against Argentina's goal failed as Richarlison's finish did not count as the referee flagged the play for an offside in the 52nd minute.

He missed another chance to equalize two minutes later but could not beat Argentina goalie Emiliano Martínez.

Argentina expected a penalty as Messi fell in the penalty area but the referee dismissed it in the 63ed minute.

Nicolas Otamendi's hard tackle against Neymar started a tussle and resulted in two yellow cards to Otamendi and Marquinhos in the 81st minute.

Brazil's numerous attempts were fruitless and the 90 minutes ended 1-0.

Superstar Lionel Messi won his first major international trophy with Argentina with the victory.

He played for Argentina in the 2014 FIFA World Cup final in Maracana Stadium but lost to Germany.

Argentina became champions for the fifteenth time, sharing the record with Uruguay.

Their last Copa America championship was in 1993.

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COURTESY Anews

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ISLAMABAD, JUL 11: Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS), Islamabad is organizing an Online Internship Program on “Understanding Changing Dynamics of International Relations”. 

The Program aims to provide an integrated platform for the students all over Pakistan to inculcate the skills i.e., personal and soft skills development, nourish their writing capabilities, and learn research methodology. 

Furthermore, students of International Relations often lack the exposure required for them to gain experience. Hence, the program ensures the exposure of students from the relevant institutions and centers.

Internship Takeaways:

• Opportunity to interact and seek guidance from veteran subject experts and scholars
• Understanding the major themes of International Relations and related fields
• Opportunity for students of IR to visit relevant institutions such as embassies & ministries 
• Opportunities for article publication in leading national newspapers and CGSS website

Eligibility Criteria:

Students enrolled in BS (6th semester onwards) and MPhil Program of IR, Political  Science and relevant fields can apply

The duration of the Internship Program is Six Weeks from 2^nd August 2021 to 8^th September 2021.

Email Resumes at: jobscgss@yahoo.com

Last date to apply: 23^rd July 2021

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ISLAMABAD, JUL 10: With the initiative of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Pakistan, Gazelli Group, the first local natural cosmetics producer company of Azerbaijan, was introduced in Pakistan in order to sell "Made in Azerbaijan" products in Pakistan.

Mrs. Narmin Ismayilova, CEO of Gazelli Group who is in Pakistan for this purpose, held bilateral meetings with a number of Pakistani companies operating in this field, and informed them about local and natural products manufactured by Gazelli Group.

She emphasized that her company is ready to do the necessary works to sell the high quality natural products of Gazelli Group in the Pakistani market.

During the meetings, an agreement was reached to sell the products of the Azerbaijani company Gazelli Group in the D.Watson chain of stores of Pakistan, which sells many different brands from around the world.

Waqar Zafar Bakhtawari, Managing director of Pakistan's D.Watson chain of stores, expressed their interest in the products of Gazelli Group, a well-known brand of Azerbaijan, and told that they will visit Azerbaijan soon to get acquainted with the company's factories.

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Munaza Kazmi

Dining is part and parcel of the travel experience, with many people now drawn towards destinations based on their food culture and cuisine. 

Pakistan, where food is the culture. Pakistanis are passionate about their cuisine, which is full of flavor and bursting with color. And they love to eat and love to discover. So today I set up to have another experience; to discover something new to my eyes also tasty to eat.

The sun was blazing when I was travelling on the road of Rawalpindi, with horns of rikshaws, and motorcycles in the background.

The city enjoys a rich history and culture. Rawalpindi meaning “Village of Rawals” occupies the site of an old village inhabited by the Rawals, a group of yogis. 

While moving you can find several heritage ruins, that I wonder why not given consideration for the preservation. The city is moving fast while ignoring some of the incomparable architectural ruin. 

Certain ruins are identified with the ancient city Gajipur, or Gajnipur, the capital of the Bhatti tribe before the Common Era. 

Destroyed during the Mongol invasion dating back to 14th century CE, the town was restored by the Gakhar chief Jhanda Khan, who gave it its present name. However, it grew rapidly in importance when Milka Singh, a Sikh adventurer, occupied it in 1765 and invited settlers from the Jehlum and Shahpur areas to settle there. It was annexed by the British in 1849.

In ancient times the locality formed part of Ghandhara and was included in the Achaemenid Persian empire. However, if you are feeling a little more excited about I would suggest you gear up a little more and visit the marvelous ruins located near Shahderi, northwest of Rawalpindi and Ankiel, south of Rawalpindi, where a Buddhist stupa site dating back to 3rd century BCE would end up a memory for life.

Beside the history and architect Rawalpindi is an important administrative, commercial, and industrial center. 

Its industries include locomotive works, gasworks, an oil refinery, sawmills, an iron foundry, a brewery, and cotton, hosiery, and textile mills; it also produces shoes, leather goods, pottery, newsprint, and tents.

The reason of being ravenous, I headed straight to Marco Polo Restaurant which offers exciting food all day, a spacious beautiful setting with the view of deep blue swing pool, that’s what you would really love to.

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Munaza Kazmi has recently done Master of Philosophy from Bahria University Islamabad. Her debut novel is Unrequited Love.

She’s an author, columnist writing in different newspapers and a researcher having seven publications till yet, she’s been writing since 2016.

You can connect to Kazmi at twitter @munaza_kazmi or on research gate as munaza kazmi.

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ISLAMABAD: (Raja Furaqan Ahmed) Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Shehryar Khan Afridi on Thursday said that Burhan Muzaffar Wani is an icon of Kashmiri resistance as he relives in every Kashmiri heart which cements the resolve of Kashmiris to fight for freedom.

He was addressing a seminar held here on the martyrdom day of Kashmiri freedom fighter Burhan Wani held here under the auspices of Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR).

All Parties Hurriyat Conference leader Faiz Naqshbandi, Executive Director of KIIR Altaf Wani, Abdul Hameed Lone and other Kashmiri activists were also present.

He said that immediate restoration of articles 370 and 35-A was the only way for India which may pave the way for peace in the South Asia region.

Shehryar Khan Afridi said that the nations remember their martyrs as they cement the very foundations of those nations.

He said Burhan Wani had adopted an innovative and brave methodology to spread his message through social media.

He said the sacrifices submitted by Burhan Wani and his comrades had set a new example for future resistance leaders.

He said that the Kashmiris could no longer be misguided and misled due to the campaign run by Burhan Wani and his comrades and India's fascist face had been exposed to the world.

He said that the new delimitation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir was aimed at turning Muslim-majority areas into Hindu-majority areas.

He said that Kashmir is facing a serious threat in wake of demographic changes being made under the ideologic designs of the Hindutva regime.

He said that Pakistan provides new energy to the Kashmiri freedom struggle and it would not shy away from providing all sorts of support to Kashmiris.

He said that Pakistan would not only keep fighting the case of Kashmir but also would keep exposing India's fascist Hindutva agenda to the world.

He urged the Pakistani and Kashmiri youth to become followers of Burhan Wani and become the voice of the Kashmiri freedom struggle. He said that Kashmiri youth should use modern tools of social media to spread imagery and stories of Indian oppression in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

"India wants to gag Kashmiri media so as no tales of Kashmiri sufferings and imagery would not come out of Jammu and Kashmir. Youth should act as bloggers, vloggers, social media activists and expose the brutal face of India in Jammu and Kashmir to the world," he said.

Shehryar Afridi said that civil, military leadership and all political parties stand united on the issue of Kashmir and all stand together to reassure their Kashmiri brethren that Pakistan stands by them in their quest for freedom.

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