Former Pakistani elite umpire Asad Rauf passes away
Former Pakistani elite umpire Asad Rauf passes away/node/2162976/pakistan
Former Pakistani elite umpire Asad Rauf passes away
Umpire Asad Rauf of Pakistan (L) checks the light on the pitch after the cricket match was stopped during the third day of the second Test match between Sri Lanka and West Indies in Colombo on November 25, 2010. (AFP/File)
ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf, who was part of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) elite panel, passed away in Lahore on Thursday.
Rauf, 66, died from a cardiac arrest, according to multiple media reports. He officiated in 64 Tests (49 as on-field umpire and 15 as TV umpire), 139 ODIs and 28 T20Is before his career ended abruptly following a damning Indian Premier League (IPL) scandal in 2013.
Rauf, alongside fellow Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar, was one of the most prominent Pakistani umpires in the mid-2000s. He was elevated to the ICC’s elite panel list in 2006, a year after he officiated his first Test match.
After standing in his first ODI in 2000, Rauf was elevated to the ODI panel in 2004. However, his career suffered a downward spiral in 2013 when he was named a “wanted accused” by Mumbai Police in a spot-fixing investigation.
The Pakistani umpire left India before the IPL final on May 26 that year. It is believed police were investigating alleged gifts he received.
News of his demise, however, drew condolences from various quarters. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja said Rauf’s death had saddened him. ‘Not only was he a good umpire but also had a wicked sense of humour,” Raja wrote on Twitter.
Saddened to hear about passing of Asad Rauf. Not only was he a good umpire but also had a wicked sense of humour. He always put a smile on my face and will continue to do so whenever I think about him. Many sympathies with his family for their loss.
Pakistani cricketer Kamran Akmal prayed for Rauf’s forgiveness and wished his family would have the patience to bear his demise.
Sad to know about the news of former ICC umpire Asad Rauf’s demise…May Allah grant him magfirat and give his family sabr Ameen pic.twitter.com/VyplFGX6gT
Indian sports journalist Sanjay Kishore expressed his condolences as well, referring to Rauf as “one of the finest umpires of his time.”
Former ICC Elite Panel Umpire Asad Rauf of Pakistan has died following a cardiac arrest in Lahore. He was 66.
Rauf officiated in 64 Tests, 139 ODIs 28 T20Is. One of the finest umpires of his time, he joined the Elite Panel in 2006 a year after officiating in his first Test. RIP pic.twitter.com/tRpx1P1VuF
Pakistani sports broadcast anchor Dr. Nauman Niaz said Rauf “saw the lows but sustained all pressures.”
Shocking Asad Rauf aged 66 years has passed away, a sequel to sudden cardiac arrest. Ex NBP & PNSC first class player who played 71 FC & 40 List A matches. He was an ICC Elite panel umpire. He saw the lows but sustained all pressures.
Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un pic.twitter.com/P0NZ2BNNoq
Pakistani batter Faisal Iqbal said Rauf was “a dear friend who I have some cherished memories on the field in domestic and International cricket.”
Really sad to hear the sudden death of Asad Rauf bhai (Former @ICC and @TheRealPCB umpire) a dear friend who i have some cherished memories on the field in domestic and International cricket May Allah rest his soul in peace and grant him Jannat and saber to his family Ameen. pic.twitter.com/4oZfaTHePL
Before he began his career as an umpire, Rauf played 71 matches as a first-class cricketer in Pakistan’s domestic cricket circuit. He represented the National Bank and Railways teams, averaging 28.76.
India and Pakistan lead as Swedish town overwhelmed by global interest in cheap land offer
Gotene suspended land sales after overwhelming requests for offering land at less than 10 euro cents per square meter
Thirty plots of land, abandoned for decades, put up for sale at $0.095 per square meter as ‘marketing operation,’ mayor says
Updated 02 July 2024
AFP
A town in western Sweden has suspended land sales after being overwhelmed by requests for offering land at less than 10 euro cents ($0.11) per square meter, its mayor told AFP Monday.
“We launched this campaign in mid-April. It was a bit of a crazy idea, but also a joke to be honest. It was a marketing operation,” said Johan Mansson, mayor of Gotene, a town of around 5,000 people.
Thirty plots of land, abandoned for decades, were put up for sale at one Swedish krona ($0.095) per square meter (10.7 square feet).
The idea was to build more housing in a low-density area and help the region grow, the mayor said. The plots range in size from 7 to 1,200 square meters.
By buying a plot, the buyer commits to building a house on it within two years. This involves additional costs, including the building permit at 30,000 kronor, connection fees for water at 170,000 kronor, electricity at 40,000 kronor, and Internet at 30,000 kronor.
A few weeks after the campaign started, Gotene managed to sell three plots.
“A great success for such a small community,” said Mansson. “But we could never have imagined what was in store for us.”
A local television report in late June started a snowball effect. Several Swedish media picked up the story, a video was posted on TikTok, and millions of people discovered Gotene and its cheap plots.
A few days later, it became “a global success,” said the mayor, when two English-language media outlets covered the story.
Since then, the municipality has been inundated with emails and phone calls from potential buyers. Gotene had to temporarily suspend sales to consider all the offers.
“We have had interest from Europe, Asia — mainly India and Pakistan — as well as the United States, Australia, and even South America,” said Mansson.
With this campaign, “we have succeeded in putting Gotene on the world map.”
Sales will resume on August 7 with an auction of the land.
ISLAMABAD: No Pakistanis made the cut as players from four different nations were named in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Team of the Tournament, according to a list published on the ICC website.
Champions India provide six players, including captain Rohit Sharma, who will captain the team, and Player of the Tournament Jasprit Bumrah. Three players from Afghanistan make the cut following a breakthrough run to the semifinals.
The selection panel consisted of commentators Harsha Bhogle, Ian Bishop and Kass Naidoo and ICC General Manager of Cricket Wasim Khan.
“Sharma is joined at the top of the order by Afghanistan wicket-keeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the only man to outscore the Indian opener,” the ICC said on its website.
“Rahmanullah made 281 runs as Afghanistan progressed to the semifinals for the first time in their history, making half-centuries in three matches. His 60 against Australia proved pivotal as Afghanistan progressed from the Super 8s.”
Pakistan fell to the tournament’s biggest upset when the United States, a tier-two member of the game, beat the 2009 champions via Super Over. Defeat by arch-rivals India then left Babar Azam’s side with a mountain to climb to advance to the Super Eight round, which it did not.
The team of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 (in batting order) is:
Rohit Sharma (captain) — India
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicketkeeper) — Afghanistan
Nicholas Pooran – West Indies
Suryakumar Yadav — India
Marcus Stoinis — Australia
Hardik Pandya — India
Axar Patel — India
Rashid Khan — Afghanistan
Jasprit Bumrah — India
Arshdeep Singha — India
Fazalhaq Farooqi – Afghanistan
Runners-up South Africa provide the 12th man in the team, with Anrich Nortje having been outstanding for the Proteas. He took 15 wickets at an average of 13.40 and an economy rate under six.
ISLAMABAD: The focal person of the Prime Minister Youth Programme (PMYP) for green initiatives, Syeda Amna Batool, is representing Pakistan this week at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Youth Forum in Uzbekistan, state-run APP reported.
Batool is a Pakistani politician who has been a member of the National Assembly since 2024. She secured a seat in parliament through a reserved quota for women as a candidate for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party. PMYP Chairman Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan last month appointed Batool as the focal person for the Green Youth Program.
“Batool highlighted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s vision for youth and PMYP initiatives in Education, Employment, Entrepreneurship and the Environment,” APP reported about her participation at the OIC youth forum, which brought together young leaders from OIC member states to address pressing global issues and advocate for youth empowerment.
“She also participated in bilateral meetings with other delegates, strengthening international relationships. Batool’s participation underscored Pakistan’s commitment to youth engagement and global cooperation and her contributions enriched the discussions, reflecting Pakistan’s dedication to the OIC’s goals.”
Pakistan currently holds the highest proportion of young people, as 64 percent of the total population of Pakistan is below the age of 30 while 29 percent is between the ages of 15 and 29 years.
KARACHI: Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has become an “epicenter of violence,” according to a new report released this week, with security experts warning that militants could likely challenge the writ of the state in parts of the province as the federal government lacks the public and political support to launch military operations.
Released by the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), the report titled, “Overview of Pakistan’s Security Landscape in Q2 2024,” says Pakistan reported 380 deaths and 220 injuries among civilians, security personnel, and outlaws in the second quarter of this year, which took place due to 240 incidents of terror attacks and counter-terror operations.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province saw the highest number of deaths, 67 percent, followed by Balochistan, 25 percent, between April to June 2024, the report added, while the remaining regions of the country were “relatively peaceful.”
“This aligns with reports of widespread insecurity across the province and a significant influx of TTP fighters from Afghanistan into Pakistan. At this rate, the control of the Pakistani state in various parts of the province is likely to be challenged,” Dr. Asfandyar Mir, a senior expert at the US Institute of Peace, said about the report’s findings of increasing militant violence in KP.
Islamabad has blamed the recent surge in militant attacks on neighboring Afghanistan, which it says allows Pakistani Taliban militants to hold camps and train insurgents to launch attacks inside Pakistan, which Kabul denies.
Despite Afghanistan’s denial, the TTP’s presence in Afghanistan was documented by the UN and the rest of the world, Mir said.
Pakistani forces were able to effectively dismantle the TTP and kill most of its top leadership in a string of military operations from 2014 onwards in the tribal areas, driving most of the fighters into neighboring Afghanistan, where Islamabad says they have regrouped. Kabul denies this.
The spike in attacks pushed the federal government to announce last week that it would launch a new counter-terrorism operation, Azm-e-Istehkam, but the campaign has so far been opposed by opposition parties.
Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud, who runs the online security publication, The Khorasan Diary, said the announcement of Azm-e-Isthekhan itself indicated the “severity” of the worsening security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“Over the years, militants have regrouped, and launched a spate of attacks routinely, returning the situation to the pre-2014 era,” Mehsud told Arab News, referring to the year when Pakistan launched the full-scale Zarb-e-Azb military offensive against militants in the regions bordering Afghanistan.
“Locals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, especially those from the former FATA region, are once again trapped in a showdown between Pakistani Taliban factions and the government,” Mehsud said. “Ironically, this time the government lacks political and public support for a fresh military offensive, posing a significant challenge to effectively carrying out counter terrorism operations against militants.”
And while militant factions, both the Pakistani Taliban and Baloch separatists, had increased their revenue in recent years through “border trade, extortion, and Iranian oil smuggling,” in contrast the government faced increasing “financial difficulties.”
Pakistani leaders were also in a “difficult position” due to the Afghan Taliban, Mir said, who kept insisting the government negotiate with the TTP for a ceasefire.
“They are also not limiting TTP’s violence, which makes them complicit in the TTP’s actions,” Mir added. “On the other hand, the domestic opposition to the recently announced operation will not help.
“Pakistani leadership must be clear-eyed, and it will take time before they find a manageable equilibrium for this complex challenge.”
Midwife on the frontline of climate change on Pakistan’s islands
Fishing settlement of Baba reportedly one of world’s most crowded islands, around 6,500 people crammed into 0.15 sq km
Until Neha Mankani’s boat ambulance was launched last year, expectant mothers were marooned at the mercy of the elements
Updated 02 July 2024
AFP
BABA ISLAND, Pakistan: On a densely populated island off Pakistan’s megacity of Karachi, a group of pregnant women wait in a punishing heatwave for the only midwife to arrive from the mainland.
Each week Neha Mankani comes by boat ambulance to Baba, an old fishing settlement and reportedly one of the world’s most crowded islands with around 6,500 people crammed into 0.15 square kilometers (0.06 miles).
Climate change is swelling the surrounding seas and baking the land with rising temperatures. Until Mankani’s ambulance launched last year, expectant mothers were marooned at the mercy of the elements.
At the gate of her island clinic waits 26-year-old Zainab Bibi, pregnant again after a second-trimester miscarriage last summer.
“It was a very hot day, I was not feeling well,” she recalled. It took her husband hours of haggling with boat owners before one agreed to ferry them to the mainland — but it was too late
“By the time I delivered my baby in the hospital, she was already dead,” she said.
In this photograph taken on June 11, 2024, Neha Mankani, a midwife speaks during an interview with AFP as she sits near the shoreline at Baba Island along the Karachi Harbour, in Karachi. (AFP)
Heatwaves are becoming hotter, longer and more frequent in Pakistan, one of the countries most vulnerable to extreme weather conditions resulting from climate change.
In May and June, a string of heatwaves have seen temperatures top 52 degrees Celcius (126 degrees Fahrenheit) for days.
“Climate change doesn’t affect everyone equally,” 38-year-old Mankani told AFP during the 20-minute boat journey.
“Pregnant women and newborns, postpartum women are definitely more affected,” she said.
“In the summer months, we see a real increase in low-birth weights, preterm births, and in pregnancy losses.”
In this photograph taken on June 6, 2024, a midwife (L) examines a woman seeking medical consultation at a clinic in Baba Island along the Karachi Harbour, in Karachi. (AFP)
Women are at higher risk of stillbirth when exposed to temperatures above 90 percent of the normal range for their location, according to experts published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology last year.
“Before we didn’t have the evidence, a lot of it was anecdotal,” said Mankani. “But we’ve been seeing the impact of climate change for a while.”
In Pakistan, 154 women die for every 100,000 live births — a high maternal mortality rate shaped by socioeconomic status, barriers to health care access and limited decision-making powers, especially among young women, according to the United Nations.
Mankani began her 16-year career as a midwife in a Karachi hospital, where she worked at a high-risk ward, often treating women from the five islands dotted off the coast.
In this photograph taken on June 11, 2024, women seeking medical consultation disembark a boat ambulance, a free service provided by Mama Baby Fund at Baba Island along the Karachi Harbour, in Karachi. (AFP)
She founded the Mama Baby Fund in 2015 and set up the first clinics on the islands for expectant and new mothers. “Everyone opened their homes to us,” she said.
The free 24/7 boat ambulance followed last year, crucially equipped to navigate rough seas in a region increasingly prone to flooding.
Sabira Rashid, 26, gave birth to a girl she named Eesha two months ago, following one stillbirth and a miscarriage at seven months — painful losses she blames on not reaching the hospital in time.
“At the dock, they make us wait because they don’t want to ferry only two or three people. They told us to wait for more passengers, no matter what the emergency,” she said.
In this photograph taken on June 6, 2024, an infant is weighed on a machine at a maternity clinic in Baba Island along the Karachi Harbour, in Karachi. (AFP)
Girls on the impoverished islands are often wed as young as 16, with marriage considered the source of security for women in an area where polluted water is killing off the fishing trade.
“Most of these girls don’t know how to take care of themselves, they get severe infections from the dirty water they are constantly exposed to,” said Shahida Sumaar, an assistant at the clinic, wiping the sweat from her face.
The 45-year-old said basic advice is offered to young mothers during heatwaves, such as using dry, clean towels to wrap their newborns in, washing their breasts before feeding and staying hydrated.
But with no access to running water and little electricity, warding off heat stress is a challenge for all the islanders.
Women are at particular risk, typically responsible for cooking over open flames in small rooms with no fans or proper ventilation.
Ayesha Mansoor, 30, has four children and lives on the fringes of Baba, with just four to five hours of electricity a day.
The path to her home is covered by a carpet of discarded plastic bags which disappear underwater when the tide is high.
“Only those who have solar can deal better with the heat. We can’t afford it,” she said, swatting away flies that settled on her baby.
Mariam Abubakr, an 18-year-old assistant at the clinic who has grown up on the island, hopes to become its first full-time midwife.
“I used to wonder why we women didn’t have any facilities here, a clinic that could just cater to us,” she said.
“When Neha opened her clinic, I saw a way that I could help the women of my community.”
