PM Shehbaz vows to overcome flood related issues with collective efforts

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif during a visit to Sujawal district of Sindh on Saturday expressed the resolve to overcome flood related issues with collective efforts.

He made the remarks during a visit to Sujawal district of Sindh on Saturday where representatives of concerned departments briefed him about the devastation caused by the calamity.

The Prime Minister said the entire country is badly affected with flash floods due to incessant monsoon rains.

He said the heavy downpours in the season has caused human losses, damaged road and infrastructure across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan.

He said a collective policy will be framed in collaboration with the provinces for the relief and rehabilitation of flood affected people.

On the occasion, Shehbaz Sharif also appreciated the efforts of the Chief Minister Sindh, administration and the armed forces for their rescue and relief operations in these areas.

Later, talking to the affected people, the Prime Minister said the federal government has allocated a grant of 38 billion rupees to support each flood affected family with disbursement of 25,000 rupees.

He said a grant of 15 billion rupees has already provided to Sindh province while the distribution of flood relief amount among each family has also commenced in Sindh province under Benazir Income Support Programme.

Shehbaz Sharif said with the support of National Disaster Management Authority and other relevant departments, the federal government will continue to support the provincial governments in the rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts.

He said that a combined survey would be completed soon which would enable them to get an estimate of the damages and losses caused by floods across the country.

The Prime Minister said politics over the agreement with International Monetary Fund could cause irreparable damage to Pakistan as an IMF board is scheduled to hold a meeting on Monday

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Once convicted of bribery, Brazil's Lula vows to punish corruption

Trailing Lula in the polls, incumbent Bolsonaro, known for his brash rhetoric, is now counting on a more moderate image and a possible economic upturn to win, his communications minister says.

Brazil's general elections are scheduled for October 2. (AP)

Former leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who spent 19 months in prison on bribery convictions, has promised to crack down on corruption if elected in Brazil's October election. Lula said on Thursday he would create new mechanisms to investigate anyone in his government accused of corruption and punish them if proven guilty. "Whoever makes a mistake will pay, you can be sure of that," he said in an interview with TV Globo's Jornal Nacional, a newscast with the largest audience in Brazil. Lula, who led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, was jailed in the country's biggest corruption investigation that put dozens of politicians and businessmen in prison for graft and bribes. His convictions were later annulled allowing him to run again for office. "I want to return to do things better this time," he said, admitting mistakes by his handpicked Workers Party (PT) successor Dilma Rousseff, who was impeached in the midst of a recession. Lula has a double-digit lead in opinion polls over his far-right rival, President Jair Bolsonaro, in Brazil's most polarised race in decades. Lula said Brazil's powerhouse farm sector had done well during his two terms as president when Brazil enjoyed a commodity boom. Bolsonaro, who is backed by the farm lobby, has eased environmental rules and frozen indigenous land claims. If some farmers were against him, Lula said, it is because he opposes the destruction of the forest, but "serious" agricultural exporters were against illegal deforestation. "What we need is to correctly tap our biodiversity and generate employment in the Amazon," he said.  READ MORE: Brazil to investigate lenders in credit card 'fraud' case A 'moderate' Bolsonaro Bolsonaro, who is not exactly known for mild rhetoric, is now counting on a more moderate image and economic upturn to win, his communications minister said on Thursday.  Bolsonaro's polling is bruised by a weak economy, his controversial handling of Covid-19 and what critics call his extremism. Lula leads Bolsonaro by 47 percent to 32 percent, according to the latest poll from the Datafolha institute. Ten other contenders are polling in single digits. But his charismatic, cool-tempered communications chief, Fabio Faria, said he is confident a critical mass of Brazilians will ultimately pick Bolsonaro over four more years of the PT. Surging onto the national scene in the wake of that triple crisis, Bolsonaro won the presidency in 2018 with broad support, taking 55 percent of the vote. And though some of those voters are disillusioned today, Bolsonaro's camp is confident the incumbent will win them back with a softer tone and an improving economy, Faria told the AFP news agency in an interview at the presidential palace in Brasilia. Known for downplaying Covid-19 as a "little flu," urging Brazilians to stop being "sissies" about the pandemic, and attacking institutions such as the Superior Electoral Tribunal, whose new chief he once called a "scumbag," Bolsonaro has been dialling his rhetoric down a notch, Faria said. "The president's more moderate tone speaks to voters who had turned against him because they felt the president's style could have been more moderate," said the telegenic 44-year-old brought in to give the administration a communications makeover in June 2020. As evidence of Bolsonaro's softer touch, he offered the incumbent's prime-time interview on Monday on TV Globo, the biggest broadcaster in the country of 213 million people. Despite being a fierce critic of Globo, Bolsonaro was less aggressive than usual during the interview. But he drew criticism for casting doubt on whether he would accept the election result if he loses. Bolsonaro said he would respect the outcome "as long as the elections are clean and transparent." Like many countries, Brazil is suffering from surging prices, fuelled by the effects of the pandemic and Russia's offensive in Ukraine. But prices posted a record drop of 0.68 percent in July, thanks partly to government fuel tax cuts. Bolsonaro has also passed a massive social spending programme that recently began making welfare payments of around $110 a month to some 20 million families. READ MORE: Brazil police raid Bolsonaro allies reportedly over 'coup' texts Source: TRTWorld and agencies

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Once convicted for bribery, Brazil's Lula vows to punish corruption

Trailing Lula in the polls, incumbent Bolsonaro, known for his brash rhetoric, is now counting on a more moderate image and a possible economic upturn to win, his communications minister says.

Brazil's general elections are scheduled for October 2. (AP)

Former leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who spent 19 months in prison on bribery convictions, has promised to crack down on corruption if elected in Brazil's October election. Lula said on Thursday he would create new mechanisms to investigate anyone in his government accused of corruption and punish them if proven guilty. "Whoever makes a mistake will pay, you can be sure of that," he said in an interview with TV Globo's Jornal Nacional, a newscast with the largest audience in Brazil. Lula, who led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, was jailed in the country's biggest corruption investigation that put dozens of politicians and businessmen in prison for graft and bribes. His convictions were later annulled allowing him to run again for office. "I want to return to do things better this time," he said, admitting mistakes by his handpicked Workers Party (PT) successor Dilma Rousseff, who was impeached in the midst of a recession. Lula has a double-digit lead in opinion polls over his far-right rival, President Jair Bolsonaro, in Brazil's most polarised race in decades. Lula said Brazil's powerhouse farm sector had done well during his two terms as president when Brazil enjoyed a commodity boom. Bolsonaro, who is backed by the farm lobby, has eased environmental rules and frozen indigenous land claims. If some farmers were against him, Lula said, it is because he opposes the destruction of the forest, but "serious" agricultural exporters were against illegal deforestation. "What we need is to correctly tap our biodiversity and generate employment in the Amazon," he said.  READ MORE: Brazil to investigate lenders in credit card 'fraud' case A 'moderate' Bolsonaro Bolsonaro, who is not exactly known for mild rhetoric, is now counting on a more moderate image and economic upturn to win, his communications minister said on Thursday.  Bolsonaro's polling is bruised by a weak economy, his controversial handling of Covid-19 and what critics call his extremism. Lula leads Bolsonaro by 47 percent to 32 percent, according to the latest poll from the Datafolha institute. Ten other contenders are polling in single digits. But his charismatic, cool-tempered communications chief, Fabio Faria, said he is confident a critical mass of Brazilians will ultimately pick Bolsonaro over four more years of the PT. Surging onto the national scene in the wake of that triple crisis, Bolsonaro won the presidency in 2018 with broad support, taking 55 percent of the vote. And though some of those voters are disillusioned today, Bolsonaro's camp is confident the incumbent will win them back with a softer tone and an improving economy, Faria told the AFP news agency in an interview at the presidential palace in Brasilia. Known for downplaying Covid-19 as a "little flu," urging Brazilians to stop being "sissies" about the pandemic, and attacking institutions such as the Superior Electoral Tribunal, whose new chief he once called a "scumbag," Bolsonaro has been dialling his rhetoric down a notch, Faria said. "The president's more moderate tone speaks to voters who had turned against him because they felt the president's style could have been more moderate," said the telegenic 44-year-old brought in to give the administration a communications makeover in June 2020. As evidence of Bolsonaro's softer touch, he offered the incumbent's prime-time interview on Monday on TV Globo, the biggest broadcaster in the country of 213 million people. Despite being a fierce critic of Globo, Bolsonaro was less aggressive than usual during the interview. But he drew criticism for casting doubt on whether he would accept the election result if he loses. Bolsonaro said he would respect the outcome "as long as the elections are clean and transparent." Like many countries, Brazil is suffering from surging prices, fuelled by the effects of the pandemic and Russia's offensive in Ukraine. But prices posted a record drop of 0.68 percent in July, thanks partly to government fuel tax cuts. Bolsonaro has also passed a massive social spending programme that recently began making welfare payments of around $110 a month to some 20 million families. READ MORE: Brazil police raid Bolsonaro allies reportedly over 'coup' texts Source: TRTWorld and agencies

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Ukraine's Zelensky Vows Fight 'Until the End' on 6-month War Anniversary

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was in Kyiv on Wednesday, hailing Ukraine's six-month long resistance to the Russian invasion as his counterpart President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed the fight would continue "until the end". Wednesday marked half a year since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, as well as the day the nation annually celebrates its 1991 independence from the Soviet Union. During a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital Johnson said Putin had failed to account for the "strong will of Ukrainians to resist." "You defend your right to live in peace, in freedom, and that's why Ukraine will win," he said in front of reporters during the afternoon. The Ukrainian leader had issued his own defiant morning video address, declaring: "We don't care what army you have, we only care about our land. We will fight for it until the end." Referring to Russia he vowed Ukraine "will not try to find an understanding with terrorists". "For us Ukraine is the whole of Ukraine," he said. "All 25 regions, without any concession or compromise."

Fresh aid

Meanwhile on Wednesday, the U.S. announced $3 billion in fresh military aid. The new tranche of U.S. funding will help Kyiv acquire more weaponry, ammunition and other supplies for its armed forces, locked in a grinding war of attrition with Russian troops in the east and south with neither side advancing significantly in weeks. Johnson also unveiled his own £54 million ($64 million) package of aid, including 2,000 "state-of-the-art drones" as well as anti-tank munitions. The White House announcement came as Washington warned Moscow could be planning a surge in strikes on civilian targets coinciding with Independence Day observations. Gatherings have been banned in the capital Kyiv and Zelensky has urged citizens to be on guard against "Russian terror". Nevertheless the leader and his wife marked a minute of silence for fallen Ukrainian soldiers and laid yellow and blue floral bouquets at a memorial in central Kyiv, the president's office said.

European support

Johnson's visit was accompanied by other messages of support from Ukraine's allies. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the anniversary of the start of Russia's war in Ukraine a "sad and tragic milestone". European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU has been standing with Ukraine "from the very beginning" and "will be for as long as it takes." But in an absurd message, the authoritarian leader of Belarus, which offered its territory as a staging ground for Russia's invasion, gave congratulations to Ukraine on its Independence Day. "I am convinced that today's contradictions will not be able to destroy the centuries-old foundation of sincere good neighbourly ties between the peoples of our two countries," Alexander Lukashenko said.

Muted anniversary

In the early days and weeks of Russia's invasion, Kyiv was under siege by Russian troops which reached the suburbs of the capital. Moscow's offensive quickly faltered, and its forces withdrew in late March to regroup for assaults on Ukraine's east and south. But in the capital, Ukrainians were sombre about the anniversary after a half-year of death and destruction.  "Six months, the peace of life has been broken in every family," Nina, an 80-year-old pensioner, said at Independence Square in central Kyiv, on Tuesday. "How much destruction, how many dead, how can we relate to it?" she asked. The capital city's administration said it would shut public service centres on Wednesday and Thursday, and shopping malls said they would close for the anniversary for safety concerns.  However, in central Kyiv crowds of people gathered in a surreal atmosphere to inspect dozens of disabled Russian tanks, trucks and armoured vehicles installed near the government quarter to showcase Ukraine's military prowess. Cotton candy vendors plied trade to pedestrians, who peered down tank barrels and posed for selfies, draped in the Ukrainian flag. 

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Cheney vows to oppose GOP candidates who deny Trump's election loss

Republican Liz Cheney says she will "be very focused on working to ensure that we do everything we can not to elect election deniers," after earlier promising to keep Donald Trump out of office.

Republican Liz Cheney, US Representative from Wyoming, speaks at a primary Election Day gathering on August 16, 2022, after losing to Republican opponent Harriet Hageman in the primary. (Jae C. Hong / AP)

US Representative Liz Cheney has vowed to oppose Republican candidates who back former President Donald Trump's falsehood about a stolen 2020 election. Cheney told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday that Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley were "unfit" for office after they voted to overturn the presidential results. Cheney, who is Trump's leading critic and vice chair of the congressional committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by his supporters, said that a broad movement of election denial could undermine the US constitutional order if left unchecked. The daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney has already said she will spend the next two years trying to stop Trump from returning to the White House in 2024, possibly with her own presidential bid. She declined to tell ABC whether she would run inside or outside the Republican Party, should she decide to make a presidential bid. "I'm going to be very focused on working to ensure that we do everything we can not to elect election deniers," Cheney said in an interview recorded last week, days after she lost her Republican primary race to a Trump-backed candidate. READ MORE: Cheney vows to do 'whatever it takes' to deny Trump second term [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aSJccrT7dg[/embed] Risk of election deniers in power "We've got election deniers that have been nominated for really important positions all across the country. And I'm going to work against those people. I'm going to work to support their opponents." Cheney did not say which Republican candidates she would oppose but acknowledged that they would include some of her fellow Republicans in the House of Representatives. Republicans are favoured to take control of the House but could face a bigger challenge capturing a Senate majority in the November 8 midterm elections, which will determine the balance of power in Congress for the next two years. As one of two Republicans on the House January 6 committee, Cheney has been able to draw a direct connection between the deadly melee and Trump's repeated false claims that he won the 2020 election against President Joe Biden. "Donald Trump is certainly the centre of the threat," Cheney said. "What he's created is a movement on some level that is post-truth." The January 6 assault forced Congress to temporarily suspend its certification of Trump's loss to Biden, during which Hawley, Cruz and other Republican members of Congress voted against certification of election results. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwIdKH3ijaU[/embed] Cheney said the actions of Hawley, Cruz and other Republican lawmakers "fundamentally threatened the constitutional order and structure" and concluded that "they both have made themselves unfit for future office." A Cruz spokesperson responded with a statement saying the senator does not want or need Cheney's endorsement. Hawley's office was not immediately available for comment. Neither Cruz nor Hawley is up for re-election in November. She also criticised Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for campaigning on behalf of election deniers, including Republican gubernatorial candidates Kari Lake of Arizona and Doug Mastriano of Pennsylvania. "That is something that I think people have got to have real pause about. You know, either you fundamentally believe in and will support our constitutional structure, or you don't," Cheney said. The DeSantis campaign was not immediately available for comment. Cheney's re-election loss in Wyoming last week was widely seen as a victory for Trump's revenge campaign against Republicans who voted to impeach him. She told ABC she heard from Biden afterwards: "We had a very good talk, a talk about the importance of putting the country ahead of partisanship." READ MORE: Why Trump could run as an independent in 2024 Source: Reuters

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Cheney vows to do 'whatever it takes' to deny Trump second term

Former president Donald Trump's harshest Republican critic, Liz Cheney, loses seat in US Congress after ceding GOP primary to 'election denier' Harriet Hageman.

Liz Cheney is actively considering a 2024 White House bid, as a Republican or independent. (AP)

Liz Cheney, a leading Republican critic of Donald Trump, has vowed to do everything in her power to prevent the former president from returning to the White House.

“Our work is far from over,” the Wyoming congresswoman said in a concession speech after losing her seat to another Republican contender in a primary election on Tuesday evening. 

Hinting at a presidential bid of her own, she later added, “I have said since Jan 6 that I will do whatever it takes to ensure Donald Trump is never again anywhere near the Oval Office — and I mean it.”

Cheney, Trump’s fiercest Republican adversary in Congress, fell to a rival, Harriet Hageman, backed by the former president in a contest that reinforced his grip on the party’s base. 

The third-term congresswoman and her allies entered the day downbeat about her prospects, aware that Trump’s backing gave Hageman considerable lift in the state where he won by the largest margin during the 2020 campaign.

READ MORE: Why the GOP’s radicalisation is detrimental to America

New 'presidential' chapter for the Cheneys?

She is actively considering a 2024 White House bid, as a Republican or independent, having vowed to do everything in her power to fight Trump’s influence in her party.

Cheney described her loss as the beginning of a new chapter in her political career as she addressed a small collection of supporters, including her father, former vice president Dick Cheney, on the edge of a vast field flanked by mountains and bales of hay.

Four hundred miles to the east, festive Hageman supporters gathered at a sprawling outdoor rodeo and Western culture festival in Cheyenne, many wearing cowboy boots, hats and blue jeans.

The results were a powerful reminder of the GOP’s rapid shift to the right. A party once dominated by national security-oriented, business-friendly conservatives now belongs to Trump, animated by his populist appeal and, above all, his denial of defeat in the 2020 election.

Those narratives, which have been roundly rejected by federal and state election officials along with Trump’s own attorney general and judges he appointed, transformed Cheney from an occasional critic of the former president to the clearest voice inside the GOP warning that he represents a threat to democratic norms.

Cheney’s defeat would have been unthinkable just two years ago. The daughter of a former vice president, she hails from one of the most prominent political families in Wyoming. And in Washington, she was the No 3 House Republican, an influential voice in GOP politics and policy with a sterling conservative voting record.

Cost of Cheney's leadership on January 6 panel

But after January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters, Cheney voted to impeach Trump and made it her primary mission to ensure he never again serves in the Oval Office. 

She pushed past GOP censures and death threats to serve as a leader on the congressional panel investigating Trump’s role in the insurrection.

Cheney will now be forced from Congress at the end of her third and final term in January. 

She is not expected to leave Capitol Hill quietly.

She will continue in her leadership role on the congressional panel investigating the January 6 attack until it dissolves at the end of the year. 

READ MORE: US House panel accuses Trump of summoning mob that stormed Capitol

Source: AP

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Türkiye vows to continue diplomatic push for Russia-Ukraine peace

Fast News

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the agreement on Ukrainian grain exports signed in Istanbul a day ago was an important success.

Internationally praised for its mediator role, Türkiye has coordinated with Moscow and Kiev to open a corridor from the Ukrainian port city of Odessa to restart shipments stuck due to the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its fifth month. (AA)

Türkiye is determined to forge ahead with its diplomatic efforts until there is peace between Russia and Ukraine, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

Speaking at an event in the central Kayseri province on Saturday, Erdogan said the agreement on Ukrainian grain exports signed in Istanbul was an important success.

Türkiye is making a “substantial contribution” to efforts to overcome a global food crisis, he added.

With the mediation of Türkiye and the UN, Kyiv and Moscow signed an agreement in Istanbul to resume Ukrainian grain shipments from Black Sea ports.

Under the deal, reached on a UN-led plan during talks in Istanbul, a coordination centre will be established to carry out joint inspections at the entrances and exits of harbours, and to ensure the safety of the routes.

READ MORE: Istanbul coordination centre to play pivotal role in Ukraine grain exports

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXjO_nohjCk[/embed]

Internationally praised for its mediator role, Türkiye has coordinated with Moscow and Kiev to open a corridor from the Ukrainian port city of Odessa to restart shipments stuck due to the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its fifth month.

Türkiye also hosted a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers in the Mediterranean city of Antalya in March, part of its push to forge peace between the warring sides.

READ MORE: Wheat prices drop as Türkiye-brokered Ukraine grain deal signed

Source: AA

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