Trump pleads not guilty to 2020 US election conspiracy charges

Former President Donald Trump pleads not guilty to charges of election obstruction and interference. Legal team to vigorously defend him.

Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to obstruct the 2020 presidential election and interfering with voting rights. His legal team is preparing to ‘vigorously’ defend him.

The arraignment took place before US Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya at the federal courthouse in Washington. While the case progresses, Trump will remain free but is prohibited from communicating with witnesses except through his lawyers.

During the 30-minute hearing, Trump sat just a few feet from Special Counsel John “Jack" Smith — who has indicted him twice. They didn’t interact. Trump spoke little, as is typical for arraignments, though he made a point of stating his not guilty plea rather than have his lawyer, John Lauro, do it for him.

The former president faces his third criminal case, with the Fulton County district attorney in Georgia potentially pursuing a fourth indictment related to election interference, Upadhyaya said as reported by an international newspaper.

A hearing in Washington before US District Judge Tanya Chutkan is set for Aug. 28, during which Chutkan will schedule a trial date.

Trump's presence at the hearing is not required. Prosecutors have a week to propose a schedule, and Trump's legal team has another week to respond.

Trump's legal team seeks delay
Lauro, part of Trump's legal team, believes the case against Trump will take longer than prosecutors claim due to its complexity. He intends to seek a delay in the proceedings to vigorously defend against the charges, deeming a speedy trial "somewhat absurd."

“All we would ask your honor is the opportunity to fairly defend our client, but in order to do that, we’re going to need a little time," Lauro said.

Prosecutor Thomas Windom said the government was prepared to swiftly turn over a “substantial volume" of evidence, but said the Trump prosecution, “just like every other case," would benefit from “normal order."

Upadhyaya said that she could “guarantee everybody" there would be a “fair" process and trial.

Sad day for America: Trump
After the hearing, Trump briefly addressed reporters at the Washington airport, calling it a “very sad day for America."

“This is a persecution of a political opponent. This was never supposed to happen in America," he said.

More monsoon rains predicted in different parts of Punjab

The Pakistan Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Friday issued a weather forecast predicting monsoon rains in various districts of Punjab till August 7.

According to the PDMA spokesperson, there is a possibility of both light and heavy rainfall in areas near the rivers, further exacerbating the ongoing flooding situation in the province.

At present, the situation in the rivers of Punjab remains critical, with low-level floods reported at Sidhanai in the Ravi River. The inflow of water at Sidhanai has reached 52,040 cusecs, while the discharge is measured at 36,840 cusecs.

In the Sutlej River, low-level floods have been observed at Sulemanki and Islam locations. The PDMA spokesperson also issued a warning of a potential high-level flood at Mangala in the Jhelum River.

Amid the challenging situation, there is some respite as water flow remains normal at Tarbela dam and Kalabagh. Similarly, the water flow in the Jhelum and Chenab rivers is also reported to be stable at this time.

PM Shehbaz meets World Junior Squash Champion Hamza Khan

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday met with World Junior Squash Champion Hamza Khan and also awarded him a cheque of Rs1 million for his achievements.

Hamza appreciated the prime minister as well as the cooperation he received from the Pakistan Squash Federation.

The PM, who also interacted with Hamza’s parents in Pashtu, congratulated the sportsman for winning the World Junior Squash Championship held recently in Australia.

Calling youths like Hamza the pride and asset of the nation, the prime minister said he made the whole nation, including himself, proud by winning such a title after decades.

Recalling his experience of playing squash and calling it the best game, Shehbaz expressed the hope that Hamza would continue to work hard to win the senior world title.

He said Hamza was a role model for Pakistan’s youth and that he himself always strived for providing sports facilities of international level to the youth.

He further said that recently, the government launched national sports initiatives for the promotion of sports activities in the country and the uplift of players.

The establishment of the first sports university and providing technical and financial support to train the youth in the sports sector was also a part of this initiative.

The meeting was also attended by Hamza’s father Niazullah Khan, his mother, Inter-provincial Coordination Minister Ihsanullah Mazari, SAPM Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Inter-provincial Coordination Secretary Hanif Orakzai, Pakistan Squash Federation Senior Vice President Air Vice Marshal Kazim Hammad.

Misbah to lead Cricket Technical Committee featuring Inzamam, Hafeez

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has constituted a high-profile Cricket Technical Committee (CTC), consisting former Pakistan captains Misbah-ul-Haq (head), Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez.

The CTC will provide recommendations on cricket-related matters, including, but not limited to the overall domestic structure, scheduling, playing conditions, appointment of the national selection committees, appointment of national team coaches, central and domestic contracts and plans for the development of umpires, referees and curators.

The CTC will have the powers to invite additional cricket experts and shall report to the head of the PCB Management Committee on a regular basis.

PCB Management Committee Chairperson Zaka Ashraf: “I am delighted to welcome Misbah-ul-Haq, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez on board for the betterment of cricket in our country. These three former captains possess great cricket knowledge and understand the demands of modern-day cricket.

“Domestic cricket structure is a pillar of any cricketing nation. We have to make it fool proof and its structure progressive. The presence of Misbah, Inzamam and Hafeez, three of Pakistan’s most experienced and decorated cricketers who rose through the domestic ranks, will help us in providing our cricketers the best system to thrive so that we can produce the best cricketers.”

Misbah-ul-Haq: “It is a great honour for me to be appointed as the head of this committee, which comprises well-respected individuals who have served Pakistan cricket for decades.

“This is a challenging assignment, but with the vast experience and knowledge that this committee possesses, I have no doubt whatsoever that we will be able to make a positive difference by providing recommendations that improve and enhance the state of the game from the grassroots till the very top.”

Acting Director – Domestic Cricket Operations, Junaid Zia, has been included as the ex-officio member of the CTC, and Usman Tasleem is the ex-officio and secretary.

 

Pak, Iran chalked out five-year trade cooperation plan with $5bln target

Pakistan and Iran have chalked out a five-year trade cooperation plan 2023-2028 with a trade target of five billion dollars.

This was stated by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari at a joint press stakeout, along with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir in Islamabad this afternoon.

The Pakistan Foreign Minister said the five-year plan is aimed at removing impediments on bilateral trade, finalization of Free Trade Agreement and establishment of institutional linkages between our respect private sectors.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said Pakistan encompasses a vision for greater enhanced trade, which is fully aligned with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi policy of neighborhood first. To this end, we have agreed to prioritize operationalization of the five remaining border markets by the end of this year.

The Pakistan Foreign Minister said we have decided to repatriate all the sentenced prisoners as per provisions of agreements between two sides. He said it has also been decided to set free fishermen in custody and to waive off any fine imposed by the authorities of both the countries for the release their vessels. He said the two sides will exchange lists of prisoners to put into practice this understanding expeditiously.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also discussed the grave human rights situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. He said we are grateful to the Iranian leadership for its firm and consistent support to the legitimate cause of Kashmiri people.

Regarding the situation in Afghanistan, the Pakistan Foreign Minister said we agreed to continue our active engagement with a view of advancing peace and stability in Afghanistan to promote wellbeing and prosperity of Afghan brothers and sisters. He said we also agreed to continue our cooperation to counter Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred.

Speaking on the occasion, the Iranian Minister called for promoting cooperation in economy, trade and tourism under regional mechanisms. He said the two sides are fully committee to increase the bilateral trade to five billion dollars. He said we have agreed to setup a special economic free trade region along the common border points.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said the two countries will take immediately steps for the release of fishermen and their vessels. He said convicted prisoners on both sides will be exchanged.

Emphasising on the completion of Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline, the Iranian Foreign Minister said it will definitely serve the national interests of the two countries.

He also condemned the most recent terrorist attack in Bajaur and extended sympathies with the effected people and government of Pakistan.

Sun 'Umbrella' Attached to Asteroid May Help Fight Global Warming

To help combat the effects of global warming, scientists are toying with an innovative idea to shield our planet from the sun with a spaceborne "umbrella" of sorts.

"In Hawaii, many use an umbrella to block the sunlight as they walk about during the day," István Szapudi, an astronomer at the University of Hawaii Institute of Astronomy, said in a statement. "I was thinking, could we do the same for Earth and thereby mitigate the impending catastrophe of climate change?"

The reason carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases contribute to global warming is that they trap sunlight around our planet that should be released back into space, ultimately leading to rising temperatures. But it's the sun, and not greenhouse gases, that creates the heat to begin with. That opens up the idea of building Earth a shade.

So, Szapudi drew up an "umbrella" of his own. It would rest at the L1 Lagrange point between the sun and Earth, hypothetically joining sun- or solar-wind-observing probes such as the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) that dwell there today. In theory, a large-enough solar shield could effectively block around 1.7 percent of solar radiation at L1, enough to prevent a catastrophic rise in Earth's temperatures.

However, any sort of solar shade is bound to face a stark engineering challenge: At L1, they'd be subject to both the sun's and Earth’s gravities while experiencing a constant torrent of solar radiation. A viable shade would thus need to be massive — weighing millions of tons — and made of a material sturdy enough to stay in place and stay intact. Simply, we don’t have a practical way of launching that much stuff into orbit.

But to get around that issue, Szapudi proposed, much of the material itself can come from space — from a captured asteroid or even lunar dust. That matter could theoretically serve as a counterweight, tethered to a much smaller shield weighing only around 35,000 tons. Right now, even such a smaller shield would be far too heavy for a rocket to lift, but with advances in materials, Szapudi’s study suggests we could manage the feat in several decades.

 

Szapudi's apparatus falls under the, well, umbrella of solar geoengineering: the controversial idea of alleviating global warming by physically reducing the amount of sunlight that reaches Earth's surface. Other solar geoengineering ideas include pumping aerosols into the atmosphere and editing clouds to reflect more sunlight away into space.

The study was published on July 31 in the journal Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences.

Former PCB chairman Ijaz Butt passes away

Ijaz Butt, former chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), passed away on Thursday in Lahore. He was 85.

As per media reports, the former Test Cricketer was ill for a long period of time.

“The PCB is saddened by the news of the passing of former Test cricketer and ex-PCB chairman Ijaz Butt. Our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends,” the PCB wrote on Twitter.

The PCB is saddened by the news of the passing of former Test cricketer and ex-PCB chairman Ijaz Butt. Our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. pic.twitter.com/EH0UuMBfhN

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 3, 2023

Ijaz played 8 Test matches for Pakistan and served as PCB’s Chairman from 2008 to 2011.

Ejaz Butt was named the PCB Chairman in October 2008. Zaka Ashraf took over from Butt in October 2011.

On 28 May 2013, Zaka Ashraf was suspended as PCB Chairman by Islamabad High Court due to a dubious election.