China completes track-laying work for a railway line in Tibet close to Arunachal Pradesh

Beijing: China on Thursday completed the track-laying work for a railway line linking the cities of Lhasa and Nyingchi in Tibet, close to the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh, official media here reported. The Sichuan-Tibet Railway will be the second railway into Tibet after the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. It will go through the southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, one of the world's most geologically active areas. The Sichuan-Tibet Railway starts from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, and travels through Ya'an and enters Tibet via Qamdo, shortening the journey from Chengdu to Lhasa from 48 hours to 13 hours. Linzhi, also known as Nyingchi, is located close to the Arunachal Pradesh border. Last month, President Xi Jinping instructed officials to expedite the construction of the new railway project connecting Sichuan Province and Linzhi in Tibet, saying it would play a key role in safeguarding the border stability. With a designed speed of 160 km per hour, the 435-km rail line passes through 47 tunnels and 120 bridges, according to its constructor Tibet Railway Construction Co., Ltd. 

 

How to Lose Weight: What Worked for Me to Lose 80+ Pounds

I struggled to lose weight for most of my adult life and only reached a healthy weight within the last couple of years. More importantly, I now feel calm and comfortable in my skin, and don’t spend time or mental energy picking apart the things I don’t like about myself (something that took up most of my mental bandwidth for years).

Specifically, I lost over 80 pounds and went from a size 16 to a size 4 in 15 months (and got my Hashimoto’s into remission).

I’m sharing what worked for me. This is not medical advice and I do not think these same factors will work for everyone. This process was, in many ways, an overnight success a decade in the making.

The Personalized Way to Lose Weight

I learned two important lessons essential to creating a sustainable system that worked for me (and that I feel are crucial to address before delving into the physical stuff).

1. I Started With Mindset

I had a story in my head that “I’ll be happy when…” or “If only I was… I would be happy and accept myself.” I realized that I could choose to be happy and accept myself without waiting for my body to look a certain way. The mindset change wasn’t an overnight shift, and it took time to internalize, but this was a fundamental and vital shift for me.

I realized I couldn’t hate or punish myself for being the size I wanted.

When I started to love and appreciate myself as I was, it became so much easier to choose what led to weight loss without internal friction. It became easy to listen to my body and choose healthy foods (and enough of them) out of love rather than deprive myself based on what I didn’t like about my body.

For me, dealing with past trauma was a huge part of this process, and I detail my journey with that in this podcast episode. I share the diet and lifestyle things I changed below, but the importance of mindset and inner work can’t be overstated.

2. I Asked Better Questions

I also learned to ask better questions. Here’s what I mean: I used to internally say things like “Why is it so hard to lose weight,” to which my mind would inevitably answer and provide all the reasons it was so hard: thyroid disease, six kids, bad genes, etc.

After working with Dr. Joy Martina, I started to instead ask myself questions like “How is it so easy to lose weight and feel so healthy,” and my mind jumped to answer the question with reasons like because I love healthy foods, movement is fun, sleep helps me heal, etc.

Personalization is Key

These past two years also really brought home the lesson that health and wellness are hugely and intricately personal. So many “experts” claim to have all of the answers, and many do… for what works for them. I had tried almost every “system” imaginable. What eventually worked for me was a combination of things I found through my experimentation that was tailored specifically to me.

That’s the real secret: there is no secret or magic bullet.

There is wisdom to learn in almost every approach, but it must be personalized. I built on the most researched-backed methods I could find and then experimented, tested, and tracked to see what was most effective for me.

I share these strategies below and highlight the commonalities that I think can be helpful for most people. At best, these should be a starting point for your research and experimentation. Pieces of my strategy might work well for you, but the methods below should be, at best, a starting point.

A Note on Hashimoto’s:

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis after my third child was born over ten years ago. I’d tried numerous things over the years, and while many of them helped improve my thyroid numbers, I still struggled with weight loss until this point.

I think that many of the things I did during this time were keys to healing my gut and body to be able to lose weight, and I am forever grateful to Dr. Alan Christianson and Dr. Izabella Wentz for their work and help with my thyroid recovery.

I should also note that over the last couple of years, I stopped acting like I had thyroid disease and stopped letting this be part of my story or an excuse. This might not be helpful to everyone, but I found the mindset shift just as important as the health changes.

Part 1: Tracking to Lose Weight

I realized I couldn’t figure out what was working and what wasn’t without objective measurement over time. I decided what I was going to track and starting documenting these metrics:

• Weight, body fat, and BMI
• Fasting blood sugar (every 1-2 weeks) using a glucose monitor
• Ketones in a 24-hour fast monthly
• Heart Rate Variability and sleep using an Oura ring
• Basic labs including CBC and Comprehensive Metabolic plus thyroid and vitamin D using a local ProHealth clinic
• Food intake and macros through My Fitness Pal
• Time-restricted eating and intermittent fasting through the Zero App
• By tracking these, I could see over time what was working and what wasn’t. I also kept a digital journal in Notion that tracked my food and exercise and added notes about these into Oura to correlate patterns.

Helpful resources for tracking:

• Heads Up Health
• Oura Ring
• Zero App
• Glucose Monitor – Regular with strips or Continuous
• Labs from Everly Well or a local lab like ProHealth
• A doc like mine from SteadyMD
• Keto Mojo
• My Fitness Pal for food intake
• Renpho Body Scale 

Part 2: Understanding Genes

Part of figuring out what worked for me was taking a deep dive into my genes. I used the Nutrition Genome for genetic testing, and they provide a 90+ page report about nutrition and supplements that I used as a starting point. I also ran my data through Self Decode and built out an algorithm that would look at all my genes in relation to each other and make recommendations based on that.

Again, this is very personalized, but the factors that ended up being most helpful for me:

• Eating less fat, especially less saturated fat, even though these can be vital for many people.
• Consuming MORE protein (more on that below)
• Less red meat to reduce iron intake and insulin levels (noticed a big difference here)
• Optimizing vitamin D levels

Helpful Resources:

• Nutrition Genome (save 10% with the code WELLNESSMAMA)
• Self Decode for more detail

Part 3: Eating MORE to Lose Weight

When I started tracking, I realized I’d been under-eating for years (especially protein) while trying to lose weight, and my metabolism wasn’t happy about it. It took a while to break this habit, but I started by tracking my food intake and making sure to eat enough calories.

For me, consuming enough protein was especially important… and research supports this. Protein reduces ghrelin (the hormone that makes you hungry) and increases GLP-1, peptide YY, and cholecystokinin (which signal that you’re full). Protein is also needed for building muscle, which burns more at rest than fat.

I found that by increasing my healthy protein intake, I naturally wanted to consume less high carb and high-calorie foods and felt satisfied much more quickly. It also takes more effort to metabolize protein (as much as 30% of the calories in it are burned while digesting it, and it has a much higher thermic effect. Since protein is needed for muscle and tissue health, this also has an anti-aging effect! Win: Win. I didn’t find her until after my weight loss, but I recommend checking out Dr. Gabrielle Lyon’s work if you are new to this concept.

In short, eating more protein helped me feel full faster, burn more calories, and not have cravings for foods I was trying to avoid.

Specifically, I aimed to eat 30 grams of protein minimum per meal, at least three times a day. For most meals, I hit 40-45 grams. Another way to look at this is getting about 30% of calories from protein.

Some examples of my protein consumption per meal:

• 2 cans of sardines (my lunch almost every day along with lots of green veggies)
• 1.5 cups cottage cheese
• 5-6 ounces cooked chicken or turkey
• 6-7 ounces cooked cod
• 6-7 ounces cooked salmon
• 5-6 ounces lean beef
• 7 ounces of shrimp
• 12-18 raw oysters

I don’t tolerate eggs well, but if I could eat them, they would have also been a go-to protein source for me. I also used grass-fed whey protein powder and bone broth to hit protein targets when I needed it and drank Kion Aminos daily for extra bioavailable protein.

My only real focus was hitting my protein target at each meal. I also ate in a shorter window (more on that below). Once I hit protein targets, I also ate as many vegetables, fruits, and healthy fats (mostly olive oil) as I wanted until I wasn’t hungry.

A bonus of this?

The extra protein and micronutrients from veggies had an anti-aging effect and helped my skin too! Since protein also helps build muscle, I got a LOT stronger without working out nearly as much.

Part 4: Eat Less Often

I experimented with and used several types of fasting and have found what works well for me after a lot of testing and tracking. I do not think these methods are universally beneficial, and many people don’t seem to respond well to fasting. These methods worked for me, but do your research and work with a doctor (like I did with my SteadyMD doc) when trying any extended fasting.

I still regularly eat in a shorter window each day. Often called Intermittent fasting (IF) or Time Restricted Eating (TRE), these methods help a person consume fewer calories and give the body and liver a break during the non-eating window.

We all practice some form of TRE each day without really realizing it. Unless you’re waking up to eat in the middle of the night, most of us go at least 8 hours without eating, which means we eat in a 16-hour window each day. I’ve reversed this and usually eat in a 6-8 hour window each day instead. Most days, I eat three meals, about 3-4 hours apart.

I track my hormones regularly, and my body does excellent with this method of TRE. Several genes make fasting easier for me than for many people, and I’m careful to make sure I’m not stressing my body out with too much fasting.

I also do longer fasts semi-regularly, but worked up to these slowly and would never recommend them without a doctor’s oversight. Specifically, I fast for 24 hours about once a week and measure my fasting glucose and ketones on this day. I also do a 3-5 day water fast every month or two and a 7-10 day water fast at the beginning of the year (I’ve found it a great way to start the new year and focus on goals and objectives).

Part 5: Supplements That Helped Me Lose Weight

I found some specific supplements helpful, especially during the intensive weight loss phase. What worked for me won’t necessarily work for you. These are specific supplements I experimented with based on my genes and with tracking to see what helped. I think that nourishing my body properly in relation to genes also helped reduce the biological stress response (see part 6 below).

I’m sharing the specifics of what I take most days as an example, but this list will look different for you. The Nutrition Genome test was helpful for me in figuring out this list.

My Supplements:

• Choline- I experimented with Alpha GPC and Choline & Inositol and alternate these now.
• Omega 3s- Mostly from sardines and other fatty fish but also from Omega-3 Phospholipids form.
• Resveratrol- In supplement form since it is harder to get enough from food.
• EGCG- I like this decaf green tea supplement.
• B-Vitamins – I needed more B6 in the form of P5P 50 and a B-complex
• Selenium
• Zinc
• Vitamin C- I take a food-based essential C from Paleo Valley and drink lemon water every morning.
• Magnesium- Most people take this at night for better sleep, but it keeps me awake so I take at lunchtime. I take MagSRT.
• HCL with meals- Especially as I improved my gut health, I found it helpful to take HCL with meals to help aid digestion.
• Vitamins A & D- I tested my levels and used vitamin D drops and vitamin A drops to get my levels in range.
• K2-7 and Probiotics – I found this K2-7 and these spore-based probiotics helpful as well.

Important notes:

I believe that we should get the most nutrients from food and eat a very nutrient-dense diet. Based on my genes, it was challenging to get enough of these specific nutrients from food with my dietary limitations (not eating eggs, etc.), so supplements were beneficial. I also would have needed to massively over-consume calories to hit the number of nutrients if I tried to get all of this from food.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record: these are the supplements that worked for me. Taking these supplements will not necessarily lead to weight loss for a person with different genes. I share these as a personal example and not as medical advice or as any form of recommendation.

Part 6: Staying Parasympathetic and Keeping Stress Low

This one factor might be the biggest key to my weight loss! We’ve all heard of Blue Zones and all of the potential factors that make them healthier and help people to live longer in these zones: better diet, more movement, sunshine, drinking red wine, etc.

I think the most overlooked and possibly most important factors are their strong focus on community and lower levels of stress. These factors mean that they are more often in a parasympathetic nervous system state than the sympathetic nervous system many of us stay in constantly.

When we eat in a sympathetic state, we don’t digest as well, and food is more likely to be stored as fat or to raise blood sugar. We don’t sleep as well in a sympathetic state or regulate blood sugar as well either. In short, we could do the same things: eat well, sleep enough, take supplements, etc., but have a completely different response in a sympathetic state vs. parasympathetic state.

It isn’t as simple as reducing stress, but it starts there. It goes beyond self-care and is a daily practice.

You won’t be shocked to hear that addressing this underlying stress is also personalized and individualized. For each of us, this means identifying and fixing our biggest sources of emotional and physical stress over time through a combination of conscious choice and environmental changes.

Here are some of the things that helped me most (but I didn’t do all of them each day):

• Exercising less: I found that early on, I was actually exercising too much and this was causing physical stress for my body. During the first six months of intense weight loss, I didn’t do any intense exercise at all and only walked and swam.
• Sauna use: Among other benefits, regular sauna use served two purposes for me: it worked as an exercise mimetic to give many of the cardio benefits even when I wasn’t exercising as much, and it helps the body get parasympathetic. This study found that: “A session of sauna bathing induces an increase in HR. During the cooling down period from sauna bathing, HRV increased which indicates the dominant role of parasympathetic activity and decreased sympathetic activity of the cardiac autonomic nervous system.”
• Prioritizing sleep: Sleep became an absolute non-negotiable for me. During sleep, the body regenerates, flushes cerebral spinal fluid, and resets a lot of metabolic factors. Even one night of bad sleep would mess with blood sugar levels and HRV for a couple of days. These posts have more info: sleep remedies that work and how to create a perfect sleep environment.
• Tapping: A method called tapping helps calm the nervous system. It was one of the strategies I used to actively deal with stressful situations and I did this before eating to make sure I was in a parasympathetic state to digest. This podcast with Nick Ortner and this one with Brittany Watkins both explain tapping in more detail.
• Hunter Fitness classes: As I focused more on gentle fitness, I still wanted to increase strength and mobility and found CARs and Kinstretch classes from Hunter Fitness to be really helpful. I’m not sure why, but I also notice a big increase in HRV (a good thing) at night after I do these classes during the day.
• Sprinting and strength training: With my COMT genes, I found that extended cardio was almost never beneficial for me and that once I could tolerate exercise without it being too stressful, I did best with short but intense exercises like sprinting and lifting heavyweights. I now almost exclusively train with weights, sprints, and the Car. O.L bike.
• Massage: When possible, massage and foam rolling seemed to help my body stay parasympathetic.
• Breathing: A few simple breath-work exercises made a difference in my HRV. I would do box breathing (breath in for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts, exhale for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts and repeat), and 4-7-8 (inhale for 4, hold for 7, exhale for 8) daily.

Part 7: Don’t Do the Same Thing Daily

I’ve explained many things I do regularly, but I don’t do any of these things every day. I vary my supplements, eating windows, macros, and calories almost daily to keep metabolic flexibility.

As examples:

• Eating in a 6-8 hour window each day, but one day a week, I eat in a 12+ hour window instead.
• Consume 100+ grams of protein most days but eat much lower protein once a week.
• I don’t take supplements on the weekends.
• Some days I eat much more fat (mostly from olive oil and fish).
• A couple of days a week, I consume more carbs from vegetables and tubers.
• I lift weights a few times a week but occasionally take a week off.
• The only thing I rarely vary is my sleep, and this is one of my non-negotiables. I haven’t found any benefit from reducing sleep and optimizing sleep has positive effects in all other areas of my life.

A Sample Daily Health & Weight Loss Routine

As I said, I don’t do anything every single day, but here is a sample day with many of the common factors built-in:

• Wakeup without an alarm after getting at least 8 hours of sleep. Drink 1 quart of water with the juice of one lemon and some ginger.
• Within an hour, spend 30 minutes outside (often drinking a cup of green tea or coffee with my husband and kids), do gratitude and breathing, and move around (walking, strength training, or gentle stretching).
• Take any supplements I need to take on an empty stomach.
• Get work done in the morning while the kids work on school.
• If working out, do this late morning just before eating lunch so I can train fasted. Sometimes drink amino before and during a workout.
• Eat first meal between 11-1 most days, making sure to hit 40 grams of protein. Take most supplements with this meal, including the ones listed above.
• Eat another meal every 3-4 hours for a total of 3 meals within 6-8 hours that day.
• Spend time in the afternoon with kids outside and often usually sauna mid-afternoon. Drink LMNT in the sauna for electrolytes.
• Stop eating at least 3 hours before bedtime.
• Drink reishi tea most night before bed (Organifi Gold mixed with Four Sigmatic reishi packet)
• In bed by 10 pm most nights and sleep 9+ hours most days.

Sample Meal Ideas to Lose Weight

I don’t differentiate between meal types and can eat any of these meals at any time of day. I don’t tolerate eggs well (the only food that shows up as inflammatory for me) so they aren’t on this list but they are great for most people:

• Two cans of sardines over a big salad with pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, and homemade olive oil and lemon dressing (my most common meal).
• One or two chicken breasts chopped with avocado, cilantro, lots of greens, hemp seeds, hot sauce, and homemade ranch.
• Egg roll in a bowl stir fry with ground turkey.
• Sliced turkey wrapped in lettuce leaves with tomato, sprouts, cucumber, and Tzatziki sauce.
• Meatballs over veggie pasta with salad.
• Pan-seared salmon with roasted veggies.
• Stuffed sweet potato with steak and Brussels sprouts. (I limit red meat due to my genes and eat this once a week at most).
• Pan-seared cod with cauliflower rice and stir-fry vegetables.
• Sheet pan tandoori chicken thighs and vegetables.
• Any variation of salad with leftover protein and homemade dressing

Key Takeaways From My Weight Loss Plan

As a quick recap, these are the most critical factors that helped me lose weight (but won’t necessarily work the same way for you):

• Knowing my genes and eating/supplementing for them
• Eating more, especially protein, from seafood sources
• TRE and fasting
• Very specific supplements
• Staying parasympathetic through sleep and tracking HRV
• Sauna use and very specific exercise

Healing my thyroid condition, overcoming past trauma, and learning how to have more balance in all areas of life has been a challenge, but through a combination of all the steps listed above, I’ve lost over 80 pounds, have more energy, and am stronger than I’ve been before.

It hasn’t been an easy journey and I’m not finished with it yet. If you’re struggling with any of these things, I’d just encourage you to keep it up. You can do it! But you also don’t have to wait until you do to start loving and accepting yourself. You’re amazing and wonderful and worthy and lovable just as you are right now!

Have you experienced a health or weight loss journey like mine? What worked for you? Please share in the comments below!

 

30 Day Guide to Paleo Cooking Book Review

Bill and Hayley, authors of Gather and Make it Paleo, have come out with yet another great book in their new 30 Day Guide to Paleo Cooking. As someone working on a first book, I really have no idea how they manage to write and beautifully photograph these books so quickly, but they certainly haven’t cut corners with this new guide.

Their 30-Day Guide is divided into three parts:

• An overview of why to eat this way and the basics of paleo eating
• A month-long menu plan and shopping list
• A compilation of 75 recipes that are easy to prepare and (mostly) budget-friendly
• The recipes that we tested were great and although the book seemed relatively basic, I think it would be perfect for someone just starting to eat healthier but overwhelmed by trying to figure out what to actually eat.

This book would also be helpful for someone who knows the basics of healthy eating but who needs structure to stick to it. As someone who takes all the pictures for my blog with an iPhone camera and nada photography skills, the thing that really stood out to me about the 30-Day Guide to Paleo Cooking was the beautiful food photography! Bill and Hayley certainly have a gift for creating delicious recipes but also for making them look incredible!

If you are just venturing into a paleo/grain free lifestyle or have trouble sticking with it, the structure (and mouth-watering photos) of The 30-Day Guide to Paleo Cooking might be just the book to help.

Have you read it? What did you think?

Happy New Year 2021 Live Updates: Muted celebrations as world ushers in 2021

20 December 2020 | By Administration

Fireworks are launched from the Sky Tower in Auckland to mark New Year. (AP)

Happy New Year 2021 Celebrations Live Updates: After a year of the pandemic, which brought with it deaths, lockdowns, economic insecurities, and anxiety, the world is set for a new beginning in 2021. New Zealand is one of the first countries in the world to welcome in the New Year. Kiwis around the country are partying to bid farewell to 2020 and welcome in the new year. New Zealand, which is two hours ahead of Sydney, and several of its South Pacific island neighbors have no COVID-19 cases, and New Year celebrations there are the same as ever.

With fingers crossed, people across the globe are preparing to bid adieu to 2020 and ring in the new year with renewed hopes of happiness and prosperity. However, several countries will witness tepid New Year celebrations as the risk of Covid-19 is not over yet. From New York’s Times Square to Sydney Harbor, big public blowouts have been turned into TV-only shows and digital events reported The Associated Press. Fireworks displays have been canceled from the Las Vegas Strip to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Even private parties in some places are restricted.

Germany has banned the sale of fireworks, which residents usually set off in on the streets, and a pyrotechnics show at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate has been called off. Similar is the case of the fireworks over the River Thames in locked-down London, where New Year’s Eve also marks Britain’s final economic split from the European Union. Toughening the Covid-19 restrictions in parts of England owing to the “sheer pace” of the spread of a new variant of the virus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson Wednesday urged people to stay at home on New Year’s eve to contain the outbreak.

In India, Delhi has announced a night curfew on New Year’s eve restricting more than five people to assemble at a public place. According to the order, no celebratory events, congregations, and gatherings at public places are permitted from 11 pm on December 31 to 6 am on January 1, 2021. Bengaluru, too, has imposed Section 144 from 6 pm on December 31 to 6 am on January 1, 2021. In Maharashtra, while hotels, restaurants, pubs, and bars will close at 11 pm and large gatherings are prohibited in public places, families can hold parties in residential places provided it is a small group and social distancing norms are maintained. In Ahmedabad, the restrictions will be effective between 10 pm, Thursday and 6 am Friday. The police have restricted hotels from hosting any late-night parties on New Year Eve on Thursday.

Sherry News | 30 December 2020

Mob vandalizes, burns down a shrine of Hindu saint in KP's Karak 

A mob vandalized the samadhi (shrine) of a Hindu saint and subsequently set it on fire in the Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday, locals and police officials confirmed.

The incident took place in a far-flung area of Karak's Teri town, with police saying law enforcement personnel dispersed the mob after the violence. "More than a thousand people led by some local elders of a religious party held a protest and demanded the removal of the Hindu place" of worship, a local resident present at the site during the violence told DawnNewsTV, adding that after delivering speeches, they moved towards and attacked the shrine, which was built before 1920.

He said that the mob that was chanting slogans set the shrine on fire before demolishing it as well as an under-construction house owned by a member of the Hindu community.

Trump's pardon of Blackwater Iraq contractors violates international law: UN

    

United States President Donald Trump’s pardon of four American men convicted of killing Iraqi civilians while working as contractors in 2007 violated US obligations under international law, United Nations human rights experts said on Wednesday. Nicholas Slatten was convicted of first-degree murder, while Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, and Dustin Heard were convicted of voluntary and attempted manslaughter, over the incident in which US contractors opened fire in busy traffic in a Baghdad square and killed 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians.

The four contractors, who worked for the private security firm Blackwater owned by the brother of Trump’s education secretary, were included in a wave of pre-Christmas pardons announced by the White House. “Pardoning the Blackwater contractors is an affront to justice and to the victims of the Nisour Square massacre and their families,” Jelena Aparac, chair of the UN working group on the use of mercenaries, said in a statement.

Hadiya Hashmi and Hadiqa Kiani are all geared up for a fiery collaboration

What happens when Pakistan's brightest young nightingale and a veteran melodious star come together? A power-packed performance with some fiery vocals, which we're anticipating will blow the audience away. Fans are looking forward to one such collaboration between 9-year-old Hadiya Hashmi and superstar Hadiqa Kiani, as they work on an upcoming music video together. The song called Ilahi, with a motivational ring to it, is composed and produced by none other than Azaan Sami Khan, popular for his recent number Haye Dil Bechara from Parey Hut Love.

Speaking to Images, Hadiqa shared the pleasure of having worked with the team, as the little one brought her amazing range on set, and the two share a special bond. "Hadiya reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger because I would perform at these competitions on PTV as well when I was a child," said the Rung singer. Featuring alongside the duo will be newcomer Ali Tariq, with the video directed by Shahzaib, all set to release on December 31.

Previously, lauding the absolute masterpiece that Nescafe Basement's Bol Hu is, musician Sonu Nigam took to social media to reawaken the audience's love, jamming to little Hadia's vocals at home. "After so many days, something has touched my heart. Ooff, what a song, what lyrics, what composition!" he exclaimed. Feeling visibly overwhelmed, the singer couldn't stop praising the work, the lyrics, the sound, and the final product that left him mesmerized.

"I did not imagine that to this date, there would be a song that could have the potential to make you cry a river," he said emotionally, sending prayers and best wishes to the little champ.

Nawaz Sharif's passport to be canceled on February 16: Sheikh Rashid

Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Wednesday announced that PML-N supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's passport will be canceled on February 16. Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, he said the opposition had been "exposed" as money launderers and people who obtained iqamas (work permit) because they were not honest with the country. "Why did all these people use to take iqamas? If I as the interior minister obtain an iqama, it means there is something fishy and I don't have faith in my land," he said.

The minister said all the "thieves" got united when their wealth obtained through money laundering and corruption was exposed and claimed that they were being victimized.

Asked by a reporter "who is next" after PML-N senior leader Khawaja Asif's arrest on Tuesday, Rashid said it wasn't yet known but added: "[We] will cancel Nawaz Sharif's passport on February 16." He did not provide any details.

Nawaz has been living in London since November last year after he was allowed to leave the country for medical treatment. Earlier this month, the PML-N leader was declared a proclaimed offender in two cases — Avenfield properties and Al-Azizia — by the Islamabad High Court after he failed to appear before the court. The same day, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior Mirza Shahzad Akbar said that United Kingdom authorities had been asked to deport the convicted former prime minister from their country.

He said Pakistan had written a letter to the UK to cancel the visa of Nawaz which was issued for medical treatment after taking an undertaking. A highly placed source in the UK had told Dawn last month that a top Pakistani official met his British counterpart in October to convey that Nawaz is “no longer a soft issue” between the UK and Pakistan and failure to deport him could result in strained ties between the countries.

Prime Minister Imran Khan in October said he would contact British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, if needed, to discuss his deportation and his adviser Akbar wrote a letter to British Home Secretary Priti Patel on October 5 urging her to deport the former premier whom he said is “responsible for pillaging the state”. 

In Nawaz’s case, the government of Pakistan is hoping to persuade UK authorities to bring about a “forced removal”, sometimes called “administrative removal” — a scenario in which the Home Office enforces an individual’s removal from the UK if they don’t have leave to remain i.e. if their application has been declined or if their leave to remain has expired, Dawn reported.

While the Nawaz case is exceptional in that it involves a major political personality, it has come to the UK Home Office at a time when it is under fire at home for being a haven for foreign nationals accused of corruption. 

Journalists and rights groups in the last few years have criticized the policies of the British government, which they say have made the UK “a safe haven for corrupt wealth”. Transparency International had called for the British government to launch an investigation into Nawaz’s London properties in 2018 when he was convicted in the Avenfield case and subsequently sentenced to 10 years.

Over 200 complaints made against UK channel over ‘deepfake’ Queen’s speech

A computer-generated Queen dancing across TV screens on Christmas day seems to have sparked controversy among British viewers. The fake address was screened right after the Queen delivered her traditional yearly address.

In times of widespread misinformation, as reported by CNN, the channel seemed to offer "a stark warning about the advanced technology that is enabling the proliferation of misinformation and fake news in a digital age".

The speech included jokes about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's move to the US, and an affirmation surrounding the Duke of York’s connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The fake Queen in the alternate message also spoke about watching movies on Netflix and perfecting moves on TikTok. Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, confirmed receiving 214 complaints about the broadcast, according to The Independent. A spokesperson from the regulator added: "We are assessing these complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate."

When in power, PML-N will file treason case against Imran for bargaining on Kashmir: Ahsan

PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal addresses a gathering of party workers at Kashmir House Islamabad on the occasion of the PML-N Kashmir's founding day.

Senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday vowed that if his party came to power, it would "file a treason case against Imran Khan Niazi for bargaining away Kashmir".

Addressing a gathering of party workers at Kashmir House Islamabad on the occasion of the PML-N Kashmir's founding day, Iqbal said after the formation of Pakistan, India had "occupied the land of our Kashmiri brothers and sisters" but the United Nations had designated it as a disputed territory.

"Since then, no Indian government had the courage to change the disputed status of the territory. But on Aug 5, 2019, [Indian Prime Minister Narendra] Modi's government unilaterally changed it. [Before this] Pakistan had seen democratic governments, dictatorships [and] caretaker governments but India had never gotten the courage to change the status."

Iqbal questioned whether Pakistan's defense system had been "weakened so much" that Modi annexed the territory, alleging if that was not the case then Prime Minister Imran Khan had "bargained away" Kashmir in a meeting with United States President Donald Trump.

He further said that the armed forces of both countries kept track of the movement of troops in the others' territory and the PM had been informed of India's plans but he did not act on the advice of "intelligence agencies".

"We have information that our intelligence agencies informed Imran that India had sent 200,000 troops into Kashmir and that [he] should tour Muslim countries and stop this atrocity but he did not since he was told flying overseas would bring him bad luck."

Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval himself went to occupied Kashmir to oversee the situation before the annexation, Iqbal said, adding that India had also sent away all tourists from the occupied valley two months prior to the annexation. "They knew some operation was going to be carried out. Why did Imran Khan's government keep quiet?" he asked.

"They kept being deaf and dumb and allowed India to annex [the territory]," claimed the PML-N leader.

He vowed that the PML-N would not bargain on the Kashmir issue.

"We will fight, our children will fight until we gain independence for Kashmir.

"[Imran Khan] Niazi is a traitor to Kashmir, he is a bargainer. I promise if we come into power, we will file a treason case against Niazi for bargaining away Kashmir," he added.

The PML-N leader also repeated allegations that the 2018 elections were rigged, saying that "Punjab voted for PML-N but the vote was thrown in the wastebasket and [Chief Minister Usman] Buzdar's government was installed".

Iqbal claimed that if the PML-N would have remained in power, there would have been nine industrial zones in the country today but "an inefficient government was brought into power and today economy, foreign policy and Pakistan's poor have been destroyed."

"We have to stop Pakistan from destruction. That's why we have to separate this Niazi from Pakistan's government," he added.

'India strikes because of weak Govt'

Speaking after Iqbal, PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz expressed sympathy with the people of Kashmir, saying that "when your sons are martyred, our souls are hurt." "When due to Imran Khan's ineptitude and incompetence, Kashmir falls into Modi's lap, and Pakistan loses cases of Kashmir, then the whole of Pakistan is wounded."

She claimed that it was because of Imran Khan's "weak government" that India had gotten the courage to annex the disputed territory. "When a weak prime minister comes into power who doesn't come with people's power and votes [...] when there is a weak government, then an enemy like India strikes.

"When there is a government like that of Mian Nawaz Sharif then someone like Modi himself walks and comes [to Pakistan]. This is the difference between a real and fake prime minister. This is why it is necessary to give respect to the vote." The PML-N vice president alleged that Prime Minister Imran had her arrested days before she was to leave for Kashmir after he "lost your case" because he was "afraid Maryam will expose my incompetence". The reference for the case in which I was arrested has still not been filed, she added.

She said that her father and party supremo Nawaz's voice had been "muffled" but his "struggle and his narrative" along with the people's support had spread awareness of his message to every corner of the country. "Nawaz Sharif is not just an ideology. His voice is booming in Pakistan today because behind his ideology is a history of service and actions."

Maryam said that "God was proving Nawaz truthful and Imran Khan and his selectors are facing embarrassment on everything".

'No one speaking against army'

Maryam alleged that "no one speaks against the army because it is our institution". She added that Prime Minister Imran had said he would "not allow anyone to speak against the army and file cases" against those who did.

"If you want to make a case on anyone speaking against the army, then there is Imran Khan's history of 12 years. With what face do you say we [and] Nawaz talk against the army?" she questioned. The country was prosperous when Nawaz was the prime minister, she said, adding that he had vowed to eliminate terrorism from the country and told the army "not to worry about money because the country was generating it".

"The soldier at the frontier was content knowing that if I am sacrificing my life then the stove at my house will continue to burn. "There are many honest and patriotic people in the Pakistan Army. Not all are Papa John's, not everyone has haram income," Maryam said.

"There are a great number of our soldier brothers who subsist only on their salaries [...] This is such an unjust government that perhaps for the first time the salaries of soldiers have not been raised," she added.

'Sell-out of Kashmir'

This is not the first time that an opposition party has accused the PTI-led government of Imran Khan of "selling out Kashmir". Days after India's annexation of Kashmir, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif accused the premier of selling the future of Kashmir and alleged that he was having members of the opposition arrested to distract attention from the Kashmir issue.

However, the minister of state for parliamentary affairs, Ali Mohammad Khan, refuted the allegations and said Modi had flown to Pakistan to attend the wedding of ex-PM Nawaz Sharif’s granddaughter. "It was not Imran Khan who had invited Modi, but you," he added.

Earlier this year, opposition members also raised objections to the absence of Prime Minister Imran from a national consultation on the Kashmir situation at the Foreign Office. Talking to Dawn after the meeting, PPP Senator Sherry Rehman had regretted that the prime minister had been missing since last August and he did not have time to attend the meeting that had been called by the government itself to discuss an important national issue on the eve of August 5.

"Is Kashmir not an important enough issue for the prime minister?" she asked.

Residents of illegally constructed houses at Kidney Hill Park issued eviction notices, SC told

Karachi Commissioner Navid Ahmed Shaikh informed the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday that the residents of Farhan Society, which has been built on the illegally occupied land of the Kidney Hill Park in Karachi, had been notified to vacate their houses within 30 days. Besides, he said, the residents of shacks built on illegally encroached land of the park had also been given seven days to vacate their dwellings.

The matter came up during the hearing of a case, pertaining to encroachments on the park’s land, at the SC’s Karachi registry. During the hearing, Shehri CBE — a citizens rights foundation— informed the court that 24 houses in Farhan Society were illegally constructed on four plots of Kidney Hill Park and that part of the park’s land was also illegally occupied by the Overseas Co-operative Housing Society.

The foundation told the court that former Karachi commissioner Iftikhar Shallwani had also prepared a report on the matter.

When Shaikh told the court that evacuation notices had been issued to the residents of the illegally constructed houses, the court questioned, “Orders for evacuation were issued earlier. Why are the [evacuation] notices issued now?”

Rebuking the commissioner, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed remarked, “All of you have colluded on the matter.”

He warned that contempt of court proceedings would be initiated against the relevant authorities if they failed to evacuate the illegally occupied land of the park within the stipulated time.

The court sought an implementation report from the commissioner on the evacuation of the park’s land and issued notices to Farhan Society and Overseas Co-operative Housing Society.

At an earlier hearing of the case the previous day, the apex court had directed that all encroachments be removed from Kidney Hill Park and a report be submitted to it on Wednesday (today).

The lawyer for the Karachi Municipal Corporation had, however, contended that houses had been built on the park’s land and it would be difficult to remove the encroachments by Wednesday, upon which the court gave time until the next date of hearing but directed that an initial report be submitted on Wednesday.

Besides, the court inquired from the commissioner about the removal of encroachments from Shahrah-e-Quaideen.

Shaikh informed the court that encroachments on the road had been removed and shops that had been illegally constructed there had been demolished.

Computerization of land records

The court also directed the relevant authorities to end the illegal occupation of state property across Sindh. It further issued orders for the restoration of green belts, removal of encroachments from parks and playgrounds, and ending the illegal occupation of land owned by the forest and irrigation departments across the province.

Senior Member Board of Revenue (SMBR) Qazi Shahid Parvaiz submitted a report, sought by the court at a previous hearing, pertaining to the computerization of land records.

Following that, the CJP asked Parvaiz whether any state land was left in Sindh. The SMBR admitted that state property was encroached in the province, adding, however, that an anti-encroachment drive was underway.

Irked by his response, the CJP remarked: “Go and visit the Super Highway where 10-story buildings have been [illegally] constructed. Encroachments abound government lands, where entire cities have been [illegally] established.”

At this, the SMBR assured the court that efforts were being made for the removal of encroachments.

The CJP, however, continued his rebuke. He pointed out that 1,000 acres of illegally occupied state land had been evacuated in Malir in recent days. Referring to the previous day's hearing pertaining to encroachments on the Karachi Circular Railway land, the CJP said it had emerged that a building had been constructed on land owned by the government.

When the SMBR said that action had also been taken against mukhtiarkars on the matter, the CJP sought details of land owned by the government in Sindh and directed him to remove illegal structures wherever they had been built on state land.

The SMBR further informed the court that 70 million land records had been computerized in Sindh.

However, the court refused this claim, commenting that cases of fake land records were still being filed in the Sindh High Court.

Parvaiz maintained, however, that the issue had been resolved to a large extent. He elaborated that the Pakistan Security Printing Corporation had been engaged in the preparation of land documents and each page of the document had a printing ID. Besides, all land records kept by mukhtiarkars are matched with those in the revenue department, the SMBR added.

At this, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah pointed out that there was a large number of irregularities in the records of properties in Thatta.

Briefing the court on the matter, the SMBR said that a committee formed by the SC had identified fake land ownership entries in large numbers. Of those, over 1,000 fake entries had been removed, he told the court, adding that over 1,100 of those entries were under judicial review. He said more than 240,000 fake entries had been identified since 1985.

‘Plant mangroves’

Moreover, the apex court again directed the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) authorities to plant mangroves on land previously allotted for the construction of a housing society after the counsel for the KPT submitted a report.

In February this year, the court had declared the allotment of land on both sides of Mai Kolachi Road for the Karachi Port Trust Cooperative Housing Society illegal, besides ordering the plantation of mangroves on the said land within two months.

A three-judge SC bench, headed by the CJP, had observed that the land was provided to the KPT only for the purpose of management and operations of the port and any lease made in favor of its trustees or employees was illegal.

As the court reiterated its directive on Wednesday, further ordering that the height of the land be brought to the sea level, the KPT counsel requested for more time to start the plantation of mangroves.

“Be as fast at planting the trees as you sold the plots,” the court stated in return, seeking a report within two months after the completion of the plantation drive.

When the counsel for the persons who were allotted the plots prayed the SC to rethink its decision, the SC stated that they may file a civil suit to get compensation.

Non-supply of water to Clifton, DHA

Besides, the Clifton Board Cantonment (CBC) chief executive (CEO) officer drew the court’s ire on the matter of non-supply of potable water to the residents of Defence Housing Authority (DHA) and Clifton.

The court expressed annoyance when he said that the CBC relied on the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) for water supply.

“You rely on the KWSB and how is it treated,” the court reprimanded the CEO, adding that a major would visit the board’s office in case of suspension of water supply and give threats of closure. It further commented that on the other hand, water was always available for even the lawns and gardens in the houses of persons from the armed forces.

The court sought a comprehensive report from the CBC on water supply, including details of DHA residents’ water requirements, within two days.

5 people arrested in India's Madhya Pradesh for attempting to damage mosque: report

Five people were arrested in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday for attempting to damage a mosque in Dorana village of district Mandsaur a day earlier, Indian media reported. According to Indian publication The Print, the incident occurred when people from right-wing organizations took out a rally in the village to inform residents about a fund for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya — being built on the ruins of the Babri Mosque destroyed by a mob in 1992.

Videos shared on social media showed participants carrying saffron flags and raising slogans surrounding the mosque. Some of the participants also climbed atop the mosque. A police official told The Print that some of the participants also damaged the houses of Muslims in the area. No residents were injured because they fled into surrounding fields, he added. More people aside from the five already arrested are being identified from the videos on social media. Those arrested have been charged under sections related to rioting, criminal intimidation, and obscene acts, the official said.

Mandsaur Superintendent of Police Siddharth Chaudhary said the mosque was not damaged in the incident. The publication reported another such incident in Indore on the same day. The people who had taken out the fund-raising rally allegedly tried to damage a mosque and recite Hanuman Chalisa — a Hindu devotional hymn dedicated to Lord Hanuman, a popular Hindu god — outside it.

Police said it resulted in stone-pelting and gunshots which injured some people participating in the rally. Four first information reports (FIRs) were registered and 27 people were detained in connection with this incident, police added.