Tag Archives: visit

New Zealand

Dunedin residents get a surprise visit from sea lions in their backyard | Instant News


Mandy Wennekes had a horse roaming her property before – but never a sea lion. Photo / Provided

It’s not every day you look at your backyard and see huge sea lions just roaming around – but that’s what happened to Mandy Wennekes and her family yesterday afternoon.

A Dunedin resident said he couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw a sea lion sitting in his yard.

“We’re just a little confused,” he said. “It’s not something we thought we would see.”

The family lived on Ocean Drive, very close to the beach, but this was the first time they had received a visit from a sea creature before.

“We’ve had horses emerge from shore before, by accident, because a wrong turn brought them into the property,” he explained, “but never sea lions.”

To reach their lawns, sea lions must go through three routes, including one up a steep hill.

The animal roamed for half an hour and didn’t seem bothered by the dog’s barking at him.

Hearing the noise from the dogs, her husband tried to see what the fuss was about. It was then that he saw a huge creature roaming their property.

“My husband tried to get closer to her and she started making noise so we stayed away from her.”

“I think they’re looking for a partner at the moment,” said Wennekes.

“All the females hide in the bush with their chicks.”

After about 30 minutes, the animal continued its journey, and was reportedly later seen back on the beach.

After posting a photo of his visitor to a local Facebook group, the residents of Dunedin were contacted by a member of the New Zealand Sea Lion Trust who clarified that the sea lion is over 10 years old and is male.

“What a wonderful visitor! I love how politely he sits on the fence. This big guy must be 10+ years old – that mane, wow – and that’s what we call a beachmaster,” Jordana, of the Sea Lion Trust, said citizens.

“I’m a little surprised that this guy is in Otago and not in the Sub-Antarctic Archipelago who rules over a beach full of women! But also …. he really still looks like a big puppy to me! A very, very big puppy. once you enjoy a special meeting that will not happen anywhere in the world, “he added.

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pakistan

The PPP attacked the PM for not visiting Quetta after the massacre | Instant News


ISLAMABAD – Pakistan People’s Party yesterday attacked Prime Minister Imran Khan for not visiting the victims of the Machh massacre.

Questioning Prime Minister Khan’s absence in Quetta, Leader of PPP Parliament in the Senate Sherry Rehman said the whole country was upset over the PM’s absence in Machh, Balochistan.

“He” PM) is nowhere to be seen. Condemning the incident on Twitter is not enough. He has to be there with the Hazara community, ”said the PPP Vice President.

He added: “Over the past three days, thousands of people from the Hazara community have sat outside in this freezing weather with the bodies of their loved ones waiting for justice but what do they get? The ministers ask them what benefit they will give Imran Khan if he comes here! The courage of this statement is not lost on anyone. “

He said PM Khan was the same person who criticized the government in 2013 for the attacks on Hazaras. “What is happening now? Is the opposition responsible for this too? It is the PM’s duty to be with his people in their time of grief. Where is the Prime Minister of Pakistan while his people are waiting,” said the Senator.

PPP leaders said people could only imagine the devastation of what they were going through because they had not buried their loved ones and all the government could do was offer them financial aid. “This is a time to be with them and share their pain. What keeps the PM and CM of Balochistan (Jan Kamal) away from visiting the Hazara community? Their absence only made matters worse, “he stressed. The senator said the continued violence in Balochistan was a concern and a National Action Plan was needed. “The government is ignorant as usual and people are paying the price for their incapacity,” he argued.

The PPP Vice President said Article 9 of the Constitution states that no person may be deprived of his life or freedom. “It is clear that the government has failed and cannot guarantee the safety of the Hazara community. The level of apathy shown by this government is shocking and condemnable. They must be given full protection under the law, ”he demanded.

Meanwhile, PPP Deputy Information Secretary Palwasha Khan said that Prime Minister Imran Khan refused to go to Quetta at a time when the Hazara community was waiting for sympathy.

“The Hazara community has been protesting for the last four days in very cold weather. Imran Khan has sent foreign national Zulfi Bukhari to Quetta to sympathize with the bereaved family. The government sends representatives like him who say in front of the Hazara people, what is the point of having the prime minister come? This is not the kind of tone to be used with a community that has suffered so much and hopes and expects support from the chief executive of the country, “he said at a press conference here yesterday.

Palwasha Khan said that an innocent student was shot down by police in Islamabad and the grieving student’s father accused the government of turning the country into a large grave.

He said that if the National Action Plan was implemented in a letter and spirit then the Hazara community would not lose their loved ones.

Separately, former PPP Deputy Chairman and Secretary General Khyber Pakhtunkhaw Faisal Karim Kundi yesterday said Federal Minister Murad Saeed must answer questions about government corruption, not make false accusations against PPP leaders.

In reaction to a press conference by Murad Saeed, Kundi alleged that corruption was rampant not only in the Khyber Pakhtunkhaw and Punjab governments but also in the federal government.

“The Billion Trees Project and the Peshawar BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) are just two examples of mega corruption,” he claims.

He added: “Every brick of the Bani Gala palace has been obtained through corruption. Imran Khan is involved in every corrupt practice through his front men. ”

Kundi said PM Khan and his ministers could not face the public or journalists and Murad Saeed held his press conference in a room without a single media person.

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pakistan

The protesters want PM Imran Khan to visit Quetta | Instant News



QUETTA / ISLAMABAD: Home Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed asked Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad today (Tuesday) to update the prime minister on his visit to Quetta.

The minister has assured the Hazara people protesting the execution of coal miners in Machh Balochistan that he will share their demands with PM Khan.

The protesters announced that they would continue their sit-in until Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Quetta himself.

They presented their demands to Rashid when he visited protesters on Monday. The interior minister said he would communicate the protesters’ demands to Prime Minister Imran Khan.

“Prime Minister Imran Khan himself should visit Quetta and investigate all these matters,” the Hazaras leader said Monday.

Terror attacks against the miners have been claimed by ISIS.

Up to 2,500 protesters staged a sit-in, gathering eight bodies in coffins and blocking a shortcut on the outskirts of Quetta, demanding justice Monday. “We will not end our protests until the arrest of all the killers,” said Balochistan Shiite Conference chairman Agha Daud.

“The latest wave of killings will spread to other cities including Quetta if decisive action is not taken at this stage,” he said.

The miner’s relatives are protesting demanding the resignation of the Balochistan government.

Sheikh Rashid meets protesters

Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed arrived in Quetta late Monday and joined a sit-in organized by Hazara and the family of the coal miners who died a day after the Machh massacre.

He said he was ready to accept all the demands of the Hazara people, except for the resignation of the Balochistan government.

“Today or tomorrow morning I will inform the Prime Minister about the protesters’ message,” said Rashid.

Rashid has announced compensation of Rs 2.5 million for each family of coal mine workers.

“Each martyr’s family will be given Rs. 1 million by the Prime Minister, while Rs. 1.5 million by the head minister of Balochistan,” Rashid told media.

He reportedly flew to Quetta on PM Khan’s instructions. The minister was accompanied by Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri and chief secretary of Balochistan.

“On Prime Minister Imran Khan’s special instructions, I arrived in Quetta with Federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed to share the sadness of the families of the Machh tragedy martyrs, to assure our Hazara community of immediate justice, and to review the security situation,” Suri wrote on Twitter.

The interior ministry also requested reports on the massacre.




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pakistan

191 foreign visits cost the state Rs3 billion in 12 years | Instant News


ISLAMABAD: Foreign visits by four former Prime Ministers and serving Prime Minister Imran Khan have cost national finances around Rs3 billion over the past 12 years, official records show.

However, foreign visits by Prime Minister Imran Khan cut costs. He uses chartered planes on 20 of his 26 total official visits and commercial flights on international trips.

Geo News / The News has gone through official records regarding the details of the foreign trips of the PMs submitted to the DPR from 2009 to 2020.

About 119 questions regarding the PM’s 191 foreign tours, the president and foreign ministers were raised by MPs during this period.

However, discrepancies were found in what was officially said about PM’s overseas tours. A PTI and aide to the prime minister officially tweeted on November 20, 2020 that Prime Minister Khan spent only $ 11,000 (Rs1.7 million) on his trip to Afghanistan, while his predecessors Nawaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari spent $ 58,000 (Rs6 million) in 2015 and $ 44,000 (Rs3.8 million) in 2009, respectively.

In fact, the official Ministry of Foreign Affairs records submitted to Parliament on 17 February 2016 in response to a written question posed by Imran Zafar Leghari MNA revealed that then prime minister Nawaz Sharif spent Rs202,800 for his trip to Afghanistan on 12 May 2015.

Likewise, according to the Foreign Ministry’s answer submitted to Parliament in response to a question posed by MNA Sumaira Yasir Rashid on 12 March 2009, President Zardari at that time collectively spent Rs2 million on his two Kabul trips (18 Dec 2008 and 7 Jan 2009).

PTI further tweeted on November 20, 2020 that former prime minister Sharif spent $ 1.113 million (Rs. 115.8 million) on his UNGA trip in 2016, PM Abbasi spent $ 705,019 (Rs70.5 million) on UNGA travel on 2017 and PM Khan spent Rs25.9 million attending the UNGA session in 2019.

However, Parliamentary records show that according to the official Foreign Ministry response (submitted to Parliament on 24 July 2020) Prime Minister Sharif spent Rs 94.2 million on the UNGA trip in 2016. PM Abbasi spent Rs 62.4 million on his trip to UNGA in New York in 2017, revealed the official response of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which was submitted to Parliament in response to Senator Seemi Ezdi’s question on July 20, 2020.

PTI re-tweeted that former PM Sharif spent $ 549,853 (Rs59 million) on his trip to Washington in October 2013, President Zardari spent $ 752,688 (Rs. 63 million) on his visit to the US in May 2009 while PM Khan spent only $ 67,180 ( Rs. 10.9 million).

Ministry of Foreign Affairs records show that PM Sharif spent Rs. 31.5 million for his trip to the US in October 2013, according to official State Department records submitted to Parliament on February 17, 2016.

PM Gilani spent $ 459,451 (Rs. 43.7 million) on his way to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos in 2012, PM Sharif spent $ 762,199 (Rs. 80.8 million) in 2017, PM Abbasi spent $ 561,381 (Rs. 69.1 million) in 2018 and PM Khan spent $ 68,000 (Rs.10 million) to attend WEF 2019 in Davos, PTI was further tweeted. While the Foreign Ministry response revealed that PM Gillani spent Rs44.1 million on the WEF in Davos in 2012, PM Sharif spent Rs79.8 million in 2017, PM Abbasi spent Rs62 million in 2018 and PM Khan, according to PTI’s official tweet, spent Rs11 million for his trip to the WEF in Davos in 2019.

However, the figures given by the PTI and one of the Prime Minister’s cabinet members regarding these figures carry some discrepancies. The figures tweeted by this cabinet member about PM Kabul’s trip on November 20, 2020 also carry a discrepancy.

On Jan 25, 2020, cabinet members ‘tweets about PMs’ spending and President Zardari’s visit to Davos, New York, Washington that occurred in different years also brought miscalculations.

Official records further show that the five PMs spent Rs2.9 billion on their 191 international trips from 2008 to November 2020. They were accompanied by 5,576 people who spent 453 days abroad during this period.

The Prime Minister’s Office, members of the cabinet, PTI and the Office of Foreign Affairs did not respond to Geo News inquiries even though this correspondent has repeatedly approached them (PTI, PM’s Office, cabinet members and Foreign Office) in the past eight weeks.

PM Gillani

PM Yousaf Raza Gillani made 48 international visits from June 2008 to June 2012), according to the Foreign Ministry’s response to the DPR in July this year.

It was further revealed that the trip cost Rs572 million to the state treasury. A total of 2,137 people accompanied him. Prime Minister Gillani spent 92 days abroad during the trip. The Foreign Ministry response delivered in response to MNA Shahbaz Babar’s inquiries before Parliament on 18 Sept 2013, however, revealed that the PM made 50 international visits, spent Rs632 million and accompanied a entourage of 395 officials and individuals.

PM Ashraf

PM Ashraf made 07 international trips with a group of 44 people from June 2012 to March 2013. He spent Rs. 58 million, according to the Foreign Ministry’s response presented before the Parliament on 18 Sep 2013. It was further revealed that PM Ashraf made 12 international trips with a group of 285 individuals and stayed 14 days abroad during this period.

PM Sharif

PM Sharif made 92 official international trips that cost Rs1.8 billion to the state treasury from July 2013 to July 2017. He accompanied 2,390 people who stayed 262 days abroad during the trip, according to the Foreign Ministry’s response presented before Parliament in July last year. this. .

PM Abbasi

PM Abbasi spent Rs260 million on his 19 official international trips from 23 Jan 2018 to 19 May 2018. A total of 478 people accompanied him who spent 50 days abroad on this trip.

PM Imran Khan

PM Khan made 26 international trips from September 2018 to 27 February 2020 where the expenditure incurred for this visit was estimated at Rs140 million.

A total of 527 people accompanied the Prime Minister in the 26 foreign visits. He stayed 37 days abroad during that trip. An official response, however, to PM Khan’s overseas spending is waiting.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in response to questions raised by MNA Rana Sanaullah in 2019 informed Parliament that PM Imran Khan collectively spent Rs 40.4 million on his six international trips in 2018. And then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to two different questions posed by Senator Murtaza Javed Abbasi this year this (13 Jan 2020 and 19 Oct 2020) notified Parliament that PM Khan made 22 international trips from September 2018 to the beginning of this year which cost Rs120 million; while a total of 440 people accompanied him.

Khan spent Rs3.1 million on his KSA trip (18 Sep to 19 Sept) in 2018, Rs0.5 million on his 2018 UAE trip, Rs0.9 million on his KSA visit in 2018, Rs24.5 million on his 2018 trip to China , Rs4 million on his visit to the UAE in 2018 and Rs7.6 million on his visit to Malaysia on 20 November 2018.

Khan uses chartered planes on 20 of his 26 official visits as he takes commercial flights on international trips. Expenditures for chartering aircraft are being compiled, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in its response.

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pakistan

FM Saudi visited Pakistan in two weeks | Instant News



ISLAMABAD: A high-level Saudi delegation led by the kingdom’s foreign minister will pay an official visit to Pakistan this month, said well-placed sources.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud will be accompanied by the kingdom’s Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman and a team of Saudi businessmen and company heads.

According to sources, the visit will take place in two weeks. FM Saudi will hold talks with President Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

The establishment of an oil refinery in Pakistan will also be discussed in bilateral discussions.

The sources said that the upcoming Saudi visit sent positive vibes with regards to improving relations between Pakistan and the kingdom, which was hurt following Islamabad’s request for an OIC meeting on the Kashmir issue.

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