Pak grants special rights to Qatari Emir to hunt endangered birds
Islamabad: Pakistan has issued special permits to Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani and nine other members of the royal family to hunt endangered birds Houbara Bustard during the 2019-20 hunting season, the media reported after quoting sources.
The allotted hunting areas are spread over Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab provinces of the country.
The permit, which is person-specific, allows huntsmen to kill 100 Houbara Bustards in a 10-day safari during the three-month hunting season between November 1, 2019, and Jan 31, 2020, Dawn reported.
The permit holders include the Qatari Emir, his uncle, brother and seven other royal dignitaries of the Gulf nation. The decision has been met with severe criticism in the country.
Originally the inhabitant of the colder central Asian region, the Houbara Bustard, in order to avoid harsh weather conditions in its habitat, migrates southwards to spend the winter in a relatively warm environment here every year.
Keeping in view its dwindling population, the migratory bird is not only protected under various international nature conservation treaties but its hunting is also banned under local wildlife protection laws. Pakistanis themselves are not allowed to hunt this bird.
It is evident that Pakistan has used the hunting permit as a foreign policy card to influence dignitaries from oil-rich Gulf nations.
Sources divulged that earlier when the ruling Tehreek-i-Insaf party was in the opposition, it used to criticise the federal government over this issue and condemned the hunting of the endangered birds in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the party was a part of the provincial government. (ANI)
Man roasts pork in car during Oz heatwave
PERTH: A man has successfully cooked a pork roast in a car on a scorching hot day in Australia. Stu Pengelly placed the slab of pork in a baking tin on the car seat of his Datsun Sunny in Perth for around 10 hours.
“It worked a treat!” he said in a Facebook post with pictures of the cooked meat cut into slices to demonstrate its doneness.
Pengelly also gave the temperature as it increased throughout the day, culminating in “81° Celsius inside temperature” at 01.00pm (local time).
Other social media users responded to the post with humorous commentsand relating their own experiences cooking in a heatwave.
But Pengelly’s post also contained some serious advice, warning people not to leave their kids or dogs in a vehicle in the heat.
“Do not leave anyone or anything precious to you in a hot car, not for a minute.”
Perth has recorded 10 days this month when temperatures soared above 35° Celsius, according to Australia’s meteorology bureau. (Reuters)
3.4 m Chinese to sit for 2020 postgraduate admission exam
Beijing: More than 3.4 million Chinese have signed up for the 2020 national exam for postgraduate enrolment scheduled from December 21 to 23, the Chinese Ministry of Education has said.
The ministry has invited public oversight and tip-offs of exam-related wrong doings including organised cheating and the peddling of so-called answers, reported Xinhua news agency.
In accordance with the latest interpretation of applicable legal provisions, those acts will lead to criminal penalties, according to a statement by the ministry.
A total of 2.9 million Chinese students took the entrance exam for postgraduate studies last year, the highest number in the past 40 years, statistics from the Chinese Ministry showed. (IANS)