Islamabad:  The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) disclosed that Faisal Karim Kundi and Sardar Salim Haider are poised to be appointed as Governors of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab, respectively, the sources said on Friday.

The sources confirmed that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has given his seal of approval to Sardar Salim Haider's nomination for the Governorship of Punjab. It is expected that the federal government will officially announce Sardar Salim Haider's appointment on Friday.

The PPP finalized its selections for these pivotal roles, and announcements regarding their appointments are anticipated in the near future.

Sardar Salim Haider, a former Member of the National Assembly elected from Attock on the PPP ticket in 2008, previously served as the Foreign Minister in the cabinets of Prime Ministers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.

Similarly, Faisal Karim Kundi is anticipated to assume the role of Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Kundi, who served as Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly from 2008 to 2013, also held the position of Adviser to the Prime Minister in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government.

It may be mentioned here that the decision to appoint governors from the PPP for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab was part of an agreement between the PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in their power-sharing arrangement preceding the formation of the federal government.

Wenchang, China (Reuters): China on Friday launched an uncrewed spacecraft on a nearly two-month mission to retrieve rocks and soil from the far side of the moon, the first country to make such an ambitious attempt.

The Long March-5, China's largest rocket, blasted off at 5:27 p.m. Beijing time (0927 GMT) from Wenchang Space Launch Center on the southern island of Hainan with the more than 8 metric ton Chang'e-6 probe.

Chang'e-6 is tasked with landing in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon, which perpetually faces away from the Earth, after which it will retrieve and return samples.

The launch marks another milestone in China's lunar and space exploration programme.

"It is a bit of a mystery to us how China has been able to develop such an ambitious and successful programme in such a short time," said Pierre-Yves Meslin, a French researcher working on one of the scientific objectives of the Chang'e-6 mission.

In 2018, Chang'e-4 gave China its first unmanned moon landing, also on the far side. In 2020, Chang'e-5 marked the first time humans retrieved lunar samples in 44 years, and Chang'e-6 could make China the first country to retrieve samples from the moon's "hidden" side.

FOREIGN PAYLOADS

The launch was attended by scientists, diplomats and space agency officials from France, Italy, Pakistan, and the European Space Agency, all of which have moon-studying payloads aboard Chang'e-6.

But no U.S. organisations applied to get a payload spot, according to Ge Ping, deputy director of the China National Space Administration's (CNSA) Lunar Exploration and Space Program.

Lahore:   PCB intends to develop male and female Umpires at the grass root levels and has planned to conduct Level 1 Umpiring courses, which will be introduced for candidates from all over Pakistan.

The individuals who pass this course will become part of the Regional Cricket Association (RCA) Umpiring panel.

This panel will officiate all the affiliated matches held within the RCA.

This will prove to be a stepping stone for those who are willing to pursue their careers as Umpires and become PCB Panel Umpires. 

Eligibility criteria:

Shortlisting: After shortlisting the participants, as per the above criteria, candidates will be asked to submit a registration fee amounting to Rs. 10,000/- each in the form of Pay Order/Demand Draft in favor of Pakistan Cricket Board.

PCB will only provide food and refreshments to all the candidates during the course dates, rest of the expenses will be borne by the candidate himself.

Test: A written and physical test will be taken after the course, for which the candidates will be asked to appear in person.

Interviews/Viva: After the written test, an interview and viva will be conducted. During the interviews, knowledge of laws and playing conditions, communication and interpersonal skills of the individual will also be judged.

For registration, the link is: www.pcb.com.pk/UR

Last date for registration is: 31 May 2024

For any further information and assistance regarding the registration, please call 042-35717231-4. (9:00 am to 5:00 pm only).