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Namaz-e-Istisqa to be offered across Punjab on Nov 15

Istisqa prayer is offered for collective repentance, seeking forgiveness, and seeking rain of mercy

Published by Noor Fatima

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Lahore: It has been decided to offer ‘Istisqa’ prayer across Punjab on November 15 to pray for rain.

The Auqaf Department will organize the ‘Istisqa’ prayer across the province on Friday.

Istisqa prayer is offered for collective repentance, seeking forgiveness, and seeking rain of mercy.

According to the Auqaf Department, the province is in dire need of rain at this time, which will reduce the effects of smog. The region is facing the challenges of climate change.

Heavy fog and smog have engulfed the entire Punjab, including Lahore, for several days, due to which Lahore is ranked first among the most polluted cities in the world. Smog has affected the life system and the air quality has become extremely hazardous to health.

According to the Meteorological Department, there is a possibility of rain with strong winds and thunderstorms in various districts. A series of low-level clouds will enter Pakistan from the west, which will bring light rain in most districts of Upper Punjab, but there is less chance of rain in Lahore and its surroundings.

It is pertinent to note that the meaning of Istisqa' is to ask for rain. This prayer is offered in the open field during times of drought and lack of rain, to humbly ask Allah for rain.

Before the Istisqa prayer, one should reflect on the situation that caused the rain to be stopped, confess the sins that led to this punishment, and make a firm resolve not to commit these sins in the future.

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World

Victorious Trump returns to White House to meet Biden

Democrat Biden invited his sworn rival to meet in the Oval Office

Published by Faisal Ali Ghumman

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WASHINGTON (AFP): Donald Trump will make a triumphant return to the White House to meet President Joe Biden Wednesday, in the Republican’s first visit since departing amid a cloud of scandal nearly four years ago.

Trump’s meeting with Biden comes as he moves swiftly to name his top team, including the world’s richest man Elon Musk as head of a new group aimed at slashing government waste.

Democrat Biden invited his sworn rival to meet in the Oval Office – despite the fact that Trump, who has consistently refused to admit his 2020 election loss, never afforded Biden the same courtesy.

Biden, 81, is expected to urge a smooth transition of power in the encounter at 11:00 am (1600 GMT) – and push for continued support for Ukraine.

“He believes in the norms. He believes in our institutions,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday when asked why Biden was inviting Trump.

“The American people deserve this. They deserve a peaceful transfer of power.”

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Biden would go over top foreign policy issues when he meets Trump – including US support for Kyiv against Russia, which Trump has criticized.

“The president will have the chance to explain to President Trump how he sees things, where they stand, and talk to President Trump about how President Trump is thinking,” Sullivan told CBS on Sunday.

But the meeting may be a bitter pill to swallow for Biden, who branded Trump a threat to democracy and was vying for the presidency against him until a disastrous debate performance forced the Democrat out of the race in July.

House speaker Mike Johnson said Trump may also visit the US Capitol – the building a mob of his supporters stormed in 2021 to try to reverse his election loss – but these plans have not been finalized.

Trump’s party looks set to take both chambers of Congress and consolidate his extraordinary comeback.

Tradition restored

Biden’s Oval Office invitation restores a presidential transition tradition that Trump tore up when he lost the 2020 election, refusing to sit down with Biden or even attend the inauguration.

Then-president Barack Obama had welcomed Trump to the White House when the tycoon won the 2016 election.

But by the time Trump took his last Marine One flight from the White House lawn on January 20, 2021, he had also been repudiated by many in his own party for having encouraged the Capitol riot.

The period of disgrace soon evaporated, however, as Republicans returned to Trump’s side, recognizing his unique electoral power at the head of his right-wing movement.

Trump, 78, enters his second term with a near total grip on his party and the Democrats in disarray.

He has spent the week since the election at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida assembling his top team, as the world watches to see how closely he sticks to his pledges of isolationism, mass deportations and sweeping tariffs.

Trump named Space X, Tesla and X boss Musk, and another stalwart ally, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, to lead a “Department of Government Efficiency (‘DOGE’)” – a tongue-in-cheek reference to an internet meme and cryptocurrency.

In a flurry of announcements, Trump also picked Fox News host and military veteran Pete Hegseth as his incoming defense secretary. Hegseth has been an outspoken opponent of so-called “woke” ideology in the armed forces.

Trump further named South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem – an ally who famously wrote about shooting her dog because it did not respond to training – as head of the Department of Homeland Security.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio is tipped for secretary of state, US media reported, while Trump has also confirmed Congressman Mike Waltz, a former special forces officer, as his national security advisor.

Both have hawkish views on China but are not considered isolationists, despite Trump’s previous threats to retreat from or cut obligations to alliances like NATO.

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Regional

Engr Waseem Younas assigned look-after charge of NTDC MD

New MD assumes charge of his office

Published by Faisal Ali Ghumman

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Lahore: The Board of Directors of National Transmission and Despatch Company Limited (NTDC), in its 281st meeting held today, has assigned the look-after charge of the post of Managing Director to Engr Muhammad Waseem Younas, the Deputy Managing Director (SO) NTDC, with immediate effect and until the arrival of a regular incumbent.

A notification has been issued in this regard. Engr Younas holds a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore. He has over 34 years experience of power sector mainly in the fields of Power System Analysis, Transmission Planning and System Operation.

He has made significant contributions to the energy sector, such as the development of short, medium and long-term power system expansion plans, cross-border studies, proposing interconnection schemes for power evacuation of conventional and renewable energy generation projects, resolution of grid system constraints and system stability improvement, review of feasibility study reports from consultants,  preparation of PC-1s and PC-IIs for NTDC projects, development of Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP) and Transmission System Expansion Plan (TSEP), preparation of Grid Code, supporting DISCOs and KE on network expansion, facilitation of the enactment of the Competitive Trading Bilateral Contract Market (CTBCM) along with the execution of system operator functions under the CTBCM roadmap. 

Engr Younas also has extensive experience in negotiations with international donor agencies, project developers, consultants, contractors, and federal and provincial government entities on future transmission projects and grid performance improvement plans. He has also received training from both national and International institutions.

Following the notification, Engr Younas has officially assumed the charge of Managing Director at NTDC.

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