Skardu Fort, also known as Kharpocho Fort, is a historic fortress which is located above the city of Skardu in the Gilgit-Baltistan Region, in the northern part of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
As there are some sources which claim that the fortress was built in 8 century, it is widely considered that it was built by King Ali Sher at the end of 16 century, and it was named Skardu Fort because it is considered to be the “King of Forts”.
With its important location, it was a primary target for attacks and occupation, and since the fort lies on the eastern face of the Khardrong Hill, also known as Mindoq-Khar or Castle of Queen Mindoq, it overlooks and protects the town that has the same name.
Within the fortress there aren’t structures which survived the time, however, there is a mosque that is considered to have been built with the arrival of the Islam in the region.
Still, the fortress was designed according to the model of some other fortresses, such as the Potala Palace in Tibet, China, but Skardu Fort was not fortunate enough to survive the plentiful campaigns of conquest, which finally was completely destroyed in 1857 under the guidance of the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir and head of the Jamwal Rajput clan, Ranbir Singh.
After the First Kashmir War, with a long siege of Skardu, the fortress became part of Kashmir that is still controlled by Pakistan, and at that time it was renamed into Gilgit-Baltistan.
Lastly, always succeeding to impress everyone who is eager and adventurous enough to visit this impressive Pakistani treasure, the Skardu Fort shall continue to tell the story of its long past that saw quite a lot of conquest and destruction, which in the end has only most of its walls to be the witnesses of those times.
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Zamfara Government has inaugurated 43 newly constructed Primary Health Care Centres and distributed 147 tricycle ambulances to boost access to health services in the state.
The health centres were constructed under the government programme of providing one functional PHC in each of the 147 political wards of the state.
Governor Bello Matawalle said in a message at the inauguration of one of the completed health centres at Sabongida, Bungudu Local Government Area, that the remaining PHCs were at various stages of completion.
Represented by his Deputy, Sen. Hassan Nasiha, the governor said that the 43 PHCs were fully equipped to provide quality health services to patients at the grassroots.
He directed the state Primary Healthcare Board (PHCB) to ensure full utilization of the facilities for the benefit of all residents.
Matawalle called on contractors handling the remaining facilities to complete them or risk revocation of the contract.
Matawalle said his administration had distributed ambulances and medical equipment to secondary health care facilities across the state.
The Emir of Gusau, Alhaji Ibrahim Bello and the Commissioner of Local Government Affairs, Alhaji Abubakar S-Pawa, appreciated the intervention and pledged to ensure that the facilities served the people.
The Executive Secretary, PHCB, Dr. Tukur Isma’il, said the PHCs would help to reduce infant and maternal deaths and encourage pregnant women to go for antenatal care.
Israel has dropped a controversial demand for foreigners visiting the occupied West Bank to report romantic links with Palestinians within 30 days.
Revised rules also on foreigners living in, or wanting to, visit the territory remove a quota for university lecturers and students from abroad.
The Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammed Shtayyeh, described them as “racist measures”.
Israel says restrictions on travel into the West Bank are for security reasons.
The US ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides said he had “aggressively engaged” with the Israeli government and continued “to have concerns with the published protocols”.
European diplomats previously said they had brought up concerns “at the highest level” with the Israeli authorities.
Mr Shtayyeh has called on the US and EU to apply diplomatic pressure to make further changes.
The procedures affect thousands of foreign spouses, as well as Palestinians living in the diaspora, businesspeople, academics and volunteers.
A senior source at the Co-ordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (Cogat), the unit of the Israeli ministry of defence responsible for Palestinian civil affairs, told me they were intended “for the convenience of foreigners” and would allow requests for more long-term visas.
In his meetings with the top officials of the US government right after his speech at the Centre for Global Development, Nigeria’s Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbanjo says the proposed Debt-for-Climate swaps would be a very useful intervention and helpful as it will reduce debt burdens,” while advancing the Climate Change objectives of the international community.”
He also described the idea as a Climate Change related financing instrument deserving of global consideration as it is a win-win proposal.
The VP also pushed the idea of opening up the Carbon Market in Africa so that the Climate Change actions of African countries can be adequately verified by the international community through the assessments of the appropriate verification institutions.
In addition, the VP noted, “we are hoping to get support and international buy-ins for these ideas,” specifically the DFC and the participation of African countries in the international carbon market. He reiterated that the DFC will help solve many of the debt burden challenges in Nigeria and other countries.
Responding to the Debt-for-Climate proposal, the Administrator of USAID told the Vice President that the idea was “fresh thinking that is very exciting,” adding that the US was open to such new thinking even though it would require the full policy review of the American Government.
Experts say under the DFC, sovereign debtors and international creditors will forgive all or a portion of external debt often running into billions in a country like Nigeria, in exchange for a commitment by the country to invest, in domestic currency, in specific climate or energy transition projects during a commonly agreed period.
The expectation is that Debt For Climate swaps will reduce the level of indebtedness and free up fiscal resources to be invested in clean energy projects in Nigeria and other countries signed up for the programme once accepted by creditor-nations.
Prof. Osinbajo in his CGD speech explained that the “debt for climate swaps is a type of debt swap where bilateral or multilateral debt is forgiven by creditors in exchange for a commitment by the debtor to use the outstanding debt service payments for national climate action programs.
Nick Kyrgios ended Daniil Medvedev’s defence of the US Open title as he earned a thrilling four-set win on an entertaining night in New York.
The 27-year-old Australian demonstrated all of his shot-making – and propensity for creating drama – in a 7-6 (13-11) 3-6 6-3 6-2 win in the last 16.
Medvedev, 26, will lose his ranking as world number one after the defeat.
Wimbledon runner-up Kyrgios goes on to play another Russian, 27th seed Karen Khachanov, in the quarter-finals.
Khachanov reached his third Grand Slam quarter-final by outlasting Spanish 12th seed Pablo Carreno Busta in a 4-6 6-3 6-1 4-6 6-3 win.
“It was an amazing match. Daniil is the defending champion and a lot of pressure on his shoulders, but I’ve been playing great recently,” said 23rd seed Kyrgios, who will move back into the world’s top 20 after the win.
“People were really starting to doubt my ability to pull out matches like this at majors. I’m really proud of myself because it hasn’t been easy dealing with all the criticism.”
Kyrgios has regularly demonstrated over the years he has the talent to win one of the major tournaments, but said he had been in some “really scary places mentally” which had stopped his progress.
Reaching the Wimbledon final, where he lost to Novak Djokovic, showed he had figured out what he needed to do on and off court to be successful.
His form has been transferred to the North American hard courts – winning the Washington title and now going further at Flushing Meadows than before.
“I just feel like I’m playing for a lot more than myself. I’ve got a lot of motivation in the back of my mind,” said Kyrgios.
“I’ve been away from home now for four months. My whole team has. We don’t get to see our family like other tennis players do the majority of time.
“I’m trying to make it worthwhile, trying to make it a memorable ride for all of us. Hopefully we can get it done, go back home and really celebrate.”
Kyrgios and Medvedev deliver the show which they promised
Apart from Serena Williams’ farewell, this was the biggest blockbuster of the tournament so far and a match-up between two characters which would have befitted the latter stages.
The pair have been two of the standout players on the ATP Tour in recent months, with Kyrgios winning the most tour matches since the start of June after 25 victories and Medvedev next behind him – and alongside Britain’s Cameron Norrie – on 18.
Both players promised beforehand to “put on a show” on the Sunday night of a holiday weekend in New York.
They did not disappoint.
Almost three hours of ferocious serving, baseline blows, momentum swings and bizarre moments entertained a near-capacity 24,000 crowd on a sticky night in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“It was a really high-level match,” said Medvedev, who compared Kyrgios’ level to that of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
“If he plays like this until the end of the tournament, he has all the chances to win it. But he’s going to get tough opponents, so it’s not sure.”
Kyrgios took first blood for a 4-2 lead in the first set, whipping up the fans before he converted the break point, with Medvedev mimicking his opponent’s actions as he instantly hit back.
A tense tie-break, packed with quality and drama, saw Kyrgios save three set points and twice clatter his racquet against the court before converting the fourth opportunity of his own to take the lead.
“I feel like if he’d got that first set, it was going to be pretty much an impossible task for me to come back and win,” said Kyrgios.
Kyrgios popped off for a bathroom break after the 64-minute opener as a shirtless Medvedev complained to the umpire about the noise from the Australian’s box while he was serving.
Medvedev (22) and Kyrgios (21) landed 43 aces between them, with the Australian hitting a total of 53 winners compared with 49 by the top seed
A different Kyrgios emerged – and not the one which the crowd, whose support was tipped in his favour, wanted to see.
With his first-serve percentage plummeting, Kyrgios played with nonchalance bordering on disinterest as he fell 5-1 behind.
One of the breaks was retrieved when he hit a brilliant crosscourt winner for 5-2 and he threatened to wipe out the other before Medvedev recovered to serve out the set.
The Kyrgios Show resumed in the third set.
After holding for 1-0, he slipped at 30-15 in the next game and looked injured as he laid out on the court, prompting Medvedev to come round the net to check if he was OK.
The pair tapped hands as Kyrgios reassured him he was fine and when play continued there was another extraordinary moment in the next point.
Kyrgios forced Medvedev into a volley which was looping out on the Russian’s side of the net and Kyrgios decided to come around the post to hammer it into the court.
That was a foul shot and he lost the point as a result, meaning he did not get the break-point opportunity and Medvedev went on to hold.
“I thought that was legal. Now it’s going to be all over the internet and I’ll be looking like an idiot,” laughed Kyrgios about his foul shot
While that felt like a considerable and perhaps pivotal moment, Kyrgios refocused quickly to break for 3-1 anyway and served out to regain the lead.
Now it was Medvedev’s turn to pop off court and, while Kyrgios waited for his return, he showed how much he was in the zone.
Jumping off his seat and keeping loose, that energy remained as he broke twice to race into a 5-1 lead.
Many of the crowd rose to their feet when Kyrgios brought up match point and stayed on them as he quickly thumped a 135mph ace down the middle to seal a memorable win.
The rivals shared an embrace full of shoulder-patting before Kyrgios pointed to the court as he drew acclaim and then joined the crowd in clapping Medvedev back to the locker room.
“I feel like tonight was another message that rankings don’t matter,” said Kyrgios.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC Limited, has agreed on a forensic audit of fuel supply and subsidy management, insisting that daily fuel supply remained 68 million.
In a statement by Garba Deen Muhammad, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, said between January and August 2022, “the total volume of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, imported into the country was 16.46 billion litres, which translates to an average supply of 68 million litres per day.
“Similarly, import in the year 2021 was 22.35 billion litres, which translated to an average supply of 61 million litres per day.”
The NNPC said the average daily evacuation (depot truck out) from January to August 2022 “stands at 67million litres per day as reported by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA),” while “daily evacuation (depot load outs) records of the NMDPRA do carry daily oscillation ranging from as low as four million litres to as high as 100 million litres per day.”
The company said that rising crude oil prices and PMS supply costs above PPPRA (now NMDPRA) cap had caused oil marketing companies’ withdrawal from PMS import since the fourth quarter of 2017, saying: “In the light of these challenges, NNPC has remained the supplier of last resort and continues to transparently report the monthly PMS cost under-recoveries to the relevant authorities.”
On cost, NNPC said the average international market determined landing cost in Q2 2022 was “US$1,283/MT and the approved marketing and distribution cost of N46/litre.”
Also, it said the combination of these cost elements “translates to retail pump price of N462/litre, an average subsidy of N297/litre and an annual estimate of N6.5 trillion on the assumption of 60 million litres daily PMS supply.”
The NNPC promised to ensure “compliance with existing governance framework that requires participation of relevant government agencies in all PMS discharge operations, including Nigerian Ports Authority, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Customs Service, NIMASA and all others.”
Nigeria and South Africa will be notable absentees from the African Nations Championship after qualifying for the 2022 finals in Algeria concluded on Sunday.
Ghana pipped arch-rivals Nigeria on penalties after a 2-2 aggregate draw, while South Africa slumped to a 4-1 loss at home to Angola, who triumphed 6-1 overall.
Leading nations who will be at the seventh edition of the tournament reserved for home-based stars include Senegal, title-holders Morocco, Cameroon and the Ivory Coast.
Trailing 2-0 after the first leg, Nigeria staged a late rally in Abuja to win the return match 2-0 through goals from Zulkifilu Rabiu and Chijioke Akuneto, from an added-time penalty.
Ghana converted all five spot-kicks in the shootout while Maurice Ugochukwu missed to eliminate 2018 runners-up Nigeria.
The dramatic victory took two-time beaten finalists Ghana back to the finals after failing to qualify for the last three editions.
Although Nigeria boast one of the stronger national leagues in Africa, they have reached the finals only three times, with their qualifying failures including a stunning 2020 loss to Togo.
In Soweto, South Africa got off to a great start with Prince Nxumalo halving the aggregate deficit by nodding home a free-kick just six minutes into the first half.
But disaster struck for the home side on 39 minutes when an attempted headed clearance by Mosa Lebusa looped over goalkeeper Reyaad Pieterse into his own net.
It left South Africa needing to score three unanswered goals to survive with a team sorely weakened by the absence of stars on club duty.
Angola grew stronger as the second half progressed with Jaredi Teixeira a constant menace on the left wing.
He set up the second and fourth goals for Deivi Viera and Daniel Kilola, and Joaquim Paciencia netted the third with a free-kick that flew in off the underside of the crossbar.
Cameroon, fourth when they hosted the 2020 tournament, netted twice late in the opening half to beat Equatorial Guinea 2-0 and squeeze through having lost 1-0 away.
Following the resignation of Boris Johnson, Liz Truss has been announced his successor and will take over his position as the United Kingdom prime minister.
After a summer-long contest by just over 170,000 Conservative members, a tiny sliver of Britain’s electorate, the foreign secretary beat her rival, former finance minister Rishi Sunak, by about 57% to 43%.
Having won the conservative party leadership contest, she will have to confront Britain’s deepest economic crisis in decades as UK’s third female prime minister following Theresa May and Margaret Thatcher.
After Johnson tenders his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II, she will formally take office on Tuesday.
Political Career
From 1998 to 2000, Truss served as the chair of the Lewis ham Conservative Association.
In 1998, she unsuccessfully contested the Greenwich London Borough Council elections for Vanbrugh ward and Blackheath Westcombe in 2002.
On 4 May 2006, she was elected as a councillor for Eltham South in the Greenwich London Borough Council election.
At the 2001 general election, Truss stood for the constituency of Harmsworth in West Yorkshire, a safe seat for the Labour Party where she came a distant second, but increased the Conservative vote by 4%.
In October 2009, she was selected for the South West Norfolk seat by members of the constituency Conservative Association where she won over 50% of the vote in the first round of the final against five other candidates. Shortly after her selection, some members of the constituency association objected to her selection, due to her failure to declare a prior affair with the married Conservative MP Mark Field. While a motion was proposed to terminate Truss’s candidature, this was defeated by 132 votes to 37 at a general meeting of the association’s members after three weeks.
On 6th May 2010, she campaigned for issues including the retention of the RAF Tornado base at RAF Marham in her constituency. Over seven months she asked 13 questions in the Commons about RAF Marham, secured a special debate on the subject, wrote dozens of letters to ministers and also collected signatures on a petition which was delivered to Downing Street.
On 4 September 2012, Truss was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Education and also scheduled with responsibility for childcare and early learning, assessment, qualifications and curriculum reform, behaviour and attendance, and school food review; a role that enabled her develop some of the policy areas that she had pursued as a backbencher.
In July 2014, during a cabinet reshuffle, Truss was appointed Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, replacing Owen Paterson. In apparent contrast to her predecessor, Truss declared that she fully believed that climate change is happening, adding that human beings have contributed to that.
By November 2014, She had launched a new 10-year bee and pollinator strategy to try to reverse the trend of falling bee populations which includes a strategy to revive traditional meadows which provide the most fertile habitat for pollinators and in July 2015, she approved the limited temporary lifting of an EU ban on the use of two neonicotinoid pesticides thereby enabling their use for 120 days on about 5% of England’s oil seed rape crop to ward off the cabbage stem flea beetle;
On 14 July 2016, Truss was appointed as Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor in Theresa May’s first ministry. She became the first woman to hold either position and the first female Lord Chancellor in the thousand-year history of the office. Even though May’s decision to appoint her was criticised by the then Minister of State for Justice Lord Faulks, who then resigned from the government, as she questioned – on behalf of the judges – whether Truss would have the clout to be able to stand up to the Prime Minister when necessary.
On 11 June 2017, following the general election, Truss was moved to the position of Chief Secretary to the Treasury, attending the cabinet but not a full member of it, in what was seen by some as a demotion.
On 19 March 2020, Truss introduced to Parliament the Trade Act 2021, which established the legal framework for the UK to conduct trade deals with nations around the world.
On 15 September 2021 during a cabinet reshuffle, Truss was promoted from International Trade Secretary to Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, hence, becoming the second woman to hold the position after Margaret Beckett.
On 10 July 2022, Truss announced her decision to run in the Conservative Party leadership election to replace Boris Johnson.
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