Follow live updates from Pakistan vs England
An unprecedented spin-heavy Pakistan cricket won the toss and elected to bat in the second Test against England cricket in Multan.
Ben Stokes returned to lead England after recovering from a torn hamstring as the visitors made two changes from the side which recorded an innings and 47-run win in the first Test last week.
Stokes, who missed England’s 2-1 win at home against Sri Lanka and also last week’s victory in Multan, replaced Chris Woakes while Matthew Potts came in for fellow seamer Gus Atkinson.
Pakistan, who are on an 11-match winless streak at home, dropped four senior players – including out-of-form Babar Azam – for the rest of the series as Kamran Ghulam was handed a Test debut.
Meanwhile, spin trio Sajid Khan, Noman Ali and Zahid Mahmood – who haven’t played first-class cricket for nine months – also come into the starting XI, forming a five-strong spin attack alongside Salman Ali Agha and Saim Ayub.
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India’s Uttar Pradesh to introduce law banning ‘spitting in food’
The government in India’s largest state is planning to bring in a law banning deliberate contamination of food with spit, reportedly after a rise in such complaints.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Uttar Pradesh is contemplating introducing an ordinance following the circulation of unverified videos allegedly showing individuals spitting into food to be served to people in restaurants and other places.
The videos sparked tension in the state even as many of them were debunked as misinformation.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath scheduled a high-level meeting on Tuesday, bringing together senior officials from multiple departments, including Home, Food and Civil Supplies, and Law, to review and discuss the provisions of the proposed ordinance.
Two ordinances which have been tentatively named named “Prevention of Pseudo and Anti-Harmony Activities and Prohibition of Spitting Ordinance 2024” and “Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Contamination in Food (Consumer Right to know) Ordinance 2024” would be discussed in the meeting, reported the Indian Express.
The ordinance will have both preventive and punitive measures for those tampering with food in the state, officials said.
It would be an extension of Mr Adityanath’s series of orders last month that made it mandatory for food businesses to display the names and addresses of operators, proprietors, and managers.
He also directed that CCTV cameras be installed in both large and small food establishments, with a requirement for owners to make footage available to local authorities upon request.
“A state-wide intensive campaign should be conducted to verify all employees, including the operators of these establishments. This verification process must be completed swiftly by a joint team comprising Food Safety and Drug Administration, Police, and Local Administration”, the statement from chief minister’s office last month said.
It said the orders were on the heels of rising “incidents of adulterating food items like juice, dals (lentils), and roti (chappatis) with human waste, inedible, or dirty substances have been reported from various parts of the country”.
However, some civil society activists and opposition politicians have called the move “discriminatory” and warned that it could fuel tensions in India.
The videos, allegedly showing some individuals spitting in or licking packaged or unpackaged items such as fruits, vegetables, and street food, are being widely shared on social media. However, some of these clips were found to be from other countries.
Doctors in India refuse to eat in solidarity with protest over rape
Thousands of doctors in India on Tuesday joined a hunger strike by junior health workers to protest the rape and murder of a colleague in August.
Junior doctors in West Bengal went on a hunger strike on 5 October after nearly 50 days of a “cease work” strike calling for justice for the victim and better safety for doctors. The hunger strike became a fast unto death 11 days ago after a meeting with the state government failed to resolve the deadlock.
The West Bengal Junior Doctors Association had launched street protests after a female trainee doctor was found dead at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on 9 August. An autopsy confirmed she had been sexually assaulted.
This month, the association put 10 demands to the state’s government to end their protests. The government reportedly agreed to seven of them.
“For the remaining three demands, they were requesting specific timelines. These are administrative decisions that the state needs to consider, so we cannot provide a deadline at this point,” West Bengal chief secretary Manoj Pant said.
The Indian Medical Association, which claims to represent about 350,000 doctors in the country, said it organised Tuesday’s fast in solidarity with health workers in West Bengal.
“The young resident doctors of Kolkata are on a fast unto Death,” it said in a statement, adding that five of them had been removed to intensive care after their health deteriorated.
At least seven junior doctors continued their hunger strike at the Esplanade in the centre of the city.
The “basic issue remains the safety and security of doctors and healthcare workers in the hospitals”, the national association said, and “very little changes have happened in the ambiance of hospitals even after the RG Kar issue”.
“The voice of the medical fraternity, especially the young resident doctors and the medical students of the nation, should be heard.”
The Central Bureau of Investigation has charged a civil volunteer associated with the Kolkata police with the rape and murder of the trainee doctor.
Taliban media forced to stop showing images of living beings
Parts of the Taliban media have stopped showing images of living beings under bizarre new rules.
The strict orders have been enforced in some Afghan provinces to comply with morality laws, an official said.
In August Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers issued a ban on women’s voices and bare faces in public under laws approved by the supreme leader in efforts to combat ‘vice and promote virtue’.
They were issued after being approved by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. The Taliban had set up a ministry for the “propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice” after seizing power in 2021.
The laws regulated aspects of everyday life like public transportation, shaving, the media and celebrations reflecting authorities’ interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia.
Article 17 bans the publication of images of living beings, sparking concerns about the consequences for Afghan media and press freedom.
A spokesman for the Vice and Virtue Ministry, Saif ul Islam Khyber, said government media in the provinces of Takhar, Maidan Wardak and Kandahar have been advised not to air or show images of anything with a soul — meaning people and animals.
Khyber told The Associated Press a day earlier that the ministry was responsible for implementing the morality laws.
He did not clarify if the rules affected all media, including foreign outlets, or only Afghan channels and websites.
Nor did he say how the laws would be enforced or if there was a deadline for compliance.
Article 19 bans the playing of music, the transportation of solo female travelers, and the mixing of men and women who are not related to each other. The law also obliges passengers and drivers to perform prayers at designated times.
A UN report has claimed the ministry was contributing to a climate of fear and intimidation among Afghans through edicts and the methods used to enforce them.
It said the ministry’s role was expanding into other areas of public life, including media monitoring and eradicating drug addiction.
“Given the multiple issues outlined in the report, the position expressed by the de facto authorities that this oversight will be increasing and expanding gives cause for significant concern for all Afghans, especially women and girls,” said Fiona Frazer, the head of the human rights service at the U.N. mission in Afghanistan.
No other Muslim-majority country imposes similar restrictions, including Iran and Saudi Arabia. During their previous rule in the late 1990s, the Taliban banned most television, radio and newspapers altogether.
PM buys £2.2m house as his government launches affordable homes plan
Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese has bought a $4.3m (£2.2m) property on the New South Wales coast, raising eyebrows as his government aims to roll out an affordable housing initiative.
He acquired the four-bedroom, three-bathroom luxury home in Copacabana, described as “clifftop perfection”, in September.
The property is located in a popular Sydney vacation spot and near the family home of Albanese’s partner Jodie Haydon. It features timber-lined cathedral ceilings, open-plan living spaces, sea views from the bedrooms, an entertaining deck, and a garden designed with tropical and native species.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference in Queensland, Mr Albanese said he was “much better off as prime minister” but knew about the “struggle” that Australians faced.
“I earn a good income, I understand that. I understand that I’ve been fortunate,” he said. “But I know what it is like to struggle. My mum lived in the one public housing home that she was born in for all of her 65 years. I know what it is like, which is why I want to help all Australians into a home.”
The prime minister also cleared the air on his retirement plan. “I’m planning to be in my current job for a very long period of time,” he said.
The timing of the property purchase raised eyebrows as the Albanese government seeks to address the pressing issue of housing affordability ahead of the upcoming elections.
His Labor party recently introduced a $10bn (£5.1bn) fund aimed at supporting social and affordable housing, although efforts to assist lower-income Australians in purchasing 40,000 homes remained stalled in parliament.
Mr Albanese’s decision to purchase the luxury home has sparked criticism from within his own party as the Labor government has pledged to build 1.2 million homes by 2030 to help ease the housing crisis.
Some Labor MPs argue the prime minister’s choice reflects poorly on the government at a time when many Australians face rising interest rates, soaring rents, and escalating property prices.
“I can’t think of a greater act of self-sabotage in my life. I am gobsmacked,” an MP told the Sydney Morning Herald on the condition of anonymity. “If you’re a Labor MP up against a Green at the next election, good luck. Some people [within Labor] were aware and tried to stop it. My instinct is this is f***ing terrible.”
Ben Fordham, the Radio 2GB presenter who reported on the purchase, the property sold for $4.3m, less than the $4.65m (£2.3m) million its previous owners paid during the real estate boom sparked by the Covid pandemic.
Several Labor MPs have defended Mr Albanese’s right to purchase the property, however.
“I don’t have a problem with the PM buying a house,” Sydney MP Mike Freelander said. “That’s what it can cost in NSW these days.”
The median price for a four-bedroom home in Copacabana is reported to be about $1.82m (£933,000).
A spokesperson for Mr Albanese said the decision to buy the house was influenced by Ms Haydon’s desire to return to her roots as three generations of her family lived in the area.
“When the process is complete, it will be declared on the parliamentary register,” the spokesperson added.
The register currently includes Mr Albanese’s investment property in Dulwich Hill, Sydney, which is on the market for $1.85m (£948,000) after a last-minute decision to withdraw it from auction.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton refrained from criticising the prime minister’s purchase, instead noting the financial difficulties many Australians were experiencing in the wake of 12 interest rate hikes since May 2022.
“I wish him and Jodie well. They’re obviously planning for the next stage of life post-politics,” Mr Dutton said as he took a swipe at the prime minister’s economic policies.
“The homeowners in Australia that I’m worried about at the moment are people who can’t afford their mortgages. People have had 12 interest rate increases, and interest rates should come back, as they’re doing in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and New Zealand, but because of Mr Albanese’s bad economic management, we are seeing inflation remain higher and therefore interest rates remain higher as well.”
Greens housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather in turn highlighted the perceived failings of both leading parties in addressing the housing crisis.
“Labor & the Liberals have created a housing system where a property investor can buy a $4.3m beachfront home, while millions can’t even find an affordable rental, let alone buy a house of their own,” he wrote on X.
“Yet Labor still want to give property investors $176bn in tax handouts.”
Airline grounds captain accused of locking out woman copilot
Sri Lanka’s national airline grounded a captain who allegedly locked his copilot out of the cockpit after she took a mid-air toilet break.
The incident happened on a 10-hour Sri Lankan Airlines flight from Sydney to Colombo on Monday during which the woman copilot decided to take a toilet break, according to reports.
The pilot reportedly became enraged as she did not arrange for her substitute in the cockpit in line with standard operating procedures, leading to a tense standoff between the two mid-flight.
The pilot allegedly locked her out when she left to use the restroom, becoming the only person to be in the cockpit in violation of safety protocols.
The situation escalated to the point that a senior crew member on the flight had to intervene to break the standoff and have the copilot back in her chair.
The cabin crew member used a communication link to the cockpit to persuade the captain to open the door and let the co-pilot in.
Many airlines and aviation authorities enforce rules that require at least two qualified crew members to be present in the cockpit at all times during a flight. This rule was reinforced after incidents where lone pilots were left in control of the cockpit, leading to safety concerns.
In 2015, all 144 passengers and six crew members died on a Germanwings Flight 9525 after its pilot locked himself in the cockpit and deliberately crashed the plane. The incident has led to several airlines tightening the rules around cockpit occupancy.
In 2022, two pilots of Air-France were suspended following a physical altercation in the cockpit. The two pilots exchanged blows during the flight which eventually landed safely.
Militants dressed as women attack police station and kill 4 officers
Gunmen disguised as Muslim women stormed a regional police headquarters in northwest Pakistan, killing four people and triggering a heavy gunfight on the eve of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.
Five gunmen wearing suicide vests under burqas carried out the attack in the garrison city of Bannu in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Monday.
The militants, armed with sophisticated weapons, rocket launchers and hand grenades, arrived at the Iqbal Shaheed Police Lines in a rickshaw and on a motorcycle and opened indiscriminate fire at policemen manning the gate, regional police officer Imran Shahid said.
All five of them as well as four police officers were killed in the ensuing gunfight that lasted nearly six hours, Dawn newspaper reported.
Graphic pictures circulating online showed half a dozen dead bodies lying on ground and videos purported to show intense firing and explosions in the area.
The attack occurred just hours after funeral prayers were offered for head constable Shaista Khan, who had been killed in an attack earlier in the day.
This is the second such attack this year in Bannu, which neighbours the restive North Waziristan district near the border with Afghanistan.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, simply known as Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack. The proscribed group, a separate entity from the Taliban governing Afghanistan, has long been a major security challenge to Islamabad. Many leaders and fighters of the Pakistani Taliban have reportedly found refuge in Afghanistan since the Taliban took power in 2021.
The Bannu attack is the latest in a spate of terror strikes in Pakistan ahead of the SCO summit. Top foreign leaders, delegates and foreign journalists have gathered in Islamabad for policy deliberations on 15 and 16 October. Terrorism is one of the key issues on the agenda.
Militants gunned down 21 coal miners and wounded over half a dozen in the restive Balochistan province last week. The carnage lasted 30 minutes before the attackers “escaped into the night,” police said, adding that they were armed with hand grenades and rocket launchers.
A few days earlier, on 6 October, a suicide bomber had killed two Chinese workers outside the Karachi airport and injured at least eight Pakistani security officials.
The capital Islamabad was placed under a security lockdown and a public holiday was announced for three days as the threat alert remained high in the host nation.
Chinese premier Li Qiang was the most prominent leader to arrive on Monday for the summit of the transregional grouping led by Beijing.
People gather for contest to see who is best at doing nothing
More than 100 people gathered in Tokyo and Hong Kong over the weekend to participate in a “space-out” competition that required people to do absolutely nothing.
Ten years since the first Space-Out Competition was held in South Korea’s Seoul in 2014, it has international chapters now in different cities like Beijing, Rotterdam, Taipei, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
The aim of the contest is simple: participants must space out for 90 minutes, with the slightest hint of an activity resulting in a disqualification. Falling asleep, talking, or fidgeting to get comfortable will all count as activities. Competitors have their heart rates checked every 15 minutes to ensure they stay low and steady, while an audience votes for their favourite contestants.
Part competition, part performance art, space-out was created by South Korean visual artist Woopsyang after she suffered from severe burnout.
“I wondered why I was so anxious about doing nothing,” she told CNN, adding that she watched other people leading fast-paced busy lives and felt she didn’t measure up.
“In fact, those people could also be wanting to space out and do nothing like me.
“So, I created a competition thinking that it would be nice to pause all together at the same place at the same time.”
Woopsyang said she wanted the competition to remind everyone that spacing out and taking a break to do nothing was important, especially in the break-neck work culture most people lead in South Korea.
“We tend to think that doing nothing is a waste of time,” Woopsyang said, saying that the effort one would have to put into “doing nothing” for the competition was a deliberate move. “But in reality, for modern people, such ‘unproductive’ time doing nothing is actually absolutely necessary.”
Participants are allowed to use props, with one entrant holding an ice cream bar as it melted to display how good they were at zoning out.
Tokyo saw 528 applicants in 2024, from which 90 were selected to compete, according to Sora News 24.
Hong Kong saw more applicants. Around 1,200 applied, from which 70 were selected to compete, reported South China Morning Post.
Winners in Tokyo got a trip to the Ise Shima region in the Mie Prefecture, while those in Hong Kong got a free flight to South Korea.
“In Hong Kong, people are often nervous and are in a rush. This is a good opportunity to just free your brain and let your mind relax,” said participant Jacki Luk.