A look at the headlines today:
1. NC delegation from Jammu granted permission to meet Abdullahs today
A delegation of National Conference from Jammu province has been granted permission by the Jammu and Kashmir administration to meet party president Farooq Abdullah and vice president Omar Abdullah, who are currently under detention today. "The delegation led by provincial president Devender Singh Rana and comprising former party legislators will fly from Jammu tomorrow morning," National Conference spokesperson Madan Mantoo said. Rana had sought permission from Governor Satya Pal Malik in this regard. Mantoo said the decision to meet the Abdullahs was taken at an emergent meeting of senior functionaries and district presidents of the Jammu Province two days ago, soon after restrictions on the movement of Jammu-based National Conference leaders were lifted.
2. Ailing Musharraf plans to return to politics today
Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf plans to return to politics today after remaining inactive for over an year due to his deteriorating health, according to one of his top aides. General (retd) Musharraf, 76, who has been living in Dubai since March 2016, is facing the treason case for suspending the Constitution in 2007, a punishable offence for which he was indicted in 2014. A conviction for high treason carries the death penalty or life imprisonment. Musharraf, the founder of the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), took a backseat from political activities last year because of his deteriorating health. He is now planning a comeback following an improvement in his condition, The Express Tribune quoted a party official as saying. The former president is suffering from amyloidosis, a rare disease caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein called amyloid in organs and tissues throughout the body, according to his family.
3. After talks, US envoy, Taliban representatives will leave Islamabad today
US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban representatives, led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, after their meetings in Islamabad, will leave the country today. Baradar, along with a 12-member delegation, has been in Pakistan since Wednesday on the invitation of Pakistan. Khalilzad also arrived this week but there was no official word on his presence. A Pakistani official privy to the development confirmed to The Express Tribune that US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban representatives, led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, met for the second day on Friday. The meeting was a follow up of their two-hour-long discussions held in Islamabad on Thursday, said the official, who requested not to be identified.
4. Will Portugal keep faith with Socialists?
Portugal goes to the polls on Sunday with voter satisfaction with Indian-origin Prime Minister Antonio Costa's record of economic growth set to propel his Socialists back into office for a second term. Bucking a trend of declining centre-left fortunes elsewhere in Europe, the Socialists lead opinion polls with 37 per cent support, compared to 30 per cent for nearest rivals the centre-right Social Democrats (PSD) although the difference between the two parties has halved over the past three months. If that is confirmed on election night the Socialists will fall short of a parliamentary majority, meaning Costa, a former Lisbon mayor of Indian origin, would once again need the support of at least one other party to govern. "Unless there is a debacle on the part of the right, an absolute majority for the Socialist party seems unlikely," Antonio Costa Pinto, a politics professor and the University of Lisbon, told AFP. After the last general election in 2015 in which the incumbent alliance made up of the PSD and the smaller conservative CDS-PP won the most seats but fell short of a majority, Costa convinced two smaller hard-left parties—the Communists and the Left Bloc—to support a minority Socialist government.
5. Kerala tops list of startup destinations in country: Report
Kerala has emerged as one of top start-up destinations in the country, according to a report compiled by digital media platform Inc 42 in association with TiE Kerala. The state has made an impressive compound annual growth of 17 per cent since 2012, taking the total number of ventures based out of the state to 2,200 and displaying high competence in netting funds, said the report. In a single year since 2018 alone, the number of startups marked a steep increase of 35 per cent, said the report unveiled at the valedictory function of the TiECon Kerala 2019 in Kochi.
6. Athletics Championships; Lahore T20; Premier League; India-South Africa Test
Athletics: The Indian men's and women's 4x400m relay teams produced disappointing performances while javelin thrower Shivpal Singh came a cropper as they crashed out of the World Championships here on Saturday. The women's quartet of Jisna Mathew, M R Poovamma, V.K. Vismaya and Venkatesan Subha clocked 3 minutes 29.42 seconds to finish sixth in the heat number one and 11th overall in the first round heats to fail to qualify for the finals. Later, the men's team of Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Anas, K Suresh Jeevan and Noah Nirmal Tom ran 3:03.09 to finish seventh in heat number 2 and 13th overall out of 16 countries to crash out of the championships. The top three in each of the two heats and the next two fastest teams qualify for the finals.
Lahore T20: New-look Sri Lanka achieved their biggest T20 win over world number one Pakistan by 64 runs on the back of some brilliant batting and bowling in Lahore on Saturday. Opener Danushka Gunathilaka scored a career best 57 and despite a hat-trick by teenage Pakistan paceman Mohammad Hasnain Sri Lanka posted a challenging 165-5 in their 20 overs. Fast bowlers Isuru Udana (3-11) and Nuwan Pradeep (3-21) then dismantled Pakistan for 101 in 17.4 overs to give Sri Lanka a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Premier League: James Milner scored a stoppage-time winner as Liverpool moved eight points clear at the top of the Premier League with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Leicester, while Mauricio Pochettino's problems mounted after Tottenham's 3-0 loss at Brighton. Liverpool won for the 17th consecutive league game thanks to Milner's dramatic contribution to a thrilling clash at Anfield. Jurgen Klopp's side ruined Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers' first return to Liverpool since being replaced by the German in 2015. At the Amex Stadium, Tottenham's crisis deepened as they turned in a desperate performance, while Hugo Lloris suffered a serious arm injury after another howler. Tottenham keeper Lloris dropped the ball on the goal line and hurt himself in the process in only the third minute, allowing Neal Maupay to open the scoring.
India-South Africa Test: Rohit Sharma smashed another hundred and a plethora of records as India set an improbable 395-run target for South Africa in first Test which is headed for an exciting final day. Revelling in his new role, Rohit effortlessly walked his way into the record books as he scored 127 off 149 balls, following his 176, to become the first ever batsman in the history of Test cricket to score two hundreds in his opening 'debut'. In a debatable decision, India batted late into the final session on day four before declaring their second innings at 323 for four in 67 overs, giving themselves 45 minutes on day four and the whole of day five to bowl out South Africa.