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  • SJC dismisses 19 complaints against superior judges – Newspaper

    SJC dismisses 19 complaints against superior judges – Newspaper

    • Apex council defers complaints against five judges for the time being
    • CJP’s proposal to make ‘frivolous’ allegations public not endorsed by colleagues
    • Meeting approves draft of Supreme Judicial Council Secretariat Service Rules-2025

    ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) after perusal on Saturday, dropped 19 complaints out of a total of 24 filed by individuals under Article 209 of the Constitution against different judges of the superior courts.

    Headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, who also heads the council as its chairman, the five-member SJC disposed of 19 complaints through a unanimous decision.

    However, it decided to defer five other complaints against different judges for the time being.

    The members who attended the meeting included Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah (who joined via video link), Justice Munib Akhtar, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Aalia Neelum, and Sindh High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar.

    During the meeting, the CJP suggested that the complaints, which were rejected by the council, should at least be made public so that the people could know about the frivolous allegations levelled against the judges, but other members of the council did not endorse the idea.

    On the completion of the first 100 days of the CJP in February, it was announced by the council that the SJC during the last two sittings had examined 46 complaints, under Article 209 of the Constitution, received against constitutional office-holders, of which 40 had been disposed of.

    In one of the meetings of the council, it was decided to hold regular monthly sessions to clear the backlog of outstanding complaints against superior court judges on the fast track.

    On Saturday, the council discussed all the agenda items one by one and approved the proposed draft of Supreme Judicial Council Secretariat Service Rules-2025, while it was resolved that the procedure of enquiry and amendments in the Code of Conduct and Procedure of Enquiry 2005 needed to be examined from a legal and drafting point of view; therefore, these required further deliberations.

    To reinforce judicial accountability, the SJC had earlier appointed Justice Munib Akhtar as head of a committee to propose amendments to the code of conduct for judges and to suggest the procedure for conducting an inquiry against the superior court judges.

    In one of the interactions with the media, CJP Afridi had conceded that the draft for amending the code of conduct had been finalised, outlining the procedure for submitting complaints and the preliminary scrutiny of complaints to determine their validity, or further investigation, etc.

    The SJC had earlier established a separate secretariat to enhance its operational capacity.

    Earlier this week, CJP Afridi called the SJC meeting to consider around two dozen pending complaints against superior court judges and a set of recommendations to streamline the process of handling complaints and to ensure transparency while probing allegations of misconduct against judges.

    Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2025

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  • PTI brass gathers in Lahore to kick-start Aug 5 movement – Pakistan

    PTI brass gathers in Lahore to kick-start Aug 5 movement – Pakistan

    • Gandapur leads KP lawmakers to Punjab’s capital
    • Gohar says leadership will also take up suspension of 26 MPAs

    LAHORE: The PTI top leadership arrived in Lahore on Saturday to devise a strategy for its nationwide protest, which will reach its crescendo on Aug 5 to seek the release of party founder Imran Khan, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur describing the Lahore visit as the formal launch of the movement.

    Before their departure, the party leaders held a meeting in Islamabad to discuss several issues, including the potential disqualification of the party’s Punjab Assembly lawmakers who had been suspended by the speaker.

    In the evening, a caravan of KP lawmakers led by CM Gandapur, as well as Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar reached Lahore via G.T. Road. During a layover in Jhelum, the KP CM said that the protest had been launched, and the parliamentary meeting in Lahore would mull the final protest strategy to step up the campaign ahead of the two-year anniversary of Imran Khan’s imprisonment on Aug 5.

    PTI interim chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said the party’s parliamentarians were going to Lahore for a meeting and added they would discuss the issue of 26 MPAs, suspended by the Punjab Assembly speaker. “The Punjab government has been unleashing fascism for the past two years, and now it is time that common sense should prevail,” he stressed.

    Though there were reports that the Punjab police could block PTI parliamentarians’ entry into Lahore, the leaders had said they would stage a sit-in at the blocked point. However, the parliamentarians, led by CM Gandapur, made a smooth entry and camped at a farmhouse in Raiwind, Lahore.

    The police, however, did raid party leaders and workers’ homes throughout the day and even went to the Shahdra Morr – Lahore’s entry point on G.T. Road – and took into custody five leaders, including Yasir Gillani from among those gathered to welcome the PTI caravan.

    At a late-night party meeting in Raiwand, CM Gandapur told parliamentarians that they had reached the ‘political hub of the country’ to launch their protest campaign. “Any campaign launched from Lahore earns success and this too will be successful across the country,” he asserted.

    Asserting that party leader Imran Khan is in jail for no valid reason, CM Gandapur advised party leaders to move forward through consultations and plans in respective jurisdictions to step up the protest campaign. “All the provinces should prepare their protest plans and implement them in line with their local issues and take the protest campaign to its peak by Aug 5,” he asserted.

    He said the establishment had been ruling the country for decades and imposed multiple martial laws as part of different experiments, destroying the country. “The establishment this time has imposed a new kind of martial law, which is not official, but wielding every kind of power and pressure,” he observed and added that it destroyed the country but the perpetrators were not even showing any remorse.

    At the meeting, Mr Bhachar said Punjab could not warmly welcome CM Gandapur because a “fascist government” was ruling Punjab that even lacked parliamentary as well as social norms. Mr Bhachar said the party’s 11 MPAs were suspended after Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz came to the assembly and her second visit led to the suspension of 26 members. “This clearly shows the level of fear the Punjab government is facing from PTI’s 107 tigers in the Punjab Assembly,” he asserted.

    “Though the PTI leaders and workers are facing thousands of FIRs, the party is all set to launch a massive protest campaign aimed at the release of Imran Khan, his wife and all political leaders,” he added.

    While the PTI parliamentarians have camped in Lahore, the party’s Punjab chapter, led by Aliya Hamza Malik, had already mobilised party workers across the province and assigned duties to step up the protest campaign and take to its pinnacle on August 5.

    Before leaving for Lahore, the party’s interim chairman Barrister Gohar Khan, while talking to media persons, said that the party had already sent a letter to the provincial government stating that it would hold a meeting in Lahore. However, he made it clear that the party was not planning to hold any rally or public meeting in the provincial capital.

    Ikram Junaidi in Islamabad also contributed to this report

    Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2025

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  • Gaza ceasefire talks held up by Israel’s plans against withdrawal – World

    Gaza ceasefire talks held up by Israel’s plans against withdrawal – World

    CAIRO: Talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza are stalling over the extent of Israeli forces’ withdrawal from the Pale­s­tinian enclave, Pales­tinian and Israeli sources familiar with the negotiations in Doha said on Saturday.

    The indirect talks over a US proposal for a 60-day ceasefire are nonetheless expected to continue, the sources told Reuters.

    According to AFP, which cited two Pales­tinian sour­ces with knowledge of the discussions, indirect talks are being held up by Israel’s proposals to keep troops in the territory.

    Israel has meanwhile kept up its strikes on Gaza and the territory’s civil defence agency said more than 20 people were killed on Saturday, including in an air strike on an area sheltering the displaced.

    “We all generally came here because we were told it was a safe area,” Bassam Hamdan told AFP after the overnight attack in an area of Gaza City. “While we were sleeping, there was an explosion… where two boys, a girl and their mother were staying. We found them torn to pieces, their remains scattered,” he added.

    Medics said 17 people trying to get food aid were killed on Saturday when Israeli troops opened fire, the latest mass shooting around a US-backed aid distribution system that the UN says has resulted in 800 people killed in six weeks.

    Witnesses who spoke to Reuters described people being shot in the head and torso. The news agency reported seeing several bodies of victims wrapped in white shrouds as family members wept at Nasser Hospital. The Israeli military claimed its troops had fired warning shots, but that its review of the incident had found no evidence of anyone hurt by its soldiers’ fire.

    Seven UN agencies warned in a joint statement on Saturday that if fuel runs out in Gaza, it would be “an unbearable new burden on a population teetering on the edge of starvation”.

    Delegations from Israel and Hamas have been in Qatar for a week in a renewed push for an agreement which envisages a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals and discussions on ending the war.

    US President Donald Trump, who hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the past week, had said he hoped for a deal soon. But the Israeli and Palestinian sources described longstanding issues that remain unresolved.

    A Palestinian source said that Hamas had rejected withdrawal maps which Israel had proposed that would leave around 40 per cent of Gaza under Israeli control, including all of the southern area of Rafah and further territories in northern and eastern Gaza.

    Two Israeli sources said Hamas wanted Israel to retreat to lines it held in a previous ceasefire before it renewed its offensive in March.

    The Palestinian source said matters regarding aid and guarantees on an end to the war were also presenting a challenge. The crisis could be resolved with more US intervention, the source said.

    Hamas has long demanded an agreement to end the war before it would free remaining hostages; Israel has insisted it would end the fighting only when all prisoners are released and Hamas is dismantled as a fighting force and administration in Gaza.

    Shooting

    Saturday’s reported mass shooting near an aid distribution point in Rafah was the latest in a series of such incidents that the United Nations rights office said on Friday had seen at least 798 people killed trying to get food in six weeks.

    “We were sitting there, and suddenly there was shooting towards us. For five minutes we were trapped under fire. The shooting was targeted. It was not random. Some people were shot in the head, some in the torso, one guy next to me was shot directly in the heart,” eyewitness Mahmoud Makram told Reuters. “There is no mercy there, no mercy. People go because they are hungry, but they die and come back in body bags.”

    After partially lifting a total blockade of all goods into Gaza in late May, Israel launched a new aid distribution system, relying on a group backed by the United States to distribute food under the protection of Israeli troops.

    The United Nations has rejected the system as inherently dangerous and a violation of humanitarian neutrality principles. Israel says it is necessary to keep “militants” from diverting aid.

    Since Oct 7, 2023, Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, displaced almost the entire population of more than two million people, sparked a humanitarian crisis and left much of the territory in ruins.

    Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2025

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  • Trump ups ante with 30pc tariff on EU and Mexico – Newspaper

    Trump ups ante with 30pc tariff on EU and Mexico – Newspaper

    WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to impose a 30 per cent tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union starting on August 1, after weeks of negotiations with the key US allies and top trading partners failed to reach a trade deal.

    In an escalation of the trade war that has angered US allies and rattled investors, Mr Trump announced the latest tariffs in separate letters to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum posted on Truth Social.

    Both the EU and Mexico responded by calling the tariffs unfair and disruptive while pledging to continue to negotiate with the US for a broader trade deal before the August deadline.

    The European Union and Mexico are among the largest US trading partners.

    European leaders warn of global supply chain disruption, pledge to continue talks with US

    Trump said the 30pc tariff rate was separate from all sectoral tariffs, which means 50pc levies on steel and aluminium imports and a 25pc tariff on auto imports would remain at those levels.

    The August 1 deadline gives countries targeted by Trump’s letters time to negotiate a trade deal that could lower the threatened tariff levels.

    The spate of letters shows Trump has returned to the aggressive trade posture that he took in early April when he announced a slew of reciprocal tariffs against trading partners that sent markets tumbling before the White House delayed implementation.

    Trump promised to use the 90-day pause in April to strike dozens of new trade deals with trading partners, but has only secured framework agreements with Britain, China and Vietnam. The EU had hoped to reach a comprehensive trade agreement with the US.

    Trump’s letter to the EU included a demand that Europe drop its own tariffs, an apparent condition of any future deal.

    “The European Union will allow complete, open Market Access to the United States, with no Tariff being charged to us, in an attempt to reduce the large Trade Deficit,” Mr Trump wrote.

    EU President von der Leyen said the 30pc tariffs would disrupt essential transatlantic supply chains, to the detriment of businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic.

    She also said while the EU will continue to work towards a trade agreement, they will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required.

    Reactions to Trump threats

    Mexico slammed latest threat of 30pc tariffs as an “unfair deal,” according to a government statement.

    “We mentioned at the table that it was an unfair deal and that we did not agree,” the Mexican economy and foreign ministries said in a joint statement, adding that they hoped to avoid the duties.

    A statement from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office struck a conciliatory tone, expressing trust “in the goodwill of all players” to find a solution, given that “it would make no sense to trigger a trade clash.”

    Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof called the US announcement “concerning and not the way forward,” offering his “full support” for the European Commission’s efforts.

    Calling for de-escalation, Irish Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris said, “There is no necessity to escalate the situation… The EU will remain united and focused as negotiations continue.”

    The economic stakes were underscored by Germany’s powerful Federation of German Industries, which described Trump’s threat as a “wake-up-call.”

    “A trade conflict between two economic areas as closely linked as the EU and the United States harms economic recovery, innovation strength, and ultimately confidence in international cooperation,” said Wolfgang Niedermark, a senior BDI official.

    Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2025

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  • Ehtesham, Inam, Zohaib win in Westbury Tennis

    Ehtesham, Inam, Zohaib win in Westbury Tennis

    The Under-18 Juniors category first-round matches saw remarkable performances in the 21st KC Westbury National Tennis Championship here on Saturday.

    Ehtesham Humayun of SNGPL dominated Javed Khan with a 6-1, 6-0 victory while Inam Gul from Peshawar beat Ahsan Ali 6-1, 6-4. Zohaib Afzal (Lahore) outclassed Zaid Ali 6-0, 6-1. Muzzammil Bhund (Hyderabad) overcame Faiz Ilyas while Dhurv Das beat Yahya Haleem 4-6, 2-4.

    Muhammad Junaid from Peshawar also cruised past against Zain Noomi 6-4, 6-2. Haziq Arijo bested Ansarullah 7-6, 6-1, and Taimoor Ansari defeated Lareeb Shamsi 6-1, 6-3. Ruhab Faisal emerged victorious over Junaid Mehr from Hyderabad with a 6-3, 6-4 scoreline. Ismail Aftab beat Ahsam Malik 6-3, 7-5.

    In the Boys’ Under-14 Singles first round, Majid Ali Bachani (Hyderabad) beat Ahmed Kath 4-1, 4-0. In the second round of the same category, Ansarullah defeated Yahya bin Zain 4-0, 4-0; Zaid Zaman defeated Umar Zaman with the same scoreline; and Rashid Ali Bachani (SNGPL) outplayed Imdad Imran 4-0, 4-0.

    In the Boys’ Under-12 Singles first round, Arsh Imran won against Arham Amjab from Peshawar 4-2, 4-2. Rashid Ali Bachani (SNGPL) defeated Usama Ali 4-1, 4-0. Umar Zaman narrowly overcame Asher Bhaila in a tight match 5-3, 3-5, 5-3. Tariq Rafi beat Abdullah Ali 4-2, 5-3, and Raheem Faisal turned the tables against Uzair 2-4, 5-3, 4-0.

    In the Men’s Singles first round, Ehtesham Humayun defeated M. Essa Ji with a commanding 8-0 score. Lareeb Shamsi overcame Shahmeer Usman 8-2.

    In the Under-10 Singles second round, Shahreem Umar from Lahore defeated M. Usman Zahid 4-0, 4-0.

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  • Amir, Hasan shine in Vitality Blast

    Amir, Hasan shine in Vitality Blast

    Former Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir delivered a stellar performance to lead Essex to a comprehensive six-wicket victory over Sussex in their Vitality Blast clash here at Chelmsford on Friday.

    Sussex captain Tymal Mills won the toss and opted to bat first, a decision that backfired as the team was bowled out for 145 in 18.2 overs.

    Wicketkeeper-batter John Simpson top-scored with an impressive 52 off just 28 balls, laced with four sixes and three fours.

    Daniel Hughes also made a useful contribution, scoring 27 from 15 balls with one six and five boundaries.

    Danny Lamb added 19 runs, while Tom Alsop and Harrison Ward chipped in with 13 and nine runs respectively.

    However, the rest of the batting lineup failed to fire, with seven Sussex batters unable to reach double figures.

    Essex’s bowling attack was spearheaded by Mohammad Amir, who returned exceptional figures of 3/16 in his three overs.

    He was well supported by Sam Cook, Shane Snater and Simon Harmer, who each picked up two wickets to dismantle the Sussex batting order.

    In reply, Essex chased down the 146-run target with ease, reaching 150/4 in just 16.1 overs.

    Opener Michael Pepper was the standout performer with the bat, smashing an unbeaten 87 off 47 deliveries, featuring two sixes and 14 boundaries in a dominant display.

    He was ably supported by Luke Benkenstein (25) and Charlie Allison (24), while the rest of the batters contributed minimally.

    Paul Walter (five), Jordan Cox (four) and Matt Critchley (three) all fell cheaply, but their dismissals had little impact on the outcome.

    Sussex’s bowling effort was led by Tymal Mills, who took 2/31 runs in his four overs. Nathan Andrew and Henry Crocombe claimed one wicket each, but Essex comfortably crossed the finish line with nearly four overs to spare.

    Clinical Hassan

    Pakistan pacer Hasan Ali delivered a match-winning bowling performance to lead Birmingham Bears to a 23-run victory over Worcestershire in a thrilling T20 Vitality Blast fixture at the County Ground in Worcester on Friday.

    Worcestershire won the toss and elected to bowl first. Bears, batting first, posted a competitive total of 176 runs before being bowled out in 19.5 overs.

    The innings was anchored by Sam Hain, who scored a steady 44 off 35 balls, hitting five boundaries.

    George Garton added crucial runs late in the innings with an unbeaten 36 off just 22 deliveries, which included three sixes and a four, while Dan Mousley contributed a quickfire 31 from 17 balls, featuring a six and four boundaries.

    Additional support came from Alex Davies (19) and Ed Barnard (23), although the lower order faltered, with Hasan Ali, Tom Latham and Danny Briggs each scoring just one run.

    Worcestershire’s bowling attack was led by Ben Dwarshuis, who claimed 3/30 runs in his four overs.

    Pakistan’s Khurram Shehzad also made an impact, picking up 2/34 runs in 3.5 overs. Tom Taylor, Adam Finch and Fateh Singh chipped in with a wicket apiece.

    Chasing 177, Worcestershire were bowled out for 153 runs in 19.3 overs, falling short despite a valiant half-century from Adam Hose, who scored 51 off 36 balls, including two sixes and five fours.

    Gareth Roderick (30) and Isaaq Mohammed (25) provided brief resistance, but the rest of the batting lineup collapsed under pressure, with six batters failing to reach double figures.

    Hasan Ali was the standout performer with the ball, finishing with 3/32 in four overs, applying consistent pressure throughout his spell.

    Danny Briggs matched his figures with 3/37, while Craig Miles picked up two wickets and Richard Gleeson claimed one.

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  • Lab-grown cheese is coming – but would you eat it?

    Lab-grown cheese is coming – but would you eat it?

    BBC A selection of cheeses, figs, dried apricots, nuts, grapes, chutney and crackers sits on a wooden cheeseboard on a table.BBC

    In an unassuming building in Stratford, east London, British start-up Better Dairy is making cheese that has never seen an udder, which it argues tastes like the real thing.

    It is one of a handful of companies around the world hoping to bring lab-grown cheese to our dinner tables in the next few years.

    But there has been a trend away from meat-free foods recently, according to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).

    The statutory research organisation says that plant-based cheese sales across the UK declined 25.6% in the first quarter of 2025, while sales of cow’s cheese grew by 3%.

    One reason for this, the AHDB tells the BBC, might be because the number of vegans in Britain is small – just 1% of the population (the Vegan Society puts it at 3%), far fewer than the amount of dairy cheese eaters – and has slightly declined lately.

    The Vegan Society insists that the meat-free food market remains “competitive” and steady.

    Those Vegan Cowboys Hille van der Kaa stands in a field wearing a colourful dress (left) and (right) a Those Vegan Cowboys cheese sits on a cheese board surrounded by dried cranberries and walnuts.Those Vegan Cowboys

    Hille van der Kaa touts a “silent revolution”, swapping cheeses people don’t often think about

    Other reasons may be concerns about health and price. A recent government survey found that that food being ultra-processed – a key challenge with vegan cheese – was the second-greatest concern for consumers, the first being cost. Plant-based cheese is generally more expensive than cow’s cheese, the AHDB says.

    So are these efforts a recipe for success or disaster? Some think the coming years present an opportunity.

    In the Netherlands, Those Vegan Cowboys expects to bring its cheeses to the US later this year, and Europe in three to four years due to regulatory hurdles. This is because lab-made cheeses count as a “novel food” and so need EU approval to go on sale.

    Its chief executive, Hille van der Kaa, admits the appetite for vegan cheese is low right now, but her company is targeting a “silent revolution” by swapping cheeses people don’t often think about.

    “If you buy frozen pizza, you don’t really think of what kind of cheese is on that,” she explains. “So it’s quite easy to swap.”

    Meanwhile, French firm Standing Ovation plans on launching in the US next year, and in the UK and Europe in 2027.

    And back in Stratford, London-based Better Dairy hasn’t launched its lab-grown cheese yet because it would cost too much right now.

    But chief executive Jevan Nagarajah plans to launch in three or four years, when he hopes the price will be closer to those seen in a cheesemonger, before getting it down to the sorts seen in a supermarket.

    Jevan Nagarajah stands in Better Dairy's lab in east London. He wears a dark top and trousers.

    Jevan Nagarajah sees vegan hard cheeses as having the greatest “quality gap” to the real thing

    So does it taste any good?

    Better Dairy invited me – a committed carnivore and dairy devotee – to its lab to poke holes in this new cheese.

    Currently, the company is only making cheddar because it sees vegan hard cheeses as having the biggest “quality gap” to dairy cheeses. It has made blue cheese, mozzarella and soft cheese, but argues the proteins in dairy don’t make as big a difference in taste.

    The process starts with yeast that has been genetically modified to produce casein, the key protein in milk, instead of alcohol. Jevan says this is the same technique used to produce insulin without having to harvest it from pigs.

    Other companies also use bacteria or fungi to produce casein.

    Once the casein is made through this precision fermentation, it is mixed with plant-based fat and the other components of milk needed for cheese, and then the traditional cheese-making process ensues.

    Having tried Better Dairy’s three-month, six-month and 12-month aged cheddars, I can say they tasted closer to the real thing than anything else I’ve tried. The younger cheese was perhaps a bit more rubbery than usual, and the older ones more obviously salty. On a burger, the cheese melted well.

    A cheeseburger cut into quarters sits on greaseproof paper in a basket.

    On a burger, Better Dairy’s cheddar was visibly melty

    Jevan accepts there’s room to improve. He says the cheese I tried was made in his lab, but in future wants artisanal cheesemakers to use the firm’s non-dairy “milk” in their own labs to improve the taste.

    As the company cannot use dairy fats, it has had to “optimise” plant-derived fats to make them taste better.

    “If you’ve experienced plant-based cheeses, a lot of them have off flavours, and typically it comes from trying to use nut-based or coconut fats – and they impart flavours that aren’t normally in there,” Better Dairy scientist Kate Royle says.

    Meanwhile, Those Vegan Cowboys is still focusing on easy-to-replace cheeses, like those on pizzas and burgers, while Standing Ovation says its casein can make a range of cheeses including camembert.

    Will these new cheeses find their match?

    It’ll be a tall order. Of those who bought vegan cheese on the market in the past year, 40% did not buy it again, according to an AHDB survey – suggesting taste may be a turn-off.

    Damian Watson from the Vegan Society points out that resemblance to the real thing may not even be a good thing.

    “Some vegans want the taste and texture of their food to be like meat, fish or dairy, and others want something completely different,” he tells me.

    And Judith Bryans, chief executive of industry body Dairy UK, thinks the status quo will remain strong.

    “There’s no evidence to suggest that the addition of lab-grown products would take away from the existing market, and it remains to be seen where these products would fit in from a consumer perception and price point of view,” she tells the BBC.

    Studio Lazareff/Antoine Repesse A selection of Standing Ovation's cheeses on a cheese board with figs and grapes (left) and (right) Yvan Chardonnens standing on a rooftop wearing a dark green shirt over a white t-shirt.Studio Lazareff/Antoine Repesse

    Yvan Chardonnens hopes to launch his cheeses in the UK in 2027

    But both Better Dairy and Those Vegan Cowboys tout partnerships with cheese producers to scale up production and keep costs down, while Standing Ovation has already struck a partnership with Bel (makers of BabyBel).

    Standing Ovation’s CEO Yvan Chardonnens characterises the recent unpopularity as a first wave in the vegan “analogues” of cheese faltering because of quality, while he hopes that will improve in the next phase.

    Besides the current concerns about a shrinking vegan market, taste, quality and price, the issue of ultra-processed foods is one that these companies may have to grapple with.

    They argue a lack of lactose, no cholesterol and lower amounts of saturated fats in lab-made cheese can boost its health benefits – and that any cheese is processed.

    Precision fermentation may also allow producers to strip out many ultra-processed elements of current vegan cheeses.

    Hille suggests it’s a question of perception. People have a “romanticised view” of dairy farming, she says, despite it now being “totally industrialised” – a point backed by AHDB polling, which found 71% of consumers see dairy as natural.

    “I wouldn’t say that’s really a traditional, natural type of food,” Hille argues.

    “We do have an important task to show people how cheese is made nowadays.”

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  • Fazl floats change in KP, but only from within PTI

    Fazl floats change in KP, but only from within PTI





    Fazl floats change in KP, but only from within PTI – Daily Times



































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  • PCB under fire for Karachi-snub from QA Trophy

    PCB under fire for Karachi-snub from QA Trophy


    KARACHI:

    The Pakistan Cricket Board’s adecision to exclude 21-time former champions Karachi from direct participation in the country’s premier first-class competition has triggered fierce criticism, with many calling it a grave injustice to Pakistan’s largest cricketing hub.

    On Monday, the PCB announced the schedule for the 2025-26 domestic season, slashing the number of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy teams from 18 to just eight. Six teams from last season’s standings have secured automatic qualification, while two more will advance through a non-first-class qualifying tournament.

    Karachi Region President Nadeem Omar voiced strong opposition to the move. “We have recorded our protest in the form of a dissent note during the meeting,” Omar told Telecomasia.net. “Excluding Karachi is a huge injustice to the biggest nursery of the game in the country.”

    Former Pakistan batter Kamran Akmal echoed those concerns, urging the PCB to reconsider.

    “Leaving out Karachi from the premier tournament makes no sense,” Akmal said. “It will be a big, big deprival for the talented players from the city. I have been to Karachi most of the last two years and have seen a lot of good talent there.”

    Under the new format, the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy will feature Lahore Region Whites, Sialkot, Peshawar, Islamabad, Abbottabad, Bahawalpur, and the two qualifiers. The tournament, set to begin on 22 September, will comprise 29 matches in a single-league format.

    Karachi isn’t the only major cricketing centre left out. Multan, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad have also been denied direct entry, a decision that has further fuelled frustration among regional administrators.

    Omar argued that the PCB should have warned teams about the impending reduction before the previous season.

    “Had we known in advance that the number of teams would be cut, everyone would have approached the season differently,” he said. Telecomasia.net.

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  • ASUS reveals ROG Astral RTX 5090 Real Gold Edition, costs as much as a house at $500,000! – TweakTown

    1. ASUS reveals ROG Astral RTX 5090 Real Gold Edition, costs as much as a house at $500,000!  TweakTown
    2. ASUS loses it: $500K RTX 5090 ROG Astral (Real) Gold Edition showcased  VideoCardz.com
    3. ASUS Announces Giveaway Event to Celebrate 30 Years of Graphics Cards  TechPowerUp
    4. Forget Dhahab Edition, ASUS Made An ROG RTX 5090 With Real “5kg” Gold  Wccftech
    5. Asus showcases a $500,000 RTX 5090 ROG Astral GPU in China with 5kg of gold  Notebookcheck

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