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Body set up to develop strategies to boost resilience against extreme weather events

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Body set up to develop strategies to boost resilience against extreme weather events


A man stands near the remains of his damaged house following monsoon rains and rising water levels of the Chenab River, in Harsa Bhula village, Chiniot district, Punjab on August 30, 2025. — Reuters
  • Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal will head the 13-member committee. 
  • Body to review existing flood protection and drainage infrastructure.
  • Will form short, medium, and long-term plans for climate adaptation.

KARACHI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed a 13-member committee to develop strategies to enhance Pakistan’s resilience to extreme weather events, including cloudbursts, flash floods, and urban flooding, The News reported on Sunday.

Chaired by the Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal, the committee comprises key federal ministers, secretaries, experts, and stakeholders from across the country.

The development comes against the backdrop of havoc wreaked by floods and torrential rains in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan. 

More than 840 people have been killed in various flood-related incidents across the country since late June, while also causing widespread damage to infrastructure and properties.

In Punjab, at least 33 people have lost their lives, and more than 2 million have been affected as severe flooding continues to inundate vast areas of the province which include as many as 2,200 villages submerged in floodwaters.

Meanwhile, the mandate of the high-level body formed by the PM includes reviewing existing institutional arrangements for disaster preparedness and response. It will also evaluate critical infrastructure and recommend measures to address environmental and urban vulnerabilities.

A copy of the official notification, issued by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, obtained by the publication, outlines the committee’s broad Terms of Reference (TORs).

They include assessing the current flood protection and drainage infrastructure, exploring financing options (including climate finance) for key Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) projects, and proposing legal measures to curb deforestation and environmental degradation.

It will also suggest targeted interventions to reduce urban flooding. It will evaluate early warning systems and recommend the installation of modern radars. Additionally, it aims to strengthen the capacity of federal and provincial disaster management authorities, particularly the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

The committee is expected to submit a detailed report or presentation to the prime minister within 10 days. The Ministry of Climate Change will provide secretarial support to the committee.

In a parallel development, a special policy dialogue forum has also been constituted. This will engage all stakeholders, including provincial governments, federal ministries, semi-government bodies, civil society, and the media. Meetings will be held on a fortnightly basis to shape short, medium, and long-term national strategies for climate adaptation and disaster mitigation.

This forum includes the federal ministers for climate change, communications, and water resources. It also includes the Prime Minister’s Advisers on Political Affairs and Inter-Provincial Coordination, federal secretaries, the Chairman of NDMA, and the secretaries of irrigation and environment from all four provinces. 

Representatives from Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan are also included. The Director General of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) is a key member of the forum.

The dialogue committee would review the preparedness of federal and provincial authorities to handle natural disasters, assessing financial requirements for water reservoirs and flood mitigation projects, and monitoring the progress of flood prevention and drainage schemes.

It will also focus on restoring natural water channels by eliminating encroachments. It will propose new legislation to penalise negligence related to deforestation. In addition, it will work on upgrading forecasting infrastructure to improve monsoon predictions and will help develop urban drainage strategies for rapid rainwater removal.





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Royal Expert reveals truth about Prince Harry’s rumoured Diana documentary

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Royal Expert reveals truth about Prince Harry’s rumoured Diana documentary


Prince Harry unlikely to revisit Diana’s story despite Netflix rumours?

Prince Harry is unlikely to move forward with a solo documentary about Princess Diana, despite growing rumours, claimed an expert.

Ever since the news of the Sussexes new Netflix deal broke, there are rumours that the couple might work on a new documentary surrounding Diana’s life.

If made, this documentary or film could threatened any hopes of reunion between Harry and Prince William, several royal experts have claimed.

Royal expert Jennie Bond dismissed the claims as “just rumours and wishful thinking by Netflix,” adding that Harry is unlikely to commercialise his mother’s life and death.

“I suspect these reports are just rumours and wishful thinking by Netflix. I doubt whether Harry would really want to commercialise his mother‘s life and death,” Bond told The Mirror.

She added, “August 31 will forever be a day of intense sadness for William and Harry,” adding, “You might imagine that, after all their shared pain at losing her, they would want to talk to one another about their feelings on such an important date.”

“No one else in the world knows what it was like to be the son of an iconic princess who died so tragically on that day,” she said, referring to Diana’s death anniversary.

“Sadly, however, I think their rift has become too deep and their lives so separated that they’ve become used to marking their mother’s death in their own, private way.

“I don’t think they will be sharing their thoughts or their feelings with each other. I don’t think there will be any phone calls or texts, even on such a sad day.”





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Big update on ‘The Devil Wears Prada’

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Big update on ‘The Devil Wears Prada’


‘The Devil Wears Prada’ major update on streaming service 

A sequel to The Devil Wears Prada is in the works, whose photos and clips often went viral on social media.

However, the update is not related to the upcoming film but to the original movie, which, over the years since its release, has become a cult classic.

According to Collider, the film is now available to stream on Hulu. Its logline reads, “An aspiring journalist, Andy (Hathaway), who has no idea what she is getting into while taking up an assisting job for New York’s biggest magazine editor, Miranda Priestly (Streep).”

“Andy quickly finds herself at the mercy of her diabolical editor and the power play of the fashion industry,” the synopsis said.

In the meantime, Emily Blunt, who has opted for red locks for the sequel’s shooting, said in 2018 about the forthcoming movie, “If everyone did it, I would be up for it. I almost hope it doesn’t because I think sometimes when you sequel everything kind of dilutes how special the original is.”

But in a later interview with The View, the actress clarified that she “would do [a sequel] in a heartbeat just to play with those guys again.”

Besides Emily, Anne Hathaway as Andy, Stanley Tucci as Nigel, Simon Baker as Christian, and Adrian Grenier as Nate.

Moreover, Gisele Bündchen as Serena, Tracie Thoms as Lily, Rich Sommer as Doug, Daniel Sunjata as James Holt, and James Naughton as Stephen.

The Devil Wears Prada sequel is expected to come out in 2026.





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“John’s Version”: John Fogerty on re-recording Creedence Clearwater Revival hits

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“John’s Version”: John Fogerty on re-recording Creedence Clearwater Revival hits


“It was life and death,” said musician John Fogerty. “I used to tell myself that phrase: ‘This is life and death.’ You’re against the whole world.”

He felt that as a young man: “Yes, oh yes. I mean, there’s a million records out there. It’s me against everybody that’s every recorded and ever will record. You’ve got to do a great job. It was either be great, or go home!”

You know how it turned out for Fogerty. “Great” is something of an understatement. That voice … that guitar … and those songs, so many of which became hits that are now classics. But Fogerty, who recently turned 80, says every time he steps up to the mic, he still has something to prove – and still feel a little nerve. “Oh yeah, yeah, every time!” he laughed. “But I think the nerves is what gives you the edge.

I asked, “How do you do that? What’s the magic there?”

“I wish I had a really great, contrived answer for you, but I don’t!” he laughed.

The answer seems quite simple when you watch Fogerty rehearse. There is love of craft, and love of family. (His sons, Shane and Tyler Fogerty, help lead his touring band.)

John Fogerty performing at the Beacon Theatre in New York City earlier this summer. 

CBS News


The group that put Fogerty on the charts was Creedence Clearwater Revival, which got its start in the late 1950s. Though a native of Northern California, Fogerty soaked up the rhythms of the South, giving birth to his so-called “swamp rock” sound, which he honed in the mid-’60s.

He recalled: “I received my honorable discharge from the Army. And the first line I wrote was, ‘Left a good job in the city, workin’ for the man every night and day.’ Well, of course that was the Army. I mean, it had just happened. But as I begin to strum, I started singing this phrase: ‘Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on the river.’ And at that point I’m, Well, what is this song? What is this? And I went to this songbook that I had just started keeping, and on the very first page, the very first entry, I had written the words ‘Proud Mary.’

“And I actually understood right then that I’d written a classic song, a really great, American song,” he said. “And a few moments later, ‘Oh my God. What if I never get to do this again? What if this is the only one that ever happens, and I’m a one-hit wonder?'”

proud-mary-notebook.jpg

CBS News


Turns out, Fogerty was anything but that. Yet, after the 1972 breakup of Creedence, his solo career became mired in legal battles. He was stunned to discover he no longer had control over the use of the songs he wrote – and a limited share of the profits.

Fogerty has looked on as others have endured similar challenges, and pain. The most famous current example: Taylor Swift, who earlier this year purchased the rights to her compositions, and won back control of her music.

I asked, “If you could pull her aside, John, and give her a piece of advice about how to get over the pain of a fight over your own music, what would you tell her?”

“Well, I don’t think you get over that kind of fight,” he replied. “What happened to me is, I stopped touring, and I stopped singing my own songs. I don’t recommend that move to anybody. You become invisible. You’re just forgotten about. It’s like you died.”

I asked Julie, his wife of 34 years, if she ever doubted that he would be able to pull himself out of that anger. “I think it was more sadness than anger,” she said. “And all he ever wanted to do in life was make music. That was his love. That was his best friend. And having that taken away and turned so bad was really hard for me to understand.”

Fogerty gives Julie credit for turning his life around. And she encouraged him not only to buy back the rights to his Creedence catalog, but to re-record those songs with his sons.  The result: a new album, “Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years (John’s Version).”

Julie said, “Having those songs and being able to put his fist in the air and go, ‘I own those songs,’ I couldn’t think of a better gift than having him record these with friends and family.”

You can stream John Fogerty’s album “Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years (John’s Version)” by clicking on the embed below (Free Spotify registration required to hear the tracks in full):

Since they were children, sons Shane and Tyler learned guitar from their father.  The new album is a family affair, but it’s also serious business. “I have the feeling that somehow Julie knew, she knew that at some point, the life-and-death John would kick in and I would have to roll up my sleeves,” Fogerty said. “‘Cause that’s what happened. And literally, this was kind of when the record was done, I think she told me, she said she could see me going back in time. With each one of these tracks, especially when I was doing the lead vocal, I had to remember what I felt like when I sang it the first time.”

And what a time it has been. For John Fogerty, the highs and lows have landed him here: at peace with it all, and lucky enough to have his songs still playing.

I asked, “What’s it like for you to hear your music everywhere, even now?”

“I don’t know the exact right words; I can almost not believe it actually happened, or that that was me,” he said. “It’s a prideful thing. I think it makes you feel really happy that you are able to tune into the radio station that God delivers, you know, and receive a song like ‘Proud Mary,’ and write it down, and even take credit for it, right? And then have it go around the world like that? It’s kind of too much to really be able to grab hold of.”

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Watch an extended interview with John Fogerty, and a performance of “Proud Mary”:



Extended interview: John Fogerty

21:43

For more info:

      
Story produced by Ed Forgotson. Editor: Jason Schmidt.

     
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