Two advertisements of a perfume company in India glorifying rape culture were taken down by the Indian ad regulatory body, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).
“The ad is in serious breach of the ASCI Code and is against public interest. We have taken immediate action and notified the advertiser to suspend the ad, pending investigation,” the body said while replying to a complaint regarding the ads.
Thank you for tagging us. The ad is in serious breach of the ASCI Code and is against public interest. We have taken immediate action and notified the advertiser to suspend the ad, pending investigation.
Two different ads from the same company caused an outrage in India for insensitively portraying rape.
In one of the ads, four men can be seen entering a store. They are shown having a dispute over who will take a ‘shot’. There are four of them, but only one ‘shot’ is available. During this debate, instead of the bottle of body spray, a woman is shown and it looks like they are having an argument over who will first rape the woman. The woman even turns around in anger, believing the four men are talking about her. However, she is then shown relieved, when one of the men picks up the body spray called ‘Shot’.
People on social media expressed their anger over the adverstiments:
There have to be some regulations for ads man. That Shot deo ad is nothing short of disgusting actually. Even though I knew it was an ad and it wouldn’t happen. The fear for a second I felt was real. Imagine making an ad on the fears of millions of women! WTF!
That Layerr Shot deo ad playing during #ENGvNZ is perverse man, with its gang sexual assault innuendo – I wonder how it even got approved to air, surely a heavy sanction by ASCI is needed
This I feel is one case where even the six actors should be embarrassed
— Shreya Dhoundial (@shreyadhoundial) June 4, 2022
Gangrape “humour”.This is completely despicable. Is the Advertising Standards Council of India asleep? We have learnt nothing from Nirbhaya, look at the Hyderabad gangrape. We’ve reached a nadir as a society https://t.co/T58Dw43sJw
The US Mission Pakistan has confirmed the commencement of the inaugural four-week Future of Women in Energy Scholars Programme of the US-Pakistan Women’s Council (USPWC). Beginning June 5, 17 outstanding Pakistani female university students will take part in this certificate programme to learn about working in the energy sector.
By giving young women the chance to study energy issues and energy infrastructure at Texas A&M University’s Qatar campus, this programme will encourage women’s participation and leadership in Pakistan’s energy sector.
Following their two-week programme in Qatar, the students will return to Pakistan for a two-week familiarisation trip to learn about Pakistan’s energy sector from key Pakistani public and private-sector organisations in Islamabad and Lahore.
Enrolled Pakistani female students are presently pursuing bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering at private and public universities across the country.
The US Mission is assisting Pakistani women in pursuing career opportunities in the energy sector and in developing networks for a prosperous future through this programme. “The USPWC Future of Women in Energy Scholars Program will give young women hands-on experience in the energy sector,” said USPWC Executive Director Radhika Prabhu.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and the former Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood resigned from his post as the party’s Punjab President on Friday because of health-related issues.
In a tweet, Mahmood wrote: “It was an honour and privilege to serve as President PTI Punjab and I thank chairman Imran Khan for the opportunity. It is time for change due to my surgery and convalescence. I congratulate the new President and will serve the party in whatever capacity assigned.”
It was an honour and privilege to serve as President PTI Punjab and I thank Chairman Imran Khan for the opportunity. It is time for change due to my surgery and convalescence. I congratulate the new President and will serve the party in whatever capacity assigned
According to Geo News, Vice-President Shah Mehmood Qureshi will look after the PTI Punjab President post. However, the names of Ejaz Chaudhry and Mian Mehmood ur Rasheed are under consideration for the post.
After the PTI’s Azadi March, Shafqat Mahmood remained hospitalised and underwent surgery.
It is pertinent to mention that PTI Punjab leadership remained under extreme criticism as they were unable to put up a solid power show in Islamabad.
The news has come forward at a time when PTI has a real test ahead, in which it will have to fight the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for 20 vacant seats of the Punjab Assembly (PA).
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has increased the prices of gas up to 45 per cent. The decision has been taken to meet revenue shortfall for the year 2022-23.
The new prices will be effective from July 1.
OGRA has allowed Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) to increase the prices to up to 45 per cent while for Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), a 44 per cent hike has been approved.
For the SNGPL consumers, the price of gas has now been fixed at Rs854.52 per MMBTU after an increase of 45 per cent.
“While for SSGC consumers, the price of gas has been fixed at Rs1,007.82 per MMBTU after an increase of Rs308.53 per MMBTU,” said a notification.
The developement came two days after the government increased prices of petroleum products up to Rs30 per litre.
A man has been arrested by the Sindh Police for raping his daughter along with two of his friends, reports ARY. Nadeem, the girl’s father, used to keep his daughter shackled in chains. A case has been registered against him.
According to Superintendent of Police Landhi, the police raided his house after receiving information from confidential sources.
The girl was handcuffed in the house when the police arrived, and Nadeem was arrested from the scene.
The girl told the police that her father used to rape her along with his friends, torture her and keep her in chains so that she wouldn’t escape.
Bollywood actor Ananya Panday made her debut in Bollywood with Karan Johar’s Student Of The Year 2 with Tiger Shroff and has managed to mark her place in the film industry.
In a recent chat, the actress revealed that she has faced ‘sexism’ in the early days of her career.
During her recent appearance on The Ranveer Show, the Pati Patni Aur Woh diva said: “As soon as I started working, people started saying things like ‘you should fix this and fix that, like get a boob job or change something about your face. And, it is said very casually and not in direct words that you sometimes even don’t pick it up. They would say, ‘just fill up a little more. Put on some weight.’”
Ananya said that she felt hurt about it and would think, “Is that what people care about? Is that what I am reduced to? Is there nothing about me paramount to my waist size or chest size?” She said that the worst thing a person can do is judge them for their body.
Panday mentioned that she wasn’t promised work in the industry nor was spoken about any opportunities. The actress also said that she always wanted to be an actress but she never knew how she would accomplish that. “I never thought it was going to be easy,” Panday said.
Meanwhile, on the work front, the Khaali Peeli actress will be seen next in Puri Jagannadh’s action film Liger alongside Vijay Deverakonda, which will release in the theatres on 25 August 2022.
Earlier this year during Gehraiyaan’s promotions, Deepika Padukone explained how Ananya does not like sharing food and further elaborated on how they (Gehraiyaan’s leadcast) tried to invite themselves for a dinner at Ananya’s house but Panday was not keen on having them over.
When interviewer Cyrus Broacha asked Ananya why she did not want to have them over, she said, “Because my dad (Chunky Panday) is always roaming around in a towel. If you all still want to come, come.”
Director Shakun Batra and Deepika also revealed how Ananya never shares food.
Shakun and Cocktail diva recalled an incident when she didn’t share her keema pao with others but gave a few peas from the dish to Shakun.
While talking about the incident, Deepika told Cyrus Broacha on his show Cyrus Says on YouTube, “She doesn’t share her food.” Shakun further revealed how Ananya only shared some matar (peas) from the keema pao she was eating. Deepika then says, “At least you got that.”
Deepika added, “We invited ourselves to Ananya’s house because she said that she is having keema pao for dinner. We said thanks for inviting us and she was like ‘Yes if you guys wanna come, please come but there isn’t enough pao for you all.’” She further said, “We then waited 40 minutes for our food that we ordered but she kept eating hers and didn’t share.” Ananya then points at Shakun and says, “I gave him 2-3 matar (peas).”
Director Shakun Batra joined the conversation right after and pointed out how bizarre the reason was. “I can already imagine so many memes being made on that.”, he said.
The Queen Elizabeth on Thursday made an appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony alongside active members of the royal family, where she greeted thousands of people who gathered in London to witness the start of Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
The 96-year-old Elizabeth made two appearances on the Buckingham Palace balcony, looking elegant in a light blue attire.
In the crowds outside the palace on Thursday, it was a party. But people wondered aloud what happens to the monarchy after Elizabeth.
The queen was joined on the palace balcony by members of the royal family, though not Prince Andrew, Prince Harry or Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex.
Prince Andrew had tested positive for the coronavirus. Whereas the Queen announced that only senior working members of the royal family will be included in the balcony appearance hence Harry and Meghan who stepped back from royal duties in January 2020 weren’t a part of it.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have since moved to Montecito, California.
Angela Levin, during her conversation with Sky News, said that the Queen has made some tough decisions.
Sky News host Kay Burley spoke to Ms Levin on the show.
Ms Burley asked: “Will we see [Meghan and Harry] on the balcony?”.
Ms Levin replied, “No, the Queen has been firm about that”.
“The way she has done it is if you are not a working royal, you can’t be on it.
“That’s a way of stopping Prince Andrew from going out [on the balcony]”.
She continued: “I think there would be quite a feeling of anger amongst us all [if Andrew were to appear]”.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived secretly in a private jet ahead of the event. The couple’s visit will mark the first time that the members of the royal family will meet their daughter Lilibet who turns 1 on June 4. It was previously reported that Harry and Meghan will be staying at Frogmore Cottage during their UK visit for the celebration.
Ahead of the big celebrations to mark the monarch’s 70 years on the throne, a new portrait of the Queen was recently released by Buckingham Palace along with a personal message from the monarch that said, “I continue to be inspired by the goodwill shown to me, and hope that the coming days will provide an opportunity to reflect on all that has been achieved during the last 70 years, as we look to the future with confidence and enthusiasm.”
It was reported that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not be joining the Queen on the Buckingham Palace balcony during the Trooping the Colour ceremony since they are no longer serving royals. The couple will reportedly watch the ceremony from Duke of Wellington’s former office, overlooking Horse Guards Parade.
Following Sindh, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has decreased free petroleum quotas for all provincial government departments, institutes, and organisations.
Chief Minister of KP, Mehmood Khan, has approved a 35 per cent reduction in the free gasoline allotment, according to an official notification issued by the KP Chief Secretary.
The news comes just hours after the Sindh government decided to reduce the Chief Minister’s (CM), ministers’, and provincial government employees’ free fuel quotas.
Keeping in view a substantial spike in POL prices within the last few days, the decision was made to limit spending and decrease the strain on the national kitty.
The latest petrol price hike came just hours after the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) approved a power tariff hike of Rs7.91 per unit.
A Karachi woman wants a shop in Karachi to remove Skittles ‘Pride Edition’ from their store racks. A user posted a screenshot of Skittles pack with “During Pride only one rainbow matters,” written over it in a public Facebook group. Her post has generated a debate around celebrating pride month and has raised the question: does consuming pride month edition products make you gay?
“I saw these Skittles ‘Pride Edition’ at a supermarket ,” she wrote.
“I complained that they should learn what pride and rainbow stands for and remove these packs. They took these off the shelf but as I went to the other side, they had kept one back. I inquired and they said ma’am we have taken the stock off the shelf. Then they took that one packet away too,” she added.
She continued by saying, “I am a frequent customer, so as I went there a 2nd time after that, I saw the packets again. I called the manager and repeated my concern. He went away and came back finding me and said please share if you have a link about this. Another lady complained too but she did not have any link (online link to proof) so she went away.”
“I searched on Google and let him note down the link.”
“An hour ago, I casually visited a 3rd time and saw the packets again. I complained to the manager of that shift. I said I complained twice before and these are still on the shelf which mostly attracts kids and teenagers. Also this is against Islam, and we live in Pakistan and not in the west. I’ll post this complaint online now. He was like ‘krdain ap’ (go ahead). He went away and came back finding me, and asked if I had a link, AGAIN.”
“I said this happened the last time too. I am not providing links again n again. You have a phone. Search it. (As I had understood they were only bluffing by asking for a link every time).”
“He searched ‘Pride Edition’ as written on the pack. And said nothing as such appeared on Google. I asked him to search Pride month. And he said yes it shows what you are saying but on the pack it does not say pride month but pride edition. Face palm?”
“I read the text on it which referred to ‘rainbow’ the symbol of pride/lgbtq. He said but when I search Pride Edition it does not show anything. I told him he was playing with technicalities. He was like I can tell you the same.”
“They are acting like they live in stone age! I hadn’t named their mart in my previous post but after multiple complaints and explanation of the subject, they are keeping this on their shelf, exposing kids and teens.”
“Qoum e loot was destroyed due to g*yism and now these things are just normally lying on our shelves?” she concluded in her post.
A resident of Lahore was fined for a traffic violation involving his motorcycle that had been stolen for atleast eight years.
The victim, Imran received an e-challan and discovered that his long-stolen bike was being used by police officers in the Sabzazar neighbourhood.
The individual filed a complaint with the Chief Civilian Personnel Officer (CCPO), requesting that his bike be returned to him from the cops who were using it.
In other news, the rate of street crimes in the provincial capital appears to have spiralled out of control, considering a report released in March.
As per police statistics, more than 300 incidences of robbery and theft were reported in the city over the last two days of February, while the month of March began with nearly 350 incidents in the provincial capital.
People lost millions of rupees in cash, gold jewellery, automobiles, and motorcycles in the first two months of 2022.
According to data, 209 robberies resulted in loot worth more than Rs10 million, with 59 incidences of motorcycle theft reported at the time.
E-challans declared illegal by LHC
E-challan is seen as an effective solution to reduce traffic violations and promote safe transportation, however, the system was recently pronounced “illegal” by the Lahore High Court (LHC).
On Wednesday, the LHC observed that the electronic challan (e-ticket) system was implemented without sufficient planning and instructed the authorities to address the matter. During the hearing, Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh asked the Punjab chief secretary to notify the chief minister of the lapse, who will take prompt action to correct the problem.
The judge made the remarks after hearing a plea from a transporter, who told the court that he was unaware of roughly 55 e-challans filed against him.
