Author: newsdesk

  • ‘They had the best time of their lives’: Ayeza Khan shares daughter’s extravagant birthday celebrations 2.0

    ‘They had the best time of their lives’: Ayeza Khan shares daughter’s extravagant birthday celebrations 2.0

    Ayeza Khan celebrated her eldest daughter Hoorain’s sixth birthday and went big on décor for her celebration party. She took to social media to share her feelings and birthday’s visuals with her fans.

    The Mere Paas Tum Ho actress hosted another party for her daughter as per her wish, ” to do a play date with all her friends” at an outdoor location in Karachi. The Laapata diva shared the event’s pictures on her Instagram.

    Read More: Danish and Ayeza channel their inner child on daughter’s barbie themed birthday

    On the work front, Ayeza will be seen next in Laapata opposite Sarah Khan and Ali Rehman Khan.

  • Delta variant dominant worldwide, deaths surge among unvaccinated people: Officials

    Delta variant dominant worldwide, deaths surge among unvaccinated people: Officials

    The Delta variant of Covid-19 is now the dominant strain worldwide, accompanied by a surge of deaths around the United States (US) almost entirely among unvaccinated people, US officials said on Friday.

    US cases of coronavirus are more than 70 per cent over the previous week and deaths are up 26 per cent, with outbreaks happening in parts of the country with low vaccination rates, US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said during a press briefing.

    “This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” Walensky said, adding that 97 per cent of people entering hospitals in the US with Covid-19 are unvaccinated.

    The Delta variant, which is significantly more contagious than the original variant of the virus, has been reported around 100 countries globally and is now the dominant variant worldwide, top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said.

    Read More: Study reveals Pakistanis prayed for India during Covid-19 crisis

    “We are dealing with a formidable variant” of Covid-19, Fauci said.

    Walensky has urged the unvaccinated people to get Covid-19 shots and said Pfizer Inc’s and Moderna Inc’s vaccines have proven to be especially effective against the Delta variant.

    She said people should get the second dose of the vaccine even if they have passed the recommended window of time for receiving it.

  • Pakistan receives more than 1.2 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine

    Pakistan has received more than 1.2 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine as part of the global COVAX initiative, Express Tribune has reported.

    Sajid Shah, spokesperson of the Heath Ministry, told The Express Tribune that more than 1.2 million doses of the vaccine have reached Islamabad.

    In May, Pakistan received first shipment of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

    During the last 24 hours, Pakistan administered 513,292 doses of the vaccines. So far, 22,735,993 doses have been administered in Pakistan.

    Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Friday said unvaccinated people were seven times more likely to contract the coronavirus than those inoculated.

  • 15 Chinese officials to investigate Dasu bus tragedy: Sheikh Rasheed

    15 Chinese officials to investigate Dasu bus tragedy: Sheikh Rasheed

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said that 15 Chinese officials have been included in the ongoing investigation of the Dasu bus tragedy in which 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals, were killed, reports Dawn.

    Addressing a press conference, Rasheed said, “The investigation of the event is at its final stages and the highest institutions of Pakistan are investigating it. Fifteen individuals from China have been included [in the investigation] as well.”

    “We completely reassure the Chinese government that these culprits, hidden hands and enemies of CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) and China-Pakistan friendship will never be forgiven at any cost,” he added.

    Nine Chinese nationals and three Pakistanis lost their lives on Wednesday. Chinese workers and accompanying Pakistani staff were proceeding to their workplace for an ongoing project, as per a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). 

    China had announced that it was sending a team to Pakistan to deal with the aftermath of the incident. “Today China will send a cross-departmental joint working group to Pakistan to help with relevant work,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian had said at a media briefing in Beijing.

    A team comprising of 15 Chinese officials has reached Pakistan to probe into the Dasu bus tragedy.

    Chinese ambassador to Pakistan has visited the site of the shuttle bus explosion near the Dasu Hydropower plant to investigate the cause, together with the Pakistani military and a Chinese team.

  • Sabeeka Imam questions Azaan Sami’s casting in Sajal-Yumna starrer despite ‘zero acting experience’

    Supermodel Sabeeka Imam has questioned Azaan Sami Khan’s casting in drama seriel Ishq-e-Laa co-starring Sajal Aly and Yumna Zaidi.

    “So it seems like you need zero onscreen acting experience and you could also debut with both the AMAZING Yumna and Sajal,” she wrote.

    “Mujhe bhi itni hi achi LUCK chahiye where I don’t have to earn it or prove myself first & it just gets handed to me on a plate,” she added.

    Sabeeka after recieving the criticism on her tweet said, “Aap log humein bura bhala kahen to woh sab theek hai lekin main as an artist koi opinion doon to main “jealous”? Salman Khan ki baat sach hai… “main karoon to saala character dheela hai.”

    Earlier actor Muneeb Butt also claimed that he thinks, Azaan is a product of nepotism.

    It is pertinent to mention here that Azaan Sami Khan will make his acting debut alongside Yumna Zaidi and Sajal Aly in Ishq-E-Laa. Directed by Amin Iqbal, the script is penned by the veteran writer, Qaisera Hayat of Alif Allah Aur Insaan fame.

  • CSS aspirant commits suicide

    CSS aspirant commits suicide

    A young woman who had moved to Lahore to study for the Central Superior Services (CSS) exam died by suicide, the police said Friday according to The News.

    The woman was a resident of Multan. The police said the 25-year-old left a note in her room where her body was found hanging from a ceiling fan.

    She left a letter in her room dated July 13, stating that she was losing her life and that her existence was nothing but a burden and failure, the police said. The letter said she would miss her father.

    According to the police, a forensic team has collected samples from the victim’s flat. Her family has refused to have an autopsy conducted.

    The Central Superior Service exam is conducted by the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) Islamabad for recruitment into the federal government. The demanding exam has often been heavily criticised for its poor passing percentage ratio seen for years.

  • ‘No music, photography in Tirah Valley,’ local clerics allegedly issue new rules

    Local clerics in the Tirah Valley in Khyber district have issued a new set of restrictions for tourists. The new set of rules include a prohibition on taking photographs and videos in the area, Samaa has reported. In addition, tourists will not be allowed to hold any musical progamme in Tirah Valley and will not be allowed to carry a music system.

    These rules have been issued by clerics belonging to the Afridi Tribe.

    “If any harm comes [to people] in case of any violation, you will be responsible for it,” the letter issued by the clerics state.

    As per Samaa, “Journalists in the area said that the letter was not fake, but the clerics do not own it because they want to avoid legal action.”

    Waseem Riaz, the district police officer, told Samaa that he had called the clerics to the police station but they all distanced themselves from the directives.

    Earlier, a case was filed against the people who organised a music and dance event in Hunza’s Gojal for spreading obscenity.

  • Couple find 18 snakes under their bed before going to sleep

    A couple in Georgia found 18 snakes under their bed before going to bed.

    Max Wilcher and his wife, Trish, told the media they were about to go to sleep when Trish noticed something moving on the floor under the bed. She got a little closer to see what was moving. A few moments later, her husband saw a snake.

    “And then a second later another piece moved,” Wilcher said.

    “And I went to my husband: ‘We have snakes’,” Trish said.

    Read More: Man sleeps for 300 days a year due to rare disorder

    He added that the 18 snakes were found under the bed but they did not want to harm them so they grabbed the snakes with tools and put them in a bag and left them in a nearby creek.

    Trish then called wildlife experts to see if there are any more baby snakes.

  • WhatsApp to let users message without their phones

    WhatsApp to let users message without their phones

    Messaging application WhatsApp has announced the launch of a trial aimed at freeing its users from smartphones.

    Read More – WhatsApp clarifies privacy policy update, says no effect on privacy of messages

    In a blog post on Wednesday, Facebook engineers said the new feature would allow for the hugely popular service to be used on multiple “non-phone” devices without needing to connect to the smartphone app.

    “With this new capability, you can now use WhatsApp on your phone and up to four other non-phone devices simultaneously – even if your phone battery is dead,” the blog post said.

    Since its launch in 2009 as a smartphone messaging app, WhatsApp has amassed more than two billion users around the world and been acquired by Facebook.

    WhatsApp can already be used on “companion devices”, such as computers, but exchanges are routed in such a way that if a person’s smartphone is offline or has zero battery, it won’t work.

    Other issues can arise as well, such as frequent disconnection.

    “The new WhatsApp multi-device architecture removes these hurdles” by no longer requiring a smartphone to perform every operation,” the company said.

    The new capability will be expanded more broadly as it is refined, Facebook added.

    It also made assurances that WhatsApp’s security measures will still work under the new system.

    “Each companion device will connect to your WhatsApp independently while maintaining the same level of privacy and security through end-to-end encryption that people who use WhatsApp have come to expect.”

  • Asad Umar says unvaccinated people are seven times more likely to get Covid

    Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Friday said unvaccinated people were seven times more likely to contract the coronavirus than those inoculated.

    After the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) meeting, the minister said vaccination was the only way solution to the virus.

    Umar later took to Twitter and said, “The data analytics run by the NCOC team shows that comparative data of Pakistani’s who have been vaccinated versus those who are not vaccinated shows a marked difference in risk. The unvaccinated Pakistani’s are at 7 times higher risk of getting covid. Please get vaccinated.”

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan said every day around 2,500 new cases were being reported, warning that the Delta variant was spreading fast.