Instagram has announced that it is suspending the rollout of new features to its app following an online backlash from users, influencers, and celebrities.
Updates to Instagram are believed to be due to the growing popularity of its competitor “TikTok” which comprises videos rather than still images.
Celebrity sisters Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner also posted on social media this week urging the company to “make Instagram Instagram again” and stop trying to be like TikTok.
The slogan came from a Change.org petition that had more than 229,000 signatures as of Thursday night. “Let’s go back to our roots with Instagram and remember that the intention behind Instagram was to share photos, for Pete’s sake,” the petition reads.
Toni Tone, writer and content creator, posted how frustrated she was with the modifications and how Instagram was so much more reasonable when she received content from the people she preferred to follow.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri responded to the controversy earlier this week by posting a video on Twitter saying the features are a work in progress, testing with a small number of users. But after some backlash, he later said in a series of tweets that he wanted to “continue supporting photos.”
New features included recommended video content, styled like rival app TikTok. Meta, Instagram’s parent company, said it wants to “take the time” to get the transition right.
An Uzbek singer sang Pakistani Mili Naghma during an official lunch at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers’ meeting. The video was shared by the Foreign Office of Pakistan.
“Warm hospitality on display by the hosts, during the recently concluded SCO Council of Foreign Minister,” tweeted Pakistan’s Foreign Office.
The video was re-shared by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on his Instagram account.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari led Pakistan’s delegation to the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers in Tashkent from July 28-29, 2022. During his stay, he held various interactions with his counterparts.
Elon Musk shared a famous Pakistani meme on Twitter in response to the news that the United States (US) government is considering a prisoner swap with Russia that would see the handover of a Russian prisoner in exchange for WNBA player Brittney Griner and former US marine Paul Whelan.
The Biden administration has reportedly made an offer to release Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms dealer known as the “merchant of death”, in exchange for Griner and Whelan. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was detained in Russia after Moscow airport officials said they found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. Whelan, a former US marine, was detained at a Moscow hotel in December 2018 and arrested on espionage charges.
Musk’s tweet
“Maybe free some people in jail for weed here too?” Musk tweeted on Sunday, sharing the famous Pakistani meme with a caption: “People in the US in jail for weed while the government trades a Russian war criminal to free a woman’s basketball player in jail for weed.”
This is not the first time that SpaceX founder and business tycoon Elon Musk has spoken out about people being in jail over crimes related to marijuana and weed.
In June 2020, Musk tweeted: “Selling weed literally went from major felony to essential business (open during pandemic) in much of America & yet many are still in prison. Doesn’t make sense, isn’t right.”
Pakistani cricket fan Sarim Akhtar’s viral meme
The disappointed Pakistani cricket fan Sarim Akhtar’s meme shared by Elon Musk has also been featured in Hong Kong’s Museum of Memes.
The ‘disappointed face’ of Pakistani cricket fan Sarim Akhat after Asif Ali dropped David Warner’s catch in Pakistan vs Australia became a meme, and it was widely shared by social media users.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Sunday directed party leaders and parliamentarians in Punjab to prepare for the next general elections as they could be announced in six to eight weeks.
The direction came during separate meetings held at Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Pervaiz Elahi’s office on Sunday.
Khan congratulated Elahi on the ouster of an ‘unconstitutional and unlawful’ government from Punjab.
Steps to provide relief to the people of the province were also discussed during the meeting.
Khan held separate meetings with various party leaders, including provincial chief of the party Dr Yasmin Rashid, former chief Shafqat Mahmood, Mian Mahmood-ur-Rashid, as well as with MPAs from six Punjab divisions.
Khan has given Dr Yasmin Rashid a two-week ultimatum to reorganise the party in the province.
Earlier, former Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed said that an “agreement” has been reached and the general elections will be held in October.
“Instead of by-elections, matters on new elections have been settled. The nation will soon hear about the date for the elections in October, the formation of a new election commission and a caretaker government,” said Rasheed.
PTI challenges approval of 11 resignations in court
PTI General Secretary Asad Umar on Monday (August 1) reached the Islamabad High Court where he challenged the approval of the 11 resignations of PTI MNAs.
“A petition has been submitted in the Islamabad High Court against the election commission accepting the resignations of 11 members of the assembly of their choice,” the PTI leader said on Twitter.
الیکشن کمیشن کے بندر بانٹ کر کے اپنی مرضی کے 11 ممبران اسمبلی کے استعفے منظور کرنے کے خلاف پٹیشن اسلام آباد ہائی کورٹ میں جمع کرا دی ہے. سارے ملک کے سامنے لوٹوں کے علاوہ تمام تحریک انصاف کے ممبران نے استعفیٰ دیا. سب کے استعفے ایک ساتھ قبول کئے جائیں
Umar said that they have approached the court against the acceptance of the 11 resignations.
“On April 11, 125 of our people resigned on the floor of the assembly, and on April 13, Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri accepted their resignations,” Umar said.
Asad Umar said that PTI MNAs resigned en masse but the election commission’s decision to accept the resignation of 11 members and not 125 is illegal.
According to the ECP, Ali Muhammad Khan, Fazal Muhammad Khan, Shaukat Ali, Fakhar Zaman Khan, Farrukh Habib, Ijaz Ahmad Shah, Jamil Ahmed Khan, Muhammad Akram Cheema, Abdul Shakoor Shad, Shireen Mehrunnisa Mazari, Shandana Gulzar Khan have been de-notified.
PTI to file judicial reference against Chief Election Commissioner
PTI Information Secretary Farrukh Habib issued a statement on July 30 and said the party had prepared to file a disqualification reference in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against the CEC Sikander Sultan Raja. He said the CEC met PDM leaders after reserving a judgment in the prohibited funding case.
“By doing so, the chief election commissioner violated his oath, the code of conduct as well as his constitutional duty,” he added.
According to media reports, PTI decided to file a judicial reference against CEC Sultan Raja. The decision came during a high-level PTI meeting chaired by Imran Khan, where the party leaders reviewed the coalition government’s recent meeting with the CEC and other ECP members.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan met Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and former federal minister Moonis Elahi at the Chief Minister’s Office on Sunday in Lahore and discussed matters of mutual interest, the political situation, the administrative affairs of Punjab, and the law and order situation.
A picture of their meeting was shared by Moonis Elahi on social media where Khan can be seen sitting on the CM’s seat while the chief minister sat opposite him. The picture went viral and was widely criticised by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders.
“No self-respecting, dignified man would sit on someone else’s official seat/chair but this man is hungry for power,” tweeted Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.
اس شخص کو کرسی کی کتنی ھوس ھے.. کوئ صاحب عزت self respecting dignified انسان کسی اور عہدے دار کی کرسی پہ نہیں بیٹھے گا. عمران خان کی یہ حرکت اسکی سوچ اور ذات کی پستی کی آئینہ دار ھے. https://t.co/vZElAqDfHA
— Khawaja Saad Rafique (@KhSaad_Rafique) July 31, 2022
The real story
However, senior journalist Hamid Mir explained the real reason why Khan was sitting on the CM seat.
Hamid Mir said that when Khan reached Elahi’s office to congratulate him, Pervaiz Elahi asked the PTI chairman to sit on the CM seat but Khan replied that it is Elahi’s seat.
Moonis Elahi said to the PTI chairman that they got this seat because of him, so he should sit on it. After Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and Moonis Elahi’s insistence, finally Imran Khan sat on the chair of the Punjab Chief Minister.
At least 136 people have been killed in flash floods in Balochistan triggered by heavy monsoon rains.
According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), flash floods have also damaged about 13,000 homes.
The federal government has announced Rs1 million worth of assistance for every household of the deceased in Balochistan flash floods. Flood relief efforts are also being carried out in Balochistan and other areas of the country, with assistance from military rescuers.
Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo has said that the federal and provincial governments are committed to completely rehabilitating flood-affected people in the province.
In a statement on Sunday, he also lauded the role of the Pakistan Army in relief and rescue activities.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit the flood-affected areas of Balochistan today. He visited Jhal Magsi on Saturday.
Continuous rain isn’t showing its mercy to the people of Balochistan, adding to their sorrow. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Balochistan yesterday to oversee the relief work being done in the province during the heavy monsoon rains. More than 120 people have lost their lives while 6,000 houses have been completely damaged and over 10,000 partially damaged. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said, “Troops are busy in rescue, and relief efforts apart from providing medical care and opening up communication infrastructure.”
Occasional rain kept pouring on in different cities of the province, exposing the already neglected Balochistan to more tragedy. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, Kalat received 50mm of rain, followed by Chaman with 26mm and Ziarat with 21mm during the said period. Rainfall was also reported in Muslim Bagh, Sibi, Mastung, Dalbadin, Khuzdar, Lasbela and Barkhan in the last 24 hours. According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), at least 127 people have died in rains and floods in the province since June 1. Some of those deaths were reported in parts of the province in the last 24 hours.
Every year, Pakistan witnesses floods and heavy rains destroying infrastructure. Are the ones responsible for running the country well aware that Pakistan finds itself in this vicious cycle every year but are we prepared? The answer: no. The authorities do not wake up unless floods swamp provinces, people die, families lose their livelihoods, jobs, animals, homes, and above all, their loved ones.
The plight of Balochistan makes one wonder, why doesn’t our government plan ahead? Why don’t management authorities take preemptive measures? Why can’t we realise that the loss of life is replaceable? Will anyone really see how families have lost their loved ones, how water has washed away life itself? But what’s even scarier is how little we are doing to change this. We hope that our authorities do better. Better as leaders, caretakers, policy-makers, and above all, as humans. The plight of Balochistan is an awakening call for all. The sooner our leaders wake up, the better. Balochistan has been neglected for decades. The people of Balochistan deserve better.
Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari met and held meetings with his counterparts from Afghanistan, China, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers’ meeting. However, it has been reported that Bilawal and Indian FM Dr S. Jaishankar avoided handshake and the two ministers sat away from each other.
⚪️ Highlights
FM @BBhuttoZardari led #Pakistan’s del to SCO CFM meeting. On margins of CFM, he held bilateral meetings with: ➖Afghanistan ➖China ➖Tajikistan ➖Kazakhstan ➖Uzbekistan & ➖Kyrgyzstan
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) July 29, 2022
Bilawal attended the SCO meeting (July 28th to 29th) in Tashkent and this is where both he and Jaishankar came together since the Pakistani foreign minister took charge.
It is pertinent to mention that the SCO meeting is being held in connection with the preparations for the SCO Heads of State meeting scheduled to be held in September.
On the international platform, Bilawal said that there are no plans of any meetings between Indian and Pakistani Prime Ministers (PM) in September, adding that “both India and Pakistan are part of the SCO and the two countries are only engaged in the context of the broad-based activities of the organisation”.
The foreign minister said: “India is our neighbouring country. While one can decide on a lot of things, one cannot choose its neighbours, therefore, we should get used to living with them.”
Bilawal recalled that after 2019, constructive dialogue with India became difficult, while statements based on Islamophobia by Indian officials are further creating hurdles in dialogue.
‘What is our fault if Khan failed to boost ties with US?’
Reacting to Imran Khan’s criticism that said Pakistan and the United States (US) relation has weakened during the tenure of the coalition government, the foreign minister said, “There is no truth in Imran Khan’s claims.”
“Khan tried to strengthen relations with Washington when he was in power,” he said and asked, “What was their fault if he failed to boost ties with the US?”
As per sources of the National Institute of Health (NIH), 2,157 cases of diarrhoea have been reported in Islamabad in the past one month, reports ARY.
However, no death has been reported due to diarrhoea.
Most cases have been reported in Poly Clinic Hospital Islamabad. A total of 991 cases were reported in the hospital last week. Out of which, 324 cases were reported in children.
A total of 245 cases were reported in PIMS hospital in the last week.
However, 90 per cent of the patients were not hospitalised.
In addition, Islamabad also reported 21 cases of cholera this season.
Actor Merub Ali, who was last seen in HUM TV’s Paristan has clapped back at a troll on Instagram. A netizen commented under her picture that she needs “3 drips”.
The starlet responded by saying that “So you get them yourself, why are you mentioning here?”
Earlier this year, Merub’s fiance Asim Azhar announced their engagement via Instagram, earlier this year to his rumoured girlfriend and longtime friend, Model Merub Ali.
The pair posted identical announcements on Instagram on Sunday. “Shukar Alhamdulillah [Thank you God]. With the grace of Allah Almighty and our parent’s duas, we announce our Imam Zamin – engagement. May Allah SWT keep us protected and this happy forever, Ameen. Keep us in your prayers,” read their posts.
There were many speculations prior to the announcement but the duo never confirmed their relationship publicly. In an interview, Ali said, “We’re great family friends and have known each other since childhood. My brother is his best friend and our mothers are best friends.”
