Category: Uncategorized

  • Shaan asks ‘born-again politician’ Jawad Ahmad to support PM Khan

    Renowned actor Shaan and singer Jawad Ahmed got into a Twitter feud which started with Shaan asking Jawad to put aside his political differences and work with Prime Minister Imran Khan in these testing times; and ended with Shaan referring to Jawad as a ‘born-again politician’ and taking a jibe at the fact that his party won no seats in the 2018 General Elections.

    It all started when Jawad criticised PM Imran Khan for playing politics with the Sindh Government and caring more about the Corona Tigers than his people. Shaan, who has always vocally supported PM Khan and his initiatives, responded, “Thank God he is not corrupt. Where were you when we had corrupt people in power?”

    Shaan further said that the PM is struggling and that everyone should play their part in helping the country rise.

    At that point, Jawad did not directly respond to the actor but instead shared an old tweet in which he had explained why he criticises PM Khan and not those before him.

    While Jawad did not responds further, Shaan continued to defend PM Khan and his policies under Jawad’s tweet.

    Later, Jawad decided to respond to Shaan’s questions in a video message.

    “I usually don’t respond to such comments and I really respect everyone from the showbiz industry, but the questions he raised require me to answer him,” Jawad said in the video. “When he asked me where I was when there was corruption, so I was exactly where you were. I was singing, I was in the industry.”

    He further said that he was offered a position in PTI in 2013 which he refused.

    “In 2018, I contested in elections. I’m a part of the said politics, therefore I can critique. Imran Khan is the Prime Minister, I have a right to criticise him.”

    In response to Jawad’s video, Shaan wrote, “Dear Jawad, it’s good to know that you are a born again politician but the 2018 elections show differently. Brother, you need to build more trust on people so they would listen, believe and vote for you. IK is PM try working with him to build Pakistan together.”

    Shaan did not end his support there. He further tweeted:

    But in the end he left his followers with some very profound words: “We have many leaders but only one hope. Pakistan – land of the pure.”

  • VIDEO: PTI, PML-N lawmakers join hands to flout social distancing at funeral of colleagues’ mother

    In a rather shocking development, lawmakers from both Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its rival Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) among other political parties have come together to attend the funeral of two of their colleagues’ mother, flouting social distancing as well as the ban on public gatherings to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country.

    As per the details, the mother of PTI MPA from Gojra Bilal Asghar Warraich and PML-N MNA Khalid Javed Warraich passed away on Friday. With her funeral prayers being held on Saturday morning, scenes from the venue in Gojra city of Toba Tek Singh district showed violation of the government-ordered ban on public gatherings to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak that has so far claimed 144 lives with 7,654 infections across the country.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Hundreds of participants at the funeral also included prominent personalities such as senior PTI leader and lawmaker Riaz Fatyana.

    A day earlier, a lack of consensus between religious leaders and the government saw congregational prayers still being held at some mosques across the country, in defiance of government guidelines on social distancing.

    In the federal capital, hundreds gathered at the Red Mosque, led by hardline religious leader Abdul Aziz, to offer prayers, standing shoulder-to-shoulder and filling the mosque’s main hall to capacity.

    Reports indicated that congregational prayers were also held at major mosques in other cities, with varying levels of social distancing.

  • Wearing face masks declared mandatory in Balochistan

    Wearing face masks declared mandatory in Balochistan

    The Balochistan government has declared wearing a mask mandatory for the citizens to control the spread of coronavirus.

    According to the Balochistan government’s spokesperson, Liaquat Shahwani, the citizens have been advised to wear mask or to cover their faces with any cloth in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak.

    “This will help the government in controlling over the pandemic”, Shahwani said and added that strict action would be taken against the violators of the government orders.

    The the latest tally of coronavirus cases of the province up to 351.

  • ‘Ishqiya’ makes no sense

    ‘Ishqiya’ makes no sense

    Pakistani dramas generally are far from reality – even though they do pretend to be realistic. But more often than not you come across dramas that are so far-fetched from reality that they begin to test your patience. And Hania Aamir, Feroze Khan, Gohar Rasheed and Ramsha Khan’s Ishqiya is one of those.

    To begin with, the plot doesn’t make any sense. Hamna (Ramsha Khan) and Romaisa (Rumi) are two sisters who have typical Pakistani drama parents: old-school and simple. While Hamna is the sober and serious one, Rumi (Hania Aamir) is the lively and playful one. Hania in this drama is no different than Daneen, her character in Anaa and from the first 10 episodes, I think it is fair to say that her fate will somewhat be the same. Rumi’s over-the-top energy is a bit annoying and her dialogues are borderline cringe.

    On the other hand, Hamna is in a relationship with her class fellow Hamza (Feroze Khan). The two love each other passionately to the point that Hamza is a bit obsessive about Hamna. In the first few episodes, Hamza gives major Kabir Singh vibes: the public possessiveness, the self-destructive nature etc. In a typical twist of fate, the girls’ father Siddiqui Sahab (as Rumi calls him) has ill health and wants to get his daughters settled (in other words married) as soon as possible. When his colleague approaches them with a rishta of his son Azeem (Gohar Rasheed) for Hamna, Siddiqui Sahab does not hesitate to say yes and Hamna is soon married to Azeem. When Hamza finds out, he throws a major tantrum and in the process ends up getting involved in a car accident. After he recovers, Hamza decides that the best way to get back at Hamna is by marrying her sister Rumi and soon the two also end up getting married with the reception of both the sisters scheduled on the same day.

    I’m pretty sure by now, after reading the plot of the drama, you must also be thinking keh yaar yeh kya drama hai? My sentiments exactly. The plot makes zero sense to me – how can a someone not tell their sister that ‘Dude the boy who is approaching you for a rishta is my ex-boyfriend and that he is only doing this to get back at me?’

    Not only that, ever since Hamna got married to Azeem, she has a long face, barely eats and is always teary-eyed. That is literally visible to everyone except her own family who are oblivious to her tears.

    After mentally torturing Hamna through four episodes and making her uncomfortable at every opportunity, the latest episode saw Hamza finally take his new bride, Roomi home. Hamna also moved to her husband Azeem’s house. It appears that now that the basic matters have been settled and the two former lovers have married other people, we’re in for a major plot twist and a whole lot of drama, which I’m thinking I will skip given how the plot of Ishqiya isn’t the most original. The Pakistani drama scene has seen plenty of such dramas before: one I can remember on top of my head is Yaariyan featuring Ayeza Khan, Moomal Sheikh, Junaid Khan and Muneeb Butt. It also had a similar premise involving two sisters.

    Written by Mohsin Ali Shah and directed by Badar Mehmood (Cheekh, Balaa), Ishqiya airs every Monday at 8pm on ARY Digital.

  • Lions nap on the road during coronavirus lockdown in South Africa

    Lions nap on the road during coronavirus lockdown in South Africa

    Pictures of a pride of lions taking a nap in the middle of a road in a national park in South Africa have gone viral on social media. South Africa has been under lockdown since March 25.

    Kruger National Park, one of the largest game reserves in Africa, shared photos and videos of animals roaming the park without the intrusion of tourists.

    Park ranger Richard Sowry was out on patrol when he took the pictures of a pride sleeping on a road. Mr Sowry performs an essential service and continues to work during the lockdown, checking on the wildlife and guarding against poachers.

    He took photos with his mobile phone.

    Speaking to a news outlet, he said, “Lions are used to people in vehicles. All animals have much more of an instinctive fear of people on foot, so if I had walked up they would never have allowed me to get so close.”

  • Mahira Khan opens up about her love life

    Mahira Khan, who has always been tight-lipped about her love life – even when social media married her off several times – has shared a sneak peek into her love life.

    Speaking to Samina Peerzada on her show Rewind at Home with Samina Peerzada, when Peerzada asked Mahira if she is in love with someone special, Mahira replied: “I think I am in love.”

    When Peerzada expressed her joy on this, Mahira said, “I don’t know. I’m so shy about this.”

    Mahira also shared that her love interest is not from the industry and that she doesn’t want to share any details about it.

    “This is the one thing I want to protect with my life,” said the actor, adding “I want to protect my child. Initially, I was always finding opportunities to show off my son but now I want to keep things private.”

    Mahira explained that the reason for doing this was because she doesn’t want any nazr.

    However, Mahira clarified that she is not getting married. Though she did say that her grandmother has asked her to think about it.

    This the first time Mahira has publicly spoken about having a special someone in her life. Last year, India media had reported that Mahira had gotten engaged in Turkey to a Karachi-based entrepreneur Salim Karim. However, sources close to Mahira had shut down the rumours, saying that she had gone there to attend her friend’s wedding.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BwuQ4Itnbeu/?utm_source=ig_embed

    Apart from this, Mahira also talked about how she is spending her time at home. She shared that she was spending time with her family, watching the sun rise with her son and catching up on reading. Mahira also remarked that she missed being on set and that she is looking forward to going back to work.

    Watch the full interview here:

  • Smokers 14 times more likely to contract coronavirus

    Smokers are 14 times more vulnerable to contraction of coronavirus as compared with those who do not smoke, Al-Jazeera reported. 

    It quoted the president of Turkish Green Crescent, Professor Mucahit Ozturk, as urging smokers to quit for protecting themselves from the contagion. 

    “Using tobacco and tobacco products increases the risk of catching the coronavirus, therefore, avoiding all addictive substances plays an important role in protecting ourselves against the virus,” Ozturk said.

    Prof Ozturk emphasised that smoking weakened the immune system and had a dire impact on coronavirus treatment as well.  

    “A weak immune system poses a threat to your health since it delays the treatment process and makes treatment difficult during the epidemic, even if you occasionally use addictive substances,” he said.

    “Smoking can cause damage to the lungs and block the cough reflex so viruses and bacteria could stick to the airways and lungs, which could lead to serious infections.”

    Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) also said smokers are likely to be more vulnerable to the virus as fingers are in contact with the lips, which increases the possibility of hand-to-mouth transmission. 

    European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention cited a research by Chinese doctors as per which “acute smokers are at a higher risk of dying than the elderly”.  

    Smokers should quit because “the human body is programmed to recover from the moment you stop smoking,” Ozturk said.

  • Woman refuses to let husband enter home without coronavirus test

    Woman refuses to let husband enter home without coronavirus test

    After the surging fears over coronavirus in India, a woman in Andhra Pradesh refused entry to her husband in the house, till he underwent COVID-19 test.

    The incident took place in Nellore district when the man stuck there since the lockdown began finally returned to his home town.

    The man, working in a gold shop in Nellore, was stranded there since lockdown was enforced last month. He finally succeeded in reaching home but his wife asked him to first undergo the screening for coronavirus before entering the house.

    She said this was needed for the safety of the children and society. She suggested he stay in a local healthcare center and requested volunteers to test him for the virus.

    The health personnel later took the man to Nellore, where his samples were collected. The test result was negative, much to the relief of the man and his family.

    “I would not have risked the lives of children and those living in the neighbourhood. That’s why I insisted that he enter the house after undergoing the test,” the woman said.

  • German Zoo might start feeding animals to each other as funds dry up

    After being forced shut due to the coronavirus pandemic, a zoo in northern Germany is facing so much financial pressure it may end up feeding its animals to each other in a worst-case scenario.

    According to reports, Neumünster zoo, in Schleswig-Holstein, has been closed since March 15. The zoo relies entirely on donations and entry fees to feed some 700 animals which include arctic foxes, maned wolves, seals and Germany’s biggest polar bear Vitus. It has not yet received any emergency aid promised by the federal government.

    Zoo director Verena Kaspari told the media, “If — and this is really the worst, worst case — if I run out of money to buy food, or if it should happen that my food supplier can no longer deliver due to new restrictions, I would slaughter animals to feed the other animals.”

    “We currently have funds that would bring us by around mid-May,” she added.

    As part of Kaspari’s worst-case-scenario plan, goats and deer would be killed first and the polar bear Vitus — which stands nearly 12 feet tall — would be the last animal to go. She assured that none of the animals slaughtered would be an endangered species.

    On March 31, the association representing 56 major zoos in Germany, including Neumünster, called on the government to release $100 million to save the industry.

    Meanwhile, a spokesperson for animal rights organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Yvonne Würz, told DW that “population management” was “nothing new for zoos.”

    “Zoos are funded through and live from tiny baby animals. When there is not enough space for the animals they are often killed for food [for other animals],” said Würz.

    She explained that some zoos are transparent about the numbers of animals they kill each year. The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria estimates between 3,000 and 5,000 animals are killed in European zoos each year.

  • ‘China let coronavirus become a pandemic’

    ‘China let coronavirus become a pandemic’

    Top officials of the Chinese government by January 14 knew that the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan could snowball into a pandemic, yet they kept the world in dark from the unfolding catastrophe for the next six days, The Associated Press (AP) has reported on the basis of retrospective infection data.

    The report cited Chinese media and claimed there was enough data to prove that COVID-19 was spreading person-to-person as people who had never been to Wuhan’s animal market contracted the disease as early as December, yet the Chinese government hid the fact from the public and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

    President Xi Jinping warned the public on the seventh day — January 20 — but by that time, more than 3,000 people had been infected during almost a week of public silence internal documents revealed.

    That delay from January 14 to January 20 was neither the first mistake made by Chinese officials at all levels in confronting the outbreak, nor the longest lag, as governments around the world have dragged their feet for weeks and even months in addressing the virus.

    But the delay by the first country to face the new coronavirus came at a critical time — the beginning of the outbreak. China’s attempt to walk a line between alerting the public and avoiding panic set the stage for a pandemic that has infected more than 2.1 million people and taken more than 147,000 lives.

    Zuo-Feng Zhang, an epidemiologist at the University of California, has said that had they taken action six days earlier, there would have been much fewer patients and medical facilities would have been sufficient. “We might have avoided the collapse of Wuhan’s medical system.”

    Moreover, the Chinese Center for Disease Control had stopped registering any cases from Wuhan’s local hospitals from January 5 to 17. However, thousands of patients were admitted to hospitals not just in Wuhan but all over China during that period.

    It is understood that doctors in local hospitals feared that they might receive the same punishment for rumor-mongering as the eight doctors, including Dr Li Wenliang, who tried to alert the public before any official authorities.

    It’s uncertain whether it was local officials who failed to report cases or national officials who failed to record them. It’s also not clear exactly what officials knew at the time in Wuhan, which only opened back up last week with restrictions after its quarantine.

    But what is clear, experts say, is that China’s rigid controls on information, bureaucratic hurdles and a reluctance to send bad news up the chain of command muffled early warnings.