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  • UK health secretary resigns after kissing his colleague amid lockdown

    UK health secretary resigns after kissing his colleague amid lockdown

    United Kingdom (UK) Health Secretary, Matt Hancock resigned from his position on Saturday after being filmed kissing his colleague, in breach of coronavirus social distancing rules.

    The former secretary in his letter of resignation wrote to the British Prime Minster Boris Johnson “owe it to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down”. The PM said he was “sorry” to receive the resignation, reported BBC.

    The 42-year-old, reportedly, was under a great deal of pressure from his fellow Conservative party members when a local tabloid revealed that he is having an affair with Gina Coladangelo, a friend from his days at Oxford University who he hired as an adviser in March last year. Mr. Hancock has also ended his 15-year marriage.

    Hancock routinely appeared on television urging Britishers to follow strict rules. Earlier this month plans to ease lockdown in England further got delayed because of concerns over the Delta variant of Covid.

    Recently, the country’s former finance minister Sajid Javid has been appointed as the new Health Secretary. He was born to Pakistani immigrant parents in 1969, who are originally from Toba Tek Singh, Punjab.

  • Student in US harrased for highlighting Palestinians, Uighurs in her graduation speech

    Student in US harrased for highlighting Palestinians, Uighurs in her graduation speech

    Huda, a Muslim student, in the United States (US) became the target of racial insults by parents and students for highlighting the plight of Palestinians and Uighurs in her graduation speech.

    “Our lips are yet free. Speak for those who cannot speak for themselves and stand up for any injustice that you see,” Huda said in her speech

    “Educate yourself about international dilemmas including the ethnic cleansings of Palestinians and Uighur Muslims. Families are continuously torn apart and real human lives are being lost but ignored. Educate yourself on the widespread issues that plague our planet and threaten our very existence in the long run,” she added.

    Huda further said, “Consider global warming with the gravity that it needs to be looked at with and never stop speaking about these issues until they are resolved.”

    Huda was asked to ‘go back to Pakistan’ and was harassed by fellow students and their parents.

    One of the students can be heard in the video saying, “Why did not you say anything about Hamas? Hamas would have been nice.”

    Read More: UK media regulator fines Indian channel over hate speech against Pakistan

    As per reports, Huda’s speech was approved by the school but later the principal claimed that it wasn’t. The principal also apologised to the students and parents who targeted Huda with racial insults and sent them e-mails claiming that she “changed her speech”.

    A disclaimer was also added in the video that this line was not “approved by the Wheatley Speech Selection Committee”.

  • VIDEO: News presenter demands his salary during live broadcast

    VIDEO: News presenter demands his salary during live broadcast

    A Zambian news presenter lost his cool and demanded his unpaid salary during a live news broadcast on Saturday night.

    The news anchor for Zambian KBN TV, Kabinda Kalimina, initially gave a roundup of the top stories and then he went off-script and demanded his salary and the salaries of his colleagues who were not paid for their work.

    “Away from the news, ladies and gentlemen, we are human beings. We have to get paid. Unfortunately, on KBN we haven’t been paid. People are getting instruments on KBN…Sharon and everyone else haven’t been paid, including myself. We have to get paid,” Kalimina said in a video clip of the broadcast that is doing rounds on social media.

    Condemning Kalimina’s actions, the channel issued a statement and claimed Kalimina’s rant as “drunken behaviour”. The television station also claimed that Kalimina is a part-time newscaster.

    According to the statement which was signed by Kennedy Mambwe, the owner and chief executive officer of KBN TV, the organization has a “well-established grievance procedures” through which employees of the channel can register their complaints.

    However, the statement did not clarify if the channel had or hadn’t paid it’s staff salary.

    Read More: Bangladesh’s first transgender newsreader breaks down into tears after debut on national TV

    “As KBN TV, we are appalled with the drunken behaviour exhibited through a video clip that has gone viral on social media and staged by one of our part-time presenters during what should have been the main news bulletin last night. As a young television station, we work with a very highly talented and professional team, with a noble character and we owe the success of unbroken broadcasting for the last two years to such gallant men and women. Members of the public may wish to know that KBN TV like any other institution, has very well-established grievance procedures for all members of staff through which they can channel their complaints.

    The statement added that the management was looking into the matter and that anyone who had helped Kalimina in his stunt would face disciplinary action.

    “As management, we are carrying out investigations to determine how a drunken part-time presenter found himself on air unabated and disciplinary action will be taken against anyone who may have been party to the scheme.”

  • ‘Mini Boris Johnson’: Baby born with hairstyle similar to Boris Johnson

    ‘Mini Boris Johnson’: Baby born with hairstyle similar to Boris Johnson

    The three-month-old baby boy named David Doronina, from Surrey, England has long blond hair that makes people compare him to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

    His resemblance to the PM Johnson was spotted by nurses soon after his birth on March 1, according to his mother Tatiana Doronina.

    Now, David’s parents are often stopped in the streets and public places by strangers who compare the boy to Boris Johnson.

    Tatiana said: ‘David is like a celebrity. Everyone is literally getting crazy about his look. People make the comparison to Boris the minute they see him.’

    At one point, the father had also thought about naming the son after the UK Prime Minister but Tatiana did not agree.

    Tatiana has also made an Instagram page where she shares new pictures of David. The bio reads, ‘not Boris Johnson’s son’

  • Norway takes back decision to boycott Qatar World Cup 2022

    Norway takes back decision to boycott Qatar World Cup 2022

    Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) on Sunday ruled out the decision of boycotting next year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar, amid the pressure from grassroots activists over accusations of the mistreatment of migrant workers.

    As per reports, a congress was called by the federation to make a final decision in which 368 delegates voted for a motion rejecting a boycott while 121 were in favour.

    In addition to this, Sandvik, spokesman of the Norwegian Supporters Alliance (NSA), said the matches in Qatar will “unfortunately be like playing on a cemetery”.

    The movement was highlighted when the Norwegian professional football club, Tromsø IL, spoke out against the Gulf State. This year in March, Norwegian National Football players wore t-shirts with the slogan ‘Human rights, on and off the pitch’, as they were warming up before FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualification match.

    Norway is currently fourth in its World Cup qualifying group and hasn’t qualified for a major international Football competition since Euro 2000.

    It is to be noted that not only Norway but other European countries such as Germany and Netherlands have protested against the Gulf State.

    The major reason behind the boycott is that a media report published earlier this month alleged that approximately 6,500 migrant workers from South Asia had died in Qatar since 2010 when the country was awarded hosting rights of the 2022 tournament. In the past, there were also a lot of protests against harsh working conditions, especially during the summer, they are forced to work under the scorching sun.

    There is a lack of rights for migrant workers, who comprise about 95 percent of Qatar’s population, reports Al Jazeera.

  • UN chief António Guterres gets re-elected for second term

    UN chief António Guterres gets re-elected for second term

    United Nations (UN) SecretaryGeneral, António Guterres has been re-elected for a second five-year term, on Friday by the 193 state members of the UN general assembly.

    As per reports, earlier this month, a 15-membered Security Council body unanimously recommended his name for the re-appointment. His official tenure will start from January 1, 2022, which lasts to 2026.

    This announcement was made by the President of the UN General Assembly Volkan Bozkir, after that he took oath from Guterres at the podium of the UN General Assembly hall.

    He expressed his gratitude by saying that serving in UN is an immense privilege and noble duty to him.

    Guterres’s major focus throughout his tenure has always been uniting the world behind efforts to combat climate change and environmental collapse. In 2017, he succeeded Korean diplomat, Ban Ki Moon who also served twice as the UN Eighth Secretary General.

    António Guterres, a Portuguese National currently is 72 years old. In the past, he also had served twice as the Prime Minister of Portugal.

  • VIDEO: Massive spider webs blanket Australian state

    VIDEO: Massive spider webs blanket Australian state

    A part of Australis’s state of Victoria has been covered with thick layers of cobweb. The area had received heavy rains and flooding last week forcing many residents to leave.  Other locals are still there without power in the state as authorities repair transformers and clear roads.

    A video doing rounds on social media shows an entire area covered in massive spider webs. The spiders create these web sheets as part of a survival tactic known as ‘Ballooning’. In such events, spiders release silk strands to climb to higher ground.

    This is not the first time when the cobwebs have taken over the region after heavy rainfall. A similar incents had occurred after the rains in Gippsland in 2013.

  • Muslim women can now perform Hajj without a male guardian

    Muslim women can now perform Hajj without a male guardian

    In a landmark move, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj has allowed women to perform the annual holy pilgrimage, scheduled to be held in July this year, without a male guardian (mahram).

    “Those wishing to perform Hajj will have to register individually. Women can register without a mahram (male guardian) along with other women,” the ministry said in a tweet.

    “In light of what the whole world is witnessing with the coronavirus pandemic and the emergence of new variants, the relevant authorities have continued to monitor the global health situation,” the ministry said. This year’s Hajj will only be limited to Kingdom’s nationals and residents due to the ongoing pandemic. “Those wishing to perform the Hajj must be free of chronic diseases and be vaccinated.” The ministry added that pilgrims should be between the ages of 18 and 65, reports Aljazeera.

    This news comes a few days after Saudi Arabia allowed women to live independently without male consent after a legal amendment. Over the last few years, the Kingdom has seen numerous reforms on women’s social freedoms, in a campaign headed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. 

    In April this year, Saudi authorities hired women to work in frontline positions at the Grand Mosque.

    In 2020, new penalties were announced against abusing women.

    In 2019, a new amendment allowed women aged 21 and above to apply for passport and travel without a male guardian’s approval.

    In 2018, Saudi women officially earned the right to obtain drivers licenses.

  • Web designer names his son HTML

    Web designer names his son HTML

    A newborn in Philippines was given a very unique name by his father who is a web designer by profession.

    A Facebook post that has gone viral announced the birth of a newborn who is introduced to the world with his name Hypertext Mark-up Language Rayo Pascual or HTML for short.

    The newborn’s aunt has reportedly introduced her nephew as ‘HTML’ through a Facebook post.

    As per reports, the child’s web developer father Mac Pascual has chosen the unusual name to honour his profession.

    Pascual told a local news site Inquirer.net that unusual names run in his family, explaining that his own name is short for Macaroni 85.

    He told that one of his sisters’ official names was Spaghetti 88 and her two children are called Cheese Pimiento and Parmesan Cheese, though they go by Chippy and Peewee for short.

    Read More: Student names Emraan Hashmi, Sunny Leone as parents in admit card

    HTML was born healthy, weighing 4.9 pounds. The infant’s mother said that she is pleased to welcome her child and said relatives were happy with the choice of name.

    HTML’s aunt shared a picture of the newborn on Facebook with the caption ‘Welcome to the world HTML.’

  • Spanish man jailed for 15 years for ‘killing, eating’ mother

    Spanish man jailed for 15 years for ‘killing, eating’ mother

    A Spanish court on Tuesday sentenced a man to 15 years and five months in jail after finding him guilty of strangling his mother and then eating her.

    The court jailed him for 15 years for murder and five months for desecration of a corpse after he sliced up his mother’s body and ate “her corpse over at least 15 days”, giving some to his dog.

    As per reports, the suspect killed his mother in early 2019 during a clash between the suspect and his 69-year-old mother at the flat that they shared together in Ventas, according to the indictment. 

    He strangled his mother then dragged her into her bedroom where he used a saw and two kitchen knives to cut her up “in order to get rid of the body.”

    “He began eating the remains over the course of about 15 days, storing other parts in various plastic containers around the house and in the fridge,” it said.

    He also put some of the leftovers into plastic bags and threw them into the bin.

    Also Read: ‘Mouse plague’ in Australia: Mice crawl into beds and bite residents

    In testimony, a police officer said the suspect confessed to having eaten some of the remains raw, while others parts he had cooked or fed to the dog.

    The suspect was arrested on February 23, 2019 after police received a complaint by a friend of the mother that she was missing.

    The court also ordered the man to pay 60,000 euros in compensation to his older brother.