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Blog
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Former Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain Passes Away
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Qatar announces visa on arrival for Pakistanis
Qatar has issued a new immigration policy directives to the concerned authorities in this regard. According to details, Pakistani citizens would be granted a 30-day tourist visa upon arrival at the airport for a fee of QAR 100 (4378.22 PKR) valid for a period of 30 days, which can be extended for a similar period.
Following are the conditions to get a visa on arrival:
Valid passport for at least six months.
Confirmed return ticket.
Polio vaccination certificate
Confirmed hotel reservation in one of the country’s hotels during the visit period.
Fully vaccinated with vaccines approved by the Ministry of Public Health and completing a period of 14 days after the last dose.
Must have a certificate confirming negative PCR test completed during 48 hours from the time of arrival.
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Hijab can now be banned at workplaces in EU, rules court
Companies in the European Union can now ban employees from wearing a headscarf under certain conditions, including the need to project an image of neutrality to customers, the EU’s top court on Thursday, Reuters reports.
“A prohibition on wearing any visible form of expression of political, philosophical or religious beliefs in the workplace may be justified by the employer’s need to present a neutral image towards customers or to prevent social disputes,” the court said.
“However, that justification must correspond to a genuine need on the part of the employer and, in reconciling the rights and interests at issue, the national courts may take into account the specific context of their Member State and, in particular, more favourable national provisions on the protection of freedom of religion.”
The cases were brought by two German Muslim women, a special needs childcare worker and a sales assistant in a chemist. Both were told to remove their headscarves after deciding to wear the hijab when they returned to work after maternity leave.
Naz Shah, Member of Parliament for Bradford West, England has, in a tweet, said that she will raise concerns against the ruling, terming it as “Islamophobic, ignorant and a blatant attack on religious freedoms.”
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Fact Check: Is this picture from Bilawal’s recent trip to the US?
Claim: During a recent trip to the US, Bilawal Bhutto followed the queue in New York city airport but not in Pakistan
Fact: These pictures were from his 2018 election campaign
Recently a picture the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, went viral on social media on Wednesday. Bilawal was seen wearing a blue shalwar kameez, standing in a queue while using his cell phone.
Many people criticised him, stating that this picture was from his recent trip to New York, asking that why the chairman was standing in line in the US but wasn’t standing in line in Pakistan.
The Current has confirmed from its sources that the photographs circulating were from the election campaign in 2018 and that the PPP chairperson was taking a flight from Lahore and so it is false to say that these pictures show Bilawal Bhutto at the New York city airport.
VERDICT: [OUT OF CONTEXT]
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Shah Mahmood says Dasu incident ‘accident’, Fawad Chaudhry says ‘terrorism can’t be ruled out’
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi that the initial investigation into the bus tragedy near Dasu hydropower project in the Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was not a consequence of a terrorist attack, according to a statement on China’s foreign ministry website reports Dawn.
Nine Chinese nationals and three Pakistanis lost their lives on Wednesday in a blast that took place on the bus that was taking them to their workplace. They were going there for an ongoing project, as per a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).
“The Chinese side is shocked by the serious Chinese casualties in Pakistan, hoping that the Pakistani side could quickly find out its cause, conduct rescue and treatment work at all costs, deal with the aftermath in time, and prevent similar incidents from happening again,” read the statement.
“If it is a terrorist attack, the criminals must be immediately arrested and severely punished,” said the Chinese ministry.
Qureshi, on behalf of the government and the people of Pakistan, expressed sincere condolences to the Chinese side over the heavy Chinese casualties. He said that the preliminary investigation shows that the incident was “an accident and no background of terrorist attacks has been found.”
However, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter and said, “Initial investigations into Dassu incident have now confirmed traces of explosives, terrorism cannot be ruled out,” contradicting the statement by his party’s Foreign Minister.
“Prime Minister Imran Khan is personally supervising all developments, in this regard Govt is in close coordination with the Chinese embassy we are committed to fighting the menace of terrorism together,” read the tweet.
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PMA advises people to take precautions against ‘brain-eating’ amoeba
The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has advised the residents of Karachi to take precautionary measures to avoid becoming a victim of Naegleria fowleri.
According to details, Naegleria is a rare but deadly waterborne amoeba that grows in freshwater sources, reservoirs including poorly chlorinated water networks.
It is advised to drink boiled water and not to wash face or bathe with polluted water.PMA officials Dr Qaiser Sajjad, Dr Samreen Sarfaraz and Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro shared this at a press conference at PMA House on Wednesday.
They demanded that the government ensures to supply chlorinated water to residents to avoid any unpleasant situation.“Naegleria fowleri is a serious health issue. Recently, six deaths have been reported, five of them were from Karachi and one was from Balochistan, who also died in Karachi during treatment,” they said.
They added: “We fear that unreported deaths would be higher than the reported ones. Unfortunately, safe water is not available to the vast majority of our population. People are compelled to consume contaminated water that causes waterborne diseases like typhoid, gastroenteritis, hepatitis A, E and cholera.”
“The chief justice should take suo motu notice on this matter. It’s criminal negligence and responsible officials should be punished. We know that water has not been chlorinated at all for many years,” said Dr Mirza Ali Azhar heading PMA-Sindh chapter, adding that the general practitioners should be trained in disease diagnosis.
“This contaminated water also carries a Naegleria fowleri amoeba, which enters into the brain through nostrils and starts damaging it and causes meningoencephalitis, which is fatal in 95 per cent cases and affected person dies eventually.”“Naegleria fowleri is found all over in moist soil, freshwater bodies, poorly chlorinated swimming pools and water supplying pipes. When water contaminated with Naegleria is sucked through the nose during bathing, rinsing the nose and ablution, it invades olfactory neuroepithelium and rapidly destroys brain tissue, which causes severe meningoencephalitis within 1-9 days,” they said.
“The initial symptoms of the disease were headache, body ache, high-grade fever, drowsiness, fainting and coma,” they said, adding: “PMA is concerned over the fact that Naegleria fowleri has been reported from water being supplied by Karachi Water & Sewerage Board. The filtration and chlorination of potable water provided in the city is questionable.”
They said that the water distribution system was defective allowing seepage of sewage in the domestic water supply that resulted in contamination and caused dangerous diseases.
Besides, people should not have gone to non-chlorinated swimming pools, they added.
The PMA representatives advised the people to put chlorine tablets (one tablet in 1,000 gallons of water) in their underground tanks.They said water tanks at homes, hospitals, schools, shopping malls and offices should be cleaned once a year.
They said chlorine price has increased these days but people could use two tablespoons of bleach powder.People can make paste of it with water and put it into their water tanks at night. This would be enough for 500 to 1,500 gallons of water to help prevent Naegleria.
The PMA requested all doctors, particularly general practitioners, to take it seriously if a patient shows symptoms of nausea, vomiting, headache and high-grade fever. Such a patient should be tested for Naegleria.
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Bilquis Edhi, Maleeha Lodhi all praise for Imran Ashraf’s performance
Bilquis Edhi praised Imran Ashraf for his brilliant performance in his latest blockbuster drama Raqs-e-Bismil that received acclaim from critics and viewers alike.
Journalist Sumayya Rizwan recently posted a video, in which the philanthropist can be seen lauding Imran Ashraf and his character portrayal in the drama.
“I really like him [Imran]. I have been watching Moosa and the last episode over and over again.”
The actor reposted the video on his Instagram and said that it is an ‘award’ for him.
“Bilquis Edhi sahiba, to be in your prayers and being liked by you is an award, a blessing,” wrote the actor.
Similarly, former Pakistan’s Ambassador at the United Nations (UN), Maleeha Lodhi also praised the actor.
“Outstanding performance by Imran Ashraf as usual in the last episode,” wrote Maleeha.
The Dil Mom Ka Diya actor will next be seen in Adnan Siddiqui’s production venture Dum Mastam costarring Amar Khan.
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Legal complaint lodged against Kareena Kapoor for hurting sentiments of Christian community
A complaint has been filed against Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor Khan over the title of her upcoming book as reported by Indian media. The Christian Community is hurt by the actress using the word ‘Bible’ in her title.
A police official has even confirmed receiving a police complaint under IPC section 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) against the Jab We Met actress and two others.
The holy word ”Bible” has been used in the book’s title and this has hurt the religious sentiments of Christians, Alpha Omega Christian Mahasangh president Ashish Shinde has stated.
Kareena launched her book on July 9, and the book is the comprehensive guide to pregnancy. Kareena and Saif announced the birth of their second child earlier this year in February.
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Afghanistan may seek India’s military assistance if talks with Taliban fail: Afghan ambassador
The government of Afghanistan may, at some point in the future, seek India’s military assistance if talks with the Taliban fail amid the withdrawal of US troops from there, Afghan Ambassador to India, Farid Mamundzay, has said in an interview to NDTV.
“Should we not get to a stage in the peace process with the Taliban, then maybe a time (will come) where we would be seeking India’s military assistance, more military assistance in the years ahead,” said Farid.
“We are not seeking India’s assistance with sending troops to Afghanistan. Their footprint in Afghanistan to fight our war would not be needed at this stage,” he clarified.
The current situation in Afghanistan is “very dire” and “very problematic”, with the government forces actively fighting the Taliban in around 150 of the 376 districts, the Ambassador said.
In another interview given to The Indian Express, Farid said, “We are faced with economic hardship,” reports Khaleej Times.
“The Covid-19-induced lockdowns and the crisis had made deteriorating life even more jeopardised for the general public. We are going through a very difficult time,” he added.
“Messages that India would continue to support Afghanistan should Taliban become part of the mainstream society again,” he explained. “India would continue to assist Afghanistan in education, politically, diplomatically. Those would go a long way I hope with the Taliban,” added Farid.
Mamundzay avoided responding to queries related to tensions between India and Pakistan and its spillover in Afghanistan. He said Afghans were to a large extent independent and they decided for themselves.
“But Pakistan holds a considerable amount of influence and leverage with the Taliban, who again is part of Afghan society,” explained the diplomat.
“And our requests to Pakistan have always been to use, and productively utilise their influence to bring Taliban to the negotiating table, to make them agree to a process which would make this region prosper. We understand that Pakistan may not fully control the Taliban, but they have a good influence over them. And that influence should be used for, at least, on making this region peaceful and prosperous.”
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Yumnah Ali bullied for being four years older than husband Zaid
Yumnah Ali celebrated her 30th birthday yesterday but became a victim of cyber hatred as netizens trolled her for being four years older than her husband Zaid Ali who recently ringed on his 26th birthday.
Later, Zaid posted a sentimental birthday wish for his wife and mother of his child.
“Happy 30th birthday my love! It felt like I met you just yesterday but here we are, ready to become parents. May Allah bless you with every happiness in the world and I can’t wait to grow older by your side, day by day.”
Earlier in July, the content creator shared a birthday post saying he turned 26. Aside from Netizens trolling him for being ‘dishonest’ about his age, even his friends pitched in.
Actor Bilal Abbas Khan also wished him with a humorous age-related remark.
