Finland’s 34-year-old Prime Minister Sanna Marin has proposed cutting down the workweek and reducing it to four days consisting of six-hour workdays in a bid to transition the country to what she called “the next step for us in working life.”
According to CNBC, the PM said, “I believe people deserve to spend more time with their families, loved ones, hobbies and other aspects of life, such as culture. This could be the next step for us in working life.”
Specific details of Marin’s proposal are yet to be announced.
Finland has long been advocating flexible work schedules. In 1996, the government introduced a law that gave employees the right to shift their hours up to three hours earlier or later than their employers’ typical requirements.
Since taking office and becoming the world’s youngest prime minister in December, Marin has advanced that agenda. Marin sits at the helm of Finland’s Social Democratic Party and leads the country’s five-party, all-woman center-left coalition government.
However, Finland is not the first country to propose this. In 2015, Sweden tested out the six-hour workweek in Gothenburg. Results revealed that though happiness levels included it put a burden on public coffers.
Meanwhile, in November 2019, Microsoft Japan revealed that a trial four-day workweek boosted productivity by 40%.
Meera Jee seems to be using the beginning of the new year and decade as an excuse to take a trip down the memory lane and share with her fans and followers some unseen pictures of her early years in the Pakistan film industry. Take a look.
Spoiler – You’ll be shocked to see some of our favourite actors from their younger days.
Let’s start with this picture of Meera and Humayun Saeed from their drama. Not sure what shocks us more – Humayun Saeed or Meera’s makeup.
Meera with Moammar Rana
Attending weddings with Sheikh Rasheed
Having tea with former President Pervez Musharraf
Meera on the sets of her various projects
With superstars from the 90s: Reema, Resham and Juhi Chawla
Cross-border love – Meera with critically acclaimed director Mahesh Bhatt
The first lunar eclipse of 2020 – and the decade – will fall on January 10. Four penumbral lunar eclipses scheduled to take place in 2020.
Lunar eclipse, also known as the ‘Wolf Moon Eclipse’, is an astronomic event that occurs when the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon and blocks some or all of the Sun’s light from reaching the Moon. A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and the Moon are imperfectly aligned. When this happens, the Earth blocks some of the Sun’s light from directly reaching the Moon’s surface and covers all or part of the Moon with the outer part of its shadow, also known as the penumbra.
As per reports, the eclipse will start at 10:07 pm and end around 2:12 am. The full eclipse can be witnessed at 12:07 am.
Four such lunar eclipses are expected to take place in 2020. Other eclipses will likely occur on June 5, July 5 and November 30.
In a first, both the government and major opposition parties on Tuesday joined hands to approve in the National Assembly all three bills formalising the tenure of the three services chiefs, including Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
According to Geo News, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan made a rare appearance in the Lower House of the parliament as the assembly voted on three bills that will formalise the tenures of the army, navy and air force chiefs.
Before the voting started, Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak took the floor to request the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) that it take back amendments it had suggested to the bills, saying he was making the request “keeping in mind the regional and national situation”.
Naveed Qamar, who spoke on behalf of the PPP in response to Khattak’s request, said that the amendments had been suggested to improve the bills but, after being approached by a government delegation and consulting with the rest of the opposition, the party had decided to withdraw them.
With voting commencing shortly after the dialogue, Speaker Asad Qaiser asked legislators to express their assent or dissent. The bills were voted on clause by clause.
Some opposition lawmakers, including those from Jamaate Islami (JI), the Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), walked out in protest over the bills. They had earlier announced they would not be supporting the bills on principle. All the major parties had, however, lent near unquestioning assent to the same.
After voting on the bills concluded, the National Assembly session was adjourned till 4 pm on Wednesday.
The bills will now be sent for approval to the Senate Standing Committee on Defence before they are voted on in the Senate, and become law once signed by the president.
As tensions continue to soar between Iran and the United States (US) over the past week, and both Tehran and Washington issuing threats against each other, Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel should not be dragged into the conflict.
According to Anadolu Agency, Netanyahu, while chairing a security cabinet meeting Monday, said the killing of top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was carried out by the US, stressing his country was “not involved”.
Soleimani, commander of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Quds Forces, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, vice president of the Hashd al-Shaabi group, were assassinated in a US drone strike on Friday outside Baghdad International Airport.
With the dramatic escalation making headlines and Iran issuing threats of severe consequence, Netanyahu has urged his ministers to reiterate Israel’s support for America’s right to defend itself when speaking to the media.
During the meeting, top Israeli intelligence officials reassured the ministers that the likelihood of a retaliatory attack by Iran against Israel was low, since “Israel stayed at a distance from the incident”, according to Channel 13.
Soleimani’s slaying marked a new high in tensions between the US and Iran, which have often been at a fever pitch since President Donald Trump chose in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw Washington from a nuclear pact world powers struck with Tehran.
Iran has now promised to avenge Soleimani’s killing and announced that it would stop complying with the 2015 nuclear deal. Trump has since threatened to target cultural sites in Iran.
American business magazine Forbes has listed Pakistan as one of the ten must-visit destinations for those who’re looking for something offbeat. Other countries on the list include Armenia, Chad, Eritrea, Guatemala, Mongolia and Saudi Arabia.
“Closed countries are opening up. Savvy luxury agencies are making remote destinations accessible to travelers who don’t want to rough it or risk much,” read the magazine.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan also topped Conde Nast Traveler’s list of best holiday destinations for 2020. Pakistan is undoubtedly full of natural beauty and its diverse culture attracts local as well as international tourists.
Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has admired Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar for initiating the 115-kilometre (km) long Jalalpur Irrigation Project worth $360 million after a delay of 120 years, not knowing that the project was actually conceived, planned, negotiated and approved by his arch-rival and former chief executive of Punjab, Shehbaz Sharif, The News reported.
“I congratulate you all. Today, I admire Punjab CM Usman Buzdar for initiating this project. This project has been delayed for the past 120 years. I am thankful that you started this project because these projects change the lives of the people,” the premier had said at the inauguration ceremony held in Jhelum in the last week of December 2019.
However, official documents revealed that the project was entirely planned, initiated and negotiated by the Shehbaz administration back in 2009 when the then CM had ordered its construction.
According to reports, the feasibility work for the project was completed in 2013 and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) was engaged. It takes three to four years in the processing of such projects’ planning, loan negotiation, environmental studies, population relocation plans among other.
A mega project like the one in question needs years owing to all the necessary surveys and the completion of its designs, which were completed in 2017. All details are also documented on the ADB website.
A copy of the loan agreement shows that it was signed by Pakistan and ADB in April 2018 by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, ahead of which, the project agreement was signed in April 2017 by the then Punjab Irrigation Secretary Asadullah with Shehbaz’s approval.
The Punjab Annual Development Plan (ADP) approved by the Shehbaz government in its budget for fiscal year 2017-18 also reflected the project. From 2013-2018, the Punjab government spent approximately Rs2,998 million to acquire land for this project, and the last allocation of Rs600 million was made in the ADP for 2017-18.
At the planning stage, even alignment of canal was decided in consultation with locals through the lawmakers concerned. In 2016, a number of seminars were also held in Khushab to finalise alignment as per the needs of the farmers.
In ADP for the year 2016-2017, the engineering designs were completed. As much as Rs70 million was spent on this project by PML-N government for engineering design in 2016-2017 and Rs230 million was allocated in 2017-2018. Total expenditure made on land acquisition by the then government was Rs3 billion. A total of 8,000 acres of land was acquired by the previous government, which was a huge administrative exercise while Rs497 million was spent on the engineering design of this project. Detail engineering design took 16 months.
The canal will irrigate 160,000 acres of land in Pind Dadan Khan and Khushab tehsil and interestingly even the people, farmers and residents of these areas are fully aware that project was initiated by Shehbaz in 2013.
As per the official documents, the loan agreement was signed by Shehbaz in 2017 and everything was finalised and commissioned by May 2018, but now the premier has been made to believe that incumbent Punjab CM Buzdar is behind the project.
According to ADB documents, the project is located by the right bank of River Jhelum in Punjab. It will create new non-perennial irrigation services for enhanced agricultural production in Pind Daden Khan and Khushab districts. The project will increase kharif crop intensity by 50 per cent, improve crop yield and reduce land degradation. It will directly benefit over 200,000 rural people; mostly poor.
TikTok, a video-sharing social networking application used to create short lip-sync, comedy, and talent videos has taken another life.
As per reports, young Tik Toker Sonu Singh was hit by a train from the back when he was shooting a TikTok video. The information was shared by Pakistani peace activist Radesh Singh Tony, whose cousin was the victim. Radesh Singh Tony took to twitter to share the sad incident stating that Sonu was wearing headphones while walking on the railway track when the crash happened.
He also appealed to the youngsters not to make such dangerous videos and also advised parents to keep their children away from such apps.
Another heart broken incident my Cusin young Son (Sonu Singh) dead hitting by Train from back side due to making Tiktok with Headphone in his ears on Railway Track. Now he is in 5 pieces, Kindly ignore these type of Apps & please stop your children from this. Rest in Peace pic.twitter.com/PLWsWmKSTQ
Lahore witnessed a sharp increase in street crime as more than three dozen cases of robbery and theft were reported during the last 24 hours in several parts of the city.
According to the reports, five houses were robbed while 15 citizens were looted in incidents of street crime. Prime Minister Imran Khan’s nephew Shershah Khan was also among those looted during a house robbery.
While the city witnessed a surge in crime during the last one month, crimes were gradually increasing with every passing day which is evident from the fact that the criminals deprived families and citizens of valuables in 36 hits for 24 hours or so.
The Dolphin Squad, the Police Response Unit and other units of the city police took least interest in their responsibilities because of a lack of resources including proper vehicles for patrolling.
According to the FIR registered by Shershah, three unidentified armed men broke into his house at 3 am by scaling the boundary walls. He said his wife and daughter were alone at that time. The suspects held his wife hostage, looted an expensive mobile phone, eight gold bangles, cash and a pistol worth over Rs1.1 million and escaped the scene.
It was further stated in the FIR that the criminals also forced his wife to issue a cheque of Rs3 million.
In another case, three armed men went into the residence of Waqar Ahmed and robbed the valuables amounting to Rs2.1m.
Similarly, thieves unlocked the house of Rashid Mahmood
in Qureshi Mohallah and took away jewellery, cash and other valuables worth
over Rs2.2m.
Many such incidents were reported in the areas
of Ghaziabad, Shahdara, Lower Mall, Gujjarpura, Badami Bagh, Sabzazar, Nawab
Town, Garden Town, Nishtar Colony, Nawankot, Sanda etc.
Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry, who made headlines for slapping journalist Mubasher Lucman on Sunday, has shared as to why is he no longer friends with the anchor he was once seen sharing rather fun moments with.
“It was Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s maiden interview and only six journalists could be invited for it,” Fawad said in an exclusive conversation with The Current, as he started to shed light on how it all started.
The former information minister said that senior anchorperson Kamran Shahid was coincidentally present in the federal capital at the time of Imran’s first interview as the country’s chief executive, and was invited. “Mubasher got upset because he was excluded,” Fawad said as he explained what later became a bone of contention between the two.
When asked if journalists and politicians should be friends, he said the two should be like “colleagues”.
Fawad further said that he would discuss the issue on the floor of the National Assembly later in the day, which he was doing by the time this report was filed.
FAWAD SLAPS MUBASHER:
On Sunday, the federal minister slapped the anchor during a spat over Lucman’s allegations against Fawad regarding TikTok star Hareem Shah.
According to reports, Geo News bureau chief for Lahore, Raees Ansari, said the event took place at the wedding reception of Punjab Irrigation Minister Mohsin Laghari’s son. The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) leaders, Jahangir Tareen and Ishaq Khakwani, were also present at the event.
Ansari revealed that Tareen and Fawad were talking about the allegations that Lucman had levelled on the minister during a TV show, salaciously linking the federal minister to Shah, who recently made headlines after accusing government officials, including lawmakers, of sending her indecent pictures.
It was at that moment that Lucman arrived at the event, triggering a war of words between him and Fawad over the issue. The federal minister reportedly protested against the claims, later slapping and shoving the anchor. The altercation stopped when people intervened and broke up the fight.
Soon after, both Fawad and Lucman left the event.
Chaudhry tacitly admitted to the act, slamming the TV anchor on Twitter, saying: “People like Mubashir Lucman have nothing to do with journalism… they are [sexual slur] who have barged into journalism.”
“It is everyone’s duty to expose [such journalists],” he tweeted.
FIR AGAINST FAWAD:
Meanwhile, Lucman, who had refrained from publicly commenting on the incident, has submitted an application to register a First Information Report (FIR) against the minister.
According to Dawn, Lucman, in his application submitted to the Model Town police station late Sunday night, said he was attending the event along with Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar, Governor Chaudhry Sarwar, Tareen and various federal and provincial ministers.
He said he was talking to his friends when Fawad attacked him along with 10-12 of his “mussala ghundas (armed goons)”.
“They subjected me to severe violence,” the anchorperson said, adding that after threatening him of serious consequences and of murder, they left the site of the incident.
He claimed that prior to this incident, the federal minister had called and threatened to have him killed if he did not stop his allegations.
Lucman further stated in the application that a case should be registered against Fawad and others, while the federal minister says he would move the cyber-crime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against the journalist.
As per an application submitted to Punjab inspector general of police (IGP) by the minister’s protocol officer, an FIR against the journalist for defaming and threatening Fawad, as well as his protocol officer, has also been sought.
The protocol officer has also accused Lucman and his accomplices of stealing his wristwatch.
Repeated attempts were made to contact journalist Mubasher Lucman, but he was unavailable.
