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  • US Embassy introduces home delivery service for visa

    Good news for all those applying for their US visa.

    The United States Embassy in Pakistan has announced the introduction of a new optional visa delivery service.

    According to a tweet from the official account of the US Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistanis can avail the facility of having their US visa delivered to them on their doorstep. The service is optional and comes with a delivery charge of Rs 700.

    To avail this service, select the “premium delivery” option during the application process and you’re good to go.

  • Netizens praise man for educating daughters in war-torn Afghanistan

    Netizens praise man for educating daughters in war-torn Afghanistan

    Mia Khan from Afghanistan’s Paktika province is a hero without a cape. In war-torn Afghanistan, where educating girls is so hard and not very common, Mia Khan takes his three daughters to the Nooraniya school, which is some 12 kilometers away from his home. He travels on his motorcycle daily.

    Mia Khan waits for four hours for his daughters’ classes to end and then he takes them home. Mia Khan himself is not educated but he wants his daughter to be a doctor because there is no lady doctor in his village.

    The Nooraniya school is run by the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan. The reason Mia Khan selected this school was because of the quality of education they provide.

    He and his story is doing rounds on the internet.

    https://twitter.com/PakistanFirst_/status/1202135319396716544

  • Student sues TikTok over alleged data transfer

    Student sues TikTok over alleged data transfer

    A university student in California named Misty Hong, has filed a class-action lawsuit against Chinese-based social media video app TikTok, accusing it of harvesting large amounts of user data and storing it in China, Dawn reported.

    According to the details, the court filing said, “TikTok clandestinely has vacuumed up and transferred to servers in China vast quantities of private and personally-identifiable user data”.

    The lawsuit has alleged, “TikTok also has surreptitiously taken user content, such as draft videos never intended for publication, without user knowledge or consent”.

    “In short, TikTok’s lighthearted fun comes at a heavy cost,” the lawsuit said.

    The social media app which is quiet popular with teenagers around the world, was launched by Chinese company ByteDance in September 2017.

    The suit marks the latest legal battle for the app. Earlier in November, the United States (US) government had opened a national security investigation into TikTok, according to the New York Times, potentially looking into whether the app was sending data to China.

    Misty Hong alleges that the app retrieved her data without permission – including videos that she had created but not shared online with friends – and transferred that data to servers run by companies that cooperate with the Chinese government.

    Hong filed the suit on behalf of the approximately 110 million US residents who have downloaded the app.

    In November, TikTok didnot gave any comment on a possible US investigation but emphasised that the respect of US users and regulators was its highest priority.

    TikTok claimed that it has distanced itself from Chinese authorities, maintaining that its servers are located outside of the country and that its data is therefore not subject to Chinese law.

    In November, the app hit 1.5 billion downloads worldwide, outperforming the photo-sharing app Instagram.

  • Humayun Saeed shares heartwarming picture with his brothers

    Humayun Saeed shares heartwarming picture with his brothers

    Did you know Humayun Saeed has five brothers?

    We had no idea about this until today when Humayun Saeed shared this adorable picture of himself with his five brothers on social media.

    Do they look alike?

    Humayun is currently trending as the number one star in Pakistan after his latest drama Meray Paas Tum Ho set new records in Pakistani television history.

  • #BeautifulPakistan is trending on Twitter and the pictures are truly beautiful

    #BeautifulPakistan is trending on Twitter and the pictures are truly beautiful

    Every Pakistani will agree that Pakistan is truly a beautiful country. From the vast coastlines to the high mountains, the picturesque landscapes of the country are unmatched.

    The Independent recently wrote that travel experts are recommending Pakistan as a must-visit destination for 2020.

    “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s visit to Pakistan this autumn put the country back into the spotlight. Plus, it’s now easier to get there from London, thanks to new direct British Airways flights to Pakistan’s capital Islamabad,” read The Independent’s article.

    “Tour operator Wild Frontiers has been tipping Pakistan as the next big destination for a couple of years – it has seen an increase in customer numbers of 20 percent this year compared to 2018,” it added.

    The hashtag #BeautifulPakistan has been trending on Twitter since morning on Wednesday, as people shared a posted pictures of the country on the social media platform. And we have to say, some of the pictures are dreamy.

    https://twitter.com/ElifTurkey/status/1202124710407999489?s=20
    https://twitter.com/aminn_riaz/status/1202181300087611395?s=20

    https://twitter.com/BeautyOfPak_/status/1202111048142217216?s=20
    https://twitter.com/MalikIbraheem29/status/1202164042225344513?s=20
    https://twitter.com/BeautyOfPak_/status/1202196949459460099?s=20
  • Muhammad is the most popular name in UK for third consecutive year

    Muhammad is the most popular name in UK for third consecutive year

    BabyCentre, a popular website for baby names and parenting, has released its annual list of most popular baby names in the United Kingdom and the name Muhammad has topped the list for the third consecutive year.

    Names like Marium, Fatima, Zara, Nur, Noah, Ibrahim, Ahmad, Ali, and Muhammad are all among the top 100 names of 2019. Muhammad was also the most popular name in the UK in 2014 and 2015.

    Noah take the second spot on the list while Leo is third. Oliver has failed to keep its place in the top 3 for the first time in 9 years. As per details, Muhammad entered into the list of top 100 names in 1924 and its popularity has been increasing ever since.

    On the other hand, when it comes to girls, the top three names are Olivia, Sophia, and Eva. Fatima has been ranked at 57th position and Marium at 59th place while Nur is on 45th.

    Baby-names from kids and musical movies are also included in the list with names Simba, Nala, Freddie, Brian, Mary, Elton, Bernie, Taran, Sheila, Ivy, Ally, Jaxon, Eleanor, and Penny all becoming favorites for parents.

  • VIDEO: ‘Being tried for treason after serving Pakistan all my life,’ says ailing Musharraf from hospital bed

    VIDEO: ‘Being tried for treason after serving Pakistan all my life,’ says ailing Musharraf from hospital bed

    Former military ruler General (r) Pervez Musharraf has regretted being tried for treason “despite having served Pakistan all his life”.

    In his latest video message from American Hospital Dubai, Musharraf, who is facing a high treason case back in Pakistan for implementing emergency rule and suspending the constitution in 2007, said that he was “very ill”.

    “I keep coming and going to the hospital,” he said, adding that his version of the story “wasn’t being heard”.

    “Even my lawyer Salman Safdar is not being heard by the court,” he said, adding that he had fought wars for Pakistan and served his country for 10 years.

    Musharraf also said that he was ready to record his statement with the commission, provided they came to Dubai.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    “As for me, the commission can come here, I can give them a statement. They can come and hear me, see my condition and then decide for themselves. When they return, they can give their statement and my lawyer will be heard in the court too and I hope it is then that I will get justice,” he said.

    The former army chief, who has been residing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a while now, felt under the weather Sunday night and was admitted to the hospital. He was set to undergo various tests in this regard.

    Musharraf’s close aide and the ex-chairperson of the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), Dr Muhammad Amjad, said the ex-president was rapidly becoming weaker due to an unknown disease, which is why he was unable to return to Pakistan to face the treason case.

    A couple of days ago,Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry had called Musharraf the nation’s benefactor, saying he had “rid the country of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif in 1999”.

    “When Musharraf was in power, a lot of people used to stand queuing up to light his cigar,” he had added.

  • WATCH: Wasim Akram reveals his most difficult opposition batsman

    WATCH: Wasim Akram reveals his most difficult opposition batsman

    Legendary Pakistani fast-bowler Wasim Akram has revealed the name of the batsman which he had the most difficulty bowling to, but admitted that the choice was not an easy one.

    While responding to a question during a panel discussion on Fox Sports, “I’ve played against Viv Richards, Desmond Haynes, Gordon Greenidge, Allan Border, Mark Taylor, Mark Waugh [and] Steve Waugh. All these guys Brian Lara [and] Sachin Tendulkar, but if I have to pick one guy it has to be Martin Crowe.”

    Wasim said that the former New Zealand cricketer managed to score runs against him and Waqar [Younis] in their 1993-94 series.

    “In three Test matches, Waqar got 30 wickets and I played two Test matches and got 16 wickets and it was reverse-swinging after 10 overs. We were quick. I mean, we were at the peak of our careers. 23 or 24 years old, both of us were. He [Crowe] got two hundreds”, Akram said.

    The former fast-bowler said that Crowe’s technique was different, which made him difficult to dismiss, adding that “He was always on the front foot and he always played [for] the in-swing. When its reverse-swinging you always play [for the] in-swing. The out-swing automatically goes away. Me and Waqar used to get frustrated because he was on the front foot and then we used to bowl short and that’s what he wanted us to do.”

    Wasim said that Crowe left a mark on him and he was a difficult batsman to get out because nobody at that time even knew what reverse swing was, let alone how to negotiate it.

    He added, “When I and Waqar used to bowl reverse swing it was considered ball-tempering and later when everybody learnt the technique they named it reverese swing”.

  • Mexican couple converts to Islam after watching PM Imran’s favourite Turkish TV series ‘Resurrection: Ertuğrul’

    Mexican couple converts to Islam after watching PM Imran’s favourite Turkish TV series ‘Resurrection: Ertuğrul’

    A Mexican couple was inspired to convert to Islam after watching Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s favourite Turkish TV series “Resurrection: Ertuğrul”, and meeting with one of its actors at a convention in the United States (US), a Turkish daily newspaper reported.

    According to reports, Celal Al, who plays Abdulrahman Alp in the hit period drama, attended the 22nd annual meeting of the Muslim American Society (MAS), a flagship Muslim organisation, and delivered a speech about the series and Turkey.

    Al, who was the guest of Zekat Foundation, was met with great interest at the event, which enables Muslims from all over the US to meet up. At the end of the meeting, a Mexican couple converted to Islam by reciting the Shahadah (Islamic proclamation of faith) with the help of the famous actor.

    “We were affected by Turkish TV series ‘Resurrection: Ertuğrul’ and Turkey’s humanitarian activities around the world, and then decided to be Muslim,” the Mexican couple was quoted as saying.

    After becoming Muslims, Al gifted the couple two Qurans, one in English and another in Spanish, as well as a Turkish flag.

    Taking place in 13th century Anatolia, “Resurrection: Ertuğrul” tells the story of the period prior to the establishment of the Ottoman Empire Ertuğrul Gazi, the father of the empire’s first leader.

    The series illustrates the struggle of Ertuğrul and his warriors against a plethora of adversaries from the Knights Templar to Mongol invaders.

    Turkey is one of the top five series-exporting countries in the world, enthralling audiences from Latin America to Central Asia. Dozens of Turkish series are being followed by more than 500 million viewers in over 150 countries, according to Turkey’s Culture Ministry.

    A day earlier, PM Imran had directed Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) to air the famous Turkish series.

    According to Arab News, the drama will soon air on PTV after being dubbed in Urdu. the national broadcaster has gotten exclusive rights for dubbing and screening it in Pakistan and voice actors for the drama have been selected.

    The development came two months after the premier announced that Pakistan, Turkey and Malaysia have decided to launch a joint English channel to counter Islamophobia.

  • Firdous Awan sees opposition’s hand in Bajwa’s extension case

    Firdous Awan sees opposition’s hand in Bajwa’s extension case

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (PM) for Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awaz has claimed that the mafia behind the petitioner who submitted the application against Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa’s extension is interlinked with the opposition parties.

    While talking during a talk show on a private news outlet, Firdous said that “PM Imran Khan has all the intelligence report, containing the information and facts about the mafia who wanted to get Gen Bajwa removed from COAS’s position and was involved in this issue”.

    PM’s aide while talking about the Army Act ammendent issue said that “Opposition parties are trying to use this opportunity as a bargaining chip and is trying to pressurize the government with their statements against this legislation [due to be passed in parliament].

    Watch Video:

    She also said that the mafia’s involvement in this matter can also be gussed by the fact that “when Supreme Court suspended COAS’s extension notification, the stock market suffered a severe blow”.

    The Supreme Court November 26 had suspended the notification confirming the extension of Gen Bajwa for another three years, saying that the “prime minister has does not have the power to extend the tenure of the army chief”.

    Later after hearing the case for two days the court announced its short order allowing Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa to remain the Chief of Army Staff for another six months, during which the parliament will legislate on the extension/reappointment of an army chief.