A recent audit of the National Highway Authority (NHA) has unearthed corruption worth Rs18.9 billion in three motorway projects completed during the tenure of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) government.
According to a private media outlet, a report by the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has revealed the irregularities in the Karachi-Lahore, Sukkur-Multan and Havelian-Thakot motorways.
Irregularities of over Rs7.31 billion were discovered in Lahore’s Abdul Hakeem section of the Karachi-Lahore Motorway, Rs4.9 billion in the Sukkur-Multan section, while those worth Rs6.7 billion were unearthed in the Havelian-Thakot section.
The report mentions that the contractors reduced the scope of work, however, the cost was not revised. It added that the contractors did not return the extra amount to the NHA.
The AGP also mentioned that the first notification about the problem was sent to NHA in September last year. Responding to the report, NHA spokesperson Mushtaq Ahmed said that any excess payment made during the projects will be recovered.
In a photo shared by his son on Twitter, President Dr Arif Alvi has been spotted picking up trash on his hiking trip with family in Changla Gali mountain resort town of Galyat.
According to the details, the president was seen collecting garbage in a trash bag and then disposing it of in a bin by the side of a road.
“During our treks, we usually take trash bags, but accidentally forgot them, next time will do more [sic],” the president’s son, Awab Alvi, wrote and added that Pakistanis should “behave like responsible tourists when they visit such beautiful places in the country”.
Sad to see tourist take a trek & enjoy a picnic but leave plastic bottles all over the trail – we tried to pick as many as we can pic.twitter.com/QrvroNpFJh
In another attempt to turn majority-Muslim Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) into majority-Hindu, the Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi-led government has decided to re-open around 50,000 temples in the held valley, Samaa TV reported.
According to the details, Indian Minister for Home Affairs Kishan Reddy has announced opening the temples and said that a survey has been ordered to reopen or rebuild all the temples closed or destroyed over the years.
The move comes amid fears that the Hindu nationalist government in India abrogated Article 370 of its constitution to pave way for a Muslim genocide in the disputed territory.
The Supreme Court of India (SCI) had earlier ordered the government to restore normalcy in IoK “as soon as possible while keeping in mind national safety and security”.
The court had further ordered the government to submit a report mentioning the actual situation in the region that has been lockdown with communication blackout.
People of the Muslim-majority troubled valley have been held hostage by Indian occupying forces since August 5 when New Delhi abrogated the article to rob the disputed territory of its autonomy.
People who regularly use Careem for conveyance are well aware of the problems one faces while availing this cab service so it will come as no surprise that the private ride-hailing service was fined Rs 50,000 by a consumer court for providing bad service and causing mental distress to a customer.
Careem Pakistan CEO Junaid Iqbal was directed to deposit Rs 25,000 in fines to the court, Rs 15,000 to the complainant for causing mental agony and Rs 10,000 litigation fee. Judge Javed Ali Korejo delivered the verdict on a complaint filed by a Careem user.
As per reports, petitioner Advocate Mehmood Ahmed Khan stated in his complaint that he had booked a Careem cab from Gulistan-e-Jauhar to Saadi Garden. He and some of his guests were picked by a Careem captain, who ignored directions and drove in a rash manner. Instead of following Khan’s friends who were on a motorcycle, as Khan requested him to, the captain got angry at being repeatedly asked to follow the motorcycle and dropped the passengers in the middle of the road. Khan mentioned that the passengers were all fasting when the ride ended halfway. He added that the driver also used offensive language.
Khan further said that he had lodged an online complaint with the company before approaching the court but after receiving no satisfactory response from the management he was left with no other option.
“They did not even reply to the legal notice he sent”, said Khan.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister (PM) on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Development Zulfi Bukhari has quoted United States (US) President Donald Trump as saying that “the entire world wants to meet him, but he wants to meet Imran Khan”.
“Trump said that Imran Khan is a world leader whom he has faith in,” Bukhari said while speaking to a private media outlet after the two leaders’ meeting in New York on Monday night.
صدرڈونلڈٹرمپ نےکہاساری دنیامجھ سےملناچاہتی ہے،میں عمران خان سےملناچاہتاہوں،زلفی بخاری
He said it was a proud moment for Pakistanis all around the globe, and that the Pakistani community was overjoyed to have PM Imran with them in the US.
صدرڈونلڈٹرمپ نےکہا کہ پاکستان کےساتھ تجارت5فیصدبڑھادی،زلفی بخاری
“Trump has also said that the US has increased trade with Pakistan by 5 per cent and working to improve Pak-US ties will help in generating employment opportunities.”
IMRAN MEETS TRUMP:
Earlier, the premier met US president on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly’s (UNGA) 74th session in a televised event.
The two spoke about the ongoing situation in Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK), with PM Imran telling Trump that he felt that it was “the beginning of a crisis”.
Addressing the US president and the reporters, he said, “Trump heads the most powerful country in the world. And the most powerful country in the world has a responsibility.
“I honestly feel that this crisis could become much bigger. We look to the US to put out flames in the world,” Imran said.
Responding to PM Imran’s concerns, Trump said “he thinks he would be an extremely good arbitrator”.
“I’ve done it before, believe it or not. And I’ve never failed as an arbitrator. I’ve been asked to arbitrate disputes — pretty big ones — from… friends. And I’ve done it in a good, successful fashion. If I can be of help, you know that, if I can be of help, let me know,” he added.
The US president said his predecessors did not trust Pakistan but that he did. “I trust Pakistan, but people before me didn’t, but they didn’t know what they were doing.”
“You know what I do? I trust this gentleman right here and I do trust Pakistan,” he noted while referring to PM Imran. “I will tell you this… you have a great leader. He’s a good man… a nice man. Happens to be a great athlete.”
“Everyone gossips,” says Frank McAndrew, a professor of psychology in the United States while talking to NBC News. He discusses a new study that determines how much humans gossip and how it affects them socially – and how there is a right way to do it.
McAndrew said that people who gained social knowledge (aka gossiped) were far ahead than people who were not interested. People who didn’t indulge in discussing other people “were not good at attracting and keeping mates or maintaining alliances.”
Women tend to engage in more neutral gossip than men
Gossip isn’t “inherently bad,” he suggested and in a study with 467 adults over two-five days, researchers came to a conclusion on how to gossip the right way. They recorded conversations that these people had, and classified anything they heard about a person who was not there as gossip. It was coded as positive, negative or neutral. The data suggested that almost everyone gossiped (only 34 out of 467 individuals did not gossip at all) and majority of the gossip (75 percent) was neutral. Women engaged in more neutral gossip than men.
According to psychologists, a “good gossiper” is a person who is trusted with information and uses it in a responsible way. For example, telling a friend information that might save them from a bad investment or a bad marriage. A bad gossiper shares information in order to get ahead or to be plain malicious, discussing a person’s shortcomings or trouble in their lives for the sake of talking.
Hit program based on an anonymous gossip girl
To be a good gossiper:
1. Think twice
Are you breaking someone’s trust by giving away this information or stabbing them in the back? Are you doing it responsibly for valid reasons?
2. Don’t gossip for personal gain
If you have something to gain by releasing information about someone else, don’t do it. You most likely are not doing it for the right reasons
3. Don’t distort facts
Do not exaggerate, add details or change the story. If you have to tell a story, tell it exactly how it happened
A man has drowned while proposing to his girlfriend underwater at an idyllic island off the coast of Tanzania. It is unclear what went wrong during the proposal at a popular honeymoon destination.
His girlfriend Kenesha Antoine posted a video on her Facebook page. Video shows her boyfriend proposing to her through the window of their underwater hotel room at the luxury resort.
“You never emerged from
those depths so you never got to hear my answer, ‘Yes! Yes! A million times,
yes, I will marry you!!’,” she wrote in a post confirming his death.
Her video shows Steven Weber swimming up to the window, and pressing a handwritten note against it which read: “I can’t hold my breath long enough to tell you everything I love about you, but everything I love about you I love more every day. Will you please be my wife, marry me.”
He then pulled out a ring as Antoine squealed with joy while filming. It is unclear what went wrong
during the proposal.
The annual Emmy’s took place last night and TV’s hottest stars, actors, and writers put forward their best looks. The dresses on the Emmys red carpet were nothing short of glamorous, ranging from designer pieces like Ralph Lauren to outfits that haven’t even debuted at the Fashion Week yet.
With Hollywood’s most elite all in one place, it was no surprise that the Emmys were a high-fashion affair. Here are some of the best looks from the night.
Games of Thrones stars Emilia Clarke and Sophie Turner stunned in Valentino and Louis Vuitton respectively.
Emilia Clarke
Sophie Turner
Kendall Jenner and half-sister Kim Kardashian looked effortlessly glam in black outfits. While Kendall donned a Richard Quinn dress over a Viex bodysuit, we’re still trying to find out which designer Kim wore.
Kristen Bell wore a Dior dress with platinum Harry Winston jewelry and Brian Atwood shoes.
Annie Murphy is a sure-shot head-turner in this midnight blue sequenced dress.
Indian-American comedian Hasan Minhaj was barred from entering Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s rally at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
Videos posted on the Instagram account of Adam Matthew Weiss, president and CEO of AMWPR, which handled the event, showed Minhaj being told there were no press credentials or space available for him and his crew despite other videos showing that there was ample space inside.
Worth noting that these videos were posted to instagram by one of the event’s publicists, Adam Weiss @adamMatthew; who in addition to flacking for @JudgeJeanine, @DonaldJTrumpJr & a laundry list of fascist clients like Milo Yiannopoulos; he’s also stupid enough to post this.
But why would an Indian-American comedian, who has a massive following all over the world be banned from an Indian Prime Minister’s event?
Hasan’s Patriot Act
Hasan Minhaj is the host of Netflix’s Patriot Act and is very critical of Modi’s government. He spoke (and posted) for the right to Independence for the people of Kashmir, which had more than 2M views on twitter.
Later, Indian actor Anupam Kher took a dig at Hasan, saying he was a “Kashmiri Pundit” and understood its plight.
Dear @hasanminhaj !! I enjoy your act. Feel happy that an India born is capturing great audiences. Saw your latest clip & concern about Kashmir. Would love you to see another truth about #Kashmir. This is in Hindi. Hope you understand it. Thanks. https://t.co/7ZkmdxwDou
Hasan has also been vocal against Modi’s re-election and did a segment on it on his program. He posted the clip on twitter which included jokes about Modi’s interview with actor Akshay Kumar and Modi’s video of him meditating in a cave.
Hasan mentioned how he is being trolled by BJP supporters, who thought he was trying to swing the elections. “Let me make this thing very clear. Comedians can’t swing elections,” he said.
His anti-Modi and pro-Kashmir stance is most likely the reason why he was not allowed to attend Modi’s “Howdy” event but we are still waiting for Hasan to reveal why he thinks he wasn’t let in.
Earlier in the day, Minhaj had shared a picture of himself outside the stadium.
More than 10,000 cases of dengue have been reported in the country, with the numbers rising every day. As unfortunate as it is, the government has not been able to make proper arrangements in the hospitals to combat the disease.
If God forbid you or any of your friends or family are suffering from dengue fever, here are a few ways that might help you recover from the disease. Previously, The Current listed the symptoms and preventions for dengue fever.
Drink a lot of water
Excessive sweating and exertion during dengue fever can cause dehydration. Make sure that you take a lot of water and fluids and stay hydrated. Staying hydrated also reducesheadaches and muscle cramps.
Juice of Papaya Leaves
Another very effective remedy is drinking papaya (Papeete) leaf juice. Papaya juice is known to be the best available natural remedy for dengue fever. The leaves have a mix of nutrients which help in increasing your platelet count.
Papaya leaves also have a high level of Vitamin C which improves the immune system, while antioxidants in it help in reducing body stress.All you need to do is crush the leaves and strain the juice from the crushed leaves.
Chew Basil leaves
Basil (Tulsi) leaves are amazing herbs that not only help during dengue fever but also improve your overall immunity. Chewing 5-6 basil leaves boosts your immunity. Basil leaves have essential oils with natural insecticidal properties which keep mosquitoes at bay.
Neem Leaves
Neem leaves have medicinal properties, which is the reason why they are recommended for a variety of illnesses. Steep neem leaves and drinks the brew to increase platelet and white blood cell count. Properly brewed neem leaves also improve the immune system if suffering from dengue.
Disclaimer: This article is research-based. Kindly consult your doctor/physician to ensure that you are not allergic to any of these and seek proper treatment for the disease.
