Tag: Britain

  • Kate Middleton’s fingers break Royal Family tradition during Easter

    Kate Middleton’s fingers break Royal Family tradition during Easter

    The Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, is well known for her strict adherence to royal customs while making public appearances for the Crown. However, during an Easter outing on Monday, the 41- years-old duchess stunned on-lookers by choosing to wear red nail polish, instead of a neutral color.

    The event was the first time Middleton and her husband Prince William had made their appearance as the newly-inaugurated Prince and Princess of Wales, a title previously held by Prince Charles, who is now the King after the demise of Elizabeth II. The couple were joined by their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

    Rules about dressing and appearance etiquette are extremely strict which members of the Royal Family must adhere to at all times. Women resist from wearing bright nail polish and can only stick to neutral shades when attending public events.

    The late Queen wore bright colours in public in order to stand out from the crowd. Tiaras can only be worn by married women in the Royal Family, not single women or children.

    The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle had drawn backlash in 2018, when she attended the Fashion Awards, where she was spotted flaunting a black manicure, which broke royal protocol.

  • Emeralds, rubies and diamonds: report reveals jewels stolen from India by British Empire

    Emeralds, rubies and diamonds: report reveals jewels stolen from India by British Empire

    As part of their ‘Cost Of The Crown’ series, investigating the British Royal Family’s wealth and finances, The Guardian has extracted a 46 page report from the Indian government which provided details of jewelry and other precious items stolen by the colonial British Empire during their reign over the sub-continent. Most of the gifts were handed over as gifts to Queen Victoria, the reigning monarch at the time.

    The investigation was commanded by the late Queen Elizabeth II’s grandmother, Queen Mary, to find out about the origins of her jewels.

    The report details the names of the jewels as well as their colonial origins and how they were stolen by the East India Company.

    1 Koh-i-Noor

    The legendary diamond Koh-i-Noor was taken from Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s kitty. The ruler of Lahorr had signed a treaty of friendship with the British in 1831, and six years later the then Governer-General of India, George Eden, and his sister, Fanny, visited him at his palace. The Guardian writes that Fanny had later written about Singh’s diamond collection, detailing how he decorated his horses with the finest diamonds she had ever seen:

    “If ever we are allowed to plunder this kingdom, I shall go straight to their stables.”

    in 1849, Singh and his heir, Duleep, were forced to sign over Punjab to the British army, who stole all of his jewels as a part of their conquest, along with the Koh-i-Noor.

    The diamond is part of the Imperial Collection, imbedded into Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother’s crown, worn by consorts.

    2 The Timur Ruby gemstone

    Named after Timur, the founder of Timurind Empire in Central Asia, the gemstone is etched with the names of the five men who owned it: Jahangir (1569-1627), the 4th Mughal Emperor, Shah Jehan (1592-1666), the 5th Mughal Emperor, Farrukhsiyar (1685-1719), the 10th Mughal Emperor; Nader Shah (1688-1747), Shah of Iran; and Ahmad Shah Durrani (1722-1772), King of Afghanistan.

    By 1813, the gemstone was under the possession of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who ruled over the Sikh Empire, and later was passed down to his heir Maharaja Sher Singh. From there, the necklace was inherited by his brother Duleep Singh, who became Maharaja when he was only five years old.

    During 1948- 49, when the British Empire waged wars over the Sikh Empire, the East India Company took over Punjab and forced the then ten-year-old Maharaja to hand over his possessions. Duleep Singh was placed under a Scottish guardian, isolated from contacting his fellow countrymen.

    3 Pearl necklace

    Comprising of 244 pearls and a clasp of two magnificent rubies, the necklace had originally belonged to a ruler in Punjab, until it was stolen by the British. Queen Elizabeth II was spotted wearing this necklace at the Royal Opera House in London to celebrate her diamond jubilee.

    4 Emerald girdle of Maharaja Sher Singh

    The gold girdle inlaid with 19 emeralds first came to the public’s attention during Buckingham Palace’s celebration of Prince Charles’ 70th birthday, with a display of his favorite pieces from the royal collection. The item had previously belonged to an Indian Maharaja, Sher Singh, who used it to decorate his precious horses.

  • Singer Annie Khalid slammed by Twitter for calling Malala ‘puppet of the West’

    Singer Annie Khalid, an icon of our childhood music scene, had given Pakistani audiences such hits as ‘Mahiya’ or ‘Princess’ but looks like not everything that is old is gold. Because now Khalid is getting slammed by social media users for making a controversial statement about education activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai.

    In reply to a random post which had asked users to share an opinion they found controversial, Khalid thought she should provide an opinion that is not only outrageous but also insensitive.

    “That Malala is a puppet of the west,” the singer tweeted.

    Twitter users were horrified, asking what exactly had Malala done to prompt such bullying from Khalid? Malala has not made any such comments about Imran Khan, aside from calling him out for his racist views on Pathans, so why solely target her for living in the West because of the threats on her life?

    Twitter users demanded that Khalid apologize, shedding light on the fact that Malala had made more efforts to speak up on the rights of Pakistani women than Khalid had ever done.

    “Don’t embarrass your self Taliban Apologist she resist Taliban brutality she talks about girl’s education you are a nobody like your leader who is taliban apologist who bought Taliban back In KPK shame on you mirasi”

    Some actually found it hilarious and ironic that Khalid is going after Yousafzai for living in the UK… when she actually lives in the UK as well.

    Some were even compared the achievements Malala continues to make while Khalid can’t say the same

    “Girl has one good song in her kitty and audacity check karo buss”

    https://twitter.com/yourdoriangray/status/1637708751439380483?s=20

    We can’t say anything else other than how deeply embarrassing it is to witness a woman flinging accusations on another woman, just because of difference of political beliefs. We sincerely hope that Pakistani celebrities would learn some decorum and stop dissing other women by distorting facts and through sheer bullying.

  • Pakistani-born businessman receives MBE from Prince William

    Pakistani-born British entrepreneur and restaurateur Suleman Raza was awarded the MBE by Prince William for his services to the business and philanthropy sector in Britain. Raza revealed on Twitter that he was happy to witness immigrants coming to Britain and becoming successful.

    According to his Medium article, Raza hails from Rawalpindi, but had moved to London where he started working as a chef in an eatery. He went on to open a restaurant in Tooting where he served Pakistani food.

    Raza also launched the project ‘No One Eats Alone’ in 2019 to provide meals to elderly and homeless communities during Christmas. He received public praise for his campaign “One Million Meals” to support National Health Service (NHS) workers in hospitals during the pandemic by providing them with hot meals.

  • Permission to perform Umrah: LHC seeks NAB reply on Maryam Nawaz’s plea

    Permission to perform Umrah: LHC seeks NAB reply on Maryam Nawaz’s plea

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday sought reply from National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday (tomorrow) on a plea from Maryam Nawaz, seeking permission to travel abroad for performing Umrah.

    According to ARY News, Justice Baqar Najafi, heading the LHC division bench, asked as to in which case name of Maryam Nawaz was added to no-fly list.

    To this, the NAB prosecutor said that her name was added to no-fly list after the LHC approved her bail plea. An appeal was filed against the bail plea, however, it has yet to be fixed for hearing, he said, adding NAB has filed petition to cancel bail of Maryam Nawaz.

    Marium on April 21, filed a plea before the Lahore High Court (LHC) so that she can travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah in Ramzan. She has also said that she wants to travel to London to visit her ailing father, Mian Nawaz Sharif.

    “I want to go to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah but cannot because my passport is surrendered at the LHC,” reads the plea.

    Maryam Nawaz said in her plea that she was arrested by NAB in 2019 in Chaudhry Sugar Mills case and later the LHC approved her bail plea and in return, she submitted her passport to the court.

    The division bench of the LHC comprising Justice Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and Justice Anwar-ul-Haq rescued themselves from the proceedings of the plea hearing today and asked Chief Justice LHC to fix the hearing before the bench that previously heard the matter, reports ARY News.

    “The bench that granted bail to the petitioner should listen to the case,” the bench remarked after Advocate Ahsan Bhoon pleaded the case on behalf of Maryam Nawaz.

  • Pakistanis can now stay for 60 days in Dubai on a tourist visa

    United Arab Emirates (UAE) has now allowed Pakistanis to stay for 60 days on a tourist visa as a standard policy from September. It will facilitate people who intend to stay for a long break in the country.

    The country also provides another visa type for job seekers that is called ‘ a job exploration entry visa ‘ which allows people to explore job opportunities in the region.

    The UAE government media office said, “Major improvements include facilitating the entry requirements for all visa types, offering flexible visa durations that meet the needs of the visitors and the purpose of the visit,” will be implemented.

    “In addition, all entry visas are available for single or multiple entry, can be renewed for similar periods, and are valid for 60 days from their issuance date.”

    In the past, UAE had a standard 30-days visa on arrival for many nations including Britain, America, and Australia. People who overstayed were given a nine-day grace period to return to their countries. Otherwise, they were subjected to fines that amounted to 200 dirhams for the first day and 100 dirhams for each consecutive day.

    Nations that do not have a visa on arrival policy such as India and Pakistan have to arrange for a visa through a travel agency before arrival in the UAE.

  • World powers unanimously declare nuclear war unwinnable

    World powers unanimously declare nuclear war unwinnable

    The countries widely considered world powers (China, Russia, Britain, the United States, and France) have unanimously agreed to refrain from a nuclear arms race, according to a joint statement by the five nuclear powers published by the Kremlin on Monday.

    These five countries being members of the United Nations Security Council shoulder the responsibility to keep away from war.

    “We affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,” the English-language version of the statement read.

    “As nuclear use would have far-reaching consequences, we also affirm that nuclear weapons — for as long as they continue to exist — should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression, and prevent war.”

    The statement from the so-called P5 group comes as bilateral relations between the United States and Moscow have fallen to their lowest since the end of the Cold War, while relations between Washington and China are also at a low over a range of disagreements.

    The western countries have shown consternation on massive build-up at Ukraine’s border by Russia.

    As Russian forces build at the Ukraine border, last Thursday US President Joe Biden told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that a possible move on Ukraine will draw sanctions and an increased US presence in Europe.

  • UK’s Emma Raducanu wins US Open in historic final

    UK’s Emma Raducanu wins US Open in historic final

    United Kingdom’s (UK) Emma Raducanu’s extraordinary run at the US Open finished in glorious fashion in New York as the 18-year-old became Britain’s first female singles Grand Slam champion after 44 years.

    According to details, Raducanu, the first qualifier ever to reach a Grand Slam final, once again rose to the occasion, beating the 19-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 with a remarkable display of big hitting and composure. Just three months after making her debut on the main women’s tour, Raducanu became the youngest Grand Slam singles champion since 17-year-old Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon in 2004.

    She is also the first woman ever to win the title in only her second Grand Slam tournament.

    Raducanu had made her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon, where she became the youngest British woman in the open era to reach the fourth round. As the world No 150, she is the lowest ranked player ever to win the US Open, though Kim Clijsters did not even have a world ranking when she won the title in 2009, having just returned to competition after having a baby. Raducanu will now climb to No 24 in next week’s updated world rankings list.

    Having come through qualifying, she lifted the title by winning nine matches in the space of 17 days and without dropping a set in any of them.

  • Meet Abtaha Maqsood, Britain’s first hijab-wearing cricketer

    Meet Abtaha Maqsood, Britain’s first hijab-wearing cricketer

    Abtaha Maqsood is Britain’s first hijab-wearing Muslim female to play international cricket, reports Geo News. She wants other young British Muslim girls to not hold back if they are thinking about cultural and religious obstacles and take up cricket as a profession.

    Abtaha’s parents are from Lahore, Pakistan. She was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on June 11, 1999 — the day Pakistan won from Zimbabwe to qualify for the semi-finals of the Cricket World Cup played in England and Scotland.

    The 22-year-old cricketer is currently playing for Birmingham Phoenix in the new short format 200-ball cricket tournament “The Hundred” in England. Since her childhood, she used to play cricket in the garden of her house with her father and brothers.

    Abtaha joined her local cricket club “Poloc” at the age of 11. Only four months after joining the club, she was selected to represent Scotland’s under-17 squad against Ireland in a T20 tournament.

    Speaking to Geo, Abtaha said that her family supported her to join cricket as a profession. Abtaha said that her father is her top supporter throughout the journey.

    “My dad and my mom are both massive cricket lovers. But my dad, in particular, says all sports are important,” she said.
    Abtaha Maqsood also holds a black belt in Taekwondo that she acquired at the age of 11. She has participated in British and Scottish Taekwondo championships as well.

    The young cricketer said she never thought of taking cricket as a career at that time. But the experience of playing cricket so far has been wonderful for her.
    Talking about her choice to wear the hijab, Abtaha said that she started it at the age of 11 after she saw her mother doing the same. She, however, said that her decision to wear one was completely her choice.

    “Wearing a hijab was my own choice. I went to perform Umrah with my family when I was 11, and on our way back to the UK, I saw my mum started wearing hijab. So I asked her why was she wearing that and then she told me [how it was a religious obligation], so I decided to wear one as well,” said Abtaha.

    “It was really important for me at that time as it is now and I’m going to keep wearing that”, she added.

    Responding to a question of whether people should focus more on her cricketing skills rather than her hijab, Abtaha said that she thinks talking about her hijab is equally important as it is the representation that matters.

    “This is the first time people have really seen a woman wearing the hijab and playing cricket at the highest level, so I think it’s still important to be talked about,” she said.

    “I never really had a role model who looked like me when I was growing up. I think that would have really helped me and given me a sense of belonging. So, hopefully, I can be that person for young girls now”, she added.

    She told Geo that although she never came across any cultural barriers herself, she is aware that there are hurdles out there for other young Muslim girls. She, therefore, wants to be a role model for those girls.

    “I really hope that people, when seeing me, could realise that it is possible to play cricket and wear hijab at the same time. And there are people out there who can support young girls through it if they really want to play cricket at a high level or any other professional sport for that matter”.

    xplaining her experience in playing “The Hundred”, she said that representing Birmingham Phoenix in the tournament is the most amazing experience of her life.

    Talking about her experience in the tournament so far, Abtaha said that she still can’t believe that she’s playing with some of the best cricketers in the world — a chance she never had before.

    Abtaha Maqsood has represented Scotland’s national team 17 times in international T20 matches, claiming 23 wickets so far in her career at an impressive average of 12.28.

  • ‘A conspiracy could be hatched against Pakistan from abroad if social media not controlled’: CJ Lahore High Court

    ‘A conspiracy could be hatched against Pakistan from abroad if social media not controlled’: CJ Lahore High Court

    Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice (CJ) Muhammad Qasim Khan, while hearing a case on offensive content on social media, observed that a conspiracy could be hatched against Pakistan from abroad if social media was not controlled.

    CJ LHC asked if a person could be tried in Pakistan for uploading hate material on social media from abroad or if a person was killed in Britain, could a trial be held in Pakistan. According to a report in The News, when the petitioner’s lawyer said that the law does exist under which a person could be tried in Pakistan for uploading objectionable material on social media while sitting abroad, CJ Qasim Khan got angry. He asked the lawyer to complete his preparation before coming up with arguments.

    CJ LHC observed that people can be instigated to rebel if social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram were not controlled.

    In April, CJ Khan had observed that civil servants should submit details of their cellular numbers and social media accounts to their relevant departments. He also asked departments to make a code of conduct for civil servants for social media use. He was hearing a petition against running a social media campaign against the judiciary after the arrest of an assistant commissioner on the orders of a civil judge in Sahiwal. Back in February, CJ LHC had ordered the director general FIA to constitute a committee to examine all YouTube channels as well as other social media accounts with videos against the judiciary and asked that proceedings against them should be initiated.