Tag: Life Top

  • You will be able to fly to Baku directly next year

    You will be able to fly to Baku directly next year

    Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Pakistan, Ali Alizada, has said that direct flights between his country and Pakistan would start from next year, which will help strengthen the bilateral trade, economic relations and people-to-people contact. The capital of Azerbaijan, Baku is a popular holiday choice for Pakistanis.

    According to Dawn, the envoy revealed the information while speaking during a meeting with the business community in Peshawer.

    The ambassador said that Azerbaijan gave much importance to cementing mutual trade, economic and cultural relations with Pakistan.

    Meanwhile, Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) president Maqsood Anwar Pervaiz, who chaired the event invited the business community of Azerbaijan to make investment in hydel power generation, oil and gas, LPG, mines, mineral, gemstones, agriculture, medicine, fruits, livestock, honey and other sectors.

    Alizada accepted the SCCI president’s invitation and and assured him they would issue visas to the business community on a priority basis to boost trade ties between the two countries.

    So if you’re planning a vacation to Baku, hold that thought because you’ll soon be able to fly directly there. The shortest flight from Lahore to Baku currently takes a little more than eight hours. But according to Google Maps, the direct flight will cut travel time by two hours.

  • APS attack survivor Ahmad Nawaz receives the ‘Legacy Award,’ has tea with Prince William

    APS attack survivor Ahmad Nawaz receives the ‘Legacy Award,’ has tea with Prince William

    APS attack survivor Ahmad Nawaz received the 2019 Legacy Award for the Diana Award on November 26. Prior to receiving the award from Lady Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, Ahmad attended a tea hosted by Prince William at Kensington Palace, where the Prince interacted with the recipients.

    Ahmad shared pictures from the event on his social media, adding that William was delighted to have visited Pakistan.

    Ahmed, now 18, has become the first Pakistani to receive the Princess Diana Award for his anti-radicalization campaign. He was only 14 when the Taliban attacked his school in Peshawar in 2014. He managed to save himself by pretending to be lying dead but he witnessed the horror of the massacre and his teacher get set on fire by terrorist militants. He suffered multiple injuries on his arm; was given special treatment at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Though Ahmad survived the attack, he lost his brother in the deadly attack.

    According to Kensington Palace, the 2019 Legacy Awards from the Diana Award “celebrate the achievements of 20 outstanding young leaders, visionaries and role models from across the world, aged 12-25, who have demonstrated their ability to inspire and mobilise new generations to serve their communities.”

    The Legacy Award is handed out every two years, and winners are only eligible if they have previously received a Diana Award within the two-year period. This year’s winners included young people from the UK, Pakistan, Canada, Tanzania, Malaysia, Nepal, Nigeria and India.

    Winners are determined by an independent judging panel, which included Baroness Lawrence, Holly Branson, and Alex Cruz.

    Ahmad in conversation with Prince William

    “This ceremony is about celebrating young people for their selfless contribution to society, their courage and bravery, and demonstrating to young people that we value them,” said Tessy Ojo, the Diana Award’s Chief Executive Officer in a statement on its official website.

    “We believe that valuing young people means investing in them so we are delighted that our Legacy Award recipients will have access to our unique development programme ensuring they continue to be positive trailblazers for their generation.”

    The inaugural winners were revealed in 2017, and Princes William and Harry attended the award ceremony. This year’s ceremony was attended by Earl Spencer, Diana’s younger brother.

  • New study reveals all-girls holidays key to happiness

    New study reveals all-girls holidays key to happiness

    An exotic holiday with your best girlfriends sounds like a fabulous idea and not that you needed any reason to go on one, but new research has revealed that girls’ holidays are actually key to keeping happy – AND they have a positive impact on our overall health.

    According to social-personality psychologist William Chopik, friendships “are a way to derive all the benefits of being in a relationship with someone without the enormity of it.”

    He explained that friendships enrich a person’s life and generally makes them happier, adding, “These are relationships of choice. You choose to hang out together because you enjoy each other’s company.”

    Speaking specifically about a girls trip, Dr Chopnik said that such holidays allow you to connect more with your pals.

    “You can sit down, look them in the eye, have a true back-and-forth and read each other’s body language. They can see you and your facial expressions. You’re emotionally responding to things and you can pick up on their emotions. You don’t always get that through a phone call.”

    Meanwhile, a recent study by Harvard University also found that going away with friends has noticeable health benefits because “social connections like these not only give pleasure, they also influence our long-term health in ways every bit as powerful as adequate sleep, a good diet and not smoking.”

  • What do Pakistani men like to wear on their shaadi?

    Shadi season is in full swing and the hardest decision one has to make is what to wear and what not to wear, especially for the bride and groom. While the bride has a lot of options with different colors and styles. Groom has very limited options and the survey shows what Pakistani men prefer to wear on their Shaadi.

    26% Pakistanis chose simple shalwar kameez and sherwani. Only 16% selected coat-suit as their option. Then there was the 1% that didn’t even know how to respond. The winner outfit is Shalwar Kameez with a waistcoat. 30% of Pakistani chose Shalwar Kameez with a waistcoat as the best clothing option for a groom.

    The survey was created by the Gilani Research Foundation Survey and carried out by Gallup & Gilani Pakistan.

  • Hindu pilgrims from India reach Pakistan to attend religious festivities in Sindh

    Hindu pilgrims from India reach Pakistan to attend religious festivities in Sindh

    After thousands of Sikhs, over 50 Hindu pilgrims, including women, arrived in Pakistan on Sunday from India to attend religious festivities in Sindh.

    According to the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) spokesperson Amir Hashmi, “as many as 51 Hindu pilgrims arrived in Pakistan via Wagah border where officials of the ETPB received them.”

    Hashmi said the pilgrims also include women and they left for Sindh province on special buses in high security to take part in their religious festivities.

    “The pilgrims will visit temples in Mirpur Mathelo, Sukker and Ghotki during their 10 days stay in Pakistan,” he said, adding the pilgrims will not be allowed to visit any other places. It is pertinent to mention here that the majority of Pakistan’s Hindu population is settled in Sindh province where they share culture, traditions and language with their Muslim fellows.

    Talking to the media at Wagah, the group leader of the visiting Hindus, Yudeshtar Lal, said they have brought a message of peace and love and stressed for enhancing people-to-people contact. He appreciated the Pakistan government’s decision to open some of the centuries-old temples in the country.

    Last month, the Pakistani government handed over centuries-old historical Shawala Teja Singh Temple in Sialkot to the Pakistan Hindu Council for worship after the completion of its renovation.

    Hindus form the biggest minority community in Pakistan. According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in Pakistan. However, according to the community, over 90 lakh Hindus are living in the country.

  • Zainab Abbas tied the knot in a beautiful afternoon wedding

    Zainab Abbas tied the knot in a beautiful afternoon wedding

    Sports presenter and journalist Zainab Abbas tied the knot in a beautiful and intimate afternoon wedding in Lahore.

    Zainab and her husband, Hamza Kardar looked regal in complimenting white and bronze outfits.

    Courtesy – Zamal & Saman Photography

    Zainab donned an outfit by Saadia Mirza while Zara Gul did her makeup.

    How absolutely stunning does she look in this picture.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B5QLgwygU7U/

    That glow though.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B5QiJd1Aoy8/

    A family portrait. Zainab is also PTI’s Andleeb Abbas’ daughter.

    Soon after Zainab made the announcement, congratulatory messages began to pour in for the happy couple.

    Meanwhile, in a candid interview with The Current, Zainab had revealed three things she was looking for in a life partner.

    “He should be mature. He should be independent and more importantly, understand my work,” Zainab had said in the interview.

    Watch the full interview here:

  • VIDEO: Pregnant Muslim woman punch, kicked in racist attack in Australia

    A man in Australia has been charged for punching and kicking a heavily pregnant woman in what was described by a leading Australian Islamic association as an “Islamophobic” attack.

    Shocking security camera footage showed a man approaching a table of three women wearing headscarves as they chatted at a cafe Sydney on Wednesday (Nov 20).

    The 43-year-old suspect is seen lunging over the table to attack a 31-year-old woman, who police said is 38 weeks pregnant, without provocation.

    After several frenzied punches, the woman fell to the ground and was stamped on, before bystanders wrestled the assailant away.

    The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) said the man was heard “yelling anti-Islamic hate speech at the victim and her friends”.

    “This was clearly a racist and Islamophobic attack and we expect it to be treated as such,” said AFIC president Rateb Jneid.

  • Lottery winners get tomatoes

    Jamaat-e-Islami distributed tomatoes to women who won prizes through balloting.

    Women participating in a protest against inflation and rising prices said that in the past, they used to get sewing machines, Umrah tickets and committees (kitties) in such lotteries but due to the massive increase in tomato prices, this year the Jamaat-e-Islami has given them tomatoes as a prize.

  • $80,000 trophy hunting licenses issued for rare Astore markhor

    $80,000 trophy hunting licenses issued for rare Astore markhor

    The wildlife department of Gilgit Baltistan has auctioned four licenses for hunting the markhor, the official national animal of Pakistan.

    According to a report in Arab News, the Ministry of Climate Change agreed to the licenses, including for trophy hunting of the much in demand flare-horned Astore markhor, a large goat species native to Pakistan. Under the government’s scheme, 12 licenses for markhors are issued every year in Pakistan, four in Gilgit Baltistan.

    Each license was sold for over $80,000, from which 80 percent will go to the villages where the hunt takes place for developing their infrastructure. A total of $500,000 was reportedly raised from the auction.

    The report, quoting president of a wildlife conservation community in Astore, Abdul Sami, further said that the before the licensing was introduced two decades ago, both residents and influential people would just hunt the animals for fun and meat.

    Sami shared that the licensing has benefited rural communities, as the money from permits becomes their development funds.

    “We have built schools, hospitals, water supply systems, and maternity homes from the trophy hunting scheme in the area,” Sami said, disapproving criticism against markhor hunting.

    Earlier this year in February, a photograph of American hunter Bryan Kinsel Harlan posing with an Astore markhor he killed had invited social media outrage. Harlan had reportedly paid a record $110,000 to shoot it on a tourist expedition to Pakistan’s northern Himalayan region of Gilgit-Baltistan.

    Meanwhile chief conservator Zakir Hussain claimed that the markhors would have been extinct had it not been for the licensing program. The population of markhors in the Astore Valley is currently 2,500. According to the wildlife department’s data, the markhor population in the province has increased to over 6,000 from a mere 200 in the 1990s.

    Trophy hunting season runs from November to April. As markhors prefer cold, they can usually be found at the height of 8,000-11,000 feet, however, during winters they descend to 5,000-6,000 feet.

    Markhor hunting usually takes place at dawn or dusk. Hunting of female and young animals below the age of six is strictly forbidden. The age of the markhor is determined by its horns, the older the markhor is, the bigger its horns will be. Markhors live about 15 years on average. The hunter is accompanied by wildlife department officials who ensure that everything is done as per the law.

  • Robbers leave loot after learning about recent death in house

    Robbers leave loot after learning about recent death in house

    Karachi witnessed a very strange story of a robbery, in Korangi No.5.

    According to reports, thieves entered a house in Karachi where they held three women hostage.

    The robbers started looting and had grabbed all valuables inside the house. After raiding most of the cupboards and rooms inside the house, they entered the room where they had held the women hostage.

    One of the women from the three shouted out and prohibited them from entering claiming that her husband had died recently and she was in “Iddat” and according to Islamic values and traditions she was not to see another man till a set period of time.

    When the thieves got to know this, they left all the valuables and left the house, asking the women to pray from God so that he may ease their difficulties.

    The women then told the whole story to their surprised neighbours. They did not report the matter to the police and the inquiry of local police came back empty-handed.