Tag: Top News

  • Islamabad Zoo’s brown bear on the road to recovery

    Islamabad Zoo’s brown bear on the road to recovery

    After the condition of the Himalayan Brown Bear in Islamabad Zoo sparked national outrage, efforts were made by the government and the Ministry of Climate Change to assess the bear’s condition and nurse it back to health.

    And it appears that the outrage and protests were all for good reason because latest reports suggest that the bear has been operated upon and is on the road to recovery. According to a Facebook page, Friends of Islamabad Zoo, a surgery was performed on the brown bear a few days ago by Islamabad’s renowned veterinarian Dr Faisal Khan in consultation with Dr Bilal Khilji, Assistant Director and Veterinarian for the Zoo. The page also shared that the animal will soon return to its enclosure in a few days.

    https://www.facebook.com/friendsofislamabadzoo/posts/106634134018801?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARBVKSNE2gX9qeqpHJGR5y4urquZljyRVxJB1lVxcvymj7mMEX054PXUjWLrFDiDVPszhYRJZcklYdE2JVZ2OwZEEq4lxUhRQopiyt50ClZ7OQylQO-dScz6fq_1m-icTQzoa4Mh-6BQac3C8K4wYStLW5e14dQr6qDQs6njxKotSURUoLBPvvpZjCOAe_4GQbyfZAxYkbcDzBE1vKQ6yKOd5a-TxxDL4SSzWzha_w4zgAl7vUg87t5Cu-7UR-IuaoYK38oCm0bC0cgb4fR2D7Kus_Kk-d7Vos-YqHG_PCUtc32p3yLeI9KO4PH81cyArPO4AzmnmGwDcx1TkAk&__tn__=-R

    The public outrage also resulted in the matter of the zoo’s management being resolved. In compliance with the Islamabad High Court order, the authorised officer from Ministry Of Climate Change visited the Islamabad Zoo and notified the new zoo director Mr Altaf Khuro (Director, Zoological Survey Of Pakistan) to take over management and evaluate the status of each animal, their health, food, hygiene of enclosures and general cleanliness of the zoo.

    https://www.facebook.com/iwmb.org.pk/photos/a.317959482021337/645476579269624/?type=3&__tn__=-R

    It is pertinent to mention here that there is an ongoing tussle between the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation and the Ministry of Climate Change over the management of the zoo. After a petition was filed in the Islamabad High Court against the zoo’s management, the court had handed over management of the city’s zoo to the climate change ministry till August 29. However, the director of Marghazar Zoo is resisting the transfer and is not cooperative. He locked the gates when officials of climate change ministry went to take over control of the zoo.

    Meanwhile, the zoo has also been declared a plastic-free zone and efforts were made to free the zoo from plastic.

  • VIDEO: 23yo Pakistani’s sajda after ‘World’s Best Tekken Player’ title will give you goosebumps

    VIDEO: 23yo Pakistani’s sajda after ‘World’s Best Tekken Player’ title will give you goosebumps

    A 23-year-old youngster from Lahore has been crowned the world’s best Tekken 7 player at 2019 Evolution Championship Series (EVO) in Las Vegas.

    According to the details, Arslan Siddiqui aka Arslan Ash, who was relatively unknown in the competitive circuit a year ago, has edged out Jae-Min Bae aka Knee in the grand finals of one of, if not the biggest, fighting game tournament series in the world.

    He was also awarded a cash prize of around $14,000.

    According to VICE, it’s the third time Siddiqui has bested South Korea’s Jae-Min, who many from the gaming community considered a “god” of the game. It’s a monumental win, considering the former was virtually unheard of a year ago.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    The 23-year-old had previously also won the second Evo Japan in February, becoming the first-ever unified EVO champion.

    EVO hosted nine official fighting games this year, including Tekken 7, whose competitive scene is centered around a few countries: Japan, the United States (US), and South Korea.

    This year’s top eight consists of players from those very same countries: four players from Japan, two players from South Korea and one player from the US, however, Siddiqui is the exception.

  • Walmart to keep selling guns despite recent shootings at its store

    Walmart to keep selling guns despite recent shootings at its store

    Despite two deadly shootings at its stores in less than a
    week, American retail giant Walmart has no plans to stop selling guns and
    ammunition, Agence France-Presse (AFP)
    has reported.

    A man opened fire with an assault rifle at a Walmart in
    Texas on Saturday, killing 20 people, just four days after a disgruntled
    employee shot dead two coworkers and wounded a responding police officer at one
    of the massive chain’s stores in Mississippi.

    “We are focused on supporting our associates, our customers and the entire El Paso community,” reports quoted Walmart spokesperson Randy Hargrove as saying.

    Following the El Paso shooting, Walmart Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Doug McMillon posted a note on Instagram saying he “can’t believe” it was the second such in a week.

    “My heart aches for the community in El Paso,
    especially the associates and customers at store 2201 and the families of the
    victims,” he wrote.

    “I’m praying for them and I hope you will join
    me.”

    Walmart founder Sam Walton loved guns — so much so that the
    American gun manufacturer Remington named a hunting rifle model after him. But
    the retail giant maintains that its target audience is sport shooters and
    hunters.

    Walmart has made gun policy changes over the years, such as
    in 1993, when it stopped selling handguns.

    The company stopped selling semi-automatic rifles in 2015,
    and after the Parkland, Florida shooting in February 2018 — which saw 17
    people killed at a high school — Walmart raised the minimum age to buy guns
    and ammunition in its stores to 21.

    Additionally, “Walmart goes beyond federal law
    requiring all customers to pass a background check before purchasing any
    firearm,” said Hargrove.

    He also noted that all new Walmart employees are required to
    complete an active shooter training program, which they then must pass on a
    computer four times a year.

    But since it is the largest retail chain in the United
    States, Walmart continues to attract criticism for its enduring stock of
    firearms.

    When the company tweeted it was “in shock” after
    the tragedy in El Paso, many Twitter users replied: “Stop selling
    guns.”

  • Chinese company to provide millions of job, business opportunities to Pakistani women

    Chinese company to provide millions of job, business opportunities to Pakistani women

    Chinese services company, Timesaco, will be providing millions of jobs and business opportunities to women through different e-commerce platforms in six major cities of the country, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.

    Reports quoted Timesaco Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Donald-Li as saying that the company plans to introduce different e-commerce platforms for women, through which they will be able to do different online businesses.

    He said Timesaco’s e-services platform would create millions of jobs for women and help them start their own businesses without any investment.

    Li said that Timesaco’s platform will uplift women living in poverty and facing greater challenges in earning a steady income, educating and feeding their children.

    Earlier it was reported that the company is looking to invest $600m in the country in service sectors. Eyeing opportunity in the country’s transport business, Timesaco has prepared to launch a new ride-hailing service called Buraq Taxi Service across 10 major cities on August 10.

    Devised using a comprehensive strategy to take on the current titans in the market, the taxi service will provide five types of services to customers, including taxi service, heavy cargo delivery, orders delivery, moving automated teller machines (ATM) and vehicle advertisement facilities.

  • Tour de Hajj: A group of cyclists reach Makkah from London

    Tour de Hajj: A group of cyclists reach Makkah from London

    After cycling 4,000 miles through 17 countries for 60 days, the Tour De Hajj team arrived in Saudi Arabia from London on Saturday. The group of cyclists travelling for Hajj received a hearty welcome upon their arrival in Medina.

    Announcing the completion of their mission, the team shared an emotional video of themselves on social media.

    They added, “Hajj begins next week and we touched down Masjid Nabawi just after the Maghreb! The hospitality we received today was incredible. Huge thanks to the Saudi Ministry for looking after us.”

    People admired and we in awe of the dedication of the cyclists and wished the team all the very best.

    The
    Tour De Hajj (TDH) challenge for Penny Appeal from London to Makkah was hoping
    to raise tens of thousands for charity. The money collected will fund a model
    village consisting of schools, places of worship and a water well in four
    countries – Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and Uganda.

  • Hamza Ali Abbasi, Mehwish Hayat among others raise their voice for Kashmir

    Hamza Ali Abbasi, Mehwish Hayat among others raise their voice for Kashmir

    With tensions mounting in Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) as the government revokes special status granted to the valley, calls in additional troops and orders tourists to evacuate the region, there is panic in countries on both sides of the borders. Information regarding what exactly is happening the disputed territory is limited resulting in rising fears.

    A plethora of Pakistani actors are among those raising their voice against the Indian atrocities and are calling for the world to support those in the valley.

    It comes as no surprise that the first person to raise his voice on the matter was none other than Hamza Ali Abbasi who also encouraged his fellow actors to use their popularity to create awareness against the “zulm.”

    Following Hamza’s tweets, several actors took to Twitter to voice their concerns and Hamza even thanked a few of them.

    The situation in the Himalayan territory has been worsening as Indian armed forces martyr at least 10 Kashmiri youth within the last three days and the government announcing its decision to scrap Article 370 of the Indian Constitution.

    ARTICLE 370

    Article 370 of the Indian Constitution is a “temporary provision” that grants special autonomous status to occupied Kashmir. All the provisions of the constitution that are applicable to other states are not applicable to the disputed territory.

    According to this article, except for defence, foreign affairs, finance and communications, the Indian Parliament needs the state government’s approval for applying all other laws.

    The residents of occupied Kashmir, therefore, live under a separate set of laws as compared to Indian citizens elsewhere in the country, including those related to citizenship, ownership of property, and fundamental rights.

    As a result, Indian citizens from other states cannot purchase land or property in occupied Kashmir. With the government moving to revoke the article, the fate of IoK’s 13 million population hangs in balance.

  • PML-N MPA ‘rapes, records, blackmails’ university student

    PML-N MPA ‘rapes, records, blackmails’ university student

    Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) MPA Attaur Rehman has been accused of raping, recording and blackmailing a university student in Multan, The Express Tribune has reported.

    According to reports, the Punjab Assembly lawmaker was sexually assaulting the girl for over 11 months and was blackmailing her on the basis of the video he had recorded of the victim’s ordeal.

    The police, under political influence, initially refused to lodge a complaint despite repeated attempts made by the victim, reports said and added that she was a first-year student at National College of Business Administration & Economics (NCBAE) in Multan.

    Due to studies, she relocated from Lahore to Multan over a year ago and had been working at Pakistan Human Development Foundation (PHDF), a local non-government organisation (NGO) run by the accused lawmaker.

    The accused took her to an undisclosed location, around 11 months back, in the guise of office work, where he allegedly raped and filmed her.

    Rehman later threatened her of dire consequences if she refused to obey him.

    The victim has filed an application with a local magistrate for her medical examination and attached medical records of the hospital she was recently admitted to after sodomy.

  • Anupam Kher believes Muslim genocide is ‘Kashmir solution’?

    Anupam Kher believes Muslim genocide is ‘Kashmir solution’?

    With tensions mounting in Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) as the government revokes special status granted to the valley, calls in additional troops and orders tourists to evacuate the region, a statement by veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher has left people stunned.

    Prominent Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani had on Saturday taken to Twitter to urge the global Muslim community to help “save their souls” from “the biggest genocide” India is about to launch in held Kashmir.

    With the situation in the Himalayan territory worsening as Indian armed forces martyr at least 10 Kashmiri youth within the last three days and the government announcing its decision to scrap Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, actor Anupam Kher believes that “Kashmir solution has begun”.

    Kher, a Kashmiri Pandit, has been seen supporting Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on several occasions. His wife Kirron Kher is also a lawmaker of the hardliner ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

    The veteran actor had earlier said that “all the issues in the valley will be resolved if Article 370, which provides special autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir is abolished”.

    ARTICLE 370:

    Article 370 of the Indian Constitution is a “temporary provision” that grants special autonomous status to occupied Kashmir. All the provisions of the constitution that are applicable to other states are not applicable to the disputed territory.

    According to this article, except for defence, foreign affairs, finance and communications, the Indian Parliament needs the state government’s approval for applying all other laws.

    The residents of occupied Kashmir, therefore, live under a separate set of laws as compared to Indian citizens elsewhere in the country, including those related to citizenship, ownership of property, and fundamental rights.

    As a result, Indian citizens from other states cannot purchase land or property in occupied Kashmir. With the government moving to revoke the article, fate of IoK’s 13 million population hangs in balance.

  • WATCH: President Trump says he has ‘good chemistry’ with PM Imran

    WATCH: President Trump says he has ‘good chemistry’ with PM Imran

    It has been a few days since Prime Minister Imran Khan returned from his first official visit to the United States and it appears that he left quite an impact on the US President, who continues to shower praises on him.

    President Donald Trump, in a recent media interaction, said that he has a lot of respect for PM Khan with whom he had developed “good chemistry.”

    “We’re doing very well, as you know, with Pakistan,” Trump said, “I met a gentleman who I liked a lot — as you know — last week, from Pakistan. I have a lot of respect for him. We have a good friendship — a good feeling, good chemistry. I think Pakistan will help us, and I think others will get involved.”

    The two world leaders met late last month when PM Imran visited the US on Trump’s invitation. During their meeting, while talking to the media, the President had described PM Khan as “one of the greatest athlete and a very popular PM”, and said that he would help him get re-elected.

  • BBC clarifies Channel 5 misreporting on Hurriyat leader Yasin Malik

    BBC clarifies Channel 5 misreporting on Hurriyat leader Yasin Malik

    Amid fear that grips Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) ever since the government called in additional troops and ordered tourists to evacuate the region, Channel 5 reported that Hurriyat leader Mohammad Yasin Malik is dead as reported by BBC.

    The reports came a day after the Kashmiri separatist leader’s wife, Mushaal Hussein Mullick, demanded notice of her husband’s fast deteriorating health in the notorious Tihar Jail for raising voice against atrocities unleashed by Indian occupying forces.

    She said that Yasin was in solitary confinement for the past four months, strengthening the perception that unspoken orders to inflict miseries had been given to the jail authorities so that the Hurriyat leader may die a slow and painful death.

    The statement was followed by reports citing BBC as claiming the separatist leader’s death in confinement.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    With the video report taking over the internet by storm, it wasn’t later that BBC took to Twitter and issued a clarification.

    “The claim circulating on social media that the BBC has reported the death of Yasin Malik is fake,” it tweeted, urging the people to verify stories they see on social media by visiting its official news website.

    While the reports regarding his death have been rejected, it is pertinent to note that incarcerated Yasin is being tortured and denied basic health facilities by the Indian government for being a political adversary.

    According to his wife, being a heart patient, the separatist leader suffers from certain serious ailments related to vital organs of his body and needs certain life-saving drugs, which he was not allowed to take in jail.