Rapper Saint Levant held an amazing show at Coachella. The artist, of Palestinian, French, Algerian and Serbian descent didn’t just bring cool music to the festival, but also talked about supporting Palestine. Even though the band No Doubt was performing too, Saint Levant still gathered a huge crowd at the Gobi Tent. Fans wore keffiyehs and waved Palestinian flags, showing solidarity with Gaza. The 23-year-old artist, whose real name is Marwan Abdelhamid, grew up in Gaza, then moved with his family to Jordan, and later settled in Los Angeles. He felt a strong connection to Gaza when he talked to the crowd at Coachella. “My name is Saint Levant, and I was born in Jerusalem and raised in Gaza.”
He also said, “I hope you all know that the people in Gaza have been suffering a lot, facing a very harsh situation for the last six months. And Palestinians have been living under a tough occupation for 75 years.” He shouted, “It’s not just me up here — it’s the whole Arab world up here,” showing that he represents a whole community fighting to make people aware and demand fairness for Palestine.
During his performance, Saint Levant sang some of his well-known songs and also some new ones like “Deira” and “5am in Paris,” which he released shortly before Coachella. The songs talk about being forced to leave your home and feeling like you don’t belong, which are experiences he knows well and are part of the Palestinian story. He said to the Coachella crowd, “It’s about exile. A feeling that us Palestinians know a bit too well.”
Saint Levant being at Coachella meant a lot to the people there. Yara Brenton, a 43-year-old festival-goer, said the experience was “incredible.” She thought it was important that Saint Levant spoke up for the Palestinian cause. Reflecting on how more people know about Palestine now, Brenton said, “There are a lot more people who know about Palestine today. And there’s no going back, I think, from this awareness.”
Saint Levant’s rise to fame is like other Palestinian artists, such as Elyanna, who performed at Coachella last year. Having them there not only makes music more diverse but also shows how art can make a difference and give voice to those who aren’t always heard.
Former Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza recently talked to BBC Urdu, the first long interview she has given after her divorce from Pakistani cricket star Shoaib Malik. She talked about why she decided to stop playing tennis, how her life has changed, and what she learned from her sports career.
The 37-year-old elaborated on her retirement decision, emphasizing the physical demands that influenced her timing: “A lot of people asked about my decision to retire. I wanted to stop on the top. It was very important to me.”
The sports star talked more about how her body didn’t bounce back as quickly after tough matches as it used to. “My body had become a huge problem after three surgeries and having a kid as well. The recovery wouldn’t proceed the way it was needed.” Even though she was winning, people didn’t see the hard work she put in behind the scenes. She said, “People would see that I was playing finals but they couldn’t see what I had to do to get there.”
Talking about how people see her, Mirza talked about how she handles criticism. “I don’t think I feel that people are after me but I do understand and realise that not everyone can like you in the world. Everyone in your family can’t like you, then how would everyone in the world like you?”
She talked more about how she deals with being famous and what people think of her: “Everyone has different opinions, choices, likes, and dislikes. It’s not a personal attack on you.”
In the last ten years, Mirza said she has changed a lot personally, especially in how patient she’s become. She thinks being a mom has played a big part in that. She said, “I have definitely developed more patience. I think that is something that has happened both with my age and my child’s birth. I think when you become a mother, you don’t have a choice other than being patient.” She talked about how she used to be more impulsive but now she thinks things through more.
Mirza talked again about what she said before about staying down-to-earth even when you’re famous. She said, “I think the world we live in today, be it social media or as in my case, fame, you have so many people around you telling you nice things. It’s very important that you also have people who tell you the truth.”
“The most important things in life are not money and fame. They are nice to have, but not the most important. What really matters is who supports you when times are tough, and who you’re willing to stand up for.”
She compared sports to life, saying that the skills learned on the tennis court help in everyday situations. “The same principles apply in life because they build your personality. The lessons I’ve learned from sports, I don’t think there’s a book in the world that could teach me the same,” she mused.
“Bad days don’t last. Good days also don’t last but you have to try to stretch those good days and if you had a bad day, then the next day, you have to try and make it better.” Mirza summed up the guiding ethos of her professional and personal life.
Famous South Korean pop singer and YouTuber, Daud Kim, who became a Muslim five years ago, said he’s going to build a mosque in Incheon. Taking to Instagram, Kim shared pictures of the land he purchased for the mosque and the contract.
“At last, with your support, I’ve signed a contract for the land to build a mosque in Incheon.”
“This place will soon be a mosque. I can’t believe this day has come,” he wrote in his post. He plans to build a place for prayers and an Islamic podcast studio for Da’wah to Koreans. Kim said, “I think this is a really big step. There will be tough times, but I believe I can do it. I’ll keep working until every street in Korea hears the beautiful Azan. I’ll do my best,” Kim promised.
“To build the mosque, I need financial support. If you want to help, please donate here. Thank you very much,” Kim said.
Daud Kim, who used to be called Kim Kyun-woo and went by the name Jay Kim, is a singer, actor, and YouTuber from South Korea. In September 2019, Kim made a YouTube video saying he had become a Muslim. He often talked about wanting to go to Makkah and Madina. In Ramadan 2022, Kim went for Umrah.
In a video released by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) on April 15, terrorists can be seen roaming around with ease in the area and thoroughly checking the travellers in Quetta-Taftan Highway N-40, near Noshki.
On April 13, nine people from Punjab and killed by the BLA militants after they stopped a bus and forced them off it.
The gunmen checked the identity cards of passengers from the Taftan-bound bus and kidnapped them. They were subsequently shot dead.
In the shocking footage, the militants easily moved on the road and kept inspecting all the vehicles and passengers.
The footage was made from different angles. It also zoomed in and pointed to a Pakistan Military outpost and military camp nearby while the militants were conducting their operation.
At the end of the video, the militants stopped two passenger buses and the in-video text showed “primary target” on a white bus. The other bus was let go and appallingly the video ended with the caption “ALL TARGETS NETRALISED”.
Australian billionaire Clive Palmer has announced the construction of Titanic 2, expected to be completed by 2027.
Clive Palmer, the chairman of Blue Star Line, had filed lawsuits against Australia’s state and federal governments over border closures during the Covid pandemic.
Titanic 2 will cost a billion pounds to build, while the construction is expected to be completed by 2027, according to media reports.
Clive Palmer first announced the development of Titanic 2 in 2012 and again in 2018.
When he first announced the project in 2012, he said that it would be completed in 2016.
Later in 2018, when the work started again, the work had to be stopped due to the covid-19 epidemic. Now, after six years, once again he has announced to restart the project.
The famous Titanic ship sank on its maiden voyage in 1912, its wreckage resting at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, at a depth of 12,500 feet.
Former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto took a dig at the PTI-led ‘opposition alliance’, stating that the group is hatching a conspiracy against Pakistan by staging protests on alleged poll rigging.
The Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman, while addressing a public gathering at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh in Larkana on Sunday in connection with 45th death anniversary of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, made a veiled reference to Imran Khan that he wanted to launch a PNA-II.
The Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) was a nine-party alliance launched in 1977 against the Zulifqar Ali Bhutto.
“Many forces did not believe in democracy. They used to hatch conspiracies but President Asif Ali Zardari foiled their designs,” he remarked.
The six-party alliance, led by PTI, launched the movement against the alleged rigging in the February 8 general elections.
Bilawal said that some politicians want to play with the fate of country for their “personal ego”, warning that common people would suffer the most if democracy is derailed.
In 2013, Amir Sarfraz Tamba allegedly killed a convicted Indian Spy Sarabjit Singh in Kot Lakhpat prison, Lahore. Amir was at his residence in Lahore’s Islampura area when two armed men entered his home and shot him on April 14.
Initially, media reports claimed that Amir succumbed to his injuries but Dawn confirmed that while he was indeed critically injured, he was still alive.
The incident has raised serious concerns among authorities over foreign involvement.
Interestingly, just a few days ago, The Guardian reported that the Indian government assassinated individuals in Pakistan as part of a wider strategy to eliminate “terrorists” living on foreign soil.
A high-profile investigation has been launched to probe the motive behind the attack including finding out if there was Indian involvement.
Amir Tamba and his accomplice were acquitted in 2018 after all witnesses retracted their statements. Sarabjit Singh was killed a few months after a Kashmiri freedom fighter Afzal Guru was hanged in Tihar Jail, Mumbai in 2013 for his role in the 2001 Indian parliament attack
Sarabjit Singh was serving his death sentence awarded by the Supreme Court of Pakistan for his role in a series of bomb attacks in Lahore and Faisalabad in 1990.
The world may be at the brink of a very dangerous war but social media’s trolling of Israel continues unabated.
Right after Iran retaliated against Israel on Saturday night for destroying its embassy in Syria, Israel hurriedly called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. Social media users did not fail to roast the country for its own recent actions.
BREAKING: Israel calls for emergency meeting of the UN Security Council
A political analyst picked up on Israel’s continuous violations of all international laws and UN conventions.
It’s strange to be Israel: You violate a mountain of UN resolutions, condemn the UN at every turn, bomb UN schools & shelters, murder UN employees, & then you demand a UN meeting over another country responding to your bombing of their consulate https://t.co/AwMof4bWj8
Iran has launched more than 200 drones and missiles on Israel in an unprecedented attack late on Saturday “in response” to a deadly airstrike on its Damascus consular annexe earlier this month.
Iran’s allies also carried out coordinated attacks on Israeli positions as sirens sounded in many places and blasts were heard in the skies above Jerusalem early on Sunday.
Iran had vowed to strike back in retaliation for a deadly April 1 air strike on its Damascus consular annexe while America had warned repeatedly in recent days that the retaliation was imminent.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) launched “extensive” drone and missile strikes — as part of what they called the Operation ‘True Promise’ against “certain targets” inside Israel.
“Iran launched UAVs from its territory towards the territory of the state of Israel,” military spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement.
Videos emerged as people in Jerusalem sought cover and flooded the roads. “As you can see it’s empty, everybody is running home,” said Eliyahu Barakat, a 49-year-old grocery shop owner in Jerusalem’s Mamilla neighbourhood.
US President Joe Biden expressed “ironclad” support for Israel after an urgent meeting with his top security officials on the current attack against Israel.
Hundreds of Iranians gathered in Tehran’s Palestine Square, waving Iranian and Palestinian flags to celebrate the unprecedented military action against Israel.
On the other hand, Israeli military official said, “So far, we’ve intercepted the vast majority of incoming missiles,” Hagari said. The army said it had scrambled dozens of fighter jets to intercept “all aerial threats”.
Iran’s allies in the region joined the attack with Yemen’s Houthi rebels also launching drones at Israel, according to security agency Ambrey, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement announcing rocket fire at Israeli positions in the annexed Golan Heights.
The official Irna news agency said the attack had dealt “heavy blows” to an air base in the Negev desert, but the Israeli army said there had only been minor damage.
US help for Israel neutralizing all the attacks
The Iranian mission to the United Nations warned Washington to keep out of Iran’s conflict with Israel. “It is a conflict between Iran and the rogue Israeli regime, from which the US MUST STAY AWAY!” it said.
Despite Tehran’s warning not to get involved, US forces took part in shooting down drones aimed at Israel.
Biden said in a later statement that the United States had “helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles”, but appeared to guide the key US ally away from retaliating against Tehran by saying Israel had now shown its strength.
The US president said he had called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reaffirm Washington’s “ironclad” support for Israel, after recent tense relations over Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
“I told him that Israel demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks — sending a clear message to its foes that they cannot effectively threaten the security of Israel,” he said.
He said he had ordered US military aircraft and ballistic missile defence destroyers to the Middle East in recent days, as the likely threat following a presumed Israeli strike on Iranians in Damascus became clear.
Matter of a ‘truce’ in Gaza
The Gaza crisis began October 7 and has claimed lives of more than 33 thousand in Gaza.
In the main central city of Deir al-Balah, fire burned in the rubble of a destroyed mosque. Israel’s military “demanded that the whole area be evacuated” before it was “wiped out in minutes”, said Abdullah Baraka, a witness.
In nearby Nuseirat refugee camp, Abd Thabet said residents had been warned to evacuate on Friday evening ahead of a large explosion that caused “massive destruction”.
Hamas said it had submitted its response to a Gaza truce plan presented by US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators at talks in Cairo this week.
The Palestinian group said it was sticking to its previous demands, insisting on “a permanent ceasefire” and the “withdrawal of the occupation army from the entire Gaza Strip”.
During the October attack, Hamas seized about 250 hostages, 129 of whom Israel says remain in Gaza, including 34 the army says are dead.
The Israeli prime minister’s office accused Hamas of sabotaging efforts for an exchange of hostages for prisoners. “Hamas to this day has refused any deal and any compromise proposal,” it said.
Arshad Khan, a tea-stall owner who rose to fame for his exceptionally good looks is in news again as the famous Chaiwala has run into serious financial troubles. He launched his Chaiwala London café a year ago in London, England with the help of two franchise owners, who also happen to be cousins.
Arshad Khan has not been paid royalty as promised by UK franchise owners, according to an insider. He has been requesting the London café owners who have refused to pay him because of business losses. Additionally, they also refused to pay rent to the landlord.
Background
Arshad Khan’s brand was brought to the UK last year by two cousins: Nadir Khan Durrani and Yaver Akbar Durrani. UK Companies House record shows that Yaver Akbar Durrani registered Cafe Chaiwala Ltd under company number 13205566.
Nadir is a UK national and Yaver Akbar Durrani is a Canadian national who lives in the United States. They registered the company in early 2021 and are currently running the business actively.
Café Chaiwala Arshad Khan is located in East London on 229 Ilford Lane. The situation is bad to the extent that the café never opened its ground floor section to the public because of poor quality of service. It was a big hit when it opened last year but the poor quality, mismanagement and lack of hygiene at the café deterred the customers, according to reports.
When opening the café last year in London Yaver Akbar Durrani and Nadir Durrani announced that they would open several franchises of “Café Chaiwala Arshad Khan” in the United Kingdom, Europe, North America, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East.
Now the two cousins have run into a legal dispute with the owner of the building after failing to pay rent of over six months, citing business losses and complaining that that the rent is too much and should be reduced. Yaver Durrani met Arshad Khan in Islamabad and made promises to clear the pending monthly royalty but later on told him he cannot pay him until the business goes into profit. He told Arshad Khan that too many Chai cafes have opened nearby on the same street and that has damaged the business. Arshad Khan has been trying to keep the issue private to protect his brand, he says. Durrani is also accusing Arshad Khan of not delivering the full recipes to the London café as promised originally.
Failed Promises
A source at Arshad Khan Chaiwala told Pakistan Today that Arshad sold the international franchise to the Durrani brothers but they have broken the contract and agreement by not paying royalties to Arshad Khan and continuing to use his name. Therefore, Arshad Khan will not allow them to use the brand and franchise anymore. “Both sides have threatened legal action against each other,” said the source from Islamabad.
During the London launch, the Master Franchisees-UK promised that Arshad Khan will visit London soon to meet his fans and to brew ‘karak’ chai for them. Later, they didn’t make arrangements for his travel to the UK as the non-payments estranged the two parties.
