Tag: UK

  • Boris Johnson marries fiancee Carrie Symonds in a secret ceremony

    Boris Johnson marries fiancee Carrie Symonds in a secret ceremony

    British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has married his fiancee Carrie Symonds in a secret ceremony on Sunday.

    “The Prime Minister and Ms Symonds were married yesterday afternoon in a small ceremony at Westminster Cathedral,” a Downing Street spokesperson said in a statement.

    “The couple will celebrate their wedding with family and friends next summer.”

    Known for his colorful love life, 56-year-old Johnson wed Symonds, 33, in front of close friends and family, the Mail on Sunday and The Sun newspapers first reported.

    The weekend nuptials were a surprise development, after reports earlier this week said the couple had sent out “save the date” cards for a wedding on July 30 next year.

    The pair got engaged in December, 2019, and have a one-year-old baby son, Wilfred. Their original plans to marry last year were delayed by the pandemic.

    Political colleagues sent congratulations to the couple as the news became official Sunday.

    “I think it’s a wonderful thing for both of them that they have made their marriage vows to one another,” senior minister Nadhim Zahawi told Sky News.

    Around 30 guests attended Saturday’s service — the maximum currently allowed under coronavirus rules — in central London, after being invited at the last minute, according to the Mail on Sunday.

    A small number of church officials were involved and Downing Street aides were not informed, sources told the paper.

    Symonds arrived at the lunchtime nuptials in a limousine and wore “a stunning long and flowing white dress” but chose not to wear a veil, it added.

    There were no descriptions of Johnson’s attire, with the mop-haired British leader infamous for his often dishevelled appearance.

    He had four children with his previous wife, lawyer Marina Wheeler, before they split in 2018. The couple only finalised their divorce last November.

    Johnson also reportedly has a daughter born as the result of an affair.

    When elected in 2019, he became the first prime minister to live at Downing Street as part of an unmarried couple.

    Symonds, a former head of communications for the Conservative Party who has not been married before, gave birth to their son just weeks after Johnson left intensive care as he recovered from a severe case of coronavirus.

    Meanwhile, he is only the second British prime minister to marry while in power, and the first in nearly two centuries. The last was Robert Jenkinson in 1822.

  • Arshad Khan ‘Chaiwala’ to open 10 café outlets in UK

    Arshad Khan ‘Chaiwala’ to open 10 café outlets in UK

    Arshad Khan Chaiwala is planning to open 10 outlets of his Cafè Chaiwala in the United Kingdom (UK).

    After successfully establishing his own brand of Rooftop Cafè in Islamabad, Arshad has emerged as a quietly confident entrepreneur. In an interview with ARY’s Bakhabar Savera, Khan had also shared that he plans to open branches of Cafè Chaiwala across Pakistan soon.

    Now, Arshad has announced that he will establish his chai business in London as well. In a recent post on his official Facebook page, Arshad shared a photo himself along with the the announcement of opening a Cafè Chaiwala outlet in London.

    “Cafè Chaiwala will Insha Allah open its first Cafè outlet in London [by the] end of this year,” said Arshad. He also quoted Napoleon Hill, saying “Strength and growth come only through continuous effort.”

    Khan has signed a Franchise Agreement for running the business in the United Kingdom with two of his investors and affiliates. The agreement which is unique in scope, lays the foundations for Cafè Chaiwala Arshad to become a global brand.

    The first Chaiwala Cafè was first launched in Islamabad October 2020 and since then four franchise agreements have been signed. The two investors, Nadir and Yawer have considerable experience supporting and developing franchises with former based out of the UK while the latter is based in USA.

    The first Cafè Chaiwala outlet will open in London by the end of this year. Reports have further detailed that the first phase of the UK expansion will entail 10 outlets.

    For those who don’t know, Jiah Ali was the photographer who took the viral photograph of Arshad. Arhsad was working at his chai stall when Jiah discovered him selling chai in an open-air Sunday Bazaar. Jiah was stunned by his deep blue eyes and his model-like looks so she photographed him.

    She later shared her work on Instagram, marveling at his striking good looks. That’s when Arshad won gigantic recognition as the ‘Chaiwala of Pakistan’.

    From humble beginnings as a tea maker at a small dhaba in Islamabad to doing business on international waters, Arshad Khan Chaiwala’s journey from rags to riches is quite an exciting one.

  • TikTok is being sued for misusing data of millions of children

    TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDan could face a damages claim worth billions of pounds (dollars) in London’s High Court over allegations that they have illegally harvested the private data of millions of European children, Reuters has reported.

    That case will be heard next week and affected children could receive thousands of pounds each if the claim is successful.

    “TikTok is a hugely popular social media platform that has helped children keep in touch with their friends during an incredibly difficult year. However, behind the fun songs, dance challenges and lip-sync trends lies something far more sinister,” Anne Longfield, the former Children’s Commissioner for England told BBC.

    Longfield alleged that every child that has used TikTok since May 25, 2018, may have had private personal information illegally collected by ByteDance through TikTok for the benefit of unknown third parties.

    “Parents and children have a right to know that private information, including phone numbers, physical location, and videos of their children are being illegally collected,” she added.

    Read more- 10-year-old girl dies trying TikTok’s ‘blackout challenge’

    A TikTok representative said privacy and safety were the company’s top priorities and that it had robust policies, processes and technologies in place to help protect all users, especially teenage users.

    “We believe the claims lack merit and intend to vigorously defend the action,” the representative said.

    Earlier this year in March TikTok was banned in Pakistan due to immoral content, but the ban was later lifted.

    The popular video-sharing app was banned for the first time in October last year. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had blocked TikTok after the company “failed to fully comply” with its instructions for the “development of an effective mechanism for proactive moderation of unlawful online content”. Later, the ban was lifted when the TikTok management assured authorities that it will block all accounts repeatedly involved in spreading obscenity and immorality.

  • ‘We are stuffed in one room like animals’: British Pakistanis complain about quarantine facilities

    British Pakistani travellers who are isolating at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel near Heathrow Airport have registered a protest against the poor facilities given to them at the quarantine facility, Geo News has reported.

    According to details, authorities at the quarantine facility are not providing enough meals to 19 quarantined families with people protesting against the non-provision of food at the time of sehri and aftari.

    “It’s a basic human rights issue. People have not received food for the three meals that were contractually supposed to be provided to the families. The food that has been delivered has not been on time. Moreover, we are in the midst of the Holy Month of Ramazan. There are people who have fasted without receiving any food at all,” said Hasnain Sheikh, while describing the situation in a video message.

    He said that the purpose of making the video was to call to the attention of UK government authorities towards the conditions of returning travellers. Expressing that such conditions are unacceptable, Sheikh said that people staying at the facility have paid a hefty sum for their quarantine living arrangements for 10 days.

    https://twitter.com/MurtazaViews/status/1383776694612283394

    “More promises and assurances are being given via hotel security, but our plea needs to be heard. This is a human rights crisis and I hope the government pays attention,” said Ghulam Sayyadain, another individual stuck at the hotel.

    Member of another quarantined family Abdullah Inayat told media outlets that his son had a bout of food poisoning after eating a meal at the centre.

    “My family was forced to eat cold food and was not facilitated at all,” said Abdullah. “We are stuffed in one room like animals. We have paid more than £3,500 only to quarantine and have been deprived of even the basic facilities. For a family of five to live in a medium-sized room is unhygienic and there are dangers to [our] health.”

    On the other hand, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Hotels providing managed quarantine facilities are able to accommodate the vast majority of people’s requirements and are obligated to provide guests with three meals a day, access to WIFI, welfare and health support.”

    Earlier this month, Pakistan was added to England’s “red list” amid concerns about the spread of new COVID-19 variants.

    As per new COVID related rules introduced by the UK government, those who have visited or passed through a country where travel to the UK is banned must quarantine for 10 full days in a managed quarantine hotel.

  • British company introduces special hijabs for Muslim lawyers

    A British company Ivy & Normanton has launched a range of hijabs designed specifically for female advocates to wear in court. The initiative has been welcomed by Muslim women across the United Kingdom because no specific brand made hijabs for female advocates.

    Speaking to Arab News, the designers said they hoped to inspire more young Muslim women to join the legal profession.

    Barrister and founder of Ivy & Normanton Karlia Lykourgou, while talking to the publication, said: “I think people aspire to be what they can see.”

    “To keep encouraging diversity at the bar, we have to make sure that those who don’t fit the white, male stereotype have the tools they need so other young people can see them and believe they have a place in the profession too,” she said further, adding: “The Ivy & Normanton hijab was developed so other women could easily find a piece of clothing that expresses their identity as a Muslim and an advocate and get on with the job.”

    According to the brand’s website: “I&N hijab was created in collaboration with hijab wearing members of the legal profession to be perfectly designed for court.”

    “Made of 100% organic bamboo silk, it’s moisture-wicking and hypoallergenic to keep you cool in the summer and comfortable in winter, and is a perfect size and shape for tucking into a suit jacket or into a collarette, so you can express your identity as a person and a professional.”

  • EXPLAINER: How NAB cost Pakistan billions over Broadsheet deal

    EXPLAINER: How NAB cost Pakistan billions over Broadsheet deal

    Pakistan paid Broadsheet, an asset recovery firm registered in the Isle of Man, Rs4.65bn after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) broke an agreement with it three years after it was signed in 2000.

    After its formation in 1999 by then military dictator Pervez Musharraf, NAB approached Broadsheet to recover overseas assets of at least 200 Pakistanis, particularly the Sharif family. However, the deal fell through in 2003, with NAB saying that the recovery firm had stopped investigations; Broadsheet had accused NAB of hampering its probe to locate the offshore assets of Pakistanis.

    The broken accord was the start of an 18-year-long legal battle between the two parties. In 2008, NAB reached a settlement with a former Broadcast LLC official, Jerry James. The bureau paid at least $1.5million to James to settle the case even though the company was being liquidated and the liquidator was not a party to the deal.

    Though NAB claimed it had reached a settlement with Broadsheet, the firm said James had nothing to do with it at the time of the signing of the agreement. The money paid to James didn’t reach the original Broadsheet, its CEO had claimed and filed a case in a UK court for arbitration in the matter in 2012.

    The UK judge decided the matter in favour of Broadsheet, the claimant. It said Broadsheet LLC was entitled to recover damages for the wrongful repudiation of the ARA [asset recovery agreement]. The award declared that James had no authority from the claimant after March 2005 to enter into a settlement agreement with NAB. The judge said the deal was “wrongful and deliberate to financially hurt the original Broadsheet LLC, Isle of Man”.

    The court held that while negotiating with the fraudulent company, NAB representative Ahmer Bilal Soofi was aware that the original company was in liquidation, and he signed the wrongful deal knowingly.

    Finally, the court ordered NAB to pay $21.58m plus interest to Broadsheet LLC in damages over the breach of the agreement. Due to interest rates, the award amount reached $28.7 million by December 2020.

    According to the judgement, a total of $21.58 million has to be recovered and given to Broadsheet of which $1.5 million had to be recovered from the Sharifs on account of Avenfield flats, $19 million for other assets ($802m worth assets are being attributed to Sharifs); $48,760 from Schon Group; $25,000 from Sultan Lakhani; $85,600 from Fauzi Kazmi; $381,600 from Lt Gen (r) Zahid Ali Akbar; Aftab Sherpao $210,000; and $180,000 from Jamil Ansari.

    WHY DID NAB PAY $1.5m MONEY TO JAMES?

    NAB deliberately tried to cheat Broadsheet LLC by paying $1.5m to James.

    According to the court, NAB made two payments to Jerry James, by then the unauthorized person who had incorporated another Colorado company which he had also named “Broadsheet LLC”. The actual company was Broadsheet LLC, an Isle of Man entity. The arbitration court said NAB tried to financially defraud the original Broadsheet LLC by paying James instead of the original company.

    Broadsheet had been in the process of liquidation since 2005. And Moussavi, who now owns the company, offered to rescue it in return for a 50 per cent share from the settlement and James agreed. He, however, went behind Moussavi’s back and made a deal with NAB by registering another company named Broadsheet LLC — based in Colorado. The deal was declared shady by the court that asked NAB to pay damages to the original Broadsheet.

  • Govt says will cancel Nawaz’s passport on Feb 16

    Govt says will cancel Nawaz’s passport on Feb 16

    In a bid to bring former prime minister Nawaz Sharif back to Pakistan, the federal government will cancel his passport on Feb 16, said Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed on Wednesday.

    Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the minister said that the passport of the ex-PM will be revoked owing to his refusal to return to Pakistan.

    Nawaz had left for London for a medical check-up last year after his health deteriorated in jail. The ex-premier, who was convicted in two graft cases, has refused to return since.

    Rasheed also said that now people will be able to obtain visas for any country online.

    It may be noted that the interior ministry’s decision to revoke the passport of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader came two months after a request by the National Accountability Bureau.

    According to Geo, NAB had sought cancellation of the passport and the CNIC of the ex-PM in OCt. “During the course of proceedings, the said accused [Nawaz] deliberately absented himself from the court and after the due process…whenever accused is arrested, he be produced before the court.”

    “In view thereof, copies of the said court order and perpetual non-bailable warrant of arrest are forwarded for processing of blacklisting/cancellation of the passport and blockage / impounding of CNIC of the accused through the Ministry of Interior,” NAB said in an order.

  • New COVID strain detected in three UK returnees

    Pakistan has reported three cases of the new strain of coronavirus that first emerged in the United Kingdom, prompting countries to ban travel with the UK.

    This new strain, called the B.1.17 lineage, may be 70% more infectious than the previous strain going around in the UK. According to the Sindh Health Department, three passengers who had arrived from the UK had been infected with this variant of the coronavirus.

    The health department said it took samples of 12 people who had returned from the UK for genotyping, out of which six tested positive for the coronavirus. “Three showed the new variant for the COVID-19 in the first phase of testing,” said the statement of the department quoted by Geo News.

    It said that the samples will be sent to the 2nd phase of genotyping. The health department has already begun tracing the people that these patients had come into contact with.

    Last week, reports that a new strain of coronavirus, similar to the one wreaking havoc in the United Kingdom, had also surfaced in Karachi. Coronavirus Task Force head Dr Attaur Rehman had said that the authorities discovered a new strain of coronavirus in the port city that is similar to the one spreading in Europe.

  • New coronavirus strain: Do we need to worry?

    The news of new coronavirus strain came to light when a stricter level of lockdown was imposed in different parts of south-east England to curb the rapid spike in infections.

    Amid fears of the new strain of the coronavirus spreading quickly in the UK, many countries have imposed a temporary ban on all flights to and from the UK. Pakistan has also banned flights from England.

    The news of new strain of COVID-19 is causing panic and fear and everyone is searching for answers.

    Here’s what you should know:

    Why do we have a new strain of coronavirus?

    The short answer to this question is that because viruses “evolve”. Just like cell-based life, we get new strains of viruses because of some genetic changes caused due to the evolution of the virus.

    What is the new COVID-19 strain?

    The new coronavirus strain has been labelled “B.1.1.7”. Reportedly, the new strain of the virus can lead to a “quicker spread” (scientists are still looking for more evidence) of COVID-19.

    Scientists say it is about 40%-70% more transmissible. However, there is no evidence that this new strain of the virus is “more lethal”. B.1.1.7 has far more mutations than in any previous variant of the Sars-Cov-2 virus analysed since the pandemic started, but scientists are also wondering how it evolved so fast.

    According to some experts, it is entirely too early to make a definitive conclusion.

    Will vaccine work against the new strain?

    Scientists are hopeful that the vaccines will work against this new strain. This is because the parts that Pfizer/BioNtech, Moderna and Oxford/Astrazeneca shots target has not changed much.

  • Pakistan suspends flights from UK amid new coronavirus strain

    Pakistan suspends flights from UK amid new coronavirus strain

    Pakistan has decided to suspend all flights from the UK until December 29 after a new strain of the coronavirus emerged in the United Kingdom.

    The restriction will be on all direct and indirect flights from the UK, effective December 23 at 12:00am, and will be applicable to all persons who are travelling from the UK and are in or have been in the UK for 10 days.

    On the other hand some passengers will be exempted from these restrictions. Transit passengers who do not leave airside in the UK and who were travelling from areas other than the UK will be allowed to travel to Pakistan. Similarly, Pakistani passport holders who travelled to the UK on visitor visas will be allowed to return with the following arrangements:

    1. A negative PCR test within 72 hours before the flight
    2. They will stay in the airport or in a government facility until the PCR test is taken.
    3. Mandatory enforced home quarantine for 7 days
    4. Trace and Test all passengers who arrived from the UK over the past 7 days as per TTQ protocol, including passengers arriving on 22 December.

    The Pass Tack App, introduced by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), is mandatory for all travellers arriving in Pakistan. Those who do not have it will need to fill out the web form of the Pass Track App.

    The passengers who do not have the Pass Track App will need to fill out the web form of the application.

    “NCOC will review the above-mentioned decisions on December 28, 2020, and any change will be communicated to CAA for further necessary instructions,” the notification from the  Aviation Division said.

    It is important to mention that flights from the UK are being suspended to 40 countries across the world including, Spain, India and Hong Kong.

    Other countries to impose a ban on UK arrivals include Belgium, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Russia, and Switzerland. Some of the bans are already in force while others are to begin on Tuesday.

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) tweeted late on Saturday that it was “in close contact with UK officials on the new #COVID19 virus variant” and promised to update governments and the public as more is learned.

    The new strain was identified in southeastern England in September and has been spreading in the area ever since, a WHO official told the BBC on Sunday.

    A WHO spokeswoman told AFP that “across Europe, where transmission is intense and widespread, countries need to redouble their control and prevention approaches.”

    It is important to note that while increased transmission is proportional to the chances of further mutation, the EU experts do not believe that the mutation should hinder the effectiveness of the vaccines.