A popular restaurant in Karachi has come under fire after it used a scene from the Alia Bhatt-starrer “Gangubai Kathiawadi” to promote a men’s day at the eatery. The restaurant, Swings, used the scene where the actress, who is forced into prostitution, tries to attract her first customer with the lines “Aja na Raja - what are you waiting for?”, to promote a men’s day event. The restaurant’s post read: “Swings is calling out all the Raja’s out there. Ajao and avail a 25% discount on men’s Monday at Swings!” The ad faced criticism on social media. A user said in a Facebook post: “What is this? It’s promoting sexual
abuse of women.”
Islamabad to limit biz hours amid power crisis
After Sindh and Punjab provinces, capital Islamabad has also decided to limit the working hours of markets, shopping malls, wedding halls and restaurants amid the energy crisis in the country. Islamabad deputy commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon shared the notification on Twitter. The order stated that all shops, malls and offices will close at 9 pm. However, it gave exemption to hospitals and laboratories, clinics, pharmacies, petrol pumps, milk shops, and other essential businesses.
TV anchor forced to sell food on street
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the country has experienced economic and political turbulence. A recent Twitter post by Kabir Haqmal, who previously worked for the Hamid Karzai government, highlights how many talented Afghan professionals have been forced into poverty. In recent months, Taliban militants have threatened media outlets, with a number of journalists losing their jobs. Haqmal recently posted a photo of Musa Mohammadi who for years worked as an anchor and reporter in TV channels and now sells food to make ends meet. The photo went viral. It even caught the attention of National Radio and Television director-general Ahmadullah Wasiq who said he would offer Mohammadi a job in his department.
Militants target labour camp, kill 3
Militants attacked a road construction labor camp in southwestern Balochistan province and killed three workers and wounded five others. The assailants opened fire on the camp, burned vehicles and destroyed machinery in a mountainous part of the district of Harnai, said a spokesperson for the Balochistan provincial government. She said the camp was part of a local company working on a road construction project. Five workers were missing from the camp after the attack. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but separatist groups involved in a low-level insurgency have staged similar attacks targeting non-local workers.
Nepal cancels 2-day weekly holiday trial
Nepal will resume a one-day weekly holiday after experimenting with Saturday-Sunday holidays for a month, an official has said. “Two-day public holidays in a week appeared to be impractical in case of Nepal,” Fanindra Mani Pokharel, spokesman for the Ministry of Home Affairs, said. “So the decision was rolled back after experimenting with it for a month.” He said the government has to return to a single-day public holiday because two-day holidays had affected its service delivery to the people. Many government and private offices had defied the government’s rule on two-day holidays. “Now a one-day public holiday in a week will be observed,” said Pokharel.
4 per cent rise in global Covid deaths
The World Health Organization says that after the five weeks of decline, coronavirus deaths have increased globally by 4% last week. UN health agency in its weekly epidemiological report, says over 8,700 fatalities has been recorded worldwide, with 21% jump in America and 17% increase in the Western Pacific. About 3.2 million new cases have been reported last week. There are significant rise in infection in some regions of West Asia (58%) and Southeast Asia (33%). “Because many countries have reduced surveillance and testing, we know this number is under-reported,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. He said there was “no acceptable level of deaths from Covid-19,” given that the global community now has the vaccines, medicines and diagnostics to stop the virus.
One killed in Shanghai petrochemical plant fire
A fire killed one person at a Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical plant in Shanghai, an accident that will not significantly affect the market, the company said. Roaring fire was seen engulfing part of a sprawling factory, emitting columns of thick black smoke. The fire at one of China’s biggest refining and petrochemicals plants had been brought under control but “was difficult to handle”, state media Xinhua reported.
Japan, Oz to expand defence ties
Japan and Australia’s defence ministers vowed to step up their ties to support democratic values in the Indo-Pacific region and agreed to work more closely with Southeast Asia and the Pacific island nations where China is seeking to expand its influence. Australian defense minister Richard Marles and his Japanese counterpart Nobuo Kishi said region wide cooperation is necessary to strengthen the rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific, where there is growing fear that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may embolden China to increase its assertiveness.
Teen gets calls from all Ivy League schools
For any student getting admitted to an Ivy League university is a dream. But imagine getting accepted into all eight prestigious schools. It might seem unthinkable, but that’s a reality for Ashley Adirika. Adirika, 17, from Florida, US, was spoilt for choice after making the cut in all Ivy League schools - Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale - but has decided to call Harvard University her home for next four years. “The tears just started to come out,” she told ABC News. “My siblings and I were really excited, screaming, jumping around.” In addition to all Ivy League schools, Adirika was also accepted into Stanford, Vanderbilt, and Emory. Adirika ended up choosing Harvard, which only accepted 3.19% of applications for the class of 2026.
Woman finds over 10 hidden cameras in US Airbnb
A woman from the United States recently shared her “scary” experience of finding what she claims were more than 10 hidden cameras in an Airbnb rental property. Taking to Twitter, the woman posted images of the “hidden cameras all over the house”. She said that travellers should be cautious when booking accommodations, and alleged that she and a friend found 10 cameras hidden all over the house after booking to stay in Philadelphia. In a series of tweets, the woman claimed to have found cameras in the showers and bedrooms. She said that the cameras were disguised as sprinkler systems. “The Airbnb was listed under a business name and we never met the owner. Every time we tried calling them, even at our arrival they’ll never answer the phone” she said.
Teen arrested for threatening school students
A 17-year-old boy was arrested for making threats on social media platform Snapchat against current and former students of Uvalde High School in Texas, the United States. The threat messages included the image of a toy gun. The student threatened five current and former students of the high school, the police further said. He has been charged with creating a false alarm or emergency and could face a penalty of 180 days to two years in jail. The student may also be fined up to $10,000. The outlet further reported that the parents of the 17-year-old contacted Uvalde School District chief Pete Arredondo, who subsequently informed the police.
