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Author: News Desk

  • Teacher, student suspended from college over TikTok video get married

    Teacher, student suspended from college over TikTok video get married

    A teacher and his young student expelled from a college for allegedly posting an indecent video clip of themselves on TikTok have contracted court marriage, earlier this week.

    According to reports, Rafaqat Hussain, a 38-year-old English teacher at the Government Postgraduate College Haripur and his 24-year-old student Zainab Ali tied the knot at a local court in Abbottabad. Zainab’s mother and Rafaqat’s cousins and friends were present in the courtroom.

    Speaking about the marriage, the groom expressed that he was very happy adding, “We were in a relationship and were waiting for our families’ permission to get married.”

    Rafaqat is already married and has three children with his first wife.

    According to the couple, the 20-second clip that shows Rafaqat and Zainab together at a local fish-point was shared on the popular video-sharing social networking application TikTok by someone with ill-intent.

    “Today, it has been established that we were in a serious relationship,” said the professor.

    Rafaqat said the clip wasn’t meant to be shared on TikTok, but someone hacked into Zainab’s cellphone, stole the clip and shared it on social networking platforms. The college suspended Rafaqat and Zainab after the clip went viral for violating the college discipline, Principal Dr Muhammad Ishfaq said.

  • Which celebrity friend of outgoing ISPR chief are you?

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  • Apple is closing all offices and stores in China through February 9

    Apple is no longer closing just one store in China over coronavirus worries — Apple is closing them all. The company is shutting down all its corporate offices, stores, and contact centres in mainland China through February 9, according to a statement provided to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

    The deadly coronavirus outbreak that has killed over 200 people in China and infected nearly 10,000 worldwide, has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO). It has triggered the first mandatory CDC quarantine in the United States in 50 years and prompted a ban on foreign nationals returning from China. In addition, airlines have been forced to temporarily suspend all flights to the country. In these circumstances, it makes sense for Apple to shut down its stores and offices in China.

    However, Apple says its online store will remain open.

    Meanwhile, it’s not clear if Apple’s Chinese factories, run by Foxconn, will also be shutting down and more factory workers dismissed. Foxconn, on Tuesday, had said that it would be “operating on a holiday schedule and didn’t anticipate any impact in production”.

    Nintendo, which manufactures its consoles in China, has said that the coronavirus is already impacting the production of the Nintendo Switch game console.

  • Coronavirus causes fright for Indian phone, carmakers

    Coronavirus causes fright for Indian phone, carmakers

    Coronavirus outbreak in China could start to disrupt India’s production of smartphones. This spread can delay component shipments that are important for the production of smartphones, reports have said.

    India is the world’s biggest smartphone maker after China but is still largely dependent on China for supplies of parts such as cells, displays panels, camera modules and printed circuit boards.

    “Those disruptions were already planned but if it gets prolonged, for March and April, production will have serious trouble,” said S N Rai, the co-founder of homegrown smartphone maker Lava.

    China’s OnePlus said its Indian operations could manage, in the short term at least.

    “We are well covered because we have the entire production in India, we already have enough stock, and even going forward many of the components will anyway be coming directly from other markets,” said Vikas Agarwal, the India head of OnePlus.

    However, Beijing has expressed confidence in uprooting the “devil” virus that has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO).

    Giants like Alphabet Inc’s Google and Sweden’s IKEA have closed operations in China.

    India’s Tata Motors, which counts China as a major market for its luxury Jaguar Land Rover cars, said on Thursday it was worried about the coronavirus and warned that the outbreak could impact productions and profits.

    For now, the industry just hopes the outbreak can be contained within the next two weeks. “If the problem persists beyond February 10, we have a real problem at hand,” said Pankaj Mohindroo, head of the India Cellular & Electronics Association, an industry lobby group.

  • ‘Saaf Bath’ initiative to set up portable public toilets with focus on facilitating women

    ‘Saaf Bath’ initiative to set up portable public toilets with focus on facilitating women

    The Salman Sufi Foundation (SSF) has launched a new project ‘Saaf Bath’ to benefit pedestrians, especially women, who do not have access to clean public toilets in Pakistan.

    According to a press release, the foundation will set up portable public toilets in Lahore and Karachi during the first stage of the project expected to complete by February 2020. The project aims to facilitate women, who are vulnerable to major diseases due to the lack of availability of clean and hygienic bathrooms.

    The SSF is partnering with numerous corporate companies to install portable toilets in all major cities of the country, especially those areas with a large number of female pedestrians. These toilets will set a standard for a public toilet and there will be a proper model that everybody would be asked to follow.

    The restrooms will also be made accessible for the aged and the differently-abled and will be maintained by the foundation’s coordinating officers daily. The foundation will also ensure that sufficient hand sanitizer and water is available for the public. In addition, there will also be a diaper station as well as the availability of sanitary pads.

    “Many women in Pakistan face severe issues in their menstrual cycle because of the lack of sanitized products and clean places,” said Sufi.


    Shedding light on the project, Salman Sufi told The Current: “Initially, we will be launching two to three toilets in Lahore and Karachi. After that, the foundation plans to expand this to the female schools and colleges in Sindh and Punjab. We are working with LDA in Lahore and the commissioner officer in Karachi regarding these.

    “We have requested the Sindh government to give us access to female colleges where we can install portable washrooms”, he added.

    Sharing further details, Sufi said, “We will be setting a standard for a public toilet and there will be a proper model that everybody would be asked to follow. The toilets will be equipped properly, there will be a diaper station as well as sanitary pads available. Many women in Pakistan face severe issues in their menstrual cycle because of the lack of sanitized products and clean places”.

    The project is in line with the foundation’s plan of starting an overall health and sanitation campaign exclusively for women. According to a 2015 report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Pakistan was the third-largest country where over 43 million people defecate openly.

  • Coronavirus: Eight Chinese nationals deported from Islamabad airport

    As many as eight Chinese nationals have been deported from the Islamabad International Airport as coronavirus fear grips the entire world following the World Health Organization’s (WHO) declaration of a global emergency over the spreading virus and Chinese authorities increasing the toll to 213 dead and nearly 10,000 infections.

    According to reports, a flight from Dubai with eight Chinese passengers on board landed in Islamabad on Friday. The Chinese nationals — five men and three women — were screened and later sent back to Dubai after being disallowed from boarding a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight from the federal capital to Beijing. 

    All eight individuals, reports said, were deported through a private airline carrier.

    The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has partially suspended all direct flight operations between Pakistan and China amid fear of the deadly coronavirus. According to a notification issued by CAA, the direct flight operations between two countries will remain suspended till February 2.

    CORONAVIRUS:

    In mid-December, some people in the central Chinese city of Wuhan began complaining of flu and pneumonia-like symptoms. Some had a high fever. Doctors were perplexed. To find out what might be causing their illness, geneticists analysed the DNA of the virus that had infected them.

    At once, the scientists realised the virus was new to science.

    As of January 23, experts at WHO in Switzerland estimated that at least 557 people have contracted the rapidly spreading disease. All countries have since been taking precautionary measures to curb the menace of the deadly disease.

  • Farhan Saeed drops new single ‘Baliyay’

    Farhan Saeed drops new single ‘Baliyay’

    Time and time again Farhan Saeed has entranced us with his melodious voice. The singer-turned-actor isn’t as active on the music scene as he used to be but he makes sure to keep reminding us that he has still got it.

    Saeed recently dropped a new single titled Baliyay. The song is soft, melodious and almost like a lullaby.

    According to the composer and producer of the song, “Baliyay is about spreading peace and working together to make the world around us a better place.”

    Baliyay has been written, composed and produced by Saad Sultan.

    Listen to it here:

    Earlier, Farhan had shared that he will be releasing a new single soon.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B73AyTTFP7s/
  • Pakistan, Turkey planning to provide dual nationality to citizens of both countries

    Pakistan, Turkey planning to provide dual nationality to citizens of both countries

    A plan is under consideration to sign an agreement with Turkey regarding providing dual nationality to the citizens of two countries, a private media outlet has reported.

    Reports quoted a statement issued by the Interior Ministry as saying that this came during a meeting between Interior Minister Brigadier (r) Ijaz Shah and Turkish Ambassador to Islamabad Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul on Thursday.

    According to the statement, the Turkish ambassador on behalf of his government proposed that both the countries should sign an agreement regarding providing dual nationality to the citizens.

    “In response to this, the minister said that the draft is under consideration and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is on board with us, we hope to reach a mutual conclusion soon,” it added.

    Shah also welcomed the mutual training programmes and upgrading of equipment of law enforcing agencies with Turkey.

    “The interior minister welcomed the initiative of introducing a patrolling force in collaboration with Islamabad Police on the model of Dolphin Force introduced in Lahore,” the statement said.

    The ambassador and minister also mutually agreed on the continuity of the training programmes being held to improve the capacity of the workforce.

    Yurdakul also informed the minister that the Turkish president was scheduled to visit Pakistan soon.

    Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu is also expected to visit Pakistan in February and will meet Shah to discuss bilateral matters, the statement said.

    The interior minister was also informed that the Turkish consulate that is under construction in the southern city of Karachi is the largest one in the world by Turkey.

    Interior Minister Shah also extended condolences to the ambassador over the losses due to recent earthquake that killed at least 40 people and left over a thousand others injured.

  • ‘I’m sorry’: Asim Azhar responds to backlash on PSL anthem

    ‘I’m sorry’: Asim Azhar responds to backlash on PSL anthem

    With Pakistan Super League right around the corner, fans are waiting with bated breaths for the fifth edition to start. What’s even more special about this season is the fact that all matches will be played in Pakistan.

    The team behind the league kick-started this season by releasing the PSL anthem. The song Tayyar Hain featured veterans Arif Lohar, Ali Azmat and Haroon along with Azhar. However, the song failed to impress the audiences who took to social media to voice their criticism.

    In a note posted to Twitter, Asim talked about the PSL anthem, the sentiments attached to it and apologised to those who didn’t like it. He also requested people not to resort to personal attacks. However, Azhar added that the memes were great and he enjoyed those.

    Read more – ‘Tayyar Hain’ gets the ball rolling for PSL V

    Haroon endorsed Asim’s statement and said that he personally loved the new PSL song, adding that it will “sound huge in a stadium”.

    https://twitter.com/TheRealHaroon/status/1223277094928560133?s=20

    Tayyar Hain has been composed by Xulfi, while Kamal Khan of Laal Kabootar fame has directed the music video which also features star cricketers including Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Rumman Raees, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood.

    According to the press release, “A total of 22 instruments have been used in creating Tayyar Hain, including indigenous instruments such as tumba, chimta, rubab and harmonium“.

    In case you missed it, watch the song here:

  • Boy sets himself on fire after father bars him from using TikTok

    Boy sets himself on fire after father bars him from using TikTok

    A teenage boy set himself on fire after his father advised and stopped him making TikTok videos. 

    As per reports, the boy from Arifwala near Pakpattan tried to commit suicide by setting himself on fire after his father constantly stopped him from recording Tiktok videos. The boy was shifted to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

    TikTok is a video-sharing social networking application that is used to create short lip-sync, comedy, and talent videos.

    Last year in December, the teenager was accidentally shot dead while recording a video with his friends in Sialkot’s Kharota Syedan area.

    The 16-year-old boy, identified as Ammar Haider was using a pistol to record a TikTok video with his two other friends. Allegedly, the trigger of the pistol was accidentally pressed and the bullet hit Ammar’s stomach, which caused his death.

    TikTok has over 500 million active users worldwide. The app had already crossed 1 billion downloads last year.