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Author: Hafiz Usman Aftab

  • McDonald’s in Turkey, UAE, Oman donate to Gaza: Pakistani twitter users question their franchise

    McDonald’s in Turkey, UAE, Oman donate to Gaza: Pakistani twitter users question their franchise

    After controversy rose a few days ago when #BoycottMcDonalds began trending on X (formerly Twitter) after the fast food giant’s Israeli franchise announced that they were providing free food to soldiers carrying out operations in Gaza. Several McDonalds country franchises, including Pakistan, released statements distancing themselves from the Israeli chapter. However a few of them have announced donations for Gaza.

    Read more: McDonalds Pakistan, Turkey, Lebanon release statements; dissociate themselves from Israel

    The Turkey franchise released a statement where they distanced themselves from the Israeli branch and announced they were donating $1 million dollars to provide relief and aid to the communities currently suffering in Gaza.

    McDonald’s franchise in UAE wrote they were deeply saddened by the events in the region, and announced that they were sending AED 1 million dollars to Emirates Red Crescent for their ‘Tarahum for Gaza’ campaign.

    In Oman, the McDonald’s franchise wrote that the company was standing with Gaza in these difficult times, and have donated $100,000 dollars towards relief efforts.

    The McDonald’s franchise in Pakistan released a statement on Saturday, distancing themselves from the Israeli branch, but many Twitter users questioned why the company did not announce solidarity with Gaza and donated to provide humanitarian aid like the rest of the countries had.

    Veteran actress Nadia Jamil was among the critics as she wrote: “But do you stand with Palestine? That’s the answer we all want.”

    “If you are a Pakistani entity then where is your condemnation of Israel bombings? Where are your meals for Gaza? This wouldn’t cut it unfortunately,” another user wrote.

    “Spineless chain. Could have supported Palestine but all they care about is their commercial interests and not making international stakeholders unhappy,” another user wrote.

  • To understand what is happening in Palestine, give these must-see films a watch

    To understand what is happening in Palestine, give these must-see films a watch

    As the Palestinian genocide unfolds and the world watches in horror, we have seen several celebrities and politicians provide one-sided, incorrect narratives in an attempt to foil the voice of Palestinians. We understand that it is important now more than ever to amplify the voices of oppressed communities living in Palestine in order to get a complete perspective of what they have been suffering under Israel’s oppression for years. Which is why we are listing down films and documentaries made by Palestinian people about Israel’s occupation and which goes back to 1948.

    Check out some of these recommendations below:

    1 Farha (2022)

    Written and directed by Palestinian filmmaker Darin J. Sallam, the film explores the coming-of-age experience of a young girl Farha in the backdrop of the 1948 Nakba, when countless Palestinians were murdered or expelled from their homes by Zionist militants. The film is available to watch on Netflix.

    2 Five Broken Cameras (2011)

    Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat chronicles his West Bank village’s resistance to Israeli encroachment, which lasted for five years. The film won the 2012 Sundance Film Festival award as well as the 2013 International Emmy Award. Watch the documentary here

    3 Promises (2002)

    Israeli-American filmmaker B. Z Goldberg interacts with seven Palestinian children from West Bank and Jerusalem to learn about the Israeli-Palestinian war from their perspective. The documentary can be streamed on Apple TV.

    4 Al Nakba: The Palestinian Catastrophe (1997)

    Directed by Benny Brunner, the documentary examines the Nakba that led to the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians. The documentary is divided into four episodes, and can be watched on YouTube.

  • Gaza supporter Huda beauty tells off Israeli who threatens to stop buying her products

    Gaza supporter Huda beauty tells off Israeli who threatens to stop buying her products

    Beauty mogul Huda Kattan has given us yet another reason to purchase her products.

    The owner of Huda Beauty has been sharing videos of Gaza, spreading awareness of the genocide inflicted by Israel.

    Among the comments was an Israeli woman, threatening to stop buying her products if Huda kept affirming her pro Palestine stance. To which the beauty mogul responded: “I don’t want blood money.”

    Twitter users lauded Huda Kattan’s blunt response to the Israeli commenter who claimed people from Gaza have no money.

  • Official Israel account attacks Rizwan for pro-Palestine tweet

    Official Israel account attacks Rizwan for pro-Palestine tweet

    After Pakistan lost to India in the cricket World Cup match yesterday, an official account associated with the government of Israel chose to demonstrate their pettiness with a tweet targeting cricket player Muhammad Rizwan, who, after a match-winning performance against Sri Lanka, dedicated his win to the people of Gaza.

    “We were really moved by Indian friends showing their solidarity with Israel. We are happy that India emerged victorious in the #INDvsPAK match at #CWC23 and that Pakistan was unable to attribute its victory to the terrorists of #Hamas.”

    Many Twitter users criticised the absurdity of how triggered a country has been over a simple tweet by a cricketer. Seriously, y’all lose sleep over anything?

    Truly a King

    Please make this happen PCT In Sha Allah

    Well done Rizwan for living rent free in the minds of an entire nation.

  • Natalie Portman ignores 583 Palestinian children’s death in video about Israeli kids

    Natalie Portman ignores 583 Palestinian children’s death in video about Israeli kids

    Actress Natalie Portman shared a video on her Instagram account where she called for justice for the kidnapped babies and children taken hostage by Hamas. In the video, children can be seen holding up placards saying ‘Save Israeli Children’. However, none of the placards bear any mention of Palestinian children and babies killed by the Israeli bombs and airstrikes over these last few days.

    According to Defense For Children International Palestine, more than 583 children have died because of Israel’s onslaught on Palestinians, which continues to rise as Israeli forces cut off electricity, water, food and gas supplies for Gaza.

    “Israeli officials’ statements combined with widespread and systematic attacks carried out by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip raise extreme concern that this is now a campaign of genocide against the Palestinian people,” Brad Parker, attorney and senior policy adviser at Defense for Children International – Palestine said in a statement. “Israeli military assaults have reached an intensity where they are seemingly intended to deliberately kill large numbers of Palestinians in Gaza, and combined with Israeli total closure policies, show the aim is to destroy Palestinian life in Gaza.”

    Tellingly, Portman disabled comments on her post.

    Actress Jennifer Garner also released a statement on her Instagram page, where she wrote about the atrocities of war being unbearable for both Israeli and Palestinian children. The actress said she is donating to Save The Children, an organisation who are providing supplies for people in need.

    Save The Children has slammed Israel for ordering one million people from North Gaza to move South within 24 hours.

    We are extremely worried by Israeli military orders to evacuate 1 million people out of northern #Gaza in 24 hours which will have enormous consequences for #children.

  • Indian travel ad degrading Pakistani cricket fans faces criticism, backlash

    Indian travel ad degrading Pakistani cricket fans faces criticism, backlash

    The most-anticipated match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup is being played on Saturday.

    Billions of cricket fans from around the world will tune in to watch great rivals, Pakistan and India, play at the biggest cricket stadium, the Narendra Modi Stadium.

    The contest will mark the first instance of Pakistan and India playing a One-Day International against each other on Indian soil after 10 years. Their last bilateral meeting resulted in Pakistan defeating the hosts 2-1.

    In these exciting times, Make My Trip, an Indian travel company, has launched a newspaper ad campaign, mocking Pakistani cricket fans by promising discounts if Pakistan loses the match.

    Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag took to X (former Twitter) and wrote, “Na Ishq mein na Pyaar mein. Jo mazza hai Pakistan ki haar mein.”

    But let’s be honest here, the ad, published in Bangalore Times, Ahmedabad Times and other newspapers, would’ve made sense if the Modi Government had issued visas to Pakistani fans.

    Senior editor of CNN News 18, Pallavi Ghosh, believes that the ad is violating sporting spirit.

    Another X user, Rahul Fernandes, says that this ad doesn’t represent Indian values.

    Sumit also criticizes the campaign by saying, “We are terrible people. First, we deny them visas and then this.”

    It is pertinent to mention that Pakistani journalists got their visas on October 12 and 13, facing unexplained delays by the Indian government, and were not allowed to be in the media box throughout the World Cup.

  • #BoycottMcDonalds trends as the fast food giant opens five new restaurants for Israeli security forces, donates 4,000 daily meals

    #BoycottMcDonalds trends as the fast food giant opens five new restaurants for Israeli security forces, donates 4,000 daily meals

    The hashtag #BoycottMcDonalds began trending worldwide on X (formerly Twitter) after the Israeli McDonalds released a statement on their verified account expressing their solidarity with the IDF. In a post on their Instagram account, the food chain said that they have opened five new restaurants to provide free food to security and soldiers, providing them with 4000 free meals.

    “50% discount for the security and rescue forces,” the translated image reads. “We increased the discount from 15% to 50% for the security and rescue forces in uniform on every purchase. Our hearts go out to the families of the murdered, the heroic martyrs who fell in battle, the security forces, the wounded, the kidnapped and the missing.”

    The translated text in the post says:

    “Update that already yesterday we donated 4000 meals to hospitals and military units, we intend to donate thousands of meals every day to soldiers in the field and in drafting areas, and this is beyond a discount to soldiers coming to restaurants. We opened 5 restaurants that were open only for this purpose.”

    On Tuesday, the account shared a video of servers packing food for the paratroopers, with the caption in the video saying “Mcdonalds Giron Ashkelon Mall on the way to paratroopers.”

    In another video, the translated text in the video says this is the McDonald’s branch in Negev Mall which is packing food to send it to military bases

    X users expresed outrage over the videos by pointing out that Palestinians’ food and water supply was cut off, and they were denied other basic things like electricity or internet facilities- but McDonald’s was giving free food to Israeli soldiers.

  • ‘Actors are not prostitutes’: Mariyam Nafees slams stalker sending vulgar messages

    ‘Actors are not prostitutes’: Mariyam Nafees slams stalker sending vulgar messages

    Actress Mariyam Nafees has had enough with stalkers assuming it’s their right to be lewd to actresses.

    Nafees shared a screenshot on her Instagram stories of a message she recieved from an unknown person, who was trying to solicit a meeting with her after seeing her at the Lux Style Awards. The stalker tried to persuade Mariyam to hold a meeting, and asked her to name an amount.

    To which she had responded: “Bet your mom is ashamed to have a child like you. Not every woman is ‘bought-able’ you s****. Good luck dealing with my ‘friends’!”

    Mariyam shared the screenshot of the conversation and wrote in the caption: “Married or not- this never stops! Actors are not prostitutes!”

    In her next post, Nafees shared the complete contact information of the stalker, writing that she plans to expose the harassers this way.

    Another woman messaged Mariyam, whose conversation screenshots the actress shared in her Instagram stories. In the conversation, the woman solicited the actress to agree to take a photoshoot with a Pakistani magazine which innvolved “political level parties and bold shoots.”

    In 2021, Mariyam shared pictures of the indecent messages she recieved on Instagram from a man who asked her to visit his friend for a few hours and in return she’d recieve three lacs. Sharing the messages, the actress wrote in the caption:

    “The point of putting this up is because I truly want to put a stop to this.
    I don’t know who’s responsible for these morons to think this way and who’s entertaining them but no! Absolutely not! I and my esteemed co-actresses respectfully work for twelve hours (sometimes more) everyday and we refuse to tolerate this mentality. We come from educated backgrounds to make a name for ourselves, nobody and I mean NOT A SINGLE PERSON is allowed to disrespect us.

    Actresses are not prostitutes!”

    Her outspoken message was applauded by Adnan Siddiqui who defended her in a tweet, pointing out that actors were professionals like everyone else and were not for sale.

    “For those who think otherwise, let me put the record straight. Actors are NOT for sale. We work hard and work honestly as much as any other professional. No one’s allowed to disrespect us. Atta girl MariyamNafees”, Adnan tweeted.

  • Pakistani cricket presenter Zainab Abbas speaks up after leaving India

    Pakistani cricket presenter Zainab Abbas speaks up after leaving India

    Pakistani cricket presenter Zainab Abbas left India on October 9 due to safety concerns after old tweets surfaced online. She took to X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday night to apologize for her tweets.

    “I understand and deeply regret the hurt caused by the posts that were circulated. I wish to make clear that they do not represent my values or who I am as a person today. There is no excuse or space for such language, and I sincerely apologise to anyone who was offended,” she wrote.

    She further said, “I have always felt extremely fortunate and grateful for the opportunities to travel and present the sport I love – this one would have been extra special.

    My daily interactions with everyone during my stay were kind, cheerful, and with a sense of familiarity – just as I had expected. I was neither asked to leave nor was I deported.

    However, I felt intimidated and scared by the reaction that was unfolding online. And even though there was no immediate threat to my safety, my family, and friends from both sides of the border were concerned. I needed some space and time to reflect on what had transpired.Also, I am truly grateful to those who were concerned and reached out during this challenging time.”

    According to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Zainab was under a lot of pressure in India after receiving threats.
    It is pertinent to mention here that Indian lawyer Vineet Jindal officially lodged a complaint against Zainab Abbas, regarding a series of old tweets which resurfaced on X, formerly known as Twitter.

    Vineet Jindal claimed that these anti-Hindu tweets were originally posted approximately nine years ago under the username “Zainablovesrk,” which has since been changed to “ZAbbas Official,” the currently active X account of Zainab Abbas.

    The reports of Zainab being deported from India are fake, according to ICC she has left for “personal reasons”.

  • Are cricket lovers staying in hospitals in Ahmedabad instead of hotels?

    Are cricket lovers staying in hospitals in Ahmedabad instead of hotels?

    Reuters: Cricket fever has gripped Ahmedabad ahead of Saturday’s World Cup group stage clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan and a visit to hospitals near the venue of the match in the western Indian city clearly shows the degree of excitement.

    Quite a few of the hospitals have seen a sudden influx of patients booked in for check-ups involving a night’s stay to coincide with the most anticipated match of the World Cup.

    Several doctors told local media the rush for check-up ‘packages’ was an ingenious way to find affordable accommodation as hotel costs have soared up to 20-fold ahead of the match.

    “We have come across some cases of people coming to watch the India-Pakistan match also taking an appointment for health check-ups and staying in hospitals,” Tushar Patel, President of the Ahmedabad Medical Association, told Reuters.

    The Ahmedabad Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association has discouraged its members from accommodating such fans.
    “We have asked our members not to entertain such requests. Hospitals are not meant for non-patients,” its president Bharat Gadhavi told Reuters.

    THREE WARS

    The Asian neighbors have fought three wars since becoming separate countries in 1947 and the relationship further soured after gunmen killed 166 people in Mumbai in 2008, which India blamed on a Pakistani militant group.

    While bilateral cricket became a casualty of geopolitical realities, it also whetted the appetite for a clash between neighbours who play each other only in multi-team events.

    India and Pakistan head into the showdown having both won their opening two matches at the tournament.

    The first batch of tickets for Saturday’s game were sold out within an hour of going on sale in August, prompting the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to release another 14,000 earlier this month.

    Ahmedabad resident Hemish Patel and his friends, after several days of failed attempts, grabbed four tickets, each costing 6,000 Indian rupees ($72.15).

    “We logged into the site with multiple devices,” he said.

    “We constantly kept on refreshing the site and were able to book within 10 minutes after the sale of tickets began.”
    Patel was one of the lucky few.

    Tickets are fetching up to 25 times face value on resale and city police arrested four youths on Tuesday for selling fakes.

    Airfare has surged up to four times and Indian railways will run a pair of super fast trains linking Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

    PERFECT VENUE

    The 134,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium, which hosted former US President Donald Trump in 2020 and Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese earlier this year, looks a perfect arena for cricket’s fiercest rivalry.

    The city has been declared a ‘no-drone zone’ on Saturday, and 11,000 security personnel will be deployed for the high-profile match, Ahmedabad police commissioner GS Malik said.

    On their first tour of India since the 2016 T20 World Cup, Pakistan were accorded a warm welcome in Hyderabad, where they played their first two matches.

    India have a perfect 7-0 record against Pakistan at ODI World Cups and while the rivalry assumes the Orwellian concept of serious sport — “war minus the shooting” — players from both sides share good relations.

    During the Sri Lanka leg of the Asia Cup last month, Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Afridi gave Jasprit Bumrah a gift for the Indian’s newborn baby and the video went viral.

    It will be a special occasion for Indian Liyakat Khan, whose daughter Samiya is married to Pakistan fast bowler Hasan Ali.
    “My wife went to Pakistan in 2021 when my daughter was expecting her first child. We will meet again … I can’t wait to hold my grandchild,” Khan told the Indian Express newspaper.