New Zealand Police have introduced the hijab into their official uniform to encourage more Muslim women to join the force. The move is aimed to create an “inclusive” service reflecting the country’s “diverse community”.
According to reports, a new recruit, Constable Zeena Ali will be the first police officer to wear a hijab as part of her uniform.
Besides New Zealand, London’s Metropolitan Police and Police Scotland also allow Muslims to wear the head covering.
Constable Ali was the first to make the request and was even included in the development process.
Ali was born in Fiji but moved to New Zealand in her childhood. Speaking to the New Zealand Herald, she said that she wanted to join the police force following the terror attack in Christchurch.
“I realised more Muslim women were needed in the police to support people,” she told the publication.
“It feels great to be able to go out and show the New Zealand Police hijab as part of my uniform,” she said. “I think that seeing it, more Muslim women will want to join as well.”
Who does not like memes? Memes not only lighten up our mood but make social media exciting and interesting and we wish this meme culture never dies at least as long as the internet exists. Recently, ‘Xavier memes’ have started doing the rounds on social media and we must say that they are hilarious.
A local fast-food restaurant in Bahadurabad Karachi was inaugurated by a group of street kids, who were later invited inside to eat free food.
Krispy2Go restaurant collaborated with Inheritors in Karachi, a social welfare organization, to introduce a different way of opening their new branch. About thirty-five street kids were invited on the day of the opening, to cut the ceremonial ribbon after which the restaurant workers served them food.
Taking to social media, CEO Muhammad Azeem said “We don’t do this for publicity; it’s an honest approach to give a moment of happiness to underprivileged children. We have done similar drives in the past as well. We have invited such kids to our other restaurants and we also did many visits to centres where special kids are living their lives.”
“Yes, this is our first attempt to do the opening with street kids but we have many such initiatives in the development phase in which we will collaborate more in such activities. This is to create awareness of such actions in society as we believe that every little step is important in its own space,” he added.
Many people appreciated the restaurant for inviting poor kids for the inauguration, instead of inviting notable personalities, as other restaurants normally do.
Music lovers rejoice. On November 15 Swedish-based audio streaming and media services provider Spotify created a verified Instagram account for Pakistan which has gained 14.6 thousand followers already.
The appearance of a verified Instagram account suggests that the world’s biggest music streaming service might soon be launching in Pakistan. However, no official statement has been made yet.
On the possibility of Spotify coming to Pakistan, many users took Twitter to express their joy.
#SpotifyPakistan I hope they have figured out rights management/royalty payments with the major labels. I hope it's not like how it is on Deezer where you can't play music from WMG artists.
Spotify is the world’s biggest music streaming platform by the number of subscribers. Users of the service simply need to register to have access to one of the biggest-ever collections of music in history, plus podcasts, and other audio content.
Spotify, launched in 2008 grown to be one of the biggest streaming platforms in the world. There were 286 million monthly active users of Spotify according to the company’s 2020 report.
Khansa Maria was born blind. During her childhood, Maria remembers rushing to get ready for her school interview but was always left disappointed as the school could not cater to her special needs.
“It was disappointing,” she says. “Mainstream schools were not willing to make the required adaptations or go the extra mile for someone like me. You can never forget an experience like that.”
Young Maria completed her early education at a school near her home in Lahore before she got enrolled at the Lahore Grammar School. Many people didn’t show any concern for her needs but there were some who saw her as an inspiration.
Things changed for Maria. Today, the 21-year-old is a senior at Georgetown University Qatar, pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Foreign Service.
The prestigious Rhodes Scholarship selected her to study at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Maria is the first Pakistani woman with a disability to be named a Rhodes scholar-elect.
Campaigning from a young age, Maria has spoken at various conferences around the world calling for a removal of barriers people with disabilities face. Her own organization, “Hope for Tomorrow”, raises awareness about people with special needs.
Maria explains that the single biggest obstacle in Pakistan is the lack of people with disabilities in the policy making and enforcement processes.
“The disable community lacks a voice,” she said, “You just don’t see [disable] people on the mainstream level.”
She hopes to change that when she returns to Pakistan after completing her postgraduate at Oxford University. “It is important to start engagement first at the grassroot level.”
With Gilgit-Baltistan going to elections this Saturday (November 15), the region has emerged as a hotspot with politicians from the ruling party and opposition arriving in the area for the ongoing election campaign. Over a dozen political and religious parties, including the country’s three major parties — Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), PML-N, and PPP — are contesting the polls.
Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) has a rich, beautiful, and unique cultural heritage manifested in local traditions, music, and dress. Use of caps and ceremonial headdresses is a part of their tradition. The most commonly used caps are ‘khoi’ (a tuft of feathers or a flower on it) and ‘Iraghi’ (cap with a jewel). Politicians visiting Gilgit for the election campaign made sure that they carry those traditional accessories.
There is no doubt that in recent times, our politicians have become more fashion savvy. With GB elections underway, we have compiled a list of politicians who impressed everyone with their fashion sense and style during the campaign.
Prime Minister Imran Khan
Starting with Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan. PM Khan, who was known to be a style icon during his cricketing time and is still one for many, during his visit elegantly carried a blue blazer with a white shalwar kameez.
Maryam Nawaz
Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz Sharif has been making waves with her outfits ever since she landed in G-B. She has been accesorizing her looks with Gilgit-Baltistani caps and shawls, adding a traditional touch to her outfits.
Maryam also wore a beautiful Iraghi cap with the traditional piece of the jewel called ‘silsila’.
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is not far behind when it comes to making cool fashion choices. The politician has been spotted wearing a number of cool sweaters and jackets along with the Baltistani cap.
Sherry Rehman
A diva in the truest sense, PPP Senator Sherry Rehman, also shared a selfie of herself wearing the khoi cap. She completed her look with a pair of reflectors and did not forget to wear her mask!
The second wave of COVID-19 has arrived in Pakistan with full force taking the total number of infections to 352,296 .
As per details, 108,822 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Punjab so far. In a related development, the Punjab government has compiled a study, which shows the people belonging to the 31-45 age group are more vulnerable to the infection, followed by the 16-30 age group, contradicting earlier reports that the younger generations are less vulnerable to the virus.
One of the reasons given for younger generations to get infected more is due to their outdoor activities/movement. A senior official of the health department says most of the people of these age groups attend educational institutions, do jobs or run businesses and many of them interact with people at their workplaces or educational institutions without preventive measures.
Being asymptomatic patients, they transmit virus to their elderly family members or multiply the positive cases by interacting with other people. The members of these two age groups need extraordinary care by wearing masks and reducing their outdoor activities, stated the official.
As per reports, statistics show that out of the total confirmed cases in Punjab, 32,060 people of 31-45 age group and 29,849 of other age groups have tested positive for the virus so far.
The data further shows the health professionals attending COVID-19 patients in health facilities are also most vulnerable to the coronavirus due to their exposure to it.
Students of Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU), Multan submitted bogus positive reports of COVID-19 to force the administration to conduct online examinations.
They were exposed on Thursday after the administration verified their reports and declared the news of coronavirus spread as ‘fake’.
As per reports, students of the English, Politics and Psychology departments were involved in the tempering of the COVID-19 reports.
Taking the matter seriously, the university administration constituted a corona committee for the verification of the reports, while DC suggested the imposition of a smart lockdown in the university.
Nearly a dozen reports were forwarded to the Nishar Hospital and private laboratories for verification. The reports could not be verified and were declared fake and tempered by the labs.
The administration of the Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) Multan has decided to take action against the students who submitted fake reports to create panic in the university.
The findings of the committee have been forwarded to the High Education Commission (HEC). Meanwhile, the university administration has asked parents of the students not to believe in rumors and there is no coronavirus spread in the university.
Wasim Akram has expressed his disgust and anger towards those who torture and abuse children.
Sharing a video of a little boy, who was abused by his father, the former captain wrote: “In my book, the lowest form of life on this planet are those who hurt and torture children. This video is absolutely heart wrenching to watch.”
“I’m sick to my stomach,” added the cricketer.
In my book, the lowest form of life on this planet are those who hurt and torture children. This video is absolutely heart wrenching to watch. The one man who was meant to protect this little boy, became only thing he feared the most. I’m sick to my stomach https://t.co/AUxD5djAKg
Last month, Shaniera spearheaded ‘The Polished Man’ movement in Pakistan to raise awareness about child abuse.
Posting photos of some of the most prominent faces in Pakistan, Shaniera wrote: “Some of the toughest men Pakistan has ever produced are showing their softer side and coloring one nail to represent the millions of children who suffer every day at the hand of an adult. Our Pakistani heroes say ‘We WILL NOT tolerate child abuse in our country’.”
Some of the toughest men Pakistan has ever produced are showing their softer side & colouring one nail to represent the millions of children who suffer every day at the hand of an adult. Our Pakistani heroes say “We WILL NOT tolerate child abuse in our country” 💪#PolishedManPkpic.twitter.com/pM4fBf8W3q
A fisherman in Egypt, who had accidentally swallowed a live fish, survives after a group of medical officers at Beni Suef Specialist Hospital in Egypt, manage to retrieve the fish from his windpipe.
According to the attending physician, the 40-year-old fisherman in Cairo was holding the fish in his mouth, while he tried to catch another one. Unexpectedly, the fish slipped into his throat, causing him to choke.
He was immediately taken to the hospital’s emergency department, where the medical team managed to extract the fish, blocking his throat, and succeeded in saving his life. The doctors were surprised to find the fish alive after removing it from the man’s windpipe.
Deputy of plastic surgery Doctor Michael Ibrahim, ensuredthat the patient was out of danger and was admitted to the intensive care for observation.
While this fisherman was lucky to be alive, there was another incident in 2019, where a 49-year-old fisherman in Philippine died after found in a similar position, with fish stuck in his throat. His wife reportedthat he also had a habit of putting the fish he catches in his mouth so that it won’t get away, while he tries to catch more fish.
