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Category: Lifestyle

  • Immigration staff to welcome passengers with chocolates

    Immigration staff to welcome passengers with chocolates

    Following complaints of incidents of indiscipline and rude behaviour by Islamabad International Airport’s immigration staff on the Citizen’s Complaint Portal, Deputy Director Immigration Sajid Hussain Khokar of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has passed new instructions which directed immigrations staff to be more welcoming.

    According to the orders, the immigration staff has been directed to welcome the passengers with phrases like ‘Assalaam u Alaikum’, ‘Good Morning’, and ‘Good Evening’ according to the time of the day.

    After a passenger is done with the legal formalities, the staff will have to say ‘Thank you’ or ‘Shukriya’. The immigration staff will also give chocolates to passengers as a goodwill gesture. In case a passenger is found with fake travelling documents or misbehaves with the immigration staff, the staff must exercise the lawful and legal authority conferred upon them.

    CCTV cameras have also been installed inside lock-ups, offices of the assistant directors, and restrooms of staff to monitor their behaviour.

    The staff is directed to make sure that there is only a single queue to end VIP culture at the airports. However, a separate line will still be in place for diplomats and ambassadors to facilitate them.

  • Musharraf’s hand-written note for son is endearing

    Musharraf’s hand-written note for son is endearing

    Son of former president and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General (retired) Pervez Musharraf, Bilal Musharraf shared an emotional letter that his father had sent him back in 1994.

    The letter, dated July 18, 1994, was penned when the former president was posted as Director General Military Operations in the Pakistan Army and contained career advice for Bilal.

    “Be honest, straightforward and upright in all your dealings; fair and just in your decisions,” read the letter. “Be bold and just in decision making – not impulsive and definitely not over-calculating. You have to strike the correct balance.”

    Musharraf further stressed that confidence is the key to life and asked his son to be humble and sympathise with the needy and the helpless.

    Bilal later deleted the letter from Twitter saying that it felt “self-promotional.”

    On December 17, a special court in Pakistan had sentenced Musharraf to death in the long-drawn high treason case against him. The case against the former president related to the imposition of emergency rule in Pakistan in 2007.

  • Wrong spellings trend on Twitter after govt also wishes Merry ‘Chrismas’

    With Christians across the globe celebrating Christmas on Wednesday, a hashtag wherein the holiday was misspelled, started trending on Twitter.

    Funnily enough, the official handle of Government of Pakistan also tweeted using the hashtag.

    https://twitter.com/pid_gov/status/1209729795522809856

    While the origin of the spellings has not yet been determined, here’s how ‘Chrismas’ is being wished over the micro-blogging website, all across the globe.

    MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE CURRENT!

  • Second marriage? Avail a discount

    Second marriage? Avail a discount

    If you want to get a discount at a wedding hall in Bahawalpur, you have to get married again! On your second, third or fourth marriage, a wedding hall in Bahawalpur offers special packages to men. The only caveat is that the first wife has to make the booking.

    According to Samaa News, the owner of Al-Farooq Marriage Hall said that they offer 50 percent discount to men getting married for the second time, 75 percent to men getting married the third time and if men get married for the fourth time, they can get the hall for free at their valima. Talk about incentives!

    “Many people have told them that they can’t afford second weddings, so I thought of giving them an offer and making their lives a little simpler,” he told SAMAA TV. “We are in the business of bringing people together, we don’t want relationships to fall apart.”

  • Feroza Aziz is back with another hidden message

    Feroza Aziz is back with another hidden message

    A video by a beauty vlogger went viral on TikTok. Video of Afghan-American TikToker, Feroza Aziz has a hidden message about the Indian Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA 2109). The video starts with a skincare routine and then Feroza starts talking about Indian CAA that violates human rights.

    According to the Indian government, CAA 2019 is supposed to grant citizenship to religious minorities that have taken refuge in India till 2014. Except for the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB 2019) makes it a point to exclude Muslims. The law requires Indian Muslims to prove their origins in India otherwise they will lose their citizenship.

    This 17-year old TikToker made a video with the hidden message about China’s treatment of Xinjiang Uighur Muslims before.

  • Special hunting permit issued to King of Bahrain for rare houbara bustard

    Special hunting permit issued to King of Bahrain for rare houbara bustard

    Special permits have been issued by the federal government to King of Bahrain Sheikh Hamad bin Isa bin Salman al Khalifa and five of his family members to hunt the internationally-protected houbara bustard during the 2019-20 hunting season. The permits were delivered to the Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain in the federal capital and had the names of hunters and the areas allocated to them.

    According to a report in Dawn News, the king and his hunting party which includes his uncle, his country’s interior minister, adviser on defence, cousins, and other people have been granted special permission to hunt the endangered bird in different districts of Pakistan including Jamshoro district, Sujawal district, Naushahro Feroze district in Sindh, Jaffarabad district in Balochistan, Tando Mohammad Khan, Hyderabad and Malir (excluding Malir Cantonment and Dhabeji areas) districts.

    Under a code of conduct issued by the foreign ministry, a hunter can hunt 100 houbara bustards in a 10-day hunting spree during the three-month-long hunting season between Nov 1, 2019 and Jan 31, 2020.

    Though the houbara bustard belongs to the colder central Asian region, every winter it migrates southwards towards the relatively warm environment here.

    Ruthless hunting by Arab hunters has resulted in a sharp decline in its population because of which it is protected under various international nature conservation conventions and a ban on its hunting has been imposed – Pakistanis are not allowed to hunt this bird.

    Previously, Prime Minister Imran Khan had been very critical of Nawaz Sharif’s government for permitting the hunting of the rare bird.

  • Lahoris, want a blow-dry on a budget?

    Lahoris, want a blow-dry on a budget?

    Blow drys have gotten SO expensive. To make life easier and cheaper for Lahori women, we spent two weeks reviewing salons in different areas that offer cheap blow-drys. The results are:

    Pinhaan Bridal Salon and Institute

    Location: F-Block Moon Heights, Johar Town

    Experience: The worst experience. Don’t go here

    Pro: The only pro I could think of is that at the time I got the blow dry, I felt like it would be good (?)

    Con: The girl doing the blow-dry pulled my hair so badly, it still hurts. The hair mousse that made my hair super sticky. I had to wash my hair the next day and the girl who did the blow dry pulled it so hard, it still hurts.

    Charges

    Inwards: Rs 700

    Outwards: Rs 800

    Raheela’s Salon

    Location: Q9 Model Town, Link Road

    Experience – Average though the lady who washed my hair Habiba was very charming

    Pro – Curls stayed for a longer time

    Con – “Haircut ki zaroorat hai aap ko.”  Will this ever stop?

    Charges:

    Straight blow dry: Rs 600

    Outwards/Inwards: Rs 800

    Asma T Salon

    Location: MM Alam Road, Block C1 ,Gulberg III

    Experience – Better than the rest

    Pro – The girl was gentle with the hair. It did not hurt at all.

    Con – No volume

    Charges

    Straight blow dry: Rs 600

    Outwards/Inwards: Rs 1,000

    Color Me Up

    Location: Plaza # 77, Block-DD CCA, Phase 4, DHA

    Experience – The best out of all

    Pro – Staff was really nice. After two days, my hair did not look bad or messy. Curls stayed even after two days.

    Con – N/A

    Charges – Rs 800

  • Police say waiters at Cafe Aylanto guilty of supplying liquor

    The investigation into a raid at Lahore’s popular Cafe Aylanto on MM Alam Road in September has held three of its waiters guilty.

    According to a report in Dawn News, the police concluded the case by holding three waiters responsible after a joint raid was conducted by the excise department and police at the restaurant in September. The police have submitted the investigation report to the court for further proceeding. No further details regarding the incident have been shared as to why the waiters have been held responsible instead of the owner.

    Cafe Aylanto was sealed on September 7 after a raiding party, led by Excise and Taxation Officer (ETO) Masood Bashir Warraich and Model Town assistant commissioner, had claimed recovering imported liquor from the restaurant. An FIR [First Information Report] had been lodged and interestingly did not include the restaurant owner’s name and only 13 employees — mostly waiters — were arrested at the time. Several bottles of liquor were also seized and a criminal case against the outlet’s administration was lodged.

    Warraich had earlier been accused of deliberately delaying the renewal of liquor licences of four hotels in Lahore after their managements allegedly refused to pay him 30 percent commission from daily liquor sales.

    “I am being accused of corruption just because I implemented the rules,” Warraich had said while rejecting the claims, adding that before he took charge, all four hotels were selling over 100,000 liquor bottles each illegally every day which reduced to about 8,000 each after he intervened.

    After the incident, Gulberg circle ASP Abdul Wahab and Warraich had been transferred from their position. However, later it was revealed that the officers had committed no violation and their transfers were politically motivated.

    A source said that many in police circles believed that someone in Islamabad’s power corridors took up the matter, ensuring the officer’s ouster from Punjab knowing that he had committed no mistake.

    The case was lodged against the café on an application submitted by excise inspector Akhtar Zaman Sindhu. Before taking action against the ASP, an impression was created that the contents of the first information report (FIR) were changed in favour of the café owner.

    However, during the investigation, the allegations were proved false as the contents of the application and the FIR appeared the same, the source added.

  • Here’s when and how you can observe rare solar eclipse

    Here’s when and how you can observe rare solar eclipse

    On December 26th, people living in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia will witness the rare annular (ring-shaped) solar eclipse. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the solar eclipse will be visible in Pakistan as well.

    According to PMD, this rare eclipse was last witnessed in Pakistan 20 years ago. The annular solar eclipse will begin at 7:00AM and will end at 1:00PM and will be visible in Karachi, Quetta, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, and Gilgit.

    Here are the details:

    Islamabad

    • Begins: 07:50 AM
    • Best View: 08:58 AM
    • Ends: 10:15 AM
    • Duration: 2 hours 26 minutes

    Lahore

    • Begins: 07:47
    • Best View: 08:58 AM
    • Ends: 10:19 AM
    • Duration: 2 hours 32 minutes

    Karachi

    • Begins: 07:34 AM
    • Best View: 08:46 AM
    • Ends: 10:10 AM
    • Duration: 2 hours 37 minutes

    Peshawar

    • Begins: 07:48 AM
    • Best View: 08:56 AM
    • Ends: 10:13 AM
    • Duration: 2 hours 25 minutes

    Quetta

    • Begins: 07:39 AM
    • Best View: 08:48 AM
    • Ends: 10:08 AM
    • Duration: 2 hours 29 minutes

    The annular solar eclipse is also called the ‘Ring of Fire’ because only the boundaries of the sun will be observable from behind the moon.

    In the excitement of witnessing this rare eclipse, don’t forget to take some abolutely necessary precautions.

    Those want to see the eclipse are advised not to look at the sun directly. The ultraviolet radiation from the sun can be harmful for the eyes.

    You should use these while looking at the eclipse:

    • Eclipse glasses
    • Solar filters
    • Projectors

    Do not use these when looking at the eclipse:

    • Sunglasses of any kind
    • Color film
    • Medical X-ray film
    • Smoked glass
    • Floppy disks

  • PTA warns WhatsApp users of a possible malware attack

    PTA warns WhatsApp users of a possible malware attack

    The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication have directed the WhatsApp users to follow Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) instructions to avoid malware attacks.

    As per reports, the PTA has advised the public to keep WhatsApp and device Operating Systems updated to avoid these malware attacks.

    WhatsApp accounts are being hacked by a malware attack, the ministry had already released an advisory for federal government officials on the problem, to minimize the possibility of any infection.

    WhatsApp is one of the most used messaging apps with almost 1.5 billion active users around the world but now users will have to update their devices if they wish to use the app.