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  • Gigi Hadid, Zayn Malik welcome baby girl

    Gigi Hadid, Zayn Malik welcome baby girl

    The day is finally here! Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik’s baby girl has arrived and the happy parents took to social media to make the announcement though they did not share any pictures of their baby.

    “Our baby girl is here, healthy & beautiful,” wrote Zayn on social media. “To try put into words how I am feeling right now would be an impossible task. The love I feel for this tiny human is beyond my understanding. Grateful to know her, proud to call her mine and thankful for the life we will have together.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CFgP88Ml0NF/

    Gigi also shared a picture of her and the baby’s hand and said, “Our girl joined us earth-side this weekend and she’s already changed our world. So in love.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CFgSR7mHV7y/

    Last week, Gigi’s parents Mohamed Hadid and Yolanda shared pictures of a fully pregnant Gigi and expressed their anticipation for their bundle of joy.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CFS8nOXHivI/
    https://www.instagram.com/p/CFWGNh7nWUn/

    Malik and Hadid, who have been dating on and off over the years, reportedly met at the 2015 Victoria’s Secret after-party, where the former One Direction musician recognised the model “from her picture”. In an interview, Zayn revealed that he asked her to have dinner with him at a New York City restaurant called Gemma.

    “She’s a very intelligent woman. She knows how to carry herself. She’s quite classy and that. She’s not, like, arrogant in any way, she’s confident. She carries it well. She’s cool,” Malik had said in the interview.

    They confirmed their romance in December 2015, though they have had several breakups along the way. Their most recent split happened in January 2019, and the couple spent nearly a year apart before they reportedly began casually talking again 11 months later.

    In April, the couple gave fans a surprise when they announced that they were expecting their first child together. While Gigi, initially kept details about her pregnancy off social media, telling fans that she wanted to use her platform to focus on the coronavirus pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests, she later posted a series of black-and-white maternity portraits in August. Hadid was in her third trimester when the photos were taken.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CEWoTaynvz2/
    https://www.instagram.com/p/CEWorgXniHr/
  • VIDEO: Electronics shop owner teaches daughters to repair things

    VIDEO: Electronics shop owner teaches daughters to repair things

    Naseeb Jamal, who runs an appliances repair shop in Qasba Colony, Karachi, has taught and trained his daughters to repair different things.

    In an interview with Urdu News, Jamal, who has eight daughters and one son, shared that he trained six of his daughters to fix and repair electronic devices, adding that he believes women are fast learners. 

    Talking about breaking the stereotypes, Jamal said: “People would gossip and called me a rebel. Even my mother said to me that what I was doing was not in line with our traditions and that it was not good for [my] girls to sit at the shop.”

    “I trust my daughters and want to equip them with skills in my supervision. What is wrong in that,” he questioned.

    “This is the way to strengthen women. They should not just be educated, but skilled as well. If they are skilled, they would bring more pride to their parents, to their country and also to their area,” he added. 

    https://www.facebook.com/UrduNewsCom/posts/2026777044126065

  • Saudi Arabia to resume Umrah gradually from October 4

    Saudi Arabia will gradually resume the year-round Umrah pilgrimage from October 4, the interior ministry said on Tuesday, seven months after it was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic.

    In the first stage, “6,000 citizens and residents within the Kingdom will be allowed to perform the umrah per day from October 4”, the ministry said in a statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency.

    Visitors from outside the Kingdom will be permitted from November 1, when Umrah’s capacity will be raised to 20,000 pilgrims per day, the ministry said.

    The Umrah, which refers to the Islamic pilgrimage to Makkah that can be undertaken at any time of year, attracts millions of Muslims from across the globe each year.

    The ministry said Umrah would be allowed to resume at full capacity once the threat of the pandemic is eliminated.

    Saudi Arabia suspended the Umrah in March and scaled back the annual Hajj over fears that the coronavirus could spread to the holiest cities.

    IN PICTURES: Hajj 2020

    The decision to resume Umrah was in response to the “aspirations of Muslims home and abroad” to perform the ritual and visit the holy sites, the interior ministry said.

    Saudi Arabia’s custodianship of Makkah and Madinah – two holiest sites – is seen as the Kingdom’s most powerful source of political legitimacy.

    The holy sites, which draw millions of pilgrims every year, are a key revenue earner for Saudi Arabia, which hopes to welcome 30 million pilgrims to the Kingdom annually by 2030.

  • Six top Pakistani banks named in global money laundering leaks

    Six top Pakistani banks named in global money laundering leaks

    Six Pakistani banks have been named in an investigation on the role global banks play in money laundering by Buzzfeed News and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), for 29 suspicious transactions close to $2.5 million.

    The banks named are Allied Bank, United Bank (UBL), Habib Metropolitan Bank, Bank Alfalah, Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan, and Habib Bank (HBL). All the suspicious transactions took place in 2011 and 2012. 

    Buzzfeed News had shared with ICIJ more than 2,100 suspicious activity reports, or SARs, filed by global banks to the U.S. Treasury Department’s intelligence unit, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN. 

    According to the investigation, global banks moved more than $2 trillion between 1999 and 2017 in suspicious payments, and flagged bank clients in more than 170 countries who were identified as being involved in potentially illicit transactions. 

    Banks file SARs when they believe a client is using services for potential criminal activity, though the filing in itself does not require a bank to stop doing business with a client. 

    According to the data revealed by ICIJ, 29 such suspicious transactions to and from Pakistan were flagged. Of those, the ‘received’ transactions amounted to $1,942,560, while the ‘sent’ transaction was $452,000.

    Allied Bank had 12 suspicious transactions flagged, receiving $1,001170; UBL had eight transactions flagged, receiving $399,620; Habib Metro had two transactions flagged, receiving $74,980; Bank Alfalah had three transactions flagged, receiving $99,480 and sending $452,000; Standard Chartered had four transactions flagged, receiving $199,860; and HBL had one transaction flagged, receiving $167,450. 

    Out of the 29 transactions, Standard Chartered filed 28 SARs with FinCEN, while The Bank of New York Mellon Corp., filed one. All of these transactions took place between September and December 2012, except for one transaction that took place in November 2011.

  • Lahore gets country’s first-ever 3D zebra crossing

    Lahore gets country’s first-ever 3D zebra crossing

    In a first, a 3D zebra crossing has been unveiled on Lahore’s Mall Road, it was announced by Commissioner Zulfiqar Ahmed Ghuman, who added that 20 different roads will be getting the same.

    In an official statement, the commissioner said that the latest 3D zebra crossing installation was done as part of a bigger plan by Metropolitan Corporation to introduce such crossings across Lahore.

    The idea behind the project is to attract attention to the proper usage of a zebra crossing other than the aesthetic value that the project is likely to provide, according to the commissioner. The novel zebra crossing has been designed as per international standards according to the commissioner.

    According to reports, 3D zebra crossings have been used worldwide in different countries, including Thailand, China, the United States (US), and the United Kingdom (UK). These crossings have proved to be very effective as they create an automatic caution among the drivers.

    Zebra crossings are an integral part of traffic and its rules. However, in Pakistan, these crossings have slowly vanished from most roads.

  • India stops Sikh pilgrims from attending Baba Guru Nanak’s death anniversary in Pakistan

    India stops Sikh pilgrims from attending Baba Guru Nanak’s death anniversary in Pakistan

    The Indian government has barred Sikh pilgrims from travelling to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartapur to take part in the 481st death anniversary rituals of Baba Guru Nanak.

    Pakistan in June had informed India that it was ready to reopen Kartarpur Corridor and invited New Delhi for a discussion on protocols for the safe visit of pilgrims during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The decision was taken after many Sikh pilgrims had started arriving from across the world to attend the event.

    The Foreign Office (FO) also wrote two letters to its Indian counterpart regarding the arrival of Sikh pilgrims in Pakistan through the corridor. The first letter was written on June 27 and the second on August 27, but New Delhi did not respond to either.

    The pilgrims have been taking part in the 481st death anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak at Kartarpur for the past three days. Tuesday was the last day of the event.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Maryam Nawaz’s APC outfit details revealed

    EXCLUSIVE: Maryam Nawaz’s APC outfit details revealed

    Maryam Nawaz’s look at the opposition’s All Parties’ Conference has been the talk of the town.

    The Vice President (VP) of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) dazzled in an emerald green raw silk outfit with statement sleeves which she accessorized with matching Manolo Blahnik shoes, a Rolex watch and a diamond ring. Maryam completed her look with small green earrings.

    Inside sources have revealed to The Current that Maryam designed her outfit herself and did not wear a designer for the occasion. Check out more pictures of her outfit below:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CFXGpY9h_Sx/

  • Shaan says Noor Jehan’s house should be converted into a museum, Vasay Chaudhry disagrees

    Shaan has a new suggestion for the government.

    Responding to the news which stated that the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has decided to allocate Rs50 million to renovate and restore the Kapoor Haveli and other historical buildings in Peshawar, Shaan remarked that the same should be done with Madam Noor Jehan’s house.

    “Madam Noor Jahan’s house has become a plaza,” said Shaan. “Sad, our legends deserve it to.”

    However, Vasay Chaudhry disagreed with Shaan’s suggestion saying that the legendary singer sold it out of her “own will”.

    Shaan then said that the government should have bought her house and converted it into a museum. In response, Vasay said that the government honoured her in her lifetime and “buying her house (especially when she was not even in the need for money) doesn’t make sense, given the economic situation of our country.”

    Shaan later said that he believes that Madam Noor Jehan, Mehdi Hassan and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan all should be given the same honour and that they are inspirational people.

    It is being assumed that Shaan is referring to the house which was located in Liberty, Lahore. Noor Jehan reportedly sold that in 1997 to finance her treatment in the United States.

  • VIDEO: Punjab’s Chohan comments on opposition’s APC in video message with M16A4 assault rifle

    VIDEO: Punjab’s Chohan comments on opposition’s APC in video message with M16A4 assault rifle

    Punjab Information Minister Fayazul Hasan Chohan has made headlines again. Not for his comments about the opposition’s all parties conference (APC) in a video message from Monday afternoon, but for getting it recorded with an assault rifle in the background.

    The video shows the weapon, which appears to be an M16A4 assault rifle, leaning against the wall.

    According to Chohan, the gun is licensed and he carries it with him and keeps it at his office because he has been receiving death threats.

    “I received a letter from terrorists threatening my life two months back,” he told SAMAA TV. “There are three other guns in my office and all of them are for security and are licensed.”

    He said the person behind the camera, who was one of his office staff, forgot to remove the gun. “I didn’t see the video myself because I had to rush for a meeting after the recording,” the minister added.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    The guns are usually hidden under the table in the minister’s office.

    PENALTY?

    According to Section 11B of the Pakistan Arms Ordinance, 1965, “the carrying or display of arms at fairs or in gatherings or processions of a political, religious, ceremonial or sectarian character or in the premises of courts of law or public offices” is prohibited.

    Noncompliance can result in the suspension or cancellation of the weapons’ licence, fines and imprisonment for at least seven years.

    ARREST DEMANDED:

    Earlier, Chohan said that the APC was “nothing but an attempt to protect corruption and find more chances to plunder public money”.

    While the minister spoke at length against rival Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), opposition members have hit back at Chohan with the demand for his arrest.

    PPP lawmaker from Punjab, Syed Hassan Murtaza, demanded that Chohan be arrested for display of weapon in his video message.

    Murtaza stated that displaying a gun in a video message by a provincial minister was tantamount to threatening political rivals, adding that a common citizen would have been arrested and tried for such a vieo.

    “It is strange how ‘non-political’ police have not taken any action against the minster so far.”

  • VIDEO: Thief arrested after falling asleep in AC room during robbery

    VIDEO: Thief arrested after falling asleep in AC room during robbery

    A thief fell asleep in the comfort of an AC room during a robbery.

    According to details, the 21-year-old man who attempted to rob a house in India’s Andhra Pradesh’s East Godavari district fell asleep under the bed of the owner during a burglary. The police caught him red-handed.

    Suri Babu, after doing a recce of the house, tried to loot a petrol pump’s owner house. He had carefully noted the daily routine of Satti Venkat Reddy, the house’s owner, where he keeps his money, what time he goes to sleep, etc.

    One night Babu entered the unlocked house at 4 am and stepped inside Reddy’s room who was by then fast asleep.

    The owner had kept the cash on his side table that night. Meanwhile, unable to resist the temptation of a cool comfortable room, Babu slept under the owner’s bed.

    Read more – Gang of ‘half-naked robbers’ spark fear among residents of Khushab

    Waking up to Babu’s snoring, Reddy immediately called the police.

    When the police arrived Babu locked himself inside the room. However, after a lot of persuasions, he finally opened the door and confessed to his crime.

    https://twitter.com/naartthigan/status/1306612613317500928?s=20

    “He told us that he was tired and since the air conditioner was also on, he could not resist going to sleep in the cool room,” narrated a constable from the Gokavaram police station.

    The police revealed that Babu ran a small sweet shop but didn’t make much money out of it. Drowned in debts, he thought a theft would help him come out of his financial problems. Though he failed at committing the crime, he has been arrested for attempting to steal.