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Tag: Canada

  • Canadian man celebrates COVID-19 vaccination with bhangra

    Canadian man celebrates COVID-19 vaccination with bhangra

    Canadian dancer Gurdeep Pandher celebrated his COVID-19 vaccine jab by dancing on a frozen lake.

    Sharing a video of himself dancing, Gurdeep told his followers that he received his COVID vaccine on March 2 and headed straight to the frozen lake in Yukon, Canada and did the bhangra to spread positivity and joy.

    A 55-second video clip shows Pandher performing upbeat bhangra steps on the frozen lake as he celebrated his vaccination.

    “Yesterday evening I received my Covid-19 vaccine. After that, I went to a frozen lake to dance bhangra on it for joy, hope and positivity, which I’m forwarding across Canada and beyond for everyone’s health and wellbeing,” wrote Gurdeep in the caption.

    Pandher’s video has gone viral on social media with over one million views on Twitter with users lauding the dancer for spreading smiles amid the pandemic.

    https://twitter.com/Christo75118472/status/1366782645879910406?s=20
  • Woman fined for walking husband on leash to escape curfew rules

    Woman fined for walking husband on leash to escape curfew rules

    A Canadian woman took her husband out on a leash in Sherbrooke city, Quebec to evade curfew rules amid COVID-19 lockdown.

    Authorities in Quebec have imposed a curfew between 8:00 pm and 5:00 am in the province with certain exemptions. Essential workers are allowed to travel and people who need to walk their pets are also allowed to go out.

    A woman went out on a walk with her husband on a leash to escape the curfew rules. When the police spotted the couple, they reportedly said: “We are following the rules for pets.”

    The woman claimed that she was walking her “dog”.

    Speaking to a local newspaper, police official Isabelle Gendron said: “The couple did not collaborate with the police at all. Statements of violation of the municipal by-law were given to them. The lady affirmed that she would not pay the ticket and even that she would accumulate them. The number of findings for recidivism can go up to $6,000.”

    They were each fined over Rs 0.194 million, said the police.

  • Canadian-Muslim’s ‘anthropological observations’ on Christmas go viral

    Canadian-Muslim’s ‘anthropological observations’ on Christmas go viral

    A Muslim man in Canada, who could not go to his family over the holidays due to the lockdown celebrated Christmas, for the first time and his heart-warming Twitter thread of ‘observations’ has gone viral on social media.

    Mohammad Hussain, who works as a special assistant for parliamentary affairs at the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Industry, expressing his views on the holidays said: “Growing up, my Muslim family never celebrated Christmas.”

    “This year I am not going home, because pandemic, so my roommates are teaching me how to have my first proper Christmas,” he continued. “I am approaching this with anthropological precision.”

    Hussain then listed a few things he had observed about the way his roommates celebrated the event.

    Hussain remarked that people spent more than their budget and that people had Christmas tree ornaments that were either ‘fillers’ or ‘keepers’.

    “The fillers are the generic ones. The keepers are meant to be more special and unique. This second stream is stored in your family’s reliquary to be one day passed on to the children,” he shared.

    Encouraged by his roommates to buy his own ‘keeper’ ornament, he bought a bagel decoration and was clearly not happy with the cost of it.

    “That cost me $15.99. That’s more than three everything bagels. I am furious,” he wrote. “For what it cost, you best believe that I am insisting that it be passed on to my great grandchildren. If they break it I will haunt them.”

    Hussain concluded his post by applauding Christmas celebrators. “This is a lot of work and very tiring.”

    “I will say I am having a very pleasant time. I am learning that I enjoy Christmas music and gift purchasing. I am also learning that I do not enjoy peppermint.”

    Hussain’s Twitter thread was liked by 170,000 people in less than 24 hours and widely shared on social media.

  • Netflix is raising streaming prices…do Pakistanis have to worry?

    Netflix is raising streaming prices…do Pakistanis have to worry?

    Netflix Inc has raised monthly charges in the United States for its standard and premium subscription plans.

    As per details, Netflix increased the cost of its standard subscription by $1 a month to $14, and the price for the premium tier rose by $2 per month to $18. The standard plan, the company’s most popular, enables two streams at the same time, while the premium plan allows for four simultaneous streams. Its basic plan, which allows only one stream at a time, remains unchanged at $9 a month.

    The price increase was the first for US customers since January 2019.

    The move had been widely expected after Netflix raised its prices in Canada earlier this month and then ended free 30-day trials in the US.

    The new prices will take effect starting immediately for new members while current members will be notified that their subscription is going up as it rolls out over the next few months.

    Read more – Every Pakistani girl wants to be ‘Emily in Paris’

    “We understand people have more entertainment choices than ever and we’re committed to delivering an even better experience for our members,” a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement. “We’re updating our prices so that we can continue to offer more variety of TV shows and films.”

    The spokesperson added that Netflix offers “a range of plans so that people can pick a price that works best for their budget.”

    Netflix, the world’s dominant streaming service, enjoyed a boom in subscriptions at the beginning of the year as viewers around the world were told to stay at home to help fight the coronavirus pandemic. The company expects to end 2020 with more than 200 million streaming subscribers around the world, with 73 million of those from the United States and Canada. It is pertinent to add here that after Netflix raised its US prices last year, the streaming service suffered a decline of 130,000 subscribers in the US and Canada from the end of March to the end of June.

    At the same time, it also is facing a growing list of competitors including Walt Disney Co’s Disney+, HBO Max from AT&T Inc and Apple Inc’s Apple TV+.

    Read more – Pakistan to get its own version of Netflix

    What does this mean for Pakistan?

    The question which comes to mind with this news is whether Pakistani audiences will be affected by this price rise. However, for now, prices for South Asian and Pakistani viewers remain unchanged and they will be unaffected by this price hike.

    You can subscribe to Netflix for Rs 950 – Rs 1,500 a month in Pakistan, depending on your plan.

  • Armeena Khan says the scripts and projects coming her way ‘killed her passion’ for acting

    Armeena Khan says the scripts and projects coming her way ‘killed her passion’ for acting

    Armeena Khan has often been in the headlines but it has been a while since we saw her on the screen. Her last drama outing was Daldal, which aired in 2017.

    Recently, one of her fans asked her why she hasn’t done any project lately.

    In response to that, Khan gave a detailed reply in which explained her reasons.

    “This is an interesting question, so I will try to give a detailed answer. People work for two reasons: Because they need financial stability (thankfully, that wasn’t the case for me) or because they have a passion or an incentive.”

    She further said that in the past she worked in the industry because she was passionate about the work she did. But now, she has no passion to work because of the scripts coming her way.

    “I used to get angry at the kind of projects that were coming my way. Why would you work for something that is killing your passion?”

    Khan believes that it’s not the actors’ or audience’s fault. It is the system that has some flaws. However, she plans to come to Pakistan whenever she is offered a decent project.

    Meanwhile, Armeena while responding to a follower on Twitter said that she would love to play a “strong, self-determined female character”.

    https://twitter.com/ArmeenaRK/status/1283050805172502528?s=20

    She also revealed that she has signed her next project.

    https://twitter.com/ArmeenaRK/status/1283045008501886978?s=20
    https://twitter.com/ArmeenaRK/status/1283043141675778055?s=20
  • Pakistan receives export orders of face masks from US, Canada and Europe

    Pakistan receives export orders of face masks from US, Canada and Europe

    Adviser to Prime Minister (PM) on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood has said that Pakistani exporters have received large orders of face masks from the United States (US), Canada and Europe.

    In a series of tweets on Thursday, he congratulated the exporters and termed their achievement a major breakthrough in the country’s export sector.

    “I have received information that some exporters have obtained large orders for face masks from US, Canada and Europe. This is a major breakthrough and I congratulate them for this achievement,” he tweeted.

    He further emphasised the need for Pakistani exporters to diversify into new segments in order to meet the changing global needs.

    “It is part of our strategy to diversify into new segments and this has been achieved by the exporters through their own efforts. I’m sharing this information with others to encourage them to seek more orders from different parts of the world,” he stated.

    Separately, the adviser stated that in order to achieve the target of agricultural exports, the government was striving hard to make space in the rice markets of the Middle East, North America and Africa.

    Talking to APP, he said the government intends to take the exports to the highest-ever level and in this regard, it was taking different measures to reclaim traditional markets besides getting access to new ones.

    “All members of the Rice Exports Association Pakistan (REAP) should prepare themselves for this opportunity so that they could get their orders approved in the Mexican market.”

    He further informed that rice export to Mexico was stagnant for the past few years but after the delegation’s visit, “we are hoping that our rice will be able to enter the Mexican market”.

    Dawood said that rice was the largest agro-export commodity in the country’s export basket, having a total volume of over $2 billion, which would be increased to $5 billion in the next five years.

  • Johnson & Johnson to stop selling baby powder in the US

    Johnson & Johnson to stop selling baby powder in the US

    Healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson will stop selling its talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder in the US and Canada. The firm faces many thousands of lawsuits from consumers who claim that its talc products caused their cancer.

    The move comes after years of trial where Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay out billions of dollars in compensation. The company has constantly defended the safety of its talc products.

    Johnson & Johnson said it would wind down sales of the product, which makes up about 0.5% of its US consumer health business, in the coming months, but that retailers would continue to sell existing inventory.

    The firm faces more than 16,000 consumer charges alleging that its talc products were contaminated with asbestos, a known carcinogen (a substance capable of causing cancer).

    The firm said that demand for Johnson’s Baby Powder had been declining in North America “due in large part to changes in consumer habits and fuelled by misinformation around the safety of the product”. It said it had faced “a constant barrage” of lawyers advertising for clients to sue the firm.

    “We remain steadfastly confident in the safety of talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder. Decades of independent scientific studies by medical experts around the world support the safety of our product,” it said.

    The firm added that the move was part of a reconsideration of its consumer products prompted by the coronavirus pandemic. It said in October that its testing had found no asbestos in its Baby Powder after tests conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration discovered trace amounts.

    The firm is appealing against a 2018 order to pay $4.7bn in damages to 22 women who alleged that its talc products caused them to develop ovarian cancer.

  • Canada’s Calgary Zoo to return two pandas to China due to shortage of bamboo

    Canada’s Calgary Zoo to return two pandas to China due to shortage of bamboo

    The Calgary Zoo in Canada is sending two giant pandas back to China due to a shortage of bamboo. A lack of flights due to the COVID-19 pandemic has caused issues with shipments of high-quality bamboo imported from China, forcing the zoo to make the difficult decision.

    “When you’re looking after the welfare of animals, you need to put the politics and business aside,” said Calgary Zoo president Dr Clement Lanthier. “It is too much of a risk for the health and welfare of (the pandas).”

    Er Shun and Da Mao have been in Calgary since March of 2018 and were expected to remain through 2024 as part of a 10-year agreement between Canada and China. The pair spent their first five years at the Toronto Zoo.

    The facility had originally been importing bamboo from China to Calgary directly but when those flights were cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis, they began receiving the bamboo via Toronto. However, when flights from China to Toronto were scaled back, it affected the regularity of their shipments. Delivery times were also slower than normal causing poor quality bamboo.

    They began bringing bamboo in from the United States but Er Shun and Da Mao refused to eat it, preferring the taste of Chinese bamboo instead.

    According to Dr Doug Whiteside, a senior veterinarian at The Calgary Zoo, this can happen because giant pandas have a specific taste and smell for bamboo and are selective eaters.

  • Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ can’t have Prince Harry – report

    Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ can’t have Prince Harry – report

    Prince Harry doesn’t want Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ to cover his life and has said that he will stop the production of the series before they cover his life. According to the Daily Express, Royal biographer Angela Levin revealed that Harry had told her about his plans when she had met him at Buckingham Palace.

    “Well Harry, when I went to interview him at the palace, the first thing he said to me when he shook my hand was ‘Are you watching The Crown?’… “And I had been at the time and I felt very embarrassed,” she added.

    “I got up and he said, ‘I’m going to make sure I stop it before they get to me,” she said.

    Prince Harry and his wife Meghan and son Archie are no longer working members of the Royal Family

    There are rumours that Netflix would be interested in working with Harry and Meghan. According to The Daily Mail, when Netflix’s chief content officer, Ted Sarando was asked if they would be interested in working with the couple, he said, “Who wouldn’t be interested?”

    READ MORE: Ahmed Ali Butt criticises Meghan, Harry for their decision to ‘step back’ from royal duties

    On the other hand, there are also reports that Netflix will not be covering present day royals. According to The Sun, Suzanne Mackie the executive producer of ‘The Crown’ said it’s unlikely it will ever cover today’s royals. She said: “To be honest, whatever the life of The Crown is after where we are now, I doubt we’ll ever go as far into the present day.”

    The Crown is currently chronicling Prince Charles life, who is Harry’s father

    ‘The Crown’ is a Netflix series that chronicles the life of Queen Elizabeth II and is in it’s third season.

    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have given up their royal titles to live an independent life in Canada. Latest pictures show Meghan hiking with baby Archie and Harry recently attended an event where he said that he was ‘sad‘ about the way things turned out.

    Meghan Markle, all smiles as she hikes in Canada with her son and dogs
    Harry returns to Canada after two weeks of being in England for the last of his royal engagements
  • Trying to get a travel-friendly passport? Canada, US no longer hotspots

    Trying to get a travel-friendly passport? Canada, US no longer hotspots

    If you’re thinking about applying for a US or Canadian passport, then you might have to think again.

    According to the Henley Passport Index, which ranks countries based on the power of their passports, Japan and Singapore have topped the list of the world’s most travel-friendly passports. Both countries’ passports allow access to 189 countries.

    South Korea, Finland and Germany are in the second tier, with citizens of all three countries able to visit 187 countries around the world without a prior visa. Finland has recently benefited from changes to Pakistan’s formerly highly restrictive visa policy which now offers an ETA (Electronic Travel Authority) to citizens of 50 countries, including Finland, Japan, Malta, Spain, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates.

    Denmark, Italy and Luxembourg are on third place in the index, with visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to 186 countries, while France, Spain and Sweden are in the fourth slot, with a score of 185.

    The US and the UK have slipped down to the 6th place, the lowest position either has held since 2010.

    Meanwhile, at No. 106, Pakistan is one of the worst passports in the world considering its citizens need a prior visa for all but 30 destinations worldwide. Afghanistan is at the bottom of the rankings, with its citizens needing a prior visa for all but 25 destinations worldwide.