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  • BBC’s list of 100 novels that shaped our world include books by Mohsin Hamid, Kamila Shamsie

    BBC’s list of 100 novels that shaped our world include books by Mohsin Hamid, Kamila Shamsie

    Pakistani authors Mohsin Hamid and Kamila Shamsie have made it to BBC’s 100 novels that shaped our world list. The list features renowned authors from across the world making it a great honour for both the authors to be featured on the list.

    BBC, as part of their year-long celebration of literature, shared a list of ‘100 novels that shaped our world,’ which have been written over the last 300 years.

    An expert panel consisting of six leading British writers, curators and critics were part of the compilation that featured books that have made a large cultural and personal impact on a global scale.

    The list features work ranging from classics to contemporary writers from around the world and has been organised into themes which are: Identity, Love, Sex and Romance, Adventure, Life, Death and Other Worlds, Politics, Power and Protest, Class and Society, Coming of Age, Family and Friendship, Crime and Conflict and Rule Breakers.

    While Kamila’s Home Fire was listed in the ‘Politics, Power & Protest’ category, Hamid’s novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist was part of the ‘Crime & Conflict’ category.

    BBC’s list ranges from classics to contemporary, with works like Jane Austin’s Pride & Prejudice and JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series making it in their own genres.

  • PIA launches a mobile app for booking flights

    PIA launches a mobile app for booking flights

    Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has introduced a mobile application to facilitate passengers in online bookings and confirmation of seats.

    The PIA app features a user-friendly interface. It allows the user to perform several functions, including booking their flight directly from their mobile phones, checking their booking status, and monitoring the status of their flight.

    “The application has recently been launched and now the air passengers will enjoy improved services. The airline’s overall seat factor has improved and reached nearly 84 percent while on some sectors, the seat factor is at 90 percent,” a PIA spokesman told state-run wire service.

    As per reports, significant improvement was obvious in different pointers like seat occupancy ratio, aircraft utilization, cargo load factor and customer service.

    The mobile app even generates a digital boarding pass for an easier check-in experience.

  • School children file petition in Lahore High Court against toxic smog

    School children file petition in Lahore High Court against toxic smog

    School children from Lahore have lodged an appeal in the Lahore High Court (LHC) against the hazardous level of smog and air pollution in the Punjab province.

    Leila Alam and her class fellows through their appeal aim to draw the acting Chief Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh’s attention towards the worsening air quality in Lahore and its surrounding areas.

    The children’s lawyer, Rafay Alam, told the court that the Environment Protection Department, Punjab, measured the air quality index (AQI) of 182 as safe to breathe when by international standards the index should not cross 50.

    Last week, the city’s air quality index crossed safe limits and was recorded at well over 400. The city also has continued to be engulfed by a toxic blanket of smog since October.

    Health experts say that children and the elderly are most vulnerable to toxic air. The LHC has directed the Punjab government to submit its reply in the next hearing.

  • Four-day workweek increases productivity by 40%, reveals Microsoft experiment

    One of the world’s leading technology company Microsoft tested out a four-day workweek in its Japan offices and discovered that employees were not only happier – but significantly more productive.

    According to The Guardian, Microsoft experimented with a new project called Work-Life Choice Challenge Summer 2019 in the month of August. Under the program, the company’s entire 2,300-person workforce were given five Fridays off in a row without decreasing pay.

    The shortened weeks led to more efficient meetings, happier workers and boosted productivity by a whopping 40%.

    In addition to the increased productivity, employees took 25% less time off during the trial and electricity use was down 23% in the office. Employees printed 59% fewer pages of paper during the trial. The vast majority of employees – 92% – said they liked the shorter week as it led to a better work-life balance.

    Read more: ‘Burn-out’ is real, WHO recognises it as a medical condition

    This is not the first time long weekends have been experimented with in the corporate world. Previously in 2018, a New Zealand trust management company also trialled a four-day workweek over two months for its 240 staff members. Employees reported experiencing better work-life balance and improved focus in the office while staff stress levels decreased by 7%.

    Meanwhile, an experiment published by the Harvard Business Review shows that shorter workdays, a decrease from the average 8-hour workday to a 6-hour workday, increased productivity.

  • Men dig up woman’s body from grave, say area only reserved for feudal lords

    Men dig up woman’s body from grave, say area only reserved for feudal lords

    Influential men dig up and removed a woman’s body from her grave allegedly annoyed that she was buried near their local feudal landlords.

    As per reports, men also attacked the deceased woman’s relatives in the Sakhi Hassan Graveyard of Rahim Yar Khan’s Khan Bela neighborhood, hurting at least three of them.

    The men had reserved graves for feudal landlords without the local administration’s permission. They were upset that a woman who was not related to the landlords had been buried near their self-allocated graves and, therefore, desecrated the burial area.

    Read More: Men dig up grave to rape woman’s dead body

    Rahim Yar Khan police said they have registered a first information report (FIR) over the incident and made sure that the woman whose body had been removed was buried again.

    The injured people were shifted to a nearby hospital whereas the other relatives of the family protested against the injustice. FIR was registered against more than 15 suspects. Authorities arrested at least two of the men suspects.

  • 11-year-old Pakistani boy sets new World record

    11-year-old Pakistani boy sets new World record

    An 11-year-old boy from Karachi has set a new Guinness World Record.

    Aima’az Ali Abro set the record by identifying most countries from their outline in one minute.

    A post on the Guinness World Record reads, “The most countries identified from their outline in one minute is 57 and was achieved by Aima’az Ali Abro in Karachi, Pakistan, on 8 October 2019.”

    The boy is a resident of Karachi’s North Nazimabad area. After setting the Guinness World Record, the boy is determined to win a Nobel prize too.

  • How to apply for Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship programme?

    How to apply for Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship programme?

    Prime Minister, Imran Khan has launched a needs-based undergraduate scholarships under the Ehsaas programme. 

    Under the programme, 50,000 scholarships will be given to deserving students with a special focus on disadvantaged areas of the country. The scholarships awarded by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) will be valid in both public and participating private sector universities and colleges.

    Who can apply?

    The eligibility criteria for the scholarship programme is:

    These undergraduate scholarships apply to the public sector and the participating non-profit private sector colleges and universities.

    Students admitted on merit at any public sector university.

    Family income should be below the poverty threshold.

    How to Apply?

    Follow the following steps to apply for Ehsaas Scholarship Programme

    Apply online at HEC’s portal of Ehsaas Programme. Here is the link of the website:

    https://ehsaas.hec.gov.pk/hec-portal-web/auth/login.jsf

     Submit properly filled forms at the Financial Aid Office of the respective university

    Applications sent directly to HEC or BISP will not be entertained

  • Kate and William’s Pakistan tour in-flight menu revealed

    Kate and William’s Pakistan tour in-flight menu revealed

    The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge undertook a whirlwind tour of Pakistan late October. While it has been a couple of days since they left, the couple is still sneaking into our conversations as we reminiscence the days they spent here.

    Little details of their trip continue to excite us and a chef has now revealed what Kate and William ate on their flights as they travelled to different places within Pakistan.

    Read more: Royal Visit Day 2 – Kate & William explore the mountainous North

    Chef Samina Gul, a former Professional Cookery student at University College Birmingham, shared pictures of the food the royal couple ate while in-flight during their recent five-day tour of Pakistan.

    Fresh salad with beetroot and quinoa

    Samina Gul, a product development chef with Pakistan’s KC Flight Catering, made elevenses, afternoon tea and dinner for Prince William and Kate on two of their Royal Air Force flights during their visit. KC Flight Catering is the largest private in-flight catering operator in Pakistan.

    Samina shared pictures of her delicious delicacies on Facebook and we have to say they look mouth-watering.

    And it appears that the people on the flight loved the food because Samina’s company received a letter from the catering manager of 101 Squadron Royal Air Force, Sgt Steve Roberts, expressing his appreciation of the in-flight chefs’ services and hard work.

    EXCLUSIVE: What did Mehwish Hayat & Prince William talk about and other inside details from the grand royal reception

    Previously, Samina also got to cook for Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during one of his visits to the country.

  • Men dig up grave to rape woman’s dead body

    Men dig up grave to rape woman’s dead body

    A group of unidentified men dug up the grave of a woman in Karachi’s Landhi Town area and raped the dead body.

    As per reports, the deceased’s family did not want to file any cases concerning the horrible incident. A large number of the late woman’s relatives and neighbors reached Ismail Goth Graveyard after they were informed of the dreadful act. They were told that a group of men had dug up the grave and raped the body who had been buried just one day earlier.

    Meanwhile, it is unclear how many men were involved in the act.

    The family said the undertaker responsible for the maintenance of the graveyard had told them that a dog had removed the slab from the grave. However, it appeared impossible for an animal to remove the slab.

    Police have collected evidence from the site of the crime and confirmed that the grave-digger had disappeared but the search for him and his accomplices in underway.

    The late woman’s relatives said that they will not be taking any legal action over the incident but appealed that such incidents should not take place in the future.

  • Air purifier installed at Taj Mahal to save it from smog

    Air purifier installed at Taj Mahal to save it from smog

    New Delhi and the areas surrounding the city have been engulfed by a cloud of smog which is choking the city and its residents. The air quality index has reached hazardous levels as the Indian capital has been hit by the worst pollution in three years. A public health emergency has been declared and people have been advised to stay indoors.

    According to a report in Khaleej Times, as smog levels exceeded, authorities parked a van with an air purifier near the Taj Mahal – the iconic 17th-century marble mausoleum 250 kilometres (150 miles) south of Delhi – in a bid to clean the air in its surrounds.

    The air purifier van deployed by the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) has the capacity to purify 15 lakh cubic metre air in eight hours within a 300-metre radius.

    Regional Officer of UPPCB Bhuvan Yadav shared that a mobile air purifier van has been deployed at the west gate of the Taj Mahal keeping in mind the developing situation and consistent deterioration in air quality.

    Pollution around the white marble mausoleum has been a cause of concern for a long time as it has been damaging the monument, one of the seven wonders of the world. Pollution causes the white marble of the monument to turn yellow.

    Read more: Air purifiers that are effective and available

    Meanwhile, the Delhi government has declared a public health emergency in the city following the deterioration in air quality. The local government also directed the closure of all schools till November 5 in the interest of the health and safety of children. Free pollution masks were also handed to the children to limit their exposure.

    Construction work in the city has been put on hold and private cars have been banned on the roads to limit pollution.

    According to a recent study, almost one million Indians died prematurely every year as a result of inhaling this pollution-ridden smog. Experts have warned that both state and national governments needed to go beyond short-term remedies and find a solution to combat this problem which hits every year.

    Read more: Tips to beat the toxic smog this winter

    Across the border, Lahore is also suffering from the effects of smog. The air quality index in the city has also reached hazardous levels making breathing tiresome for the residents.