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Waqas Dar

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Blog Entries posted by Waqas Dar

  1. Waqas Dar
    LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has issued a statement clarifying the transport arrangements for the women?s team following its return from the ICC Women?s World Cup, in response to the controversy created by a viral video of a player heading home on a motorbike with her father.
    ?The PCB wishes to clarify that as per the usual practice all logistical arrangements were made for the national women?s team on their arrival from England, Monday June 17. There was a bus ready to take the players to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and from there to their homes if needed,? the board said in a statement on Thursday.
    ?Officials from the Women?s Wing were present to facilitate the players and management, some of the players though opted to return home through their own transport with their families after seeking due permission from the team manager. The PCB regrets news items in certain sections of print and electronic media that erroneously claimed that there were no arrangements made for players? return from the airport,? the statement read.
    Pakistan women's team player seen on a bike after returning home from the World Cup Some reports in the media had claimed there were no PCB officials present at the airport to receive the players, nor were there any transport arrangements for them upon their arrival in Lahore after a woeful campaign in the World Cup.
    A video of a player from the team had also gone viral on social media, showing her returning home with her father on a motorbike.
    Pakistan lost all seven of their matches in the Women's World Cup currently underway in England, ending up last on the points table.


  2. Waqas Dar
    Meet newlyweds Shaurya and Sanjana Mehta. They're both major Game Of Thrones fans.

    Photo: Reels & Frames They threw a GoT-themed event for their wedding.
    Longclaw blessed the couple with its presence. Photo: Reels & Frames The event's decor was full of references from the show: Photo: Reels & Frames The event's decor was full of references from the show: Photo: Reels & Frames
    The venue was adorned with the sigils of the four most prominent houses in Westeros.

    Photo: Reels & Frames An actual Iron Throne was exclusively made for the event that was held in Udaipur.

    Photo: Reels & Frames Guests also got to see three custom-made dragon eggs. 

    Photo: Reels & Frames The couple's friends and family raised their swords to welcome them to their new beginnings as "Winds of Winter" played in the background.

    Photo: Reels & Frames We wish the couple summers all year long and a love that's blessed by the Seven Gods.

    Photo: Reels & Frames



  3. Waqas Dar
    President Donald Trump holds a Marucci baseball bat in the Blue Room during a ?Made in America? product showcase event at the White House in Washington, DC, on July 17, 2017. Photo: AFP/file WASHINGTON: Donald Trump took office trailing a string of promises made during a bruising election campaign.
    Six months into his presidency, here is where the 45th occupant of the White House stands in fulfilling some of the most notable promises in his ambitious agenda:
    BUILD A WALL ALONG THE SOUTHERN BORDER, MAKE MEXICO PAY FOR IT
    Trump issued an executive order on January 25, five days after taking office, directing the Department of Homeland Security to identify and allocate funding for "planning, designing, and constructing" the barrier along the US-Mexico border.
    The anti-illegal immigration project has been stalled, however, by Mexico´s refusal to pay for the wall and reluctance in Congress to dedicate funding for the barrier, which could cost as much as $20 billion according to some estimates.
    STATUS: INCOMPLETE
    PULL US OUT OF PARIS CLIMATE CHANGE ACCORD
    Trump annnounced on June 1 that the United States will withdraw from the 196-nation Paris agreement on climate change and seek to negotiate a new global deal.
    Declaring that he was "elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris," the US president complained that the accord signed under Barack Obama was giving other countries an unfair advantage over US industry and destroying American jobs.
    Because of the wording of the agreement, the earliest possible date for an official US withdrawal from the accord is November 4, 2020 -- just one day after the country´s next presidential election.
    STATUS: PROMISE KEPT
    REPEAL AND REPLACE OBAMACARE
    Trump pledged to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act -- better known as Obamacare -- within the first 100 days of his presidency.
    But he was thwarted this week when the Republican-controlled Senate failed to come up with the votes to overturn the health law.
    The White House insisted, however, that the fight was not over and Trump said he intended to "let Obamacare fail" and come up with a new bill.
    STATUS: PROMISE BROKEN
    NAME A CONSERVATIVE SUPREME COURT JUSTICE
    Trump promised during the campaign to nominate a conservative Supreme Court justice to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, a right-wing icon on the court who died in February 2016.
    Trump named federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch, 49, a Scalia disciple, to the vacant seat and Gorsuch was confimed 54-45 by the Senate.
    STATUS: PROMISE KEPT
    BLOCK ENTRY OF MUSLIMS INTO THE US
    During the campaign, Trump controversially called for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States" until US lawmakers "can figure out what is going on."
    Since taking office, however, his efforts to temporarily ban entry into the United States of citizens from six Muslim-majority countries have met with repeated challenges from lower courts.
    But Trump secured a partial victory as the Supreme Court approved a temporary ban on nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen who cannot prove that they have close family relations in the United States.
    STATUS: PROMISE PARTIALLY KEPT
    TRADE: PULL OUT OF TPP, RENEGOTIATE NAFTA
    Trump withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership -- the trade agreement with 11 Pacific nations -- within days of taking office.
    Formal talks with Canada and Mexico on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement could begin as early as August, according to The Washington Post.
    STATUS: PROMISE KEPT
    RENEGOTIATE THE NUCLEAR DEAL WITH IRAN
    During the campaign, Trump derided the 2015 agreement aimed at curbing Iran´s nuclear ambitions as "the worst deal ever."
    The United States imposed fresh sanctions on Iran on Tuesday over its ballistic missile program, but Trump has not followed through so far on his threat to force Tehran to renegotiate the accord.
    STATUS: INCOMPLETE
    DEFEAT DAESH
    Trump pledged during the campaign to crush the Daesh group in Iraq and Syria, and the Pentagon presented him in February with the outlines of a plan to do so.
    Since then, Daesh fighters have been driven out of Mosul and Raqa, the capital of the so-called caliphate, is under seige.
    STATUS: INCOMPLETE
    IMPROVE RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA
    Trump repeatedly praised Vladimir Putin while on the campaign trail and said he would improve US relations with Russia if he was elected president.
    But Trump´s fledgling administration has been dogged by charges that members of his campaign may have colluded with Russia to get him elected. A special prosecutor is looking into the allegations.
    Trump met face-to-face with Putin at the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg this month and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said they had "clear positive chemistry" during "very constructive" talks.
    What comes of it remains to be seen.
    STATUS: UNCERTAIN


  4. Waqas Dar
    PARIS: One third of dementia cases can be prevented with some basic lifestyle changes and better education during childhood, according to a study published in The Lancet.

    Nearly 50 million people around the world suffer from dementia and Alzheimer´s according to the latest estimates. This figure could balloon to 132 million by 2050.
    The nine factors which damage the brain notably include hearing loss, obesity and smoking, the study found.
    "Our results suggest that around 35 percent of dementia is attributable to a combination of the following nine risk factors: education to a maximum of age 11-12 years, midlife hypertension, midlife obesity, hearing loss, late-life depression, diabetes, physical inactivity, smoking, and social isolation," the study said.
    It said if people stayed in school until the age of 15, the benefits of education and socialisation would help reduce the cases of dementia by 8 percent.
    "Although dementia is diagnosed in later life, the brain changes usually begin to develop years before," said lead author Professor Gill Livingston, from University College London.
    "Acting now will vastly improve life for people with dementia and their families and, in doing so, will transform the future of society."
    The researchers said maintaining good hearing between the ages of 45 and 65 reduces the number of cases by 9 percent.
    Stopping smoking could reduce the number of cases by 5 percent, it said.
    Other factors contributing to the risk include depression (4 percent), physical inactivity (3 percent), social isolation (2 percent), high blood pressure (2 percent), obesity (1 percent) and type 2 diabetes (1 percent).
    The study said the 2015 global cost of dementia was estimated to be $818 billion and this figure would continue to rise.
    It said nearly 85 percent of these costs were "related to family and social, rather than medical, care".
    The researchers however said that the study had its limitations.


  5. Waqas Dar
    LONDON: Matches at Wimbledon and the French Open triggered alerts for potential match-fixing in the second quarter of the year, the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) said on Wednesday.
    It said in a statement that one match at Roland Garros and three at Wimbledon, two of them in the qualifying tournament and one in the main draw, would be assessed and reviewed.
    Alerts are raised in response to unusual betting patterns, which are not in themselves evidence of match-fixing and can be due to a number of other factors, including conditions and player fitness.
    The TIU said 40 of 53 alerts received were for matches played on the lower level men´s ATP Challenger and ITF Futures circuits.
    Three were on the men´s ATP Tour, one on the women´s WTA Tour and five on the ITF women´s circuit.
    During the April-June period, 31,281 professional matches were played.
    The cumulative six month match alert figure was 83, compared to 121 received for the same period in 2016.


  6. Waqas Dar
    Government is trying its best to hide the crimes of Nawaz Sharif, said Fawad Chaudhry while speaking to the media on Thursday.  ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Fawad Chaudhry remarked that the documents submitted as evidence by government in the Panama case holds no legal value.
    ?The documents should be used to make toys for children,? he said while speaking to media outside the Supreme Court before the Panama case hearing on Thursday.
    The government is trying its best to hide the crimes of Nawaz Sharif, he claimed, adding ?the court will punish the criminal for sure.?
    We are waiting for the verdict just like others, he added.
    On Thursday, the fourth consecutive hearing of the SC bench, following the submission of the Joint Investigation Team?s (JIT) final probe report into the Sharif family?s businesses, was held.
    Opposition sees strong case against PM Nawaz
    Opposition leaders spoke to the media prior to the start of the fourth hearing of the Panama papers case
    The three-member bench, headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan and comprising Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijazul Ahsan has heard the arguments of the petitioners over the JIT report and is now hearing replies of the respondents.


  7. Waqas Dar
    The ECP sent the case pertaining to Karachi?s PS-114 vote recount to election tribunal on Thursday. Photo:file ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) sent the case pertaining to Karachi?s PS-114 vote recount to election tribunal on Thursday. 

    Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) had filed a petition alleging that results of PS-114 by-polls, where Pakistan Peoples Party?s Saeed Ghani was victorious, were tampered.
    The MQM has also requested the commission to order recounting of the votes of the entire constituency, the National Database and Registration Authority to verify thumb impressions of all votes.
    Speaking to the media after the hearing, Saeed Ghani remarked that the results of the by-polls were not shocking as PPP has a strong vote base there.
    PPP's Saeed Ghani while speaking to media outside ECP on Thursday. Photo: Geo News screen grab However, the MQM?s candidate thought they would win. ?They spend so much money and even threatened us yet we beat them fair and square.?
    At first, MQM workers and leaders congratulated me on the win, said Ghani, adding ?after three days they remembered that rigging has occurred.?
    On Wednesday?s hearing, MQM?s counsel Farogh Naseem told Chief Election Commissioner Sardar Raza Khan rules were violated when votes were being counted for 21 polling stations of the constituency.
    He added the returning officer did not issue a notice to his client, Tessori, when the votes were being counted.
    However, PPP?s Saeed Ghani?s counsel Aitzaz Ahsan said people were voting for PPP after MQM has cut ties with its founder, Altaf Hussain.
    Ahsan had added if MQM-Pakistan should take the issue up with the election tribunal if they have a problem with results of the by-election.
    On July 13, the ECP had withheld the notification of Karachi?s PS-114 by-election result, where Pakistan Peoples Party?s Saeed Ghani had proven to be victorious.
    Issues in PS-114 localities eclipsed amid political struggle
    Residents have used their right to vote twice, but constituency stands sans MPA
    Moreover, a ballot box was discovered in a private car in the city?s Mehmoodabad area on Wednesday, prompting MQM to reiterate claims that the PS-114 by-election was ?rigged?.
    On July 9, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) candidate Saeed Ghani had emerged victorious in PS-114 Karachi by-polls, by bagging 23,840 votes, unofficial and unconfirmed results from all 92 polling stations suggested.
    Ghani was followed by Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan's Kamran Tessori, who secured 18,106 votes.
    In the May 2013 general elections, PS-114 was bagged by Irfanullah Marwat on a PML-N ticket but his victory was declared void by the election tribunal in July 2014 and had been empty since.
    On May 11, the Supreme Court dismissed Marwat?s appeal challenging the election tribunal?s decision paving the way for the by-polls.


  8. Waqas Dar
    The books, both by the British Library, include unseen sketches and manuscript pages LONDON: The Hogwarts universe is set to expand by an additional two new Harry Potter books, published in conjunction with a British Library event, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the magical series.
    The library exhibition titled, "A History of Magic," featuring the two books will be open from October 2017 to February 2018, British publishing house Bloomsbury announced on Tuesday.
    Readers of "Harry Potter: A History of Magic ? The Book of the Exhibition" will be able to explore the curriculum at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Potter's wizardry school, which includes Herbology, Astronomy and Care of Magical Creatures.
    Mystical subjects including unicorns, alchemy and ancient witchcraft will be explored in "Harry Potter ? A Journey Through A History of Magic."
    The books, both by the British Library, include unseen sketches and manuscript pages from author J.K. Rowling, magical illustrations from Jim Kay and artefacts from the archives at the library.
    June 26 marked 20 years since the release of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," the first of seven Potter books in a series that sold 450 million copies in 29 languages and sparked a $7 billion movie franchise.


  9. Waqas Dar
    Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan talking to media at his Bani Gala residence on July 19, 2017 - Photo Online   ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan tweeted on Thursday that another emerging crime of the Sharifs was producing fraudulent documents before the Supreme Court to obstruct justice.

    In a follow-up tweet, Khan said the biggest crime was to treat the nation as dumb and with such contempt.
    On Wednesday, Imran Khan claimed that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had indulged in corruption in the name of business.

    He added the premier was given five chances, to tell the truth, and come clean in front of the people of the country.
    ?He was given five chances, to tell the truth to the people, starting with the first hearing in the Supreme Court and the last chance being the JIT.?


  10. Waqas Dar
    Ravichandran Ashwin played for the Chennai Super Kings between 2009-15 India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been slammed by the public for comparing Chennai Super Kings' return to the Indian Premier League (IPL) to Manchester United's recovery from the tragic air crash in Munich in 1958, in which 23 people including eight of their players died.
    IPL franchises Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals will be back in action next year after serving a two-year ban over a scandal that involved illegal betting on matches.
    Ashwin, who featured for the Super Kings between 2009-15, welcomed the end of the ban by drawing a comparison between the two incidents.
    "I think the two-year hiatus for CSK probably increases its value much like what it did for Manchester United when the air crash happened," Ashwin told the Times of India. "I don't know if it's in the same league but surely people in Chennai and fans across the world are waiting for CSK to return. I hope it turns out to be a good comeback."
    The comparison drew instant ire from the public, who took to social media to hit out at the spinner for his comments.
    The 30-year-old then tweeted out clarification over his analogy.
    On February 6, 1958, the Manchester United squad had been returning home from a European Cup tie in Belgrade when their British European Airways flight crashed on its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway at Munich airport, killing 20 passengers at the scene while three more died later.


  11. Waqas Dar
    Tobacco, whose nature is "addictive and harmful", kills more than 7 million people every year. Photo: REUTERS/file GENEVA: The tobacco industry continues to subvert government attempts to prevent tobacco-related deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday in a fresh call to counter corporate lobbying and litigation.
    Countries with partly state-owned tobacco companies, such as Japan which has a stake in Japan Tobacco Inc, should "firewall" their health policy-setting from their commercial interests, the United Nations agency said.
    A Reuters investigation published last week revealed that Philip Morris International Inc is waging a secret campaign to subvert the WHO's anti-smoking treaty.
    The 2005 pact calls for a ban on tobacco advertising and sponsorship, as well as taxes to discourage use.
    "What we have seen over time is that the industry tends to interfere in the policy-making process. So there are intimidating practices, they threaten, they use myths about the contribution to the economy," Dr. Vinayak Prasad, head of the WHO tobacco control program, told a news briefing.
    The industry's interests are in "irreconcilable conflict with the interests of public health policy", said the WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2017.
    Japan Tobacco is a former state monopoly still a third owned by the government.
    "I think in this special situation there might be a conflict of interest in economic revenues from a partly state-owned industry and health of the population," said Dr. Kerstin Schotte, a WHO medical officer.
    Japan has described cancer as a "growing problem" at home, Prasad said, adding: "But the disconnect is that even though the evidence exists on the linkage between cancer and tobacco use, it's not translating into stronger policy action. So obviously it requires more political will at the highest level." 
    Japan Tobacco International spokesman Jonathan Duce said the company "does not oppose tobacco regulation that works and meets legitimate public health objectives" while a Philip Morris spokeswoman, Tiffany Steckler, said the company regularly engages with governments around the world on issues including taxation, international trade and product regulation.
    "They know that input from a wide range of stakeholders is needed to assess policy proposals, and no amount of industry conversation stops a policy-maker from acting independently," Steckler said.
    Tobacco companies use domestic and international trade litigation "in attempts to block progress on many control measures, such as smoke-free public places, pictorial health warnings, plain packaging and product regulation," the WHO said.
    A landmark Australian law on restrictive tobacco packaging was upheld at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in May after a five-year legal battle, seen as giving a green light for other countries to roll out similar laws.
    "We have a number of developing countries which have now picked up warning labels," Prasad said. Nepal has the world's largest health warnings on tobacco packaging surfaces, WHO says.
    Tobacco, whose nature is "addictive and harmful", kills more than 7 million people every year, roughly one in 10 deaths, according to the WHO. Victims include 890,000 people who die annually from second-hand smoke exposure.
    "It's a slow-moving disaster," Prasad said.


  12. Waqas Dar
    Prior to the construction of Lowari Tunnel, the area remained cut off from the rest of the country especially during the winter season. Photo: Geo News screen grab CHITRAL: The construction work of Lowari Tunnel, which connects Dir with Chitral, has been completed and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is expected to inaugurate it today (Thursday).
    Lowari Tunnel, which includes two tunnels (8.5 kilometres and 1.9 kilometres), access roads and 12 bridges (35km), is located on Nowshera-Mardan-Malakand-Chakdara-Chitral National Highway (N-45).
    Lowari Tunnel, which includes two tunnels, access roads and 12 bridges, is located on N-45 Highway. Photo: Geo News screen grab In a press release, the government stated that the tunnel is a gift to the local population. 
    The project seeks to enhance economic growth through accelerated trade activity, generate employment opportunities for the locals, promote tourism and reduce travel time for passengers.
    Prior to its construction, the area remained cut off from the rest of the country especially during the winter season.
    The PM is also expected to address a public gathering at Chitral?s polo ground. 

    [embed_video1 url=http://stream.jeem.tv/vod/d3ae7d553067d032b4db4012892125e6.mp4/playlist.m3u8?wmsAuthSign=c2VydmVyX3RpbWU9Ny8yMC8yMDE3IDU6NTc6MjQgQU0maGFzaF92YWx1ZT1iUzQrMURUS0JtQmRmS3ZaTnlCYkRBPT0mdmFsaWRtaW51dGVzPTYwJmlkPTE= style=center] In 2005, the construction work on the project was re-started during the tenure of Pervez Musharraf. However, the project faced funding issues when Pakistan Peoples Party was into power from 2008 to 2013.

    After being elected, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government had allocated about Rs23 billion for the mega project to complete the work.
    On Wednesday, the premier had inaugurated the newly established Riazuddin Sheikh Business and Trade Centre in Sialkot.

    Addressing the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce, the PM lashed out at his opponents. People of Pakistan knew who was conspiring against the country's development, he said.
    PM Nawaz lashes out at opponents demanding resignation
    PM inaugurated business and trade centre in Sialkot earlier
    ?Their target is only to remove Nawaz Sharif and then make their own way. They could not do it through the people's vote and are now looking for another way,? said the prime minister.
    "What corruption are they talking about?" wondered the prime minister, saying not a single penny from public funds has ever been misappropriated in his tenure.

    *Additional input from APP


  13. Waqas Dar
    Photo: File KARACHI: The KSE-100 index increased by 600 to reach the 46,000-points level at opening of trade on Thursday.
    During the first half of trading on Wednesday, the US Dollar's value fell by 9 paisas in the interbank market.
    The unexpected decline in the USD's value from Rs105.39 to Rs105.30 during early trading hours was followed by a 126-points increase in the KSE-100 index, which crossed the 45,762 points level during trading hours.
    A special implementation bench, headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan and comprising Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijazul Ahsan, began hearing the Panama Papers case early Thursday. The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is expected to react to the socio-political situation as the hearing proceeds.
    Earlier on July 11, the PSX reacted negatively to Monday?s damning report against the prime minister and his family by the Panama case Joint Investigation Team to drop by over 2,153 points to reach 44,120 points on Tuesday.
    Investors took a cumulative hit of Rs425 billion, informed sources, adding that share value of as many as 305 companies fell. 


  14. Waqas Dar
    WASHINGTON: US Senator John McCain, a former prisoner of war and the maverick 2008 Republican presidential nominee, has been diagnosed with brain cancer, his office announced Wednesday.

    The 80-year-old lawmaker from Arizona underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from above his left eye last week and tests "revealed that a primary brain tumor known as a glioblastoma was associated with the blood clot," the Mayo Clinic, whose doctors performed the surgery in Phoenix, said in a statement released by McCain's office.
    "The senator and his family are reviewing further treatment options," the statement added, noting they may include a combination of chemotherapy and radiation.
    Glioblastoma is a particularly aggressive brain tumour affecting adults. It is of the same category of cancer that led to the death of another icon of the US Senate, Ted Kennedy, who died in 2009 at age 77.
    This is not McCain's first bout with cancer. Doctors removed several malignant melanomas on McCain's skin in the 1990s and 2000s, including an invasive melanoma in 2000.
    Experts had said this week that McCain's latest operation suggested the possibility of a return of cancer.
    McCain's office said the senator "is in good spirits as he continues to recover at home with his family in Arizona," and that he will consult with his care team about when he might be able to return to work in Washington.
    The news triggered a flood of messages of support from across the political spectrum for McCain, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee and is in his sixth term in the upper chamber of Congress.
    "Senator John McCain has always been a fighter. Melania and I send our thoughts and prayers to Senator McCain, Cindy, and their entire family," President Donald Trump said in a statement. "Get well soon."
    'American hero'
    Trump was accused of crossing the line with his criticism of McCain shortly after the billionaire businessman announced his presidential bid in 2015, disparaging the senator as "not a war hero."
    "I like people who weren't captured," Trump said, in remarks that foretold the nastiness of the 2016 race.
    But Trump is well aware of the importance of McCain's vote on health care, with the latest effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act hanging by a thread.
    "Plus, we need his vote," Trump said Monday after wishing McCain well after his blood clot surgery.
    "John McCain is an American hero & one of the bravest fighters I´ve ever known," former president Barack Obama, who defeated McCain after a hard-fought 2008 race, wrote on Twitter. "Cancer doesn't know what it's up against. Give it hell, John."
    Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell quickly issued a statement saying the entire chamber was praying for their colleague and hoped to see him back soon.
    "He has never shied from a fight and I know that he will face this challenge with the same extraordinary courage that has characterised his life."
    McCain, a former US Navy aviator, was shot down over Hanoi in 1967 as he conducted a bombing mission during the Vietnam War.
    He was badly injured when he parachuted out, and was tortured during his five and a half years as a POW.
    Released in 1973, McCain won a US House seat in 1982 before winning election to the Senate four years later.
    He emerged as a national security hawk, travelling the world on congressional missions to the Middle East, Asia and Europe where he reassured American allies and pricked its adversaries.
    He also stood accused of heedlessly backing wars or military interventions, and once suggested US forces should remain in Iraq for 100 years.
    Early this year, the octogenarian who has advocated for more aggressive US military involvement in Syria made a secret trip to the war-ravaged nation to meet with US forces and discuss the campaign against the Islamic State group.
    Despite his hawkish positions, McCain has served the peacemaker role, too.
    His scars from the Vietnam torture are visible, and yet he is the lawmaker who perhaps more than any other has guided the rapprochement between Washington and its former foe in Asia.


  15. Waqas Dar
    Daniyal Aziz speaking to media in Islamabad  ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Daniyal Aziz has urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu notice of SSP Asmatullah Junejo attack case, in which Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan, along with Pakistan Awami Tehreek chairman Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri stands accused.
    Speaking to media outside an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday, Aziz lamented that the case, in which Imran Khan, Qadri and several others were booked for their alleged involvement in attacks on the SSP and state TV building during the 2014 sit-in in Islamabad, was being subdued.
    ?The case also involves 40 to 50 ?unknown persons? who were never properly investigated for the violence during the [August 2014] sit-in,? he said, as he requested Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to form a judicial commission or carry out a parliamentary inquiry into the case.
    Aziz also called upon the Supreme Court to take suo motu notice of the case.
    ?I request the media, I request Pakistan, and the Prime Minister to carry out a judicial inquiry. I request the Supreme Court, should there not be a suo motu notice against this case?? he remarked.
    ATC orders to seize properties of Imran Khan, Tahirul Qadri
    The two face allegations of destroying property in the Red Zone, attacking building of a state TV channel and injuring an SSP
    An ATC earlier this month ordered to temporarily seize the properties of Imran Khan and Tahir-ul-Qadri till their production in court.
    The two face charges of destroying property in the Red Zone, attacking the state TV channel's building and injuring SSP Asmatullah Junejo on Constitution Avenue. The incident had taken place on September 1, 2014, less than 24 hours into the official?s first day on the job as SSP Operations.
    Both Khan and Qadri have been declared proclaimed offenders in the case, after the police submitted a report stating the suspects could not be arrested.


  16. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: Leaders from opposition parties spoke to the media prior to the start of the Panama case hearing on Thursday.

    Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid, one of the petitioners in the case, said all those saying there are no cases against them will be out of office before his August 13 rally in Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi.
    Rashid also said new documents keep coming to the fore as the case is getting tougher from them.
    ?Forget the 2018 election fight, all the politics will be decided in 2017,? said Rashid. The nation stands with the Supreme Court and the JIT, he said, adding that had Nawaz Sharif resigned a year ago he would have saved his seniors and children from being stuck where they are today.
    Senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Sherry Rehman, speaking to journalists outside the court, said these are old documents and a part of delaying tactics being employed by the government.
    The former ambassador to the US criticised the prime minister's visit to Sialkot yesterday, saying "amid echoes of unprovoked Indian firing, the premier played politics". Instead of visiting the affected people, the prime minister did not even mention anything about the ongoing Indian aggression across the Line of Control and Working Boundary.
    PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira said "they?ve been trying to spin things since the beginning. Today, they?ve brought to the fore another letter. It seems the court will dismiss it as it did the previous letters."
    Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Sirajul Haq, addressing the media, said he wants a decision in favour of the people. ?The court is unsatisfied with the arguments being presented by the government,? he claimed.
    The JI chief said he hopes corruption will be eliminated from the country following the Supreme Court?s judgment in the case.


  17. Waqas Dar
    The US Postal Service has released new stamps commemorating 10 Disney villains. Photo: USPS Disney fans, rejoice. The US Postal Service released new stamps commemorating 10 Disney villains.
    The stamps feature some of our beloved villains including Evil Queen from Snow White and Seven Dwarfs, Captain Hook from Peter Pan, Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, Scar from Lion King, Honest John from Pinocchio, Lady Tremaine from Cinderella, Ursula from The Little Mermaid, Gaston from Beauty and the Beast and the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland.
    Stamps featuring Maleficent and Ursula. Photo: courtesy USPS Each stamp shows one Disney villain against a blue background, with his/her name on the side.
    ?Beginning in 1923, Disney?s Ink & Paint Department helped create classic animated films. Its artists brought life to countless memorable characters, including many iconic Disney villains,? read US Postal Service website.

    The stamps were launched during the annual D23 Expo at Anaheim Convention Centre, California on Saturday.
    The stamps were launched during the annual D23 Expo at Anaheim Convention Centre, California. Photo: USPS Postmaster General of the United States Megan J Brennan was joined by officials from Disney during the launch of the stamps.
    The entire stamp sheet comprising 20 stamps. Photo: USPS In a statement, Brennan remarked, "The Postal Service is highlighting the Disney Villains and the pioneering spirit of the (Walt Disney Animation Studios') Ink and Paint Department that brought many of these characters to life."
    "These stamps are our way of saying Disney Villains will forever entertain us and serve as a tribute Disney's artistry and storytelling skill."

    In 2012, Disney joined with the US Postal Service and released stamps featuring characters from Finding Nemo, Toy Story and Monsters, Inc.


  18. Waqas Dar
    Photo: File The Pakistan Meteorological Department on Thursday said monsoon currents are penetrating southern parts of the country.
    A shallow westerly wave is affecting central and upper parts of the country and likely to persist during the next few days.
    Seasonal low lies over north Balochistan and strong monsoon currents are likely to penetrate upper parts of the country on Friday, the PMD said.
    Rain-thunderstorm (with isolated heavy falls) is expected at scattered places in Sindh, eastern Balochistan (Zhob, Kalat, Sibbi, Naseerabad divisions) and south Punjab (Bahawalpur, Multan, Sahiwal, D.G.Khan divisions). Rain-thunderstorm is expected at isolated places in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, FATA, upper Punjab (Rawalpindi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Faisalabad divisions), Islamabad, Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan in the next 24 hours.
    Past weather
    Rain-thunderstorm occurred at scattered places in Sindh and south Punjab and at isolated places in Faisalabad, Sargodha, Malakand, Hazara, Sibbi divisions and Gilgit-Baltistan on Wednesday. The weather remained hot and humid in other parts of the country.
    Total rainfall (mm) in the last 24 hours :
    Punjab: Khanpur 46, Bahawalpur (A/P 16, City 14), R.Y.Khan 08, Multan, Mianwali 05, T.T.Singh 03, Jhang 02, KP: Balakot 35, Kakul, Dir 01, Sindh: Larkana 17, Thatta 16, Mithi 14, Badin 12, Sukkur 10, Karachi (Gulshan-e-Hadeed 09, Landhi 05, PAF Faisal, A/P 02, Saddar 01), Shaheed Benazirabad, Moenjodaro 07, Chhor 05, Sakrund 04, Padidan 03, Jacobabad, Rohri 02, Dadu, Mirpurkhas, Tandojam 01, Balochistan: Sibbi 05, GB: Astore 03, Bagrote, 01.
    Today's highest maximum temperatures
    Dalbandin 43°C, Turbat 42°C, Nokkundi 41°C.


    Data Courtesy: Pakistan Meteorological Department 


  19. Waqas Dar
    The Supreme Court of Pakistan. Photo: File  ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court?s special implementation bench will begin hearing the Panama Papers case shortly.
    This will be the fourth consecutive hearing of the bench following the submission of the Joint Investigation Team?s (JIT) final probe report into the Sharif family?s businesses.
    The three-member bench, headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan and comprising Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijazul Ahsan has heard the arguments of the petitioners over the JIT report and is now hearing replies of the respondents.
    SC to decide whether to hear Panama case or send to accountability court
    PM's counsel presented his arguments in Supreme Court today; Ishaq Dar, PM's children's counsels to appear tmrw
    Prior to the start of proceedings on Thursday, Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid, one of the petitioners in the case, said all those saying there are no cases against them will be out of office before his August 13 rally in Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi.
    ?Forget the 2018 election fight, all the politics will be decided in 2017,? said Rashid. The nation stands with the Supreme Court and the JIT, he said, adding that had Nawaz Sharif resigned a year ago he would have saved his seniors and children from being stuck where they are today.
    Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Sirajul Haq, addressing the media, said he wants a decision in favour of the people. ?The court is unsatisfied with the arguments being presented by the government,? he claimed. The JI chief said he hopes corruption will be eliminated from the country following the Supreme Court?s judgment in the case.
    On Wednesday, the prime minister?s lawyer, Khawaja Harris, completed his arguments before the bench.
    Finance Minister Ishaq Dar?s counsel, Dr Tariq Hassan, will continue his arguments from Wednesday whereas the lawyer for the prime minister?s children, Salman Akram Raja, is also expected to initiate his arguments today. 


  20. Waqas Dar
    Donald Trump said he regretted his choice for attorney general Wednesday as he sought to protect himself from the growing firestorm over Russia's alleged election meddling which is engulfing his presidency.
    On the eve of the six-month mark of Trump's inauguration, it also emerged that senators will next week grill three of the pivotal players in the Trump campaign -- including his eldest son -- over swirling allegations of the presidential campaign's collusion with Russia.
    The announcements came as the Trump administration and the Kremlin tried to quell an uproar about a previously undisclosed meeting between Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during this month's G20 summit.
    Attorney General Jeff Sessions was one of the first senior Republican politicians to endorse Trump before last November's election and was rewarded by being appointed America's top law enforcement officer.
    But he stood aside in March from overseeing an FBI-led probe into whether members of the Trump team colluded with Moscow during the election campaign after it emerged that Sessions had not disclosed during his Senate confirmation hearing that he met twice with the Russian ambassador to Washington.
    In an interview with the New York Times, Trump said Sessions had acted unfairly in taking the job in the first place if he had felt in any way compromised.
    "How do you take a job and then recuse yourself? If he would have recused himself before the job, I would have said, 'Thanks, Jeff, but I'm not going to take you,'" Trump said.
    "It's extremely unfair -- and that's a mild word -- to the president."
    Trump also criticised Sessions' performance at the Senate confirmation hearing in January, in which he denied meeting with any Russians when he had in fact met with the Russian ambassador.
    'Bad answers'

    "Jeff Sessions gave some bad answers," the president said in his interview with the Times.
    "He gave some answers that were simple questions and should have been simple answers, but they weren't."
    The Senate Intelligence Committee is now due to grill the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is one of the most powerful figures in the Trump White House, in a closed-door session next Monday, his lawyer told CNN.
    And two days later, the Senate Judiciary Committee will question Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, and former campaign manager Paul Manafort about Russia's role, congressional officials announced on Wednesday.
    All three men attended a controversial meeting with a Russian lawyer last year, in which they were expecting to receive dirt from Moscow on Trump's election rival Hillary Clinton.
    Trump Jr sent shockwaves through Washington last week by releasing a series of emails that detailed how he had attended the meeting after being promised "very high level and sensitive information" that was "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump."
    Both Trump Jr and Manafort were told in letters from the panel's senior members to "preserve all relevant documents in your possession... related to Russian interference in the 2016 election, including documents related to your or the Trump campaign's contacts with Russian government officials, associates or representatives."
    The senators said they would issue subpoenas if the witnesses did not produce the required documents.
    With Washington reeling from the stream of revelations, Trump has rushed to his son's defense, and lambasted what he calls a political "witch hunt".
    But on Wednesday night a senior official made clear that the administration was cooperating with the investigation being conducted by a special counsel, former FBI director Robert Mueller, who is probing the Russia connection independently of the Senate panels.
    "I'm part of the Trump administration, and the special counsel is reporting to me, and the answer to that is certainly yes," deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein told Fox News.
    "We are providing appropriate cooperation to make sure the investigation is done properly."
    'Russia fever'

    Some critics have seized on the additional, previously undisclosed meeting between the US president and his Russian counterpart as more evidence that the Trump team are reluctant to come clean on anything involving Russia.
    The White House confirmed the politically sensitive sit-down over dinner on the final night of the G20 summit in Germany only after it was leaked, but has denied that it amounted to anything untoward.
    "Once again, the Russia fever has caught up with the media and everybody ran out and tried to create a story that simply didn't exist," White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at a briefing on Wednesday.
    That message was echoed by her Kremlin counterpart Dmitry Peskov.
    "The use of the terms 'secret' or 'confidential' for this meeting provokes absolute surprise and incomprehension."
    The meeting had been "officially accepted" by diplomatic channels, he added in comments reported by the Russia's TASS news agency.


  21. Waqas Dar
    LOS ANGELES: The world's press are gathered at a news conference for Luc Besson's Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and Dane DeHaan is waxing lyrical about co-star Cara Delevingne.
    The pair spent six months in Paris filming as intergalactic special ops agents Valerian and Laureline in the $180 million blockbuster, which comes out Friday, and DeHaan was clearly bowled over by Delevingne's infectious joie de vivre.
    "I was just so happy to see her every day and be around her and feed off that energy," DeHaan told reporters at the event in Beverly Hills.
    It sounds like the usual mutual back-slapping in which actors indulge on promotional tours but he is clearly being sincere, and in any case, it is the kind of observation frequently made by people who have worked with the 24-year-old Londoner.
    One of the world's most in-demand models, Delevingne has earned millions of dollars walking the runways of London, Paris, and Milan for the likes of Burberry and Chanel, and graced countless covers of Vogue.
    But acting has always been her first love.
    Her rise in movies since her debut in Joe Wright's Anna Karenina (2012) alongside Keira Knightley has been swift, with starring parts in the teen fable Paper Towns and the super-villain blockbuster Suicide Squad.
    Role model
    Making the transition into acting when you are already well-known is not as easy as it looks. Former sports stars and other celebrities often observe that while their famous faces get them auditions, they have to work twice as hard to be taken seriously.
    Two years ago, Delevingne appeared on a local US morning talk show to promote Paper Towns and was asked a series of patronising questions, including whether she had read the source novel by John Green.
    Not only had she done her homework, but she has since written a coming-of-age novel of her own.
    "There will always be people like that, no matter what," she told AFP in an interview after the news conference.
    "I think it's just another opportunity for me to stand my ground and prove I have done the work. I do work very hard and I'm determined to prove those people wrong."
    An influential voice on social media with more than 40 million Instagram followers, Delevingne has been praised for being a beacon to teenagers struggling with their emotions by speaking openly about her bisexuality and her battles with depression as a 15-year-old.
    "I'm very blessed to have a strong influence with young girls and teenagers," she said.
    "That's been my goal since I was younger, to be a role model, for young girls to be able to look up to me because I'm following every single one of my dreams that I've had in my life through hard work and determination."
    'Natural born actress'
    When he was casting for the part of Laureline, Besson immediately thought of Delevingne as an actress who could live up to the spirit of empowerment her brave, whip-smart character embodies as Valerian's crime-fighting equal.
    "She became a model by accident because a scout guy met her and said, 'You will take good pictures.' But she's not made for that," Besson told AFP.
    "She succeeds at that because she's funny but for me, she's a natural born actress. I was amazed by her capacity and I think she's at the beginning of a long, long career."
    Critics have observed that the character of Laureline is something of a paradox ? an intrepid, independent woman who nevertheless defines her happiness in terms of her success in finding love.
    "That's what I love about life generally, the dichotomies of everything. Of course, I understand the whole thing of wanting to be a woman who can look after herself and be completely independent," Delevingne told AFP.
    "But also, at the end of the day, all I want is to go home and have someone that loves and cares for me or that I love and care for and end up one day having a family."
    Laureline, she says, embodies the new reality that romance is no longer the zero sum game it once was for women, pitting family life against the possibility of a career.
    "I do relate to her in the sense that I, for sure, am strong and independent and all these things, but at the end of the day, I'm a complete hopeless romantic," she said.
    "Some people deny it, but aren't we all?"


  22. Waqas Dar
    Maria Pilar Abel, who claims to be the daughter of surrealist Spanish artist Salvador Dali, attends an interview with Reuters in Madrid, Spain. REUTERS/Juan Medina  FIGUERES: Salvador Dali's remains are to be exhumed on Thursday from his Spanish hometown in an effort to test a fortune teller's claims the renowned surrealist is her father.

    The artist's body is buried in the elaborate museum of his work Dali designed himself in the northeastern Spanish town of Figueres, where he was born over 110 years ago.
    Pilar Abel, a 61-year-old who long worked as a psychic in Catalonia, says her mother had a relationship with the artist when she worked in Port Lligat, a tiny fishing hamlet where the painter lived for years.
    If Abel is confirmed as the only child of Dali, she could be entitled to part of the huge fortune and heritage of one of the most celebrated and prolific painters of the 20th century.
    The Salvador Dali Foundation had tried to fight off the exhumation with an appeal, but there was not enough time for all parties to present their case, a court spokesman told AFP.
    Barring some "administrative or logistical surprise", the exhumation will go ahead, he said.
    Authorities will begin removing the over one-tonne slab covering the tomb of the eccentric artist, who died in 1989 with no known child heirs after visitors have cleared out for the day from the Dali Theatre-Museum.
    Experts will take DNA samples in the form of bone or tooth fragments directly from the grave where Dali was buried and they will then be sent to Madrid to undergo the necessary tests.
    Abel has already provided a saliva sample for comparison, with results expected within a matter of weeks, said the woman's lawyer Enrique Blanquez.
    Dali and Gala
    The museum ? a major tourist site that drew over 1.1 million visitors last year ? will be covered in some places with a cloth to prevent drones from capturing images of the exhumation.
    In an interview with AFP last month, just days after a court ordered the exhumation, Abel said her grandmother first told her she was Dali's daughter when she was seven or eight years old, and her mother admitted it much later.
    Abel is from the city of Figueres, like Dali, and she said she would often see him in the streets.
    "We wouldn't say anything, we would just look at each other. But a glance is worth a thousand words," she said.
    Notoriously eccentric, Dali's life was marked as much by the genius of his work as by his own extravagances.
    A question has always hung over his sexuality, with some claiming he was a closet homosexual who preferred to watch others having *** rather than taking part.
    But according to Blanquez, his affair was "known in the village, there are people who have testified before a notary".
    Born on May 11, 1904, in Figueres to a bourgeois family ? Dali's father was a legal clerk ? he developed an interest in painting from an early age.
    In 1922 he began studying at the Fine Arts Academy in Madrid, where, despite being expelled twice, he developed his first avant-garde artistic ideas in association with poet Federico Garcia Lorca and the filmmaker Luis Bunuel.
    Soon he left for Paris to join the surrealist movement, giving the school his own personal twist and rocketing to fame with works such as "The Great Masturbator."
    Returning to Catalonia after 12 years, he invited French poet Paul Eluard and his Russian wife Elena Ivanovna Diakonova to Cadaques.
    It was love at first sight between Dali and the woman to whom he gave the pet name Gala.
    She became his muse and remained at his side for the rest of her life and died in 1982. The couple never had children.


  23. Waqas Dar
    An earthquake with an initial magnitude of 5.8 hit northeast of Tokyo on Japan's main island of Honshu on Thursday, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) reported.
    The quake was measured at a depth of 33 km (20 miles) about 79 km (49 miles) east-northeast of Iwaki on Honshu. There was no immediate warning of a tsunami issued by the Hawaii-based PTWC.


  24. Waqas Dar
    South Korea is investigating the case of a North Korean defector who became a celebrity refugee in Seoul, but recently appeared on Pyongyang television to claim she had returned home from the "hell" of the capitalist South.
    Lim Ji-Hyun, a female defector in her 20s, arrived in Seoul in 2014 and soon became a public figure after starring in several South Korean TV shows featuring escapees from the North.
    But on Sunday Lim abruptly appeared in a video on the North's propaganda network, describing how her "fantasy" about the wealthy South had been shattered.
    In the video, posted on the North's Uriminzokkiri website, Lim says she had "returned home" last month and was now living with her family in the western city of Anju.
    It is unclear whether Lim returned voluntarily, with South Korean media speculating that she might have been kidnapped at the Chinese border with the North while trying to reunite with her family.
    Seoul police sources who probed Lim's home and financial accounts in Seoul told the South's JoongAng Ilbo daily there was little sign of her trying to wrap up her life in the country and move elsewhere.
    "Relevant authorities are investigating the North Korean defector Lim Ji-Hyun," said Lee Yoo-Jin, deputy spokeswoman of Seoul's unification ministry handling North Korea affairs. Seoul's spy agency declined to comment.
    In the video, Lim identified herself as Chon Hae-Song, which she said was her real name in the North.
    Wearing a traditional silk hanbok and red badge bearing the images of the North's two former leaders, Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il, Lim tearfully detailed her "miserable" life in the capitalist neighbour where "money is all that matters."
    "I went to South Korea harbouring this fantasy that I would able to eat and live well there, but the South was not the place I imagined," she said, adding she wanted to become an actress in Seoul.
    "Every single day in the South was like hell. Every night ... I cried thinking about my motherland and my parents in the North," she said.
    Lim also accused a Korean TV station of pushing her to lie about her life in the North to make it sound more miserable than it actually was.
    "Everything I said on TV was scripted ... to make North Koreans look barbaric, ignorant and stupid," she said, describing herself as "human trash".
    Other defectors who have reappeared in the North have been displayed on similar programmes, prompting speculation they had been kidnapped by Pyongyang or coerced into returning by threats to their families.
    Many defectors who reach the South hire brokers to take their remaining family out of the North through the border with China, and some even visit the Chinese border areas themselves -- a dangerous move in a region monitored and frequented by North Korean agents.
    The North has tightened border security since young leader Kim Jong-Un took power in 2011, sharply reducing the number of defectors and increasing the cost of hiring brokers.


  25. Waqas Dar
    DUBAI: After Saudi police briefly arrested a woman who appeared in an online video wearing an "indecent" skirt and crop top, many Saudis sprang to her defence on social media on Wednesday.
    Many Twitter users referred to a visit last month by President Donald Trump whose wife, Melania, and daughter Ivanka were widely praised by Saudi commentators for their elegance despite eschewing veils and wearing stylish dresses.
    The Saudi woman, identified as Model Khulood, appeared on a Snapchat clip strolling through an empty mudbrick village alleyway, wearing a short skirt and a top that exposed her midriff.
    The video provoked outraged commentary on social media culminating in her arrest.
    Police freed the women on Tuesday evening after she told investigators that the video was posted on social media without her knowledge.
    "She was released without charge and the case has been closed by the prosecutor," a statement from the Saudi Centre for International Communications said.
    Women in the ultra-conservative kingdom are bound by law to wear robes and a headscarf, are banned from driving and require the consent of a male guardian for most legal actions.
    But after her detention was reported by state media, many Saudis rushed to her defence.
    "If she were a foreigner, they would sing about the beauty of her waist and the enchantment of her eyes. But because she is Saudi, they are calling for her arrest," Fatima al-Issa tweeted.
    One social media user superimposed Ivanka Trump's face on Khulood.
    In a country in which debate is strictly policed and gender mixing is often illegal, social media is one of the few outlets for young Saudis to interact and comment on current affairs.
    Despite the outrage over the video, Saudis have easy access to racy imagery through the Internet and satellite channels.
    When tabloid pictures showed the wealthy Arab businessman Hasan al Jameel and American pop icon Rihanna together last month, many Saudis whooped in praise.
    "Why is no one asking for his trial?" Twitter user Noura Suliman asked on Wednesday.
    "?no one said a thing. Everyone praises [Hassan al-Jameel] for that, while Saudi women are being insulted," said another, Shajan al-Qahtani.
    Others were unmoved, however, arguing that the kingdom has its own particular social codes like any other country.
    "In France, the niqab (face veil) is banned and women are fined if they wear it. In Saudi Arabia, wearing robes and modest clothing is part of the kingdom's laws," tweeted one.


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