FLORIDA, 17 May 2021, (TON): After competition with 73 other candidates, Miss Mexico Andrea Meza has been crowned the 69th Miss Universe during a three-hour televised competition held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood in Florida.

Former Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa crowned the Mexican beauty at the event. 

During the final statement round, Miss Mexico was asked to address the topic of changing beauty standards, "We live in a society that more and more is more advanced and as we have advanced as a society, we have advanced with stereotypes," she shared via translator. "Nowadays, beauty is not only the way we look. For me, beauty radiates not only in our spirits, but in our hearts and the way we conduct ourselves. Never permit someone to tell you that you are not valuable."

ISLAMABAD, 17 May 2021, (TON): Pakistan on Sunday announced removing coronavirus restrictions on transportation and commercial activities, which were suspended after Yom-e-Ali for a week to curb the spread of the virus during Eid-ul-Fitr.

The easing of restrictions came even as the country's coronavirus positivity rose to 7.83 per cent on Sunday.

All businesses and public transport were suspended from May 10-16 to stop mass movement during the Eid al-Fitr holidays to curb the spread of the virus. However, the National Command and Ope­ra­tion Centre (NCOC) deci­ded to resume public transport from Sunday.

The restriction on transport was eased to help people come back from far off places to join their offices and other duties from Monday when businesses would also open.

UNITED NATIONS, 16 May 2021, (TON) At UNSC, while mourning the death of an Indian nurse in Israel, India condemns rocket attack by Palestinian that killed her along with three other persons.
India’s Permanent Representative T. S. Tirumurti on Sunday instead of condemning Israeli brutality, condemned the rocket attacks from Gaza that killed her. He called Israeli attacks as, “retaliatory attacks by Israel.”

Indian claims that Soumya Santosh, who is from Kerala, was killed in Ashkelon inside Israel by the rocket launched reportedly by the Hamas organisation from Gaza last week.

The Council met in a virtual session as the situation in the Israel-Palestine-Gaza region spiralled into a violent crisis, with reports that before the session, Israeli air strikes had killed at least 40 people, some of them children, Indian representative said, “India has also lost one of her nationals living in Israel in this rocket fire — a caregiver in Ashkelon. We deeply mourn her demise along with all other civilians who have lost their lives in the current cycle of violence.”

He said, “The indiscriminate rocket firings from Gaza targeting the civilian population in Israel, which we condemn, and the retaliatory strikes into Gaza, have caused immense suffering, and resulted in deaths.

He called for an immediate de-escalation of the situation to stop “any further slide to the brink” and the resumption of dialogue between the parties to the conflict.

He said that Jerusalem has a special place in the hearts of Indians and added that attempts should not be made to change the status quo in East Jerusalem and its neighbourhood.

He mentioned the presence of an India-associated in Jerusalem’s old city. New Delhi had restored the Al Zawiyya Al Hindiyya, the Indian hospice associated with Indian Sufi saint Baba Farid and added,

At the UNSC session presided over China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Secretary General Antonio Guterres said: “Fighting must stop. It must stop immediately. Rockets and mortars on one side and aerial and artillery bombardments on the other must stop. I appeal to all parties to heed this call.”

JEDDAH, 16 May 2021, (TON): In a statement by Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pakistan Foreign Minister at Virtual Open-ended Emergency Meeting of the OIC Executive Committee to Discuss Israel’s Aggression against Palestine condemned the systematic and barbaric crimes against the Palestinians and Israeli attack on innocent worshippers in Al-Aqsa Mosque, violating the very sanctity of Qibla-e-Awal. Foreign Minister Qureshi said, “The deteriorating conditions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories due to the illegal practices of Israel, its colonial policies, and its continued aggression, siege and collective punishment, are sickening.”
He said, “We are also gravely concerned at the continuing expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and expulsion of Palestinians from their properties. The tragedy of forced evictions of Palestinians from the Shaikh Jarrah neighborhood of Al-Quds Al-Shareef is the latest manifestation of the systematic Israeli effort to change the demographic structure; historical and legal status; and Arab-Islamic and Christian character of Al-Quds Al-Shareef. This is patently illegal, immoral and unacceptable.”
He stressed on, “Pakistan’s support for a two-state solution in accordance with the relevant United Nations and OIC resolutions, with the pre-1967 borders, and Al-Quds Al-Shareef as the capital of a viable, independent and contiguous Palestinian State.”
The Foreign Minister said, Three, Israel’s crimes against humanity should not escape accountability. There should be no impunity for Israel’s violation of international law, including the Fourth Geneva and the other various human rights Conventions.””
He added, “in the wake of the deteriorating conditions for the people of Palestine, my Prime Minister Imran Khan has spoken with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan, and the President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas. I have also been in touch with my key regional counterparts, including brother Riyad Al-Maliki.”

GAZA, 16 May 2021, (TON): In a new wave of Israeli raids on Gaza by Israeli aircrafts, Benjamin Netanyahu pledges to continue attacks ‘as long as necessary’.

Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip destroyed home of most senior Hamas leader in Gaza.
The latest attempt to silence Palestinians is unprecedented aerial attacks have increased.

The UN Secretary General is only issuing statement for formality. Around 176 people, including children and women have been killed in the Gaza Strip.

RIYADH, 16 May 2021, (TON): Saudi Arabia has called for foreign ministers of the world’s largest body of Muslim nations, Organization of Islamic Cooperation(OIC) to attend a meeting here on Sunday. The meeting aims to discuss Israeli acts of aggression against Palestinians and the Israeli security forces’s use of brute force against protesters at Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will host the virtual summit, gathering ministers of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation “to discuss the Israeli aggression in the Palestinian territory,” particularly acts of violence in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque and killings of Palestinians by Israeli forces. 

The sanctity of Al-Aqsa mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites, is a sensitive and emotive issue for Muslims around the world. The OIC was formed half a century ago in response to a Jewish extremist arson attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in east Jerusalem.     

PESHAWAR, 16 May 2021, (TON): Former Awami National Party (ANP) provincial president Begum Naseem Wali Khan passed away on Sunday.

According to family members, Begum Naseem Wali was suffering from diabetes and heart ailments. Begum Naseem Wali Khan was wife of ANP leader Abdul Wali Khan.

She got elected to the provincial assembly many times in the past.

Begum Wali's funeral prayers will be offered at 6 pm today at Wali Bagh, Charsadda. .

WUHAN, 16 May 2021, (TON): Two powerful tornadoes walloped the Chinese cities of Wuhan and Suzhou, killing at least seven people and injuring 239 others, state-media reported on Saturday.

Six people were killed and 218 others injured after a tornado, packing winds of 23.9 meters per second, ripped through the Caidian District of Wuhan at 8:39 p.M on Friday, toppling some construction site sheds and snapping a large number of trees, the Xinhua news agency reported.

According to an initial investigation by local authorities on Saturday morning, 27 houses collapsed. Two tower cranes and 8,000 square meters of construction site sheds also were damaged.

Another tornado hit Shengze Town, under the city of Suzhou in Jiangsu Province in which one person was killed and 21 others injured.

The tornado around 7 p.M. On Friday also damaged electricity facilities and toppled several factory buildings, the Xinhua report said.

The tornados came as a surprise to the locals as it is quite rare in the region.

TEL AVIV, 16 May 2021. (TON): Israel’s barbaric bombardment of the Gaza Strip has entered its seventh consecutive day, with aerial bombardments in the wee hours of Sunday killing at least seven Palestinians, inguring over two dozens. Most of the targetting is the residential buildings. 

The UN Security Council will publicly discuss the worsening violence between Israel and Palestinian militants on Sunday, after pressure from US at the meeting on Friday.

Despite the fact that at least 145 people have been killed in Gaza since 10 May, including 38 children and 24 women, and over thousand others wounded, UNSC is looking for a balanced statement to please the US, ignoring Israeli atrocities.