Author: newsdesk

  • US first lady is in ‘good spirits’ after surgery to remove cancerous lesions

    US first lady is in ‘good spirits’ after surgery to remove cancerous lesions

    Jill Biden, the First Lady of the United States of America, has successfully undergone surgery to remove cancerous skin lesions on her face and chest on Wednesday. A third lesion was removed from her left eyelid and sent for examination.

    The lesions, removed via Mohr’s surgery, were consistent with basal cell carcinoma, a form of cancer that does not metastasize. Jill Biden’s doctors have said they were able to get clean margins.

    A White House physician said that “all cancerous tissue was removed.”

    According to Jill’s spokesperson, Vanessa Valdivia, the first lady is “doing well and in good spirits.”

    The 71-year-old first lady was accompanied by her husband President Joe Biden, who spent more than eight hours with her at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

    Biden himself has had several non-melanoma skin cancers in the past.

    Basal cell carcinoma is the most frequently occurring form of all cancers. They are slow-growing, curable and cause minimal damage if treated early.

  • ‘Main reason for Imran-Bajwa’s differences is social media’: President Alvi

    ‘Main reason for Imran-Bajwa’s differences is social media’: President Alvi

    President Arif Alvi has offered to mediate between the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

    In an interview with BBC Urdu on Thursday, Dr. Alvi said that it is now inevitable that simmering political tension be cooled down and advised political leadership to hold talks with each other.

    “It is my offer to them [political parties] to sit together and then senior leadership can hold talks,” said Dr Alvi.

    The president blamed social media when commenting on the misunderstandings between former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and PTI Chairman Imran Khan.

    Misunderstandings began because of the undue importance given to social media, he reasoned, expressing the belief that the country’s decision-makers “are not able to handle social media properly” and that they should do a better job of it.

    When pressed if the cause of “friction” between former premier and ex-army chief was the appointment of then director-general (DG) of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Faiz Hameed, President Alvi said that he would not talk about any specific person or incident.

    “Who was not showing flexibility?” the President asked. “I was asking them to set-aside differences and ignore social media.”

    “People can’t forgive,” he remarked.

    Responding to a question about an extension in tenure offered to the former army chief by Imran Khan, President Alvi said he was not aware of such an offer.

    “This is what I am saying. Remove such misunderstandings by having a dialogue together,” he stressed. “Be it any party, opposition, government or the establishment, I am ready to bring people together.”

    The president said that Khan expressed satisfaction over the appointment of General Asim Munir as the current army chief when Alvi had consulted the PTI chairman. However, he said that he was not playing any role in conducting a dialogue between the current military leadership and Khan.

    He emphasised his offers of negotiations between the government alliance and PTI, saying he had urged them to “sit together”.

    “I am not talking about Imran Khan. I am saying that at least the political parties should negotiate with each other. After that, the major figures of the [political] parties can also meet,” he explained.

  • Talibans unveil first Afghani ‘supercar’ with Toyota Corolla Altis 1.8 engine

    Talibans unveil first Afghani ‘supercar’ with Toyota Corolla Altis 1.8 engine

    Even though Afghanistan has recently made headlines for its restrictions on women, its people have now come up with something that is putting it on the map for the right reasons: a homegrown supercar called the Mada 9.

    The five-year design and development process for the sporty-looking Mada 9 prototype sports car was overseen by 30 engineers from the manufacturer ENTOP and Kabul’s Afghanistan Technical Vocational Institute (ATVI).

    The car is mostly always stationary in social media videos that are making the rounds, and ENTOP hasn’t provided any performance information at all, so it’s unclear what it can do on the road.

    Given that the Mada 9 team claims their engine is that of a very underwhelming Toyota Corolla, it is unlikely to compete with brands like Bugatti and McLaren.

    It features the same engine that Toyota employed in the Corolla Altis 1.8 (2005–2011; E140), which is likewise quite well-liked in Pakistan. The stock 1ZZ-FE is capable of producing up to 171 Newton metres (Nm) of torque and 132 horsepower (hp).

    It can produce more than 170 hp thanks to the factory-installed supercharger from Toyota.

    A spokesman for the Taliban Zabihullah Mujahid proudly shared pictures of the car on social media and said that the nation as a whole was “honoured” by its construction.

    The news of the supercar was well received in Afghanistan, and many quickly shared pictures of it on social media, claiming it was evidence of the country’s prowess in science and technology.

    However, many more users brought up the fact that the supercar was introduced as Afghanistan battled one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world and that the Taliban had revoked the rights of the nation’s women to study and work.

  • Punjab Police demolishes minaret of Ahmadi Ibadatgah in Wazirabad

    Punjab Police demolishes minaret of Ahmadi Ibadatgah in Wazirabad

    The minarets of the Jamaat Ahmadiyya Ibadatgah located in Moti Bazar, Wazirabad, was demolished by the Punjab Police. Jamaat Ahmadiyya has said that the Punjab police has demolished the minaret of the Ibadatgah without any legal justification.

    The Supreme Court in a landmark judgment on minorities’ rights issued in 2014, had asked the government to form a special task force for the protection of worship places of minorities..

  • Malala congratulates Joyland as it crosses second round of nominations for Oscars

    Malala congratulates Joyland as it crosses second round of nominations for Oscars

    The film ‘Joyland’ made history last month when it was selected as the Pakistani film to be shortlisted for nomination for the ‘International Feature Film’ at the Oscar Awards.
    Today, activist Malala Yousafzai congratulated team Joyland when it was announced that the film had crossed the second round of shortlisting, proceeding to the final round. From her Twitter account she wrote,

    “I’m proud to support JOYLAND, which was just shortlisted by @TheAcademy for Best International Film. It would be amazing to see it make Oscar history as the first Pakistani film to be nominated.”

    The final list of nominations will be announced on 24th January, 2023, with the awards scheduled to take place on 12th March, 2023.

    The final list of nominations will be announced on January 25 with the awards scheduled to take place on March 12, 2023.
    The social activist is credited on Joyland as an Executive Producer and had previously congratulated writer and director Saim Sadiq for his outstanding hard work when it was announced the film was shortlisted for the Oscars.

    Speaking to CNN on New Years Interview, Saim Sadiq had said that the film reflects on the importance of storytelling which provides a realistic depiction of what our society is like.

    “I think every story, if it’s told honestly, is important then this one is no different. I think the difference with this film versus perhaps a lot of other Pakistani films that certain people may have seen, is that it’s perhaps the most realistic depiction of what our society’s like, without a romantic depiction of anything. It’s not something that other people are used to seeing on the big screen, which is a reflection of ourselves. Which can be very heartening but can also be very uncomfortable to watch.”

  • ‘Schoolboy level trolling’: Twitter hits back at Moonis Elahi for his comment on PML-N’s Hina Parvez

    In the early hours of Thursday morning when Punjab Assembly was in chaos over the Vote of Confidence, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader and former federal minister Moonis Elahi found time to take a jibe at his rival party Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Hina Parvez Butt.

    Moonis posted a picture of Hina sitting in the House while the session was underway on Twitter. In the photo, Hina has a scarf over her head and her hands on her cheeks. Moonis Elahi wrote, “Oh God, what happened!! This is the condition of the entire PML-N.” He also tagged Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah in the tweet.

    Shortly thereafter, many users reacted, taking Moonis to task for his tweet. One user called it “schoolboy level trolling”.

    https://twitter.com/s_4_g_/status/1613279991030059008?s=20&t=FQhaxIYP2boIKGgGLigKDQ

    After the picture went viral on social media, Hina also hit back at the trolls. Issuing a clarification on Twitter, she said that the picture was taken during Azaan.

  • Quratulain Baloch murder case 2021: Husband sentenced to death

    Quratulain Baloch murder case 2021: Husband sentenced to death

    Umar Memon, who murdered his wife Quratulain Baloch after torturing her, has been given the death penalty by a Sessions Court.

    “Quratulain Baloch gets justice. This mother of four was brutally murdered by her husband Umar Memon in 2021. Due to the resolve of Quratulain’s brothers and family, the husband has been convicted for murder and given the death penalty. The children are being raised by Qurat’s family,” Lawyer Jibran Nasir wrote in a tweet

    The brutal murder took place in July 2021 when Qurat-ul-Ain Baloch, a mother of four children, was murdered by her husband Umer Khalid Memon after being tortured in Barrage Colony, Hyderabad. Her murder sparked nationwide outrage and condemnation.

  • Meesha Shafi shares first look of her film ‘Mustache’

    Meesha Shafi shares first look of her film ‘Mustache’

    Actress and singer Meesha Shafi shared a first look of the upcoming film ‘Mustache’ on her Instagram account, and announced that it had been selected for the ‘Narrative Feature Competition’ section at the SXSC Film and Tv Festival.

    Her full caption read:

    “First look! @mustache_movie
    directed by @imranjkhan 

    So excited to announce that this beautiful film I did with so many beautiful and hardworking people has been selected in the ‘Narrative Feature Competition’ section at the prestigious SXSW this year!

    Couldn’t have asked for a better team! You are all amazing

    #mustachemovie@mustache_movie, @wearemakesay, @sxsw“

    Directed and written by Imran J Khan, the Pakistani-American film also stars comedian Hasan Minhaj, Rizwan Manji and Alicia Silverstone.

    The film’s premise revolves around a 13 year old boy Ilyas, who has to navigate the social hierarchy of his public school in California with a mustache that his parents won’t allow him to shave off. Meesha Shafi is set to play the mother, while Manji is set to play Ilyas’ father, Hameed.

  • SBP instructs banks to inform customers in advance about downtime of digital banking services

    SBP instructs banks to inform customers in advance about downtime of digital banking services

    The use of banking apps and sites for carrying out day-to-day transactions has considerably increased. However, it has been noted that in cases of service outages, customers are not properly informed in a timely manner, due to which they face issues with transactions.

    Now, in order to ensure that customers are informed about service disruptions due to any scheduled or unforeseen activity, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued fresh instructions to facilitate the customers of the financial institutions.

    According to the most recent instructions, banks must now notify customers and the SBP of any planned activity that may result in service disruptions.

    Financial institutions are required to inform customers at least two days in advance through SMS alerts, social media platforms, and in-app notifications, while SBP will be notified at least one week in advance for any maintenance activity.

    SBP, as part of its oversight responsibility, will regularly monitor the availability of digital channels itself.

    Monthly cumulative downtimes must be reported to SBP. The central banks shall be apprised of the actions taken by the relevant bank to avoid inconvenience in the future if the unforeseen outage exceeds three hours each quarter.

  • What the hell is going on in Punjab ?

    Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi won the confidence vote in the Punjab Assembly (PA) in the early hours of Thursday morning.

    A total of 186 members of the provincial assembly (MPAs) voted in support of Elahi as the chief minister on a resolution moved by Punjab Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Raja Basharat.

    The Opposition boycotted the session, claiming that the pre-requisite legal requirements were not met and that Punjab Governor Baligh-Ur-Rehman’s order of vote of confidence was sub judice.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) refused to accept the proceedings, with federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah terming them against the Constitution and “illegal”.

    The interior minister, speaking to media outside the Assembly premises, said that the PTI lawyers argued before the court that the governor’s order is unconstitutional.

    “So, how did they conduct the confidence vote under Article 130(7) today?” he asked.

    “PA Speaker Sibtain Khan said the confidence vote would not be taken during today’s session. However, the agenda was changed at midnight, and a vote of confidence was initiated by deceit.”

    On the other hand, PTI leaders celebrated the victory and praised party Chairman Imran Khan for the win.