Author: newsdesk

  • Baita waapis aaya: Junaid is moving back permanently to help mother in politics

    Baita waapis aaya: Junaid is moving back permanently to help mother in politics

    Junaid Safdar, the son of Senior Vice President of Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N), Maryam Nawaz, is set to travel to Pakistan to settle in the country permanently, reports Murtaza Shah for The News.

    News reports state that Junaid and his wife, Ayesha Saif, will reach Pakistan on Friday from Doha.

    The couple would be shifting to Pakistan permanently to assist Maryam Nawaz in the party’s political activities.

    On January 2, Maryam Nawaz was appointed the Senior Vice President of PML-N. She will also take on the responsibility of organising the party.

    According to news reports, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday left London for a week-long trip to Switzerland’s Geneva.

    Meanwhile, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif will also be visiting Geneva to co-host the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan — along with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres — on January 9.

    The reports further suggest that the PML-N supremo and his daughter will have meetings scheduled during the trip. Nawaz will also meet with PM Shehbaz, who is expected to reach the Swiss city on Sunday, January 8.

  • Edward Norton confirms Pocahontas is his 12th grandmother

    Edward Norton confirms Pocahontas is his 12th grandmother

    Edward Norton, who starred as the “genius” tech billionaire Miles Bron in the film ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’ was a guest at the PBS genealogical history show ‘Finding Your Roots’ where the actor discovered that the real-life Pocahontas was his 12th grandmother.

    Pocohontas was a Native American who had welcomed English settlers into Virginia in the early 1600’s. Later, she was kidnapped and taken to England where she married tobacco planter John Rolfe in 1614 and converted to Christianity. She died there.

    According to the host and historian Henry Louis Gates Jr, a paper trail directly led to connecting Norton to his 12th great grandmother Pocahontas and great- grandfather John Rolfe. He further revealed that Pocahontas had died around 1617, while Rolfe had passed away in March 1622.

    On this revelation, Norton had remarked that he was quite astonished.

    ‘It just makes you realize what a small … piece of the whole human story you are.’

    The show also revealed to Edward Norton that his third great-grandfather, John Winstead, owned a family of slaves, which included a 55 year old man, a 37 year old woman, and five young girls whose ages were between 4 and 10.

    To this, Norton confessed that he had researched his own history before coming on the show, and realizing that his family had owned slaves was something that was quite uncomfortable for him.

    ‘The short answer is these things are uncomfortable. And you should be uncomfortable with them. It’s not a judgment on you in your own life but it’s a judgment on the history of this country and it needs to be acknowledged first and foremost and then it needs to be contended with. When you read ‘Slave, age 8′, you just want to die.’

  • Experts predict gold price may reach Rs200,000 per tola soon

    Experts predict gold price may reach Rs200,000 per tola soon

    On Wednesday, the price of gold reached another record high as it continued its upward trend. The price of precious yellow metal in Pakistan is currently higher than the global market.

    Gold prices increased by Rs900 per tola and Rs772 per 10 grammes, respectively, according to the All-Pakistan Sarafa Gems and Jewellers Association (APSGJA). These prices now stand at Rs188,600 and Rs161,694 respectively.

    Owing to the Pakistani rupee’s depreciation against the US dollar during the present cycle and the lack of US dollars, traders predict that the price of gold would reach Rs200,000 per tola.

    According to market analysts, the $6–$8 billion inflow from multilateral and bilateral creditors will pop Pakistan’s gold price bubble.

    Silver’s price per tola, however, stayed constant at Rs2,150. The cost of 10-gramme silver remained essentially constant at Rs1,843.27.

    Gold prices increased more than 1 per cent on Wednesday, reaching their highest level since mid-June due to a weaker rupee and mounting predictions that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates gradually rather than aggressively.

    The markets have now priced in the possibility that the central bank may raise interest rates by a full 50-100 basis points on January 23 after Pakistan’s December inflation data was revealed on Monday.

    Greater interest rates increase the opportunity cost of owning non-yielding metal, despite the fact that gold is regarded as a safe investment during times of uncertainty and a hedge against higher inflation.

  • TTP member attacks Govt contractor’s house after refusal to pay 15 million ransom

    TTP member attacks Govt contractor’s house after refusal to pay 15 million ransom

    A government contractor in Rawalpindi refused to pay the demanded ransom of Rs 15 million to a member of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Mohammad Asghar reports for Dawn. The terrorist then allegedly assaulted his home with a cracker at Dhoke Lakhan in the Dhamial neighbourhood.

    Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) joined the police in their investigation of the incident after a first information report (FIR) was filed with them on Tuesday.
    Mohammad Nisar, a government contractor and inhabitant of Dhoke Lakhan Chakri Road, filed a police report claiming that on October 7, 2022, he received a voicemail identifying the caller as a TTP official and demanding a ransom of Rs15 million.

    Nisar had been working as a government contractor for the last 20 years.

    He claimed that after the man failed to respond to his message, he resorted to his brother Mushtaq Ali’s cellphone and left him a voicemail asking him to show it to his brother.

    He continued by saying that on December 28, 2022, at 4am, he heard an explosion outside his house while sleeping inside, while his wife and kids had left for their village.

    He said in the FIR that he went to his house’s rooftop to investigate the incident but was unable to see anything because of the darkness. He went back to sleep. The suspect was heard telling his brother that he had given him a glimpse the previous night in a second voice message that was left for him the next day.
    After that, he proceeded to his home’s rooftop where he discovered cracker fragments that had exploded on the compound wall of the roof.

  • Sajjad Ali posts clarification after fans claim Bollywood copied his song ‘Ab Ke Hum Bicharay’

    Sajjad Ali posts clarification after fans claim Bollywood copied his song ‘Ab Ke Hum Bicharay’

    Singer Sajjad Ali clarified to his fans that he was not pointing fingers or accusing anyone of plagiarising his song ‘Ab Ke Hum Bicharay’ in the Bollywood number ‘Besharam Rang’. A few days ago, the singer had posted a clip on Instagram where he said that he had been listening to some new music a few days ago, and which had reminded him of an old song of his.

    On Tuesday, Sajjad Ali posted a video where he said that he was not pointing fingers at any artist or song and had not claimed that they had copied his song.

    “After watching my previous video, many people started saying that ‘Sajjad Ali is claiming his song has been copied’. First of all, when did I even say this? Please see the clip again and observe how I never uttered any singer’s name, never called out any song, music director or even actor,” the veteran singer said.

    Ali revealed that the reason why he had made the video because the tune of that song had been similar to his own music.

    “I actually said that I was reminded of Ab Ke Hum Bichare while listening to some of the latest music in cinema. Why did it remind me of my song? Because 80% of the tunes made on raag bhairavi sound pretty similar to each other. I have also curated multiple songs on the same raag, therefore the tunes reminded me of them.”
    Ali further explained that he didn’t need to indulge in theatrics to gain fame, as many of the critics were pointing out.

    “To the people who are suggesting that I made such statements to gain fame, I’ll remind everyone that, Alhamdulillah, I am already pretty popular and don’t need to perform any theatrics to gain attention. I have many fans and never get involved in controversies because I always mind my own business. When many of my songs were actually copied in the 90s, I never made any public claims and hopefully I will do the same in the future.”

    Sajjad Ali concluded the video by requesting his followers to educate themselves on the matter before spreading rumors.

    “The problem is we don’t understand these technicalities of music because we have the passion for arts but lack the required knowledge of it. So, please my fellow brothers, when you don’t have an understanding of a topic, don’t go on to pass such comments.”

    You can listen to his full statement below.

  • Why did Julia Roberts convert to Hinduism?

    Why did Julia Roberts convert to Hinduism?

    The ‘Pretty Woman’ of Hollywood, Julia Roberts visited India back in 2009 for the shoot of the film, Eat Pray Love, and that is when things changed for her as she got fascinated by the culture.

    The Oscar-winning was born to a Catholic mother and a Baptist father. Back in 2010, Roberts made a significant lifestyle change that made the headlines. After shooting her film, the actress became a practicing Hindu. In an interview with Elle, she admitted to it and also mentioned that her husband and their three children go to temples to “chant, pray and celebrate”.

    Celebrity Photos Posters Julia Roberts Hot in shoulder-less dress Photo - CL2552 | eBay

    In the Good Morning America show, Julia Roberts spoke about what intrigued her to take such a massive step as she said, “I practiced. I practice a lot of things. Hinduism is something that I’m very intrigued by and very interested in.”

    Julia Roberts now a 'practicing Hindu': Actress converts to religion while filming 'Eat, Pray, Love' – New York Daily News

    As per reports, her interest in this religion started after encountering the photograph of a Hindu Guru. Roberts revealed in an interview, “I was drawn to this picture of this person, and I didn’t know who he was or what he was about, but I felt a very strong interest. That’s the way things come into our lives. They’re not these big, great, crashing moments. It’s just the little like, ‘Hmm, what is this about?’”.

  • TTP directly threatens PM Shehbaz and FM Bilawal

    The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) has announced that it is considering taking concrete steps against the two major parties of the current ruling coalition— the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

    In a notification, released on Wednesday, TTP claimed that the whole world is aware that the “Jihadi field of TTP is only Pakistan and their target is the security agencies occupying the country.”

    The banned organisation has also mentioned the names of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif as both of them have talked against TTP and warned the terrorists.

    The notification further reads that it has not taken action against any political party for a long time but “unfortunately Bilawal gave the United States (US) the status of mother to quench the thirst of his mother’s love”, adding that by doing so “he openly declared war against TTP”.

    “Although Bilawal is still young, this poor man has not yet witnessed the state of war,” the statement added.

    The TTP further said that Sharif has also “pushed the whole party into this war going against TTP for the sake of pleasing the US”.

    A statement issued by the TTP said that “if these two parties remain firm on their position and continue to be slaves of the army, then action will be taken against their leading people.”

    The statement by TTP comes just a day after FM Bilawal’s comment that the incumbent government would quit “the policy of appeasement” of terrorists, unlike the previous government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

    Moreover, PM Shehbaz earlier this week had chaired a National Security Committee (NSC) meeting in which it was decided that Pakistan would adopt a zero tolerance policy against terrorism.

    In November, the TTP announced that they have called off a ceasefire with the federal government and since then they have been attacking across the country.

  • ‘Support us to stop child abuse on 5th Jan’: Nadia Jamil urges followers

    ‘Support us to stop child abuse on 5th Jan’: Nadia Jamil urges followers

    Actress Nadia Jamil has been at the forefront of demanding better conditions for orphaned children, providing a prominent voice for children who are sold into begging or prostitution. Today, the actress used her Twitter platform to remind followers that on January 5, a protest would be held on Liberty Roundabout in Lahore at 11 am to raise awareness about child sexual abuse and neglect. Her post read:

    “Tomorrow is #Jan5th Please tag as many Lahores as you can,2 ask them 2 show up @ Liberty Market Roundabout @ 11am. We are walking 2 #SayNoToChildAbuse Be part of the solution. Silence encourages the crime! Give a voice 2 children who have no voice. Step out of your comfort zone.”

    The actress has consistently used her social media platform to educate her followers on the rights of children, especially spreading awareness on how important it is for parents to take mental assesment and therapy before choosing to have children.

    Jamil also explained that her desire to spread awareness on child sexual abuse and encourage better policies towards protection of children was due to her own experience of facing sexual abuse as a child. She wrote that she hopes to be more responsible and take care of children around her.

    Nadia Jamil had spoken up about suffering from sexual abuse as a child when in a Twitter post, she shared how it had taken two years for her to fight the depression and sadness she had felt after the experience, but now was healed and thriving.

  • Is marriage on the cards for Vijay Varma and Tamannaah Bhatia?

    Is marriage on the cards for Vijay Varma and Tamannaah Bhatia?

    Love is brewing between Bollywood actors Vijay Varma and Tamannaah Bhatia, as the duo was spotted indulging in PDA on their Goa vacation during the New Year’s evening. Videos of them ringing in the New Year with kisses are going viral on social media.

    For the New Year’s Eve 2023 party, Tamannaah wore a pink dress, whereas Vijay donned a white shirt and pants. The duo clicked pictures with fans too. In viral videos, people were doing a countdown to midnight to celebrate the New Year wherein Vijay and Tamannaah gave each other a kiss.

    Tamannaah Bhatia and Vijay Varma caught kissing in Goa on New Year's Eve; videos go viral of the new rumoured couple

    The two of them have been seen together on several occasions. They attended last year’s Vogue India fashion event, were seen at Diljit Dosanjh’s concert in October, and event at the cinemas watching a film together.

    While the Indian media is abuzz with their potential wedding in 2023, other media reports suggest that they will take more time before they take their relationship to the next level.

    The couple was spotted

    Tamannaah and Vijay Varma return to Mumbai after partying in Goa. Watch - India Today

    Meanwhile, on the work front, Vijay will next star in The Devotion Of Suspect with Kareena Kapoor Khan while Tamannaah will be seen in Bholaa Shankar.

  • Fact Check: Naseem Vicky, Qaiser Piya injured in car accident?

    Fact Check: Naseem Vicky, Qaiser Piya injured in car accident?

    Veteran comedians Naseem Vicky and Qaiser Piya narrowly escaped a car accident. They were reportedly on their way to Faisalabad to perform in a theatre show. The artists avoided the mishap but advised their fans to refrain from traveling in foggy weather.

    Although some social media handles falsely reported that the artists got injured, the comedian duo is safe and sound.

    On the work front, Vicky was recently seen in Kaaf Kangana, Shotcut, Phatte Dinde Chak Punjabi, and Maa Da Ladla.

    Meet Family Of Famous Stage And Comedy Artist Naseem Vicky – Health Fashion

    He also performed on The Kapil Sharma Show. 

    Qaiser, on the other hand, was seen in films including Load Wedding and Maa Da Ladla. 

    He was also seen in the comedy show Mazaaq Raat.