Author: newsdesk

  • ‘Let’s go Rajasthan’: Kiara Advani, Sidharth Malhotra’s wedding details revealed

    ‘Let’s go Rajasthan’: Kiara Advani, Sidharth Malhotra’s wedding details revealed

    Bollywood actors Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani had successfully kept their relationship under wraps for quite a long time. But it was Karan Johar who made them confess that they were more than just ‘good friends’ on Koffee With Karan Season 7.

    As per the latest media reports,  the couple’s wedding festivities will begin in the first week of February at the Jaisalmer Palace Hotel in Rajasthan. According to a report by ETimes, Malhotra and Advani will get married in the first week of February and the pre-wedding functions will reportedly take place on February 4 and 5 during which the groom and bride’s families will host traditional events like mehndi, haldi, and sangeet ceremonies.

    It has also been reported that the big day will be held the next day on February 6, which is expected to be a grand affair, perhaps even a destination wedding. A source told ETimes, “The wedding is slated to take place at Jaisalmer Palace Hotel. It is going to be a lavish event with high security.”

    The report also claimed that a group of security personnel and bodyguards will be sent to the hotel in Rajasthan a day before the pre-wedding festivities begin.

    According to Pinkvilla, Malhotra and Advani were spotted outside ace fashion designer Manish Malhotra’s store where the Juggjugg Jeeyo star was all smiles.

    While wedding rumours run rampant, the couple was spotted at the Mumbai airport on Thursday.

    Kiara and Sidharth met for the first time at the wrap-up party of Lust Stories (2018). They struck the chords in no time and their on-screen love was widely reflected in their sizzling chemistry in Shershaah. Shahid Kapoor and Karan Johar were very keen on Advani’s marriage and even declared that she seemed ready during their conversation at KWK.

    Allegedly the couple was earlier to get married in Goa but due to the inconvenience it will cause their families to travel from Chandigarh and Delhi, the plan was dropped.

    Sidharth Malhotra reveals intentions to marry Kiara Advani

    On the work front, Malhotra will next be seen in Mission Majnu, a spy thriller that also stars Rashmika Mandanna. He also has Yodha with Disha Patani and Raashii Khanna coming up. As for Advani, she was recently seen in Govinda Naam Mera with Vicky Kaushal and Bhumi Pednekar in the lead roles. She will be seen next in Satya Prem Ki Katha opposite her Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 co-star Kartik Aaryan, and RC15 with Ram Charan.

  • The best part about 2022 was witnessing the rise of Shae Gill.

    The best part about 2022 was witnessing the rise of Shae Gill.

    2022 could be best regarded as the year Pakistani music went global, with singer Arooj Aftab winning a Grammy for her song ‘Mohabbat’, then Ms. Marvel debuting on Disney Plus while showcasing Pakistani singers like Eva B, Hassan and Roshaan and then Coke Studio happened. But perhaps in all of this, Shae Gill becoming the absolute queen she was always going to be, was the brightest spot of the year.
    Shae Gill uploaded a post on Instagram on Friday where she posted video clips and pictures of her finest moments of 2022, which included new music she released and performances abroad. But it’s safe to say that witnessing the rise of the singer this year has to be proof that the Pakistani music industry is in safe hands. There is something amazing and unique Gill is bringing to the table.

    Gill had previously been an Instagram star, who sang covers of songs like Neeyat-e-Shauq and Kahaan Ho Tum, and her fans would often encourage her to release a solo song.

    Soon enough, Gill took the world by storm with the song Pasoori, belting out what turned out to be a global hit with Ali Sethi. Many of us who didn’t know about her Instagram covers, fell in love with her mesmerizing, soothing voice. Pasoori soon reached more than a 100 million likes on Youtube, dominated Spotify global charts all over the world, and even making a feature on pop singer Britany Spear’s Instagram account.

    You thought that this would be enough for Gill? She once more captivated followers with her dreamy solo in the song ‘Sukoon’. The video instantly became a hit on social media and fans commented on how much Shae Gill’s voice was similar to Nazia Hassan’s melodious voice.

    https://twitter.com/KashaffZulfiqar/status/1607844822508765191?s=20&t=PrOwpG8UYPIp0BX-AzYFuw

    It wasn’t only limited to Pakistani fans, even Bollywood celebrities like Rohit Saraf and Ayush Mannk became instant fans of the song.

    Soon afterwards, Spotify announced that Gill is the brand’s new EQUAL ambassador, and was featured on the Times Square billboard in New York.

    If this is all that took for Shae Gill to become a household name in a year, then we aren’t prepared for the magic she will bring for the rest of the years to come. It’s wonderful to witness how Shae Gill is bringing the world’s attention to Pakistani music with her melodious voice, and we’re so excited to witness her rise in the years to come.

  • Petrol price to remain unchanged at Rs214.80 per litre for next fortnight

    Petrol price to remain unchanged at Rs214.80 per litre for next fortnight

    Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Saturday that the government will maintain the price of petroleum products for the next two weeks.

    In a video statement, he said that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) requested an increase in domestic rates of petroleum products because of the upward trend in oil prices. However, he said that the price revision was rejected by the government.

    The price of petrol will remain unchanged at Rs214.8 per litre while diesel will be sold at Rs227.80 per litre till mid-January 2023.

    Kerosene oil will be sold at Rs171.83 per litre while light diesel oil will be sold at Rs169 per litre.

    “Kerosene is used by the low-income segment for heating needs,” the finance minister said.

    Previously, the market anticipated that the cost of petroleum products would remain unchanged.

  • Singer Sajjad Ali calls out Bollywood for plagiarizing his song ‘Ab Ke Hum Bichere’

    Singer Sajjad Ali calls out Bollywood for plagiarizing his song ‘Ab Ke Hum Bichere’

    It seems as though Bollywood’s tendency to plagiarize Pakistani music hasn’t ended. This time, it was singer Sajjad Ali who called out Bollywood for plagiarizing his song ‘Ab Ke Hum Bicharay’.
    Yesterday, the singer uploaded a video on Instagram, where he says he was listening to songs from an upcoming movie and realized that the melody resembled a song he had written years ago. He did not name drop the Bollywood song directly, but left it for his followers to interpret.

    After close observation, many fans were quick to point out that the melody of Sajad Ali’s song was similar to the Bollywood song ‘Besharam Rang’.

    This is not the first time Bollywood has been called out for stealing music from Pakistani artists. Politician and singer Abrar-ul-Haq had announced that he was suing T-series for copying his iconic song Nach Punjaban in the film Jugjug Jeeyo, that too without giving him any credit.

    Singer Hadiqa Kiyani had criticized Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor for covering her song ‘Boohey Bariyan’ without giving any credit to the original singer. In her Instagram stories, Kiyani called it ‘the theft of Pakistani music’ and said that covers of original songs need to require permission from the original artists first, and also revealed that this was not the first time she had seen her music stolen by Bollywood.

  • ‘Imran Khan has decided to not to dissolve the Punjab Assembly’: Journalist Kamran Shahid

    ‘Imran Khan has decided to not to dissolve the Punjab Assembly’: Journalist Kamran Shahid

    Senior anchor Kamran Shahid has revealed that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has decided not to dissolve the Punjab Assembly (PA).

    Taking to Twitter, Shahid wrote, “BASED ON MY SOURCES- IMRAN KHAN HAS DECIDED TO NOT TO DISSOLVE THE PUNJAB ASSEMBLY— CH PERVAIZ ILLAHI IS ALSO BEING COMMUNICATED [sic].”

    It is pertinent to mention here that the Opposition staged a walkout of the PA last week as the house passed a resolution against the Punjab governor’s “unconstitutional and illegal” move to de-notify Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi as the provincial chief executive.

    Shahid’s tweet has come about as the political crisis in Punjab rages on, with neither side willing to relent.

    Imran Khan had announced in November at the end of his long march that he will dissolve both the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies, where his party holds government. Since then, the dissolution has become a point of discontent within the ruling Punjab coalition, with Pervaiz Elahi reluctant to do away with the legislative before April of 2023.

  • Iesco issues two-hour load-shedding plan for Rawalpindi, Islamabad

    Iesco issues two-hour load-shedding plan for Rawalpindi, Islamabad

    All areas of Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Jhelum, Chakwal, Azad Kashmir, Murree, Attock, Pindigheb, Kotli Sattiyan, and other circles will face two hours of load-shedding, according to the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco).

    According to The News, the citizens of these cities have been experiencing regular load-shedding for more than a month that lasts between six and eight hours. Muhammad Tanvir Kiani, who is head of Iesco’s technical division, stated that Iesco has announced a two-hour load-shedding timetable in each of the aforementioned locations.

    He said that the load-shedding schedule would initially last indefinitely until further instruction. Furthermore, he stated that due to an electricity shortage, load-shedding has been implemented in all areas in light of the current situation.

  • ‘Stop murdering Urdu language’: Arslan Naseer lashes out at Bollywood over Besharam Rang’s lyrics

    ‘Stop murdering Urdu language’: Arslan Naseer lashes out at Bollywood over Besharam Rang’s lyrics

    Actor Arslan Naseer took to his social media handles to express his disappointment over the Urdu lyrics used in the Bollywood film Pathaan‘s song Besharam Rang. genuinely upset when he heard the song Besharam Rang and pointed out that a word had been both misspelled and mispronounced. The Chupke Chupke actor tweeted against the Urdu language being wasted in Hindi songs.

    Naseer also highlighted, with his usual rib-tickling humour, how Hindu extremists have been lambasting actress Deepika Padukone for her saffron dress in the song while nobody raised their voice for the Urdu language being ”murdered.”       

    The famed YouTuber tweeted, “Heard some people were protesting against Deepika wearing orange bunyaan chaddi in that song but why isn’t anyone protesting against her calling ‘Sharaafat’ … Shareefi? Dear Indian filmmakers, please stop murdering the Urdu language.”

    However, social media users gave a mixed reaction to Naseer’s ”genuine concern” suggesting that both nations speak more or less the same language with a bunch of words different and also claimed that every day spoke Hindi/Urdu contains words that are either spelled or pronounced incorrectly.

    On the work front, Naseer was last seen in Hum TV’s Paristan.

  • TV channels will be required to air news with sign language interpreters

    TV channels will be required to air news with sign language interpreters

    President Dr Arif Alvi has signed the Access to the Media (Deaf) Persons Act, 2022 into law, under which all private and state-run broadcasters will be required to air news bulletins with sign language interpreters.

    The act will fully come into force six months after the commencement of the bill.

    Once enforced, the government shall not allow broadcasting any news bulletin on the national broadcaster, state or privately run electronic media, private television channels, cable TV, or any other broadcast media without sign language interpreters.

    The bill was moved by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Saleem Mandviwalla who gave a detailed briefing to the committee regarding the bill.

  • 6,000 police officials to perform security duty on new year’s night in Lahore

    6,000 police officials to perform security duty on new year’s night in Lahore

    To maintain law and order on new year’s night and to guarantee the safety of lives and property, the Lahore Police has devised a comprehensive security strategy.

    Lahore’s Additional IG, Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ghulam Mahmood Dogar, said that more than 6,000 police officers and officials, including 6 SPs, 35 DSPs, 83 SHOs, 400 upper-level subordinates, members of the Dolphin Squad, Police Response Unit, Elite Force, Anti-Rights Force, and lady police officers, would be stationed on streets, squares, and public areas.

    He declared that security would be strictly enforced. At all costs, hooliganism, aerial gunfire, fireworks, and one-wheeling would not be permitted.

    CCPO Lahore said that the respect of the citizens was above all and that anyone involved in aerial firing, mob violence, fireworks, or one-wheeling will face punishment.

    According to The News, teams from the Dolphins squad, PRU, Elite Force, and police stations, according to CCPO Lahore, will make sure that sensitive and major locations are continuously patrolled on New Year’s Eve. Additionally, security would be enhanced at the city’s entry and exit points. Police should be informed right away by those who see any suspicious people or activity.

  • Weekly inflation jumps by over 29% due to rising food prices

    Weekly inflation jumps by over 29% due to rising food prices

    The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) based inflation for the week ended December 29, recorded a decline of 0.09 per cent due to a reduction in the prices of food and non-food items, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

    The year-on-year trend shows an increase of 29.30 per cent owing to an increase in the prices of onions (498.08 per cent), tea lipton (65.41 per cent), diesel (65.05 per cent), chicken (64.20 per cent), petrol (52.19 per cent), salt powdered (51.99 per cent), eggs (49.11 per cent), pulse moong (46.94 per cent), bananas (45.06 per cent), pulse gram (44.42 per cent) and mustard oil (41.64 per cent), while decrease is observed in the prices of chillies powdered (34.18 per cent), electricity for q1 (13.96 per cent) and gur (1.38 per cent).

    During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 23 (45.10 per cent) items increased, 07 (13.72 per cent) items decreased and 21 (41.18 per cent) items remained stable.

    The SPI for the consumption group up to Rs17,732, Rs17,732-22,888, Rs22,889-29,517 and above Rs44,175 decreased by 0.07 per cent, 0.12 per cent, 0.03 per cent and 0.12 per cent respectively while it increased by 0.02 per cent for the consumption group Rs29,518-44,175.

    The items, which recorded an increase in their average prices during the week over previous include eggs (2.86 per cent), rice basmati broken (2.81 per cent), wheat flour bag 20 kg (2.81 per cent), bread plain (2.76 per cent), firewood whole 40 kg (2.49 per cent), LPG (1.61 per cent), energy saver (1.27 per cent), bananas (1.18 per cent), gur (0.99 per cent), garlic (0.90 per cent), pulse masoor (0.80 per cent), mustard oil (0.72 per cent), rice irri-6/9 (0.60 per cent), pulse mash (0.54 per cent), tea prepared (0.45 per cent), sufi washing soap (0.28 per cent), pulse gram (0.26 per cent), onions (0.25 per cent), curd (0.23 per cent), chicken (0.20 per cent), milk fresh (0.15 per cent), pulse moong (0.12 per cent) and beef with bone (0.02 per cent).

    The items, which saw a reduction in their average prices included potatoes (8.85 per cent), tomatoes (6.02 per cent), electricity charges (2.44 per cent), vegetable ghee dalda/habib (1.47 per cent), sugar (1.22 per cent), vegetable ghee dalda/habib or other superior quality 1 kg pouch each (0.45 per cent) and cooking oil dalda or other similar brand (sn), 5 litre tin each (0.04 per cent).