Author: newsdesk

  • Amazon Prime releases teaser of the much-awaited ‘The Rings of Power’ web series

    Amazon Prime releases teaser of the much-awaited ‘The Rings of Power’ web series

    Amazon Prime has unveiled the teaser of the much-awaited, Rings of Power series which is a prequel to The Lords of the Rings. The web series contains nine episodes and is set to be released on September 2, 2022, on the streaming platform.

    The series will be primarily focused on the character, Galadriel who will sense the rising evil of Sauron and reunite the inhabitants of the world to fight against him.

    The teaser has introduced new characters Robert Aramayo as Beldor, Markella Kavenagh as Tyra, Morfydd Clark as Galadriel, and Joseph Mawle as Oren.

    According to the description of the video that the series is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

    Fans of the epic fantasy film, Lords of the Rings will be taken to an era, ” in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness.”

    The creators of the film, JD Payne and Patrick McKay shared, “This is a title that we imagine could live on the spine of a book next to J R R Tolkien’s other classics. The Rings of Power unites all the major stories of Middle-earth’s Second Age: the forging of the rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the epic tale of Númenor, and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. Until now, audiences have only seen on-screen the story of the One Ring – but before there was one, there were many… and we’re excited to share the epic story of them all.”

  • Cross-border love: Areeba Habib and Taapsee Pannu indulge in online banter

    Cross-border love: Areeba Habib and Taapsee Pannu indulge in online banter

    Bollywood star Taapsee Pannu has responded to Pakistani model and actor Areeba Habib’s praise for her latest Netflix movie Loop Lapeta.

    Turning to her Instagram Stories this week, Areeba captured a still from the movie while she praised Pannu for her acting prowess.

    “Kamal,” wrote Areeba while tagging the Pink star.

    Re-sharing the comment on her Instagram Stories, Pannu responded “Thank you” with a green heart emoticon.

    The comedy flick, which is inspired by Run Lola Run, also stars Tahir Bhasin.

    Last year, Indian film and television producer Ekta Kapoor thanked Areeba for praising her latest web series.

    Habib took to her Instagram story, to praise Kapoor’s web series Broken But Beautiful, which has been recently released. “Next level must watch”, wrote Areeba, while sharing the screengrab of the web-series. She also tagged Ekta in the post.

    Amidst the political turmoil between the two neighboring countries, this cross-border camaraderie is a breath of fresh air.

  • ‘The answer is’: Aagha Ali hits out at troll for asking a personal question to Hina Altaf

    ‘The answer is’: Aagha Ali hits out at troll for asking a personal question to Hina Altaf

    Actor Aagha Ali has responded to a netizen under his wife Hina Altaf’s comment section. The netizen asked the Aatish diva that why doesn’t she post pictures with her husband?

    Earlier Aagha has responded to a netizen who asked him about his alleged separation with wife Hina Altaf citing the lack of their social media interaction.

    The rumours about their separation emerged when Aagha was spotted at industry events without his better half.

    The A-list actor replied that there is a world beyond Instagram and the couple is doing great together.

    Earlier in August 2021, the Dour diva took to Instagram to clarify that a statement of her husband had been misreported by various publications. “He said ‘most of the girls I met in my life were fake’, ” she posted on her Instagram stories.

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Hina-Altaf-Post-560x1024.jpg
    Hina

    “He never used the words ‘women in the industry’. These are entirely two different statements that hold different meanings,” the Aatish star wrote.

  • Hundreds of PTM workers stage sit-in for release of Ali Wazir

    Hundreds of PTM workers stage sit-in for release of Ali Wazir

    Hundreds of Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) workers staged a sit-in outside of Sindh Assembly to demand the release of their leader and Member of National Assembly (MNA) Ali Wazir, reports Dawn News.

    Initially, Deputy Commissioner (DC)-South Irshad Ali Sodhar and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP)-South Rai Ijaz Ahmed tried to prevent the group from marching but eventually allowed the rally to proceed towards the assembly building where it was turned into a sit-in.

    PTM founder and head Manzoor Pashteen said, “The government calls itself a democratic one but we are not being allowed to exercise our democratic rights.”

    Pashteen said that the protest and sit-in would continue till the release of Wazir.

    PTM leader Hidayatullah criticised the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) for arresting PTM leaders in false cases. He argued when Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) leaders and workers have been released, why are PTM leaders including MNA Wazir are not being released.

    MNA Wazir and MNA Mohsin Dawar, as well as Pashteen, have been booked for committing sedition by inciting the people to wage a war against the state by delivering provocative speeches against security forces at a rally held in Sohrab Goth on December 6, 2020.

  • Quetta’s Jason Roy fined for breach of code of conduct

    Quetta’s Jason Roy fined for breach of code of conduct

    Quetta Gladiators’ batter Jason Roy has been fined five per cent of his match fee for a Level 1 breach of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) Code of Conduct during his team’s eight-wicket defeat against Lahore Qalandars in the 20th match of PSL 7 at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, on Sunday.

    Roy was found to have violated Article 2.21 of the PSL Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “conduct that brings the game into disrepute”, following his reaction after he was adjudged caught behind by Asif Yaqoob off Shaheen Shah Afridi.

    In the video, posted by PSL official Twitter account, he can be seen misbehaving with the umpire despite the fact that he had the option to challenge the umpire’s decision of giving him out.

    England’s cricketer accepted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed to be imposed by Roshan Mahanama and, as such, there was no need for a formal hearing.

    The charges were levelled by the on-field umpires Asif Yaqoob and Michael Gough, third umpire Rashid Riaz and fourth umpire Waleeed Yaqoob.

    All first-time offences of Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official warning and/or imposition of a fine of up to 25% of the applicable match fee.

    It was also reported that Roy had reported Shaheen’s bowling action but the reports were denied by the Quetta Gladiators.

  • Qandeel Baloch’s murderer released by court

    Qandeel Baloch’s murderer released by court

    The Multan Bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) has acquitted Waseem Azeem. Waseem is also Qandeel’s brother. As per media reports, Justice Sohail Nasir announced the verdict on the basis of an agreement between the parties and on retraction of statements recorded by the witnesses.

    Lawyer Nighat Dad, while talking to The Current, said that she is “shocked” at the decision. She continued by adding that Qandeel’s father, who passed away a month ago, had lost his sight and was disabled, and that he was the only one who was pursuing the case in one way or another. She added that the state should answer how the acquittal has been made possible.

    Qandeel’s lawyer Safdar Abbas Shah while talking to BBC Urdu said that he had submitted the letter of consent from Qandeel’s parents that they have no objection if the court acquits Waseem. He further said that Waseem has now said that he did not murder Qandeel and police took the confessional statement by threatening him.

    Qandeel Baloch, a social media star, was strangled to death in Multan in July 2016 and her brothers Waseem Azeem and Aslam Shaheen were accused of murdering her. A model court in Multan sentenced her brother Wasim Azeem to life in prison for murdering his sister. Life imprisonment means 25 years in jail.

  • ‘I know India much more than rest of my own countrymen’: PM Khan

    ‘I know India much more than rest of my own countrymen’: PM Khan

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Sunday said that no one in Pakistan knows India better than him. PM Khan was talking to CNN’s Fareed Zakaria about Pakistan’s relations with India.

    “I understand and know India much more than the rest of my own countrymen or probably all over the world,” said PM Imran Khan, adding that he has many friends in India.

    Racist RSS ideology has taken over India: PM Imran Khan

    “The moment my government came into power, the first thing I did was reach out to India. I told them [PM Narendra Modi] if he took one step forward, I would take two. Our only issue is Kashmir, and we should solve it like good neighbours on the dialogue table,” said PM Khan.

    “Unfortunately Fareed, there is a tragedy unfolding in India. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideology has taken over India. We are in this day of information technology. All we have to do is Google who are the founding fathers of RSS,” said the premier.

    “It’s a racist ideology which has taken over India. It’s an ideology that assassinated the great Gandhi. It’s very difficult to come to terms with the ideology,” said the prime minister.

    “We have made no headways. But my worry is Fareed that what is going on in India is much more damaging for India than for Pakistan,” added PM Khan.

    The only option the world has right now is to engage with the Taliban for things to move forward: PM Khan

     The premier further talked about Pakistan’s diplomatic relations with the new Taliban government in Afghanistan and the current state of the war on terror.

    PM Khan said that sooner or later, the Taliban will have to be recognised by the world as it is about the well-being and future of about 40 million Afghans.

    “Forty million people in Afghanistan are in dire straits because of the ongoing situation in the country,” the premier said, adding that the people of the United States (US) should understand that disliking the Taliban government is one thing but thinking about the welfare of the Afghans is another as they are facing “extreme difficulties”.

    “Afghanistan is on the verge of experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis,” PM Imran Khan said. “Considering the circumstances, is there any other alternative to the Taliban in Afghanistan? No, there isn’t.”

    “Therefore, the only alternative we have is to work with the Taliban government [for the sake of the Afghans] because turning the Taliban away would only lead to chaos in the country,” PM Imran Khan reiterated. 

    He went on to say that the US’ War on Terror (WoT) backfired and increased the number of terrorists worldwide, adding that because of the war, there had been extensive casualties in Pakistan as more than 80,000 Pakistani citizens lost their lives during the war.

    “Pakistan had to bear the brunt of the war in Afghanistan by witnessing numerous suicide attacks,” he said. “The US must reconsider its policy on carrying out drone attacks.”

    The situation in Xinjiang is not what the western media portrays: Premier

    When asked about China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims, PM Khan said that Pakistan’s ambassador to China Moin ul Haq had visited Xinjiang and said that the situation over there is “not what the western media portrays”.

    The premier said that a comparison of Pakistan’s condemnation of India committing genocide of innocent people in occupied Kashmir and the issue of Xinjiang is not fair.

    “Occupied Kashmir is a disputed territory between Pakistan and India and India is ruled by an RSS ideology,” the premier said. “Until the Kashmir issue is resolved, the fear of war between the two nuclear powers will remain intact.”

  • Indian musicians plagiarise OST of ‘Baaghi’, Shuja Haider claims

    Pakistani singer, Shuja Haider has accused Indian music directors of plagiarising his popular original soundtrack for the drama Baaghi released in 2017.

    The singer shared the copied Indian version, Pia Re Piya on his Instagram and lashed out at its music directors.

    He wrote, “Indian Music directors Yasser Desai and Rashid Khan copied my original song ‘Baaghi’ and I am not proud of it. Absolutely not!”

    Haider has decided to take legal action against the music directors of ‘Piya Re Piya’.

    While talking to Dawn Images, he said, “They’ve copied the entire verse. I’m going to look into how to pursue this further because these people have started copying [Pakistani content] a lot. They not only copy melodies, they copy lyrics as well. Look at Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s work. They’ve gone too far; they are copying our content whenever they please and there’s no one to say anything to them. I definitely feel something should be done about this.

    “I am going to talk to my lawyer. I am going to talk to people who can help me with this. I don’t think I should take it lightly. If you look at the credits, the composer of the song is written as Rashid Khan. This is a criminal act. They don’t even give due credit. If you’d framed the song as a cover and given credit, it would still be okay.”

    Pia Re Piya released on February 12 and is sung by Yaseer Desai and composed by Rashid Khan. Anjan Sagri and Rashid Khan have written the lyrics of the song.

    You can check the similarities between both songs.

    The OST of Baaghi.

    In 2019, Farhan Saeed also accused Bollywood musician, Salim Merchant of plagiarising his song, ‘Roiyaan’.

  • ‘When I first saw Shahid Afridi’: Wasim Akram pens heartfelt note for Afridi

    ‘When I first saw Shahid Afridi’: Wasim Akram pens heartfelt note for Afridi

    Shahid Afridi, one of the most popular cricketers of this era, bid goodbye to his career in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) due to long-lasting back pain. Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram penned a heartfelt note for his former colleague.

    In his tweet, Wasim shared the first memory of Afridi: “The first time I saw @SAfridiOfficial was in the nets in 1996 and he impressed us, apart from his bowling, with his batting. He smashed the then fastest hundred and became a big mega star. Had won Pakistan so many matches and is hugely popular.”

    He further wished him luck for his future and praised Afridi for his various match-winning performances.

    Former pace ace Shoaib Akhtar tweeted: “Araam kero Lala. Is umar main ye ishq nahi asaan.” (Take a break Lala, it is hard to have a love for the game at this age.)

    Other cricketers like Rumman Raees and Anwar Ali Khan also took to their social media to share their thoughts about Shahid Afridi and prayed for his health.

    Earlier, pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi while replying to Shahid Afridi’s tweet in which he said goodbye to PSL, said that Afridi’s presence will be missed in the PSL. He added that Afridi is the “pride of Pakistan” and wished him to get well soon.

    Quetta Gladiators’ Afridi played his last PSL game against Islamabad United on February 12 where he got two wickets for 27 runs in his four overs and ran Azam Khan out with a direct hit.

  • Iran’s interior minister arrives in Pakistan

    Iranian Interior Minister Dr Ahmad Vahidi has arrived in Islamabad today (Monday), where he was received by his Pakistani counterpart, Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed.

    During the meeting between the two ministers, both sides also discussed suggestions to overcome terrorism and about the formation of a stable Afghanistan.

    Dr Ahmad has come for a day along with his nine-member delegation. He will meet Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and other officials to discuss the issues of prisoner swap and Pakistan-Iran border management, reports Radio Pakistan.

    Last week, Saudi Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Nayef arrived in Pakistan on a day-long visit.

    The visit by the Iranian interior minister follows a string of militant attacks in Balochistan, which shares a long and porous border with Iran.