Veteran actor Bushra Ansari has expressed her gratitude for those who prayed for her sister Sumbul Shahid during her battle with coronavirus.
“You all saw a few days ago I lost my sister Sumbul Shahid,” said Bushra in a video posted on Instagram. “We’re told a lot about the coronavirus. But we only realise it when our loved ones suffer from it and depart from this world.”
“We all are grateful for the prayers you sent,” remarked Ansari.
“There was a lot of love among us sisters,” said the actor, adding, “Sisters’ bond has another level.”
In March 2021, Bushra and Asma Abbas had shared that Sumbul was battling coronavirus and had been put on a ventilator. Their mother had also contracted the virus at the time. They requested followers for prayers and advised them to follow safety protocols.
Sumbul passed away after a long battle with COVID on May 6. She was last seen in drama serial Nand, which aired on ARY Digital.
Who will lead the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and whose narrative will prevail in the future is being discussed within the party as per latest reports. Senior anchorperson Shahzeb Khanzada revealed in his show ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath’ on Thursday that there are serious concerns that the PML-N may face a split in the future due to the differences in political narrative between Maryam Nawaz and Shehbaz Sharif’s camps.
Maryam camp believes in taking forward Nawaz Sharif’s narrative while Shehbaz Sharif camp believes in reconciliation and not taking any institution head-on as well as focus on winning the 2023 general elections. As Nawaz Sharif is not in the country, he needs to decide which narrative should be taken forward by his party officially, otherwise, the PML-N may face a split. Senior leadership of the PML-N want Nawaz to take a categorical decision in this regard.
Khanzada said they talked to senior PML-N leaders as well as those close to Shehbaz Sharif. Khanzada added that they asked Maryam Nawaz for her point of view.
According to Shehbaz Sharif’s close aides, they want a free hand to be given to Shehbaz, target Imran Khan’s government, no confrontation with institutions and dialogue with institutions is needed in order to forge a roadmap where they stay within their constitutional limits. Shehbaz also wants Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) back in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and was unhappy with Maryam Nawaz and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s strongly worded statements against the PPP. He is against the show cause notice being served to the PPP and that the PPP should not be forced to resign from assemblies against its will.
Sources say that Shehbaz Sharif wanted to go to London in order to talk to Nawaz Sharif face-to-face about all these issues. He wants Nawaz to decide who will be the next prime minister from PML-N, who will lead the party and whose narrative should be the official party position. He wants Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz to take a backseat from political activities and stay quiet. He does not want them to give anti-establishment statements anymore. The focus should only be on the 2023 general elections. If Nawaz agrees to give full control to Shehbaz, then he will take all Opposition parties on board. He will then also hold a dialogue with the establishment. If Nawaz does not agree, Shehbaz will quit politics. He will not take part in any political activities after that.
PML-N leaders believe that while Maryam Nawaz is indeed a crowd puller, it is better to let Shehbaz resolve all issues before the elections. Maryam Nawaz does not agree to these conditions.
After he was released from jail on bail, Shehbaz Sharif made it clear that all party meetings or jalsas will only take place with his permission. Maryam Nawaz did take a backseat since his release. Hamza and Shehbaz understand election campaigns and electoral politics while Maryam Nawaz does not, as per sources close to Shehbaz Sharif.
When contacted by Khanzada’s team, Maryam Nawaz said there are no two camps within the party; only a difference of opinion exists. She said that it is not my narrative, it is Nawaz Sharif’s narrative. If they make her go quiet, Nawaz’s narrative will still go on. Maryam said it is wrong to say that the majority in the party believes in reconciliation. Things have improved not because of a soft stance but because of Nawaz Sharif’s narrative. PML-N won by-elections because of Nawaz.
If reconciliation was an answer, then Hamza and Shehbaz Sharif would not have gone to jail in the first place. Shehbaz Sharif has his own views and this has been his view for decades but he will never go against his brother. When asked about the differences between Shehbaz and Maryam, she said she has no differences with Shehbaz. She said she does what Nawaz tells her to do. She is not in favour of any confrontation with institutions nor any deal.
The Narcotics Control Bureau of India has arrested the flatmate of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Siddharth Pithani was living with him for more than a year, Indian media has reported. He is reportedly arrested by the anti-drugs agency.
Pithani was one of the first witnesses to see Sushant hanging from the ceiling on June 14, 2020, and according to his statement, he met Singh at 1 am, the night before his death.
On June 14, 2020, Singh was found dead at his home in Mumbai. While the police initially reported Rajput’s death as suicide, the federal police agency later began to investigate foul play after fans of the actors expressed outrage on social media and his family filed a First Information Report (FIR) against his alleged girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty.
The abrupt death of Rajput spurred a debate on the stigma of mental health, the exclusive insider world of Bollywood, and, condemnation of the media for the non-stop coverage of the duelling accusations between Rajput’s family and his alleged girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty.
The first lunar eclipse of the current year took place on May 26 (Wednesday) but it wasn’t just a lunar eclipse with a simple full moon, it was a Super Flower Blood Moon. Photos of the Super Flower Blood Moon were shared from around the world and some scenic pictures will leave you in shock.
A super moon occurs when the moon appears larger than usual in the night sky because it is at its closest point to Earth in its orbit, known as the perigee.
According to NASA, a blood moon occurs during a total lunar eclipse, when the Earth is positioned directly between the moon and the sun. Earth’s atmosphere filters the sunlight, scattering blue light but allowing red light to pass through.
May’s full moon is additionally known as the “Flower Moon,” named for the abundance of flowers associated with spring in the Northern Hemisphere.
Astrophotographers around the globe captured breathtaking images of the event, which was clearly visible in Asia and Australia, as well as much of the US and South America.
Here are some of the pictures that we’ve collected for you:
After a long delay, Friends: The Reunion finally premiered on HBO Max on Thursday. As per details, the unscripted reunion episode was inspired by Episode 12 of Season 4 of the original show The One With the Embryos and was hosted by James Corden. A parade of celebrity fans also showed up including, Cara Delevingne, Cindy Crawford and Justin Bieber who modelled famous comedy outfits from the show on a catwalk, while Lady Gaga sang a duet of Smelly Cat with Lisa Kudrow.
Pakistani Nobel Peace Prize-winner Malala Yousafzai was also a guest on the show and briefly appeared to talk about the influence Friends had on her life.
“Friends brought friends together,” said Yousafzai sharing that one of her favourite moments from the show is “the routine” (i.e. when Monica and Ross recreate their dance routine from high school).
The reunion episode brought together the original cast of the show including Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc.
Meanwhile, the cast of the show made some interesting revelations during the reunion episode.
Schwimmer and Aniston – Ross and Rachel in the series – revealed for the first time that they had major crushes on each other in the early years of the series, but the first time they kissed was when their characters did so on-screen in 1995.
“I just remember saying one time to David, it’s gonna be such a bummer if the first time you and I actually kiss is going to be on national television. Sure enough! First time we kissed was in that coffee shop,” Aniston says in Friends: The Reunion.
“We just channeled all of our adoration and love for each other into Ross and Rachel,” added the actor.
The passionate kiss which Aniston was referring to took place in the Central Perk coffee shop in Season 2’s The One Where Ross Finds Out. The scene is widely considered to be one of the highlights of the series, which came to an end in 2004 with the two characters finally getting back together.
Schwimmer and Aniston said the mutual attraction lasted for the first two years of the show, but they never got together as a couple off-screen because they were both in relationships or between relationships with other people.
In addition, it was also revealed that the audiences were the reason behind Monica and Chandler ending up together.
Schwimmer revealed that he hated filming with Marcel.
“What inevitably began to happen was we would all have choreographed bits kind of timed out, and it would get messed up because the monkey didn’t do its job right. So we would have to reset, we’d have to go again, because the monkey didn’t get it right,” said Schwimmer.
It also emerged that the hardest part of the show was to cast Aniston as Rachel as because of her role on Muddling Through, which was still on the air at the time.
Meanwhile, on the day of the reunion episode Aniston also shared a behind the screens throwback video much to fans delight.
The reunion episode was originally announced in February 2020. Friends aired for ten seasons between 1994 and 2004. It was also nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards and won the Outstanding Comedy Series award in 2002.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif, on Thursday talked about how he spent his days in jail, his niece Maryam Nawaz’s political future, Nawaz Sharif, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and many other issues in an interview given to Kamran Khan on Dunya News.
A typical day in jail
When asked what is a typical day in jail and how he spent those eight months, Shehbaz said: “I used to pray for Pakistan in jail. It is not easy to remain in jail as it takes a lot of patience to remain in jail. Allah gives one hope there. I would get up for Fajr prayers, I continued my morning walk. After exercise, I would have my breakfast and then recite the Quran. I would read books like Bob Woodward’s Rage. I read Islamic books and read tafseer (explanation) of Quran as I had a lot of time on my hands in solitary confinement. I would feed birds when I was there. I once fed aaloo chanay to birds. I saw that a crow washed the potato with water as it was spicy, which I found very fascinating as they say that crows are wise so I would observe the birds keenly.”
Corruption cases
Kamran Khan asked Shehbaz about the allegations against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Sharif said since this is a sub judice matter, NAB invited him for the Saaf Paani case and arrested him in Ashiana scandal. During his arrest, they again arrested him in Ramzan Sugar Mills, and then assets beyond means case was opened against him. “I was given bail on merit in February 2019 in Ashiana and Ramzan Sugar Mills case.” He denied all charges of corruption. Shehbaz Sharif said that there is a NAB-Niazi collusion to target the Sharif family. “What else have they [the government] done in three years? They have no other priority other than how to destroy Sharifs’ businesses and our reputation. All they are interested in is to target my elder brother Nawaz Sharif and our family members.” He asked have they proved a penny of corruption against us.
Medical treatment in Britain
Shehbaz Sharif said he is a cancer survivor. He has been getting an annual check up in Britain since 2003. When asked how he would have entered Britain since Pakistan is on a Red List, Shehbaz said he took a chance to go via Doha and if that wasn’t allowed, he would have gone via Istanbul as Turkey was not on Britain’s Red List at that time. “I wasn’t going to Britain to play a cricket match or to learn jaadu tona (black magic). I was going there for my medical treatment and also to see my family.”
شہباز شریف بتا رہے ہیں پاکستان کے برطانیہ کی کورونا حوالے سے ممنوع ریڈ لسٹ میں شامل ہونے کے باوجود لندن کا سفر کرنے کے لئے وہ لاہور ائیرپورٹ کیوں پہنچ گئے اس کا توڑ انکے پاس موجود تھا pic.twitter.com/lMomFRcsIs
Kamran Khan asked him about the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) while he was in jail and if he was involved directly or indirectly with PDM’s decisions. “As luck would have it, PDM was formed when I went to jail. PDM faced divisions within the alliance when I was in jail. I do not impose my views on anyone. I wasn’t allowed to meet my lawyers or family regularly either. I would give my advice when someone sought it. I didn’t know much about it [PDM]. Now I will be there in the next PDM meeting….Such alliances were formed in the past too like MRD, etc.” Shehbaz said differences do take place in such alliances. “No party alone can take a decision unilaterally. Maulana Fazlur Rehman is the head of PDM, so such decisions are taken with consensus. Even if PDM isn’t there in its original form, I am the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and it is my duty to talk to all Opposition parties on issues like budget, Covid, foreign policy, Kashmir, Palestine or CPEC. Even if there are divisions in PDM, we have this forum in parliament.”
شہباز شریف PMLN صدر کی حیثیت سے بڑے پتے کی بات کررہے ہیں PDM غلط فیصلہ سازی کی وجہ سے ٹوٹ گئ اب آگے بڑھیں پارلیمنٹ میں اپوزیشن جماعتیں آپس میں مل کر تمام قومی مسائل پر مشترکہ حکمت عملی بنائیں گے اور پارلیمنٹ میں مسائل کا حل تجویز کریں گے pic.twitter.com/Iv0X6IRQIC
Shehbaz Sharif said that Pakistan is facing a lot of problems. “India is a member of G20. We came into being together; we should have been leading in the comity of global nations. Bangladesh, which was part of Pakistan, now has a GDP growth rate higher than ours. How unfortunate that today, Afghanistan’s currency is stronger than Pakistan’s.”
Sharif lamented that this is a selected government. “They came into power after massive rigging.” General Bajwa said in front of me that Mian Nawaz Sharif has given me a lot of respect and never said no to anything related to defence. “Confrontation is not our path; it has to be consultation. This country cannot move forward without this. We need a consultative process between all institutions within the limits set by the Constitution. No one institution can take us out of this quagmire alone. It has to be through collective wisdom and efforts can we make Pakistan as a going country among comity of nations.” Kamran Khan said this is music to everyone’s ears.
Nawaz Sharif
Asked if Nawaz Sharif would agree to these suggestions, Shehbaz Sharif said: “He [Nawaz] is a statesman. I guarantee you he will be more than willing to contribute towards nation building efforts if there is a new social order which guarantees free and fair elections, all institutions work within their constitutional boundaries, judiciary is independent and free, and every government is allowed to work independently. Reconciliation is still possible; it’s never too late. Nawaz Sharif would be more than willing to do this, I guarantee you.”
He said that when he goes to London, he will meet Nawaz. “He is my leader, he is like my father. There is no compromise on national interest. I am sure he will promote national interest if there is a level-playing field. Even if I have to hold his feet for national interest, I will do so because it is my national duty. I am a Pakistani first and then anything else.”
شہباز شریف با بانگِ دہل اعلان کررہے ہیں ٹکراؤ لڑائی جھگڑے کی حکمت عملی سے کام نہیں چلے گا صرف مشاورت سے کام چلےگاسب سے اہم بات شہباز صاحب ” گارنٹی” دے رہے ہیں نواز شریف قومی مفاہمت کی ہر کاوش کی حمایت کریں گے وہ نواز شریف کو قائل کرلیں گے چاہے پاؤں پکڑنے پڑیں pic.twitter.com/npZjrbx3nT
Kamran Khan asked Shehbaz about Maryam Nawaz’s active political role in the last few months. “Maryam has a right to be in politics; she is now a politician. Time is on her side. The awaam (people) will decide. I am telling you whether it is Hamza who spent 21 months in jail or someone else from other parties, they all have a right to enter politics and then the people will decide.
“Time is on Maryam’s side, time is on Hamza’s side. They need grooming. Maryam’s father, who is a statesman, will groom her. I will groom her as her uncle from my experience. We need to alleviate poverty, eliminate unemployment. This is our agenda. If we cannot follow this agenda, then politics means nothing.”
بڑی مہارت سے شہباز شریف صاحب نے مریم نواز ساتھ ساتھ جمزہ شہباز کو مشورہ دیا یاد رکھیں ابھی انکا وقت نہیں آگے انکا وقت آسکتا ہے ابھی انہیں تربیت کی ضرورت ہے ابھی انکے والدین موجود ہیں لیڈرشپ رول انکے پاس ہے گویا ابھی انتظار کریں pic.twitter.com/y8dru3jLee
“Chaudhry Nisar was not my friend; he was Nawaz Sharif’s friend. Whether you like it or not, I have always inherited his [Nawaz’s] legacy. Whether it’s Chaudhry Nisar or Khawaja Asif or Khawaja Hamid or anyone else. Chaudhry Nisar was initially against me, then he became a close friend of mine. Unfortunately, this 30-year-old friendship ended on a bad note. I won’t go into the details. When my mother passed away, I met him when he came for her fateha (prayers). Taking oath is Chaudhry Nisar’s own decision; he did not consult me. He did not directly consult me on this.”
چوہدری نثار کے حوالے سے بلاوجہ قلابیں ملائیں گئی حالانکہ جب شہباز شریف ہی چوہدری نثار علی خان سے کنارہ کشی بلکہ لا تعلقی کی گفتگو کریں تو واضح ہے چویدری نثار کا ن لیگی تعلق حتمی انجام کو پہنچ گیا pic.twitter.com/6xfAU9Jg8z
Shehbaz Sharif said that without electoral reforms, no one can take a step forward. However, he said this does not mean that electronic voting machines are the answer. “Who are they trying to befool? We all want to give the right to vote to overseas Pakistanis. But in the garb of providing them the right to vote through electronic voting machines, we cannot have an RTS again.”
Summary of the interview
Shehbaz Sharif said that unity and a consultative process is needed and Parliament is the forum where this can be done. “We need a middle way for national reconciliation, consultative process with all institutions. Unfortunately, Parliament has been locked by Imran Khan Niazi. We need meaningful, substantial consultation in parliament. He [PM Khan] hates me so much that he did not even mention my name or title in the letters addressed to me by the Prime Minister. I addressed him by his title and name but he responded without mentioning my name again. If he is only interested in what his pir (spiritual guide) will tell him on how to destroy the Opposition, if this is his only priority, then what can I say?”
مجھے یقین ہے شہباز شریف انٹرویو کے سیاسی منظرنامے پر دورس خوشگوار اثرات رونما ہوں گےتوجہ سے سنیں: میں نے شہباز شریف سے زور دیکر قومی مفاہمتی منصوبہ اور نواز شریف شمولیت کی دو ٹوک وضاحت حاصل کی معنی خیز لگا دوران گفتگو انہوں نے نواز شریف صاحب کے لئے جنرل باجوہ کے جذبات کا زکر کیا pic.twitter.com/r8h3vfa5L4
The Punjab government has decided to pay a monthly stipend to transgender persons under a new programme by its social protection authority.
As per reports, this was announced by Special Assistant to Punjab Chief Minister on Information Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan while talking to the media with Punjab Social Protection Authority Vice Chairperson Jamal Nasir Cheema in Lahore.
Transgender people are a part of society and will be given a monthly stipend, she said.
Dr Firdous said that the ‘Ehsaas Punjab Masawaat Programme’ was a unique programme under which transgender people were being facilitated.
She told that under this programme, disabled transgender persons between the age of 18 and 40 were giving Rs2,000 per month, while transgender persons above 40 years were paid with Rs3,000 per month.
She said that the government is prioritising the less privileged section of society in all its projects.
She said that CM Usman Buzdar announced a package of Rs9 billion in Bhakkar and brought the people of Bhakkar in the mainstream of development.
Tiger Woods has opened up about his “painful” experience in rehab following a near-fatal car crash back in February.
“This has been an entirely different animal,” Tiger told Golf Digest on May 27. “I understand more of the rehab processes because of my past injuries, but this was more painful than anything I have ever experienced.”
According to details, one doctor who treated the 45-year-old athlete said that he suffered extensive injuries in his leg and foot, which required serious surgery.
A crash report later revealed that Tiger was also “knocked unconscious, laceration to the lower front jaw, bruised right and left rib cage, fractured right tibia and fibula, possible right ankle injury.” He spent time in two different hospitals before returning to Florida to recover.
“My physical therapy has been keeping me busy. I do my routines every day and am focused on my number one goal right now: walking on my own. Taking it one step at a time,” he explained, noting that the support from both friends and fans has been “incredible … I have had so much support from people both inside and outside of golf, which means so much to me and has helped tremendously.”
Earlier in April, Tiger was spotted for the first time since the accident, rocking a leg brace and crutches as he returned to the golf course. He flashed a big smile as he posed next to his “rehab partner,” his dog Bugs. “My course is coming along faster than I am,” wrote Tiger. “But it’s nice to have a faithful rehab partner, man’s best friend.”
The British Royal Family never fails to astonish or amuse the world by being the talk of the town – whether it is the latest Martin Bashir BBC scandal or Prince Harry’s shocking confessions on The Me You Can’t See. Interestingly, these are not the only scandals that have rocked the royal family.
Here’s an exclusive list of a few more Royal scandals, which you may or may not have seen in The Crown:
1. In 1981, Queen Elizabeth survived an assassination attemptby a ‘mentally disturbed youth’ while touring New Zealand according to Royal historian Ted Powell. The 17-year-old tried to aim a bullet at the Queen while she was exiting the car.
2. Prince Charles and Diana’s 1988 Canada tour produced quite an international buzz as the couple’s pictures resurfacing on media clearly showed signs of marital tensions. Especially, the picture of Diana alone in Taj Mahal didn’t sit well with Royal fans.
3. Princess Kate’s light fabric dress got her into trouble during a 2016 Indian tour when the Duchess was photographed with her dress exposing too much of her lower body due to strong winds. Historian Powell believes that Queen Elizabeth got weights sewed in her dress to present “such embarrassments”.
4. Prince Charles had been physically intimate with a model during his Australian tour of 1979. The bachelor indulged in the intimacy while taking a morning jog near the beach.
5. Prince Philip told a British student that he might go home ‘slitty eyed’ if he prolonged his Chinese tour in 1986 any longer. The remark was internationally criticised on the grounds of communal insensitivity.
6. Prince Anne, daughter of Queen Elizabeth, tipped and fell on her official tour to Channel Island in 2007. As reported by Express UK, to an officer’s gesture of help, the Princess replied: “Don’t do that, grabbing me around my .. won’t help.”
7. The ex-member of the Royal family was photographed playing ‘strip pool’ in Las Vegas while he was on military leave. The Me You Can’t See producer had his hands laden with crown jewels signifying extravagance.
Minal Khan has shared new family photos from her baat paki with Ahsan Mohsin Ikram and remembered her late father.
“Baba is not in the pictures but I know he’s around. Always watching, protecting us and celebrating with us,” Minal wrote while sharing the pictures on Instagram.
The actor further added how she wished he would be part of her big day. “I wish woh houtey or Ahsan se miltey.”
“These pictures are from my baat pakki with my lovely family MashaAllah,” wrote Minal.
The news of Aiman and Minal’s father, Mubeen Khan, passing away was reported on the last day of 2020, and since then it has come as a heavy loss for the sisters, who were known to be extremely close to their father and came from a close-knit family.
Ahsan also shared a family photo on Instagram, saying: “Meet my beautiful family.”
After months of teasing fans with loved-up pictures and a secret engagement, Minal and Ahsan Mohsin had made things official on May 18, sharing pictures from their baat paki on social media.
