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Author: newsdesk
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Newsletter- 17th January 2021, Sunday
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‘Sky is your limit’: ‘Proud sister’ Saboor Aly tells Sajal
Saboor Aly has expressed that she is a “proud sister” after Sajal Aly bagged a role in Jemima Goldsmith’s upcoming production What Love Got to do with It?. Sajal will be sharing the screen with Emma Thompson, Lily James, Shabana Azmi, and Shazad Latif in the upcoming film directed by Shekhar Kapur.
Sharing the news on Instagram, Saboor congratulated her sister, writing: “Proud sister. Your hard work paid off. We believe that sky is your limit, so go out and spread your wings and soar high.”
Meanwhile, Sajal’s colleagues and other Pakistani celebrities including Humayun Saeed, Mahira Khan, Bilal Abbas Khan, Ali Rehman Khan, Zara Noor Abbas and Yasir Hussain celebrated Sajal’s big achievement and congratulated the actor on achieving the milestone.
Humayun and Mahira said that this was a very proud moment for them.
Ali Rehman said that this was the “best news” he has heard all year.
Yasir predicted that Shabana [Azmi] jee will soon also agree that Sajal is one of Pakistan’s finest actors.
Mira Sethi said she was thrilled with the news. The two worked together in Ye Dil Mera.
Bilal Abbas, Gohar Rasheed, Saadia Ghaffar and Hassan Hayat Khan wished Sajal all the best for her upcoming project.
As per details, Sajal will essay a groundbreaking role in the film. She is currently shooting for the film in London.
Meanwhile, even producer Jemima was excited with the development.
Jemima also shared that her and Prime Minister Imran Khan’s sons Qasim and Suleman are ecstatic that musician Asim C has agreed to be part of the film.
Written and produced under Goldsmith’s production house, Instinct Productions, What’s Love got to do with It? is set between London and South Asia and will explore cross-cultural conflicts of love and marriage.
A release date for the film has not yet been announced.
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Govt officials get secretly vaccinated amid delay in mass vaccination, claims journalist
Amid reports of a delay in the procurement of vaccine, senior journalist Sohail Warraich has claimed that the government is in no hurry to order the coronavirus vaccine as most of the senior government members have already been vaccinated against the deadly disease.
In an article published in Jang, Warraich implied the bigwigs of this country are in no hurry to inoculate the masses as they now consider themselves safe following the administration of the vaccine. His article was shared by former Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) minister Miftah Ismail, who retweeted the column on his Twitter handle.
A similar claim was made by journalist Saleem Safi as well. He tweeted that the senior government officials and aides of the prime minister have already been vaccinated. “These people are now distributing the vaccine to their near and dear ones,” he alleged.
Federal Minister for Information Shibli Faraz rejected these claims. Talking to The Current, Faraz said he hasn’t heard anything like this to the best of his knowledge.
Asad Umar, who heads the National Command Operations Centre to fight the virus, also denied these reports while talking to a media outlet.
He said a proposal for the earliest vaccination of strategic leadership was presented earlier, but it was rejected by the government. “I, however, do not know if someone got themselves vaccinated in secret,” he added.
As the pharmaceutical companies, such as Pfizer, started to roll out vaccines, the government announced that Pakistan will have the vaccine by March 2020. However, a recent report revealed that the government has not even placed the final order for the procurement nor has any manufacturer agreed to sell it to Pakistan as of yet.
PM’s aide on health Dr Faisal Sultan was quoted by The News saying that Pakistan has yet to place a final order and strike a deal with a manufacturer.
On Dec 31, it was reported that the government had decided to purchase 1.2million doses of a Chinese vaccine, Sinopharm, amid a worsening coronavirus outbreak across the world.
Pakistan had planned to vaccinate its population in three phases: In the first phase, frontline health workers will be inoculated; the second phase will be focused on the elderly; the third phase will be for the general populace.
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Asim Azhar asks PCB to stop ignoring him
Asim Azhar has shared that if he wasn’t a singer, he would have been a cricketer.
Sharing a video of himself while batting, Asim said:“Agar mai singer nahi hota tou…shayad cricketer hota.”
Later, sharing the post on his Instagram stories, Asim wrote: “PCB stop ignoring this young, deserving talent.”
Read more – Asim Azhar reportedly dropped from music show for being too young
Meanwhile, Shadab Khan and Azam Khan were concerned about Asim’s revelation, with Shadab asking if “this batsman is available for PSL” and Khan asking Azhar to stop stealing his job.
However, Azhar Ali gave Asim’s batting a thumbs up.
Given his batting technique, we have to admit that Asim ain’t lying – the Tum Tum star does have the right moves for the field.
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Archaeologists find evidence of third-century settlement in Sindh
Researchers from Shah Abdul Latif University’s Department of Archeology have found traces of a third-century settlement in Brahmanabad, Sindh. Brahmanabad is believed to have been set up in the eighth-century by Muhammad Bin Qasim. The area was the historical capital of the Muslim Caliphate in Sindh during the eighth century, under the Umayyad Caliphate and then under the Abbasid Caliphate from the year 750 AD to 1006 AD.
According to a report in Arab News, a team of around 20 archaeologists started excavation on the site in December as part of a joint project of the Sindh culture department and Shah Abdul Latif University in Khairpur. The supervision was led by Dr Ghulam Muhiuddin Veesar.
Speaking to the publication, Veesar said: “Through [the] material we got, we can say that this settlement of Brahmanabad also existed in the third century AD and people lived here, proving that the settlement is of a pre-Islamic era.”
“We have done both vertical and horizontal excavations so that we may know its cultural phases to determine when the settlement started, how long people were living there,” said Dr Veesar, adding: “Another important feature we found is that the whole settlement is established on a riverbed. They formed the settlement on mounds of natural silt sand dunes of river bed.”
Sindh Minister for Culture, Syed Sardar Ali Shah referred to the findings as of “high importance”.
“It is a great achievement,” he said. “The detailed report is awaited, but in the future, these findings can be helpful in connecting the linkage with other archaeological sites like Mohenjo Daro.”
Read more – 1,300-year-old Hindu temple discovered in KP
This is the third such excavation on the archaeological site in the last 180 years. The first one took place in 1854 during British rule and the second one was in 1962 by a government of Pakistan team.
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Imran tells spokespersons to stop sharing details of party meetings with media
Prime Minister Imran Khan has stopped the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokespersons from sharing the details of the party meetings with after details of a spokesperson meeting were released to the media.
According to reports, the PM is not happy with the fact that the details of the party spokespersons meetings, organised on a regular basis to discuss the internal affairs and future strategy, make it to the newspapers even though there pertain to the internal affairs of the party.
According to the PM, the meetings of the party spokespersons are held to strengthen the party narrative and these decisions should not be made public. He said the details of the meeting have been “misreported” on multiple occasions while directing the party spokesperson to keep these details under wraps.
Recently, a news about PM aide Nadeem Afzal Chan’s resignation was being reported in the media before the resignation reached the PM, prompting a stern response from Imran. Recently, PM Imran Khan had also expressed annoyance with his ministers, saying if someone had a problem with the government narrative, they should step down from the cabinet.
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Pro-Modi anchor knew about ‘highly confidential’ Balakot strikes in advance
Republic TV Editor Arnab Goswami knew about the Balakot strikes three days before the Indian air force bombed an alleged militant camp inside the Pakistani territory, revealed a Whatsapp chat between Goswami and Partho Dasgupta, the former head of India’s Broadcast Audience Research Council (BRAC).
According to Indian media reports, the purported chat is mentioned in a transcript that is part of a 3,400-page supplementary chargesheet filed by the Mumbai Police in their investigation into the alleged Television Ratings Point scam.
In the conversation on Feb 23, 2019, Goswami said that ‘something big will happen’ and three days later, the IAF planes carried out a strike in Pakistan, bringing the two countries on the brink of a full-fledged war. The conversation also suggested that the strikes were conducted to boost ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) popularity ahead of the national elections.
There are also many instances in the transcripts that show Goswami boasting about his proximity to the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. There is another instance where he says that “all the ministers are with us”, reported The Hindu.
In other conversations, Goswami also complained about other news channels getting better ratings than his (Republic TV) and Dasgupta assures him that necessary steps will be taken to “clean the data”, it reported.
Following the release of these Whatsapp conversations, #ArnabGoswamiExposed started trending on Twitter, with Indian users demanding accountability of those involved in the episode.
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Peshawar imposes smart lockdown in several areas
The local administration in Peshawar on Saturday has imposed a smart lockdown in different areas of the city after a surge in COVID-19 cases.
According to details, the lockdown has been imposed in:
- YakaToot Bazar
- Hayatabad Phase 4, streets 4,5 and 6
- Hayatabad Phase 3, streets 1 and 2
- Warsak Road
- Khushal Town
People in the aforesaid areas have been asked to avoid unnecessary movement.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has reported 2,432 new infections during the last 24 hours.
In the past 24 hours, 45 people lost their lives taking the death toll to 10,908. 2,793 patients have recovered from the virus in a day.
The country has reported 516,770 cases so far.
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Imran Abbas among 2020’s ‘100 Most Handsome Men’
It comes as no surprise that Imran Abbas has been listed among 2020’s ‘100 Most Handsome Men’.
Sharing the news on social media, the actor said that he was honoured to be part of the list.
While some followers congratulated the actor for his feat, others felt he was showing off. However, Abbas was quick to respond to them telling them that he was proud to represent his country internationally. However, he later turned off the comments section of his post.
Read more – Imran Abbas spills it all in his latest Q&A session on Instagram
Others on the list include stars like Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, David Beckham and Christiano Ronaldo.
Not only Abbas but Fawad Khan was included in the nominations from Pakistan among the most handsome men of 2020.
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Peshawar’s Charlie Chaplin spreads happiness during tough times
A man from Peshawar, Usman Khan has taken the initiative of spreading smiles after the area where he has lived has witnessed decades of suicide attacks, explosions, and threats from hardline militant groups.
The stand-up comedian wears Charlie Chaplin’s trademark oversized shoes, baggy pants, cane and black bowler hat and performs across the city.
“The sole purpose of this art is to bring a smile to the faces of people,” 30-year-old Khan told Arab News while walking on the streets of Peshawar.
“For the past decades, Peshawar and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have faced terrible times. I know I can’t perform as well as the great Charlie Chaplin, but with limited resources, I am doing my best to spread happiness,” said Khan.
He added: “I have adopted Chaplin’s character and style in such a deep way that I perform even when I am sleeping. My wife has complained about this.”
Khan shared he started watching Chaplin’s films from childhood and was soon able to copy his iconic walk.
Now, when he travels through Peshawar imitating the famous actor, crowd around him claps for him and ask for selfies.
“This man has been among the few sources of smiles during the toughest times,” local shopkeeper Wali Afridi said. “Khan is now a kind of star in this area; he comes to our shops and takes what he wants and performs a few comic sketches.”
Four friends of Khan help him with his routine. The team is now recreating many of Chaplin’s old routines on video. They are hopeful that social media will help them gain larger audiences and turn their passion for comedy into an earning profession.
“Cheerful faces and crowds around us encourage us to do more funny videos,” Khan said, posing with a local for a selfie.