Author: optimum_tech

  • Exclusive: Anchor Muhammad Junaid talks to The Current about finishing the Boston and London Marathon 2023

    Exclusive: Anchor Muhammad Junaid talks to The Current about finishing the Boston and London Marathon 2023

    Anchor Muhammad Junaid made the country proud when he became the first ever Pakistani journalist to participate in the Boston Marathon and the London Marathon, a feat he completed in a week.

    In the Boston Marathon, held on April 17 in Eastern Massachusetts, Junaid completed the run in 3 hours, 36 min and 38 seconds. He participated along side other Pakistani-Americans like Salman Khan, Hamid Butt, Prem Kumar, Aamad Butt and Shariq Samad. Dr Salman & Hamid Butt are Abbott 6 Start Finishers.

    Whereas in the London Marathon, which Junaid finished in 3 hours, 21 minutes and 38 seconds, he ran alongside others Pakistani or Pakistani origin marathons runners. Sadiq Shah, Faisal Shafi, Semeena Khan, Danish Raza, Prem Kumar, Farrukh Sadiq, Dr Jehanzeb Mughal, Danish Elahe, Imran Aleem & Ammar Mumtaz were also among them.

    Saqid Shah, a Quetta born and currently a Karachi resident made history at the London Marathon by completing the race in 2 hours, 55 minutes and 20 seconds, becoming the fastest Pakistani runner in London Marathon. He appeared on the Geo News show ‘Geo Pakistan’, along with Muhammad Junaid.

    The Current reached out to Junaid to chat about his recent accomplishments, and how running become one of his favorite hobbies, and the Geo News anchor gave us some interesting insights.

    Q. You mentioned in your bio that you previously participated in the Boston Marathon. Is running your passion?

    Junaid: I started more organised and focused running a few years ago and ran marathons in Karachi and Istanbul. Women and men of the running community realised that the number of Pakistanis in International marathons is very limited and we decided to train to run them. Every marathon has its own value but running Boston marathon can be any runner’s biggest dream. I collaborated with Pakistani Americans & partnered with South Asian Circle of Hopkinton through Hopkinton Board in Massachusetts to run Boston Marathon and open paths for more South Asians in future. It’s an achievement for South Asians in USA and Pakistanis here.

    Q. Winning this race seems like an impossible task, so how did you train for this marathon? Especially considering that you’re a Karachi food lover.

    Junaid: The goal is to finish the marathon in a good time, preferably faster than your previous time, for any marathon runner 70 KM per week is considered a standard mileage. Per week can vary for everyone, but yes you have got be careful with food. Protein is most important in that because it helps make and repair cells, which are critical for growth and development. So yes chicken, yogurt, milk, eggs, cheese, seafood, nut butters and then good carbs like wholegrain items, sweet potato, brown rice, and lots and lots of water, in my experience anyone involved in sports should avoid carbonated drinks because of the amount of processed sugar in them.

    Q. You met politicians like MP Zarah Sultana who congratulated you for your prestigious win! How did that feel?

    Junaid: For the Boston Marathon, Pakistani-American Shahid Ahmed Khan, who is currently a member of US President Joe Biden’s prestigious President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts (PACA), Irfan Nasrullah, and the President of South Asian Circle Ruta Upalekar and her team’s role was significant in helping me prepare for the marathon. From Pakistan, it was nearly impossible without support of Geo News. London Marathon was a collaboration for me with the Pakistani-British Journalist Saima Mohsin to raise funds for Scope, a UK charity working mainly for people with disabilities and facing cost of living crises. In that collaboration, we met British Pakistani MPs Naz Shah and Zarah Sultana, who are an inspiration for many and they assured us of their support to work in order to send more Pakistanis of all genders in world sports specially London Marathon.

    Q. These initiatives are wonderful but sadly such things have not taken place in Pakistan. Should Pakistani politicians also start setting up running marathons, now that petrol prices are soaring and we’re looking for cheaper ways to travel?

    Junaid: Pakistan does not have any international standard running events so far but Shoaib Nizami and other partners are working to organise Pakistan’s first internationally recognised marathon, Karachi Marathon, this year, which can help people here to get first hand experience of running an official marathon.

    Junaid revealed that currently he is gearing up along side other Pakistani marathon runners to participate in the upcoming Berlin Marathon being held on September 24, where 50 runners from Pakistan are expected to participate.

    Besides the fact that Pakistanis are underrepresented at these races, the number of women runners is even less but the running community is trying to change that. Last year, at London Marathon, Kaukab Sarwar and Hira Diwan ran in the race for TCF with the help of a friend of Pakistan, Mike Nithavrianakis. It is expected that a bigger number of women will be participating in Berlin Marathon this year. Hira Diwan, who is a British Pakistani, has run four world major marathons including New York & Chicago.

  • Big Bash League to be shortened in 2023-24

    Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL) will be shortened to a 44-game season from 2023-24, Cricket Australia announced on Friday as it brought forward changes in the tournament structure set to be implemented under the new broadcast deal.

    The Twenty20 competition will be cut by 17 matches, featuring 40 home-and-away matches plus four finals from the next edition.

    The changes come 12 months in advance of a seven-year broadcast deal agreed between Cricket Australia and media partners Seven Network and Foxtel.

    Cricket Australia’s general manager of Big Bash Leagues, Alistair Dobson, said a shorter BBL would allow the league “greater flexibility” to deliver the “best possible fixture for clubs and fans”.

    The Women’s Big Bash will remain unchanged from its 59-game season.

  • Man makes replica of $100,000 Hermes bag for his girlfriend in just $400

    Man makes replica of $100,000 Hermes bag for his girlfriend in just $400

    A video posted on TikTok, featuring a man making a replica of a Hermes Birkin bag for his girlfriend has gone viral.

    Alexander Sway, a realtor from Washington, decided to make the famous bag himself after realising he couldn’t afford the real one to gift to his girlfriend on their anniversary.

    The two videos, titled Handmaking A Birkin For My Girlfriend, have been viewed more than 36 million times. Sway, 32, says he used templates he found online and leather from a local store.

    “My girlfriend always jokes that she wants a luxury bag from Hermes as an anniversary gift,” he said in the first video. “When I looked online at the price of a Birkin, I couldn’t believe it. $100,000 for a bag is crazy, but what was even crazier was instead of paying, I decided to surprise her and make my own.”

    Saying that he thought making the bag was “going to be pretty simple”, Sway spent 60 hours putting together the gift using blueprints he found online.

    He bought the materials from a local leather store, spending $60 on a sheet of black-dyed crocodile leather after admitting he “was not able to find leather that luxury companies use”, and $360 on tools.

    “I thought it was going to be as simple as cutting shapes out and assembling pieces, but right off the bat I made some rookie mistakes and wasted a bunch of good leather,” Sway said. “I finally understand why luxury companies charge so much for these handbags.”

    Sway said the hardest part of making the bag was the sewing.

    “This is very challenging,” he said, “because every hole had to be hand-punched and sometimes the holes had to be punched twice because of how thick the leather was.” He said his fingers went numb during the process.

    What is Hermes Birkin Bag?

    The Hermes Birkin bag is a highly coveted luxury handbag that was created by the French fashion house Hermes. It was named after the actress and singer Jane Birkin and was first introduced in 1984. The Birkin bag is known for its exquisite craftsmanship, high-quality materials, and iconic design.

    The price of a Birkin bag varies depending on factors such as the size, material, and rarity of the bag. The starting price for a basic Birkin bag in the United States was around $9,000 to $10,000. However, it’s important to note that Birkin bags often have long waiting lists, and the most sought-after designs or limited editions can command much higher prices in the secondary market due to their exclusivity and rarity.

  • Exclusive: ‘I am not against the film’: Actor Shaan Shahid defends his viral comment about Money Back Guarantee

    Exclusive: ‘I am not against the film’: Actor Shaan Shahid defends his viral comment about Money Back Guarantee

    Veteran actor Shaan Shahid has been criticised by social media users when his Facebook comment went viral where he had slammed the director of ‘Money Back Guarantee’ Faisal Qureshi, saying that Ufone commerical directors should not be allowed to direct films:

    “Ufone commercials are 45 seconds… producers should be held responsible for getting directors who have no experience when it comes to films.”

    The Current spoke to the ‘Waar’ actor about the controversy. He defended his comment by saying that it was not directed targeted towards anyone, in particular, towards Pakistani films because he supports them.

    “This was an exchange between two colleagues. I had made this comment under a Facebook post by Rashid Khawaja, who is the CEO of Entertainment Pakistan.”

    Shahid added that he hoped that the film did well, adding that this was his own personal comment which everyone is allowed to express.

    The central argument made by most social media users was that with an industry that already has limited support, veteran actors like Shahid were further harming it by making such comments about ‘Money Back Guarantee’.

    When we asked Shahid about this, he responded:

    “My comment wouldn’t come across as degrading, because the film is already playing in cinemas and people are watching it. I feel that as a professional actor, you have to be good at executing what you are doing.”

    He further added that this was not only his sole opinion, but the cinema reviews coming out show people also have mixed responses to the film.

    The ‘Khuda Kay Liye’ actor further added that the filmmakers did not make a wise choice to release the film in these timings due to ongoing political instability, especially due to the curfew imposed by the government because of which cinemas shut down at 10 pm, calling it a ‘poor choice’.

  • Former UK PM Liz Truss refuses to pay £12,000 back to govt for bathrobes, wine, slippers

    Former UK PM Liz Truss refuses to pay £12,000 back to govt for bathrobes, wine, slippers

    Liz Truss, the United Kingdom’s shortest-serving prime minister, has declined to reimburse the British government for a sum of £12,000 ($15,000) for her stay at Chevening House while she was Foreign Secretary.

    The bill mostly covered hospitality expenditure but also included missing items, such as bathrobes and slippers.

    According to a Daily Mail source, officials have informed Liz Truss that she must cover the expenses for items that went missing during her stat at the Chevening estate, which also includes food and wine charges.

    A spokesman for Ms Truss said: “Liz always paid for the costs of her personal guests at Chevening.”

    The latest invoice contains a mixture of costs for her personal business and costs for official government business with civil servants including [Cabinet Secretary] Simon Case and senior officials from other departments who met at Chevening during the transition preparations.”

    “The latter constitutes the majority of the bill. It would be inappropriate for her to pay the costs for officials as it would have breached the Civil Service Code for civil servants to accept hospitality during the leadership campaign. She has therefore asked for this to be billed separately.”

    Liz Truss’s tenure as prime minister of the United Kingdom began on 6 September 2022 when she accepted an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, succeeding Boris Johnson, and ended 49 days later on 25 October upon her resignation.

  • PML-N ministers almost hit each other, use abusive language during National Assembly session

    PML-N ministers almost hit each other, use abusive language during National Assembly session

    Two leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)- federal ministers Murtaza Javed Abbasi and Mian Javed Latif — almost came to blows in a heated debate on Wednesday during the National Assembly (NA) session.

    The debate led to a point where the two senior members tried to hit each other and used abusive language, dismantling the decorum of the House.

    However, witnessing the tense situation several lawmakers including Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Adviser to the Prime Minister (PM) Qamar Zaman Kaira intervened.

    After the matter settled down, Azam Tarar made Murtaza sit with Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.

    Some media reports have suggested that the altercation began when Latif was not allowed to speak in the House. But there is no official confirmation of what led to the argument.

    Both ministers haven’t commented on the situation as of yet. However, Murtaza Javed’s official Twitter account posted his pictures inside the National Assembly in which Javed Latif is also present. Both of them can be seen talking to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

  • 85-year-old man performs Umrah after saving for 15 years

    A video of an elderly man wandering in the Prophet’s Mosque in Madina has gone viral on social media. The video gained attention from high-profile figures such as Turki Alalshikh, advisor to the Saudi Crown Prince, who tweeted about finding him.

    The 82-year-old Baloch Abdul Qadir Bakhsh, has returned to his home in the village of Goth Hajji Rahim in Hub, Balochistan on Saturday after performing Umrah. Baksh, who doesn’t own a phone, said that he had been saving for 15 years to make the pilgrimage, and the first time he saw his viral video was during an Arab News interview.

    “I feel like all my worries have vanished. My heart is content. I am not even short of sustenance, I am happy. My wish to visit the shrine of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and Makkah have been granted,” Bakhsh told Arab News.

    “At the Kaaba, I prayed: ‘Allah, I don’t know this place, so you are my guide. I have no guide here. If I’m not healthy then this place is better for me; I’m not a learned person and I have weak eye sight. Guide me as you’re my only guide… guide me to your secrets,’” he added.
    He stated that his prayers had been answered.

  • Heist at Toronto Airport: thieves swipe $15 million worth of gold and valuables

    Heist at Toronto Airport: thieves swipe $15 million worth of gold and valuables

    In a theft of an unusually big scale, thieves have managed to steal CA $20 million (USD $15m) worth of gold from a cargo terminal at Toronto’s main international airport on Monday.

    This is the biggest gold heist since July 2019, when a theft of $30 million occurred at an airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil. According to Inspector Stephen Duivesteyn, the container carrying the gold arrived on a flight on Monday evening, but he did not disclose its origin.
    The cargo of the plane carrying the gold, was transferred to a holding facility. However, according to Inspector Duivesteyn, the container carrying the gold was unlawfully taken and reported as missing right after the unloading process.

    “An aircraft arrived here at the airport in the early evening. As per normal procedure, the aircraft was unloaded and cargo was transported from the aircraft to a holding cargo facility,” he said.

    It is uncertain whether the stolen gold is still within the country’s borders. According to The Ottawa Sun, the gold may have been transported from a mine in Northern Ontario to Toronto on behalf of one of the banks. The authorities have not confirmed whether the perpetrators were professional criminals or not, but the investigation is continuing.

    The Toronto Sun claimed that organized criminal gangs are suspected of being responsible for the heist.

  • ‘Even as a cricketer, you’re an actor’: Wasim Akram talks to The Current about why he chose to act in ‘Money Back Guarantee’

    ‘Even as a cricketer, you’re an actor’: Wasim Akram talks to The Current about why he chose to act in ‘Money Back Guarantee’

    In an exclusive interview with The Current, cricket great and commentator Wasim Akram along with his wife, philanthropist Shaniera Akram, discussed their upcoming film ‘Money Back Guarantee’.

    The film plays host to a star-studded cast with the names of actors like Fawad Khan, Ali Safina, Ayesha Omar and Mikaal Zulfiqaar on the marquee.

    When asked about why he chose to venture into acting after 25 years in cricket and commentary, Akram opened up about his decision:

    “I have been acting for 25 years not just for television commercial or brands. And before that, even during the time I was a cricketer”, the 56-year-old former captain of the Pakistan team said. “When you’re on the field you have to be mindful about where you have to be angry, where you want to be excited, where you have to have a go at one of your fielders when they have dropped a catch.”

    Akram revealed that he had always enjoyed watching movies and television shows, and was grateful for the opportunity writer and director Faisal Quraishi gave him by casting him in ‘Money Back Guarantee’.

    “I enjoy watching movies…especially on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Stand TV in Australia. I watch very different movies too, so credit goes to Faisal who convinced me to give it a go,” the former pacer told us.

    Akram also shared that this was not something he was making a career out of at this stage, but thought, “Why not, let’s give it a go?”

    The complete interview with Wasim Akram and Shaniera Akram will be released on The Current’s YouTube channel on the first day of Eid.

  • Teen dies after cardiac arrest, comes back to life two hours later

    Sammy Berko, a teenager from Missouri City in Texas, was declared dead after suffering cardiac arrest at a rock climbing gym. However, two hours later, the boy revived, coming back to life in front of his parents.

    Despite administering two hours of CPR after his heart stopped, medical professionals were unable to save Sammy’s life and ultimately declared him deceased.

    “He climbed to the top of the wall, rang the bell, as we were told, and then his body went limp, and it looked like he was either playing around or passed out. They weren’t quite sure and when they realized he was unresponsive, they lowered him slowly,” said Jennifer, the mother of the young boy.

    After doctors told the parents that Sammy was “gone”, the mother and father sat with their sons to say goodbye.

    “I started talking to him, just telling him how much I love him and sorry that we didn’t know how to save him. Suddenly, as I started praying, my husband said, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s moving,’” Jennifer recalled to a local news station.

    Medical personnel came back to the room and administered aid, reviving Sammy fully.

    “I don’t remember anything about the day it happened. The last thing I remember is the night before we had to sign waivers online (for the rock climbing gym), and then I woke up, not even in the pediatric ICU. I woke up in the transitional ICU and that’s the first thing I remember. Then I remember my dad telling me, this is what happened and you better remember this time, because he said it so many times,” said Sammy while talking about his experience.

    Although he went two hours without oxygen, the boy has no significant brain damage.