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  • ECP asks finance ministry for additional Rs14 billion for elections

    ECP asks finance ministry for additional Rs14 billion for elections

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has requested the Ministry of Finance for more money for elections on vacant seats in National Assembly (NA), and by-elections in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

    According to the electoral body, the expenses of general elections have increased from Rs 47 billion to Rs 61 billion, incurring the need for an additional amount of Rs 14 billion.

    ECP has also proposed April 9 to 13 for the elections in Punjab and April 15 to 17 for elections in KP and asked the Governors of both provinces to select a date within the given timeline.

    The KP Assembly was dissolved on January 18 while the Punjab Assembly was dissolved on January 14 on the directives of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan whose party was in majority in both provinces.

    In Punjab, Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi was sworn in as the caretaker Chief Minister (CM) on January 22, while Mohammad Azam Khan has taken oath as the KP chief executive on January 21.

  • ‘Doors are open’ for Ben Stokes, says England coach Mathew Mott

    ‘Doors are open’ for Ben Stokes, says England coach Mathew Mott

    English All-Rounder Ben Stokes is likely to return to England’s One Day International (ODI) Team to play for the 2023 World Cup. The 31-years-old England Test captain took retirement from ODIs last summer to manage his workload, however, his decision was criticized by many. Stokes took his team to the final and won the title of men’s T20 World Cup.

    The “door is open” for Ben Stokes to come out of 50-over retirement and play at the World Cup in India later this year, England coach Matthew Mott has said.

    Mott said England is happy to wait on a decision.

    “The door is always open for a player of that quality but we are also very aware that his main focus is red-ball cricket as the captain,” Mott said, speaking before England’s three-match ODI series against South Africa begins on Friday.

    England is currently building its team for defending its title. The World Cup will be played in October and November by which time England will not have played a Test for more than two months.

    Ben Stokes was the man of the match in the 2019 World Cup when England won the coveted trophy for the first time after a dramatic super over against New Zealand.

  • ‘Pathaan’ expected to dominate box office after Rs 50 crore opening

    ‘Pathaan’ expected to dominate box office after Rs 50 crore opening

    Shah Rukh Khan’s comeback film ‘Pathaan’ released in cinemas across India on Wednesday and is already being considered a blockbuster hit with fans and movie critics giving rave reviews to the film and Khan’s performance.
    According to industry tracker Sacnilk, the film has made more than Rs. 50 crore on the opening day alone, and is about to cross Hrithik Roshan’s War (Rs. 53 crore) and Amir Khan’s Thugs of Hindostan (Rs. 52 crore).
    Pathaan has also earned more than Rs. 5.56 crores from ticket sales from Day 1, the second film to earn the most amount from sales tickets alone, after ‘Baahubali2 ‘.

    Fans are also sharing videos online of packed theatres with fans celebrating Khan’s succesful comeback. ‘

    This is welcome news for long time fans of SRK, after the actor was being threatened by religious clerics who accused ‘Pathaan’ of promoting anti-hindu sentiments with the song ‘Besharam Rang’.
    Zoom reported today that 30 activists were arrested for attempting to halt the release of ‘Pathaan’ in theatres of the Karnataka district on Wednesday morning. They had torn down banners and condemned the release of the movie.

    Khan plays RAW agent Pathaan who has been under exile in the film. The hero comes back when he hears that his old nemesis Jim (played by John Abraham) is leading ‘Outfit X’ a terrorist organization, that is planning to spread a deadly virus across India.

  • Polio detected in Lahore’s environmental sample

    A strain of wild poliovirus has been detected in an environmental sample in Lahore, Razya Khan has reported for Express Tribune.

    The Pakistan Polio Laboratory at the National Institute of Health said in a statement on Tuesday that the virus discovered in Lahore’s Gulshan-e-Ravi had connections to a poliovirus discovered in Nangarhar, Afghanistan last November.

    “While the isolation of the virus is a cause of concern, it is excellent to note that it was detected promptly. This timely detection of the virus in the environment is crucial to protecting children from being paralysed by the poliovirus,” said Federal Minister for Health Abdul Qadir Patel.

    Up to 44 million children would be immunised across Pakistan as a result of anti-polio campaigns in 2023.

    Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio has not yet been eradicated. To formally eradicate the disease, a nation must be polio-free for three consecutive years. Nigeria was declared free from wild polio in August 2020.

  • Suzuki Swift GLX now costs more than Rs4.1 million after recent price hike of Rs355,000

    Suzuki Swift GLX now costs more than Rs4.1 million after recent price hike of Rs355,000

    As expected, Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC) has announced a price hike for all cars after Toyota Indus Motor Company (IMC) and Honda Atlas Cars Limited (HACL).

    The revised retail sale prices will come into effect from January 25, 2023, according to PSMC.

    Here are the new prices:

    Model Old Price (Rs) New Price (Rs) Increase (Rs)
    Alto VX 1,699,000 1,859,000 160,000
    Alto VXR  1,976,000 2,156,000 180,000
    Alto VXR AGS  2,120,000 2,310,000 190,000
    Alto AGS 2,223,000 2,423,000 200,000
    Wagon R VXR  2,421,000 2,629,000 208,000
    Wagon R VXL  2,564,000 2,789,000 225,000
    Wagon R AGS  2,802,000 3,059,000 257,000
    Cultus VXR  2,754,000 3,039,000 285,000
    Cultus VXL  3,024,000 3,339,000 315,000
    Cultus AGS  3,234,000 3,569,000 335,000
    Swift GL MT 3,180,000 3,479,000 299,000
    Swift GL CVT 3,420,000 3,742,000 322,000
    Swift GLX CVT 3,760,000 4,115,000 355,000
    Ravi  1,424,000 1,539,000 115,000
    Ravi w/o Deck  1,349,000 1,464,000 115,000
    Bolan Van  1,500,000 1,619,000 119,000
    Bolan Cargo 1,487,000 1,606,000 119,000

    Surprisingly, the automaker has announced the highest price increase for its flagship hatchback, the Suzuki Swift GLX variant, which will now be sold for Rs4.115 million, a Rs355,000 increase from its previous price of Rs3.760 million. 

    Read more: Honda cars latest prices

    According to the notification from PSMC, the revised retail prices include the FED and sales tax but exclude advance income tax, with another condition that the prices are subject to change without notice at the time of delivery.

  • Nawaz directs Rana Sanaullah, Maryam Nawaz to lead PML-N

    Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz have been given instructions by party supremo Nawaz Sharif to lead rallies and meetings ahead of the upcoming general elections in Punjab.

    Rana Sanaullah met the father and daughter in London where Nawaz briefed the two senior members of the party on what their roles would be.

    Nawaz instructed the interior minister to mobilise party workers in the province for the upcoming elections. Moreover, PML-N leaders also held consultations on party appointments in Punjab and on inter-party elections.

    The federal minister and Maryam Nawaz both are expected to land back home on January 28.

    Taking to Twitter, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb wrote: “There has been a change in the time of PML-N’s senior vice president and chief organiser Maryam Nawaz’s return home. Maryam Nawaz sahiba will now reach Lahore at 3:50pm on Saturday, January 28.”

    On January 12, Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi signed the summary for the dissolution of the provincial assembly. Elections are now set to take place in the province within the next three months.

    Maryam Nawaz likely to return back on January 22

    Earlier, it was reported that Maryam is likely to return to Pakistan on January 22.

    According to media reports, the senior leadership of the party decided on Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s return to the political fray while her father, Nawaz Sharif, has given her essential tasks related to the PML-N mobilisation.

    Maryam Nawaz Sharif will be visiting Punjab and meeting senior leaders.

    It is pertinent to mention here that PML-N senior vice president Maryam Nawaz underwent throat surgery in Switzerland. She travelled to Geneva from London where she stayed with her father and brothers.

  • India invites Pakistani FM Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to SCO

    India invites Pakistani FM Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to SCO

    In a surprise move, India has invited Pakistan’s Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to attend an upcoming meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) scheduled to be held in Goa in May, The Indian Express has reported.

    The invitation to the meeting of SCO ministers has been sent by the office of S Jaishankar, the Minister for External Affairs and has been forwarded by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

    Were Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to accept the invitation, the visit would mark the first visit of a Foreign Minister to India in 12 years. The last minister to visit the neighbouring country was Hina Rabbani Khar who travelled to India in July 2011.

    The unexpected development comes a few weeks after Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif expressed hope that relations between the two arch rivals will improve. In an interview with a UAE-based media outlet, the Pakistani Premier asked for “sincere and serious” talks with India.

    The SCO moot in Goa will also be attended by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

  • Mike Tyson sued for $5M for allegedly raping a woman in the early ’90s

    Mike Tyson sued for $5M for allegedly raping a woman in the early ’90s

    A woman is suing Mike Tyson boxer for alleged violently raping her inside a limo after the two met at a popular Albany nightclub in the early 1990s.

    The woman, who has asked courts to keep her name secret, filed the suit in early January under a temporary New York state law allowing victims of sexual assault to seek civil damages regardless of the statute of limitations.

    She is seeking $5 million in damages, stating that she is suffering from physical, psychological and emotional injury since she was assaulted by the boxer.
    She said to the court that she ran into Tyson at a local hotspot then called “Septembers” and later got into his limo after he offered to pick up her friend and take the two of them to a party. She claimed that the boxer immediately started touching her and trying to kiss her.

    “I told him no several times and asked him to stop, but he continued to attack me,” the woman said. “He then pulled my pants off and violently raped me.”
    Tyson spent three years in jail beginning in 1992 after being found guilty of raping model Desiree Washington, who was 18 at the time.
    Tyson, considered one of the greatest in the ring, has consistently ran into trouble during his career.

    It is not clear in the affidavit at which date Tyson allegedly raped the woman, neither is it clear whether Tyson’s driver was inside the car or the car was parked. Meanwhile, the legendary boxer remains tight-lipped and has not commented publicly on the suit.

  • Twitter still can’t forget Fawad Khan’s performance in Kapoor and Sons

    Twitter still can’t forget Fawad Khan’s performance in Kapoor and Sons

    There are few performances on screen that remain etched in our minds even decades later, because of how well the actor was able to make the audience feel for the plight of his character.
    Fawad Khan has had limited roles in the entertainment industry, but with the few characters he has portrayed on screen like Maula Jatt from The Legend of Maula Jatt, Ashar from Humsafar, or even Rahul from Kapoor and Sons, his dedication and talent has always shined through.
    When this twitter user asked his followers to decide which performance by an actor is among the best, Fawad Khan was one of the few desi actors to be trending on the list. Users cited his performance in Kapoor and Sons to be one of the best one’s they’ve ever seen.

    One user explained how well this single conversation captured the dynamics of a toxic family so well
    “The way this movie captures the dynamics of a dysfunctional family, relationships, impact of past events on the present and the different ways in which people cope with loss and grief. And this scene specifically hits home with an argument escalating so quickly.”

    Another user cited this as their favorite scene because of how it demonstrated the way parents can bring up your past in any argument.
    “The way desi families can be so brutal bringing up your past at any given point and the way Kapoor & Sons displays it exactly how it is.”

    Kapoor and Sons released in 2016 to resounding reviews. The film is about a dysfunctional family where after the grandfather Amarjeet Kapoor (played by Rishi Kapoor) is admitted to hospital, his grandsons, the famous writer Rahul (played by Fawad Khan) and bartender Arjun (played by Sidharth Malhotra) decide to come back home to spend time with their parents. When the family is back home, old wounds and the appearance of a new girl threaten to rip the family apart.After Fawad Khan, the most popular male performer who was getting accolades on Twitter was Shah Rukh Khan for his performance in both “My name is Khan” and “Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Ghum”.

    Among female performances, the most popular names showing up was Deepika Padukone, for her debut film ‘Om Shanti Om’.

  • ‘Rooh Afza’; Doja Cat’s look at the Paris Fashion Week sparks meme fest

    ‘Rooh Afza’; Doja Cat’s look at the Paris Fashion Week sparks meme fest

    Rapper Doja Cat appeared at the Paris Fashion Week in an unusual outfit, covered head to toe in red paint and plastered with red swarovski crystals.
    Celebrity make up artist Pat Mcgrath, who had helped with Doja Cat’s makeup, shared the behind the scenes look on Instagram where she shared that the look took up 5 hours for hand-applied 30,000 swarovski crystals, and was inspired by Dante’s ‘Inferno”

    The singer’s look sparked a meme fest on twitter, with users coming up with some amazing memes.
    Like this user was reminded of popular drink Rooh Afza waiting for Ramzam to begin.

    https://twitter.com/shayadzohair/status/1617861466522284032?s=20&t=CAw7t03Nja1_988nLKJAng

    Cast them all in the reboot!

    https://twitter.com/notgwendalupe/status/1617580529741881345?s=20&t=NuWFLKDWvPIwy6d3l80ykg

    It keeps getting more hilarious

    This one is *chef’s kiss*.

    Even Bollywood tweeps jumped in to point out someone did it first.