Blog

  • Critics unimpressed by Harry and Meghan docuseries

    Critics unimpressed by Harry and Meghan docuseries

    The first project produced for Netflix by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has left critics’ mostly unimpressed. Almost five days after the first three episodes of the duo’s docuseries titled ‘Harry & Meghan’ was released by the streaming giant, the reviews are in, and they are not very kind.

    Washington Post has termed ‘Harry & Meghan ‘ a “yawner”, with a reviewer asking if the couple “have anything else to say”.

    Hollywood’s entertainment magazine of record, Variety, was no less unkind, writing : “The Sussexes surprise us yet again, with just how narrow their vision of their fame is, how pinched and unimaginative their presence on the world stage has become.”

    On American online magazine Slate, reviewer Nadira Goffe called the series, “a bit of a mess”, stating that it can’t decide if it wants to be a “history analysis or juicy tell-all”.

    French reviewer Laura Sagalovitsch minced no words either, stating that the Sussexes are, “nothing but a vague actress and a fallen prince, both united behind the idea of selling to the highest bidder the story of their undying vacuousness”.

    Germany’s Der Spiegel asked it’s readers why Harry s telling this story on the very platform that is “currently exploiting his mother’s sad life as entertainment in the mega hit series The Crown remains unclear. Perhaps it has to do with a lot of money.”

    The New York Times tempered it’s review, writing that the docuseries “has all the intimacy of Instagram”.

    The series is however, a ratings bonanza, currently behind Tim Burton’s Wednesday on Netflix. Given the hefty price tag that Netflix is paying the Sussexes for the joint productions, many media outlets are speculating whether the streaming service will be forced to review it’s production terms.

  • England beat Pakistan by 26 runs to win second Test

    England beat Pakistan by 26 runs to win second Test

    On their first tour since 2005, England defeated Pakistan in the Test series, winning the second Test match in Multan by a score of 26 runs. Since winning a Test series in Pakistan in 2000, England hadn’t won a Test series in the country in 22 years.

    This marks the third Test series victory for England against Pakistan.

    The England team led by Nasser Hussain defeated Pakistan 1-0 over the course of a three-match series in 2000. Pakistan eventually defeated England 2-0 in the subsequent Test series there in 2005.

    Since then, Pakistan has played its home games in the United Arab Emirates, where they have never lost to England in two Test tours in 2012 and 2015.

    Pakistan lost the first two games of the three-match series because they had no response against a powerful English team. Despite a valiant effort on the part of Saud Shakeel, Imam-ul-Haq, and Mohammad Nawaz, the Men in Green were unable to successfully chase down a target of 355 runs during the Multan Test.

    As they held Pakistan to 328 in the last innings of the second Test, English bowlers struck frequently. When the two teams square off in the final Test match at Karachi on December 17, the Three Lions will be looking to sweep the series.

  • Session court to announce verdict in Toshakhana case against Khan on Dec 15

    Session court to announce verdict in Toshakhana case against Khan on Dec 15

    A district and sessions court reserved its verdict on a plea filed by Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the Toshakhana case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.

    The verdict will be announced at 2pm on December 15.

    During today’s hearing, ECP’s lawyer Saad Hassan appeared before the court and presented his arguments.

    “Imran Khan said that he constructed a road with the money [acquired from] Toshakhana [gifts],” he said, adding that a prime minister has to deposit any gift they receive to the Toshakhana.

    He further stated that the Toshakhana gifts could be retained after paying 20 per cent of the gift’s price until the PTI government introduced a new law which allowed taking the Toshakhana gifts after paying 50 per cent of its price.

    “The price of the watch was estimated at Rs.85 million,” he said, adding that Khan failed to state the amount for which he sold the Toshakhana watch.

    Imran Khan said that he has deposited the amount [ he paid for] for all the items in the same bank account, the counsel told the court.

    Last month, ECP, in a consensus verdict in the Toshakana reference, disqualified the former prime minister and ruled that the PTI chief was no more a member of the National Assembly.

    The ECP stated that the PTI chief had submitted a false affidavit and was found involved in corrupt practices under Article 63(1)(p).

    The ECP stated that the PTI chief had submitted a false affidavit and was found involved in corrupt practices under Article 63(1)(p).

  • ADB approves $554 million for Pakistan flood victims

    ADB approves $554 million for Pakistan flood victims

    The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $554 million financing package for Pakistan flood victims.

    The financing, which includes a $475 million loan and a $3 million technical assistance grant from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and a $5 million grant from the Government of Japan, will support the restoration of irrigation, drainage, flood risk management, on-farm water management, and transport infrastructure in the flood-affected provinces of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh.

    “ADB’s Emergency Flood Assistance Project will also incorporate climate and disaster resilience measures into the design of the infrastructure. ADB has repurposed an additional $71 million from existing loans to support the government’s flood-response efforts,” the statement issued by the bank has stated.

    “This year’s floods, which affected 33 million people and brought enormous damage to infrastructure and agriculture, are a devastating reminder of Pakistan’s acute vulnerability to climate change,” said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov.
    “This project will help to rebuild critical infrastructure in affected areas and restore rural livelihoods,” he emphasized.
    Torrential monsoon rains triggered the most severe flooding in Pakistan’s recent history. Hundreds of thousands of homes have been damaged or destroyed, while many public health facilities, water systems and schools have been destroyed or damaged. More than 33 million people have been affected by floods and flash floods in 94 districts.

  • Veena Malik slams Iqrar-ul-Hassan for tweeting about her and Imran Khan

    Veena Malik slams Iqrar-ul-Hassan for tweeting about her and Imran Khan

    Actor Veena Malik took to her Twitter handle to slam journalist Iqrar-ul-Hassan Syed for his recent tweet.

    Iqrar recently revealed on Twitter that he has consciously never met and interviewed political personalities in his career. He even mentioned that he snubbed an opportunity of interacting with former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

    The veteran journalist concluded by saying that he hopes Imran doesn’t give his next interview to Veena.

    The Bigg Boss 4 star immediately tweeted a nasty response. She even made a personal remark about his wives.

  • Veteran Bollywood actor Veena Kapoor murdered by son for property

    Veteran Bollywood actor Veena Kapoor murdered by son for property

    Veteran Indian actress Veena Kapoor was allegedly brutally murdered by her son Sachin Kapoor over a property dispute. As per reports, he admitted to the crime and said that the incident took place in a fit of rage as he repeatedly hit her head with a baseball bat.

    He then threw her dead body into a river in the Raigad district. Mumbai Police has arrested the accused and their house help Chhotu alias Lalukumar Mandal for murder after the interrogation.

    Veteran actress Veena Kapoor allegedly murdered by son due to property dispute; accused arrested

    A police complaint was filed when the security supervisor of Kalpataru Society in Mumbai reported that the 74-year-old actress had gone missing. During the interrogation, Sachin Kapoor confessed to the murder and said that the heated conversation to get the Rs 12 crore plot led to the killing of his mother.

    Veena’s co-star from the TV show Meri Bhabhi, Nilu Kohli wrote on Instagram, “Veenaji you deserved better. I am heartbroken, about posting this for you. Kya bolun? Am at a total loss of words. I hope you are finally resting in peace after soo many years of struggle.”

    She spoke to TV9 Bharatvarsh and said, “I worked with Veena ji for about five years in Main Bhabhi. After this serial, we also did another serial together. But before Corona, we lost contact and I got busy with my projects. After the death of a person, we remember these things. I still can’t believe she is no more with us.”

    As per Economic Times, police also said that Veena Kapoor’s elder son lives in the US. They have registered a case against the accused under sections 302, 201 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The investigation is underway.

    Veena Kapoor was also known for her performances in movies like Mitter Pyare Nu Haal Mureedan Da KehnaDal: The Gang and Bandhan Pheron Ke.

  • Ronaldo a ‘gift from god’, Virat Kohli expresses love after football legend leaves in tears

    Ronaldo a ‘gift from god’, Virat Kohli expresses love after football legend leaves in tears

    Former India Cricket team captain Virat Kohli has come out in support of star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo after his Portugal side exited the ongoing FIFA World Cup on Saturday.

    Ronaldo is now more likely to complete his career without a World Cup trophy as a result of Portugal’s elimination from the competition. The popular Portuguese player, who is now 37, was seen crying on Saturday and was warmly embraced by the crowd.

    “No trophy or any title can take anything away from what you’ve done in this sport and for sports fans around the world. No title can explain the impact you’ve had on people and what I and so many around the world feel when we watch you play. That’s a gift from god. A real blessing to a man who plays his heart out every single time and is the epitome of hard work and dedication and a true inspiration for any sportsperson. You are for me the greatest of all time,” Virat posted on Twitter on Monday.

    According to India Times, Ronaldo’s elimination from the competition means that he will likely miss out on winning the World Cup because the following time it is held in the USA, in 2026, he would be 41. The five-time Champions League champion was a substitute in all of his team’s knockout stage games as Fernando Santos decided against starting him.

    While the great player has been struggling with his form, Virat has thrived in his position. On Saturday against Bangladesh, he was seen enjoying his 72nd ODI century. Virat moved up to second place in the list of players with the most hundreds at the international level with the tonne, passing Ricky Ponting, who had 71 hundred to his credit.

    Similar to Ronaldo, the former captain of India might play in his final World Cup in the ODI format the following year as India gets ready for the major tournament. Contrary to Ronaldo, Virat did win the World Cup in 2011 when India defeated Sri Lanka in the championship game.

    Lionel Messi is quietly going about his job as his Argentina team, who is in the final four and will play Croatia on Tuesday night, while all eyes are on Cristiano Ronaldo’s disappointment. Harry Kane, a close friend of Virat’s and the England captain, also experienced a disappointing departure when the English team fell to France.

  • Some PTI members don’t want to dissolve assemblies, says Asad Umar

    Some PTI members don’t want to dissolve assemblies, says Asad Umar

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader and former federal minister Asad Umar has admitted that there is a difference of opinion among party members on the dissolution of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies, reports Daily Jang.

    He also revealed that while a few party members are in favour of the immediate dissolution of assemblies, however, others are against it.

    It is pertinent to mention that PTI has given December 20 deadline to the government to finalise a date for general elections or else assemblies will be dissolved as announced by Imran Khan on November 26.

    A day earlier, PTI’s Fawad Chaudhry warned the ruling coalition that the party would order the dissolution of assemblies if a final date for the next general election is not announced by next week.

    Earlier this month, Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Pervaiz Elahi said that he did not see elections taking place in the next four months. However, he showed full support for Khan’s decision over the dissolution matter.

  • Turkish gang exposed for allegedly abducting Pakistani students

    Turkish gang exposed for allegedly abducting Pakistani students

    A gang involved in the abduction of Pakistani students in Turkey has been exposed after a video of the students in the captivity of the alleged abductors has surfaced, Salah Uddin has reported for ARY News.

    The gang allegedly abducts Pakistani students for ransom.

    According to the news report, Noman Altaf, a 17-year-old student from Khanewal, Pakistan, was allegedly kidnapped in Turkey after the gang promised him a better future in Europe and Athens. The gang eventually collected extortion from his family.

    Their modus operandi involved sending videos of abducted students to their families to collect ransom from them.

    In addition, eight other Pakistani students who travelled to Turkey for academic purposes encountered incidents of the same sort. The kidnappers in Turkey are alleged to have also tortured their victims.

  • Bilawal Bhutto calls Imran Khan a ‘ghari chor’

    Bilawal Bhutto calls Imran Khan a ‘ghari chor’

    Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari took a jibe at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan after the PTI chief did a press conference about the Toshakhana watch scandal.

    Taking to Twitter, the minister called Khan a “ghari chor”. He asked whether Khan had dissolved the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies. “Of course not”, he said.

    He said that Khan’s efforts to turn “institutions into his tiger force to do his unconstitutional bidding failed before and will fail again.”

    On Sunday, Khan accused the media of looking the other way on important matters and instead focusing on what he implied were trivial issues, such as the Toshakhana watch scandal.

    “The channels that used to bash the PTI government for inflation, those channels are quiet now and are instead focused on a watch,” he said in a press conference in Lahore.

    “It’s my watch. I can sell it, or do whatever I want. No one is talking about the economic murder being committed right now.”

    Last month, Bilawal predicted that Khan’s party would not resign from assemblies despite his announcement to do so. He, further claimed that Khan is “lying” as he will not resign from Punjab and KP assemblies.