Blog

  • Rashid Khan opens up about his availability for PSL final

    Rashid Khan opens up about his availability for PSL final

    Reports of Rashid Khan coming back to Pakistan and representing Lahore Qalandars in the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 7 were circulating on social media on Friday. The Afghan star player opened up about it and clarified that he would not be available due to “national duty”.

    Taking to Twitter, Rashid Khan wrote: ”It would’ve been great to be part of Lahore Qalandars and play alongside lads in the PSL T20 final.”

    “I won’t be able to make it for the finals due to National Duty which is always a first priority,” he added.

    He extended best wishes for Lahore Qalandars’ skipper Shaheen Afridi, Sameen Rana and the team.

    On February 20, the Qalandars’ right-arm spinner had left the PSL franchise to join his national squad for the ODI and T20I series against Bangladesh.

    He had received a befitting farewell from his teammates and from Qalandars’ skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi.

    It is pertinent to mention here that the defending champions Multan Sultans and Lahore Qalandars will lock horns on Sunday for the PSL title.

  • PIA announces special flights for Pak students ‘stranded in Ukraine’

    PIA announces special flights for Pak students ‘stranded in Ukraine’

    Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has announced special flights to bring back Pakistani students, “stranded in Ukraine.” PIA has scheduled two special flights that will leave tomorrow for Poland.

    “In coordination with FollowPakistan Embassy in Ukraine, PIA has planned repatriation FLTs for Pak Students stranded in Ukraine, the first 2 FLTs wud leave tomorrow for Poland from where they will be repatriated to safety & united with their families. PIA always steps forward when the nation demands,” PIA wrote in a tweet.

    The Pakistan Embassy in Ukraine has managed to evacuate at least 70 students from Kharkiv city. Kharkiv city is one of the main battle grounds between Ukrainian and Russian forces.

  • Netizens grill Amna Ilyas for her ‘drunk’ statement

    Netizens grill Amna Ilyas for her ‘drunk’ statement

    Model and actress Amna Ilyas turned to her Instagram a few days back and posted a portrait of herself all glammed up in a black outfit with a beverage in her hand and took her bluntness to another level with a bold caption.

    “If someone drunk texts you, appreciate it, they are thinking of you when they can barely think straight,” she wrote.

    This controversial caption sparked criticism among the netizens and they started flaking her with harsh comments.  

    Take a look at some of the comments under her post below:

  • Sindh police arrest alleged killer in journalist Athar Mateen’s murder case

    Sindh police arrest alleged killer in journalist Athar Mateen’s murder case

    Sindh police have arrested the alleged killer, Ashraf Brohi who killed Samaa’s journalist Athar Mateen on February 18 in Karachi. The incident took place when the journalist came across two men robbing a citizen at gunpoint. To prevent the mugging, he banged his car into the suspects’ motorcycle.

    Sindh Minister of Information and Human Resource Department, Senator Saeed Ghani posted an update related to the murder case on his Twitter.

    He wrote, “Sindh police has arrested a man named Ashraf who was involved in the murder of Samaa’s journalist Athar Mateen. Insha’Allah, the killer will be punished according to the law. The diligent efforts of the police in this whole case are commendable and in the same way, the confidence of the people in Sindh Police will increase.”

    The journalist’s brother, Tariq Mateen told to Samaa that he received a phone call from Senator Saeed Ghani. He updated him about the arrest of Ashraf Brohi.

    He also stated that the police have found some important details through which they will arrest the second killer soon.

    “Officials have claimed that the second suspect will soon be arrested as well,” he added.

    The Sindh police identified the suspect with the help of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) on February 26. Ashraf Brohi hails from Khuzdar, Balochistan. He was arrested when he was in the city of Hub.

    Police have obtained all criminal records of Ashraf Brohi. He was involved with a criminal gang comprising of 12 members in Balochistan. They were involved in snatching motorcycles and cars. The group primarily does activities in Hub and other parts of the province. He was once arrested in 2021 but he was released after bail.

  • Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev writes ‘No War Please’ on camera after Dubai win

    Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev writes ‘No War Please’ on camera after Dubai win

    Andrey Rublev, a Russian tennis player, offered his thoughs on Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine by writing ‘No War Please’ on a camera after reaching the final of this year’s Dubai Tennis Championships on Friday.

    The 24-year-old defeated Hubert Hurkacz in their semi-final meeting and will face either Jiri Vesely or Denis Shapovalov for the coveted trophy later this week.

    Rublev went on to write the message on a nearby camera in the immediate aftermath of his victory in a public display of support for peace in the aftermath of Russian invasion of Ukraine.

    Ukraine was invaded by Russian troops in the early hours of Thursday morning after weeks of tension between the two nations, which finally escalated into a full-scale military operation.

    Rublev’s gesture comes after he initially weighed in on the situation in Ukraine following his quarter-final win over Mackenzie McDonald earlier this week.

    “In these moments you realise that my match is not important. It’s not about my match, how it affects me,” he said.

    “What’s happening [in Ukraine] is much more terrible. You realise how important it is to have peace in the world and to respect each other no matter what, to be united.”

  • Love in the time of war: Ukrainian couple gets married amid attacks

    Love in the time of war: Ukrainian couple gets married amid attacks

    A Ukrainian couple got married at Kyiv’s St Michael’s monastery with air raid sirens in the background, as Russia attacked Ukraine on Thursday.

    Talking to CNN, the bride said: “That was very scary. It’s the happiest moment of your life, and you go out, and you hear that.”

    Previously, their wedding was scheduled to take place on the terrace of a restaurant in front of Dnieper River in May. However, they had to change their plans as Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. They decided to get married as early as possible because of the uncertainty of the future.

    Yaryna Arieva, 21, works as a deputy in the Kyiv City Council, and her partner, Svyatoslav Fursin, 24, is a software engineer. They met each other in October 2019 during a protest in Kyiv.

    The married couple is ready to join Territorial Defence Centre to defend their country. Yaryna Arieva said, “We have to protect it. We have to protect the people we love and the land we live on.”

    “I hope for the best, but I do what I can to protect my land,” she added.

    “We maybe can die, and we just wanted to be together before all of that,” said the bride who wants to be with her partner while defending their country, Ukraine.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale military invasion by sea, land, and air on Thursday.

    According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Russian troops are targeting civilian and military zones with their strikes.

    According to the head of the UN refugee agency, Filippo Grandi, more than 50,000 citizens in Ukraine have taken refuge in Poland and Moldova. While some have taken shelters in the subway stations and basements.

  • ‘I am here’: Ukrainian President Zelensky tells citizens during Russian invasion

    ‘I am here’: Ukrainian President Zelensky tells citizens during Russian invasion

    Street fighting has reportedly broken out in Kyiv, as the Russian troops have reached the capital after less than three days of fighting, reports Al Jazeera.

    Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said that Ukrainian forces have been able to mount a strong defence against the Russians.

    In the early hours of Saturday, Zelensky released a video outside his office in the capital city. He said, “I am here. We will not lay down the weapons. We will defend our state. This is our land our country, our children and we will defend all of that.”

    The Ukrainian president has turned down an offer by the United States (US) government to evacuate the country. “I need ammunition, not a ride,” he remarked.

    Ukrainians have been advised to take shelter. Around100,000 people are believed to have left their homes.

    US officials believe Russian President Vladimir Putin is determined to overthrow Ukraine’s government and replace it with a regime of his own. The Biden administration has also imposed sanctions on Russia.

    On February 23, Putin allowed Russian forces to invade Ukraine.

    Zelensky, in a tweet, called for Ukraine to be granted European Union (EU) membership. He said he had discussed “further effective assistance” as well as “the heroic struggle of Ukrainians for their free future” with European Council President Charles Michel.

  • ‘Making Pervaiz Elahi chief minister is not our priority’: Nawaz Sharif’s spokesperson

    ‘Making Pervaiz Elahi chief minister is not our priority’: Nawaz Sharif’s spokesperson

    Mohammad Zubair, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and spokesperson for party supremo Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz, said that it could not be the PML-N’s priority to hand over the Chief Minister (CM) seat to Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in Punjab.

    Speaking on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, Zubair said, “There are still many things that have yet to be agreed upon.”

    “Discussing the option of handing over CM Punjab portfolio to Pervaiz Elahi doesn’t mean that the PML-N leadership has decided on this,” said Zubair.

    “Ousting the incumbent government is in the interest of the country and we [Opposition] are completely agreed on it,” said the PML-N spokesperson.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has said that in the meetings with former President Asif Ali Zardari, Chief of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif, several things were discussed and shall be revealed at the right time.

    Shujaat also said that poor people would stop trusting politicians if they were just busy in political meetings. Economic conditions should be given utmost importance.

    Earlier it was reported that the Chaudhry brothers presented their Charter of Demands to Zardari.

    The PML-Q has asked the Opposition for the Chief Ministership in Punjab and stated that no compromise will be made on anything less than that.

    In case of getting Chief Ministership, the PML-Q has assured the success of in-house transformation in Punjab and Centre.

  • More than 25,000 women abducted in Punjab in three years, police records reveal

    More than 25,000 women abducted in Punjab in three years, police records reveal

    According to police records, 25,099 women were abducted in Punjab between 2019 to 2021. As per details, 6,571 cases of abduction of women were registered in 2019, 8,129 cases were registered in 2020 and 10,399 cases of abduction of women were registered in 2021.

    According to the police, in the last three years, suspects involved in only eight cases of abduction have been convicted. Furthermore, 5,947 cases are still under investigation while challans of 5,157 cases have been submitted to the courts.

    As per the police records,13,901 cases of abduction of women were withdrawn because the abducted women said that they had left by choice. Moreover, 94 women have not been traced yet.

    Earlier this month, a report published in The News said that in the last six months 2,439 women were raped, 9,529 were kidnapped, while 90 women were killed in the name of honour in Punjab.

  • Two men arrested for smuggling money in Quetta

    Two men arrested for smuggling money in Quetta

    Two men were arrested by the police at Quetta International Airport for attempting to smuggle money to Dubai. The suspects made a failed attempt to smuggle 171,500 Saudi Riyal (Rs8 million) to Dubai, Samaa has reported.

    They were trying to smuggle the money through a private airline. The investigation was carried out by the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cybercrime circle.

    An FIR has been registered against Sami Ullah and Naimat Ullah and they have been moved to jail. The money has been seized by the police.

    Only a certain amount of money is allowed to be carried by overseas travellers under the law.