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  • Peshawar: Mob protesting Quran desecration attacks police station

    Peshawar: Mob protesting Quran desecration attacks police station

    A riled-up mob in Peshawar protesting against the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran attacked a police station in an attempt to punish the man already booked on the same charges.

    Several policemen, including a senior officer at Khazana police station in the Charsadda Road area, resultantly suffered injuries. 

    Dawn reports that nearly 2,000 people attacked the police station and clashed with the cops as they were demanding the custody of a man who was already arrested for allegedly desecrating the Holy Quran during a domestic fight.

    The report also quotes a police official who stated that the mobsters damaged the main gate of the police station and pelted stones on the premises.

    The police resorted to tear gas shelling and aerial gunfire to disperse the mob in response. 

    An FIR has been registered against the mob. 

    The violent protest led to the closure of the major Charsadda Road, which connects Peshawar with the Charsadda district and creates inconvenience for thousands of commuters. 

    The city police’s official statement informed the media that the desecration incident took place in the Riaz Ghari area under the jurisdiction of the Khazana police station.

    The accused was immediately taken into custody and shifted to the police station for interrogation by the police. 

    The officials detailed that police resorted to tear gas shelling and aerial gunfire to disperse the mob as a large number of locals had taken to the streets and blocked the Charsadda Road while suspending traffic. 

    The superintendent of police (rural division), Inam Jan and several officials suffered injuries during the stone pelting by miscreants.

    A team of higher-ups of the city police headed by Peshawar SSP (operation) Kashif Zulfiqar held talks with the local elders and religious leaders in a bid to persuade mobsters to disperse peacefully.

    The protesters took leave after the police assured them of legal action against the alleged desecration of the Quran. 

    The police claimed that no loss of life was reported during the protest as a result of their “good strategy.”

    The police also pledged to prosecute mobsters under the relevant laws while acknowledging that there are also reports of protesters suffering injuries, but their number is not known.

  • IShowSpeed may compete in 100-meter dash at Olympics 2028

    IShowSpeed may compete in 100-meter dash at Olympics 2028

    YouTube sensation Darren Watkins Jr., known as IShowSpeed, has announced his goal to compete in the 100-meter dash at the 2028 Olympics.

    The 19-year-old YouTube star with over 33 million subscribers, famous for his high-energy videos and athletic challenges, shared his dream to move from online fame to professional sports.

    This announcement comes after IShowSpeed raced against Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles in a 50-meter dash. Although Lyles won, IShowSpeed impressed many with his speed and determination. The event, organised by YouTuber MrBeast, offered a $100,000 prize and showcased IShowSpeed’s athletic abilities.

    Lyles suggested that IShowSpeed train hard and consider a rematch over a longer distance, such as the 100 meters. IShowSpeed’s aim for the 2028 Olympics indicates he is serious about taking on this new challenge.

    Moving from being a YouTube star to an Olympic athlete will not be an easy task as it will involve rigorous training, meeting qualification standards, and competing against experienced athletes. IShowSpeed’s determination and current athletic skills have, however, gained him support from his fans.

    With the 2028 Olympics four years away, it will be interesting to see how IShowSpeed progresses in his training and if he can qualify to represent his country. His journey from a digital entertainer to an aspiring Olympian is an exciting story that blends the worlds of social media and sports.

  • Pakistani weightlifter wins three medals at World Bodybuilding Championship

    Pakistani weightlifter wins three medals at World Bodybuilding Championship

    A young weightlifter from Sukkur has brought glory to Pakistan by winning two gold and one silver medal in the Bodybuilding World Championship organised by the United World Sports and Fitness Federation.

    He participated in the 2024 World Championship in Thailand at his own expense.

    “When financial difficulties arose, Sindh Government Spokesperson and Sukkur Mayor Arsalan Sheikh provided full support. If I am fully supported, I can bring glory to Pakistan further,” he said.

    He won the title of Mr. Sindh in 2021 in bodybuilding competitions and later participated in the South Asia Championship, secured third place, and now won three medals in the World Championship.

    Moeed Baloch wins gold medal in World Military Games

    Earlier, Pakistan’s Moeed Baloch won the gold medal in the 400-meter race at the World Military Games in Venezuela while representing the Pakistan Air Force in the event.

    Earlier in the Olympics held in Paris, Pakistan’s athlete Arshad Nadeem set a world record in the javelin throw and won the gold medal for Pakistan after 40 years.

    At the same time, Amir Khan from Swat won gold at the International Taekwondo Championship in Bangkok.

  • Imran Khan okays negotiating with ‘powerful quarters’

    Imran Khan okays negotiating with ‘powerful quarters’

    As the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) gears up to march on the federal capital, party founder Imran Khan has given the nod to initiate talks with “powerful quarters”, Khan’s counsel Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry has said.

    “The PTI founder has agreed to hold talks in a nearly two-hour meeting with [party chairman] Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister] Ali Amin Gandapur at Adiala Jail,” Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry told a private media outlet.

    Imran Khan’s counsel maintained that Barrister Gohar and CM Gandapur had visited the incarcerated former premier in jail to seek his approval for talks with the government and establishment.

    The development comes as the government reportedly tries to reach out to the PTI leadership to “call off” its scheduled November 24 protest in Islamabad.


    According to reports, the incumbent government’s initial contact with PTI was positive, and the party could “call off” the protest in exchange for some assurances on their demands.

     
    Meanwhile, CM Gandapur is expected to raise the issue of incarcerated party founder Imran Khan and his party’s ongoing troubles with the establishment at an Apex Committee meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

    Khan’s sister Aleema Khan maintains that her brother has only given a deadline till Thursday for party leaders to hold dialogue with “powerful quarters” regarding the release of party workers.


    It merits a mention that Khan’s “final call” for protests in the federal capital comes days after a foreign media outlet reported the establishment’s stance on possible negotiations.


    London-based The Guardian had last week quoted senior military sources as ruling out the possibility of striking a deal or negotiating with Khan. The report came days after the former premier expressed willingness to engage in talks with the military leadership from his jail cell at Adiala.

    According to reports, the British newspaper had sent a questionnaire to Khan via his legal team, and in his responses, the incarcerated PTI founder confirmed that he had not had any direct interaction with the military since after he was arrested and locked up in August 2023.


    Khan, however, said he would not rule out striking a deal with the establishment.

    The report quoted senior military leadership as saying that Khan, for the past few months, had been “applying pressure” for discussions with the military and had even offered to hold unconditional talks while seeking a deal for his release.

    However, the military leadership was resolute in refusing to enter into any negotiations with him, the report said.

  • ‘Gladiator 3’ already in works, say director and star

    ‘Gladiator 3’ already in works, say director and star

    Ridley Scott’s long-awaited “Gladiator” sequel has not even hit US theaters yet, but the veteran director is already hard at work on a third installment.

    “Gladiator II,” which arrives in North American cinemas Friday, stars Irish actor Paul Mescal (“Normal People”) as Lucius, the son of Russell Crowe’s Maximus from the multiple Oscar-winning original.

    A bloody, blockbuster epic of revenge, treachery and — yes — gladiators, it has drawn positive reviews and already hauled in a muscular $87 million at the global box office since opening in several countries last week.

    “Given the performance in the rest of the world that we’ve seen yesterday, there’s certainly going to be a ‘Gladiator III,’” said Scott, in Los Angeles on Monday for the movie’s glitzy US premiere.

    “Because it also becomes financial, and you’d be insane not to consider a third version,” said the British director of seminal films such as “Blade Runner” and “Thelma & Louise.”

    The plot of “Gladiator II” was also “planned to leave it wide open to a sequel,” added Scott, a famously prolific filmmaker who is still directing roughly a film per year at the age of 86.

    The second film opens with Lucius — sent into exile by his mother to avoid certain death in Rome — battling in vain to defend his adopted North African home city from the arrival of seemingly unstoppable Roman soldiers.

    Captured as a prisoner of war, he is brought back to the imperial metropolis, where he must prove his worth in the Colosseum in order to exact revenge on invading general Marcus Acacius, played by Pedro Pascal.

    Danish actress Connie Nielsen reprises her role as Lucilla from the 2000 original, while Denzel Washington is already earning Oscar buzz for his conniving, mercurial and highly flamboyant ringmaster, Macrinus.

    “Jewelry, sandals and everything — I just looked like a Roman pimp… I couldn’t put on enough rings,” joked Washington on Monday.

    – ‘Political’ –

    Mescal — whose character battles bloodthirsty baboons, rhinos and sharks in addition to humans in “Gladiator II” — also expressed excitement about returning for another film.

    But he said Scott had discussed a new direction for the plot that would not simply “go back to the arena as we know it.”

    “The last time I spoke to (Scott) he said he had nine pages. Yesterday, he said he had 14,” Mescal told journalists.

    “I would be excited for it to go into a more political sphere,” with Lucius thrust into a world of court intrigue that he does not want to inhabit, like Michael Corleone in “The Godfather,” added Mescal.

    Asked how the second film’s themes tackled power and politics differently, some 24 years after the original Scott said: “They’re exactly the same.”

    “A super-rich man thinks he can take over the Empire. Is that familiar?” he said, just days after billionaire Donald Trump’s re-election as US president.

    “We don’t learn historically anything. We keep repeating the same mistakes. We’re going through exactly the same thing right now in several parts of the planet,” he added.

  • Faryal Mehmood reveals relationship status

    Faryal Mehmood reveals relationship status

    Actress Faryal Mehmood has been in the spotlight for both her impressive acting career as well as candid opinions. This time, however, she has made headlines for opening up about her relationship status.

    Appearing as a guest on After Hours with Ushna Shah, Faryal opened up about her current relationship status.

    When asked if she was single, she said, “I am single… very much single.” It may be noted that Faryal Mehmood had tied the knot with actor Daniyal Raheal in 2020, but the marriage had ended in divorce.

    On the show, it wasn’t just about her relationship status as the Raqeeb Se actor also voiced discomfort with a growing trend among celebrities, particularly women.

    “This new trend where people sit and praise their lovers on TV is very cringeworthy. For God’s sake, stop it! Especially women… you know, they sit on TV shows and say, ‘This is what happened to me… they are like this… they are like that.’ For God’s sake, respect yourself and keep your dignity. Women talking like this doesn’t look good, especially actresses,” she said while calling out celebrities who openly gush about their partners on TV shows.

    The Laal Ishq actress also talked about narcissism in society, stressing that it was important for people to recognise the basic traits of narcissists. “It is important for society to realise that narcissism very much exists,” she said and noted that narcissists often lacked empathy and showed no guilt for hurting others.

    Faryal Mehmood has starred in drama such as, ‘Farwa Ki ABC’, ‘Khuda Dekh Raha Hai’, ‘Aap Ke Liye’, ‘Teri Chah Mein’ and ‘Mohabbat Tumse Nafrat Hai’.

    She has also starred in movies such as ‘Wakhri’, ‘Nayab’ and ‘Chikkar’.

     

    Earlier, Faryal had also opened up about her divorce during an interview with Ahsan Khan. “The reason why I didn’t want to talk about it is that it’s not just me who is involved.”

    “I don’t want to talk about my ex-husband and his family, who are also prominently involved in the media. Whatever happened between the two of us, I would never want to dish out the details of it.”

    “It’s our personal lives, don’t say mean things about it. It happened because it was bound to happen, you know. It’s fine,” she said.

    The statements had come as Faryal confirmed her divorce. “Yes, it’s true. I mean, I am single but this isn’t something to be discussed.”

  • Son of Norwegian Princess arrested on suspicion of rape

    Son of Norwegian Princess arrested on suspicion of rape

    Norwegian police said Tuesday that the 27-year-old son of Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit had been arrested on suspicion of rape.

    Police said that Marius Borg Hoiby, who was born from a relationship prior to Mette-Marit’s 2001 marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, had been arrested Monday evening.

    “What police can say about the rape is that it concerns a sexual act without intercourse. The victim is said to have been unable to resist the act,” they said.

    In a later statement, police said they had searched the suspect’s home and made “seizures”.

    Borg Hoiby was raised by the royal couple alongside his step-siblings Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 20, and Prince Sverre Magnus, 18, but has no official public role.

    The rape arrest comes only months after he was accused of bodily harm after a night-time row on August 4 at the Oslo apartment of a woman he was having a relationship with, police said.

    Norwegian media reports said police found a knife stuck into one of the walls of the woman’s bedroom at the time.

    He was arrested again in September for violating a restraining order.

    Police said he was in a car with the alleged victim of the August incident when he was arrested Monday.

    On Tuesday, police also said the suspicions relating to the August incident now include domestic abuse.

    Police said they had yet to decide whether he would be remanded in custody.

    Hoiby was born in 1997 from a relationship prior to Mette-Marit’s 2001 marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, the heir apparent to the Norwegian throne.

  • Schools to reopen tomorrow in Multan and Lahore

    Schools to reopen tomorrow in Multan and Lahore

    The Punjab government has issued a notification to reopen schools in Lahore and Multan starting tomorrow (Wednesday) as the smog situation has improved.

    The notification was issued by Environment Department Director General Imran Hamid Sheikh, who announced the reopening of educational institutions “in the whole province, including Lahore and Multan” starting tomorrow, November 20.

    Days after the government announced the closure of schools and eventually the educational institutes due to the cities’ air quality reaching hazardous levels, the government has decided to reopen them. 

    Certain restrictions have, nonetheless, also been imposed to ensure the health and safety of students and staff. These include all educational institutes, which shall not open before 8:45 am. Students and teachers are required to wear masks throughout the school day, outdoor activities will be banned, and schools shall close within class-wise school hours to avoid traffic congestion.  

    The Environment Department urged schools to strictly adhere to these guidelines to mitigate the impact of smog and air pollution in their area.

    Improvement in the smog situation in the province prompted the provincial government to implement the decision to reopen schools in Punjab.

  • ‘If people voted on basis of performance, PTI wouldn’t have won KP’

    ‘If people voted on basis of performance, PTI wouldn’t have won KP’

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Sher Afzal Marwat has once again criticised his party leadership over unsatisfactory performance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) where it is currently in power for the third consecutive term.


    Addressing a workers’ convention in Abbottabad, the PTI leader pointed out the lack of facilities in the province and said that had people voted on the basis of performance, PTI would never have come to power again.


    Marwat also highlighted the persisting security situation, backwardness and lack of infrastructure in KP. “We cannot label backwardness as progress nor can we term deception as the truth.”


    “The people of KP have voted for PTI three times in a row and now it is the PTI’s turn to deliver for the people of the province,” Marwat stressed. He also suggested that party leadership must accept past mistakes and realise that party performance was not up to the mark in KP.


    Marwat, who is known for his candid and brut remarks, even against his own party, often faces backlashes for his statements both within and without the PTI.


    In May, Marwat was kicked out of PTI’s core and political committees on the direction of party founder Imran Khan following his remarks about Saudi Arabia. Marwat, in an interview, had alleged that Saudia Arabia was behind Khan’s ouster from power.


    In August, PTI’s official handle on X, formerly Twitter, announced the cancellation of Marwat’s basic party membership for a “gross violation/ breach” of discipline.


    While the notification had gone viral, PTI chief Barrister Gohar Ali Khan had termed it “fake”.


    “The notification regarding the cancellation of Sher Afzal Marwat’s membership is fake. It’s not possible,” Gohar had said, hinting at possible differences within the party leadership over Marwat’s fate.


    The notification also claimed that Marwat had been directed to “restrict himself and his statements to within the limitation as outlined in the letter. A committee was also set up to monitor his statements, media appearances and tweets.”


    The recent-most controversy surrounding Marwat also involved PTI leader Salman Akram Raja.
    “Sher Afzal Marwat must control himself. We are giving him a chance if he wants to play a role in the party. If he does not show discipline, we will take action,” Raja had said.


    Marwat, on the other hand, claims that his relation with PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan remains “strong as ever”.

  • Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif targets tax evasion amid rising public criticism

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif targets tax evasion amid rising public criticism

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has instructed relevant authorities to take action against tax defaulters, evaders, and any party that is facilitating them, according to a report by Dawn News. 

    The prime minister was briefed by the finance ministry regarding the country’s economy and a recent high-profile meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Shehbaz Sharif’s meeting with the finance ministry was reportedly attended by several important ministers, including Muhammad Aurangzeb, Ahad Cheema, Attaullah Tarar, Dr. Mussadik Malik, and PM’s coordinator Rana Ahsan Afzal, among many others.

    In his meeting with the finance ministry, Sharif emphasised the importance of holding tax evaders accountable – as compliance with tax laws will “play a role in the national progress”. He stressed the link between economic growth and tax compliance: An issue Pakistan has always struggled with.

    The severity of non-compliance can be noted by the FBR’s goal to collect at least 10 billion rupees from traders. However, the government failed to meet this target by almost one million per cent – which is an alarmingly large gap between the objective and collection. This is because the FBR was only able to collect a measly one million rupees from traders due to compliance issues.

    Despite these setbacks, Mr Sharif noted that the economy was showing signs of stability, which was highlighted by the booming stock market. He attributed this revival of the economy to government measures, which he claimed have also increased levels of foreign investment.

    Aside from matters of taxation, the finance ministry also outlined the steps that are already being taken to curb tax evasion and punish those involved in facilitating such practices. Moreover, the meeting also included a briefing on economic indicators and inflation, to which Mr Sharif expressed great satisfaction.

    This is because, in just the past year, the inflation rate has plummeted from an uneasy 38 per cent to a more acceptable seven per cent. Moreover, the interest rate has also fallen from 22% to 15%, which spells great news for businesses and unemployed individuals as the expansion of businesses will create job opportunities.

    In the meeting, Mr Sharif stressed how providing relief to the public remains a top priority, stating that all available measures are being employed to honour public commitments. Despite these efforts, PM Shehbaz’s popularity has been challenged by public criticism over high taxes on energy, which have significantly raised energy costs.

    While many Pakistanis simply view the existing tax levels as burdensome, it is important to note that Sharif’s focus on enforcement regarding tax inequalities is impartial, as tax evaders of any kind are not to be shown any leniency regardless of their background.