|
|
Blog
-
PPP Aur Noon Ka Whatsapp Breakup?
*|MC:SUBJECT|*
-
Babar, Rizwan lead Pakistan to record-breaking victory
Pakistan has completed their highest successful T20I run-chase with 12 balls to spare, beating South Africa with nine wickets.
A feast of batting is what we watched today with Pakistan taking a 2-1 lead in the series. All credit for this goes to the opening duo: Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.
Pakistan had never chased down a 200-plus target before this was only their second opportunity to do so and they’ve done it with two whole overs to spare. Babar has played an absolute blinder to lead the way, and Rizwan was the perfect foil, on a day when South African bowlers struggled for control in brilliant batting conditions. Babar and Rizwan put on 197, the fourth-highest T20I partnership overall, and the highest ever in a chase.
South Africa scored 203 runs with the loss of only 5 wickets. Earlier, the pair of Janneman Malan and Aiden Markram, with the latter’s 31-ball 63 being his third successive T20I half-century. Markram bossed the show, with South Africa speeding along to 140 inside 13 overs.
It is pertinent to mention here that Azam got to his first T20I hundred off just 49 balls, two days after he took 50 balls to score as many runs, smashing 15 boundaries and four sixes along the way.
Talking to Ramiz Raja in the presentation ceremony, Babar said: “I had been waiting for this for a long time, I had planned for a long time, and today Allah has given me a chance to finish it. I stick to my strengths and play according to them, and the team’s requirements.”
The batsman further shared: “Rizwan bhai also played outstanding innings. He was fasting (for Ramzan), and yet he batted and kept wickets, and was outstanding. We get a lot of confidence and belief looking at him.”
“I also achieved a dream in one-day cricket today (No 1 ranking). I struggled hard, there was a lot of hard work that went into it. I keep trying to learn and add new things to my game, and I will keep trying to do the same,” said Babar, adding: “I think for our first six overs, we have to give credit to Malan and Markram for playing outstanding innings, until the 10-over mark, but the way we came back in the last five overs allowed us to restrict them to around 200.”
-
Sarah Khan hospitalised due to ill health
Sarah Khan has been hospitalised due to ill health. Confirming the news, Khan’s manager told The Current that the actor has contracted typhoid due to which she had to be admitted to the hospital.
Sarah’s husband, Falak Shabbir was the first to share the news of his wife’s ill-health, posting a picture of Sarah actor lying on a hospital bed.
“She is unwell,” Falak said in the caption.
Several of Sarah’s colleagues including Imran Ashraf and Resham expressed their concern and wished her good health.
Read more – Sarah Khan hits back at troll who criticised her over father’s death
Sarah and Falak were recently spotted vacationing and enjoying some quality time with each other in Turkey.
Wishing Sarah a speedy recovery.
-
IN PICTURES: Muneeb Butt’s birthday bash
Muneeb Butt celebrated his birthday with close friends and family in an exciting birthday bash. Muneeb’s wife Aiman Khan, Minal Khan and her beau Mohsin Ikram Haider, Kinza Hashmi and Saboor Aly were among those present at the event.
Check out pictures from the celebrations below:
Read more – IN PICTURES: Sunita Marshall celebrates 40th birthday
Unfortunately, no one at the occasion was seen wearing a mask or following the necessary COVID-19 related SOPs.
-
VIDEO: Meera gets vaccinated in New York
Meera has received her dose of COVID-19 vaccine in New York.
Sharing a video of herself getting the vaccine shot, Meera wrote: “Alhamdulillah, I was able to get vaccinated for COVID-19 a few days ago, while in New York.”
The actor shared that she experienced “mild symptoms including fever, headache, fatigue and body aches” after the vaccine but would still “recommend everyone to get vaccinated to keep you and your loved ones safe”.
Urging her followers to get vaccinated, Meera said: “Please don’t be scared of the vaccine, it’s only to help everyone survive from this pandemic.”
In one of the videos, Meera said that she received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and urged her followers to take the vaccine “to keep fighting against COVID-19.”
Earlier this week, Meera was seen in a video with a man believed to be her father-in-law Raja Khalid Parvez. Parvez was driving the car while Meera thanked him for taking her to get a vaccine shot. Both of them were not wearing face masks.
Earlier, reports were rife that Meera has been admitted to a mental facility in the United States. At the time, Meera’s manager had confirmed to The Current that the actor had only gone to get vaccinated and that reports of her being admitted to a facility were completely baseless.
-
Ramzan 2021: NCOC issues list of guidelines
As Pakistan battles, a deadly third wave of COVID-19, the National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), has issued a list of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) for Ramzan.
A special meeting was chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development, Reforms and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on April 13, during which the following NPIs were decided:
- Broader lockdowns
- Saturdays and Sundays will be observed as ‘closed days’ at the national level
- The market timing will be from Sehr till 6:00 pm apart from essential services
- Indoor dining will be banned, however, outdoor dining will be allowed from iftar till midnight
- Complete closure of cinemas and shrines will continue to be enforced
- 50% work from the home policy will continue
- Taraweeh prayer to be organised in open spaces as far as possible
- There will be a complete ban on contact sports, festivals, cultural gatherings, and other events
- All kind of indoor, as well as outdoor gatherings, will remain banned
- Ban inter-provincial transport on two closed days (Saturdays and Sundays) which will continue to be enforced till midnight April 25-26 and the decision will be reviewed on April 20.
- Stringent protocols for tourism have been imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu Kashmir and tourist sites elsewhere. In addition to that, Sentinel testing sites at every point/selected locations will be established.
All NPIs will be effective from Ramzan 1st (April 14).
As per NCOC, 4681 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the last 24 hours, with the positivity rate of 9.73%, whereas 135 people lost their lives.
-
Tehreek-e-Labbaik to be banned
Federal Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has announced that a summary seeking banning of hardliner Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) will be forwarded to the federal cabinet.
“We have taken the decision to ban TLP under Section 11(B) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997,” he was quoted as saying.
Under said law, the federal government can ban an organisation if it has reason to believe that the same is involved in terrorism.
Earlier, the ban had been proposed to the Interior Ministry by Punjab government as Labbaik activists wreaked havoc with countrywide violent protests against the arrest of party chief Saad Rizvi.
The riots have resulted in deaths of at least three cops in three days.
THE PROTESTS:
As per details of the protests, violence began late on Monday after police arrested Rizvi for threatening protests if the government did not expel the French ambassador, Marc Baréty, over blasphemous cartoons.
According to police, the arrest was aimed at maintaining law and order. But Rizvi’s detention quickly sparked violent protests by Islamists in cities around the country. The protesters blocked highways and roads in several cities.
The deadly clashes came two days after Rizvi in a statement asked the government of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan to “honour” a commitment it made in February to his party to expel Baréty before April 20.
However, the government has said it only committed to discussing the matter in the National Assembly.
The reaction from Rizvi’s supporters against his arrest was so swift that police in Lahore could not clear a main highway and roads. Thousands of people were stranded in their vehicles.
Monday’s clashes initially erupted in Lahore. Rizvi’s supporters later clashed with police in Karachi and they continued rallying on the outskirts of Islamabad, disrupting traffic and inconveniencing residents.
Reportedly, five TLP workers have also died with hundreds of both cops and activists injured. Property losses have also been reported.
It may be noted that the ban comes amid demands for the same by the general public as well as officials of government departments including the police.
-
Shehbaz gets bail; PPP’s Sharmila, in deleted tweet, accuses PML-N of camaraderie with PTI govt
The Lahore High Court (LHC) has granted bail to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief and National Assembly Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif in the assets beyond means and money laundering case.
He had moved the high court for post-arrest bail in the reference — filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) — in March, five months after he was sent to jail on judicial remand by a trial court.
The anti-graft watchdog had arrested Shehbaz in September after the LHC denied him further relief of pre-arrest bail in the case.
On Tuesday, the bench, headed by Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, adjourned the hearing until today as a special prosecutor sought to start his arguments on behalf of the agency.
An LHC division bench headed by Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar heard the National Accountability Bureau (NAB)’s arguments on the bail application of the opposition leader.
On Tuesday, Shehbaz’s counsel Azam Nazir Tarar completed arguments for his bail, claiming that NAB has failed to come up with any evidence to establish the charges.
In his bail request, Sharif alleged the NAB proceedings against him had been prompted by mala fide intention, ulterior motive, and considerations extraneous to law.
He said the registration of a series of cases in quick succession against him and his repeated arrests at the behest of the government had been a classic example of misuse of the process of NAB to muffle the voice of the opposition.
He said the bureau failed to collect any evidence of any corruption, kickbacks, misuse of any public office for personal gain by him throughout his political career.
SHARMILA FARUQI’S DELETED TWEET:
As Twitter reacted to the bail, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Sharmila Faruqi tweeted to hint at possible betterment of ties between the PML-N and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
“Accusations of joining hands with government against the PPP and bail for Shehbaz?” she said in the tweeted that was later deleted.
Tensions are running high between the PPP and anti-government Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), of which the PML-N is a key member.
Trouble had been brewing between the two political entities ever since the government-friendly Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) supported PPP’s Yousuf Raza Gilani for slot of Senate opposition leader.
Gilani’s nomination and subsequent election considered betrayal by other PDM members except the Awami National Party (ANP) was the latest bone of contention until the PPP and ANP were served show-cause notices.
The same led to the PPP and ANP resigning from the opposition alliance. PDM chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, has, however, asked both the parties to reconsider their decision.
CASE AGAINST SHEHBAZ:
Sharif along with his son Punjab Assembly opposition leader and PML-N Vice President Hamza Shehbaz was indicted in November in the Rs7 billion reference involving charges of money laundering and assets beyond means.
The reference mainly accuses Sharif of being a beneficiary of the assets held in the name of his family members and frontmen, who had no sources to acquire such assets.
It says the family members and the frontmen of the family received fake foreign remittances of billions in their personal bank accounts. In addition to these remittances, the bureau says, billions of rupees were laundered by way of foreign pay orders, which were deposited in the personal bank accounts of Hamza and his brother Suleman Shahbaz.
The reference further says Sharif and his family failed to justify the sources of funds used for the acquisition of assets.
-
Restaurant owner offers job to burglar who broke in to steal
A restaurant owner in the United States is winning hearts on the internet after he offered a job to a thief who broke into his restaurant and stole money.
Carl Wallace, the owner of Diablo’s Southwest Grill restaurant in Augusta, Georgia, walked into his restaurant and was surprised to see the broken glass of the front door. He realised that his restaurant had been robbed and posted pictures of the broken restaurant door and the thief stealing a bag of cash.
While Carl was initially very angry over what happened, he later changed his heart and decided to offer a job to the thief.
Read more – Thief arrested after falling asleep in AC room during robbery
“To the would-be robber who is clearly struggling with life decisions or having money issues…please swing by for a job application. There are better opportunities out there than this path you’ve chosen,” wrote Carl on social media.
“No police, no questions. Let’s sit down and talk about how we could help you and fix the road you’re on. Sincerely Carl,” he added.
Wallace’s Facebook post went viral and many praised his act, saying that this comes at a time when the restaurant industry has been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and many have had to shut their business.
-
Babar Azam dethrones Virat Kohli to become number one ODI batsman
Babar Azam has dethroned the Captain of the Indian Cricket Team Virat Kohli to become the number one batsman in One-Day Internationals, becoming the fourth batsman from Pakistan to attain the number one position in the latest ICC rankings list update, released on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old player of the match scored 94 off 82 balls in the last match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League series against South Africa in Centurion which helped him gain 13 rating points to reach 865 points and he now leads the Indian captain by eight points.
Babar, a star of the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cups in 2010 and 2012 has been playing ODIs since 2015 and had started the series against South Africa at 837 rating points but moved up to 858 (ahead of Kohli) after his score of 103 in the first match. He dropped to 852 by the time of the last weekly rankings update with a score of 32 in the second ODI.
By ending Kohli’s 1,258 day-supremacy, Babar has emulated compatriots Zaheer Abbas (1983-84), Javed Miandad (1988-89), and Mohammad Yousuf (2003) as the number one ODI batsman. In Tests, Babar has attained a best of the fifth position and is currently ranked sixth while in T20Is he is third but has been number one in the past.
Meanwhile, Fakhar Zaman is another Pakistan batsman to move up the ODI batting charts, gaining five slots to reach a career-best seventh position after his knock of 101. Shaheen Afridi (up four places to a career-best 11th place) and left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz (up 29 places to 96th) have progressed thanks to their three-wicket hauls in the match.
Babar had earlier overtaken Rohit Sharma to get to the second spot.
Reacting to the news, Azam, in a statement, said: “I feel privileged and honoured to have joined the company of stalwarts like Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad and Mohammad Yousuf, who will always be the shining stars of Pakistan cricket.”
“This is another milestone in my career, which will now require even more hard work and absolute consistency with the bat in order for me to hold on to the ranking for an extended period of time, like Sir Vivian Richards from January 1984 to October 1988 and Virat Kohli for 1,258 days,” he continued.
The captain further said: “I have also previously topped the T20I rankings, but the ultimate ambition and goal is to lead the Test rankings, which are the real testament and reward to a batsman’s calibre, reputation and skills. I understand to achieve this objective, I will not only have to perform consistently but more importantly, against the top sides.”
“I am looking forward to this challenge and remain confident I will be able to accomplish this target with the support of my teammates and coaching staff. But at this stage, I will savour the moment as it has come almost 18 months after I was first appointed the white-ball captain and that too at the back of my performances which helped Pakistan become the first Asian side to win two ODI series in South Africa,” added Azam.