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  • ‘Pawri Girl’ spotted on sets of Wajahat Rauf’s upcoming movie

    ‘Pawri Girl’ spotted on sets of Wajahat Rauf’s upcoming movie

    It’s a wrap for Wajahat Rauf’s upcoming fourth film, Parde Mein Rehne Do and the ‘Pawri Girl’ was spotted on the sets.

    Taking to Instagram, Rauf shared a video featuring Dananeerr Mobeen with her viral ‘Pawri Ho Rai Hai’ meme. “And It’s a wrap for our 4th film. Thank you Dananeerr for visiting our set and lighting it up. A big thank you to our cast and Team Showcase for giving it your sweat and blood to this labour of love we call Parde Mein Rehne Do,” he wrote.

    Dananeer was heard saying, “Ye mein houn, ye hamara set hai or yahan pawri ho rahi hai” (this is me, this is our set and this is our party going on).

    Rauf’s wife and the co-producer of the film, Shazia Wajahat also took to Instagram, sharing the same video and another video while celebrating with firecrackers, she wrote: “Alhamdullilah it’s a wrap for our 4th movie, Parde Main Rehnay Do.”

    “A big shout out to our amazing and talented cast and the most hardworking crew of Showcase Films… Our Dop Asrad Khan @asradkhan the best and camera team.
    MashAllah, it was a smooth journey thanks to Allah and to everyone who was involved in this project. Great teamwork always pays off,” she added.

    She also thanked Mobeen for the shoutout she gave.

    Tagging her husband she said: “Wajahat here’s to many more together Inshallah.”

    She also tagged the cast and crew of the film including Hania Aamir, Ali Rehman Khan, Javed Sheikh, Saife Hasan, Noor ul Hassan, Hassan Raza, Sadia Faisal, Sonia Nazir, Munib Nawaz and Dananeer.

    The film was announced last year, and the shooting for the film was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic. With Ali and Hania featuring as lead roles, the film was expected to release last year.

    The film is produced under the banner of Rauf’s Showcase Films. The release date of the film has not been announced yet.

    Earlier, Mobeen also helped the struggling Aashir Wajahat, to make the ‘Pawri Ho Rai Hai’ meme video. She was also seen in a star-studded video of Yasir Hussain, Iqra Aziz, Azfar Rehman, Wajahat, Shazia, Saife Hasan and Mehwish Hayat.

  • People who use social media for news more susceptible to rumours: study

    People who use social media for news more susceptible to rumours: study

    The United States citizens who rely on social media as their main source of news are more likely to believe false or unproven stories about important topics such as politics and COVID-19, according to a survey.

    The Pew Research Centre report found that people who used social media platforms for news were less informed about major public matters and more susceptible to believing rumors and hoaxes.

    The report comes with social media platforms becoming a growing source of news amid struggles by traditional media to survive in the digital age.

    The Pew report found some 18 per cent of the participants of the survey got most of their political and election news through social media. But those people were less likely to rightly answer the fact-based questions about politics and current affairs than those relying on print, broadcast or news apps.

    Social media news consumers were more aware of specific false or unproven stories about COVID-19 and said they had seen more misinformation about the pandemic such as claims that Vitamin C could prevent infection, the survey found.

    On political news, social media users were less informed about facts such as the function of the state-by-state, Electoral College votes, which ultimately decide who wins the White House, or the unemployment rate.

    The report comes from a series on interviews with some 9,000 US adults from November 2019 through December 2020.

    A majority in the survey said they distrusted social media with Facebook the least trusted among the platforms.

    Among those using traditional media, the researchers also found that roughly a quarter of the US citizen on the political left and right consistently turned to “partisan” news sites, reinforcing their views.

    Pew found that roughly three in 10 Republicans relied on former president Donald Trump as a major source of news about the election and the coronavirus.

    These Republicans were more likely to think the COVID-19 pandemic had been overblown and more likely to see voter fraud as a significant threat to election integrity.

  • Gwadar stadium to host cricket match between Quetta Gladiators and Karachi Kings

    Gwadar stadium to host cricket match between Quetta Gladiators and Karachi Kings

    Gwadar Cricket Stadium is all set to host a cricket match between Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise teams Quetta Gladiators and Karachi Kings on March 25, Fakhr-e-Alam announced on Monday.

    The TV host-singer shared the news in a video posted on his official Twitter account. “I want to break the news that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has officially informed the Government of Balochistan that it wants to organize a match between Quetta Gladiators and Karachi Kings on March 25, right after PSL ends,” Alam said in the video.

    “Congratulations to everyone who wanted this to happen. There can’t be better news for cricket fans, for me and for people of Balochistan.”

    The 45-year-old added that initially he wanted an official PSL 2021 match to be played at the venue but because the stadium doesn’t meet the standards set by International Cricket Council (ICC) and PCB, it was difficult to arrange the fixture.

    Alam was grateful to PCB and the owners of the two franchises for their support and willingness in playing a match at Gwadar Stadium, which was in the headlines recently for its striking beauty.

    “I want to thank PCB: Wasim Khan, thank you very much,” he said. “Both the franchises – Nadeem Omar and Salman Iqbal, thank you guys for doing this,” the host added.

    Earlier on Friday, the stadium held its first exhibition match between Gwadar Dolphins and Showbiz Sharks on Friday as a tribute to late mountaineer Ali Sadpara.

    Alam also showed his confidence in the provincial government saying Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Kamal is a “very dynamic and progressive” man and that he’ll successfully arrange the match.

    Later, when a sports journalist, Ihtisham Ul Haq, tweeted about the news that Karachi will play against Quetta on March 25 in the Gwadar Stadium, KK owner Salman Iqbal confirmed the news and said, “Insha Allah.”

    Meanwhile, CM Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan shared Fakhar’s video on Twitter and said: “Inshallah this shall be fully facilitated.”

    “Its Mashallah good to see Quetta Gladiators and Karachi Kings to play in Gwader. This shall be good for Balochistan cricket, youth and Gwader….And, for Cricket in Pakistan,” he added.

  • Police arrest man for posing as judge to give relatives possession of shops

    Police arrest man for posing as judge to give relatives possession of shops

    Police have arrested a man who ordered cops to give his relatives the illegal possession of some shops while posing as an additional sessions judge.

    According to reports, the accused man, namely Iqbal, called up Garh Police Sub-Inspector Akhtar Abbas as one Additional Sessions Judge Shehryar.

    He then told the cop to take possession of a few shops and hand it to his relatives.

    It was later revealed that the phone SIM was in the name of a person named Iqbal. The police then arrested the man and interrogated him.

    The suspect confessed to calling the policeman as a fake judge during the investigation, after which a case was registered against him.

  • New Delhi allows PM Imran to use airspace, claims Indian media

    New Delhi allows PM Imran to use airspace, claims Indian media

    India has allowed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s aircraft to use Indian airspace for his official trip to Sri Lanka, reported India media outlets on Tuesday.

    According to Indian media outlet WION, Islamabad asked New Delhi for permission 10 days ago that was granted on Monday. As a protocol, whenever heads of state or governments pass through the air space of any other country, the country is alerted and due permission is taken, it reported.

    Planes taking off from Islamabad for Sri Lanka cannot bypass Indian airspace; therefore, they require permission to use its airspace. But in case of Karachi, the flights can use another route and travel to Sri Lanka via Arabian Sea.

    According to the Foreign Office spokesperson, PM Imran has embarked on a two-day official visit to Sri Lanka on the invitation of his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa. The premier is accompanied by a high-level delegation, including members of the Cabinet and senior officials.

    To exchange views on key regional and international issues, Prime Minister will hold meetings with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa during the two-day visit. The prime minister will also participate in a joint ‘Trade and Investment Conference’ aimed at promoting trade and investment between the two countries.

  • Google fires top AI ethical expert Margaret Mitchell

    Google fires top AI ethical expert Margaret Mitchell

    Google has fired the co-head of the ethical Artificial Intelligence (AI) team Margaret Mitchell for violating the security policies stated by the company. 

    The previous AI ethics researcher Timmit Gebru, a widely respected leader in AI ethics research, was also fired over similar accusations. 

    Mitchell is known for co-authoring a groundbreaking paper that showed facial recognition to be less accurate at identifying women and people of colour. The system can end up discriminating against them. 

    Mitchell also used automated scripts to look through her email to find evidence of discrimination against her co-workers. 

    Her views were directed at Google AI’s head Jeff Dean and CEO of Google Sundar Pichai; resulting in losing her corporate email access. Her activities were investigated, which led to the termination of Mitchell as well.

    According to Axios, Google said in a statement regarding Mitchell’s firing: “After conducting a review of this manager’s conduct, we confirmed that there were multiple violations of our code of conduct, as well as of our security policies, which included the exfiltration of confidential business-sensitive documents and private data of other employees.”

    These recent terminations have stirred a lot of heat for Google regarding diversity. As of now, Marian Croak, a Vice President in the engineering organisation is leading a new centre of expertise on responsible AI within Google.

  • Iranian supreme leader declares hijab for cartoons mandatory

    Women in cartoons must wear hijab, a fatwa by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has declared.

    Iranian news agency Tasnim quoted Khamenei as saying that women in cartoons and animated cartoon films should wear hijab, in response to a query by a Telegram user.

    “Is observing hijab necessary for characters in animated films (three-dimensional paintings that come from the artist’s mind)?” the user had asked.

    “Although wearing hijab in such a hypothetical situation is not required per se, observing hijab in animation is required due to the consequences of not wearing a hijab,” Khamenei responded.

    Women are bound to wear headscarves and hijab following an order passed by the authorities soon after the establishment of the Islamic regime in Iran in 1979, Global Village Space reported.

    Iranian women defying the decree set by the authorities face severe repercussions in the form of imprisonment or sanctions.

    A large number of women in Iran have been rising to protest against the hardcore laws that have now been relaxed a bit amid growing agitation.

  • Baloch families end Islamabad sit-in after PM Imran’s pledge to meet them

    Baloch families end Islamabad sit-in after PM Imran’s pledge to meet them

    Protesters calling for an end to enforced disappearances in Balochistan ended a week-long sit-in in the capital on Monday, after an assurance that Prime Minister Imran Khan will meet them next month.

    “We don’t have any big hopes from this government, but the way they have reassured us, we also have decided to give them a chance,” Sammi Baloch, who has been searching for her father Deen Muhammad since 2009, told Reuters.

    She and other families have protested across the country for years to little avail.

    The Islamabad protesters — 10 families of missing men and around a hundred supporters — said they will return if assurances are not met.

    Security officials say many of Balochistan’s so-called disappeared have links to separatists. But actual court punishments have been rare.

    The Pakistan Army and human rights ministry did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment for this story, including questions about specific family members sought by the protesters.

    For one week, protesters held up photos of missing relatives under the watchful eyes of police surrounding them.

    Among them was 60-year-old Baz Khatoon, who clutched a stack of news reports and court filings about her son, Rashid Hussain Brohi. She believes he was detained in Dubai in December 2018, was flown to Pakistan six months later, and then vanished without a trace.

    Khatoon said her son moved to Dubai to be safe in 2017 after three male relatives, including his father, had turned up dead after being taken away by security forces over the years.

    After Brohi was detained, Amnesty International and UN bodies looking into disappearances called on the Emirati authorities not to deport him to Pakistan for fear he would be killed.

    Brohi’s mother has obtained a copy of an Emirati travel document showing Brohi’s Emirati visa was cancelled in June 2019, and that he left two days later on a flight to a small airport in Balochistan. The UAE government media office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

    Local news channels reported that he was brought back to Pakistan and charged with sending funds to gunmen responsible for a 2018 attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi. But Khatoon said she has been given no official explanation of his whereabouts.

    “Just tell us our kids are safe, put them in jail, we don’t have any problem with that,” Khatoon said.

    “If they were in jail at least we would know they are safe, at least I could take some food there for my son, or a blanket to keep him warm, or a change of clothes.”

  • Pakistan signs $85.6m deal with Ukrainian company to modernise tanks

    Pakistan has awarded a contract worth $85.6 million for modernising T-80UD battle tanks to Ukroboronprom, a state-owned association of major defence conglomerates of Ukraine.

    According to reports, the contract is signed at the International Defense Exhibition (IDEX) 2021, being held in Abu Dhabi.

    Zubaida Jalal, the minister for defence production, and the CEO of Ukroboronprom, Yuri Gusev, signed the contract. After signing the contract, the minister said that bilateral military-technical cooperation between Pakistan and Ukraine will increase in the future.

    The Ukroboronprom CEO said that Ukraine’s companies are constantly updating their production capacity and improving technologies to ensure high-quality work and products.

    T-80UD tanks were first introduced in 1976. They have significant importance in the defensive arsenal of many countries to this day.

    Besides Ukraine, China, Russia, South Korea, Kazakhstan, and Egypt, and Pakistan are a few of the countries which use T-80UD tanks to augment their defence. An estimated 6,000 of these tanks are present worldwide.

    Weighing around 46 tonnes, the T-80UD tank is 9.6 meters long with gun forward, 3.6 meters wide, and 2.2 meters high. At least three crew members can fit into the modernised T-80UD tank which has a ground clearance of 0.44 meters and a top speed of 48km/h.

  • Is Spotify finally coming to Pakistan?

    Swedish-based audio streaming and media services provider Spotify is finally coming to Pakistan. The biggest music streaming services provider confirmed the news on their official Twitter handle.

    “We launch in 80+ new markets over the next few days. See you soon Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nigeria,” the post read.

    Official Instagram account of Spotify Pakistan also hinted at the possibility of launching their services soon in Pakistan by sharing a post with the caption: “Check it out, a new way to discover and play music is coming your way.”

    According to a report, Spotify’s CEO Daniel Ek at a Spotify ‘Stream On’ event said: “This move will make Spotify available to more than a billion people in new markets around the world, with nearly half of them already using the internet.”

    As per Spotify, “Spotify is embarking on a sweeping expansion that will introduce the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service available to more than a billion people in 80+ new markets around the world, and add 36 languages to our platform.

    “By reaching even more countries across Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and Latin America, we’re giving millions of new creators the opportunity to create, discover, and build a career in audio creation—and giving a billion new fans the opportunity to hear it.”

    Last year in November, Spotify created a verified Instagram account for Pakistan, which has gained 24K followers already. However, no official statement was made at the time.

    Spotify is the world’s biggest music streaming platform in terms of the number of subscribers. Users of the service simply need to register to have access to one of the biggest-ever collections of music in history, plus podcasts, and other audio content.

    Spotify, launched in 2008, has grown to be one of the biggest streaming platforms in the world.