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  • Ikigai: A Japanese technique helping Pakistani children ‘find true purpose in life’

    Hasan Ikhlaqi and his team at Umungi, a career centre, are training Pakistani students with a Japanese technique called Ikigai. Umungi offers training to children by conducting different activities in schools. Parents of the children are also involved in the training process.

    The Japanese technique Ikigai is used to find the purpose of life. The origin of the word ikigai goes back to the Heian period (794 to 1185). The word ikigai consists of two Japanese words: iki, meaning “life” and kai, meaning “effect/result/worth or benefit.”

    Explaining the technique to BBC Urdu, Ikhlaqi, creative coach at Umungi, said: “We use Japanese technique to find the true purpose in life, and to find the true purpose you need answers to the following questions: Profession, Passion, Mission, and Vocation.”

    The Umunji creative team has been conducting creative festivals in different schools for the past three years.

  • Newsletter- 19th January 2021, Tuesday

    Newsletter- 19th January 2021, Tuesday









    *|MC:SUBJECT|*

    Good morning *|MERGE1|*. Today is the 19th of January. The sun will appear hazy in major cities across Pakistan. It’s Tuesday and it’s a sign that you have somehow survived Monday.

    Morning Meme

    #WesupportIqrar: Celebrities back Iqrarul Hassan after netizens demand apology for praising India

    Social media users are demanding an apology from television anchor Syed Iqrarul Hassan for praising India. The Sar-e-Aam host compared the public transport facilities of the two countries.

     

     

    Read on

    Zulfi Bukhari, DG ISPR stand out at Pakistani cinema celebration

    Hum TV on December 16 celebrated the 16th anniversary of its premier entertainment channel in Islamabad in a special show hosted by Ahmed Ali Butt and Shiffa Yousafzai.
    The anniversary was a star-studded event attended by prominent faces of the country’s entertainment landscape and dignitaries. While everyone enjoyed watching their favourite stars take the stage, it was DG ISPR and SAPM Zulfi Bukhari who Twitter couldn’t stop talking about.

    Read on

    Thief leaves apology note after stealing car tyres in Bani Gala
     

    An interesting incident of theft recently took place in Islamabad. A thief in Bani Gala, Islamabad took off the tyres of a citizen’s car and left a note apologising for his actions. See what he had to say. 

    Read on

    Pakistan Army ranked 10th strongest in world

    According to the Global Firepower index, 2021Pakistan has become the tenth most powerful country in the world in terms of military power.

    Read

    VIDEO: Is that Imran Khan on a rickshaw in Sialkot? 

    A viral video has shown a person with uncanny resemblance to a younger Imran Khan, riding a rickshaw in Sialkot.

    Read On

    EXCLUSIVE: Hareem Shah reveals why she slapped Mufti Qavi

    A video of Hareem Shah slapping Mufti Abdul Qavi has gone viral on social media. The Current se exclusively baat kartay huvay Hareem shared the reason for slapping him. Check out the story to know the reason.
     

    Read On

    Mohammad Amir will be available for Pakistan on one condition

    Mohammad Amir who recently took retirement from international cricket has now said that he will only make a comeback to play for the National team if Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis are removed from office. 

    Read On

    Current Baba’s prediction

    It’s time to buy a heater since yours is going to die on you by tonight. Sorry.

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  • ‘It was scary’: Sania Mirza recounts her COVID experience

    ‘It was scary’: Sania Mirza recounts her COVID experience

    Sania Mirza has revealed that she had tested positive for COVID-19 in the beginning of the year.

    In a note posted to social media, the tennis champion said that though she is fine and healthy now, she wanted to share her experience.

    “I was lucky to not have any major symptoms for the most part of it, but I was in isolation and the toughest part was to stay away from my 2-year-old and family,” Sania said, adding that she “can’t even imagine what people and their families are going through when people are sick in [the] hospital all alone and by themselves.”

    “It was scary as you aren’t very sure what to expect and hear so many different things and stories…you get a new symptom every day and the uncertainty of it is extremely hard to deal with, not just physically but mentally and emotionally as well,” she shared further.

    “I just want to say after having been through it, I was fortunate to be more or less ok throughout it all, but to be away from my family was one of the scariest things – to not know when I’ll see them again.”

    “This virus is no joke,” she iterated, adding, “I took all the precautions as I could but still contracted it. We must do everything we can to protect our friends and family.”

    Sania and husband Shoaib Malik were recently in Dubai spending family time.

  • India hands Australia first defeat since 1988 at Brisbane’s Gabba ground

    India handed Australia their first defeat since 1988 at Brisbane’s Gabba ground, allowing them to clinch the four-Test series 2-1 to win the Border-Gavaskar trophy on Tuesday.

    Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant starred with a swashbuckling 89 not out as the injury-depleted visitors overhauled the 328-run target with three overs to go, winning by three wickets.

    Australia had not been beaten at the Gabba since falling to Viv Richards’ all-conquering West Indies side by nine wickets in November 1988.

    Since then, Australia had played 31 test matches at The Gabba, winning 24 of them, while drawing the remaining seven.

    “Last time Australia lost a Gabba Test… George H.W. Bush had just won the US Presidential election, Bad Medicine by Bon Jovi was charting #1, Virat Kohli was 16 days old and Sachin Tendulkar was still one year away from making his Test debut,” wrote ICC on Twitter.

    India’s 329 for seven also smashed the 69-year-old record for the biggest run-chase at the Gabba, set by Australia who scored 236 for seven to beat the West Indies in 1951.

    The series win was a remarkable achievement considering India were bowled out for their lowest Test score of 36 to lose the first Test in Adelaide, before bouncing back to win the second in Melbourne.

    The visitors, ravaged by injuries and captain Virat Kohli’s absence for paternity leave, then batted throughout the final day to draw the third Test in Sydney.

    “It really means a lot to us. I don’t know how to describe this victory but I’m really proud of all the boys,” said India’s interim skipper Ajinkya Rahane. “They showed character, attitude, especially after the Adelaide Test match. We decided we’re going to fight really hard and we just wanted to give our best.”

    Man-of-the-match Pant, who played a similar innings in the drawn Sydney Test, blasted his 89 from 138 balls with nine fours and a six.

    His innings followed an equally impressive knock from 21-year-old Shubman Gill, who made 91 at the top of the order earlier in the day.

    Before the latest match, India had played six test matches at The Gabba, losing five of them with one draw. In their seventh outing on the ground, they managed to beat Australia and with this win, India moved to the top of the ICC World Test Championship ranking list.

    Meanwhile, Kohli congratulated the team and the board on their historic win.

  • ‘Tandav’ makers issue ‘unconditional apology’ after series sparks outrage

    ‘Tandav’ makers issue ‘unconditional apology’ after series sparks outrage

    The cast and crew of Amazon Prime show Tandav have offered an “unconditional apology” after the political drama was accused of hurting Hindu sentiments. The official apology was tweeted by the creator of the show Ali Abbas Zafar.

    “Our sincere apologies,” read the statement. “We have been closely monitoring viewer reactions to the web series Tandav and today during a discussion, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has informed us regarding a large number of grievances and petitions received on various facets of the web series with serious concerns and apprehensions regarding its content hurting the sentiments of the people.”

    “Tandav is a work of fiction and any resemblance to acts and persons and events is purely coincidental. The cast and crew did not have any intention to offend the sentiments of any individual, caste, community, race, religion, or religious beliefs or insult or outrage any institution, political party, or person, living or dead.”

    “The cast and crew of Tandav take cognizance of the concerns expressed by the people and unconditionally apologise if it has unintentionally hurt anybody’s sentiments,” it added.

    In a follow-up tweet, Zafar said: “We just want to share a quick update with everybody. We are in further engagement with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to resolve concerns that have been raised.”

    He added that they “should have a solution shortly”.

    Directed by Zafar, the political drama stars Saif Ali Khan, Sunil Grover, Dimple Kapadia, Sarah-Jane Dias, Gauahar Khan, Kritika Kamra, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, and Dino Morea in lead roles.

    Khan and the makers of Tandav have been at the receiving end of backlash and outrage after a local official from India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party registered a police complaint against Amazon Prime’s latest web series alleging it insults Hindu gods and goddesses.

    Following the outrage and backlash, Saif was given police security. A set of policemen were seen guarding his building to ensure all the safety required to the star and his family.

    Meanwhile, Kangana Ranaut has been having a field day on Twitter, lashing out at the actors and web series and demanding strict action against them.

    In a now-deleted tweet, Ranaut even said: “Because even Lord Krishna forgave 99 mistakes of Sheshupala…. pehle Shanti phir Kranti (First calm, then revolution)…. time to take their heads off.”

  • Foreign investment falls by 30%

    Foreign investment falls by 30%

    Foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 30 per cent in the first half of the current fiscal year (H1FY21), according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

    According to a report based on the data compiled by a local media outlet, Pakistan received $952 million in foreign investment during July-December FY21 compared to $1.357 billion in the corresponding period last year.

    In addition to the damage done by the pandemic, the impact of heavy outflow from the portfolio also played a key role in making the balance sheet poorer in the first half of FY21. The data shows that the outflow during July-December was $244m compared to a net inflow of $18.8m in the same period last year.

    The breakup further shows that China made 38pc contribution to the overall $952m FDI the country received in July-December period of FY21. However, the FDI inflows from China also contracted to $359m in the period under review compared to $396m in the same period of last fiscal year.

    The other significant contributions were from the United States and UK at $65m and $63m, respectively, both improved from $44m and $58m in the same period of last fiscal year. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has started disinvesting; however, in July-December FY21, the inflow was $16.3m.

    The country received the highest foreign investment of $261m in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply sectors. While an inflow of $137m was noted in financial and insurance sectors.

  • Marriage teaches you how to act, says Humayun Saeed

    Marriage teaches you how to act, says Humayun Saeed

    Humayun Saeed has joked that marriage teaches you how to act.

    Speaking on Ahsan Khan’s new show, Time out with Ahsan Khan, Saeed remarked that marriage helps one with acting. The actor was invited to the show along with Fahad Mustafa. In a candid chat with Khan, the superstars shared their thoughts on marriage, producing local content, and their two cents on the rise of social media.

    When Khan asked if marriage helps to be an actor or if it has an effect on acting, Saeed laughed and said: “It does help with the acting. Since you know, we never really learned it.”

    Mustafa chimed in, saying, “You know how singers have certain pain in their voice, actors express the pain better after their marriages.”

    However, Saeed later said that he feels that an actor who has tied the knot takes his career more seriously.

    Answering the same question, Fahad said, “When I was getting married, we were doing a play together. It was his [Humayun] production, and I told him that I’m getting married and he just gave a look and didn’t say anything after that.”

    “That look was enough,” laughed Fahad.

    The actors then directed the question towards Khan and asked his thoughts on the same.

    “I think it’s fine either way. An actor can be successful with or without tying the knot,” said Khan.

    Humayun is married to Samina Humayun Saeed and the two are considered to be one of the most powerful couples in the industry. On the other hand, Fahad is married to Sana Fahad and they have two children together.

    Meanwhile, while talking about reviews and interviews, Humayun said that they have “lost their charm”.

    “Ten years ago from today, whenever we would have an interview, whenever we would have a review, it held certain importance,” said the actor. “Now, it is so easy to pay someone to write reviews, say anything we want. I don’t have an issue with this, I just think these things have lost their charm.”

  • IN PICTURES: Faysal Quraishi celebrates son’s first birthday

    Faysal Quraishi’s youngest child Farmaan Quraishi turned one on January 18, and his parents celebrated with a truck art-themed birthday. Pictures from the small and lowkey event are being widely circulated on social media.

    Check out pictures from the celebrations below:

    Earlier, Faysal had penned a heartfelt note for his son on his birthday, saying that he looks “forward to being able to see you grow up”.

    Meanwhile, take a tour of Faysal’s house in his exclusive interview with The Current.

  • Video defending Naeem Bukhari’s posting as PTV chairman comes back to bite Faraz

    Video defending Naeem Bukhari’s posting as PTV chairman comes back to bite Faraz

    Weeks-old footage of Information Minister Shibli Faraz is making rounds on Twitter, in which the minister had claimed that the appointment of then Pakistan Television (PTV) chairman Naeem Bukhari was made in line with the Supreme Court verdict.

    Faraz, who had appeared on the Hamid Mir show, had said that the appointment of Bukhari was in line with the court order. He had added that the government wouldn’t take any risks and make an appointment against the SC verdict in the Ataul Haq Qasmi case.

    But, it seems the minister was lying through his teeth. Because a fortnight after the claim, an Islamabad High Court (IHC) verdict had asked the federal cabinet to review the appointment of Bukhari because he was overaged for the post. The federal cabinet had subsequently removed him from the post.

    In the clip, Hamid Mir had asked Faraz about the appointment of the PTV chairman, alluding to the plea in the high court that had questioned the qualification of Bukhari for the post.

    At this, Faraz said that Bukhari was named as the PTV chairman after fulfilling all the requirements laid out by the top court in its judgement pertaining to the Ataul Haq Qasmi case. He also claimed that the journalist was being misled by some people who are making the appointment of Bukhari controversial.

    BUKHARI BECOMES PTV CHAIRMAN:

    In November 2020, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had notified Bukhari, who has a vast experience of doing TV programmes, as chairman of PTV. The appointment was made after a court ruling in Sept 2020 declared the appointments of PTV chairman Arshad Khan and independent members of the board of directors illegal while directing the government to fill the vacant slots in accordance with the law. 

    Bukhari, who has worked as an anchorperson and commentators on PTV for decades, had joined PTI in June 2016. At the time, he called Imran Khan the “only political leader who had the courage to speak the truth”. Bukhari also represented Imran when he went to the Supreme Court against then prime minister Nawaz Sharif following the Panama Papers leak.

    The pleas that were later admitted by the apex court which disqualified Nawaz Sharif for being “dishonest” under Article 62 (1)(f).

    The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had also hired the services of Bukhari as a special prosecutor to take up cases against close confidants of Sharif brothers — former Lahore Development Authority chief Ahad Cheema and former principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad.

  • Reema gets her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

    Reema gets her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

    Reema Khan has received her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in the US.

    Taking to Instagram, Reema shared a video of herself getting the first shot. When asked that how is she feeling, Reema replied: “I’m fine.”

    “Finally got the first COVID-19 vaccine dose,” she captioned the post.

    Earlier, the film star also shared a video in which she said that she is going to get her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and prayed that the vaccine is available in Pakistan soon.

    “This is very important,” she said.

    In the video, she also urged her followers to get vaccinated, not only for themselves, but for their loved ones as well.

    Meanwhile, Imran Abbas lauded Reema for getting the vaccine, calling her a “pioneer”.

    Reema lives in Washington DC with her husband Dr Tariq Shahab and son Ali Shahab. Due to coronavirus lockdown, Reema and her son were stuck in Pakistan. As soon as flight operations resumed, the two flew back to the USA in August.

    According to Reuters, the first vaccine was administered in the United States in mid-December. Since then till the filing of this report, nearly 12.3 million doses have been given, out of 31.2 million doses distributed. The total includes 1.6 million people who have received both doses.