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  • PM asks ministers to quit cabinet if they don’t agree with govt decisions

    PM asks ministers to quit cabinet if they don’t agree with govt decisions

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has asked his cabinet members quit the federal cabinet if they have a problem with the decisions taken by the government.

    According to Geo News, the PM told his ministers to “take ownership of the government’s decision” and if they cannot do that then they could resign from their posts.

    “In case of their failure to toe the party line, I will decide myself whether to keep them in the cabinet or not,” the PM was quoted as saying. 

    During the meeting, the PM said that there were no reforms in the state institutions. The governance system also did not improve, he said, responding to a briefing given by Institutional Reforms Adviser Ishrat Hussain on the situation of the state institutions.

    The report claimed that ministers questioned the pace of reforms in the governance in different institutions and asked about the accountability of those at the helm.

    At this, the PM told them to improve their performance and sought a comprehensive report on the state institutions’ performance that could be presented before the public.

    Rs 200bn SCAM IN AGP:

    The prime minister directed the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) to submit a report, saying that corruption amounting to over Rs180 billion had been unearthed in the institution.

    According to the PM, the prime minister directed the finance and revenue minister Hafeez Sheikh and Science minister Fawad Chaudhry to introduce a new digital system in the AGP’s office.

  • ‘Pakistan to recognise E-sports as an official sport’

    Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has announced that Pakistan will soon recognise e-sports as an official sport after an MOU (Memorandum of understanding) was signed between the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF).

    “An MOU has been signed between Pakistan Sports Board and Pakistan Science Foundation after which e-sports will get the status of an official sport,” said Chaudhry in a tweet.

    He added: “If you are interested in video games then get ready for new opportunities.”

    In December 2020, during an interview with Waqar Zaka, Chaudhry had hinted towards Pakistan’s first-ever e-sports tournament. The minister had said that the tournament will be held in March with the help of private sponsorships.

  • ‘Can’t imagine my life without your love’: Hassan Ali pens heartfelt note for wife

    Hassan Ali has expressed his love for wife Samiya in a heartfelt post on Instagram. The couple is expecting their first child together.

    Sharing a picture of the two, Hassan said: “A change is going to happen in our life but it’s incredible to see how a woman’s body goes through transformations during pregnancy.”

    Praising his wife, Ali wrote: “Your presence makes me a better person, can’t imagine my life without your love and support.”

    Hassan ended his post by using the hashtag ‘Soon to be 3’.

    In November last year, Samiya un-officially announced her pregnancy by posting a picture of herself cradling her belly.

    Hassan and Samiya tied the knot in an elaborate wedding in Dubai in August 2019. While Hassan hails from Gujranwala, Samiya is from Haryana, India. They reportedly met in 2018 through a close friend in Dubai.

  • Man about to lose over $300 million after forgetting Bitcoin password

    Man about to lose over $300 million after forgetting Bitcoin password

    A San Francisco computer programmer has just two password attempts left if he is to unlock a Bitcoin wallet worth more than $300 million.

    If Thomas fails and burns through his final two of 10 attempts, he will lose 7002 Bitcoin, currently worth an eye-watering and lifechanging $303 million. The forgotten password which is keeping Thomas awake at night would let him unlock a small hard drive, known as an IronKey.

    The IronKey contains the critical private keys to Thomas’ digital wallet, where the Bitcoin fortune is locked up. If Thomas makes 10 failed IronKey password attempts, the hard drive will seize up and encrypt everything for eternity.

    According to The New York Times, Thomas lost the piece of paper he wrote the IronKey password on. “I would just lay in bed and think about it,” he says.

    “Then I would go to the computer with some new strategy, and it wouldn’t work, and I would be desperate again.”

    His plight has drawn the attention of hard drive and password crackers, offering their services for a slice of the quarter-billion-dollar pie. Alex Stamos, an internet security expert at Stanford Internet Observatory, claimed he can crack the password within six months. His price? Stamos wants a 10 per cent cut (roughly $30 million) of the fortune.

    “Um, for $220m in locked-up bitcoin, you don’t make 10 password guesses but take it to professionals to buy 20 IronKeys and spend six months finding a side-channel or uncapping,” Stomas tweeted, adding that he would make it happen for 10%.

    https://twitter.com/alexstamos/status/1348999178702057476

    Thomas was paid the Bitcoin for making a video about how the cryptocurrency worked, back when it was worth around $5 a coin. Last week, on the back of a record-breaking run, Bitcoin was trading at more than US$40,000.

    Perhaps the best-known case of anyone losing their Bitcoin fortune was James Howells, a Welsh IT worker, who in 2013 unintentionally threw 7500 Bitcoin in a landfill.

    Howells’ Bitcoin would also be worth more than a quarter-billion-dollars on today’s rate.

  • Imran beats de Villiers, Kohli and Lanning to win ICC ‘best captain’ poll

    Imran Khan, who led the Pakistani cricket team to victory in the 1992 world cup, has been voted as the ‘best captain’ in a poll tweeted by the International Cricket Council.

    In a tweet, the ICC had shared a list of the best captain that included India’s Virat Kohli, South Africa’s Ab de Villiers and Australia’s Meg Lanning and asked: “Who would you rate as the best among these giants?”

    People chose Imran over all these “legends”, who narrowly defeated India’s Kohli to come on top.

    The poll was created after the ICC shared statistics of these “extraordinary cricketers”. It said captaincy “proved a blessing” for Imran, de Villiers, Lanning and Kohli whose “averages improved as leaders” of their respective teams.

    WHO ARE THESE ‘PACESETTERS’?

    Virat Kohli:

    Virat Kohli is the captain of the India national team since 2013. He is regarded as one of the best contemporary batsmen in the world. In 2018, he became the first cricketer to be awarded the top three International Cricket Council (ICC) awards—Cricketer of the Year, Test Cricketer of the Year and ODI Cricketer of the Year.

    Ab de Villiers:

    The South African skipper has been named as the ICC ODI Player of the Year three times during his 15-year international career. Cricinfo has described him as a “cricketer with overflowing talent and the temperament to back it up”.

    Meg Lanning:

    As the captain of the Australian women team, Lanning has multiple world cup titles in her name: one Women’s Cricket World Cup and four ICC Women’s World Twenty20 titles. She also holds the record of most ODI centuries.

    Imran Khan:

    Imran Khan was the captain of the Pakistani team that won the world cup. He is also the one who introduced reverse swing and popularised it.  Spot a left-arm pacer in Pakistan, you’ll glimpse a Wasim Akram; you spot a right-arm pacer in Pakistan, said an article in Cricbuzz.

    REACTIONS TO IMRAN AS THE BEST CAPTAIN:

  • FBR reportedly gives Atif Aslam one month to pay Rs 58 million tax

    The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has reportedly sent Atif Aslam a tax notice worth 58 million after the audit of his income for the year 2018.

    According to reports, Aslam has been given one month’s notice to pay the tax. If the singer fails to pay the due amount, the revenue board will make the recovery by freezing his bank accounts.

    This is not the first time a member of the entertainment industry has come on FBR’s radar. In October 2020, the FBR launched an inquiry to investigate Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s sources of income.

    Earlier in 2019, the FBR also launched an initiative to collect tax from the citizens and requested showbiz and media personalities to declare their assets, warning them that if they don’t they will also face disciplinary action.

    Meanwhile, Atif is one of Pakistan’s biggest stars. Earlier, the singer made it to the inaugural Forbes Asia’s 100 Digital Stars list. The list highlights celebrities from across the Asia Pacific region who have taken the digital world by storm, according to a press release.

  • Cops run for life after pigs enter Sindh police station

    Cops run for life after pigs enter Sindh police station

     Two pigs have reportedly entered a police station in Sindh after which cops were seen running out of the building to save their lives.  

    According to the details, the incident took place in Moro City of Sindh’s Naushahro Feroze district.

    As soon as the pigs made an unexpected entry into the station building, the police staff present inside panicked. The witnesses noted that police stayed outside while pigs were inside.

    The station house officer (SHO) said one of the pigs was brought back out while the personnel sought help to bring out the other one.

    The police managed to reclaim the station with the help of locals.

  • Shaniera Akram heartbroken over plastic mess on the beach

    When it comes to cleaning the beach and making sure it is trash-free, Wasim Akram and Shaniera Akram are on the forefront. The two have endlessly campaigned and worked towards keeping the beach clean by mobilising the government, authorities and residents of the city.

    However, this time Shaniera is heartbroken over the fact that no matter how many times they clean the beach, it becomes a mess again.

    “Every six months, we make conscious efforts to get this place cleaned up,” wrote Shaniera in a post on social media post. “We work hard to ensure there is no plastic waste lying around and polluting our beaches. Yet, even after two days of a clean-up, there is even more plastic wastage than the last time.”

    “Seeing this is heartbreaking, not only because our efforts are not showing any results but also because this plastic waste will be our downfall,” said Akram further, urging everyone to “protect the environment, recycle and reuse your plastic products, reduce your contribution to plastic waste.”

    Later, in a tweet, Shaniera urged food giants of Pakistan to take making recyclable packaging for their products.

    Last week, Shaniera penned a love letter for Karachi and expressed her love for the city by praising its resilience and diversity and comparing it to an eagle that looks into the eye without fright and remains devoted to where it belongs.

  • Bilawal to attend Joe Biden’s inauguration next week

     Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has decided to attend the inauguration ceremony of US President-elect Joe Biden on January 18 (Monday) after an invite by the incoming US administration.

    The PPP chairman will leave for Washington on a four-day visit. His agenda includes meetings with the US senators among other officials, according to a report in ARY News.

    Joe Biden, the Demoracts nominee, was elected as the president in November by defeating incumbent president Donald Trump. Trump had refused to accept the result and contest it in various courts — most of the pleas were dismissed by the judges.

    His refusal to accept the result and provocative speeches also resulted in an assault on The Capitol by the far-right supporters last week. These people stormed the building to stop the certification of Biden.

    The police and the National Guard managed to evacuate the building after four hours and imposed a curfew. Subsequently, Trump asked his supporters to remain calm and announced that he would support the peaceful transition of power. 

    Immediately after the certification, the White House released a statement from Trump in which he pledged an “orderly transition” on Jan. 20 when Biden will be sworn into office.

    Since then, the US president has attracted permanent bans on Twitter and Facebook for inciting violence.

  • Newsletter- 12th January 2021, Tuesday

    Newsletter- 12th January 2021, Tuesday









    *|MC:SUBJECT|*

    The Current Insider
    Tuesday, 12th January 2021

    I’ve always wondered if people announce the GPA they actually get in college. I wouldn’t announce it for sure but PML-N’s Hina Butt revealed her GPA in a news show, most likely because the trends on Twitter about her and graduating from LUMS might’ve gotten to her. Takes guts, that’s for sure. 

    I wouldn’t say that Saman, our entertainment editor is gutsy — but I will say that she is smooth enough to do some of the gutsiest things I have ever seen anyone do. She has walked away after asking Minister of Science Technology Fawad Chaudhry a question while he was looking at her and answering it, she has asked Bilawal Bhutto to sign pictures for her and when I interviewed her at the same coffee shop I met the rest of our candidates, she was all smiles and a twinkle in her eye. She knew everything I shot at her and the best part was, she was so happy. I mean, check out her picture below from our Secret Valentine party. All smiles and aren’t happy people the best kind?

    Bollywood’s Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli are having a baby girl and we can’t be happier for them. Even though it is super cold in Lahore, we are so excited to know that it made the New York Times ‘places to love in 2021’ list (although the food is better in Karachi, no DOUBT!), and it’s a semi-win for singer Meesha Shafi in her case against Ali Zafar as the Supreme Court approves her workplace harassment case for hearing. If she manages to convince the court that her alleged harassment falls under the workplace harassment law, it would be a huge win for women who are self-employed.

    It’a s happy day as there is plenty of sunshine across Pakistan and the army has invited the opposition over for tea if they march to Rawalpindi (good or bad thing — the jury is out on that one). The only downer is that Hazara University has asked female students to not wear jeans or makeup and that’s not okay under any circumstances. It is the job of the university and the state to protect its women no matter what they wear — and not ask them to change their appearance. 

    As a women-led platform, it was imperative that we hired progressive women — go-getters who wanted to make a change in their society, promote values that include freedom to do what they want. Saman is someone who reflects what we believe in. Someone who has a strong work ethic, pushes her entertainment team and goes out of her way to do what she can for her desk, which is why the entertainment and lifestyle desk is one you need to follow. It has news that is written in a smooth and seamless manner, videos that bring you the best of the best dramas and you know our cool insta stories? Saman is the one who gets it all done. I do wonder what her GPA is but I know that it’s probably higher than mine. 

    Until tomorrow (we hope the tea is fantastic ?) 
    Marium

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    Keep an eye on your phone today. You might be walking on the street and someone will snatch it from you and you won’t even realise what happened. Be safe!

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