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  • Pakistan to get its own version of Netflix

    Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has announced that his ministry is all set to launch Pakistan’s first OTT (over-the-top) platform. An OTT media service is a streaming media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms, the companies that traditionally act as a controller or distributor of such content.

    In a tweet, the Minister said: “We at the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) are all set to launch Pakistan’s Version of Netflix,” adding that the technology part of the initiative is complete.

    Chaudhry further said that he has directed PEMRA to “prepare a guideline on content” following which the platform will be launched in PPP (public private partnership) mode.

    Speaking exclusively to The Current, Fawad said that his ministry will provide content creators with the technical support – such as compression technology – they need.

    As far as the content on the platform is concerned, the Minister said that PEMRA has been directed to classify content keeping in mind international standards.

    “Our aim is to put Pakistani content on the map and PEMRA has been asked to prepare guidelines keeping in mind the international market,” said Fawad, adding that with internet freedom, censorship is unlikely.

    He also said that content on the platform will be different from what we usually see on television.

    When asked what the payment process will be like given that the majority of Pakistani don’t have credit cards, Fawad said that the payment process will be simple and viewers will be able to pay through their mobile phones.

    A new streaming platform will open new doors for Pakistani filmmakers and content creators giving them creative space and liberty. According to a recent report, Netflix has over 180 million subscribers worldwide, but only 100,000 in Pakistan as most Pakistanis do not have credits cards to pay for the service. This is one of the primary reasons why Netflix has not attempted to commission original Pakistani content, besides “weak storytelling, flawed screenplays and scripts that don’t meet international standards”.

    India, on the other hand, has about 40 providers of OTT media services including Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney Plus.

    Pakistan forayed into the digital world just recently with Churails, that was released on Indian streaming platform Zee5.

    Senior PTI leader Senator Faisal Javed Khan, who is also the Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Information Broadcasting and Heritage, lauded Fawad for his initiative.

    Read more – Hamza Ali Abbasi cancels Netflix subscription over movie sexualising young girls

    Meanwhile, noted actors including Shaan Shahid, Humayun Saeed and Asad Siddiqui thanked the Minister for taking the initiative and introducing such platforms in Pakistan.

    “It’s time we make our presence in the entertainment arena of the world,” said Shaan, while Humayun said this will “open doors of opportunities for many many talented people and eventually help Pakistan reach a truly global audience.”

    However, Osman Khalid Butt remarked that PEMRA should not be allowed to prepare a content guideline for the platform.

  • ‘Azhar Ali’s captaincy to be reviewed’

    Azhar Ali may not retain his position as Pakistan’s Test Captain during next month’s tour of New Zealand after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief executive Wasim Khan said that the 35-year-old’s leadership will be “reviewed”.

    According to details, rumours are rife in the executive corridors of PCB’s headquarters about a younger replacement. The speculations come just 12 months after Azhar replaced Sarfaraz Ahmed as Pakistan’s Test captain. Mohammad Rizwan and current limited-overs captain Babar Azam are the top choices for potential replacements for Test captaincy, with the change likely to happen as early as December when Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand is scheduled to take place.

    Wasim also revealed that Azhar’s annual appraisal is being carried out and that a final decision has not been made yet as constitutionally the prerogative to name or dismiss a captain rests with PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani, who is due to meet Ali in the next ten days.

    Read more – Misbah Ul Haq steps down as chief selector

    Azhar has struggled with form over the past two years and found himself in a sustained slump until he scored a hundred in Karachi late last year, followed by a fighting century in a rain-hit draw against England in Southampton in August.

    Azhar is presently the most capped player in the Pakistan side with 81 Test matches in a career that started in 2010. He was appointed ODI captain following Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi’s ODI retirements after the 2015 World Cup when he hadn’t been part of Pakistan’s ODI plans. Following poor results in England and Australia during his tenure, he was axed from captaincy in January 2017 but remained in the squad until 2018 before losing his spot to younger players.

    Ali had refused an offer to take up Test captaincy in 2017 after Misbah and Younis Khan retired from the longer format, with the PCB deciding to hand over the captaincy in all formats to Sarfaraz. While his limited-overs replacement Babar looks more secure than ever, Azhar’s stint as Test captain may well be drawing to a premature close.

    Meanwhile, Wasim has backed Misbah and Babar as coach and captain for next year’s World Twenty20.

    In a press conference, Wasim while speaking about Misbah and Babar had said: “Like every other job, that of the head coach and the captain is also performance-based. At the moment, our main focus is white-ball cricket with World Twenty20 events in each of the next two years and we’re backing Misbah and Babar for the next World Twenty20 as they’re both doing well together.”

  • Pakistani author wins Britain’s prestigious ‘Brain of the Year’ award

    Pakistani author wins Britain’s prestigious ‘Brain of the Year’ award

    Noted Pakistani author and columnist Arif Anis has won Britain’s prestigious ‘Brain of the Year 2020’ awarded by Britain’s Brain Trust. Arif was recognised for co-founding the One Million Meals initiative in April this year. The initiative aimed to feed National Health Services (NHS) doctors, nurses, paramedics and key workers in the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    According to details, this award is presented every year to a leader who advances mental health through research, support and funding for individuals and organisations. The announcement of this award was made by Brain Trust Chairman and Grand Chessmaster Raymond Keene OBE.

    Previous winners include Professor Stephen Hawking, English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author.

    Anis is the author of I’MPOSSIBLE and Follow Your Dreams and the co-author of Made in Crises. In 2018, the Power100 British Parliamentary Review listed him among the ‘100 most influential trailblazers’ in Europe. He was awarded the ‘Global Man of the Year Award’ in 2019 in London for his contributions in the fields of learning and development.

  • ‘A symbol of hope and luck’: Puppy with green fur born in Italy

    ‘A symbol of hope and luck’: Puppy with green fur born in Italy

    Italian farmer Cristian Mallocci was surprised when Spelacchia, one of his eight dogs, gave birth to a green-furred puppy.

    The baby dog was instantly named Pistachio. Pistachio was a part of a five-dog litter born on October 9. All of its four siblings are born with white fur, except him.

    Mallocci runs a farm on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia with his brother-in-law Giannangelo Liperi.

    It is extremely rare for a dog to be born with green-colored fur. It is thought that it happens when pale-coloured puppies have contact in their mother’s womb with a green pigment called biliverdin. It is the same pigment that causes the green colour in bruises.

    However, Pistachio’s colour will not last forever. The bright green fur has faded from the day he was born and it will continue to do so as he gets older.

    While his brothers and sisters will be given away to new homes, Mallocci will keep Pistachio on his farm and train him up to look after the sheep with his mother.

    Mallocci said that during this difficult time of the pandemic, green is the symbol of hope and luck.

  • Howdy Modi: Trump calls India ‘filthy’ during final presidential debate

    Howdy Modi: Trump calls India ‘filthy’ during final presidential debate

    United States (US) President Donald Trump has described the air in India as “filthy” as he denounced Democratic rival Joe Biden’s plans to tackle climate change.

    At their second and final presidential debate, Trump renewed his criticism that action on climate change was unfair to the US.

    “Look at China, how filthy it is. Look at Russia, look at India — it’s filthy. The air is filthy,” Trump said at the debate in Nashville, adding, “I walked out of the Paris Accord as we had to take out trillions of dollars and we were treated very unfairly.”

    Trump has repeatedly blamed countries like India and China for not doing enough on climate change, labelling them as regions with air that is impossible to breathe. He has continuously argued that countries like China and India are benefiting the most from the Paris agreement.

    It is pertinent to mention here that the air in several cities in northern India is especially bad in winter months — November to February — when several factors, such as farmers burning crop stubble to clear their fields, vehicular and industrial pollution, festive fireworks and low wind speed, contribute to what doctors call a “deadly cocktail of poisonous gases”.

    Despite the spikes in air pollution year after year, few concrete steps have been taken to control it.

    During the debate, Trump also charged that Biden’s climate plan was an “economic disaster” for oil states such as Texas and Oklahoma.

    Biden had said that climate change is “an existential threat to humanity. We have a moral obligation to deal with it.”

    “We’re going to pass the point of no return within the next eight to 10 years,” he said.

    The planet has already warmed by around one degree Celsius (34 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial levels, enough to boost the intensity of deadly heatwaves, droughts and tropical storms.

    Trump’s remarks come days before Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper visit New Delhi for talks on building the growing US-India partnership.

    At the first presidential debate, Trump also spoke critically of India, questioning its coronavirus data amid criticism of Trump’s handling of the pandemic.

    Read more – The hideous face of India under Modi

    Soon after Trump’s remarks, “filthy” and “Howdy! Modi” started trending on Twitter though many used the hashtag o highlight their concerns. The “Howdy, Modi!” event, held in Houston in September 2019 was attended by nearly 50,000 people. It was billed as one of the largest ever receptions for a foreign leader in the US and Mr Trump had called it a “profoundly historic event”.

    https://twitter.com/Su4ita/status/1319483073503744000?s=20

    https://twitter.com/dharmicverangna/status/1319537322291990530?s=20

    Meanwhile, #FilthyIndia is also trending on Twitter Pakistan.

  • Army needs to distance itself from PTI, says retired general

    Army needs to distance itself from PTI, says retired general

    Defence analyst Lt Gen (r) Ghulam Mustafa has urged the Pakistan Army to distance itself from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in order to kill the impression that the ruling party has the support of the military.

    In a TV show, the analyst said the impression that the army has gotten PTI’s back needs to be defused as it is damaging the reputation of the state institution.

    Mustafa said the opposition, however, was being unfair for claiming that the army was supporting the ruling PTI. He said the military stood by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government in 2014 during the protests led by Imran Khan, but nobody accused it of “supporting the Nawaz-led government”.

    He said the army chief needed to take measures to take his force out of the tug of war between the political parties, as the current situation was rapidly heading towards disaster.

    The defence analyst’s comments came in the wake of countrywide protests by the joint opposition alliance, the Pakistan Democratic Movement.

    During its first rally in Gujranwala on Oct 18, former prime minister and PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif hit out at the security establishment for ousting his government and installing Imran Khan in power. This was the first time that the opposition named a sitting army chief for meddling in the elections.

    Nawaz addressed the crowd via video link from London. “Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, you packed up our government, which was working well, and put the nation and the country at the alter of your wishes,” the former PM added.

  • Will travel to UK myself if needed to bring Nawaz back: Imran

    Will travel to UK myself if needed to bring Nawaz back: Imran

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has said that he would himself travel to the United Kingdom (UK) if that is what’s needed to bring former premier Nawaz Sharif back to Pakistan to face the corruption charges against him.

    Corruption convict Nawaz, who was last year granted bail and the permission to travel abroad for medical treatment, has been in London for almost a year now. He has time and again been accused by the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of faking health issues to flee the country and avoid accountability.

    “I will travel to [the] UK and bring him [Nawaz] back myself if that is what’s needed,” the premier reportedly said in an interview that will air on ARY News tonight at 7 pm.

    The statement comes after Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz said that the deposed PM will be in a Pakistan jail by January 15.

    Addressing the media, the federal minister maintained that everything was being done to stop the legal process behind the arrest of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo. However, he added that the federal government was doing all in its power to bring Nawaz back.

    Faraz said that PM Imran would not leave Nawaz off the hook, and that the government was building diplomatic pressure for the PML-N supreme leader’s return.

  • 16-year-old girl surrenders after killing father for abusing mother

    16-year-old girl surrenders after killing father for abusing mother

    A 16-year-old girl in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh allegedly beat her father to death because he used to get drunk and abuse her mother. 

    According to reports, a police official said: “The man was unemployed and lived off the earnings of his eldest son, who works as a mason (a bricklayer). The family was dealing with a difficult situation as the man was an alcoholic and would abuse his family. He was especially violent towards his wife.”

    The family was sitting together to discuss the eldest son’s marriage when the father started fighting with the mother again.

    Furious and tired of the daily abuse, the 16-year-old picked up a washing bat and beat her 45-year-old father. He began bleeding but the girl picked up a lohangi (a traditional stick with iron rings) and kept hitting him.

    After killing him on the spot, she called the police and confessed to the crime. She also told them that she was waiting to be arrested.

    Bhopal Police have registered a case and sent the teenage girl to a juvenile shelter, which helps to enforce protection, rehabilitation, and restoration of juveniles (below the age of 18 years) convicted for a crime.

  • Boxer Amir Khan calls army ‘backbone’ of Pakistan, declines to join politics

    British-Pakistani boxer Amir Khan is all-praise for the Pakistan Army, saying the military was the “backbone of the country”.

    In a couple of tweets, the former boxing champion, who was invited to enter the politics, said that he wouldn’t join the politics on the advice of his counsels. He added that Pakistan was run by an “amazing PM” whom “we trust”. But Khan said he would continue to do “charity work @AKFoundation in UK, Pakistan and rest of the world to make areas better and safer”.

    The boxer said he has “big respect” for the Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, and Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) head Major Gen Babar Iftikhar. “Every attack, floods, earthquakes the Pakistan army are the first to reach and help,” he added.

    Earlier this week, the British-Pakistani sportsman revealed that he was asked to join the politics during his visit to Pakistan.

    “I have been asked numerous times if I would join politics in Pakistan. Being a sportsman and being an ambassador for the country, I’m honoured to [be] asked if I would take part in politics, in fact, I would love to help the country,” said the former boxing champion after the visit.

    He continued: “I’ve sat with many politicians and army generals agreeing and disagreeing on topics in the country. My heart is clean and I would want the best for Pakistan.”

  • PayPal enters cryptocurrency market

    PayPal, one of the largest merchant network for online payments has entered the cryptocurrency market, announcing that its consumers will be able to buy and sell Bitcoins and other virtual currencies using their PayPal accounts.

    Other payment firms, such as Square’s Cash app and Revolut, have already offered cryptocurrencies for sale.

    When it comes to using virtual coins, PayPal will convert the cryptocurrency into the relevant national currency, so the company being paid will never receive the virtual coins – just the correct amount of pounds or dollars.

    Those virtual coins could then be used to buy things from the 26 million sellers which accept PayPal, the company said.

    PayPal plans to roll out buying options in the US over the next few weeks, with the full rollout due early next year.

    Bitcoin prices rose alongside the news, breaking the $12,000 (£9,170) mark.

    The other cryptocurrencies to be added first will be Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash (a spin-off from Bitcoin).

    All could be stored “directly within the PayPal digital wallet”, it added.

    Cryptocurrencies are still a niche payment method because of the rapid change in prices they can experience as compared to traditional state-backed currencies. However, they became really popular among some types of investors.

    PayPal said it was aiming “to increase consumer understanding and adoption of cryptocurrency”.

    “As part of this offering, PayPal will provide account holders with educational content to help them understand the cryptocurrency ecosystem,” it said.