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  • Wakhri: a movie about the struggles faced by Pakistani women

    Wakhri: a movie about the struggles faced by Pakistani women

    The eagerly awaited film ‘Wakhri’ in Pakistan has been released in cinemas across the country. The film, written and directed by Iram Parveen Bilal, is produced by Abid Aziz Merchant, Apoorva Bakshi and Iram Parveen Bilal. After the success of Moula Jatt, Mandviwala Entertainment has signed up with ‘Wakhri’ for the distribution of the film.

    The Pakistan premiere of the movie took place at Nueplex Cinema, DHA, in Karachi. The film promises to entertain audience with its engrossing story and exceptional direction.

    Award-winning director Iram Parveen Bilal shares that the film ‘Wakhri’ is a special project, particularly a heartfelt tribute to the women of Pakistan and around the world. The film’s goal is to amplify the voices of the marginalized in society and bring their stories to a global audience. Iram started making films to connect with humanity and address complex societal issues collaboratively with the viewers. The nationwide release of the film is a result of the hard work and dedication of the entire team.
    The story of ‘Wakhri’ centers around a widowed school teacher in Pakistan. An emotional and genuine video of hers gains sudden popularity on social media. The film depicts the challenges faced by women in a society where they struggle to raise their voices and establish their presence, be it in the physical or digital world.

    Film producer Abid Aziz Merchant said that the film recently received praise at the Red Sea International Film Festival due to its unique story and direction. The film’s global recognition highlights the talent of Pakistani cinema on the world stage, bringing honor to Pakistani filmmakers. Beyond showcasing the challenges faced by women, the film also reflects social norms. With its captivating story and talented cast, ‘Wakhri’ aims to leave a lasting impression on the audience, providing a unique cinematic experience.

  • Rotten food and cat hunting as famine hits Gaza

    Rotten food and cat hunting as famine hits Gaza

    As the war on Gaza extends into its 90th day, impending famine and starvation are haunting the besieged strip.

    According to an assessment of the integrated food security phase classification initiative, a UN-backed body that sets the international standard that determines the severity of the food crisis, food shortage in Gaza is solely a consequence of war. Before it began, about 150 to 180 food lorries entered Gaza every day. Since, the end of the “humanitarian pause” a month ago, only about 30 do so. They are blocked by Israeli bombardment, fighting on the ground, and by restrictions and inspections on the border with Egypt, imposed by the Israeli and Egyptian authorities, cites The Times.

    More than a million people are displaced in Gaza but none is safe from hunger. It is rampant in Gaza, it is in the wasteland of al-Mawasi encampment in Gaza where handfuls of dirty flour are kneaded by mothers to make bread for their children. It is in the fires, stoked with plastic bottles, which produce nothing but choking black smoke. Children in Gaza no longer play but lie around, exhausted by hunger. It is in food that is rotten and makes you sick but is eaten just the same.

    Camellia Subeh talked to The Times who stated that her breasts no longer produce milk for her baby son.⁠ “My other sons keep saying, ‘Mum, I’m dizzy, I have a headache,” said the mother of five, sitting outside a shelter she built on the mud from scraps of plastic and wood. Subeh and her children left their home in northern Gaza weeks ago on the instructions of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). They said this is a safe area. Perhaps it is safe from the bombs that have destroyed Gaza’s cities and towns but not from hunger, diseases, or thirst that will kill just the same as a bullet will. “This place is like a desert, all sand,” Subeh said. “We are so tired.” The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip after nearly three months of war stands at 21,672, with more than 55,000 wounded, the territory’s health ministry said on Saturday.

    A 13-year-old, Muhammad al-Yaziji, told The Times, “I feel that this burden is very heavy for us. We became like beggars. We were not like that.”

    In an interview with the New Yorker, Arif Hussain, the chief economist at the United Nations World Food Program explains that according to a consensus-based analysis by Integrated Phase Classification, the entire population of 2.2 million people is in a food-security crisis or a worse situation implying a famine is coming because the conditions are “catastrophic”.

    Human Rights Watch drew from Israeli officials’ statements, interviews with people in the territory about the lack of food, and evidence of bombardment that has destroyed infrastructure and resources to accuse Israel in a December report of starvation as a war crime.

  • PML-N internal rifts cause delays in ticket announcements

    PML-N internal rifts cause delays in ticket announcements

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidates for the upcoming general elections hang in limbo as internal disagreements and seat adjustments cause delays in announcement of final ticket announcements, The News has reported on Monday.

    A source within PML-N told The News that it was expected that the party’s top leadership will award final party tickets on Sunday, however, the announcement got postponed due to seat adjustments with multiple political parties and internal disagreements between PML-N leaders.

    According to sources in the party, the matter of tickets is creating difficulties for aspirants who have yet to start their election campaigns.

    In Lahore, a rift between stalwarts Ayaz Sadiq and Sheikh Rohail Ashgar over party tickets has not been resolved, as both were not ready to give up. Similar is the case at Narowal, where Daniyal Aziz and Ahsan Iqbal are entangled in a rift over tickets for their blue-eyed candidates.

    PML-N leader Rohail Asghar said that he doesn’t know the destiny of the seat, but he enjoyed good relations with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and has no disagreements with party leadership.

  • Bomb Kills Five Police From Pakistan Polio Protection Team

    Bomb Kills Five Police From Pakistan Polio Protection Team

    A bomb targeting a polio protection team in Bajaur, northwestern Pakistan, on Monday killed at least five police officers, officials said.

    “A police truck transporting around 25 policemen for anti-polio campaign duties was targeted by an IED (improvised explosive device),” Anwar ul Haq, a senior government official in Bajaur district, told AFP.

    He said at least five police officers were killed and at least 20 others were wounded.

    Kashif Zulfiqar, a senior police officer in the district, confirmed the death toll.

    The attack happened in Mamund in Bajaur district, on the border with Afghanistan, in an area where militancy has been rising since the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021.

    There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but Islamist militants, including the Pakistan Taliban, have killed scores of polio vaccination workers and their security escorts in the past.

  • Oppenheimer tops Golden Globes on bittersweet night for Barbie

    Oppenheimer tops Golden Globes on bittersweet night for Barbie

    Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s drama about the inventor of the atomic bomb, topped the Golden Globes on January 7 – but its fellow summer smash hit Barbie missed out on best comedy film honours to Poor Things.

    Oppenheimer took five prizes, including best drama, best director for Nolan, best score, as well as acting wins for Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr.

    Emma Thomas, the film’s producer and Nolan’s wife, said her husband’s three-hour epic about “one of the darkest developments in our history” is “unlike anything anyone else is doing”.

    Murphy, who plays brilliant scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, hailed his “visionary director”, while Downey Jr, portraying the protagonist’s bitter rival, praised the movie as a “masterpiece.”

    In winning best director, Nolan fended off Greta Gerwig, who helmed Barbie – the other half of the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon that grossed a combined US$2.4 billion (S$3.2 billion) last year at the box office.

    Turning nostalgia for the beloved doll into a sharp satire about misogyny and female empowerment, Barbie was the leading film heading into the night with nine nominations, but ended the gala with just two prizes.

    It won the award for best song, for a tune written by Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas. And as the year’s highest grossing movie, it claimed a newly created trophy for box office achievement.

    “We would like to dedicate this to every single person on the planet who dressed up and went to the greatest place on Earth, the movie theatres,” said Margot Robbie, the film’s star and producer.

    “Thank you to all the Barbies and Kens in front of and behind the screen,” added Gerwig.

    But Barbie surprisingly lost out on best comedy to Poor Things – a surreal, sexy bildungsroman which also earned Emma Stone best actress for her no-holds-barred turn as Bella Baxter.

    “Bella falls in love with life itself, rather than a person. She accepts the good and the bad in equal measure, and that really made me look at life differently,” said Stone.

    After an annus horribilis in which the industry was crippled by strikes, A-listers turned out in force to celebrate Sunday.

    Stars who were unable to promote their movies during the months-long Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) walkout used the occasion to make up for lost time on the Oscars campaign trail.

    Along with movie stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, attendees included big names from the world of music such as Bruce Springsteen and Dua Lipa – both nominated for best song – and Taylor Swift representing her recent concert movie.

    “The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL – on the Golden Globes, fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift,” joked host Jo Koy.

    The ongoing hype surrounding “Barbenheimer”, even months after the films’ releases, is a welcome boon to the new owners of the high-profile but consistently scandal-dogged Golden Globes.

    Private investors including US billionaire Todd Boehly purchased the awards after years of controversy and declining audiences, and have invested heavily in resetting a night once billed as “Hollywood’s biggest party”.

    The Globes were boycotted by the industry after allegations of corruption and racism rose to the surface in 2021, and the show was taken off air entirely a year later.

    Since then, the controversial group of Los Angeles-based foreign journalists that created the Globes 80 years ago has been disbanded, and a wider net of overseas critics was brought in to choose this year’s winners.

    “Golden Globes journalists, thanks for changing your game,” said Downey Jr as he collected his prize.

    The Globes provide a timely boost for the Oscars. Nominations voting for the Academy Awards begins Thursday, with the Oscars taking place this year on March 10.

    Indigenous actor Lily Gladstone won best actress in a drama for her role in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, delivering some of her emotional speech in the native language of the Blackfeet Nation.

    “This is an historic win, it doesn’t belong to just me,” she said.

    “This is for every little res kid.”

    Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph bolstered their Oscars campaigns with wins for The Holdovers, in which they starred as a curmudgeonly history teacher and cook of a 1970s prep school, respectively.

    Best screenplay and best non-English language film went to French courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Fall.”

    That film’s director and co-writer Justine Triet said she had assumed that “nobody is going to see this movie” about “a couple fighting, suicide, a dog vomiting… I mean, come on!”

    “This movie is about the truth, the impossibility of catching it,” she added.

    Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy And The Heron won best animated film.

    The Globes also honour television.

    Succession (2018 to 2023) dominated, claiming best drama series, and acting wins for stars Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook and Matthew Macfadyen.

    The Bear swept the comedy categories, while road-rage saga Beef did the same in limited series.

    Past Globes host Ricky Gervais, who did not attend, won best stand-up comedy performance, a new category. AFP

    List of winners at the 80th Golden Globes

    Film

    Best Drama: Oppenheimer

    Best Musical or Comedy: Poor Things

    Best Actor, Drama: Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer

    Best Actress, Drama: Lily Gladstone, Killers Of The Flower Moon

    Best Actor, Musical or Comedy: Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers

    Best Actress, Musical or Comedy: Emma Stone, Poor Things

    Best Supporting Actor: Robert Downey Jr, Oppenheimer

    Best Supporting Actress: Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers

    Best Director: Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer

    Best Screenplay: Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, Anatomy Of A Fall

    Best Non-English Language Film: Anatomy Of A Fall

    Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement: Barbie

    Best Animated Feature: The Boy And The Heron

    Best Original Score: Ludwig Goransson, Oppenheimer

    Best Original Song: What Was I Made For? from Barbie, music and lyrics by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell

    Television

    Best Drama Series: Succession

    Best Actor, Drama Series: Kieran Culkin, Succession

    Best Actress, Drama Series: Sarah Snook, Succession

    Best Musical or Comedy Series: The Bear

    Best Actor, Musical or Comedy Series: Jeremy Allen White, The Bear

    Best Actress, Musical or Comedy Series: Ayo Edebiri, The Bear

    Best Limited Series or TV Movie: Beef

    Best Actor, Limited Series or TV Movie: Steven Yeun, Beef

    Best Actress, Limited Series or TV Movie: Ali Wong, Beef

    Best Supporting Actress: Elizabeth Debicki, The Crown

    Best Supporting Actor: Matthew Macfadyen, Succession

    Best Performance in Stand-up Comedy on Television: Ricky Gervais, Armageddon

  • National team coach Grant Bradburn parts ways with Pakistan cricket

    National team coach Grant Bradburn parts ways with Pakistan cricket

    National cricket team coach Grant Bradburn, who worked with the Pakistan team in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Cricket World Cup played in India, has parted ways with Pakistan cricket.

    In a post on ‘X’, Grant Bradburn announced his resignation, stating, “Time to close the amazing chapter that has been Pakistan Cricket. 3 roles over 5 years, I’m proud of what’s been achieved & and grateful to have worked with so many outstanding players, coaches & and staff. Wishing the teams, staff & and everyone at Pakistan Cricket continued success & and growth.”

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s former management appointed Bradburn as the team’s coach for two years in May and he was asked to report to the National Cricket Academy.

    Grand Bradburn will soon take over the coaching of Glamorgan County.

    The former batting coach of the Pakistan Cricket Team, Andrew Puttick, had also parted ways with the PCB and joined the Afghanistan cricket team without informing the Board.

  • Bangladesh’s Hasina wins re-election after polls without opposition

    Bangladesh’s Hasina wins re-election after polls without opposition

    Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina won re-election for a fifth term Sunday, officials said, following a boycott led by an opposition party she branded a “terrorist organisation”.

    Hasina’s ruling Awami League “has won the election”, an Election Commission spokesman told AFP in the early hours of Monday morning, after a vote that initial reports suggested had a meagre turnout of some 40 percent.

    She has presided over breakneck economic growth in a country once beset by grinding poverty, but her government has been accused of rampant human rights abuses and a ruthless opposition crackdown.

    Her party faced almost no effective rivals in the seats it contested, but it avoided fielding candidates in a few constituencies, in an apparent effort to avoid the legislature being branded a one-party institution.

    The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), whose ranks have been decimated by mass arrests, called a general strike and, along with dozens of others, refused to participate in a “sham election”.

    While the final result and exact figures will be formally announced at a ceremony later on Monday, election commission officials said Hasina’s party had won around three-quarters of seats, at least 220 of the total 300.

    But support of other lawmakers including from allied parties could push Hasina’s control over parliament even higher.

    ‘Disgrace’

    Hasina, 76, had called for citizens to show faith in the democratic process.

    “The BNP is a terrorist organisation,” she told reporters after casting her vote. “I am trying my best to ensure that democracy should continue in this country.” 

    First-time voter Amit Bose, 21, said he had cast his ballot for his “favourite candidate”, but others said they had not bothered because the outcome was assured.

    “When one party is participating and another is not, why would I go to vote?” said rickshaw-puller Mohammad Saidur, 31.

    BNP head Tarique Rahman, speaking from Britain where he lives in exile, told AFP he feared “fake votes” would be used to boost voter turnout.

    “What unfolded was not an election, but rather a disgrace to the democratic aspirations of Bangladesh,” he wrote on social media, alleging he had seen “disturbing pictures and videos” backing his claims.

    Among the victors was Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh cricket team captain, who won his seat for Hasina’s party in a landslide, local officials said.

    Fear of ‘further crackdown’

    The BNP and other parties staged months of protests last year, demanding Hasina step down ahead of the vote. Officers in the port city of Chittagong broke up an opposition protest Sunday, firing shotguns and tear gas canisters.

    But election officials said voting was largely peaceful, with nearly 800,000 police officers and soldiers deployed countrywide.

    Meenakshi Ganguly, from Human Rights Watch, said Sunday that the government had failed to reassure opposition supporters that the polls would be fair, warning that “many fear a further crackdown”.

    Politics in the country of 170 million people was long dominated by the rivalry between Hasina, the daughter of the country’s founding leader, and two-time premier Khaleda Zia, wife of a former military ruler.

    Hasina has been the decisive victor since returning to power in a 2009 landslide, with two subsequent polls accompanied by widespread irregularities and accusations of rigging.

    Zia, 78, was convicted of graft in 2018 and is now in ailing health at a hospital in Dhaka. BNP head Rahman is her son.

    ‘Dangerous combination’

    Hasina has accused the BNP of arson and sabotage during last year’s protest campaign, which was mostly peaceful but saw several people killed in police confrontations.

    The government’s security forces have been dogged by allegations of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances — charges it rejects.

    Economic headwinds have left many dissatisfied with Hasina’s government, after sharp spikes in food costs and months of chronic blackouts in 2022.

    Pierre Prakash of the International Crisis Group said before the vote that Hasina’s government was clearly “less popular than it was a few years ago, yet Bangladeshis have little real outlet at the ballot box.”

    “That is a potentially dangerous combination.”

  • Wasim Akram teaching Aussie commentators to pronounce ‘Fakhar’ is the funniest thing you will see

    Wasim Akram teaching Aussie commentators to pronounce ‘Fakhar’ is the funniest thing you will see

    Former Pakistani fast bowling legend Wasim Akram is known for being one of the wittiest men in international cricket. The great bowler once again reinforced his sense of humour in a video that’s going viral.

    In the video, Akram can be seen teaching his fellow Australian commentators how to pronounce the name “Fakhar” – a word that sounds strikingly similar to THAT English swear word.

    The renowned Pakistani pacer, who was a part of the commentary panel during the recently finished Test series between Australia and Pakistan, shared his witty insights and requested the other commentators to pronounce the word ‘Fakhar’, which resulted in a humorous debate.

    On social media, the conversation’s video has become extremely popular. In the video, Akram says, “There’s another name you guys mess up too, try pronouncing Fakhar.”

    Akram’s request made the other two burst into laughter, clearly showing Aussies’ struggle to pronounce the word correctly. Akram went on to share an incident about his Australian wife. “So Shaniera came to Pakistan and my son’s friend’s name was Fakhar. He brought his 12-year-old friend and he said, ‘This is my friend, Fakhar’. She said, ‘Hang on a minute’. Because Australians can’t pronounce khay in their language, it took her about two years to pronounce his name.”

    Akram and the Australian commentators also discussed the amusing incident where the legendary former batsman Mark Waugh struggled to pronounce the name ‘Fakhar Zaman’ during a show.

    The viral video moment occurred during the third and final Test match in Sydney.

  • Apple resolves iPhone slowdown controversy: Users receive $92.17 settlement

    Apple resolves iPhone slowdown controversy: Users receive $92.17 settlement

    In a resolution to the 2017 controversy surrounding Apple’s deliberate slowing down of iPhones with older batteries, recent reports indicate that affected users are now receiving settlements. 

    According to MacRumors, individuals impacted by this matter are finding deposits of $92.17 in their bank accounts, as confirmed by the website and corroborated by embedded posts from readers. 

    The settlement website, updated in December, indicated that payments were scheduled for this month, effectively bringing closure to the issue.

    The “batterygate” incident originated in 2017 when a developer exposed iOS 10 updates slowing down the performance of older iPhone models like the 6S and 7, with Apple initially withholding the purpose of this slowdown. 

    Subsequently, the company revealed that it aimed to prevent spontaneous shutdowns as the battery degraded. 

    This led to multiple class action lawsuits, alleging that Apple’s actions forced premature phone upgrades rather than allowing users to replace their batteries.

    In 2020, Apple reached a settlement, and by August of that year, legal hurdles were cleared, paving the way for impending payouts. 

    While initially expected to be around $65 for approved claims filed by October 6th, 2020, recent reports suggest the actual payments are higher, averaging $92.17, as reported by The Verge. 

    Noteworthy is the inclusion of the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, 7, 7 Plus, and the original iPhone SE in the list of affected models. If you fall into this category, monitor your bank account for the settlement deposit.

  • Can’t access your social media? Services are down all over Pakistan

    Can’t access your social media? Services are down all over Pakistan

    Social media platforms are down across Pakistan. Millions of users suffered due to the sudden shutdown of services of social media platforms across the country.

    For the past few hours, users have been facing trouble accessing social networking sites Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok. YouTube’s service is also extremely slow.

    Users are unable to access social media platforms Facebook, X, Instagram, and video-sharing site YouTube due to the shutdown. Apart from this, users are also facing difficulties in accessing other websites due to slow internet speed.

    It should be remembered that on December 17, 2023, social media networks and internet services were down in different cities of the country.