Tag: trending

  • ‘Star Wars’ actor sues Disney with funding from Elon Musk’s X

    ‘Star Wars’ actor sues Disney with funding from Elon Musk’s X

     A “Star Wars” actor backed by Elon Musk’s X is suing Disney for firing her over inflammatory social media posts about the Holocaust, the pandemic and trans rights.

    Gina Carano, who had a major role in the wildly popular Disney+ series “The Mandalorian” until 2021, filed a lawsuit in California on Tuesday claiming wrongful termination.

    The suit says Carano was expressing personal political views but was hounded by an “extreme progressive” online mob, and alleges that Disney’s actions and comments had damaged her reputation and ability to find work in the future. 

    The lawsuit is being funded by X, a spokesman for the company confirmed to AFP.

    Carano, an outspoken former martial arts fighter-turned-actor, was fired by Disney for what the company at the time dubbed “abhorrent and unacceptable” social media posts “denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities.”

    One particularly controversial post shared by Carano appeared to liken being a conservative in the United States to being Jewish in Nazi Germany.

    Another post appeared to mock a person for wearing multiple masks during the Covid-19 pandemic in California.

    And Carano had earlier drawn the wrath of members of the trans community for adding “boop/bop/beep” as preferred pronouns on her Twitter profile.

    In a statement, Carano said she had “never even used aggressive language” but had shared “thought provoking” posts with “respect & the occasional comedy.”

    Both her statement and the lawsuit allege that Carano was afforded less right to exercise her freedom of speech than some of her male colleagues.

    Carano said she had been contacted by an X lawyer offering to take on her case after she publicly replied to an open offer from Musk to help anyone fired after using X to exercise free speech.

    “As a sign of X Corp’s commitment to free speech, we’re proud to provide financial support for Gina Carano’s lawsuit,” said an official post by X on Tuesday.

    The lawsuit does not specify the amount of damages Carano is seeking, but claims she lost a role on planned “Mandalorian” spin-off “Rangers of the New Republic” that would have been worth “$150,000 to $250,000 per episode.”

  • PML-N will emerge as the biggest party in election, government survey

    PML-N will emerge as the biggest party in election, government survey

    A review report of a government organization has revealed that in the general elections to be held on February 8, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) will emerge as the largest party, followed by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). The third in line is Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) while other parties will follow.

    Geo’s Umar Cheema reported an official who spoke to The News on the condition of anonymity and said that the government body came up with the analysis based on information gathered through interviews with police sources, revenue department, labor unions and professionals in various sectors.

    He explained that the review has been carried out at the police station and union council level. The survey has been done scientifically to remove the possibility of wrong estimates, although the popularity rate of PML-N has been lower in the surveys conducted so far. An optimistic estimate has been made as the party has recorded an increase in popularity since the return of Nawaz Sharif, but no one has so far given an estimate of how many seats the party can win.

    International media has also presented Nawaz Sharif as the future prime minister, but whether he will be able to get a simple majority or not is not clear. According to this official assessment, the PML-N will bag between 115 and 132 seats in the National Assembly.

    The inclusion of reserved seats for women and minorities would mean that the party would have a chance to form a government alone with a simple majority. It can get close seats, which means PML-N can get a complete majority in the provincial assembly.

    PML-N can make a clean sweep in Punjab except for a few districts, says the survey.

    According to the estimate, PML-N will form a government with a possible two-thirds majority in Punjab, PML-N will succeed in forming coalition governments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, while the PPP has the possibility of forming a government only in Sindh.

    The review report says that PPP can get 35 to 40 seats at the center while the independent candidates of PTI can get between 23 to 29 seats. MQM may get 12 to 14 seats, JUI six to eight seats, Q-League and Satwat Pakistan Party are expected to get two to three seats in the National Assembly.

  • Imran Khan could be the next chancellor of Oxford University

    Imran Khan could be the next chancellor of Oxford University

    Former Prime Minister Imran Khan is among the candidates being considered to be elected the next Chancellor of Oxford University following the resignation of Chris Patten. The seat is vacant after 80-year-old Patten, who held the post for 21 years, resigned.

    The position of Chancellor is largely ceremonial and is typically awarded to a former politician. Patten was the governor of Hong Kong and a Tory deputy prime minister.

    For the first time, elections for the chancellor will be held online compared to the traditional process in which graduates were required to attend the process in full academic dress. The prestigious chancellorship goes to graduates of the university, usually politicians.

    Among the candidates competing for the position is Imran Khan who studied Economics and Politics at Kelbe College, Oxford in 1972. He captained Oxford’s cricket team in 1974, and previously served as the chancellor of Braddford University for eight years before stepping down in November 2014.

    Other contenders include former British Prime Ministers Theresa May, Tony Blair, and Boris Johnson.

  • Sahiba opens up about life without her father

    Sahiba opens up about life without her father

    Former actress and television host Sahiba Afzal, daughter of yesteryears’ superstar Nisho, has recently shared surprising details about her life.

    The star admitted that she has never seen or met her biological father.

    During an episode of Meri Maa, hosted by veteran actor Sajid Hasan, Sahiba said that although she never had the chance to meet her real father, she had a wonderful relationship with her step-father until he passed away.
    The ‘Kanpain Tang Rahi Hain’ actor said, “I’ve never seen or met my real father. My mother had split up with him before I was born. My step-father, who I don’t even like to call ‘step,’ because he means more to me than my biological father, gave me a lot of love and affection.”

    She added that it’s been five years since her beloved step-father passed away, and until his very last moment, she had a strong connection with him. “He was like a friend to me, someone I confided in with all my secrets, even ones I didn’t share with my mother. Because of him, I never felt the absence of a father in my life.”

    “His name was Jamal Pasha, and he used to be a pilot. He also worked for TV channels,” Sahiba explained.

    The setback of not knowing her biological father has not stopped Sahiba from enjoying success. Not only did she become an A-list star in films but also went on to have a happy marriage with Jan Rambo, and raising two sons.

  • Nawaz, Shehbaz, Hamza sher ko vote nahin dein gay

    Nawaz, Shehbaz, Hamza sher ko vote nahin dein gay

    After a hectic election campaign, prominent leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) find themselves in an a quandary, as they gear up for the upcoming general elections.

    Despite urging voters to support the party’s ‘sher’ electoral symbol, key figures within the PML-N will be unable to cast their votes for the animal on the National Assembly seat. Instead, they might vote for another animal.

    Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz, all integral figures within the PML-N, are registered to vote in NA-128, where the party has entered into a seat adjustment agreement with the Istehkam-e-Pakistan (IPP) party.

    Interestingly, in NA-128, the PML-N has decided not to field a candidate for the National Assembly seat, instead throwing their support behind IPP leader Aun Chaudhry, whose symbol is an eagle.

    However, despite this alliance, the three PML-N leaders will still exercise their voting rights for PML-N candidate,Umar Sohail in PP-161.

    The PML-N’s election strategy spans across the country, with the party contesting 212 NA constituencies on February 8, while leaving 51 NA seats open for rivals or allies.

    Notable among their candidates are Nawaz Sharif, who will be contesting in NA-15 (Mansehra) and NA-130 (Lahore), Maryam Nawaz in NA-119 (Lahore), and Hamza Shehbaz in NA-118 (Lahore). Shehbaz Sharif is set to participate in the elections from NA-123 (Lahore) and NA-132(Kasur).

    However, there are several constituencies where the PML-N has chosen not to field candidates, including NA-4 (Swat-III), NA-19 (Swabi-I), and NA-117 (Lahore-I), among others, as part of their strategic alliances and considerations for bolstering their position in the province.

    The constituencies where the PML-N has not fielded its candidates are: NA-4 (Swat-III), NA-19 (Swabi-I), NA-20 (Swabi-II), NA-21 (Mardan-I), NA-22 (Mardan-III), NA-44 (Dera Ismail Khan-I), NA-45 (Dera Ismail Khan-II), NA-48 (Islamabad-III), NA-54 (Islamabad-III), NA-64 (Gujrat-III), NA-88 (Khushab-II), NA-92 (Bhakkar-II), NA-117 (Lahore-I), NA-128 (Lahore-XII), NA-143 (Sahiwal-III), NA-149 (Multan-II).

    Moreover, the candidates are also not contesting on NA-165, NA-185, NA-190 to NA-204, NA-206 to NA-210, NA-212, NA-214, NA-215, NA-217, NA-218, NA-221, NA-223, NA-224, NA-228, NA-239, NA-245, NA-264 and NA-266.

    The former ruling party, in its bid to strengthen its position in the province ahead of the upcoming elections, had entered a seat adjustment agreement with Jahangir Tareen’s IPP.

  • Azerbaijan’s president contesting for fifth term in re-election

    Azerbaijan’s president contesting for fifth term in re-election

    Azerbaijanis were voting in snap presidential elections on Wednesday, with a fifth term for Ilham Aliyev seen as a foregone conclusion after Baku’s historic victory over Armenian separatists.

    A crackdown on independent media and the absence of any real opposition have boosted the certainty of an easy win for Aliyev, whose troops recaptured the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave in September.

    The oil-rich nation’s main opposition parties are boycotting the vote, which one opposition leader, Ali Kerimli of the National Front party, called an “imitation of democracy.”

    “There are no conditions in the country for the conduct of free and fair elections,” he said.

    The six other candidates who are running are little-known and have been busy praising Aliyev as a great statesman and a victorious commander-in-chief since he announced the elections in December, a year ahead of schedule.

    The country’s Central Election Commission said turnout stood at 38.6 percent by noon, four hours after polls opened.

    In a symbolic gesture, the president and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva went to Karabakh to cast their ballots in the region’s main city of Khankendi.

    For the first time in Azerbaijan’s post-Soviet history, 26 polling stations opened in Karabakh, which has been largely deserted after its entire ethnic-Armenian population — more than 100,000 people — fled to Armenia after Baku’s takeover.

    At a polling station in central Baku, pensioner Shalalya Abbasova, 68, said she cast her ballot for Aliyev because he “did what seemed impossible — accomplished our dream, liberated the occupied territories.”

    ‘Escalating crackdown’

    But another Baku resident, 32-year-old IT specialist Ismet Bagirov, said he decided not to vote as “there is nobody to vote for, there are no alternative candidates”.

    “I know many will vote for Aliyev today because he liberated Karabakh. I thank him for this, but there are fundamental issues in the country that remain unresolved.”

    Last month, Aliyev called the Karabakh victory “an epochal event unparallelled in Azerbaijan’s history”.

    “The elections will mark the beginning of a new era” for the country, he said, adding that the country would hold presidential elections on all its territory for the first time.

    “The outcome of Wednesday’s elections in Azerbaijan is known beforehand, Aliyev is set to win,” said independent analyst Ghia Nodia of the Caucasus Center for Strategic and International Studies.

    “There is no suspense whatsoever in these elections without a slightest sign of competitiveness.”

    Supporters have praised Aliyev for turning a country once thought of as a Soviet backwater into a flourishing energy supplier to Europe.

    But critics say he has crushed opposition groups and suffocated independent media.

    “All fundamental rights are being violated in the country, opposition parties can’t function normally, freedom of assembly is restricted, media are under government pressure, and political dissent is being suppressed,” said Kerimli of the National Front.

    In recent months, Azerbaijani authorities have intensified pressure on independent media outlets, arresting several critical journalists who have exposed graft at high levels.

    “The escalating crackdown by Azerbaijani authorities ahead of the elections is not just an attack on individual rights, it’s a widespread, coordinated assault on civil society and the rule of law,” Amnesty International said on Tuesday.

    Dynastic rule

    Aliyev, 62, was first elected president in 2003 after the death of his father Heydar Aliyev, a former KGB officer who had ruled Azerbaijan since 1993.

    He was re-elected in 2008, 2013 and in 2018, with 86 percent of the votes.

    All the elections were denounced by opposition parties as rigged.

    In 2009, Aliyev amended the country’s constitution so he could run for an unlimited number of presidential terms, a move criticised by rights advocates who say he could become president for life.

    In 2016, Azerbaijan adopted controversial constitutional amendments that extended the president’s term in office to seven years from five.

    Cementing the decades-long dynastic grip on power, the president has appointed his wife Mehriban Aliyeva as first vice president.

    Around six million voters are registered for the election monitored by observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

  • Actor Asad Siddiqui’s father passes away

    Actor Asad Siddiqui’s father passes away

    Actor Asad Siddiqui’s father and father-in-law of actress Zara Noor Abbas, passed away last night at the age of 85.

    The star took to his Instagram and shared the sad news. “Last night (February 6) I dug up my canopy, my courage, my strength and my everything. We have lost our father, the most powerful pillar of our family.”

    He wrote, “It is with great regret that we are telling you that Abu is no longer with us. His departure has created a huge void in our lives and we are deeply saddened.”

    Asad wrote that his father’s presence was a beacon for the family, calling him “an unconditional pillar of love, wisdom and courage for us.”

    Sharing another Instagram story, he wrote that the funeral prayers will be offered in the local mosque of DHA area of Karachi tomorrow (Thursday) after noon prayer.

    He requested his fans to pray for his father and his family during this difficult time.

    On the other hand, actress Zara Noor Abbas also expressed her grief by sharing a post on Instagram.

  • Salman Akram Raja’s request to show party affiliation rejected

    Salman Akram Raja’s request to show party affiliation rejected

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has rejected the application of independent candidate Salman Akram Raja to declare his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Form 33, reports Geo.

    ECP passed a reserved decision on Salman Akram Raja’s request to declare his party on Form 33.

    Election Commission Deputy Director Law Saima Janjua announced the verdict.

    The Commission has said in its decision that Salman Akram Raja has been given the symbol of an independent candidate, but the party he belongs to cannot be given one.

  • Every man does not look at women with lust: Hira Tareen

    Every man does not look at women with lust: Hira Tareen

    Pakistani actress and model Hira Tareen has said that its not necessary that every man only looks at women with lust.
    Recently, Hira Tareen participated in the FHM, where she openly discussed various issues.

    During the program, the actress confessed, “I am a feminist, but being a feminist does not mean that women’s rights are spoken of in one tone. I was invited to participate in the women’s march but did not participate because the march serves many purposes, it is not solely for women’s rights and autonomy.”
    She said that while there is talk of equal rights for women in the country, there is also a discussion of superiority over men.
    “Violence against women is condemnable in every way, but it is also a reality that the pleasures enjoyed by women in Pakistan are nowhere to be found.”
    She clarified her point by saying that women are respected in Pakistan. “Now, if a woman goes out in bold clothes, people will definitely see her, but men looking does not always mean they see women with lust and dirty thoughts.”

    She stressed that men who leer at womenbwill also see women in a veil, hijab, or shalwar kameez in the same light.

  • 28 killed, 40 injured in two separate blasts in Balochistan

    28 killed, 40 injured in two separate blasts in Balochistan

    At least 28 people have been killed and 40 injured in two separate blasts in Balochistan on Wednesday afternoon, just a few short hours before polling starts on election day.

    The first attack claimed at least 15 people’s lives while over 30 were injured after an explosion took place outside an independent candidate’s office in Balochistan’s Pishin. The second blast took place outside a Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) office in the Killa Saifullah district.
    The Pishin blast happened outside the political office of independent candidate Asfand Yar Khan Kakar in the Khanozai area.

    Injured people have been shifted to the Tehsil Hospital Khanozai, while the bodies have also been transferred, the hospital’s MS Dr Habib told Geo News.