Current Final

Author: News Desk

  • Google reportedly lists Mahira Khan as Zara Noor Abbas’ mother

    Google reportedly lists Mahira Khan as Zara Noor Abbas’ mother

    Google has reportedly listed Mahira Khan as Zara Noor Abbas’ mother.

    While it is unclear why and how it happened, a screenshot of search has gone viral on social media. Meanwhile, in reality, the Khamoshi star is the daughter of Asma Abbas and niece of veteran actor Bushra Ansari.

    Later, the information on Wikipedia was corrected with Asma listed as Zara’s mother.

    Goes on to show that even Google and Wikipedia can mess things up and sometimes give incorrect information.

    Earlier, Google had listed Esra Bilgiç as Yasir Hussain’s mother.

  • Netflix’s five most-watched original series revealed

    Netflix’s five most-watched original series revealed

    Though Netflix usually refrains from revealing it’s official viewing figures, they occasionally release stats about their own shows, in a bid to promote their biggest successes. The streaming giant recently revealed that their Christmas release Bridgerton is expected to be viewed by 63 million households in its first four weeks making it it’s fifth-biggest original series so far.

    Here is the list of Netflix’s most-watched original series, as reported by Newsweek.

    5. Bridgerton Season 1

    Described as a period drama which sees Downton Abbey meets Gossip Girl, Bridgerton is based on Julia Quinn’s best-selling romance novels. The show is a delightful mix of drama, romance, fantasy, gorgeous costumes and opulent sets. The series is indulgent and will have you hooked throughout.

    Read more – ‘Bridgerton’ is the arranged marriage we all want

    4. Tiger King

    As the world went into lockdown in mid-March 2020, Netflix’s docuseries about rival big cat owners in the United States Tiger King became a global sensation. Netflix said the series was viewed by 64 million households in its first four weeks.

    3. Stranger Things Season 3

    More than 64 million households watched the third season of Netflix’s mystery-thriller set in the 80s.

    2. Money Heist Part 4

    The only foreign-language drama to feature in the list, the fourth part of Money Heist was watched by at least 65 million people. The Spanish drama locally known as La Casa de Papel is about a group of thieves attempting to rob the Royal Mint of Spain.

    1. The Witcher

    Topping the list is The Witcher, which was watched by 76 million households in its first four weeks, as announced by Netflix in January 2020. Starring Henry Cavill, the series explores the legend of Geralt of Rivia and Princess Ciri, who are linked to each other by destiny.

    Read more – Reasons why ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ is breaking records on Netflix

    Special mention to The Queen’s Gambit, the miniseries starring Anya Taylor-Joy which was reported to have been watched by 62 million households, making it Netflix’s biggest scripted limited series to date.

    Meanwhile, here’s the list of Netflix’s most-viewed shows, as per Variety Magazine.

  • ‘PM tasked YouTubers to target media, Opp,’ claims journalist

    ‘PM tasked YouTubers to target media, Opp,’ claims journalist

    Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday held a meeting with a delegation of YouTubers to discuss an alleged propaganda campaign against the opposition and journalists critical of the government policies, claimed a journalist in a tweet.

    Adeel Raja, an investigative journalist and producer, says the details of the meeting were not made public fearing criticism in the light of the Hazara protests. Raja said that the YouTubers “were tasked to improve the image of the government and target journalists and opposition”.

    Geo’s Hamid Mir also tweeted responded to this news, saying he was ready to face the YouTubers’ attacks.

    Meanwhile, Punjab CM’s focal person on digital media, Azhar Mashwani, rejected claims made by the journalists. He said it was “not a meeting” but an “interview by digital media publishers and Youtubers”.

    Mashwani’s remarks were also endorsed by PM’s focal person on digital media, Dr Arslan Khalid. Dr Khalid said it was a not meeting, but a question-answer session with the premier. He added that the video of the session will prove the journalist “wrong again”.

    The news of the meeting between the PM and social media influencers prompted a response from the senior journalists, including Hamid Mir, who commented that the PM has time to meet with Youtubers and Turkish artists, but he has no time for grieving Hazara people.

  • Malala requests PM Imran to visit Hazara community

    Malala requests PM Imran to visit Hazara community

    Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai has appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan to visit the Hazara community who are protesting in Quetta after 10 coal miners were brutally killed by terrorists five days ago.

    In a tweet, Malala wrote: “I am short of words to express my grief over the brutal killings of Hazara miners. This is not the first time that this has happened. But I hope it is the last.” 

    She added that the whole country is mourning the tragedy before requesting PM Imran to visit the victims.

    The families of the departed have also been protesting for five consecutive days and have refused to bury the slain coal miners until the premier visits them.

    Meanwhile, PM Khan has requested the members of the Hazara community to bury their loved ones and has assured them that he stands with them in their time of suffering.

    On the other hand, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz visited the protesters on Thursday to express solidarity with them.

  • WhatsApp will delete accounts if user data not shared with Facebook

    WhatsApp has decided to share more user data with other Facebook companies to provide a more coherent experience to users across its services.

    It will share account registration information, phone numbers, transaction data, service-related information, interactions on the platform, mobile device information, IP address, and other data collected based on users’ consent, a new update says.

    This data sharing policy with Facebook and its other services doesn’t apply to EU states. The update is expected to go into effect next month.

    The “key updates” concern how it processes user data, “how businesses can use Facebook hosted services to store and manage their WhatsApp chats,” and “how we partner with Facebook to offer integrations across the Facebook Company Products.”

    In a notification quoted by a tech website, Whastapp said it will delete the accounts after “120 days of inactivity .i.e. not connected to the app.”

    “This effectively means that, while the profiles will remain inactive, WhatsApp will eventually end up deleting the accounts after 120 days of inactivity (i.e. not connected to the app) as part of its efforts to “maintain security, limit data retention, and protect the privacy of our users.”

    Facebook Company Products refers to the flagship Facebook app, Messenger, and Instagram, Boomerang among others.

  • PM meets Ertuğrul founding team while Mach victim families still wait for him

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has come under criticism for meeting the founding team of hit Turkish drama series ‘Diriliş: Ertuğrul’ days after the Mach massacre, victim families of which await him even after the passage of five days.

    Earlier, thousands of protesters blocked Quetta’s key western bypass on Sunday after 11 coalminers belonging to the Hazara community were brutally executed. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack by terrorists at a residential compound near a mine site in Mach area of Bolan, some 100km away from the provincial capital.

    While the protesters have been seeking the government’s support and assurance for an end to sectarian killings that have once again shot up in the area, they have been demanding that the premier personally meets them.

    Amid delays in PM Imran’s travel to Balochistan, and subsequent criticism by opposition members as well as the general public, it has emerged that he on Thursday met the founding team of the hit Turkish series that has broken viewership records in Pakistan.

    The meeting in Islamabad was also attended by Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz, Kashmir Committee Chairperson Shehryar Afridi and personalities from Turkish and Pakistani film industries.

    The meeting discussed in detail the proposed television series being created in collaboration between Pakistan and Turkey on the Khilafat Movement among other future projects and the lost glory of Pakistani entertainment industry.

    The premier, however, did tweet on the Mach massacre once again on Wednesday.

    He had also condemned the incident and assured the grieving community of the government’s support earlier, on Sunday.

  • Facebook bans Donald Trump indefinitely

    Facebook bans Donald Trump indefinitely

    A day after various social media platforms, including Twitter, temporarily suspended US President Donald Trump’s accounts, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Trump’s account has been banned indefinitely.

    “The shocking events of the last 24 hours clearly demonstrate that President Donald Trump intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden,” Zuckerberg said in a statement posted on Facebook. “His decision to use his platform to condone rather than condemn the actions of his supporters at the Capitol building has rightly disturbed people in the US and around the world.”

    “We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great. Therefore, we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete.”

    On Wednesday, Twitter suspended Trump’s account. In a series of tweets, Twitter Safety tweeted:

    As a result of the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, D.C., we have required the removal of three @realDonaldTrump Tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy.

    This means that the account of @realDonaldTrump will be locked for 12 hours following the removal of these Tweets. If the Tweets are not removed, the account will remain locked

    Future violations of the Twitter Rules, including our Civic Integrity or Violent Threats policies, will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account.

    https://twitter.com/twittersafety/status/1346970431039934464?s=21

    This happened in the wake of the siege of Capitol Hill by pro-Trump mob. Trump released a video on Wednesday night in which he continued to claim he won the election and told supporters who stormed the Capitol: “We love you.” According to the BBC, Snapchat also stopped Trump from creating new posts, but did not say if or when it would end the ban. YouTube also removed the video.

    While his social media accounts remain suspended, Trump released a statement through White House Social Media Director Dan Scavino. It said:

    “Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th. I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!”

  • Bilawal, Maryam urge PM to visit Hazara families, put ‘ego’ aside

    Bilawal, Maryam urge PM to visit Hazara families, put ‘ego’ aside

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz have urged the prime minister to accept the demands of the protesting Hazara community.

    The victim families have been protesting in the freezing cold of Quetta against the killings. The protesters have demanded a meeting with PM Imran Khan and the dismissal of the Balochistan government over the security failure.

    Speaking to reporters during his visit to the protest camp, Bilawal said that the PPP had dismissed its government in Jan 2013 after similar protests were arranged by the minority community over the killings of its members.

    “Then too, you had put forward your demands to us. We had even dismissed the [provincial] government,” he was quoted by Dawn as saying.

    Bilawal said he has no words to describe the pain of the Hazara families, adding that he would always raise his voice for the persecuted community. “Unfortunately, we live in a country where even the dead have to be dragged into politics,” he said, adding that “we live in a country where blood is cheaper than food.

    According to the PPP chief, at least 2,200 Hazara Shias have been killed in the past 22 years, but their killers have remained free.

    In a reference to the remarks by the PM that a foreign country was involved, Bilawal said that it is still a failure of the state if it has failed to stop a foreign conspiracy on its land.

    ‘EGO BIGGER THAN COFFINS’

    Meanwhile, Maryam Nawaz also spoke to the protesters. She chided the PM for having such a “big ego” that he cannot even feel the pain of these people. “All they are asking is that you come here and condole. Is your ego bigger than those whose coffins are laying here,” she remarked.

    She called the PM “shameless” for ignoring the plea of the Hazara Shias, saying she was not in Quetta to play politics on the issue. “It is your job to visit these people,” said Maryam, asking Imran to empathise with the protesters. “You are a parent yourself, trying to understand their pain,” she urged the PM.

  • The Current’s followers share their top 5 A.R. Rahman songs

    The Current’s followers share their top 5 A.R. Rahman songs

    Allah Rakha Rahman, professionally known as A. R. Rahman, is an Indian composer, musician, singer, and music producer. On his birthday, January 6, we (The Current) asked our followers to share their favourite songs of him. Here are the ones that topped the list:

    Kun Faya Kun

    While the entire album of Rockstar is mindblowing but one song that stood apart and continues to be a classic is Kun Faya Kun. The song has been sung by Mohit Chauhan, Javed Ali and Rahman himself while the soulful lyrics have been penned by Irshaad Kamil. The film features Ranbir Kapoor in the lead.

    Nadaan Parinde

    Another magical song from Rockstar. The powerhouse performance by Ranbir, soulful vocals of Mohit Chauhan and unimaginable composition of Rahman makes it another hit.

    Jai Ho

    After the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire won Best Picture at Oscars, its song Jai Ho became an anthem for Indians at the time, symbolizing India’s victory. This song makes everyone groove even today. Rahman also won Best Original Song for Jai Ho at 2009 Oscars.

    Dil Se Re

    The song which features in Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala’s Dil Se continues to weave its magic even decades later. While Rahman sang and composed the song, its lyrics were penned by Gulzar. Anuradha Sriram and Anupama also gave their vocals to this beautiful song.

    Taal Se Taal Mila

    Released in 1999, Taal and its entire music album was a super hit in its time. The song, Taal Se Taal Mila has two versions: one has been sung by the epic duo – Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan and the other version is sung by supremely talented, Sukhwindar Singh. All songs from the film still have the same charm.

    Any song that Rahman touches leaves an indelible mark in people’s memories. This remains one of the top reasons why the humble musician has a global fanbase.

  • Balochistan CM asks ‘people to cooperate’ after Afghanistan seeks bodies of citizens killed in Mach attack

    Balochistan CM asks ‘people to cooperate’ after Afghanistan seeks bodies of citizens killed in Mach attack

    After Afghanistan asked Pakistan to return the bodies of the Afghan citizens who were killed in an attack on Hazara coal miners in Mach, Balochistan, Chief Minister Jamal Kamal has asked people to cooperate.

    In a letter to the Foreign Ministry’s Camp Office in Quetta dated Jan 5, the Consulate General said: “As you know, in the terrorist incident that took place in Mach area of Bolan district of Balochistan province by the anti-governments and joint terrorists of the two countries, seven Afghan citizens are among the victims.”

    It said that the heirs of “three martyrs have requested that their dead bodies be transferred to Afghanistan”. “Therefore, your esteemed office is kindly requested to contact the relevant authorities to grant permission for transferring the mentioned three corpses via the Chaman-Spin Boldak Corridor.”

    In a tweet, CM Kamal wrote: “Afghanistan Government has asked Govt of Pakistan to hand over bodies of their three Hazara Community citizens whose heirs have requested Govt of Afghanistan. Therefore, we request the people to cooperate with us in this matter as requested.”

    11 coal miners, who belonged to the Hazara community, were killed by the terrorists in a sectarian attack in Mach, Balochistan, last week.

    The families of the slain miners are protesting for the past five days against the killings on Quetta’s Western Bypass. They have refused to bury their dead till the in person security assurances from the prime minister. But the PM has refused to visit, saying he will come to condole with them very soon.