Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Karachi Kings has appointed Herschelle Gibbs as the new head coach for the 2021 edition.
The former South Africa opening batsman Gibbs has replaced Dean Jones who passed away earlier this year due to cardiac arrest.
He changed the way the game was played with his aggression & passion and taking it into his coaching as well. A great believer in the strength of teamwork & discipline, the #karachikings are proud to announce our new Head Coach @hershybru . Welcome to the family, Gibbsy!#PSLpic.twitter.com/K4JiGDs7nN
46-year-old Gibbs has represented South Africa in 90 Tests, 248 ODIs and 23 T20Is where he collectively managed to score 14,661 runs, which included 35 centuries and 66 half-centuries.
Meanwhile, Kings emerged the winners of the fifth edition of the PSL after beating arch-rivals Lahore Qalandars in the final.
The player draft for the sixth edition of the PSL is expected to take place in Lahore on January 9 and the tournament is set to begin from February 20. It is likely to be played in Karachi and Lahore only due to coronavirus pandemic. It has also been reported that spectators will not be allowed in the stadiums due to the on-going coronavirus pandemic.
Asim Azhar was reportedly dropped from the country’s latest pop music platform because he was “too young”.
According to reports doing the rounds on social media, Asim, who was initially going to be a part of the platform, was eliminated from VELO Sound Station because he was too young to endorse nicotine. The singer is 24 years old.
“Azhar recorded two songs for the outlet but the company decided not to release his tracks, excluding him because of his age,” stated the report. “Apparently you have to be 25 or above to promote nicotine as per their internal legal requirement, [even though] the government allows 18 and above.”
Azhar and the show’s Executive Producer Bilal Maqsood have refused to comment on the matter as for now.
VELO Sound Station has been making waves on social media for its quirky renditions of classic pop songs.
Meanwhile, Azhar recently released the official PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBGM) anthem Khelta Ja. The video has collected over three million views on YouTube, marking another milestone in the singer’s career.
Meanwhile, the Oscar winner director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy said that no one should be endorsing nicotine products at any age.
Pakistan’s renowned truck art will move from the highways to the skies, as a flying academy has decorated a two-seater Cessna aircraft using the colourful technique.
In recent times, Pakistan’s colourful truck art has grown increasingly popular in the West. With elaborate and flamboyant motifs, Pakistani truck art has inspired gallery exhibitions abroad and prompted stores in Western cities to sell miniatures. In fact, UNESCO has been using this unique art blended with indigenous motifs to communicate messages on girls’ education in Kohistan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“We want to show the world that Pakistan is not all about Financial Action Task Force and terrorism issues; it’s a very diverse country and a land of opportunities,” says Imran Aslam Khan, chief operating officer of Sky Wings, a flight training organisation.
He also plans to paint other aircraft, with the aim of promoting tourism in Pakistan.
“The world is familiar with our truck art representation; now, with this aircraft, our colours will fly in the air. We are really excited,” said Haider Ali, the artist painting the aircraft.
Ali who is now 40, has been decorating trucks since his childhood. He was trained by his father and now he is one of the most prominent such painters in Pakistan.
He also hopes to paint an Airbus or Boeing aircraft in the future, saying an opportunity to work on such gargantuan planes would truly be a learning experience.
A doctor of Pakistani origin in the United States of America Dr Omar Atiq waived of $650,000 in debt for nearly 200 of his patients with cancer. Dr Atiq, an oncologist who founded a cancer treatment centre in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, sent out a holiday greeting to patients before Christmas, announcing that their outstanding payments would be cleared.
“I hope this note finds you well. The Arkansas Cancer Clinic was proud to serve you as a patient. Although various health insurers pay most of the bills for [the] majority of patients, even the deductibles and co-pays can be burdensome,” the card read.
“The clinic has decided to forego all balances owed to the clinic by its patients. Happy Holidays.”
Working on a sweet story tonight.
Around 200 cancer patients in Pine Bluff got this holiday card a few days ago— Dr. Omar Atiq who founded the Arkansas Cancer Clinic is forgiving all outstanding debts owed by patients.
As per details, Dr Atiq’s clinic provided cancer treatments including chemotherapy, radiation therapy and diagnostics. It was closed in late February due to staff shortage.
The outstanding amount was nearly $650,000 (Rs 104,645,320). However, the clinic worked with a billing company to cancel the debt.
“We thought there was not a better time to do this than during a pandemic that has decimated homes, people’s lives and businesses and all sorts of stuff,” said Dr Atiq. “We just thought we could do it, and we wanted to, so we went ahead and did it.”
“Being sick is hard, having cancer is harder, and having cancer in this pandemic is devastating. I am just a regular physician—a regular person that they have in the neighbourhood—just so happens to be me standing here. The ones struggling couldn’t pay, so we thought we could just write off the debt.”
“It is really fate,” he said, referring to the decision to move. “We have been very grateful. This has been home for a long time. We are grateful for the opportunity for what has happened to our lives here.”
Atiq said he was happy to give his patients a bit of relief.
“I love them, I care for them and I am glad I was able to do a little bit at this point for them,” he added.
The Arkansas Medical Society President said his clinic, in part, amassed the outstanding debt because “we have never refused to see a patient.”
“Not for lack of health insurance or funds nor for any other reason,” he said. “I’ve always considered it a high honor and privilege to be someone’s physician—more important than anything else.”
Social media is abuzz with the ‘news’ of a marriage between an alleged Saudi billionaire, Sahoo bint Abdullah Al-Mahboob, and her driver who hails from Pakistan.
The video of the wedding wherein the couple could be seen exchanging rings has garnered thousands of views on social media. Some news websites also featured the story, without checking the veracity of the claims, using this video that’s undated.
However, a quick Google search shows that Sahoo bint Abdullah Al-Mahboob, who apparently owns hotels in Mecca and Madina as per the rumours, is not a real person. The viral post also claimed that her net worth was $8bn and that she also owned properties in France and other countries.
Her name doesn’t show up anywhere except the news sites and the Youtube videos that were circulating the news of the marriage. Also, there were no reports of the wedding in the Saudi press about a purported marriage between a driver and a billionaire.
Shah Rukh Khan, known for his wit and humour, recently released a short video in which he wished his fans a ‘Happy New Year’ and promised that he has a big surprise lined up for them in 2021.
The hilarious video begins with the King of Bollywood in a night suit fighting mosquitoes. Khan adds that had to record the video all by himself as he had no staff available to record it.
“Hi everybody,” said the actor as he started his video. “It is that time of the year again where the old year is on its way out and the New Year is waiting at the entrance. Actually, it has entered because I am late in conveying my wishes to all of you.”
Reflecting on the past year, the actor said: “I am sure 2020 has been the worst of years for everybody. In these awful times, for most it is difficult to find a ray of hope and positivity. But I have a way of looking at bad days, difficult times, and awful years. I believe when one is at the lowest, at the most bottom-est of their life, the good thing is there is only one way to move – upwards, higher to better places. So, 2020 whatever it has been is in the past now. 2021 is going to be bigger, better, brighter and more beautiful.”
Elaborating on the lessons 2020 taught him, SRK emphasized on how important it is to have your loved ones by your side.
“Real fun is with real people. Your family, your friends, your loved ones. All the friends and enemies you make virtually, taking sides or fighting against you online, is good fun, time pass, but it’s not for keeps,” said the actor.
Wishing his fans “happiness, joy and peace”, Shah Rukh joked that he sounded like a “cheap greeting card” while saying this.
He also requested everyone to be “romantic, emphatic, pragmatic, democratic, fantastic” in 2021 and not be “mathematic as it’s very boring and also very difficult to rhyme with the other words.”
Khan also gave his fans some advice on partying.
“Go party hard, but not too hard in moderation. Don’t get too drunk, don’t take off your clothes and run on the street, because chances are you’ll get arrested and even worse you will wake up in the morning and realize you have lost your phone and that really sucks,” said the superstar.
The Fan actor concluded his video with a promise.
“See you on the big screen in 2021,” confirming reports that his upcoming film Pathan is in the works.
Pathan, which marks SRK’s return to the big screen after a long break, will see him play a special agent. Deepika Padukone and John Abraham are also part of the film while Salman Khan and Hrithik Roshan are expected to have cameos.
SRK was also recently spotted outside Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai sporting a new look for the film.
Five officials of Islamabad Police have been arrested after they gunned down a 21-year-old youth, Usama Satti, in cold blood near Srinagar Highway, G-10 sector in the federal capital.
Unconfirmed reports say that the policemen who belonged to the Anti-Terrorist Squad fired 22 shots at the vehicle on Friday night, killing Satti on the spot. According to reports, shots were fired from the front and hit him mostly on the face and upper body. No weapons etc discovered from the boy’s car, they added.
A source in the capital police said that the ATS officials and the youth had an argument on New Year’s Eve when the police officials stopped his vehicle for checking. The source claims that the police officials stopped the guy even though they were off-duty at the time. This altercation between the cops and the youth may have resulted in this killing, the source claimed.
A departmental inquiry has already been initiated against the arrested police officials, with Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed vowing to deliver justice in the case.
The IGP has also taken notice of the incident and formed an investigation team to probe the “suspicious shootout”.
سیکٹر G-10 میں مشکوک گاڑی پر فائرنگ کا معاملہ
آئی جی اسلام آباد نے واقعہ کا نوٹس لیتے ہوئے @DigIslamabad کی سربراہی میں تحقیقاتی کمیٹی تشکیل دی ہے جو معاملے کی انکوائری عمل میں لائے گی۔واقعہ میں ملوث اہلکاروں کو گرفتارکر لیا گیا ہے۔ قانون کے مطابق کارروائی کی جائے گی۔
In 2017, a policeman had shot dead a youth in I-10 sector after he had failed to stop at a checkpoint. The policeman who had opened fire had claimed that the deceased failed to stop at the checkpoint despite his signal.
Memes are some of the best things to see on your social media feeds. Several meme trends are successful in tickling our funny bones and this time memers are comparing white vs brown things that are not only funny but also relatable.
Check out some of the funniest ones below:
🇺🇸: out with friends, i’ll be home late
🇵🇰: sorry mein raastay mein hoon bas bohat traffic mein phass gayi hoon aik aur ghanta lag jaaye shayad
Prime Minister Imran Khan has defended his U-turns once again, saying that going back on one’s words is fine as long as it doesn’t compromise “ideology”.
This is not the first time Imran has tried to defend the actions that saw him walk away from his promises. In 2018, he had said: “A leader who does not take ‘U-turns’ [in the best interests of the nation] is not a ‘real leader’.”
APP, the state-run news agency, reported the PM as saying that the idea of making “compromises to reach the ultimate goal was never bad until one compromised the ideology”. “I will never make a compromise on an NRO. The U-turn is when you give up your goal,” he remarked.
In an interview with Dunya News on Friday, the PM also talked about his statement wherein he had said that he was not prepared to run the country. “My statement that I was not prepared was completely misunderstood,” he said, adding: “I have never made any excuses that I was not prepared.”
According to the premier, only a “fool would not know about the problems of the country”. The PM said the two years have passed with great “difficulty” but now things are looking better. “Good times are soon to come.” “People will decide about my performance after five years [and] God willing, Pakistan will soon have great times.”
Speaking about economy, Imran said expenditure is on the rise as opposed to the income. “Reducing expenditure at home can become a pain,” he said, adding that half of tax revenue is spent on debt servicing.
The current government has paid back $20 billion worth of loans over the past two years and the current account deficit has also been in positive for the past five months, he added.
The remittances and exports have increased as well, the PM said, referring to a boost in the textile industry.
Emma Alam from Pakistan has won the 29th World Memory Championship which saw 300 contestants participate from across the globe.
The three-day competition included competitors from China, Canada, UK, South Korea, Vietnam, India, Malaysia, Algeria, the United States, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Libya, Qatar, and Iraq.
Alam and Syeda Kisa Zehra from the Pakistani team also broke multiple World Records in this year’s championship.
World Memory Championships was founded in 1991 by an English author Tony Buzan and English journalist and author Raymond Keene to shine a global spotlight on the power of human memory.
The late Tony Buzan was among world’s top five speakers, as per Forbes Magazine. He was the one who promoted the idea of mental literacy. Raymond Keene is Grandmaster of Chess and an appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire by her majesty Queen Elizabeth.
The participants with the best, fastest and sharpest memory skills competed to show their intellectual power and set new heights of the potential of human memory.
Global President of The World Memory Sports Council Raymond Keene, in an official statement, said: “The field consisted of an impressive 300 competitors from 16 countries and from this extensive field the winner, the world champion from the 29th World Memory Championship, emerged from the Pakistan team, so excellently and expertly trained by Sania Alam.”
He congratulated the winner and said that “one of the great sporting achievers for Pakistan, a unique heroine in the pandemic-stricken 2020 and supreme grand world memory champion for 2020.’’
Meanwhile, Alam said that she was excited to have won.
“I had aimed to give my best in WMC 2020, backed by a lot of daily practice for the past two years with my coach and the institute,” said the winner. “I plan on competing again next year with even better performance. I congratulate all those amazing competitors who competed from across the globe.”
Alam has also competed in many memory championships before including the 3rd Asia Pacific Memory Championship in Malaysia and the 28th World Memory Championship in China and has won several medals and trophies. She is currently completing her studies through homeschooling.
Another member of Team Pakistan, Abeerah Ather, achieved 7th position in the 2020 global rankings.
Emma Alam and Team Pakistan were skilled under the Institute of Human Memory Development International (IHMD).
