Current Final

Author: News Desk

  • ‘The most beautiful human being’: Shahbaz Shigri pens loving note for Aima Baig

    Shahbaz Shigri has penned a love note for beau Aima Baig, calling her the “most beautiful human being”.

    Sharing a picture of the two from Aima’s sister’s wedding, Shigri expressed his love for his “better half”, writing: “The most beautiful, amazing, magnanimous and wholesomely awesome human being I have ever met in my life, and that’s Aima next to him.”

    “I’m kidding. All those descriptive words actually apply to her, and still, they aren’t enough,” he continued.

    Shigri also thanked Aima for tolerating him, adding: “I promise it only gets worst, so hold on tight.”

    The duo made things official earlier this year with Shigri announcing the news on social media. In an Instagram post, he revealed that Aima is his “better half”. Sharing a picture of himself and the singer in Los Angeles, Shigri swooned over Baig’s smile adding that she is his “partner in crime, homie, companion and a whole bunch of other things which, if I began listing down, would turn up the cringe level to a million”.

  • International furniture brand ‘IKEA’ is coming to Pakistan

    IKEA, a multinational conglomerate that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, is ready to launch its operations in Pakistan, Pakistan’s ambassador to Germany Dr Mohammad Faisal has announced.

    Dr Faisal said that he recently met with an official of IKEA, Dieter Mettke who will lead the launching of IKEA’s operations in Pakistan.

    “Met Dieter Mettke IKEA Deutschland. He is going to Pakistan to be in charge of Ikea operations,” Ambassador Faisal had written in a now-deleted tweet. “We look forward to Ikea opening up stores in major cities of Pakistan.”

    Read more – In a first, Hugo Boss places sportswear order with Pakistan

    Founded in Sweden in 1943 by 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA is one of the world’s largest furniture retailer since 2008. It has 271 stores in Europe, 65 in North America, 14 in the Middle East, 11 in Oceania, 2 in Africa and 82 in Asia. In August 2018, IKEA launched its sore in India. IKEA opened its first store in 1958 in Älmhult, Sweden.

  • Did you know Pierre Cardin also designed uniforms for PIA?

    Legendary French fashion designer Pierre Cardin passed away at the age of 98 on Tuesday at a hospital in Neuilly in western Paris.

    Confirming the news, his family in a statement said: “It is a day of great sadness for all our family. Pierre Cardin is no more. Italian by birth, Pierre Cardin never forgot his origins while bringing unconditional love to France.”

    Despite coming from a lower middle-class background, Cardin managed to make big name for himself in the fashion industry, particularly in the 1960s and ’70s, when he upended traditional fashion with his futuristic, avant-garde looks. He became known for his visionary creations, shaking up fashion with bubble dresses and geometrical designs.

    During that time, Cardin also made contributions to the Pakistani fashion industry and designed uniforms for Pakistan International Airline’s (PIA) staff. According to the website history of PIA, uniforms designed by Cardin were the official uniform of PIA’s staff from 1966 to 1975.

    “In 1966, Pierre Cardin, the renowned French fashion designer, came up with the legendary fawn colour uniform for summer and moss green uniform for winter,” reads a post on the website. “The uniform consisted of a short, easy fitting “A” line tunic, slim-line trousers and imaginatively moulded dupatta that not only covered heads but also turned heads.”

    “The uniform became an instant hit and the slim-line trousers were dubbed as ‘PIA Pajamas’. Fashion-conscious young ladies, all across Pakistan, copied Cardin’s design eagerly,” it adds.

  • Bomb scare creates panic at Karachi airport

    Panic gripped at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport following the detection of an unclaimed suspicious bag beeping on a motorbike in the parking area by the Civil Aviation Authority.

    As per details, around 03:15 pm in the afternoon, CAA viligance and cargo staff informed the security staff about a suspicious cotton pooch hanging from a motorbike, with a beeping sound coming from it.

    A bomb disposal squad (BDS) was immediately called. They reached the site and defused the device.

    The BDS confirmed that the device did not carry any explosive material but it did carry flammable material which was capable of starting a fire.

    The airport police took the motorbike in custody and the area was marked clear.

    The bike owner was identified as Sundeep Kumar who works as a guard at the Royal Airport Services, Malir SSP Irfan Ali Bahadur confirmed.

    According to the owner, he had installed a flashing device at the Chota Gate, Malir and insisted that it was just a flashing device. Police verified the bike owner’s statement by the mechanic who had installed the flash device and later handed over the bike back to Sundeep.

  • Buzdar tells DCs to promote ‘qawali’, wants pictures of programmes

    Buzdar tells DCs to promote ‘qawali’, wants pictures of programmes

    As Punjab grapples with coronavirus outbreak and poor economic situation, the provincial government has asked its deputy commissioners to promote ‘qawali’ in the province.

    The News reported that Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has directed the DCs to have qawali performance in their respective areas and also promote them on cable networks.

    In addition, these civil servants have also been asked to send weekly reports to the Chief Minister’s Office about the concerts.

    It reported “a regular monitoring mechanism” has been devised and the CM wants the DCs to send his office the pictures of the programmes as well.

    The report claimed that the order to promote qawalis in the province might have come from Banigala — residence of PM Imran Khan where he lives with his spouse Bushra Bibi.

    The chief minister has faced a lot of criticism for his inability to run the province. During the two-year tenure of Buzdar, there has been a decline in almost departments of the provincial government.

    During his rule, at least six police chief of the province have been changed, five chief secretaries have been shown the door, but things have remained the same.

    However, despite all the odds, the PM has decided to stick with Buzdar and said he would emerge as the best chief minister of Punjab.

  • Govt says will cancel Nawaz’s passport on Feb 16

    Govt says will cancel Nawaz’s passport on Feb 16

    In a bid to bring former prime minister Nawaz Sharif back to Pakistan, the federal government will cancel his passport on Feb 16, said Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed on Wednesday.

    Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the minister said that the passport of the ex-PM will be revoked owing to his refusal to return to Pakistan.

    Nawaz had left for London for a medical check-up last year after his health deteriorated in jail. The ex-premier, who was convicted in two graft cases, has refused to return since.

    Rasheed also said that now people will be able to obtain visas for any country online.

    It may be noted that the interior ministry’s decision to revoke the passport of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader came two months after a request by the National Accountability Bureau.

    According to Geo, NAB had sought cancellation of the passport and the CNIC of the ex-PM in OCt. “During the course of proceedings, the said accused [Nawaz] deliberately absented himself from the court and after the due process…whenever accused is arrested, he be produced before the court.”

    “In view thereof, copies of the said court order and perpetual non-bailable warrant of arrest are forwarded for processing of blacklisting/cancellation of the passport and blockage / impounding of CNIC of the accused through the Ministry of Interior,” NAB said in an order.

  • Fawad Alam hits 2nd Test 100 in lost NZ match

    Fawad Alam hits 2nd Test 100 in lost NZ match

    Fawad Alam’s heroic ton went in vain as the home team won the first Test by 101 runs in Tauranga’s Mount Maunganui stadium on Wednesday.

    Eleven years, five months and 16 days on from that other lifetime when he scored his first Test hundred, Fawad pulled Wagner behind square – that shot had served him well both in defence and attack – past a diving deep fielder to bring up a second Test hundred.

    The last one he scored was way back in 2009 when he hit 168 on Test debut against Sri Lanka while opening the innings. Since then Alam has played just six Tests having made a comeback in 2020.

    Babar Azam’s injury gave him another go and yet he proved to be an ace for the team.

    The Green Caps began the final day’s play at 71-3 in chase of 373-run target with Azhar Ali and Fawad batting at 34 and 21 respectively.

    He put on a 165-run partnership with captain Mohammad Rizwan who scored a gritty half-century as well. 380 balls faced by Alam and Rizwan during their partnership – the second-longest stand for Pakistan in Tests.

    The wicketkeeper-batsman’s dismissal sparked a collapse as he was trapped leg-before by Kyle Jamieson for 60 while Fawad, who hit 14 boundaries in his 102-run knock, was caught behind on the bowling of Neil Wagner.

    The tail-end pair of pacemen Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah provided resistance to salvage a draw but it wasn’t to be as the latter was caught and bowled by Santner for one with just four more overs to go.

    Here are some reactions by cricketing experts on Fawad’s resilient innings:

    https://twitter.com/DennisCricket_/status/1344128439100481536?s=08

    Later PCB released a video in this fawad talked about his patience and test performance…

    What do you think of Fawad’s innings? Let The Current know in the comments

  • Archie speaks publicly for the first time on Meghan, Harry’s first podcast

    Archie speaks publicly for the first time on Meghan, Harry’s first podcast

    Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan on Tuesday thanked essential workers and offered encouragement to people who suffered during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in their first podcast released on Spotify.

    Harry and Meghan, known officially as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, hosted the episode and introduced reflections and hopes for the new year from singer Elton John, producer and actor Tyler Perry, tennis champion Naomi Osaka and other celebrities, artists and authors.

    During the 33-minute episode, the couple thanked healthcare and frontline workers and others who made sacrifices during a challenging year.

    “From us, I’ll say no matter what life throws at you guys, trust us when we say, love wins,” Meghan said.

    “Love always wins,” Harry added.

    The episode ended with a surprise appearance by the couple’s 19-month-old son, Archie. With guidance from his parents, Archie said: “Happy … New … Year!”

    Harry and Meghan stepped back from their royal duties in January and moved with Archie to Southern California to live a more independent life and escape the hostile British media. The pair made no mention of their move in the podcast.

    Read more – PM Imran shares his thoughts on Megxit

    In September, the couple signed a multi-year production deal for TV programming with Netflix Inc, followed by a multi-year agreement to produce and host podcasts for Spotify.

  • Balochistan govt halts Gwadar fencing after backlash

    Balochistan govt halts Gwadar fencing after backlash

    After backlash, the Balochistan government has decided to halt work on the fencing of Gwadar until a consensus is reached on the issue.

    Home Minister Mir Zia Lango said that Chief Minister Jam Kamal has ordered the authorities to stop the process amid criticism by the locals. He said that a parliamentary delegation would give its recommendation to the chief minister and the government would address the concerns of the locals first and then move ahead with the project.

    The process will move forward after the consultation with the people of Gwadar, he said, adding that the apprehensions of the public were of foremost importance. “The provincial government headed by CM Kamal is working for the betterment of people,” he added.

    The fencing of the city was criticised by local and national politicians, who termed the process discriminatory.

    Pakistan People’s Party leader Raza Rabbani had likened it to the Berlin Wall. “In an era when the Berlin Wall fell, and here the city is being divided in the name of security. It has raised serious concern among people of the area,” he had added.

  • Hamid Mir says Khawaja Asif’s arrest proves ‘someone is really scared’

    Hamid Mir says Khawaja Asif’s arrest proves ‘someone is really scared’

    Senior journalist Hamid Mir has said that the arrest if Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Asif showed that someone was “really scared”.

    In a tweet, Mir said Asif presented himself for the arrest “with a smile and he will come back from the jail with a smile on his face”. “His arrest only proves that someone is really scared and worried,” he said, without taking any names.

    On Tuesday, Asif was taken into custody in the backdrop of an ongoing investigation into allegations of him possessing assets beyond known sources of income to the tune of whopping Rs260 million. PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said he was arrested from near PML-N general secretary Ahsan Iqbal’s house.

    Mir had also commented on the arrest yesterday. He had said that the former foreign minister knew he would be arrested and had even made preparations beforehand for what he considered an “eventuality”. “He had prepared a bag as well and would say that the NAB would arrest him soon,” said Mir.

    In Oct this year, Asif had alleged that Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted to harm him and his wife by using his political opponents.

    Speaking on a TV show, the PML-N leader had claimed the prime minister wanted his rivals to hold a protest outside his residence, target him in a road accident, and harass his wife by forcing her out of the vehicle.

    Asif had alleged that the PM desired to get him beaten up or implicate in a narcotics case in order to teach him a lesson. He had said that he wanted to raise these issues in the National Assembly, but he was not allowed by the NA speaker to talk.