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Author: News Desk

  • Pakistani artists set to perform for virtual Covid-19 fundraiser

    Pakistani artists set to perform for virtual Covid-19 fundraiser

    Pakisani artists are set to perform for a virtual sufi concert aimed to raise funds for COVID-19 victims. The event is scheduled to take place live on Sunday, May 10, 2020.

    According to the fundraising website, the initiative is called the Hamd-O-Naat and Sufi programme. Several popular Pakistani artists like Rafaqat Ali Khan, Ali Sethi, Haroon Rashid and Ustad Shafqat Amanat Ali will perform in the session.

    Other performances will feature Khurram Iqbal, Junaid Younus and Ali Sher.

    The portal suggests that these artists would be donating their time to help raise funds and the video link of the performances will be shared after a subscription of $10 per family.

    VIGA is a project of Akhuwat which is registered in the US as a non-profit organisation.

  • Govt gives ISI Rs1.66 billion for upgradation of agency’s telecom project

    Govt gives ISI Rs1.66 billion for upgradation of agency’s telecom project

    The government’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has approved a “supplementary grant” of Rs1.66 billion for the upgradation of Special Telecom Monitoring Project at the directorate of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

    According to a press release issued by the Press Information Department (PID), the ECC has also approved a supplementary grant of Rs500 million for the construction of Special Education School at the Defence Complex in Islamabad.

    The proposals for “technical supplementary grants” were moved by the defence division, the press release said.

    The committee has also instructed the ministry of national security and research to ensure procurement of wheat as per 8.25 million tonnes target set for the public sector this year.

    The ISI is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan, operationally responsible for gathering, processing and analysing national security information from around the world.

    It is currently headed by General Faiz Hameed.

  • Nabila says that she will not be bullied

    Nabila says that she will not be bullied

    One of Pakistan’s leading salons, which has branches in major cities of Pakistan, Nabila’s Salon, recently announced that they would open up the salon for business after taking all the necessary precautions.

    Nabila, in a video, said that the service industry is suffering the most due to the pandemic but that “we all have a choice”.

    “We all have a choice. We can either live in the circle of concern, freak out, watch the news or wait for things to happen, or we can live in the circle of influence and take full charge,” said Nabila.

    She then went onto say that because she is an optimist, she would choose the latter option and make decisions regarding her personal and professional life by ‘Raising the Bar’.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B_pgjS8he47/

    The salon, in a video, stated that it will be “a safe space with a superior level of hygiene combined with best practices and medical level sanitisation to ensure the health and well being of everyone who walks through our doors.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B_pvVhwBZgx/

    Read more – ‘Barber on Wheels’ offers haircuts at home with all safety measures

    The salon’s announcement to open was met with immense backlash and Nabila took to personally respond to them and defend her decision. While comments have now been disabled on the post, screenshots are being widely circulated on social media.

    Later while speaking to various media outlets, Nabila said that she will not be bullied. She said that she has not opened the salon as yet but will wait for the government to give the green signal. She said the videos the salon had posted were to tell their clients of the precautions they will be taking once they open and to also let the government know that they are fully equipped to provide services. Nabila shared that she consulted doctors and experts before making her decisions.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B_1Y9MSJiG2/

    The entrepreneur further added that as the President of Pakistan’s Hair and Beauty Association, it is her duty to ensure that her industry, which employs thousands of workers, is also looked after. She said that she spoke to several salon owners who were also feeling the brunt of the pandemic as they have workers and staff to pay and they decided that they will prepare themselves and then approach the government to allow them to provide services with the necessary SOPs and precautions in place.

    On the question of wasting PPEs, Nabila said that the country is now producing a surplus of protective equipment and that a friend of her’s who has a garment factory lent her kits for the promotional videos. She said that if needed, she will place an order with him for the salon.

    Nabila stood her ground and said that she is being responsible and proactive. She said that she also has employees to pay and that for the past two months, she has been paying them from her own pocket.

    Nabila added: “We are responsible for the bread and butter of hundreds of families. How can we not think of ways to fall in line with this new norm? Should we not be considering the possibilities on how the world would work post-corona?”

  • Govt awards cash prizes to winners of South Asian Games

    Govt awards cash prizes to winners of South Asian Games

    Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Dr Fehmida Mirza recently awarded cash prizes in the form of cheques to members of Pakistan’s Weightlifting and Tennis Team, who won medals at the 13th South Asian Games held in Nepal from December 1 – 10, 2019.

    https://twitter.com/SportsBoardPak/status/1257955629790003200?s=20
    https://twitter.com/SportsBoardPak/status/1257252535066378241?s=20

    According to a press release, “In line with approved cash award policy, gold medalists were given Rs 1 million each, silver medalists got Rs 500,000 while bronze medalists received cheques of Rs 250,000 each. In total, Rs 6.250 million and Rs 5.500 million were distributed to the weightlifters and tennis players respectively.”

    Speaking on the occasion, Dr Fehmida Mirza appreciated the athletes for their win and lauded parents for encouraging their daughters to take part in sport. The minister said that these winners are the ambassadors of Pakistan who portray the soft image of the country.

    https://twitter.com/SportsBoardPak/status/1258010085986631680?s=20

    She added the work was being done by the Pakistan Sports Board to resolve players issues and encourage more people to come forward in the field. She added that the Federal Government would continue to support talented players.

    Meanwhile, the athletes thanked the minister and government for appreciating their hard work and boosting their morale. They remarked that this is the first time that players are receiving rewards in the form of cash prize money, something that would help them in their future endeavours. The winners also requested the government to continue their support so that more people come forward in the field of sports.

    Some of the winners even took to social media to thank the government for their support.

    https://twitter.com/SportsBoardPak/status/1258011583453827072?s=20

    Here is a breakdown of the wins:

    Weightlifting

    The Weightlifting Team won 5 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medals.

    Weightlifters Talha Talib, Haider Ali, Usman Amjad Rathore, Hanzla Dastgir Butt and Muhammad Nooh Dastgir Butt won gold medals while Abu Sufyan and Rabbia Razzaq won silver medals. Saima Shahzad won a bronze medal.

    Tennis

    Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, Aqeel Khan, Muzammil Murtaza, Muhammad Abid won silver in men’s team event while Sara Mansoor, Ushna Sohail, Mahin Aftaz Qureshi and Sarah Mehboob Khan won bronze medals in the women’s team event.

    In the mixed doubles event, Aisam and Wushna, and Muhammad Abid and Sara Mansoor won the bronze medals.

    In the men’s double Aisam and Aqeel Khan won a bronze medal as did Muzammil Murtaza and Muhammad Abid.

    Read more – Pakistani javelin thrower creates history, qualifies for 2020 Olympics

    Pakistani javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem, who broke all records at the SAG also received an award. The 22-year-old created history with his throw of 86.29m and qualified for the Tokyo Olympics.

  • Sajal Aly says ‘it’s not easy to capture Ahad’s beauty’

    Sajal Aly says ‘it’s not easy to capture Ahad’s beauty’

    Looks like Sajal Aly is using her time off to explore other art forms including sketching and painting.

    The actor, who tied the knot with co-star Ahad Raza Mir just before the lockdown, sketched a portrait of her husband and joked that it is not easy to capture “Ahad’s beauty”.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B_zQPfDFjgf/

    Meanwhile, Sajal’s best friend Zara Noor Abbas commented that the sketch does not look anything like Ahad. In response, Yasir Hussain remarked that it is definitely Ahad and that men change after marriage.

    Sajal later shared another picture of herself – this time while painting.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B_1tzbyFeia/

    Sajal and Ahad tied the knot in late March in Abu Dhabi in the presence of their close friends and family. Their drama Ye Dil Mera is currently on-air and is being widely appreciated by critics and audiences.

    Read more – Intense, thrilling and mysterious: Why ‘Ye Dil Mera’ is a must-watch

  • Malala to join the Obamas for virtual Graduation Ceremony on YouTube

    Malala to join the Obamas for virtual Graduation Ceremony on YouTube

    Pakistani Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai will join former U.S. President Barack Obama, Lady Gaga, LeBron James and K-Pop band BTS and dozens of others celebrities to salute and celebrate the class of 2020 in virtual graduation ceremonies replacing the traditional end of high school and college.

    Read more – Malala declared decade’s most famous teenager by UN

    According to Reuters, Obama, with his wife Michelle, will headline two separate graduation events.

    In a one-hour multimedia event called “Graduate Together,” to be broadcast on May 16 across multiple TV networks, Obama will deliver a message to high school seniors and reflect on the coronavirus pandemic.

    In a separate YouTube event called “Dear Class of 2020,” to be hosted by Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher initiative and streamed on June 6, Obama will join Malala, Lady Gaga, BTS and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in celebrating graduates across the United States. Variety added that the festival-style lineup will feature talks on traditional graduation-day themes mixed in with music performances. Both Michelle and Obama will each deliver individual commencement speeches — and a joint message — to graduates.

    Others taking part in the two events include U.S. women’s soccer player Megan Rapinoe, the Jonas Brothers, musician Bad Bunny, Alicia Keys and Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai.

    Read more – Greta Thunberg calls Malala Yousafzai her ‘role model’

    With schools and colleges shut down across the United States due to the coronavirus pandemic, students who are set to graduate this summer are unable to celebrate their milestone achievement the traditional way.

    Other virtual events on offer include a podcast called “Commencement: Speeches for the Class of 2020” on May 15 in which Hillary Clinton, Jimmy Fallon, John Legend and Eli Manning will be among some two dozen personalities offering words of wisdom to graduates.

  • Star-narrated ‘Harry Potter’ book streaming for free

    Star-narrated ‘Harry Potter’ book streaming for free

    Potter fans heads up. The first book of the immensely popular Harry Potter series will be read by a lineup of celebrities, including Daniel Radcliffe, chapter-by-chapter, in a series of free videos and audio recordings which will be released over the next few months.

    Spotify and author JK Rowling announced the release of these free recordings to help children – and perhaps adults – cope with confinement measures,

    Radcliffe, the actor who played the beloved wizard character in the books’ cinematic renditions, voiced the first chapter of the series’ premiere novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerers’ Stone. Watch his read the first chapter here.

    He will be joined by a handful of stars including soccer legend David Beckham along with actors Stephen Fry and Dakota Fanning, who will lend their voices to the book’s subsequent chapters.

    All 17 chapters will be out by mid-summer, Spotify said, and the recordings will be available free of cost on the music platform, which recently began making strides in the audiobook and podcast department.

    Read more – GCU students produce Pakistan’s first-ever fan-made Harry Potter movie

    Videos of the celebrity recordings will stream on the website Harry Potter At Home.

    “Parents, teachers and carers working to keep children amused and interested while we’re on lockdown might need a bit of magic,” said Rowling in launching that site last month.

    The series’ publishers have also temporarily relaxed licensing restrictions, which allows teachers to read the Harry Potter books to their students during remote classes.

    Rowling’s seven-part Harry Potter series is the best-selling book collection ever, with more than 500 million copies sold to date. The first novel, published in 1997, is the series’ best-seller, with more than 120 million editions purchased.

  • Pakistan to lose Rs628,000,000,000 by June

    Pakistan to lose Rs628,000,000,000 by June

    A report prepared by the sub-committee of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) for coronavirus has said that the country, due to an adverse impact of COVID-19 on the economy, will record a loss of over Rs628 billion by the end of the current financial year.

    The report ‘COVID-19: Preliminary Macroeconomic and Socioeconomic Assessment’ said almost all the departments of the country were going in a loss due to lack of human activity in the wake of the pandemic that has killed over 200,000 people worldwide.

    Giving a breakdown of the losses, the report said the Aviation Division will face an estimated financial loss of Rs13.6bn; the Pakistan Stock Exchange Rs250bn; Petroleum Division Rs 87bn; Ministry of Energy (Power Division) Rs136bn; Pakistan Railways over Rs7 bn; National Food Security Rs 55bn; Overseas Pakistanis over Rs 76bn; Ministry of Information Technology Rs1-5bn under the head of withholding tax; and Maritime Affairs will report a loss of Rs30 million.

    It further said that the Federal Board of Revenue will face a total estimated revenue shortfall of Rs600bn in the last three months of the current financial year.

    The report also suggested the way forward to deal with losses, saying some measures have already been taken.

  • Can’t test people only to see if they have coronavirus or not: Dr Yasmin Rashid

    Can’t test people only to see if they have coronavirus or not: Dr Yasmin Rashid

    In a statement for which she is being trolled, Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid has said that the government cannot conduct tests of people “only to check if they have coronavirus or not”.

    Reports quoted the minister as contradicting the only utility of the tests amid the global COVID-19 outbreak, leaving people wondering what else were tests being conducted for.

    She further said that 90 per cent of coronavirus patients reported to the health officials had shown no symptoms after contracting the virus.

    “We need to create awareness among the masses regarding coronavirus and how it could be avoided,” the minister said, adding that Pakistan had less cases as compared to several other countries across the globe.

    Dr Yasmin further said that the nation had to show a compassionate behavior towards the masses at the time of the pandemic.

    Separately, she said that the Punjab government had conducted 101,897 tests so far, out of which 5,043 were conducted in a single day on May 4.

    “8103 cases were reported positive, we sadly lost 136 people but by the grace of Allah SWT 2,716 patients recovered fully to return home safe & sound [sic],” she tweeted.

    PUNJAB LOCKDOWN:

    Meanwhile, the Punjab government has decided to ease the ongoing lockdown after May 9 as the provincial tally of COVID-19 infections reaches 8,693 — highest in the country.

    Textile, steel and spare part shops will be allowed to operate for six hours. Shopkeepers have reportedly been directed to strictly follow SOPs while dealing with the public.

    Parks will also be reopened but swings will remain closed.

    The province made the announcement prior to the National Command and Operation Centre meeting that is due to take place today.

    Planning Minister Asad Umar will chair the meeting in Islamabad to decide whether the country-wide lockdown will be extended after May 9 or not. The chief ministers from all provinces will attend the meeting via video link.

    It is expected that the provinces will be told to decide on lockdown restrictions by themselves.

  • VIDEO: ‘Pakistan’s only mind reader’ leaves Maulana Tariq Jamil shocked

    VIDEO: ‘Pakistan’s only mind reader’ leaves Maulana Tariq Jamil shocked

    Renowned preacher Maulana Tariq Jameel, who had recently made headlines for his controversial remarks during a live telethon to raise funds for coronavirus relief, was left astonished by the ability of a mentalist who read his mind, an undated viral video showed on Wednesday.

    In the video, Shaheer Khan, who is known for his mind reading skills, asks Maulana to imagine a situation that he has not written down or shared with people.

    He then holds the religious scholar’s hand and starts revealing what the latter is thinking.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Breaking into laughter after the mentalist hits the bullseye, Maulana Tariq lauds Shaheer and jokingly offers to become his follower.

    Shaheer Khan, who rose to fame owing to his mind-boggling ability to read minds, is the country’s first-ever and “only” mentalist. His shows have proven his rising popularity and left many scratching their heads.

    He has been able to guess Rameez Raja’s ATM pin, Waseem Akram’s favourite cricketer and the name of Harsha Bhogle’s first childhood crush.

    While many people claim that the only way to explain his abilities is by the use of the supernatural powers, Shaheer himself says he has just been extremely intuitive ever since he was a kid.