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  • Shadab to lead 15-member squad for first T20I against NZ

    The Pakistan Cricket Board on Thursday announced the 15-member squad that will play the first T20 against New Zealand on December 18 (Friday).

    As per details, the team includes Shadab (C), Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hussain Talat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Wahab Riaz.

    Shadab will lead the side in absence of captain Babar Azam who has been ruled out of T20 series due to fractured thumb. The batsman had suffered the injury during a throw-down session, following which he was taken to a local hospital where X-rays confirmed the fracture. Babar will be unable to attend nets for, at least, 12 days, meaning he will not be available for the 18, 20 and 22 December T20Is to be played in Auckland, Hamilton and Napier, respectively.

    “His absence in the side will be surely felt,” said Shadab while announcing the squad.

    “However, it will provide an opportunity for new players to step up and showcase their talent,” he added.

    Shadab further said: “The team should be ready to show an aggressive performance like Babar.”

    Earlier, the squad took part in a full three-hour training session.

    The Pakistan cricket team had a rocky beginning in New Zealand with eight members of the squad testing positive for coronavirus as the team underwent quarantine in Christchurch.

    Pakistan and New Zealand will play three T20Is on December 18, 20 and 22 in Auckland, Hamilton and Napier, respectively. The Pakistan cricket team will also play two test matches against New Zealand on December 26 and January 3.

  • ‘Ranjha Ranjha Kardi’, ‘Laal Kabootar’ win big at Lux Style Awards 2020

    ‘Ranjha Ranjha Kardi’, ‘Laal Kabootar’ win big at Lux Style Awards 2020

    With everything going online this year due to the ongoing pandemic, the LUX Style Awards office announced the winners for the 19th LUX Style Awards virtually. This is the first time in the nineteen-year history of the LSA’s that the entire judging and awarding process has been conducted online.

    According to a press release, this is also the first time winners are being announced ahead of the virtually recorded ceremony, which is to be shown online next week.

    Apart from awards in different categories including, fashion, film, television and music, two Lifetime Achievement Awards were also conferred. Anwar Maqsood was honoured with the Unilever Chairman’s Lifetime Achievement Award while the Lifetime Achievement Award in Fashion was awarded to photojournalist and photographer Tapu Javeri.

    Meanwhile, check out the complete list of winners below:

    Film

    Best Film – Laal Kabootar

    Best Film Director – Kamal Khan for Laal Kabootar

    Best Film Actor (Viewer’s Choice) – Ahmed Ali Akbar for Laal Kabootar

    Best Film Actress (Viewer’s Choice) – Mahira Khan for Superstar

    Best Film Actor (Critics) – Rashid Farooqui for Laal Kabootar

    Best Film Actress (Critics) – Mahira Khan for Superstar

    Music

    Best Song – Raavi by Sajjad Ali

    Singer of the Year – Hadia Hashmi for Bol Hu

    Best Emerging Talent – Big Foot Music (Hamad Khan and Sohaib Lari)

    Best Playback Singer – Ali Tariq for Behka Na (Parey Hut Love)

    Best Original Soundtrack – Ranjha Ranjha by JB Sisters/Rahma Ali

    Television

    Best TV Play – Merey Paas Tum Ho

    Best Play Director – Kashif Nisar for Ranjha Ranjha Kardi

    Best Play Writer – Faiza Iftikhar for Ranjha Ranjha Kardi

    Best TV Actor (Critics) – Zahid Ahmed for Ishq Zahe Naseeb

    Best TV Actress (Critics) – Iqra Aziz for Ranjha Ranjha Kardi

    Best TV Actor (Viewer’s Choice) – Imran Ashraf for Ranjha Ranjha Kardi

    Best TV Actress (Viewer’s Choice) – Yumna Zaidi for Inkaar

    Best Emerging Talent TV – Shees Gul for Meray Paas Tum Ho

    Fashion

    Model of the Year (Male) – Hasnain Lehri

    Model of the Year (Female) – Zara Abid [posthumous]

    Best Fashion Photographer – Shahbaz Shazi

    Best Makeup and Hair Artist – Saima Bargfrede

    Best Emerging Talent – Sachal Afzal 

    Laal Kabootar and Ranjha Ranjha Kardi took the lead with four awards each. Mahira Khan was the only actor to win two awards – Best Film Actress for Viewer’s Choice as well for Critics Choice for her performance in Superstar.

  • Amir Khan requests Indian govt to allow Sikhs to visit Kartarpur

    Amir Khan requests Indian govt to allow Sikhs to visit Kartarpur

    British-Pakistani boxer Amir Khan visited Kartarpur on Wednesday and requested the Indian government to allow the Sikh community to visit Guru Nanak’s shrine.

    Calling the Gurdwara a true symbol of interfaith harmony, Amir in a video, said that Pakistan is giving real religious freedom to all minorities while India is taking steps against its minorities.

    “I request the Indian government to allow Sikh people to visit Pakistan Kartarpur and to open the gates,” he said.

    The sportsman also posted pictures and videos from his trip on his Instagram account. The boxer can be seen exploring the shrine and interacting with members of the Sikh community.

  • Hilary Duff confirms ‘Lizzie McGuire’ reboot cancelled

    Hilary Duff confirms ‘Lizzie McGuire’ reboot cancelled

    Hilary Duff has confirmed that the Lizzie McGuire reboot planned at Disney+ has been cancelled, saying that “the stars just didn’t align” for the project.

    “I know the efforts and conversations have been everywhere trying to make a reboot work but, sadly and despite everyone’s best efforts, it isn’t going to happen,” Duff wrote in her post.

    “I want any reboot of Lizzie to be honest and authentic to who Lizzie would be today,” she continued. “It’s what the character deserves.”

    “I’m very sad, but I promise everyone tried their best,” she added.

    Meanwhile, Disney in a statement, said: “Lizzie McGuire fans have high expectations for any new stories. Unless and until we are confident we can meet those expectations, we’ve decided to hold off and today, we informed the cast’s representatives that we are not moving forward with the planned series.”

    The revival was first announced in August 2019, a few months ahead of Disney+’s launch. Duff was to play a grown-up version of the character living in New York City working as a decorator’s assistant and finding luck in love. Adam Lamberg, Hallie Todd, Robert Carradine and Jake Thomas were set to reprise their roles as well.

    Series creator Terri Minsky was also attached to the revival, but she exited the series in January after two episodes had been filmed. “We concluded that we need to move in a different creative direction and are putting a new lens on the show,” a Disney had spokesperson said at the time.

    VIDEO: Tom and Jerry are back in action in new trailer

    Following Minsky’s departure, Disney+ said it would search for a new showrunner, but none was ever announced. Duff and Minsky both lobbied for the show to reflect the adult Lizzie’s life in full and supported moving the series to Hulu.

    “I’d be doing a disservice to everyone by limiting the realities of a 30-year-old’s journey to live under the ceiling of a PG rating,” Duff had written in a February Instagram post. “It would be a dream if Disney would let us move the show to Hulu if they were interested, and I could bring this beloved character to life again.”

  • Police arrest Engin Altan’s Pakistani host for having criminal record

    The police have arrested Mian Kashif Zameer, the man who hosted Diriliş: Ertuğrul star Engin Altan Düzyatan throughout his Lahore for having a criminal record.

    As per reports, Zameer was allegedly booked in nearly eight cases pertaining to matters of fraud, betrayal of trust, car theft and robbery.

    Earlier it was reported that Zameer struck a deal worth one million dollars with the Turkish actor but paid only half of it.

    Zameer later denied the allegations of deal violation and has said that the media is spreading rumours. 

  • PML-N leader thinks BBC Urdu is more credible than BBC News

    PML-N leader thinks BBC Urdu is more credible than BBC News

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hina Pervaiz Butt seems to think that BBC Urdu is a credible source of information compared to BBC News.

    The PML-N leader was talking about the number of people present in the Lahore jalsa during her appearance on Mansoor Ali Khan’s show on Express News when she made this faux pas.

    According to Hina Butt, independent media outlets, such as Al Jazeera and BBC Urdu, did “good reporting” on the jalsa compared to the local news channels.

    At this, Mansoor said if she has no qualms about the credibility of the BBC then its programme HardTALK, wherein Ishaq Dar was grilled for allegedly owning assets beyond means, was credible too.

    Hina quickly cut her off, saying no, she only “meant the BBC Urdu“, prompting laughter in the studio. Firstly, I didn’t call BBC’s English channel credible or compromised,” she said, adding that she only raised questions about the ban on Dar’s interview on the Pakistani media.

    DAR ON HARDTALK:

    Last month, Ishaq Dar, who is in a self-imposed exile after corruption cases were filed against him, had said that he and his wife owned only a single property that’s located in Pakistan.

    Dar had made these comments during his appearance in BBC show, HardTalk.

    During the show, the host had asked Dar: “Is it your contention that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has no integrity? To this, Dar had responded that NAB has lost its integrity. “It is an institution that has been used against political opponents.”

    Dar, 69, is currently in London, “undergoing medical treatment”. He is absconding from several cases in Pakistan since 2017 and has been declared a proclaimed offender by the courts. He is facing charges of accumulating assets beyond known sources of income.

  • ‘I have been tortured’: Mohammad Amir announces retirement from international cricket

    ‘I have been tortured’: Mohammad Amir announces retirement from international cricket

    Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir has said that he is retiring from international cricket.

    Speaking to journalist Shoaib Jatt, Amir said that he will release a detailed statement sharing his reasons behind his retirement when he arrives back in Pakistan from Sri Lanka, where he has been playing for Galle Gladiators in the Lanka Premier League. However, he made it clear that he cannot continue playing under the current management which is why he made this announcement.

    “I have been tortured,” says Amir in the video.

    Amir, who had an impressive campaign for Galle Gladiators in Lanka Premier League, said he will be playing franchise cricket but has made up his mind not to carry on playing for Pakistan. Amir had retired from Test cricket last year citing workload issues.

    “No, I am not going away from cricket. If you have seen the way the atmosphere over here and the way I have been sidelined,” said an emotional Amir. “I got a wake-up call there when I was not selected in 35 boys. If I don’t get selected in the 35-member squad, then it is a wake-up call for me.”

    “I don’t think I can play cricket under this management. I think I should leave cricket this time. I am being tortured mentally,” he continued. “I don’t think I can tolerate any more torture now. I have seen a lot of torture from 2010 to 2015. I was away from the game and sentenced for my mistake.”

    Read more – Kyun Nikala?: ‘Misbah Saab he bataa saktay hain,’ says Mohammad Amir

    According to a press release issued by PCB, Pakistan Cricket Board chief executive Wasim Khan spoke with Amir this afternoon following reports that the fast bowler had announced his retirement from international cricket.

    The 29-year-old confirmed to the PCB chief executive that he has no desires or intensions of playing international cricket and as such, he should not be considered for future international matches.

    “This is a personal decision of Mohammad Amir, which the PCB respects, and as such, will not make any further comment on this matter at this stage,” stated the press release.

    Amir made his debut for Pakistan in a T20I match against England in June 2009 and was part of the team which won the 2009 T20 World Cup.

    However, his career went downhill after he was found guilty of spot-fixing and was banned for five years. He made his international comeback in 2015 and went on to play an instrumental role in Pakistan’s Champions Trophy triumph in 2017.

  • LPL Final: Shoaib Malik dedicates win to ‘little champs’ of APS

    LPL Final: Shoaib Malik dedicates win to ‘little champs’ of APS

    Veteran Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik has dedicated his win at the Lanka Premier League (LPL) to the “little champs who lost their lives in the Peshawar tragedy”.

    “Another WIN, another TROPHY, another Man Of The Match in the Finals,” wrote Malik on social media. “I dedicate today’s win to the little champs who lost their lives in the Peshawar tragedy.”

    It has been six years since a gruesome terrorist attack on the Army Public School (APS) left 149 people dead which included 132 children, one of the darkest days in Pakistan’s history.

    Meanwhile, Malik’s wife Sania Mirza and his father-in-law Imran Mirza, were over the moon with Shoaib’s performance and took to Twitter to express their joy.

    Malik shone with both the bat and the ball as Jaffna Stallions beat Galle Gladiators to win the LPL 2020 title in its inaugural season and received the Man of the Match award.

    Malik top-scored for Jaffna with 46 off 35 balls to help Jaffna near the 190-run mark after they won the toss and elected to bat first. He also bagged two wickets for 13 runs only in 3 overs to restrict Galle under 140 runs.

    Read more – Shahid Afridi leaves LPL midway due to a ‘personal emergency’

    The inaugural season of the T20 Lanka Premier League 2020 came to a thrilling end on Wednesday night with Stallions lifting the trophy after beating Gladiators by 53 runs in the final in Hambantota.

  • Vawda claims Musadik Malik, a PhD, served as ‘doctor to royal family’ in Dubai

    In another spat on live TV, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker Faisal Vawda accused Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Dr Musadik Malik (a PhD) of being a “doctor to a royal family in Dubai” before he supposedly joined hands with military dictator General (r) Pervez Musharraf.

    This took Malik by surprise, who retorted he has a PhD in Healthcare Administration and Policy that has nothing to do with an MBBS degree. “How can you say I was a doctor to a royal family when I don’t have the required qualification,” he questioned Vawda, who appeared alongside him on a Dunya News show.

    But this did not stop Vawda from speaking further.

    The PTI lawmaker then accused Malik of serving as a caretaker minister during Musharraf era. “I didn’t ask why you were made a caretaker minister by Musharraf,” Vawda said, adding that this helped Musadiq Malik “manipulate pharmaceutical sector for personal gains”.

    Vawda reiterated that the PML-N leader was introduced as a doctor to the royal family during Musharraf’s time. “Which royal family,” asked Malik.

    “You were a doctor to the royal family in Dubai,” Vawda said. Dr Malik responded: “I’ve never even lived in Dubai.”

    The PML-N leader asked Vawda does he live in the same world as the rest of us. “Where are you getting your information from,” Malik hit back at Vawda, saying his “lies cannot go on”.

    At this, Vawda said: “I don’t know, I haven’t joined politics to study your personal history.”

    It may be noted here that Musadiq Malik didn’t serve as a caretaker minister during Musharraf era.

    According to a Dawn article, “Dr Malik first appeared on the national scene when he joined Gen Musharraf’s signature programme, the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD)” as a “volunteer”.

    He was later appointed as a caretaker minister in 2013 by then president Asif Ali Zardari.

  • Pakistani space scientist Dr Yarjan wins Young Leaders Award 2020

    Pakistan’s first-ever space scientist, who hails from Buleda, Balochistan, Dr Yarjan Abdul Samad has been awarded the prestigious Young Leaders Award 2020 for his exceptional research work in the field of space science.

    Read more – Pakistani doctor Asifa Akhtar to receive Germany’s highest scientific award

    “Dr Yarjan was in the team of scientists who launched Graphene in extreme environment of Space via the MASER14 Rocket of Europe Space Agency launched from Kiruna based in Sweden. He has developed sustainable methods of creating e-textiles and flexible and stretchable conductors and composites based on three-dimensional (3D) porous architectures of two-dimensional (2D) and layered materials, typically graphene, that scientists and engineers are benchmarking for aerospace composite manufacturing, biosensing, water purification and energy storage,” said the Young Professionals Society (YPS) about the winner.

    “Dr Yarjan is currently working on a research project on loop heat pipes for use in space applications and he was part of European Space Agency zero-gravity flight campaign held in Nov-Dec 2017.”

    Dr Yarjan Abdul Samad is a Senior Research Associate and a Teaching Fellow in the Cambridge Graphene Centre and the Engineering Department of Cambridge University. He is in the Nanomaterials and Spectroscopy Group in the Electrical Engineering Division.

    According to YPS’ official website, the criteria used for the award was: achievements, impact and sustainability.

    Young Professionals society recognises ‘excellence’ and honours outstanding young professionals who have shown, during the early years of their professional careers outstanding achievement