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  • Vehicle prices to finally come down in Pakistan?

    Vehicle prices to finally come down in Pakistan?

    Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has said that car prices in Pakistan will be reduced in the coming days.

    Speaking to Geo News on Wednesday, Fawad said that the prices of cars in Pakistan have increased immensely over the past few years. However, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has approved the Electric Vehicle Policy — which will end the monopoly of car manufacturers in the country.

    The minister maintained that the Electric Vehicle Policy is crucial for urban cities like Lahore and Karachi, as over 35% of air pollution in these cities is caused by emission of smoke from vehicles.

    Speaking about other initiatives taken by the government, the minister said that three major mobile phone companies would soon start operations in Pakistan and that the ECC has also approved the mobile manufacturing policy, he added.

    He said that these are great achievements accomplished during the “Made in Pakistan campaign”, and in near future, the country will be manufacturing its own vehicles and mobile phones.

  • Pakistanis prefer China’s COVID-19 vaccine over US, UK and Russia: Survey

    Pakistanis prefer China’s COVID-19 vaccine over US, UK and Russia: Survey

    A survey done by the Institute for Public Opinion Research (IPOR) has revealed that majority of the respondents would prefer a China-made coronavirus vaccine over Pakistan, United States, Russia and others. 

    According to details, 1,500 participated in the survey between December 2 and 14 this year. It found that 35% of the respondents preferred China’s vaccine while 14% backed Pakistan and 9% chose the US. A government-approved vaccine got the green-stamp of 15% of the respondents while 16% did not give any answer.

    The majority of respondents in the survey believe the virus to be a reality, while 25% said it doesn’t exist and termed it a global conspiracy.

    Most of the participants said they would take the vaccine. Five in 10 said they would be willing to be administered the vaccine. Most of the respondents mentioned different conspiracy theories about the corona vaccine behind the reason for not going for the vaccine. In a previous survey, 67 percent of respondents were willing to administer the vaccine.

  • Peshawar Zoo loses its fourth giraffe

    Peshawar Zoo loses its fourth giraffe

    Peshawar Zoo lost its fourth giraffe in 2020 on Monday, just a few days after a black bear’s alleged death.

    According to details, the male giraffe had been suffering from an intestinal infection for one week and was under treatment in the zoo. Zoo officials said that samples were collected from the dead body and sent to the National Veterinary Laboratory, Islamabad, and Veterinary Research Institute, Peshawar, for examination and to ascertain the exact cause of the death.

    A three-year-old giraffe was earlier found dead in June, while the other two died in April and May.

    “The earlier three died of shooting diarrhoea while this one now had a somewhat different cause of death,” stated Project Director of the Peshawar Zoo, Ishtiaq Wazir. “We had provided antibiotics to the giraffe but it did not recover,” added the official.

    He further said that giraffes are fragile animals and the symptom of their disease appears at the time when preventive intervention cannot succeed in treating them.

    Officials said the zoo was left with two female giraffes only.

    Animal rights activists have been campaigning for the condition of animals kept in Peshawar zoo. A petition about issues of the Peshawar zoo, including animal deaths and qualification of staff members, especially veterinarians, is also pending with the Peshawar High Court.

    Islamabad zoo shuts down after last animals moved

    Meanwhile, Islamabad’s Marghazar Zoo — which drew international condemnation for its treatment of lonely elephant Kaavan — shut down on Wednesday after its final occupants Babloo and Suzie were relocated to Jordan.

    Babloo

    The two Himalayan bears were the last to leave the Islamabad facility, almost three weeks after the country’s only Asian elephant was flown to a wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia.

    “The Islamabad zoo is now completely closed for both public and officials,” said Saleem Shaikh, a spokesman for Pakistan’s ministry of climate change.

  • VIDEO: Ertugrul star’s Pakistani host breaks silence on fraud allegations

    Kashif Zameer, the man who hosted Dirilis Ertugrul star Engin Altan Düzyatan during his Lahore visit, has responded to allegations that he paid only half of the decided amount to the Turkish actor.

    Zameer, in a video message, has said it is very sad that media is spreading “rumours” about him.

    “There are a few things that I would like to clarify. The agreement was to pay Engin Altan half the amount ahead of his first visit to Pakistan and the rest of the amount will be paid at the time of his next visit.”

    “There are a few brands that do not want this deal to happen. If there would have been any payment problem, the actor himself would have tweeted about it. Our media is only spreading rumours. Please have some shame. It means no international star would come to Pakistan again,” he said.

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

  • Pakistani doctor Asifa Akhtar to receive Germany’s highest scientific award

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

    Pakistani-born Dr Asifa Akhtar has been selected to receive Germany’s highest scientific award, the ‘Leibniz Prize’. In addition to the award, she will also receive prize money of 2.5 million euros.

    According to details, Dr Asifa Akhtar has been selected for the award on the basis of her “cell biological work on mechanisms of epigenetic gene regulation and understanding chromosome regulation (“dosage compensation”). This is a mechanism in which the genes of the X chromosome are produced in equal strength in the male and female sex.”

    German Consulate General Karachi congratulated Dr Asifa on her achievement and said that she makes “both Pakistan and Germany extremely proud with your outstanding contributions to science!”

    Dr Asifa received her PhD from the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London in 1997. She continued her research at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, where – after a stopover at the LMU Munich – she headed a research group from 2001 to 2009. Akhtar has been a member of the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina since 2019.

    She is currently serving as the director at the Max Planck Institute for Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg. She is also the Vice President of the Max Planck Society. Established in 1948, the Max Planck Society is Germany’s most successful research organisation with 18 Nobel laureates from the ranks of its scientists. It is on par with the best and most prestigious research institutions worldwide.

    The Leibniz Prize will be awarded digitally on 15 March 2021. The Leibniz Prize has been honouring up to ten scientists each year since 1986.

  • Maryam trolled for sharing ‘doctored’ image of Lahore jalsa

    Maryam trolled for sharing ‘doctored’ image of Lahore jalsa

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz was trolled by social media users after the PML-N vice president shared a supposedly edited picture of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) rally held in Lahore last Sunday.

    The PDM held a gathering in Lahore on Dec 13. The government had played down the number of people who attended the gathering, saying only 10,000 people attended the rally. The opposition, on the other hand, put the number above 100,000.

    However, the picture of the rally shared by Maryam added to the controversy and also attracted flak for being “fake”. PTI wrote: “Decisive moment in PDM; after #LahorePDMJalsa turnout, PDM has resorted to utilizing its trump card; Clone Stamp Tool in Photoshop.”

    Prime Minister’s aide Shahbaz Gill tweeted that Maryam has “such a bad luck that she always gets caught”.

    Federal minister Hammad Azhar also didn’t miss the chance to troll the PML-N de-facto president.

    A user advised the PML-N leader to “fire her graphic designer”.

    Another user used this opportunity to make a meme.

  • Babar Azam, Shan Masood named in Wisden’s Test Team of the Year

    Wisden, on Tuesday, unveiled its ‘Test Team of the Year’ for 2020 and the list which features the best performers in Test cricket between December 11, 2019, and December 11, 2020, included Shan Masood and Babar Azam.

    Shaan made it to the list with 419 runs in 6 matches at an average of 46.55 with a high score of 156 against England.

    “England began exceptionally before lunch on day one, and Masood rode it out. Then, even as the home bowlers erred, he couldn’t quite cash in. But on day two, as Pakistan slid to 176-5, he came into his own, slowly opening his shoulders as his batting partners dwindled. Having struggled against England previously – his 156 was more than he managed in four previous Tests against them combined – Masood’s should have been a match-winning knock, but Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler had other ideas,” said Wisden about Masood.

    Azam also made it to the list with 600 runs in 6 matches at an average of 100 with a high score of 143 against Bangladesh.

    Writing about Azam, Wisden said: “All told, that’s not a bad average. Babar Azam made sure the return of Test cricket was a joyous, triumphant one, and it was fitting that he, a player who had already inspired such hope in the country, should provide even more. That he’ll be disappointed with his exploits in England, despite averaging just under 50, shows how high his standards now are. The most important of Babar’s knocks in terms of the match situation. Having come in at 93-2, he breezed past a century in quick time, setting up a match-winning lead.”

    Read more – Only two Pakistanis nominated for ICC Awards of the Decade

    Meanwhile, check out the complete test team of the year below.

    Wisden’s Test Team of the Year 2020:

    1. Dom Sibley

    2. Shan Masood

    3. Kane Williamson (C)

    4. Marnus Labuschagne

    5. Babar Azam

    6. Ben Stokes

    7. Quinton de Kock (WK)

    8. Kyle Jamieson

    9. Stuart Broad

    10. Tim Southee

    11. Nathan Lyon

  • ‘Shehwar aur thappar ki goonj’: Adnan Siddiqui recalls the iconic slap from MPTH

    ‘Shehwar aur thappar ki goonj’: Adnan Siddiqui recalls the iconic slap from MPTH

    Remember the iconic scene in which Danish (Humayun Saeed) burst into Shehwar’s (Adnan Siddiqui) office and slapped him in Meray Paas Tum Ho?

    Siddiqui, who has recently been sharing his highlights from 2020 on social media, recalled memories of the famous slap scene and revealed what transpired behind the scenes on the sets.

    Read more – Adnan Siddiqui says he was double-minded about ‘Meray Paas Tum Ho’

    “So I reach the set and see Humayun and Nadeem Baig talking in hushed tones, darting glances at me all this while,” said Adnan while talking about what happened on set while this scene was being shot. “‘Perhaps they sold me off to aliens last night,’ I try to make light of it to myself when they decide to include me in the discussion.”

    “Turns out, the matter on hand is much more serious. In the first-ever scene that will commence MPTH, Danish will be slapping Shehwar in his office as his employees look on. ‘Not bad’, I chuckle though both Humayun and Nadeem look nervous about my “seniority” and the close friendship I share with Humayun.”

    “Cameras roll and there is pin-drop silence. Danish raises his hand on Shehwar and before we know it, we are rolling into full-throttled guffaws Nadeem included,” he continued. “When Humayun and I are shooting together, especially an intense scene, it is a laugh riot and this couldn’t be an exception. In fact, it became essential to put everyone at ease.”

    Concluding his remarks, Adnan said: “I still joke with Nadeem why did he stop at just one slap? For a woman as beautiful as Mehwish, Shehwar would have easily taken a few more.”

    Meray Paas Tum Ho also featured Ayeza Khan and Hira Mani in the lead. Written by Khalil ur Rehman Qamar and directed by Nadeem Baig, the drama was produced by Humayun and Shahzad Nasib under their production house Six Sigma Plus.

  • Tom Cruise loses it after crew members break COVID-19 protocols on ‘Mission: Impossible’ sets

    Tom Cruise loses it after crew members break COVID-19 protocols on ‘Mission: Impossible’ sets

    Tom Cruise reportedly lost his cool after an apparent breach of COVID-19 safety protocols on the London set of the new Mission: Impossible movie, telling crew members they would be fired if they don’t obey the rules.

    In expletive-filled remarks captured on audiotape obtained by The Sun, the star and producer of the action film yelled at the crew about lapses of social distancing and other rules that allow movies to be made during the coronavirus pandemic.

    https://twitter.com/RexChapman/status/1339020608294838273?s=19

    A source close to the production said the tape was authentic. However, Cruise’s representative declined to comment on the matter.

    “I’m on the phone with every fucking studio at night, insurance companies, producers, and they’re looking at us and using us to make their movies,” Cruise told the crew on the set.

    “Do you understand the responsibility that you have? Because I will deal with your reason. And if you can’t be reasonable and I can’t deal with your logic, you’re fired,” he can be heard saying in the audiotape.

    The Sun did not say when the incident took place, but the filmmakers arrived in London in early December.

    The seventh Mission: Impossible was one of the first movies to shut down production because of the coronavirus when it abandoned filming in Venice, Italy, in February.

    Production resumed in September, with filming in Italy, Norway and London. Cruise in July personally appealed to Norway’s prime minister to shoot parts of the film in Norway under modified quarantine rules.

    Cruise told the crew Hollywood was relying on movies like Mission: Impossible to keep the beleaguered industry going.

    “We want the gold standard. They’re back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of us! Because they believe in us and what we’re doing,” he said.

    Mission: Impossible is one of the biggest franchises in Hollywood, with 2018’s Mission: Impossible-Fallout taking more than $791 million at the worldwide box office.

    The Paramount Pictures film is scheduled to be released in November 2021.

  • WhatsApp will stop working on selected iPhones, Android devices from 2021

    WhatsApp will stop working on selected iPhones, Android devices from 2021

    Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp has announced that it will end support on some old Android and iOS smartphones from 2021.

    As per reports, WhatsApp is ending support for Android phones and iPhones that run on a dated operating system. The app will stop working on smartphones that are not running on at least iOS 9 or Android 4.0.3 operating systems.

    The iPhone models include all iPhone 4 and earlier models. However, if you have iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6S, you will have to update your phone to iOS 9 or later if you want to continue using WhatsApp.

    The iPhone 6S, 6 Plus, and iPhone SE first generation can be updated to iOS 14.

    Similary, Android phones that do not have Android 4.0.3 will lose access to WhatsApp. This includes models like HTC Desire, LG Optimus Black, Motorola Droid Razr, the Samsung Galaxy S2 and some other Android phones.

    Some users may still continue to access WhatsApp on their older smartphones as their operating systems may have received a patch with an update

    How to check the operating system running on your phone?

    In order to find out what operating system your phone is running on, iPhone users can go to Settings > General > Information, where you will find information about the software version on your iPhone. 

    On the other hand, Android users can go to Settings > About Phone to see which Android version their smartphone is running on.