Prince Jackson is all happy as cousin Jaafar playing his dad in Biopic ‘Michael’
Michael Jackson son Prince couldn’t be happier on cousin playing his dad in biopicMichael Jackson’s son Prince Jackson reacted after his cousin, Jaafar Jackson, landed big role of playing the “King of Pop”in his biopic “Michael”.The actor and producer took to Instagram to extend his heartiest congratulations to Jaafar with an iconic image of his late father. “My cousin @jaafarjackson is going to be playing my father in the upcoming biopic produced by @gkfilms and directed by @antoinefuqua!,” he wrote in his caption.“Truthfully I couldn`t be happier and prouder for him,he`s been working his (expletive) off and I know he`s going to do an amazing job,” Prince added. “Just being himself, he embodies so much of my dad and I`m confident we are all going to do our best to show the world a part of my father they`ve never seen and that they deserve to see.”The upcoming film, directed by Antoine Fuqua, will shed light on all aspects of his life “including his most iconic performances that led him to become the greatest entertainer of all time.” Prince further wrote, “To all of my family`s fans and supporters out there thank you for your continued support and love.”“We all know my father and Jaafar`s uncle was such an incredible human being and everyone at @gkfilms is dedicated and excited to bring my father`s story to the big screen. “This project means a lot to me for many reasons.I am so excited to be on this journey with my family.”“@jaafarjackson, I know you’ll be a great companion,and I couldn’t be more proud and happy for you, he wrote.
Pakistan prepares for fuel shortage amid liquidity crisis
The country is in a balance of payments crisis and the depreciation of the rupee is pushing up the prices of imports.Energy accounts for the majority of import bills.Pakistan typically meets more than a third of its annual electricity needs with imported natural gas, whose prices have skyrocketed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.“There have been no shortages in the last two weeks. If no LCs (letters of credit) are currently open,there could be shortages in the next two weeks,” a senior oil company official told media. A letter of credit issued by the importer’s bank is a common form of guarantee of payment to the exporter in the oil trade.However, oil traders avoid countries such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka due to severe foreign exchange shortages. Pakistan hiked gasoline and diesel prices by 16% on Sunday to Rs 249.80 a liter and is in talks with the International Monetary Fund to lift the suspended bailout.State-owned refineries Pakistan National Oil (PSO) and Pakistan LNG Ltd have failed to win a number of fuel tenders in recent months.According to a letter from Imran Ahmed(Director General of Petroleum) at an industry conference,on the financial challenges,facing fuel importers,said “the delay in opening the LC cited the “serious liquidity problem” in the country. At the same time, the managing director of PSO said a gasoline cargo due for loading on Jan 13 has already been cancelled due to the non-opening of LCs. “He added that the country is having limited stocks and this situation can lead to dry out”.
Suicide bombing at Peshawar mosque kills 32, at least 147 injured
A powerful suicide bomber attacked a mosque near Peshawar’s police station today,killing 32 people and injuring 147, an official told media.Security officials said “the suicide bomber blew himself up while he was in the front row during a prayer service, injuring dozens of worshipers attending Zohr prayers”.The banned Teherik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack.Peshawar Commissioner Riaz Khan Mehsud said at least 28 people were martyred and 150 injured in the blast.The injured were transferred to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar. The hospital called on citizens to donate blood for the victims.Ejaz Khan of the Metropolitan Police Peshawar (CCPO) told the media that it was too early to say anything as many police officers were still trapped under the rubble.“We are currently focusing on relief efforts. I can’t say for sure, but the mosque smells of explosives,” CCPO said. He added that the headquarters of the Peshawar Police, CTD, FRP, Elite Forces and Telecommunications Division are located at this location. Usually 300 to 400 police officers pray during Zohr time. If the explosion occurred within a police perimeter, it would be a security breach, but investigation into the matter could provide further insight,” he said.Declaration of medical emergencyActing Prime Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Muhammad Azam Khan has declared a medical emergency in all hospitals in Peshawar. The interim CM also directed rescue organizations to speed up relief efforts.
Indian team finally arrives as West Asian baseball kicks off
The Indian baseball team has been stranded at the Wagah border since arriving on Wednesday, waiting to receive a NOC from the government,the Indian baseball team has finally arrived in Pakistan via Wahga border on Friday.They came after two days since the tournament has been started.On Friday, they were allowed to travel across the border to Islamabad to compete in the West Asia Baseball Championship, which started here on Friday.In the first game of the tournament, Pakistan won his 17–0 victory over Afghanistan as Fakir Hussein scored his three runs and Wasim Akram added his two runs, including a home run. The home side’s Mohammad Hussein, Arslan, Fazal Khan, Shahzad and Mohammad Younis all scored twice.In the second match of the day, defending champions Sri Lanka defeated Nepal with 26-0 win. Nepal, Bangladesh and Palestine are other teams participating in regional competitions.The president of the Pakistan Baseball Association, Fakhar Ali Shah, expressed his joy at the arrival of the Indian player and hoped the team would play passionately.
Resolution passed against heinous act of desecrating the Holy Quran in Denmark
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mumtaz Zehra Baloch said Pakistan strongly condemned the desecration of the Quran in Denmark.This action was taken by anti-Muslim bigots who had done the same in Sweden a few days earlier. She said she regretted the repetition of this heinous act.Muslims are realizing that freedom of expression is being used to promote religious hatred and violence.Earlier on Friday, the Pakistani Senate unanimously passed resolutions condemning the heinous act of desecrating the Holy Quran in Sweden and the Netherlands.The Senate hatefully condemned this shameful case of Islamophobia and stipulated in UNGA Resolution 36/35 of 25 November 1981, Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,Article 18, the European Court of Human Rights and the European Guidelines on Freedom of Religion or Belief. UNGA resolution 56/6 of 9 November 2001 on a global agenda for dialogue between civilizations,UNGA resolution 2005/40. United Nations Commission on Human Rights, etc.
Arooj Aftab becomes first Pakistani artist to perform at Grammy Awards
Arooj Aftab is the first Pakistani to win a Grammy Award and will be the first to perform at the awards ceremony. Her accomplishments continue to grow and we are extremely proud of her.The singer will perform her nominated song ‘Udhero Na’ at the Grammys premiere ceremonyon Feb 5.On Friday,she announced on Instagram that she will be performing at the Grammys premiere ceremony before the Grammys main ceremony. Several prizes will also be announced at his premiere party. “I can’t wait for my Grammy-nominated jam ‘Udhero Na’ feat. Anoushka Shankar to play live with her for you guys at the Grammy Awards,” she wrote. She asked her followers to watch her live on February 5 at 12:30 p.m. PT at (live.grammy.com) and the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel.Anoushka Shankar who was a lead in Arooj’s song wrote,”Let’s do this,” while top designer HSY called it “great” and Tala Mahmoud said “it’s a good news”. Richa Moorjani of “Never Have I Ever” and American singer Jessica Betts also commented on her post. Pop superstar ‘Beyoncé’ leads the field of Grammy-nominated musicians as she takes on the likes of Adele,Harry Styles, and more to win the grand prize for Album of the Year. The “Alien Superstar” singer earned her nine nominations as music’s highest honor. That took her career to 88 and made her, along with husband Jay-Z, the most nominated artist in Grammy history.”Bad Bunny,Mary J. Blige, Brandi Carlisle,Luke Combs,Steve Lacy,Lizzo,Kim Petras and Sam Smith” will also perform at this year’s Grammy Awards.This year Aftab’s ‘Udhero Na’ was nominated for her Best Global Music Performance category. “Matt B and Eddy Kenzo’s ‘Gimme Love’, Burna Boy’s ‘Last Last’,Rocky Dawuni and Blvk H3ro’s ‘Neva Bow Down’, Wouter Kellerman, Zakes Bantwini and Nomcebo Zikode’s ‘Bayethe’ were nominated in the same category.
IMF to visit Pakistan on January 31
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission will be in Pakistan from January 31 until February 9, where he will hold consultations related to the 9th Review. The Pakistani representative of the fund, Esther Perez Ruiz issued a statement that “the mission will visit Islamabad from January 31 to February 9 at the invitation of the authorities.According to the ninth evaluation of the fund’s growth facility,and the delegation will have discussions”. According to the IMF, “delegation will concentrate on policies to restore internal and external stability, including improving the financial position of sustainable high-quality measures while aiding the underprivileged and flood victims.” The statement said, “These steps include revitalizing the energy industry and sustaining a downward trend in circular debt as well as frequent forex market activation to address the lack of foreign money through the exchange rate. “Efforts and reforms under a strong policy are necessary to reduce the current uncertainty which will be important in strengthening Pakistan’s competitiveness, securing financial support from partners and the market and this is essential for Pakistan’s sustainable development,” it added. On the other side,media reports stated that Pakistan had asked the United States for assistance in reviving the IMF program so that the economy could be controlled by external obstacles including floods and unfavourable global economic circumstances.According to the report, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar advised the team to comprehend the difficulties caused by floods and other outside causes in order to persuade the IMF to be forgiving with Pakistan for resuming the loan program.
Sania bids farewell to Grand Slam career
Indian pioneer Sania Mirza retired from Grand Slam tennis on Friday after losing alongside Rohan Bopanna in the mixed doubles final at the Australian Open. Considered one of her country’s top tennis players,Sania Mirza,who is 36 years old,returned to her park in Melbourne for her final cheer and reached the final.But she and her 42-year-old Bopanna failed to cross the line as she lost 7-6 (7/2) 6-2 to Brazilian duo Luis Stefani and Rafael Matos.Mirza broke down in tears at the post-match awards ceremony.She said” these are tears of joy and I am happy that I came a log way”.Talking about her tennis partner Rohan,she said” he was my first mixed doubles partner when I was 14 and we won the national team.“After 22 years, I couldn’t think of a better person to end my career here and play in the final. He is my best friend and one of my best partners. There is no better place for me or for anyone else to finish a career at a Grand Slam.” Mirza, who is married to former Pakistani team captain Shoaib Malik, has a young son “Izhaan”. It was incredible to play in front of him in the Grand Final.I never thought I would be able to play in front of my own kids in the final,so it’s really special to have him here and my parents too.Known for her ardent convention-breakers,Mirza became the first Indian woman to win her WTA singles title in her hometown of Hyderabad in 2005.She reached the fourth round at the US Open that same year,and in 2007 she was among the top 30 women.However, her wrist injury forced her to focus on doubles,and she partnered Swiss great Martina Hingis,who produced three Grand Slam titles for her.Sania has planned to retire from tennis because she think her body is not having that capacity to play like fire and also she wanted to take care of her child with full time and attention.
Babar Azam is named ICC Men’s ODI Cricket Player of the Year for the second consecutive year
Pakistani cricket captain Babar Azam is named Men’s ODI Player of the Year for the second year in a row by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday for his “match-winning stroke and attractive batting”. The ICC noted that in the past year, Azam has only accumulated 679 runs from his nine ODIs, scoring an average of 84.87 in three centuries and his five half centuries. He also maintained his lead as the number one hitter in his ICC-ODI Men’s Player Rankings, which he has held since July 2021.The ICC also praised Skipper for his role as Pakistan’s captain, “leading the team in style with only one loss in the season” against Australia in Lahore.Cricket statistician Mazhar Arshad commented on Azam’s performance: “He is truly an ODI great”.
Pathaan is a national success,more than 300 shows increased by exhibitors
Pathaan is screening on 8000 cinemas across worldwide.Soon after the first show, exhibitors flocked to his 300+ shows from “Pathaan” as the film took the box office by storm. This is pretty unprecedented, but it’s also the fact that Pathaan has emerged as a box office monster. Today, the total number of screens has reached 8000 worldwide, showing films in multiple languages, including: Hindi, Telugu, Tamil. Of his 8,000 screens, 5,500 are domestic screens and 2,500 are overseas screens. Pathaan becomes the first Hindi film to experience the biggest release in the history of Indian cinema. Additionally, the pathaa gained more attention due to the cast of the film starring the amazing screen duo “Shah Rukh Khan” and “Deepika Padukone”. Their chemistry has been a hit since “Om Shanti Om” and continues to be loved by “Happy New Year”and “Chennai Express”. The film is directed by Siddharth Anand and produced by Aditya Chopra under ‘Yash Raj Films’ banner.This is his fourth film in Chopra’s spy universe.All assets the creator has ever released from the movie (for example, his two songs) until the movie’s release. “Besharam Rang” and “Jhoome Jo Pathaan” and the trailer was a huge hit with massive viewership.