Author: Ali Qasim

CORONOLOGUE FILM AWARDS PRESENTED AT A ZOOM CEREMONY

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

Noted jurist and social activist Justice (rtd) Nasira Javed Iqbal presented the second “Coronologue Awards to the winners of Ajoka’s Coronologue Short Film Festival on 11th August at an online ceremony. The first prize of Rs 75,000 was awarded to Sibte Hassan for his short film “Hero” while Moizah Jilani of Karachi won the second prize of Rs 50,000 for her “Distant Relationship”. The winner of the third prize was Junaid Arif for his short film “ Abbu”. Elsa Shabir(Lahore) and Mahnoor Samad (Peshawar) got special mentions.


Justice Nasira congratulated the winners of the awards and appreciated Ajoka’s efforts to encourage young socially aware filmmakers. Sibte Hassan, winner of first prize and Junaid Arif, winner of third prize were present at Ajoka office to receive their award while 2nd prize winner Moizah Jilani joined on zoom from Karachi.
The jury members present on the occasion included film scholar Aijazz Gul, playwright Asghar Nadeem Syed, film, actor Savera Nadeem and Ajoka Chairperson Zara Salman who also expressed their support for Ajoka’s commitment to socially meaningful group arts. Also present were Ajoka’s Executive Director Shahid Nadeem and Ajoka Institute Director Nirvaan Nadeem.

The prizes were sponsored by the Babar Ali Foundation and individual supporters included Javed Masud, Perin Boga, Fawzia Afzal Khan, Salman Chima, Khawar Mumtaz and Shama Salman.
Ajoka Executive Director Shahid Nadeem said that Ajoka had held the second “Coronologue” after the success of last year’s Coronologue Online Theatre Festival.

The objective was to encourage innovative artistic responses to the psychological, emotional, social or political impact of the unprecedented pandemic. He hoped that the encouragement will inspire the winners to focus on creative quality work and produce meaningful productions in future.
Ajoka Institute Director Nirvaan Nadeem said that Ajoka is committed to encourage the young talent and provide quality entertainment to audience with meaningful productions. The film produced during the festival carries the same spirit and will be released on Ajoka’s social media channels soon.
The awards ceremony was live-streamed on Facebook .

Pak Nation is observing National Minority Day today

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

National Minority Day is being celebrated today to commemorate the contribution of minorities in the progress of Pakistan.

The day recalls the vision of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah with reference to his speech to the legislature on Aug 11, 1947, days before Pakistan separated from India, in which he pledged to protect the rights of non-Muslims in the newly created country.

“You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the state”, Quaid-e-Azam had espoused in his speech.

Quaid-e-Azam’s choice of Mandal, as the first law minister, and in his cabinet suggested that the country would not be run by the theocratic.

To assert this commitment, the Government of Pakistan declared August 11, as National Minority Day in 2009.

The day is observed to reaffirm the commitment that despite belonging to different faiths we are one nation that continues to march for a united and prosperous Pakistan. Events, seminars, and social gatherings are being arranged across the country on the day by members of various religious minorities.

Humayoun Saeed sets new trend, Wears 10 years old kurta

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

Pakistani superstar Humayun Saeed sets a new trend. He wore old kurta after a decade and shared adorable photos with the fans. Taking to Instagram, the Punjab Nahi Jaungi actor shared the snaps in white kurta and revealed he sported this after 10 years.

“Wore this kurta after 10 years today.”


He further said “As soon as my cook saw he said he wanted to take my pictures and also asked to post them on my Instagram.”

“So here goes. Two of these pictures taken by my cook Noor and two by my spot boy Salman”, the actor added.
Fans and fellow showbiz stars showered love on Humayun and flooded the comment section with heart emoticons.

Nimra Khan admitted in hospital, requests for prayers

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

Famous Pakistani actress Nimra Khan has appealed for prayers as she is suffering from pain due to urethral stones. The artist has posted pictures of herself in a hospital on Instagram, stating that she was in “extreme pain” and needed prayers.

Nimra said, “Due to urethral stones, there is shooting, unbearable pain. And it has also caused infection that aggravates the pain.”

Newsupdatetimes wished speedy recovery to Nimra Khan in this difficult time. Hopefully she will be discharged soon from the hospital.

Zeeshan Ashraf creates history, scored first century in Kashmir premier League.

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

Zeeshan Ashraf of the Muzzafarabad Tigers made history in the Kashmir Premier League on Tuesday after he scored the league’s first ever century.  Ashraf played a pivotal role in leading his team to victory against the Kotli Lions.

Ashraf scored an impressive 107 runs for 62 balls, helping the Tigers’ chase most of the 196-run target.

The opener’s impressive innings handed him the Man of the Match award at the end of the night and also the honor of scoring the first ever century for the KPL.

WhatsApp introduces new ‘Friends Are Family’ stickers.

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

WhatsApp have introduced a new series of beautiful stickers depicting beautiful emotions as stickers are the new language well understood, loved and binge-used by social media users across all platforms, as they form one of the most creative ways to communicate.

A new sticker pack called ‘Friends Are Family’ has been released and can be downloaded for free. The Twitter handle releasing updates about WhatsApp, WABetaInfo, captioned the stickers pack image: “‘Friends Are Family’ is available now as new WhatsApp sticker pack, on WhatsApp for iOS and Android.”

Mexican graphic artist WOAO has produced the recently launched sticker pack. The WABetaInfo-shared image says: “A good friend can make a problem disappear or turn a good time into a great one! So, here’s a pack for you and the ‘family you choose’ – your besties!”

The ‘Friends Are Family’ stickers have been themed around love, memories, happiness, sadness, anger and celebration. Mexican artist WOAO has a name for drawing multicoloured 3D images with striking features.

He sparingly dabbles with select colours, including red, purple, pink and lilac. With a few colours from his palette, he paints his characters with exaggerated features and disproportionate body parts. His graphic style is remotely reminiscent of ‘The Escape from the Chickens’.

The sticker pack is free and available for download on iOS, Android and desktops, regardless of what version of WhatsApp you are using. After you download them, you may update the app to avoid bugs and other glitches.

PTA authorizes Lucky Motor Corporation to Manufacture Samsung Mobile Devices

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

In accordance with Mobile Device Manufacturing (MDM) Regulations 2021, PTA has issued MDM authorization to Lucky Motor Corporation Limited for manufacturing of Samsung brand mobile devices.

The company had applied for authorization to setup mobile device manufacturing plant in Karachi, Pakistan where it will manufacture Samsung brand mobile devices. The authorization to manufacture Samsung Mobile devices in Pakistan is a landmark achievement and will further revolutionize the vibrant mobile manufacturing ecosystem in the country by ensuring presence of major local and foreign players in the market. This is possible only due to the conducive policies of the Government of Pakistan in its “Digital Pakistan” endeavor.

PTA has so far issued MDM authorizations to 25 foreign and local companies for the production of mobile devices (2G/3G/4G) locally. Mobile devices manufactured by these companies shall not only be sold in the country but will also be exported to other competitive markets of the region and beyond. The device manufacturing plants shall be instrumental in creating new job opportunities as well as enabling affordability of mobile devices for Pakistani users. The detail of all MDM Authorization holders is available on PTA website: www.pta.gov.pk.

 

TikTok tops Facebook as most downloaded app of 2020

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

TikTok was the world’s most downloaded app last year, overtaking Facebook and its messaging platforms, market tracker App Annie report yesterday. The Chinese-owned video app surged in popularity despite efforts by former president Donald Trump to ban it or force a sale to US-based investors, according to the research firm.

TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, is believed to have one billion users worldwide including more than 100 million in the United States, and its short-form videos are especially popular with young smartphone users.

US President Joe Biden in June revoked executive orders from his predecessor seeking to ban TikTok and Chinese-owned WeChat from US markets on national security concerns but ordered a review of the potential risks of foreign-owned internet services.

While the political debate about the video-snippet sharing sensation roiled, TikTok climbed from the fourth most downloaded app in 2019 to the top spot last year, according to App Annie data.

On the way, TikTok stepped over Facebook and two of the US internet giants texting apps Messenger and WhatsApp, the market tracker determined. TikTok’s popularity has prompted Facebook-owned Instagram to add video features to ride the hot trend.

Meanwhile TikTok last month began letting users post videos up to three minutes in length, tripling the prior cap to stay ahead of competitors.

Facebook has argued that the surge in TikTok’s popularity undercuts claims from antitrust enforcers in the United States that the California group dominates social networking.

Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan revealed name of their second child

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan had been quiet about their second son’s name for the longest time. Last month, Randhir Kapoor had revealed that his grandson has been named Jeh.

The couple, who became parents for the second time back in February, have reportedly named their baby boy Jehangir Ali Khan. Jeh is apparently a short form of the same.

Confirming the news, a source reveals, “Yes, they have named their son Jehangir Ali Khan. Saif and Kareena have refrained from revealing the name as they do not want any kind of controversies surrounding it.”

The source further reveals that the couple was contemplating a few names, “When Taimur Ali Khan was born, Saif was keen on naming him Faiz after the famous poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz but Kareena decided to go with Taimur. This time too, Saif was keen on naming the child Faiz, but later on, the couple thought of naming their second child Jehangir Ali Khan.”

 

ICC to push for cricket’s inclusion in Olympics

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed its intention to push for cricket’s inclusion in the Olympic Games going forward, starting preparations for a bid on behalf of the sport with the primary target being its addition to the Los Angeles 2028 itinerary.

A Working Group to lead the bid has been assembled by the ICC. Thirty-million cricket fans live in the USA, making LA 2028 the ideal Games for cricket to make its return to Olympic competition. Cricket, till now, has made just one appearance in the Olympics, way back in 1900 in Paris when only two teams competed at the event – Great Britain and hosts France – meaning the sport s inclusion in 2028 would mark the end of a 128-year absence.

The sport will feature in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games next year, which shapes as a perfect showcase for what the sport can bring to the Olympics, as well as being a momentous occasion on its own. ICC Chair Greg Barclay said the addition of cricket to the Olympic Games would be beneficial to both the sport and the Games themselves.

“Firstly on behalf of everyone at the ICC, I would like to congratulate the IOC, Tokyo 2020, and the people of Japan for staging such an incredible Games in such difficult circumstances. It truly was fantastic to watch and captured the imagination of the world and we would love for cricket to be a part of future Games,” Barclay said.

“Our sport is united behind this bid, and we see the Olympics as a part of cricket’s long-term future. We have more than a billion fans globally and almost 90 percent of them want to see cricket at the Olympics.

Barclay added: “Clearly cricket has a strong and passionate fanbase, particularly in South Asia where 92% of our fans come from whilst there are also 30 million cricket fans in the USA. The opportunity for those fans to see their heroes competing for an Olympic medal is tantalising.”

“We believe cricket would be a great addition to the Olympic Games, but we know it won’t be easy to secure our inclusion as there are so many other great sports out there wanting to do the same. But we feel now is the time to put our best foot forward and show what a great partnership cricket and the Olympics are.”

The ICC Olympic Working Group will be chaired by England and Wales Cricket Board Chair Ian Watmore. He will be joined by ICC Independent Director Indra Nooyi, Chair of Zimbabwe Cricket Tavengwa Mukuhlani, ICC Associate Member Director and Vice President of the Asian Cricket Council Mahinda Vallipuram and Chair of USA Cricket Parag Marathe.

Marathe believes the time is now for cricket to make its long-awaited return to the Olympics, confident the sport s inclusion at the showpiece event would accelerate the growth of the game in the USA.

“USA Cricket is thrilled to be able to support cricket’s bid for inclusion in the Olympics, the timing of which aligns perfectly with our continuing plans to develop the sport in the USA,” he said.

“With so many passionate cricket fans and players already in the USA, and a huge global audience and following for the sport around the world, we believe that cricket’s inclusion will add great value to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and help us to achieve our own vision for establishing cricket as a mainstream sport in this country.”