11/01/2020 - 12/01/2020
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11/30/2020

The Pakistan Academy Selection Committee has selected Sarmad Khoosat’s film Zindagi Tamasha as Pakistan’s official entry to the 93rd Academy Awards.

According to a press release, the film will be submitted for Oscar consideration in the ‘International Feature Film Award’ category by the Pakistan Committee.

The final list of nominees to be decided by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in February 2021 and will be announced on 15th March 2021. The presentation show for the 93rd Academy Awards scheduled to take place on 25th April 2021.

Related: Oscars 2021 postponed by two months due to pandemic

The Pakistani Oscar committee for 2020 was chaired by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Faisal Kapadia, Asad-ul-Haq, Hamza Bangash, Syed Muhammad Ahmed, Mehwish Hayat, Hasan Shehreyar Yasin, Asim Abbasi, Arshad Mahmud and Jamal Shah. 

Zindagi Tamasha has been directed and co-produced by Sarmad Khoosat, along with sister Kanwal Khoosat and written by Nirmal Bano. It features Arif Hassan, Eman Suleman, Samiya Mumtaz and Ali Kureshi.

The film narrates the story of a naat khwan named Rahat Khawaja and his family who find themselves ostracised when a video of Khawaja becomes public. After the video goes viral, even his own daughter, Sadaf is ashamed of him.

In October 2019, Zindagi Tamasha created a major buzz when it won big at the prestigious Busan International Film Festival in South Korea. 

Khoosat’s directorial also won The Kim Ji-Seok Award, named after the festival’s co-founder and executive programmer who died in 2017.

Zindagi Tamasha banned

On March 14, The Council of Islamic Ideology said that they will not review Zindagi Tamasha according to a decision made by the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights.

The Senate committee had asked the Central Board of Film Censors for a copy of the film.

Related: Myths about Zindagi Tamasha

In a tweet, Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokar, the chairperson of the committee, said that the committee took notice of the ban on the film. He said he was surprised to learn that the film had been cleared twice.

“We directed that the screening for the CII should be held in abeyance till the committee views and decides whether there is something objectionable in it or not.”

The film wasn’t officially banned but it was pulled back from screening after it was cleared by the central and provincial censor boards.

Khoosat’s film was scheduled for release on January 24 but a statement issued by the censor boards of Sindh and Punjab – who had cleared the film for screening earlier, claimed that they were told that if the film was released it would cause “unrest within some segments of society”.



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11/30/2020

Former provincial minister and Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Adil Siddiqui passed away on Monday after contracting coronavirus.

He tested positive for the virus on November 22 and was put on a ventilator for over a week at the Ziauddin Hospital in Karachi. According to the doctors, the leader suffered from lung failure.

Siddiqui had arrived in the country earlier this month after a long time abroad.

The former Sindh MPA was born on May 12, 1963 in Karachi. He completed his bachelor’s from the University of Karachi.

COVID-19 in Pakistan

Several politicians have contracted coronavirus recently. PML-N leader Capt (R) Safdar, former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari have tested positive for the virus.

As of Monday morning, Pakistan has reported 398,024 cases of coronavirus, out of which 341,423 people have recovered. In the last 24 hours, over 2,839 new cases were reported and 40 people died.

Experts have warned that Pakistan is experiencing a second wave of the coronavirus.



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11/30/2020

Here are some of the stories we will be following today (Monday):

  • The Pakistan Democratic Party will be holding a rally against the government in Multan. In a first, Aseefa Bhutto Zardari will be representing the Pakistan Peoples Party to address supporters. Party chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will be delivering his speech via video link.
  • The metro and speedo bus services in Multan have been suspended today due to the rally.
  • A smart lockdown has been imposed in nine cities of Punjab.
  • The world is celebrating the birthday of Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh religion. Sikhs from across the world have arrived to visit Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, one of the holiest pilgrimage sites for the Sikhs, in Punjab’s Narowal.
  • A five-day anti-polio campaign will begin across the country. Over six million children under the age of five will be administered polio drops.
  • US President-elect Joe Biden was taken to a doctor “out of an abundance of caution” a day after he twisted his ankle while playing with his dog on Sunday, his office said, according to AFP.
  • Netflix hit series “The Crown” should make clear that much of its content is fiction over fears of damage to the image of the British royal family, a government minister said


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11/30/2020

New York City will reopen elementary schools on December 7 and offer in-person classes for special-needs students of all ages despite a recent surge in coronavirus cases, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Sunday.

With many parents struggling to care for students at home and with data showing the virus largely spares young children, the city dropped a requirement for schools to close if the rate of positive virus tests exceeds three percent for a week.

New York, home to the country’s largest school district, currently has a 3.1 percent rate.

The mayor told reporters the reopening was possible “because we have so much proof now of how safe schools can be.”

He said returning students would be subjected to weekly Covid-19 tests.

The mayor also said on Twitter that five-day in-person instruction, rather than a partly virtual approach, would be the preferred model for schools with space to allow social distancing.

Up to now, in-person schooling has been offered only two or three times a week.

Schools vs bars

The questions of how and when to resume in-person instruction have been fiercely debated in cities around the world, with parents and officials seeking to balance safety concerns against fears that children’s schooling and social development have suffered.

“We want our kids in the classroom for as much time as possible,” Mayor de Blasio, a Democrat, said. “Our families do, too. We’ll work to make it happen.”

New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo voiced support for the city welcoming back its younger students.

“Just about every professional says the schools, especially K-8, should be kept open whenever it’s possible to keep them open safely,” he said, referring to the first nine years of schooling in the US.

Classes for New York’s middle school and high school students — except for those with special needs — will remain online.

The city, under an agreement with the teachers union, had canceled all in-person classes on November 19. That came amid a resurgence of Covid-19 that sent the city’s positive test rate creeping up from one percent during much of the summer to 3.1 percent.

The decision infuriated many parents, who said it made no sense to close schools, with their relatively low transmission rate, while bars and restaurants remained open. They pointed to the example of Europe, where most schools remain open.

Parents argued that schools have had a low positivity rate — just 0.23 percent, officials said — and that closings disproportionately punish the many children with working parents and the 60,000 lacking computers at home.

New York first closed its 1,800 public schools on March 16 as the virus was surging. They remained closed through June.

After the summer vacation, New York became the first big US city to partially restart in-person classes. About 300,000 of the system’s 1.1 million students returned to classrooms.



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11/30/2020

Netflix hit series “The Crown” should make clear that much of its content is fiction over fears of damage to the image of British royal family, a government minister said.

“It’s a beautifully produced work of fiction, so as with other TV productions, Netflix should be very clear at the beginning it is just that,” culture minister Oliver Dowden told The Mail on Sunday.

“Without this, I fear a generation of viewers who did not live through these events may mistake fiction for fact”.

Dowden is expected to formally write to the US streaming company to request it adds a “health warning” before each episode.

The latest episode in the series, which follows the life of Queen Elizabeth II and her close family, revolves around Prince Charles and his doomed marriage to wife Diana.

Those close to the royal family fear that fabricated scenes are hurting the monarchy, particularly heir to the throne Charles. 

“It is quite sinister the way that (screenwriter Peter) Morgan is clearly using light entertainment to drive a very overt republican agenda and people just don’t see it,” an unnamed friend of the prince told the paper.

Although largely sympathetic to Diana, her brother has also called for Netflix to make clear some scenes are fictional.

“It would help The Crown an enormous amount if at the beginning of each episode it stated that, ‘this isn’t true but is based around some real events’. Because then everyone would understand it’s drama for drama’s sake,” Charles Spencer told ITV.

More than 70 million households worldwide have watched The Crown, which is now on its fourth series, since it began in 2016, according to figures released by Netflix.



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11/28/2020

A man was arrested for kidnapping and then raping a 12-year-old boy in Dera Ismail Khan’s Tank, the police said on Saturday.

According to the FIR, the boy was kidnapped on November 23 while he was on his way back from school after which the family registered a missing person complaint at the Gul Imam police station.

Following this, a special police team comprising SHO Bilal Khan, the investigating officer and the sub inspector was formed. They arrested the suspect within 48 hours and recovered the 12-year-old.

The perpetrator, identifed as Najeebullah, confessed to raping the youngster. He lived in the neighbourhood of the survivor.

The DNA samples of the suspect have been sent for a medical examination, SHO Khan said.

A case has been registered under Sections 364 (Kidnapping or abducting in order to murder), 377 (Unnatural offences) and 342 (Punishment for wrongful confinement) of the Pakistan Penal Code.



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11/28/2020

Actor Maryam Nafees has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

She informed fans that she is in isolation and away from home.

“Greetings from isolation. Unfortunately, I’ve added to the COVID count by testing positive,” she wrote on Instagram. She has been showing harsh symptoms and requested people to pray for her.

She advised fans to take care of themselves and people around them. “Wear your mask and take all the precautionary measures. This too shall pass, InshaAllah!” she added.

Recently, actors including Usman Mukhtar and Ameer Gilani also contracted the coronavirus. They have now recovered.

Gilani, who had been isolating at home, shared that the experience was scary and annoying.

Coronavirus cases are steadily rising in the country as a second wave has hit Pakistan. People are instructed to wear masks when leaving their houses and follow all safety guidelines.



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11/28/2020
kaavan-loneliest-elephant-four-paws
Photo: Savinglifeonpaws/Twitter

The Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan has completed preparations for the departure of Pakistan’s loneliest elephant, Kaavan, to Cambodia tomorrow [Sunday, November 29].

According to a notification, issued by the authority on Friday, a cargo airplane to transport the airplane has been granted permission to land at the Islamabad International Airport.

“A special DHL cargo airplane, arranged by Kaavan’s donors, has been booked,” it read.

An approval certificate of the order has been passed by the Ministry of Climate Change as well.

CAA’s notification added that the elephant will be accompanied by a team that includes three doctors and eight technical experts.

Under directives of the Islamabad High Court, Kaavan will be moved to the airport from the Margazar Zoo on Sunday. The airport manager was ordered to provide all arrangements for the transfer.

In a hearing on Friday, the court was informed about the elephant’s departure and the preparation underway for it.

Dr Amir Khalil and German expert Frank Gortz, who came from Austria to transfer Kaavan, told the court that after the elephant, two brown bears at the zoo will be transferred to Jordan on December 6.

Kaavan, kavan, Pakistan's loneliest elephant, Mughazar zoo, Islamabad zoo, Dr Amir Khalil, Four Paws, Cher,

Dr Khalil told the court that they had prepared a special traveling box to shift Kavan as it was a big mission. “The mission is complex due to the elephant’s big size and long journey.”

The bench, headed by Justice Athar Minallah, remarked that the animals were not made to be kept in cages, adding the animals must be given a natural environment.

It has summoned a report on the transfer of the animals on December 21.

Related: Cher calls on PM Imran Khan in Islamabad

On Friday, American singer Cher met Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad. The premier appreciated Cher’s efforts in helping Kaavan retire to an elephant sanctuary and thanked her.

Kaavan’s plight

Kaavan is a 36-year-old extinct-breed Asiatic elephant that the Sri Lankan government gifted to Pakistan in 1985. The animal is being kept at Islamabad’s Marghazar Zoo where he has been alone in his enclosure since 2012 when his female companion, Saheli, died at 22.

An online petition garnered over 200,000 signatures after it emerged he was being chained, suffering from mental illnesses, and will have a bleak future without a better habitat even if a new mate arrives.

On May 22, Chief Justice Athar Minallah ordered wildlife officials to consult with Sri Lanka to find Kaavan a “suitable sanctuary”.

He also ordered that the 878 other animals held at Islamabad’s zoo be relocated.



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11/28/2020

England registered a five-wicket win over South Africa in the first T20I in Cape Town on Friday.

Jonny Bairstow powered England to victory as he thrashed 86 not out off 48 balls. The visitors chased down a victory target of 180 with four balls to spare.

England were struggling at 34 for three before Bairstow and Ben Stokes (37) changed the momentum of the match with a fourth wicket stand of 85.

Even so, South Africa still had a realistic chance of winning as England went into the last four overs needing 51 runs.

But left-arm fast bowler Beuran Hendricks conceded 28 runs in the 17th over, including three wides which cost eight runs, as Bairstow and England captain Eoin Morgan went on the attack.

Morgan said the win was “extremely pleasing, given that we were pretty average apart from two or three players.”

Morgan said England’s bowlers “missed areas”, although left-armer Sam Curran claimed a career-best three for 28 in South Africa’s innings of 179 for six.

And he was disappointed with the batting start, although he praised Bairstow and Stokes.

“Jonny and Ben rebuilding the way they did set up the win nicely,” he told SuperSport television.

Bairstow batted at number four instead of opening as he often does in white-ball cricket.

“It’s something you’ve got to enjoy,” he said. “You learn to craft your innings in different ways.”

Bairstow hit nine fours and four sixes, finishing the match in style with his fourth six which sailed into a building sight on the northern end of the ground.

Former captain Faf du Plessis top-scored for South Africa with 58 off 40 balls after his side were sent in on a cool evening.

South Africa’s first international match since March was staged without spectators because of Covid restrictions.

South African captain Quinton de Kock refused to blame the Hendricks over.

“I don’t think it was just the one over. It was the way Jonny and Ben played. We didn’t play badly. They played really well.” The teams meet again in a day game in Paarl on Sunday.



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11/28/2020

Google is celebrating Pakistani novelist, playwright and spiritualist Bano Qudsia’s 92nd Birthday, on Saturday with a doodle.

Born on November 28, 1928 in Firozpur, British India, She was popularly known as Bano Aapa, which means Elder Sister.

Renowned for her message of love and hope, Qudsia earned enormous acclaim for Urdu classics like her television play Aadhi Baat and novel Raja Gidh.

She wrote 25 novels and founded her own magazine called Dastango. Some of her famous stories include Aatish-i-Zer-i-Paa, Aik Din, Amer Bail, Asay Pasay, Chahar Chaman, Chotaa Sheher Baray Log, Footpath ki Ghaas, Haasil Ghaat, and Hawa Kay Naam.

Related: Google remembers Manto with a doodle on his 108th birthday

Qudsia graduated from the Kinnaird College in Lahore and then joined the Government College University (Lahore) (GCU) to do her masters in Urdu literature which she completed in 1951.

She married writer Ashfaq Ahmed whom she had met at the Government College University in Lahore. The couple was considered inseparable in their social lives.

She was awarded Sitara-e-Imtiaz in 1983 and Hilal-e-Imtiaz in 2000 for her literary achievements.

Bano Qudsia died at the age of 88 on February 4, 2017, at the Ittefaq Hospital in Lahore.



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11/28/2020

New Zealand’s Ministry of Health said that another member of the Pakistan touring squad has tested positive for the coronavirus.

This brings the number of affected players to seven.

“One additional member of the Pakistan Cricket squad has today tested positive during routine testing,” the health ministry said in a statement. “The remainder of the results from the squad’s Day 3 swab testing – apart from the six who have already returned a positive result, are negative.”

The Babar Azam-led Pakistan squad are in New Zealand where they are scheduled to play three T20Is and two Tests.

Earlier, six members of the team were tested positive for the disease.

The New Zealand Government claimed that the several players in the touring squad were found to be violating the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) against the disease.

The touring side were issued a warning that it would be sent back if found to be violating the SOPs for the second time.



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11/28/2020

Here are some of the stories we will be following today (Saturday):

  • ICYMI: Photos have surfaced of Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari’s engagement ceremony to Mehmood Chaudhry. The event was held on Friday.
  • The Islamabad-Rawalpindi metro bus service will resume operations today after employees of the service’s ticketing office ended their protests.
  • Pakistani transgender person, Nayab Ali, has won the “Asia Hero Award” under the category of Transgender Hero.
  • CNG supply to Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab has been suspended for 24 hours starting tonight, the SNGC said.
  • The body of Nawaz Sharif’s mother, Begum Shamim Akhter, will be repatriated to Pakistan today. It will be buried in Lahore’s Jati Umra.
  • One of Iran’s most prominent nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was assassinated on Friday in an attack on his car outside Tehran that it accused arch-foe Israel of being behind.
  • PPP’s Aseefa Bhutto Zardari will be addressing supporters at the PDM rally in Multan.
  • American singer Cher met Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad on Friday, his office shared on Twitter. The premier appreciated Cher’s efforts in helping Kaavan retire to an elephant sanctuary and thanked her.


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11/28/2020

The coronavirus is clouding “Black Friday” much as it has overshadowed 2020 in general, but some leading experts still expect strong overall sales even as shopping patterns are altered.

The more bullish case for the holiday shopping season cites robust demand for bigger-ticket items such as home improvement projects, new computers and home fitness machines as more people work from home and e-commerce grabs an ever-increasing share of the overall market.

Malls were open for business as usual on Friday, but there were early indications that the day-after-Thanksgiving crowds were more sparse this year as more consumers opt for e-commerce or for curbside pickup options because of the virus.

Most individual retailers say there is still too much uncertainty to project fourth-quarter sales, but the National Retail Federation offered a fairly upbeat outlook, saying shoppers “are willing to spend on gifts that lift the spirits of family and friends after such a challenging year.”

The NRF projects a 2020 jump of between 3.6 percent and 5.2 percent in overall holiday sales compared with the year-ago season.

The trade group points to optimism over Covid-19 vaccines and says many consumers have available cash from an appreciating stock market, a strong housing market and disposable income that would otherwise have gone to travel and entertainment.

Hard times for some

But this outlook may understate the impact from elevated unemployment levels in the United States, exacerbated by Washington’s inability to produce another round of fiscal support for struggling families.

An even bigger source of uncertainty is the coronavirus itself, which has been spreading quickly in much of the country, spurring fresh restrictions in some cities and dampening the holiday mood overall.

CFRA Research projected that 2020 would be the first holiday season of non-positive sales growth since 2008, with sales roughly flat. Last year sales rose 4.4 percent.

The projection rests on a so-called “K”-shaped economic recovery, with higher-income consumers able to splurge on bigger items and other consumers struggling to make ends meet.

Among those in the less fortunate category, “people might be spending just on essential items as they tighten their purse strings,” said CFRA Research analyst Camilla Yanushevsky.

There are some wildcards in the forecast. Sales could benefit if Washington comes through with stimulus but would weaken further if there are widespread stores shutdowns.

One thing that isn’t in question is the growing share of e-commerce. Online sales on Thanksgiving reached a new record his year, rising 21.5 percent to $5.1 billion, according to data from Adobe.

E-commerce sales since Nov. 1 have been $71.1 billion, up 31 percent from the year-ago level, said Vivek Pandya, Senior Digital Insights Manager at Adobe. The technology group estimates an increase in 33 percent across the holiday season to $189 billion.

Sales slipped for a period after Election Day while the outcome was still in question, but “we’ve been surging pretty heavily, especially into this week,” Pandya said.

Retailer pivot accelerates

Conventional retailers have accelerated their efforts to address shifting consumer expectations in the pandemic.

Macy’s has invested heavily in smartphone apps to improve its curbside pickup system and launched same-day delivery through a partnership with DoorDash.

But the iconic department store continues to see a sluggish performance at its flagship New York Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores.

“When you look at the transient population and the tourist business, that’s been the most challenged,” Macy’s Chief Executive Jeffrey Gennette said this month, adding that the company has modeled store closures because of coronavirus, but doesn’t expect that outcome.

Best Buy set up times for consumers to pick up popular new game consoles, as well as digital queues for curbside pickup. The electronics retailer has introduced a live video chat for consumers who want to shop from home.

Best Buy had a strong third quarter, but still isn’t forecasting the fourth quarter, said Chief Financial Officer Matthew Bilunas. “We are seeing Covid cases surge throughout the US and Canada at a time of significant holiday volume through our stores,” he said.

Meanwhile, the pacesetter for these changes, Amazon, now faces more scrutiny following surge.

In Germany, some 2,500 Amazon workers started a three-day strike, while the activist Athena Coalition has been holding rallies and press conferences around the United States pressing for better pay and calling for the giant to be broken up.

On Thursday, Amazon announced a $300 holiday bonus for US employees. The company has also pointed to a nationwide $15-per-hour minimum wage in the US, among other efforts to reward workers.

“Our teams are doing amazing work serving customers’ essential needs, while also helping to bring some much-needed holiday cheer for socially-distanced families around the world,” said a message from Dave Clark, senior vice president of Amazon Worldwide Operations. “I’ve never been more grateful for — or proud of — our teams.”



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