Amar Kaushik’s Stree 2, a sequel to his 2018 horror-comedy Stree, came out at a time when Bollywood was going through one of its worst periods, with few films making it to the box office. The movie was highly anticipated due to the fact that Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao reprised their respective roles from the first part. According to Sacnilk, Stree 2 defied expectations, becoming a blockbuster and grossing over Rs 856 crore worldwide, despite the industry’s doubts about whether the film could break the curse of consecutive flops. However, the film’s success sparked a contentious public relations dispute…
Author: Raja Zahid Khanzada
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has joined the nearly two dozen nations that have been labeled “not free” for enforcing harsh penalties and internet restrictions as global internet freedom declined for the 14th year in a row. Freedom House, a Washington, DC-based organization that monitors democracy and threats to freedom worldwide, evaluated internet freedom in 72 nations in its report, Freedom on the Net 2024. To show how governments censor and control the digital sphere, the report uses a “standard methodology to determine each country’s internet freedom score on a 100-point scale.” Pakistan and 21 nations, including China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab…
Former actor Bushra Ansari has called for a more in-depth investigation into the alleged rape at a Lahore college case that the Punjab government calls “fabricated.” Given that so many students believe it to be true, she believes there must be some truth to the story. Authorities have dismissed the incident’s legitimacy as a whole due to widespread outrage and confusion. In an Instagram video message, Ansari voiced her dissatisfaction with the manner in which the situation has been handled. In her video, Ansari emphasized the importance of taking student protests seriously and the demonstrators’ credibility by saying, “Thousands of…
After making remarks about the alleged rape of a Lahore student, the feminist organization urat March Karachi, which organizes the annual Women’s Day march, demanded that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz apologise or resign from her position. The group called Maryam’s “vile and regressive language” “unfit to represent the public while disregarding the safety, rights, and dignity of survivors of sexual violence” in its statement. Maryam called the “rumors spread on social media” regarding the alleged on-campus rape of the student a “fabricated story” during a press conference on Wednesday. According to the chief minister, an incident that “never existed…
Fans were left devastated by the sudden death of One Direction’s Liam Payne, which sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry. In a joint statement, Payne’s former bandmates Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan expressed their shock and devastation. Styles, Malik, and Tomlinson each posted individual tributes to their deceased brother, praising his friendship and reminiscing about their time spent together. He was also praised by Malik and Tomlinson for his mastery of his craft and for his contributions to the band. One Direction shared a sincere joint statement on Instagram on October 17 that reflected on Payne’s…
In the second Test in Multan on Friday, Pakistan’s frontline spinners beat England by 152 runs to level the three-match series at 1-1. Noman Ali took eight wickets. England were all out for 144 in the morning session of the fourth day, chasing 297 for victory on a turning track at the Multan Cricket Stadium. With an 8-46 score, Noman stood out among the Pakistan bowlers. It was only the seventh time and the first time in 52 years that spinners Noman and Sajid Khan had taken all 20 wickets in a Test match. England’s captain Ben Stokes led…
LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) reduced the number of the national selection committee’s members on Thursday to just five, making yet another modification. There were previously 11 members on the committee; four selectors, a data analyst, the national team captain and head coach, and four ex-officio members (those who do not have the power to vote). The PCB made the most recent move by getting rid of the captain, head coach, and ex-officio committee members and giving the remaining five members, former cricketers Aaqib Javed, Azhar Ali, and Asad Shafique, former umpire Aleem Dar, and data analyst Hasan Cheema,…
DUBAI: With a stunning 74 not out from Anneke Bosch, South Africa defeated defending champions Australia by eight wickets in Dubai on Thursday to advance to the Women’s T20 World Cup final. Bosch, who struck eight fours and a six in her 48-ball innings and shared a match-winning partnership of 96 with skipper Laura Wolvaardt, helped South Africa reach their target of 135 to win with 16 balls remaining. The South Africans will face either West Indies or New Zealand, who met in the second semi-final on Friday, in Sunday’s final, which won’t feature either Australia or England.
BALLERUP: Dutch cyclist Harrie Lavreysen on Wednesday brought home his fourteenth big showdown track title with triumph in the group run occasion, equalling the unequaled record of Frenchman Arnaud Tournant. Between now and the conclusion of the championships in Denmark, the 27-year-old, a five-time Olympic champion, will have a number of chances to set the record for himself. On Friday, he will compete in the time trial, and on Sunday, he will compete in the individual sprint. The Dutch team, led by Jeffrey Hoogland and Roy van den Berg, defeated Australia in the final on Wednesday, while Japan defeated Britain…
ISLAMABAD: According to data released on Thursday by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the Large-Scale Manufacturing (LSM) sector contracted 2.65% year-over-year in August. After a positive growth of 2.38 percentage points in July, the LSM moves into a negative growth. Since December 2023, the LSM has grown positively for the past six months before falling into negative territory in June. The LSM experienced a negative 0.03 percent growth in FY24. In August, the quantum index of LSM industries was 111.33 points, down from 114.36 points in the preceding month. However, it increased from 106.35 points in July.
