Weekly News Round-Up (8th – 14th January)
This week in the news, find out about Mehwish Hayat’s in Ms Marvel, how Pakistanis are making headlines around the world and more! Read on to find out all the news you’ve missed this week.
Prince Andrew Stripped Off Military Titles After Sexual Allegations Come To Light
On the 13th of January, The Queen removed Prince Andrew’s military titles and royal patronages after he failed bid to convince a judge to dismiss a civil case brought by Virginia Giuffre in a federal court in New York. Ms Giuffre alleges that she was forced to have sex with the Duke of York when she was 17. Prince Andrew strongly denies the allegations against him. Prince Andrew will now defend the civil sexual assault lawsuit as a “private citizen” and will no longer be known as His Royal Highness. Prince Charles was reportedly instrumental in the decision, which was made ahead of developments in Prince Andrew’s lawsuit that threatened to damage the monarchy. (Source: Independent)
Karachi Ranks Top Of Positivity Rates For New Covid Cases
On the 15th of January, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah convened a meeting of the COVID-19 body and expressed concern over the rising positivity ratio in Karachi – 35.30% in the last 24 hours. He stated that 430 infections of the Omicron variant were detected in Karachi and 2,846 new cases had been detected. However, he maintained that schools and educational institutions in Sindh will remain and SOPs will be enforced. Furthermore, the NCOC has stated that all citizens aged 18 years and above will be eligible for a free anti-Covid booster dose from Saturday. (Source: The News)
Haniya Minhas, The Youngest Pakistani To Rank In Top 3 Asian Tennis Sports
Pakistan’s tennis star Haniya Minhas has become the youngest Pakistani to be ranked in the top 3 of Asian Tennis Sports with the title of first Pakistani girl to win the Asian Tennis Federation 14&U event in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. She outplayed Sumaya Tukhtaeva of Tajikistan 6-1, 6-0 in straight sets in the final to land the title and becomes the first player from Pakistan to be ranked in the top 3 Asian Tennis Sports.
Arooj Aftab To Peform At Coachella 2022
Apart from making her first Coke Studio appearance this season and bagging Pakistan’s first Best New Artist nomination at the Grammys, Arooj Aftab is all et to perform at Coachella 2022. She will be performing on the first day of the festival on two weekends — April 15 and 22 —alongside Harry Styles, Phoebe Bridgers, Baby Keem, Carly Rae Jepsen and more! (Source: Dawn)
News Surfaces Of Mehwish Hayat’s Role In Ms Marvel
Apart from Fawad Khan, Nimra Bucha and Director Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy – there’s news that Mehwish Hayat has joined the cast of Ms Marvel. While there’s still very little known about whether Mehwish Hayat was a last-minute addition during the reshoots or whether she was already part of the cast during the first phase of production – we do know that we’re in for a ride!
It is speculated that Mehwish Hayat may be playing one of Kamala Khan’s teachers in high school, potentially serving as her de facto mentor in her personal life or she might portray one of the members of the rumoured villains of the show known as ClanDestine, a family of super-beings that are decedents of Djinn, a race of powerful magicians from Marvel Comics.
We can’t wait to see how Mehwish Hayat fits into the Ms Marvel narrative. Ms Marvel is expected to premiere on Disney+ sometime in 2022. (Source: The Direct)
Parizaad Finale To Be Screened In Cinemas On January 28th
The creators of Parizaad are giving fans an extra episode before they finally bid farewell to the franchise. Instead of having a 28 episode run, the show will now have an extra 29th episode which will be screened in cinemas across Pakistan on the 28th of January and aired on TV on the 1st of February. Set the date for an emotional last episode and grab tickets before they are sold out! (Source: Dawn)
