Another father-son duo to represent Pakistan in Olympics

On August 11, when Pakistan’s Judoka Shah Hussain Shah will enter the Rio Olympics Arena for his opening bout in the Olympic Games, history will add another duo in the list of father-son Olympians -- a seventh episode of this kind from Pakistan.

Shah Hussain Shah is competing in 100kg category of Judo competition in Rio Olympics. His father, Hussain Shah represented Pakistan in 1988 Seoul Olympics, where he won a Bronze medal.

There are six other father-son Olympian duos from Pakistan, all from Hockey.

Hockey player Sheikh Mahmood ul Hasan was member of Pakistan’s first Olympic contingent. He also represented Pakistan in 1952 Olympics. His son Ayaz Mehmood was member of Pakistan’s last Olympic Gold medalist hockey team in 1984.

Chaudhry Ghulam Rasool was member of Pakistan’s first Olympic medal winning team in 1956 Melbourne Olympics; four years later, he won a Gold medal at Rome Olympics. His son, Akhtar Rasool, was member of Pakistan Hockey team that won a Silver in Munich in 1972 and a Bronze in Montreal in 1976.

Pakistan’s last Olympic medal, a Bronze in hockey, came in 1992. Anjum Saeed was member of that squad. Anjum’s father Saeed Anwar played three editions of Olympic Games between 1964 and 1972 to win one Gold medal and two silver medals for the country.

Khawaja Junaid was another member of the Pakistan Hockey team that won a Bronze at Barcelona in 1992. His father Khawaja Aslam represented Pakistan in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland.

Aamer Zafar, a little-known Hockey player and member of Pakistan’s 1988 Olympic squad, is the son of Col Zafar Zafri. Col Zafar Zafri was member of Pakistan’s victorious Hockey team which won the Gold medal in 1960 at Rome.

The only father-son duo to win Gold medals is Munir Dar and his son Tauqeer Dar. Munir Dar was part of Pakistan’s Gold medalist Hockey team in 1960’s Rome Olympics. Munir also won Silver medals in 1956 and 1964. Munir’s son Tauqeer Dar was member of Pakistan’s Gold medal winning Hockey team in 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

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Veteran Pakistani film actress Shamim Ara dies in London

KARACHI: Legendary Pakistani film industry actress and film director Shamim Ara died on Friday in London, according to family sources.

Family sources said that she passed away in Southampton. She had been living there for the last few years with her son.

The famous actress had been unwell since a long time and was in a coma for many months, sources informed.

Ara was under treatment in a hospital in London.

The veteran actress was born in 1938 in Aligarh and worked in several super hit films in the industry. Her most well known contributions to the film industry include Devdas, Naila, Hum Raaz, Do Raaha, Bhul etc.

Shamim Ara was bestowed the Nigar Awards four times in her life.

 

 

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Veteran Pakistani film actress Shamim Ara dies in London

KARACHI: Legendary Pakistani film industry actress and film director Shamim Ara died on Friday in London, according to family sources.

Family sources said that she passed away in Southampton. She had been living there for the last few years with her son.

The famous actress had been unwell since a long time and was in a coma for many months, sources informed.

Ara was under treatment in a hospital in London.

The veteran actress was born in 1938 in Aligarh and worked in several super hit films in the industry. Her most well known contributions to the film industry include Devdas, Naila, Hum Raaz, Do Raaha, Bhul etc.

Shamim Ara was bestowed the Nigar Awards four times in her life.

 

 

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No information over location of hostages or helicopter given by Aghan Govt: FO

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is waiting for an answer from the Afghan government over the location of a helicopter which crash landed in Afghanistan with reports of all seven people on board taken hostage by the Taliban.

The foreign office in its statement said that the Afghan government had not given any information to Pakistan despite a lapse of 24 hours into the incident.

The Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif called the Army Chief on Friday inquiring about the hostages. He is also in contact with officials in the Afghan government, a CM House statement said.

Meanwhile, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif called General John Nicholson, Commander Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, and asked him to help recover the crew of the chopper that crash landed in Logar, according to the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR).

A Pakistani government helicopter crash-landed in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, officials said, with Afghan media and officials reporting that all seven people on board were taken hostage by the Taliban.

Officials at the Pakistan Foreign Office in Islamabad confirmed the crash-landing, adding that the helicopter was bought by the Punjab government from Uzbekistan and was being taken from there for overhauling.

The insurgents have not so far commented on the incident in Azra district in the restive province of Logar.

"An Mi-17 transport helicopter belonging to the Punjab government was scheduled to fly to Russia for repair. We think the same chopper crash-landed in Logar," Akhtar Munir, a spokesman for the Pakistani embassy in Kabul, told news agency AFP.

"We don't know anything about the fate of those on-board or why it crash-landed."

The local district governor Hamidullah Hamid said seven people on board had been taken hostage by Taliban insurgents.

"They have been taken to an unknown location," he said.

The helicopter caught fire after it crashed, said Logar governor's spokesman Salim Saleh.

 

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Apple offers big cash rewards for help finding security bugs

LAS VEGAS: Apple Inc (AAPL.O) said it plans to offer rewards of up to $200,000 (£152,433) to researchers who find critical security bugs in its products, joining dozens of firms that already offer payments for help uncovering flaws in their products.

The maker of iPhones and iPads provided Reuters with details of the plan, which includes some of the biggest bounties offered to date, ahead of unveiling it on Thursday afternoon at the Black Hat cyber security conference in Las Vegas.

The program will initially be limited to about two dozen researchers who Apple will invite to help identify hard-to-uncover security bugs in five specific categories.

Those researchers have been chosen from the group of experts who have previously helped Apple identify bugs, but have not been compensated for that work, the company said.

The most lucrative category, which offers rewards of up to $200,000, is for bugs in Apple's "secure boot" firmware for preventing unauthorized programs from launching when an iOS device is powered up.

Apple said it decided to limit the scope of the program at the advice of other companies that have previously launched bounty programs.

Those companies said that if they were to do it again, they would start by inviting a small list of researchers to join, then gradually open it up over time, according to Apple.

Security analyst Rich Mogull said that limiting participation would save Apple from dealing with a deluge of "low-value" bug reports.

"Fully open programs can definitely take a lot of resources to manage," he said.

Apple declined to say which firms provided advice.

Such rewards are currently offered by dozens of firms, including AT&T Inc (T.N), Facebook Inc (FB.O), Google (GOOGL.O), Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O) and Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O).

Microsoft, which has handed out $1.5 million in rewards to security researchers since it launched its program three years ago, also offers rewards for identifying very specific types of bugs. Its two biggest payouts have been for $100,000 each.

Not all bounty programs are as focused as the ones from Apple and Microsoft.

Facebook, for example, has an open program that offers rewards for a wide-range of vulnerabilities. It has paid out more than $4 million over the past five years, with last year's average payment at $1,780.

In March, Facebook paid $10,000 to a 10-year-old boy in Finland who found a way to delete user comments from Instagram accounts.

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Mahmood Khan Achakzai calls on the Prime Minister

ISLAMABAD: Mahmood Khan Achakzai, leader of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party called on Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif at PM House, this morning.

During the meeting national affairs and political matters were discussed. Developmental schemes in Balochistan also came under discussion in the meeting, a statement from the PM House said.

The Prime Minister reiterated his government’s resolve to extend the agenda of development to all parts of the country. "The people of Balochistan will reap the benefits of the ongoing mega projects in the province.  Our collective efforts have resulted into a stable and peaceful Balochistan," said the Prime Minister.

Work for the China Pakistan Economic Corridor is underway.

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CM Sindh Murad to meet PM Nawaz today

KARACHI: Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah on Friday left the provincial metropolis to meet Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad, in order to discuss important governance matters.

According to sources, CM Sindh Shah will reach Islamabad today to meet the premier around 11 AM.

The CM will discuss matters related to the security situation in Sindh, working relationship with the federal government, and Rangers’ policing powers in the province.

Later on, the chief minister might talk to media representatives at the CM House after the Friday prayers, sources further said .

This will be the first meeting between Murad Ali Shah and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, since the incumbent CM took oath last week. The federal government and Sindh government have been at odds over the issue of extending the stay of Rangers in Karachi with special powers. 

On Monday, Murad Ali Shah had written a letter to the Interior Ministry in which he approved Rangers' stay in Sindh with policing powers. 

 

 

 

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