Pakistan hold Norway Cup rivals to 2-2 draw in thrilling group match

Grammy-winning rapper Cardi B has addressed renewed speculation about her appearance, revealing that she has already undergone a butt reduction procedure while making it clear she has no plans for further major cosmetic surgery anytime soon. The rapper responded to the rumours during a recent Instagram Live session after seeing repeated comments from fans suggesting she should reduce her butt. According to Cardi, many people were unaware that she had already done exactly that. “A lot of y’all keep telling me to go get my ass reduced,” Cardi said during the livestream. She quickly set the record straight, adding, “I don’t need to go get my ass reduced, news flash, I did get my ass reduced.” The rapper explained that cosmetic procedures are not as straightforward as many people believe. She said another liposuction procedure is not a realistic option because of the condition of her skin following previous surgeries. “I can’t just go and lipo my butt because my skin is like kinda loose,” she explained. “That’s why my ass shakes so much.” Cardi added that removing more tissue through liposuction could create additional complications. “So if I just go and get a lipo reduction… my ass could drop,” she said, noting that the only alternative would involve a more invasive operation requiring a lengthy recovery period. “So I would have to cut myself. And I’m not cutting myself. I’m not sitting down for four months. I’m outside.” The 33-year-old also stressed that she is happy with the way she looks today. “I like my body how it looks right now. I’m comfortable in my skin.” Cardi reminded fans that she has always been transparent about the cosmetic work she has chosen to undergo throughout her career. “I’m very, very honest,” she said before revealing, “First of all, I got two lipos and one ass reduction.” The rapper also explained that she chose to reduce her previous biopolymer injections because she naturally has a petite frame. “First thing first, I am a small girl. I’m a very small, petite girl. My mom is petite. My sister’s petite. My aunts are small.” Addressing critics who continue to speculate about her appearance, Cardi insisted that much of her current physique is also the result of healthy eating rather than surgery alone. She shared that she regularly eats grilled chicken and grilled salmon while also drinking fibre-based beverages. She encouraged fans not to starve themselves in pursuit of unrealistic beauty standards before dismissing ongoing rumours about additional cosmetic procedures. “Y’all acting like y’all new to this. Y’all been seeing my body for how many years now?” she said, later adding, “I’m being as honest as possible.”

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani-British soprano and Sufi opera singer Saira Peter has been selected for the Sitara-e-Imtiaz in recognition of her outstanding contributions to music and performing arts. President Asif Ali Zardari has approved the list of Pakistan’s Civil Awards for 2026. The names of the individuals selected for the national honours were announced by the government on the occasion of Independence Day. Saira Peter is among the prominent personalities selected for a national honour for their services in their respective fields. She is known for blending Western classical opera with South Asian and Sufi musical traditions. Through her work in Sufi opera, she has developed a distinctive artistic identity. Her performances combine a powerful soprano voice with Pakistani poetry, Sufi thought and elements of Eastern music. Peter has performed at various national and international platforms. Through her music, she has played a role in introducing Pakistan’s literary and cultural traditions to audiences around the world. She has also represented Pakistan at several cultural, governmental, diplomatic and international events. She has performed at prestigious venues, including the President House in Islamabad. Her artistic work focuses on bringing together Eastern musical traditions and cultural heritage with Western classical opera. Peter has continued to promote Pakistani poetry and the message of Sufism internationally through a contemporary and distinctive musical style. Her selection for the Sitara-e-Imtiaz is being seen as recognition of her long artistic career and efforts to promote Pakistan’s music, culture and national identity on international platforms. The honour is also being described as a proud moment for the Pakistani diaspora. It highlights the contributions of Pakistani artists living abroad who continue to promote the country’s cultural heritage, music and performing arts around the world. Pakistan announces its Civil Awards every year on Independence Day. The formal investiture ceremonies are held at a later date.

Ali Fazal is at a point in his career where the choices he makes carry a different kind of weight, and he is no longer making them for the reasons he once did. In a candid conversation with Elle India, the actor opened up about the creative philosophy guiding his work now, a deliberate shift away from commercial instincts and toward projects that leave a genuine mark. He described what worries him most as a performer with characteristic directness. “Mostly the feeling that you’ve made less of a difference in people’s lives,” he said. It is the kind of answer that says everything about how far his priorities have moved from where they began. Fazal said he now gravitates toward roles that have “less relevance and more resonance”, a distinction that defines much of his current thinking about both his Bollywood and Hollywood career. He wants the work to reflect the ambition and humanity that define him as a person, not simply as an actor building a brand. His upcoming film Raakh, a crime thriller in which he plays a police officer investigating a case rooted in real historical events from 1970s Delhi, served as the central example in his conversation. “Sometimes you’re part of things that work, and that’s wonderful because we all need appreciation to move forward,” he said. “But once in a while, there are projects that actually begin conversations. They come at a time when society perhaps needs them or needs reminding that, sadly, not much has changed fifty years later. That’s what Raakh has done. It has humbled me.” He was equally candid about how his decision-making process has changed. “Earlier, I’d jump into whatever came my way because I had to. Today, I can afford patience.” That patience is now applied most rigorously to the screenplay itself, which he described as the first and most important filter. “The punctuation in a screenplay tells you whether it’s going to be good or bad,” he said, adding with a self-aware joke: “I’m not some A-list star who’s staying away from genres because they’ll spoil my image. I’ve probably stayed away from bad scripts more than genres.” His early career also featured in the conversation. He credited Always Kabhi Kabhi, a film that performed modestly at the box office, with teaching him the grammar of cinema. The film introduced him to Shah Rukh Khan, who produced it, and whom Fazal described as “one of the best artists we have.” On Mirzapur: The Film, which brings the streaming universe to theatres, Fazal called it “a giant experiment,” and on his character Guddu Pandit, he said what has stayed with him is not the violence but the innocence beneath it. Away from acting, he and his wife Richa Chadha are building Pushing Buttons Studios, their independent production company aimed at supporting original storytelling. Asked to describe his journey in a single word, Fazal chose “relentless.” It is the right word for a career that is now defined not by the roles he has taken but by the ones he has chosen to wait for.