Author: newsdesk

  • Greta Thunberg detained in Germany over coal mine protest

    Greta Thunberg detained in Germany over coal mine protest

    Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg was detained by the German police on Tuesday for participating in a coal mine protest in a village in Lutzerath.
    Thunberg was participating in the protest to stop authorities from demolishing the village for the coal mine’s expansion.
    Police representative Christof Huls while speaking to CNN, said that Thunberg was part of a large group of protesters who had broken through the police barrier and had settled around a coal pit. Huls further elaborated that police were concerned that the mass of protesters could set the ground in motion after it had been softened by rainfall in the last few days, leading to the detention of the protestors.

    ‘We knew who she was, but she did not get VIP treatment,’ Huls said.

    Police also said that the activists detained would be released later in the day.

    Thunberg had joined thousands of climate activists in Germany against the demolishing of a village in order to make way for the Garzweiler lignite coal mine, which is owned by the European multi-national corporation RWE. Climate activists had argued that the expansion of the coal mine will increase planet-warming emissions and violate the Paris Climate Agreement’s promise to bring the global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
    Thunberg had addressed the activists on Saturday, saying that their fight to save the planet was not over as long as people keep prioritizing short term economic growth and corporate greed.
    “We need to stop the current destruction of our planet and sacrificing people to benefit the short-term economic growth and corporate greed,” she said.

  • Park Hyung Sik shares teaser of upcoming k-drama ‘Our Blooming Youth’

    Park Hyung Sik shares teaser of upcoming k-drama ‘Our Blooming Youth’

    Korean actor Park Hyung Sik has shared a teaser of his upcoming fantasy drama ‘Our Blooming Youth’ on his Instagram page.
    According to details, Sik plays a prince who suffers from a mysterious curse and encounters a genius woman (played by Min Jae Yi) who is being accused of murdering her family members. Both of them agree to help each other and soon develop a closer bond.

    Other prominent Korean actors like Choi Woo Shik (Our Beloved Summer) and Lee Young-Joon reached out to congratulate the actor in the comments

    K-drama fans would remember Hyung Sik from the popular comedy drama “Strong Girl Bong-Soon” where stars as the CEO of a video game company who hires a woman with incredible strength Bong Soon (played by Park Bo-Young) to become his bodyguard.

  • IT Minister warns of service disruption in many areas due to unavailability of technical parts

    IT Minister warns of service disruption in many areas due to unavailability of technical parts

    The restrictions imposed for the letters of credit (LCs) facility for the telecom sector, according to IT & Telecom Minister Syed Aminul Haque, are insufficient.

    “Without much-needed tec­hnical parts there are fears of service disruptions in many areas,” Mr Haque warned while presiding over the 44th Policy Com­mittee meeting of the Universal Service Fund (USF).

    He claimed that the restricted LC licenses were impeding the import of equipment for upgrading mobile networks and interfering with the general efficiency of the IT and telecom industries.

    “Telecom companies were facing difficulty in importing parts and equipment due to limited permission of LCs and it may also result in a delay in projects for the provision of 4G services in far-flung areas of the country,” the minister noted.

    The authorities reported to the meeting that telcos, IT firms, and their backend equipment suppliers had complained that it was impossible for them to import even the basic hardware required to run systems.

    The minister promised to speak with the Ministry of Finance again and let them know about the critical circumstance.

    Out of the budget of Rs32.13 billion set aside for the Universal Service Fund (USF) for 2022–2023, the meeting approved the release of a development fund of Rs5 billion for the second and third quarters, while Rs8.25 billion had already been released for the first quarter.

  • Babar Azam accused of allegedly ‘sexting’ teammate’s girlfriend

    Babar Azam accused of allegedly ‘sexting’ teammate’s girlfriend

    Pakistan star-cricketer Babar Azam has landed in a controversy as his alleged personal videos and photos went viral on social media.

    According to Fox Cricket, Azam is being accused of allegedly sexting a teammate’s girlfriend after videos and voice recordings went viral online.

    While the authenticity of the material remains unclear, it allegedly shows a topless Babar in intimate chats with a woman.

    One of the accusations is that Babar promised the woman that her boyfriend’s spot in Pakistan’s XI was safe if she kept sexting him.

    Aur isko Kohli banna hai…” Twitterati roast Babar Azam after his private videos, intimate chats allegedly surface online

    The accusation was first posted by verified Twitter account Dr Nimo Yadav, saying: “Babar Azam sexting with GF of another Pakistan cricketer and promising her that her bf won’t be out of the team if she keeps sexting with him is just.”

    Babar posted a happy snap while appearing to be on holiday in Sydney on Monday.

    “Doesn’t take too much to be happy,” he captioned the photo with the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background.

    Pakistani cricket fans took to their social media and started supporting Babar Azam after the video and photos went viral on social media. The alleged viral video of Babar caused a stir among the netizens. Some of his fans claimed that this is a conspiracy against Babar to spoil his image while others said the video has been morphed and urged not to spread lies against the star batter.

    Babar has been trending on Twitter since under the hashtag #StayStrongBabarAzam.

  • Is Imran Khan coming back to National Assembly to take PM Shehbaz out?

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has hinted at the possibility that his party may return to the National Assembly (NA) to table a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif.

    The PTI fears that its dissenting member Raja Riaz who is holding the parliamentary party leader’s position in the NA may decide to vote in favour of PM Shehbaz if President Dr Arif Alvi asks Shehbaz Sharif to take the trust vote.

    Talking to the media at his Lahore residence, Khan said planning and consultations with party leaders and legal experts are going on to strategise how PTI’s turncoats can be stopped from siding with the ruling coalition of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

    “He [Shehbaz Sharif] will have sleepless nights in the days to come”, Khan reportedly said to journalists.

    He claimed that some Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNAs want to join the PTI.

    “Some PML-N members of the National Assembly are in contact with the PTI and they have expressed their interest in joining our camp. We will test them before giving them party membership,” Imran said, adding that he saw elections taking place in March or April.

    The former ruling party is considering “testing” PM Sharif’s strength in the house sensing that cracks are appearing in PDM’s ranks.

    PTI’s senior leader Fawad Chaud­hry has said that the party’s return to the National Assembly was linked with its plan to oust PM Sharif, reports Dawn.

    He said PTI was seeking legal opinion on how it could bind its MNAs to vote in line with the party policy in case of a no-trust move, and if that can be achieved without joining the assembly.

  • No decision yet: CM Elahi addresses PTI and PML-Q merger reports

    No decision yet: CM Elahi addresses PTI and PML-Q merger reports

    Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Pervaiz Elahi on Monday clarified that no final decision has been taken yet on a merger between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q).

    Clarifying that consultations are still underway, Pervaiz Elahi said that Imran Khan first offered Moonis the invitation to merge the two parties and then asked to be the president of the party.

    However, he added that yesterday a meeting between the two parties took place in which all 10 PML-Q Members of the Provincial Assembly (MPAs) were present. “It was mutually decided that we will ask the people in our constituents first,” he said.

    Reacting to the show-cause notice sent to him by PML-Q, he said “Nothing as such has happened yet and they already have a problem,” he retorted.

    Earlier, PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain suspended Elahi’s party membership after he hinted at a merger between his party and ally PTI.

    The PML-Q issued show-cause notices to Elahi as well as Moonis Elahi, Hussain Elahi and Senator Kamil Ali Agha.

    The notice gave Elahi seven days to provide an explanation for his comments, otherwise, proceedings would be initiated against him.

    PML-Q electoral college office-bearers authorised Elahi, the party’s provincial president, to make decisions on behalf of the party with regard to its merger into the PTI.

    However, Express Tribune has reported that according to sources within the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the PML-Q could not be merged with the PTI on Elahi’s wish as the party is registered in Shujaat’s name.

    PML-Q ready to merge with PTI, decision expected today

    On Monday, it was reported that PML-Q is ready to merge with PTI.

    According to news reports, the majority of PML-Q is in favour of the merger. Elahi summoned a meeting to discuss the matter with his party.

    PML-Q leader Moonis Elahi, son of Pervaiz Elahi, was reportedly ready to merge with PTI and a formal announcement was expected on Monday.

    Earlier, PTI Chairman Imran Khan had proposed that PML-Q should merge with it.

    The PTI chief praised the Elahis and said they stood by the PTI despite pressure from powerful quarters.

  • Miss USA R’Bonney Gabriel wins the Miss Universe pageant

    Miss USA R’Bonney Gabriel wins the Miss Universe pageant

    The Miss Universe pagaent officially wrapped up on Saturday night, with Miss R’Bonney Gabriel from USA being crowned as the winner.
    Gabriel marks the first time a Filipino-American has won the pagaent.
    At the Q&A stage of competition for the finalists, Gabriel was asked what would she do to show that Miss Universe is an ’empowering and progressive organization’ if she were to win. Miss USA responded by saying that she would use her work as a fashion designer to teach sewing to survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking.

    “I teach sewing classes to women that have survived from human trafficking and domestic violence. And I say that because it is so important to invest in others, invest in our community, and use your unique talent to make a difference. We all have something special, and when we plant those seeds to other people in our life, we transform them, and we use that as a vehicle for change.”

  • ‘Rethink and reimagine Pakistan’: Politicians, bureaucrats call for political consensus

    Former Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar has announced that he along with a group of politicians and bureaucrats, will be organising a series of seminars across Pakistan aimed at bringing about a “political consensus for restructuring the governance structures of Pakistan”.

    Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, Fawad Hasan Fawad, Asad Ali Shah, Haji Lashkari Raisini, Mir Humayun Kurd, Khawaja Mohammad Hoti, along with others, will be part of this effort to create political consensus.

    Khokhar tweeted, “In a nonpartisan effort, I have been talking to friends & colleagues about the current economic, political and social crisis of Pakistan which are now striking at the core foundations of the state and the society.”

    “At the same time individual and collective rights are under severe stress causing a widespread dissatisfaction of people across the regional and ethnic divides in Pakistan. These trying times require us to “rethink” or “reimagine” Pakistan.”

    Talking to The News, Khokar said, “From political uncertainty to economic meltdown to polarisation in society that has reached dangerous levels of intolerance, Pakistan is not facing just one crisis but multiple crises at the same time. Today we are at a juncture where we are actually at a ‘naazuk morr’ — a phrase that we always hear but only when powerful quarters don’t want something to be talked about”.

    Ismail too took to Twitter and said, ” I and many other colleagues are trying to bring about a national consensus on major issues. Thus we are starting with holding seminars across Pakistan.”

  • Exchange companies suggest higher US dollar rate to increase remittances

    Exchange companies suggest higher US dollar rate to increase remittances

    The government has been advised by the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) to “set” the dollar rate to lessen currency market volatility as the country fights a severe economic crisis and declining foreign exchange reserves.

    The general secretary of ECAP Zafar Paracha said in a statement on Monday, “It is advised to fix the rupee/dollar exchange rate for export-import bills and remittances”. He further said these remittance proceeds could be received by banks and money changers at a fixed rate of Rs240 per dollar.

    Pakistani rupee closed at Rs228.34 per US dollar, compared with the previous close of Rs228.15 in the interbank market. In the open market, the local unit was trading at Rs238.75 against the greenback.

    Paracha suggested the government to set the rate of Rs240 per dollar for overseas Pakistanis and for inward remittance.

    He expects that by making the change, the official channel would be strengthened, remittances would increase, Hundi/Hawala would decline, and eventually, the grey market would vanish.

    According to Paracha, the exchange rate between the dollar and the local currency has hit Rs267 to Rs270. The offer could be made at Rs228 against/ the dollar in order to obtain exporters’ revenues. Additionally, the rate for importers would be determined by the weighted average of the exporter and home remittance rates. He said that it would help remittances and exporters.

    It will boost the nation’s foreign exchange reserve, encourage exporters to bring dollars, and strengthen the exchange companies’ remittances division.

    The country received $14.1 billion in remittances during the first six months (July-December) of the current fiscal year, a decline of 11.1 per cent from a year earlier.

    As of January 6, Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves at the State Bank of Pakistan fell by $1.2 billion to $4.3 billion, just enough to fund three weeks’ worth of imports.

    Due to significant repayments of foreign debt and a lack of external funding, which have severely reduced Pakistan’s foreign reserves and resulted in ongoing dollar shortages, the country is currently facing a balance of payments crisis.

  • Video: Eiffel Tower lights up in solidarity with Iranian women

    Thousands of people participated in a march on Monday in Strasbourg, France, to show support for the Iranian opposition movement in favour of women’s rights.

    The famous Eiffel Tower became part of the demonstration as well as the landmark was illuminated with pro-Iranian demonstrators and pro-women activists’ messages.

    “Woman. Life. Freedom” and “StopExecutionsInIran,” were displayed on the tower.

    The protests in Iran were triggered after Mahsa Amini, died on September 16, 2022, while being held by the morality police for allegedly breaking a rigorously adhered-to Islamic clothing code. This incident served as the impetus for the protests in Iran. Despite widespread criticism, Iran has arrested many people for crimes connected to the uprising started by Mahsa Amini’s killing..