Author: newsdesk

  • Hafeez, Harbhajan support Arshdeep amid abusive trolling

    Hafeez, Harbhajan support Arshdeep amid abusive trolling

    Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Hafeez has come to the defence of India’s young fast bowler Arshdeep Singh who is being trolled for dropping Asif Ali’s catch in a high-voltage Pakistan vs India Match in the Asia Cup on Sunday.

    Right-wing Indian fans are trolling Arshdeep for his age or calling him anti-national.
    “My request to all Indian team fans. In sports, we make mistakes as humans. Please don’t humiliate anyone for these mistakes,” wrote the Pakistani cricketer in support of the Indian sportsman.

    Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh also extended his support to the young cricketer. “Stop criticising young @arshdeepsinghh .. No one dropped the catch purposely..we are proud of our boys .. Pakistan played better.. shame on such people who r putting our own guys down by saying cheap things on this platform bout arsh and team.. Arsh is GOLD.” he tweeted.

    Check out some other tweets:

    https://twitter.com/SagrikaKissu/status/1566515122901635072

    After a blazing start by India, Pakistan bowlers did well to halt India’s march, restricting the defending champions to 181/7 in 20 overs.

    Chasing 182, Pakistan achieved the target with one ball to spare. Pakistan will play its second Super Four stage match against Afghanistan on Wednesday.

  • ‘Rise above national politics, deafening’: Mehwish Hayat calls out Bollywood biggies amidst flood crises

    ‘Rise above national politics, deafening’: Mehwish Hayat calls out Bollywood biggies amidst flood crises

    Actor Mehwish Hayat took to her Twitter handle to condemn Bollywood bigwigs for maintaining silence on the flood crises in Pakistan.

    The London Nahi Jaunga diva shared that she’s disappointed by Bollywood celebrities for their lack of support for Pakistan at a time when the country is facing devastating floods while celebrities across the world were expressing concern like Bella Hadid and Engin Altan.

    Mehwish took to her Instagram Stories to share a note by journalist Haroon Rashid, who hosts a show on BBC. Acknowledging his post and calling his point ‘valid’, she wrote, “The silence from the Bollywood fraternity is deafening.

    In his original post, Haroon had said, “I genuinely thought humanity knows no borders but it’s telling that hardly any Bollywood stars have posted about the devastating floods in Pakistan – raise awareness, share links, just show sympathy. They know how popular they are and how much that acknowledgment would mean.”

    Pakistan is in a state of national emergency with over 1,200 dead, over 12,000 injured and tens of millions displaced.

    Mehwish said, ‘Suffering knows no nationality, race, or religion – no better time for them to show us that they can rise above nationalist politics and care about their fans in Pakistan. We are hurting and a kind word or two would not go amiss.”

    Last November, Hayat spoke out against the stereotypical and problematic portrayal of Muslims in major Bollywood films.

    The Tamgha-e-Imtiaz recipient turned to her Instagram stories to call out Rohit Shetty’s latest directorial Sooryavanshi.

    Sooryavanshi is promoting Islamophobia: Mehwish Hayat

    The Punjab Nahi Jaungi star also urged Bollywood to ‘build bridges’ not ‘hatred’ in their movies.

  • ‘September sitamgar hoga’: Sheikh Rasheed announces Khan’s march in Islamabad

    ‘September sitamgar hoga’: Sheikh Rasheed announces Khan’s march in Islamabad

    Former interior minister and Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rasheed said on Sunday that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan will give a call to his supporters to march towards Islamabad once the flood situation eases down.

    Rasheed took to his Twitter handle and warned: “Sitambar Sitamgar ho ga (September will be cruel)”.

    The former federal minister pointed out that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has made yet another agreement of Rs608 billion with the government. “First they robbed the treasury and now the people’s pockets”, he said.

    “Floods have opened the eyes of the people of Sindh, the floods have destroyed the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) reputation. How will other countries give aid when the people of the country refuse to give money to money launderers?”

    He said that the people can not bear the burden of increasing petrol and power prices, yet the “government continues to raise them”.

    In a series of tweets, he said that IMF knows that there is a weak majority of the government and people can come to the streets.

    “The time is not far when factories and shops will be closed, people will be on the streets”, he warned again while adding that floods have become a matter of “political point scoring”.

    Rasheed’s statement came a day after Imran Khan warned the government to stop the “persecution” of his party workers otherwise he will again march on Islamabad.

    He said the government would have “no place to hide” in the event he comes to Islamabad.

  • PM’s flood relief fund to be audited to ‘ensure transparency’

    PM’s flood relief fund to be audited to ‘ensure transparency’

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday announced that the government will conduct an audit of the PM Flood Relief Fund to maintain transparency.

    The fund will be audited by the Accountant General of Pakistan Revenues (AGPR) and a private audit firm of “global standing”.

    “As per my commitment to ensure transparency, the government has decided to get the PM Flood Relief Fund audited by AGPR and a private audit firm of global standing. They will audit all incoming and outgoing funds, including where and how the money is spent. The audit reports will be made public,” PM wrote in a tweet.

    Pakistan is experiencing one of the worst floods in its history. In the last 24 hours, 26 more deaths have occurred, which has taken the death toll to 1,290.

    The floods have wreaked havoc across all four provinces. The scale of devastation has been estimated to be upwards of $10 billion.

    Many countries are coming forward to help Pakistan. So far, the country has received aid from China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and the United Arab Emirates among others.

    On Thursday, the UK announced an additional £15 million of lifesaving support for flood victims in Pakistan.

    This week, the United States announced it would provide $30 million for flood victims.

    United Nations (UN) chief Antonio Guterres called the floods a “climate catastrophe” and launched an appeal for $160 million in emergency funding. Meanwhile, western countries have also donated millions of dollars to Pakistan.

  • Leaked video demonstrates how iPhone 14’s pill-shaped notch will work

    Leaked video demonstrates how iPhone 14’s pill-shaped notch will work

    With the release of the new iPhone 14 series scheduled for September 7 only a few days away, all eyes are currently focused on Apple.

    The hardware powering the selfie camera and Face ID is said to include a brand-new dual cutout design.

    It appears that there will be a system in place to black out the pixels between the two cutouts and make the entire area appear as one solid piece.

    This is the current popular belief. We can see the switch on what must be a real iPhone 14 unit in a recently leaked clip that demonstrates the functionality.

    Apple probably made the decision to include this functionality for both aesthetic and practical reasons. The new privacy indications, which debuted with iOS 14, will presumably be placed in the space between the two cuts.

    It indicates when an application actively makes use of the device’s microphone or camera. This might allow additional status icons to fit in the display’s corners.

    Recent reports claim that Apple will rebuild the status bar specifically for the iPhone 14 using the new cutout. Several renders have appeared, indicating that Cupertino may return to a more traditional style.

    One that displays the location sign adjacent to the full battery information (percentage and icon) on the far right. Network signal and carrier information are displayed on the left.

    Remember that these are currently just rumours and that on September 7 the Cupertino-based tech giant will reveal the final design.

  • Bentley Mulsanne stolen from London, recovered in DHA Karachi with a Sindh license plate

    Bentley Mulsanne stolen from London, recovered in DHA Karachi with a Sindh license plate

    A Bentley Mulsanne that was stolen from London, United Kingdom (UK), has been recovered by the Collectorate of Customs Enforcement (CCE) in Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Karachi.

    According to Geo, the British intelligence agency reportedly informed the CCE, Karachi, through reliable sources that a grey Bentley Mulsanne, V8 Automatic, with the VIN numbers SCBBA63Y7FC001375 and CKB304693, which was stolen from London, was parked in DHA, Karachi.

    The conduct of the nation’s various agencies has been under intense scrutiny following an extraordinary incident in which a stolen car from London was found in Karachi thanks to information provided by the UK intelligence agency.

    To check the accuracy of the report, the CCE team has mounted strict monitoring at the mentioned place. The car that was discovered parked within the house’s car porch was found during a physical search by the department.

    When the light grey fabric was removed, a grey Bentley Mulsanne with the Pakistani registration number BRS-279(2020 Sindh) was discovered at the back of the vehicle, and a white handcrafted number plate with the letters BRS-279 was discovered at the front.

    The vehicle’s chassis number, however, matched the information provided about the stolen car. As a result, the department has detained the owner and the car for additional inquiry.

    The vehicle’s owner revealed during the opening stages of the investigation that another person had sold the vehicle to him and had taken full responsibility for obtaining the necessary clearances from the relevant authorities.

    On the basis of his information, the department also detained the individual who identified himself as a broker and revealed the identity of the primary offender, who is still at large.

    The registration of such a pricey vehicle required NOC from Pakistan Customs, receipt of duty and tax payments, and selling approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to sources in the customs department.

    Surprisingly, the Sindh Excise and Taxation department registered this stolen car without following all the legal procedures, proving that Sindh Excise officers were involved in these illegal acts.

    The case has been filed, and further investigation is being conducted to bring the guilty parties to justice.

  • Remains of ‘female vampire’ discovered in 17th century graveyard

    Remains of ‘female vampire’ discovered in 17th century graveyard

    The remains of a ‘female vampire’ have been discovered by archaeologists at a 17th-century graveyard in Poland.

    Professor Dariusz Poliński along with his team were conducting research in the area when they found a female skeleton pinned to the ground with a sickle around the throat.

    Her toe was found padlocked to keep her from ‘returning from the dead’. This strengthened the theory that the female was considered a vampire at the time of her death.

    The practice of putting a sickle around the neck of the deceased was used in 1600s by superstitious Poles to restrain a deceased person from coming back to life. The discovery of one around the skeleton’s neck further strengthened the supposition that people considered her a vampire.

    “The sickle was not laid flat but placed on the neck in such a way that if the deceased had tried to get up… the head would have been cut off or injured,” Poliński said while talking to Daily Mail.

    AA silk cap was also found at the site, which suggested that the woman held a high social status during her lifetime.

    These unusual burial practices became common in Poland in 17th century. Natives believed that ‘vampires’ could return and wreak havoc on local villagers. However, the criteria of classifying someone a vampire is uncertain till date according to Poliński.

  • US Congress members to visit flood affected areas tomorrow

    Members of the United States (US) Congress, Representative Sheila Jackson Lee and Rep. Tom Suozzi will arrive in Pakistan on Sunday to visit flood-affected areas in the country.

    Before departing for Pakistan, Jackson said that they would visit disaster-struck zones and will take “all possible steps” to help flood victims.

    Separately, the Commander of US Central Command, General Michael Erik Kurilla, expressed grief over the catastrophic floods that killed over 1000 people and submerged a third of the country.

    General Michael talked to Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa via telephone and offered condolences.

    United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres is also set to pay a ‘solidarity visit‘ to the flood-affected areas of Pakistan on September 9.

    The secretary-general will arrive in Islamabad and will visit the areas most impacted by the unprecedented climate catastrophe. He will also have conversations with displaced families and humanitarian agencies working on the ground.

    According to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), nearly 57 people have died in the last 24 hours.

    The overall death toll has crossed the 1,200 mark.

  • Summary to deduct two days’ salary of government employees sent to PM

    Summary to deduct two days’ salary of government employees sent to PM

    According to Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, a summary to deduct two days’ amount of government employees’ salary is being sent to Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif for approval in order to assist the flood-affected families.

    Additionally, he requested that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) should instruct banks to direct a portion of their profits and staff pay to be withheld in order to support flood victims at this crucial time.

    According to Brecorder, Miftah claimed the federal government has provided Rs28 billion for the flood victims while speaking to the Jamiyat Panjabi Saudagaran Delhi Karachi members at the group’s office.

    “I am ready to contribute Rs60 billion for the flood victims, and I have already requested the PM for the consideration, yesterday. This amount will be arranged from the budget, and some other sources,” Ismail said.

    Govt to pay Rs25,000 to one woman from each affected family

    The federal government has decided to pay Rs25,000 for one woman from each family over the next two weeks in order to help flood-affected families who are currently in desperate need of assistance in various districts across the nation.

    This will help them to pay for their essential living costs and prevent them from having to spend the night sleeping on the ground on an empty stomach.

    Import of essential food items

    In response to comments about rising vegetable and petroleum product prices, he said that the government is importing essential products from nearby nations, particularly onions and tomatoes. It is possible to import onions from the neighbouring country of India, and two international organisations have been contacted in this regard.

    Standing crops have been damaged by the monsoon floods, according to Miftah. Loss of at least $10 billion has been calculated thus far.

    He estimated that it will cost about Rs500 billion to rebuild. He acknowledged that the main problem facing the average person is inflation, and he promised to lower electricity rates in two months and put inflation under control in four to five months.

    Ismail said that by successful negotiations with the IMF and obtaining the required support from friendly nations, particularly Qatar, he had saved the country from a potential default.

    He also blamed the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine for the recent increase in fuel costs for gas, diesel, and coal in Pakistan and around the globe.

    The Finance Minister said that the decision to impose ban on import of some luxury products was in larger interest of the country.

  • ‘Floods are a lesson’: Ahsan Iqbal criticises construction on waterways

    ‘Floods are a lesson’: Ahsan Iqbal criticises construction on waterways

    Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal along with the representatives of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Pakistan Army briefed media personnel at the National Flood Response and Coordination Center, Islamabad regarding flood relief work today (Saturday), reports Radio Pakistan.

    National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Akhtar Nawaz said that the year 2022 showed the realities of climate change in Pakistan. “We saw four heatwaves that caused forest fires and monsoon rains began prematurely,” he said.

    “We had predicted 25 percent more rainfall this year but it turned out to be 190 percent higher. We saw glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) as well,” he explained.
    Ahsan Iqbal, while talking to the media said, “Pakistan’s carbon emission is less than 1 per cent however, we are among the countries that are most vulnerable to the climatic disasters.

    “The scale of the floods warrants a major humanitarian response for which the support of the international community has started pouring in and we are extremely grateful. However, the scale of devastation is massive and requires a large humanitarian response,” he remarked.

    “The floods are a lesson for Pakistan as it proves that buildings should be constructed on waterways,” he added.

    Pakistan is experiencing one of the worst floods of its history. In the last 24 hours, 57 more deaths have occurred which has taken the death toll to 1,265.