Author: newsdesk

  • Jhal Magsi Desert Rally: Child dies after being hit by vehicle on track

    Jhal Magsi Desert Rally: Child dies after being hit by vehicle on track

    A seven-year-old boy died after being hit by a high-speed racer’s car on the track during the Jhal Magsi Desert Jeep Rally.

    According to reports, the race for the pre-paired category was going on in the Desert Jeep Rally, during which a child walked onto the track and then got hit by a speeding vehicle, succumbing to his injuries.

    The deceased child has been identified as Gul Hasan. The body was shifted to the hospital.

    It should be noted that Faisal Shadikhel competed in the pre-paired category of the Jhal Magsi Desert Rally.

    Faisal Shadikhel of Punjab won the first position in the pre-paired A category, Faisal Khel covered the distance of 135 km in 1 hour 21 minutes 14 seconds.

    Jafar Magsi could not win the race by 17 seconds, Jafar Magsi took the second position in the race. Apart from this, Nader Magsi finished the distance in 1 hour 22 minutes 11 seconds and secured the third position.

  • Bangladesh won the Under-19 Asia Cup title

    Bangladesh won the Under-19 Asia Cup title

    Bangladesh won the Under-19 Asia Cup title, in the decisive match, Bangladesh Under-19 easily defeated UAE Under-19 by 195 runs.

    In the tournament’s final played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium yesterday, Bangladesh U-19 batted first and scored 282 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in the allotted 50 overs. Among the batsmen, Ashiqur Rahman Shibli scored a brilliant century, MD Rizwan scored 60 runs and Arif ul Islam scored 50. Ayan Ahmed dismissed 4 players from UAE.

    The UAE team failed to achieve the desired target and were bowled out for 87 runs in 24.5 overs, with Dhruv Prashar scoring 25 runs. Bangladesh’s Maruf Muredha and Rohant Borson took three wickets each, while Iqbal Hussain Ayman and Sheikh Pews Jabon dismissed two players each.

  • Govt implements measures to control onion prices amidst rising inflation

    The interim federal government has reportedly chosen to implement restrictions on onion exports due to the persistent surge in prices, as revealed by sources on Sunday. 

    According to detailed information, the government has introduced advance payments to discourage onion exports and has established a minimum export price. 

    These measures are aimed at preventing an anticipated shortage of onions and curbing further increases in prices.

    In light of escalating inflation, Pakistan witnessed a short-term inflation spike of 43.16 per cent in the week ending December 14, primarily driven by increased costs of pulses, rice, and vegetables. 

    The weekly inflation has now surpassed 41 per cent for the fifth consecutive week, influenced by elevated gas prices and electricity tariffs compared to the previous year.

  • Australia defeats Pakistan by 360 runs in the first Test

    Australia defeats Pakistan by 360 runs in the first Test

    In the first Test match between Pakistan and Australia in Perth, Australia defeated Pakistan by 360 runs.

    In the second session on the fourth day of the Test match, Australia declared their second innings at 233 runs for 5 out. In response, the national team could only score 89 runs.

    The fourth day of play:

    At the start of the second innings, opener Abdullah Shafiq and captain Shan Masood got out by scoring two runs each.

    Pakistan suffered their third loss in the form of Imam ul Haq who scored 10 runs and walked the pavilion, Babar Azam 14, Sarfaraz Ahmed four, Agha Salman and Faheem Ashraf five runs each, Aamir Jamal four and Khurram Shehzad were out for zero.

    On behalf of Australia, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon took 5, 5, Josh Hazlewood 4, Pat Cummins 3, Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head took 1 wicket each.

    At the start of the day, Australian batsmen Steven Smith 43 and Usman Khawaja resumed play with 34 runs, and soon fast bowler Khurram Shahzad took the third wicket for Pakistan on 87 runs. Khurram Shehzad dismissed Steven Smith LBW for 45 runs. Australia’s fourth wicket fell on 107 runs when Travis Head was caught off Amir Jamal for 14 runs.

    At the start of the day, Australian batsmen Steven Smith 43 and Usman Khawaja resumed play with 34 runs, and soon fast bowler Khurram Shahzad took the third wicket for Pakistan on 87 runs. Khurram Shehzad dismissed Steven Smith LBW for 45 runs. Australia’s fourth wicket fell on 107 runs when Travis Head was caught off Aamir Jamal for 14 runs.

    Usman Khawaja was dismissed on 90 runs by fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi.

    Third day:

    On the third day of the Perth Test, the Pakistan team started their incomplete first innings with 132 runs for 2 wickets.

    Khurram Shahzad was bowled by Pat Cummins for 7 runs at the start of the day, while Babar Azam was bowled by Mitchell Marsh for 21 runs. Imam ul Haq was bowled by Nathan Lyon for 62 runs, Sarfraz Ahmed was bowled by Mitchell Starc for 3 runs while Saud Shakeel was bowled by Josh Hazlewood for 28 runs and Faheem Ashraf was the victim of Pat Cummins for 9 runs, Aamir Jamal was dismissed by Nathan Lyon for 10 runs and Shaheen Shah Afridi was dismissed by Travis Head for four runs.

    Second day:

    At the end of the second day, Imam ul Haq was not out for 38 and Khurram Shahzad for 7 runs. On the second day of the Test match, after the Australian team was bowled out for 487 runs, Pakistan’s first innings was opened by Imam ul Haq and Abdullah Shafiq.

    One batsmen adopted a cautious approach and took the team’s score to 74 runs in 36.2 overs, after which Abdullah Shafiq was caught out for 42 runs by spin bowler Nathan Lyon. Pakistan’s second wicket fell for 123 runs in 49.3 overs, captain Shan Masood scoring 30 runs and was caught out by Mitchell Starc.

    First Day of Test:

    In the match, the host team won the toss and decided to bat first and invited the Pakistani team to field.

    On the first day of the Perth Test, Australian opener David Warner played a brilliant and aggressive innings, he scored 164 runs off 211 balls and this innings included 4 sixes and 16 fours. Apart from this, Usman Khawaja scored 41, Marnus Labuschagne 16, Steve Smith 31 and Travis Head scored 40 runs. Pakistan debutant Aamir Jamal took two wickets, Shaheen Afridi, Faheem Ashraf and Khurram Shehzad took one wicket each.

  • Pakistan’s volunteer network ‘MilKar’ wins Commonwealth Innovation Award

    Pakistan’s volunteer network ‘MilKar’ wins Commonwealth Innovation Award

    Pakistan’s largest volunteer network Milkar has won the esteemed Commonwealth Innovation Award for Sustainable Development 2023.

    The selection process spanned several months and involved over 70 jury members.

    Commonwealth’s Secretary General Patricia Scotland presented the prestigious award to team MilKar. It was a recognition of the 15 exceptional innovations from over 3,000 nominations across 56 Commonwealth countries.

    The design of Milkar is just like that of a platform like ‘Uber’ that connects volunteers with social projects and reimagines development challenges into volunteering opportunities. It aims at achieving sustainability by mobilising, connecting, and enabling the community to take ownership of projects, it rewrites the fundamental challenge of development initiatives.

    In the past three years, Milkar has become Pakistan’s largest independent youth volunteer platform. The network has grown to over 12,317 volunteers and 261 NGOs, which have worked on 566 community service projects impacting 2.9 million people.

    Moreover, MilKar took an initiative with the government to convert student volunteering hours into academic credits across several universities in Pakistan.
    Muhammad Hadi Saif, Head of Volunteers at MilKar, declared the award a significant accolade for Pakistan.

    Syed Kashf Ahmed, the Project Director, received this award as part of the Commonwealth Innovation Week organised in Nairobi, Kenya.

    The Commonwealth Innovation Awards acknowledge and celebrate the efforts of innovators in the public, private, and NGO sectors working on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    Each award category aligns with the five pillars of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership.

  • Gold price in Pakistan settles at Rs216,800 per tola

    Gold price in Pakistan settles at Rs216,800 per tola

    In a noteworthy shift, the per-tola price of 24 karat gold witnessed a decrease of Rs1,800, settling at Rs216,800 on Saturday.

    This marks a discernible drop from its previous standing of Rs218,600 during the last trading day.

    Similarly, the cost of 10 grammes of 24 karat gold experienced a dip of Rs1,543, now standing at Rs185,871 as opposed to its previous valuation of Rs187,414.

    Meanwhile, the prices of 10 grammes of 22-karat gold also exhibited a downward trend, reaching Rs170,382 from Rs171,796, as reported by the All Sindh Sarafa Jewellers Association.

    Contrastingly, the prices of silver remained unchanged, with per tola and ten gramme silver holding steady at Rs2,670 and Rs2,289.09, respectively.

    Taking a broader perspective, the international gold market saw a decline as well, with the price of gold dropping by $15 to $2,040 from its previous position at $2,055, according to the latest report from the Association.

    This shift in the precious metals market has sparked interest and attention within financial circles.

  • Bollywood star kids steal the show at school’s annual day

    A video of Shah Rukh Khan’s younger son AbRam showing his acting skills in a school play has gone viral on social media.

    Students at Dhirubhai Ambani International School organized a show for their annual day, featuring dance, drama, and music. Many Bollywood celebrity kids attend the school, and their talents were on full display.

    Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan’s son, AbRam, showcased his talent, at one point, striking his father’s famous pose, spreading out his arms just like his father does in his movies, hugging the characters in the play one by one.

    Social media users couldn’t get enough of this cuteness.

    AbRam acting

    SRK getting emotional watching his youngest son AbRam’s performance

    Kareena Kapoor and Saif Khan’s son, Taimur Ali Khan, was also performing.

  • Artificial rain in Lahore; Just looking like a wow

    Artificial rain in Lahore; Just looking like a wow

    In a historic stride, Lahore on Saturday witnessed its maiden experiment with artificial rain, revealed caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab, Mohsin Naqvi.

    Addressing the media in Lahore, the caretaker CM Punjab said that the occasion marks the first successful venture into artificial rain in the country’s history. He revealed that this morning, Lahore, previously the most polluted city, experienced artificial rain for the first time.

    Naqvi clarified that no additional funds were allocated for this initiative, however, he expressed willingness to spend money if needed to combat smog. Rainfall occurred in approximately 10 areas of Lahore, covering a planned region of 10 to 15 km.

    He expressed gratitude to the Environment Department and the UAE team for their exhaustive scrutiny of the process, culminating in the eagerly awaited results.

    Detailing the procedure, Naqvi disclosed that 48 flares were deployed for cloud seeding, specifically targeting the Shahdara area.

    Looking ahead, Naqvi mentioned the upcoming installation of smog towers. He emphasized that the artificial rain experiment, being both novel and impactful, is currently under observation for short-term and long-term effects. Results from the artificial rain are expected tonight.

    Naqvi shared insights into the cloud seeding mission, noting that it was executed some time ago, directing clouds towards Shahdara and Muridke.

  • Multan’s Beenish Saeed awarded ‘Principal of the Year’ at Asia Education Conclave

    Multan’s Beenish Saeed awarded ‘Principal of the Year’ at Asia Education Conclave

    Beenish Saeed, a Pakistani educationist from Multan, serving as a principal of the Multan Cantonment Public School, stood out among the 2,085 male and female contenders at the Asia Education Conclave from across 15 countries of Asia.

    The ceremony was held in Bangkok where she received the prestigious award amidst applause from the audience

    “A resounding applause to Beenish, the stellar recipient of the “Principal of the Year” award,” read a post by the Asia Education Conclave on its official Facebook and Instagram pages.

    Beenish dedicated her award to martyrs, war heroes, and teachers performing duties in terrorism-affected areas in the country.
    Social media posts by the educational platform detailed her qualification as an M.Phil in education and M.Sc in Zoology, besides a two-decade-long experience in the field of education.

    It also stated that Beenish is currently pursuing a PhD in Education.

    “Since becoming principal, she has demonstrated strong leadership and organisational skills and her role as Master Trainer and Book Editor at Kangaroo Publications highlights her commitment to professional development,” the post read.

    Her achievements span certifications in IT Branch Automation, Book Review, and Montessori Teachers Training while her skill set encompasses problem-solving, effective communication, organisational acumen, technical proficiency, and interpersonal skills, making her a valuable asset in the field of education.
    Beenish said that the award is an honour not only for her and her family but for the whole country, and declared it as an expression of trust in the Pakistani education system at the international level.

    Pakistani teachers are making it big internationally. Sister Zeph, the founder of Zephaniah Education and Empowerment Foundation, also received the Global Teacher Prize 2023 worth a million dollars, on November 8.

  • Surrogate advertising companies found ‘virtual’ support during the Perth test

    Surrogate advertising companies found ‘virtual’ support during the Perth test

    Surrogate advertising companies got ‘virtual’ support during the Perth Test between Australia and Pakistan on Wednesday. Several logos were seen on TV broadcasts that were not present on the ground and were displayed by software.

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has distanced itself from the matter by terming it a matter between the host board and the broadcaster.

    It is important to note that gambling is legal in Australia. Advertisements of betting companies continue to be posted on the boundary. However, the word “Bet” was spelled with an A in place of the E in the advertisements shown on the ground.

    On contacting the stadium resources, it was found that no logo was painted on the ground. After investigation, it was revealed that software was used to make virtual advertising possible.

    Advertisements appeared to be completely painted on the ground but in reality, they were not. Shadows of the players were also shown falling on them but this did not happen. Interestingly, when the entire ground was shown on TV, there was no logo.

    The spokesperson of PCB said, “Agreements with sponsors in matches outside the country are under the discretion of the host board, and we cannot do anything about it.”

    Regarding virtual advertising, he said if this has happened, it is the broadcaster’s problem and not ours.