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  • Pakistani rupee maintains winning streak against dollar for third day to close at Rs286.73

    Pakistani rupee maintains winning streak against dollar for third day to close at Rs286.73

    The Pakistani rupee continued its upward trend against the US dollar for the third consecutive session in the inter-bank market on Thursday, appreciating by 0.09 per cent. According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the currency settled at Rs286.73 at the close, showing an improvement of Rs0.25 compared to the previous day’s rate of Rs286.98.

    In a significant development, Finance and Revenue Minister Ishaq Dar met with US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome on Wednesday to discuss the economic ties between Pakistan and the United States, as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program.

    This meeting took place following the IMF’s criticism of Islamabad’s budget proposals for the fiscal year 2023-24. Esther Perez Ruiz, the IMF’s Resident Representative for Pakistan, expressed dissatisfaction with the budget proposals, describing them as a missed opportunity to broaden the tax base. She also criticised the new amnesty scheme, stating that it sets a damaging precedent.

    Separately, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated on Wednesday that the immediate goal, with the assistance of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), is to increase Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country to $5 billion.

    On the international front, the US dollar remained close to a one-month low against a basket of currencies on Thursday. This followed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony, where he maintained his usual stance and offered little room for surprise.

    Powell’s comments to lawmakers on Capitol Hill aligned with the central bank’s previous policy meeting, indicating that further rate increases are likely if the economy continues its current trajectory. As a result, the greenback depreciated by nearly 0.5 per cent against six major peers in the previous session.

    Meanwhile, oil prices slightly declined on Thursday. Market expectations of further interest rate hikes were balanced by potentially bullish US oil inventory data, which indicated a decrease in stocks.

  • Sharmila Tagore thinks today’s television content is regressive: ‘Women are portrayed as each other’s worst enemies’

    Sharmila Tagore thinks today’s television content is regressive: ‘Women are portrayed as each other’s worst enemies’

    Bollywood veteran actress Sharmila Tagore made her comeback to the big screen recently with the film ‘Gulmohar’, and in an interview with Times of India, she believed that television today has gotten more regressive in how women are portrayed:

    “The content TV is offering today is quite regressive. Most TV serials portray women as women’s worst enemies, and that is so unfortunate. The government does keep a tab on this, and then it finally comes to us.”

    The actress, who is also a member of the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCI) had revealed she had often called producers to request them to remove objectionable material, but they refuse to, citing commericial reasons:

    “Sometimes, we call the show makers, asking them to tweak or remove certain objectionable portions. But, producers mostly refuse to budge as commerce often overrides logic.”

  • Ghulam Sarwar quits PTI after arrest

    Ghulam Sarwar quits PTI after arrest

    Former Federal Minister for Aviation, Ghulam Sarwar, has announced on Thrusday that he is not a part of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) anymore. The former minister made the announcement in a video released to the media after he was arrested by Islamabad police.
    In the video, the veteran politician said that his family is in politics since the last 50 years, adding that he has much respect for the armed forces.

    He has also stated that any attack on military installations and martyrs’ monuments is an attack on the country.
    He then added, as a ‘patriotic Pakistani’ he demands that the culprits of May 9 riots should be punished according to the law.
    Sarwar also said that he would part ways with PTI.

  • ‘World’s hardest dish’; Chinese street food vendors selling stir-fried stones

    ‘World’s hardest dish’; Chinese street food vendors selling stir-fried stones

    Videos of customers sampling suodiu have appeared all over Chinese social media. Suodiu is a dish originating from the province Hubei, and it is made up of chilli oil, garlic, diced peppers, and – the main ingredient – river rocks. 

    Vendors pour chilli oil onto pebbles being grilled teppanyaki-style, sprinkle garlic sauce all over them, then stir-fry everything with a mix of garlic cloves and diced peppers. The way you’re meant to eat it is by sucking on the small rocks to relish the rich and spicy flavour before spitting out the rock.

    Hence the name suodiu, which means “suck and dispose”. The dish is believed to date back hundreds of years. It was passed down for generations by boatmen through their oral history.

    In a report by the Guardian when boatmen in the landlocked province of Hubei would run out of animals and vegetables while travelling along the Yangtze River, and would then turn to – you guessed it – the rocks beneath the river.

    Unsurprisingly, suodiu faded in popularity after Hubei developed economically, and motorised vessels appeared in the Yangtze, as it reduced the chances of boatmen being left stranded in the river. 

    The dish is also linked to the Tujia people, an ethnic minority who originate from the Wuling mountain range that straddles the borders of Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou.

    But what does it taste like?!

    According to one food blogger, these rocks acquire the taste of marine life over time and start tasting like fish. So when they’re cooked, they have a flavour similar to that of fish, oysters or clams. 

    Are you going to be trying suodiu on your next trip to China?

  • Pakistani snooker player Beats Iranian opponent in U21 Asian Snooker Championship, reaches final

    Pakistani snooker player Beats Iranian opponent in U21 Asian Snooker Championship, reaches final

    Ahsan Ramzan, the youngest cueist of Pakistan, is dominating the U21 Asian Snooker Championship. According to reports, Ahsan won against Iran’s Tirdad Azadipour 4-2 to make his way into the final.

    Ahsan started the semifinal match on the high as he dominated Azadipour in the opening two frames with the scoreline of 76-8 and 102-1 respectively.

    Azadipour, a quick reactor, broke the lead by 2-1 only for Ahsan to restore the advantage in the fourth frame.
    The next two frames also followed the same pattern as Azadipour won the fifth frame to stay alive but Ahsan Ramzan won the sixth frame to seal his spot in the final.

    The semifinal win gives hope to the young seven-years-old Ahsan Ramzan to grab the Gold medal in the Final.

    In the early phase of the tournament, Ahsan contested two group matches against Iran’s Arshia Tehrani and Ali Lalegani and remained unbeaten to book his spot in the knockout stage.

    In his first group match, Ahsan Ramzan thumped Tehrani by the score of 3-0 in the Best of Five.

    The 17-year-old snooker player started his first match of the competition on a high as he outclassed Tehrani by the scores of 55-21 before putting on an even more dominant show in the second frame, sealing it by 93-15.

    The flying start filled Ahsan Ramzan with momentum and he moved within one frame to register his first victory.

    He managed to retain the momentum in the third frame as well and blew away Tehrani 3-0.

    In his next fixture against Iran’s Lalegani, Ahsan Ramzan got off to a contrasting start as the Iranian cueist scored a 66-point break to seal the first frame.

    With Lalegani securing an early 1-0 lead, Ahsan recollected himself and marked an astonishing comeback by sealing the next three frames with great precision and securing his second back-to-back victory in the tournament.

    Ahsan Ramzan continued his rich vein of form in the quarter-final as he defeated India’s Digvijay Kadyan 4-3.

  • ‘Those who are creating issues over military courts have political motives’: Khawaja Asif

    ‘Those who are creating issues over military courts have political motives’: Khawaja Asif

    Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on the floor of the National Assembly on Thursday that the people who have issues with military courts are politically motivated.

    He further said that to avoid conflicts, institutions should not trespass on each other’s boundaries.

    The defence minister remarked that it is very obvious that the people who have issues with military courts have political motives, adding that these types of crimes have not happened before in the country’s history. He has also said that the attackers involved in the May 9 riots are political activists.

    Mentioning that the attackers were brainwashed by their leaders to attack military installations, he further said that I would tell the judiciary to leave a legacy if they wanted to be remembered.

  • Rural areas in Pakistan are facing up to 10 hours of load shedding due to massive power shortfall

    Rural areas in Pakistan are facing up to 10 hours of load shedding due to massive power shortfall

    Amidst a severe heatwave sweeping across the nation, the persistent electricity crisis shows no signs of relenting, with a power shortfall of 6,000 megawatts being recorded. The demand for electricity stands at 28,500 megawatts, while the actual production amounts to 22,500 megawatts.

    Reports indicate that cities are currently enduring load shedding periods lasting from three to five hours. In rural areas, outages are even more prolonged, stretching from eight to 10 hours, whereas urban regions experience load shedding for approximately two to four hours, according to officials from the power division.

    These officials further emphasise that the duration of load shedding is extended on feeders where there are reports of theft and outstanding recovery of line losses.

    As reported by the power division officials, the electricity production breakdown is as follows: 6,900 megawatts from hydroelectric sources, 10,800 megawatts from private power plants, 1,500 megawatts from thermal sources, and 2,300 megawatts from wind, solar, and nuclear plants.

  • Billionaire stepson goes to concert while father missing in titanic submarine, Cardi B says rather be poor than be like him

    Billionaire stepson goes to concert while father missing in titanic submarine, Cardi B says rather be poor than be like him

    Was this day already not long enough that celebrities decided to step in and fire up some drama?

    As the search for the missing submarine goes on, with approximately 8 hours left till the oxygen runs out, the world watches with baited breath.
    However, it seems like on land there is a different sort of problem brewing up, started by the stepson of one of the missing billionaires: Brian Szasz.

    Szasz, the stepson of wealthy British explorer Hamish Harding, went viral on Twitter when he was seen commenting under posts by Only Fans models, and shared pictures of himself attending a Blink 182 concert on Tuesday while reports emerged that search for the missing billionaires remained unsuccessful.

    Rapper Cardi B schooled Szasz in a post on her Instagram stories, where she lamented that the son chose to spend his time at a concert, rather than remain with his family at home to wait for news.

    “People is like, ‘Well, what is he supposed to do? Be sad at the house? Is he supposed to go look for himself?’ Yes.”

    You supposed to be at the house sad. You supposed to be crying for me. You supposed to be right next to the phone waiting to hear any updates about me. You’re supposed to be consoling your mom and **.”

    Then finally the ‘Bodak Yellow’ rapper slammed the step=son by saying, “Isn’t it sad that you a whole ******* billionaire and nobody gives a ** about you? […] That’s crazy. I’d rather be broke. I’d rather be broke and poor, but knowing that I’m loved.”

    https://twitter.com/deepimpactcrier/status/1671557038856630274?s=20

    Szasz had responded to Cardi’s comments in a lengthy Twitter post, lamenting the rapper’s outburst.

    “Cardi is trying to get clout off me and my family’s suffering. I went to a Blink-182 concert for coping rather than sitting at home and watching the news.”

    The ‘WAP’ artist responded to Szasz’s comments, slamming him for searching for clout himself by publicly sharing the fact that he went to a concert, while the whole world was praying for his stepdad to come back safely.

    “The point was the whole world is praying for these people in the submarine and this man son is online shaking d***s for girls off onlyfans and going to Blink 182 concerts. You was looking for clout all along, nobody knew who you were until you said that was ya stepdad!!! This is why people hate you spoiled brat billionaires yall soo desensitize.”

  • HEC withdraws notification banning Holi

    The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has withdrawn a controversial ban on Holi celebrations in universities.

    A notification issued by HEC on Thursday stated that the commission is respectful of faith, religions, beliefs and the festivals associated with them.

    “Considering that the message inferred from the communication has regrettably led to misinterpretation, HEC is pleased to inform the same,” the notification added.

    On Tuesday, the Commission caused outrage when it banned Holi celebrations in educational institutes throughout the country, citing a deviation from the sociocultural values and Islamic identity of Pakistan.

    The notification read that students are prohibited from observing the festival to uphold sociocultural values.

    On Wednesday night, Salman Sufi, the head of Prime Minister’s Strategic Reform Unit, said in a tweet that HEC has been asked to withdraw the notification about banning Holi in universities.

    He wrote that he had spoken to Rana Tanveer Hussain, adding that he has asked HEC them to withdraw it.

    The decision came a few days after Holi celebrations were held on June 12 by students at Quaid-i-Azam University.

  • PM Shehbaz urges IMF to release stalled funds, assures compliance with conditions

    PM Shehbaz urges IMF to release stalled funds, assures compliance with conditions

    On Thursday, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif had a meeting with Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where he urged the lender to release the stalled funds for Pakistan. He assured the IMF of Pakistan’s compliance with all the conditions set by the lender.

    The meeting took place during the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact held in Paris, emphasising Pakistan’s commitment to fulfilling its promises.

    During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the ongoing programmes and cooperation between Pakistan and the IMF. The prime minister briefed Georgieva on Pakistan’s economic outlook, highlighting the government’s efforts for economic growth and stability.

    He emphasised that all the necessary actions for the 9th review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) had been completed, and Pakistan was fully dedicated to meeting its obligations as agreed with the IMF.

    The prime minister expressed his hope for the timely release of the funds allocated under the EFF, as it would contribute to Pakistan’s ongoing efforts in economic stabilisation and provide relief to the people.

    Georgieva shared the IMF’s perspective on the ongoing review process and acknowledged the meeting as an opportunity to assess the progress made in that context.

    It is crucial to note that Pakistan’s currency reserves are currently sufficient to cover only one month’s worth of imports. The country had expected $1.1 billion of the funds to be released in November, but the IMF has imposed certain conditions before making further disbursements.

    With only one IMF board review remaining before the end of the $6.5 billion EFF programme, Pakistan is expected to present a budget aligned with the programme objectives, restore proper functioning of the foreign exchange market, and bridge the $6 billion gap before the board review.