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  • Panadol production stopped in Pakistan, shortage expected

    The widely used over-the-counter (OTC) drug panadol and paracetamol may not be available in markets as the company that produced the brands has stopped production of both the drugs.

    Panadol is a generic drug used to treat fevers, minor pains such as headaches and vaccination shot ache.

    The company has cited cost-effectiveness for not manufacturing the drug anymore.

    The manufacturer, who has been requesting authorities to raise the price of Panadol, claims that production was no longer financially viable.

    According to the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Association of Pakistan, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) reportedly issued a summary to the health ministry requesting an increase of Rs 1per tablet, but the federal cabinet rejected the document.

    The association says the manufacturer could not sell the medicine at less than the production cost.

    According to the pharmaceutical industry, the manufacturing of the tablets has been fully stopped.

    DRAP has been formally informed that some of the tablets sold by pharmacies are fraudulent.

    Panadol is among the highest selling medicine brands in the country, with demand for the drug being the highest in Punjab. The medicine comes in formulations meant for infants, children and adults. A sister brand named Panadol Extend is also part of the company’s products.

  • Apple to release iOS 16 tomorrow, is your iPhone compatible?

    Apple to release iOS 16 tomorrow, is your iPhone compatible?

    On September 12, the majority of regions are likely to receive Apple’s newest iOS 16. All compatible devices will be able to update to the most advanced and intelligent operating system created by the Cupertino-based tech giant.

    A deeper intelligence, brand-new tools for personalization, and improved sharing and communication capabilities are all part of iOS 16’s enhancements to the iPhone.

    Compatible iPhones

    These iPhones are compatible with iOS 16:

    iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max

    iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max

    iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max

    iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max

    iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max

    iPhone X, iPhone XR

    iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus

    iPhone SE (2nd generation or later)

    Whats new?

    • With iOS 16, you can now simply switch between various Lock Screens, each with a different background and aesthetic. For ideas, explore a gallery of wallpapers with suggested images and thematic collections.
    • Make your iPhone unique with brand-new ways to customise the Lock Screen. Highlight favourite images, alter font styles, and put up a few widgets to access information quickly.
    • View notifications in a concealed view, stacked view, or extended list view on the lock screen. Additionally, alerts are hidden by appearing at the bottom of the screen.
    • You can now make changes to a recently sent message or decide not to send it at all. Additionally, if you are unable to react right away but want to do so later, you can mark a message as unread.
    • The Home app has been completely redesigned to be even more effective and dependable. Utilize the newly designed Home tab to navigate all of your smart home accessories. You can now access the necessary accessories with just a tap thanks to new sections for climate, lights, security, and more. Additionally, a multicamera view places your smart home cameras in the spotlight.
    • Real-time transcription of audio into text makes it simpler to follow conversations and news.

    How to update to iOS 16?

    Make sure your device is plugged in and connected to the Internet with Wi-Fi. Then follow these steps:

    Go to Settings > General > Software Update.

    You may see software update options available. You can choose to stay on iOS and still get important security updates.

    To update to iOS 16 click on the patch available and tap Install Now.

  • Delhi High Court orders Amazon India to remove Pakistan-made Rooh Afza from listings

    Delhi High Court orders Amazon India to remove Pakistan-made Rooh Afza from listings

    The Delhi High Court ordered the e-commerce website Amazon to remove the listings after Rooh Afza’s Indian producer, Hamdard National Foundation, filed a lawsuit alleging that Pakistan-produced Rooh Afza was being sold in India through Amazon, according to The Indian Express.

    Indians have been drinking Rooh Afza, a well-known beverage, for more than a century. The fact that its imported version was being sold on Amazon without the manufacturer’s information was shocking to the court.

    On Wednesday, Justice Prathiba M. Singh ordered Amazon to remove the “listings of infringing ‘Rooh Afza’ products” within 48 hours.

    Rooh Afza was first introduced by Hakim Hafiz Abdul Majeed in Delhi more than a century ago. After the partition, Hakim’s elder son relocated to India while the younger son chose Pakistan.

    Currently, Hamdard National Foundation has the rights to the beverage in India, while Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) makes it in Pakistan.

    Read more: How to apply for government jobs in Pakistan

    Last year, the Hamdard National Foundation discovered that some merchants were also listing Rooh Afza, and several of them received notifications as a result.

    Later, it was discovered that the Rooh Afza bottles being sold in India on Amazon were really made in Pakistan, which is against the law.

  • Wasim Akram’s upcoming autobiography book to include some shocking revelations

    Wasim Akram’s upcoming autobiography book to include some shocking revelations

    Former captain of Pakistan Wasim Akram has announced that his autobiography book, “Sultan Wasim Akram,” will be released in the coming weeks.

    The “Sultan of Swing” made the announcement on Twitter, writing: “Finally you will know the truth & my side of the story! Details and dates soon to follow, stay tuned…”

    Details indicate that the Justice Malik Qayyum Commission report, match-fixing, and cricket celebrities would come under a lot of shocking relevations. There will be various translations of the book, including Urdu.

    In his book, Akram incorporated memories from both his personal and professional lives. He also discussed Imran Khan and the 1992 World Cup in the book.

    The cricketer allegedly disclosed some significant but previously unreported cricket-related occurrences.

  • Video: Afghan Girls protest the closure of schools

    Video: Afghan Girls protest the closure of schools

    The Taliban government of Afghanistan has closed secondary schools just days after classes began. Dozens of girls protested on Saturday in an eastern Afghan city. Photographs shared on social media show locals and business owners watching the girls march through the city’s core.

    Following demands from hundreds of girls and tribal leaders, five government secondary schools in the eastern province of Patkia resumed classes last week. However, when the students showed up for class on Saturday, they were instructed to go home.

    “This morning when they did not allow girls to enter schools, we held a protest,” said activist Yasmin, one of the organisers of the rally.

    “The Taliban did not allow anyone to take footage of the protest. In fact, they broke some protesters’ mobile phones,” Yasmin told AFP by telephone.

    “The students protested peacefully, but soon the rally was dispersed by security forces,” one Gardez resident who asked not to be named told AFP.

    The Taliban administration this year in March announced that girls’ high schools in Afghanistan will be closed, and no female child above the sixth grade will be allowed to attend school. The announcement came only a few hours after they reopened for the first time in nearly seven months.

  • Exclusive: Apple user or Samsung loyalist? What phone does PM Shehbaz use?

    Exclusive: Apple user or Samsung loyalist? What phone does PM Shehbaz use?

    Android or iOS—which one is better? We have heard this never-ending debate many times. Now, the debate has turned towards the power corridors of Islamabad. The question being asked on social media is, what phone does our Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif use?

    Earlier in the day, PM’s Focal Person on Digital Media, Muhammad Abubakar Umer, shared a video of the Premier who was sitting with United Nations (UN) Chief Antonio Guterres. They both visited the flood-affected areas of Sindh.

    In the video, PM Shehbaz pulled out his phone which appears to be an iPhone 7.

    Abubakar has also mentioned the model of the phone in the caption. He said, “PM Shehbaz doesn’t normally carry/use his mobile phone in public. This is probably the first time he pulled out his phone during a meeting—to show a flood-related video to UN Secretary-General— and guess what? It’s not iPhone 14, not even X or 9. It looks more like iPhone 7.”

    Upon asking the reason behind PM not upgrading his phone, Abubakar told The Current, “He [PM Shehbaz] uses the phone only for necessary functions and not for entertainment or luxury. He would use the phone as long it serves the basic purpose of call or text and sometimes video message or call.”

    The focal person also revealed that when he met PM Shehbaz back in 2011 he [PM] was carrying a phone that “looked like Nokia 3310”. He said that it was a very “basic” phone.

    “PM has all the resources to afford a new phone but he is doing great even without keeping up with the latest phone models”, he added.

  • Imran Khan’s plane escapes an accident

    Imran Khan’s plane escapes an accident

    A plane carrying Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan escaped an accident. Khan was en route to Gujranwala for his jalsa from Chaklala.

    Khan was set to travel on a private plane when some technical problem was detected.

    According to media reports, the former prime minister couldn’t travel because of the weather situation as well.

    After the incident, Khan had to travel by road for his jalsa.

    The news was confirmed by PTI’s Salman Ahmad. He said that a technical fault was discovered in time.

    “We are extraordinarily lucky that Imran Khan plane’s technical fault was discovered in time before it took off,” he tweeted.

    A day earlier, Khan announced that he would share the “next critical phase” of his party’s “Haqiqi Azadi movement” during his Gujranwala rally on Saturday.

  • NADRA introduces a new digital payment system to replace ATMs

    NADRA introduces a new digital payment system to replace ATMs

    The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has introduced an innovative system that will serve as an alternative to automated teller machines (ATMs) and let citizens pay utility bills and identity documents.

    This development comes as a result of NADRA’s partnership with 1Link, Pakistan’s largest and fully licensed payment gateway system. The two authorities have formed a strategic alliance to evolve and administer an e-payment system that will build on NADRA’s already existing e-Sahulat franchise.

    According to DAWN, the collaboration will make it possible for the more than 17,000 e-Sahulat centers to conduct financial transfers, cash-in and cash-out transactions, as well as P2G, G2P, and P2P payments.

    NADRA Chairman Tariq Malik and 1Link CEO Najeeb Agrawal inked the agreement on Monday at the organization’s headquarters. In response to this development, Malik stated that NADRA has been trying to enhance e-governance by empowering organisations from the public and commercial sectors through its digital services.

    He asserted that one of Pakistan’s most cutting-edge digital services for financial payments is NADRA’s e-Sahulat facility.

    Through this cooperation, the more than 17,000 e-Sahulat locations operated by NADRA will be able to quadruple the capacity of more than 16,500 1Link ATMs nationwide. As was already mentioned, this will make it simple for consumers to deposit and withdraw money.

    In the future, the digital platform will also be accessible in rural Pakistan, enabling students there to continue their studies while earning money to cover their tuition.

  • Punjab CM Pervaiz Elahi increases financial assistance for flood victims to Rs10 lac

    Punjab CM Pervaiz Elahi increases financial assistance for flood victims to Rs10 lac

    Chief Minister (CM) Punjab, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, has increased financial assistance for families of deceased victims from Rs. 0.8 million to 1 million (Rs 8lac to Rs10 lac).

    CM Elahi had a meeting with Provincial Minister Muhammad Muneeb Sultan Cheema in which they discussed the current political situation of the country and relief activities for flood affectees.

    Elahi was of the view that Pakistan has been greatly affected by climate change, with massive destruction caused by unusual rains and floods. For this purpose, the government has to take extraordinary measures, reports Geo Urdu.

    Commissioner Dera Ghazi Khan (DG Khan) said that Rs75,000 will be given for the loss of large animals due to floods.

    The aid for those who lost their cemented houses has been increased from Rs. 100,000 to Rs. 400,000. Similarly, the aid for those who lost their mud houses has been increased to Rs. 200,000 from Rs. 40,000.

    On Friday, Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari presented a cheque of Rs15 million to PM Shehbaz as a contribution from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs towards the PM’s Flood Relief Fund.

    Last week, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif announced that PM Flood Relief Fund will be audited by the Accountant General Pakistan Revenues (AGPR) and a private audit firm to ensure transparency.

    Devastating floods in Pakistan have wreaked havoc across the country, leaving a path of destruction and loss in their wake. More than 1,400 people have lost their lives, one-third of whom are children.

    Record monsoon rains and melting glaciers triggered the disaster. The United Nations (UN) and Pakistan have linked the extreme weather to climate change; some 600,000 people have fled their homes.

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  • iPhone 14 Pro Max 1TB available for pre-orders for nearly Rs7 lac

    iPhone 14 Pro Max 1TB available for pre-orders for nearly Rs7 lac

    All of the iPhone 14 models are up for pre-order at Telemart, and the prices are the highest we’ve ever heard for a phone.

    The 1TB iPhone 14 Pro Max, which retails for a stunning Rs689,999, is currently the most expensive mobile offered in Pakistan. For that amount, you could purchase several brand-new motorcycles or even a pre-owned Suzuki Mehran.

    The price of the entry-level iPhone 14 with 128GB of storage (the lowest model) is astronomical at Rs419,999.

    These phones won’t be delivered to you until at least October because, as was already indicated, they are only available for pre-order at this time.

    The spike in import duties, which also affected laptops, graphics cards, and other electronics in addition to cellphones, is to blame for the price increase. As a result, the starting price for the iPhone 14 Plus is Rs459,999, the starting price for the iPhone 14 Pro is Rs489,999, and the price for the Pro Max model is Rs529,999.

    The price of the ‘cheapest’ iPhone 14 (base model) costs even more than the initial price of Rs370,000 for the iPhone 13 Pro Max.