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  • Floods in Pakistan: Govt to establish ‘National Flood Response and Coordination Centre’

    Floods in Pakistan: Govt to establish ‘National Flood Response and Coordination Centre’

    The government has decided to establish the ‘National Flood Response and Coordination Centre’ to deal with the situation of floods in the country and the rehabilitation of flood-affected people.

    The decision was made during a meeting of allied parties on August 29 in Islamabad, which was presided over by Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif.

    The Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) updated the participants of the meeting about the country’s flood situation and relief efforts.

    The participants of the meeting decided that the estimation of the damages should be conducted in a transparent way.

    “At the national flood emergency meeting today, we approved the establishment of the National Flood Response & Coordination Center to provide an institutional response to the flood calamity. Led by PM, this Center will comprise federal ministers, reps of armed forces, CMs, & experts,” tweeted PM Shehbaz.

    According to the data issued by NDMA, at least 1,136 people have died in floods caused by heavy rains in the country.

  • KP govt launches ‘Flood Reporting’ app to aid flood victims

    KP govt launches ‘Flood Reporting’ app to aid flood victims

    To promptly aid those impacted by severe flooding, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government launched the “Flood Reporting” application on Monday.

    Atif Khan, the Minister of Science and Information Technology for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), gave specific directions for the introduction of the smartphone application.

    The minister stated in a message that flood victims will be able to use the Flood Reporting App to notify when they need food or medicine.

    He promised that the impacted agencies and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) would see to it that the victims of the disaster received immediate aid.

    The latest application has a thorough system for seeking assistance for victims and keeping track of feedback. The smartphone application will allow users to instantly report the type of incidents that occurred and the assistance that is needed.

    Although 1,061 deaths have been reported by authorities since the start of the seasonal rains in June, the eventual death toll may be higher since hundreds of villages in the hilly north have been shut off after roads and bridges were wiped away by floodwaters.

  • Video: Virat Kohli gives Haris Rauf a special gift

    Video: Virat Kohli gives Haris Rauf a special gift

    Following Pakistan-India match on August 28, right arm pacer Haris Rauf met former Indian skipper Virat Kohli on field.

    The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a video in which Virat Kohli autographed and handed over a signed jersey to Haris Rauf.

    “The match may be over but moments like these shine bright.”

    Players from both India and Pakistan have displayed positive energy on field despite their rivalry.

    Earlier, Indian players met Shaheen Afridi who was ruled out of the Asia Cup because of a knee injury.

    Read more: Indian players meet Shaheen Shah Afridi, inquire about his health

    Babar was also spotted chatting with Indian team captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

    India won the match on August 28 by five wickets.

    Pakistan-India head to head match count in Asia Cup is now 15. India won nine while Pakistan won five matches. One match ended in no results.

    Read more: History of Pakistan vs India matches at Asia Cup

    Pakistan will play its second match of the Asia Cup 2022 against Hong Kong on September 2 (Friday) at 7pm.

  • Imran Khan’s fund raising telethon secures Rs5 billion in pledges

    Imran Khan’s fund raising telethon secures Rs5 billion in pledges

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan held an international telethon for the flood-affected. In three hours, Khan collected Rs5 billion in pledges.

    Khan said entire Pakistan had been affected by the floods due to relentless rains. “More than 1,000 people have died due to devastating floods and the damages are expected to cross Rs1,000 billion,” he said.

    “The sole solution to prevent the catastrophes caused by a flood is to construct dams.”

     Read more: IK back on live TV: High Court suspends ban on IK’s speeches

    Khan also said that he is struggling for real independence besides assisting the flood victims across the country. 

    The PTI chairman took Twitter and thanked the people of Pakistan, and expats for donating so generously.

  • Pakistan has now 118.57 million 3G, 4G users

    Pakistan has now 118.57 million 3G, 4G users

    According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the country’s 3G and 4G user base climbed by 3.07 million from 115.75 million at the end of June 2022 to 118.57 million at the end of July 2022.

    By the end of July 2022, Pakistan had 195.26 million cellular users, up from 194.58 million at the end of June 2022.

    Cellular mobile’s teledensity increased from 88.34 per cent at the end of June to 88.61 per cent at the end of July. By the end of July 2022, the overall teledensity had increased from 89.53 per cent to 89.8 per cent, according to Brecorder.

    By the end of June 2022, the Monthly Next Generation Mobile Service (NGMS) penetration was 52.55 per cent; by July 2022, it was 53.8 per cent.

    Jazz’s overall 3G user count decreased by 0.109 million from 5.947 million at the end of June to 5.838 million at the end of July. By the end of July 2022, there will be 39.296 million Jazz 4G users, up from 38.039 million at the end of June.

    While the number of Zong 4G customers climbed from 28.906 million at the end of June to 29.695 million at the end of July, the number of 3G subscribers fell from 3.197 million at the end of June to 3.108 million.

    While the number of Telenor 4G customers climbed from 21.831 million at the end of June to 22.401 million at the end of July, the company’s 3G subscribers declined from 3.542 million at the end of June to 3.480 million at the end of July.

    By the end of July, there were 3.468 million Ufone 3G users, down from 3.509 million at the end of June. Ufone’s 4G user base climbed by 0.49 million over the reviewed period, from 9.419 million at the end of June to 9.909 million at the end of July.

    As of July 2022, the PTA had received 14030 complaints from customers of various telecom providers, including cellular operators, PTCL, LDIs, WLL operators, and ISPs. According to the PTA, 13709 complaints, or 97 per cent of them, were successfully resolved.

    A sizable portion of the total telecom subscriber base is made up of cellular mobile subscribers.

    The most complaints are therefore related to this group. By July, there had been 13,342 complaints made against CMOs, of which 13,174 (98 per cent) had been resolved.

    Data from the PTA shows that Jazz received 5,752 complaints, Telenor received 2450, Zong received 3827, and Ufone received 1,287.

    Additionally, the PTA received 140 complaints about basic telephone, of which 86 were resolved in July 2022. In addition, 438 of the 533 complaints made against ISPs were resolved.

  • Girl raped, murdered, family finds her floating in swimming pool

    Girl raped, murdered, family finds her floating in swimming pool

    A 10-year-old girl was allegedly raped and then murdered in Lahore. The murdered girl allegedly went swimming at a pool with her brother Sajjad and a five-year-old sister.

    The victim then went missing. When her brother tried to find her and contacted the swimming pool owner, Ali Raza, Raza told him she had gone home.

    When she didn’t come home, her family went to the swimming pool and found her floating in the swimming pool. She was then taken to the hospital where she was declared dead by the hospital staff.

    The murdered girl’s family, relatives, and community people organised a protest on Ring Road. They say that she was raped before the murder.
    However, there is no mention of rape in the First Information Report (FIR). The police are investigating the case.

  • BFFs Hamza Ali Abbasi, Aisha Khan go out on a double date with their respective spouses

    BFFs Hamza Ali Abbasi, Aisha Khan go out on a double date with their respective spouses

    Actors Hamza Ali Abbasi and Aisha Khan have always maintained that they have been the best of friends even prior to working on projects like Man Mayal and Jawani Phir Nahi Aani.

    Aisha Khan and Hamza Ali Abbasi to host Ramadan Transmission on AAJ TV – Miss Dramatic Jawaid

    The on-screen duo recently had a reunion in Islamabad along with their respective spouses. Going by the pictures, they seem to have a great evening together.

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is hamza-aisha-2aa-1024x1024.jpg

    Aisha and her husband Major Uqbah Hadeed Malik recently welcomed their second child, a baby boy. The couple has one older daughter, who was born in 2019. Aisha and Uqbah tied the knot in 2019. 

    Ayesha Khan Latest Adorable Family Pictures – Health Fashion

    On the other hand, Hamza is gearing up for his forthcoming movie The Legend Of Maula Jatt‘s theatrical release, whereas Naimal Khawar also recently hinted at the possibility of her comeback to the showbiz in another year.

    Did Bilal Lashari Confirm The Legend Of Maula Jatt Release Date? - Lens
  • Naveen Waqar breaks silence on split with ex-husband, shares her healing process

    Naveen Waqar breaks silence on split with ex-husband, shares her healing process

    Actor Naveen Waqar is currently promoting her forthcoming film Carma, which will be released on 2nd September across Pakistan.

    She rose to fame after starring in the popular series Humsafar with Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan in 2011. Naveen later married the comedian and actor Azfar Ali in 2012, but they later divorced for unspecified reasons.

    The Ainee Ki Ayegi Baraat star recently discussed how her marriage and divorce affected her in an interview. “Of course, it was difficult for me to go through this tough time during my career, because I was somebody who just started out. My first play was Humsafar and it just skyrocketed, giving me the spotlight”, says Navin.

    Finally Azfar and Naveen talked about their Marriage!

    She added, “It was a very difficult transition to go from there and then pull yourself out of it and stand up again. It required a lot of strength. This whole situation made me realize how strong I was to be able to step out of that and then build myself up again. It was a great transition period for me and yes that has absolutely made me into that person where I don’t want to share my personal life with others.”

    It was alleged that Azfar didn’t divorce his first wife while tying the knot with Waqar but falsely told her that he was divorced already.

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    Last year, while speaking in a live Instagram session, Waqar mentioned, “There is nothing wrong with being single, first of all,” she began. “It is one of the most important phases in a woman’s life where she is independent, where she is getting to live her dreams, achieve her goals, live life to the fullest. I think there is nothing wrong with that.”

    Navin went on to highlight the obsession many have with women getting married. “If God forbid, I attend a wedding or an engagement, so many aunties ask me when I am getting married. So, I’m just thinking to myself, ‘Why am I being asked this question relentlessly? There are 15 men behind me who are balding and aging. Nobody says anything to them.’ I usually just respond that it is better to stay single and happy than marrying the wrong person.”

    She remarked that if someone is supposed to get married, if that’s in their fate, then nothing will get in the way of it. “So, don’t listen to any kind of trash talk that comes your way. Understand that life is a gift and you are on this earth to do beautiful and amazing things and you do not have to get married in order to achieve that,” said the actor. “If anybody who is single right now, I think it’s a great time to make a bucket list and achieve all the things you want.”

    In 2015, Azfar also shared why they parted ways. He said, “I don’t think the reason behind the divorce is important, it’ll be enough to say that we were not getting along and if things are not happy at home, there is no point in dragging them on.”

  • Vegetable prices soar amid low supply due to floods

    Vegetable prices soar amid low supply due to floods

    Extreme flooding has hampered the supply of perishable items from agricultural areas, driving up the prices of onions and tomatoes in city markets.

    While tomatoes cost Rs400-450 per kilogramme (kg), onions cost Rs350-400 per kg. Onion prices rose by Rs75 per kg week over week in the official rate list, while tomato prices rose by Rs234 per kg.

    The supply chain is hampered by road blockages and transportation restrictions in flood-affected areas, according to The News.

    Onion A-grade cost Rs75 more per kg, was fixed at Rs180-190, and was sold for Rs350-400 per kg. Onion B-grade cost Rs160-167 per kg, was sold for Rs235-250 per kg, and onion C-grade was priced at Rs180-200 per kg.

    Tomato A-grade price increased by Rs234 per kg, maintained at Rs320-330 per kg, sold for Rs400-450 per kg, followed by B-grade price increase to Rs290-300 per kg, C-grade price increase to Rs240-250 per kg, and B&C price increase to Rs350 per kg.

    Chinese carrot prices increased by Rs11 per kg, from Rs80 to Rs85 per kg to Rs120 to Rs160 per kg for sale. Fenugreek (Methi) remained constant at Rs250-260 per kg and was sold for Rs400 per kg.

    This week, the price of chicken also climbed by Rs20 per kg, from Rs240 per kg to Rs280–300 per kg, and the price of chicken meat by Rs30 per kg, from Rs362/kg to Rs380–650/kg.

    Cucumber Farm increased its price by Rs50 per kg, fixed at Rs120-125 per kg, sold at Rs150 per kg, and locally sold cucumbers were sold for Rs200 per kg.

    Brinjal price increased by Rs5 per kg, from Rs86 to Rs90 per kg, and was sold for Rs120 to Rs140 per kg.

    Price of bitter gourd rose by Rs10 per kg, fixed at Rs160-165 per kg, and sold at Rs200 per kg.

    Local lemon prices increased by Rs20 per kg, from Rs235-245 per kg to Rs280-320 per kg when sold. Pumpkin remained at Rs60–63 per kg, sold for Rs80–100 per kg, and pumpkin long was sold for Rs140–150 per kg.

  • IMF board approves disbursement of $1.17 billion in bailout funds

    IMF board approves disbursement of $1.17 billion in bailout funds

    The seventh and eighth reviews of Pakistan’s bailout programme were approved by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) board on Monday, releasing $1.17 billion to the cash-strapped nation.

    Pakistan is now set to get a $1.17 billion loan tranche from the international lender within the next six days.

    “Alhamdolillah, the IMF board has approved the revival of our EFF programme. We should now be getting the seventh and eighth tranche of $1.17 billion,” said Finance Minister Miftah Ismail in a tweet announcing the news.

    Additionally, the Finance Minister praised the Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, “for taking so many tough decisions and saving Pakistan from default.”

    The previous payment was made to Pakistan in February, and the subsequent tranche was scheduled to be released following a review in March.

    However, the PTI government drastically reduced petroleum prices by providing substantial subsidies to the country, which caused the program’s fiscal objectives to be missed.