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  • Pakistan faces Rs615 billion annual deficit due to tobacco consumption

    Pakistan faces Rs615 billion annual deficit due to tobacco consumption

    Pakistan has a substantial Rs615 billion annual deficit owing to diseases caused by smoking and overall tobacco usage, with only Rs120 billion earning in tax revenue from the product.

    The government is expected to improve revenue by raising the tax on cigarettes by 30 per cent according to The Nation.

    This was voiced by speakers at a major symposium held in Islamabad on May 18. The Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH) held a seminar on the theme ‘Harms of Tobacco Products and the Importance of Tax Policy,’ which was presided over by Patron General (R) Ashraf Khan and hosted by General Secretary Sana Ullah Ghumman.

    As per the speakers at the event, tobacco usage is a major cause of serious heart, lung, and cancer diseases in the country. A fact sheet on the health and economic costs of cigarette usage was released by the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC).

    According to the survey, tobacco is used by 31 million persons over the age of 15. More than 260,000 people are predicted to start smoking in the country if tobacco taxes are not raised in the budget for 2022-23.

    Engineer Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, the former governor of KP and a senior PML-N leader, was the special guest at the event. Nisar Cheema, a member of the National Assembly, was also present.

    Read more: Tobacco companies in Pakistan may bump cigarette prices

    PANAH Patron General (R) Ashraf Khan congratulated the attendees and informed them of the organization’s goals and objectives.

    Smoking was declared the primary cause of deaths from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart, cancer, respiratory, and chronic diseases, according to participants, with an estimated 163,360 persons dying in 2017.

  • Khan accuses Maryam Nawaz of wanting to ‘lie down’, so an American lady could ‘pass over her’

    Khan accuses Maryam Nawaz of wanting to ‘lie down’, so an American lady could ‘pass over her’

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday in his jalsa in Gujranwala criticised Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz.

    Khan said, “Once a woman from the American Embassy came to [Pakistan], Maryam called her at her house, opened the door of her car, and brought her inside. The way she was walking besides the American lady, the only thing left was for Maryam to lie down and tell the lady to pass over her so that her shoes don’t get dirty.”

    Maryam responded to Khan’s comments and tweeted, ” Poor guy, he has become irrelevant.”

    Khan was talking about United States (US) Charge d’ Affaires Angela Aggeler, who visited Jati Umrah on October 14, 2021. On her arrival, she was received by Maryam Nawaz.

    The PTI chairman hit at Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif as well and said, “Shehbaz Sharif you have worked really hard. You have polished many boots. Whoever came from the American Embassy you used to polish their boots.”

    Berating the Sharif brothers, Khan said: “Shehbaz Sharif is asking what to do after becoming the prime minister. He said that inflation is rising and foreign exchange is tumbling. The two brothers (Shehbaz and Nawaz Sharif) are now trapped and they are wondering what to do.”

  • When Minal Khan ‘actually’ begged on streets of Karachi for a drama

    When Minal Khan ‘actually’ begged on streets of Karachi for a drama

    Clips from an interview of actress Minal Khan are resurfacing on social media in which the Jalan star opened up on how she was asked to actually begged on the crowded streets of Karachi for a scene in her debut drama.

    She disclosed that her director wanted an authentic depiction of the sequence and hence placed the cameras around a busy street. Minal, all of thirteen ran on the road and asked for money.

    The Hassad diva also mentioned that she was very conscious because she was pretty and people could have passed all sort of weird comments to her but she managed to do it eventually.

    This scene also helped her understand the plight of beggars in Pakistan as majority of citizens are rude to them.

  • Fact Check: TikToker Dolly did not set fire to the forest in Margalla Hills

    Fact Check: TikToker Dolly did not set fire to the forest in Margalla Hills

    Claim: TikToker Dolly set the Margalla Hills on fire leading to a forest fire lasting several days

    Fact: TikToker Dolly on her way back from Haripur came across an already lit fire and shot her TikTok

    On May 15th 2022, TikToker Dolly uploaded an 11 second video of her performing to a song with a forest fire in the background. On May 17th 2022, this video was viral on Twitter, being shared and condemned by Twitter users with hundreds of thousands of followers. It was widely believed that she lit the fire in order to shoot her video.

    Surfing through Dolly’s TikTok account @dollyofficiall, it became clear that 6 days ago, on Thursday, May 12th, 2022 Dolly was attending an event in Haripur where she was specially invited as a TikTok star and influencer. It is the same outfit in which she shot her video with the forest fire in the background. Team Current reached Dolly’s Signature Salon in Gulberg on May 17th, where although we were unable to meet the celebrity herself, we met Usman who is her personal assistant and often appears in her TikToks as well. Usman informed us that the viral 11 second TikTok was shot as an afterthought. Usman later also shared a video with us, embedded below, which was shot when Dolly and Usman found the fire while on the motorway back from Haripur and made a video with a local who claimed to have set the fire himself to protect his children from snakes.

    Video shared by Usman from Dolly’s Signature Salon: Dolly explains that while on her way back from Haripur she saw this fire on the side of the motorway and chose to record a TikTok. She also introduces the man who claims to have the set fire himself.

    This video conclusively proves that the fire was set before Dolly reached the location. Mainstream news channels such as ARY, GEO, Bol have all covered this event quoting an FIR that was lodged against her and teammates in Kohsar Police Station. Social media users as well as TV channels are connecting this instance of forest fire with another video in which two men are seen setting fire in Margalla Hills. This video was recorded two days after Dolly recorded her own TikTok on May 15th.

    Several Twitter users openly condemned Dolly, called for her arrest and shamed her. Eventually the collective internet action led to the registration of an FIR against her at the Kohsar Police, Islamabad. However, it is clear that even though Dolly made a TikTok with a forest fire that has ranged over an expansive region by this point, she did not cause it. Dawn reports that the fire started out in the Chinari area of the Margalla Hills, another fire was also reported in forest 16 of the Saidpur Range earlier on Sunday.

    These yearly occurring forest fires are continuously increasing and the blame for these is often misdirected while local authorities such as Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) display negligence and disregard towards establishing a system of pre-emptive mechanisms to deal with this consequence of climate change

    VERDCIT: FALSE

  • Toyota Camry after a hike of Rs2 million, priced at Rs23.3 million

    Toyota Camry after a hike of Rs2 million, priced at Rs23.3 million

    Toyota Indus Motor Company (IMC) has announced a massive price hike for all completely built-up (CBU) units offered by the Japanese automaker in Pakistan. The price of Toyota Camry is upped by Rs2 million and will now cost Rs23.3 million

    The only variant of the popular hybrid model, Toyota Prius received a hike of Rs1.26 million and will be sold for Rs14.65 million. Toyota’s crossover SUV, Corolla Cross (top trim) is now priced at Rs13.4 million after a hefty increase of Rs1.17 million in its earlier price.

    Finally, the automatic version of Toyota Rush will now be offered at Rs8.33 million following an increase of Rs710,000.

    Read more: Hyundai Sonata 2.5 will now cost Rs7.85 million

    Toyota IMC’s CBU models, in particular, have become nearly unobtainable following the recent price jump. The government’s main purpose in the auto sector, however, is to discourage CBU imports and increase sales of locally produced vehicles. This means that all other CBUs are on the verge of suffering the same fate as Toyota.

  • ‘Want to get access to his Peer’: Usman Buzdar’s expected comeback sparks a meme fest

    ‘Want to get access to his Peer’: Usman Buzdar’s expected comeback sparks a meme fest

    The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday in its decision on a presidential reference seeking interpretation of Article 63-A of the Constitution, which is related to the status of defecting lawmakers, said the votes of defecting lawmakers will not be counted.

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters started celebrating the ‘expected’ comeback of Usman Buzdar by removing the current Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz.

    The memes in relevance to Buzdar are hilarious.

    Seems like the Peer baba’s business is about to boom.

    Some questioned the short tenure of Hamza Shehbaz.

    Some declared Buzdar as the real danger.

    Some said Hamza might be a good player but Buzdar is the real coach.

    Some wished for the same luck as that of Buzdar.

    Some showed how Buzdar will make an entry at the CM House.

  • WhatsApp will soon let you exit groups secretly

    WhatsApp will soon let you exit groups secretly

    WABetainfo has unveiled a beta feature that allows participants to leave a group with only the admins being notified.

    ‘Only you and group admins will be notified that you left the group,’ says a beta popup when a group member opts out.

    Currently, when someone leaves a group chat, WhatsApp broadcasts their departure to the whole group, making their departure very public. Although leaving a group silently is not yet possible, WhatsApp appears to recognise that making one’s withdrawal less noticeable may be the safest default.

    Officially, WhatsApp allows up to 256 users to join a single group, however, this can lead to a lot of coming and departing notifications in a conversation, which can be distracting to other participants.

    WhatsApp is also testing rich link previews in Status updates in another beta development. Rich link previews would provide a preview of the website being linked to, giving users an indication of the content they may expect to see if they visit the webpage, whereas sharing a link in a Status update now only displays the URL.

    The meta-owned WhatsApp hasn’t said when these new features will be available for the normal users, as it usually does while testing them with its beta users.

    Greater file transfers, emoji reactions and larger groups were among the most recent major additions to the platform in the last month.

  • Heatwave emergency declared in Rawalpindi Zoo

    Heatwave emergency declared in Rawalpindi Zoo

    Ayub National Park Zoo in Rawalpindi has declared a heatwave emergency to safeguard animals from heatstroke and dehydration amid an extraordinary surge in temperature in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. It has been decided to install air-conditioners for animals if the temperature reaches 50 degrees Celsius.

    To prevent heatstroke in lions, bears, monkeys, zebras, deer, wolves, birds, and tigers, water ponds have been installed in their cages, as well as air-coolers and extra fans with ice blocks in their night barracks.

    Army Heritage Foundation Director-General Brig (retd) Asif Akhtar while talking to The Express Tribune said that unusually high temperatures have increased the risk of heatstroke and dehydration in animals and birds, thus the zoo administration has declared an emergency to preserve animals and birds from the heatwave’s detrimental consequences.

    Jungle World Zoo Deputy Director Major (retd) Salman explained that as the temperature rises, the animals’ feeding patterns alter, and the veterinary staff adjusts their nutrition accordingly.

    “Lions, bears, tigers, deer, zebras, monkeys, puma, and wolves are fed a variety of vitamins and minerals in water to protect them from heatstroke and dehydration,” he said.

    In the current situation, the zoo administration has urged visitors not to disturb the animals in cages, as the current heatwave is already causing them harm.

  • PUBG earns $307.1 million in Q1 2022 despite going free-to-play

    PUBG earns $307.1 million in Q1 2022 despite going free-to-play

    The South Korean company behind PUBG, Krafton revealed that the PC and console version of the battle royale shooter franchise is making a lot of money despite going free-to-play in January 2022.

    According to Krafton, the game earned $307.1 million in revenue in the first quarter of 2022, up 5 per cent year over year (YoY), after being downloaded more than one billion times as of March 2021.

    Sales on PC were boosted 61 per cent YoY to $82.3 million. The surge in console sales was even higher, up 124 per cent from the previous quarter and 274 per cent on a YoY basis, though Krafton did not disclose a cash amount for the period.

    From Q4 2021 to Q4 2022, PUBG’s average monthly active users nearly tripled.

    When PUBG: Battlegrounds first arrived in early access on Steam in 2017, it was a premium title, but free-to-play battle royale games like Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Apex Legends established that the free model can be highly profitable.

    In fact, converting PUBG: Battlegrounds to free-to-play turned out highly beneficial for Krafton. The widely played PUBG: Mobile is already free to download on iOS and Android devices.

    Electronic Arts (EA) also announced that Apex Legends, which has been out for a little over three years, crossed $2 billion in lifetime net bookings in just two weeks, While Epic raised $144 million for Ukraine aid.

  • Economic crisis: Finance minister in Doha to hold talks with IMF

    Economic crisis: Finance minister in Doha to hold talks with IMF

    Finance Minister Miftah Ismail along with his team left for Doha on Tuesday to hold talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

    The ministry said that talks with the IMF mission started today (May 18).

    The review talks are expected to continue for a week and will focus on striking a staff-level agreement for the release of a $1 billion tranche under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

    It has been reported that Pakistan will have to convince the IMF to revive the stalled $6 billion programme at a time when the government had not started eliminating the unfunded fuel subsidy after making a commitment with the forum.

    The dollar rate is at its peak in the country. Currently, the rupee touched 200 against the US dollar in the open market. This spell of the dollar’s persistent rise against the rupee began last week.