Blog

  • Shahid Afridi blames Babar Azam for Pakistan’s failed World Cup campaign

    Shahid Afridi blames Babar Azam for Pakistan’s failed World Cup campaign

    Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi blamed skipper Babar Azam for the Pakistan’s failed World Cup campaign.

    “The captain unites everyone, whether someone is destroying or building the team. After this World Cup is over, I will tell you everything. I have a relationship with Shaheen Afridi; if I say something, people will say that I am supporting my son-in-law,” Boom Boom said during a talk show on SAMA.

    Former fast bowler Wasim Akram also expressed similar views, saying, “Some players in the team do not even talk to each other. This is international cricket, in which you play for your country. Such players should be left at home.”

    Akram emphasized the need for complete change in the team, saying, “They have been playing cricket for ten years; I can’t teach them. Rizwan has no idea of the game. He should have known that Bumrah would try to get the wicket. The wisdom required was to handle him, but Rizwan hit the big shot. Wicket lost in the cycle.”

    On the other hand, Pakistan cricket fans are demanding urgent action on the national team ahead of Champions Trophy 2025 so they can enjoy better cricket in the upcoming event.

  • Actor Javed Sheikh caught up in Rs5 million investment fraud case

    Actor Javed Sheikh caught up in Rs5 million investment fraud case

    In a significant legal development, Rawat Police have registered a fraud case against renowned film star Javed Sheikh and five other individuals, as reported by express.pk. Filed under Section 420 of the Pakistan Penal Code, the charges allege that the accused deceived a couple into investing Rs5 million with promises of lucrative returns.

    The case was filed following the directives of the Additional District and Sessions Judge. Police have summoned all the suspects for investigation. According to the complaint filed by Amjad Mahmood and his wife, Iram Amjad, Javed, along with Jahanzeb Alam, Jamal Khan, Rana Zahid, Azhar Hussain, and Sameer Jadoon, persuaded them to invest money, promising a seven percent monthly profit.

    The couple signed an agreement on official stamp papers and handed over Rs5 million. However, after several months, they did not receive any returns and were allegedly threatened when they demanded their money back. The couple approached the court after the police initially refused to register their complaint.

  • Not a message of love; Khawaja Asif clarifies PM Shehbaz’s message

    Not a message of love; Khawaja Asif clarifies PM Shehbaz’s message

    After Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated Narendra Modi on being elected as the Prime Minister of India, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif tried to clear the air that there wasn’t a “message of love.”

    “It is just a diplomatic compulsion to congratulate Modi on becoming the Indian PM,” stated Asif speaking on the Geo News programme Capital Talk on Monday.

    He also said that Pakistan would never forget that Modi is a “murderer of Muslims” in India.

    Modi is the second person in India’s political history after Jawaharlal Nehru to serve a third consecutive term as prime minister.

    However, this time Modi’s party did not win an outright majority but with the support of 14 regional parties in his BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

  • 38 migrants died, 100 missing after boat sinks near Yemen coast

    38 migrants died, 100 missing after boat sinks near Yemen coast

    At least 38 people from Africa have died after their boat overturned near the coast of Yemen, BBC reported.

    The boat, which was carrying around 250 people, sank after encountering strong winds.

    Search operations continue for nearly 100 people who are still missing.

    Local authorities in Yemen said that those on board were migrants, mostly from Ethiopia, who use Yemen as a transit point to reach Gulf states like UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, etc.

    “Fishermen and residents managed to rescue 78 of the migrants, who reported that about 100 others who were with them on the same boat are missing,” a local official told Reuters, confirming that the boat sank before it reached Yemen’s shores.

    97,000 migrants arrived in Yemen from the Horn of Africa last year, as per UN.

  • IHC declares Ahmad Farhad’s arrest illegal

    Islamabad High Court (IHC) has declared Kashmiri poet and activist Ahmad Farhad’s arrest to be illegal on Monday, ARY News reported.
    IHC said in a written order that Ahamad Farhad had been forcefully abducted from his residence in Islamabad, while security institutions failed to recover him.

    The court ordered that Ahmad Farhad should record his statement before the Lohi Bher magistrate after returning home.

    The court also ordered IHC registrar to combine all the cases of forced disappearance and submit them to the IHC’s Chief Justice.

  • Pakistan wins gold medal in CAVA Under-18 Central Volleyball Championship

    Pakistan wins gold medal in CAVA Under-18 Central Volleyball Championship

    Pakistan has won the gold medal in Central Asian Volleyball Association (CAVA) Under-18 Volleyball Championship by defeating Iran in the final played in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.

    In the first set Iran defeated Pakistan by 20, 25, but then the Pakistani team made a brilliant comeback and won three sets in a row.

    Pakistan’s scores were 20-25, 25-18, 25-23 and 27-25.

    Pakistan also qualified for the Asian Under-20 Volleyball Championship, which will start from July 28 in Bahrain.

    In the final, Pakistan’s Muhammad Yahya, Talal Ahmed and Khizr Hayat showed excellent performance.

    Pakistan’s Mohammad Yahya was awarded the Most Influential Player and Best Hitter of the tournament, while Talal Ahmed was awarded the Best Setter and Gibran the Best Blocker.

  • iOS 18 launches with Dark Mode for app icons and revamped Control Centre

    iOS 18 launches with Dark Mode for app icons and revamped Control Centre

    Apple has officially unveiled iOS 18, the latest significant update for the iPhone operating system, packed with new customisation options, a revamped Photos app, and much more.

    One of the standout features of iOS 18 is the enhanced customisation tools for the Home Screen. Users can now apply Dark Mode to app icons and tint them with colours for a personalised appearance. Additionally, apps can be positioned freely anywhere on the Home Screen.

    The Control Center has been completely redesigned and offers extensive customisation options through a new gallery. Developers can now integrate tools for their apps directly into the Control Center. Users can continuously swipe to navigate between different Control Center screens. Customisation options are also available for Lock Screen controls.

    In the Messages app, tapbacks have been revamped, allowing users to react with any emoji. Messages can now be scheduled for later delivery, and text formatting options include bold, italics, underline, and strikethrough.

    New text effects provide automatic suggestions to highlight words and phrases. Additionally, users can now send and receive messages via satellite connectivity.

    The Mail app introduces automatic sorting of emails into categories to help prioritise messages. The Maps app now features topographical maps with detailed trail networks and hiking routes. In Wallet, the new Tap to Cash feature enables users to send money by simply holding iPhones together.

    The Photos app has undergone a comprehensive redesign in iOS 18. The new unified view features a photo grid at the top that displays the entire library, with collections organised by theme below. Users can filter photos by Months and Years views, and a filter button allows for the hiding of screenshots and other sorting options.

    Below the grid, users can browse Collections by topics such as Time, People, Memories, and Trips. The Recent Days section shows photos from the past few days, with automatic filtering of items like receipts.

    The People and Pets section now groups photos of individuals and allows for reordering or pinning of collections. Swiping right from the grid reveals a new carousel with Featured Photos and other favourite collections, which automatically refreshes to display new images.

    iOS 18 introduces app locking with authentication, hiding information from Search and Siri. It also offers a new method for connecting accessories more seamlessly.

    RCS messaging support has been added, along with larger Home Screen icons and calendar integration in Reminders. Game Mode makes its debut on the iPhone, minimising background activity to maintain high frame rates and providing more responsive connections to AirPods and wireless game controllers.

    The first developer beta of iOS 18 is available today, with a public beta set for release in July and a general public release in the autumn.

  • Pakistan’s Business Confidence Index increases in May 2024

    Pakistan’s Business Confidence Index increases in May 2024

    The overall Business Confidence Index (BCI) in Pakistan rose to 54.6 in May 2024, according to the 48th wave of the Business Confidence Survey conducted by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Institute of Business Administration (IBA).

    This increase was driven by improvements in both the Industry and Services sectors, with the Industry BCI rising by 2.2 points to 52.1 and the Services BCI by 0.7 points to 55.4.

    The headline index, “Overall Business Confidence,” consists of the Current Business Confidence Index (CBCI) and the Expected Business Confidence Index (EBCI). The CBCI, reflecting economic conditions over the past six months, increased by 1.1 points to 51.2 in May 2024.

    Specifically, the Industry CBCI climbed by 2.8 points to 48.3, while the Services CBCI edged up by 0.5 points to 52.1, indicating more positive and neutral views and fewer negative perceptions.

    Looking ahead, the EBCI saw a 1.1-point increase to 58, driven by rises in both sectors. The Industry EBCI grew by 1.6 points to 55.9, and the Services EBCI by 0.9 points to 58.7, with a corresponding shift towards more positive and neutral expectations.

    However, the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell by 0.6 points to 49.3, continuing to stay below the positive zone last seen in June 2022. Four of the five PMI components decreased: total orders by 1.5 points, business activities by 1.0 point, supplier delivery times by 0.6 points, and employment by 0.3 points. Only the quantity of raw material purchases slightly improved by 0.1 points.

    On inflation, expectations significantly dropped by 10.1 points to 56.0, with the Industry and Services sectors both showing decreases of 10.2 and 9.8 points, respectively.

    Employment trends were mixed. The Current Employment Index rose by 1.1 points to 51.2, primarily due to a 1.6-point increase in the Services sector, despite a slight 0.3-point decrease in the Industry sector.

    Conversely, the Expected Employment Index fell by 0.8 points to 55.1, driven by a 1.0-point decline in the Services sector, while the Industry sector showed a marginal increase of 0.1 points.

    Additionally, the Average Current Capacity Utilization (ACCU) in the Manufacturing sector within the Industry sector increased by 4.1 per cent to 67.7 per cent in May 2024.

  • T20 World Cup: Bangladesh loses to South Africa by four runs

    T20 World Cup: Bangladesh loses to South Africa by four runs

    In the T20 World Cup, South Africa defeated Bangladesh by 4 runs after an interesting match in Nassau County Cricket Stadium, New York.

    The South African captain won the toss and decided to bat first.

    First inning:

    Batting first, the South African team scored 113 runs for 6 wickets in the allotted 20 overs.

    Henrik Klaasen scored 46 runs for South Africa. David Miller scored 26 runs and Quinton D Cook scored 18 runs.

    Hassan of Bangladesh took 3 wickets by giving 18 runs. Tasin Ahmed dismissed 2 players and Rashad Hussain dismissed one player.

    Second inning:

    In response to the target of 114 runs, the Bangladeshi team scored 109 runs for 7 wickets in the allotted 20 overs.

    On behalf of Bangladesh, Tawheed Hardoy scored 37 runs and Mahmudullah scored 20 runs.

    Keshav Maharaj took 3 wickets for South Africa. Apart from them, Enrique Noorkia and Rabada dismissed two players each.

  • After conspiracy allegations, PPP says no hand in dictatorship-style defamation law

    After conspiracy allegations, PPP says no hand in dictatorship-style defamation law

    A day after the highly controversial Punjab defamation bill became law, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Governor Saleem Haider tried to dissociate the party from the legislation, saying the PPP is against the defamation law.

    “I tried to stop the [passage] of the defamation bill as Governor,” he stated while speaking to media in Dubai.

    Interim Punjab Governor Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan signed the bill into law in the absence of Haider while journalists called the move deceiving.

    The Governor, who is currently on leave also added, “I did not sign the bill. However, it will become law automatically after the passing of 15 days.”

    The bill has invited strong criticism from journalists, human rights organisations, and the opposition calling it a “black law.”

    The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also expressed grave concern over the defamation bill.