Tag: Bangladesh A vs Pakistan Shaheens

  • Samsung shipped 73.7 million cellphones in Q1 2022

    Samsung shipped 73.7 million cellphones in Q1 2022

    Samsung does not like surrendering its position as the world’s leading smartphone manufacturer. Even though Apple temporarily dethroned it, the firm has fought back and reclaimed what it considers to be its rightful position.

    1st quarter of 2022 According to data from market research organisations Canalys and Counterpoint, Samsung is the global leader in smartphone shipments. Apple did well as well, but it was only able to finish second to the Korean behemoth.

    Samsung’s Galaxy S22 series has contributed to the company’s strong performance in the first quarter of this year. Many Galaxy Note fans were enticed back to Samsung with the Galaxy S22 Ultra in particular.

    According to Canalys, worldwide smartphone shipments hit 311.2 million units in the first quarter of 2022, down 11 per cent year on year. While Samsung regained the lead, delivering 73.7 million units, the company saw a 43 per cent drop in sales.

    Read more: HP to launch its first 17-inch foldable OLED notebook

    Xiaomi came in third place in the ‘top 5 shipping’ list, with 39.2 million units shipped, a 20 per cent decrease. Oppo shipped 29 million units, a decrease of 27 per cent, and Vivo’s growth slowed by 30 per cent.

  • Fruit and Vegetable prices getting out of control in Quetta

    Fruit and Vegetable prices getting out of control in Quetta

    During the holy month of Ramzan, the price of vegetables and fruits in Quetta rocketed instead of decreasing. Tomatoes, which were previously selling for Rs120 per kilogramme in the vegetable market are now being sold at Rs160.

    Some other reports even suggest that a few shopkeepers were selling tomatoes for up to Rs190, minting money directly in front of the district administration’s eyes.

    Ladyfinger which was sold at Rs240, is now available for Rs280, potatoes, and onions after getting a hike of Rs10 are being sold at Rs50 and Rs60, respectively. Ginger, lemon, and garlic are now priced between Rs300 to Rs320.

    The government of Balochistan has not set up any Ramzan or ‘Sasta bazaar’ this year to facilitate citizens during the holy month of fasting. Formerly, district governments held Ramazan bazaars on the orders of provincial governments to assist the people.

    Previously, the Quetta administration had issued shops with a detailed list of commodities and their pricing. The shop owners, on the other hand, are not obeying the administration’s directives and selling items at their desired rate. These artificial rates have multiplied the problems of the common man.

  • Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk to join Twitter board after investing $2.9 billion in the platform

    Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk to join Twitter board after investing $2.9 billion in the platform

    Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has been chosen for Twitter’s board of directors, just one day after it was confirmed that he is the social media platform’s largest shareholder, holding a 9.2 per cent stake.

    On April 5, Twitter’s CEO Parag Agrawal said he was excited to announce Musk’s membership to the company’s board of directors. 

    Tesla’s CEO, whose personal wealth is assessed to be $289 billion, about $100 billion greater than the second richest person on the planet, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has a history of publishing controversial tweets.

    Musk was a “passionate believer and intense critic” of the platform, according to Agrawal, and it was exactly what Twitter needed to render it stronger in the long run.

    Surprisingly, Musk has a Twitter following of more than 80 million, and he was already looking forward to collaborating with the company “to make big improvements” to the social media platform in the near future.

    Twitter on Tuesday stated that Musk had agreed to serve as a class two director with a term terminating at the company’s annual meeting of shareholders in 2024.

    Musk bought a nearly $3 billion (£2.3 billion) share in Twitter on Monday, which is more than four times the 2.25 per cent share held by the platform’s co-founder, Jack Dorsey.

    However, Musk would not be able to own more than 14.9 per cent of Twitter’s outstanding shares, either alone or as part of a group, for as long as he was a board member and for 90 days later, according to the firm.

    The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, who ranks among the Top 10 most popular users on Twitter with 80.4 million followers, paid $2.89 billion for the stake on Friday at Twitter’s closing share price.

    Twitter shares rose another 5 per cent Tuesday morning after soaring more than 27 per cent on Monday after reports of Musk’s stock purchase.

  • Pakistan’s exports grew 25% in the last nine months

    Pakistan’s exports increased by 17.3 per cent in March 2021 to $2.773 billion, up from $2.365 billion in March 2021 and 25 per cent in the last nine months.

    The Prime Minister’s Adviser on Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood, said that exports increased by 25 per cent to $23.332 billion in the July-March fiscal year 2021-2022, compared to $18.688 billion in the same period last year, implying a $4.644 billion upsurge.

    On the other hand, according to preliminary data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), exports fell 2 per cent on a month-on-month (MoM) basis to $2.77 billion in March 2022, down from $2.82 billion in February 2022.

    Dawood said in a tweet, “We are glad to share that Pakistan’s exports for Mar-2022 grew by 17.3 per cent to $2.773 billion as compared to $2.365 billion Mar-2021. For Jul-Mar 2022, our exports grew by 25 per cent to $23.332 billion as compared to $18.688 billion in Jul-Mar 2021. This is an increase $4.644 billion”.

    While talking about the target for exports he added that “We expect to achieve our yearly target. The import figures would be shared when finalised by the PBS. We would like to congratulate our exporters for maintaining the momentum of exports under these testing times in the global market”.

    Pakistan’s current account deficit (CAD) decreased by 78.46 per cent to $545 million in February from $2.531 billion in January, owing primarily to a steep drop in imports.

    Read more: FBR records 29.1% growth during July 2021 to March 2022, despite providing ‘massive tax relief’

    Surprisingly, the CAD crossed the $12 billion level in the first eight months of FY22, showing no signs of improvement in the external account. The CAD was only $34 million in February 2021.

  • Nisab amount of zakat deduction set at Rs88,927 for 2022

    Nisab amount of zakat deduction set at Rs88,927 for 2022

    The nisab amount of zakat for the year 2022 is set at Rs88,927, according to a notification dated March 30, 2022, issued by the Poverty Alleviation & Social Safety Division, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of Pakistan.

    The account holders, maintaining a minimum of Rs88,927 balance on the first day of Ramzan would be liable to pay 2.5 per cent Zakat on the first day of the fasting month of Ramzan.

    If the amount standing to the credit of an account is less than the said amount, no Zakat deduction shall be made. While savings, profit-and-loss sharing, and other similar accounts are subject to nisab deductions. it is worth noting that the zakat deduction has surged by Rs7,994 as compared to last year, due to an increase in gold and silver prices.

    Read more: Banks to remain closed for public dealing on 4 April

    The amount for nisab in 2021 was set at Rs80,933 and Rs46,329 for 2020. In the majority of Islamic countries, It is adjusted at 2.5 per cent of one’s wealth above the nisab.

  • FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 tickets go on sale

    FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 tickets go on sale

    Tickets for the FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) World Cup Qatar 2022 have been put on sale which is set to be played from November 21 until December 18 2022.

    Qatari residents will benefit from subsidised tickets, with prices starting from just under $11 (Rs1,938). However, for international fans prices are starting from $69 (Rs12,158) that go up to $1,607 (Rs283,175). There will also be cheaper accessibility tickets available for those with disabilities.

    Fans applying for tickets until February 8 will go into a draw with those who are successful to be notified by March 8.

    It is reported that seven stadiums in Qatar have been purpose-built and one refurbished for the World Cup but as there will not be enough hotels some fans may have to stay on cruise ships for the event.

    Qatar is the first Arab and Middle Eastern country to be hosting the biggest event of football. However, it has not yet been announced by either FIFA or the local organising committee how many fans will be allowed into stadiums.

    Currently, the Arab country has imposed tight restrictions on visitors including quarantine for new arrivals.

  • ‘Getting older’: Sania Mirza opens up about retirement plan

    ‘Getting older’: Sania Mirza opens up about retirement plan

    Indian tennis player Sania Mirza on Wednesday (January 19) announced that 2022 will be her final season on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tour after her first-round loss in women’s doubles at the Australian Open.

    The 35-year-old Sania Mirza and her Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok suffered an opening-round loss in the women’s doubles event of the ongoing Australian Open.

    “There’s a few reasons for it. It’s not as simple as ‘okay I’m not going to play’. I do feel my recovery is taking longer, I’m putting my 3-year-old son at risk by travelling so much with him, that’s something I have to take into account. I think my body is wearing down,” the 35-year-old said.

    “My knee was really hurting today and I’m not saying that’s the reason we lost but I do think that it is taking time to recover as I’m getting older,” said Mirza on Wednesday.

    The tennis star added that it’s difficult for her to find motivation everyday to come out. The energy is not the same anymore.

    “There are more days than there used to be where I don’t feel like doing that. I’ve always said that I will play until I enjoy that grind, the process which I’m not sure I’m enjoying as much anymore,” the athlete said.

    “Having said that, I still want to play the season because I’m enjoying it enough to play the year. I’ve worked very hard to come back, get fit, lose weight and try to set a good example for mothers, new mothers to follow their dreams as much as they can. Beyond this season, I don’t feel my body doing it,” Mirza added

  • Global tourism won’t return to pre-covid levels until 2024

    Global tourism won’t return to pre-covid levels until 2024

    With the highly contagious Omicron variant in the picture, global tourism arrivals have further been affected, and will not return to the pre-pandemic levels until 2024, the World Tourism Organization (WTO) said on Tuesday.

    The highly contagious Omicron variant, though mild, will “disrupt recovery” for 2022. Last year in 2021, tourism saw a four percent growth over 2020, according to the Madrid-based UN agency’s World Tourism Barometer.

    Meanwhile, tourism revenue in 2020 was 72 percent lower than that in 2019.

    “The pace of recovery remains slow and uneven across world regions due to varying degrees of mobility restrictions, vaccination rates and traveller confidence,” the UNWTO said in a press release.

    In Europe and the Americas, foreign visitor arrivals increased by 19 percent and 17 percent in 2021, respectively, when compared to 2020.

    In the Middle East, however, arrivals declined by 24 percent in 2021, while in the Asia-Pacific region, they were 65 percent below the 2020 levels, and 94 percent lower than pre-pandemic levels.

    The statement said tourism professionals “see better prospects” for this year after turbulence in the early months because of the Omicron wave.

    Many countries are highly dependent on tourism and are eagerly awaiting a return to normal.

    “The economic contribution of tourism in 2021 (measured in tourism direct gross domestic product) is estimated at $1.9 trillion (1.68 trillion euros), above the $1.6 trillion in 2020, but still well below the pre-pandemic value of $3.5 trillion,” the statement noted.

  • Atif Aslam, Aima Baig to sing PSL Seven’s anthem

    Atif Aslam, Aima Baig to sing PSL Seven’s anthem

    Famed pop-singers Atif Aslam and Aima Baig will be singing this year’s Pakistan Super League (PSL) anthem which has been produced and composed by budding artist Abdullah Siddiqui. The anthem will be released during an event next week.

     It is pertinent to mention that it will be the first time that Atif will be singing the PSL’s main song, while Aima already featured in last year’s “Groove Mera”.

    As per Abdullah, “the song’s premise is encouraging and motivational, with words and music intended at elevating the spirits of fans.”

    Atif is one of the most popular Pakistani singers, who has recorded numerous chart-topping songs for local as well as the international film industry. In 2008, the singer was awarded the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz from the Government of Pakistan, while also receiving over 50 different awards from within and outside Pakistan.

    Meanwhile, Baig is one of the most popular female singers in the country and she has a number of hits released over the years. Baig has won several awards both locally and Internationally.

    Speaking about the event, Abdullah said: “Getting to produce this anthem is a dream for any musician, and I’m very honoured and thankful to the PCB for the opportunity this year.”

    “Both Atif Aslam and Aima Baig are undeniably the best and working with them has been a privilege. I’m very excited for fans to hear what we have come up with,” he added. 

    The producer further said: “We have tried to produce a song that captures the spirit of the game in a meaningful way, while still being very fun and catchy.”

  • COVID-positive Singer Sonu Nigam and family can’t wait for home quarantine to end

    COVID-positive Singer Sonu Nigam and family can’t wait for home quarantine to end

    Singer Sonu Nigam and his family have tested positive for COVID-19 as a new wave of the Omicron variant takes over, reported The Hindustan Times.

    Singer Sonu Nigam, who is currently in Dubai with his family, has announced that he has tested positive for Covid-19, along with his wife, son and sister-in-law.

    Captioning the post, “I tested (positive for) COVID. Happy New Year 2022 to the extended family,” Nigam shared that he tested positive for the virus multiple times although his symptoms are mild.

    “I feel we will have to live with it. Many times, I have performed at concerts while being down with viral fever, having a bad throat or congestion. This feels a lot better than that, I am not dying,” he explained in the video.

    Nigam further quipped that being down with Covid meant he could spend more time with his son, dubbing it a “happy COVID family”.