Tag: payment

  • Urgent passport renewal fee increases to Rs6,000 for both online and offline applications

    Urgent passport renewal fee increases to Rs6,000 for both online and offline applications

    The fee for renewing a passport online has recently undergone an upward revision, resulting in an additional cost of Rs1,000. Consequently, the new fee for online passport renewal has been set at Rs4,000, marking an increase from the previous Rs3,000.

    Furthermore, the urgent fee for passport renewal, applicable to both online and offline applications, has also been subject to a revision. It now stands at Rs6,000, representing an increase from the earlier amount of Rs5,000.

    The rationale behind these fee adjustments is attributed to the added service of home delivery of the passport via courier. Applicants can now receive their renewed passport conveniently at their doorstep.

    To apply for an online passport renewal, applicants must fulfill certain requirements. These include attaching a copy of their national identity card and passport as part of the application process. Additionally, the application fee must be paid securely online.

  • National Refinery halts fuel supply to Pakistan State Oil over unpaid dues

    The National Refinery Limited (NRL) has decided to suspend the supply of fuel to Pakistan State Oil (PSO) due to the state-owned oil marketing company’s failure to make payments to the refinery.

    PSO has encountered a severe financial crisis, leading to outstanding payments owed to various sectors as a result of the supply of petroleum products.

    The amount owed to NRL by PSO is currently Rs3.469 billion. NRL has conveyed its decision to stop the supply of fuel to PSO in writing, according to a report by a national daily.

    Notably, PSO has recently stopped making payments to refineries, including those that supply diesel, gasoline, aviation fuel, furnace oil, and other petroleum products to the state-owned company.

    As per the company’s receivables, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) is the largest defaulter of PSO, with an outstanding amount of Rs492.102 billion as of March 8, 2023. In response, the Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet has authorized a sovereign guarantee of Rs50 billion in favor of SNGPL for commercial borrowing on an immediate basis to meet PSO’s liquidity requirement.

    The power sector remains a significant source of difficulty for the state-owned oil marketing company, with outstanding payments of Rs178 billion, followed by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and the government of Pakistan, both of which owe PSO Rs92.5 billion. The total receivables, which have risen to Rs762.653 billion, include the most critical payment of Rs124.666 billion in late payment surcharge (LPS).

  • Here’s why iOS 16 is going to be the finest upgrade ever

    Here’s why iOS 16 is going to be the finest upgrade ever

    On paper, Apple’s iOS 16, the iPhone’s next big software upgrade, appears to be innovative and super secure. iOS 16, which was previewed at Apple’s annual conference, would bring enhancements to communication, personalisation, and privacy. This contains significant upgrades to the lock screen, Messages app, and photos on your iPhone.

    The developer beta for iOS 16 is already available, with a public beta version expected in July. iOS 16 will be released this fall, most likely alongside the much-anticipated iPhone 14. The new software is also compatible with iPhone 8 and subsequent models.

    “Embarrassing errors are a thing of the past,” Apple Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi said as he unveiled three of the Messages app’s most requested additions.

    For starters, you’ll be able to edit sent texts in iOS 16. So, if you find a typo after sending a message, you’ll be able to correct it later. In the message’s status, a small “edited” shows.

    Next, and perhaps the best feature, you can recall a sent message right away. If you mistakenly send an incomplete message, you can utilise the Undo Send feature to prevent it from being read, making your friends and family think you’re crazy.

    Finally, you may flag unread messages and threads. When you don’t have time to answer a message right away but want to make sure you don’t forget about it later, this could be a useful tool.

    The lock screen is one of the first things you see when you open your iPhone, especially if it has Face ID. The iPhone’s lock screen receives the most significant improvement yet with iOS 16. To edit your lock screen, press and hold. You can swipe through a variety of different styles.

    Each design alters the background photo’s colour filter as well as the typeface on the lock screen, ensuring that everything is in sync. This appears to be Apple’s response to Google’s Material You, which debuted with Android 12.

    You can also change the typefaces for the time and date, as well as add lock screen widgets like a calendar, temperature, and activity rings. On the Apple Watch lock screen, the widgets are similar to complications.

    You can also create many personalised lock screens with various widgets and switch between them with a simple swipe. There’s even a photo-shuffle feature that changes the photographs on your lock screen automatically.

    An always-on display was one feature we thought Apple would provide. It’s a feature found on practically all Android phones, as well as the Apple Watch. There’s a chance it’ll be released alongside the iPhone 14.

    As alerts might sometimes obscure the photo on your lock screen, iOS 16 pushes notifications to the bottom of your screen. Instead of being gathered into a list, they show as a vertical carousel as you receive them. This not only looks better, but it should also make one-handed use of your iPhone much easier.

    Another issue with notifications is addressed in iOS 16. You may receive a series of notifications from one app in a sequence, such as the score of a basketball game. Instead of experiencing a succession of interruptions, a new tool for developers called Live Activities makes it easy to remain on top of things happening in real-time from your lock screen.

    Sporting events, workouts, and even the progress of an Uber ride should be easier to monitor with Live Activities.

    Visual Look Up in iOS 15 analyses photographs and can recognise objects such as flora, landmarks, and pets. This is taken to the next level with iOS 16. You may remove a photo’s subject. Interestingly, It’s just a tap-and-hold tool for removing the background from a photo.

    Safety Check is a programme that tries to assist people who are in violent relationships. It’s a new service that is designed to assist those who are in violent situations. It allows you to check and change who has access to your iPhone’s location information, passwords, messages, and other apps.

    Several changes have been made to the focus mode. The first uses widgets and lock screen appearance to apply Focus behaviours. So you could have one lock screen for when Work Focus is turned on and another for when you’re working out.

    Moreover, Apple has added Focus filters to apps that apply your iPhone’s Focus mode. For example, depending on which Focus mode is active, you can limit which tabs are displayed in Safari.

  • PKR continues losing streak against US dollar, sheds Rs1.48

    PKR continues losing streak against US dollar, sheds Rs1.48

    The Pakistani currency plummeted further against the US Dollar (USD) on April 20, with losses reported on the interbank exchange. At the completion of today’s session, the Pakistani rupee (PKR) lost Rs1.48 versus the US dollar.

    It declined by 0.80 per cent versus the greenback, closing at Rs185.92, after shedding Rs1.90 in the interbank market on Tuesday, April 19th, and concluding at Rs184.44. During today’s open market session, the Indian rupee (INR) fell to an intraday low of Rs185.95 over the US dollar.

    The local currency weakened against the dollar as businesses remained under pressure amid the ongoing dialogue between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Pakistani government is likely to undertake certain difficult and problematic steps in order to revive the local economy.

    Read more: PKR declines against US Dollar after winning for a week

    Oil prices rallied following steep losses the previous day as concerns about tighter supply from Russia and Libya arose, although industry data showed a decline in US crude inventories in the previous week.

  • New bank timings announced by SBP, Saturday will now be observed as a working day

    New bank timings announced by SBP, Saturday will now be observed as a working day

    Pursuant to the federal government’s directive issued on April 13, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) would observe a six-day work week with amended timings.

    During Ramzan, working hours for the central bank, development finance institutions (DFIs), microfinance banks (MFBs), and all commercial banks, are as follows:

    Monday to Thursday and Saturday from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm with a prayer break from 1:00 pm to 1:30 pm.

    Fridays: from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm without a break, according to a notification from SBP.

    Public dealing hours

    Banks and MFBs have been advised to adhere to the following public dealing business hours:

    Monday through Thursday and Saturday from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm (no break).

    Fridays from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm (no break).

    Banks and MFBs may observe longer business (banking) hours for public dealing from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm (without break) on weekdays excluding Fridays, depending on their business needs.

    The abovementioned schedule will take effect immediately and will not be changed or withdrawn unless it is amended or canceled.

  • ‘PCB owes me Rs40-60 million,’ report quotes Younis Khan as saying

    Former national cricket team captain Younis Khan has claimed that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) owes him Rs40 million [Rs4 crores] to Rs60 million [Rs6 crores], but he is ready to join forces with them and work towards the betterment of the sport in Pakistan.

    Khan, who is the country’s all-time leading run-getter in Tests, also said that he had never asked for money from the board as “it had never been an issue”. “In terms of money, PCB owes me 4-6 crore rupees if you look back. But I have never demanded money, money is never an issue,” he reportedly said.

    “It’s destiny from Allah, you get what is destined for you so you should never run after money, I never ran after money and have always been willing to work with PCB. I was one of the few players who retired and left, players rarely do that. I have 17-18 years of services for Pakistan and PCB.”

    “I don’t know why we can’t come on board together. I played cricket so I want to help in the field of cricket. Why we don’t come on board… perhaps PCB doesn’t change or Younis Khan doesn’t change.”

    “I don’t think anyone in Pakistan would be so personal that he wouldn’t want to work with Younis Khan. Even if I was a big critic of Younis Khan, I would like to still work with Younis Khan. What things are there with my demeanour or what is it with PCB that doesn’t allow us to come on one page,” he added.

     The statement was also tweeted by renowned sports journalist Saj Sadiq, who is also the editor of the media outlet that reported it.

    Younis also reportedly gave his thumbs up to the work done by head coach cum chief selector Misbahul Haq, whom he claims has gotten Pakistan cricket team back on track.

  • Facebook to pay users $600 for taking survey

    Facebook to pay users $600 for taking survey

    Facebook will pay $600 to users sharing opinions on its new application “Viewpoint” that will be introduced to facilitate its market research purpose.

    Viewpoint will give back users a voluntarily control to participate in market research, surveys and different programme, for which Facebook has announced to pay $600 a year.

    The purpose of the application is to collect information directly from the users to improve the performance of its products like Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, Oculus, Portal and others.

    “Today, we’re introducing Facebook Viewpoints, a new market research app that rewards people for participating in surveys, tasks, and research. We believe the best way to make products better is to get insights directly from people who use them. We’ll use these insights to improve products like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Portal and Oculus, and to benefit the broader community,” Facebook Product Manager Erez Naveh said.

    The participants will be paid through PayPal after scoring a set number of points in the programme. The users will also be asked to carry out various tasks to acquire feedback to improve the product or service, such as assisting the company’s artificial intelligence technology.