Tag: Top News

  • Mardan the model city, free of load-shedding

    Mardan the model city, free of load-shedding

    The crackdown on electricity theft that started more than a month ago has yielded great results. Almost Rs26 billion have been recovered and in the next 12 months, this amount is expected to reach a total of Rs300 billion, officials have stated. 

    In an attempt to incentivise the public for their cooperation, Mardan has been declared a model city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Talking at a ceremony, Secretary Power Sector, Rashid Langrial, categorically stated that the ones who will pay the bill will get electricity. He further announced that 17 feeders of the city have become free of load shedding because it has managed to evade all kinds of electricity theft in a matter of time.  

    He goes on to elaborate that the thievery cannot be carried out without the involvement of the employees of power-sector, therefore, many of them have been arrested. He encouraged people to lodge a complaint about any such incident. 

    He warned other Government departments about clearing their remaining electricity dues which will otherwise be deducted  from their budget in the coming year.

  • Israeli propaganda getting help from Indians

    Israeli propaganda getting help from Indians

    Ahead of the statement given by Israeli Ambassador to India, Naor Gilon, about being “overwhelmed” by the unprecedented response he has received from the country, Indians have become an active part of the Israeli propaganda team all across social media.

    In his interview to The Economic Times, Gilon stated that with this kind of support from Indians, he believes “he could have another IDF with the (Indian) volunteers” because everyone is calling him to offer help. He goes on to elaborate that “the closeness India and Israel has is understandable but cannot be explained, It’s something very unique.”

    The Ambassador also posted messages of solidarity by spectators in the Pak vs India match and as recently as some hours ago posted about Hamas being the culprit behind the bombing of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital. Indian media quotes him as their official resource as Gilon retweets journalists and media houses propagating the false narrative.

    There are a number of accounts on social media titled Indians for Israel or India stands with Israel. Added to that are fake accounts posing as Palestinians, even Al Jazeera reporters (Farida Khan) spreading Anti-Hamas and Pro-Israeli narrative. A number of tweets were found and reported to have similar content.

    Al-Jazeera has reported about the virality of disinformation caused by the blue-ticked accounts terming them “disinfluencers” with budding Islamophobic conspiracy theories. The article takes a closer look at the “BJP IT Cell” to which most Islamopobic content and trolling is likely to be attributed to.
    Author and Journalist Marc Owen Jonas has revealed many instances of fake-news including a video circulating on social media, mostly shared by Indians, gaining millions of impressions and retweets about girls becoming sex-slaves for Hamas. A closer look shows them to be happily chatting and using phones.

    However, there are some voices of dissent too, which get rebuked but stand tall in their stance. Ravi Nair, an esteemed journalist, not just voiced his opinion on India’s growing inclination towards right-wing but also exposed the original supporters of Zionism.
    In one of his tweets he said, “Hello, Israel, we Indians don’t support right-wing criminals whether Zionists or Hindutavaadis.”

    To which he got hate from American Hindu Republican Renee Lynn in these words, “If you want to support Terrorists because you are brainwashed and want to shout Allahu Akbar then go away. You are not the majority in India”.

    Pratik Sinha associated with ALT News, a credible fact checker resource has said, “With India now exporting its disinformation actors in the Indian mainstream media and on social media in support of Israel, hopefully the world will now realise how the Indian right-wing has made India the disinformation capital of the world”.

  • Man and his mule quenching the thirst of Gazans

    Man and his mule quenching the thirst of Gazans

    Israel has blocked the water supply of Palestinians stuck in Gaza since the launch of its military offensive against the strip. Reports by the UN have also affirmed that more than two million Palestinians do not have access to water.

    Jameel al-Karoubi is the silver lining in these terrible times, a Palestinian who gets up before the crack of the dawn and takes his mule Almond to the streets of Gaza to provide people with water.

    He says he has promised his friend Almond an extra sack of fodder on completion of the noble task and he has been fulfilling the promise ever since.

    Before the war disrupted everything, Jameel was a vegetable vendor but for the last ten days, all he does is get two big tanks filled with water and take it to the destitute people of Gaza. He has been able to pull this off because of the well of natural water in his house which is proving extremely beneficial in the face of Israeli blockage of water lines to Gaza.

    He refuses to take any money for his service. People in his neighbourhood consider him a Godsend for getting hold of water let alone drinkable water, a task close to impossible in Gaza right now. He also gives away all the extra fruit and vegetables that are grown in his garden.

    Jameel wants to help people of other localities too but the destruction caused by the Israeli forces has hampered the roads and pathways to other parts of the city. Even though he is risking his life, he has the support of his family. They are proud of his contribution to help the besieged people.

    Jameel is proof that humanity is very much alive in the hearts of the people even when there is no light in sight. He is determined to extend his support to all the needy.

  • Jordan’s King refuses to meet Biden after Israeli strike on hospital

    Late on Tuesday night, following a deadly attack by Israel on the Baptist Hospital in Gaza, Jordan announced that a summit involving US President Joe Biden has been canceled. Earlier, President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine also announced that he will not meet Joe Biden as the fallout from the deadly strike continues to reverberate across the world.

    The summit will be held “when the decision to stop the war and put an end to these massacres has been taken”, the Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi had said in an unusually harsh worded statement.

    ‘Nothing can justify targeting civilians’: President of France on Gaza hospital strike

    Macron has also demanded humanitarian access to Gaza ‘without delay’. He took to X (former Twitter) and said, “France condemns the attack on the Al-Ahli Arabi hospital in Gaza which caused so many Palestinian victims. We think of them. All the light must be shed.”

    Protests have erupted all over the world against Israel’s heinous and brutal attack on a Palestinian hospital which killed more than 800 people. From Sweden to Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon, and the West Bank, people are taking to the streets and protesting against the genocide in Palestine. Protestors in Jordan have surrounded the Israeli embassy with calls to end the genocide.

    After the recent attack, Scotland becomes the first country to offer refuge to the people of Gaza.

  • ISRAEL CELEBRATES ATTACK ON HOSPITAL, LATER BLAMES HAMAS FOR ATROCITY

    ISRAEL CELEBRATES ATTACK ON HOSPITAL, LATER BLAMES HAMAS FOR ATROCITY

    After a heinous attack on a hospital in Gaza, Israel, initially taking credit for killing more than 800 innocent civilians, blamed the attack on Hamas.

    According to Al-Jazeera, an Israeli spokesman said that the hospital and five others could be a target by Israel.

    After the attack and the extreme backlash around the world, Israel retracted it’s statement and said that Hamas had hidden weapons in the hospital and then had misfired their own rockets onto the hospital. According to journalists, official Israeli accounts even posted footage of a rocket misfire – but the timing of the footage didn’t match the time of the attack – and was deleted by the Israeli accounts.

    Pressure mounts on US President Biden who is expected in Israel tomorrow to see if he will now go to the country after the Israeli state bombs a hospital – the most heinous crime in the history of the conflict.

    X (former Twitter) users have called out Israel and their supporters on the retraction of their statement and trying to put the blame of their atrocities on Hamas.

    Protests have erupted all over the world against Israel’s heinous and brutal attack on a Palestinian hospital which killed more than 800 people. From Sweden to Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon, and the West Bank, people are taking to the streets and protesting against the genocide in Palestine. Protestors in Jordan have surrounded the Israeli embassy with calls to end the genocide.

    After the recent attack, Scotland becomes the first country to offer refuge to the people of Gaza.

  • Local bodies election happening after 18 years in Gilgit-Baltistan  

    Local bodies election happening after 18 years in Gilgit-Baltistan  

    Long awaited local bodies elections are going to take place in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) for the first time in 18 years. Preparations are in full swing for the upcoming polls.

    GB Chief Election Commissioner Raja Shahbaz Khan has said that local body elections will be held in the last week of November. The process of delimitation is in progress, but the demarcation process is already complete.

    The Local Bodies Act 2014 took place on July 20, 2023, in GB. Raja Shahbaz Khan also described that, after door-to-door verification, the voter list has been compiled and will soon be made public.

    On the other hand, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has also arranged a training workshop for government officials in the region.

    The workshop’s fundamental purpose was to provide training to commissioners, deputy commissioners, and assistant commissioners from Gilgit, Diamer, and Baltistan divisions.

    While addressing the closing ceremony of the workshop, GB Chief Minister Haji Gulbar Khan said that local bodies election is the priority of the government.

  • PIA flight operation resumed after deal with PSO

    PIA flight operation resumed after deal with PSO

    Update: After intense deliberation, PIA has cracked a deal with PSO due to which flight operations are slowly restarting. The delay in reaching an agreement caused the cancellation of more than 19 flights and delayed more than 20 others. 

    According to the deal, PIA is to pay Rs.100 million to the PSO on a daily basis. Flight operations have resumed since then. 

    Previously, the feud between Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Pakistan State Oil (PSO) continues while the passengers bear the brunt.

    Flight operations were adversely affected with 14 flights being cancelled and four others being delayed due to a halt in the supply of fuel to the airline, over the issue of non-payment of dues.

    The domestic cancelled flights were from Islamabad to Gilgit, one from Islamabad to Quetta, one from Karachi to Sukkur, one from Islamabad to Multan and one from Karachi to Faisalabad.

    Pk 304 from Karachi to Lahore, Pk308 from Karachi to Islamabad and Pk 309 from Islamabad to Karachi were delayed due to fuel unavailability. Pk 305 from Lahore to Karachi was delayed after its delayed arrival in Lahore.

    Hundreds of people, including passengers and flight crew, are facing inconvenience in the face of these partial suspension and delays in flight operations.

    To mitigate the severe issues of PIA’s flight operations, the Airline company has already requested the Aviation Division in a letter to arrange for them a loan of over Rs 7.5 billion from banks to keep itself afloat. The letter further states that fuel supply in Jeddah and Dubai was halted due to PSO’s refusal of fuel supply. This letter has been sent by the General Manager Funds Management to the Deputy Director Division and is now directed to the Ministry of Finance, urging them to intervene.

    Interestingly, no bank has shown any interest in providing loan to the loss-making national flag carrier.

    Earlier, in the mid of September, caretaker PM Anwarul Haq Kakar had aimed to sell-off the airline but the Interim Minister of Finance Dr. Shamshad Akhtar had said that the Government would support PIA to keep it in the skies. This was followed by the Caretaker Privatization Minister Fawad Hasan Fawad announcing later on that the government would not ground the PIA. He claimed to have already worked out a plan in a press conference.

    On the contrary, a plan is currently lying on his table as shared by the PIA which involves a debt restructuring program (which has reached 260 billion), blocking tax payment to the FBR and not paying fees and charges of the Civil Aviation Authority but does not address the mammoth of issues in administrative affairs.

    Dr. Shamshad has vowed to support the airline as the government has 92% stakes in it implying the saga of PIA going downhill seems to linger on for it has also announced bonuses of 915 million for its employees amidst all of this.

    Read more on this: https://thecurrent.pk/loss-making-pia-announced-bonuses-for-employees-on-their-good-performance/

  • ‘Hitman’ Rohit raises India’s World Cup hopes

    ‘Hitman’ Rohit raises India’s World Cup hopes

    Rohit Sharma has led India from the front in their three unbeaten matches of the World Cup to boost his cricket-mad nation’s hopes of winning the title at home.

    The Indian captain has already amassed 217 runs including a record century against Afghanistan, showing no signs of the pressure on his shoulders.

    Rohit succeeded superstar Virat Kohli as white-ball captain in 2021 with the aim of securing the national team a third World Cup and first international title since the 2013 Champions Trophy.

    Australia great Ricky Ponting lavished praise on Rohit for handling the pressure of the job with ease.

    “Someone like Virat, who is a bit more heart-on-the-sleeve, and probably listens to the fans and plays up with the fans a little bit more, someone with his personality would probably find it a bit harder,” Ponting wrote in an International Cricket Council column on Tuesday.

    “But I think Rohit will be fine with it. He’s a terrific bloke and has been a great player for a long time, and he’s done a great job as leader of India.”

    Rohit, 36, has enjoyed franchise success as a skipper with five IPL titles with the Mumbai Indians and then led India to the Asia Cup title last month in a key test of form ahead of the World Cup.

    That success would have helped ease a little of the pain suffered when, under his captaincy, India were defeated in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup in Australia last year.

    Rohit has never let expectations get to him and Ponting, once his captain at Mumbai and then coach, said the veteran batsman takes pressure in his stride.

    “He’s very laid back,” said Ponting. “You can even see that by the way that he plays. He’s a pretty laconic sort of batsman as well, and that’s the way he is both on and off the field.”

    – ‘Nothing is impossible’ –

    Rohit, an opening batsman nicknamed “Hitman” for his ability to get big scores quickly, was out for a duck in the team’s opening win against Australia, but was lauded for his captaincy moves.

    He soon regained form with 131 against Afghanistan as he surpassed compatriot Sachin Tendulkar with a record seventh World Cup century.

    His ton in 63 balls was the fastest by an Indian in a World Cup to better Kapil Dev’s hundred in 72 balls against Zimbabwe in 1983.

    Rohit took his form to the hotly-anticipated clash with arch-rivals Pakistan and smashed a match-winning 86 to thrash the opposition as India climbed to the top of the 10-team World Cup table.

    In his career, he has accumulated 10,329 ODI runs including 31 centuries in 254 matches since his debut in 2007.

    Rohit, who was not selected for India’s last World Cup triumph at home in 2011, said he relishes the role of being leader.

    “Nothing in life is impossible, you can make it possible if you have the belief,” Rohit said.

    “If you trust in it, if you have the will to go forward, it’s everyone’s dream firstly to be part of the team and then to captain the team is definitely the icing on the cake. I never thought I would be captain one day.”

    “I also believe that good things happen to good people. I kept my head straight, kept working hard on my game. I am sitting here today with a wonderful opportunity to bring glory to this beautiful country.”

    Rohit’s deputy in the World Cup, Hardik Pandya praised the leader for his ability to bring the best out of players through his faith in them.

    “Since he has come, he has backed a lot of boys and we see the result now as well with how the boys are going and expressing themselves,” all-rounder Pandya said.

    “So that’s why Rohit has been special in giving them enough opportunity and at the same time telling them that ‘you know what, I got your back’.”

  • Schools will remain open on Wednesday: Punjab Government

    Schools will remain open on Wednesday: Punjab Government

    Caretaker Education Minister for Punjab, Mansoor Qadir, confirmed that the government has chosen not to close educational institutions in the province this coming Wednesday, October 18, taking a u-turn from the administration’s previous plan. 

    Discussions were held by caretakers about the possibility of temporarily shutting down schools and offices on Wednesdays, in addition to regular weekends, as a government measure to counter smog. 

    Recent rainfall has significantly contributed to an improvement in the air quality in Lahore, the provincial capital most affected by the smog. This positive development has prompted the ruling authorities to delay the implementation of the proposed closure.

    Minister Qadir stated during the press conference, “Schools will remain open this Wednesday. We will continue to convene meetings to address the smog issue and make future decisions accordingly.”

    During the same briefing, Caretaker Information Minister Aamir Mir highlighted the annual health risks posed by the smog. “Raising awareness about the consequences of smog is essential for the public,” he emphasized.The government has taken measures, including the enforcement of Section 144 to curb smog, and has imposed restrictions on vehicles to prevent further exacerbation of the situation

  • What’s going on in your city this weekend                                                                      

    What’s going on in your city this weekend                                                                      

    ‘Anarkali Sy Agay’, a play created by a group called Behrupiya, will be performed on October 21 – 22 in Lahore. If you like theater and drama, this could be a fun and exciting event to attend. You can enjoy the performance and be part of the audience on those dates. So, mark your calendar and don’t miss this show!

    Experience a captivating musical adventure to Ormara Beach with Mubashir Hasan and Ali Asad, alongside popular bloggers and TikTokers, happening on October 21, 2023. The concert promises a day filled with music and scenic beauty. Don’t miss out on this memorable trip!

    Get ready for a month-long Halloween extravaganza at Winterland in both Karachi and Lahore. From October 1 to October 31, Winterland promises a spooky and fun-filled experience. You’ll be immersed in a Halloween wonderland with eerie decorations, ghostly encounters, glow-in-the-dark face painting, trick-or-treat adventures, mask crafting, and a photo booth to capture all the memorable moments. Don’t miss out on this frightfully delightful event at Winterland inLahore’s Bahria Town.   

    Join an electrifying experience at the Red Bull Off The Roofevent in Islamabad on October 28, 2023. It’s not just a concert; it’s a mobile stage on wheels, bringing your favorite artists to the heart of Islamabad. Don’t miss out on this thrilling musical journey through the city.