Tag: Top News

  • Yasir Hussain thinks Pakistanis have become too cool to appreciate their artists

    Yasir Hussain thinks Pakistanis have become too cool to appreciate their artists

    In an Instagram story, actor Yasir Hussain has said that Pakistanis have become too cool to appreciate their own artists, referring to singer Ali Sethi not being appreciated enough for his performance at Coachella.

    “Diljit too went to Coachella and everyone in India was appreciating him. This is also a big achievement for a Pakistani artist. But, as usual, we did not appreciate it,” wrote Yasir.

    Ali Sethi performed at this year’s Coachella festival on April 16. Sethi sang his smash hit Coke Studio song Pasoori.

    Last year, Pasoori became the most Googled ‘hum to search’ song of 2022. Ali Sethi and Shae Gill’s iconic track left behind chartbusters like BTS’ Butter, Siravali and Chaand Baaliyan.

  • ICC ODI rankings; Pakistan just two wins away from becoming Number 1

    ICC ODI rankings; Pakistan just two wins away from becoming Number 1

    Pakistan beat New Zealand in the third encounter of One-Day International ternational (ODI) series against New Zealand last night and is now aiming to win the next two thrillers on Friday and Sunday so that they can vault from third to first spot on the ICC ODI Team Rankings.

    Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam stitched together a ninth century-partnership, also breaking the famous record of Muhammad Yousuf and Younis Khan’s partnership as Pakistan defeated New Zealand by 26 runs to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. At this time Pakistan is on number three in the rankings and just two wins away from the number one position.

    The two lads added 108 runs for the second wicket off 121 balls as Pakistan, put into bat, posted 287 for six on a slow surface. New Zealand capitulated after a solid and positive 83-run first wicket stand to be bowled out for 261 in 49.1 overs.

    With the series in their pocket 3-0 their first against New Zealand after 12 years Pakistan is super charge all eyes on Imam, Babar and Fakhar to take the team on the top of the ODI rankings now Pakistan have 3,133 points with 112 ratings in ODI rankings after the remaining Two wins they will white wash New Zealand first time and also make the history by becoming number 1 ODI team first time ever.

    Imam and Babar were dismissed in identical ways – both dragging Matt Henry and Adam Milne’s deliveries onto their stumps. Imam was the fourth batter dismissed after scoring a watchful 90 from 107 balls with seven fours and six, while Babar struck three fours and a six in his 62-ball 54.

    The two had joined hands after Fakhar Zaman, who earlier in the day was named as the number-two ranked ODI batter in the world, was back in the hut after scoring a 26-ball 19 with four fours.

    Mohammad Rizwan (32) and Salman Ali Agha (31) added 54 runs off 48 balls for the fifth wicket to give an impetus to the innings, which ended with a 10-ball 21 not out by Shadab Khan. The Pakistan vice-captain hit a four and two sixes, including a last-ball six.

    Pakistan scored 82 runs for the loss of two wickets in the last 10 overs, including 46 runs for two wickets in five overs.

    In their run-chase, New Zealand raced to 99 for one after 20 overs before Pakistan bowlers put the brakes on the scoring-rate, allowing New Zealand to score 92 runs in the next 20 overs. This meant the visitors needed 97 runs in the last 10 overs and despite fielding lapses. They managed only 70 runs to be dismissed for 261 in 49.1 overs.

    Opener Tom Blundell struck 78-ball 65 with seven fours featured in three useful partnerships. After adding 83 runs for the first wicket with Will Young (33), he added 30 runs from 40 balls for the second wicket with Daryl Mitchell (21) and 14 runs for the third wicket in 21 balls with Tom Latham (45).

    Debutant Cole McConchie scored 64 not out (45 balls, six fours, two sixes) and put on 25 runs (34 balls) for the sixth wicket with Latham, 31 runs (21 balls) for the seventh wicket with Adam Milne, 19 runs (14 balls) for the eighth wicket with Henry Shipley and 12 runs (9 balls) for the ninth wicket with Ish Sodhi.

    For Pakistan, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Wasim Junior and Shaheen Shah Afridi took two wickets apiece.

    Match Highlights

    Pakistan won by 26 runs, 3rd ODI.

    Pakistan 287-6, 50 overs (Imam-ul-Haq 90, Babar Azam 54, Mohammad Rizwan 32, Salman Ali Agha 31, Shadab Khan 21 not out; Matt Henry 3-54)

    New Zealand 261 all-out, 49.1 overs (Tom Blundell 65, Cole McConchie 64 not out, Tom Latham 45, Will Young 33, Daryl Mitchell 21; Naseem Shah 2-42, Mohammad Wasim Junior 2-50, Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-53)

    Player of the match – Imam-ul-Haq (Pakistan)

  • ‘I am here to play IPL not to take abuse from anyone’; Naveen opens up on verbal spat with Virat Kohli

    ‘I am here to play IPL not to take abuse from anyone’; Naveen opens up on verbal spat with Virat Kohli

    A match between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) did not end on a happy note after Virat Kohli sledged Afghan fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq in the 17th over.

    RCB registered a superb 18-run win against LSG on Monday night. However, what became the win was overshadowed by the brawl between RCB batter Virat Kohli, Lucknow mentor Gautam Gambhir and fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq.

    It seemed like a replay of 2013 when the latter was leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and involved in a heated exchange with a young Virat who was just 5 years old in the cricketing circle. A decade later, a similar picture was in front of everyone.

    Naveen-ul-Haq has now shared his thoughts with some of his teammates according to Indian Express. The Afghan pacer has reportedly said, “I am here to play in the IPL, not to take abuse from anyone.” The bowler said that as a player, he has dignity and nobody can abuse him like that.

    Haq and Kohli both shared cryptic Instagram stories after the incident in which the latter shared quotes while the former directly pointed towards Kohli and wrote:

    “You get what you deserve, that’s how it should be and that’s how it goes.”

    The incident was condemned by former players while all three were also heavily penalised.

  • Free-of-charge marriage hall established inside Islamabad mosque

    Free-of-charge marriage hall established inside Islamabad mosque

    A free-of charge marriage hall has been established in Islamabad’s Masjid Rehmat-ul-Alamin located in the F-8 sector.

    A verified twitter account named ‘Islamabadies’ shared pictures of the marriage hall along with details about how it will function.

    “This compassionate initiative aims to make the special day of deserving families even more memorable by providing a free-of-charge marriage hall equipped with a stage for the bride and groom, as well as crockery, tables, chairs, and trained waiters to serve food to the guests of orphan and deserving brides,” read the tweet.

    The hall has a three-hour time limit and includes a stage for the bride and groom. The premises can be booked for a wedding ceremony by contacting the mosque management committee.

    Twitter users are praising the unique initiative. Have a look at some of the tweets.

    Twitter users are praising the initiative. Have a look at some of the tweets.

    https://twitter.com/alihassan_19/status/1653100102162997252
  • Former UK PM Liz Truss refuses to pay £12,000 back to govt for bathrobes, wine, slippers

    Former UK PM Liz Truss refuses to pay £12,000 back to govt for bathrobes, wine, slippers

    Liz Truss, the United Kingdom’s shortest-serving prime minister, has declined to reimburse the British government for a sum of £12,000 ($15,000) for her stay at Chevening House while she was Foreign Secretary.

    The bill mostly covered hospitality expenditure but also included missing items, such as bathrobes and slippers.

    According to a Daily Mail source, officials have informed Liz Truss that she must cover the expenses for items that went missing during her stat at the Chevening estate, which also includes food and wine charges.

    A spokesman for Ms Truss said: “Liz always paid for the costs of her personal guests at Chevening.”

    The latest invoice contains a mixture of costs for her personal business and costs for official government business with civil servants including [Cabinet Secretary] Simon Case and senior officials from other departments who met at Chevening during the transition preparations.”

    “The latter constitutes the majority of the bill. It would be inappropriate for her to pay the costs for officials as it would have breached the Civil Service Code for civil servants to accept hospitality during the leadership campaign. She has therefore asked for this to be billed separately.”

    Liz Truss’s tenure as prime minister of the United Kingdom began on 6 September 2022 when she accepted an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, succeeding Boris Johnson, and ended 49 days later on 25 October upon her resignation.

  • Meta’s AI strategy pays off with Q1 profit of $5.7 billion

    Meta’s AI strategy pays off with Q1 profit of $5.7 billion

    Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has exceeded expectations by reporting a first quarter profit of $5.7 billion (£4.6 billion), despite a period of job cuts. The success has been attributed to the use of artificial intelligence (AI), which has helped to drive positive results across the business.

    Meta’s total revenue reached $28.6 billion, while the number of monthly Facebook users rose to just under three billion. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company was becoming more efficient, allowing it to build better products faster and to put itself in a stronger position to deliver its long-term vision.

    He also announced Meta’s intention to commercialize its privately-run generative AI, which can instantly create sentences and graphics, for practical applications such as chat experiences in WhatsApp and Messenger, visual creation tools for Facebook and Instagram posts, and ads. Zuckerberg assured investors that the move would not detract from Meta’s metaverse project, and confirmed that the company planned to release its next Quest VR headset later this year.

    Despite a net loss of $4 billion last quarter in its Reality Labs division, Meta still expects operating losses to increase year over year in 2023. However, the company’s cost-cutting measures have proved successful, with Meta having shed almost a quarter of its global workforce in the past few months.

  • Petrol price unchanged, diesel price slashed by Rs5 per litre

    Petrol price unchanged, diesel price slashed by Rs5 per litre

    The federal government has announced a reduction in the price of diesel by Rs5 per litre, effective immediately, while maintaining the price of petrol for the next two weeks.

    Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said that the prices are revised to provide “maximum relief” to the public, following the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. In addition to the decrease in diesel prices, there will be a reduction of Rs10 per litre in the prices of Kerosene oil and Light Diesel Oil (LDO).

    The new prices have been set at Rs282 per litre for petrol, Rs288 per litre for high-speed diesel, Rs176.07 per litre for kerosene oil, and Rs164.68 per litre for light diesel oil. Diesel is widely used in the transport and agriculture sectors, so the price reduction could have a positive impact on inflation and provide some relief to farmers, particularly as the crop-harvesting season is underway.

    However, consumers are already facing high prices, which are especially burdensome for the low-income group who use motorbikes and small cars.

    In its previous fortnightly announcement, the federal government increased the price of petrol by Rs10 and the price of kerosene oil by Rs5.78, citing the increase in petroleum prices in the international market and exchange rate variations as the reason for the increase.

  • Inflation worsens in Pakistan, affecting purchasing power of millions

    Inflation worsens in Pakistan, affecting purchasing power of millions

    The citizens of Pakistan, a poor country with a population of 220 million, have been struggling with record-high inflation due to the government’s inability to control prices. According to the weekly bulletin released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the weekly inflation increased by 46.82 per cent year-on-year and 0.15 per cent week-on-week, ending on April 27.

    The rise in the sensitive price indicator (SPI) was attributed to the increase in the prices of potatoes, chicken, wheat flour, gur, bread, and rice irri-6/9. On the other hand, there was a decrease in the prices of tomatoes, bananas, onions, sugar, LPG, pulse masoor, and mustard oil during the same period. The SPI for the week under review was recorded at 252.20 points, up from 251.83 points the previous week and 171.78 points recorded during the week ended on April 28, 2022.

    Fahad Rauf, head of research at Ismail Iqbal Securities, attributed the moderate increase in SPI mainly to the rise in the prices of potatoes and mutton. The price trend of perishable food items during the Eid week has been mixed, with the prices of some items going up and some going down. Ismail Iqbal Securities predicted that the CPI for April 2023 would come around 38 per cent, up from 35.4 per cent in March 2023, due to house rent revisions and higher wheat prices.

    The absence of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme and persistent inflationary pressures may result in another rate hike, as per Ismail Iqbal Securities. An interest rate hike could further discourage businesses, which have already postponed their expansion plans and hiring. Import restrictions have also added to the woes of industries and businesses that have faced frequent shutdowns, resulting in uncertain or no wages for millions of workers.

    The SPI is compiled by PBS by collecting prices of 51 essential items from 50 markets in 17 cities of the country. During the week, prices of 21 items increased by 41 per cent, while prices of seven items decreased by 13.73 per cent, and prices of 23 items remained unchanged, accounting for 45.10 per cent of the total. Various weightages are assigned to different commodities in the SPI basket, with milk, electricity, wheat flour, sugar, firewood, long cloth, and vegetable ghee having the highest weights for the lowest quintile. The price of milk and wheat flour increased, while the price of sugar decreased. The prices of electricity, firewood, long cloth, and vegetable ghee remained unchanged. However, the prices of all these commodities increased on a yearly basis.

  • US urges Pakistan to implement IMF reforms as economic crisis deepens

    The United States has urged Pakistan to take urgent action to implement the necessary reforms required by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to address the country’s rising economic crisis. Inflation has been a major issue for Pakistan, and discussions between the two parties have been ongoing since January to find a consensus on multiple conditions before signing a deal that includes external financing from friendly nations.

    Elizabeth Horst, the State Department official in charge of Pakistan, stressed the importance of Pakistan’s compliance with the IMF’s agreed-upon reforms to ensure the country’s financial stability and avoid falling further into debt. She emphasised that although the reforms may not be easy, they are essential for the growth of Pakistan’s economy.

    Horst also expressed the US government’s concern over Pakistan’s economic situation and promised support for the country, particularly in policy, business, and transparency. She pointed out that the trade relationship between the two countries is already worth over nine billion dollars and will continue to increase.

    Highlighting the close cooperation between the US and Pakistan in areas such as trade and investment, climate change, and security, Horst revealed that the Pakistan-US Green Alliance has been initiated to further enhance these relations. She emphasised the importance of Pakistan’s sovereignty and that it is free to make its own choices.

    The State Department official also emphasised that both countries are working together to ensure regional security, counter-terrorism, and counter-narcotics. She expressed concern over the rising number of terrorist incidents in Pakistan and stressed the importance of continuing cooperation between the two countries to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a haven for terrorists.

    Horst concluded by stating that a peaceful and stable Afghanistan is in the interest of both Pakistan and the US. She emphasised the importance of pushing the Taliban to fulfill their promises for peace and stability, as thousands of lives have already been affected by terrorism.

  • Pakistan’s economic stability remains fragile despite increase in forex reserves

    Pakistan’s economic stability remains fragile despite increase in forex reserves

    As the country tries to find ways to secure external financing and keep itself afloat, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)-held foreign exchange reserves recorded a meagre rise. The SBP, in its weekly bulletin, mentioned its reserves have jumped by $30 million to $4.46 billion as of April 20, which will provide an import cover of less than a month — a position that has been the same for several months now.

    The net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stand at $5.56 billion, $1.1 billion more than the SBP, taking the total liquid foreign reserves to $10.02 billion. Although the central bank did not specify the reason behind the increase, there was a $300 million rise in the reserves last week — which was due to the loan provided by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

    The $350 billion economy is in turmoil amid financial woes and the delay in an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that would release much-needed funding crucial to avoid the risk of default.

    The government has been in talks with the Washington-based lender since end-January to resume the $1.1 billion loan tranche that has been on hold since November, part of a $6.5 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreed upon in 2019. A deal with the IMF will also unlock other bilateral and multilateral financing avenues for Pakistan to shore up its foreign exchange reserves.

    Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said earlier this week that Pakistan has “fulfilled all the conditions” of the IMF and hoped that the Fund would soon sign the staff-level agreement. Speaking to Geo News, Dar said both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have informed the IMF about their commitments to provide $3 billion to Pakistan.

    Riyadh will provide $2 billion while Abu Dhabi has promised $1 billion to Pakistan, Dar said, adding that the Washington-based lender has also been informed in this regard.

    The finance minister said all the conditions for the staff-level agreement between Pakistan and IMF have been fulfilled. “Pakistan is hopeful that IMF will soon sign the SLA and get it approved by its Executive Board,” Ishaq Dar added.