Tag: topnews

  • Pakistan owes China more money than it owes the IMF

    Pakistan owes China more money than it owes the IMF

    Pakistan needs to repay China more than double the amount it owes the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the next three years, Al Jazeera reported.

    According to the details, the country owes $6.7 billion in commercial loans to China over the three years through June 2022, according to the IMF, which this year approved a new program to bail out Pakistan from an economic crisis.

    On the other hand, the country needs to pay the multilateral lender $2.8 billion in the same period.

    “The borrowing picked up after the Belt and Road started,” said Hafiz Faizan Ahmed, head of research at Karachi-based Optimus Capital Management Pvt.

    He added, “A bulk of the Chinese lending happened about two years ago when dollar reserves were dwindling, so the government kept borrowing and borrowing.”

    Pakistan, one of the biggest beneficiaries of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, has been borrowing from Beijing to tide over a financial crisis.

    Still, the money was not enough to completely bridge the financing gap and pushed the country to knock at the IMF’s doors.

  • PTI leader resigns after Jahangir Tareen forced him to change party’s constitution

    Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Central Additional Secretary-General Abu Hassan Ansari has resigned after developing differences with former secretary-general Jahangir Tareen over the party’s constitution, Dawn has reported.

    As per reports, Hassan is the author of the PTI party constitution 2019. He was being forced by Tareen, who holds no official position in the party, to alter the constitution as per his recommendations. The two also had arguments in the past during several party meetings.

    Reports further reveal that Hassan believes that Tareen has taken over the party. “Although Tareen has spent his money for the party, we all spent our time and money for the PTI,” he was quoted as saying.

    Hassan
    submitted his resignation to PTI Chief Organiser Saifullah Niazi,  However, no decision has been taken on the
    resignation as Prime Minister Imran Khan has told the party’s members that he
    will take up the matter after his return from China.

  • NAB ‘creating hurdles’ in execution of govt decisions: report

    NAB ‘creating hurdles’ in execution of govt decisions: report

    The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is creating hurdles in the implementation of some of the federal cabinet’s decisions, a report presented to Prime Minister Imran Khan has revealed, Express Tribune reported.

    According to the details, the report reveals that the federal cabinet had decided to hold talks with the LNG terminal firms in its meeting held in October last year and the Ministry of Finance and Petroleum had to talk with these companies on profit rates.

    However, these talks could not move forward because NAB is holding an inquiry against an LNG terminal company and they have to wait while the inquiry is underway.

    The report also said that all the LNG terminals are fully functional right now and any action can disturb the situation.

    After the consultation, the federal cabinet decided that the talks with the LNG terminal companies should be postponed till the completion of the inquiry.

    The federal cabinet in a recent meeting had proposed to reopen agreements with LNG companies, however, Minister of Law Farogh Naseem opposed the proposal and said that new investors will hesitate to invest if the agreements were reopened.

  • How eating three dates every day can benefit your mind and body?

    How eating three dates every day can benefit your mind and body?

    Healthy for the body and mind dates are considered to be a healthy indulgence. Dates are the delicious snack for any time of day. If you develop the habit of eating three of these soft and yummy fruit every day for one week, you may benefit your mind and body.

    Long-Lasting energy

    Dates contain the
    natural sugars, glucose, fructose and sucrose that will help you boost your
    energy quickly whenever you need it. Dates contain other healthy components
    like fiber, potassium, magnesium, vitamins, and antioxidants that will maintain
    energy levels. So instead of having harmful energy drinks, you can have dates
    to increase your energy.

    Reduced risk of colon
    cancer

    Along with ensuring that food moves through the digestive system at a healthy rate, dates also make sure the gut itself is healthy and free from harmful bacteria. When the digestive system and gut are working well then so is the colon, resulting in a reduced risk of colon cancer.

    A study conducted by
    the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences found that those who consumed
    dates had enhanced colon health because dates increased the growth of good
    bacteria, preventing the growth of colon cancer cells.

    Improved digestive
    health

    Dates improve your digestive system because of the fiber. In just a one-cup serving, you will get 12 grams of fiber. That’s 48 percent of your recommended daily intake. Fiber can benefit your digestive health by averting constipation.

    A study published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that people who consumed seven dates per day for 21 days showed improvements in stool frequency compared to when they did not eat dates.

    Help you cope with
    stress

    Dates contain Vitamin B6 that can improve the performance of the brain by helping the body make serotonin and norepinephrine. Serotonin (a compound present in blood platelets) regulates mood and norepinephrine (an organic chemical that functions in the brain) helps your body deal with stress.

    Research has shown that low levels of Vitamin B6 are linked to depression. When your brain is clear from stress, and in a good mood, then it is sharp and ready to learn.

  • Amid frog meat rumours, Punjab to set up frog farms

    Amid frog meat rumours, Punjab to set up frog farms

    Days after rumours regarding frog meat being used by restaurants across its provincial capital, Punjab has decided to set up frog farms, but for an entirely different purpose.

    Reports quoted Punjab Fisheries Assistant Director Mian Ghulam Qadir as saying that the department has forwarded to the government a summary in this regard. “There are no turtle or frog farms in Pakistan and medical colleges that need any [for dissection], have to go hunting for them in the wild.”

    He added that if the provincial cabinet approves the plan, besides saving time wasted in hunting, it would generate employment opportunities.

    “On top of this, breeding turtles and frogs domestically will not only preserve the species, but they can also be exported to countries like Thailand and China where they eat them,” Qadir said, adding that they are also quite expensive in the international market.

    LAHORIS BEING SERVED FROG MEAT?

    Last month, reports claimed that frog meat was being served across Lahore in shawarma and burgers. The news took social media by storm soon after pictures showing two suspects arrested with sacks full of dead frogs, started doing rounds over the internet.

    The reports were debunked by authorities upon clarification that the two arrestees were only delivering the frogs to a laboratory that supplies them to medical universities. Medical students dissect the frogs and practice suturing on them.

  • Number plates with ‘Ajrak’ logos to be introduced in Sindh

    Number plates with ‘Ajrak’ logos to be introduced in Sindh

    The Excise Department of Sindh has decided to introduce new, technologically advanced number plates for vehicles and motorbikes with Ajrak logos by 2020.

    As per reports, the manufacturing of these number plates, installed with chips and Ajrak logos, will take place in the first phase.

    These modern number plates will contain all details about the vehicle including its model, owner, and other information. Stealing vehicles will also be caught by this initiative.

    The approval for the number of plates will be first taken from
    the provincial cabinet and CM Murad Ali Shah.

    Earlier in September, it was revealed that 15,000 vehicles of various government organisations and departments are being used without their original number plates.

    The Excise Department confirmed that different departments of the Sindh government have not received original number plates for the allotted vehicles. Under the Sindh police, 8,000 government vehicles do not have original number plates, according to the report.

    Mostly, the vehicles belong to senior officers which are being
    used with duplicate number plates.

  • PM Imran plans to hand over Pakistan Steel Mills to China

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has decided to hand over Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) to China for its revival through government to government deal, Geo News has reported.

    According to the details, PM is also exploring options to finance multi-billion-dollar railways Mainline (ML-1) during his upcoming visit to Beijing.

    PM will take up five issues during his visit, he will offer China to get Pakistan Steel Mills, finalise deal on modernisation of ML-1, financing of Bunji hydropower project, agriculture and social sectors-related projects in and outside the ambit of CPEC.

    Pakistan’s top leadership will give assurances to the Chinese side that China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would not slow down, but its next phase would be pursued with zeal and vigour despite passing through under the IMF [International Monetary Fund] programme.

    PM Imran will leave for a three-day visit to China on Monday, where he would also discuss Kashmir dispute.

  • The Current Quiz

    The Current Quiz

  • Woman gives birth to baby in Careem

    Woman gives birth to baby in Careem

    A woman named Saima gave birth to a baby girl ‘Fareeha’ on the back seat of a cab when she was on her way to the hospital.

    Saima, her husband Sibtain Hussain and the mother-in-law were with her but it was the Careem captain Iqbal Khan who asked them to still go to the hospital to ensure their safety.

    While it is not uncommon for babies to be delivered en-route to hospitals in cabs or even in rickshaws, but guess, what was new this time? The ride-hailing cab service sent their best wishes to the baby girl with a gift of free rides for life.

  • ‘PTI government will continue to rule country’, business tycoon quotes Gen Bajwa

    ‘PTI government will continue to rule country’, business tycoon quotes Gen Bajwa

    All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) patron-in-chief Gohar Ijaz has said that COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa told businessmen that “the sitting government will continue to rule the country”, The News International reported.

    According to the details, Gohar while talking in Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, said that Thursday’s meeting of the army chief with the businessmen was arranged to give confidence to them.

    He added that the COAS said they fully support the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and the business community should also support him. Gohar said the business leaders assured that they will stand by the PM and will also guide the government in case it makes any mistakes.

    The APTMA patron-in-chief said that the army chief assured the businessmen that no undue cases will be instituted against them through the National Accountability Court (NAB) and no businessman will face injustice.

    “The business community continuously holds meetings with the economic team and military leadership and the meeting with the COAS was not an unusual thing”, added Gohar Ijaz.

    Watch Video:

    Top business leaders of the country had earlier called on COAS General Bajwa on Wednesday night to convey their serious concerns about Pakistan’s stagnating economy.