Gold prices in Pakistan experienced a marginal uptick on Friday, with the value of 24-karat gold climbing by Rs300 per tola, concluding the session at Rs218,600.
According to the Karachi Sarafa Association, the closing rate for 10-gramme 24-karat gold in today’s session reached Rs187,414, marking an increase of Rs257.
Simultaneously, the price of 10-gramme 22-karat gold reached Rs171,796, reflecting a rise of Rs235.
In the domestic market, silver prices also saw an upward trend, with 24-karat silver and 10-gramme 24-karat silver settling at Rs2,670 and Rs2,289.09, respectively.
It is noteworthy that the domestic bullion market displayed a robust recovery in the previous session after enduring five consecutive losses, resulting in a cumulative loss of Rs6,300 for 24-karat gold.
This surge was attributed to a rally in international markets, which persisted today, contributing to gains in the domestic market.
As of the latest update, international spot gold is trading at $2,041.17, reflecting a 0.26 per cent increase for the day.
The ongoing upward trajectory in international gold prices is influenced by the recent statement from the US Federal Reserve, which indicates a cumulative rate cut of 75 basis points in 2024.
The Pakistani rupee (PKR) continued its positive trajectory against the US dollar (USD) for the fourth consecutive session, appreciating by 0.09 per cent in the inter-bank market on Friday.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the rupee concluded at Rs283.26, reflecting an increase of Re0.25.
Thursday witnessed a marginal gain in the rupee, settling at Rs283.51 against the US dollar.
The ongoing optimism is buoyed by the recently released trade figures for November, revealing a noteworthy 13.16 per cent month-over-month (MoM) and a substantial 31.72 per cent year-over-year (YoY) reduction in the trade deficit, amounting to $1.89 billion.
Export figures exhibited a robust 7.66 per cent YoY surge, reaching $2.57 billion, while imports saw a YoY decline of 14.47 per cent, totaling $4.46 billion.
On the global front, the US dollar remained near four-month lows on Friday, influenced by the increasing likelihood of US interest rate cuts in the coming year.
Conversely, the euro and pound found support as their respective central banks reiterated the necessity for sustained higher interest rates.
Amid an eventful week for central banks, clarity emerged regarding the potential timing of interest rate cuts following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s statement during Wednesday’s meeting.
Powell suggested that the tightening of monetary policy is likely concluding, with discussions about cuts coming “into view.”
The Fed’s projections imply a 75-basis-point cut next year from the current level, leading to a broad decline of the greenback against its counterparts.
The dollar index stands at 102.05, not far from the four-month low of 101.76 observed on Thursday, marking a 1.9 per cent decrease and its most significant weekly decline since July.
Oil prices, a pivotal indicator of currency dynamics, saw an increase on Friday, set to achieve their first weekly rise in two months.
This positive shift is attributed to a bullish forecast from the International Energy Agency (IEA) regarding oil demand for the upcoming year, coupled with a weaker dollar.
Brent futures rose by 21 cents to $76.82 a barrel at 0918 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also experienced a 21-cent climb, reaching $71.79.
Nicolas Puech, the 80-year-old heir to the French luxury brand Hermès fortune, is reportedly planning to give part of his wealth to his 51-year-old gardener, whom he also intends to legally adopt.
Swiss publication Tribune de Genève, cited by the New York Post, reports that the heir of the luxury brand is planning to pass his wealth to his “former gardener and handyman” from a “modest Moroccan family.”
Nicolas has already initiated the process of adoption. He is expected to pass down billions of dollars to the beloved gardener as he is unmarried and has no children of his own.
The gardener is reportedly married to a woman from Spain and has two children.
The wealth he is to pass on could be half of his inheritance. The heir, the fifth-generation descendant of Thierry Hermès, stands to pass down billions of dollars of the Hermès fortune, currently valued at over $220 billion. Puech reportedly owns between 5 percent and 6 percent of the house, which puts his net worth between $10-11 billion.
Puech also hopes to pass down $5.9 million in properties in Marrakesh, Morocco, and Montreux, Switzerland.
CNN’s chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward has become the first Western journalist to have gone into the Gaza Strip without the Israel Defense Forces’ supervision, reporting from sight what she deemed “absolute horror.”
Ward entered the besieged strip on Wednesday with UAE medical volunteers and visited a field hospital setup by the Gulf country.
“Even in that brief window, you really got a sense of the absolute horrors that have been taking place in Gaza,” she said speaking to CNN.
“I can honestly say I don’t think we’ve ever seen it quite on this scale.” she expressed while reviewing the destruction she witnessed.
International coverage of Gaza depends on reports from Palestinian journalists, aid teams, health workers, and social media because of Israel’s entry bans.
As of yet, at least 63 journalists have been killed since October 7 in Israeli airstrikes.
Ward was initially accused of staging a video in which she can be seen trying to seek a safe place from attacks during live coverage near the Israel-Gaza border. CNN, however, rebutted these assertions, contending the authenticity of the video.
Pakistani model Hasnain Lehri made a stunning debut in the second season of the popular Netflix series ‘Dubai Bling’, when he stunned his paramour, Lebanese reality TV star Loujain ‘LJ’ Adada, with an elaborate proposal in front of friends during the season finale.
The Netflix reality TV series, which premiered in 2022, delves into the lives of affluent and glamorous Arab women in Dubai as they navigate the complexities of high society, fashion, and relationships. Each episode, lasting approximately 45 minutes, showcases extravagant parties, designer clothes and opulent lifestyles.
In episode seven of Dubai Bling season two, Lehri’s grand proposal to Adada marked the conclusion of the season. The gripping moment left the audience eagerly anticipating Adada’s response, as the episode concluded without revealing her answer.
Last year, Lehri acknowledged his real-life relationship with Adada, making their on-screen chemistry sweeter.
Taking to Instagram, he shared a stunning intimate photo of himself and Adada in each other’s embrace. He also captioned the photo with a heartfelt message for his lady love.
“I thought fairy tales would never come true until I met my princess,” the caption read, followed by their initials “H” and “L” written with an infinity symbol. Adada also replied to the Instagram post in the comments.
Reciprocating the sentiments, she said, “My heart, H! Fairytales do come true.”
In 2012, Adada tied the knot with Walid Juffali, a late Saudi Arabian business magnate and billionaire.
She was reportedly 25-years-old and he was 60 at the time. Juffali passed away in 2016 after a long battle with cancer. The supermodel currently has two daughters.
When she was just 14, Adada started her modelling career, immediately landing photoshoots and establishing an impressive portfolio in preparation for a career in the runway business.
At 21, she was given the opportunity to present the music program Energy Spin Magazine on MTV Lebanon. However, after her marriage, the star took a long hiatus from media until her big comeback with Netflix’s hit reality TV show, Dubai Bling.
Lehri, on the other hand, confirmed dating fellow model Sabeeka Imam in 2018. However, the duo parted ways after a year.
Imam shared the news of their breakup in a post, writing, “And so this journey officially comes to an end. It has been a long time since we both realised that our paths are destined to be separate. After multiple attempts and much consideration, we have called it quits.”
Lehri is the first supermodel in Pakistan to bag five Lux Style Awards including picking up the coveted trophy four years in a row. In 2017, Lehri was also mentioned in the Top 100 Sexiest Asian Men list by Eastern Eye.
Cricket Australia has announced to opening the doors of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) free for Pakistani fans on December 21. Pakistani cricket fans will be allowed free entry to watch Pakistan’s training session in Australia’s largest Melbourne ground.
Cricket fans have been invited by the Australia Board to watch Pakistan’s training session ahead of the Boxing Day Test. Fans will be allowed free entry to the MCG before 10 am on December 21.
The training session will continue from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm Australian time.
Huda Kattan, the founder of Huda Beauty, posted a video on December 11, stating that she will “not be intimidated” by the backlash she has faced for speaking up against Israeli atrocities in Gaza.
“I am speaking on behalf of humanity, and I will not be intimidated,” Kattan said in her video.
“We can’t be afraid to lose anything; we have to trust the process. If we lose something, something else will come to us the right way because we are doing good work — I believe that wholeheartedly,” she said.
She also asserted that she is willing to risk her business for what’s right and fair.
“I am willing to risk my entire business, everything that I have on that, in search of the truth and justice,” Kattan stressed.
“I’m not antisemitic; I’m not anti any people and never will be. I stand against that,” Kattan added, pointing at the attempts being made to redefine terms related to genocide and that Israel is jeopardizing Jewish people.
It looks like Nida Yasir and Yasir Nawaz are not into beach holidays. The famous couple have made a rather different choice when it comes to vacation destination.
The duo just had a winter vacation in Finland complete with snowfall and freezing temperatures. Even though it is very cold during the snowy Christmas season, they look like they had a lot of fun. Nida looked stylish in her trendy outfit. They shared some awesome pictures from their chilly vacation. Check it out:
The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director-general Faiz Hameed and others on former Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui’s petition challenging his removal.
The notices were also issued to former IHC chief justice Anwar Khan Kasi, former registrar of the Supreme Court Arbab Muhammad Arif, and retired brigadier Irfan Ramay.
Former IHC Chief Justice Anwar Khan KasiFormer Registrar of the Supreme Court Arbab Muhammad ArifRetired Brigadier Irfan Ramay
A five-member bench led by CJP Qazi Faez Isa, comprising Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi, and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, conducted proceedings on the plea.
Today’s hearing was broadcast live on the apex court’s website as well as on its YouTube channel.
Siddiqui nominated seven individuals in his amended plea, however, the court remarked that three others — former chief of army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, and two retired brigadiers- Faisal Marwat and Tahir Wafai — had no direct connection with the case.
A day earlier, the top court ordered Siddiqui to nominate former spy chief Hameed, former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, and others in the plea against his dismissal.
Following the order, the former judge requested to make Bajwa and Hameed parties in the case related to his suspension along with IHC chief justice Anwar Khan Kasi, former registrar of the Supreme Court Arbab Muhammad Arif, retired brigadier Irfan Ramay, retired brigadier Faisal Marwat and retired brigadier Tahir Wafai.
The case was fixed for hearing earlier this month after the judge filed a miscellaneous application with the Supreme Court to conduct an early hearing of his plea against the decision by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on his dismissal.
Lawyer Hamid Khan represented the former IHC judge in the case.
The Case
President Arif Alvi on October 11, 2018, removed Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui as judge of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on the recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council (SCJ).
The president took the decision under Article 209(5)on the SJC recommendation under Article 209(6) read with Article 48(1) of the Constitution, a notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice stated.
The council unanimously opined that while delivering the speech before the District Bar Association in Rawalpindi on July 21, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, an IHC judge, displayed conduct unbecoming of a high court judge.
Judges on the panel included: Then Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, Justice Gulzar Ahmad, Lahore High Court’s Chief Justice Yawar Ali, and Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court Justice Ahmed Ali Sheikh.
Justice Khosa said that the judge in question chose to address a meeting of the district bar association, Rawalpindi on July 21 at a time when many inquiries were pending against him before the SJC under Article 209.
In his speech, Siddiqui accused the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of manipulating judicial proceedings, especially in the Panamagate case.
The ex-judge had submitted a plea against the Supreme Judicial Council’s (SJC) decision to dismiss him after a complaint was filed against him for inflammatory speeches.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has confessed that it was a misstep to secure a stay order from the Lahore High Court (LHC) against Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on appointing District Returning Officers (DROs) and Returning Officers (ROs) from the bureaucracy for upcoming general elections.
PTI senator Barrister Syed Ali Zafar said while speaking on Geo News’ ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’ that PTI can approach LHC to request the removal of the stay order against the appointment of DROs and ROs for the forthcoming election set to take place on February 8, next year.
“The PTI may withdraw the stay order to speed up the case hearing on merits to decide the fate of the appointment of DROs and ROs,” he remarked.
The senator also said that the impression and criticism that PTI’s petition is delaying polls seems correct.
However, the PTI leader also stated that the party’s stance on filing the petition against the appointment of officers from bureaucracy is right.
“Even though we want elections to be held by judicial officers and the ECP probably wants them to be conducted by bureaucracy, whatever the results are, we should accept them as it is the mandate of the masses,” he said.
