Author: News Desk

  • World Cup 2023: India defeat Pakistan by seven wickets

    World Cup 2023: India defeat Pakistan by seven wickets

    India has defeated Pakistan by seven wickets in Ahmedabad on Saturday in a World Cup 2023 match.

    Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to bowl first. Pakistan suffered its first loss in the form of Abdullah Shafiq, who fell to Muhammad Siraj after scoring 20 runs, and after this Imam ul Haq was dismissed by Hardik Pandya for 36 runs.

    Babar Azam was bowled by Siraj for 50 runs with the total score at 155 in the 30th over. After Babar’s dismissal, Pakistan’s wickets fell one after one and the rest of the batsmen could only add 36 runs to the total score.

    Read More: Indian travel ad degrading Pakistani cricket fans faces criticism, backlash

    In reply, India achieved the target of 192 runs for the loss of three wickets in 30.3 overs. Rohit Shrama scored 86 runs while Shreyas Iyer scored unbeaten 53 runs.
    Shaheen Afridi took two wickets for Pakistan’s bowling side.

  • Palestinian bodies stored in ice cream refrigerators now: what do we know about day eight?

    Palestinian bodies stored in ice cream refrigerators now: what do we know about day eight?

    Go to ‘tent cities’ in Egypt’s Sinai Desert

    Previously, Israel had told 1.1 million Palestinians in northern Gaza to move to south Gaza within the span of 24 hours in the light of a potential ground operation.

    This led to a backlash from the UN, Palestinians, and many other humanitarian organisations who deemed it to be “impossible” and catastrophic.

    Yet again, Israel’s former deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, while speaking to Al Jazeera, suggested that Palestinians in Gaza should flee to Egypt’s Sinai Desert, where tent cities would be built for them.

    “The idea is for them to leave over to the open areas where we and the international community will prepare infrastructure … tent cities, with food and with water, just like for the refugees of Syria.”

    Evacuation impossible, says WHO

    The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that is impossible to evacuate hundreds of critically injured patients from hospitals in northern Gaza “without endangering their lives”.

    “Of the thousands of patients with injuries and other conditions receiving care in hospitals, there are hundreds that are severely wounded and over 100 who require critical care.

    “These are the sickest of the sick. Many thousands more, also with wounds or other health needs, cannot access any kind of care,” the WHO added

    The statement also pointed out that “The compressed timeframe, complex transport logistics, damaged roads, and, above all, lack of supportive care during transport all add to the difficulty of moving.”

    WHO has also called on Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza and to establish a “humanitarian corridor” on urgent basis.

    Hospital staff refuse to leave

    Despite no medical supplies and blockade of food, water and power, the medical teams at a hospital in the northern Gaza Strip have refused to evacuate, rejecting the Israeli army’s order.

    70 dead while fleeing northern Gaza on Israel’s callOfficials have revealed that a significant number of Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air raids while fleeing the northern Gaza Strip.

    Among the 70 killed were mostly children and women and were in their transport, on their to South.

    324 Palestinians killed in less than 24 hours

    The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza has reached 324 according to health ministry whereas 1,000 have been wounded as the result of Israeli air raids in the last 24 hours.

    Reportedly, 66 percent of the affectees are women and children.

    Previously, hospitals in Gaza report that since October 7, Israeli air raids have killed at least 256 people, including 20 children, and wounded 1,788 others in less than 24 hours, according to hospitals in Gaza.

    According to WAFA’s correspondent, Israeli forces have targeted Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood in Gaza city and the Red Crescent’s al-Quds Hospital that was currently sheltering hundreds of families.

    Simultaneously, dozens of homes and residential buildings have also been destroyed. Israeli fire has killed at least 52 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since Hamas’s attack on October 7, according to Palestinian health officials.

    Palestinian bodies stored in ice cream refrigerators due to lack of space in hospitals

    Due to lack of space in hospital morgues in Gaza, the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli air raids are now being stored in ice cream refrigerators instead.

    1,300+ buildings destroyed in Gaza: UN

    The United Nations reports that more than 1,300 buildings in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed in the Israeli attacks.

    OCHA calculates the destruction of “5,540 housing units” in the destroyed buildings and nearly 3,750 homes have become uninhabitable.

    Top Hammas military commander dead

    According to the Israeli military, a senior military commander of Hamas heading the group’s aerial operations has been killed in Israeli air raids.Hamas is yet to respond to the news.

    credits: Al-Jazeera

  • Loss-making PIA announced bonuses for employees on their “good performance”

    Loss-making PIA announced bonuses for employees on their “good performance”

    Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), one of the biggest money-losing entities in the country, has ironically announced that they will pay their employees an increment for “good performance”.

    As reported by The News, PIA’s management announced the bonus for the performance of the employees over the last six months, from April to September. The bonus will be implemented by October 2023. The amount that was decided is tantamount to the bonus issued in 2022.

    PIA is going through a monthly loss of Rs 12 billion and a total loss of over Rs 740 billion but the bonus that was announced is Rs 915 million. The increment in salaries will be 5-10 percent paid on March 31, 2023. The employees who are told to leave on or before October were recruited recently or got a promotion or salary increase in these six months are not eligible for it.

    The airline has announced this expenditure while it is grappling with issues of fuel outages and financial loss. According to Caretaker Federal Minister for Privatization Fawad Hasan Fawad, 15 out of 34 PIA aircraft are grounded, the airline is operating with only 19 aircraft and some of them are also not fully operational. The gap between income (22 billion) and expense(34 billion) which is increasing with time.

    Amidst the ongoing debate of privatization, PIA has taken a loan of Rs260 billion from commercial banks on a government guarantee. It is not paying tax of Rs1.25 billion to the FBR and has not been able to pay more than Rs1 billion per month to Civil Aviation.

  • McDonalds Pakistan, Turkey, Lebanon release statements; dissociate themselves from Israel

    On Friday, McDonalds attracted global backlash after its Israel account released statements announcing free food for the Israel Defense Force (IDF) and other soldiers. #BoycottMcdonalds began trending globally, and many twitter users declared they were no longer supporting the fast food franchise.

    READ MORE: #BoycottMcDonalds trends as the fast food giant opens five new restaurants for Israeli security forces, donates 4,000 daily meals

    Several outlets from Pakistan, Turkey and Lebanon have released statements on their Instagram accounts where they have distanced themselves from the Israeli brand.

    Pakistan’s McDonalds wrote they were not affiliated with the Israeli brand, stressing that the brand made decisions in respect with their own country.

    Meanwhile, McDonalds Turkey, in their statement, condemned the support for Israel and announced they were donating aid worth $1 million dollars to the people of Gaza.

    After several unverified reports claimed the McDonalds franchise in Lebanon was attacked and raided by Palestine supporters, the franchise posted a statement disassociating themselves from the Israeli branch.

  • Why was pre-match ceremony before Pakistan-India not telecast?

    Why was pre-match ceremony before Pakistan-India not telecast?

    The Pak-India takra is underway with Pakistan batting first. A colorful ceremony was held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad before the match. The event was attended by many celebrities including superstars Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth and Arijit Singh.

    Indian singer Neha Kakkar also performed at the event. However, the ceremony was only viewed by spectators present in the ground as it was not shown on TV channels.

  • Pakistan team hailed by compatriots as India keeps fans away from match

    Pakistan team hailed by compatriots as India keeps fans away from match

    As the high-voltage World Cup 2023 Pakistan – India match plays out in Ahmedabad, there are no Pakistani fans at the Narendra Modi stadium.

    Pakistani fans were not given a visa by the Modi government but the Green Shirts have all the support off the ground from home with the public glued to the screen and politicians, along with celebrities, cheering for them on social media.

    Caretaker PM Anwar-ul-haq Kakkar extended his support to the team in a tweet saying, “Let’s bring it home”.

    Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also took to X to show his enthusiasm by saying that he is “Rooting for Team Green”.

    Asma Sherazi lamented the visas not being issued but wished the team well.

    Ex-cricketers seemed to be equally excited as Mohammad Hafeez posted about the “Match of the year” and expressed his wish for the team to win.

    Wasim Akram reminded the team that “at the end of the day it’s just a game, go out there and do what you do best”.

    Shaharyar Ejaz, a journalist tweeting live from the ground, wrote that he hoped to see the team win on Indian soil.

    Filmmaker Nabeel Qureshi hoped for team Pakistan to play out a “suprise”.

    Fahad Mustafa cheered the team with, “Let’s do this boys”.

    On the other side, there are people vehemently criticizing the Indian Government for not issuing visas to Pakistani fans.

    Professor Ashok Swain lambasted the Government by saying that “It’s not Cricket, It’s Low-life’s Politics”.

    Another user criticised the crowd for trampling the spirit of the game as videos of them booing Pakistan captain Babar Azam circulated on social media.

  • Pakistan is powerful enough to fight with TTP for 100 years, says PM Kakar

    Pakistan is powerful enough to fight with TTP for 100 years, says PM Kakar

    Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has firmly rejected the possibility of engaging in negotiations with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), emphasizing that Pakistan is powerful enough to fight them for the next 100 years.


    “Don’t you see that their people are being killed daily? Our people are also being martyred. So what kind of talks or impediments [you are talking about]? They are killing my children and I am killing them,” he told the media during his visit to Peshawar on Friday.


    “The state of Pakistan is powerful enough to fight the TTP, not just for one year, rather a 100 years,” the interim premier said.


    When questioned about the challenges in negotiations with the TTP, the Prime Minister emphasized that the primary hurdle was the absence of any willingness on their part to engage in dialogue. “We don’t want to talk to them. Who told you that we have any intention to talk with TTP,” he asked. Pakistan has witnessed a notable increase in terrorist activities, Kakar observed, particularly in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan in recent months. This surge has seen TTP militants targeting both security forces and innocent civilians.

  • Female staff being harassed by seniors in Multan Development Agency for not following illegal orders

    Female staff being harassed by seniors in Multan Development Agency for not following illegal orders

    Journalist Salman Qureshi has filed a detailed report about the discriminatory system and exploitation of the Multan Development Authority.

    According to the details filed in Daily Express, the Director General of Multan Development Agency (MDA) has started harassing women officers who did not obey illegal orders.

    A senior female officer at Multan Development Authority refused to work under a junior officer. The Director General MDA, in response, rejected her request for leave.

    According to the details, the Director General, Dr. Zahid Ikram, removed the director of town planning, Anaiza Hira, and gave the charge of the directorship to a junior officer, Ali Raza.

    As a result, senior officers, including Dr. Anaiza Hira, refused to work under the junior officer.

    Dr. Hira then submitted a leave application after being removed from her post, but Dr. Ikram did not accept her request and kept it hanging for days, directing administration officers to do likewise.

    It is also being reported that the female officers have been reprimanded. Under these circumstances, reports of the female officers fainting have also come to light. One female officer who fainted was given the required treatment within the office premises after calling the dispenser.

    In another case, assistant director of the town planning department, Sanbla Mumtaz, was called to the office and reprimanded for carrying out a task. Out of tension and under stress, she fell unconscious.

    Female employees were called to pick her up who then shifted her to another room and called the dispenser to provide first aid in the office.

    This was followed by a wave of anxiety among other women officers who no longer feel safe.

  • In pictures: Fawad Khan spotted at Mahira Khan’s wedding

    In pictures: Fawad Khan spotted at Mahira Khan’s wedding

    Mahira Khan has uploaded a video of the Qawali night held at PC Bhurban during her wedding celebrations. Among the star-studded celebrity guests was her Humsafar co-star Fawad Khan.

    Screenshots show Fawad Khan lounging among the celebrity guests as they enjoy a performance by Abida Parveen.

    Instagram users were overjoyed over the five second cameo of the heart throb, who co-starred opposite Mahira in the blockbuster ‘Maula Jatt’.

    Other celebrities spotted at Mahira’s wedding in the video were Sarmad Khoosat, Sheheryar Munawar and Momal Sheikh.

    READ MORE: Here are all the celebrities who were present at Mahira Khan, Salim Karim’s wedding

  • 12,000 fake passports recovered from Afghans in Saudi Arabia

    12,000 fake passports recovered from Afghans in Saudi Arabia

    The staggering number of 12,000 Pakistani passports have been found in the possession of Afghan nationals in Saudi Arabia, media reports have confirmed.

    The discovery comes as law enforcement agencies initiate a crackdown against people and groups involved in the issuance of fake citizen documents to illegal immigrants.

    According to reports by Geo News, the Pakistani embassy in Riyadh was informed of the passports by Saudi authorities.

    An investigation into the matter has been initiated by Director General Immigration and Passports Directorate Mustafa Kazi and the Federal Investigation Agency.

    The prime suspect, Umar Javed, has been arrested in Lahore for making fake passports.

    Earlier, a former officer and a serving grade-15 officer of the Passport Directorate were arrested and probed in regards to the issuance of fake documents.

    As reported by Azaz Syed on Geo news, an interior ministry official has asserted that a detailed investigation is underway and NADRA data is also being counterchecked.