Current Final

Author: News Desk

  • Gold price jumps Rs900 per tola as Rupee declines

    Gold price jumps Rs900 per tola as Rupee declines

    The price of gold in Pakistan increased by Rs900 per tola as the Pakistani rupee continued its downward trend against the US dollar, crossing the Rs184 threshold in the interbank market once more. The yellow metal increased by Rs900 per tola and Rs771 per ten gramme to Rs133,300 and Rs114,283, respectively.

    Gold fell $15 per ounce on the international market, settling at $1,976 per ounce. When compared to the Dubai market, gold prices in Pakistan are roughly Rs4,000 lower.

    Silver prices in the local market, meanwhile, remained stable at Rs1,520 and Rs1,303.15.

    The rupee declined by 0.54 per cent versus the US dollar, closing at Rs182.54 after winning three paisas and settling at Rs181.55 on Saturday, April 16. During the open market session, the Indian rupee (INR) touched an intraday high of Rs181.00 versus the US dollar.

    Read more: PKR declines against US Dollar after winning for a week

    The consumer market is still torn between those who see gold as a hedge against inflation, growth concerns, and high volatility in other financial markets and those who do not.

  • [VIDEO] Man hangs from balcony after fight with wife in India

    A man attempted to commit suicide by hanging from a balcony of his house after a fight with his wife in Ghaziabad, a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP). A video of the incident went viral across social media in which his family can be seen trying to pull him up from the first floor of the house.

    According to police, the incident took place in the Ghaziabad area of Uttar Pradesh. The wife of the hanging man immediately called in Indian cops to rescue her husband.

    Indian Police officer shared the video on Twitter, “It’s serious… After a quarrel with his wife, a man tried to commit suicide by hanging himself from the balcony. Meanwhile, people pulled him up and saved him.”

    However, his family rescued him with help of some neighbours.

    Hilarious reactions from Twitter users were seen on the viral video

    One user wrote, “Ghar main ghuste hi ek rehpat pada hai 100%.” Another user suggested not to get married.

  • 3Qs of FY-2022: Food exports up by 18.92% to $3.961 bln: PBS

    3Qs of FY-2022: Food exports up by 18.92% to $3.961 bln: PBS

    The national food exports recorded a huge increase of 18.92 per cent during the first three quarters of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year, informed Pakistan Bureau of Statics (PBS).

    The PBS data showed the number increased to $3,961.469 million during July-March (2021-22) from $3,331.257 million in July-March (2020-21).

    Rice exports, with an increase of 14.96 percent, increased from $1,560.429 million to $1,793.909 million.

    The Basmati rice increased from $408.117 million to $496.389 million, which is a 21.63 percent increase. Moreover, an increase in other rice products were recorded from $1,152.312 million to $1,297.519 million, which is a 12.60 sharing growth increase.

    The fish and its related items exports increased from $303.782 million to $309.979 million which is 2.04 percent increase. About fruit exports, the PBS data revealed that the numbers increased from $378.575 million to $294.538 million, which is a 4.22 percent increase.

    The exports of vegetables increased by 1.09 percent, from $245.739 million to $248.413 million; leguminous vegetables (pulses) by 100 percent, from zero exports to $0.068 million; tobacco by 59.35 percent, from $24.736 million to $39.418 million; spices by 18.05 percent, from $70.524 million to $83.251 million; oil seeds, nuts and kernals by 131.41 percent, from $76.348 million to $176.678 million; meat and meat preparations by 1.18 percent, from $247.010 million to $249.934 million whereas the exports of all other food items increased by 56.86 percent, from $424.114 million to $665.282 million.

    Meanwhile, on a year-on-year basis, the exports of food commodities went up by 10.22 percent during March 2022 as compared to the same month last year. They were recorded at $526.466 million against the exports of $477.668 million.

  • Unavailability of head judge: LHC puts off plea seeking removal of Nawaz’s name from ECL

    Unavailability of head judge: LHC puts off plea seeking removal of Nawaz’s name from ECL

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday adjourned a petition seeking removal of Nawaz Sharif’s name from the exit control list (ECL) due to the absence of head judge of the divisional bench.

    According to ARY News, the division bench hearing the petition seeking removal of the name of Nawaz Sharif from ECL was disbanded after absence of Justice Shahbaz Ali. The LHC registrar office cancelled the cause list due unavailability of the head judge of the bench.

    It is to be recalled that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) declared former prime minister Nawaz Sharif as a proclaimed offender in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia references in December 2020.

    The IHC divisional bench declared the PML-N supremo as a fugitive over his failure to appear in the court despite being summoned repeatedly. The court issued show-cause notices to the guarantors of the former premier.

    It is to be mentioned here that the PML-N supreme leader has been declared a proclaimed offender in two other cases, including the Toshakhana reference and illegal land allotment case.

  • PML-N disbands Information Ministry’s Digital Media Wing for ‘opposition hate speech’

    PML-N disbands Information Ministry’s Digital Media Wing for ‘opposition hate speech’

    The new PML-N government has decided to close the Digital Media Wing (DMW), which was formed by the previous PTI administration to publicise official information on social media platforms.

    In her first press conference as minister for information and broadcasting, Marriyum Aurangzeb, on April 19, said the PTI-established DMW was made up of its own workers and bot accounts who targeted the opposition and national institutions.

    The information ministry has established a cyber wing to disseminate the government’s accomplishments and publicise its strategic plan on social media platforms.

    Furthermore, she stated that the cyber wing needed to be more innovative and up to date with changing trends, as well as keep up with offices such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in order to maintain Pakistan’s good image abroad.

    The closure has split industry experts, with the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) welcoming the decision to disband the controversial Digital Media Wing.

    The HRCP has been rejecting the DMW, claiming that it is pursuing the PTI’s agenda against political rivals, and there have been allegations that state resources are being used to advance the party agenda, including trolling media persons.

    Read more: FIA picks up 24 over social media campaign against Pak Army

    Even so, a social media rights activist applauded the decision to transfer the DMW’s responsibilities to the information ministry’s cyber wing, claiming that it would strengthen checks on any misuse of digital media platforms by state entities.

    The PTI established the DMW shortly after taking power in 2018. It was the reincarnation of the Press Information Department’s Social Media Wing (PID).

  • Pakistanis can now stay for 60 days in Dubai on a tourist visa

    United Arab Emirates (UAE) has now allowed Pakistanis to stay for 60 days on a tourist visa as a standard policy from September. It will facilitate people who intend to stay for a long break in the country.

    The country also provides another visa type for job seekers that is called ‘ a job exploration entry visa ‘ which allows people to explore job opportunities in the region.

    The UAE government media office said, “Major improvements include facilitating the entry requirements for all visa types, offering flexible visa durations that meet the needs of the visitors and the purpose of the visit,” will be implemented.

    “In addition, all entry visas are available for single or multiple entry, can be renewed for similar periods, and are valid for 60 days from their issuance date.”

    In the past, UAE had a standard 30-days visa on arrival for many nations including Britain, America, and Australia. People who overstayed were given a nine-day grace period to return to their countries. Otherwise, they were subjected to fines that amounted to 200 dirhams for the first day and 100 dirhams for each consecutive day.

    Nations that do not have a visa on arrival policy such as India and Pakistan have to arrange for a visa through a travel agency before arrival in the UAE.

  • Pakistanis will get slow Internet on Thursday

    Pakistanis will get slow Internet on Thursday

    Internet users in Pakistan will have to deal with slow internet speed tomorrow (Thursday). As per Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the internet speed in Pakistan will be slow on April 21 from 2 am to 7 am, meaning overnight on Thursday, due to a power reconfiguration activity on a section of the international submarine cable.

    “Alternate measures to provide uninterrupted internet services to users will be taken to meet capacity requirements and to return to full functionality as quickly as possible. The availability of internet services will be as usual throughout the country” The PTA said in a tweet.

    Last night the photo-sharing app Instagram was down globally for several users. Most users were unable to access profiles or refresh the feed, for hours.

  • 90’s favourite Nokia is gearing up for a comeback with new devices

    90’s favourite Nokia is gearing up for a comeback with new devices

    Nokia was confronted with a major challenge following the judicial decision in the lawsuit brought against HMD Global. To refresh your memory, a business called VoiceAgeEVS LLC sued the Finish giant in German courts for illegally deploying VoLTE technologies in Nokia handsets.

    Nokia Mobile in response, filed a complaint, which was dismissed, resulting in the withdrawal of smartphones from some European countries. HMD takes intellectual property rights carefully, according to Nokia Mobile, and is ready to provide and acquire licenses on conditions that are fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory.

    Pursuant to VoiceAgeEVS LLC’s discontent with HMD’s legal exercises, a partial ban on Nokia smartphones was imposed. Nokia has already taken measures to ensure that enhanced voice service (EVS) is no longer integrated into its devices sold in Germany, allowing for uninterrupted distribution. In Germany, Austria, and other European nations, phones like the Nokia XR20 and X20 are now eligible for sale in online stores.

    Read more: PTA records 1.73 million new 3G, 4G users in one month

    Nokia C21 is the latest addition to the C-series family, as announced by HMD Global, the house of Nokia devices.

    The new Nokia C21 adds even more value to the popular C-series by preserving the exceptional build quality, hallmark security assurances, and all-day battery life. It costs Rs17,000 and offers improved photos, privacy, and speed for a more enjoyable experience.

  • Twitter reacts to only five women in Shehbaz’s cabinet

    Twitter reacts to only five women in Shehbaz’s cabinet

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet members took oath on Tuesday. In the new setup, the cabinet has 31 federal ministers, three ministers of state and three advisers in the first phase, as has been said by the coalition government.

    As usual, the federal cabinet includes less ratio of females. The list includes:

    Marriyum Aurangzeb – Minister for Information

    Shazia Atta Marri- Chairperson Benazir Income Support Programme

    Hina Rabbani Khar- Minister for Foreign Affairs,

    Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha- Adviser to PM on Finance

    Sherry Rehman- Minister of state for Climate change

    Following the oath-taking, social media users criticise the induction of only five females in the new federal cabinet.

    https://twitter.com/nighatdad/status/1516202173989900290?s=20&t=KfpmmVhVq4a-HOJ0RaeyPw
    https://twitter.com/meinhiburihun/status/1516276827769212931?s=20&t=RsZ9tvKjcuEwfqKS0mnnYA
    https://twitter.com/jawismm/status/1516345385631035398?s=20&t=RsZ9tvKjcuEwfqKS0mnnYA
    https://twitter.com/oblmir/status/1516339630102269953?s=20&t=RsZ9tvKjcuEwfqKS0mnnYA
  • Egypt court cuts TikTok influencer’s sentence to three years

    Egypt court cuts TikTok influencer’s sentence to three years

    An Egyptian court has reduced TikTok influencer Haneen Hossam’s 10-year “human trafficking” sentence to three years, a judicial source has said.

    The source told the AFP news agency on Monday that despite Hossam’s jail time being cut, she was also fined 200,000 Egyptian pounds ($10,740) by the Cairo Criminal Court.

    The targeting of female influencers has rekindled a heated debate in Egypt over what constitutes individual freedoms and social values.

    Hossam was first arrested in 2020 and, along with another influencer named Mawada al-Adham, was sentenced to two years for “attacking society’s values” in online videos. She was detained after posting a video on Instagram explaining how women could earn up to $3,000 by broadcasting videos using the video creation platform Likee, which authorities interpreted as promoting women selling sex online.

    An appeals court acquitted the pair in January last year, but they were later charged with “human trafficking” – a charge Hossam reportedly incurred for telling her 1.3 million followers that girls can make money by working with her on social media.

    Then aged 19, she was sentenced in absentia and arrested last June.

    Adham received a six-year sentence and a 200,000-pound fine. She is still behind bars.

    Hossam’s lawyer Hussein al-Baqar confirmed to AFP that the sentence had been reduced. As she has already served 21 months including time under investigation, “she can be released in June or July”, Baqar said, adding the latest sentence could still be appealed.