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Author: News Desk

  • ‘Breath of fresh air’: Opposition reacts to DG ISPR’s press conference

    ‘Breath of fresh air’: Opposition reacts to DG ISPR’s press conference

    Director-General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar’s presser on Thursday is being appreciated by the Opposition after weeks of political drama.

    Reacting to DG ISPR declaring that the word “conspiracy” had not been used in the statement issued after the March 31 meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari termed the news conference of the military spokesman a “breath of fresh air for democracy”.

    “It is [the] responsibility not only of every institution but every Pakistani to support democracy, constitution, and rule of law,” tweeted Bilawal.

    “Parliament , Judiciary & establishment transition from controversial to constitutional roles will not be easy. The answer to all of Pakistans problems is democracy, democracy and more democracy. If we continue on this path no power on earth can stop Pakistan’s progress,” said Bilawal.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz tweeted, “It is time to make you accountable for your condemnable efforts […] to play with the national security in a bid to save [your] regime.”

    “Face accountability, do not run away like always because this nation won’t let you this time,” said Maryam. Her words were directed at former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.

    “You played a dangerous game to cling to power and used the NSC forum for your conspiracy plot. You built a fake narrative of absolutely not for the bases that were never demanded. You begged the establishment for an NRO and lied that they gave you those options,” tweeted Maryam.

    Addressing a press conference on the recently held 79th Formation Commanders’ Conference, the DG ISPR said he cannot discuss what was discussed in the NSC meeting, but noted that the word “conspiracy” was not used.

    DG ISPR said that the establishment did not put forth options before Khan. He, however, said that during the deadlock, Prime Minister’s Office contacted the military leadership to resolve the matter.

    “The political parties were not ready for talks with each other to end the deadlock at that time,” he said. “The army chief and DG ISI visited the PM’s Office at their request to play the role of mediator.”

  • VIDEO: Wasim Akram wears suit to swimming pool, gives a special message to trolls

    VIDEO: Wasim Akram wears suit to swimming pool, gives a special message to trolls

    In a video circulating on social media, cricket legend Wasim Akram can be seen wearing a suit in a swimming pool. In the video, Akram gave a special message to people who trolled him “like grandfathers”.

    Wasim said that last year he posted a video in a swimming pool, and some people started criticising him for being shirtless.

    “Are you happy now? I’m swimming wearing a suit,” said Wasim to his trolls.

    Wasim’s wife Shaniera also shared the video of her husband jumping into a swimming pool while wearing a suit.

    https://twitter.com/iamShaniera/status/1514845867299201027

    In September 2020, Wasim posted a video of himself in the swimming pool. Soon after he posted the video, social media users came under his post to criticise him for not wearing a shirt.

  • Massive hike of Rs83.5 for petrol, Rs119 for diesel proposed by OGRA

    Massive hike of Rs83.5 for petrol, Rs119 for diesel proposed by OGRA

    The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) suggested the federal government elevate fuel prices by up to Rs83.5 per liter for petrol and Rs119 for diesel.

    A summary to the petroleum division was presented by OGRA for the huge increase in petroleum rates to come into effect on April 16 in Pakistan.

    The proposed raise was calculated using a 70 per cent GST rate plus a Rs30 per liter levy. It is worth noting that the current duty on fuel and diesel is Rs30 per liter, plus 17 per cent GST.

    On the basis of complete levy and taxes, the body has recommended raising petrol prices by Rs83.5 per liter, while diesel prices should be raised by Rs119 per liter.

    According to reports, the OGRA proposed raising the petrol price to Rs21.53 per liter in line with the current tax rate, Rs51.3 for diesel, and Rs77.56 for kerosine oil on the grounds of full tax and levy.

    Read more: Gold prices go up by Rs350 per tola to Rs130,300

    Concerning other oil products, a full tax rate and levy hike of Rs77.31 was suggested for light diesel, Rs36.5 for kerosine oil, and Rs38.89 for light diesel. According to sources, the finance ministry would make the final decision on the OGRA summary after briefing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

  • Elon Musk offers $43 billion to acquire Twitter

    Elon Musk offers $43 billion to acquire Twitter

    Elon Musk has submitted a takeover bid for Twitter, offering $54.20 per share, days after becoming the group’s largest shareholder. This is an offer worth more than $43 billion.

    According to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, Mr. Musk described this as a “best and last offer,” reflecting a 54 per cent premium over the day before he commenced investing in the business in late January 2022.

    Musk stated in the filing that “I don’t have faith in the management” and that he could not make the adjustments he desired in the public market.

    As per a letter written to CEO Salesforce and chairman of Twitter, Bret Taylor, Musk stated that if the proposal is not accepted, he will reassess his status as a shareholder as Twitter has a lot of potential which needs to be unlocked.

    The billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and the world’s richest man, purchased a 9.2 per cent share in Twitter on April 4, according to a regulatory filing. The tech mogul was invited to join Twitter’s board of directors the next day, but he denied the offer by the end of the week.

    Musk wrote to Mr. Taylor on April 13: “I invested in Twitter because I believe it has the potential to be the global platform for free speech, and I believe free speech is a societal requirement for a healthy democracy”.

    Read more: Elon Musk is no longer joining Twitter board as the microblogging network is “dying”

    “However, after making my investment, I’ve come to recognize that the company, in its current form, can neither thrive nor serve this societal need,” he wrote. “Twitter should be turned into a private firm”.

    Considering the tweeted document, Musk’s financial adviser for the proposal is Morgan Stanley.

  • Video: Ranbir-Alia dance their hearts out on ‘Chaiyaan Chaiyaan’, Bollywood chartbusters

    Video: Ranbir-Alia dance their hearts out on ‘Chaiyaan Chaiyaan’, Bollywood chartbusters

    Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt’s D-Day tied the knot yesterday as they read their wedding vows and tied the knot at Bandra residence Vastu.

    Fans have been going gaga over the couple as they desperately waited to see them in their bride and groom avatars. Alia shared the very first photos of her wedding with Ranbir, and they scream love and joy.

    Ranbir Kapoor-Alia Bhatt Wedding: INSIDE PICS of 3-tier cake, happy faces of Neetu, Kareena, Ayan & more
    FIRST PICS of Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt as husband and wife are OUT; Newlyweds share a passionate kiss

    The couple’s dance videos are now circulating on the web. The Brahmastra pair can be seen grooving to Chaiyaan Chaiyaan. Alia also performed with her mentor Karan Johar.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq1YIbAJnzw
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfpiwA6YWyU
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k_H7Rn6Jyk
    Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt Wedding Live Updates: Mr And Mrs Kapoor: - First Pics Of Ranbir Kapoor And Alia Bhatt After Wedding

    On Wednesday in a video, when Neetu was quizzed about how she feels about Alia. To this, the senior actress stated, “She is the best. Bahut cute hai”. Riddhima also agreed with Neetu and called Alia a doll.

    She emphasised that Alia is too sweet and that she is the best.

    The Brahmastra duo will be having a traditional wedding in presence of their close friends and families. The wedding will be followed by a grand reception on April 17 which is expected to be a starry affair. Celebs like Ranveer Singh, Shah Rukh Khan, Ayan Mukerji, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, etc. According to media reports, Ranbir and Alia will be heading to South Africa for their honeymoon. 

    neetu-riddhima-praise-alia-2.jpg

    Earlier Neetu praised her performance as the mafia queen Gangubai in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi. 

    She shared the poster of her latest released film, and wrote, “Watch how Alia Bhatt hits the ball out of the park.”

    Alia Bhatt impresses Neetu Kapoor with performance in Gangubai Kathiawadi

    Ranbir’s sister, Riddhima Kapoor Sahani, had dropped in her comment section and lauded her with a series of clapping emojis. 

    She wrote, “When two living legends come together and create magic #sanjayleelabhansali #aliabhatt what a fantastic movie! Brilliant performance! Alia Bhatt you nailed it.”

  • World treats crises affecting blacks, whites unequally, regrets WHO chief

    The WHO chief said on Wednesday that the world was treating humanitarian crises affecting black and white lives unequally, with only a “fraction” of the attention on Ukraine given elsewhere.

    According to the AFP, World Health Organisation’s director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the emergencies happening in other parts of the world were not being taken as seriously and hoped the international community “comes back to its senses”.

    “I don’t know if the world really gives equal attention to black and white lives,” Tedros told a news conference. “The whole attention to Ukraine is very important of course, because it impacts the whole world.

    “But even a fraction of it is not being given to Tigray, Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria and the rest. A fraction.

    “I need to be blunt and honest that the world is not treating the human race the same way. Some are more equal than others. And when I say this, it pains me. Because I see it. Very difficult to accept but it’s happening.”

    Tedros, who is himself from Tigray, said the United Nations had determined that 100 trucks per day of life-saving humanitarian supplies needed to be going into the besieged northern region of Ethiopia.

    The country’s former health and foreign minister said that since a truce was declared, at least 2,000 trucks should have gone in, but only 20 have done so thus far.

    Tedros said he was worried that the 20 trucks going in could be just a “diplomatic manoeuvre” on the part of the government in Addis Ababa.

    “In effect, the siege by the Ethiopian and Eritrean forces continues,” he said.

    “To avert the humanitarian calamity and hundreds of thousands more people from dying, we need unfettered humanitarian access from those reinforcing the siege.” But Tedros said global attention was simply not being placed on such humanitarian crises.

    “I hope the world comes back to its senses and treats all human life equally,” he said.

    “What is happening in Ethiopia is a tragic situation. People are being burned alive… because of their ethnicity…. Without any crime. “So we need to balance. We need to take every life seriously because every life is precious.”

    The UN says hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of starvation in Tigray, where people have for months also faced fuel shortages and a lack of basic services such as electricity, telecommunications, internet and banking.

    Across northern Ethiopia, the 17-month conflict has driven more than two million people from their homes, according to the UN, and left more than nine million people in need of food aid.

  • Fact check: Was Khan’s Peshawar jalsa visible from space?

    Fact check: Was Khan’s Peshawar jalsa visible from space?

    Claim: Imran Khan’s jalsa in Peshawar was visible from space as shown in a photography taken by NASA

    Fact:

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s Peshawar jalsa was massive. Visuals and videos from the jalsa are doing the rounds on social media. However, PTI leader Ali Muhammad Khan went overboard as he shared a photo from the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), claiming that it was from the party’s rally.

    Ali M Khan shared three pictures on Twitter after the rally, and among them was a picture from NASA, which was a snap captured from the International Space Station.

    Screenshot of Ali Muhamamd Khan’s tweet

    The picture shared by the PTI leader actually shows the lights in the Iberian Peninsula, which falls in Spain and Portugal. This picture was taken by NASA and published on their website in 2014.

    “One of the Expedition 40 crew members aboard the International Space Station recorded this early evening photo of the entire Iberian Peninsula on July 26, 2014,” the NASA post read.

    VERDICT: FALSE

  • Imran Khan says ‘mistake’ made when filing a presidential reference against SC judge Faez Isa

    During a meeting with the Insaf Lawyers Forum (ILF), former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan accepted his mistake of filing a presidential reference for the removal of Supreme Court (SC) judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa, reports Hasnaat Malik for The Express Tribune.

    As per the news outlet, several attendees of the meeting have said that Khan thinks that the then relevant officials had misguided his government and Khan himself was not interested in pursuing the reference against Justice Faez Isa. Former Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan had convinced him that Justice Isa was an honest judge and he was misled in this case.

    A senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawyer said that Khan believed that one section within the judiciary was annoyed because of this reference case.

    In 2020, Khan accused Justice Faez of concealing assets and filed a reference against him. Justice Isa then asked the Supreme Court that a full bench be constituted, a plea that was accepted by then Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khosa and after a months-long trial, in November a full bench of the apex court dismissed the petition against him.

    The purpose of the meeting with ILF was to discuss PTI’s social media activists who were being harassed by law enforcement agencies.

    PTI Secretary Asad Umar has announced that a petition will be filed against these unlawful and illegal raids and harassment of the party workers in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) today (Thursday).

  • What did the new first lady do during PM’s Karachi visit?

    The newly-appointed Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif went to Karachi on a daylong visit on Wednesday where he paid a visit to the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad and met Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah. 

    The First Lady of Pakistan Tehmina Durrani also accompanied the PM on his maiden visit. Durrani shared a picture of herself at Abdul Sattar Edhi’s grave in Karachi.

    In a tweet, she said, “While PM Shehbaz Sharif paid his respects at Founder of the Nation’s Mazar, I went with Saba and Saad Edhi to salute Abdul Sattar Edhi for his relentless lifelong efforts two actualize The Quaid dream for Pakistan: A Social Welfare State. The directions are on his gravestone.”

    She then visited Abdul Sattar Edhi’s wife Bilquise Edhi who is currently hospitalised. She shared a picture with a caption: “Today Bilquise and I wept a river in her hospital room. She cried for Edhi sb and I cried for her. She is so unwell! And when she called me the first lady I squirmed. Indeed no first lady can match up to the greatness of Edhi’s Bilquise.”

    Durrani is a philanthropist, human rights activist, artist and celebrated author of four books. She married Shehbaz Sharif in 2003.

  • Here’s a look at the upcoming Honda Vezel 2023

    Here’s a look at the upcoming Honda Vezel 2023

    Honda’s mini-SUV, the HR-V is finally approaching its second generation. The upcoming model will have some significant upgrades from styling to engine performance.

    It will be bulkier, futuristic, and more powerful than the previous model, with better looks than the smaller, hybrid-only European variant introduced in 2021.

    VEZEL and HR-V confusion

    For those who may not know, the original name for ‘Honda Vezel’ is ‘Honda HR-V’. This hybrid vehicle has become quite famous in Pakistan for its good looks and impressive fuel consumption despite being an expensive completely built-up (CBU) unit. It is mostly witnessed with a ‘Vezel’ badging instead of ‘HR-V’ here.

    The Japanese automaker said that the new subcompact SUV will be based on the same platform as the international Honda Civic variants. It has a longer wheelbase than before, and the rear suspension is now independent.

    Engine and Performance

    One important thing Honda revealed about the powertrain is that it will be a more responsive engine as compared to the prior one, which might be the Civic’s 180-hp turbocharged 1.5-liter inline-four, replacing the existing HR-V’s 141-horsepower 1.8-liter inline-four.

    The HR-V’s engine for the base model could be the naturally aspirated 158-hp 2.0-liter inline-four from the Civic’s lower trim levels. Front-wheel drive will almost certainly be standard, with all-wheel drive as an option, and a CVT automatic transmission will almost certainly be the only transmission option. A hybrid HR-V is also expected to enter the lineup, though it may arrive later than the fuel-only model.

    Read more: Car sales up by 53.7 per cent in 2022, despite repeated price hikes

    Honda has not officially revealed any photographs or details of the HR-V’s interior, however, it will be exciting to see how the new platform will affect its packaging. As the fuel tank was positioned behind the front seats, the previous HR-V, like the Fit, had a surprisingly low cargo floor.

    The LX, Sport, EX, and EX-L variants from the current model are anticipated to continue over. Honda also published a video showcasing the new HR-V in a variety of colours, including red, silver, black, and white. Unfortunately, there is no official statement released by the company regarding its price and availability in other regions.