Gold prices in Pakistan saw an increase on Tuesday, aligning with a rise in international rates. The price of gold per tola in the local market climbed to Rs257,700, reflecting a gain of Rs1,200.
Similarly, the price of 10-gramme gold rose to Rs220,936, up by Rs1,029, according to the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA). This follows a steady price of Rs256,500 per tola on Monday.
Internationally, gold prices also experienced an uptick. APGJSA reported that the international rate for gold reached $2,458 per ounce, with a premium of $20, marking an increase of $19 for the day.
In contrast, silver prices remained stable at Rs2,850 per tola.
Last month, gold prices saw a significant rise, reaching a record high of Rs257,300 per tola after increasing by Rs2,400.
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Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Lahore, Amara Azhar, has ordered the display of the national flag on all government vehicles and motorcycles.
In a statement Azhar announced that traffic police are making extensive arrangements for Independence Day. During the celebrations, additional personnel will be deployed at Greater Iqbal Park, Wagah, and other key locations.
She also mentioned that special measures are being implemented to address issues such as wheeling and racing.
The CTO stated that temporary speed bumps will be installed to manage traffic during Independence Day celebrations.
Makhdoom Jamiluzzaman, a Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) affiliated Member of the National Assembly (MNA) has expressed disappointment over his party’s performance in Punjab.
‘’Bilawal Bhutto Zardari cannot become Prime Minister (PM) with Sindh votes only,” he said at the ceremony at a local hotel on his father’s 85th birth anniversary.
‘’Punjab PPP leaders have been holding essential party positions yet failing to help Bilawal. Therefore, they must step down or be removed,’’ he stated. Jamiluzzaman, the son of the late PPP stalwart Amin Fahim observed that the same people vote for Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Marium Nawaz and former Prime Minister Imran Khan—but not for Bilawal Bhutto. He questioned his party ‘’Why do these votes not go to Bilawal? Why is the Punjab PPP sleeping? Why are Punjab people holding important positions?”
He also hinted at leading a delegation to meet party leadership to reactivate PPP in Punjab.
Founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan has predicted that the incumbent government, led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), will last only two more months.
Inside Rawalpindi Adiala’s jail, the former Prime Minister told journalists, ‘’The government is plunging into a quagmire; however, the rulers are fools and unable to understand this.’’
’I am predicting this from prison that this government has only two more months.’’ He also said he has enough time, but the incumbent rulers are running out of time.
Earlier, Imran offered to negotiate with the stakeholders in power by selecting Chief Milli Awami Party (MAP) Mahmood Khan Achakzai from his side.
More than 35 planes at Karachi Airport have become junk for years now, with birds laying eggs in them.
The defunct planes have deteriorated amid a dispute over customs and CAA dues. Among the grounded planes are an Airbus 310 and two jumbo 747s, many of which have been damaged.
Some planes belong to PIA, among other airlines, and could not be removed because of the ongoing issue.
Reports stated that some parts of the parts have gone missing but the spokesperson clarified that these reports are not true, reports Aaj.tv.
Countries on the frontlines of climate change have warned they cannot wait another year for long-sought aid to recover from disasters as floods and hurricanes wreak havoc across the globe.
The appeal came during a meeting of the “loss and damage” fund that will conclude Friday amid concerns it is unlikely to be able to approve climate aid until 2025.
“We cannot wait until the end of 2025 for the first funds to get out the door,” Adao Soares Barbosa, a board member from East Timor and a long-standing negotiator for the world’s poorest nations, told AFP.
“Loss and damage isn’t waiting for us.”
Nearly 200 nations agreed at the UN COP28 summit last November to launch a fund to distribute aid to developing countries to rebuild after climate disasters.
That historic moment has given way to complex negotiations to finalise the fund’s design, which some countries worry will not move at a pace or scale that matches the tempo of extreme weather disasters afflicting their people.
“The urgency of needs of vulnerable countries and communities cannot be left until we have every hair in place for this fund,” said Barbosa.
Experts say damage bills from climate disasters can run into the billions, and there is barely enough cash set aside for loss and damage at present to cover just one such event.
‘Immense pressure’
This year has witnessed a string of catastrophes on multiple continents, from floods and landslides to heatwaves and wildfires.
Delegates met in South Korea for the second meeting of the loss and damage fund this week as Hurricane Beryl left a trail of destruction across the Caribbean and North America.
The “massive” destruction witnessed in recent weeks “puts immense pressure on us to deliver on our work”, Richard Sherman, the South African co-chair of the board steering the negotiations, told the meeting.
The fund said it wanted money approved “as soon as possible, but realistically by mid-2025”, according to an official document seen by AFP.
In an appeal for faster action, Elizabeth Thompson, a board member from Barbados, said Hurricane Beryl alone had caused “apocalyptic” damage worth “multiple billion dollars”.
“In five islands of the Grenadines… 90 percent of the housing is gone… Houses look like packs of cards and strips of wood, roofs are gone, trees are gone, there is no food, there is no water, there is no power,” she said.
“We cannot keep talking while people live and die in a crisis that they do not cause.”
Thompson said the fund needed to reflect “the urgency and the scale required to respond to… the risk, the damage and the devastation faced by people across the world who need this fund”.
– No money, no fund –
Wealthy nations have so far pledged around $661 million to the loss and damage fund. South Korea contributed an additional $7 million at the start of this week’s meeting.
“That would hardly cover the likely losses from one major climate-related disaster,” Camilla More, of the International Institute for Environment and Development, told AFP.
Some estimates suggest developing countries need over $400 billion annually to rebuild after climate-related disasters. One study put the global bill at between $290 billion and $580 billion a year by 2030, and rising after that.
In one example in 2022, unprecedented flooding in Pakistan caused more than $30 billion in damages and economic losses, according to a UN-backed assessment.
Developing nations had been pushing for a specific fund to distribute aid to recover from climate impacts for 30 years, and the agreement struck in November was hailed a major diplomatic breakthrough.
“(But) we can’t have a fund without money,” said Brandon Wu from ActionAid.
Technical discussions are taking place this year over the details of the loss and damage fund, including with the World Bank which will house the fund on an interim basis.
The Philippines was chosen this week to host the fund’s board.
Contentious discussions remain to decide how the money is allocated and in what form it should be made available to countries.
On Tuesday, more than 350 nongovernmental organisations sent a letter to the fund’s board demanding that a substantial share of the money be made directly available as small grants to local communities and indigenous groups.
Why did Mehwish Hayat say no to Bollywood?
Actress Mehwish Hayat has captivated audiences with her versatility in roles in dramas and films like Dillagi, Punjab Nahi Jaungi, London Nahi Jaunga, Daghabaaz Dil and her Hollywood debut Ms. Marvel. But the star has never appeared in a Bollywood project and now we know why.
She ppeared as a guest on Nashpati Prime where she highlighted how fortunate she had been to get offers from Bollywood over her career, but she turned them all down. Mehwish said, “Luckily, I have been blessed to be part of the revival of Pakistani cinema from the beginning. I’ve worked with Nabeel, I’ve worked with Nadeem, and seeing the love people showed for our films, and how great those films were, made me feel I don’t need to go elsewhere to prove myself. I am appreciated in my own country, where actors receive the respect they deserve. However, it’s unfair that due to film promotions, sometimes we don’t even get to watch our films in cinemas for the first time with our team members. So, I prefer to play on my home ground, play well, and enjoy.”
Its time to retire the old adage that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Plenty of women don’t have the time to cook, and that’s perfectly ok too.
In a surprising revelation on the ‘A Plus’ Eid special show, popular actress Zara Noor Abbas shared that she has never cooked for her husband. During the show, she opened up about her aversion to handling meat and limited cooking experiences, giving fans an unexpected glimpse into her personal life.
Zara candidly admitted, “I have never touched meat. I don’t even go near it, I don’t prepare it at all. Nowadays, I am in Lahore and I have been enjoying Eid and guests, but I haven’t been to the kitchen. I don’t cook normally; my husband always requests me to cook something. Well, now I am thinking of cooking namkeen gosht for him. Asad and all his brothers are meat lovers, that’s why I chose this dish.”
Actress Sajal Aly has expressed her wish to work with Indian actor Ranbir Kapoor. She is currently working on a TV drama serial with Hamza Sohail called ‘ Zard Patton ka Bunn’. In a recent interview with Fuchsia magazine, Sajal Aly and Hamza Sohail shared their thoughts on working in Bollywood. Sajal Aly said that she would be interested in working with Ranbir Kapoor.
“I would love to work with Bollywood director Imtiaz Ali and if given the opportunity, I would like to work with Ranbir Kapoor again,” she said.
“There are many talented and experienced actresses in Pakistan, and I would prefer to work with them first,” saif her co-star Hamza Sohail, adding, “I think it’s important to explore the talent we have in our own country before looking elsewhere.”
Sajal Aly has already worked in a Bollywood film, ‘Mom’, with the legendary actress the late Sri Devi.
