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  • Court rejects Khan’s bail petition in May 9 cases

    Court rejects Khan’s bail petition in May 9 cases

    An anti-terrorism court has turned down the bail petition of incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan in three cases related to the May 9 violent protests, GEO News reported on Tuesday.

    Judge Khalid Arshad of Lahore ATC announced the reserved verdict after hearing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) founder bail pleas in the May 9 violent protest cases.

    The riots occurred last year after Imran Khan was arrested in a corruption case.

    Several PTI supporters attacked multiple state buildings, including Jinnah House Lahore and GHQ Pakistan Army Rawalpindi.

    The incarcerated former Prime Minister was ousted from office through a no-confidence motion in April 2022, and currently, he is in Adiala jail facing corruption and terrorism cases.  
     
    Imran Khan also secured relief in multiple cases, including a £190 million reference and the Toshakhan case. However, he will remain behind bars due to his conviction in the Iddat case.

  • ‘Sans par bhi tax ley lein,’ Sindh to tax Netflix subscriptions

    ‘Sans par bhi tax ley lein,’ Sindh to tax Netflix subscriptions

    If you’re a Netflix user in Pakistan, get ready to pay more for the streaming service. The Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) has added new taxes to your subscription fees.
    Starting now, Netflix users will have to pay a 3% sales tax on IT services. Additionally, if you’re making an international transaction to pay for your subscription and you’re a tax filer, there’s a five percent advance tax. On top of that, there’s a four percent card transaction charge when using debit or credit cards, plus a federal excise duty.


    Out of all the over-the-top (OTT) streaming services, Netflix continues to be the most well-known. It offers highly regarded TV series, films, documentaries, and other original material in various genres.
    The platform allows viewers to stream content on-demand over the internet to a variety of devices, including PCs, mobile phones, tablets, TVs, and consoles. While Pakistanis consume a lot of free content, many are happily paying for premium OTT services like Netflix.


    Recently, a new Finance Bill was introduced in 2024 that imposes tax on tech companies like Netflix that earn income in Pakistan through digital means and presence, even without a physical establishment.
    Last month The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has served a notice to Netflix for recovery of over Rs. 200 million in income tax.
    Effective immediately, subscribers will see additional charges on their Netflix subscriptions. Here’s how the new taxes will affect the current subscription rates:

    Mobile Plan: PKR 250
    Basic Plan: PKR 450
    Standard Plan: PKR 800
    Premium Plan: PKR 1,100

    Here are the Netflix subscription plans and their rates in Pakistan after the new taxes:

    Mobile Plan: PKR 324.80
    Basic Plan: PKR 584.64
    Standard Plan: PKR 1,039.36
    Premium Plan: PKR 1,429.12


    These new taxes are part of the government’s efforts to generate more revenue from digital services. So, the next time you settle down for a Netflix binge, be prepared for these extra charges on your bill.
    This new taxes significantly increase the total cost of Netflix subscriptions in Pakistan. This is something users need to be aware of when budgeting for their monthly entertainment expenses.

  • How can we revive dying Pakistani eSports?

    How can we revive dying Pakistani eSports?

    Pakistan’s eSports scene is struggling, while other countries like India and Nepal have a massive audience. We need to work together to revive our eSports sector.

    PUBG Mobile was banned in India in 2020, but the game makers made a new version called Battle Grounds Mobile India (BGMI) for the country because they have a vast audience. Their creators are consistent on social media platforms. I was watching a BGMI live streamer, Jonathan, in India on YouTube, who has more than six million subscribers, and his live stream crossed 136,000 viewers. Meanwhile, there is a maximum of seven to nine thousand live audiences on Pakistan PUBG mobile official channels.

    Here are some initiatives that can help us to revive eSports in Pakistan.

    1-Building Online Presence

    We must encourage eSports players to build their online presence on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. This will help them gain recognition with a broader audience.

    2-Supporting Local Events

    We need to support our local tournaments and events to create hype. This will attract sponsors and investors and provide a platform for gamers to showcase their skills. In Pakistan, no one is ready to invest because we have a smaller audience. A few events have been organized in the last year, like Gamekey Arena, Gamer Galaxy eSports Festival, and now the Zong Manhunt series 2024.

    3-Building a Strong Community

    We must develop a strong community that promotes and celebrates our eSports players. We have some minor social media pages like esportsnetworkpk, Tysonesports, Esportsguypk, Instantesport, Gamingnewspk and Soomro, who are helping to promote our eSports.

    4-Collaborating with Education

    We must collaborate with schools and universities to create eSports programs and teams. This will help identify new talent for the future, and eSports is a significant source of income.

    5-Ask the government to help with visa issues

    Pakistani eSports players face visa issues in Malaysia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Nepal. In the past, Pakistan’s Tekken star Arslan Ash missed a big event due to a visa issue, while Pakistan PUBG mobile teams i8 and 52 eSports didn’t go to Brazil despite qualifying for Pubg Mobile Global Open (PMGO).

    Reviving Pakistani eSports requires a collective effort. We need to work together to create a supportive system that encourages creators and players, attracts investors, and celebrates talent.

  • Wave of Terror: Pakistan mourns eight killed in separate attacks across KP

    Wave of Terror: Pakistan mourns eight killed in separate attacks across KP

    The security situation in Pakistan has gotten grim as eight people – five security officials and three children – lost their lives in three separate terror attacks in Lakki Marwat, North Waziristan, and South Waziristan yesterday.

    In North Waziristan, Captain Muhammad Osama Bin Arshad, 24, who belonged to Rawalpindi district, embraced martyrdom during an intense clash between forces and terrorists.

    The military’s media wing has stated that a sanitisation operation was underway to eliminate any remaining militants in the area.

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir attended the Captain’s funeral on Tuesday.

    Meanwhile, in South Waziristan, three soldiers lost their lives, and 12 others were injured in a militant attack in the district.

    A police officer and his three minor nephews lost their lives in Lakki Marwat district.

  • Matric student commits suicide in Lahore

    Matric student commits suicide in Lahore

    Unsatisfied with his academic low score, a matriculation student in Lahore committed suicide after the result was released yesterday (July 9).

    15-year-old Arsalan, a resident of the border village of Padana in Lahore, took his own life by jumping from the water tank. He suffered multiple head and neck injuries, which proved fatal, reported Dawn.

    The police said that the boy was disappointed by his low score. The forensic team and the police collected the evidence.

    Results of matriculation examinations have been announced by 9 education boards of Punjab, including the Lahore Board.

  • 20 year sentence for Saudi teacher over social media posts

    20 year sentence for Saudi teacher over social media posts

    Saudi Arabia has sentenced a teacher to 20 years in prison over critical social media posts, Human Rights Watch and the convicted man’s brother said Tuesday.

    Asaad al-Ghamdi, 47, was arrested in November 2022, in a nighttime raid on his home in the Saudi city of Jeddah, according to HRW.

    He was convicted on May 29 by Saudi Arabia’s Specialised Criminal Court, which was established in 2008 to try suspects accused of terrorism, the New York-based rights group said.

    He was sentenced “to 20 years in prison on charges related to his peaceful social media activity”, HRW added, calling it “yet another escalation in the country’s ever-worsening crackdown on freedom of expression”.

    Court documents reviewed by HRW showed that Ghamdi was charged with “challenging the religion and justice of the King and the Crown Prince” and “publishing false and malicious news and rumors”.

    According to HRW, the posts used as evidence against him criticised projects related to the Vision 2030 reform agenda.

    One post mourned Abdallah al-Hamed, a leading Saudi human rights figure who died in prison following his conviction on charges relating to his activism.

    Ghamdi faces the same charges as his brother Mohammad, a government critic who denounced alleged corruption and human rights abuses on social media.

    Mohammad was sentenced to death last year based on his social media activity.

    Their third brother, Saeed, an Islamic scholar and government critic living in exile in the United Kingdom, condemned the latest move by Saudi authorities.

    “The accusations are arbitrary and unjust because they are all based on tweets,” Saeed told AFP, commenting on the verdict against Asaad.

    “Maybe I am the target,” he added.

    Over the past two years, the Saudi judiciary has convicted and handed down lengthy prison terms to dozens of individuals for their social media posts, according to rights groups.

    They include Nourah al-Qahtani, who was sentenced to 45 years in prison in 2022, largely over social media posts criticising the government

    Salma al-Shehab, a member of the Sunni-ruled kingdom’s Shiite minority, was sentenced to 34 years behind bars in 2022 for aiding dissidents seeking to “disrupt public order” in the kingdom by relaying their tweets.

    Manahel al-Otaibi, a 29-year-old blogger and fitness instructor, was arrested in November 2022 for challenging Saudi male guardianship laws and requirements for women to wear the customary body-shrouding abaya robe.

    The Specialised Criminal Court sentenced her to 11 years in prison on January 9, but the sentence was only made public later in a Saudi submission to United Nations special rapporteurs enquiring about the case.

  • How many motorbikes were stolen in Karachi last month?

    How many motorbikes were stolen in Karachi last month?

    Looting incidents continue in Karachi،, withh car and motorcycle snatching and theft.

    According to details, the Citizens Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) released the June statistics related to increasing crimes in Karachi, stating that most reported incidents were car and motorcycle snatching and theft.

    Due to the poor performance of the Anti-Vehicle Lifting System (AVLC), criminals target vehicles and motorcycles in Karachi.

    The CPLC report said that 24 vehicles were seized and 135 were stolen from different areas of Karachi in 30 hedays, in which only 80 cars could be recovered.

    A total of 564 motorcycles were taken from citizens at gunpoint and 2792 motorcycles were stolen in Karachi, out of which the police could recover only 196 motorcycles.

    Apart from this, 1433 mobile phones of citizens were taken away by the accused at gunpoint in different areas, and the police could recover only 18 mobile phones.

    In June, 6 cases of extortion were registered within Karachi, and 40 people were killed in different areas of Karachi in the same month.

  • Euro Cup semi-final: Spain reaches the finals after defeating France

    Euro Cup semi-final: Spain reaches the finals after defeating France

    In the first semi-final of the Euro Cup, Spain defeated France by two goals to one and qualified for the final. The semi-final was played in Munich, Germany.

    France took the lead against Spain by scoring in the eighth minute of the match. Randal Kolo Muani scored a goal for France.

    France’s lead against Spain didn’t last long. In the 21st minute of the match, 16-year-old Lamine Yamal of the Spanish team levelled the score at one.

    Lamine Yamal became the youngest player to score a goal in the history of the Euro Cup. The previous youngest scorer in the European Championship was the Swiss player Johan Vonlanthen, who scored against France at 18 in the 2004 Euro Cup.

    In the 21st minute, after the match was tied at one, Spain attacked again against France. In the 25th minute, Dani Olmo scored a wonderful goal to give the team the lead, which was maintained until the scheduled time of the match, and Spain qualified for the final.

    The second team to reach the final will be decided after the second semi-final between England and Holland.

  • PCB removes Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq from selection committee

    PCB removes Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq from selection committee

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has removed Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq from the national cricket team selection committee.

    According to Geo, after their retirement, Muhammad Yusuf and Asad Shafiq are members of the selection committee, and Bilal Afzal is also a member.

    Sources say the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has lost faith in both for some time, but the PCB still has faith in Mohammad Yousuf and Asad Shafiq. Their involvement in the T20 World Cup squad selection was high, and these selectors favoured the same players who did not perform.

    Four former cricketers, Wahab Riaz, Abdul Razzaq, Asad Shafiq, and Muhammad Yusuf, were included in the national cricket team’s selection committee. Wahab Riaz was also the team’s senior manager.

    The PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi had an important meeting with the coaches of the Pakistan Cricket Team, Gary Kirsten, Jason Gillespie and Assistant Coach Azhar Mehmood.

  • Gautam Gambhir appointed head coach of Indian cricket team

    Gautam Gambhir appointed head coach of Indian cricket team

    Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has been appointed as the head coach of the Indian team.

    Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Jay Shah announced the appointment, saying, “We welcome Gautam Gambhir as the head coach of the Indian cricket team. I am confident that Gautam Gambhir is an ideal person for Indian cricket. He has vast experience in cricket, and his vision for Team India is very clear.”

    He said that the Indian Cricket Board will fully support Gautam Gambhir in his new journey.

    Rahul Dravid’s coaching career with the Indian cricket team ended with the T20 World Cup win. He announced his resignation after the T20 World Cup.