Pakistan’s export sector has shown a notable surge, with an 8.93 per cent increase recorded in the initial nine months of the current fiscal year (2023–24) compared to the corresponding period in the previous year.
Data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) indicates that exports soared to $22.914 billion from July to March (2023–24), marking a significant rise from the $21.036 billion recorded during the same timeframe in 2022–2023.
Conversely, imports experienced a decline of 8.65 per cent, dropping to $39.944 billion from $43.724 billion in the previous year.
This resulted in a notable improvement in the trade deficit, which amounted to $17.030 billion for the first nine months of the current fiscal year, showcasing a substantial decrease of 24.94 per cent from the $22.688 billion recorded during the corresponding period last year.
Analyzing the performance for March 2024 against March 2023, exports registered a notable uptick of 7.99 per cent on an annual basis, climbing from $2.366 billion to $2.555 billion.
Conversely, imports surged by 25.86 per cent, reaching $4.726 billion compared to $3.755 billion in March 2023.
In terms of month-to-month performance, while exports in March 2024 experienced a marginal decline of 1.08 per cent from February 2024’s $2.583 billion, imports demonstrated a noteworthy increase of 9.25 per cent from the $4.326 billion recorded in February 2024, as per PBS data.
Pakistan, exports, trade deficit, fiscal year 2023–24, economic growth, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, imports, March 2024, global trade, commerce, trade statistics,
The World Bank’s latest Pakistan Development Update has shed light on the country’s ongoing battle with poverty.
Despite efforts, the poverty headcount rate, measured at the lower-middle-income country poverty line of $3.65/day in 2017 purchasing power parity (PPP), is anticipated to hover around 40 per cent from FY24 to FY26.
The report highlights several key factors contributing to this stagnation in poverty reduction. Weak economic growth, stagnant real labor incomes, and persistently high inflation are cited as primary culprits.
Importantly, the continuation of import management measures and potential cuts in public spending on social sectors are expected to exacerbate the situation.
This could disproportionately affect poorer households, already struggling with depleted savings and reduced incomes.
The combination of chronic inflation and policy uncertainty poses additional challenges, potentially leading to social unrest and negative welfare impacts.
To mitigate these risks, increased targeted transfers are identified as crucial to safeguarding the most vulnerable segments of society.
Moreover, the report warns of potential consequences on education and healthcare. The escalating cost of living, coupled with rising transportation expenses, may result in an increase in out-of-school children and delayed medical treatments, particularly among disadvantaged families.
Food security remains a pressing issue, particularly in rural areas affected by natural disasters such as the 2022 floods.
In 43 rural districts across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Balochistan, acute food insecurity is projected to rise from 29 per cent to 32 per cent in the second and third quarters of FY24.
Lastly, the report underscores the persistent challenge of poor air quality and smog during autumn and winter months.
With 71 per cent of the population affected nationwide, these environmental hazards continue to pose significant public health risks.
At least 29 people have been killed in a fire in a nightclub in Turkey, reports the BBC.
The club was in the basement of a high-rise building in Istanbul. It was closed and undergoing renovations during the day.
Speaking to the media, Istanbul governor Davut Gül said the cause of the fire was not yet clear. Gül also said that the victims of the fire were employees, but it is not clear whether they were contractors or employees of the nightclub.
The investigation is underway. Several people have been arrested in connection with the fire as investigations continue. They include the nightclub manager and the manager of the renovations.
The Mayor of İstanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, offered his condolences on social media.
“May God have mercy on our citizens who lost their lives, and I wish a speedy recovery to our injured,” he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is aware of the tragedy following a phone call with interior minister Ali Yerlikaya.
The world’s most powerful MRI scanner has delivered its first images of human brains, reaching a new level of precision that is hoped will shed more light on our mysterious minds — and the illnesses that haunt them.
Researchers at France’s Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) first used the machine to scan a pumpkin back in 2021. But health authorities recently gave them the green light to scan humans.
Over the past few months, around 20 healthy volunteers have become the first to enter the maw of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine, which is located in the Plateau de Saclay area south of Paris, home to many technology companies and universities.
“We have seen a level of precision never reached before at CEA,” said Alexandre Vignaud, a physicist working on the project.
The magnetic field created by the scanner is a whopping 11.7 teslas, a unit of measurement named after inventor Nikola Tesla.
This power allows the machine to scan images with 10 times more precision than the MRIs commonly used in hospitals, whose power does not normally exceed three teslas.
On a computer screen, Vignaud compared images taken by this mighty scanner, dubbed Iseult, with those from a normal MRI.
“With this machine, we can see the tiny vessels which feed the cerebral cortex, or details of the cerebellum which were almost invisible until now,” he said.
France’s research minister Sylvie Retailleau, herself a physicist, said “the precision is hardly believable!”
“This world-first will allow better detection and treatment for pathologies of the brain,” she said in a statement to AFP.
Lighting up the brain’s regions
Inside a cylinder that is fives metres (16 feet) long and tall, the machine houses a 132-tonne magnet powered by a coil carrying a current of 1,500 amps.
There is a 90-centimetre (three-foot) opening for humans to slide into.
The design is the result of two decades of research by a partnership between French and German engineers.
The United States and South Korea are working on similarly powerful MRI machines, but have not yet started scanning images of humans.
One of the main goals of such a powerful scanner is to refine our understanding of the anatomy of the brain and which areas are activated when it carries out particular tasks.
Scientists have already used MRIs to show that when the brain recognises particular things — such as faces, places or words — distinct regions of the cerebral cortex kick into gear.
Harnessing the power of 11.7 teslas will help Iseult to “better understand the relationship between the brain’s structure and cognitive functions, for example when we read a book or carry out a mental calculation,” said Nicolas Boulant, the project’s scientific director.
On the trail of Alzheimer’s
The researchers hope that the scanner’s power could also shed light on the elusive mechanisms behind neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s — or psychological conditions like depression or schizophrenia.
“For example, we know that a particular area of the brain — the hippocampus — is implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, so we hope to be able to find out how the cells work in this part of the cerebral cortex,” said CEA researcher Anne-Isabelle Etienvre.
The scientists also hope to map out how certain drugs used to treat bipolar disorder, such as lithium, distribute through the brain.
The strong magnetic field created by the MRI will give a clearer image of which parts of the brain are targeted by lithium. This could help identify which patients will respond better or worse to the drug.
“If we can better understand these very harmful diseases, we should be able to diagnose them earlier — and therefore treat them better,” Etienvre said.
For the foreseeable future, regular patients will not be able to use Iseult’s mighty power to see inside their own brains.
Boulant said the machine “is not intended to become a clinical diagnostic tool, but we hope the knowledge learned can then be used in hospitals”.
In the coming months, a new crop of healthy patients will be recruited to get their brains scanned.
The machine will not be used on patients with conditions for several years.
Hollywood couple Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are in the news again, this time for buying fancy houses. The power couple are looking for a house in New York city.
Indian media reports the pair own a huge mansion is Los Angeles’ Beverly Hills, which used to belong to Indian business leaders Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal. The mansion is massive, covering 38,000 square feet. It has 12 bedrooms, 24 bathrooms, and lots of fancy things like an indoor pickleball court, gym, salon, spas, and a 155-foot-long infinity pool. Outside, there’s a kitchen and big lawns, great for throwing fancy parties.
Jennifer and Ben supposedly bought the Los Angeles mansion last June for a whopping $61 million (about INR5 billion). Before this, Ben had a house in Pacific Palisades that he sold for $28.5 million in 2022. Jennifer also sold her Bel-Air estate for $34 million last October.
It’s interesting that the Los Angeles mansion meant a lot to its old owners, Isha and Anand. They got married in 2018 and spent a lot of time there when Isha was pregnant in 2022. They had their twins, Krishna and Aditya, in November of that year.
The Los Angeles mansion holds special memories for the Ambani-Piramal family, but Jennifer and Ben are ready to make new ones in their fancy new home. As they look for a house in New York City, fans are excited to see where they’ll live next. This marks another exciting chapter for one of Hollywood’s most famous couples.
Ben and Jennifer, known affectionately as Bennifer, started dating in the early 2000s. They got engaged but broke up. More than twenty years later, during the pandemic, they got back together and got married in 2022.
The Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court (IHC), Aamer Farooq has made the startling revelation on Tuesday afternoon that judges have been sent suspicious letters possibly containing anthrax spores, leading to a delay in the divisional bench’s hearing of the cipher case.
The letters were sent by Resham, wife of Waqar Hussain. However, the envelopes were not marked by an address.
The threatening letters prompted the judges to call on the Islamabad Inspector General of police. A team of experts is now present in the vicinity of the court.
Reportedly, when the letter was opened, it contained a powder which caused intense burning in the eyes. The staff immediately disinfected their hands with sterilising liquid. A crossbones symbol was also stamped inside the letter.
The powder has been handed over to the Anti Terrorism department for further investigation.
Anthrax is a potentially fatal disease caused by the Bacillus Anthracis bacteria. It is commonly found in soil and infects domestic DND wild animals. Dangerous levels of exposure to the spores can cause sepsis in humans, inflammation of the spinal cord and even death if internal hemorrhaging begins.
For fans of Pakistani dramas, there’s one thing they all agree on: Adeel Hussain is unforgettable. Whether he’s playing Jamshed in Jackson Heights or Junaid in Daam, Adeel has become one of the biggest stars in Pakistani entertainment. Adeel started his career in 2007 with ‘Dunya Goal Hai’. Four years later, he won a Best New Male Actor award for Daam, cementing his reputation as a formidable actor. Even though he’s been in many TV dramas since then, Adeel hasn’t been in the spotlight much lately. But that doesn’t mean his fans have forgotten about him.
Getting lots of love on X (formely Twitter), one fan shared four pictures of Adeel Hussain from different roles and said, “Adeel Hussain was special. He just didn’t have social media back then.”
The fan continued, saying that back in his best days, Adeel was even more popular than the biggest stars in Pakistani showbiz now. “Adeel Hussain was a more reliable actor than Humayun and Fawad at that time. People watched his dramas because they knew if he was in it, it would be a good drama overall, not just because of good looks or scenes.”
It’s obvious: whether he’s in the spotlight or not, Adeel has really won over his fans’ hearts.
Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, the daughter of President Asif Ali Zardari, has called analyst Najam Sethi a “fraudster” on X, formerly Twitter, after he talked about her sister Aseefa Bhutto Zardari’s unopposed win on NA 207.
During an episode of his talk show on Samaa news, Najam Sethi went on to relate a story about Zulifqar Ali Bhutto and how he had his political opponents step down in 1977 elections because Bhutto wanted to win unopposed.
Then Sethi claimed that a similar chain of events has taken place in the by-polls in which Aseefa Bhutto won unopposed.
The seat was vacated by her father, Asif Ali Zardari, after he was elected as the president. A total of 11 individuals filed their nomination papers. Three withdrew their names from the race and seven nominations were rejected by the Returning Officer (RO).
Sethi claimed that when the reason was asked it was said, “She’s a kid, it’s scorching outside so we thought let’s get her elected unopposed, she would’ve won anyways.”
Bakhtawar Bhutto reacted furiously to a clip of the show, writing, “Actually our grandfather had him arrested for being a fraudster and clearly he’s still awfully bitter about it.”
An Indian fan of the renowned pop band BTS has shown support for Palestinians enduring Israeli aggression. In honor of Jay Hope’s birthday, a member of the South Korean pop sensation, Indian fans defied norms by contributing over three lakh Indian rupees for medical assistance to Palestinians. Keep in mind that ‘BTS’ fans have actively pushed the band’s label HYBE since last month’s to fire American talent scout, Scooter Braun, who supports Israel. To achieve this goal, fans have also launched an online petition.
Tehran (AFP) – Iran warned arch foe Israel on Tuesday that it will punish an air strike that killed seven Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals, at its consular annex in Damascus.
Four other people were also reported killed in Monday’s strike which levelled the five-storey building adjacent to the Iranian embassy and further stoked tensions already running high as the Gaza war nears the end of its sixth month.
Israel declined to comment on the strike, which fuelled Middle East tensions.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed that Israel would be punished.
“The evil Zionist regime will be punished at the hands of our brave men. We will make them regret this crime and the other ones,” Khamenei said in a message published on his official website.
President Ebrahim Raisi condemned the attack as a “clear violation of international regulations” which “will not go unanswered”.
“After repeated defeats and failures against the faith and will of the Resistance Front fighters, the Zionist regime has put blind assassinations on its agenda in the struggle to save itself,” Raisi said on his office’s website.
The UN Security Council is to discuss the strike later Tuesday at a meeting requested by Syrian ally Russia.
The strike on the annex killed seven Revolutionary Guards, including two commanders of its Quds Force foreign operations arm, Brigadier Generals Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, Iranian offiials said.
Zahedi, 63, had held a succession of commands in the force in a Guards career spanning more than four decades.
A Britain-based monitor of the more than decade-old conflict in Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strike killed “eight Iranians, two Syrians and one Lebanese — all of them fighters.”
Iran’s ambassador to Syria, Hossein Akbari, told Iranian state TV that the attack “was carried out by F-35 fighter jets” which fired six missiles at the building.
Only the gate of the building was left standing after the attack, with a sign reading “the consular section of the embassy of Iran”.
Windows were shattered within a 500-metre (550 yard) radius and many parked cars were damaged by the blast.
The adjacent facade of the Iranian embassy is decorated with a large portrait of Qasem Soleimani, a longtime Quds Force chief who was killed in a US drone strike just outside Baghdad airport in January 2020.
‘Important message to US’
Iran’s foreign minister said Israel’s main backer the United States also bore responsibility for the strike, even though an unidentified US official quoted by Axios insisted Washington “had no involvement” or advanced knowledge of it.
Amir-Abdollahian said on X that the ministry had summoned a diplomat from the Swiss embassy, which looks after US interests in Iran, to hear its protest.
“An important message was sent to the American government as the supporter of the Zionist regime. America must be held accountable,” he said in the post.
Iran’s allies around the region and beyond voiced support for its position.
“China condemns the attack,” foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, adding “the security of diplomatic institutions cannot be violated, and Syria’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity should be respected”.
The Iraqi foreign ministry condemned the attack as a “flagrant violation of international law” and warned of “more chaos and instability” in the region.
Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group warned Israel would pay for killing Guards commanders. “This crime will not pass without the enemy receiving punishment and revenge,” Hezbollah said in a statement.
Russia blamed the Israeli air force for the “unacceptable attack against the Iranian consular mission in Syria”.
Palestinian group Hamas condemned the strike, which it described as a “dangerous escalation”.
Israeli genocide in Gaza has killed nearly 33,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the territory’s health ministry.
Iran-backed groups in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen have since carried out a series of attacks on Israeli and Western targets.
