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  • President invites CEC to announce dates for general elections

    President invites CEC to announce dates for general elections

    According to recent reports, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja will not meet President Dr. Arif Alvi for discussion on fixing the date for general elections. After a recent amendment to existing laws, fixing the date for the election is at the discretion of the ECP.

    Reliable sources in ECP told The News that the CEC called a meeting of the commission to talk to its members about the matter of fixing the date before taking a formal position. It is not the ECP’s responsibility, according to the law, to consult with the president on this matter. “The law is very clear about it. The President has cited the wrong article for this purpose.”

    President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi, has invited Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, for a meeting on August 23 or 24, to fix an appropriate date for holding the general elections.

    The letter, written to Mr. Raja by Dr. Alvi, states that the constitution requires the president to decide a date for general elections within 90 days of the dissolution of the National Assembly (NA).

    The letter was shared on the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the president. It noted that the national assembly was dissolved by the president on August 9th, as per the instructions given by the Prime Minister.

    And “by virtue of Article 48(5) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the president is obliged to appoint a date not later than 90 days from the date of dissolution for the holding of general elections of [the] assembly”, the letter read.

    READ MORE:  Elections not possible before May 2024,’ says former ECP secretary

  • Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 4: Map changes, weapons, and release date revealed

    The conclusion of Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 3 is on the horizon, marking the end of this exhilarating “wild” season. As fans prepare to bid farewell to the current season, anticipation grows for the upcoming Season 4.

    Expectations are high for Chapter 4 of Season 4, with promises of significant changes to the map, new weapons, captivating skins, and various exciting additions to the immensely popular battle royale game, Fortnite.

    However, this exciting transition also comes with a downside. Epic Games, the developer, is preparing for the grand unveiling of the new season, which means an extended period of server downtime.

    In the lead-up to the new season, Epic has been teasing its dedicated fan base. The latest hint strongly suggests that TikTok sensation Khaby Lame will be receiving his very own unique Fortnite skin, marking an unexpected crossover between the gaming world and social media.

    This revelation was cleverly teased across Fortnite’s official Twitter account and Khaby Lame’s social media profiles.

    For those eagerly anticipating the start of the next Fortnite era, we have meticulously crafted a comprehensive guide that covers key details about the new season’s launch. This guide includes the confirmed launch date, start time, server maintenance schedule, and more.

    Epic Games has officially announced that the server downtime for the Fortnite: Chapter 4 Season 4 update will begin on Friday, August 25th, at 2 AM ET, 6 AM UTC, and 7 AM BST.

    During this downtime, players will be prompted to download and install a fresh patch update specifically designed for Chapter 4 of Season 4.

    As is their tradition, Epic Games has not disclosed the exact duration of the server downtime for new Fortnite updates. The length of time can vary depending on the scope of the update and any unforeseen challenges that may arise during the maintenance process.

    Based on historical patterns, Fortnite servers are typically restored within a span of 2 to 3 hours. Assuming this holds true, the curtain will likely rise on Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 4 around 5 AM ET, 9 AM UTC, and 10 AM BST on Friday, August 25th.

    However, it’s important to note that the downtime period could be extended if unexpected issues arise.

  • Hum the tune, find the song; YouTube tests new search feature

    Hum the tune, find the song; YouTube tests new search feature

    YouTube is experimenting with a new search feature in which you can hunt for a song by humming into your device. This new trial is being conducted on android gadgets and it is a major upgrade from Apple’s music recognition app, Shazam.

    Users who have access to the feature, which is currently under testing, can try it through YouTube’s voice search by singing, humming, or recording a song for three seconds or more. Once the app identifies the song, it will direct the user to the relevant YouTube video or its official music video or related shorts.

    The feature is currently available to only a limited number of users.

    The same feature was introduced by Google (Google Search widget and Google Assistant) in 2020 however, according to TechChrunch, the difference appears to be that Google’s feature requires users to hum for 10-15 seconds in order to identify the song.

    In a blog by Google posted in 2020, it was explained that this feature is based on ‘learning models that can match your hum, whistle or singing to the right “fingerprint”’. YouTube confirmed to TechCrunch that the new test also uses the same technology as the Google feature.

  • Haris Rauf knows happy wife=happy life

    Haris Rauf knows happy wife=happy life

    Truly a man written by a woman

    Haris Rauf is leading the race in proving he is truly the internet’s boyfriend, albeit one who’s married now. An interview clip of the bowler is moving social media users to tears. After a post-match talk with Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi, Haris was seen praising his wife’s presence and calling her the reason behind his victory.

    “Alhumdullilah, Muzna is lucky for me,” the cricket star said.

    He dedicated his Man Of The Match award to his family, particularly to his mother

    “My mother is really important to me. I dedicate all of my success to my mother,” said Haris.

    This small but meaningful interaction had moved Twitter, especially the way Haris proved he’s a wife guy through and through.

    https://twitter.com/sadboihrs50/status/1694056138080428158?s=20
    https://twitter.com/thirsty_sparrow/status/1694128374443114967?s=20
  • Lizzo counter-sues backup dancers for ‘malicious prosecution’

    Lizzo counter-sues backup dancers for ‘malicious prosecution’

    Pop singer Lizzo has been sued by former backup dancers of her troupe for sexual harassment, unprofessionalism and body shaming. In the suit filed earlier this month, Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez detailed instances of being shamed for weight gain, being coerced into touching nude dancers.

    On Wednesday, Lizzo’s lawyer said in a statement sent to The Independent, that the singer was now counter suing the dancers for ‘malicious content’, describing the lawsuit as a sham.

    The statement included photos of the three plaintiffs Davis, Williams and Rodriguez with “the performers after the topless cabaret show at the Crazy Horse cabaret in Paris” on 5 March, 2023. In their lawsuit, the dancers had claimed they were not informed by Lizzo that the dancers performing would be naked, “robbing them of the choice not to participate”.

    The plaintiff’s also described Lizzo pressurising cast members to take turns touching the nude performers “catching dildos launched from the performers’ vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers’ vaginas”.

    However, Lizzo’s statement said the images released show the plaintiff’s happily spending time in the club they had complained about in the lawsuit:

    “These images showing the three plaintiffs gleefully revelling backstage after the topless show were taken after their February 2023 visit to Bananenbar in Amsterdam that they complain about in their lawsuit.”

    Neema Rahmani, representing the three dancers in the lawsuit, responded to the images, and said they had previously addressed all the instances where the plaintiff’s appeared to be happy alongside Lizzo, during the time the

    “Of course, they wanted to keep their jobs. They had bills to pay just like everyone else but they finally had enough of the abuse. We stand by every claim in the lawsuit and look forward to trial.

    “We’ve been hearing from other former employees sharing similar stories, and as seen in the Los Angeles Times article today about how Lizzo used intimate footage of her dancers without their approval in the 2022 HBO Max Love Lizzo documentary, we’re seeing even more of a pattern of just how much Lizzo thinks of those who work for her. Clearly, not very much.”

    Furthermore, Rahmani slammed the singer’s statement as an “empty threat” and said they were ready to meet the lawyer and his client in the courtroom because they had no plans of backing down.

    “I’ve handled thousands of cases, including prosecuting drug cartels so we have no plans to back down. Let’s see if Singer can actually try a case in a courtroom instead of the media,” said Rahmani.

  • Let people decide upcoming government, US Ambassador tells Election Commission

    Let people decide upcoming government, US Ambassador tells Election Commission

    US Ambassador Donald Blome met with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja on Thursday and reassured him that the United States will always support free and fair elections in Pakistan, according to the country’s laws and constitution.

    According to a statement released by the US embassy, the ambassador reaffirmed that the Pakistani people should elect their future leaders and that Washington is still dedicated to working to strengthen the US-Pakistan relationship with whoever the people choose.

    The US ambassador made these remarks due to the unpredictability of the timing of the upcoming elections.

    Earlier, the President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi, invited Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja for a meeting on August 23 or 24 to fix an appropriate date for holding the general elections.

    The letter written by Dr. Alvi states that the constitution requires the president to decide a date for general elections within 90 days of the dissolution of the National Assembly (NA).

  • IMF and Pakistan discuss circular debt and energy sector losses in virtual meeting

    IMF and Pakistan discuss circular debt and energy sector losses in virtual meeting

    Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently discussed the country’s energy sector losses and efforts to reduce circular debt during a virtual meeting. The government is committed to adjusting fuel prices and quarterly tariffs to eliminate circular debt accumulation.

    According to The News, a new plan called the Circular Debt Management Plan (CDMP) was shared with the IMF. This plan involves revising fuel price adjustments and quarterly tariffs upward to counter circular debt growth. The IMF expressed concerns about the plan’s sustainability due to slower recoveries.

    The government was advised to create an effective strategy to tackle this issue. The meeting took place virtually on a technical level. The newly appointed Finance Minister, Dr Shamshad Akhtar, is expected to hold a virtual meeting with the IMF team soon.

    The IMF’s first review is scheduled for October or November and will be based on economic data from the initial quarter (July–September) of the current fiscal year.

    Pakistan and the IMF signed a $3 billion bailout package under the Standby Arrangement in July 2023. Pakistan has already received $1.2 billion, with two more reviews planned to release the remaining $1.8 billion by March or April 2024.

  • India lands on moon; Pakistanis celebrate neighbour’s success

    India lands on moon; Pakistanis celebrate neighbour’s success

    As India became the fourth country to land on the moon and the first to land on its south pole, Pakistanis took to X (formerly Twitter) to celebrate their neighbor’s success.

    Fawad Hussain, former federal minister of science and technology, celebrated by saying, “What a great moment for #ISRO as #Chandrayaan3 lands on the Moon.”

    Pakistani actress and model Mara Hocane was fascinated by watching fiction turning into reality.

    Former Pakistan cricket team captain, Muhammad Hafeez, also known as “professor”, posted a congratulatory message.

    Shahmir Iqbal remarked how ‘Congratulations Neighbors’ is trending on X in Pakistan.

    Adnan Javed reminded the world of the importance of educating women for success.

    Ali Rajput congratulated India while mentioning that Pakistan was among the first countries to send a mission to space but chose a different path after 60s.

    Sara Taseer celebrated India’s success with a little fun.

    Anas Tipu also had a funny take on India’s success as he posted a meme stating, “Chand pe hai apun.”

  • Interbank market: US dollar reaches all-time high against Pakistani rupee, surpassing Rs300 mark

    Interbank market: US dollar reaches all-time high against Pakistani rupee, surpassing Rs300 mark

    The US dollar reached a new high against the Pakistani rupee, going past Rs300 in the interbank market on Thursday. At 11:15 am, it was at Rs300.4 as per the Forex Association of Pakistan. In the open market, it was valued at Rs314.

    The day before, the dollar ended at Rs299.64 and went up to Rs315 in the open market. The Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) reported buying and selling prices at Rs309 and Rs312.

    As the dollar keeps going up, experts are asking the government to do something about the black market. Saad bin Naseer from Mettis Global said that even though it’s hard to find dollars in the interbank market, they’re easily available in the open market at higher prices.

    Naseer didn’t like that the central bank kept the interest rate at 23 per cent because people prefer investing in foreign currencies over the local economy. Malik Bostan, who leads the Forex Association of Pakistan, warned against hoarding dollars, thinking their price will keep rising.

    Bostan noticed regular people buying dollars thinking they’ll become more valuable due to the increase in the interbank market. He also mentioned that removing import restrictions from the IMF made the rupee weaker.

    Zafar Paracha, from the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan, blamed the rupee’s decline on more unnecessary imports. He agreed with Bostan and urged people not to buy more dollars during this uncertain time for the rupee.

  • Farhan Saeed compares India and Pakistan as Chandrayaan lands on moon

    Farhan Saeed compares India and Pakistan as Chandrayaan lands on moon

    India marked its footprint on history yesterday when their third attempt at landing on the moon turned successful. The space shuttle Chadrayaan-3 landed on the south pole of the moon, making India the first country to do so, and the fourth country after China, USA and Russia to make it to the moon.

    Pakistanis celebrated their arch-rivals achievement too, congratulating India for the fearless achievement.


    Farhan Saeed took to X (formerly Twitter) to compare the two countries, observing that while India was progressing, Pakistan keeps deteriorating because of its refusal to talk about the issues that plague it.

    “On #76thIndependance #India lands on Moon and most of us are worried about where #Pakistan stands & it’s future. The basic reason is we are not even allowed to talk about our shortcomings as a nation. That film/drama is banned that shows the true picture of our society…

    labelling it as some kind of propaganda against our country. There is hardly , in fact no prime time programs that talks about or identifies the ‘real’ issues of Pakistan like education, feudalism and the list goes on.”

    The former leader of the band Jal went on to slam politicians who continue to divert attention from important issues, and media anchorpersons who play along. “The priority/will/direction/strength of any Nation to achieve greater things is only dependent on the hunger of how they want to be seen/addressed in the world as a country,” he wrote.

    The ‘Suno Chanda’ stated that instead of working together as a team, Pakistanis are more obsessed with wars or conspiracies, and how our existence as a country is threatened, which he believed proves that we’re not doing anything right.

    Several other Pakistani celebrities had come forward yesterday to congratulate India for the moon landing, like Mawra Hussain who had tweeted:

    “I’ve been watching a space show these days.. it’s so so fascinating to watch fiction and then to know it’s now a reality for our neighbours is just incredible #Chandrayaan3 Congratulations India & lots of love to all of my Indian fans on this outstanding achievement.”