WEB DESK, July 19(ABC): Google on Tuesday announced that it was launching its Android Earthquake Alerts System in Pakistan. In a statement, the search giant said the Android Earthquake Alerts System is a “no-cost, helpful Android feature that detects earthquakes around the world and alerts people”. So how does it work? According to Google, it uses the sensors in Android …

ISLAMABAD, Jul 19(ABC): Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail said that investment by Barrick Gold in the Reko Diq copper-gold project would prove to be transformational for Pakistan and the province of Balochistan. “We are looking forward to Barrick Gold’s investment in the copper and gold mine in Pakistan. Mark Bristow has a very enlightened vision for this …

NEW YORK, July 19(ABC): Fitch Ratings on Tuesday revised Pakistan’s Outlook to Negative from Stable while affirming its Long-Term Foreign-Currency (LTFC) Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘B-’. The revision of the outlook to Negative reflects a significant deterioration in Pakistan’s external liquidity position and financing conditions since early 2022. Fitch assumes IMF board approval of Pakistan’s new staff-level agreement with …

ISLAMABAD, July 19(ABC): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday called upon the Election Commission of Pakistan to announce the “long-delayed” judgment on the PTI “foreign funding” case. “For long has Imran Niazi been given a free pass despite his repeated and shameless attacks on state institutions. Impunity given to him has hurt the country,” said the premier. His message comes …

ISLAMABAD, July 19(ABC): The Pakistani rupee continued its downward spiral on Tuesday, falling to a new low of 216.75 against the dollar in early morning interbank trade. The local currency fell by Rs1.55 after yesterday’s close of Rs215.20, at the time a record low. Data released by State Bank of Pakistan yesterday showed that the rupee lost Rs4.25, or 1.97%, …

ISLAMABAD, July 19(ABC): The country recorded a slight rise in COVID-19 positivity ratio as 459 fresh cases of the virus were registered in the last 24 hours, the National Institute of Health, Islamabad’s stats showed Tuesday morning. According to the latest NIH statistics, during the last 24 hours, 16,419 diagnostic tests were conducted, out of which 459 came back positive. …

LAHORE, July 19(ABC): Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah Monday said that for the PML-N, the idea of early elections is on the cards but the final decision in this regard will be mutually made by the coalition parties. Speaking at a press conference in Lahore, the interior minister said the PML-N is, was, and will be bound by the coalition …

KARACHI, 18 July (ABC): Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has decided to support Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and rejected once again the demand of snap election. Yousaf Raza Gilani and Sharjeel Memon told on Monday in Press conference after PPP central executive committee meeting. They said Parliament will complete the tenure and the allies will decide together the future plan. Yousaf Raza …

LAHORE, July 18(ABC): Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice-President Maryam Nawaz on Monday said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) should announce quick verdict on the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) foreign funding case. On social networking site Twitter, she lambasted the PTI leadership and wrote that there is no need to be too excited after losing 5 out of 20 …

LAHORE, July 18(ABC): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has decided to form government in Punjab after victory in the by-elections. The decision was taken in a meeting of the core committee was held under the chairmanship of former prime minister and PTI chairman Imran Khan. The meeting was attended by the senior leadership of the party. During the meeting, the core committee …

ISLAMABAD, July 18(ABC): The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expected to meet in the last week of August this year to decide whether to approve or disapprove its deal with Pakistan and about this sources claimed that IMF had no objection to holding negotiations with the caretaker government if it comes in Pakistan. Sources privy to …

ISLAMABAD, July 18(ABC): Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Monday that the people of Punjab had always reposed full confidence in the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz). The party would continue the journey of exemplary service to the people of Punjab in the same spirit and historical tradition, she said in a tweet. She said that the PML-N …

ISLAMABAD, July 18(ABC): Despite a landslide victory against PML-N in the by-election for 20 constituencies of Punjab, PTI Chairman Imran Khan Monday accused the coalition government of using “every tactic to ensure that we (PTI) lose the polls.” Speaking to the public in a televised speech, he said: “All of the government’s [machinery] was used against us despite the Supreme Court’s order.” …

LAHORE, July 18(ABC): Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi Monday said that the PTI’s win in the by-elections on July 17 was the success of party Chairperson Imran Khan’s narrative. Speaking during a meeting of the PTI and PML-Q, Elahi said that the former prime minister conveyed his message to the nation by running campaigns. “People gave their verdict in …

WEB DESK, July 18(ABC): PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, PPP Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman spoke over the phone to discuss the country’s political situation after PML-N’s humiliating defeat in the Punjab by-elections held a day earlier, reported on Monday, citing sources. The three leaders have reportedly agreed that a detailed plan of …

RAWALPINDI, July 18(ABC): AML chief Sheikh Rasheed said Monday that PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari “buried” PML-N — after the party suffered a humiliating defeat in the Punjab by-elections. “The funeral of PML-N’s [politics] took place yesterday; Zardari has buried the party, and now, Maulana Fazlur Rehman should offer prayers for them,” Rasheed, who is an ally of the PTI, …

ISLAMABAD, July 18(ABC): An earthquake struck Islamabad and several cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday. According to report, aside from the federal capital, tremors were felt in several areas of North Waziristan, Malakand, Swat, and surrounding areas.  Meanwhile, some places in Punjab also experienced the quake today, including Multan and its surrounding areas. The National Seismic Monitoring Centre said the magnitude …

WEB DESK, July 18(ABC): A survey of 2,000 American adults reveals that the average person visits potentially harmful websites or social media accounts 6.5 times a day. At the same time, 70% of those surveyed felt knowledgeable about cybersecurity, whereas only 39% knew that suspicious website can lead to malware and viruses. “Whether browsing websites or apps, our results show …

WEB DESK, July 18(ABC): Apple’s new iPad multitasking system, Stage Manager, does not replace the need for a true Mac-like interface and the experience is overcomplicated and perplexing, Bloomberg reported. The Starters Today’s iPad Pro costs nearly as much as a Mac, connects to an advanced and powerful keyboard and trackpad, and is powered by the same chip as Apple Inc.’s …

WEB DESK, July 18(ABC): The National Information Technology Board (NITB) has issued a cyber alert, warning internet users to refrain from entering certain links. The technology board, in a statement on Twitter, said that users should “beware” of phishing sites as they might contain malicious material. “It is advised to beware from sites attracting users for giveaways and from opening …

KARACHI, July 18(ABC): The ruling PML-N’s thumping in the Punjab by-elections that has triggered political uncertainty along with import pressure took the Pakistani rupee to a new low against the US dollar in the interbank market Monday. Since the opening of the market the rupee has depreciated against the greenback by Rs4.30, as per the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan. It remains …

ISLAMABAD, July 18(ABC): The Islamabad High Court on Monday reserved its verdict on the maintainability of a plea seeking investigations into the leaked audio of a telephonic conversation between former first lady Bushra Bibi and Focal Person to PTI Chairman on Digital Media Dr Arsalan Khalid. The alleged audio of Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi had recently emerged in which she is …

KARACHI, July 18(ABC): The stocks plunged Monday during the intraday trade as the benchmark KSE-100 lost nearly 750 points after uncertainty surrounded Pakistan’s political arena. Investors reacted with panic to the depreciating Pakistani rupee against the US dollar and political uncertainty in the wake of the preliminary results of the by-polls in Punjab. At the beginning of the trade, the …

LAHORE, July 18(ABC): Following the PML-N’s thumping defeat at the hands of PTI in the Punjab by-elections, the party’s supremo, Nawaz Sharif, blamed the “difficult decisions” taken by the centre for its failure. As per the preliminary and unofficial results, PTI has swept the Punjab by-polls, remaining victorious on 15 seats out of 20, while the ruling PML-N suffered a …

ISLAMABAD, July 18(ABC): As celebrations were held among the ranks of PTI over the party’s victory in the Punjab by-polls, PTI Senior Vice-President Fawad Chaudhry said that party chairman Imran Khan’s would decide when when they will remove Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. “Taking Shehbaz Sharif into pressure is not a big deal and when to fire Shehbaz Sharif depends on …

ISLAMABAD, 18 July(ABC): Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will send its on-site mission to Pakistan sometime in September, a visit anticipated by diplomatic circles in Islamabad as a “final walk-through from the FATF process” for the country. Though the date of the mission’s visit to Islamabad is being finalised through diplomatic channels, diplomatic circles believe it would take place in …

WEB DESK, July 18(ABC): The tech industry’s latest artificial intelligence constructs can be pretty convincing if you ask them what it feels like to be a sentient computer, or maybe just a dinosaur or squirrel. But they’re not so good — and sometimes dangerously bad — at handling other seemingly straightforward tasks. Take, for instance, GPT-3, a Microsoft-controlled system that …

WEB DESK, July 18(ABC): Researcher Dhruv Sareen’s own stem cells are now orbiting the Earth. The mission? To test whether they’ll grow better in zero gravity. Scientists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles are trying to find new ways to produce huge batches of a type of stem cell that can generate nearly any other type of cell in …

ISLAMABAD, July 18(ABC): Pakistan is likely to get $4 billion from friendly countries this month to bridge a gap in foreign reserves highlighted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said, two days after sealing a deal with the lender. The IMF has reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan that would pave the way for a disbursement …

KARACHI, July 18(ABC): A powerful monsoon system formed in the Arabian Sea caused torrential downpours in various parts of Karachi Sunday evening, but it claimed the lives of two youngsters. According to the police, a woman and her three-month-old daughter fell into a flooded nullah in the Buffer Zone area while they were passing through on a motorbike. The woman …

ISLAMABAD, July 18(ABC): A total of five more people suffering from COVID-19 succumbed to the disease overnight in Pakistan, taking the country’s total coronavirus death count to 30,445, the National Institute of Health, Islamabad’s data showed Monday morning. The country’s COVID-19 positivity ratio, however, dropped further as only 492 people were found infected with the virus. The new infections were …

ISLAMABAD, July 18(ABC): Following PTI’s “landslide victory” in the hotly-contested Punjab by-polls on Sunday, party chairman Imran Khan said the only way forward was “free and fair elections.” A battle for the throne of Punjab was fought as voting was held for 20 constituencies of the province. The PTI managed to grab more votes compared to the PML-N, which has …

LAHORE, July 18(ABC): Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique on Sunday said that the PML-N, following PTI’s victory in the Punjab by-polls, would decide the next course of action in consultation with allied parties. PTI won in at least 15 out of 20 constituencies, according to unofficial results, while PML-N only clinched victory in three. An independent candidate defeated …

WEB DESK, July 18(ABC): Celebrations in the PTI camp were in full swing on Sunday night as preliminary, unofficial results in the by-election on 20 constituencies of Punjab, showed the party has decimated its rival, the PML-N, in the contest to snatch back control of the province. In a recount of votes for the Punjab chief minister election on July …

WEB DESK, July 17(ABC): A charged PTI Sunday saw a “change in Pakistan” after the party took a major lead in the Punjab by-elections — the polls that will decide who holds the reigns in the country’s biggest province. “Soon, Pakistan will witness a change […] Hamza Shahbaz’s fake government has ceased to exist,” PTI leader Hammad Azhar said in …

  LAHORE, July 17(ABC): PML-N conceded defeat Sunday in the crucial Punjab by-elections after the PTI took the lead in the majority of the 20 provincial assembly constituencies which were up for grabs. As the unofficial results started pouring in, showing the PTI in the lead, the party’s vice president Maryam Nawaz took to Twitter and said that the defeat …

ISLAMABAD, July 17(ABC): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday said that people should think about corruption, incompetence, economic crisis and aiding of mafias during four year rule of Imran Khan while voting for Punjab by-polls. PM Shehbaz, in a tweet, said that Punjab was a victim of worst governance during the PTI term as masses were deprived of free medicines …

LAHORE, July 17(ABC):Voting is underway on Sunday for by-elections in 20 constituencies of Punjab and will continue till 5 pm. Rangers and FC personnel have been deployed by the authorities in these constituencies to maintain law and order situation. While the Pakistan Army personnel are on duty at sensitive polling stations, returning and presiding officers have been assigned the powers …

WEB DESK, July 17(ABC): Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the security is on high alert in all constituencies to ensure peace and security during the by-elections. He said that the civil and armed forces have been deputed in all relevant areas as per the ECP’s request.

WEB DESK, July 17(ABC): PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi said while speaking to media in Multan that currently, PML-N has 173 votes in the Punjab Assembly, while PTI and its allies together have the same number of votes. He said that the party is expecting two to three more PML-N MPAs resigning in a couple of days. “If they …