LAHORE, June 20(ABC): An accountability court on Monday approved Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s plea for a permanent exemption from personal appearance in a case relating to the Ashiana Housing project. He cited “national responsibilities” as the reason for wanting an exemption. During the hearing in the cases related to the Ashiana Housing project and the Ramazan Sugar Mills, PM Shehbaz …

ISLAMABAD, June 20(ABC): Human rights activist Imaan Mazari, who is the daughter of PTI leader Shireen Mazari, issued an “unconditional” apology in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), following which a case registered against her regarding derogatory statements about institutions was dismissed. During the proceeding of the hearing today, the court remarked that as Mazari as apologised and showed regret on …

WEB DESK, June 20(ABC): Popular messaging application WhatsApp has finally rolled out a new feature for privacy control settings to protect the privacy of its users. Under the new feature update, WhatsApp users can now chose among contacts who can view their profile picture, about section and even their last seen status. The company has created some options giving more …

KARACHI, June 20(ABC): In line with market expectations, the Pakistani rupee has plunged further and crossed the 210 threshold against the US dollar for the first time in the interbank market on Monday. The domestic currency was available at Rs210.19 against the greenback in the interbank market at 11:02am, according to report.

WEB DESK, June 20(ABC): In line with Pakistan’s request regarding assistance from the United States for the revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, the latter has agreed to help Islamabad negotiate a deal with the global lender, reported, citing diplomatic sources. However, the source added that it would not be sufficient as Islamabad would have to establish “contacts” …

LAHORE, June 20(ABC): A case has been registered against PTI leader and former Punjab chief minister Usman Buzdar by the province’s Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) for transferring 900 kanals of land illegally in Dera Ghazi Khan, reported late Sunday. ACE officials said that the case has been registered against the former Punjab chief ministers on a report submitted by the deputy …

ISLAMABAD, June 19(ABC): PTI Chairman and the former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday through video link is addressing his party supporters demonstrating against inflation across the country. On Sunday, Imran Khan said the joint opposition filed the the no-trust motion against him based on a false narrative of inflation to hide the foreign agenda, conspiracy or interference it should …

ISLAMABAD 19 June (ABC): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved the formation of a task force to oversee the implementation of the rights of minorities after the National Assembly (NA) unanimously passed a resolution over the matter, it emerged on Sunday. A notification dated June 15, issued by the Prime Minister’s Office stated: “In light of the resolution passed by …

RAWALPINDI, Jun 19 (ABC): The security forces on Sunday killed six terrorists of the banned Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) during an operation based on information of presence of terrorists in general area Central Makran Mountain Range, near Paroom, Balochistan. The security forces conducted an operation to apprehend the terrorists, said an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) news release here received. …

ISLAMABAD 19 June (ABC): Finance Minister Miftah Ismail says the government is trying hard to control inflation and it will be overcome in two to three months. Talking to a private news channel, he said it is responsibility of the government to put country’s economy on right track. He said to mitigate the deficit, the program’s revival with International Monetary …

ISLAMABAD, Jun 19 (ABC): President Dr Arif Alvi has returned the Elections (Amendment) EVM/OP bill 2022 unsigned after citing certain reasons and recording his observations. The president said that he had been pursuing the issue of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and Overseas Pakistanis Voting (OP) with all the governments, in the parliament, as well as at the Supreme Court of …

ISLAMABAD, June 19 (ABC): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has announced a nationwide training programme of health Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) to save human lives in emergency. He has directed the head of Strategic Reforms Unit Salman Sufi to initiate the plan immediately to save people. Salman Sufi, in a statement, said CPR training programme of international standard will help save …

ISLAMABAD, Jun 19 (ABC): Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Sunday that that the people of Pakistan have rejected the negative politics of Imran Khan and his call for agitation would prove a miserable flop. In a tweet in response to former prime minister Imran Khan’s call of protest on Sunday night, she said that the people …

WEB DESK, June 19(ABC): When temperatures fall below freezing, cell phones need to be recharged frequently, and electric cars have shorter driving ranges. This is because their lithium-ion batteries’ anodes get sluggish, holding less charge and draining energy quickly. To improve electrical performance in the extreme cold, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have replaced the traditional graphite anode in a lithium-ion …

WEB DESK, June 19(ABC): Water scarcity is a growing problem around the globe. In Africa alone, it is estimated that about 230 million people will face water shortages by 2025, with up to 460 million living in water-stressed regions. Water covers 70% of Earth, so it is easy to assume that it will always be abundant. However freshwater is very …

WEB DESK, June 19(ABC): Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have discovered a method to produce biocement from waste, making the alternative to traditional cement greener and more sustainable. Biocement is a kind of renewable cement that uses bacteria to create a hardening reaction that binds soil into a solid block.The NTU scientists have now created biocement from two …

WEB DESK, June 19(ABC): A University of Minnesota research team has made mind-reading possible through the use of electronics and AI. Researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities have created a system that enables amputees to operate a robotic arm using their brain impulses rather than their muscles. This new technology is more precise and less intrusive than previous methods. The …

WEB DESK, June 19(ABC): Australian researchers have created a device that can produce power from heat radiation using a similar mechanism to night-vision goggles. Following a significant advancement in thermal capture technology, the sun’s immense energy may soon be captured even in the dead of night. During the day, solar radiation greatly warms the earth’s crust, but when the sun sets, …

WEB DESK, June 19(ABC): Microsoft announced the availability of new Microsoft Defender app for Microsoft 365 subscribers. Users across Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows devices with Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscriptions will be able to access the online security app now. The Defender app works as a central hub for managing and monitoring the security status across your computers …

WEB DESK, June 19(ABC): Snapchat is reportedly testing for its paid subscription called Snapchat+ internally, as confirmed by Snap spokesperson Liz Markman. The paid subscription from Snapchat is said to provide users an early access to features as well as other abilities announced on the app. As reported earlier, the one-month subscription for Snapchat+ is expected to cost EUR 4.59 …

ISLAMABAD, June19(ABC): Minister for Foreign Affairs Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has termed Pakistan’s successful completion of the action plans laid out by the Financial Action Task Force the “result of concerted national efforts”, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on his behalf on Sunday. The Foreign Office, quoting FM Bilawal, said: “I welcome FATF’s unanimous acknowledgment of …

ISLAMABAD, June 19(ABC): Pakistan’s COVID-19 positivity ratio has climbed to 1.3% after 152 new cases were detected in the country, the National Institute of Health said on Sunday. The positivity ratio has witnessed a steady rise in the last three days, moving up from 0.86% on June 17 and 1.17% a day earlier. According to fresh statistics released by the …

ISLAMABAD, June 18(ABC): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Saturday congratulated Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa after Pakistan completed the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) action plans. The anti-money laundering watchdog announced Friday that Pakistan has “substantially completed its two action plans” — of the total 34 items on the list — and would be removed from the grey …

LAHORE, June 18(ABC): PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said Saturday that his party would form the next government and vowed to turn the country by “110 degrees”. In a meeting with party leaders at Bilawal House, the former president said: “We will take the entire share [in the government] next time. If I get the chance to serve, I will …

ISLAMABAD, June 18(ABC): PTI Chairman Imran Khan announced Saturday he would share his future course of action in his party’s nationwide protest — slated for tomorrow (Sunday) — against rising inflation. Chairing a meeting of his party spokespersons, the former premier said that the future course of action will be decided along with the nation in  tomorrow’s (June 19) protest. …

KABUL, June 18(ABC): Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid has said that the negotiations between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Pakistani government concluded two days back in the capital of Afghanistan. Mujahid, who is the deputy of minister information and culture, told Geo News that he hopes that this time, the negotiations bear fruit — as the last round of peace talks …

ISLAMABAD, June 18(ABC): In a startling claim, PTI leader Fayyaz Chohan said Saturday that “some people” have tasked a terrorist with assassinating former prime minister Imran Khan, who was removed from office in April. “I have details that some people have ordered a terrorist named ‘Cochi’ in Afghanistan to assassinate PTI Chairman Imran Khan,” the former provincial minister said in …

KARACHI, June 18(ABC): The judicial magistrate (East) in Karachi on Saturday approved a petition seeking the autopsy of popular televangelist Aamir Liaquat Hussain who was found dead at his residence earlier this month. The decision, which was reserved this morning, was taken after hearing arguments from all stakeholders concerned. In its order, the court said that Liaquat’s family — the …

ISLAMABAD, June 18 (ABC): Central Power Purchasing Agency (CCPA) has sought hike in power tariff by Rs7.09. According to National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), it will conduct hearing on CCPA plea for power tariff hike on June 27. The plea states that 8.80 percent electricity has been produced by furnace oil in May at a cost of Rs33.67 paisa …

ISLAMABAD, Jun 18 (ABC): Federal Minister for Water Resources Syed Khursheed Ahmad Shah on Friday said the government had allocated Rs 105 billion in the federal budget 2022-23 for the construction of dams, and the amount would be increased by Rs 25 billion, if needed. He said the government had expedited the construction work on Dasu, Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams with the aim …

SANTA CLARA, June 18 (ABC): There is a new sight on the streets of Havana: increasing numbers of electric vehicles whizzing among the old American cars so emblematic of the Cuban capital. As fuel shortages and US sanctions take their toll, and even though electricity generation can be spotty, Cubans are turning to smaller, cheaper, plug-in alternatives. “Gasoline? Imagine. After …

LAHORE, June 18 (ABC): Punjab has also decided to follow the suit like Sindh to enforce an energy conservation plan to address the power crisis, sources said. The authorities have completed consultations with trader’s bodies and chambers of commerce, informed sources said. The implementation of the energy saving plan will begin from the next week, according to sources. According to …

ISLAMABAD, June 18(ABC): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday felicitated the nation after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) announced that Pakistan would be removed from its ‘grey list’ after successfully passing the on-site visit stage, reported. In a major development for Pakistan stuck in a whirlpool of crises, the international financial watchdog for combating money laundering and terrorist financing …

ISLAMABAD, June 18(ABC): Following an announcement last night by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that Pakistan has “substantially completed its two action plans” and would be removed from the grey list after it passes the on-site visit to assess the implementation of Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani is addressing a press …

ISLAMABAD, June 18(ABC): Former interior minister Sheikh Rashid on Friday claimed that ex-premier and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif is not coming to Pakistan under a secret deal struck in London,  reported. The comments from the Awami Muslim League chief came after several PML-N leaders said that Nawaz Sharif will return “soon” to the country but no one gave a specific …

ISLAMABAD, June 18(ABC): After the removal of subsidies from the petroleum products, senior officials of Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in last-ditch efforts to iron out differences in budgetary numbers, continued a round of parleys with Islamabad expecting a breakthrough within the ‘next 72 hours’, reported. In order to convince the Fund to revive the stalled $6 billion …

RAWALPINDI, June 18(ABC): Following the Financial Action Task Force (FATF’s) news related to Pakistan’s greylisting, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa said that the core cell at the General Headquarters and civil-military team synergised the implementation of the action plan and made Pakistan proud. Taking to Twitter, the military’s media wing said that the completion of the FATF’s …

ISLAMABAD, June 18(ABC): Head of Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms Salman Sufi announced on Friday that Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has instructed telecommunications companies to penalise elements that provide mobile phone user data to advertising companies without permission. Taking to Twitter, Sufi said that the PTA will implement an “opt-in and opt-out system” for mobile phone users. “With a link to …

DUBAI, June 18(ABC): Former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf is expected to return to Pakistan via an air ambulance and his treatment will continue in the country, sources said Friday, after the ex-dictator’s health deteriorated last week. Sources told that Musharraf’s family has decided to shift him to Pakistan. The former president has been in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) …

BERLIN, June 17(ABC): The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) announced on Friday that Pakistan has “substantially completed its two action plans” and would be removed from the grey list after it passes the on-site visit. However, Pakistan has not been officially removed from the FATF’s grey list and may be taken off it once the watchdog visits Pakistan. “The FATF …