WEB DESK, June 05(ABC): Meta-owned social media application Instagram is working on avatar reactions option for its Stories. According to a report, Meta aims to improve engagement between Instagram users. The users could only react to the Instagram Stories through emoticons. The introduction of avatar reaction enhances the interaction between users but will also be an alternative for marketing purposes. …

WEB DESK, June 05(ABC): Apple has started testing iPhones with USB-C ports, confirmed Bloomberg reports on Sunday, days after a popular analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple will adopt USB-C on iPhones in 2023. Apple will remain the lightning connector for this year’s iPhones. Additionally, the publication claims that Apple is also working on an adapter that would let future …

WEB DESK, June 05 (ABC): Nokia, once a household for well over in early 2000s, is looking forward to recapture its lost place in the market with a high-end device featuring a 200MP camera. In recent years the smartphone manufacturer has been releasing budget-friendly smartphones with average features. As per CNMO, the company is working on new Nokia N73, which …

WEB DESK, June 05(ABC): While people kept pleading Twitter’s leadership to grant their wish for an edit button, – we know what became of that – another app secretly started working on the feature, and might release it before the bird app does. We can tell you that typos on WhatsApp won’t embarrass you anymore. There is visual evidence that …

ISLAMABAD, June 05(ABC): The state telecom regulator on Saturday gave the public a much-awaited feature, the ability to block annoying, unwanted and spam messages and calls from marketing firms. In a message posted on their official social media channels, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) informed the public of a simple and effective means to tackle the growing problem of spam …

ISLAMABAD, June 05(ABC): The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Saturday issued an alert advising the federal capital and provincial authorities to take preventive measures against another heatwave likely to hit the country for the next five days, as forecast by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), reported on Sunday. The PMD warned of significant temperature rise across the country, especially …

  LAHORE, June05(ABC): In a major development, the Punjab police have finally recovered Dua Zahra — the 14-year-old girl who had mysteriously gone missing from Karachi in April but later declared that she had run away from her home to marry 21-year-old Zaheer Ahmed — from the Chishtian area of Bahawalnagar, it emerged Sunday. Confirming the report, Anti-Violent Crime Cell …

UPPER DIR, June 04(ABC): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday while addressing a public rally in Upper Dir said that Pakistan’s economy is sinking fast since Shehbaz Sharif came to power and global institutes have downgraded Pakistan’s ranking. Taking a dig at incumbent government, Imran Khan said that we will not accept the imported …

ISLAMABAD, June 04(ABC): President Dr Arif Alvi on Saturday refused to sign the bills seeking amendments in the NAB and election laws, and returned it back to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as he “was not informed” about the “legislative proposal” under Article 46 before they were tabled in Parliament. A press release issued by the president’s office said that Dr …

ISLAMABAD, June 04(ABC): Irked by prolonged outages, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday warned the top officials of the power ministry that they would be dismissed from service if the duration of loadsheding exceeds two hours a day. As per the details, PM Shehbaz Sharif convened an emergency meeting to deliberate on the reasons behind the power outages across the …

LAHORE, June 04(ABC): A special court in Lahore extended on Saturday the interim bail of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz till June 11 in the Rs16 billion money laundering case filed against them by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). However, the presiding judge of the Special Court (Central-I), Ijaz Hassan Awan, issued non-bailable …

ISLAMABAD, June 04(ABC): In a bid to reach a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) Friday approved an increase in gas prices just a day after a massive increase in the price of petroleum products. Based on the Determination of Estimated Revenue Requirement (DERR) for the financial year 2022-23, a 45% …

ISLAMABAD, June 04(ABC): The federal government has authorised Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to act as the Special Vetting Agency (SVA) for verifying and screening all public officials before they are inducted, posted, appointed, or promoted. The notification No. F. No. 5/2021-CP-VI issued on June 2, 2022 stated: “In exercise of powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 25 of the Civil …

ISLAMABAD, June 03(ABC): A day after hiking the prices of petroleum products by Rs30, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Friday decided to slash the petrol quota of the federal cabinet members and government employees, sources privy to the matter said. The government announced increasing the petrol price to Rs209.86 per litre. The price of petrol, diesel, and light diesel were hiked …

BUNER, June 03(ABC): PTI Chairman Imran Khan Friday warned the government against filing a treason case against him after reports emerged that key officials were mulling over the idea. Top federal government officials deliberated over going ahead with filing treason charges against Khan and the chief ministers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan, respectively, over PTI’s May 25 “Azadi March” during a special …

WASHINGTON, June 03 (ABC): A US medical team said Thursday they had reconstructed a human ear using the patient’s own tissue to create a 3D bioimplant, a pioneering procedure they hope can be used to treat people with a rare birth defect. The surgery was performed as part of an early-stage clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of …

ISLAMABAD, Jun 03 (ABC): Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail Friday said that the upcoming budget 2022-23 will focus on the better livelihood of the poor people and small traders as the government will present a pro people and business friendly budget. “Government was taking measures to find out pathways for the poor people to get them out of extreme poverty …

KARACHI, June 03(ABC): Google has launched a suicide hotline one box for Pakistan which enables users to connect quickly with a suicide helpline at the top of the search results page, a statement from the tech giant said. Anyone in Pakistan searching for suicide-related queries such as “suicide support” and “how can I commit suicide” will now be shown the …

ISLAMABAD, June 03(ABC): Key federal government officials deliberated over going ahead with filing treason charges against PTI Chairman Imran Khan and the chief ministers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan over PTI’s May 25 ‘Azadi March’ during a special committee meeting of the cabinet, reported Friday. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Interior, the cabinet’s special committee meeting …

ISLAMABAD, June 03(ABC): Pakistan’s trade deficit crossed $43 billion in the first 11 months (July-May) of the outgoing fiscal year 2021-22, as the pace of increase in imports was more than the surge in exports due to the sky-high oil import bill,  reported Friday, citing data from Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). Analysts fear that a record-high trade deficit may …

ISLAMABAD, June 02(ABC): Finance Minister Miftah Ismail announced Thursday that the price of petrol has been moved up by Rs30 to Rs209.86, a few days after increasing the rate of the commodity by the same amount. Ismail, in a press conference, said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved hiking the price of petrol, diesel, and light diesel by Rs30 per …

ISLAMABAD, June 02(ABC): Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said Thursday that Chinese banks have agreed to refinance Pakistan with $2.3 billion worth of funds which will “shore up Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves.” Taking to his Twitter handle, Miftah wrote: “Good news. The terms and conditions for refinancing of RMB 15 billion deposit by Chinese banks (about $2.3 billion) have been agreed.” …

ISLAMABAD, June 02(ABC): The Supreme Court Thursday returned the PTI’s plea seeking protection from the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) as the Imran Khan-led party planned on holding a second long march — after the first one ended abruptly last week. The Supreme Court’s registrar raised objections to the petition, noting that the top court had already issued an order on …

ISLAMABAD, June 02(ABC): The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) Thursday raised the basic power tariff by Rs7.9078/kWh for the next fiscal year 2022-23 increasing the burden of inflation on the people of Pakistan. The decision has been taken in line with the International Monetary Fund’s demands and the power distribution companies’ requests. Currently, the basic power tariff is Rs16.91 …

SHANGLA, June 02(ABC): PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Thursday vowed to keep holding rallies and continue his anti-government campaign till general elections are announced. Addressing a jalsa in Shangla, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the former prime minister said that he is staying in the province for two more days to prepare everyone for the “Azadi March” anew. “I am strengthening all my organisations in …

KARACHI, June 02(ABC): The Pakistani rupee strengthened for a fifth straight day on Thursday on the back of US dollar selling from exporters, while hopes that Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would reach a staff-level agreement to resume the bailout this month also supported the local unit. According to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), …

SINGAPORE, June 02(ABC): Moody’s Investors Service Thursday downgraded the outlook on Pakistan’s rating to negative from stable and affirmed the ‘B3’ local and foreign currency long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings. The decision to change the outlook to negative is driven by Pakistan’s heightened external vulnerability risk and uncertainty around the sovereign’s ability to secure additional external financing to …

ISLAMABAD, Jun 2 (ABC): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday warned his predecessor Imran Khan not to cross limits by giving statements about split of the country. “Do your politics, but don’t dare to cross limits and talk about division of Pakistan,” he said in a tweet from Turkey, where he is on a three-day official visit. Former prime minister …

ISLAMABAD, May 02(ABC): Following the controversy surrounding the appointment of senior PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi as a special assistant to prime the minister, he tendered his resignation on Thursday. Confirming the news, Abbasi expressed gratitude to PM Shehbaz Sharif for instilling confidence in him. Last month, Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Athar Minallah stopped Abbasi from working, saying that a …

TOKYO, June 02(ABC): Japan s Kawasaki Heavy Industries has developed its first quadruped robot that it believes can help with labor shortage in the country s aging society. BEX, the robotic goat, can lift up to 220 pounds , developed the super-strong quadruped to help move industrial cargo in Japan where the median age is 48.6. The horned robot can …

UNITED NATIONS, June 02(ABC): Nearly 100 days of the war in Ukraine have devastated children at a scale and speed unseen since World War II, and on average over two children are killed a day, the UNICEF said Wednesday. Highlighting the devastating and lasting consequences of the war on millions of the country’s youngsters, The UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, maintained …

PESHAWAR, June 02(ABC): PTI Chairman Imran Khan warned on Wednesday that if the establishment does not “take the right decision” then Pakistan would break into “three parts”. In an interview with a private television channel, the ousted prime minister said the country is on the brink of “suicide” if “right decisions” are not taken, as it might move towards default. …

ANKARA, June 02(ABC): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Wednesday renewed the pledge to boost the bilateral ties between the two countries to new heights. The prime minister is on a three-day visit to Turkey — his first since assuming office in April — where he will meet several Turkish officials and members of the business …

ANKARA, June 01(ABC): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday invited Turkish investors to explore Pakistan’s diverse sectors, particularly the energy sector, which offers immense opportunities and scope for development. The prime minister addressed the Pakistan-Turkey Business Council under the DEIK – Foreign Economic Relations Board, where he said Pakistan’s energy sector, with its vast potential in hydel, thermal, coal, wind, …

ISLAMABAD, June 01(ABC): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking permission for a second long march to Islamabad. The petition, filed by PTI Secretary-General Asad Umar, named the interior ministry, Islamabad inspector-general and others as respondents. PTI Chairman Imran Khan had abruptly announced the end of his ‘Azadi March’ on March 26 and had given …

NEW YORK, June 01(ABC): Meta-owned instant messaging app WhatsApp is developing a new feature for business accounts to enhance their profile by adding a cover photo, reported. WhatsApp rolled out the ability to set up cover photos for business accounts for iOS two months ago, however, the feature is still under development on WhatsApp beta for Android. According to the …

KARACHI, June 01(ABC): A life-changing spacebar trick has taken social media by storm as it could help people struggling to place the cursor of their smartphone before a particular alphabet while trying to rectify the error. The video shared on social media began with the text: “How old were you when you discovered the spacebar on your phone isn’t just for …

ISLAMABAD, June 01(ABC): Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Athar Minallah observed on Wednesday that no amendment in the Election Act, 2017 restricts overseas Pakistanis from using their right to vote. “Expats have not been deprived of their right to vote either in the former or existing laws,” Justice Minallah remarked during the hearing of a plea against the National …

ANKARA, June 01(ABC): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has vowed to take Pakistan and Turkey’s bilateral trade to $5 billion in the next three years, and urged Turk investors to come to Pakistan while assuring his full support to them. PM Shehbaz Sharif is currently in Turkey on a maiden three-day official visit. During his visit, PM will have a tete-a-tete with President …

ISLAMABAD, June 01(ABC): The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Tuesday issued the preliminary delimitation of constituencies in which it revised the National Assembly seats from 342 to 336. According to the ECP’s preliminary report, the number of general seats in the NA will decrease from 272 to 266. Balochistan will have 16 general seats in the NA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will have …