News Update

 

 

  ANKARA: Turkey has announced a 2021 public investment programme worth 138.5 billion lira ($18.53 billion), with communication and transportation projects receiving the largest allocation of the investment funds. The programme, published in the Official Gazette, set aside nearly $6 billion for public investments in the transportation and communication sectors in 2021, and another $2.6 billion for education projects. Other investment areas include manufacturing, health, agriculture, tourism and energy. Read  Clock ticking on $1b UAE cash facility Under the programme, Turkey’s Transport and Infrastructure Ministry will receive some $2 billion, while the State Hydraulics Works (DSI) will receive $1.8 billion and the Highways Directorate $1.75 billion. President Tayyip Erdogan, who has been in power for nearly 20 years with five consecutive election victories, had until 2018 enjoyed steady annual growth of around 5% fuelled by cheap foreign credit and “mega projects” ranging from bridges

  In Pakistan, while women are taking active participation in all segments of the economy it is quite unfortunate that many of them go on doing their jobs and day-to-day activities without having access to the internet. A new  study  titled “Women Disconnected: Feminist Case Studies on the Gender Digital Divide Amidst Covid-19” suggests that six in ten women in Pakistan face restrictions from their families when using the internet. The key findings of the study suggest that 4 in 10 of the 115 respondents who took the survey use the internet every day, while 2 in 10 respondents do not use the internet at all. Further, half of the respondents who use the internet daily, come from families with over 60,000 monthly income while 7 in 10 of those who do not use the internet come from families with below 30,0000 monthly income. This shows that affordability contributes largely to women’s use of the internet. Further, the gender divide is also dependent on the region a woman lives in, for exam

  Ten days after rioters breached the US Capitol in a deadly attack that stunned the world, cities nationwide were girding for a potential new wave of violent protests over the weekend, erecting barriers and deploying thousands of National Guard troops. The FBI warned police agencies of possible armed demonstrations outside all 50 state capitol buildings starting Saturday through President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan 20, fueled by supporters of President Donald Trump who believe his false claims of electoral fraud. Michigan, Virginia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Washington were among more than a dozen states that activated their National Guards to strengthen security. Meanwhile, downtown Washington, DC, was virtually empty, with streets near the Capitol closed and battalions of camouflaged National Guard soldiers taking up positions across the city center. The nationwide security scramble followed the deadly Jan 6 attack on the US Capitol by a mix of extremists and Trump supp

  ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the  Prime Minister  on Power Tabish Gohar said the federal government was all set to raise  electricity  tariff amount to roughly Rs2 from this month. He confirmed that the power tariff “increase is inevitable” in January as it was one of the major conditions laid by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the revival of $6 billion aid programme and the need of the power sector. The premier’s aide disclosed it on Friday in a talk show on Express News, The Review. Hours after the federal government jacked up POL prices for a second time in a month, the SAPM apprised that power tariff would also be increased in January, saying Prime Minister Imran Khan was likely to announce the hike formally. In December 2019, it was reported the premier gave a go-ahead to increase electricity prices whereby they were expected to go up by 25% or Rs3.34 per unit on account of annual base tariff increase of the previous fiscal year. However, Gohar revealed the prices w

  RAWALPINDI: Federal Minister for Aviation  Ghulam Sarwar Khan  on Saturday said the  Pakistan  International Airlines ( PIA ) had failed to pay lease on time due to the coronavirus pandemic and the Malaysian court issued an order without listening to the arguments of the national flag carrier. Talking to media persons, the minister said the PIA officials would appear before a London court on January 22 and a Malaysian court on January 24 after which the national carrier would accept the decision of the courts. The  PIA  had acquired the plane on expensive lease during the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) tenure, he added. “Two  PIA  planes were leased by the PML-N government in 2015, which expired in June, but due to the coronavirus, their instalments were not paid on time. Read more:  PIA plane 'impounded' in Malaysia over $14m lease dispute “Our case regarding the plane is already pending in a British court,” Sarwar said. “In the meanwhile, our plane was stopped by fili

  ISLAMABAD: The  International Monetary Fund  (IMF) has said that business environment can be improved by improving accountability system, enhancing institutional coordination and improving civil service and professional and competitive environment. In a report entitled ‘Economic Governance Reforms to Support Inclusive Growth’, the IMF has stated that  Pakistan  has reduced the period for obtaining permits required for  construction  through reforms of the business laws. “Pakistan is one of the countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, where time period has reduced because of the measures taken for the development of the construction sector,” according to the IMF report. The report has also said that digitisation and e-services initiatives could help improve the quality of services by limiting individual decisions, adding that offering incentives can also help improve performance. Citing the example of Pakistan, the IMF has said that the country has increased tax re

  ISLAMABAD: The ruling  Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf  and one of the main opposition parties, the  Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz , on Saturday bickered over the foreign funding case with the latter accusing the prime minister of concealing his money trail and the former saying that everything was done according to the law. In a recorded video message, ousted premier Nawaz Sharif asked Prime Minister Imran Khan to give the money trail in the  foreign funding case  against the PTI as well as questioned the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as to why and on whose instructions was it hesitant to share details of the matter and issue a verdict in the case pending for over six years. “Imran Khan accepted about two to three days ago that there were errors in the foreign funding case but held his agents responsible for it,” Sharif said. However, talking to media persons in Multan on Saturday, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the PTI collected funds within the ambit of the law an

  Shahid Kapoor made the news last year as he wrapped up  Jersey  in December 2020, one whole year after he initially commenced filming the sports drama feature.   In spite of coronavirus, the cast and crew of the film together to complete the remaining film and have now broadcasted a release date for the motion picture. The makers of  Jersey  have now reserved the 2021 Diwali slot for the film's release. Holiday movie slots tend to be reserved for hits. However, this sports feature might become challenging for Kapoor as reported by  Pinkvilla . Re-creation of the analytically applauded and commercially successful Telugu film by the same title, Kapoor is all set to take his fans and the spectators by storm as  Jersey  will release in theatres and skip the OTT route. Jersey  features Shahid Kapoor in lead with, Mrunal Thakur and Pankanj Kapur, directed by Gowtham Tinnanuri. The film has been expansively shot in Chandigarh with Kapoor stepping into the shoes of a cricketer. “JERSEY r

  On the event of her birthday, Blackpink’s Jennie launched her own YouTube channel, and fans are ecstatic about seeing their favourite on screen. On Friday, the idol uploaded her first   video  on her new channel titled ‘Jennierubyjane Official’, reported   Pinkvilla . The video opened with the Blackpink member saying, “Hello, it’s Jennie. I finally got to open my YouTube channel. I was thinking about what to do for my birthday, and I decided to share my daily life and exciting things with you.” Later into the video, Jennie performed some famous Hollywood tunes. She executed the cover of  This is Us  actor Mandy Moore’s  When Will My Life Begin?  from the animated Disney movie called  Tangled . Later on, the  Ice Cream  songstress showed a preview of her life at home amidst the pandemic. The  Solo  chanteuse garnered 1.86M followers within a day with 6.3M views on her video. As an early birthday present from fans, on Saturday Jennie became the first South Korean female singer to cross

  ISLAMABAD: Following approval from Prime Minister Imran Khan, the government on Friday increased the price of petrol by Rs3.20 effective from January 16, 2021. The Finance Division announced a hike of Rs3.20 per litre in the price of petrol and an increase of Rs2.95 per litre for highspeed diesel. Meanwhile, the price of kerosene oil went up by Rs3 per litre and light diesel oil became costlier by Rs4.42 per litre. Despite the increase, the government claimed that it did not pass on the full impact of global oil prices and the exchange rate to the general public as recommended by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra). The regulator had worked out a massive increase in prices of petroleum products, which was based on the standard 17% general sales tax (GST) and applicable petroleum levy of Rs30 per litre with effect from January 16. Following the hike in prices, the new rate for petrol now stands at Rs109.20 per litre while the price for high-speed diesel is Rs113.19 per litre w

  ISLAMABAD: The government is contemplating removing customs duty after withdrawing the 5% import duty on cotton yarn and in this connection the final decision will be taken by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) within the next couple of days, said Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Raak Dawood. Addressing trade bodies during a zoom meeting, he lauded the industrialists and exporters who had succeeded in enhancing the textile export by 7.79% during the July-December period despite Covid-related restrictions. He added that the timely decision by the government to open the industrial sector also played a major role in stabilising the economy, in addition to keeping the jobs of millions of workers intact. Read  FBR looks to reduce cost of doing business Dawood claimed that the efforts of the government had also been recognised on an international level, adding that industries had fully adhered to the Covid SOPs, which had helped continue exports during the lockdown pe

  New Netflix original series named   Lupin  ( Lupin: Dans l’Ombre d’Arsène ), produced by Gaumont, created by George Kay in collaboration with François Uzan, has become the streaming platform’s most popular French show since it’s initial release just a week ago on January 8. The series features Omar Sy as protagonist who has done previous roles in  The Intouchables ,  Jurassic World  and  X-Men: Days of Future Past. Lupin  has entered Netflix’s Top 10 Shows in most countries around the globe, including Pakistan where the series stands on No. 1. In the U.S,  Lupin  became the first French series to enter the Top 10 list, at number 8, quickly rising up to No.1 over the weekend.  Lupin  now seems to be wrestling with  Bridgerton  for the first place in the U.S, the U.K. and Australia. Fans and celebrities instantly took it to Twitter to appreciate the series with it’s witty yet thrilling take on Arsène Lupin. American actor named Sharone Stone tweeted, “ LUPIN  another great Omar Sy proj

  ROME: South Korean director Bong Joon-ho, whose  Parasite  movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture last year, was named Friday as jury president of the 2021 Venice Film Festival. "I'm ready to admire and applaud all the great films selected by the festival. I'm filled with genuine hope and excitement," Bong said in a statement issued by festival organisers. Festival director Alberto Barbera said Bong would be the first South Korean jury president, and saluted him as "one of the most authentic and original voices in worldwide cinema." "Parasite," a dark comedy about the gap between rich and poor, made history as the first non-English-language movie to win an Oscar for Best Picture. It also picked up three other statuettes at the Academy Awards for Best Director, Best International Feature and Best Original Screenplay. The Venice Film Festival is one of the most prestigious in the world, rivalling with Cannes and Berlin, and the oldest. Its 78

  ISLAMABAD: Experts from the public sector and the civil society have urged the government to engage with the private sector to complete development projects and to consider civil society organisations (CSOs) as partners for development of the country. They expressed their views during a webinar titled ‘The State of Civil Society in Pakistan’ jointly organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy (PCP) on Saturday. Economic Affairs Division (EAD) INGOs/NGOs Joint Secretary Syeda Adeela Bokhari informed the participants that her division regulated only those INGOs which received financial contribution from foreign countries and donors. “To ensure accountability and financial transparency of the INGOs/NGOs, the ministry has devised a new draft policy, which will be implemented after formal approval from the federal cabinet,” Bokhari said. “In addition, a web-portal is being created to facilitate online applications for registration

  ISLAMABAD: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has not yet indicated that it wants to withdraw $1 billion cash support – maturing next week – to Pakistan. The facility can be extended for one more year. Moreover, Islamabad is set to repay the remaining $1 billion to Riyadh that is also maturing on the same day – January 24 – said sources in the Ministry of Finance. The return of the third and final loan tranche of $1 billion to the kingdom would mark the end of the $6.2 billion financial support package that Riyadh had provided to the country for three years in October 2018. The kingdom had withdrawn the $3.2 billion deferred oil financing facility in May last year and the cash assistance between July and January 2020-21. The original timeframe for returning the loan was 2022. The UAE had also announced a $6-billion  package  for Pakistan. This included $3 billion in cash injection and another $3 billion in oil supply on deferred payments. It disbursed $2 billion cash but withdrew the oil