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ISLAMABAD: International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday, announced that a “Stand-By Arrangement” between the global money lender with Pakistan has been reached successfully, ARY News reported. According to the details, a staff-level agreement has been concluded between Pakistan and the IMF, valuing $3 billion for 9 months. IMF Mission Chief Nathan Porter along with his team maintained continuous communication with Pakistani authorities and completed the agreement through virtual negotiation. Regarding the agreement, IMF Mission Chief Nathan Porter has said that the staff-level agreement with Pakistan has been made under a Stand-By Arrangement for 9 months. READ: Pakistan ‘hopeful’ of IMF deal as loan programme set to expire tomorrow The final approval of this agreement will be given by the IMF’s executive board, which is expected to take place in mid-July. After this approval, Pakistan can receive a loan of $3 billion. Nathan Porter further stated that Pakistan’s parliament playe

LONDON: One of the world’s most common artificial sweeteners is set to be declared a possible carcinogen next month by a leading global health body, according to two sources with knowledge of the process, pitting it against the food industry and regulators. Aspartame, used in products from Coca-Cola diet sodas to Mars’ Extra chewing gum and some Snapple drinks, will be listed in July as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” for the first time by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the World Health Organization’s (WHO) cancer research arm, the sources told Reuters. The IARC ruling, finalized earlier this month after a meeting of the group’s external experts, is intended to assess whether something is a potential hazard or not, based on all the published evidence. It does not take into account how much of a product a person can safely consume. This advice for individuals comes from a separate WHO expert committee on food additives, known as JECFA (the Joint WHO and Fo

LAHORE: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said a staff-level agreement for a crucial bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was “very close” and expected in the next 24 hours. Pakistan is racing against time to unlock at least $1.1 billion under the lender’s ninth review of a $6.5-billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreed in 2019. The programme expires on Friday. “We are very close to signing a staff-level agreement with the IMF,” minister Ishaq Dar told Reuters late on Thursday. “I think it should come some time tonight or maximum within 24 hours. We have finalised everything.” A source familiar with talks told Reuters that Pakistan and the global lender were also in discussions for the release of the full $2.5 billion pending under the IMF programme. The source said the staff-level agreement was to set to initially unlock around $1.1 billion and then be followed by a “standby agreement” which could release the rest after the programme finishes on Saturday. A repres

Actress Zainab Shabbir’s pictures and video on Eid-ul-Azha are going viral on the social media Instagram. Watch ARY News live on  live.arynews.tv   The pictures and video showed her dressed in an elegant shalwar kurta. She felicitated Eid-ul-Azha greetings to Instagram users.  She prayed may Almighty Allah accept sacrifices and shower his blessings upon us.    View this post on Instagram   A post shared by 𝐙𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐫 (@zainabshabbir.11)   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by 𝐙𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐫 (@zainabshabbir.11) The actress swooned netizens with her latest pictures and video. They heaped praise on her looks and glimpses with heartwarming comments. With over 1.2 million followers on her Instagram handle, the celebrity frequently turns to the platform to share updates about her personal as well as professional life on the feed and stories. Related – Viral: Zainab Sh

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday spoke to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Iran’s Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi on phone and felicitated the governments and the people of both countries on the auspicious occasion of Eidul Azha, ARY News reported. In a telephonic conversation, PM Shehbaz and President of Azerbaijan reaffirmed their commitment to further enhance bilateral relations in all fields. Appreciating the warm hospitality extended to him and his delegation during his visit to Baku earlier this month, the Prime Minister expressed satisfaction that important engagements at the various bilateral levels were being coordinated in the wake of decisions taken during the visit. The Prime Minister extended an invitation to the President to visit Pakistan which he most graciously accepted. Meanwhile, PM Shehbaz in his telephonic conversation with President of Iran Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi reciprocated the kind sentiments and expressed heartfelt felicitations to the

Apple continues to bring changes to its iPhones via hardware and software updates. A YouTuber went a step ahead and recreated an iPhone 14 Pro Max which is eight-foot long with all the features of the original. Watch ARY News live on  live.arynews.tv   Matthew Beem shared a video which showed how he created the customized iPhone 14 Pro Max on YouTube. He built the gadget via touch-enabled screens of televisions, that are connected to a Mac Mini. There are buttons for adjusting the volume.    Even more surprising is that the user will have to jump to get their selfie taken due to the phone’s sheer size. Related – Everything you need to know about iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max Matthew Beem claimed it was extremely difficult for him to build the phone as he has not done anything like this before.  “I have never built anything like this before so this was extremely difficult,” he stated. “To top things off we drove this all the way to New York City to get people’s reactions in Times S

CHAMAN: Several inmates escaped the prison in Balochistan’s Chaman after overpowering guards when they were allowed out of cells for Fajr prayers in the wee hours of Thursday. The incident unfolded as the inmates of barrack No. 4 were being led out for prayers. Seizing a moment of opportunity, the prisoners launched a sudden and coordinated attack on the prison guards, overpowering them and taking control of the situation. Sources within the prison reported that many of the prisoners involved in serious criminal cases, including murder and other heinous crimes, had been housed in barrack No. 4. The prison authorities revealed that one inmate was killed in the ensuing retaliatory gunfire by the police. Two others sustained injuries during the clash and are currently receiving medical treatment. Meanwhile, a comprehensive search operation was launched in the vicinity of the prison to apprehend the escaped prisoners. from ARY NEWS https://ift.tt/jeRcLKJ

Presumed human remains and debris from the tourist submersible crushed to pieces in an undersea implosion that killed all five people aboard were recovered from the ocean bottom and brought ashore to Canada on Wednesday, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The possible remains and shattered bits of the submersible Titan, destroyed while diving to the century-old wreck of the Titanic, were carried to St. John’s, Newfoundland, about 400 miles (650km) north of the accident site, by the Canadian-flagged vessel Horizon Arctic, according to the Coast Guard. The evidence will be transported by a Coast Guard cutter to a U.S. port for analysis and testing by a marine board of investigation, convened by the Guard this week to conduct a formal inquiry into the loss of the Titan, the agency said. U.S. medical professionals also “will conduct a formal analysis of presumed human remains that have been carefully recovered within the wreckage at the site of the incident,” the Coast Guard statement added.

Pakistanis are celebrating Eidul Azha, also known as the Feast of Sacrifice, with zeal and fervour today (Thursday) amid prayers for an economic turnaround, ARY News reported. The South Asian nation faces one of its worst crises as the government struggles to revive a stalled International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. The day dawned with special prayers in mosques for the well-being of Ummah and progress, prosperity and security of the country. Eid prayer congregations were held at mosques, Eidgahs and open places in all cities, towns and villages. Ulema, in their Eid sermons, are highlighting the significance of the philosophy of great sacrifice rendered by Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) and Hazrat Ismail (AS). Later, people will offer sacrifice of animals to follow the Sunnah of Hazrat Ibrahim (AS). Civic authorities have made special arrangements for disposal of offals and other solid waste during the Eid days. ‘Maximum relief’ On the occasion of Eid ul Adha, Prime Minister Shehbaz

The latest pictures of actress and model Dur-e-Fishan Saleem on the festive occasion of Eid-ul-Azha are going viral on social media. Watch ARY News live on  live.arynews.tv   Dur-e-Fishan Saleem shared pictures of her in elegant Eastern wear on the visual-sharing application Instagram. She applied henna on her hands and wore a gajra on the occasion.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Durefishan Saleem (@durefishans) Dur-e-Fishan Saleem enjoys a huge fan following, in both online and offline spheres, thanks to not only her consistently amazing on-screen performances but also her stunning feed on social platforms. Related – Dur-e-Fishan Saleem is sight to behold in latest pictures It is pertinent to mention that celebrities are busy preparing for Eid-ul-Azha. Earlier, Faiza Khan shared pictures of her preparations as well.    View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Faiza khan (@faiza

Harrison Ford is bidding farewell to one of his most famous roles with the new film “ Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ,” which heads to theatres on Friday. Watch ARY News live on  live.arynews.tv The 80-year-old, who plays the adventurous Nazi-punching archaeologist, confirmed to Reuters that he will not be returning for more relic-related escapades. “I’m saying goodbye to a brilliant opportunity to bring joy to people,” Harrison Ford said in an interview, “but I wanted that last iteration of the series to be about character as much as anything.”   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Lucasfilm (@lucasfilm) The film starts with a digitally de-aged Harrison Ford, created with help from artificial intelligence, fighting Nazis to secure one-half of classical inventor Archimedes’ dial of destiny. While Harrison Ford has praised his youthful appearance in the film, he told Reuters he does not think a full-length movie with his yo

ISLAMABAD: The Central Development Working Party (CWDP) has approved installation and commissioning of 1000 Kilowatt Digital DRM Medium Wave Transmitter at the cost of Rs4 billion at High Power Transmitter Rawat, in the suburbs of Rawalpindi by Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation. A decision to this effect was made the CDWP meeting held in Islamabad with Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal in the chair. With this decision and approval of the full digitization plan, DRM is now the official digital standard of Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation. A DRM Steering Committee was constituted within the PBC in 2014 led by the then Director Engineering Kamran Saeed. The Committee started working on the DRM plan with its dedicated focus and succeeded in preparing a policy document containing an outline for digital migration and adoption of digital radio standard. Later, the DRM Steering Committee gave scores of presentations the Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the su

Columbian singer Shakira and Spanish footballer Gerard Pique were one of the prolific celebrity couples and their breakup shocked their fans. Watch ARY News live on  live.arynews.tv   Their first interaction happened at her concert in 2010. They made their relationship official the following year. They had their first son Milan in January 2013 and their second son Sasha in 2014. They parted ways after eight years.    View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Shakira & Piqué (@shakiraandpique) Shakira, in a recent interview, accused Gerard Pique of betraying her when her father William Mebarak was undergoing treatment in the Intensive Care Unit of a Spanish hospital. “He went to Barcelona to console me after I was consumed with sadness because of my separation,” she spoke about her father. “While he was at Milan’s first communion, he was gravely injured in an accident. Everything happened at once.  “My home was falling apart. I was

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Ishaq Dar on Monday called on Acting President Sadiq Sanjrani, who has assumed the role as President Arif Alvi went on Haj, and discussed country’s political situation. According to details, the finance minister arrived at the residence of Sadiq Sanjrani in Islamabad and expressed his condolences on the death of the latter’s aunt. During the meeting, Ishaq Dar and acting president also discussed country’s overall political and economic situation. Earlier in the day, Acting President Sadiq Sanjrani on Monday signed the Finance Bill 2023-2024 to make it come into force from July 1, 2023. The National Assembly had passed the Finance Bill 2023-2024, giving the go-ahead to the budgetary proposals for the upcoming financial year. The bill with a total outlay of Rs14,480 billion was moved by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in the house. Read More: Acting President signs bill limiting lawmakers’ disqualification period The House passed the

LOWER DIR: Law enforcement agencies foiled a major terrorism bid in Lower Dir ahead of Eidul Azha and recovered five suicide vests, 19 remote-controlled bombs and hand grenades and three SMGs during the search operation, ARY News reported on Monday. Police, Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) conducted a successful search operation on the Malakand border. The LEAs recovered five suicide vests, 19 remote-controlled bombs and hand grenades and three SMGs from the suspects. Moreover, the officials also recovered 30 kg of high-explosive material, five walkie talkie, 16 SMG magazines and hundreds of rounds. During the search operation, the officials seized medicines, clothes, bags, chargers, mobile phones, food and other weaponry. DPO Ziauddin told the media that terrorists were planning to carry out a major terrorist activity on Eidul Azha which was foiled by the law enforcement agencies. A search operation is underway in the district to arrest the terroris

WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new feature that will allow users to set a duration for messages in both group and individual chats. WaBetaInfo, in its reports, says that the new message pin duration feature will provide people with a convenient way to ensure timely and relevant information stays visible for a desired period. Once the set time elapses, the message is automatically unpinned, helping to maintain an organized, up-to-date, and clearer conversation. At the moment, the feature is under development and is expected to be released to beta testers in a future update of the app. Read more: WhatsApp introduces feature to silence unknown callers Explaining how the message pin duration will work, the report says that it will enable users to choose how long a message should stay pinned in a chat. It also shares a screenshot of the feature that shows how users will have the flexibility to select a specific duration after which the pinned message is automatically unpinned. It

The top leaders of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, are expected to meet Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, citing sources, ARY News reported. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari are present in Dubai. Sources told ARY News that the PPP top leaders would meet Nawaz Sharif today, whereas, other PPP leaders have also been summoned to Dubai. It is being said that both coalition partners in the incumbent government would make an important decision regarding the future strategy and national politics during the Dubai meeting. READ: Nawaz Sharif’s return: PM Shehbaz forms legal team Asif Ali Zardari flew to Dubai on Sunday evening, whereas, Bilawal was already present there. Nawaz Sharif and PML-N chief organiser Maryam Nawaz had reached Dubai a day earlier and held a meeting with the members of the Dubai Royal family. PM Shehbaz Sharif is expected to return to Pakistan soon after concludi

KARACHI: Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said Sunday that negative attitude is the biggest hurdle to the development of the metropolis, ARY News reported. While talking to the ARY News programme ‘Aiteraz Hai’, Mayor Murtaza Wahab said that issues in Karachi will be resolved if stakeholders get successfully end exhibiting negative attitudes. “Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has gotten the responsibility of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) now. PPP had won 13 towns of Karachi and 9 towns were won by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI).” READ: PTI expels six UC chairmen for abstaining Karachi mayor poll “It is important for the development of Karachi to set aside our political differences and address the public issues. I am inviting all stakeholders to sit together and work for the development of Karachi. Stakeholders must have something to tell the Karachiites about their performance after four years.” Wahab said that PPP won 155 seats in the local government (LG) polls and 130 were won by JI

AMROHA: In a shocking incident, a man in Indian State of Uttar Pradesh died after a vehicle allegedly belonging to a police officer crushed him. According to details, the incident – the video of which is going viral on social media – took place in Amroha city of Uttar Pradesh, wherein a police vehicle said to “belong to an additional SP-rank officer ” hit a man. The incident took place when the 42-year-old victim, Murad Ali, from Atrasi village, was on his way back home from work. CCTV footage of the area revealed that after hitting him, the blue SUV did not stop and fled the scene. ASP’s vehicle crushes man, leaves him on road as he bleeds to death in UP’s Amroha READ: https://t.co/K1M6VspJmq pic.twitter.com/CwZyhbS2cl — TOI Lucknow News (@TOILucknow) June 24, 2023 Ali later succumbed to his injuries during his treatment in a private hospital. As per the autopsy report, he suffered a head injury and his ribs were fractured which punctured his lungs, leading to his death. Af

VORONEZH: Mutinous Russian mercenary fighters who surged most of the way to Moscow have agreed to turn back to avoid bloodshed, Wagner chief Prigozhin said on Saturday, in a de-escalation of what had become a major challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power. The fighters of the Wagner private army run by former Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin were already most of the way to the capital, having captured the city of Rostov and set off on an 1,100 km (680 mile) race to Moscow. In an audio message, Prigozhin said the fighters would return to base because of the risk of blood being spilled. A deal to halt further movement of Wagner fighters across Russia in return for guarantees of safety for the rebels was brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, his office said. Earlier, Prigozhin said his men were on a “march for justice” to remove corrupt and incompetent Russian commanders he blames for botching the war in Ukraine. In a televised address from the Kremlin, Pre

MULTAN: Prime Minister’s Advisor on Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan and PPP’s senior leader Qamar Zaman Kaira said on Friday that the party would decide whether to contest the next general polls in alliance with the PDM or separately. Talking to newsmen at the residence of a trader Sheikh Akram Hanif, Kaira said that the Assemblies would complete their term in August 2023 and elections would be held within 60 or 90 days adding that everything would be done in accordance with the constitution. To a question on Karachi Mayor elections and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) protest, the PPP leader said that Jamat Islami has received a clear response from all, adding that the election process has been completed. He said that no party had a clear majority in Karachi Mayor elections but added that PPP emerged as the single largest party, reported the state news agency. Kaira said that they (JI) cannot get what they desire by using pressure tactics. So many days have passed since the mayor elections but

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has lifted all restrictions on imports to fulfil one more condition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), ARY News reported on Friday. The central bank issued a circular to end all restrictions on imports in order to fulfil another IMF condition. The federal government granted permission to banks for providing remittances to release more than 6,000 containers. The SBP stated in the circular that remittances will be provided for all imports after the enforcement of the latest order. The authorised dealers have been given instructions to provide remittances following the recommendations of the stakeholders, said the central bank. Yesterday, it was learnt that Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are facing challenges in reviving a loan program, leading to conflicts between the IMF and the Ministry of Finance. READ: In last-ditch effort, PM Shehbaz Sharif meets IMF MD in Paris Sources revealed that the plan to bridge the

VEHARI: The suspected man who allegedly raped a six-year-old mute girl in Danewal town was allegedly killed in police custody, ARY News reported on Thursday. Police said that the rape suspect Rehan was allegedly killed while trying to flee from police custody. Police detailed that the officials were returning to the police station with Rehan after a potency test when he tried to flee from custody after snatching a gun from a constable. They added that the suspect fired a bullet in his chest after snatching the gun from the constable. Police said that the suspect had confessed to raping the minor mute girl in a press conference. from ARY NEWS https://ift.tt/e12lndx