Author: Sajjad Ali

Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portugal forward, has surpassed one billion followers across his social media platforms, a milestone bolstered by the rapid success of his new YouTube channel, which has already garnered over 60 million subscribers in just over three weeks. Ronaldo, who recently scored his 900th career goal to lead Portugal to a 2-1 victory over Croatia in the Nations League, is now the first individual to reach a billion social media followers, according to global media reports. https://twitter.com/Cristiano/status/1834345123695538499 “We’ve made history, reaching one billion followers!” Ronaldo celebrated on X. “This milestone is more than just a number; it represents…

ISLAMABAD: An investigation has been initiated following an incident where a patient with mpox reportedly went undetected at Islamabad International Airport. According to reports, the health ministry is examining how the mpox patient, who arrived from a Gulf country on September 7, managed to travel to Peshawar without being screened. The Ministry of Health has decided to meet with the patient for further investigation. Officials noted that the patient showed no visible symptoms such as facial rashes or fever at the time of arrival. There are concerns that the Border Health Services staff may have been negligent in detecting the…

QUETTA: Two additional patients, including a woman, have tested positive for the Congo virus and are now receiving treatment in the hospital. The Congo virus cases are steadily rising across the country, with Balochistan reporting a total of 30 cases so far this year. One of the newly confirmed cases is from Musa Khel, while the other is from Kuchlak. Unfortunately, the province has also recorded six fatalities related to the virus this year.

WASHINGTON: The US State Department imposed sanctions on a Chinese research institute and several companies for their involvement in supporting Pakistan’s ballistic missile program. This action follows similar sanctions imposed in October 2023 on three Chinese companies accused of supplying missile-related items to Pakistan. The State Department identified the Beijing Research Institute of Automation for Machine Building Industry as a key player, stating that it had assisted Pakistan in acquiring equipment for testing rocket motors for the Shaheen-3 and Ababeel missile systems, and potentially for even larger systems. The sanctions also targeted Chinese firms Hubei Huachangda Intelligent Equipment Co, Universal…

ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board has announced to discuss a $7 billion loan program agreed upon with Pakistan earlier this year on September 25. Pakistan reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF in July, but the board’s approval for the 37-month loan program has been pending since then. The previous $3 billion IMF program was crucial in helping Pakistan avert a sovereign default last year amid a severe decline in foreign exchange reserves, currency depreciation, and soaring inflation. IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack confirmed the board meeting date, noting it comes after Pakistan secured necessary financing assurances from…

ISLAMABAD: The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has announced that it will not support the government’s proposed constitutional amendments regarding Pakistan’s judiciary. The party has instructed its senators to abstain from voting on the amendments unless explicitly authorized by the party leadership. According to sources, Senator Atta-ur-Rehman, the party’s parliamentary leader, issued a directive to fellow senators, including Kamran Murtaza, Maulana Abdul Wasey, Abdul Shakoor Khan, and Ahmed Khan. The directive emphasized that no senator should cast a vote on the constitutional amendments without written approval from the party’s leadership. The JUI-F has also warned that any senator who votes without authorization…

MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin warned that allowing Ukraine to use Western-made long-range missiles against Russian territory would mean direct involvement of the West in the conflict. He argued that such a development would significantly alter the nature and scope of the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been urging Kyiv’s allies to provide long-range missiles, such as the US ATACMS and British Storm Shadows, to strike deep into Russian territory and reduce Moscow’s capacity to launch attacks. Putin, however, claimed that supplying these missiles would involve NATO directly, as the targeting data and missile programming would require NATO military expertise…

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has suspended the eight-day physical remand of PTI MNAs who were arrested in connection with cases stemming from the September 8 rally. A two-member bench of the IHC, consisting of Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, reviewed the arguments presented by the petitioners’ lawyer. The lawyer contended that the physical remand order was unlawful, as the trial court had not provided any justification for granting it. He also argued that the prosecution had failed to present any evidence against the accused. The IHC bench agreed with the petitioners’ claims and suspended…

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) recently held a hearing on petitions challenging the suspension of the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, across Pakistan. During the session, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) confirmed that it had revoked the notification responsible for the platform’s suspension. Saad Siddiqui, representing the PTA, informed the court that the directive to shut down X had been rescinded. The court then asked if this meant the platform’s access was now restored. However, Moeez Jafri, who represented the petitioners, noted that despite the notification’s withdrawal, users were still unable to access X. The court…

BANNU: A terrorists involved in earlier today attack on polio team that left a policeman dead, has been killed in police shootout in Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday. Earlier today policeman assigned to guard a polio vaccination team was martyred in a shooting near a migrant camp in Bannu. This incident marks the second attack in recent days targeting polio workers and security personnel, following an earlier attack in Bajaur district that resulted in the deaths of a polio worker and a policeman. In response to these attacks, police have refused to participate in polio vaccination duties. The slain…