Pakistan News Express

Members of National Assembly held a meeting with Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq in Islamabad today and discussed the formation of standing committees.

Those who met the Speaker included Syed Naveed Qamar, Shazia Marri, Malik Aamir Dogar, Mujahid Khan, Aijaz Jakhrani, Khalid Hussain Magsi, Gul Asfar Khan, Noor Alam Khan, Zain Hussain Qureshi, Aminul Haq, Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Hafeez Uddin and Moin Aamir.

Source: Radio Pakistan

Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz introduced a scheme aimed at providing motorcycles to students through interest-free installment plans, generating a remarkable response with over 100,000 students registering on the portal, as reported by ARY News.

The Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) received approximately 16,000 online applications through its portal, with records indicating that over 13,000 students applied for petrol bikes and 3,800 for electric motorcycles.

Eligible students from Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Bahawalpur, and Rawalpindi can apply before the April 29 deadline in the initial phase.

Under this initiative, students can obtain petrol motorcycles and electric bikes through convenient monthly installment plans, with the Punjab government covering the down payment and paying the interest.

CM Maryam Nawaz launched this project under the Chief Minister Youth Initiative on April 12, aiming to provide 20,000 bikes.

Through this initiative, male students can avail themselves of motorcyc
les by paying Rs. 11,676 per month, while female students can benefit from Rs. 7,325 per month.

Motorcycles will be distributed in Lahore based on district population density, ensuring fair access for students across the region.

The deadline for bike applications is April 29, 2024, and interested students can apply through the Punjab government’s official website.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain has expressed the commitment to facilitate industry and business to improve their competitiveness.

He was addressing the closing ceremony of four-day international training programme on gemstone in Islamabad today.

The Minister said it is our collective responsibility to make sure that industry is facilitated and its true potential is realized, while all stakeholders are expected to be more determined towards industry-led economic growth.

Rana Tanveer Hussain further said that special efforts are being made to promote gem and jewelry industry in the country.

Source: Radio Pakistan

The Punjab government has formulated the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act 2024 to prevent marriages below the age of 18.

As per available documents, anyone involved in marrying a girl or boy under the age of 18 or facilitating such a marriage will face imprisonment ranging from two to three years along with a fine of up to Rs. 2 lac.

Furthermore, those involved in registering marriages of minor children will face imprisonment ranging from two to three years, along with a fine ranging from Rs. 1-2 lac.

Parents or guardians found facilitating, supporting, or permitting the marriage of minor children will be subject to imprisonment for a minimum of two years and a maximum of three years. In addition, they will face a fine ranging from Rs. 1-2 lac.

The draft specifies that complainants regarding child marriage can include parents or guardians, neighbors, community members, teachers, local body members, social workers, friends, mosque imams, and Nikah registrars.

The prosecution of individuals charged with
child marriage shall be conducted by the courts established under Section 3 of the Family Court Act 1964, as empowered by Section 20.

During the marriage registration process under the aforementioned Act, the Nikah Khawan, Secretary Union Council, and Marriage Registrar will verify the computerized identity card, passport, educational certificate, or other documentation proving both of them are at least 18 years of age.

Copies of the computerized identity card, passport, educational certificates, and other documents verifying age must be attested and submitted along with the marriage certificate. Any violation or omission in this regard shall be considered an offense punishable under Section 6 of the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2024.

If any dispute arises concerning the determination of the age of either party to the marriage, the court will ascertain the age based on birth certificates, educational certificates, or other pertinent documents following a hearing on the matter.

If these documents a
re unavailable, the age of both individuals will be assessed via a medical examination report. This legislation ensures prompt action upon reports of child marriage, with both law enforcement and judicial bodies swiftly addressing such cases, even before the marriage ceremony.

The Family Court, as empowered by the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, will have the authority of a Judicial Magistrate of First Class. Any breach of the Act may result in arrest by the police under an irrevocable warrant.

Individuals found guilty by the Family Courts under this legislation have the right to appeal to the Sessions Courts.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The Senate began its session at the Parliament House in Islamabad this afternoon with Chairman Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani in the chair.

Maulana Abdul Wasay and Faisal Wawda took oath as senators today.

Chairman Senate Syed Yusuf Raza Gillani administered the oath.

Later the newly elected Senators signed the roll of members.

Seven ordinances were laid before the House today.

These include: ‘The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023’, ‘The Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023’, ‘The Pakistan Postal Services Management Board (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023’, ‘The National Highway Authority (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023’, ‘The Criminal Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023’, ‘The Pakistan Privatization Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023’ and ‘The Establishment of Telecommunication Appellate Tribunal Ordinance, 2023.’

‘The Election (Amendment) Bill, 2024’, ‘The Motion Pictures (Amendment) Bill, 2023’ and ‘The Establishment of Special Court (Overseas Pakistanis Pro
perty) Bill, 2023’ were introduced in the Senate today.

Meanwhile, Minister for Foreign Affairs Ishaq Dar laid a copy of the Money Bill, the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 in the House.

He also moved that the Senate may make recommendations, if any, to the National Assembly on the Money Bill and ‘The Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024.’

The Chairman referred the Money Bill to the Special Committee in order to examine it and make commendations to the National Assembly by Monday.

Source: Radio Pakistan

WhatsApp’s upcoming dialer feature has leaked in the past, but it has appeared in the latest beta version once again, signifying that it’s coming soon as the company has started working on it again.

The feature has been spotted on WhatsApp for Android’s beta version 2.24.9.28, meaning it may come to Android before iOS.

WhatsApp’s dialer will allow you to call contacts without having to save their numbers. It would also let you message new contacts by simply dialing their number in the app, saving the hassle of going through the address book and saving their numbers, which is ideal for temporary contacts you are only going to message once or twice.

Hidden Groups

Another feature WhatsApp is adding soon is called ‘Hidden groups’, which will hide groups in communities. These groups will only be visible to Community admins, who will be able to find and remove them. Additionally, only invited members will be able to join the find the group.

Passkeys

As for the iOS side of things, WhatsApp is finally rolling o
ut password-less logins through Passkeys, a feature that came out on Android last year in October. Through passkeys, iOS users will be able to log in through Face ID, Touch ID, or their phone’s passcode.

According to WhatsApp spokesperson Zade Alsawah, passkeys will roll out to iOS users over ‘the upcoming weeks.’ This means if you don’t have the feature just yet, it should become available soon enough.

You can check if you have the feature by heading over to Settings > Account > Passkeys.

Source: Pro Pakistani

President Asif Ali Zardari has emphasized collective efforts to curb malaria.

In his message on World Malaria Day, he said Pakistan is determined to implement new initiatives under the Global Malaria Programme. He said the measures are aimed at testing, confirming and standardizing the treatment of every suspected case of malaria.

Expressing concerns over the rise in Malaria cases in different parts of the country due to the devastating floods of 2022, Asif Ali Zardari called upon the provincial governments and other stakeholders to unite to deal with this alarming situation. He also called for raising awareness about the disease.

Source: Radio Pakistan

As HMD Global gradually lays its classic Nokia brand to rest, the Finnish phone maker is establishing its own HMD brand, starting with its new Pulse phones. The new HMD Pulse series features three phones, HMD Pulse, Pulse+, and Pulse Pro, all of which are priced between the pound 100-pound 200 range.

HMD is confident that consumers are leaning towards eco-friendly products and are giving importance to how easy it is to repair them. According to HMD, the Pulse range is designed with ‘Gen 1 repairability’ in mind, and users can get DIY repair kits from iFixit. These repairs cover two of the most commonly damaged components, the screen and the battery.

HMD Pulse

Starting with the HMD Pulse, serves as the starting point among the three models. It’s important to highlight that all of them are powered by the same chipset, the Unisoc T606 with Android 14 and 2 years of promised OS updates.

HMD Pulse trio unveiled: affordable phones with ‘Gen 1 repairability’

Moving on, the 6.65′ LCD is another feature shared by
all three models. It has a 720p+ resolution (20:9 aspect ratio) and a 90Hz refresh rate. However, it doesn’t stand out much, offering a peak brightness of 600 nits and covering only 70% of the NTSC color space.

What distinguishes the three models most noticeably are their cameras. As the entry-level option, the Pulse features a 13MP main camera on the rear, equipped with autofocus and dual-LED flash, accompanied by a single depth sensor. Meanwhile, the punch-hole cutout in the front features an 8MP selfie camera.

Regarding the battery, it packs a 5,000 mAh capacity and is labeled as ‘QuickFix replaceable.’ While it is not as easily replaceable as old phones with removable rear panels, HMD says it should only take 5 minutes to replace the battery with simple, easily available tools.

The battery should be good for about 800 cycles and can be charged at 10W speeds if you can even call it ‘speed.’

HMD Pulse has a starting price of pound 140 and memory configurations include 4 to 6 RAM with 64 GB built-in stor
age that can be expanded through a microSD card. It comes in black and pink color options.

HMD Pulse+

HMD Pulse+ is priced slightly higher at pound 160 but keeps the same screen specs as the HMD Pulse as well as the Unisoc T606 chipset, an old 12nm chip with two Cortex-A75 cores and six A55 cores. However, it takes RAM up to 8 GB and the built-in storage is 128 GB instead of 64 GB, expandable through a memory card.

HMD Pulse+ with 50MP rear camera

The main upgrade comes in the camera department, which features a 50MP sensor (up from 13MP), alongside the same 2MP depth sensor. There is no mention of video recording capabilities but it is worth mentioning that the chipset cannot go higher than 1080p recording. The selfie camera is an 8MP shooter.

The 5,000 mAh battery is also shared between the two, with the same 10W charging. HMD Pulse+ takes the price up to pound 160 and comes in Apricot Crush (Orange) and Midnight Blue color options.

HMD Pulse Pro

Despite being the top dog in the series, the HMD Pulse
Pro is not that far ahead of its siblings. The main camera setup is the same as the HMD Pulse+ (50MP + 2MP) and the Unisoc T606 budget chipset is shared too. The 720p screen is sized at 6.65 inches, just like the others and the memory options are identical as well. The selfie camera takes a major jump to 50MP.

The other upgrade would be the phone’s charging tech, which is rated at 20W instead of 10W like the others, but it’s still on top of the same 5,000 mAh battery, which is not low by any means.

HMD Pulse Pro adds another pound 20 to the price, taking it up to pound 180. The colors are called Glacier Green, Black Ocean, and Twilight Purple.

Specifications

HMD Pulse HMD Pulse+ HMD Pulse Pro

Chipset Unisoc T606 Unisoc T606 Unisoc T606

CPU Octa-core (2×1.6 GHz Cortex-A75 and 6×1.6 GHz Cortex-A55) Octa-core (2×1.6 GHz Cortex-A75 and 6×1.6 GHz Cortex-A55) Octa-core (2×1.6 GHz Cortex-A75 and 6×1.6 GHz Cortex-A55)

GPU Mali-G57 MP1 Mali-G57 MP1 Mali-G57 MP1

OS Android 14 Android 14 Android 14

Supported Ne
tworks 2G, 3G, 4G LTE 2G, 3G, 4G LTE 2G, 3G, 4G LTE

Display 6.65″ IPS LCD, 720 x 1612 pixels, 90Hz 6.65″ IPS LCD, 720 x 1612 pixels, 90Hz 6.65″ IPS LCD, 720 x 1612 pixels, 90Hz

RAM 4 GB, 6 GB 4 GB, 6 GB, 8 GB 4 GB, 6 GB, 8 GB

Storage 64 GB 128 GB 128 GB

Card Slot Yes Yes Yes

Main Camera 13 MP, (wide), AF

Auxiliary lens 50 MP, (wide), AF

Auxiliary lens 50 MP, (wide), AF

2 MP, (depth)

Front Camera 8MP 8MP 50MP

Colors Meteor Black, Dreamy Pink Apricot Crush, Midnight Blue Black Ocean, Glacier Green, Twilight Purple

Battery

5,000 mAh, 10W wired charging 5,000 mAh, 10W wired charging 5,000 mAh, 20W wired charging

Price

pound 140 pound 160 pound 180

Source: Pro Pakistani