In order to curtail the risk of the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and limit the physical interaction of citizens at the branch level, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has waived off transactional charges on various modes of online payments for customers on a temporary basis to be effective from March 20.
Customers can now make banking transactions without any charges for fund transfer, utility bills payments, tax submission, mobile top-ups and etc.
According to a circular issued by SBP, commercial and microfinance banks shall waive all charges for customers using their online fund transfer services including Intra and Interbank Fund Transfers (IBFT) till further instructions.
Banks/MFBs shall waive the transaction charges on RTGS customer transfers (MT 102 and MT103). In this regard, SBP has also waived charges on such transactions with immediate effect till further instructions.
It has been decided that fees earned on all online bill payment services including utility bill payments..
Category: Auto
Its Not a Test Championship Without Pak-Ind Matches: Waqar Younis
Former Pakistan captain, Waqar Younis has come forward with the suggestion that the International Cricket Council (ICC) needs to intervene for Pakistan-India cricketing ties to improve.
In an interview, the current bowling coach of Pakistan cricket team said that the ICC World Test Championship without a Pakistan-India series does not make any sense.
The ICC should have intervened and done something because to me having a test championship without Pakistan and India Test matches makes no sense.
As per the rules, each team has to play 6 other teams in the two-year-long competition, meaning that the arch-rivals don’t have to face each other in the tournament.
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Acknowledging the tensions between the two governments, Waqar said that ICC needs to play a more ‘proactive role’ for cricketing relations between the two countries to resume.
The tournament, which started on 1st August 2019 will end with..
Toyota Yaris Launch Has Been Delayed Indefinitely
We have seen the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the global auto market, with factories shutting down and drops in both sales and production. This will also affect us as one of the local automakers is delaying an upcoming model.
There are reports that the launch of Toyota Yaris, which was originally set to take place on the 27th March in Lahore, will be delayed. Due to the outbreak, the launch has been postponed again with no formal date announced as per media reports. Sources say:
No firm decision has been taken about the launch as the situation is changing daily.
On the other hand, market sources are saying that the company might do a soft launch in Lahore. Toyota has already done a line-off ceremony for the Yaris at the start of March at its Karachi plant and the car was showcased to the dealers.
Now we have to wait to see, what the company decides and formally announces.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
Govt to Reduce Electricity Tariff Soon
The federal government has decided to review all local and international energy agreements to reduce the adverse effects of coronavirus on the country’s economy and to pass on the relief to the common man. This was decided during a federal cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan heading it.
During the meeting, PM Khan said that the crippling situation of the economy due to the novel virus should not impact the poor segments of the society. He directed the finance minister to take necessary steps in this regard.
Energy Accords to Be Revised Special Assistant to the PM on Information and Broadcast, Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan, briefed media regarding the cabinet decisions.
Dr. Awan said that the meeting agreed to review all accords in the energy sector, including the ones with Independent Power Projects (IPPs) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
The cabinet was apprised that when the previous government signed these agreements, the value of the US dollar was around 60 Pakistani rupees..
Facebook is Giving $1000 to Employees to Support Them Amidst the Epidemic
Facebook announced a work from home policy for all of its employees a few days ago and now they’re also planning to give out a $1000 bonus to every worker to help them amidst the epidemic.
The decision was reportedly announced by founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg through an internal memo on Tuesday. Facebook later explained the details saying that all of the bonuses will be distributed throughout April.
The social media giant has around 45,000 full-time employees across the globe and each of them will also receive an “exceeds” rating based on their first six-month review for 2020. This will lead to bigger bonuses for employees that will further help them during the outbreak.
Some of the full-time workers at Facebook have also taken over the work from contractors so they can stay at home. Facebook is also paying these contractors while they stay at home.
Additionally, the company is also offering $100m to smaller businesses to help them cope with the economic impact of the pandemic. T..
Shoaib Akhtar Lashes Out at Peshawar Zalmi Owner For His Coronavirus Remarks
Former Pakistan cricketer, Shoaib Akhtar has criticized Javed Afridi’s statement regarding the continuation of the Pakistan Super League amid coronavirus scare.
Peshawar Zalmi’s owner had earlier said that it was only a matter of 48 hours if the PCB wanted to complete the remaining matches. The semi-finals were scheduled for Tuesday with the final slated for Wednesday 18th March as per the revised schedule.
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Here’s what Javed Afridi said:
I back the decision to postpone the league but on a personal note I was in favour of holding the remaining matches as well. While we were discussing this issue in meeting with other PSL franchises and PCB, I raised the point that it is just a matter of 48 hours, so let the PSL conclude in a better way.
Shoaib Akhtar didn’t approve of Afridi’s suggestion, saying it would have put a large number of people at risk.
One of the team owners is still saying that these remaining ..
Crude Oil Prices Drop to Lowest Levels Since 2003
Oil extended its slide to the lowest level in almost 17 years as the coronavirus pandemic threatens to bring the global economy to a standstill, battering demand just as supply explodes.
Oil prices fell for a third session on Wednesday to be down about more than 17% so far this week as the outlook for fuel demand darkened amid travel and lockdowns triggered by the coronavirus epidemic.
WTI Crude oil was down $1.37 or 4.79%, at $25.96 a barrel. Whereas Brent crude was trading down 85 cents, or 2.92%, at $27.89 a barrel.
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The coronavirus crisis is weighing on prospects for demand as people refrain from flying or driving amid lockdowns and border closures.
A drop in U.S. inventories of crude, gasoline and distillates, as reported by an industry group, provided some support to prices, but the demand outlook remains grim amid a price war among major producers.
Moreover, Saudi Arabia and Russia are engaged..
Oppo Launches a 4G Variant of the Reno 3 With Quad Cameras
Oppo released a 4G-only variant for last year’s Oppo Reno 3 Pro 5G a while ago and now they’re doing the same with the regular Reno 3 5G as well. The non-5G Reno 3 features a design identical to the 5G variant, but with a few differences in hardware specifications.
Design and Display The Oppo Reno 3 LTE has a 6.4-inch AMOLED display with a tall 20:9 aspect ratio and a waterdrop notch. The display includes an optical fingerprint sensor that is capable of incredibly fast unlocking speeds.
The back has a vertical quad-camera setup in the top left corner and a dual-LED flash unit next to it.
Internals and Storage The device is powered by the Mediatek Helio P90 SoC with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage space. Unlike the 5G variant, this one does not come with a 12GB RAM option. The storage, however, is expandable via a micro SD card.
For gamers, Oppo has included a Hyper Boost feature to stabilize in-game frame rates up to 38% and increase response time by 16%.
Camera The primary camera setup..
KSE-100 Records The Biggest Two-Day Decline in History
Pakistan Stock Exchange continued its bearish trend owing to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak as investors were swamped by extreme uncertainty.
During the last two consecutive sessions, KSE-100 has declined by 3,444 (-9.55%) points which is the highest two-day decline in the history of Pakistan, stated an AHL report.
At the end of the day, the KSE-100 index fell by 3.17% or -1,068 points to close at 32,617. The market rose by 209 points to 33,894 points during the opening minutes of trading but failed to maintain upward momentum as it touched an intraday low of 1,268 points.
Source: Capital Stake Samiullah Tariq, Head of Research at Arif Habib Ltd said that the market is down as a consequence of a decline in regional markets, lower commodity prices, expected slow down in the global economy and negative impact arising from the outbreak of COVID-19.
After today’s session, KSE-100 saw a 20% decline in the ongoing year.
The market remained Yo-Yo in light of new virus cases emerg..
Cricketers React to PCB’s Decision to Postpone PSL 2020
Following the decision to postpone the last three matches of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), the social media is saturated with opinions regarding the development.
Cricket fans, experts and cricketers are all sharing their views on the decision to call off the matches for an indefinite period. With almost all sporting events being canceled or postponed, it looks like the right thing to do.
Both former and active cricketers have also weighed in with their opinion. Let’s have a look at what they are saying:
Sad but wise.
Should Multan be crowned as champions? Afridi thinks so.
Safety comes first.
Rashid Latif likes the decision.
There’s more to life than cricket.
What are your thoughts on the decision? Let us know in the comments.
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