NEW YORK: Little Richard, whose outrageous showmanship and lightning-fast rhythms intoxicated crowds in the 1950s with hits like “Tutti Frutti” and “Long Tall Sally,” has died. He was 87 years old. Citing the rock ´n´ roll pioneer´s son, Rolling Stone...

BEIRUT: Usually the kingdom of water tanks and satellite dishes, Lebanon´s rooftops have recently been graced by unlikely scenes of locked-down residents fleeing their flats. Deprived of rehearsal rooms or workshops by restrictions imposed to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, or just...

TUNIS: Jet fuel tanks at Tripoli’s Mitiga airport were targeted in an attack on Saturday that caused a large fire, Libya’s National Oil Corp said.Mitiga is the last functioning airport in the Libyan capital, though civilian flights stopped in March because of repeated shelling even...

ROME: A young Italian woman who was kidnapped in late 2018 from an orphanage in Kenya, has been freed, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced on Saturday.Silvia Romano was 23 and working as a volunteer in the orphanage in Chakama village in southeast Kenya when she was seized by gunmen in...

NOUAKCHOTT: Worshippers packed Mauritania’s largest mosque on Friday, mostly ignoring social distancing rules, after the West African state lifted restrictions on public prayers meant to curb coronavirus infections.The government said this week it would "progressively ease" a series of...

NEW YORK: Little Richard, whose outrageous showmanship and lightning-fast rhythms intoxicated crowds in the 1950s with hits like "Tutti Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally," has died. He was 87 years old.Citing the rock ‘n’ roll pioneer’s son, Rolling Stone magazine said on Saturday the...

A total of 14 positive coronavirus cases were detected on the May 8 expat return flights, the state-run National News Agency said Sunday.

Islamabad : The business community welcomes the announcement of Prime Minister Imran Khan to lift countrywide lockdown in phases and reopen all construction related industries as well as shopping centres for five days in a week as it would help the businesses and industrial units to revive...

Islamabad : Tarnol Police on Friday raided a fake beverage factory in its area and confiscated thousands of empty and filled bottles of various brands, a police spokesman said on Friday.Following directions and guidance of IGP Islamabad Muhammad Aamir Zulfiqar, the police spokesperson said that...

Islamabad : Industrial-Area police have arrested a wine dealer and recovered 115 bottles of wine and 150 litres liquor from him, a police spokesman said.He said that Deputy Inspector General of Police Waqar Uddin Syed assigned special task to SP Industrial Area Zubair Ahmed Sheikh, to ensure...

Islamabad: Anti-Car Lifting Cell of Islamabad police busted an Afghan gang involved in bike lifting and recovered 10 motorcycles worth hundreds of thousands of rupees from them, the police spokesman said.DIG Waqar Ud din Syed assigned task to SP Dr. Syed Mustafa Tanveer to accelerate efforts...

Rawalpindi : Another two patients died of coronavirus illness, COVID-19 in town in last 24 hours taking total number of deaths so far caused by the disease to 46 in the district while four have already lost their lives due to the illness in the federal capital.Data collected by ‘The...

Rawalpindi : Once more, a 13-year-old rape victim has been left with no other options but to move mountains in pursuit of seeking justice against the culprits who had ruined her life and are now taking every advantage with illegal support of some police officials in twisting facts and realities in...

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has drafted tax proposals for Budget 2020-21 mainly focusing on “simplification of laws and removing tax anomalies,” Dawn has learnt from knowledgeable sources.

Unconfirmed reports are that the government is likely to announce a ‘tax-free budget’, an official in the FBR told Dawn, adding a final decision will be taken after consulting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after Eidul Fitr.

Also read: Govt, IMF agree to put on hold $6bn programme

Meanwhile, Finance Adviser Abdul Hafeez Shaikh has already termed the next year budget a ‘corona-budget’.

It will depend on the IMF whether it considers Pakistan’s proposal to lower tax target for TY21. The Fund had proposed a tax target of Rs5.1 trillion for the next year, which is higher by 30pc from the FY20’s proposed collection.

Consultation with IMF after Eidul Fitr

For the current year, the IMF has lowered the FBR tax target to Rs3.9tr, from Rs4.8tr to subside the impact of Covid-19 on businesses. However, achieving this benchmark also depends on the revival of activity before and after Eid and the entire June, the official added.

Another senior tax official told Dawn that the Fund officials meeting with Pakistani economic team will determine the direction of the next budget whether it will be tax-free or have some taxation to achieve the following year’s target.

The official said the FBR has already completed its homework on budget proposals for the next year and is currently working on identifying anomalies that should be removed.

“We are also working on simplification of tax laws to facilitate taxpayers,” the official said.

At the same time, the FBR is also engaging all stakeholders to identify problems related to taxation for redressal. “We will also consider tax incentives in the next budget for some sectors to help them revive their business,” they added.

Some of the proposals on the table from stakeholders are the revival of zero-rating for the five export-oriented sectors, allowing lower rates of sales tax on domestic sales of textile, clothing, waiver of CNIC conditions for traders and reducing the sales tax rate to 5pc from 17pc. “These are the demands of the stakeholders,” the official said.

Tax officials privy to budget-making said the FBR will try to avoid the introduction of new tax measures but will defend the continuation of those already in place. “It will be best to preserve our existing tax measures for now and see onward in the year how it progresses,” the officials commented.

At the moment, the focus is on the ease of doing business and facilitating taxpayers through information technology support. As the economy will revive, the FBR will support any new taxation proposals, they continued.

However, a senior tax official said the FBR cannot do away with maximum existing tax measures. “We need money for running the government machinery,” he said, adding other measures like printing of notes will add to inflationary pressure in the country.

The FBR has already worked out the impact of ongoing lockdown and closing down of businesses on the country’s revenue collection. The IMF has approved the incentive package for the construction sector on the request of Prime Minister Imran Khan to create employment.

“We are under an IMF programme so all budget proposals will be discussed with them,” the official said.

The FBR estimates a revenue loss of Rs450 billion in the first quarter (July-September) of next fiscal year in case the partial lockdown remains. It further projects that in case the partial lockdown extends, the tax body will see another shortfall in revenue realisation to the tune of Rs350bn.

According to the official, the FBR will try to recover some portion of the shortfall in the second half of the year. However, the government will have no other options but to seek a loan to bridge revenue shortfall. “You cannot bridge such a huge gap with new tax measures,” the source said.

Moreover, the FBR estimates also show that imports will remain on the lower side in the first half-year and so is the case of exports until orders revive. The domestic economy will revive to some extent while revenue collection from the services sector will be much lower from last year’s level.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2020

Palo Alto, CA – Aha™ by HARMAN today announced new content available via the free Aha Radio app for Android and iOS and included in the in-vehicle infotainment system in over 40 models of cars. With the addition of self-improvement publisher Hay House, live podcast network BlogTalkRadio and leading national broadcasters American Public Media (APM) and CBC/Radio-Canada, Aha adds thousands of new programs, across a multitude of genres, extending its content library of 40,000 audio and non-audio programs to include exactly what consumers want to hear in the car, at home, and on the go.Specific offerings include APM’s business and economic news program Marketplace, AAA station The Current, Classical Minnesota Public Radio and regional news from Southern California Public Radio and Minnesota Public Radio.

Palo Alto, CA – Aha™ by HARMAN announced today that it has partnered with Fishidy and has rolled out ParkVisitor’s services, expanding its already robust content pipeline. Aha uses the HARMAN Cloud Platform to enable Web-based entertainment and information in vehicles using a radio-like format that is familiar to drivers. More than 40,000 music and non-music programs that span from live radio stations to podcasts and audiobooks from the Web are delivered straight to the car's dashboard through a seamless connection with an Aha smartphone app for iOS and Android systems.

CES 2014, LAS VEGAS – HARMAN, the premium global audio and infotainment group (NYSE:HAR), unveiled two new services for the automotive market that leverage the Aha by HARMAN Cloud Platform and HARMAN’s infotainment system design leadership to ensure safe, personalized and connected driving experiences throughout the life of the vehicle. Extending beyond the popular Aha Radio interactive content service, the new Aha Updates and Aha Analytics services take HARMAN’s expertise and investments in cloud infrastructure into new directions.

CES 2014, LAS VEGAS – HARMAN today announced it will begin delivering targeted audio advertising to its users through a partnership between its Aha Radio and AdsWizz. A leading global technology provider of advertising solutions for the digital radio and audio industries, AdsWizz will be Aha Radio’s primary technology partner in enabling targeted audio advertising in vehicles and mobile phones through the Aha Radio app.This is the first time that the AdsWizz server-side Audio Injector for Streamers (AIS), built to be compatible with most of the market recognized streaming technologies, will be used in the vehicle audioadvertising space.

Palo Alto, CA – August 12, 2014– HARMAN announced today that its Aha Radio service has integrated Radio Disney, the #1 radio network for kids, tweens and families, into today’s two million Aha-enabled vehicles. This alliance represents the continuing effort of Aha by Harman to further expand its content offerings and specifically, provide an enjoyable experience for all users, regardless of age or taste in music.

Little Richard, the self-proclaimed "architect of rock 'n' roll" who built his ground-breaking sound with a boiling blend of boogie-woogie, rhythm and blues and gospel, died on Saturday at the age of 87.

A major U.S. airline trade group on Saturday said it backed the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checking the temperatures of passengers and customer-facing employees during the coronavirus pandemic.

Tesla Inc sued local authorities in California on Saturday as the electric carmaker pushed to re-open its factory there and Chief Executive Elon Musk threatened to move Tesla's headquarters and future programs from the state to Texas or Nevada.

Japanese Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Sunday the government is looking to lift the state of emergency in "many of 34 prefectures" that are not among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic before the nationwide deadline of May 31.

Former President Barack Obama described President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic as "chaotic" in a conference call with former members of his administration, a source said on Saturday.

Australia's most populous state, home to Sydney, will allow restaurants, playgrounds and outdoor pools to reopen on Friday as extensive testing has shown the spread of the coronavirus has slowed sharply, New South Wales state's premier said on Sunday.

Former President Obama, who has largely kept out of the fray even as President Trump has blamed his Democratic administration for a variety of problems related to the pandemic, described Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic as "chaotic" on a call, a source said. Colette Luke has more.

Little Richard, the self-proclaimed "architect of rock 'n' roll" who built his ground-breaking sound with a boiling blend of boogie-woogie, rhythm and blues and gospel, died on Saturday at the age of 87.

The PGA of Australia tour will be extended from this season with tournaments staged well into the new year, the governing body of professional golf in the country announced on Sunday.

Justin Gaethje put on a striking masterclass to score a surprise knockout victory over Tony Ferguson and win the interim lightweight title at UFC 249, which took place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday.

As the NBA begins to allow practice facilities to reopen on a team-by-team basis, with state and local rules regarding reopening dictate which teams can welcome players back, one NFL coach wants his league to take a different approach when pro football gets back to work.

Google's Chromebook Pixel is quite versatile after all. I can run Chrome OS and Linux at the same time, and switch between the two, allowing me to use Skype and other third party apps!

The Linkase for iPhone 5 boasts up to a 50 percent boost in Wi-Fi signal strength thanks to a small electromagnetic waveguide extension. Does it work? See for yourself in these mobile speedtests where Wi-Fi is usually terrible.

While still 68% rural, it seems India is the only exception to Democratic theory. Professor Ashutosh Varshney explains where the country's political and economic strengths lie.

Professor Ashutosh Varshney of Brown University analyzes the current state of India's democratic system as well as the strengths and challenges in this rapidly growing nation. Full interview.

Little Richard, the self-proclaimed "architect of rock 'n' roll" who built his ground-breaking sound with a boiling blend of boogie-woogie, rhythm and blues and gospel, died on Saturday at the age of 87, Rolling Stone magazine reported. This report produced by Jillian Kitchener.

Little Richard, the self-proclaimed "architect of rock 'n' roll" who built his ground-breaking sound with a boiling blend of boogie-woogie, rhythm and blues and gospel, died on Saturday at the age of 87, Rolling Stone magazine reported. This report produced by Jillian Kitchener.

Amid a dispute with local officials over stay-at-home orders, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted on Saturday that Tesla will move its headquarters and future programs to Texas or Nevada from California immediately. Colette Luke has more.

Former President Obama, who has largely kept out of the fray even as President Trump has blamed his Democratic administration for a variety of problems related to the pandemic, described Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic as "chaotic" on a call, a source said. Colette Luke has more.

(Clarifies in paragraph 18 that some UK newspapers carried images of Charlie Hebdo front pages)

A Maryland politician who said he would sue a newspaper if it printed his name, Kirby Delauter, has apologized after his threat garnered national attention, the targeted newspaper reported on Thursday.

Four years ago Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais turned his sharp tongue on voters of the awards show, ridiculing them for nominating the poorly reviewed Johnny Depp-Angelina Jolie action thriller "The Tourist."

Google Inc may be moving into the U.S. auto insurance market with a shopping site for people to compare and buy policies, an analyst said on Thursday, as it continues to shift its attention to the automotive industry.

Google Inc may be moving into the U.S. auto insurance market with a shopping site for people to compare and buy policies, an analyst said on Thursday, as it continues to shift its attention to the automotive industry.

Tesla Inc's chief executive Elon Musk tweeted https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1259162367285317633 on Saturday that Tesla will move its headquarters and future programs to Texas or Nevada from California immediately.

* PM Johnson to detail Britain's next steps on Sunday (Adds comment from transport minister, Balpa, updated death toll)