Entertainment
ECC approves hike in profit margins of petroleum dealers, OMCs
- Petrol diesel rates likely to rise up to Rs2.56 per litre: sources.
- Committee approves amendments to vehicle import procedure.
- ECC okays summary seeking curbs on chloroform imports.
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal to revise the profit margins of oil marketing companies (OMCs) and petroleum dealers on petrol and high-speed diesel.
The ECC meeting was chaired by Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb.
The adjustments were made in line with the National Consumer Price Index (CPI) for 2023–24 and 2024–25, with increases capped between 5% and 10%.
It also decided that half of the increase in the margins will be paid immediately, while the remaining half will be conditional on digitisation progress, with the Petroleum Division to report back by June 1, 2026.

Sources told Geo News that the decision would push the prices of petrol and diesel by up to Rs2.56 per litre. An increase of Rs1.28 per litre in petrol and diesel prices will be passed on immediately, they added.
It emerged that the hike of Rs1.22 per litre in OMCs’ margin on petrol has been approved, while dealers’ commission on petrol has been raised by Rs1.34 per litre.
For diesel, the OMCs’ margin has also been increased by Rs1.22 per litre, and dealers’ commission by Rs1.34 per litre, the sources added.
New scheme for vehicle imports
The committee approved amendments to the vehicle import procedure, retaining only the transfer of residence and gift schemes.
Under the revised framework, commercial-import safety and environmental standards will apply to these schemes, the intervening import period will be extended from two to three years, and imported vehicles will remain non-transferable for one year.
Restrictions on chloroform imports
The ECC of the federal cabinet also approved a summary seeking restrictions on chloroform imports due to its toxic and carcinogenic nature, and decided that Trichloromethane (chloroform) would only be imported by pharmaceutical companies and only with a DRAP-issued NOC.
It also considered a summary regarding the claim of M/s Ghani Glass for a concessionary gas/RLNG tariff and decided the request was untenable as such subsidies were no longer permissible and that wider export-support initiatives were already in progress.
It also reviewed the Circular Debt Management Plan for FY 2025–26, presented by the Power Division, for ensuring financial sustainability and efficiency in the power sector.
The ECC called on the Power Division, in coordination with the Finance Division, to develop a medium-term plan for gradually reducing fiscal support.
It also asked the Power Division to institute a follow-up mechanism with the distribution companies (Discos) to ensure delivery of the targets committed to the Government.
On another summary, the committee approved a technical supplementary grant of Rs1.28 billion for the Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) to facilitate digital transformation and technological innovation across government departments.
The committee further approved the release of funds as technical supplementary grant relating to the development expenditure of the Cabinet Division for FY26, as proposed by the Interior and Narcotics Control Division.
The ECC also approved the allocation of Rs5 billion to the Housing and Works Division through a technical supplementary grant for the current fiscal year.
On a summary by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, the ECC approved creating a special-purpose company to wind up Passco and settle its remaining liabilities.
It authorised the company’s incorporation, administrative and financial arrangements, and necessary regulatory exemptions, along with appointing initial subscribers and interim management.
The company will be dissolved once its mandate is fulfilled.
Additionally, the committee accorded in-principle approval for the release of budgetary allocation for PIA Holding Company Ltd (PIAHCL) to meet pension and medical related expenses of the PIACL employees.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik, Minister for Power Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, Minister for Investment Board Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, along with federal secretaries and senior officials from the concerned ministries, divisions and regulatory bodies.
— With additional input from APP.
Entertainment
Crew that flew Apache helicopters near Kid Rock’s house suspended from flying
The crew operating two Apache helicopters that were seen hovering outside the home of singer and rapper Kid Rock over the weekend has been suspended from flying, a spokesperson for the Army said Tuesday.
The aircrew has been grounded while the Army conducts a formal investigation into why the AH-64 helicopters flew near the singer’s Nashville house and a No Kings protest during a training mission.
Army spokesperson Maj. Montrell Russell said in a statement that the investigation will look into “the circumstances surrounding the mission, including compliance with relevant FAA regulations, aviation safety protocol, and approval requirements.”
“The Army takes any allegations of unauthorized or unsafe flight operations very seriously and is committed to enforcing standards and holding personnel accountable,” Russell said.
It is not clear what the purpose of the training mission was. It was also not immediately clear how many people the suspension affected.
Kid Rock said in an interview with local ABC affiliate WKRN that he thinks the crew is “going to be alright.”
“My buddy’s commander-in-chief,” he added, referring to President Trump. He also said he doesn’t know what the Army is looking into, as the helicopters “stopped for, I don’t know, seconds? A minute?”
The singer said, “It’s not the first time they’ve flown over my house,” noting the pilots fly from Fort Campbell and he often sees the helicopters.
After Kid Rock posted two videos of the helicopters on social media Saturday, Maj. Jonathon Bless, a spokesperson for the 101st Airborne Division, said in a statement Monday that the Army had opened an investigation into the incident, adding they “take all concerns regarding aircraft operations and their impact on the surrounding community seriously.”
The videos Kid Rock shared on social media show helicopters hovering outside his home. One video shows him standing poolside next to a replica of the Statue of Liberty, clapping wildly, as the helicopter hovers. He salutes the pilots before they fly away.
A second video shows Kid Rock pumping his fist as the helicopter flies away.
In his interview with WKRN, Kid Rock said he spoke to pilots at Fort Campbell last year during a Thanksgiving celebration. The singer, who appeared at the holiday event with Vice President JD Vance, said he told the pilots they are “always welcome” to cruise by his house.
He told WKRN he thinks it’s a great thing if it made the pilots happy to fly by his house and “it’s harmless.”
Entertainment
Severe storms, tornadoes to hit US as April begins
Severe weather is forecasted for the central United States as April begins, with threats of tornadoes, damaging winds, and hail.
Experts have also raised concerns about flooding through the first week of the month.
As reported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a stationary front stretching from the Northeast California will remain nearly in place through Thursday, April 2.
It is expected that multiple rounds of disruptive thunderstorms will hit the central states.
The most severe weather threat on Tuesday was focused from southern Michigan to northeast Illinois, and then into northern Indiana and Ohio.
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center issued a slight risk, level 2 of 5, for parts of the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley through Wednesday morning.
Damaging winds and large hail are also possible.
For Plains and Mississippi, there’s a severe threat forecast on Wednesday, April 1, stretching from central Texas through Kansas into Missouri.
By Thursday, April 2, the threat will shift to the Midwest, with storms capable of producing strong wind gusts and hail from northern Arkansas to southern Michigan.
Meanwhile, freezing rain and snow will occur in the far north tier, with winter precipitation occurring in the Upper Mississippi Valley, the Great Lakes, and the Northeast through the mid-week period.
Total rainfall amounts from Texas to the Great Lakes and central Appalachians are predicted to range from 1 to 4 inches, with locally higher amounts up to 6 inches possible.
Entertainment
Taylor Swift sued by Vegas performer for trademark infringement over “The Life of a Showgirl”
Taylor Swift is facing a new lawsuit over her latest album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” which accuses the singer of trademark infringement.
Filed Monday in federal court by Las Vegas performer Maren Wade, the complaint claims Swift titled her hit record despite being aware of its resemblance to the title of a column that Wade penned for Las Vegas Weekly called “Confessions of a Showgirl,” centered around anecdotes about her experiences in the entertainment industry. The column was first published in 2014, the document said, and Wade later adapted it into a live show and book by the same name.
Wade obtained a registered trademark for “Confessions of a Showgirl” from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2015. The trademark eventually received “incontestable” status, signaling the owner’s right to exclusively use it after having done so consistently for a period of years, according to the lawsuit and the trademark office.
When Swift later applied to register a trademark of her own for “The Life of a Showgirl,” the office denied her application, allegedly on the grounds that its title was “confusingly similar” to Wade’s already established one, Wade’s attorney, Jaymie Parkkinen, told CBS News in a statement.
“They continued using it anyway, expanding it across a coordinated commercial program and distributing it through retail channels reaching millions of consumers” the lawsuit said, referring to Swift’s team. It added that Wade “was never contacted” about the name.
The lawsuit claims that Swift’s album title undermined Wade’s personal brand, after the performer had spent more than a decade building it.
“She registered it. She earned it,” said Parkkinen. “We have great respect for Swift’s talent and success, but trademark law exists to ensure that creators at all levels can protect what they’ve built. That’s what this case is about.”
Wade’s complaint said similarities between “Confessions of a Showgirl” and “The Life of a Showgirl” are “immediate,” as both titles “share the same structure, the same dominant phrase, and the same overall commercial impression.” It also said the brands “are used in overlapping markets and are directed at the same consumers.”
In addition to trademark infringement, the suit also accused Swift and UMG Recordings of unfair competition and, specifically, false designation, a law that prohibits goods or services circulated in commerce from misrepresenting their origins to consumers. UMG Recordings is a branch of Universal Music Group, to which Swift is signed. The lawsuit also named Bravado International Group Merchandising Services, Inc., another branch of UMG.
Wade is seeking unspecified damages for “the irreparable harm to her business, reputation, and goodwill” as a result of the alleged trademark violation, as well as a court order that would prevent Swift from continuing to use the title of her hit album.
Swift’s commercial success “does not depend on the continued use of any single designation,” the lawsuit argued, while “Confessions of a Showgirl” is Wade’s only trademark and the basis of her “professional identity and career.”
“It is not one mark among hundreds,” the complaint said. “It is the only one she has.”
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