Businessmen urge govt to revoke IPP deals
Pakistan-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) has underscored the importance of cancelling all agreements with independent power producers (IPPs) and procuring electricity from cheaper sources without any capacity charges.
A consensus in that regard was reached at a think tank session of the PCJCCI held at the Chamber Secretariat last week in July.
“Despite a vast potential for solar energy, Pakistan has only scratched the surface of its capabilities. The country is blessed with abundant sunshine, making it an ideal location for solar power generation,” the PCJCCI said.
In other countries, solar energy is available for four cents, but in Pakistan, the government is selling it for 13 cents, which needs to be pondered. Pakistan’s government, while recognising the importance of renewable energy, has introduced some favourable policies and incentives to promote solar energy development.
“China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has played a crucial role in fostering solar energy cooperation between the two countries,” PCJCCI President Moazzam Ghurki said, adding that pending capacity payments of Rs. 2 trillion, required to be given to the IPPs, had paralysed economic activities.
He urged the government to take decisive action before the prevailing desperation triggered a total economic collapse.
HBL wins “Best Bank in Pakistan 2024” award by Euromoney
Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2024 has awarded HBL the accolades of Pakistan’s Best Bank, Pakistan’s Best Bank for Corporates, and Pakistan’s Best Bank for ESG.
These awards are the most prestigious recognition in the banking industry, globally. They are a recognition of HBL’s leadership performance and innovative approach reaffirming its dedication to providing superior banking services and sustainable business practices.
The Euromoney citation for HBL acknowledges that “HBL achieved a record profit before tax of $403 million in 2023, a 47% increase compared with 2022.”
The citation went on to note that HBL is undergoing a transformation that is “focused around creating synergy between the largest physical network in the country and its advanced digital capabilities to serve its base of over 37 million customers”.
The citation mentioned that HBL had improved “its internal environmental, social and governance structure, updating its social and environmental management policy and developing a sustainable environmental management operating procedure.”
Commenting on the achievement, Muhammad Nassir Salim, President and CEO of HBL, said, “We are deeply humbled to be recognized by Euromoney in these three critical categories. Winning these awards is a testament to our relentless pursuit of excellence and innovation. These wins are a tribute to our millions of clients’ continued trust and confidence in HBL and our continuous effort to lead with integrity and sustainability in all our operations.”
Euromoney is a global English-language publication focused on business and finance.
Pakistan’s tallest man passes away
Zia Rashid, the tallest man in the country, died after a protracted illness at his native 94-WB village near Mailsi, Vehari district. He was 26.
Zia, son of Dr Abdul Rashid, was eight feet and three inches tall.
He had been suffering from arthritis, and his condition worsened last year after he fell from stairs and was bedridden since then. People from the area largely attended his funeral prayers. He was claimed to be the second tallest man in the world.
Modi urged to defer the implementation of new criminal laws
Indian lawyers and activists are urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to put three sets of new criminal laws on hold, arguing they will increase litigation in an already overburdened justice system and give excessive powers to police.
This month, India replaced its criminal justice system with new laws — the Indian Penal Code of 1860, the 1973 Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872.
The new laws, in force since July 1, expand police powers on pre-trial detention of an accused and introduce the death penalty for gang rape of women aged under 18, among other provisions. They also mandate judges to issue written rulings within 45 days after a trial ends and for charges to be framed within 60 days of the first court hearing in a case.
Indian lawyers fear old cases could continue to drag on as the ruling deadlines apply only to new cases after July 1. There is confusion about which laws—old or new—will apply to cases registered after July 1 for a crime committed before that date.
India says thousands of judiciary officials, public prosecutors, and police officers have been trained to apply the new laws. Modi’s government says there are “various misconceptions” being spread about the laws, which are “victim-centric” and will make the system “most modern” in the world.
‘Mehman’ Concludes Coke Studio Season 15
Coke Studio Season 15 comes to a close with the release of its eleventh and final song, “Mehman.” It features the powerful vocals of Zebunnisa (Zeb) Bangash and Noorima Rehan alongside the uniquely Nizam ud Din Torwali.
Mehman is a multi-artist collaboration that speaks to hospitality on Earth and from a higher, more divine plane. The song speaks to those seeking answers and guidance from the sublime and abundant wisdom.
Curated by Xulfi with Music Produced by Abdullah Siddiqui and Xulfi, directed by Awais Gohar, and art directed by Hashim Ali, the music video for Mehman takes viewers on a visual journey through a world as lush and pristine as the Garden of Eden, juxtaposed with moss-covered stone ruins.
The song ends as a beast, and the bird symbolically returns to Eden – an eternal spring that awaits those who travel life’s path without regret or reservation.
Justin Bieber wows celebrities at the Ambani gala
Canadian pop star Justin Bieber entertained some of India’s biggest celebrities in the latest installment of months-long wedding celebrations thrown for the son of Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani.
Bieber, who shot to prominence as a teenage heartthrob, was among several global celebrities who had jetted into India for the marriage festivities of Ambani’s younger son Anant and fiancée Radhika Merchant.
Bieber, who flew in from Los Angeles, was pictured at the Mumbai airport, wearing an oversized pink T-shirt and a bucket hat.
Footage of his concert in the financial hub that night shared on social media showed him performing his 2015 hit “Sorry” in front of hundreds of VIP revellers. Bollywood star Salman Khan and former India cricket captain M.S. Dhoni were among the celebrity guests in attendance.
Indian media reports said Bieber was rumoured to have been paid up to $10 million for the performance.
The Backstreet Boys, US rapper Pitbull, and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli also provided entertainment.
Eight killed, two million affected by floods in Bangladesh
The death toll from floods in Bangladesh in July rose to eight, leaving more than two million affected after heavy rains caused major rivers to burst their banks.
The South Asian nation of 170 million people, crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers, has seen more frequent floods in recent decades.
Climate change has made rainfall more erratic and melting glaciers upstream in the Himalayan mountains.
Two teenage boys were killed when a boat capsized in flood waters in Shahjadur, the northern rural town’s police chief Sabuj Rana said. “There were nine people in the small boat. Seven swam to safety. Two boys did not know how to swim. They drowned,” he said.
Authorities say the flood may worsen north as the Brahmaputra flows above danger levels.
Bangladesh is in the middle of the annual summer monsoon, which brings South Asia 70-80 per cent of its yearly rainfall and regular deaths and destruction due to flooding and landslides.
The rainfall is hard to forecast and varies considerably, but scientists say climate change is making the monsoon stronger and more erratic.
Dr Raza Shah appointed as Unesco Chair
Dr Muhammad Raza Shah, a professor at the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) of Karachi University (KU), has been appointed the head of the Unesco Chair on Medicinal and Bio-organic Natural Product Chemistry.
The UN body recently wrote to the KU vice chancellor in this regard, expressing its agreement with the latter’s recommendation for the post.
Prof Shah, also the author of six books, has been working in nanomedicine and supramolecular chemistry for the past several years.
Dubai crown prince named UAE defence minister
Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum appointed his son, the emirate’s crown prince, as defence minister of the United Arab Emirates, in a cabinet reshuffle.
“Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has joined the government of the UAE as Deputy Prime Minister and has been appointed Minister of Defence,” Sheikh Mohammed, UAE’s prime minister, wrote on X.
Sheikh Hamdan, 41, is the second son of Sheikh Mohammed and has held the title of crown prince of Dubai since 2008.
The royal graduated from Sandhurst Military College in 2001 and became chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, a body responsible for strategic development plans in the emirate, in 2006. His father, Sheikh Mohammed, has been defence minister since the founding of the UAE in 1971, when he was just 22.
Foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan was also appointed deputy prime minister in the cabinet reshuffle.
Other new appointments include Alia Abdulla AlMazrouei as minister of state for entrepreneurship, Sarah Al Amiri as minister of education, and Abdulrahman Al Awar as acting minister of higher education and scientific research.
KP Sharma Oli appointed new prime minister of Nepal
Nepal’s president appointed Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli as prime minister for a fourth time in July after his communist party forged a coalition government with the center-left Nepali Congress.
First elected prime minister in 2015, he was reelected in 2018 and briefly reappointed in 2021 in Nepal’s often turbulent parliament.
In the Himalayan republic of about 30 million people, overshadowed by giant neighbours India and China, Oli previously struck a delicate balance between the rivals, cordial to both but reaching out to Beijing to decrease Nepal’s dependency on New Delhi.
His predecessor and former coalition government ally, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, lost a vote of confidence barely 18 months after taking office.
Dahal, a former Maoist guerrilla commander better known by his nom de guerre Prachanda (“The Fierce One”), was forced to step down after Oli’s party withdrew its support.
Oli instead forged a deal with Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress.
He has promised to yield the post to the former five-time prime minister Deuba, 78, later in the parliamentary term. Nepal’s next general elections are due in 2027.
Govt to crack down on ‘negative propaganda’ on social media
The federal government has decided to crack down on ‘negative propaganda’ on social media, with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) inviting bids to install firewalls.
Internet service providers have requested bids to install next-generation and application firewalls.
These next-generation firewalls will possess deep packet inspection capabilities, allowing for data inspection up to layer seven.
PTA sources mentioned that the next-generation firewalls will enable real-time data monitoring, URL filtering, application control, and malware protection.
These firewalls will take proactive measures against cybersecurity threats, and the web application firewalls will monitor and filter data for web applications.
The PTA has invited electronic bids through the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) e-procurement system.
TikTok removes over 20m videos from Pakistan
TikTok has revealed that from January to March this year, the company removed 166.99 million videos worldwide for breaching the platform’s community guidelines. This number includes over 20 million videos from Pakistan.
According to TikTok’s latest community guidelines enforcement report, in the first quarter of 2024, TikTok’s proactive measures removed 166,997,307 videos worldwide, representing about 0.9 per cent of all videos uploaded on the platform.
In a bid to enhance transparency, TikTok has now disclosed the number of comments removed and filtered by its comment safety tools for the first time. During the three-month period, TikTok removed and filtered 976,479,946 comments.
During the same period, the platform took action against 20,207,878 videos in Pakistan alone for breaching its community guidelines.
It said that approximately 93.9pc of videos that violated the guidelines were removed within 24 hours of posting, and the proactive removal rate for the quarter stood at 99.8pc globally. TikTok also deleted 21,639,414 accounts suspected of belonging to individuals under 13 in a global effort to safeguard younger users.
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