As Europe braces for sweltering temperatures this week, the UN said on Tuesday that it has no plans to begin naming heatwaves in the same way as Atlantic hurricanes.
Storms are given names throughout the annual Atlantic hurricane season to make it simpler to recognise them in warning messages and to promote clear communication.
Heatwaves are more regionalized, whereas tropical cyclones are large systems that affect several nations, according to WMO spokeswoman Clare Nullis.
There are initiatives by some cities to give heatwaves names, but there isn’t currently a coordinated effort to do so.
We do not currently have a naming system, nor is one anticipated any time soon.
Seville in southern Spain, where temperatures last month reached 40 degrees Celsius, will be the first place in the world to officially name and categorise heatwaves.
The June announcement of a pilot programme aims to increase public awareness and quickly initiate emergency measures in the event of a heatwave alert.
The initials of the first five will be Zoe, Yago, Xenia, Wenceslao, and Vega.
The WMO oversees hurricane names. They are repurposed every six years, but if a particularly severe hurricane occurs, the name is retired and changed.
Additionally, the Pacific and Indian Oceans employ naming conventions.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appears to have been finally ousted by Sri Lanka’s economic crisis.
Before he was scheduled to leave office, Rajapaksa left the country early on Wednesday and is most likely travelling to the Maldives.
Following violent protests on Saturday in which protesters stormed the president’s official residence and set fire to the prime minister’s home in Colombo, the country’s parliamentary speaker announced Rajapaksa would resign. View More
In response to power outages, shortages of necessities, and rising prices, anti-government protesters have long called for Rajapaksa to resign. However, the retired military officer had resisted the calls for months, using emergency powers in an effort to maintain control.
The 22 million-person island nation is experiencing political unrest and violence as negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a rescue plan are ongoing. There are also plans to restructure its sovereign debt, which could further complicate matters.
How did this happen? According to analysts, economic mismanagement by previous governments has weakened Sri Lanka’s public finances, leaving the country with national expenditures that are higher than its income and insufficient levels of production of tradable goods and services.
Deep tax cuts implemented by the Rajapaksa administration soon after taking office in 2019 made the situation worse. A few months later, COVID-19 broke out.
A significant portion of Sri Lanka’s revenue base was destroyed as a result, most notably from the lucrative tourism sector. Remittances from citizens who were working abroad also decreased as a result of a rigid foreign exchange rate.
From 2020 onward, rating agencies downgraded Sri Lanka’s credit ratings due to concerns about the government’s finances and its inability to repay significant foreign debt, ultimately locking the country out of international financial markets.
The government heavily relied on its foreign exchange reserves to maintain the economy, depleting them by more than 70% in just two years.
Sri Lanka, once regarded as a model for a developing economy, has been crippled by the crisis. Long lines at gas stations, frequent blackouts, and a shortage of medicine in hospitals have all been caused by fuel shortages. The central bank has warned that runaway inflation could reach 70%. It reached 54.6 percent last month.
What action took the government?
Despite the economy’s rapid decline, the Rajapaksa administration initially postponed discussions with the IMF.
The government was urged to take action for months by opposition leaders and some financial experts, but it resisted in the hopes that tourism and remittances would improve.
At some point, realising the severity of the impending crisis, the government did turn to nations like China and India, two regional superpowers that have long fought for control of the strategically important island.
India has made loans totaling billions of dollars available to help with the cost of essential supplies. New Delhi claims that it has offered assistance totaling more than $3.5 billion this year.
China hasn’t publicly intervened as much, but it has stated that it supports initiatives to help the island nation restructure its debt.
Rajapaksa asked China earlier in 2022 to restructure repayments on about $3.5 billion of debt that Beijing was owed, and Beijing also gave Sri Lanka a $1.5 billion yuan-denominated swap in late 2021.
The IMF and Sri Lanka eventually started speaking.
John Bolton, a former national security adviser for the White House and a former US ambassador to the UN, admitted on Tuesday that he had assisted in the planning of failed coups in other nations.
Following the day’s congressional hearing into the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, Bolton made the comments. In a last-ditch effort to hold onto power after losing the 2020 election, the panel’s lawmakers on Tuesday accused former president Donald Trump of inciting the violence.
Jake Tapper, however, claimed Bolton that Trump lacked the skills necessary to pull off a “meticulously planned coup d’etat,” he continued, later stating: “As someone who has helped plan coups d’etats — not here but you know (in) other places — it takes a lot of work. And he (Trump) didn’t act in that way.”
Tapper enquired as to which attempts Bolton was making.
Bolton said, “I’m not going to get into the specifics,” before bringing up Venezuela. It didn’t work out well, as expected. Not that we had much to do with it, but I saw what it took for the opposition to attempt to unseat a president who had been chosen illegally, and they failed,” he said.
As national security adviser in 2019, Bolton publicly backed Juan Guaido’s request for the military to support his effort to depose socialist President Nicolas Maduro, asserting that Maduro’s reelection was invalid. Maduro eventually remained in charge.
“I feel like there’s other stuff you’re not telling me (beyond Venezuela),” to which Bolton responded, “I’m sure there is.
Over the years, a number of foreign policy experts have criticised Washington’s history of foreign interventions, from its part in the 1953 overthrow of the country’s then-nationalist prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and the Vietnam War to its invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan this century.
However, it is extremely uncommon for US government representatives to publicly acknowledge their part in fomenting unrest in other nations.
“John Bolton, who has held the highest office in the US government, including ambassador to the UN, casually brags that he has assisted in the planning of coups in other nations,
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the embattled president of Sri Lanka, left the country early on Wednesday for the Maldives, likely as a precursor to his resignation following months of widespread demonstrations against the island’s worst-ever economic crisis.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa left his official residence in Colombo just before tens of thousands of protesters overran it over the weekend, promising to step down on Wednesday to allow for a “peaceful transition of power.”
Rajapaksa is believed to have wanted to leave the country before resigning in order to avoid the possibility of being arrested because he is immune from arrest in his capacity as president.
An Antonov-32 military plane carrying him, his wife, and a bodyguard took off from Sri Lanka’s main international airport, according to immigration sources.
An airport official in Male reported that upon their arrival in the Maldives, they were escorted by police as they were driven to an undisclosed location.
The 73-year-old leader, formerly known as “The Terminator,” had been unable to leave for more than 24 hours due to an embarrassing standoff with immigration officials in Colombo.
The staff at Bandaranaike International refused to provide VIP services and insisted that all passengers must go through public counters, preventing him from taking a commercial flight to Dubai.
According to a security official, the presidential party was hesitant to use the established channels out of concern for the public’s reaction. As a result, they missed four flights on Monday that would have allowed them to travel to the United Arab Emirates.
According to a security official, permission for a military flight to land in India, the group’s nearest neighbour, was not immediately obtained. On Tuesday, the group briefly travelled to a naval base with the intention of escaping by sea.
Rajapaksa’s youngest brother Basil, who resigned in April as finance minister, missed his own Emirates flight to Dubai early Tuesday after a tense standoff of his own with airport staff.
Basil, a dual citizen of the US and Sri Lanka, attempted to use a paid concierge service for
When the Rajapaksas made a hasty retreat on Saturday to avoid mobs, Basil was forced to obtain a new US passport after leaving his behind at the presidential palace, a diplomatic source said.
According to official sources, a suitcase containing numerous documents was also abandoned at the palatial mansion along with 17.85 million rupees (roughly $50,000) in cash, which is currently in the care of a Colombo court.
He was still the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and had access to military resources, but the president’s office had not made any official announcement about his whereabouts.
Rajapaksa is accused of mismanaging the economy to the extent that the nation has run out of foreign currency to finance even the most basic imports, resulting in excruciating hardship for the 22 million people living in the country.
In the event that he fulfils his promise to resign, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will take over as president indefinitely until the parliament chooses a member of the legislature to complete his remaining term, which expires in November 2024.
However, Wickremesinghe has publicly stated that he would resign if a unity government could be formed.
The minimum amount of time required to call a session of parliament is three days, and the statute permits a maximum of 30 days for the succession process. The vote would occur on July 20 if Rajapaksa does resign on Wednesday, according to the parliamentary speaker.
Joe Biden will travel to Saudi Arabia for the first time as US president on Friday. There, he hopes to persuade Riyadh to increase oil production in order to lower oil prices, which are driving inflation to its highest levels in decades.
In an effort to reset relations with the oil-producing nation that is the head of the OPEC oil cartel after the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Biden had vowed before his election that Saudi Arabia should be a “pariah” state. Oil prices, however, have since reached levels last seen during the global financial crisis of 2008 as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a major producer of crude.
This caused US inflation to reach its highest level in more than four decades, and experts believe that this may yet persuade Biden to put aside his concerns about human rights before the crucial US midterm elections in November.
According to Oanda analyst Craig Erlam, “it highlights his desperation ahead of the mid-terms to at least be seen to be trying to alleviate the tightness in the market and bring prices back down.” In desperate times, do desperate things. The impending expiration of a key agreement among the larger so-called OPEC+ group to increase oil production may help Biden’s chances.
OPEC+ is made up of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), a 13-nation group headed by Saudi Arabia, and its 10 partners, which are led by Russia. The company had previously cut production in 2020 when demand had been decimated by global Covid pandemic lockdowns.
But as economies have recovered since last year, nations have been gradually turning the taps back on. Last month, OPEC+ ignored requests for larger increases to lower high prices and stuck to a previously agreed output increase. Once OPEC+ resumes pre-pandemic production after August, the deal will soon expire.
The OPEC+ deal expiring in September does present an opportunity, and perhaps (Biden) wouldn’t be taking this action if he hadn’t been given assurances that something is feasible, according to Erlam. The group’s following production meeting will take place in August.
However, despite recent losses, high crude prices have boosted state revenues and economies throughout the Middle East, dashing Biden’s hopes for more oil.
If Saudi Arabia increased its oil production, it would come as a huge shock, according to independent analyst Stephen Innes. The oil-dependent economy of Saudi Arabia grew by 9.6 percent in the first quarter, the fastest rate of growth in ten years.
According to XTB analyst Walid Koudmani, there is a “significant economic incentive to not increase production.” Already operating at close to capacity, Riyadh. Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, said in May that his country had “done what it could” to help the oil market.
He argued that the industry needed to increase refining capacity rather than just pump cruder. Washington, meanwhile, wants to revive the Iran nuclear agreement that Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump pulled out of in 2018. This might result in the US lifting its economic sanctions against Iran, opening the door for the OPEC member to resume exporting at full capacity.
In an effort to resurrect the nuclear agreement, the US and Iran’s top negotiators met informally in June in Qatar.
According to analyst Koudmani, a nuclear agreement “seemed to be within reach several times in the recent past, particularly after the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.” If the US were to receive assurances (of increased oil output) from Saudi Arabia following President Biden’s visit, “it has failed to gain any traction and would probably be passed up by the US,” the expert said.
KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee plunged past 210 per US dollar on Wednesday in the interbank market as doubt over the continuation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme persists.
The rupee lost 1.04 percent from its previous close of 207.91 to close at 210.10 against the dollar, according to data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
After the government decided to lower the price of petroleum products, the market became uneasy about the potential revival of the programme of the international lender of money.
The rupee has fallen precipitously by 33.36 percent (or Rs52.56) since the start of the previous fiscal year (July 1, 2021) in comparison to the close of the prior fiscal year at Rs157.54.
The first is the dollar’s strength relative to other currencies, as shown by DXY, and the second is upcoming payments because factories were closed for Eid holidays.
Tariq added that the influx of remittances was significant prior to Eid ul Adha because Pakistanis living abroad send money to their families in advance of the holiday season.
However, Tariq claimed that following Eid, the remittances stopped.
A daily volatility of 1% or 2% was not out of the ordinary, according to Alpha Beta Core CEO Khurram Schehzad, but he added that the completion of the IMF programme will help to stabilise the currency market.
He said it was “good” that oil prices were falling on the global market because it will eventually lead to less demand for
In the midst of a global economic downturn, Airlift, a Lahore-based online shopping delivery service, has decided to “permanently” cease operations.
In a press release on Tuesday, the business made the decision public.
The statement said that although the recent downturn in the capital markets and the worldwide recession have affected economic activity generally, they have had a devastating effect on Airlift and made its closure inevitable.
“Airlift’s operations will end permanently on July 12. This decision, which affects a sizable number of stakeholders and an emerging technology ecosystem, has been very taxing “said the startup.
The statement claims that Airlift has established itself as one of the “resilient and agile startups” emerging from emerging markets. With the help of “pivoting into q-commerce and building scale in a new domain,” the company was able to get through the COVID-19 crisis.
The Pakistani startup obtained $85 million in Series B funding last year with the intention of going global.
Airlift Technologies was founded in Pakistan by local businesspeople for the local population, making it a pioneer in the current wave of technology companies.
In eight cities, including Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad in Pakistan, Airlift was reportedly running a quick commerce service, according to a Techcrunch report.
Customers could use the Airlift website or mobile app to order groceries, fresh produce, other necessities like medicines, as well as sporting goods, and have the items delivered in 30 minutes. reaction to the recession According to Airlift, it was “one of the first few companies in emerging markets to restructure business operations” when the recession started.
Three modifications were made in response:
Revisions to platform configurations to ramp up monetisation, an immediate reduction in headcount, the suspension of operations in all expansion markets (i.e. introduction of higher prices and delivery fee).
According to the press release, “With the above adaptations, Airlift was able to achieve order-level profitability, maintain reasonable scale, and reduce financial burn by 66%.”
The handout states that as of July 2022, Airlift was between six and nine months away from company-level profitability and about three months away from operating profitability (i.e., positive cash flow from operations) (i.e. Free Cash Flow).
With the aforementioned developments in May, the business claimed that “one of our investors stepped up to lead Airlift’s Series C1 financing.”
The potential lead provided “tremendous support in opening doors to other investors to put together the round.”
According to Airlift, First Round Capital, Indus Valley Capital, Buckley Ventures, 20VC, and other investors all agreed to contribute significantly to the round.
Early in July, Airlift had a clear plan in place to complete the round; the company sent documents to all participating investors for signatures.
The press release continued, “This ultimately meant that the company’s capital requirements would not be met,” as several participants shared uncertainty in wire schedules and their disbursements last week amid rapidly deteriorating conditions in the global economy.
It continued, “In the end, the round was unsuccessful.”
In order to “ensure that all of its employees are sufficiently protected and catered for,” Airlift said it would “set up a platform for job placement, create support systems for aspiring entrepreneurs from within our team that may be interested in starting new ventures, and support teammates with two months’ payroll for July and August.”
In addition, “our team will communicate proactively to manage arrears and liabilities as a part of our ongoing shut-down process” with suppliers, vendors, and other third parties.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the IMF executive board reached a staff-level agreement on Wednesday that revived the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme for the nation, according to Bloomberg.
The action was taken after the coalition government complied with all “tough” requirements imposed by the international lender, including, among other things, an increase in the price of petroleum products and energy tariffs.
A $1.2 billion disbursement, which is anticipated for August, will be made possible by the staff-level agreement.
According to Bloomberg, the disbursal would provide relief to Islamabad because the nation’s foreign exchange reserves are currently only sufficient to cover less than two months’ worth of imports.
The Fund staff and Pakistan made significant progress toward agreement on the budget for 2022–2023 in June, and the IMF then shared a draught Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies with Pakistan (MEFP).
KARACHI: On Wednesday, the price of a tola of gold in Pakistan closed the day at Rs142,200.
Gold prices today remained stable at Rs142,200 per tola and Rs121,914 for 10 grammes, according to rates published by the All Sindh Sarafa Association.
Before the market closed for the Eid ul Adha holiday, the price of the yellow metal increased by a total of Rs500 per tola.
In the meantime, today’s domestic silver prices remained constant at Rs. 1,520 per tola and Rs. 1,303.15 per 10 grammes.
international market As investors await US inflation data for clues on the Federal Reserve’s policy tightening path, the price of yellow metal dropped $13 per ounce to settle at $1,730 on the international market.
“Rising interest rates and a dollar store right now. These two major factors are having an impact on the price of gold, according to City Index market analyst Fawad Razaqzada.
It appears that $1,700 will be the next target. The event that causes gold to drop to that level could be today’s strong CPI report from the U.S.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for June according to the US Labor Department is predicted to have increased on a monthly and annual basis by 1.1% and 8.8%, respectively.
As the Fed attempts to contain soaring inflation, higher-than-expected inflation could support market expectations for a 75-basis-point interest rate increase by the central bank later this month.
Despite the fact that gold is regarded as a hedge against inflation, higher rates tend to drive away investors from bullion because they drive up bond yields and increase the opportunity cost of holding zero-yield gold.
ISLAMABAD: According to the most recent statistics released by the National Institute of Health in Islamabad on Wednesday morning, Pakistan’s COVID-19 positivity ratio decreased to 1.55 percent in a single day as the country’s fresh case count slightly decreased overnight.
In Pakistan, coronavirus cases are generally increasing, but no deaths from the infection have been noted in the previous day.
Overnight, Pakistan reported 236 new COVID-19 cases, according to official NIH data. The coronavirus positivity ratio was 1.55 percent with the new cases. 226 people have recovered over the past 24 hours, however.
The total number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan now stands at 1,543,741, with 30,424 deaths.
In the country’s 10,294 coronavirus patients receiving care in hospitals, quarantine facilities, on ventilators, and at homes, 152 are in critical condition, while 1.53 million have so far made a full recovery.
In the past 24 hours, 452,990 people in Pakistan have received corona virus vaccinations.
Due to escape mutations that give them an advantage, experts attribute the increase in COVID-19 cases in Pakistan to two sub-variants of the Omicron variant, known as BA.4 and BA.5.
They claim that the sub-variants have been spreading to individuals who have already received a vaccination or who have already contracted COVD-19, but there is no proof that these individuals are developing a serious illness as a result of the sub-variants.
At least 29 people have died in Karachi as a result of the recent heavy monsoon rains, according to officials, as the city continues to recover from the dangerous first spell of rain’s paralysing effects.
47 people died between July 4 and July 11, according to Sindh’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), including 29 deaths just in the port city and 26 deaths from electrocution.
According to Pakistan Meteorological Department chief meteorologist Dr. Sardar Sarfaraz, rainfall of 60 to 70 mm is anticipated in the city over the next three to four days.
The top meteorologist issued a warning that the port city may experience urban flooding as a result of the second monsoon’s torrential rains.
He forewarned of heavy rains beginning tomorrow in interior Sindh (Thursday).
From July 5 to July 11, according to Sarfaraz, Karachi received more than 342mm of rain. He insisted that since July 5 until now, the nation has experienced “above normal” rainfall.
Government of Sindh says roads are clear. Meanwhile, according to Sharjeel Inam Memon, the minister of information for Sindh, 90% of the city’s rainwater has been drained away and the roads have been cleared.
The rainwater that has accumulated in the old city area will soon be drained, according to the information minister.
In response to criticism levelled at the Sindh government by the opposition parties regarding the post-rain situation in the province, he argued that the political parties were simply trying to score points before the local body elections.
After heavy downpours continued for a second day (Tuesday), flooding the roads throughout the city, life came to a complete stop.
MQM-P responds Wasim Akhtar, a former mayor of Karachi and current leader of the MQM-P, blamed the Sindh and federal governments for Karachi’s post-rains situation.
He insisted that until power is transferred to the grassroots, the destiny of the city won’t change.
Significant monsoon activity The PMD on Tuesday anticipated more widespread rains in Karachi as well as other regions of Sindh, Balochistan, and South Punjab from July 14 to 17. This was in response to the havoc caused by the intermittent heavy rains in Karachi over the previous two days.
In addition, another potent monsoon low-pressure area (LPA) is likely to approach Sindh on July 14 (Thursday), according to a statement from the PMD. “Monsoon currents from the Bay of Bengal are continuously penetrating upper and central parts of the country,” the statement read.
The PMD added that Balochistan and South Punjab would also experience rains in addition to Sindh.
“More frequent and sporadic heavy to very heavy rain-wind/thundershowers are anticipated in Karachi and Hyderabad under the influence of this weather system. From July 14 to July 17, the following cities will be affected: Thatta, Badin, Shaheed Benazirabad, Dadu, Tharparkar, Umerkot, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas, Mithi, Jamshoro, Nosheroferoze, Larkana, Jaccobabad, Ghotki, Sukkur, Khairpur, Shikarpur, Qambar Shahdadkot, Kashmore, Zhob, Ziarat,”
KARACHI: Former federal minister Babar Ghauri, who was detained last week at the Jinnah International Airport, was granted bail by a local court in the port city on Wednesday.
Due to allegations of terrorism and corruption against him, the police detained Ghauri. After a seven-year self-exile, he was detained as soon as he arrived in Pakistan from the United States.
On July 16, 2015, a case of encouraging a provocative speech was filed against Ghauri at the Site Super Highway Police Station. The case was heard in a local court.
According to the police’s report, which was presented to the court, there wasn’t enough evidence to convict MQM-P leader Ghauri. The report suggested letting him go.
The former minister has reportedly been questioned and suffers from a number of illnesses, according to the report. According to the report, Ghauri has weak kidneys, high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.
According to Section 169 of the Criminal Code, Ghauri has been exonerated and released, according to investigating officer Mehboob Elahi.
Elahi added that the suspect could be released on bail under Section 169 of the Criminal Code and that the court would soon be made aware of the development.
During the Eid ul Adha holidays, a fire destroyed the Guddu power plant, costing the national exchequer Rs15 billion in damages.
The sources claim that a fire that started in the plant on the eid night caused the system to lose 747 megawatts of power and resulted in a loss of Rs15 billion.
According to sources, neither fire extinguishers nor staff members were on duty when the fire started in the power plant. The incident is being investigated by a four-person team under the direction of the chief engineer.
A senior engineer claimed that heavy rains caused the generators to flood and added that an accident started the fire. He did, however, add that an investigation has been opened.
He added that it would take about a month to get the plant back in operation. He declared, “Those responsible will be found, and the damage incurred is not as bad as is being reported.”
Pakistan is ranked 145th out of 146 states in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) report on the global gender gap, making it the second-worst country.
The top five most unequal nations are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Chad, while Finland, Norway, New Zealand, and Sweden are the top five most gender-parallel nations.
According to the report, 68.1 percent of the gender gap worldwide was closed in 2022.
“At the current pace, full parity will be achieved in 132 years, “said the report. “In comparison to the estimate for 2021 (136 years to parity), this represents a small four-year improvement.
The gender gap may close within a century, according to the report, if the trends that preceded 2020 are taken into account.
Pakistan’s final percentage was 56.4 percent, but the report stated that “significant improvement” had been made in three subindices.
The areas of economic participation and opportunity showed the greatest positive change. Pakistan ranked 95 on political participation while it was ranked 145 on economic participation and opportunity.
It received subindex scores of 135 for educational attainment and 143 for health and survival.
The highest gender gap score among economic indicators is for wage equality, but improvements were also noted in estimated earned income, where women’s earnings rose 4% from 2021 to 2022.
According to the report, “Gender parity scores for literacy, secondary, and tertiary education enrolment all rose.”
Pakistan was noted as having the lowest percentage of senior managerial and legislative positions.
Particularly for health and survival, South Asia has one of the lowest regional scores for gender parity.
According to the report, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India are among the nations with the worst performances worldwide. Only Sri Lanka has closed the gender gap in this subindex.
A two-day artificial intelligence (AI) conference called “AI Connect” will begin on Wednesday in Lahore with the goal of “showcasing Pakistan’s talent” in the field. Motive (formerly KeepTruckin), a well-funded US-based startup with a sizeable team based in Pakistan, is organising the event.
The event will feature keynote speeches, fireside chats, panel discussions, and networking opportunities with the top AI researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs in the world, according to a statement from the startup’s organisers.
The next generation of aspiring AI engineers and researchers, who would make significant contributions to the global AI economy, was to be “motivated, trained, and connected,” according to the organisers of the event.
According to the startup, many nations have created specific AI frameworks and policies to support educational initiatives and research and development facilities that advance economic and technological development.
A few examples are AI Made in Germany, the US executive order on leadership in AI, and China’s Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan.
It emphasised that Pakistan must adopt similar policies and make investments in initiatives to foster young people’s enthusiasm for AI and contemporary technologies. According to the statement, this entails funding educational initiatives, research facilities, and training programmes for industry readiness.
It was an exception, according to Motive, because “it established its primary AI team in Lahore. This group includes several PhDs, postdocs in computer vision and machine learning, and engineers with strong backgrounds in academic research.
To keep our roads safer, prevent traffic accidents, and save lives, the team develops AI technologies. Thanks to R&D conducted primarily in Pakistan, they have already shipped industry-leading AI products, presented their work at prestigious AI conferences, and filed numerous patents, the statement continued.
In order to carry out various automation tasks, such as determining who is operating the vehicle, detecting risky driving behaviours, and automated driver coaching, to name a few, Motive claims that the engineers are deploying their solutions to hundreds of thousands of IoT devices in the field.
“AI, as well as innovation in general, is not a new concept in Pakistan. We have a large pool of talent and a rising number of educated young people. Along with being a fantastic engineering hub, our information technology (IT) sector is expanding. With over 25,000 recent graduates joining the workforce each year, we now have over 600,000 IT professionals, the company claims in a statement.
According to the report, Pakistan has about 17,000 software companies that offer services to more than 120 nations worldwide and generated $3 billion in IT export revenue last year.
The statement continued, “While the number of tech companies and startups offering services and developing products in the AI space is relatively small, it is encouraging to look at the research labs, startups, and companies engaged in both applied and scientific artificial intelligence research.”
Motive insisted on funding initiatives that close the gap between industry and academia and inspire young people to pursue AI research and education. “We must establish more institutes like the National Center for Artificial Intelligence and train some of our 600,000 existing IT professionals in AI.”
In light of a recent forecast for additional heavy rainfall across the nation, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday issued an order to the federal and provincial governments to maintain alertness and vigilance.
Shehbaz requested that authorities closely monitor the actions taken in South Punjab, Balochistan, and Sindh to prepare for the upcoming threat of more torrential rains in a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office.
Radio Pakistan reported today that rain, wind, and thundershowers were predicted for the next 12 hours in Islamabad, upper and central Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, eastern Balochistan, Kashmir, and lower Sindh.
In Rawalpindi, Islamabad, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, upper Punjab, and Kashmir, significant rainfall is likely. Separately, the Met department forecasted thunderstorms and heavy rain beginning on July 14 in Karachi, Thatta, Badin, and Hyderabad.
The premier thanked the National Disaster Management Authority for its “effective coordination between the centre and provinces to deal with rain-related emergencies” in his statement.
Instant messaging service WhatsApp, which is owned by Meta, has issued a warning to users not to download fake versions of the programme because doing so could jeopardise their security.
Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp, revealed on Twitter that the company’s security team discovered a fake version of WhatsApp outside of Google Play that was luring users with new features.
According to a tweet he made, “Recently our security team discovered hidden malware within apps – offered outside of Google Play — from a developer called “HeyMods,” which included “Hey WhatsApp” and other apps.
Reminder to @WhatsApp users that downloading a fake or modified version of WhatsApp is never a good idea. These apps sound harmless but they may work around WhatsApp privacy and security guarantees. A thread:
Will Cathcart emphasised that the company was taking action against HeyMods to prevent further harm and would look into legal options to hold HeyMods and others like them accountable. He also cautioned users that such fake versions were a scam to steal personal information stored on people’s phones.
The head of WhatsApp urged users to only download WhatsApp from a reputable app store in light of the most recent security threat.
Google Play Protect on Android can now detect and disable previously downloaded malicious fake versions of WhatsApp. We appreciate the help of Google for their continued work to prevent malicious apps from proliferating on Android devices.
He urged users to only use WhatsApp from a reliable app store or directly from our official website at http://WhatsApp.com/dl. “If you see friends or family using a different form of WhatsApp, please encourage them to only use WhatsApp from a trusted app store,” he said.
WASHINGTON: The James Webb Space Telescope has more to reveal after revealing the most distinct view of the far-off cosmos to date.
Tuesday’s images will shed light on a distant gas planet’s atmosphere, a “stellar nursery” where stars are created, a “quintet” of galaxies engaged in a dance of close encounters, and the gaseous halo surrounding a dying star.
In a live broadcast from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center outside of Washington, they will be released beginning at 10:30 am Eastern Time (1430 GMT).
Targets include the stellar nursery known as the Carina Nebula, which is noted for its soaring pillars, including “Mystic Mountain,” a three-light-year-tall cosmic pinnacle that was immortalised in a famous Hubble image.
Additionally, Webb has performed spectroscopy on the gas giant planet WASP-96 b, which was found in 2014. Spectroscopy is an analysis of light that provides detailed information.
WASP-96 b is about half the mass of Jupiter and travels in just 3.4 days around its star despite being nearly 1,150 light-years from Earth.
According to NASA, Webb on Monday unveiled the most precise image of the early universe, dating back 13 billion years.
President Joe Biden revealed the stunning image during a White House briefing. It is filled with thousands of galaxies and some of the faintest objects ever seen.
Webb’s First Deep Field is an image of the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 that acts as a gravitational lens to bend light from farther away galaxies towards the observatory in an effect known as cosmic magnification.
In a region of space known as the second Lagrange point, Webb, which was launched in December 2021 from French Guiana on an Ariane 5 rocket, is orbiting the Sun at a distance of one million miles (1.6 million kilometres) from Earth.
Here, it maintains a fixed position in relation to the Earth and Sun and uses little fuel to correct its course.
The project’s estimated $10 billion total cost makes it one of the most expensive scientific platforms ever built, on par with the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. It is a marvel of engineering.
In a region of space known as the second Lagrange point, Webb, which was launched in December 2021 from French Guiana on an Ariane 5 rocket, is orbiting the Sun at a distance of one million miles (1.6 million kilometres) from Earth.
Here, it maintains a fixed position in relation to the Earth and Sun and uses little fuel to correct its course.
The project’s estimated $10 billion total cost makes it one of the most expensive scientific platforms ever built, on par with the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. It is a marvel of engineering.
For the first time in nearly 20 years, the euro and the dollar were equal on Tuesday. Here are some specific repercussions of the euro’s decline in value.
On price changes and purchasing power According to Eurostat, the European statistics agency, nearly 50% of all goods imported into the eurozone are invoiced in dollars as opposed to less than 40% in euros.
For instance, the price of oil and gas, which are typically paid for in dollars, has increased recently as a result of Russia’s conflict with Ukraine.
This implies that more euros are required to purchase the same amount of goods in dollars.
According to Isabelle Mejean, a professor at Sciences Po university, “Imported goods become less competitive, compete against one another, and therefore become more expensive,” which fuels inflation and reduces the purchasing power of households.
According to William De Vijlder, economist at BNP Paribas, “dampening European tourism to the United States in particular” is one effect of the euro’s decline against the dollar.
Because tourists from Europe will have to spend more money overall on their trip to the United States as well as to other nations whose currencies are pegged to the dollar, like Qatar or Jordan, as they will have to spend more money in euros to buy the same amount in dollars.
Visitors from the United States, Qatar, and Jordan, on the other hand, profit from the exchange rate because their dollars now go a lot further in the eurozone than they did before.
on companies Depending on how dependent a company is on foreign trade and energy, the impact of the euro’s value decline varies.
When converted into dollars, “companies that export outside the euro area benefit from the euro’s decline because their prices become more competitive,” said
on debt and growth The value of the euro is declining, which raises the competitiveness of prices outside the single currency area and, in theory, encourages the export of goods and services from Europe.
The rise in commodity prices following the conflict in Ukraine, particularly in export-oriented economies like Germany, could however offset the beneficial effect.
Less is known about the impact on debt repayment.
According to Mejean of Sciences Po Paris, a country can pay off its debt more quickly the faster its economic growth is. But only if interest rates continue to be low and the financial markets believe European debt to be sufficiently safe.
The decline in the euro’s value relative to the dollar raises the cost of debt repayment for nations that issue debt denominated in dollars.
Father-to-be Ranbir Kapoor has every reason to be ecstatic right now. After all, the Sanju actor and his wife Alia Bhatt are expecting their first child together, ushering in a new chapter in their lives.
On April 14 of this year, the power couple exchanged vows in front of a small gathering of close friends and family.
Now, in a recent interview, Ranbir discussed parenting and keeping a healthy balance in his life after having a child.
According to a report, Ranbir said, “Alia and I have been talking about how we’re going to divide our responsibilities and our time for a while now.
As a result of our fathers’ considerable work commitments and absence from our lives as children, we were raised primarily by our mothers, with whom we had a close relationship.
He said, “I want to have a different dynamic with my kids; I want them to be close to me too. Alia is a very busy movie star, and Ranbir continued, “I don’t want her to give up her dreams just because she has a child.
We must therefore devise a plan for a balanced life in which we can both enjoy our personal and professional selves; therefore, it is one day at a time and one step at a time, but I have high hopes for it.
Ranbir will next appear in Shamshera, a movie that also stars Sanjay Dutt and Vaani Kapoor. Alongside Alia Bhatt, he will star in Ayan Mukerji’s “Brahmastra.”
Telegram was used to communicate with the Russian gamblers, and when the group was apprehended by law enforcement, the first instalment of the bets, totaling INR300,000, was sent.
Shoeb Davda, a resident of Molipur, Gujarat, was identified by the police as the fake league’s brains, and they added that he had previously spent eight months working in a Russian gambling establishment.
“Shoeb hired Ghulam Masih’s farm and put halogen lights in it. He prepared 21 farm workers by guaranteeing them Rs. 400 for each match. He then hired cameramen and purchased IPL team t-shirts, according to a police official.
“Shoeb used to instruct umpires over a walkie-talkie to signal fours and sixes. Umpires communicated the same to the batsman and the bowler. Acting on the instructions, the bowler would deliver a slow ball, enabling the batsman to hit it for a four or a six,” the official added.
A commentator from Meerut, with the talent of mimicking famous Indian commentator Harsha Bhogle, was also involved to strengthen the “authenticity of the fake IPL.”
The news managed to gain the attention of Bhogle who laughed out at it.
“Can’t stop laughing. Must hear this ‘commentator’,” the commentator wrote on Twitter.
ISLAMABAD: On Tuesday, Bismah Maroof, the captain of the Pakistan women’s cricket team, departed for Ireland with her young daughter Fatima.
Fatima, who made her public debut at the ICC Women’s World Cup earlier this year, received special permission to accompany her mother, a cricket player, on the two significant international assignments.
Starting on July 16, the Pakistan women’s team will take part in a tri-nation T20 series against Australia and the host Ireland.
The Commonwealth Games, which will begin on July 29 in Birmingham, England, will be played at a later time by the Green Shirts.
Cricket has been incorporated among other events for the first time in the history of the Commonwealth Games.
LONDON: The first votes in the crowded, unpredictable, and divisive race to succeed Boris Johnson will be cast this week, with the announcement of Britain’s new prime minister expected on September 5.
To date, 11 candidates have entered the race to succeed Johnson as prime minister and leader of the dominant Conservative Party. Johnson resigned following a dramatic uprising by his own lawmakers and ministers following a number of scandals.
To even advance to the first round of voting on Wednesday, according to the 1922 committee of Conservative MPs, contenders must receive at least 20 nominations from the party’s 358 legislators.
Before the subsequent vote on Thursday, anyone who received less than 30 votes will be disqualified. In order to gain the support of their fellow candidates, nearly all of the candidates have made bold tax cut promises.
Graham Brady, the committee’s chair, stated, “I am very keen we get this concluded as smoothly, cleanly, and promptly as possible.”
Before the Conservative Party’s members, who number fewer than 200,000, cast their postal ballots over the summer, the field will be narrowed down by lawmakers to a final two contenders.
According to a poll conducted on Monday for the Conservative Home website, Rishi Sunak, whose resignation as finance minister helped bring down the government, is the most well-liked among members, followed by equalities minister Kemi Badenoch and former defence minister Penny Mordaunt.
Brady observed that the field appeared to be fairly large and that the competition was lively. “I hope we will have a very productive debate about the future of the Conservative Party, as well as a really good opportunity for a proper, healthy, constructive contest,” the candidate said.
The struggle for the top position follows one of the most turbulent periods in contemporary British political history, during which more than 50 government ministers and aides resigned, criticising Johnson’s moral character, honesty, and lack of candour.
The new leader will also need to stem the tide of dwindling Conservative support. According to a Savanta ComRes poll released on Monday, the opposition Labour Party has its largest poll advantage since 2013 with 43 percent to the Conservatives’ 28 percent.
The race for succession has already taken a personal turn.
Another candidate, former finance minister Sajid Javid, criticised what he called “poisonous gossip” and “attack memos” made over the weekend by some colleagues.
“These people who are here just because they enjoy the game, they are in the wrong place,” he said. “This isn’t the ‘House of Cards’ or the ‘Game of Thrones’.” “Now is the time to come together, not to split apart.”
With almost every candidate promising to lower personal or business taxes, the tax debate was quickly moving to the forefront of the race.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss outlined her platform, promising to reverse the recent increase in National Insurance contributions and hinting at a reduction in corporation tax. Truss has held ministerial positions in a number of government agencies, including trade, justice, and the treasury.
Immediately following President Vladimir Putin’s warning that he had not even begun to get serious in the war in Ukraine, the council of the Russian parliament decided on Monday that the lower house would meet in an extraordinary session on July 15 in Moscow.
Putin dared the US and its allies to try and defeat Russia in Ukraine, which Russia invaded on February 24 during a meeting with parliamentary leaders on Thursday. All of the parliamentary leaders praised Putin’s choices.
Some amendments on competition and information policy were listed by the Russian parliament, which is controlled by a party that consistently backs Putin.
The leader of the 325-seat United Russia party, Vladimir Vasilyev, announced that the 450-seat parliament would discuss more than 60 issues during the session.
On the Telegram channel of the pro-Putin party, Vasilyev stated that “it is essential that the processes taking place right now receive a legal response.”
Vasilyev explained, “The council discussed the agenda for the 15th: we plan to consider slightly less than 60 issues. He didn’t say what the problems were. More than 80 draught laws, according to the Communist Party, would be discussed.
Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the Duma, informed Vladimir Putin during their meeting on Thursday that the Russian parliament would assist two self-declared breakaway republics in eastern Ukraine that receive support from Russia in developing their legal systems.
Putin claims that Moscow had to defend Russian-speaking people from persecution, a need for the “special military operation” in Ukraine, which he claims the West has ignored.
Putin, according to Ukraine and its Western backers, lacks justification for what they call a land grab a la imperialism against a nation whose borders Moscow recognised as the Soviet Union broke apart.
Putin has framed the conflict more and more as a conflict between Russia and the United States, which he claims has humiliated Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 by expanding NATO to the east and was using
The US has made it clear time and time again that it does not want to fight Russia. In March, President Joe Biden stated that Vladimir Putin could not continue in office. The White House later clarified that this did not imply that Washington was trying to overthrow the Russian government.
COLOMBO: According to official sources, Tuesday’s humiliating standoff between the embattled president of Sri Lanka and airport immigration officials prevented him from fleeing for safety abroad.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa has promised to step down on Wednesday in order to allow for a “peaceful transition of power” in response to widespread demonstrations against him over the unheard-of economic crisis facing the nation.
The 73-year-old leader wanted to go to Dubai, according to officials, so he left his official residence in Colombo just before tens of thousands of protesters stormed it on Saturday.
Rajapaksa is believed to want to leave the country before resigning in order to avoid the possibility of being arrested because he is immune from arrest in his capacity as president.
However, immigration officials were refusing to stamp his passport in the VIP suite while he insisted he would not use the public restrooms out of fear of retaliation from other airport travellers.
After missing four flights that could have taken them to the United Arab Emirates, the president and his wife spent the night at a military base close to the main international airport.
Basil Rajapaksa, the youngest brother of Rajapaksa and the former finance minister who quit in April, missed his own early-morning Tuesday Emirates flight to Dubai due to a similar altercation with airport staff.
Rajapaksa is believed to want to leave the country before resigning in order to avoid the possibility of being arrested because he is immune from arrest in his capacity as president.
However, immigration officials were refusing to stamp his passport in the VIP suite while he insisted he would not use the public restrooms out of fear of retaliation from other airport travellers.
After missing four flights that could have taken them to the United Arab Emirates, the president and his wife spent the night at a military base close to the main international airport.
Basil Rajapaksa, the youngest brother of Rajapaksa and the former finance minister who quit in April, missed his own early-morning Tuesday Emirates flight to Dubai due to a similar altercation with airport staff.
Quick retreat According to official sources, 17.85 million rupees in cash and a suitcase packed with documents were also left behind at the regal mansion. These items are currently in the custody of a Colombo court.
He was still the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and had access to military resources, but the president’s office had not made any official announcement about his whereabouts.
He could still use a navy ship to travel to India or the Maldives, according to a defence source.
If Rajapaksa fulfils his promise to resign, Ranil Wickremesinghe, the prime minister, will automatically take over as president until the parliament chooses a member of parliament to complete Rajapaksa’s term, which expires in November 2024.
Rajapaksa is charged with mismanaging the economy to the extent that the nation lacks foreign currency to pay for even the most basic imports, causing extreme hardship for the 22 million people living there.
Sri Lanka is in discussions with the IMF for a potential bailout after defaulting on its $51 billion in foreign debt in April.
The island’s already limited gasoline supplies are almost gone. To cut down on commuting and save fuel, the government has mandated the closure of non-essential offices and schools.
Shinzo Abe, the country’s longest-serving premier, was remembered in Japan on Tuesday with prayers, flowers, and flags adorned with black ribbons. Abe was a divisive figure who dominated politics before being fatally shot at a campaign rally last week.
As the hearse carrying Abe, who passed away at the age of 67, left a central Tokyo temple and proceeded through the city, crowds crowded the sidewalks that were heavily police-lined.
As the hearse passed in a procession broadcast live on broadcaster NHK, people knelt in prayer and bowed deeply. Nearly a dozen helicopters were circling overhead. Others applauded, waved, or cheered.
Shinzo Abe, the country’s longest-serving premier, was remembered in Japan on Tuesday with prayers, flowers, and flags adorned with black ribbons. Abe was a divisive figure who dominated politics before being fatally shot at a campaign rally last week.
As the hearse carrying Abe, who passed away at the age of 67, left a central Tokyo temple and proceeded through the city, crowds crowded the sidewalks that were heavily police-lined.
As the hearse passed in a procession broadcast live on broadcaster NHK, people knelt in prayer and bowed deeply. Nearly a dozen helicopters were circling overhead. Others applauded, waved, or cheered.
Kishida bowed his head and wrapped a pair of Buddhist rosary beads around his clasped hands as the hearse slowly passed. Akie, Abe’s widow, bowed from the hearse’s front seat.
expressing respect
Outside the temple, long lines of people in black clothing and other casual attire with backpacks began to form as early as the morning.
Keiko Noumi, a 58-year-old teacher, was one of many who came to offer prayers and flowers to a large photograph of Abe set up inside the temple grounds showing him in a simple white shirt, laughing with his hands on his hips
When he was the prime minister in charge of the nation, she said, “There was a sense of security.” “This is very unfortunate because I really supported him,”
Others lined up in front of the headquarters of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to make offerings at a temporary shrine that will be there until Friday. Workers from the party emerge to offer the sweltering mourners cold barley tea.
International leaders have paid their respects, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stopped briefly on his way to the United States from Southeast Asia on Monday morning. On a personal visit as a family friend, Taiwan Vice President William Lai and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen joined the mourners.
According to Kyodo news agency, nearly 2,000 condolence messages came in from around the world.
“Great audacity and courage” Following a visit to the Japanese embassy in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his condolences in a video that was shared on the nation’s official presidential Twitter account.
“I recall all of our interactions and collaborations, particularly during my visit to Japan in 2019… I lost a good friend, “a solemn Macron said.
He bravely and audaciously served his country.
According to Kyodo news agency, citing investigators, the suspected killer, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, who was detained at the scene and later identified by police, thought Abe had promoted a religious organisation to which his mother had given a “huge donation.”
The suspect’s mother is a member of the Unification Church, which has a devoted following and is known for its large weddings. Whether the mother belonged to any other religious groups was unknown to Reuters.
Yamagami used a 40 cm (16 inch) long (16 inch) improvised weapon covered in black tape to shoot Abe twice from behind.
Hirokazu Matsuno, the chief cabinet secretary, stated at a news conference on Tuesday that the Japanese government will think about whether additional regulation of homemade firearms is necessary.
We are aware that current laws severely restrict the possession of firearms, whether they are made by hand or not,” he said.
The National Public Safety Commission’s Satoshi Ninoyu announced at a news conference on Tuesday that he had ordered the formation of a team to look into the security situation surrounding Abe’s murder.
He declared, “We take this incident very seriously.
Both Tokyo and Abe’s election district in the far southwest Yamaguchi prefecture were scheduled to host a farewell ceremony.
Japan’s mourning persisted outside on the streets of the capital.
He was my favourite prime minister, claimed Akihito Sakaki, a 58-year-old independent contractor. I arrived here to say goodbye, so.
ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb blamed Imran Khan, a former prime minister, for the country’s dire economic situation and asserted that the coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has “thwarted Khan’s conspiracy to turn Pakistan into Sri Lanka.”
Aurangzeb responded to the speech given by the PTI chairman in Lodhran by saying, “Keep lying Imran Sahib, while Shehbaz Sharif, his brother (Nawaz Sharif), and his allies in the government will continue to work toward economic self-sufficiency and national development and address the issues of the people.”
The federal minister further criticized the former premier for agreeing to strict conditions in a deal with the IMF, saying that Khan “should be ashamed of himself for agreeing with [the conditions of] the IMF.”
Shame on you, Imran Khan, because it was you who claimed that you would rather kill yourself than visit the IMF.
Khan had abused his authority, according to Aurangzeb, who also claimed that the nation’s economy would have been doing better today if he had not.
The information minister continued by claiming that Khan had declined PM Shehbaz’s offer for the economic charter because he didn’t care about Pakitan’s development.
Netizens were curious as to what had prompted journalist Maira Hashmi to act so aggressively after a video of her slapping a boy during live coverage went viral on social media.
Soon after, rumours about the incident spread widely on social media sites, with netizens’ reactions being somewhat divided.
Hashmi took to Twitter to respond to all the questions and to explain why she had to slap the boy.
Hashmi claimed in a tweet that the boy in question continuously bothered a family who were nearby as she conducted an interview for her programme on the streets.
یہ لڑکا انٹرویو کے دوران فیملی کو تنگ کر رہا تھا _جسکی وجہ سے فیملی پریشان ہوگئی تھی__میں نے پہلے پیار سے سمجھایا کے ایسا نہیں کرو مگر سمجھانے کے باوجود یہ لڑکا نہیں سمجھا اور زیادہ ہُلّڑ بازی کررہا تھا_ جس کے بعد مجھے زیب نہیں دیا کہ اسے اور موقع دیکر برداشت کیا جائے ؟ pic.twitter.com/4jmuSsInYg
“A family was bothered by this man during the interview because he was bothering them. I first tried to gently remind him that his behaviour was inappropriate, but he ignored me and continued to annoy the family. I consequently came to the conclusion that the boy’s behaviour could no longer be tolerated, “She spoke.
Twitterati responded to Hashmi’s tweet in a variety of ways. Some praised her action and believed the boy “deserved it,” while others denounced it and criticised the journalist for her “lack of tolerance.”
Sidra Dar, a Twitter user, defended Hashmi and claimed that she “did the right thing.”
On the other hand, Ayesha17, another user, stated: “This is a simple publicity stunt. She didn’t need to publish this video if not. She hit the boy on purpose and is now lying to hide it.
A young domestic worker was fatally shot by his employers in a very tragic incident that occurred after they discovered him eating food that had been kept in the refrigerator.
Two of the young domestic workers were tortured by their employers for stealing food from the refrigerator. One of the boys later passed away from his wounds, according to the police.
The two young brothers had been employed in a residence within the posh Defence Housing Authority (DHA) of Lahore for the previous year, the police continued.
Following the murder, three suspects, among them a woman, were detained, and the case is now being investigated.
According to the police, the phone number that the employers gave to the parents of the children was disconnected, making it impossible for them to contact their children.
The suspect admitted beating the boys for consuming food from the refrigerator during questioning and confessed to torturing them.
KARACHI: Murad Ali Shah, the chief minister of Sindh, on Tuesday ordered the relevant authorities to take action to quickly drain the accumulated rainwater from the streets and dewater the affected areas as a result of the recent heavy monsoon rains, which left parts of Karachi with inundating roads, especially in low-lying areas.
CM Murad Ali Shah presided over a meeting on a rain emergency and the repair of damaged infrastructure, and he gave the local government department instructions to install small pumps to drain rainwater from the streets and to begin patching up the damaged roads and repairing the Korangi Causeway at the same time.
According to a statement released by the provincial government, the meeting was attended by provincial ministers, Sharjeel Memon, Nasir Shah, Zia Abbas Shah, Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput, Commissioner Karachi Iqbal Memon, Additional IG Karachi Javed Odho, Secretary Local Govt Najam Shah, Secretary Rehabilitation Asif Memon, and other concerned officers.
Underpasses would reopen to traffic on Tuesday night. The chief minister was informed during the meeting that the district south and East’s underpasses had been cleaned of rainwater and would be reopened to traffic by Tuesday night.
The local government was given a directive by the chief minister to install small pumps and clear the streets of any remaining rainwater.
Another period of heavy rain has been predicted, so instead of fixing all the roads and streets, he continued, “we must prepare for the upcoming spell.”
Causeway at Korangi The Korangi Causeway has been damaged, according to the chief minister, so there is pressure to find an alternative route from the industrial area to Korangi.
He instructed the ministers of local government and transportation to personally visit the causeway, hire a contractor on an emergency basis, and begin work the following day (Wednesday). The CM gave Javed Odho, Additional IG for Karachi, the order to ensure traffic control.
