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WASHINGTON: More than 50 years after the last Apollo mission, the United States will try once again to land a craft on the Moon on January 25, said the head of what could be the first private company to successfully touch down on the lunar surface. The lander, named Peregrine, will have no one on board. It was developed by American company Astrobotic, whose CEO John Thornton said it will carry NASA instruments to study the lunar environment in anticipation of NASA’s Artemis manned missions. Several years ago, NASA opted to commission US companies to send scientific experiments and technologies to the Moon — a programme called CLPS. These fixed-price contracts should make it possible to develop a lunar economy, and provide transport services at a lower cost. “One of the big challenges of what we’re attempting here is attempting a launch and landing on the surface Moon for a fraction of what it would otherwise cost,” said Thornton on Wednesday at a press briefing at his company’s ba...

The caretaker government on Thursday retained the existing price of petrol at Rs 281.34 per litre but slashed the price of high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs7 per litre for the next fortnight. According to a notification by the finance ministry, high-speed diesel will be available at Rs289.71 per litre from December 1. The prices of Kerosene and Light Diesel Oil were also decreased by Rs3.82 and Rs4.52. After the cut, Kerosene will be available at Rs201.16 per litre while Light Diesel Oil will be sold at Rs175.93. The development follows an IMF review and a global decline in oil prices. Global oil prices tumbled midweek when Opec+ —the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and allies including Russia — postponed to Nov 30 a ministerial meeting to iron out differences on production targets. Brent crude futures were down 37 cents, or 0.4pc, at $80.21 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures lost 29 cents, or 0.4pc, to $75.25. Previously, the...

Kuwait city: Sheikh Talal Al Khaled Al Ahmad Al Sabah, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Kuwait, shakes hands with Chief of the Army Staff Gen Syed Asim Munir, while caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar looks on.—APP ISLAMABAD: After completing his two-day visit to Kuwait, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Wednesday reached Dubai to attend COP28 summit on climate change. According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), UAE Minister for Justice Abdullah Sultan bin Awad Al Nuaimi, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UAE, and the Pakistani diplomatic staff welcomed the prime minister at Dubai’s Al-Maktoum Airport. The prime minister will head the Pakistani delegation at the 28th Conference of Parties and will attend the World Climate Action Summit on Dec 1 and 2. Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar, Federal Minister for Climate Change Ahmed Irfan Aslam and Energy Minister Muhammad Ali will also participate in the COP28. “Despite it...

ISLAMABAD: Just a day after it disputed claims by their legal team on who would be contesting for the post of party chairman in the upcoming intra-party elections in place of Imran Khan, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) ann­o­unced on Wednesday that Barrister Gohar Khan had indeed been picked for the top slot by Mr Khan himself. The party also announced that the internal elections it was mandated to carry out as per the directives of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would be held on December 2. The decision to nominate Gohar Khan was formally ann­o­unced by Senator Ali Zafar during a press conference in Islam­abad. Mr Zafar said that Mr Khan would not be contesting the intra-party polls due to his legal problems. Mr Gohar will contest the polls in his stead as a “stopgap arrangement”. However, he maintained that the party would challenge the ECP’s decision to void the party’s earlier internal polls. Barrister Gohar Khan will be ‘stopgap arrangement’ until party chief’s ...

ISTANBUL: A massive banner proclaiming ‘Humanity is dying in Gaza’ is displayed in the stands during the Champions League football match between Turkish side Galatasaray and Manchester United at the RAMS Park, on Wednesday.—Reuters • Five premature babies found dead in paediatric hospital • Another group of prisoners released; three said to be killed in earlier Israeli strikes on Gaza GAZA: With just hours of peace left, mediators scrambled to extend a truce between Israel and Hamas on Wednesday. But progress on the truce deal was marred by the killings of two Pales­t­i­nian children by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. Late on Wednesday night, AFP reported that another group of Israeli prisoners had been handed over to the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip. The release is the sixth under the extended humanitarian truce. At least 10 prisoners were expected to be freed on Wednesday under the terms of the truce agreement. But the handover was overshadowed by the...

The Election Commission of Pakistan on Wednesday rejected what it said were “baseless and misleading” reports about a delay in the upcoming general elections. The ECP and President Arif Alvi had agreed earlier this month on February 8, 2024, as the date for polls — an announcement that stirred activity in the camps of major political parties. Earlier today, media reports said that a request was submitted to the ECP to postpone the general elections, citing security concerns in Balochistan and the recent wave of terrorism. A statement issued by the ECP on social media platform X said: “The news in media circles about a delay in the elections are completely baseless and misleading. The ECP strongly rejects them.” It added that a report about voters’ list not being completed was “completely false”. The ECP said it had decided to approach the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority against “peddlers of fake news” so legal action could be initiated against them. It added that ...

ISLAMABAD: In a rare happening, PTI Senator Saifullah Abro was on Tuesday removed as the chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Power through a no-trust vote. The motion of no confidence, submitted under Senate Rules, garnered unanimous support, leading to Senator Abro’s removal from the position. The motion against Senator Abro was put forth by a coalition of senators, including Bahramand Khan Tangi, Manzoor Kakar, Sana Jamali, Hafiz Abdul Karim, and Dilawar Khan. The meeting, convened at the Parliament House and chaired by Additional Secretary Hafeezullah Sheikh, witnessed unanimous election of Senator Azam Nazir Tarar as the new chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Power. Saifullah Abro ousted through no-trust vote, replaced by PML-N’s Azam Tarar Senator Tarar had previously served as the law minister and Leader of the House in the Senate. Among the notable attendees at the meeting were Senators Azam Nazir Tarar, Saifullah Abro, Saifullah Khan Niazi, Haji Hiday...

ISLAMABAD: The Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Rawalpindi bench issued a landmark judgement on Tuesday on the “doctrine of expeditious resolution” of corporate disputes through mediation. The judgement, authored by Justice Jawad Hassan, explained the methodology of settling commercial disputes through alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Justice Hassan handed down the decision on a petition filed by Faisal Zafar and others regarding a dispute related to the management of a pharmaceutical company. Ahmer Bilal Soofi represented the petitioners. He argued that the management had committed “certain illegalities” in running the company’s affairs, including non-payment of salary to its employees, non-payment of electricity bills, non-compliance with guidelines given by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), and impracticality of the agreement under the consent decree. The court concluded that the matter could be resolved through “early neutral evaluation” (ENE) — a form o...

Two terrorists were killed by security forces during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Balochistan’s Kalat district, the army’s media wing said on Tuesday night. According to a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces conducted an IBO in the district’s general area of the Nagao Mountains over the reported presence of terrorists. “During the conduct of operation, intense fire exchange took place between own troops and terrorists, resultantly two terrorists were sent to hell, while a cache of arms, ammunition and explosives has also been recovered,” the ISPR said. It added that the militants were actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against security forces and target killing of innocent civilians. “Sanitisation is being carried out to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area,” the ISPR said. “Security forces of Pakistan, in step with the nation, remain determined to thwart attempts of sabotaging peace, stability and progre...

• Palestinians demand Israel give news of those detained during operations in Gaza • UN, White House welcome extension in humanitarian pause CAIRO: Mediator Qatar said on Monday that a truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza had been extended by two days, while Palestinian authorities have demanded the Israeli military release information about who have been detained from Gaza during its assault on the territory. “An agreement has been rea­ched to extend the humanitarian truce for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip,” a Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson said in a post on social media platform X. There was no immediate comment from Israel, but the White House welcomed the extension of the humanitarian pause in Gaza. Hamas also said it had agreed to a two-day extension to the truce with Qatar and Egypt, which have been facilitating indirect negotiations between the two sides. “An agreement has been reached with the brothers in Qatar and Egypt to extend the temporary humanita...

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has imposed a cost of Rs1 million on Bahria Town (Pvt) Ltd for wasting its time and directed the realtor to pay the amount to the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) — a facility providing free-of-cost healthcare. In addition, Bahria Town is also required to reimburse to the Sindh government an equal amount of the money spent on a survey conducted by the Survey of Pakistan (SoP) to assess the land in possession of the developer. The directives were contain­ed in a 13-page written order, iss­ued by the apex court on Monday. A three-judge SC bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Athar Minallah, had on Nov 23 taken up an application moved by Bahria Town through its counsel Salman Aslam Butt. The application stated that pursuant to the March 21, 2019 SC judgement, the realtor had to receive 16,986 acres of land in Sindh’s Malir district, but it received only 11,747 acres,...

Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates on Monday signed memorandums of understanding (MoU) pertaining to investment cooperation that will unlock “multi-billion dollars” in funding from the Mideast state. The development came in a meeting between caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi during the former’s week-long trip to the Middle East. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said the MoUs in the sectors of energy, port operations, wastewater treatment, food security, logistics, minerals, and banking and financial services will unlock “multi-billion dollars of investment from the UAE into Pakistan and will help realise various initiatives envisioned under the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC)”. The prime minister termed the signing of MoUs as “a historic event that will usher in a new era of Pak-UAE economic partnership.” During the meeting, PM Kakar expressed profound gratitude for the UAE’s f...

• Experts say amounts paid by aspirants form big chunk of most parties’ finances • Politician argues fee is necessary to weed out ‘non-serious contenders’ ISLAMABAD: The upcoming elections are set to become a money-making venture for nearly all mainstream political parties as candidates are being charged ‘non-refundable fees’ for the award of tickets. For example, PML-N and PTI have both fixed a fee of Rs200,000 each for aspirants seeking to contest elections on a National Assembly seat. Although the practice has been decried as being ‘exclusionary’ for the common man, as it all but ensures that only those with substantial financial means can take part, there is no law forbidding it, which has become commonplace in Pakistan’s electoral politics. These fees are separate from the nomination fees that are submitted to the Election Com­mission of Pakistan (ECP) alongside nomination papers. In fact, while the fees charged by various parties have incre­ased over the years (in step with ...

Eight terrorists were killed by security forces during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s South Waziristan district, the military’s media affairs wing said on Sunday. According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the IBO was conducted in the district’s Sararogha area based on the reported presence of terrorists. “During the conduct of operation, intense fire exchange took place between own troops and terrorists as a result of which eight terrorists were sent to hell. “The killed terrorists remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against security forces as well the innocent civilians. Arms, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from killed terrorists,” the ISPR said. It added that a sanitisation operation was under way to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area as the security forces were “determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country”. On Wednesday, two soldiers were...

KURRAM: Three children were killed, and four sustained injuries in a mortar shell explosion in the Matkhoza area of Kurram district on Saturday, according to police sources. The children were playing with an unexploded mortar shell in the mountainous area when it exploded. Two of them died on the spot, while five were shifted to Sadda Hospital in injured condition. One of them succumbed to injuries in the hospital. Farman Orkzai, a rescue official, informed that three critically injured children were shifted to the provincial capital. The mortar shell was fired during the recent clashes between two groups but did not explode, according to police sources. An investigation has been launched into the incident. The area remained under the grip of intense violence during late October as two groups clashed after a controversial video was posted online, according to officials. Peace was finally restored earlier this month after a ceasefire was agreed following the eight-days-long clas...

LAHORE: Around 3,000 Sikh yatrees (pilgrims) arrived here from India through the Wagah border crossing here on Saturday to celebrate the 554nd birth anniversary of Sikh religion founder Baba Guru Nanak Dev Jee. During their 10-day stay in Pakistan from Nov 25 to Dec 4, the pilgrims will visit Gurdwara Jana­masthan Nankana Sahib, Gurdwara Punja Sahib Has­sanabdal, Gurudwara Sacha Sauda, Gurdwara Dera Sahib Lahore, Gur­­dwara Rohri Sahib Aime­n­abad and Gurudwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, Narowal. Pakistan Sikh Gurd­w­a­­ra Prabandhak Commit­tee Pardhan Sardar Ame­er Singh welcomed the guests and demanded the resumption of the train service which had been stop­ped by the Indian authorities as it was vital to facilitate pilgrims. He said the ETPB had completed all the arrangements in consultation with the Praban­dhak committee. Shiromani Gurdwara Pa­­rbandhak Committee (SGPC) Amritsar party leader Khushmindar Singh told the media that special love for Pakistanis compelled them to visit t...

KARACHI: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar has appointed Fahad Haroon as Special Assistant to PM on Digital Media. According to a notification issued by the cabinet division in Islamabad on Saturday, the newly appointed SAPM will have status equal to the minister of state. Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2023 from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/c4QsA2K

At least four people were killed and dozens injured on Saturday evening in a stampede at a university in southern India, local officials and media reported. The stampede occurred at an outdoor auditorium in the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) in southwest Kerala state, where a concert was planned. In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Kerala state governor Arif Mohammed Khan said he was “deeply shocked and grieved to know about the sad demise of four students” at CUSAT. “Heartfelt condolences to their families. Prayers for speedy recovery of injured,” he added. State Health Minister Veena George said in a statement that four people were brought dead to the Kalamassery Medical College Hospital while four more were in critical condition, the PTI news agency reported, adding that over 60 people were injured. A local police official said that a crowd outside the auditorium had rushed to seek cover from a sudden downpour when a number of people slipped o...

• 13 Israelis, 10 Thais and one Filipino among those released by Hamas on first day of truce • Israeli army withdraws from Al Shifa; WHO still worried for patients, health workers GAZA: After weeks of death and despair, there were celebrations in parts of Gaza as 39 Palestinians, who were freed from Israeli prisons on Friday, returned to their loved ones on the first day of a hard-fought truce that has brought a pause to Israeli hostilities for the time being. Under the terms of the four-day truce, 50 women and children are to be released over four days, in return for 150 Palestinian women and children among thousands of detainees in Israeli jails. Israel says the truce could be extended if more prisoners are released at a rate of 10 per day. But in at least three cases, before the prisoners were released, Israeli police raided their families’ homes in Jerusalem, witnesses said. “There is no real joy, even this little joy we feel as we wait,” said Sawsan Bkeer, the mother of 24-ye...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Kuwait will soon sign seven memorandums of understanding (MoUs) for investments worth $10 billion in Pakistan through seven projects in multiple fields, including environment, mining, and food security. In this regard, the federal cabinet, in its meeting held on Friday, approved seven MoUs to be signed during the upcoming visit of caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar to Kuwait. Consequent to the efforts by the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), both countries would sign MoUs on multiple projects, including the expansion of water reservoirs, mining facilities, conservation of mangrove forests in coastal areas, information technology and food security, the PM Office said in a statement. PM Kakar and the cabinet members appreciated the efforts of the SIFC and the relevant ministries. SIFC meeting approves initiatives to be pitched to friendly countries; PM appreciates Saudi support for Palestinians The prime minister, who chaired the meet...

HASSANABAD resident Tariq Jamil shows ice taken from the Shisper glacier, which is being monitored by sensors.—Reuters HUNZA: On the steep slope of a glacier jutting through the Hunza valley, Tariq Jamil measures the ice’s movement and snaps photos. Later, he creates a report that includes data from sensors and another camera installed near the Shisper glacier to update his village an hour’s hike downstream. The 51-year-old’s mission: mobilise his community of 200 families in Hassanabad to fight for a future for their village and way of life, increasingly under threat from unstable lakes formed by melting glacier ice.After all the sensors are installed, village representatives will be able to monitor data through their mobiles, Mr Jamil says. “Local wisdom is very important: we are the main observers. We have witnessed many things,” he added. Hassanabad is part of the UN backed Glacial Lake Outburst Flood ( GLOF) II project to help communities downstream of melting glaciers adap...

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Thursday gave in to a demand of the Power Division to impose for 12 months an additional special surcharge at a flat rate of Rs1.52 per unit on all K-Electric consumers, except lifeline category with less than 100 units per month on a permanent basis. The additional surcharge will come into force from Dec 1 for up to November 2024 and provide a Rs24.5 billion financial cushion to the federal government which claimed to have extended Rs416bn subsidy to KE during the past five years and had budgeted another Rs298bn for 2023-24, taking the total toll to Rs714bn in six years. Power Division said the government had also allocated Rs678bn subsidy for other distribution companies (Discos) for the current year. This additional surcharge is on top of an average Rs32 per unit uniform national base tariff, Rs3.23 per unit financing cost surcharge and various taxes and duties besides the quarterly tariff adjustments and ...

The top brass of the army resolved to completely support the caretaker government’s initiatives for “sustainable economic recovery and curbing illegal activities”, the military’s media wing said on Thursday. According to a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir presided over the 82nd Formation Commanders Conference (FCC) at the GHQ today. The conference was attended by corps commanders, principal staff officers, and all formation commanders of the army, it said. “The forum resolved to fully support the government’s initiatives in various domains for sustainable recovery of the economy and curbing illegal activities, including smuggling, hoarding, electricity theft, implementation of One Document Regime, dignified repatriation of illegal foreigners and safeguarding of national database, etc,” the press release reads. The forum highlighted that “an increasing sense of stability, certainty and optimism” was witnesse...

CHITRAL: Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday asked veteran politicians to call it a day allowing youth to take up the reins of the country. “Youth form 70 per cent of the population and have the capability and passion to run the country along modern lines and thus, steering it out of the current morass,” the PPP leader told a public meetinghere. Mr Bilawal said Pakistan was a country of fabulous resources and tremendous growth potential but its leadership that was well into old age impeded national progress, lacked vision, and focused its attention on settling scores with political rivals and amassing wealth after coming to power. “They [veteran politicians] should either have a rest in their farmhouses or madrassas and pray for the welfare of the country and people acknowledging they can no more get along with modern times,” he said without naming names. Says PDM-led govt ‘failed’ as his party’s allies wanted to take revenge from political rivals ...

An inquiry into a police raid on a trader’s residence in Karachi’s Orangi Town area has found that the operation was “conducted in an unprofessional manner with mala fide intentions”, terming it a “heinous crime”, it emerged on Wednesday. Two officers privy to the development had told Dawn that a team of South police, led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Umair Tariq Bajari, carried out a raid on the trader’s residence in Orangi Town on Sunday night. The police team took away a hefty amount of cash, jewellery and the digital video recorder to remove the CCTV footage during the raid, according to the officers. However, they were exposed with the help of the footage of other CCTV cameras installed in the street. The incident, which sparked an outrage on social media, had prompted Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP) Riffat Mukhtar to set up an inquiry team, led by West Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Asim Khan, tasking the inquiry body to investigate the conduct of...

Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day truce that would see the Palestinian group release dozens of hostages taken on October 7 , both sides announced Wednesday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet approved the accord after a near-all-night meeting, in which he told reticent ministers this was a “difficult decision but it’s a right decision.” A government spokesman told AFP that under the agreement at least 50 Israeli and foreign hostages would be released — women and children — in return for a four-day “lull” in military operations. For every 10 additional hostages released, there would be an extra day of truce. Hamas released a statement welcoming the “humanitarian truce”, which it said would also see 150 Palestinians released from Israeli jails. The truce offers Gaza residents the prospect of a desperately desired, if brief, pause after nearly seven weeks of total war. Sources had earlier told AFP the truce would include a complete ceasefire on the ground a...

Premature babies, evacuated from Gaza City’s Al Shifa hospital, are transported to Egypt in a Red Crescent ambulance through the Rafah crossing, on Monday.—AFP • Death toll rises above 13,000 • Jordanian field hospital enters besieged enclave • 28 premature babies evacuated GAZA: Israeli tanks surrounded the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza as ground forces fired into the complex, killing at least 12 people, including patients, on Monday. Dozens more were wounded and around 700 people trapped inside the “besieged” medical centre. The hospital, set up in 2016 with funding from Indonesian organisations, is located near the Jabalia refugee camp. Like all other health facilities in the northern half of Gaza, the hospital has largely ceased operations but is still sheltering patients, staff and displaced residents. Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on Monday condemned Israel’s “attack” on the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza. The head of the World Health Organisation also said he ...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday floated an urgent international tender for a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) cargo in the first part of January to meet anticipated peak winter shortage in the residential sector. The tender, issued by the state-run Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) with a four-day notice, asked bidders to submit technical and financial bids by Nov 24 for a standard LNG cargo with targeted delivery on Jan 8-9, and the bids would be opened the same day. Last month, after about a year-long gap, Pakistan received three bids for two additional LNG cargoes for peak winter demand at a significantly higher premium over the prevailing spot market. The government accepted two lower-evaluated bids to minimise winter gas shortages following a decline in domestic gas production and to maintain load management at a level similar to that experienced in the winter of the previous year. LNG trader Trafigura Pte Ltd submitted two bids for the Dec 7-8 window and the Dec 13-14 window at $18.39 per...