The Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science, and Technology on Thursday held its 42nd senate meeting at the Governor House Sindh.The online meeting was chaired by President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi, who is also the varsity’s chancellor. The meeting approved the nomination of two faculty...

The Sindh High Court has directed the home department to decide the representation of a proscribed organisation’s activist against his 90 days’ detention under the Maintenance of Public Order within a week.The activist, Abdul Hameed Bugti, had been recently released in the Pakistan...

There is a growing perception among the people of Karachi that they are being intentionally deprived of their fundamental rights by both the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf -led federal government and the Pakistan Peoples Party -led Sindh government.Pak Sarzameen Party Chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal said...

Microchip’s Low-Power Radiation-Tolerant (RT) PolarFire FPGA Enables High-Bandwidth Space Systems with Lower Total System Cost

Microchip Smart Storage Adapters Now Interoperate Seamlessly with MegaRAC® SP-X Management Firmware from AMI for At-Scale Secure Storage Management

Microchip Unveils Family Details and Opens Early Access Program for RISC-V Enabled Low-Power PolarFire SoC FPGA Family

Microchip Announces Industry’s First Space-Qualified COTS-Based Radiation-Tolerant Ethernet Transceiver and Embedded Microcontroller

Microchip Announces the 53100A Phase Noise Analyzer for Precision Oscillator Characterization

Loan agreements outline the terms of an agreement for a loan. This document dated 6 May 2020 is provided for the ADB project 54183-001 in Bhutan.

To better understand how ADB’s developing members are weathering the COVID-19 crisis, the Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department launched the ADB COVID-19 Policy Database.

Grant agreements outline the terms of an agreement for a grant. This document dated 7 May 2020 is provided for the ADB project 54229-001 in Fiji.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Senior IT Officer (Project Management) (3 Vacancies) in the Information Technology Department . The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Procurement and Contracts Officer in the Office of Administrative Services. The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Associate Facilities Planning and Management Officer (Project Management) in the Office of Administrative Services. The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

This ADBI–WCTRS webinar will examine land use and transport interactions for inter-regional accessibility enhancements achieved through high-speed rail development.

Tribune News Service Faridabad, January 24 Despite an overall lull in the real estate sector, illegal construction and encroachment in certain parts of the district appear to be going on in “full swing”. These include the hilly terrain of the Aravallis. However, the authorities have removed certain encroachments from the Surajkund area in the past. “Several construction activities have been noticed in the area, including the Surajkund road. As the non-forest area comes under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF), it has removed certain encroachments in the past,” said a source in the civic body. Admitting that illegal construction poses a threat to the green cover of the […]

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri Thursday dismissed as not useful the meeting held the previous day at Baabda Palace to discuss the economic financial rescue plan which he and his parliamentary Future bloc boycotted.

Life returned to normal Saturday in the Rashidiyeh Palestinian refugee camp, south of Tyre, after a night of clashes that left one person dead and five others injured.

How Do I Login To myMICROCHIP Account

A white former police officer and his son were arrested on Thursday in Georgia, United States of America, and charged with murder in the shooting death of an unarmed black man, an incident that touched off a furore in the community and among civil rights activists nationwide.

Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son Travis, 34, were taken into custody by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and charged with aggravated assault as well as murder in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in the town of Brunswick, the agency said in a statement.

The Feb 23 shooting death of Arbery, 25, as he ran unarmed through the small town was captured on video by an unnamed witness in a vehicle near the scene. The video’s wide broadcast in recent days ignited outrage among activists, politicians and celebrities who saw the incident as the latest case of white perpetrators killing a black man and going unpunished.

It was not immediately clear on Thursday if the two men had retained attorneys.

A district attorney appointed to handle the high-profile case after two other prosecutors recused themselves said on Wednesday he would ask a county grand jury to decide if the two men should face charges.

The men’s arrest by the GBI, one day after the agency opened an investigation into the case, appears to have sidelined any grand jury probe.

Three shots

The video footage shows Arbery jogging down a narrow two-lane road and around the McMichaels’ white pickup truck, which had stopped in the right lane with its driver’s door open.

As Arbery crosses back in front of the truck, a gunshot is fired. Arbery is then seen struggling with a man holding a long gun as a second man stands in the bed of the truck brandishing a revolver. Two more shots are heard before Arbery stumbles and falls face down onto the asphalt. The GBI said it was Travis McMichael who fired the fatal round.

According to a police report obtained by the New York Times, Gregory McMichael, a former Glynn County police officer and district attorney’s investigator, told detectives the incident began when he spotted Arbery from his front yard “hauling ass” down the street.

McMichael told police that, because he suspected Arbery in a string of recent neighborhood break-ins, he and his son gave chase in the truck, with Gregory McMichael carrying a .357 Magnum revolver and Travis armed with a shotgun.

Gregory McMichael said Arbery began to “violently attack” his son, fighting him for the shotgun, prompting Travis to open fire.

According to a letter obtained by the Times, the prosecutor in Brunswick argued there was not probable cause to arrest the McMichaels because they were legally carrying firearms, had a right to pursue a burglary suspect and use deadly force to protect themselves.

ISLAMABAD: Chief of the Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa has said Pakistan’s support for the Afghan reconciliation process is a proof of its sincerity for peace in Afghanistan.

Talking to US Special Envoy for Afghan Reconciliation Dr Zalmay Khalilzad on Friday, the army chief said: “Our support towards peace process is a manifestation of our goodwill towards the cause.”

Dr Khalilzad was visiting Pakis­tan after a meeting with Taliban leaders in Doha and a stopover in Delhi, where he met Indian Exter­nal Affairs Minister Subrahman­yam Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

The Indian leaders, according to reports in Indian media, blamed a recent spike in violence in Afghanistan to alleged “sanctuaries” on Pakistani soil and emphasised their elimination. The Indian allegations have come in the backdrop of renewed terror accusations against Pakistan in India-held Kashmir.

Pakistan has strongly rejected all Indian allegations and has asked the United Nations to seek proofs from India about the alleged “launch pads” and “infiltration bids” at the Line of Control.

Khalilzad scheduled to return to Doha for resumption of negotiations with Taliban

Dr Khalilzad, according to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), praised continuing Pakistani efforts for peace and stability in the region.

India, despite the special envoy’s recent visits to Delhi, is uneasy because its viewpoint on Afghanistan is getting little weightage in Washington.

Pakistan had facilitated long-drawn US-Taliban talks, which culminated with the signing of a landmark peace deal in Doha in February between the two adversaries that have been at war for 19 years. Under the deal, the Afghan Taliban gave counterterrorism assurances and agreed to engage in dialogue with the Afghan government for ending war. The peace agreement was expected to pave the way for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.

However, the progress towards start of intra-Afghan peace talks have been sluggish because of trust deficit between the Afghan factions and slow release of prisoners by both sides. Intra-Afghan talks were, according to the original plan, to commence on March 10 after release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners by Kabul, while the militant group was to set free 1,000 government personnel. So far the Afghan government has released 933 of the 5,000 Taliban prisoners, while the Taliban have freed 155 captives.

In recent weeks, the Taliban finally intensified attacks against government forces. On Thursday, Khost police chief Ahmad Babazai was killed in a landmine attack.

Dr Khalilzad said he had in his “lengthy” overnight meeting with the head of Taliban political office in Doha emphasised “reduction in violence, humanitarian ceasefire as demanded by the international community to allow for better cooperation on managing Covid-19 pandemic in Afghanistan, acceleration of prisoner releases by both sides, actions necessary to secure the freedom of US citizen Mark Frerichs, regional and international support for the peace process, and movement to intra-Afghan negotiations ASAP”.

The special envoy will travel back to Doha from Islamabad for continuing his discussions with Taliban leaders.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday allowed subsidised financing for setting up of new plants and expansion of existing units while the maximum amount for a single unit has been set at Rs5 billion to boost economic activities in the manufacturing sector.

The SBP on Friday said it has opened up its subsidised Temporary Economic Relief Facility (TERF) for Balancing, Modernization and Replacement (BMR) and expansion of existing projects.

Under this scheme, the SBP provides refinance to banks for their onward extension of financing at maximum end-user rate of seven per cent for 10 years.

“The maximum financing for a single project under the scheme is Rs5bn. The objective of this facility is to boost economic activity through investments in manufacturing units,” said the SBP.

While allowing the BMR and expansion of existing projects, the SBP has permitted financing for purchase of new-imported and locally-manufactured plant and machinery against foreign letter of credit (LC) and inland LC.

“The funding under the facility cannot be used for procurement of second-hand machinery, land or carrying out civil works,” said the SBP.

According to the circular issued by the central bank, in addition to new projects, existing projects and businesses are being allowed to avail financing under these facilities for BMR and expansion of their projects or businesses.

“This measure has been taken to provide further stimulus to the economy in the context of Covid-19’s impact on the economy, to support investment in the country for modernising or expanding manufacturing and production units, and in response from feedback from stakeholders,” said the SBP.

The central bank said that, it has taken several measures since the outbreak of Covid-19 to safeguard economic activity in the country. On Mar 17, the SBP introduced TERF and its shariah-compliant version to stimulate new investment in the manufacturing sector.

With expansion in scope of the facility, the SBP expects that existing businesses will avail subsidised funding to improve productivity leading to higher economic activity and employment generation.

The banks and development finance institutions will be required to make disbursements to their customers on the basis of certificates of their internal audit confirming that financing is within the terms and conditions laid down in the facilities.

Borrowers will be required to submit a report from the Pakistan Banks Association-approved surveyors with regard to confirmation that the newly-purchased plant and machinery has been installed as per their initial request or proposal for BMR and expansion. In case of installation and fixation in part, this report will be required at first and final installation of the plant and equipment.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020

LAHORE: A sharp increase in confirmed Covid-19 cases across Punjab has further burdened state-run health facilities, taking their bed occupancy ratio to 54 per cent.

The rate increased during the last two weeks or so due to widespread transmission of the virus.

Official figures reported by the health department portray a grim picture as 3,693 people contracted the virus during the last seven days in the province.

Punjab had reported around 3,686 positive cases for the virus during a period of one month starting from March 15, when the first Covid-19 case was spotted.

Most of the confirmed patients were taken care of in Lahore where the 1,000-bed Expo Centre Field Hospital is housing 450 patients, with 45pc bed occupancy.

Ratio may touch 80pc in two weeks

Similarly, the Mayo Hospital houses 420 patients (70pc bed occupancy) while the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institution 100 patients (100pc bed occupancy).

The health authorities believe that this percentage is likely to reach 80pc in coming two weeks if cases continue to grow at the same rate.

The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) is very much concerned over the increasing number of coronavirus patients and rising death toll.

“We are extremely disturbed that how our hospitals would mange the load of corona patients in future because of the scale of transmission of the virus,” said PMA Secretary Dr Qaisar Sajjad.

He said the government would have to revisit the current health system in order to remove flaws and create more space for coronavirus patients, keeping in view the future requirements.

While sharing the fresh report, a spokesperson for the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department said Punjab reported a record 961 confirmed cases of the virus on Friday and it was the highest figure in a single day so far since the pandemic surfaced in the province.

“The government has allocated 7,753 beds for the corona patients at all the teaching, district and other field hospitals across the province,” he said. Of them, 4,239 had been occupied by the patients.

“We have 6,744 beds for corona patients at all the teaching and field hospitals that fall under the specialised healthcare and medical education department in Punjab,” SH&MED Additional Secretary (development) Nadir Chattha said.

He said 3,370 of them were allocated in teaching hospitals and 3,374 at field hospitals. Of the 6,744 beds, he said 2,261 (34pc) had been occupied by the patients.

“We are going to make available 984 more beds in coming days,” he said.

Of the total admitted patients, Mr Chattha said 40 were in a critical condition, with 34 of them on ventilators. He said so far 186 corona patients had died in Punjab.

On the other hand, of the total 961 confirmed cases on Friday, 488 were reported from Lahore which was also another record number (of people testing positive) in the provincial capital in just a day. Of them, 87 were reported from Gujrat, 77 from Rawalpindi, 60 Faisalabad, 45 Multan and 67 from Muzaffargarrh besides some other cities.

The total number of confirmed cases in Lahore and Punjab rose to 3,856 and 10,033, respectively, on Friday.

Surprisingly, the health department said only one patient died (in Muzaffargarh) of coronavirus in Punjab during the last 24 hours.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020

WASHINGTON: The United States on Friday accused China and Russia of stepping up cooperation to spread false narratives over the coronavirus pandemic, saying Beijing was increasingly adopting techniques honed by Moscow.

“Even before the Covid-19 crisis we assessed a certain level of coordination between Russia and the PRC (Peoples Republic of China) in the realm of propaganda,” said Lea Gabrielle, coordinator of the State Department’s Global Engagement Center, which tracks foreign propaganda.

“But with this pandemic the cooperation has accelerated rapidly,” she told reporters.

“We see this convergence as a result of what we consider to be pragmatism between the two actors who want to shape public understanding of the Covid pandemic for their own purposes,” she said.

The Global Engagement Center earlier said that thousands of Russian-linked social media accounts were spreading conspiracies about the pandemic, including charging that the virus first detected last year in the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan was created by the United States.

China outraged the United States when a foreign ministry spokesman tweeted a conspiracy that the US military brought the virus to Wuhan, but the two countries reached an informal rhetorical truce in late March after telephone talks between President Donald Trump and his counterpart Xi Jinping.

Tensions have again soared as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pushes the theory that the virus originated in a Chinese laboratory, even though both the World Health Organisation and the US government’s top epidemiologist say there is no evidence of this.

According to the Global Engagement Centre, China has again intensified its online campaign to defend its handling of the pandemic, which has killed some 270,000 people worldwide, and criticise the United States.

“Beijing is adapting in real time and increasingly using techniques that have long been employed by Moscow,” Gabrielle said.

China has increasingly used bot networks to amplify its message, Gabrielle said.

She said that official Chinese diplomatic accounts suddenly witnessed a surge in late March, going from adding around 30 new followers daily to more than 720, often from freshly created accounts.

She said that China was first observed using such online methods to “sow political discord” in its autonomous territory of Hong Kong, which has witnessed major pro-democracy demonstrations.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020

The government of Pakistan has decided to bring back via special flights its students stuck in Wuhan, China, ground zero of the novel coronavirus.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfiqar Bukhari tweeted the development on Friday night, referring to those stranded there as "the bravest soldiers".

Pakistan International Airline (PIA) has been tasked to bring the first batch of Pakistanis – mostly students – beginning May 18, when around 250 individuals are expected to return.

Pakistanis who had been studying in Wuhan and other cities in the Chinese province of Hubei – first region in the world to be put under a strict lockdown on Jan 20 after being declared a virus epicenter – had appealed at the time to be evacuated.

Multiple requests for evacuation were made not only by the stranded students but also by their families back home. However, the government said it would not repatriate them immediately and would follow guidelines and processes put in place by China in this regard.

To allay the fears of the students and their families, the Foreign Office in February sent two of its officials from the Beijing embassy to Wuhan while the strict lockdown was still in place. The FO said the staffers were to remain in Wuhan till the lockdown ended and would meet students in different universities to get an update on their well-being and safety.

In March, President Arif Alvi and Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi visited China and interacted with Pakistani citizens there via video link.

Upon returning from the trip, both the foreign minister and President Alvi briefed the media and said that the students were in a good condition and had only requested that Pakistani food be provided to them.

On March 28, China began lifting the lockdown in Wuhan. By April 8, the restrictions were completely lifted and some of the the students celebrated by cooking themselves a meal.

Kalyan Acharjya has been contributing to MATLAB Answers since 2017. This past year his participation skyrocketed and he is currently a Rising Star. Here is a recent Q&A I had with Kalyan... read more >>

A language reclamation activist confronts linguistic imperialism and the dehumanisation of two South African first languages through digital inclusion advocacy.

"Nigeria is a secular state and freedom of speech is one of the fundamental characteristics of a modern democratic state. Criticizing a religion is not a criminal offence."

Benin drops 17 places in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index, following the withdrawal from a key document of the African Charter of Human and People's Rights.

"I felt that they listened to what I was trying to say, and it shows that they do value democracy here in Taiwan."

Making himself Exhibit A for reopening the country, President Donald Trump visited an Arizona face mask factory Tuesday, using the trip to demonstrate his determination to see an easing of stay-at-home orders even as the coronavirus remains a dire threat. Trump did not wear a mask despite guidelines saying they should be worn inside the factory at all times.

The decision to wear a mask in public is becoming a political statement — a moment to pick sides in a brewing culture war over containing the coronavirus.

The Weld County GOP chairman has filed a complaint with the local district attorney and the Secretary of State’s Office accusing an aide to Republican U.S. Rep. Ken Buck and three others of election fraud and corruption.

ADB has approved a $100 million loan to help supply renewable energy to Mongolia by installing its first large-scale advanced battery energy storage system.

ADB and AIM today launched the #DigitalAgainstCOVID-19 virtual challenge to crowdsource digital solutions and ideas to help countries in Asia and the Pacific deal with the medium- and long-term...

ADB has approved $50 million in loan and grant financing to help the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic mitigate the significant negative health, social, and economic impacts of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

CHENNAI: Thousands of unauthorised buildings in the state are facing demolition after the Madras high court on Monday quashed two government orders that proposed to legalise illegal structures built till July 1, 2007. The first bench comprising Chief Justice R K Agrawal and Justice M Sathyanaryanan said: “But for the lackadaisical attitude on the part of the authorities, such an alarming and mushrooming growth of unauthorized and illegal constructions would not have come into place.” The bench was delivering verdict on two PILs against October 30, 2012 government orders extending amnesty schemes for illegal buildings constructed between 1999 and July 1, 2007. “The state government and statutory authorities concerned are […]

Hackers linked to Iran have targeted staff at U.S. drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc in recent weeks, according to publicly-available web archives reviewed by Reuters and three cybersecurity researchers, as the company races to deploy a treatment for the COVID-19 virus.

In full protective gear, two doctors climb the stairs four at a time. Their first task of the day: to test a woman who has had contact with a coronavirus patient in Istanbul.

The head of Libya’s U.N.-supported government Friday warned of an escalation in the battle for Tripoli after rockets struck near foreign embassies in the capital, drawing sharp condemnation from the European Union and United Nations.

The Public-Private Infrastructure Development Facility (the facility) directly supported the government of Banglahdesh infrastructure development agenda providing the much-needed long-term funds for infrastructure financing.These funds, at commercial terms with more than 20 years of maturity for infrastructure subprojects, filled a gap in the market at that time. The facility complemented the ongoing financial sector reforms and public-private partnerships (PPPs), all of which were intended to create an enabling environment for long-term infrastructure financing.

The world is experiencing what some may think is a “typical” black swan event: rare, extremely impactful, and only retrospectively predictable. 

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Senior IT Officer (Project Management) (3 Vacancies) in the Information Technology Department . The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Procurement and Contracts Officer in the Office of Administrative Services. The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Associate Facilities Planning and Management Officer (Project Management) in the Office of Administrative Services. The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

ADB today approved a $200 million loan to pilot an integrated approach to river restoration in one of the tributaries of the Yangtze River Basin in the PRC. The project in...

This report presents nine case studies on poverty reduction projects financed by ADB in Mongolia, Nepal, the People’s Republic of China, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, and Viet Nam.

This working paper proposes flood footprint and accountability to coordinate risk management projects through appropriate spatial planning at river basin scale.

This Annual Work Program for 2020 presents the priorities and activities for the Water Financing Partnership Facility (WFPF or the Facility), as administered by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).