Even though the central government issues strict regulation policies, it is the local governments’ discretion to adjust and enforce compliance.

Over 50 flights are scheduled to return stranded Lebanese citizens in the third phase of citizen repatriation set to begin May 14, Middle East Airlines said in a statement Friday.

ISLAMABAD: The country witnessed a record rise in Covid-19 cases on Friday, a day before lifting of the nationwide lockdown in phases announced by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Although the decision to lift the lockdown from Saturday was taken in consultation with all the provinces, Punjab and Sindh on Friday expressed their desire to extend the lockdown restrictions for some more time.

With the addition of 2,000 new cases during the last 24 hours, the total number of infections in the country on Friday stood at 26,954.

Prime Minister Khan, after chairing a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) on Thursday, announced the lifting of the lockdown by opening several industries, businesses and markets from Saturday (today).

Punjab, Sindh express wish to extend lockdown restrictions; Umar dismisses Murad’s claim about unilateral decisions by Centre; PM reviews economic situation

On Friday, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Punjab Information Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan said they wanted to extend the lockdown but agreed to the Centre’s call at the NCC meeting that the restrictions should be lifted from Saturday.

“It was our desire that the lockdown should be extended, but we agreed to whatever decided at the NCC meeting on Thursday,” CM Shah said at a press briefing.

The PTI-led Punjab government took a step forward and recommended that major cities of the province should remain under lockdown as there was an increasing trend of the viral disease there. “We want continuation of lockdown in eight to 10 cities, including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan and Gujranwala,” Mr Chohan said at a press conference.

In a related development, the federal government expressed its surprise and dismay over Sindh chief minister’s remarks that Islamabad was imposing its decision regarding ending the lockdown. Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, who also heads the National Command and Operation Centre, in a television programme categorically on Friday evening, said that all decisions were made with the approval of the provincial governments. He even said that some of the federal government’s proposals on which there were objections, or difference of opinion, were not included as the government wanted to have complete consensus on the matter.

Prime Minister Khan has urged people to follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs) evolved by the government when the lockdown is lifted, otherwise there will be trajectory of Covid-19 and then the government will have no option but to enforce another lockdown.

The prime minister presided over a meeting on Friday to review the economic situation and its future outlook in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The finance ministry briefed the meeting on the overall situation and the performance of various macroeconomic indicators during the last nine months of the current financial year, as well as the impact of coronavirus on the economy, an official press release said.

The meeting reviewed the progress and impact of the Rs1.25 trillion economic stimulus package announced by the government to provide relief to the poor and vulnerable segments of society and support various sectors of the economy affected by the pandemic.

The prime minister appreciated the efforts made by the finance ministry to ensure financial discipline and provision of relief during the Coved-19 situation. He emphasised that greater attention should be paid to supporting small and medium enterprises and the agriculture sector, enabling them to create greater job opportunities for people. “The process of reforming public sector organisations should be expedited to plug leakages of the economy,” he added.

The prime minister said the process of provision of subsidies should also be reviewed to make these interventions more effective and target-oriented. “Out of the box solutions are needed to meet the present day economic challenges,” he emphasised.

Reviewing the future economic outlook, Mr Khan said all-out efforts should be made to provide maximum possible relief to the people. He emphasised that priorities and targets for the next Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) should be clearly defined with a focus on completion of projects rather than mere initiation. He stressed the need for maximum utilisation of the public-private partnership model and involving international development partners to enhance and broaden the PSDP scope.

Meanwhile, Special Assistant to the PM on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said the government had signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Organisation of Migration, which helps connect countries with expatriates.

At a press conference, he said the government wanted to develop a networking system with overseas Pakistani doctors in order to learn from their experiences and expertise even after the coronavirus crisis is over.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020

Happy Crepusculus! Never heard of Crepusculus? I’ll come back to that later. Instead, let me begin with a fun fact: the shortest day of the year is December 21st. ... read more >>

Colorado Republican Chairman Ken Buck is facing criticism from within his own party after revelations that he pressured another party official to submit incorrect election results — and then spent party money to defend the move. At least two party executives say they were surprised to learn Buck — who’s also a U.S. representative — […]

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.

ADB has released the 13th annual performance report of its corporate results framework, the Development Effectiveness Review, a management tool that monitors performance and progress during 2019.

Iran warned Saturday that coronavirus infections were rising in the southwest despite falls in other regions, as it announced more than 1,500 new confirmed cases.

The program aimed to increase the role of women entrepreneurs in economic development and address constraints they and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) faced. The program had two components—a policy-based loan (PBL) and a financial intermediation loan (FIL) — each at $20.0 million. The program was supported by a technical assistance (TA) capacity building component of $0.6 million.

The project aimed to improve the transport conditions and services in Longnan municipality in the People's Republic of China. The targeted outcomes were the provision of efficient, safe and reliable road transport in the project area; and improved access to markets, income generating opportunities, education and health services and social activities for rural people. Key to this was a targeted reduction in travel times of between 5 and 7 hours, with 90% of the villages being served by an all-weather road.

The Bishkek–Torugart road serves several important functions. It is part of the CAREC Corridor 1(c) extending from Troitsk in the Russian Federation to Kashi in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the PRC, and is the shortest route from Bishkek to Kashi. It is the only north–south trunk road in the central Kyrgyz Republic connecting Naryn oblast, the poorest of the Kyrgyz Republic’s seven oblasts, and the city of Naryn to the rest of the country. It is the only road providing direct access to Issyk Kul Lake region, which is one of Central Asia’s well-known tourist destinations.

This guideline specifies framework for validating technical assistance completion reports (TCRs) to capture lessons learned from completed technical assistance (TA) operations and to improve accountability for achieving results, the quality of completion reports, and the independence of project ratings.

The project’s key objective was to demonstrate an innovative integrated ecosystem and water resources management that will improve the environmental conditions in the Baiyangdian Basin in Hebei province, southwest of Beijing. It focused on the need to conserve Baiyangdian Lake—one of the most important and vulnerable ecosystems in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). It would also contribute to achieving the goals of the Baoding municipality’s Eleventh Five-Year Environmental Protection Plan.

This report covers the period January to December 2019 and presents the performance for the year against the annual work program and the cumulative performance to date.

By end of 2019, the Urban Financing Partnership Facility (UFPF) assistance has led to a total of 152 completed projects, comprised of investment grants, technical assistance, direct charge activities, and project preparation studies.

ADB signed an agreement today to provide $8.32 million in financing to the Government of Pakistan to enable vital preparatory work ahead of a series of major projects to enhance water availability and increase agricultural...

ADB is formulating an aggressive set of actions to protect the poor, the vulnerable, and wider populations across Asia and the Pacific. And to ensure economies will rebound as swiftly as possible.

ADB's Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) has been instrumental in empowering and creating opportunities for women-led small and medium entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka. Nelum's story is one of the testaments to this.

ADB has approved $50 million in loan and grant financing to help the Kyrgyz Republic mitigate the health and socioeconomic impact of COVID-19 pandemic.

Resolver Replacement Reference Design

Rep. McSally Visits Microchip Executives to Discuss Semiconductor Supply Chain Resilience in the U.S. Amid Defense Industrial Base Report Findings

The Strengthening Technical and Vocational Education and Training Project took on some of the obstacles to creating a place for women in the so-called blue-collar occupations.

Ensuring food is safe to eat is a public good. People’s health depends on it, and so does the health of economies.

The Second Investment Climate Improvement Program has included help for the government in constructing the policy, legal, and financial framework needed to encourage, negotiate, and close agreements for sound PPPs.

ADF-funded operations in the Kyrgyz Republic are improving the living standards, well-being, and prospects of women and girls by upgrading crucial infrastructure and educational and other services.

Approved project 50333-001 in Bangladesh.

Approved project 53097-002 in Papua New Guinea.

A well-designed evaluation system can be effective in motivating bureaucrats to shift their efforts toward a more environmentally friendly growth path.

This brief presents recommendations to further encourage public-private partnerships for the environmental protection industry in the People's Republic of China, as the country seeks to address the negative impact of rapid urbanization.

This publication provides estimates of purchasing power parities (PPPs) and real expenditures for 22 economies in Asia and the Pacific. These are summary regional results from the 2017 cycle of the International Comparison Program (ICP).

Even though the central government issues strict regulation policies, it is the local governments’ discretion to adjust and enforce compliance.

Labor market discrimination is the main barrier to narrowing the gender earnings gap in the People’s Republic of China.

A well-designed evaluation system can be effective in motivating bureaucrats to shift their efforts toward a more environmentally friendly growth path.

Even though the central government issues strict regulation policies, it is the local governments’ discretion to adjust and enforce compliance.

MUMBAI: Indian real estate market witnessed a significant change in the last decade mainly backed by opening up of FDI in the sector and shift in preference to high-rises over traditional low-rise structures, according to a report. The opening up of the sector to foreign direct investment in 2005 initiated the entry of new avenues for funding, and capital inflow witnessed a spike, property consultant CBRE said in its report titled ‘Inflection Point: Ten years of organised real estate in India (2005-2014)’. Restrictive legislations till 2004 provided limited scope of funds for the sector. However, opening up of the sector to FDI in 2005 opened up new avenues for investment, […]

Game theory helps calculate the probabilities of an outcome in adversarial situations, and we use several games as models – but now there’s one that can cover many situations

Local NGOs are working hard to plant seedlings over thousands of square miles of deforested land in Brazil.

A mixture of two carbon-based chemicals can spontaneously form molecules that can copy themselves, hinting at how life may have begun on Earth

A fossil of a predatory reptile from the dinosaur era is missing the front of its jaws, suggesting it was attacked by a rival that bit them off

Across the world, new roads, railways, dams and power lines are encroaching on previously virgin territory – with untold consequences for Earth’s wildlife

A tsunami kept pinging back and forth for three days after being triggered by the 8 September 2017 Mexico earthquake, posing even more risk to human life

A fossil so well preserved that its skin is still flexible is revealing much more about the marine reptiles called ichthyosaurs that swam in the sea during the age of dinosaurs

Buildings may one day be made using a strain of bacteria that creates a concrete-like material when combined with sand and nutrients

This week, listen as Reply All goes down the internet rabbit hole, watch the second series of Netflix's Altered Carbon, and ponder what fossils our culture will leave for the far future

A group of Republican lawmakers from energy-producing states on Friday called on President Donald Trump to prevent banks from halting loans and investments with companies that produce oil and other fossil fuels while they have access to federal assistance programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nearly 90 cases of the novel coronavirus have been recorded among employees of Polyus Krasnoyarsk, a unit of Russia's largest gold producer Polyus , the regional branch of Russia's consumer health watchdog said on Saturday.

With MLS players starting to return to their teams' respective training facilities, the league is considering a resumption of the season in June or July, with the possibility of all games in Orlando at the outset, the Washington Post reported.

A handful of NBA teams are in the process of receiving permission from local government officials to test players and staff for coronavirus, even if they are asymptomatic, ESPN reported Friday.

With major sports leagues preparing for the eventuality of restarting behind closed doors amid the coronavirus pandemic, NBA commissioner Adam Silver reportedly took the concept to the next level on Friday.

With major sports leagues preparing for the eventuality of restarting behind closed doors amid the coronavirus pandemic, NBA commissioner Adam Silver reportedly took the concept to the next level on Friday.