KARACHI: The government on Wednesday raised Rs778 billion against the treasury bills (T-bills) auction target of Rs800bn, with minor changes in the cut-off yields for different tenors.

The State Bank of Pakistan reported that massive bids of Rs1.844 trillion reflected ample liquidity in the banking sector.

The government slashed the rate for three-month tenor by 20 basis points to 13.69 per cent while the yield on benchmark six-month T-bills was kept unchanged at 13.5pc.

However, the yield on 12-month papers increased by 10bps to 13.19pc.

Compared to the secondary market, the cut-off yields for three-, six- and 12-month T-bills were higher by 47bps, 36bps and 17bps, respectively.

The government is borrowing less than the investors’ expectations mainly because of the higher liquidity available in its accounts.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

The coroner’s inquest into the deaths of five men at the Niagara Detention Centre ended with the jury making 66 recommendations aimed at preventing future deaths. Changes include staffing nurses all day and more closely monitoring patients who have overdosed.

For the first time, the UN Climate Change conference of the parties will welcome Tourism Ministers, placing the sector firmly within the COP29 Action Agenda and providing a high-level platform for dialogue – at the initiative and joint leadership of the State Tourism Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism).

Sai Deepak Talasila's AI-driven platform represents a transformative leap in healthcare cost transparency, providing patients with personalized cost estimates and facilitating provider comparisons.

South Korea's oceans ministry plans to nearly double the size of its marine protected area by 2027 as part of efforts to proactively address climate change.

Musk and Ramaswamy have to find ways to cut down on government spending and overall bureaucracy.

I’m sad to say that due to a personal matter, I’ve had to bow out of speaking at this year’s Mobilism conference. You might have seen PPK’s announcement to that effect, and I’m definitely disappointed I’ll miss the event.

Because let’s be honest: my absence isn’t going to do a damned thing to diminish how amazing this conference is going to be. Seriously, look at this lineup. Look at it. Learning from the likes of Scott Jenson, Stephen Hay, Jake Archibald, Lyza Gardner, and Jason Grigsby is too good to be true, and in Amsterdam? And if you haven’t already, watch Jeremy Keith’s epic mobile browser panel from last year, a performance he’s repeating again in May.

Yeah okay I’m officially depressed all over again about missing it.

Seriously though: while I won’t be there, you can be. If you haven’t already, go register for Mobilism 2012 in May. You’ll have one hell of a time.

Breaking down how Trump might impact Apple, semiconductors, and ecommerce should he be elected and implement the tariffs he’s proposed.

Casinos would significantly boost tourism to Thailand, says the chief executive of the online travel agency Agoda, who is confident the country could set a record for foreign arrivals next year.

Yang, C; Xu, H; Yin, R; Wang, L; Wu, C; Grasby, S E; Gao, J. Ore Geology Reviews 158, 105530, 2023 p. 1-9, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2023.105530
<a href="https://geoscan.nrcan.gc.ca/images/geoscan/20230270.jpg"><img src="https://geoscan.nrcan.gc.ca/images/geoscan/20230270.jpg" title="Ore Geology Reviews 158, 105530, 2023 p. 1-9, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2023.105530" height="150" border="1" /></a>

Jin, X; Tomimatsu, Y; Yin, R; Onoue, T; Franceschi, M; Grasby, S E; Du, Y; Rigo, M. Earth and Planetary Science Letters vol. 607, 118075, 2023 p. 1-10, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2023.118075
<a href="https://geoscan.nrcan.gc.ca/images/geoscan/20220607.jpg"><img src="https://geoscan.nrcan.gc.ca/images/geoscan/20220607.jpg" title="Earth and Planetary Science Letters vol. 607, 118075, 2023 p. 1-10, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2023.118075" height="150" border="1" /></a>

After 63 years, Deutsche Post is discontinuing its night airmail network in Germany.

After seeking God to change his current course, Hein van der Merwe attends a five-day programme at OM South Africa and finds new direction.

Home to many mountain tribal people, most of whom practice animism, Banaue will host this year’s Go Extra Mile outreach from 9-24 April.

One young Zambian man’s life is transformed when he encounters Christ through an OM football team and a coach’s patient effort.

Testimony of a Greek woman.

Ten years ago, Lydia* arrived on the field as a single woman. Now married and with two kids, her method of ministry has changed entirely.

Since the Syrian war began, OM workers have served alongside locals, including Muslim background believers, to spread hope amongst desperate people.

Sports/English Camp meets community needs and instils biblical values in children and youth in Piedmont, Italy.

Young believers among the indigenous people in the rural areas of Sabah, Malaysia are impacted through discipleship.

An Iranian refugee surprises a long-term worker by stating his desire to become a Christian.

God heals physical and spiritual lives during OM Ecuador’s 2014 Medical Brigade in the Saraguro Canton region of Ecuador.

Barranquilla, Colombia :: Logos Hope departs her second Colombian port, her crew having welcomed a landmark number of visitors and encouraged many local people.

“Climate change continues to happen, and it is important that Israel remains part of the efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change,” Behar said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif highlighted on Wednesday that financial pledges made at the previous two United Nations’ annual climate summits — COP27 and COP28 — were yet to materialise.

He made the remarks during the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP29, that is being held in Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku. The premier presented Pakistan’s case on the second and final day of the World Leaders Climate Action Summit.

Pakistan is ranked among the top 10 most climate-vulnerable countries, according to the Global Climate Risk Index. It has faced increasingly frequent and severe weather events, such as unprecedented floods, intense monsoon rains, devastating heat waves, rapid glacial melting and glacial lake outburst floods.

Addressing the summit, PM Shehbaz asserted that COP29 should “make this understanding loud and clear that we will have to fulfil those financial pledges” committed at COP27 and COP28.

“And yet, I think, those huge financial commitments have to be materialised.”

The prime minister said the event was aimed at understanding the “calamities which, unfortunately, some of the countries have already faced and some will if we do not act”.

At COP27 in 2022, which was also attended by PM Shehbaz, countries had adopted a hard-fought final agreement to set up a “loss and damage fund” to help poor countries battered by climate disasters.

At COP28 last year, then-caretaker premier Anwaarul Haq Kakar had called for immediately executing the $100 billion in commitments for climate finance.

According to the UN, around $700 million have been pledged so far for the loss and damage fund, with France, Italy, Germany and the UAE being the biggest contributors.

At COP29 today, PM Shehbaz also spoke about the devastating monsoon floods of 2022, highlighting they had resulted in 1,700 deaths, massive displacement, destruction of houses and crops, and $30 billion loss to the country’s economy.

He called on the international community “to take measures which are so important at this point in time to have a conducive environment” to combat climate change.

The prime minister stressed that Pakistan was one of the countries that “hardly contribute” to global emissions, yet it was vulnerable to climate change and listed as one of the “10 countries which can, God forbid, face this kind of devastation again”.

“My memories are still fresh,” he said, recalling a meeting with flood affectees in Balochistan, including a boy named Ikramullah who had “lost everything”.

“His entire village was erased from the face of the earth, his home was completely demolished, and his school was also submerged. And we had arranged his education [in] another part of Pakistan,” he said.

PM Shehbaz stated he would not want “other countries to face the plight Pakistan faced back in 2022”.

Describing Pakistan as a “resilient, hard-working and responsible nation”, the premier affirmed his country was “fully committed to being part of the global climate solutions”.

Concluding his speech, the prime minister expressed the hope that under Azerbaijan’s leadership, COP29 can transform into a “finance COP by restoring confidence in the pledging process and scaling up climate finance”.

“I strongly feel that climate finance must be grant-based and not add to the debt burden of vulnerable developing countries,” he said, reiterating his remarks from yesterday on the sidelines of the summit.

“Two years ago, I warned, and I warned at the top of my voice, that the future would never forgive our inaction. Today, I echo the same warning with greater urgency,” PM Shehbaz asserted.

‘We shouldn’t brave impact of emissions by others’

Referring to the 2015 Paris Agreement, PM Shehbaz said: “Ten years ago in Paris, we had failed to stop the rise in emissions and catastrophic global warming, and those pledges in Paris 10 years ago, which were made have yet to see the light of the day.”

“As the minus-one emitters, we should not brave the impact of emissions realised by others without even the tools to finance resilience,” he emphasised.

“Without climate justice, there can be no real resilience,” the prime minister asserted.

The premier further said Pakistan would “go through a renewable energy revolution”, noting that the country last year presented a “comprehensive National Adaptation Plan”.

He continued: “This year, we have developed our National Carbon Market Framework. But we cannot do it alone. Pakistan needs international support to deliver on its climate ambitions.”

“My government has taken concrete actions to deliver on its commitment of producing 60 per cent of all energy from green sources and shifting 30pc of our vehicles to EVs (electric vehicles) by the end of this decade,” he told the summit.

PM Shehbaz stated that developing countries would need an estimated $6.2 trillion by 2030 to implement less than half of their current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

“The same goes for adaption and loss and damage,” he added, recalling the efforts at COP27 led by then-climate change minister Sherry Rehman.

Early warning systems for all

Addressing the COP29 summit, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar highlighted the utility of early warning systems for climate-induced disasters and extended his gratitude to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for launching the ‘Early Warning for All’ initiative.

“Today, the threat is not limited to floods, we are facing rising temperatures, more intense and frequent heatwaves, and erratic rainfall patterns,” Dar said. “Early warning systems for various climate-induced hazards including floods, glacial lake outbursts, droughts and extreme heat are essential for resilience, not just for Pakistan but for all vulnerable nations worldwide,” he added.

The deputy PM thanked the UN Secretary-General for the early warning initiative, which “aims to protect every person on earth with an early warning system by 2027”.

Dar added that the threat of extreme heat emphasises the necessity of multi-hazard early warning systems, which he said were “critical to saving lives and supporting sustainable development in the face of climate adversity”.

“Despite our limited resources, Pakistan is committed to climate action and has set very ambitious goals,” the deputy PM said. “Our pledge to reduce projected greenhouse gas emissions by 50pc by 2030 comprises a 15pc reduction through national efforts and an additional 35pc contingent on international support.”

Dar named the Green Pakistan Project, an “electric vehicle policy”, a large-scale project to rehabilitate mangroves and implement Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) mass transit systems in Pakistan’s major cities.

“These efforts aim to fulfil our nationally determined contributions and to balance our global mitigation role with local adaptation needs,” Dar said. “However, we must acknowledge that national efforts alone are insufficient.”

The deputy PM highlighted that accessible climate finance is essential for Pakistan to meet these targets. “We urgently call on developed nations to honour their $100bn climate finance annual pledge and establish a new collective quantitative goal that reflects today’s needs with funding reaching the trillions,” he stated.

He added that this funding must be “accessible, grant-based and reflective of the historical responsibilities of industrialised nations”, adding that the burden “cannot rest solely on developing countries”.

“While Pakistan is ready to do its part, we look to the international community for support, particularly in accessing climate finance for early warning systems and climate resilience projects,” he said. “We need mechanisms that ensure easy, direct access to funds that can bolster national programmes rather than piloting isolated projects.”

Dar reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to “being part of the solution” to the shared climate crisis and stressed that through shared partnerships and support from global allies, “we can bridge the early warning gap, enhance resilience and build a safer, more sustainable future for generations to come”.

‘Debt cannot be new normal’

Speaking at a Pakistan-organised conference at COP29 yesterday, PM Shehbaz had said debt cannot become the “acceptable new normal” in climate financing.

He had explained that finan­c­ing in the form of loans pushes developing nations towards “mounting debt traps”, which he ref­erred to as “death traps”.

Speaking at Glaciers 2025: Actions for Glaciers, the prime minister had also linked humanity’s survival with the health of glaciers, saying Pakistan was ready to work with the world on the matter.

PM Shehbaz also met with various world leaders on the sidelines of the summit, including UAE President Sheikh Moha­m­med bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UK PM Sir Keir Starmer and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as those from South and Central Asia.

Dozens of world leaders convened in Azerbaijan for COP29 but many big names skipped the UN climate talks where the impact of Donald Trump’s election victory was keenly felt.

US President Joe Biden, China’s President Xi Jinping, India’s PM Narendra Modi and France’s President Emmanuel Macron were among the G20 leaders missing the event.

Pakistan witnessed devastating floods during the 2022 monsoon season, induced by climate change, resulting in the loss of at least 1,700 lives.

With 33m people affected and swathes of agricultural land washed away, the damage incurred losses worth $30bn, according to government estimates.

In June 2024, a heat wave brought record-high temperatures, severely impacting public health and agriculture.

1. Sunita Williams breaks silence on weight loss rumours, says THIS has 'definitely changed' her body | Mint  Mint
2. "My Body Has Changed, But....": Sunita Williams On Health Aboard Space Station  NDTV
3. After Sunita Williams, NASA now worried about her stranded mission partner's losing body mass  Hindustan Times
4. Stranded Sunita Williams dismisses severe weight loss rumours, says she feels ‘healthier than ever’  The Times of India
5. Exclusive | NASA races to stabilize astronaut Sunita Williams' weight  New York Post

<p>On 25 September&nbsp;2024, the Brazilian Society of Rheumatology (SBR,&nbsp;<i>Sociedade Brasileira de Reumatologia</i>) shared its position&nbsp;and consensus&nbsp;on the interchangeability between reference products and biosimilars, a topic of great importance for clinical practice, especially in light of recent regulatory developments by&nbsp;Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency, ANVISA (<i>Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária</i>)&nbsp;and other international authorities.&nbsp;</p>

This is regarding the document required for a change of address on the GST portal. The partnership firm conducts business from a location owned by one of the partners. Would an electricity bill suffice as a document for proof of address? Additionally, should it be mentioned as 'owned property' un

How to change additional place of business as main place of business in gst portal

Compression clothing is through complex scientific principles , for the movement to provide a simple and effective solution. In four different ways to improve blood circulation, improve athletic performance , providing more oxygen to the...

The Wheel That Changed The World, Mahatma...