After a sudden spike in Lahore’s Air Quality Index (AQI) from less than 200 to more than 500 late, the chief minister announced closure of public and private schools on Thursday. This is the first time that smog has forced closure of schools. As per Lahore US consulate Air Quality Monitor feed, the level of smog was hazardous and at 10pm, Lahore’s AQI was PM2.5 – 580.
International Tennis Federation’s independent security advisors have advised against playing India’s Davis Cup tie against Pakistan in Islamabad this month and suggested the tie must be played at a ‘neutral’ venue. The Asia/Oceania Group I tie, originally scheduled for September 14-15 in Islamabad, was postponed by the ITF to Nov 29-30 following a security review amid political tensions between the neighbours.
Construction work on the pending and long-delayed 4500 megawatt Diamer-Bhasha Dam will start in the coming months. The process of land acquisition, resettlement of the local population, and financing of Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand Dams were discussed in a meeting called by Chairman WAPDA Lt. Gen (R) Muzammil Husain. Diamer-Bhasha dam, that was inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan in May will incur a total cost of Rs. 1,400 billion.
The government has reduced the profit rates on various National Savings’ schemes, effective from November 1, 2019, according to a directive issued by the Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS). Profit rate on the Defence Saving Certificate have been cut by 2.33% to 10.68%, Pension Behbood’s rate has been cut by 2.28% to 12.48%, 2.04% reduction on Regular Income Certificate to 10.92%, 1.70% drop on Special Saving Certificate to 11% and on saving accounts, the rate has been slashed by 2.05% to 8.20%.
Emirates has announced special fares across its global route network to inspire and encourage Pakistani travellers to explore new destinations and revisit their favourite cities. The special fares are available for booking till 18 November 2019, for travel between 12 November 2019 and 30 September 2020. According to Mohammad Sarhan, Emirates’ Vice President Pakistan, special fares represent savings of 15 percent for First Class, and 10 percent on Business and Economy Class fares across 150 countries including Dubai.
According to a recent Facebook’s blog post, Approximately 100 developers connected to Facebook via application program interfaces (APIs) improperly accessed user data. In a blog post, the company has only disclosed that developers were able to access profile pictures and names of the users but they will ensure the deletion of any member data although there is no evidence of abuse.
Pakistani actor Mahira Khan on Wednesday was named as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador for the country, according to an announcement the programme made on its Twitter account. Mahira said, she was grateful and honoured to be the UNHCR’s latest goodwill ambassador, as Pakistan has set an example for the world where a country has hosted refugees for the last 40 years.
During the 9th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) meeting, Multan-Sukkur Motorway (M5) was inaugurated after its completion under CPEC. The 392Km M-5 Motorway is CPEC’s largest transportation infrastructure project. The Six lane Multan-Sukkur Motorway will not only reduce travelling time but speed up growth in industrial and agricultural sector and will contribute to the socio-economic uplift of people in Punjab and Sindh.
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader has blamed Pakistan and China for the high levels of pollution in India. The Indian lawmaker alleged that one of the two neighbouring countries are responsible for releasing poisonous gas in New Delhi. The leader claimed that Pakistan was ‘frustrated’ because “it could not register a single victory in any battle”.
CEO Tim Cook has announced that later this year, users will be able to buy an iPhone on an Apple Card, pay for it over 24 months with zero interest, get 3 percent cash back on the purchase, and manage payments in the Wallet app. While Apple already offers a number of ways to finance the cost of the iPhone, “manage payments in the Wallet app” portion is the working solution.