A ‘verbal agreement’ reached between authorities from Twitter and Pakistani government has confirmed that verified accounts of Pakistani users will not be unilaterally suspended or terminated. After New Delhi stripped Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) of its semi-autonomous status, over 300 handles were suspended for tweeting in support of Kashmiris. Accounts of journalists and news channels highlighting rights violations in IOK also received warnings.
Adviser to Prime Minister on Establishment Division Shahzad Arbab has said that Central Superior Services (CSS) aspirants would first undergo a necessary screening test. In line with Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision on institutional reforms and revamping the civil service in Pakistan, the test would be made mandatory and would decide whether the applicant will be allowed to take the test or not.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will invest $5 billion in an oil refinery project in Hub, Pakistan by the end of the year, local news channel reported. The investment will be between Mubadala Petroleum Company of Abu Dhabi, Pak Arab Refinery Limited (Parco) and OMV [OMV Pakistan Exploration Gesellschaft], revealed UAE Ambassador to Pakistan Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi.
Sales of petroleum products dropped to a six-and-a-half-year low at 4.42 million tons in the quarter ended September 30, 2019, as a contraction in industrial output. Moreover, this is the eighth successive quarter in which oil sales continued to fall in the country. Major decline in sales of furnace oil and high-speed diesel was also witnessed due to lack of requirement in power generation and drop in vehicle sales.
Minister of State for Narcotics Control Shehryar Afridi told the Senate that drug test would be made mandatory for the school staff as well as the students of Islamabad in the near future. Further, he warned that anyone involved in propagation of drugs among youth would not be spared as well as anyone possessing/distributing crystal methamphetamine.
The UK High Court has denied funds amounting to £35 million to Pakistan by issuing a judgement in favour of the Nizam of Hyderabad. Nizam of Hyderabad had made claims in 1954 to the funds lying untouched in a London bank account since 1948, which were given to the then Pakistan high commissioner by the Finance Minster of Hyderabad State.
Researchers have modelled a scenario of India Pakistan nuclear war, concluding that more than 100 million immediate deaths would occur, followed by global mass starvation after megatons of thick black soot block out sunlight for up to a decade. In paper published on Wednesday, researchers envisaged that militants attack India’s parliament in 2025. New Delhi retaliates by sending tanks into Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
Pakistani astrobiologist Dr Nozair Khawaja and his team have discovered a key organic molecule on Enceladus – one of the 62 moons orbiting the planet Saturn. Enceladus which is about 500 kilometres in diameter, is the first to be in the list of the most notable candidates for having extra-terrestrial life. Experts have termed the discovery to be the first of its kind beyond Earth.
Turkey has started constructing a naval warship for Pakistan, state-owned Anadolu Agency reported Sunday. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended a dual ceremony commissioning a new Turkish naval ship while starting construction of a ship set to be sold to Pakistan Navy. The warship commissioned for Turkish navy is named TCG Kinaliada while the one being built for Pakistan is named MILGEM.
The State Bank of Pakistan has granted an in-principle approval to NayaPay to operate as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) in Pakistan. The approval will enable the company to “commence pilot phase of transactions in a controlled environment and under the SBP’s supervision to seek approval for the commercial launch of its services”. With NayaPay, customers will be able to open e-money accounts.