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UAF ranked No 1 in Pakistan, 10th in Asia

By
Waseem Iqbal
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FAISALABAD, Apr 15 (APP):QS World University Ranking 2024 has declared the University of Agriculture Faisalabad as the 56th best university across the globe in the subject Agriculture and Forestry and 10th in Asia while the UAF is at the top in the country.  It has jumped to ten spots this year.
The UAF spokesman said on Monday that according to the last year’s ranking of QS World University Ranking 2023, the UAF was ranked at 66th position in the world, and 12th in Asia.
The UAF is not only progressing in the international ranking but also excelling in solving farmers’ problems and community services. The university has the distinction of having drafted a ten-year agricultural policy at the government level to address agricultural challenges while enabling prosperity and increased productivity. It has strong international collaboration under which tangible research work was being carried out.
UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan while congratulating the faculty on this success expressed hope that in the future, this institution will continue to play its pivotal role in progressing and ensuring food security.
He said the UAF was the only educational institution in the country which had been included in the top 100 universities in the world for the past decade, while it holds the honor of being the top ranked university in the country, which was a source of pride for the agricultural community and the entire country.
Office of Research Innovation and Commercialization Director Prof Dr Muhammad Jafar Jaskani said that progress had been made in all parameters of international quality ie academic reputation, employer reputation, citation research paper, H-index indicates and  International Research Network.

Advisory for cotton cultivation

By
Waseem Iqbal
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FAISALABAD, Apr 15 (APP): Agriculture experts have advised growers to start cultivation of cotton immediately and complete it up to mid of May for getting a bumper crop.
A spokesman for the agriculture department said here on Monday that time from mid April to mid of May 10 was the most suitable for cotton cultivation, therefore, farmers should avail from suitable time opportunity and immediately start cotton cultivation on maximum space of their land.
He advised farmers to use seed of approved varieties for cultivation. He termed the cotton as white gold and urged growers to cultivate it at a large scale. He also advised to keep number of plants more than 17,500 to 20,000 in one acre with a distance of 9 to 12 inches from one plant to another.
He recommended the use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers after consultation with agriculture experts and said that first watering of cotton crop cultivated with drill should be on 30-35 days after its cultivation while remaining watering should be ensured with an interval of 12-15 days.
Similarly, first watering to the cotton crop cultivated on “Patri (beds)” should be after 3-4 days of its cultivation while its second, third and fourth watering should be made with an interval of 6-7 days and the remaining watering should be ensured with an interval of 12 days, he added.

ICT admin tightened surveillance to control fare hikes by transporters

By
Waseem Iqbal
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ISLAMABAD, Apr 15 (APP): As the commuters are coming back to the Federal Capital from different cities of the country, the district administration has ramped up monitoring efforts across various bus stands in the city to deter any attempts at exploiting passengers during this busy period.
According to the Spokesman of ICT, Dr Abdullah Tabassum, all Assistant Commissioners were present at Faizabad, 26 Number, Karachi Company and other bus stands and actively monitored the transportation process to curb the fare hikes.
In a recent operation, Assistant Commissioner Uzair Ali Khan wielded swift action, imposing a hefty fine of Rs 5,000 on a vehicle found overcharging at Karachi Company Bus Stand. This decisive move underscored the administration’s commitment to ensuring fair pricing for commuters, Dr Abdullah said.
At the Faizabad bus terminal, Assistant Commissioner Farwah Batool spearheaded an inspection, uncovering a breach of regulations. An individual was apprehended for violating the fixed fares by the government. Such proactive measures demonstrate a zero-tolerance stance against violations, the spokesperson said.
He said that on the directions of Deputy Commissioner Islamabad, Irfan Nawaz Memon, the constant presence of assistant commissioners and magistrates at all bus stands. This hands-on approach aimed to deter any attempts at exploiting passengers during this busy period.
Furthermore, the administration prioritized the dignified return journeys of foreigners, emphasizing the importance of upholding standards of hospitality and fairness. Additionally, citizens were urged not to exceed the fixed fare by even a single rupee, underscoring the administration’s commitment to protecting consumer rights.

Forecast for further rains with winds in KP; PDMA issues alert

By
Waseem Iqbal
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PESHAWAR, Apr 15 (APP): The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) on Monday issued an alert letter to all district administrations in the wake of a forecast for more widespread rains with winds in the province till April 21.
DG, PDMA Muhammad Qaiser Khan directed all the district administrations to ensure availability of manpower and machinery to cope with any emergency situation including flooding in the low-lying areas due to heavy rains and landslides in the upper districts.
The PDMA asked the district administrations to issue tourists advisory besides instructing the local population to take precautionary measures.
It said that PDMA’s emergency operation center was fully operational and people could report any untoward incident to 1700.

HEC asks young digital artists to showcase their skills in ECO Youth Award

By
NNPS Desk
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ISLAMABAD, Apr 15 (APP): The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has asked young digital artist with a knack for rich cultural themes to showcase their talent in digital art for a chance to win the ECO Youth Award with a $1000 cash prize.

According the details, the ECO Youth Award Celebrating Young Talent in the ECO Region called all young digital artists to submit their entries for the award, celebrating the best in digital art and graphic design from the vibrant ECO member states.

Their designs should be original, creative, and effectively communicate a message; and contribute to the culture and heritage of the ECO region, reflecting its diverse and rich traditions.

Submissions can be made on website:

https://www.ecieco.org/en/special/ecoyouthaward.

The Deadline to apply for the award is May 15, 2024.

It is worth mentioning here that there is a need for the expansion of relations among the peoples in the ECO region, along with the significant role of youth as a major driving force for the ECO countries’ development, which has increased the importance of planning to maximize their optimal participation in the activities implemented by the ECO Cultural Institute. The ECO Youth Award initiative has been developed to support the plan above.

As per the scope of the proposal, the ECOCI Youth Award initiative has been proposed with the aim to discover young talents and to pave the way to further popularize the ECO Cultural Institute.

The proposal focuses on a purposeful and constructive competition within each member country to introduce the talented nominees (between 18 to 30 years of age). Given that there is one winner from each member country, there will be no competition between countries.

The ECOCI Youth Award will be presented to individuals between 18 to 30 years of age with outstanding contribution or achievement demonstrated by tangible results or impact in research projects/arts (preferably regional) / sociability/culture/sports; in particular, the achievements that may contribute to the goals and objectives of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO)/ ECO Cultural Institute (ECOCI).

The award is presented annually to the winners selected from the nominations made by ECO member countries on occasions such as ECOCI Day / ECO Day.

In order to identify the ECO top youth, the call for nominations will be published on ECOCI website and the Ministry of Culture of each ECO member state will nominate persons( who have already registered on the ECOCI website) up to a maximum of three.

The Award Committee, comprising the Cultural Attachés of ECO member states in Tehran, will judge and select one winner from each country.

The identification and selection of the top three candidates in the ten member countries shall be entrusted to the Ministries of Culture and the corresponding organizations, to be finalized by the Award Committee in Tehran which is consistent of Cultural Attachés / representatives nominated by each member country.

The Committee shall select one top youth from the three nominations of each member state.

ECO Award will be presented during a hybrid ceremony on the occasion such as ECO Day / ECOCI Day and the like.

The nominations shall be made using a registration form available on the ECOCI website at least three months in advance.

The member states of the ECOCI will consider applications within two weeks and convey to the ECO Cultural Institute a shortlist of three nominations in the specified category along with their CV.

Dera’s Rescue 1122 prepares plan to tackle floods

By
Waseem Iqbal
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DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Apr 15 (APP):The district emergency service- Rescue 1122 has prepared a comprehensive emergency rescue and recovery plan to effectively meet any emergency in the wake of possible flash floods.
District Emergency Officer, Awais Babar has issued special directives to rescuers to remain alert to effectively tackle any emergency.
As part of the plan,  the emergency service has put the emergency response teams, including firefighters, rescue personnel, and recovery equipment positioned in readiness to ensure prompt response in case of emergency.
The district emergency officer Awais Babar would be personally overseeing the operation and stressed the need for swift and coordinated action to protect the lives and properties of citizens during flash floods.

PIEDRR 2024 to be rescheduled amid unavoidable circumstances

By
Waseem Iqbal
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0
ISLAMABAD, Apr 15 (APP):The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Monday announced that the first ever Pakistan’s International Expo on Disaster Risk Reduction (PIEDRR-2024) has been rescheduled due to unavoidable circumstances and administrative instructions.
In a post on the social networking and microblogging website X erstwhile Twitter, the NDMA wrote on its official handle, “It is to inform that due to unavoidable circumstances & administrative instructions, the PIEDRR Pakistan’s 1st International Expo on DRR – 2024 (planned from 23 to 25 April 2024) at Islamabad, Pakistan has been rescheduled.”  However, it added that fresh dates would be communicated in due course of time; to all the participants.

ANF nabbed 15 accused, recovered 165 kg drugs in massive operations

By
Waseem Iqbal
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0
RAWALPINDI, Apr 15 (APP): Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) has nabbed 15 accused and recovered more than 165 kg of drugs during 13 massive operations against drug trafficking across the country.
Spokesman ANF informed that ANF’s countrywide crackdown against drug trafficking was continuing during which various operations were conducted at different airports and places. According to details, 700 grams of heroin was recovered from a passenger going to Bahrain at Multan Airport.
During operation at Lahore Airport, 523 grams of ice was recovered from a passenger going to Doha and 61 heroin capsules were recovered from a passenger going to Jeddah. During two operations conducted at Peshawar Airport, 1 kg of ice was recovered from two passengers going to Doha.
In other miscellaneous crackdowns in Islamabad, 67 grams of heroin were recovered from a parcel being dispatched to the UK at a private courier office, while 1 kg of heroin, 6 kg of hashish and 375 grams of ice were recovered from two suspects in two operations near M-1 Motorway Islamabad.
In Faisalabad, 97 kg hashish was recovered from Sahyanwala. In two operations in Lahore, 21 kg of opium, 1.4 kg of heroin and 15 kg of hashish were recovered from three suspects.
In a crackdown in Karachi, 22.8 kg hashish was recovered from three suspects near Rashid Minhas Road and 512 grams of weed was recovered from two suspects in Bahria Town.  The spokesman said that cases under the Anti-Narcotics Act have been registered against the arrested accused and investigation has been started.

47 premises sealed for violating dengue SOPs

By
Waseem Iqbal
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0
RAWALPINDI, Apr 15 (APP):District Health Authority (DHA) had sealed 47 premises and lodged 47 FIRs on violations of anti-dengue SOPs from January 1 to date, said District Coordinator Epidemics Prevention and Control Dr Sajjad Mehmood here Monday.
Giving details of the penalty actions, the health officer said that the district administration, in collaboration with allied departments had issued tickets to 112 and a fine of Rs 199,000 was imposed on violations of dengue SOPs in 2024.
Dr Sajjad informed that around four confirmed cases had been reported in the district this year, while the number was two in 2022, and 2023 during the period.
The health officer further stated that during indoor vector surveillance, the teams checked 1,177,167 houses and larvae were detected at 2,254 sites while during outdoor surveillance larvae were found at 557 spots while inspecting 305,512 places.
He said the present spell of rains has increased the threat of  dengue larvae, which needed to be tackled  on  urgent basis as Met office has forecast more rain in the next days.
Dr Sajjad called upon the residents to keep an eye on junkyards, schools and under construction buildings which lead to spread of dengue larvae and leave no place wet or with stagnant water.

PM for maximum utilization of renewable energy resources, improving transmission system

By
Ishtiaq Rao
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0

ISLAMABAD, Apr 15 (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Monday emphasising the improvement of power transmission network, directed the energy ministry to maximize the utilization of renewable energy resources to reduce the country’s oil import bill by billions of dollars.

“Ultimately, we have to move to renewable energy. The oil import worth billions of dollars can be controlled by using alternative resources like solar, wind and hydel. Make cold calculations and I believe, you will be the winner in the long term,” he remarked addressing a meeting he chaired to review the power sector’s performance.

The prime minister said utilising renewable energy resources would also ensure riddance from the crude oil tanker mafia acting as parasites and eating up the national money.

He pointed out that the country currently imports oil worth $27 billion to meet its power and transportation needs, a figure that could be significantly reduced by transitioning to alternative energy sources.

Discussing the ongoing drive against power theft, he lauded the performance of the Punjab government and expressed the hope that the other provinces would also follow suit to overcome the challenge.

Prime Minister Shehbaz said that strengthening the country’s power transmission system required utmost efforts and investment otherwise the power production and investments in the sector would go down the drain unless the flaws in the transmission network were removed.

He asked the energy ministry to engage world-class consultants to suggest the government ways forward to boost the country’s power transmission system.

Additionally, the prime minister mentioned the heavy rains affecting parts of the country and expressed condolences for the lives lost.

Prime Minister Shehbaz told the participants that he had asked the Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to coordinate with the provinces and Provincial Disaster Management Authorities to dispatch relief items to the affected areas.

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