Cambodia sees digital technology as vehicle to leapfrog modernization, development: deputy PM

MUZAFFARABAD, Dec 4 (APP): Auditor General of Pakistan Maqbool Ahmed Gondal took the oath of office as the Auditor General of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Chief Justice of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Justice Raja Saeed Akram Khan, administered the oath. The oath-taking ceremony was held on Thursday at the Supreme Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The ceremony was attended by Secretary Finance Islam Zaib, Secretary Forests Ansar Yaqub, Secretary Sports Tehzeeb-un-Nisa, Secretary Local Government Chaudhry Imtiaz, Secretary Industries Chaudhry Abdul Rahman, Secretary Environment, Wildlife & Fisheries Aamir Mahmood Mirza, Secretary Elementary & Secondary Education Qazi Inayat, Accountant General Hassan Masood, Director General Audit Saeedullah Niazi, Additional Accountant General Mir Asghar, as well as officers and staff of the Accountant General and Audit Office.

The ceremony was conducted by Supreme Court Registrar Mazhar Iqbal, while Draftsman of the Department of Law, Justice, Parliamentary Affairs & Human Rights, Zahid Rajput, read out the notification of the appointment of the Auditor General.

AJK Govt’s change aims to reform system to serve masses in better way: AJK PM

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Fri, 5 Dec 2025, 10:44 AM

MIRPUR (AJK) Dec 5 (APP):Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister ,Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, has said that his government was moving ahead with the mission of public service and the objective was not mere to change the faces but to reform the system for serving the massed in better way.

While addressing a large public gathering at the Pilot High School Ground in Bagh toown, the prime minister said that the government’s foremost priority was to resolve the critical issues affecting the people of AJK.

He reaffirmed that the government would go to any extent to ensure full implementation of the agreement reached with the Action Committee.

He stated that the government reached out to the Action Committee shortly after the cabinet approved the public demands.

“Complaints and grievances are always shared with our own people. And fortunately Pakistan has always listened to and addressed our concerns without hesitation”, he said, adding that “We are Pakistanis, and Pakistan is ours.”

Highlighting the unbreakable bond between the people of Kashmir and Pakistan, he said that our relationship with Pakistan was rooted in the Kalma Tayyaba.

The prime ,minister on the occasion announced several public interest initiatives including raising the upper age limit for government job seekers to 41, granting Bagh the status of a Big City, upgrading Bagh Hospital to a Teaching Hospital, and establishing a University Campus for boys.

Referring to his recent meeting with prime minister Shahbaz Sharif, the AJK premier said that he also presented public demands during his meeting with the Prime Minister of Pakistan.Praising the Pakistan army for its historic victory in the recent war against India, the PM said that Field Marshal General Asim Munir’s leadership has elevated Pakistan’s global prestige.

Prime Minister, Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, said that Bilawal Bhutto’s slogan, “Rai Shumari Sab Pay Bari,” reflected the voice of the Kashmiri nation.

Hailing the party chairman for his strong advocacy for Kashmiris just cause at the international level, he said Bilawal Bhutto was a strong voice for Kashmiris.

He added that politics in AJK has experienced a positive shift since the PPP government assumed office.

The PPP, he said, had taken responsibility in difficult circumstances.

Highlighting the decisions of the recently held cabinet meeting, the prime minister said that the cabinet had taken several crucial measures with long-term implications for the region’s socio-political landscape.

He added that efforts to secure scheduled bank status for AJK Bank and to expedite the issuance of health cards were already underway.

He said the government would leave no stone unturned in addressing the challenges inherited from the previous administration.

He added that the gap between the people and politicians had now been bridged. “Today, every citizen in the state has access to affordable electricity and flour,” he remarked.

The prime minister stated that the historic gathering reflected the public’s trust in the PPP, adding, “We have limited time, but we will do our best to deliver.”.

Two suspects booked for stealing timber

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Fri, 5 Dec 2025, 10:39 AM

MULTAN, Dec 05 (APP):Two men booked for stealing wood from a government forest and torturing a forestry worker in the Chowk Azam area,here on Friday.

According to the FIR, two suspects identified as Fayyaz and Feroz were caught cutting eucalyptus trees and loading the wood onto a loader rickshaw.When an irrigation baildar tried to stop them,the suspects allegedly tied him with ropes and severely beat him.

The baildar managed to alert Forest Guard Muhammad Saleem,who later tried to stop the suspects on the road.However,they threatened to kill him and escaped with the stolen timber.

Police have registered a case worth cash amounting Rs.55,000 under Sections.379 and 411 of the Pakistan Penal code at the Chowk Azam Police Station on the complaint of Forest Guard Saleem.

Currency rates of NBP

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Fri, 5 Dec 2025, 10:37 AM

KARACHI, Dec 05 (APP):The following are the selling/buying rates of major currencies issued by the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), here on Friday.

CURRENCY SELLING BUYING

USD 282.25 279.23

GBP 376.18 371.74

EUR 328.78 324.90

JPY 1.8198 1.7983

AED 75.22 74.32

SAR 76.86 75.94

1 dead, over 6,100 homes inundated after torrential rains in central Vietnam

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Fri, 5 Dec 2025, 10:19 AM

HANOI, Dec. 5 (Xinhua/APP): One person died and more than 6,100 houses were inundated after torrential rains hit Vietnam’s central province of Lam Dong, government figures showed Friday.

About 4,128 hectares of crops were affected, while 4,053 poultry and livestock were swept away. A total of 3,680 households had been relocated to safe areas.

The initial estimated damage stands at over 113 billion Vietnamese dong (about 4.29 million U.S. dollars). The figure is expected to rise as local authorities continue their assessments.

Around 250 boats have sunk or drifted out to sea, while many others remain in dangerous condition and require urgent rescue, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

Local authorities on Friday issued an urgent directive, requesting relevant agencies and localities across the province to strengthen the operation of hydropower reservoirs and take immediate measures in response to the disaster situation, the report said.

Foreign exchange rates

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Fri, 5 Dec 2025, 10:01 AM

KARACHI, Dec 05 (APP):The Exchange Rates Committee of the Financial Markets Association of Pakistan (FMAP) issued the following Exchange rates bulletin, here on Friday.

CONVERSION RATES FOR DECEMBER 05, 2025 FOR FOREIGN CURRENCY FOR FORWARD COVER FOR DEPOSITS (EXCLUDING FE-25 DEPOSITS)

SBP SETTLEMENT VALUE DATE DECEMBER 09, 2025

USD 280.4036

GBP 373.9463

EUR 327.0908

JPY 1.8029

China Focus: China sees rapid green and low-carbon energy transition from 2021-2025

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Fri, 5 Dec 2025, 9:43 AM

BEIJING, Dec. 5 (Xinhua/APP): During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), China has seen its green and low-carbon energy transition accelerate at the fastest pace, according to Wang Hongzhi, head of the National Energy Administration (NEA).

During the period, green electricity accounted for one-third of China’s total electricity consumption, according to the NEA.

Green electricity is generated from renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar and biomass power.

China has continuously increased the supply of non-fossil energy, creating the world’s largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system. Between 2021 and 2025, the installed capacity of renewable power generation increased from 40 percent to around 60 percent, with wind and photovoltaic power playing a central role in this energy transition, according to the NEA.

Li Chuangjun, director of the new energy and renewable energy department of the NEA, said that the total installed capacity of wind and solar power in China has increased from 530 million kilowatts in 2020 to 1.68 billion kilowatts by the end of July 2025, marking an average annual growth rate of 28 percent.

The proportion of wind and photovoltaic power generation in total electricity consumption increased from 9.7 percent in 2020 to 18.6 percent in 2024, with an average annual growth of over 2 percentage points.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China took the lead globally in terms of new energy and other related technological equipment, with new energy patents accounting for over 40 percent worldwide.

By the first half of this year, China’s new-type energy storage capacity had reached around 95 million kilowatts, marking nearly a 30-fold increase over five years and ranking first globally.

In 2024, China’s hydrogen production and consumption exceeded 36 million tonnes, maintaining the top position globally, with renewable energy-based hydrogen production capacity accounting for more than half of the world’s total, according to the NEA.

Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), Yang Kun, executive vice chairman of the China Electricity Council, said that efforts should focus on ensuring the reasonable utilization rates of both newly-built and existing renewable energy power generation projects.

At the same time, diversified renewable energy non-electric application scenarios should be expanded, including green hydrogen production and renewable heating, while accelerating innovative breakthroughs in integration technologies, Yang noted.

Vietnam targets 100 pct household waste sorting nationwide by 2030

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Fri, 5 Dec 2025, 9:40 AM

Đại hội đại biểu phụ nữ 2022: Hiệu quả thiết — Hội phụ nữ xã Hưng Lộc (Hậu Lộc) đã thu được gần 16 triệu đồng từ tiền bán phế liệu. Toàn bộ số tiền trên được sử dụng vào mục đích giúp đỡ hỗ trợ phụ nữ nghèo và trẻ mồ côi trên địa bàn. Ảnh: Khiếu Tư - TTXVN“Biến rác thải nhựa thành tiền” hay “Từ thu gom phế liệu đến triệu phần quà” là 1 trong 6 công trình của cán bộ, hội viên phụ nữ trong toàn tỉnh Thanh Hoá đang thực hiện hiệu quả, góp phần chào mừng Đại hội đại biểu phụ nữ toàn quốc lần thứ XIII. Hoạt động này còn có nhiều ý nghĩa hơn khi tất cả số tiền thu được sau khi bán các sản phẩm sẽ được dành tặng cho phụ nữ, trẻ em có hoàn cảnh khó khăn. Qua đó, tạo thói quen thu gom, phân loại và tái chế rác thải của hội viên phụ nữ, góp phần giữ gìn vệ sinh môi trường xanh. Ảnh: Khiếu Tư - TTXVN

HANOI, Dec. 5 (Xinhua/APP): Vietnam aims to ensure that all household waste nationwide is sorted by 2030 as part of efforts to protect the environment, under a government resolution issued Wednesday, Vietnam News Agency reported Friday.

The plan targets the establishment of waste collection points that meet technical requirements for environmental protection, the elimination of illegal dumping and open burning of waste, and the inclusion of environmental protection rules in community regulations across all neighborhoods.

Under the resolution, 95 percent of urban domestic waste and 90 percent of rural domestic waste will be properly collected and treated by 2030, and less than 50 percent of domestic waste will be treated by direct landfill.

Four killed in restaurant fire in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City

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Fri, 5 Dec 2025, 9:34 AM