More than 1.36m ton waste disposed of in two days

Wed, 19 Jun 2024, 2:45 PM

LAHORE, Jun 19 (APP):The district government departments and waste management companies disposed of 1.36 million ton waste during first two days of Eid-ul-Adha.

In accordance with the grand waste management plan, operational report for the first two days released here on Wednesday.

The district government and waste management companies conducted uninterrupted cleaning operations for 48 hours, and disposed of 86,000 tons of waste while local governments managed to dispose of 50,000 tons of waste in two days.

The Lahore Waste Management Company disposed of 18,500 tons of waste on the second day while collectively, over 50,000 workers remained in the field during both days of Eid.

The waste management companies resolved 21,000 complaints and local governments resolved 8,000 while zero waste operation will take place on the third day of Eid, Secretary local government Shakil Ahmad Mian said in a statement, and added that central control room remained active on the third day as well and effective implementation of the grand waste management plan had been ensured.

PFC sees sizeable amount by exporting quality furniture

Ali Ali

Wed, 19 Jun 2024, 2:39 PM

LAHORE, Jun 19 (APP):Pakistan Furniture Council (PFC) Chief Executive Officer Mian Kashif Ashfaq on Wednesday said Pakistan had the potential to earn a sizeable amount of foreign exchange by exporting its high-quality, hand-engraved furniture in global markets.

Talking to a delegation of exporters led by Mian Faryad Ahmad Raza Arain, he highlighted that Pakistan’s rich heritage of craftsmanship, combined with modern design techniques, positions its furniture industry to compete effectively in international markets. The intricate designs and superior quality of Pakistani hand-engraved furniture make it highly sought after, particularly in markets such as Europe, North America, and the Middle East, he added.

He said by focusing on quality and maintaining traditional craftsmanship, the furniture industry could attract a premium clientele willing to pay higher prices. He also pointed out the importance of government support in terms of policy and infrastructure to facilitate exports. Enhancing marketing strategies, participating in international trade fairs, and forming strategic alliances with global retailers were cited as key steps to boost exports.

Moreover, Kashif Ashfaq suggested that investing in skilled labour and modern manufacturing techniques would further enhance the competitiveness of Pakistan’s furniture industry. By capitalizing on its unique craftsmanship and improving production capabilities, Pakistan could significantly increase its foreign exchange and contribute to the overall economic growth of the country, he concluded.

Ayub Teaching Hospital’s emergency department provides services to 300 patients on Eid-ul-Azha night

Ali Ali

Wed, 19 Jun 2024, 2:36 PM

ABBOTTABAD, Jun 19 (APP):During a five-hour period of Eid-ul-Azha night, Ayub Teaching Hospital’s emergency department Wednesday provided its services to the 300 individuals. Among these patients were 11 individuals injured by firearms.

The hospital’s emergency team showcased exceptional skill and dedication, working tirelessly to provide healthcare services. Firearm injury cases, primarily from Haripur, began arriving between 12:30 AM and 3:00 AM. The surgeries involved teams from orthopedics, cardiothoracic, and ENT departments.

Hospital Director Dr. Athar Lodhi praised the efforts of Duty MS Junaid Sarwar Malik and his team, stating, “The unwavering commitment of our staff to patient care, even under extreme pressure, is truly commendable. Their ability to maintain high standards of medical care during such a strenuous night shift reflects their professional expertise.”

He added, “Despite the challenges, we continuously strive to serve our community. It is disheartening to see the strain on our resources due to the lack of support from other healthcare facilities in the region. Although burdened with a heavy workload, their dedication to providing quality care remains steadfast.”

This situation highlights the critical issue of inadequate healthcare services throughout the Hazara region, where many primary and secondary health facilities are either closed or non-functional. This places a significant burden on Ayub Teaching Hospital, the only fully operational healthcare facility in the area.

Dr. Lodhi also expressed frustration, saying, “We are tired of hearing that nothing is being done in the complex. Despite this, our staff is making every effort to provide the best possible treatment to every patient coming to the emergency.”

At UN, Pakistan urges global drive to recover arms from deadly terrorists group like TTP

Ali Ali

Wed, 19 Jun 2024, 12:34 PM

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 19 (APP):A senior Pakistani diplomat has called for a “concerted campaign” to recover all weapons from terrorist groups like Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which reportedly uses safe havens in Afghanistan to launch deadly cross-border attacks inside Pakistan.

“Pakistan is particularly concerned at the acquisition and use of modern and sophisticated small arms by the terrorist groups such as TTP — a UN-listed terrorist organization,” Ambassador Munir Akram said in remarks at the 4th Conference to review the implementation of the UN Programme of Action (UNPoA) on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW).

The 2001 UNPoA , which was backed by all member states, provides the framework for activities to counter the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. Since then, the UN has worked to support the implementation of the UNPoA at national, regional, and international levels.

“Terrorists and criminals do not manufacture these arms,” the Pakistani envoy told delegates, pointing out they acquire them from illicit arms markets or receive them from entities that want to destabilize a particular region or country.

“It is essential to investigate how terrorist groups and criminal organizations acquire such sophisticated weapons,” Ambassador Akram said. “It is the responsibility of all States and the UN to take measures to prevent illicit trade, transfer and diversion of these arms.”

He also said that the illicit proliferation, excessive accumulation and misuse of small arms and light weapons continue to exacerbate conflicts, fuel terrorism, threaten peace and security and erode sustainable development, with hundreds of thousands of human lives lost each year, terrible suffering inflicted on civilians, and economies and societies devastated.

“The evolving nature of conflicts and the advent of new technologies pose new challenges to combat the proliferation of increasingly lethal small arms — UAVs and drones,” the Pakistani envoy said.

The UNPoA and the International Tracing Instrument (ITI), he said, represent an enduring international consensus and agreed framework to address challenges associated with the unauthorized, illicit trade and trafficking in these arms.

In this regard, Ambassador Akram said the current review conference offers an important opportunity to assess progress, identify challenges, and chart the way forward.

Pakistan, he said, has strengthened its legislative frameworks, enhanced transfer controls, and implemented robust measures to prevent the diversion of SALW to unauthorized users, including safe and secure stockpile management, comprehensive marking, tracking and record keeping.

But Ambassador Akram said a supply-side approach alone to tackle the SALW challenges, adding, “To reduce demand, more strenuous efforts and resources are required to resolve and end conflicts in various regions and sub-regions, end terrorist activities, and eliminate organized crime.”

International assistance and cooperation to build national capacities in tracking and interdiction will be central to the implementation of the UNPoA, he said.

Opening the discussion, Izumi Nakamitsu, the head of our Office for Disarmament Affairs (ODA), delivered remarks on behalf of the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.

In the remarks, the UN chief said the review conference arrives at a difficult and dangerous moment for humanity with global military expenditures on the rise. He added there is nothing “small” or “light” about the damage these weapons cause.

The New Agenda for Peace, he said, recognizes the vital importance of small arms control in preventing conflict and sustaining peace and makes a number of recommendations to strengthen national, regional and global arms control efforts on both the supply and demand side.

The Secretary-General called for bold and action-oriented recommendations that can strengthen this framework particularly around new and emerging technologies, weapons-diversion, gender and international co-operation and assistance.

KP Governor expresses grief on killing of journalist Khalil Jibran

Ali Ali

Wed, 19 Jun 2024, 12:26 PM

PESHAWAR, Jun 19 (APP):Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi here on Wednesday expressed profound grief over the killing of journalist and former President Landi Kotal press club Khalil Jibran.

He expressed sympathy with members of the bereaved family. He prayed to Allah Almighty to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant patience to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable.

DPM Dar visits Jagran-2 Hydropower Project; apprecaites project’s pace

NNPS Desk

Wed, 19 Jun 2024, 12:00 PM

ISLAMABAD, Jun 19 (APP): Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Wednesday visited the Jagran-2 Hydropower Plant being constructed in the Neelum district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The deputy prime minister was briefed about the progress in the construction of 50MW power plant. It was told that the work on the Jagran-2 project was proceeding as per the plan and would be completed by the year 2025, according to a press release.

Expressing satisfaction and appreciation at the progress of the project, DPM Ishaq Dar promised to take up the matter at the ECNEC to fast-track the approvals through early action.

He also met the Chinese engineers and Pakistani team working on the Jagran-2 project.

Dar conveyed the best wishes of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Government of Pakistan for the engineers, technicians and workers employed in the project and assured full support and security of the Government of Pakistan for its timely completion.

He expressed confidence that the project would contribute significantly towards electrical power generation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and bring benefits to the local population in terms of employment, education, agriculture, industrial development, and tourism.

The deputy prime minister also made a surprise visit on Tuesday to the Jagran-1 Hydropower Plant in the Neelum district.

He had expressed satisfaction at the smooth functioning of the 30.4 MW Jagran-I which was conceived, approved, and financed during the 1997-1999 tenure of former Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif when Senator Ishaq Dar was the finance minister.

Air pollution accounted for 8.1 million deaths worldwide in 2021, UNICEF-backed report

NNPS Desk

Wed, 19 Jun 2024, 10:39 AM

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 19 (APP): Air pollution is having an increasing impact on human health, becoming the second leading global risk factor for death, according to the fifth edition of the State of Global Air (SoGA) report published in partnership with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The report, released Wednesday by the Health Effects Institute (HEI), an independent U.S.-based nonprofit research organization, found air pollution accounted for 8.1 million deaths globally in 2021. Beyond these deaths, many more millions of people are living with debilitating chronic diseases, putting tremendous strains on health care systems, economies, and societies.

It warned that air pollution is increasingly impacting human health – and is now the second leading global risk factor for premature death, saying
many millions are dealing with debilitating chronic diseases, leaving healthcare systems, economies, and societies.

Further, it found that children under five are particularly vulnerable to air pollution, leaving over 700,000 in this age group dead in 2021.

The SoGA report found that pollutants like outdoor fine particulate matter (PM2.5) – which comes from burning fossil fuels and biomass in sectors like transportation, residential homes, wildfires, and more – caused more than 90 per cent of global air pollution deaths and were found to be the “most consistent and accurate predictor of poor health outcomes around the world.”

Other pollutants like household air pollution, ozone (O3), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) – which can be found in traffic exhaust – also contribute to the global deterioration of human health.

HEI President Dr. Elena Craft said she hopes the information in the report will inspire change.

“Air pollution has enormous implications for health. We know that improving air quality and global public health is practical and achievable,” she said.

In addition to affecting people’s health, pollutants like PM2.5 add to greenhouse gases that are warming the planet. As the earth warms, regions with high levels of NO2 will experience great levels of ozone, which can result in greater health effects.

Dr. Pallavi Pant, HEI’s Head of Global Health said, “This new report offers a stark reminder of the significant impacts air pollution has on human health, with far too much of the burden borne by young children, older populations, and low- and middle-income countries.”

“This points sharply at an opportunity for cities and countries to consider air quality and air pollution as high-risk factors when developing health policies and other noncommunicable disease prevention and control programmes,” she added.

The report reveals that children are “uniquely vulnerable” to air pollution and effects can begin in the womb. It states that young children’s exposure to air pollution has resulted in one in five deaths globally, pneumonia and asthma and affects children with inequities more than it does those in high-income countries.

UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Kitty van der Heijden said that nearly 2,000 children under five die every day due to the effects of air pollution.

‘The global urgency is undeniable,” she said. “It is imperative governments and businesses consider these estimates and locally available data and use it to inform meaningful, child-focused action to reduce air pollution and protect children’s health.”

In addition to sharing details on the negative effects of air pollution on human health, the SoGA report also claims that there has been better awareness about the harms of being exposed to household air pollution and a 53 per cent decrease in the death rate of children under five since 2000 due to increased access to clean energy for cooking.

Also, regions experiencing the highest levels of air pollution have begun to address the issue by installing air pollution monitoring networks, implementing stricter air quality policies and more – particularly in Africa, Latin America and Asia.