Saturday, 6 February 2021
- Enabling People to bring at least an additional $1 billion each year into the Pakistani economy through E-Commerce skills by 2025.
KARACHI, FEB 6: Pakistan has a large labour force that stands among the top 10 largest labour forces in the world, and it’s growing day by day. To create adequate employment opportunities for them is a huge challenge. On the other hand, employers frequently keep saying that they are unable to find workers with appropriate skills necessary for their businesses. This obviously shows that there is a mismatch between the demand and supply of skills.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) has shown that skills development can play a major role in the alleviation of poverty, when carefully planned and implemented in the context of the available and emerging employment and income-generation opportunities. This multiplies many folds when the skills are acquired in the digital spheres. It not only widens the work opportunities but also opens up avenues for entrepreneurial ventures as well.
Extreme Commerce, Pakistan’s largest and renowned E-Commerce capacity building platform has excelled in its mission of making Pakistan a hub of entrepreneurial opportunities. Under the guidance of Sunny Ali, thousands of aspiring individuals from Pakistan have successfully initiated global e-commerce businesses.
Extreme Commerce, Pakistan’s largest e-commerce skill development and entrepreneurial platform has achieved yet another milestone with the expansion of 100+ skills training courses through the ‘Video Boot Camp (VBC)’. The Video Boot Camp includes virtual sessions and videos encompassing around 100 essential e-commerce and digital skills required to excel in the spheres of online businesses. The Video Boot Camp training program is specifically tailored to facilitate the budding entrepreneurs and businessmen and freelancers.
According to Ali, “Ecommerce has skyrocketed after the pandemic and is estimated to grow to a whopping $4.3 trillion within this year”. He further adds, “There is a huge potential for growth in ecommerce both domestic and international, and that is why we at Extreme Commerce have pledged to enable people to bring at least an additional $1 billion each year into the Pakistani economy through E-Commerce skills by 2025”.
The Video Boot Camp includes over a 100 plus income generating E-Commerce skills (income streams) which an entrepreneur needs to skyrocket their businesses. Some skills offered through the VBC include: Selling through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) model, Virtual Assistant and FBA Freelancing, online store management of international and local E-Commerce marketplaces, bookkeeping account management services, digital and social media marketing, content writing and graphic designing, 3D designing & modelling, data science and analytics, and more.
This initiative of Extreme Commerce will be immensely fruitful in helping their trainees become leading entrepreneurs of the country. Ali, contented with his vision states, “At Extreme Commerce, we offer a multitude of digital skills that are categorized into 100+ courses/income streams under the umbrella of Video Boot Camp (VBC 2021). These skills are pivotal to reducing unemployment and enhancing the capital of our country”. Sharing his focus and goals, he adds, “Skills that actually help you succeed as an online freelancer and even in the real-life environment plus increase your income thereby, are our prime focus right now”.
Earlier, Extreme Commerce and Mishal Pakistan, the Country Partner Institute of the World Economic Forum had signed a partnership to mainstream e-commerce in Pakistan, this includes capacity building initiatives for the media and industry players, including trainings, seminars and workshops.
The government of Pakistan has estimated digital skills global industry, often referred to as online outsourcing, is expected to generate gross service revenue between $15 billion and $25 billion in 2021.
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COURTESY oyeyeah
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ISLAMABAD, FEB 6 /DNPK/ - The iconic Heydar Aliyev Centre in Baku, Azerbaijan was illuminated with Pakistani flag on Feb 5th 2021.
The projection of Pakistani flag on its national monument to mark the "Kashmir Solidarity Day" is a testimony of Azerbaijan's bold and principled stance on the just struggle of Pakistan of Jammu and Kashmir.
The government officials and people of Pakistan thank the brotherly government and people of Azerbaijan for this great gesture of solidarity with the Kashmir cause.
The event at the iconic Heydar Aliyev Centre reflected that the people of Pakistan and Azerbaijan stand together in raising the voice for the oppressed people of Jammu and Kashmir.=DNPK
(Pakistan-Azerbaijan Friendship Zindabad).
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Friday, 5 February 2021
STOCKHOLM, FEB 5: A total of 89 corona-related deaths have been registered in Sweden in the last 24 hours. So far, the pandemic has claimed 12,028 lives in the country.
Since the pandemic hit Sweden last year, 584,674 people have been diagnosed with the infection, out of which 3,758 of them in the last 24 hours, according to figures from the Public Health Authority.
Denmark has also passed a gloomy milestone; with 553 new cases of the infection since Wednesday, more than 200,000 people have tested positive in Denmark.
The latest figure from the Statens Serum Institut is 200,335 confirmed infection cases since January of last year. The number of deaths is up to 2,184, including 14 deaths registered in the last 24 hours.
A total of 444 COVID-19 patients have now been admitted to Danish hospitals. Out of the 444, 86 are in the intensive care unit, and 63 people are on respirators.
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COURTESY norwaytoday
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ISLAMABAD, FEB 5: Opposition parties will march towards Islamabad against Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government on March 26, Maulana Fazlur Rehman announced Thursday.
The announcement came after a meeting of the Pakistan Democratic Movement in Islamabad.
Caravans from across the country will leave for Islamabad on March 26, Fazl told reporters. He was flanked by other opposition leaders.
“It is our objective that we rid the nation of this illegal and incompetent government and return their stolen votes to them,” the PDM head said.
Opposition parties will jointly contest the Senate elections, which are likely to be held in March, according to Fazl. The decision to resign from the assemblies has been withdrawn for the time being.
The PDM, an alliance of Pakistani opposition parties, launched a campaign against PM Khan’s government in September 2020. It held several rallies in major cities of the country but the government remained unmoved.
Later, the alliance announced that all opposition lawmakers will resign from the assemblies by January 31 but backtracked from their announcement.
The PPP, also a part of the PDM, suggested a few weeks ago to remove PM Khan from office through a no-confidence vote.
But the party couldn’t convince other opposition members to go ahead with its strategy at Thursday’s meeting, according to sources.
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COURTESY SAMMA
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Thursday, 4 February 2021
OSLO, FEB 4: Minister of Health Bent Høie (H) confirms that the government is working to provide updated travel advice ahead of the winter holidays in week 8 and week 9.
“We would have liked to put the information out even faster, but due to the situation that has arisen, we need more time,” Høie noted at a press conference on Wednesday.
He reiterated that people should not plan leisure trips abroad at Easter or earlier.
The Minister of Health also explained why the government has not come up with a clearer definition of the notion of “unnecessary travel.”
“Sometimes it is very necessary to visit family elsewhere in the country, other times it is completely unnecessary.
“We want people to limit these trips, but each individual must decide for themselves. Most people are good at it,” Høie said.
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COURTESY norwaytoday
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OSLO, FEB 4: Applying for a Norwegian citizenship or thinking about it? Read on for more details.
At the very end of 2020, the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) published an update in the Citizen Act legislation.
Increase in residency requirement
Be aware that the residency requirement has changed if you’re seeking permanent residence or citizenship in Norway.
The update applies to:
- Those who are married to a Norwegian
- Those who have a Norwegian cohabitant
- Those who have a registered Norwegian partner
- Those living in Norway based on special protections or other considerations
- Those living in Norway based on family reunification
If you’re in one of these groups, the permanent residence requirement -based on residency – for you is increasing from three to five years.
During these five years, you’re permitted to travel abroad for a maximum of 10 months.
Time-based exemptions
If you meet the following two requirements, the new rule does not apply to you:
- Applying for citizenship in the application portal by February 1, 2021, and;
- Meeting the three-year residency requirement by December 1, 2020
If you meet both of these requirements, you do not have to add two additional years.
But if you applied on or after December 1, 2020, you will have to meet the new rule of five years.
For more information, head here.
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COURTESY norwaytoday
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China has achieved a historic leap by exceeding 100-trillion-yuan GDP threshold. This success will have a positive impact on the economic wellbeing of Chinese people as well as its partners especially Pakistan, a country which has witnessed China standing side-by-side during the test of times.
With the high-quality development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the implementation of the Second Phase Protocol of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement, China’s new economic leap will bring a larger market and deeper cooperation potential for Pakistan.
China will always uphold the principles of international harmony and help Pakistan just like it is giving COVID vaccines to enhance Pakistan’s ability to fight the deadly pandemic. The year 2021 is very important for Pak-China friendship since it marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan.
China will continue to ensure high-quality development of CPEC and advance cooperation in developing Gwadar Port, industrial parks, agriculture, science and technology, assisting Pakistan’s development towards industrialisation, urbanisation, digitisation and agricultural modernisation. Moreover, China will promote bilateral exchanges and cooperation for a better understanding of two cultures.
ISLAMABAD, FEB 4: At the beginning of 2021, there comes encouraging news from China. According to the preliminary calculation of the National Bureau of Statistics of China, China’s GDP in 2020 reached 101.6 trillion yuan (around 14.7 trillion USD), increasing by 2.3 percent from 2019. For the first time, China’s GDP exceeded the 100-trillion-yuan threshold, achieving a historic leap.
This leap is significant.
For China, this leap marks a milestone in the journey of Chinese national rejuvenation. The GDP of 100 trillion yuan and per capita GDP of 10,000 USD for the second consecutive year indicates a new height in the overall national strength and people’s living standard. It has laid a solid foundation for China in implementing the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) and embarking on a new journey towards fully building a modern socialist country. It has also created ample space for China to follow a new development philosophy and foster a new development paradigm with domestic circulations as the mainstay and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other.
For the world, this leap is a ray of warm sunshine amid economic gloom. The world economy has been severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. China is the first and the only major economy to achieve positive growth in 2020, injecting impetus into the global economic recovery. China’s share in the world economy is anticipated to rise to around 17 percent. China’s growing economy will further enhance its potential of foreign trade and investment, strengthen inter-connection and the mutual promotion of the markets of China and the world, and make greater contributions to the improvement of global economic governance, the building of an open world economy and a community with a shared future for mankind.
This leap is hard-won.
This leap is attributed to the wise leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC). In the face of the sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the turbulent external environment, the CPC has united and led all the Chinese people to respond calmly and rise up to challenges. The CPC Central Committee with President Xi Jinping as its core assessed the situation from the long-term perspective while taking both the domestic and international situations into consideration, coordinated pandemic control and socioeconomic development, and resolutely adopted a series of significant measures. CPC organisations at all levels strictly implemented the decisions and instructions of the CPC Central Committee. The majority of CPC members actively responded to the Party’s call by rushing to the frontline in fighting against the pandemic and played a leading role in every field. The judgment, decision, and action taken by the CPC are decisive in helping China take the lead in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, resuming work and production, and achieving positive economic growth.
This leap is attributed to the unique advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics. First, this system guarantees the whole nation acts in a coordinated way. Both in COVID-19 response and economic development, China gives the full play to the initiative of both the central and local governments. The local governments cooperate with the central government and the central government assists the local governments. At local level, governments also support each other under the coordination of the central government. Second, the socialist system with Chinese characteristics ensures that we concentrate efforts on major tasks. Faced with arduous development tasks, China, following the belief that “good steel is used for the cutting edge”, concentrates on the most important tasks with the best resources, and has achieved progress in poverty alleviation, research and development of vaccines, and technological innovation. Third, the socialist system with Chinese characteristics ensures that we make cohesive planning to achieve consistent development. 2020 was the last year of China’s 13th Five-Year Plan. China maintained its strategic focus, overcame the impact of COVID-19, stuck to its goals, and completed the development tasks specified in the 13th Five-Year Plan on schedule. These advantages are the institutional basis for the resilience of China’s economy.
This leap is attributed to China’s adherence to reform and opening up. China is not swayed by the historical counter-currents of unilateralism and protectionism, and does not fear the threat of decoupling, supply disruption or sanctions. We uphold that development quality and market vitality should be enhanced by deepening reform and opening up. China has taken the initiative to maintain the stability of the global supply, industrial and value chains. With both the goods trade and the actual use of foreign investment growing against the trend, China has maintained its status as the largest trading nation and has become the largest host country for foreign direct investment (FDI). Besides, the “Belt and Road Initiative” continued to advance steadily, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was successfully signed, and the China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment completed negotiations on schedule. Reform and opening up is the source of China’s economic vitality.
This leap benefits China-Pakistan cooperation.
The new leap of China’s economy is the result of China’s adherence to self-reliance and opening-up, the hard work of the Chinese people, as well as the support and contributions of friends from various countries including Pakistan. Therefore, the expansion of China’s economic volume will not only benefit the Chinese people, but also have a positive impact on the international community, especially creating more development opportunities for Pakistan, China’s all-weather strategic cooperative partner. With the development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the implementation of the Second Phase Protocol of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement, China’s new economic leap will bring a larger market and deeper cooperation potential for Pakistan, and lays a more solid material foundation for upgrading China-Pakistan practical cooperation.
China’s good economic performance can boost the determination and confidence of the two countries to join hands in fighting the pandemic. At the just-concluded World Economic Forum “Davos Agenda” dialogue, President Xi Jinping stated that China will continue to take an active part in international cooperation on COVID-19 and continue to implement a win-win strategy of opening up. China is still facing a tight anti-pandemic situation, and there is a severe supply and demand gap in vaccine production. Even so, China, as a responsible major country in the international community, and a reliable partner who withstands the test in the face of danger, will do its best to make safe and effective Chinese vaccines available and affordable for the Pakistani people, and to boost Pakistan’s economy to full recovery at an early date.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. China will take this opportunity to speed up the high-quality development of CPEC. The two sides are in close communication and serious preparation for the upcoming 10th meeting of the CPEC Joint Cooperation Committee. In the next stage, the two countries will take well-targeted steps in developing Gwadar Port, industrial parks, agriculture, science and technology, assisting Pakistan’s development towards industrialisation, urbanisation, digitisation and agricultural modernisation. We also welcome friends from all walks of life in Pakistan to get a more comprehensive understanding of contemporary China, promote bilateral exchanges and cooperation, and give new momentum to this time-tested friendship.
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COURTESY cpecinfo.com
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OSLO, FEB 4: The National Institute of Public Health (FHI) will not rank the different vaccines, even if the corona vaccine from AstraZeneca really does reduce the spread of infection, FHI director Camilla Stoltenberg noted.
“The vaccines can be compared according to several dimensions, but today there has been news that we will examine more thoroughly,” she said, referring to the news that the AstraZeneca vaccine significantly reduces the spread of infection.
“If it is true, it is very good news,” Stoltenberg noted.
“But we have no basis for ranking the vaccines… It will be important for us to go into more detail and say something about each of their properties,” she added.
She also pointed out that the AstraZeneca vaccine’s effectiveness is not bad at all compared to regular flu vaccines.
According to a study conducted at the University of Oxford in the UK, a single dose of AstraZeneca vaccine provides 76% protection for up to 90 days and reduces the risk of infecting others by 67%.
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COURTESY norwaytoday
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STOCKHOLM, FEB 4: Sweden is introducing an entry ban for all foreigners without a negative corona test. The ban applies from Saturday until March 31.
The corona test should, in principle, be less than 48 hours old. Persons under the age of 18 are exempt from the requirement.
Foreigners residing in Sweden and employees in the transport sector are exempt from the entry ban, which is introduced at the Public Health Authority’s request.
The ban has been influenced by the concern that new virus mutations will spread to Sweden.
Stricter rules
“The new virus variants are disturbing,” Prime Minister Stefan Löfven noted.
Swedish citizens are encouraged to test themselves after they arrive in the country if they have not done so in advance.
Foreigners are not allowed to test themselves at the border. Everyone is advised to stay home for a week after arrival and test themselves on day five.
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COURTESY norway today
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ISLAMABAD, FEB 4: The members of newly elected PARC’s Employees Association (Inqilaab Group) met with Chairman PARC Dr. Muhammad Azeem Khan at PARC HQs, Islamabad.
The Chairman PARC on the occasion advised the newly elected members to utilize their best to serve their organization.
He expressed that PARC is playing an important role in promoting scientific research and development activities to help bring social and economic prosperity in a society.
The Chairman was also of the view; he hopes that the new representatives will continue to strive for the overall betterment of the organization and its employees.
Mr. Liaqat Ali Wahla, newly elected President of EAPARC (Inqilaab group) said that they will work as a team for betterment of the Council.
He threw light on the activities of the union. He also shared the problems being faced by Council’s employees and proposed solutions to these problems.
Mr. Wahla requested Chairman to take immediate steps to end this financial crunch and unrest amongst employees / scientists, so that they can work with the peace of mind for the betterment of this country.
A flower bouquet was also presented by the Association to Dr. Muhammad Azeem Khan. The members of EAPARC thanked Chairman PARC for sparing his valuable time for the meeting.
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COURTESY leadpakistan
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ISLAMABAD, FEB 2021: On February 2, the Certificate Distribution Ceremony of the Article Writing Competition was held at the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Pakistan.
The Article competition, “Exploring Egypt: Past, Present
& Future” was jointly organized by Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
and Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS), Islamabad.
The competition was organized to enhance bilateral ties and
cooperation between Egypt and Pakistan, and to acquaint students with knowledge
of the socio-cultural and economic dimensions of both countries
The ceremony was commenced with the welcome remarks by Mr.
Khalid Taimur Akram, Executive Director, CGSS, he mentioned that this
competition proved to be a milestone in establishing people to people contact
between Egypt and Pakistan.
Mr. Ashfaq Ahmed Gondal, Former Federal Secretary of
Information and Broadcasting and Senior Member Advisory Board CGSS highlighted
that we must conduct research on Egypt and its development in varios sectors
especially their irrigation system and vibrant history. Mr. Ashfaq Ahmed Gondal
also appreciated the innovatve idea of an article writing competition to
include the student fraternity of Pakistan in studing about Egypt.
His Excellency Tarek Dahroug, Ambassador of Egypt to
Pakistan appreciated and acknowledged the efforts of CGSS in organizing the
Article Writing Competition that helped students learn and explore about
different areas of Egypt including its culture, traditions and history.
His Excellency also applauded the students in their
wonderful attempt to write informative and interesting articles about Egypt. He
emphasized that this is the beginning of a strong friendship between Egypt and
Pakistan and we look forward to establish more activities to connect the
academia of Pakistan and Egypt. He also ensured that all best articles will
also be published in Egypt.
His Excellency Tarek Dahroug, Ambassador of Egypt to
Pakistan awarded certificates and Medals to students who secured positions in
the Article Writing Competition.
The competition received 70 articles from across Pakistan
and 5 best articles were selected. The names of position holders are as below,
1st Position: Ms. Amna Hameed
2nd Position: Ms. Fiza Khokhar
3rd Position: Ms Maryam Raza
4th Position: Mr. Aamir Iqbal
5th Position: Mr. Malik Musawar Hameed
Letters of Appreciation were also presented to the Management of CGSS for their contribution in organizing and conducting the Article Writing Competition.
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COURTESY CGSS
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