FARUKH SHEHZAD

ISLAMABAD, FEB 18: Missing climbers Ali Sadpara, Iceland's John Snorri Sigurjónsson and Chile's Juan Pablo Mohr Prieto were officially declared dead on Thursday in a press conference attended by the families and friends of the climbers in Skardu.

Gilgit-Baltistan Tourism Minister Raja Nasir Ali Khan and Ali Sadpara's son, Sajid Sadpara, were also present at the briefing.

The three climbers were last seen on Feb 5 near the Bottleneck on K2 as they attempted to reach the summit of the Savage Mountain. Sajid Sadpara, who was accompanying the three, had to abandon his summit bid after his oxygen regulator malfunctioned and he returned to camp 3.

Bad weather thwarted multiple attempts to search for the missing climbers, though the efforts continued.

A Feb 14 update on the search mission said that the "leads — taken after scrutinising satellite images, using SAR technology and checking testimonials and timings — turned out to be a sleeping bag, torn tents or sleeping pads, none of which belong to these climbers."

"The overwhelming love and support for the 'national hero Ali Sadpara' has given immense strength to me, my younger brothers, my sister, and my mother. My family and I have lost a kindhearted person and the Pakistani nation has lost a brave and great adventurous individual who was passionate about the Pakistani flag to the point of insanity," an emotional Sajid said.

Stressing that the outpour of love from Pakistanis offered his family great support in a tragic time, Sajid said that he will follow his father’s footsteps and continue to climb.

He said that his father had climbed eight of the 14 8,000 metre peaks in the world with great skill and placed the green Pakistani flag on their summits. "He set many records including the first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat in 2016 and earned immense respect and praise from the best climbers in the world. This is his lasting legacy," he added.

"When I returned to Skardu and met the media, I said they went missing in the death zone and chances of their survival are minimal and more lives must not be placed in danger during the search," Sajid said as he went on to thank Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) and the "brave pilots of Askari Aviation" along with a long list of officials for ensuring that all available resources were utilised during the search and rescue operation.

"I want to thank all Pakistanis who sent good wishes for my father in this difficult time. Your wishes raised the hopes of the mountaineers who come to Pakistan," he said.

Citing experienced climbers, Sajid said he believed his father and the other two mountaineers made it to the summit of K2, but met with an accident on their way down. He was with them but unfortunately, he had to descend because he felt unwell and his oxygen equipment had issues.

"All three were strong mountaineers — willing, able and with the courage to make history by standing on top of K2 in winter conditions. Based on the last known contact by John Snorri’s telephone, we are confident that all three men made it to the top of K2 and something happened on the descent," JP Deban, a friend of Mohr’s said at the press conference as he read out a statement on behalf of the families of foreign climbers.

"John Snorri’s family would like to extend gratitude to the authorities of Pakistan, Chile and Iceland for their efforts and devotion for finding our loved ones. There is no doubt in our mind that the extent of research and technologies used in the search were unprecedented and hopefully will improve the safety of future mountaineers along the way.

"The Pakistan Army has been extremely supportive in this difficult time, sharing resources and manpower. To the great people of Pakistan Army, we say thank you for caring for Ali, John and Pablo," he added.

"The friendship between Ali, John and Sajid is something we will cherish. As such, we are grateful for the safety and survival of Sajid."

The statement further said: "Our Icelandic hearts are beating with Pakistani and Chilean hearts. Thank you to all who have devoted your time to the search and taken the time to care by sending supportive words and thoughts to us in these difficult times. Ali, John and Juan Pablo will live forever in our hearts.

"Also, as Juan Pablo Mohr's family, we want to share the same feelings and gratitude for all who were involved in this historic operation, Pakistan government, government of Gilgit Baltistan, and Pakistan Army and with a special mention of the Sadpara family, for all the support and friendship and their friends and people from Skardu, whose love for Ali, JP and John is now forever in our hearts. We will continue their legacy, together," it added.

Paying tribute to Sadpara, the tourism minister said that the GB government has recommended civil awards for Sadpara and his son. A financial package for the family would also be announced along with scholarships for his children, he added. The recommendations included the renaming of Skardu Airport as Ali Sadpara Airport and a government job for Sajid. A mountaineering school in Shigar will be named after Sadpara.

President Arif Alvi expressed condolences to Muhammad Ali Sadpara's family as well as the families of the other climbers.

In a tweet, he paid tribute to Sadpara, saying "he battled nature with strength, fortitude and heroism."

The Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) said that it was a "very sad moment because we lost our friends".

"Five strong climbers were lost during the K2 Winter Expedition 2021, especially Ali Sadpara, our national hero. Our deepest sympathies go out to the mountaineers' families. May give them comfort and peace and may the soul of the mountaineers rest in peace," the statement by ACP secretary Karrar Haidri read.

Apart from Sadpara, Snorri, Mohr, mountaineers Atanas Skatov and Sergi Mingote Moreno were also attempting the K2 winter summit this year and lost their lives on the mountain.

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COURTESY dawn news

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ISLAMABAD, FEB 18: In a landmark decision, the Pakistan government on Wednesday has allowed its citizens living in Norway to keep dual nationality.

The move was taken after the federal government received complaints on the Pakistan Citizen’s Portal on the issue on January 25.

The “government has approved dual nationality arrangement with Norway,” said a notification issued on Wednesday by the Interior Ministry. This means that residents can keep citizenship to both countries.

In January 2020, Norway allowed its citizens to keep dual nationality. The law change meant that foreign citizens no longer have to relinquish their original citizenship in order to become Norwegian citizens.

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COURTESY whenwherehow

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ISLAMABAD, FEB 18: The Pakistan government has decided to resume all economic activities in the country from March 1 after noting a decline in coronavirus cases.

The cabinet, which met in Islamabad on Wednesday with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair, was briefed about the coronavirus situation in the country and was informed that the Covid-19 vaccine was being administered to frontline health workers.

Around 50,000 health workers have so far been vaccinated and the process was being further quickened, it was told.

The cabinet was informed that people of over 65 years of age could get themselves registered on telephone number 1166 for vaccination by using their national identity cards.

The meeting was also informed that hurdles in the way of vaccine’s import by the private sector had been removed.

The prime minister, while inquiring about the progress regarding the delegation of voting rights to overseas Pakistanis and the installation of electronic voting machines, said the government was committed to making the electoral process fully transparent.

He directed the electoral reforms committee to identify all administrative measures required for the installation of electronic voting machines and set a time-line in this regard.

The prime minister said making the election process fully transparent was the foremost priority of the PTI government.

The cabinet while taking strict notice of the incidents of sexual crimes, expressed concern on the reports of such incidents and directed the authorities to ensure the implementation of laws and steps to check the same.

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COURTESY whenwherehow

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LOWER DIR/TIMERGARA, FEB 18: Timergara is located at the east bank of Panjkora River and is the head district of Lower Dir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Being a remote area, the people dwelling there do not really have many opportunities to excel in life. Even though the residents of Timergara might just be the most patriotic people you meet, they often have to migrate because of the lack of growth that the region offers.

The residents who have big dreams, a passion for getting good education and want to establish themselves, usually move to bigger cities.

Mr. Ata and his family also moved to Karachi in the year 2009, hoping for a better life and to get better opportunities in this metropolitan city.

However, his happiness was short-lived. In the year 2017, Ata started feeling sick and one of the most alarming symptoms that he experienced was severe nose-bleeding.

His family was concerned, doctors ran some tests and he was soon diagnosed with Juvenile Nasopharyngeal Angiofibroma (JNA) - a rare benign tumor that forms predominantly in the nasopharynx of adolescent males. He was surgically operated in the same year and was under the impression that he is now in the clear. His family rejoiced and believed that their troubles were behind them.

“I am grateful to Patients’ Aid Foundation (PAF) for introducing the live-saving robotic radiosurgery treatment, CyberKnife at JPMC, free of cost to the less-privileged patients like me who otherwise cannot afford treatment”

Reality soon came crashing down on him in 2019when his symptoms reappeared but only this time, they were even more intense and frightening. Post-surgical residue was detected which meant that another surgery was very risky. This was a huge problem for Ata and his family.

His loved ones were now more scared than ever before. When he was first diagnosed with his illness, his family somehow managed to get through, however this time, given the delicacy of the situation, it seemed near impossible for them to stay optimistic. His father and uncle dabble in manual construction work and collectively earn a family income of only PKR 30,000. Living in a joint family with his two uncles and having six siblings, Ata’s family found themselves in a situation that they thought would never come after his last surgery.

After endless struggles and closed doors, Ata finally got to know that his condition could be treated through the CyberKnife which is a robotic radiosurgery treatment that is precise and can be used for the vulnerable regions which cannot be surgically operated. With CyberKnife, Ata could be treated with reduced risks and the probability of no relapse.

Ata was finally able to get the treatment that he needed with the help of Patients’ Aid Foundation (PAF) – JPMC. PAF with the collaboration of JPMC officials, the Government of Sindh and its generous donors, has been able to set up a cyberknife facility at JPMC that offers free of cost treatment to deserving patients. It is the only CyberKnife facility in Pakistan and the only CyberKnife facility in the world that provides the free of cost treatment which otherwise goes up to PKR 1 lac per session.

It took 5 CyberKnife sessions for Ata to be treated but his treatment was a huge success.  For the next five years, his doctors are going to continue with MRI so that any chances of relapse can be avoided.

Throughout his journey, Mr. Ata exercised patience and courage and has become an example for everyone around him. In spite of his testing circumstances, not once did Ata show signs of losing hope and succumbing to his illness.

It was hope that leads him to believe that a solution can be found. His spirits were further lifted during his treatment because of the quality of the facility and the encouraging PAF-JPMC staff that helped him to stay optimistic.

This long and hard journey only made Ata even more valiant and changed his entire outlook on life. Ata is now in 8thgrade and plans on becoming a doctor in the future to help adolescents going through similar situations.

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COURTESY oyeyeah

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ISLAMABAD, FEB 18: Microsoft Pakistan and Higher education commission (HEC) has signed an Education Transformation Agreement (ETA) at a virtual meeting held between Dr. Tariq Banuri, Chairman, HEC, Mark East, Vice President Education, Microsoft, Europe Middle East & Africa and other key executives from both sides to help academic institutions leverage new technologies in the learning process.

There are multiple programs that are part of this framework impacting student and faculties' academic lifecycle. Programs such as the Student Hackathon, focused Technology boot camps, Imagine Cup and multiple online training sessions for 200+ institutions across the country directly help with technology adoption and help build the workforce for the future.

During Pandemic, HEC has been providing remote learning solutions to drive continuity for academic activities in universities. To support the same initiative, Microsoft collaborated with HEC to bring more than 100 universities and 500,000 plus students to a digital hub of Microsoft Teams  that brings conversations content, assignments, and apps together at one place, letting educators create vibrant learning environments.

Microsoft Teams platform also works well with Moodle, which most universities use as their Learning Management System. Microsoft Teams has also recently introduced new features that allow the faculty to take online exams in a secure environment enabling teaching faculty to conduct online assessments and create quizzes with ease to minimize chances of errors.

Through this agreement, Microsoft's cloud computing platform, Azure, will be  accessible to the Universities and will provide the ability to transform their IT infrastructure with the latest cloud offerings, manage their cyber security through cloud-native SIEM, build their high performance research clusters that are resilient and scale when needed, host their learning management solutions and innovate their on-premise applications using the platform's easy-to-use Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning capabilities.

Microsoft will also provide consultancy to universities to adopt Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform for their Finance & Operations and Campus Management solution requirements. It is a robust, feature-rich platform to help universities, colleges, and educational organizations in to moving their core administrative & IT functions to the next generation Microsoft technologies ensuring the best outcomes for students with a 360-degree view of students and activities by providing the right services and support at the right time.

Dr. Tariq Banuri, Chairman HEC, shared his thoughts during virtual session “COVID Pandemic has brought many challenges for Educational sector in Pakistan but with the help of Microsoft we have successfully turn them into Opportunity and embark on the journey to transform education system through digitalization. ETA with Microsoft depicts our commitments to gearing towards revolutionizing the learning process with number of initiatives. These interventions will introduce modern technological tools to enhance faculty to student interaction at all level and provide easy access to knowledge. This cooperation has long way to go till the fulfillment of Digital Pakistan vision.”

“We have seen how this new normal has completely changed the way we interact with technology. We are witnessing the rise of remote and blended learning solutions by integrating technology in way we teach and educate. “says Jibran Jamshad, Education Lead for Microsoft Pakistan “With Microsoft 365, Azure and our productivity suite including Microsoft Teams, institutions can keep up with the rapid pace of innovation and design classrooms that foster innovation and inspire students to achieve more”, Jibran added.

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COURTESY oyeyeah.com

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Elon Musk’s reign as the world’s richest person was brief. Tesla Inc. shares slid 2.4% on Tuesday, erasing $4.6 billion from its chief executive officer’s fortune and knocking him from the top spot on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index ranking.

Jeff Bezos, who’d held the title for more than three years until last month, reclaimed his No 1 position with a net worth of $191.2 billion, or $955 million more than Musk.

Musk’s drop ends — for now — an almost six-week stint as world’s richest person that saw him front and center in some of the biggest market events so far this year. He fanned the flames of the Reddit-driven GameStop Corp. rally and sent the shares of Etsy Inc., Shopify Inc., CD Projekt SA and Signal Advance Inc. soaring with boosterish tweets.

Recently, he’s roiled the price of Bitcoin and even Dogecoin, a lesser-known cryptocurrency that Musk spiked with a tweeted meme earlier this month. Bitcoin meanwhile blew past $50,000 days after Tesla revealed plans to hold $1.5 billion of the cryptocurrency on its balance sheet. Still, despite Musk’s seemingly constant social media presence, Tesla shares have slid almost 10% from a Jan. 26 peak.

It’s been an eventful stretch for Bezos as well. He resumes the mantle of world’s richest person as he’s about to cede a title of his own. Amazon.com Inc. announced this month that Bezos will down step as CEO of the e-commerce giant in the third quarter to focus on other projects. Bezos owns space exploration company Blue Origin as well as the Washington Post and has accelerated his philanthropic giving in recent years. Amazon shares have climbed 53% in the past 12 months.

It may not be long though before Musk leapfrogs Bezos once again.

Musk’s SpaceX, a rival to Bezos’s Blue Origin, has been in talks to raise funds that would significantly increase its valuation. SpaceX completed the $850 million funding round last week at a $74 billion valuation, about 60% higher than its prior round, according to CNBC, which cited people familiar with the matter.

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COURTESY whenwherehow

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CAIRO, FEB 2021: Upon his arrival in Cairo for a three-day visit, the Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi met leading Egyptian businessmen and investors at a dinner on February 16.

While talking to them, the foreign minister outlined the government’s focus on Economic Diplomacy and the steps taken to create a favourable business and investment climate in Pakistan.

The foreign minister underscored the opportunities existing in diverse areas in Pakistan for Egyptian businessmen and investors, in particular in the energy, construction, pharmaceutical, tourism, Informational Technology, and logistics sectors.

Qureshi stressed that leading multinational companies were consistently showing higher profits in Pakistan, as compared to their global average.

The minister emphasized the importance of enhanced collaboration between business communities of the two Countries. He accorded priority to the revival of the Pakistan-Egypt Joint Business Council (JBC).

The Egyptian businessmen and investors shared their perspectives on various opportunities and suggested ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in trade and investment.

The delegation comprised key Egyptian investors including El Sewedy Electric, which is keen on investing in Pakistan’s power distribution sector; and the tech-startup Swvl.

Other businessmen included the Secretary-General of Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, Chairman of Foreign Trade Association, and Chairman Expolink.

Separately, the President and CEO of El-Sewedy Electric Ahmed El Sewedy also met the Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

In the meeting, he briefed the foreign minister about the company’s investment strategy and aspirations in Pakistan.

The CEO El-Sewedy Electric said that a team of experts would soon visit Pakistan to identify priority areas for investment.

The Economic Diplomacy remains a priority for the Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi during his ongoing visit to Egypt from February 16-18, 2021.

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COURTESY dnd news

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ISLAMABAD, FEB 18: Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) a delegation led by Ihsan Yardukul, Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan along-with GokhanUmut TIKA Head visited Honey Bee Research Institute (HBRI) NARC on Wednesday to kick off the inauguration ceremony of TIKA-PARC project titled as “TIKA Honey bee research lab and domestication of modern Turkish beehive in Pakistan” which is a significant collaboration between Pakistani and Turkish government to equip Pakistani beekeepers with Turkish modern Beekeeping technology.

The Turkish delegation was warmly received by Dr. Azeem Khan, Chairman PARC and Dr. Rashid Mehmood, Director HBRI-NARC while Dr. Khalid Rafique Scientific Officer / Project Incharge of TIKA-PARC project with other high officials was also there.

P.I. Dr. Khalid Rafique gave a brief overview of the said project. The main objectives of the project are, to establish advance Honeybee Queen Research Lab with molecular level research facilities at HBRI & Domestication and Adaptation of Turkish model bee hive in Pakistan for higher honey production and colony productivity. TIKA will provide all kind of financial assistance for establishing this lab.

Chairman PARC looks forward to the next level partnership with TIKA in which processing, certification and export of Pakistani Honey will be the prime focus. He says this lab research work will help in improving the standards of quality queen bees in Pakistan for higher honey production.

Under the LOI agreement between PARC and TIKA that was took place last year, TIKA will be responsible for up-gradation and renovation of the advanced queen bee research lab at HBRI, NARC.

Furthermore, 50 Turkish Model Bee hive Apismellifera L. bees will be provided for research purposes and demonstration to beekeepers. Chairman indicated the role of PARC is to provide technical handling of the Project which includes training of beekeepers regarding queen production and domestication and demonstration of results of Turkish bee hive to beekeeping community of Pakistan for its adaptation.

While showing keen interest in the project Mr. Gokhan says “In time to come, this cooperation with PARC will be continued and expanded to the comprehensive training program of Pakistani beekeepers”.

After the inauguration, delegates also visit various research institutes of PARC and showed a great interest in angora rabittry, tilapia fish hatchery, exotic citrus / lime varieties, local cow/buffalo breeds and poultry bird species. 

They also observed and appreciated the activities of Animal Sciences Institute, PATCO-PARC and Horticulture Research Institute.

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BUCHAREST, FEB 17: Romania's Government will pursue big reforms in four areas (pensions, incomes, education, and public administration) this year, announced prime minister Florin Citu along with the publication of the 2021 budget planning, Adevarul reported.

As previously announced, the public deficit is planned to reach 7.16% of the GDP this year, down from 9.8% of GDP last year.

PM Citu assured that he would get involved personally in promoting these reforms and thoroughly evaluate each minister's performance at the middle of the year when the budget execution for the first half of the year becomes available.

He stressed that the incomes in the budgetary sector were frozen, and he expects from each minister and state-owned company a plan of reforms by mid-year.

Compressing the public payroll, pensions, and other social benefits within the legal provisions is one of the main elements supposed to support fiscal consolidation, judging from the measures outlined by PM Citu.

The bonuses and other benefits will be maintained at the level of December 2020, and the holiday-related bonuses and vouchers are waived.

The overtime will be compensated in kind. The social security expenditures - the biggest single expenditure in Romania's budget (some one third) - will increase by RON 4.4 billion (EUR 0.9 bln) to RON 143 bln (just under EUR 30 bln, or 14% of GDP) this year.

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COURTESY romania-insider

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ISLAMABAD, FEB 2021: Ambassador of Yemen Motahar Alashabi visited the National University of Modern Languages (NUML) and met NUML Rector Major General (r) M. Jaffar in his office, on Monday, Feb 15.

The rector briefed the visitor about the university and said the university was teaching 26 regional and international languages and was the only university of its kind in the country.

He said besides languages, the NUML had also four other faculties e.g. Social Sciences, Engineering, English, and Management Sciences.

The rector said that majority of Pakistanis were keen to learn the Arabic language. He said the Arabic language department at the NUML was playing a pivotal role in promoting the Arabic language and culture.

The Yemeni ambassador appreciated the role of NUML in promoting the Arabic language and culture in Pakistan and he urged the NUML rector to start a student exchange programme.

The rector assured him of cooperation in that respect. He later presented a NUML memento to the Yemeni Ambassador Motahar Alashabi.

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COURTESY the news

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• Meeting took place at the Embassy of Indonesia in Islamabad under very friendly environment; Number of good topics came under discussion; CGSS and the Embassy of Indonesia will organize joint activities such as article writing competitions, online internships and courses

ISLAMABAD, FEB 2021: A meeting was held between the Ambassador of Indonesia to Pakistan, Adam Mulawarman Tugio and Khalid Taimur Akram, Executive Director, Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS), Islamabad at Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, Islamabad, on Tuesday, Feb 16.

During the meeting, it was decided that CGSS will establish and facilitate academic collaboration between Indonesia and Pakistan.

This collaboration will be fruitful in connecting the academic sector and student fraternity of both countries.

Furthermore, various projects of mutual interests were also discussed and it was decided that CGSS will actively engage in activities with different institutions and Think Tanks in Indonesia.

It was also agreed that CGSS and the Embassy of Indonesia will organize joint activities such as article writing competitions, online internships and courses as well.

Adam Mulawarman Tugio appreciated the efforts of CGSS in enhancing bilateral relations between Pakistan and Indonesia and expressed his support in further cementing this relationship between both the countries through joint efforts.

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COURTESY cgss

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