Year: 2020

Tending orchards in Thar desert — without flowing water

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Most of the inhabitants of the Thar desert can grow crops only after a downpour has transformed the arid land into lush greenery. But Allahrakhio Khoso, a 60-year-old farmer, does not need to wait for rain. In the city of Nagarparkar, in the shadow of the Karoonjhar mountains, Khoso has made an orchard in the desert a reality by using matkas or pitchers — an everyday object more commonly found in the home than in the field. After eight years, Khoso has 400 berry trees, 70 lemon trees, three mango trees and…

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Cabinet Committee on Energy for expediting reforms

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ISLAMABAD: As the power sector is plagued with poor governance on account of electricity theft and rampant corruption, the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE) has given directives for expediting reforms in the sector to make it stable and sustainable. In its meeting on Thursday, the cabinet body on energy, in addition to reviewing the implementation status of decisions taken, also reviewed the decision on governance reforms. The government is implementing a power sector reform plan covering various areas which include realigning generation costs, privatisation of distribution system, governance reforms in…

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Trump ditches new tone on coronavirus to tout questionable theories

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US President Donald Trump’s much heralded new tone on the coronavirus pandemic evaporated on Tuesday in a burst of misleading medical speculation, criticism for his own top virus expert, and praise for an eccentric preacher-doctor touting conspiracy theories. Just a week ago, Trump sought to get his shaky re-election campaign back on track by addressing national criticism of a leadership void in a crisis that has already killed nearly 150,000 Americans and wreaked havoc on the world’s biggest economy. The president admitted things were going to “get worse before they…

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Govt plans to probe fuel crisis: minister

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ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Energy Omar Ayub Khan on Wednesday said the government planned to hold a thorough investigation into the fuel crisis, which occurred last month, to take the elements involved in hoarding and creating artificial shortage of the commodity to task.  “A commission has been formed by the federal cabinet in its last meeting,” the minister said, during the question hour session in the National Assembly.  Wondering where the stocks had gone, he noted the sales of petrol stood almost at 28% as compared to the corresponding period…

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Offshore wind power is now so cheap that UK wind farms could soon be paying back government subsidies

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UK offshore wind farms are set to be the first in the world to have to pay to produce power in what researchers have termed an “astonishing development” for the once-expensive energy technology. A dramatic drop in the cost of offshore wind power, coupled with a slight rise in wholesale power prices, will likely mean the newest wind farms coming online will operate with “negative subsidy”. This means operators effectively paying the Government to generate power. As a leader in offshore wind, UK schemes are likely to be the first…

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