Category: Highlights

DAYS AFTER THE Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund halted the flow of hundreds of million dollars into the country. The central bank had around $9 billion in reserves. But, most of it was held in the US and was frozen. In short, the Taliban was left without capital to run the country. But, not many know that the country has mineral deposits worth $1 trillion or more, including rare earth minerals. It supposedly has the world’s largest reserves of lithium. However, the Taliban…

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Four fifths of the Gulf of Mexico’s oil and gas production remains offline due to Hurricane Ida, one of the biggest storms to hit the US in the past 150 years. Almost 1.5 million barrels per day of oil and 1.9 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas output was shut in as of Wednesday,the US Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement said. That represents 17 percent of total oil production in the US, and 5 percent of the natural gas output, while about 45 percent of the US’s…

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The first China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project in the power evacuation and transmission sector, the 660kV High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Matiari-Lahore transmission line, started commercial operations on Wednesday on its scheduled date. On the first day, the project saved the country from a major breakdown by protecting the transmission, dispatch and distribution systems from a possible cascading effect due to tripping at Jamshoro. “It is a matter of great importance that the country finally succeeded in having the first and the biggest HVDC transmission line to evacuate 4,000 megawatts from…

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Pakistan’s rupee dropped to a one-year low, closing in on the 167 level against the US dollar in the inter-bank market, as demand-side forces continued to put pressure on the currency on Wednesday. As per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the currency closed at 166.87 against the dollar in the inter-bank market, registering a depreciation of Rs0.48 or 0.29%. This is the currency’s lowest level since August 28, 2020 when it closed at 167.43 against the USD. The rupee has lost over 5% since July 2021 alone, and has…

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Islamabad Of every 800 regular electricity users in the country, around 35 are hook or kunda connections. The situation puts a question mark over the working of power distribution companies (DISCOs). Inefficiency on the part of DISCOs has been a major drag on the sector’s financial health, as there are losses and low recoveries. The Senate Standing Committee on Power that met here with Senator Saifullah Abro in the chair on Wednesday discussed the “Kunda Culture” along with a report on the number of regular and kunda connections in each…

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