Category: Popular News

NICE, FRANCE: A coalition of major development banks has pledged at least €3 billion (\$3.4 billion) by 2030 to fight ocean plastic pollution, in what remains the world’s largest coordinated initiative to tackle the crisis. The announcement coincides with the launch of the second phase of the Clean Oceans Initiative (COI) at a UN conference in Nice. Led by the European Investment Bank (EIB) alongside French, German, Spanish, and Italian development banks and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the COI aims to stem the rising tide of…

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ISLAMABAD: With limited room for fresh tax measures, the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government is pivoting from “broadening the tax base” to a new rhetoric of “equity,” effectively justifying higher taxes on lower-income groups as it targets a record Rs14 trillion in revenue for FY2025-26 — a 22% increase over the outgoing fiscal year. In line with IMF commitments, the government estimates autonomous revenue at Rs12.845 trillion, based on 4.2% GDP growth and 7.5% inflation. To bridge the gap, new tax measures worth Rs655 billion and enforcement-driven revenue of Rs400 billion…

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LAHORE: Pakistan’s installed electricity generation capacity has risen to 46,605 megawatts in FY2024-25, yet costly capacity payments to idle power plants remain a major burden on consumers, ranging between Rs12 to Rs15 per unit. The Economic Survey 2024-25 reveals that while the government has halted new power projects and is terminating power purchase agreements (PPAs) with several independent power producers (IPPs), the capacity payment issue persists — especially during winters when electricity demand plummets to 12,000-13,000MW. The current energy mix includes thermal (55.7%), hydel (24.4%), nuclear (7.8%), and renewables (12.5%).…

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