Tag: UK

  • ‘Pakistan’s international debt should be immediately cancelled’: British MP

    ‘Pakistan’s international debt should be immediately cancelled’: British MP

    United Kingdom (UK) Member of Parliament (MP) Claudia Webbe has called on the international community to cancel Pakistan’s debt as the country’s inflation hits the highest level since 1973.

    In a statement on Twitter, Webbe said, “Inflation in Pakistan is at an all-time high at 27 per cent! Pakistan’s international debt should be immediately cancelled – they should instead be given reparations for the climate crisis caused.”

    According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), Pakistan’s Consumer Price Index-based inflation (CPI) climbed by 27.3 per cent on a year-over-year basis in August 2022.

    Prior to this statement, she repeatedly urged foreign countries to stand shoulder to shoulder in full solidarity with Pakistan and termed the silence from western countries a “moral crime”.

    “We need a global climate tax so that the global rich can be made to pay for the climate damage they cause in the world,” she said.

    She also blamed rich countries for the climate crisis and said that they should bear the cost, not Pakistan, as the country is responsible for 1 per cent of global emissions.

    On her official Twitter account, she also shared videos of the devasting floods in Pakistan.

    Water levels continued to rise on Friday as the overall death toll from the devastating floods has crossed 1,200.

    On Thursday, the UK announced an additional £15 million of lifesaving support for flood victims in Pakistan.

    More than 33 million people are affected — one in every seven Pakistanis — and reconstruction work will cost more than $10 billion.

    United Nations (UN) chief Antonio Guterres called the floods a “climate catastrophe” and launched an appeal for $160 million in emergency funding. Meanwhile, western countries have also donated millions of dollars to Pakistan.

  • UK’s £1.5 million financial support for Pakistan flood victims termed ‘pathetically small’

    UK’s £1.5 million financial support for Pakistan flood victims termed ‘pathetically small’

    The International Development Committee (IDC) of the British Parliament has called the UK’s financial support for disastrous floods in Pakistan ‘risible’.

    The “pathetically small” amount of support provided, according to IDC chair Sarah Champion, made her feel ashamed. She further said that by choosing to take the money out of Pakistan’s current aid, the UK was really doing nothing for Pakistan.

    According to Independent, the contribution of up to £1.5 million announced last week, according to IDC chair Sarah Champion in a letter to foreign secretary Liz Truss, equals less than 5p for each individual impacted by the heavy rain that has devastated more than 700,000 homes.

    As soon as parliament reconvened on Monday after its summer recess, she requested Ms Truss make an urgent statement regarding the calamity.

    The response to the floods, according to Ms Champion, revealed Boris Johnson’s administration policy of continued apathy towards Pakistan, which has dropped from first to seventh in the list of countries receiving bilateral aid from the UK since 2019.

    Last week, Lord Ahmad, a minister in the Foreign Office, expressed his thoughts and prayers for the millions of people impacted by the floods that have apparently inundated a third of Pakistan’s territory. “The UK stands with the people of Pakistan during this time of need,” he said.

    And on Tuesday, Mr Johnson expressed his deepest sympathies for the Pakistani people, saying, “We have witnessed the destruction there, and it is truly heartbreaking.

    “Pakistan is traditionally one of the biggest recipients of UK overseas aid. We will of course make sure that we send a fitting package commensurate with the vital relationship that there is between the UK and Pakistan and people’s natural sympathies with those who have been affected by the floods.”

    However, Ms. Champion wrote to Ms Truss in her letter, saying, “Considering the scope and impact of the flooding, I was ashamed to read the government’s declaration of ‘up to £1.5m from the UK’ in humanitarian support on August 27, 2022.”

    “Even if the full £1.5m were delivered, it would amount to less than 5p for each person affected.”

    “Furthermore, that pathetically small sum will be subtracted from ‘existing support to Pakistan’. The UK government’s risible response to this humanitarian disaster arguably amounts to nothing.”

     “However, UK aid funding to Pakistan has been cut dramatically. Pakistan has fallen to seventh in the list of UK bilateral aid recipients since it experienced the largest single decrease in any country budget.”

    A Foreign Office spokesperson said that Ms Champion’s letter had been received and a response would be made in due course.

    It is important to note that Ahsan Iqbal, Pakistan’s Minister of Planning, previously estimated that the cost of the flood damage could reach $10 billion.

  • Imran Khan’s close aides’ names placed on no-fly list

    The federal government placed the names of two of former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s close aides — Mirza Shahzad Akbar and Ziaul Mustafa Naseem — on the no-fly list pertaining to a private housing scheme at the request of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

    According to media reports, the cabinet removed the 22 names from the Exit Control List (ECL) and added the names of 10 people to it.

    Both Akbar and Naseem are presently in the United Kingdom (UK). According to Dawn, as per practice, if a person whose name is placed on ECL is abroad, he is arrested on his return and handed over to the relevant law-enforcement agency.

    Akbar has served as an adviser on interior and accountability to former PM Khan. He left for Dubai on April 17, from where he flew to London five days later, five days after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended FIA orders placing his name on the stop list.

    Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah accused Akbar and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi of accepting Rs5 billion and hundreds of kanals from a housing developer in return for “providing protection” to the real estate firm in the same case during their term.

    Earlier this month, the coalition government reportedly decided to put the names of Khan and other PTI leaders on the no-fly list to prevent them from leaving the country.

  • Scotland: first country to provide free period products

    Scotland: first country to provide free period products

    Scotland has become the first country in the world to protect the right to access free period products with a law that came into effect on Monday.

    The Scottish parliament introduced the change by unanimously passing the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act in November 2020. The legislation made it a legal right to have free access to sanitary products in public buildings.

    The legislation was first proposed by Labour Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) Monica Lennon.

    The Period Products Act means councils and education providers in Scotland have to make sanitary products free to those who need them.

    The government has provided funding for an educational website for employers, improved menstrual health resources available for schools, and implemented a successful anti-stigma campaign.

    Lennon, who has been campaigning to end period poverty since 2016, described the change in the law as a “big milestone which shows the difference that progressive and bold political choices can make”.

    “I am proud to have pioneered the Period Products Act which is already influencing positive change in Scotland and around the world,” Lennon said.

    Since 2017, the Scottish Government has spent around £27 million to fund access to period products in public settings. In 2018, Scotland became the first country in the world to make period products free to students in schools, colleges and universities.

  • Here’s how Pakistani students can apply for Chevening scholarship

    Here’s how Pakistani students can apply for Chevening scholarship

    The application period for the UK government’s prestigious Chevening scholarship for the 2023-24 academic year has started. The programme covers the entire cost of a one-year master’s degree at any UK university, and this is why it is very competitive.

    Here is all the information about the scholarship you need:
    What does the scholarship cover?
    • University tuition fees
    • A monthly stipend
    • Travel costs to and from the UK
    • An arrival allowance
    • A homeward departure allowance
    • The cost of one visa application
    • A travel grant to attend Chevening events in the UK
    Eligibility criteria:
    • Be a citizen of a Chevening-eligible country or territory
    • Return to your country of citizenship for a minimum of two years after your award has ended
    • Have completed all components of an undergraduate degree that will enable you to gain entry onto a postgraduate programme at a UK university by the time you submit your application. This is typically equivalent to an upper second-class 2:1 honours degree in the UK but may be different depending on your course and university choice
    • Have at least two years (equivalent to 2,800 hours) of work experience
    • Apply to three different eligible UK university courses and have received an unconditional offer from one of these choices by July 13, 2023
    You are not eligible for a Chevening scholarship if you:
    • Hold British or dual British citizenship (unless you are a citizen of a British Overseas Territory or hold BN(O) and are applying from Hong Kong)
    • Hold refugee status in a non-Chevening eligible country. Applicants who are citizens of a Chevening-eligible country and who hold refugee status in a Chevening-eligible country are eligible for a scholarship
    • Employees, former employees, or relatives* of an employee of Chevening Partner organisations are eligible to apply, but if the employment took place within the last two years, you cannot receive a Chevening Partner Award from the organisation from which you work, previously worked, or are affiliated with through relatives
    • Have previously studied in the UK with funding from a UK Government-funded scholarship
    How to apply?
    • Select three courses at three different universities. You can choose any Chevening-eligible course at any UK university
    • You are required to submit the names of two referees
    • All Chevening applicants must submit their education documents, references, and one unconditional UK university offer
    • The deadlines for these required documents are in the Chevening application timeline

    Since 1983, more than 2,000 Pakistanis have had the opportunity to study in the UK through Chevening.

  • UK agencies start investigation against Pakistani charities for misuse of funds

    The United Kingdom (UK) National Charity Commission (NCC) and National Crime Agency (NCA) have launched an investigation into the misuse of funds by Pakistani charity organisations for political purposes, Naeem Hanif reports for Samaa News.

    The investigation is being done to find out whether these charity organisations misused charity for political purposes in Pakistan or not.

    Both agencies launched the investigation after receiving several complaints. It is being reported that complainants also provided evidence to both agencies.

    The evidence includes the verdict of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in foreign funding case, a report by the Financial Times that revealed the party’s foreign funding sources, and details of its bank accounts.

    Last week, the top electoral body ruled that the former ruling party did indeed receive prohibited funding

    and issued a show-cause notice to the party.

    The ECP said that the party, in violation of the Constitution, had received funds from 34 foreign entities. The party received funds from the United States, Australia, and the UAE. The ECP added that 13 unidentified accounts also surfaced during the probe in the PTI funding case.

  • APS survivor takes charge as Oxford Union President; Shehbaz, Alvi congratulate

    APS survivor takes charge as Oxford Union President; Shehbaz, Alvi congratulate

    Ahmad Nawaz, survivor of the Pakistan Army Public School (APS) massacre, has assumed his responsibilities as President of the Oxford Union. He was selected for the post earlier this year. He announced the development in a tweet.

    “Immensely proud to have finally assumed my duties as the President of Oxford Union,” he wrote.

    “In my time as President, I look forward to having world leaders debate the most pressing issues, empowering young people through this platform & upholding freedom of speech,” added Ahmad.

    President Arif Alvi congratulated Ahmad Nawaz and said that the youth of Pakistan are his greatest hope. “We must register that despite all setbacks Pakistan will keep on shining and rising.”

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a tweet also congratulated Ahmad.

    “Ahmad Nawaz, who survived the horrific attack on APS Peshawar, has become President of the prestigious Oxford Union. He has set an example worthy of emulation by our youth. Pakistan is proud of you, Ahmad,” he wrote.

    Ahmad moved to Britain in 2014 after the worst militant attack on an Army Public School, killing 150 people. His younger brother was martyred in the attack.

    Ahmad escaped death by pretending to be dead when the terrorists were roaming the school building. Ahmad Nawaz was taken to Birmingham for treatment after being shot in the arm.

  • VIDEO: Justin Bieber reveals he is suffering from facial paralysis

    VIDEO: Justin Bieber reveals he is suffering from facial paralysis

    Canadian popstar Justin Bieber revealed that he is suffering from facial paralysis after cancelling a series of shows on his latest tour. He was on his Justice tour in North America but cancelled performances in New York, Washington DC and Toronto.

    In a video posted on his Instagram page, the 28-year-old singing sensation said he had been diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome after a virus had damaged the nerves in his ear.

    Justin Bieber revealed: “As you can see, this eye is not blinking. I can’t smile on this side of my face. This nostril will not move, so there’s full paralysis on this side of my face.”

    According to the BBC, the Ramsay Hunt syndrome is when a shingles outbreak affects the facial nerve near someone’s ears.

    Bieber asked his fans to understand as he will be using this time rest and relax.

    “I hope you guys understand, and I’ll be using this time to just rest and relax and get back to 100 per cent so I can do what I was born to do. But in the meantime, this ain’t it.”

    READ MORE: By 20 I made every bad decision you could have thought of: Justin Bieber

    Bieber’s last album, Justice, released in March 2021, has been certified platinum in the US, and got to second in the UK album charts. Bieber’s Justice World Tour began in February.

  • Samsung is getting out of LCD business by the next month

    Samsung is getting out of LCD business by the next month

    Samsung Display has decided to cut its LCD production unexpectedly by July 2022. The stoppage was originally planned for December, but it can now take place as soon as the end of this month.

    According to insiders, Samsung’s competition has been quite harsh, and the company wanted to avoid further losses.

    Keeping in view previous Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) reports, the price of LCD panels is only 36.6 per cent of what it was in 2014, when production was at its peak. BOE, a Chinese display manufacturer, and AU Optronics, a Taiwanese company, are also offering lower prices to customers.

    Samsung had planned to exit the LCD business in 2020, but lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic increased demand for home entertainment on low-cost devices like affordable TVs and smartphones. As a result, Samsung was forced to postpone this significant step.

    Samsung officials have yet to respond to a request for comment, but we expect to learn more about the shutdown’s financial implications in July when the tech giant releases its Q2 earnings report.

    As per the Korea Times, people’s interest in LCDs has waned, while they are increasingly drawn to display technologies such as Quantum Dot and OLED.

    A US market research firm also revealed the LCD panel price index has fallen dramatically since late 2021 and is now down 60 per cent year on year.

    Moreover, in recent years, smartphones have also shifted from LCD displays to OLED displays.