North Andover, MA (01845)TodaySunshine early then becoming cloudy later in the day. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph..TonightMostly cloudy. Low around 35F. Winds light and variable.

Share:LAHORE - Australia women recorded an eight-wicket win over Pakistan women in the rain-curtailed first ODI of the three-match series at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane on Monday. According to information made available here, this was Pakistan women’s second defeat in the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25 after they have won five of the six matches played last year in the Championship. The half-centuries by debutant Phoebe Litchfield (78 not out, 92b, 9x4, 1x6) and captain Meg Lanning (67, 76b, 9x4) were the highlight of the first ODI. Bismah was joined by Nida Dar and both experienced batters added 46 runs for the fourth wicket. Nida brought up her 11th ODI half-century off 81 balls.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Masood Khan was also nominated as Honorary Chairman of Martin Luther King International Salute. PHOTO: RADIO PAKISTANPakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Masood Khan was honoured on Sunday with Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Award for Diplomacy and International Service’ in recognition of his commitment, leadership and service. Ambassador Masood was also nominated as the Honorary Chairman of Martin Luther King International Salute. Other recipients of the Martin Luther King Legacy award this year were: Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland; John Wobensmith, Maryland’s Secretary of State, Richard Shadyac, President and CEO of ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Shanel McGoy, Senior Director in Public Affairs, Corporate Citizenship Gilead Sciences, Inc.Thanking IAMMM for the award, Ambassador Masood said that he was honoured to be associated with the iconic figure of Dr Martin Luther King and his mission.

Pakistan's ambassador in Kabul had been summoned over the recent attacks in Khost and Kunar provinces and given a diplomatic demarche to deliver to Islamabad. At the request of the Afghan Taliban, Pakistan pursued peace talks with the terror outfit. In the last three months alone, the TTP claimed responsibility for over 150 terrorist attacks. Earlier this month, the National Security Committee (NSC) held an extended meeting for two days to discuss the spike in terrorist attacks. The civil and military leadership decided not to pursue talks with the TTP and conveyed the same to the Afghan Taliban.

North Andover, MA (01845)TodaySunshine early then becoming cloudy later in the day. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph..TonightMostly cloudy. Low around 35F. Winds light and variable.

Current, and preceding, policy makers should own up to their mistakes in failing to devise a framework for growth. Invariably, our rulers are found blaming the opposition, and external factors, instead of looking inwards at their self-centred policies. Thirdly, constant ignorance to the alarms being raised by global credit rating agencies require aggressive rebuilding of the economy instead of ‘befitting’ responses. If we don’t act soon, we will be feeding 350-400million odd people through imports, leaving little to no scope for a capital intensive, value-adding and high skilled economy. Don’t push the economy off the cliff.

However, it is not new money, as the World Bank has already approved projects or it diverted funds from the schemes that were moving slow and the lender was considering cancelling those loans. This fact had also been highlighted by World Bank Vice President for the South Asia Region Martin Raiser at the Geneva Conference. Also, on December 19, 2022, the WB had approved $1.3 billion worth of projects to support the recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction process. At the Geneva conference, Pakistan had received at total $9.7 billion worth of pledges, including $2 billion that the WB had already given in various forms. The World Bank is funding 54 operations in Pakistan costing $13 billion, which include both the IDA and IBRD loans.

North Andover, MA (01845)TodaySnow this morning will transition to snow showers this afternoon. Expect mist and reduced visibilities at times. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 100%. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.

Containers have been held up at Karachi's port as the country grapples with a desperate foreign exchange crisis. PHOTO: AFPThousands of containers packed with essential food items, raw materials and medical equipment have been held up at Karachi port as the country grapples with a desperate foreign exchange crisis. He was speaking from an office near Karachi port, where shipping containers are stuck waiting for payment guarantees -- packed with lentils, pharmaceuticals, diagnostic equipment and chemicals for manufacturing industries. "We've got thousands of containers stranded at the port because of the shortage of dollars," said Maqbool Ahmed Malik, chairman of the customs association, adding that operations were down at least 50 per cent. Some factories have complained of a backlog of imported raw materials such as dyes, buttons, zippers and spare parts for machinery held up at the Karachi port.

Share:LAHORE - Mauritius beat Pakistan by 2-1 in the Four-Nation Cup thrilling match played at the Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia on Sunday. After Mauritius took an early lead when Jheemla Chiara netted the first goal for her team in the fourth minute to make it 1-0. Pakistan team made a good comeback when Pakistan captain Maria Khan smashed in an impressive equalizer for her side in the ninth minute, making it 1-1. But minutes later, Mauritius took the lead in the 64th minute with a wonder strike from distance by Goapaul Juliemarie. It must be noted that the SAFF Women’s Championship was the first time in eight years that the Pakistan women’s team participated in an international match.

North Andover, MA (01845)TodaySnow showers. Temps nearly steady in the low to mid 30s. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. About one inch of snow expected..TonightCloudy early with partial clearing expected late. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.

ISLAMABAD: COMSTECH-the OIC Standing Committee for Scientific and Technological Cooperation has planned to arrange an international workshop on “Defining Research and Innovation Strategy for Excellence” next month in February. The workshop is aimed at identifying core competencies and focus areas within Research and Innovation framework, that aligns the university research and innovation portfolio with national needs and global challenges. NUST has become an example to follow for evolving its education, research, and innovation ecosystem. NUST has formulated its Research and Innovation Excellence Strategy (RISE) 2025 as its five-year strategic initiative that will build upon the momentum gained during the last three decades and is chalked out by horizontal-vertical partitioning of different components of the ecosystem – education, research, and innovation. To attain excellence in research and innovation, new knowledge and indigenous solutions could be developed to address the great global challenges.

Citing a detailed report conducted by the PBF, she maintained that due to falling exports, approximately seven million people in Pakistan’s textile industries have lost their jobs. In contrast, imports increased 11.3% to $5.25 billion in November, resulting in a $2.88 billion monthly trade deficit. Imports were, however, 33.6% lower than November 2021’s $7.89 billion, showing a 42.5% decrease in the annual trade gap,” explained Elahi. Exports fell by 3.5% to $11.93 billion in the first five months of the current fiscal year compared to $12.36 billion last year. The government’s decision to end duty drawbacks on local taxes has also caused liquidity problems for the export industry.

North Andover, MA (01845)TodaySnow showers. Temps nearly steady in the low to mid 30s. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. About one inch of snow expected..TonightCloudy early with partial clearing expected late. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.

North Andover, MA (01845)TodaySnow this evening will give way to lingering snow showers late. Expect mist and reduced visibilities at times. Winds N at 15 to 25 mph. Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches..TonightSnow this evening will give way to lingering snow showers late. Expect mist and reduced visibilities at times.