Business

ISLAMABAD: Despite a 10 per cent shortage in early part, the country’s water availability during the current kharif season has been estimated to be higher than last year and 10-year average. The overall (basin-wise) “shortage was approved as 10pc for early kharif and 4pc for late kharif 2021,” said Indus River System Authority (Irsa) after a meeting of its advisory …

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday stressed the need for automation for improving the ease of doing business and bringing down costs. “Automation is essential if we want to increase our ease of doing business and bring down costs,” he said, adding that there was a lot of resistance to this. Bribery is removed from the equation when automation is …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — For the past year, the Oak Forest community on the northwest side of Houston has been working to eliminate some of the wording in their deed restrictions, and residents say it’s not an easy task. When Nathan Bledsoe read the deed restrictions that applied to his home, he was shocked to find relics of racism embedded …

ISLAMABAD: Majority of the members of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance on Wednesday strongly criticised the government for implementing financial decisions through presidential ordinances, saying it was violation of the constitution and an insult to the parliament. The meeting of the committee presided over by PTI lawmaker Faiz Ullah dropped detailed discussions on State Bank of Pakistan Amendment …

Edkasa, a Lahore-based education technology startup has managed to raise pre-seed funding of $320,000 to help launch a new mobile application for exam preparation, the company said on Tuesday. The new app will leverage and make use of Edkasa’s existing userbase of 55,000 students and more than 40 schools throughout Pakistan which currently avail its services, according to a statement from the …

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Wednesday notified about 64 paisa per unit increase in electricity rates for ex-Wapda distribution companies (Discos) to generate about Rs4.4 billion additional revenue for the troubled power sector. The increase was allowed on account of monthly fuel cost adjustment (FCA) for electricity consumed in February. This would be charged to consumers …

WASHINGTON: Pakistan is among the major beneficiaries of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank initiative to help emerging economies deal with the negative impact of the Covid-19 crisis. Data released by the two financial institutions show that Pakistan is receiving $1,386 million from the IMF’s Rapid Credit Facility (RCF). Pakistan’s request for assistance from the RCF was approved …

RAWALPINDI: The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has extended travel restrictions imposed on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) for an indefinite period and has directed the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) to get its safety audit done by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) scheduled in July. The EASA had suspended PIA from operating flights to European Union member countries for …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A massive fire burned for hours Wednesday afternoon at an industrial facility on Lakeside Drive in the Channelview area. K-Solv tweeted that all of their employees are safe and accounted for. The Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office says no injuries have been reported. Officials later added that one person sought medical treatment for respiratory issues. A …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — It was supposed to be a beach vacation for the Friels family, but it came to an abrupt end when 16-year-old Melissa Friels was hit by a car. Three weeks after the family began their spring break vacation in Destin, Florida, Melissa is finally back in Houston. She returned on Wednesday on a medical flight from …