Pakistan Affairs

Month: March 2023

  • Ottawa\’s plan for guns misfired. Alberta gun cultures might help us understand why | CBC News

    Alberta\’s recent introduction of the Firearms Act is the latest move in a long-standing fight against gun legislation by gun owners and advocates in the province. While the federal government introduced legislation to prevent mass shootings, including amendments that were perceived to ban common shotguns and hunting rifles, gun owners felt that they were being lumped in with criminals, and the Assembly of First Nations passed a resolution opposing the legislation. The proposed amendments were eventually withdrawn by the government, and the Alberta Firearms Act was introduced to counteract the federal law. Alberta has a notable gun culture that centres around rural areas where guns are used for hunting, pest control, and ranch purposes, and gun ownership is relatively high. Despite this, not all Albertans oppose stricter gun regulations. A recent poll showed that 54% of the province\’s residents were in favour of national rules for effective gun policy, while 34% believed provinces should have the flexibility to decide whether certain guns should be banned. Emotions run high in the province when authorities are perceived to move against guns, as seen in 2013 when citizens confronted the RCMP after the Mounties took guns from flood-stricken homes in High River.



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  • Toshakhana: Pakistan releases Toshakhana gifts record for first time – Times of India

    Pakistan\’s federal government has released a 446-page document detailing the gifts received by public officials from foreign dignitaries and other governments since 2002, according to Daily Pakistan. The release of the data follows Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s announcement that the federal government had declassified the data of the state repository, known as Toshakhana. The repository, established in 1978, holds gifts that are deposited by members of the government and other offices, including parliamentarians and bureaucrats. Officials are legally allowed to retain gifts by paying a pre-assessed amount, generally a proportion of the gift value. Last year, the Election Commission of Pakistan disqualified PTI leader Imran Khan as a member of the National Assembly in connection with the Toshakhana case, after Khan was found to have sold gifts without having first declared them. A districts and sessions court is hearing a criminal case concerning the matter.



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  • UK adds e-bikes and security cameras to inflation basket

    The Office for National Statistics (ONS) in the UK has added e-bikes, frozen berries, and security cameras to the basket of goods and services it uses to track inflation. The changes reflect the growing popularity of new technology and environmental concerns. The ONS added 26 new items and removed 16 from the basket, which comprises over 700 goods and services. Hand sanitiser, added during the Covid-19 pandemic, is no longer included, while non-chart CDs, digital cameras, and non-film DVDs have also been removed. Soundbars, video doorbells, and computer game accessories are among the new items, which also include dairy-free spreads, reflecting the rise in veganism, and the first-time inclusion of frozen berries. The ONS has also changed its data source for rail fares from the Office for Rail and Road to the Rail Delivery Group. The ONS plans to rely less on the collection of physical goods prices and more on data including supermarket scanners and retailer websites.



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  • Indian shares hit 5-month low as banks drag; await inflation data

    Indian shares have hit a five-month low, pulled down by a fall in financial stocks prompted by Silicon Valley Bank\’s collapse. The Nifty 50 dropped 1.5% to 17,154.30, while Sensex slid 1.52% to 58,237.85. Easing fears of contagion, further rate decisions are due by several central banks, and US authorities have announced plans to limit effects of the SVB collapse. A Reuters survey of 43 economists indicated that retail inflation data for February are expected to show levels at 6.35%, down from 7.59% a year before, but still above the RBI’s upper threshold for the second month running. Despite the potential effects of the US Federal Reserve’s March rate hike, which is now judged to have an 80.4% chance of a 25-basis point increase, analysts predict that there will not be a ripple effect on the Indian financial system from the SVB crisis.



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  • PROOF POINTS: Trial finds cheaper, quicker way to tutor young kids in reading

    Education researchers are studying a low-cost, low-disruption tutoring programme called \”short-burst\” for kindergarten children. Chapter One (formerly Innovations for Learning) is behind the programme, which involves one-to-one tutoring sessions at a desk in the back of a classroom. The sessions take place during normal English lesson periods and involve each child working with the same tutor for a few minutes, up to five days a week. The approach has produced impressive initial results: at the end of the first year of a four-year study of 800 Florida kindergarten children, who were given the short-burst tutoring programme, more than double the number of children hit an important reading milestone than those who did not receive the tutoring. Researchers recommend tutoring programmes to schools, but high-dosage tutoring programmes are costly and difficult for schools to implement. The $120bn in federal funding provided to the US for pandemic recovery could be invested in tutoring programmes. The hope is that short-burst tutoring will be a cost-effective way to ensure students become proficient readers, leading to long-term academic success.



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  • OSFI seizes Silicon Valley Bank\’s Canadian assets amid global effort to stop contagion

    Canada\’s federal banking watchdog has taken over the Canadian operations of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the US tech lender, to prevent further financial risk. SVB did not hold a banking license in Canada but operated as a foreign bank branch. Regulators in the US and Britain took similar steps to combat the risk of the second-largest bank failure in American history. In early March, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation shut down SVB after it was unable to cover its obligations following a run on deposits. Shares in Canadian banks fell by about $20bn last week on fears of global contagion. Toronto-based AcuityAds Holdings halted trading of its shares on 10 March after it disclosed having $55m on deposit with SVB. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions said in a media release that Peter Routledge, the superintendent of financial institutions, had taken temporary control of the Canadian assets of SVB and that he intended to seek permanent control. Regulators in the US released a joint statement stating that depositors of both SVB and Signature Bank would have access to their money on 15 March.



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  • OSFI seizes Silicon Valley Bank\’s Canadian assets amid global effort to stop contagion

    Canada\’s federal banking watchdog has taken over the Canadian operations of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the US tech lender, to prevent further financial risk. SVB did not hold a banking license in Canada but operated as a foreign bank branch. Regulators in the US and Britain took similar steps to combat the risk of the second-largest bank failure in American history. In early March, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation shut down SVB after it was unable to cover its obligations following a run on deposits. Shares in Canadian banks fell by about $20bn last week on fears of global contagion. Toronto-based AcuityAds Holdings halted trading of its shares on 10 March after it disclosed having $55m on deposit with SVB. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions said in a media release that Peter Routledge, the superintendent of financial institutions, had taken temporary control of the Canadian assets of SVB and that he intended to seek permanent control. Regulators in the US released a joint statement stating that depositors of both SVB and Signature Bank would have access to their money on 15 March.



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  • China leaves EU playing catchup in race for raw materials

    The European Union is seeking to secure its supply lines of critical raw materials, including lithium and rare earths, amidst concerns over its dependence on China. Lithium is classified by the EU as a \”critical raw material\” necessary for the transition to cleaner energy, as it is a key component of rechargeable batteries for electric cars and energy grid storage facilities. The EU estimates its demand for lithium will be 57 times what it is today by 2050. Despite the EU securing a new agreement with Chile in December, which has the most abundant supply of high-quality lithium in the world, Europe lacks a reliable home-grown supply of the metal, with China currently dominating raw material supply chains. The EU\’s Critical Raw Materials Act, due to be published this month, will aim to give EU countries a roadmap for navigating the international power struggle over minerals, as well as to ramp up the EU\’s own extraction and refining capacity. The act will also put international alliances front and centre of efforts to cut dependence on China.



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  • GM is experimenting with a ChatGPT-powered voice assistant

    General Motors (GM) is reportedly exploring potential uses for OpenAI\’s language models behind ChatGPT to develop a virtual personal assistant for its vehicles, as part of a collaboration with Microsoft. The system could provide drivers with information about their vehicle’s features beyond what is presently accessible through voice commands, including offering advice or instructional videos in response to diagnostic warnings, or concerning maintenance or repairs. GM\’s virtual assistant will be customised to include a \”car-specific layer\” over the base tech. Existing voice assistants enable users to program garage door codes or schedule reminders. \”This shift is not just about one single capability like the evolution of voice commands, but instead means that customers can expect their future vehicles to be far more capable and fresh overall when it comes to emerging technologies,\” a GM spokesperson said. Microsoft and GM have a long-term strategic relationship, including developing the automaker\’s autonomous vehicles. There has been no official announcement of GM\’s plans, and no release timeline is available.



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  • Pakistan govt. makes public record of Toshakhana gifts; retainers include Shehbaz, Nawaz, Imran Khan, Zardari – Times of India

    The Pakistan government has released details of foreign gifts retained by officials, sparking controversy over the Toshakhana gifts sold by former Prime Minister Imran Khan. The 446-page document, which includes gifts retained from 2002 to 2022 by former presidents, prime ministers, federal cabinet members, politicians, bureaucrats, retired generals, judges, and journalists, revealed that President Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif were among those who benefited. Most gifts were retained free of charge, except for a few, such as one bulletproof vehicle each retained by Zardari and Nawaz Sharif after paying money to the Toshakhana. Khan and his wife received five precious wristwatches, ornaments, and other items. Officials are legally allowed to keep gifts if they pay a pre-assessed amount, typically a fraction of the value of the gift. The release of the details followed Khan\’s disqualification by the Election Commission of Pakistan last year over allegations that he had hidden proceeds from the sale of state gifts.



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