University employees to protest budget cuts
On the call of the central body of the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA), employees of all universities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa will observe a Black Day today. The protest is being held to condemn the inadequate allocation for higher education in the provincial budget and to highlight other pressing issues.
According to a statement by the President of the Universities' Grand Alliance K-P, similar protests will be held in universities across the province. Staff members will wear black armbands as a mark of protest.
The Grand Alliance has rejected outright the Rs10 billion budget allocated for 34 public sector universities in the province, calling it insufficient to meet even basic needs. Instead, the alliance has demanded the immediate release of Rs50 billion. They warned that if their demands are not met, a province-wide protest movement will be launched.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
an hour ago
- Business Recorder
India set to allow its private firms to mine and import uranium to help nuclear expansion
NEW DELHI: India aims to allow private firms to mine, import and process uranium as part of plans to end a decades-old state monopoly over the nuclear sector and bring in billions of dollars to boost the industry, two government sources said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government plans to expand nuclear power production capacity by 12 times by 2047 and it is also relaxing requirements to allow foreign players to take a minority stake in power plants, Reuters reported in April. If it meets its expansion goal, nuclear will provide 5% of India's total power needs, according to government estimates. Until now, the state has maintained control over the mining, import and processing of uranium fuel because of concerns over the possible misuse of nuclear material, radiation safety and strategic security. It will retain its grip on reprocessing spent uranium fuel and managing plutonium waste, in line with global practice. But to help meet a surge in demand for nuclear fuel as it expands nuclear power production, the government plans to draw up a regulatory framework that would allow private Indian firms to mine, import and process uranium, the two government sources told Reuters. They asked not to be named because the plans are not yet public. India shuts unit at country's largest nuclear power plant for maintenance The proposed policy, which the sources said was likely to be made public in the current fiscal year, will also permit private players to supply critical control system equipment for nuclear power plants, they said. The Finance Ministry, Department of Atomic Energy and Prime Minister's Office did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Outside India, countries including Canada, South Africa and the United States allow private firms to mine and process uranium. Domestic supply is not enough India has an estimated 76,000 tonnes of uranium enough to fuel 10,000 megawatts of nuclear power for 30 years, according to government data. But the sources said domestic resources would only be able to meet about 25% of the projected increase. The rest would have to be imported and India would need to increase its processing capacity. In announcing its budget on February 1, the government made public its plans to open up the sector without giving details. Some of India's big conglomerates subsequently began drawing up investment plans. But analysts said amending the legislation could be complex. 'It's a major and bold initiative by the Indian Government which is critical for achieving the target,' said Charudatta Palekar, independent power sector consultant. 'The challenge will be to define quickly the rules of engagement with private sector.' New Delhi will have to change five laws, including the ones regulating mining and electricity sectors and India's foreign direct investment policy to enable private participation in many identified activities, the sources said.
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Oil falls as IEA raises supply forecast, investors await US-Russia meeting
LONDON: Oil prices fell on Wednesday after the IEA noted supply overtaking demand this year, while investors awaited Friday's meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Brent crude futures fell 45 cents, or 0.7%, to $65.67 a barrel at 0831 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures edged down 53 cents, or 0.8% at $62.64. Both contracts settled lower on Tuesday. Trump and Putin are due to meet in Alaska on Friday to discuss ending Russia's war in Ukraine, which has shaken oil markets since February 2022. 'Oil prices drifted lower on expectations that Friday's summit would not result in additional sanctions on Russia, ensuring the country's oil continues to flow predominantly to the south and east,' said PVM Oil analyst Tamas Varga in a note. The International Energy Agency on Wednesday raised its forecast for oil supply growth this year following OPEC+'s decision but lowered its demand forecast due to lacklustre demand across the major economies. Long-term support, however, came from OPEC's updated monthly report on global supply and demand, Varga said, which raised its global oil demand forecast for next year and trimmed its estimate for growth in supply from the United States and other producers outside the wider OPEC+ group, pointing to a tighter market. Investors also awaited further cues after an industry report showed US crude stockpiles climbed last week. Crude inventories in the United States, the world's biggest oil consumer, rose by 1.52 million barrels last week, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. Gasoline inventories dropped while distillate inventories gained slightly. Analysts polled by Reuters expect today's Energy Information Administration report to show crude inventories fell by about 300,000 barrels last week. The EIA on Tuesday in its Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO) forecast Brent prices to average less than $60 per barrel in the fourth quarter, which would be the first quarter with average prices that low since 2020, stating that growth in the global oil supply would surpass growth in demand for petroleum products. Reuters
Business Recorder
9 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Pentagon Golden Dome to have 4-layer defense system, slides show
WASHINGTON: The Trump administration's flagship Golden Dome missile defence system will include four layers – one satellite-based and three on land – with 11 short-range batteries located across the continental US, Alaska and Hawaii, according to a U.S. government slide presentation on the project first reported by Reuters. The slides, tagged 'Go Fast, Think Big!' were presented to 3,000 defense contractors in Huntsville, Alabama, last week and reveal the unprecedented complexity of the system, which faces an ambitious 2028 deadline set by US President Donald Trump. The system is estimated to cost $175 billion, but the slides show uncertainties still loom over the basic architecture of the project because the number of launchers, interceptors, ground stations, and missile sites needed for the system has yet to be determined. 'They have a lot of money, but they don't have a target of what it costs yet,' said one U.S. official. So far Congress has appropriated $25 billion for Golden Dome in Trump's tax-and-spend bill passed in July. Another $45.3 billion is earmarked for Golden Dome in his2026 presidential budget request. Intended as a multi-layered missile defence shield for the United States, Golden Dome draws inspiration from Israel's Iron Dome, but is significantly bigger due to the geography it will need to protect and the complexity due to the varied threats it will face. According to the slides, the system architecture consists of four integrated layers: a space-based sensing and targeting layer for missile warning and tracking as well as 'missile defense' and three land-based layers consisting of missile interceptors, radar arrays, and potentially lasers. One surprise was a new large missile field - seemingly in the Midwest according to a map contained in the presentation - for Next Generation Interceptors (NGI) which are made by Lockheed Martin and would be a part of the 'upper layer' alongside Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) Aegis systems which are also made by Lockheed. NGI is the modernized missile for the Ground-Based Midcourse Defence (GMD) network of radars, interceptors and other equipment - currently the primary missile defense shield to protect the United States from intercontinental ballistic missiles from rogue states. The U.S. operates GMD launch sites in southern California and Alaska. This plan would add a third site in the Midwest to counter additional threats. Other technical hurdles the slides identified included communication latency across the 'kill chain' of systems. Contractors such as Lockheed, Northrop Grumman, RTX, and Boeing have a variety of missile defence systems. Notably, the slides did not mention Elon Musk's SpaceX, which was part of a bid for Golden Dome contracts alongside software maker Palantir and defense systems manufacturer Anduril. The Pentagon said it is gathering information 'from industry, academia, national labs, and other government agencies for support to Golden Dome' but it would be 'imprudent' to release more information on a program in these early stages. One key goal for Golden Dome is to shoot targets down during their 'boost phase,' the slow and predictable climb through the Earth's atmosphere of a missile. Rather, it seeks to field space-based interceptors that can more quickly intercept incoming missiles. The presentation highlighted that the United States 'has built both interceptors and re-entry vehicles' but has never built a vehicle that can handle the heat of reentry while targeting an enemy missile. The last lines of defense dubbed the 'under layer' and 'Limited Area Defence' will include new radars and current systems like the Patriot missile defense system and a new 'common' launcher that will launch current and future interceptors against all threat types. These modular and relocatable systems would be designed to minimize reliance on prepared sites, allowing for rapid deployment across multiple theaters. Space Force General Michael Guetlein, confirmed last month to lead the Golden Dome project, has 30 days from his July 17 confirmation to build a team, another 60 days to deliver an initial system design, and 120 days to present a full implementation plan, including satellite and ground station details, people briefed on a memo signed by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have told Reuters.
