Battery powered-electric buses to hit roads this year: Fawad Chaudhry

Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Fawad Chaudhry, announced that battery-powered electric buses would be introduced in Pakistan this year.

Taking to Twitter, the federal minister said that the strategic alliance agreement will be signed between Daewoo Pakistan Express Bus Service Limited and Skywell Automobile to set up Electric Vehicles value chain in Pakistan.

Electric buses will start running in the country from this year, while the complete manufacturing of these buses will start in Pakistan in next three years, he added.

It is pertinent to mention here that vehicles in Pakistan to be shifted on electric power as the country approved its first-ever Electric Vehicle policy in June.

The motorcycles and vehicles would be shifted on electric power, while EV Manufacturing Units would also be established in the country.

The country’s first electric vehicle charging unit had been installed at Jinnah Avenue in Islamabad last month.

Federal Minister for Power Division Omar Ayub Khan inaugurated the station in July and announced that the government will set up 24 more electric vehicle charging stations across the country in the future.

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Rain thundershowers with gusty winds expected

Rain-wind/thundershowers with gusty winds are expected in several districts of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir and Islamabad during the next twelve hours.

While, heavy falls are also likely to occur in Islamabad, upper Punjab, upper/central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Kashmir.

Temperature of some major cities recorded this morning:

Islamabad twenty-four degree centigrade, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta twenty-seven, Karachi twenty-eight, Gilgit twenty, Murree and Rawalakot seventeen and Muzaffarabad twenty-one degree centigrade.

According to Met Office forecast in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the weather in Srinagar, Jammu, Pulwama, Anantnag, Leh, Shopian and Baramulla will be partly cloudy with chances of rain-thundershowers.

Temperature recorded this morning in Srinagar twenty degree centigrade, Jamu twenty-six, Leh fifteen, Pulwama, Anantnag and Shopian nineteen and Baramulla twenty-one degree centigrade.

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Top European clubs eager to sign up Messi as Argentinian wants to leave Barcelona

Six-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi has told Barcelona he wants to leave in a "bombshell" fax that is expected to spark a legal battle over a buy-out clause worth hundreds of millions of dollars and a fight from top European clubs eager to sign up the Argentinian.

Signalling the end of an era at Barcelona, where Messi is the record scorer and has won four Champions League titles, the disgruntled Argentine wants to terminate his contract "unilaterally" by triggering a release clause, a source told AFP.

Relations have plummeted this year and speculation swirled about Messi's departure after this month's humiliating 8-2 Champions League quarter-final defeat to Bayern Munich, which left Barca without a trophy for the first time since 2007.

The 33-year-old's demand, faxed by his lawyers, prompted protests against Barcelona's under-fire president Josep Maria Bartomeu outside the Camp Nou where Messi, synonymous with the club's most successful period, is worshipped by fans.

"And the bomb explodes: 'I want to leave Barca'," headlined Spain's best-selling Marca newspaper on Wednesday."The Messi bomb: He wants to leave," read Catalan sports daily Mundo Deportivo, while Sport newspaper headlined "All-out war!"

Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan are among the clubs to have been linked to Messi, who is among the greatest players in history and has wages to match, with a reported weekly salary of nearly one million euros.

ESPN reported that Messi spoke last week with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola about a possible move. A Barcelona-based Brazilian journalist also said Messi wants to play under his former Barcelona coach.

Drastic changes

Barcelona have yet to react officially but are understood to believe Messi's release clause expired in June, and that he remains under contract until the end of the 2021 season.

"In principle, this clause expired on June 10, but the unusual nature of this season disrupted by the coronavirus opened the way for Messi to ask to be released from his contract now," wrote Marca.

"It's the first step towards opening negotiations over his departure, on the basis of which his release clause amounts to 700 million euros."

Messi joined Barcelona's youth academy at the age of 13 and made his debut in 2004 as a 17-year-old, before going on to score a club-record 634 goals.

But his future at Barca was thrown into serious doubt by the 8-2 loss to Bayern, the first time Barca had conceded eight goals in a game since losing to Sevilla 8-0 in the 1946 Spanish Cup.

The defeat has sparked drastic changes. Coach Quique Setien was sacked after barely six months in charge, and sporting director Eric Abidal was also dismissed.

According to Spanish media, Messi met with new coach Ronald Koeman last week and told the Dutchman he saw himself "more out than in" at the club.

Koeman has vowed to "fight to put Barca back on top" and said at his unveiling he was hopeful Messi would remain at the club for several more years.

But Koeman has reportedly told Luis Suarez he is no longer part of Barca's plans, delivering a similar message to Arturo Vidal, Ivan Rakitic and Samuel Umtiti.

'Rock bottom'

"The club needs changes," said defender Gerard Pique following the Bayern demolition. "Nobody is untouchable, least of all me. Fresh blood is needed to change this. We've hit rock bottom."

Argentine sports daily Ole described Messi's wish to leave as a "complete bombshell", but he has had regular disagreements with the club's board in recent times.

The Lisbon loss, Barca's heaviest in Europe, exposed an ageing team that Messi repeatedly had said was simply not good enough.

He said it in February and again in July, when a rant in the aftermath of handing Real Madrid the title turned into a brutal, but honest, assessment of their season.

As his relationship with the club hierarchy grew increasingly strained, Messi also reacted publicly when Abidal appeared to blame the players for the sacking of Ernesto Valverde in January.

He also led the fightback from the Barcelona players over a dispute with the board in March regarding pay cuts during the coronavirus pandemic.

"Respect and admiration, Leo. All my support, friend," tweeted Barca great Carles Puyol, a long-time former team-mate of Messi, to which Suarez replied with two applause emojis.

Vidal also tweeted: "When you shut a tiger in a cage he doesn't give in, he fights back."

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Rain thundershowers with gusty winds expected

Rain-wind/thundershowers with gusty winds are expected in several districts of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir and Islamabad during the next twelve hours.

While, heavy falls are also likely to occur in Islamabad, upper Punjab, upper/central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Kashmir.

Temperature of some major cities recorded this morning:

Islamabad twenty-four degree centigrade, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta twenty-seven, Karachi twenty-eight, Gilgit twenty, Murree and Rawalakot seventeen and Muzaffarabad twenty-one degree centigrade.

According to Met Office forecast in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the weather in Srinagar, Jammu, Pulwama, Anantnag, Leh, Shopian and Baramulla will be partly cloudy with chances of rain-thundershowers.

Temperature recorded this morning in Srinagar twenty degree centigrade, Jamu twenty-six, Leh fifteen, Pulwama, Anantnag and Shopian nineteen and Baramulla twenty-one degree centigrade.

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CPPA seeks 24% increase in fuel cost

The Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) has proposed an increase of over 24% in the cost of fuels utilised to produce electricity during the month of July as the state-owned agency ramped up generation on expensive fuels to meet growing demand for energy.

The agency has proposed to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) to revise upwards the cost of fuels by Rs0.86 per unit (kilowatt hour - kWh) to Rs4.40 for the month of July, the regulatory authority reported on Tuesday.

Pakistan switched to the most expensive (diesel-based) power plants and ramped up production from the second-most expensive (furnace oil-fired) plants to meet growing demand for energy in the system.

The production from comparatively cheaper local and imported gas (re-gasified liquefied natural gas - RLNG) based plants and the cheapest source of energy (nuclear plants) dropped significantly during July 2020 compared to July 2019.

The country took nominal production of 113.09 gigawatt hours (GWh) from diesel-fired plants in July 2020 compared to zero production in the same month of last year. The production came to around 1% of the total generation in the month. However, its cost was calculated at Rs18.48 per unit.

The cost of other fuels varied from a minimum of Rs0.96 per unit to a maximum of Rs7.01 per unit, excluding furnace oil whose cost was calculated at Rs13.90 per unit in July 2020, according to the CPPA.

The production from furnace oil-based plants increased almost 10% to 860 GWh in July this year compared to 783 GWh in July last year. Its share in the total production enhanced to 5.84% in the month.

Production from local gas and RLNG-based plants dropped 14% and 12% to 3,033 GWh and 1,479 GWh respectively in July compared to July last year. Production from nuclear plants fell 13.4% to 716 GWh in July.

Simultaneously, hydroelectric power plants (whose fuel cost stands at zero) continued to contribute the largest amount of energy to the system while production from a cheaper source of energy increased the most in percentage terms.

“Generation mix has shifted towards hydel and coal in July,” Topline Securities’ Deputy Head of Research Shankar Talreja said in comments to The Express Tribune.

Coal-based power dispatches have increased due to inclusion of new coal power plants in the system in recent times along with its increasing metric order amidst lower coal price, he said.

The hydel power production increased 17% to 5,407 Gigawatt hours (GWh) in July 2020 compared to 4,629 GWh in July 2019. Its share in the total production stood at 36.76% in July 2020.

Coal-based production increased 27% to 2,581 GWh in the month compared to 2,039 GWh in the same month of last year. Its share in the energy mix stood at 17.55%

Nepra has scheduled hearing to consider the proposed fuel price adjustment in power tariff for end consumers on September 1.

The proposed adjustment in the fuels cost is not for K-Electric's consumers, as it separately proposes the adjustments to the regulatory authority time-to-time.

Total power production increased 3.4% to 14,711 GWh this July compared to 14,231 GWh in July last year.

The production in July 2020 is almost 11% higher than 13,288 GWh in the previous month of June 2020.

The power production has continued to surge for the past couple of months in Pakistan since the government gradually reopened its economy from lockdown imposed in late March to contain Covid-19.

"The surge in power production on month-on-month (July compared to June) basis suggests signs of early economic recovery in July 2020," Talreja said.

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Rizwan, Azhar improve ICC Test rankings after third England Test

The International Cricket Council has rewarded Azhar Ali for his excellent century by helping him move in an upward direction in the latest Test player rankings, which were released on Wednesday afternoon.

Azhar, who started the Test in 34th position, has jumped 11 place to become Pakistan’s second highest-ranked batsman after Babar Azam, who has retained his fifth position.

Azhar come into the third Test with scores of 0, 18 and 20, and carried his bat for 141, which was his 17th Test century in 81 matches. His efforts were unable to save Pakistan from a follow-on, but his side managed to earn a respectable draw as the series ended 1-0 in England’s favour.

Babar Azam scored 11 and 63 not out in the third Southampton Test, but has stayed in fifth position on 797 points. The list is headed by Steve Smith of Australia (911 points), followed by Virat Kohli (886), Marnus Labuschagne (827) and Kane Williamson (812).

Wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, who was adjudged Pakistan’s player of the series, has gained three places and is now in 72nd position. Rizwan scored 53 and added 138 runs for the sixth wicket with Azhar in Pakistan’s first innings score of 273.

Pakistan batsmen slipping in the latest ICC rankings are Asad Shafiq (26th), Shan Masood (29th), Abid Ali (59th), while Fawad Alam is outside the top-100.

In the bowling table, Mohammad Abbas has dropped out of the top-10 after sliding five places to share 13th position with India’s Mohammad Shami. The fast bowler, however, has remained Pakistan’s highest-ranked Test bowler.

Wrist spinner Yasir Shah, who took two for 173, has also slipped one place to 23rd spot, Shaheen Shah Afridi has stayed in 33rd spot and Naseem has dropped to 57th position.

James Anderson, who dismissed Azhar to become the first fast bowler to capture 600 Test wickets, has moved up to eighth in the list, which is headed by Pat Cummins and followed by Stuart Broad, Neil Wagner, Tim Southee and Jason Holder.

 

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Turkey floats ‘new cooperation’ with Iran after gas find

Turkey says its largest-ever natural gas discovery in the Black Sea could lead to new cooperation with Iran even as Ankara aims not to be just a buyer, but also a producer.

Turkey is dependent on imports for almost all of its energy needs and Iran is a key supplier of Ankara’s natural gas purchases which generate nearly 40 percent of the country’s electricity production.

“The countries we have been cooperating with for years are Iran and Russia. This new period for Turkey may lead to new cooperation with these countries,” Turkish Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said in a televised interview on NTV Tuesday.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday his country was determined ultimately to become a net energy exporter as he announced the discovery of a 320 billion cubic meter natural gas field that could come on stream as soon as 2023.

Turkey’s senior officials and media said the discovery could transform Turkey’s dependence on Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan for energy imports.

Albayrak said it would help remove a chronic current account deficit which has driven the lira to record lows against the dollar. The discovery, officials hope, could reduce Turkey’s energy import bill which stood at $41 billion last year.

Analysts have said it was not clear whether the 320 billion cubic meters (bcm) Erdogan announced referred to total gas estimates or amounts that could be extracted.

On Monday, Iran’s Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh said recoverable gas is estimated at 230 bcm, translating to 35 mcm per day once it is produced. This is while Turkey needs 130 mcm a day which it sources from Iran, Russia and Azerbaijan.

“Investing at sea is expensive and requires technology. On the other hand, it takes time and needs a refinery to build,” he said.

Many officials and analysts have cautioned that it could take up to a decade for gas from the Black Sea find to come online, and would need billions of dollars of investment to build up the infrastructure for production and supply.

According to Turkey’s Energy Minister Fatih Donmez, the gas find is located in waters 2,100 meters deep, with drilling extending another 1,400 meters below the sea bed.

Through a pipeline, Iran sells about 10 billion cubic meters a year of gas to Turkey under a 25-year supply deal signed in 1996. The pipeline has been the target of occasional attacks by PKK terrorists, but the latest blast in March and Turkey’s dithering on repairing it prompted many observers to wonder whether it was a sign of a shift in Ankara’s energy policies.

Iran’s Fars news agency even speculated that the situation might be the result of aggressive US efforts to push its liquefied natural gas (LNG) into Turkey.

According to US officials, Washington has offered to sign a $100 billion trade agreement with Turkey, which their presidents discussed at the Munich Security Conference.

Other reports suggested that Turkey was unwilling to repair the damaged pipeline because it was unhappy with the price of Iranian gas.

Last month, Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum said it had resumed exports of natural gas to Turkey. Authorities in Turkey also denied there was a major issue with the pricing, insisting that repair work on the pipeline had been delayed because of the spread of the new coronavirus in the region.

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