Islamabad: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will arrive in Pakistan on August 13, the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. The spokesperson for UN Mission in Pakistan, Ishrat Rizvi, Ban and his wife would be heading a delegation of 22 members but did not confirm the date of his arrival. Ban will hold meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Foreign Ministry officials, Dunya news reported.
PIA to acquire six planes
LAHORE: The Pakistan International Airlines has floated a tender for acquiring six planes on dry lease. “We have floated a tender for acquiring six planes Boeing and Airbus of short range in the first phase to meet the shortage of aircraft,” PIA Deputy Managing Director (Operations) Capt Humayun Jamil told said on Sunday. He said the process of the acquiring the aircraft would be completed in three months. “We are following the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority rules in the process,” he added. Jamil who has a 35 years of experience in aviation further said the flight schedule would also be revised to check delays. “We have to minimise delays through optimum use of existing fleet,” he said, adding right person would be posted for the right job and those who were not delivering would be dealt with strictly.
Push for online learning tools
LAHORE: Despite a marked improvement in students’ examination results, e-learning is still not popular in Pakistan. “Schools show interest but resent the cost of implementation, but the ultimate beneficiaries are the students.” Tech Implement Director Bilal Shahid says. ILM Ideas Programme of UKAID, initiated in August last year, aims to use e-learning tools to teach grade four students maths in five government schools. The project’s pilot phase ended in April, but Tech Implement, the company that implemented the pilot project, has decided to expand its operations to other schools in the province. Shahid said: “The aim is not to change the traditional classroom environment, but to assist the teacher.” Such tools are used in classrooms all over the world. He said research had indicated that there was a lack of awareness regarding online learning tools in Pakistan.
Kabul market blast kills four
Kabul: At least four people were killed and more than 20 wounded in an explosion in the southern city of Kandahar, Afghan officials said. A spokesman for the Kandahar provincial governor said that explosives hidden in a handcart went off when the market in Takhta Pool area was packed with people, according to the BBC. Officials confirmed that all four killed were civilians. No group has claimed responsibility so far.
Agencies
