This week the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan for the second time in two decades giving it access to the country’s vast mineral deposits worth trillions of dollars, which are in high demand by countries such as China and essential for the production of electric vehicles amid a global pivot to clean energy. But can this wealth transform the country and help…
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Returning to power in Afghanistan after a 20-year absence, the Taliban have regained control of natural resources that a former mines minister of the country once said could be worth up to $3 trillion. That estimate was made toward the end of the last commodities supercycle in 2010 and could be worth even more now, after a global economic recovery…
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The Pakistan Army has paid tribute to Rashid Minhas — Pakistan Air Force (PAF) pilot officer who embraced martyrdom at the age of 20 during the 1971 war — on his 50th martyrdom anniversary. Minhas was awarded the Nishan-e-Haider for his bravery and became the youngest PAF officer to receive the highest valour award. “On 50th Martyrdom anniversary, we remember…
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My birding friend, Ahmer Ali Rizvi had been working on a documentary on flamingoes and I was excited to contribute content for it however possible. So when we found out from our birder friends that a flock of flamingoes had landed on our coastal belt, near Karachi, it couldn’t have been better timed for us to get more footage. Since…
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Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said on Friday that he believed the energy sector to be the government’s “Achilles heel”, and it would take at least five to seven years to resolve the issues the sector was facing. Addressing businessmen at the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he said the government was trying to fix the problems the sector…
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Islamabad: Cabinet committee on energy (CCoE) on Friday approved exemption of generation license for small-scale RE-based systems up to 25 kW for net metering. CCoE approved the proposal of the Power Division for eliminating the need for generation licenses for small-scale RE-based systems (upto 25 kW) for net metering. The measure will greatly facilitate consumers who wish to install small-scale…
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Leading into COP26 climate negotiations, China announced a new goal of net-zero emissions by 2060 including reaching 1,200 gigawatts (GW) total wind and solar by 2030, more than doubling current capacity. But despite this pledge, China continues citing reliability concerns to expand its coal fleet, which risks dangerous climate change. New Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) research shows new coal…
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Dalrymple Bay, the second-largest coal export facility by capacity in Australia’s Queensland state, is targeting to become an export hub for green hydrogen, after owner DBI Group signed an agreement with North Queensland Bulk Ports, Japanese trading house Itochu and US infrastructure fund Brookfield Group. The deal for now will look at potential options to export through Dalrymple Bay green…
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The movement of heavy machinery for the Tarbela Dam fifth expansion project is posing a serious threat to the dam’s spillway gates. On August 12, Prime Minister Imran Khan had performed the ground-breaking of the fifth extension project of the Tarbela Dam. According to sources, while transporting the heavy machinery to the construction site, laid down rules and procedures were…
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Saudi Aramco is investing, alongside the country’s sovereign wealth fund and Riyadh-based ACWA Power, in the oil exporter’s largest solar project with a capacity of 1.5 GW as the world’s biggest energy company makes a push into renewables. The Saudi Aramco Power Co., a unit of the parent company, has joined ACWA Power and the Water & Electricity Holding Co.,…
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