A ceremony held at Kamra Airbase on 16th Feb saw 16 new JF-17 Thunder fighter jets inducted to the 14-Squadron of the Pakistan Air Force.  PAF already has over 70 JF-17 Thunder jets in its fleet. Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif attended the ceremony as the chief guest while Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman was also present. The defence minister inspected the guard of honour followed by an impressive fly-past.Khawaja Asif observes guard of honour.  A total of 16 JF-17 Thunder aircraft have been manufactured jointly by China and Pakistan in the past year, Radio Pakistan reported.

The 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games concluded in Austria on 18th March’17, with the Pakistan contingent returning home with an impressive tally of 16 medals. Over 3,000 Special Olympics athletes from 110 countries participated in the 2017 Winter Games. The games ended with a colorful ceremony in the Austrian city of Graz. Pakistani athletes claimed three gold, seven silver and six bronze medals at the event.

Pakistan is an attractive destination for foreign investors as it facilitates and protects their financial returns, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on 24rth March’17. He said this in a meeting with Iftikhar Aziz, President of Pakistan-Sri Lanka Friendship Trade and Investment Association. Mr. Aziz was given Tamgha-i-Khidmat by President Mamnoon Hussain on March 23. The prime minister recalled his meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart, Ranil Wickremesinghe, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum early this year and said both the countries could collaborate to achieve the objectives of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc).

BEIJING: A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign affairs ministry said on 24rth March’17 that her country stood ready to work with Pakistan to take forward the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to benefit the people of both countries. “The CPEC is a new cooperation framework set up by China and Pakistan to pursue long-term development. It is also an important project of the Belt and Road Initiative,” spokesperson Hua Chunying said during her regular press briefing. She said it was important not only in promoting common development for China and Pakistan but also regional connectivity and prosperity of regional countries.

India successfully launched 104 satellites in a single mission on 15th Feb, setting what its space agency says is a world record of launching the most satellites at one go. Of the 104, 101 are foreign satellites to serve international customers as the South Asian nation seeks a bigger share of the $300 billion global space industry. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted his congratulations on the launch conducted by the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) that went off smoothly and was carried live on national TV news channels.

KARACHI: Pak Suzuki Motor Company Ltd (PSMCL) will review its decision to invest $460 million if the government fails to respond to its request for incentives until April, PSMCL spokesperson Shafiq Ahmed Sheikh. The proposed plant will generate 319,000 direct and indirect jobs, he added. The company has been waiting for the government’s response for one year. Mr. Ahmed said Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had assured PSMCL that the company would receive approval for incentives by January. Board of Investment (BoI) Chairman Dr Miftah Ismail had assured PSMCL of the same in a recent visit to its plant.

UNITED NATIONS: The situation in Yemen is one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises – ‘and one that is entirely man-made’ – in saying that the United Nations human rights deputy chief urged the national commission of inquiry to fulfill its mandate of investigating all alleged violations of international and Yemeni laws. “We encourage the Yemeni National Commission to make progress on all aspects of its mandate to investigate all allegations of violations of international law and Yemeni law, including those that go beyond the extent of the Commission’s cooperation with OHCHR [the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights],” UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kate Gilmore told a UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva.

Tesla Motors Inc will start taking orders for its solar roof tiles in April, Chief Executive Elon Musk said. The solar-powered roof shingles were unveiled in October last year to show the benefits of combining his electric car maker with solar installer SolarCity Corp. There was no detail on cost. Tesla has said previously the cost of the roof would be less than a conventional roof plus solar. By incorporating solar modules into rooftops, Tesla is hoping to succeed with a solar technology that to date has had little success.

Ambassador to the United States (US) Aizaz Chaudhry on Monday presented his credentials to US President Donald Trump at the White House. Chaudhry, who was named Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States of America mid-February, had taken up his new responsibilities in Washington last month. While presenting his credentials, the ambassador conveyed Pakistan's best wishes to Trump, who recently completed 100 days in office. Chaudhry also conveyed that the Pakistani leadership was committed to strengthening friendly relations between Pakistan and the US.

World Bank President Dr. Jim Yong Kim offered technical and financial help in technological improvements in the renewable energy sector. He was talking to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar who called on him during the spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, said a message received from the Embassy of Pakistan. Mr. Dar acknowledged the role being played by the World Bank for resolving the disputes under the Indus Waters Treaty and urged expediting the process. He said the resolution of the issue “would lead to water security in the region”.

ABB has sealed a collaboration agreement with International Business Machines Corp (IBM), the Swiss engineering company said on 18th April, the latest step in its efforts to ramp up its presence in digital technology and the internet of things. In a joint statement ABB said it would combine its digital offering, which gathers information from machinery, with IBM's expertise in artificial intelligence featured in its Watson data analytics software. The two companies will jointly develop and sell new products.