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Earthquake jolts Japan’s northeast coast, cuts power in Tokyo

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 jolts Japan.
Leaves hundreds of thousands of residents in Tokyo without power.
Authorities warn of aftershocks in Fukushima, Miyagi, Yamagata.

TOKYO: A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 jolted Japan’s northeast coast on Wednesday and left hundreds of thousands of residents in Tokyo without power.

The tremor, in the same region devastated by the magnitude 9 temblor 11 years ago that triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster, occurred at a depth of 60 kilometres, 57 kilometres off the coast, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

It registered as high as a 6-plus on the Japanese shaking intensity scale in some areas — too strong for people to stand — and rattled buildings in the capital.

The JMA issued a tsunami warning for the region of as high as 1 metre (3.28 ft), with public broadcaster NHK reporting waves of 20 centimetres in some places.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters his government was assessing the extent of any damage after arriving at his office following the tremor, which shook large parts of Japan.

Scattered goods caused by an earthquake are seen at a convenience store in Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, Japan March 17, 2022, in this photo taken by Kyodo. — Reuters

Tokyo Electric Power Company said that around 2 million households were without power, including 700,000 in the capital, and that it was checking the condition of reactors at Fukushima and other plants, public broadcaster NHK reported.

No damage had yet been reported at those or at oil refineries on the coast, government officials said.

The radiation leak from the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant was the worst nuclear crisis since the explosion at the Chernobyl facility in Ukraine a quarter of a century earlier.

Authorities warned residents in Fukushima, Miyagi and Yamagata prefectures to expect aftershocks.

Sitting on the boundary of several tectonic plates, Japan experiences around a fifth of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

Business

Pakistan’s gold prices continue to decline.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

The price of ten grams of 24 carat gold dropped by Rs 1,201 to Rs 205,418 from Rs 206,619, while the price of ten grams of 22 carat gold dropped to Rs 188,300 from Rs 189,400, according to the All Sindh Sarafa Jewellers Association.

Silver, priced at Rs. 2,620 per tola and Rs. 2,254.80 per ten grams, stayed at that level. As reported by the organization, the price of gold dropped by $11 on the global market, to $2,297 from $2,308.

Business

Price of LPG “slashed” by Rs. 20 per kilogram

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Sources claim that LPG rates have been lowered by Rs 20, making the cost per kilogram drop from Rs 280 to Rs 260.

It is noteworthy to remark that the costs of LPG were reduced by Rs 20 per kilogram earlier, resulting in a total reduction of Rs 40 per kilogram within a few weeks.

The price of liquefied petroleum gas for the month of May 2024 was lowered by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on April 30.

The LPG tariffs were lowered by Rs 11.88 to Rs 238.46 per kilogram in accordance with the OGRA’s notice. On Wednesday, May 1, 2024, the new rates will go into effect.

In April of last year, the price per kilogram of LPG was Rs 250.34. pricing reduction of Rs 140.18 has resulted in a new pricing for home LPG cylinders set for May 2024 of Rs 2813.85.

The OGRA reported a drop in liquefied petroleum gas pricing in April. The price of LPG is now Rs 250.34 per kg instead of Rs 256.78 due to a reduction of Rs 6.44 per kg.

The price of the household cylinder was fixed at Rs 2954.03 for the month of April, down from Rs 3030.12, a decrease of Rs 76.9.

Business

ADB delegation stops by FBR headquarters

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Senior Director ADB Tariq Niazi oversaw the expedition, which also involved Sana Masood, Farzana Noshab, and Senior Public Sector Management Specialist Laisiasa Tora. The meeting included presentations from economists as well, according to an FBR press release.

The officers focused on structural and policy adjustments as they discussed the Domestic Resource Mobilization Program’s implementation at the meeting.

$300 million was given to the Pakistani government by ADB in December 2023 as a result of the hard work and dedication of FBR. Better laws, regulations, and institutional capability for the FBR were established by Sub-Program I.

With the $300 million in funding provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to the Government of Pakistan in December 2023, the delegation conveyed satisfaction with the program’s effective launch.

The FBR also underlined how crucial digitization is to recording the economy and boosting productivity in a sustainable way.

In order to promote the Government of Pakistan’s Digital Tax Administration Project, both parties decided to look into measures to improve their cooperation.