Certain genes may identify patients with obesity who are most likely to respond strongly to Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss drug Wegovy, researchers reported on Monday. The study, released at the Digestive Disease Week meeting in Washington, found a 95% likelihood that patients with this genetic profile would be strong responders to the treatment. Given the expense of Wegovy, the findings might be used to identify the patients most likely to get the greatest benefit from it, according to Dr. Andres Acosta of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, one of the researchers. Some people with obesity have a genetic profile that…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Monday said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has set up a special committee to forge political consensus on the bill for the establishment of a Digital Media Authority in the country. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, he said Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah would be the convener of the forum, while other members include himself, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Minister of State for Information Technology Shazza Fatima Khawaja. The law minister also said that parliamentary party leaders of the PPP, Muttahida Qaumi…
ISLAMABAD: In a significant move, the Pakistan Basketball Federation (PBBF) on Sunday took a decisive action against several officials and players, suspending or banning them for various violations and misconduct. In a meeting chaired by PBBF president retired Brig Iftikhar Mansoor, the general council suspended Ghulam Mohammad Khan, the president of the Karachi Basketball Association (KBBA), due to regulatory violations and misconduct. “The [general council] meeting saw the suspension of Ghulam Mohammad Khan, the KBBA president, on grounds of regulatory violations and misconduct,” said a press release issued by the PBBF on Sunday. “Present at the meeting, Mr Ghulam Mohammad…
PARIS: Wars and conflicts should not influence participation in the Games, which need to convey a message of hope and support, and Israel should not be sanctioned, Andrew Parsons, the head of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said. The IPC said in March that Russian and Belarusian athletes joining the Paris 2024 Paralympics would not be part of their opening ceremony. Russian and Belarusian athletes cannot take part in team competitions at the July 26-Aug 11 Olympics and the Aug 28-Sept 8 Paralympics, but are allowed to participate as neutrals — without flags or anthems being played. Israel, however, will fully…
ISLAMABAD: Following objections raised by the Pakistan Football Federation Normalisation Committee over the lighting at the Jinnah Stadium for Pakistan’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia next month, the Pakistan Sports Board has insisted that everything will be fixed for the match to go on as scheduled. Pakistan are due to host the Saudis on June 6 but the PFF NC wrote to the PSB stating that it will be forced to shift the match to a different venue if the floodlights aren’t according to FIFA standards. A senior PSB official, however, told Dawn on Monday that a solution has…
LEEDS: Pakistan are in a phase of promptly identifying and reflecting on their shortcomings in order to overcome them in time with the T20 World Cup just round the corner, all-rounder Imad Wasim has said. The national team’s preparations for the tournament — set to be held in the United States and the West Indies next month — effectively started only in April, with the five-match Twenty20 International series against New Zealand. In the build-up to the series, Pakistan reappointed Babar Azam as captain, brought back Imad and pacer Mohammad Amir from their respective international retirements and included a number of less experienced players into the camp…
ISLAMABAD: The power regulator has approved a seven-year plan for K-Electric, under which the company will increase its generation capacity by about 3,200MW, mostly through renewable energy. Under the seven-year Power Acquisition Plan (PAP 2024-30) approved by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), K-Electric will get more electricity from the national grid, envisaging an estimated 9pc tariff reduction to 7.9 cents from the current rate of 8.7 cents. The plan has been modelled on the assumption that power availability from the national grid will reach 2,050MW, up from about 1,100MW at present. The increase in power generation is expected…
KARACHI: The banks made record investments of Rs7.6 trillion during the year, mostly in risk-free and lucrative government papers, while advances during the same period declined instead of increasing. The latest data issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday shows that the total investment of scheduled banks till April 2024 reached Rs27.281tr, compared to Rs19.694tr in April 2023. The jump of Rs7.6tr in investment was a record high and had never been witnessed before, marking a 38.5 per cent increase. It also shows that banks have been investing at an average of Rs632 billion per month. During…
ISLAMABAD: The government has sought the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s (Nepra) approval for an additional fuel cost adjustment (FCA) of Rs3.5 per unit to extract over Rs29 billion from consumers for electricity they consumed in April. Surprisingly, this demand comes despite the fact that 75 per cent of the overall power supply during the month was generated from cheaper local fuels. The Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) — a subsidiary of the Power Division — has filed a formal petition before the regulator for an increase of Rs3.4883 per kWh over the reference tariff of Rs5.492 per unit already…
ISLAMABAD: The Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises (CCoSOEs) made a significant decision on Monday, approving the Power Division’s proposal for the nomination of independent directors for specific electricity distribution companies. This decision, which is now set for onward submission to the cabinet, is very important for the future of these companies. The committee meeting, chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, didn’t approve the Ministry of Railways’ proposal to categorise four railway companies as strategic and essential and directed it to submit a transformation plan. The Ministry of Science and Technology proposal was deferred with the direction to submit a business…
