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In the age of likes and dislikes I feel children should be given tips on how to stay confident and how to negate criticism because social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook have the potential
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Days after Iran effectively blocked shipping through the Strait of Hormuz following the start of US and Israeli attacks in late February, two Pakistani electric motorbike outlets 1,400km away found themselves overwhelmed with enquiries. Haseeb Bhatti, who retrofits petrol-fuelled bikes with battery-powered motors in the northern city of Rawalpindi, said his March sales surged 70%. For Ali Gohar Khan, who owns a 7-year-old electric motorbike retail franchise with branches across Pakistan, the recent surge in sales is the steepest ever. “People have this fear that maybe in the near future, they might not get petrol at all,” Khan said. The Middle East crisis has sent global fuel prices soaring, compounding pain for Pakistanis already hit by inflation and a post-pandemic economic downturn. As the nation imports nearly all its oil through the Strait of Hormuz, shortage rumours took hold despite the government’s supply assurances. About 40% of Pakistan’s petrol is used to fuel the 30mn two-wheelers and three-wheeled autorickshaws. Industry officials and analysts expect the crisis to supercharge an EV rush in Pakistan, which would stand out from a broader regional surge for the availability of cheap and plentiful solar power to charge e-bikes. A switch would also help lower oil imports and bolster foreign exchange reserves, and slash emissions in the world’s most polluted country in 2025. After the government’s 18% price hike last week, a Pakistani household earning the median wage now pays 31% of its daily income for a litre of petrol - more than all but 22 of 139 countries tracked by globalpetrolprices.com and Our World in Data. “My monthly salary is 30,000 rupees. I can barely cover expenses for my family of six with this. How am I supposed to fill my bike?” said Zahoor Ahmed, a security guard in the southern city of Karachi. From working professionals to college students, more riders have been turning to EVs in recent months. Last year, higher petrol prices drove up EV sales nearly three-fold to 90,000 units or 5% of all two-wheelers sold, data from consultancy Renewables First showed. This year, EVs have accounted for more than 10% of monthly two-wheeler sales for the first time, said Talha Khan, CEO at EV logistics planning company Orko, a transition he expects to accelerate as filling up with conventional fuel can be as much as 10 times more costly than charging. “Today, the war situation is bad, so petrol prices are going up. I think this (EV) is a very reasonable thing. Everyone should buy one,” said Noori Shahbaz, a housewife purchasing an electric bike in Lahore, in a country where female riders remain a small but growing minority. GENEROUS SUBSIDIES AND INTEREST-FREE LOANSA typical electric two-wheeler costs around 250,000 rupees and 56% more than the popular petrol-fuelled Honda CD 70, which costs about 160,000 rupees. In February, the government’s Pakistan Accelerated Vehicle Electrification (PAVE) plan came into force, providing a subsidy for a fifth of the price and interest-free loans for the rest. The plan targets electric bikes and autorickshaws. It has already received about 270,000 applications - nearly seven times PAVE’s first phase target ending June - Finance Ministry adviser Adnan Pasha told Reuters, adding that the government aimed to finance 2mn EVs over five years and fund the plan with existing levies on fuel sales. “Electrifying just 2mn vehicles could result in nearly half a billion dollars in annual savings, as we don’t have to import that fuel,” Pasha said. Many Pakistanis turned to solar after IMF-driven power tariff hikes in 2023, snapping up cheap China-made panels for their homes. Now the government aims to capitalise on that boom to drive EV growth. “Using solar can reduce electricity costs at charging stations, and make it more affordable to charge at home,” Pasha said.Ammar Habib, an adviser to Pakistan’s power minister, said EVs were also “great for the grid as the steady demand from electric vehicle charging will ease some of the daytime volatility linked to solar oversupply.” CHINESE PLAYERS AT HEART OF EV SHIFTLike its solar revolution, Pakistan’s embrace of electric two-wheelers is built on Chinese brands. Scooter makers such as Yadea and Jinpeng, and e-bikes assembled locally with batteries and components from firms including AIMA and Sunra are expected to meet rising demand. Chinese EV giant BYD, which launched its cars in Pakistan through a local partner also working with HUBCO Green to build charging stations across the country, said it plans to support broader electrification to eventually sell more passenger cars. Pasha said the government wants local companies to build charging stations and said he expected the 45% cut to charging stations’ power tariffs last year to continue boosting adoption. However, financial incentives could come under pressure if the war drags on, while a lack of local expertise and hard-to-scale charging infrastructure are other risks for Pakistan’s EV transition, said Ahtasam Ahmad, energy finance lead at Renewables First. Good servicing networks are critical as EVs are more sensitive to potholes, which are common on South Asian roads. In neighbouring India, riding e-scooters on poorly maintained roads has caused major service backlogs. “When Chinese players flood the market, it may look promising on paper, but with virtually no after-sales service infrastructure, they risk eroding consumer confidence in the technology,” Ahmad said.
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Americans starting weight-loss medicines for the first time want lower cost and greater convenience as they consider pills from Novo Nordisk or Eli Lilly, according to seven doctors who specialize in obesity. Novo’s Wegovy pill has been on the market since January, while Lilly’s just-approved Foundayo joins the fray this week. Reuters interviews with the specialists show a promising landscape for oral weight-loss drugs as the companies compete for share in the fast-changing obesity treatment market seen topping $100bn a year in the next decade. Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk launched injectable Wegovy in 2021. The pill, like injectable Wegovy and Ozempic for diabetes, has the active ingredient semaglutide. In the three months since its approval, the oral version has appealed to patients for its lower cost and ease, the doctors said. The pills don’t need refrigeration, are more discreet and don’t require the use of needles, said Dr Christina Nguyen, an obesity and family medicine physician in Atlanta. “One person said I’d rather stay fat than ever use a needle. That’s a true fear,” she said. Lilly’s Foundayo pill, with active ingredient orforglipron, will begin shipping this week. All seven doctors said they had begun prescribing oral Wegovy, and three said they have prescribed the pill to about 10% of their patients. Of those patients, most are taking a GLP-1 for the first time, rather than switching from injectables, and have not yet reached the highest dose, the doctors said. “It is expanding access to people who are not sure that an injectable is something they would feel comfortable doing on themselves, might be leery of needles, and they’re excited to have an option that is easier and more familiar to take,” said Dr Stefie Deeds, an internal and obesity medicine specialist in Seattle. If patients are tolerating an injectable GLP-1, doctors are reluctant to switch them to pills unless requested. “The patients we see who are taking medicines, whether it’s Wegovy or (Lilly’s) Zepbound, we’re not telling them to switch to oral Wegovy if they’re doing well,” said Dr Louis Aronne, director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Center at Weill Cornell Medical College. Aronne has consulted for Lilly and was an investigator on the orforglipron clinical trial, and is an advisory board member of both Lilly and Novo. Zepbound, with the active ingredient tirzepatide, has been shown in trials to reduce weight by some 20% or more. That makes it the preferred option for treating patients with severe obesity, especially those with more complex cases, doctors said. “For somebody who is in the lower end of the weight spectrum, people who are more likely to be seen by primary care physicians, they would be more likely to use the orals,” Aronne said. In trials, Foundayo led to an 11% reduction in body weight over 72 weeks and oral Wegovy led to about a 14% reduction over 64 weeks. Several of the doctors said they were eager for Lilly’s pill, chemically known as orforglipron, to be approved so they would have a more flexible option to present to patients. Oral Wegovy must be taken on an empty stomach with just a sip of water 30 minutes before any other medications or food and drink. Lilly’s Foundayo can be taken any time of day without food or water restrictions. Nguyen said that if the Lilly pill is competitive on price with oral Wegovy, “most likely everyone will go with the orforglipron.” Novo spokesperson Liz Skrbova said that based on its survey results, most patients would not find the timing restrictions to be disruptive. Semaglutide has also been found in trials to have other health benefits like reducing cardiovascular risks. A Lilly spokesperson said the company is still studying Foundayo and that many participants in its clinical trial saw some reduction in markers of cardiovascular risk. Patients consider many factors when picking a GLP-1, but by far the most significant is cost, the doctors said.
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Peruvians will go to the polls on April 12 to elect a new president and members of Congress, following years of political upheaval, impeachments and corruption scandals that have seen eight presidents since 2018. A record number of candidates will compete in the first round. If no candidate clears the 50% threshold needed to win outright, the two most-voted candidates would advance to a second round, scheduled for June 7. Opinion polls indicate a runoff is likely, with at least five of the 35 presidential hopefuls in with a chance of claiming one of the two spots. Here’s a summary of the top contenders: Conservative Keiko Fujimori, 50, is making her fourth bid for the presidency, having reached the runoff in all three of her previous campaigns - a record that underscores both her resilience and her polarizing grip on Peruvian politics. A former congresswoman, she leads the conservative People’s Force party and is the eldest daughter of late former President Alberto Fujimori, who ruled from 1990 to 2000 before being jailed for human rights abuses. Fujimori’s party plays a pivotal role in Congress, anchoring a right-wing bloc and giving her an advantage in a fragmented field. Opinion polls consistently place her among the leading contenders. She had previously faced accusations of illegal campaign financing, but Peru’s constitutional court dismissed the case last year on procedural grounds. Educated in the United States, Fujimori has positioned herself as pro-US, pitching foreign investment under clearer institutional rules and casting herself as a more reliable partner for Washington than rivals she describes as closer to Beijing. Her campaign leans heavily on a law-and-order message, echoing the militarized security policies associated with her father’s presidency in the 1990s. Rafael Lopez Aliaga, 65, an ultraconservative businessman from the Popular Renewal party and a former mayor of Lima, is one of the most recognizable figures in the race, though recent opinion polls show his support slipping. A former Citibank corporate banker, he built his fortune in hotels and railways and has spent years cultivating a hardline political brand. A former member of the Catholic group Opus Dei, he is unmarried and has previously said he has practiced celibacy since the age of 19. Lopez Aliaga has business ties to Peru’s mining sector and his railway investments have benefited from minerals like copper transported from the Las Bambas copper mine, operated by a Chinese firm. Carlos Alvarez, 62, is a well-known figure in Peru, a popular comedian who has railed against the political class and is seeking to tap voter frustration with the establishment. Running for the centre-right Country for All party on a populist, anti-crime platform, he has likened himself to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, pointing to his own transition from entertainment to politics. Surveys show a recent uptick in voter support. His platform includes support for capital punishment for certain crimes and greater use of the armed forces to confront rising insecurity. On foreign policy, Alvarez has welcomed US President Donald Trump’s renewed focus on Latin America, while acknowledging the economic importance of Chinese investment in Peru. Critics have questioned the depth of his policy agenda and strength of his technical team should he make it into government. Alfonso Lopez Chau, 75, is an economist and academic from the left-of-centre Now Nation party. A former central bank board member, he has allied with a Marxist running mate who has called for reforms to Peru’s market-oriented economic model. A former defence and culture minister under ex-president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, Jorge Nieto, 74, is a low-polling centrist who has pitched himself as a unifying figure with institutional experience. He resigned in protest when Kuczynski pardoned Alberto Fujimori. He has said little about foreign policy. A congressman running for the left-leaning Together for Peru party, Roberto Sanchez has been drawing attention as a potential wild-card in the fractured race. He is calling for a new constitution to establish a “plurinational” state that would give a greater voice to Indigenous communities, tapping long-standing grievances in regions that have felt excluded from national decision-making.
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Ty McCormick Vietnam Communist Party boss To Lam was elected president by the National Assembly on Tuesday, capping his bid to centralise authority in a nation where senior cadres have traditionally governed collectively. In less
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Pam Bondi ranks among the country’s worst attorneys general, but it appears she was fired for not being bad enough. President Donald Trump’s displeasure didn’t owe just to her embarrassing bungling of the Epstein files.
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New research from the Indian state of Kerala by researchers from the Centre for Development Economics, Delhi School of Economics, assesses the impact of applying high-reflective white paint on roofs of government-run pre-schools (anganwadis). The
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Americans starting weight-loss medicines for the first time want lower cost and greater convenience as they consider pills from Novo Nordisk or Eli Lilly, according to seven doctors who specialize in obesity. Novo's Wegovy pill
