Tag: signals

Saudi Arabia signals readiness to provide more credit to Pakistan

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Islamabad: Pakistan claimed that it received an indication from Saudi Arabia for additional loans that may help to break gridlock with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“We have received an indication from Saudi Arabia about getting something,” Dr Aisha Pasha, the Minister of State for Finance, said after attending a meeting of a parliamentary committee, without explaining the loan amount, The Express Tribune reported.
She also informed the Senate Standing Committee on Finance that some progress was made a day earlier on a friendly country deposit, saying, “we will soon reach the stage to sign the Staff-Level Agreement with the IMF”.
The IMF has asked Pakistan to arrange $6 billion in additional loans and at least half of those must be materialised before the board meeting.
The funds are needed to avoid sovereign default and also increasing the foreign exchange reserves to a level sufficient to back 1.7 months of imports, Express Tribune reported.
Pakistan had told the IMF that it would get $2 billion in additional loans from Saudi Arabia and $1 billion from the UAE to meet the additional financing requirements.
Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salim Al-Zaabi, Ambassador of the UAE also called on Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
Dar highlighted various avenues in which both countries could enhance their existing trade and investment relations.

Sources said the IMF wanted the $3 billion to be arranged from
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#Saudi #Arabia #signals #readiness #provide #credit #Pakistan
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 30, 2023
Goa introduces AI signals to tackle traffic woes, issue e-challans

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Panaji: The Goa government on Wednesday launched the first Artificial Intelligence signal at Merces Junction in North Goa, which is one of the busiest junctions in the coastal state.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, after launching AI signals, said: AI signals will not only help traffic management but will also be helpful for security purposes.
“In future, along with traffic management, it will support the police from a security point of view. We can catch traffic law breakers and others through this system,” he added.
The system is developed and implemented by Beltech AI.
The system shall benefit traffic police to monitor the traffic, issue e-challans and shall benefit with assistance in security purposes.
The Chief Minister said that the system has been employed on pilot basis at Merces junction on a PPP basis.
“The government shall expand the scope of implementation on a PPP basis by collaborating with private investment,” he said.
Sawant appealed to the people to follow traffic rules, which can reduce road accidents and deaths occurring due to it.

Goa PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral said that this AI signal will monitor the movement of traffic from all sides.
“It will detect the traffic and based on it signals will appear,” he said.
He said that the government intends to install AI signals across Goa, so the entire mechanism functions well.
According to officials, the AI can detect emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire-trucks and automatically clears the road.
The AI is designed in such a way that all the signals in the city and state constantly talk to each other, thus optimising traffic at not only junction level, but city and state level.
AI can also detect vehicles which violate the traffic rules and make the road unsafe for everyone. E-challan is automatically raised to such offenders.
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#Goa #introduces #signals #tackle #traffic #woes #issue #echallans
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 15, 2023
Change to Covid vaccine formulation signals start of FDA pivot in immunization strategy

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Recent evidence suggests that the current bivalent provides protection against severe disease and death from the XBB.1 variant that is dominant in the U.S. right now.
“As we’ve turned the corner from a pandemic phase to an endemic phase,” said Ofer Levy, staff physician at Boston Children’s Hospital, professor at Harvard Medical School and a member of the FDA panel. “Today’s vote marks a big practical win for the American people.”
According to the CDC, roughly 69 percent of adults living in the U.S. have completed their primary vaccination series. More than 80 percent have received at least one shot, but 20 percent remain completely unvaccinated. Only about 15 percent of Americans, or 50 million people, have received bivalent boosters so far.
Advisers stressed that this update would simplify immunizations going forward, which could result in more vaccinations.
“I think anything that results in better public communication, to get more of the unvaccinated vaccinated would be extremely valuable,” said Henry Bernstein, a professor of pediatrics at Hofstra University and a member of the advisory committee.
The recommendation still needs to be adopted by the FDA and the CDC before all vaccines are updated. Although the FDA doesn’t have to agree with its advisory committee, it often does.
“We think that simplification of the vaccination regimen would contribute to easier vaccine deployment and better communication and improved vaccine coverage,” said Jerry Weir, director of the division of viral products in the office of vaccines research and review at FDA.
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#Change #Covid #vaccine #formulation #signals #start #FDA #pivot #immunization #strategy
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

January 27, 2023