The Nation

: LARKANA; Avendor prepares traditional ice-cream (kulfi) on his pushcart.—Wire photo

Preserving Punjab’s rich cultural
heritage among key priorities

of Punjab govt: WCLA

- OUR STAFF REPORTER
LAHORE

‘Walled City of Lahore Authority
“ (WCLA) successfully organized
:another session
** ofits “Meet the Expert” ‘lecture
“series. at_Akbari Mahal Kutub
: Khana & Archives.. The seminar
‘ titled “Princely State Archives,”
© brought ; together’. researchers,
“students, _historians;/and heri-

“tage enthusiasts to explore the ©

‘significance of archival records
24n preserving the history of for-
: mer princely states of the Indian
subcontinent, said a press re-
: lease issued here on Monday. The
session was delivered by the Uni-
versity, of Punjab,’ Department


‘Michael Jackson
‘movie becomes
highest-gr ossing:
biopic of all time:

NEWS WIRE *
LOS ANGELES


..Nia Long portraying his parents.;

" ‘Tributes paid to ‘comic genius’ Penelope
Keith after her death aged 86

“NEWS WIRE:
LONDON

: Tributes have been paid to ac:
: tress Dame Penelope Keith, best
: known for her roles in the classic
* 1970s British sitcoms The, Good
‘Life and To the Manor Born, fol-
: towing her death at the age of 86.
; Iva statement, her family said on
' Monday that she “died peacefully
{whilst living with cancer at her
i home in Surrey”.
Felicity Kendal, hei
“The Good Life, remembered her
Fas a “comic genius” who was *
Joy to know and work with’, ee
famously
suburban
“neighbour Margo Leadbetter in
* The Good Life, as well as the wid-
rowed aristocrat Audrey fforbes-


‘preservation in historical research,’

The recently released Michael
q Jackson movie has overtaken
Oppenheimer as the highest-
grossing biopic of all time, af-
ter taking $977m (£739m) at
the worldwide box office. Mi-
chael was already the biggest
ever musical biopic, having
leapfrogged 2018's Bohemian
Rhapsody ‘about the “band
; Queen, But it has now’ also’ surpassed director
* Christopher Nolan’s 2023 film about the Ameri-

:can theoretical physicist J Robert Oppenheimer,

which previously held the box office record for

‘any film based ona real-life figure. Directed by An-.
- toine Fuqua, Michael tells the story of the late US
: singer's journey from being’a child star in family
: group the Jackson 5, to becoming the solo King of
: Pop. Jaafar Jackson, the singer's real-life nephew,

: plays.the titular role, with Colman Domingo and


of History and Pakistan Studies
Assistant Prof Dr Muhammad Al-

;taf. He highlighted the historical,
:importance of princely state am:
“chives, emphasizing their role in’
“understanding political admin

istration,’ soclo-economic ‘struc-
tures, diplomatic relations, and
the cultural heritage of the re-:
gion, He also discussed the need:

-for the preservation, documenta-,

tion, and digitization.

«of archival collections’ to: en-,
‘sure their accessibility for future.
generations. Participants actively:
‘engaged In the discussion and ap-:
preciated the Informative session,
.which provided valuable insights’
into the importance: of ‘archival


The ‘statement.
released ~ on’
behalf of her’
family “~'said:,
“We are deep-
ly saddened
to! announce:


Sid SI

‘that Dame Penelope Keith died

peacefully whilst living with can-!
cer at her home in Surrey where
‘she had lived for more ‘than

50 years. “The’ family’ is grate-,

fal for the care and support she

‘received throughout her treat-:

ments, and ask that their privacy’
be respected at thistimes ...
Inher tribute, Kendal sald:

"1 am deeply saddened to hear.

of my friend Penelope’s death.:

“The shows | worked on with

her were such special times in.
our lives and demonstrated her


Taipei Zoo celebrates:
6th birthday of:
mainlarid giant pandas’
-youngest offspring

Taipel Zoo on Sunday celebrat-.

ed the sixth birthday of Yuan~

bao, the youngest offspring of a.

pair of giant pandas presented: |,
by the mainland to Taiwan in.

2008, Despite currently being

closed to the public for main-

tenance, Taipei Zoo on Sunday morning did a live-.
‘streaming session of about’30 minutes showing Yu-
anbao enjoying specially prepared treats, including a
birthday cake, fruits and toys. Yuanbao was born in ‘
2020, following the birth of her sister Yuanzai in July °
2013, to the giant panda pair Tuantuan and Yuanyu-»
an. The male Tuantuan died from a cerebral tumor in :
2022 shortly after his.18th birthday, having lived at -
the z00 for 14 years. According to Wang Chien-po,,
curator of the Giant Panda House at the Taipei Zoo,
the birthday treats this year were designed to help”
Yuanbao cope better with behavioral changes ‘sus-*
pected to be caused by pseudopregnancy, a cycle her:
sister and mother have > previously experienced,


Walled Cityof Lahore Authority   -
rector General Najmus Saqib said:
“Preserving and promoting, Pun-
jab's rich cultural and historical
heritage remains a key priority: of
¢ Punjab government. :..”

. Through | educational . initta-
tives ‘such as the Meet the Ex-
pertseries, WCLA aims to create
greater’ public’ ‘awareness, en-
courage academic dialogue, and
foster appreciation for the prov-
ince’s diverse historical legacy”
The seminar: concluded with
an.” interactive |. question-and-

answer session, where  partict--
pants exchanged ideas with the.


speaker*and discussed future.
rescarch opportunities related”
to: archival studies, .


NEWS WIRE
“TAIPEL “"

out to her beloved Rodney’ at.

this time, theirs was a great love

story and partnership, She was a_

joy to know and work with, and
she will be much missed.” Others

paying tribute; included come-:
dian and presenter Sue Perkins, -

who praised her on Instagram
for having been the “creator of:
some. of the greatest sit com.
characters ofall time”. |".
Broadcaster Gyles Brandreth
remembered - Dame: Penelope.

as “such a special lady -@ won--

derful actress, a ‘real friend, so’
funny,’’so generous” with  the*
time she gave to good causes":

He added: “Hers was indeed a-
good life.” Former culture sec-»
retary Sir Jeremy Hunt posted:
Mincredibly sad to hear of the’

passing. of: Dame :,Perielope,
Keith CBE,


“NEWS WIRE‘.
‘SEOUL,
The hundreds’ of millions who
use * Meta-owned “messenger
WhatsApp to chat with family,
friends or businesses will no lon-
gerneed to share phone numbers
undera coming update, the com-
pany says. Instead, people will be
able to pick unique usernames to

share with others, in a move “de-

signed to protect the privacy of
your phone number” WhatsApp
Says in a statement. Restricting
aiccess to phone numbers would
mean they are not shared auto-
matically in cases such as being
added to a large group chat or
messaging person or business
for the first time, the company
adds, What's more, “there’s no
directory to browse and no sug-
gestions, so people need to know
your exact username to contact
you,” Meta says. As. with other


‘social media ‘services, the sheer

number of people — Meta claims.
over three billion — using What-:

-SApp means many may not get
their first choice of handle..The_
‘company. says it will’ gradually

roll out username reservations’
worldwide “over the :coming
months," notifying users in each
country when they open there;
Meanwhile “creators, small busi-

“nesses and organizations” will
be allowed to claim WhatsApp.
“usernames that they already use
on fellow Meta products Face-:
book or Instagram. Once it is ful-,


Lahore | Tuesday, June 30, 2026  ;

b


<= ||   -WhatsApp messenger to.
ST  i) begin. offering usernames

. lyactivated, WhatsApp users will”

be able to connect after exchang—"

ing usernames only. There will :
still be options to block or report
unwanted messages. Names will '
be limited to 35 characters and‘
there: will be few ‘restrictions, .
with the exception of some high ;
profile’ officials: and celebrities :


- whose names will not be made


available to anyone else.’ |”

So It’s unlikely WhatsApp witl!
be overrun with users calling :
themselves Donald Trump, for’
éxample, The Meta-Owned firm
described usernames as‘a pri
vacy feature! ™

: The ‘secure  messaging  app:
Signat introduced an identical
service in 2024. “It is a good:
feature, but even if it does offer”
more privacy, remember What- :
sApp is nota privacy-friendly’
app overall,” said Carisa Veliz,'a~
professor. at Oxford University?
and author of Privacy.is Powe


South Korea unveils $880bn: chip
‘and AI investment plan.

"NEWS WIRE ;
SEOUL ..

South Korea has unveiled plans
for-at_least'-$880bn" (€666bn)
of investments to build out the
country’s chip manufacturing and
artificial intelligence (Al) capabili-
ties In the coming years, It is part
of the country’s so-called Three
Mega Projects to’ develop new
chip production hubs, data cen-

tres and robotics technology: The.
‘plan is aimed at rejuvenating the.
economies, of areas outside. the.
capital Seoul, President Lee jae~'

myung said on Monday. It comes:

as regional rivals like Taiwan, Chi-.
* the-country’s two largest chip-

na and Japan are investing heavily
in chip factories and other tech

-hologies as the Al boom pushes up:

demand for semiconductors, “We.

must secure the core elements of
‘A! faster than any other country;’.


Lee said. “Semiconductors, physi-_;
cal Al, and Al data centres are the ;
triple axis for a great leap for-=
ward.” Lee announced the plans ‘
in a televised event alongside the '
Jeaders of Samsung and SK Hynix, ”,


makers. Lee also announced plans :
to build ‘other Al infrastructure |
hubs outside of Seoul, where most :
of the country’s advanced facto-1
ries are currently concentrated.’ ©

<WY ‘HYDERABAD ELECTRIC SUPPLY COMPANY
resco

  PK-HESCO-NEW (GIS) RIVERBUND GS & NEW T/LINE-NCB/06

Design, Supply, Installation, Testing and Commissioning of New 132 kV GIS (Gas
Insulated Substation) grid station with One (01) 40 MVA power transformers,
along with the associated 132 KV feeding transmission line at River Bund          .

This Addendum is being issued on 29.06.2026 to amend the Request for Bids (RF