Pak bans tobacco ads

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has moved to ban tobacco advertisements from the print and television media as well as billboards, keeping only a one-hour early morning window open on television for them. The tobacco industry has been asked to remove billboards by the end of this year. But they would have to reduce the size of billboards to one sq ft with immediate effect. The ban in the print media would be complete, Federal Health Minister Muhammad Nasir Khan announced Thursday.—HNS

Power cuts in China

SHANGHAI: Shanghai may suffer power failures this summer as the overburdened energy-distribution network of China’s largest city lags behind its rapid economic growth. Power supply to 1,000 families and businesses in Pudong New Area, a financial district, had to be cut off briefly on Wednesday after a transformer collapsed on a spike in demand, the Shanghai Daily said.—AFP