Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments have unanimously decided to shut markets by 8 p.m. across the country as part of the efforts to conserve energy, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said.

He said this while addressing the media following the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting held in Islamabad with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in chair, Geo News reported.

Iqbal said Chief Ministers of Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa participated in the huddle while the planning minister of Balochistan represented the provincial government.

This initiative could save around $1 billion annually, he added.

He said representatives of provincial governments were present in the NEC meeting and they had been advised to get it implemented to save precious resources, Geo News reported.

Iqbal said energy had become a big challenge for Pakistan and the government would reduce dependence on fossil fuels and imported oil, and give due focus on energy conservation, Geo News reported.

Likewise, the minister said government would promote green energy including solar, hydel and wind and no new imported fuel based project would be introduced.

Earlier in January, the federal government had approved a new energy conservation plan under which markets/malls were supposed to be closed by 8.30 p.m., while it also banned the usage of inefficient appliances to save around 62 billion PKR annually.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had directed the authorities concerned to cut the usage of electricity by all departments of the federal government by 30 per cent.

The coalition government had claimed that measures approved by the cabinet aim to save the cash-strapped country about 62 billion PKR and help reduce the energy import bill.

However, the measures were never fully implemented across the country,

At least 42 people have died and 13,000 others displaced after heavy floods triggered by torrential rain inundated homes across Haiti, according to a statement issued by the countrys Civil Protection Agency.

The statement issued on Monday said that 85 people were injured, while 11 others remain unaccounted for after intense rainfall over the weekend caused several rivers throughout Haiti to overflow, which in turn sparked flash floods, flooding, rockslides and landslides, reports CNN.

The displaced and mission persons were reported from five of Haiti’s 10 departments: West, Nippes, South-East, North-West, and the Center.

“My government, in concert with national and international institutions, is taking urgent measures in order to meet the demands of the hour,” Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry tweeted on Monday.

The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned on Monday that flooding could resume with more rain in coming days.

“In the event of another heavy rainfall, the waterlogged soils will be unable to prevent further flooding, rockslides and landslides, and the provisional death toll could rise even higher,” quoted the Office as saying.

The danger is expected to continue through hurricane season, which began on June 1.

Meanwhile, emergency response teams and aid organisations have been mobilised.

“We’ll start providing hot meals to displaced people in the coming hours & are mobilising ready-to-eat rations & dry food,” the World Food Programme said in a tweet.

Oil-producing countries have agreed to continued cuts in production in a bid to shore up flagging prices, the media reported on Monday.

Saudi Arabia said it would make cuts of a million barrels per day (bpd) in July and OPEC+ said targets would drop by a further 1.4 million bpd from 2024, reports.

OPEC+ accounts for around 40 per cent of the world’s crude oil and its decisions can have a major impact on oil prices.

In Asia trade on Monday, Brent crude oil rose by as much as 2.4 per cent before settling at around $77 a barrel.

The seven hour-long meeting on Sunday of the oil-rich nations, led by Russia, came against a backdrop of falling energy prices.

Total production cuts, which OPEC+ has undertaken since October 2022, reached 3.66 million bpd, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, the reported.

OPEC+, a formulation which refers to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, had already agreed to cut production by two million bpd, about 2 per cent of global demand.

“The result of the discussions was the extension of the deal until the end of 2024,” Novak said.

In April, it also agreed a surprise voluntary cut of 1.6 million bpd which took effect in May, a move that briefly saw an increase in prices but failed to bring about a lasting recovery.

On Sunday, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the cut of one million bpd could be extended beyond July if needed, the BBC reported.

“This is a Saudi lollipop,” he said, in what is seen as a bid to stabilise the market.