CITY OF IRONDALEThe City of Irondale, City Hall, and other City Departments will be closed Tuesday, Jan. 16. Clay City Hall will also have altered hours & be open from 11 am – 3 pm. CITY OF LEEDSThe City of Leeds City Hall and non-public safety city operations will delay opening on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, till noon. CITY OF ARGOArgo City Hall will be closed Tuesday, Jan. 16, due to weather concerns. JEFFERSON COUNTYUpdated: The Jefferson County Courthouse and its satellite locations will be closed today, Tuesday, January 16, 2024.

The lone game this week will be a Friday night game against Moody at home. This week, Leeds will go to Spain Park on Tuesday followed by a Friday night rivalry game against Moody. The Blue Devils entered the Purple Palace and the end result was a Springville win, 68-47. Next up was a Friday night trip to Leeds to take on the Greenwave, where it was a last-second win for Springville, 39-38 in what was a great basketball game. This week, Springville will play out of area twice, taking on Fort Payne on Tuesday and traveling to Pelham on Friday night.

Additionally, the gas sector circular debt also surged over Rs3 trillion, bringing the total unfinanced debt to Rs5.73 trillion. The total energy sector circular debt now equals 5.4% of the size of Pakistan’s economy, as the wrong policies of ending the circular debt through price increases have failed to yield the desired results. Energy Minister Mohammad Ali has now proposed a plan to reduce the energy sector circular debt by Rs1.268 trillion or 22% of the stock. Read Gas circular debt set to soar by Rs275bThe circular debt has made the power and gas sector companies unviable and is now affecting the country’s lending options. China has now linked the approval of a $600 million commercial loan with the settlement of the Rs400 billion circular debt.

Oxfam called on Monday for governments to rein in corporate power by breaking up monopolies; instituting taxes on excess profit and wealth; and promoting alternatives to shareholder control such as forms of employee ownership. “This inequality is no accident; the billionaire class is ensuring corporations deliver more wealth to them at the expense of everyone else,” said Oxfam International Interim Executive Director Amitabh Behar. Oxfam said its report, based on data sources ranging from the ILO and World Bank to the Forbes annual rich list, showed such aspirations were far from being fulfilled. Meanwhile nearly 800 million workers saw their wages over the past two years fail to keep up with inflation. Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.

ISLAMABAD - The experts at a webinar on po­tential of agricultural food systems and lessening climate impacts have underscored the need to en­hance extensive flow of informa­tion to the stakeholders including media and manage the data gover­nance for the advanced studies ly­ing on the shelves to revolutionise the agricultural food systems. However, it is important to under­stand their impacts on the agricul­ture and food sectors. Rolle said there was need to revisit the agriculture sector of Pakistan by farming systems and observe its weather patterns that will be the best combination of crop farmers and systems. The current agricul­ture food policy not providing the desired relief and it’s a window opportunity to revisit the policy,” she added. “Wheat Cotton and Rice system for climate and food security op­tions is an opportunity to diversi­fy agricultural patterns.

James Edward King, age 86 of Ohatchee, AL passed away peacefully on Friday, January 5, 2024. He was born July 5, 1937 in Arab, Alabama to Grady and Flossie King. He was a loving and devoted husband, father, brother, grandfather, great grandfather and friend, known affectionately as “Jim Jim” His humble heart and kind nature touched the lives of many. Left to cherish his memory are, his wife, Mary Streip King, his son Rick King (Beth), daughters Denise Pugh (Gerald) and Angela Self (David). Six Great-Grandchildren, Austin Booker, Dylan Booker, Jaxson Booker, Eden Booker, Bradley Barton and Dolly Barton.

PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz, while referring to the PTI, said on Monday that a ‘terrorist party’ cannot be allotted an electoral symbol. Amid mounting criticism over the delay in its election strategy and ticket allocations, the PML-N only four days ago unveiled plans to kickstart its electoral campaign from today. #اوکاڑہ_میں_امید_سحر pic.twitter.com/BQFBoMgaiS — PMLN (@pmln_org) January 15, 2024Bashing the PTI even further today, Maryam said that the party's election symbol was not a ‘bat’, but a ‘baton’. Your election symbol should have been a stolen watch,” the PML-N leader said in reference to Imran’s conviction in the Toshakhana case. Maryam said there was much hue and cry over the PTI’s electoral symbol being withdrawn, adding that it was actually the party’s “fraudulent intra-party polls that have been exposed”.

Amid concerns surrounding the upcoming general elections scheduled for February 8, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday said that those who think the polls won’t happen are “mistaken”. The statement comes as multiple resolutions have been submitted in the Senate seeking a delay in polls, citing security and weather concerns. "Those who think elections won't happen are mistaken. He said that the party’s candidates in Punjab have been given an electoral symbol other than arrow — PPP’s traditional election symbol. After the “exclusion” of PTI, the contest was between the arrow and the lion, PML-N’s election symbol, vowing to give Nawaz Sharif’s party a tough challenge.

Lauderdale County – Ice and snow is present on roadways throughout the county. Franklin County – Ice and snow is present on roadways throughout the county. Colbert County – Ice and snow is present on roadways throughout the county. Lawrence County – Ice and snow is present on roadways throughout the county. Marion County – Ice and snow is present on roadways throughout the county.

BEIJING - A new air cargo route was launched linking Ezhou Huahu Air­port in central China’s Hubei province with Lahore, said SF Airlines, China’s largest air cargo carrier in fleet size. The Ezhou-Lahore cargo route is the first internation­al air cargo route launched by SF Airlines this year, de­parting from Ezhou Huahu Airport, China’s first cargo-focused airport. The opening of this inter­national cargo route is an im­portant measure for Huahu Airport to further increase routes to South Asia. Previ­ously, SF Airlines had opened two direct cargo routes from Ezhou to South Asia: Ezhou-Delhi and Ezhou-Chennai. SF Airlines, the aviation branch of China’s leading courier enterprise SF Ex­press, has launched a total of 11 international cargo routes from Ezhou to global desti­nations to date.

Caretaker Prime Minister (PM) Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar will pay a five-day visit to Davos, Switzerland from tomorrow to participate in the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF). In the meeting, the prime minister will deliver a keynote address on the theme “Trade Tech’s Trillion Dollar Promise,” Foreign Office Spokesperson said on her official X account on Sunday. He will attend three key thematic events on ‘preventing an era of global conflict; restoring faith in the global system and preventing economic fracture’. On the sidelines of the event, he will also hold meetings with the government and business leaders. During his visit, Prime Minister Kakar will lead a special “Invest in Pakistan” event.

Also Sunday, Israeli warplanes struck targets in Lebanon following a Hezbollah missile attack that killed two Israeli civilians — an older woman and her adult son — in northern Israel. Opposing demonstrations either demanded the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas or called for a ceasefire in Gaza. Late Sunday, the Israeli military said it had struck Lebanon in response to the missile strike. Meanwhile, the Egyptian TV station Al-Ghad said a cameraman was killed in an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza. Details were not immediately available, and the Israeli military had no comment.

Caretaker Religious Affairs Min­ister Aneeq Ahmed is current­ly in Saudi Arabia, engaged in the crucial task of finalising arrange­ments for the annual Hajj pilgrim­age. His itinerary encompasses significant meetings and active participation in the Global Hajj Conference held in Jeddah. The government, under Minis­ter Ahmed’s commitment, seeks to enhance facilities for Pakistani Hajj pilgrims. One notable plan involves extending the Makkah Route Initiative beyond Islamabad, reaching Karachi in 2024. AMIN WASTOO,Hoshab.

From Tribune staff reportsCALHOUN COUNTY — A multi-vehicle crash that occurred at approximately 11:35 a.m. Friday, Jan. 12, has claimed the life of an Oxford man, according to Corporal Reginal M. King of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Cristian Soto, 22, was critically injured when the 2017 Ford Fusion he was driving collided head-on with the 2004 Peterbilt tractor-trailer driven by a 63-year-old Dakota City, Neb. After the initial collision, the Ford struck the 2005 Chevrolet Silverado pickup driven by a 21-year-old Oxford nab. “Soto was transported to UAB Hospital in Birmingham, where he later succumbed to injuries and was pronounced deceased,” King said. The crash occurred on Airport Road, less than one mile west of Oxford, in Calhoun County.

1/14: Face The Nation The 2024 Republican race for president will have its first nominating contests in Iowa this week and New Hampshire next week. Republican New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who has endorsed former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, joins Margaret Brennan to discuss the state of the race. Plus, Charlie D'Agata joins from Tel Aviv, Israel, as Israel's war with Hamas reaches the grim milestone of 100 days.