Pakistan

KARACHI: The health department has recently sent a sample of a suspected new variant of dengue virus to the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), sources told on Thursday. The step, they said, was taken following a sharp increase in dengue cases in Karachi and reports that the disease was emerging with more severity this year. According to the official data, …

LAHORE: The country’s cotton production stood at 6.85 million bales as of Nov 15, a year-on-year growth of 70 per cent, according to the latest data issued by Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) on Thursday. During the same period a year ago, cotton ginning factories across the country received four million bales. PCGA stats show Punjab has so far produced …

ISLAMABAD: The Elec­tion Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday appe­ared to be unsure about using electronic voting machines (EVMs) in next general elections. The issue came under discussion at a meeting of the National Assembly’s Stan­ding Committee on Law and Justice and the ECP secretary briefed the panel on the machine. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MNA Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha pointed out …

ISLAMABAD: The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) on Thursday gathered various Islamic scholars who gave a ruling (fatwa) that smoking is impermissible, undesirable and unlawful, due to its negative impact on the human health. They were gathered at a conference organised by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc) along with CII. Participants of the …

ISLAMABAD: As the arrival of winter has increased the rate of Covid-19 infections in several countries, Pakistan’s positivity rate, which remained less than one per cent for the past six days, went up to 1pc on Thursday. According to data of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 460 people were infected with Covid-19 and 10 died over the past …

RAWALPINDI: Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Ali on Wednesday asked District Health Authority to lodge cases against those school owners who refused to allow the teams to vaccinate the children against measles and rubella. He made the directive during the meeting to review the Measles and Rubella vaccination campaign in the district. The meeting was also attended by district officials and representatives …

ISLAMABAD: An international study conducted by TikTok revealed that 31pc of teens exposed to hoaxes online had experienced a negative impact, with 63pc saying it was affecting their mental health. After the study, TikTok has strengthened its protection efforts by removing warning videos involving self-harm hoaxes. A survey was conducted with participation from 10,000 people including teens, parents and teachers …

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday ordered the Punjab government to issue a notification directing private offices in Lahore to halve staff attendance in an effort to tackle smog. Justice Shahid Karim issued the directives while hearing a set of petitions on the provincial government’s failure to appropriately deal with environmental issues. Advocates Azhar Siddique And Sheraz Zaka represented …

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which had been seeking day-to-day hearing on Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz’s appeal against her conviction, sought a week-long adjournment on Wednesday after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) pointed out numerous flaws in the prosecution’s case. On the other hand, Ms Nawaz, while talking to the media after the court’s proceeding, …

ISLAMABAD: Six bills related to Islamabad including the Food Safety and Rent Restriction Amendment Bills were passed in the joint session of the Parliament on Wednesday. The Islamabad Capital Territory Food Safety and Rent Restriction Bills were moved by Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Capital Development Authority Affairs Ali Nawaz Awan. The SAPM told Dawn that with the approval of …