Shehri Tv

By Masood Sattar Khan (Pakistan News & Features Services) The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) has held deliberations in Beijing on a treaty on the transfer of convicted criminals between China and Pakistan. Li Zhanshu, Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over the meeting, the Chinese media reported. It was decided to submit the above draft to the ongoing NPC Standing Committee for review.  It may be recalled that both sides had held initial deliberations in August 2014 in Islamabad and reached consensus on a series of provisions.  In November 2018, Prime Minister Imran Khan and his Chinese counterpart, Li Keqiang, witnessed the signing ceremony between Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi and China’s Justice Minister, Fu Zhenghua in Beijing.  The treaty is considered as an important legal document on judicial assistance which has laid a legal foundation for China and Pakistan to strengthen cooperation on the transfer of senten...

By Masood Sattar Khan (Pakistan News & Features Services) This year's two sessions, China's most important annual political event, will be held in late May in Beijing, an official release issued on April 29, declared. The third plenary session of the 13th National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, will kick off on May 22, while the third plenary session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the nation's top political advisory body, will start on May 21, according to the information in the official handout.  The term ‘two sessions’ refers to the annual full session of the NPC, which customarily begins on March 5, and the annual plenary session of the CPPCC National Committee, which was originally scheduled to open on March 3.  Both the sessions this year were postponed in February, as the nation was focusing on fighting the novel coronavirus epidemic (COVID-19) at the time.  Every year during...

By Mukhtar Alam (Pakistan News & Features Services) Sindh, which had been able to see its overall COVID-19 infection rates stable in the recent days, witnessed no reduction in its prevailing rate of relevant deaths as the health authorities here confirmed on April 28 that another seven virus infected patients, including three females, lost their lives at Karachi and two districts of the province. Contrary to the overall COVID-19 death rate of 2.13% in the country, Sindh had its overall death rate as 1.73%, with a total 92 deaths among 5,291 infection cases on April 28. It had a death rate of 2.20% on April 20, which decreased to 1.71 by April 27, but increased to 1.73% again on April 28. Apart from the overall death rate, keen observers noted that Sindh showed the death rate on average 1.91% in seven days, from April 21 to 27, when 24 people died of COVID-19 in hospitals and homes. The disturbing fact is that Sindh reported seven deaths on April 28 again, said an analyst, commentin...

Pakistan News & Features Services Australia, a paradise on earth, has reopened as the country has relaxed coronavirus restrictions after a drop in the death rate. The states of Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia have eased up the restrictions while New South Wales and Victoria, the two biggest states having enforced the strictest lockdown, don’t plan on lifting these measures until mid-May.  Australia, into its second month of COVID-19 lockdowns with every state enforcing physical distancing law slightly differently, has witnessed consistently low numbers of new infections leading to the relaxation in a few rules.  However, the Australians, for most part, are still required to stay at home unless they have crucial work, shopping or exercise reasons as the leaders reckoned that there was no fast and easy way to return to a ‘pre-coronavirus’ norm.  The Western Australians now have been allowed the freedom to enjoy picnics in the park, fishing, boating, hi...

Pakistan News & Features Services New Zealand, one of the most disciplined nations on earth, has made the welcome announcement of having eliminated coronavirus (COVID-19) from the country as the restrictions have been eased from level four to level three with new cases down to single figures. The level three ruling went into effect on April 28, which allowed businesses to partially reopen with some restrictions, including requiring physical distancing of two meters outside of home.  New Zealand's Director General of Health, Ashley Bloomfield, had declared on April 27 that with just one new case, four probable cases and one new death they had the confidence of having achieved their goal of elimination.  "Our goal is elimination. And again, that doesn't mean eradication but it means we get down to a small number of cases so that we are able to stamp out any cases and any outbreak that might come out," he added.  New Zealand's popular Prime Minister, Jacinda Arde...

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi (Pakistan News & Features Services) Although the ongoing lockdown, being enforced to prevent coronavirus (COVID-19) from spreading, has brought life to a virtual standstill throughout the country, only a handful of organizations and institutions have managed to remain afloat in the prevailing situation.  Quite remarkably, the Pakistan Library and Information Science Journal (PLISJ), a quarterly publication of the Library Promotion Bureau (LPB), Karachi, has succeeded in bringing out its April-June 2020 issue (Volume 51, Number 2) in time once more. The PLISJ Chief Editor, Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari, who is also the Founder President of the LPB, has to be credited for accomplishing this gigantic task in the most challenging of situations.   Having stayed back in Pakistan, instead of returning to North Amercia where he normally spent his summers, he has kept his associates motivated even during the lockdown period with his dossiers via email....

By Mukhtar Alam (Pakistan News & Features Services) Karachi, with 3,524 cases of COVID-19, on April 26 was second to Lahore in the context of the virus that has spread across the country, infecting 13,669 people so far (till April 27) and claiming 285 lives, according to a daily situation report compiled by an international health agency. The report updated on April 27 at 9 am revealed that Lahore was on top of 10 districts with highest burden of COVID-19 confirmed cases in the country.  Lahore reported the highest percentage of cases, with 23%, followed by Karachi (13%), Peshawar (6%), Rawalpindi (5%) and other districts.  Karachi recorded its and country’s first confirmed case of coronavirus on April 26, while the first case of coronavirus was reported in Lahore on March 14.  According to the record, since April 22 onwards the number of new coronavirus cases remained above 600 per day.  It further reveled that there were 376 health workers infected with coronav...

By Masood Sattar Khan  (Pakistan News & Features Services) The China state-owned airlines plane carrying consignments of relief goods from China landed at Islamabad on the evening of April 26.  The Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Yao Jing, attended the handing over ceremony of the Chinese-funded enterprises' anti-epidemic materials at the Islamabad International Airport. Pakistan’s Energy Minister, Omar Ayub, Chairman of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Affairs Bureau, Asim Bajiwa, Wang Zhihua, Business Counsellor and heads of Chinese companies were present on the occasion, according to the Chinese Embassy sources.  Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Yao said that since the outbreak of the new coronary pneumonia epidemic in Pakistan, the Chinese government, enterprises and all sectors of the society have supported the Pakistani government and people in combating the pandemic through donations, materials and medical expert teams. “China will continue to stand fir...

By Mukhtar Alam (Pakistan News & Features Services) Sindh witnessed over 33% increase in its daily tally of new coronavirus cases, with three new deaths in Karachi, while the virus reached to Matiari, the last COVID-19 free district of the province, on April 26.  Sindh recorded 383 new coronavirus positive cases, including 340 detected at Karachi, during the last 24 hours ending at 8am on April 26, against 287 of the previous day.  The April 26 figure was all days’ highest number of cases reported in Sindh since February 26 when the first case of COVID-19 was detected here. Earlier, the highest increase in the new cases was recorded on April 16 when Sindh presented 340 cases. Sindh’s overall COVID-19 infection rate came as 11.19% on April 26. Matiari was included in the official list of coronavirus reporting districts of Sindh with two new positive cases. It took the virus exact two months to reach Matiari from Karachi.  In view of the increase in number of cases, the...

Pakistan News & Features Services A mosque in the Turkish city of Istanbul has set a unique example of social service by setting up a supermarket of sorts at its premises from where the needy persons, hit hard by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, could come over to collect the grocery items of their choice without paying anything. The management of Dedeman mosque in the Sariyer district has placed the commonly consumed items like rice, flour, bread, pasta, oil, biscuits, milk and eggs at the racks near its entrance and the setting resembles to that of supermarket. But unlike the supermarket, everything here is available free of cost for the needy persons.  The philanthropists and resourceful persons are being encouraged to donate the goods at the mosque in order to facilitate larger pool of people to receive them. The sign at the mosque’s window says that anyone can leave there something and those in need can take anything.  It has been reported that this idea was a bra...

Pakistan News & Features Services Italy has been among the hardest hit countries by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic where over 195,000 people have been infected, and more tragically, as many as 26,384 persons have perished.  The catastrophe has caused huge damage to their economy as more than two million businesses are reported to have been affected, leaving one out of two workers without income.  But Italy, being a great country, is preparing to come out to regain its glories. The Italians are engaged in putting a new twist on an old custom to help the needy and restart the economy.  Piazza San Giovanni della Malva in Rome was known to echo with the noise of crowded cafes and restaurants. But the only business open now is a grocery shop, Er Cimotto, which is so small in size that social distancing forces customers to order through the window.  Now-a-days the shoppers ask some money to be added to their bill for what's called la spesa sospesa ‘suspended shopp...

By Masood Sattar Khan  (Pakistan News & Features Services) The local artists of Badin, a town of Sindh, staged a protest demonstration against the alleged nepotism in distribution of ration.  They protested in front of the Tando Bago Press Club for what described as favouritism and nepotism in ration distribution.  Quite a few popular area artists, including singers, drum beaters, flute players and others, held the protest that was being led by renowned poet and singer Darhoon Dukhayal and others. They chanted slogans against unjust distribution of relief items among the people.  Talking to media on the occasion, the protestors claimed to have been deprived of assistance amid persisting lockdown in the city which had caused their unemployment and their families faced enormous trouble in making ends meet.  Stating they were fighting hard for economic survival, they expressed bitter disappointment with the government officers in their town.  “We had rushe...

By Masood Sattar Khan (Pakistan News & Features Services) China has announced that its inactivated COVID19 vaccine has moved to the second phase of its clinical trials after having shown highly positive signs s far.  The People’s Daily, in its report published on April 24, broke the news while referring to the development of the much talked about vaccine.  It was revealed that as many as 96 persons in three age groups had been injected the vaccine in first phase of clinical trial as of April 23 and the vaccine had shown good safety so far, the newspaper said.

By Masood Sattar Khan (Pakistan News & Features Services) Unperturbed by what the American or western media may be saying about China and its role in containing and finally overcoming coronavirus (COVID-19), the Chinese leadership has maintained ethos for humanity for all as they have dispatched a huge volume of medical supplies to United States of America (USA) to help mitigate from suffering due to the deadly virus.  While the US and the West have been found engaged in a blame game against China, the Chinese authorities, on the contrary, has continued to be compassionate and caring for humans all over the world.  On April 24, a plane, carrying nearly 20 tons of medical supplies, took off from Wuhan, once the hardest hit by COVID-19, for New York. It was China Southern Airlines’ first passenger flight that was used for delivering cargo from Hubie province.  Meanwhile China has reported zero new COVID19 deaths for 10 consecutive days as of April 24, while the number o...

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi (Pakistan News & Features Services) Umar Farooq Zahoor, a Pakistani businessman, born in Norway and currently residing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is consulting lawyers to move legally against a Turkish businessman, Erhan Kanioglulari, who had charged him of usurping his money and got a false case registered against him at Karachi’s Artillery Maidan Police Station.  The Turkish national had also moved the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against Umar Farooq. The bureau conducted an inquiry into the complaint and later a NAB court exonerated the Pakistani businessman of all charges.  Earlier the session court in Karachi, on March 31, 2008, had also acquitted Umar Farooq after hearing the case submitted by the Atillery Maidan Police Station as per FIR No. 97 of 2004 under section 506 PPC. The session court had acquitted the businessmen under Section 265 K CRPC in Sessions Case Number 546 of 2004.  According to Umar Farooq, the Turkish m...

By Syed Sajid Aziz in USA (Pakistan News & Features Services) The United States (US) President, Donald Trump, on April 24, has hinted that his administration may extend its national social distancing guidelines until early in the summer or later.  “We may, and we may go beyond that. We’re going to have to see where it is. I think people are going to know just out of common sense. At some point, we won’t have to do that. But until we feel safe, we’re going to be extending,” Trump observed at the White House press briefing.  Trump’s remarks have come just a day after multiple White House apprehended that the US might still be fighting with the deadly coronavirus by the fall and winter, when the flu season kicks up.  The coronavirus guidelines had first been shared in the middle of March, having been extended to the end of April. There are strong enough indications now that the federal guidance might be extended once more even though Trump and state leaders looked ahead ...

By Mukhtar Alam (Pakistan News & Features Services) Taking the cue from their male colleagues in the profession, a group of female medical practitioners, on April 24, said that hospitals providing care to the coronavirus patients were not in a position to admit more such patients in view of shortage of intensive care units including the ventilators and relevant staff.  Speaking at a media briefing at the Karachi Press Club, they said that the diseases crisis was overwhelming and solution lied in the lockdown, which needed to be strictly enforced by the government and seriously followed by the citizens. The speakers included Dr Safia Zafar, Dr Nusrat Shah, Dr Nighat Shah, Dr Razia Korejo and others.  They reckoned that it was government’s prime duty to protect its citizen and implement preventive measures everywhere from markets to departmental stores and from playgrounds to religious centres.  “All over the world it is seen that only these countries are free of diseas...

By Mukhtar Alam (Pakistan News & Features Services) The Sindh government data regarding COVID-19 outbreak in the province have revealed that only 307 (11.40%), out of 2,692 patients have recovered from the disease till April 24 in Karachi.  To some observers, this recovery pace of COVID-19 patients at Karachi reflected two factors. Ether many of them were taking long time for recovery due to their poor medical conditions or their physicians took considerable time before starting any treatment in their cases while a majority of them were young patients. They further remarked that the time taken for recovery in most of the cases was seven days, which could be prolonged to over one month depending on the severity of symptoms and other comorbidities and age of the patients.  “The time in which a patient recovers after contracting the infection depends on how the disease progressed.”  The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that about 80 per cent of COVID-19 cases...

By Syed Sajid Aziz in USA (Pakistan News & Features Services) The United States (US) President, Donald Trump, on April 24, announced to send ventilators to three developing more countries after having promised to do the same to as many countries, including Pakistan. In a series of tweets, Trump pledged ventilators for Ecuador, El Salvador and Indonesia after having committed the life-saving breathing equipment to Pakistan, Mexico and Russia to let these countries combat coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.  The US President had also expressed his willingness to supply ventilators to three European countries, Italy, Spain and the UK, where the pandemic had wreaked havoc during the last few weeks.  There were also reports suggesting that the US officials were preparing to ship ventilators to Africa, in an effort to counter Chinese diplomatic initiatives.  President Trump earlier disclosed that Pakistan had asked him to send ventilators for the victims of the coronavirus and...

By Masood Sattar Khan   ( Pakistan News & Features Services) A plane onboard a group of medical experts and material, used to fight coronavirus (COVID-19), alongwith goods, has arrived Pakistan from China.  The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has provided the emergency anti-epidemic materials assistance to the Pakistan Army and dispatches an expert team, officials of the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad informed on April 24.  In order to actively implement the important concept of building a community of human destiny advocated by President Xi Jinping, the Chinese People's Liberation Army has been vigorously participating in the domestic fight against the new coronary pneumonia epidemic while actively carrying out international cooperation in the fight against epidemics. At the request of the Pakistani Army and, with the approval of the Central Military Commission, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army sent an Air Force aircraft to Islamabad on April 24 to provide e...