- PM thanks Kashmiris for PTI’s first victory in AJK
As official results of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) general elections on Monday confirmed the first landslide victory of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in the region, Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed gratitude to the voters with a pledge to bring the masses out of poverty, while the federal information minister said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s ‘humiliating defeat’ reflected the Kashmiri sentiment after the recent “Nawaz Sharif’s meeting with RAW agent Hamdullah Mohib”.
The PTI clinched 25 general seats of the AJK Legislative Assembly, followed by 11 by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), six by PML-N, and one each by state-based AJK Muslim Conference (AJKMC) and Jammu Kashmir Peoples Party (JKPP), according to the official results of July 25 polls.
- Alarming surge in Covid cases forces Civil Hospital Karachi to shut OPDs, cancel surgeries
Amid growing number of Covid-19 cases mainly in the city, the Dr. Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi on Monday halted all its key functions, shut outpatient departments (OPDs), and suspended surgeries till further orders, as a doctors’ body warned that the highly transmissible Delta variant accounted for almost 100 percent of the cases in the city.
- National Security Adviser Dr Moeed Yusuf flies to US on official visit
His visit is part of high-level engagements between the two countries, which were agreed between him and his counterpart Jake Sullivan in their last meeting in Geneva on May 24.
During the visit, Mr. Yusuf will meet Mr. Sullivan to review the progress on the bilateral engagement.
He will also call on other US legislators, senior officials, besides interacting with the Pakistani American community.
- Zahir Jaffer confesses to killing Noor, claim police
A police officer close to the investigation said that the accused made the confession during interrogation.
“A statement of Zahir Jaffer is being recorded and he will also be produced before a magistrate to record his statement under CrPC 164,” he said.
- Lack of parking lots continues to hamper traffic flow in Murree
Poor planning is one of the main reasons behind the traffic mess witnessed in Murree during the Eid days.
According to police data, around 210,000 vehicles entered the hill station during the Eid holidays up till Monday, choking Murree which has a parking capacity of only 3,500 vehicles.
Thousands of tourists visited the scenic areas of Murree and its adjoining areas, with long queues of vehicles forming a beeline on roads leading to the hill station. The town, which was developed by the British, is a popular tourist destination, however, due to thousands of vehicles entering every year, especially during holidays, traffic gets difficult to manage.
- Positivity ratio crosses 11pc in Pakistan amid violation of SOPs
The outcome of unnoticed violation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) during Eidul Azha finally starts appearing as the national positivity ratio has swelled to 11.88 percent, with the highest number of Covid-19 cases reported in a day since May 21.
The number of daily cases, which stood at 2,500 before Eidul Azha, reached 3,752, taking the number of active cases to 57,799. Karachi reported the highest positivity ratio of 24.82pc, followed by 19.76pc in Muzaffarabad and 18.59pc in Rawalpindi.
- Antibodies from Sinovac’s Covid-19 shot fade after about 6 months, booster helps
Antibodies triggered by Sinovac Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine decline below a key threshold from around six months after a second dose for most recipients, although a third shot could have a strong boosting effect, according to a lab study.
Chinese researchers reported the findings from a study of blood samples from healthy adults aged 18-59 in a paper published on Sunday, which has not been peer-reviewed.
For participants receiving two doses, two or four weeks apart, only 16.9 percent and 35.2pc, respectively, still had a level of neutralizing antibodies above the threshold six months after the second dose, the paper said.
- Beijing urges Washington to stop ‘demonisation’
Rancour marked the start of Monday’s talks between Beijing and the highest-level US envoy to visit under President Joe Biden’s administration, as Beijing urged Washington to stop “demonizing” China while the US made a “forceful” case against China’s human rights violations.
- Shahid Afridi all set to play in Everest Premier League
Former Pakistan captain and flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi is set to play for Kathmandu Kings XI (KKXI) in the Everest Premier League (EPL) scheduled to be held from Sept 25 to Oct 9 this year, at the Tribhuvan University Cricket Ground, Kathmandu.
- Belgium, Britain secure second wins in men’s hockey
Belgium’s men’s hockey team secured a 3-1 victory over Germany in a scrappy match on Monday for their second win of the Tokyo Olympics, while Britain also won their second game of the tournament by beating Canada.
- IT exports cross record $2bn mark
Pakistan’s exports of information technology grew by 47.4 percent to cross the $2 billion mark for the first time in the country’s history in the outgoing fiscal year.
COVID-19 Updates
- With 3,262 new COVID-19 cases, 39 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours
- 59,899 COVID-19 cases are active in the country
- The total death tally of Covid-19 stands at 23,087
- 1,123 people recovered from Coronavirus in the last 24 hours
- The positivity rate of Covid-19 is recorded at 6.6%
- Over 195.1 million are infected globally
- More than 4.1 million have died due to the virus
- Over 170 million recovered from COVID-19
- Pakistan reports more than 3,000 Covid cases for second straight day
- 214 coronavirus cases detected in KP, 110 in Balochistan
- Punjab reports 457 Covid infections, 20 deaths
- Islamabad, AJK and GB collectively report 328 virus cases, 8 deaths
- Pakistan records 1,123 new Covid recoveries
- China reports 71 new Covid-19 cases as Delta outbreak hits Nanjing city
- Alarming surge in Covid cases forces Civil Hospital Karachi to shut OPDs, cancel surgeries
- Melbourne to lift virus lockdown as Delta outbreak contained
- US veterans dept becomes first agency to adopt vaccine mandate
