Ahmed Shameel

  ISLAMABAD: As many as 467 more people tested positive for the deadly coronavirus across the country during the last 24 hours, lifting the national tally of infections to 315,727. Six corona patients, who were under treatment in hospitals, died during this period, according to the latest update shared by the National command and Operation Centre (NCOC). Thus far, 6,523 Covid-19 related fatalities have been reported. Read More:  Most Sindh schools found flouting social distancing, mask rules: report Some 28, 280 tests were conducted across the country during the previous 24 hours. Around 300,616 people have recovered from the disease so far across Pakistan making it a significant count with more than 90 per cent recovery ratio of the affected patients. Read More:  Can chewing paan prevent Covid-19 infection? Since the pandemic outbreak began, 315,727 infections have been detected in the country, including 138,593 in Sindh, 100,033 in Punjab, 38,105 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, ...

  Photo: File Here are some of the stories we will be following today (Tuesday): Prime Minister Imran Khan will preside over a meeting of the federal cabinet today. The country’s financial and economic matters will be discussed. An anti-terrorism court will hear bail petitions of PML-N’s Captain (retired) Safdar Awan, Rana Sanaullah and others in the NAB office attack case. PM Khan has expressed his lack of knowledge and disappointment over the  treason case lodged against PML-N Supremo Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz in Lahore . Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that such policies were not implemented in the PTI government. The Pakistan Democratic Movement will stage its first anti-government rally in Gujranwala on October 16 . The urs celebrations of Persian mystic and preacher Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh will begin today. Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar is expected to attend.

  ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday appointed eminent economist and former secretary finance  Dr Waqar Masood Khan  as his special assistant on revenue with the status of minister of state. Dr Masood has done PhD in Economics and Masters in Political Economy from Boston University Massachusetts, USA, and Masters in Economics and LLB from Karachi University. The newly-appointed premier's aide also has a wide-ranging experience of working with both the public and private sectors. In the past few months, Dr Waqar Masood assisted the Ministry of Finance in different informal capacities and recently he was made in-charge of a high-powered committee working to place targeted subsidies mechanism for different sectors of the national economy.

  Reddy, who lived in Los Angeles, was diagnosed with dementia in 2015 Australian singer Helen Reddy, best known for her feminist anthem  I Am Woman , has died in Los Angeles aged 78, according to a statement from her children on Wednesday. "It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Helen Reddy, on the afternoon of September 29th 2020 in Los Angeles," the statement on her official Facebook fan page said. The trailblazing musician from Melbourne shot to global stardom with the 1971 hit  I Am Woman , which became the rallying cry of the women's liberation movement. Born on October 25, 1941, Reddy married three times and had two children, Traci Wald Donat and Jordan Sommers. "She was a wonderful mother, grandmother and a truly formidable woman," they said. "Our hearts are broken. But we take comfort in the knowledge that her voice will live on forever." Reddy, who lived in Los Angeles, was diagnosed with dementia in 2015....

  Former Indian Cricket Team Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will now be backing a mythological science-fiction web series. According to the reports, the former cricketer has now made his mind to dabble with the entertainment business. The Two time World Cup winner has also founded his own production house. The former cricketer will produce a series which is an adaptation of an unpublished book. Dhoni’s wife Sakshi, who will be working as the managing director for the series said, “The book is a mythological sci-fi which explores the journey of a mysterious Aghori who has been captured at a high-tech facility.” Dhoni’s wife added that “We would like to ensure that we execute all the aspects of this universe and bring out every character and story to the screen, with as much precision as possible. Web series fit our purpose better than adapting it into a feature film.” #AhmedShameel

  Photo: #AhmedShameel The body of a two-year-old boy was found in Lahore’s Shera Kot on Wednesday night. The child went missing on September 28 while playing outside his house. His grandfather said they searched for him everywhere but weren’t able to find a trace of him. His body was found on a nearby street on Wednesday night. The police have sent the body to the morgue for a post-mortem examination. They believe the post-mortem examination will reveal some clues. A case lodged on behalf of the grandfather against an unknown suspect. The boy’s father works in Dubai.

Mrs. Mitchell's senior English class is socially distant and at half-capacity at York Suburban High School in York, Pennsylvania, US September 18, 2020. PHOTO: REUTERS/Rachel Wisniewski A study of 191 countries has found that widespread reopening of schools after lockdowns and vacations is generally not linked to rising COVID-19 rates and that lockdown closures will leave a 2020 “pandemic learning debt” of 300 billion missed school days. The analysis, by the Geneva-based independent educational foundation Insights for Education (IfE), said 84% of those 300 billion days would be lost by children in poorer countries, and warned that 711 million pupils were still out of school. “It’s been assumed that opening schools will drive infections, and that closing schools will reduce transmission, but the reality is much more complex,” said IfE’s founder and chief executive Randa Grob-Zakhary. The vast majority - 92% - of countries that are through their first wave of COVID-19 infections have...