Preliminary findings from two South African clinical trials suggest the Omicron coronavirus variant has a much higher rate of “asymptomatic carriage” than earlier variants, which could explain why it has spread so rapidly across the globe. The studies – one of which was carried out when Omicron infections were surging in South Africa last month and another which resampled participants around the same time – found a far greater number of people tested positive for the coronavirus but were not showing symptoms compared to previous trials. In the Ubuntu study evaluating the efficacy of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine in people living…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
Tickets for the Karachi and Lahore legs of the seventh edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) are up for sale on cricket.bookme.pk, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement on Tuesday. The first leg of 15 matches will be played in Karachi from Jan 27 to Feb 7, while the remaining 19 matches will be held in Lahore from Feb 10-27. The PCB, however, has laid some rules for spectators in a bid to prevent spread of the Covid-19. All ticket-holders will also have to display their immunisation certificates and CNIC at the time of entering the venues,…
COLOMBO: Zimbabwe head coach Lalchand Rajput will miss the first two One-day Internationals in Sri Lanka after testing positive for Covid-19 at the start of the tour, an official said Monday. Sri Lanka’s top sports doctor Arjuna de Silva said Rajput was asymptomatic, but was placed under observation at a hospital before being isolated at a hotel. “We are doing some routine tests and he will be able to go back to a hotel,” de Silva told AFP. “There will be a 10-day quarantine period which means he will miss the first two matches.” The ODI series will be played at…
LAHORE: Matches of the HBL Pakistan Super League will go ahead if franchises have 13 players available in case of a Covid-19 outbreak, it was decided in a meeting between team representatives and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) here on Monday. The meeting saw an agreement signed between the board and the franchises. It included the SOPs that will be in place during the month-long tournament to ensure its not interrupted due to the virus. All players will have to go through a three-day quarantine period after which they will have to clear the PCR test before being allowed to…
New Zealand wrapped up the second Test against Bangladesh by an innings and 117 runs, with Ross Taylor taking the final wicket in a fairytale finish to square the two-Test series in Christchurch on Tuesday. Liton Das cracked a gallant 102 off 111 deliveries for Bangladesh but it was nowhere near enough with the tourists dismissed in their second innings for 278 after being forced to follow on 385 runs behind. The top order put up gritty resistance in reaching 123 for three, while Liton shared a century partnership for the sixth wicket with Nurul Hasan. But there was no…
ISLAMABAD: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Monday cleared 10 projects costing Rs96.1 billion. The CDWP meeting presided over by Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan formally approved eight development projects with a total estimated cost of Rs30.2bn and recommended two projects worth Rs65.9bn to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) for approval. Under the current financial powers, the CDWP can itself approve projects costing no more than Rs10bn while projects of higher estimated costs are approved by the Ecnec once the CDWP clears them on technical grounds. Most of the projects taken up by…
KARACHI: The stock market stayed bullish on Monday as investors became optimistic on the back of the highest-ever textile exports in the first half of 2021-22, according to Arif Habib Ltd. Although the market opened under pressure because of the rising number of Covid-19 cases, traders took aggressive bets on technology stocks. A rally in the banking sector took place on the expectation of foreign inflows while cement shares stayed in the green zone after a decline in international coal prices. As a result, the benchmark index gained 541.98 points or 1.20 per cent to close at 45,887.63 points. Market…
ISLAMABAD: Amid criticism from parliamentarians over unending tariff hike and loadshedding in various parts of the country, the government on Monday said it has targeted the power sector circular debt to come down to Rs1.88 trillion by end-June, about Rs400bn lower than a year ago. At a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Power presided over by MNA Chaudhry Salik Hussain of PML-Q, recently appointed Secretary Power Division Asif Haider Shah testified that circular debt stood at Rs2.28tr by end-June 2021 and tariff adjustments among other steps were necessitated to bring those liabilities to Rs1.88tr by end-June this…
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has assured the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Cyber Crime Wing (Sindh) its “full support” in an investigation into a multi-million dollar scam, a senior official of the FIA claimed on Tuesday. The FIA had last week issued a notice to an official from Binance to explain his position on the company’s linkage to “fraudulent online investment mobile applications”. The apps were identified as MCX, HFC, HTFOX, FXCOPY, OKIMINI, BB001, AVG86C, BX66, UG, TASKTOK and 91fp that were using Binance blockchain addresses for transactions. In the latest update today, head of FIA Cybercrime Sindh Imran Riaz said a…
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Monday informed the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs that the government will use technology not only to bring potential individuals into the tax net but also protect taxpayers from tax officials’ harassment. Mr Tarin was responding to questions of the senators during the briefing on the Finance (Supplementary) Bill 2021. The committee continued its deliberations for the fourth consecutive day under the chairmanship of Talha Mehmood. Mr Tarin said that a portal will be created which will give accurate information about the assets of individuals and estimated due tax on…
