According to a resolution made by the provincial education department’s steering committee, schools and institutions will be closed for the winter vacation k from December 20 through January 1, 2023.
The holiday decision was made, according to Ahsan Chandio, the minister of education for Sindh, during a meeting when the subcommittee also decided to reopen schools all throughout Sindh on January 2, 2023.
Akhtar Lawa, a well-known businessman and father of five children, became well-known online for his catchphrase and punchline. The reason he started using the tagline in his TikTok videos, he claimed in a YouTube interview, is because it makes him feel “charged and alive”. His catchphrase “Lahore da Pawa Akhtar Lawa” is extremely well known these days on social media. Akhtar, 64, the man behind this phrase, recently expressed his gratitude to Allah in an interview, saying, I serve the slaves of Allah, I adore children, and this is my job and my life, my Lord. He claimed that when I uttered Lahore Da Pawa, I felt energized and strong.
Take a look at how the famous slogan:
https://twitter.com/LahoreNama/status/1598703417815359491?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1598703417815359491%7Ctwgr%5Eb4a545dd0d2b61529ac1bdf561414c2636032b46%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bolnews.com%2Ftrending%2F2022%2F12%2Flahore-da-pawa-akhtar-lawa-who-is-akhtar-lawa-and-why-is-he-going-viral%2F
He quickly gained popularity on Pakistani Twitter. Internet fans continue to appreciate his work by using his voiceovers in their videos and using the catchphrase in memes. They have even sought an interview with him on Nida Yasir’s Good Morning Pakistan television program due to their obsession with him.
Did you know that Akhtar Lawa may have been arrested before? This footage of him was recorded by someone when he was being detained by law enforcement.
And Akhtar Lawa’s adherents are not just Pakistanis. Even a Norwegian replicated his slogan and striking motion, demonstrating his crazy internet popularity!
This merely goes to show that becoming well-known online is possible without much ability or specialized expertise.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has revealed the list of foreign players available for selection in the draught for the upcoming eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League in the silver category (PSL 8 Draft 2023). Hassan Eisakhil an Afghanistan under-19 cricketer who also competed in the first season of the Pakistan Junior League PJL, has been added to the silver category.
Soumya Sarkar of Bangladesh, Harry Tector of Ireland, Oliver Robinson of England, and Prabath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka have all qualified for the silver category. The list also includes renowned cricketers Ravi Bopara of England, Akila Dananjaya of Sri Lanka, Azmatullah Omarzai of Afghanistan, and Afif and Al-Amin Hossain of Bangladesh.
The draught for the 2023 edition will be conducted on December 15 in Karachi, with the event taking place in Karachi, Multan, Rawalpindi, and Lahore between February 9 and March 19. While addressing the media about the development, the tournament’s director, Usman Wahla, stated that the forthcoming edition of the franchise cricket would feature famous players from across the world.
The Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) intends to begin the second batch of the Hybrid Skills Training Pilot project on January 1st, 2023 following the successful completion of the first training batch of 380 individuals in the disciplines of Professional Cook, Mobile Phone Repairing, and Hair and Beauty Service during the pilot phase.
Coursera is the world’s most popular e-learning platform. The courses were developed internally by the PSDF and are available on Coursera with resources from other international organizations. Based on the success of this pilot hybrid training, the (PSDF) will continue to broaden hybrid learning to include other professions.
All students will get high-quality, uniform education through this program, which also seeks to get the workforce ready for the worldwide economic shift toward digital technology.
In order to take advantage of the nation’s growing internet access and rising prices, (PSDF) adopted this strategy. For trainees, the hybrid learning approach provides a time and money efficient learning option. It is a hybrid learning strategy that blends theoretical online learning and hands on, In person skill development.
With the hybrid learning program, students may use Coursera’s online learning materials for the theoretical portion of their courses while also receiving the crucial on-the-job training they need to succeed in their chosen fields. This also solves the particular learning difficulties that online students have and gives them a more engaging learning environment.
The hybrid learning approach enables students to finish their coursework at their own speed in the convenience of their own homes while simultaneously acquiring real-world skills at the institute of their chosen training service provider.
Anger over China’s zero-Covid policy which included huge lockdowns, frequent testing, and quarantines even for those who were not affected sparked upheaval unprecedented since the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations.
The National Health Commission has issued new recommendations that would minimize the frequency and scope of PCR testing, which has long been a tiresome part of life in zero-Covid China. Lockdowns will also be reduced, and those with non-severe Covid cases will be able to isolate at home rather than at centralized government facilities.
Additionally, save for “nursing homes, medical institutions, kindergartens, middle and high schools,” users will no longer need to display a green health code on their phones to access public buildings and areas.
The new regulations do away with the mandatory quarantines for those who have mild illnesses or no symptoms. The revised guidelines said that “asymptomatic infected patients and mild cases who are eligible for home isolation are often isolated at home, or they can voluntarily elect centralized isolation for treatment.”
They said, “Scope and frequency of PCR testing must be further curtailed; mass PCR testing only carried out in schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and high-risk work units.” “People traveling between provinces do not need to test upon arrival or produce a 48-hour test result.”
According to the NHC, China will also quicken the immunization of the elderly, which has long been viewed as a significant barrier to Beijing easing its zero-tolerance policy for Covid. Late this month, rare protests across China against the zero-Covid campaign of the governing Communist Party erupted.
More political liberties were demanded, and some even called for President Xi Jinping China to step down. Authorities tightened down on following protest attempts while loosening some limitations; some Chinese towns even hesitantly lifted mass testing and movement restrictions.
The nation’s capital, said this week that passengers no longer had to present a negative virus test obtained within 48 hours in order to utilize public transportation, where many companies have completely reopened.
Financial powerhouse Shanghai, which this year had a severe two-month lockdown, issued the same guidelines, allowing locals to attend outdoor spaces like parks and tourist destinations without having just taken a test.
And China’s carefully regulated media, which was previously dominated by doom and gloom reportage of the virus’ risks and images of pandemic havoc outside, radically changed the tone to back a gradual move away from zero-Covid.
According to Guangzhou-based medical scholar Chong Yutian, the common Omicron strain is “not at all like last year’s Delta variety.” This was said in an article by the China Youth Daily, which is controlled by the Communist Party.
“The great majority will have no or minor symptoms after infection with the Omicron strain, and very few will go on to develop severe symptoms, this is already generally recognized,” he reassured readers.
However, experts at the Japanese company Nomura determined that 53 cities, or almost a third of China’s population, still had some limitations in place on Monday. After the administration provided new information demonstrating the devastating economic effects of zero-Covid, Wednesday’s declaration followed shortly after.
In November, imports and exports fell to levels not seen since the beginning of 2020. According to the General Administration of Customs, imports decreased by 10.6% from the previous year to November, which is the largest decrease since May 2020. The same period saw an 8.7% decline in exports.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) program is still a priority for the administration, according to a statement from the finance ministry, and negotiations to begin the program’s review have proceeded. “In recent days, a misleading message about alleged measures for an economic emergency has been making the rounds on social media.
The Finance Division vehemently disputes the claims stated in the aforementioned communication and explicitly asserts that no plans exist to impose an economic emergency, according to the statement.
It’s interesting to note that out of the nine suggestions made in the social media post, at least two were already being implemented in relation to import restrictions, while the State Bank of Pakistan advised that one concerning energy saving was actively being considered (SBP).
The ministry noted that the creation and dissemination of such false messages were against national interest during these difficult economic times. “Unfortunately, the message is aimed at creating uncertainty about the economic situation in the country and can only be spread by those who do not want to see Pakistan prosper,” the ministry said.
According to the finance ministry, “A cursory perusal of the nine things listed in the communication demonstrates how unrealistic such ideas are. Given the intrinsic strength and diversity of Pakistan’s economy, it was further said that it was extremely incorrect to compare Pakistan with Sri Lanka.
Pakistan needs at least $32 to $34 billion to pay off its debt and close the current account deficit. The first four months’ foreign inflows remained at $4.2 billion.
According to the ministry, “exogenous variables including the commodities super-cycle, the Russia-Ukraine war, the global recession, trade headwinds, Fed’s hike in policy rates, and destruction caused by catastrophic floods” are mostly to blame for the current challenging economic emergency scenario.
The statement added, “Even in the face of the economic repercussions of record floods and needing to satisfy IMF conditionalities, the administration has been making every effort to mitigate the impact of such external causes.”
The government, according to the finance ministry, is still committed to finishing the IMF program and making on-time payments on all external debt. “With the assent of the federal cabinet, the administration has implemented a variety of austerity measures in this difficult economic climate. These actions, which aim to cut non-essential spending, are known to the general public, according to the finance ministry.
Similarly to this, the statement said that the administration had been thinking about energy saving as a way to lower the cost of imports. The first action mentioned in the social media message regarding the financial problem was energy saving.
According to sources, the SBP was pressuring the government to implement energy-saving policies, notably the early closing of markets and the reduction of fuel costs. The decision to relax the prohibition on some imports and replace it with higher regulatory taxes had increased pressure on the external sector.
The finance ministry stated that the federal cabinet will continue to discuss energy conservation and that all decisions would be made with the input of all relevant parties and in the interest of the country as a whole.
The first action mentioned in the social media message regarding the financial problem was energy saving. According to sources, the SBP was pressuring the government to implement energy saving policies, notably the early closing of markets and the reduction of fuel costs. The decision to relax the prohibition on some imports and replace it with higher regulatory taxes had increased pressure on the external sector.
The finance ministry stated that the federal cabinet will continue to discuss energy conservation and that all decisions would be made with the input of all relevant parties and in the interest of the country as a whole.
The ministry asserted that the present administration’s efforts had put the IMF program back on track. In order to convey the appearance that Pakistan and the IMF were in fact discussing the ninth review timetable, it also said that “negotiations leading to ninth Review are currently at an advanced level.”
According to the ministry, recent government initiatives have reduced recent current account deficits and enabled the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to meet its revenue projections. In the foreseeable future, it was predicted that pressure on the external account would ease.
“While structural changes are still needed in the short term, the country’s economic position is currently heading in the direction of stability,” it was stated.
“Finance Division urges Pakistani citizens to support economic improvement and stability and not to pay attention to negative rumour-mongering, which is against Pakistan’s national interest.” Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s finance minister, stated last week that he didn’t care if an IMF delegation visited the country.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari would lead the Pakistani delegation to Discuss Trade. During the talks, topics such as economic cooperation, trade, and others will be discussed. The two sides will also discuss national security, Afghanistan, and terrorism. Bilawal will also go to New York to preside over a G77 meeting. After Pak-US Meeting, He also plans a three-day trip to Washington, Indonesia, and Singapore. FM Bilawal will meet with his counterpart Rento Marsudi in Indonesia.
Bilawal Bhutto will meet with Singapore President Halima Yacob and Foreign Minister Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan during his visit to address bilateral issues. Pakistan’s most significant bilateral trading partner and one of its main sources of foreign direct investment are the United States, which has increased its investment in Pakistan by more than 50% in the last year.
During his visit to Karachi last month, US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome emphasized the importance of pak-us solid ties and the need to deepen further the two countries’ powerful economic collaboration and public health cooperation. Blome stated his commitment to increasing bilateral trade and investment between the two nations as part of the US-Pakistan Green Alliance, which aims to promote climate-smart agriculture and private-sector-led prosperity in Pakistan.
FM Bilawal also urged for more bilateral commerce between Pakistan and the United States, claiming that the two nations’ connections with Afghanistan and India were no longer hyphenated as Washington and Islamabad discussed ways to improve trade and economic cooperation.
“Not only am I shocked, but I am completely impressed by the United States’ new foreign policy orientation toward Pakistan,” Bilawal remarked in response to a question about Pakistan-US relations at the Wilson Center in Washington, according to foreign media. Bilawal Says, Pakistan and the United States have traditionally seen each other through the lens of Afghanistan.
In response to a query on how the “US taught Pakistan” on preserving ties with India and China, Bilawal disputed the claims, adding “Blinken is an amazing human being and can never speak in such tone.”
Because lung cancer is typically detected late, there are few treatment options available, which ultimately raises the death rate. Recent Experiment research from the University of Louisville revealed a newly developed lung cancer detection test that may be able to pinpoint which Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are more likely to be identified in people with this. The study was published in the journal PLOS One.
Currently, high-risk people are given access to CT scans for the purpose of detecting lung cancer. The subject of early cancer detection is one that is actively being researched. From the GRAIL project, which revealed part of the results from its attempt to develop a blood test that can identify cancer and where in the body it is from, to epigenetic testing, which can tell whether a person has ovarian, breast, or cervical cancer from cervical smear samples.
Researchers hope that earlier detection will help save lives and money as more treatment options become accessible.
The possibility of utilizing VOC measurements to find lung cancer is another subject that has generated considerable interest. Dr. Mike Davies of the University of Liverpool, a researcher who works closely with the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, asserts that although chemicals are carried to the lungs by blood from all over the body, they are not necessarily brought on by tumors.
Medical News Today reported him as saying that “Chemicals emitted by any region of the body, including illnesses or tumors anyplace in the body, truly circulate around the circulatory system.” “And they will be expelled in the breath once they have reached the lungs.
Ketones serve as a concrete illustration of this; the breath that certain diabetics produce follows a similar pattern in that they are released into the bloodstream and exhale them.
The difficulties
Prof. Robert Rintoul, a professor of thoracic oncology at Cambridge University in the UK, talked about the challenges associated with diagnosing and treating lung cancer in an interview with MNT.
“Unfortunately, the majority of people with lung cancer pass away from their illness. And the reason for it is that out of all the cases reported, around 75% of them are in an advanced state.
In the current study, researchers developed a method to capture the breaths of 414 participants. From the families of the patients, 193 healthy control participants were chosen, 156 of whom had untreated lung cancer, and 65 of whom had benign nodules in the lungs.
The majority of those who developed lung cancer were either current or former smokers. Of the controls, 80 had never smoked, whereas 113 had either smoked recently or in the past. The group was substantially older than the group of people in good health.
Exhaled air samples were gathered using a newly developed method to detect the various types of VOC present, and the researchers used machine learning to determine whether the VOCs detected in cancer patients were connected to their condition.
According to the PLOS One study, this resulted in the identification of a cluster of seven VOCs that, when they occurred together, suggested the existence of lung cancers.
The Supreme court SC decision of FIR was made during a hearing presided over by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and attended by a five-member bench. Justices Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, and Muhammad Ali Mazhar were on the bench in addition to the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
Senior officials including the interior secretary, additional attorney general (AAG) Aamir Rehman, and others appeared before the court.
The CJP questioned why the report of a fact-finding committee established following the journalist’s death has not yet been produced during the hearing.
According to the CJP, the interior ministry was supposed to submit the report last Friday but failed to do so. “Is it necessary to call the interior minister? The interior minister isn’t present.” the CJP enquired.
The AAG then informed the court that he would present the fact-finding committee’s report no later than tomorrow.
The CJP expressed his displeasure with the AAG’s assurance and claimed that the government, not the SC, should be wasting time on investigation-related issues.
“Journalist Arshad Sharif was well-known; why was he assassinated, and why abroad? Pakistan has extensive resources to do international business and access to other nations, the CJP said.
He reminded the AAG that it had been some time since the fact-finding committee had arrived back in Pakistan from Kenya and questioned the delay in the release of the report. “Why has the SC still not received the government commission’s final report? “What’s going on?” he enquired.
Despite being written by experienced doctors, the top judge stated that the medical report that was provided is equally inadequate. “Every human life must be respected. Because journalists in Pakistan are the voice of truth, any form of mistreatment of journalists is intolerable.
The Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah was in Faisalabad when the report was received, the AAG claimed in response to a question from the court. He noted that because it might contain some “sensitive” information, the interior minister will evaluate it before giving it to the top court.
The CJP then asked if the interior minister needed to make any changes to the report. The CJP further questioned the lack of a criminal investigation into Arshad Sharif’s slaying in Pakistan.
The interior secretary responded by saying that after studying the fact-finding committee’s findings, a decision on whether to pursue a case would be taken.
If this is the proper procedure for filing a case, Justice Naqvi questioned. Justice Ahsan further questioned how an investigation could be carried out without a case being filed.
The CJP then stated that the seriousness of the matter was why a five-member bench had been established.
He commanded that the fact-finding committee’s report be submitted today in order for it to be heard tomorrow, stating that since they had been waiting for the report for 43 days, the situation needed to be taken seriously.
The hearing was then postponed till December7 after the judge directed that the FIR for Arshad Sharif’s murder be submitted by tonight.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appreciated the top court’s suo motu notice of the murder after the hearing.
“I had already requested in a letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan that a judicial commission be established to look into the murder. The government will cooperate fully with the Court “The premier tweeted.
I welcome Supreme Court taking suo motu notice of the murder of journalist Arshad Sharif. I had already written a letter to Honorable Chief Justice of Pakistan for setting up a Judicial Commission to probe the murder. The government will extend full cooperation to the Court.
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) December 6, 2022
PM Shehbaz spoke at an event in Islamabad about journalist safety a few hours before the Supreme Court hearing.
According to the premier, no journalist should be called out or attacked for exercising their right to free expression, as guaranteed by Pakistan’s constitution.
He called the assassination of prominent journalist Arshad Sharif an “extremely sad incident,” and said he immediately spoke with Kenya’s government and later wrote a letter to the CJP requesting the formation of a judicial commission.
Earlier today, the CJP took action on the “brutal” murder of a journalist in Kenya.
According to the Supreme Court, the CJP has issued notices to the interior secretary, foreign secretary, information secretary, director generals of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the Intelligence Bureau, and the president of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists.
Former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan demanded a judicial inquiry into Sharif’s death in a letter to the CJP last week. In October, the journalist was assassinated in Kenya.
PM Shehbaz Sharif had also written to the CJP requesting the formation of a judicial commission to investigate Sharif’s death, and the slain journalist’s mother had also made a request.
The Supreme Court stated in a statement announcing the suo motu action that “the journalist community in the country and the public at large are deeply distressed and concerned about the death of the senior journalist and are asking the court to look into it.”
Fawad Chaudhry, the leader of the PTI, applauded the suo motu notice and stated that the public expects courts to defend human rights and uphold the supremacy of the Constitution in the face of pressure.
Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, the leader of the Awami Muslim League (AML), also hailed the development and praised the SC notice. He predicted that the case would reveal a number of “hidden faces.”
“The nation is also looking to the Supreme Court in relation to the attack on Imran Khan and the Azam Swati case,”
On the evening of October 23, when the journalist Arshad Sharif was being taken to Nairobi, Kenyan General Service Unit (GSU) personnel shot and killed him. The journalist was allegedly shot in a case of mistaken identity, according to the Kenyan police at first.
The government assembled a two-person team, including representatives from the FIA and IB, to investigate the murder. The group had travelled to Kenya and the United Arab Emirates.
Following the return of the investigative team from Kenya, the FIA informed a Senate committee last month that it is drafting a report.
It was a significant achievement for local production in Pakistan that local Phone production facilities were able to produce over 1.44 million mobile phone handsets in just a month of October. Looking back at the calendar for the previous year, it was determined that local production facilities produced 24.66 million mobile phone handsets.
It is evident from a comparison of the statistics from the two years, 2021 and 2020, that 2021 had a substantial increase of 88 percent. Considering that only 13.5 million mobile phone devices were produced in 2020.
In 2021, 10.26 million mobile phone devices were imported for commercial use. On the other side, there were 24.51 million commercially imported mobile phone devices in 2020.
On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, the number of import registrations for mobile phones had negative effects in October 2022. There was a significant negative growth of 56.06 percent.
last year in the same month October 2021 $149.712 million was recorded. It has been extremely lucky for the Device Identification Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS) to continue operating.
The conducive government initiatives, which also included a mobile production policy, have so far been successful in establishing better conditions for Pakistani manufacturers of mobile devices.
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