Mexico reports at least 46,688 deaths with coronavirus, with only the US and Brazil recording higher numbers.
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Former Punjab University official killed in Lahore
The former additional controller of Punjab University was shot dead in Lahore on Friday.
Professor Ahmed Ali Chatta was travelling to a dairy farm from his house when he was attacked by armed motorcyclists. He was killed with a single bullet.
The Mustafa Town police have begun investigating and believe the attack might have been personally motivated.
The assailants have not been identified yet.
According to Professor Chatta’s friends he didn’t have any enemies.
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Trump says will ban TikTok in US
President Donald Trump said Friday he will bar fast-growing social media app TikTok from the United States as American authorities have raised concerns the service could be a tool for Chinese intelligence.
US officials and lawmakers in recent weeks have voiced fears of the wildly popular video platform being used by Beijing for nefarious purposes, but the company has denied any links to the Chinese government.
Media reports circulated earlier Friday saying that Trump would require the US operations of the app be divested from its Chinese parent firm ByteDance, but the president announced a ban.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said: “As far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States.”
He added he would take action as soon as Saturday using emergency economic power or an executive order.
Trump’s move comes following a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS) in the United States, which investigates deals affecting US national security.
TikTok, especially popular with young audiences who create and watch its short-form videos, has an estimated billion users worldwide.
Queried by AFP, TikTok declined to comment on the reports of the forced sales, saying only: “We are confident in the long-term success of TikTok.
“Hundreds of millions of people come to TikTok for entertainment and connection, including our community of creators and artists who are building livelihoods from the platform.”
The firm this week pledged a high level of transparency, including allowing reviews of its algorithms, to assure users and regulators.
“We are not political, we do not accept political advertising and have no agenda — our only objective is to remain a vibrant, dynamic platform for everyone to enjoy,” TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer said in post this week.
“TikTok has become the latest target, but we are not the enemy.”
The popularity of the platform surged after ByteDance acquired US-based app Musical.ly in 2017 and merged it with its own video service.
James Lewis, head of the technology policy program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said he believes the security risk of using TikTok is “close to zero” but that ByteDance could face pressure from China to engage in censorship.
“It looks like ByteDance may be getting squeezed by Beijing, so making them divest makes sense,” Lewis said. “They could start censoring stuff.”
Lewis said US authorities under CFIUS have the power to unwind an acquisition previously approved and that a similar action was taken in 2019 with the dating app Grindr after it was bought by a Chinese firm.
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Headlines 9am: Eid prayers offered, petrol prices rise
Here are the headlines from SAMAA TV’s 9am bulletin.
- Most mosques across Pakistan held congregational Eid prayers. Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, Islamabad and other cities held large congregations where some people followed the government-issued coronavirus precautionary SOPs and some didn’t. Prayers were offered for the end of the coronavirus.
- Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi offered Eid prayers in Multan while Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed offered them in Rawalpindi. Sindh Governor Imran Ismail offered his Eid prayers at Governor House in Karachi while the Punjab governor and chief minister offered their prayers at Governor House in Lahore. The Balochistan governor offered his prayers in Quetta while KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan offered them in Peshawar.
- After offering Eid prayers, the nation began offering animal sacrifices. People went in search of professional butchers but they were flooded with work. In some areas, sacrificial animals made people run around as they fled their captors.
- The government did not allow parks or zoos to be reopened on Eid. Karachi’s beaches are also closed to the public. Planning Minister Asad Umar has asked people to tone down their Eid celebrations in light of the coronavirus.
- Petrol prices were increased in Pakistan by a maximum of Rs6.62. The new price of petrol is Rs103.97 per litre. Diesel is Rs5 more expensive while furnace oil is Rs5.97 more expensive.
- After Eid prayers, opposition leaders criticized the government’s petrol price hike. Yousuf Raza Gilani said the government dropped a petrol bomb on the public in the dead of the night. He also raised the issue of Southern Punjab. Maula Bux Chandio said there is little joy this Eid because of inflation. He called the government incompetent.
- Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed has accused Bilawal Bhutto Zardari of talking of childish things. He said there is no sense left in the country. Speaking after Eid prayers, Rasheed said thieves and robbers want there to be amendments in the NAB law. He said the opposition would make a ruckus in August or September.
- Rain was reported in Sialkot, Attock, Gujrat, Narowal, Kamoki and other areas Saturday morning. The heat index dropped and while the weather became pleasant, many areas lost power.
- Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova has taken up boxing to stay fit. She trains at the LA beach with an instructor.
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Trump says he will ban TikTok in the US
US security officials fear the Chinese-owned app could be used to collect Americans' personal data.
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Trump says he will ban TikTok in the US
US security officials fear the Chinese-owned app could be used to collect Americans' personal data.
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US teen charged as ‘mastermind’ in epic Twitter hack
Criminal charges were filed on Friday against the suspected teenage mastermind of an epic Twitter hack and two others who allegedly helped hijack celebrity accounts to swindle people out of more than $100,000 in a cryptocurrency scheme.
Prosecutors in Florida said they filed 30 felony counts against 17-year-old resident of the state identified as the “mastermind” of the cyberattack. He was arrested in Tampa, Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren said.
Separately, the US Attorney’s Office in San Francisco announced charges against three people, one of them from Britain, for roles in the mid-July cyberattack that rocked Twitter.
US officials said 19-year-old Mason “Chaewon” Sheppard of Britain along with Nima Fazeli, 22, of Florida face criminal charges in the case.
Details about the third individual were not released by US officials because he is a minor, but it appeared they were referring to the Florida teenager being prosecuted as adult in that state.
The attack on Twitter involved a combination of “technical breaches and social engineering” that let hackers hijack accounts of politicians, celebrities, and musicians, according to federal prosecutors.
Follow the money
The three defendants are accused of hacking Twitter accounts, creating a scam Bitcoin account, and sending out imposter tweets from hijacked account offering to double Bitcoin cryptocurrency deposits.
“This case serves as a great example of how following the money, international collaboration, and public-private partnerships can work to successfully take down a perceived anonymous criminal enterprise,” said criminal investigation special agent Kelly Jackson of the Internal Revenue Service.
The attack which Twitter said resulted from a “phone spear phishing” attack enabled hackers to take control of accounts of famous people such as Bill Gates, Elon Musk and former US president Barack Obama and dupe people into sending Bitcoin.
“These crimes were perpetrated using the names of famous people and celebrities, but they’re not the primary victims here,” Warren said in a release.
“This ‘Bit-Con’ was designed to steal money from regular Americans from all over the country.”
Scamming by phone
Hackers who accessed dozens of high-profile Twitter accounts in mid-July gained access to the system with an attack that tricked a handful of employees into giving up their credentials, according to a company update.
Twitter said this week that the July 15 incident by Bitcoin scammers stemmed from a “spear phishing” attack which deceived employees about the origin of the messages.
The hackers “targeted a small number of employees through a phone spear phishing attack,” according to a Twitter Support statement.
“This attack relied on a significant and concerted attempt to mislead certain employees and exploit human vulnerabilities to gain access to our internal systems.”
Twitter said that following the incident it has “significantly limited access to our internal tools and systems” and is taking additional steps to tighten security.
The massive hack of high-profile users from Elon Musk to Joe Biden affected at least 130 accounts, with tweets posted by the usurpers duping people into sending Bitcoin to accounts that Warren said were associated with Clark.
The official accounts of Apple, Uber, Kanye West, Bill Gates, Barack Obama and others were also affected.
Faked tweets were sent from 45 accounts, according to Twitter, and the hackers accessed private messages of 36 and downloaded Twitter data from seven.
The incident has raised concerns about the security of the platform increasingly used for conversations on politics and public affairs.
John Dickson of the security firm Denim Group said the latest disclosure did not necessarily suggest a sophisticated attack from a nation-state and noted it may have been possible to find targets through research on LinkedIn or Google.
“This is like the original hackers from the 1980s and 1990s; they were very good at conning people and getting them to give their credentials,” Dickson said.
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Pakistan celebrates Eidul Azha with animal sacrifice and prayers
Pakistan celebrated Eidul Azha on Saturday morning with congregational Eid prayers held at mosques across the country. Some followed coronavirus SOPs while some didn’t.
Prayers were offered for the end of the coronavirus and the prosperity of Pakistan.
Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Arif Alvi have both asked people to follow the government’s precautions on Eid to prevent the spread of the virus. The coronavirus pandemic has negatively affected the economy, said President Alvi in his message, urging people to help the poor and needy during this time.
PM Khan said the whole world is facing a critical situation due to the coronavirus as the pandemic has become a challenge for all of humanity. He said the government is utilizing its capabilities to deal with the pandemic and the nation should also follow precautionary measures.
Experts had predicted a surge in cases during Eid so the government has been urging people to keep their celebrations low-key this year.
Eid prayers offered
Eid prayers were offered at Governor House in Karachi, where Governor Imran Ismail was present.
In Sukkur, over 300 congregations were held for Eid prayers. Most congregations did not follow the government’s social distancing protocols.
In Islamabad the biggest Eid prayer congregation was held at the Shah Faisal Mosque. The government’s SOPs were enforced by the police and the mosque’s imam.
In Peshawar, KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan offered Eid prayers at Governor House. Provincial minister Shaukat Yousafzai, special assistant Kamran Bangash and other officials also offered their prayers there.
The government had issued a list of guidelines for Eid, such as disinfecting slaughter sites and not hugging, but they aren’t being followed in many places.
The government also extended the Eid holidays till August 3.
With reporting by Yasir Hussain in Karachi, Sahil Jogi in Sukkur and Zulqarnain Iqbal in Islamabad.
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Dangerous heat wave forecast for south-western areas of US
Forecasters say temperatures could rise to 50C on Saturday in parts of Utah, Nevada and California.
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Dr Fauci is asked if protests spread coronavirus
"You're putting words into my mouth," the US infectious disease chief says in a grilling by Congress.
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Week in pictures: 25 July-31 July 2020
A selection of powerful news photographs taken around the world this week.
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Phyllis Omido: The woman who won $12m fighting lead battery poisoners
Kenyan activist Phyllis Omido has been ignored, harassed and arrested, but she never gave up.
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Why a new generation of Thais are protesting against the government
A new political divide in Thailand has emerged between the country's youth and its older generation.
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US election 2020: The war hero who could be Biden's running mate
Senator Tammy Duckworth is an Iraq war veteran and the first Thai-American woman elected to Congress.
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India coronavirus: Gold rush as pandemic roils country's economy
As Covid-19 worsens the economic slump, Indians are returning to a trusted asset: gold.
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Belarus: The mother challenging an authoritarian president
Political novice Svetlana Tikhanovskaya rallies protesters in a battle with Alexander Lukashenko.
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Azhar ‘lucky’ to have Shaheen, Naseem in squad
Pakistan’s Test captain Azhar Ali has said that he is lucky to have pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah in his side for the upcoming three-match series against England.
“I feel very lucky that they are in my squad with the way they have bowled in the past couple of days,” Azhar said while speaking during a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) podcast.
Azhar said that they have an experienced player in Mohammad Abbas, while Sohail Khan will also share his knowledge of the game with the side. “I think they will have an advantage in the upcoming fixtures.”
Test captain @AzharAli_ previews Pakistan’s three-match Test series.
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) July 30, 2020
https://t.co/O6IYKkXayj
https://t.co/uf2rWDwSqG pic.twitter.com/T4xcG8j939
He went on to say that the guidance of experienced leg-spinner Yasir Shah also matters for the team.
The Test skipper added that his players are looking in good shape ahead of the Test series. “The best thing is that Pakistan always performs well on the England tour.
Azhar added that staying under lockdown during the coronavirus outbreak was challenging for the players. “The pacers are rusty but it will go away eventually. They are getting in shape.
“The workload is increasing but the players are in a good rhythm.”
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Burberry and Tencent team up for concept stores
The luxury British retailer and China's tech giant have joined forces amid growing national tensions.
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League of Legends European Championship cancels Saudi deal after backlash
Fans of the esports league say they were right to highlight Saudi Arabia's human rights record.
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Obama eulogy makes thinly veiled digs at Trump
Barack Obama eulogises late congressman John Lewis, with a few jabs at his White House successor.
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Trudeau: 'no preferential treatment' for WE Charity
Canada's PM denies playing a role in picking a charity tied to his family for a federal programme.
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South Africa's apartheid-era statues 'should be put in a theme park'
South African sculptor Pitika Ntuli on what we should do with reminders of colonial and racist history.
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Community Shield to be played on August 29
The Football Association announced on Wednesday that the Community Shield, the traditional curtainraiser for the new English season, would take place at Wembley on August 29.
The match between Premier League champions Liverpool and the winners of Saturday’s FA Cup final between Arsenal and Chelsea will be played two weeks before the start of the top-flight season.
It has been reported that the match could serve as a test event to welcome a restricted number of fans into Wembley as part of plans for supporters to make a socially distanced return to sports venues more widely from October 1.
The match will be immediately followed by an international break from September 2 to 10.
The Premier League said last week that the 2020/21 season would start on September 12 and run until May 23, 2022.
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Canadian visa centres in Pakistan to reopen on August 3
The Canadian Visa Application Centre in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi will reopen from August 3 onwards, it confirmed on July 29.
The centre, however, will provide limited services for the time being. This includes biometric verification of instruction letter holders, return decision envelopes to applicants and taking permanent resident travel document via post/courier.
The visa centres were closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. More than 278,240 people have tested positive for the virus in Pakistan.
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Komal Aziz wishes Yumna Zaidi on 31st birthday
Pakistani actor Komal Aziz Khan has wished birthday to her co-actor Yumna Zaidi in the cutest way possible.
Khan took to social media on Thursday and said that Zaidi is the most wonderful, kind, funny, generous and down to earth human being.
“Happy birthday @yumnazaidiofficial . My favourite co-actor to work with,” said Khan.
She remarked that the world might know Zaidi as a fine actor and she had the privilege to know Zaidi as a person.
She ended her wish with prayers for her co-actor.
“May you always continue to shine like a star you were always meant to be. May you always prop other people up and wish the best for them like you always do. You are one of a kind,” said Khan.
They both are currently working together in a drama Raaz-e-Ulfat.
Zaidi celebrated her 31st birthday on June 30 (Thursday). She received a number of heartfelt wishes and prayers from fans and friends.
… She expressed her joy and shahbashi on my work in #2020 MashAllah 
Zaidi also shared pictures from her quarantined birthday celebrations. From cake to decoration to her dress, she made sure that everything was pink.
She is currently sharing the screen with Bilal Abbas in the latest drama serial Pyar Ke Sadqay.
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England defeat Ireland in first ODI
David Willey and Sam Billings guided world champions England to a six-wicket win over Ireland at Southampton on Thursday in the first ODI.
Left-arm paceman Willey, appearing in his first ODI since being left out of England’s World Cup-winning squad for Jofra Archer, took a career-best 5-30 as Ireland were dismissed for a modest 172 in a match that marked the return of white-ball cricket from the coronavirus lockdown.
But an unfamiliar-looking England, in the first of a three-match series that launches the new World Cup Super League to determine qualification for the 2023 50-over showpiece in India, slumped to 78-4 at the Ageas Bowl.
Sam Billings, a late injury replacement for Kent team-mate Joe Denly, made 67 not out including 11 fours at better than a run-a-ball.
Together with World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan, a former Ireland batsman, he shared an unbroken fifth-wicket partnership of 96.
Willey took 4-12 as Ireland slumped to 28-5 after losing the toss.
Curtis Campher held firm with an unbeaten 59 on debut.
Together with Andy McBrine (40) he shared a stand of 66 after Ireland were in danger of being dismissed for under 100 at 79-7.
Willey struck with just the fourth ball of the match when Paul Stirling chipped him to Morgan at midwicket.
Ireland were 7-2 when skipper Andy Balbirnie was caught behind driving at Willey.
Gareth Delany hit five fours in his 22 before he struck Willey straight to backward point.
Next ball, the 30-year-old Willey, the son of former England batsman and umpire David Willey, had Lorcan Tucker lbw for a duck to leave Ireland 28-5.
Campher carries on
The 21-year-old Campher, a former South Africa youth international qualified for Ireland through his mother, survived the hat-trick delivery and went on to complete an admirable 103-ball fifty.
Kevin O’Brien, whose stunning 50-ball hundred set up a remarkable Ireland win over England during the 2011 World Cup, made 22 before he holed out off leg-spinner Adil Rashid.
McBrine pulled Tom Curran to deep square leg before Willey dismissed last man Craig Young to end the innings.
Willey’s return was his best in 47 ODIs, surpassing his 4-34 against Sri Lanka in Cardiff in 2016.
Ireland suffered a blow in the first over of England’s reply when Barry McCarthy walked off after bowling five balls with what appeared to be a hamstring injury.
Off-spinner McBrine, however, had Jonny Bairstow lbw for two before fellow opener Jason Roy fell leg before to Young.
As happened before each of the recent England-West Indies Tests, players from both sides took a knee before play in support of the Black Lives Matter campaign.
This was England’s first home ODI since they beat New Zealand in last year’s World Cup final at Lord’s.
England’s red and white-ball fixtures are overlapping in a season cut short by the Covid-19 outbreak and they are maintaining two separate squads, meaning several World Cup winners including Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Archer won’t feature against Ireland.
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Hajj goes virtual for families of lucky pilgrims
Faridah Bakti Yahra travelled alone to Mecca when she won the lottery of a lifetime to join this year’s Hajj, the smallest in living memory, but her family is relishing the experience virtually.
Thanks to her smartphone, and the 5G towers that loom over the holy city, the Indonesian housewife is sharing every step of the pilgrimage with her husband and three daughters back home in the Saudi coastal city of Khobar.
“I am so happy he joined me virtually, spiritually, with my daughters also. May my dear husband come here together with me again for Hajj — inshallah (God willing),” the 39-year-old told AFP.
In the first days of the pilgrimage, many of the faithful were seen holding their phones aloft to snap selfies and livestream their progress to friends and family back home.
Super high-speed 5G technology was rolled out in Mecca last year, allowing pilgrims to transfer data at breakneck speeds, and the network is now prevalent across much of Saudi Arabia.
But this year the shared religious experience has even greater resonance, with the gathering scaled down from more than two million people to just a few thousand, and at a time when many prayers are being offered for a world gripped by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Tears of joy
Yahra opened a video call on the first day of the Hajj at Mecca’s Grand Mosque when she approached the Kaaba, a large cubic structure draped in gold-embroidered black cloth, towards which Muslims around the world pray.
“When my wife entered the Kaaba area and she showed me the Kaaba, I felt very, very cheerful, joyful, with tears,” her husband Hendra Samosir said.
“It was very truly a holy journey I would say, even though I wasn’t there, but looking at my wife attending this Hajj, it feels like I was there.”
Hundreds of thousands of Indonesians usually take part in the Hajj, many waiting and saving for years before their turn comes up.
This year, there are believed to be hardly more than a dozen in Mecca.
Yahra was selected in a process that for the first time excluded pilgrims from outside the kingdom.
Muslims worldwide were disappointed, even though most accepted that a Hajj on the usual scale was out of the question.
Foreign residents make up 70 percent of the group and Saudi citizens make up the remainder, drawn from medical professionals and security personnel who have recovered from the virus.
There were grumbles over what was seen as an opaque system, and those who missed out swamped the Hajj ministry’s Twitter account with anguished queries.
But for Samosir, who opted to stay at home and look after the couple’s children, his wife’s selection was “very good news” after months of bad news due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The virus crisis triggered months of lockdown in Saudi Arabia and a slump that saw the 44-year-old lose his job in the oil industry.
But he said the virtual pilgrimage left him feeling “like an empty bowl filled up with water”.
Digital worship
In recent years, the Hajj has been at the centre of an acceleration in the growth of digital worship, with a slew of religious apps and tablet Korans.
Some pilgrims now prefer reading Quranic verses from their smartphones — rapidly replacing traditional printed holy books.
But the tech is not limited to reading on screens and sharing stories. It has rapidly evolved to offer pilgrims the possibility of performing religious duties from their homes.
Online platforms have emerged allowing worshippers to virtually perform the year-round umrah, or minor pilgrimage, which usually takes only a few hours.
The service is based on the concept of outsourcing the pilgrimage — asking someone in Saudi Arabia to perform umrah on their behalf, and experiencing it through a live virtual reality tool.
Some Islamic clerics support the idea, while others say only the sick are entitled to such an option.
And the situation is different with the Hajj, a journey made over several days that requires walking for kilometres, praying for hours, and sleeping outdoors.
Some of this year’s pilgrims have reported that performing the pilgrimage on such a small scale has been an intensely spiritual experience.
“I am praying for my husband to get back to work again,” Yahra said.
“And I pray for the situation to get back to normal again, for the pandemic to stop, and for coronavirus to be gone.”
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Today’s outlook: Army summoned in Karachi, petrol price may increase
Here are some of the stories we are expecting to follow today (Friday):
- The Pakistan Army has been summoned to help the civil administration in Karachi. According to the ISPR, the Pakistan Army has been summoned to control the urban flooding situation in the city.
- NDMA chairperson has reached Karachi on the instructions of PM Imran Khan. Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal will visit the areas affected by recent monsoon rains.
- The price of petrol is expected to increase by Rs6.90 per litre and of diesel by Rs10. The summary of the price change has yet to be approved.
- Sugar now costs Rs100 per kilogramme in Pakistan. Its price was Rs24.52 per kilogramme last year.
- The National Assembly passed on Thursday two bills relating to the FATF–the Anti-Terrorism Act Amendment Bill, 2020 and United Nations Security Council Amendment Bill, 2020. The bills sailed through the Senate and Senate Standing Committee on Law the same day. The ATA Amendment Bill included suggestions from the opposition, including the penalty for terrorism increased from Rs10 million to Rs50 million.
- Online game Players’ Unknown Battle Ground has been unblocked in Pakistan after nearly a month, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority confirmed on Thursday. The ban was imposed on July 1. The PTA said, in a statement, that the decision was made during a meeting between the authority and lawyers of the Proximae Beta Pte Ltd, which runs the game in Pakistan.
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Muslims in Saudi Arabia, Gulf states celebrate Eidul Azha
Muslims in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Indonesia, Malaysia among other countries are celebrating Eidul Azha today (Friday).
The festival marks the end of Hajj, an annual pilgrimage that all Muslims are obliged to perform once in their lifetime.
Just 10,000 Muslims, all residents of Saudi Arabia, performed Hajj this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The numbers are just 0.4 percent of last year’s 2.5 million attendees from across the globe.
Eidul Azha is celebrated to commemorate the sacrifice of Prophet Ibrahim (AS). In line with the tradition of Prophet Ibrahim (AS), Muslims across the world slaughter animals as a sacrifice for Allah. The meat of sacrificed animals is distributed among relatives and the poor.
Many countries have even instructed their Muslim residents to offer Eid prayers with social distancing to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) in Saudi Arabia will hold three days of festivities and activities for Eidul Azha, which will be themed around discovery and exploration, reported Gulf News.
In Dubai, the police have said that they will monitor residential areas and bolster road safety and security to ensure people comply with COVID-19 safety measures.
People have also been advised to avoid large home gatherings and follow all precautionary measures while visiting shopping centres or relatives during the festival.
Pakistan will celebrate Eidul Azha on August 1. The government has announced holidays from July 31 to August 2 for the festival.
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Virus rules leave Bollywood’s low-paid army stricken
India’s coronavirus lockdown made little difference to Bollywood superstars but for the industry’s vast army of low-paid, unskilled workers it meant unemployment, hunger and homelessness — with no end in sight even as shoots gradually resume.
Fahim Shaikh used to earn 800 rupees ($11) a day as a “spot boy” on sets, doing odd jobs such as making tea. When Bollywood hit pause on productions in March, the 23-year-old could no longer pay rent.
“I just wandered up and down, asking strangers for help and sleeping outside cafes,” he told AFP.
Like many starry-eyed newcomers, he came to Mumbai in pursuit of an acting career before his dreams gave way to the pressures of the daily grind in India’s most expensive city.
The hugely successful Hindi film industry is tentatively coming back to life but with strict rules including curbs on the number of people allowed on set.
This means that jobs for people like Shaikh are now few and far between.
“I am ready to do anything, I desperately need work,” he said.
‘The littlest players’
The lockdown cast a spotlight on India’s extreme inequality with well-heeled citizens able to hibernate safely at home while watching shocking scenes of a huge migrant worker exodus play out on their television and smartphone screens.
That chasm between the haves and have-nots is perhaps even more pronounced in Bollywood, where jet-setting megastars rub shoulders with tens of thousands of extras, spot boys and other junior crew members who exist on the margins of the glamorous industry.
“The spot boys are considered the littlest players, till food arrives late on a set,” actress Richa Chadha wrote on her blog highlighting the “disastrous” effects of the lockdown.
During her half-century-long stint as an extra, Sayeda Mumani has worked alongside virtually every major actor, from 1970s matinee idol Rajesh Khanna to superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
In a good month, the 68-year-old scraped together around 14,000 rupees. But her income dried up after shoots came to a standstill, and she has not worked for months.
Unlike the younger Shaikh — who has few industry contacts — Mumani’s long association with leading studios meant that she could count on at least a little help, with top actors such as Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan sending her grocery vouchers and cash.
But relying on the piecemeal generosity of individuals has severe limitations, as Mumani found out, when mounting medical and household expenses left her with a debt of 100,000 rupees.
“I feel so useless and helpless,” she told AFP.
No safety net
Despite generating billions of dollars in revenue, the world’s most prolific film industry has no established scheme to protect its most vulnerable members.
The vast majority of the tens of thousands of industry workers lack access to medical insurance or pension plans.
Director Anubhav Sinha, who paid salaries to his production staff and offered financial aid to other crew members during the lockdown, said the absence of a safety net reflected the fact that the industry’s workforce is largely freelance.
“My employees… comprise about 10 percent of the entire size of my film unit. Ninety percent are freelancers who work on the production and then move on,” he told AFP.
And although the industry is home to multiple unions, they lack the deep pockets to look after their members, said Amit Behl, senior joint secretary of the Cine & TV Artists Association.
The organisation, which has more than 9,000 members including top stars, had to request donations to support actors who “are virtually living hand to mouth”, Behl told AFP.
“We produce twice the content of other filmmaking countries but we are not structured,” he said.
Furthermore, he warned that fresh restrictions, which include a ban on filming crowd scenes, hiring large crews or actors over 65, meant that the crisis was set to worsen, leaving workers like Mumani fearing for their future.
“We can’t carry on like this,” she said, bursting into tears.
“I feel like I am dying already.”
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Michael Brown: Officer won't be charged for 2014 killing of teenager
The killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson triggered protests across the US in 2014.
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Lee Teng-hui: Taiwan's 'father of democracy' dies
Lee successfully pushed for more democracy, but took a controversially hard line against China.
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Afghanistan: At least 17 killed in Eid car blast
The explosion came on the eve of a ceasefire declared by the Taliban during the festival of Eid.
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Covid-19: Why Hong Kong's 'third wave' is a warning
Until recently, the city was seen as a poster child in its handling of the pandemic. What went wrong?
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What exactly is a 'Karen' and where did the meme come from?
To many the Karen meme - and its male equivalent Ken - sums up a specific type of white privilege.
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The 'real' threat to Russia’s former doping mastermind
The ex-mastermind of Russian sports doping, Grigory Rodchenkov, now only appears in disguise. Matt Majendie explains why.
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Bollywood's 'warts and all' biopic on 'human computer'
Bollywood actress Vidya Balan plays Shakuntala Devi who dazzled the world with her skill with numbers.
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The middle-css Pakistani students fighting for a homeland dream
Shahdad Mumtaz died for his beliefs. Could a missing student end up waging war on the Pakistani state?
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PCB invites former cricketers to apply for job positions
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is urging former cricketers to apply for different positions within the institution.
“The Pakistan Cricket Board is inviting and encouraging former cricketers to return to the field by seriously considering various roles, including as match officials in the 2020-21 domestic season,” the PCB stated in a release on Wednesday.
The cricket board stated that the creation of these job opportunities is part of the board’s decision to boost involvement of former players in the domestic structure and to train and develop local talent in all aspects of the game.
Applicants must be under the age of 40 and have played at least 50 first-class matches.
The PCB further stated that it is also planning to hire former international and first-class cricketers in media roles for the live-streaming and broadcasting of domestic matches. “These roles may potentially include commentary and studio shows. Further details will be confirmed closer to time.”
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19 districts of Punjab coronavirus-free: Yasmin Rashid
Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid announced on Thursday that the government had approved building a new 200-bed hospital in Sialkot. The project will cost around Rs4.5 million.
Dr Rashid was speaking to reporters in Sialkot, one of the cities she says has the least coronavirus cases. “The coronavirus outbreak is now under control. Nineteen districts of Punjab are now virus-free,” she said.
On Wednesday, Pakistan reported another 32 deaths and 1,114 infections. A total of 25,347 active cases remain in Pakistan and 246,131 people have defeated the virus so far.
The health minister added that seven more districts of Punjab will get new hospitals and Prime Minister Imran Khan will perform the ground breaking ceremony of the facilities.
Speaking about Special Assistant to the PM on Health Dr Zafar Mirza resigning from his post, Dr Rashid clarified that it had nothing to do with Dr Mirza’s recommendation on medicines that are being given to the coronavirus patients.
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Coronavirus: Samsung profits soar on work from home demand
The world's biggest producer of memory chips sees demand jump as data centres expanded during lockdowns.
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Nasa Mars rover: Perseverance robot poised for launch
The one-tonne vehicle will search for signs of Martian life and prepare rocks to send home to Earth.
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Nasa Mars 2020: First aircraft to fly on another planet
Ingenuity is a 1.8kg (4lb) helicopter that will ride to Mars attached to the belly of Nasa's Perseverance.
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‘Where does Constitution say PM’s assistants can’t be dual nationals?’
The Islamabad High Court reserved its verdict on whether a case challenging the appointment of special assistants to the prime minister is fit for trial.
Chief Justice Athar Minallah reserved the verdict on Thursday. “Where is it written in the Constitution that assistants can’t hold dual nationalities?” he asked.
After taking charge, the prime minister has to shoulder many responsibilities, he said. “What’s the issue if he takes help from someone?”
The petitioner’s lawyer argued that under Article 93, the prime minister can only have five advisers. “Article 93 relates to advisers, not special assistants,” remarked Justice Minallah.
Show me where the Constitution says special assistants cannot hold dual nationalities, he told the petitioner. The lawyer contended that while this wasn’t mentioned in the Constitution, it was in the Rules of Business.
Rule 15 contains this restriction, said the petitioner’s lawyer. But Justice Minallah said Rule 15 was removed in 2010.
It was recently revealed that seven special assistants and advisers in Prime Minister Imran Khan’s cabinet had some sort of foreign nationality, including residencies and green cards.
Shortly after the furor, Special Assistant on Digital Pakistan Tania Aidrus and Special Assistant on Health Zafar Mirza resigned from their posts. Aidrus cited criticism over her Canadian nationality as the reason for her resignation.
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England announce squad for first Pakistan Test
England will once again face a selection dilemma over the make-up of their pace attack after an unchanged 14-man squad was named on Wednesday for next week’s first Test against Pakistan.
Joe Root’s side rotated their frontline fast bowlers during the 2-1 series win over the West Indies, which ended on Tuesday, with the competition for places intense.
Stuart Broad responded to being left out of the opener with 16 wickets at under 11 in the last two Tests, while Chris Woakes ended the series with five wickets in the West Indies second innings.
James Anderson is England’s leading wicket-taker, the raw pace of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood has swung matches in England’s favour in the past while Sam Curran has won every Test he has played in at home.
Wood and Curran were the unfortunate seamers to be left out of the decider at Old Trafford but they have been retained in the squad to face Pakistan at the same ground next Wednesday.
Top-order batsmen James Bracey and Dan Lawrence, wicketkeeper Ben Foakes and slow left-armer Jack Leach will stay on with the group as reserves.
“After three Tests in quick succession against the West Indies, we now turn to an equally condensed Test series against Pakistan, with 15 days of Test cricket scheduled in a three-week period,” said national selector Ed Smith.
“Our 14-man squad is unchanged. County cricket now restarts on Saturday 1st August. We want to have sufficient reserves inside the bio-secure Test match ‘bubble’ but we may also want to give opportunities, where possible, for the reserves to play county cricket.
“As we seek the best balance here, England may make changes to the reserves during the three-match series against Pakistan.”
The second Test starts at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on August 13, with the third match taking place at the same venue from August 21.
The Tests are taking place behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.
England Test squad: Joe Root (captain), James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Dominic Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood.
Reserves: James Bracey, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Dan Lawrence.
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Tania Aidrus, Zafar Mirza resignations not big political events: Chaudhry
Federal Science Minister Fawad Chaudhry feels that news of Special Assistant to the PM on Health Dr Zafar Mirza and Special Assistant to the PM on Digital Pakistan Tania Aidrus resigning from their posts is being highlighted more than it should be.
“Frankly, it’s not a big political event,” he told SAMAA TV anchorperson Kiran Aftab Ahmed on Thursday.
“Special assistants aren’t part of the federal cabinet. They are technocrats. They only attend cabinet meetings when invited because they are experts in their respective fields.”
Chaudhry was all praise for both Dr Mirza and Aidrus. He said both performed well, but their appointments had caused “a few problems”.
The federal minister claimed that confusion emerged when Aidrus was invited to head the Digital Pakistan initiative because this is actually the National Information Technology Board’s responsibility.
They were confused about who will work to digitise the country so she decided to step down, Chaudhry claimed.
However, in her tweet, Aidrus said she was resigning because “the recent discourse in the public sphere about her Canadian nationality will bar her from executing on the long term vision for a Digital Pakistan”.
Aidrus is a former Google executive who was appointed special assistant in February 2020.
She faced criticism after the cabinet division published the assets and citizenships of the special assistants and advisers in prime minister’s cabinet. Aidrus is a Canadian national with a Singaporean residency.
Dr Mirza hasn’t given a reason yet for stepping down from his post.
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Watch SAMAA TV Headlines | 9am | July 30 | Pakistan
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Coronavirus: Samsung profits soar on work from home demand
The world's biggest producer of memory chips sees demand jump as data centres expanded during lockdowns.
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Headlines 9am: Hajj activities begin, Pakistan coronavirus deaths near 6,000
Here are the headlines from SAMAA TV’s 9am bulletin.
- Pakistan has reported another 32 deaths and 1,114 coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. A total of 25,347 active cases remain in the country and 246,131 people have defeated the virus.
- Prime Minister Imran Khan has asked the Pakistan Army to help clean streets across Karachi that are inundated with rainwater. The PM has also directed the National Disaster Management Authority chairperson to urgently head to the city. Federal Maritime Affairs Minister Ali Zaidi thanked the army on Twitter for coming to the city’s aid.
- At least three people, including two women, were injured by Indian security forces in the Rakhchikri sector along the Line of Control. Army troops responded effectively to Indian firing.
- Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani has admitted that he shared a doctored video on his social media accounts and attributed it to SAMAA TV.“The video you mentioned, I didn’t edit it and I didn’t make it,” Ghani said while addressing a press conference in Karachi. “The video came on a Whatsapp group and I shared it. I am not saying it was authentic, it is also possible that it was doctored,” Ghani said.
- Commuters and residents of North Nazimabad are facing trouble due to sewage and rainwater filling roads in the area after recent spells of rain.
- The annual Hajj pilgrimage has begun in Saudi Arabia, but only around 10,000 pilgrims are expected due to coronavirus restrictions compared to the usual two million people who perform the yearly pilgrimage. People will perform congregational prayers and other obligations while practicing social distancing.
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Madonna post blocked by Instagram for false coronavirus video
Superstar singer Madonna has been censored on Instagram for spreading false information about a supposed cure for COVID-19 after she shared clips from a video also re-tweeted by Donald Trump.
In her post to 15.4 million followers, Madonna claimed that a proven vaccine had been available for months but it was being kept secret “to let the rich get richer and the poor and sick get sicker.”
She attached a video of US physician Stella Immanuel who praised hydroxychloroquine as a miracle coronavirus cure.
Various clips of Immanuel’s speech have spread rapidly on the internet in recent days, but hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug, has not been proved effective against COVID-19.
“We’ve removed this video for making false claims about cures and prevention methods for COVID-19,” a company spokeswoman for Facebook, which owns Instagram, told AFP on Wednesday.
“People who reacted to, commented on, or shared this video, will see messages directing them to authoritative information about the virus.”
Madonna’s post was deleted, but screengrabs showed it had earlier been blurred by Instagram and tagged “False Information — reviewed by independent fact-checkers” with a link to a page debunking the video.
President Trump this week tweeted several clips of the video to his 84 million followers, before the tweets were removed.
His son Donald Trump Jr was temporarily halted from tweeting Tuesday after he also shared parts of the video.
“Nobody needs to get sick. This virus has a cure — it is called hydroxychloroquine,” Immanuel exclaimed in the video, standing on the steps of the Supreme Court in Washington with likeminded physicians.
She also railed against face masks and lockdowns.
Madonna said in May she had recovered from the coronavirus which forced her to pull out of concerts in Paris earlier in the year.
AFP and other media companies, including Reuters and the Associated Press, work with Facebook’s fact-checking program, under which content rated false is downgraded in news feeds so that fewer people see it.
If someone tries to share such a post, he or she is presented with an article explaining why the information is not accurate.
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Emmy Awards ceremony to be held online due to pandemic
A day after announcing nominations for the Emmy Awards, the Television Academy on Wednesday informed top nominees that the ceremony in September will be held online because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The announcement was expected given the restrictions and lockdowns imposed since the virus outbreak which has wreaked havoc in the entertainment industry.
The Emmys — television’s equivalent of the Oscars — will take place on September 20 and will be the first major awards show in Hollywood since the coronavirus crisis began.
Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel is set to host the festivities broadcast on ABC.
In the letter sent to select nominees and the contents of which were confirmed to AFP by an Academy spokesman, organizers said they were forced to make the tough decision to hold the ceremony online given the circumstances.
“Aside from NOT being able to come together in one place, we also acknowledge that our world is going through a challenging moment in many ways,” according to the letter signed by the producers of the event and Kimmel.
“We’ll be producing an event that is filled with warmth and humanity, which celebrates the power of television to bring us together and to help us shape our world,” they wrote.
The letter said that organizers would work closely with the nominees, filming them at home and other locations, to ensure they stand out on the big night.
“We’re going to make you look fabulous — we’re exploring the cutting edge of technology to allow us to use good cameras and lighting and look forward to working with you to produce your unique ‘on screen’ moments,” the letter added.
As to the dress code, the letter said given the informal theme of the ceremony, nominees could decide what to wear.
“If you want to be in formal wear, we’d love that, but equally if you’re in the UK and it’s 3 a.m., perhaps you want to be in designer pajamas and record from your bed!,” the letter said.
“We want to work with you to style your moments, but want you to guide us on your levels of comfort — where you want to be, who you want to be with, what you want to wear, etc.”
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Coronavirus: Australia's Victoria records huge case jump
The state reports its highest case and death toll - prompting fears that lockdown is not working.
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Pakistanis scrub Eid animals at car cleaners
In the run-up to the Muslim festival of Eidul Azha, Karachi car-wash owner Sheikh Sagheer sees much of the traffic at his business switch from four wheels to four legs.
Locals bring him their cattle, sheep and goats for a thorough scrub down ahead of the animals’ sacrifice during the three-day religious holiday, which begins Friday in Pakistan.
Sagheer, 42, said the cow wash started when he was spotted cleaning his sacrificial animal ahead of Eid after opening his business a few years ago.
“The people who saw me washing the animal came to me with their own… that’s how this trend started,” Sagheer told AFP.
Many of the animals come from a huge market on the outskirts of Karachi — reputed to be the largest Eid cattle bazaar in Asia — that is packed with goats, cows, bullocks, sheep and camels.
The creatures are often dirty, dusty and speckled with dung after being transported then packed together at the market.
Sagheer charges just 100 rupees (about 60 cents) for a wash — which includes a soak with a pressure hose, a lather with suds, a scrub and a rinse.
“The charge is 100 rupees, which is nothing,” said Mohammad Uzair, who brought in a large grey cow for a wash.
Across Pakistan, between eight and 10 million animals are sacrificed over Eidul Azha, according to the Pakistan Tanners Association.
Sagheer says cleanliness is especially important because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I make it a point to sanitise the animal with disinfectants,” he said.
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Today’s outlook: Joint parliamentary session called, PM orders Karachi cleaning
Here are some of the news stories we are following today (Thursday).
- Prime Minister Imran Khan has asked the Pakistan Army to help clean streets across Karachi that are inundated with rainwater. The PM has also directed the National Disaster Management Authority chairperson to urgently head to the city. Sindh Governor Imran Ismail has also assured the PM that he is ready to help.
- A joint session of Parliament will be held at 4pm. PTI MNA Aamir Liaquat Hussain is likely to speak about online video game PUBG, which the Islamabad High Court recently ordered to have unblocked.
- Federal Maritime Affairs Minister Ali Zaidi has said he will tweet “evidence” against Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani.
- The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority will issue a summary on petrol prices.
- The Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice will meet to review two bills that were recently approved by the National Assembly.
- Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood has said the government hasn’t made any decision to ban O-Level, A-Level or Baccalaureate exams.
- ICYMI: Special Assistant to the PM on Health Dr Zafar Mirza and Special Assistant to the PM on Digital Pakistan Tania Aidrus have resigned. Click here to read the full story.
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Domino's Pizza New Zealand drops 'free pizza for Karen' offer after backlash
"We wanted to bring a smile to customers," the firm's New Zealand arm said. "We are sorry."
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Yazidi children still haunted by Islamic State, Amnesty International says
Large numbers of Yazidi were killed by the Islamic State when it overran their homeland in 2014.
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What's next after flood of US racial equity donations?
The global outpouring of giving following George Floyd's death inundated charities large and small.
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'Bay of Piglets': A 'bizarre' plot to capture a president
How did exiled Venezuelans and former US Special Forces end up joining what looked from the outset like a suicide mission?
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India and China race to build along a disputed frontier
The rival nuclear powers are trying to out-build each other along their disputed Himalayan border.
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Nile dam row: Egypt fumes as Ethiopia celebrates
Concerns grow as Nile River nations fail to reach a deal on how to share the vital waters.
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The sweet smell of success: How Bulgaria took the lead in lavender
Lavender is used for cosmetics, fragrances and even, with the help of bees, to make honey.
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Edhi Foundation’s 115 emergency helpline is down
The Edhi Foundation’s emergency helpline isn’t working and will take at least a day to fix, the foundation reported on Wednesday.
Its 115 helpline and other information numbers aren’t working because of a fault in the PTCL line. PTCL has informed the foundation that it will take at least one day to fix.
In the meantime, the foundation has only one working PTCL line. It has apologised in advance to anyone who urgently needs an ambulance. The ambulances may take time to reach people or may not be able to come at all.
The Edhi Foundation is the largest voluntary ambulance service in the world and is used by people all over Pakistan.
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Punjab lockdown: Five Faisalabad shopkeepers arrested for opening shops
Five shopkeepers in Faisalabad were arrested and FIRs were lodged against 52 others for opening their shops in violation of the Punjab government’s smart lockdown.
The Punjab government imposed another lockdown on Monday night. It said that all shops and markets will remain closed in the province till after Eid.
However, some shopkeepers , in protest against the government, opened their shops despite the orders. They also took to the roads staging a sit in and chanting slogans against the district administration.
“You can’t expect us to close our shops with Eid around the corner,” said a shopkeeper.
According to the police, 52 shopkeepers are on the run. “They even force those shopkeepers following government orders to open their shops,” a police officer said.
The police have been cracking down on the shops which remain open. On Tuesday, 12 shopkeepers were detained. Many of them, however, reopen their shops after the police leave.
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Emmy takeaways: record for black actors, new nominees, Michael Jordan
The Emmy nominations on Tuesday yielded a step forward for diversity, a new record for Netflix and nods aplenty for ESPN’s popular Michael Jordan documentary.
Here are some top takeaways from the announcement by the Television Academy, ahead of the Emmy Awards on September 20:
Diversity
Of the more than 100 acting nominations in the series, limited series and television movie categories, more than a third of them went to black actors — a new record.
Among them are Billy Porter (“Pose”), Sterling K. Brown (“This Is Us” and “The Marvelous Mrs Maisel”), Issa Rae (“Insecure”) and Regina King (“Watchmen”).
The increased number of nominations for black performers confirmed efforts by the Television Academy to boost racial diversity on the small screen.
“Black Lives Matter. Black Stories Matter,” the Academy tweeted Tuesday.
The Emmy nominations announcement comes amid a national reckoning over race, with protests against racism and police brutality taking place across the country.
“This type of representation is a long time coming. There’s no shortage of talent within the black community,” Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, a nominee for HBO’s “Watchmen,” told Entertainment Tonight.
“Sometimes it takes certain circumstances in the world for people to open their eyes and people to open up, to widen their periphery.”
But while black and Asian actors made gains this year, the lack of any Latino actors in the mix was glaring.
Newcomers fare well
The amount of television content eligible for Emmys increases just about every year, and this year, while Netflix earned a record 160 nominations, a few new streaming platforms earned their first nods.
Disney+ made its mark with 19 nominations — 15 of them for its flagship series, the “Star Wars” spinoff “The Mandalorian.”
Apple TV+ nabbed 18 nominations, including for Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell and Billy Crudup for its flagship launch program “The Morning Show.”
The fledgling short-form streaming platform Quibi also scored 10 nominations, including for cop spoof revival “Reno 911!” and dystopian thriller “Most Dangerous Game.”
Father/daughter nominees
“This Is Us” actor Ron Cephas Jones and his daughter Jasmine Cephas Jones shared the limelight Tuesday as they both received Emmy nods.
Jones was nominated for outstanding guest actor for the NBC tearjerker, for which he won an Emmy in 2018.
His daughter, who earned fame as a member of the original cast of the Broadway musical “Hamilton,” joined the club of Emmy nominees for her role in the Quibi drama “#FreeRayshawn.”
“I’m still in shock! Thank you to @TelevisionAcad for this Emmy nomination!” Jasmine Cephas Jones said in a tweet, in which she also congratulated her dad.
“Proud to be a part of important stories during this climate,” she added.
Joe Exotic vs… Michael Jordan
The salacious Netflix series “Tiger King,” which was all the rage at the onset of the COVID-19 lockdown, will face off against “The Last Dance,” which revolves around basketball legend Michael Jordan’s career with the Chicago Bulls, in the outstanding documentary or nonfiction series category.
The two shows will compete against Hulu’s “Hillary,” about failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, PBS’s “American Masters,” which examines the lives of outstanding artists, and HBO’s “McMillion$,” about the McDonald’s Monopoly game scam.
“The Last Dance,” which also aired during the lockdown while professional sports leagues were forced to suspend play, was the most-watched documentary ever on ESPN.
“I’m so proud of our entire team, who worked tirelessly for years to make ‘The Last Dance’ what it was,” director Jason Hehir said.
“I am beyond grateful for their expertise, their dedication and their perseverance amidst unprecedented circumstances as we finished the show in the early stages of this pandemic.”
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Sialkot: 20kg drugs worth over Rs1.5b seized by highway police
The highway patrolling police in Sialkot seized 20 kilogrammes of drugs worth Rs1.5 billion near Daska on Tuesday.
According to the police, a man identified as Sartaj Khan had smuggled the drugs from Afghanistan and was planning to sell it in the city and other parts of Punjab.
“We found a total of 17 packets in Khan’s car which had 14kg heroin, 22kg hash, 2kg opium and 500 grams of ice (methamphetamine),” the Motorway Police DSP said.
An FIR has been registered and the car and drugs have been impounded.
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Headlines 9am: Hajj begins, soldier martyred in Bajaur
Here are the headlines from SAMAA TV’s 9am bulletin.
- The Hajj pilgrimage has begun in Saudi Arabia. Pilgrims began arriving in Minah early in the morning. Pilgrims will head to Arafat after Fajr prayers on Zilhaj 9.
- A soldier was martyred in a terrorist attack in KP’s Bajaur. Lance Naik Samiullah was killed when they attacked a security check-post, according to the ISPR.
- A passenger coach overturned on the National Highway in Nawabshah. One passenger was killed and 15 were injured in the accident. The bus was travelling from DG Khan to Karachi.
- A man named Sajid Soomro was recovered after the police engaged in a firefight with his kidnapper’s in Sukkur’s Shah Belo. The police used boats to enter the kachha area during the operation.
- The Jhelum police arrested four men for stealing a truck laden with 1,920kg of wheat and a van. They were arrested the suspects on GT Road and seized the items worth over Rs10 million and weapons from them. They were wanted in robberies and other cases.
- The police arrested a young man in Gujrat for uploading pictures with guns on social media. They also seized the weapon.
- Pakistan Batting Coach Younis Khan told SAMAA TV that they came to England to win. The tail-enders are also being prepared, he said, adding that Sohail Khan is trying to take the magic wand from Waqar Younis.
- Multan’s cattle market has a 200kg goat while Mandi Bahauddin has a pair of massive oxen.
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'Fix your bike' website crashes as scheme launches in England
A website offering £50 bike repair vouchers from the government did not work for about four hours.
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Coronavirus: Kodak pivots itself to become strategic drug maker
The former camera maker moves into drug making and secures a major loan from the US government.
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How much power does tech 'big four' have?
Regulators are scrutinising Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook. How much power do the 'big four' hold?
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Bringing Mars back to Earth
An audacious mission to bring rock samples from Mars back to Earth is about to begin - find our more with our illustrated guide
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'More than half of Mumbai slum-dwellers had Covid-19'
Mumbai has so far reported more than 110,000 infections and 6,000 deaths.
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Soldier martyred in attack on security forces in Bajaur
A solider, Lance Naik Samiullah, was martyred during a terrorist attack on Wednesday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur, according to the Inter Services Public Relations.
Alleged terrorists from across the border fired at an army check-post in the area during which Samiullah was shot.
The army’s media wing added that the army responded to the terrorists resulting in losses for the opposite side as well.
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Half of Mumbai’s shanty town residents have had coronavirus: study
Over half the people living in the slums of Mumbai have had the coronavirus, according to a city-commissioned study released Tuesday that raises fresh doubts about India’s official case numbers.
India is already the third worst-hit country after the US and Brazil, with nearly 1.5 million cases though experts have previously said the lack of testing could mean the true tally is much higher.
Blood tests on 6,936 randomly selected people conducted by Mumbai’s city authorities found that 57 percent of slum-dwellers and 16 percent of non-slum residents had virus antibodies.
Mumbai, where about 40 percent of the population lives in slums, has reported just over 110,000 infections and more than 6,000 deaths so far.
The western city of 20 million people is home to India’s largest slum Dharavi, where an estimated one million people live.
But deaths in the sprawling slum have not exploded, with local officials saying their aggressive efforts to stem the spread of the virus has been effective.
The survey results suggested asymptomatic infections were “likely to be a high proportion of all infections” and also indicated the virus death rate was likely to be “very low”, the study said.
The Mumbai survey came a week after an antibody study commissioned by the government suggested that almost a quarter of people in the capital New Delhi, home to 20 million people, have had the virus.
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Coronavirus: Malta says 65 rescued migrants test positive
More than two thirds of 94 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean test positive.
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Climate change: Coastal erosion 'to threaten more Australian homes'
See the damage done by waves – and the problem will only get worse with climate change, experts say.
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US election: Biden pledges billions to improve racial equality
The Democratic candidate vows to boost opportunities for Black, Latino and Native American businesses.
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