INFO TECH NEWS

In precisely one year—on Tuesday, March 30, 2021—the almost US$10 billion James Webb Space Telescope (JWST or “Webb” for short) will launch on a European Ariane 5 rocket from the Gupiana Space Centre to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana. 

Statistics (31 March, 2020 1000 GMT)

ISLAMABAD : Another special plane of China carrying medical supplies regarding Coronavirus pandemic arrived Islamabad on Sunday morning, ARY News reported .

While streets across the country have emptied due to the lockdown, traffic on the internet has increased dramatically. 

AUSTIN : Far-right radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was arrested in Austin, Texas, on a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated, authorities said Tuesday.

Daily World Corona Cases Update Today : 28 March, 2020. @0500 GMT

London : Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for coronavirus and is self-isolating in Downing Street, reported BBC news .

At least 85,000 people have been infected in the United States. As states pleaded for supplies, the White House canceled a plan to produce thousands of ventilators.

The Pakistani rupee once again depreciated by 4 rupees at the start of the day in interbank session but showed some stability at the end. 

Foreign leaders from the Group of Seven (G7) countries have failed to issue a joint statement on coronavirus crisis after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insisted that they address the disease as ‘Wuhan virus'.

Prince Charles on Wednesday tested positive for the coronavirus, as confirmed by the Clarence House.

The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan said a cargo plane carrying N95 surgical masks and other protective equipment has been dispatched from China.

The coronavirus pandemic has really brought out the best and worst in people. With Sindh in lockdown, it’s understandable that people are concerned but sometimes it gets alarming; we’ve heard enough cases of people emptying out stores, hoarding on groceries and making profit off selling sanitiser. 

Tokyo : Tokyo Olympics are postponed until 2021. The  decision was made by Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, and the International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, after a conference call on Tuesday at 11am GMT. 

Islamabad : Prime Minister Imran Khan after convening a National Coordination Committee (NCC) meeting today (Friday) to review the measures taken against the pandemic has announced relief measures for the nation.

Lahore : Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Monday announced a province-wide closure of non-essential services and shops, effective March 24, after the country's coronavirus infected tally crossed 800.

Chief Minister of Sindh has announced a fully lockdown in the province in contradiction to the decision of Prime Minister Imran Khan that he thinks that locking down the nation will be more dangerous than the epidemic itself.

Karachi : Sindh Chief Minister announces fully lock down  for next fifteen days, with effect from Midnight today, according to Ary News .

Karachi : First death case due to Corona virus has been reported in Sindh, 75 years old person was diabetic, heart patient and cancer patient, with no travel history abroad  told Sindh Minister for Health Azra Pechoho to media.

Islamabad : Iranian President seeks Pakistan help to lift US sanction on his country to fight Corona Pandemic, according to media reports.

The United States is helping Pakistan in fight against novel coronavirus with initial funding worth one million dollars.

The number of deaths now stands at 3,405, which is more than in China where the virus originated last year, reported BBC news. There have been 3,245 reported deaths in China, but there have been questions over the reliability of its data. A lockdown imposed on 12 March in Italy has been extended beyond the original 25 March end date.  Nearly all Italians have been told to stay at home. Coronavirus has killed more people in Italy than in any other country, after deaths there rose by 427 in a day.  Despite these measures, the number of new cases and deaths has continued to spiral.  There have been 220,000 cases of the virus worldwide with more than 9,000 deaths.

ISLAMABAD : Former Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit on Wednesday claimed that the Sharif family had business interests in India as Suleman Shehbaz used to occasionally call him to grant visas to different personalities from the neighbouring country, ARY NEWS reported.

Test of leadership always comes at difficult times and popular leaders take tough but right decisions.  Only the time will tell whether Prime Minister Imran Khan's decision not to go for limited 'lockdown' of major cities or steps like that to prevent the spread of deadly coronavirus was right or it would cause more problems to the nation.

The Sindh government has announced a partial lockdown across the province to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has postponed the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 on the day of the semi-finals amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority has suspended international flights at five airports in the country in order to control the spread of coronavirus.

A Brazilian government official who attended an official meeting at Donald Trump's resort in Florida on Saturday and posted a photo of himself standing next to the United States president has tested positive for coronavirus, Brazilian officials said on Thursday, reported by Aljazeera English.

NEW YORK : An investigative report in a leading American newspaper blamed the Delhi police for siding with Hindu mobs carrying out deadly attacks against Muslim neighbourhood in northeast of the Indian capital during the February 24-25 violence in which 50 people were killed.

Karachi : Sindh government announced on Thursday that all educational institutions in the province will remain closed till May 30, 2020. The decision was taken after an important meeting was held by the Sindh cabinet. 

Karachi : Sindh chief minister's law adviser Murtaza Wahab on Thursday announced that the rest of the matches of the Karachi leg of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 will be held behind close doors and without fans, reported on Geo News .

  US President Donald Trump is suspending travel with 26 countries in Europe for 30 days to combat the coronavirus pandemic. The sweeping restrictions will not apply to the United Kingdom and US citizens and permanent residents will be exempted. In his national address, he accused the European Union of not responding quickly enough to the virus, reported by Aljazeera News.

Islamabad : Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi says the government has decided to table a bill in the National Assembly for creating South Punjab province. 

ISLAMABAD : Pakistan Air Force Wing Commander Noman Akram was martyred when his F-16 fighter jet crashed near Shakarparian in Islamabad on Wednesday morning, an air force spokesman said in a statement and reported by Geo News. According to sources, the plane crashed near the chand-tara jungle located in the area. The plane was carrying out routine exercises for the March 23 parade when it crashed, the air force said. Police and rescue officials have cordoned off the crash site. A board of inquiry has been ordered by Air Headquarters to determine the cause of accident, the PAF said.

The US has started withdrawing troops from Afghanistan as part of a deal with the Taliban aimed at bringing peace to the country, reported BBC . 

ISLAMABAD : PML-N leader and former Punjab Law Minister Rana Sana Ullah said that he could not reject meeting of PML-N Supremo Nawaz Sharif with representatives of the US and the UK’s establishments.

KARACHI : An emergency meeting of provincial health department on Tuesday recommended closure of educational institutions to the Chief Minister of Sindh amid emergence of nine new cases of novel coronavirus in Karachi, ARY News reported .

The coronavirus outbreak has catapulted sales of surgical-style masks, hand sanitizers and other preventive items. But the World Health Organization says people snapping up medical supplies could be putting health care workers at risk.

Oil prices plummeted around 30% on Monday after Saudi Arabia slashed its official selling prices and set plans for a dramatic increase in crude production next month, starting a price war even as spread of the coronavirus erodes global demand growth.

London : Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) has motivated, inspired and empowered me to stand up as a British Muslim Woman, said the Shadow Minister for Women & Equalities Naz Shah as she stood up at the dispatch box to close the debate to mark the International Women’s Day in the House of Commons.

Three senior members of Saudi Arabia's royal family, including the king's brother, have been arrested for unexplained reasons, US media report. 

Islamabad : A Chinese student who has been pursuing her MPhil in the university has approached the high-ups in the university as well as in the government with serious allegations of sexual harassment against a senior professor in the Department of English.

KABUL : Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday linked the release of Taliban prisoners with the group breaking ties with neighboring Pakistan, reported The News International .

The United States has carried out an air raid against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, a US forces spokesman said a day after President Donald Trump spoke to a senior Taliban leader by phone, Aljazeera News Reported

Nawaz Sharif was seen meeting with his party members in London Hotel while he should be in a hospital Islamabad : The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has written a letter to the British government to extradite former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to Pakistan, media reported on Tuesday.

LONDON : The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder and leader Altaf Hussain has put the MQM’s iconic International Secretariat on sale for £1,000,000.

London : The Taliban are to resume attacks against government forces, just days after signing a deal with the US aimed at bringing peace to Afghanistan.

Karachi : The licenses of 25 private education institutes in Karachi that were open on Monday, despite the Sindh government's order a day earlier to close in light of the corona virus outbreak, have been suspended. 

New Delhi : Almost a week after the clashes between Hindus and Muslims began, a clearer picture of the horrors inflicted during New Delhi’s worst communal riots in decades has begun to emerge, as Dawn News reported .

KualaLampur : A staunch Muslim nationalist backed by a scandal-mired party was sworn in as Malaysia’s premier on Sunday after a reformist government’s collapse, but former leader Mahathir Mohamad, 94, slammed the move as illegal. The Dawn News reported.