SYDNEY – The reopening of Australia’s international borders following a two-year closure due to COVID-19 could trigger the rise of new forms of influenza, according to a leading virologist. Professor Kanta Subbarao, writing in the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA) on Monday, said that the lifting of quarantine regulations posed the potential for “novel flu … Read more
BERLIN – Germany’s seven-day COVID-19 incidence rate increased for the fifth day in a row, reaching 1,952 infections per 100,000 inhabitants, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said on Monday. The country reported 78,428 new cases within 24 hours, around 16,100 more than a week ago, according to the RKI. According to the … Read more
WASHINGTON – COVID-19 is unlikely to be eradicated any time soon, and people still need to be flexible and put on masks and practice physical distancing again if COVID-19 case levels get high in their area, health experts have warned. New COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths continue to decline across the United States. The number … Read more
HAVANA – Cuba reported 548 COVID-19 infections and one death in the last day, for a total of 1,073,504 cases and 8,501 deaths, the Ministry of Public Health said Monday. It also said there were 2,514 active cases in the Caribbean nation, a figure that has stabilized in recent weeks. The province of Holguin had … Read more
SANTIAGO – Chile registered 13,820 COVID-19 infections and 149 deaths from the disease in the last day, bringing the total to 3,202,562 cases and 43,226 deaths, the Health Ministry said Monday. In its daily report, the ministry also said there were 89,973 active cases in the South American country. The 24-hour COVID-19 positivity rate in … Read more
WELLINGTON – New Zealand reported 23,894 new community cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, the Ministry of Health said in a statement. Among the new community infections, 9,881 were in the largest city Auckland. Nineteen new cases of COVID-19 were detected at the NZ border, said the ministry. Currently there are 757 COVID-19 patients in New … Read more
MANILA – The Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH) reported a total of 6,297 new COVID-19 infections and 615 deaths from March 1 to 7, according to its first weekly bulletin released on Monday. The daily case average was 899, 30 percent lower than the cases reported in the previous week in February. The DOH will … Read more
HAVANA – The number of daily coronavirus cases and deaths in Cuba has continued to fall in the past week as more than half of the country’s population has received an additional COVID-19 vaccine dose. It comes as the Caribbean nation on Sunday registered 482 coronavirus cases and one more related death, taking the national … Read more
ULAN BATOR – Mongolia’s Health Ministry on Monday confirmed 190 new COVID-19 local cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 467,012. Meanwhile, two more COVID-19 patients aged over 40 have died in the past day, taking the death toll to 2,104, the ministry said. Currently, 1,515 COVID-19 patients are being treated … Read more
SUVA – Samoa reported on Monday eight new positive COVID-19 cases. According to the newspaper Samoa Observer, chief of Samoa’s National Emergency Operation Center Agafili Shem Leo has confirmed the eight new cases, saying that they are passengers on board a repatriation flight from New Zealand on Sunday. Currently, the eight cases are in quarantine. … Read more
SEOUL – South Korea recorded 210,716 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight Sunday, bringing the total number of infections to 4,666,977, the health authorities said Monday. The daily caseload was down from the 243,626 cases reported in the previous day due to fewer tests over the weekend, but it was 1.5 times higher than a … Read more
NEW DELHI – India’s COVID-19 tally rose to 42,967,315 on Monday as 4,362 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the health ministry’s latest data. Besides, 66 deaths due to the pandemic since Sunday morning took the total death toll to 515,102. There are still 54,118 active COVID-19 cases … Read more
KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia reported 27,435 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Sunday, bringing the total tally to 3,622,607, according to the health ministry. Among them were 254 new imported cases and 27,181 local transmissions, data released on the ministry’s website showed. A further 55 deaths have been reported from the pandemic, bringing the death … Read more
WELLINGTON – New Zealand reported 17,522 new community cases of COVID-19 on Monday, the Ministry of Health said in a statement. Among the new community infections, 7,639 were in the largest city Auckland. Eleven new cases of COVID-19 were detected at the New Zealand border, said the ministry. Currently there are 696 COVID-19 patients in … Read more
BEIJING – The Chinese mainland on Sunday reported 214 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, the National Health Commission said Monday. Of the new local infections, 69 were reported in Guangdong, 54 in Jilin, 46 in Shandong, and 12 in Gansu. The rest of the cases were reported in other nine provincial-level regions, the commission said in … Read more
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan on Sunday registered 756 new COVID-19 cases and seven more deaths, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) said on Monday. The NCOC said that the total tally of COVID-19 cases has risen to 1,515,014, including 1,455,162 recoveries. The number of active cases has dropped to 29,580 in the Asian country, including … Read more
WASHINGTON: WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has warned about the “economic impacts” of the war in Ukraine, a major wheat exporter, which will hurt consumers around the world. “There’s going to be a big impact with respect to wheat prices and prices of bread for ordinary people as well,” she said at a virtual event with … Read more
ISLAMABAD: The provision of healthcare services to the citizens at the grass-root level is the basis of a true welfare state and requires enormous struggle to ensure the well-being of citizens. The task becomes more challenging especially at the time when a nation undergoes or comes across a challenge like Covid-19 as it has to … Read more
BEIJING: Continuing geopolitical tensions like those involving Russia and Ukraine have further tightened global energy supplies and are expected to push commodity prices higher, which will make the ongoing fragile global economic recovery more challenging, analysts said. Any escalation in hostilities will likely pose a significant risk to commodity exports and supplies and further inflate … Read more
LAHORE: The registered packaging companies are estimated to worth Rs20 trillion but their market share is merely 30 per cent of the total volume. At least 70 per cent of the local packaging requirements are fulfilled by the informal sector, depriving the national exchequer of the much-needed revenue, besides enhancing difficulties for the registered companies. … Read more
The government will face a tough time in sustaining the poverty level on the back of higher fuel prices, the rupee depreciation and an increase in the electricity and gas tariffs on regular intervals. The latest poverty headcount based on the 2018/19 Household Economic Survey showed around 22 per cent of the estimated 227.9 million … Read more
Queen Elizabeth II held two virtual audiences on Tuesday, Buckingham Palace said, after she was forced to cancel engagements last week due to Covid. Concerns have mounted for the 95-year-old monarch’s health since she tested positive on February 20, overshadowing the start of her record-breaking 70th year on the throne. But a palace statement indicated … Read more
KARACHI: The earnings of the benchmark KSE-100 Index displayed a jump of 19.9 per cent on a year-on-year basis in December 2021 and 0.6 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis. The earnings growth was led by the highest weighted commercial banks sector amid interest rate hike and reversal in general provisioning made last year in … Read more
KARACHI: The demand for the automobiles in Pakistan has witnessed a significant surge in the last few years, resulting in an increase in oil consumption. In the wake of the higher oil prices in the international market, which are hovering around $100 due the recent Russia-Ukraine war, Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves are under severe pressure. … Read more
KARACHI: The Pakistan government should take measures to achieve an annual 7 per cent GDP growth rate, which will not only help reduce the debt burden but also create job opportunities, said Mian Anjum Nisar, chairman of the Businessmen Panel. “There is a need for a reform agenda to achieve 7 per cent economic growth … Read more
SEOUL, March 5 – South Korea reported 254,327 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight Friday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 4,212,652, the health authorities said Saturday. The daily caseload was down from the record high of 266,853 in the previous day. The total cases topped 4 million five … Read more
MANILA – The Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH) reported 941 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,666,678. The DOH said 109 more people died from COVID-19 complications, pushing the country’s death toll to 56,879. The number of active cases dropped further to 49,374. The … Read more
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan on Friday confirmed 796 new COVID-19 cases and 10 more deaths, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) said on Saturday. The NCOC said that the overall tally has risen to 1,513,503 cases, including 1,453,496 recoveries. The number of active cases has dropped to 29,749 in the country, including 842 patients in … Read more
