Tue, 21-Oct-2025

Determined Pakistan lauds move to regulate HTPs

Determined Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Determined Pakistan has appreciated the government’s efforts for regularising heated tobacco products (HTPs) as an alternative to cigarettes in the interest of public health, a statement said. The Federal Cabinet on the request of the Ministry of Health has approved the SRO on heated tobacco products that are scientifically proven to be 95 per … Read more

Mystery outbreak of acute hepatitis in children found in US and Europe after 74 infections in UK

The mystery outbreak of acute hepatitis in children first identified in the UK has spread to the US and several EU countries, officials have said. A total of 74 cases of the illness have been identified in children under 10 in the UK since January, and more cases are expected to be confirmed in the … Read more

China’s finance ministry calls for better macroeconomic coordination

china

BEIJING: China has called for strengthening global cooperation in coordinating macro policies, as part of efforts to propel common development, according to the Ministry of Finance. “Major developed countries should adopt responsible macroeconomic policies and appropriately control the spillover effects,” Finance Minister Liu Kun said when attending the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central … Read more

Precious water

water

KARACHI: In Karachi, people are often forced to buy water from private suppliers or depend on charities to deliver the vital ingredient of life. This has been taking a toll on residents who survive on meagre incomes. There are a number of factors causing scarcity of water; one of these is the growing population, the … Read more

Mongolia reopens borders for vaccinated travellers

mongolia

ULAANBAATAR: Mongolia has reopened its borders to fully vaccinated international travellers, state media reported, rolling back coronavirus curbs that had kept the country isolated for two years. The nation has implemented some of the world’s toughest anti-Covid measures since the start of the pandemic, largely sealing off its borders and imposing several lockdowns. The curbs … Read more

‘Auto-disable syringes need of the hour’

syringes

KARACHI: As per the directives of the ministry of health, the healthcare providers will be using auto-disable (AD) disposable syringes instead of the ordinary ones with an aim to make injection practices safer for patients and healthcare workers (HCWs), besides adopting preventive measures with regard to the injection-related transmission of viruses, particularly HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B … Read more

FIFA ‘inundated’ with demand for 2022 World Cup tickets

fifa

The most awaited global sporting event, FIFA World Cup is just around the corner and the football enthusiasts cannot wait for the first whistle to blow in Qatar. As a result, according to FIFA, fans have sought 17 million tickets for this year’s World Cup, making it more than five times over-subscribed. Higher prices being … Read more

Pakistanis remain pessimistic

pakistan

KARACHI: Despite improvement in business activities after complete lockdown, Pakistanis remain pessimistic about the fate of the country’s economy with a continuous hike in inflation, high key policy rates, and burgeoning import bill and twin deficits. At the start of 2022, the world was optimistic that the development of pioneering vaccines would restrict the global … Read more

World Bank okays $90m in pandemic aid for Iran

World Bank

WASHINGTON: The World Bank has approved $90 million in additional financing for Iran, to help fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, a spokesperson said Friday. The Washington-based development lender’s board of directors approved the aid on December 21, a World Bank spokesperson said, which “will be utilised only for procuring additional lifesaving, essential medical equipment to … Read more

Emirates upbeat on growth despite global surge in Covid

Emirates

DUBAI: Aviation giant Emirates said on Thursday it expects business to grow next year despite the surge in global coronavirus cases fuelled by the Omicron variant. The Dubai-based carrier said in November it was already on the path to recovery as six-month losses dropped by more than half from a year earlier. “Despite the recent … Read more

More than half a billion pushed into extreme poverty due to health costs: UN

UN

UNITED NATIONS: The coronavirus pandemic is likely to halt two decades of global progress towards Universal Health Coverage, according to reports released on Sunday from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Bank, which reveal more than half a billion people are being pushed into extreme poverty because they have to pay for health … Read more

Risk of ‘catastrophic’ COVID-19 surge in Middle East, WHO

WHO reports record daily rise in new coronavirus infections

The World Health Organisation said on Wednesday an outpouring of coronavirus cases in several Middle Eastern countries could have calamitous consequences, intensified by the spread of the Delta variant and low vaccine availability. After a reduction in cases and deaths in the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean region for eight weeks, the agency said there has been … Read more

Delta ‘most transmissible’ of coronavirus variants identified so far: WHO chief

Coronavirus

UNITED NATIONS: The head of the UN health agency expressed concern over the coronavirus’ delta variant, which he called “the most transmissible” mutation to date. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) told journalists at a regular briefing in Geneva that delta has been identified in at least 85 countries and … Read more

Virus variants in Asia threaten the whole world

Coronavirus

If the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread worldwide, vaccines could become ineffective and strains could escape immunity. The right vaccines need to go to the places where they are needed. According to genome databases, such as nextstrain.org, there are now more than 1,000 known variants of the  SARS CoV-2 virus. Up to now, the “variants … Read more

WHO To Provide 40 Million Doses Of COVID Vaccine To Poor Countries

WHO To Provide 40 Million Doses Of COVID Vaccine To Poor Countries

Pfizer and Biotech will supply 40 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine to the poorest countries by next month. The WHO plans to deliver the vaccine to 20% of the affected population this year under its Covax scheme. The WHO’s Covax scheme aims to provide the corona vaccine to the most affected populations in poor … Read more

Malnutrition is a worldwide health crisis

health crisis

Unhealthy global food systems are fueling high levels of malnutrition and causing a world health crisis. The World Health Organization is ensuring that more is done so that people have enough to eat and access to the right foods. “Malnutrition is a complex issue, but it is the main cause of death and disease in … Read more

World Polio Day: A win for polio is a win for global health

World Polio Day

Rotary’s World Polio Day programme on 24th October marks this year’s historic achievement in the eradication of Polio in Africa. TV presenter and Paralympic medalist Ade Adepitan co-hosted this year’s programme saying that the eradication of polio in Africa was very personal for him. “Since I was born in Nigeria, this achievement is close to … Read more

Hand sanitizers : Most profitable business in COVID-19

global hand sanitizer

According to reliable sources, it is estimated that the global hand sanitizer market is expected to reach a quotation of USD 17.2 billion by the year 2026. This growth pertains to increasing awareness of personal hygiene in relation to the rising prevalence of COVID-19. World Health Organization recommends sanitization practices in residential, commercial, industrial areas … Read more

Experts say Covid-19 stays activated on skin for nine hours

Japanese

Japanese researchers have discovered the need for frequent hand washing to battle the Covid-19 pandemic. Experts say the virus remains active on the skin for up to nine hours. The infectious agent causing the flu survives on human skin for nearly 1.8 hours as reported by the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal. “The nine-hour survival of … Read more

Covid-19: WHO head Dr Tedros dismisses ‘herd immunity’ approach

WHO Tedros Ghebreyesus

Head of the World Health Organization has excluded the ‘herd immunity’ response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Herd immunity is when majority of the population becomes immune to a disease through receiving vaccines or through the widespread of the disease. Despite arguments that coronavirus should be permitted to spread naturally in the absence of a vaccine, … Read more

Obesity causes reduced brain plasticity

Obesity

A research conducted in UniSA and Deakin University shows that obese people have decreased brain plasticity. They are less likely to re-wire their brains and find new neural pathways. This is a recent discovery which is helpful for people recovering from a brain injury or stroke. Researchers tested 15 obese people aged between 18 and … Read more

China reports cases of Bubonic plague, WHO monitoring the situation

China reports cases of Bubonic plague, WHO monitoring the situation

A case of bubonic plague has been reported in Mongolia in northern China. The plague victim is a shepherd in Bayannur City in western Inner Mongolia who kept in quarantine. This disease is also known as ‘black death’. According to the AFP news agency, local authorities have completed security arrangements after the plague patient came … Read more

Punjab govt eases SOPs for coronavirus funeral

COVID-19 cases surged

The Punjab government has relaxed the standard operating procedures (SOPs) today (Jun 24) about funeral processions and burial of those who died of the coronavirus. According to the details, Secretary Primary and Secondary Health Care, Captain (retd) Muhammad Usman, trained teams of local government officials would perform the ablution of the deceased with all the necessary … Read more

Pakistan Coronavirus Update: Infection toll to hit 60,000

Coronavirus infections

The number of confirmed coronavirus infections in Pakistan is nearly 60,000 after new cases emerged in the past 24 hours. The National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) in its latest figures cleared that the coronavirus infections toll in Pakistan has hit 59151 after 1446 new infections emerged in the past 24 hours.  According to the … Read more

Coronavirus pandemic is “accelerating”, WHO warns

Pakistan coronavirus cases

The World Health Organization (WHO) has threatened coronavirus pandemic is “accelerating” as more than 300,000 people are infected globally. International news agency states that It took 67 days from the first reported of Covid-19 to reach 100,000 cases, 11 days for the second 100,000, and just four days for the third 100,000. However, WHO Director … Read more

UAE Gov suspends issuance of all types of labour permits

UAE Gov

After on arrival visas, the United Arab Emirates government (UAE Gov)  has suspended the issuance of all types of labour permits. The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation suspended the issuance of all types of labour permits. This includes for drivers and domestic workers. The suspension is effective Thursday (March 19) until any further notice. … Read more

WHO terms Pakistan’s measures against coronavirus ‘timely’ & `best national response’

WHO terms Pakistan's measures against coronavirus ‘timely’ & `best national response’

World Health Organisation (WHO) has termed Pakistan’s measures against novel coronavirus (Covid-19) threat as ‘timely’ and the ‘best national response’. WHO’s country representative in Pakistan, Dr Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala, said “Pakistan has timely come up with one of the world’s best National Response Programmes against COVID-19 and it is being implemented very effectively. Authorities are … Read more

World Health Organisation warns against global over-reaction to coronavirus

World Health Organization

World Health Organisation has warned against a global over-reaction to the new coronavirus epidemic following panic-buying, event cancellations and concerns about cruise ship travel, as China’s official death toll neared 1,900. More than 72,000 people have now been infected in China and hundreds more abroad, although the World Health Organisation stressed the disease has infected … Read more