Pakistan ranked 124 out of 180 countries — dropping four spots over last year — in the newly released Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) by Transparency International. The 2020 edition of the CPI, an annual index that ranks countries based on perceptions of public sector corruption, ranked 180 countries and territories, drawing on 13 expert assessments and surveys of business executives.
Pakistani-American woman Saima Mohsin is all set to become the first immigrant Muslim Attorney in America, after the current Attorney for Michigan’s Eastern district resigned from his post. She will assume charge on February 1.Saima Mohsin was born in Pakistan and has been a federal prosecutor for decades, working since 2002 in the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The Punjab government has reimposed its ban on basant celebrations across the province and initiated action against businesses involved in the purchase and sale of kites. The decision was taken by Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar. He has instructed the police to ensure action against anyone violating the ban and government orders.
A developer is launching a ‘complete’ replica of Europe’s popular city of Paris outside Gujranwala—but five times smaller. Le Paris Housing Scheme is being planned by a sister company of Master
Tiles and Ceramics. The scheme is spread over 4,800 acres or 19.4 square kilometres. The original Paris, in contrast, is spread over 105 square kilometres.
38-year-old Pakistani stuntman, Muhammad Usman, who was paralyzed at the age of six with the crippling polio virus can jump over five cars on a motorcycle and pull a car with a chain tied to a sharp knife hung around his neck. There are many showmen in Pakistan who can perform such stunts, but Usman, from Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, is special due to his disability.
Even the world’s tallest mountain is not safe from the menace of littering. Trash collected from Mount Everest is set to be transformed into art and displayed in a nearby gallery in Nepal. Used oxygen bottles, torn tents, ropes, broken ladders, cans and plastic wrappers discarded by climbers and trekkers litter the 8,848.86 metre (29,032 feet) tall peak and the surrounding area.
The government is likely to bear $6 to $7 per dose of millions of shots if it opts to pick the Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, which has been approved by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap). However, the vaccine’s sole authorised local distributor is at the moment unable to give a proper timeline for the supply.
Students with 16 years of education can now apply for admissions in a PhD degree, Higher Education Commission of Pakistan Chairperson Tariq Banuri said. This means students who have completed their Bachelor’s degrees can now opt for PhD directly, without acquiring a Master or MPhil degree.
In his first order after taking the oath of his office on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden removed the travel ban on some Muslim and African nations placed by his predecessor Donald Trump. Biden returned to the White House late on Wednesday afternoon from the swearing-in ceremony, and right away he started signing the orders that sweep aside Trump’s pandemic response.
Bazaar, a Pakistani online marketplace that connects retailers directly to wholesalers and manufacturers, has raised a $6.5 million seed round, the second largest ever in the Middle East and North Africa region and the largest in Pakistan, one of the venture capital firms that invested in the project said. Last year, Bazaar raised $1.3 million in Pakistan’s largest ever pre-seed round.