Toronto Police have termed the death of Baloch rights activist Karima Baloch, who went missing over the weekend before being found dead, as “non-criminal”. Karima Baloch, who hailed from Balochistan, was living in Canada in exile for about five years. “The circumstances have been investigated and officers have determined this to be a non-criminal death and no foul play is suspected,” the police said.
British media regulator Ofcom has imposed a £20,000 fine on Indian TV channel Republic TV for promoting hatred against Pakistanis on a talkshow. Ofcom found an episode of Puchta Hai Bharat, hosted by firebrand anchor Arnab Goswami, containing hate speech against Pakistanis. The episode that aired on July 22, 2019 showed a debate between Goswami, three Indians and three Pakistani
The co-founder of BioNTech, Ugur Sahin has shown hope that its vaccine against the coronavirus works against the mutated strain detected in Britain, but if necessary, it could also adapt the vaccine in six weeks. Sahin said the variant detected in Britain has nine mutations, rather than just one as is usually common. He said tests are being run on the variant, with results expected in two weeks.
Pakistan has decided to close its borders to Britain, joining several other countries, over fears of a highly infectious new coronavirus strain. A meeting of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) placed a temporary restriction on inbound travellers from the UK (direct or indirect) to Pakistan that will come into effect on the midnight of December 22 (i.e. 00:00 hours Dec 23) and last until the midnight of Dec 29.
Muneer Al Jundi, an engineer who designed the door of the Holy Kaaba, passed away in Stuttgart, Germany. Engineer Al Jundi also has the honour of having his name inscribed on the door of the Kaaba as a designer. Al Jundi designed the door of the Holy Kaaba by the order of King Khalid bin Abdul Aziz.
Hong Kong and India have decided to suspend flights from Britain after Australia said it had detected cases of the new fast-spreading coronavirus strain identified in the United Kingdom. Two travellers from the United Kingdom to Australia’s New South Wales state were found carrying the mutated variant of the virus that Britain has said could be up to 70% more infectious.
Pakistan will be launching the nation’s first job portal, Prime Minister Imran Khan said, talking about one part of the Digital Governance Programme. “In the first phase, NADRA, Ehsaas Programme, police investigation and the investment board will be digitised,” he said in Islamabad. A roadmap for the digital transformation of government institutions has been drafted.
Saudi Arabia has suspended all international commercial flights for a renewable week except for the foreign flights already in the kingdom. The entry to the kingdom through land and sea ports will be also suspended for a renewable week. These measures come after the spread of a new strain of Covid-19 among a number of countries.
First Pakistani space scientist at the University of Cambridge, Dr Yarjan Abdul Samad has won the Young Leaders Award for 2020 by the Young Professionals Society (YPS). Dr. Yarjan, a senior research associate and a teaching fellow at Cambridge Graphene Centre, is currently working on a research project on loop heat pipes for use in space applications.
Pakistan-origin American, Ali Zaidi, has been named as the Deputy Adviser on US’s Domestic Climate Change Policy by the US President-elect, Joe Biden. Ali Zaidi, a Harvard graduate, has been serving as Deputy Secretary of Climate Policy to the Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo. He is also the Chairman of Climate Policy and Finance for New York.