Acknowledged for her groundbreaking cell-biological work on the mechanisms of epigenetic gene regulation, Pakistan-born Asifa Akhtar has been selected as a recipient of Germany’s Leibniz Prize — one of the most prestigious awards of the country. Akhtar is also serving as the first international female Vice President at Germany’s Max Planc society — a fundamental research and science organization.
Popular Turkish star, Engin Altan Düzyatan, who essayed the famous Erutgrul Ghazi in the famous period drama Diriliş: Ertuğrul recently visited Pakistan on a short trip. It has been however, been reported that Kashif Zameer, who organised Düzyatan’s trip to Pakistan, has been arrested by Lahore police. Kashif has apparently been charged with fraudulent activities in the past.
According to the United Nation’s Human Development Index (HDI) 2020 rankings, Pakistan ranked 154th among 189 countries. Previously, HDI rankings were measured by combining indicators of health, education, and standards of living. This year, the development index included ‘a nation’s carbon dioxide emissions’ and ‘material footprint that put enormous strain on the planet’. The United States stood 17th in the rankings.
Pakistan is mourning the sixth anniversary of the 2014 terror attack at the Army Public School in Peshawar that martyred 148 people, making it the deadliest act of terrorism in Pakistan’s history. The attack had shocked the entire nation as terrorists stormed inside the school and fired at children who were attending classes at the time.
President Dr Arif Alvi approved the government’s “stringent” and “holistic” Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Ordinance, 2020 to help expedite cases of sexual abuse against women and children. Under this ordinance, special courts are to be set up across the country to expedite trials and cases of rape at the earliest. The courts are to deal with rape cases within four months.
A Toronto-based Pakistani doctor has introduced an instant Covid-19 diagnostic test using a smartphone. Dr Naqeeb Khalid, who graduated from King Edward Medical University in 1983, says his innovation is based on a digital platform that displays the result instantly on any smartphone and can also communicate or store the results along with time and GPS information.
Scientists at Karachi’s Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) believe Pakistan is likely to become the first country to complete the research on intravenous immunoglobulin (C-IVIG) therapy for the treatment coronavirus. The scientist conducting the clinical trials needed to introduce the treatment at a mass level say that ‘severe’ patients who had received the product had a 100 percent recovery rate.
The bomb disposal squad (BDS) officials in Karachi have defused a ‘remote-controlled explosive device’ attached with a magnet from a vehicle near Bilawal Chowrangi. The BDS was called in after a suspicious vehicle was spotted moving in Clifton Block 2. Heavy contingents of law enforcement agencies cordoned off the area and people were evacuated as the BDS inspected the explosive-ridden vehicle.
A Pakistani startup will soon be launching Pakistan’s first locally made Electronic bike. Teleport, an upcoming electric vehicle company has spent more than two years researching and developing this technology and is finally launching its product – The MODEL T1. The exact specifications of the bike are unknown but it will be launching on December 18th, 2020.
Acclaimed Pakistani actor Nimra Bucha will be starring alongside Iman Vellani in the upcoming Ms. Marvel series. While no details have been disclosed yet about her character, it is also known that Pakistani filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has been roped in to direct one episode. The Disney+ series centers on Marvel’s first ever Muslim and Pakistani character.