UK becomes first country to approve pills to treat Covid-19

United Kingdom approves COVID-19 antiviral pill as a potentially game-changing tool against the pandemic. The treatment is being developed jointly by Merck & Co Inc. and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. British regulators have approved Molnupiravir for use in people with mild to moderate COVID-19. The antiviral works by reducing a virus’ ability to replicate, thereby slowing the disease down.

Babar Azam’s Father Offers Babar’s India Match Fee for Treatment of Injured Woman Cricketer

Babar Azam’s father has urged the Pakistan Cricket Board to immediately arrange for the treatment of injured cricketer Bisma Amjad. Taking to Instagram, Azaeem Siddique expressed his concerns about the cricketer. The PCB can pay the Babar’s India match fee if other arrangements cannot be made for the treatment of injured woman cricketers, Siddique said.

Golden man of Islamabad gets official go-ahead to perform on the streets

The practice of seeing living statues is very common in other countries, but not in Pakistan. This can either be a performer (or mannequin) who poses like a statue or someone with statue-like makeup. The ‘Golden Man of Islamabad,’ Muhammad Ahsan, is the first living statue in Pakistan. DC Islamabad granted Ahsan permission to perform as the living statute in Islamabad.

Afghanistan ranks among top 20 countries for cryptocurrency adoption

Afghanistan is also experiencing a boom in cryptocurrency adoption as the trend spreads around the globe. According to Chainalysis’ August report, the war-torn nation ranked 20th out of 154 nations using digital coins. Additionally, Afghanistan is also ranked eighth globally for the core peer-to-peer trading volume. In the wake of recurrent bullish and bearish trends, cryptocurrency usage is on the rise globally.

Pakistan paid $100m penalty to ADB in last 15 years for failure to complete projects

Reports indicate that Pakistan has paid the Asian Development Bank a hefty fine of $100 million for failing to execute projects. Over the past 15 years, Pakistan failed to honor the deadlines on various donor-funded projects. There have been a few examples shared with the media regarding bad governance in the implementation of donor-funded projects in Pakistan.

India to set up a new agency to crack down on Kashmiris

The Indian authorities have ordered the establishment of a special agency called the State Investigation Agency. This will exacerbate the pressure on Kashmiris who are demanding self-determination. According to the authorities, the aforementioned agency would serve as the Nodal Agency in coordinating with India’s notorious National Investigation Agency. Accordingly, it calls for effective investigation and prosecution of cases involving Kashmiris, especially young people.

Pakistani man plants first Islamic garden in Karachi, inspired by Sharjah orchard

The 80-year-old civil engineer launched Pakistan’s first Islamic garden in Karachi inspired by the Islamic Botanical Garden in Sharjah. The garden of Shaukat Omari includes plants, trees, and shrubs named in Islamic scriptures, like the Sharjah park that opened in 2014. There are 25 new species of trees planted in Jinnah Urban Forest, including olive, date palm, pomegranate, and fig trees.

King Babar Azam replaces Dawid Malan, becomes No 1 T20 batter

King Babar Azam reclaimed the top spot in the ICC’s T20I Batting Ranking following his superb performance during Pakistan vs Namibia match. His two consecutive half-centuries in the ongoing T20I World Cup have helped him surpass England’s Dawid Malan as the leading batter. In his career, Pakistani skipper Babar is at the top of the ranking for the sixth time. 

Rizwan surpasses Kohli, just 5 runs short of Chris Gayle to break world record

Rizwan scored unbeaten 79 runs off 50 balls in T20 World Cup 2021 against Namibia, continuing his brilliant run in the shortest format of the game. With this knock, Rizwan has now surpassed Virat Kohli for the most T20 runs in a calendar year and is just five runs behind Chris Gayle.

Babar-Rizwan break Rohit-Dhawan’s partnership record

The opening pair of Pakistan, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, scripted history on Tuesday. The partnership between Babar and Rizwan has broken Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan’s record during Pakistan’s T20 World Cup match against Namibia. They overtook Rohit and Dhawan’s record of the most century stands in the shortest format of the game.