The federal cabinet has decided to cap maximum retail price of the Russian and Chinese Covid vaccine injections, being imported by the private sector. The government has fixed the maximum sale price of Sputnik V Russian vaccine at Rs8,449 for two doses and China’s Convidecia at Rs4,225 per injection. In Pakistan, Covid-19 vaccination is so far being carried out through the Adult Vaccination Counters (AVCs).
Pakistan is happier at 105 in a ranking featuring 149 countries in the World Happiness Report. Finland grabs the top spot as the world’s happiest country and India ranks 139. Afghanistan has been named the least happiest country on the list. Gallup World Poll, which asked people to vote on indicators such as life evaluations, positive and negative emotions, was used in the survey.
Kuwait will lift a ban on work visas for Pakistan, announced Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed as the Kuwaiti Foreign Minister begins his two-day official trip to Islamabad. According to Ahmed, Kuwait would start issuing work visas to Pakistanis once the Covid-19 restrictions are lifted. Kuwait had banned work visas for Pakistan in 2011 and despite attempts by previous governments the restrictions could not be lifted.
Pakistan would receive its first consignment of the Indian-manufactured Oxford AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine by mid-March. Pakistan would get 16 million free doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca’s vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, from the vaccine alliance GAVI. The remaining doses are expected to arrive by June. India is supplying the COVID-19 vaccines to 65 countries.
A 20-year-old TikTok star allegedly committed suicide in Peshawar’s Tehkal area after his marriage proposal was turned down. Shahzad Ahmad had 0.3 million followers on the popular video-sharing application. He had also made attempts to end his life in the recent past but was saved. Shahzad was found hanging from the ceiling fan in his room. Police have started investigation into the case.
A day after the National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) re-imposed restrictions to curb spread of Covid-19, Pakistan reported more than 2,000 virus cases for the first time since January. An NCOC press release stated that 42,164 tests were conducted on March 10, which translates into a positivity rate of 5.3 per cent, while the total number of active cases in the country is 17,627 as of March 11.
The United States has prevented Turkey from supplying 30 locally-made attack helicopters to Pakistan. Turkey’s presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin has stated that “the US has blocked Turkey’s helicopter sale to Pakistan, which will likely lead to Islamabad buying it from China.” The ATAK T-129 is a twin-engine, tandem seat, multi-role, all-weather attack helicopter based on the Agusta A129 Mangusta platform and is equipped with American engines.
US President Joe Biden has nominated a Pakistani-American, Dilawar Syed, to serve as the deputy administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA). Confirming the news released by the White House, Dilawar said he was “deeply humbled & honored” on the nomination, which is yet to be confirmed by the US Senate. Dilawar currently serves as the president and chief executive officer of Lumiata.
Three new airlines have sought regulatory approval from Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to launch operations. The scrutiny of two airlines – Q-Airlines and Fly Jinnah – has been completed while Jet Green Airlines is still going through the process. Following the completion of scrutiny, the applications would be sent to Aviation Division and then to the federal cabinet for final approvals.
The Pakistani government is planning to vaccinate more than 300,000 frontline health care workers within the next three weeks, the prime minister’s special adviser on health has said. A Pakistan military aircraft brought back the country’s first consignment of COVID-19 vaccines produced by China’s Sinopharm on Monday. The official rollout of the vaccine campaign will start this week on Wednesday, February 3.