Urdu News

A cyberattack on the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) has been detected that has disrupted its services which are likely to be restored by Monday, said a statement issued by the bank on Saturday. “In the late hours of the 29th and early morning of the 30th October, a cyberattack on the NBP’s servers was detected which impacted some of its services,” said the statement. Immediate steps were taken to isolate the affected systems, it added. “At this point, no customer or financial data has been compromised.” “Remediation efforts are under way using industry-leading subject matter experts, including international resources wherever required,” said the bank. “While currently the NBP’s services to its customers are disrupted, we are working to address the breach and confident that essential customer services will be restored by Monday morning,” said the NBP statement. “We are grateful for the understanding of our customers in this unusual situation…,” it added. The State Bank of Pakist...

Federal Minister for Planning and Chairman National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) Asad Umar on Saturday has told he is happy to report that seven crore people have now received at least one dose while four crore are fully vaccinated in Pakistan. In a post on social-networking website Twitter, the minister said, “The yearend target for 2021 was to vaccinate seven crore people.” With two months to go, we will meet and exceed the target, he hoped. We continue to make progress to vaccinate Pakistan. The year end target for 2021 was 7 crore people vaccinated. Happy to report that 7 crore people have now recieved atleast 1 dose and 4 crore are fully vaccinated. With 2 months to go, will inshallah meet, and exceed, the target On the other hand, Pakistan has reported 10 deaths in the last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of positive cases has surged to 1,272,345. The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 28,439 on Saturday. from Health - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/...

A few border cities in northeastern China started to tighten COVID-19 measures, restricting travel and limiting gatherings in public spaces, and some declared a "pre-war" mode of vigilance and monitoring, as China combats an outbreak hitting mainly the north. China reported 23 locally transmitted symptomatic cases for Wednesday, official data showed on Thursday, down from 50 a day earlier, bringing the total number to 270 since Oct. 17, when the current outbreak began. Although the tally is tiny versus many clusters outside China, the spread to over a dozen provincial areas and a zero-tolerance policy have forced local officials to toughen restrictions, again squeezing the service sector including tourism and catering companies in a slowing economy. In northeastern Heilongjiang province, which shares a border with Russia, Heihe city detected one local confirmed case, plus three asymptomatic cases, which China counts separately from patients with confirmed symptoms, for O...

Facebook recently announced that it has changed its company name to Meta and the internet can't stop with the jokes. The social networking site will continue to be called Facebook but the new name reflects, according to CEO Mark Zuckerbeg, their work investing in the metaverse. The metaverse is a term coined in the dystopian novel Snow Crash three decades ago and now attracting buzz in Silicon Valley, according to Reuters. It refers broadly to the idea of a shared virtual realm which can be accessed by people using different devices. “Right now, our brand is so tightly linked to one product that it can't possibly represent everything that we're doing today, let alone in the future,” said Zuckerberg. But his announcement was met by many jokes and expressions of incredulity. Facebook trying to venture out into an all encompassing online world where people can game, work and communicate in a virtual environment, often with the help of virtual reality headsets? That's...

The Meta-owned messaging application WhatsApp has announced its plans to roll out a new update for the app, using Novi, a digital wallet created by Facebook, WABetainfo reported Friday. With the expected feature, Novi Payments, WhatsApp users may have a new secure way to exchange money with friends and family instantly. The digital wallet requires no fees for instant money transfers and given that the privacy of users and their information is prioritised by Novi, the inclusion of the feature is “totally compatible with the principles of WhatsApp”. However, the WhatsApp users cannot use the service currently because it is not available for the public yet as Whatsapp is testing how to integrate Novi into the app. The tests are between the developers so the time of the arrival of this update for the public is not certain. admin.web@suchtv.pk (Web Desk) from Science & Technology - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3bp7xn2 https://ift.tt/3jJNe8w

Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE said on Thursday they expect to deliver 50 million more doses of their COVID-19 vaccine to the US government by April-end, as the country prepares to vaccinate children. The move comes after a panel of outside advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration voted on Tuesday to recommend its authorisation for the vaccine in children aged 5 to 11. The agency's decision on the vaccine for the age group is awaited. If authorised and subsequently recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) advisory panel, the companies said they expect to then begin shipping the vaccine immediately, in 10 microgram pediatric doses, as directed by the US government. The US government has so far secured 600 million doses of the vaccine for use within the country and additional one billion doses for donation to low- and lower-middle-income countries. The drugmakers said they expect initial clinical trial data on the vaccine's use in chil...

A Japanese start-up is hoping to convince motorists to swap their cars for a $680,000 (£495,000) hoverbike. ALI Technologies' XTurismo Limited Edition went on sale in Japan, earlier on Wednesday. According to international media Electronics giant Mitsubishi and footballer Keisuke Honda are two backers of the Tokyo-based company. ALI Technologies says the hoverbike can fly for 40 minutes at up to 100km/h (62mph) on a single charge. The company aims to have manufactured 200 single-rider 300kg (47-stone) hoverbikes by mid-2022. Each is equipped with a conventional engine and four battery-powered motors. admin.web@suchtv.pk (Web Desk) from Science & Technology - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3pEVlqO https://ift.tt/3ErmGka

The Covid-19 crisis is far from over, the World Health Organisation’s emergency committee said on Tuesday as it called for research into next-generation vaccines for long-term control of the pandemic. The 19-member committee meets every three months to discuss the pandemic and make recommendations. “While progress has been made through increased uptake of Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutics, analysis of the present situation and forecasting models indicate that the pandemic is far from finished,” the WHO said in a statement on Friday’s four-hour virtual meeting. The committee called for further research into reusable masks and respirators, and next-generation vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics “for long-term control of the pandemic”. “The use of masks, physical distancing, hand hygiene, and improving ventilation of indoor spaces remain key to reducing transmission of SARS CoV-2,” the statement stressed. The committee said the protracted pandemic was making humanitarian emerge...

Twitter lost more than half a billion dollars in the three months from June to September after it paid $809.5m to settle a long-running lawsuit.   The social media giant was accused of misleading investors over user engagement in 2015. However, despite this one-off charge, its quarterly revenue grew 37% as it managed to shrug off the impact from Apple's privacy changes which hit rivals such as Snap and Facebook. This sent Twitters shares up 3%. In September Twitter agreed to settle a class action with their shareholders dating back to 2016. The suit claimed Twitter misled investors about how many users were active on the platform each month as well as how frequently they viewed Twitter's timeline. The company denied any wrongdoing but agreed to use cash on hand to settle the claim, flagging that it would hurt its bottom-line this quarter. And that it did, with the social media giant reporting a net loss of $537m (£390m) in the third quarter. admin.web@suchtv.pk (W...

An expert panel on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to recommend the US Food and Drug Administration authorise the Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, saying the benefits of the shot outweigh the risks. An authorisation for that age group would be an important regulatory step toward reaching about 28 million children for inoculation, most of them back in school for in-person learning. The vaccine could be available to the younger age group next week. The food and drug administration (FDA) is not obligated to follow the advice of its outside experts, but usually does. The vote was 17 in favour with one abstention. If the FDA authorises the shots for this age group, an advisory panel to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet next week to make a recommendation on the administration of the vaccine. The CDC director will make the final call. While children becoming seriously ill or dying from COVID-19 is relatively rare compared with...

Vaccines for kids between the ages of 5 and 11 will likely be available in the first half of November, top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said on Sunday, predicting a timetable that could see many kids getting fully vaccinated before the end of the year. "If all goes well, and we get the regulatory approval and the recommendation from the CDC, it's entirely possible if not very likely that vaccines will be available for children from 5 to 11 within the first week or two of November," Fauci said in an interview with ABC's This Week. U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials are reviewing the Pfizer/BioNTech application seeking authorization of its 2-dose vaccine for younger children, with its panel of outside advisers scheduled to weigh in on Oct. 26. The FDA typically follows the advice of its panel but is not required to do so. Advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will weigh in on recommendations for the vaccine ...

Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said on Monday that the federal government will soon launch Rescue 1122 service in the federal capital. The interior minister announced this while addressing a press conference here in Islamabad. Sheikh Rasheed further said that a special all-women market will be established in the country’s federal capital where women will run their businesses. Speaking on banned outfit matters, Rasheed said that the issue of outlawed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) will be discussed in the cabinet meeting. TLP workers have been released and the matter of banning the party and removing names of party leadership from the 4th schedule will be discussed with the party, he added. Commenting on Pakistan’s victory against India, he said: “It was a historic moment for Pakistan cricket. Shaheen Afridi, Babar Azam and Rizwan Khan played outstandingly.” Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad yesterday announced the release of 350 activists of the banned outfit Teh...

The so-called Facebook Papers, leaked by whistleblower Frances Haugen, have already revealed the impact of Facebook -- as well as of WhatsApp and Instagram, both of which it owns -- on the deep polarization of politics in the United States and on the mental health of some teenagers. But there have long been concerns over the social network's impact in spreading hate speech fueling violence in the developing world, such as the massacre targeting the Rohingya minority in Myanmar. This weekend the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and… admin.web@suchtv.pk (Web Desk) from Science & Technology - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3jxH8bp https://ift.tt/3nw9cNA

France has successfully launched a state-of-the-art satellite into orbit, designed to allow all of France's armed forces across the globe to communicate swiftly and securely. Paris created a space force command in July 2019, amongst concerns that rival countries were heavily investing in space technology, seen as a new military frontier. The satellite “is designed to resist military aggression from the ground and in space, as well as interference,” French air and space force spokesman Colonel Stephane Spet told AFP. The Ariane 5 rocket carrying the Syracuse 4A satellite took off from Kourou, in French Guiana late on Saturday, with the mission accomplished 38 minutes and 41 seconds after takeoff. The satellite can survey its close surroundings and move itself to escape an attack. “Thanks to its state-of-the-art equipment (anti-jamming antenna and digital transparent processor on board), Syracuse 4A will guarantee a high resistance to extreme jamming methods,” launch provider ...

Pakistan reported a coronavirus positivity rate of less than 2% for the ninth consecutive day, government data showed Sunday morning. According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 43,522 COVID-19 tests were conducted across the country in the last 24 hours, of which 591 returned positive. The country has mostly recorded less than 7,00 daily infections all of this week. Per the official portal, the rate of positive cases during the last 24 hours was 1.35%. Since October 16, Pakistan's positivity rate has been under 2%. The number of deaths from COVID-19 in the country has risen to 28,377 after 18 people died from the virus, while the total number of cases has reached 1,268,536. The number of active cases, too, is continuing on its downward trend and was recorded at 23,917 Sunday. Earlier this week, active cases in Pakistan dropped below the 25,000 mark after more than seven months, while daily coronavirus infections fell to their lowest level in a year. COVI...

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Health Services said that the country’s target of vaccinating 100 million people has been achieved. In a video message, Dr Faisal Sultan said that 100 million people across the country have been vaccinated. “Today is a very important day. We have crossed an important milestone. The whole process has been supported by many individuals and organizations,” he added. "I am especially grateful to the people of Pakistan who have been very supportive in this campaign. After that, the NCOC, where all the coordination has been taking place, would like to thank them.” He also thanked the administration of all the provinces and the Ministry of Health for their cooperation. Faisal Sultan also especially thanked to the NADRA and the Ministry of IT, adding that they helped in the documentation of vaccination. from Health - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3npIBBu https://ift.tt/3B8jibW admin.web@suchtv.pk (Web Desk) https://ift.tt/3npIBBu

WhatsApp is rolling out a new status update feature which will allow users to "undo" status updates they posted by mistake۔ The development comes on the heels of WhatsApp's move to publish a new status update about view once. "'Undo' allows quickly deleting a status update, that may have been posted by mistake," says WABetainfo.com. A user can already delete a status update for everyone. However, with the undo status update option, it will become faster and more convenient for users to delete a status update they may have either… admin.web@suchtv.pk (Web Desk) from Science & Technology - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3GihG3s https://ift.tt/3jwgnnz

The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine showed 90.7% efficacy against the coronavirus in a clinical trial of children 5 to 11 years old, the drugmaker said on Friday. Sixteen children in the trial who had received a placebo got COVID-19, compared with 3 who were vaccinated, Pfizer said in briefing documents submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Because more than twice as many children in the 2,268-participant trial were given the vaccine than placebo, that equates to better than 90% efficacy. Pfizer’s clinical trial in those 5 to 11 years old was not primarily designed to measure efficacy against the virus. Instead, it compared the amount of neutralizing antibodies induced by the vaccine in the children to the response of older recipients in their adult trial. Based on those results, Pfizer and BioNTech said last month that their COVID-19 vaccine induced a robust immune response in the children. The 5 to 11 year olds were given two shots of a 10-microgram dose of the vaccine, ...

South Korea laun­ched its first domestically developed space rocket on Thursday but failed to put its dummy payload into orbit, a setback in the country’s atte­mpts to join the ranks of adv­a­nced space-faring nations. The Korea Space Launch Vehicle II, informally called Nuri and emblazoned with a South Korean flag, rose upwards from Goheung on the southern coast, trailing a column of flame. All three stages of the rocket worked, taking it to an altitude of 700 kilometres, and the 1.5-tonne payload separated successfully, President Moon Jae-in said after watching the launch at the control centre. But “putting a dummy satellite into orbit remains an unfinished mission”, he announced. “Though it fell short of achieving its goals perfectly, we have achieved very good feats with our first launch.” Another attempt will be made in May, he added. “Countries that lead in space technology will lead the future. And we are not too late to do it.” The mission failed because the third-stage...

They're just a few of the suggestions being bandied around online following reports that Facebook plans to rebrand itself with a new group name. The company refused to comment on rumor or speculation, of course, but the Twitterati had no problem. The debate careered from sensible to screwball to strange. "Meta" was one of the more sober trending suggestions, referring to Facebook's reported desire to assume a name that focuses on the metaverse, a virtual environment where users can hang out. Bookface, Facegram, Facetagram, FreeFace, FreeTalk, World Changer. On the… admin.web@suchtv.pk (Web Desk) from Science & Technology - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3m0Vd2w https://ift.tt/3ppcqF9

Alphabet Inc's Google on Tuesday announced the newest iteration of its smartphone — Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro — which will be powered by the company's first chip called Tensor. The tech giant also launched Pixel Pass, a subscription service starting at $45 per month for US customers that will include the Pixel 6 and access to the premium versions of YouTube and YouTube Music. Pricing for the Pixel 6 will start at $599, while the Pixel 6 Pro, which includes a telephoto lens and upgraded front camera, starts at $899. The phones will go on sale at US wireless carriers on October 28. admin.web@suchtv.pk (Web Desk) from Science & Technology - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3B4iB3i https://ift.tt/3nd9msZ

Russia has reported some COVID-19 infections with a new coronavirus variant believed to be even more contagious than the Delta one, the RIA news agency said on Thursday (Oct 21). It is possible that the AY.4.2 variant will spread widely, RIA quoted the state consumer watchdog's senior researcher Kamil Khafizov as saying. That could cause the rate of new Covid-19 cases, already at record highs in Russia, to rise even further. The new variant could even replace Delta eventually, although the process is likely to be slow, he said. President Vladimir Putin this week approved a government proposal for a week-long workplace shutdown at the start of November, after coronavirus-related deaths across Russia in the past 24 hours hit yet another daily record of 1,028 on Wednesday, with 34,073 new infections. The sub-variant known as Delta Plus, designated as AY.4.2 in Britain, is growing and accounted for about 6 per cent of all sequences generated in the UK, the UK Health Security Age...

Facebook critics pounced on Wednesday on a report the leading social network plans to rename itself, arguing it may be seeking to distract from recent scandals and controversy. The report from website The Verge, which Facebook refused to confirm, said the embattled company was aiming to show its ambition to be more than a social media site. But an activist group calling itself The Real Facebook Oversight Board, warned major industries like oil and tobacco had rebranded to “deflect attention” from their problems. “Facebook thinks that a rebrand can help them change the subject,” said the group’s statement, adding the “real issue” was the need for oversight and regulation. Facebook spokesman Andy Stone said: “We don’t have any comment and aren’t confirming The Verge’s report.” The Verge cited an unnamed source noting the name would reflect Facebook’s efforts to build the “metaverse”, a virtual reality version of the internet that the tech giant sees as the future. Facebook on Mond...

Expressing concern over the slow pace of COVID-19 vaccination drive in various cities, including Karachi, Hyderabad and Quetta, National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) chief Asad Umar has said that the district admin and health teams in these cities needed to improve their performance. Taking to Twitter, Umar commended the vaccination progress in Islamabad, Peshawar, Gilgit, Sargodha and other cities. The federal minister, however, underscored the need for improvement in the vaccination process in Karachi, Hyderabad, Nowshera, Faisalabad, Quetta, Mardan and other cities. Best vaccination progress : islamabad, peshawar, gilgit, mirpur. Good progress: skardu, charsadda, sargodha. Needing improvement : Hyderabad, nowshera, Faisalabad, quetta, karachi, mingora, mardan. District admin & health teams in these cities need to improve performance — Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) October 21, 2021 To ensure there is no 5th wave of COVID-19, we have to meet vaccination targets set,” he ad...

VavaCars, a Turkey-based online trading platform for buying and selling used cars, has raised $50 million in Series B funding to expand its operations in Pakistan and Turkey. Duquesne Family Office LLC (founded by Stanley F Druckenmiller) and Vitol, along with another investors participated in the round, according to a press statement issued by the company. Lawrence Merritt, CEO and co-founder of VavaCars, said the funding round will help in disrupting, inventing and simplifying used-car trade for customers. "In [the] two and a half years since launch, we’ve become the number one trader of consumer sourced cars in Turkey accounting for 90 per cent of all fully online sales. This demonstrates the power of our model and the huge market opportunity," he added. Launched in Turkey in 2019, VavaCars has traded more than 10,000 cars and has 300 employees. The company has been growing gross merchandise value (GMV) by an average of 30pc month-on-month, serving the wholesale and...

A World Health Organization-led programme to ensure poorer countries get fair access to COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments aims to secure antiviral drugs for patients with mild symptoms for as little as $10 per course, a draft document seen by Reuters says. Merck & Co's experimental pill molnupiravir is likely to be one of the drugs, and other drugs to treat mild patients are being developed. The document, which outlines the goals of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) until September next year, says that the programme wants to deliver about 1 billion COVID-19 tests to poorer nations, and procure drugs to treat up to 120 million patients globally, out of about 200 million new cases it estimates in the next 12 months. The plans highlight how the WHO wants to shore up supplies of drugs and tests at a relatively low price after losing the vaccine race to wealthy nations which scooped up a huge share of the world's supplies, leaving the world's poores...

Alphabet Inc's Google on Tuesday announced the newest iteration of its smartphone — Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro — which will be powered by the company's first chip called Tensor. The tech giant also launched Pixel Pass, a subscription service starting at $45 per month for US customers that will include the Pixel 6 and access to the premium versions of YouTube and YouTube Music. Pricing for the Pixel 6 will start at $599, while the Pixel 6 Pro, which includes a telephoto lens and upgraded front camera, starts at $899. The phones will go on sale at US wireless carriers on October 28.   admin.web@suchtv.pk (Web Desk) from Science & Technology - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3lVWbx5 https://ift.tt/3lUQ8sC

Dengue fever claimed three more lives in Islamabad during the past 24 hours, lifting the capital’s death toll from the mosquito-borne disease this year to nine. Sources said that 141 more people tested positive for the disease during this period, pushing the tally to 2,230. An alarming rise in dengue fever cases has set alarm bells ringing in Islamabad, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Sindh. In Punjab, the death toll from the disease this season has climbed to 21. Secretary Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Punjab, Imran Sikandar Baloch said that 279 cases reported in the province in last 24 hours. “Most of the dengue cases, 204, were reported in Lahore,” top health official said. “Overall 1809 dengue fever patients have been admitted in hospitals across Punjab,” health secretary said. from Health - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3ji8IJk https://ift.tt/3FY13d5 admin.web@suchtv.pk (Web Desk) https://ift.tt/3ji8IJk

Facebook  announced plans to hire 10,000 people in the European Union to build the “metaverse”, a virtual reality version of the internet that the tech giant sees as the future. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been a leading voice in Silicon Valley hype around the idea of the metaverse, which would blur the lines between the physical world and the digital one. The technology might, for example, allow someone to don virtual reality glasses that make it feel as if they’re face-to-face with a friend — when in fact they are thousands of miles apart and connected via the internet. “The metaverse has the potential to help unlock access to new creative, social, and economic opportunities. And Europeans will be shaping it right from the start,” Facebook said in a blog post. The European Union hires, spread over the next five years, will include “highly specialised engineers”, but the company otherwise gave few details of its plans for the new metaverse team. “The EU has a number of...

If you thought WhatsApp cannot delete your chat groups and terminate their chat history, think again. As per an article on WABetainfo.com, the instant messaging platform can and does delete chat groups in a few instances. "Seen that WhatsApp cannot see their content, because messages, media and calls are end-to-end encrypted, the moderation team uses an advanced machine learning technology based on recorded bad group information," reads a post on WABetainfo.com. WhatsApp automatically ends groups when the group either has suspicious information (illegal group names and descriptions) or when they are reported multiple times by different users. In the case of the former, the group may either be manually ended or automatically. When a group ends, participants will neither be able to send messages to it nor access its chat history. It will also bar them from opening the group info and reading the list of other participants. However, not all is lost if your favourite group...

"Squid Game," Netflix Inc s (NFLX.O) biggest original series launch, is estimated to be worth almost $900 million for the streaming giant, Bloomberg News reported late on Saturday, citing figures from an internal Netflix document. The nine-episode thriller, in which cash-strapped contestants play childhood games with deadly consequences in a bid to win 45.6 billion won ($38.58 million), became an international hit after it launched last month. In comparison to its estimated net worth, the show cost just $21.4 million to produce, Bloomberg said. According to the report, about 132 million had watched at least two minutes of the show in its first 23 days, easily breaking the record set by UK costume drama "Bridgerton," which was streamed by 82 million accounts in its first 28 days. Netflix had earlier announced the show had amassed 111 million fans, but Bloomberg said those figures were based on slightly older data. Los Gatos, California-based Netflix estimated ...

Pakistan recorded less than 1,000 daily COVID-19 cases for the second consecutive day Sunday morning, data from the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) showed. Last week, the country had recorded a daily case count under 1,000 for the first time in over three months (830 cases on July 6). At least 720 fresh coronavirus cases were detected in the last 24 hours after 44,831 tests were taken, pushing the total confirmed case count since the pandemic began last year to 1,264,384. The deadly virus claimed the lives of 17 people, pushing the death tally to 28,269. The positivity rate currently stands at 1.60%. The number of active of cases stands at 26,237. A day earlier, the number of active coronavirus cases in the country dropped below 30,000 for the first time since the fourth wave of the pandemic started back in July. COVID-19 infections are decreasing in Pakistan, with 925 new infections reported on average each day. That’s 16% of the peak — the highest daily average r...

An Apple employee who led fellow workers in publicly sharing instances of what they called harassment and discrimination at the company said on Thursday that she had been fired. Janneke Parrish, an Apple programme manager, said the iPhone maker informed her on Thursday that she had been terminated for deleting material on company equipment while she was under investigation over the leaking of a company town hall to media. She told Reuters she denies leaking. Parrish said she deleted apps that contained details of her finances and other personal information… admin.web@suchtv.pk (Web Desk) from Science & Technology - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3vlb4w8 https://ift.tt/3AOmpG7

The US government will ship 2.4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to Pakistan on Thursday, bringing the total number of doses sent to the South Asian country to about 18.3 million, more than any other country, a White House official said. The latest shipments of the vaccine lots made by Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech, are due to arrive on Saturday via the Covax distribution program, said the official, who asked to remain unidentified. Pakistan has administered at least 93.6 million doses so far, according to data compiled by Reuters. Assuming every person needs two doses, that would suffice to have vaccinated about 21.6 per cent of the country's population. Previous US shipments of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have gone to Pakistan every month since June. The shipment is part of an ongoing US vaccine diplomacy effort that has sent vaccines to dozens of countries. from Health - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/30pGF49 https://ift.tt/3AR3B9e admin.web@suchtv.pk (Web D...

Microsoft is shutting down its LinkedIn service in China later this year after internet rules were tightened by Beijing, the latest American tech giant to lessen its ties to the country. The company said in a blog post Thursday it has faced a “significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements in China. LinkedIn will replace its localized platform in China with a new app called InJobs that has some of LinkedIn’s career-networking features but will not include a social feed or the ability to share posts or articles. LinkedIn in March said it would pause new member sign-ups on LinkedIn China because of unspecified regulatory issues. Chinas internet watchdog in May said it had found LinkedIn as well as Microsoft’s Bing search engine and about 100 other apps were engaged in improper collection and use of data and ordered them to fix the problem.   admin.web@suchtv.pk (Web Desk) from Science & Technology - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3aDLZ...

On October 13, the government notified new online rules for Pakistani citizens and social media companies operating in Pakistan. So what exactly do the ‘Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content Rules, 2021’ state? As per the new ambit of the rules, any content posted online will be removed or blocked if it is against: the “glory of Islam”the “security of Pakistan”“public order”, which means that if online content contains any “fake or false information that threatens public order, public health and public safety”“decency and morality”“integrity and defence of Pakistan”… admin.web@suchtv.pk (Web Desk) from Science & Technology - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3DIHt2n https://ift.tt/3DIEXtc

The tiny Pacific nation of Palau has the world’s highest percentage of people vaccinated against COVID-19, the Red Cross said on Thursday, urging the country’s laggard neighbours to follow its example and step up incoluation efforts. Fully 99% of Palau’s population over 12 has had both shots of vaccine for the new coronavirus, the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) said, citing government figures which also show that this amounts to 16,152 people. That puts Palau, an archipelago of 500 islands in the western Pacific Ocean, in the “top spot”, the IFRC said in a statement, ahead of countries like Portugal which was named one of the world’s most vaccinated countries when 80% of its 10 million people were fully immunized last month. It also presents a stark contrast with other small nations in the region that have had sluggish vaccine rollouts due to supply constraints and population hesitancy. Less than 10% of the Solomon Islands (population 650,000) and Kiribati (populatio...

The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication on Thursday notified the amended social media rules that stakeholders and digital rights activists have strongly criticised. The rules, titled the “Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules, 2021”, have been framed under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca), 2016. The federal cabinet had last month approved amendments to the digital media rules introduced last year. Key amendments to social media rules Social media companies will have to register with PTA within three months Social media outlets will be required to establish an office in Pakistan "as and when feasible" — instead of nine months as required previously PTA will give 48 hours, instead of 24 hours previously, to a social media company for removing or blocking access to online content In a statement, IT and Telecom Minister Aminul Haque said under the rules, social media companies would ...

Researchers in the Netherlands are developing laser technology to enable “virtually painless” injections without needles in what they call a breakthrough that will ease fear and lower the threshold for vaccinations. The “Bubble Gun” uses a laser to push tiny droplets through the outer layer of the skin, said David Fernandez Rivas, a professor at Twente University and research affiliate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who founded the idea. The process is quicker than a mosquito bite and “should not cause pain” because nerve endings in the skin are not touched, he said, adding this would be studied further. “That allows us to penetrate the skin without damage. We don’t see any wound or entry point.” Rivas expects the invention will not only help more people get vaccinated, but will also prevent the risk of contamination by dirty needles and reduce medical waste. Testing on tissue samples has successfully been carried out with a 1.5-million-euro ($1.73 million) Europea...

Facebook will now count activists and journalists as “involuntary” public figures and so increase protections against harassment and bullying targeted at these groups, its global safety chief said in an interview this week. The social media company, which allows more critical commentary of public figures than of private individuals, says it is changing its approach on the harassment of journalists and “human rights defenders”, who it says are in the public eye due to their work rather than their public personas. Facebook is under wide-ranging scrutiny from global lawmakers and regulators over its content moderation practices and harms linked to its platforms, with internal documents leaked by a forming the basis for a U.S. Senate hearing last week. How Facebook, which has about 2.8 billion monthly active users, treats public figures and content posted by or about those figures has been an area of intense debate. In recent weeks, the company’s “cross check” system, which the Wall S...

Though the recent rains brought the temperature down to 22°C, there was no let-up in dengue cases as 214 patients surfaced in the twin cities. Islamabad reported over a 100 cases of dengue fever for the third time in the current season. According to District Health Officer (DHO) Islamabad Dr Zaeem Zia, 113 people contracted dengue fever - the third highest number of cases in the season. The highest number of patients were reported on Oct 9 when 121 cases were detected, followed by 117 on Oct 7, he added.… from Health - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3iUF5O0 https://ift.tt/2XaTyOq admin.web@suchtv.pk (Web Desk) https://ift.tt/3iUF5O0

German rail operator Deutsche Bahn and industrial group Siemens on Monday unveiled the world’s first automated, driverless train in the city of Hamburg, billing it as more punctual and energy efficient than traditional trains. Four such trains will join the northern city’s S-Bahn rapid urban rail network and start carrying passengers from December, using the existing rail infrastructure. Other cities like Paris have driverless metros while airports often have automated monorail trains plying terminals, but those run on exclusive single tracks while the Hamburg train will be sharing tracks with other regular trains. The project, which Siemens and Deutsche Bahn called a “world first”, is part of a 60 million euro ($70 million) modernisation of Hamburg’s rapid urban rail system. Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz said automated trains offer “a more reliable” service “without having to lay a single kilometre of new track”. “We are making rail transport more intelligent,” said Siemens CEO...

In a bid to protect the children from measles and rubella, the Sindh government has decided to launch the world’s largest immunization drive against contagious diseases in the province from November 15. As many as 38 children have died from measles in the province so far during the current year. During the 12-day vaccination drive, 19 million children from 9 months to 15 years would be given mandatory shots of measles and rubella vaccine, officials said Monday. In addition to this, two drops of polio will also be given to 8 million children under five years of age in this campaign. Measles, which is one of the most contagious diseases in the world, has so far claimed 38 lives in Sindh in the first nine months of the current year alone while 2,489 cases were reported in the province. “To prevent more deaths, every child would be given a shot of Measles and Rubella vaccine from November 15-27, 2021 in the province,” Project Director of Expanded Program (EPI) Dr Irshad Memon on Immu...

AstraZeneca’s experimental COVID-19 drug has helped cut the risk of severe disease or death in a late-stage study, the British drugmaker said on Monday, a boost to its efforts to develop coronavirus medicines beyond vaccines. The drug, a cocktail of two antibodies called AZD7442, reduced the risk of severe COVID-19 or death by 50% in non-hospitalised patients who have had symptoms for seven days or less, meeting the main goal of the study. AstraZeneca’s therapy, delivered via injection, is the first of its kind to show promise both as a preventative medicine and as a treatment for COVID-19 following multiple trials. It is designed to protect people who do not have a strong enough immune response to vaccines. “These positive results show that a convenient intramuscular dose of AZD7442 could play an important role in helping combat this devastating pandemic,” Hugh Montgomery, the trial’s principal investigator, said in a statement. Similar therapies made with a class of drugs calle...