Corona claims 58 more lives in Pakistan, death toll reach to 15,501

Coronavirus has claimed 58 more lives in Pakistan during the past 24 hours, taking the overall death toll to 15,501, reported on Monday.

The latest statistics of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed the COVID-19 has claimed 58 more lives and 4,584 fresh infections were reported during the period.

During the period of a day, the total count of active cases was recorded at 75,266 and the positivity rate stood at 10.29 per cent.

The health facilities across the country conducted 44,514 coronavirus detection tests, taking the total number of COVID-19 tests to 10,779,474 since the first case was reported.

According to the statistics, 58 patients were declared critical, adding to the total number of patients suffering from sensitive health condition up to 4,201.

Overall 634,835 people have recovered from the virus including 3,135 who have regained their health from COVID-19 during the past 24 hours.

Earlier on Sunday, the Punjab health department had proposed a complete lockdown for two weeks in the province to curb the rising number of coronavirus cases.

The decision had been taken in a meeting of the Punjab health department chaired by its minister Dr Yasmin Rashid to review the COVID-19 situation. The meeting had recommended imposing a complete lockdown for two weeks in seven districts of Punjab.

The approval for the lockdown will be sought in the meeting of the Punjab cabinet meeting.

 

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IMF, World Bank begin push to swap debt relief for green projects

The idea of forgiving debt held by poor countries in exchange for “green” investments gained ground this week during the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank, with concrete proposals expected in time for a global climate summit this fall.

Low-income countries face a double crisis — they are under pressure to pay down their debt while also confronting environmental problems.

That makes them “highly, highly vulnerable,” Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said this week, adding that it thus “makes sense” for the world to pursue so-called “green debt swaps.”

A World Bank spokeswoman underscored that point.

“The Covid-19 crisis has made it significantly harder for developing countries to tackle the rising risks posed by climate change” and environmental disasters, said the spokeswoman, who declined to be named.

With already tight budgets, these countries have had to use emergency financial assistance to address the severe impact of the pandemic and the resulting economic crisis.

“By enlarging the debt burdens of governments — which were already at record levels on the eve of the crisis — it has left them with fewer resources to invest in a recovery that will also put the planet on a more sustainable footing,” the spokeswoman told AFP.

A technical working group — bringing together representatives not only of the IMF and World Bank but also of the United Nations and the OECD — was launched this week to examine “creative options to help countries tackle these simultaneous challenges,” the World Bank spokeswoman said.

“This work has only just begun,” she said, “but we think a proactive approach is essential: we must look closely at how potential solutions to the challenges of climate and debt can be integrated to address the key development issues of our time.”

While there is no timeline yet for announcing concrete measures, all parties involved are clearly pointing toward the COP26 climate summit to be held in November in the Scottish city of Glasgow.

“We are going to work with the World Bank. And by COP26 we will advance that option” of a debt swap, Georgieva said, adding that it will then be up to creditors and debtors to decide whether to take part.

For Thierry Deau, the founder and CEO of the Paris-based Meridiam group, which specializes in developing and financing infrastructure projects, if the green debt-swap option is pursued, it will have to be linked to clear “conditionalities” to ensure that debt relief in fact leads to the launching of green projects.

“The primary responsibility there on this debt relief is between the countries that are on both sides,” he said. “There’s a lot of politeness about this topic, and I think we have to stop that and create real true partnerships.”

The IMF and World Bank will also have to consider the plight of several island nations with middle-income economies that receive less economic support but face daunting environmental challenges.

Their heavily tourism-dependent economies have seen revenues dry up as the coronavirus pandemic severely curtails world travel.

At the same time, their low-lying territories are often the victims of extreme weather events, including devastating cyclones or hurricanes.

Georgieva said this week that vulnerability to climate shocks should be taken into account when the international agencies allocate financial aid.

She also stressed that countries launching “green” projects can see the added benefit of heightened employment.

“There are opportunities for job creation,” she said. “Just take, for example, renewable energy — seven jobs to one in the traditional coal energy sector,” even if some training is required.

“Similarly, reforestation, taking care of land degradation, resilience to climate shocks, these are all labor-intensive activities,” Georgieva said.

“Policymakers need to think about it now.”

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5.9-magnitude earthquake kills seven in Indonesia

Seven people were killed, two severely injured, and hundreds of buildings were damaged in several cities as an earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale struck off Indonesia’s Java island on Saturday, the country’s disaster mitigation agency BNPB said.

The quake, which struck at 2 p.m. (0700 GMT) local time, was felt across East Java, home to 40.7 million people, and nearby provinces, including the resort island of Bali, Indonesian media reported.

Ten people were lightly injured, while an unspecified number of people in several villages were moved to evacuation centres as some houses have been destroyed, the BNPB said.

More than 300 homes and dozens of other buildings, including schools, hospitals, government offices and places of worship, were damaged, the agency said.

The numbers could change as authorities collect more information about the extent of casualties and damage.

Images in media showed flattened houses in towns near the southern coast of East Java, the closest area to the epicentre of the quake.

A large gorilla statue in an amusement park in the town of Batu lost its head, news website Detik.com reported.

The quake struck in the Indian Ocean 91 km (57 miles) off the southern coast of East Java. It had a magnitude of 5.9 at a depth of 96 km, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, which reduced the quake’s magnitude from an initial 6.8.

Video shared by social media users showed people running out of a shopping mall in Malang city amid the strong tremor.

“I felt the earthquake twice, the first time for two seconds and then it stopped, but then it shook again for five seconds,” Edo Afizal, a receptionist at a hotel in Blitar, told Reuters by phone.

Indonesia was struck last week by tropical cyclone Seroja, which triggered landslides and flash floods killing more than 170 people on islands in East Nusa Tenggara province.

Straddling the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, Indonesia is regularly hit by earthquakes. A magnitude 6.2 quake that struck Sulawesi island in January killed more than 100 people.

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Scores killed in Myanmar as its envoy calls for action against junta

Reports emerged on Saturday of more than 80 killed in the latest bloodletting by Myanmar’s military, as the country’s own ambassador to the United Nations called for “strong action” against the junta.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February. After over two months of military rule, efforts to verify deaths and confirm news of crackdowns have been greatly curtailed by the junta’s throttling of mobile data within the country — shunting most of the population into an information blackout.

Details of a brutal crackdown in the city of Bago, 65 kilometres northeast of Yangon, took a full day to emerge, as residents spoke of continued violence from the junta which pushed them to flee to nearby villages.

By Saturday evening, the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners — a local monitoring group tracking deaths — confirmed “over 80 anti-coup protesters were killed by security forces in Bago on Friday”.

Verified footage shot early on Friday showed protesters hiding behind sandbag barricades wielding homemade rifles, as explosions could be heard in the background.

Authorities had refused to let rescue workers near the bodies, said a resident. “They piled up all the dead bodies, loaded them into their army truck and drove it away,” he said.

State-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper on Saturday blamed the crackdown on “rioters”, and reported only one dead.

The violence in Bago will add to AAPP’s current death toll of 618 civilians killed since the coup.

The junta has a far lower number — 248, according to a spokesman on Friday — and has branded the victims as “violent terrorist people”.

Despite the daily bloodshed, protesters have continued to take to the streets, with demonstrators highlighting their discontent in pointedly creative ways.

In commercial hub Yan­gon, crimson paint — representing the blood already spilled — was splashed across the streets near the historic Shwedagon Pagoda.

“Let us unite and boldly show in red that the dictatorial regime will not be allowed to rule us at all,” a student activist announced on Facebook.

Flyers with the words “They will not rule us” were scattered across Yangon neighbourhoods.

“Your collective, strong action is needed immediately,” Myanmar’s Ambass­ador to the UN Kyaw Moe Tun told a Security Council meeting on Friday, proposing a no-fly zone, an arms embargo and more targeted sanctions against members of the military.

“Please, please take action,” he said.

An independent analyst with the International Cri­sis Group also warned the council that Myanmar was “at the brink of state failure”.

“(The junta’s) actions may be creating a situation where the country becomes ungovernable,” said Richard Horsey.

China and Russia wield veto power at the Security Council and generally oppose international sanctions. But Beijing — the top ally of Myanmar’s military — has voiced growing concern about instability, and has said it is speaking to “all parties”.

There have been reports that China has opened contact with the CRPH, a group representing the ousted civilian government.

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Remaining matches of PSL 2021 to be held from June 1: PCB

The remaining matches of the HBL PSL 6 will be held from June 1, said the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday.

The PCB announced that the tournament will resume after the players and officials undergo a seven-day quarantine stay at one hotel and following three training sessions, the PSL will resume from June 1.

"HBL PSL 6 matches will resume on 1 June with the final scheduled for 20 June," read the PCB's press release.

To ensure all those who will be part of the bio-secure bubble remain safe from the infection this time, the PCB said it it in the final stages of appointing "a globally-recognised safety management company that specialises in providing Covid-safe technology solutions, bio-secure monitoring & management, as well as response and reaction to positive tests".

Earlier, a two-member fact-finding committee had been set up by the PCB chairman, which gave its presentation to the Board of Governors (BoG) and had reviewed the bio-security protocols, bylaws and arrangements for the HBL Pakistan Super League 6.

The PCB chairman had also asked the panel to make recommendations on how to better ensure implementation of a bio-secure environment for future events.

The BoG expressed their disappointment at the findings of the panel and recommended that remedial actions be taken at once to rectify them.

Schedule
The PCB revealed the schedule of the remaining matches of the PSL from which will be played from June 1.

Here is the schedule:

1 June: Lahore Qalandars v Islamabad United (N)

2 June: Multan Sultans v Karachi Kings (N)

3 June: Islamabad United v Quetta Gladiators (N)

4 June: Peshawar Zalmi v Lahore Qalandars (N)

5 June: Islamabad United v Karachi Kings (D); Multan Sultans v Quetta Gladiators (N)

6 June: Peshawar Zalmi v Karachi Kings (N)

7 June: Quetta Gladiators v Lahore Qalandars (N)

8 June 8: Multan Sultans v Peshawar Zalmi (N)

9 June: Islamabad United v Lahore Qalandars (N)

10 June: Quetta Gladiators v Karachi Kings (N)

11 June: Multan Sultans v Islamabad United (N)

12 June: Quetta Gladiators v Peshawar Zalmi (D); Karachi Kings v Lahore Qalandars (N)

13 June: Islamabad United v Peshawar Zalmi (N)

14 June: Multan Sultans v Lahore Qalandars (N)

16 June: Qualifier (1 v 2) (N)

17 June: Eliminator 1 (3 v 4) (N)

18 June: Eliminator 2 (loser Qualifier v winner Eliminator 1) (N)

20 June: Final (N)

PCB Hall of Fame

The BoG approved the launch of the PCB Hall of Fame. Among the first six inductees into the Hall of Fame are Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Hanif Mohammad, Zaheer Abbas and Javed Miandad.

" There will be three more inductions each year from 2021 with the inductees to be chosen by an independent panel and announced on 16 October, day one of Pakistan’s inaugural Test in 1952," read the PCB's press release.

"Players retired from international cricket for, at least, five years will be eligible for induction into the PCB Hall of Fame."

PSL 2021 postponed due to COVID-19

The sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League was postponed last month due to rising COVID-19 cases among the players and officials involved in the tournament.

“Following a meeting with the team owners and considering the health and wellbeing of all participants is paramount, the Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to postpone the Pakistan Super League 6 with immediate effect," read a statement from the PCB.

It said that the decision was made after seven cases were reported in the competition, which had started on 20 February.

PCB CEO Wasim Khan had said, during a news conference, that they had to put the PSL on hold as the cricket body had not “effectively” able to enforce the standard operating procedures required for a bio secure bubble.

Wasim had assured fans that the PCB would look for “other windows” to hold the remaining matches of the PSL 6 at a later date.

“What’s taking place right now is that we are carefully and slowly exiting players from our environment so that we can safely get them out and they can start to travel wherever they need to travel,” Wasim had explained.

“Its firmly our belief that we will find a window and finish those [remaining] matches,” the PCB CEO had said.

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PML-N didn't win the Daska by-election, PTI lost it: Fawad

Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry on Sunday said "PML-N did not win in Daska, it is the PTI that lost there".

"The reasons behind [PTI's] loss in the [Daska] polls are the same that I keep drawing the party's attention towards," the federal minister said.

Responding to PML-N Vice-President's statement following her party's victory, Chaudhry said: "Nawaz Sharif has no ideology, and neither is PML-N an ideological party [...] as it was in power for a long time, it has become group [that seeks to further its vested interests]."

The science minister said Prime Minister Imran Khan is "the (sole) hope for democracy in Pakistan" — as there is "no leader whose political stature equals his".

"Accepting Bilawal and Maryam as Pakistan's leaders would be a slap on the face of democracy," the science minister added.

The federal minister said PTI would have to put its own house in order, as the "country's future depends on PTI and Imran Khan's success".

Earlier in the day, Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed had said "democracy won" in the Daska by-election a day earlier, where PML-N's Nosheen Iftikhar defeated PTI's Asjad Ali Malhi.

The minister said it was a "defeat" for everyone who misjudged PM Imran Khan's vote bank in Daska, since the PTI candidate was defeated by a thin margin.

"We won even though we lost in the Daska by-election," the minister said. "We are proud that Imran Khan has a [sizable] vote bank in Daska to this day," he added.

He said the large number of votes polled by Asjad Ali Malhi in the Daska by-election was "proof of Imran Khan's narrative being alive".

Rasheed further said "wrestlers enter the ring but only one emerges the winner".

Unofficial results from all 360 polling stations in the NA-75 Sialkot-IV constituency showed that PML-N's Iftikhar secured 110,075 votes, whereas Malhi obtained 93,433 votes.

 

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PM Imran expands 'Koi Bhooka Na Soye' programme to 3 more cities

Prime Minister Imran Khan expanded the operations of the Ehsaas Koi Bhooka Na Soye [No one goes to bed hungry] programme to three more cities — Lahore, Faisalabad and Peshawar — on Sunday.

A statement from the Prime Minister's Office said that the premier had announced the extension of the programme before the arrival of the holy month of Ramazan.

While addressing the extension ceremony in Islamabad, he said that initially a pilot programme of mobile kitchens (kitchens on trucks) had been launched in Islamabad to assess what issues would come up.

"Now you can see it has been started in Peshawar, Lahore and Faisalabad. And this is the beginning — our idea is that we want to spread a network of kitchens [and] meals on wheels across Pakistan and they will then cover all the areas where there is the most poverty and people sleep hungry."

The prime minister said that blessings and prosperity came from God but it was up to humans to make the effort for them. He said he wanted the office bearers in government and ministers to realise that "their biggest responsibility after coming into power is towards the segment that is poor".

He questioned why Pakistan hadn't followed the path set by the state of Medina despite being founded in the name of Islam. "Even though our situation is difficult— there is debt, little money is left to spend on the people — despite that, God's order is to follow that path. This path is of rule of law and of humanity, that we take responsibility for our poor segment."

The premier said that God's blessings would shine upon Pakistan once the state took responsibility for delivering meals to people who couldn't afford them.

"We don't realise what a huge asset is lying in our country — the people who give charity. We are among the only countries where people give the most charity, we are very lucky people," said the prime minister, adding that the people's charity had supported the running of his Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital.

The prime minister also cited other measures taken for the benefit of the poor such as the government's Panagah (shelter) programme and universal health coverage.

Prime Minister Imran Khan concluded his address by calling upon the public to participate and donate to the programme with charity before Ramazan. "This is the perfect way to do so. You will receive our numbers and website — participate in any way you can. When government and people join hands, this network will spread in entire Pakistan."

The programme was launched in Islamabad and Rawalpindi last month under which the poor and labour classes would be provided free meal boxes twice a day through mobile trucks at various points of the twin cities.

Under the programme, a concept of mobile kitchens was introduced which would be plied all over the country to provide free meal to the needy and hungry people. “Koi Bhooka Na Soye programme is the beginning of Pakistan’s transformation into a welfare state,” the prime minister had said at the launching ceremony.

Each food truck feeds 1,500-2,000 people daily on specified service points. The meals are cooked, stored and served from a truck kitchen. Later this year, the programme will be upscaled phase-wise to other parts of the country.

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