Genres: Thriller Running Time: 106 min. Directed by: Francis Annan Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Ian Hart Synopsis: Based on the real-life prison break of two political captives, Escape From Pretoria is a race-against-time thriller set in the tumultuous apartheid days of South Africa.

Actress Choi Ji-woo posted a handwritten letter with a photo of herself showing her "baby bump" on her fan site on Thursday. "I now have 15 days left before my baby's due date. I took a selfie in front of my house. As I got pregnant at a late age and am preparing for delivery amid the coronavirus ep...

Korea saw the biggest drop in private consumption on record last year even before the coronavirus epidemic struck.According to Statistics Korea on Thursday, the average monthly spending of households fell 3.2 percent to W2.46 million in 2019 (US$1=W1,226). That was the biggest decline since the gove...

President Moon Jae-in's approval rating has stood at over 60 percent for a third week running despite the dire state of the economy.Moon, who marks his third year in office this weekend, seems to owe his recovered popularity to the relatively smooth handling of the coronavirus epidemic. But it also ...

Japan has fast-tracked the approval of the anti-viral drug remdesivir to be used to treat COVID-19 patients in that country.Speaking to reporters Friday in Tokyo, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga confirmed the rare fast-track, four-day approval of remdesivir by the Ministry of Health,...

More than two months after a black man was shot to death while jogging on a Sunday afternoon, Georgia investigators conceded that the facts show enough evidence to jail a white father and son on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault.  The investigation appeared stalled by local author...

There's a home in Telluride that would make Flo from Progressive proud.

Rawalpindi : Under vigorous campaign against profiteering and hoarding, 1,633 raids were conducted by Price Control Magistrates in seven tehsils of Rawalpindi District and action in accordance with the law was taken against 216 persons found indulged in violation of law.The administration also...

Islamabad : President Arif Alvi on Friday directed that social distancing should be maintained in the upcoming session of the National Assembly for the safety of the parliamentarians and staff against the threat of coronavirus.During a visit to the National Assembly, the president was apprised by...

The Sindh revenue department has written a letter to Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah for sanctioning extra incentives to the officials and officers of different departments participating in the battle against COVID-19.The letter, which was sent to the CM on Friday, reads that as the...

There is a growing perception among the people of Karachi that they are being intentionally deprived of their fundamental rights by both the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf -led federal government and the Pakistan Peoples Party -led Sindh government.Pak Sarzameen Party Chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal said...

Criticising the Sindh government for “playing politics” over the holding of mourning religious congregations by issuing a notification to ban such congregations, the Majlis-e-Wahdat Muslimeen announced on Friday that the Yaum-e-Ali procession would be organised on Ramazan 21 after...

With more five people falling victim to the novel coronavirus in a day, the death toll rose to 176 in Sindh on Friday. Four out of the deceased diagnosed with the COVID-9 belonged to Karachi. The new coronavirus cases which emerged in the province on Friday were 598.“Today is another...

Expressing serious concern over dozens of unexplained deaths of asymptomatic COVID-19 patients in home isolation in Sindh, local and foreign health experts have advised the government to provide tele-consultation to the patients in home isolation on a regular basis.The experts also asked the...

Microchip Unveils Family Details and Opens Early Access Program for RISC-V Enabled Low-Power PolarFire SoC FPGA Family

Next-Generation Miniaturized Rubidium Atomic Clock Improves Performance and adds Features without Increasing Size

Enabling Cloud Connectivity to All MCUs and MPUs, Microchip Launches a Range of Embedded IoT Solutions for Rapid Prototyping

Protect Against Rootkit and Bootkit Malware in Systems that Boot from External SPI Flash Memory

Microchip Expands Silicon Carbide (SiC) Family of Power Electronics to Provide System Level Improvements in Efficiency, Size and Reliability

Microchip Releases Version 2.1 of TimeProvider 4100 Timing Grandmaster

Microchip Announces the 53100A Phase Noise Analyzer for Precision Oscillator Characterization

Loan agreements outline the terms of an agreement for a loan. This document dated 6 May 2020 is provided for the ADB project 54183-001 in Bhutan.

ADB today approved an additional $500 million loan to bolster the efforts of the Government of Bangladesh to manage the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on the country’s economy and the public health.

Safeguards due diligence reports are prepared as part of safeguard due diligence and review to ensure compliance with ADB safeguard policy due diligence requirements. This document dated May 2020 is provided for the ADB project 51039-002 in Afghanistan.

Safeguards due diligence reports are prepared as part of safeguard due diligence and review to ensure compliance with ADB safeguard policy due diligence requirements. This document dated May 2020 is provided for the ADB project 2020-05-07 in Afghanistan.

Environmental monitoring reports describe the environmental issues or mitigation measures of a project. This document dated May 2020 is provided for the ADB project 43319-022 in the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa and Bhutan Finance Minister and ADB Governor Namgay Tshering today discussed ADB’s support to the country in its fight against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Grant agreements outline the terms of an agreement for a grant. This document dated 7 May 2020 is provided for the ADB project 54229-001 in Fiji.

Procurement plans describe and update the procurement of major goods, works and consulting services either ongoing or expected to take place related to a project or program. This document dated 15 November 2019 is provided for the ADB project 48118-002 in the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Principal Investment Specialist in the Private Sector Operations Department. The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

ADB has approved $30 million in extra financing for a health sector project in Mongolia to strengthen the country’s preparedness and response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Senior IT Officer (Project Management) (3 Vacancies) in the Information Technology Department . The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Procurement and Contracts Officer in the Office of Administrative Services. The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

Providing safely managed sanitation services for all requires extending the partnership between the public and private sectors.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Associate Facilities Planning and Management Officer (Project Management) in the Office of Administrative Services. The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

Lebanon’s mosques reopened their doors for Friday prayer as the country gradually scales back its coronavirus containment measures implemented almost two months ago.

mXT2113TD-AT_2v0_Protocol_Guide_A.zip

mXT2912TD-AT_1v0_Protocol_Guide_A.zip

mXT2912TD-AT_2v0_Protocol_Guide_A.zip

mXT144U_1v0vAB_Protocol_Guide_A.zip

Microchip PCN Registration Process

How To Select or Change myMICROCHIP Preferences

The coronavirus lockdown wiped out 20.5 million US jobs in April, destroying nearly all the positions created in the previous decade in the world's largest economy, the country's labour department reported on Friday.

The unprecedented collapse drove the unemployment rate to 14.7 per cent — well beyond the peak hit in late 2009 during the global financial crisis — from 4.4pc in March.

And job losses in March were worse than initially reported, falling 870,000 even though the business closures mostly happened in the second half of the month.

The plunge in non-farm payroll employment was the largest ever recorded since 1939, while the jobless rate was the highest and the biggest increase since 1948, the report said.

Employment fell sharply in all major industry sectors, with particularly heavy job losses in leisure and hospitality, the first sector hit and the one bearing the brunt of the impact of the lockdowns.

However, the labour department noted that the some workers were misclassified in the report as employed when they should have been counted as laid off.

Had they been listed properly, the unemployment rate would have been nearly five percentage points higher.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump downplayed unprecedented US job losses, saying they were not a surprise.

“It's fully expected, there's no surprise. Somebody said, 'oh look at this,'” he said on Fox News minutes after the labour department published the figures.

“I'll bring it back,” he said.

TOKYO: Japan on Thursday approved Gilead Sciences Inc’s remdesivir as a treatment for Covid-19, making it the country’s first officially authorised drug to tackle the coronavirus disease.

Japan reached the decision just three days after the US drugmaker filed for fast-track approval for the treatment.

“There has so far been no coronavirus medicine available here so it is a significant step for us to approve this drug,” a Japanese health ministry official said at a press briefing. Remdesivir will be given to patients with severe Covid-19 symptoms, he added.

With no other approved treatments for Covid-19, interest in the drug is growing around the world. Administered by intravenous infusion, it was granted authorisation last week by the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Gilead says the drug has improved outcomes for people suffering from the respiratory disease and has provided data suggesting it works better when given in the early stages of infection.

Japan, with just over 16,000 infections and under 800 deaths, has recorded fewer cases than other major industrialised nations.

However, a steady rise in cases has put pressure on medical facilities in some parts of the country, and a drug that helps patients recover more quickly could help in freeing up hospital beds.

A trial performed by the US Institutes of Health (NIH) showed the drug cut hospital stays by 31 per cent compared with a placebo treatment, although it did not significantly improve survival.

On Monday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe extended a month-long state of emergency until the end of May in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Japan as yet does not know when it will get its first doses of remdesivir or how much, the health ministry official said.

Gilead on Tuesday said it was in discussion with several companies, including generic drugmakers in India and Pakistan to produce remdesivir in large quantities.

Remdesivir, which previously failed as a treatment for Ebola, is designed to disable the ability by which some viruses make copies of themselves inside infected cells.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2020

KARACHI: Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour’s five properties, estimated to be worth over Rs32 million and purchased by him in Karachi by using fake identities, have been taken over by the anti-terrorism court for auction, sources told Dawn on Thursday.

The FIA had booked Mullah Mansour, aliases Mohammad Wali and Gul Mohammad, Akhtar Mohammad and Amaar in a case lodged under Section 11H (pertaining to fundraising and money laundering) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, read with sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Mullah Mansour, who was killed in a drone strike along the Pakistan-Iran border on May 21, 2016, had purchased five properties, including plots and houses, in Karachi.

This revelation came in a report submitted by the Federal Investigation Agency to the ATC-II in July last year regarding an investigation into a case related to alleged fundraising by the slain Afghan Taliban leader and his accomplices through the purchase of properties on the back of forged identities.

Mullah Akhtar Mansour bought Rs32m properties in Karachi using fake identities

Since January, the court had been directing the investigation officer (IO) to complete the process of attachment of Mullah Mansour’s properties and proclamation of his two alleged absconding accomplices — Akhtar Mohammad and Amaar — under sections 87 and 88 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

On April 24, the court had ordered the Nazir (a court official) to take over the properties of Mullah Mansour after the IO submitted a compliance report regarding completion of the attachment process of the properties by the Federal Investigation Agency.

The court had ordered the Nazir to auction those properties and get advertisements published in newspapers.

When the matter came up before the ATC-II judge recently, the court’s Nazir filed a report regarding seizure of property owned by Mullah Akhtar Mansour on behalf of the court.

The judge asked the Nazir to file a report about publication of the auction advertisement in newspapers on the next date of hearing.

The judge granted a request by Rehmatullah Domki, the investigation officer, to hear the case next month. She scheduled a hearing from June 11.

During a previous hearing, the IO had informed the court that the FIA had unearthed five properties purchased by the Taliban leader before his death. An estimated value of the properties is Rs32 million.

The court had already called for reports from the commissioners of Peshawar and Quetta regarding the process of proclamation of Mullah Mansour’s alleged absconding accomplices and attachment of their properties.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2020

The governments of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan on Friday announced the partial easing of lockdown measures imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus, even as the number of infections in the country registered a record daily increase.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced the lifting of the countrywide lockdown in phases from Saturday by reopening all construction-related industries and shopping centres for five days a week from Fajr (early morning) till 5pm and outpatient departments (OPDs) in hospitals.

The premier, who had announced the decision after a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) attended by the chief ministers of the four provinces, had acknowledged that the lockdown was being eased "at a time when our curve is going up" but maintained that "it is not edging up as we were expecting.”

The trend continued on Friday, with the country recording 1,807 cases of Covid-19 from the three provinces of Punjab, Sindh and KP alone, and the national tally nearing 27,000. It is the highest daily increase in the number of infections since Pakistan confirmed its first case on February 26.

Also read: Pakistan's Covid-19 death toll doubles in last 10 days

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

A notification issued by the KP relief department said businesses associated with the construction industry will be exempt from closure subject to them following the standard operating procedures (SOPs) already issued for industrial units and sale points.

Businesses of steel and PVC pipes, electric appliances, manufacturers of steel and aluminium equipment, ceramic and paint industries, sanitary, paints, steel and aluminium works, and hardware stores will be allowed to open four days a week, not later than 4:00pm. They will remain closed on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

All factories which are not included in the negative lists of factories will also be allowed to resume operations.

According to the notification, all shops will be allowed to remain open for four days a week and not later than 4:00pm, subject to their implementation of the government's SOPs.

Meanwhile, Adviser to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister on information, Ajmal Wazir, told a press conference in Peshawar that educational institutions in the province will reopen as per the federal government's instructions and the province will not take an independent decision in this regard.

He added that discussions were being held on inter-district and intra-district transport with transporters and the decision will be shared with the public whenever it is taken.

Punjab

Punjab Information Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan said that the provincial government will submit a recommendation to the Centre for not lifting the lockdown in the province's major cities.

Speaking to reporters in Lahore, he said: "We have seen that there is a hype about coronavirus in some big cities. Therefore, we are submitting this recommendation to the federal government and if it is approved, then the lockdown and standard operating procedures will remain in big cities like Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan and Gujranwala."

Examine: The lockdown dilemma

He added that higher secondary board examinations in Punjab will be cancelled and students will be promoted based on last year's grades. Schools will reopen on July 15.

As per the federal government's decision, OPDs in the province will open from May 9, Chohan said.

He added that the SOPs for congregational and Taraweeh prayers in mosques as announced by President Arif Alvi will remain in place.

The first session of the Punjab Assembly since the pandemic began was also to be held today.

Sindh

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah told a press conference in Karachi that under "phase two" of the easing of the restrictions, businesses linked to construction industries will be allowed to open while observing the preventive guidelines. Selective OPDs will also be allowed to resume services.

Industries will no longer be required to submit an application to resume operations; however, they will have to submit an undertaking and forward the details of their employees to the government.

Shops will be allowed to open after sehri (dawn) and will be required to close at 5pm. They will remain closed on Saturdays and Sundays which will be "safe days with 100 per cent lockdown", the chief minister said.

The businesses permitted to resume from Monday include shops in rural areas and neighbourhood shops situated in residential localities, excluding large market places.

Shah said marriage halls, shopping malls, hotels and restaurants in the province will remain closed and there will be no congregations or sports events either.

"These guidelines will remain applicable until May 31. This is what the federal government has outlined and we are ready to comply with these directives," he said.

The chief minister appealed to citizens to stay at home as much as possible. "If you are allowed to leave your homes, according to the directives issued by the government, then make sure to follow standard operating procedures. Wear a mask," he said.

Referring to the increase in Covid-19 infections, he added: "I am seeing the rise in cases, but for national integrity and uniform policy we are going along."

In a statement released by the CM House later in the day, Shah denied media reports stating that the lockdown will end on Monday, saying: "We are entering the second phase of the lockdown with some extra restrictions, particularly at hotspots."

He maintained that air, train and public transport will continue to remain suspended.

Balochistan

In Balochistan, a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan approved the move to turn the lockdown imposed in the province into a 'smart lockdown', under which restrictions are enforced in virus hotspots only, according to Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani.

He announced that markets will be allowed to open from 3am till 5 in the evening.

Shopkeepers and traders will be bound to implement SOPs for precautionary measures while legal action will be taken against the violators, Shahwani said in a tweet.

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister and senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will appear on Saturday (today) before the commission of inquiry investigating the recent shortage and price hike of sugar in the country.

Mr Abbasi told Dawn on Friday he would inform the commission how sugar scandals develop, in the light of his experience as a former chief executive of the country.

He said he had written a letter to the commission, offering his services to it by sharing his experiences in probing scams. “I wrote the letter to the commission, as under the Commission of Inquiry Act any citizen can assist such commissions in investigating such scams,” he said.

Upon receiving the letter, Mr Abbasi said, the commission asked him to provide a written statement, or any other document, that would help in investigating the scandal. “I told the commission that I will not give any written statement or document, but will assist it on the basis of my experience, I being a former member of the Economic Coordination Committee (of the cabinet) and former head of the federal cabinet,” he said.

Mr Abbasi, who served as the prime minister in the last PML-N government, said he would explain to the commission how the sugar crisis occurred.

When asked to share some of the reasons behind the crisis, the former premier said allowing export of the commodity was one of the main reasons. “The commission has to ascertain who gave the approval for export of sugar when its local demand had not been taken care of.”

He said he would request the commission to keep his meeting with its members open to all. Another PML-N leader and former defence minister Khurram Dastagir Khan would be accompanying Mr Abbasi to the meeting.

The commission is investigating the recent shortage of sugar and wheat in the country, in which some key members and allies of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf were allegedly involved.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020

ISLAMABAD: Several Shia groups have conveyed to the government that they will bring out processions to commemorate the martyrdom of Hazrat Ali and it cannot ban them.

The resolve was expressed by top Shia clerics belonging to different religio-political groups during a meeting with Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Noor-ul-Haq Qadri here on Friday. The Shia clerics belonging to Sindh and Punjab participated in the meeting through video link.

The minister said the current situation required the protection of people from coronavirus and it should be the top priority. He said that permission for the processions would be granted after consultation with the provinces.

The meeting was called to discuss the mourning processions and gatherings related to the martyrdom of Hazrat Ali falling on May 13 to 15 (19th to 21st Ramazan).

While the Sindh government took the decision to ban the processions on April 28, the leaders of Shia groups expressed their defiance only two days ago.

Leaders of Shia groups meet minister

“This created a conflict-like situation. The government should have controlled the social media activism by sectarian groups,” said a senior Shia cleric. He said some proscribed groups had issued provocative and derogatory statements on social media following the Sindh government’s decision.

During the meeting, Mr Qadri lauded the clerics’ role and said religious circles had largely implemented the 20-point action plan agreed between the government and ulema. He praised the managements of Shia mosques for abiding by the directives.

The meeting was attended by Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen head Allama Nasir Abbas, Shia Ulema Council secretary general Allama Arif Wahidi and Tehreek Nifaz-i-Fiqah Jafaria (TNFJ) senior leaders Allama Basharat Imami and Allama Qamar Zaidi.

Allama Nasir Abbas and Allama Arif Wahidi pointed out that President Arif Alvi had announced that the processions commemorating the martyrdom of Hazrat Ali too would be allowed following the SOPs agreed under the 20-point action plan.

However, Allama Qamar Zaidi told the religious affairs minister that the TNFJ would not accept any obstruction or binding to restrict the processions.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Saturday that Saudi Arabian authorities recently detained and are holding incommunicado Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, who had previously been netted in an anti-corruption drive and released in late 2017.

The US-based rights group, citing a source with ties to the royal family, said Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, a son of late monarch King Abdullah, was detained by security forces on March 27 while self-isolating due to the coronavirus pandemic at a family compound northeast of the capital Riyadh.

Reuters could not immediately independently verify the detention. The Saudi government media office did not immediately respond to a detailed Reuters request for comment.

Earlier in March, authorities had detained King Salman’s brother, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, and former crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who was replaced in a 2017 palace coup and placed under house arrest, sources had told Reuters.

Sources with royal connections said at the time that the move was a preemptive effort to ensure compliance within the ruling Al Saud family ahead of an eventual succession to the throne by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman upon the king’s death or abdication.

It was not clear if the reported detention of Prince Faisal was related to those in early March, which also saw Ahmed’s son Nayef and Mohammed bin Nayef’s brother Nawaf detained.

Saudi authorities have not commented on those detentions, which follow crackdowns on dissent in which clerics, intellectuals and rights activists have been arrested, and an anti-corruption drive launched in 2017 that netted scores of royals, ministers and businessmen.

Critics have said the campaigns were part of moves by Crown Prince Mohammed, the king’s son and the kingdom’s de facto ruler, to consolidate his grip on power.

“Now we have to add Prince Faisal to the hundreds detained in Saudi Arabia without a clear legal basis,” said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at HRW.

The kingdom has regularly denied allegations of unfair detention.

Authorities said last year the government was winding down the anti-corruption campaign after 15 months, but would continue to go after graft.

HRW said Prince Faisal’s whereabouts or status are not known.

“The source said that Prince Faisal has not publicly criticised authorities since his December 2017 arrest and that family members are concerned about his health as he has a heart condition,” it added.

In late December 2017, a senior Saudi official said Prince Faisal and another royal, Prince Meshaal bin Abdullah, were released from Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton hotel, where people nabbed in the anti-corruption drive were being held, after reaching an undisclosed financial settlement with the government.