Rawalpindi : Merchants while lauding decision of the government for relaxing coronavirus lockdown took a sigh of relief as Eid season is around the corner. For the last few weeks specifically following the advent of the holy month of Ramazan, there were reports that merchants were treating...

A man was killed and another wounded during a clash within the Gulshan-e-Iqbal police station’s limits on Friday.Police said the incident took place when the two men exchanged fire near Kamran Market in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Block 1. As a result, both were wounded and taken to Jinnah Postgraduate...

ADB invites papers for the Asian Development Conference 2020 to be held 16-17 July 2020 in Seoul, Korea.

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A wholesale market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan played a role in the outbreak of the novel coronavirus last year, as the source or possibly as an “amplifying setting”, the World Health Organisation said on Friday, calling for more research.

Chinese authorities shut down the market in January as part of efforts to stop the spread of the virus and ordered a temporary ban on trade and consumption of wildlife.

“The market played a role in the event, that’s clear. But what role we don’t know; whether it was the source or amplifying setting or just a coincidence that some cases were detected in and around that market,” said Dr Peter Ben Embarek, a WHO expert on food safety and zoonotic viruses that cross the species barrier from animals to humans.

It was not clear whether live animals or infected vendors or shoppers may have brought the virus into the market, he told a Geneva news briefing.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said there is “a significant amount of evidence” the virus came from the Wuhan laboratory, although he has also said there wasn’t certainty.

Read: The Wuhan lab at the core of a virus controversy

No public evidence has linked the outbreak to the lab in Wuhan and scientists have said the coronavirus appears to have developed in nature. A German intelligence report cast doubts on Pompeo’s allegations, Der Spiegel reported.

Ben Embarek did not address the accusations. He noted that it took researchers a year to identify camels as the source of the Mers (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) virus, a coronavirus that emerged in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and spread in the Middle East, adding: “It’s not too late.”

“What is important, what would be of great help, is to get hold of the virus before it adapted to humans, before the version we have now. Because then we would better understand how it adapted to humans, how it evolved,” he said.

“In terms of investigations, China has most probably, most likely, all the expertise needed to do these investigations. They have lot of very qualified researchers to that,” he said.

A common sight across Asia, wet markets traditionally sell fresh produce and live animals, such as fish, in the open air.

Many markets worldwide that sell live animals must be better regulated and hygiene conditions improved, and some should be closed down, Ben Embarek said. “But the vast majority can be fixed, can be better organised.”

It is often a question of controlling waste management, the movement of people and goods, and of separating live animals from animal products and from fresh goods, he said.

ISLAMABAD: Chief of the Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa has said Pakistan’s support for the Afghan reconciliation process is a proof of its sincerity for peace in Afghanistan.

Talking to US Special Envoy for Afghan Reconciliation Dr Zalmay Khalilzad on Friday, the army chief said: “Our support towards peace process is a manifestation of our goodwill towards the cause.”

Dr Khalilzad was visiting Pakis­tan after a meeting with Taliban leaders in Doha and a stopover in Delhi, where he met Indian Exter­nal Affairs Minister Subrahman­yam Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

The Indian leaders, according to reports in Indian media, blamed a recent spike in violence in Afghanistan to alleged “sanctuaries” on Pakistani soil and emphasised their elimination. The Indian allegations have come in the backdrop of renewed terror accusations against Pakistan in India-held Kashmir.

Pakistan has strongly rejected all Indian allegations and has asked the United Nations to seek proofs from India about the alleged “launch pads” and “infiltration bids” at the Line of Control.

Khalilzad scheduled to return to Doha for resumption of negotiations with Taliban

Dr Khalilzad, according to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), praised continuing Pakistani efforts for peace and stability in the region.

India, despite the special envoy’s recent visits to Delhi, is uneasy because its viewpoint on Afghanistan is getting little weightage in Washington.

Pakistan had facilitated long-drawn US-Taliban talks, which culminated with the signing of a landmark peace deal in Doha in February between the two adversaries that have been at war for 19 years. Under the deal, the Afghan Taliban gave counterterrorism assurances and agreed to engage in dialogue with the Afghan government for ending war. The peace agreement was expected to pave the way for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.

However, the progress towards start of intra-Afghan peace talks have been sluggish because of trust deficit between the Afghan factions and slow release of prisoners by both sides. Intra-Afghan talks were, according to the original plan, to commence on March 10 after release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners by Kabul, while the militant group was to set free 1,000 government personnel. So far the Afghan government has released 933 of the 5,000 Taliban prisoners, while the Taliban have freed 155 captives.

In recent weeks, the Taliban finally intensified attacks against government forces. On Thursday, Khost police chief Ahmad Babazai was killed in a landmine attack.

Dr Khalilzad said he had in his “lengthy” overnight meeting with the head of Taliban political office in Doha emphasised “reduction in violence, humanitarian ceasefire as demanded by the international community to allow for better cooperation on managing Covid-19 pandemic in Afghanistan, acceleration of prisoner releases by both sides, actions necessary to secure the freedom of US citizen Mark Frerichs, regional and international support for the peace process, and movement to intra-Afghan negotiations ASAP”.

The special envoy will travel back to Doha from Islamabad for continuing his discussions with Taliban leaders.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020

The government of Pakistan has decided to bring back via special flights its students stuck in Wuhan, China, ground zero of the novel coronavirus.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfiqar Bukhari tweeted the development on Friday night, referring to those stranded there as "the bravest soldiers".

Pakistan International Airline (PIA) has been tasked to bring the first batch of Pakistanis – mostly students – beginning May 18, when around 250 individuals are expected to return.

Pakistanis who had been studying in Wuhan and other cities in the Chinese province of Hubei – first region in the world to be put under a strict lockdown on Jan 20 after being declared a virus epicenter – had appealed at the time to be evacuated.

Multiple requests for evacuation were made not only by the stranded students but also by their families back home. However, the government said it would not repatriate them immediately and would follow guidelines and processes put in place by China in this regard.

To allay the fears of the students and their families, the Foreign Office in February sent two of its officials from the Beijing embassy to Wuhan while the strict lockdown was still in place. The FO said the staffers were to remain in Wuhan till the lockdown ended and would meet students in different universities to get an update on their well-being and safety.

In March, President Arif Alvi and Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi visited China and interacted with Pakistani citizens there via video link.

Upon returning from the trip, both the foreign minister and President Alvi briefed the media and said that the students were in a good condition and had only requested that Pakistani food be provided to them.

On March 28, China began lifting the lockdown in Wuhan. By April 8, the restrictions were completely lifted and some of the the students celebrated by cooking themselves a meal.

CHANDIGARH/GURGAON: There is a ray of hope for real estate projects awaiting change of land use (CLU) licences from the state government. The department of town and country planning on Tuesday submitted a revised sub-regional plan to the NCR Planning Board (NCRPB). The builders, however, will have to wait till the board approves the revised plan. Last month, the Punjab and Haryana high court had barred the state government from issuing CLU licences to developers or government agencies in NCR because of the same reason. Earlier, the NCRPB had highlighted loopholes in Haryana’s draft of the sub-regional plan, but the government failed to incorporate the changes. After a rap from […]

The Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) has terminated its housing scheme, which was announced last year, amid poor response. Applicants who were picked on the basis of a demand survey will get their paid amounts refunded while a new scheme is framed. The housing scheme in Chandigarh, which would have offered homes in Sector 53, has reportedly been scrapped by the housing board, CHB. Officials have been asked by the government to frame a new, which would be more affordable. The scheme was criticised for being so expensive. For 492 flats, Chandigarh Housing Scheme received only 178 applications despite the board reducing the prices of the flats twice and also extending the […]

Around 500 migrants are arriving at the Colombian border city of Cúcuta every day intending to return to Venezuela. As of April 15, a total of 34,000 people had passed through the city.

The government has advised people to make homemade masks using capulanas – a traditional Mozambican cloth generally worn by women – and other readily available materials.

ADB needs to address issues causing weak sustainability of its projects to improve performance, says the 2020 Annual Evaluation Review (AER) conducted by ADB’s Independent Evaluation Department.

Afghanistan has recovered 18 bodies of migrants who were allegedly beaten and tortured before being forced into a river by Iranian border guards last week, a senior Afghan official said Friday.

Iran warned Saturday that coronavirus infections were rising in the southwest despite falls in other regions, as it announced more than 1,500 new confirmed cases.

ONGOING EVALUATION. This evaluation will assess whether the Climate Change Fund (CCF) has been successful in facilitating greater investments in member countries to address climate change and provide recommendations for future directions of the fund. 

This report evaluates the performance of three technical assistance (TA) projects in Viet Nam for the resilience of rural development and climate change, approved by the Asian Development Bank over 2009–2013: (i) TA 7377: Climate Change Impact and Adaptation Study in the Mekong Delta; (ii) TA 8102: Promoting Climate Resilient Rural Infrastructure in the Northern Mountain Provinces; and (iii) TA 8592: Improving Payment for Forest Ecosystem Service Implementation.

ADB needs to address issues causing weak sustainability of its projects to improve performance, says the 2020 Annual Evaluation Review (AER) conducted by ADB’s Independent Evaluation Department.

This working paper proposes flood footprint and accountability to coordinate risk management projects through appropriate spatial planning at river basin scale.

This policy dialogue session on water-related disaster resilience with various public scientific agencies, ministries and Senior public works department officials from Japan and developing countries in Asia.

ADB's food distribution program for Metro Manila and nearby areas reaches more than 100,000 needy households. affected by community quarantine due to COVID-19.

Enhancing System Architecture Implementation for AI Applications, Microchip Delivers its Analog Embedded SuperFlash® Technology

A major focus of the Phuentsholing Township Development Project is to provide a safer space in which the town can grow by helping develop a new urban center with raised ground levels in an area sheltered by the embankments.

A glimpse into how scaling-up investment in Hasfarm Holdings is helping women in Central Highlands, Viet Nam improve their economic status and reach their full potential.

BANGALORE: Global private equity funds more than doubled their investment in India’s real estate sector in the quarter to March as they foresee an improvement in economy leading to stable long-term yields, according to a report by brokerage Cushman & Wakefield. PE funds invested Rs 2,800 crore in the country’s commercial and residential real estate during the period, a 145% jump over the year-ago quarter, the report said. “This is the highest quarterly private equity investment since Q2 of 2009 by private equity funds in the realty sector, driven by huge investment in commercial real estate and steady fund raising by developers in the residential asset class,” it said. Sanjay […]

Foreign-currency exposures on an economy’s external balance sheet may jeopardize financial stability when the exchange rate depreciates.

This brief presents findings from a study on labor productivity across various sectors in India and its impact on poverty reduction.

This publication presents an overview of the Water Efficiency Improvement in Drought-Affected Provinces (WEIDAP) Project that aims to apply cost-effective technology for irrigation modernization and agricultural development in Viet Nam.

Foreign-currency exposures on an economy’s external balance sheet may jeopardize financial stability when the exchange rate depreciates.

MCHP Announces Note Exchanges

MUMBAI: Indian real estate market witnessed a significant change in the last decade mainly backed by opening up of FDI in the sector and shift in preference to high-rises over traditional low-rise structures, according to a report. The opening up of the sector to foreign direct investment in 2005 initiated the entry of new avenues for funding, and capital inflow witnessed a spike, property consultant CBRE said in its report titled ‘Inflection Point: Ten years of organised real estate in India (2005-2014)’. Restrictive legislations till 2004 provided limited scope of funds for the sector. However, opening up of the sector to FDI in 2005 opened up new avenues for investment, […]

PUNE: The Zone 1 of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Friday took action against illegal constructions in Kalas and Dhanori areas, said a statement issued by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The statement added that residential as well as commercial establishments had made these encroachments. The illegal constructions spread over 3200 sq ft were demolished in the drive. The premises inside and front margins were occupied without taking any permission from the civic body. The Kalas area had illegal construction spread over 2000 sq ft, while Dhanori had 1200 sq ft of illegal constructions. Since the start of this month the civic administration had taken action against encroachments in Bavdhan, Dhankawadi, […]

NEW DELHI: Builders in Noida are unable to hand over more than 30,000 completed homes to their buyers, because of a National Green Tribunal order forbidding the Noida Authority from giving completion certificates to projects within a 10-kilometre radius of the Okhla bird sanctuary. Developers in Noida say they have in the past seven months since the tribunal’s order lost close to Rs 1,000 crore as they have been holding on the flats, paying interest on their loans as well as penalty to home buyers. “Everyone is bleeding,” said Vineet Gupta, director of the Ajnara group, which has around 1,500 apartments waiting to be handed over to buyers. Projects of […]

BENGALURU, INDIA –  HARMAN (NYSE:HAR), the premier connected technologies company for automotive, consumer and enterprise markets, today announced that it has launched its global corporate social responsibility initiative, ‘HARMAN Inspired’, in India....

MUMBAI, INDIA – HARMAN Professional Solutions, the global leader in audio, video, lighting and control systems, including networked AV, today announced popular fusion rock band Swarathma, Rajasthani folk singer Mame Khan and percussionist Darshan Doshi...

Stamford, CT, Feb. 3, 2020 -- HARMAN, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., focused on connected technologies and solutions for automotive, consumer and enterprise markets, today announced that Dinesh Paliwal will step down on April...

Rethinking Design for Man & Machine: Q&A with Huemen’s Stephanie Tuttle Design has an instrumental role in delivering powerful experiences. HARMAN’s mission to unlocking and elevating experiences for a wide range of stakeholders, from automakers and...

With its highly strategic and importance place in the world, China is a critical market for international expansion for a wide range of global businesses including those in the automotive space. HARMAN is dedicated to expanding its footprint in the ...

The particle physics discoveries have dried up but in politically uncertain times CERN's cooperative model is an example to the world, says its chief Fabiola Gianotti

The US assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani has raised fears of nuclear conflict, but Iran has been on the road to building nuclear weapons for some time

A molecule shaped like a bow tie changes colour in the presence of toxic chemicals, which could make it useful for monitoring air

STAMFORD, CT – HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated (NYSE:HAR), the premier connected technologies company for automotive, consumer and enterprise markets,  announced enhancements to its leading-edge Clari-Fi software solution, building on a...

Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, the son of Britain's Prince Harry and his American wife Meghan, celebrated his first birthday on Wednesday, with his parents marking the occasion with a video of his...

CES 2015, LAS VEGAS – HARMAN, the premium global audio, infotainment and enterprise automation group (NYSE:HAR), proudly introduce yurbuds® powered by JBL®, the number one selling sport earphone in the nation, is officially debuting yurbuds® products with JBL® Signature Sound in the US. JBL® is known industry-wide for its supreme quality, so coupling that with yurbuds® ergonomics, guaranteed never to hurt or fall out, you have a headphone like no other on the market.

Indigenous elders from Alaska to Australia have come together to deliver some tough love in a new film for Earth Day. Francis Maguire reports.

A recording studio in Virginia offers musicians battling cancer a chance to leave behind a musical legacy for their friends and family. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).