The over-use of acronyms turns the joy of reading into a tedious process of decoding. It also muddles the message of development communications.

Asia’s economies have generally maintained sound macroeconomic policies that can help the region withstand this latest challenge and emerge even stronger.

Now is the time to ramp up actions on resilience so that society can beat the COVID-19 crisis while reducing the impact of climate threats.

The pandemic has highlighted the shortcomings of the globalized supply chain model.

Investments in climate-resilient infrastructure should be the centerpiece of the billions of dollars in economic stimulus being used to rebuild Asia’s economies.

Despite the global outcry against animal sacrifice in Nepal, the tradition persists.

Online purchases rose by more than 11 percent on-year in March amid the COVID-19 pandemic.Statistics Korea said on Wednesday that total online transactions amounted to about US$10.3 billion, which accounted for about 28 percent of all retail sales, the highest proportion on record.Food was the main ...

With the Korea Baseball Organization's regular season kicking off with no spectators allowed in the stadium, a large number of baseball fans have turned online to cheer for teams they support. The number of viewers who watched any of the five season opening games streamed online was 1.49 million in ...

Surrounded by the White River National Forest, the 11,600-acre Seven Lakes Ranch located in the Meeker Valley is up for sale three years removed from extensive renovations.

The Special Investigation Unit of the Criminal Investigation Agency busted on Friday three suspected criminals running a gang. In a separate raid, they apprehended analleged robber.According to SIU police chief SSP Irfan Bahadur, three gang members were involved in various criminal cases,...

The newly launched ‘1093 helpline service’ of the Sindh Local Government Department has been providing counselling service to around 50 people on a daily basis who are suffering from various psychological issues due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis in the country, said Sindh Local...

The Pakistan Navy in a joint raid with the Anti-Narcotics Force seized 100 kilogrammes of crystal meth worth around Rs3 billion.A Navy spokesman said that in an intelligence-based joint operation with the ANF, they seized 100 kilogrammes of crystal myth off Pasni, Balochistan. The drug was valued...

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CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Thursday directed the Haryana government not to issue any change of land use (CLU) licence to developers to build colonies in Gurgaon and the National Capital Region till the NCR Planning Board approves a sub-regional plan. The high court also restrained authorities from initiating any process for acquisition of land in these regions till further orders. A division bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul passed these orders while hearing petitions alleging unregulated construction and development around Gurgaon and NCR without the mandatory sub-regional plan from the NCRPB. The petitioners had also challenged the proposed Gurgaon master plan of 2025 and […]

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LAHORE: A sharp increase in confirmed Covid-19 cases across Punjab has further burdened state-run health facilities, taking their bed occupancy ratio to 54 per cent.

The rate increased during the last two weeks or so due to widespread transmission of the virus.

Official figures reported by the health department portray a grim picture as 3,693 people contracted the virus during the last seven days in the province.

Punjab had reported around 3,686 positive cases for the virus during a period of one month starting from March 15, when the first Covid-19 case was spotted.

Most of the confirmed patients were taken care of in Lahore where the 1,000-bed Expo Centre Field Hospital is housing 450 patients, with 45pc bed occupancy.

Ratio may touch 80pc in two weeks

Similarly, the Mayo Hospital houses 420 patients (70pc bed occupancy) while the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institution 100 patients (100pc bed occupancy).

The health authorities believe that this percentage is likely to reach 80pc in coming two weeks if cases continue to grow at the same rate.

The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) is very much concerned over the increasing number of coronavirus patients and rising death toll.

“We are extremely disturbed that how our hospitals would mange the load of corona patients in future because of the scale of transmission of the virus,” said PMA Secretary Dr Qaisar Sajjad.

He said the government would have to revisit the current health system in order to remove flaws and create more space for coronavirus patients, keeping in view the future requirements.

While sharing the fresh report, a spokesperson for the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department said Punjab reported a record 961 confirmed cases of the virus on Friday and it was the highest figure in a single day so far since the pandemic surfaced in the province.

“The government has allocated 7,753 beds for the corona patients at all the teaching, district and other field hospitals across the province,” he said. Of them, 4,239 had been occupied by the patients.

“We have 6,744 beds for corona patients at all the teaching and field hospitals that fall under the specialised healthcare and medical education department in Punjab,” SH&MED Additional Secretary (development) Nadir Chattha said.

He said 3,370 of them were allocated in teaching hospitals and 3,374 at field hospitals. Of the 6,744 beds, he said 2,261 (34pc) had been occupied by the patients.

“We are going to make available 984 more beds in coming days,” he said.

Of the total admitted patients, Mr Chattha said 40 were in a critical condition, with 34 of them on ventilators. He said so far 186 corona patients had died in Punjab.

On the other hand, of the total 961 confirmed cases on Friday, 488 were reported from Lahore which was also another record number (of people testing positive) in the provincial capital in just a day. Of them, 87 were reported from Gujrat, 77 from Rawalpindi, 60 Faisalabad, 45 Multan and 67 from Muzaffargarrh besides some other cities.

The total number of confirmed cases in Lahore and Punjab rose to 3,856 and 10,033, respectively, on Friday.

Surprisingly, the health department said only one patient died (in Muzaffargarh) of coronavirus in Punjab during the last 24 hours.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020

LAHORE: Pakistan head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq says being confined to home due to the coronavirus-forced lockdown can become depressing and wants some cricket activities to resume soon even if the matches have to take place behind closed doors with proper safety barriers.

There are reports that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was contemplating rescheduling and organising the three Test matches against Pakistan in August behind closed doors at Old Trafford, Manchester and Southampton.

Misbah said he would love to see some cricket activities resume at the international level, and has no problems in playing in empty stadiums.

“It is not an ideal situation for anyone because of this coronavirus pandemic and obviously the health and well being of everyone should be our top priority. But if matches can be held even in empty stadiums with the right safety barriers...I would have no problems,” Misbah was quoted as saying in a Press Trust of India report that appeared on The New Indian Express website on Friday.

The former Pakistan skipper said that the players have had nothing much to do except stay indoors for the last two months since the Pakistan Super League (PSL) was called off due to the global health crisis in March.

“Everyone is confined and I just think that if even if it can be made possible to bring some live cricket action to people sitting at home it would do them a lot of good,” Misbah said.

“It becomes depressing when you have nothing to do and hear about mostly Covid-19 news all the time. In this situation if sports can be resumed and if cricket can be started at least it will allow the people to watch cricket at home.”

Misbah, who took charge last year in September, said if the right safety barriers and precautions are put in place for players, match officials and other stake holders, cricket boards can move forward.

He, however, reminded that boards will have to follow their government instructions on the coronavirus.

German football league Bundesliga is set to resume on May 16 and Misbah said it was a positive development.

“But even they first got clearance from their government. Cricket boards also will have to do that,” he insisted.

The 45-year-old said the players were responsible for maintaining fitness standards during these testing times and he expects them to be in top condition whenever cricket resumes.

“I told them as cricket professionals it is their individual responsibility to take care of themselves and their fitness. Because they can be called on duty anytime,” he said.

Misbah said he had told the players fitness standards are essential nowadays because if they are fit they can also get back to form and match fitness quickly.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020

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 […]

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Happy Crepusculus! Never heard of Crepusculus? I’ll come back to that later. Instead, let me begin with a fun fact: the shortest day of the year is December 21st. ... read more >>

"The COVID-19 pandemic is not an excuse for human rights violations. Excessive force and brutality are unacceptable from any of our enforcement or security forces."

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

Benin drops 17 places in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index, following the withdrawal from a key document of the African Charter of Human and People's Rights.

ADB and AIM today launched the #DigitalAgainstCOVID-19 virtual challenge to crowdsource digital solutions and ideas to help countries in Asia and the Pacific deal with the medium- and long-term...

Tata Value Homes Limited (TVHL), a 100% subsidiary of Tata Housing Development Company Limited, today strengthened its presence in South India by developing Spanish themed residential township at Sriperumbudur, near Chennai. The company plans to Invest around Rs 300 crore in setting up this township. Inspired by Spanish living, Santorini is designed by architects F+A. The township is spread across lush greenery at Sriperumbudur, one of the fastest growing corridors in Chennai. Speaking on the project Brotin Banerjee, MD & CEO, Tata Housing Development Co. Ltd., said, with rapid urbanisation and influx of global lifestyle trends more and more affluent home buyers are looking for homes to reflect the financial […]

The project aimed to improve access of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to commercial financing and market opportunities, thereby fostering growth, competitiveness, and employment creation in India. There were three targeted outputs. First was enhance credit delivery through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and participating financial institutions in the MSME subsector. Second was increased SME productive and managerial capacity and related new jobs created for new markets.

The 2019 novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), first reported from Wuhan, People’s Republic of China (PRC), on 31 December 2019, is the latest emerging infectious disease to be declared a public health emergency of international concern. The situation is rapidly evolving, with more than 43,000 confirmed cases reported from at least 25 countries, and more than 1,000 deaths as of 11 February 2020, with PRC accounting for nearly all (99%) cases and deaths.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Intern - The Secretary's Office - 2014 in the Office of the Secretary. The deadline for submitting applications is on 15 September 2019.

ADB, in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is providing more sanitary water-tight pit latrines for 330 homes in Mongolia's Arvaikheer city.

This document outlines the investment principles and eligibility criteria that will guide the selection of projects to be supported by the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility (ACGF).

ADB is formulating an aggressive set of actions to protect the poor, the vulnerable, and wider populations across Asia and the Pacific. And to ensure economies will rebound as swiftly as possible.

Dentons has advised real estate developer Danescroft Land Limited, as part of a joint venture with Bridges Fund Management, on the acquisition of Ashdown House in Hastings, St Leonards-on-Sea for future redevelopment.