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  • WHO looking forward to oral, nasal Covid-19 vaccines

    The World Health Organization’s (WHO) chief scientist said Tuesday she was looking forward to the “second generation” of Covid-19 vaccines, which could comprise nasal sprays and oral versions, AFP reported.

    Soumya Swaminathan said such vaccines could have benefits over the current crop as they would be easier to deliver than injections and could even be self-administered.

    Swaminathan said there were 129 different candidate vaccines that have got as far as clinical trials and are being tested on humans — while a further 194 are not yet in the phase in their development and are still being worked on in laboratories.

    “This covers the entire range of technologies,” she told a live interaction on WHO social media channels.

    “They’re still in development. I’m sure some of them will prove to be very safe and efficacious and others may not.”

    “There could be advantages to some of the second-generation vaccines… clearly if you have an oral vaccine or an intra-nasal vaccine this is easier to deliver than an injectable.”

    Soumya Swaminathan added, “Ultimately we’ll be able to choose the ones that are most appropriate. If not for Covid-19, we’re going to use these platforms for other infections in the future.”

    “If there’s a local immune response then it will take care of the virus before it even goes and establishes itself in the lungs and starts causing a problem,” she said.

    WHO has only given emergency use authorisation to seven Covid-19 vaccines: those created by Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Sinopharm, Sinovac and last week Bharat Biotech.

    “None of the vaccines are 100%. Nobody has ever claimed that the vaccines are going to be 100% protective. But 90% is a wonderful amount of protection to have, compared to zero,” Swaminathan said.

    “Till now, with the vaccines that we have approved, there has not been any signal which has been so worrying that we need to say, well, we need to re-think this vaccine.”

    More than 7.25 billion vaccine doses have been administered around the world, according to an AFP count

  • Video: Sadaf Kanwal dances her heart out with mother-in-law Safina Behroze

    Video: Sadaf Kanwal dances her heart out with mother-in-law Safina Behroze

    Actor and model Sadaf Kanwal can be seen dancing at a relative’s bridal shower with her mother-in-law Safina Behroze in Karachi. The video has gone viral on social media.

    The duo can be seen grooving on a Punjabi track, the video has been shared by the Hassad star Shahroz Sabzwari.

    Safina Sheikh is Javed Sheikh’s sister, Behroz told in one of his interviews that he fell in love with her at first sight.

    Behroze Sabzwari Celebrating Birthday of his Wife Safina | Pakistani Drama Celebrities
  • ‘An absolute vision’: Priyanka, Katrina and others pour in congratulatory wishes for Malala

    ‘An absolute vision’: Priyanka, Katrina and others pour in congratulatory wishes for Malala

    Pakistani Nobel laureate and activist Malala Yousafzai tied the knot with Asser Malik in a small intimate nikkah ceremony. Soon after Malala shared the pictures on her public social media accounts, congratulatory messages started pouring in by transnational celebrities.

    Have a look at some of the messages:

    Read more- ‘Precious day in my life’: Malala Yousafzai ties the knot

    “Congratulations @malala Wishing you so much joy and happiness. You are an absolute vision!!”, wrote Priyanka Chopra on her Instagram story.

    Bollywood star Katrina Kaif also left a message under Malala’s post.

    Pakistani celebrities Zara Noor Abbas, Aima Baig, Meesha Sahafi, Adnan Malik and politician Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari also sent greetings to the newly weds.

    On her special day, Malala looked radiant in a tea-pink shalwar kameez while Asser Malik wore a black suit with a matching tea-pink tie to compliment Malala’s dress.

  • England to play two additional T20Is during their tour to Pakistan in 2022

    England to play two additional T20Is during their tour to Pakistan in 2022

    England will play two additional Twenty20s during their tour to Pakistan next year, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Chief Executive Tom Harrison announced on Tuesday.

    Pakistani cricket fans were infuriated by ECB’s decision to unilaterally cancel their joint men’s and women’s trip to Pakistan, which had been planned for October, with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja saying that his nation had been “used then binned” as part of a “West versus rest” mentality.

    That visit would have been England’s first since 2005 and came against the backdrop of New Zealand’s prior withdrawal from Pakistan, citing a specific and credible security threat.

    Harrison travelled this week in an apparently successful bid to repair relations, agreeing to extend what had been a five-match T20 series to a bumper seven-match rubber next September and October.

    England will also return for a three-Test series starting in November, after the T20 World Cup in Australia.

    Announcing the deal, Harrison said: “Myself and ECB’s senior director Martin Darlow visited Lahore to talk face to face with the PCB around some of the things that have happened over the past few weeks, leading to the cancellation of our tour in October.

    “We also wanted to discuss the future as the two boards have a historic relationship and want to move the agenda towards a forward-looking one as opposed to one looking back.

    “This is just to reaffirm our commitment to Pakistan cricket to getting England teams, men’s and women’s teams, eventually playing in Pakistan at home.

    “I don’t think there’s a cricketer in England who doesn’t want to test their abilities against the huge talent this country has and in the conditions they know best.”

    It was announced earlier this week that Australia would tour Pakistan for the first time since 1998 when they visit the country in March and April 2022 for three Tests, three ODIs and a T20 international.

    “The ECB have shown their large heartedness to be here for which I am thankful to Tom and Martin. It means a lot to us,” said Ramiz Raja.

  • ‘Rollercoaster of emotions’: Sanam Jung hosts a themed birthday for daughter Alaya, Ayeza Khan cheers

    ‘Rollercoaster of emotions’: Sanam Jung hosts a themed birthday for daughter Alaya, Ayeza Khan cheers

    Former morning show host and actor Sanam Jung celebrated her daughter Alaya’s fifth birthday in Karachi. The Alvida star shared a lengthy note along with the pictures from the celebrations.

    “The girl who never fails to put a smile across my face is turning 5, this 12th of November InshaAllah. Tbh, I’m going through a rollercoaster of emotions since she’s started making her own decisions. This little one literally pinpointed each and everything for her big day, from the cake, dress to choosing bounce Karachi for her birthday.”

    Actresses Ayeza Khan and Sidra Batool also sent greetings for Alaya on Instagram.

  • ‘Are we about to sign a surrender document once again?’: Supreme Court asks PM Khan

    ‘Are we about to sign a surrender document once again?’: Supreme Court asks PM Khan

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan appeared before the Supreme Court after he was summoned earlier today by the apex court to attend a hearing of the Army Public School (APS) massacre case.

    When the prime minister appeared at the rostrum, Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan said the parents of the martyred children are demanding action against the rulers of the time when the APS massacre took place, reports Geo News.

    The premier responded and said that when the massacre took place, his party was in power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and he had met the parents in hospitals when the brutal massacre happened.

    “Parents are asking where was the security system [that day]? Despite our comprehensive orders, nothing was done,” replied Cheif Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed.

    “There are no holy cows in Pakistan, I believe in rule of law. We won a war against terrorism,” he said. “There were bomb blasts taking place at the time every single day,” replied PM Khan.

    “The government should take action against those involved in the APS massacre,” said the Supreme Court. 

    “You are the prime minister, you should have answers,” said CJP Ahmad.

    “Hold on for a minute, Judge Sahab,” responded PM Khan. “Allah will give patience to the parents of the schoolchildren, what more could the government have done apart from giving compensation?”

    “Find out why 80,000 people were killed, also find out who is responsible for 480 drone attacks taking place in Pakistan,” added the premier.

    “Finding out about these things is your job, you are the prime minister. As the prime minister, you should have the answer to these questions,” replied the chief justice.

    “You can constitute a high-level commission on the APS tragedy,” said the prime minister. 

    “We have already formed a commission and it has issued a report as well,” responded the chief justice. “Our order of October 20 clearly states that the government should find out who is responsible for the massacre and take action against them,” he added. 

    The chief justice reminded the prime minister that seven years had passed since the tragedy took place. 

    “Mr Prime Minister, we are not a small country,” said Justice Qazi Amin. “We have the sixth largest army in the world.”

    Justice Amin told the prime minister that he had now brought the culprits of the massacre to the negotiating table. 

    “Are we about to sign a surrender document once again?” he asked.  

  • ‘Avoid bloodshed’: Military opposed use of force against TLP protestors

    ‘Avoid bloodshed’: Military opposed use of force against TLP protestors

    The government has decided to disclose the details of the agreement with the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in the next 10 days. The military leadership had advised against the use of force against the protesters after Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan had authorised it, writes Fahd Husain for Dawn.

    On Monday, a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PNSC) comprising members of the National Assembly (NA) and Senate took place in Islamabad. The parliamentarians were taken into confidence by the military leadership over a secretive deal between the government and the TLP.

    The government has fundamentally decided to make public the agreement it signed with the TLP but the secrecy of the details shall be kept intact until its implementation.

    Sources privy to the matter revealed that the premier had authorised the use of force against the TLP marchers. Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa presented all the gains and losses of using force against TLP workers.

    “The army chief said if the decision-makers were ready to pay the price for using force against the TLP, then the military would do as ordered. However, mention was made of the previous instances where the government had used force against citizens – Lal Masjid and the Model Town incident – and participants of the meeting were reminded of the consequences of both episodes.”

    “The military leadership, however, advised against the use of force arguing that it was not a solution. It was then decided to opt for a negotiated settlement in order to, as one source put it, ‘avoid bloodshed’. This is when Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman was identified as someone who could mediate an agreement given his standing as a senior Barelvi cleric.”

    The TLP protest turned violent, killing seven police officers and hundreds more wounded during clashes with TLP demonstrators marching up towards the capital. November

  • PM Khan summoned by Supreme Court in APS massacre case

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan arrived at the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) to appear before the apex court’s bench today (Wednesday) after he was summoned to attend a hearing of the Army Public School (APS) massacre, reports Geo News.

    The apex court summoned the prime minister to appear before the bench when the hearing resumed at 11:30am, in his personal capacity.

    During the previous hearing of the case, parents of the children martyred in the 2014 terrorist attack had complained to the court that they had lost their children in the incident hence the top civil and military leadership of the country should be summoned by the Supreme Court.

    During the hearing, the attorney-general sought time from the court to seek directives from the premier and other officials so he can respond to the court.

    However, the bench said this was a very serious case and that it would summon the prime minister and seek answers from him.

    The attorney-general asked for further time for the prime minister to appear before the court. However, the bench expressed anger at his request and said the parents of the victims of the APS massacre are also in court.

    During the hearing, the issue of the government holding talks with the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was also mentioned.

    Justice Qazi Amin remarked that there are reports that the government is holding negotiations with a group and added, “Is it not the responsibility of the state to identify the real culprits [behind the APS tragedy] and nab them?”

    Meanwhile, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed intervened and said we cannot leave the children alone to die.

  • Video: Wasim Akram imitates Imran Khan in a hilarious throwback story

    Video: Wasim Akram imitates Imran Khan in a hilarious throwback story

    Recalling an old incident with Imran Khan, Wasim Akram shared a story about the current Prime Minister of Pakistan. The former left-arm veteran fast bowler often narrates hilarious incidents about PM Khan whenever he appears on television.

    Read More –

    Akram, who is currently doing a sports transmission on A Sports, recalled a hilarious incident from Pakistan’s tour to West Indies in the 1980s. Although, the 1992 world cup winning captain was one of the finest bowlers of his time, he had an off-day against the Caribbean.

    According to Wasim, the former captain was smashed for plenty of runs in his eight over bowling spell.

    “When the team went to practice the next day, Imran Khan saw the bowling figures on the scoreboard and stopped,” Akram said. Imitating PM Khan, Akram added that the skipper then asked Zakir Khan to remove the bowling figures from the scoreboard.

    The Sultan of swing was talking about the fourth one-day international of the 1988 series between Pakistan and West Indies. The Pakistan cricket team batted first and scored 271 runs in 43 overs. The Caribbean chased down the target in the 41st over with 7 wickets in hand. Imran Khan was the most expensive bowler as he conceded 76 runs in his 8 overs.

    This is not the first time that the former speedster has imitated anyone. Earlier, he also copied Haris Rauf from an incident in which he was being interviewed by Indian cricket host Anjum Chopra and she was speaking difficult Hindi with him. Haris was given Player of the match award for his prolific spell against the New Zealand team and he was finding it difficult to understand her, making weird expressions.

    Wasim imitated Rauf while host Fakhr-e-Alam was speaking Hindi for him. Have a look:

  • Twitter reminds Jemima of marriage with PM Khan after she congratulates Malala

    Twitter reminds Jemima of marriage with PM Khan after she congratulates Malala

    Twitter users reminded the former wife of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Jemima Goldsmith, of her marriage with the PM after she congratulated Malala Yousafzai for getting married.

    Jemima took to Twitter and wrote, “Congratulations and mashallah x.”

    Read More: ‘That’s a true friend!’: Shaniera reacts to Jemima Khan split with ‘The Crown’

    Following her tweet, social media users started tweeting about Jemima Goldsmith and the premier and invited her to come to Pakistan.

    Earlier, Jemima asked Pakistani Twitter about a good Pakistani pop wedding song and people kept replying her with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf political song.