In a study published on Wednesday in a special issue of the journal ZooKeys on the coronavirus; it was announced that four new species of African leaf-nosed bats have been found and they are related to the bats that are the host for COVID-19 –horseshoe bats.
It is crucial to identify all the species of bats as it will help in our understanding of diseases like COVID-19. While the main focus has been on how they spread diseases but the bats also pollinate crops, disperse seeds and eat insects. Sadly, they are still unknown to us and as per experts, humans have only identified 25% of all bat species in the last 15 years.
Bruce Patterson, lead study author and Macarthur curator of mammals at Chicago’s Field Museum said,
Bats are small, nocturnal and use high-frequency sound and smell to identify their species to other bats. Because we are large, diurnal, and reliant on vision (and lower-frequency sounds), we can’t read their signals very precisely. The real diversity of bats has really..
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NEPRA Approves 2 50MW Solar Power plants in KP & Sindh
According to reports, two local businesses have been granted licenses by the government to establish solar power plants of up to 100 megawatts at an estimated investment of $100 million.
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) approved generation licenses to two solar power plants of 50MW each. They have been given to Artistic Solar Energy (Private) Limited for a plant in Sukkur district worth $45 million and $55 million will be invested by Siddiqsons Kohat Solar Limited for their plant in Kohat district.
NEPRA said that these projects will help utilize untapped renewable energy optimally and increase the share of the pollution-free electricity. In a document, NEPRA said,
There is a global trend of reduction in the prices of PV cells, which results in lower tariffs as is evident from various determinations of the authority. These lower tariffs will result in a reduction of the overall basket price which will be beneficial to the public at large.
NEPRA said that all..
Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore & Peshawar Record Significant Drop in Pollution After Lockdown
The coronavirus pandemic has forced countries to impose stern lockdowns to contain the spread of the disease, bringing economic activities worldwide to an abrupt halt.
While industrial lockdown has brought hardship to all those associated with it, it has also bought the environment enough time to recover to some extent from all the toxicity of the past decades.
Air quality levels across South Asia are the worst in the world, resulting in thousands of premature deaths each year. Last year, Pakistan was ranked the second most polluted country in the world according to World Air Quality Report 2019. While India was ranked fifth, Bangladesh topped the charts for the most polluted country.
In Pakistan, the federal government, after deliberating with provincial governments, enforced a nationwide lockdown after the coronavirus cases started to surge rapidly last month.
Data released by the Center for Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) recently shows that air pollution in m..
KP Launches COVID-19 Pool Testing in Pakistan, Increasing Capacity by 5 Times
According to KP’s Health Minister, Taimur Khan Jhagra, the province is going to start pool testing for COVID-19, increasing its testing capacity by 3 to 5 times.
The pool testing will be carried out at the Khyber Medical University (KMU), the minister said in a press briefing.
KMU, KP’s flagship coronavirus testing lab, has conducted 27 trials of pool testing. The results of the tests were 100% accurate. As a result, KMU is now mandated to perform pool tests.
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Pool Testing Pool testing involves taking swab samples from all individuals in a sample population and carrying out a combined test of them using the PCR procedure.
For instance, health officials have to take swab samples from a sample population of 200 individuals and test them for COVID-19.
In individual testing, officials must have to test 200 swab samples individually which consumes a lot of time and resources.
In pool testing, the population can be divided into 40..
Harbhajan Singh Reveals the Pakistani Batsman Who Made Him Cry
Harbhajan Singh is viewed as one of the best Indian off-spin bowlers to have ever graced the game of cricket.
During his 18 year-long international career, the Turbanator had many thrilling duels with batsmen such as Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden, Brian Lara, Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, Kumar Sangakkara, and many more.
While Singh outplayed world-class batsmen most of the time, there were some batsmen who got the better of him.
Recently, in a live Instagram video, Harbhajan Singh was asked by former teammate Rohit Sharma to name the toughest batsman he ever bowled to in his playing days.
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In response, Harbhajan named 5 batsmen who made him feel helpless on the field; 2 from Pakistan and 1 each from Australia, South Africa, and West Indies.
Younis Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Brian Lara, Mathew Hayden, and Jacques Kallis are the 5 batsmen that Harbhajan found toughest to bowl. Of all these, Harbhajan foun..
IPL 2020 Might Get Cancelled Due to PCB’s Stance on Asia Cup
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has categorically said that it will not accept any changes to the schedule of the Asia Cup to accommodate the Indian Premier League (IPL). PCB Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Wasim Khan, asserted this on TV.
Wasim said that after the Indian cricket board’s refusal to play in Pakistan, PCB is hoping to host the tournament in the UAE. The event will go on as planned in September if the coronavirus pandemic does not force it to delay.
He, however, put it clearly that no alteration to the original schedule will be allowed to accommodate the currently-suspended IPL.
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Our stance is absolutely clear, the Asia Cup is set for September and the only reason it should not take place is continued health safety issues. We will not accept that the Asia Cup is moved to accommodate the IPL.
His statement came in response to the talks that Asia Cup might be moved to the November-December s..
USF Board Award Contracts Worth Rs 729 Million to Telenor & Ufone
Federal Secretary Ministry of IT and Telecommunication Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui chaired 70th Board of Directors meeting of Universal Service Fund (USF) on Friday.
The Board approved an award of contracts to Telenor and PMTL (Ufone) for Next Generation Broadband for Sustainable Development Projects worth Rs. 729 Million in total. Telenor is being awarded the contract of Muzaffargarh Lot and Small Lot I-1 (district: Islamabad) while PTML (Ufone) is being awarded the contract of Small Lot P-4 (Bhakkar, Khushab, Jhang and Mianwali).
Chairman PTA Maj. Gen (R) Amir Azeem Bajwa was also present in the meeting.
During the meeting, Secretary IT was apprised about the advances in USF projects. The Hi-speed Broadband services in Muzaffargarh lot will benefit an unserved population of around 2 Million thereby covering 666 unserved muazas and an approximate unserved area of 14,195 sq. km. Muzaffargarh Lot encompasses Muzaffargarh and Ranjanpur districts.
An unserved population of 9,083 will gain a..
foodpanda Walks the Extra Mile to Ensure Wellbeing of Heroes amid Covid-19 Outbreak
foodpanda realizes the heavy financial toll that the coronavirus outbreak and related lockdowns are taking on everyone, especially the daily-wage earners and even salaried classes. People continue to lose jobs and experience dwindled incomes in the face of the pandemic. The situation is not favorable for business owners either who also are registering massive losses.
foodpanda is no exception in the grim situation, nor are its heroes. Since many food businesses – particularly the small ones – have had to close down to comply with the government instructions, the delivery business has also seen a sharp drop. But, after the first few weeks of extreme hardship, the situation now appears to be improving with businesses having clear operational SOPs at hand.
All through these testing times, foodpanda has remained sensitive to the needs of its heroes who are the lifeline of the business. Realizing that its fleet of riders needs to stay safe from both the virus and financial crunch, the com..
Beta for Elon Musk’s Satellite Internet Expected Within 6 Months
In order to meet the growing needs of higher broadband demand, Elon Musk’s SpaceX is scrambling to roll out its Starlink internet as soon as possible.
This week, the company launched a group of 60 satellites making the Starlink broadband a constellation of 400 satellites. According to Musk, the Space Exploration company aims at launching 2,000 satellites in the coming years.
On Wednesday, in reply to a Twitter user, Elon Musk detailed that “Private beta begins in ~3 months, public beta in ~6 months, starting with high latitudes.” He also explained that Germany qualifies as far enough north, which means much of northern Europe, Canada, and the northernmost parts of the US may be eligible to try the service.
SpaceX’s Starlink satellite constellation works by flying around the Earth in low orbit, passing off the connection between one another. This ensures consistent service is provided to ground stations. The orbit they have acquired is lower than geostationary communications satellit..
Organic Meat Company Allowed to Publish Details of 2020’s First IPO
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has approved the application of M/s Organic Meat Company Limited to issue, circulate and publish the prospectus for initial public offering (IPO) of the company’s shares in the stock exchange.
According to a report by a local media outlet, the company will have 60 days to publish the details of proposed offering in the prospectus and offers its shares to the public from the date of approval.
The company intends to raise Rs. 720 million at floor price of Rs. 18 per share through the IPO. This will be the first IPO of 2020 and will be the second meat company to enter the stock market as Al Shaheer Corporation was listed in June 2015.
According to the initial draft issued by the company to PSX, the entire issue of 40,000,000 ordinary shares will be offered through the book-building process at a floor price of PKR 18.00/- per share (including a premium of PKR 8.00/- per share) with a maximum price band of up to 40%.
Initially, 7..
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