Category: Information Technology

Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) final match is set to take place at the National Stadium, Karachi at 8:00 pm. The city traffic police has shared a traffic diversion plan so the commuters can avoid the inconvenience of getting stuck in traffic jams.

As stated in the plan, the National Stadium road will remain closed for public use until after the match. The traffic traveling towards the stadium from Liaquatabad will be redirected to New Town.

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Furthermore, the Dalmia road will also be blocked for commuters and they can take the alternative routes, including Shahrah-e-Faisal and Rashid Minhas road via Nipa and Askari IV. The Nipa to Safora Chowrangi and Gulshan Chowrangi road will remain open for public use.

Karachi traffic police department has specifically requested the public, due to the prospect of heavy traffic jams, to take the alternate routes to make their way around the stadium conveniently, without getting stuck in the inevitable traffic during the match hours.

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Al-Shaheer Corporation Limited – a meat exporter company listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) – has decided to increase its share capital by Rs. 1 billion.

In a letter issued to the PSX on Monday, the company announced that it would be increasing the share capital by creating 100 million new ordinary shares, worth Rs. 10 each.

“In its meeting held on November 16, 2020, the Board of Directors of Al Shaheer Corporation Limited has decided to recommend an increase of authorized share capital of the company from Rs. 2,000,000,000 divided into 200 million ordinary shares of Rs. 10 each, to Rs. 3,000,000,000 divided into 300 million ordinary shares of Rs. 10 each, by creating hundred million new ordinary shares and in that connection to call an Extraordinary General Meeting to make the necessary amendments to the memorandum and articles of association of the company,” said the company’s statement filing to the bourse.

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Al-Shaheer Corporation was set up in 2012 and was soon listed on the PSX. The company operates in trading different kinds of meat such as goat, cow, and fish. The company has retail stores across the country, as well as stalls within supermarkets. However, a major portion of the company’s revenues come from export sales.

Some of the major export destinations are concentrated in the Middle East including Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. whereas in the local market, the company is present in the three big cities of Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad.

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Last week, Pfizer, the US-based pharmaceutical company, and its partner BioNTech, the German vaccine-maker, announced that their Coronavirus vaccine offers 90% protection against the Coronavirus.

The announcement came on the back of large-scale phase-III clinical trials which involved 43,500 volunteers in six countries.

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Soon after the announcement, Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman, an eminent scientist and the Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Taskforce on Science and Technology, had said that Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine is not suitable for Pakistan, suggesting that the Coronavirus vaccine developed by CanSino Biologics will be more suitable for Pakistan.

CanSino Biologics is a Chinese vaccine-maker that is holding phase-III clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine in 6 countries including Pakistan. An estimated 40,000 volunteers are taking part in these trials, of which 8,000 to 10,000 are from Pakistan.

While the preliminary results of CanSino’s late-stage clinical trials are expected in January 2021, here’s a look at how the Chinese vaccine currently under trials in Pakistan differs from Pfizer’s.

CanSino’s vaccine
Named Ad5-nCoV, the CanSino Biologics vaccine is built upon an adenovirus-based viral vector vaccine technology platform. The vaccine is a genetically engineered vaccine with the replication-defective adenovirus type 5 as the vector to express Coronavirus’ spike protein, a protein that helps the virus to breach into the immune system.

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How does it work?
Once Ad5-nCoV is administered, the adenovirus-based vector recreates a natural pathogenic invasion in the immune system by sending genetic material to the cells to produce spike proteins, triggering the immune system to generate a response and develop antibodies against the virus. The immune system then creates memory cells, B-lymphocytes and T-lymphocytes, against the virus. Each time the virus tries to invade the immune system in the future, the memory cells will jump into action against it.

Effectiveness
Although the results of phase-III clinical trials are awaited, phase-II results confirmed that Ad5-nCoV had produced antibody responses in 95% of participants of a high dose group and 91% of participants of a low dose group at the end of 28 days.

Side effects
According to CanSino’s Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Zhu Tao, no severe or adverse side effects of Ad5-nCoV have been reported so far. However, mild reactions of the vaccine that have been observed during the clinical trials include fever, fatigue, and a sore injection site.

Pfizer’s vaccine
Named BNT162b2, the vaccine co-developed by Pfizer and BioNtech is built upon the messenger RNA-based technology platform.

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How does it work?
Once introduced into the body, the mRNA vaccine instructs the cells to produce synthetic spike proteins. The synthetic spike proteins trick our immune system into thinking that a virus is present in the body. At the same time, the vaccine also trains the immune system to produce antibodies against a real pathogen attack from the Coronavirus. Upon getting trained against the Coronavirus, the immune system gets stimulated and starts making antibodies in a defensive response to fight the virus every time it tries to breach the immune system.

Effectiveness
An effective immune response was generated in 7 days after two doses and in 28 days after a single dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine among the participants of phase-III clinical trials.

According to a joint statement issued by Pfizer and BioNTech, the BNT162b2 vaccine offers 90% protection against viral infection.

Side effects
According to Pfizer’s Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Mikael Dolsten, no severe or adverse side effects of BNT162b2 were reported during its clinical trials. However, mild reactions of the vaccine that were observed during the clinical trials included headache, chills, fatigue, and muscles and joint pain.

The post Here’s the Difference Between Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine and the One Pakistan Might Get appeared first on .

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Sindh’s Minister for Education, Saeed Ghani, has ruled out the possibility of an academic winter break in the province this year.

He explained that Sindhi students have already enjoyed enough extended holidays in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. “Therefore, winter vacations are out of the question right now,” he declared.

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However, he added that the final decision on the matter will be taken during the meeting of the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) next week.

Ghani’s statement came a day after the officials at the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference failed to reach a consensus regarding the NCOC’s recommendation to call for an early and extended winter break. Due to the disagreement, the decision-making has been postponed for a week.

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Meanwhile, Balochistan has announced its winter break across the province. The official holidays will start in December and the new academic year will begin in March 2021.

This is a developing story and will be updated accordingly.

The post Sindh’s Education Minister Announces His Decision on Winter Break appeared first on .

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The Cabinet Division has objected to the role of the Petroleum Division in the amendment to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) Act, claiming that the regulator falls under its administrative control.

The Cabinet Division declared that the Petroleum Division is not competent enough to undertake the legislation, and opposed the proposal of the provinces for the inclusion of provincial representatives in the OGRA.

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According to the Cabinet Division, the provinces can constitutionally claim representation only in the upstream sector but not in the downstream or midstream sectors.

The provinces are demanding the restructuring of the OGRA and support the proposal for provincial representation in the regulator in accordance with Article 172 (3) of the Constitution of Pakistan.

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The Council of Common Interest (CCI) also considered the proposal of the Sindh Government titled ‘Amendments in the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) Act’ in its 42nd meeting.

The CCI also directed the Petroleum Division to explore the possibility of provincial representatives in the OGRA in consultation with the provincial governments, and to submit a report on it by the next meeting.

The post Cabinet Division Rejects Proposal for Provincial Representation in OGRA appeared first on .

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Taking notice of the issues faced by medical students pertaining to supplementary examinations, Governor Punjab, Chaudhry Sarwar, has announced an additional opportunity for them to appear in the exam.

A press release from Governor House said that the medical students had been facing problems with supplementary examinations during the coronavirus pandemic. Most of them failed to appear in the exam due to the lockdown or other compulsions, putting their careers on the line.

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The students had requested Sarwar, who is also the Chancellor of all Punjab universities, to look into the matter. Taking notice of the matter, Governor Punjab directed vice-chancellors of medical universities to provide an additional chance to students who have failed in their supplementary exams due to problems caused by COVID-19.

Along with the precautionary measures against the pandemic, we are concerned about the education of students. Medical students have continued their education in difficult situations, and we will support them.

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Chaudhry Sarwar noted that coronavirus has affected people from all walks of life. Students should be given one more chance to recover from educational loss, he added.

He underlined that the doctors saved people’s lives by risking theirs during the first wave of the coronavirus. Now full strict measures are needed for complete protection from the second wave. He also urged the public to follow precautionary measures against COVID-19.

The post Medical Students Get Another Chance to Appear in Supplementary Exams appeared first on .

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