The largest social assistance program in the country’s history was rolled out on Thursday to lessen impact of the virus lockdown on impoverished communities. Under the program, cash handouts worth around Rs 144 billion will be made in a bid to counter the economic fallout of the Covid-19 crisis.
Around 40 million people received text messages for collection of the amount on the first day of cash distribution under the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Program. Up to 17,000 branches of two designated banks – Habib Bank Limited and Bank Al-Falah – are disbursing the payments, in addition to 3,000 camp sites established by provinces.
The virus lockdowns across Pakistan have taken a heavy toll on the earnings of daily-wagers. While a few big industries have been allowed to resume operations, the country largely remains shut adversely affecting the poor. So far, the pandemic has affected over 4,500 in Pakistan while claiming 66 lives as the country exhausts its resources in the fight.
Here are the l..
Category: PTCL
Sindh Proposes Major Relief for Citizens With Emergency Relief Ordinance
Sindh government has finalized an ordinance to provide major relief to its citizens amid coronavirus lockdown. As per details, the provincial law ministry has drafted the ordinance which includes major relief for masses in utility bills, house/shop rents, school fees, etc. m
The proposal has been forwarded to Governor Sindh, Imran Ismael, for approval. It will be implemented from the first of April following the approval. Chief Minister, Murad Ali Shah, will have the power to amend or revoke the ordinance at any time.
Some salient features of the ordinance are as follows:
Relief for Power Consumers The major relief for the citizens has come in terms of utility bills. The ordinance has proposed suspension of monthly electricity bills during the lockdown for users consuming up to 260 units a month.
Those consuming up to 350 units will pay 25 percent of the total amount. Similarly, consumers with up to 450 unit consumption will enjoy a 50 percent discount. Power consumers with monthly..
Android & iPhone Emojis Get Delayed Because of Coronavirus
The COVID-19 outbreak has caused delays in hardware production and software updates alike. New content and features have been postponed for several platforms and a recent report has revealed that new emojis for Android and iOS will be delayed as well.
The not for profit organization Unicode Consortium (UC) announced yesterday that it is delaying the release of Emoji 14.0 due to the virus outbreak. The new set of emojis that were scheduled to arrive in fall 2021 will not make it to major platforms until spring 2022.
However, the new emojis are still set to be unveiled during 2021, but since it takes months for companies to adopt them, they will only arrive in Smartphones by 2022. Last year, for example, UC unveiled new emojis in March and Apple announced them for iOS in July only for them to finally arrive on iPhones in September.
As for Emoji 13.0, the new set is scheduled to arrive during fall this year. It will feature 117 new emojis including “Italian hand”, ninjas, the Transgend..
5 Month Old Girl from Gilgit Baltistan Becomes Youngest to Recover from Coronavirus
A 5-month-old girl from Nagar Khas, Gilgit Baltistan, has become Pakistan’s youngest Coronavirus patient who has won her battle against the disease that has wreaked devastation across the globe.
According to a local news outlet, the young patient was tested positive for Coronavirus along with her mother after persistent symptoms of the disease.
Health authorities transferred both mother and daughter to the isolation center and kept them separate for more than 2 weeks during the treatment.
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After testing negative for the disease twice, health officials discharged the 5-month-old girl along with her mother.
Out of 4,431 Coronavirus cases in Pakistan, Gilgit Baltistan accounts for 213 cases. Of the 213 cases, 78 have been reported from Nagar district, making it the most affected area in Gilgit Baltistan.
22 patients have fully recovered from Coronavirus in Nagar while 55 are being treated at t..
Haripur Doctors Start Free Medicine Home Delivery Using A Drone
Doctors in Haripur have turned to technology to ensure immuno-compromised patients stay indoors and are provided with essential medical supplies during lockdown imposed due to Coronavirus.
15 doctors of the DHQ Hospital in Haripur have bought a drone and started delivering medicines to heart, kidney, and eye patients at their doorsteps through the drone.
Patients struggling with heart, kidney, and eye conditions are at increased risk of contracting Coronavirus as their immune system is already weak. This way, those patients will stay at home and come in minimal human contact, bringing down their chances of catching the disease, said MS DHQ while explaining the rationale behind the initiative.
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Moreover, these doctors have also decided to offer telemedicine services free of cost during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Anyone can call the hospital and consult with a specialist. The specialist will pres..
ADB Repurposes $50 Million Assistance for Pakistan to Fight Against COVID-19
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has repurposed $50 million from Pakistan’s National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF) to support the Government of Pakistan’s preventive and response efforts to fight the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.
The funds, which form part of ADB’s series of support for Pakistan’s fight against COVID-19, will help to procure medical equipment and supplies to strengthen hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, isolation units, and other medical facilities in the country.
The funds include the reallocation of $30 million of previously approved but unutilized resources from ADB to NDRMF. Following a request for emergency support from the Government of Pakistan, ADB swiftly processed a change in scope in its NDRMF project, enabling the repurposing and immediate use of these resources in the fight against COVID-19. In addition, NDRMF has provided $20 million to support the government’s COVID-19 response.
These funds complement the financ..
Working From Home? Here Are Some of the Best Ways the Huawei P40 Pro Will Help
Who would have thought in their wildest imagination that such a day would come when working-from-home would become so mainstream. With the current situation, more than half of the world’s population is under lockdown, giving rise to unprecedented work-from-home scenarios.
Now, working from home may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Some say it makes them lazy, while others feel too cosy at home. Is your home network going to be stable enough or can you stay safe from straying away to the first distraction you see? Or what if your child decides to play games or watch movies on your phone and drains out the battery? These might just be a few of the things that run in your mind when you consider working from home, especially if you are someone who has not worked remotely 100 percent. However, this is just a new setting to get adapted to and one of the tools we tend to rely on the most right now is our smartphone.
Not to worry, because with the Huawei P40 Pro’s 5G capabilities, flagship perf..
Airblue Suspends All Domestic and International Flights
Airblue is suspending all international and domestic flights from 15th of April till June 30th, 2020, we have confirmed with sources.
Keeping the current situation in view and in order to avoid unnecessary bookings and subsequent cancellations, the authorities at Airblue have decided to cancel all its flight till the end of June.
Sources revealed that Airblue is committed to restarting both its domestic and international operations as soon as there is clarity and the current situation improves. It is to be noted that Airblue has the largest route network after PIA.
Airblue is not the only airline that has suspended its international operations. PIA’s international and domestic flights operations have also been suspended till 11th April 2020 in compliance with instructions of the Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan.
Worldwide, major airlines have taken the decision of suspending their flights partially or completely for a limited time period to stop the spread of the pandemic.
PTCL Group Posts Rs 32 Billion Revenue in the First Quarter of 2020
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the country’s leading telecom and ICT services provider, has announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020.
PTCL GROUP The company has reported a consolidated loss of Rs. 406.72 million as compared to a profit of Rs. 1.99 billion in the same period last year.
PTCL Group’s revenue of Rs 31.8 Billion in Q1 2020 was lower by 5% as compared to Rs. 33.53 billion recorded in the same period of last year.
Overall PTCL’s operating profit and bottom line have deteriorated over last year due to rupee devaluation, increase in interest rates, higher power tariffs and the effects of COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a company’s statement, when normalized for the impact of certain regulatory changes, the revenue is 3% higher than Q1 2019 on a like-for-like basis.
UBank, a microfinance banking subsidiary of PTCL, continued its growth momentum and has achieved a 44% growth in its quarterly revenue over last year.
PTCL ..
PIA to Increase Special Flights to Evacuate Pakistanis Stranded Abroad
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is going to expand its relief operations to repatriate stranded Pakistanis from abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision was taken after PALPA called off its strike and more PIA pilots decided to volunteer for the special flight operations to evacuate people stuck abroad.
PIA administration has issued directives in this regard, asking expatriates willing to return to approach the national airline.
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Following the development, the national flag carrier issued a revised flight schedule, according to which a flight will take off tomorrow to repatriate Pakistani citizens from Denmark.
Three relief flights will be operated on April 11 to bring back hundreds of stranded Pakistanis from Malaysia, Azerbaijan, and Singapore. Over 170 people have been stranded in Kuala Lampur for nearly three weeks. The flight will fly in the diplomatic staff from Malaysia and Singapore…
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