FARUKH SHEHZAD

Resulting the outbreak of COVID-19, industries have been troubled by ambiguities & uncertainties, & this scenario is quite evident in the tourism & hotel industry, which is based on human mobility & interaction. It can be said the hotel & tourism industry is the main receiver of the catastrophe & its consequence.

Munaza Kazmi

The Impact of COVID-19 on Pakistan’s Hotel Industry:

Coronavirus attacked Pakistan on late February 2020, from onwards its hotel industry has confronted with damaging consequences from mainly lockdowns & quarantine. These results have affected each & every stakeholder in the hotel chain. Resulting the travel bans & prolonged quarantine, there seemed the cancelation of bookings & tourist’s unwillingness to travel due to the fear of virus.

These cancelations have eventually led to cut their costs even to the risk of survival. It was reported that many of the small & medium hotel went to complete shut down & closer of business which have affected the bread & butter of many poor people.

As there are 12,000 hotels in Pakistan that directly & indirectly employ 2.5 million families, moreover tourism & hospitality is the Pakistan’s second largest contributor in economy & foreign reserves. Furthermore, this scenario had headed to sharp decline in the market value in the stock exchange, as reported by Asian Development Bank in the worst-case scenario, Pakistan Hotels may face loss of $ 253.7 million whereas in the moderate case, the loss would be around $ 0.67 million.

I would say Pakistan is under the era of slow recovery & lies between moderate to worst case since still hotels have not started operating as before, moreover the influx of international tourist is still near to zero, though Prime Minister Imran Khan have lifted the restriction on tourism industry, but almost more than half nations of the world had closed their boarders.

The scenario will persist, since the loss not just incurred on the economy only but to the physical as well mental health of the people, it raised the numerous fears & anxiety issues, the concerns for infection, for risking the lives, these concerns can have negative impact on the industry, though the industry will revive but slowly & for that Pakistan have to gear up for tomorrow.

Preparing for tomorrow:

It was observed by, that the industry of tourism & hospitality comes under a persistent crises & disaster since the beginning of 21^st century. The pandemic of coronavirus came under the same category, as it is neither predictable nor avoidable & effecting the working & operations of entities round the globe.

COVID-19 Disaster Management Framework for Hotels:

It is hoped that such an approach would lead to a better understanding of disaster planning, reduction & readiness & the development of suitable policies & initiatives from hotel enterprises to facilitate more effective management.

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Joe Biden, 77, needs a total of 270 votes to capture the Electoral College that determines the White House winner and the magic figure was in reach with several states expected to announce their results on Thursday.

WASHINGTON - Former vice president Joe Biden, making his third run at the White House, was tantalisingly close to victory on Thursday as President Donald Trump sought to stave off defeat with scattershot legal challenges and his campaign insisted he would be reelected.

Biden, 77, needs a total of 270 votes to capture the Electoral College that determines the White House winner and the magic figure was in reach with several states expected to announce their results on Thursday.

The former senator from Delaware and Democratic hopeful currently has 253 electoral votes - or 264 if the 11 electoral votes from the southwestern state of Arizona are included.

Trump, 74, trails with 214 electoral votes but Jason Miller, his top campaign strategist, said the Republican incumbent will "again win the race."

"We think that as soon, possibly, as the end of tomorrow, on Friday it will be clear to the American public that President Trump and Vice President (Mike) Pence will serve another four years in the White House," Miller told reporters.

The current Electoral College tallies say otherwise with Biden on track to win Arizona and Nevada and possibly even pick off Georgia and Pennsylvania.

"Let me be very clear, our data shows that Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States," his campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon told reporters. "We're very confident, whatever happens with the counting and the timing, we will come out ahead."

Trump is currently ahead in Georgia and Pennsylvania but Biden has been chipping away at his leads as the votes continue to be tallied - slowly in some states this year because of the huge volume of mail-in votes due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump had a roughly 18,000 vote lead in Georgia early Thursday with about 60,000 votes remaining to be counted, much of it from the heavily Democratic suburbs of Atlanta.

He was leading by about 122,000 votes in Pennsylvania with 91 percent of the vote counted but Biden has been narrowing the margin.

"STOP THE COUNT!" Trump tweeted on Thursday morning. "ANY VOTE THAT CAME IN AFTER ELECTION DAY WILL NOT BE COUNTED!"

While Trump was demanding that vote-counting be halted in Georgia and Pennsylvania - where he is leading - his supporters and campaign were insisting that it continue in Arizona and Nevada, where he is trailing.

Trump prematurely declared victory Wednesday and threatened to seek Supreme Court intervention to stop vote-counting but it has continued nonetheless.

'STOP THE COUNT!'

Fox News and AP news agency projected Biden as the winner in Arizona on Tuesday night. But other outlets have yet to do so and vote-counting continues in the state, where Biden has a fairly healthy 69,000 vote lead.

With 86% of the vote counted, Biden had a razor-thin 8,000-vote lead in Nevada, which has six electoral votes.

Nevada was won by Hillary Clinton in 2016 and much of the outstanding vote is from areas of the western state that skew towards Democrats.

In Georgia, Gabriel Sterling of the Secretary of State's office, appealed for patience and dismissed Trump campaign claims of irregularities among election workers.

"These people are not involved in voter fraud," Sterling said.

"This is a long process, but I think all of us would agree that having an accurate count is much more vital," he added.

Pennsylvania, Biden's birthplace, has 20 electoral votes and was considered one of the major prizes in Tuesday's election.

Georgia, with 16 electoral votes, has been a reliably Republican state but could land in the Democratic column for the first time since Bill Clinton won it in 1992.

Trump won both states in 2016 in carving out his upset victory over Hillary Clinton.

With potential defeat looming, Trump has launched multiple legal challenges, announcing lawsuits in Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania and demanding a recount in Wisconsin, where Biden won by just 20,000 votes.

Bob Bauer, a lawyer for the Biden campaign, dismissed the slew of lawsuits as "meritless."

"All of this is intended to create a large cloud," Bauer said. "But it's not a very thick cloud. We see through it. So do the courts and so do election officials."

'COUNT THE VOTES!'

In Pennsylvania, the Trump campaign said a court had given the green light for its "observers" to watch ballot-counting in the Democratic stronghold of Philadelphia. Earlier Trump supporters had been kept as much as 30 metres away.

Attempts to stop vote-counting in states where Trump is leading were not restricted to the courts.

In the Michigan city of Detroit, a majority-Black Democratic stronghold, a crowd of mostly-white Trump supporters chanting "Stop the count!" tried to barge into an election office Wednesday before being blocked by security.

Television networks have projected a Biden win in Michigan, but final ballots are still being counted.

In the Arizona county of Maricopa, which includes Phoenix, an aggressive pro-Trump crowd gathered outside a counting office chanting "Count the votes!" - some of them openly carrying firearms, which is legal in the state.

In stark contrast to Trump's unprecedented rhetoric about being cheated, Biden has sought to project calm, reaching out to a nation torn by four years of polarising leadership and traumatised by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We have to stop treating our opponents as enemies," Biden said Wednesday. "What brings us together as Americans is so much stronger than anything that can tear us apart."

The tight White House race and recriminations have evoked memories of the 2000 election between Republican George W Bush and Democrat Al Gore.

That race, which hinged on a handful of votes in Florida, eventually ended up in the Supreme Court, which halted a recount while Bush was ahead.

COURTESY EYEWITNESS NEWS!

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RAWALPINDI, NOV 5 - A Contingent of the Russian Federation Special Forces arrived in Pakistan on Thursday for two weeks long joint exercise ‘DRUZHBA-V’, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

In a statement, the ISPR said that the exercise ‘DRUZHBA-V’ is aimed at sharing both armies’ experiences in the counterterrorism domain.

The ISPR said that sky diving and hostage rescue operations will be highlights of the exercise.

COURTESY DND NEWS!

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Kyiv, Ukraine: “Trade and economic cooperation with Pakistan are among our priorities and Ukraine is eager to look for new opportunities of cooperation with Pakistan”

This was said by Yevheniy Yenin, the Deputy Minister of Ukraine while talking to Ambassador of Pakistan to Ukraine Zahid Mubashir Sheikh who is completing his diplomatic mission in Ukraine.

According to an official statement published on Ukraine Foreign Office, on 5 November 2020, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Yevheniy Yenin met with Ambassador of Pakistan to Ukraine Zahid Mubashir Sheikh and said that Pakistan remains (remained) an important partner of Ukraine in the South Asian region. 

Ukraine is ready to deepen cooperation with this country in traditional spheres of mutual interest and looks for new promising areas of cooperation.

The Ambassador of Pakistan underlined the importance of political and inter-parliamentary dialogue between the two countries for the successful development of the full range of bilateral relations, as well as the significant potential for cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, agriculture, education, science and more.

Yevheniy Yenin thanked Zahid Mubashir Sheikh for his efforts in strengthening Ukrainian-Pakistani relations and wished him success in his future endeavors.

COURTESY DND NEWS!

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The departure of Air Canada flight AC1810 from Toronto to Cancun marked the return of Air Canada Rouge to the skies.

“Air Canada Rouge remains an important part of our overall strategy in rebuilding Air Canada’s global network.

“As leisure traffic resumes, we will progressively add Air Canada Rouge to select North American leisure markets from eastern Canada,” said Mark Galardo, vice president, network planning and alliances at Air Canada.

Air Canada Rouge flights are operated with narrow-body Airbus aircraft featuring a choice of Premium Rouge and economy services.

Customers travelling in the Premium Rouge cabin will be offered a complimentary, pre-packaged meal curated by celebrated Montreal chef Antonio Park with complimentary bar and beverage service.

All customers onboard Rouge flights will have access to complementary in-flight entertainment that is streamed right to their personal smartphone or device of choice without the requirement to download an app.

Premium Rouge customers will also be offered the complimentary use of sanitized iPads containing entertainment content.

COURTESY BREAKING TRAVEL NEWS!

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Eurowings has taken off from the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport for the first time. The inaugural departure left for Cologne, closely followed by flight EW8000 to Stuttgart.

The news makes Eurowings the first airline in the Lufthansa Group to operate scheduled flights from the new capital city airport.

In domestic traffic, Eurowings currently connects the destinations Cologne, Düsseldorf and Stuttgart with the capital at least three times a day – on many days even more frequently.

Despite a reduced flight schedule as a result of Covid-19, the airline is focusing on the off-peak hours, which are popular with travellers.

The domestic German program is supplemented by weekly flights to the Canary Islands and the Greek Islands.

Eurowings plans to gradually expand the Berlin Brandenburg program in line with market conditions from spring 2021 onwards.

“In terms of culture and history, there is hardly a more exciting European city than Berlin.

“The new Berlin Brandenburg will further increase Berlin’s attractiveness, becoming the entrance and exit gate to a cool, modern metropolis.

“And no other airline in Germany flies more tourists to Berlin than Eurowings.

“That’s why we will be expanding here in the future,” said Jens Bischof, Eurowings chief executive.

Aircraft from Eurowings will be positioned at the Pier North of the new capital city airport.

Passengers will benefit from short distances, boarding without bus transfers and a direct building connection to the Lufthansa Lounge.

COURTESY BREAKING TRAVEL NEWS!

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Karachi: Right-arm pacer Hasan Ali has reportedly picked up another injury during the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (QeA) 2020-21.

According to a local news channel, the 26-year-old is now uncertain to further participate in the remaining matches of the tournament.

Hasan didn’t come to bowl in the second innings of Central Punjab’s fixture against Northern. He has taken five wickets in three innings of the tournament.

It was also reported that he has also undergone scans at a local hospital in Karachi. The results will further help in assessing his chances of participating in the remaining matches of the QeA Trophy.

If he is unfit, he might be ruled out of the Peshawar Zalmi squad for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season five knock-out stage, scheduled to start from November 14.

It must be noted that Hasan suffered an injury setback after PSL 5 group stage in March 2020. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided to provide financial assistance to Hasan in June.

He was not part of Central Punjab’s squad for the National T20 Cup but made his comeback before QeA Trophy and managed to play only two matches.

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It is clear that the country’s biggest problem at the moment is to control inflation

Attiya Munawer

The government has been making claims for a long time to control inflation, but in practice nothing seems to be improving. Rising inflation has broken the backs of the people; the purchasing power of the people has completely died. Prices of daily necessities go up at night and during the day. However, the deficit is being calculated in the name of fuel adjustment in electricity bills. Prices of wheat, flour, sugar, vegetables, and pulses have shown the stars to the people during the day. 

In this situation, the condition of the people has become like who to advocate or who to seek justice from. The people have no forum for grievances, and the public representatives are missing from the scene instead of redressal. In the cabinet meeting, the federal ministers have tried to become innocent by dropping all the rubble on the bureaucracy, which is tantamount to turning a blind eye to the facts. If bureaucracy is the biggest obstacle, then the minister’s job is to remove the obstacles. If there is a proposal from any authority to increase the prices of commodities, petroleum products and electricity, gas, then why don’t the ministers stand up to it and try to stop anti-people measures. 

In the next elections, the ministers and MPs have to go to the people, not bureaucrats, so instead of escaping from responsibilities and saving the aspect, effective measures for the development and prosperity of the people are the need of the hour. Simply talking and imagining will not satisfy the hunger of the people nor will it be able to curb inflation.

It is clear that the country’s biggest problem at the moment is to control inflation. One of the immediate steps taken by the government was the establishment of the Tiger Force, which will help control inflation,but this force has not been able to overcome the Sustainable Development Authority. 

In its report, Pakistan has the highest inflation rate in Asia. The report cites India, Bangladesh and Pakistan as having 5.9 per cent inflation in Bangladesh, 7.34 per cent in India and 9 per cent in Pakistan. Even sugar, onions and flour are more expensive in Pakistan than in these countries. The claimants of making Pakistan an Asian Tiger have created the Asian Tigers of inflation and announce not to leave the Mafia. To this, a new addition has been made by the Prime Minister that the mafia and the opposition are pickpockets; they will all go to jail. But it did not say when this will happen.

There is no doubt that the Prime Minister has rightly said that all the pickpockets have come together and are making noise to save themselves from accountability. Along with the national treasury of the country, the people have also been robbed by the pickpockets,but in the identity parade, even though the faces are clear, why do the criminals walk freely? In fact, in every era of power, personal interests and expediencies continue to stand in the way of saving the pickpockets. Even today, only some compulsions stand in the way.There is no harm to the rulers in this, because no one’s pockets are cut, the pockets of the people are definitely cut. 

If there is a problem in the country or if there is a threat of war or if the business is ruined due to Coronavirus, the pockets of the poor and not the pockets of the rich are cut off. People wonder why flour, sugar, pulses, ghee, milk, medicine, electricity, etc. are so expensive in the country?Just because they are used by the poor, then why not 260% tax is levied on items used by the rich? Because there is no real representative of the poor in the parliament, there, in the guise of representing the poor, the elites have become facilitators of pocket cutters while ensuring the pursuit of their own interests.

Given this situation, it seems that all our rulers who came were really deceivers, who did not want to do anything for the people or there have always been powerful mafias in this country who make the rulers of the time helpless that they can’t give relief to people even if they want to. The same helplessness is seen in Prime Minister Imran Khan. It seems that there is a big and powerful hand active against the people in Pakistan which wants to maintain the division of the deprived and privileged classesand thwarts every effort that is being made to improve the condition of the people. It is the responsibility of the government to curb this corrupt powerful mafia. 

At this time the government is trying its best to stop inflation, but nothing is getting at a normal rate except in Punjab’s Sahulat Bazaars. Government ministers should take responsibility for their decisions, actions and plans instead of holding the bureaucracy responsible for inflation. Only joint action will be able to overcome this problem to some extent. Failure to control inflation is not the responsibility of any one party; every party is responsible for it. In this country, who is not a pickpocket, everyone is looking for an opportunity, but the government has a responsibility to protect the people from pickpockets and their facilitators, because whoever cuts the pockets of the poor, the government is accountable to the people.

Attiabutt121@gmail.com

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With a little over a week remaining for the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly elections, PML-N's Maryam Nawaz arrived in Skardu on Thursday to kick-off a seven-day election campaign.

Later addressing a rally in Ganche district adorned in the region's traditional cap with feathers, Maryam began her speech by thanking the people for their passion.

"The way you have come out today to attend the rally, do the same on the day of the polls and vote for the PML-N," she said, vowing to the fight for the people's rights. "Without GB, Pakistan is like a body without blood."

She also called upon the people to refrain from voting for candidates that change their loyalties. "Don't vote for these turncoats," she said.

Maryam also lashed out at Prime Minister Imran Khan, alleging that the premier was taking credit for projects PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif had laid the groundwork for.

"A few days ago, a jackal [geedar] came to the region [...] he didn't even bother to sit with the people and address them. He is scared because he can't go among the people," she said, purportedly referring to the prime minister's recent trip to GB.

"The people of Ganche district know that Nawaz worked for three years trying to making GB a province. Nawaz worked on it and the world will see that Nawaz will make GB a province," she said, adding that the PML-N supremo had fulfilled all the promises he had made, unlike the premier.

"Vote thieves have begun circling GB. Whenever they see PML-N or Nawaz winning, they start carrying out rigging. They have taken away nine of our candidates. You can take away our candidates, but you cannot buy the people of GB," she said.

PML-N leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Rana Sanaullah also addressed the rally.

Meanwhile, Nawaz — who is currently abroad seeking medical treatment — said that the enthusiasm of the people of Skardu was "admirable".

"'Respect the vote' is now the voice of the entire nation right up to the extreme borders of Pakistan," he said.

Electioneering in the region has picked up pace with only a few days remaining for the GB Assembly election, scheduled to be held on November 15 in 24 constituencies.

Maryam arrived in the region earlier today for a week-long election campaign. According to the party, she will address a public meeting in Skardu on Friday and in Dambudas on Saturday.

She will also address public gatherings in Ghokooch, Astor and Chilas on November 8, 10 and 11, respectively. During her visit, Maryam will be briefed on the development projects launched by the party. She will also meet party ticket-holders, officials, workers and supporters.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has been in GB for the past several days, vowing to stay in the region until the PPP government wins elections there and forms a government. He has also insisted that the people of GB will overwhelmingly vote against the candidates of the "puppet" PTI.

Meanwhile, ruling PTI ministers have also visited the area to rack up support for the November 15 polls.

On Saturday, Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur announced that the federal government had decided to elevate the status of the region to a province.

COURTESY DAWN NEWS!

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