Friday, 20 November 2020
Project will enable critical care specialists to provide
virtual advice to public and private intensive care units (ICUs) across
Pakistan
QUETTA, NOV 20 /DN/ - With support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Health Services Academy, the Ministry of Health and Health Department & Government of Balochistan, Sehat Kahani has inaugurated the first of its kind Tele-ICU project in Balochistan.
The Tele-ICU project will enable critical care specialists
to provide virtual advice to public and private intensive care units (ICUs)
across Pakistan. This project aims to increase the capacity of healthcare
providers working in public and private ICUs across the country. Currently
there exists only a limited number of Critical Care Consultants in Pakistan;
this intervention will allow improved patient care, particularly for those
residing in far-flung areas where healthcare systems are inadequate. This
project is an effort to build a more equitable and resilient society and
contribute to improving the lives of the people of Pakistan.
The event was inaugurated by Mr. Hayat Kakar (Special
Secretary, Health Department, Government of Balochistan), Mr. Zulfiqar Durrani
(Head of Office, UNDP Sub-Office Balochistan), Dr. Rasheed Ahmed (Humanitarian
Programme Analyst UNFPA), Ms. Farkhanda Aslam (IDSP Representative) and, Dr.
Sara Saeed Khurram (Co-Founder and CEO Sehat Kahani).
Sehat Kahani will provide the required training for up to
500 doctors and 500 nurses across ten hospitals in Balochistan, including areas
like Pishin, Killa Saifullah, Sibbi, Jaffarabad, Khuzdar, Loralai. To kick-off
the training, Sehat Kahani will work with Sheikh Khalifa Medical Complex Quetta
and FJ Hospital Quetta.
Speaking at the launch, Mr. Zulfiqar Durrani, Head of
Office, UNDP Sub-Office Balochistan said, ‘The Tele ICU project is a new and
innovative initiative which can help address some of the healthcare challenges
of Balochistan. Keeping in view the area of the province (44 percent of
Pakistan), provision of health services in far-flung areas of Balochistan has
always been a struggle for the government. We hope that this pilot initiative
will pave way for expanding telemedicine approach in the province through
Government of Balochistan’s resources.’
Dr. Rasheed Ahmed, UNFPA , said, “UNFPA Pakistan continues
to support innovations such as tele-health that aims to improve sexual and
reproductive health and GBV services, particularly in reaching out to the
communities living the farthest behind.
He appreciated Sehat Kahani’s
COVID 19 related initiative in
connecting ICU specialists to health care providers and junior staff
offering services to community in general and women and girls in particular and
who are in need of assistance and are living in remote areas. He further added that any telehealth related
innovation will contribute to improve health related knowledge management,
e-learning and remote monitoring.’
Mr. Hayat Kakar, Special Secretary, Health Department, Government of Balochistan, said, “Health Department, Govt. of Balochistan is glad to be a part of this Tele-ICU initiative. Tele-ICU helps in providing a high-quality intensive care to patients in rural as well urban areas. Our critical care solutions provide the actionable information you may need for early patient intervention, allowing you to leverage scarce resources and deliver high-quality care to patients efficiently.”=DN
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Background:
UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to
end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our
broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations build
integrated, lasting solutions for people and the planet.
Sehat Kahani is one of the leading telemedicine platforms in Pakistan that virtually connects patients in need of affordable, convenient, and flexible healthcare options to a panel of online general physicians and specialists. Till now, it has facilitated over 250,000 consultations through tele-medicine, impacting 1.5 million lives.
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KARACHI, NOV 20 - /DN/ - November 19, 2020: Al-Karam Textile
Mills and Make-a-Wish Foundation Pakistan joined hands to fulfill wishes of
children suffering from life threatening diseases on ‘Universal Children’s
Day’.
Al-Karam Textile Mills as a socially responsible corporate
organization has always been at the forefront when it comes to supporting the
community. The partnership with Make-a-Wish Foundation Pakistan is reflective
of its commitment to the society, and in the midst of the global COVID-19
pandemic, this has never been more important. A total of 11 wishes were granted
of children diagnosed with critical illnesses.
“There is nothing more important to Al-Karam than giving
back to the society that has helped us come this far. Our collaboration with
“Make-a-Wish” gives us an opportunity to help these children and make their
dreams come true! Everyone deserves a chance at happiness and Al-Karam is proud
to contribute in any way that we can!” said Sherbanoo Raza, Head of HR and
Communications.
Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Ishtiaq Baig, Founding
President, Make-a-Wish Foundation Pakistan said, Make-A-Wish Foundation
Pakistan is an affiliate member of Make-A-Wish Int’l USA, the largest wish
granting organization in the world in 60 countries, dedicated to grant the most
cherished wishes of critically ill children. The foundation is delighted to
join hands with leading textile group Al-Karam Textile Mills, in granting the
wishes of children suffering from critical illnesses and bringing smile on
their faces.
By granting the most cherished wishes of the terminally ill
children, we give them the opportunity to look outside their illnesses and help
improve a child’s quality of life and better health outcome.
It’s worth mentioning that Make-A-Wish relies on the generosity of organizations like Al-Karam Textile Mills who believe in giving back to the society through their CSR initiatives." He added.=DN
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KARACHI: TPL Trakker, Pakistan’s leading IoT Company, has been chosen as the sole Fleet Management Partner for Sialkot Dry Port Trust (SDPT), Asia’s first ever Dry Port in the private sector.
Following the partnership, TPL Trakker will provide SDPT a customized solution catered to address their business needs. These services will include Online Tracking of their fleet, Business Insights on Drive Time and Distance Travelled, a Live Dashboard indicating Real-Time status of the fleet, Creation and Monitoring of Geofences as well as SMS Alerts, helping SDPT efficiently manage its fleet of customs bonded vehicles. SDPT is the largest Bonded Carrier in the private sector with over 100 vehicles providing quality services in terms of efficient transit time, safety and reliability.
To mark the occasion, a digital signing ceremony was held at the SDPT Head office located at Sambrial, Sialkot, recently. Present at the occasion from TPL Trakker, were Khurram Baig, Regional Head, Central and Muhammad Mubashar Afzal, Hub Manager. Muhammad Khalid Butt, General Manager and Mohsin Ashraf, Head of IT, represented SDPT along with management team members from both Companies.
Commenting on the signing ceremony, Talha Dawood, Head of Asset Tracking, TPL Trakker, said, “We take deep pride in partnering with the continent’s first privatized Dry Port. This is a unique milestone for us at TPL Trakker, helping Pakistan’s economy by facilitating trade through SDPT during such challenging times. I am confident that this will be a long and fruitful partnership for both Companies.”
Muhammad Khalid Butt, General Manager, SDPT, said, “At SDPT, we are striving to address some of the most complex logistics challenges in Pakistan and bringing tremendous efficiencies for our clients. We have evaluated and found TPL Trakker’s Fleet Management Solutions to be ideally suited to meet our business needs and have full faith in the partnership being mutually beneficial both for us and TPL Trakker.”
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Large parts of Oslo Airport Gardermoen are closed due to the pandemic, Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reports. The number of passengers has dropped dramatically.
According to NRK, Avinor has decided to close Pier Nord, which includes both domestic and international traffic, and the entire eastern part of the departure hall.
The closure will take place “in a short time.”
“Firstly, we will operate the airport with one runway now that we are alternating between the two that we have.
“In addition, we will now close down half of the departure hall, so only the newest part will be open in the future.
“Passengers will experience it by seeing that we set up walls and physically closed this part of the terminal,” airport director Stine Ramstad Westby noted.
Sharp drop in traffic
The corona pandemic has led to a sharp drop in passengers in 2020.
According to Westby, they will end up with just under 10 million passengers this year, compared to 29 million in 2019.
Last week, traffic figures showed that the decrease in the number of passengers was 86% compared to the same week the year before.
The airport director fears mass redundancies in the spring.
“I think we are facing a tough winter, with low traffic – especially abroad,” Westby told NRK.
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COURTESY NORWAY TODAY
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RAWALPINDI, NOV 20 – Tarek Mohamed Dahroug, Ambassador of Egypt to Pakistan called on General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Army Staff (COAS).
During the meeting matters of mutual interest, regional security and cooperation in all fields of defence & security were discussed.
COAS said that Pakistan and Egypt enjoy brotherly relations and emphasized the need for enhancing bilateral cooperation in all spheres.
Visiting dignitary also appreciated Pakistan’s efforts for regional peace and stability.
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ISLAMABAD – The business community in a meeting at Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has called upon the government to discard the practice of sealing businesses for any violations of SOPs and give them warnings along with imposition of small fines as sealing businesses was affecting their credibility and was not the right solution to curb the spread of Covid-19 pandemic. They said that sealing of businesses would ultimately hurt the already weak economy and create more problems for the future growth of the country.
Chairing the meeting, Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that business community have to spent years for building the reputation and goodwill of a business, but normally FBR, local administration and other government departments tended to seal businesses on small violations, which badly damaged their reputation and caused great financial losses to them. He said that the sealed businesses have to suffer for a long time and struggle hard to restore their prestige in the local community, which puts extra financial burden on them. He said that instead of sealing businesses, government departments should prefer giving warnings and imposing small fines on them for any violations, which would save businesses from unnecessary losses and also generate revenue for the government.
ICCI President said that government machinery should ensure strong enforcement of SOPs to control the outbreak of Covid-19 instead of sealing businesses. He said that the economy of Pakistan has already suffered huge losses due to lengthy lockdowns during Covid-19 pandemic last year and it could not afford further closure of businesses as shutting down business activities would plunge the economy into deep troubles. He emphasized that the government should go extra miles to save the businesses from any further problems in order to keep the wheel of the economy in running mode. He said that businesses in smart lockdown areas should be allowed to remain open with implementation of SOPs.
Ms. Fatma Azim Senior Vice President and Abdul Rehman Khan Vice President ICCI said that recently FBR had sealed the office of a telecom company due to tax issues, but it has sent a very negative message to the potential investors. They said that Pakistan needed to promote maximum local and foreign investment to boost industrialization and strengthen the economy, but sealing of businesses on any violations would thwart such efforts of the government. They stressed that the government should discard the practice of sealing businesses and should warn them before imposing fines for any violations in the larger economic interests of the country.
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Islamabad, Nov 20 – Allama Iqbal Open University has postponed ongoing examinations of spring 2020 semester including BS, B Ed, MA/ M Sc across Azad Jammu & Kashmir. The university has taken this decision keeping in view potential threat of lock down in AJK from November 22 – December 05 to restrict the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.According to the Controller of Examinations, AIOU, revised schedule for these examinations would be announced later.
However, examinations in other parts of the country would be held as per already notified schedule.Moreover, the university has announced the new schedule for an already cancelled paper of B Ed course code (6467). The examination for this course code will be held now on November 30, 2020.Previously, it was supposed to be held on November 06, however it was cancelled owing to some unforeseen reasons.
Revised roll number slips are being dispatched to the students, however previously issued roll number slips would also be acceptable in the examination halls. No change has been made in timings and venue for this examination.
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He added that being an old friend of Pakistan, China wishes to see solidarity in bilateral relations. He said that introduction of concessional trade policies would play an important role to attract Chinese investment in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of China Nong Rong has said that Parliamentary visits are an excellent means of improving and enhancing relations between the two countries.
Ambassador Nong Rong made made these remarks during his meeting with Deputy Chairman Senate, Saleem Mandviwalla at his Chamber in Parliament House.
He added that being an old friend of Pakistan, China wishes to see solidarity in bilateral relations. He said that introduction of concessional trade policies would play an important role to attract Chinese investment in Pakistan.
Ambassador of China Nong Rong thanked Deputy Chairman Senate Senator Saleem Mandviwalla for his hospitality and said that he looked forward to developing stronger links through various parliamentary/business avenues between the two countries.
Deputy Chairman Senate, Senator Saleem Mandviwalla while discussing trade and investment opportunities with China said that improving inter-parliamentary relations between the two countries will help enhance business and trade ties.
He said that in addition to this he looks forward to more interaction with the Pak-China friendship Group that he convenes. He showed reservations towards the total bilateral trade worth USD 18 billion between the two countries with a deficit of USD 8 billion.
He stressed the need decrease the trade deficit and explore unconventional areas of trade and investment in Pakistan. Deputy Chairman Senate, Senator Saleem Mandviwalla suggested that direct Yuan-Rupee trade would enhance and strengthen trade ties between the two countries considerably.
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COURTESY DNA NEWS
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BAKU, Nov 20 - Subdivisions of Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces entered the Agdam district on Friday, the press service of the republic’s Defense Ministry reported.
"According to the trilateral statement, signed by Azerbaijan’s President, Russia’s President, and Armenia’s Prime Minister, on November 20, units of the Azerbaijani army entered the Agdam district," the statement said.
Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The area experienced flare-ups of violence in the summer of 2014, in April 2016 and this past July. Azerbaijan and Armenia have imposed martial law and launched mobilization efforts. Both parties to the conflict have reported casualties, among them civilians.
The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up, but primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, broke out in February 1988 after the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1992-1994, tensions boiled over and exploded into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and seven adjacent territories after Azerbaijan lost control of them.
On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting from November 10. The Russian leader said the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides would maintain the positions that they had held and Russian peacekeepers would be deployed to the region. Besides, Baku and Yerevan must exchange prisoners and the bodies of those killed.
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COURTESY TASS.COM
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German Ambassador to Lithuania Matthias Sonn said earlier that by liberating Germany from Nazism, the Soviet Union had sought to establish Stalin's oppressive regime in the defeated country.
"We are outraged by the German ambassador’s words," Zakharova pointed out. "Given the history of World War II and the role of Germany and its people in the deadliest war of all time, the statement sounded particularly cynical and insolent. I would like to emphasize that we expect Germany to provide a clarification and distance itself from the insinuations of an individual, which, unfortunately, are not an isolated incident," the Russian diplomat added.
Zakharova also said that a pseudo-historical narrative was being promoted in Germany, which "equates the Soviet Union to the Third Reich in the context of the causes of World War II, identifying the Communist and the National Socialist regimes." "It is being done with a clear goal to pass the buck of Germany's responsibility for the inhuman crimes of Nazism. We strongly reject this approach as it calls into question the unprecedented process of post-war reconciliation between the Russian and German people," Zakharova stressed, adding that for the people of the Soviet Union, the war against Nazi Germany was a fight for freedom and independence in the face of the threat of being enslaved and killed by Nazis.
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COURTESY TASS.COM
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Armenia returns Nagorno-Karabakh territory captured by Azerbaijan
Armenia was due to hand over disputed territory to Azerbaijan on Friday as part of a contentious Russian-brokered peace accord that ended weeks of brutal fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The Armenian residents of Azerbaijan’s Aghdam district hurriedly picked pomegranates and persimmons from trees surrounding their homes and packed vans with furniture, AFP journalists said, before fleeing before the official deadline to cede the mountainous province.
“We wanted to build a sauna, kitchen. But now I had to dismantle everything. And I’ll burn down the house with everything I own when I leave,” Gagik Grigoryan, a 40-year-old electrical worker, told AFP before abandoning his home.
Columns of tanks and troop transporters filled with waving Armenian fighters rolled out of the territory through dense fog ahead of Friday’s deadline to vacate the region.
Fierce clashes between Azerbaijan’s forces and Armenian separatists broke out in late September in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The brutal war lasted six weeks, leaving thousands dead and displacing many more.
The longstanding ex-Soviet rivals finally agreed to end hostilities last week under the framework of a Russian-brokered accord that sees Moscow deploy peacekeepers to the region and requires Armenia to cede swathes of territory.
Separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh and several surrounding districts captured the territory and claimed independence that has not been recognised internationally, even by Armenia, following a post-Soviet 1990s war that left some 30,000 dead.
As part of last week’s peace deal, Armenia agreed to return some 15 to 20 percent of the Nagorno-Karabakh territory captured by Azerbaijan in recent fighting, including the historical town of Shusha.
The exchange of territory was originally due to begin Sunday, with Armenians in the Kalbajar district fleeing en masse before the official deadline for Azerbaijan’s takeover.
But Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev postponed the deadline by one week over “humanitarian” considerations.
Russia boasts return of refugees
In addition to Friday’s deadline to cede Aghdam, Armenia will hand over the Kalbajar district wedged between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia on November 25 and the Lachin district by December 1.
The Russian peacekeeping force of some 2,000 troops has deployed to the administrative centre of the region, Stepanakert, and set up checkpoints and observation posts along the strategic Lachin corridor connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.
While Armenians in the provinces to be handed over to Azerbaijan have left in an exodus, the Russian mission on Thursday said it had bussed some 3,000 residents back to Stepanakert and other regions who had fled during the six weeks of heavy shelling.
Most of Azerbaijan’s south-western district of Aghdam has been under the control of Armenian separatists since 1993. Before the post-Soviet war it was inhabited by some 130,000 people — mostly ethnic Azerbaijanis who were expelled from their homes.
Armenia’s health ministry said earlier this week that more than 2,400 of the country’s fighters had been killed in the fighting. Azerbaijan has not revealed its military fatalities.
After the peace accord was signed last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said total fatalities that include dozens of civilians had surpassed 4,000 people.
Russia’s decisive role in the settlement has sidelined international players the United States and France, which brokered a ceasefire in the 1990s but failed to deliver a long-term resolution.
During the most recent conflict, France, the United States and Russia attempted to broker three separate ceasefires that collapsed as Armenia and Azerbaijan accused the other of violations.
French President Emmanuel Macron this week urged Russia to clarify “ambiguities” over the Moscow-brokered ceasefire, including Turkey’s role in the peacekeeping mission.
Azerbaijan has insisted on a prominent role for its staunch ally Turkey, which was widely accused by Western countries, Russia and Armenia of supplying Baku with mercenary fighters from Syria over the weeks of fighting.
The Kremlin has poured cold water on Ankara’s hopes of deploying peacekeepers alongside Russian troops in Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding provinces and instead insisted that Turkey would observe the truce from monitoring posts in Azerbaijan.
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