FARUKH SHEHZAD

ISLAMABAD, DEC 2020 - The National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE) in collaboration with the National Information Technology Board (NITB) is going to organize a series of trainings for employees under its capacity building programme.

According to HEC on Monday, the trainings including for Higher Education Commission (HEC) staff will begin today (Tuesday), with a comprehensive session on e-office procedure.

The E-office is an electronic system of office and operational management which would help make functions more efficient and improve accountability at HEC.

The programme was being implemented across various ministries in the government, and has been approved by the Federal Cabinet and the National e-Government Council. The capacity building programme would have weekly workshops for HEC employees.

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ISLAMABAD, DEC 2020 - The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has announced that all those seeking degree attestation should apply on its web site through http://eservices. hec.gov.pk.

In a message, the HEC said the degree attestation service would no longer be available at http:/eportal. hec.gov.pk.

It said the old applicants would use the same username and password that they were using at ‘e-portal’ to log-in at ‘e-service’.

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• The honour is the highest tribute the Federal Republic of Germany can pay to individuals for outstanding services

WARSAW / POLAND, DEC 2020 - The Polish government announced on Thursday a nationwide lockdown from Dec. 28 to Jan. 17 in an effort to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shopping malls are to be closed except for shops selling essential items and pharmacies. Hotels, which are already banned from receiving tourists, can no longer host guests on business trips, and the country's skiing resorts will also be obliged to shut down.

The authorities will also enforce a ban on travel between cities from 7 p.m. on Dec. 31 to 6 a.m. on Jan. 1. New Year's Eve celebrations must be held indoors with a maximum of five persons per household. During the school holidays, children below the age of 16 are not allowed to leave their homes without adult supervision.

Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said at a press conference on Thursday that the measures are needed to fight a third wave of coronavirus.

The number of daily confirmed COVID-19 infections in Poland rose from below a thousand in October to around 28,000 in early November. The daily number stood at 11,953 on Thursday and the total number of confirmed infections was 1,171,854. Since the start of the pandemic, 24,345 people have succumbed to the virus.

"We have an almost two-month-long exhausting fight against the second wave of the pandemic behind us," Niedzielski said. "It's important to note that we have not returned to the around 1,000 daily mark before that wave. The wave may have slowed down, but it has done so to a level of around 10,000 per day."

Such infection levels, he added, pose a risk to Poland's healthcare capacity, which is supplemented by emergency medical facilities, including a field hospital set up at the end of October in the National Stadium, a major sports arena, in Warsaw.

He said that the lockdown was also inevitable due to the upcoming vaccination program, which the Polish government wants to initiate in January.

Poland's lockdown is the latest in a series of measures taken by European countries to mitigate a projected spike in COVID-19 cases during the upcoming holiday season. Germany, the Netherlands and Lithuania have introduced full lockdowns, while others strengthened their restrictions.

The European Commission announced earlier in the week that vaccinations can commence throughout the European Union on Dec. 27, with jabs supplied from production sites in Belgium and Germany. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said that an expert panel will convene on Monday to evaluate the vaccine developed by Pfizer and German company BioNTech. It remains up to individual countries to organize their own vaccination programs.

As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, countries including Germany, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States are racing to find a vaccine.

According to the website of the World Health Organization, as of Dec. 8, there were 214 COVID-19 candidate vaccines being developed worldwide, and 52 of them were in clinical trials.

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COURTESY en.trend.az

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ISLAMABAD, DEC 2020 - Turkey’s leading OSTIM Technical University conferred the first ever ‘International Education Entrepreneur Excellence Award’ upon Syed Ghalib Raza Gillani, director, Pakistan Embassy School, at a ceremony in Ankara.

Prof. Dr. Emrullah Isler, chairman of National Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Commission of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey was the guest of honour while Ambassador of Pakistan Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi; Chairman of OSTIM Board of Trustees, Orhan Aydin; Rector of OSTIM Technical University, Prof. Dr. Murat Yülek; faculty members of OSTIM Technical University and Pakistan Embassy School attended the ceremony.

In his remarks, Prof. Dr. Emrullah Isler, said Pakistan is our brotherly country and Turks are grown up saying ‘Jeevay Pakistan.’

Ambassador Syrus Qazi in said conferment of this inaugural award by OSTIM Technical University is not only an honour for Ghalib Gillani but also an honour for Pakistani Embassy and the academia. He appreciated the hard work and input of Ghalib Gillani for making the embassy school a symbol of pride for Pakistan.

Orhan Aydin, highlighted the nature of Pakistan-Turkey relations. He hoped that the fraternal relations will be further strengthened through educational collaboration.

Rector Prof. Dr. Murat Yülek in his welcome address said although there are a large number of schools affiliated with various embassies in Ankara, however, Pakistan Embassy School under its Director Ghalib Raza Gillani is truly an international school. He noted that Ghalib Gillani is a competent educationist and truly deserved to receive our first award.

In his speech, Syed Ghalib Raza Gillani thanked the rector and OSTIM Technical University for conferment of the award.

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ISLAMABAD, DEC 19 - The Millennium Education (TME), Pakistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding MoU with Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) last day.

The meeting was chaired by Air Marshal (r) Arshad Malik Chairman and CEO Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Chaudhry Faisal Mushtaq, founder and Chief Executive The Millennium Education, and their team members.

The main objective of this Memorandum of Understanding is to promote industry-academia linkages, corporate collaborations and professional development. Both organisations mutually agreed to enhance cooperation in many areas including offering privileged discounts, arranging internships, orientations on entrepreneurship, trainings and giving practical exposure of theoretical knowledge.

PIA accepted The Millennium Education as a ‘Partner Education System’ where TME has offered customised ‘privileged’ charges for their esteemed company’s employees binding all their brands, including Roots Millennium Schools, Millennium Colleges, Future World Schools, The Little Millennium and The Millennium Universal Colleges TMUC, Pakistan. The Millennium Education accepted PIA as its official airline of choice.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Executive The Millennium Education Chaudhry Faisal Mushtaq TI explained his vision that where he sees TME in coming years and how the collaboration will open new horizons for both the parties. He explained that The Millennium Education has gained national and international recognition for providing quality education. Whereas, Chairman and CEO PIA Air Marshal (r) Arshad Malik (Hilal-e-Imtiaz Military) appreciated the dedication and commitment shown by The Millennium Education and further added that the collaboration will add value and create opportunities for both the parties.

Chaudhry Faisal Mushtaq, TI (chief executive The Millennium Education) and CEO Pakistan International Airlines Air Marshal (r) Arshad Malik signed the MoU at TME Head Office here. TME and PIA are hopeful that through this MoU both parties will endeavor to strengthen, promote and develop academic, community and corporate engagement and education benefits.

The Millennium Education has a global vision and holds true to local perspective and needs while accomplishing its vision.

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SINGAPORE, DEC 2020 - When Singapore Airlines first joined Amadeus NDC [X], the carrier focused on digital transformation, enhancing retailing capabilities, and creating a more personalised experience for its travellers.

Today, Singapore Airlines deepens this commitment to modern retailing, supported by Amadeus technology, by making its NDC offers available to travel sellers through the Amadeus Travel Platform.

Travel agents worldwide connected to the Amadeus Travel Platform will soon be able to shop, book, and pay for all Singapore Airlines offers made available through NDC as part of the airline’s KrisConnect program.

This is just the start of more exciting opportunities that NDC will bring, with more content becoming available soon such as dynamic fares.

The content will be available in the Amadeus NDC-enabled solutions used by agents today, providing a familiar and efficient booking environment.

The Amadeus Travel Platform includes critical servicing functionalities that agents need, such as the cancelation, void, refund and modification of NDC bookings.

Bryan Koh, divisional vice president, e-commerce and distribution, Singapore Airlines, said: “We look forward to providing more attractive and customised offers on Amadeus’ extensive travel agency network via NDC.

“Singapore Airlines remain committed to improving our retail capabilities and extending them to travel agents through multiple channels and touchpoints such as self-booking tools, web services, travel agency front office solutions, and mobile.”

Travel sellers will be able to make bookings through Amadeus’ NDC-enabled solutions – Amadeus Selling Platform Connect and Amadeus Travel API – starting from January in several markets in APAC and beyond.

“Driving NDC forward and realising its next generation retailing capabilities for our customers is a key part of our long-term global strategy. 

“We have processed NDC bookings through the Amadeus Travel Platform since 2018, and the capabilities and content are not only here today but also continually being enriched as more and more airlines and travel sellers gear up on NDC.

“We are working closely with the industry to increase adoption and drive volume by delivering the performance, scalability, market reach, and global support that airlines and travel sellers need,” added Javier Laforgue, executive vice president, airlines distribution and content sourcing, Amadeus.

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BUCHAREST, DEC 2020 - Romania is ready to start vaccination against COVID on December 27, along with other EU countries, the first to be vaccinated will be the medical staff from the 10 hospitals that were involved from the beginning in treating patients with COVID-19, authorities say. Vaccinated persons will receive a certificate containing data on the batch and series of the vaccine.

The declared vaccine acceptance rate is different between COVID and non-COVID hospitals. In COVID hospitals, it is over 95%, while in the rest of the hospitals the acceptance rate is 70% for those with higher education and around 50% for those with secondary education.

There is also a degree of acceptance of vaccination of about 80% among family physicians.

In anticipation of the start of vaccination on December 27, for the medical staff at the forefront of the fight against the virus, the Cantacuzino Institute is already ready to receive vaccines, with a capacity of 1.5 million doses to be distributed to county centers, and the chain distribution will be supported by the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Health, News.ro reports .

The vaccination campaign will involve 1,500 to 2,000 doctors, 4,500 nurses and 2,000 registrars , who would be paid, and discussions on this topic are ongoing.

The second stage of vaccination is expected to start in February.

Medical authorities say there is no need for pre-vaccination testing, with the argument that about 10% of volunteers involved in the vaccine testing phase went through the disease and did not know it, as did people who had the active virus and had a very good answer.

According to the same authorities, even those who are vaccinated will have to wear a mask until an immunity rate of over 60-70% is reached. Each vaccinated person will receive a vaccination certificate and will be contacted the day before to report for the booster.

The vaccination certificate will be written in both Romanian and English, and will contain mentions regarding the batch and the series of the vaccine, being a forensic document.

According to the authorities, most of those who are reluctant to get vaccinated say they do not have enough information, which is why information campaigns will be launched.

The Minister of Health, Nelu Tătaru, announced on Wednesday that the first 10,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, with which 5,000 people will be vaccinated, will arrive in the country between Christmas and New Year and will be distributed to the medical staff working in infectious disease departments.

"On December 21, it is expected to have the approval for this vaccine of the European Medicines Agency. From then on, they can reach each of the 27 member countries. Between Christmas and New Year's Eve, there will be a first symbolic tranche of 10,000 doses, which means vaccination and booster for 5,000 people, which we will direct to the wards. infectious diseases ", declared Nelu Tătaru on Wednesday afternoon, at Digi 24.

Minister Tătaru mentioned that, starting with January, Romania will receive, in stages, monthly, other vaccines, so that until the beginning of next summer, the categories provided in the vaccination plan will be vaccinated in turn.

Regarding the transport of the vaccine, it will be done by the manufacturer, in "special transports", with freezers that can ensure temperatures of minus 80 - minus 90 degrees Celsius.

Each container contains five doses of vaccine that can be five days at two degrees, Tataru said.

On Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the 27 EU states would be able to "start the same day" their anti-Covid vaccination campaigns after the approval of the vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech. 

The European Union could officially approve the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech to fight the new coronavirus as early as December 23, just two days after the possible agreement of the regulatory authority, a European Commission official said on Wednesday, quoted by Reuters .

According to EU regulations, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommends the approval of new medicines and vaccines, but the final decision on their marketing is taken by the European Commission, after consultation with EU governments.

The agency announced on Tuesday that it could issue a recommendation on the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech on December 21.

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COURTESY universul.net

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OSLO, DEC 2020 - According to newspaper VG, Sweden’s vaccine coordinator Richard Bergström states that there will be 9,750 doses in the first vaccine delivery to Norway.

Bergström informed the newspaper that all countries in Europe receive the same number of vaccine doses. 

The delivery will be sent on December 24, provided that the European Commission approves the Pfizer vaccine.

“In the first delivery, everyone gets the same amount. Everyone gets two large cartons, each containing five additional cartons. So there will be a total of ten cartons with 975 doses,” he said.

The vaccine coordinator further estimated that there may be vaccine deliveries of between 30,000 and 40,000 vaccine doses a week to Norway in January.

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COURTESY NORWAY TODAY

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OSLO, DEC 2020 - As viable vaccines against COVID-19 show promising results and are ready for distribution, Norway is finalizing its vaccination plan.

It has been nearly a year since the coronavirus crisis hit Norway.

As 2021 looms, the country shares a hopeful expectation – alongside the rest of the world – that Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, amongst others, will put an end to the coronavirus pandemic.

The UK has already started with mass vaccination, and now Norway and other countries prepare to finalize their priorities for the upcoming vaccination process.

The importance of the next couple of weeks

On December 7, Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported that officials are currently waiting for four vaccines to be approved by the EU.

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which has already undergone emergency approval in the UK and the US, is among them.

Sigurd Hortemo – the chief physician at the Norwegian Medicines Agency – believes that the next couple of weeks will be vital in the process of assessing the vaccine’s effectiveness and risk-factor.

Before the official use of the vaccine is approved, it is of utmost importance to assure that there are no great risks and the vaccine can be distributed safely to all members of the population.

On December 15, NRK reported that the first corona vaccine could be approved for use in the EU and Norway one week earlier than planned.

It was earlier reported that Norway could expect to start implementing the vaccination process shortly after the New Year.

Richard Bergström, the vaccination coordinator between Norway, Sweden, and the EU states, believes that Norway will be able to nearly fully vaccinate all at-risk members of the population before Easter.

Talking to NRK, he promised that Norway would have up to 2.5 million doses in the first quarter of 2021, just enough to vaccinate 1.25 million people, as the vaccine requires two doses with a span of three weeks in-between each dose.

Who gets the vaccine first?

To date, according to helsenorge.no, Norway plans to prioritize at-risk members of the population first, namely the elderly or those that have underlying medical conditions.

Within the at-risk populace, it’s expected that Norway will give priority to those who are in nursing/care homes, followed by those who are aged 85 or older, aged 64 and older, and lastly persons aged 18-64 who have underlying, serious medical conditions.

Afterward, health personnel can expect to be next in line for vaccinations.

Debates over prioritization

There have recently been several discussions in Norway on whether to change this prioritization in case of a spike in infection cases.

Such changes could involve health personnel being the first in line for vaccinations, in order to be able to treat a heavy-influx of future patients.

However, changes would also depend on a number of factors surrounding the pandemic and the vaccine itself.

There has also been some debate on whether areas of Norway that have higher rates of infection will be prioritized.

As an example, priority could be given to the capital of Norway, Oslo, which has registered the highest rates of infection throughout the pandemic.

Nearly within reach

As the holidays draw nearer and as the New Year approaches, Norway is nearly within reach of being prepared to tackle the pandemic through vaccination.

Despite some uncertainty behind prioritization, Norway is likely to have a clear system for vaccination prioritization very soon – as the vaccination equipment has already been sent out to all the municipalities in the country.

According to the Norwegian Directorate of Health, all the municipalities will receive enough equipment to start vaccination before the New Year, as soon as the first vaccines arrive.

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BUCHAREST, DEC 2020 - The construction of the Hotel of Ice near Balea Lake, in Romania's Fagaras Mountains, has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of snow and ice, project initiators announced. They also said that a decision to start the hotel's construction would be made early next year.

"The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 and the increasingly more serious 

climate changes of the last years have created big problems for those managing 

the 'Hotel of Ice Balea Lake' Tourist Marketing Project. Considering the complicated 

situation, taking into account all the organizational and logistical aspects, the 

representatives of the company that builds and manages the Hotel of Ice in the 

glacial basin of Balea Lake decided to postpone, at least for the moment, the 

construction works of the sixteenth unique hotel," reads a press release quoted 

by Agerpres.

Thus, the initiators of the Hotel of Ice project said they could be forced to opt for 

a smaller construction this winter.

"As it's happening all over the world, we have a lot of problems caused by the 

pandemic. There are many sanitary rules, many fears, quite complex logistical 

and organizational problems. 

In addition, just like last season, winter is no longer what it was 15 years ago! 

Climate change is very visible at Balea Lake; at this time, there is not enough 

snow, the ice formed on Balea Lake is not thick at all, and the recorded 

temperatures are quite high. As a result, at least for now, we have decided not 

to start work on the Hotel of Ice," said Arnold Klingeis, the initiator of the Hotel 

of Ice Balea Lake project.

"However, because Romanian and foreign tourists call our office daily and ask us 

about the Hotel of Ice, we are considering building the objective during the first 

days of next year, but the decision will be made only in a few weeks. Most likely, 

if we decide that the Ice Hotel will be built, we will go for a construction with a 

simpler, less complex shape, with a smaller number of rooms," he added.

This is the second season that the Ice Hotel's construction is postponed. The same 

happened in the 2019-2020 season when, due to the warm weather, the builders 

were unable to extract ice from the Balea Lake, and thus the start of the project 

was postponed for January 2020. Later, project managers decided to replace the

hotel with an "Igloo Village." A similar decision could be taken this winter too.

In the previous years, the hotel's construction started in the early days of 

December. The Ice Hotel was thus usually fully booked during the winter holidays. 

Most of the tourists who stayed at the hotel were coming from abroad, from 

countries such as the UK or Germany.

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COURTESY romania-insider.com

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