After trains, Pakistan suspends Lahore-Delhi bus service

Agencies
August 10, 2019

Islamabad, Aug 10: After the permanent suspension of the Samjhauta Express in retaliation to India's decision to revoke Article 370 of its Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan has now suspended the Lahore-Delhi 'Dosti' bus service, the media reported.

The announcement of the latest suspension was made by Federal Minister for Postal Services and Communications Murad Saeed in a tweet on Friday, reports Dunya News.

"In line with the decisions of the NSC (National Security Committee), Pak-India bus service is suspended," the Minister said in his tweet.

The service will be fully suspended from Monday, Murad Saeed told reporters in  Islamabad.

Friday's development comes a day after Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed announced to permanently suspend the Samjhauta Express train service.

The federal minister at a press conference in Islamabad on Thursday said that passengers who have purchased advance tickets will be refunded and the bogies of the Samjhauta Express will be used to facilitate passengers on Eid.

The Samjhauta Express ran twice a week from Lahore to Attari via the Wagah railway station.

Earlier on Friday, Ahmed announced Pakistan was also shutting down the Thar Link Express, its last remaining train link with India.

Thar Link Express is the Indian part of Thar Express which runs once a week between Jodhpur and Munabao.

Passengers from Munabao then clear customs and are transported across the border to the Zero Point station from where the Thar Express takes them to Karachi.

Both the train services were stopped after the 1965 India-Pakistan war before being resumed again in 2006.

On Wednesday, following India's decision to end special status for Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan's NSC decided to downgrade diplomatic relations and suspend bilateral trade with India, reports Dunya News.

The decision was made during NSC meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan and attended by the Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and other top ministers.

Khan has directed that all diplomatic channels be activated to "expose the brutal Indian racist regime, its design and human rights violations.

He also directed Armed Forces to continue vigilance".

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Agencies
July 28,2020

New Delhi, Jul 28: India on Wednesday reported 47,704 more COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the country's count of coronavirus cases to 14,83,157, informed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Out of the total cases, there are 4,96,988 active cases in the country while the number of patients cured/discharged and migrated stands at 9,52,744.

With 654 deaths due to COVID-19 in the country reported in the last 24 hours, the death toll rises to 33,425.

The recovery rate among COVID-19 patients has increased to 64.23 per cent. The recoveries to deaths ratio is 96.6 per cent:3.4 per cent, informed the Centre.

As per the data provided by the Ministry, Maharashtra continues to be the worst-affected state from the infection with 1,48,905 active cases and 13,656 deaths due to COVID-19. Tamil Nadu has a total of 53,703 active cases and 3,494 deaths.

Delhi has a total of 11,904 active cases and 3,827 deaths.

The Health Ministry further informed that more than 5 lakh COVID-19 tests were conducted in a single day over two consecutive days. On 26th July, India tested a total of 5,15,000 samples and on 27th July, a total of 5,28,000 samples were tested.

The total number of COVID-19 samples tested up to July 27 is 1,73,34,885 including 5,28,082 samples tested yesterday, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

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News Network
June 30,2020

Six months since the new coronavirus outbreak, the pandemic is still far from over, the World Health Organization said Monday, warning that "the worst is yet to come".

Reaching the half-year milestone just as the death toll surpassed 500,000 and the number of confirmed infections topped 10 million, the WHO said it was a moment to recommit to the fight to save lives.

"Six months ago, none of us could have imagined how our world -- and our lives -- would be thrown into turmoil by this new virus," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing.

"We all want this to be over. We all want to get on with our lives. But the hard reality is this is not even close to being over.

"Although many countries have made some progress, globally the pandemic is actually speeding up.

"We're all in this together, and we're all in this for the long haul.

"We will need even greater stores of resilience, patience, humility and generosity in the months ahead.

"We have already lost so much -- but we cannot lose hope."

Tedros also said that the pandemic had brought out the best and worst humanity, citing acts of kindness and solidarity, but also misinformation and the politicisation of the virus.

In an atmosphere of global political division and fractures on a national level, "the worst is yet to come. I'm sorry to say that," he said.

"With this kind of environment and condition, we fear the worst."

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News Network
June 27,2020

New Delhi, Jun 27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that India fared much better compared to some other countries in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The PM made this observation while delivering the inaugural address to mark the 90th birth anniversary celebrations of Reverend Dr Joseph Mar Thoma Metropolitan.

"Earlier this year, some people had predicted that the impact of the virus in India would be very severe. Due to lockdown, many initiatives have been taken by the Government and in this people-driven fight, India is much better placed than many other nations. India's recovery rate is rising," Modi said in his virtual address.

He further warned that the time was not apt to "let our guard down".

The prime minister greeted the Mar Thoma Metropolitan and wished him a "long life and best health."

"Dr Joseph Mar Thoma has devoted his life for the betterment of our society and nation. He has been particularly passionate about the removal of poverty and women empowerment," the prime minister said.

Praising the Mar Thoma Church for its contributions to the country the Prime Minister added that it has worked to bring a positive difference in the lives of people in the country in areas of healthcare and education.

"The Mar Thoma Church is closely linked with the noble ideals of Saint Thomas, the Apostle of Lord Christ. India has always been open to spiritual influences from many sources. It is with this spirit of humility that the Mar Thoma Church has worked to bring a positive difference in the lives of our fellow Indians," Modi said.

Followers of the Mar Thoma Church from India and abroad participated in the programme through video conference.

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