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Jailed Ex-Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif Diagnosed with Acute Immune Disorder after Massive Drop in Platelet Count

Agencies
October 25, 2019

Lahore, Oct 25: Pakistan's jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has been diagnosed with acute immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), an immune disorder which leads to an abrupt and sharp drop in blood platelets, according to a medical board treating him said on Thursday.

The 69-year-old Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz supremo was rushed to the Services Hospital here from the National Accountability Bureau's Lahore office late on Monday night after a massive drop in his platelet count.

Sharif received transfusions of mega units of platelets at the hospital the next day. However, his condition deteriorated again on Wednesday evening after the platelets count fell sharply to a life-threatening level of 7,000.

Sharif's condition is improving as his platelets count increased to 20,000 from 7,000, Services Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS) Principal Dr Mahmood Ayaz said on Thursday.

According to initial test reports, the three-time prime minister has been diagnosed with immune thrombocytopenia.

The disease causes the breakdown of the blood cells and doctors at the hospital declared thrombocytopenia a treatable disease.

"The blood disorder is easily treatable in Pakistan," a doctor on the medical board treating the ailing politician was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune.

Sharif has been put on IVIG, he said, adding that he would recover in a week's time.

IVIG, or Intravenous immunoglobulin, is a treatment that combines immunoglobulins donated by different people and is given by a drip.

"He does not have aplastic anaemia and his haemoglobin and WBC count (white blood cells) are normal. Platelets are low though," said the doctor.

Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is a disorder that can lead to excessive or easy bruising and bleeding from unusually low levels of platelets in the blood. Platelets help blood clot.

The disorder can cause purple bruises as well as tiny reddish-purple dots that look like a rash.

Meanwhile, Sharif's younger brother Shehbaz Sharif filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court seeking bail for the former prime minister on medical grounds.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday expressed concern over Sharif's deteriorating health.

Khan said that political differences aside, his sincerest prayers are with the PML-N leader and has ensured that the former prime minister receives the best possible healthcare and medical treatment.

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News Network
February 11,2020

Feb 11: China reported 108 new coronavirus deaths on February 10, the highest daily toll since the outbreak began in Wuhan late last year, as two senior officials in the hard-hit province of Hubei were removed from their jobs.

The total number of deaths on the mainland reached 1,016 in the 24 hours until midnight, the National Health Commission said on Tuesday.

Some 2,478 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total to 42,638.

Of the new deaths, 103 were in the province of Hubei, including 67 in the provincial capital of Wuhan. The virus is thought to have originated there in a market that sold seafood as well as wild animals.

Two senior health officials in the province - Zhang Jin who was Party Secretary of the health commission for Hubei and Ling Yingzi who was director of the Hubei Provincial Health Commission - were both removed from their posts, state media reported on Tuesday,  a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited health facilities in Beijing.

In his first public appearance since the outbreak began, Xi donned a face mask and had his temperature checked while visiting medical workers and patients in the capital.

"We have seen very little of Xi Jinping since the outbreak began but he was out and about in Beijing on Monday," Al Jazeera's Katrina Yu said from Beijing. "He has been trying to rally the troops saying: 'We can win this battle.' But it's also a sign that the battle is far from over."

The other fatalities on Monday were in the provinces of Heilongjiang, Anhui and Henan and the cities of Tianjin and Beijing, the National Health Commission said.

During a meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Monday, a group of leaders tasked with beating the virus said it would work to solve raw material and labour shortages and boost supplies of masks and protective clothing.

They said nearly 20,000 medical personnel from around the country had already been sent to Wuhan, and more medical teams were also on the way.

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Agencies
August 7,2020

Washington, Aug 7: US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) signed executive orders halting all transactions with Chinese applications TikTok and WeChat within 45 days, citing national security concerns, further escalating the tensions between Beijing and Washington.

"WeChat, a messaging, social media, and electronic payment application owned by the Chinese company Tencent Holdings Ltd., reportedly has over one billion users worldwide, including users in the United States. Like TikTok, WeChat automatically captures vast swaths of information from its users. 

This data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) access to Americans' personal and proprietary information," Trump said in a statement.

Citing reasons for the ban on WeChat, the US President said that the application captures the personal and proprietary information of Chinese nationals visiting the US, thereby providing the CCP a mechanism to keep tabs on the Chinese citizens who may be "enjoying the benefits of a free society for the first time in their lives".

"In March 2019, a researcher reportedly discovered a Chinese database containing billions of WeChat messages sent from users in not only China but also the United States, Taiwan, South Korea and Australia. WeChat, like TikTok, also reportedly censors content that the CCP deems politically sensitive and may also be used for disinformation campaigns that benefit the CCP. 

These risks have led other countries, including Australia and India, to begin restricting or banning the use of WeChat. The US must take aggressive action against the owner of WeChat to protect our national security," he added.

Earlier, Trump had issued an order banning TikTok as it "reportedly censors content that the CCP deems politically sensitive, such as content concerning protests in Hong Kong and China's treatment of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities. 

TikTok may also be used for disinformation campaigns that benefit the CCP."
US politicians have repeatedly criticised TikTok, owned by Beijing-based startup ByteDance, of being a threat to national security because of its ties to China.

The development comes as China and the US are at loggerheads on a variety of issues including Hong Kong national security law, the South China Sea, the novel coronavirus and trade.

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News Network
April 16,2020

Islamabad, Apr 16: The number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan topped 6000 while the death toll due to the virus has reached 117, Dawn reported citing official data on Wednesday.

Over 1,446 people have recovered in the country from the deadly virus that has killed over 1.3 lakh people worldwide.

The total number of cases in the country has reached 6297 with Punjab being the worst affected province with 3,016 cases. Meanwhile, Sindh has 1,688 cases of the deadly virus.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported 47 new cases of the coronavirus, taking the provincial total to 912. Most of the new cases are of Tableeghi Jamaat members who have travel history.

Balochistan has reported four new cases of COVID-19, taking the provincial total to 281 according to provincial government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced the extension of the nationwide lockdown with relaxation to some sectors.

Addressing the media in Islamabad on Tuesday, Khan said, "We made the hard decision of imposing lockdown in the country which was very well implemented due to cooperation of the people."

The countrywide lockdown was imposed last month in a bid to stem the spread of coronavirus. Later, a two-week extension was announced in the restrictions until April 14.

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