Tear gas fired at anti-coup rallies in Sudan

Thousands of Sudanese protesters rallied on Saturday two months after a military coup, demanding soldiers “go back to the barracks” and calling for a transition to civilian rule.

Waving flags, beating drums, dancing and chanting, crowds marched on the streets of Khartoum despite a heavy deployment of security forces — who later fired tear gas to break them up.

Officers had earlier blocked bridges connecting the capital to suburbs, cut phone lines and restricted the internet ahead of the planned protests.

At least 48 people have died in crackdowns during weeks of demonstrations, according to the independent Doctors’ Committee, and Khartoum’s state governor has warned that security forces “will deal with those who break the law and create chaos”.

Demonstrators converged on the presidential palace in Khartoum, the headquarters of the military government in control since General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized power on October 25.

Burhan held civilian leader Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok effectively under house arrest for weeks, but after international pressure reinstated him on November 21 under a deal promising elections for July 2023.

source https://www.suchtv.pk/world/item/110405-tear-gas-fired-at-anti-coup-rallies-in-sudan.html

Limited operations of much-awaited Green Line bus kick off in Karachi

Governor Sindh Imran Ismail on Saturday took a ride on Karachi’s new Green Line bus, kicking off initial operations for a much-awaited project which was stalled for the last five years.

Following the inspection of his bus, he told the media that the elevators of the Green Line bus "aren’t malfunctioning". He said that all stations of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) will be fully operational from January 10, 2022.

Ismail said that the minimum bus fare will be Rs15 and the maximum will amount to Rs55. Addressing the confusion regarding the card for the service, he clarified that the bus card is confusing people but this will be charged like any mobile phone card.

It may be recalled that Prime Minister Imran Khan had inaugurated the bus service project on December 10 during his one-day visit to Karachi.

The inauguration was held at the main station of the Green Line project at Numaish Chowrangi.

Travellers must note that 11 out of 22 stations will remain operational till January 10 with 25 out of the total 80 hybrid energy buses to operate for only four hours a day, from 8am to 12pm.

According to Sindh Infrastructure Development Company (SIDCL) officials, buses, stations, and working hours will be increased after January 10.

The buses will shuttle between Surjani town, Abdullah Chowk, and Numaish Chowrangi. These buses will arrive at the stations every five minutes.

The buses can accommodate more than 150 people at a time and special seats have been reserved for disabled people.

Those people who plan to travel on a daily basis can also have cards made that can be recharged just like mobile cards.

The bus service will be monitored by CCTV cameras and the name of the station where the bus will stop will appear on a screen inside the bus.

source https://www.suchtv.pk/pakistan/sindh/item/110404-limited-operations-of-much-awaited-green-line-bus-kick-off-in-karachi.html

Islamabad reports its first confirmed case of Omicron

Islamabad's first case of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus was confirmed on Saturday, a health official said.

Islamabad District Health Officer (DHO) Zaeem Zia told that the case was detected in a 47-year-old male, adding that he was working in Islamabad and had travelled out of city for work-related purposes.

The patient had no history of travelling abroad, he said.

Zia said the variant was confirmed as Omicron following its gene-sequencing, adding that 10 contacts of the patient were traced and subsequently isolated/quarantined.
"Amid the looming threats of Omicron variant, our health teams are prepared to respond as they did in previous waves/variants diligently," he said.

The DHO urged people to follow Covid-19 standard operating procedures, get vaccinated and get booster shots if eligible.

Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Hamza Shafqaat also confirmed the development, adding that the patient had a travel history from Karachi.

source https://www.suchtv.pk/health/item/110397-islamabad-reports-its-first-confirmed-case-of-omicron.html

Christians Community celebrating Christmas across the country

Christians in Pakistan are celebrating the festive occasion of Christmas amid tight security across the country.

Special services are being held in illuminated churches throughout the country with the Christians also holding special prayers for peace, progress and prosperity of Pakistan.

Christmas is commemorated in Pakistan and across the world on December 25th each year to mark the birth of Jesus Christ.

Strict security measures have been taken to ensure the safety of the Christians and police officials have been deployed outside churches to thwart any untoward incident.

The day started with ceremonies and congregations in churches. Christians citizens decorated their homes and churches with colourful fairy lights and special Christmas trees were prepared to celebrate the occasion.

In their separate messages, President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan, while congratulating the Christians on Christmas, have assured that the government will continue to safeguard the rights and privileges of all minorities living in the country.

They also commended sincere and invaluable services rendered by Christians in the fields of defence, education, health as well as economic development of the country.

They said that the government will empower minorities to use their abilities for national development.

source https://www.suchtv.pk/pakistan/general/item/110396-christians-community-celebrating-christmas-across-the-country.html

First case of Omicron reported in Islamabad

Islamabad has reported the first case of the new COVID-19 strain, Omicron, sources in the National Institute of Health (NIH) said.

According to the sources, the patient has no international travel history; nonetheless, the patient recently travelled to Karachi.

The patient reportedly is in good health and has only minor symptoms. Contact tracing is currently being done to detect more cases, the sources added.

It is pertinent to note that six more Omicron cases were reported in Karachi yesterday taking the total number of infections in the city to eight.

According to the reports, the suspected patients have a travel history.

Four of them came from South Africa, where the Omicron variation was first detected, while two others came from the United Kingdom.

They stated that the suspected patients' samples had been sent to a private hospital for confirmation and that the patients had been moved to a quarantine centre.

 

source https://www.suchtv.pk/health/item/110395-first-case-of-omicron-reported-in-islamabad.html

PM announced new party structure for PTI

Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is also the chairman of the ruling PTI, has announced the new party structure a day after dissolving all the PTI bodies following a setback in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa local bodies elections.

In the new party setup, Asad Umar has been given the post of secretary-general while Pervez Khattak, Ali Haider Zaidi, Qasim Suri, Shafqat Mahmood and Khusro Bakhtiar have been appointed as new provincial heads of the party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and Southern Punjab respectively.

Aamir Mehmood Kiani has been made the party's additional secretary-general, the minister added.

Commenting on his appointment, Asad Umar said that holding an important position in Pakistan's largest political party is a matter of honour and also a great responsibility.

"Inshallah, under the leadership of Imran Khan, the PTI will get stronger as per the expectations of party workers and voters. The workers of this party are its capital, which no other party has."

چئرمین تحریک انصاف جناب عمران خان نے عامر محمود کیانی کو پارٹی کا ایڈیشنل سیکرٹری جنرل نامزد کیا ہے https://t.co/MHsL3c1dSf

— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) December 25, 2021

 

source https://www.suchtv.pk/pakistan/general/item/110394-pm-announced-new-party-structure-for-pti.html

Putin says insulting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is 'violation of religious freedom'

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that insulting Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) does not count as an expression of artistic freedom but is a "violation of religious freedom", according to state news agency TASS.

Putin made these remarks during his annual press conference in Moscow on Thursday, adding that insults to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) were a violation of "the sacred feelings of people who profess Islam".

TASS reported that the Russian president also criticised the publication of blasphemous sketches of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in French magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Such acts, the report quoted Putin as saying, gave rise to extremist reprisals.

Artistic freedom had its limits and it shouldn't infringe on other's freedoms, he added.

The president further stated that Russia had evolved as a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state and so Russians were used to respecting each other’s traditions, according to the report.

In some other countries, this respect came in short supply, he said.

source https://www.suchtv.pk/world/item/110385-putin-says-insulting-prophet-muhammad-pbuh-is-violation-of-religious-freedom.html