ROME, JAN 17 (DNA) – Two Italian populist parties running in March elections are promising to scrap a compulsory vaccination law, a hot-button issue after a measles outbreak claimed four lives last year. Under the decree, which sparked heated public debate when it took effect six months ago, children cannot enrol in a creche or kindergarten unless they have been vaccinated against measles as well as nine other diseases. Parents of unvaccinated children aged between six and 16 face fines of up to 500 euros ($610).
Pakistan’s IT Industry Boom
Recently, an article in Outlook India with headlines “Noida to Islamabad” has created lot of positive sound in the digital world regarding Pakistan’s emerging potential in the field of information technology. This article suggested with evidence that IT Jobs were beginning to move from India to Pakistan. The story emanated from a western origin IT company’s action of laying off 125 employees from India and hiring the same numbers from Pakistan the very next day.
Karachi: Chinese national involved in ATM scandal arrested
KARACHI (DNA) – Security forces on Sunday arrested a Chinese national involved in ATM scandal from Karachi’s Defence area. According to details, the officials conducted raid in different areas and detained Chinese national. They also recovered ATM cards, devices and Rs6 lac from him. The security personnel told that as many as three accomplices of the suspect managed to flee the scene. Earlier, four culprits involved in ATM fraud were apprehended in an operation carried out by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Rawalpindi while fake debit cards and machine tools were retrieved from their possession.
UK plans to eliminate avoidable plastic waste by 2042
LONDON, JAN 11 (DNA) – Britain plans to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste within 25 years, Prime Minister Theresa May will announce Thursday as part of long-term plans for the environment. The government wants supermarkets to introduce plastic-free aisles and intends to inject new funding into plastics innovation, she will say in a speech outlining proposals. Meanwhile, changes to the tax system and charges on single-use plastic items such as takeaway containers will also be considered, according to May´s Downing Street office, which released a preview of her remarks.
Forget the self-driving car, meet the self-driving suitcase
LAS VEGAS, JAN 11 (DNA) – Self-driving cars may take a while to arrive, but the self-driving suitcase is here now. Some of the technologies used in autonomous cars have been adapted in products unveiled at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, to help travelers with the weighty problem of dealing with baggage. The ‘robot suitcase’ from California-based startup Travelmate can be controlled with a smartphone app and can roll alongside its owner at speeds up to 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) per hour, navigating around obstacles.
US urges citizens to ‘reconsider travel plans’ to Pakistan
WASHINGTON, JAN 11 (DNA) – The United States unveiled a way to warn its citizens about the dangers of foreign travel Wednesday, with a four-point safety ranking system for countries and an interactive world map. Ten war zones and failed states are ranked Level Four, “Do Not Travel”: Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Pakistan has been put in Level 3, and the State Department has urged US citizens to reconsider their plans to visit the country.
Iran has foiled plot to use protests to overthrow system: says Khamenei
BEIRUT, JAN 10 (DNA) – Iran has foiled attempts by its foreign enemies to turn legitimate protests into an insurgency to overthrow the Islamic Republic, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday. Comments on his Twitter feed and in Iranian media underscored the establishment’s confidence that it has extinguished the unrest that spread to more than 80 cities in which at least 22 people died since late December.
Gold import rises 50 pc in five months
ISLAMABAD, JAN 10 (DNA) – The import of gold during first five months (July-November) of current fiscal year increased by 50.58 per cent as compared to same period of previous year. During the period under review, 217 kilogram of the yellow metal valuing US $7.768 million was imported against import of 164 kg gold worth $5.823 million last year. On yearly basis, the import of yellow metal in November 2017 also witnessed an increase of 66.1 per cent as compared to same month of the year 2016 as it rose to $1.367 million in November 2017 from $823,000 in November 2016.
Here’s how you can make a delicious hot cup of Kashmiri chai right at home
JAN 09 (DNA) – Kashmir is not only known for its unrivalled natural beauty — snow-covered mountain peaks, blue rivers and rich culture — but also for its mouthwatering traditional food like rogan josh, dum olav, matschgand, goshtaba, modur pulav, aab gosht and many more. To wash all the lovely food down, the Kashmiris have a special pink-coloured tea called noon chai which has a creamy, buttery and slightly thick consistency but is thin enough to sip gently.
Iran bans English in primary schools after leader’s warning
DUBAI, JAN 08 (DNA) – Iran has banned the teaching of English in primary schools, a senior education official said, after Islamic leaders warned that early learning of the language opened the way to a Western “cultural invasion”. “Teaching English in government and non-government primary schools in the official curriculum is against laws and regulations,” Mehdi Navid-Adham, head of the state-run High Education Council, told state television late on Saturday. “This is because the assumption is that, in primary education, the groundwork for the Iranian culture of the students is laid,” Navid-Adham said, adding that non-curriculum English classes may also be blocked.
