Science Direct

Top Reads:   Indian Kashmir

Pakistan Affairs by Ikram Rabbani

International Relations by Ikram Rabbani

Imran Khan opts out of ‘corrupt’ system. Imran cuts long march short in Pindi, decides against heading to Islamabad.  ‘Haqeeqi Azadi’ movement to continue.

Deeply Hurt: Khan on Court Decision. “I feel deeply hurt” by the remarks made by the court that there was no investigation regarding the threat letter, Mr Khan said while addressing a rally in Dera Ghazi Khan.

Fresh News Today in Afghanistan: Taliban say Afghan president must go. The Taliban say they don’t want to monopolise power, but they insist there won’t be peace in Afghanistan until there is a new negotiated government in Kabul and President Ashraf Ghani is removed.

Afghanistan latest news: US General sees complete Taliban takeover. Memories of the Taliban’s last time in power some 20 years ago have stoked fears of their return among many. Afghans who can afford it are applying by the thousands for visas to leave Afghanistan, fearing a violent descent into chaos.

Turkish Invasion: Cyprus appeals to UN Security Council over Varosha reopening. The self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), backed by Turkey, announced that a small part of Varosha would come under civilian control and be open for potential resettlement. The move came as the TRNC marked the 47th anniversary of a Turkish invasion that split the island in two.

At least three killed in Iran province hit by water protests. Wealthy Khuzestan is Iran's main oil-producing region, but it is struggling with a persistent drought that last week sparked protests over a lack of water.

China completes historic Mars spacecraft landing. A solar-powered rover, named Zhurong, will now survey the landing site before departing from its platform to conduct inspections.

India blocks China-made wireless device imports: Report. India has held up approvals for import of wifi modules from China for months, driving companies such as United States-based computer makers Dell and HP and China’s Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Lenovo to delay product launches in a key growth market, two industry sources have told the Reuters news agency.

Covid-19: Active cases drop for 3rd day but deaths touch record 4.2k. Active Covid-19 cases in India have decreased for three straight days for the first time since early March, as has the seven-day average of daily cases, both indicating that the country may have reached, or is closing to reaching, the peak of the devastating second wave of the pandemic.

‘Mumbai model’: Indian city thwarting COVID, slowly but steadily. Over the past 10 days, however, the metropolis has been recording a decline in infections. On Sunday, the city reported 2,395 positive cases, a drop from an average of 7,786 daily cases reported during the month of April.

Seizure of Uranium in India: Pakistan calls for probe. Indian authorities had on Wednesday seized 7.1kg of natural uranium and arrested two persons — Jigar Pandya, 27, and Abu Tahir Afzal Husain Choudhary, 31 — in Nagpur. The seized uranium is worth $2.9 million.

UK variant accounts for 70pc of Covid cases in Pakistan, researcher says. Pakistan has imposed strict nationwide restrictions in the lead up to Eidul Fitr next week in a bid to control a spike in cases, including banning public transport over the holiday period.

Bahria Town Karachi guards allegedly open fire on villagers resisting eviction. While police were reluctant to share information, an activist of Sindh Indigenous Rights Alliance and resident of Kathor area, Abdul Hafeez, said the BTK guards along with police tried to destroy the crops in Kamal Khan Jokhio Goth.

Myanmar: Military chief set to make first foreign trip since coup. General Min Aung Hlaing is scheduled to attend an Asean regional summit in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Saturday.

India’s Response to second wave is warning to other countries. The blindspots in India’s response to its second, devastating wave of coronavirus infections serve as a stark warning to other countries

PDM Parties: PPP not to invite PDM parties to Bhutto death anniversary event . If the PPP does not invite other PDM parties to the event, it will be the first such occasion since formation of the 10-party alliance during a multi-party conference (MPC) in Islamabad on Sept 20 last year.

UK Integrated Review. News agency Reuters has noted Johnson’s office as stating that the Indo-Pacific “tilt” is part of a new Integrated Review of defense and strategic policy, and that the U.K.’s focus on the region is in recognition of the growing geopolitical importance of the region.

Kohli batting position: I am going to open in the IPL as well: Kohli. The final T20I saw Kohli promoting himself to the top of the order. The India skipper also made the promotion count with an unbeaten 52-ball 80. Kohli confirmed that he would 'like' to continue opening the innings with Rohit in T20Is, and added that he would bat at the top of the order in the upcoming IPL as well.

Massive body blow to Portugal as Ronaldo tests positive for virus

Ronaldo “is asymptomatic” and “will not play against Sweden” in Wednesday’s Nations League match, the federation said on its website.

Russia May Sell Advanced Anti-Air Missiles to Iran Despite U.S. Threats: Ambassador. Ambassador Levan Jagarian told the Resalat daily newspaper Sunday that Russia would have "no problem" selling S-400 systems to Iran when the United Nation arms embargo on the country expires on October 18, Iran's Tasnim News Agency reported.

UN nuclear watchdog inspects 2nd Iranian site, after standoff over access. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has inspected the second of two suspected former secret atomic sites in Iran, the UN nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday.

Dollar inflows thru banking channels jump. Inflows of foreign exchange through banking channels remained high in September which may increase the remittances up to $2 billion, said bankers and money changers.

Bangladesh refuse to quarantine cricketers for Test series in Sri Lanka. Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan said his team will not travel to Sri Lanka for the three-match Test series if the 14-day quarantine rule proposed by Sri Lanka's health and security agencies was instated.

Israel to enter full-blown lockdown, shut schools & close most non-essential businesses starting September 18 – report

Tel Aviv is poised to declare the whole country a “red zone” due to a spike in Covid-19 cases, limiting people’s movements to a 500-meter radius from home and closing all non-essential businesses that serve customers in person.

Brazilian state to test Russia's vaccine, eyes buying 50 million doses. The Brazilian state of Bahia has signed an agreement to conduct Phase III clinical trials of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 and plans to buy 50 million doses to market in Brazil, officials have said

Mali Coup: West African envoys want restoration of constitutional order. Mali’s neighbours have called for Keita to be reinstated, saying the purpose of the delegation’s visit was to help “ensure the immediate return of constitutional order”.

Indian & Chinese troops disengaging on border as agreed – Beijing’s ambassador

JK Rowling says she got ‘death & rape threats’… but doubles down on transgender position

Criticism of ‘Harry Potter’ author JK Rowling’s views on the transgender movement has spilled over into “death and rape threats,” but she has responded to it with even greater vehemence, sparking fresh outrage on social media.

India should talk to Taliban if Delhi feels it will bolster peace push: Pakistan's U.S. envoy. India should speak with Taliban militants if it feels that it will help the peace process, Pakistan's envoy to Washington said on Saturday, after a series of attacks in Afghanistan raised questions about whether the U.S. peace effort may collapse.

Lockdown restrictions in Sindh to remain until end of Ramazan: spokesperson. A lockdown imposed with certain exemptions to curb the spread of the coronavirus in Sindh will remain in place until the end of Ramazan, Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab clarified

Australia dethrone India to become No. 1 in Tests. Australia's men's team became the No. 1 ranked nation in both Tests and T20Is as per the latest rankings released by the ICC.

UK records highest weekly death toll from all causes SINCE RECORDS BEGAN amid Covid-19 surge

Shocking fresh statistics show the devastating impact Covid-19 is having on the UK, revealing that it has recorded its highest weekly death toll since comparable records began in 1993.

NASA Rocket Scientists Designed a Rapid-Production Ventilator in Just 37 Days. Introducing VITAL, a prototype ventilator designed expressly for quick and easy mass production. Developed by NASA engineers, the device could alleviate ongoing supply shortages in the U.S. and around the world as the covid-19 pandemic rages on.

Attacks across Afghanistan kill dozens of security force members, civilians. Clashes between Afghan forces and Taliban militants killed dozens nationwide in the past 24 hours, officials said on Wednesday, even as the United States tries to broker peace talks between the warring sides.

Australian continent has winter season when we have summer season in Pakistan. The earth on its axis is not at a vertical angle to its orbit. It is inclined at an angle of about. In this way when the northern hemisphere of the earth is inclined to the sun and getting direct sun rays, southern hemisphere is inclined away from the sun and getting less direct rays.

Why water boils quicker on mountains? On Mountains the pressure of the air is low due to height, as the air pressure decreases with altitude.

People are taller in the morning. Why? People are taller in morning then in evening. In the day weight of the body compresses spine as we walk around, then when we are asleep, it expands again, so people are taller in the morning

India charges Tableeghi Jamaat leader with culpable homicide for coronavirus surge. The headquarters of the Tableeghi Jamaat group in a cramped corner of Delhi were sealed and thousands of followers, including some from Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh, were taken into quarantine after it emerged they had attended meetings there in mid-March.

Explainer: What the US funds freeze could mean for WHO and its work. Here’s what we do and don’t know about what this might mean for the WHO and its programmes around the world

Upcoming Pakistani Movies 2021. A list of movies to be released in the coming months

Pakistani Drama Songs

How likely are you (yes, you) to die from the Covid-19 virus?

Outer Space News: Earth's minimoon is gone but not forgotten

Coronavirus cases in Pakistan.

Zalmi's Haider Ali the youngest batsman to score fifty in PSL history.

Space X to launch 700 satellites.

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid has made it to a number of international literary awards, but this time the book has bagged an award!