Thursday, June 25th, 2020
SA finance minister tables emergency budget
South Africa’s finance minister Tito Mboweni on Wednesday tabled an emergency budget aimed at helping the country navigate an escalating economic crisis. It is the first time since the end of apartheid that the country’s budget has been revised in the middle of a financial year. The GDP is set to contract by 7.2% in 2020, the largest reduction in almost a hundred years, and up to 1.8 million jobs could be lost this year. Mr Mboweni told parliament that the government will borrow about $7bn (£5.6bn) from multilateral lendersRead More
Punjab sees ‘drop’ in Covid-19 cases, fatalities after smart lockdown
LAHORE : The number of coronavirus cases and associated deaths saw a drop after a smart lockdown was enforced in Covid-19 hotspots across the province to prevent further spread of the virus, officials told the Punjab chief secretary on Thursday. Chief Secretary Jawad Rafiq Malik was presiding over a meeting to take stock of the ongoing coronavirus crisis. The meeting mulled over extending the scope of smart lockdown to protect previous lives from the highly contagious disease. The officials who attended the meeting presented a report, stating that smart lockdownRead More
Coronavirus claims 148 more lives in Pakistan, cases surge to 192,970.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan confirmed 148 more deaths from novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the last 24 hours as the nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 3,903. According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 4,044 fresh cases were detected, taking the national tally of the cases to 192,970. 4,044 new infections were detected after 21,835 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours. Thus far, more than 1.15 million tests have been conducted in the country. 107,760 COVID-19 patients are under treatment while 81,307 patients have so far recovered fromRead More