Pakistan is most patriotic nation in Asia: report

Pakistan is most patriotic nation in Asia: report

World Index’s latest report has ranked Pakistan as the most patriotic nation in all the Asian Countries as 89 percent of its citizens are ready to fight for the country.

World Index’a report titled “ASIA: Willing to fight for the country” ranks Pakistan and Vietnam on first and second spot with 89% of people expressing patriotism towards their homeland.

The report is based on the data collected by the Gallup survey in Asian countries.

ASIA: Willing to fight for country:

 Pakistan: 89%
 Vietnam: 89%
 Bangladesh: 86%
 Afghanistan: 76%
 India: 75%
 Philippines: 73%
 Thailand: 72%
 China: 71%
 Indonesia: 70%
 Malaysia: 63%
 South Korea: 42%
 Hong Kong: 23%
 Japan: 11%

Bangladesh, formerly part of a United Pakistan, was on the third spot with 86% patriotism among the citizens, as per the index.

While Afghanistan, remained in the fourth position with 76%, India was ranked fifth in the index with only 75% of the people agreeing to fight for the country in time of needs.

The list goes on to rank Philippine, Thailand, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan respectively.

 

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Dr Asad Majeed Khan presents credentials to US President Donald Trump

Dr Asad Majeed Khan presents credentials to US President Donald Trump

WASHINGTON, JAN 12 - Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Dr Asad Majeed Khan presented his credentials to President Donald Trump in a ceremony held at the White House on Friday.

On the occasion, Ambassador Khan conveyed the greetings by Pakistan’s leadership to President Trump who reciprocated similar sentiments for Prime Minister Imran Khan.

While responding to Trump’s welcome remarks, the ambassador reiterated the intent to work tirelessly to enhance mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.

The US president said that he wants to explore opportunities for the two countries to work closely together and renew their partnership.

 

On Friday, President Trump called Pakistani ‘people from the Middle East’ in his argument to build a wall along with his country’s Mexican border and step up the ante in a drawn-out battle with Congress over the release of funds amid a government shutdown.

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Flu sends up to 84,000 Americans to hospitals in just 3 months

Flu sends up to 84,000 Americans to hospitals in just 3 months

An estimated 69,000 to 84,000 Americans were hospitalised due to the flu in the last three months, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday.

The nation saw one of the worst flu outbreaks in nearly a decade during the 2017-2018 season, with more than 900,000 cases of hospitalisations and over 80,000 deaths, the CDC estimates here.

Between Oct. 1, 2018, and Jan. 5, 2019, about 6 million to 7 million people were reported to have contracted the flu, according to data collected by the health agency.

Flu sends up to 84,000 Americans to hospitals in just 3 months Health regulators have been trying to combat flu outbreaks in the United States, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first new flu medication in nearly two decades last year.

The CDC last month signalled the start of the flu season (click here), saying that 24 states and Guam were reporting widespread cases, with the H1N1 virus being the predominant strain.

The dominant flu strain during the last season, H3N2, has been linked with severe disease and death, particularly among children and the elderly.

The agency continues to recommend vaccination as the best way to reduce the risk of flu and advised people who are at high-risk category to approach hospital for treatment with a flu antiviral drug.

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Apple plans to launch three new iPhone models this year: report

Apple plans to launch three new iPhone models this year: report

NEW YORK, - Apple plans to release three new iPhone models this year, including a successor to its struggling XR model, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The iPhone maker also intends to introduce new camera features, WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Apple was not immediately available for comment outside regular business hours.

It is pertinent to note here that another publication, the Nikkei Asian Review, however, reported on Wednesday that Apple Inc which slashed its quarterly sales forecast last week, has reduced planned production for its three iPhone models by about 10 percent for the January-March quarter.

Apple asked its suppliers late last month to produce fewer-than-planned units of its XS, XS Max and XR models, the Nikkei reported, citing sources with knowledge of the request.

That rare forecast cut exposed weakening iPhone demand in China, the world’s biggest smartphone market, where a slowing economy has also been buffeted by a trade war with the United States.

Many analysts and consumers have said the new iPhones are overpriced.

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Saudi Arabia eyes to expand co-op with Azerbaijan in investment & tourism

Saudi Arabia eyes to expand co-op with Azerbaijan in investment & tourism

BAKU,  JAN 11 - In recent years, trade and tourism relations of Azerbaijan with Gulf countries are growing rapidly.

The Saudi Travel and Tourism Association is developing a "road map" to provide assistance in attracting Arab tourists to Azerbaijan, Executive Director of the Association for Azerbaijan-Arab Countries' Cooperation (AACC) Yalchin Aliyev told.

He said that the "road map" is designed for five years. All aspects of the cooperation of the sides will be coordinated with the State Tourism Agency of Azerbaijan.

Aliyev added that Saudi Arabia will also attract tourists to Azerbaijan, and will ensure an annual increase in investment in the country at a level of at least five percent.

Speaking about plans to expand cooperation with Arab countries he emphasized that visits of Azerbaijani delegations to Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Jordan are planned this year.

“Last year, delegations from Jordan, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar visited Azerbaijan. Similar meetings will be held this year. 

I believe that the exact dates of visits will be determined before the end of January.

In addition, it is planned to hold a large-scale event in Baku - the first Azerbaijani-Arab investment forum. This will be discussed soon in Beirut with the Union of Arab Chambers,” added Aliyev.

So far, Saudi Arabia's state-owned and private companies invested about $ 370 million in Azerbaijan's economy.

Expansion of cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the spheres of construction, infrastructure, energy, including renewables, agriculture and tourism is of great importance for Azerbaijan.

In December 2018, the delegation of Azerbaijani entrepreneurs, including 29 companies engaged in the production of building materials, textiles, canned products, juices, as well as travel agencies, visited Saudi Arabia to establish cooperation. 

Saudi Arabia has shown great interest in the Azerbaijani products, especially in food and agricultural ones.

According to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, the trade turnover with Saudi Arabia for eleven months of 2018 amounted to $ 17.7 million.

Azerbaijan is among the fastest-growing destinations for tourists.

Azerbaijan is among the developing countries in the field of tourism, occupying the 39th place among 148 countries in terms of global competitiveness in tourism.

The beautiful nature of Azerbaijan, hospitality of its people, the country's capital with its super modern and ancient buildings draws the attention of all tourists visiting this South Caucasian country.

Simplification of visa regime also plays a major role in the development of tourism in Azerbaijan.

According to the State Statistics Committee of Azerbaijan, in January-November 2018, 2.63 million foreigners and stateless persons from 195 countries arrived in Azerbaijan, and Saudi citizens accounted for about 2.7 percent of those arriving in the country, while Russia accounted for the 31.1 percent of the arrivals, Georgia - 20.9 percent, Turkey - 10.1 percent, Iran - 8.6 percent, the UAE - 3.1 percent.

During the reported period, the greatest increase among those who arrived in Azerbaijan was observed among the citizens of the Gulf countries.

Compared to the same period of the previous year, the number of Saudi citizens who arrived in Azerbaijan increased by 2.2 times, Bahraini citizens - 2.1 times, Kuwaiti citizens - 1.9 times, Qataris - 1.6 times, Iraqis - 10.4 percent and Omani citizens by 8.5 percent.

Almost every fifth tourist, who arrived in Azerbaijan from the Gulf region, was a citizen of these countries.

Recently, an agreement was signed to launch official foreign tourism offices of Azerbaijan in six foreign countries, one of which will be established in Riyad of Saudi Arabia (Gulf Reps Ltd). Tourism offices aim to introduce Azerbaijan's tourism opportunities, conduct propaganda and campaigning.

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Samsung reveals official launch date of the Galaxy S10

Samsung reveals official launch date of the Galaxy S10

New info about the upcoming Samsung flagship.

It didn’t take long for detailed info about Samsung’s upcoming flagships to leak. Now, we pretty much know everything we can expect from the Korean giant’s big launch.

We know most of the specifications, screen sizes, number of main variants, and even about design elements. 

The only thing that’s left now is the launch date, or when the phone actually makes an official appearance.

But oh wait, we know that as well. Samsung has already talked about the Galaxy S10’s launch date at the CDS 2019 – which, by the way, is going to be 20^th February at a Galaxy Unpacked event in San Francisco.

But that’s not all the smartphone giant revealed about its upcoming launch.

Samsung itself has now confirmed the Galaxy S10’s design. The confirmation isn’t official, as the company ‘accidentally’ revealed the onscreen cutout design.

Some time ago, Samsung posted an article telling about its all-new One UI – the latest Android 9.0 Pie version of the company’s user interface.

The article talked about software elements that are being added to Galaxy S9 and S9+, but in doing so, the company accidentally leaked screenshots taken on a Galaxy S10.

A Redditor looked real close at those images and found a circular notch visible on the top right of the screen.

Furthermore, the images also show a newer Samsung phone with a design unlike any other Galaxy phone. The bezels are super thin and the camera hole can also be seen.

Samsung later changed the images in the article to be a bit more generic and less revealing:

The Galaxy S10 series, which is expected to be launched in a trio, with an exclusive 5G version for the S10+ (making a total of 4 S10 variants) is getting launched a month or so later.

But that doesn’t mean we need to wait that long to know more about it. Keep watching this space for more on Samsung, and its Galaxy flagships.

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Afghan envoy meets COAS Gen. Bajwa at GHQ

Afghan envoy meets COAS Gen. Bajwa at GHQ

RAWALPINDI, JAN 11 - Shukrullah Atif Mashal, Afghanistan Ambassador to Pakistan called on Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Qamar Javed Bajwa at GHQ.

COAS welcomed the Ambassador to Pakistan and expressed that his services will help optimize the mutually beneficial bilateral relations.

Afghan envoy meets COAS Gen. Bajwa at GHQ

Regional security situation and Afghanistan peace process were discussed during the meeting.

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