Headlines 9pm: Trains resume after 2-month gap, virus cases rise

Here are the headlines from SAMAA TV’s 9pm bulletin.

• Coronavirus cases are increasing in Pakistan. The virus has reached its peak yet, says Prime Minister Imran Khan. He addressed the World Economic Forum via video link. The premier said Pakistan can benefit from debt relief as it can then use its resources towards improving the health sector.
• Pakistan launched a tele-health portal to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The Prime Minister inaugurated it. He said we will have to continue to face the virus till a vaccine is made.
• More cases of coronavirus are being reported in Karachi after the lockdown has been eased. A record 813 cases were reported in a day today. Of them, 283 are inmates at the Karachi Central Jail.
• The Sindh government has allowed religious congregations on Eidul Fitr and Jummatul Wida, provincial ministers announced Wednesday. Eid prayers will be held in the province and so will be Jummatul Wida, Sindh Information Nasir Shah announced at a press conference in Karachi. He said all prayers, including Taraweeh, would be held under the SOPs formulated by the centre, in consultation with religious scholars.
• Gujranwala PTI MPA Shaheen Raza passed away from COVID-19 on Wednesday. She was admitted at the Mayo Hospital in Lahore. Punjab CM Usman Buzdar has expressed condolences and grief over her death.
• Karachi’s malls were jam packed Wednesday despite the heatwave. Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Quetta also witnessed big crowds in the city markets.
• Passenger trains have resumed operations across the country after two months. Thirty trains have been scheduled from multiple cities. The first trains, the Pakistan Express, left Rawalpindi for Karachi and Lahore Wednesday morning. The first train from Karachi to Peshawar, the Awam Express, left at 10am. Seats can only be booked online and only 60% of the seats can be booked. Passengers have been asked to bring masks, sanitiser, soap and gloves with them.
• The All Pakistan Transport Association has agreed to run buses across Punjab from Thursday after talks with the provincial government on Wednesday. The association has also agreed to reduce bus fares by 20% on GT Road, its chairman Asmatullah Chughtai said. He, however, added that the buses on motorway will not give travelers any discount.
• Pakistan summoned a senior Indian diplomat to its Foreign Office to lodge protest over Indian ceasefire violations along the Line of Control. At least three civilians, 18-year-old Karam Din, 20-year-old Muhammad Rizwan and 30-year-old Hafiz, were seriously injured due to “indiscriminate and unprovoked” firing by the Indian forces in the LoC’s Nakial sector on May 19, the Foreign Office said in its statement.

Article source: https://www.samaa.tv/news/pakistan/2020/05/headlines-9pm-trains-resume-after-2-month-gap-virus-cases-rise/