Only 0.35m tourists visited the Central Asian country last year as compared to 1.25m in the previous year, says an official News Desk Coronavirus pandemic hit the global tourism sector hard in 2020, proving to be the worst year in tourism history with 1 billion fewer international arrivals, says the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNETO). The direct contribution of …

News Desk Islamabad: Majority of women face restrictions from their families when using the internet, a new study finds. Six out of 10 women internet users face some kind of restrictions from their families, finds the survey titled “Women Disconnected: Feminist Case Studies on the Gender Digital Divide Amidst COVID-19”, conducted by Media Matters for Democracy (MMfD). The study examines …

by Asad Raza Gokal Since September 2020, when the UAE struck with Israel a deal on normalizing relations, alarm bells began to ring louder for the Pakistani Shia diaspora residing in the country. In the United Arab Emirate (UAE), members of the Shia families, a religious minority, are mostly employed in professions that pay them enough to cater the needs …

Reprisal murders targeting media persons doubled in 2020, finds CJP; Ruhollah Zam, an Iranian journalist, was hanged on December 12 after conviction by the regime News Desk A media freedom watchdog has reported alarming increase in murder cases of journalists worldwide for their professional work during the outgoing year. At least 30 journalists were slain while on duty this year, …

By Farman Ali Senior artist Masood A Khan’s transluscent painting in ink on paper___________________________________________________ Islamabad: An exhibition of artworks coupled with live mural painting, poetry recitation, dance and mime performances at Nomad Gallery last Sunday, brilliantly highlighted the increasingly pervasive sexual misconduct, harassment, derogatory remarks, abuse and violence faced by women at workplaces, homes, public places, and on campuses across …

By Neelum Wali The word COVID-19 stands for coronavirus disease. Formerly, this disease was referred to as “2019 novel coronavirus” or “2019-nCoV”. COVID-19 is linked to the family of viruses as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Different viruses are given their names according to their genetic structure. The virus was named as SARS-CoV-2 on February 11, 2020, due to its genetic …

More than 73 years since its independence, Gilgit-Baltistan remains subject to barely disguised colonial rule to await genuine enfranchisement. While many of Pakistan’s ethnic peripheries harbour deep grievances against the authoritarian and extractive logics of the country’s statecraft, GB is arguably the only region that remains explicitly deprived of even basic democratic, constitutional and human rights. It was only in …

Mushtaq Ahmad There is a long history of global pandemic and epidemics, but there is also evidence that all these have been challenged by man. Consequently, there have been great losses of human lives coupled with social and economic vicissitudes as well. At the same time, every major crisis brings opportunities to rethink our systems and make them stronger to future …

Global community unites to celebrate “tourism and rural development” High Asia Herald Report Summer holidays used to be the peak season in Gilgit-Baltistan. file photo The 2020 edition of World Tourism Day, with the theme of “Tourism and Rural Development”, celebrates the unique role that tourism plays in providing opportunities outside of big cities and preserving cultural and natural heritage all …

by Dr Aziz Baig The Coronavirus, perhaps the deadliest in the last century that surfaced in Wuhan city of China in November 2019, has now spread to about 188 countries of the world affecting over 27 million people and claiming over 0.8 million lives. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared it pandemic on March 11, 2020. In Pakistan, the first two cases of COVID-19 …

By Farman Ali  Islamabad: A self-taught artist has brilliantly portrayed after COVID19 ethos, in general, and fading cultural heritage as well as city life of Lahore, in particular. The online exhibition of the artworks, titled ’City Dwellers’, by Kamal Hyat, a development professional and free-spirited artist, is a succinct comment on the insensitivity of the society towards cultural heritage now …

GB students are struggling to remain connected with digital world By Ramish KhanThere seems to be no one to understand the traumatic situation the students like me have been passing through for the last three months. If I start to jot down the stressful moments I have been through and how badly I have lost my mental peace, it will …

Covid-19 has exposed the myth of neoliberal free-market economic model Herald Report The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the world is at breaking point, and the coronavirus pandemic has exposed the free market and deep divisions in society, calling for a new global deal to combat climate change, forced migration, diseases, patriarchy and racism. Inequality, an issue …

Digital Rights Movement Gilgit-Baltistan unveils 13-point Charter of Demands seeking an end to the monopoly of SCO, amendment to Pakistan Telecommunication Reorganization Act  Students trying to catch signal at a vantage point on a hillock at Gulmit, Gojal Sub-Division of Hunza to attend online classes. Photo: Ali Ahmed Herald Report The youth-led digital rights movement that was born out of …

32 students hailing from Gilgit-Baltistan are stranded in China waiting for repatriation for the last three months Herald Special Islamabad: Scores of students hailing from Gilgit-Baltistan are stranded in China due to non-availability of flights and closure of Khunjerav border. They have been notified by their universities and dormitories to leave the host country by July 20. Over 30 students …