Headlines News 12am | 01 August 2021-SAMAA TV

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Corrections: Aug. 1, 2021

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Covid-19: NCOC bans air travel for unvaccinated Pakistanis

Pakistan has banned air travel for people who have not yet been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus.

The National Command and Operation Centre has made coronavirus vaccination certificates mandatory for domestic air travel from August 1.

Get yourself vaccinated by July 31 and carry your immunization certificates at all times to avoid any trouble, the forum tweeted earlier this week.

According to NCOC chief Asad Umar, people above the age of 18 who have administered at least one dose of the vaccine will be allowed to board flights.

The government tightened Covid-19 restrictions across the country after infections rose. Pakistan is currently battling the fourth wave of the deadly virus. In the last 24 hours, over 5,000 new cases were reported. The infection rate in the country has jumped to 8.02% — the highest since May 2021.

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Rockets hit Kandahar airport in southern Afghanistan

At least three rockets struck Kandahar airport in southern Afghanistan overnight, an official told AFP on Sunday, as the Taliban pressed on with their sweeping offensive across the country.

“Last night three rockets were fired at the airport and two of them hit the runway… Due to this, all flights from the airport have been cancelled,” airport chief Massoud Pashtun told AFP.

Pashtun said work to repair the runway was underway and expected the airport to be operational later on Sunday.

An official at the civil aviation authority in Kabul confirmed the rocket attack.

The Taliban have for weeks launched withering assaults on the outskirts of Kandahar, stirring fears that the insurgents were on the verge of capturing the provincial capital.

Kandahar’s airbase is vital to providing the logistics and air support needed to keep the militants from overrunning Afghanistan’s second-biggest city. 

The attack on the airport came as the Taliban inched closer to overrunning two other provincial capitals — Herat in the west and Lashkar Gah in the south.

The Taliban’s significant territorial gains during the final stages of the US military withdrawal have largely been in sparsely populated rural areas.

But in recent weeks they have brought increasing pressure on several provincial capitals and seized key border crossings.

The capture of any major urban centre would take their current offensive to another level and fuel concerns that the army is incapable of resisting the Taliban’s battlefield gains. 

The government has repeatedly dismissed the Taliban’s steady territorial gains over the summer as lacking strategic value. 

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Headlines News 9am | 01 August 2021-SAMAA TV

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Today’s outlook: Third monsoon spell, coronavirus and petrol prices

Here are some of the stories we are following today, August 1.

• After the Sindh government imposed a partial lockdown in the province, people across Karachi are heading to vaccination centres. Long queues were seen at the Expo Centre Saturday.
• The price of petrol has been increased by Rs1.17 per litre. The commodity now costs Rs119.8.
• Five people were killed in a van crash near Rajanpur Saturday. The driver and two other people have been arrested.
• According to the National Disaster Management Authority, Pakistan is witnessing the third spell of monsoon rains. It is expected to stay till August 3.
• Pakistan is currently battling the fourth wave of the novel coronavirus. In the last 24 hours, 5,026 new cases were reported while 62 people succumbed to the virus. The infection rate has risen to 8.2% — the highest since May 2021.

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Gov. Greg Abbott bars mandates for vaccinations and masks in Texas.

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