TEdit Reports

We bring you a round-up of updates to keep; you in the know of what’s happening locally and around the globe!

Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson donate blood for coronavirus vaccine



After recovering from Covid-19 last month, Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson have donated their blood for Coronavirus vaccine research, according to an interview with the actor in a new episode of NPR’s Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! podcast. “A lot of the question is, what now? What do we do now? Is there something we can do? And, in fact, we just found out that we do carry the antibodies,” Indie Wire quoted Hanks as saying. The Cast Away star and Wilson had tested positive for Coronavirus in March, while in Australia shooting Baz Luhrmann’s untitled Elvis Presley biopic.

Our colour doesn’t define beauty: Sonya Hussyn



Sonya Hussyn in a recent Instagram post talked about how the colour of one’s skin shouldn’t define them. ” Black or white? Doesn’t really matter. Aap sirf tab khoobsoorat hein jab aapka dil khoobsoorat hai (You’re only beautiful when your heart is beautiful),” she said in the video. She went on to stress her message in the caption as well as she talked about how beauty lies in a person’s inner self.  “Tan or fair, doesn’t matter- our colour doesn’t define beauty. Beauty is defined by our minds, our individuality, our character. If you have a good heart and a pure soul. You are absolutely beautiful !” the caption read. Hussyn is known to be quite active in promoting empathy through her social media. Earlier on the Ishq Zahe Naseeb star had went on to call out Shaniera Akram and Armeena Khan for ‘trivialising’ people’s fear. “I believe I’m somebody who is strong and Independent. I’ve studied Zoology as a minor for eight years and dealt with various living species but I’m still scared of cockroaches.” The starlet added “I’m somebody who is brave enough to travel around the world all by herself yet I haven’t learnt how to deal with dysmenorrhea (Premenstrual cramps), it still scares me. It’s okay to have fears, it’s completely human.”

‘Ramzan Aya Roza Rakho Ji’ kid is all grown up and winning awards



Three years ago, a song on Ramazan went viral on social media. Ramazan Aaya Roza Rakho Ji became an anthem of sorts for everyone who’s been fasting or otherwise. Since then, every year, the same song pops up whenever the holy month approaches. The song, sung by Rais Anis Sabri, gained popularity for its distinctive beat, an iconic video and the kid’s unbeatable expressions. Hailing from, Jalalabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, the singer has met the likes of AR Rahman and Kailash Kher. He rose to fame with several of his qawwalis and the 26-year-old has a huge following on YouTube and Instagram as well. Not to mention, Sabri has also won several awards, adding more feathers to his cap.

PM Johnson back to work as UK virus problems mount



British Prime Minister Boris Johnson returned to work last week, more than three weeks after being hospitalised for the Coronavirus and spending three days in intensive care. Johnson, one of the highest-profile people to have contracted the virus, returned to 10 Downing Street and is back at work. his colleagues confirmed. Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary who has deputised in Johnson’s absence, told the BBC that his return would be a “boost for the government and a boost for the country”.

Nicotine fix: Social media peeved by WHO’s anti-smoking campaign



The World Health Organisation (WHO), as part of a digital campaign against nicotine consumption, has claimed that using tobacco products increase your chances of contracting the Novel Coronavirus. In one post, it also accused tobacco lobbyists of trying to manipulate policy-making by having tobacco listed as ‘essential’ to allow its sale and delivery during lockdown. But the triumphant note of the message didn’t get the anticipated response on social media. Smokers were joined by non-smokers as they pilloried the multilateral body over the campaign as well as its response to the pandemic. A recurring theme in the most liked responses to the post was that tobacco consumption was the only thing helping smokers maintain their sanity in these uncertain times. Social media also gave ample reminders to the multilateral agency about the sizable health tax generated from tobacco sales, the hypocrisy of singling out nicotine as a health hazard while staying silent on alcohol as well as making it a rights issue.

Chinese medical supplies to fight Covid-19 arrive



China dispatched another batch of medical supplies through a special PIA flight to Pakistan to fight the spread of Coronavirus pandemic. Ventilators, N95 masks, FFP2 masks, protection clothes, goggles, and other necessary medical supplies were a major portion of the total donations made by different institutions in China. According to China Economic Net, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has donated 40 ventilators to Pakistani National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Hunan Daily News contributed 28,000 gloves, 13,800 masks, 2,944 goggles, and 530 protection clothes, Qiaoxin Holdings (Group) Co., Ltd gave 40,000 medical masks, and China Communications Construction Co., Ltd provided 10,000 surgical masks to NDMA. A few days ago Pakistan Air Force special airplane from Beijing carried medical supplies and on April 15, a special plane of PIA left for Islamabad from Beijing with 10.23 tons of medical supplies. A team of Chinese doctors along with medical supplies and equipment also reached Pakistan on two special aircraft on April 24. The Chinese doctors who have expertise in treating infectious diseases shall support Pakistan’s efforts in fighting against the Covid-19 situation for the coming two month.