WASHINGTON: Hopes for a first wave of vaccinations before the end of this year received a boost with US firm Moderna saying on Monday it was filing for emergency authorisation of its Covid-19 vaccine in the United States and Europe. After top US scientists warned Americans to brace for a “surge superimposed on the surge”, Moderna reported full results had …

KABUL/BRUSSELS: Afghan forces have killed the Taliban mastermind of a suicide car bomb attack that left at least 30 security personnel dead, officials said on Monday. Hamza Waziristani was killed in an airstrike overnight in the eastern province of Ghazni where the bomber struck an Afghan military base on Sunday. “The mastermind behind yesterday’s terrorist attack on the (Ghazni) base …

PARIS: Four French police officers were charged on Monday over the beating and racial abuse of a black music producer, as President Emmanuel Macron scrambled to contain the political fallout from the case that has sparked outrage in France. The attack on Michel Zecler — which was caught on camera — has become a new rallying cause for critics of …

WASHINGTON: Presi­dent-elect Joe Biden on Monday formally picked ex-Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen to lead the Treasury, one of a slate of economic officials who would break racial and gender barriers in the US government. The announcement of Biden’s economic team comes after running mate Kamala Harris made history as the first woman and first person of both African American …

SYDNEY: Australia’s prime minister angrily denounced a “repugnant”, “outrageous” and “appalling” tweet from a top Chinese government spokesman on Monday and demanded Beijing formally apologise. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian sparked the outrage when he posted a staged image of a man dressed as an Australian soldier holding a bloody knife to an Afghan child’s throat. Australian prosecutors are currently investigating …

LOS ANGELES: As an elite political fundraiser, Imaad Zuberi had the ear of top Democrats and Repub­li­cans alike — a reach that included private meetings with then-vice president Joe Biden and VIP access at Donald Trump’s inauguration. He lived a lavish, jet-setting lifestyle, staying at fine hotels and hosting lawmakers and diplomats at four-star restaurants. Foreign am­­bassadors turned to Zuberi …

ISLAMABAD: Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs Andleeb Abbas represented Pakistan in the 19th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO-CHG) hosted by India via video conference on Monday. India assumed the chair of the SCO Council of Heads of Government on Nov 2 last year as per rotation from Uzbekistan, the previous chair, and …

LAHORE: Additional District and Sessions Judge Nauman Muhammad Naeem on Monday issued a notice to the Naseerabad station house officer (SHO) on a petition filed by a woman seeking registration of a criminal case against Pakistan national cricket team captain Babar Azam. Hamiza Mukhtar, the petitioner, through her counsel, contended that she filed an application with the SHO concerned and …

Saudi Arabia agreed on Monday to let Israeli airliners cross its airspace en route to the United Arab Emirates after talks between Saudi officials and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, a senior Trump administration official said. Kushner and Middle East envoys Avi Berkowitz and Brian Hook raised the issue shortly after they arrived in Saudi Arabia for talks. According …

LAHORE: The Punjab government has imposed a smart lockdown in nearly 70 areas of Punjab, including 26 of Lahore, following the massive spread of the Covid-19 in the province. A notification was issued late on Sunday by the Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department. Following smart lockdown in Lahore, the district and police authorities sealed the Ghouri Block, Umar Block, …