British drugmaker AstraZeneca told Reuters on Tuesday its COVID-19 vaccine should be effective against the new coronavirus variant, adding that studies were under way to fully probe the impact of the mutation. “AZD1222 (AstraZeneca’s vaccine candidate) contains the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein, and the changes to the genetic code seen in this new viral strain do …

Chinese vaccine maker Sinovac Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine has shown to be effective in late-stage trials in Brazil, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people involved in the vaccine’s development. Sao Paulo state’s Butantan Institute, which is organizing the late-stage trials of Sinovac’s vaccine CoronaVac in Brazil, said on Monday that any reports on the efficacy of the shot …

ISLAMABAD: The statistics of National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has shown that the coronavirus pandemic claims 84 more lives, whereas, 2,142 new infections were reported during the last 24 hours. In the past 24 hours, 84 more people succumbed to the disease, taking the death toll to 9,557. 4,415 patients have recovered from the virus in a day and …

KARACHI: In the first meeting of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Normalisation Committee with Munir Sadhana as the acting chairman, decisions taken by previous chairman Humza Khan were reversed. Manizeh Zainli was reinstated to her post as the secretary general of the PFF Normalisation Committee while PFF election commissioner secretary Chaudhry Saleem was stopped from working for the time being. …

KARACHI: The new set of office-bearers of the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Federation who returned unopposed formally took over for the next term of four years (2020-2024) on Tuesday. Election Commissioner Ayub Bawany announced the names of 12 members of the committee at the annual general body meeting held at a local hotel. Strangely, only 20 members out of 258 …

TOKYO: The coronavirus-delayed Tokyo Olympics will cost at least 1.64 trillion yen ($15.9 billion), organisers said on Tuesday, unveiling a final budget swollen by the unprecedented postponement and a raft of pandemic measures. The extra costs — up 294 billion yen ($2.8 billion) from figures released a year ago — come as officials work to build enthusiasm for the first …

NAPIER: New Zealand have retained spinner Mitchell Santner in their Test squad to face Pakistan in their two-match series despite Ajaz Patel’s return to fitness, head coach Gary Stead said on Tuesday. Santner was last month brought into the Test squad that played West Indies to replace Patel and played in the Twe­nty20 Internationals against the Caribbean side as well …

KARACHI: Northern’s dream of reaching their second straight Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final was badly shattered on Tuesday when the lowly-ranked Balochistan walloped last season’s runners-up by an innings and five runs here at the UBL Sports Complex. The penultimate-round fixture was over shortly after lunch on the third day as Northern’s second innings lasted just 45 overs during which they mustered …

Pakistan sustained another injury setback when all-rounder Shadab Khan was ruled out for the first Test match against New Zealand due to a thigh injury. Shadab suffered the injury after Pakistan beat New Zealand by four wickets in the third and final Twenty20 at Napier on Tuesday. “Shadab will now undergo MRI scans in Tauranga on Thursday, following which a further update …

WASHINGTON: US lawmakers have approved a $900 billion relief package for the world’s biggest economy that will provide a long-sought boost for millions of Americans and businesses battered by the coronavirus pandemic. Overwhelming approval in the Senate and House of Representatives on Monday cleared the way for the legislation to be sent to President Donald Trump to be signed into …