Moderna Inc said on Wednesday it expects that the immunity induced by its COVID-19 vaccine would be protective against the coronavirus variants reported in the UK. The company said it plans to run tests to confirm the vaccine’s activity against any strain. Moderna’s comments came amid the British government’s plan to place huge swathes of England under its strictest COVID-19 …

LONDON: On June 5, researchers at the University of Oxford quietly made a change to a late-stage clinical trial of their COVID-19 vaccine. In an amendment noted in a document marked CONFIDENTIAL, they said they were adding a new group of participants. The adjustment might seem minor in a large-scale study. But it masked a mistake that would have potentially …

ISLAMABAD: The novel coronavirus has claimed 111 lives and 2,256 new infections were reported during the last 24 hours. According to the statistics of National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), in the past 24 hours, 111 more people succumbed to the disease, taking the death toll to 9,668. 1,782 patients have recovered from the virus during the last 24 hours …

KARACHI: The formidable Askari Alphas outplayed Bahria Club 76-50 in the final to lift the 5th Essa Lab Basketball title here at the Arambagh-Abdul Nasir court on Tuesday. For the winners, the most outstanding player was Anas Usman (28 pts) who was brilliant on the court and scored five pointers during the final. He was well assisted by Saifullah Nosh­erwani …

COLOMBO: The England team will be allowed to fly to Sri Lanka despite flights from Britain being suspen­ded because of a new coronavirus strain, the island’s cricket authorities said on Wednesday. England are due to arrive in Sri Lanka on Jan 3 for two Tests — played without spectators — in Galle starting on Jan 14. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) …

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Inter-provincial Coordination (IPC) Dr. Fehmida Mirza met on Wedn­esday javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem, Pakistan’s leading prospect in the Tokyo Olympics, in her office and assured him full support for his training. A press release issued by the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) said during the meeting with Arshad and other officials of the Athletic Federations of Pakistan …

MELBOURNE: Australia opener David Warner will miss the second Test against India this week because he left a bio-secure bubble to receive treatment for a groin injury that would have ruled him out of the match in any case, Cricket Australia (CA) said on Wednesday. Warner missed Australia’s eight-wicket victory over the tourists in the series opener last week but …

ISLAMABAD: With a view to provide micro loans to small merchants and traders though a regulated regime the first peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform was launched on Wednesday. Addressing the launching ceremony, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan chairman Aamir Khan said serving the micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) was a priority as they play a vital role in the …

KARACHI: Excellent centuries from Imran Rafiq and Agha Salman considerably raised hopes of Southern Punjab qualifying for the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after they sealed a crucial five-wicket victory over the bottom-placed Sindh here on Wednesday. The result of the penultimate-round fixture at the SBP Sports Complex also dethroned Central Punjab — who were the champions in the …

SWABI: Multinational and local tobacco companies have increased their requirements of tobacco crop by 10.86 million kilograms to 56.48m kg for the upcoming year, sources told Dawn on Wednesday. Last year, the total demand from tobacco companies was 45.61m kg. Tobacco growers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have strongly condemned the delay, stating that they could not cultivate the crop according to their earlier …