WELLINGTON: Officials plan to review security at New Zealand’s parliament after a man armed with an axe smashed the main glass entrance doors early on Wednesday. Police said they were called to the Parliament complex in Wellington just before 5:30am after getting reports that a man with an axe was on the grounds. Police said that after smashing the doors, …

GENEVA: The coronavirus mutation first found in Britain has now spread to 50 territories, according to the World Health Organisation, while a similar South African-identified strain has now been found in 20. The UN body also noted a third new coronavirus “variant of concern” found in Japan may impact upon immune response and needs further investigation. “The more the SARS-CoV-2 …

GHAZIABAD: Indian farmers burnt copies of the government’s new agricultural laws on Wednesday, pressing on with their protest against the reforms despite a decision by the Supreme Court to postpone implementation while their grievances are heard. Tens of thousands of farmers have been camped on the outskirts of the capital, New Delhi, for almost two months, protesting against what they …

South Korea’s Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a 20-year prison term for former president Park Geun-hye over bribery and other crimes as it wrapped up a historic corruption case that marked a striking fall from grace for the country’s first female leader and conservative icon. The ruling means Park, who was ousted from office and arrested in 2017, could potentially serve a …

• Several police officials removed from posts • Victim’s family meets PM, satisfied with findings ISLAMABAD: The judicial inquiry into the killing of 21-year-old Osama Satti in the federal capital found flaws in the police’s account of the incident, saying the unarmed youth was murdered and recommended removal of half a dozen officials from their present posts to prevent them …

LAHORE: Adviser to Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior Shahzad Akbar on Wednesday came up to defend Prime Minister Imran Khan’s tweets wherein he had reiterated his boss’ 22-year-old narrative of exposing corruption, money-laundering and breaking political clouts that struck deals and “NROs to go scot-free”. “The prime minister is talking about a broader picture revolving around the ruling elite, …

PESHAWAR: Federal law minister Barrister Farogh Naseem told the Peshawar High Court on Wednesday that he held all courts in high esteem and regretted his diatribe against the head of a special court, which sentenced former military ruler retired General Pervez Musharraf to death in 2019 for high treason. A bench consisting of Justice Roohul Amin Khan Chamkani and Justice …

sc ISLAMABAD: A Supreme Court judge observed on Wednesday that the government had come to seek a legal opinion from the apex court under its advisory jurisdiction on a political issue but its thrust was on morality. “Your thrust is on morality but the issue is political and you are seeking a legal opinion,” observed Justice Yayha Afridi while pointing …

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday issued a notice to singer Ali Zafar on a suit claiming Rs50 million damages for allegedly defaming a female make-up artist on social media. A single bench headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi issued the notice to the defendant through District and Sessions’ Judge Lahore for Jan 25 to file his comments. …

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has been tasked with preventing the students of religious seminaries from participating in the opposition’s Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) march on Islamabad next month, informed sources told Dawn. The task was given by Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday when the interior minister paid a call on him, the sources said, adding that Mr Khan …