WASHINGTON: Mitch McConnell, the majority leader in US Senate and until recently a staunch supporter of Donald Trump, has said he will listen to legal arguments before deciding whether to convict the outgoing president. “While the press has been full of speculation, I have not made a final decision on how I will vote, and I intend to listen to …

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island killed at least 35 people and injured hundreds on Friday, with the meteorological agency warning of aftershocks, possibly strong enough to trigger a tsunami. The powerful quake struck six kilometres northeast of the town of Majene, at the relatively shallow depth of 10km, just before 1:30am (local time), sending thousands of frightened residents …

ISLAMABAD: The federal capital showed a downward trend in Covid-19 cases during the last seven weeks and health authorities expressed the hope that the cases may further decline. Meanwhile, 162 cases were reported on Thursday. Besides, 3,500 people, who arrived from abroad and were residing in Islamabad, have been tested and seven of them were found infected. According to a …

PESHAWAR: The World Health Organisation was imparting training to health workers of medical teaching institutions in Peshawar to reduce mortality due to Covid-19 as seven more people died of the virus in the provincial capital of the total 10 people passed away on Thursday, said official sources. Peshawar has the highest Covid-19 mortality rate in the province. So far 873 …

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) ‘surrendered’ a plot worth over Rs30 million to a petitioner after one of its official gave statement in his favour in a local court. The plot was initially among five plots in F-11 which were allegedly allotted in a fraudulent manner and had been declared bogus by the CDA. Sources in the CDA said …

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday asked the federal government to contact the Indian government to know whether it is willing to appoint a lawyer for the detained Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav or otherwise. The IHC bench, comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, was hearing a petition of the law ministry …

KARACHI: Police on Thursday claimed to have arrested an alleged RAW-trained militant in the city. “Police and personnel of sensitive institution carried out a joint action in Ittehad Town and detained the suspect, Mansoor Ali alias Aneel,” said Keamari SSP Fida Husain Janwari. “The held suspect is affiliated with banned Sindh Revolutionary Army, which is being supported by Indian agency, …

ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday finally decided to allow the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to stage a protest outside the office of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) next week, but warned the 10-party opposition alliance not to take the law into its own hands. The decision was taken at a meeting of the ministerial committee on law and order. …

Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood on Friday announced a revised schedule of the reopening of schools, according to which classes from 9 to 12 will begin from January 18 as planned previously, while classes 1-8 will start from February 1 instead of January 25. Universities will reopen from February 1 as had been decided in the previous meeting, he said. Mahmood …

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane was held back in Malaysia as part of a legal dispute between the airline and another party, the national flag carrier said on Friday. In a statement posted on Twitter, the airline said: “A PIA aircraft has been held back by a local court in Malaysia taking a one-sided decision pertaining to a legal …