India is struggling to convince its health and frontline workers to take a homegrown Covid-19 vaccine controversially approved without late-stage efficacy data, government data showed on Thursday, days ahead of a wider rollout. The country has the world’s second-highest number of Covid-19 infections after the United States, with cases recently surging as mask wearing declined and states eased social distancing …

BANGKOK: Three cabinet ministers in Thailand were forced to leave their posts on Wednesday after a court found them guilty of sedition for taking part in sometimes-violent protests in 2013-2014 against the government then in power. The Criminal Court in Bangkok found Digital Economy Minister Buddhipongse Punnakanta, Education Minister Nataphol Teepsuwan and Deputy Transport Minister Thaworn Senneam guilty along with …

ACCRA: Ghana became the first country to receive vaccines from the global Covax scheme on Wednesday, paving the way for poorer nations to catch up with inoculation drives in wealthier parts of the world to stamp out the coronavirus pandemic. But Europe’s vaccine rollout faced fresh woes after AstraZeneca said it would only be able to deliver half its promised …

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, has had successful surgery for appendicitis, state media reported late on Wednesday. The 35-year-old prince had “successful laparoscopic surgery (Wednesday) morning for appendicitis at King Faisal Specialist Hospital” in Riyadh, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. SPA tweeted footage of the prince walking out of the hospital with an entourage and getting …

LAHORE: An elderly man allegedly shot his daughter dead and injured her friend critically in the name of honour in Shalimar area here on Wednesday. The suspect’s son also suffered a bullet injury, when he tried to rescue his sister, according to the police. The police arrested the 70-year-old suspect, Akram, and lodged a murder case against him on the …

ISLAMABAD: The Gurdwara Kartarpur Governing Council on Wednesday called on the federal government to ask India to ease travel of Sikh pilgrims to Pakistan. The fourth meeting of the council was held here under the chairmanship of Religious Affairs Secretary Sardar Ijaz Khan Jaffar. Officials of the ministries of foreign affairs, finance, interior, Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), Nadra and …

RAWALPINDI: An improvised explosive device (IED) was found near the railway station on Wednesday. A locally-made device, containing about 1kg of explosive material filled in a plastic bottle with a detonator, was described by bomb disposal experts as mobile device. It was lying adjacent to an under-construction building in the vicinity of Mithu Khan Ahata Saddar along Railway Road. The …

LAHORE: Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) candidate for the Senate elections from Islamabad and former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani met PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif at the accountability court here on Wednesday. The PPP and PML-N leaders discussed the next month’s Senate polls and Mr Gilani talked about his prospects of winning against PTI’s Hafeez Sheikh. Mr Gilani reportedly also asked Mr …

ISLAMABAD: As the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) meets today (Thursday) on the NA-75 Sialkot IV by-election results controversy, the Elections Act 2017 empowers it to proceed against the highest state functionaries for any action that adversely affects the election process. The returning officer (RO) observed that “prima facie, it looked as if the result of NA-75 had been tampered …

ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser on Wednesday issued a letter to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) MNA from Karachi Faheem Khan, seeking an explanation from him for allegedly creating disturbance during the recent proceedings of the house. “A letter under Rule 21 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007, has been issued to Faheem …