ZURICH: Countries should join the World Health Organization’s (WHO) COVAX vaccine facility by a Friday deadline to help ensure that immunizations are fairly and efficiently distributed, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday. So far, 92 lower-income nations are seeking assistance via the COVAX facility, part of the WHO’s ACT Accelerator to boost the development of vaccines, therapeutics …

LAHORE: Nine doctors of Shaikh Zayed Hospital in Lahore on Monday contracting novel coronavirus.  As per details, Dr Muhammad Umer, Dr Ahmed Zaman, Dr Arsalan, Dr Haider, Dr Naeem Haider, Dr Waqar Ahmed, Dr Sharjeel, Dr Hassan, Dr Maria Yasmeen and Abdul Hanan have been tested positive for the coronavirus. The aforesaid doctors have quarantined themselves at their houses. It …

DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday formally charged UAE’s duo of Amir Hayat and Ashfaq Ahmed with five counts of breaching cricket’s anti-corruption code. The two players have been absent from international duty since the end of last year. Pace bowler Amir had been omitted from selection without explanation for the UAE squad ahead of the T20 World …

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday reiterated that the domestic players are not required to resign from their parent departments to obtain contracts for the 2020-21 domestic season, which commences with the National T20 Cup from Sept 30. “The PCB is neither asking the players to resign nor to cancel existing contracts with their departments if they are …

MADRID: Lionel Messi started and played 45 minutes in Barcelona’s first pre-season friendly on Saturday as Ronald Koeman showed no hesitation in reintegrating the Argentinian. Barca beat third tier side Gimnastic Tarragona 3-1, with Ousmane Dembele opening the scoring on his first appearance since November. Antoine Griezmann and Philippe Coutinho, who was also returning after his loan spell at Bayern …

NEW YORK: After one errant forehand in the first set of the US Open final, Naomi Osaka looked at her coach in the mostly empty Arthur Ashe Stadium stands with palms up, as if to say, “What the heck is happening?” In response to another wayward forehand against Victoria Azarenka seconds later, Osaka chucked her racket. It spun a bit …

Punjab has been facing numerous development challenges on account of its limited financial resources required for fostering economic growth in the province, improving the quality of public service delivery and spending on the development of social and economic infrastructure. The economic slowdown and a significant drop in its revenue incomes over the last couple of years, as well as the …

Pakistan barely has a 0.25 per cent share in the global halal food trade of more than $3 trillion, which reflects the need for the government and private sector to take proactive initiatives to explore the true potential of ‘Made in Pakistan’ products and establish a niche for itself. With strong demand in China and Far East countries, the country …

It was in the winter of 2016 that 40 per cent strategic shares in the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) were sold to a Chinese consortium comprising three exchanges — China Financial Futures Exchange Company Ltd (lead bidder), Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange — at Rs28 per share. They were sold a total of 320 million shares at Rs8.96bn. …

Pakistani banks have two addictions: consumer deposits and government debt. They use the former to buy the latter, making easy dough with a few clicks on the Bloomberg terminal every month. No wonder the Islamic banking industry has long demanded — even to the exclusion of everything else — that they be invited to the party. But Islamic banks don’t …