Concerned with the learning loss incurred by students during the coronavirus pandemic, Dallas ISD is contemplating how it might add optional days of instruction for the upcoming school year. The changes could be as minor as adding a few more weeks of summer enrichment and as drastic as stretching the school calendar by nearly two months. District administrators discussed three …

SEATTLE/WASHINGTON: Virgin Hyperloop has picked the U.S. state of West Virginia to host a $500 million certification center and test track for billionaire Richard Branson’s super high-speed travel system, the company told Reuters. The center will be the first U.S. regulatory proving ground for a hyperloop system designed to whisk floating pods packed with passengers and cargo through vacuum tubes …

GENEVA: Azerbaijan and Armenians fought with artillery and heavy guns on Thursday as the United States, France and Russia stepped up efforts to secure a ceasefire and avert a wider war in the South Caucasus. Azerbaijan said the city of Ganja had come under fire, deep inside its territory. Armenians who control the mountain enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh inside Azerbaijan said …

BRUSSELS: EU governments began talks on Thursday on a proposed overhaul of migration rules to resolve years of bitter divisions as Germany, chairing the discussions, expressed optimism a deal might be possible by December. The video-conference of EU interior ministers was the first chance to exchange views on the scheme proposed by the European Commission last month, and especially on …

Eli Lilly and Co, an American pharmaceutical company, said on Thursday that fewer deaths were reported among COVID-19 patients taking a combination of its rheumatoid arthritis drug, ‘baricitinib’, and Gilead Sciences Inc’s ‘remdesivir’ in a clinical trial, compared to only remdesivir. Lilly said the effect was most pronounced in patients on oxygen therapy, according to data from a U.S. government-backed …

BEIJING/GENEVA: China has joined a global scheme for the distribution of COVID-19 vaccine backed by the World Health Organization (WHO), it said on Friday, giving a major boost to an initiative shunned by U.S. President Donald Trump. Beijing’s latest bid to join the global fight against the coronavirus follows criticism over its handling of the pandemic, which has contributed to …

Dr. Nosheen Safdar works as a Divisional Polio Surveillance Officer in Islamabad. A medical doctor, Dr. Safdar has worked with the polio eradication programme for the past eight years. Surveillance officers like Dr. Safdar work with one aim: to detect and stop polioviruses from circulating before they have a chance to paralyze a child. 8:00 AM: Sample collection As the …

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) is all set to rope in an Australian trainer to improve national players conditioning, agility and speed, PHF president retired Brig Khalid Sajjad Khokhar said on Thursday. “Currently, we are in talks with three to four trainers from Australia. Hopefully, within the next few days we’ll reach on an agreement with one of them …

COLOMBO: The draft for Sri Lanka’s upcoming Premier League tournament has been postponed, the cricket board said on Thursday, as the island nation battles to contain its biggest-ever coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. Leading internationals including Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy, Darren Bravo, Shahid Afridi and Shakib Al Hasan had been up for grabs at a Friday ceremony ahead of the Twenty20 competition. …

KARACHI: While the second leg of the star-studded First XI National T20 Cup begins in Rawalpindi, Central Punjab clinched the Second XI title after finishing at the top of the league standings in Lahore on Thursday. Central Punjab only needed to secure a victory in the final fixture of the second-tier competition at the Gaddafi Stadium — a task they …