Indian tennis star Sania Mirza celebrated her birthday in style and gave a glimpse of the lavish celebrations. Taking to Instagram, Sania posed with her family as she was embraced by gold and black balloons along with other decorative pieces, adding to the dreamy look. She thanked her husband Shoaib Malik, who is a cricketer by profession, as he had …

MOSCOW: Belarusian police detained hundreds of people who took to the streets in mass demonstrations on Sunday chanting “I’m going out”, the last known written words of an anti-government protester who died last week. A witness in the capital Minsk said police had used tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse the crowds demonstrating against President Alexander Lukashenko. …

ADDIS ABABA: The leader of the Tigray region of Ethiopia on Sunday claimed responsibility for rocket strikes targeting the airport in neighbouring Eritrea’s capital, a move that ratcheted up fears of a wider conflict in the Horn of Africa region. Diplomats said that multiple rockets had struck the capital, Asmara, landing near the airport, though communications restrictions in Tigray and …

NICOSIA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday he favours a permanent division of Cyprus into two states, during a visit to the breakaway Turkish-held north decried as a “provocation” by the internationally recognised Greek-speaking south. The comments marked a further setback to hopes for an eventual reunification of the Mediterranean island which is split between EU member the …

LONDON: If coronavirus vaccinations are rolled out widely, life could return to “normal” by next winter, one of the scientists behind the front-running coronavirus vaccine told British television on Sunday. Ugur Sahin, the Turkish co-founder of German firm BioN, told the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show that “this winter will be hard” without any major impact from vaccinations. Together with US giant …

MULTAN: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Sunday that India was conspiring to damage the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project by creating unrest in the country. Talking to the media here, he said Pakistan had solid proof that India was trying to create law and order situation in the country and for the purpose it had given Rs80 billion …

The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday rejected a statement by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs denying the “irrefutable evidence” provided by Islamabad regarding India’s sponsorship of terrorism in the country. “Fully exposed, India has typically resorted to sophistry, obfuscation and re-fabrication. Bland denials and regurgitation of an old litany of charges, however, will not change facts,” a statement by …

KARACHI: While the provincial government seems to have focused on mega projects with international donor organisations’ support, the repair and maintenance work of roads and streets in almost every part of the city has long been halted by the contractors of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) due to non-payment of their dues, piling miseries on people. While confiding this to Dawn, …

MULTAN: The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) arrested former PML-N MNA Abdul Ghaffar Dogar on Sunday on the charges of forgery and illegal occupation of a piece of land. Mr Dogar was arrested when a PML-N delegation, led by Rana Sanaullah, was in Multan to finalise the arrangements for the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s rally. The PML-N is making preparations for the rally, …

ISLAMABAD: Three people died of Covid-19 and over 600 more contracted the virus in the twin cities on Sunday as the situation started to worsen in hospitals. Islamabad recorded 461 positive cases whereas Rawalpindi reported 142 new patients, the highest number in the garrison city since June. Some areas such as Bhara Kahu, I-8, G-7, G-9, G-6, E-11 and G-11 …