BRUSSELS: Post-Brexit trade talks between the EU and UK neared a decisive point on Monday as Europe pushed a leaders’ summit later in the week as the final chance for a deal. Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier told MEPs that Wednesday was the effective deadline for a breakthrough as talks with his UK counterpart David Frost dragged on in Brussels. …

BHUBANESWAR: One person died and more than 400 were hospitalised in southern India due to an unidentified infection that caused many to fall unconscious following seizures and nausea, a senior health department official said on Monday. Government and medical authorities in Andhra Prad­esh said more than 200 people were discharged at the weekend and that tests had ruled out Covid-19. …

KARACHI: No crisis that the world is facing is inevitable. There are feasible solutions, and they are in hand. But it’s not enough to just have academic knowledge of what to do. Somebody has to take the knowledge and work with it. This was said by internationally renowned scholar Professor Noam Chomsky in his talk titled ‘Reflections on the future …

TEHRAN: Iran on Monday flatly dismissed a call by Saudi Arabia for Gulf states to be consulted on any potential negotiations with the Islamic republic on its nuclear programme. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan had on Saturday sought that the kingdom be “fully consulted” on “what goes on vis a vis the negotiations with Iran”. The request was …

New Zealand security agencies were “almost exclusively” focused on the perceived threat of Islamist terrorism before a white supremacist gunman killed 51 Muslim worshippers last year, a report into the country’s worst massacre found. The Royal Commission of Inquiry also criticised police for failing to enforce proper checks when granting a firearms license to Australian gunman Brenton Tarrant, who released a racist …

FAISALABAD: A woman accused of torturing a minor maid was remanded in 14-day judicial custody on Monday. The Madina Town police arrested the woman and produced her before magistrate Muhammad Nasrullah and requested the court that physical custody of the suspect was not required. After going through the case record, the magistrate said section 34 of the Punjab Destitute and …

Railway tracks and highways were blocked across India as farmers launched a national day of action on Tuesday against reforms deregulating the agriculture sector, upping the stakes after 10 days blockading the capital. Tens of thousands of farmers have set up barricades on roads into New Delhi since November 26, vowing not to move until the laws are repealed in …

British health authorities began rolling out the first doses of a widely tested and independently reviewed Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday, starting a global immunisation programme that is expected to gain momentum as more serums win approval. The first shot came early in the morning at one of a network of hospital hubs around the country where the initial phase of …

RAWALPINDI: After colleagues of Aimen Shafiq, a psychology student, raised suspicions over her mysterious death, the Sadiqabad police have registered a preliminary report and recorded the statements of her husband and mother-in-law. Taking notice of the incident, City Police Officer (CPO) Mohammad Ahsan Younas ordered an immediate investigation into the death of the BS psychology student of a private university …

LAHORE: The primary and secondary health secretary told a meeting of the Punjab apex committee that the current situation of coronavirus was the same as it was in June when the infection was at its peak in the province. Chaired by Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Monday, the committee meeting was attended by provincial ministers, high-ranking military officials, the chief …