ISLAMABAD: The capital administration on Friday extended ban on all kinds of gatherings of five or more people, processions and rallies and demonstrations at any public place in Islamabad, including the Red Zone for a period of two months. Likewise, the ban also extended over use of cassette players sound, system, CD/DVD and other mediums for making objectionable/sectarian related speeches. …

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) and Four Paws, global animal welfare organisation, were surprised over the abrupt decision of the Ministry of Climate Change to cancel relocation of two Himalayan bears to a sanctuary in Jordan and instead shift them to Ayub National Park in Rawalpindi. After the bittersweet departure of Kaavan, the government appears to be resisting sending …

ISLAMABAD: In a surprise cabinet reshuffle, portfolios of three ministers were changed and an adviser was appointed as minister on Friday with Sheikh Rashid Ahmed getting the coveted slot of interior minister, apparently to tackle the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) sit-in likely to be staged in Islamabad following the opposition’s public meeting in Lahore on Sunday. According to a notification …

ISLAMABAD: Amid rumours that PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s chief spokesman Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar has quit the party in protest against some decisions taken from the platform of the Pakistan Democratic Movement, informed sources confirmed to Dawn on Friday that Mr Khokhar was “unhappy” and “uncomfortable” with the party leadership for quite some days. According to a PPP leader, Mr Khokhar has …

Nearly three years after a 12-year-old Dallas girl died in a natural gas explosion, a federal agency is set to determine what caused the blast. The National Transportation Safety Board will meet Jan. 12 to review findings from an investigation into the February 2018 explosion that killed Linda “Michellita” Rogers while she was in her northwest Dallas home getting ready …

Dallas County on Friday reported 1,849 more coronavirus cases, all of them considered new. Twenty new COVID-19 deaths also were reported. This week has already been the county’s deadliest of the pandemic, County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement. Over the last three days alone, county officials have reported the deaths of 83 people from COVID-19. Secret Tipper …

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court sealed President Donald Trump’s defeat late Friday, soundly rejecting a demand from Texas to nullify 10.4 million votes in four states that put President-elect Joe Biden over the top in last month’s election. Seventeen states that Trump carried had backed Texas’ request, while 25 others, including two where Trump was victorious, had filed motions …

The costumes worn by dancers who honor the Virgin of Guadalupe vary by group, but all contain the same items: a plume headdress, a homemade bow and arrow and a rattle. This year, because of the coronavirus pandemic, the groups added a new piece to their outfit: a face mask. Despite COVID-19 restrictions on religious activities, some Dallas matachines dance groups decided …

Texas Sen. John Cornyn’s bill to end over two decades of “willful neglect” of Latino Americans by the Smithsonian Institution by creating a National Museum of the American Latino is being blocked in Congress by fellow Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah. ‘Faith kept us dancing’: Troupes preserve Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe traditions amid pandemic The bill, introduced …

Jo Alch didn’t grow up like the average child. Raised by her grandmother in New Orleans, she received pajamas for Christmas instead of toys. On Saturdays, instead of playing with the neighborhood kids, Alch and her siblings visited nursing homes with their grandmother. One in particular still stands out today: The Home for the Incurables. After targeting GOP lawmakers in …