FRANKFURT: Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are in a tight race to launch their COVID-19 vaccines in Europe after both applied for emergency EU approval on Tuesday, though there was uncertainty over whether a rollout could begin this year. The applications to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) came a day after Moderna sought emergency use for its shot in the United States …

MANAMA: Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton said he was devastated after testing positive for coronavirus (Covid-19) and being ruled out of Sunday’s penultimate race of the season in Bahrain. It will be the first time the 35-year-old Mercedes driver has missed a race in an F1 career that started with McLaren in 2007. The sport’s most successful driver …

LAUSANNE: Thomas Bach will stand unopposed to serve a second term as International Olympic Committee (IOC) president, the body said on Tuesday. Bach, a 66-year-old German lawyer, is set to be confirmed for a second and final four-year term at an IOC session in March in Athens. Bach was initially elected for an eight-year term as Olympic chief in September …

RAWALPINDI: PCB Chall­engers clinched the National Triangular T20 Women’s cricket title after sealing a narrow seven-run victory over PCB Dynamites in the championship final at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi on Tuesday. After being put into bat by Dynamites captain Ramim Shamim, the Challengers managed a modest total of 133-7 with Kainat Hafeez emerging as the top-scorer by making …

TOKYO: The Olympic rings monument was reinstalled in Tokyo Bay on Tuesday, after being removed in August, as the organisers ramp up preparations for next year’s postponed Summer Games. The rings were later illuminated and the neighbouring Rainbow Bridge lit up in a multi-coloured display, as organisers looked to provide a symbol that the rearranged Games can go ahead safely …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday started loading fuel to the 1,100MW nuclear power plant in Karachi for testing in run-up to its commercial operations in April 2021 while the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government signed agreements with a Chinese company for construction of a 700MW hydropower project. A spokesperson for the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) said fuel loading for the …

CANBERRA: Australia captain Aaron Finch has backed under-fire paceman Mitchell Starc to rebound after the left-armer was feasted upon by India’s batsmen in the first two matches of the One-day International series. Australia sealed the series 2-0 with their 51-run victory in Sydney on Sunday but Starc’s struggles have raised concerns leading into the four-Test series starting on Dec 17 …

Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood took the key wicket of Virat Kohli for 63 not long after the India captain became the fastest player to score 12,000 runs in one-day internationals as the visitors scored 302-5 on Wednesday in the last of three ODI matches. Kohli became the fastest player to score the 12,000 ODI career runs when he tapped …

KARACHI: Various industrial areas in the city are facing severe low gas pressure despite the federal government’s assurance of uninterrupted gas supply in winter, heads of industry associations said on Tuesday. President SITE Association of Industry Abdul Hadi said the area is still deprived of consistent and committed gas pressure due to which many industrial pockets are struggling to meet …

ISLAMABAD: Inflation eased to 8.3 per cent in November, from 8.9pc in October on the back of a slight decline in the price of perishable products, showed data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday. Slight deceleration in inflation was noticed for the second consecutive month despite the fact that prices of essential food items are still on …