ISLAMABAD: Ministry of Federal Education has authorised private publishers to publish books for primary classes in accordance with the single national curriculum (SNC). According to the ministry, the SNC books will be taught at the primary level from August this year. “On the direction of Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training has issued a letter …

About those wooly mittens that US Senator Bernie Sanders wore to the presidential inauguration, sparking endless quirky memes across social media? They’ve helped to raise $1.8 million in the last five days for charitable organisations in Sanders’ home state of Vermont, the independent senator has announced. The sum comes from the sale of merchandise with the January 20 image of him sitting …

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday the extension of a key nuclear pact was a positive development in reducing global tensions, as lawmakers unanimously voted to ratify the agreement to prolong New START in a rare moment of cooperation between Moscow and Washington. “No doubt it is a step in the right direction,” Putin said at the World …

TEHRAN: Iranian and Taliban officials met in Tehran on Wednesday and accused the US of provoking the continuation of war in Afghanistan, Iranian State TV reported. Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told visiting Taliban political chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar that the US seeks to continue the war in neighboring Afghanistan. The US strategy supports the …

LAHORE: The electronic system of e-ticketing and financial and human resources of the Pakistan Railways (PR) collapsed on Tuesday, leaving 60 online reservation offices disconnected from the main servers amid fear of loss of data since 2016 to date. It has yet to be established if the glitch occurred due to an attack by hackers or due to the non-maintenance …

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet on Wednesday decided that the local body elections in the province would be held on Sept 15 this year. The cabinet met here with Chief Minister Mahmood Khan in the chair and provincial ministers, chief minister’s aides and administrative secretaries in attendance. Law minister Sultan Mohammad Khan and adviser to the chief minister on science …

PESHAWAR: Students belonging to merged districts on Wednesday claimed irrelevant people had got admissions on fake documents in professional colleges, and urged the government to probe the matter and cancel the admissions within three days. Speaking at a news conference at the Peshawar Press Club here, Fata Students Federation (FSF) president Mohammad Jasim Afridi said the illegal admissions had deprived …

PESHAWAR: The district administration here on Wednesday banned 181 private housing societies in the provincial capital for functioning in violation of the prescribed regulations of Peshawar Development Authority. PDA Director General Syed Zafar Ali Shah told Dawn that the banned private housing societies were not following Peshawar Development Authority Private Housing Scheme Regulations, 2019. “This action was taken after several notices were …

ISLAMABAD: The government has finalised terms of reference (TORs) of retired Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh-led inquiry commission under which it will probe not only the Broadsheet saga but also all mega corruption cases which have surfaced since 1999. A source in the government engaged in preparation of the TORs told Dawn on Wednesday that the commission had been empowered to investigate corruption …

PESHAWAR/SWABI: The Awami National Party has rejected the formation of a ministerial committee by Prime Minister Imran Khan to probe the revelations by UK-based firm Broadsheet LLC about corruption and money laundering in Pakistan and demanded of the Supreme Court chief justice to take a suo motu notice of the matter to bring facts to light. In a statement issued …