WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has suggested founding an initiative from “democratic” countries to rival China’s trillion-dollar Belt and Road infrastructure initiative as tensions spike between the Asian power and Western nations. Biden said late on Friday that he floated the proposal in a call with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson amid a row over sanctions against abuses targeting the …

Two suspected suicide bombers blew themselves up outside a Catholic church in the Indonesian city of Makassar on Sunday, wounding fourteen people on the first day of the Easter Holy Week, the country’s national police said. The congregation had been inside the church on the island of Sulawesi at the time of the explosion, police said, just as the mass …

LAHORE: Lahore Commissioner retired Capt Muhammad Usman on Saturday warned that those found without mask at a public place will be sent behind bars, as it has been decided in principle to ensure implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to curb Covid-19 spread. The order will be effective from Sunday (today). “We are passing through peak time of the third …

As the NED Engineering University in Karachi turns 100, an academic fondly looks back at the history of engineering and engineering education in Sindh, and questions how universities can regain their lost glory. Can the engineers of tomorrow be inspired to dream of a brighter future for the country? ccording to a joke commonly shared online, South Asian children have …

• Minister warns of tougher restrictions • NCOC reports highest cases in last nine months • British variant affects subcontinent • Vaccinated citizens can obtain certificates ISLAMABAD: As the British variant of Covid-19 rages across the subcontinent, Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar on Saturday warned that the country could soon surpass the peak witnessed in the first wave …

ISLAMABAD: The government on Saturday removed Higher Education Commission (HEC) chairman Dr Tariq Banuri. The notification removing the HEC head was issued after the promulgation of a presidential ordinance. Meanwhile, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman criticised the removal of the HEC chairman and asked the government to end ad hocism in the education sector. “Tabahisarkar continues its demolition …

ISLAMABAD: The chairman of parliament’s Kashmir Committee, Shehryar Khan Afridi, on Saturday sought the international community’s intervention to help bring “genocide of Kashmiris” to an end. Addressing a seminar titled ‘Human security discourse in 21st century’ held here under the aegis of The Human Security Institute (THSI), he said: “Six hundred days of the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A …

KARACHI: The city would get an additional 450 megawatts of electricity this summer as the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) has completed upgrade of 130km-long 220-kilowatt double-circuit transmission line between Jamshoro and KDA Scheme-33 of Karachi, an official announcement said on Saturday. Federal Minister for Power, Petroleum and Nat­u­ral Resources Omar Ayub Khan took to Twitter to share the …

UNITED NATIONS: A UN human rights panel has expressed its concerns over “an alarming pattern of restrictions” on freedom of expression in Pakistan, urging the government to allow journalists to exercise this right. In two documents sent to the government of Pakistan, the panel informed Islamabad that it has received information concerning a series of “alleged meritless charges” brought against …

News travels fast in a retirement community. And for the past year, there hasn’t been a lot of good news swirling around The Legacy Willow Bend: Family visits suspended. Knitting club and movie nights canceled. Possible COVID-19 exposure among some residents with Alzheimer’s. This week, though, the news making its way through the rumor mill was exciting. “Hey,” an octogenarian …