ISLAMABAD: While Covid-19 is on its peak, water in small dams in the federal capital and nearby towns are being polluted by ill-planned settlements and private housing societies, causing serious issues, including the spread of diseases such as hepatitis and gastroenteritis, besides contaminating the underground water. It has come into the notice of relevant authorities that some private housing societies …

ISLAMABAD: According to the new notification issued on Monday by the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (Peira), a 20pc concession in fees has been offered to parents paying more than Rs8,000 per month. Last year, Peira had notified a 20pc fee concession in all schools charging more than Rs5,000, to facilitate parents from the middle and lower middle classes. However, …

ISLAMABAD: The law ministry has finalised a summary for establishment of special courts that would conclude the trial of accused in rape cases in 120 days. The ministry has proposed that the courts of district and sessions judges will be designated as special courts for speedy trial of accused persons. According to a law ministry spokesperson, the summary will be …

ISLAMABAD: Apprehensions about the backchannel engagement with India are growing because of what is being seen as an ‘absence of strategic clarity’ on Pakistani side. Concerns are also being fuelled by scant details of what is being discussed in the talks, worries about Indian intentions behind its outreach, and pessimism about the process helping resolve the Kashmir dispute. These reservations …

• PM’s aide claims 70m people will be vaccinated by end of year • Says Pakistan to begin producing single-dose CanSino Bio vaccine locally • 79 deaths, 4,213 cases reported in a single day ISLAMABAD: After a continuous rise in Covid-19 cases for almost three months, a downward trend was finally witnessed on Monday as both the positivity ratio and …

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday accepted PML-N leader Miftah Ismail’s application for a recount in the NA-249 Karachi by-election, ordering that recounting of the votes be done on May 6. It directed leaders of political parties who had contested the by-election to reach the office of the returning officer (RO) at 9am on May 6 (Thursday) for the recount. …

After nearly four months on the job, Dallas police Chief Eddie García on Wednesday plans to brief the city’s elected leaders on his strategy to cut crime. His plan, which outlines short-, medium- and long-term goals, will focus on hot spot policing, deterring violent people, disrupting problem places, and improving the community. The plan, which is laid out in a …

It’s one thing to lose in politics, as Mayor Eric Johnson did spectacularly Saturday. Serious politics requires risk, and if you’re going to be in it, you’ve got to roll the dice at some point. Johnson’s problem, though, is that he took a huge political risk this year with a low-to-nil probability of success. Anyone with any sense of the …

SHERMAN — An Austin lawyer known as the “DWI Dude” for his area of practice was sentenced on Monday to about 15 1/2 years in federal prison for shaking down Colombian drug traffickers for over $1 million on the false promise of being able to make their charges go away. Jamie Balagia, 65, was convicted by a jury in October …

Dallas County reported eight more COVID-19 deaths and 455 new coronavirus cases Monday. The latest victims were four Dallas residents, a man in his 60s, two women in their 80s and a woman in her 90s; two Mesquite men in their 50s; an Irving woman in her 80s; and a Richardson woman in her 80s. All eight had underlying high-risk …