Families fled their homes on Wednesday as the Afghan army launched a counterattack against the Taliban in a key southern city, with the insurgents stepping up their offensive to capture major urban centres. There has been intense fighting in recent days in the west and the south, while a bomb-and-gun attack in the capital, Kabul, killed eight people on Tuesday — followed …

Saudi Arabia has decided to allow entry to foreign travellers fully vaccinated with either Sinopharm or Sinovac vaccines, provided that they also received a booster shot of either of the four vaccines approved by the Kingdom, according to the country’s e-visa portal. “Guests who have completed two doses of the Sinopharm or Sinovac vaccines will be accepted if they have received …

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Energy and Petroleum Tabish Gauhar, in a letter addressed to Energy Minister Hammad Azhar, has urged that strategies be chalked out and “holistic and structural reforms” made to address energy sector challenges. The four-page letter titled “Beyond The Fire Fighting – Proposed Strategic Workstreams In The Energy Sector”, a copy of which is …

KARACHI: While the Covid-19 situation in the city continues to pose a serious threat to the health infrastructure, with sustained pressure on certain government health facilities being the ‘first choice’ of patients, several other facilities remain under-utilised, it emerged on Tuesday. The Aug 2 data of the health department showed that the Sindh Infectious Disease Hospital and Research Centre — …

Kidnappers are demanding a ransom of one million naira each to release around 80 children snatched from a boarding school in northern Nigeria last month, according to a pastor involved in the negotiations for their release. The attack on the Bethel Baptist High School in the state of Kaduna was the 10th mass school kidnapping since December in northwest Nigeria, which authorities …

ISLAMABAD: Prescribing formula milk to babies without a genuine reason is a crime, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said on Tuesday. In a video statement issued in connection with Breastfeeding Week, being observed from Aug 1 to 7 globally, Dr Sultan said mother’s milk was essential not just for the child’s mental and …

LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly on Tuesday again unanimously passed the Provincial Assembly (Privileges) (Amendment) Bill 2021, overriding the objections raised by the governor to the piece of legislation earlier passed by the House on June 29. Treasury and opposition members jointly supported the move as Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi commented that “no bureaucrat should now dare to (sic) breach privilege …

LAHORE: Pakistan Railways (PR) has decided to impose 10 per cent Covid surcharge [on each ticket] from Sept 1 on all unvaccinated passengers. There will also be a complete ban on travelling of all unvaccinated passengers from April next year, Dawn has learnt. According to an internal letter issued by the PR headquarters, the senior officials concerned at the head office and …

ISLAMABAD: The treasury members from Karachi on Tuesday blasted the PPP-led Sindh government in the National Assembly for its decision to impose a strict lockdown in the provincial capital in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, alleged political victimisation of the opposition leader in the Sindh Assembly and “worsening law and order situation” in the city as one of the MNAs …

ISLAMABAD: Senior clerics and members of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) here on Tuesday issued a code of conduct for the upcoming Islamic month of Muharram and demanded the religio- political parties to discourage extremists within their ranks. In this regard, CII chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz chaired a convention, which noted that foreign forces were planning to fan sectarianism …