Two people died after receiving Moderna COVID-19 vaccine shots that were among lots later suspended following the discovery of contaminants, Japan’s health ministry said on Saturday. The men in their 30s died this month within days of receiving their second Moderna doses, the ministry said in a release. Each had a shot from one of three manufacturing lots suspended on …

ISLAMABAD: Federal government on Saturday decided to administer booster COVID vaccine shots for people traveling abroad and announced a fee in this regard to be submitted at the National Bank of Pakistan. According to sources privy to the development, the federal government has conveyed a handout to the provincial governments, and Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) governments …

KARACHI: Failing to meet the performance criteria set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the country ran a primary budget deficit of Rs653.6 billion in 2020-21, according to a summary of consolidated federal and provincial fiscal operations that the Ministry of Finance released on Thursday. The IMF places great emphasis on the primary balance — which is the fiscal balance …

LAHORE: The Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) has said that its Re-gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) consumption accounts for 55 per cent of the total supplies due to a massive decline in the indigenous supplies, which is increasing its dependence on RLNG. “The country’s indigenous supplies are continually decreasing and its gas supplies now comprise around 55pc RLNG. The …

ISLAMABAD: With the commitment not to exit the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme and instead take it to face-to-face talks in Washington in October, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Friday unveiled another short-, medium- and long-term economic programme for 14 key sectors to ensure sustainable growth. Speaking at a news conference with eight cabinet colleagues and private sector members of …

ISLAMABAD: The Board of Privatisation Commission (PC) on Friday approved documents pertaining to the pre-qualification criteria of investors for the revival of Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation (PSMC). The board meeting, chaired by Minister for Privatisation Mohammadmian Soomro, approved the Request for Statement of Qualification (RSOQ) and Expression of Interest (EOI) documents. In light of the federal cabinet’s decision, PC will …

ISLAMABAD: After the first successful consignment of ‘Make in Pakistan’ 4G smartphones to the United Arab Emirates this month, the government on Friday fixed mobile phone export target at $1 billion for the current fiscal year linked with the incentives offered to local manufacturers. This ambitious projection was made after the latest figures showed that local manufacturing of mobile phones …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has recorded 120 more deaths in the last 24 hours by novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 25,535. The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) said that the country’s number of overall confirmed cases has risen to 1,148,532 after the emergence of 4,191 new infections. STATISTICS 28 AUG 21: TOTAL TESTS IN LAST 24 HOURS: …

WASHINGTON: The White House said it regretted the Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday to end the Biden administration’s pandemic-related federal moratorium on evictions, and urged states, cities, landlords and others to do what they could to help. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the eviction moratoriums issued by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had saved lives …

MINNA: Nearly 100 Nigerian schoolchildren kidnapped from an Islamic seminary three months ago were reunited with their parents on Friday after their gunmen captors freed them from forest hideouts. The May 30 Tegina seminary abduction in northwest Niger State was one of the longest-running mass kidnappings at a Nigerian school since December when criminal gangs began to target students and …