LONDON: The UK government on Tuesday faced calls for nurses, police, teachers and other key workers to be given priority at petrol pumps, as the army was put on standby to ease a fuel supply crisis. Filling stations across the country have seen long, snaking queues of frustrated and angry motorists concerned that a shortage of tanker drivers could lead …

KARACHI: The Pakistan Meteorological Department on Tuesday warned of torrential rains across Sindh and several Balochistan’s districts that might generate urban flooding in coastal towns and districts including Karachi. The situation, being described as “dangerous” by Met officials, is expected to emerge when remnants of cyclone Gulab currently prevailing as a low pressure area over central India reaches Indian Gujarat …

ISLAMABAD: The law officers of the state and the advocate general of Islamabad in a meeting on Tuesday examined the loopholes in the Noor Mukadam murder case in the light of the arguments made by the counsel before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) during the hearing of the post-arrest bail petitions of the parents of Zahir Jaffer, the main accused …

KIEV: Newly crowned world heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk expects a rematch against Anthony Joshua in February or March and has his sights on a title unification bout, his team said on Tuesday. The Ukrainian defeated Joshua in a boxing masterclass at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday in front of 67,000 fans, earning a unanimous points decision …

LONDON: England captain Joe Root says he is ‘desperate’ to play in the Ashes series but cannot yet commit to tour Australia due to uncertainty over coronavirus (Covid-19) protocols. Players and team management have yet to learn the exact conditions under which the five-Test series will take place, with those who have young families particularly concerned about the potentially stringent …

ISLAMABAD: National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) in a meeting on Wednesday decided to ease COVID-19 restrictions. The meeting was chaired by Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar in Islamabad. Addressing the press conference flanked by SAPM on health Dr Faisal Sultan, NCOC chief Asad Umar said it has been decided to relax restrictions from October 1 (Friday) in …

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday confirmed that chief executive Wasim Khan had handed in his resignation, which was “unanimously accepted” by the PCB’s Board of Governors. In a statement, the cricket board said that the Board of Governors will meet later today to consider the matter. According to ESPNcricinfo, Khan had begun his stint as the board’s executive on …

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Wednesday “welcomed” the announcement by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief that the team will tour Pakistan next year, while also praising the international community for supporting Pakistan cricket. The minister’s statement comes in the wake of ECB chief Ian Watmore’s remarks, reported by The Daily Mail, wherein he apologised …

Stocks fell nearly 3 per cent on Wednesday while the rupee dropped to a record low, as investors feared a US Senate bill that is seeking to impose sanctions on the Afghan Taliban could be extended to Pakistan. After only a day of breather, sellers were back in action, which was also triggered by anxiety regarding the rupee as the KSE-100 shed 908 points on Wednesday …

BEIJING: Global shoppers face possible shortages of smartphones and other goods ahead of Christmas after power cuts to meet official energy use targets forced Chinese factories to shut down and left some households in the dark. In the northeastern city of Liaoyang, 23 people were hospitalised with gas poisoning after ventilation in a metal casting factory was shut off following a power …