MOSCOW: Russia on Saturday recorded 1,000 deaths over 24 hours for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with the country’s jab drive at a standstill and few restrictions in place. An official government tally showed 1,002 deaths and 33,208 new infections, setting a high for both fatalities and cases for the third day in a row. …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday urged the nation to celebrate the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) in a befitting and unprecedented manner. In a special message in connection with Eid Miladun Nabi, he said: “As you all know that this is a special month when our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) came into this world. This …

RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has forwarded the PC-I to acquire land for the Leh Expressway and Flood Channel project worth Rs25 billion to the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) for final approval. The Punjab Planning and Development Board has already approved the project and work on land acquisition will start after the PC-I gets clearance from the CDWP. A senior …

UPPER DARBY: A woman was raped by a stranger on a commuter train in suburban Phila­delphia in the presence of other riders who a police official said should have done something. Superintendent Timothy Bern­hardt of the Upper Darby Police Department said officers were called to the 69th Street terminal around 10pm on Wednesday after the assault on the westbound train …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s textile and clothing exports posted impressive growth in the first quarter of this year, increasing by 27.41 per cent to $4.42 billion compared to $3.46bn over the year, data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Saturday. The growth momentum is steady in the export proceeds on the back of rising demand from global market …

STOCKHOLM: Swedish activist Greta Thunberg on Saturday said upcoming climate talks in Glasgow, billed as humanity’s last chance to avoid catastrophic global warming, were unlikely to “lead to big changes”. Thunberg, whose Fridays for Future movement has inspired massive street protests around the world, said activists needed to keep on “pushing” for real change. “As it is now, this COP …

BANDAR BEGAWAN: Myanmar’s junta chief will be excluded from an upcoming ASEAN summit, the group said on Saturday, a rare rebuke as concerns rise over the military government’s commitment to defusing a bloody crisis. Foreign ministers from the Associ­a­tion of Southeast Asian Nations agreed at an emergency meeting late on Fri­day that a “non-political representative” for Myanmar would be invited …

ISLAMABAD: The federal capital will be made a friendly city for visually impaired persons and the 2pc job quota allocated for special persons will be implemented from Basic Pay Scale (BPS) 1 to 21. This was stated by Director General Ministry of Human Rights Mohammad Arshad while speaking at an event held in connection with the White Cane Safety Day …

ISLAMABAD: The Sup­reme Court has been moved to order the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to launch an inquiry and determine if those named in the Pandora Papers and the Panama Papers had committed or indulged in any wrongdoing while transferring funds to offshore companies. A petition filed before the apex court sought a direction for the citizens named in …

The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) has abolished its “unofficial policy” of binding women to take their husband’s name on their computerised national identity card (CNIC) after marriage, the authority’s chairperson Nadra Tariq Malik announced on Friday. “We are breaking down this policy and women now have the authority to register themselves with their father’s or husband’s name,” Malik …