ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection Dr Sania Nishtar on Thursday gave details of the Ehsaas Ration programme announced by the prime minister on Wednesday, saying registration of poor families whose monthly income was less than Rs31,000 would begin from Monday. Speaking at a press conference, she said that a web portal would …

MADRID/LILLE: Span­ish police have dismantled a smuggling ring suspected of bringing hundreds of Pakistani migrants into the European Union overland in “life-threatening conditions”, officials said on Thursday. The smuggling group took Pakistanis from camps in Bosnia to Italy or Spain, said a statement from Europol, which was involved in the Spanish operation. “Transported in life-threatening conditions in cars, vans or …

CANBERRA: Cleo Smith was back to her laughing, bubbly self as she played in the backyard of her Australian west coast family home on Thursday, hours before a 36-year-old stranger was charged with abducting the 4-year-old from a camping tent more than two weeks ago. Police charged Terry Kelly, a local resident, with forcibly taking a child among other offences, a police …

BUDAPEST: Coron­avirus infections are hitting record levels in many countries across Europe as winter takes hold, prompting a call for action from the World Health Organisation which described the new wave as a “grave concern”. Soaring numbers of cases, especially in Eastern Europe, have prompted debate on whether to reintroduce curbs on movement before the Christmas holiday season and on …

LONDON: Britain on Thursday became the first country to approve an anti-Covid pill, as it greenlit the use of Merck’s antiviral drug to treat patients suffering from mild to moderate coronavirus, regulators said. “Today is a historic day for our country, as the UK is now the first country in the world to approve an antiviral that can be taken at home …

WASHINGTON: The Pakistan Embassy in Washington has received nomination papers for Sardar Masood Khan, the country’s new envoy for the US. Masood Khan will replace the current ambassador, Asad Majeed Khan, who will now return to Islamabad for his next assignment. The embassy is expected to submit the papers, known as the agrément, to the US State Department by Monday. …

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Establishment Mohammad Shehzad Arbab on Thursday announced that the screening test for Central Superior Service (CSS) competitive exam (CE) 2022 would be held in February next year. He made the announcement at a news conference along with Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) Chairman retired Captain Zahid Saeed. The MCQs (multiple choice questions)-based …

ISLAMABAD: Former interior minister Rehman Malik has written a letter to FATF President Dr Marcus Pleyer, seeking a probe into India’s role in keeping Pakistan on the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) He has also written a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan urging him to file a petition in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) …

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has stressed the need for curbing sexual offences against children, especially girls, with an iron hand since such cases are rising steadily. “A rape victim stands on a higher pedestal than an injured witness, for an injured witness gets the injury on the physical form while a rape victim suffers psychologically and emotionally,” observed Justice Sayyed …

LAHORE: The government on Thursday transferred the entire police high command of the provincial capital in a massive reshuffle in the wake of their “mishandling of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan’s violent rally.” Several regional police officers (RPOs) and district police officers (DPOs) have also been reshuffled in Punjab. The government has posted Punjab Additional IG Investigation Fayyaz Ahmad Dev as new Lahore …