Prince William says he is concerned about the mental health of UK ambulance drivers, police officers and other first responders who are being exposed to extraordinary levels of trauma and death as coronavirus cases soar. William, a former search and rescue helicopter pilot, told emergency workers on a video call that they must not be afraid to ask for help …

• Sinopharm’s registration expected next week • Minister denies VIPs already vaccinated • NCOC reports over 2,000 infections ISLAMABAD: In a major development, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) has approved AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use and was expected to register the Chinese state-owned firm Sinopharm’s medicine next week. Though Pakistan might not get the vaccine through a …

RAWALPINDI: As many as three patients died from Covid-19 on Saturday while 20 tested positive for the deadly virus. However, no patient was discharged from hospitals. Mohammad Altaf, 43, a resident of Sangal Town, was brought to Rawalpindi Institute of Urology (RIU) on Jan 15 where he died on Saturday. Taj Begum, 73, from Shah Faisal Colony Chaklala, was admitted …

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has requested National Highway Authority (NHA) to get the remaining work on the metro track from Peshawar Mor to Islamabad International Airport (IIA) completed before handing it over to the civic agency. The CDA in a letter dated Jan 8 informed the NHA: “A site visit was carried out by the undersigned on 7th …

KASUR: A 12-year-old boy who had suffered serious injuries for resisting a rape attempt at village Rasoolnagar died in a Lahore hospital on Saturday. Ganda Singh police arrested 17-year-old suspect, a resident of the same village, and lodged a criminal case against him. According to police, the suspect had molested the minor boy about two months back but the elders …

KARACHI: After repeated failure to build a consensus on tabling a no-confidence motion against the prime minister among its allies, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Saturday made it clear that it was the only option to remove Imran Khan and his government and vowed to convince the members of the Pakistan Democratic Movement on the strategy. Though PPP chairman …

KARACHI: In what appears to be an attempt to ignore the persistent protests by almost every major political party against the approval of the controversial National Census 2017, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and its coalition partner Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan tried to move on and claimed to have agreed on Saturday on the need of conducting an early nationwide population count. …

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has informed the Supreme Court that Senate elections have always been held under the Constitution through secret ballot for the purposes of Article 226 of the Constitution. “Senate elections have always been held through secret ballot after the enactment of the constitution in vogue,” said the ECP in a reply to the court …

ISLAMABAD: A lawmaker of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has informed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government has promulgated 18 ordinances during the pendency of his petition filed against ‘excessive’ presidential ordinances. MNA Mohsin Nawaz Ranjha, who filed the petition through Barrister Umar Gillani, challenged the powers of President Dr Arif Alvi to issue …

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said on Saturday that the federal government would not hold a monopoly on the import of coronavirus vaccines, adding that provinces and the private sector were free to import vaccines subject to approval of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap). Umar — who also serves as chief of the …