ABU DHABI: The UAE issued its first civil marriage licence for a non-Muslim couple, state media reported on Monday, as the Gulf country seeks to keep its edge over regional competitors. The United Arab Emirates — where foreigners make up 90 per cent of the approximately 10 million population — has been amending its laws to present itself as a …

WASHINGTON: The new US policy of waiving in-person interviews for certain non-immigrant visa applicants becomes operative from Friday, the State Department said. The department said the move aims at reducing visa wait times as in some places applicants have to wait for more than a year to get an interview date. “The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in profound reductions in the …

Research by South African scientists suggests that Omicron infection enhances neutralising immunity against the Delta variant of the coronavirus. The study, which has not been peer-reviewed, found that people who were infected with Omicron, especially those who were vaccinated, developed enhanced immunity to the Delta variant. The analysis enrolled 33 vaccinated and unvaccinated people who were infected with the Omicron …

ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Monday deferred consideration of a bill seeking to decriminalise suicide attempt after members exchanged arguments for and against the idea. The criminal laws amendment bill proposing to amend the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to abolish punishment for those making attempts to commit suicide had been moved by Senator Shahadat …

ISLAMABAD: While highlighting the government’s paradigm shift from geo-political contest to geo-economic cooperation, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday urged envoys to make concerted efforts to implement the economic agenda. As part of the government’s efforts to promote economic diplomacy, the foreign minister held an interactive session with Pakistan’s envoys to the US, Turkey, Austria, Iran, Russia, the Netherlands, …

KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Monday lashed out at Karachi Municipal Cor­poration (KMC) Adminis­trator Murtaza Wahab for making a political statement before it and ordered his removal from the post, but recalled the order after the administrator tendered an apology. A two-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed, however, directed Mr …

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday set January 7, 2022, as the date for framing charges against former Gilgit-Baltistan chief justice Rana Shamim and others in a case related to an investigative report highlighting an affidavit attributed to the ex-judge in which he accused former jurist Mian Saqib Nisar of colluding to deny bails to PML-N leadership prior to the 2018 …

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Tuesday ruled out chances of further rain in Karachi, predicting only isolated drizzle in the metropolis for the remainder of the day. The city experienced its first spell of winter showers on Monday, with various areas receiving light and moderate showers throughout the day. Dr Sardar Sarfaraz, chief meteorologist at the Met department, told Dawn.com today …

Six persons of a family, including three children, died of suffocation after gas from a heater filled the room they were sleeping in at a relative’s house in the Gulshan Colony area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP’s) Hangu city, police said on Tuesday. According to Hangu police spokesperson Zahir Hussain, the family was visiting their relatives in Gulshan Colony, in the …

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Monday adjourned without taking up any agenda item due to lack of quorum for the third consecutive day as the record of the assembly secretariat shows that lawmakers have made it a habit of leaving the Parliament House after marking their attendance. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker from Rahimyar Khan Sheikh Fayyazuddin pointed out the …