BEIJING: China reported its highest daily rise in local Covid-19 cases in 21 months as infections more than doubled in the northwestern city of Xian, China’s latest Covid hot spot. The city of 13 million, which entered its fourth day of lockdown, detected 155 domestically transmitted cases with confirmed symptoms for Saturday, up from 75 a day earlier, official data …

NEW YORK: Travel headaches abound for millions worldwide on the holiday weekend with 2,200 flights cancelled on Sunday alone, tracking websites reported, as celebrants wrap up Christmas battered by Covid’s Omicron variant. Some 7,500 flights have been grounded and tens of thousands more delayed from Friday through Sunday — one of the busiest travel periods of the year — with …

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday he would ponder a slew of options if the West fails to meet his push for security guarantees precluding Nato’s expansion to Ukraine. Earlier this month, Moscow submitted draft security documents demanding that Nato deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and roll back its military deployments in Central and …

Hardline Hindu vigilante groups disrupted Christmas mass in parts of India, including in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s core territory ahead of local elections in the coming months, media reported on Monday. The disruption of Christmas celebrations at the weekend and last week included the vandalising of a life-size statue of Jesus Christ at Ambala in Haryana, a northern state governed …

British police said on Monday they were assessing a video purportedly made by a man who tried to break into a castle where Queen Elizabeth II was spending Christmas in which he said he wanted to kill her. In the video, obtained by The Sun tabloid, a masked figure in a dark hoodie holding a crossbow claims he will “attempt to assassinate …

ISLAMABAD: On the direction of the recently-appointed Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammad Ahsan Younus, the capital police in a single day registered over 700 pending cases of theft and other crimes. Moreover, the police chief has directed senior officers to ensure their presence in their jurisdiction after 12pm to ensure effective patrolling and reduce crime. A number of police …

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) has directed heads of all institutions to be vigilant against corporal punishment as a stringent law in this regard has been passed by the parliament and has come into force in the capital. Under the new law, teachers found involved in corporal punishment could face compulsory retirement and dismissal from service. The FDE, …

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on CPEC Affairs Kha­lid Mansoor has expressed displeasure over the delay in taking off of the ambitious Dhabeji industrial zone (DIZ) in Thatta and said that three other special economic zones (SEZs) that are part of the corridor project were near completion. Mr Mansoor, who is also the chairman of the China-Pakistan …

ISLAMABAD: The Standing Committee on Accountability and Discipline (SCAD) has completed inquiry and reserved its ruling in the MNA Riaz Fatyana case, who alleged that a brawl between two personalities from the Ministry of Climate Change compromised Pakistan’s position at an international conference. “MNA Riaz Fatyana has submitted a written response with the Standing Committee on Accountability. The committee will …

ISLAMABAD: Members of the Mutt­ahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) through a calling-attention notice are set to lodge their protest on the floor of the National Assembly on Monday (today) over a recent controversial speech delivered by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in the provincial assembly as Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) termed the inclusion of the notice in the agenda …