ISLAMABAD: Shahzaib Ahmed, a 14-year-old boy from Balochistan, was not sure whether he was dreaming or it was for real when a powerful earthquake rattled his house in the wee hours of Thursday. “I was in my deep sleep when I felt that my bed was shaking intensely. I thought I am having a bad … Read more
LONDON: The England and Wales Cricket Board announced on Thursday that chairman Ian Watmore was stepping down with immediate effect, following criticism of the decision to cancel a tour of Pakistan. Watmore, 63, has reached a “mutual agreement” with the board to leave his role following the end of the domestic season after just over … Read more
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja announced on Thursday that the New Zealand cricket team has agreed to tour Pakistan. Briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC), the PCB chairman said that the Black Caps were working on a timeline for the series, and assured the lawmakers that he would announce … Read more
BEIRUT: Determination, perseverance and creativity are Fatima Khalifa’s main ingredients for a promising career, a dignified life and the hope to achieve more in the future. Fatima, a 40 year-old Syrian refugee, arrived at Beirut’s Burj Barajneh camp with her six-year-old daughter in 2013, but failed to find a job that can secure a decent … Read more
SYDNEY: Australia’s largest city will emerge from a 106-day lockdown on Monday, as Sydney authorities confirmed coronavirus vaccination targets had been met. Stay-at-home orders will be lifted for the Harbour City’s five-million-plus people now that 70 percent of state residents over 16 have been double jabbed. “The light at the end of the tunnel is … Read more
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi alleged on Thursday that the amended National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) has been designed to cover up the incumbent government’s embezzlement. Addressing the media, Abbasi shared that National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) powers have been reduced under the amended ordinance. He claimed that the anti-corruption watchdog can no longer raise … Read more
WASHINGTON: US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman is set to arrive in Islamabad today (Thursday). Sherman, after CIA chief Bill Burns, will be one of the first high-level officials under President Joe Biden to visit Pakistan. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has reportedly exempted an eight-member US delegation, led by Sherman, from the coronavirus … Read more
WASHINGTON: The US State Department has disclosed the number of nuclear weapons in the country’s stockpile. A report issued on Tuesday showed that the US stockpile consisted of 3,750 nuclear warheads as of September 2020. The stockpile includes both “active” and “inactive” warheads, the report noted, adding that some 2,000 additional warheads are currently retired … Read more
SYDNEY: Australian respiratory researchers are preparing to start the next stages in developing a nasal spray to protect people from viral diseases such as COVID-19 and influenza. Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) and University of Newcastle (UON) scientists in the state of New South Wales said on Thursday that they had been working to create … Read more
ISLAMABAD: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has demanded that the ministers, whose names have appeared in the infamous Pandora Papers for having offshore companies, should step down from their positions. Talking to the media in Islamabad on Thursday, Shah said that Prime Minister Imran Khan should keep the same standards for himself as he … Read more
QUETTA: Around 20 people were killed and more than 300 injured when an earthquake of 5.9 magnitude intensity hit Balochistan early Thursday morning, with rescuers trying to reach coal miners reportedly trapped underground. The epicentre of the earthquake was near the remote mountainous district Harnai, and it was 15 kilometres deep. A lack of paved … Read more
RAWALPINDI: In a major army reshuffle, Lieutenant General Nadeem Anjum on Wednesday replaced Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed as the Director-General (DG) Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). According to the media wing of the armed forces, Lt Gen Anjum was commissioned in the Light Anti Tank Battalion of Punjab Regiment and throughout his career he has had command, … Read more
PARIS: Hundreds of millions of people were unable to access Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp for more than six hours on Monday, underscoring the world’s reliance on platforms owned by the Silicon Valley giant. But what actually caused the outage? What does Facebook say happened? In an apologetic blog post, Santosh Janardhan, Facebook’s vice president of … Read more
RAWALPINDI: In a major reshuffle in the Pakistan Army, Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed was transferred as the Peshawar corps commander, while Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum has taken over as director general of the Inter Services Intelligence, the military’s media wing said on Wednesday. A statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that Lt … Read more
BEIJING: Historical epic “The Battle at Lake Changjin” continued to dominate the Chinese mainland box office on Tuesday, data from the China Movie Data Information Network showed Wednesday. Co-directed by Chen Kaige, Hark Tsui and Dante Lam, the film ended its sixth day of screening with over 487 million yuan (about 75.1 million US dollars), … Read more
WASHINGTON: Democratic and Republican senators called on President Joe Biden to expel Russian diplomats if Moscow does not issue more visas to US diplomats. 17 bipartisan senators, including leaders of the Senate Intelligence and Foreign Relations committees, wrote in a letter to Biden on Monday that there are over 400 Russian diplomats in the United … Read more
TOKYO: An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 on Wednesday struck off Japan’s Iwate Prefecture, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). The quake occurred at around 2:46 a.m. local time, with its epicenter at a latitude of 40.0 degrees north and a longitude of 142.4 degrees east, and at depth of 50 km. The … Read more
MOSCOW: Russia’s top gas producer Gazprom plans to prioritise its home market over export sales because the winter will be cold and snowy, the head of its domestic gas selling business was quoted by Interfax, as saying. The gas demand has surged partly in response to economies recovering from the pandemic, as well as low … Read more
