World News Headlines

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday claimed that the government is being shown a "tough time" by the Opposition even with their fewer numbers, ahead of the Senate polls on March 3. "We know we are descending down on the battlefield with fewer votes. We know it seems our numbers are low. But even with these small numbers, we are giving the government a tough time," he said, while addressing a press conference in Lahore alongside joint Opposition candidate Yousuf Raza Gilani. He thanked all the Opposition parties for having decided to support Gilani on election day. "InshaAllah, Senate elections will be a victory for democracy and for democratic candidates. And Yousuf Raza Gilani's win will usher in a new chapter of democracy," the PPP chairman said. "And then, at the end of March, we will have a march," Bilawal added. "The democratic journey for which we are all struggling will be taken forward [...] We are telling eve

Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates have discussed various areas of interest, bilateral cooperation including security, counter-terrorism, and the prevailing regional environment particularly with reference to Kashmir and Afghanistan, a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Wednesday. According to the statement, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Nadeem Raza, who is on a two-day official visit to the UAE, called on the Chief of Staff UAE Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Hammad Mohammed Thani Al Rumaithy. “The dignitaries also dilated upon measures to enhance the level and scope of military engagements between both countries and reaffirmed their commitment to continue forging deeper strategic ties,” read the ISPR statement. Gen Raza visited International Defence Exhibition & Conference (IDEX) and Naval Defence & Maritime Security Exhibition (NAVDEX) in Abu Dhabi. He also visited the stalls established by different organisat

Germany has administered only 15% of the AstraZeneca coronavirus shots it has available, the health ministry said, as the vaccine faces public resistance after trials showed it to be less effective than alternatives. The ministry said the vaccine would be offered to people that are in other priority groups after saying earlier this week state workers such as teachers and police would get priority access. “Nothing must be left behind,” a spokesman for the ministry told journalists in a regular briefing on Wednesday. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman on Wednesday urged people to trust the vaccine which was developed at Britain’s Oxford University, saying it was safe and effective. Earlier on Wednesday, Germany’s health ministry said it expected to receive 16 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the second quarter. That could represent a shortfall from the company’s commitments to deliver about twice that number of doses to Germany in that quarter, according to a contract

Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed on Wednesday said that the parliament is the forum that must decide the method of voting for Senate elections, including the degree of secrecy to be allowed. Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed noted that the Supreme Court need only answer three questions: - Does Article 226 of the Constitution apply to Senate elections or not? - Could there be a single transferable vote in the Senate election through proportional representation or not? - Under Article 226 of the Constitution, are all elections held by secret ballot or not? The chief justice said that besides these, all matters must be deliberated in parliament, including which method of voting to implement. Counsel for the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA), Barrister Salahuddin, said the government is "dumping its political responsibilities on to the court". Salahuddin said an amendment bill on open balloting has been pending in parliament. He said arguments made by the Attorney

Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Dr. Reza Baqir on Wednesday said that over 90,000 Roshan Digital Accounts have been opened by Pakistani Diaspora in 97 countries during five months. “Roshan Digital Accounts programme is the brainchild of Prime Minister Imran Khan,” the SBP governor said adding that the prime minister wanted to make a strong relationship of Pakistanis living abroad with the country through this programme. Besides sharing the number of accounts opened through the programme, Reza Baqir said that during the past few days, the country has recently crossed the mark of US$500 million received through the digital accounts. “The investments through these accounts could now be made in Euro and British Pound after initially allowed in Dollars,” he further announced and said that the overseas Pakistanis were provided with an opportunity of better profits over investments through these accounts. He further shared that digital accounts are more popular in Middle East coun

The architect of Australia’s laws forcing Google and Facebook to pay media companies for content claimed victory on Wednesday, though critics said last-minute changes to appease Facebook favoured Big Tech over smaller news outlets. After tense negotiations prompted Facebook to cut off news in the country last week, Australia offered a host of technical concessions and the social media giant said it would restore news as the revamped bill looked set to become law this week. While Facebook said its concerns had been met and opposition lawmakers warned that smaller media players may be overlooked, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Chair Rod Sims said the bargaining power imbalance had been righted. “The changes the government’s done are things that either don’t matter much or are just to clarify things that, at least in Facebook’s mind, were unclear,” Sims, who helped draft the original laws, told Reuters. “Whatever they say, they need news. It keeps people on their pla

Indonesia is holding intensive talks with both the Myanmar military and representatives of the ousted elected government in a bid to end a crisis over a Feb. 1 military coup, Indonesia’s foreign minister said on Wednesday. Indonesia has taken the lead within the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in efforts to resolve Myanmar’s turmoil. Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi met Myanmar’s military-appointed foreign minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, for talks in the Thai capital earlier on Wednesday. The Myanmar army seized power after alleging fraud in a Nov. 8 election swept by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), detaining her and much of the party leadership. Opponents of the coup have staged days of demonstrations in towns and cities across Myanmar and three protesters and one policeman have been killed in violence. The Indonesian effort to resolve the crisis has raised suspicion among Myanmar democracy activists who fear dealing with the junta would confer