BERLIN – German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU party on Saturday picked her ally Armin Laschet as its next leader, in a vote that kicks off the race for the country’s top job as a deadly pandemic roils Europe’s biggest economy. In the close race, Laschet, the state premier of Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, triumphed over old Merkel nemesis Friedrich Merz, after a first round that saw Merz leading by just five votes. A third hopeful, foreign affairs expert Norbert Roettgen, was knocked out of the race. MerzRead More

Bureau Chief KARACHI: As many as six more patients of COVID-19 died overnight lifting the death toll to 3,775 and 1,258 new cases emerged when 13,936 tests were conducted. This was stated by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in a statement issued here on Saturday. He added that six more patients of Coronavirus died overnight lifting the death toll to 3,775 that constituted 1.6 percent death rate. The CM said that 13,936 samples were tested against which 1,258 cases were diagnosed constituting 9 percent detection rate. He addedRead More

Nazir Siyal KARACHI: Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho stressed federal government to allow procurement of Chinese vaccine to avert covid-19 pandemic. Provincial health minister criticized the Prime Minister for delay in procurement of Chinese Sinovac vaccine to save country men. She has claimed the vaccine with highest efficacy and safety among Pfizer-BioNTech and other country vaccines. Meanwhile, International health experts has reservations about Sinovac’s phase III trials data and further research of efficacy and safety of vaccine. Sinovac has received emergency use authorization in China, which still need regulatoryRead More

  By Nazir Siyal KARACHI: Provincial Assembly Sindh passed two government bills including control of Narcotics Substance (Sindh Amendment) Bill, 2020 and the Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Bill, 2020 here on Saturday. Speaker Sindh Assembly Speaker Sindh Assembly Agha Siraj Durani chaired the session, while, parliamentary leaders of TLP, MMAP and PPPP attended the proceedings. The session took up five Call Attention Notices (CANs) a day before during eighth sitting of 17th session: During the proceeding the Ministers for Parliamentary Affairs moved the bill in the house passed ControlRead More

ISLAMABAD, JAN 16 (DNA) – Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Operations Islamabad, Waqar-ud-Din Syed on Saturday directed all the sub-divisional police officers (SDPOs) to supervise the investigation of all important cases by himself. In a meeting with Zonal SPs and SDPOs, held here to review the crime situation in the city, the DIG asked the SDPOs to make a patrolling plan to control crime and ensure the arrest of criminals in the city.  The DIG further asked the officers to brief the duty policemen during special checking in the city toRead More