The Pakistani indie music scene is not a new avenue, but it is a shorthanded one. In a country dominated by old-school music pioneers, newer Indie artists have become part of an increasing chunk of the music scene. The official release of Spotify Pakistan in the country has made music more accessible. Maanu – Hailing … Read more
KABUL: Four women have been found dead in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s Taliban government said on Saturday, following reports that activists had been killed. Two suspects have been arrested after the four bodies were found at a house in the city’s fifth police district, interior ministry spokesman Qari Sayed Khosti … Read more
LAHORE: Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi believes that the only way to address the plethora of crises faced by the country was through “immediate, transparent, fair and free elections”. Addressing a press conference flanked by PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal and Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb, Abbasi said the government had failed as the people … Read more
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened on a positive note; following the government’s announcement to increase fuel prices, suggesting an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was soon to materialise, dealers said on Friday. Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corporation said that the stocks closed higher on speculations of likely release of IMF … Read more
KARACHI: The Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) has received the lowest bids in the range of $29.896/mmbtu to $30.65/mmbtu in response to an emergency tender issued on November 2, 2021 for two LNG cargoes. The record high commodity prices have put at risk the energy security and affordability for many Asian players, as the region heads … Read more
WASHINGTON: Lawmakers were set to take key votes on Friday on giant twin bills at the center of Joe Biden’s $3 trillion blueprint to transform America’s crumbling transport network and expand the welfare safety net on the biggest day so far of his presidency. Success on both fronts would be a huge boon to Biden, 10 … Read more
WASHINGTON: The US economy added 531,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate dropped to 4.6 per cent, the government reported on Friday, a better-than-expected result, indicating hiring is resurging as the Covid-19 infections decline. A wide range of industries added jobs in October, including manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, and the hard-hit leisure and hospitality sector, … Read more
WASHINGTON: Pfizer said Friday that a clinical trial of its pill to treat Covid-19 had shown it is highly effective, hailing it is as a big step toward ending the pandemic. A simple pill to treat the coronavirus at home has been sought since the start of the global health crisis. So far all treatments … Read more
BEIJING: Amid the weakening of global consensus on opening up, President Xi Jinping made fresh pledges Thursday to open the Chinese market wider as the country has fully delivered on its accession commitments to World Trade Organisation (WTO). Noting that globalisation is facing headwinds, Xi expressed concern over the decline of an index on world … Read more
LAHORE: Pakistan Railways secretary Habib-ur-Rehman Gillani has resolved to upgrade the cargo movement services to facilitate the industry by reducing the cost of doing business and to enable the exporters compete with the regional competitors. During a visit to the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) in Lahore on Friday, the Railways secretary agreed that … Read more
KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Friday extended the pre-arrest bail of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Nisar Khuhro for 10 days but the bail is subject to the Accountability Court Sukkur’s confirmation. “The National Accountability (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2021” promulgated on 07.10.2021, whereby under Section 7, powers, to deal with the bail matters have … Read more
CAIRO: Arab League (AL) Secretary General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit on Thursday warned against the expanding Israeli settlements and the ongoing deteriorated humanitarian and economic conditions of the Palestinians. He made the remarks during his meeting in Cairo with Tor Wennesland, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. “Both diplomats reviewed recent developments in … Read more
PARIS: The French hotel industry is on its knees, the head of the hotel group Accor said on Friday, as it cannot afford to raise wages and is having trouble recruiting enough staff to handle the recovery as tourists return. Sebastien Bazin, head of the world’s sixth-largest hotel group, said on French radio station RMC … Read more
KARACHI: A medical expert has highlighted the prevalence of dengue fever in a large number of countries across the globe while adding that rural to urban migration also contributed to the spread of viral diseases. “Dengue Fever is still a challenge for as many as 129 countries in the world, including Pakistan. Following the ongoing … Read more
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia launched a digital licence registration service platform to acquire licence for driving, traffic warranty and firearms at the seventh Absher Forum for Electronic Transactions held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Riyadh. The platform launched by Saudi Interior Minister Prince Abdul Aziz includes the digital driving licence; the unified registration service for driving … Read more
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has announced digital services for expatriates to renew their residency permit (Iqama) on a quarter-of-a-year basis and save a copy on their smartphones. These services available on Absher Afrad (Individual) platform are among a series of electronic services, mainly related to the General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) and the Traffic Directorate, launched … Read more
KARACHI: All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) has said that the total cement dispatches during July–October of the fiscal year 2021/22 clocked-in at 18.04 million tonnes as against 19.32 million tonnes during the same period of the last year, registering a decline of 6.6 per cent. Meanwhile, on a yearly basis, the overall dispatches reached … Read more
KARACHI: Pakistan’s listed banks’ profitability declined 4 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the third quarter of 2021 to Rs68 billion on the back of margin compression and fall in the net interest income. Analysts at Topline Securities said the NII of the bank declined 6 per cent YoY to Rs199 billion, as the … Read more
LONDON: The chairman of Yorkshire resigned on Friday over a growing racism row, blaming senior figures at one of England’s leading cricket clubs for refusing to accept the scale of the problem. Former player Azeem Rafiq has accused Yorkshire of failing to deal adequately with his allegations of abuse while at the county, saying he … Read more
SHARJAH: England’s T20 World Cup captain Eoin Morgan insisted on Friday the fight against racism in cricket is “bigger than any of our careers or any trophies”. English cricket has been plunged into chaos after Pakistan-born off-spinner Azeem Rafiq accused Yorkshire of failing to deal adequately with allegations of racism when he played for the … Read more
KARACHI: The Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) has called off the countrywide strike, a statement said on Thursday. The PPDA called for a countrywide strike for November 5 against the inability of the government to increase their margins for two years. In this regard, PPDA representatives held a meeting with the government team led by … Read more
ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) has injected four operated wells, producing 69,770 barrels crude oil and 184 million cubic feet gas, in its production gathering system during the first quarter of the current fiscal year. “In line with its production strategy to boost oil and gas production, the company injected wells … Read more
KARACHI: As the international community observed World Cities Day on October 31, the predicament of certain major cities, in developing countries, including Karachi and Lahore, is crystal clear to all. The day aims to push forward cooperation among countries in meeting opportunities and addressing the challenges of urbanisation around the world. But things were not … Read more
KARACHI: The rupee lost four paisas against the dollar in the interbank market on Thursday, dealers said. The exchange rate ended at Rs170.01 against the dollar from the previous day’s closing of Rs169.97 in the interbank foreign exchange market. The rupee fell to the historic low of Rs175.27 on October 26, 2021. The local currency … Read more
LONDON: Sales of new cars in Britain sank nearly a quarter in October, as the vehicles production worldwide was slammed by a shortage of semiconductors, industry data showed on Thursday. The UK auto sector suffered its worst October sales in 30 years, also as a result of surging inflation, tax rises and weaker consumer confidence, … Read more
WASHINGTON: Strict rules intended to push tens of millions of American workers into getting vaccinated against Covid-19 will come into effect on January 4, President Joe Biden’s administration announced Thursday. The mandates targeting businesses with more than 100 employees, health care workers, and federal contractors represent the most aggressive steps Washington has taken yet against … Read more
KARACHI: Sindh High Court has rejected an application of Digital Bridge Private Limited, seeking to restrain Virtual Remittance Gateway Private Limited from performing any function under the license of Third Party Service Provider (TPSP) for mobile and branchless banking in Pakistan. Digital Bridge Private Limited had filed a suit in the court, submitting that it … Read more
KARACHI: The Pakistan State Oil (PSO) plans big, as the state-owned oil company has proposed to double its authorised capital to Rs10 billion in a move to explore investment plans for vertical integration and diversification of business portfolio to add sustainability. PSO is also exploring further avenues for increasing its stakes in the liquefied natural … Read more
