KANDAHAR: A small carpeted room serves as a makeshift jail for 12 “criminals” who are awaiting Taliban justice, caught in the legal system which the group is building at the heart of their new Afghan regime. None of the prisoners being held on the ground floor of the Taliban headquarters in Panjwai district in southern … Read more
WASHINGTON: The United States and European powers on Friday denounced the naming of a new ruling council by Sudan’s military leader and urged the reinstatement of the ousted civilian prime minister. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who on October 25 dissolved the government led by Abdalla Hamdok, on Thursday named a new transitional council that excludes … Read more
The European Union said on Friday it was making progress in tackling a migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border after Turkey barred the citizens of three Middle Eastern countries from flying to Minsk and Russia dismissed Belarus’s threat to cut off a gas pipeline to Europe. Hundreds of migrants, mainly Kurds from the Middle East, have … Read more
PARIS: French prosecutors are investigating the alleged rape of a female soldier by a fellow serviceman at the presidential palace in Paris, a source said Friday, a case that could cast a shadow over President Emmanuel Macron’s administration. The alleged assault took place after a going-away reception for a general and two others that Macron attended in July, … Read more
HONG KONG: Hong Kong has refused to renew the visa of an Australian correspondent from The Economist, the newspaper’s chief editor said, as authorities in the Chinese city tighten a crackdown on free speech and dissent. Sue-lin Wong is at least the third foreign journalist working in Hong Kong to be forced out in recent years. Press … Read more
BEIJING: Revenues of Chinese gaming and communications giant Tencent rose 3 per cent in the last three months, according to the results published on Wednesday, as Beijing cracks down on tech giants and the country’s mammoth gaming industry. China’s heavy-handed regulation of the tech and video gaming sectors in recent months has hit industry heavyweights with … Read more
ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday said that Pakistan’s progress is linked with extensive digitalisation of all the sectors, particularly education and health, and stressed for fast decision-making to match the global advancements in information technology. “Pakistan needs a paradigm shift in [the] IT sector with an ability to process and analyse more data … Read more
TOKYO: Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida unveils his post-election cabinet on Wednesday, with a new foreign minister but other posts unchanged as the government begins work on a new pandemic stimulus package. At a special parliament session, lawmakers voted Kishida in as prime minister after his victory in last month’s general election. The soft-spoken moderate … Read more
GLASGOW: A draft text at the COP26 climate summit urged countries on Wednesday to revisit their emissions cutting goals by 2022, three years ahead of schedule, after data showed current plans were far from limiting heating to 1.5°C. After 10 days of technical discussions among delegates from nearly 200 nations in Glasgow on how the world … Read more
KARACHI: The Central Depository Company (CDC) launched Pakistan’s first professional clearing member (PCM) in collaboration with the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) and the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL), a statement said on Wednesday. The new PCM regime, launched under the regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has been successfully … Read more
DUBAI: Emirates airline posted a $1.6 billion loss in the first half of the financial year, the Dubai-based carrier said on Wednesday, as it remains in the red due to the Covid pandemic. However, the revenue went up 86 per cent to $5.9 billion and the loss compares to $3.4 billion during the same period … Read more
SAN FRANCISCO: A US judge on Tuesday rejected Apple’s request to delay letting App Store offerings bypass its payment system as ordered by the court, saying it had 30 days to comply in a case brought by Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite. Apple wanted the change, ordered to be implemented by a December 9 deadline, … Read more
WASHINGTON’: The Chinese economy, weighed down by electricity shortages and a vast real estate crisis, has lost its lustre recently, to the point where economists are starting to question its impact on the global growth it has helped drive for more than 20 years. The difficulties of the real estate sector in China triggered by the … Read more
BERLIN: Global supply-chain issues dampened the German sportswear giant Adidas third quarter results, with the company revising down its estimated gross profit margin for the year on Wednesday. The company “performed well in an environment characterised by severe challenges on both the supply and demand side”, Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted said in a statement. Difficult market … Read more
ISLAMABAD: An eight-member delegation of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Contact Group on Kashmir, visited the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) for a “Roundtable discussion” on Kashmir, a statement said. The delegation was led by special envoy for Jammu and Kashmir and the assistant secretary general (Humanitarian Affairs) to Pakistan and AJK, Ambassador Yousef … Read more
LILLE, France: More than 200 migrants were rescued as they tried to cross the Channel in makeshift boats to reach Britain, French authorities said late Tuesday. In seven separate operations between Monday and Tuesday evening, 210 migrants, including four women and a child, were rescued and brought back to the north French coast after their boats … Read more
YANGON: Myanmar’s junta has charged a US journalist detained since May with sedition and terrorism, which carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, his lawyer said on Wednesday. The military has squeezed the press since taking power in a February coup, arresting dozens of journalists critical of its crackdown on dissent that has killed over … Read more
BAKU: Dilara Bagiyeva’s face grew pale as she recounted how, after suffering abuse from her husband for a decade, he turned on their eight-year-old daughter in a drunken fit last year. That evening in November, he returned home intoxicated to their 13th-floor apartment in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, beating Bagiyeva first in the bedroom, then the hallway and … Read more
RAMALLAH: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday slammed the Israeli government for refusing to resume the stalled Middle East peace process, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. Abbas made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the new headquarters of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission near the West Bank city of Ramallah, it said. … Read more
PARIS: People over 65 in France will need to show proof of a Covid-19 booster jab to be able to visit restaurants, attend cultural events and take intercity trains, President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday. The pass has become a routine part of life for many people in France since August, with a complete course of vaccinations generating … Read more
SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook-parent Meta on Tuesday said it will stop letting ads be targeted at users based on “sensitive” topics such as race, religion, sexuality or political party, citing concerns about abuse. The company’s deep knowledge about its users’ interests is prized by advertisers looking to reach a certain audience — and is an engine … Read more
KARACHI: Pakistan stocks opened on a bullish note as the KSE-100 Index witnessed a surge of 275.42 points, or 0.59 per cent, in the first hour of trading on Wednesday. The index on Tuesday went towards the red zone since the start of the trading session on news flow regarding uncertainty of the ongoing IMF … Read more
KARACHI: The US dollar gained 37 paisas against the rupee in early trade at the interbank foreign exchange market on Wednesday. The dollar is being traded at Rs172 to the rupee till filing of this report at 10:00am today. On Tuesday, the exchange rate closed at Rs171.63. The local currency recorded a significant gain during … Read more
WASHINGTON: Drugmakers Pfizer and BioNTech announced on Tuesday they have formally submitted a request asking US officials for emergency authorisation of their Covid-19 booster vaccine for people aged 18 and older. The move follows research published by the companies in late October indicating a third shot is 95.6 per cent effective against symptomatic infection, based on clinical … Read more
WELLINGTON: Pacific Rim trade and foreign ministers agreed at a virtual summit on Wednesday that free trade and open economies will drive the region’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Ministers from the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group met online to discuss their Covid-19 response ahead of a meeting of national leaders on Saturday, including US … Read more
RAMALLAH: Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye on Tuesday warned that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is facing a very acute financial crisis that would prevent it from fulfilling its obligations. He made the remarks at the start of an emergency meeting of the PA’s cabinet held in the West Bank city of Ramallah to discuss the … Read more
TOKYO: A former nurse who murdered three patients by contaminating their intravenous drips with disinfectant was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday by a Japanese court, according to local media. During her trial, 34-year-old Ayumi Kuboki admitted to killing the patients in their 70s and 80s five years ago in a case that shocked Japan. … Read more
WELLINGTON: Thousands of demonstrators marched on the New Zealand parliament to protest against Covid-19 restrictions on Tuesday, prompting a major police deployment at the Wellington building known as the Beehive. About 3,000 people, most not wearing masks, made their way through the capital’s city centre, including dozens of motorcyclists in biker gang regalia performing burnouts. Some attendees … Read more
