GAZA: At least 14 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday by Israeli attacks targeting several areas in the Gaza Strip, said Palestinian sources. Security and medical sources told Xinhua that eight people were killed and more than 30 others were injured with varying injuries as a result of Israeli missile and artillery shelling that targeted various areas of the cities of …

ASTANA: Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that China and Kazakhstan have established a unique permanent comprehensive strategic partnership. Xi made the remarks in a written statement upon his arrival in Astana for a state visit to Kazakhstan, where he will also attend the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). …

ASTANA: About one year ago at the 23rd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Chinese President Xi Jinping raised a question to the global community: Unity or split, peace or conflict, cooperation or confrontation — these are the questions raised again by our times. As leaders of the SCO prepare to meet …

BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping left Beijing on Tuesday morning for the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana, and state visits to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan at the invitation of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of the Republic of Kazakhstan and President Emomali Rahmon of the Republic of Tajikistan. Xi’s entourage includes …

BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming state visits to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan will further boost China’s relations with the two countries, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday while briefing the media on the visits. Kazakhstan is China’s friendly neighbor and permanent comprehensive strategic partner, Mao noted, adding that since the establishment of diplomatic ties 32 years ago, China-Kazakhstan relations …

KABUL: Approximately 115,000 Afghan refugees have returned to homeland from neighboring Pakistan and Iran over the past one month, the country’s Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation has said. “In the past month, nearly 115,000 Afghan citizens have returned from Pakistan and Iran,” local media TOLOnews channel quoted Abdul Mutalib Haqqani, the spokesman of the ministry, as saying. Haqqani said cash …

RAMALLAH: Hussein Al-Sheikh, secretary general of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, arrived in Doha on Monday to hold official talks with the Qatari leadership regarding the latest developments in the Palestinian territories. According to a statement released by his office, al-Sheikh met Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Qatari Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. …

The Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) has announced to increase local oil and gas production. As per details, the OGDCL’s spokesperson said that the Nashpa field, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has seen an increase in oil and gas reserves. As a result, an additional 330 barrels of oil and 77 million cubic feet of gas are being produced …

The government has increased regulatory duty on hundreds of imported items in the fiscal year budget 2024-25. According to the Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO), the regulatory duty has been increased on various items ranging from 5% to 55% under Finance Bill 2024, including: Milk and cream (25%), Yogurt, butter, and nuts (20%), Natural honey (30%), Dates, figs, pineapples, and oranges …

Jamaat Islami has announced protest sit-in in Islamabad against over-billing and power loadshedding on July 12, on Monday. Ameer Jamaat Islami Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has claimed that 1,000 people have died in the ongoing heatwave, but K-Electric didn’t reduce loadshedding of electricity in Karachi. “It has been 19 years to privatization of the power utility but its line losses …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed satisfaction with the recent measures taken by the Pakistan government, paving the way for a new loan program, on Monday, citing finance ministry sources. As per details, Pakistan hopes to secure a new IMF loan program in July as the budget 2024-25 prepared under IMF conditions has also been approved, fulfilling one of …

The government, acting on the recommendations of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), has instructed the Ministry of IT and Telecom and the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) to accelerate the digitization of procurement and other government functions. To facilitate this, all government agencies will process procurements through the Cloud Services Procurement Framework. The Managing Director of PPRA has been …

Gippy Grewal, a well-known Indian actor and singer of Punjabi films, has reportedly arrived in Pakistan to promote his latest film. This is not Grewal’s first visit to the country, however. Last year, Grewal, along with Binnu Dhillon and Karamjeet Anmol, travelled to Pakistan to promote their film, Mojan Hi Mojan. During the same trip, the three artists also visited …

Pakistan’s Atif Butt emerged victorious in his first ever Tekken 8 tournament held at the prestigious CEO 2024 on Sunday in Daytona Beach, Florida. We made it to the Esports World Cup with winning my first ever Tekken 8 tournament CEO! See you all in Riyadh! Atif defeated Keisuke by a score of 2-0 in the semi-final and Doujin by …

Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cyber Crime Circle Monday launched an investigation against YouTuber Hasan Iqbal on a complaint launched by the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women’s ‘anti-education’ video. A video has gone viral on social media in which women’s education was opposed as YouTuber Iqbal Chishti claimed that girls danced in schools and colleges and also condemned parents …

India and Pakistan Monday exchanged the lists of civilian prisoners and fishermen in each other’s custody under provisions of the bilateral Agreement on Consular Access 2008, under which the lists are exchanged every year on January 1 and July 1. India has shared the lists of 366 civilian prisoners and 86 fishermen in India’s custody of Pakistan prisoners. Pakistan has …

Justice Ayesha Malik of the Supreme Court on Monday declared that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) holds the reins of the formula for the allocation of reserved seats, granting it the authority to declare any candidate as an independent candidate. As part of a 13-member full-court SC bench hearing the Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) plea against the Peshawar High …

NEW DELHI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Sunday a monetary award of 1.25 billion Indian Rupees (about 15 million U.S. dollars) for the country’s cricket team for winning the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup. The World Cup tournament, organized by the ICC, was co-hosted by the U.S. and the West Indies. …

ISLAMABAD: As the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) entered the second phase, a Pakistani expert said that Pakistan and China are all set to pool efforts to reinvigorate and upgrade CPEC for socio-economic development, taking the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership to new heights. CPEC, a flagship project of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is one-of-a-kind to transform the economic …

BEIJING: With the Communist Party of China (CPC) celebrating its 103rd founding anniversary on July 1, the CPC is set to unveil a new round of deep and comprehensive reforms to better serve China’s 1.4 billion people. On July 15, the CPC will convene the third plenary session of its 20th central committee in Beijing, with a host of reforms …

ISLAMABAD: As the June sun waned behind clouds and a gentle breeze whispered across a small lake in Pakistan’s east Sahiwal district, ducks emerged with renewed vitality, gliding effortlessly through the cool water, and the air, alive with rustling leaves and distant bird calls, mingled with the sweet scent of blooming flowers. The lake, the trees whirling in the wind …

BEIJING: From July 2 to 6, Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana, and pay state visits to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan at the invitation of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of the Republic of Kazakhstan and President Emomali Rahmon of the Republic of Tajikistan, Foreign …

SHENZHEN: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday sent a congratulatory letter as a cross-sea passage opened, linking the cities of Shenzhen and Zhongshan in southern China’s Guangdong Province. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link is another large-scale transportation project in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao …

A sedentary lifestyle is characterised by prolonged periods of inactivity and minimal physical movement, often associated with activities such as sitting, watching TV, and working at a computer. This lack of physical activity can significantly increase the risk of various cancers through multiple mechanisms. While regular exercise and an active lifestyle are crucial in mitigating these risks and maintaining overall …

An Afghan Taliban delegation on Sunday will participate in the third round of the United Nations-hosted meeting of Special Envoys and Special Representatives on Afghanistan in Doha, Qatar. This will mark the first time the de facto Afghan rulers will attend a gathering of international envoys on Afghanistan since UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres started the process in May 2023, …

Over 20 inmates escaped from Rawalakot District Jail after taking the police personnel hostage. As per details, the police officials stated the prisoners opened fire on cops, injuring one inmate who was arrested later. The escaped prisoners include dangerous criminals, according to police. A shootout exchange occurred between police and prisoners on the outskirts of the city, killing one inmate. …

After Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has also announced his retirement from Twenty20 internationals (T20Is) after his team defeated South Africa to win the T20 World Cup 2024. Jadeja, who became the third senior cricketer to retire from T20 internationals at the end of T20 World Cup 2024, announced his retirement from the format through a …

An urban flooding alert has been issued in Faisalabad with the arrival of the monsoon 2024 season. Faisalabad Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) has intensified the process of cleaning rain drains throughout the city to mitigate the risk of flooding. Faisalabad is known as Manchester of Pakistan due to its industrialization and large scale mabour market. The Faisalabad district came …

Renowned Pakistani actress Zara Noor Abbas recently attended a private event where she candidly discussed various aspects of her life and shared her thoughts on the burden of responsibilities on men. During the event, she emphasized the importance of balancing responsibilities between men and women. She stated that if women demand equal rights, they should also ensure that men’s rights …

Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb addressing a press conference said the country is witnessing economic stability, with inflation rates dropping significantly from 38 percent to 12 percent. The finance minister said Rs750 billing corruption was uncovered in sales tax, urging reforms in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). Aurangzeb revealed that a significant corruption of Rs750 billion rupees has been …

On the occasion of the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Sikh pilgrims from India and other countries arrived in Pakistan. The pilgrimage began at Gurdwara Panja Sahib, and the caravan of pilgrims reached Gurdwara Nankana Sahib via a special shuttle service. The Sikh pilgrims commended the government and security forces for providing excellent accommodation and food arrangements. “All of …

President Asif Ali Zardari signed the Finance Bill 2024 approving the federal budget 2024-25. A signed copy of the Finance Bill will also be sent to Parliament. The new federal budget will come into effect from July 1 The National Assembly, in a session chaired by Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, approved the federal budget worth Rs18.877 trillion. However, the session saw …

The economic benefits of Balochistan’s natural resources are increasingly reaching the local population, with significant contributions from the Oil and Gas Company, MPCL. The company has completed several projects in the Harnai, Bolan, Quetta, and Ziarat areas at a cost of 743 million rupees. These projects include initiatives in health, education, water supply schemes, electricity and gas supply, and infrastructure …

GUIYANG: In a remarkable advancement in China’s technology sector, consumers of Chishui Silkie chickens will soon be able to monitor how their “foster chicken” — the one ultimately destined for their dinner table — is fed and raised on remote farms, all from their mobile phones. Xu Qiyong, owner of a chicken farm in Tiantaishan Village in Chishui City in …

ISLAMABAD: The repatriation of profits and dividends by foreign investors in Pakistan increased by 477 percent during the first 11 months of the outgoing fiscal year ending on June 30, 2024, according to the State Bank of Pakistan. Data available at the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) website on Friday showed that profits and dividends rose to 1.805 billion U.S. …

ISLAMABAD: Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan Yousuf Raza Gilani said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a transformative journey for Pakistan that catalyzed investment, technology transfer, knowledge sharing, and skill development with a cumulative investment of billions of dollars from China. Speaking at the launching event of the Annual Sustainability Report 2023, jointly organized by an Islamabad-based think-tank …

TEHRAN: After a highly-contested first round of presidential elections, Iran is set for a runoff vote on July 5, as none of the candidates have secured the required 50 percent of votes, Iran’s Election Headquarters Spokesperson Mohsen Eslami said Saturday. The results show that reformist Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s former health minister, received more than 42 percent of the votes, while …

On June 28, 2024, the Conference Marking the 70th Anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence was held in Beijing. President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China attended the conference and delivered an important address. Premier Li Qiang of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China moderated the conference. Former political leaders from countries including Viet Nam, Myanmar, …

Taliban authorities said on Saturday that demands over women’s rights were “Afghanistan’s issues” to solve, ahead of United Nations-led engagement talks where the exclusion of Afghan women has sparked an outcry. The Taliban government, which has imposed restrictions on women since seizing power in 2021 that the UN has described as “gender apartheid”, will send its first delegation to the …

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has directed the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to issue instructions to all civil and military agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau and Inter-Services Intelligence, against contacting or approaching “any judge” or member of their staff. Justice Shahid Karim issued the directions in a written order which emerged on Saturday on a complaint filed by an anti-terrorism …