VIENTIANE: The annual That Luang festival, taking place in the Lao capital Vientiane on Nov. 23-27, was organized on a grander scale than previous years as it coincided with the official launch of tourism promotion campaign Visit Laos Year 2024. The Visit Laos Year 2024, kicked off on Thursday, is expected to create a vibrant atmosphere for economic stimulation. Lao …

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized on Monday that world leaders attending the COP28 climate conference this week need to interrupt the perilous progression of global warming before a “critical tipping point” is encountered. The UN chief was briefing reporters at the UN headquarters in New York after seeing for himself over the weekend the “profoundly shocking” speed at …

MIES, Switzerland: The draw for the 2024 Olympic basketball qualifying tournament took place here on Monday as four cities will host a total of 24 teams to vie for the final four spots. The 24 teams are divided into eight groups, with two groups in each of the four events, which will take place from July 2 to 7, 2024. …

BEIJING: Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has stressed the need to strengthen foreign-related legal system development, as he chaired a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Monday. Xi highlighted the need to create law-based governance conditions and a favorable external environment for advancing Chinese modernization. …

BEIJING: China welcomes all efforts that are conducive to bringing about ceasefire and deescalating the situation, foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on the Palestinian-Israeli issue on Monday. Wang made the remarks at a regular press briefing when asked to comment on the current situation in Gaza. According to reports, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, announced that …

In a stunning turn of events at the WWE Survivor Series, the wrestling world witnessed the unexpected return of legendary wrestler CM Punk, along with the surprising comeback of Randy Orton, leaving fans worldwide in awe. CM Punk, also known as Phil Brooks, had been absent from WWE since his departure in 2014, citing frustrations with creative storylines and inadequate …

A delegation of technical experts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached Islamabad on a mission to expand the tax net in Pakistan. As per officials in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), during the weeklong consultations, the IMF delegation will provide assistance in increasing tax efficiency. The Fund has insisted on raising the tax-to-GDP ratio to 15%. The …

Islamabad Judicial Magistrate Umar Shabbir Monday acquitted main accused in Sarah Inam murder case Shahnawaz Amir in a case of illegally possessing Kalashnikov, on benefit of doubt and expressed anger on the faulty investigation conducted by the police. As per written judgement, the court also ordered to issue Robkar (release orders) of the accused in Kalashnikov recovery case. The court …

The Palestinian traditional headdress worn has become the face of the Palestinian resistance against Israel all around the world wherein large-scale protests in the western capital also witnessed people wearing Keffiyehs. Also, hate crimes are on the rise in Western countries against those who wear Keffiyehs. Let’s talk about what Keffiyehs are all about. Keffiyehs has multiple patterns including an …

In a remarkable rescue effort, fishermen in Ormara, Balochistan, successfully freed a massive 30-foot sperm whale entangled in a secondary fishing net. Technical Advisor WWF Pakistan, Moazzam Khan, explained that the net was designed to allow dolphins and other marine animals to pass through, but the deep sea predator became ensnared. Responding to the unusual situation, the fishermen took swift …

Islamabad United are expected to add Pakistani fast bowler Naseem Shah to their roster for the upcoming season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 9. According to sources, negotiations involving Naseem Shah of Islamabad United are progressing to the final stages due to his inability to finalize his deal with Peshawar Zalmi. Islamabad United are also currently in talks …

An accountability court on Monday rejected the physical remand of former prime minister and PTI chairman, Imran Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust case. AC Judge Muhammad Bashir conducted a hearing of the Al-Qadir Trust case in the Adiala Jail. At the outset of the hearing, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) pleaded for an extension in the physical remand of the …

The youth who exploded himself in a rickshaw in Bakka Khel, Bannu on November 26 also turned out to be an Afghan citizen, who entered Pakistan on the basis of a Tazkre-Afghanistan Identity card. Rabinullah son of Khanur Gul. The registration number is 08916164. That means people holding legal documents of the Afghan government are also involved in terrorism in …

NANNING: Chen Mo, 40, stays nearly one-third of a year on China’s youngest volcanic island, Weizhou Island, keeping over six terabytes of photos and also video footage of the endangered Bryde’s whales. Chen is an associate researcher from the Guangxi Academy of Sciences who has been studying the species in the waters near Weizhou Island since 2016. “We identified about …

BEIJING: As the rotating president of the UN Security Council for November, China will hold a Security Council high-level meeting on the Palestinian-Israeli issue on Nov. 29. Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will travel to New York to chair the meeting, foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin announced …

BEIJING: The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Monday held a meeting to review guidelines on policies and measures for further promoting the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, chaired the meeting, which also deliberated a set of regulations on CPC leadership over …

BEIJING: Chinese authorities have unveiled a raft of measures to strengthen financial services for private companies as part of efforts to help spur their growth. Stronger financial support will go to private firms, especially micro, small and medium-sized ones, as well as those in tech-intensive areas like low-carbon industries, said a circular jointly released by eight authorities including the People’s …

MADRID: Italy won the Davis Cup for the first time since 1976 thanks to a 2-0 victory over Australia on Sunday. Italy had booked their place in the final on Saturday after defeating Novak Djokovic’s Serbia, and Matteo Arnaldi again showed the country’s determination as he opened the final, which was held in the Spanish city of Malaga, with a …

HONG KONG: Paul Chan, financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, said on Sunday that Asia’s first-ever Saudi Arabia exchange-traded fund (ETF) will be listed in Hong Kong on Nov. 29. Chan said in his blog that investors will be able to trade the constituent stocks of the Saudi stock market directly in the Hong Kong …

GAZA: The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, released on Sunday the third batch of hostages from the Gaza Strip under a temporary ceasefire agreement with Israel. “Within the framework of the humanitarian truce, we handed over to the Red Cross 13 Israeli detainees, three Thais, and one Russian,” Al-Qassam said in a press statement. Israeli Army Radio said …

ISTANBUL: Over the past decade, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has grown into an extensive cooperation network spanning three continents and it is raising a new concept for multilateral cooperation, a Turkish scholar has said. “When we analyze the developments in the past decade, the BRI has turned from a project to … building a network of cooperation not …

SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia: Eiv Thuna, a 20-year-old Cambodian student, was proud to have earned a scholarship to study at the Sihanoukville Institute of Business and Technology (SIBT) here, expressing her hope for a brighter future as the school has been providing her both professional skills and Chinese language proficiency. The tuition-free SIBT is a university-level school, which was jointly founded by …

BEIJING: China’s software and information technology service industry reported double-digit growth in revenue and profits in the first 10 months of the year, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed. Profits of the sector expanded 13.8 percent year on year to 1.14 trillion yuan (about 160 billion U.S. dollars) in the period, while revenue grew by 13.7 …

BEIJING: China’s installed capacity of clean energy surged in the first 10 months of the year amid the country’s pursuit of green development. By the end of October, the installed capacity of solar power in the country expanded 47 percent year on year to 540 million kilowatts, while that of wind power stood at about 400 million kilowatts, representing a …

BEIJING: Air quality in Chinese cities improved in October, data from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment showed. For 339 cities monitored by the ministry, the share of days with good air quality stood at 93.4 percent last month, up 1.6 percentage points year on year. Lhasa, capital of southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region, topped the country in terms of …

BUSAN, South Korea: China and South Korea on Sunday reaffirmed their strategic cooperative partnership and expressed willingness to continue to move forward in this direction. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin on the sidelines of the trilateral foreign …

BUSAN, South Korea: China, Japan and South Korea should play a more proactive role in promoting regional and global development facing accelerating changes unseen in a century and the slow recovery of the world economy, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Sunday. Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, …

Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi will temporarily assume the duties of deputy prime minister, local media said on Saturday. Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that Muttaqi will temporarily take over the responsibilities of Mawlawi Abdul Kabir due to his illness. Muttaqi will work and advise to acting Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund over domestic and foreign …

The Bhutto family on Saturday put to rest all rumours of rift between Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) top leadership and father-son duo, Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto. The rumours of rift were doing rounds after former President Asif Ali Zardari said that his son and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was “not fully trained” in politics and would “take time” …

In a recent development, Advocate Shah Khawar, Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, has been appointed as Election Commissioner for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). His appointment comes following the conclusion of the three-month tenure of the former Election Commissioner, Mahmood Iqbal Khakwani, whose term expired on October 5. Khakwani was initially appointed to oversee the PCB Chairman and …

A National Accountability Bureau (NAB) team grilled former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman, Imran Khan in £190m settlement case under Al-Qadir Trust case. The team led by Assistant Director Mohsin Ali Khan interrogated the PTI chairman in Adiala Jail for two and half hours. The team is quizzing, the former prime minister in the £190m case from November …

A five-day anti-polio campaign will begin across the country from Monday. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, more than 7.4 million children up to five years of age will be administered polio drops by 31,000 teams during the campaign. In Balochistan, more than 11,000 teams have been constituted for the drive to inoculate 2.5 million children. According to the Polio Emergency Operation Center, …

Chilli contains up to seven times the vitamin C level of an orange and has a range of health benefits, including fighting sinus congestion, aiding digestion and helping to relieve migraines and muscle, joint and nerve pain. It’s also a good source of vitamins A and E, beta-carotene, folic acid and potassium. Read on to know more about its benefits. …

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar approved on Sunday the replacement of Khalid Sajjad Khokhar as the president of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF). The nomination of a new president for the PHF has received the Prime Minister’s endorsement. PM Kakar had asked the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) to assemble a panel of candidates suitable for the pivotal role …

The Pakistan national cricket team wrapped up their four-day training camp in Rawalpindi on Sunday ahead of the Australian tour. The players will take a rest tomorrow and start their practice at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore on November 28. The Shan Masood-led Pakistan will leave Lahore for Australia to play a three-match Test series on November 30. …

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has completed the work of printing the voter lists, and the number of voters in Pakistan has increased to over 120.75 million with an increase of over 20.20 million, as compared to the previous elections. The ECP has said that the voter lists are being prepared according to the seats of each district and …

As the air quality continues to deteriorate in Punjab, the caretaker provincial government has taken various steps to bring the Air Quality Index (AQI) back to a healthy level. During the recent weeks, the AQI of Lahore has gone well above hazardous levels. In its ongoing efforts to reduce smog, the caretaker government announced strict measures recently, including shutting down …

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has decided to avail the services of the Pakistan army during the upcoming general election, scheduled to be held on February 8, 2022. According to details, ECP has written a letter to the Ministry of Interior and sought details regarding security during the general election. The ministry has been directed to provide a report …

Italian striker Mario Balotelli crashed his car into a wall while driving in his homeland Brescia, Italy at around 8:30 PM (Local Time) on Thursday 23 November 2023. His vehicle, an Audi Q8 worth approximately $126,000, was shattered after the accident as the medics arrived at the scene to see Balotelli limping, but not with major injuries. According to sources, …

Pakistan fast bowler Naseem Shah is expected to play for Islamabad United in the upcoming season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). According to the reports, Naseem Shah is set to join Islamabad United after deciding not to extend his association with Quetta Gladiators. The agreement between Naseem and Islamabad United has been nearly finalized, with a 90 percent settlement. …