As Justice Qazi Faez Isa dons the robe of the country’s top judge, over a hundred civilians are in military custody, draconian legislation that never received the President’s assent has been published in the gazette, elections on time seem impossible, and the pendency of cases in the Supreme Court has soared to over 56,000. In April, Justice Isa attended a …

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa’s first day as the country’s top judge started off with a full court hearing on a set of petitions challenging the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023. What sets this hearing apart is that it is being broadcast live on the CJP’s orders a first in Pakistan’s judicial history. The Act …

KARACHI: Calling the current caretaker administration “a continuation of the legacy of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government”, the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) on Sunday announced to stage citywide protests on Tuesday (tomorrow) against the exorbitant rise in prices of petroleum products and growing inflation. Addressing a press conference at the party’s headquarters Idara Noor-i-Haq, JI Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman while …

Russia fired cruise missiles at mock targets in the seas separating it from Alaska on Monday in what it said was an exercise to protect its northern shipping route in the Arctic. The defence ministry said Vulcan, Granit and Onyx cruise missiles were fired over distances of hundreds of kilometres to strike targets simulating enemy ships in the Bering Sea. …

BEIJING: As part of ongoing efforts to maintain bilateral communication and stabilize relations, senior Chinese and U.S. officials held multiple rounds of meetings in Malta on Saturday and Sunday. In the meetings, Wang Yi, Chinese foreign minister and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and U.S. National Security …

BEIJING: China’s total expenditure on research and development (R&D) exceeded 3 trillion yuan (about 418.2 billion U.S. dollars) in 2022, up 10.1 percent year on year, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday. China’s R&D spending jumped 7.7 percent last year at constant prices, higher than the 7-percent R&D annual growth target set for the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), …

ROME: China and Italy have maintained high-level growth of relations with fruitful cooperation in various fields, which has earned broad recognition, a former Italian official has said. Bilateral ties, especially in the economic and trade fields, have made a “leap forward,” Vito Petrocelli, former Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Italian Senate, told Xinhua, describing the two economies …

NANNING: Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Sunday addressed the opening ceremony of the 20th China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Nanning, the capital of south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The following is the full text of the speech: Remarks by H.E. Li Qiang Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China At the …

NINGBO, China: China and Serbia women’s volleyball teams both tasted their second consecutive victories here on Sunday in Group A of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games qualifiers. Hosts China and Serbia now lead the group, in which only the top two finishers will directly qualify for Paris. In Sunday’s matches, China smashed Mexico 3-0, Serbia eased past Ukraine 3-0, the …

HANGZHOU: Following a series of lackluster performances, China’s football sees a prime opportunity at the Hangzhou Asian Games to start anew. The football competition begins on Tuesday, four days before the opening ceremony. China’s men’s football team has struggled at the Asian Games. Their pinnacle was in 1994, finishing as runners-up. Since then, they’ve exited in the Round of 16 …

TOKYO: One out of 10 people in Japan is now aged 80 or older, while the ratio of elderly to the total population rose to a record high, ministry data showed Sunday. Japan’s elderly citizens, defined as those aged 65 and above, saw their percentage in the overall population at a historic high of 29.1 percent, according to the demographic …

XINING: A wide-field telescope capable of surveying the entire Northern Hemisphere sky was put into operation on Sunday in northwest China’s Qinghai Province, and its first image — the Andromeda Galaxy, located over 2 million light-years away has already been released. Developed by the University of Science and Technology of China and the Purple Mountain Observatory under the Chinese Academy …

Farmers run with their cattle during a traditional cattle race on the outskirts of southern Pakistan’s Hyderabad on Sept. 17, 2023. (Str/Xinhua) HYDERABAD, Pakistan, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) — In south Pakistan’s Hyderabad, a traditional cattle race was held here. In the midst of a cloud of dust, the white cattle, each with elaborate necklace and crowned head, ran wildly along …

ISLAMABAD: The Chinese construction and power companies are internationally competitive, and they produce very good quality work, a Pakistani official told Xinhua in a recent interview. “Most of these companies have an experience of working on mega projects in China as well, and some of these companies are also working overseas, so put together, they bring a very large experience …

BEIJING: Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, will hold the 18th round of China-Russia strategic security consultation in Russia from Sept. 18 to 21, at the invitation of Secretary Nikolai Patrushev of the Security Council of the Russian …

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Sunday departed for New York to represent Pakistan at the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), which will be held on September 22. PM Kakar will apparently be the first interim prime minister to represent Pakistan at the UN General Assembly. According to a press release issued by the Prime …

Justice Qazi Faez Isa was sworn in as the 29th chief justice of Pakistan on Sunday. His first act as the CJP was to form a full court to hear challenges to the law clipping the top judge’s powers. The hearing is tomorrow. He was administered the oath of office by President Arif Alvi during a ceremony at Aiwan-i-Sadr in …

The long-awaited return of the iconic Cop Universe is finally here! After the tremendous success of “Singham” and “Singham Returns,” fans have been eagerly anticipating another sequel and their wishes are being granted. Ajay Devgn, the star of the franchise, took to Twitter to share the exciting news. He posted pictures from the film’s Mahurat Shot and captioned the tweet …

Bangladesh is in the grip of a severe dengue fever outbreak, with more than 800 people losing their lives to this mosquito-borne disease. The latest data from the Ministry of Health reveals a grim picture. In the current year, Bangladesh has seen 164,562 cases of dengue, and September has been particularly hard, with 211 deaths. August and July were also …

In 2023, a whopping 540,000 Pakistanis have decided to seek better job opportunities abroad. This trend has been on the rise, with more than 90,000 leaving their homeland in just August alone. People from all walks of life are joining this migration. Among them, there are 232,749 laborers, 118,172 drivers, and even 5,589 engineers, 5,216 accountants, 2,261 doctors, and 1,012 …

The apex court is set to take up the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act case tomorrow. A full court bench headed by the newly minted Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Qazi Faez Isa will chair the hearing of the case of a review petition against the law that aims at curtailing the powers of the chief justice of Pakistan …

A star-studded trio of Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, and Karim Benzema is set to electrify the Asian Champions League as they spearhead the Saudi Arabian challenge in the continent’s premier football tournament. Collectively boasting an impressive haul of 11 UEFA Champions League titles, these football icons are now ready to make their mark on the Asian stage. Neymar, fresh from surpassing …

Following the Supreme Court’s Friday verdict in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) amendment case, NAB Chairman Lt-Gen (retd) Nazir Ahmed Butt summoned a consultative meeting to formulate the future course of action. The NAB Prosecution Division on Monday will give a detailed briefing to the meeting participants on the apex court’s decision to strike down some amendments in the NAB …

NANNING: Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Sunday met with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in Nanning, the capital of south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Li noted that China and Malaysia are good partners working toward common development, and good neighbors that help each other. He said the two sides in March reached an important consensus on the …

NANNING: ASEAN officials attending the 20th China-ASEAN Expo on Sunday called for continued cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), praising its contributions to the regional economy and regional cooperation. Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone said that Laos will maintain close cooperation with other members of ASEAN and China, and contribute to the BRI’s implementation. Sonexay made the remarks …

CHANGCHUN: Noon is Qu Sanmei’s busiest time. Owner of a restaurant in Jilin Province, northeast China, her fish dishes are especially good. Qu’s restaurant sits next to Chagan Lake in Qian Gorlos Mongolian Autonomous County, where bountiful fish glide through the clear waters. The All-fish Feast, her restaurant’s specialty, requires as many as 16 types of fish. It was not …

BEIJING: China now has over 200 million bicycles in use, which bolsters low-carbon traveling, the China Bicycle Association said on Sunday, the World Cycling Day. Chinese urbanites ride bicycles or electric-powered two-wheelers around 30 out of 100 times they travel. This cuts carbon emissions by around 10,000 tonnes per day across China, according to a survey conducted by the association …

BEIJING: Located near Beijing’s Central Axis, the Altar of the God of Agriculture stands as a testament to China’s rich farming culture. At a small farm field in this temple, emperors once attended solemn rituals to offer sacrifices to the God of Agriculture, praying for favorable weather, bountiful harvests, and prosperity for all. Today, this sacred space has transformed into …

NEW DELHI: Authorities in India’s southern state of Kerala have heightened surveillance measures to contain the spread of Nipah infections, officials said on Saturday. The measures have been stepped up in Kozhikode district, where so far six cases have been identified. Of them, four are active while the remaining two died. The state-run broadcaster All India Radio (AIR) said that …

BEIJING: China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (China Railway) said on Saturday that it sold 22.88 million train tickets on Friday, setting a new record for single-day ticket sales. Of the total, 20.95 million train tickets were sold on China’s official railway ticket-booking website, 12306.cn, and its official app, according to China Railway. Friday marks the presale of train tickets …

DHAKA: A freight train trial run was launched Saturday on a section of the railway built under the framework of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and via the Chinese-built Padma Bridge in Bangladesh. Syed Ahmed, project director of Bangladesh Railway’s Faridpur Rail Project, told journalists that the five wagons of the goods train carried 350 tons of stones …

SHANGHAI: The 34th Shanghai Tourism Festival opened Saturday and will last until Oct. 6, aiming to boost cultural and tourism consumption. A total of 70 tourist attractions in Shanghai, including the Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai wildlife park and Fengjing ancient town, as well as a raft of museums and parks, will offer 50 percent discount on admission tickets from Sept. …

HAIKOU: Hainan University, together with seven universities and scientific research institutions in tropical regions around the world, has started preparations for the establishment of the League of Tropical Universities (LTU), according to the university located in Haikou, capital of south China’s Hainan Province. The LTU is a multilateral platform for international cooperation to advance higher education and socio-economic development in …

XICHANG: China on Sunday successfully launched a new remote sensing satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China’s Sichuan Province. A Long March-2D carrier rocket carrying the satellite Yaogan-39 lifted off at 12:13 p.m. (Beijing Time). Sunday’s launch was the 488th mission undertaken by the Long March rocket series.

HANGZHOU: The Hangzhou Asian Games Village mayor Li Huolin has vowed to provide a comfortable home for all participating athletes and officials. Covering an area of 1.13 square kilometers, the Asian Games Village, which officially opened on Saturday, has been divided into three main sections: the Athletes’ Village, the Media Village and the Technical Officials’ Village. Besides the main Athletes’ …

NANNING: Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone on Sunday expressed the country’s continued support for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Laos will maintain close cooperation with China and other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and contribute to the initiative’s implementation, Sonexay said at the opening ceremony of the 20th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, capital of south …

NANNING: Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Saturday met with Indonesia’s Vice President Ma’ruf Amin in Nanning, the capital of south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Noting the recent meeting between the two countries’ leaders pointed out the direction for the development of bilateral relations between China and Indonesia, Li said China is willing to implement the important consensus reached by …

In a veiled criticism of the PML-N, PPP leader Nadeem Afzal Chan on Saturday said no one else could be blamed for a party abandoning its slogan of ‘vote ko izzat do’ (respect the vote). The PPP leader’s statement comes against the backdrop of growing differences between the two parties which were part of the erstwhile Shehbaz Sharif-led ruling coalition …

Residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Battagram took to the streets and blocked a stretch of the Karakoram Highway near the Khatm-i-Nabuwat Chowk on Saturday, decrying action against illegal connections (kundas) and electricity connections, as well as defaulters. Last week, the interim government announced plans to launch a crackdown on electricity theft, which federal ministers said led to combined losses of hundreds …

Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities have arrested at least 18 staff of an international NGO, including an American woman, accusing them of carrying out Christian missionary work, the country’s leaders said Saturday. The International Assistance Mission (IAM) confirmed its staffers were picked up from its office in Ghor province, central Afghanistan, and taken to Kabul. Security and intelligence forces had been observing …