BEIJING: A Chinese expedition team measured the thickness of snow on Mount Qomolangma with a precise ground-penetrating radar, and the mean depth estimates at the summit are 9.5±1.2 meters, according to a newly-published paper in the journal The Cryosphere. The data was obtained in May last year during a Mount Qomolangma expedition which formed part of the country’s second comprehensive …

NANJING: Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, stressed, while on a fact-finding mission to Jiangsu Province, that as a province having the strengths of solid industrial foundation, rich scientific and educational resources, sound business environment and huge market size, Jiangsu has both the capability …

BANGKOK: The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) elected Sheikh Talal Fahad Al-Sabah as its new president at the 42nd OCA Congress here on Saturday. Sheikh Talal received 24 of the 44 votes cast. The other candidate, the OCA director general and president of World Aquatics Husain Al-Musallam, who is also from Kuwait, received 20 votes. Sheikh Talal, 58, is the …

BEIJING: The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the country’s top securities regulator, on Saturday said that it will promote the high-quality development of the public offering fund sector and steadily lower the sector’s fee rates. The CSRC statement came after a number of Chinese fund management companies on Saturday announced they would lower the management and custodian fees of their …

At least seven people were killed and dozens more injured in India on Saturday after clashes over local polls in West Bengal, a state notorious for political violence during election campaigns. India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has in recent years worked hard to gain a toehold in West Bengal ruled by a communist party for much of its history …

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has said the government needs to take appropriate policy measures to improve productivity, export competitiveness and debt sustainability to revive economic activities. According to the Financial Stability Review (FSR) for CY22, issued by SBP, in the latest wave of Systemic Risk Survey (SRS), market participants have identified political uncertainty as one of the …

At least seven people were killed and 14 others were injured on Saturday when a vehicle’s gas cylinder exploded near the Government College of Commerce in the Bhalwal tehsil of Punjab’s Sargodha district, rescue officials said. According to a statement issued by Rescue 1122 Control Room, seven people were killed on the spot while 14 others were injured, out of …

Pakistan and Switzerland inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Saturday in Bhurban, solidifying their commitment to foster cooperation in the domain of disaster management. The agreement was formally signed by Switzerland Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, who is on a visit to Pakistan, and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik. The signing ceremony took place …

ISLAMABAD: A local court Saturday upheld the maintainability of the Toshakhana case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan. Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ), Islamabad, Humayun Dilawar, announced the reserved verdict, with the hearing set to take place on July 12. The witnesses have also been summoned on the same day. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had, on …

A grenade attack and gun battle in Iran’s southeast near Pakistan left four assailants and two Iranian policemen dead on Saturday, local media said. It was the latest violence in Sistan-Baluchistan province, where unrest has involved drug smuggling gangs, rebels from the Baluchi minority and Sunni Muslim extremist groups. There was no immediate indication of who carried out the attack. …

As the electricity shortfall sustains, the country continues to suffer from long hours of load shedding in various areas. According to the National Power Control Center, the electricity shortfall is 6,200 megawatts. The total production is 20,200MW, while the demand is 26,500MW. The rural areas are experiencing outages of 12 hours, while the urban areas are without power for six to …

The seventh death anniversary of prominent philanthropist and humanitarian Abdul Sattar Edhi is being observed on Saturday (today). It has been seven years since Edhi left this mortal world, but his indelible imprints continue to inspire and guide countless individuals. July 8 marks a significant day in the hearts and minds of millions around the world as they remember the …

WhatsApp will soon impose stricter requirements on Android devices, prompting thousands of mobile phones to lose access to the popular messaging app. Currently, WhatsApp can be used on Android devices running at least Jelly Bean 4.1. However, starting from October 24, 2023, the app will no longer function on devices with Jelly Bean or KitKat versions. As technology advances, supporting …

Apple is said to be actively developing a laptop with a foldable screen, signalling a potential challenge to Asus, which has been leading the way with its Zenbook Fold line of folding-screen laptops. Reports from Korea suggest that Apple is in discussions with suppliers to bring a foldable-screen MacBook to the market. If successful, this device could invigorate the sluggish …

Pakistani all-rounder Shadab Khan on Saturday underlined the importance of focusing on both batting and bowling, especially in today’s fast-paced cricket and mentioned that he is fully fit and has no injuries at the moment, which allowed him to participate in county cricket and maintain his form for Pakistan. The men in green all-rounder recently sat down for an exclusive …

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Saturday lodged a money laundering case against Ijazul Haq, the chief of Pakistan Muslim League-Zia (PML-Z). The case, initiated under the direction of the Director General of FIA and based on the findings of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), involves 23 individuals, including former Members of Parliament Ghulam Murtaza and Ghazala Shaheen The registered …

Judge Abher Gul Khan of the Lahore Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Saturday ordered acquittal of another 23 activists associated with Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in a case related to rioting and arson. The court concluded that the prosecution could not prove the charges against the suspects. The case was registered at Chung police station in 2021. Among those acquitted were activists …

Among these products, the price of milk, wheat flour, sugar, long cloth has increased; Vegetable ghee fell, while electricity and firewood prices remained unchanged. The price of a 20 kg wheat flour bag now stands at Rs 2,746.36, up from Rs 2,639.51 per bag in the week before Eid. PBS did not release data for the week ending June 29, …

Although tomatoes are a permanent part of cooking in India, their prices have risen by 445% to outpace the price of petrol, shocking citizens and forcing them to reduce consumption of the staple food. A kilogram of tomatoes sold in New Delhi on Thursday for INR120 ($1.45) per kilogram, a staggering difference from INR22 to INR98 at the start of …

GUIYANG: Southwest China’s Guizhou Province has seen a robust expansion in the new-energy sector amid efforts to ramp up energy production and storage and promote green development, an industry report showed. In the first quarter of this year, the industrial output of Guizhou’s new-energy battery and material sector was about 20.38 billion yuan (about 2.83 billion U.S. dollars), according to …

GONGSHAN: The Nujiang River, cascading down from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, carves its way through the majestic mountains of Yunnan where a magnificent canyon is formed. Nestled at the northernmost tip of the Nujiang River canyon is the village of Qiunatong, home to a unique library called “Banshan Huayu” (Half Hill Flower Talks). “The aroma of books …

RAMALLAH: Two Palestinians were killed and three others were injured in clashes with Israeli soldiers in the old city of Nablus in the northern West Bank on Friday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Fierce clashes broke out when dozens of Palestinians hurled stones at Israeli troops who stormed Nablus and surrounded a house for a manhunt, during which some …

DOHA: The first group of Qatari students taking part in the “Chinese Bridge” summer camp has arrived in China and started their journey to learn Chinese language and experience Chinese culture, the Chinese Embassy in Qatar said on Thursday. A total of 13 students from the Chinese class of Hamad Bin Khalifa University went to the summer camp at Dalian …

BEIJING: Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Friday met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Beijing. Li said the world needs a generally stable China-U.S. relationship, and whether the two countries can find the right way to get along is of significance to the future of humanity. Last year, the two heads of state met in Bali and reached a series …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was “in the process” of meeting representatives of major political parties in Pakistan, including the opposition PTI, to “seek assurances of their support for key objectives and policies” under the new $3 billion Standby Agreement, the lender’s resident representative for Pakistan confirmed on Friday. “IMF staff are in the process of meeting with representatives of …

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has warned its employees about a ransomware attack that it said was “trying to steal information” through phishing methods, it emerged on Friday. The letter, dated July 6, titled “Cyber Security Alert” and written by ECP Information Security Specialist Naveed Ahmed Kandhir shared a screengrab of an email sent to an ECP official that …

ANKARA: Turkiye expects Gulf countries to make direct investments of about $10 billion initially in domestic assets as part of President Tayyip Erdogan’s trip to the region in two weeks, according to two senior Turkish officials. Erdogan is scheduled to visit leaders in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on July 17-19, in part to drum up foreign …

A drone carrying drugs crashed on Friday in the Halloki area of Lahore’s Kahna town on Friday, Aaj News reported.  The drone, carrying 6kgs of heroin, crashed near Balloki Kahna in Rasoolpura. Police said that the drone’s size was larger than usual. It crashed into the fields of a land-owner identified as Rozdar. Police said that it took the drone …

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on Friday approved $46 million in financing for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Citizen Centered Service Delivery Project. The funding will support both supply and demand side interventions to improve health service delivery in the province, as well as the operations of citizen-centric administrative facilitation centers in the Newly Merged Districts, read a statement by …

Rallies were organised across the country on Friday to protest of the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden as the nation observed “Youm-i-Taqaddus-i-Quran” (Quran Sanctity Day). Last week, a man had desecrated the Holy Quran in Sweden’s capital Stockholm, resulting in strong condemnation from several Muslim states, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the European Union, Pope Francis and …

At least 50 people, including eight children, have been killed by floods and landslides triggered by monsoon rains that have lashed Pakistan since last month, officials said on Friday. The summer monsoon brings South Asia 70-80 per cent of its annual rainfall between June and September every year. It is vital for the livelihoods of millions of farmers and food …

An anti-terrorism court in Lahore on Friday directed PTI Chairman Imran Khan to become part of the investigation into five cases registered in connection with violence in the country on May 9. The cases in question concern the attacks on Jinnah House, Askari Tower, the Shadman Town police station, vandalism at the PML-N office in Model Town, and the setting …

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday that the recently-announced International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme would pave way for reforms and restructuring of Pakistan’s economy. “Hopefully, this programme will be through and a nine-month insurance will be available to Pakistan,” said Shehbaz as he addressed the launch ceremony of the social protection account under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) …

Pakistan Cricket Team’s former captain Muhammad Hafeez was offered by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) new head Zaka Ashraf to become chief selector but according to the sources, he did not accept the offer for now and asked for some time. The sources that Muhammad Hafeez met Zaka Ashraf in Lahore and congratulated him on becoming PCB head again. There are …

Justice Musarrat Hilali on Friday took her oath as a Supreme Court judge and formally became the country’s second woman judge to reach the apex court following Justice Ayesha Malik. Chief Umar Ata Bandial administered the oath to Justice Hilali in a ceremony held at the ceremonial hall of the top court. Meanwhile, the legal fraternity, apex court judges and …

The Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Associations (FAPUASA) has strongly criticized the Federal Government for hastily presenting the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Bill 2023 during a recent Federal Cabinet meeting. FAPUASA, including its provincial chapters, President Dr. Kaleemullah Bareach, and members of the Executive Council, issued a joint statement expressing their concerns. They emphasized that the decision to …

Various videos on social media show the snow-capped Babusar Top. The roads are also covered in snow, causing loss of traction for the vehicles. The snowfall is accompanied by a relentless blizzard, causing poor visibility. Due to terrible driving conditions, travelers have stopped by the roadside, while those making their way to the Babusar Pass have been stopped midway. The …

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday that Pakistan wants to improve its bilateral relations with the United States in various fields, noting that relations between the countries have “returned to normal”. Speaking at a function organized to celebrate the 247th Independence Day of the United States, he said, the news that Pakistan and the US made serious efforts to …

Twitter has threatened legal action against Meta over its new, text-based app called Threads, according to a letter obtained by Semaphore. In a Wednesday letter addressed to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Alex Spiro, an attorney representing Twitter, accused Meta of illegally using Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property by hiring former Twitter employees to create the “copycat” app. Since …

BEIJING: China will ban imports of food products from Fukushima and nine other prefectures in Japan, in order to prevent contaminated food from entering the country and protect Chinese consumers, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said Friday. The report of the International Atomic Energy Agency reviewing Japan’s plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean, did not fully reflect …