BEIJING: Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, who is accompanying the Prime Minister of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh on his visit to China, on Sunday in Beijing. Noting that the China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership has entered a new era, Qin said China regards Vietnam as a priority in its …

BEIJING: The Ministry of Commerce has issued a priority list for pilot free trade zones (FTZs) during the 2023-2025 period as the country marks the 10th anniversary of its pilot FTZ construction. The country’s FTZs will push forward 164 priorities from 2023 to 2025, including major institutional innovation, key industries, platform construction, as well as major projects and activities, according …

BEIJING: Chinese authorities have ordered the country’s centrally-administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to wipe out workplace safety risks during an overhaul of natural gas, hazardous chemicals, mines, and construction sites nationwide. The order came during a recent emergency meeting regarding workplace safety by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. While ramping up precautions and warnings against …

ISTANBUL: The United States sticking to its so-called “lab-leak” conspiracy about the origins of COVID-19 reveals that it has largely lost its international competitiveness and is in great despair, a Turkish academic has said. “The fact that the U.S. still insists on its accusations at a time when the epidemic has largely lost its impact reveals its lack of logic, …

BEIJING: Chinese evening rider Alex Hua Tian is set to compete on home soil for only the second time, 15 years after his Olympic debut at Beijing 2008 in the Hong Kong SAR. The delayed Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games are scheduled for Sept. 23 through Oct. 8 in Hangzhou, the capital of East China’s Zhejiang Province. Hua Tian described these …

The beginning of a new era in Pakistan’s air defense has started as the country has stepped into the field of production of 5th generation stealth fighter jets with the help of the Turkish Aerospace Industries. Pakistan will jointly develop 5th generation air superiority fighter jet with Turkey as Pakistan has become part of the Turkish 5th Generation Stealth Space …

China-Europe freight train services saw solid growth from January to May this year, with the transport capacity and efficiency continuously rising. The number of China-Europe freight train services increased by 16 percent year on year to 7,126 trips in the first five months of the year, according to the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. Some 774,000 20-foot equivalent units …

According to a recent report by the Wall Street Journal, Google is considering online games as a potential source of income for YouTube. The video hosting platform has reportedly invited employees to test a new product called Playables, which grants users access to online games directly on YouTube. Interestingly, it appears that the games can be played on various devices, …

Pakistan national team is all set to participate in the upcoming Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2023, scheduled to take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A total of 16 teams from around the world will be vying for the coveted championship title from December 5 to 16 at the National Hockey Stadium Bukit Jalil. The national team has been placed …

Micron has recently introduced its UFS 4.0 mobile storage solution, and it has already sent qualification samples to specific smartphone manufacturers and chipset vendors worldwide. This is faster than Samsung’s current UFS 4.0 technology. In simple words, Android phones are about to get even faster storage soon, starting with flagship devices. This new technology will enable the production of storage …

“Lost in the Stars,” a domestic suspense crime film, topped the Chinese daily box office chart on Friday, data from the China Movie Data Information Network showed. The film grossed 182.81 million yuan (around 25.46 million U.S. dollars) on its second screening day and the second day of this year’s Dragon Boat Festival holiday. Adapted from the Soviet film “Trap …

In a final attempt to secure a stalled rescue package with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Saturday that the federal government has implemented several changes to its fiscal year 2023-2024 budget. These changes have been introduced in hopes of reaching an agreement with the IMF and addressing the concerns that have hindered progress thus …

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to cancel the scheduled Pakistan Super League (PSL) workshop, which was scheduled to be held on June 23 in Lahore. This announcement was conveyed to all franchisees through an email, informing them of the development. The workshop was initially planned to discuss the addition of two more teams to the PSL and to …

The Defense Housing Authority (DHA), one of Karachi’s upscale residential areas, has banned non-residents from entering Nisar Shaheed Park in Phase VI of the locality. the news Report Taking to Twitter on Thursday, the housing authority said that non-DHA residents are no longer allowed to enter the park. DHA requested its residents to follow the procedures laid down by the …

Adopting a “food is medicine” approach can improve nutrition security for families and lower children’s body mass index (BMI), according to a new study led by researchers at the Mass General Brigham Hospital System. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital investigated whether providing weekly plant-based meals to families requesting food assistance during the pandemic led to changes …

NANJING: On Saturday, Line 11 of the Suzhou metro went into operation, linking the city of Suzhou, a major GDP contributor in east China’s Jiangsu Province, with Shanghai, another economic heavyweight in the region. This is the first time that the core cities in the Yangtze River Delta region have linked their separate urban subway systems transcending administrative boundaries and …

CHANGSHA: More than 276,000 people in central China’s Hunan Province have been affected by the latest round of heavy rainfalls, which has also inflicted damage on more than 16,400 hectares of crops with multiple houses collapsing or sustaining damages, said local authorities. On Friday noon, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters upgraded its emergency response for flood control …

MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin on Saturday said an armed mutiny by Wagner mercenaries was a “stab in the back” and that the group’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin had betrayed Russia, as he vowed to punish the dissidents. Putin spoke to his nation after a night of uncertainty that saw Wagner fighters cross into Russia from occupied Ukraine, with Prigozhin vowing they …

MOSCOW: Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Saturday his forces were ready to help put down a mutiny by Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and to use harsh methods if necessary. Kadyrov in a statement posted on Telegram called Prigozhin’s behaviour “a knife in the back” and called on Russian soldiers not to give in to any “provocations.” He said …

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial on Saturday said it was fundamentally important to strengthen regulatory institutions in the country as he stressed the need for sustainable policies to promote business prosperity and facilitate investors. Addressing a symposium in Islamabad today, the top judge underscored the need for the authorities to establish a “requisite environment” for progress. He …

WASHINGTON: India is the world’s largest democracy, yet it is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for the media, says a full-page advertisement in The Washington Post, published during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US capital this week. The ad, which highlights the problems journalists in India face, was jointly sponsored by the world’s leading media …

The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Normalisation Committee will get an eight-and-half month extension once its current mandate expires, it emerged on Saturday. Elections of the PFF don’t seem to be happening soon with the FIFA-appointed NC, led by Haroon Malik, having only initiated the process of club scrutiny the first step towards the polls to elect the president of the …

One civilian embraced martyrdom on Saturday while two others were injured as the Indian Army opened “indiscriminate fire” on a group of shepherds at the Line of Control, the army’s media relations wing said. In February 2021, both countries had recommitted themselves to the 2003 ceasefire agreement and agreed to address the “core issues” that could undermine peace and stability. …

Lahore’s Special Court granted on Saturday former Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi post-arrest bail in a money laundering case, it was reported. On Wednesday, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) took Elahi into custody from jail after the former CM was granted post-arrest bail by an anti-corruption court granted in Punjab Assembly illegal recruitment case. During the hearing today, Advocate Rana …

Former finance minister Dr Miftah Ismail on Saturday tendered his resignation from Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and announced his exit from active politics owing to reorganisation of the party structure, Business Recorder has learned. In a letter to PML-N General Secretary and Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, he wrote “given the upcoming reorganisation of the party structure, I think it’s time …

RAMALLAH: Palestine on Friday slammed Israel’s new settlement projects in the West Bank, saying the move is a disregard for international legitimacy. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a press statement that “the Israeli government has given the green light to Israeli settlement associations to establish dozens of illegal random settlement outposts in various areas of the occupied West Bank,” …

BEIJING: As major parts of the Chinese capital Beijing are experiencing high temperatures lately, the municipal education authorities have asked local schools to refrain from organizing large-scale outdoor activities in order to ensure the well-being of the students. On Friday night, relevant authorities released a notice outlining specific measures to modify the timing of outdoor activities for students and to …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has hailed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as a testimony to Pakistan’s deep-rooted friendship with China on Thursday. The minister said China has always been the most trustworthy friend of Pakistan in an event celebrating the 10th anniversary of the CPEC, a flagship project of the Belt and …

PARIS: The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other international financial institutions should implement the consensus reached by G20 leaders, complete a new round of reform on quota and voting rights, and increase the voice of emerging markets and developing countries, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said here on Friday. Li made the remarks when attending the closing ceremony of …

PARIS: In the face of the global development financing gap, China calls on the international community to sincerely cooperate and work together to solve the problems of developing countries, especially vulnerable countries, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said here Friday. In a speech at the closing ceremony of the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, Li put forward a three-point …

SHANGHAI: Chinese researchers have won the Best Paper Award for a groundbreaking paper on planning-oriented autonomous driving at the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Conference (CVPR). The CVPR, a top-tier conference in the area of artificial intelligence, selected 12 candidates for the honor of Best Paper from more than 9,000 paper submissions this year. The Chinese paper challenged the current …

BEIJING: Beijing issued a red alert for high temperatures on Friday, the highest in China’s alert system, as a scorching heatwave hit the city. Beijing’s weather station issued the red alert at 7 a.m., forecasting peak temperatures ranging from 37 to 40 degrees Celsius in most areas of the city from Friday to Sunday. The city’s administration of emergency response …

Former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Friday renewed the call for charter of economy and stated that “PPP is ready to sign the charter to give a level playing field to everyone”. Speaking to businessmen at Lahore, he stated that when his party signs the charter, other political parties will too. “Elections are around …

Several women fainted on Friday in Muzaffargarh due to scorching heat as temperatures there reached 38 degrees Celsius while nine students of a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa school also lost consciousness due to high temperatures, officials said. City Station House Officer (SHO) Sabir Klasra told Dawn.com that he was visiting various sites as per routine when he saw a few women had …

TEHRAN:  A top Iranian commander said on Friday that any ship seeking to pass through the Strait of Hormuz must inform Iran of its name, nationality and cargo in Persian language, official news agency IRNA reported. Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri made the remarks at a commemoration ceremony held in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, warning …

Imran Aslam, COO of Sky Wings Pakistan’s first air taxi service had gone missing from Jinnah International Karachi Airport. The airport security personnel were quickly informed about his disappearance through an official request. However, according to the recent update, Aslam has returned home. After reaching home, Aslam confirmed that he had returned home safely, and expressed his gratitude for the …

The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) is experiencing an intense and unprecedented heatwave. Despite predictions of rainfall, the scorching temperatures continue to persist. According to Weather.com, a trusted source for weather forecasts, the federal capital’s temperatures have soared above 41°C. To make matters worse, the “feels like” temperature has reached a blistering 51°C. These extreme conditions have made daily life extremely …

29 Pakistani universities have featured in the Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Rankings 2023. While 26 national institutes have been ranked by THE, the remaining have been granted the status of a ‘reporter’ on the list. According to the details, Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) leads the chart among Pakistani universities on the list. QAU is followed by the University of …

According to a statement issued by the multinational pharmaceutical company, the company said it is analyzing which of its manufacturing activities may no longer be of strategic focus going forward. Bayer intends to stay put and continue operations in Pakistan despite the shift. The corporation disclosed that it plans to transfer certain assets, including its pharmaceutical and consumer health production …

Najam Shetty Chairman of the now-defunct Management Committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) tried to persuade Asif Ali Zardari, Co-Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) until the last minute; However, there was no response later, according to reliable sources worldly news. According to sources, “some friends” approached them on Monday to persuade them to withdraw the former PCB …