The Chat Lock feature on WhatsApp is now available to users. With this new update, you can secure specific chats so that nobody else can access them. This feature is particularly useful when you need to hand over your device to someone you don’t fully trust and want to protect your personal conversations. In addition to locking the chats, WhatsApp …

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi Thursday signed the Daycare Centres Bill 2023, under which setups for minor children will be established at the public and private departments in Islamabad. The president inked the document in line with Article 75 of the Constitution, the President’s House said in a statement. According to the Bill, the federal government will ensure the setting …

Pakistan and Russia on Thursday agreed to exchange statistical data on mutual trade and signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the customs departments of both countries. The MoU ceremony was held on the sidelines of the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum between the Pakistan Customs and the Federal Customs Service (Russian Federation), said the statement by the Embassy of …

KARACHI: Hafiz Naeem Ur Rehman, the Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi emir who lost the mayoral elections to Pakistan People Party’s (PPP) Murtaza Wahab, has rejected the results, saying the party would observe “Black Day” on Friday. Addressing a press conference in Karachi on Thursday, Hafiz Naeem claimed that the ECP played the role of the People’s Party’s B-team, asserting he would not …

Company is set to start production from its Wali (Bettani) Gas Field, integrating it into the national grid Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), announced the commencement of hydrocarbon production from its oil and gas field in the district of Lakki Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The company announced the development in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on …

Original hosts Pakistan will split Asia Cup matches with Sri Lanka under a new “hybrid model”, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) said on Thursday. The move clears the way for Pakistan’s participation in the subsequent 50-overs World Cup in India in October-November. “The tournament will be hosted in a hybrid model with four matches being held in Pakistan, and the …

BEIJING: Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Beijing on Thursday. Calling China and Palestine good friends and partners, Li said the announcement by the two countries’ leaders to establish a strategic partnership fully demonstrates China’s staunch support for developing China-Palestine ties and the cause of justice for Palestinian people. China is ready to take …

China launched a Long March-2D rocket to place 41 satellites in orbit on Thursday, setting a domestic record for the most satellites lifted in one go. The rocket blasted off at 1:30 p.m. (Beijing Time) at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern China and soon took the satellites, including the Jilin-1 Gaofen 06A, into preset orbit. This was the …

China has ramped up efforts on both monetary and fiscal fronts to sustain growth momentum as the latest data shows a continued economic recovery, albeit with some challenges remaining. On Thursday, the People’s Bank of China, the nation’s central bank, reduced the one-year interest rate of its medium-term lending facility, a tool adding liquidity to the banking system, by 10 …

The Karachi police detained eight suspects on Thursday after clashes erupted between JI and PPP supporters outside the Arts Council of Pakistan (ACP) where voting for the city’s mayor elections was under way. South Deputy Inspector General (DGP) Irfan Ali Baloch said that clashes broke out after reports of PPP’s Barrister Murtaza Wahab winning the polls surfaced. According to unofficial …

Rescuers scoured seas off Greece on Thursday in a massive search operation, as hopes dwindled of finding survivors of a shipwreck that killed at least 78 migrants in one of Europe’s deadliest such disasters in recent years. Reports suggested hundreds of people had packed the fishing boat that capsized and sank early on Wednesday in deep waters about 50 miles …

ISLAMABAD: Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said that till date, no case against any woman involved in the May 9 violence following the arrest of PTI chairman Imran Khan, has been sent to the military courts. The minimum requirements as required under different international laws, especially Article 14 of the International Covenants for Civil and Political Rights 1966 (ICCPR) that …

KARACHI: Time is running out for Pakistan to convince the IMF to release the remaining $2.2 billion out of the $6.7bn bailout programme before June 30, said Moody’s in its latest report. The rating agency has expressed fear that the country might face default in case of failure of the IMF programme. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar did hold several sessions …

JAKARTA: Short video app TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, said on Thursday it would invest billions of dollars in Southeast Asia over the next few years, as it doubles down on the region amid intensifying global scrutiny over its data security. Southeast Asia, a region with a collective population of 630 million – half of them under 30 – is …

LAHORE: The caretaker Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi has given in-principle approval for the implementation of ‘Safe City Project’ in Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, and Gujranwala using local resources. Stressing their importance as integral components of smart cities, he emphasized the need to commence these projects promptly. Expanding the scope of safe city project to other cities aims to enhance public safety …

LAHORE: Pakistan Peoples Party has conveyed the PML-N leadership that the fate of the coalition set up could be at stake if the Prime Minister’s office keeps showing a lukewarm response to the appointment of Chaudhry Zaka Ashraf as new Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), it has been learnt. According to sources, top PML-N leadership also held a …

MANAGUA: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi pledged to deepen ties between Managua and Tehran on a visit to Nicaragua Wednesday as part of a tour of Latin American countries under US sanctions. The Iranian leader, whose country is also sanctioned by the United States, kicked off his trip in Venezuela earlier this week before flying to Nicaragua. He is also due …

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, will visit Tehran on Saturday, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said on Thursday. He is set to meet with Iranian officials, Tasnim said. Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed in March, in a deal brokered by China, to end a diplomatic rift and re-establish relations following years of hostility that had endangered …

KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate Murtaza Wahab won Karachi’s mayoral elections on Thursday, defeating Jamat-e-Islami’s (JI) Hafiz Naeem Ur Rehman who alleges PPP for stopping his voters from voting by kidnapping them. The election for the Karachi mayor and deputy mayor of the port city were held by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) today at the Arts Council …

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Retail Business Council (PRBC), which represents numerous well-known retail establishments across the country, has expressed serious concerns over the ongoing budget announcements and discussions between the Federal Government and various chambers and trade bodies regarding proposed increase in taxes and restrictions on retail timings. In a letter addressed to various authorities, the PRBC highlighted the potential negative …

BEIJING: China firmly opposes the decision by the United States to include certain Chinese entities on an export control list under the pretext of so-called military and human rights concerns, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday. It is a typical act of economic coercion and unilateral bullying by the United States to generalize national security and abuse …

BEIJING: As agreed between China and the United States, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit China from June 18 to 19, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin announced Wednesday.

BEIJING: China’s Hangzhou is ready to host the 19th Asian Games with a focus on green and sustainable principles supported by high-tech, organizers said on Wednesday. “If the existing venues can be renovated to meet Asiad standards, there is no need to construct new ones, so only 12 of the 56 competition venues for the Hangzhou Asian Games are newly …

LAHORE: Federal Minister of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has claimed that a recent hearing of the Supreme Court on the Panama Papers case proved that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was targeted at the behest of some judges and generals. He claimed that the recent hearing also termed the judgment disqualifying Mr Sharif for life and the …

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday said after returning to power, the PTI would create a federal ministry to boost the dollar income and a separate set-up planning and looking for venues to generate greenbacks so that perennial problems can be sorted out. Addressing a webinar, with a rather extended title From Crisis to Catastrophe: Budget 2023-24 and …

WASHINGTON: The White House has said that Russia appeared to be deepening its defense cooperation with Iran and had received hundreds of one-way attack drones that it is using to strike Ukraine. Citing newly declassified information, the White House said the drones or Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) were built in Iran, shipped across the Caspian Sea and then used by …

The new $325 million US military aid package for Ukraine pushes Washington deeper into the “abyss” of the conflict, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, said early on Wednesday. The package, which includes munitions for air defence systems, ammunition and vehicles, comes as Ukraine is shaping its long-expected counter-offensive. In the past week, Ukrainian forces lost some tanks …

The good thing is that specific therapies are available for them, drugs can work. Now gene therapy is also a very big thing that is coming and soon, we will have genetic treatment so that they are cured permanently but till then they can have medicine to lower their cholesterol level,” he said. For others who do not have this …

Donating blood can help people recover from certain diseases and save lives when it is most needed. Timely blood transfusions can be beneficial for people who have been injured in accidents, or natural disasters, or who have conditions such as anemia, leukemia, or kidney disease. This is why having adequate and healthy blood is crucial to a country’s healthcare strategy. …

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court has extended by a day an order for the trial court not to proceed against Imran Khan in the Toshakhana criminal case. The PTI chairman had filed an appeal against his indictment in the Toshakhana criminal case. Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq heard the plea of the PTI chairman. The petitioner’s lawyer Khawaja …

Homeopathic treatment in the province of Punjab will no longer be available, as the provincial government has made the decision to exclude homeopathic doctors and their medicine manufacturer staff from holding any seats. The posts of homeopathic doctors in government hospitals and hikmah posts have been abolished, effectively ending the provision of homeopathic healthcare in the public sector. The Punjab …

Argentina skipper Lionel Messi has said that “in principle” last year’s World Cup would be his fifth and final appearance at global soccer’s showpiece event. The 35-year-old forward led his country to a third World Cup triumph in Qatar last December, saying throughout the tournament that he would not be playing at another edition. Messi was persuaded out of international …

ISLAMABAD: Moody’s Investors Service has warned that Pakistan is at an increased risk of a failure to restart its $6.7-billion bailout program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), stalled since November last year, pushing the country closer to a sovereign default, reported Bloomberg. “There are increasing risks that Pakistan may be unable to complete the IMF programme that expires at …

GILGIT: The coordinator to Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid and his parents were killed after his vehicle fell into a ravine on Tuesday. His sister sustained serious injuries. Muzamil Hussain was travelling with his family when the accident took place in Skardu. According to police, the car skidded off Jugulote-Skardu Road and fell into a ravine near Shangos area on Tuesday …

KARACHI: The local body elections in Sindh took place on January 15. In these elections, the PPP emerged as the leading party in Karachi, securing 93 seats. The Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), with 86 seats, closely trailed them. As neither party managed to gain a clear majority, they must now rely on forming alliances to elect their respective mayoral candidates. Any party …

KANDALI: Hundreds of thousands of locusts have descended on crops in northern Afghanistan, under the helpless gaze of farmers and their families already stalked by famine. In the village of Kandali in northern Balkh, one of eight affected provinces in the country’s breadbasket, a staggering swarm of grey insects has amassed on a fallow wheat field. After feasting on the …

STRASBOURG: European Parliament lawmakers will vote Wednesday to kickstart talks to approve the world’s first sweeping rules on artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT, aiming to curb potential harms while nurturing innovation. Although the EU’s plans date back to 2021, the draft rules took on greater urgency when ChatGPT exploded onto the scene last year, showing off AI’s dizzying development and …

GUWAHATI: At least nine people have been killed in the latest clashes between members of rival ethnic groups in India’s northeastern state of Manipur, police said on Wednesday, as security forces pressed on with a hunt for illegal weapons. Violence between members of the Kuki ethnic group, who mostly live in the hills, and Meiteis, the dominant community in the …

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on Wednesday approved $200 million in financing to strengthen state capacities in the newly-merged areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including investments for post-floods rehabilitation and reconstruction. As per the statement, the funding is part of the programme agreed with the Pakistani government to respond to the devastating floods, which hit the country last …

The western media has been purposely propagating against BRI in Algeria and terming it as so-called poisoned chalice which does not have any evidence or scientific substance. It has been icon of socio-economic prosperity. In this regard, both countries have now entered into a new stage of holistic development, and they intend to deepen cooperation in the diverse sectors of …