GAZA CITY: Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians returned to a devastated Gaza City on Saturday, as Hamas warned the next stage in US President Donald Trump’s peace plan would be more difficult than the first. Trump’s Middle East envoy promised Israeli hostage families their loved ones would be returned to them by Monday, and the…
PYONGYANG: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a large military parade displaying its new intercontinental ballistic missile in front of visiting international dignitaries, state media KCNA said on Saturday. The parade, which began late on Friday, marked the 80th anniversary of the foundation of its ruling Workers’ Party and followed celebrations on Thursday. Chinese…
RAWALPINDI: Six policemen and a mosque prayer leader were martyred and 12 others -— 11 policemen and a civilian — were injured in a brazen terrorist attack on the police training school in a southern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa district late Friday night, the military’s media wing confirmed on Saturday. On the night between October 10 and 11,…
LAHORE: Tehreek-e-Labbaik supporters reached Muridke on Saturday en route to Islamabad, after staging an overnight sit-in at Shahdara following violent clashes with police that left dozens injured and parts of the provincial capital paralysed. The TLP supporters, led by party chief Saad Hussain Rizvi, began their “Gaza March” from Multan Road on Friday afternoon to…
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) on Saturday took exception to remarks made by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi during his visit to India, saying that “deflecting” the responsibility of countering terrorism could not absolve Afghan authorities of their obligations toward ensuring regional peace. Muttaqi’s visit marked India’s first high-level engagement with the Taliban government…
BEIJING: A new partnership between Pakistan’s Cyclon Tech and China’s Shaanxi Water Development and Construction Group is set to reshape Pakistan’s water management landscape, addressing some of the country’s most pressing challenges, from irrigation inefficiency to climate resilience. Under a cooperation MoU worth around RMB 5 billion signed last month, the two sides will jointly…
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended the week on a bearish note as the KSE-100 index fell 5,892 points, or 3.49% week-on-week (WoW), to close at 163,098, snapping a five-week winning streak. The downturn was largely driven by heavy profit-taking across major sectors despite positive macroeconomic indicators, with the National Accounts Committee (NAC) revising…
ISLAMABAD: The government has introduced a new pension scheme to cut expenses and bring fiscal discipline. In the first phase, it has been implemented for civil employees only and will be extended to armed forces employees after one year. However, experts warn that this piecemeal approach may not work, as the reform’s success depends on…
KARACHI: A significant rise has been recorded in tax collection from wedding ceremonies across the country, as authorities intensify efforts to ensure the collection of withholding tax on such events. According to documents of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), during the fiscal year 2024-25, withholding tax deductions from weddings increased by 19 percent, alongside…
LAHORE: In Pakistan’s kitchens, snack factories and food industries, one ingredient quietly sustains, both in terms of affordability and availability, ie, Indonesian palm oil. As the world’s largest palm oil producer, Indonesia has become the backbone of Pakistan’s edible oil market, playing a decisive role in keeping its fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector running and…
