The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed selling pressure on Monday as the benchmark KSE-100 index lost over 500 points within the first hour of trading. According to the PSX website, the KSE-100 Index opened at 43,100.71 points and immediately fell by over 400 points. After around 9:30am, the bourse saw a brief correction before, once again, going down. At around …

The government’s decision to ban the import of several hundred nonessentials last week may be a step in the right direction but it will certainly not be enough. Banning private foreign trips and a host of other dollar saving measures for a specified time period may ease the mounting pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves and arrest the rupee …

HYDERABAD: Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecom­muni­cation Aminul Haq has said that Pakistan’s IT exports would touch $3 billion mark in the current year while $5bn target was fixed for the next year. Speaking at the inauguration of a National Incubation Centre (NIC) here on Saturday evening, he said an investment target of Rs600m was fixed for the IT …

The rupee continued to lose ground against the US dollar on Monday, in the 12th consecutive session when the greenback continued to climb and gained 80 paisa in interbank trade. According to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the dollar was trading at Rs201.05 around 11.30 am after appreciating 80 paisa against Friday’s close of Rs200.25. Data released by State …

SFAX: Three rescued loggerhead turtles were released into the Mediterranean off Tunisia on Sunday, one with a tracking beacon glued to its shell to help researchers better protect the threatened species. The main risks to sea turtles in Tunisia are linked to fisheries, since they become entangled in nets — including the three that were released into the wild. The …

ISLAMABAD: Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the first in-person World Health Assembly (WHA) began in Geneva on Sunday. The Pakistani delegation is being led by federal Minister for Health Abdul Qadir Patel. The delegation will share the vision “Health for Peace and Peace for Health” with the participants of the assembly. According to a statement, issued by the …

TEHRAN: An Iranian Revolutionary Guards colonel was shot dead outside his Tehran home on Sunday, the Guards said, blaming his “assassination” on assailants linked to the United States and its allies. The killing of Colonel Sayyad Khodai is the most high profile murder announced by Iran since the 2020 killing of top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Iran had accused Israel …

TOKYO: President Joe Biden arrived on Sunday in Japan for the second leg of an Asia trip underlining US commitment to the region but overshadowed by concern that North Korea will test a nuclear weapon after ignoring Washington’s attempt at outreach. Biden, making his first trip to Asia as president, flew from South Korea into Yokota Air Base outside Tokyo, …

SUNAMGANJ: North-east Bangladesh’s worst floods in nearly 20 years began receding on Sunday, but rescue workers were struggling to help millions marooned by extreme weather across the region that has killed around 60 people. Floods are a regular menace to millions of people in low-lying Bangladesh and neighbouring northeast India, but many experts say that climate change is increasing the …

KABUL: Women television presenters on Afghanistan’s leading news channels on Sunday vowed to speak up for their rights after being forced by Taliban authorities to cover their faces on air. Since seizing power last year, the Taliban have imposed a slew of restrictions on civil society, especially on women and girls to comply with the group’s austere brand of Islam. …