ISLAMABAD: Amid external account challenges, Pakistan borrowed more than $15.5bn in foreign loans in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, about 70pc more than borrowing from foreign sources in the same period last year. In its monthly report on foreign economic assistance, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said it received about $13.03bn foreign assistance in 10MFY2022. The …

KARACHI: One tola and 10 grams of domestic gold prices on Monday hit a new high at Rs141,650 and Rs121,422, respectively, up by Rs2,350 and Rs2,015 from Saturday, rates released by the Karachi Saraf and Jewellers Group revealed. A $15 increase in world gold prices to $1,862 per ounce, followed by a rupee depreciation against the dollar, had pushed local …

DAVOS: Multiple threats to the global economy topped the worries of the world’s well-heeled at the annual Davos think-fest on Monday, with some flagging the risk of a worldwide recession. Political and business leaders gathering for the World Economic Forum (WEF) meet against the backdrop of inflation at its highest level in a generation in major economies, including the United …

SEOUL: A maskless Kim Jong Un was one of the pallbearers at the state funeral for a top military officer, North Korean state media reported on Monday, days after Pyongyang claimed the country’s Covid-19 outbreak was now under control. Kim on Sunday attended the funeral of Hyon Chol Hae, a Korean People’s Army marshal who reportedly mentored the North Korean …

YANGON: The bodies of 14 people have washed up on a beach in Myanmar, police said on Monday, with the UN Refugee Agency citing reports that the deceased include Rohingya children. At least 17 people are feared dead after their boat capsized, according to the UNHCR. A rescue organisation said the group had been attempting to reach Malaysia. “Fourteen dead …

LONDON: A judge jailed a disgraced MP from UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ruling Conservative party for 18 months on Monday for sexually assaulting a teenage boy. The Tories expelled Imran Ahmad Khan, 48, and he resigned from his seat in parliament in the wake of his conviction after a trial last month. He had denied plying the 15-year-old youth …

COLOMBO: A shortage of medicine caused by an economic crisis in Sri Lanka could soon cause deaths, doctors said, as hospitals are forced to postpone life-saving procedures for their patients because they do not have the necessary drugs. Sri Lanka imports more than 80pc of its medical supplies but with foreign currency reserves running out because of the crisis, essential …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday vociferously condemned the conviction of prominent Hurriyat leader Yasin Malik by an Indian court in a fictitious terrorism case. Meanwhile, the Senate passed a resolution urging the international community to force India to drop all fabricated charges against all political leaders of India-held Kashmir (IHK), including Mr Malik, and ensure their safety and …

STOCKHOLM: The risk of monkeypox spreading widely among the general population is very low and transmission can be stopped outside endemic countries in Central and West Africa, health officials said on Monday, after cases exploded this month in Europe and North America. Fewer than 200 confirmed and suspected cases had been recorded since early May in Australia, Europe and North …

ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of Afghan nationals on Monday staged a protest rally in Islamabad to get shelters in developed countries saying they don’t want to go back to their country being governed by Taliban. The Afghan nationals, who have been camping outside the National Press Club for the last several weeks, brought out the rally from the press club to D-Chowk. …