PAMPORE (India-held Kashmir): On sweeping fields once blanketed in lush purple, a thin and bedraggled crop of flowers is all farmers in India-held Kashmir’s saffron-growing region Pampore have to show for this year’s harvest. Dry conditions blamed on climate change have seen yields of the world’s most expensive spice halved in the past two decades, threatening the future of a …

KARACHI: Stocks re­­mained subdued for the ­second day of the week as the global markets were ­rattled over the second and more contagious strain of coronavirus. International oil prices plunged as demand was feared to decline on revision of the pandemic impact on world economies. After an initial gain that took the KSE-100 index to intra-day high by 145 points, …

ISLAMABAD: The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) is set to raise $500 million international commercial loans through Eurobonds to meet foreign financing needs of Diamer-Bhasha and Mohamand dams. The Economic Coordina­tion Committee (ECC) of the cabinet, which meets later this week, is expected to formally approve the launch of the Wapda bonds abroad besides taking a decision on the …

ISLAMABAD: The British American Tobacco (BAT) has decided to move its shared services operations from Malaysia to Pakistan, Commerce Adviser Razak Dawood announced in a consultative meeting on services exports on Tuesday. The adviser informed the meeting, held at the Ministry of Commerce, that BAT’s decision was an indication that Pakistan was now being considered as a cost effective location …

Actress Heather Morris has apologised for her “insensitive” tweets regarding her late Glee costar Mark Salling. Taking to Twitter, she published a statement apologizing for her actions, “To all those who felt triggered by my message, I want to sincerely apologize for the harm I caused,” Morris wrote. “Whether you, a friend, a family member has been a victim of pedophilia, I …

Famed Pakistan TV star Fahad Mirza appears to have discovered a connection to Ertuğrul’s most brutal foes, the Mongols. Turning to his Instagram, the Shanakht actor, 35, gave his fans as well as trolls a brief history lesson and some background about his ancestral past. Sharing a photo of his grandfather and his aunt, Mirza claimed to have genealogical relations with the …

Pop sensation BTS’s song Dynamite is going strong as it is on 17th week on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, currently placing at ninth. The song also reclaimed the top spot in the Global Excl. US Chart which ranks songs on the basis of sales and streaming across more than 200 countries excluding the US. Considering both versions of the bop, it has 59.1 million …

crui Tom Cruise’s rant on the Mission: Impossible sparked a global debate on safety and security and shortly afterwards, sources came forward to explain Cruise’s true intentions behind the outburst. This report was brought forward by an insider close to People magazine. They claim the  actor is man of focus whose only aim was to keep his staff and crew members safe. The source …

British singer Rita Ora could have a nightmarish Christmas  as she may potentially not be able to reunite with her family in England being stuck in Bulgaria till the new year. The singer may not be able to return to her home country as the Bulgarian government issued an order to suspend all flights to and from England until January …

Katy Perry used to imitate Zooey Deschanel to get into clubs back in the day and only recently did she decide to come clean about it all. The Grammy award winning opened up about her past antics during an Instagram Live with Zooey Deschanel and was even quoted saying, “I have to admit something, Zooey.” “When I came to L.A., …