KARACHI: The Sindh Cabinet considering the significance and future financial implications of pension payments on Friday approved a pension reforms scheme under which around Rs894.4 billion would be saved, otherwise the pension bill of the government would surpass the salary bill within next 10 years. The cabinet meeting was held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah …

ISLAMABAD: The murder of two officials of the Eagle Squad of the capital police late on Thursday night seemed to be targeted one, according to senior police officers. The officers told that a preliminary investigation had suggested that the two officials were moving on a motorcycle when they were targeted by armed men, riding two motorcycles. The police officers said the Counter-Terrorism …

Some of India’s states are easing lockdown restrictions as coronavirus infections subside, with the world’s second-most-populous nation on Saturday logging its lowest daily case count in nearly two months. The national capital territory of Delhi, the seat of India’s federal government, was among those relaxing restrictions and will allow shops to open on alternate days. Shops with even numbers will …

CAIRO: Egypt has sent a convoy of engineers and building equipment to Gaza to begin reconstruction in the Palestinian enclave after the recent Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Egyptian state television reported on Friday. Dozens of bulldozers, cranes and trucks flying Egyptian flags lined up along the border to begin crossing into the Gaza Strip, television pictures showed. Palestinians lined the street on …

BRUSSELS: The European Union and Britain launched parallel competition probes on Friday into whether Facebook uses data from advertisers to unfairly dominate the online classified market. The US social media behemoth sells classified advertising on its Marketplace service, but also gathers data from commercial advertising that may give it an unfair advantage _ a charge the firm declared “without merit”. …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday called for investigating repeated incidents of illicit uranium possession and sales in India and emphasised the need for identifying the end-users of the material. “Pakistan reiterates its call for thorough investigation into such incidents and measures for strengthening the security of nuclear materials to prevent their diversion,” Foreign Office spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said while commenting on reports …

WASHINGTON: The US government has airlifted emergency medical supplies to Pakistan, the Maldives and Sri Lanka to stop the spread of Covid-19, the State Department said on Friday. The supplies, managed by the US Agency for International Dev­elopment, are part of a progra­m­­me to “help save lives” by meeting urgent health needs across South Asia, the State Depart­m­ent’s spokesperson Ned …

BEIJING: China accused the United States of “suppressing” Chinese firms and issued veiled threats of a retaliation on Friday, after President Joe Biden expanded a blacklist of companies Americans are barred from investing in. Biden on Thursday widened a list to 59 Chinese companies that are off-limits to American investors over their links to Beijing’s “military-industrial complex”, as he maintains …

Kim Kardashian gave inside into her and Kanye West’s troubled relationship, saying the rapper deserved  to be with a wife who would happily move to Wyoming, where he is now based. The reality star recalled her deteriorating marriage to he rapper in the latest episode of ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’, shedding light to their troubled  relationship. The mother-of-four,  in …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday assured the Muttahida Qaumi Movement of Centre’s support to address problems confronting Sindh, particularly Karachi, after an MQM delegation presented five demands to him to address key issues of the province. The demands presented by the MQM delegation comprising Minister for Information Technology Amin-ul-Haq, Senator Faisal Sabzwari, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Javed Hanif, Amir …