ISLAMABAD: The government will use the Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme (YES) and Hunarmand Pakistan Programme to promote e-commerce businesses and improve access to digital skills training, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Usman Dar said on Friday. Speaking at a virtual e-commerce youth conference, Mr Dar said that the initiatives under the Kamyab Jawan Programme will be used …

KARACHI: The construction cost continues to surge as a leading manufacturer has further increased steel bar prices by Rs5,000 per tonne followed by a rise in cement prices in the country’s northern region in the last one week. Amreli Steels Ltd (ASL) has informed its business partners regarding a jump of Rs5,000 per tonne in the booking rate to Rs167,000 …

TOKYO: Hiroshima on Friday marked the 76th anniversary of the world’s first atomic bombing, as the mayor of the Japanese city urged global leaders to unite to eliminate nuclear weapons just as they are united against the coronavirus. Mayor Kazumi Matsui urged world leaders to commit to nuclear disarmament as seriously as they tackle a pandemic that the international community …

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Hezbollah fired a volley of rockets at Israeli positions on Friday, prompting retaliatory shelling, in an escalation between the Iran-backed movement and the Jewish state. A flare-up along the border this week has seen Israel carry out its first air strikes on Lebanese territory in seven years and Hezbollah claim a direct rocket attack on Israeli territory for …

NEW DELHI: India and China have pulled back troops from a flashpoint zone on their disputed border where they fought a deadly battle last year, the Indian government said on Friday. The world’s two most populous nations had poured tens of thousands of extra troops into the high-altitude and disputed Ladakh region after the clash last year. But the Indian …

WASHINGTON: No US official or lawmaker asked for a military base in Pakistan, said National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf who left for Islamabad on Thursday night after a 10-day visit to the US capital. “The word base was not mentioned, not even once, during our talks, except in the media,” Mr Yusuf told US-based Pakistani journalists while summing up the …

KARACHI: Seventeen journalists from seven countries who were listed last month as potential or actual victims of Pegasus spyware have filed complaints with prosecutors in Paris against the NSO Group. Their complaints complement the one Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and two journalists with French-Moroccan dual nationality have already filed on July 20. In addition, the RSF has referred their cases …

MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan has called upon the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to establish a humanitarian corridor to aid people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) who were under a military siege amid relentless Indian state sponsored terrorism. He made this appeal while talking to a 12-member …

PARIS: Representatives from 195 countries on Friday approved a critical UN science report that will provide the most comprehensive and up-to-date assessment yet of the state of Earth’s climate. “Today, #IPCC’s latest #ClimateReport — #ClimateChange 2021: the Physical Science Basis — was approved and accepted in a historical first virtual approval session,” the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change tweeted on …

The US State Department has revised its travel advisory for Pakistan, upgrading it from “no travel” to “avoid unnecessary travels”. The revision — from level four to level three — although not a major change, is still a notable improvement. “Pakistan’s security environment has improved since 2014 when Pakistani security forces undertook concerted counter terrorist and counter militant operations,” the latest travel …