KARACHI: The stock market witnessed decreased investor activity in a directionless week as the benchmark index closed on Friday at 44,477 points, down 0.9 per cent or 395 points from a week ago. The reasons for the lacklustre interest from investors included the release of the Pandora Papers, alarming increase in the import bill, higher-than-expected inflation and rising global commodity …

Lebanon was plunged into a total blackout Saturday after two main power stations went offline because they ran out of fuel, the state electricity corporation, Electricite du Liban (EDL), said. The Mediterranean country is battling one of the planet’s worst economic crisis since the 1850s, and has, in recent months, struggled to import enough fuel oil for its power plants. State electricity …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Saturday concluded technical-level discussions on a ‘positive note’ and agreed to continue talks at a higher level in Washington from next week to put $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) back on track. The policy-level talks will kick off early next week in Washington by a delegation from Pakistan led by …

LA PALMA: Red-hot lava engulfed the land Jose Roberto Sanchez inherited from his parents on Saturday and lightning flashed around the rim of the volcano that has been erupting on the Spanish island of La Palma for almost three weeks. There were 37 seismic movements on Saturday, with the largest measuring 4.1, the Spanish National Geological Institute said, but La …

HOUSTON: Texans on Saturday once again found themselves living under a ban on most abortions following a ruling by a US federal appeals court which came just days after they were temporarily allowed. The Friday decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily set aside a Wednesday ruling, and effectively reinstated the ban on most abortions once a fetal …

BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed on Saturday to achieve “peaceful reunification” with Taiwan, and did not directly mention the use of force after a week of tensions with the Chinese-claimed island that sparked international concern. Taiwan responded shortly after by calling on Beijing to abandon its “coercion”, reiterating that only Taiwan’s people could decide their future. Democratically ruled Taiwan …

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The Delta variant of the coronavirus does not appear to cause more severe disease in children than earlier forms of the virus, a UK study suggests. Earlier this year, the research team found the Alpha variant of the virus did not appear to make children sicker than the so-called wild, or original, form of the virus, first seen in China. …

Ashish Mishra, son of India’s junior home minister Ajay Mishra Teni, has been arrested on accusations that he ran over and killed four protesting farmers last week, a senior police official said. The farmers, killed on Oct 3 in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, were part of India’s longest-running agricultural protest, opposing laws they fear will reduce guaranteed minimum prices for …

KARACHI: Reigning national U-17 champion Ahsan Ramzan created quite a stir when he pulled off the biggest upset to date by humbling top seed and holder Mohammad Asif 5-2 as second seed Mohammad Sajjad smashed maximum break of 147, first ever by a cueist in a ranking event, in the NBP 46th National Snooker Championship at the bank’s sports complex …