The federal government drew the ire of its political rivals on Saturday after it raised the price of petrol by Rs10.49 per litre and that of high speed diesel (HSD) by Rs12.44 per litre. According to a notification issued by the Finance Division, the new price of petrol, effective from Oct 16 (today), is Rs137.79 per litre while high speed …

KARACHI: Federal Minister for Industries and Production Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar on Friday said that a comprehensive steel policy would be announced soon with active consultation of stakeholders of the steel sector for which a two-member team had been nominated from the Pakistan Association of Large Steel Producers (PALSP). Mr Bakhtyar expressed these views while presiding over a consultative meeting on …

ISLAMABAD: In a major move to revive inflows from the international lending agencies — IMF and the World Bank — the government on Friday announced a countrywide uniform increase in base electricity tariff and a moratorium on new gas connections in all ongoing schemes. Addressing a news conference, Energy Minister Hammad Azhar said the decision to increase the base power tariff …

JERUSALEM: Israel is quietly advancing controversial settlement projects in and around Jerusalem without making major announcements that could anger the Biden administration. Critics say the latest moves, while incremental, pave the way for rapid growth once the political climate changes. On Wednesday, as Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met with US officials in Washington, a local planning committee in Jerusalem approved …

WASHINGTON: The White House said on Friday it would lift Covid-19 travel restrictions for fully vaccinated foreign nationals effective Nov 8, ending historic restrictions that had barred much of the world from entering the United States. Announcing the starting date for the new rules on travel into and out of the country, White House spokesman Kevin Munoz posted on Twitter …

DHAKA: Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at thousands of protesters in Bangladesh’s two main cities on Friday as disturbances lingered on for a third day. And amid concern over the “disturbing” violence from India, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met leaders of the Hindu community on Thursday and promised stern action. The protests began on Wednesday after footage …

MOSCOW: Russian Presi­dent Vladimir Putin on Friday said hundreds of fighters loyal to the militant Islamic State (IS) group were massing in northern Afghanistan, as Moscow prepares to host international talks on the country next week. The United States, China and Pakistan will join talks on the Taliban takeover on Tuesday, the Kremlin’s envoy to Afghanistan said. A day later, …

An Apple employee who led fellow workers in publicly sharing instances of what they called harassment and discrimination at the company said on Thursday that she had been fired. Janneke Parrish, an Apple programme manager, said the iPhone maker informed her on Thursday that she had been terminated for deleting material on company equipment while she was under investigation over …

RAWALPINDI: The garrison city on Friday got a third varsity for women after Government Viqarun Nisa Postgraduate College was upgraded to a university. Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar announced the decision while speaking at a ceremony held at Viqarun Nisa college on Friday. He also gave approval to the Rawalpindi Ring Road and Leh Nullah Expressway projects. Extending his …

The United States said on Friday it has offered to pay unspecified compensation to relatives of 10 people in Afghanistan including seven children who were killed by mistake in a US drone strike as American forces were completing their withdrawal. In a statement, the Pentagon also said it was working with the US State Department to relocate to the US any of …