KARACHI: The decrease in auto prices announced with much fanfare in the second week of July following a cut in duties and taxes in the federal budget barely lasted four months, with assemblers hiking up prices sharply in recent days. Back in July, auto assemblers had slashed prices by Rs62,000-400,000 on various locally-assembled cars and SUVs. However, since the beginning …

WELLINGTON: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was busy telling the nation about important revisions to Covid-19 restrictions when an unexpected voice cut in: “mummy “? In a situation familiar to parents worldwide, the leader’s three-year-old daughter Neve had decided everything, even the affairs of state, could wait. “You’re meant to be in bed, darling,” the 41-year-old Kiwi leader says, …

YANGON: Myanmar’s junta has charged a US journalist detained since May with sedition and terrorism, which carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, his lawyer said on Wednesday. The military has squeezed the press since taking power in a February coup, arresting dozens of journalists critical of its crackdown on dissent that has killed over 1,200 people, according to a …

GLASGOW: A draft UN climate summit text urged countries on Wednesday to boost their emissions cutting goals by 2022, three years ahead of schedule, after data showed the world was far off track to limit warming to 1.5C. Wednesday’s text was the first indication of where nations are 10 days into the COP26 talks in Glasgow, which host Britain has …

MOSCOW: Russia took the rare step of dispatching two nuclear-capable strategic bombers to patrol Belarusian airspace on Wednesday in a show of support to close ally Belarus at a time when it is locked in a migrant standoff with the European Union. Moscow’s decision to up the ante came as the 27-nation bloc considered sanctions on Wednesday to punish Minsk …

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Thursday that it was crucial for the international community to avoid repeating mistakes of the past and pursue positive engagements in order to avert economic collapse or an all-out civil war from breaking out in Afghanistan,. Addressing the opening session of the two-day meeting of Troika Plus — comprising US, Russia, China and …

WASHINGTON: The United States has refused to give any “specific reaction” to Islamabad’s decision to start a dialogue with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) adding that the two countries still had “alignment of interest” on Afghanistan. US media reports noted that on Monday Pakistan and the TTP agreed on a “complete cease-fire” as the two sides negotiated an end to …

ISLAMABAD: On the day the Supreme Court summoned Prime Minister Imran Khan during the hearing of the APS attack case, the performance of the judiciary came under scrutiny in the National Assembly when members expressed their concern over the country’s “low performance in the field of providing justice to the common man” and regretted that the judiciary was not responding …

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has called for expediting the process of digitisation of parliament to enable it to handle the legislative business quickly and efficiently. He said the automation of parliament would increase the performance of the two houses of parliament, besides helping them in taking quick decision. Mr Alvi stated this while chairing a meeting on President’s Initiative …

ISLAMABAD: The Sup­reme Court on Wednesday took the Punjab chief secretary to task over seven months’ delay in implementation of the March 25 court order for restoration of local government institutions in the province. A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed, however, ordered Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal and Local Government and Commu­nity Development Secretary Noorul …