ISLAMABAD: Merchandise exports grew for the fifth consecutive month in January, reaching a 17-month high, indicating a recovery of export-led industrial growth. In absolute terms, export proceeds in January totalled $2.78 billion, up 27 per cent from $2.19bn the previous year, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce released on Thursday. Commerce Minister Gohar Ejaz noted that these positive …

The caretaker government is making binding plans for the new set-up to sell loss-making Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), according to the privatisation minister and other officials. In the past, elected governments have shied away from undertaking unpopular reforms, including the sale of the flag carrier. But Pakistan, in deep economic crisis, agreed in June to overhaul loss-making state-owned enterprises under …

Bulldozers have knocked down a centuries-old mosque in India’s capital, a member of the mosque’s managing committee said on Thursday during a demolition drive to remove “illegal” structures from a forest reserve. The demolition comes at a sensitive time in India with nationalist activists emboldened in their long campaign for the replacement of several prominent mosques with Hindu temples. The …

BERLIN: Security staff at 11 German airports, including the global hub Frankfurt, walked off the job on Thursday to press for higher pay, grounding flights and inflicting more pain on Europe’s largest economy. The 24-hour strike, called by labour union Verdi, is the latest in a series of industrial actions that have plagued the country’s transportation sector in recent weeks. …

GAZA CITY: Hamas has given its “initial” approval to a planned humanitarian pause in Gaza Strip and a prisoner exchange with Israel, a Qatari official said on Thursday. But a source close to Hamas said there was no agreement yet on the proposal. “There is no agreement on the framework of the agreement yet as the factions have important observations …

LONDON: Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg went on trial on Thursday for a public order offence related to a protest outside an oil and gas conference held in London last year. Thunberg, who became a prominent campaigner worldwide after staging wee­kly protests in front of the Swedish parlia­ment in 2018, was arrested on Oct 17. She and others had been …

OSLO: A Norwegian politician said on Thursday that he has nominated the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, embroiled in a controversy over the alleged involvement of employees in the Oct 7 raid on Israel, for the Nobel Peace Prize. Labour MP Asmund Aukrust told the Dagbladet newspaper he had nominated the UN Relief and Works Agency “for its long-term work to provide …

BRUSSELS: European Union (EU) leaders unanimously agreed on Thursday to extend 50 billion euros ($54bn) in aid to Ukraine, overcoming weeks of resistance by Hungary. Leaders from Western countries have reacted over the aid announcement for the Ukraine. European Council President Charles Michel said, “We have a deal. All 27 leaders agreed on an additional 50bn support package for Ukraine …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday reiterated its demand for Afghanistan to extradite the leaders of banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a designated terrorist group, while underscoring the need for bringing to justice those responsible for terrorism and maintaining regional security. “We urge Afghanistan to take immediate and effective action against these terrorist entities, hand over their leadership to Pakistan, and those individuals …

WASHINGTON: The United States on Thursday approved a $4 billion sale of state-of-the-art drones to India, offering a new edge to the growing US partner as border tensions simmer with China. The sale marks a milestone in Indian purchases of American weapons after New Delhi’s historic reliance on weapons from Russia, which have been increasingly controversial due to sanctions over …