Bulls dominated the trade floor on Tuesday as shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) gained over 750 points due to activity reported in the energy sector. At 1:42pm, the KSE-100 index gained 659.15 points, or 1.05 per cent, to stand at 63,662.06 from the previous close of 63,002.91. The index closed at 63,799.01, up by 796.10 or 1.26pc, from …

At least two people were killed in Bangladesh on Monday after mortar shells fired from Myanmar during clashes there landed in a village across the border, police said. Parts of Myanmar near the 270-kilometre border with Bangladesh have seen frequent clashes since November when rebel Arakan Army fighters ended a ceasefire that had largely held since a 2021 coup. “The …

The small but strategically placed Maldives will strengthen its military to defend its vast maritime territory, the new president vowed on Monday after ordering Indian troops to withdraw from the archipelago. Mohamed Muizzu said in his first address to parliament he would turn the modest Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF) into a modern military capable of patrolling its seas, which …

Britain’s King Charles has been diagnosed with a form of cancer and the 75-year-old will postpone public-facing duties while he undergoes treatment, Buckingham Palace said on Monday. Charles, who became king in September 2022 following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth, is “wholly positive” about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible, the …

LONDON: The trial of an alleged bitcoin creator opened in London on Monday, seeking to determine whether an Australian computer scientist invented the world’s most popular cryptocurrency. Craig Wright, 53, says he is Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonym of bitcoin’s creator and author of a white paper that introduced the cryptocurrency to the world in 2008. Wearing a striped suit, Wright …

STOCKHOLM: Research samples collected over decades at a prestigious Swedish medical university have been destroyed after a freezer malfunctioned over the Christmas holidays, the university said on Monday. The incident has been reported to police, the university added. The samples were stored in tanks cooled with liquid nitrogen, at a temperature of minus 190 degrees Celsius, at the medical university …

BERLIN: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call on Monday that a two-state solution with the Palestinians was the only path to lasting peace in the region. “From the view of the government, only a negotiated two-state solution would open up the prospect of a sustainable solution to the Middle East conflict. This …

PARIS: Europe’s CERN laboratory revealed more details on Monday about its plans for a huge new particle accelerator that would dwarf the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), ramping up efforts to uncover the underlying secrets of the universe. If approved, the Future Circular Collider (FCC) would start smashing its first particles together around the middle of this century — and start …

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General António Guterres established an independent body on Monday to scrutinise allegations regarding neutrality of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). Guterres, in consultation with UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini, has assigned the leadership of this crucial review to Catherine Colonna, a former foreign affairs minister of France. The panel will collaborate …

GAZA STRIP: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday for another Middle East crisis tour, hoping to secure a new truce as Gaza saw no let-up in fighting. On his fifth trip to the region, Blinken landed in Riyadh and was later expected to visit Israel and mediators Egypt and Qatar. Ahead of the trip …