ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) has decided to forward the Competition Commission of Pakistan’s (CCP) proposal to revise national cement standards for disclosure of “manufacturing/expiry dates” on cement bags to the PSQCA for deliberation in the Technical Committee. A CCP team, led by Member OFT Saeed Ahmad Nawaz, held a follow-up meeting with Ali Tahir, Additional Secretary …

KARACHI: The government borrowed a record amount from banks at record high prices, which ate up 76 per cent of the tax revenue during the first nine months of the current fiscal year. The latest data released by the State Bank on Tuesday reveals that the present government has been borrowing heavily from banks despite the fact the cost of …

COCULLO: Snakes are the highlight of an ancient religious procession held every May 1 that attracts thousands of visitors to a mountainous village in central Italy. Every year, villagers wrap a statue of Abbot Saint Dominic in snakes in the weeks leading up to the procession, before carrying it from the church and down Cocullo’s narrow streets. Abbot Dominic (951-1031), …

ISTANBUL: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday that Turkiye would join in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). “Upon completion of the legal text of our work, we will submit the declaration of official intervention before the ICJ with the objective of implementing this political decision,” Fidan said in a joint …

BEIJING: China’s Fujian aircraft carrier took to the water for maiden sea trials on Wednesday, state media said, a key next step in a vast naval build-up by Beijing as it carves out a more assertive role for itself in the Pacific and beyond. The Fujian is China’s third aircraft carrier after the Liaoning and the Shandong vessels and is …

JAKARTA: Eruptions at a remote Indonesian volcano forced more than half a dozen airports to close with ash spreading as far as Malaysia, officials said on Wed­nesday, while authorities rushed to evacuate thousands due to tsunami fears. Mount Ruang erupted three times on Tuesday, spewing lava and ash more than five kilometres (three miles) into the sky and forcing authorities …

GENEVA: Gaza stands filled with more debris and rubble than Ukraine, the UN stated on Wednesday. The mammoth task of clearing it has been made all the more costly and dangerous in the face of the sheer amount of asbestos and unexploded ordnance. Six months into the Israeli aggression, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) has estimated the amount …

TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday efforts underway to forge a normalisation of ties between Israel and Arab countries will not resolve the crisis in the Middle East. “Some people think that by forcing neighbouring countries to normalise their ties (with Israel) the problem will be solved,” said Khamenei. “They are wrong.” Khamenei’s remarks came after …

BOGOTA: Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Wednesday his country will sever diplomatic ties with Israel, whose leader he described as “genocidal” over its aggression in Gaza. “Tomorrow (Thursday) diplomatic relations with the state of Israel will be severed… for having a genocidal president,” Petro told a May Day rally in Bogota, referring to Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Petro …

ISLAMABAD: While local refineries and oil marketing companies complain about falling capacity utilisation and sales, around 10 million litres of Iranian petrol and diesel are smuggled into Pakistan every day through land and sea routes, causing a more than Rs227 billion annual revenue loss. It was revealed in a joint report by intelligence agencies to the Petroleum Division. Sources said …