Certain genes may identify patients with obesity who are most likely to respond strongly to Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss drug Wegovy, researchers reported on Monday. The study, released at the Digestive Disease Week meeting in Washington, found a 95% likelihood that patients with this genetic profile would be strong responders to the treatment. Given the expense of Wegovy, the findings might …

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Monday said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has set up a special committee to forge political consensus on the bill for the establishment of a Digital Media Authority in the country. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, he said Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah would be the convener …

ISLAMABAD: In a significant move, the Pakistan Basketball Federation (PBBF) on Sunday took a decisive action against several officials and players, suspending or banning them for various violations and misconduct. In a meeting chaired by PBBF president retired Brig Iftikhar Mansoor, the general council suspended Ghulam Mohammad Khan, the president of the Karachi Basketball Association (KBBA), due to regulatory violations …

PARIS: Wars and conflicts should not influence participation in the Games, which need to convey a message of hope and support, and Israel should not be sanctioned, Andrew Parsons, the head of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said. The IPC said in March that Russian and Belarusian athletes joining the Paris 2024 Paralympics would not be part of their opening …

ISLAMABAD: Following objections raised by the Pakistan Football Federation Norma­lisation Committee over the lighting at the Jinnah Stadium for Pakistan’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia next month, the Pakistan Sports Board has insisted that everything will be fixed for the match to go on as scheduled. Pakistan are due to host the Saudis on June 6 but …

LEEDS: Pakistan are in a phase of promptly identifying and reflecting on their shortcomings in order to overcome them in time with the T20 World Cup just round the corner, all-rounder Imad Wasim has said. The national team’s preparations for the tournament — set to be held in the United States and the West Indies next month — effectively started only …

ISLAMABAD: The power regulator has approved a seven-year plan for K-Electric, under which the company will increase its generation capacity by about 3,200MW, mostly through renewable energy. Under the seven-year Power Acquisition Plan (PAP 2024-30) approved by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), K-Electric will get more electricity from the national grid, envisaging an estimated 9pc tariff reduction to …

KARACHI: The banks made record investments of Rs7.6 trillion during the year, mostly in risk-free and lucrative government papers, while advances during the same period declined instead of increasing. The latest data issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday shows that the total investment of scheduled banks till April 2024 reached Rs27.281tr, compared to Rs19.694tr in April …

ISLAMABAD: The government has sought the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s (Nepra) approval for an additional fuel cost adjustment (FCA) of Rs3.5 per unit to extract over Rs29 billion from consumers for electricity they consumed in April. Surprisingly, this demand comes despite the fact that 75 per cent of the overall power supply during the month was generated from cheaper …