KARACHI: The Sindh Investment Department (SID) and Swiss Business Council (SBC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Tuesday to promote trade and investment. SBC President Jason Avanceña and Sindh Enterprise Development Fund (SEDF) CEO Khizar Pervaiz signed the MoU.     SID has been facilitating investments. The partnership with SBC aims to create connections crucial to tapping into trade …

KARACHI: The State Bank’s monetary policy meeting, scheduled for June 10, has received more attention from the stakeholders, as the policy would be announced without getting input from budgetary measures and talks with the IMF for another loan. The government seems willing to provide relief to the common people and some measures in this context could be inflationary. Therefore, some …

BEIJING: China’s Chang’e-6 probe has lifted off from the far side of the moon, starting its journey back towards Earth, China’s national space agency announced on Tuesday. The probe’s successful departure from the moon means China is closer to becoming the first country to return samples from the far side of the moon, which permanently faces away from Earth. The probe, which departed …

LONDON: Major London hospitals cancelled some operations on Tuesday after a cyber attack on a key service supplier had a “major impact”, particularly on blood transfusions, according to internal memos posted on social media. The attack on pathology partner Synnovis hit King’s College Hospital and Guy’s and St Thomas’ in the centre of the British capital. “I can confirm that our pathology partner …

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alliance was headed for a narrow majority as vote counting in the general election neared completion on Tuesday, with its tally well short of an expected landslide in a surprise setback for the populist leader. The alliance led by Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a parliamentary majority at the country’s general election, official results showed late in …

HONG KONG: Police in Hong Kong on Tuesday detained ‘several people’, whilst Chinese authorities restricted access to Beij­ing’s famous ‘Tiananmen Square’, on the 35th anniversary of the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. Cities in Taiwan and elsewhere have marked the date. In China-ruled Hong Kong, police officers tightened security around downtown ‘Victoria Park’, where large June 4 candlelight vigils had been …

GENEVA: If Europe takes a more anti-migrant stance following upcoming elections it could impact the willingness of countries globally to host refugees and create chaos, a UN official warned on Tuesday. Vincent Cochetel, the UN refugee agency’s special envoy for the central and western Mediterranean, voiced concern that a more hardline approach to migrants and refugees in Europe could influence …

RIYADH: The Saudi government said on Tuesday pilgrims can expect average high temperatures of 44 degrees Celsius during Haj, which last year saw thousands of cases of heat stress. “The expected climate for Haj this year will witness an increase in average temperatures of one-and-a-half to two degrees above normal in Makkah and Madina,” national meteorology centre chief Ayman Ghulam …

BERLIN: Germany said on Tuesday it was considering allowing deportations to Afghanistan, after an asylum seeker from the country injured five and killed a police official in a knife attack. Officials had been carrying out an “intensive review for several months… to allow the deportation of serious criminals and dangerous individuals to Afghanistan”, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told journalists. “It is …

WASHINGTON: As the United States asked the United Nations Security Council to endorse its proposal to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, key mediator Qatar on Tuesday pointed out contradictions in the statements of Israeli ministers and said it was waiting for a “clear position” from Tel Aviv on the peace deal outlined by President Joe Biden. On the other hand, Qatar said …