KARACHI: The government may provide some incentives to encourage local assembly of solar panels in the budget 2024-25. Pakistan Solar Association (PSL) Senior Vice-President Mohammad Zakir Ali, who was part of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent delegation to China, said, “I do not think the government will impose any new taxes and duties on solar panels, which already have zero …

ISLAMABAD: In a return to previous practice, the National Economic Council (NEC) decided on Monday to continue funding constituency-based schemes and ongoing provincial projects, while approving an indicative national development plan worth Rs3.792 trillion for the next fiscal year to increase the economic growth rate to 3.6 per cent from the current 2.4pc. The expansionary public investment stance is likely to come under …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called a meeting of the federal cabinet today (Tue­s­day) to review the upcoming federal budget, which is expected to be tabled before the National Asse­mbly tomorrow (Wednesday). The huddle will also provide the PM an opportunity to take his aides into confidence over decisions made during his recent visit to China, a source in the Prime …

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday announced he was dissolving parliament and called snap legislative elections after the far-right trounced his centrist alliance in EU polls. The first round of elections for the lower house National Assembly will take place on June 30, with the second round on July 7, Macron announced in an address to the nation. The …

SEOUL: South Korea resumed loudspeaker broadcasts directed at North Korea on Sunday, its military said, following through on a warning demanding Pyongyang stop sending balloons carrying trash into the South. The decision to resume the broadcasts, as a form of psychological warfare, was made after North Korea began launching on Satu­rday about 330 balloons with trash attached, with about 80 of them …

SRINAGAR: At least nine people were killed and 33 injured when a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims plunged into a deep gorge after a suspected attack in the held territory of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, police said. News of the attack came as Narendra Modi took oath as prime minister for a record-equalling third term and drew criticism from the main opposition …

WASHINGTON: The Biden administration is close to finalising a treaty with Saudi Arabia that would commit the US to help defend the Gulf nation as part of a deal aimed at encouraging diplomatic ties between Riyadh and Israel, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing US and Saudi officials. The possible deal, widely telegraphed by US and other officials for weeks, is part of …

NEW DELHI: India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in on Sunday for a third term after worse-than-expected election results left him reliant on coalition partners to govern. His office said he would appoint a 71-member cabinet, including 11 National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally ministers. Modi’s Hindu-natio­nalist BJP ruled outright for the past decade but failed to repeat its previous two landslide …

An aircraft carrying Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima and nine others has gone missing, Malawi’s presidency said on Monday. “All efforts by aviation authorities to make contact with the Aircraft since it went off the radar have failed thus far,” Malawi’s Office of the President and Cabinet said in a statement. Chilima, 51, was aboard a Malawi Defense Force …

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday thanked the Sharif brothers for their congratulatory messages on him becoming the premier for a third time. Modi was sworn in on Sunday at a ceremony attended by leaders from Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. However, China and Pakistan were not present. Earlier today, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered a brief congratulations to his …