Wall Street’s nine-week winning streak ended with a thud on Friday, as red-hot technology stocks suffered their largest daily decline this year after a hot May jobs report fueled fears of a hawkish policy ‌pivot from the US Federal Reserve. Selling was concentrated among chip stocks and other technology favorites that have surged higher in recent weeks as the ‌Nasdaq Composite Index and […]

The government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Friday declared the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) a proscribed organisation and placed it under the First Schedule of the region’s anti-terrorism act. The notification by AJK’s Home Department said the group is “engaged in terrorism” and has acted in a manner “prejudicial to peace and security” of the state. It further stated that JAAC […]

The government on Friday cut the petrol price by Rs4 per litre and kept the diesel rate unchanged with immediate effect for the week ending June 12, owing to changes in global prices over the past week. Accordingly, the ex-depot price of high-speed diesel (HSD) will remain fixed at Rs380.78 per litre for another week. The government made adjustments in taxes and other levies to maintain the […]

WASHINGTON: The US Congress is moving to tighten oversight of Pentagon leadership decisions and limit unilateral military action against Iran, in a rare bipartisan effort that underscores renewed tensions over presidential war powers and civilian control of the military. On Thursday, the House Armed Services Committee adopted a bipartisan provision that would require the Pentagon to notify […]

Tremors were felt in Lahore and other districts of Punjab on Friday after a 4.9-magnitude earthquake was reported, said a statement by the Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). A PDMA spokesperson said the depth of the earthquake was recorded at 18 kilometres, while the epicentre was located in the Kashmir region. “No loss of life or property due to the earthquake has been reported in […]

The Gilgit-Baltistan Election Commission on Friday announced the end of election campaigning 48 hours before polling day, prohibiting all election-related activities in the region, according to a press release. The general elections for the GB’s legislative assembly are scheduled on June 7, after a four-month delay. “The commission informs the public, political parties, candidates and their […]

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday “categorically rejected” India’s remarks regarding upcoming elections in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), calling them “baseless” and part of a “carefully choreographed attempt to conflate fact with fiction”. General elections in GB are scheduled for Sunday (June 7), after a four-month delay attributed to harsh winter weather. The PPP and other political parties […]

A worsening air leak aboard the International Space Station (ISS) prompted five astronauts to take shelter and prepare for evacuation for roughly two hours on Friday as Russia attempted to fix a crack on its portion of the orbital laboratory, Nasa said. The four astronauts of Nasa’s Crew-12 mission aboard the station two Americans, a French astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut along with another […]

The ex-wife of a nephew of Dubai’s ruler has been arrested following a long-running custody battle, prosecutors in the UAE said on Friday. Zeynab Javadli was detained after her former husband, Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, accused her of abducting their three children. “Dubai Public Prosecution confirms that Ms. Zeynab Javadli has been taken into custody, following a […]

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Friday promised to ensure the right of ownership and the protections of the 18th Constitutional Amendment for the people of Gilgit-Baltistan. His remarks came during a public rally in Gilgit, part of his region-wide campaign ahead of the June 7 elections. Addressing the rally, Bilawal said it was part of the PPP’s election manifesto to grant all […]

The family of a Nepali climber who dragged himself off Mount Everest six days after being abandoned called for an investigation into rescue efforts, as doctors said on Friday he is in a stable condition and recovering in hospital. Mountaineer Dawa Sherpa, 57, vanished in bitter conditions on the upper reaches of the world’s highest mountain early on May 30. His family thought he was dead and […]

MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government on Friday urged outsiders to avoid travelling to the region and asked current visitors to leave immediately, ahead of a major protest that has prompted the deployment of federal paramilitary troops. The strict travel advisory, effective from June 5 to June 20, comes in response to a strike call for June 9 by the Joint Awami Action […]

Residents of Gaza, south Lebanon, northern Israel and Kuwait were all under fire this week despite United States-arranged ceasefires supposedly in force in their regions. Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza and Lebanon, with Israeli forces still actively deployed in both places. Hezbollah rockets struck northern Israel, and Iranian attacks hit Kuwait’s international airport. The continued violence […]

ISLAMABAD: Following the apparent failure of the Tajir Dost Scheme announced a year ago to expand the tax net, the government on Friday unveiled another scheme, dubbed the ‘Fixed Tax Asaan Scheme’, for small traders and shopkeepers with an annual turnover of up to Rs200 million. The announcement was made through a recorded message by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister of State for […]

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Friday reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to the “Shanghai spirit” and called for a joint strategy among SCO member states to counter terrorism, organised crime, drug trafficking, cybercrime and terror financing. Naqvi said this at a special meeting of the Ministers of Interior and Public Security of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in […]