Pakistan Today

BEIJING: China has powered up its first domestically developed nuclear reactor -- the Hualong One - a significant step in Beijing's attempts to become less dependent on Western allies for energy security and critical technology. The reactor, which was connected to the national grid on Friday, can generate 10 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year and cut carbon emissions by...

LONDON: Britain has secured two million doses of Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate, to be available in Europe as early as the spring, the government said on Sunday, in addition to the 5 million doses it secured from the US company two weeks ago. The new deal came a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson named Nadhim Zahawi, a junior...

ISLAMABAD: Kube Publishing (Leicester, UK) and IPS Press - the publishing and bookselling arm of Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad on Sunday signed an agreement which will enable readers in Pakistan and Afghanistan to buy low-priced local editions of all books of the popular UK-based Islamic publisher. According to a statement, the agreement signed by Kube Publishing CEO Haris...

PESHAWAR: Three different development projects costing Rs 91.94 million were inaugurated in Buner on Sunday. Special Assistant to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) for Communications and Works Riaz Khan and Member National Assembly (MNA) Sher Akbar Khan jointly inaugurated the projects including a water supply scheme at a cost of Rs9.2 million, a road built at a cost...

BEIJING: Pakistan would remain a special partner country for the 18th CAEXPO next year as well, according to local media outlets. In this regard, Pakistan's Ambassador to China Moin-ul-Haque met with CAEXPO Secretary General Wang Lei on the sidelines of 17th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning on Sunday. The two parties also discussed ways and means for enhancing Pakistan’s footprint in the...

ISLAMABAD: European Union (EU) Ambassador to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara on Sunday said that the EU has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with UNHCR, committing to provide €10 million to boost the latter’s assistance operations for Afghan refugees and their host communities in Pakistan. Talking to local media, she said that the EU was trying to help the most vulnerable...

Pakistan Customs collected Rs54 billion on the import of mobile devices through Device Identifica­tion, Registration and Blocking System (DIRBs) in the past year, which is 145 per cent higher over the preceding year. According to a report by Dawn, data released by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) states the government's withdrawal of the facility of bringing duty-free mobile handsets under...

NEW DELHI: Thousands of Indian farmers, angry over reform of the agriculture sector, held a third day of protests on the outskirts of the capital on Sunday, blocking roads into the city and defying a government appeal to move to a designated site. The government on Saturday invited farmers’ union leaders for talks on new legislation to deregulate agricultural but...

LONDON: Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane said inflation could rise by more than expected as progress on Covid-19 vaccines and huge amounts of stimulus raised the chances of a swift economic bounce-back. “As the economic recovery gathers pace next year, it will be important central banks remain squarely focussed on their core medium-term price stability mandates,” Haldane said...

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar on Saturday rolled out a restructuring plan for Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM), according to which the mills would be run through private sector management to make it into a profit-earning organisation. Addressing a press conference, the minister said that the government had to take hard decisions to check losses inflicted on...

ISLAMABAD: Tourism experts have pleaded for a grant of soft loans and cash assistance for tourism businesses and low-paid workers under the government's loan and emergency cash schemes for ensuring the sector's survival next year. "Anticipating global recession due to the second and third waves of coronavirus pandemic, low-paid workers and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should be included in...

SIALKOT: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Youth Affairs Muhammad Usman Dar on Sunday announced that the government was going to launch Punjab Intermediate Cities Improvement Investment Programme which was the largest development project in the history of Sialkot. Addressing a high level meeting here at Committee Room of Tehsil Council, Dar said that under the programme, water...

BEIJING: China plans to roll out an outbound investment scheme to new regions as it looks to meet onshore investors’ asset allocation needs, official news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday. China will expand the Qualified Domestic Limited Partner (QDLP) trials already underway in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen, Xinhua said, citing an unnamed official at the foreign exchange regulator. It will also...

LONDON: The next week will be very significant for Brexit, foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday when asked how near the deadline was in trade talks with the European Union. “This is a very significant week, the last real major week subject to any further postponement,” Raab told the BBC. He said negotiations were down to their final two...

One of the most prestigious consulting firms in the world, McKinsey & Company, advised Purdue, producer of the addictive painkiller OxyContin, to give drug distributors a rebate for every OxyContin overdose attributable to pills they sold, according to bankruptcy filings obtained and reviewed by the New York Times. It may be mentioned here that Purdue Pharma on Tuesday pleaded guilty...