Bulls maintained control of the trading floor as shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) climbed 800 points in intraday trade on Monday. The benchmark KSE-100 index climbed 817.68 points, or 0.71 per cent, to stand at 116,089.76 points from the previous close of 115,272.08 at 2:29pm. Mohammed Sohail, chief executive of Topline Securities, attributed the upward trajectory to “signs of political stability, along with expectations of another rate cut, helping sentiments”. Awais Ashraf, director research at AKD Securities, said, “The resolution of political uncertainty following the verdict in ..read more

The trial of a teenager accused of killing three young girls in a stabbing spree last year that sparked the UK’s most violent riots in a decade is set to begin on Monday. Axel Rudakubana, 18, is due to stand trial at Liverpool Crown Court, accused of murdering three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last year in Southport, northwest England. Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, were killed in the attack in the seaside resort near Liverpool on July 29, 2024. Ten others were injured, including eight children, in one of the country’s worst mass sta ..read more

Bitcoin hit a record high above $109,000 on Monday as Donald Trump, who has signalled plans to deregulate the cryptocurrency sector, prepares to be sworn in as US president. Bitcoin surged to reach an all-time peak of $109,241 ahead of Trump’s inauguration ceremony, before falling back to $107,765 at around 0740 GMT. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency has soared since Trump won the presidential election in November, with bitcoin surpassing $100,000 for the first time in early December. It came after he nominated cryptocurrency backer Paul Atkins to head the US securities regulator, reinforcing ..read more

ISLAMABAD: While allegations are being made that counterfeit vaccines were being administered to travellers and pilgrims at the International Vaccination Centre (IVC), Polyclinic spokesperson has claimed that the hospital does not procure any vaccine for travellers. “The fact is almost 70 to 80 people, intending to travel abroad, daily approach the IVC for the issuance of the international travel vaccination card. As we are not authorised to procure vaccines, so travellers purchase the vaccine from the open market and bring it to the IVC established in Polyclinic. We administer the vaccine, an ..read more

The Taliban’s acting deputy foreign minister called on his senior leadership to open schools for Afghan girls, among the strongest public rebukes of a policy that has contributed to the international isolation of its rulers. Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, who previously led a team of negotiators at the Taliban’s political office in Doha before US forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, said in a speech at the weekend that restrictions on girls and women’s education was not in line with Islamic Sharia law. “We request the leaders of the Islamic Emirate to open the doors of education,” he said ..read more

ISLAMABAD: While allegations are being made that counterfeit vaccines were being administered to travellers and pilgrims at the International Vaccination Centre (IVC), Polyclinic spokesperson has claimed that the hospital does not procure any vaccine for travellers. “The fact is almost 70 to 80 people, intending to travel abroad, daily approach the IVC for the issuance of the international travel vaccination card. As we are not authorised to procure vaccines, so travellers purchase the vaccine from the open market and bring it to the IVC established in Polyclinic. We administer the vaccine, an ..read more

China on Monday executed a man who killed 35 people in a car rampage in the southern city of Zhuhai in November, state media said. A court in the city “executed Fan Weiqiu in accordance with the execution order issued by the Supreme People’s Court”, state broadcaster CCTV said. On November 11, 62-year-old Fan deliberately drove a small SUV through crowds of people exercising outside a sports complex. He killed 35 and wounded 43, state media reported at the time, in China’s deadliest attack since 2014. Fan was detained at the scene with self-inflicted knife wounds and fell into a coma, police ..read more

GILGIT: Tour operators have expressed concerns over the steep hike in royalty and mountaineering fees, alleging that the Gilgit-Baltistan government’s decision is detrimental to the region’s growing adventure tourism sector. They claimed that the move has already rendered many people jobless due to a significant drop in tourist footfall. Expressing serious concerns over the move, representatives from Pak­istan Association of Tour Opera­tors (Pato), Gilgit-Baltistan Tour Opera­tors Association (GBATO) and other tour operating associations have written to GB Chief Minister Haji Gulbar Khan, fede ..read more

Two people were shot dead and two others were injured in Karachi’s SITE area on Monday, according to a police statement. Keamari police said that the incident occurred due to a “personal dispute” adding that further investigation was underway. The people who were killed included 45-year-old Asad Ullah and 20-year-old Sami Ullah. Meanwhile, the injured were identified as Ameer Abdullah and Ikram Ullah who were shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC). Earlier, an unidentified young woman was killed in an execution-style shooting in Orangi Town. Amid widespread backlash, police a ..read more

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has decided to challenge the closure and demolition of the Monal restaurant, which was recently shut down by the Supreme Court for encroaching on protected land. Talking to Dawn, CDA’s Director Environment Dr Irfan Niazi said: “The CDA will again take up the issue of Monal in the Supreme Court in a separate case of the Municipal Corporation Islamabad (MCI) to explain the existence of the restaurant was not unjustified.” The official hoped that the authority would try to convince that under the law, the CDA’s acquired land could not be given to ..read more