The United States and China on Friday took their growing clash over the coronavirus pandemic to social media, with Beijing telling Secretary of State Mike Pompeo he was "lying through (his) teeth."
Some 300 million children who depend on school meals are missing out due to closures triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, the Worlld Food Programme said Friday The WFP pointed out that more than 860 million children - roughly half the world's student po
More than 10,000 people have now died in a coronavirus pandemic that has swept from China throughout the world, forcing the confinement of tens of millions in their homes. As the virus has marched westwards, the severity of the outbreaks and the focus of
The United States has announced to help Pakistan in the fight against coronavirus with an initial US$1 million assistance to bolster the monitoring and to give a rapid response to COVID-19 in the country. This was announced by US Principal Deputy Assistan
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has advised the people of the province to spend the next three days under voluntary isolation for the sake of safety and security.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has stated that the government will announce a comprehensive package on Tuesday for businesses as well as industry to offset the impact of coronavirus pandemic on the economy, but ruled out complete nationwide lockdown for now, t
Pakistan Stock Exchange Friday made a sharp turnaround on the back of fresh buying on attractive low levels and closed on strong positive note with healthy gains after seven days of turmoil. BRIndex100 gained 63.76 points or 2.08 percent to close at 3,125
The weekly SPI inflation during the week ended March 19 against March 12 witnessed an increase of 0.05 percent for combined income groups, ie, from 129.66 points to 129.72 points, Pakistan Bureau of Statistic (PBS) revealed.
As feared, exporters on Friday informed the government that Pakistani exports would suffer a setback in the coming months owing to coronavirus that has propelled the global economies into recession, and demand for Pakistani products, especially apparel, h
To effectively deal with the coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic in Pakistan, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has exempted customs duty, regulatory duty, additional customs duty, withholding tax and sales tax on the import of 61 different kinds of Diagnosti
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has announced a relief package to support exporters affected by loss of demand due to COVID-19 and to prevent export sector from any liquidity crisis.
The European Union (EU) has reportedly raised concerns on status to "Chinese" companies vis-à-vis European companies which intend to participate in different projects, well-informed sources told Business Recorder.
The federal government has appointed Atif Bukhari as new chairman of the Board of Investment (BoI). Sources said that the federal cabinet had approved his appointment as chairman BoI and notification to this respect will be issued by the Establishment Div
In order to bring uniformity in eCIB data submission timeline, all member financial institutions are required to submit their monthly data to the SBP by the 10th of every month, instead of 15th, the central bank said Friday.
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has constituted an inter-ministerial committee to evaluate the eligibility of export-oriented sectors for consideration of subsidy, well-informed sources told Business Recorder.
The Catholic Church on Friday granted "forgiveness" - under certain conditions - for the sins of the faithful struck by the novel coronavirus. A decree published by the Vatican also covers healthcare workers and those who pray for their wellbeing. Relativ
To promote ease of doing business, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Friday issued simplified submission requirements for standardized products of life insurers/family Takaful operators to be applicable from April 1, 2020.
Economists and industrialists have termed the 75 basis points (bps) reduction in policy rate by the State Bank of Pakistan 'nominal' and a 'joke' and not an appropriate response to deal with the coronavirus challenge and domestic ground realities.
This is apropos the first part of a series of articles titled "Need for all-out reforms - I" carried by the newspaper yesterday. The writers, Huzaima Bukhari and Dr Ikramul Haq, have argued, among other things, that "The right of access to justice is an i
Gutted factories, rusting pickaxes and crumbling homes that will soon be abandoned dot the scarred hills in Mentougou - home to Beijing's last coal mine slated to close this year as the city battles chocking smog.
With millions of face masks, low interest loans and teams of medical experts, China is trying to paint itself as a Good Samaritan while deflecting criticism over its initial missteps in handling the coronavirus.
Russian President Vladimir Putin insists the economy can weather the coronavirus storm and low oil prices but the two-pronged crisis is a huge challenge to his promises to reduce poverty and boost growth.
Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) Board of Directors' incumbent Chairman is reported to have stated last week that PSM is in the process of revival and recovery. According to him, it needs to reinvent itself as a new organization.
More than anything else it was sober symbolism of the visit that gave it meaning. President Arif Alvi went on a three-day trip to China - March 16 to 18 - accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar a
The national flag carrier's many problems were bound to become part of the proceedings as the Supreme Court allowed Air Marshal Arshad Malik to function as PIA's (Pakistan International Airline's) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with full authority on Wedne
As coronavirus continues to unleash its devastation across the globe, the federal government has failed to ensure effective arrangements against this deadly pandemic particularly at the panagahs (shelter homes) and langarkhanas (free food distribution fac
Almost all political parties have either suspended or limited their political activities in the aftermath of the outbreak of the coronavirus in the country.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Apex Committee in its meeting held here on Friday took various important decisions related to prevention and spread of coronavirus pandemic in the province. A meeting of the Apex Committee held here with KP Governor Shah Farman in t
On the directives of the Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has released a fund amounting to Rs 1.73 billion to districts for combating COVID-19 and provision of facilities in Quarantine Cen
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued an advisory for telecom operators and stakeholders for uninterrupted telecom services amid coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the country.
In a coordinated effort to combat the spread of coronavirus in the country, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday decided to unite all political parties as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country jumped to 464.
The Chairman Hyderabad SITE Association of Trade and Industry Mazhar-ul-Haq Choudhry has advised the mill and factory owners to ensure availability of sufficient stock of masks and sanitizers for their workers as precautionary measures against Coronavirus
Sindh Governor Imran Ismail on Friday said that the country could not bear a lockdown-situation amid rising cases of deaths and confirmed patients of coronavirus in the country.
Pakistan Railways (PR) will be losing around 35,000 commuters per day due to suspension of its 34 passenger train operations across the country, owing to the fast spreading coronavirus - the global pandemic, official sources told Business Recorder.
The Commonwealth Journalist Association (CJA) calls on the Government of Pakistan to release the Jang Group Editor-in-Chief, Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, who has been in detention since 12 March.
In the best interest of public health, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited & Ufone have announced closure of Sales & Service Centers and Joint Shops across Pakistan till March 31, 2020, due to the increasing number of coronavirus cases emerging in
Economic & Financial Analyst Ateeq-ur-Rehman has said that until the rooting out of this invisible enemy, COVID 19, the economy and all kinds of supply chains of our country will be complicated. This is a pandemic.
Former Senior Vice President (SVP) Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Shaukat Ahmed on Friday asked K-Electric (KE) to withdraw the industrial support packages adjustment (ISPA) charges from July-2019 to December-2019 and ad
Ittihad Panel of electronic dealers has raised concern on election process of Karachi Electronic Dealers Association (KEDA) and urged for a free and fair election under an independent election committee.
Secretary General (Federal) of the Businessmen Panel (BMP), Ahmad Jawad has said Ministry of Economic Affairs must start serious negotiation with the international financial institutions for a handsome aid to fight with the country economy in the wake of
Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PHMA) on Friday sought an economic relief package from the government following the Covid-19 pandemic hitting the international trade badly.
Founder and chairman of Saylani Welfare Trust, Maulana Bashir Farooqi has said in order to tackle the deadly widespread outbreak of coronavirus across the country, the trust has decided to provide ration to 1.2 million poor and needy persons.
The city police in its ongoing crackdown against the violation of section-144 in the provincial capital have arrested 207 alleged criminals and registered 72 first information reports (FIRs) against them. "We have, so far, arrested 207 people for violatio
Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar has approved to set up field hospital of one thousand beds capacity, here at Expo Centre and directed the Commissioner Lahore Division to take immediate steps in this regard.
With 16 more fresh cases, the total number of coronavirus positive cases in the province of Punjab has reached to 96. So far, 71 of the cases have been reported from Zaireen who traveled to the province from the Pakistan-Iran border at Taftan, 15 from Lah
The Punjab government will distribute minimum 14 days ration among the families of people quarantined due to coronavirus. This was decided in a meeting chaired by the Punjab Disaster Management Unit Minister Mian Khalid Mehmood here on Friday.
Pakistani Students studying in Wuhan Textile University and other Universities of China were safe and sound and they were carrying their curriculum activities by "On-Line" study despite the closure of the Chinese Educational Institutions due to outbreak o
The 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) was never meant to be a Pakistan-friendly treaty, and amounted to a little more than the legalization of the theft of water by India that legally belongs to Pakistan.
While the number of coronavirus cases is increasing with every passing day, trade and business activities across the province have badly hampered and the daily wage earners are worst effectees.
Telenor, Zong and Ufone have missed most of the key performance indicators (KPIs) set in their license and applicable regulations, revealed an independent quality of service survey carried out by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
Carrefour, operated in Pakistan by Majid Al Futtaim has implemented strict hygiene and safety protocols across all its stores in the country for the health and wellbeing of its customers amid concerns of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and the provincial councils and associations decided that no prospective/contesting candidate or his supporter, in the ensuing elections of provincial/Islamabad Bar Councils and the bar associations, shall canvass for votes
"The government has redirected $ 40 million non-utilized sums from the World Bank (WB) projects, which would be used by the provinces and the federal government for equipment purchases and responses to coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak in the country."
The federal government has released Rs 466.68 billion (66.57 percent) including Rs 92.74 billion foreign aid (72.3 percent) for various ongoing and new development projects under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2019-2020 against the total b
An Accountability Court hearing multi-billion-rupee fake bank accounts case on Friday deferred announcement of its reserved judgment with respect to former president Asif Ali Zardari's sister Faryal Talpur's plea to unfreeze her bank accounts till March 2
The local pharmaceutical industry has warned the government of acute medicine shortage within next four weeks, if appropriate steps are not taken to deal with the situation.
India executed four men on Friday for the gang-rape and murder of a woman on a Delhi bus in 2012 that sparked huge nationwide protests and international revulsion. The four were hanged before dawn at Tihar Jail in the Indian capital, prison chief Sandeep
The British government on Friday said it would help cover the wages of people hit by the coronavirus outbreak as it tightened restrictions to curb the spread of the disease.
Air New Zealand has been offered a NZ$900 million (US$515 million) loan to help the flag carrier survive the coronavirus crisis, the government said Friday. "Without this intervention, New Zealand was at risk of not having a national airline," Finance Min
The United States said Friday it was suspending all routine visa services around the world due to the global coronavirus pandemic. US embassies and consulates will still consider emergency visas if they have adequate staff, the State Department said.
The United States announced Friday it has successfully tested an unarmed prototype of a hypersonic missile, a weapon that could potentially overwhelm an adversary's defense systems.
An independent watchdog demanded an investigation Friday after two Republican senators aware of the looming coronavirus disaster dumped their stocks even as the White House played down the threat.
Dutch judges on Friday sentenced a Turkish-born man to life in prison for a "terrorist" shooting on a tram in the city of Utrecht that killed four people. Gokmen Tanis, 38, was found guilty of opening fire with a pistol on a tram while shouting "Allahu Ak
A majority of Americans now approves of President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus crisis, according to a poll released Friday, in a sharp pivot from his previously dire numbers. According to the ABC News/Ipsos poll, 55 percent approve of his pe
At least two dozen Afghan security forces were killed Friday in an insider attack on their base in southern Afghanistan, officials told AFP, as fighting raged in the war-weary country while efforts to start talks with the Taliban stalled. The pre-dawn att
Good cheer may feel in short supply as the world reels under a global pandemic, but experts at the United Nations on Friday declared Finland to be the world's happiest nation for the third year running. Researchers for the World Happiness Report asked peo
Lebanon's foreign minister summoned the US ambassador Friday over the return of a naturalised American former militiaman accused of torture to the United States despite a travel ban, state media said. Amer al-Fakhoury, a former member of the South Lebanon
The European Commission said Friday that the EU would suspend its strict rules on public deficits to allow governments to open the money taps to face the coronavirus pandemic. In an unprecedented decision, Brussels triggered something called the "general
The dollar lost steam on Friday after an ascent that left it set for its biggest weekly gain since the 2008 global financial crisis, as the coronavirus pandemic caused a stampede for cash that has trampled asset markets.
The dollar eased on Friday as stock markets around the world recovered but remained on track for its biggest weekly rise since the global financial crisis in 2008 as a global scramble for funding sent other currencies reeling.
The dollar eased on Friday after a rally that put it on track for its biggest weekly rise since the 2008 financial crisis, as a global scramble for dollar funding sent other currencies reeling. Currencies from the Australian dollar to the British pound tu
The US dollar rallied across the board on Thursday, as worries about the economic fallout from the coronavirus boosted dollar demand despite recent steps by world central banks aimed at alleviating market stress. The dollar index, which measures the green
Latin American currencies lifted off record lows on Friday tracking an uptick in sentiment as central banks flooded world markets with liquidity and governments ramped up support efforts. Brazil's real and Chile's peso rose more than 1%, with the latter o
Most emerging Asian currencies rose against a weaker dollar on Friday, but were set to end the week sharply lower as a scramble for hard cash and surge in demand for the greenback prompted investors to pare holdings in Asian bonds and currencies. The US d
Turkey's main share index rose 3.2% on Friday, after it hit its weakest level since January 2017 earlier this week due to concerns over the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The banking index was up 2.88%. The lira stood at 6.4820 against the d
Sterling rebounded versus the US dollar and euro, climbing off more than three-decade lows against the greenback as central banks moved to ease a scramble for dollars. The British currency had been one of several to tank as investors rushed to put their m
Australia's central bank bought A$5 billion ($2.87 billion) in local government bonds on Friday, in the first round of its unlimited quantitative easing programme as it looks to cushion the economic shock from the coronavirus pandemic.
Badminton's European Championships and Asia Championships have been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Friday, the latest sporting casualties of the outbreak. The global sporting calendar is in tatters due to the rapidly spreading v
Australian cricket great Shane Warne has halted production of gin at a distillery he co-owns to make medical-grade hand sanitiser for hospitals in these "challenging times".
The Olympic flame arrived in Japan to a scaled-down welcoming ceremony Friday as doubts grew over whether the Tokyo Games will go ahead on schedule with the coronavirus pandemic causing chaos around the world.
Bayern Munich players Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich on Friday announced that they had launched a programme to help fight the coronavirus and had put in the first 1 million euro. "Germany is a at a standstill," the two 25-year-olds wrote on their platfo
Czech ice hockey legend Vladimir Zabrodsky, a silver Olympic medallist and two-time world champion, died at the age of 97 on Friday, the Czech Ice Hockey Association (CSLH) said.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has charged batsman Umar Akmal with two breaches of Article 2.4.4 of the PCB Anti-Corruption Code in two unrelated incidents.
Pakistan's perennial problem-maker Umar Akmal could face a lifetime ban if convicted of match-fixing charges unveiled Friday by Pakistan cricket authorities.
English rugby chiefs on Friday confirmed the end of the 2019/20 season for all levels beneath the Premiership due to the coronavirus. The move applies to "all league, cup and county rugby", according to a statement from the Rugby Football Union (RFU), whi
The shutdown of English football was extended until at least April 30 on Thursday after the Premier League and English Football League (EFL) held crisis meetings.
China kept a benchmark lending rate unchanged on Friday, defying expectations for a reduction with the economy jolted by the coronavirus pandemic although policymakers will likely need to loosen lending rates soon to free up funds.
China's cabinet announced more measures on Friday to support employment in the world's second-largest economy, which is expected to shrink for the first time in four decades because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Argentina's government will need "substantial debt relief" from private creditors as the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impact exacerbates the country's financial situation, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said Friday.
The Russian central bank left its key interest rate unchanged Friday at six percent, aiming to keep inflation in check as the ruble tumbles in the face of an oil price war with Saudi Arabia and the coronavirus outbreak.
The central banks of the United States, the euro zone, Canada, Britain, Japan and Switzerland agreed on Friday to increase the frequency of their one-week US dollars credit facility, they said in a joint statement.
AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes has returned to his post after being cleared by an independent probe, the Malaysian carrier said Friday, weeks after stepping aside amid a $4 billion Airbus graft scandal.
Saudi Arabia announced emergency stimulus measures on Friday that took its support for the economy to more than $32 billion as it tackles the coronavirus outbreak and lower oil prices, and said it is looking to borrow more to finance a widening deficit.
Eased rules on the capital buffers that lenders supervised by the European Central Bank must hold to weather crises will free banks up to issue as much as 1.8 trillion euros ($1.9 trillion), the institution said Friday.