News Archives for World - 2020-12-22

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World - 2020-12-22

USA

US third-quarter GDP growth revised slightly up; momentum waning

Third-quarter GDP revised up to 33.4% rate.
Consumer, business spending revised higher.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 08:30pm

South Asia

China visa centres in England close as new coronavirus variant spreads

The new variant of the virus, which has quickly become the dominant variant in cases of COVID-19 in parts of southern England, has led to several countries cutting travel ties with Britain.
There is also a Chinese visa centre in the Scottish capital Edinburgh, which has been operating under reduced hours since November.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 08:25pm

USA

Trump signs stopgap funding bill; Congress awaits his approval of $892bn COVID aid

The package includes $892 billion for coronavirus relief plus federal government funding to also avert a government shutdown - together worth about $2.3 trillion.
The wide-ranging bill includes $600 payments to most Americans and additional money to the millions of people thrown out of work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 08:22pm

USA

US existing home sales fall more than expected in November

Existing home sales, which account for the bulk of US home sales, surged 25.8% on a year-on-year basis in November.
Sales fell in the South, Midwest and Northeast. They were flat in the West.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 08:20pm

Europe

German consumer confidence dips on lockdown woes

The lockdown and the closure of most shops really hit consumer confidence, Rolf Buerkl said.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 07:54pm

Europe

Brussels recommends EU members lift UK travel bans

Several EU member states have imposed flight, train and ferry bans on UK arrivals since Britain announced the discovery of a new strain of coronavirus.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 07:53pm

Middle East

US regrets Lebanon-Israel stalemate, offers mediation

The Trump administration has heralded major progress in its waning days in Israel's relations with the Arab world.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 07:49pm

USA

US issues additional visa restrictions on Chinese officials

Pompeo said the restrictions affected officials believed to be responsible for or complicit in repressing religious practitioners.
US-China relations have plunged to their worst level in decades as the world's top two economies spar over issues ranging from the coronavirus outbreak.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 07:09pm

Middle East

Israeli envoys fly to Morocco, aim to fortify U.S.-brokered ties

On Tuesday, Israel sent envoys to Morocco to meet its king and work on an upgrade of diplomatic ties, which were forged by the White House.
Ben-Shabbat and Kushner will see Morocco’s King Mohammed during a two-day trip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Updated 22 Dec, 2020 07:34pm

Europe

UK govt borrowing soars further on virus spending

British economic output however remains 8.6 percent below the level of one year ago.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 06:32pm

BioNTech says can make mutation-beating vaccine in six weeks

Sahin said the variant detected in Britain has nine mutations, rather than just one as is usually common.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 06:28pm

Europe

Russia announces travel bans against EU officials over Navalny

The Russian foreign ministry repeated claims that EU countries had refused to cooperate with Russia over a probe into the incident.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 06:26pm

Europe

Royal Mail to focus on pandemic-driven parcel growth as union dispute ends

Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) had been locked in a dispute over a 1.8 billion pound ($2.42 billion) restructuring plan.
"This agreement marks the end of our two year dispute with Royal Mail Group and brings closure to one of the most adversarial periods of our history."

Published 22 Dec, 2020 06:23pm

USA

US Congress approves $900 billion stimulus package

Trump signed a stopgap measure early Tuesday to keep the federal government funded until December 28 and avert a shutdown.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 06:18pm

Europe

WHO Europe to convene members over new virus variant

According to the WHO there is currently "no evidence to indicate any change in disease severity."

Published 22 Dec, 2020 06:17pm

Middle East

Iraq inks preliminary deal for Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine

Iraq has committed $170 million to be among the first countries to receive the vaccine, according to WHO.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 06:15pm

USA

U.S. ready to mediate discussions between Israel and Lebanon –Pompeo

“Regrettably, despite goodwill on both sides, the parties remain far apart,” Pompeo said in a statement. 

Published 22 Dec, 2020 06:15pm

Africa

Sudan, Ethiopia start border talks one week after clash

Sudan has since deployed troops to the Al-Fashaqa border region, the site of sporadic clashes.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 06:13pm

Europe

Slovenia starts mass virus testing

More than 2,400 Slovenians have died and there have been over 107,000 cases officially registered.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 06:11pm

South Asia

China says to take measures against US visa restrictions

The State Department has also cancelled visas for more than 1,000 Chinese students and researchers suspected of espionage.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 06:09pm

Middle East

Kushner on board first Israel-Morocco direct commercial flights

Morocco closed its liaison office in Tel Aviv in 2000, at the start of the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 06:07pm

South Asia

US warship sails by China-claimed Spratly Islands

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, including the Spratly Islands, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 05:52pm

Africa

UN Mali probe sees war crimes, crimes against humanity

France, the colonial power, launched a military operation in 2013 that scattered the jihadists.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 05:47pm

Africa

Bashir trial judge steps down citing health reasons

The trial, which is broadcast on Sudanese television, was adjourned until January 5.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 05:43pm

Europe

UK PM, EU chief held talks on Brexit, Covid: EU source

Johnson and von der Leyen are pressing to break a logjam over fishing rights with just nine days to go before Britain leaves the EU single market and customs union.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 05:39pm

Europe

Norway's top court rejects climate challenge to Arctic oil exploration

Their claims have already been rejected in two instances and hopes were finally dashed by the Supreme Court, which delivered the verdict by videoconference.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 05:36pm

Europe

Serbia gets first batch of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine

An airplane unloading containers with 4,875 doses of vaccines. The vaccines were later taken to the Institute of Virology, Vaccines and Sera, known as the "Torlak", in Belgrade.
"The immunisation, most probably, will start next week," Mirsad Djerlek, state secretary in the health ministry, told reporters in front of the "Torlak" Institute building.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 05:33pm

South Asia

Thai seafood market coronavirus infections top 1,000

The majority of the new cases are workers from Myanmar, who toil on shrimp boats and in processing factories linked to the multi-billion-dollar Thai seafood industry.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 05:32pm

Europe

Coronavirus toll at 1100 GMT Tuesday

At least 77,272,040 cases of coronavirus have been registered. Of these, at least 49,095,900 are now considered recovered.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 05:30pm

South Asia

Afghan Taliban condemn Iranian FM’s comments terming group’s actions as ‘terrorist acts’ irresponsible

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan condemned comments made by Dr. Javad Zarif in a recent interview, citing it as "open interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan".
"Such irresponsible and misconceived remarks by Iranian officials have the potential of harming relations between two friendly and neighboring countries", said Zabihullah Mujahid, Spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate.

Updated 22 Dec, 2020 05:17pm

Prison doctors among five killed in Kabul bombing

Lawmaker Khan Mohammad Wardak was wounded in the blast.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 01:00pm

China's CanSino recruits over 20,000 participants for COVID-19 Phase 3 trials

China aims to involve at least 40,000 candidates in CanSinoBIO's Phase 3 trials
Clinical trial registration data revealed that China has started enrolling participants from Pakistan, Russia, Mexico and Chile

Published 22 Dec, 2020 12:43pm

Google, Facebook agree to join hands against potential anti-trust lawsuit: Report

Google and Facebook were aware that their cooperative agreement could potentially trigger anti-trust investigations, and subsequently strategised on how to deal with them.
According to a spokesperson from Google, such agreements over anti-trust threats are extremely common in the industry, to avoid any unprecedented legal challenges.

Updated 22 Dec, 2020 01:07pm

UAE says Qatar media 'undermining' Gulf crisis progress

Earlier this month, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said a resolution of the Gulf diplomatic crisis was in sight, with all governments involved "on board" and a final agreement expected soon.

Updated 22 Dec, 2020 01:00pm

India records lowest daily coronavirus tally since July 3

A total of 146,111 people have died of the coronavirus in India, with 301 deaths in the last 24 hours, the ministry said.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 12:02pm

Asia

Thailand confirms 427 new coronavirus infections

The new cases include 397 migrant workers in the southwestern province of Samut Sakhon, where Thailand's coronavirus worst outbreak yet was confirmed at the weekend.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 12:01pm

Asia

Japan PM Suga aims to meet with Biden as soon as possible

Suga, speaking at a symposium, also said Japan was preparing to implement thorough coronavirus prevention measures for the Summer Olympics next year.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 11:49am

USA

Trump urges Congress to amend 'wasteful' coronavirus aid bill, slams funding for foreign special interests

President Trump berated the relief package, stating that "Congress found plenty of money for foreign countries, lobbyists and special interests, while sending the bare minimum to the American people who need it".
The government spending package contains tens of millions of dollars allocated for “gender” and “democracy” programs in Pakistan.

Updated 23 Dec, 2020 01:15pm

Testing blitz shows Australian coronavirus cluster contained in Sydney's northeast

All Australian states have now moved to close their borders to NSW, with hundreds of police and military personnel deployed to ensure compliance.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 11:14am

UK, France to set out plan to restart freight: BBC

The measures will come into effect from Wednesday, the BBC said, citing French Europe Minister Clement Beaune.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 11:09am

US reinstates Sudan's sovereign immunity, authorizes funds to help pay debt

The bill also appropriates an additional $150 million for Sudan's settlement payment, in order to redistribute the funds in a way the bill's sponsors say is more equitable.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 11:01am

UN Security Council talks Western Sahara after Trump policy switch

President-elect Joe Biden, due to succeed Trump on Jan. 20, will face a decision whether to accept the US deal with Morocco on the Western Sahara, which no other Western country has done.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 10:49am

Brazil health regulator certifies Sinovac's CoronaVac production standards

Anvisa has certified the quality of Sinovac's production standards, not the vaccine itself. Brazil's Sao Paulo state.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 10:39am

USA

Mexico records 5,370 new coronavirus cases, 396 more deaths

The government says the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 10:38am

Asia

China reports 15 new COVID-19 cases; no new strains detected

A new highly infectious strain of the virus has been detected in Britain, as well as some other countries.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 10:20am

Former Japan PM Abe questioned Monday by prosecutors, NHK says

Tokyo prosecutors said they do not comment on investigations. Abe's office declined to comment and requested that questions be sent by facsimile.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 09:55am

Biden receives COVID-19 vaccine at Delaware hospital

He received his first dose of the Pfizer Inc COVID-19 vaccine on Monday

Published 22 Dec, 2020 09:31am

Malaysia buys AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines, seeks more from China, Russia

The government expects to receive the first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in February, he added. Malaysia was the first country in Southeast Asia to strike a deal with the US drugmaker.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 09:31am

US surpasses 18mn reported Covid-19 cases: Johns Hopkins

Trump's behavior has come despite having been hospitalized with the virus himself.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 09:03am

USA

US Congress edges toward approval of $900bn stimulus package

Progressive New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said earlier Monday that legislators still did not have copies of the more than 5,550-page bill.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 08:52am

Europe

AI use in the future will largely determine battle outcomes - Putin

According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the technical modernisation of the arm and navy requires the introduction of new forms of warfare science, especially through the integration of artificial intelligence.
Putin observed that it is vital to not only study the experience of modern armed conflicts and local wars, but also to make predictions on how they will evolve in the future.

Updated 22 Dec, 2020 03:16pm

Europe

Netherlands bans all flights from South Africa over COVID-19 mutation

The Dutch government said all passenger flights were banned with immediate effect until Jan. 1 at the latest.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 03:51am

Europe

UK records 33,364 new COVID-19 cases, 215 deaths

That compares with 35,928 cases announced on Sunday and 326 deaths.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 03:49am

Europe

Turkey reports record daily COVID-19 death toll of 254

The percentage of positive tests jumped above 4pc for the first time in more than a month, according to the official data.

Updated 22 Dec, 2020 03:48am

Europe

UK's Johnson and France's Macron talk about resolving COVID border issues

"I have just spoken president Macron. We had a very good call and we both understand each other's positions and want to resolve these problems as fast as possible," Johnson told a news conference.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 03:20am

USA

Biden to receive coronavirus vaccine as U.S. inoculation effort mounts

"This is no time to build back the way things were before - this is the moment to build a new American economy that works for all," Biden said in the statement.

Updated 22 Dec, 2020 03:46am

USA

Fifty million people in U.S. to have first COVID-19 shot by end January: Azar

Azar said he expects the vaccines to be available through more general vaccination approaches, like in pharmacies or doctors' offices, in late February and into March.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 03:14am

Europe

France's Macron keen to solve border issues in hours, UK PM Johnson says

"It was an excellent conversation with the French president: he stressed he was keen I would say to sort it out in the next few hours if we can," Johnson said.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 03:12am

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts

HONOLULU: The Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island erupted late Sunday, authorities said, warning of a possible...

Updated 22 Dec, 2020 04:14am

Singapore gets Asia's first Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses

SINGAPORE: Singapore received Asia's first delivery of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine on Monday, capping...

Updated 22 Dec, 2020 04:07am

EU watchdog approves Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine

THE HAGUE: The EU's drug regulator gave the green light for the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine on Monday, and...

Updated 22 Dec, 2020 04:07am

Navalny says he tricked FSB agent into admitting poisoning

MOSCOW: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Monday he had tricked a security agent into admitting the...

Updated 22 Dec, 2020 04:07am

US restricts visas for Chinese officials suspected of rights abuses

WASHINGTON: The US imposed additional restrictions Monday on visas for Chinese officials suspected of human rights...

Updated 22 Dec, 2020 04:08am

China calls Trump cyberattack claims 'a farce'

BEIJING: China on Monday said tweets by President Donald Trump suggesting Beijing was involved in a massive...

Updated 22 Dec, 2020 04:14am

US nuclear submarine crosses Strait of Hormuz

WASHINGTON: A US nuclear submarine crossed the Strait of Hormuz Monday in a new show of force directed at Iran as ...

Updated 22 Dec, 2020 04:14am

Iraqis protest after currency value slashed

BAGHDAD: Hundreds of angry Iraqis protested Monday in several cities against a currency devaluation that has slashed...

Updated 22 Dec, 2020 04:07am

China leaves lending benchmark LPR unchanged

SHANGHAI: China kept its benchmark lending rate for corporate and household loans unchanged at its December fixing ...

Updated 22 Dec, 2020 04:07am

Statue of Confederate general Lee removed from US Capitol

WASHINGTON: A statue of Robert E. Lee, a commander for the pro-slavery South during the US Civil War, was removed...

Updated 22 Dec, 2020 04:07am

Al-Jazeera journalists targeted by spyware

NICOSIA: Dozens of journalists at Qatar's Al-Jazeera broadcaster had their mobile communications intercepted by...

Updated 22 Dec, 2020 04:07am

Reporter shot dead in Afghanistan

KABUL: Gunmen murdered an Afghan journalist in the eastern city of Ghazni on Monday, the third reporter to be killed...

Updated 22 Dec, 2020 04:23am

WTO confirms launch of Australia-China trade dispute over barley

The request was officially circulated to WTO members on Monday and published by the Geneva-based body.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 02:10am

WHO says no need for major alarm over new coronavirus strain

They said vaccines developed to combat COVID-19 should handle the new variants as well, although checks were under way to ensure this was the case.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 02:08am

Europe

UK PM Johnson says on Brexit: still problems, we'll thrive without a deal

Britain says the talks are stuck on two issues - the so-called level playing field and fishing - and has repeatedly said the EU has to budge or there will be no deal.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 02:07am

Europe

UK has given COVID shots to 500,000, Johnson says

Earlier this month, the United Kingdom became the first country in the world to roll out the vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 02:05am

Europe

Ireland clearly in the grip of third COVID-19 wave: health officials

"This is clearly a rapidly increasing incidence in what is now a third wave happening much, much sooner after the last one,".

Published 22 Dec, 2020 12:41am

Middle East

Iraq agrees with Pfizer to import 1.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine

It said the ministry added that the vaccine, made by Pfizer and BioNTech, would arrive in Iraq early next year.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 12:40am

Europe

France reports 5,797 new daily COVID-19 cases

The new cases pushed the country's total number of infections resulting from the new coronavirus to 2.48 million.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 12:25am

EU clears Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for first inoculations

The process took longer than the ultra-fast emergency authorisation given by Britain, the first western country to endorse a COVID-19 shot.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 12:21am

Europe

Czech government to discuss tightening COVID-19 restrictions over Christmas

The country of 10.7 million had one of the sharpest spikes in COVID-19 infections at the end of October when weekly case levels were about twice as high as now.

Published 22 Dec, 2020 12:16am

Previous Day

Forex
World
Commodity

Currency	Rate
USD PKR Interbank Selling / Sep 20	277.90
USD PKR Interbank Buying / Sep 20	277.70
USD to Japanese Yen / Sep 20	143.85
USD to Swiss Franc / Sep 20	0.85
Pound Sterling to USD / Sep 20	1.33
Euro to USD / Sep 20	1.12

Stock	Volume
S&P 500 / Sep 20	5,702.55
India Sensex / Sep 20	83,184.80
Tokyo Nikkei / Sep 20	37,723.91
Nasdaq / Sep 20	17,948.32
Hang Seng / Sep 20	18,258.57
FTSE 100 / Sep 20	8,229.99
Dow Jones / Sep 20	42,063.36
Germany DAX 30 / Sep 20	18,720.01

Item	Value
Crude Oil USD/Barrel / Sep 20	71.92
Gold Spot USD/Ounce / Sep 20	2,621.88
Cotton US¢/pound / Sep 20	73.52
Karachi Cotton PKR/37.32 KG / Sep 21	18,935
Gold 10 Grams PKR / Sep 21	233,625
Petrol/Litre / Sep 22	249.10

Gainers
Losers
Leaders

Stock	Price
786 Invest Ltd / Sep 22 786 Investments Limited(786)	5 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
AL-Abbas Sugar / Sep 22 Al-Abbas Sugar Mills Limited(AABS)	585 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
Agro Allianz / Sep 22 Agro Allianz Limited(AAL)	16 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
AL-Abid Silk / Sep 22 Al-Abid Silk Mills Limited(AASM)	3.49 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
Ali Asghar / Sep 22 Ali Asghar Textile Mills Limited(AATM)	2.07 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
Allied Bank / Sep 22 Allied Bank Limited(ABL)	87.10 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
Abbott Lab. / Sep 22 Abbott Laboratories (Pakistan) Limited(ABOT)	499.34 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
Abson Ind. / Sep 22 Abson Industries Limited(ABSON)	2.50 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
Alfalah ETF. / Sep 22 Alfalah Consumer Index ETF.(ACIETF)	9.84 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)

Stock	Price
786 Invest Ltd / Sep 22 786 Investments Limited(786)	5 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
AL-Abbas Sugar / Sep 22 Al-Abbas Sugar Mills Limited(AABS)	585 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
Agro Allianz / Sep 22 Agro Allianz Limited(AAL)	16 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
AL-Abid Silk / Sep 22 Al-Abid Silk Mills Limited(AASM)	3.49 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
Ali Asghar / Sep 22 Ali Asghar Textile Mills Limited(AATM)	2.07 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
Allied Bank / Sep 22 Allied Bank Limited(ABL)	87.10 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
Abbott Lab. / Sep 22 Abbott Laboratories (Pakistan) Limited(ABOT)	499.34 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
Abson Ind. / Sep 22 Abson Industries Limited(ABSON)	2.50 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
Alfalah ETF. / Sep 22 Alfalah Consumer Index ETF.(ACIETF)	9.84 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)

Stock	Volume
P.I.A.C.(A) / Sep 22 Pakistan International Airlines Corp(PIAA)	47,200,500 ▲ 0.00
Cnergyico PK / Sep 22 Cnergyico PK Limited(CNERGY)	29,719,327 ▲ 0.00
Pak Petroleum / Sep 22 Pakistan Petroleum Limited(PPL)	21,170,581 ▲ 0.00
Pak Refinery / Sep 22 Pakistan Refinery Limited(PRL)	16,965,134 ▲ 0.00
The Searle Co. / Sep 22 The Searle Company Limited(SEARL)	15,793,227 ▲ 0.00
P.T.C.L. / Sep 22 Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd(PTC)	15,054,641 ▲ 0.00
K-Electric Ltd. / Sep 22 K-Electric Limited(KEL)	14,145,556 ▲ 0.00
WorldCall Telecom / Sep 22 Worldcall Telecom Limited(WTL)	13,158,668 ▲ 0.00
Telecard Limited / Sep 22 Telecard Limited(TELE)	12,358,668 ▲ 0.00

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