Pakistan Today

NEW YORK: Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google agreed to “cooperate and assist one another” in case of an investigation into their pact to work together in online advertising, the Wall Street Journal reported late on Monday. The Journal report cited an unredacted version of a lawsuit filed by 10 states against Google last week. The states had accused Google of...

CUPERTINO: Apple Inc is moving forward with self-driving car technology and is targeting 2024 to produce a passenger vehicle that could include its own breakthrough battery technology, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The iPhone maker’s automotive efforts, known as Project Titan, have proceeded unevenly since 2014 when it first started to design its own vehicle from scratch. At...

The Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) has floated tenders to import 420,000 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for March as energy demand ramps up amid severity of winter cold spells. According to a report by The News, PLL floated a tender to import three LNG cargoes of 140,000 cubic meters each for March. The country is seeking cargoes – each...

NEW DELHI: The Indian government on Tuesday appealed to farmers to hold further talks to break a nearly month-long deadlock over their demand for the repeal of agricultural reform laws, but farmers’ leaders declined to relent unless these laws are withdrawn. Thousands of protesters have camped on the outskirts of New Delhi and blocked national highways for over three weeks...

LONDON/DOVER: The United Kingdom was stuck in Covid-19 isolation on Tuesday after much of the world cut off travel ties due to a highly infectious new coronavirus strain, snarling one of Europe’s most important trade routes just days before the Brexit cliff edge. With queues of trucks snaking to the horizon in England and supermarket shelves stripped just days before...

BAGHDAD: Hundreds of angry Iraqis protested on Monday in several cities against a currency devaluation that has slashed their purchasing power amid a pandemic-fuelled economic crisis. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) at the weekend devalued the currency by over a fifth against the US dollar, officially re-pegging the dinar at a bank rate of 1,460 to the greenback. On Monday,...

Pakistan’s current account recorded a surplus for the fifth consecutive month in November at $447 million as compared to a deficit of $326 million during the same time last year, data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed on Tuesday. “In contrast to the previous five years, the current account has been in surplus throughout FY21 due to...

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has launched a national dialogue on its forthcoming policy, "Banking on Equality", to reduce gender gap in financial inclusion. In this regard, SBP Governor Dr Reza Baqir on Monday hosted a webinar titled 'Launch of Consultation on Banking on Equality Policy: Reducing the Gender Gap in Financial Inclusion'.  As per the governor, the event...

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to issue an ordinance with regard to the settlement of land claims. According to sources, the Ministry of Interior has forwarded the draft 'Capital Development Authority (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020' to the cabinet for discussion tomorrow (Tuesday). The issue of 'compensation to land owners' is on the meeting's agenda, wherein a new clause shall be inserted...

Farmers’ leaders sought to step up pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to repeal three agricultural reform laws on Monday by starting a 24-hour relay hunger strike. Modi’s government is urging the farmers to engage in further talks to end a deadlock which has led to thousands camping on the outskirts of New Delhi for more than three weeks. The protests...

LAHORE: Punjab Food Minister Abdul Aleem Khan has directed the officials concerned to devise a new mechanism for procurement and distribution of wheat across the province by the end of this month. Presiding over a meeting on Monday, Aleem Khan noted that the wheat situation in the province has returned to normal after the government’s decision to import the commodity,...

WASHINGTON: Silicon Valley is working behind the scenes to secure senior roles for tech allies in lesser-known but still vital parts of president-elect Joe Biden’s administration, even as the pushback against Big Tech from progressive groups and regulators grows. The Biden transition team has already stacked its agency review teams with more tech executives than tech critics. It has also...

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Petroleum (SAPM) Nadeem Babar has said that Third Party Access (TPA) rules are a favourable development that could lead more US companies to invest in the LNG sector of Pakistan. SAPM Nadeem Babar along with Federal Minister for Energy Omar Ayub Khan held a virtual meeting with Francis R Fannon, Assistant Secretary of US...

ISLAMABAD: The government has successfully negotiated and concluded rescheduling agreements with 19 bilateral creditors, including members of the Paris Club, under the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI). According to a statement, debt rescheduling agreements were signed on Monday with France, Switzerland and China by Economic Affair Division Secretary Noor Ahmed. The signing ceremony was witnessed by senior embassy officials of...

An Afghan delegation will be visiting Islamabad later this month to finalise Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement