Author: (PEN)

The Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, started its fifth session  with officials outlining economic and financial performances, as well as their plans for the coming period. Since the beginning of this year, the national economy has sustained recovery momentum, laying a solid foundation for achieving annual targets, said Zheng Shanjie, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), during the session. Looking forward, the NDRC needs to intensify macro-policy regulation, actively expand domestic demand, and promote the construction of a modern industrial system, he said. Meanwhile, China’s Finance Minister Liu Kun pointed out…

The Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s top legislature, started its fifth session Monday in Beijing. Zhao Leji, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over the session’s first plenary meeting. Lawmakers reviewed a draft revision to the Law on Administrative Reconsideration, a draft foreign state immunities law, and a draft amendment to the Civil Procedure Law, all submitted by the NPC Constitution and Law Committee to the session. In its reports to the session, the NPC Constitution and Law Committee said the three drafts are already relatively mature, and suggested the session adopt them. Lawmakers…

China and Pakistan kicked off a joint air force training exercise  within Chinese territory as part of efforts to further boost training and coordination between the two militaries and deepen their exchange and cooperation on military technology. Codenamed “Shaheen (Eagle) – X,” it is the 10th joint training exercise between the Chinese and Pakistani air forces. The exercise will focus on training in typical combat scenarios such as joint air defense and joint countermeasures. The two sides will send fighters, early warning aircraft and several other types of aircraft, as well as ground forces such as ground-to-air missiles and radar…

NEW YORK: Elena Rybakina said she was doing “much better” following her first-round win at the US Open on Monday after preparations for the tournament were disrupted by injury and late-night scheduling. Last year’s Wimbledon champion was among several players to retire from the tune-up event in Cincinnati, days after her Montreal quarter-final finished around 3am local time. “I wasn’t feeling the greatest physically after Montreal and Cincinnati, but we had time to recover and then practise again so now I’m feeling well,” said Rybakina. The Kazakh fourth seed powered into the second round in New York with a 6-2,…

China’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, Hu Heping, met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in Beijing on Tuesday morning.

A Chinese envoy  called for continued international support for Mali after the planned withdrawal of UN peacekeepers from the country. Dai Bing, China’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told the UN Security Council that with Mali’s political and peace process at a critical juncture, the international community should put the overall peace and stability of Mali and the region first, help Mali address challenges of all kinds, and facilitate deeper cooperation between the United Nations and Mali in the new context. There is a need to continue to support the political and peace process in Mali, he added.…

Economic and trade relations are the cornerstone of China-U.S. relations, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said during a four-and-a-half hour meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who is visiting China from August 27 to 30. The two sides discussed the implementation of the consensus reached by the two heads of state at their meeting in Bali, Indonesia, focusing on China-U.S. economic and trade relations, as well as economic and trade issues of common concern. Acknowledging the importance of conducting open and productive dialogues between China and the U.S. in the field of economy and trade, Wang and Raimondo announced the…

A special court in Islamabad extended on Monday the physical remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi for another two days in the cipher case. The Federal Investigation Agency presented Qureshi before the court after the completion of a nine-day physical remand. During the hearing, Judge Abu Al-Hasanat Zulqarnain said that no more physical remand will be granted if no progress is made in the case. Qureshi was arrested on August 19 from his residence in Islamabad and taken to the FIA headquarters in the capital. The case is related to “misuse” of the alleged contents of…

Shamakhi Creativity Center has hosted another event within the 2nd National Gurama Festival. The festival is co-organized by Icherisheher State Historical-Architectural Reserve Department, the Culture Ministry and the Ministry of Science and Education for the second time. The event started with a procession, followed by master classes, demonstrations of arts and crafts, and a sales fair. The festival guests were also shown the process of creating gouram products. The event ended with a colorful musical show. Gurama is a type of arts and crafts, which takes a special place in Azerbaijan’s culture. For many decades, gurama has been widely spread…

LAHORE – The US dollar on Monday hit an all-time high against crumbling Pakistani rupee, setting a new record in the interbank market. Amid the economic meltdown and political instability, rupee fell to an all-time low and breached the 300-rupee mark, reaching a record high of 302 rupees. The open market witnessed the dollar’s value hitting 300 rupees. The upward movement in the dollar’s value signifies the continuation of the rupee’s devaluation trend, setting a challenging tone for the week ahead. The green back’s upward trajectory against the Pakistani rupee showed no signs of slow down as at the start…