Government Can Withhold Funds From Planned Parenthood, Appeals Court Rules
A three-judge panel threw out a lower court’s order, allowing the Trump administration to continue defunding the group and other major abortion providers.
Month: December 2025
Nigerian nightlife finds a new extravagance: cabaret
LAGOS: Scantily clad in a sequin leotard and silver heels, a Nigeria dancer swayed to “Money” by Cardi B in an oversized cocktail glass. Nigeria might be going through its worst economic crisis in a generation, but in Lagos, the party hasn’t stopped. Patrons at The Library, where fake banknotes rained down on the stage, … Read more
Thailand, Cambodia agree to end fighting
A displaced family uses a flashlight as they eat a meal at a temporary camp along the Cambodia-Thailand border. Photo: AFP BANGKOK: US President Donald Trump said Friday that Thailand and Cambodia had agreed to halt fighting along their disputed border, which has killed at least 20 people this week. The latest fighting between the … Read more
SBP pumps Rs10.48tr into banks
[ At current prices, the looted gold is worth around $70 million. PHOTO: PIXABAY KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday made sizeable liquidity injections through both conventional and Shariah-compliant open market operations (OMOs), providing more than Rs10.48 trillion in short-term funds to indirectly meet the government’s needs. According to the central bank’s … Read more
Massive magnitude quake hits Japan
. A worker cleans up inside a commercial facility in Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan December 9, 2025, following a strong earthquake the previous night. Photo: Reuters TOKYO: A 6.7-magnitude earthquake occurred off northern Japan on Friday, the weather office said, days after a 7.5-level tremor in the same region injured at least 50 … Read more
Food, energy keep YoY SPI elevated at 3.90%
[ KARACHI: Pakistan’s Sensitive Price Index (SPI) for the week ended December 11, 2025, registered a year-on-year increase of 3.90%, reflecting persistent inflationary pressures on essential commodities despite a marginal weekly decline of 0.03%, according to the latest data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The combined SPI, based on 2015-16=100 and tracking 51 … Read more
Turkmen president hints at reforms
. World leaders pose for a family photo in Ashgabat. Photo: INP ASHGABAT: Turkmenistan’s president hinted at possible political reforms on Friday ahead of a rare international meeting he is hosting with the attendance of counterparts from Russia, Turkey, Iran and elsewhere. President Serdar Berdymukhamedov, whom critics say presides over an autocratic and opaque system, … Read more
In Pakistan, ‘Eternal Love’ has no place on YouTube
ISLAMABAD: YouTube has hit pause on a dating show that whisked eight men and women from Pakistan to a sun-soaked Istanbul villa, where the strangers mingled, flirted and searched for chemistry. What was meant to be a glittering escape into modern-day romance sparked a storm back home, turning the rose-petal drama into a cultural, traditional … Read more
Rs85 levy to retire Rs1.7tr gas debt
[ ISLAMABAD: The government is planning to increase petroleum levy to Rs85 per litre to raise an additional Rs540 billion, use dividends of the state-owned companies (SOEs) and savings from diversion of imported cargos to settle Rs1.7 trillion worth of gas sector circular debt. The plan, which has been discussed in depth at the level … Read more
Remains of rare sun temple discovered in Egypt: ministry
. The remains of the Valley Temple of the Sun Temples of King Nyuserre Ini from the Fifth Dynasty. Photo: Courtesy — Egypt Today CAIRO: An Italian archaeological mission has discovered the remains of a sun temple belonging to an ancient Egyptian king near Cairo, the Egyptian antiquities ministry said on Friday. The temple of … Read more