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SINGAPORE: Iron ore futures prices were little changed on Friday, but headed for a third consecutive weekly gain on recent infrastructure demand. The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) traded 0.06% higher at 796 yuan ($112.48) a metric ton, as of 0301 GMT. The contract is up 1.14% so far this week. The benchmark December iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.56% lower at $106.1 a ton. Recent infrastructure demand has increased, leading to continued improvement in apparent demand for steel, with prices expected to follow fundamentals in the short term, said Chinese broker…

An advertisement offering lucrative pay and citizenship to South Koreans willing to join Ukraine’s army has been rejected by Kyiv as a “Russian hoax”, even as Seoul confirmed for the first time the death of a citizen who fought against Moscow in the long-running war.The conflict-stricken nation’s response came after photographs of posters plastered on a lamp post in Seongnam, South Korea’s Gyeonggi province, circulated online, detailing supposed enlistment benefits including high wages and choice of battalion.The flyers also touted another perk: “the legal right to kill North Koreans”.The materials featured contact information for the Ukrainian embassy in Seoul, which…

Pakistan has urged the European Union (EU) to ensure that the upcoming GSP+ framework remains development-focused and fair, as Islamabad raised concerns over the withdrawal of ethanol preferences and the need for impartial decisions on key Geographical Indication (GI) cases. The call came during a meeting between Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan and the visiting European Commission Monitoring Mission in Islamabad on Friday. The mission is being led by Sergio Balibrea, Advisor to the GSP+ Directorate in DG Trade and Raimundas Karoblis, EU Ambassador to Pakistan also accompanied the delegation. Jam welcomed the delegation and highlighted EU’s role…

BERLIN (AP) — A Ukrainian man suspected of setting off explosions that damaged Nord Stream pipelines between Russia and Germany more than three years ago has been placed in custody in Germany. A judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe issued an arrest warrant on Friday for 49-year-old Ukrainian Serhii Kuznietsov and ordered he be held in custody, federal prosecutors said. Undersea explosions on Sept. 26, 2022, damaged pipelines that were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. The damage added to tensions over the war in Ukraine as European countries moved to…

A Malaysian police chief has called for the wider imposition of caning in schools, arguing that the “fear factor” among students has eroded at a time when violent incidents, including bullying-related deaths, are drawing alarm in the country.Selangor state police chief Shazeli Kahar said caning should be considered in a phased and “controlled” manner to prevent teacher abuse, and was needed to address what he described as a worrying rise in student-related crime across the state.His remarks follow several high-profile cases inside educational institutions this year, including the killing of a student in Bandar Utama in October, which prompted a…

Jamshoro Joint Ventures Limited (JJVL), Pakistan’s largest private-sector LPG producer, has resumed operations after more than five and a half years, dispatching its first LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) shipment on Thursday. LSE Capital Limited disclosed the development in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday. “Please be informed that Jamshoro Joint Ventures Limited (JJVL) – an investee company of LSE Capital Limited (LSECL/Company), has shipped the first load of LPG yesterday after the restart of the plant after 5 years and 6 months,” read the notice. The long-awaited restart marks a major milestone for the company and…

A local government official in northeast China has been accused of covering up a fishing boat accident and preventing the vessel’s owner from calling the police for help, and investigations sparked by the incident have exposed a series of corruption cases related to fishing industry safety.The accident took place on November 10. A boat registered in Yingkou, Liaoning province, capsized while crew members were fishing, causing 11 to fall into the water. Two were rescued and nine have been reported missing, according to the Liaoning Daily on Wednesday.Official investigations found corruption in the approval process and arrangements for the fishing…

A Thai mother bitten by a deadly snake endured a desperate 32-hour wait for rescue after being trapped by floods that have devastated southern Thailand for more than a week.The woman, stranded in her submerged Hat Yai home, turned to social media at 3am on Wednesday after 24 hours of excruciating pain. She and her boyfriend had spent the previous day calling at least 10 rescue agencies, but floodwaters kept emergency crews from reaching them, according to the Thai Examiner news site.Her plea quickly went viral, triggering an outpouring of support and fury online. Thousands urged authorities to save her…

Hong Kong dollar bond issuance is poised to expand, following a record run of offerings, as easing local interest rates attract more issuers while a global diversification trend persists, according to analysts.Total issuance in the city’s currency reached a record HK$331 billion (US$42.6 billion) so far this year, nearly 37 per cent higher than 2024’s full-year total of HK$242 billion.“The Hong Kong dollar bond market will continue to grow over the long term, supported by structural shifts,” said Oliver Greer, global head of medium-term notes at Standard Chartered.Amid a global shift to diversify away from the US dollar, the Hong…

The Pakistani rupee strengthened against the US dollar, appreciating 0.08% during the opening hours of trading in the inter-bank market on Friday. At 10:05am, the local currency was hovering at 280.33, a gain of Re0.22 against the greenback. On Thursday, the local unit closed at 280.55. Globally, the US dollar was heading for its worst weekly performance since late July on Friday as traders ramped up bets for further monetary easing from the Federal Reserve next month, while liquidity was thinned by the US Thanksgiving holiday. The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major…