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Rupee’s Performance Against US Dollar Since 04 March 2025 The Pakistani rupee registered improvement against the US dollar, appreciating 0.01% in the inter-bank market on Wednesday. At close, the local currency settled at 280.27, a gain of Re0.03 against the greenback, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). On Tuesday, the local unit closed at 280.30. Pakistan’s current account posted a surplus of $100 million in November 2025, data released by the SBP showed on Wednesday. The deficit follows a deficit of $291 million recorded in October 2025, which was originally reported to be at $112 million, and a…

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw a range-bound and volatile session, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing marginally lower on Wednesday. The benchmark index oscillated between gains and losses during the day. Trading kicked off on a positive note, lifting the index higher, but profit-taking in select index-heavy stocks erased much of those gains by mid-session, dragging the index to an intra-day low of 169,230.49. Although some recovery was seen later, selling pressure prevailed, and at close, the benchmark index settled at 170,313.85, marginal decrease of 133.44 points or 0.08%. Strength in UBL, NBP, HBL, AKBL, and PIOC underpinned positive…

Distressed mainland developer China Vanke has unveiled a revised bond extension proposal, seeking approval from creditors after its initial three payment extension bids were rejected, a development that has fuelled concerns about the crisis-hit property sector.Holders of the 2 billion yuan (US$366 million) bond – which matured on Monday – would vote on the revised plan from Thursday to Monday, according to a filing to the Shanghai Clearing House on Tuesday.The proposal needs to secure the approval of bondholders representing over 90 per cent of the total voting rights to take effect.Under the revamped terms, Vanke proposed extending the bond’s…

The Taiwanese government has sparked fresh controversy by refusing to enforce amendments passed by the opposition-controlled legislature about local government funding.The move risks deepening a political stand-off and has drawn criticism that the island’s leader William Lai Ching-te was “bypassing the legislature when you can’t win”.The dispute centres on revisions to a law about how the central government distributes revenue to local authorities.Observers said the clash had escalated well beyond that issue, exposing unresolved constitutional fault lines and paralysing relations between the executive and legislature. They added that it also threatened to have knock-on effects on the annual budget review.On…

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Police in northeastern Spain carried out eviction orders Wednesday to clear an abandoned school building where hundreds of mostly undocumented migrants were living in a squat north of Barcelona.Knowing that the eviction in the middle of winter was coming, most of the occupants had left to try to find other shelter before police in riot gear from Catalonia’s regional police entered the school’s premises early in the morning under court orders. While the eviction was completed without violence, there were moments of tension when people who were losing their homes had to walk past armored officers.The…

PARIS (AP) — Employees at the Louvre Museum were set to vote Wednesday morning on whether to extend a strike that shut the world’s most visited museum, as unions protest chronic understaffing, building deterioration and recent management decisions; pressures intensified by a brazen crown jewels heist in October.Workers were expected to gather for a general assembly to decide whether to continue the walkout, which was adopted unanimously earlier this week. The museum was closed Tuesday for its regular weekly shutdown.Unions say frustration has mounted over staff shortages, aging infrastructure and a planned increase in ticket prices for non-European visitors. Tensions…

As tourist numbers climb back towards record highs, Nepal is rolling out a new digital registration system to track every foreign visitor, in a move officials say will boost safety and curb visa misuse.Starting from January 1, all foreign visitors will be required to register detailed accommodation information through the government’s new digital platform, replacing the earlier system that allowed only partial disclosures.Authorities say the measure will modernise an overstretched immigration network while giving authorities faster access to location data during emergencies.“This system enables us to have details of all visitors who have entered Nepal,” said Teekaram Dhakal, director of…

Hong Kong stocks traded in a narrow range on Wednesday, with the benchmark hovering near a three-week low, as traders weighed the prospects of monetary easing after a mixed reading on the US payroll report.The Hang Seng Index rose 0.1 per cent to 25,257.61 as of 11.13am local time, swinging between gains and losses in morning trading. The Hang Seng Tech Index dropped less than 0.1 per cent.On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index climbed 0.7 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.2 per cent.Chinese sportswear maker Li Ning rallied 2.7 per cent to HK$18.79 and Alibaba Health…

Mannings, one of Hong Kong’s largest health and beauty chains, will cease all retail operations in mainland China, both online and offline, as it adjusts its strategy in the highly competitive market.In a letter to its members, Mannings China said “its physical stores on the mainland will close permanently after January 15, 2026”.Its online sales channels will wind down even earlier. Mannings’ official mini mall on Tencent Holdings’ WeChat will stop service at midnight on December 28, 2025, while its stores on Alibaba Group Holding’s Tmall, JD.com and PDD, along with a specialty store for health products on Tmall, will…

A top scientist has sharply criticised China’s increasingly resource-driven research culture, warning that a reliance on vast accumulated funding, manpower and data for scientific output is inefficient and actively undermines genuine innovation.Zhang Hong, a senior cell biologist at the Institute of Biophysics in Beijing and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, condemned what he called “a vicious cycle” in how life sciences research was increasingly done in China.Projects were inflated for scale, engineered to land in elite journals and then cashed in for titles and even greater resources, he told science communication outlet The Intellectual in an article…