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GENEVA: The cooling La Nina weather phenomenon may return between September and November, but even if it does, temperatures are nonetheless expected to be above average, the United Nations said Tuesday. La Nina is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that cools surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. It brings changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns. Conditions oscillate between La Nina and its opposite El Nino, with neutral conditions in between. Following a brief spell of weak La Nina conditions, neutral conditions have persisted since March, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization said. “There is a 55…

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump vowed on Tuesday to quickly and dramatically reduce crime in Chicago, hinting at sending federal troops into what he branded the “most dangerous city in the world”. “I will solve the crime problem fast, just like I did in DC,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, referring to his deployment of National Guard reservists to the US capital beginning last month. “Chicago is the worst and most dangerous city in the World, by far,” he said, adding that JB Pritzker, the Democratic governor of the state of Illinois where Chicago is located, “needs help…

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) maintained its bullish trend on Tuesday as the KSE-100 index surged 1,004 points, or 0.67%, to 150,975, driven by improved macroeconomic indicators and stock buying in attractive sectors. The market performance reflected investor confidence and a strong momentum across key sectors. Participation remained robust, supported by gains in banking and fertiliser sectors in anticipation of continued economic stability and corporate earnings growth in the coming quarters. Reporting the latest trade numbers, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) announced a trade deficit of $2.88 billion in August, a 9% month-on-month contraction compared with July’s deficit…

LAHORE: Local cement sales of Pakistan’s industry reached 3.097 million tons in August 2025, higher by 10.33% compared to sales of 2.807 million tons in the corresponding month of last year, according to data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA). Exports rose 22.13% as volumes stood at 749,723 tons in August 2025 against 613,857 tons in August 2024. In terms of growth figures, July was far better as the industry registered an increase of 18.61% year-on-year (YoY) in domestic sales and a jump of 84% in exports. Total cement dispatches during August 2025 were calculated at 3.846…

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Kazakhstan are likely to sign a Gwadar Port access deal during the visit of Kazakhstan president in November this year. Sources told The Express Tribune that a high-level delegation of Kazakhstan was due in Islamabad in the second week of September to finalise arrangements for an agreement on Gwadar Port access to the Central Asian states. They said that Kazakhstan intends to set up a goods terminal at Karachi Port for exports to the European Union member countries and the United States. However, Pakistan would like to see Kazakhstan establish a terminal at Gwadar Port. During the…

ISLAMABAD: The United States remained the top export destination for Pakistani products during the first month of the current financial year, followed by the United Kingdom and China. Total exports to the US were recorded at $615.199 million in July 2025 against exports of $476.290 million in July 2024, showing an increase of 29.16%, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). It was followed by the UK, where Pakistan exported goods worth $203.051 million against shipments of $183.303 million last year, up 10.77%. China was the third top export destination, where Pakistan shipped products valuing at…

KARACHI: After years of subdued activity and margin pressures, Pakistan’s long-steel sector is expected to stage a gradual recovery from FY26 onwards, buoyed by government relief measures, federal spending on infrastructure, lower raw material duties and, to some extent, reconstruction-led demand in the wake of devastating floods. However, this recovery is not export-led or efficiency-driven. Instead of enhancing competitiveness in global markets, it may add pressure to the country’s external account, since higher domestic demand for long steel will inevitably increase imports of raw materials such as steel scrap and semi-finished products, as happened around 2015. For the past several…

China’s President Xi Jinping starts his inspection of the troops during a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on September 3, 2025. — AFPBEIJING: President Xi Jinping said that China was “unstoppable” in a speech on Wednesday to open a massive parade in Beijing marking 80 years since the end of World War II.Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was among 26 world leaders in China to witness on Wednesday the country’s biggest-ever military parade, a show of strength staged by President Xi Jinping to underline…

Jennifer Aniston says she gets ‘overwhelmed’ at events like the Met GalaJennifer Aniston has no interest in climbing the famous Met Gala staircase.In a recent interview with Glamour, the Friends star admitted that she’s been invited to fashion’s biggest night, but the spectacle isn’t for her. “Yes, I have [been invited], but I don’t go,” Aniston, 56, said. “It overwhelms me.” For Aniston, the stress begins long before the red carpet. “It’s the getting ready, the putting on the dress,” she explained. “I’m a ‘jeans and flip-flops and tank top’ kind of girl. I love dressing up too, but for me…

ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has recovered Rs495 million from Long Distance International (LDI) operators in the International Clearing House (ICH) case. The amount includes Rs458 million from Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and Rs37 million from Link Dot Net. The recovery follows the Competition Appellate Tribunal’s decision upholding CCP’s order that declared the ICH arrangement illegal and anti-competitive. Introduced in 2012, the ICH agreement routed all international calls through a PTCL-controlled gateway. Termination rates were fixed at $8.8 cents per minute, more than four times the earlier rate. This eliminated competition, raised costs for overseas callers, and…