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Latest US strike on China’s chips hits semiconductor toolmakers

The US will launch on Monday its third crackdown in three years on China’s semiconductor industry, curbing exports to 140 companies including chip equipment maker Naura Technology Group, among other moves, said two people familiar with the matter. The effort to hobble Beijing’s chipmaking ambitions will also hit Chinese chip toolmakers Piotech and SiCarrier Technology with new export restrictio

CPI inflation clocks in at 4.9pc for November — lowest in 6.5 years

Pakistan’s annual consumer price index inflation rate was 4.9 per cent in November, data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Monday. The reading reinforced months of easing inflation — which hit a historic high of 38pc last year — ahead of a meeting of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting on December 16 to review the policy rate, which stands a

SC urged to declare govt is bound to ensure cheap power supply

The constitutional bench on Monday admitted for hearing a set of petitions seeking Supreme Court’s declaration that power supply on a least-cost basis to citizens was the federal government’s responsibility under Article 9. The six-member bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, ordered the removal of objections raised by the registrar’s office to the petitions and issued notices to the attorne

Khunjerab Pass to remain open round the year

The Pakistan-China border post on Khun­jerab Pass opened for year-round trade and travel for the first time on Monday, with 40 Chinese containers loaded with goods and a bus carrying four passengers arriving at Sost (Pakistan) from Xinjiang on Monday. A bus carrying five passengers left Sost for the Chinese region on the same day. The locals welcomed the arrival of a bus and goods from China

Govt to sue consultants over NJHP tunnel fault

Pakistan is considering suing consultants of the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project (NJHP) for repeated faults in the Rs500 billion worth of the project, depriving the nation of a cheaper and environment-friendly power supply. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would take a final decision to this effect in consultation with key stakeholders as a special committee on the subject also looks into expandi