Paramount defends Warner bid amid California probe
LOS ANGELES: Paramount Skydance has defended its attempt to buy the legendary Warner Bros. studio, in a letter to California’s top lawyer whose office is probing the $110 billion bid,…
Conan O’Brien to host 2027 Oscars: organisers
LOS ANGELES: Comedian Conan O’Brien will return for the third straight time to host the Oscars in 2027, organizers announced Tuesday. O’Brien, 63, will preside over the 99th edition of…
Stars descend as Cannes Film Festival opens without Hollywood backing
PARIS: Celebrities from Demi Moore to “The Lord of the Rings” star Elijah Wood headed up the red carpet for the opening ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday,…
World Cup broadcast deadlock ends up in Indian court
NEW DELHI: A standoff over World Cup broadcasting rights in India has ended up in the courts with fans fearing they won’t be able to watch football’s biggest party when…
Iran hangs man accused of spying for Israel
TEHRAN: Iran on Wednesday hanged a man found guilty of selling information to Israeli intelligence, the judiciary said, the latest in a wave of executions during the war with the…
Karachi police get 3-day physical remand of alleged cocaine queenpin
KARACHI: A court on Wednesday granted police three-day physical remand of a woman allegedly involved in supplying cocaine and other deadly narcotics across the city. Anmol alias Pinki was arrested…
Indian arrogance shot down alongside planes during last year’s military conflict, Tarar says
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday that the Indian aircraft shot down during the brief military conflict in May last year “brought down Indian arrogance with them”. He made…
India central bank governor says may need to act if inflation pressures deepen
MUMBAI: India’s monetary policy can look through temporary supply shocks but may intervene if inflation pressures become entrenched following the Iran war-driven oil price spike, central bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra…
European shares rise as oil prices slip on fragile US-Iran ceasefire
European shares rose on Wednesday, recovering from a sharp drop in the previous session, as oil prices retreated after peace negotiations between Washington and Tehran remained deadlocked. The pan-European STOXX…
The political economy of the petroleum levy
When global crude fell 10% in a week, Islamabad raised the petroleum levy by 13.5%. Petrol prices are up 55.8% in 70 days — not because of oil markets, but…