KARACHI: At least 15 people, including women and children, were killed, and 18 others were injured after a gas explosion caused part of a residential building to collapse in Karachi’s Soldier Bazaar area, according to officials. The incident occurred at a residence in the Gul Rana Colony area of Soldier Bazaar. The injured and the deceased were shifted to Civil Hospital. Initially, Rescue 1122 put the death toll at 16. However, officials later confirmed that the death toll was 15, while 18 others were injured. Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Jamshed Asher said the incident occurred at around 4:15am during Sehri, and that the gas explosion took place on the building’s first floor. East Deputy Commissioner Nasrullah Abbasi told Dawn that the gas explosion occurred at the time of Sehri in a building located in Gul Rana Colony. He said it was a highly congested locality where a ground plus three-storey building was constructed on 40-45 yards with one small room on each floor. He said that the explosion d...
Crypto’s reputation is improving, but investors still complain that their banks are blocking their accounts for interacting with digital assets. Across the globe, it remains common for crypto users to have their bank accounts frozen and transfers blocked, even as institutional adoption rises. Panos Mekras, co-founder and CEO of blockchain fintech Anodos Labs, began dealing with crypto in Greece in the late 2010s. Most Greek banks didn’t allow transfers to crypto exchanges back then. Mekras experienced blocked card payments until one bank finally permitted his transfers, but first, he was questioned to ensure he understood he was interacting with a “risky” counterparty. Mekras told Cointelegraph that those early rejections are symptomatic of how banks treat digital assets as inherently high risk. That label often led to account closures or sudden freezes without explanation, ultimately pushing his business to rely solely on onchain tools and payment rails. Read more
Voltage has launched a US dollar‑settled revolving credit line that plugs directly into Bitcoin and Lightning payment flows, letting businesses send instant, Lightning‑style payments. Bitcoin infrastructure company Voltage has announced the launch of Voltage Credit, a programmatic revolving line of credit designed to let businesses send payments with Lightning-style instant finality while still repaying the credit line in US dollars from a standard bank account or in Bitcoin. In a Thursday release shared with Cointelegraph, the company, which provides enterprise-grade solutions for regulated businesses, said it was targeting chief financial officers and treasurers who wanted “send now, pay later” flexibility on the fastest payment rails available, without having to hold crypto on their balance sheet. Rather than positioning it as just another Lightning-backed loan, Voltage pitched the product as an embedded piece of the payment flow, and the “first revolving line of credit that delivers instant payment finali...