Category: 3. Business

  • Gold price in Pakistan for today, March 28, 2026 – Profit by Pakistan Today

    1. Gold price in Pakistan for today, March 28, 2026  Profit by Pakistan Today
    2. Gold extends losses for second day in global, domestic markets  The Express Tribune
    3. Gold per tola gains Rs4,800 in Pakistan  brecorder.com
    4. Silver price in Pakistan for today, March 28, 2026  Profit by Pakistan Today
    5. Gold price in Pakistan surges again: March 28, 2026  samaa tv

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  • Saving for a pension: why gen Z aren’t all banking on retirement | Pensions

    Saving for a pension: why gen Z aren’t all banking on retirement | Pensions

    Mehjabin, 23, is a supply teacher who lives with her parents in London. She does not know whether she will ever be able to stop working.

    She works for a teaching agency, and for a full week she could typically earn about £650. However, sometimes she only gets two or three days a week.

    “It’s hard to get a permanent job, and because I don’t have anything stable right now, it’s hard to reach my financial goals,” she says. “It feels really concerning thinking about the future. I don’t think retirement may even be possible … even saving small amounts of money is becoming impossible.”

    Mehjabin is not alone. According to research from People’s Pension, a large workplace pension scheme in the UK, 12% of generation Z – broadly those born between 1997 and 2012 – think pensions are pointless because they do not view retirement as ever being an option.

    A third surveyed felt the financial services industry failed to communicate the benefits of saving for retirement. A fifth said financial companies made pensions seem boring and irrelevant.

    When the Guardian asked readers why they were not saving for a pension, some cited immediate cost-of-living concerns.

    Alex, 28, lives in Cumbria and was enrolled in a pension through work but only managed to put a very small percentage of his pay into the scheme. He has since opted out and, instead, tries to manage his money month to month.

    He lives with his husband, and together they take home £1,500 a month – which, he says, is limited by caring responsibilities and therefore unlikely to increase in the near future.

    “By the time essentials and driving lessons are paid for, we have about £260 for things like clothing, travel, entertainment etc,” he says. “Anything left goes into savings. We rarely go out, and buy most things secondhand. We even cut our own hair.”

    Alex says putting money into an instant-access savings account – which often means a low interest rate – is the best for their financial circumstances as it means funds can be easily withdrawn for any unexpected costs.

    “We need to make sure we can access those savings, as you just don’t know what’s going to happen,” he says. “It’s hard to think about something like retirement when we’re just trying to make it through in the present.”

    Alex says there is a disconnect between how he and his parents view finances, in that they were unable initially to understand why he stopped pension contributions in his late 20s.

    A pension scheme is the most tax-efficient way to save for retirement but seems out of reach for gen Z Photograph: Rosemary Roberts/Alamy

    “I had to sit my dad down and break down my finances in full for him to understand that we don’t have much left after housing costs, bills – which rise year on year – and essentials,” he says.

    “He was genuinely shocked, and now understands why younger people have difficulty looking into the future.”

    When talking about retirement, Alex uses the conditional “if”. He says it is likely to be different from his parents’ idea of retirement.

    “While they’re looking forward to things like travelling, revisiting old hobbies, buying property, I struggle to picture retirement and old age and how it would work,” he says. “I imagine my senior years will be more concerned with paying the bills and affording groceries.”

    A report published by the Pensions Policy Institute in 2025 found gen Z had less trust in financial institutions than older generations, and that many believed current systems would not be in place in the future.

    It found 73% expected the state pension to be reduced, with 25% expecting a significant cut. Meanwhile, 46% believed it would not exist by the time they retired.

    Kirsty Ross, the director of proposition at the People’s Pension provider, says: “When there’s economic unease and uncertainty, things can feel out of our control, especially when it comes to finances. Our research shows one in 10 young adults worry they won’t ever retire comfortably, or even at all. That level of concern reflects the pressure many feel under.”

    Personal finance experts say that while it is never too late to start a pension, missing out on the early years of saving will cost you.

    “They remain one of the most tax-efficient ways to save for retirement,” says Damien Fahy, the founder of personal finance advice website Money to the Masses. “If you start at 20 and save £100 a month, assuming 7% growth, you could have about £260,000 age 60.

    “If you wait until 30 to start that same £100, you’re looking at roughly £120,000. Waiting a decade literally costs you half your potential pension pot.”

    Helen Morrissey of investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown says the benefit of being young is that you have a longer time horizon over which to invest, so even small contributions can make a difference.

    “Making resolutions to boost contributions every time you get a pay increase can also be a good way of boosting how much goes in over time,” she adds.

    “Using things like online calculators are a great way to see how much you might end up with, and you can model the impact of boosting contributions if needed.”

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  • Former Olympian CEO on hurdles facing Swiss confectioner Kägi 

    Former Olympian CEO on hurdles facing Swiss confectioner Kägi 


    Cedric El-Idrissi has assumed strategic responsibility for all business units at Kägi Söhne AG. He brings experience from management positions at international corporations such as Coca-Cola, Mondelez, and PepsiCo.


    Vera Leysinger / SWI swissinfo.ch

    The CEO of Kägi, a Swiss company best known for its iconic chocolate wafers, says the company is facing difficult times.

    Kägi is a quintessential Swiss company. Founded nearly a century ago and long family‑run, it is now owned by a US conglomerate. Its traditional chocolate wafer biscuits are closely linked to the image of Switzerland, and the Swiss flag is part of its logo.

    Since 2024 it has been led by Cédric El-Idrissi, best known to the public as a former hurdler who qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games.  

    Over the past 18 months El-Idrissi has had to navigate a complex environment, including higher prices of raw materials and tariffs imposed on its exports to the United States, one of its main markets.

    Swissinfo sat down with El-Idrissi at Kägi’s headquarters and production site in Lichtensteig, canton St Gallen, in northeastern Switzerland to discuss why being Swiss comes with extra costs and how being an Olympian helped teach him how to run a company.

    Swissinfo: You took over the helm of Kägi in August 2024. What have been your main challenges over the past 18 months?

    Cédric El-Idrissi: The biggest challenge has certainly been exports, which are particularly important for us as they account for almost 50% of our sales. Our main difficulties stem from the strong Swiss franc, high labour costs in Switzerland, and rising raw material prices, such as cocoa and milk. In addition, demand for foreign products has declined significantly in key markets such as China, which has become increasingly inward-looking. Finally, the issue around US tariffs is another major challenge for us. As of February 2026, a flat tariff rate of 10% applies to our exports to the United States. Prior to the recent changes in US trade policy, our products were not subject to US import tariffs.

    Swissinfo: High raw-material prices also affect your foreign competitors. Why is this an issue specifically for Kägi?

    C.E-I.: To comply with regulations and retain the right to use the “Swissness” branding concept, for instance a Swiss cross on our packaging, we are required to source 100% Swiss raw materials whenever they are available domestically. This applies, for instance, to milk, butter, cereals and sugar. Because Swiss agricultural policy heavily subsidises farmers, these raw materials are significantly more expensive in Switzerland than abroad, which puts Swiss companies like ours at a clear disadvantage. For raw materials that are not available in Switzerland, such as cocoa or palm oil, we purchase them on international markets, where our foreign competitors face the same price fluctuations as we do.

    El-Idrissi Interview

    “We are placing greater emphasis on our Swissness, premium positioning, and the distinctive light texture of our products.”


    Vera Leysinger / SWI swissinfo.ch

    Swissinfo: Are foreign companies such as Knoppers from Germany and Hanuta from Italy serious competitors to Kägi in Switzerland?

    C.E-I.: Absolutely. We operate in a highly competitive international market. Companies based in Germany, just across Lake Constance for example, benefit from significantly lower raw material costs for milk, butter, cereals and sugar when selling directly into Switzerland. Our strength lies in our ability to consistently deliver high-quality products that meet Swiss standards, even when we are at a competitive disadvantage.
     
    Swissinfo: What are the major changes you have spearheaded so far at Kägi?
     
    C.E-I.: We have broadened our product portfolio and expanded into additional consumer segments, particularly younger consumers. Our most recent innovation is the “Kägi × Chiefs” protein wafer. For this product, we partnered with Chiefs, a Swiss sports nutrition company. This new snack, with a high protein content and no added sugar, targets consumers with an active lifestyle.
     
    Swissinfo: Healthier products sometimes struggle to generate strong demand. Is this the case with the Kägi × Chiefs protein wafer?
     
    C.E-I.: Consumers are gaining awareness on the importance of making healthier choices, although translating this into everyday behaviour can take time. In the case of our Kägi × Chiefs protein wafer, however, the results are very encouraging. It has been well accepted, repeat purchases are strong, and the feedback we have received from customers has been very positive. Additionally, the product has allowed us to connect with younger consumers and modernise the brand, all the while maintaining stable demand for our traditional products.

    illu kägi

    Kai Reusser, Swissinfo

    Swissinfo: What other measures are you taking to address export challenges?
     
    C.E-I.: We are placing greater emphasis on our Swissness, premium positioning, and the distinctive light texture of our products. In a challenging cost environment, our priority has been to ensure our products remain accessible to consumers in different markets. This involves carefully balancing price points and product formats while maintaining transparency and consistency in our approach. For this reason, to keep the price of our family packs below the psychological threshold of four Swiss francs ($5), we have slightly reduced their size. However, for our best-selling products, such as the 50-gram Kägi fret, we have maintained the same size in Switzerland and overseas.

    Swissinfo: How do you protect your innovations? Do you rely on trade secrets, such as those used by Rivella or Coca-Cola?
     
    C.E-I.: As with many long-established brands, only a select few within the company know the exact details of our original recipe. However, our real strength lies beyond any single recipe. Producing our chocolate wafers and their many variations requires decades of manufacturing expertise, process know-how, and quality control. This combination is what defines our products and makes them difficult to replicate.
     
    Swissinfo: Unlike other Swiss brands such as Rivella or Ovomaltine, Kägi has no brand ambassador. Why is that?
     
    C.E-I.: While influencer marketing can certainly be effective in many cases, it is not currently a central focus of our brand communication, particularly given our limited marketing budget as an SME [small and medium-sized enterprise]. We therefore primarily focus on traditional advertising formats, such as posters and on social media, occasionally collaborating with influencers. 

    El-Idrissi Interview 2

    “Kägi remains an independent SME in its day-to-day business. This enables us to maintain our working methods and sets us apart from brands tightly integrated into large food conglomerates.”


    Vera Leysinger / SWI swissinfo.ch

    Swissinfo: Kägi remained a family-owned company until 1996 and has since undergone multiple ownership changes. How did employees experience these transitions?
     
    C.E-I.: Although I was not part of the company at the time, the ownership changes have not altered what defines Kägi. Today, while operating under group ownership*, Kägi remains an independent SME in its day-to-day business. This enables us to maintain our working methods and sets us apart from brands tightly integrated into large food conglomerates. At Kägi, I oversee all areas of the business, from sales to production and logistics. I greatly value this level of independence and overall responsibility. As an SME, we benefit from short, agile decision-making processes and close collaboration across teams. However, larger integrated groups naturally enjoy other advantages such as purchasing power and easier access to premium retail space.
     
    Swissinfo: Would you advise Swiss traditional, family-owned, mid-sized food companies against joining large, integrated food conglomerates?
     
    C.E-I.: Each owning family must make its own decision but, in general, the energy and efficiency generated when people can truly operate independently should not be underestimated.

    Swissinfo: As an athlete, you reached Olympic level, which requires exceptional dedication. Why do so few Olympians become CEOs?
     
    C.E-I.: My sporting career taught me a great deal about mindset and discipline, which is very useful in my current career. However, among Swiss Olympians, very few have indeed gone on to lead organisations of a certain size. Severin Moser [Olympic decathlete and chair of the Swiss Employers’ Association] and I are exceptions. The main reason is probably that only 100 to 150 Swiss athletes are selected to participate in these Games every two years. That said, many Olympians are highly successful in roles outside of management, such as in academia.

    Swissinfo: Should elite athletes prepare for their professional careers while still competing?
     
    C.E-I.: Absolutely. When I competed in athletics, it was not possible to earn a living from my sport, which is why I had to study and work alongside. Compared with athletes in countries such as Germany or Italy, who were often state-funded, I felt that the lack of support for elite athletes in Switzerland was unfair. However, because I combined my sporting career with a Master’s degree and a PhD in fields closely related to my current role, I was able to transition smoothly from sport into professional life. Today, most Swiss elite athletes receive financial support from the army, which has significantly raised performance levels. Nevertheless, preparation for a professional career after sport should not be neglected.
     
    Swissinfo: Has your Moroccan background influenced your professional career?
     
    C.E-I.: I was born in Switzerland to a Moroccan father and a Swiss mother. My name and appearance reflect my Moroccan roots, but I have never experienced any disadvantages. If anything, I regret not speaking Arabic, as Arabic-speaking countries represent an important growth market for Kägi.
     

    Edited by Virginie Mangin/ts

    *Kägi is now owned by the Swiss investment company Helix Innovations, which is itself owned by the American conglomerate Altria.

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  • ‘Canadians don’t want to come here any more’: anger over Trump squeezes US border businesses | Trump tariffs

    ‘Canadians don’t want to come here any more’: anger over Trump squeezes US border businesses | Trump tariffs

    On a warm March weekend in the American border town of Lewiston, New York, bakery owner Aimee Loughran is putting the finishing touches on a special order: a state trooper badge-shaped cake for a local officer’s retirement party.

    It should be the last task of a busy Saturday at her Just Desserts shop, which sits just 20 minutes north of the rushing waters of Niagara Falls. Dotted with cafes, restaurants and historic buildings from the 1800s, the Lewiston strip is usually catnip for tourists, including the Canadians whose homes can be seen from the banks of the nearby Niagara River.

    Local demand for Loughran’s cake and pastries, however, has not made up for a dramatic slump in tourist spending, triggered by a now year-long boycott by Lewiston’s northern neighbours.

    Angered by Donald Trump’s hefty tariffs and annexation threats – and compounded by fears of border detentions and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) crackdowns – Canadians have stayed away, refusing to spend their hard-earned dollars in local border towns like Lewiston.

    “All of our sales on the strip have gone way down,” Loughran said. That has personally led to a 30% drop in revenues at her bakery, forcing the 41-year-old to cut spending, both at work and at home. “Especially as a single mom, it’s very tough.”

    Local demand for Just Dessert’s by Aimee has not made up for a dramatic slump in tourist spending. Photograph: Brandon Watson/The Guardian

    Lewiston’s once-bustling antiques sellers are also suffering. Judy, a 73-year-old former teacher who co-owns Antique to Chic with eight other enthusiasts, is losing hope that sales – which dropped 20% last year – might rebound anytime soon.

    “I’m angry that the Canadians don’t want to come here any more. And I don’t blame them. I was thinking yesterday, I wish I didn’t live in this country, because I don’t like it anymore. I don’t like the news that I’m hearing. I don’t like the [Iran] war … It’s too much for me to handle.”

    The Canadian backlash is a worry for businesses and politicians across the Niagara region, who have historically relied on visitors from provinces including Ontario and Quebec to shop, sightsee, gamble and watch Buffalo Bills football games. And Niagara’s pain is cascading throughout the country, with Canadians thinking twice about crossing the border and planning trips to the rest of the US.

    And with no warming of relations between Washington and Ottawa in sight, and with Trump continuing to call the prime minister, Mark Carney, a future “governor” of a future state of Canada, border town locals are trying to adapt.

    For Niagara Falls’ regional tourism agency, Destination Niagara, that has meant making the tough decision to stop advertising to Canadians entirely and instead focus on luring Americans from other states. “Our dollars are so limited,” John Percy, Destination Niagara chief executive, said. “They’re important to us, but we [have to] concentrate on trying to bring visitors in.”

    Niagara Falls has heavily relied on Canadian day-trippers and weekend shoppers, particularly outside of tourist season. A favourable foreign exchange rate and much lower sales tax meant Canadians would cross the border regularly for cheaper essentials like milk, bread and gas, as well as to go shopping at US-brand stores.

    Clothes shopping “across the line” was so popular in the 1990s that Percy recalls putting donation bins in mall parking lots to gather Canadians’ cast-offs. “They would come over and change clothes, literally in the parking lot, and dump their clothes … and drive away with new clothes in their car and their suitcase, with tags pulled off.”

    That shopping fervour continued into the 2010s, with the local Fashion Outlets mall having expanded in response to Canadian demand. “You’d go in that parking lot, and you would think you were in Ontario because every license plate was a Canadian plate. And it was the same thing with our hotels,” local hotelier Frank Strangio said. “They would come over, spend the weekend, get a room, spend the night, go out to dinner, go shopping, and it was great. And then they’d go home.”

    Frank Strangio, hotel owner and president of the Niagara Falls Hotel and Motel Association. Photograph: Brandon Watson/The Guardian

    But that has all changed. A stronger US dollar and rising inflation stateside, meant Canadians were already cutting back on cross-border spending. Trump’s aggressive anti-Canadian rhetoric and trades policies were the final straw.

    “They’re not coming any more,” Strangio said. “Now you’re seeing boarded-up stores. What I’m afraid of is that big huge mall in the middle that is part of our tax base is shut down…and that’s a trickle effect,” Strangio said, noting that he has had to hire fewer hotel staff in the off-season due to a drop in Canadian visits.

    There was a 21% drop in Canadians entering New York state in 2025, with more than 3m fewer visits than the previous year, according to reports citing New York governor Kathy Hochul’s office. Personal vehicle crossings in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area alone declined by 16.3%, a drop of 717,118 last year, bureau of transport statistics figures show.

    The Cambria Hotel, located in Niagara Falls. Photograph: Brandon Watson/The Guardian

    Meanwhile, a recent poll by Globe and Mail newspaper found that only 9% of Canadians agreed that the US was a “trustworthy ally”, and that 51% of those polled had cancelled American trips in reaction to comments by Trump.

    “I‘ve never seen patriotism from that market in such a short amount of time”, Percy said. “And rightly so. I mean, if the tables were turned, we would be in the same position, if not worse.”

    And Canadians who are still crossing the border are doing so in secret. “They will not tell their neighbour or friends or family that they’re coming to the US,” Percy said. “They’ll hide.”

    Niagara Falls mayor Robert Restaino, who has family and friends across the border, says he “winced” every time Trump made disparaging comments about Canadians. “Hearing that they would be the 51st state and that Wayne Gretzky should be governor, and that the country would be nothing without us … I just saw no upside. You want to talk about our Nato allies all paying their fair share? I get that … But these other things, these personal opinions, they accomplished nothing and really just sort of set a bad tone.”

    Robert Restanio, mayor of Niagara Falls, in his office in city hall. Photograph: Brandon Watson/The Guardian

    It compounded pain over the tariff fallout, which had already sparked criticism from Congress. New York senator, Chuck Schumer visited Niagara Falls last summer, where he lambasted Trump’s trade war, saying tariffs were a “a dagger aimed at the heart of upstate New York and at working families” warning that tariffs were effectively a tax on “every citizen of America and western New Yorker”.

    As for Restaino’s pivot, he is banking on sports being a more sustainable source of tourism that can sustain political strain. The city is currently planning for a $200m into a 6,000-seat events centre, that he hopes will host cross-border games for minor league, college level, or youth sports teams, be it in hockey, basketball, volleyball or lacrosse.

    While there are rumblings of international boycotts of US-hosted games of the upcoming Fifa World Cup this summer, Restaino said he takes some comfort from the Olympics, where many nations “don’t like each other … and yet when it came to sports, everybody was just kind of trying to get through”.

    But whether Canadians sports fans play ball remains to be seen.

    Roughly 10-15% of Buffalo Bills season ticket holders are Canadian, the team said in September. But hotelier Strangio has noticed overnight stays from Canadian fans have dropped. “Every time there’s a home Bills game, we get people from all over that come over and stay in our hotel because they want to see the Falls and make it a whole trip. And there are less Canadians than there used to be.”

    The fear now is over the long-term effects. “Every bit of market share that we lose internationally takes us that many more years to regain,” Percy warned. And that is worrying when taxes have be drawn from tourism dollars. “Those taxes in these communities that are affected, affect its police force, their fire and safety, streets, sidewalks … It’s the number-one industry in Niagara county. It’s number two in New York state now.”

    And there is no quick fix, at least not under this administration, according to Restaino. “At some point, our federal government has to humbly recognise that misstep. I don’t know that that’s possible in this current dynamic.”

    Back in Lewiston, the shift has been stark. A plaque at the nearby “Peace Park” commemorating the once-strong relationship between bordering communities declares: “This unfortified boundary between Canada and the United States of America should quicken the remembrance of more than a century old friendship between these countries. A lesson of peace to all nations.”

    Peace Garden, a symbol of the US’s friendship with Canadians. Photograph: Brandon Watson/The Guardian

    Today, some locals worry that old friendship is lost.

    Kathleen Stefik, a 59-year-old Trump voter, said she personally feels the hostility from Canadians and has curbed her own trips to Canada in response. While she agrees with some of Trump’s policies, including on immigration, she acknowledges that his rhetoric about Canada has been damaging. “What a jerk … shut up, just stop. Be a president, act like a president.”

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  • ‘She left her body’: A mother’s fight against her daughter’s anorexia | Women

    ‘She left her body’: A mother’s fight against her daughter’s anorexia | Women

    Dalila’s illness had begun about a year earlier. She does not know why she began refusing food, only that she started to see herself differently and could no longer recognise her body as her own. She started losing weight and withdrawing from friends and social events, and grew stiff around food. She refused to eat with her family and avoided meals with them. Sometimes she’d stay out, saying she’d already eaten and send them pictures of food.

    Rita, her husband Giuseppe, 62, and their son Cristiano, who is two years younger than Dalila, “were afraid”.

    “We didn’t understand what was happening,” Rita explains. “And [we were] angry, too. She was evasive, almost absent, disappearing for hours.” There was “constant tension”.

    By January 2018, knowing her daughter was critically unwell and in need of urgent help, Rita persuaded her to visit a public centre for eating disorders. By then, Dalila, who is five feet three inches tall, weighed just 31kg (68 pounds).

    The specialised centre in Fermo, about an hour’s drive away, had initially directed Rita to services closer to the family’s home when she contacted them. “They didn’t want to take her case. I was sitting here in the living room, and I told them, ‘Either I die, or she dies. You figure out what to do,’” Rita remembers telling them in desperation.

    The centre’s diagnosis gave them a path forward. “When they told us it was anorexia nervosa, I thought: this is an illness, not a whim. That meant there was a cure,” Rita says.

    The centre placed Dalila on a strict meal plan and gave her regular appointments.

    In the beginning, it was a fight to keep her alive – and then help her get better.

    “When I got up, the first thing I did was light the fireplace because she was always cold. Despite all the sweaters she wore, she was still freezing. Then I’d prepare a hot water bottle for her,” Rita murmurs, giving her daughter a small smile.

    Dalila would spend hours under the hot water trying to warm herself, but Rita never said anything about the high gas bills.

    Dalila lights a cigarette. “My body had disappeared,” she recalls.

    “She became so thin it hurt even to sit on a chair,” Rita adds. “I had to put cushions on the chairs so she wouldn’t feel pain.”

    The Brancaccio family’s days revolved entirely around organising meals, buying food Dalila would eat, avoiding those she still wouldn’t, and scheduling medical visits.

    “Shopping was a panic. If I couldn’t find the things she wanted, like rice cakes – because she only ate those – I’d have to go all the way (30 minutes by car) to Ancona, because only there, in the city, was there a shop that sold them,” Rita explains.

    “We would go to work, while Dalila spent the day at home, researching food, calories, theories, dishes she didn’t eat, and recipes online. She criticised what we ate because, in her opinion, it wasn’t ‘right’. Everything revolved around food,” she recalls.

    Once, in a pharmacy, Rita remembers her husband hugging Dalila to protect her from other people’s stares.

    “Dalila was like a child again,” she says. “At night, I lay next to her – not just to keep her warm, but to shield her from the world, from people’s looks, their questions.”

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  • Overcoming resistance to immunotherapy in NSCLC?

    Understanding the evolution of immunotherapy resistance holds the key to developing novel strategies in NSCLC

    Immunotherapy forms part of first-line therapy for many patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) lacking targetable mutations, but there are several issues around overcoming resistance to these agents, most of which relate to heterogeneity of the disease.

    NSCLC can vary between patients and even within the same patient, including before and after immunotherapy. Analysis of this tumour type in patients using multiplexed imaging mass cytometry has revealed variance in tumour cell subtypes on treatment with immunotherapy, with T-cell infiltration associated with acquisition of resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors (Nat Comm. 2023;14:5154). Research into the mechanisms of immunotherapy resistance in other solid tumours suggests a role for both tumour-intrinsic processes, such as neoantigen loss and antigen presentation defects, as well as factors involving the tumour microenvironment, such as immune evasion strategies, extracellular remodelling and upregulation of inhibitory molecules (Trends Mol Med. 2025;31:1008–1020).

    A key drawback in the development of treatments to overcome acquired resistance to immunotherapy in NSCLC is that clinical trials are designed without considering the profound tumour and tumour microenvironment heterogeneity. Furthermore, preclinical models lack the intricacies of this heterogeneity to truly mimic the setting in which resistance arises. As a result, it is extremely difficult to develop a preclinical test that can accurately predict which therapeutic combination will overcome the specific, diverse resistance mechanisms, leading to a gap between preclinical studies and successful clinical trials.

    Results for combination therapy with ceralasertib – a selective inhibitor of the ataxia-telangiectasia-related (ATR) DNA damage response kinase – plus durvalumab in the phase III LATIFY study presented at the European Lung Cancer Congress 2026 (Copenhagen, 25–28 March) showed that among 594 patients randomised, no improvement in overall survival (OS) was reached compared with the standard of care, docetaxel, with objective response rates (ORRs) of 7.7% and 17.3%, respectively (LBA1). Patients had locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC, no actionable genomic alterations, and disease progression on or after anti-PD-(L)1 and platinum-based chemotherapy. This result was not unexpected given the previous phase II results of this combination in the HUDSON study, which demonstrated an ORR of 13.9% (Nat Med. 2024;30:716–729). The disappointing phase III results stress the need for alternative strategies to overcome the development of acquired resistance to immunotherapy. We need to understand at the molecular level the evolution of resistance development, which requires that tumours are re-analysed at times of resistance to immunotherapy, creating opportunities for more personalised treatment strategies.

    Interesting results from a second phase III study presented in Copenhagen, PRESERVE-003, showed an ORR of 20.0% with gotistobart, an anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody, and 4.8% with docetaxel (which is lower than expected) in 87 patients with advanced or metastatic squamous NSCLC who had disease progression on or after anti-PD-(L)1 and platinum-based chemotherapy (Abstract 3O). Median OS was not reached in the gotistobart arm compared with 9.95 months in the docetaxel arm after a median follow-up of 14.5 months and 15.2 months, respectively. PRESERVE-003 is an ongoing study and we anticipate further results for gotistobart in this setting.

    Both of these studies demonstrate the challenge of overcoming acquired resistance to immunotherapy and underline the difficulty in our current lack of a tailored strategy and treatment options for this patient population. Further strategies being explored to overcome resistance to immunotherapy in NSCLC take advantage of the evolution in technology that allows rapid analysis of tumours and the tumour microenvironment. Previously, several phase III trials combining multi-TKI and immunotherapy have failed to demonstrate an OS benefit in this population of patients. However, some phase II studies have shown promising ORR (SAKK 17/18 [Ann Oncol. 2023;34(Suppl. 2):S807–S808] and RECLAIM [J Thoracic Oncol. 2025;20(Suppl. 1):S610]) and further developments with these approaches are under investigation. Antibody–drug conjugate-based strategies have recently emerged, but today we still lack markers to guide treatment decisions in this complex field. Advances in technologies that identify predictive biomarkers in patient samples should be leveraged to deepen our understanding of immunotherapy resistance, guide the design of rational clinical trials, and ultimately improve patient outcomes.

    Programme details

    Besse B, et al. Ceralasertib (C) + durvalumab (D) in patients (pts) with locally advanced (LA) or metastatic (m) NSCLC who progressed on or after anti-PD-(L)1 and platinum-based chemotherapy (CT): Results from LATIFY. European Lung Cancer Congress 2026 – LBA1

    He K, et al. Anti-tumor activity of gotistobart compared to docetaxel in patients with metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer (sqNSCLC) progressing on PD-(L)1 inhibitors: Stage 1 PRESERVE-003 phase III trial. European Lung Cancer Congress 2026 – Abstract 3O

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  • Pilots Of Air Canada Flight 8646 Honored As Bodies Return Home

    Pilots Of Air Canada Flight 8646 Honored As Bodies Return Home

    Hundreds of past and present Air Canada pilots, crew, and family members lined up the sidewalk outside Air Canada’s Montreal headquarters this evening to welcome home their fallen colleague, Antoine Forest. Captain Forest was one of the two pilots who tragically lost their lives last Sunday when Air Canada Flight AC8646 crashed into a firetruck on the runway of New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA).

    Forest, alongside First Officer Mackenzie Gunther, was killed during the horrific crash after a firetruck was given clearance to cross the busy LaGuardia runway in error, and was en route to attend to another incident that had occurred with another airplane. The Air Canada Express (operated by Jazz Aviation), which had just arrived from Montreal, had no time to avoid the incident that led to two deaths and many injuries.

    Captain Forest Returns To Montréal

    Air Canada Express Flight 8646 crash scene Credit: NTSB

    Forest’s remains returned to Montréal–Trudeau International Airport (YUL) late Thursday evening, and as a tribute, many Air Canada staff, past and present, lined up to pay tribute to the young pilot, with many noting to Canada’s CTV News that the emotions were high, and it was ‘difficult to hold back tears’.

    One pilot, Julian Compton, spoke with CTV, reiterating that the pilots would have just a split second to respond to the deadly incident that occurred at LaGuardia, and given that the runway was wet, the aircraft would have had few options to avoid the collision, as any movement to the left or right could have led to many more deaths. Compton was one of many who lined the sidewalk in Montreal to pay tribute, and noted:

    “You know, in the aviation community, we are a brotherhood of professionals, and we are united by wings. I felt an obligation. I felt compelled to pull out my old uniform and join my aviation brothers and sisters.”

    Captain Gunther Returns To Ottawa

    Air Canada Express Flight 8646 wreckage LGA Credit: @aviationbrk | X

    Co-pilot Mackenzie Gunther and Captain Antoine Forest’s bodies were transported together on a special Air Canada Express flight to the Canadian capital of Ottawa, where Gunther’s remains were disembarked from the aircraft by other pilots and met with a standing tribute. Forest’s body was then flown from Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport(YOW) to Montreal. On arrival at Montréal–Trudeau International Airport(YUL), the flight was met with a water salute by the airport fire crew.

    The destroyed Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft operated by Jazz Aviation, the carrier’s regional operator, and the fire truck were removed from the grounds of LaGuardia airport on late Wednesday evening, and will remain in storage as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Transportation Safety Board of Canada continue their investigation.

    Captain Forest had been flying for Air Canada (Jazz Aviation) since December 2022 and had previously worked as a bush pilot. Forest was from the small Quebec town of Coteau-du-Lac. Co-pilot Mackenzie Gunther was aged just 24 and was reported to be from the Ontario city of Peterborough.

    Air Canada Express Flight AC8646 wreckage at LaGaurdia

    Air Canada Crash Survivors Still Without Belongings Until Crews Move Aircraft To Hangar

    The survivors of AC8646 remain empty-handed.

    The Latest Updates On Air Canada Flight 8646

    NTSB Air Canada Express Flight 8646 Credit: NTSB

    Air Canada provided a second update with additional information on the fateful Air Canada flight, noting that the Air Canada Special Assistance Team remains in the Big Apple and continues to provide support to the crew and passengers who were affected by the flight on March 22.

    Of the 39 crew or passengers who were injured, now just four remain in the hospital. The aircraft, which has been relocated to a secure hangar, will now permit the Air Canada team to commence processing the return of baggage and other personal belongings. It is expected that this could take some time.

    AC8646 was a regularly scheduled flight from Montreal to LaGuardia on March 22, and a split-second mistake led to the death of two young pilots. This incident marked the first fatal accident at LGA in more than three decades, when USAir Flight 405 crashed on March 22, 1992, killing 27 of the 51 people on board.

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