Pakistan News

A first set of blast waves set ancient domes and minarets trembling around the most famous square in the ancient city of Isfahan. Another bombing in the city centre, two days later, blanketed the floors of a 400-year-old royal complex with shards of debris. Those Israeli airstrikes, on March 7 and 9, shook the monuments at Naqsh-e Jahan square and the Chehel Sotoun Palace, two of Iran’s most treasured cultural complexes. Two weeks later, plaster and broken tile still crunched underfoot in some places. A damaged building next to Isfahanâ’s Provincial Governor’s office near Chehel Sotoun Palace, a Unesco World Heritage site, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Isfahan, Iran, on March 23, 2026. — Reuters “These buildings were like part of us,” said Rasoul Mosavi, his head still bandaged in gauze from the injury he received in the explosion. He led Reuters journalists through the museum where he has worked as a security guard for 16 years. “This place...

Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas on Tuesday filed a privilege motion in the upper house of Parliament against the station house officer (SHO) of Islamabad’s Bhara Kahu police station over his “rude and discourteous” conduct. The privilege motion comes after a delegation of opposition leaders, including Abbas, was stopped by Islamabad police from travelling to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Monday. The delegation, led by National Assembly Opposition Leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai and including former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, had planned to express solidarity with protesters participating in a sit-in in Rawalakot. Khokhar had alleged that Raja Nasir Abbas was also stopped from reaching his residence in Bhara Kahu and was forced to continue on foot after authorities prevented his vehicle from proceeding. In the privilege motion, a copy of which is available with Dawn , Abbas said that Sub-inspector (SI) Naeemul Hassan,...

The ghostly white creature curled up on a weighing scale is almost unrecognisable in the Facebook post offering it for sale. Only closer inspection reveals it to be a dead pangolin. The animal, one of the world’s most endangered and trafficked mammals, has been stripped of its scales and is being advertised by a Thai account selling “seasonal wild delicacies”. The post is one of dozens reviewed by AFP that illustrate what conservationists call rampant illegal wildlife trafficking across social media platforms, particularly those belonging to Facebook parent company Meta. A report by several NGOs released on Monday accuses Meta of hosting the world’s “largest single known illegal wildlife trade market” and effectively encouraging the trade by sharing advertising revenues with users and allowing them subscription models. The report follows recent research by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC), which warned Facebook is now “the central public infrast...

Australia and Vanuatu signed a sweeping economic and security agreement on Monday that bars the establishment of any foreign military base in the Pacific nation. Vanuatu is at the centre of strategic rivalry between China and US allies in the South Pacific, and Australia has expressed concern that Beijing is seeking a permanent security presence in the region. The agreement commits Australia to $345 million in support for Vanuatu, whose largest external creditor is China, and it stops a foreign military power establishing a base there. “What this does is to provide certainty for Australia that there will be no foreign military base,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters after signing the deal in Canberra with his Vanuatu counterpart Jotham Napat. “We have concluded a balanced agreement that will protect our collective and individual security and our sovereignty,” he said. China’s navy has made repeated port calls to Vanuatu...

The Democratic Republic of Congo became the latest underdogs to roar at the World Cup on Saturday, battling into the knockout rounds for the first time as Iran’s rollercoaster campaign ended in elimination. A chaotic finale to the tournament’s expanded group phase saw Austria and Algeria fill the final two berths in the last 32 late on Saturday after battling to an extraordinary 3-3 draw in Group J — a result that dashed Iran’s hopes of advancing from their group. A win for either Austria or Algeria would have allowed Iran to squeeze into the last 32, and it looked as if the Asian side would advance when Riyadh Mahrez scored in the third minute of stoppage time to put the Algerians into a 3-2 lead. But Iranian joy was short-lived when Sasa Kalajdzic arrowed in a header in the sixth minute of injury time to snatch a draw for Austria and spark pandemonium in Kansas City. Austria midfielder Marcel Sabitzer, who scored Austria’s second goal, described the closing moments as “weird”. ...

SARGODHA: Angry mob vandalised the shop where eight-year-old Muntaha Zahra was killed on June 22. The youngsters destroyed the entire structure of the shop, Hanif Kiryana Store and in various videos circulating on social media, they are seen throwing the merchandise out on the road. They attempted to set the shop on fire too. Police have reportedly arrested the invaders after identifying them on CCTV footage. District Police Officer Sohaib Ashraf also assured the bereaved family that justice would be done and their reservation about the police/CCD investigation would be taken into consideration. It is pertinent to mention that the CCD are interrogating three suspects. It is learnt that mother of Arslan, the main suspect killed in the CCD encounter, alleged that the main culprits were the owners of the shop who had maneuvered the alleged confession of Arslan to take revenge from the father of the ill-fated girl. The DPO said the police, in collaboration with the CCD, are investi...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has issued an alert for glacial lake outburst floods (Glofs) for Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, predicting that soaring temperatures across the two regions are likely to persist until the first week of July. “This significant warming will substantially accelerate snow and ice melt in the glaciated valleys of these regions,” the Met Office said in the alert issued late on Friday. It said that consequently, the water level in the river streams was likely to remain high, existing glacial lakes may rapidly expand with an increase in their water levels, and new glacial lakes were likely to form due to the high volume of melted water. Meanwhile, vulnerable downstream locations and low-lying areas adjacent to riverbeds may face a high risk of sudden inundation with chances of flash flooding in vulnerable locations, it added. The Met Office further said that the rapid expansion of glacial lakes could destabilise their natural ice or mo...

The first round of the 2026 draft for the Ottawa Senators will be remembered for risky picks, questionable trades and moves they didn’t make. from Sportsnet.ca https://ift.tt/DT4iIwf

Indian police have arrested eight people over allegations of theft and misappropriation of offerings at a temple that has been at the centre of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-first politics, authorities said. The Ram Mandir temple in northern Uttar Pradesh state, built on grounds where a mosque stood for centuries before being torn down by Hindu zealots, was inaugurated in 2024 with great fanfare by Modi himself. Allegations regarding irregularities in the handling of donations led to a criminal case being registered on Thursday, with police arresting eight people, including temple employees, according to a government statement issued late on Thursday. Most of them were involved in counting or handling cash and valuables donated by devotees, including gold and silver, media reports said. The government has not disclosed the scale of the alleged embezzlement. Opposition parties and media reports say it could amount to more than $20 million. “It is so shameful that a shrine...

Elaborate security arrangements have been made countrywide today as scores of mourners take out Muharram 10 processions in observance of Yaum-i-Ashura. Yaum-i-Ashura is observed every year with mourning processions and religious gatherings to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Husain (RA) and his companions in the Battle of Karbala in 680AD. The central procession in Karachi departed from Nishtar Park at around 9:30am. It will conclude at Imambargah Hussainia Iranian after passing through its traditional routes. Meanwhile, 12 processions are planned for Peshawar. Among them, the first one departed Imambargah Agha Syed Ali Shah near Meena Bazaar at around 11am. No procession would be taken out in Islamabad, but the main procession in Rawalpindi was planned to be taken out from Imambargah Ashiq Hussain in Taili Mohallah and culminate at Imambargah Qadeemi. Meanwhile, commuters in various cities have been advised to take alternative routes, in line with traffic plans devised in view ...

Venezuelans saw buildings crumbling on Wednesday evening when two powerful earthquakes shook the country, leaving at least 32 dead and hundreds injured. Video footage showed emergency workers scrambling over the pancaked debris of a collapsed building in the capital as night fell, while distraught relatives sought help for loved ones believed to be trapped. Several dazed survivors were taken away, some on stretchers. The US Geological Survey, using predictive modeling to estimate the death toll, said it would ‌most likely run into the thousands, with a substantial probability of exceeding 10,000. Meanwhile, countries in Latin America and beyond extended condolences and offers of help. ‘Deeply saddened’ From Pakistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed solidarity with Venezuelans in “ this difficult and challenging time”. “Deeply saddened by the devastation and loss of life caused by the earthquakes in Venezuela. On behalf of the people of Pakistan, I convey our heartfelt co...

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday it may never be known who was at fault for a ​deadly strike on a girls’ school in Iran on February ‌28, the first day of the Iran war , that killed scores of children. Reuters reported in March that an initial internal US military investigation showed US forces were likely responsible ​for the fatal strike in Minab in southern Iran. The Pentagon ​has since elevated the probe but it has not acknowledged any ⁠preliminary findings. “I don’t know that they are ever going to solve ​that problem,” Trump told reporters. “I don’t know that they are ever going to ​solve that problem in terms of whose fault was it because there were missiles flying all over the place, and it’s horrible what happened but there were missiles flying ​all over the place,” he said. “Somebody said it was our missile, maybe ​it wasn’t our missile but I have seen nothing to lead me to believe ‌it ⁠was,” Trump remarked, addi...

Europe braced on Wednesday for another day of a sweltering heatwave that has smashed records, left tens of thousands of people without power and sent air conditioner sales zooming in a continent unused and ill-equipped to handle searing heat. The extreme weather is being driven by atmospheric patterns that keep hot air trapped in place for days, with these factors worsened by global warming, experts say. France’s national temperature indicator — an average of daytime and nighttime temperatures across 30 stations — reached 29.8 °C on Tuesday, the hottest since measurements began in 1947. With four more French departments being put under the highest heat alert category on Wednesday, around 44 million people are affected, according to AFP calculations. Added to the 31 departments currently on orange alert, more than 90 per cent of the French population is exposed to extreme heat, with temperatures of 39°C to 41°C expected on Wednesday from Brittany to ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and Lower Dir police killed six suspected terrorists during an operation in the district’s hilly areas on Wednesday, according to an official statement. The statement, issued by the CTD, said the slain individuals were “most-wanted terrorists” who had been involved in a recent attack on the Badwan Bridge checkpost in Lower Dir, in which Constable Mohammad Ismail was martyred. According to the statement, the CTD and district police had cordoned off the area after the attack on the Badwan Bridge checkpost. It said that the CTD and district police received information about the presence of “a group of Fitna-al-Khawarij terrorists in the hilly areas of Lower Dir” and tried to arrest them when they came out of their hideouts in the area. “But, the terrorists opened indiscriminate fire on police parties”, the statement said, adding that law enforcers fired back in retaliation. Fitna al-Khawarij is a term that the state uses for t...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is addressing the National Assembly. He began his speech by recalling the developments at the recent summit in Burgenstock, where delegations from the US and Iran held hours-long talks with Pakistan and Qatar participating in the dialogue as mediators. “Pakistan tried its best, with complete sincerity, to close the distance between the two sides,” he said, adding that the dialogue that began on Sunday stretched past midnight into Monday. He hoped that the memorandum of understanding signed by the two sides before the talks in Switzerland would turn into a “long-lasting agreement”. More to follow from Dawn - Home https://ift.tt/3p4Koif

North Korean leader Kim Jong ‌Un said exercising the country’s position as a nuclear state is the only way to cope with an unpredictable and complicated global security situation, KCNA state news agency reported on Tuesday. “Unimaginable, astonishing incidents and events” are occurring because of the “gangster-like” greed of hegemonic forces, making confrontations around the world more ​violent, Kim said, blaming the US for worsening bloodshed in Europe and the Middle East. He was speaking at a ​Central Committee meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party, running from Saturday to Monday, KCNA said. Kim accused the US ⁠and South Korea of making the security situation on the Korean Peninsula more dangerous by steadily upgrading their combined nuclear posture, ​the only purpose of which, he said, is to attack North Korea. “To steadily expand and strengthen the nuclear forces … and to thoroughly ​exercise the position of a nuclear weapons state is the most correct and unique way to active...

Keir Starmer was once hailed as the leader who would bring pragmatism and stability to Britain after years of political chaos. When he quit as prime minister on Monday, the very lack of ideology that propelled him to power drove his downfall. After guiding the Labour Party into power in 2024 with the biggest parliamentary majority in Britain’s modern history, Starmer focused on what he believed was possible to achieve, rather than setting out a clear vision of a future Britain. He soon came to be seen by many voters and members of his party as lacking conviction and a clear direction, more than 20 party insiders said. He had no big idea. Without what one senior Labour lawmaker called “a guiding light”, the former lawyer was buffeted by competing Labour factions, lobbied by vested interests and misunderstood by wary voters, many of whom came to hate what they saw as his indecision and his robotic performances. Turned to his wife for c...