News

• Say right to freedom of expression should never be conflated with criminal conduct • IHC tells Shireen to approach Adiala jail authorities for meeting request ISLAMABAD: Five United Nations experts have expressed alarm over the conviction of human rights activist Advocate Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Advocate Hadi Ali Chattha, on multiple charges in a case pertaining to controversial social media posts under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca). On Jan 24, an Islamabad sessions court sentenced Ms Mazari and Mr Chattha to jail. In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, UN special rapporteurs Margaret Satterthwaite, Ben Saul, Mary Lawlor, Irene Khan and Gina Romero noted that the two were convicted on multiple criminal charges, resulting in lengthy prison sentences “for simply exercising rights guaranteed by international human rights law”. “Lawyers, like other individuals, are entitled to freedom of expression. The exercise of this right should never be conflated with criminal conduct...

Бывший спецпредставитель США по вопросам Украины и России, генерал Кит Келлог считает, что время "играет на руку" Киеву, в то время как Кремль уже потерпел неудачу в войне.

“In terms of our partnership with Indonesia, it’s no longer an active campaign for us,” a Boeing executive said Tuesday.

The filing follows approval of Starlink’s Gen2 expansion and Elon Musk’s push to move AI infrastructure into orbit.

Liberal leaders welcome Mamdani's appointment of Phylisa Wisdom, who has been the head of New York Jewish Agenda since 2023. Former comptroller Brad Lander: 'The perfect person for the job'

• King Charles’ brother Andrew shunted out of royal residence as police probe claims another woman was sent to royal estate by known convicted child sex trafficker • Peter Mandelson also faces Met Police inquiry; under-fire PM Starmer agrees to release record linked to his appointment WASHINGTON / LONDON / OSLO: The fallout from the revelations contained in the Epstein Files continued to cause upheaval in Europe, with notable British and Norwegian figures — including royals and top government officials — facing intense scrutiny for a variety of wrongdoings. King Charles’ brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has left the Royal Lodge mansion, his home of two decades, after Thames Valley Police said they were assessing allegations that a second woman was sent to the UK by convicted sex trafficker and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, for a sexual encounter with the former royal. In 2014, the late Virginia Giuffre became the first woman to publicly accuse the embattled ex-royal of similar encounters. Giuffre filed a civi...

The latest decline reflects a broader unwind in leverage, with investors reassessing Bitcoin’s short-term role as an inflation hedge.

Zohran Mamdani appointed Phylisa Wisdom, head of the New York Jewish Agenda, as executive director of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, drawing mixed reactions from Jewish leaders.

• Araghchi says talks with US ‘scheduled’ for Friday in Oman • Regional leaders urge United States to proceed with dialogue following reports of breakdown • Uncertainty triggered after Rubio said talks should include missile programme; Iran wanted issue kept ‘off the table’ • Trump says Iran supreme leader ‘should be very worried’ • Regional players like Pakistan, S. Arabia, Turkiye, Egypt ‘unlikely’ to take part at this stage ISLAMABAD / WASHINGTON: The prospects for talks between Iran and the United States seemed fraught with uncertainty on Wednesday, even after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi publicly announced the date and timing of the proposed negotiations. “Nuclear talks with the United States are scheduled to be held in Muscat on about 10 am Friday. I’m grateful to our Omani brothers for making all necessary arrangements,” he posted on X late on Wednesday night. A US official also confirmed that the neg­o­tiations are on track, Reuters reported. The statement came amid swirling speculation tha...

• FBR ready to consider super tax recoveries on a case-to-case basis, Senate panel told • Aurangzeb says IMF mission due by month end, external financing needs fully covered. • Reveals discussions underway with UAE; currency notes being changed ISLAMABAD: Ahead of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) review mission’s planned visit this month, the government has hinted at the recovery of around Rs217 billion super tax arrears in instalments to facilitate businesses, and changing all currency notes. Testifying before the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on Wednesday, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial expressed willingness to collect super tax arrears in instalments and clarified that the pending tax recoverable following the Supreme Court (SC) judgement in government favour was Rs217bn, not Rs300bn as speculated. The FBR chairman said the government did not want business closures for tax recoveries and would be ready to consider super tax recoveries on a case-to-ca...

• Proposes a preferential trading arrangement to cut reliance on China • Pakistan weighs options to maintain ties with both Washington and Beijing WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday outlined plans to establish price floors for critical minerals and form a preferential trading arrangement among participating countries, a proposal that Pakistan has so far chosen to approach cautiously as it seeks to maintain close ties with both Washington and Beijing. US Vice President J.D. Vance told representatives from more than 50 countries that Washington was proposing a coordinated system to stabilise prices of critical minerals essential for clean energy, advanced technology and defence industries, arguing that market volatility had discouraged long-term investment. Diplomatic sources in Washington told Dawn that Pakistan has been briefed on the US proposal but has not yet signed on. Islamabad was represented at the two-day meeting by Federal Minister for Energy Ali Pervaiz Malik, rather than a senior political ...

Лишенный титулов 65-летний бывший принц Эндрю всего через несколько дней после переезда в новое поместье вызвал бунт среди королевского персонала.

A 19-year-old Australian was charged over alleged online death threats against President Isaac Herzog ahead of the Israeli leader’s upcoming visit to Australia.

CFTC Chair Mike Selig described the proposal as a “frolic into merit regulation” by the Biden administration. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has withdrawn a Biden administration-era proposal that would have banned sports and political prediction markets, some of the most popular event contracts today. The recently confirmed CFTC chair, Mike Selig, said on Wednesday that the agency has withdrawn a 2024 notice of proposed rulemaking that sought to ban event contracts for sports, politics and war, among other topics, classifying them as “contrary to the public interest.” Selig said the proposal “reflected the prior administration’s frolic into merit regulation with an outright prohibition on political contracts ahead of the 2024 presidential election,” adding that CFTC doesn’t plan to issue final rules on the proposal. Read more

Strium will begin with synthetic US and Japanese stocks and commodities before expanding to real tokenized shares and asset-backed products with identity verification. Startale Group and Japan’s financial conglomerate SBI Holdings have launched Strium, a layer-1 blockchain designed to support exchange-layer and settlement infrastructure for institutional trading of foreign exchange, tokenized equities and real-world assets (RWAs). The platform is designed as an exchange-layer network, according to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph. “Tokenization is an inevitable trend, and equities tokenization is clearly the next big market,” said Sota Watanabe, CEO of Startale Group. He added that Strium aims to bridge the gap between traditional offchain finance and the onchain ecosystem by enabling compliant dividend and royalty payments. Read more

QUETTA: A coalition of opposition political parties announced the withdrawal of province-wide protests in Balochistan following a meeting with government officials on Wednesday, a move described as a “goodwill gesture” amid the province’s current security and political situation. In response to the announcement, the Balochistan government agreed to release all government employees recently arrested by police while attempting to enter the “Red Zone”. The decision was reached during a meeting between an authorised government committee and an All Parties delegation representing a broad spectrum of political leadership, including the Awami National Party (ANP), National Party, Pakhtunkhwa National Awami Party (PkNAP), and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). During the session, the political coalition formally ended its protest movement, citing the prevailing circumstances in Balochistan. In turn, the government confirmed it would move forward with the release of detained employees to de-escalate tensions. The two sid...

41-летняя британская актриса Клэр Фой, которая сыграла королеву Елизавету II в сериале "Корона" в молодые годы, призналась, что на протяжении долгих пяти лет не могла одолеть проблему паразитов.

The government continues to implement support measures for Ukrainians amid the energy crisis caused by Russian strikes—217 attacks have already been recorded since the beginning of the year.

Elias Rodriguez killed Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, who both worked for Israel's Embassy in Washington, in May 2025.