Pakistan

Pope Leo criticised the emergence of nationalist political movements on Sunday, calling them unfortunate, without naming a specific country or national leader. Leo, the first pope from the United States, asked during a Mass with a crowd of tens of thousands in St Peter’s Square that God would “open borders, break down walls [and] dispel hatred”. “There is no room for prejudice, for ‘security’ zones separating us from our neighbours, for the exclusionary mindset that, unfortunately, we now see emerging also in political nationalisms,” said the pontiff. Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, was elected on May 8 to succeed the late Pope Francis as leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church. Before becoming pontiff, Prevost was not shy about criticising US President Donald Trump, sharing numerous disapproving posts about him and Vice President JD Vance on X in recent years. The Vatican has not confirmed the new pope’s ownership of the X account, which had the handle ‘drprevost’ and was deactivated after Leo’s ele...

Unclear if Iran’s disclosure ties to last year’s reported hack of Israeli nuclear site amid rising nuclear tensions

Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) had distributed 1.

A search operation was launched on Sunday after two girls fell from a makeshift bridge over the Gwaldai River in the Shahi Banda area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Upper Dir district and went missing, police said. Zaman Shah, a sub-divisional police officer, told Dawn.com that two young girls — namely 15-year-old Samira Bibi and 12-year-old Javeria Bibi — were crossing the Gwaldai river when they fell into it and were feared to have drowned. The official said the incident occurred within the limits of Shahi Doba’s Patrak police station, adding that the flow of water had increased recently due to glaciers melting. Shah said that the search continues for the bodies in the river as the Rescue 1122 and locals have not succeeded yet, adding that he is present at the spot along with other officials to monitor the operation. Pakistan is home to over 13,032 glaciers spanning the Karakoram, Hindu Kush and the Himalayan mountain ranges, making its northern region the largest reservoir of glaciers outside of the Polar Regions...

On the occasion of Eid al-Azha, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif held a telephone conversation with His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik of Oman to extend warm Eid greetings to the Sultan and the people of Oman.

Trump's travel ban echoes his first-term move, aiming to restrict immigration and bar entry from several nations

A massive fire erupted early Sunday morning in the Landhi Export Processing Zone, gutting three factories before firefighters could bring the blaze under control.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has directed that streets, intersections, and markets across the province be thoroughly washed and sprayed with rosewater as part of the “Suthra Punjab” campaign, reinforcing cleanliness efforts during the three-day Eid ul Adha holiday.

In FY2023-24, Pakistan's GDP grew 2.68%, falling short of the 3.6% target with agriculture, services sectors lagging

Cause of fire unknown, but stored chemicals and fabrics fueled rapid spread, say authorities

Pro-Palestinian flotilla's UK-flagged yacht heads from Sicily toward Gaza, now off Egypt, defying Israeli blockade

An Indian state riven by ethnic tensions imposed an internet shutdown and curfew after protesters clashed with security forces over the arrest of some members of a radical group, police said on Sunday. Manipur in India’s northeast has been rocked by periodic clashes for more than two years between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki community that have killed more than 250 people. The latest violence was triggered on Saturday after reports of the arrest of five members, including a commander, of Arambai Tenggol, a radical Meitei group. Incensed mobs demanding their release stormed a police post, set fire to a bus and blocked roads in parts of the state capital Imphal. Manipur police announced a curfew in five districts, including Imphal West and Bishnupur, due to the “developing law and order situation”. “Prohibitory orders have been issued by District Magistrates. Citizens are requested to cooperate with the orders,” the police said in a statement. Arambai Tenggol, which is ...

As Eid ul Adha celebrations continue, large parts of Punjab and Sindh, including major cities like Lahore and Karachi, are reeling under an intense heatwave, with health advisories issued for the coming days.

Meta aims to launch an AI tool by next year to help brands fully create and target ads, WSJ reports

The nation celebrated the second day of Eidul Adha on Sunday with religious zeal, devotion, and a spirit of unity.

Here’s some bad news for those who believe that the tendency in an increasing number of people to believe in lies can be mitigated if information is shaped and shared in a more responsible and mindful manner. According to the anthropologist Marcel Danesi, once people begin to believe in lies, they are unlikely to change their minds even when confronted with evidence that contradicts their beliefs. Danesi wrote, “They turn the contrasting information on its head, so as to make it fit their beliefs.” Research in this regard shows that, once a lie is accepted, the brain becomes more susceptible to subsequent lying. So, does this mean one should be resigned to the fact that we will always be surrounded by folk who are only willing to believe what they want to believe? I’m afraid so.  Supporters of the jailed former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan continue to exchange ‘information’ about his release. They’ve been at it for over two years now. They keep exchanging dates of his ‘triumphant’ release, which never ...

Shayan* and his wife Aliya* spent the last couple of months preparing their travel plans, which included a potential Haj trip after a visit back home to their families in Pakistan. At least, this was the plan up until the end of March. Shayan, a PhD student in the US who lives with his wife and daughter, found himself concerned about his travel plans when the Trump administration started revoking student visas. While Shayan has been in the US since the first Trump administration took office, Aliya only joined him two years ago, with their daughter. Aliya reveals that when Trump was re-elected, Shayan grew extremely anxious and she was the one who kept re-assuring him that things would be alright. That was until the Trump administration’s sudden actions against foreign students, which led to hundreds of students and recent graduates having their visas revoked. As part of the crackdown, Trump’s team has frozen hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for universities and moved to deport students, while revoki...

'Intervention' of global powers necessary to facilitate talks with India, neutral probe: Dastgir

PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s greatest challenge at home has come from the country’s judiciary, not the opposition Democratic Party that remains leaderless and in disarray. The biggest blow to the US president’s trade policy was the ruling delivered by a federal court last month that declared illegal many tariffs he had imposed on countries across the world. Although the administration secured a temporary reprieve from an appeals court that paused the ruling, the legal battle is far from over. The appeal process has to play out and the case may even go to the US Supreme Court. Global financial markets welcomed the court order against tariffs but it leaves Trump’s trade plan hanging in the balance. Trump reacted furiously to the court of international trade’s decision calling it “wrong”, “political” and the “harshest financial ruling” ever. His officials went further, accusing judges of “judicial overreach” and an abuse of power to “usurp the authority of the president”. In fact, it was Trump who exceeded his emerg...

Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe, a potential presidential contender, was shot in Bogota on Saturday, according to the government and his party, as his wife said he was fighting for his life in hospital. The 39-year-old senator, who was shot during a campaign event as part of his run for the presidency in 2026, is a member of the opposition conservative Democratic Center party founded by former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. The two men are not related. According to a party statement condemning the attack, the senator was hosting a campaign event in a public park in the Fontibon neighborhood in the capital on Saturday when “armed subjects shot him from behind. The party described the attack as serious, but did not disclose further details on Uribe’s condition. Videos on social media showed a man, identified as Uribe, being tended to after the shooting. He appeared to be bleeding from his head. Uribe’s wife Maria Claudia Tarazona wrote on her husband’s account on X that he was “fighting for his life”. Colombi...