Pakistan

Iranians woke early on Saturday to watch the men’s national football team face Egypt, riding an emotional rollercoaster as Iran fought back to draw but missed the chance to directly qualify for the World Cup’s last 32. But all is not lost for Team Melli after the 1-1 draw. Depending on the results in other groups, the Iranians could still reach the knockout stage for the first time in their history. Iran had a troubled buildup to the World Cup due to the war in the Middle East, which broke out in late February with US-Israeli strikes on Tehran. The team has also faced the strain of considerable visa and travel restrictions in the United States, which is co-hosting the 2026 tournament with Mexico and Canada. “It was a good game, even though they were unable to prepare properly,” said Iranian football fan Amin. “I wish they’d played the whole game like the last five minutes,” when Iran was on the attack, the 33-year-old car dealer told AFP. Fans in Tehran watched a broadcast of the match in a packed hall dotted...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, during which the two leaders discussed regional developments and bilateral cooperation, the Foreign Office said on Saturday.

A petition has been filed in the Federal Shariat Court challenging the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Ordinance 2026, which prohibits marriage below the age of 18 and makes violations a criminal offence.

The Met Office has forecast rainfall with strong winds and thunderstorm in parts of the country as the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued a weather alert.

Samsung Electronics may have an unlikely reason to welcome Apple’s first foldable iPhone: The more Apple charges for it, the less shocking Samsung’s own prices will look. Ahead of Samsung’s expected unveiling of its Galaxy Z Fold 8 series in London in late July, its mobile business is walking into a hard launch. Memory and processor costs are climbing, leaks point to higher Galaxy prices, and Apple, absent from the category for years, is expected to enter in September with what could be the most expensive iPhone ever made. Nabila Popal, senior research director at International Data Corporation (IDC), told The Korea Herald she expects Samsung to raise flagship foldable prices this year by about $100, and still to stay “significantly lower” than Apple’s first foldable, which IDC sees arriving near a “massive sticker price of $2,500”. That hands Samsung something it rarely gets from Apple: pricing cover. But cover is the only thing getting easier. The same cost shock is squeezing Samsung’s margins, and Apple is...

Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik on Saturday dismissed the notion that the government was “giving preference” to one sector or imposing an undue burden on another after it kept petrol and diesel prices unchanged “till further orders”. On Friday night, the government kept petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) prices unchanged at Rs299.50 per litre and Rs311.47 per litre, respectively. In a post on the social media platform X, the petroleum minister shared a table of international oil prices over the past week. According to the number he shared, petrol prices ranged between $90.36 and $98.35 per barrel during June 22-26, while HSD traded between $104.79 and $109.09 per barrel. “The government is neither giving preference to any sector nor imposing any undue burden on the other,” he said. “The government is committed, within the scope of its international obligations, to pass on any benefit to the consumers,” he added. Highlighting the government’s record on fuel prices, Malik said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif...

Seawater is seeping into Italy’s longest river as the waterway starts to run dry in the heatwave, hitting a farming heartland that produces the milk for Parmesan cheese. The Po River has never fallen this low so early in the year, raising fears of a devastating drought in July in this corner of northern Italy. On the bank of one of its branches, farmer Federica Vidali looked anxiously at her sunflower field. The first bloom of the season has appeared, but part of the field is already dry and starting to crack. A local worker harvests clams in the cultivation area in the Po River Delta at Scardovari, Italy, northeast Italy, on June 26, 2026. — AFP One of the two canals that irrigate it has been shut because the seawater would enter and damage the crops. “We’re left with the water that others are willing to leave us. But we’re not second-division farmers!” Vidali told AFP. The Po River’s flow has collapsed in a matter of days, dropping below 300 cubic meters per second, compared with an average of around 1,500 ...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Saturday that India was increasingly resorting to “covert tactics and the use of proxies” in an attempt to undermine peace and stability in Pakistan. “Pakistan is navigating conflicts and multi-faceted security challenges, marked by a dangerous combination of international and internal threats. Our eastern neighbour, having suffered a humiliating defeat in the conflict in May last year, has increasingly resorted to covert tactics and the use of proxies in an attempt to undermine the hard-earned peace and stability in our country,” the premier said while addressing the passing out parade at the Pakistan Naval Academy in Karachi during a one-day visit to the metropolis. “At the same time, our valiant armed forces continue to confront the menace of foreign-sponsored terrorism emanating from our western borders. The entire Pakistani nation stands shoulder-to-shoulder with its brave armed forces. The entire country remains steadfast in its iron resolve to defeat the nefarious ...

The United States and Iran traded military strikes after Washington on Friday accused Tehran of attacking a cargo ship, jeopardising a fragile ceasefire as diplomats struggle to contain the Middle East war. US Central Command said the American strikes, against Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar positions, were a response to “unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces” that “clearly violated the ceasefire”. It described the operation as “a powerful response to yesterday’s attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz”. Iranian state television, citing a reporter in Sirik, said an explosion was heard late on Friday at Taherouyeh pier in the southern port city. It quoted an informed military source as saying the blast was caused by a projectile impact in the area. US President Donald Trump had earlier denounced what he described as an Iranian drone strike on the vessel, saying: “Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our ceasefire agreeme...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday lauded the Pakistan Navy’s professionalism and its role in safeguarding the country’s maritime frontiers as he addressed the passing-out parade at the Pakistan Naval Academy PNS Rahbar.

The military’s media affairs wing said on Saturday that eight terrorists were killed in two “high-tempo” intelligence operations in Balochistan’s Kharan and Mastung districts. In a statement, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the “intelligence-driven” operations were conducted on June 25 and 26 as part of the counter terrorism campaign aimed at eliminating Fitna al Hindustan. The state has designated Balochistan-based terrorist groups as Fitna al Hindustan to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan. The statement said that on June 25, the movement of a group of terrorists was picked up by security forces in Balochistan’s Kharan district. “As a result of precise and skillful engagement, three terrorists belonging to Indian proxy Fitna al Hindustan were sent to hell while several were injured,” it said. It added that on June 26, a pre-emptive intelligence-based operation was conducted in Balochistan’s Mastung district against the “possible presence of a sui...

LAHORE: Police have arrested two suspects who allegedly buried a teenage boy alive after the latter informed his family about the sexual abuse inflicted on him by the former in Jhaal Chakian area of Sargodha, it emerged on Saturday. The harrowing crime was discovered when a passerby spotted the boy’s hand sticking up from the ground, prompting locals to gather at the scene. They then proceeded to dig up the soil, finding the teenager in critical condition. Locals alerted the police and the teenager was shifted to the hospital in critical condition. “The 14-year-old boy was allegedly sodomised by three suspects some 20 days back in Jhaal Chakian area,” Sargodha District Police Officer (DPO) Sohaib Ashraf told Dawn. He said that the suspects had threatened the boy that he would face dire consequences if he told anyone about what had happened. They also told him to pretend that nothing had happened, he added. According to initial reports, the DPO said the suspects later came to know that the boy had informed his...

Iran face an anxious wait to see if they will progress to the World Cup knockout stage after they came from behind to hold Egypt to a 1-1 draw, which ended in dramatic fashion with an apparent last-ditch winner ruled out for offside. Egypt, whose qualification for the last-32 was already guaranteed, took the lead inside five minutes through Mahmoud Saber, before Ramin Rezaeian equalised from a tight angle in the 14th minute of a frantic start. The early action fizzled out as the game became scrappy until a remarkable finale in which Iran hit the woodwork before snatching what seemed a famous win, only to have VAR intervene. Iran’s Mehdi Taremi who had a penalty saved in the first half hit the crossbar with a late header before Shoja Khalilzadeh fired home in the 93rd minute, sparking wild celebrations as the Iran bench streamed onto the pitch. But Khalilzadeh had strayed just offside and Egypt clung on for a draw, which means they finish second with five points, behind Belgium on goal difference, and will pla...

• National registry suggested for incompatible donor-recipient pairs • Proposal follows unique 10-way donor-exchange liver transplant chain LAHORE: Experts from the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute & Research Centre (PKLI&RC) have proposed the establishment of a National SWAP Liver Transplant Programme for Pakistan with the primary objective of facilitating life-saving transplants for patients who are unable to receive organs from family members or blood relatives due to blo­od-group incompatibility or other medical reasons. Since its inception, PKLI’s surgeons have successfully performed 2,000 kidney and liver transplants. A senior medical expert said the proposal was put forward by a panel of senior surgeons on the day the institute achieved what it described as another milestone in transplantation medicine by successfully performing the world’s first 10-way Living Donor Liver Transplant (LDLT) SWAP Chain, enabling 10 patients to receive life-saving liver transplants through a coordinated donor-exchange ...

• National Telecommunication Company asked to hold further stakeholder consultations, shore up security of communication ecosystem • CDWP okays PakSat-2 launch, with its predecessor set to be retired later this year • Slew of IT-related projects among 15 development measures approved ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday decided to deploy a sovereign, secure and ‘below-internet’ mobile communication network for at least 10,000 government users to address gaps that are causing critical information leakages, as it cleared a total of 24 development projects worth Rs465.76bn. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Central Development Working Party (CDWP), which also supported the launch of the Pakistan Communication Satellite–2 (PakSat-2) at an estimated cost of Rs37.192 billion, to replace PakSat-IR, which is set to complete its 15-year life later this year. Sources said the Planning Commission was not satisfied with the technical strengths of the Rs709 million ‘PAKAWAZ Secure Mobile Communication Ecosystem’...

ISLAMABAD: The recurring incidents of fire at the H-9 Weekly Bazaar in the federal capital have exposed safety gaps besides causing heavy financial losses to traders and civic agencies. Sources point out that the failure of city managers to ensure the “dawn-to-dusk” policy has turned the H-9 Weekly Bazaar into a permanent shopping area. They said stallholders keep their goods on-site against the rules, posing a permanent fire risk. It was further reported that a fire tender was also missing when a blaze broke out on Tuesday. The recent fire, which engulfed over 374 stalls out of a total 2,749, once again left stallholders in distress, with garments worth millions of rupees reduced to ashes. This was the fifth major fire incident in the bazaar over the past nine years. Although the cause of the latest fire has yet to be determined by an inquiry committee, concerns remain that further incidents could occur if proper measures are not taken, as vendors store their goods in stalls like warehouses and cover them wi...

A 23-YEAR-OLD British TikTok influencer is facing potential execution by firing squad in Dubai after being charged with the premeditated murder of her boyfriend, a human rights group told BBC. Brooke George, of Kent, England, claims she stabbed the man in self-defence during a violent domestic dispute. The advocacy organisation Detained in Dubai stated that George was arrested on June 22. The group alleges her partner had become abusive, punched her, withheld her passport and attacked her in their apartment. She feared for her life and, reaching for a kitchen knife within her grasp, acted in self-defence,” Detained in Dubai CEO Radha Stirling said, according to the BBC. George, a former John Lewis employee, was taken into custody early June 22 and charged with premeditated murder. If found guilty under United Arab Emirates law, she could face the death penalty. George’s mother, The­reza George, told the BBC her daughter was “absolutely terrified” and had a visibly swollen eye when they spoke immediately after...

Anthropic said on Friday that the US government has allowed it to release its powerful Claude Mythos 5 artifical intelligence (AI) model to some “trusted” US organisations, partially reversing an order two weeks ago to suspend access over national security risks. More than 100 companies and institutions will now have access to Mythos 5, including many Fortune 500 companies, a source familiar with the new directive said, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. Concern that powerful AI systems could be misused by military intelligence users in China, Russia or other countries of concern has prompted US President Donald Trump’s administration to take an aggressive approach to oversight of releases of Anthropic’s and rival OpenAI’s frontier models. OpenAI said earlier in the day that it was delaying a full public launch of GPT-5.6 at the US government’s request, limiting its access to a small group of vetted partners whose details were shared with the authorities. Anthropic had abruptly d...

The government on Friday kept petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) prices unchanged at Rs299.50 per litre and Rs311.47 per litre respectively “till further orders”. The decision was announced in a notification issued by the Petroleum Division. Last week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a Rs74 reduction in petrol prices and a Rs67 cut in high-speed diesel (HSD) prices as the government passed on the benefit of declining international oil prices. Petrol is mainly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers, and changes in its price affect the middle and lower-middle classes. Similarly, changes in diesel prices also impact the public at large, as it is mainly used in the heavy transport sector, power plants and large generators. As the energy crunch from the US-Iran war due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade hit the global markets, the government began revising petroleum prices every week on Friday night. In the first wartime revision on March 6, the government hiked petrol and dies...

Ashura processions across the country concluded peacefully on Friday amid elaborate security arrangements as thousands of mourners participated in Muharram 10 processions. 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 concluded at Imambargah Hussainia Iranian after passing through its traditional routes. In Hyderabad, the central procession emerged from Qadam Gah Maula Ali off Station Road and culminated at Karbala Dadan Shah. No processions were taken out in Islamabad, but the main procession in Rawalpindi was taken out from Imambargah Ashiq Hussain in Taili Mohallah and culminated at Imambargah Qadeemi. In Lahore, the central procession emerged from Nisar Haveli and concluded at Karbala Gama Shah later in the evening. All mourning processions and religious gatherings in Multan and oth...