Pakistan

At least 26 people, including 18 children, have died and 77 others sustained injuries in rain-related incidents across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since March 25, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority.

Islamabad - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday announced a reduction of eighty rupees per litre in petroleum levy, and now new price of petrol will be378 rupees per litre instead of 458 rupees per litre.

WASHINGTON: A supernova — the explosive death of a star — is always violent, blasting material into space while typically leaving behind a compact stellar remnant like a neutron star or black hole. But some supernovas involving the largest stars in the cosmos may be so immensely powerful they leave absolutely nothing behind. Scientists since the 1960s have theorised the existence of these ultra-powerful supernovas, and have now come up with evidence for them — albeit indirect — in research involving black holes and ripples in spacetime called gravitational waves. Such supernovas are predicted to occur in the most enormous stars — those with a mass around 140 to 260 times greater than the sun, according to Hui Tong, a doctoral student in astrophysics at Monash University in Australia and lead author of the study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature. “Despite their enormous mass, they live relatively short lives, about a few million years. For comparison, the sun will live for about 10 billion years, so...

LONDON: Four ships, including one co-owned by a Japanese company and one by a French company, crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday as Iran said it is drafting a peacetime protocol to supervise maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman. The near closing of the Strait due to US-Israeli war against Iran in Middle East has led to fuel shortages and soaring energy prices across the globe. The few vessels that have crossed the chokepoint have passed using an Iranian-approved route through its waters near Larak Island, dubbed the “Tehran Toll Booth” by leading shipping journal Lloyd’s List. Two laden very large crude carrier (VLCC) — the Habrut and the Dhalkut — and one empty Sohar LNG tanker crossed the strait on Thursday morning. The Sohar LNG is the first LNG tanker to have crossed the strait since March 1, when Iranian attacks against ships near the Strait of Hormuz reduced crossings to a near stop. Earlier, a French-owned container ship passed through the Strait of Hormuz, according Marine Tra...

• Vote on Bahrain-led, US-backed resolution postponed twice • Russia, China raise objections to certain parts • Iran warns against ‘provocative move’ UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council remains sharply divided over a Gulf Arab initiative to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies pass. The vote on the resolution, initially scheduled for Thursday, has been postponed twice — first to Friday and then to Saturday — as Bahrain, the current council president and mover of the resolution, intensifies lobbying efforts. The United States has thrown its full support behind the measure. The push comes from member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a political and economic bloc comprising Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain. Formed in 1981 to coordinate security and economic policy among the Arab monarchies bordering the Persian Gulf, the GCC has increasingly acted collectively on regional cris...

• Prices of vegetables, fruits, construction materials, essential commodities also surge • Citizens, businesses reject fuel price increase despite provincial relief measures • LCCI warns of higher production costs, reduced export competitiveness LAHORE: Transporters have incre­ased fares by up to 30 per cent following the recent fuel price hike, stressing that the government’s subsidy was insufficient to offset rising operational costs. Moreover, the record increase in petroleum prices has also caused a massive surge in the prices of vegetables, fruits, construction materials and several other items. On the other hand, the public at large has rejected the sharp increase in fuel prices despite some relief measures announced by the provincial governments. “Why has the government massively increased petroleum prices twice without considering how people, already burdened by inflation, will survive?” a motorist said while speaking to Dawn at a petrol pump in Gulberg on Friday. “From tomorrow onwards, I will stop u...

• Shehbaz declares all cabinet members will forgo salaries for six months • New price effective from today • In late-night televised address, premier outlines reasons behind Thursday’s steep hike • Sindh, Punjab roll out targeted relief ISLAMABAD: Just a day after an unprecedented surge in petroleum prices, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday announced a major relief measure, slashing the petroleum levy by Rs80 per litre and bringing the price of petrol down to Rs378 per litre. In a late-night address to the nation, the prime minister also declared that all federal cabinet members would forgo their salaries for the next six months as part of austerity measures. His seven-minute televised address came after the unprecedented increase in petroleum prices sparked outrage from across the country. Explaining the earlier sharp increase in fuel prices amid the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran, the PM expressed hope that prices would return to pre-war levels once the conflict subsides. “The price of petrol had risen...

• City breaks 41-year-old rain record with 38.7mm downpour in 24 hours • Mercury drops to ‘lowest ever’ night-time temperature in April • Met official warns of two more rain spells KARACHI: Several cities in the province set new records for heavy rains and lowest night and daytime temperatures for the month of April, the Met Office said on Friday. According to the Met department’s data, Karachi saw 38.7 millimetres of rain within 24 hours on Friday — the heaviest rain ever recorded in the month of April in the city. Previously, the highest rainfall for April in a 24-hour period in Karachi was 37mm, which was recorded on April 2, 1985. In the rural parts of the province, light to moderate showers were observed with Dadu seeing 23mm rain in 24-hours, breaking its earlier record of 22mm set on April 14, 2017. The cities which set records in the lowest daytime temperature were: Badin, Dadu, Hyderabad, Jacobabad, Larkana, Mirpurkhas, Padidan, Sakrand, Shaheed Benazirabad and Tandojam. Karachi, however, set a recor...

Iranian and American forces were racing each other early Saturday to recover the crew of the first US fighter jet to go down inside Iran since the start of the war. Tehran said it had shot down the F-15 warplane, while US media reported American special forces had rescued one of two crew members. It was unclear which of the two crew members was recovered, and the US official who confirmed the recovery did not offer any details on how it took place. Iran’s military also said it downed a US A-10 ground attack aircraft in the Gulf, with US media saying the pilot was rescued. A statement from Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al Anbiya central headquarters, said that the F-15 was shot down using Iran’s “new advanced defence system”, and that “an advanced hostile fighter jet was also targeted south of Qeshm Island, crashing into the waters between Qeshm and Hengam Islands”. US Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the loss of the F-15, but White House Press Se...

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan-led initiative to facilitate US-Iran talks has been held up, with Tehran yet to formally respond to proposals for dialogue despite back channel exchanges in recent days, a senior official told Dawn on Friday. The official, who was speaking on background, said some ground had been covered, with messages relayed between Washington and Tehran, but the absence of a clear Iranian signal has slowed momentum at this critical stage. “It is surprising that despite the obliteration of significant naval, air force, and other military and civilian infrastructure, Iran has not responded positively to calls for negotiations,” the official, who is familiar with the discussions, said. He said both Pakistan and China had urged Iran to engage, but “Tehran has so far not conveyed its readiness to take part in the dialogue.” He added that Pakistani leaders, despite Tehran not giving a reply, have remained in contact with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in an effort to...

ISLAMABAD: Pakis­tan has decided to return $3.5 billion in debt to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) before the end of this month, a senior Pakistani official said on Friday. The official described the move as a cost the country was willing to bear to uphold “national dignity,” even as it is set to significantly draw down foreign exch­ange reserves. The official disclosed that Abu Dhabi had sought the immediate return of the amount. “The amount will be returned as soon as possible,” the official said, adding that “national dignity could not be compromised for financial considerations”. These funds were part of external financing support extended by the UAE in 2019 to help stabilise Pakistan’s balance of payments. The official said the dec­i­sion had ended the uncertainty surrounding the deposits placed through the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, which had been rolled over multiple times since 2019. In recent months, the extensions had become as shorter as month long, reflecting Emirati unease over the continuati...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Friday that the government was reducing the petrol levy by Rs80 per litre, after which the commodity would be available to the end consumer for Rs378 per litre. He said the new price would take effect at 12am on Saturday. The premier said this in a televised address to the nation a day after the government announced an unprecedented increase of 43 per cent and 55pc in the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD), respectively. Petroleum levy rates were adjusted to limit the increase in diesel prices — which stand at RsRs520.35 — and its impact on transportation and freight costs. The levy on petrol was increased to Rs160 per litre from Rs105, while it was reduced to zero on diesel from Rs55, sources had told Dawn. Consequently, the petrol price had increased to Rs458 per litre. The premier said after the reduction in levy, the petrol price would now reduce to Rs378 per litre and would remain unchanged for at least one month. The new price would be effective acros...

In a move aimed at providing relief to the public amid the ongoing Middle East crisis, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Friday that the petrol price will be reduced to Rs378 per litre for the next month, accompanied by a cut of Rs80 per litre in the petroleum levy.

A powerful earthquake shook Islamabad and several cities across Pakistan, including Rawalpindi and Peshawar, sending residents rushing out of their homes in panic.

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Friday unveiled a comprehensive relief package featuring free public transport, fuel subsidies and targeted financial support for transporters, aimed at easing the burden on citizens amid rising global economic pressures.

ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ruled that ownership of property cannot be established solely on the basis of an agreement.

ISLAMABAD - Romanian Ambassador to Pakistan Dan Stoenescu has marked a significant moment of cultural diplomacy by presenting the official album and written score of the first-ever professional choral arrangement of Pakistan’s National Anthem (Qaumi Tarana), to Senate Chairman Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Centre, provinces close ranks on targeted relief

Discussions on to convert portion of amount into investment

Family of four among victims; 13 injured in Domel blast