Pakistan

EDINBURGH: With new head coach Owen Dawkins at the helm, and under the captaincy of Richie Berrington, Scotland have named their squad for their seventh appearance at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Scotland have replaced Bangladesh at the global showpiece being staged jointly by India and Sri Lanka from Feb 7 to March 8. Bangladesh refused to play their World Cup matches in India due to security concerns amid political tensions between New Delhi and Dhaka. The European side had also participated in the inaugural edition of the tournament staged in 2007 in South Africa. Zainullah Ihsan is a first-time call-up, with the Afghan-born fast bowler having recently qualified to play for Scotland. Also in contention is former New Zealand international Tom Bruce, who will boost up their batting line-up. The 34-year-old Bruce has featured in 17 T20 Internationals for the Black Caps before he changed his allegiance to Scotland. Squad: Richie Berrington (captain), Tom Bruce, Matthew Cross, Bradley Currie, Oliver Davidson, C...

The deputy chief minister of India’s wealthiest state of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar, was killed on Wednesday, along with four people on board his charter aircraft that went down in flames, the aviation regulator said. Pawar, who hailed from a top political family, was en route to his home region to canvass in local body elections, media said. Two of his staff and two crew were also aboard the aircraft, the directorate general of civil aviation said. “No person on board has survived,” it added in an initial statement. Pawar backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party in the state government, leading a faction that split in 2023 from the opposition Nationalist Congress Party. Video showed billows of smoke rising from some of the burning wreckage of the plane, scattered across an open field. Media said Pawar’s aircraft, travelling from the financial capital of Mumbai, tried to make an emergency landing in the family stronghold of Baramati, 250 km away, where he was set to canvass in the elections. ...

Seconds after an attacker sprayed US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar with an unidentified liquid at a Minnesota meeting, she confronted the man and then defiantly went on to finish her comments, AFP journalists saw. The Somali-born US lawmaker, a constant target of US President Donald Trump’s attacks, had just called for the president’s homeland security chief to resign in the wake of immigration agents killing two US citizens in a matter of weeks. The attacker, identified by police as 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak, managed to spray Omar before he was tackled and removed from the Tuesday meeting in Minneapolis. She was unharmed, police said. Yet before he was even grabbed, Omar stepped rapidly toward the attacker with her fist raised. The lawmaker then went on to urge the crowd to settle down and listen to herremarks. “Here is the reality that people like this ugly man don’t understand — we are Minnesota strong and we will stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw at us,” Omar said to the meeting of ...

Pakistan today is not confronted with an active external military conflict, nor is it formally at war with any great power.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that Riyadh will not allow its airspace or territory to be used for military actions against Tehran, state news agency SPA reported on Tuesday. In a phone call with Pezeshkian, the crown prince affirmed his country’s support for any “efforts that would resolve differences through dialogue” to bolster security and stability in the region. Earlier, Iranian media reported that Pezeshkian told bin Salman that Tehran welcomes any process, within the framework of international law, that prevents war. The statement by the Saudi de facto ruler follows a similar statement by the United Arab Emirates that it would not allow any military action against Iran using its airspace or territorial waters. Uncertainty over the possibility of military action in Iran has lingered after US President Donald Trump said last week that an “armada” was heading toward the country but that he hoped he would not have to use it. Trump said on Tuesday another US...

Indian authorities said they had ensured “timely containment” of the deadly Nipah virus after two cases were confirmed in West Bengal state. Nipah, spreads from animals to humans, has no vaccine and a fatality rate ranging from 40 to 75 per cent, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). “Enhanced surveillance, laboratory testing, and field investigations were undertaken… which ensured timely containment of the cases,” India’s health ministry said in a statement late Tuesday. It did not give further details on the two infected patients. “The situation is under constant monitoring, and all necessary public health measures are in place”, it added, saying 196 contacts linked to the cases had been traced, and all were negative. Nipah was first identified in 1998 after it spread among pig farmers in Malaysia. In India, the first Nipah outbreak was reported in West Bengal in 2001. In 2018, at least 17 people died from Nipah in Kerala, and in 2023, two people died from the virus, also in the southern state. ...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has summoned the federal cabinet meeting to be held today (Wednesday).

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Army troops, with the help of heavy machinery, are continuing rescue and relief operations in snowfall-hit areas across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).

Pakistan and Australia have held discussions on expanding bilateral cooperation in the mining and gemstones sectors amid growing international interest in Pakistan’s mineral resources.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast cold and dry weather for most parts of the country over the next 24 hours, while very cold conditions are expected to continue in hilly areas.

ISLAMABAD: S&P Global Market Intelligence has projected a strengthening of Pakistan’s macroeconomic outlook in the current and next fiscal years, endorsing the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) projections. Real GDP to expand 3.5 per cent in FY26, before strengthening to 4.4pc in FY27, it said while commenting on SBP’s monetary policy decision that kept benchmark interest rate unchanged at 10.5pc on Monday. This is generally in line with SBP that projected real GDP growth in the range of 3.75-4.75pc in 2025-26, reflecting stronger-than-anticipated momentum in commodity-producing sectors and spillovers to services. This momentum is expected to extend into FY27, aided by earlier monetary easing and ongoing macroeconomic stability. These projections are relatively higher than 3.2pc growth rate projected by the International Monetary Fund last week, down from 3.6pc of its previous estimate. On the external front, the SBP projected the current account deficit to remain within 0-1pc of GDP in FY26. With continued remi...

Terms migration 'routine annual' exercise; Says IBOs more effective; Denies any military operation underway

Reaffirms parliament's exclusive legislative competence in taxation

K-P CM warns against 'closed-door decisions', decries 'forced displacement' during winter

Two leaders explore new opportunities in trade and people-to-people exchanges

In private sector transaction, Pakistan will import 6m barrels of WTI oil

Local rates dip Rs1,500/tola while international prices surge past $5,000/oz

BoI minister reviews SEZ progress at FIEDMC, industry flags logistics and investment issues

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Aluminium ore shipments surge over 4,700% as mineral trade diversifies