Pakistan

.

.

.

Transport costs jump 40% as prices of grocery items soar in open market

.

Accused highlight harsh conditions; say wards built for 80 now hold up to 140

.

.

Beneficiaries to receive Rs10,500 every three months under welfare programme

Not very long ago, there was a time when life moved at a slower pace.

Outside a mosque in Hilliard, Ohio, a police officer stood in the cold night air, handing out candies and stickers to children while their parents prayed taraveh inside. Hilliard, a quiet suburb near Columbus, the state capital, is home to a growing Muslim community. At its centre stands Masjid-i-Noor, a striking modern structure whose wide glass frontage glows softly after sunset. Smaller mosques also serve the area, including Masjid as Shurooq, where the North American Indian Muslim Association (Naima) hosted an iftar dinner for a small group earlier in the evening. Many who broke their fast there later drove a few minutes to join the larger taraveh congregation at Masjid-i-Noor — a reminder that in a small town, distances are short and communities are closely knit. Muslims offering taraveh prayers inside Masjid-i-Noor in Hilliard, Ohio. — Author Inside, worshippers raised their hands in dua, praying for an end to war and for peace in a troubled world. Outside, beneath the glow of parking-lot lights, a unif...

The joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran represent a further erosion of the international legal order. Under international law, these attacks are neither preemptive nor lawful. Israel and the United States launched Operation Shield of Judah and Operation Epic Fury while diplomatic negotiations between Washington and Tehran were actively underway on Iran’s nuclear programme. Just two days earlier [on February 27], the most intense round of US-Iran talks concluded in Geneva, with both sides agreeing to continue. US President Donald Trump indicated he would give negotiators more time. Then came the bombs. Neither preemptive nor legal, US‑Israeli strikes on Iran have blown up international law The illegality of the attack Israel said the strikes were “preventive”, meaning they were to prevent Iran from developing a capacity to be a threat. But preventive war has no legal basis under international law. The UN Security Council did not authorise any military action, meaning the sole lawful pathway for the use of force f...

Tens of thousands of Indian cricket fans crowded the T20 World Cup final stadium on Sunday, and millions more were glued to their televisions, desperate to witness a historic home triumph. India face New Zealand in Ahmedabad as they attempt to become the first team to retain the trophy, the first to win it on home soil and the first to claim a third world T20 crown. Cricket’s T20 showpiece, a month-long tournament of 55 matches featuring 20 teams, concludes on Sunday evening at the 130,000-seat Narendra Modi Stadium, the world’s largest cricket venue. Diehard supporters arrived from across the country, many clad in Indian colours and waving the tricolour flag as the match began. Anil, a wedding photographer, travelled 1,200 kilometres (745 miles) by train from the southern city of Hyderabad with his brother, dreaming they would see their team triumph. “I hope India wins,” said the 18-year-old who goes by only his first name. Hundreds of vendors, all dressed in Indian jerseys, lined the pavement from the neare...

MANDI BAHAUDDIN: Punjab Police on Sunday registered a first information report (FIR) after a 15-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted in a hospital near the district’s King Chowk, officials said. Per officials, the incident allegedly occurred in a private hospital when the victim went there to collect medicines. She was reportedly taken to a room in the facility. The Civil Lines Police Station registered an FIR on the complaint of the victim’s mother against three individuals under Sections 376(3) (punishment for rape of a minor) and 114 (abetment) of the Pakistan Penal Code. One of the suspects was named in the FIR, while the other two had been listed as unidentified individuals, officials said. The FIR stated that the victim went to the hospital with her aunt and uncle. “She excused herself to go to the toilet, but when she didn’t return for a long time, her aunt grew concerned,” the mother stated in the FIR. “The aunt and uncle went to look for the girl and heard someone crying in a room. Upon ope...

War has a way of widening even when some of the actors involved are simultaneously trying to contain it, and the events of the past day in the US-Israel war with Iran offered a striking illustration of this paradox. The conflict is no longer confined to air strikes and the exchange of missiles and drones between adversaries. It is steadily drawing in the economic lifelines of the region, from oil infrastructure to desalination plants, as a diplomatic effort to end Iranian strikes on its neighbours faltered because of a statement by President Donald Trump and subsequent US and Israeli strikes. The diplomatic opening had begun to emerge quietly through regional channels over the preceding 48 hours. Oman and Qatar, supported by several Muslim countries, attempted to facilitate mediation between Tehran and its neighbours, while Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke directly with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The Iranian leader then issued a carefully worded public statement in which he referred to neighbo...

Iranian clerics involved in choosing a successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after his assassination a week ago in US-Israeli strikes say they are close to naming the Islamic Republic’s new supreme leader. Iran’s revolutionary theocracy has never been in greater jeopardy, and with the clerical body tasked with naming a new leader ready for an announcement as soon as Sunday, it is hard to predict what might happen next. Israel and the United States have vowed no let-up in their war, promising to kill whoever replaces Khamenei and even those involved in selecting the new leader — a group that may include the clerics who formally make the choice and the Revolutionary Guardsmen and political insiders who influence them. The following explains how power is meant to operate in the Islamic Republic, how a new supreme leader can be chosen, some of the main candidates, and how the US and Israeli attacks have changed the equation. What is Iran’s ‘Supreme Leader’? Iran’s theocratic system dates to the 1979 revolution that...

A Pakistani driver was killed when “debris from an aerial interception” fell onto a vehicle in Dubai’s Al Barsha area late on Saturday night, according to Dubai Media Office. This is the second instance of a Pakistani national losing his life in an attack in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during the ongoing war between Iran and the US and Israel. The war has expanded in the region, with Iran targeting US assets and bases in Gulf countries and Israel carrying out attacks in Lebanon. The statement by the Dubai Media Office does not specify which projectile was intercepted during Saturday’s incident, or from where it was fired. The Pakistani embassy in the UAE said its consulate in Dubai was in direct contact with local authorities to assist the Pakistani national’s family. “We are profoundly saddened to confirm that a Pakistani national lost his life yesterday in Dubai’s Al Barsha area due to falling debris following the interception of an incoming missile,” the embassy said on X. “Our Consulate General in Duba...

The temperature in Lahore continued to rise on Sunday amid bright sunshine, although light winds provided some relief from the heat.

Caitlin Kalinowski, who oversaw hardware at OpenAI, announced her resignation on Saturday, citing concerns about the company’s agreement with the Department of Defence. In a social media post on X, Kalinowski wrote that OpenAI did not take enough time before agreeing to deploy its AI models on the Pentagon’s classified cloud networks. “AI has an important role in national security,” Kalinowski posted. “But surveillance of Americans without judicial oversight and lethal autonomy without human authorisation are lines that deserved more deliberation than they got. Reuters could not immediately reach Kalinowski for comment, but she wrote on X that while she has “deep respect” for OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and the team, the company announced the Pentagon deal “without the guardrails defined,” she posted. “It’s a governance concern first and foremost,” Kalinowski wrote in a subsequent X post. “These are too important for deals or announcements to be rushed.” OpenAI said the day after the deal was struck that it include...

Pakistan Railways has announced an increase in train fares following a sharp rise in diesel prices, a move that comes just days before Eid-ul-Fitr and is expected to add to the financial burden on passengers.