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ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet meeting on Thursday ratified the decisions taken by Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and approved signing of Framework Arrangement amounting to $500 million with Republic of Korea. The meeting of the federal cabinet held in Islamabad today (Thursday) with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair. The prime minister, during the meeting, apprised the cabinet about the decision to permit construction of high rise building in the Federal Capital. The prime minister said that vertical structure was need of the hour in view of increased population and fast depleting green belts especially in major cities of the country. According to a statement released from the ministry, the decisions of Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) during its meeting held on February 19 and Cabinet Committee for Disposal of Legislative Cases (CCLC) in its meeting on February 26 were also ratified. The cabinet granted exception to the Federal Investigation Agency from the prov

HANOI: Ready with an ashtray at a railway station, taking away gifts of flowers and giving directions to staff, Kim Yo Jong has been rushed off her feet as personal secretary to her brother and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam. Kim Yo Jong, who holds the title of vice director of the ruling Workers’ Party, came to the world’s attention at the Winter Olympics in South Korea a year ago, when her big smile and relaxed manner made her a hit with many south of the DMZ. But it has been non-stop for her on the trip to Hanoi, trailing her brother during his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, her hair neatly half swept back in trademark fashion, making sure everything goes like clockwork. Kim Yo Jong, 29, in high heels and black two-piece suit, was ubiquitous even before her brother, a stickler for cleanliness, arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday. As Kim Jong Un took a cigarette break at a railway station in the southern Chinese city of Nanning, she approached him holding a

NEW DELHI: India’s economy lost momentum in the approach to a general election, with the annual growth rate slipping to 6.6 percent in the October-December quarter, dragged down by weaker consumer demand. A Reuters poll of economists had forecast growth of 6.9 percent for the latest quarter, compared with a downwardly revised 7.0 percent in July-September. The Statistics Ministry also revised the economic growth estimate for the current fiscal year ending March to 7.0 percent from an earlier estimate of 7.2 percent. The data for 2018’s last quarter comes amid tension between India and Pakistan following tit-for-tat air strikes in the wake of a February 14 suicide car bombing that killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir. Some economists said if the tensions escalate, it could dissuade foreign investors from entering India and hit tourist inflows, impacting growth slightly in coming quarters. The quarterly data released on Thursday is the last to be published befor

A joint session of Parliament was held on Thursday to discuss rising tension with India in the wake of the Pulwama attack and subsequent airstrikes by both countries. Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was the first to speak, thanked the opposition for standing by the government "at a time when Pakistan is facing an external threat". Talking about the ongoing tensions between Pakistan and India, the prime minister said that despite his government's multiple overtures of peace, the response from New Delhi had not been encouraging. "We realised that it was because of upcoming elections in India," he said and added that the government decided to wait until the polls in India were over before making another offer for talks. However, he disclosed, he had "feared they (India) would do something". He told the Parliament that after an Indian aircraft violated Pakistan's airspace in the wee hours of Tuesday, he had a meeting with Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed

LAHORE: The Supreme Court on Thursday dissolved the managing body of Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute (PKLI), ARY News reported.  Hearing the case at the Lahore registry, a three-member bench of the SC, headed by Justice Manzoor Malik lifted ban on PKLI President Dr Saeed Akhter’s foreign travel. The court directed to run the PKLI’s administrative matters as per law and asked the affectees to approach the concerned forum. Read More:  PKLI case: SC dismayed at Punjab govt’s performance Earlier, then Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, on January 6, had came down hard on Punjab Health Minister Yasmeen Rashid over the provincial government’s performance in the health sector. A two-judge bench, headed by the chief justice, reprimanded the minister over failure to comply with the court directives for carrying out first ever pediatric liver transplant at the Pakistan Liver and Kidney Research Institute (PKLI). “The institute had been given to private individuals despi

Prince William has launched a withering broadside at football clubs, lambasting them for a “dereliction of duty” in their lack of care for players’ mental health. Prince William, who along with younger brother Prince Harry have spoken openly about their own mental health issues, said clubs appeared to only see the players as investments not as human beings. Prince William, who is the President of English football’s governing body the Football Association (FA), made the remarks during a meeting at Windsor Park, the home of the Irish Football Association in Belfast. “Some clubs don’t do anything about mental health. We’ve got to change the whole way we look after players,” the 36-year-old Prince said to members of Ahead of the Game, an organisation that delivers mental health support to grassroots football clubs. “Many players come from difficult backgrounds and may have all sorts of issues going on. So just to have them as a complete financial asset…it’s a dereliction of duty, I t

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MUZAFFARABAD: Unprovoked Indian firing across Line of Control (LoC) have compelled hundreds of families living along the restive LoC in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to be shifted to safer places. At least four civilians including a child were martyred in unprovoked Indian forces firing along the Line of Control on February 27. According to the details, four persons including three women and a child were martyred and 11 other civilians were injured and transferred to hospitals. Indian troops used to targeted civilian population along different sectors of the LoC. A resident of Chakothi, Khalid Mehmood told the journalists that he was among many families from the area which had moved to safer place. He said that only those families had stayed back which had concrete bunkers built within or along their houses. It is pertinent to mention here that the federal government sanctioned a scheme for construction of community protection bunkers in the vulnerable areas along LoC. Read More: F

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A horrified Australian traveller discovered a suspected human tooth in a meal on a Singapore Airlines flight, prompting the carrier Thursday to apologise and launch an investigation. Bradley Button was eating rice on the flight on Tuesday when he heard a crunch and spat out what appeared to be a molar. “For the rest of the flight I was not well, just the idea of having someone else’s body part in my food is not nice,” he told the Australian Associated Press. He said a flight attendant was “adamant” that she needed to take the object away for testing and that it was a small rock. “It was without a shadow of a doubt a tooth,” he added. After the discovery, Button said he was given a voucher to use on the airline’s duty-free products. Singapore Airlines confirmed that a customer travelling on a service from Wellington to Melbourne found “what appeared to be a foreign object in their meal”. “We sincerely apologise to the customer for this negative experience and for the inconvenien

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HONG KONG: Two Saudi sisters fleeing what they described as beatings in their home country face a deadline for deportation from Hong Kong within hours unless authorities extend their stay . The pair, aged 18 and 20, whose identities have not been revealed in a bid to secure their safety, say they could face death if they are deported. Their lawyer, Michael Vidler, said the immigration department had acknowledged their request and were hopeful a visa extension beyond Thursday’s deadline would be granted. “We are in fear every day we are in Hong Kong. We want to leave to a third country place of safety as soon as possible. We desperately hope that this will happen very soon,” the sisters said in a statement issued by their lawyer. The sisters arrived in Hong Kong in September 2018 after running away from a family holiday in Sri Lanka. They have applied for asylum in an unidentified third country. While fleeing through Hong Kong, they were prevented from boarding a flight to Austral

ISLAMABAD: In the wake of tension between Pakistan and India, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday said that the nation should be ready for every situation. Talking to journalist, outside the parliament house, Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that If there was de-escalation with the return of the Indian pilot, Pakistan was willing to consider this. He said that they were ready for all positive engagement with India. While talking about Indian participation in Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting, FM Qureshi said that Indian should not have been invited in the conference on Kashmir and added that New Delhi even had not the status of observer. The foreign minister said that he had decided not to attend the OIC meeting if Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj would attend the meeting. He said the Pakistan was the founder member of OIC. Read More:  FM Qureshi telephones OIC chief, protests over inviting India Earlier, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi,

BRUSSELS: Google, Facebook and Twitter have fallen short of their pledges to combat fake news, three months before key European elections, the European Commission said on Thursday. The tech companies and trade bodies representing the advertising industry signed up to a voluntary code of conduct in October to tackle the spread of fake news, aiming to stave off more heavy-handed legislation. Brussels is keen to address the threat of fake news or foreign interference during campaigning for the European Parliament elections in May and also for national elections in Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Poland, Portugal and Ukraine in the coming months. Europe’s Security Commissioner Julian King criticised the lack of progress on cracking down on fake news made by the three companies based on their monthly reports. “Sadly they have fallen further behind. They need to live up to the standards we are asking of them, and that they signed up to,” King said in a tweet. Facebook has n

Indian Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday hailed Prime Minister Imran Khan’s announcement of releasing IAF’s arrested Pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan. Expressing his views with an Indian news agency ANI, Singh said he is very happy that Wing Commander Abhinandan will be released by Pakistan as a peace gesture and added he demanded his release earlier too. “This is going to be a step towards goodwill and I hope this will be lasting,” he said. Prime Minister Imran Khan while addressing a joint parliamentary session in the wake of soaring tensions between India and Pakistan, announced to release the captured Indian pilot, Abhinandan, as a gesture of peace. Read more:  India asks YouTube to take down videos of Abhinandan After presenting a tribute to the opposition and the entire nation for standing united during the recent time, PM Khan asserted “to not misconstrue Pakistan’s desire for de-escalation as weakness.” Wing Commander Abhinandan Pakistan Air Force (PAF)

MUMBAI: India has asked Alphabet’s YouTube to take down some videos showing an Indian pilot captured by Pakistan after an air strike conducted by New Delhi in neighbouring territory this week, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Thursday. YouTube has already complied with the Indian government’s order, said the source, who asked not to be identified as the request was not public. “We comply with valid legal requests from authorities wherever possible, consistent with our longstanding policy and act quickly to remove such material,” said a spokesman for the company, while not commenting on the exact nature of the videos it had taken down. Prime Minister Imran Khan said today that the Indian pilot is being released on Friday, in a bid to calm tensions between the two countries.  The IAF pilot was arrested after a PAF operation in which the force downed two Indian fighter jets. “I’m wing commander Abhinandan and my service number is 27981,” the arrested Indian pil

KARACHI: A judge at the city court sent six accused of supplying drugs at colleges and farm houses, to jail on judicial remand, ARY News reported on Thursday. Police produced the accused members of a gang in the court, which was supplying drugs to students at educational institutions. The police had arrested the accused from the Drigh Road railway station. The accused identified as Abdul Rahim Mama, Rohail, Waqas alias Wikki, Humaira, Laiba and Muskan. According to police the accused gang members were supplying drugs at various educational institutions and farm houses across the city. The police claimed to have recovered a large quantity of drugs and illegal weapons from the accused. Earlier, the Gulshan Iqbal police had earlier arrested another gang of drug peddlers and seized over four kilograms of hashish, 50 packets of heroin, four pistols and 15 mobile phones from them, SSP East told the media. He said that Shakir was the ringleader of the gang and the held suspects were a

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LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit Lahore tomorrow (Friday), where he will chair the meeting of Punjab cabinet, ARY News reported on Thursday. According to well-informed sources, PM Imran Khan will be briefed about the ongoing development schemes in the province, while matters pertaining to tensions with India will also come under discussion. The premier will also meet Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar and exchange views on the various issues. In his last visit to Lahore on December 22, 2018, Prime Minister Imran Khan also chaired a meeting of the Punjab cabinet and reviewed performance of the ministers. Prime minister directed the provincial ministers to make sure serving the people of the province without any discrimination. Read more:  PM Khan chairs high-level meetings in Lahore Following the provincial cabinet session, the premier addressed a ceremony of textile exporters. He said that government was trying to overcome the current financial crunch, which was inh

ISLAMABAD: Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said India would have to give Kashmiris their right to self-determination, otherwise the conflict would not be resolved, ARY News reported. “Wars are no solution to any issue as after all you have to sit on the table in the end,” Shehbaz Sharif said while addressing the joint session of the parliament over escalating tension between Pakistan and India. It was not the first time that Pakistan-India escalation had taken place, we have fought several wars earlier and wasted our resources, he said. The former Punjab chief minister said the Kashmir conflict should be resolved according to the wishes of Kashmiris. Read More:  PM Khan announces release of Indian pilot as a gesture of peace “The world should understand that there will never be peace in Kashmir if Indian brutalities continued,” he said. He refuted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s allegation on Pakistan for involvement in the Pulwama atta

RAWALPINDI: Armed forces of Pakistan are on high alert along the Line of Control (LoC) and ready for any eventuality, the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Thursday. As per statement released by the military’s media wing, here today, troops of Pakistan Army are on high alert along the LoC to deal with any Indian aggression. Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Navy are also on high alert, it added. The ISPR said “During the last 48 hours, Indian troops have resorted to increased ceasefire violations in Kotli, Khuiratta and Tatta Pani Sectors along LoC, Pakistan Army troops have been responding effectively.” Read more:  U.S. acting Pentagon chief focused on de-escalating India-Pakistan tensions Citizens were also advised not to believe on rumours that are making rounds on the social media about martyrdom of four Pakistani citizens and injuries to two others. The soaring tensions reached a new height between the two neighbouring countries as two fighter jets of Indian Air

ISLAMABAD: Indian media on Thursday lashed out at Congress leader and former Indian cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu for talking peace, ARY News reported. Talking to media over the ongoing escalation between India and Pakistan, Sidhu said the issue of terrorism would be resolved through peace only. “We need to resolve problems through talks,” he said.  The peace-loving Indian leader, who had arrived in Pakistan to attend Kartarpur Border Corridor ceremony in November last year, said issues were not resolved through creating hatred and intimidation. Read More:  Indian extremists threaten to blow up Karachi Bakery PAF shoots down two IAF jets Two fighter jets of Indian Air Force were shot down by Pakistan Air Force in a broad day light on Wednesday, said Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Asif Ghafoor. According to the DG ISPR, Indian fighter jets violated Line of Control (LoC) today, and in a robust response, the PAF destroyed two aircraft of IAF

KARACHI: A Sindh High Court bench on Thursday heard sugar mills owners petition against the new sugarcane price set by the Sindh government. The provincial government had fixed the price of commodity at Rs182 per 40 kilograms. The mills owners had challenged the new price in a petition filed in December calling the price unviable for the millers. The counsel of the sugar mills owners argued before the bench today that notification of the sugarcane price was issued without approval of the government. The lawyer contended that according to the Supreme Court’s interpretation the government means the cabinet and the sugarcane price was notified without approval of the provincial cabinet. The Additional Advocate General said that the high court had ordered the government to fix to fix the price of the commodity. The government counsle said that under the rules of business the secretary has authority to take decision. He said consultation with the cabinet over fixation of the price is

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan while addressing a joint parliamentary session in the wake of soaring tensions between India and Pakistan, announced to release the captured Indian pilot as a gesture of peace. After presenting a tribute to the opposition and the entire nation for standing united during the tough time, PM Khan asserted “to not misconstrue Pakistan’s desire for de-esclation as weakness.” He again urged India not to go beyond this point of aggression. “All issues should be resolved through dialogue.” Referring to Feb 14 Pulwama attack, PM Khan regretted that Pakistan was blamed within 30 minutes following the incident. “I am not saying India was involved in Pulwama attack but tell us how it can benefit Pakistan?” the premier questioned recalling series of important events scheduled in Pakistan during the same time period. “We did ask India to give evidences” and assured them of taking an action, but rather than providing proofs, India started warmongering, he lam

The joint session of Parliament called to discuss the rising tension with India has started in Islamabad. "The only purpose of our strike was to demonstrate our capability and will," said Prime Minister Imran Khan while addressing the House. "We did not want to inflict any casualty on India as we wanted to act in a responsible manner." PM Khan said he tried to call Indian PM Narendra Modi on the phone yesterday because "escalation is not in our interests nor in India's". A day earlier, top political leadership of the country was given an in-camera briefing at the Parliament House on the prevailing security situation and a sharp escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan after the Pulwama suicide attack. Details to follow from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/2EBl0sD via IFTTT

The joint session of Parliament called to discuss the rising tension with India has started. Prime Minister Imran Khan is also in attendance and is expected to address the house. A day earlier, top political leadership of the country was given an in-camera briefing at the Parliament House on the prevailing security situation and a sharp escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan after the Pulwama suicide attack. Details to follow from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/2tHJtWE via IFTTT

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir is visiting Islamabad on Thursday (today), to convey an important message of Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman to Pakistan. The development comes after a telephonic conversation between Qureshi and Adel al-Jubeir last night about regional peace. “Saudi foreign minister is visiting Pakistan today along with an important message from Saudi crown prince,” Qureshi said. The Saudi crown prince during his recent visit to Pakistan , had said that the brotherly relationship between the kingdom and Pakistan focus on the principle of Islamic solidarity. Read more:  Saudi crown prince, foreign minister dismiss Indian allegations on Pakistan “The founding fathers for both countries established these relations on the principles of truthfulness, common understanding and mutual respect that go back to the first days of the establishment of Pakistan, post-World War II,” he continued. The prince furthe

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday welcomed the statement of US President Donald Trump about interference to de-escalate tension between Pakistan and India, ARY News reported. Briefing media following the cabinet meeting in Islamabad, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Pakistan had decades old relations with the United States and its interference would be helpful in establishment of peace in the region. He said President Donald Trump had decided to interfere in view of prevailing tense situation in the region. Read More:  Trump says hopefully India, Pakistan conflict coming to an end The foreign minister said India was jeopardising the peace of the region for political objectives while Pakistan was trying its utmost for the peace in the region. He said the BJP leaders were themselves admitting that India had violated Pakistan’s airspace for political objectives and now their party would achieve extra twenty two seats in Lok Sabha during the upcoming elections. Shah Mehmood

This guy who termed Indian Air Force pilots as “Baahubalis” after the protagonist from an Indian blockbuster movie, his body language and the overall description of a so-called air strike by India has made him a laughing stock in Pakistan. As Indian Air Force (IAF) violated the Line of Control (LoC) and ran away after releasing their payload in Balakot, Indian media and government immediately started terming it “surgical strike 2” and claimed that some 300 “terrorists” were killed in the 21-minute operation. Pakistani social media ridiculed this baseless claim and made a number of hilarious memes, this Indian anchor Shrivardhan Trivedi from ABP News’ crime show ‘Sansani’ caught everyone’s attention. His dressing sense, dialogue delivery and the way he described the totally fictitious air strike has had everyone laughing in Pakistan. Not only people shared the promo of his show but heartily laughed at his antics. #Baahubali ki aik sansani kahani! https://t.co/cs1GMV1CTi — must

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ISLAMABAD: Foreign office Spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal has confirmed that a dossier regarding the Pulwama incident was received from India on Thursday and action will be taken on any actionable intelligence if found there, ARY News reported. “Pakistan has assured India to take action on any actionable intelligence,” he said while addressing a media briefing in Islamabad. Dr Muhammad Faisal reiterated that Pakistan was ready for dialogue with India on all issues including terrorism. Read More:  Indian extremists threaten to blow up Karachi Bakery over its name He said the issue of Kashmir was the core one and would always be integral to any such dialogue. About the escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan, the spokesperson said, “We have activated the UN Military Observer Group for India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) and the group will be taken for a visit to the site where the Indian Air Force jets were shot down.” He said the arrested Indian pilot was safe and sound. It wo

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhuwa Mehmood Khan on Thursday said Pakistan does not want war, but reserves the right to retaliate against any cross-border aggression, ARY news reported. He was chairing an emergency meeting of the provincial cabinet in Peshawar today to review arrangements made to counter any eventuality following the tensions with India. The meeting briefed the KP CM that all the concerned departments are vigilant to face any situation. “All concerned authorities are on standby, while the Pakistan Army is safeguarding the border,” Addressing the participants of the meeting, CM Mehmood Khan warned India not to soar the tensions with Pakistan, “The nation is firm united for a befitting response.against any attack.” Read more:  Emergency declared in all hospitals of Punjab Pakistan desires for peace and stability in South Asia, whereas Indian side is more interested in war. He urged the people of the province to keep an eye on their surroundings so that e

In light of the ongoing tensions between Pakistan and India, operations of the Samjhota Express have been suspended temporarily, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday. A press statement by the Foreign Office (FO) said that the operations will resume "as soon as the security situation improves between India and Pakistan". The Samjhota Express runs twice a week (Monday and Thursday) from Lahore to Attari via the Wagah railway station. Yesterday, the Pakistan Railways had said that the train would depart for Attari at 8am as usual. Security arrangements across Pakistan have been tightened in light of tensions between the two neighbouring countries. Flight operations were suspended when Pakistani airspace was closed to commercial flights on Wednesday. Tensions between the neighbouring countries escalated after an Indian aircraft violated Pakistan's airspace on Tuesday. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had "immediately scrambled" and the Indian pla

Two unidentified gunmen opened fire on Peshawar High Court (PHC) judge Justice Ayub Khan's car on Thursday morning while he was on his way to the high court, police said. The judge and his driver, both of whom suffered injuries were shifted to a private hospital, Superintendent of Police (SP) Wasim Riaz said, adding that the victims were out of danger. The incident took place in a residential area in Hayatabad's Phase V, SP Riaz said. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Zahoor Afridi said that a 9mm Kalashnikov had been used by the gunmen, who fled the scene after the attack. The police have launched a probe and recorded the statements of two eyewitnesses so far, SSP Afridi told the media. He said that the police were also investigating why a security guard had not been accompanying the injured judge. from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/2VrAODQ via IFTTT

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan officially conveyed to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Wednesday that it may have to boycott the upcoming OIC’s foreign ministers conclave if the invitation extended to the Indian external affairs minister to be guest of honour at its inaugural session is not withdrawn. In a letter written to OIC Secretary General Dr Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Pakistan had asked the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to withdraw the invitation to Indian external affairs minister or else it would be compelled to reconsider its decision to attend the meet. Mr Qureshi’s letter invites OIC’s attention towards the deteriorating security situation in the region after violation of the Line of Control (LoC) by India. He said Indian planes intruded Pakistani airspace from Muzaffarabad sector of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and were forced to fly back by the Pakistan Air Force. FM Qureshi tells OIC that Pakistan may have to boycott Abu Dha

WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court ordered Wednesday a hearing to determine whether a death row inmate with dementia is competent enough to understand why the state of Alabama wants to execute him. The case involves Vernon Madison, who was convicted of killing a police officer in 1985. The court ruled 5-3 that a psychological evaluation of Madison, who was supposed to have been put to death last year, had not been thorough enough to carry out the sentence without fear of violating a constitutional ban on “cruel and unusual” punishment. The judges ordered a state court in Alabama to evaluate Madison again. Madison, who is in his 60s, was convicted in 1994, and while in prison suffered strokes in 2015 and 2016 that severely diminished his mental faculties. His lawyers say he is now practically blind, cannot walk on his own and suffers from urinary incontinence. They say he does not remember the crime or his trial. The court has previously ruled that people who cannot understand why

KARACHI: Extremists in India’s Bengaluru city have threatened a bakery named after Pakistan’s largest city Karachi of blowing it up over its name, ARY News reported. The radicals threatened Karachi Bakery owner to change its name or they will blow it up with a bomb.  Indian media reported that the manager of the bakery had been called and ordered to change his bakery’s name. Read More:  Pakistan ready for dialogue, had no choice but to retaliate: PM Imran A day ago, some violent elements had created furious commotion outside the bakery over its name. This may be noted that in Pakistan’s Hyderabad city there is a very famous bakery named after an Indian city, Bombay Bakery, but no Pakistani would have thought for a second to damage it in any way. Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday addressed the nation after Pakistan’s robust response to Indian aggression wherein  Pakistan Air Force shot down two Indian fighter jets  and arrested two pilots. The premier after taking the nat

WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed its first major gun safety measure in a quarter century, a landmark bill that would expand background checks to virtually all firearm sales. While the effort managed to draw a handful of Republicans and was deemed a historic step by newly empowered Democrats and gun control advocates, it is unlikely to advance in the Republican-controlled Senate. Should it become law, the bill would expand criminal background checks to nearly all gun sales, closing loopholes in federal law requiring such inspections when firearms are sold by licensed dealers but allowing private citizens to sell and transfer guns to one another without any background check. Federal laws currently require the checks only for sales by federally licensed dealers. The new legislation would ensure buyers are vetted for private sales online and at gun shows. Several Democrats praised the legislation while offering reminders that in recent years, with Republ

“For me, the war is now over.” If words alone carry weight, there are hopes that a brutal conflict in Democratic Republic of Congo may draw to an end. The words were spoken by Mado, a hard-eyed child fighter all of 12-years-old from the deeply-feared Kamuina Nsapu militia in central Kasai region. Along with several dozen adults, the young girl marched out of the brush and into the town of Kananga, some 700 kilometres (450 miles) east of Kinshasa, where they surrendered their weapons. There they laid down old rifles, machetes and good-luck charms at the governor’s feet following the surprising victory of Felix Tshisekedi who was elected president after December’s elections. Like most of the Kamwina Nsapu fighters, Tshisekedi comes from the Luba tribe. With them were two other children — one aged about 10 who had a red bandana around his head and a large hunting knife in his hand. Red is the colour of the militia, which mixes politics with mysticism and took up arms against Kinsha

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ISLAMABAD: The operation of Samjhota Express has been suspended on Thursday, in view of the prevailing tensions between Pakistan and India. “Samjhota Express will resume its operations as soon as the security situation improves between India and Pakistan,” said the Foreign Office in a statement. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Thursday announced that the suspension of flight operations will last till midnight for all domestic and international airlines across Pakistan. The airspace of the country will remain closed for a second day amid escalating tensions with India. Read More:  Pakistan, India need to choose from between peace, conflict: Asad Umar All flight operations across the country have been suspended till midnight, the CAA said. “Since the existing NOTAM is effective until 2359HRS of February 28 , Pakistan airspace shall remain closed. Please stay in touch with your airlines for timely update on any further changes,” the CAA tweeted. Indian media has also reporte