The country’s economy could lose up to $300 million due to internet disruptions caused by the imposition of a national firewall, the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) said in a press release on Thursday. The government is implementing an internet firewall to monitor and regulate content and social media platforms. The government denies the use of the firewall for censorship. Ali Ihsan, senior vice chairman of P@SHA, said the imposition of the firewall has already caused prolonged internet disconnections and erratic performance of virtual private networks, threatening a “complete meltdown of business operations”. “These disruptions are not mere inconveniences; but, a…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
LOS ANGELES: Arizona’s supreme court has ruled that a foetus can be described as an “unborn human being” on ballots when voters decide this November whether to make abortion a constitutional right. Abortion has become a dominant political issue across the United States in this presidential election year, especially in key swing states like Arizona, where President Joe Biden defeated Republican Donald Trump by just 10,000 votes in 2020. The Arizona ballot initiative would allow access to abortions for pregnancies up to 24 weeks after conception, a significant increase from the state’s current 15-week limit. It would also carve out…
Two more cases of mpox, also called monkeypox, have been detected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the provincial health department said on Friday, bringing the nationwide tally to three so far. A day earlier, the first suspected case of mpox this year was reported, prompting the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) to issue an advisory on measures to deal with the disease. The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday declared the outbreak in Africa a public health emergency of international concern, its highest level of alert, after cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) spread to nearby countries. Two of the patients had been…
BANGKOK: Thailand’s ruling alliance on Thursday backed the daughter of divisive tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra to become the next prime minister, a surprise move that could prolong a power struggle and reignite political turmoil. Political newcomer Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 37, will be nominated at a special vote of parliament on Friday and if successful, would become Thailand’s second female premier and the third Shinawatra to hold the top post. The announcement followed a flurry of backroom talks in the 24 hours since a court dismissed Srettha Thavisin as premier, in what was the latest blow for Pheu Thai, the populist juggernaut of the billionaire…
DHAKA: As cases rise against her, including murder accusations, Bangladesh will decide whether to ask India to extradite former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who resigned and fled to New Delhi last week, the country’s de-facto foreign minister Mohammad Touhid Hossain said on Thursday. Hossain said in an interview he did not want to speculate, but noted that Hasina was facing “so many cases”. If the country’s home and law ministries decided, “we have to ask for her…return to Bangladesh”, he said. “That creates an embarrassing situation for the Indian government,” he said, adding that India “knows this and I am sure they will take care of…
DOHA: A new round of Gaza ceasefire talks was underway in the Qatari capital Doha on Thursday afternoon, officials said, with Israel’s spy chief joining his US and Egyptian counterparts and Qatar’s prime minister for the closed-door meeting. The talks began as Gaza health officials reported separately that the death toll in the Palestinian enclave had surpassed 40,000 people, a threshold reached after more than ten months of fighting. The round of negotiations, an effort to end the bloodshed in Gaza and bring 115 Israeli and foreign prisoners home, were put together as Iran appeared on the point of retaliating against Israel…
Kinshasa: The Democratic Republic of Congo said on Thursday an mpox outbreak has killed 548 people there this year, as the first case outside Africa of the virus’s more dangerous variant was recorded in a traveller in Sweden. The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday declared the mpox surge in Africa a global public health emergency, worried by the rise in cases in the DRC and the spread to nearby countries. DRC’s Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba said in a video message that the country “has recorded 15,664 potential cases and 548 deaths since the beginning of the year”, with all provinces affected. Sweden records…
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday he wanted to press ahead with a national common civil code of law, a proposal bitterly opposed by Muslim activists as an attack on their faith. India’s 1.4 billion people are subject to a common criminal law but rules vary on personal matters such as marriage, divorce and inheritance. The proposed civil code would standardise laws across all religious communities but has been bitterly opposed by Muslim activists and liberals as an attack on the largest religious minority. However, the Hindu nationalist leader said during an annual Independence Day address that the…
GENEVA: The UN human rights chief on Thursday deplored the “grim milestone” of 40,000 Palestinians reported killed in Israel’s 10-month assault on Gaza, accusing the country’s military of breaking the “rules of war”. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk blamed Israel for the soaring death toll in the territory. The health ministry in Gaza said on Thursday that the death toll from the conflict had reached at least 40,005 people, with another 92,401 wounded. “Today marks a grim milestone for the world,” Turk said in a statement. “Most of the dead are women and children. This unimaginable situation…
Two teenagers suspected of extreme right-wing terror offences will appear in court in London on Friday, with police saying they both face “extremely serious charges”. Metropolitan Police (the Met) said that an 18-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman were charged on Thursday following a “proactive investigation” by its Counter Terrorism Command unit. Rex William Henry Clark of Ilford, east London, was charged with the preparation of terrorist acts, contrary to the 2006 Terrorism Act. Police charged Sofija Vinogradova of Cheshunt, north of London, with preparation of terrorist acts and two counts of collection of information likely to be useful to…
