SYDNEY: France declared a state of emergency on the Pacific island of New Caledonia on Wednesday after three young indigenous Kanak and a police official were killed in riots over electoral reform. The state of emergency will give authorities additional powers to ban gatherings and forbid people from moving around the French-ruled island. Police reinforcements have been sent — and more are on the way — after rioters torched vehicles and businesses and looted stores. Schools have been shut and there is already a curfew in the capital. Rioting broke out over a new bill, adopted by lawmakers in Paris…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
BEIJING: Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in China on Thursday to meet his “dear friend” Xi Jinping as he seeks to win greater support from Beijing for his war effort in Ukraine and his isolated economy. It will be Putin’s first trip abroad since his March re-election and his second in just over six months to China, an economic lifeline for Russia after the West hit it with unprecedented sanctions over its military offensive in Ukraine. Xi, who returned last week from a three-nation tour of Europe, has rebuffed Western criticism of Beijing’s ties with Moscow, enjoying cheap Russian energy…
GAZA: Palestinians commemorated the 1948 “Nakba” or catastrophe, on Wednesday, marking the time when hundreds of thousands were dispossessed of their homes in the war at the birth of the state of Israel, as fighting raged amid the rubble in Gaza. The Nakba has been one of the defining experiences for Palestinians for more than 75 years, helping to shape their national identity and casting its shadow on their conflicted relationship with Israel in the decades since. This year’s commemoration has been dominated by the plight of around two million Palestinians in Gaza, most of whom are living in temporary…
Leaders Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin framed their nations’ ties as a stabilising force in a chaotic world as they met Thursday in Beijing, where the Russian president is seeking greater Chinese support for his war effort in Ukraine and isolated economy. It is Putin’s first trip abroad since his March re-election and the second in just over six months to China, an economic lifeline for Russia after the West hit it with unprecedented sanctions over its military offensive in Ukraine. Putin was greeted by Xi at a grand welcoming ceremony outside Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, footage by state broadcaster CCTV showed. In a meeting, Xi…
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad police chief Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi held meetings with senior police officers at the Central Police Office to discuss the revamping of the Investigation Wing and reforms in the Special Protection Unit, Anti-Riot Unit, Counter-Terrorism Department and Special Branch. The senior police officers include heads of the Investigation Wing, Special Protection Unit, Anti-Riot Unit, Counter-Terrorism Department, and Special Branch. The heads of the the Investigation Wing and the Special Protection Unit, Anti-Riot Unit, Counter-Terrorism Department, and Special Branch presented their reports on the reforms. IG Islamabad reviewed the reports and issued further orders. The IG said that…
TAXILA: Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider on Wednesday said Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had joined forces with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to address both economic and political crises in the best interest of the public. Addressing the party workers convention in his hometown of Pindigheb on Tuesday evening, Governor Haider said: “Joining hands with the PML-N is the need of the hour for the sake of the country.” He stressed the need to set aside political differences and expressed his commitment to maintaining cordial ties with the PML-N-led provincial government while affirming that his office would assert its position…
ISLAMABAD: The study by Islamabad-based think tank has blamed the obsolete and inefficientpower plants for circular debt crisis in the country. The report by Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) highlighted the challenges facing Pakistan’s power sector and criticised the officials for their deliberate negligence. The report titled ‘Circular Debt Reduction Is Possible In a Single Click to Save Pakistan from Financial Catastrophe and Destabilisation’ has been compiled by Engineer Arshad Abbasi. It has been noted that deliberate non-use or under-utilisation of the most efficient power plants and continued payments to highly inefficient and outdated power plants are at…
ISLAMABAD: As the Centre prepares the federal budget, set to be presented next month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday directed the authorities concerned to take all provincial governments on board so that the document could be finalised through mutual consultation. The prime minister expressed these views during a meeting with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah at the PM House. The prime minister said the Centre will help address the problems confronting the provinces. In a separate meeting, the PM emphasised the need to ensure that PSDP aligns with the annual development programmes of the provinces. He also the…
KARACHI: A university student lost his life but killed two suspected muggers in a gun battle near New Sabzi Mandi on Superhighway in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, police and his relatives said. Also on Wednesday, another citizen shot dead a suspected robber in Korangi. They said that Sheikh Muhammad Nihal, 22, and his uncle Sheikh Muhammad Ayaz were returning to their home in North Nazimabad on a motorbike after attending a dinner late on Tuesday night. SITE-Superhighway SHO Zulfiqar Bhangwar said that they were intercepted by armed muggers, also riding a motorbike, near Jamali Pul. However, Sheikh Nihal,…
LAHORE: The Punjab government of Maryam Nawaz is introducing new defamation law in a bid to ‘stop fake news’. “A person who lies under the guise of a journalist with a specific agenda will face the music under this proposed law,” Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari told journalists here on Wednesday. As the defamation bill 2024 is being tabled in the Punjab Assembly for approval, the government has asked all journalist bodies to submit their concerns by May 19. The opposition in the Punjab Assembly is of the opinion that the PML-N government wants to curb freedom of speech in…
