Indian authorities have arrested four people accused of “trafficking” Indian citizens to fight for the Russian army in Ukraine. Two years since Russia’s invasion began, tens of thousands of its soldiers have been killed in Ukraine and Moscow has been on a global quest for more troops. At least two Indian soldiers have been killed in the conflict, with several recruits telling AFP they were shipped to the frontlines under false pretenses. A statement published by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) late on Tuesday said four men had been arrested, including one who had worked in Russia as a translator for a network facilitating…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
RAFAH: Israel sent tanks into Rafah in southern Gaza, seizing control of the border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday, an operation the UN said denied it access to the key humanitarian passage. The military’s thrust into the eastern sector of the city packed with displaced civilians came with negotiators and mediators due in Cairo in the latest effort towards a prisoner release and ceasefire in the seven-month-old Israeli offensive. A senior Hamas official, requesting anonymity to discuss the negotiations, warned that it would be Israel’s “last chance” to free the estimated 128 prisoners still held in the Palestinian territory, including…
Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca on Wednesday said it was withdrawing Covid vaccine Vaxzevria, one of the first produced in the deadly pandemic, citing “commercial reasons” following a slump in demand. “As multiple, variant Covid-19 vaccines have since been developed there is a surplus of available updated vaccines. This has led to a decline in demand for Vaxzevria, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied,” an AstraZeneca spokesperson added in a statement. “We will now work with regulators and our partners to align on a clear path forward to conclude this chapter and significant contribution to the Covid-19 pandemic.” AstraZeneca rapidly…
The Afghan defence ministry on Wednesday rejected Pakistan’s claim that the plot to kill five Chinese engineers in the Bisham attack was hatched in Afghanistan. The statement comes a day after Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Maj-Gen Ahmed Sharif said that the planning for the attack was done in Afghanistan and the suicide bomber was also its national. “Terrorists and their facilitators were also being controlled from Afghanistan and the suicide bomber was also an Afghan national,” the ISPR DG had stated. He had also listed other terror incidents, including by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), that he said continued from Afghan soil despite repeated…
RAWALPINDI: Day temperatures are likely to soar this week; however, Met Office forecast rain/thunderstorm in northern parts of the country from May 10 to May 12. The day temperatures are likely to increase due to high pressure in the upper atmosphere particularly in the southern half of the country. However, it added, a westerly wave was likely to enter western parts of the country on May 10 (evening/night) and likely to grip upper parts on May 11. Under the influence of this weather system, day temperatures are likely to remain 3-5°C centigrade above normal from May 8 to 10 in…
ISLAMABAD: As the world has made strides in sexual and reproductive health and rights over the last 30 years, the number of women who cannot benefit from this is still in millions. These observations were made on Tuesday when UNFPA launched the annual report on the State of the World Population 2024 under the theme ‘Interwoven Lives, Threads of Hope: Ending Inequalities in sexual and reproductive health and rights’. It said the way forward was only through an inclusive future. The numbers and statistics delineated how discrimination continued to block broad gains in sexual and reproductive health for women and girls in…
ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Tuesday sought reply from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on an application of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, seeking his acquittal in a reference related to Toshakhana vehicles. Judge Nasir Javed Rana of the accountability court asked NAB’s prosecution to submit reply by May 23. The judge was hearing the reference against President Asif Ali Zardari and supreme leader of the ruling PML-N Nawaz Sharif for allegedly obtaining luxury vehicles from Toshakhana by paying only 15 per cent of their prices. NAB alleged that ex-PM and incumbent chairman Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani facilitated the allotment of…
ISLAMABAD: Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has sought contempt proceedings over a complaint filed against him and his alleged vilification on social media. The development came a day after IHC’s Justice Babar Sattar sought contempt proceedings over a social media campaign targeting him and his family. Justice Kayani, the senior-most IHC judge after the chief justice, has pleaded that the social media campaign “scandalised” him. According to the sources, Justice Kayani referred to the complaint filed against him in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and also a vlog and a television programme in which the complainant, Advocate Mohammad…
ISLAMABAD: Wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) has been detected in four more sewage samples taken from previously infected districts, taking the tally of current year’s environmental samples to 112. The confirmation was made by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health which said that three samples collected from different districts of Karachi and one sample collected from Pishin have been found positive. The samples were genetically linked to the imported YB3A cluster of WPV1. According to a lab official, the virus was found in sewage samples of 33 districts this year so far. “All…
QUETTA: President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday emphasized the need for a dialogue between all political forces in Balochistan stating that talks were essential to ensure development and progress though certain quarters did not want stability in the country. The president expressed these views while receiving a briefing on law and order and progress on the ongoing development projects in the province. The meeting was attended by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Balochistan Governor Jaffar Khan Mandokhel, Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, provincial ministers and senior federal and provincial authorities. Mr Zardari highlighted the need to eliminate smuggling, which was damaging the…
