Pakistan

At least seven children were killed and 26 others injured Friday after part of the roof and walls of a government-run school collapsed in western India, police said. “Seven children have lost their lives so far and 26 others are injured,” Nand Kishore, a police officer in the state of Rajasthan, told AFP. There were around 60 students, teachers and staff members in the single-storey building when the accident happened in Jhalawar district, some 322 kilometres (200 miles) from the state capital Jaipur. Kishore said the structure collapsed when students were attending their classes early on Friday. Villagers rushed to the site and rescued many injured children who were taken to the closest medical facilities. Local media reports said the building was in a dilapidated condition and several complaints had been previously been raised about it. It had also been raining heavily in the area over the past few days. According to local news outlets, the children who died were between eight and 11 years of age, while two...

Maritime Minister Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry stated on Friday that the Gwadar Port had the potential to generate over $850 million in annual exports through consistent investment, strategic policymaking, and improved infrastructure, a press release issued by the ministry said. Gwadar Port is a deep-sea port located in Balochistan, strategically positioned near the Strait of Hormuz. Touted as a game-changer for Pakistan’s economy, the port is meant to boost regional trade, create jobs, and attract foreign investment. Speaking during a high-level meeting on the operationalisation of Gwadar Port today, Minister Chaudhry stated that “with consistent investment, strategic policymaking, and improved infrastructure, the port had the potential to generate over $850m annually through value-added fisheries and date exports.” According to the statement, the meeting was attended by officials from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs (MoMA) and representatives from relevant ministries and organisations, including Gwadar P...

Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai warned on Friday that cross-border clashes with Cambodia that have uprooted more than 130,000 people “could develop into war”, as the countries traded deadly strikes for a second day. A long-running border dispute erupted into intense fighting with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, and the UN Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis later on Friday. A steady thump of artillery strikes could be heard from the Cambodian side of the border, where the province of Oddar Meanchey reported one civilian — a 70-year-old man — had been killed and five more wounded. More than 138,000 people have been evacuated from Thailand’s border regions, its health ministry said, reporting 15 fatalities — 14 civilians and a soldier — with a further 46 wounded, including 15 troops. “We have tried to compromise as we are neighbours, but we have now instructed the Thai military to act immediately in case of urgency,” said Wechayachai. “I...

The Sindh Department of Colleges has raised serious concerns over the growing number of leave applications being submitted by college teaching staff, warning that such disruptions are detrimental to academic continuity.

At least nine people have died as floods and landslides triggered by heavy rain continue to wreak havoc on Gilgit Baltistan, officials said on Friday. The devastating impacts of climate change have become more visible in GB as the region experienced cloudburst-induced floods that claimed lives and damaged infrastructure. On Monday, floods triggered by heavy rain swept through GB’s Babusar area in Diamer district and Naran, leaving many stranded. Subsequently, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued a landslide alert for the northern areas of the country. GB government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq, in a statement, confirmed that nine people have lost their lives in the floods and landslides across the region — including two women and two children — while the search for people swept away by the flood is still underway. In his statement, he estimated that the “number of people swept away by floodwater could be around 12-14.” On the other hand, more than a dozen people were reported to be injured...

At least nine people, including children, were killed in central Vietnam when a bus crashed early on Friday, the government said. The accident, which took place at 1:45am in the central province of Ha Tinh, left another 16 injured, the government said in a statement. Traffic accidents are common in Vietnam, with road crashes killing 5,024 people in the first half of this year, down from 5,343 in the same period of 2024, according to data from the government’s National Statistics Office. The government report said the bus was en route from the capital Hanoi to Danang when it veered off the road and hit traffic signposts before rolling over. All of the injured have been hospitalised with multiple injuries, the government said, adding that the dead are aged between four and 49.

A “notorious drug dealer” was arrested in an injured condition after an exchange of fire with the police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swabi district, the spokesperson of Swabi Police said in a statement on Friday. According to the statement, police were conducting a search operation on Thursday night in various areas within the limits of Kalu Khan police station, led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Circle Shakeel Khan, Station House Officer Abdul Wali Khan, along with a police team, against the presence of drug dealers and criminals. “Police received a tipoff from an informant that notorious drug dealers and wanted suspects were spotted at Wazir Shaheed Road,” the statement said. “A police team was immediately formed to arrest them. Upon seeing the team, the drug dealer opened fire to evade arrest. The police also returned fire using the right of self-defence. The drug dealer was arrested in an injured condition.” Police recovered 400 grams of methamphetamine (crystal meth) and a pistol with cartridges from the...

ISLAMABAD - Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences (GAAS) and Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB) signed an agreement on establishing the Joint Laboratory on Modern Agriculture Science and Technology to strengthen collaborative research in high-yield and high-quality crop breeding, sustainable agricultural development.

ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain on Thursday called for concrete steps to expand economic ties between Pakistan and the ASEAN region.

In a joint intelligence-based operation, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and intelligence agencies have arrested a terrorist affiliated with the outlawed group Fitna al Khawarij and recovered a significant cache of arms and explosives.

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has instructed that taxpayer harassment will not be tolerated and has constituted a high-level committee to address the concerns raised by the Chambers of Commerce.

Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM) and the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly launch initiatives aimed at uplifting economically disadvantaged and deserving segments of society.

At least nine people, including two women and two children, have lost their lives in the ongoing flood emergency in Gilgit-Baltistan, while 10 to 12 others remain missing, according to government spokesperson Faizullah Firaq.

Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR), Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, has said that Pakistan’s enemies will continue to face disappointment due to the unwavering unity and solidarity of its people.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar has arrived in Washington, D.

Shehbaz restores merged dists quota in medical colleges, universities Forms committee for improving civil service structure Lauds WB support for Pak position on Indus Water Treaty.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan yesterday said it was ready for talks with India and reiterated that any misadventure or aggressive design by India would be met with a robust and resolute response.

QUETTA - A court in Quetta has remanded a woman to the Serious Crime Investigation Wing for two days in connection with the double murder case in Sanjidi involving her daughter, Bano Bibi.

PARIS: France will recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September, President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday. “True to its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognise the state of Palestine. I will make a formal announcement at the United Nations General Assembly in September,” the French head of state wrote on X and Instagram. Including France, Palestinian statehood is now recognised by 142 countries, though Israel and the United States strongly oppose recognition. France would be the most significant European power to recognise a Palestinian state. “The urgent priority today is to end the war in Gaza and rescue the civilian population,” Macron wrote. “We must finally build the state of Palestine, ensure its viability and enable it, by accepting its demilitarisation and fully recognising Israel, to contribute to the security of all in the Middle East.” PA welcomes intent Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas...

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Army Major Major Zeeyyad Salim Awal and Sepoy Nazam Hussain embraced martyrdom during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Mastung district of Balochistan.