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Unlicensed big cats, illegal weapons spark Wildlife Act violations

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French President Emmanuel Macron denied Monday having a domestic dispute with his wife Brigitte after a video appeared to show her shoving his face away when they touched down for a visit to Vietnam, blaming disinformation campaigns for trying to put a false meaning on the footage. The Elysee had been hoping that the visit to Vietnam would showcase France’s reach into the Indo-Pacific, but it has been shadowed by the incident which occurred as the doors of the presidential plane swung open after landing in Hanoi Sunday. View this post on Instagram This is the third time this month that Macron has been the subject of viral video footage at a time when France says it is being targeted by repeated disinformation attacks as Russia steps up attacks on Ukraine. It was falsely claimed that Macron took cocaine on a trip to Kyiv alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and images also emerged purporting to show Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dominate the French leader...

Police recovered a woman who was abducted nine years ago and arrested her suspected kidnappers in the Lodhran district of Punjab, the district’s Crime Control Department (CCD) said on Monday. In a statement, the CCD elaborated that the police conducted an operation and recovered the woman in the Mani Yazman area, while also arresting four men allegedly involved in the kidnapping. The statement added that a case was registered against them and the suspects were wanted by the Saddar Dunyapur police. “The accused were absconding for nine years and the recovery of the kidnapped woman was a challenge,” the police spokesperson said in the statement. The spokesperson added that the suspects were arrested after stringent efforts of the IT team and the Dunyapur Circle police team. The suspects were included in the list of top 100 declared fugitives. “The police are not negligent in their duties and are determined to ensure the safety of the public, the statement quoted the CCD director of operations as saying. The sta...

Senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader and former Sindh governor Kamaluddin Azfar passed away in Karachi on Monday.

In response to a surge in storm-related accidents, the Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has moved to establish clear rules and safety guidelines for solar panel installations.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has arrived in Tehran on a two-day visit to Iran.

Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and PPP Women’s Wing President Faryal Talpur held a series of meetings with party leaders and members to discuss pressing public and parliamentary issues.

Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail questioned the PTI’s decision to merge with the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) during last year’s elections as the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench (CB) heard review pleas against a ruling that had declared the main opposition party eligible for reserved seats. In its July 12, 2024 short order, eight out of 13 judges ruled that 39 out of a list of 80 MNAs were and are the returned candidates of the PTI, setting it to emerge as the single largest party in the National Assembly. However, the ruling had not been implemented by the National Assembly, while the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had raised some objections. The review petitions against the SC order had been filed by the PML-N, the PPP and the ECP. An 11-member CB led by Justice Aminuddin Khan resumed the hearing today after Justices Ayesha A. Malik and Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi had dismissed the review petitions on the first day of hearings. The CB live-streamed its proceedings for the first time today, after accepting th...

In another incident amid a growing crackdown on alleged espionage, Indian authorities on Monday said they arrested a paramilitary police officer on charges of “spying for Pakistan” following a recent military confrontation between the two neighbouring countries. The developments follow a military confrontation between India and Pakistan over New Delhi’s allegations against Islamabad, without evidence, about a deadly attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam. On the night of May 6-7, New Delhi launched a series of air strikes in Pakistan, resulting in civilian casualties. Islamabad responded by downing five Indian jets. After intercepting drones sent by India and tit-for-tat strikes on each other’s airbases, it took American intervention on May 10 for both sides to finally drop their guns as a ceasefire was reached. Last week, Indian police arrested 10 people in Haryana, Punjab and Delhi —including a travel vlogger and a university professor — over their alleged connections to Pakistan or comments related to the r...

The Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) on Monday requested the government to issue rules and guidelines for the proper installation of solar panels. This development comes after heavy rains lashed several parts of Punjab on Saturday, resulting in multiple casualties. At least 19 people were killed and over 90 others were injured across Punjab and KP following the severe weather. About two dozen incidents of the fall of solar panels and billboards were also reported. PDMA Director General (DG) Irfan Ali Kathia wrote separate letters to the Energy Department, Local Government Department and the Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners across the province, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com. The letters said that 70 per cent of the “human losses were caused by the structural collapse of poorly installed solar panels/solar energy system or solar-related structures due to windstorm”. It further said that there was an urgent need to “ensure that all solar installations — especially those o...

The Ruet-i-Hilal Committee will meet tomorrow in Islamabad to sight the Zilhaj moon, state-run broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported. Earlier this week, the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) issued a prediction regarding the sighting of the crescent moon for the month of Zilhaj 1446 AH, “based on scientific analysis, astronomical data, and modern observational techniques.” The statement said that the birth of the new moon for Zilhaj will occur on May 27, meaning that the festive occasion of Eidul Azha is likely to be celebrated across Pakistan on June 7. According to Radio Pakistan, Committee Chairman Maulana Syed Muhammad Abdul Khabeer Azad will preside over the meeting, while zonal Ruet-e-Hilal Committees will also meet separately at their respective headquarters for sighting of the Eidul Azha Moon. Celebrated on the 10th of Zilhaj, Eidul Azha marks the culmination of Haj, one of the five pillars of Islam.

Primary school teachers in Bangladesh joined public sector workers in protests against the interim government on Monday amid growing discontent and political uncertainty in the South Asian country. Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, 84, took over as interim head of the country last August after deadly student-led protests forced then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to India. Yunus’ administration has faced pressure from civil servants, teachers, political parties and the military as the caretaker government attempts to guide the country through a fragile transition before holding a general election. The government issued an ordinance on Sunday allowing the Ministry of Public Administration to dismiss public servants for misconduct without lengthy procedures, sparking outrage across the bureaucracy. Government employees continued their demonstrations for a third consecutive day on Monday, calling the ordinance “repressive” and demanding its immediate withdrawal. Thousands of teachers in government prima...

Former Sindh governor and veteran PPP leader Kamaluddin Azfar passed away in Karachi on Monday, according to his family and party officials. PPP Sindh Secretary General Senator Waqar Mehdi told Dawn.com that Azfar had been admitted to Ziauddin Hospital, where he breathed his last. Mehdi said Azfar’s funeral prayers would likely be decided after the arrival of his children from abroad. Azfar was close aide of former premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He also served as PPP Karachi president and was once known as the “son of Karachi”. The veteran leader was instrumental in constructing apartments for lower-income communities in Karachi’s Lines Area. Azfar was a former senator and relinquished his senatorship when he was appointed Sindh governor in 1995 by ex-premier Benazir Bhutto. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah expressed sorrow at Azfar’s demise, calling him a “wise politician.” “Your political services will be remembered,” Murad said of Azfar, who also held the post of finance minister, according to a statement...

US President Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin had “gone absolutely CRAZY” by unleashing the largest aerial attack of the war on Ukraine and said he was considering more sanctions on Moscow, but he also scolded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. “Something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” Trump said of the Russian president on Truth Social. “I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!” Trump also criticised Zelensky, posting that the Ukrainian leader “is doing his Country no favours by talking the way he does. Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop.” Speaking to reporters at the airport in Morristown, New Jersey, Trump said of Putin: “I don’t know what’s wrong with him. What the hell happened to him? Right? He’s killing a lot of people. I’m not happy about that.” He raised the possibility of imposing more sanctions on Russia ...