ISLAMABAD: Despite the availability of pre-activated Sims for Haj pilgrims, telecom firms have launched competitive one-month packages that would cost less than Saudi Arabian Sims. Under a new facility for pilgrims this year, every individual performing Haj under the government scheme will be provided with one Ufone Sim containing eight GB data and 200 calling minutes. While Ufone will provide …

ISLAMABAD: Mobile manufacturers have urged the government to adopt conducive policies to encourage large-scale assembly of smartphones, which will also boost exports. In a letter to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), which is currently finalising taxation proposals for the upcoming budget, the Pakistan Mobile Phone Manufacturers Associ­ation (PMPMA) highlighted that the existing tariff structure favoured the import of finished …

WASHINGTON: A US couple was among three missionaries shot and killed by a gang outside a church in the Haitian capital, which has endured months of extreme violence with deadly assaults on hospitals, prisons and government buildings. Missions in Haiti, an Oklahoma-based nonprofit founded in 2000, said Davy and Natalie Lloyd and a third person were killed in Port-au-Prince by …

SYDNEY: More than 300 people and over 1,100 houses were buried by a massive landslide that levelled a remote village in northern Papua New Guinea, local media reported on Saturday. Hundreds are feared dead in the landslide that hit Kaokalam village in Enga Province, about 600 km northwest of capital Port Moresby, around 3am on Friday (1900 GMT on Thursday). …

TAMPA: Heavy seas battered the US maritime humanitarian mission to Gaza on Saturday, US Central Command (Centcom) said, with four vessels serving a floating aid delivery pier breaking free from their moorings. No injuries were reported and the aid pier remained fully functional, Centcom said in a statement, adding that no US personnel would enter Gaza. Two of the affected …

NEW DELHI: India’s longest-ever elections cleared the penultimate phase of polling on Saturday involving 58 seats, and pictures of erstwhile rivals — Sonia Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal — may have captured the essence of the opposition’s new resolve with both sides voting for each other’s candidates. Of Delhi’s seven seats shared by both, three were contested by the Congress and four by the Aam …

ISLAMABAD: A World Health Organisation (WHO) report released in connection with World No Tobacco Day has exposed a disturbing trend that e-cigarette use among young people is exceeding that of adults in many countries, with an estimated 37 million children aged between 13 and 15 years using tobacco around the globe. It says industries use child-friendly flavours like cotton candy …

MADRID: The Spanish defence minister said on Saturday that the conflict in Gaza is a “real genocide”, as relations between Israel and Spain worsen following Madrid’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state. Israel has strongly rejected accusations made against it by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that it is committing a genocide against Palestinians, saying it …

RAFAH: Israeli forces bombed the Gaza Strip, including Rafah, on Saturday, killing at least 30 more Palestinians a day after judges at the top United Nation’s court ordered Israel to “immediately halt” its offensive. Although Israel pressed on with its offensive against Hamas, mediated negotiations between the two sides are due to restart next week, an official with knowledge of …

Four young children were among 27 people killed when a fire in India ripped through a crowded amusement park, police said, as rescuers on Sunday scoured the site the morning after the blaze. Survivors reported having to kick down doors and leap out of windows to escape the inferno that swept through a centre packed full of young people enjoying games …