MANILA: At least 31 people died and 230 were rescued after a fire engulfed a ferry in the southern Philippines, authorities said on Thursday. The Lady Mary Joy 3 was travelling from Zamboanga City on Mindanao Island to Jolo Island in Sulu province when the fire broke out late on Wednesday, prompting passengers to jump overboard, disaster officer Nixon Alonzo …

PTI leader Azhar Mashwani returned home on Friday, he announced on Twitter, more than a week after he was picked up. “Alhumdullilah I have just returned home safe and sound,” Mashwani tweeted. “Your prayers, efforts, and support in these eight days have left us forever indebted.” Mashwani added that he prayed that other “captive workers” also return home soon and …

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial on Friday “disregarded” a judgement issued by Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Aminuddin Khan of the Supreme Court, in which they had called for the postponement of suo motu matters until amendments were made to Supreme Court Rules 1980 regarding the country’s top judge’s discretionary powers to form benches. In a judgement issued …

WASHINGTON: Mili­tants who carry out attacks inside Pakistan have obtained US weapons left behind in Afgha­nistan, a US-backed broad­casting service claimed in its latest report on the situation. Observers say the influx of US weapons has boosted the military capabilities of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch separatist groups, according to the report released by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This influx …

The death toll after a floor collapsed at a Hindu temple in India had risen to 35 on Friday with rescue operations ongoing, a local official told AFP. Dozens of worshippers celebrating a major religious holiday on Thursday plunged into the stepwell — a stair-lined communal water source — after the floor covering it collapsed in the central city of Indore. …

A New York grand jury on Thursday indicted Donald Trump over hush money payments made to a porn star during his 2016 campaign, making him the first former US president to face criminal charges. The historic indictment of the 76-year-old Republican — who denies all wrongdoing in connection with the payments made ahead of the election that sent him to the White …

LAHORE: A Human Rights Observer 2023 fact sheet reveals that the religious content against minorities increased in curriculum and textbooks during the year 2022 and a number of perennial and new challenges emerged in the education system. The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) on Thursday issued the “Human Rights Observer 2023”, an annual fact sheet. The report covers five key …

LAHORE: The Punjab caretaker government on Thursday approved Rs7,000 increase in the minimum wage of the workers amid rising inflation in the country. A notification issued by the provincial government said the minimum age had been set at Rs32,000 per month after an increase of Rs7,000. Earlier, the government had set Rs25,000 minimum wage in the budget 2022-23. Labour Department …

ISLAMABAD: Foreign minister of Pakistan Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that people were facing the devastating impact of a climate catastrophe such as floods, in the occurrence of which they played little to no role at all and the younger generation especially, was facing consequences of decisions that they did not make. Speaking at an Iftar dinner hosted by him at …

A diminished Supreme Court bench — comprising three judges — on Friday rejected Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan’s request for the formation of a full court to hear PTI’s petition against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision to postpone elections to the Punjab Assembly till Oct 8. Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and …