China, under growing global pressure over its treatment of a Muslim minority in its far west, is mounting an unprecedented and aggressive campaign to push back, including explicit attacks on women who have made claims of abuse. As allegations of human rights violations in Xinjiang mount, with a growing number of western lawmakers accusing China of genocide, Beijing is focusing on discrediting …

In October 2020, Miami-based art collector Pablo Rodriguez-Fraile spent almost $67,000 on a 10-second video artwork that he could have watched for free online. Last week, he sold it for $6.6 million. The video by digital artist Beeple, whose real name is Mike Winkelmann, was authenticated by blockchain, which serves as a digital signature to certify who owns it and …

SINGAPORE: Myanmar police fired on protesters around the country on Sunday — the bloodiest day in weeks of demonstrations against a military coup — and at least 18 people were killed, the UN human rights office said. Police were out in force early and opened fire in different parts of the country’s biggest city of Yangon after stun grenades, tear …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran on Monday for an explosion aboard an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman last week, an accusation rejected by Tehran. The vehicle-carrier MV Helios Ray was hit between Thursday night and Friday morning by a blast above the water line that a US official said ripped holes in both sides of its hull. An …

• Bilawal says treasury MNAs not bound to vote for govt candidates • JUI-F chief claims disappointment visible in govt ranks ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Sunday acted timely to repair some cracks that had appeared in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) by appeasing Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on the issue of distribution …

ran k ISLAMABAD: As the Senate election is being held on Wednesday, Prime Minister Imran Khan has cancelled all his official engagements and decided to directly supervise the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) campaign for the upper house’s polls. Finance Minister Dr Hafeez Shaikh, PTI candidate for a seat from Islamabad, on Sunday started canvassing for the election and went door to …

RAWALPINDI: A team of experts from the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) visited Sujan Singh Haveli to finalise PC-I of its preservation and restoration. Rawalpindi Metropolitan Corporation officials briefed the team. The experts also inspected all parts of the Haveli, its condition and the materials used in the building. The officials said first the structure of the Haveli would …

TAXILA: A nine-year-old girl was sexually assaulted and strangled to death in Natroppa in the jurisdiction of Hazro police station on Sunday. Behram Khan, the victim’s father, informed the police that he had come to Punjdher village along with his wife and children to attend a marriage ceremony from where his daughter went missing. Later, her body was found in …

QUETTA: A strike was observed in the provincial capital and several other cities and towns of the province on Sunday in protest against the killing of provincial information secretary of the Awami National Party (ANP) Asad Khan Achakzai. All business centres and shops remained closed in Quetta, Chaman, Loralai, Zhob, Qila Saifullah, Sibi, Qila Abdullah, Pishin, Ziarat, Harnai, Mastung and …

ISLAMABAD: Protesters twice blocked Murree Road at Bhara Kahu on Sunday over the assassination of three people, including a leader of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazal (JUI-F), on Saturday night. After negotiations with Deputy Commissioner (DC) Hamza Shafqaat, the protesters opened the road but delayed the burial of the bodies till the arrest of the killers. Mufti Ikramur Rehman, 35, along with …