KABUL: The United States spent billions supplying the Afghan military with the tools to defeat the Taliban, but the rapid capitulation of the armed forces means that weaponry is now fuelling the insurgents’ astonishing battlefield successes. “We provided our Afghan partners with all the tools — let me emphasise: all the tools,” US President Joe Biden said when defending his …

Flash floods that have swept through towns in the Turkish Black Sea region have killed 58 people, authorities said on Sunday, in the second natural disaster to strike Turkey this month. The floods brought chaos to northern provinces just as authorities were declaring wildfires had been brought under control after raging through southern coastal regions for two weeks. Forty-eight people died as …

A powerful magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Haiti on Saturday, killing at least 304 people, injuring a minimum of 1,800 others and destroying hundreds of homes. People in the Caribbean island nation rushed into the streets to seek safety and to help rescue those trapped in the rubble of collapsed homes, hotels and other structures. Saturday’s earthquake struck the southwestern part …

Taliban fighters entered the outskirts of the Afghan capital on Sunday and said they were awaiting a peaceful transfer of the city after promising not to take it by force, but amid the uncertainty, panicked workers fled government offices and helicopters landed at the United States Embassy. Three Afghan officials told The Associated Press that the fighters were in the districts of …

KARACHI: Twelve members of an extended family, all women and young boys, lost their lives and several others suffered burn injuries in a grenade attack on a mini-truck on the outskirts of the city on Saturday night. A senior police officer, who did not wish to be named, told that it was an act of terrorism. He said personnel from …

ISLAMABAD: The police on Saturday claimed that the DNA test and fingerprints of the accused Zahir Jaffar showed his involvement in the murder of Noor Mukaddam. They said that photogrammetry tests conducted on a video in which Noor Mukaddam was seen making efforts to save her life and being chased by the accused confirmed that it was genuine. The footage had …

LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan has laid his hands on the country’s elite involved in the alleged cartelisation of sugar business and vowed that it will not be able to blackmail the government or exploit the farmers anymore, said Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill. Urging the nation to stand by PM Khan, Dr …

BAHAWALNAGAR: An 18-year-old worker was burnt alive in the furnace of a brick kiln that used the zigzag technology in McLeod Ganj on Saturday. Akbar Bodla, a resident of village Touakal Bodla, was refueling the furnace of the Al-Makkah Bhatta when he fell into it. This is the second such incident in two months. The eyewitnesses said Akbar was filling …

KARACHI: Recalling how Pakistan, seriously constrained by operational resources, had successfully overcome the desert locust threat with coordinated support from local and international partners in 2019 and 2020, speakers at an event on Saturday emphasised the need for institutional strengthening and capacity building to ensure food security in the country. The programme was held at the Department of Plant Protection …

RAWALPINDI: The residents of Rawalpindi and Islamabad celebrated Independence Day with traditional zeal and fervour on Saturday. Different events were held in educational institutions, government, semi-government and private departments and organisations across the twin cities. Besides flag hoisting and other functions, rallies, seminars and cake-cutting ceremonies were also held to mark the 74th IndependenceDay. The residents took to the main …