KHARTOUM: Sudanese security forces shot dead at least 10 anti-coup protesters and wounded dozens more on Wednesday, medics said, in the bloodiest day since the military’s October 25 takeover. The fatalities — all in Khartoum, especially its northern districts — raised to 34 the death toll from unrest since the military seized power, a pro-democracy doctors’ union said. Hundreds more have …

Afghanistan is “on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe” and its collapsing economy is heightening the risk of extremism, the UN’s special representative for the country warned on Wednesday. Deborah Lyons said the United Nations predicts that 60 per cent of Afghanistan’s 38 million people face crisis levels of hunger in a food emergency that will likely worsen over the …

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday ordered the Punjab government to issue a notification directing private offices in Lahore to halve staff attendance in an effort to tackle smog. Justice Shahid Karim issued the directives while hearing a set of petitions on the provincial government’s failure to appropriately deal with environmental issues. Advocates Azhar Siddique And Sheraz Zaka represented …

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which had been seeking day-to-day hearing on Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz’s appeal against her conviction, sought a week-long adjournment on Wednesday after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) pointed out numerous flaws in the prosecution’s case. On the other hand, Ms Nawaz, while talking to the media after the court’s proceeding, …

ISLAMABAD: Six bills related to Islamabad including the Food Safety and Rent Restriction Amendment Bills were passed in the joint session of the Parliament on Wednesday. The Islamabad Capital Territory Food Safety and Rent Restriction Bills were moved by Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Capital Development Authority Affairs Ali Nawaz Awan. The SAPM told Dawn that with the approval of …

LAHORE: A sessions court on Wednesday reserved verdict on an application of singer Meesha Shafi seeking permission to get her and her husband’s cross-examination recorded through a video link from Canada in a defamation suit by actor-cum-singer Ali Zafar. During the course of final arguments, Zafar’s counsel Umar Gill opposed the application of Shafi saying his client was ready to …

ISLAMABAD: Raising quest­ions over the impartiality of Nat­io­nal Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, the opposition on Wednes­day hinted at moving a no-trust motion against him. Talking to reporters after a rowdy joint session of parliament, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif said the option would be discussed at the next meeting of the joint opposition. Pakistan Peoples Party …

Former prime minister and PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Thursday suggested that a constitutional amendment be made to apply Article 6 of the Constitution — which deals with treason — on anyone found “stealing the elections”. The PML-N leader made these remarks referring to a controversial bill on electoral reforms passed during the joint sitting of parliament a day ago, which …

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Thursday criticised the country’s bureaucracy and establishment for allegedly controlling electoral results. Addressing an Ulema convention in Quetta, the JUI-F chief said: “When elections arrive, our country’s system, bureaucracy and establishment keep control of electoral results in their hands so the Western world can be told to not worry about religious people …

Britney Spears takes to social media and hits back at the conservatorship abuse she endured for the past 13 years. The singer shared her thoughts in an Instagram video caption that highlighted her plight of 13 years. While she discussed topics including her future plans and the FreeBritney movement, her caption read, “I do know how embarrassing is to share …