GAZA STRIP: Palestinian resistance group Hamas said on Sunday its October 7 raid in southern Israel was a “necessary step” against Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. But the fighter group admitted in a 16-page report justifying the attack that “some faults happened … due to the rapid collapse of the Israeli security and military system, and the chaos caused …

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has closed its locust emergency and food security (Leaf) project, for which it had approved $200 million, citing the performance of the project as highly unsatisfactory. The project was approved in July 2020 and it was meant to control the locust outbreak, restore livelihoods in locust-affe­cted areas, and stren­gthen national food security and monitoring in the country. Informed …

CHRISTCHURCH: Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi said it was “very important” his team avoided a whitewash series loss to New Zealand after winning the fifth and final Twenty20 International by 42 runs on Sunday. The Black Caps capitulated for 92 in the face of some quality Pakistan spin bowling, having been favoured to chase down the tourists’ 134-8. Pakistan lost …

Former information minister Fawad Chaudhry on Monday announced that he and his “group” would “completely boycott” the upcoming general elections, terming the electoral process “fake”. The imprisoned politician made the remarks in a handwritten letter addressed to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), a copy of which is available with . His official account on X also reposted a copy …

In the corridors of power in Pakistan, a financial challenge lurks beneath the surface — an issue stemming from unnecessary expenditures and an abundance of nonproductive government employees. As politicians take pride in appointing their favourites to public sector roles, the burden ultimately falls on the taxpayer, who remains voiceless in the process. Yet no one looks at what the …

PARIS: Kylian Mbappe grabbed two goals and a pair of assists as Paris St-Germain brushed past third-tier Orleans 4-1 on Saturday to reach the last 16 of the French Cup. Mbappe opened the scoring with a neat low finish before doubling his tally in the second half from the penalty spot following a handball in the area. The France captain, …

ISLAMABAD: Building on the success of the first phase, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has launched the second phase of the programme aimed at promoting and realising Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (FPRW) in the cotton sector. Funded by Spanish multinational clothing company Industria de Diseno Textil (Inditex), the ILO launched the second phase of the FPRW project in …

MUNICH: Tens of thousands gathered across Germany again on Sunday to protest the far-right AfD, after it emerged that party members discussed mass deportation plans at a meeting of extremists. The influx of demonstrators was so large in Munich that organisers were forced to cancel a planned march and ask people to disperse for safety reasons. Organisers said some 50,000 …

The caretaker government on Monday blamed “technical” issues and system installations for recent internet outages across the country, saying that there was “no guarantee” that such incidents won’t occur in the future. “The economy, businesses and prestige of the country are more important for us […] it is important for us to take care of them,” interim Information Minister Murtaza …