GENEVA: A UN rights expert said on Monday there were “reasonable grounds” to determine that Israel has committed several acts of “genocide” in Gaza, also evoking “ethnic cleansing”. Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the rights situation in Palestinian territories, said there were clear indications that Israel had violated three of the five acts listed under the international genocide …

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council finally passed a resolution on Monday, demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during Ramazan, an unconditional release of prisoners, and urgent expansion of aid into the besieged Palestinian enclave. Reacting promptly after the vote, UN Sec­retary General António Guterres emphasised that the long-awaited resolution must be implemented as the council’s failure to do so “would be …

The United States, Britain and New Zealand have accused Beijing-backed cyber groups of being behind a series of attacks against lawmakers and key democratic institutions — allegations that were denied by China. In rare and detailed public accusations against China — Washington, London and Wellington described a series of cyber breaches over the last decade or more, in what appeared …

LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court on Monday granted post-arrest bail to three suspects allegedly involved in harassment of a woman in Ichhra bazaar for wearing a shirt with Arabic script print. The police arrested the suspects, Muhammad Nadeem, Adil Sarwar and Altimash Saqlain. Last week, the court sent the suspects to jail on judicial remand after denying their further custody to the police. The lawyers …

RAWALPINDI: The divisional administration on Monday claimed that encroachments on main roads were the primary reason for traffic jams and ordered an indiscriminate operation to build deterrence against this practice. “As many as 3,800 cameras of the Safe City project are being installed across the city, which will help identify encroachments and traffic jams caused by them immediately,” the official …

ISLAMABAD: Residents of the federal capital, including the traders’ community, have threatened to stage protests and contest the decision in court after the local administration made an exorbitant increase in property taxes. The Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) recently got the new property taxes published in the gazette of Pakistan. “Traders have decided to meet on Wednesday to chalk out a …

PESHAWAR: More than a dozen candidates belonging to the main opposition parties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who were notified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on reserved seats, have urged the Peshawar High Court (PHC) to ensure they are administered oath of office before the upcoming Senate elections. Six women MPAs-elect of the JUI-F on Monday filed a writ petition asking …

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to the Khyber Pakhtun­khwa chief minister on finance Muzzammil Aslam on Monday raised an alarm, warning that the new IMF bailout package, laced with “harsh conditions”, would unleash a tsunami of inflation and exacerbate public suffering. The PTI leader suggested the government refrain from hastily signing an agreement with the lender and instead involve the federating units to negotiate …

ISLAMABAD: The counsel for former premier Imran Khan on Monday termed the cipher case “one of the most expensive cases in Pakistan’s history” as witnesses were even brought in from abroad at every hearing. Barrister Salman Safdar stated this as he continued his arguments in the appeal against the conviction of Mr Khan and ex-foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi for 6th day …

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif met Finance Minis­ter Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday and vowed to pull the country out of the current economic crisis. She said the finance minister will make people-friendly decisions for the economic turnaround. “To­­gether, we will pull Pakis­tan out of the economic crisis,” Ms Sharif said. Later, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif also called on …