ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Power Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari on Thursday said that all power distribution companies (Discos) would be privatised in one and a half years. “There were flaws in the distribution companies, and we are committed to fixing the system to provide relief to consumers,” the minister told a private television channel. “We had to face Rs600 billion …

LONDON: A British teacher who had sex with two teenage students and had a baby with one of them was sentenced on Thursday to six and a half years in jail. Rebecca Joynes, 30, was on police bail for sexual activity with one victim, identified as Boy A, when she began having sex with the second, Boy B, by whom …

BENI: Militia fighters attacked a Chinese-linked mining site in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday, killing six Chinese nationals and at least two Congolese soldiers, local officials said. China condemned the attack, which took place in Djugu territory, in the gold-rich Ituri province. Djugu administrator Ruphin Mapela said it was carried out by the CODECO (Cooperative for the Development …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will host the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) heads of governments’ meeting in October, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch announced at her weekly media briefing on Thursday. “Pakistan holds the rotating Chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG), which is the SCO’s second-highest decision-making forum. In this capacity, Pakistan will be hosting the SCO Heads …

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Hezbollah launched a big rocket and drone attack at Israel on Thursday and threatened to hit new targets in retaliation for the killing of a top commander, in the latest surge of violence in the steadily worsening conflict across the border. Sparked by the Gaza war, the conflict between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel has been gradually intensifying for months, raising fears …

NEW DELHI: Indian police said on Thursday they had arrested six people over a stampede at a Hindu religious event in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh this week in which 121 people were killed. The incident occurred on Tuesday in the village of Phulrai Mughal Garhi in Hathras district where about 250,000 people had gathered to listen to preacher Suraj Pal …

NEW DELHI: Indian Foreign Minister Subrah­manyam Jaish­an­kar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Thursday in Kazakhstan where the two agreed to step up talks to resolve issues along their border, New Delhi said in a statement. India and China share a long Himalayan border, much of it poorly demarcated, and bilateral ties have been sour since a military standoff in …

Saudi Arabia has approved granting Saudi citizenship to scientists, doctors, researchers, entrepreneurs, and other individuals with rare skills, experience, and specializations. According to a royal decree, the kingdom has offered citizenship to talented individuals in medical, scientific, cultural, sports, and technical fields to achieve its goals. The initiative is part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 programme to create an attractive …

Keir Starmer vowed to bring change to Britain as its next prime minister after his Labour Party surged to a comprehensive win in a parliamentary election on Friday, ending 14 years of often tumultuous Conservative government. The centre-left Labour was set to win a massive majority in the 650-seat parliament with Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives poised to suffer the worst performance in the …

Polls opened in Iran on Friday for a run-off presidential election that will test the clerical rulers’ popularity amid voter apathy at a time of regional tensions and a standoff with the West over Tehran’s nuclear programme. State TV said polling stations opened their doors to voters at 8am local time (0430 GMT). Polling will end at 6 pm (1430 GMT), …