ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday “categorically rejected” India’s remarks regarding upcoming elections in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), calling them “baseless” and part of a “carefully choreographed attempt to conflate fact with fiction”.
General elections in GB are scheduled for Sunday (June 7), after a four-month delay attributed to harsh winter weather. The PPP and other political parties have staged a…
The unreality that justifies white supremacy has shape shifted
Earlier this spring, I visited the University of Pennsylvania’s College Green. I saw smiling students innocently chatting with each other as they hurriedly walked between classes. I eavesdropped on doe-eyed high schoolers on their college tours being lectured by undergrads on the grandeur of Penn. And, upon gazing up at the stately Ben Franklin statue that sits in front of College Hall, I…
The provider has already completed deployment to 92 percent of locations.
Minnesota State Senator John Marty was furious with the nonprofit National Council on Problem Gambling, so much so that he couldn’t wait until morning to fire off an angry email. “I am deeply disappointed to see this!” he wrote to an NCPG staffer one night in April 2025, after a Senate colleague shared the draft of an op-ed by Keith Whyte, NCPG’s longtime executive director and one of America’s…
ISLAMABAD: In a significant development in the £190 million case pending before the Islamabad High Court (IHC), counsel for incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi challenged the court’s order setting a deadline for concluding arguments in the appeals against their conviction.
Imran — imprisoned since Aug 5, 2023, for concealing details of Toshakhana gifts — is serving a…
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has termed Pakistan’s emergence as a key mediator between the US and Iran as a “shining moment in our history”, crediting the “political-military partnership” for the change in the country’s image internationally.
The premier made these remarks during an interview with _The Sunday Times,_ as Islamabad remained engaged in efforts for de-escalation between the US and…
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a phone call with his Qatari counterpart on Sunday and thanked the leadership of Qatar for its “strong endorsement and support of Pakistan-led peace efforts”.
According to a statement shared by PM’s spokesperson for foreign media Mosharraf Zaidi on X, the premier had a “warm and cordial conversation” with Qatar’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al…
• Naqvi lands in Tehran to ‘promote regional peace’, facilitate talks; Dar speaks to Uzbek counterpart
• Araghchi says Iran does not trust the US at all due to contradictory messages
• Iran’s UN envoy blames Hormuz disruptions on aggressors amid claims of Europe’s request for transit
• Putin, UAE president discuss Iran conflict in phone call
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi landed…
The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday said Pakistan’s relations with the United Arab Emirates remained unaffected by any external engagements the Gulf state may have, expressing confidence in the strength of bilateral ties. It said the relationship was based on mutual trust, adding that this sentiment was also shared in Abu Dhabi.
“Pakistan – UAE relations are strong, brotherly, built on strong…
Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said on Thursday that calls in India for dialogue with Pakistan were a positive development and expressed hope that “warmongering” and “belligerence” being witnessed in the neighbouring country for a long time would “fade away”.
He made these remarks during a weekly FO briefing, where he was asked to share views about voices in India calling for dialogue…
The Foreign Office on Thursday said certain media reports “misrepresented” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s recent remarks to Deputy Prime Minister and FM Ishaq Dar, affirming the call was held with cordiality.
The clarification comes after Chinese state media _Xinhua_ reported that during his call with Dar on Tuesday, Wang expressed hope that “Pakistan can step up mediation efforts” between…
• Before taking off on long-awaited China trip, Trump vows to ‘win peacefully or otherwise’
• Tehran expands Hormuz control as EU mulls post-war naval mission
• Wall Street Journal claims UAE launched strikes on Iranian energy facility last month
• Pakistan pushes China, Azerbaijan on ME peace; earns praise from US president for being ‘absolutely great’ mediator
WASHINGTON: As prospects for…
Boy George will take to the Eurovision stage tomorrow evening as he represents San Marino alongside Italian vocalist Senhit in the contest's opening semi-final.
The Culture Club frontman, whose birth name is George O'Dowd, co-wrote their entry Superstar and contributed backing vocals to the disco-influenced track.
This marks the 64-year-old's debut appearance at the song contest,…
President Trump wants to suspend the federal gas tax, telling CBS News Monday that he thinks “it’s a great idea.”
“We’re going to take off the gas tax for a period of time, and when gas goes down, we’ll let it phase back in,” Trump said in a phone interview. It’s a tacit admission that the effects of the Iran war aren’t going away anytime soon.
Gas prices have gone up 50 percent since the war…
ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad court on Monday completed the cross-examination of 25 prosecution witnesses in the ongoing murder trial of TikToker Sana Yousaf.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Afzal Majoka heard the case, with prosecutor Naveed Hussain and complainant’s counsel Sardar Qadeer appearing before the court.
The defence counsel completed the cross-examination of two additional…
Iran on Monday asserted that it made “legitimate” demands in its latest formal response to the United States’ peace proposal, after US President Donald Trump rejected the reply as “totally unacceptable”.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran had called for an end to the war across the region, the lifting of the US blockade of Iranian ports, and the release of frozen assets…
Israel will release two foreign activists taken off a Gaza-bound flotilla from detention on Saturday before handing them to immigration authorities ahead of their deportation, the rights group representing them said.
Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of Palestinian origin, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were among dozens of activists aboard a flotilla that was intercepted by the Israeli navy in…
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s decision to pause a US operation to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz reportedly followed pressure from Saudi Arabia, according to an NBC News report citing two US officials.
The operation, dubbed Project Freedom, was unexpectedly announced by Trump on social media on Sunday and began on Monday. However, US allies in the Gulf were…
Plus, a closer look at U.S. military bases abroad.
Plus, Meta starts using AI for age verification.
ISLAMABAD: A day before the scheduled hearing in the £190 million corruption case, counsel for former prime minister Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi on Wednesday said they were not authorised to argue the main appeals against conviction and sought an adjournment of the May 7 hearing.
In an application filed before the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Barrister Salman Safdar, PTI Secretary…
Four people have been killed in political unrest after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist party celebrated victory in state polls in West Bengal, police and party officials said on Wednesday.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept polls in the key eastern state of more than 100 million people, winning 206 of the 294 assembly seats, according to results announced on…
ISLAMABAD: State-run Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) on Wednesday floated urgent tenders for the import of two liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes for delivery between May 12-14 and May 24-26 amid rising temperatures and power shortfall.
The company set May 7 (Thursday) as the deadline for bids, which will be opened the same day, given the urgent need to meet the power demand expected to spike again…
• Trump warns Iran to ‘get smart soon’, accept N-curbs; signals months-long extension of naval blockade
• Tehran warns of ‘unprecedented military action’ over shipping curbs
• USS Gerald R. Ford to return after 10-month deployment in ME
TEHRAN/WASHINGTON: Amid reports about Iran’s plan to make a fresh proposal, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday rejected an Iranian offer to end the…
The following is a lightly edited transcript of the April 29 episode of the Daily Blast podcast. Listen to it here.
Greg Sargent: This is The Daily Blast from The New Republic , produced and presented by the DSR Network. I’m your host, Greg Sargent.
This week, Donald Trump rejected a proposal from Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. This offer would have set aside questions…
Plus, who writes President Trump's speeches?
ISLAMABAD: Dr Mahrang Baloch approached the Supreme Court on Monday to challenge the denial of post-arrest bail in a case registered against her under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997.
Filed by Advocate Jibran Nasir on behalf of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee’s (BYC) central organiser, the petition was moved after the Balochistan High Court (BHC) rejected her bail application on Feb 23 this…
In Ohio, the state legislature’s GOP super-majority has been busy, populating the legislative slate with ruinous bills that test the outside bounds of common sense and basic constitutional rights. There is a bill that would require medical personnel to file a “certificate of life” for every fetus in Ohio, after detection of a heartbeat. There’s Ohio’s version of the SAVE Act; a separate bill…
President Donald Trump wants to cut more than $1.5 billion—and thousands of jobs—from the Transportation Security Administration’s budget after subjecting its employees to weeks without pay.
The Trump administration wants to gut 9,400 workers from the 60,000-person agency, according to budget documents reviewed Monday by Reuters.
The 2027 White House budget suggests small airports to rely on…