Month: February 2025

Protesting Hyderabad lawyers continue sit-in for second day on National Highway

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HYDERABAD: Protesting lawyers continued to stage sit-in on Friday for the second consecutive day on the National Highway in Hyderabad, halting commute to and from interior Sindh and Punjab, following escalation of hostile disposition between police and the legal fraternity in the city. The lawyers have been holding demonstration at Wadhu Wah area for over 20 hours, resulting in formation of long queues of vehicles on the major thoroughfare, putting transporters and passengers into trouble. Meanwhile, the lawyers have ended their protest from near KPT Underpass in Clifton, Karachi, and…

Karak police checkpost attacked: Two officers martyred, six injured

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At least two police officers were killed and six others wounded when armed militants launched an intense gun assault on a police checkpost in Karak during the early hours of Thursday, authorities confirmed. The attackers, armed with heavy weapons, launched a heavy barrage of gunfire at the police station in the city area of Bahadurkhel. The deceased officers have been identified as driver Naqeeb and Adnan. Four injured personnel were rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital in Karak for treatment. Two of the wounded are reported to be in critical…

Rubio reveals plans to exempt key programmes from USAID shutdown

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The Trump administration is working to identify and exempt specific USAID programmes from a sweeping freeze on foreign aid, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday. His remarks come after President Donald Trump’s decision last month to halt most US foreign assistance, a move that has already placed all directly hired USAID employees globally on leave and recalled thousands of overseas personnel as part of his “America First” policy. Trump and his aides have stated they aim to ensure that billions of dollars in US assistance, including humanitarian…

Prince Karim Aga Khan passes away in Lisbon

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The Aga Khan, imam of the Ismailis and head of a major development aid foundation, died Tuesday in Lisbon at the age of 88, his foundation announced. He was the founder and president of the Aga Khan Development Network, which employs 96,000 people and finances development programmes particularly in Asia and Africa. “His Highness Prince Karim Al-Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), passed away peacefully in Lisbon on 4 February 2025, aged 88,…

Explainer: What’s behind Trump’s push to overhaul USAID?

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WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump is planning to merge the country’s international aid agency, USAID, into the State Department as part of a wider shake-up aimed at cutting staff and bringing aid spending in line with his “America First” policy. Trump has entrusted Elon Musk, the billionaire heading his drive to shrink the federal government, to oversee the project. On Sunday, Trump said USAID had “been run by a bunch of radical lunatics, and we’re getting them out,” while Musk called it “a criminal organisation” without providing any evidence and…

‘Imran’s transfer from Adiala stalled over his insistence for workers’ release’

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PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s transfer to Bani Gala, Nathia Gali or the CM House was proposed but was stalled due to former prime minister’s insistence on the release of all detained workers before his transfer. “When I set out for a mission, I burn my boats,” said CM Gandapur while talking to journalists in Peshawar. Regarding the November 24 protest, he revealed that the establishment had warned against staging demonstrations, citing the risk of clashes and damage. The protests…

Canada to impose counter-tariffs on US

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OTTAWA: Canada has decided to impose 25% levies on imports from the United States following President Donald Trump’s decision to charge tariffs on the Canadian goods entering the country. Relations between the long-time allies who share the world’s longest land border have reached a new low with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warning Americans that Trump’s actions would have real consequences for them. Speaking at a news conference, PM Trudeau he was slapping tariffs on C$155 billion ($107 billion) of US goods. Those on C$30 billion will take effect on…

Court to announce verdict in Ramzan Sugar Mills case on Feb 6

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LAHORE: An anti-corruption court in Lahore is set to announce its verdict on acquittal pleas filed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shabaz in the Ramzan sugar mills case on February 6. Anti-Corruption Court Judge Sardar Iqbal Dogar heard the case concerning alleged misuse of authority by PM Shehbaz during his tenure as Punjab’s chief minister by using public funds for the construction of a sludge carrier to facilitate the Ramzan Sugar Mills, owned by his sons. In its reference filed on February 18, 2019, the National Accountability…