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Iran slams latest US sanctions as ‘illegal’, ‘unjustified’

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Iran on Friday condemned Washington’s move to impose sanctions related to shipping Iranian crude oil to China worth hundreds of millions of dollars, calling them as “illegal” and “unjustified”. “The decision of the new US government to exert pressure on the Iranian nation by preventing Iran’s legal trade with its economic partners is an illegitimate, illegal and violative measure,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement. The US move was “categorically unjustified and contrary to international rules”, Baqaei added. The US Department of the Treasury on Thursday announced…

US aid cut cripples global hunger relief efforts

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The Trump administration’s measures to cut and restructure American foreign aid is severely damaging the complex international system that attempts to avoid and respond to hunger. The international famine monitoring and relief system, which was already struggling to handle the food crises that were sweeping the developing world before US President Donald Trump returned to the White House, has taken several hits as a result of the abrupt halting of US foreign aid. The spending freeze, which Trump ordered upon taking office on January 20, is supposed to last 90…

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…