Fire in Beirut port revives trauma ahead of blast anniversary

A fire smouldering for days at Beirut port has revived painful memories of the explosion that devastated the Lebanese capital in 2020, with the government struggling to find a way to extinguish it as the second anniversary of the blast approaches.

Pak may face serious economic crisis amid fast-depleting forex reserves

Cash-starved Pakistan could face a serious economic problem as its foreign exchange reserves are depleting fast amid rising external debt servicing, according to a media report on Wednesday.

US ban on Xinjiang imports hits China’s supply chain

After finding out that the Chinese products are produced with forced labour, the US imposed a ban on Xinjiang imports, which hit China’s supply chain.

Afghanistan, Pakistan emerge as lethal platforms for narco-terrorism

Afghanistan and Pakistan have emerged as unsavoury joint ventures comprising several arms and narcotics traffickers, insurgent groups, Islamist entities and organized crime syndicates, according to experts.

Japan’s former PM Shinzo Abe assassinated 

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the longest-serving leader of modern Japan, was gunned down on Friday while campaigning for a parliamentary election, shocking a country where guns are tightly controlled and political violence almost unthinkable.

Biden to sign executive order on abortion, contraception access

U.S. President Joe Biden will sign an executive order on Friday to help safeguard women’s access to abortion and contraception after the Supreme Court last month overturned the Roe v Wade decision that legalized abortion, the White House said.

PAC recommends removal of Javed Iqbal as head of missing persons commission

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said on Thursday that it had sent a recommendation to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the removal of former justice (retired) Javed Iqbal, as the chairman of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances.

China: Macau’s Casino Boss Alvin Chau cheats govt of USD 1 billion in taxes

Former boss of China’s Macau casino junket Alvin Chau has cheated the government of USD 1 billion in tax revenues, a media report said citing the official indictment.

‘Judgment day’: for UK’s Boris Johnson

Britain’s Boris Johnson on Wednesday vowed to fight on against a chorus of calls for him to resign as Prime Minister, but his defiant pledge to keep going was met with derision and disregard from a growing number of his own lawmakers.

Pakistan’s future is tied up with Russia: Imran Khan

Even as the Western bloc continues to impose sanctions on Moscow, former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has said that Pakistan’s future is tied to Russia.

Pakistan: MQM leader arrested over money laundering case

Former Pakistan Minister and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Babar Khan Ghauri was arrested by Karachi police on Monday night at Jinnah International Airport, in relation to a money laundering and terror financing case.

Hajj pilgrims face financial issues as Pakistan fails to disburse promised subsidies

The dire state of Pakistan’s economy and the incompetency of the country’s government is now reflecting in the hefty Hajj packages where the country’s coalition government has failed to provide subsidies to the pilgrims, media reported.

Forces now have full control of Ukraine’s Luhansk: Russia

Russia said on Sunday its forces had taken control of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region after capturing the final Ukrainian holdout of Lysychansk in heavy fighting, though Ukraine did not confirm the claim.

Israel to test bullet that killed reporter

Israel said on Sunday it would test a bullet that killed a Palestinian-American journalist to determine whether one of its soldiers shot her and said a U.S. observer would be present.

Floods hit southeast Australia,

Thousands of residents were ordered to evacuate southwest Sydney, Australia’s biggest city, on Sunday with torrential rain and damaging winds pounding the east coast and floods expected to be worse than those that hit the region in the past year.

Imran Khan accuses US of regime-change conspiracy to set up military

Former Pakistan prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Friday accused the United States of conspiring against him to establish a military base in the country and use it to meet its foreign policy objectives in the region and beyond.

Russia kills 21 with missiles near Odesa after abandoning Snake Island

Russia flattened part of an apartment building while residents slept on Friday in missile attacks near Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa that authorities say killed at least 21 people, hours after Russian troops abandoned a nearby outpost at Snake Island.

Xi hails China’s rule at 25th anniversary of HK’s handover

President Xi Jinping hailed China’s rule of Hong Kong on Friday as he led 25th anniversary celebrations of the city’s handover from Britain, insisting that democracy was flourishing despite a years-long political crackdown that has silenced dissent.

Japanese asked to save power as country’s east sizzles

The highest temperatures for the season since record-keeping began have scorched much of eastern Japan for a week, prompting the government to ask citizens to cut power use as much as possible, while running air conditioners to stay safe.

UK parliamentary committee to investigate Johnson

A British parliamentary committee set out the details on Wednesday of how it will investigate whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson misled parliament over COVID-19 lockdown breaking events at his Downing Street offices and residence.

NW India bans public gatherings, suspend internet after Hindu slain

Fearing outbreaks of religious violence, police in the Indian state of Rajasthan banned public gatherings and suspended Internet services a day after two Muslim men posted a video claiming responsibility for slaying a Hindu tailor in the city of Udaipur.

51 dead in fire during prison riot in Colombia

At least 51 prisoners died after a fire started during a prison riot in the southwestern Colombian city of Tulua, the head of the national prisons agency said on Tuesday, one of the worst incidents of recent prison violence in the country.

‘Stacks of bodies’ found in Texas truck as death toll hits 50

The death toll from a human trafficking incident on Monday in which migrants suffered under extreme Texas heat inside a truck rose to 50 on Tuesday, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said.

Dozens still missing after Russian missile strike on mall kills 18

Exhausted firefighters searched on Tuesday for survivors in the rubble of a Ukrainian shopping mall, where authorities said 36 people were still missing after a Russian missile strike that killed at least 18.

Mumbai building collapse kills at least 11 with more feared trapped

A four-storey residential building collapsed in India’s financial capital of Mumbai overnight, killing at least 11 people, with more feared trapped under the rubble, officials said on Tuesday.

China’s claims over Tibet baseless: Report

Tibet was never a part of China before the People’s Republic of China (PRC) invaded the Himalayan region in 1950, according to pre-1949 official records. These historical records completely discredit the Chinese claim to Tibet from ancient times.

Pakistan records nearly 3 pc COVID-19 positivity rate, rise in number of hospitalisation

Pakistan on Monday registered a positivity rate of nearly 3 per cent amid the recent surge in the COVID-19 infections in the country, National Institute of Health, Islamabad (NIH) data reported.

At least 22 people die in South African tavern

South African authorities are investigating the deaths of at least 22 young people found inside a popular tavern in the coastal town of East London, provincial health officials and the presidency said on Sunday.

Afghan health official warns of disease outbreak among earthquake survivors

Thousands affected by a deadly earthquake in eastern Afghanistan are in need of clean water and food and are at risk of disease, an Afghan health ministry official said on Sunday, days after a U.N. agency warned of a cholera outbreak in the region.

Russia steps up missile strikes on Ukraine as G7 leaders gather

Russian missiles hit an apartment block and kindergarten in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Sunday, in strikes U.S. President Joe Biden condemned as “barbarism” as world leaders gathered in Europe to discuss further sanctions against Moscow.