Shizza Jasmin

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: -0.07px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" id="isPasted">In just 24 hours, a flurry of fast-moving diplomacy has once again placed Pakistan at the heart of the 58-day Iran-US conflict. Here&#39;s what you need to know.

Shorts

In last 24 hours: Pause in US-Iran talks, but both sides praise Pakistan's peace efforts

Muhammad Imad Abbas

ISLAMABAD: A mortar shell fired from the Afghan territory struck a residential area in the southwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province early in the morning, injuring three people, including a female police constable, police authorities confirmed to Pakistan TV Digital.&nbsp;According to district police, the shell landed in a house near the border in South Waziristan district , wounding two women, one of them a police constable, and a male resident.&nbsp;Officials said the women sustained minor injuries, while the man was reported to be in serious condition.&nbsp;The incident occurred during the early hours, when the mortar was reportedly launched from across the Afghan border into Pakistani territory, hitting the civilian neighborhood.

Security

A mortar shell fired from the Afghan territory struck a residential area in the southwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province early in the morning, injuring three people, including a female police constable, police authorities confirms

Mortar shell from Afghan side hits residential area, woman constable among three injured 

KHARTOUM: A drone attack hit an aid truck in Sudan&#39;s North Darfur state, destroying all the supplies on board, the UN refugee agency said on Sunday, without identifying who was responsible.&nbsp;Drone strikes by both the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who have been locked in a brutal war since April 2023, have escalated in recent months, often killing dozens at a time.&nbsp;The UNHCR-operated vehicle &quot;came under drone attack&quot; on Friday while transporting emergency shelter kits to Tawila, home to more than 700,000 displaced people who fled fighting elsewhere in the western Darfur region, the agency said.&nbsp;The driver escaped unhurt, but all supplies were destroyed in the resulting fire, it added.&nbsp;UNHCR condemned the attack, warning that it would &quot;leave 1,314 families living in desperate conditions in Tawila without shelter&quot; at a time when humanitarian needs are already overwhelming.&nbsp;More than 127,000 people fled El-Fasher, North Darfur&#39;s capital and the army&#39;s last stronghold in the region, after it fell to paramilitary forces in October, with reports of mass killings, sexual violence, looting, and rape following the takeover.&nbsp;Fighting has since spread to neighbouring Kordofan, now the main theatre of the war, and the southeastern Blue Nile state, raising fears of a longer and increasingly fragmented conflict.&nbsp;According to the UN, nearly 700 civilians have been killed in drone strikes by both sides since January alone.&nbsp;UNHCR voiced &quot;deep concern&quot; over the rising use of drones, calling repeated attacks on humanitarian operations &quot;particularly abhorrent&quot;.&nbsp;According to an assessment by the UN&#39;s Food and Agriculture Organization, 28.9 million people, around 62 percent of Sudan&#39;s population, are facing acute food insecurity.&nbsp;That includes 10.2 million who face severe food insecurity, in particular in the wider Darfur region and South Kordofan state.&nbsp;Famine was declared last year in El-Fasher and Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan, with 20 other areas at risk in Darfur and Kordofan, a UN-backed assessment found.&nbsp;The conflict has already killed tens of thousands, uprooted over 11 million, and created the world&#39;s largest displacement and hunger crises.

Africa

A drone attack destroyed a UN aid truck in North Darfur, burning all supplies. The driver escaped unharmed, and no group was identified.

Drone attack hits Sudan aid truck: UN

Muhammad Usman Amin

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: -0.07px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" id="isPasted">One hundred and six meters of steel and glass, built on the legacy of a nine-year-old genius, this is the heartbeat of Pakistan&rsquo;s digital revolution.

One hundred and six meters of steel and glass, built on the legacy of a nine-year-old genius, this is the heartbeat of Pakistan’s digital revolution.

The Punjab Series: Nine-year-old genius Arfa Karim's legacy lives on in Lahore's tallest tower

Faraz Saeed

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: -0.07px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" id="isPasted">The Ravi Lounge has been established amid a steady rise in the number of Chinese nationals arriving in Pakistan for business, infrastructure projects, and official engagements, prompting targeted facilitation at one of the country&rsquo;s busiest airports.

Ravi lounge at lahore airport dedicated for chinese passenger

BAMAKO: Mali&#39;s defense minister died after an attack on his house, his family said Sunday, as the army fought a second day of battles with separatist rebels near the capital Bamako and other cities, putting the Sahel nation&#39;s ruling junta under severe pressure. Defense Minister Sadio Camara, his second wife and two of his grandchildren died after a car bomb attack on his home in the junta stronghold of Kati, outside Bamako, his family and an official said. Saturday&#39;s shock attacks, synchronized by Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) coalition and the jihadist Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), targeted several areas in the vast arid country. Fighting resumed Sunday in several areas, including Kati, Kidal, Gao and Severe. Tuareg rebels meanwhile announced an agreement allowing Russian forces backing Mali&#39;s army to withdraw from the northern city of Kidal, which they claimed was &quot;totally&quot; under their control. &quot;An accord has been reached permitting the (Malian) army and its (Russian) Africa Corps allies to leave the camp 2, where they were holed up since yesterday,&quot; a Tuareg official told AFP. &quot;We saw a military convoy leave, but don&#39;t know the details of what&#39;s happening ... Fighters from armed movements have now taken over the streets,&quot; a resident added. Kidal, a Tuareg stronghold, was retaken in November 2023 by the Malian army backed by Russia&#39;s Wagner paramilitary group, ending more than a decade of control by rebels. The FLA also claims to have taken positions in the northern Gao region. &quot;The aim of the attackers was not to seize and control cities, but to carry out coordinated actions in order to at least capture Kidal, which is a rather powerful symbol,&quot; a security source told AFP on Sunday. Mali has been ravaged for more than a decade by conflict and jihadist violence but Saturday&#39;s attacks were the worst since 2020, when the junta seized power. They took place on the fringes of the Malian capital Bamako and in several towns and cities across the sprawling Sahel nation. Residents on edgeThe fighting left 16 civilians and soldiers wounded and caused &quot;limited material damage,&quot; the government said in a statement on Saturday evening. It added that &quot;the situation is totally under control in all the localities&quot; that were attacked. In the capital, access to military facilities has been blocked by barriers and tyres on the roads, an AFP journalist said. In the outlying district of Senou, where the airport is located and which witnessed heavy fighting on Saturday, the atmosphere was jittery. &quot;I still hear the blasts ringing in my ears. It&#39;s traumatising,&rdquo; a resident said. Kati was calm after &quot;the jihadists left the area, but we are living in fear,&quot; a resident told AFP on Sunday. United Nations chief Antonio Guterres condemned &quot;acts of violence&quot; in Mali. &quot;The Secretary‑General is deeply concerned by reports of attacks in several locations across Mali,&quot; his spokesman said in a statement. &quot;The Secretary-General calls for coordinated&nbsp;international support to address the evolving threat of violent extremism and terrorism in the Sahel and to&nbsp;meet urgent humanitarian needs,&quot; spokesman Stephane Dujarric added. The European Union on Sunday condemned the &quot;terrorist attacks&quot; in Mali. Russia&#39;s Africa Corps, an organisation under direct control of the Russian defence ministry, has taken over from the mercenary Wagner group in helping Malian forces fight jihadists. Mali has resources including gold and other valuable minerals. Mali&#39;s rulers, like their military counterparts in neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso, have severed ties with former colonial ruler France and several Western countries, moving closer to Russia.&nbsp;

Jihadist fighters kills the Mali junta's Defense Minister General Sadio Camara with a car bomb left outside his residence near the capital Bamako

Mali junta defense minister killed in attack near Bamako: Family

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: India&#39;s government spent years designing a new legal order for labor. It passed four codes that replaced 29 laws, promised streamlined dispute resolution, and called it reform. The first four months of 2026 were the stress test: the codes failed it. The failure was not sudden. The Industrial Relations Code (Amendment) Bill, passed in February, repealed the foundational labor laws of 1926, 1946, and 1947 with retrospective effect, as reported by PRS India.&nbsp; The government called this modernization. But the codes exclude establishments with fewer than 10 workers, leaving 93% of the workforce outside the scope of safety compliance, according to local media. The architecture was never built for the people it claimed to protect. The Panipat refinery strike in February made that visible. Contractual workers at one of South Asia&#39;s largest refineries, formally excluded from many of the codes&#39; provisions, reported 12-hour shifts without overtime pay, per Business and Human Rights Resource Centre. They refused to return without written assurances. These were not unionized workers operating within the dispute mechanisms created by the new codes. They were workers who had written out the codes. That distinction matters. The Feb. 12 general strike drew 300 million participants across 600 districts, according to The Hindu, with union leadership declaring demands and organizing geography. It was large but legible. The April violence was neither. When the channels break When the West Asia conflict pushed black-market LPG prices from ₹500 to nearly ₹2,000, according to Reuters, for workers earning ₹500 to ₹800 rupees per day, the calculus became simple and brutal. While legislative grievances are negotiable, the inability to feed a family is not. Haryana moved first. After sustained unrest in Manesar, the state ordered a 35% increase in the minimum wage, as reported by the Deccan Herald. The decision resolved Manesar and detonated Noida. Workers across the border in Uttar Pradesh, employed by the same multinational supply chains, demanded the same rate. The state offered 21%. On April 13 and 14, arson and vehicle torching spread across four sectors of Noida, with approximately 45,000 workers on the streets and no union leadership directing them. This is what the collapse of formal channels looks like in practice. The Labor Codes were designed to streamline collective bargaining and dispute resolution. The Noida workers had bypassed both entirely. The mechanism failed before it was tested. A state-by-state minimum wage in an economy bound by shared supply chains cannot diverge without consequences. Haryana discovered this within 72 hours of its own concession. The government has no national floor wage to fall back on. That absence is now a live emergency. The politics of exhaustion The political reach of the unrest is its most telling feature. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, an RSS affiliate and ideological ally of the ruling BJP, acknowledged the genuine concerns driving the protests. This is not the language of a party that believes the crisis belongs to the opposition. In Maharashtra, 1.7 million state government employees, teachers among them, began an indefinite strike on April 17 over a pension revision the government agreed to in 2024 but never formalized, as reported by The Hindu. The state invoked emergency legislation and classified the strike as misconduct. Treating a pension dispute as a law-and-order problem is the response of a government that has run out of political ones. The factories absorbed the damage in the only way available to them. Tata Motors raised commercial vehicle prices up to 1.5% and passenger models 0.5%, per the Economic Times. Audi India added 2% across its range. The human cost arrived on April 24. Two factory explosions, one at a Chhattisgarh thermal plant and one at a Tamil Nadu firecracker factory, killed 31 workers combined. The National Human Rights Commission issued notices to both state governments, as confirmed by the Press Information Bureau. For labor unions, the timing sealed the argument. The codes that were meant to protect workers had not. The channels that were meant to contain grievances had not. What remained was the street.

Workers protesting in the city of Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. (CPI(ML) Weekly News Magazine)

India

From a record general strike in February to arson and street violence in April, India's industrial order has fractured under sweeping labor law reform and an energy crisis born from war.

Strikes and violence mark wave of unrest in India's 2026 economy

ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;Pakistan&#39;s Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Attaullah Tarar, said on Sunday that India&#39;s allegations against Pakistan regarding the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/india-failed-to-substantiate-pahalgam-allegations-after-one-year-pakistan-minister" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 115, 230);">Pahalgam attack</a>&nbsp;were rejected internationally, while Islamabad&#39;s position gained global recognition. &quot;Pakistan&#39;s truth emerged as a bright reality at the global level,&quot; Tarar said. &quot;India&#39;s baseless allegations and fabricated narrative could not find acceptance at the global level.&quot; The information minister was speaking on the first anniversary of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif&#39;s address at the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul, which he called a historic turning point on the diplomatic front. Pakistan had first responded to Indian allegations at a National Security Committee meeting on April 24, 2025, according to the information minister. Two days later, PM Sharif addressed cadets at PMA Kakul, delivering &ldquo;a befitting reply to India&rdquo; over &ldquo;a false flag operation in Pahalgam.&rdquo; &quot;The blame game and baseless allegations under the guise of incidents like Pahalgam must stop,&quot; PM Sharif said in that address, as quoted by the minister. Tarar said that the prime minister described the Pahalgam incident as a tragedy. Pakistan also expressed sympathy with the victims and raised concern and regret at the global level. He noted how India, by contrast, has never condemned terrorist incidents. The information minister said when the prime minister offered to investigate the Pahalgam incident, India backed down entirely. &quot;India&#39;s failure to respond to the offer of investigation is a question mark on its position,&quot; he said. &quot;The whole world supported Pakistan&#39;s position.&quot; Tarar stated how India-backed terrorist groups are directly involved, including <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-security-forces-kill-15-terrorists-in-balochistan-operation-military" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 115, 230);">Fitna al-Hindustan</a>&nbsp;(Balochistan Liberation Army) and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-premier-vows-to-eradicate-all-forms-of-terrorism-from-country" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 115, 230);">Fitna al-Khwarij</a> (Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan).&nbsp;&quot;The clear difference is that Pakistan has made sacrifices against terrorism while India promotes terrorism,&quot; he said. He said that Pakistan has lost more than 90,000 lives in the war on terrorism and suffered over $600 billion in economic losses. On India&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/president-zardari-calls-on-india-to-restore-indus-waters-treaty" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">weaponization of water</a> against Pakistan, the minister said PM Sharif issued an unambiguous warning: &quot;Water is Pakistan&#39;s red line, there will be no compromise on it.&quot; India uses water as a weapon alongside terrorism, he stated. &quot;Pakistan&#39;s forces are capable of giving a full and effective response to any adventure,&quot; Tarar said. &quot;The entire nation stands with the Pakistani forces and is determined to defend the homeland.&quot; &quot;The Pakistani nation will not compromise on its honor and dignity,&quot; he said, quoting the prime minister directly. Pakistan&#39;s institutional and military strength has become clear to the world, he stated. &ldquo;India faced defeat on all fronts &mdash; narrative, diplomatic, and otherwise.&rdquo; &quot;Pakistan gained respect, dignity and trust at the global level. The morale of overseas Pakistanis also rose.&quot; &quot;The prime minister&#39;s speech in Kakul will be remembered as an important milestone in history,&quot; he declared.

Attaullah Tarar says India did not respond to Islamabad's offer for a joint investigation into the Pahalgam attack, noting that Pakistan’s position gained global support while India’s narrative was rejected.

India's Pahalgam narrative rejected, Pakistan's position gained global acceptance: Information Minister

Washington, United States:&nbsp;World leaders expressed shock after a shooter charged a glitzy media gala in Washington on Saturday night attended by US President Donald Trump -- and relief that there were no casualties. US law enforcement said the sole suspect, armed with &quot;a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives,&quot; has been detained and will face charges Monday in federal court. Here is how leaders reacted: <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Shehbaz Sharif&nbsp;</h2>The Pakistani prime minister wrote he was &quot;deeply shocked by the disturbing shooting incident.&quot; &quot;Relieved to know that President Trump, the First Lady, and other attendees are safe. My thoughts and prayers are with him, and I wish him continued safety and well-being,&quot; Sharif wrote on X. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Keir Starmer&nbsp;</h2>Britain&#39;s prime minister said he was &quot;shocked by the scenes at the White House Correspondents&#39; Dinner in Washington overnight.&quot; &quot;Any attack on democratic institutions or on the freedom of the press must be condemned in the strongest possible terms,&quot; Starmer wrote on X on Sunday. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Mark Carney&nbsp;</h2>The Canadian prime minister said he was &quot;relieved that the President, the First Lady, and all guests are safe.&quot; &quot;Political violence has no place in any democracy and my thoughts are with all those who have been shaken by this disturbing event,&quot; Carney wrote on X. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Claudia Sheinbaum&nbsp;</h2>The Mexican president wrote on X that &quot;it is good that President Trump and his wife are safe following the recent events. We send them our respect.&quot; &quot;Violence must never be the way,&quot; Sheinbaum added. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Pedro Sanchez&nbsp;</h2>Spain&#39;s prime minister condemned what he called &quot;the attack that took place tonight against President (Trump).&quot; &quot;Violence is never the answer. Humanity will only move forward through democracy, coexistence, and peace,&quot; Sanchez wrote on X. Emmanuel Macron France&#39;s President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday that the incident of a shooter charging a glitzy media gala attended by US President Donald Trump was &quot;unacceptable&quot;. &quot;The armed attack targeting the president of the United States last night is unacceptable. Violence has no place in a democracy,&quot; he said on X.&nbsp; &quot;I extend my full support to Donald Trump.&quot; Recep Tayyip Erdogan Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the incident, saying: &quot;In democracies, struggles are waged with ideas; there is no place for any form of violence&quot;. Ursula von der Leyen The EU chief said on X: &quot;Violence has no place in politics, ever&quot; and lauded &quot;the swift action of the police and responders for ensuring the safety of the guests&quot;. Giorgia Meloni Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her &quot;full solidarity and sincere sympathy&quot; to Trump and the others present at the event. &quot;Political hatred has no place in our democracies. We will not allow fanaticism to poison the spaces of free debate and information,&quot; she said.

Americas

World leaders express shock after a shooter charged a glitzy media gala in Washington on Saturday night, attended by US President Donald Trump -- and relief that there were no casualties.

World leaders react to Washington gala shooting

JEDDAH: Al Ahli had to &quot;suffer&quot; in becoming the first club in more than two decades to win back-to-back Asian Champions League titles, their relieved coach said. The Saudi side, playing at home in Jeddah, had a man sent off before overcoming Japan&#39;s stubborn Machida Zelvia 1-0 in extra time on Saturday. The defending champions retained the trophy thanks to substitute Feras Al Buraikan&#39;s 96th-minute goal in front of 58,984 at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium. Al Ahli had been reduced to 10 men midway through the second half when defender Zakaria Hawsawi was shown a straight red card for violent conduct for a headbutt. &quot;We had opportunities to score but it became harder after Hawsawi was sent off for an unnecessary action,&quot; their German coach Matthias Jaissle said, according to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). &quot;But we showed the right mentality and the players kept believing and that makes me so proud as a coach. &quot;We talked about it at the break that with a man down we had to suffer more and work harder. However, we have quality players who can make one moment count.&quot; Jaissle admitted that playing as hosts in front of a home crowd roaring them on had been significant. The AFC put the latter rounds of Asia&#39;s top club competition in Jeddah, handing Jeddah-based Al Ahli a clear advantage. &quot;Obviously a part of it (winning) was because we played here in Jeddah in front of our fans who pushed us and gave us extra energy,&quot; he said. &quot;To win it back-to-back is something historic. &quot;Feels a bit weird. My tank is a bit empty. So much relief because the pressure was on. &quot;It will take a couple of days for this to sink in.&quot;

Al-Ahli's German coach Matthias Jaissle reacts as he celebrates with his team after they beat Machida Zelvia 1-0 to win the final of the AFC Champions League football match between Al-Ahli Saudi FC and FC Machida Zelvia at the King Abdullah Sports City, i

Football

Al Ahli overcame a red card and Japan’s Machida Zelvia 1-0 in extra time to win a second straight Asian Champions League title, with Feras Al Buraikan scoring decisive goal.

In last 24 hours: Pause in US-Iran talks, but both sides praise Pakistan's peace efforts

Latest News

Mortar shell from Afghan side hits residential area, woman constable among three injured

Drone attack hits Sudan aid truck: UN

The Punjab Series: Nine-year-old genius Arfa Karim's legacy lives on in Lahore's tallest tower

In last 24 hours: Pause in US-Iran talks, but both sides praise Pakistan's peace efforts

Ravi lounge at lahore airport dedicated for chinese passenger