JERUSALEM: Israel said Wednesday its forces were carrying out “offensive action” in Lebanon after launching cross-border strikes targeting Hamas ally Hezbollah as Israeli aircraft and tanks pounded the Gaza Strip. Since the Israel-Hamas war erupted on October 7, Lebanon’s powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah group and Israeli forces have traded near-daily fire, heightening fears of a wider conflict breaking out. In war-battered Gaza, there has been mounting concern over Israeli plans to launch an assault on the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where 1.5 million people have sought refuge, many in makesh ..read more

NEW YORK: Columbia University students agreed to take down “a significant number” of the dozens of tents set up on the school’s main campus as part of a protest against Israel’s incursion into Gaza, the New York school said on Wednesday. The concession by protesters was part of a deal under which Columbia agreed to extend by 48 hours a midnight deadline for the entire encampment to come down, it said in a statement, pointing to “significant progress” in the talks. A representative of the protesters, who have occupied a lawn at the center of the upper Manhattan campus for days, could not be rea ..read more

ISLAMABAD: The government has requested the World Bank for restructuring of Higher Education Development in Pakistan (HEDP) project worth $400 million for the third time to allow for the completion of critical IT and IT-related activities and the full achievement of performance-based conditions (PBCs). Official documents revealed that the project is in its fifth year of implementation and its objective is to support research excellence in strategic sectors of the economy, improve teaching and learning and strengthen governance, in the higher education sector. The government requested an extens ..read more

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) spokesperson Faisal Karim Kundi urged the opposition parties to engage in dialogue to navigate the country through its challenges including economic crisis. Addressing a news conference on Wednesday along with Nadeem Afzal Chan and Syed Sibtal Bukhari, Kundi emphasized that opposition parties must refrain from engaging in the politics of blame and instead focus on improving the lives of the people. Kundi remarked that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has divergent views on the by-elections, given that Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur ha ..read more

LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif, while approving “Apni Chhat... Apna Ghar (Own Roof…Own Home)” project, directed authorities concerned to consult Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners to get best of the best maps for these houses. “Construct the best houses at minimum cost near cities,” Maryam said while chairing a special meeting on the construction of model low-cost houses for the homeless low-income segment of society. Earlier, the CM was briefed that 519 kanals of state land have been identified in five major cities including Lahore for the construction of low ..read more

WASHINGTON: The United States in recent weeks secretly shipped long-range missiles to Ukraine for use in its battle to fight off Russian invaders, and Ukraine last week used them for the first time, a US official said on Wednesday. The missiles were contained in a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine that US President Joe Biden approved on March 12, said the US official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official would not say how many of the missiles were sent. The missiles were used for the first time in the early hours of April 17, launched against a Russian airfield in Crime ..read more

GENEVA: The United Nations said Wednesday it was launching a new Climate Resilience Fund aimed at boosting protections for “refugees and displaced communities” threatened by climate change. The UN refugee agency said it aimed to raise $100 million for the new fund by the end of next year to support refugees, their host communities and countries of origin hardest hit by climate emergencies. The agency highlighted in a statement that climate risks were “strongly correlated with conflict and poverty”, experienced by many refugees. In 2022, more than 70 percent of refugees and asylum seekers fled ..read more

KARACHI: The weather report on Wednesday (April 24, 2024) and the forecast for Thursday (April 25, 2024) ================================================================== CITIES TODAY TOMORROW ================================================================== Hyderabad 40-25 (ºC) 00-00 (%) 39-25 (ºC) 00-00 (%) Karachi 33-26 (ºC) 00-00 (%) 33-25 (ºC) 00-00 (%) Lahore 37-23 (°C) 00-00 (%) 37-21 (°C) 40-00 (%) Larkana 42-22 (°C) 01-00 (%) 41-21 (°C) 00-00 (%) Mirpurkhas 41-24 ..read more

ISLAMABAD: Secretary Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Amer Ali Ahmad hosted a 12-member delegation from the Ministry of Social Solidarity and Inclusion (MSSI) of Timor-Leste at BISP headquarters on Wednesday. Led by Veronica Das Dores, Minister of Social Solidarity and Inclusion, the delegation’s visit aimed to explore avenues of collaboration and learn from BISP’s extensive experience in social protection initiatives, an official statement said. Speaking to the delegation, the secretary BISP emphasised on the importance of sharing experiences and best practices to address the challenge ..read more

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) bench hearing intra-court appeals (ICAs) against its own judgment on military courts referred the matter to the Committee for the constitution of a larger bench. As a result of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023, a three-member committee, comprising the chief justice of Pakistan and the two senior-most judges of the apex court decides about the formation of benches and fixation of cases before them. Earlier, the chief justice was the sole decision-making entity. A six-member bench headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan and comprising Justice Muhamm ..read more