Khuzdar Press Club (KPC) President Maulana Muhammad Siddique Mengal was among three dead and at least five others injured due to a car bomb attack in the district of Balochistan on Friday, police and medical officials said. The incident coincided with World Press Freedom Day and the release of the 2024 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders which saw Pakistan dropping two places to 152. The index said Pakistan was “one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, with three to four murders each year”. City Police Station House Officer (SHO) Ghulam Mus ..read more

The federal government has extradited to Norway a known radical suspected of masterminding an Oslo shooting on the eve of the 2022 Pride festival, Norwegian authorities said on Friday. On the night of June 25, 2022, just hours before the Pride parade was to take place, a man opened fire outside two bars in central Oslo, including a well-known gay club, killing two men and wounding nine others. The suspected shooter, Zaniar Matapour, a 44-year-old Norwegian of Iranian origin, is currently on trial accused of an “act of terror”. Matapour has pleaded not guilty, and psychiatric experts are at odd ..read more

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi will contest the general election from the family bastion in the north, his Congress party announced on Friday, a move that will challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a region he dominates. Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, will contest from Raebareli in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh state, Congress said, in addition to Wayanad in Kerala state in the south, which has already voted. India allows candidates to contest multiple constituencies but they can represent only one. Uttar Pradesh is India’s most populous state and elects 80 lawma ..read more

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has called for the declaration of an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza, the opening of a humanitarian corridor and urged the international community to hold Israel accountable for its military offensive in the besieged enclave. Dar arrived in The Gambia on Wednesday to represent Pakistan at the 15th Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Banjul on May 4 and 5. Besides attending the OIC summit, the newly appointed deputy prime minister will also hold bilateral meetings with dignitaries from the member countries. The O ..read more

The federal government on Friday established the National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency (NCCIA), rendering the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Cybercrime Wing as “defunct”. A day ago, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar had announced that the government was forming a separate authority to “safeguard the digital rights of people” and “counter propaganda and rumours on social media”. “There must be an end to harassment, including online,” he had said, calling for a specific authority to address the issue of online harassment as at present there is no law to protect the digital rights o ..read more

A highway policeman was martyred and another was injured on Friday over a dispute on a challan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mansehra, according to the police. A statement from the KP police spokesperson said the incident took place at Mansehra’s Bedra Interchange when Motor Mobile Patrolling Officer Aamir was martyred and Constable Naveed was injured when a suspect opened fire after a being served a traffic challan. The statement added that Mansehra District Police Officer (DPO) Shafiullah Gandapur visited the site as soon as he was informed and was briefed on the incident. It added that the police ..read more

Pakistan dropped down two places in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Friday. According to the index, published to coincide with World Press Freedom Day, Pakistan now ranks 152 out of 180 countries, compared to its standing at 150 in last year’s index. In its country profile, RSF said that since its founding in 1947, Pakistan has “oscillated between civil society’s quest for greater press freedom and a political reality in which the political-military elite retains broad control over the media”. It noted that Pakistan’s media landscape became “e ..read more

Pakistan dropped down two places in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Friday. According to the index, published to coincide with World Press Freedom Day, Pakistan now ranks 152 out of 180 countries, compared to its standing at 150 in last year’s index. In its country profile, RSF said that since its founding in 1947, Pakistan has “oscillated between civil society’s quest for greater press freedom and a political reality in which the political-military elite retains broad control over the media”. It noted that Pakistan’s media landscape became “e ..read more

After turning in a depressed performance for three consecutive sessions, bulls returned to the trade floor at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as shares gained more than 1,200 points in intraday trade. The benchmark KSE-100 index gained 1272.13, or 1.8 per cent, to stand at 71,929.77 points at 4:27pm from the previous close of 70,657.64. Finally, the index closed at 71,902.09, up by 1244.45 points or 1.76pc from the previous close. Tahir Abbas, head of research at Arif Habib Limited, observed, “The market is gaining momentum after correction of 3pc during the last 3 days.” He added that the i ..read more

In a historic first, a Pakistani satellite will orbit the moon as part of China’s historic Chang’e-6 lunar mission, which was launched from Hainan, China, on Friday. The mission, which aims to explore the moon’s “dark side”, will employ lunar research payloads from multiple countries, including Pakistan’s iCube Qamar satellite. The Institute of Space Technology (IST) on Tuesday said Pakistan’s “historic” lunar module iCube-Q, which was designed by IST in collaboration with China’s Shanghai University (SJTU) and Pakistan’s national space agency Suparco, will be aboard Chang’e-6. The mission, d ..read more