Author: Admin

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina masterminded a deadly crackdown on mass protests that prompted her ouster last year, prosecutors at a domestic war crimes tribunal said Monday. Up to 1,400 people died in July 2024 when Hasina’s government launched a brutal campaign to silence the opposition, according to the United Nations. Hasina lives in self-imposed exile in India, where she fled by helicopter, and has defied an arrest warrant from Dhaka over charges of crimes against humanity. “The investigation team has found Sheikh Hasina culpable in at least five charges,” Mohammad Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor at Bangladesh’s domestic…

The federal sex trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs opened Monday in New York with powerful opening statements and graphic witness testimony. Combs faces five federal charges, including racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Prosecutors allege that Combs used his celebrity status and employees to operate a criminal enterprise that enabled coercion, abuse, and “freak offs”—drug- and sex-fueled parties involving non-consensual sex acts. If convicted, Combs could face 15 years to life in prison. On day one of the trial, jurors heard from former hotel security guard Israel Florez, who testified that…

Palestinians walk through the rubble of destroyed residential buildings, in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Gaza City, October 10, 2023. — ReutersA record 83.4 million people were internally displaced worldwide in 2024 due to ongoing conflicts and climate-related disasters, according to a report released Tuesday by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).The figure, more than double that of six years ago, reflects mass displacement driven by wars in Sudan and Gaza, as well as floods and cyclones. “Conflict, poverty, and climate are colliding — and it’s the most vulnerable who suffer most,” said…

KARACHI: In the early hours following India’s unprovoked attack, Pakistan’s Armed Forces launched a calibrated response – code-named Operation Bunyanum Marsoos – one that not only neutralised incoming threats and gripped the world’s attention instantly, but also sent a clear message to New Delhi—the skies above Pakistan would not be ceded to aggression or violations of national sovereignty. What unfolded was not just a military response, but a moment of rare operational clarity – drones intercepted, air dominance reasserted, and command over the slaloming narrative of victory, being spun by India’s media apparatus loyal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reclaimed…

A Chinese rider is on his way to deliver online orders. — Reuters/FileSHANGHAI: China’s top online shopping companies, Alibaba and JD.com, are quickly expanding into instant retail — where deliveries arrive within 30 to 60 minutes. However, this push for speed is coming at a high price, as they offer big discounts to attract customers and compete for market share. Investors will be dissecting the strategy when JD.com reports its quarterly earnings on Tuesday and Alibaba on Thursday, as finding new avenues for growth has proven challenging for China’s largest online retailers.Their market penetration is already high and prices for goods…

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir said on Monday that no hostile design could undermine the determination of the Pakistan Armed Forces, as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared May 10 as a national day to be observed annually as ‘Youm-e-Marka-e-Haq’. Marka-e-Haq refers to the broader conflict with India from April 22 to May 10, while ‘Bunyanum Marsoos’ is the name given to the operation on May 10, during which Pakistan vowed justice and retribution. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the army chief visited the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Rawalpindi to inquire about the well-being…

Nicolas Cage as ‘Spider-Noir’Nicolas Cage just swung into the spotlight, as Amazon finally gave fans a first look at the Oscar winner in Spider-Noir, the upcoming live-action series based on Marvel’s brooding, black-and-white Spidey spin-off. The reveal came during Amazon’s upfronts presentation, and let’s just say, Cage looks ready to solve crime and sling webs—preferably in trench coats.  Premiering in 2026 on MGM+ and Prime Video, the series will be available in both black and white and color, for those who want to keep it classic or give it a modern spin.Set in a gritty 1930s New York, Spider-Noir follows Cage as…

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has approved a relief of Rs3.64 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) on account of K-Electric’s (KE) Fuel Charges Adjustment (FCA) for February 2025. The adjustment will be reflected in consumer electricity bills for May 2025. In its decision, NEPRA also provisionally withheld Rs3 billion from KE’s claims related to partial load operations, open cycle usage, degradation curves and start-up costs. The step aligns with the authority’s generation tariff determination for the control period beginning July 2023 and aims to settle pending claims without transferring the burden to consumers in future adjustments. Fuel charges adjustments…

Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, walks on the day he meets with Qatar’s Minister of State Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, after the ousting of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, December 23, 2024. — ReutersUS President Donald Trump said Monday he was considering offering sanctions relief to Syria as it seeks to rebuild after a grinding decade-plus civil war, AFP reported. “We are going to have to decide on the sanctions, which we may very well relieve. We may take them off of Syria because we want to give them a fresh start,” Trump…

ISLAMABAD: Senior military officials from Pakistan and India on Monday held their first round of talks through a hotline and agreed to maintain the ceasefire agreed on Saturday after the five-days of war. As part of the ceasefire deal, brokered by the United States, Director General Military Operations (DGMO) of Pakistan Major General Kashif Abdullah and his Indian counterpart Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai spoke to each other. “Issues related to continuing the commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive and inimical action against each other were discussed,” the Indian army said. “It was…