Blaze News - Pakistan

India’s main opposition Congress party reacted sharply to reports of an award conferred on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Seychelles, casting doubts over its authenticity, British publication The Guardian said in a report on Friday. As Modi arrived in Seychelles over the weekend, the Indian prime minister was presented with the “Guardian of the Blue Horizon” award by Seychelles President Patrick Herminie, along with a trophy and certificate, the report said. However, according to The Guardian, questions soon emerged over the authenticity and preparation of the award. The certificate reportedly contained spelling errors, including “repubblic” instead of “republic” and “Seycheeles” instead of “Seychelles”. Read: Modi conferred ‘The King Hamad Order of the Renaissance’ in Bahrain The report added that the award was created only three days before Modi’s arrival and that he was the first and only re...

Iga Swiatek's Wimbledon title defence was ended by the Philippines' Alexandra Eala in a third-round shock on Saturday, while "heartbroken" Serena Williams was forced to withdraw from the doubles tournament. Kazakh second seed Elena Rybakina also crashed out, leaving the bottom half of the women's singles draw wide open. Swiatek slipped to a 7-6 (11/9), 6-2 defeat on Centre Court as 29th seed Eala reached the last 16 of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. It is six-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek's earliest exit from a major tournament since another third-round defeat, by Yulia Putintseva, at Wimbledon two years ago. Eala had already made history for the Philippines by becoming the first player from the Southeast Asian nation to reach the third round of a Grand Slam in the Open era. "I'm really emotional and maybe for someone like Iga who has won so many Slams, or someone like Serena or Venus (Williams), this achievement might seem s...

The federal government on Friday reduced the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs1.97 per litre for the next week, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Petroleum. Under the revised rates, the price of petrol has been fixed at Rs297.53 per litre, while HSD will now cost Rs309.50 per litre. The new prices came into effect at midnight and will remain applicable for the next week, the notification said. The announcement came a week after the government decided to keep petrol and diesel prices unchanged despite a continued decline in international oil prices. Following that decision, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik rejected the impression that the government was favouring any particular sector and said the public was likely to receive "good news" in the coming days. Read: Petroleum price freeze sparks backlash He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's top priority was protecting consumer rights, adding that a high-level committe...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Istanbul on Friday on a bilateral visit to Turkiye after a brief visit to Iran, where he attended the funeral rites of Iran's late supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. The visit to Turkiye came at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The visit marks the prime minister's third trip to Turkiye in as many months. He had previously visited the country in April and May as part of efforts to promote bilateral ties and discuss regional developments. According to the statement, the prime minister was received at Istanbul's Atatürk Airport by Turkish Minister of Trade Prof Dr Omer Bolat, Pakistan's Ambassador to Turkiye Dr Yousaf Junaid, and officials from the Turkish foreign ministry and the Pakistani embassy. Read: PM Shehbaz arrives in Turkiye on last leg of 3-nation tour Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister...

A sessions court in Lahore on Thursday extended the interim bail of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) Saqib Chadhar and his wife Samaira until July 13 in a case involving allegations of harassment and death threats against actress Momina Iqbal. The case was registered on June 4 by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) over a complaint filed by Momina. According to the first information report (FIR), Chadhar and his wife were accused of engaging in a sustained campaign of cyber harassment, stalking, intimidation and blackmail against the actor. The hearing was conducted by Additional District and Sessions Judge Nusrat Ali Siddiqui, who granted the extension and provided Samaira another opportunity to join the investigation. During the hearing, the investigating officer (IO) submitted a progress report to the court, stating that the MPA’s wife had not yet joined the investigation despite repeated directions by the co...

A 19-year-old woman was allegedly shot dead by her uncle and cousin in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Lower Dir district after she was seen talking to a neighbour outside her home, police said on Wednesday. The incident took place on June 26 in the mountainous village of Kharkai, within the jurisdiction of Khar Police Station. The victim was the only child of her parents. Her father had travelled abroad for work, while her mother died during childbirth last year. Following her mother's death, she had been living with her uncle. Read: 405 honour killings recorded across Pakistan in 2024: HRCP According to the police, she was allegedly killed in the name of "honour". Superintendent of Police (Investigation) Rashid Khan, who is leading the investigation, told The Express Tribune that a first information report (FIR) was registered in the case. He said the victim was killed with Kalashnikov fire and that spent bullet casings had been recovered from the crime scene. Acco...