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Italy police warn reptiles being used by crooks as weapons after snakes found behind false wall

Anacondas, boa constrictors and a caiman were found behind a false wall in southern Italy, police said Thursday, amid warnings dangerous reptiles are being used by local crooks to intimidate their victims. Police in Bari carrying out a raid in an apartment block found “exotic and dangerous animals” in a secret basement room which had been transformed into a clandestine reptile house. The find included two green anacondas, each about five metres (16 feet) long and weighing around 60 kg and a spectacled caiman measuring over 1.5 meters long. “The spectacled caiman … is a wild predator with extremely powerful jaws and potentially aggressive behavior” and posed “a real threat to public safety”, according to a police statement. There was also an Asian water monitor, a lizard “of considerable size equipped with claws and a potentially dangerous bite”, it said. Police also seized a yellow anaconda, a Bolivian anaconda, four Burmese pythons, approximately three meters long each, and four ...
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Fact check: Imran’s son Kasim did not demand the suspension of Pakistan’s GSP+ status at UNHRC

Multiple PML-N supporters and media outlets on social media platform X have been sharing two videos since March 25, showing Kasim Khan, son of PTI founder Imran Khan, allegedly demanding the suspension of Pakistan’s status for the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) trade scheme. However, he made no such demand. The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false. Imran — imprisoned since 2023 for concealing details of Toshakhana gifts — is serving a 14-year sentence at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail in the £190 million corruption case . Meanwhile, his party and family have alleged that he is being kept in solitary confinement — with a restriction on visitors being allowed to meet him in jail — and have repeatedly raised concerns over his medical treatment after it surfaced in January that he suffered an eye ailment. His sons have been campaigning for his release as well. According to the European Union, GSP+ status is a special incentive aw...
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DPM Dar says US-Iran ‘indirect talks’ taking place through messages being relayed by Pakistan

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday said that US-Iran “indirect talks” were taking place through messages being relayed by Pakistan. “There has been unnecessary speculation in the media regarding peace talks to end ongoing conflict in the Middle East,” he said in a post on the social media platform X. “In reality, US-Iran indirect talks are taking place through messages being relayed by Pakistan. In this context, the United States has shared 15 points, being deliberated upon by Iran,” he said. “Brotherly countries of Turkiye and Egypt, among others, are also extending their support to this initiative,” he said. “Pakistan remains fully committed to promoting peace and continues to make every effort to ensure stability in the region and beyond,” he said, adding that dialogue and diplomacy were the only way forward. He also tagged US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US President Donald Trump’s Middle East Env...
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Exotic pet trade thrives in China despite welfare concerns

Pet lovers eagerly gathered around a container to snap photos of meerkats at a Beijing animal fair, each selling for $320, while nearby, a raccoon nervously paced in a cage only slightly bigger than itself. Throngs of people from across China packed into the cavernous exhibition halls for the annual pet fair, where exotic animals are a more common sight than cats or dogs. The exotic pet industry is experiencing rapid growth with a market nearing 10 billion yuan ($1.45 billion), Chinese state media have said. Approximately 17.07 million people in China have exotic pets, Xinhua reported last year, and animal rights groups have raised concerns about welfare standards. Unconventional pets are particularly popular among young people, with videos on how to raise them widely shared on social media platforms. A boy looks at a snake at a pet fair in Beijing on March 19, 2026. —AFP/File An 18-year-old putting down a deposit for a meerkat told AFP he was confident it would be easier to...
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OGDCL commences oil production from development well in Hyderabad

ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) on Tuesday announced the successful commencement of oil production from its development well Pasakhi-13 in Hyderabad, marking Pakistan’s first successful horizontal oil well in a clastic reservoir. According to a statement by the company, Pasakhi-13 is currently producing 460 barrels of oil per day (BPD). The well was drilled to a measured depth of 2,966 metres, including a 546-meter horizontal section, the company said in a statement. Advanced geo-steering technology-enabled precise navigation within a narrow 3 metre drilling window, ensuring optimal placement within the reservoir’s sweet spot, it added. It stated that the well was completed and tested using a short-string electric submersible pump (ESP), specifically optimised for horizontal well configurations. Despite challenging reservoir conditions, the horizontal drilling approach has significantly enhanced reservoir exposure, resulting in nearly three times high...
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Sadapay says app unavailable after Amazon Web Services disrupted in Bahrain amid war on Iran

Pakistani Fintech company Sadapay on Tuesday said its application was unavailable for users after Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Bahrain were disrupted amid the US-Israel war on Iran. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East began with the US and Israel launching attacks on Iran , triggering a conflict that has expanded to the rest of the Middle East. As the war rages on, Gulf countries have also come under attack, including Bahrain. In a statement shared on its social media handles, the company said, “The SadaPay app is currently unavailable for all users. Our infrastructure runs on AWS in Bahrain, which has been disrupted since the drone strikes on March 1.” AWS is Amazon’s cloud ‌computing ⁠unit and is critical for the operation of many well-known websites and government operations. It is also the company’s main driver of profits. It added that overnight, “conditions in the affected AWS region worsened, causing a full app outage for our users”. As per the statement, Sadapay s...
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Australia, European Union agree sweeping new trade pact 8 years in the works

The European Union (EU) and Australia struck a long-awaited free-trade deal on Tuesday, while also agreeing to boost defence cooperation and access to crucial rare-earth minerals in the face of global uncertainty over trade. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen’s visit to Australia comes as the 27-nation bloc and the import-reliant nation navigate renewed energy vulnerability sparked by the US-Israel war on Iran. The accord is the latest agreed by Brussels in a push to diversify trade as Europe faces challenges from the United States and China. Key sticking points on Australian use of European geographical names as well as how much beef can be exported to the continent were overcome to reach the deal after eight years of negotiations. Another compromise will see Australian winemakers allowed to use the term “prosecco” domestically, but they must stop using it for exports after 10 years. Australia will also be allowed to keep using some geographical names, such as feta and gruyere, i...
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