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Taliban's new marriage separation decree draws UN criticism

The Afghan Taliban government’s new decree governing the separation of spouses “reinforces systemic discrimination” and erodes the rights of Afghan women and girls, the United Nations said on Thursday. Published in mid-May, the 31-article code sets out various grounds for separation in Afghanistan, including a husband’s prolonged disappearance, “incompatibility” between couples, renunciation of Islam and “failure on the part of the husband”. The decree, which appeared in the country’s Official Gazette , also states that marriage contracts drawn up by relatives “on behalf of a minor boy or girl” can be annulled, which suggests child marriage is permitted in Afghanistan, according to the UN. In most cases, the procedures for women seeking a separation are more complicated than those for men. The document, approved by Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, “is part of a broader and deeply concerning trajectory in which the rights of Afghan women and girls are being eroded”, said George...
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Fight against terrorism will continue with 'full national resolve', asserts CDF Munir

Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir reaffirmed on Thursday that Pakistan’s fight against terrorism “will continue with full national resolve” until “enduring peace and stability” were achieved across the country, the military’s media wing said. CDF Munir made the declaration at an investiture ceremony held at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi to confer military awards on officers and soldiers of the Pakistan Army,” Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. The CDF was the chief guest at the ceremony, where he “conferred awards on the families of shuhada (martyrs), officers and soldiers in recognition of exceptional gallantry in operations and distinguished services rendered to the nation”, the statement said. It added that awards conferred on the occasion included 50 Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Military) and 12 Tamgha-i-Basalat. “Medals awarded posthumously were received w...
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Hot weather on the cards during Eid as PMD predicts heatwave from May 25-31

Heatwave conditions are likely to persist across the country from May 25 to May 31, with the mercury expected to touch 50°C in some parts of the country, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said on Thursday. Pakistan will celebrate Eidul Azha on May 27 (Wednesday), while the federal government has announced a three-day public holiday from May 26-28 (Tuesday to Thursday). In an advisory, the department predicted that “high pressure is likely to develop in the upper atmosphere on May 25 and likely to strengthen on May 26”, under the influence of which, “moderate to severe” heatwave conditions are expected to develop from May 25 to May 31. It said the maximum temperature is likely to remain 4-6°C above normal and may rise to 47-50°C in the following districts: Sukkur, Shikarpur, Qambar Shahdadkot, Jacobabad, Larkana, Mohenjo Daro, Dadu, Shaheed Benazirabad, Tharparkar, Badin, Sujawal, Thatta, Hyderabad, Matiyari, Tando Muhamad Kh...
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How to buy a Cambridge exam paper online in Pakistan

This summer has brought on a nightmare for students across Pakistan and a PR bloodbath for the Cambridge examinations board. Its Mathematics paper leaked hours before hundreds of thousands of teenagers were supposed to attempt it across the country on April 29. The memes were eviscerating: Next time, print out the leaked .pdf and when the invigilator hands you the question paper, say, ‘It’s OK, I’ve brought my own’. In truth, though, no one was laughing. “It was a bit of doom and gloom,” said Lahore student Hamza Nasir*, describing the mood outside the hall after his AS Level Mathematics P1 exam. Some students who had no idea about the leak were livid and others were celebrating its veracity. This is the third time leaks have ruined exam season. Each year, in May-June and November, Pakistani students sit for the Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE) exams in subjects that range from English Literature to Islamiyat. Grades 10 and 11 prepare for the Ordinary or O Levels ...
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Shot for throwing stones: Israeli forces killing West Bank teens weekly

Youssef Shtayyeh came home from school on an April afternoon, dropped his bag in the hallway and headed straight back out to join his friends. Minutes later, he was dead — shot by an Israeli soldier, just 100 metres from his home. He was 15. His is not an isolated case. Since Israel launched a major military operation against armed Palestinian groups in the northern West Bank in January 2025, one Palestinian minor has been killed every week on average across the territory, up from one every three weeks in 2021, according to Unicef. Seventy teenagers, mostly aged 15 to 16, have been killed to date, 65 of them by Israeli forces, according to a Unicef report dated May 12. Then came Youssef Kaabnah, 16, killed on May 13. Then Fahd Oweis, 15, two days later. The Israeli military said both had “hurled stones” at soldiers. It is almost certainly what Shtayyeh had been doing too, on April 23, in Nablus — the largest city in the northern West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by I...
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Islamabad court hands death sentence to convict in Sana Yousaf murder case

ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad sessions court sentenced Umar Hayat, the main accused in the Sana Yousaf murder case, to death on Monday. Hayat was arrested by the Islamabad Police a day after 17-year-old TikTok influencer Yousaf was shot dead in her house on June 2, 2025. The 23-year-old culprit was arrested from Faisalabad, with Islamabad Inspector General (IG) Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi terming it a case of “repeated rejections”. Judge Afzal Majoka announced the verdict in the case today, handing Hayat a death sentence, in addition to 10 years of imprisonment and Rs2 million fine. On Monday, Hayat — son of a retired government official and a TikToker himself — retracted his earlier confessional statement admitting to Yousaf’s murder. In his statement made under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), Hayat maintained he was falsely implicated in the case. He repeatedly declined to answer questions in the absence of his lawyer, later recording his detailed statement with his cou...
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Thailand cuts visa-free stays, citing crime by foreigners

Thailand is drastically cutting the length of visa-free stays for tourists from more than 90 countries in an effort to curb crime involving foreign nationals, officials said on Tuesday. Tourism is vital to the Southeast Asian nation’s economy, but foreign arrivals are yet to return to their pre-Covid highs. A recent series of high-profile arrests of foreigners has included cases linked to drug offences, sex trafficking and foreigners operating businesses such as hotels and schools without proper permits. Under Thailand’s current tourism scheme, travellers from more than 90 countries — including Europe’s 29-nation Schengen area, the United States, Israel and several South American countries — are eligible to visit for up to 60 days without a visa. Thailand’s cabinet approved reducing visa-free stays for travellers from those countries on Tuesday, Tourism Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul told reporters in Bangkok. The new visa-free duration would be decided on a country-by-countr...
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