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George Russell beamed with delight on Sunday after taking full advantage of a sensational late crash between series leader Max Verstappen and his title rival Lando Norris to win an action-packed Austrian Grand Prix. It was the British driver’s second career victory and Mercedes’ first success in 33 outings, endorsing their improved form in recent races, but his triumph was overshadowed by the 64th lap collision that wrecked both Verstappen’s and Norris’s races — and left the Dutchman defending his reputation. Red Bull’s three-time champion was adjudged to have caused the accident by swerving to his left to hit Norris’s McLaren causing punctures to both cars. Verstappen managed to pit and finish fifth, despite receiving a 10-second penalty for his reckless driving, but Norris retired after limping to the pits in his damaged car. Russell came home 1.906 seconds clear of Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren with Carlos Sainz third for Ferrari ahead of seven-time champion Lewis Ham...

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Sunday expressed confidence that Pakistan would secure an extended loan programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), adding that agreements with the Fund can contribute to macroeconomic stability. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad at the end of the fiscal year 2023-24, the finance minister stressed his and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s hopes that the upcoming IMF programme would be the country’s last. “From my perspective, the prime minister agrees that this will be the last IMF program. This is my hope,” he said. President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday gave assent to the government’s tax-heavy Finance Bill 2024 for the new fiscal year. The government had presented the budget two weeks ago, drawing sharp criticism from opposition parties, especially the PTI, as well as coalition ally PPP. On Friday, the government extended exemptions in specific sectors while announcing new tax measures in several areas to generate addition...

The death toll from this week’s sudden heavy rain has climbed to 11 in New Delhi, including four citizens who drowned in submerged underpasses, the Times of India reported, while flight operations stuttered in the Indian capital. New Delhi, which endured one of its worst heatwaves in history earlier this month, faced the biggest downpour in decades on June 28, with rainfall in a single day surpassing the city’s average for the entire month. The torrential rain caused a fatal roof collapse at one of the three terminals of Delhi’s main airport, disrupted flights, flooded underpasses, and led to massive traffic jams, and power and water outages in parts of the city. Nearly 60 flights were cancelled from New Delhi’s main airport in the last 24 hours, according to data from flight tracking platform FlightAware . Operations were largely normal on Sunday, with most flights from the affected terminal diverted to the other two, an airport official said but did not rule out possible f...

Pakistan’s Hamza Khan put on a show for the home crowd as he clinched the Boys’ Under-19 title at the finals of the 31st Asian Junior Squash Championship in Islamabad on Saturday. Last year’s world junior champion cruised to victory over Malaysia’s third seed Harith Danial in three straight sets 11-5, 12-10, 11-9. Danial’s commendable fight for gold was trumped by his sportsmanship as he immediately embraced Khan in a congratulatory hug following the latter’s victory. Powerhouse Khan remained unbeaten throughout the championship, thrashing Hong Kong’s Lee Tin Hang in the prelims before facing compatriot Anas Ali Shah in the quarter-finals, winning against both in three straight sets. He sailed into Friday’s semi-finals against teammate M Ahmad, winning a clean 11-6, 11-5, 11-0 to secure a spot in the final against Danial. Saturday’s finals saw three other Pakistanis eyeing a junior title. Despite a solid start by Abdullah Nawaz against Nikhileswar Moganasundharam, the Malays...

India have chosen to bat first in their T20 World Cup final clash against South Africa amid bright sunshine at Kensington Oval on Saturday. Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and said his squad would bat first. The final concludes a nearly month-long tournament and features two teams who have been unbeaten throughout the competition. The possibility of stormy weather over the weekend, with some rain forecast for Saturday, had raised concerns among organisers but as early arrivals began taking their seats there was no sign of precipitation. The 28,000-capacity venue, regarded by many as the spiritual home of West Indies cricket, is expected to be sold out with many Indian fans travelling from afar for the match. Even if some showers pass through, the expectation is that the reserve date of Sunday will not be necessary. A tournament which has been a mixed bag in terms of quality, entertainment and attendance has certainly succeeded in setting up a final between the two b...

Taliban authorities said on Saturday that demands over women’s rights were “Afghanistan’s issues” to solve, ahead of United Nations-led engagement talks where the exclusion of Afghan women has sparked an outcry. The Taliban government, which has imposed restrictions on women since seizing power in 2021 that the UN has described as “gender apartheid”, will send its first delegation to the third round of talks starting in Qatar on Sunday. Civil society representatives, including from women’s rights groups, will attend meetings with the international envoys and UN officials on Tuesday, after the official talks. Rights groups have condemned the exclusion of Afghan women from the main meetings and the lack of human rights issues on the agenda. The Taliban authorities “acknowledge the issues about women”, government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference in Kabul on the eve of the latest talks. “But these issues are Afghanistan’s issues,” said Mujahid, who will lead th...

Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan on Saturday announced the formation of an ethics committee to address the “deterioration of decorum” witnessed in the house in recent days. “The [assembly] has been deteriorating day by day, the cause of which is the people inside it,” he said. “In these times, when [lawmakers] completely fall from ethical standards, when foul language is used, how will conduct be maintained in the house?” The PA speaker’s remarks come a day after 11 opposition members were barred from attending the next 15 sittings of the house for resorting to “rowdyism” during the speech of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. The suspended MPAs, belonging to the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council, are Zulfikar Ali, Shehbaz Ahmed, Muhammad Atif, Tayyab Rashid, Imtiaz Mahmood, Hafiz Farhat Abbas, Ejaz Shafi, Rana Aurangzeb, Shoaib Amir, Osama Asghar Ali Gujjar and Asad Abbas. They had used non-parliamentary and abusive language against the chief minister when she was recou...

A child died and 41 others sustained injuries after a school bus they were travelling in plunged into a ditch in Swat’s Khwazakhela tehsil, officials said. According to Rescue 1122 spokesperson Shafiqa Gul, the bus was taking the children home from their school, Abaseen, located in Khwazakhela. When the bus reached a narrow bridge in the Asala area, the driver lost control and the bus plunged into a ditch, local eyewitnesses told Dawn.com . “One student died on the spot, while 41 others were inured, six of whom are in critical condition,” Gul said. She said Rescue 1122 teams reached the site of the incident and moved the injured students to Khwazakhela Hospital. Those in critical condition were taken to the Saidu Sharif Teaching Hospital for further treatment. Speaking to Dawn.com , local resident Haider Ali said the bus driver had been involved in another bus accident previously, which killed four children and left 30 others injured in Swat’s Matta tehsil in November 2021. Acco...

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan on Thursday filed a petition before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking judicial intervention in the affairs of the Rawalpindi Central Jail, saying the prison is being managed by officials of an intelligence agency. In the petition filed through his counsel Shoaib Shaheen, Mr Khan said that two intelligence officials virtually control the prison. The petition said that despite IHC’s clear orders, the superintendent of Adiala Jail did not allow him to consult with the PTI leadership as well as lawyers. He cited the case recently decided by the IHC in which the high court, while referring to Rule 265 of the Jail Manual, observed that the inmate is entitled to writing letters and interviews twice a week. The petition states: “It is clarified that this order is passed to remind, reiterate and preserve the values and traditions of our legal system and has little to do with the identity of the petitioner alone. These values and traditions...

Slowing her breath and focusing on a bullseye in her pistol’s sights, Kishmala Talat is aiming to become the first woman from Pakistan to win an Olympic medal. At the Paris 2024 Olympics starting on July 26, Talat will compete in the 10m air pistol and 25m pistol events, going for glory abroad and defying stereotypes at home. The nation’s medal prospects are undercut by modesty codes which dissuade women from participating in sport. 21-year-old Talat, who comes from a military family, is the first Pakistani woman to qualify for Olympic shooting. “In Pakistan there’s a prevalent taboo that dictates girls should stay at home, do girly things, and play with dolls, while boys are to play with guns,” she said. “I see no one as competition. I compete with myself,” she told AFP at a target range in the eastern city of Jhelum. ‘Wanted to do more’ Talat has won dozens of medals at a national level and four internationally, including Pakistan’s first ever shooting medal, a bronze, at th...

Rain offered some respite to Karachiites on Thursday following four straight days of the temperatures crossing 40 degrees Celsius. View this post on Instagram DawnNewsTV reported that different parts of the metropolis received dust storms and heavy rainfalls, including Gadap, Bahria Town and Malir. A correspondent said rains had started earlier on the outskirts of the city but spread to different parts of the city soon after. Pakistan Meteorological Department’s (PMD) Chief Meteorologist Dr Sardar Sarfaraz said that Friday and Saturday would be warm days as well, however, the intensity of the heat would go down. While speaking to Geo News , he said he expected rain to continue for the next two to three days with breaks during the afternoon and evening. “Until the low pressure is broken from the area, [or] it does not move or fizzles out, the sea breeze would not be restored completely,” Sarfaraz said. “The next two days will rem...

SWAT: Police said that nine more suspects, including three main accused, were arrested on Wednesday during various raids in connection with the Madyan lynching incident . With these new arrests, the total number of suspects apprehended in the case has reached 32. The district police officer, Dr Zahidullah, said that efforts were under way to arrest other people involved in the incident. He said that the people, who took law into their hands, would not be spared. He added that identification of all unknow persons involved in the incident was under way and they would soon be brought to justice. On June 20, an enraged mob lynched to death a tourist, who was accused of blasphemy. The enraged mob attacked and torched Madyan police station and took the tourist away. TLP demands release of detainees, threatens protest Meanwhile, leaders of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) have warned the district administration and police in Swat to release innocent people, who were arrested in connec...

An Islamabad district and sessions court on Thursday turned down the pleas of ex-premier Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to suspend their seven-year sentences in the Iddat case. Additional district and sessions judge (ADSJ) Afzal Majoka announced the verdict today, which had been reserved on Tuesday. On February 3 — days before the general elections — an Islamabad court, while hearing the plea of Bushra Bibi’s ex-husband Khawar Fareed Maneka, had sentenced the couple to seven years in jail and imposed Rs500,000 fine each for contracting marriage during Bushra Bibi’s Iddat period. The verdict had come in the same week the couple had been handed 14-year sentences in the Toshakhana case, and Imran and his foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had received a 10-year sentence in the cipher case. The Toshakhana case sentences had been suspended in April while earlier this month, Imran and Qureshi had also been acquitted in the cipher case. The Iddat conviction was widely cr...

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Thursday that the government would introduce a resolution in the National Assembly to counter a recently adopted US motion regarding democracy in Pakistan. His statement comes a day after the US House of Representatives had passed a resolution expressing robust support for democracy in Pakistan by an overwhelming 368-7 vote. Lawmakers supporting resolution HR 901 , titled ‘Expressing support for democracy and human rights in Pakistan’, had claimed that the approval highlighted the United States’ commitment to promoting democratic values globally. The resolution — passed with 85 per cent of House members participating and 98pc voting in its favour — had urged US President Joe Biden to collaborate with Pakistan in upholding democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. It had emphasised the importance of free and fair elections, calling for a thorough and independent investigation into any claims of interference or irregularities in Paki...

Rashid Khan’s rise to become a multi-millionaire cricket superstar began in the most desperate of circumstances as a refugee living in Peshawar. However, as an in-demand franchise cricketer with his box of leg-spin tricks, the 25-year-old has now amassed riches which would have been unimaginable when his family fled the war in Afghanistan. His most recent deal in the money-spinning Indian Premier League earned him an estimated $1.8 million and he boasts homes in Dubai and Sharjah. Now, the Afghanistan captain also finds himself just two wins away from the T20 World Cup title. For the coach who taught him cricket during his formative years in Pakistan, he was always destined for greatness. “Rashid has a blessed right hand with which he bowls world class deliveries,” Rashid’s sports teacher Ali Hoti told AFP by telephone from Peshawar. “His focus, commitment and talent were exemplary and he is now a role model across the borders of Pakistan and Afghanistan.” Rashid and his famil...

Building on recent engagements between Pakistan and China, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday gave the greenlight to relocate Chinese industries to Pakistan as part of joint ventures between the two countries’ companies. Chairing a meeting to discuss matters of the Board of Investment (BoI), the prime minister said that promoting both local and foreign investment in Pakistan was among the government’s priorities. Shehbaz said the government was taking all possible steps to create a business-friendly environment for traders and investors. The prime minister directed the authorities concerned to submit a comprehensive report on the follow up of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) signed between Pakistani and Chinese companies in Shenzhen during his recent visit to China . He also instructed a review of the draft law for Special Economic Zones One Stop Shop in light of developments following his visit to China. The premier emphasised that there was significant potential to...

In a significant display of bipartisan support, the US House of Representatives has passed a resolution expressing robust support for democracy in Pakistan by an overwhelming 368-7 vote. Lawmakers supporting resolution HR 901 , titled ‘Expressing support for democracy and human rights in Pakistan’, claimed that the approval highlighted the United States’ commitment to promoting democratic values globally. The resolution — passed with 85 per cent of House members participating and 98pc voting in its favour — urged US President Joe Biden to collaborate with Pakistan in upholding democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. It emphasised the importance of free and fair elections, calling for a thorough and independent investigation into any claims of interference or irregularities in Pakistan’s 2024 elections. HR 901 also condemned efforts to suppress democratic participation in Pakistan. It specifically denounced harassment, intimidation, violence, arbitrary detention, and restr...

Iranians will vote on Friday to elect a new president from six candidates, including a lone reformist who hopes he can challenge the dominance of conservatives in the Islamic republic. A presidential election had not been due until 2025, but was brought forward after ultraconservative Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash last month. The snap poll comes at a challenging time as Iran grapples with the economic impact of international sanctions amid heightened regional tensions over the Gaza conflict between Israel and Tehran’s ally Hamas. In April, Iran fired more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel after an air strike in Damascus blamed on Israel killed seven Revolutionary Guards. Israel carried out a reported retaliatory strike near Isfahan. Polling is also being held just five months before a presidential election in the United States, Iran’s sworn enemy and Israel’s staunch ally. Leading contenders for Iran’s second highest-ranking office are conservative parliament...

India’s newly elected lawmakers took the oath of office Tuesday, but without two vocal government critics unable to take their seats because they are jailed on national security charges. One is the Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh , a firebrand preacher arrested last year after a month-long police manhunt in Punjab state. The other is Sheikh Abdul Rashid , a former state legislator in Indian-administered Kashmir, known popularly as Engineer Rashid. Rashid, arrested on charges of “terror funding” and money laundering in 2019, is awaiting his latest bail hearing on July 1, his lawyer Ubaid Shams told AFP . The family of Singh, an advocate of the banned Khalistan movement for an independent Sikh homeland — the struggle for which sparked deadly violence in the 1980s and 1990s — said they had no news on whether he could take the oath. “We don’t know whether he will come out of jail or not”, his father Tarsem Singh told AFP . “We are at our village, and haven’t heard anything from the go...

David Warner’s 15-year international career came to an anti-climactic end on Tuesday as Australia were dumped out of the T20 World Cup in excruciating fashion. Australia and Warner could only watch on powerless as Afghanistan instead reached the semi-finals by beating Bangladesh by a nail-biting eight runs. Australia’s fate had hung in the balance after India defeated them by 24 runs in St. Lucia on a day of high drama. The 37-year-old opening batsman Warner had always said the World Cup in the United States and Caribbean would be his farewell to international cricket. He couldn’t have imagined going out quite like this. The combative Warner stood tall at the top of the Australian order ever since his international debut in January 2009, and as opening partners came and went. He hangs up his pads as arguably Australia’s greatest three-format player. He is the country’s leading run-scorer in T20 cricket with 3,277 from 110 games. Warner exited a glittering 112-Test career...