JINJA: Giggles and songs ripple across a field in rural eastern Uganda where elderly women swing cricket bats as a way to reshape what ageing, health and sports can look like in later life. The so-called &quot;cricket grannies&quot; are bound together by a growing love of a game they initially knew nothing about but is now helping them manage age-related health conditions, stress and loneliness. Clad in floor-length dresses and mostly barefoot, the women, aged 50 to 90, gather weekly at a playground in Jinja district, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the capital, Kampala. Each swing draws cheers from teammates as the women turn Saturday morning practice into a lively spectacle. &quot;With the exercises I&#39;ve been doing, my legs used to hurt, but they no longer do,&quot; Jennifer Waibi Nanyonga, 72, told AFP. &quot;I spent the whole of last year without seeing a doctor for my back, yet it had previously been paining me,&quot; added the grandmother of 29. The initiative began in 2025 with just 10 grandmothers in the remote village of Kivubuka and has since grown more than tenfold. The programme was initially aimed at children, but when cricket coach Aaron Kusasira realised their caregivers had little knowledge of the game and often kept them from joining, he decided to involve the elderly women, too. &quot;We come here, we jog, we move around, we do some stretches,&quot; Kusasira, 26, said. They &quot;unknowingly have to run because they have to compete,&quot; he added. Physical inactivity is a leading risk factor for deaths from noncommunicable diseases and, according to the World Health Organization, it is more common among women globally. International health data estimates that sedentary lifestyles are costing public health systems roughly US$27 billion per year and will continue to rise if activity levels are not improved. Fresh start&nbsp; Beyond physical activity, cricket has also fostered a sense of community among the Ugandan grannies. &quot;When at home, you have no company and spend your time buried in your thoughts,&quot; said an elderly woman who only gave her first name, Patriciah. For others, the weekly meetings have proved cathartic. &quot;When I arrive here and see my friends, we get together and talk about our problems, we counsel each other,&quot; said Jennifer Waibi Nanyonga. &quot;By the time we return home, everyone is lighter and with a fresh start,&quot; she added. For coach Kusasira, training the women has been a win-win, giving him the opportunity to coach children in the area without opposition. &quot;From the kids to the elders, provided I see the smiles it&#39;s enough. I know that is a day well spent,&quot; he said.

In eastern Uganda’s Jinja district, groups of older women have embraced cricket as a way to stay physically active and socially connected later in life. Often referred to locally as “cricket grannies”, they take part in informal games and training that co

Africa

The so-called "cricket grannies" are bound together by a growing love of a game they initially knew nothing about but is now helping them manage age-related health conditions, stress and loneliness.

From bats to bonds: Uganda's 'cricket grannies'

YAOUNDE: The global trading system is experiencing the &quot;worst disruptions in the past 80 years&quot;, World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned as the WTO ministerial conference opened Thursday. &quot;The world order and the multilateral system we use to know has irrevocably changed,&quot; she said, adding: &quot;We cannot deny the scale of the problems confronting the world today.&quot; The World Trade Organization&#39;s 166 members appear deeply divided as trade ministers gather in the Cameroonian capital for the WTO&#39;s top conference, amid global economic turmoil linked to the Middle East war. Over four days in Yaounde, WTO members will try to revitalize an institution weakened by geopolitical tensions, stalled negotiations and rising protectionism against the backdrop of the war in the Middle East, which poses a serious threat to international trade. &quot;The scale of the problems confronting the world today, even before the conflict in the Gulf, destabilized trade in energy, fertiliser and food,&quot; Okonjo-Iweala said. &quot;National governments and international institutions alike have been struggling to navigate rising geopolitical tensions, intensifying climate pressures and rapid technological change. &quot;Accompanying these shifts has been an increasingly loud questioning of multilateralism.&quot; Okonjo-Iweala said these disruptions were just one symptom of broader upheavals shaking the international order created after World War II to prevent a repeat of the disasters of the first half of the 20th century. &quot;It feels appropriate that at the moment when the world is in turmoil with conflict in the Middle East, Sudan, Ukraine, and elsewhere, at this time of great disruption and uncertainty, we have gathered in Africa to discuss the road ahead for the global trading system,&quot; she said. &quot;Africa is the continent of the future.&quot; she said. WTO ministerial conferences are typically held every two years. This is the second to be held in Africa, after Nairobi in 2015.

Container ships at the Port of Oakland on 8 March 2023 in Oakland, California. (AFP/FILE)

World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned global trade faces its worst disruptions in 80 years as ministers meet amid deep divisions and geopolitical turmoil.

Global trading system hit by 'worst disruptions in the past 80 years': WTO chief

GENEVA: The death toll from a strike on a hospital in East Darfur has risen from 64 to 70, the WHO said Tuesday, calling the hit an attack on survival in Sudan&#39;s devastating war.&nbsp;The World Health Organization said the number of people injured in Friday&#39;s strike on the El-Daein Teaching Hospital in the state capital of East Darfur had also increased from 89 to 146, with the facility now out of action.&nbsp;Hala Khudari, the deputy WHO representative in Sudan and the UN agency&#39;s health emergency lead in the country, called it an &quot;atrocious attack&quot;.&nbsp;She said the death toll included seven women and 13 children, one doctor and two nurses, while those injured included patients, their family members and eight health workers.&nbsp;&quot;The hospital sustained severe damage, particularly to the outpatient and emergency departments,&quot; she told a press briefing in Geneva, speaking from Port Sudan.&nbsp;&quot;This hospital had already been damaged in a previous attack in August 2024. Since this latest attack, the hospital is no longer functional.&quot;&nbsp;The facility served as a referral hospital for more than two million people across El-Daein city and nine localities in East Darfur state. Patients may now need to travel 160 kilometers (around 100 miles) to reach the next referral hospital, said Khudari.&nbsp;&quot;An attack on a hospital is not only an attack on a building. It is an attack on people seeking care, on health workers risking their lives to save others, and on the very possibility of survival in times of crisis,&quot; she said.&nbsp;&quot;Access to care is shrinking. And efforts to repair or restore damaged facilities and equipment are being undermined.&quot;&nbsp;Khudari said the WHO&#39;s Sudan health response for 2026 was currently only 5.7 percent funded.&nbsp;Since erupting in April 2023, the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed tens of thousands and forced 11 million people to flee their homes.&nbsp;Sudanese rights group Emergency Lawyers reported that the hospital was hit by an army drone strike.&nbsp;The RSF dominates the vast Darfur region in western Sudan, while Sudan&#39;s army is in control of the east, center and north.&nbsp;RSF-controlled El-Daein has been regularly attacked by the Sudanese army, which is trying to push the paramilitaries back towards its Darfur strongholds and away from Sudan&#39;s central corridor.

A strike on El-Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur killed 70 and injured 146, the WHO said, calling it an atrocious attack that shut a key hospital serving over two million people amid Sudan’s war.

Sudan hospital attack toll rises to 70: WHO

GENEVA: A strike on a hospital in Sudan killed 64 people and wounded 89 others, the World Health Organization said Saturday, with 13 children counted among the dead. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the attack on Friday hit El-Daein Teaching Hospital in the state capital of East Darfur, adding that &quot;enough blood has been spilled&quot; and it was time to stop the nearly three-year conflict ravaging Sudan. The hospital &quot;was struck, killing at least 64 people, including 13 children, two female nurses, one male doctor, and multiple patients,&quot; he announced on X. Sudanese rights group Emergency Lawyers reported that the hospital was hit by an army drone strike. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces dominate the vast Darfur region in western Sudan, while Sudan&#39;s army is in control of the east, center and north. Tedros said eight health staff were among the wounded in Friday&#39;s attack, which damaged the hospital&#39;s paediatric, maternity, and emergency departments. The hospital is now non-functional &quot;due to the extensive damage,&quot; he said, which resulted in a &quot;critical interruption of essential medical services.&quot; Tedros said the WHO was supporting local health partners to help fill urgent gaps by scaling up capacity at other health facilities, including by increasing capacity to treat the injured, and deploying trauma care supplies and essential medicines. &#39;Devastating human toll&#39;&nbsp;RSF-controlled El-Daein has been regularly attacked by the Sudanese army, which is trying to push the paramilitaries back towards its Darfur strongholds and away from Sudan&#39;s central corridor. Its most recent strike on the city&#39;s market earlier this month set fire to oil barrels that burned for hours. The WHO&#39;s Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care (SSA) counts and verifies such attacks, but it does not attribute blame as it is not an investigative agency. The United Nations&#39; humanitarian office in Sudan said it was &quot;appalled by the attack.&quot; To the repeated condemnation of the UN, hospitals have been a regular target throughout the war, which erupted in April 2023. As a result of Friday&#39;s tragedy, the total number of people killed in attacks on health care in the conflict has now passed 2,000. The WHO&#39;s SSA site showed 2,036 people have now been killed in 213 such attacks. &quot;Beyond the devastating human toll, attacks on health care have immediate and long-term consequences for communities already in desperate need of both emergency and routine medical services,&quot; said Tedros. &quot;Health care should never be a target. Peace is the best medicine,&quot; he said. The SSA figures show attacks on health care in Sudan are growing deadlier by the year. In 2023, 64 attacks caused 38 deaths, and the following year, 72 attacks led to 200 deaths. In 2025, 65 attacks caused 1,620 deaths, 82% of reported deaths from attacks on health care worldwide. &#39;Enough suffering&#39;The WHO&#39;s SSA said Friday&#39;s strike involved &quot;violence with heavy weapons&quot; and affected not just the hospital, staff and patients but also supplies and storage. Near-daily drone strikes are now a hallmark of Sudan&#39;s brutal war, killing dozens at a time, mostly in the southern Kordofan region. UN rights chief Volker Turk this month said he was &quot;appalled&quot; after more than 200 civilians were reported killed by drone attacks within an eight-day period. &quot;Parties to the conflict in Sudan continue to use increasingly powerful drones to deploy explosive weapons with wide-area impacts in populated areas,&quot; he said. Across the country, the war has killed tens of thousands and driven more than 11 million people from their homes. It has fuelled what the UN describes as the world&#39;s largest displacement and hunger crises, with more than 33 million people in need of humanitarian aid. &quot;Enough blood has been spilled. Enough suffering has been inflicted,&quot; said Tedros. &quot;The time has come to de-escalate the conflict in Sudan and ensure the protection of civilians, health workers, and humanitarians.&quot;

WHO chief says the attack hit El-Daein Teaching Hospital in the state capital of East Darfur, adds that "enough blood has been spilled" and it was time to stop the nearly three-year conflict ravaging Sudan.



64 killed in attack on Sudan hospital: WHO

MITSAMIOULI: At least 18 African migrants who were trying to reach the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte have drowned off the Comoros, officials and rescuers said Thursday. Thirty people had been found alive after smugglers dropped the group off the coast of the town of Mitsamiouli at the northern tip of the Comoros archipelago&#39;s largest island, Grande Comore, a minister said. Survivors said they were from the Democratic Republic of Congo and had been headed to neighbouring Mayotte, an attractive destination for migrants because of its relatively French infrastructure and welfare. They had been dropped offshore and many did not know how to swim, a young man who helped with the rescue told AFP. &quot;Last night, we found eight dead. The bodies were recovered by the residents of Mitsamiouli, fishermen and authorities,&quot; interior minister Mohamed Ahamada Assoumani told reporters. &quot;This morning, we were able to recover nine bodies. At present we have 17 dead. The coastguard is searching for the four missing bodies,&quot; he said. &quot;They say they are Congolese, they come from the Democratic Republic of the Congo,&quot; the minister said. The head of the Mitsamiouli hospital said later that the death toll had risen to 18 after another body was found. By late Thursday, the list of the deceased released by the Interior Ministry included two children aged three and 10, as well as two Burundians. Even though it is France&#39;s poorest department, Mayotte is a popular destination for migrants from the African continent and the poorer Comoros who are seeking a better life. Many pay smugglers to make the dangerous sea crossing from the continent, with thousands of people dying on the route, according to the UN&#39;s International Organization for Migration. Migrants headed to Mayotte have made landfall at the Comoros before, but this was the first time there had been a loss of life, United Nations representative James Tsok Bot said. Unable to swimA 25-year-old survivor said he had come from North Kivu in the war-torn eastern DRC and boarded a boat in the Tanzanian economic capital, Dar es Salaam. &quot;I spent three days in the forest. Then I took a bus to Dar es Salaam. From there, we took a boat. The journey lasted seven days,&quot; he said. &quot;Very quickly, we could tell that the captain had become lost. At one point, we did not have bread or water,&quot; he said. The Comoros are nearly 700 kilometres (435 miles) southeast of Dar es Salaam, with Mayotte another 200 kilometres away. &quot;We were watching the Barca-Newcastle match when we heard screams coming from the beach,&quot; said a man from Mitsamiouli, which is about 40 kilometres from the capital Moroni, who helped with the rescue. &quot;We hurried over there. We found men, women, children. They said they thought they had arrived in Mayotte,&quot; he said. &quot;The smuggler had dropped them off on a sandbank a few metres from the beach and there they could still touch the bottom. The problems began when they tried to reach the shore, even though many of them didn&#39;t know how to swim.&quot;

Thirty people had been found alive after smugglers dropped the group off the coast of the town of Mitsamiouli at the northern tip of the Comoros archipelago's largest island, Grande Comore, a minister said.

At least 18 African migrants drown off Comoros

GENEVA: Killings of civilians in Sudan&#39;s war more than doubled in 2025 compared with the previous year, the United Nations rights chief said Thursday, warning that thousands more dead are unidentified or remain missing. Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in a conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that has killed tens of thousands, displaced 11 million people and triggered one of the world&#39;s worst humanitarian crises. &quot;This war is ugly. It&#39;s bloody, and it&#39;s senseless,&quot; Volker Turk told the UN Human Rights Council, blaming both sides, which have so far rejected any humanitarian truce. He also blamed foreign sponsors funding what he called a &quot;high-tech&quot; conflict. &quot;In 2025, my office&#39;s documentation points to an over two-and-a-half times increase in killings of civilians compared with the previous year. Many thousands are still missing or unidentified,&quot; Turk said. There have been no official figures on the conflict&#39;s overall death toll. Turk condemned what he called the &quot;heinous and ruthless&quot; brutalities committed, including sexual violence, summary executions and arbitrary detentions. He highlighted the &quot;carnage&quot; inflicted by the RSF in an April attack on the Zamzam displacement camp and again in October in El‑Fasher, then the regular army&#39;s last foothold in western Darfur. Rape, gang rape, sexual torture, and slavery have also surged, Turk said, with more than 500 victims documented in 2025. &quot;The bodies of Sudanese women and girls have been weaponized to terrorize communities.&quot; In a statement, the foreign ministers of the Sudan core group at the UN Human Rights Council said the RSF-led violence in El-Fasher &quot;constitutes war crimes and crimes against humanity and bears the hallmarks of genocide.&quot; Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Britain said they would form a coalition &quot;to prevent further atrocities in Sudan and support the Sudanese people in laying the foundations for future justice.&quot; &#39;Madness&#39; Since the fall of El-Fasher, the fighting has moved deeper into neighboring Kordofan, where drone strikes have killed dozens at a time. Since January, drone attacks in the southern Kordofan region and beyond have &quot;killed or injured nearly 600 civilians,&quot; Turk said, including in attacks on humanitarian aid convoys. The UN&#39;s resident and humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, Denise Brown, said that access to the cities of Kadugli and Dilling in South Kordofan &mdash; long cut off by an RSF siege until the army recently lifted it &mdash; had been effectively impossible. &quot;We were not able to get supplies in. We had to remove our staff for their own safety,&quot; she said Thursday, after stepping off the first UN flight to Khartoum since the war began. Famine was declared last November in the North Darfur capital El-Fasher and in Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan, according to a UN-backed assessment. The same assessment said Dilling in South Kordofan is likely facing famine conditions. Turk said the army and the RSF continued to use &quot;explosive weapons in densely populated areas, often without warning &mdash; showing utter disregard for human life.&quot; He highlighted the &quot;increased use of advanced long-range drones,&quot; which has &quot;expanded harm to civilians in areas far from the front lines that were previously peaceful.&quot; Turk also voiced concern over &quot;the growing militarization of society&quot;, including the recruitment of children into the fighting. Several countries have been accused of involvement in the conflict. The United Arab Emirates has been accused of arming the RSF &mdash; allegations it denies. Egypt, Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have backed army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Turk urged &quot;diplomatic and political pressure&quot; for a humanitarian truce that leads to a permanent ceasefire. Efforts to secure a ceasefire have repeatedly collapsed. Burhan vowed this week to fight &quot;until the end&quot; and said he plans to build a &quot;smart army&quot; investing in technology and research. In January, the army was studying a new ceasefire proposal from the United States and Saudi Arabia. Talks mediated by the United States, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have stalled for months, with Burhan accusing mediators of favoring the UAE.

Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in a conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that has killed tens of thousands, displaced 11 million people and triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

Civilian death toll in Sudan war more than doubled in 2025, UN says

ROME: The number of people in Somalia experiencing crisis-levels of food insecurity has nearly doubled in the past year to 6.5 million people, UN-backed experts warned Tuesday.&nbsp;The Horn of Africa country has been plagued by conflict and suffered two consecutive failed rainy seasons, as well as a drop in the amount of food aid available amid international funding cuts.&nbsp;The population classified as being in a &quot;crisis or worse&quot; situation &quot;has nearly doubled between February&ndash;March 2026 to a staggering 6.5 million people since early 2025&quot;, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC), a UN-backed group that monitors hunger and malnutrition.&nbsp;That includes more than two million people now in Phase 4, the &quot;emergency&quot; category, one step away from the &quot;catastrophic&quot; level, equal to famine, an IPC report said.&nbsp;An estimated 1.84 million children under five are at risk of acute malnutrition in 2026, including 483,000 severe cases that require urgent treatment, the IPC said.&nbsp;&quot;This alarming deterioration is driven by worsening drought, rising food  prices, and insecurity across central, southern, and parts of northern Somalia,&quot; the report added.&nbsp;&quot;The situation is compounded by declining humanitarian assistance.&quot;&nbsp;The UN&#39;s World Food Programme (WFP) warned Friday it would have to stop humanitarian assistance in Somalia by April if it did not receive new funding.&nbsp;The Rome-based agency said it had already been forced to reduce the number of people receiving emergency food assistance from 2.2 million in early 2025 to just over 600,000 today.&nbsp;In January, the United States suspended aid to Somalia following the destruction of a US-funded WFP warehouse in the capital Mogadishu&#39;s port.&nbsp;The US announced a resumption of WFP food distribution on January 29.&nbsp;However, all UN agencies have warned of serious funding shortfalls since Washington began slashing aid following President Donald Trump&#39;s re-election last year.&nbsp;Levels of acute malnutrition in Somalia have risen for two consecutive years, the IPC report said.&nbsp;Rainfall from April to June is likely to be near normal in most areas and above-normal in some, but &quot;this will likely lead to only a modest improvement in overall food security&quot;.

Somalia faces worsening hunger, with 6.5 million people in crisis-level food insecurity, including two million in emergency conditions. Drought, conflict, rising prices, and aid cuts impacting agencies like World Food Program have sharply reduced humanitarian assistance despite slight rainfall improvements.

Crisis-level hunger doubles in Somalia: UN-backed experts

NANO: At least 51 people were kidnapped and three killed in attacks over the past three days in four different villages in Nigeria&#39;s northern Kaduna State, security forces said Saturday. The attacks occurred in the southern part of the state, which has a mostly Christian population, and more than 180 people were detained in January during raids on churches. On Saturday, armed men abducted 11 people, including a priest, in the Kajuru Local Government Area, security sources told AFP. A nearby attack on Saturday left three people dead and 38 kidnapped, including a local imam and four members of his congregation. The day before, two people were kidnapped on the road to Maro, also in Kajuru. Assailants destroyed houses in Maro on Thursday, but the number of victims has not been released. No group has claimed responsibility for these attacks. A series of mass kidnappings in late 2025 drew attention to the alarming security situation in Africa&#39;s most populous country. In response, the Nigerian president declared a state of emergency and launched a recruitment drive for military and police personnel. The United States has criticized the West African country&#39;s failure to control the violence, US President Donald Trump denouncing what he said was the &quot;persecution&quot; of Christians -- a favorite rallying call of the American religious right. Most observers insist the killings and kidnappings committed by jihadist groups and criminal gangs have indiscriminately hit Christians and Muslims. Nigeria&#39;s kidnappings have become &quot;a structured and lucrative industry&quot; that generated some $1.7 million between July 2024 and June 2025, according to a report by SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based consultancy.

Aftermath of a Boko Haram suicide bomb attack last year in Maiduguri, capital of shattered Borno State (AFP/File)

Dozens were seized and several killed in coordinated attacks on villages in northern Nigeria, amid ongoing violence and weak security.

At least 51 kidnapped, 3 killed in Nigeria attacks

CAIRO: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo on Wednesday, sealing a raft of new partnership deals and signalling a united front on regional crises in Iran, Sudan, and Gaza. Relations between Cairo and Ankara have thawed after nearly a decade of estrangement that followed Sisi&#39;s removal of the Muslim Brotherhood-aligned president, Mohamed Morsi, in 2013. Erdogan had vowed never to speak to Sisi, but since 2023 the two leaders have met a handful of times, exchanged visits, normalised ties and signed more than a dozen cooperation agreements, including on defence. &quot;Bilateral trade has reached nearly $9 billion, making Egypt Turkiye&#39;s leading trading partner in the African continent,&quot; Sisi said at a joint news conference, after ministers from both sides signed 18 agreements spanning defense, tourism, health, and agriculture. Egypt and Turkiye now form half of the mediating bloc for the current Gaza truce, back the Sudanese army in its war with paramilitary forces, and share increasingly convergent positions across the region. Sisi said they agreed on the need to implement all phases of the US-brokered Gaza truce agreement, rejecting &quot;any attempts to circumvent or obstruct the implementation of President (Donald) Trump&#39;s peace plan.&quot; The leaders added that international support was needed for early recovery and reconstruction in Gaza. In Sudan, Sisi said both sides want to see a &quot;humanitarian truce that leads to a ceasefire and a comprehensive political path.&quot; He also called for efforts to avoid escalation in the region, advance diplomatic solutions, and &quot;avert the spectre of war, whether regarding the Iranian nuclear file or concerning the region in general.&quot; Erdogan echoed the need for diplomacy, saying foreign interference poses &quot;significant risks to the entire region&quot; and that dialogue remained &quot;the most appropriate method&quot; for addressing disputes with Iran. Both leaders also underscored support for Somalia&#39;s territorial integrity amid heightened regional friction. Both countries have backed the government of Somalia and condemned Israel&#39;s recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland, in what analysts say is an emerging <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-saudi-arabia-agree-to-enhance-cooperation-in-energy-and-minerals" style="color:#0073e6;">regional</a> security axis that includes&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/turkeys-erdogan-visits-saudi-as-ties-between-former-rivals-warm" style="color:#0073e6;">Saudi Arabia</a>. Turkiye agreed to supply Egypt with advanced drones in 2024, and the two countries plan to manufacture them jointly. Erdogan arrived in Cairo after a stop in Riyadh, with his tour coinciding with US-Iran contacts initially planned for Turkiye before Tehran requested a shift to Oman.

Both countries have backed the government of Somalia and condemned Israel's recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland, in what analysts say is an emerging regional security axis that includes Saudi Arabia.


Turkiye's Erdogan visits former rival Sisi to ink partnership deals

TRIPOLI: Seif al-Islam Kadhafi, the son of Libya&#39;s late longtime ruler, was killed Tuesday by gunmen who stormed his home in western Libya&#39;s Zintan, his French lawyer Marcel Ceccaldi told AFP. &quot;He was killed today at 2 pm (1200 GMT)... in Zintan in his home by a four-man commando,&quot; Ceccaldi said. Seif al-Islam, 53, had been seen by some as his father&#39;s successor, despite being targeted by a warrant from the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity. In 2021 he announced he would run for president, but those elections were indefinitely postponed. His adviser, Abdullah Othman Abdurrahim, told Libya&#39;s Al-Ahrar television channel that the four unidentified men had stormed the home before &quot;disabling surveillance cameras, then executed him.&quot; It remained unclear who was behind the killing. Ceccaldi said that a close associate of Seif al-Islam had told him days ago &quot;that there were problems with his security.&quot; &quot;So much so that the head of the (Kadhafi&#39;s) tribe had called Seif and told him, &#39;I will send you people to ensure your security&#39;. But Seif refused,&quot; he said. While Seif al-Islam held no official position in the North African country under his father&#39;s rule, he had been described as Libya&#39;s de facto prime minister, cultivating the image of a moderate and reformer prior to the 2011 Arab Spring revolt. But that reputation soon collapsed when he promised &quot;rivers of blood&quot; in the face of the uprisings. A divided country Seif al-Islam was arrested in November 2011 in southern Libya following a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. A Tripoli court later sentenced him to death in 2015 after a speedy trial, but he was granted amnesty. His whereabouts had long been unknown. Ceccaldi said he &quot;often moved around.&quot; Libya expert Emadeddin Badi said Seif al-Islam&#39;s death was &quot;likely to cast him as a martyr for a significant segment of the population, while also shifting electoral dynamics by removing a major obstacle to presidential elections.&quot; &quot;His candidacy and potential success had been a central point of contention,&quot; Badi wrote on X. Moamer Kadhafi&#39;s last spokesperson, Moussa Ibrahim, also posted on the social network: &quot;They killed him treacherously. He wanted a united, sovereign Libya, safe for all its people. &quot;I spoke with him two days ago. He spoke of nothing but a peaceful Libya and the safety of its people.&quot; Libya has struggled to recover from chaos that erupted after a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 overthrew longtime ruler Moamer Kadhafi. Libya remains divided between an UN-backed government based in Tripoli and an eastern administration backed by Haftar.

Libya has struggled to recover from chaos that erupted after a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 overthrew longtime ruler Moamer Kadhafi; country remains divided between an UN-backed government based in Tripoli and an eastern administration backed by Haftar.

Son of Libya's late ruler Kadhafi killed by armed gang

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Thursday issued its first-ever presidential statement on closer cooperation with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)&nbsp;to address regional challenges, including maritime security, terrorism, and food and water security.&nbsp; The statement, submitted by Bahrain&#39;s UN representative in his capacity as Council President for April, recognizes the GCC&rsquo;s &quot;position and expertise&quot; in promoting regional peace and security, and acknowledges its &quot;contributions to regional and international stability through mediation, preventive diplomacy, technical and financial support, and humanitarian engagement.&quot; The Council requested that the UN Secretary-General, Ant&oacute;nio Guterres, include recommendations on strengthening institutional ties with the GCC in his next report, and encouraged regular briefings by the GCC Secretary-General. &quot;The ongoing escalation underlines the urgent need for coordinated multilateral action,&quot; said Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General, stressing the importance of &ldquo;strengthened&rdquo; UN-GCC cooperation. He highlighted the GCC&#39;s role in de-escalating regional tensions, supporting mediation in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen, and its cooperation with the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism. &#39;Cornerstone of the global economy&#39;GCC Secretary-General Jassim Albudaiwi told the Council the bloc is a &quot;cornerstone of the global economy&quot;, noting its combined output exceeded $2.3 trillion in 2024 and its members&rsquo; major contribution to global oil and gas supplies. He warned that instability in the Gulf carries global consequences. &quot;Stability in the Arabian Gulf is not merely a regional concern, but is rather a global necessity,&quot; he said. Bahrain&#39;s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al Zayani announced that his country had submitted a separate draft resolution to the Council addressing what he described as Iran&#39;s &quot;unlawful and unjustified&quot; attempts to control navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, with a vote expected Friday. Delegates from the United Kingdom and France backed GCC states&#39; right to defend their sovereignty, with France stating Iran &quot;bears the primary responsibility for the current escalation.&quot;&nbsp; Russia countered that the conflict was &quot;the direct result of an unprovoked act of aggression by the United States and Israel against Iran&#39;s territory.&quot; China and Pakistan jointly called for an immediate ceasefire and the launch of peace talks. The GCC, founded in 1981, comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

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The statement, submitted by Bahrain's UN representative, recognizes the GCC’s 'position and expertise' in promoting regional peace and security, and calls for deeper UN-GCC coordination on terrorism, maritime security, water and food security.

UNSC backs stronger cooperation with Gulf bloc in first-ever presidential statement

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday extended Good Friday greetings to the Christian community at home and abroad, emphasizing the values of compassion, tolerance and peaceful coexistence. Prime Minister Sharif in a post on X on Friday stated: &quot;On the occasion of Good Friday, I extend sincere greetings to our brothers and sisters of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pm-sharif-extends-heartfelt-greetings-on-joyous-blessed-christmas" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Christian community</a>&nbsp;in Pakistan and members of the Christian faith across the world.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2039943098672025844&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=cf1149a8b3beaafec088d9fab9bb7e3150ffa371&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 369px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;"></iframe></div></div>&ldquo;May this sacred day, marked by sacrifice and reflection, strengthen our shared commitment to compassion, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence,&quot; the prime minister added.

Culture

Says, ​'May this sacred day, marked by sacrifice and reflection, strengthen our shared commitment to compassion, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence'. 

Pakistan's PM Sharif extends Good Friday greetings, urges compassion and tolerance

PARIS:&nbsp;Iran should make a deal with the United States to end the war by offering to curb its nuclear program and reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for sanctions relief, a former Iranian foreign minister said. Mohammad Javad Zarif, who served as foreign minister from 2013-2021, claimed in an op-ed for American journal Foreign Affairs that Tehran had the &quot;upper hand&quot; in the conflict against the US and Israel, but argued Iran needed to stop the war to prevent the loss of more civilian lives and damage to infrastructure. &quot;Iran should use its upper hand not to keep fighting but to declare victory and make a deal that both ends this conflict and prevents the next one,&quot; Zarif said in the piece published late Thursday. &quot;It should offer to place limits on its nuclear program and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for an end to all sanctions a deal Washington wouldn&#39;t take before but might accept now,&quot; he added. &#39;Nonaggression pact&#39;&nbsp; Iran should also be prepared to accept a mutual &quot;nonaggression pact&quot; with the United States, as well as economic relations, he said. Tehran and Washington have had no diplomatic ties since shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution. Zarif, one of the architects of the now moribund 2015 deal over the Iranian nuclear program, is seen as a relative moderate within the Islamic republic elite, but has no official post in the current government. However this is one of the first times during this conflict that a high profile figure in Iran has called for a deal and an end to the war, with top military and political officials urging daily for fighting to continue until the US is defeated. &#39;Back to the stone ages&#39;US President Donald Trump has evoked ongoing talks with Tehran without giving details but also threatened to send the country &quot;back to the stone ages&quot; if it fails to agree terms. &quot;As an Iranian, outraged by Donald Trump&#39;s reckless aggression and crude insults, yet proud of our armed forces and resilient people, I am torn about publishing this peace-plan in Foreign Affairs,&quot; Zarif wrote in English on X Friday. &quot;Yet I&#39;m convinced that war must end on terms consistent with Iran&#39;s national interests,&quot; he added. Zarif in the Foreign Affairs piece warned that &quot;although continuing to fight the United States and Israel might be psychologically satisfying, it will lead only to the further destruction of civilian lives and infrastructure&quot;.

Mohammad Javad Zarif (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Mohammad Javad Zarif urges Iran to end the conflict with the US by negotiating a deal to limit its nuclear program and reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for sanctions relief.

Iran's former top diplomat urges deal with US to end war

ISLAMABAD: Congress&rsquo; National spokesperson Dr Shama Mohamed renewed scrutiny of alleged RSS backing for propaganda-style films in an X post, on Thursday.&nbsp;Dr. Shama said producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah had &ldquo;openly admitted&rdquo; that the RSS supported &ldquo;Kerala Story 2&rdquo; and arguing that this showed the organisation had backed a film meant to defame Kerala. Her post brought fresh attention to a wider debate over how the BJP and the RSS ecosystem support politically aligned cinema through ideological links, endorsements, tax breaks and promotion.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2039579655645348127&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Flogin%2F&sessionId=c92d3faf5176e582d37f5cad3e26fa7ac3e0dbe2&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 672px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;"></iframe></div></div>At least ten films have been produced or directed by individuals linked to the BJP, the RSS, or affiliated Hindutva organisations, an Indian news outlet, The Quint, reported on Friday. The films named in the report include The Kerala Story, The Kerala Story 2 Goes Beyond, Bastar: The Naxal Story, Razakar, Swatantra Veer Savarkar, PM Narendra Modi, Accident or Conspiracy: Godhra, Bengal 1947, The Accidental Prime Minister, and Jahangir National University.&nbsp;One of the most striking claims in that report concerns producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah. The Quint said Shah acknowledged at the 2023 World Hindu Congress that The Kerala Story could not have been made without RSS &ldquo;guidance and support.&rdquo; The report said he described the RSS as the film&rsquo;s &ldquo;guardian angels.&rdquo;&nbsp;Political endorsement has also come from the top. Reuters reported that Indian PM Narendra Modi publicly praised The Kashmir Files in 2022. BJP-ruled states then moved to make the film tax-free, helping widen its reach.&nbsp;A similar pattern was seen with The Kerala Story and Article 370. NDTV reported that BJP governments in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh made The Kerala Story tax-free. NDTV also reported that the BJP government in Chhattisgarh made Article 370 tax-free.&nbsp; Taken together, the reporting suggests these films are not just cultural products. They are increasingly part of a political ecosystem where cinema, ideology, and state patronage intersect.

India

The BJP and the wider RSS ecosystem are backing a string of ultra-nationalist and propaganda-style films in India; the support is not always visible as direct funding but through political links, public endorsements, tax breaks, and coordinated promotion by party leaders and allied networks. 

Scrutiny grows over BJP-RSS backing of propaganda films

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the suicide attack on a police station in the Domel area of District Bannu, said a press release issued by Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office on Friday. The prime minister expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the incident that took place in the northwest of the country. Sharif prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured, the press release said. &ldquo;We are determined to completely eradicate all forms of terrorism from the country&rdquo;, the prime minister said.

Security

‘We are determined to completely eradicate all forms of terrorism from the country,’ the prime minister said, according to a press release.

PM Sharif strongly condemns suicide attack in northwest Pakistan  

DHAKA: The Bangladesh government has introduced a series of measures aimed at addressing the impact of global disruptions and ensuring stability in fuel oil supply, following a high-level cabinet meeting held at night at the Cabinet Room in the Parliament Secretariat.&nbsp; Under the new directives, all government and private offices will operate from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Banking hours for public transactions will run from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, while banks will officially close at 4:00 pm, Bangladeshi state media Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) reported.&nbsp; In an effort to conserve energy, shopping malls and markets nationwide must shut down by 6:00 pm. However, essential services including kitchen markets, food outlets, and pharmacies will remain exempt from this restriction. The decisions were taken by the Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Thursday night. Later, Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani briefed the journalists at the media centre of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, saying that the government took measures considering fuel supply disruptions caused by the Middle East war.&nbsp;&nbsp;Prime Minister&rsquo;s Press Secretary Saleh Shibly was present at the briefing. Noting that several steps have been taken for the next three months to reduce government expenditure, the cabinet secretary said, &ldquo;No new vehicles, watercraft or aircraft will be purchased during this period&rdquo;.&nbsp;&nbsp;Procurement of new equipment, including computers, will also remain suspended, he said, adding, internal training has been reduced by 50 percent, while all foreign training under government funding will remain suspended until further notice.&nbsp;&nbsp;Expenditure on meetings and seminars has also been cut by 50 percent, Ghani said.&nbsp;&nbsp;Besides, he said, government spending in the power, energy and gas sectors will be reduced by 30 percent. The meeting issued a directive to reduce unnecessary travel expenses by 30 percent, the cabinet secretary added.&nbsp;&nbsp;He said new directives will be issued for the education sector.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Ministry of Education will start issuing instructions in phases from Sunday, considering the needs of different levels, so that the measures do not have a negative impact on the education system, Ghani said.&nbsp;&nbsp;In a bid to reduce traffic congestion in the capital city during the school hour, he said, the government has decided to introduce electric buses for school students instead of private cars.&nbsp;&nbsp;Educational institutions joining the initiative will be able to import buses duty-free, the cabinet secretary said, adding, the private sector will also get this facility, but a 20 percent duty will apply for commercial purposes.&nbsp;&nbsp;However, only new buses will be allowed for import, he said.&nbsp;&nbsp;Noting that imports from alternative sources are also being increased to maintain normal fuel supply, Ghani said initiatives have already been taken to import fuel from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Kazakhstan.

Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani briefed the journalists at the media centre of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban (Photo : BSS)

Bangladesh

The Bangladesh government has introduced reduced working hours, spending cuts, and energy-saving measures to manage fuel shortages caused by global disruptions.

Bangladesh cuts expenditure, reduces office hours, orders markets shut after 6pm

WASHINGTON:&nbsp;US President Donald Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday and named his former personal lawyer to serve as the acting chief of the Justice Department. The US president announced the move in a social media post. &quot;Pam Bondi is a Great American Patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my Attorney General over the past year,&quot; Trump said on Truth Social. &quot;Pam did a tremendous job overseeing a massive crackdown in Crime across our Country.&quot; Bondi &quot;will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector,&quot; the president said, and will be replaced on an interim basis by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who Trump described as &quot;a very talented and respected Legal Mind.&quot; According to The New York Times, Trump may name former Republican congressman Lee Zeldin, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, to be the next attorney general.In the meantime, the post will be filled by Blanche. &#39;Honor of a lifetime&#39;Bondi, in a post on X, said serving as attorney general had been &quot;the honor of a lifetime&quot; and said she will &quot;continue fighting for President Trump&quot; in her unspecified new private sector job. &quot;Over the next month I will be working tirelessly to transition the office of Attorney General to the amazing Todd Blanche,&quot; she said. &quot;I remain eternally grateful for the trust that President Trump placed in me to Make America Safe Again.&quot; Bondi&#39;s ouster comes nearly a month after Trump fired Kristi Noem as the head of the Department of Homeland Security.&nbsp;Democratic lawmakers welcomed Bondi&#39;s firing. Bondi served as a prosecutor for 18 years before being elected Florida&#39;s attorney general in 2010, the first woman to hold the post.&nbsp;She was reelected to a second term in 2014.

Bondi 'will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector,' the president said, and will be replaced on an interim basis by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who Trump described as 'a very talented and respected Legal Mind.'

Trump sacks attorney general Pam Bondi, replaces with lawyer Todd Blanche

Faraz Saeed

LAHORE: Pakistan&rsquo;s digital economy could contribute between 5%-7% of gross domestic product by 2030, provided structural constraints are addressed and reforms accelerate, according to a new report by the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI).&nbsp;Titled &ldquo;Recommendations for Pakistan&rsquo;s Digital Future,&rdquo; the OICCI Digital Report 2025 presents a detailed assessment of the country&rsquo;s digital landscape, highlighting both measurable gains and persistent bottlenecks shaping future growth.&nbsp;The report frames Pakistan&rsquo;s digital sector as a rapidly expanding but uneven ecosystem, where strong growth in connectivity, exports and digital finance is being tempered by infrastructure gaps and slow policy execution, raising the stakes for reforms needed to unlock its full economic potential.&nbsp;The report identifies the digital sector as an emerging driver of productivity, exports and financial inclusion, supported by a growing user base and rising adoption of digital services.&nbsp;Pakistan&rsquo;s IT and IT-enabled services (ITeS) exports have reached $3.8 billion, while the freelance economy contributes $779 million in earnings.&nbsp;Digital access continues to expand, with more than 150 million broadband subscriptions and over 200 million telecom connections. The broader mobile ecosystem contributes an estimated $17 billion to the national economy.&nbsp;The report also underscores rapid growth in digital finance.&nbsp;&ldquo;Pakistan has made notable strides in digital payments and financial inclusion. The Raast instant payment system processed Rs18 trillion in peer-to-peer transactions in FY26, demonstrating the rapid adoption of digital financial services,&rdquo; said OICCI President Yousaf Hussain.&nbsp;However, infrastructure limitations remain a key constraint.&nbsp;Only 18% of cellular towers are connected through fiber, well below the global benchmark of around 40%, limiting network capacity and readiness for next-generation technologies.&nbsp;Policy execution is another concern.&nbsp;While engagement on digital policy has improved, implementation remains slow. The report notes that only about one-quarter of recommendations from OICCI&rsquo;s 2022 Digital Report have been carried out.&nbsp;&ldquo;Only about one-quarter of OICCI&rsquo;s digital policy recommendations issued in OICCI&rsquo;s Digital Report 2022 have been implemented so far. Faster execution, improved fiber penetration and a more investment-friendly regulatory environment will be essential to unlock Pakistan&rsquo;s digital potential,&rdquo; said M. Abdul Aleem, Secretary General of OICCI.&nbsp;To address these gaps, the report recommends reducing taxes on broadband services and digital devices, accelerating fiber deployment, ensuring regulatory clarity in data protection and cybersecurity, and strengthening public-private collaboration.&nbsp;The government has set a target of $5 billion in IT exports for FY26, while analysts project exports could reach around $4.5 billion, implying annual growth of 18% to 20% from the $3.8 billion recorded in FY25.&nbsp;Under the broader Uraan Pakistan framework, policymakers are targeting $10 billion in IT exports by FY29, requiring a compound annual growth rate of approximately 27%.&nbsp;The report concludes that while Pakistan&rsquo;s digital economy is expanding and foundational elements are in place, closing infrastructure gaps, accelerating policy implementation, and investing in advanced skills such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity will determine whether current momentum translates into sustained economic impact

Economy

Pakistan’s digital economy is growing fast and could reach 5–7% of GDP by 2030, driven by rising IT exports, digital payments, and increasing internet and mobile use.

Pakistan digital economy seen reaching 7% GDP by 2030: Report

Web Desk/AFP

'Multiple attacks on health have been reported in the Iranian capital, Tehran, in recent days amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East,' WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X.