Day: December 16, 2024

Minister Lipavský attended the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels

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By Muhammad Sohail The last regular meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) of the year took place in Brussels on Monday, December 16, 2024. Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavský discussed with his EU counterparts the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the situation in Georgia, the Middle East and Belarus, and discussed making the EU’s foreign policy more effective. The minister’s program began with an informal meeting, where leaders of EU diplomacy discussed with the new High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, about making the…

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Talks with PTI can’t be initiated sans Imran’s ‘clear message’: defence minister

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Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday clarified the government would initiate negotiations with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) only after a “clear message” from the former ruling party’s incarcerated founder Imran Khan. Talking to Geo News, the defence minister said: “Current PTI leadership has nothing in their hands [to take decisions].” The PTI founder, earlier this month, warned the government of launching a “civil disobedience” movement if his demands, including the judicial probe into the crackdown on party supporters, are not met. He also formed a negotiation committee to hold talks with…

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‘We can block VPNs but we won’t do it’, says PTA chairman

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Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) will not block the virtual private networks (VPNs) despite having the capability to do so, the telecom regulator chief said on Monday. Addressing a launching ceremony of the PTA annual report 2024, its chairman Maj Gen (retd) Hafeez Ur Rehman said: “We had said earlier that we can block VPNs but we won’t do it.” Earlier, the regularity authority decided against blocking VPNs as the government extended the deadline for registering proxies beyond November 30. However, a new date has not been announced for the VPN…

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Some wounds never heal: Survivors, families recall APS tragedy

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Even after passage of 10 years, the horror of the Army Public School (APS) Peshawar terrorist attack is still ingrained in the memory of survivors and the relatives of the dead. Six terrorists assaulted the APS on December 16, 2014, killing about 150 innocent students and teachers. The first-hand witnesses and their families are still suffering from the fear of that atrocity. Some have used it as motivation to work harder in life, while others are still having trouble recovering fully from it. The story of Ahmed Khattak, who survived…

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Court initiates review of South Korean president’s impeachment

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SEOUL: South Korea’s Constitutional Court will commence its review of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment today (Monday) over his decision to impose martial law in the country on December 3. With investigators saying they plan to question him this week, all six current justices of the court will attend the first meeting over the impeachment, which the opposition-led parliament passed on Saturday. The court has up to six months to decide whether to remove Yoon from office or to reinstate him. In 2017, the court began oral arguments about three weeks after…

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Bangladesh to hold elections in late 2025 or early 2026

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DHAKA: Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus, who heads the caretaker government installed after an August revolution, said Monday that general elections would be held late next year or in early 2026. Pressure has been growing on Nobel Peace Prize winner Yunus — appointed the country’s “chief adviser” after the student-led uprising that toppled ex-premier Sheikh Hasina — to set a date. The 84-year-old microfinance pioneer is leading a temporary administration to tackle what he has called the “extremely tough” challenge of restoring democratic institutions in the South Asian nation of…

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Anti-polio campaign begins today with aim to inoculate 44m children nationwide

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A week-long countrywide anti-polio campaign began on Monday (today) with the goal of vaccinating around 44 million children, while the number of poliovirus cases in Pakistan has mounted to 63 this year. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif administered drops to children in Islamabad as he announced the launching of the polio eradication campaign on Sunday. Addressing the launching ceremony, he expressed the commitment to eradicate the poliovirus from Pakistan with the help of provincial governments and international partners. Around 400,000 polio workers across 143 districts of the country will visit every…

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Winter break begins for schools in Balochistan

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QUETTA: Schools across Balochistan have commenced their winter vacations starting today (Monday), the education authorities announced this morning as the province experiences a significant drop in temperatures. According to an official statement issued by the Balochistan Education Department, the schools, colleges and universities will close in 20 districts, including Quetta, from today. The educational institutes in areas with colder weather will remain closed till February 28, as per the winter vacation schedule announced by the authorities. Meanwhile, the parts of the southwestern province with relatively warmer weather will have a…

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Prince Andrew ‘pressured’ to rethink upcoming Buckingham Palace visit

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Prince Andrew is now under pressure to take a big decision regarding his next step, especially when it comes to the upcoming Sandringham gathering. Cancer-stricken King Charles, who already had a rough year, is in no mood to deal with another uncomfortable conversation with his disgraced brother after the Royal Lodge row. However, there is a lunch coming up at the Buckingham Palace on Thursday, and sources claim that the Duke of York is “under pressure to step away” on his own. “There would inevitably have to be some very…

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