Oil consumers to fund tariff cut

Oil consumers are set to mainly fund the recent reduction in electricity tariffs up to 17% under the prime minister’s relief package. The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Friday held a public hearing to consider the government’s request for a tariff reduction of Rs1.71 per unit for consumers across Pakistan, including Karachi. It […]

YouTuber arrested after sneaking onto North Sentinel Island to offer Diet Coke to uncontacted tribe

Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, a 24-year-old YouTuber, was arrested by Indian authorities after illegally landing on North Sentinel Island, a protected territory inhabited by the uncontacted Sentinelese tribe. The incident occurred on March 29, 2025, and marks Polyakov’s second attempt to reach the island, after a failed try in January. Polyakov, who runs a small YouTube […]

Repatriation and implications

The deportation of nearly 880,000 Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders, along with all foreigners illegally residing in Pakistan, is underway following the expiration of the official March 31 deadline, which mandated the return of these individuals to leave the country voluntarily. The move has caused considerable “mayhem” — both in Afghanistan and elsewhere — with calls […]

Nepal shaken by twin earthquakes minutes apart, strongest at 5.5 magnitude

Western Nepal was struck by two moderate earthquakes in quick succession on Friday evening, with the strongest registering a magnitude of 5.5, according to the country’s National Earthquake Monitoring Centre. The first tremor, measuring 5.2, struck Jajarkot district at 8:07 pm local time, followed just three minutes later by a stronger 5.5 magnitude quake at […]

Trump extends TikTok sale deadline by 75 days amid ByteDance deal talks

President Donald Trump announced Friday that he is extending ByteDance’s deadline to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations by 75 days, citing “tremendous progress” in negotiations. Trump said that while the deal is not finalized, significant strides have been made toward ensuring regulatory compliance and safeguarding national security interests. “We’ve made tremendous progress, but more time is […]

Trump calls for ‘direct talks’ with Iran after threatening to bomb over nukes

US President Donald Trump said Thursday he wanted “direct talks” with Tehran on a nuclear deal, after he threatened to bomb Iran if it develops nuclear weapons. Trump has given Iran’s leaders a two-month deadline to reach an agreement on the country’s nuclear program, which has strained relations with Western nations for decades. Western countries […]