NEWSFLASH! The World Last Week

Online begging is new trend in Pakistani youth. A female Pakistani immigrant student from Ontario university got the best present from her favourite pop star; the chance to continue her education.

Qandeel Baloch: Parents fail to free brothers accused of killing sister. Qandeel Baloch's parents told the court they forgave Waseem and Aslam Shaheen, who are on trial for the apparent honour killing. Ms Baloch, 26, was strangled in July 2016, in a murder that shocked Pakistan and the wider world.

Who was Qandeel Baloch? Ms Baloch has been dubbed the Kim Kardashian of Pakistan. She had hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, and was reportedly one of the top 10 most searched Pakistani personalities in the year before she died.

Mehwish Hayat confirms Benazir Bhutto biopic in the works. “Benazir is a true hero of mine, a real powerful woman and a inspiration for many millions around the world. Would be a privilege and honour to play her on screen and bring her wonderful journey, her inspirational story to the world!”, says Hayat.

The BBC is facing accusations of “hypocrisy” for describing Kashmir as “Indian occupied,” with people asking why it doesn’t apply similar descriptions to Northern Ireland.

Twitter admitted that it had recently “found issues” which meant that users’ settings choices “may not have worked as intended” and personal data was consequently shared with advertisers. But since it was kind enough to apologize, it looks like Twitter thinks it should all just be water under the bridge.

Eighth round of U.S. Taliban peace talks to start in Doha. A fresh round of U.S.-Taliban peace talks will start in Qatar's capital Doha. A peace agreement could be expected at the end of the eighth round of talks and would enable foreign forces to be withdrawn from the war-torn country.

Pakistan to restore visa services for Afghan nationals Pakistan's embassy in Kabul announced on Sunday that it will resume routine consular services from Monday after Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Idress Zaman assured that a gang of conmen operating in the premises will be "immediately busted".

Australia to police tech giants' algorithms Australian regulators plan to launch the world's first office dedicated to scrutinising algorithms used by tech giants such as Facebook and Google.

Imran, Erdogan discuss regional issues Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday called Prime Minister Imran Khan and discussed bilateral relations and developments in the region.

Boko Haram: from Islamist sect to armed insurgency Boko Haram started out as an Islamist group railing against corrupt officials in northeast Nigeria but its decade-long insurgency has now devastated the region.

Pakistan for bilateral nuclear disarmament in South Asia. In a stunning statement, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan said that he would be willing to give up his nation’s nuclear weapons if its rival India vowed to do the same.

Mohsin Abbas reacts to wife's serious allegations Pakistan's showbiz personality Mohsin Abbas Haider, who has been accused of domestic violence and cheating wife Fatima Sohail, reacted to all the allegations against him in a press conference held on Sunday in Lahore.

Facts About the Apollo 11 Moon Landing for Its 50th Anniversary On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins launched from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center with the goal of becoming the first people in history to walk on the Moon. Four days later, on July 20, 1969, the manned mission achieved that historic goal when Neil Armstrong took his famous “one small step” onto the lunar surface.

Cricket World Cup: Five batsmen to watch Cricketers and pundits have predicted that the World Cup in England and Wales will be a high-scoring affair.

Why England are favourites for the Cricket World Cup "Hosts England go into the World Cup as favourites" - just how many times have you heard that sentence, or something very similar, in the past few weeks?

At $2M, priciest ever medicine treats fatal genetic disease U.S. regulators have approved the most expensive medicine ever, for a rare disorder that destroys a baby's muscle control and kills nearly all of those with the most common type of the disease within a couple of years.

Google deals Huawei major blow by cutting Android licence Google is set to revoke access to its Android mobile operating system from Huawei, dealing the Chinese company a major blow in accordance with US sanctions.

No oil, gas reserves found at Kekra-1: Petroleum Division Offshore drilling at the Kekra-1 site near Karachi has found no reserves of oil and gas, according to an official of the Petroleum Division.

Irfan Pathan becomes 1st Indian to be part of CPL Irfan Pathan created history after becoming the first Indian cricketer to be included in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) players' draft.

Dollar hits historical high of Rs148 The value of the US dollar against the rupee touched another all-time high for the second consecutive day, reaching approximately Rs148 in the interbank market.

PIA loses continue to rise. Minister for Aviation Division Ghulam Sarwar Khan on Friday informed the Senate that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) losses have surged to Rs 416 billion

Bhutan has continually been ranked as the happiest country in all of Asia. Bhutan had the second fastest growing GDP in the world, at the same time as maintaining their environment and cultural identity

Masood Azhar: Jaish-e-Mohammed leader listed as terrorist by UN The UN has designated the leader of a militant group behind a deadly bomb attack that brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war as a terrorist.

Pakistan plans to bring 30,000 madrasas under government control Pakistan plans to take control of a network of over 30,000 madrasas as part of a drive to "mainstream" the Islamic schools by bringing them under state control, the military's spokesman said.

Political reasons behind Asad’s ouster A number of officials in the finance ministry and some top members of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) believe that reasons behind the removal of Asad Umar as finance minister were “political” rather than economic policies.

US places visa sanctions on Pakistan The United States has placed Pakistan in the list of countries facing sanctions within the framework of a law under which countries refusing to take back deportees and visa over-stayers will be denied American visas.

No sedentary screen time for babies, WHO says Babies and toddlers should not be left to passively watch TV or other screens, according to new World Health Organization guidelines.

Putin mulls easing Russian passport rules for whole Ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is considering extending a scheme that makes it easier for Ukrainians to obtain Russian citizenship.

The Met Office issues a heat wave alert for Karachi According to a statement by the Met Office, a heatwave alert has been issued for the Karachi metropolis between May 1st and 3rd.

PM Imran, Wasim Akram headline Cricinfo's all-time World Cup XI With the 2019 Cricket World Cup a little over a month away, cricket publication ESPNcricinfo conducted a staff survey to find out its consensus all-time World Cup XI.

CAA closes Pakistan's airspace for transit flights till tomorrow Transit flights will be diverted in Pakistan as the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has announced on Friday to close Pakistan’s airspace till tomorrow.

Afzal Kohistani: another whistle blower killed in Pakistan. Afzal Kohistani, was shot dead on Wednesday evening in the densely populated area of Sarban Chowk at around 8:10pm by unidentified gunmen who managed to flee afterwards.

LOC calm, fresh crackdown on Kashmiris starts The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also come down hard on separatist groups operating in Kashmir, including by banning the Jamaat-e-Islami party, two of whose clerics were detained in raids on Saturday night.

Build relations with Israel to counter India: Musharraf During a press conference here Friday, Musharraf hinted at making relations with Israel to counter India. This leaves an impression that military is not in mood to work for peace with India even in distant future.

Saudi Arabia reduces visit visa fees for Pakistanis. Indian nationals favoured by Saudia as Pakistanis still have to pay SR 355 as compared to SR 305 for neighbouring Indians.

Lahore High Court orders judicial inquiry into Sahiwal incident. The ordered were given by LHC Chief Justice Sardar Shamim during hearing on petitions seeking judicial inquiry.

S&P cuts Pakistan's credit rating to 'B-' from 'B'; keeps stable outlook S&P Global Ratings on Monday lowered Pakistan's sovereign credit rating one notch to 'B-' from 'B', citing diminished growth prospects and elevated external and fiscal stresses.

PCB chief questions why ICC punished Sarfraz despite reconciliation over racist remarks. Pakistan has objected to the disciplinary action against Sarfraz over racist remarks.

Aasia Bibi free to go wherever she wants, says information minister A day after the Supreme Court rejected a review petition against Aasia Bibi’s acquittal in a blasphemy case, the government on Wednesday said she was free to go wherever she wanted.

China summons US ambassador over Huawei arrest The arrest of Meng Wanzhou, who faces US fraud charges related to sanctions-breaking dealings with Iran, has infuriated Beijing, threatening to disrupt a trade war truce between China and the United States.

Lawyers' body announces countrywide strike. The All Pakistan Bar Councils Inter-Provincial Committee has announced the holding of a countrywide strike on Dec 17 to support the demand of the Punjab Bar Council for the establishment of the Lahore High Court benches in five more cities of the province.

Chinese Troops Land in Pakistan. A special forces contingent of the People Liberation Army of China Saturday arrived in Pakistan to participate in the joint military exercise 'Warrior-VI 2018'

US 'ready to restart negotiations' with North Korea. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he is ready to restart negotiations with Pyongyang, with the aim of denuclearising North Korea "by 2021".

Good News for CSS A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui conducted hearing of the petition and issued notices to the Secretaries Ministry of Defense, Establishment Division and Federal Public Service Commission (FPC).

Koreas Talk Peace The recent summit held between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un appears to have done all. (Jahangir World Time June 2018)

A new start or rerun in Korean Peninsula The highly choreographed meeting was performed by the two lead actors almost exactly as scripted.But many impromptu moments of congeniality, which drew laughs from the audience as well as from the actors themselves, highlighted the two sides’ eagerness to make the summit a success. (Jahangir World Time June 2018)