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  • Punjabi reporter wins the internet’s heart with her fearless confidence

    Punjabi reporter wins the internet’s heart with her fearless confidence

    A young reporter named Mehrunisa has become an overnight internet sensation, not for breaking a big political story, but for the way she spoke on air. 

    Her rise to viral fame began during the coverage of the Iranian president’s recent visit to Pakistan. In the now-famous clip, her cameraman asks her to start recording, and she replies in her sweet, unapologetic accent, “On ha, abhi thora agay to anay do” (“It is ON, let it come a little closer first”). 

    The internet did the rest.

    As the video spread across social media, people could not get enough of her natural confidence and charm. While some viewers simply enjoyed the light-hearted moment, others applauded her authenticity.

    Prominent journalist Naureen Saleem Janjua shared the clip, writing, “What an innocent and passionate girl. She will go a long way and shine in her career. Her accent will never hold her back if her passion stays like this. I wish her the best of luck in every aspect of life, especially in journalism. You got this girl.”

    Sports journalist Faizan Lakhani also came to her support, recalling his own early days: “Took over 30 retakes to record my first-ever PTC when I joined Aaj TV in 2004. My Urdu back then carried hints of a Gujarati accent. We all grow and learn with time. Instead of mocking young colleagues, let’s guide and support them, that’s how real progress happens.”

    The public reaction was equally heartwarming. 

    One user wrote, “Loved and enjoyed every second of it. Way to go girl, bus Beepar se duur rehna.” Another added, “Her accent should be her strength. Too natural and passionate. Way to go, girl!” Someone else chimed in, “She’s damn cute,” while another declared, “She did it brilliantly, naturally and with confidence, and that’s what truly matters.”

    Since going viral, Mehrunia has been interviewed by several digital media outlets. In one of these interviews, she revealed she has only passed matriculation (Grade 10), but has big dreams of studying further and building a career in journalism.

  • Usman Mukhtar turns his childhood room into dreamy nursery for baby Siera

    Usman Mukhtar turns his childhood room into dreamy nursery for baby Siera

    Pakistani actor and director Usman Mukhtar has shared a sneak peek into one of the most special projects of his life: designing his newborn daughter’s nursery.

    In an Instagram post on Friday, August 8, he shared a before-and-after video of the room, accompanied by a heartfelt caption.

    He wrote: “When we found out we were having a baby girl, it was one of the happiest and most emotional moments of our lives. It really hit us, we’re going to be parents to a little girl.”

    He added, “I knew I wanted to do something personal, so I decided to design Siera’s nursery myself. Honestly, it turned out to be one of the most calming and meaningful things I’ve ever done. It gave me time to slow down and connect with what was coming, all the love, all the chaos, all the memories we’re about to make.”

    Mukhtar also revealed: “The room that’s now Sisi’s nursery is actually the room I grew up in. So turning it into her little world felt really special, like life coming full circle in the most beautiful way.”

    He added, “Every little corner, every detail in this room was put together with so much love. Zunaira sketched the wall art herself, and I don’t think she realises just how special that is. One day Siera will grow up and know her mama literally drew love on the walls for her.”

    Mukhtar credited The Restorative Niche for the wall murals, saying they added charm to the space.

    Fans flooded the comments section with love. One fan wrote, “So beautiful mashAllah Allah naseeb ache kre Ameen ❤️❤️❤️ so emotional tooo .” 

    Another wrote, “So So So Adorable .” 

    Others commented, “Best thing on the internet today,” and “This is sooooooo magical!!! @zunaira.inam the drawings are unreal mashallah .”

    Siera was born on February 25, 2025. Introducing her to the world, he shared the news on social media with an adorable photo of the newborn’s tiny hand holding his finger. He also revealed the meaning behind her name, explaining that “Siera” is a Pashto word meaning “shade of a tree,” symbolizing comfort and protection.

  • Indian drone downed in Lahore’s Manawan area

    Indian drone downed in Lahore’s Manawan area

    Security forces have shot down an Indian drone in Lahore’s Manawan area, media reports quoted police sources as reporting on Friday.

    According to details, security forces immediately targeted the drone after its movement was detected in Pakistani territory. The device appeared to be a surveillance drone, as no explosives were found on it.

    Intelligence agencies have taken the drone into custody and launched an investigation into the matter, reports have stated. 

    This is a developing story.

  • Pakistan women’s football team climbs three spots in FIFA rankings

    Pakistan women’s football team climbs three spots in FIFA rankings

    The Pakistan women’s football team has climbed three spots in the latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings, rising from 157th to 154th, its highest position in recent years.

    For the first time, the team has also crossed the 1,000-point mark, now holding 1007.24 points compared to its previous tally of 950.27.

    This progress follows impressive performances in the Asian qualifiers earlier this year, where Pakistan secured victories over Indonesia and Kyrgyzstan.

    The improvement reflects the team’s growing competitiveness and marks another significant step forward for women’s football in the country, which remained unranked as recently as 2021 due to inactivity.

  • PSX on track to maintain record-setting spree for sixth consecutive session

    PSX on track to maintain record-setting spree for sixth consecutive session

    The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) seems to be on track to maintain its record-setting spree for the sixth consecutive session as a boost in investor confidence continued the upward momentum on Friday. As of publishing this report, the benchmark index  KSE-100, crossed the 146,000 point resistance level after gaining over 500 points since trading hours began.

    According to reports, the market has been witnessing a rally because of strong buying from domestic mutual funds. Moreover, reports have also credited the exchange’s exceptional performance to potential positive impacts on Pakistani companies as the 50 percent tariff rate on India imposed by American President Donald Trump rolls into action. 

    The developments caused the index to open in the green in the early hours of the day, later reaching an intraday high of 146,451.33 points. The index peaked at approximately 9:27 AM, after which the market witnessed a minor sell off, causing the index to fall to about 146,190 points as of publishing. 

    For reference, the KSE-100 closed at 145,647.13 points on Thursday, after which the index recorded a growth of 0.37 percent during the early hours of the day on Friday, leading to a 543.53 point rise.

    The market displayed a slowdown around 11:09 AM as the KSE-100 hit its intraday trading low of 145,468.57 points. However, a recovery of 722 points was witnessed following the intraday trading low, allowing the index to bounce back immediately.

    Of the 18 indexes listed on the exchange, 17 remained in the green with the All-share index (ALLSHR) growing by 0.42 percent as of publishing. The ALLSHR index recorded a climb of 378.22 points after trading hours began. Unlike the KSE-100, which tracks the performance of the 100 largest and most liquid companies, the ALLSHR index records the performance of all publicly listed companies on the PSX.

    A number of companies witnessed a rise in share prices, with First IBL Modaraba (FIBLM) and Paramount Spinning Mills Limited (PASM) winning big, to the tune of growth rates that sat at 13.66 percent (FIBLM) and 12.08 percent (PASM).

    However, not every publicly listed stock witnessed an improvement, as many companies witnessed sharp declines. Of these declining companies, Khairpur Sugar Mills Limited (KPUS) posted a 9.93 percent decline in its position.

    According to the director of a reputable securities company the KSE-100 index could cross 165,000 points by the middle of FY 2025-26, owing to low interest rates and an improved state of the wider economy.

  • Netanyahu confirms providing support to India during conflict with Pakistan: Indian media

    Netanyahu confirms providing support to India during conflict with Pakistan: Indian media

    Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday acknowledged his country’s role in providing support to India during the conflict with Pakistan in May, when the latter illegally attacked multiple cities in Pakistan, including Muridke and Bahawalpur, a media report has stated. 

    The Israeli Premier, in a post on X, announced that he met the Indian ambassador to their country, JP Singh, in Jerusalem, where the duo “discussed strengthening and expanding cooperation between Israel and India, particularly in the fields of security and economics”.

    “Afterward, I held a meeting with a group of senior journalists from India and answered their questions,” Netanyahu added.

    He confirmed the use of Israeli weapons during India’s confrontation with Pakistan in May, including the deployment of HARPY drones and the Barak-8 missile, which is jointly developed with New Delhi, according to an Indian news channel.

    “The things we provided before worked very well on the field… we develop our weapons in the field and they are battle-tested,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying by the channel. “They worked fine and we have a pretty solid foundation.”

    Reports suggest that New Delhi has imported military hardware worth $2.9 billion from Tel Aviv over the last decade, including radars, drones, and missiles. 

    Israel is the fourth largest supplier of military hardware to India over the last decade, followed by Russia ($21.8 billion), France ($5.2 billion), and the US ($4.5 billion).

    Following the April 22 Pahalgam incident in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), New Delhi accused Islamabad of orchestrating the attack, a claim Pakistan firmly denied and offered a transparent investigation into the incident.

    New Delhi, while breaching the sovereignty of Pakistan, launched missiles into the country in May, leading the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) to shoot down six of India’s fighter jets, including Rafales. Then, the nuclear-armed rivals exchanged artillery, drone and air strikes.

    The four-day confrontation came to an end when United States (US) President Donald Trump announced a surprise ceasefire on his Truth Social account on May 10.

  • Israeli army will ‘take control’ of Gaza city: Benjamin Netanyahu

    Israeli army will ‘take control’ of Gaza city: Benjamin Netanyahu

    Israel’s security cabinet has approved a plan proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the military to “take control” of Gaza City, his office said in a statement Friday.

    Under the plan to “defeat” Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army “will prepare to take control of Gaza City while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside combat zones”, it said.

    Nearly two years into the intensified genocide in Gaza, the Israeli prime minister faces mounting pressure at home and abroad for a truce to pull the Palestinian territory’s more than two million people back from the brink of famine and to spare hostages held by Palestinian militants.

    As he convened his security cabinet on Thursday, Netanyahu said Israel planned to take full control of Gaza but did not intend to govern it.

    Ahead of the meeting, Netanyahu told US network Fox News that the government intended to seize complete control of the Gaza Strip, where the military has increased brutality against Palestinians since October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

    He added that Israel did not want “to keep” the Gaza Strip, which Israel occupied in 1967 but withdrew troops and settlers from in 2005.

    Netanyahu said Israel wanted a “security perimeter” and to hand the Palestinian territory to “Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life.”

    “That’s not possible with Hamas,” he added.

    His office on Friday said a majority of the security cabinet had adopted “five principles for concluding the war: the disarming of Hamas; the return of all hostages — living and dead; the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip; Israeli security control in the Gaza Strip; the establishment of an alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.

    “A decisive majority of security cabinet ministers believed that the alternative plan that had been submitted to the security cabinet would neither achieve the defeat of Hamas nor the return of the hostages,” it added, without giving further details.

    An expanded Israeli offensive in Gaza could see ground troops operate in densely populated areas where hostages are believed to be held, Israeli media reported.

    The reported plans to expand the genocide have sparked growing concern in Israel about what it means for the remaining hostages.

    As the cabinet meeting kicked off, hundreds rallied near the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem, calling for a deal to free the hostages.

    “The only way to bring the hostages home is to halt the war and end the suffering of the hostages and all those living through this terrible conflict,” said protester Sharon Kangasa-Cohen.

    In Gaza, fears grew over what an expansion of Israeli operations would entail.

    “Ground operations mean more destruction and death,” said Ahmad Salem, 45.

    – ‘More destruction’ –

    Hamas in a statement said that “Netanyahu’s plans to escalate the aggression confirm beyond any doubt his desire to get rid of the captives and sacrifice them in pursuit of his personal interests and extremist ideological agenda.”

    Out of 251 hostages captured during Hamas’s 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the military says are dead.

    Ahead of Thursday’s meeting, rumours have been rife in the Israeli press about disagreements between the cabinet and Israel’s military chief Eyal Zamir, who is said to oppose plans to fully reoccupy Gaza.

    Defence Minister Israel Katz weighed in on social media Wednesday, saying the military must ultimately respect any policies adopted by the government.

    In a statement released by the military Thursday, Zamir underscored his independence, vowing to “continue to express our position without fear”.

    – ‘Unrealistic costs’ –

    International concern has been growing over the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, where a UN-backed assessment warned that famine was unfolding.

    The World Health Organization said at least 99 people have died from malnutrition in the Gaza Strip this year, with the figure likely an underestimate.

    Displaced Gazan Mahmoud Wafi said that the prices of available food remained high and erratic.

    “We hope that food will be made available again in normal quantities and at reasonable prices, because we can no longer afford these extremely high and unrealistic costs,” the 38-year-old told AFP.

    In late July, Israel partially eased restrictions on aid entering Gaza, but the United Nations says the amount allowed into the territory remains insufficient.

    Amjad Al-Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGO Network in the Gaza Strip, told AFP that lengthy inspection procedures at entry points meant few trucks could come in — “between 70 to 80 per day — carrying only specific types of goods”.

    The UN estimates that Gaza needs at least 600 trucks of aid per day to meet its residents’ basic needs.

    Israel’s offensive has killed at least 61,258 Palestinians, according to Hamas-run Gaza’s health ministry.

    The 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

  • ‘Palestinian Pele’ Suleiman Al-Obeid martyred in Israeli strike on Gaza

    ‘Palestinian Pele’ Suleiman Al-Obeid martyred in Israeli strike on Gaza

    Palestinian football star Suleiman Al-Obeid, known as the “Pele of Palestine,” was killed in an Israeli attack on Gaza amid the ongoing genocide.

    According to the Palestine Football Association, the former national team forward was waiting for aid along with others when the area came under fire as Israel attacked.

    Arab media reported that the 41-year-old former international, who scored more than 100 goals in his career, was immensely popular among Palestinians. His talent and style of play earned him the nickname “Pele of Palestine.”

    Al-Obeid is survived by his wife and five children.

    Arab media reported that the number of athletes killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since October 2023 has reached 662. Among them, 321 were affiliated with football, including players, coaches, referees, officials, and club board members.

  • Lahore couple plunge to death from Akbar Chowk flyover

    Lahore couple plunge to death from Akbar Chowk flyover

    A husband and wife lost their lives after falling from the Akbar Chowk flyover in Lahore’s Faisal Town on Thursday.

    According to police, 65-year-old Afzal suffered a heart attack while descending from the flyover.

    The couple was on their way back home on Ferozepur Road from Iqbal Town when the incident occurred. Afzal lost control of his motorcycle, which collided with the boundary wall, causing both him and his wife to fall from the flyover.

    Police said Afzal died while being transported to the hospital, while his 60-year-old wife, Abida Noor, died on the spot.

    In separate incidents, five more people, including a woman, were killed in road accidents across the city.

    A motorcyclist was killed and two others injured after being hit by a car on Shahkam Flyover. In another accident at Shahkam Chowk on Canal Road, three people were killed and two injured when a car rammed into them.

  • Head of Jirga admits killing woman in Rawalpindi

    Head of Jirga admits killing woman in Rawalpindi

    Ismatullah, the head of a jirga who ordered the killing of Sidra, a married woman in Rawalpindi’s Pirwadhai area, has reportedly confessed to murdering her himself during the night between July 16 and 17.

    A newly registered First Information Report (FIR) states that during interrogation, Ismatullah disclosed he personally killed Sidra, acting on a decision made by a jirga.

    He further revealed that Sidra was his cousin. Armed with a weapon, he forcibly entered her husband Usman’s house and took her from Muzaffarabad to Rawalpindi.

    Ismatullah confessed to killing Sidra as per the community’s decision and burying her body in a graveyard. He also admitted that Saleh Muhammad, Amani Gul, and others were present at the time of the murder.

    During questioning, Ismatullah provided details about the murder weapon, which led to the recovery of a Kalashnikov. According to police, the suspect failed to produce a license for the firearm, prompting authorities to register a separate case against him for illegal possession of weapons.

    After the murder, the victim’s body was reportedly transported to the graveyard in a loader rickshaw in the rain. She was buried, and the grave was deliberately erased to destroy evidence. However, under court orders, the grave was exhumed and a postmortem was conducted.