Daily News Pakistan

Saudia Group signed a deal with Lilium on Thursday to purchase 100 all-electric flying shuttles, the Germany-based air taxi developer said, one of the company's biggest orders yet as it works to develop the aircraft. The Saudi state-owned airline made a firm order for 50 of Lilium's electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) Jets with an option for an additional 50 later, Lilium said. The first aircraft are expected to join the Saudi state-owned airline's fleet in 2026. The deal-signing took place at Lilium's headquarters outside Munich during a trip by Saudia executives to Germany. The value of the deal was not given. Delays in the delivery of testing equipment and other parts have forced Lilium to push back the first manned flight of its vertical take-off aircraft until the beginning of next year, it said on Wednesday. Lilium is competing in a crowded market for eVTOL vehicles, hoping to replace road trips or short hops by aircraft or helicopters. Accordin...

Justice (retired) Maqbool Baqar on Thursday declined an offer to serve as an ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court, becoming the second judge to refuse the appointment following criticism. Days before his announcement, retired Supreme Court judge Mushir Alam had turned down the offer to work as an ad hoc judge for a three-year term. The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, is scheduled to meet on Friday to consider the appointment of four retired apex court judges. While the government strongly believes the need exists for additional judges to clear pending cases, the main opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has termed the move as "dishonesty". Talking to a private TV, Justice (retired) Baqar said that he was deciding against becoming an ad hoc judge due to "personal reasons". However, he mentioned that the appointment of ad hoc judges to the apex court is in line with the law and that criticism is "basele...

At least 16 people have been killed in a fire at a shopping mall in southwestern China, state media reported. The blaze started in the 14-storey commercial building in the city of Zigong, in Sichuan province, on Wednesday night and firefighters were working at the site until early on Thursday, according to the Xinhua news agency. Firefighters and rescue teams pulled 75 people to safety. The fire started at the bottom of the building, which houses a department store, offices, restaurants and a movie theatre, state broadcaster CCTV reported. A preliminary investigation found that construction operations triggered the fire, but a more detailed inquiry to determine the specific cause was under way, the authorities said. Videos of the fire spread on social media, showing clouds of thick black smoke coming out of the windows from the building’s lower levels and engulfing the entire structure as they rose into the sky. The emergency department called on the public “not to believe or am...

Russia has denied its ground offensive on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region is failing after an official said he would seal off border villages to shield them from Ukrainian shelling. Belgorod’s regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on Tuesday that civilian access to 14 Russian border villages would be restricted given the ongoing intensity of the attacks. Asked if this meant that the Kharkiv operation had failed, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday: “No, it doesn’t.” “This operation is ongoing, it will continue until it has been successfully completed,” he told reporters. “But while it has not been completed, barbaric attacks by the Kyiv regime on civilian infrastructure continue. In order to take the necessary measures to ensure the safety of the population, new practices are being introduced,” he said. In May, Russia launched a surprise attack on Kharkiv, which neighbours Russia’s Belgorod region, in a bid to push Ukrainian forces back and establish wh...

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently unveiled a new feature for WhatsApp that works just like a speed dial and is designed to help users better manage their communications. The new feature is a "favourite" filter which will enable users to proritise important chats, groups and calls within the instant messaging app, WABetaInfo reported. The announcement was made by the 40-year-old tech billionaire via his official WhatsApp channel, after he recently revealed new AI-powered business features and Meta Verified for WhatsApp. Users may use the new feature to conveniently locate their most important chats and groups directly from the chats tab. Moreover, the new filter will also be introduced within the calls tab that will allow users to swiftly access their favourite contacts, making the process of placing calls just a tap away. How does WhatsApp's new filter work? There are multiple methods that allow users to mark chats and groups as favourites, WABetaInfo reported. U...

Israeli forces battled Hamas-led fighters in several parts of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, and Palestinian health officials said at least 57 people were killed in Israeli bombardments of southern and central areas. The Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas has accused Israel of stepping up attacks in Gaza to try to derail efforts by Arab mediators and the United States to reach a ceasefire deal. Israel says it is trying to root out Hamas fighters. In Rafah, a southern border city where Israeli forces have been operating since May, five Palestinians were killed in an airstrike on a house, Gaza health officials said. In nearby Khan Younis, a man, his wife, and two children were killed, they said. Later on Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike on a car killed at least 17 Palestinians and wounded 26 others in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the officials said. The airstrike hit near a tented area housing displaced families in Attar Street in the humanitarian-designated area of Al-Mawasi, the...

Police fired tear gas and charged with batons during violent clashes between protesters rallying against quotas for government jobs and a pro-government student body in Bangladesh, leaving at least 100 people wounded, police and students said. The quota system reserves more than half of well-paid civil service posts, totalling hundreds of thousands of government jobs, for specific groups, including children of fighters in the country’s 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. The violence started on Monday at campuses, including Jahangirnagar University in Savar, outside the capital, Dhaka, where the protesters were demanding an end to the quota for family members of people who fought in the war. Police and witnesses said hundreds of anti-quota protesters and students backing the ruling Awami League party battled for hours on Monday on the Dhaka University campus, hurling rocks, fighting with sticks and beating each other with iron rods. The quota system also reserves government j...