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Soccer fans looking to bring the party to World Cup games will have to go without vuvuzelas, ​with FIFA banning the plastic horns from venues ‌in the U.S., Canada and Mexico in its stadium code of conduct. Vuvuzelas, a horn made with a long plastic shell, ​are a staple of South African soccer matches ​and took the world by storm at the ⁠2010 World Cup in South Africa. But they have ​drawn criticism over their monotonous droning sound, often likened ​to a swarm of bees. Along with vuvuzelas, whistles, air horns and other excessively loud noise-making devices are prohibited from…

Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry warned on Friday of an underwater heat emergency in the Arabian Sea and urged urgent climate action to protect coastal communities, fisheries and maritime infrastructure. In a statement on Climate Day, the minister emphasized that nature provides countless sustainable solutions to the climate crisis, from ocean depths to mountain peaks. He called for urgent action to protect ecosystems and strengthen environmental resilience worldwide, as per the press release. “Sustained sea-surface temperatures in the northern Arabian Sea have exceeded the 90th percentile across more than 30 percent of the region in recent…

BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea from June 8 to 9, state news agency Xinhua said on Friday, his first trip in nearly seven years as Beijing looks to reinforce ties with Pyongyang. The announcement follows separate summits Xi hosted in Beijing for US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin last month. Trump, who met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un three times in his first term, previously said he would be open to meeting the North Korean leader again. Kim was a guest at a massive military parade in Beijing last September, travelling to…

ANTALYA: Iran will head off to their World Cup base this weekend with a spring in their step after beating Mali 2-0 in a friendly in Turkey on Thursday, even if some uncertainty still clouds their participation in the tournament. Goals from midfielder Saeid Ezatolahi and right back Ramin Rezaeian either side of halftime gave Team Melli a record of three wins and a single loss in their four friendlies this year in the Turkish resort city of Antalya. The friendlies are the only competitive football the Iran-based players have played since the domestic league was suspended in the wake…

Buying continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 500 points during the opening minutes of trading on Friday. At 9:50am, the benchmark index was hovering at 171,698.54, up by 523.04 points or 0.31%. Buying activity was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, PSO, HBL and NBP, traded in the green. On Thursday, PSX extended its gains as cautious optimism surrounding a potential diplomatic breakthrough between the United States and Iran encouraged selective…

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow is ready to make concessions on President Donald Trump’s peace proposal, but warned that Ukraine must also show flexibility if the war is to end. Speaking to foreign media editors on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Putin maintained a hardline stance on the Ukraine war while also saying a negotiated peace remained possible. Putin said Russia was prepared to reach a peaceful agreement with Ukraine based on the proposals discussed during his meeting with President Trump in Anchorage last year. “We are certainly prepared and willing to reach an agreement…

Several staff members were injured when the nose gear ​of a Boeing 787 jetliner unexpectedly collapsed ‌at a gate at Frankfurt airport on Thursday, its operator Lufthansa said. “Passengers had not yet boarded,” a company spokesperson ​said in an emailed statement, adding that ​crew members and ground staff were on board ⁠the aircraft at the time of the incident, ​which was first reported by Bloomberg News. “Several staff ​members were injured and are currently receiving medical treatment,” the company added. A Boeing spokesperson said the company was aware of ​the incident and was supporting its customer but ​offered no further detail. A…

The US on Thursday imposed sanctions on Cuban ‌President Miguel Diaz-Canel and some affiliated people and entities, the US Treasury Department’s website showed. The sanctions also targeted four other people and five entities, ​including Diaz-Canel’s wife, Lis Cuesta Peraza, two members of the ​Castro family, and the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed ⁠Forces. The Cuban government did not immediately respond to a request ​for comment on the sanctions. Diaz-Canel, 66, has served as president ​of the Caribbean country since taking over from Raul Castro, the brother of Cuba’s former leader Fidel Castro, in 2018. Thursday’s action against Diaz-Canel is the…

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday that United States President Donald Trump’s prompt and decisive intervention had contributed to a ceasefire between Pakistan and India. Addressing a ceremony at the United States Embassy marking the 250th anniversary of the United States of America’s independence, PM Shehbaz has said that the United States was among the first countries to recognise Pakistan, recalling that president Harry Truman had written to Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah to convey greetings on independence. He added that Pakistan had benefited from United States cooperation in major development projects, including the construction of the Tarbela Dam. The…

The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has registered a case against Punjab Assembly member Saqib Chadhar in connection with allegations of harassment involving actress Momina Iqbal. The case has been lodged under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). According to the complainant, Saqib Chadhar and his associates were involved in acts of blackmail and issued threats. The FIR states that the accused allegedly threatened that certain data would be leaked if a marriage proposal was not accepted. According to the investigation record, Momina Iqbal’s sister provided the cybercrime agency with videos related to the alleged threats. The FIR…