Benta News

In only a few years, the surveillance start-up Flock has installed more than 100,000 license plate reader cameras across the United States.

But a grassroots movement upset over privacy concerns is fighting back — even going so far as systematically vandalising the equipment.

The first time he decided to trash one of the cameras, a self-styled vigilante wearing all black and known as Nomark says he was “super nervous”.

Now, after disabling about 30 of the devices near his home in the Minneapolis area, he told AFP: “I’m not really as scared anymore.”

Flock cameras are installed by police departments, homeowners’ associations and businesses, ostensibly to catch criminals in the act. Data is uploaded to Flock’s cloud and can be shared with subscribers.

But opponents are outraged at what they say is a dangerous tool that can be used to infringe on American privacy and civil liberties.

At just 20 years old, Nomark offers his 500,000 Instagram followers a how-to guide for rendering the cameras useless, raising awareness about the devices.

His detractors point out — correctly — that his actions are illegal, but like-minded individuals have followed suit nationwide over the past few weeks.

Instead of being dismissed as a radical fringe outfit, the anti-Flock movement is taking hold.

Its proponents have been active online for months, creating crowdsourced maps of cameras, sharing ways to block their lenses, and hailing the “heroes” who are arrested for destroying them.

The Facebook group DeFlock America has more than 600,000 members, and is gaining thousands more by the day.

Massive database

Flock cameras differ from traditional surveillance cameras in that they do not record video footage.

Instead, they take still images of vehicles, capturing the make, model, colour, license plate data and other distinguishing features such as bumper stickers.

And unlike classic surveillance cameras, which are not networked, this data is stored for up to a month and shareable, sometimes across state lines.

Opponents say this gives police an overwhelming look into the private lives of law-abiding Americans.

Jon Bridges, a police official in Virginia’s state capital Richmond, says that for “practically any crime that has a connection with a vehicle or a vehicle involved, we will at least query the database to see if there’s anything there”. His department has used Flock since 2023.

Bridges gave an example of how useful the technology can be: during the investigation of a domestic-related double homicide in May, police quickly identified a suspect who fled the scene in his pick-up truck.

Detectives retrieved his license plate data and entered an alert in Flock’s system. When he appeared on another camera, officers in a neighbouring county arrested him.

Potential abuses

Detractors fear that this allows officers to track vehicles without warrants, opening the door to a host of possible abuses of power.

According to an investigation done by The Washington Post, at least 50 police officers have been accused of misusing the Flock system, most of them to spy on the comings and goings of their romantic partners or exes.

In other cases reported in US media, cops used Flock to track women who had abortions — illegal in several US states. Some illegally sent data from the system to immigration agents.

Flock CEO Garrett Langley has accused some opponents of being “terrorists,” stoking the fire.

“There is really an incredible grassroots movement against Flock,” said Chad Marlow, senior policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, calling its growth “stunning”.

The movement has support on both the political left and right, notably from libertarians.

Former Fox News host and conservative heavyweight Tucker Carlson has called the vandals “decent, patriotic Americans” who are simply “taking matters into their own hands.”

Across the country, local groups are pushing their lawmakers to step back from Flock.

Steven Keener, a professor of criminology at Christopher Newport University in Virginia, said residents can meet with city council members or mayors to convince them to cancel their contracts with the surveillance company.

So far, such grassroots efforts are proving successful.

From Los Angeles to small towns in Virginia, more than 70 municipalities have ended their association with Flock in recent months, according to an ACLU tally.

For Keener, the movement stands out in a country riven by political divisions.

“Because decisions are at the local level, people realise that they can actually make a difference,” he told AFP.

LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan (JI) has decided to intensify its campaign against the petroleum levy and inflation, announcing simultaneous sit-ins in all four provincial capitals on August 16 to press the government to withdraw the levy.

The decision was taken after extensive deliberations at a special meeting of JI’s central and provincial office-bearers, chaired by party chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman at Mansoora on Saturday.

Rehman said the sit-ins would be staged outside the Punjab chief minister’s house in Lahore and the governor houses in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan.

Under the plan, the JI and its youth and women’s wings will participate in Independence Day activities on August 14, using the occasion to mobilise people around the party’s vision of a just system.

The JI chief added that the previous day’s nationwide protest had given the party’s campaign against the petroleum levy and inflation a new direction and fresh momentum; and that over 510 organised and peaceful protests were held across the country, with people from across Pakistan participating.

He said the protests had demonstrated that the JI was “becoming a symbol of national unity”, as people from Chitral, Malakand, Hazara and central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, among others, had raised their voices against the petroleum levy.

The JI chief added that the public had rejected the levy and wanted petrol prices reduced to Rs225 per litre. Rehman accused the ruling elite of pushing ordinary citizens into an unbearable inflationary crisis while refusing to cut their own privileges and expenditures.

The party chief also claimed the rulers were “unwilling to give up official aircraft, reduce government vehicle expenses or end perks such as free fuel and electricity”, while students, motorcyclists, workers and farmers were being burdened with indirect taxes on petroleum products.

“Even people whose incomes were below the taxable threshold were effectively being taxed through fuel prices,” he added.

Rehman said the JI had previously taken to the streets to force the government to negotiate with independent power producers (IPP), after initially refusing to engage with them.

He added that negotiations had been held with 17 to 18 IPPs, resulting in some reduction in electricity prices, but the process was subsequently halted.

“The unresolved energy crisis and rising prices have fuelled an inflationary storm that is affecting every segment of society, particularly salaried people, the middle class and poor families,” Rehman said.

He warned that the public could no longer be left to suffer the consequences of government policies and said the rulers would have to deliver their rights.

Rehman also welcomed the recently signed defence agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, describing it as “a positive development for the Muslim world”.

He said closer cooperation among Islamic countries could lead to a strong bloc and reduce Pakistan’s and the wider Muslim world’s dependence on external powers.

Additionally, he proposed expanding the defence cooperation to include Iran, Qatar, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia, saying efforts should gradually be made to bring all Muslim countries into such a framework.

“Muslim countries should overcome their differences, strengthen mutual cooperation and build collective capacity to face regional and global challenges,” Rehman emphasised.

A day prior, several major thoroughfares in Karachi were blocked or affected by traffic disruptions as the JI held sit-ins as part of the nationwide demonstration against the petroleum levy.

Responding to the protest, Sindh government spokesperson Sadia Javed said the petroleum levy was a federal matter and questioned why Karachi’s citizens were being “punished” through road closures.

“Jamaat-i-Islami is using the protest to score political points instead of serving the public,” she alleged, adding that the party should focus on the performance of its local government representatives to improve conditions for Karachi’s residents.

The government on Friday reduced the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs2.20 and Rs1.50 per litre, respectively.

Following the revision, petrol will retail at Rs327.62 per litre while HSD will cost Rs380.86 per litre. The government continues to levy Rs114 per litre in taxes and duties on petrol and Rs100 per litre on HSD.

According to the Petroleum Division’s notification, the new prices will apply from August 8 to 10.

The diesel price has come down from a peak of Rs520.35 recorded on April 3. Its price had started rising from Rs281 per litre after the US-Iran war broke out on February 28.

The petrol price had peaked at Rs458.41 on April 3 after beginning its upward trajectory from Rs266 in the first week of March.

Earlier, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik announced that fuel prices would now be fixed on a daily basis due to fluctuations in international market prices following renewed hostilities between Iran and the US.

The government had been announcing weekly revisions to fuel prices since early March, alongside measures for the conservation of fuel amid possible oil supply disruptions due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The federal government in April also announced targeted relief measures to provide subsidised fuel.

The petroleum minister stated that the cabinet and the prime minister had decided to give the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) the responsibility of deciding fuel prices on a daily basis based on international market trends.

The daily pricing decision was rejected by the All Pakistan Dealers Association, which said it would consider a protest plan.

Petrol is mainly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers, and changes in its price affect the middle and lower-middle classes.

Similarly, changes in diesel prices also impact the public at large, as it is mainly used in the heavy transport sector, power plants and large generators.

Petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) are the major revenue earners, with monthly sales of about 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes, compared to just 10,000 tonnes of monthly demand for kerosene.

Myanmar’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi met with a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross on Monday, after years of questions over the health and well-being of the 81-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Suu Kyi has been in detention since February 2021, when an elected civilian government led by her was ousted by Myanmar’s military in a dawn coup, plunging the impoverished Southeast Asian nation into turmoil.

Since then, Suu Kyi’s exact whereabouts and health condition have been difficult to determine, with no foreign leader or envoy having publicly met with her despite requests for contact from countries in the region that have excluded Myanmar’s leadership from their summits.

Suu Kyi met with Arnaud de Baecque, Resident Representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross to Myanmar, in the capital Naypyitaw on Monday, government spokesperson Khine Khine Soe said in a message via Telegram.

The ICRC confirmed that a delegate had met with Suu Kyi, without naming the official, while her son described the visit as the first positive development concerning his mother in more than five years.

In one of four photographs provided by the Myanmar government spokesperson, Suu Kyi is seen dressed in traditional Burmese attire and standing unaided, shaking hands with de Baecque.

In another, they are seated in a sparsely furnished, wood-panelled room containing only two chairs and a desk.

Son urges continued pressure for Suu Kyi’s release

The ICRC said the visit had met with its standards and procedures for visiting people deprived of liberty. “This included the opportunity to speak with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in private,” it said in a statement, using a Burmese honorific.

Suu Kyi’s son, Kim Aris, told Reuters that the ICRC was not able to have a physician examine his mother but he said she seemed to be in good health and in good spirits.

“It’s the first independent proof that I’ve had that she’s actually alive for a long time now,” he said in London. “So it’s extremely meaningful.”

Aris said that while he remained cautious, he hoped to be able to speak to his mother in time, and urged other governments to keep up the pressure on Myanmar to release her and other political prisoners.

Aris told Reuters in December that he had received only sporadic, second-hand details about his mother’s heart, bone and gum problems — and had not heard from her in years.

The United Nations, whose special envoy on Myanmar, Julie Bishop, has called repeatedly for independent, verifiable reports on Suu Kyi’s circumstances, said it had taken note of the ICRC announcement and stressed the need for inclusive dialogue.

“We welcome this development and reiterate our call for the swift and unconditional release of all those arbitrarily detained, as a fundamental step towards conditions conducive to a credible and transparent political process,” UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told a daily briefing in New York.

Detained since coup

After a marathon run of secret trials following the 2021 coup, Suu Kyi, who was held under house arrest for a total of 15 years under a previous junta, was sentenced to 33 years’ detention, convicted of charges ranging from corruption and inciting election fraud to violating state secrecy rules.

Her allies maintain that the charges were politically motivated and aimed at sidelining the most popular politician in the country of 51 million people.

The sentence was later reduced, leaving her with 18 years still to serve, according to a member of her legal team.

Myanmar’s military-backed administrations have repeatedly claimed that Suu Kyi, who is the daughter of Myanmar’s independence hero General Aung San, is in “good health”, even as international pressure has grown to allow independent verification.

After a meeting between Myanmar’s foreign minister and counterparts from the regional Asean bloc last month, Thailand’s top diplomat Sihasak Phuangketkeow called for access to Suu Kyi.

Asean has barred Myanmar’s leadership from its top meetings for failure to implement a peace roadmap.

Birthday cake

In late April, following a military-engineered election that allowed former junta leader Min Aung Hlaing to become Myanmar’s president, Suu Kyi was moved to house arrest.

In another of the photos provided by the Myanmar government offering a rare glimpse inside what appears to be her residence, Suu Kyi is seen cutting a birthday cake, with a clothes rack and storage boxes visible in the background.

A fourth photograph is a close-up of the cake, inscribed with “Happy Birthday Aunty Suu 19.6.2026”.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the location and the date when the pictures were taken. No earlier version of the pictures was found posted online before Monday.

As rescuers recovered the body of climbing legend Nirmal Purja on Sunday, grief rippled hundreds of kilometres away in Nepal at the school where he first displayed the grit that would make him world-famous.

At the Small Heaven School in Chitwan district, friends, teachers and students gathered around a framed photograph of the 43-year-old British-Nepali climber, adorned with flowers.

Lighting candles, they shared with AFP their memories of the boy they knew long before he became one of the most celebrated figures in modern mountaineering.

“When he was missing, we were praying for him and spent sleepless nights,” Dhiraj Bahadur Panta, a school friend of Purja, told AFP, his voice quivering with emotion.

“It was not only me and my friends. I think people all over the world who knew him… prayed for him. But it was his fate; no one could avoid it.” Purja was killed alongside nine other climbers after they were caught in a deadly avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak on Thursday.

News of his death has prompted heartfelt tributes from across the climbing community and beyond, with figures such as Britain’s Prince William offering condolences.

Purja arrived at the boarding school in Nepal’s southern plains as a young boy before later joining the British Gurkhas, a path that eventually led him into elite military service and then to global mountaineering stardom.

He studied at the school for eight years, forging a close bond with fellow students and teachers.

‘Fearless’

On Sunday, students filed past his portrait, laying flowers and offering prayers as teachers remembered their courageous and disciplined pupil.

“Even when he was in class three, he was fearless and committed to achieving something,” Shailendra Baral, who supervised Purja in the school hostel, told AFP.

“He was honest and an obedient student, which made us happy. We found courage in him even when he was a child.” In 2019, Purja stunned the climbing fraternity by scaling the world’s 14 highest peaks in just over six months, shattering the previous record of seven years.

His feat was later chronicled in a Netflix documentary, helping inspire a new generation of climbers and elevating Nepal’s profile in a sport long dominated by Western adventurers.

In 2021, he was part of the historic all-Nepali team that completed the first winter ascent of K2, the world’s second-highest mountain and one of mountaineering’s most dangerous challenges.

In 2022, Purja received a hero’s welcome when he came to Chitwan for the screening of his documentary.
“I grew up here, running around with no shoes on,” he said in a social media post at the time.

“This is my hometown and so I wanted everyone here to see the film and inspire the younger generation.” For many of the students gathered on Sunday, Purja’s achievements were already part of the school’s folklore.

“It really feels bad to hear this news because we had always (heard) good things about him,” said student Sarbagya Paudel.

“His bravery has set a great example for our school. Not only has he made our school proud, but he has also brought pride to Nepal.

“It is heartbreaking to know that he is no longer with us. “

MUZAFFARABAD: Polling for the second phase of elections to the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly will be held on Sunday in nine constituencies of Muzaffarabad division and all 12 constituencies reserved for Kashmiri refugees settled in Pakistan, where more than 340 candidates are contesting 21 seats.

According to the AJK Election Commission, 207 candidates are in the fray for the nine constituencies in Muzaffarabad division, comprising five seats in Muzaffarabad district and two each in Neelum and Jhelum Valley districts.

Another 137 candidates are contesting the 12 refugee constituencies, including six seats representing refugees from the Kashmir Valley and six from Jammu.

A total of 809,621 voters are registered in Muzaffarabad division, including 427,955 men and 381,666 women.

The 12 refugee constituencies have a combined electorate of 438,834, comprising 247,776 male and 191,054 female voters.

Internet services were suspended again on Friday, less than 45 hours after being restored, as part of efforts to discourage elements attempting to disrupt the election process. Official sources said the services were likely to be restored on Sunday.

However, the Election Commission made it clear that polling would be held as scheduled in all nine constituencies of Muzaffarabad division and the 12 refugee constituencies.

It added that polling would continue from 8am to 5pm without a break.

Election material had been delivered to all polling stations in the 12 refugee constituencies, the commission said, adding that the distribution of polling material had also been completed in all constituencies of Neelum and Jhelum Valley districts, while the process had entered its final stage in the five constituencies of Muzaffarabad district.

Polling staff had also been dispatched to their respective polling stations under stringent security arrangements.

According to the commission, 1,483 polling stations have been established across Muzaffarabad division, of which 533 have been declared highly sensitive, 741 sensitive and 209 normal.

Another 1,057 polling stations have been set up for the 12 refugee constituencies.

It said all administrative and security arrangements had been completed and security personnel had already been deployed at polling stations to ensure the peaceful conduct of polling.

Separately, in a televised message to the public on the eve of polling, Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Ghulam Mustafa Mughal urged voters to exercise their right to franchise, saying the vote was the only means through which citizens could choose a better future and capable leadership.

“There is no substitute for the vote, and every citizen should fulfil this national responsibility,” he said, adding that the vote was a trust that should be entrusted to an honest and competent candidate.

Mughal appealed to the electorate to participate wholeheartedly in the democratic process and demonstrate responsible citizenship. He said all arrangements had been finalised to ensure peaceful, transparent and fair elections.

During the first phase of elections in Mirpur division, the PML-N grabbed nine out of the 13 constituencies.

Polls in AJK are being held in three phases over security concerns, with the first set of polls held in Mirpur division on June 27. Scuffles, violence and allegations of rigging had marred the polling process, with the PML-N and PPP accusing each other of electoral malpractice.

According to preliminary results issued by the AJK Election Commission (Forms-27), the PML-N emerged as the winner in nine constituencies, while the PPP could secure only four seats.

LAHORE: At least 22 mouzas (villages) in Multan district have been submerged under three to four feet of floodwater from the River Chenab, forcing thousands of residents to move to safer places, while standing crops over large tracts have also been damaged, according to the district administration’s latest flood situation report.

The report compiled by the assistant commissioners, available with Dawn, said the district has 545 mouzas, of which 138 are flood-prone.

It said 22 mouzas have been partially inundated with up to 3-4 feet of water, including four in Multan Saddar, seven in Shujaabad and 11 in Jalalpur Pirwala tehsils.

Residents said the advancing floodwater drove thousands of people to relocate with their cattle to safer areas, while cotton, fodder and other standing crops were submerged, causing substantial agricultural losses.

The district administration said no mouza had been categorised as severely affected and no formal evacuation order had been issued. It added that water levels were receding and the situation was being monitored closely across all four tehsils.

In Multan Saddar, the affected mouzas are Abu Hatta, Vellan, Dhello and Zaman Pur. In Shujaabad, floodwaters have inundated Soman, Pounta, Tahir Pur, Marha, Agar Khawani, Dhundoon and Wanis.

The largest number of affected villages is in Jalalpur Pirwala, where Ripri, Manik Wali, Jung Wala, Narol, Wacha Sandila, Shahpur Lamma, Bait Kaitch Janubi, Shehni Shumali, Shehni Janubi and Bait Qaiser, among others, have been affected.

Civil society activist Majid Zahoor told Dawn that two union councils (UCs) of Tehsil Jalalpur, including Bait Kaitch and UC Sheeni of Jalalpur Pirwala, were submerged.

He said that all zamindara bunds constructed by locals on their own to stop the water from entering their crops and houses were washed away by the water.

Meanwhile, Multan Deputy Commissioner Dr Faisal Saleem said the flood wave in the River Chenab had receded to around 110,000 cusecs, but the district administration would remain on high alert until the river fully returned to normal.

He added that only minor inundation had occurred in a few riverine settlements, while residents living along the Chenab belt had been advised to remain vigilant and follow official instructions.

The DC also urged citizens to rely only on authentic government sources for updates on the flood situation and avoid rumours.

Separately, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said a low-level flood continued at Kalabagh and Taunsa on Indus River, while water flows in all other major rivers remained within normal limits.

According to the PDMA’s latest river situation report, Indus River recorded an inflow of 262,219 cusecs and an outflow of 253,979 cusecs at Kalabagh, and an inflow of 310,407 cusecs and an outflow of 290,407 cusecs at Taunsa, both remaining at low flood level.

At Tarbela, inflow stood at 246,000 cusecs and outflow at 242,100 cusecs, while Chashma recorded an inflow of 245,382 cusecs and an outflow of 236,582 cusecs, both at normal levels.

Similarly, Chenab River continued to flow within normal limits, with 92,901 cusecs recorded at Marala, 98,403 cusecs at Khanki, 89,017 cusecs at Qadirabad, 110,677 cusecs at Trimmu and 134,622 cusecs at Panjnad.

Jhelum River also remained normal, with 80,000 cusecs recorded at Mangla and 7,491 cusecs at Rasul.

On Ravi River, flows remained normal at Jassar, Shahdara, Balloki and Sidhnai, while Sutlej was also flowing within normal limits at Ganda Singh Wala, Sulemanki and Islam Head.

The PDMA warned that forecast rainfall in the upper catchment areas could increase flows in the eastern rivers and adjoining nullahs, raising the risk of flash floods.

It also cautioned about possible urban flooding in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Faisalabad and Multan, and landslides in Murree, Galiyat and other hilly areas.

The authority urged people living in riverbeds to move to safer locations and advised the public to avoid unnecessary visits to rivers, canals and rain-fed streams. Flood relief camps were established in vulnerable areas where essential facilities and medicines were being provided.

Showers in Islamabad, parts of Punjab

Parts of Punjab and Islamabad received rain on Wednesday morning, marking the onset of a fresh monsoon spell in the country just as a previous one that caused flooding in several areas of Punjab and over 100 deaths ended.

An update by the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) at 11:30am said the highest amount of rainfall in the city by then was recorded in Tajpura at 44.8 millimetres.

It was followed by 44.4mm of rain in Mughalpura, 32.8 in Shadipura, 31.4 at Pani Wala Talab, 29mm at Chowk Nakhuda, 26.8mm in Johar Town, 26mm in Mannawan, 22.4mm at Lakshmi Chowk, 16.4mm in Farrukhabad, 7.6mm in Saggian, 6.2mm in Nishtar Town and 5.8mm at Upper Mall.

Gulshan-i-Ravi received 1mm of rain while 0.8mm of rainfall was recorded at Jail Road and 0.2mm in Iqbal Town. Trace amounts of rainfall were also recorded at Kahna, Hdyara Defence Road, Samanabad, Airport and the Wasa head office in Gulberg.

Separately, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said that several areas of Sialkot, as well Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Narowal, Mangla and Murree also received showers between 2am and 5am.

According to a report by the Met Office, 54mm of rain was recorded in the Sialkot city during this period while Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Narowal, and Murree also received showers.

A specially modified Airbus A350 plane touched down in France on Tuesday after a record 24-hour test flight from Australia, ahead of its joining Qantas’s fleet next year.

Its 23,076-kilometre journey — across three continents and two oceans, and through two sunsets and two dawns — was one of the most-watched flights shown on the Flightradar24 tracking site.

It was also a crucial step before Australian airline Qantas receives its first A350-1000ULR in April next year, to be followed by 11 others for services able to link Australia non-stop to destinations in the United States and Europe.

The ULR in its designation stands for “ultra long distance”, a feat made possible by an additional 20,000-litre rear centre fuel tank being fitted to Airbus’s A350-1000 model.

The flight from Australia to France took precisely 24 hours and 24 minutes.

On its outbound flight last week, from Toulouse to Melbourne, the test aircraft flew 17,000 kilometres in 19 hours and 12 minutes.

The return trip simulated a trajectory the plane would take once put into commercial service. Qantas plans to start offering non-stop flights between London and Sydney from October 2027. Later, it intends to start flying between Sydney and New York.

On board the plane was a cockpit crew of eight people from Airbus’s testing division, accompanied by two Qantas pilots. Two Airbus engineers were also on board.

Some of the aspects studied on the flight were the modified architecture around the extra fuel tank, changes to make the cabin quieter, and the plane’s air circulation system.

Qantas’s ‘Project Sunrise’, using ultra-long-haul planes, has been on the cards for the past nine years — but has been repeatedly delayed.

Currently, the longest commercial flight service in the world is Singapore Airlines’ route between Singapore and New York, which covers 15,350 kilometres and lasts more than 18 hours using another variant of the A350.

A known suspect in the driving of a minivan into a crowd near a major LGBTQ Pride gathering in Berlin was shot dead by law enforcement officers in the city’s Spandau district, police said on Sunday.

The ramming attack happened in the Tiergarten park near the Brandenburg Gate at about 10pm (2000 GMT) on Saturday, not far from one of Europe’s biggest annual LGBTQ celebrations, Christopher Street Day. One person was killed, and 29 were injured, authorities said.

“Around 6pm (1600 GMT), the suspect involved in yesterday’s attack in Tiergarten was located at an allotment garden complex in Spandau,” Berlin police wrote on X.

“According to initial findings, he ran towards officers while armed with a bladed weapon; police… subsequently opened fire. Despite immediate resuscitation efforts by the Berlin Fire Department, he died at the scene.”

A federal prosecutor’s spokesperson confirmed one person had been shot and declared dead.

Berlin police had identified the suspect as Abdul B, 21, and published his picture, asking the public for information on his whereabouts.

The suspect had “attracted attention in the past through a high number of criminal offences, through radicalisation, through membership of the Islamist scene”, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said earlier, adding that he was a German citizen of Lebanese heritage, born in Germany in 2005.

It was the latest in a series of vehicle attacks on crowds in Germany in recent years that have intensified debate around security and immigration amid a surge in support for the far-right.

Ahead of a memorial service at St Mary’s Church in Berlin, centre-right Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Germans to protect liberal values.

“We will defend the freedom, openness, and liberal spirit of our lives and our society with everything we can do,” he said.

The government on Saturday kept the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel unchanged for July 26 and 27 due to the non-publication of “Platts prices on weekends”.

A day earlier, the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) were increased by Rs3.66 and Rs4.80 per litre, respectively.

The current price of petrol stands at Rs335.18 per litre, while HSD is priced at Rs383.46 per litre. The government is charging a total of Rs110 per litre in taxes and duties on petrol and Rs96 on diesel.

The Petroleum Division’s notification said the price increase announced for July 25 would also remain applicable on July 26 and 27.

The diesel price has come down from a peak of Rs520.35 recorded on April 3. Its price had started rising from Rs281 per litre after the US-Iran war broke out on February 28.

The petrol price had peaked at Rs458.41 on April 3 after beginning its upward trajectory from Rs266 in the first week of March.

Earlier, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik announced that fuel prices would now be fixed on a daily basis due to fluctuations in international market prices following renewed hostilities between Iran and the US.

The government had been announcing weekly revisions to fuel prices since early March, alongside measures for the conservation of fuel amid possible oil supply disruptions due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The federal government in April also announced targeted relief measures to provide subsidised fuel.

The petroleum minister stated that the cabinet and the prime minister had decided to give the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) the responsibility of deciding fuel prices on a daily basis based on international market trends.

The daily pricing decision was rejected by the All Pakistan Dealers Association, which said it would consider a protest plan this week.

Petrol is mainly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers, and changes in its price affect the middle and lower-middle classes.

Similarly, changes in diesel prices also impact the public at large, as it is mainly used in the heavy transport sector, power plants and large generators.

Petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) are the major revenue earners, with monthly sales of about 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes, compared to just 10,000 tonnes of monthly demand for kerosene.

ISLAMABAD: Following the cancellation of the official accommodation allotted to Peshawar High Court (PHC) Justice Babar Sattar in Islamabad, the IHC registrar on Friday issued him a notice directing him to vacate the residence within 30 days.

On April 28, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan approved the transfer of Justice Sattar from the IHC to the PHC. Following his transfer, Justice Sattar had decided to continue residing in the federal capital during his tenure at the provincial high court instead of seeking a separate official residence in Peshawar.

According to the notice issued by the IHC registrar, the Estate Office cancelled the allotment of the official residence on July 3.

The notice stated that Justice Sattar had been transferred from the IHC to the PHC and, following the cancellation of the allotment, had been given one month to vacate the premises.

It further clarified that the 30-day period would be calculated from July 3, the date on which the Estate Office cancelled the allotment. Accordingly, the judge was required to vacate his Islamabad residence by Aug 3.

Sources said Justice Sattar had earlier conveyed to the IHC administration his intention to retain the accommodation in Islamabad.

The issue of official accommodation for superior court judges has long remained contentious.

In 2023, a judgment authored by Justice Sattar held that judges were entitled to official accommodation from the date of their appointment and throughout their service, with the entitlement flowing from the presidential order rather than the general accommodation rules applicable to federal government employees.

Sources further said officials visited Justice Sattar’s Islamabad residence on Wednesday but left shortly afterwards because the judge was on judicial leave and was not present at the residence at the time.

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday praised Pakistan’s initiative at the UN Security Council (UNSC) to strengthen mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of disputes, saying the move was particularly important at a time when conflicts were escalating across the Middle East and beyond.

Addressing an UNSC open debate held pursuant to Pakistan-sponsored Resolution 2788 (2025), the UN chief presented recommendations aimed at making diplomacy, mediation and conflict prevention more effective tools for maintaining international peace and security.

The resolution, which was presented by Pakistan during its presidency of the UNSC last year and adopted unanimously by the Council, seeks to strengthen the use of peaceful means available under the UN Charter, including negotiation, mediation, conciliation, arbitration and judicial settlement.

Pakistan had argued that diplomacy should not be used only after conflicts erupt but should serve as a means to prevent crises from escalating.

“As conflicts escalate across the Middle East and beyond, military solutions cannot deliver lasting peace,” Guterres said, calling for restraint, protection of civilians and renewed commitment to diplomacy.

“The situation is getting out of control. It’s teetering on the edge of the unimaginable,” the secretary-general warned, noting that the region was being “pulled into another widening circle of confrontation.”

“One crisis feeds another. One escalation triggers the next,” he said, adding that as this dynamic spreads, “the political objectives are becoming increasingly obscured by the confrontation itself.”

“It’s time to step back,” Guterres said, stressing that “attacks on civilian infrastructure are unacceptable” and that “there’s no military solution to the conflict.”

“Fighting must stop everywhere in the region,” he said, while calling for the restoration of “international navigational rights and freedoms in and around the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab.”

“Diplomacy is the only way forward,” the UN chief added.

Recognising Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts, Guterres said: “I want to recognise the mediation of Pakistan and countries in the region working to reduce tensions and create space for dialogue.”

“These efforts must be supported and strengthened in pursuit of a peaceful and durable settlement,” he said.

The secretary-general also highlighted developments in the occupied West Bank, saying: “We see creeping annexation with violence, settlement expansion, extensive Israeli military operations and large-scale displacement.”

Pakistan welcomed the secretary-general’s recommendations, with Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Islamabad’s permanent representative to the UN, expressing “profound appreciation” for what he described as “thoughtful, practical and forward-looking” proposals.

Speaking at the UNSC debate, Ambassador Ahmad said sustained implementation of the recommendations would strengthen not only mechanisms for peaceful settlement of disputes but also reinforce implementation of the UN Charter itself.

“These recommendations carry significance far beyond today’s meeting,” he said, adding that they could help “restore conflict prevention and resolution to its rightful place, at the heart of the United Nations, and translate the promise of Chapter VI into practice.”

The ambassador said Resolution 2788 was conceived in the spirit that diplomacy must not be “the instrument we scramble for, after peace has failed,” but rather the means through which failure could be prevented.

He said the challenge was not the absence of mechanisms under the Charter but their “delayed, selective and inconsistent use,” warning that the Security Council often became engaged only after positions had hardened and the space for compromise had narrowed.

Ambassador Ahmad said Pakistan remained committed to peaceful settlement of disputes and cited Islamabad’s recent diplomatic engagement in West Asia as an example of efforts to facilitate dialogue. He said Pakistan, together with partner countries, had played a constructive mediating role between Iran and the United States, helping create space for negotiations.

He expressed regret over renewed hostilities and urged all sides to exercise restraint and return to dialogue, saying that whenever negotiations falter, “the answer is not in less but more determined diplomacy.”

The Pakistani envoy called for stronger follow-up mechanisms for UNSC resolutions, greater use of fact-finding and mediation tools, increased support for the secretary-general’s good offices, and closer cooperation between the UN and regional organisations.

He said the value of Resolution 2788 would ultimately be measured not by the unanimity with which it was adopted but by the consistency with which it was implemented.

“History documents the wars that broke out. It rarely records the war that did not begin because a channel remained open, a mediator persisted, a leader exercised restraint or an institution acted in time,” Ambassador Ahmad said, describing prevention and peaceful settlement as diplomacy’s highest achievements.

When pent-up youth anger propelled India’s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) to online fame in May, its founder said his supporters were disillusioned with both Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party and the opposition for failing to address their concerns.

Yet CJP leaders turned to opposition lawmakers and appealed directly for their support on Monday after police used batons and tear gas to disperse protesters marching on parliament to demonstrate against damaging exam leaks and corruption.

Opposition lawmakers were quick to oblige on Tuesday, after many young demonstrators were injured.

The show of solidarity with protesters could help opposition parties win valuable young voters and broaden the appeal of the CJP, which has so far focused on demanding the education minister’s resignation over the exam paper leaks.

Tens of thousands of protesters had turned out in Delhi, far more than expected, and images of the authorities’ crackdown spread across social media, prompting nearly all opposition parties to rally behind the movement, which has so far said it will keep out of electoral politics.

An opportunity to gain the youth vote

Analysts said the wider political support for the CJP comes with risks for the movement: concerns central to students, such as preventing exam paper leaks and creating more youth jobs, could be overshadowed by broader political agendas.

But the backing could also help sustain them by providing resources, organisational support and a wider national platform.

For the opposition, which has lost many elections to Modi since he first took office in 2014 on the back of anti-corruption protests, India’s young people represent a significant political opportunity.

Those under 30 are estimated to make up more than half of India’s 1.42 billion population, and many have long been frustrated by a lack of jobs under Modi despite years of strong economic growth.

India’s next parliamentary elections are due by April 2029, but key states like the most populous, Uttar Pradesh, run by Modi’s party, and Punjab, vote next year.

“I think the opposition has got a clear sense that there is a very strong sentiment against the government on this issue at least,” said Sanjay Kumar, professor at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in Delhi, referring to the education minister.

“If the movement remains undirected … the chances of a further crackdown on the movement are much higher. So the opposition parties see it as an opportunity and they will try to develop a soft corner among the protesters.”

Some Indian broadcasters sympathetic to the government have already accused the opposition of trying to hijack the movement for limelight.

‘Jump on the bandwagon’

Congress leaders and lawmakers Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra protested outside Modi’s residence late on Tuesday, calling for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over the leaks of exam papers for medical courses that affected millions of students and led to a retest.

“An attack on students is an attack on every Indian family,” Rahul said before he was detained by police. “PM Modi believes he can get away without answers, without consequences. He cannot. Not this time. The voice of India’s students will not be ignored.”

Modi has not spoken publicly about the paper leaks. A cabinet minister said after a meeting of the ruling coalition that Modi told them “strongest possible steps are being taken to protect the interest of the students”.

Many other senior opposition leaders visited protesters camped out in extreme heat about three kilometres from parliament. Some lawmakers and senior politicians provided legal assistance to protesters detained by police, while others sent food and other supplies.

“There is now a one-upmanship among political parties over who can best position themselves as the champion of India’s youth,” said Rasheed Kidwai, political analyst and visiting fellow with the Observer Research Foundation.

“Every political party is acting according to its own electoral calculations, particularly with state elections approaching in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.” The CJP said it welcomed the political support.

“It’s not a political protest. It’s a movement of the masses; it is a movement of students, and we appreciate the support we are getting from the opposition parties,” a spokesperson said.

“It was CJP which invited the opposition, and now they are coming and giving us the support. It motivates us. We won’t let any politics happen here.”

They need to be mindful, said political analyst Sandeep Shastri.

“Whenever there is a movement like this, and given the visibility it is receiving, it is very tempting for every political formation to jump on the bandwagon,” he said.

“So if political parties join this movement, there is a strong chance that the leaders who actually started it, as well as the issues driving it, will take a back seat.”