Corona has brought with it a different lifestyle, new challenges and opportunities. Unfortunately, urban centres like Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar etc. had turbulence in landing into this new scenario as we witnessed scenes of public humiliation of lockdown violators and disorder in...

QUETTA: Pakistan opened its border with Afghanistan at Chaman on Saturday to allow return of Afghans to their country.

Last month, Pakistan sent back over 37,000 Afghan families after it opened the Pak-Afghan friendship gate at Chaman on the special request of the Afghan government.

Official sources said that the friendship gate opened from 8am to 5pm and 2,977 Afghan citizens stranded in different areas of Balochistan crossed into Afghanistan.

Majority of these Afghan citizens had entered Pakistan without travelling documents.

Majority of returnees had entered Pakistan without travel documents

They crossed into Pakistan through the Chaman border and other entering points between Pakistan and Afghanistan on the basis of Afghan national identity cards only.

“The border had opened for crossing Afghans and Pakistanis into their respective countries,” a senior official of the Chaman administration, Zakaullah Durrani, told Dawn over phone.

He said that so far 488 Pakistanis stranded in Afghanistan had also returned.

Majority of these Pakistani belonged to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while some of them belong to Balochistan and Punjab, he said.

He said that these Pakistanis had been sent to their respective provinces after medical check-up by health officials at the border.

He said that Pakistanis who arrived from Afghanistan on Saturday would be quarantined in the tent village quarantine centre established at Killi Faizo close to the Pak-Afghan border.

“Those Pakistanis who are not willing to spend 14 days in quarantine will be sent back to Afghanistan,” an official of health department said, adding that quarantine was mandatory for all those Pakistanis who were coming from Afghanistan according to SOPs issued by the government of Pakistan.

Mr Durrani said that 488 Pakistanis were allowed to go home after completing the 14-day quarantine period.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2020

Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui on Sunday said that Pakistan rejects the "baseless and inaccurate" allegations by Harish Salve, India's legal counsel in the Kulbushan Jadhav case.

In an online lecture on May 3, Salve, who had represented India in the case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), alleged that Pakistan refused to respond to Indian queries about how it would carry out the ICJ's judgement and review and reconsider Jadav's case.

"We have written four to five letters to Pakistan [...] but they just keep on denying. I think we have reached a point where we have to now decide whether we want to go back to ICJ for consequential directions because Pakistan has not moved ahead," Tribune India quoted Salve as saying.

He also alleged that Pakistan granted consular access to Jadhav "too late" and refused to share details of the case with India.

The Foreign Office, while refuting the allegations, said that Pakistan has "fully complied" with the international court's judgement. "Pakistan has granted India consular access to commander Jadhav and is processing measures for effective review and reconsideration as per the guidelines provided by ICJ in its judgment," a statement from the FO read.

The Foreign Office also said that Salve's statements were "regrettable and a misrepresentation of facts", adding that Pakistan followed "all its international obligations".

Read: Timeline: How the Kulbhushan Jadhav saga unfolded

The ICJ in its verdict in July 2019 had ruled that Jadhav be allowed consular access immediately and asked Pakistan to ensure "effective review and reconsideration of his conviction and sentences".

The ICJ had, however, rejected all other remedies sought by India, which included the annulment of the military court decision convicting Jadhav, restricting Pakistan from executing the sentence, securing Jadhav's release and ordering his return to India.

Arrest of Indian spy

Jadhav — a serving commander of the Indian Navy associated with Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing — was arrested on March 3, 2016, from Balochistan on allegations of espionage and terrorism.

Read: Transcript of RAW agent Kulbhushan’s confessional statement

In his subsequent trial at a military court, Jadhav had confessed to his involvement in terrorist plots.

The spy was subsequently sentenced to death in 2017. However, India insisted that Jadhav was not a spy and said he was kidnapped from Iran.

On April 10, 2017, Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa had endorsed the death penalty for Jadhav. In June 2017, the Indian spy had filed a mercy petition against the death penalty, in which he again confessed to his involvement in terrorist activities.

However, before Pakistani authorities could make a final decision, the ICJ, after being approached by India, had ordered a stay in his execution through an interim order.

Iraq's new government promised Saturday to release demonstrators arrested during mass protests that erupted in October and pledged justice and compensation to relatives of over 550 people killed during that unrest.

Palo Alto, CA – Aha by HARMAN™ today announced that the new 2014 Mazda3to be launched in North America and Europethis fall will offer access to Aha's free service withthe ability to select presets from more than 40,000* audio and information stations.

CES 2014, LAS VEGAS – HARMAN, the premium global audio and infotainment group (NYSE:HAR), unveiled two new services for the automotive market that leverage the Aha by HARMAN Cloud Platform and HARMAN’s infotainment system design leadership to ensure safe, personalized and connected driving experiences throughout the life of the vehicle. Extending beyond the popular Aha Radio interactive content service, the new Aha Updates and Aha Analytics services take HARMAN’s expertise and investments in cloud infrastructure into new directions.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Saturday it would allow state health departments to distribute Gilead Sciences Inc's remdesivir drug to fight COVID-19, and the United States would receive about 40% of the drug maker's global donation.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned on Saturday that if provinces move too quickly to reopen their economies, a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic could send Canada "back into confinement this summer."

Little Richard, the self-proclaimed "architect of rock 'n' roll" who built his ground-breaking sound with a boiling blend of boogie-woogie, rhythm and blues and gospel, died on Saturday at the age of 87.

China and the United States both supported a draft United Nations Security Council resolution confronting the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday and it was "shocking and regretful" that Washington changed its mind on Friday, a Chinese diplomat said.

Japanese Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Sunday the government is looking to lift the state of emergency in "many of 34 prefectures" that are not among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic before the nationwide deadline of May 31.

Australia's most populous state, home to Sydney, will allow restaurants, playgrounds and outdoor pools to reopen on Friday as extensive testing has shown the spread of the coronavirus has slowed sharply, New South Wales state's premier said on Sunday.

South Korea warned of a second wave of the new coronavirus on Sunday as infections rebounded to a one-month high, just as the authorities were starting to ease some pandemic restrictions.

China's National Health Commission reported 14 new confirmed coronavirus cases on May 9, the highest number since April 28, including the first for more than a month in the city of Wuhan where the outbreak was first detected late last year.

The British government wants to slowly and cautiously restart the economy, housing minister Robert Jenrick said on Sunday ahead of a televised address from the prime minister to set out plans to begin easing the coronavirus lockdown measures.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out a five-tier warning system for the coronavirus in England on Sunday when he outlines the government's plans to begin slowly easing lockdown measures, British media reported.

Former President Obama, who has largely kept out of the fray even as President Trump has blamed his Democratic administration for a variety of problems related to the pandemic, described Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic as "chaotic" on a call, a source said. Colette Luke has more.

Little Richard, the self-proclaimed "architect of rock 'n' roll" who built his ground-breaking sound with a boiling blend of boogie-woogie, rhythm and blues and gospel, died on Saturday at the age of 87.

Kirk Cousins knows a thing or two about playing under the franchise tag, having done so in the 2016 and 2017 seasons before signing a lucrative three-year, $84 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings.

Alex Morgan, who helped the United States women's soccer team to World Cup and Olympic titles, has become the newest mom in the national squad after giving birth to her first child.

As the NBA begins to allow practice facilities to reopen on a team-by-team basis, with state and local rules regarding reopening dictate which teams can welcome players back, one NFL coach wants his league to take a different approach when pro football gets back to work.

Backlight screen and faster performance are a couple of perks of this new e-reader.

Google’s newest Chromebook, made by Samsung, only costs $249 and offers the same general performance of ChromeOS is a smaller, lighter package. How’d they do it? This model uses the same chip type that powers smartphones and tablets. Take a look at my hands-on thoughts.

Along with Windows 8, Microsoft's Surface RT tablet is here. The slate uses chips that typically power smartphones but Windows runs quite well on it and the hardware is extremely well made and -- dare I say it -- sexy? See for yourself in this early look.

Google surprised many with the launch of a $199 Chromebook this week. So what's the Acer C7 like? Overall the quality and performance is better than I expected for the price and it even has a 320 GB hard drive for those who want local storage.

Tired of carrying hundreds of business cards? What you only needed to carry one? That's the idea behind this Moo card with embedded NFC tag inside it. You just tap it to a phone with NFC-capabilities and it share just about any information you want.

It's a young man's game, and what truths do you need to break?

When it's easier than ever to lauch a company, what is the role of traditional VC?

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Gurley explains the through process of his writing and what he hopes to achieve with it.

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The Linkase for iPhone 5 boasts up to a 50 percent boost in Wi-Fi signal strength thanks to a small electromagnetic waveguide extension. Does it work? See for yourself in these mobile speedtests where Wi-Fi is usually terrible.

While still 68% rural, it seems India is the only exception to Democratic theory. Professor Ashutosh Varshney explains where the country's political and economic strengths lie.

Professor Ashutosh Varshney of Brown University analyzes the current state of India's democratic system as well as the strengths and challenges in this rapidly growing nation. Full interview.

Apr. 13 - A team of self-described geeks in Taipei have taken to the streets on a bicycle equipped with a 3D printer which they're using to turn plastic waste into useful products. They call their printer the "Mobile Fab" and say it not only helps promote recycling, but also demonstrates how technology can be applied in a socially responsible way. Tara Cleary reports.

Three children in New York have died from a rare inflammatory syndrome believed to be linked to the novel coronavirus, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday, adding that the state is working with the CDC to investigate the syndrome. Jillian Kitchener has more.

Former President Obama, who has largely kept out of the fray even as President Trump has blamed his Democratic administration for a variety of problems related to the pandemic, described Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic as "chaotic" on a call, a source said. Colette Luke has more.

* Q4 profit likely 5.2 trln won, vs 5 trln won analyst f'casts

The people have spoken and superheroes continue to rule the movie pack, as Captain America, Iron Man and Batman were among the top winners at the People's Choice awards on Wednesday.

(Clarifies in paragraph 18 that some UK newspapers carried images of Charlie Hebdo front pages)

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Saturday it would allow state health departments to distribute Gilead Sciences Inc's remdesivir drug to fight COVID-19, and the United States would receive about 40% of the drug maker's global donation.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned on Saturday that if provinces move too quickly to reopen their economies, a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic could send Canada "back into confinement this summer."

Brazil's Economy Minister Paulo Guedes on Saturday said the country's central bank is likely to shower the economy with money in case of an economic depression.

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A WB Games leak that has so far proved accurate suggests Injustice 3 will introduce even more extended universe characters

As the whole world was affected by the pandemic, "only three of us who were in space at the time weren't," Meir said. "That was really difficult to comprehend."

The two companies, plus the space firm Dynetics, will share $967 million from the space agency.