Gunmen abduct three polio workers in KP as virus cases climb to 26

PESHAWAR: Armed assailants kidnapped three anti-polio vaccinators in a restive district of northwestern Pakistan on Monday, the latest violent blow to the country’s beleaguered efforts to eradicate the paralyzing disease, even as officials reported two new cases that pushed the national total for the year to 26.

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Zardari looks to revive ties with Shanghai Electric after abandoned K-Electric takeover

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari sought to revive ties with Shanghai Electric Power Co. after the Chinese company scrapped its long-stalled $1.77 billion bid for a controlling stake in K-Electric Ltd., assuring executives that any lingering issues would be addressed as he invited fresh investment in the nation’s power grid.

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Pakistan cricket board files ICC complaint over referee’s role in India handshake row

LAHORE: Pakistan’s cricket board has filed a formal complaint with the International Cricket Council against the match referee for Sunday’s Asia Cup clash with India, accusing him of breaching rules on the “Spirit of Cricket” by allegedly instructing the teams not to exchange handshakes.

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PM Sharif proposes Arab-Islamic task force to counter Israeli aggression at emergency summit in Doha

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on Monday for an Arab-Islamic task force to combat Israeli “aggression and expansionism,” as leaders from more than 50 nations convened under the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to craft a unified response to Israel’s airstrike on Qatar last week, an attack that killed five Hamas peace negotiators and a Qatari security officer and threatened fragile cease-fire talks in Gaza.

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Pakistan defers August power dues for businesses, forgives household bills in inundated areas

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Saturday that residential electricity consumers in flood-hit areas would be exempt from paying their August bills, as the government moves to ease the financial burden on households reeling from deadly flash floods that have killed nearly 1,000 people.

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