UNITED NATIONS - A United Nations Security Council report has come as a reminder about the persistent threat Pakistan’s se­curity faces from the Afghani­stan-based Tehreek-e-Taliban Paki­stan (TTP), saying the militant group also poses a threat to the region. “The link between the Taliban and both Al-Qaeda and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) remains strong and symbiotic,” the annual report of the 1988 Taliban sanctions committee monitoring team noted. The report comes amid escalating TTP attacks inside Pakistani terri­tory to which Pakistan has repeat­edly drawn the attention of the in­ternational community. “It is too early to judge the impact of the decree by the Taliban in April 2022 banning poppy cultivation,” the report added. Key Taliban individuals remain closely involved in produc­tion and trafficking.” However, the Afghan Taliban dismissed the re­port and called it “full of prejudice”, according to media reports.

Fateh Khan, Fazal Ghaffar and Tajir Gul had been convicted of carrying our terror attacks in the country by military courts. “Trying civilians in military courts is lawful [in some cases] but 25 people faced military court trials when Imran Khan was the prime minister. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief, therefore, has no moral high ground to oppose military trials now,” Rahiem said on Sunday, while speaking to The Express Tribune. He said military courts gave death sentences to three of these people while others were sentenced to 10-year to 15-year imprisonment for violating the Official Secret Act, 1923. He said the decision to hold trials of civilians in military courts has already been challenged in the Supreme Court.

LAHORE - Pakistan football team was beaten by Mauritius 3-0 in the opening match of the four-nation cup at the Anjalay Stadium Belle Vue Harel on Sunday. Ashley Nazira scored the second goal in the 63rd minute meanwhile Pakistan’s Mamoom Mosa scored an own goal in the 72nd minute of the game to extend Mauritius’s lead. The former England youth team Captain Easah Suliman and Denmark-based defender Abdullah Iqbal missed the first game against Mauritius. They will join the team on June 12 according to the head coach of Pakistan’s football team. Kenya and Djibouti are the other teams in the event being held on the basis of single-league basis.

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From Tribune staff reportsBIRMINGHAM — An argument at a party in east Birmingham led to a deadly shooting early Sunday morning, according to Officer Truman Fitzgerald. At 2:05 a.m. Sunday, police received a call of shots fired in the 4100 block of 49th Terrace North. Birmingham Fire and Rescue pronounced the victim dead at the scene. “The preliminary investigation has revealed that we believe a party was being held at the 4100 block of 49th Terrace North at a residence,” Fitzgerald said. Fitzgerald asked that anyone attending the party contact police with any information they may have related to the incident.

Apple has created a new Game Porting Toolkit to make it easier and quicker to port Windows games to Mac. Apple made the announcement at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). With the launch of the new tool kit, developers can save months of upfront work and see the look and performance of their games on the MacBook in a few days only. Read US Congress to consider two new bills on artificial intelligenceIn a WWDC session, an engineering project manager for GPUs and graphics at Apple, Aiswariya Sreenivassan, said, “Porting your Windows game to the Mac is now faster than ever. This year, the new Game Porting Toolkit provides an emulation environment to run your existing, unmodified Windows game, and you can use it to quickly understand the graphics feature usage and performance potential of your game when running on a Mac.”Considering the popularity of the MacBook, the new toolkit has already created excitement among developers.

(Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)Ryan Gauld scored on a late penalty kick for the second straight week to help the Vancouver Whitecaps earn a 1-1 draw with FC Cincinnati on Saturday night. Gauld’s PK equalizer for Vancouver (5-5-7) came in the 89th minute after he subbed in for Andrés Cubas in the 73rd. Luciano Acosta had just given Eastern Conference-leading Cincinnati (12-1-4) the lead with a goal in the 83rd minute. Gauld, who has three goals this season, had a PK goal in the 88th minute of a 1-1 tie with Sporting Kansas City last week, snapping the Whitecaps’ club-record 35-match streak with a PK score. Acosta’s eighth goal of the season for Cincinnati came with an assist from Matt Miazga.

Taher Shah, the iconic singer-songwriter behind Angel and Eye to Eye, has been teasing a comeback for the past two weeks. THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA OF "TAHER SHAH" WITH THE "EYE TO EYE" HOLLYWOOD MOVIEThe film will be based on a unique story of eternal love named Eye to Eye. As the production prepares to commence, fans eagerly anticipate the release of Taher Shah's Hollywood debut. "The myth, the legend, the Shah of Shahs - Taher Shah is coming. "The beginning of a new era of Taher Shah," read the tweet, detailing past triumphs.

Yes, he committed multiple tactical mistakes and surrounded himself with a number of self-serving people who led him down a disastrous path. Cumulatively, this approach has resulted in a system that reeks from contradictions and hypocrisy of the key stakeholders. It is central to many problems,” she said, adding in a lighter vein that that can resolve the “migraine”. The former foreign secretary essentially listed problems that the US and India believe represent threats not only to Pakistan itself but also to the world around it. “This (President Xi) is a guy who understands what he wants but has an enormous, enormous array of problems.

LAHORE: Pakistan will begin their SAFF Cup preparation on Sunday (today) when they take on hosts Mauritius in the opening game of the four-nation football event at the Anjalay Stadium Belle Vue Harel. “Yes, today we held our second training session,” Pakistan head coach Shehzad Anwar told ‘The News’ from Mauritius. The current Pakistan team is dominated by diaspora players with some having good credentials. Playing against UAE Under-23 team could also benefit Pakistan in their preparation for the SAFF Cup,” Nasir said. Meanwhile Tony Francois’ Mauritius will be trying their level best to take a solid start against Pakistan which is a new opponent for them.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Basketball Federation (PVF) on Friday announced a national team for a five-nation international championship starting from June 15 in Maldives. After getting the official affiliation with the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) this year, the top management of the Pakistan Basketball Federation, headed by Brig (r) Muhammad Iftikhar Mansoor and Secretary General Khalid Bashir took many steps to organise national events as well as to send Pakistan teams to international events. “The five-nation international championship, including Pakistan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, is scheduled to be held in Maldives from June 15-22,” said a spokesman for the Pakistan Basketball Federation on Friday. He added that this event would be helpful for the Pakistan team to get good exposure after a long seven years in any international competition. He further said that the five-nation championship would be a door opener for talented players to represent Pakistan.

/ AFP PHOTO / AAMIR QURESHIThe federal government on Friday proposed a roughly 16 per cent increase in the defence budget as Pakistan continues to face internal and external security challenges. The budget document shows that defence outlay for 2023-24 would be Rs1,804 billion compared to the revised defence spending of Rs1,591 billion earmarked for the outgoing fiscal year. Defence spending has always been the subject of discussions with some seeking greater transparency and open debate about the military’s budget. In recent years, the government provides more details about the defence budget. Observers believe that the increase in the defence budget is justified given the impending external and internal security challenges.

Inflation has reached unprecedented levels, leaving the entire country in a state of economic turmoil. The latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics has revealed alarming increases in the prices of essential items, sending shockwaves throughout the nation. The annual inflation rate has soared to a staggering 39.26%, while the weekly rate crawled up by 0.21%, intensifying the financial burden on ordinary citizens. Even with the government’s promise of relief for the poor and taxation of the wealthy, the prices of 21 essential items witnessed a substantial increase this week, plunging the country further into economic distress. From the hardworking individuals earning a modest income of Rs17,733 to Rs22,888 per month, the inflation rate stands at a whopping 41.06%.

Pakistan is working on the possibility of restructuring its bilateral debt regardless of whether it successfully completes its IMF review, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Saturday, but reiterated it would not approach Paris club nation creditors or seek haircuts. Dar said there was no more room in the budget to reduce the fiscal deficit target by any further. Finance Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar addressed a Post Budget 2023-24 press conference in Islamabad. The finance minister proposed tax reduction for the Information Technology sector, listed companies, overseas Pakistanis, young entrepreneurs and giving relief to the builders and traders. Interestingly, the government showed $2.4 billion IMF loan receipts in the next fiscal year, despite the programme ending on June 30.

Pakistan’s national basketball team has been officially announced to participate in the upcoming Five-Nation International Basketball Championship. The championship is scheduled to take place in the Maldives from June 15, 2023, to June 22, 2023. This exciting event marks a significant moment for the Pakistan team as it ends a seven-year hiatus from international competitions, providing them with valuable exposure. In a press release by the Pakistan Basketball Federation, it was stated that the Five-Nation Basketball Championship will showcase the talents of Pakistan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. READ MORE: Lionel Messi Officially Signs with Inter Miami in Major League SoccerThe upcoming Five-Nation Championship promises to be an exciting opportunity for the Pakistani basketball team to showcase their talent on the international stage.