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BEIRUT: Israeli strikes killed more than a dozen people in Lebanon and Gaza on Saturday, while an Israeli settler shot dead a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank, according to officials.

The widespread violence came a day after plans were announced for potential ceasefire talks between Lebanon, Israel and the United States.

Israeli strikes on a village near Sidon in south Lebanon on Saturday killed eight people and wounded nine others, five of them seriously, the Lebanese health ministry said.

Lebanon’s health ministry also said a total of 10 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the country’s south on Saturday, with state media reporting Israeli raids on more than a dozen locations. Earlier in the day, officials said strikes killed 10 people in the Nabatiyeh district.

The ministry said the dead included a member of the Lebanese civil defence and two paramedics from the Islamic Health Committee, decrying Israel’s “systematic” targeting of emergency workers.

Hezbollah slams planned negotiations with Israel as ‘blatant violation’ of pact

In the coastal city of Sidon, hundreds of people attended a funeral procession for 13 State Security personnel who were killed the day before in Israeli strikes in Nabatiyeh. Loved ones grasped coffins draped in the Lebanese flag while others wept.

The widow of one of those killed screamed, “Who will bring my husband back? Who will give my children their father back?”

Authorities say more than 1,950 people have been killed in Lebanon since the war erupted. The Israeli military said Saturday it had struck more than 200 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon within the past 24 hours, among them rocket launchers.

Strikes in Gaza

Two Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza on Saturday, killing at least seven people and injuring several others, officials from Gaza’s health ministry said.

An airstrike on a police checkpoint in the Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip early on Saturday killed at least six people, while a second airstrike in Beit Lahiya killed at least one, officials said. It was not immediately clear how many of those killed in the first strike were police members.

The Israeli military said the strike in Bureij was carried out after members of Hamas approached the yellow line demarcating the half of Gaza occupied by Israel. It did not immediately comment on the strike in Beit Lahiya.

Israel and Hamas reached a US-brokered deal last October that was meant to halt violence in the Palestinian territory. Since then, Israeli attacks have killed at least 700 people in Gaza, according to health officials there.

West Bank killing

The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli settlers shot dead a Palestinian man in the West Bank on Saturday. Ali Majed Hamadneh, 23, died after settlers opened fire during a raid on the village of Deir Jarir, northeast of Ramallah, the ministry said.

“He was brought to the Palestine Medical Complex in a critical condition” and later succumbed to his wounds, the ministry said on Telegram.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa also reported the incident. “Armed colonists, under the protection of Israeli forces, attacked Deir Jarir from its western entrance and opened fire toward residents in the area,” Wafa reported.

There was no immediate response from the Israeli police or military.

Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has risen sharply since the Oct 7, 2023, United Nations have said there has also been a spike in deadly attacks by Israeli settlers since the start of a conflict with Iran on Feb 28.

Excluding east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis now live in West Bank settlements that are illegal under international law. Settlement expansion has accelerated significantly under the current coalition government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Hezbollah slams planned talks

Hezbollah on Saturday renewed its rejection of direct negotiations with Israel, a day after the Lebanese presidency announced a trilateral meeting.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s office said Friday that officials from his country, Israel and the United States would meet next week in Washington “to discuss declaring a ceasefire and the start date for negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under US auspices”.

Hundreds gathered near the government headquarters in central Beirut on Saturday to protest the talks, some waving Hezbollah’s yellow flags or the Iranian standard.

“Whoever wants peace with Israel is not Lebanese,” said demonstrator Ruqaya Msheik, adding, “Those who shake hands with the enemy… are Zionists.”

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said the decision to hold direct talks was “a blatant violation of the (national) pact, the constitution and Lebanese laws.” The government “has failed to protect its people and cannot be trusted to safeguard national sovereignty,” he added in a statement.

An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Akbar Velayati, warned Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam that ignoring Hezbollah “will expose Lebanon to irreparable security risks”.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2026

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Two US Navy warships transited the Strait of Hormuz at the start of an operation to clear the strategic waterway of mines laid by Iran, US Central Command (Centcom) said on Saturday.

The announcement — which marks the first such transit since the US-Israeli war on Iran began — came shortly after President Donald Trump said Washington had started “clearing out” the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil passes.

“Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce,” said Centcom commander Admiral Brad Cooper.

The USS Frank E Peterson and the USS Michael Murphy are the guided-missile destroyers involved in the operation, but Centcom said that “additional US forces including underwater drones” could join the effort in coming days.

Earlier, US media outlet Axios reported that the operation was not coordinated with authorities in Tehran.

“We’re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform, calling it “a favour” to countries such as China, Japan and France that “don’t have the Courage or Will to do this work themselves.”

He insisted that Iran is “LOSING BIG!” in the conflict, while acknowledging that Iranian mines in the strategic strait still pose a threat.

“The only thing they have going is the threat that a ship may ‘bunk’ into one of their sea mines,” Trump wrote.

The key shipping lane off the coast of Iran has been virtually blocked by Tehran since the United States and Israel started bombing Iran on February 28, though reopening the strait was ostensibly a condition of the ceasefire put in place earlier this week.

Senior Iranian and American officials held face-to-face negotiations in Islamabad on Saturday in a bid to bring an end to a conflict that has plunged the Middle East into violence and sent shockwaves through the world economy.

In an earlier post, Trump said that empty tankers were headed to the United States from around the world to purchase oil, without providing details.

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DHAKA: Rocking her baby to soothe his searing pain and gasping breaths, 18-year-old Rubia Akhtar Brishti recounts how her son nearly died in Bangladesh’s deadly measles outbreak.

“The boy had (a) high fever and found it hard to breathe,” Brishti told AFP, mopping the fevered brow of one-year-old Minhaz, cradled in her arms. “His whole body had rashes.”

At least 143 people have died in the outbreak since March 15, the vast majority children, with more than 12,000 suspected cases — the worst in the South Asian nation for 20 years.

Brishti, like dozens of others, rushed from her village seeking help in the capital Dhaka, where the DNCC Hospital in Mohakhali, set up originally for Covid-19, is flooded with cases.

Immunisation drive due in 2024 delayed by uprising that toppled Hasina’s govt

The ward is filled with the sounds of coughing and cries of pain, as mothers hold nebulisers over their children’s mouths to help their little lungs gulp for air, their tiny bodies marked by a searing rash.

Measles is one of the world’s most contagious diseases, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), and spreads via coughs or sneezes.

While it can affect people of any age, it is most common among children and can cause complications, including brain swelling and severe breathing problems.

“Both of my children are sick now,” said Nusrat Jahan, who had lost her vaccination cards and therefore missed getting her infants a shot. “Both the babies are suffering.” Her children were in different wards in the hospital.

“One is admitted on [the] first floor and another is on [the] second floor,” she said. “I am caught in between [them], as both children cry for me.”

Vaccine drive

Bangladesh has made significant advancements in vaccinations to tackle infectious diseases.

But a measles drive due in 2024 was delayed by the deadly uprising that toppled the autocratic government of Sheikh Hasina.

Many of the families with sick children in the ward say they come from areas where vaccine coverage was limited.

Yasmin Khatun, grandmother of one-year-old Safwan, said she had tried to get the baby protected.

“We took him to the centre but there were no vaccines available for measles,” she said.

Health authorities are scrambling to stop the spread and roll out vaccination campaigns.

Health authorities launched an emergency measles-rubella campaign on April 5, alongside UN agencies, aiming to protect more than 1.2 million children.

Vaccines work the best when all are covered.

Government health services spokesperson Zahid Raihan said that among the affected children, 17 per cent had received a single dose, while 11pc had received two doses.

“In the absence of herd immunity, children can still get infected even after vaccination,” Raihan said, saying 95pc coverage of children was needed to ensure that.

Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2026

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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif emphasised Pakistan’s strong commitment to expanding its cooperation with Saudi Arabia in all spheres, particularly in trade, investment, and economic development, during a meeting with Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed bin Abdullah al Jadaan, according to a statement issued by the PM’s Office (PMO).

The statement said Jadaan, who was on a one-day visit to Islamabad, called on PM Shehbaz at the PM House on Friday evening.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir also attended the meeting, it added.

“Welcoming the Saudi dignitary, the prime minister conveyed his respectful regards to … King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud.

“The prime minister fondly recalled his recent warm and cordial telephone conversation with the crown prince. He expressed appreciation for the crown prince’s deep affection towards Pakistan as well as for the kingdom’s longstanding economic and financial support to Pakistan over the years, which had played a vital role in Pakistan’s economic stability,” the statement read.

It said PM Shehbaz reiterated that the people and government of Pakistan had “always stood shoulder to shoulder with their Saudi brothers and sisters at all times, and this was an abiding bond between both countries, that had grown stronger under the patronage” of Crown Prince Salman.

“The prime minister emphasised Pakistan’s strong commitment to expanding its cooperation with the kingdom in all spheres, particularly in trade, investment, and economic development,” it added.

The statement said the Saudi finance minister thanked PM Shehbaz and “reaffirmed the resolve of the kingdom to further strengthen the longstanding, deep-rooted fraternal bonds between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, as envisioned by Crown Prince Salman”.

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US First Lady Melania Trump made a surprise statement on Thursday denying any knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse, or that she herself was a victim of the convicted sex offender.

The 55-year-old’s rare on-camera remarks at the White House came out of the blue, in an extraordinary intervention in a scandal that has long haunted her husband President Donald Trump.

“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” she said. “The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect.”

It was not clear why the Slovenian-born former model decided to give the public statement, and she did not detail any specific allegations about her and the late, convicted sex offender.

Melania and Donald Trump had previously been photographed with Epstein, but she said that she had met her husband independently two years prior to meeting Epstein.

“I am not Epstein’s victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump,” Melania said.

She said “fake images and statements about Epstein and me” had been circulating on social media “for years now. Be cautious about what you believe: these images and stories are completely false”.

The first lady also urged the US Congress to hold a public hearing for survivors of Epstein’s abuse to “give these victims their opportunity to testify under oath”.

Epstein died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges involving minors, but the scandal has repeatedly overshadowed Trump’s second presidency.

‘Epstein’s abuse’

The US Justice Department has over the past year released huge tranches of files related to Epstein. Trump, 79, has also denied any link to Epstein’s crimes.

One widely-seen picture in the files showed Donald and Melania Trump at their Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida along with Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

“I have never had any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse of his victims. I was never involved in any capacity. I was not a participant. Was never on Epstein’s plane, and never visited his private island,” Melania Trump said.

“I have never been legally accused or convinced of a crime in connection with Epstein sex trafficking, abuse of minors and other repulsive behaviour.”

Speculation ran riot on social media about why the US first lady had decided to put the Epstein scandal back in the headlines after weeks of relative quiet.

Melania Trump has long been an elusive and often mysterious presence at the White House, who only rarely gives public remarks of the kind she delivered on Thursday.

The last time she was seen with her husband was at an Easter Egg Roll with hundreds of children on Monday.

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LAHORE: A PML-N lawmaker submitted on Thursday a resolution in the Punjab Assembly, calling for the nomination of Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The resolution, submitted by PML-N Chief Whip Rana Muhammad Arshad, stated that Pakistan’s leadership demonstrated “effective diplomacy” amid escalating tensions between Iran and Israel and the United States. The growing tensions, the resolution added, threatened global peace.

It said Pakistan’s leadership played a significant role in promoting peace and stability at the international level during a period of heightened tensions.

The resolution also commended former PM and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s “guidance” in the matter, further highlighting Pakistan’s “positive and balanced global role”.

It called for the nomination of Field Marshal Munir, PM Shehbaz and DPM Dar for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Moreover, another Punjab Assembly member, Sarah Ahmad, who is also chairperson of the Punjab Child Protection and Welfare Board, submitted a resolution commending PM Shehbaz and CDF Munir in connection with efforts for de-escalation in the Middle East.

The resolution commended to their “wise leadership, timely diplomacy, and effective use of global engagement” in helping make progress toward a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran, and averting a potentially large-scale conflict.

It further praised Pakistan’s efforts as a “responsible state” working for peace, stability, and brotherhood in the region.

The House also acknowledged the role of the government and armed forces’ leadership in preventing a major conflict and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to continuing its positive role in promoting global peace, security, and stability in the future.

Pakistan positioned itself as a facilitator in the peace process between Tehran and Washington after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, setting off a conflict that gave rise to a global fuel crisis.

In the days that followed the attacks, PM Shehbaz and Dar spoke with more than a dozen world leaders and senior officials in Washington, Moscow, Beijing, key European capitals, Gulf Cooperation Council states, Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The objective was to build consensus around a limited ceasefire as a first step toward formal negotiations.

Pakistan’s military leadership has also reportedly played a part. Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir held conversations with senior US officials, including President Donald Trump, diplomatic sources said, reinforcing civilian diplomatic efforts at a critical juncture.

The threats of the war prolonging and intensifying escalated on April 5, when Trump, after making an expletive-laden post, issued an unusually precise deadline for Iran to agree to a ceasefire deal with Washington and allow traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — a key maritime corridor through which 20pc of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the Middle East war began.

“Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time,” he wrote, coupled with the warning of bombing Iran’s power plants and bridges on that day, increasing pressure to prevent a worsening situation.

On the day of his deadline, Trump doubled down on his threats against Iran, alarming the world.

“A whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back,” he wrote, prompting backlash from even within his country.

With hours left for the deadline to end, PM Shehbaz publicly requested Trump to “extend the deadline for two weeks”, noting that diplomatic efforts for a peaceful settlement of the ongoing war were “progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully”.

He also requested Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period of two weeks.

Shortly thereafter, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to say that he had spoken with PM Shehbaz and CDF Munir.

“Subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” Trump announced.

Subsequently, Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi shared a statement on behalf of the Supreme National Security Council declaring that if attacks against the country were halted, it would cease its defensive operations.

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ISLAMABAD: The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) on Thursday warned citizens of additional fees and penalties for those who delay obtaining or renewing their identity documents.

In a press release, the authority said that identity documents were issued for a specified time and it was every the responsibility of every adult citizen to ensure the timely renewal of their identity documents, particularly CNICs, before their expiry.

“Failing this, essential services linked to these documents, including bank accounts, mobile phone SIMs, and other verification-based services may be adversely affected or suspended,” it said.

“Furthermore, citizens whose identity cards have expired may not be able to avail themselves of various government and welfare programmes, such as the Benazir Income Support Programme, government subsidy schemes, including the recently announced fuel subsidy scheme, as well as transactions like property and vehicle transfers,” it added.

“This results in unnecessary hardship for citizens due to their own oversight. Although Nadra is legally empowered to impose additional fees or penalties for delayed renewal, such measures have not yet been implemented in consideration of public convenience,” the authority said.

It said that according to available data at present, 27.475m national identity cards, 2.309m overseas cards, 11.65m child registration certificates, and 0.229m juvenile cards had expired.

“In this regard, reminder messages have already been sent to citizens via SMS by Nadra, including specifically those parents whose children have reached the age of 18 but have not yet obtained their first National Identity Card,” it said.

The authority reminded that as per the public advisory issued by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on April 8, it was mandatory for mobile phone users to have a valid and active CNIC to ensure the continuity of services.

“SIMs registered against identity cards that have expired or are in the name of deceased individuals may be blocked at any time. Currently, over 8.1m SIMs are active against approximately 4.5m identity cards that require renewal. Of these, more than 223,000 identity cards have been expired for over ten years without renewal,” it said.

Nadra has advised citizens to ensure the timely renewal of their identity cards to maintain uninterrupted mobile services. It also said that SIMs registered on the names of deceased relatives should be transferred to the CNIC of the current user.

“All citizens have been asked to fulfil their legal responsibility by promptly renewing expired identity documents and ensuring the issuance of identity cards for individuals who have attained the age of 18,” it said.

“If no improvement is observed in the trends of document renewal, additional fees and penalties may be imposed in the next fiscal year after June on those citizens who delay obtaining or renewing their identity documents,” it said.

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