1:00 pm Top Headlines on 24Digital TV channel
♦ Nationwide traders' strike against high electricity bills, heavy taxes, IPPs and IMF pacts: Mostly markets in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Gujranwala and other cities shut down in protest against 'Trader-Friendly Scheme' and FBR notices to traders; FPCCI, chambers, political parties including PTI, JUI-F, JI also announce support for strike; Karachi Transport Ittehad and Anjuman Tajran Lahore Naeem Mir group oppose strike; All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajran President Kashif Chaudhry warns to prolong strike if demand not to be addressed till today evening
♦ US, Pakistan to address threats to regional security: State Department
♦ ECP summons JUI-P head for not holding intra-party polls
♦ Second phase of CPEC begins with SIFC facilitation
♦ Lahore gets 5 new tehsils, bringing total to 10
♦ Met office predicts intense rain, urban flooding during next 24 hours
♦ Dozens of families get stuck as River Indus bursts its banks near Mehar: Karachi braces to receive up to 200mm rain: Heavy rain breaks 48-year-old record in Multan: More rainfall forecast for large parts of country
♦ Number of immigration officers at Lahore Airport increased for travellers’ ease
♦ Lahorites failed in driving test can retake after 15 days
♦ Woman commits suicide with her two kids in Ahmadpur Sharqia
♦ Israel army launches new operation in West Bank: Jewish hostage out of Gaza as truce talks held in Qatar
♦ West Indies romp to T20 series sweep over South Africa
♦ UN calls out China's ongoing 'problematic' policies in Xinjiang
♦ Kamala Harris rides convention buzz on return to trail
♦ Prosecutors resubmit charges that Trump tried to overturn election
♦ Bangladesh probes enforced disappearance by security forces
♦ South Asia air pollution fell in 2022, but remains major killer
♦ Trash overwhelms Havana as garbage trucks lack parts, fuel
♦ Toyota shutters Japan factories as typhoon approaches
♦ Colombia's ambassador to Nicaragua charged with drug trafficking