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LHC confirms death sentences in motorway gang rape case

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— The Lahore High Court has rejected the petitions of convicts Abid Ali and Shafqat alias Bugga against the conviction of the trial court for awarding them death sentences in the high-profile motorway gang rape case. The court found that DNA, medical and forensic evidence showed their guilt beyond any reasonable doubt.

A two-member bench of Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and Justice Tariq Mahmood Bajwa announced a thorough written judgement and said that the evidence of the survivor was believable, reliable and had substantial evidential value. The judgement said her account had been fully confirmed by medical, forensic and other scientific evidence.

The court observed that the DNA report vindicated Abid Ali’s involvement in the crime and the blood samples collected from the vehicle also matched his DNA profile. It also said the forensic evidence had substantially strengthened the prosecution case and the identification parade was correctly conducted for both the convicts.

“The convicts took the woman and her children away from the vehicle by force before committing the heinous offence,” the written judgement said. The crime not only traumatised the victim’s family, but also created fear and panic in the society. There were no mitigating factors for such a serious crime, the judge said.

The Lahore High Court further observed that the death awards given by the trial court were in complete tune with the nature and severity of the offence and there was no scope for judicial involvement. The court also dismissed the state’s petition for augmentation of sentence and confirmed the life imprisonment handed to the convicted on additional counts.

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LHC issues show-cause notice to senior police officer

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The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday issued a show-cause notice to the Superintendent of Police (SP) Model Town,

The court ordered the SP concerned to appear before it today (3 Nov). It also warned him of contempt of court proceedings against him if he does not appear before the court.

Citizen Muhammed Sajid has moved the petition which would be heard by Justice Tariq Mehmood Bajwa.

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Saudi Aramco profits surge 34.6% in third quarter

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Saudi oil company Aramco said Tuesday its third-quarter net earnings soared 34.6 percent as the Middle East war has kept crude prices high and the kingdom’s energy infrastructure regularly struck.

Since hostilities erupted in July, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have routinely targeted Saudi tankers, pipelines, storage facilities and refineries but have stepped up their attacks in recent weeks.

The monarchy also has had to deal with the Houthis and Iran disrupting commerce in the straits of Bab al-Mandeb and Hormuz making exports more difficult.

But Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s economic engine and one of the world’s most valuable firms, posted soaring earnings in the third quarter, powered in large part by stubbornly high oil prices.

The company stated net profit in the third quarter was 135.9 billion riyals ($36.2 billion), compared with roughly 101 billion riyals in the same time a year earlier.

The results come as energy majors throughout the world have seen profits jump on the back of interruptions to oil and gas supplies in the Middle East pushing up refining margins and prices.

But the head of Aramco cautioned the dispute was still a major drag on energy security.”Geopolitical uncertainty and attacks on key energy facilities continued to amplify the global energy supply crisis in the third quarter of 2026, with serious implications for global energy security,” said president and CEO Amin H. Nasser in a statement.

Adjusted net income, excluding exceptional items, was 116.9 billion riyals.

An outside estimate based on 12 experts estimates puts the median analyst expectation for third-quarter adjusted net income at $30.66 billion.”The earning results are likely to be rosier (compared) to a year ago, when oil prices were much lower, but less promising compared to last quarter,” Robert Mogielnicki, a research fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute, told AFP.

Aramco’s net profit rose 44 percent year-on-year to 122.6 billion riyals in the second quarter.

The Middle East war, which began on February 28 with Israeli and U.S. assaults on Iran, has disrupted global energy markets, triggered a global run on critical reserves, and fed inflation.

And as conflict continues to rage in the Gulf, Ukrainian drones have also struck Russian energy infrastructure, causing Moscow to block shipment of several items – particularly petrol and diesel.

The Houthis said last month they attacked Aramco’s headquarters, a sprawling complex of buildings and housing in the eastern part of the kingdom.

Saudi officials stated a structure was damaged in the region housing the operations center of Aramco, while two employees of the business, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, said a tower in the headquarters was hit.

  • A tight spot – With the Strait of Hormuz in dispute, US Navy naval escorts have been allowing millions of barrels of crude to flow through the vital waterway each day.

US Central Command said last month it had assisted Gulf nations export more than 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil through the strait since the summer, and enabled more than 3,000 commercial boats transit over the past six months.

But the rise in Gulf exports has done nothing to stop market volatility.

Oil prices dropped more than seven percent on Monday as signals that Tehran and Washington were resuming communication raised hopes for an end to the Middle East turmoil.

Back in the kingdom, months of uncertainty have compounded economic challenges.

Saudi Arabia has raised its estimated budget deficit for 2026 to 245 billion riyals, or 4.9 percent of gross domestic product, from an initial forecast of 165 billion riyals. Government receipts were higher than previously forecast.

Government spending will rise 9.3 percent more than previously predicted, but the finance ministry expects the Saudi economy would shrink 3.6 percent in 2026, as oil-related activity will fall 21.8 percent.

The kingdom aims to lower its deficit to 191 billion riyals in 2027, or 3.6 percent of GDP, while continuing to invest in economic diversification programs.

The IMF now expects Saudi Arabia’s GDP to shrink by 3.3% at the end of the year, five percentage points less than its previous prediction in July.

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Binance to reopen withdrawals for more assets on several networks

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Binance announced on Monday that it will ‌reopen withdrawals for more ​assets on ​networks including as BSC, ⁠ETH, SOL, ​XRP and ​SUI.

Reopenings will commence at 04:00 ​GMT ​on Tuesday, the business said.

Some ⁠crypto-assets on networks ARBITRUM, OPTIMISM, ​TRX, ​and ⁠BASE will also be restored for withdrawals at the same time.

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