Pakistan

People in Pakistan urged to drink fewer cups of tea

Sipping fewer cups a day would cut Pakistan's high import bills, senior minister Ahsan Iqbal said.

The country's low foreign currency reserves - currently enough for fewer than two months of all imports - have left it in urgent need of funds.

Pakistan is the world's largest importer of tea, buying in more than $600m (£501m) worth last year.

"I appeal to the nation to cut down the consumption of tea by one to two cups because we import tea on loan," Mr Iqbal said, according to Pakistani media.

Climate change swells odds of record heatwaves in India, Pakistan

The region should now expect a heatwave that exceeds the record temperatures seen in 2010 once every three years.

Without climate change, such extreme temperatures would occur only once every 312 years, the Met Office says.

Forecasters say temperatures in north-west India could reach new highs in the coming days.

Pakistan bombing kills dozens in Shia mosque in Peshawar

A hospital spokesman said more than 190 people were wounded in the suspected suicide attack on the Shia mosque while Friday prayers were being held.

Some of the injured are said to be in a critical condition. No group has yet said it carried out the attack.

Thousands of people have been killed, most of them Shias, in Pakistan's sectarian violence in recent years.

"I saw a man firing at two policemen before he entered the mosque. Seconds later I heard a big bang," said one witness Zahid Khan, AFP news agency reports.

Pakistan diplomat's daughter beheaded for spurning proposal

Noor Muqaddam, 27, was beaten, raped and beheaded by Zahir Jaffer, the son of one of Pakistan's richest families.

The brutal killing took place at his home on 20 July last year. CCTV footage showed her trying in vain to escape.

The murder caused nationwide revulsion and prompted demands for more to be done to ensure women's safety.

Noor Muqaddam's murder by a man she knew in the same group of high society friends had dominated headlines for months.

Explosion at Pakistan bank kills at least 14

Many others were injured in the blast, which is believed to have been caused by a gas leak from a sewage drain.

Witnesses told local media many people were buried in the debris. There are fears the death toll will rise.

Footage from the scene showed windows and doors at the Habib Bank building blown out, vehicles damaged, and documents strewn across the street.

Pakistan earthquake kills 20 in Balochistan province

Disaster management officials said the death toll may increase.

Images on social media showed people in the city of Quetta out on the streets in the aftermath of the quake.

Initial reports indicated that it may have measured up to 5.7 on the Richter scale. A government official said people died when structures collapsed.

Local officials told BBC Urdu that at least 150 others are thought to have been injured, with several of them rushed to hospital in critical condition.

Afghanistan women's youth football players and families flee to Pakistan

At the end of August, "a large number of women footballers and athletes" were evacuated from Afghanistan by the Australian Government, but fears remained over the youth team who were left stranded in the country.

However Fawad Chaudhry, the Pakistan Government’s Minister for Information and Broadcasting, confirmed in a tweet that the team had crossed the border at Torkham, and were welcomed by Nouman Nadeem from the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF).

Chaudhry said the players were in possession of valid Afghanistan passports and visas to enter Pakistan.

Taliban flag raised above border crossing with Pakistan

Videos being shared on social media show the white flag fluttering above the Spin Boldak crossing near Kandahar.

Afghan officials have denied the post has fallen, although pictures on social media show the militants chatting to Pakistani border guards.

The BBC has been told the Taliban took the border crossing with no resistance.

In recent weeks, the militants have made rapid advances across the country, seizing a series of border posts from Afghan forces, including crossings with Iran, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

Fast food staff in Pakistan arrested for not giving police free burgers

Staff at the chain Johnny & Jugnu in Lahore were rounded up at 0100 (2000 GMT) on Saturday and held overnight.

"This is not the first time something like this has happened... at our restaurant," a statement by the burger chain said.

Nine police officers involved in the incident have now been suspended.

Senior provincial police official Inam Ghani announced the suspensions on Twitter, saying: "No one is allowed to take the law into his own hands. Injustice will not be tolerated. All of them will be punished."

Deadly blast hits luxury venue in Quetta

The Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan is suspected to have been the target of the attack in the car park of the Serena Hotel, correspondents say.

He is understood to be in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province near the Afghan border, but was not present at the scene at the time.

The Pakistani Taliban have claimed the attack, without giving details.

In recent months the group, and other militant organisations, have stepped up attacks in tribal areas near the border with Afghanistan.