A bill setting new limits on asylum-seekers passes in the Dutch parliament

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  • A bill setting new limits on asylum-seekers passes in the Dutch parliament</p>

<p>MIKE CORDER and MOLLY QUELL July 3, 2025 at 11:54 PM</p>

<p>FILE - Far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders after pulling his party out of the four-party Dutch coalition in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File) ()</p>

<p>THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A pair of bills cracking down on asylum-seekers wishing to settle in the Netherlands has passed in the Dutch parliament after wrangling and soul-searching by some lawmakers who feared the law would criminalize offering compassionate help to undocumented migrants.</p>

<p>The legislation cuts temporary asylum residency from five to three years, indefinitely suspends the issuance of new asylum residency permits and reins in family reunions for people who have been granted asylum. It passed in the lower house late Thursday evening but could still be rejected in the upper house.</p>

<p>The Dutch Red Cross has estimated 23,000 to 58,000 people live in the Netherlands without an official right to residence.</p>

<p>Taking tough measures to rein in migration was a policy cornerstone for the four-party coalition led by the Party for Freedom of anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders. The coalition collapsed last month after just 11 months in office, and migration is expected to be a key issue ahead of the snap election Oct. 29.</p>

<p>Wilders pulled the plug on the coalition saying it was taking too long to enact moves to rein in migration. His coalition partners rejected the criticism, saying they all backed the crackdown. His party currently holds a narrow lead in opinion polls over a center-left two-party bloc that recently agreed to a formal merger.</p>

<p>The opposition Christian Democrats withdrew their support for the legislation put to the vote Thursday over a late amendment that would criminalize people living in the Netherlands without a valid visa or asylum ruling — and would also criminalize people and organizations that help such undocumented migrants. The amendment was introduced by a member of Wilders' party and passed narrowly because a small number of opposition lawmakers were not present for the vote.</p>

<p>The vote took place in the final session of parliament before lawmakers broke for the summer. The upper house will consider the legislation after it returns from the recess. If Christian Democrats in the upper chamber reject it, the legislation will be returned to the lower house.</p>

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A bill setting new limits on asylum-seekers passes in the Dutch parliament

<p>- A bill setting new limits on asylum-seekers passes in the Dutch parliament</p> <p>MIKE CORDER...

Trump wasn't the only Supreme Court winner this year. Here's the scorecard.

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  • Trump wasn't the only Supreme Court winner this year. Here's the scorecard.</p>

<p>Maureen Groppe, USA TODAYJuly 4, 2025 at 12:00 AM</p>

<p>WASHINGTON −President Donald Trump celebrated what he called an "amazing decision," thanking each of the conservative Supreme Court justices after the court wrapped up its term on June 30.</p>

<p>Conservative religious parents also cheered a major court ruling in their favor as the court continued its trend of siding with religious groups.</p>

<p>But advocates for migrants, LGBTQ+ rights activists and others were left shaking their heads and vowing to find other ways to keep fighting on issues that went against them.</p>

<p>And an appeals court that is proving to be more conservative than the Supreme Court racked up more losses.</p>

<p>Here is a list of winners and losers from the court's term that began in October.</p>

<p>Winners</p>

<p>President Trump</p>

<p>The president called a surprise news conference soon after the Supreme Court issued its final rulings of the term to praise the justices' work, including an opinion "that we're very happy about."</p>

<p>"The Constitution has been brought back," Trump said about the conservative majority's decision limiting the ability of judges to block his policies from taking effect while they're being litigated. The opinion, which left uncertain which babies born in the United States will automitially become citizens, set off shockwaves among migrant communities.</p>

<p>Even before that decision, the Supreme Court had helped Trump by lifting through emergency orders many of the pauses lower courts had put on Trump's efforts to slash and restructure the federal government and to rapidly deport migrants.</p>

<p>President Donald Trump, left, greets Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Jr as he arrives to deliver an address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 4, 2025 in Washington, D.C.</p>

<p>The Roberts, Kavanaugh and Barrett trio</p>

<p>There's no doubt about who was in control of a court that continues to move the law in a conservative direction though not as much as some justices want.</p>

<p>Chief Justice John Roberts was in the majority on nearly every decision, followed closely by Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.</p>

<p>On the decisions that divided the court, they sometimes sided with the three other conservatives including when they ruled that lower courts likely went too far when they blocked Trump's changes to birthright citizenship.</p>

<p>The six conservatives were also united against the three liberals when they backed bans on gender affirming care for minors, age verification requirements for pornographic websites, states' efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, and parents' desire to remove their child from class when books with LGBTQ+ characters are being read.</p>

<p>But at times Roberts, Kavanaugh and Barrett joined with the court's liberals – and against Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch. Those decisions included rejections of conservative challenges to Obamacare and to a federal subsidy program for internet and phone services for poor and rural communities that is funded by user fees.</p>

<p>Don't like the Supreme Court's rulings? Chief Justice John Roberts has thoughts</p>

<p>Religious groups</p>

<p>Religious groups continued their recent winning streak at the high court though with an exception. On the biggest of the three cases brought by religious groups – the Oklahoma Catholic Church's bid to create the nation's first religious charter school – the court deadlocked 4-4. But that's because Barrett recused herself from the case, and the issue is expected to come back to the court with different participants that don't have ties to Barrett.</p>

<p>The U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments on April 30, 2025, in a case that pits Oklahoma's attorney general against St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School and the state charter school board that approved St. Isidore to become a virtual charter school. That approval decision was struck down by the Oklahoma Supreme Court.</p>

<p>The court has already teed up another religion-based case for the fall, whether prison officials can be sued for violating the religious rights of a Rastafarian inmate whose dreadlocks were forcibly shaved by Louisiana prison guards.</p>

<p>TikTok</p>

<p>The court in January unanimously upheld a law intended to effectively ban TikTok in the United States. So why is TikTok and its tens of millions of users a winner? Because Trump has repeatedly declined to enforce the law, saying he's working on an alternate solution to the national security concerns.</p>

<p>More: Trump wins again. Conservatives like Amy Coney Barrett again. Supreme Court takeaways</p>

<p>Losers</p>

<p>5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals</p>

<p>The appeals court that is arguably the most conservative in the country did not fare well again. The justices agreed to hear more appeals from the Louisiana-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals than from any other circuit and reversed more of its decisions, according to data compiled by SCOTUSblog.</p>

<p>The times they did so included in rulings upholding the Biden administration's regulation of untraceable "ghost guns, the Food and Drug Administration's rejection of fruit- and candy-flavored vaping products, and Obamacare's requirement that insurers have to cover cancer screenings and other preventive care services recommended by a task force.</p>

<p>Supreme Hypp Max Flow flavored vaping e-cigarette products are displayed in a convenience store on June 23, 2022 in El Segundo, California.</p>

<p>Environmental regulations</p>

<p>The court continued a years-long trend of narrowing federal protections for the environment, including taking away a tool the Environmental Protection Agency used to control water pollution.</p>

<p>The court also let federal agencies scale back their environmental reviews of projects in a case involving construction of a railway in Utah.</p>

<p>And the court said fuel producers can challenge California's standards for vehicle emissions and electric cars under a federal air pollution law.</p>

<p>People hold rainbow-colored umbrellas and flags at a demonstration on Dec. 4, 2024, as the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments over a challenge to Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors.</p>

<p>LGBTQ+ rights</p>

<p>Five years after ruling that transgender people, as well as gay and lesbian people, are protected by a landmark civil rights law barring sex discrimination in the workplace, the court upheld Tennessee's ban on gender affirming care for minors,</p>

<p>The ideologically divided court said the ban does not discriminate against transgender people because the restrictions turn on age and the purpose of the medical treatment, not whether the patient is transgender.</p>

<p>In a different case, the court said parents with religious objections to books with LGBTQ+ characters must be allowed to remove their children from class when those books are being used.</p>

<p>And in an emergency order, the court allowed Trump to enforce his ban on transgender people serving in the military while that policy is being challenged.</p>

<p>Days after adjourning for the summer, the court announced it's taking up next term states' bans on transgender athletes joining female sports teams.</p>

<p>U.S. President Donald Trump holds a fist during an event at Selfridge Air National Guard Base as he celebrates his first 100 days in office, in Harrison Township, Michigan, U.S., April 29, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinMixed results</p>

<p>Gun regulations</p>

<p>While the court said "ghost guns" can be subject to background checks and other requirements, it rejected Mexico's attempt to hold U.S. gunmakers liable for violence caused by Mexican drug cartels armed with their weapons.</p>

<p>But gun violence prevention groups were relieved that, in siding with the gunmakers, the court didn't give the gun industry the broad immunity it sought. The groups are hopeful they can continue to hold gun makers accountable if they break the law.</p>

<p>Ghost guns seized in St. Mary's County, Maryland.</p>

<p>Parental rights</p>

<p>While the court ruled against the Tennessee parents who want to get gender affirming care for their children, the justices backed parental rights in the case about LGBTQ+ storybooks.</p>

<p>And the court's decision upholding Texas' age verification law for pornographic websites may have been foreshadowed during oral arguments when Barrett said she knows from her experience as a parent of seven children how difficult it is to keep up with the content blocking devices that those challenging Texas' law offered as a better alternative.</p>

<p>People supporting the right to opt-out their children from classes containing LGBTQ-related content demonstrate outside the Supreme Court, as the court hears oral arguments in the Mahmoud v. Taylor case, in Washington, DC, April 22, 2025.</p>

<p>Disability rights</p>

<p>The court sided with a Minnesota teen trying to use the Americans with Disabilities Act to sue her school for not accommodating her rare form of epilepsy that makes it difficult to attend class before noon. That decision will make it easier for families to use the ADA to sue schools for damages over the lack of an accommodation for a learning disability.</p>

<p>But the court sided against a retired firefighter who argued the ADA protects retirees as well as those able to work. The justices said the firefighter, who left the force due to Parkinson's disease, could not sue her former employer for reducing health care benefits for disabled retirees.</p>

<p>This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The winners (and losers) from major Supreme Court decisions</p>

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Trump wasn't the only Supreme Court winner this year. Here's the scorecard.

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France and Britain hope migrant 'taxi boat' plan will slow record Channel crossings

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  • France and Britain hope migrant 'taxi boat' plan will slow record Channel crossings</p>

<p>Gabriel StargardterJuly 4, 2025 at 12:11 AM</p>

<p>By Gabriel Stargardter</p>

<p>PARIS (Reuters) -Early one morning this week, a dinghy motored along a vast beach in northern France, stopping every few hundred metres to pick up migrants bound for Britain. Four French police gave chase, but failed to reach the migrants before they reached water's edge.</p>

<p>Soon, with 70-odd people onboard, the dinghy began chugging across the sea, adding to a record-breaking number of migrants crossing the Channel this year. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's right-wing opponents have seized on the data, reminding him he had pledged to "smash" the trafficking gangs.</p>

<p>France and Britain hope to unveil measures at their summit next week that will reportedly allow French police to intercept such 'taxi boats' - a new phenomenon - up to 300 metres (yards) from shore rather than only if lives are at risk as now.</p>

<p>Police, activists and migrants interviewed by Reuters were sceptical such a plan would work.</p>

<p>"I just don't see how this could ever be implemented," said Julien Soir, a police union representative in the northern city of Lille. "Getting it up and running is simply impossible."</p>

<p>He said police were already stretched covering 180 km (112 miles) of coastline and lack the equipment and training needed for seaborne operations. Police also fear drowning if they fall in the water with heavy equipment, or personal legal liability if migrants die or are injured during an intervention.</p>

<p>Angele Vettorello, a coordinator at the Utopia 56 charity in Calais, said numbers were rising despite more French police patrolling beaches, including with British-sponsored drones.</p>

<p>She said the proposed measures would only make a dangerous crossing - last year 73 migrants died navigating what is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes - more perilous.</p>

<p>If implemented, it would "lead to even more deaths ... more distress," she said.</p>

<p>RIGHT-WING RISE</p>

<p>The influx of migrants has helped Nigel Farage's Reform UK overtake Starmer's Labour Party in polls. Farage, a right-wing populist and longtime immigration hard-liner, has proposed using the Navy to intercept migrant vessels and take them back to France. Lawyers say this could only be done if France agreed.</p>

<p>Nearly 20,000 asylum seekers have arrived in Britain via small boats so far this year, a 50% increase compared to the same period in 2024. French and British authorities blame the spike on unusually good weather.</p>

<p>Peter Walsh, from Oxford University's Migration Observatory, said maritime interception may stop more migrants but would not affect long-term trends behind the migrant surge, including multiple conflicts and the allure of English-speaking Britain.</p>

<p>Britain also wants to negotiate a returns agreement with France, which it had before it left the European Union.</p>

<p>At a filthy migrant camp near Dunkirk, Reuters spoke with several migrants who were unaware of the new proposal. They said it wouldn't stop them from trying to cross.</p>

<p>Israrullah Lodin, 26, left Afghanistan in 2021 after his family's work with the U.S. army irked the Taliban. He had failed to cross three times; twice he was stopped by police and once his boat had problems. Lodin dreamed of working in a UK fulfilment warehouse. Nothing would stop him from getting there.</p>

<p>"We are not afraid to die," he said. "I have to reach my destination."</p>

<p>Nisarahmad Afghan, 23, had been a migrant almost all his adult life, having left his home region of Nangarhar four years ago. He had made two failed attempts to cross, both foiled by police.</p>

<p>"Until I succeed, I will keep trying," he said. "I've passed through many dangerous roads. I will pass this one too."</p>

<p>(Additional reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar in Kabul; Marco Trujillo, Manuel Ausloos, Abdul Saboor, Gonzalo Fuentes in Calais; Michael Holden in London; editing by Richard Lough and Philippa Fletcher)</p>

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New Jersey skydiving company says plane experienced 'mechanical issues' after takeoff

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  • New Jersey skydiving company says plane experienced 'mechanical issues' after takeoff</p>

<p>Thao Nguyen and Jim Walsh, USA TODAY NETWORK July 4, 2025 at 6:45 AM</p>

<p>A skydiving plane that went off a runway and crashed into the woods near a small New Jersey airport experienced "mechanical issues" just minutes after taking off, the skydiving company said in a statement July 3.</p>

<p>The single-engine Cessna 208B went off the end of the runway while departing Cross Keys Airport in southern New Jersey at around 5:30 p.m. on July 2, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The aircraft was carrying 15 people, including the pilot.</p>

<p>Skydive Cross Keys, which has operated since 1994 at Cross Keys Airport, said the aircraft developed "mechanical issues" at roughly 3,000 feet after takeoff, according to the Cherry Hill Courier-Post, part of the USA TODAY Network. The pilot, described as "highly experienced," turned back for an emergency landing, but the plane left the runway and crashed into a wooded area, the company said.</p>

<p>The company noted that the plane was up-to-date on all scheduled maintenance and had recently undergone a routine FAA inspection. It added that it was cooperating with the FAA and local authorities "to determine the root cause of the incident."</p>

<p>The company expressed relief that no one died in the crash, saying the outcome "could have been much worse." Authorities said 14 people were hospitalized after the incident, including three who remained in critical condition at a New Jersey hospital as of July 3.</p>

<p>Injuries for the victims ranged from minor to serious, "though none are believed to be life-threatening," according to the company. It added that several victims who were transported to the hospital have since been discharged.</p>

<p>"We're incredibly thankful for the skill and composure of our pilot, whose actions helped keep everyone alive," the company said. "We're also deeply grateful to the emergency responders who arrived so quickly and took such great care of everyone on board."</p>

<p>Cross Keys Airport is a known location for skydiving outings. The airport is located in Gloucester County, about 20 miles southeast of Philadelphia.</p>

<p>Aircraft safety: Are planes really falling from the sky, or are we just paying more attention?</p>

<p>Local police chief describes chaotic scene after plane crash</p>

<p>In an initial report posted on July 3, the FAA said the aircraft experienced engine issues after departure and "crashed while returning to the airport after a runway excursion into trees." Authorities said the plane is owned and operated by ARNE Aviation out of Virginia and was leased to Skydive Cross Keys.</p>

<p>Andrew Halter, with Gloucester County Emergency Management, previously said the pilot reported "engine trouble" before the crash. The plane tried to circle back for landing but was unsuccessful in that attempt, according to Halter.</p>

<p>During a news conference on July 3, Monroe Township Police Chief John McBride described the scene as chaotic as emergency personnel swiftly responded and provided aid. The police chief said the plane sustained "extremely extensive" damage and debris had been spread out through the entire area.</p>

<p>"The plane was completely mangled and just beyond repair," McBride said at the news conference. "It just looked like a big pile of metal, and there was just people crawling out of it."</p>

<p>The aircraft was elevated and stuck between several trees, according to McBride, who said fire crews had to cut down trees to get to the wreckage.</p>

<p>McBride added that victims had been covered in jet fuel, and some were heard screaming in pain as they tried to navigate between fallen trees and debris. He said victims who sustained minor injuries assisted those who were more seriously hurt.</p>

<p>Authorities said the official cause of the crash remains under investigation, which is being led by the Monroe Township Police Department, Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office, and the FAA. The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating the crash and will provide additional information when available.</p>

<p>Flying feels riskier. Here's what the experts say about that high number of accidents.</p>

<p>14 passengers recovering from the crash</p>

<p>At the July 3 news conference, Halter said one passenger refused medical treatment at the scene and 14 were transported to hospitals for treatment.</p>

<p>Eleven people were transported to Cooper University Hospital in Camden by medical helicopter, including three who were in critical condition when they left the scene, according to Halter. Three others were transported to Inspira Medical Center of Mullica Hill by ambulance.</p>

<p>As of late morning on July 3, Halter said three people were listed in critical condition and eight were still receiving treatment at Cooper University Hospital. He added that many of the victims suffered various extremity injuries, such as upper or lower extremities.</p>

<p>McBride said he told the passenger who declined treatment that he had a facial injury and needed care, but in response, the man said: "That'll be something cool to tell the ladies later."</p>

<p>The police chief noted that the man remained at the crash scene to check that other passengers were safe.</p>

<p>This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New Jersey skydiving company says plane developed 'mechanical issues'</p>

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New Jersey skydiving company says plane experienced 'mechanical issues' after takeoff

<p>- New Jersey skydiving company says plane experienced 'mechanical issues' after takeoff</p> ...

In a country where alcohol is banned, Pakistan's top brewery is betting on soft drinks

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  • In a country where alcohol is banned, Pakistan's top brewery is betting on soft drinks</p>

<p>RIAZAT BUTT July 4, 2025 at 8:10 AM</p>

<p>1 / 5Pakistan AlcoholIsphanyar Bandhara, Chief Executive of the Murree Brewery talks with his assistant after an interview with The , in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)</p>

<p>RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — A pungent fug of malt and yeastiness hangs over Murree Brewery, Pakistan 's biggest and oldest producer of alcoholic drinks.</p>

<p>The company is an outlier in a country where alcohol is outlawed for everyone except non-Muslims, who make up some 9 million people out of 241 million. Pakistan, an Islamic republic, banned booze for Muslims in the 1970s.</p>

<p>Murree Brewery has strong financials despite the prohibition, thanks to its history, scant competition and a small, thirsty and predominantly elite consumer base.</p>

<p>But the government exerts significant control over the sale and marketing of alcoholic beverages through red tape and high taxes, pushing brewery chairman Isphanyar Bandhara to expand the company's footprint in Pakistan's non-alcoholic drinks industry, which, although bigger, is more crowded and less lucrative.</p>

<p>"Even I tell my staff of about 2,200 that we cannot sit on our laurels by selling alcohol," said Bandhara, the third generation of his family to run the 165-year-old business that was founded by the British. "It's a restricted market, so we have to rely and focus more on the non-alcoholic side. That's where I think I would like to flex my muscles and take credit, rather than being a liquor baron."</p>

<p>The brewery already manufactures energy drinks, juices and malted beverages, but they are not as well known as products from big international brands. However, this part of the business is registering double-digit growth, and Bandhara wants to cash in on the country's youth bulge. Around 64% of the population is under 30.</p>

<p>The state has a lot of say</p>

<p>Pakistan's government determines the brewery's alcohol prices, points of sale and customer base. Last year it took $35 million from the brewery's revenue in taxes. The company cannot advertise its alcoholic beverages or expand that part of the business inside Pakistan. Online shopping is unavailable.</p>

<p>The brewery is permitted to export beer to countries outside the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a 57-member bloc, even though there is a "big demand for liquor and beer" in Muslim-majority countries, Bandhara said.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, more Pakistanis drink far more sodas and juices, with billions of dollars in sales every year. PepsiCo and Coca-Cola dominate, but there are also homegrown brands.</p>

<p>"The multinationals are thriving in Pakistan," Bandhara said. "It's a rewarding market. There might be less money (in non-alcoholic drinks), but it's more secure."</p>

<p>Murree Brewery's malted drinks line is packaged in a way that strongly resembles its beery counterparts. The taste, while not unpleasant, is distinctive, sweet and slightly yeasty.</p>

<p>How to drink in Pakistan</p>

<p>Alcohol is a niche item in Pakistan. Even cooking ingredients like red wine vinegar, and buying essentials like cough medicine, is hard because of their alcohol content, however minuscule.</p>

<p>Five-star hotels slip a drinks list into the in-room dining menu or decant alcohol into a more discreet vessel, like a teapot. Some restaurants, usually upscale, allow diners to bring a bottle but seat them away from others or shield the pour from prying eyes. There is often a windowless, joyless bar in major Pakistani cities.</p>

<p>Non-Muslims — nationals and foreigners — can get a liquor permit allowing them to buy limited amounts of alcohol. Diplomats and the elite are a rich source of booze, with well-stocked cabinets and sometimes entire rooms dedicated to drinks.</p>

<p>There are also wine shops, but only in some provinces and run by non-Muslims. Some wine shops deliver to customers waiting in their cars, for discretion. Home delivery is also available.</p>

<p>"It's not expensive to buy beer," said Faisal, a Pakistani Muslim drinker who is in his 30s and lives in the province of Sindh. He only gave his first name because he is breaking the law. "A local beer will cost 500 rupees ($1.76), but you can save 50 rupees if you don't want it chilled."</p>

<p>He added: "Beer is cheaper than coffee in Pakistan, but you only need one coffee whereas you need a lot of beer."</p>

<p>Minorities and the booze market</p>

<p>Non-sanctioned alcohol drinking in Pakistan is punishable by 80 lashes of a whip, although the Federal Shariat Court deemed the penalty un-Islamic in a 2009 ruling.</p>

<p>Alcohol is considered haram, or forbidden, in Islam. Although a sin and not a crime, scholars and religious authorities typically point to a verse in the Quran that calls intoxicants "the work of Satan" and tells believers to avoid them. They also cite sayings of the Prophet Muhammad and the effects of alcohol.</p>

<p>Nonetheless, stacked on pallets at Murree Brewery on a recent day were boxes of booze. The beer was heading to government-authorized retailer Pearl Continental Hotel in the eastern city of Lahore. The whiskey was going to Sindh, home to religious minorities including Hindus and Parsis.</p>

<p>Bandhara, who is Parsi, is one of the brewery's leading tasters. Only non-Muslims can sample the company's alcoholic products.</p>

<p>"We can't just force someone to drink an inferior drink, so it has to be quality," Bandhara said. "If the German Embassy, the Chinese Embassy and a lot of European embassies are my customers for beer, I'm comfortable on my quality."</p>

<p>Competition from the Chinese</p>

<p>Hundreds of Pakistani distilleries produce the intoxicating agent ethanol, which is mostly exported. Home brewers are another source of alcoholic beverages. But homemade liquor containing poisonous methanol has proved fatal, and dozens of people have died over the years.</p>

<p>Murree Brewery's closest competition for alcohol is the Chinese-run Hui Coastal Brewery and Distillery Limited, which began making beer in southwestern Balochistan in 2021, largely for the thousands of Chinese workers there.</p>

<p>Nobody from Hui was available to comment.</p>

<p>The granting of a licence to Hui in conservative Balochistan took Bandhara aback. He said he was unafraid of competition but wanted a level playing field.</p>

<p>Decades ago, his family wanted to set up a brewery in Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province. Bandhara said authorities told the family to keep their heads down because they were in a Muslim country.</p>

<p>"If the Islamic lecture is for me, why was the license given to the Chinese brewery?" he asked. "We are a liquor company, and we are the easiest to throw stones at and to criticize."</p>

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In a country where alcohol is banned, Pakistan’s top brewery is betting on soft drinks

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South Korea orders SK Telecom to strengthen data security after leak

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  • South Korea orders SK Telecom to strengthen data security after leak</p>

<p>July 4, 2025 at 7:14 AM</p>

<p>SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean authorities ordered on Friday SK Telecom to strengthen data security and imposed a fine after the country's biggest mobile carrier was hit by a cyberattack that caused the leak of 26.96 million pieces of user data.</p>

<p>The measures come after SK Telecom in April disclosed that it had suffered a major leak of customer data caused by a malware attack.</p>

<p>The Ministry of Science and ICT said on Friday that it will impose a fine of up to 30 million won ($21,970), and SK Telecom must enforce security measures at least once a quarter, have its chief executive officer directly oversee data governance, and increase personnel and investment in data security.</p>

<p>"This... was a wake-up call for information protection not only in the domestic telecommunications industry but also in the overall network infrastructure," Science Minister Yoo Sang-im said in a statement issued after an investigation by the ministry.</p>

<p>SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won apologised last month for the data leak and SK Telecom said it would take full responsibility for any harm caused as a result of the breach, which has caused alarm among its 23 million users over the possible theft of personal and financial information.</p>

<p>The mobile carrier said it would start offering free universal subscriber identity module (USIM) replacements to all 23 million users for free at more than 2,600 retail stores nationwide following the cybersecurity breach.</p>

<p>About 9.39 million users have replaced their USIMs as of late June, according to SK Telecom.</p>

<p>(Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Joyce LeeEditing by Ed Davies)</p>

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South Korea orders SK Telecom to strengthen data security after leak

<p>- South Korea orders SK Telecom to strengthen data security after leak</p> <p>July 4, 2025 at 7...

 

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