Washington: Legendary Broadway songwriter Stephen Sondheim, widely recognized as having revolutionized American musical theater, died Friday at age 91, his lawyer told The New York Times.

F. Richard Pappas said Sondheim -- known for musicals including "West Side Story" -- died suddenly at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut, the day after celebrating Thanksgiving with friends.

Born on March 22, 1930 in New York City, Sondheim was involved in musical theater from an early age. He started playing piano at age seven and was family friends with Oscar Hammerstein II, half of the famed musical theater writing duo Rodgers and Hammerstein who wrote shows including "Oklahoma!" and "The Sound of Music."

Over the course of his decades-long career, Sondheim won eight Grammy awards, eight Tony awards -- including the special Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre -- and one Academy Award. He was nominated for many more Grammys and Tonys, as well as two Golden Globes.

In 2015, then-US president Barack Obama presented Sondheim with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work.

SOURCE: AFP

Lahore: Two young men were killed in a traffic accident in Defense area of Lahore on Saturday morning.

According to GNN, the accident took place in Defence’s Phase VI where the car hit the footpath and turned over resulting in two deaths and injuries to another man.

Those died on the spot were identified as 24-year-old Faisal and 25-year-old Ali Ahmad

According to the traffic police, another young person named Amir was also injured in the accident and was shifted to General Hospital for medical treatment.

Earlier on yesterday, at least three students have lost their lives in an accident in Bahawalpur.

According to details, the mishap took place when a speeding trailer rammed into the students in Musafir Khana area.

Receiving information about the incident, rescue teams and security personnel arrived at the scene and shifted the victims to the nearby hospital. 

Lahore: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Abdul Aleem Khan Friday decided to resign as Senior Minister of Punjab and provincial food minister.

According to sources, Aleem Khan had taken the decision due to his unexplained personal issues. 

Reports quoting sources revealed that the senior minister had expressed his desire during a meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Aleem Khan, who was serving as senior minister and holding the portfolio of food.

It is pertinent to mention here that Aleem Khan had resigned twice before and rejoined the provincial cabinet back in April 2020.