Dawn
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Dawn - 12:29 Mar 26, 2026
Anacondas, boa constrictors and a caiman were found behind a false wall in southern Italy, police said Thursday, amid warnings dangerous reptiles are being used by local crooks to intimidate their victims. Police in Bari carrying out a raid in an apartment block found “exotic and dangerous animals” in a secret basement room which had been transformed into a clandestine reptile house. The find included two green anacondas, each about five metres (16 feet) long and weighing around 60 kg and a spectacled caiman measuring over 1.5 meters long. “The spectacled caiman … is a wild predator with extremely powerful jaws and potentially aggressive behavior” and posed “a real threat to public safety”, according to a police statement. There was also an Asian water monitor, a lizard “of considerable size equipped with claws and a potentially dangerous bite”, it said. Police also seized a yellow anaconda, a Bolivian anaconda, four Burmese pythons, approximately three meters long each, and four boa constrictors. The reptile... -
Dawn - 12:28 Mar 26, 2026
President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting that stressed the importance of national consensus and institutional coordination in view of emerging regional challenges arising from the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran. According to a handout by the President’s Secretariat, the meeting was held at the Aiwan-i-Sadr in Islamabad. It was attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir. According to the handout, the broader regional situation also came under discussion, including its implications for Pakistan’s security, economic outlook and food security. The meeting emphasised the need for a coordinated national response, noting that policy decisions must prioritise stability while safeguarding the interests of the public. “The meeting underscored the importance of maintaining national consensus and strengthening institutional coordination in view of emerging regional challenges. It was agreed that economic management, ener... -
Dawn - 12:20 Mar 26, 2026
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast partly cloudy weather in Karachi, with chances of thunderstorms and rain on March 26 and 28. In its daily weather outlook issued on Thursday, the PMD said a westerly wave is continuously affecting most parts of the country. It has forecast partly cloudy weather in Karachi today, with a maximum temperature of 30–32°C and a minimum of 24°C. The humidity was expected to be around 45-55 per cent in the evening, with a west/southwesterly wind, said the weather service. On Friday, partly cloudy weather is expected in the city. The PMD has forecast highs of 31–33°C and lows of 22–24°C, with humidity levels of 80–90pc during the daytime, and a northwesterly wind becoming west/southwesterly. Saturday will be partly cloudy, with a chance of thunderstorms or rain, mercury rising to 30–32°C and lows of 22–24°C, humidity levels of 75–85pc during the day, and a west/southwesterly wind. Meanwhile, under the influence of a westerly wave, thunderstorms or rain of light... -
Dawn - 11:30 Mar 26, 2026
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday said that US-Iran “indirect talks” were taking place through messages being relayed by Pakistan. “There has been unnecessary speculation in the media regarding peace talks to end ongoing conflict in the Middle East,” he said in a post on the social media platform X. “In reality, US-Iran indirect talks are taking place through messages being relayed by Pakistan. In this context, the United States has shared 15 points, being deliberated upon by Iran,” he said. “Brotherly countries of Turkiye and Egypt, among others, are also extending their support to this initiative,” he said. “Pakistan remains fully committed to promoting peace and continues to make every effort to ensure stability in the region and beyond,” he said, adding that dialogue and diplomacy were the only way forward. He also tagged US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US President Donald Trump’s Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff in the post. Shor... -
Dawn - 11:12 Mar 26, 2026
Multiple PML-N supporters and media outlets on social media platform X have been sharing two videos since March 25, showing Kasim Khan, son of PTI founder Imran Khan, allegedly demanding the suspension of Pakistan’s status for the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) trade scheme. However, he made no such demand. The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false. Imran — imprisoned since 2023 for concealing details of Toshakhana gifts — is serving a 14-year sentence at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail in the £190 million corruption case. Meanwhile, his party and family have alleged that he is being kept in solitary confinement — with a restriction on visitors being allowed to meet him in jail — and have repeatedly raised concerns over his medical treatment after it surfaced in January that he suffered an eye ailment. His sons have been campaigning for his release as well. According to the European Union, GSP+ status is a special incentive awarded to developing countries to “... -
Dawn - 10:41 Mar 26, 2026
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif highlighted Pakistan’s constructive role in promoting de-escalation and regional stability while discussing the situation in the Middle East with Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zedong on Thursday. On Monday, Pakistan took centre stage in a coordinated diplomatic push alongside Turkiye and Egypt for de-escalation, as the trio appeared instrumental in securing a five-day pause of US plans to strike Iranian energy and power infrastructure, officials said, describing the effort as going beyond routine crisis management. A press release by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said that the Chinese ambassador called on the premier at the PM House today. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi, and the foreign secretary were also present, it said. PM Shehbaz appreciated China’s “steadfast economic support” and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to advancing CPEC 2.0, “with a focus on agriculture, industrial co... -
Dawn - 09:39 Mar 26, 2026
Work on legal reforms within the housing sector is in “full swing”, including developing an ecosystem for mortgage finance in the country, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was told on Thursday. On March 18, PM Shehbaz urged authorities to prioritise making housing finance accessible to ordinary citizens during a meeting, emphasising the provision of homes for low-income groups and promoting affordable housing projects. During the meeting, discussions were also held on draft reforms concerning housing mortgages. In a meeting called to review measures to promote the housing sector, the premier was briefed on the progress of implementation of the measures, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement. “On the directions of the prime minister, special measures are being taken for investment in the construction and housing sector by foreign investors and overseas Pakistanis,” the meeting was told. The measures aim to increase housing projects, promote economic activities and create employment opportunities in the ... -
Dawn - 08:46 Mar 26, 2026
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Wednesday he has given the military permission to board and detain Russian ships his government alleges are part of a network of vessels that enables Moscow to export oil despite Western sanctions. The decision comes as other European nations have stepped up efforts to disrupt Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of tankers used by Moscow to fund its four-year war against Ukraine. Starmer said he approved more aggressive action against the vessels because Russian President Vladimir Putin was likely “rubbing his hands” at the sharp rise in oil prices driven by the US-Israel war against Iran. “That’s why we’re going after his shadow fleet even harder, not just keeping Britain safe but starving Putin’s war machine of the dirty profits that fund his barbaric campaign in Ukraine,” Starmer said in a statement. Downing Street said British military and law enforcement officials have been preparing to board Russian vessels that do not surrender, are armed, or use high-tech pervas... -
Dawn - 08:44 Mar 26, 2026
Social media platform X (formerly Twitter) was back up after facing a brief international outage on Thursday afternoon, according to internet monitors. Shortly after 12pm, NetBlocks reported that X was “experiencing international outages”, adding that the incident was “not related to country-level internet disruptions or filtering”. Downdetector, which monitors internet outages in real time, showed a sharp spike in problems reported by Pakistani users soon after 12pm. Half of those issues pertained to the X timeline, with most of the rest complaining about the app. By around 12:45pm, the user reports had declined significantly for Pakistan to two from a peak of 189. Problems reported by X users across Pakistan, as of around 1:15pm on March 26,, 2026. — screengrab via Downdetector Similarly, for the United States, complaints had fallen to below 200 compared to nearly 31,700 received a short while earlier. Problems reported by X users across US, as of around 1:15pm on March 26,, 2026. — screengrab via Downdetec... -
Dawn - 06:45 Mar 26, 2026
Israel launched strikes across Iran on Thursday, hours after US President Donald Trump said Tehran wanted a deal to end the nearly four-week war despite its top diplomat rejecting any talks with Washington. The conflict has mushroomed to draw in nations around the Middle East, sending energy markets into a tailspin and threatening to torpedo the global economy. Iran, under near-daily bombardment since a joint US-Israeli attack started the war on February 28, was hit early on Thursday by what the Israeli army said was “a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure”, including in the central city of Isfahan. In turn, an Iranian missile attack activated sirens across central Israel, including Tel Aviv and parts of Jerusalem, on Thursday morning, according to the Israeli military, the first launches it identified from Iran in more than 14 hours. Trump, whose daily statements have swung wildly from threatening to conciliatory, said talks to end the war were ongoing with Iran, but that officials in Tehran w... -
Dawn - 06:33 Mar 26, 2026
United States President Donald Trump will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in May during his first visit to China in eight years, a closely watched trip postponed due to the ongoing Iran war. Trump’s effort to reschedule the trip reflected the Republican president’s eagerness to project confidence in a challenging Middle East war and simultaneously to manage a tense relationship between the world’s biggest economies. Initially slated to travel next week, Trump will now visit Beijing on May 14 and 15, he said in a Truth Social post on Wednesday. Trump added that he would host Xi for a reciprocal visit in Washington later this year. “Our Representatives are finalising preparations for these Historic Visits,” Trump said. “I look very much forward to spending time with President Xi in what will be, I am sure, a Monumental Event.” China’s embassy said it had no information to provide on the announcement of the visit. Beijing normally does not detail Xi’s schedule more than a few days in advance. The long-schedule... -
Dawn - 02:36 Mar 26, 2026
• Complaint shared with Pakistan’s delegate in Paris highlights demolition, repair work at Mohra Moradu and Sirkap • DOAM official terms use of cement a serious violation of rules • Punjab archaeology dept rejects claims, says it restored ‘at risk’ sections ISLAMABAD: Following restoration work by the Punjab archaeology department at two World Heritage sites in Taxila, which has allegedly compromised their authenticity and integrity, the sites are at risk of being placed on Unesco’s ‘List of World Heritage in Danger’. According to Unesco, this list is designed to inform the international community of conditions which threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List, and to encourage corrective action. The caution comes after a third party recently shared information and photos with Pakistan’s Permanent Delegate to Unesco in Paris regarding two such sites in Taxila. The concern highlights how interventions may affect the authenticity and integrity of the Gandhara ... -
Dawn - 02:32 Mar 26, 2026
• Punjab, Sindh expected to revert after internal consultations on whether they have requisite fiscal space • Sharjeel Memon vows to implement any measures introduced by federal govt • Rs27bn released to settle oil industry’s price differential claims after PM decided to ‘hold’ petroleum prices, in spite of global surge ISLAMABAD: The Centre is asking provincial governments to share the additional cost of higher international prices in a bid to avoid a domestic hike in prices of essential petroleum products, sources told Dawn. Insiders say the federal government is reaching out to the provinces, particularly Punjab and Sindh, to shoulder the fiscal burden it had been extending to the people across the country by maintaining petrol and diesel rates. These demands have been extended to the provinces in personal interactions and telephonic contacts by the prime minister himself, as well as other cabinet members, a senior government official said. The official hinted that the two larger provinces are expected to ... -
Dawn - 19:54 Mar 25, 2026
KARACHI: Petroleum dealers announced on Wednesday that they were postponing a strike they planned to begin on March 26, keeping in view the situation resulting from the ongoing Middle East conflict, which has given rise to a global fuel crunch and supply uncertainties. Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) Chairperson Abdul Sami Khan told Dawn that “we have postponed the strike, keeping in view the hardships consumers will face if the war escalates and leads to a supply chain crisis of petroleum products”. He did not give a confirmed date till when the strike was being postponed. Asked if the PPDA would call a strike in the near future, he said, “I cannot confirm right now as the situation is highly volatile.” The association had announced the strike on March 13 and given the government until March 26 to revise the petroleum dealers’ margin from 2.59 per cent to 8pc in the wake of a Rs55 per litre hike in diesel and petrol rates. The decision to raise the prices was announced on March 6 as Pakistan fe... -
Dawn - 19:53 Mar 25, 2026
Iran’s state-owned broadcaster Press TV reported on Wednesday that Tehran had “responded negatively” to an American proposal aimed at ending the US-Israeli war on the country. The report cited a senior political-security official. “The official with knowledge of the details of the proposal, speaking exclusively to Press TV, said Iran will not allow US President Donald Trump to dictate the timing of the war’s end,” the report said. The development came after it emerged that Pakistan had delivered a proposal from the US to Iran, and either Pakistan or Turkiye could be venues for discussions to de-escalate the war in the Gulf. According to the report, the official said, “Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its own conditions are met.“ The official also emphasised Tehran’s resolve to continue its defence and inflict “heavy blows” on the enemy until its demands are fulfilled, the publication said. “According to the official, Washington has been pursuing negotiations through various diplomatic c... -
Dawn - 17:55 Mar 25, 2026
Kasim Khan, the son of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan, raised his father’s case at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Wednesday, saying that the former prime minister’s treatment by authorities was in violation of international human rights conventions. Imran — imprisoned since 2023 for concealing details of Toshakhana gifts — is serving a 14-year sentence at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail in the £190 million corruption case. Meanwhile, his party and family have alleged that he is being kept in solitary confinement — with a restriction on visitors being allowed to meet him in jail — and have repeatedly raised concerns over his medical treatment after it surfaced in January that he suffered an eye ailment. At a UNHRC session, Kasim said Imran’s case was not an “isolated incident”. In fact, he claimed, it was the “most visible example of a much wider pattern of repression in Pakistan since 2022”. In this connection, he mentioned the detention of political prisoners, trial and conviction of civili... -
Dawn - 15:42 Mar 25, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has said that as many as 10 universities have been offering unrecognised postgraduate degrees, directing these institutes to discontinue their programmes. A notification issued by the Council’s registrar, available with Dawn, said, that after a careful review of the record, it was identified that some universities had been offering and awarding postgraduate degrees and diplomas to MBBS and BDS doctors without fulfilling the mandatory requirement of recognition/accreditation under Section 25 of the PMDC Act, 2022. These universities included TIMES University in Multan, NUR International University in Lahore, Gomal University in DI Khan, Sohail University in Karachi, Shah Abdul Latif University in Khairpur, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology in Rahim Yar Khan, University of Faisalabad, University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Hazara University in Mansehra and Kohat University of Science and Technology. “Any institution seekin... -
Dawn - 14:50 Mar 25, 2026
The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel killed two “most-wanted terrorists” affiliated with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP) during an intelligence-based operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tank district on Wednesday, according to a press release issued by the CTD. The press release said CTD personnel conducted the operation within the limits of Gomal police station on the basis of “credible intelligence”. It said that the suspects, upon encountering CTD personnel, opened fire on them. The press release added that the exchange of gunfire continued for around 40 minutes, following which a search operation was launched. During the search operation, the press release stated, two “terrorists were found dead”. It further said that two Kalashnikovs, along with six magazines and cartridges and two bandoliers, were found in the possession of the slain suspects. According to the CTD, the suspects were affiliated with the TTP’s Mushtaq group and had been involved in multiple attacks on police. The press releas... -
Dawn - 14:49 Mar 25, 2026
Pakistan delivered a proposal from the United States to Iran, and either Pakistan or Turkiye could be venues for discussions to de-escalate the war in the Gulf, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday. The comments, by an official speaking on condition of anonymity, were among the few signs that Tehran was willing to consider diplomatic proposals, despite having denied in public that it would negotiate with the administration of US President Donald Trump. However, later in the day, it emerged that Tehran had “responded negatively” to the US proposal and outlined five conditions under which Tehran would agree to end the ongoing conflict. The Iranian source that spoke to Reuters did not disclose details of the proposal passed on by Pakistan, or whether it was the same as a 15-point US proposal that has been reported by news outlets. The source said “either Turkiye or Pakistan was under consideration as the venue for such talks”. A source familiar with the matter had confirmed on Tuesday to Reuters t... -
Dawn - 14:06 Mar 25, 2026
The BBC named former Google executive Matt Brittin as its new director general on Wednesday, replacing Tim Davie, who quit last year after a misleading edit of a speech by US President Donald Trump. The BBC is facing a $10 billion lawsuit from Trump, who accuses the publicly funded broadcaster of defamation over how it spliced together footage of parts of a speech he gave on January 6, 2021, before his supporters stormed the US Capitol. The broadcaster has argued the lawsuit should be dismissed, saying Trump’s subsequent reelection showed the alleged defamation did not harm his reputation. Brittin joined Google in 2007 as head of UK and Ireland before rising through the ranks to become EMEA president in 2014. He stepped down in 2024 and will take on the new role from May 18. “This is a moment of real risk, yet also real opportunity. The BBC needs the pace and energy to be both where stories are, and where audiences are,” he said in a statement. “To build on the reach, trust and creative strengths today, confr...
10418 items