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Dawn - 17:13 Nov 22, 2025
World governments agreed on Saturday to a compromise climate deal at the COP30 conference in Brazil that would boost finance for poor nations coping with global warming but omit any mention of the fossil fuels driving it. In securing the accord, countries attempted to demonstrate global unity in addressing climate change impacts even after the world’s biggest historic emitter, the United States, declined to send an official delegation. “We should support it because at least it is going in the right direction,” the European Union’s climate commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra, told reporters before the deal was gaveled through. The Belem deal launches a voluntary initiative to speed up climate action to help nations meet their existing pledges to reduce emissions, and calls for rich nations to at least triple the amount of money they provide to help developing countries adapt to a warming world by 2035. Scientists have said existing national commitments to cut emissions have cut projected warming significantly, but ar... -
Dawn - 17:04 Nov 22, 2025
PTI leader Hammad Azhar on Saturday claimed that Form 45s are missing from the election material provided to presiding officers by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ahead of tomorrow’s by-election in Lahore’s NA-129 constituency. The by-election is being held after the seat fell vacant in July following the death of Azhar’s father, Mian Azhar. In a post on X, Hammad said: “We are receiving reports that multiple presiding officers are missing Form 45s in the election materials they have received from ECP (Election Commission of Pakistan) for the by-elections of tomorrow. This is a serious violation of the electoral process.” The alarm came after he had earlier issued “important instructions” for his party’s polling agents about the forms. “When the bags containing election materials are opened in the morning, make sure that the Forms 45 and Forms 46 in them are blank and shown to you. This is most important.” The PTI leader stressed the importance of the polling agents’ presence during the polling and ... -
Dawn - 16:12 Nov 22, 2025
Spinner Mohammad Nawaz set it up for Pakistan before opener Sahibzada Farhan finished it off to the joy of a packed crowd at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. With Nawaz (3-16) weaving his magic with the ball, including two wickets in two balls, in the Twenty20 tri-nation clash, Pakistan restricted Sri Lanka to 128-7 before romping to their target with 4.3 overs to spare in their Twenty20 tri-nation series clash on Saturday. Sahibzada led the batting effort with his sixth T20 half-century, hitting five sixes and six fours in an explosive 80 not out off 45 balls, as Pakistan eased to a six-wicket victory that made in two in two for the hosts, who beat Zimbabwe by five wickets in the series opener. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have no wins in two with the defeat following a humbling at the hands on Zimbabwe on Thursday. But it had seemed all so different at the start when skipper Dasun Shunaka won the toss and elected to bat with openers Kamil Mishara and Pathum Nissanka tearing into Pakistan’s bowling with the latter c... -
Dawn - 16:10 Nov 22, 2025
PTI leader Taimur Saleem Jhagra said judicial corruption and institutional distrust were barriers to capital investment in the country, while he assailed the government on Saturday following the release of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment (GCDA) report. The report, published earlier this week, highlighted persistent corruption challenges in Pakistan driven by systemic weaknesses across state institutions and demanded immediate initiation of a 15-point reform agenda to improve transparency, fairness and integrity. Speaking at a press conference today about the report in Islamabad with former Sindh governor Mohammad Zubair, Jhagra highlighted a portion of the report that said: “The judicial sector that is organisationally complex is not able to [reliably] enforce contracts [or protect property rights] due to problems with efficiency, antiquated laws and the integrity of judges and judicial personnel.” “[The report] also points out how capital investments in... -
Dawn - 15:37 Nov 22, 2025
Lawyers of the Karachi Bar Association (KBA) staged a protest on Saturday at the Sindh High Court (SHC) against the recently enacted 27th Constitutional Amendment. The contentious amendment, which resulted in the establishment of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), was passed by Parliament amid the opposition’s outcry. It has also been criticised by some legal experts as a means to dethrone the Supreme Court (SC) as the country’s highest judicial forum, ceding that position to the FCC. Former and sitting judges, as well as lawyers, voiced opposition to the amendment, particularly citing its impact on the SC. Hours after the amendment was enacted on November 13, two judges of the SC resigned, citing their reservations against it. The two judges were Athar Minallah and Mansoor Ali Shah, who was the senior puisne judge of the SC at the time. Today, lawyers began their protest outside the SHC’s premises by chanting slogans against the amendment and later entered the high court’s premises. Visuals showed some ... -
Dawn - 15:25 Nov 22, 2025
Pakistan and the European Union (EU) have underlined the importance of further deepening trade and investment ties, including through the EU’s GSP+ scheme, as a driver for sustainable growth, export diversification, job creation and mutually beneficial economic opportunity, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Saturday. The development came as 7th Strategic Dialogue between Pakistan and the EU was convened in Brussels. The meeting was co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and EU’s chief diplomat Kaja Kallas. The GSP+ status allows Pakistan to enjoy duty-free or minimum duty on European exports. According to the FO, the meeting provided a “comprehensive review” of the full spectrum of Pakistan-EU relations, “building on the positive momentum of recent high-level engagements and sustained institutional interactions”. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to a “broad-based, multidimensional and forward-looking partnership anchored in shared values, the UN Charter, multilateralism, and th... -
Dawn - 14:28 Nov 22, 2025
Ukraine and the US will soon meet in Switzerland to discuss Washington’s plan for ending the war with Russia, Kyiv said Saturday, as it seeks to fix the draft that heeds to some of Moscow’s hardline demands. US President Donald Trump gave Ukraine less than a week to approve the 28-point plan to end the nearly four-year conflict, which would see the invaded country ceding territory, cutting its army, and pledging to never join NATO. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s European allies, who were not included in drafting the agreement, said the plan requires “additional work” as they scrambled at the G20 summit in South Africa to come up with a counter-offer to Trump’s plan to beef up Kyiv’s positions. “In the coming days, consultations will take place with partners regarding the steps needed to end the war,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said, after he issued a decree stating Ukraine’s team for the talks, which will be led by his top aide, Andriy Yermak. “Our representatives know how to defend Ukraine’s national interests and w... -
Dawn - 13:49 Nov 22, 2025
Former Pakistan Test captain Rashid Latif ended the saga he began after apologising on Saturday for fiery comments made against the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) policies, which he termed “an error of judgement”. Latif’s comments on surrogate advertising and removal of Mohammad Rizwan from ODI captaincy had prompted PCB to lodge a complaint against the former captain with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), which summoned Latif to appear before an investigation officer at its Lahore office on Nov 17. Later, Rashid had also moved the Islamabad High Court against the inquiry, terming it illegal and saying it was issued without lawful authority and was liable to be quashed. In a lengthy post on X today, Latif clarified that his “principal contention” was related to potential violations of the advisories issued by the Pakistani government. “At no point, whether inadvertently or deliberately, have I ever sought or intended to implicate any individual including players, board members, or other ... -
Dawn - 11:21 Nov 22, 2025
Security forces killed eight terrorists during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, said a statement by the military’s media wing on Saturday. The IBO was conducted on November 21, according to a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on the reported presence of khawarij belonging to Indian-proxy Fitna-al-Khawarij. Fitna-al-Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the “Indian-sponsored *khawarij”*, as per ISPR, “who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces, LEAs and target-killing of innocent civilians.” “The operation underscores the strengthened collaborative efforts between [LEAs] and security forces, who have significantly intensified intelligence-driven operations in the region,” said ISPR. “These meticulously coordinated and synchronised security measures are designed to constrict the ope... -
Dawn - 09:50 Nov 22, 2025
Significant progress was reported on Saturday in the ongoing litigation over the transfer of judges, as five judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) filed a miscellaneous petition before the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) challenging the transfer of their intra-court appeal from the Supreme Court to the former. The application was filed by IHC’s Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri. The case pertains to the transfer of three judges from other high courts to the federal capital. In June, the SC’s Constitutional Bench had declared that their transfers were not unconstitutional. Subsequently, the five IHC judges had challenged the decision and filed an intra-court appeal. However, the intra-court appeal in the case has now been fixed before the FCC, which was established under the 27th Amendment, on November 24. In the miscellaneous petition, the IHC judges asked the FCC to return the intra-court ap... -
Dawn - 09:29 Nov 22, 2025
On a lush cricket ground outside Colombo, the sharp jingling of a ball cuts through the afternoon air. Every rattle is a pushback against the stigma of disability. Sri Lanka and India are co-hosting the first T20 World Cup for visually impaired women. The semi-finals are on Saturday between India and Australia and Pakistan and Nepal, followed by the final on Sunday. India manager Shika Shetty told AFP that the sport has transformed lives and helped change attitudes. “I think this (world cup) is one of the biggest opportunities for our visually impaired girls,” said Shetty, who is not blind. India captain T.C. Deepika recalled the disbelief she faced when she first picked up the bat. “People were saying, ‘How do they do it? They must be lying,’” she said in a video posted by the Cricket Association for the Blind in India. “(Later) they realised I can do something. People began to see that I have ability,” Deepika added. Playing by the ear While able-bodied cricket requires players to keep an eye on the ball at... -
Dawn - 08:51 Nov 22, 2025
I have spent the past few weeks staring at what seem to be digital ghosts; they look human, speak the way we do, and cause anger and despair. But they are not real. They are machines wearing human skin. Something is shifting in Pakistan’s social media landscape. It is not merely a rumour. It is not the old cycle of misinformation. It feels darker. Artificial intelligence is reshaping reality frame by frame until the internet resembles a hall of mirrors. For me, it began on November 8, when an account called ‘PakVocals’ posted a video on X that claimed to show journalist Benazir Shah dancing in a nightclub. The caption was cruel. It tried to mock her by using derogatory comments against her professional credibility. At the time of writing this piece, that video had garnered more than half a million views. It did exactly what it was designed to do: turn a journalist into a target. Mission accomplished! To most viewers, the clip probably passed as real, but for me, something felt off. When the mask slips I opene... -
Dawn - 08:24 Nov 22, 2025
After months of trading insults, US President Donald Trump and incoming New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani smiled at each other, swapped compliments and pledged to collaborate on tackling crime and affordability in the nation’s biggest city at an unexpectedly friendly meeting at the White House on Friday. The political opposites, a Republican billionaire and a young democratic socialist, have clashed over everything from immigration to economic policy. But it was clear the two forged a rapport in their first encounter. Mamdani, a 34-year-old state lawmaker, stood by Trump’s desk as the 79-year-old president smiled up at him and patted him warmly on the arm, having only recently falsely caricatured Mamdani as an anti-Semitic communist, among other jibes. “We agree on a lot more than I would have thought,” Trump said after letting journalists and cameras into the Oval Office at the end of a private meeting with the mayor-elect. “We have one thing in common: We want this city of ours that we love to do very well... -
Dawn - 08:18 Nov 22, 2025
Ten large Indian trade unions condemned the government’s rollout on Friday of new labour codes, the biggest such overhaul in decades, as a “deceptive fraud” against workers. The unions, aligned with parties opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanded in a statement late on Friday that the laws be withdrawn ahead of nationwide protests they plan to hold on November 26 (Wednesday). Modi’s government implemented the four labour codes, approved by parliament five years ago, as it seeks to simplify work rules, some dating to British colonial rule, and liberalise conditions for investment. It says the changes improve worker protections. While the new rules offer social security and minimum-wage benefits, they also allow companies to hire and fire workers more easily. Unions have strongly opposed the changes, organising multiple nationwide protests over the past five years. The Labour Ministry did not immediately respond on Saturday to a Reuters request for comment on the union demands. The government has held o... -
Dawn - 07:41 Nov 22, 2025
The Ministry of Commerce has rescinded the suspension of Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) 760 of 2013, which governs the trade of precious metals, allowing for the import and export of gold, it emerged on Saturday. In May, the government had enacted the 60-day import and export ban on precious metals and gemstones to stabilise its foreign exchange reserves. The restriction was also linked to the military conflict with India as a potential strategy to limit the flow of precious metals via Dubai. In a fresh SRO2198 dated November 21, the Ministry of Commerce rescinded its May directives for the ban, thereby allowing the import and export of gold and other precious metals. The ministry further said the period of suspension so far under SRO760 was “accordingly condoned, thereby enabling exporters to avail the mandatory entitlement period of 120 days under the entrustment scheme”. The entrustment scheme provides a facility for the export of jewellery against imported gold supplied as a partial advance payment, by ... -
Dawn - 07:17 Nov 22, 2025
Influential right-wing United States lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene announced on Friday that she is resigning from Congress, one week after former President Donald Trump withdrew his support for the Georgia Republican. Her last day in office will be Jan 5, 2026. In a video posted online, the 51-year-old congresswoman, elected in 2020, said she had “always been despised in Washington DC and never fit in”. Greene added she did not want her supporters and family to endure “a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the president we all fought for, only to fight and win my election while Republicans will likely lose the midterms”. The resignation marks the clearest sign yet of a growing rift in the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, which has been shaken by strong Democratic victories in this month’s off-year elections, including the leftist New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who met with Trump earlier on Friday. Greene’s break with Trump appeared linked to his flip-flop on releasing emails connected t... -
Dawn - 07:09 Nov 22, 2025
A terrorist plot to blow up a bridge in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district was foiled on Saturday. According to an official statement from KP police, terrorists attempted to blow up Dawa bridge in Bannu’s Basia Khel area using an improvised explosive device (IED). It said that the plot was thwarted due to timely action by the Bannu police bomb disposal squad. It said that the terrorists had attached the IED, a bucket full of 8-10 kilogrammes of explosive material, to the central pillar of the bridge. “The local people praised the timely action taken by Bannu police,” the statement said. It also quoted Bannu Regional Police Officer Sajjad Khan as saying that it was necessary to “eliminate elements inconveniencing the public by destroying infrastructure”. He asserted that such elements do not deserve any mercy. Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terror activities, particularly in KP and Balochistan. The spike in incidents followed the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ending a ceasefire with the gover... -
Dawn - 05:41 Nov 22, 2025
Rescuers raced to find more than a dozen people still missing on Saturday after a week of heavy flooding in Vietnam, where authorities said at least 55 people have died. Relentless rain has lashed south-central Vietnam since late October and popular holiday destinations have been hit by several rounds of flooding. Whole city blocks were inundated this week in coastal Nha Trang, while deadly landslides struck highland passes around the Da Lat tourist hub. At least 55 people have been killed across six provinces since Sunday, while the search continues for 13 others, the environment ministry said in a statement released on Saturday. Mountainous Dak Lak province was the hardest hit, with more than two dozen fatalities, it said. Rescuers were still plucking people from treetops and the roofs of homes as floodwaters receded there on Friday, state media reported. Multiple highways remained impassable Saturday and 300,000 people were without power, after a blackout that initially affected more than a million, the en... -
Dawn - 04:50 Nov 22, 2025
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has taken up a case challenging the operations of Saudi oil company Aramco-branded fuel stations in the federal capital, issuing notices to the country’s top oil regulator and other respondents for allegedly allowing the foreign entity to operate without a license. The petition, filed by Mohammad Shafiq Mir, owner of a PSO station on Srinagar Highway, was heard by Justice Mohammad Azam Khan. The court has ordered a response from the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), Aramco Asia Singapore Pvt Ltd, Gas & Oil Pakistan Ltd (GO), Askar Oil, and several other government bodies. The petitioners counsel Kashif Ali Malik argued that the Saudi state-owned oil company, has been running petrol pumps under its own branding without being a registered corporate entity in Pakistan and without obtaining a mandatory marketing license from OGRA. The petitioner contends that this violates the OGRA Ordinance, the Pakistan Oil Rules 2016, the Petroleum Act, and the Explosives Act. H... -
Dawn - 04:42 Nov 22, 2025
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Friday expressed concern over excessive construction taking place in the city, declaring it a main source of contribution to pollution. Hearing several identical petitions regarding smog and environmental pollution, Justice Shahid Karim observed that the anti-smog gun would be of no use under these circumstances. He noted that the environment department had extensive powers only if it chooses to use them. The judge further remarked that the Air Quality Index (AQI) was also high because of smoke-emitting vehicles. He expressed concern over the vehicles causing pollution and ordered that environmental squads must be visible on the roads for the next two weeks. Justice Karim pointed out that the vehicles coming from Karachi were causing increased smoke and a higher AQI on GT Road. He said many vehicles on the roads were still emitting smoke. The judge also sought a report on the failure to enforce time restrictions for commercial activities. He expressed dissatisfaction over the ...
8038 items