Dawn
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Dawn - 17:52 Jan 06, 2026
Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman has registered for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) draft following his release from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad for the Indian Premier League (IPL). The 30-year-old left-arm pacer, known for his variations and death-over bowling, was acquired by Kolkata for INR 9.20 crore in the IPL mini-auction held in December. He was the only Bangladesh player signed for the season. On Saturday, Kolkata announced his release after receiving instructions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia cited “recent developments” as the reason, without providing further details. The decision comes amid strained relations between India and Bangladesh, linked to reports of attacks on minority communities in Bangladesh. In response, Bangladesh has banned IPL broadcasts in the country and the Bangladesh Cricket Board has requested the ICC to shift its T20 World Cup matches from India to Sri Lanka. Mustafizur, who has played in multiple IPL se... -
Dawn - 17:32 Jan 06, 2026
Icy temperatures plunged swathes of Europe into a second day of travel chaos on Tuesday, with weather-related accidents causing six deaths from the continent’s bitterest cold snap this winter so far. Five of those deaths since the mercury dropped on Monday were in France alone, while a woman died in Bosnia as heavy snow and rain sparked floods and power outages across the Balkans. Paris’s two airports, Roissy-Charles de Gaulle and Orly, were to cancel many flights early Wednesday to allow ground crews to clear snow from runways and de-ice planes. Forty percent of flights at Charles de Gaulle were to be scrapped, and 25 per cent at Orly. A person gathers snow following a short snow shower in Parliament Square, in London, Britain on January 6, 2026. —Reuters In Britain, the mercury plunged to -12.5C overnight Monday-Tuesday in Norfolk, eastern England, while temperatures below -10C across the Netherlands brought trains to a standstill on Tuesday morning. “Last night was the coldest night of the winter so far,” ... -
Dawn - 16:39 Jan 06, 2026
The Israeli foreign minister arrived in Somaliland on Tuesday in a high-profile visit, condemned by Somalia as an “unauthorised incursion”, after Israel recognised the breakaway region in the Horn of Africa. Israel announced last month it was officially recognising Somaliland, a first for the self-proclaimed republic since it declared independence from Somalia in 1991. Somaliland enjoys a strategic position on the Gulf of Aden and has its own currency, passport and army, but has struggled to win international recognition, amid fears of provoking Somalia and encouraging other separatist movements in Africa. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, whose delegation was welcomed at the airport by senior government officials, said recognising Somaliland had been “the moral thing to do”. Somaliland President Abdirahman Abdullahi Mohamed praised Israel’s “courageous” decision, and said it would open up great economic and development opportunities. “It promotes the strategic interest partnership of the two countries,” ... -
Dawn - 16:35 Jan 06, 2026
QUETTA: Balochistan’s Home Ministry has merged the Levies Force into the police and abolished all ‘B’ areas across the province, converting them into ‘A’ areas. The two areas defined the territorial jurisdiction of law enforcement agencies within the province. The Balochistan Police acted as the law enforcement agency in ‘A’ areas, while the Levies Force operated in ‘B’ areas, functioning under the command of division and district officials. The government of Balochistan declared Sibi and Loralai divisions as ‘A-Areas’ for the territorial jurisdiction of the Balochistan Police, according to a notification issued on Monday. The decision was taken in a meeting of the Balochistan cabinet. All members of the Levies Force, including provincial and ex-Federal Levies serving in the converted areas, as well as members of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Wing, have been merged into the Balochistan Police in their existing nomenclature, ranks, pay scales, and benefits, corresponding to those applicable to me... -
Dawn - 16:17 Jan 06, 2026
In late December 2025, a controversy erupted on X after users were found exploiting the platform’s artificial intelligence tool, Grok, to edit and manipulate photographs, including digitally undressing people — among them children — or portraying them in minimal clothing such as bikinis. Last week, Reuters and other news outlets documented numerous cases where Grok had generated sexualised images of women and minors. Per Reuters, X initially did not respond to a message seeking comment on its findings. In an earlier statement to the news agency about reports that sexualised images of children were circulating on the platform, X’s owner xAI said: “Legacy Media Lies.” Reuters, however, said it could not determine the full scale of the surge. Recently, the tool was also used to manipulate an image of 14-year-old British-Kiwi actress, Nell Fisher (the one who played Holly Wheeler in Season 5 of Netflix hit, Stranger Things), depicting her in a bikini, prompting widespread outrage and government scrutiny. ‘Full co... -
Dawn - 16:06 Jan 06, 2026
Squash ace Noor Zaman clawed his way back to a thrilling 3-2 victory over his French competitor to advance to the next round and round out Pakistan’s performance at the Rich Venus Karachi Open on Tuesday. Zaman took the first game 11-9, every point greeted by applause from the home crowd packed in the corridor between the courts at the Creek Club in the port city. France’s Melvil Scianimanico got his revenge in the second set with a 12-10 win. He then gave an 11-3 thrashing to Zaman, who looked visibly tired in the third set as the crowd of adolescent squash players and global icons like Jahangir Khan watched on, mumbling their own predictions in between shouting praise for the home favourite. Zaman is no stranger to comebacks, having been crowned the U23 world champion at the same venue in April. He won the fourth set 11-6 and proceeded to demolish the Frenchman 11-6 to win the fifth set and game to cheers from the crowd. Eleventh seed Zaman will play Egypt’s Fares Dessouky on Wednesday in the Round of 16. D... -
Dawn - 15:43 Jan 06, 2026
London Zoo on Tuesday arranged a photocall for its annual stocktake in central London, where a pair of newcomer capybaras, a huddle of penguins and a pride of lions were among the animals counted by zoo staff. The photocall is a media-friendly photo opportunity that the zoo organises for journalists and photographers at the start of its yearly animal count. During this event, keepers pose with animals, so that news agencies can capture images illustrating the zoo’s annual stocktake — the formal process of counting every animal on site as part of its licensing and conservation reporting obligations. The annual stocktake itself is a complete headcount of the zoo’s animals — from mammals and birds to reptiles and invertebrates — required under the zoo’s zoological licence and used to update global conservation databases that help manage breeding programmes worldwide. Here are a few glimpses from the 2026 stocktake for all animal lovers, featuring lions, penguins, capybaras, and other species. A lion is pictured ... -
Dawn - 13:39 Jan 06, 2026
LAHORE: Punjab’s potato farmers and independent researchers called for urgent government intervention through subsidised exports as a massive production surplus collided with stagnant domestic demand and shrinking export prospects. Due to the closure of the Afghanistan border over recent months, potato prices in Pakistan have plunged to rock-bottom levels. Independent researchers and farmers across Sahiwal, Okara, Pakpattan, Kasur, and adjoining districts feared the market had already begun to collapse, and in some places, it had collapsed even before the full arrival of the new crop. Wholesale prices had fallen below production costs, forcing some growers to plough standing crops back into the soil to avoid further losses. Potatoes were being sold in the market at Rs 20–25 per kg in the three districts of the Sahiwal division. President of the Pakistan Kisan Ittehad, Khalid Mahmood Khokhar, while highlighting the miseries of potato farmers in the districts of Okara, Pakpattan, Sahiwal, Kasur, Khanewal, and V... -
Dawn - 13:05 Jan 06, 2026
A group of European leaders on Tuesday underlined their support for Denmark after US President Donald Trump again voiced designs on its autonomous Arctic territory of Greenland. The leaders of France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain as well as Denmark said that sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders were “universal principles, and we will not stop defending them”. Washington’s military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears about Trump’s designs on Greenland, which has untapped rare earth deposits and could be a vital player as polar ice melts, opening up new shipping routes. Greenland is on the shortest route for missiles between Russia and the United States, and Washington already has a military base there. With the situation in Venezuela more pressing, Trump quipped on Sunday that “we’ll worry about Greenland in about two months”. The European leaders’ joint statement said: “Arctic security remains a key priority for Europe and it is critical for international ... -
Dawn - 11:27 Jan 06, 2026
A high-level Senate delegation, led by Deputy Chairman Senator Syedaal Khan, will undertake an official visit to the United States from January 20 to 25, 2026, the Senate Secretariat said on Tuesday. The development comes after Pakistan-US relations saw a notable thaw in 2025, a year marked by high-level engagement, strategic recalibrations, and complex regional developments. The Secretariat termed the visit a “historic milestone” in Pak–US parliamentary relations, signifying the “beginning of a new institutional chapter in bilateral engagement”. According to the statement, the visit was organised under the auspices of the Pakistan Policy Institute USA. It will also include the United States–Pakistan Inter-Parliamentary Group for the first time. “This development represents a major achievement of strategic and non-traditional parliamentary diplomacy,” the statement said, adding that the visit “reflects a shared commitment to strengthening democratic institutions through direct engagement between elected legis... -
Dawn - 11:01 Jan 06, 2026
Run-machine Travis Head hit a swashbuckling 163 and Steve Smith a composed unbeaten 129 as Australia built a 134-run lead over England to seize control on day three of the fifth and final Ashes Test on Tuesday. It was destructive opener Head’s third ton of the series, to go with the phenomenal match-winning 123 he made in Perth and 170 at Adelaide. Smith was equally impressive, with his first hundred of the series driving the hosts to 518-7 by stumps at a packed Sydney Cricket Ground in reply to England’s 384. Beau Webster was alongside him on 42 at the close. Australia lead the series 3-1 and have already retained the Ashes, with England desperate for another morale-boosting win after victory at the previous Test in Melbourne. “Nice batting wicket out there. Nice to start my innings on the back of a great innings from Travis Head,” Smith told Fox Sports. “When you’re out there with him they forget about you and I was able to get into my work. Worked out well today.” Head brought up three figures off just 105... -
Dawn - 09:02 Jan 06, 2026
LAHORE: A local sessions court on Tuesday extended the pre-arrest bail of content creators Rajab Butt and Nadeem Mubarak alias Nani Wala in a case pertaining to the promotion of gambling apps on social media. Strict security arrangements were made by the police when the two reached the court along with their lawyers. Additional District and Sessions Judge Mansoor Ahmed presided over the hearing, during which the counsel for the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) stated that the investigating officer was busy with proceedings before the Lahore High Court (LHC). Therefore, the NCCIA counsel asked the court to allow time for producing the record. Subsequently, Judge Qureshi extended the bail of both TikTokers till January 26 and directed the NCCIA to present the record at the next hearing. The judge had earlier allowed Butt and Mubarak to leave the courtroom after marking their attendance. The content creators are no strangers to legal trouble. In September 2025, Butt was booked by the NCCIA for a... -
Dawn - 09:02 Jan 06, 2026
Pakistan and Bangladesh’s air chiefs held detailed discussions on the “potential procurement” of JF-17 Thunder aircraft, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Tuesday. The JF-17 Thunder multi-role fighter was jointly developed by China and Pakistan. The fighter has proved its combat capabilities during two military conflicts with India in 2019 and 2025. The press release issued by ISPR said Bangladesh Air Force Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan called on Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu in Islamabad. The Bangladeshi air chief led a high-level defence delegation during the visit, it said. “The meeting focused on strengthening operational cooperation and institutional synergy, with emphasis on training, capacity building, and collaboration in aerospace advancements,” it said. According to the press release, the visiting air chief was accorded a guard of honour. Air Chief Marshal Sidhu briefed his Bangladeshi counterpart on PAF’s recent advancements and reaffirmed P... -
Dawn - 08:53 Jan 06, 2026
Azerbaijan has no intention of sending a contingent of its troops to take part in peacekeeping operations outside its borders, including in Gaza, President Ilham Aliyev said late on Monday. Aliyev, interviewed by Azeri television channels, said Azerbaijan had been in contact with Donald Trump’s US administration with a list of questions about the operation of a peacekeeping force in Gaza, the proposed International Stabilisation Force (ISF). “We prepared a questionnaire of more than 20 questions and provided it to the American side. No participation in peacekeeping forces is envisaged,” Aliyev said. “I am not considering participation in hostilities outside Azerbaijan at all.” An Azeri government source had said last November that Azerbaijan would provide no troops for such an operation unless there was a complete halt to fighting between Israel and Hamas. Meanwhile, diplomats involved in the discussions told Dawn on Monday that despite deep reservations and fears of domestic backlash, most Muslim-majority co... -
Dawn - 08:39 Jan 06, 2026
Human rights group Amnesty International on Tuesday said the 27th Constitutional Amendment was the “crescendo of a concerted and sustained attack on the independence of the judiciary, right to fair trial and the rule of law in Pakistan”, calling for an urgent review of the legislation. The 27th Amendment, passed by Parliament after five days of heated debate, opposition protests, and last-minute revisions, was widely criticised for abolishing judicial independence through the formation of a Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) and introducing changes to the military leadership structure by rewriting Article 243 of the Constitution (command of the armed forces). In a statement issued on Tuesday, the rights body said the Amendment was a “crescendo of a concerted and sustained attack on the independence of the judiciary, right to fair trial and the rule of law in Pakistan”. It called on authorities to conduct an urgent review of the Amendment to “ensure that all its provisions fully comply with Pakistan’s internat... -
Dawn - 07:39 Jan 06, 2026
BANNU: The former nazim of Bannu district’s Domel tehsil, Fida Muhammad Khan Wazir, was injured in a bomb blast outside his office on Tuesday. Asif Hassan, the Bannu police spokesperson, confirmed the incident to Dawn, saying that a pre-installed improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated at the office gate in the Domel Bazaar area. Soon after it was reported, a heavy contingent rushed to the scene, cordoned off the area and formally initiated an investigation. Police and local sources said the explosion occurred outside the main gate of the former nazim’s office in Domel Bazaar. At the time of the blast, Wazir was present in his vehicle and sustained minor injuries, they said. As a result of the explosion, his vehicle was completely destroyed, while the office gate and the surrounding area also suffered damage, they added. It is worth mentioning that Wazir has previously played a leading role in peace movements against terrorism and remained at the forefront in forming tribal lashkars to establish peace... -
Dawn - 06:03 Jan 06, 2026
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Monday she plans to return home “as soon as possible,” and slammed the interim president in Caracas. In her first public comments since a social media post over the weekend, when the US military forcibly removed and kidnapped President Nicolas Maduro, the Nobel Peace Prize winner vowed to return to her country. She had left Venezuela last month to travel to Norway to accept the award, and hasn’t returned since. “I’m planning to go back to Venezuela as soon as possible,” Machado told broadcaster Sean Hannity on Fox News, speaking from an undisclosed location. Machado openly rejected the country’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, saying she “is one of the main architects of torture, persecution, corruption, narcotrafficking”. Rodriguez, who has signalled her willingness to cooperate with Washington, was Venezuela’s vice president under Maduro. Machado said Rodriguez is “rejected” by the Venezuelan people, and voters were on the opposition’s side. “In ... -
Dawn - 05:15 Jan 06, 2026
KARACHI: The World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-P) has called upon the government to keep a vigil on the introduction of exotic fish species in the country and to establish quarantine facilities for keeping fish species imported for aquaculture and aquarium trade. The organisation issued a statement on Monday, describing invasive fish species a looming threat to aquatic biodiversity and fisheries economy after an unusual fish was brought to the Karachi Fish Harbour from Sukkur on Sunday and no one there was able to identify it. “It was an Amazon sailfin catfish. This fish, which has thick armoured body covered with bony plates, is an exotic fish that has an exotic species accidently introduced into natural water bodies and is spread in the provinces of Sindh and lower Punjab,” the WWF-P said, adding that the catfish is native to Latin America and is popular around the world as an aquarium fish. It said: “This species is among the 26 invasive fish species that have been introduced in Pakistan accidentall... -
Dawn - 04:56 Jan 06, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The picturesque Shakarparian in the federal capital has been left devastated after large-scale tree cutting activities, turning four patches of the area into a “bald and barren” land. This has sparked concerns and unrest among local residents and environmentalists alike. At the length of Shakarparian road, there was a thick forest. However, now trees have almost been completely removed from four patches of the area near Lok Virsa. The Capital Development Authority (CDA) stated that only paper mulberry trees were removed, which had been causing pollen allergy. However, it is hard to believe that there were all paper mulberry trees in the area. CDA says trees removed from the area were exclusively paper mulberry which were causing pollen allergy “I can’t believe that in this area there were overwhelming numbers of paper mulberry, may be there could be large numbers, but other species also existed. Now, this area is giving a look of a barren land,” said a citizen, Mohammad Kaleem. “If CDA is saying th... -
Dawn - 03:31 Jan 06, 2026
CAIRO: Egypt said on Monday it is aligned with Saudi Arabia on the conflicts in Yemen and Sudan, as well as the question of breakaway region Somaliland. During talks in Cairo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan stressed their countries’ “identical” positions on “reaching peaceful solutions to the region’s crises”, an Egyptian presidency statement said. They said solutions must “preserve the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of states,” singling out Sudan, Yemen, Somalia and the Gaza Strip. A recent internal conflict in Yemen involves the internationally recognised government and the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC). Sisi welcomes Riyadh’s proposal to host ‘inclusive conference’ for southern groups President Sisi on Monday welcomed Saudi Arabia’s proposal to host an “inclusive conference” for southern Yemeni groups, while Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called for de-escalation and a Yemeni-led political settlement. On...
6698 items