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Found 6698 news

  • Protests in Bangladesh ‘for repatriation of all killers’ as India cites security concerns
    Dawn - 13:21 Dec 18, 2025
    Bangladesh police on Thursday stopped protesters from marching towards an Indian diplomatic mission, a day after India’s foreign ministry conveyed its concerns over the “deteriorating” security environment in the country. Ties between the two countries have been frosty since former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India following a student-led uprising last year. Dhaka has repeatedly asked for her extradition so that she could stand trial for her alleged crimes, with Delhi responding that it was examining the requests. On Thursday, dozens of demonstrators began marching towards the assistant Indian high commissioner office in Rajshahi district, which borders India. Miftahul Jannat, one of the protesters, said the plan was to carry out a sit-in, demanding the “repatriation of all the killers including Sheikh Hasina”. The protest was stalled by the police, who said they “listened to their demands and promised to forward them to the authorities”. “We are not aware of any further plans (for demonst...
    Tags: Bangladesh India
  • Germany to take in more than 500 stranded Afghans from Pakistan
    Dawn - 13:02 Dec 18, 2025
    The German government said on Thursday that it would take in 535 Afghans who had been promised refuge in Germany but have been stuck in limbo in Pakistan. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told the RND media network that Berlin wanted to complete the processing of the cases “in December, as far as possible” to allow them to enter Germany. The Afghans were accepted under a refugee scheme set up by the previous German government, but have been stuck in Pakistan since conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz took office in May and froze the programme. Those on the scheme either worked with German armed forces in Afghanistan during the war against the Taliban, or were judged to be at particular risk from the Taliban after its return to power in 2021 — for example, rights activists and journalists, as well as their families. Pakistan had set a deadline for the end of the year for the Afghans’ cases to be settled, after which they would be deported back to their homeland. Dobrindt said that “we are in touch with t...
    Tags: Pakistan Germany Afghans
  • GB general elections, local body polls delayed due to harsh weather conditions: CEC Khan
    Dawn - 12:48 Dec 18, 2025
    Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Raja Shehbaz Khan on Thursday announced a delay of general elections and local bodies polls due to harsh weather conditions in the region, after a multiparty conference held to consult political parties on the holding of the elections. General Elections of the Assembly and local government (LG) elections were scheduled for January 24 and February 14, 2026, respectively. The LG polls are going to be conducted in the region after a gap of 20 years. “The new polling dates for both elections will be announced later,” Khan said. After the GB Assembly completed its five-year tenure on November 24, President Asif Ali Zardari announced the general elections date as it is mandatory to conduct elections within 60 days, while the GB election commissioner also announced the date of local body elections. Meanwhile, the GB Election Commission convened a multiparty conference (MPC), including leaders of PML-N, PPP, PTI and JUI, today at its secretariat to consult political ...
  • UK teachers to tackle misogyny in classroom as govt deploys new strategy
    Dawn - 12:36 Dec 18, 2025
    UK teachers will be trained to tackle misogyny in the classroom under a new strategy aimed at halving violence against women and girls over the next decade, the government said Thursday. The new strategy would “deploy the full power of the state to introduce the largest crackdown to stop violence perpetrated against women and girls in British history”, said Jess Phillips, minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, who is due to unveil details of the new approach in parliament later. The 20 million plan comes as the latest statistics showed over 40 per cent of young men held a positive view of so-called manosphere influencer Andrew Tate, a government statement said. And over the last year alone, one in every eight women was a victim of domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking. “For too long, the scale of violence against women and girls has been treated as a fact of life in our country,” said Phillips. Under the strategy, all secondary schools in England will have to teach students about...
  • Info minister notes ‘employment issues’ in advertising sector due to AI adoption
    Dawn - 11:53 Dec 18, 2025
    Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Thursday acknowledged ‘employment issues’ among creatives within the advertising sector due to the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and invited proposals to address the problem. In a post on X, the minister wrote that widespread AI adoption is affecting the employment of creative minds in the sector, specifically referring to content creators, graphic designers and editors, creative directors, actors and models and technicians and cameramen. “I am inviting proposals on how to address this problem and how to save these professions from becoming redundant,” Tarar wrote, urging people to send proposals to an email address linked to the Press Information Department. An International Labour Organisation (ILO) report published in May found that around “one in four workers across the world are in an occupation with some degree of exposure” to generative AI models’ capabilities. “Few jobs are currently at high risk of full automation,” the ILO added. In November, ...
  • PM Shehbaz approves halal meat export policy, orders preparation of strategy to enhance exports
    Dawn - 11:39 Dec 18, 2025
    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday approved the halal meat export policy and directed relevant authorities to present a comprehensive, three-year strategy within two weeks, comprising measures to increase exports. Pakistan barely has a 0.25 per cent share in the global halal food trade of more than $3 trillion, which reflects the need for the government and private sector to take proactive initiatives to explore the true potential of ‘Made in Pakistan’ products and establish a niche for itself. The decision was made during a meeting of a committee established to enhance Pakistan’s halal meat export market, focusing on the export policy and sector reforms. PM Shehbaz was presiding over the meeting. “A comprehensive strategy, formulated through coordination among all relevant federal ministries and provincial governments, is essential and significant to make Pakistan’s share in the halal meat market of Muslim countries as well as the global market,” PM Shehbaz said. He asked officials to present proposal...
    Tags: Shehbaz
  • Passengers offloaded, restrained from travelling must be provided with written reasons, LHC reminds authorities
    Dawn - 10:04 Dec 18, 2025
    The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday issued a stern reminder to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and other authorities concerned, saying that any person offloaded or restrained from travelling must be provided with written reasons at the time of the action being taken. LHC’s Justice Ali Zia Bajwa made the observations in an order issued after a hearing held at the Multan Bench. On Wednesday, the judge had heard a petition filed by a citizen, Shaheryar Qandeel, against the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other authorities following his offloading from a flight despite being in possession of valid travel documents. In the order, a copy of which is available with Dawn, Justice Bajwa said, “Let this court take a moment to remind the FIA and all concerned authorities that every exercise of power that infringes upon the fundamental rights of an individual must find its firm and unambiguous foundation in law.” He said that no administrative discretion, however broad, could justify curbing the liberty of cit...
  • Complaint filed against Bihar CM for pulling down woman’s niqab: Indian media
    Dawn - 09:44 Dec 18, 2025
    A complaint has been filed with police against the chief minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, and Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Sanjay Nishad in relation to an incident involving the former pulling a woman’s face veil (niqab), according to Indian media. Kumar has been facing criticism after he pulled off a woman doctor’s niqab at a graduation ceremony. A clip of the incident was widely shared on social media, showing the 74-year-old politician handing a certificate to a woman doctor during the event on Monday and motioning to her to remove her niqab. Before the woman could react, Kumar reached out and pulled down the niqab, exposing her mouth and chin. While the clip has sparked widespread outrage across India and Pakistan, with social media users, activists and commentators demanding an apology and resignation of the chief minister, Nishad made remarks belittling the gravity of the incident, questioning the outrage over “mere removal of a burqa”. Indian news agency ANI reported on Wednesday that Samajwadi Party...
    Tags: Bihar Indian
  • CDF Field Marshal Munir reaffirms commitment to strengthening defence ties with Libya
    Dawn - 09:06 Dec 18, 2025
    Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir has reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening defence ties with Libya, the military’s media wing said on Thursday. In a statement, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the field marshal was currently on an official visit to Libya, where he called on the Libyan Armed Forces’ commander in chief, Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar, and deputy commander in chief, Lieutenant General Saddam Khalifa Haftar. “On arrival, the field marshal was accorded a guard of honour by a smartly turned-out contingent of the Libyan Armed Forces,” the ISPR said. In a meeting with the Libyan Armed Forces’ commander in chief, CDF Field Marshal Munir reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening defence ties with Libya, “based on shared interests”, it said. It added that during the meeting, the two discussed matters of mutual interest, regional security dynamics, and avenues for enhancing bilateral defence and military-to-military ...
    Tags: CDF Field Marshal Munir Libya
  • Trump administration intends to ramp up efforts to revoke citizenship of some naturalised Americans: report
    Dawn - 09:02 Dec 18, 2025
    The Trump administration intends to increase its efforts to strip some naturalised Americans of their US citizenship, according to internal guidance obtained by The New York Times. The move comes as US President Donald Trump, in a prime-time address, pledged to further intensify his hard-line immigration policies, signalling a broader crackdown on migrants and stricter enforcement measures across the country. Internal instructions issued this week to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field offices direct them to “supply Office of Immigration Litigation with 100–200 denaturalisation cases per month” in the 2026 fiscal year, the Times reported. That would mark a dramatic increase in denaturalisation cases, which, according to the Immigrant Legal Resource Centre, stood at about 11 per year between 1990 and 2017. A USCIS spokesperson told Reuters that the agency’s focus was on individuals who “unlawfully obtained US citizenship”, asserting that the expanded denaturalisation push forms part of effort...
    Tags: Americans
  • ‘We need to do more’: Australian PM vows crackdown on hate speech after Bondi shooting
    Dawn - 08:36 Dec 18, 2025
    Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday promised a crackdown on hate speech in the wake of an attack on a Jewish holiday event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, as the youngest of 15 victims was laid to rest. The alleged father-and-son gunmen opened fire as hundreds of people celebrated Hanukkah on Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach on Sunday. The attack, which shocked the nation and led to fears over rising anti-Semitism, appears to have been inspired by the Islamic State, authorities say. Criticised by many in the Jewish community for not doing enough to combat a rise in anti-Semitism since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, Albanese said the government will seek to introduce legislation that makes it easier to charge people promoting hate speech and violence. Penalties would be increased, cancelling or refusing visas would be made easier, and a regime for targeting organisations whose leaders engage in hate speech would be developed, he said. “Australians are shocked and angry. I am angry. It ...
  • England Ashes dreams on life-support as Australia rip through batting
    Dawn - 07:35 Dec 18, 2025
    A pumped-up Australia ripped through England’s fragile batting Thursday to leave the tourists staring down the barrel of a third Test defeat with their Ashes campaign on the brink, barring a miracle. At stumps on a sweltering day two, the visitors had ground to 213-8, trailing by 158 after Australia added 45 to their overnight 326-8 as temperatures soared to 40 Celsius. A gutsy Ben Stokes was not out 45 after facing 151 balls with Jofra Archer on 30 in a Test England must win and on a pitch ideal for batting. View this post on Instagram They were not helped by another suspect decision by the Snicko technology, but at least avoided the follow-on. Australia lead the five-match series 2-0 and will retain the urn if they win or draw after back-to-back eight-wicket thumpings in Perth and Brisbane. Opening pair Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley saw off the early overs from Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins. But it was a mirage with England losing three wickets for five runs in a 15-ball blitz, the latest chapter in a famili...
    Tags: Australia
  • Over 37m children vaccinated during first 3 days of ongoing nationwide polio campaign
    Dawn - 07:07 Dec 18, 2025
    Over 37 million children have been vaccinated during the first three days of the ongoing national campaign to eradicate polio in Pakistan, the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) said on Thursday. Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. So far, the country has recorded 30 polio cases this year, with the highest number of cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 19. The year’s last vaccination campaign against the crippling disease was launched by Health Minister Mustafa Kamal on December 11. The week-long campaign, which began on December 15, is aimed at vaccinating over 45m children under the age of five. According to NEOC, polio drops have been administered to 20.8m children in Punjab, over 7.4m in Sindh, 6.1m in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2.1m in Balochistan, 417,000 in Islamabad, 256,000 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 689,000 children in Azad Jammu and Kashmir during the first three days of the campaign. NEOC said in a statement that over 400,000 polio w...
    Tags: Over
  • ‘Hottest country anywhere’: In rapid-fire speech, Trump highlights victories amid sinking approval ratings
    Dawn - 06:35 Dec 18, 2025
    In a rare evening address from the White House, US President Donald Trump boasted on Wednesday of his accomplishments and blamed his Democratic predecessor for soaring consumer prices as his party braces for a tough midterm election next year. “Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I’m fixing it,” Trump said in a speech that lasted less than 20 minutes and was delivered at rapid-fire pace. The Republican president, who regularly complains that he does not get credit for his accomplishments, offered few new policy initiatives to address high costs. Instead, he placed blame at the feet of former president Joe Biden, previous trade deals, immigrants and what he described as a corrupt system. The Republican president, who regularly complains that he does not get credit for his accomplishments, touted his administration’s work this year on a range of issues from reducing border crossings to bringing down prices of some goods. Trump announced his administration would send a “warrior dividend” of $1,776 to 1.45...
    Tags: Trump
  • Pakistan seeks massive ADB loan to tackle remaining Rs1.7tr circular debt
    Dawn - 03:13 Dec 18, 2025
    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday sought substantive additional debt from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to payoff remaining Rs1.7 trillion circular debt and refinance part of recently acquired Rs1.25tr commercial financing in one-go at longer terms for bringing down expensive power tariffs and improving grid stability through demand growth. The request was formally made by Power Minister Sardar Awais Leghari to a visiting ADB delegation led by Ms Leah Gutierrez, Director General, Central and West Asia Department though he did not pitch size of the proposed loan to be discussed subsequently. ADB’s total debt stock currently stands at $17bn, the third largest after China and the World Bank. Informed sources told Dawn that the minister proposed that the Manila-based lending agency should come up with financing instruments and arrangements that could directly make power sector debt more affordable through longer payback period and cheaper interest rates than commercial financing from the market. The ADB’s finan...
    Tags: Pakistan
  • Kabul’s claim of denying militants safe haven called into question
    Dawn - 02:54 Dec 18, 2025
    • UNSC assessment reveals some senior Taliban members increasingly view TTP as a liability, others remain supportive • Report says border closures estimated to cost Afghan economy around $1 million per day • Monitoring body says Al Qaeda has ‘blended itself with TTP’, with or without Taliban acquiescence ISLAMABAD: A United Nations Security Council report has rejected the Taliban’s claim that terrorist groups are not using Afghan territory for cross-border violence, calling the assertion “not credible” and warning that neighbouring states increasingly view Afghanistan as a source of regional insecurity. The assessment is contained in the sixteenth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, submitted to the UN Security Council, as international concern grows over Afghanistan’s security landscape more than four years after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021. “The de facto authorities continue to deny that any terrorist groups have a footprint in or operate from its territory. That...
  • Goods transporters call off nationwide strike after successful negotiations with govt
    Dawn - 18:32 Dec 17, 2025
    Good transporters called off their days-long nationwide strike following successful negotiations with the government, after most of their demands had been met. “We have called off our strike, which continued for 10 days. We have done this after the federal and provincial governments of Punjab and Sindh accepted our demands and signed the settlement document,” President of the Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance (PGTA) Malik Shehzad Awan said on Wednesday. The PGTA is an organisation representing 20 major goods transport associations across the country. According to Awan, during the dialogues, the government’s representatives agreed to reduce fines to a considerable level. Similarly, demands related to axle load, problems with issuing heavy transport driving licenses, issues with customs authorities, motorway police, and disputed clauses of the Punjab Motor Vehicle Ordinance, among others, were also accepted. Talking to Dawn, All Pakistan Truck Trailer Owners Association Chairman Lala Yasir Naseer said that good...
  • US deploys military to Ecuador for anti-drugs operation
    Dawn - 18:30 Dec 17, 2025
    The United States announced a temporary deployment of Air Force personnel to Ecuador on Wednesday as part of its regional anti-narcotics campaign. There was no indication of the scale of the deployment, which comes as tensions are rising over the standoff between Latin American oil producer Venezuela and the United States. The personnel will be deployed at Ecuador’s Manta air force base, which had served as a US base for a decade until 2009. Ecuadoran voters in November overwhelmingly rejected a bid by President Daniel Noboa to lift the country’s ban on foreign bases. But according to the US embassy in Quito, the deployment is a “temporary operation with the Ecuadorian Air Force in Manta”. The “short-term joint effort” will “enhance the capacity of the Ecuadorian military forces to combat narco-terrorists, including strengthening intelligence gathering and anti-drug trafficking capabilities, and is designed to protect the United States and Ecuador from the threats we share”. Ecuador’s defence ministry said th...
    Tags: Ecuador
  • Current account turns positive in November with $100m surplus
    Dawn - 18:08 Dec 17, 2025
    The current account posted a $100 million surplus in November, which may change the trend of deficits in previous months of the current fiscal year. However, data provided by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) shows that imports were curtailed to improve trade deficit figures during the month. The previous month, October, had posted a current account deficit of $291 million. The previous fiscal year, FY25, surprised many by posting a net current account surplus of $1.932 billion and was widely celebrated by the government as a major positive for the economy. The surplus was also the result of tight import restrictions, which ultimately kept the economic growth rate well below the desired level. Policymakers have yet to announce a strategy to move away from import-led economic growth. The data shows that the $100 million surplus in November was much lower than the $709 million surplus in the same month of the previous fiscal year. In November this year, both exports and imports declined, which helped the current...
    Tags: November
  • Ali Tareen among three bidders in race to get PFF’s nod for new league
    Dawn - 17:47 Dec 17, 2025
    Ali Tareen emerged as a surprise contender in the bidding war to hold a new football league in Pakistan, with the former owner of Pakistan Super League (PSL) cricket franchise Multan Sultans in a race against two franchise league merchants, who have long tried to get an event underway. Last month, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) had invited expressions of interest from individuals and companies looking to hold a league in a bid to revive the domestic structure of the game in the country. Tareen confirmed on Wednesday, the deadline day for submission, that he had sent a proposal. “I have proposed a season (six-month) long league for Pakistan football, not a flashy, one-month cash-grab tournament,” Ali wrote on X, in a jibe at the proposed franchise leagues. Pakistan hasn’t had a functioning league since the last edition of the Pakistan Premier Football League — which had a mix of departments and a smattering of clubs — in 2019. Ali, who was denied renewal of Multan Sultans by the Pakistan Cricket Board ...
    Tags: Ali Tareen

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