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  • In pictures: Indians struggle through smog epidemic
    Dawn - 15:25 Nov 21, 2025
    A man moves his boat through foam on the polluted Yamuna river, on a smoggy morning amid ongoing air pollution in New Delhi, India, on November 21. — ReutersNew Delhi, with its sprawling metropolitan region of 30 million residents, is regularly ranked among the world’s most polluted capitals. Acrid smog blankets the skyline each winter, when cooler air traps pollutants close to the ground, creating a deadly mix of emissions from crop burning, factories and heavy traffic. Here are some pictures from the Indian capital today. A man moves his boat through foam on the polluted Yamuna river, on a smoggy morning amid ongoing air pollution in New Delhi, India, on November 21. — Reuters A fisherman uses a string to catch fish through foam on the polluted Yamuna river, on a smoggy morning amid ongoing air pollution in New Delhi, India, on November 21. — Reuters Boats move through foam on the polluted Yamuna river, on a smoggy morning amid ongoing air pollution in New Delhi, India, on November 21. — Reuters A fisherman on a boat stands next to a fishing net covered with foam, on the polluted Yamuna river, on a smoggy morning amid ongoing air pollution in New Delhi, India, ...
  • PIA cabin crew member reportedly goes missing in Canada, airline initiates inquiry
    Dawn - 15:17 Nov 21, 2025
    A Pakistan International Airlines flight attendant has reportedly gone missing in Canada, prompting the airline to launch an inquiry into his disappearance. ​According to PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez Khan, the attendant did not report for flight PK-798 from Toronto to Lahore. “When contacted, he cited ill health as an excuse,” the spokesperson said, adding that the matter is being investigated. “In case of illegal disappearance, departmental action will be initiated against the flight attendant,” Khan said. Missing PIA crew members, particularly in Canada, have been reported in the past, too. Last year in October, a cabin crew member was reportedly gone missing while on duty. The missing crew member, based in Islamabad, had disappeared during a layover in Toronto. Similarly, a 47-year-old PIA steward was reportedly gone missing in Canada in March 2024. In February 2024, another member of the airline’s cabin crew was reported missing while on duty. The member had arrived in Toronto on PIA flight PK-782 fro...
    Tags: Canada
  • Ozempic, Wegovy users who suffered vision loss compensated by Danish govt
    Dawn - 14:55 Nov 21, 2025
    Four people in Denmark who developed serious eye conditions after using popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic are entitled to compensation, an independent body ruled on Friday. More than 40 people had sought reimbursement after they said they had developed a serious eye condition as a result of using one of the drugs, both made by Novo Nordisk, according to the Danish Patient Compensation Association. The condition, NAION (non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy), is a lack of blood supply to the optic nerve, which can lead to a loss of vision. The association said that it had ruled on five cases so far, and found four people who merited compensation. “It’s unfortunate for the patients who have been affected by the side effect. NAION is a serious condition that causes permanent and incurable damage to vision,” the association’s director, Karen-Inger Bast, said in a statement. Bast added that the cases were difficult to assess, given that it was a new medicine and the patients were...
  • How many Indian Air Force jets have crashed in non-combat incidents over the last five years?
    Dawn - 14:45 Nov 21, 2025
    An image of an Indian Air Force MiG-29K. — Photo courtesy The Times of India/FileAn Indian fighter aircraft, the indigenously developed Tejas, crashed during a demonstration flight at the Dubai Air Show on Friday. A fireball was seen immediately after the aircraft impacted the ground, with thick black smoke rising from the site of the incident. In a post on X, the Indian Air Force (IAF) confirmed the death of the pilot in the incident. This is not the first time an IAF jet has been destroyed in an accident. Here’s a list of crashes reported over the past five years. 2020 February 23: MiG-29K An IAF MiG-29k crashed off the coast of Goa, The Times of India reported, quoting an Indian Navy spokesperson. The aircraft had been on a routine training sortie. An image of an Indian Air Force MiG-29K. — Photo courtesy The Times of India/File 2021 March 17: MiG-21 Bison An IAF pilot was killed when his MiG-21 Bison aircraft crashed in central India. Group Captain A Gupta had taken off for a combat training mission from an airbase before he experienced the fatal accident, an IAF statement said. It ad...
  • South Africa accepts huge rate of violence against women is national disaster
    Dawn - 14:40 Nov 21, 2025
    South Africa said on Friday the rate of violence against women in the country was a national disaster, as thousands protested to highlight the problem ahead of this weekend’s G20 summit of world leaders. The country has one of the world’s highest rates of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), leading to deaths five times higher than the global average, according to the United Nations’s gender equality organisation UN Women. In one of dozens of “lie-in” protests countrywide, thousands of people dressed in black lay on the ground for 15 minutes at an event in Johannesburg’s city centre, just a few kilometres (miles) from the venue where G20 leaders will meet on Saturday and Sunday. Organisers said the action was to honour the 15 women murdered every day in South Africa. A 2022 government survey found that one in three South African women had experienced physical violence, and almost 10 per cent had faced sexual violence. More than 10,700 cases of rape were reported to police in the first three months of 20...
  • Newly formed AJK cabinet assigned portfolios by PM Rathore
    Dawn - 14:33 Nov 21, 2025
    Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore on Friday allocated portfolios to his 18 ministers and two advisers, two days after the formation of his cabinet. According to an official notification, the senior-most minister, Mian Abdul Waheed, retained the department of law, justice, parliamentary affairs and human rights, which he had also held in the previous coalition government. Sardar Javed Ayoub was assigned forests, wildlife, fisheries and the Muzaffarabad Development Authority; Syed Bazil Ali Naqvi was given health and population welfare; Javed Iqbal Budhanvi received food; and Nabila Ayoub was allocated the portfolio of the Kashmir cause, arts and languages. The portfolios of works and communications (C&W), local government and rural development and finance and inland revenue also went to the PPP loyalists, Sardar Ziaul Qamar, Chaudhry Amar Yasin and Chaudhry Qasim Majeed, respectively. Yasin is the son of PPP AJK President Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin, who was overlooked for the ...
  • Karachi residents face acute water shortage amid frequent KE power failures
    Dawn - 14:10 Nov 21, 2025
    Karachi’s residents continued to face a worsening water crisis on Friday due to repeated electricity outages by K-Electric (KE), which have disrupted the city’s water pumping operations According to the spokesperson for the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC), the city’s crucial K-3 pumping station experienced a major electric breakdown late last night, and the fault had yet to be resolved. The spokesperson said the station had also faced a significant breakdown on Tuesday, with electricity restored only a day ago after a 41-hour delay. Just hours later, the electric cable fault reappeared, forcing the station to shut down again. The station had been temporarily shut down on Monday to fix technical issues, but problems persisted. The breakdowns have caused an estimated total loss of 335 million gallons of water, severely affecting the supply across Karachi. Areas such as North Nazimabad, Gulberg Town, Gulistan-i-Johar, Scheme 33, various blocks of Gulshan-e-Iqbal, New Karachi, Saddar and Clifton are...
    Tags: Karachi
  • Explainer: What you need to know about India’s indigenously developed HAL Tejas
    Dawn - 14:03 Nov 21, 2025
    A file photo of the HAL Tejas Light Combat Aircraft. — AFPAn Indian fighter aircraft, the indigenously developed Tejas Mk1A, crashed during a demonstration flight at the Dubai Air Show on Friday. The jet, developed by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), crashed at about 2:10pm local time. According to the Indian Air Force (IAF), the pilot of the jet died in the crash. Here are some facts about New Delhi’s indigenous fighter aircraft. Made in India The LCA (Light Combat Aircraft) Tejas is a 4.5-generation multirole, single-engine, all-weather fighter aircraft designed to perform air and ground combat roles, according to its manufacturer HAL. It is currently operated by India’s navy and air force. The Tejas Mk1A, which was involved in today’s accident, features a delta-wing configuration and is powered by an American General Electric F404-GE-IN20 turbofan engine. The jet, named after the Sanskrit word for “radiance”, reportedly carries an Advanced Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system and, with eight hardpoints, can fit a variety of weapons ranging fro...
    Tags: India
  • 7 killed in attack on peace committee office in Bannu
    Dawn - 13:30 Nov 21, 2025
    Seven people were killed when a peace committee office was attacked in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, police said on Friday. Police officials told Dawn that one among those killed was a ‘good Talib’ — a term used to refer to a former militant who has surrendered to the state — and the rest were his relatives. In their complaint to the police, the victims’ family has maintained that the attack was a result of a family feud. However, police say the family has taken the stance to avoid another potential attack carried out in retaliation. The first information report (FIR) of the incident was registered at Havaid police station under Sections 302 (punishment for intentional murder), 324 (attempt of intentional murder), 149 (every member of an unlawful assembly guilty of an offence committed in prosecution of common objective) and 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon) of the Pakistan Penal Code. The FIR said that the suspects barged into the victims’ baithak (guesthouse), opened fire on them and fled. Thre...
    Tags: Bannu
  • Earthquake jolts Bangladesh, killing five and injuring around 100
    Dawn - 13:04 Nov 21, 2025
    At least five people, including a child, were killed and around 100 injured when a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck Bangladesh on Friday, the government said, with buildings damaged in many areas including the densely populated capital Dhaka. Tremors were felt in eastern states in neighbouring India that border Bangladesh, but there were no immediate reports of major damage there, authorities said. View this post on Instagram Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, said the injured included students from Dhaka University, factory workers in the city of Gazipur and residents of Narsingdi, the epicenter of the earthquake. His statement gave no details of how the five died. Police said earlier three people had been killed when the railing of a six-storey building collapsed during the earthquake. Several of the injured taken to hospital from Narsingdi, about 40 kilometres east of Dhaka, were in a critical condition, health adviser Nurjahan Begum told reporters. Dhaka residents rushed out of th...
  • ‘Honoured’ as US Congress members acknowledge CM Punjab’s bold plan to mechanise brick kilns: Marriyum
    Dawn - 09:59 Nov 21, 2025
    Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Friday said she was “honoured” that members of the US Congressional Pakistan Caucus have recognised the provincial chief minister’s “bold vision” to mechanise brick kilns, end bonded labour and “peshgi” exploitation, and build a green, ethical and “investment-ready” brick kiln industry. Peshgi system is the commonly used term for the practice of debt bondage in Pakistan. Instead of just seeking wages in exchange for labour, poor workers take an advance from an employer (in cash or any other form) under the obligation to work for that employer until the debt is paid off. “Child labour at kilns, once a painful reality, was eliminated under a campaign initiated by [then chief minister] Shehbaz Sharif, neglected for [four] years, and now fully revived and strengthened by CM Maryam Nawaz,” Aurangzeb said in a post on X. The senior minister’s post highlighted that all brick kilns across Punjab have been geo-mapped, QR-coded, drone-surveyed and linked to a central monitor...
    Tags: Punjab
  • Mohsin Naqvi announces revised prize money for next PSL edition
    Dawn - 09:54 Nov 21, 2025
    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Friday announced a “new reward” for the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL) edition set to be held in April 2026. “Complementing the Pakistan Super League’s growth, I am thrilled to announce a new reward for franchises in the forthcoming editions,” Naqvi said on X. The champions will take home $500,000 — the same as the 2025 edition — while the runner-up team will take home $300,000, which is an increase of the previous year’s $200,000 reward. Additionally, a $200,000 reward will be given to the “best franchise contributing towards cricket development. Separately, PCB announced on Friday that the auction for the two new PSL franchise teams will take place on 6 January, 2026, while the decision for which cities have been shortlisted will be made after December 15. “This marks a significant milestone in the league’s continued expansion and its commitment to expanding its footprint across Pakistan,” the board said of the development. “The addition of two new...
  • Modi heads to South Africa for G20 summit boycotted by Trump
    Dawn - 08:23 Nov 21, 2025
    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was earlier reported to have skipped out on attending an Asean summit to avoid broaching the issue of Pakistan in a possible meeting with United States President Donald Trump, will be attending the G20 summit in South Africa which has been boycotted by the American leader. The Kolkata-based Telegraph reported that Modi had avoided the last two multilateral platforms where the US President was present — the Asean summit in Malaysia and Trump’s Gaza Peace Summit in Egypt — “resulting in speculation that the prime minister was trying to avoid a meeting with the American leader till the India-US trade deal is finalised”. Trump’s administration has said it will not attend the first G20 summit in Africa, alleging that the host country, previously ruled by its white minority apartheid system until 1994, discriminates against white people. The US president has also rejected South Africa’s agenda for the November 22-23 summit of promoting solidarity and helping developing natio...
  • FCC chief justice hopes court will stand as ‘guardian of constitutionalism, enduring symbol of justice’
    Dawn - 08:03 Nov 21, 2025
    Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan said on Friday that he hoped the institution would “stand as a guardian of constitutionalism and an enduring symbol of justice for generations to come”. The FCC was established under the recently enacted 27th Constitutional Amendment amid much opposition from the opposition and within the judiciary. According to government officials, the creation of the FCC is intended to reduce the Supreme Court’s workload, ensure timely adjudication of constitutional cases, and strengthen the independence and credibility of the judicial system. “The creation of this court represents an important moment in the nation’s ongoing constitutional journey,” Justice Aminuddin said in a message posted on the newly launched website for the FCC. “One that reinforces our collective commitment to the rule of law and to the enduring promise of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” he stressed. He said that the FCC “has been entrusted with a mandate of great ...
  • CCP issues notices to private schools for ‘forcing parents to buy costly supplies from exclusive vendors’
    Dawn - 07:33 Nov 21, 2025
    The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) on Friday said it had issued show-cause notices to seventeen major private school systems for allegedly forcing parents to buy branded supplies from exclusive authorised vendors. “The CCP has issued show cause notices to seventeen major private school systems for allegedly abusing their dominant position by compelling parents to purchase expensive, logo-branded notebooks, workbooks, and uniforms exclusively from school-authorised vendors,” a press release by the CCP said. “The action has been taken to safeguard millions of school-going children and their families from unfair pricing practices,” it added. According to the commission, the enforcement action follows a detailed suo motu inquiry initiated on the basis of numerous complaints from parents, guardians, and other stakeholders. It said that the complainants alleged “arbitrary fee hikes, non-transparent selling practices, and the bundling of mandatory branded school supplies, effectively leaving families with ...
  • Afridi pens letter to Maryam over manhandling of Imran’s sisters, denial of his visitation rights
    Dawn - 06:13 Nov 21, 2025
    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, in a letter to his counterpart in Punjab, Maryam Nawaz, has raised concerns over the alleged manhandling of PTI founder Imran Khan’s sisters by police and the obstruction of the incarcerated ex-premier’s visitation rights. The development comes after Afridi on Thursday was denied access to meet Imran for a seventh time. Further, two days ago police had allegedly manhandled and “violently detained” Imran’s sisters from outside Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, where they were camped out after being denied a weekly meeting with him. The letter, which was shared by the PTI on social media platform X early on Friday, said that Afridi wished to draw Maryam’s attention to “serious concerns” regarding the “administration of court-mandated visitation rights” of Imran and the recent treatment of his family members. “Clear and binding judicial directions govern Imran’s visitation schedule. These orders explicitly permit his close family members and nominated individuals to meet...
  • Haphazard growth
    Dawn - 02:54 Nov 21, 2025
    KARACHI may be Pakistan’s largest city and its economic engine, but the metropolis suffers from a poor quality of life for the teeming millions who call it home. This is mainly due to official neglect, manifested in the form of crumbling infrastructure, high pollution levels, and violent crime. Yet the city is due to expand in the decades to come, and unless there is commensurate planning to cope with this growth, an even more unliveable urban hell awaits future generations. According to the UN’s World Urbanisation Prospects 2025 report, Karachi could be the globe’s fifth most populous city by 2050, with a population of around 33m. This is in keeping with the worldwide trend of rapid urbanisation. But as Karachi expands, its services and infrastructure are not growing apace. As per the Economist Intelligence Unit’s ranking from earlier this year, it is amongst the world’s five least liveable cities. If this dubious distinction is to change, much work is needed at the official level. The Sindh government has s...
  • Govt agrees on asset declaration reforms to combat corruption
    Dawn - 02:52 Nov 21, 2025
    • IMF highlights need for risk-based asset verification • Says NAB’s ‘political compromise’ hindering anti-corruption efforts • Seeks autonomous oversight body to audit internal control processes ISLAMABAD: With the Inter­national Monetary Fund (IMF) describing the country’s top anti-corruption agency, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), as a “political compromise”, the government has agreed to the publication of asset declarations of high-level public officials in 2026 and their risk-based verification to improve the country’s accountability and integrity standards against widespread corruption. According to IMF’s Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment (GCDA), released by the Ministry of Finance as a structural benchmark of the ongoing $7 billion loan programme, the two sides have agreed under a short-term action plan to “strengthen accountability and integrity among high-level federal civil servants by initiating the publication of asset declarations in 2026, and introduce risk-based verifica...
  • JF-17 draws ‘significant attention’ at Dubai Airshow; friendly country signs MOU for procurement of jet
    Dawn - 19:00 Nov 20, 2025
    The JF-17 Thunder Block-III drew significant attention, emerging as a “major focal point” at the Dubai Airshow 2025, with an MoU (memorandum of understanding) signed with a friendly country for the procurement of the jet. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), in a statement released on Thursday, said that several countries also expressed interest in acquiring the battle-proven fighter aircraft. The fighter has proved its combat capabilities during two conflicts with arch-rival India in 2019 and 2025. The biennial airshow is being held at Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport from November 17-21. “Demonstrating increasing international confidence in Pakistan’s aviation industry, several countries expressed interest in acquiring the JF-17 Thunder. In a noteworthy development, an MoU was signed with a friendly country for the procurement of the JF-17 Thunder, marking another significant milestone in Pakistan’s expanding defence and industrial partnerships.” A Pakistan Air Force (PAF) contingent arrived ...
  • HRCP demands inquiry into ‘manhandling’ of Imran’s sisters outside Adiala Jail
    Dawn - 18:56 Nov 20, 2025
    The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan expressed concern and called for an inquiry into the alleged mistreatment of PTI founder Imran Khan’s sisters by police as the former were camped outside Adiala Jail. In a post on X today, HRCP expressed concerns over the reports of Imran’s sisters being “manhandled” and noted that the rights of prisoners’ families to meet their relatives and the right to peaceful assembly are protected under national and international human rights law. “Witness and media accounts indicate that family members and party representatives were engaged in a peaceful protest when police intervened, allegedly using physical force,” the statement read. “HRCP calls for a transparent inquiry and urges authorities to ensure the rights, safety and dignity of all involved are fully respected,” it added. The PTI had held a protest outside the jail on Tuesday, where Imran is currently incarcerated, but the jail administration did not allow party leaders and the PTI founder’s family to meet him. Subseq...

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