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• Environment ministry okays ‘run-of-the-river’ Dulhasti Stage II, to be built in held Kashmir • Indian govt forging ahead with several hydel projects in Indus basin after unilaterally suspending treaty • Water weaponisation in climate change-prone region ‘neither sane nor acceptable’, warns Sherry Rehman NEW DELHI / ISLAMABAD: India’s Ministry of Environment has been pondering clearances for a slew of controversial hydroelectric projects on the Chenab River in the aftermath of the Pahalgam incident earlier this year. Yet, it does not seem to share serious apprehensions that leading environmentalists have expressed over their threat to a fragile Himalayan ecology. Last week, a panel under the ministry approved the 260-megawatt Dulhasti Stage-II hydropower project on the Chenab River in Kishtwar district of India-held Jammu and Kashmir, according to The Hindu. Earlier, in October, it was reported that environmental clearances were revived for the larger Sawalkote hydro-electric project on the same river. The c...

PESHAWAR: After the conclusion of a tour of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi will visit Sindh and Balochistan as part of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s street movement, said his special assistant for information Shafi Jan on Monday. In a media briefing after a cabinet meeting here, Mr Jan said that the PTI delegation comprising provincial ministers and members of the assembly and led by CM Afridi, which just concluded a visit to Punjab province to launch a street movement, achieved its objectives as restrictions prevented people from freely moving with PTI flags on Lahore roads. He said the love of Punjab residents for the PTI was evident from the warm welcome accorded to the delegation on arrival in Lahore. The chief minister’s aide regretted that the chief minister was denied permission to visit the houses of some PTI workers in the cantonment area. CM tells cabinet that funding denial by Centre has badly hit uplift projects in tribal districts He wondered if a chief minister’s entry ...

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has introduced a set of shocks covering climate-related risk measures to protect the financial institutions as the threat has been increasing with climate change. “In pursuance of its goal to further strengthen the risk management capacity of regulated financial institutions (banks, DFIs and MFBs), it has decided to introduce an additional set of shocks covering climate-related risks,” said a circular of the State Bank. Consequently, Guidelines on Climate Stress Testing are being rolled out. Climate change has emerged as a significant challenge for the domestic economy and the financial system, said the SBP. Another related circular issued by the SBP said Pakistan is among the most climate-vulnerable countries. “Consequently, its financial sector faces increasing exposure to physical and transition risks,” said the circular. New guidelines aim to strengthen risk management as climate threats intensify According to the SBP circular, the guidelines provide scenarios for...

• Companies say it must reflect sector’s ‘economic realities’, urge federal cabinet to prioritise long-term benefits over short-term revenue • Call for pragmatic approach aligned with national objectives • Zong, Huawei test high-capacity backhaul ahead of 5G rollout ISLAMABAD: The telecom industry has demanded rational conditions in the spectrum auction policy expected to be announced by the federal cabinet in the coming days, suggesting that the government needs to prioritise long-term economic benefits over short-term revenue generation. Telecom companies say spectrum is an invisible infrastructure but a crucial one as it drives digital connectivity — the foundation of modern life. Financial technology adoption, freelancer platforms, and digital tools used by schools and hospitals all depend on mobile broadband capacity. However, the problem is that while the demand for connectivity has surged in the country, spectrum availability remains scarce. Currently, Pakistan has just 274 MHz of spectrum allocated na...

An Investigation from ZachXBT traced the suspect through posts gloating on social media and Telegram activity. An alleged scammer posing as a Coinbase help desk worker has reportedly stolen around $2 million in crypto from users of the exchange, according to blockchain sleuth ZachXBT.  In a Monday X post, ZachXBT claimed that he had managed to pinpoint the identity of the alleged scammer after cross referencing Telegram group chat screen shots, social media posts and wallet transactions.   ZachXBT alleged that the “Canadian threat actor” had “stolen $2M+ via Coinbase support impersonation social engineering scams in the past year blowing the funds on rare social media usernames, bottle service, & gambling,” Read more

DERA BUGTI: Baloch­is­tan Chief Minister Mir Sar­fraz Ahmed Bugti on Monday formally assumed responsibilities as the eighth chief of the Bugti tribes. The position is the highest rank within the Bugti tribe after Nawab Aali Bugti, who heads all six Bugti clans and was chosen as the Nawab following the death of his grand­father, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti. According to historical records, the title of Chief of Bugti was conferred on Mir Sarfraz Bugti’s grandfather in the early 1800s, reflecting a long-standing tradition of tribal leadership and governance within the Bugti community. The turban-tying (Dastar Bandi) ceremony was held in the Bekar area of Dera Bugti district and was attended by tribal chiefs, elders and pro­minent figures from the Bug­ti tribes. Mir Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti was formally adorned with the turban, marking his official elevation as Chief of the Bugti tribes. Members of the Nawab Bugti family, including Nawab­­zada Zamran Saleem Akbar Bugti, were also present. Addressing the gathering, Mir Sar...

Într-un interviu pentru RBC Ucraina, colonelul Andri Juravlov, șeful adjunct al Forțelor de Rachete și al Comandamentului de Artilerie din cadrul Forțelor Terestre ale armatei ucrainene a vorbit despre cum a evoluat utilizarea artileriei pe parcursul anilor de război ruso-ucrainean.

De Oekraïense president Zelensky zegt dat zijn land de oorlog tegen Rusland alleen kan winnen als de Verenigde Staten blijven helpen. Zonder die steun wordt het volgens hem erg moeilijk voor Oekraïne. Volg alle ontwikkelingen over de oorlog in Oekraïne in ons liveblog.

Pe măsură ce ne apropiem de sfârșitul anului, lumea financiară arată cu totul altfel decât optimismul „aterizării line” care domnea în previziunile de acum douăsprezece luni.

Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi predicts Big Tech and Fortune 100 companies will start building in crypto in 2026, but that corporate L1s will fail to challenge Ethereum and Solana. A Big Tech company will integrate a crypto wallet in 2026, and more Fortune 100 companies will start their own blockchains, crypto VC firm Dragonfly’s managing partner Haseeb Qureshi has predicted. He also tipped that fintechs launching L1s to compete with public chains like Ethereum and Solana will fail to attract enough users. In a post to X on Monday, Qureshi said much of the Fortune 100 adoption is likely to come from the banking and fintech sectors, with many leveraging the Avalanche blockchain and existing crypto toolkits like OP stack, Orbit, and ZK Stack. The setup would enable these networks to more private and permissioned while remaining connected to a public blockchain. A number of Fortune 100 firms in the financial services industry have already built private blockchains, including JPMorgan, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs,...

De Salvadoraanse president Nayib Bukele, die in 2019 aan de macht kwam en nu bezig is aan zijn tweede ambtstermijn die door critici als ongrondwettelijk wordt beschouwd, heeft gezegd dat hij openstaat voor een verlenging van zijn ambtstermijn met nog eens tien jaar.

According to the results of environmental monitoring, as of December 29, no oil waste pollution was detected in the Black Sea and on the sandy area of seven beaches in Odesa.

Pentru Europa, ultimii ani nu au adus clarificări, ci mai degrabă o acumulare de ezitări periculoase. Războiul din Ucraina a devenit testul suprem al coeziunii occidentale, iar rezultatele nu sunt încurajatoare.

Информация о том, что Украина беспилотниками атаковала резиденцию президента России Владимира Путина в Новгородской области — фейк, ведь местные жители вообще не слышали работы ПВО в городе.

Angajații cu salariul minim pe economie vor beneficia în 2026 de o serie de facilități fiscale, aprobate de Guvern prin așa numita „Ordonanță trenuleț”. Facilitățile vor fi acordate pe întreg anul, dar numai dacă salariatul îndeplinește anumite condiții.

Luke Littler heeft een zwaarbevochten zege geboekt op Rob Cross in de vierde ronde van het WK darts. De wereldkampioen was met 4-2 te sterk voor zijn 35-jarige tegenstander en plaatste zich voor de kwartfinale. Na afloop liet The Nuke zijn emoties de vrije loop en lachte hij de dartsfans die hem uitfloten uit. „Jullie betalen mijn prijzengeld!”

Sarina Wiegman is door de Britse koning Charles benoemd tot Honorary Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE) voor haar uitzonderlijke bijdrage aan het voetbal.

Sarina Wiegman heeft maandag de hoogste Britse onderscheiding voor een buitenlandse vrouw gekregen. De bondscoach van de Engelse voetbalsters gaat na de tweede Europese titel op rij als 'Dame' door het leven in het Verenigd Koninkrijk.

In the Boryspil district of the Kyiv region, on the Kyiv-Kharkiv highway, one person died and 13 were injured as a result of a collision between two cars and a minibus.

Rusia utilizează compania petrolieră sârbă NIS ca mijloc de presiune politică asupra Belgradului, potrivit unei serii de mesaje transmise public, într-un interval scurt, de la Moscova.