Dawn
Source:
https://www.dawn.com
Found 7421 news
-
Dawn - 12:21 Oct 09, 2025
Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature, the award-giving body said on Thursday. The prize is awarded by the Swedish Academy and is worth 11 million crowns ($1.2 million). Established in the will of Swedish dynamite inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel, the prizes for achievements in literature, science and peace have been awarded since 1901. “The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2025 is awarded to the Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art,” said Mats Malm, Permanent Secretary at the Swedish Academy. Past winners of the 11 million Swedish crown ($1.2 million) literature prize include French poet and essayist Sully Prudhomme, who bagged the first award, American novelist and short story writer William Faulkner in 1949, Britain’s World War Two Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1953, Turkey’s Orhan Pamuk in 2006 and Norway’s Jon Fosse in 2023. Last year’s prize was won... -
Dawn - 12:14 Oct 09, 2025
Afghanistan’s foreign minister arrived in India on Thursday for talks aiming to foster economic ties with New Delhi in the first such visit by a leader of the group since it seized power in 2021. The six-day trip by Amir Khan Muttaqi highlights the Taliban’s efforts to spur engagement with regional powers to secure eventual diplomatic recognition. He is set to meet Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and other officials to discuss a range of political, economic and trade matters. “We look forward to engaging discussions with him on bilateral relations and regional issues,” foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X welcoming the minister. Muttaqi is also expected to speak with Indian business representatives, visit the ancient monument to love, the Taj Mahal, and a historic Islamic seminary, media said. He arrives in New Delhi after talks in Moscow with diplomats from Afghanistan’s neighbours, who appeared to unite against US President Donald Trump’s stated aim of taking over the... -
Dawn - 12:07 Oct 09, 2025
Britain said on Thursday it had signed a £350 million ($468m) contract to supply the Indian army with UK-manufactured lightweight missiles, as part of a deepening weapons and defence partnership between the two countries. The announcement came as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was visiting Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Mumbai, where the pair hailed the potential of the commercial links from their months-old trade deal. In its statement on the defence deal, the British government said the new contract for Lightweight Multirole Missiles made by Thales in Northern Ireland would secure 700 jobs at a factory which currently makes the same weapons for Ukraine. British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, deliver a statement to the press at Raj Bhavan, in Mumbai, India, on October 9. — Reuters “The deal paves the way for a broader complex weapons partnership between the UK and India, currently under negotiation between the two governments,” it said. Starmer has, ... -
Dawn - 11:59 Oct 09, 2025
A London high court has ruled against YouTuber and former Pakistan Army officer retired Major Adil Farooq Raja in a high-profile defamation case filed by retired Brigadier Rashid Nasir, a former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officer. The defamation suit was filed in August 2022, but was made public in April after the respondent stirred another controversy in Pakistan over his allegations targeting leading film and TV actresses. On Thursday, the court found Raja’s allegations of corruption, electoral interference, and human rights abuses against Nasir to be “false and baseless”, ordering him to pay £350,000 in damages and legal costs. Justice Richard Spearman KC delivered the judgment, ordering Raja to pay £50,000 (around Rs20 million) in damages and approximately £300,000 (around Rs110m) in legal costs. The court also directed Raja to publish a summary of the verdict on all his social media platforms, confirming that his claims against Nasir were untrue. In addition, he must apologise and give a written a... -
Dawn - 11:35 Oct 09, 2025
Otis Khan missed a penalty as Pakistan played out a goalless draw against Afghanistan at the Jinnah Stadium in Islamabad on Thursday, securing their first point in the third round of qualifying for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. Nolberto Solano’s side had the better of the opportunities against the jaded visitors, who only arrived in Islamabad less than 24 hours before kickoff due to a prolonged visa problem. However, the hosts weren’t able to capitalise on the chances — notably Otis’ opportunity when he blazed his spot-kick over the bar midway through the second half — in front of a fervent home crowd. The draw meant Pakistan and Afghanistan both got off the mark in Group ‘E’, and they trail joint-leaders Syria and Myanmar by five points. Syria were hosting Myanmar later on Thursday in a clash between two teams with maximum points from their two games. The winner of the group advances to the tournament finals in Saudi Arabia. -
Dawn - 11:32 Oct 09, 2025
A Chinese research team from the Institute of Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences has uncovered a key mechanism explaining why different organisms independently evolve similar functions when adapting to similar environments, using an artificial intelligence (AI) protein language model. Convergent evolution, or convergence, refers to the repeated, independent emergence of the same trait in two or more lineages of species during evolution, often indicating functional adaptation to specific environmental factors. The research team uncovered the critical role of high-order protein features in adaptive convergence. Despite the significant evolutionary distance between bats and toothed whales, both species have independently developed the ability to perceive their environment through echolocation. The research team, led by Zou Zhengting, proposed a computational analysis framework named “ACEP”. The core innovation of this framework lies in its use of a pre-trained protein language model. “A protein language ... -
Dawn - 10:00 Oct 09, 2025
Google announced on Thursday that Pakistani students of age 18 and above will be able to gain access to a free one-year subscription to its AI Pro plan. According to a press release by the company, the offer is designed to help students “enhance their learning, research, and creativity through advanced AI tools — at no cost”. The Gemini AI Pro Plan allows these students to access Google’s most capable AI features. These include the Gemini 2.5 Pro model, which gives higher access to its “most capable model” for features like Deep Research to assist with assignments, research, and creative projects. Gemini is also available in Google Apps, “bringing AI assistance directly into Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Meet, helping students summarise emails, create study presentations, and analyse data more efficiently”. Students also gain access to NotebookLM, Google’s personalised, AI-powered research and writing tool, and are given higher limits to tools for creating videos from text or photos, including Veo 3 in Gem... -
Dawn - 09:23 Oct 09, 2025
Italy are struggling to qualify automatically for next year’s World Cup finals and the pressure on the team is exacerbated by the tension surrounding next Tuesday’s qualifier with Israel in Udine. Italy was the scene of some of Europe’s biggest pro-Palestinian protests last weekend, as Israeli forces continue their offensive in Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered across Italy in anger at Israel’s actions, and calls for the country to be barred from international sport have grown louder. The protests were in response to Israel’s military operation in Gaza, which was sparked by the attack by Hamas fighters on October 7, 2023, on Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip. During Friday’s massive strike action in support of the Palestinians, demonstrators went to the Italian national team’s training centre in Florence to demand the match against Israel be called off. As of Tuesday only around 4,000 tickets had been sold for the game in Udine, a small city in Italy’s far north-east, which was picked speci... -
Dawn - 09:12 Oct 09, 2025
In a bid to conserve marine biodiversity, Pakistan has launched a project — estimated to cost Rs90 million — to protect sea turtles during shrimp trawling using Standardised Turtle Excluder (TEDs), the maritime affairs ministry said on Thursday. Sea turtles along Pakistan’s coast face many anthropogenic threats, including habitat degradation, plastic pollution, and entanglement in fishing gears such as deep-sea trawlers. Pakistan’s shrimp exports to the US have been banned since 2017 because fishermen were not using the TED in their nets, endangering turtles. A TED is a specialised mechanism fitted into shrimp trawl nets that allows sea turtles and other large marine animals to escape while retaining shrimp, the statement said. “Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry has announced the launch of a PKR 90 million initiative aimed at protecting sea turtles during shrimp trawling operations, as part of broader efforts to sustain marine biodiversity and ensure the long-term health of ... -
Dawn - 07:45 Oct 09, 2025
A cop was martyred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan as a police checkpoint came under attack from multiple sides by terrorists late on Wednesday, officials confirmed on Thursday. Recently, multiple areas of KP — including Bannu, Peshawar, Karak, Lakki Marwat and Bajaur — have seen a series of terrorist attacks, particularly targeting police personnel. DI Khan Regional Police Officer (RPO) Ashfaq Anwar confirmed to Dawn.com that a police checkpoint in DI Khan’s Khutti area was attacked by terrorists from multiple sides. When asked to confirm if the checkpoint in charge — identified as Ahmed Nawaz — was seriously injured during the attack and later succumbed to his injuries, Anwar said, “Yes.” Funeral prayers for the deceased were offered today at the Ijaz Shaheed Police Lines, the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported. In attendance at the funeral were: RPO Ashfaq Anwar, District Police Officer Sahibzada Sajjad Ahmad, SPs of CTD, investigation, city, and headquarters, officers of security forces,... -
Dawn - 07:20 Oct 09, 2025
A major of the Pakistan Army was martyred and seven terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) by security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan district, the military’s media wing said on Thursday. The development comes a day after the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that 11 security personnel, including a lieutenant colonel and a major, were martyred in an exchange of fire between the forces and the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists in KP’s Orakzai district. According to the ISPR’s statement issued today, security forces carried out the IBO on Wednesday on the reported presence of “khwarij belonging to Indian proxy, Fitna al Khwarij” in the Daraban area of DI Khan. Fitna al Khwarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned TTP. During the operation, the ISPR said, seven “Indian-sponsored khwarij were sent to hell” due to effective engagement by security forces’ troops. However, during the intense exchange of fire, 30-year-... -
Dawn - 07:13 Oct 09, 2025
Foreign observation mission Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) has clarified that the time taken to write and release its reports “varies considerably” with each group and that the report on Pakistan’s 2024 general elections was finalised by the end of that year. The COG report, released to the public on September 30, had been the subject of some controversy after media reports suggested the Commonwealth had buried the report after finding the polls to be riddled with problems. According to the letter of transmittal appended to the report, it was submitted by the COG to the Commonwealth secretary general on Nov 20, 2024. “The length of time taken to write COG reports, and similarly, the finalisation and release of the publication, varies considerably with each COG. Other factors affecting the release dates include legal challenges and disputes. In this case, a comprehensive report of over 160 pages was finalised by the end of 2024,” the Commonwealth said in a statement on Tuesday. It added that its secretariat... -
Dawn - 05:02 Oct 09, 2025
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday that it had made “significant progress” toward reaching a staff-level agreement (SLA) in its talks with Pakistani authorities. An IMF mission led by Iva Petrova met with Pakistan’s economic team in Karachi and Islamabad from September 24 to October 8 to review the implementation of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and $1.1bn Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The programme’s performance as of the end of June this year — the period under review — has been mixed. Last month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had urged the lender to take into account the recent flood damage in its review for the country. In a statement released early on Thursday, the Fund quoted Petrova as saying, “The IMF mission and the Pakistani authorities made significant progress toward reaching a staff-level agreement on the second review under the 37-month extended arrangement under the EFF and on the first review of 28-month arrangement under the RSF”. “Programme i... -
Dawn - 03:57 Oct 09, 2025
LAHORE: Violence broke out in the city late on Wednesday night, after police launched a crackdown on the headquarters of Tehreek-i- Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in a bid to arrest its chief, Saad Rizvi. At least three police constables were reportedly injured in clashes with enraged TLP supporters, who attacked law enforcers with stones and iron rods. Police responded with tear-gas shelling, turning Multan Road into a battleground. Videos shared on social media, which could not be immediately verified by Dawn, showed TLP activists running as police fired tear gas. Other clips showed TLP activists holding up spent bullet casings and tear gas shells. The crackdown on TLP’s central office came after the group announced plans for a massive anti-Israel demonstration outside the US embassy in the federal capital on Friday. In anticipation of the protest, the Islamabad administration has also begun placing shipping containers at Faizabad Interchange — the historic site of several TLP sit-ins. A statement issued by TLP ... -
Dawn - 19:30 Oct 08, 2025
President Asif Ali Zardari discussed the country’s political situation with Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Wednesday night amid the continuing spat between federal coalition partners PPP and PML-N. The PPP and the PML-N’s Punjab leadership have been engaged in a war of words for the past many days over issues ranging from flood compensation to water rights in the context of the Cholistan canals project. The PPP, which is in power in Sindh, has been particularly incensed by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s remarks, whose party is also leading the federal government. Concerted efforts have been made by leading figures, such as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Zardari, who have stepped in to defuse tensions, with the latter also calling on Naqvi to play his role for a possible rapprochement. A statement issued from the President’s Secretariat late at night said Zardari discussed national and global issues with Foreign Minister Dar, National Assembly Speaker A... -
Dawn - 19:07 Oct 08, 2025
PTI’s Ali Amin Gandapur said on Wednesday that he resigned from his role as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister while the party’s general secretary, Salman Akram Raja, confirmed that party founder Imran Khan directed Sohail Afridi to assume the role of provincial chief executive. In a post on X following today’s surprise developments, Gandapur said: “In respectful compliance of the orders of my leader … Imran Khan, it is my honour to tender my resignation.” He also attached a copy of his resignation sent to KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi. “When I took over as chief minister, the province was faced with a dual challenge of financial ruin and menace of terrorism. Over the last one and a half year, with the support of my cabinet, our party members and workers, my team of bureaucracy and above all, guidance of Imran Khan, we steered the province to financial stability and countered the menace of militancy with resolute courage and unwavering decision-making. We initiated mega projects of nation-building in a provin... -
Dawn - 18:51 Oct 08, 2025
Eleven military personnel, including a lieutenant colonel and a major, were martyred during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Orakzai district, the military’s media affairs wing said on Wednesday. A statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that last night, security forces conducted an IBO in Orakzai district on the reported presence of terrorists belonging to Indian proxy Fitna Al Khawarij. Fitna Al Khawarij is the state-designated term for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). “During the conduct of operation, 19 Indian-sponsored khwarij were sent to hell due to effective engagement by own troops,” the ISPR said. It added that during the exchange of fire, 39-year-old Lieutenant Colonel Junaid Tariq, who was leading his troops from the front, and his second-in-command, 33-year-old Major Tayyab Rahat, embraced martyrdom along with nine of their men. The soldiers were identified as 38-year-old Naib Subedar Azam Gul, 35-year-old Naik Adil Hussain, 34-year-ol... -
Dawn - 18:31 Oct 08, 2025
Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first footballer to reach billionaire status, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which has valued the Portugal great’s net worth at an estimated $1.4 billion. The 40-year-old striker’s financial ascent comes after he signed a new contract with Saudi side Al-Nassr in June reportedly worth more than $400 million. Bloomberg said that Ronaldo earned more than $550m in salary between 2002 and 2023, supplemented by a decade-long Nike deal worth nearly $18m annually, and lucrative endorsements with Armani, Castrol and others that added more than $175m to his fortune. Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr from Manchester United in 2023 had already made him the highest-paid player in football history, with an annual salary of 177m pounds ($237.52m), plus bonuses and a reported 15 per cent share in his Saudi Arabia club. Argentina and Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi has earned more than $600m in pre-tax salary during his career. Ronaldo’s billionaire status places him among a r... -
Dawn - 18:17 Oct 08, 2025
Zoofishan Ayyaz already knows who’ll be on the women’s national cricket team in the coming years. She, for one, hopes to make it. The dream could very well be a reality given that she captained the Strikers to a four-wicket win against the Conquerors in the National Women’s Under-19 T20 Tournament final, and a performance that saw her take the player-of-the-match award. But she knows, with the firmest of convictions, that the cohort of teenage girls she plays with and against will be the future of women’s cricket in Pakistan “I’m telling you, in the coming times, cricket is about to change so much. We have incredible talent coming up,” Zoofi, as she is known to her teammates, told Dawn.com. “You’re going to see players that make you say ‘wow, Pakistan has this kind of talent’?” Over at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Pakistan recorded their third straight loss in the ICC Women’s World Cup match as they struggled against defending champions Australia. But the 18-year-old from Wah Cantt exuded confidence a... -
Dawn - 18:07 Oct 08, 2025
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Wednesday announced that he would step down from his office and the PTI confirmed that party founder Imran Khan had given the direction to do so along with nominating Sohail Afridi for the provincial top slot. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar said Gandapur would send his resignation to the governor on Thursday. Gandapur assumed the office of chief minister after he was administered his oath by then-KP governor Haji Ghulam Ali on March 3, 2024. His tenure as chief minister was not without controversy, either involving the federal government or criticism from within his own party. In fact, it has been a tight-rope walk for the chief minister, from his first day in office, to balancing politics with realpolitik. He had to do business with the federal government, as KP is heavily dependent on its resources and the real power brokers. Government officials said that in the initial few months, Gandapur struggled to balance between focusing on governance and the rapi...
7421 items