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Dawn - 12:38 Jun 19, 2026
In 2018, a wildlife patrol found a skull and claw at the top of Trail 6 in the Margallah Hills, just behind Faisal Mosque in Islamabad. The rest of the animal’s body had either decomposed or been scavenged, but some of the skin on the claw remained intact. On closer inspection, it was found to have the rosette patterns of a leopard. Analysis confirmed that the animal had been a fully grown adult and had died a natural death. Its skull was sent to the Pakistan Museum of Natural History, where it has been kept in a lab and away from public display ever since. What was a shy, secretive and highly territorial leopard doing out here in its old age? No one could say for sure. Nevertheless, the discovery completely changed what we know about big cats in the capital. British gazetteers say leopards were found in Swat, Dir and Murree and even the Kala Chitta range to Islamabad’s west, but they make no mention of sightings in the Margallahs. At most there are mentions of jackal, deer, monkey and boar (tigers became ext... -
Dawn - 12:24 Jun 19, 2026
As the hantavirus scare comes to an end with the last cruise ship passengers set to leave quarantine, what did the world learn from this sudden outbreak of a previously little-known virus? The deaths of three people who had been onboard the MV Hondius sparked a global health alert in early May, prompting fears the ship’s many international passengers could spread the rodent-borne disease across the world. Many nations responded by putting the passengers and contact cases in quarantine or isolation for the disease’s six-week incubation period. There were no further deaths during the outbreak — and all 12 confirmed hantavirus cases were passengers on the ship. With the last remaining passengers soon to leave quarantine, AFP answers key questions about an episode that again highlighted the risk viruses in animals pose to humans. Is it over? Almost all the passengers of the Dutch-flagged ship quarantined in the Netherlands have been allowed to return home, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday. In ... -
Dawn - 09:49 Jun 19, 2026
A French appeals court on Friday confirmed that Moroccan football star Achraf Hakimi will face trial for the alleged rape of a woman in 2023, which the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) defender denies. In February 2023, a woman then aged 24 told police in the Val-de-Marne region southeast of Paris that Hakimi had raped her. The PSG right-back and captain of the Moroccan national team, whose second match of the 2026 World Cup kicks off on Friday against Scotland, has consistently denied any wrongdoing. Shortly after the Versailles Court of Appeal delivered its ruling, Hakimi wrote on X that he had been “waiting for this trial since day one”. “At last, I’ll be able to speak,” he said. A date has not been announced for the start of the trial at the criminal court in the Hauts-de-Seine department. “This confirmation was expected. Nothing here says that he is guilty of anything, he remains steadfast in his defence,” Hakimi’s lawyer Fanny Colin said. The plaintiff’s lawyer Rachel-Flore Pardo said the decision brought her ... -
Dawn - 09:34 Jun 19, 2026
Labour mayor Andy Burnham cleared a path to ousting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer after winning a parliamentary seat in northern England on Friday in what could be the most consequential local election in more than six decades. Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor nicknamed the “King of the North”, won the contest in Makerfield in northwest England with 24,927 votes, while the candidate for Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party came second with 15,696 votes. His victory means he will now be able to trigger or take part in a contest to replace Starmer, struggling with some of the worst popularity ratings of any leader. But the key question is when and how Burnham will do it. In his victory speech, Burnham said the result could be a “turning point” for British politics and told his party that this was a final chance to change direction. “We must hear it, we must act upon it, and we must get it right,” he said. “There will be no second chance.” Burnham, a career politician who has expressed support for ... -
Dawn - 09:34 Jun 19, 2026
The information ministry on Friday refuted Afghanistan’s claims of targeting alleged terrorist camps in the border areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. In a statement on its fact check account, the ministry said, “The Afghan Taliban regime, through their various propaganda mouthpieces and official statements, is claiming to have targeted some alleged ISKP camps in border areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan using rudimentary drones. “The claims are false as usual,” it declared. The ministry added that terrorist camps, including “those of Daesh and more than two dozen other terrorist organisations are factually located, run and patronised from inside the territories under control of [the] Afghan Taliban regime”. According to the statement, one rudimentary drone of the Taliban regime intruded into Pakistan’s airspace near Shinko, Khyber and was “immediately identified and neutralised by the alert air defence system of the Pakistan Air Force”. The ministry also shared a picture of the aforemention... -
Dawn - 09:31 Jun 19, 2026
RAWALPINDI: The Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Rawalpindi bench on Friday disposed of a petition filed by the family of nine-year-old Hania Ahmed, who was killed in a shootout in Chakwal last week, seeking the transfer of the case from local police to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The petition was filed by a Pakistani-origin Australian family shot at during a robbery in Chakwal last week by Punjab’s Crime Control Department (CCD) after officials mistook it as belonging to the robbers. As a result, Hania died on the spot, and other family members sustained injuries. On Friday, LHC Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan wrapped up the case after directing provincial authorities to ensure a completely fair, transparent, and unbiased investigation, and to strictly proceed against the accused officials in accordance with the law. During the proceedings, Punjab Additional Advocate General Imran Shaukat Rao formally informed the bench that a first information report (FIR) had already been registered against the delinquent of... -
Dawn - 08:51 Jun 19, 2026
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday that a “significant” reduction in fuel prices would be announced later in the day, following the swift decrease in global oil prices after the signing of a Pakistan-brokered memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the US and Iran to cease hostilities. “Today, we have to announce the weekly revision in oil and petrol prices. And I will say just this much: as promised by the government to pass on the relief to the people after oil prices fall, a significant decrease in the prices will be announced today,” he said during an address to the National Assembly (NA). He noted that global oil prices were swiftly falling after the recent agreement between the US and Iran. “Surely, they will decline further,” he added. The premier then recounted that the prices had risen sharply after the US-Israeli war on Iran began, resulting in a “storm of inflation”. “While the people of Pakistan made every humanly possible effort to save the economy, the federal government immediately ... -
Dawn - 08:37 Jun 19, 2026
An Indian state health authority is investigating how liquid discharged from Apple supplier Tata’s iPhone components factory has affected farmers, some of whom complained about skin issues from contamination in their farmlands, according to three officials and a document reviewed by Reuters. The health investigation opens a new front in an environmental dispute that has become a test case for India’s push to become a major manufacturing hub for Apple iPhones. The Tata Electronics plant in Hosur in southern Tamil Nadu state was sent a warning notice by the state pollution control board on May 25 for allegedly contaminating groundwater in adjacent farms. Tata said in a statement this week that the pollution board had dropped its scrutiny after confirming its analysis of recently collected water samples from inside the facility did “not indicate any contamination”. The pollution board and the state have not commented on the matter and did not respond to Reuters emails and phone calls requesting comment. Apple ha... -
Dawn - 07:40 Jun 19, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to phase out machine-readable passports and switch fully to e-passports, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi announced on Friday, saying the move will offer advanced security, global compatibility and a seamless airport experience. Chairing a special meeting at the Passport and Immigration Headquarters, Naqvi said the complete transition would eliminate fraud and forgery. “The complete transition to e-passports will end fraud and forgery related to passports,” he said. Director General Passports and Immigration Muhammad Ali Randhawa briefed the minister on the reforms. The meeting approved in principle to shift to e-passports, though no cutoff date for phasing out old passports was set. An e-Passport is a highly secure travel document with an electronic chip embedded in one of its pages. The contactless NFC chip securely stores biometric data, facial details, biographical information, a unique identification number and a digital signature. The chip allows border control and sm... -
Dawn - 07:20 Jun 19, 2026
Switzerland said talks between the United States and Iran on a pact to end the Middle East conflict would not take place on Friday, as US Vice President JD Vance dropped plans to travel to Geneva. The talks were set to take place under the ‘Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding’ signed between the US and Iran a day ago, after the two sides agreed on a 14-point accord on Monday. Under the deal, Washington and Tehran have agreed on a framework to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and negotiate on key issues within 60 days. The talks, set for the mountaintop resort of Burgenstock, would not take place, Switzerland’s foreign ministry confirmed, but gave no details. “The planned talks between the US, Iran, Qatar and Pakistan have been postponed,” the Swiss foreign ministry said in a message to AFP. “Switzerland remains ready to facilitate these talks. The relevant preparatory work at Burgenstock is continuing,” it added, without providing a new date for the talks. In Washington, a White House spokesperson s... -
Dawn - 05:05 Jun 19, 2026
UNITED NATIONS: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has urged the UN Security Council (UNSC) to take notice of India’s “brazen violations” of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), warning that New Delhi’s actions threaten Pakistan’s water security, regional stability and international peace. Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad delivered a letter from DPM Dar to the president of the UNSC, Ambassador Leonor Zalabata Torres of Colombia, drawing attention to India’s violations of the IWT. In a post on the social media platform X, the ambassador said the letter “draws urgent attention of the UNSC to two illegal Indian infrastructure projects linked to Chenab River system aimed at water diversion, which reveal India’s intention to illegally alter the treaty-governed flow and use of the Western rivers, weaponising water with dangerous implications for Pakistan’s water, food, and economic security as well as regional stability and international peace and security”. H... -
Dawn - 04:48 Jun 19, 2026
ISLAMABAD: City managers have spent three tense days as unknown hackers reportedly breached the Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) property and water billing system and demanded ransom in bitcoins, Dawn has learnt. CDA’s data related to property and conservancy charges has been compromised, and the hackers are allegedly threatening to upload the data on the dark web if the ransom is not paid, sources have revealed. “Since it is June (closing month), and a large number of people clear their property and tax dues this month, our systems have been hacked for the last three days,” said an official of the CDA revenue directorate. He said the revenue directorate, CDA’s vendor NRTC, and the Information Technology Department were making all-out efforts to restore the data. “Hopefully, the matter will be resolved by Friday (today),” he said. Meanwhile, several citizens told Dawn that they were unable to pay their taxes as CDA’s online links remained down. The CDA website was functional, however, the “Pay your bills... -
Dawn - 04:00 Jun 19, 2026
RIYADH: Muslim-majority countries including regional heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Turkiye said on Thursday that they held Israel responsible for arson attacks on two West Bank mosques, which Palestinian officials said were torched by settlers. The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt and Turkiye lambasted “the continued and escalating settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank”, pointing to the mosques that were set on fire a day earlier. “The Ministers hold Israel — as the occupying power — responsible for these attacks,” they said in a joint statement. On Wednesday, Israeli settlers set fire to mosques in the West Bank villages of Jiljiliya, north of Ramallah, and neighbouring Mazari an-Nubani, their mayors said, with journalists at one site seeing scorched walls and graffiti. Israel’s military confirmed the arson and graffiti on the mosques, but did not identify the perpetrators. Journalists who visited one torched mosque saw graffiti d... -
Dawn - 02:29 Jun 19, 2026
Admitting the Crime Control Department’s (CCD) mistake in the shooting of a young girl in Chakwal earlier this month, the Punjab police and the CCD said on Thursday that the incident would neither be defended nor covered up under “any circumstances”. They also described the shooting as a case of “criminal negligence”, saying that the CCD official’s lack of training had contributed to his inability to assess the situation correctly. A nine-year-old girl, Hania, was killed and her father and brother were injured last week after officials of the CCD opened fire on their car in the Chakwal city area, mistaking it for that of robbers. Addressing a press conference on the incident on Thursday, Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Abdul Karim described the incident as “deeply tragic”. He said it would be thoroughly investigated and that the negligence behind the CCD’s actions would be placed on record to ensure those responsible were brought before a court of law. Karim added that no institution could earn publi... -
Dawn - 19:17 Jun 18, 2026
United States Vice President JD Vance on Thursday issued a rare rebuke of Israel during a White House press briefing, criticising Israeli lawmakers who had opposed the memorandum of understanding signed between the United States and Iran. Under the deal, the two sides have agreed on a framework to end the war, reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a 60-day timeline for further talks. Vance’s comments come amid rising tensions between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world,” Vance told reporters. “Anybody in Israel who thinks their biggest problem is the president of the United States needs to wake up and smell the reality of the situation.” Talking about the MoU itself, the vice president noted that Iran will “have to perform” and honour its end of the deal. “If they don’t perform as we’ve said before, they don’t get any of the bene... -
Dawn - 18:44 Jun 18, 2026
Admitting the Crime Control Department’s (CCD) mistake in the shooting of a young girl in Chakwal earlier this month, the Punjab police and the CCD said on Thursday that the incident would neither be defended nor covered up under “any circumstances”. They also described the shooting as a case of “criminal negligence”, saying that the CCD official’s lack of training had contributed to his inability to assess the situation correctly. A nine-year-old girl, Hania, was killed and her father and brother were injured last week after officials of the CCD opened fire on their car in the Chakwal city area, mistaking it for that of robbers. Addressing a press conference on the incident on Thursday, Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Abdul Karim described the incident as “deeply tragic”. He said it would be thoroughly investigated and that the negligence behind the CCD’s actions would be placed on record to ensure those responsible were brought before a court of law. Karim added that no institution could earn publi... -
Dawn - 18:29 Jun 18, 2026
Teboho Mokoena’s penalty kept South Africa’s dream of reaching the World Cup knockout stages for the first time alive after a 1-1 draw with the Czech Republic in Atlanta on Thursday. Michal Sadilek’s early opener had the Czechs on course for just their second World Cup win as an independent nation. But Mokoena’s late spot-kick kept both teams in the hunt for the last 32, although they will almost certainly have to win their final Group A fixture to advance. Both sides move onto one point, two behind co-hosts Mexico and South Korea, who face off later on Thursday. South Africa next face South Korea, while the Czech Republic take on the daunting task of playing Mexico in the Estadio Azteca. Both sides started with disappointing performances and defeats on the World Cup’s opening day, but the Czechs quickly set about making amends. Patrik Schick is the biggest name in a Czech side lacking the star quality of previous generations but the Bayer Leverkusen forward missed a glorious chance inside the first minute wh... -
Dawn - 18:16 Jun 18, 2026
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday told Iran’s President Dr Masoud Pezeshkian that the recently signed ‘Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding’ (MoU) between Washington and Tehran would “go a long way towards” rebuilding Iran. According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the premier made the remarks during a phone call with the Iranian president that lasted over 30 minutes. This was the first contact between the two leaders since the signing of the historic Islamabad MoU today, after the 14-point agreement was reached earlier on Monday. Under the deal, the two sides have agreed on a framework to end the war, reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a 60-day timeline for further talks. The prime minister congratulated Pezeshkian, the Iranian leadership and the “brotherly people of Iran on the signing of the historic peace deal”, said the PMO in an official press release. “The landmark deal, he said, would not only help restore peace in the region, but also go a long way in rebuilding the Iranian nation a... -
Dawn - 17:51 Jun 18, 2026
KARACHI: E-commerce platform Daraz Pakistan has officially launched the Apple Flagship Store on DarazMall in partnership with GNext, Apple’s authorised distributor in Pakistan, according to a press release issued by Daraz on Thursday. A formal signing ceremony was held at the Daraz Head Office in Karachi, bringing together senior representatives from the e-commerce platform and GNext to mark the launch. According to the press release, the launch gives customers a “trusted and value-driven destination” to shop for original Apple products online. The statement highlighted that the partnership combined “Daraz’ e-commerce platform, nationwide reach and customer service infrastructure with GNext’s authorised Apple distribution network, product authenticity assurance and after-sales support”. It added that the flagship store launch was supported by competitive pricing, transparent offers, reliable fulfilment and official distributor-backed warranty support. Daraz said that the launch was designed to address key cus... -
Dawn - 16:58 Jun 18, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Thursday adopted 123 recommendations regarding the federal budget for FY2026-27, seeking an increase in the income tax exemption threshold for low-income earners, a reduction in electricity bills and increased taxes on luxury assets. A motion for this purpose was moved by Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue Chairperson Saleem Mandviwalla. The standing committee finalised the recommendations earlier in the day. The report was then laid before the Senate for adoption and would now be transmitted to the National Assembly (NA), as per the Constitution. The NA will take up the recommendations before the final vote on the budget. However, these recommendations are non-binding. Senate’s recommendations include: Increase in the income tax exemption threshold for low-income earners Reduction in tax rates for salaried individuals affected by inflation Rationalisation of 7.5 per cent to 8pc income tax deducted at source to function as simplified final tax regime Expansion of targete...
10706 items