Dawn
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Found 12392 news
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Dawn - 06:38 Jul 17, 2026
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday cast Beijing as the champion of a new global AI order, using China’s premier tech conference to promote open-source technology and challenge US influence over the rules governing the fast-moving sector. In a speech to the opening ceremony of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, Xi urged countries to “seize the rare and historic opportunity” of open-source AI, and pledged to help developing nations build AI capabilities, warning against the emergence of “new historical injustices” from unequal access to the technology. The remarks amounted to Xi’s clearest articulation yet of China’s ambition to shape global AI governance, framing its open-source models as a global public good and positioning Beijing as an alternative to Washington at a pivotal moment in the race for technological leadership. Comparing AI’s significance to the invention of the steam engine and electricity, Xi outlined a vision in which China shares AI technology and expert... -
Dawn - 06:33 Jul 17, 2026
China and Pakistan on Friday called on the United States and Iran to end fighting and return to the negotiating table, after they met in Shanghai, according to a government statement issued by Beijing. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar jointly “expressed concern over the deterioration of the current situation, calling on the involved parties to immediately cease hostilities… (and) return to dialogue”, the statement by Beijing’s foreign ministry said. Both countries have sought to mediate in the months-long Middle East conflict, which rekindled with renewed fighting over the Strait of Hormuz a month after the signing of a preliminary deal aiming to end the war. That agreement was “hard-won”, Wang said. “Peace is before our eyes, (we) cannot fall at the last hurdle and even more so cannot lose what we have gained,” he added. It should be mentioned that DPM Dar was in Shanghai for the World Artificial Intelligence Conference. Meanwhile, the Foreign Office (... -
Dawn - 05:30 Jul 17, 2026
TL;DR Pros Pays tribute to the Batman films, comics and animated series beautifully The Freeflow combat system makes a much-needed return Side-splitting dialogue and slapstick humour Multiple unlockable costumes and Batmobiles Cons Combat can be a little too easy Some puzzles are extremely simplistic Voice acting is a bit weak, with Batman being the weakest The Riddler is back Provisional score: 4.5/7 — Enjoying it, but I want a greater challenge Reviewed on PlayStation 5; available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC (Windows) and Nintendo Switch 2 Price: Rs17,000 (physical copy); $69.99 (PlayStation Store); $59.99 (Steam) When we put up a review of 007 First Light, we asked our readers (you lovely people) which game we should review next: Pragmata or Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. And the people have spoken. I’ve played the Lego games before and I’m a casual fan of the series. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga is one of my favourite games on the Nintendo Wii. But the series has evolved, with far ... -
Dawn - 05:06 Jul 17, 2026
WASHINGTON: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is expected to arrive in Washington on Saturday for a three-day visit during which he will hold talks with officials on trade, finance and investment as Pakistan and the United States continue negotiations on a broader bilateral economic partnership, diplomatic sources told Dawn. According to the sources, Aurangzeb is scheduled to meet officials from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the US Export-Import (Exim) Bank, the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). A key focus of the visit will be discussions on the framework of a potential bilateral trade agreement aimed at expanding trade and investment between the two countries. The talks are expected to cover tariffs, market access, investment opportunities and broader economic cooperation. Meetings with the Exim Bank and the DFC are also expected to explore avenues for financing infrastructure, energy and private-sector investme... -
Dawn - 04:26 Jul 17, 2026
Iran said it launched fresh attacks on US facilities in the Gulf on Friday after a sixth consecutive night of US strikes on Iranian military facilities, as last month’s truce descended into daily attacks and counterattacks. The US military said it completed another night of strikes on Iran “to further degrade Iranian military capabilities”, including on Qeshm Island and near Bandar Abbas, home to Iran’s largest port and key navy and Revolutionary Guards facilities. “US forces, including fighter jets, aerial drones, and warships, launched precision munitions that hit dozens of Iranian military targets such as coastal surveillance and air defense sites, military logistics infrastructure, and maritime capabilities,” the US Central Command said in a statement. Iran has fired missiles and drones at US military bases in neighbouring states, including an air base in Jordan. In the early hours of Friday, Iran’s military said it had attacked US facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait. Several explosion-like sounds were heard... -
Dawn - 03:30 Jul 17, 2026
LONDON: London Mayor Sadiq Khan was on Thursday appointed to the House of Lords, parliament’s upper chamber, by outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Khan was one of 26 new appointments confirmed by the government just days before Starmer is due to hand over power to Andy Burnham on Monday. The appointment means Khan and the others who come from across the political spectrum with a range of different professional backgrounds can participate in the lawmaking process. The upper chamber typically revises and scrutinises laws put forward by the elected House of Commons, though it has on occasion been the arena for protracted battles over the principles of legislation. Khan will continue to serve as the elected mayor of London. His appointment to the House of Lords would allow Starmer’s successor to give Khan a ministerial portfolio when he names his new government next week, though no such role has been confirmed. Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2026 -
Dawn - 03:27 Jul 17, 2026
United States President Donald Trump on Thursday revived sweeping and unsupported claims of voter fraud and Chinese meddling — firing a clear warning shot ahead of midterm elections that many expect him to dispute. In a primetime White House address, Trump portrayed the US electoral system as dangerously exposed and urged lawmakers to adopt new restrictions on voting, despite scant appetite for the measures even within his own Republican Party. “We can never watch a stolen election again,” Trump said, referring to his 2020 defeat by Democrat Joe Biden. Trump said he was declassifying intelligence that showed, among other things, that China had illicitly acquired 220 million US voter files. “Over a period of years, starting during the 2020 election cycle, the People’s Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history,” he said from the White House. Trump also claimed that more than 250,000 non-US citizens were registered to vote in four states. He then atta... -
Dawn - 03:04 Jul 17, 2026
BRITAIN’S plans to deport the ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang are “entirely an internal matter of the United Kingdom” and have “no connection whatsoever” with Pakistan, the Foreign Office spokesperson told the BBC. Calls have mounted for Shabir Ahmed’s deportation following his recent release from prison, but has been held up due to a law from 1971 that bars the deportation of Commonwealth citizens. Ahmed, who came to the UK in the late 1960s, was one of nine men from Rochdale and Oldham found guilty of exploiting girls as young as 13 at two takeaway restaurants. According to the BBC, he had dual British-Pakistani citizenship before being stripped of his UK passport following his 2012 conviction for multiple counts of rape and sexual offences against girls. Andy Burnham, who is set to replace Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister next, has described Ahmed as a “vile criminal” who he wants deported. Although Home Minister Shabana Mahmood has indicated plans to amend the law, it appears that Ahmed’s remo... -
Dawn - 02:51 Jul 17, 2026
MUZAFFARABAD: With preparations for the upcoming elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir gathering pace, political strategies seem to be moving towards more engagement with the region’s main malcontents — the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC). A recent visit by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari saw the PPP chief and his team engaging with political bigwigs from the region, including AJK PM Faisal Mumtaz Rathore. In addition, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif is due in Mirpur tomorrow, where he is expected to address an election rally. In addition to supplementing their election campaign, the leaders’ visits are being seen as an attempt by the two main political parties to position themselves as active players in AJK politics, which have been dominated in recent months by the JAAC protests regarding its demand for the abolition of refugee seats in the region’s legislature. Bhutto-Zardari’s visit also coincided with what was earlier billed as a ‘backchannel attempt’ to engage with the proscribed outfit, which saw a delegation led by... -
Dawn - 02:47 Jul 17, 2026
A STUDENT who recently graduated with a degree in English literature visited me a few weeks back for a discussion on the career paths and choices that were open to her. She enjoyed her undergraduate experience a lot as she loved reading and studying literature, but was now unsure whether she possessed the skills to be ‘market ready’. She did not want to go on to graduate studies in literature. She wanted to write but to keep it on the side. She wanted to discuss the possibility of taking up a job in the development and corporate sector with her knowledge base. The student was articulate, and clearly had very sound analytical and reflective thinking skills. Her communication skills were excellent, and her writing ability, evident from what she mentioned in her resumé, were quite good as well. She had taken the time to reflect deeply on what she had read and learned during her four-year undergraduate experience, and this was reflected in her personality. I told her that although she didn’t possess some of the ‘... -
Dawn - 02:40 Jul 17, 2026
THE centre-periphery divide in Pakistan is as old as the country itself. Its contours may have changed over time, but it remains as acute as any of the major structural crises that afflict us. At the time of writing, at least three peripheries are simmering. Balochistan, KP and AJK are all unique geographical regions whose historical relationships with the state cannot be reduced to one another but even establishment apologists find it hard to simply reduce the current situation in all three regions to the proverbial foreign hand. The Seraiki belt, Sindh and Gilgit-Baltistan may not presently be gripped by unrest, but they remain peripheral to the political, economic, cultural and intellectual mainstream. In short, the majority of the people of these regions are at best struggling for economic survival and dignity, and at worst are subject to oppressive governance. Underlying the centre-periphery divide is a model of colonial statecraft that sees all ordinary people as subjects to be ruled by carrot and stick... -
Dawn - 02:38 Jul 17, 2026
GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution asking the federal government to grant provisional provincial status, as well as constitutional and political rights, for the people of the mountainous region. The resolution, supported by both sides of the aisle, was presented by lawmaker Jalal Ali Shah during the session on Thursday. It recalled the historical background of GB’s liberation, subsequent administrative reforms, and constitutional mechanisms for its integration into the national constitutional framework. It noted that the Gilgit-Baltistan (Empowerment and Self-Governance) Order 2009 constituted a significant milestone by establishing an elected legislative assembly and enhancing self-governance, while simultaneously reaffirming that further constitutional advancement of the region remained an objective of the state. The resolution said the GB assembly was granted legislative powers through the Gilgit-Baltistan Order 2018 in light of the special directives... -
Dawn - 02:34 Jul 17, 2026
KARACHI: The ongoing war in the Gulf has further reduced foreign investment in Pakistan, with Bahrain withdrawing its investments from domestic bonds within the first 10 days of the current fiscal year. The State Bank reported on Thursday that there was no inflow of foreign investment into the domestic market during the first 10 days of 2026-27, particularly from the Gulf states. The renewed US-Israeli war on Iran has not only pushed up oil prices but also left countries like Pakistan facing increasing trouble, as neither foreign investment is coming from the region nor is the market stable for exports. Only a $4 million inflow was noted from Luxembourg in the treasury bills, which pay the highest returns, up to 11.5 per cent, in developing countries. Bahrain withdraws $30m from bonds in first 10 days of FY27 However, the conflict closed off an option for Pakistan to receive inflows from the Middle Eastern countries. As a result, the UAE immediately withdrew $3.5bn held in the State Bank of Pakistan’s account... -
Dawn - 02:29 Jul 17, 2026
• Senate panel asks PTA to explore alternative mechanism for SIM registration • Regulator says ‘visible 5G coverage’ expected by year-end • Ogra clarifies consumers liable for metered gas leakage ISLAMABAD: Amid concerns about the restrictions surrounding the transfer of e-SIM cards from one phone to another, the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat was informed on Thursday that consumers would soon be able to transfer their e-SIM cards at least 10 times without any cost. In a meeting chaired by Rana Mahmoodul Hassan, the Senate panel discussed various issues related to the telecom sector, such as the rollout of 5G internet services, mobile network quality, and alternative mechanisms for the issuance of SIM cards. PTA Chairman Hafeezur Rehman informed the committee that telecom operators followed different policies, allowing only limited transfers. He added that a uniform policy was being finalised to enable consumers to make at least 10 transfers without cost. The committee members also expressed... -
Dawn - 02:24 Jul 17, 2026
PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s assertion that agriculture and livestock hold the key to Pakistan’s quick economic revival is spot-on. The sector contributes almost a quarter of GDP, employs well over a third of the labour force and remains the largest source of livelihoods. Livestock alone accounts for more than 60pc of agriculture’s value addition, while Pakistan ranks among the world’s largest milk producers, and possesses considerable untapped potential in both milk and meat exports. Few sectors offer comparable opportunities to generate growth, reduce poverty, improve food security and earn foreign exchange simultaneously. But the PM’s declaration that the economy can be revived within a year through agriculture highlights the gap between ambition and policy execution. The agricultural crisis has never been about the absence of potential. It is the consequence of decades of policy neglect and inconsistency, institutional decay and distorted incentives. While successive governments have acknowledged the s... -
Dawn - 02:15 Jul 17, 2026
• Officials having to rely on ‘less credible sources’ in the absence of river flow information from India • Action to clear Ravi riverbed of ‘temporary encroachments’ on the cards LAHORE: The Punjab government has asked the irrigation department to prepare for flooding under the ‘high-alert category’, amid prevailing uncertainty about river flows due to India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty. A source privy to a meeting chaired by Lahore Commissioner Nauman Yousaf told Dawn that the irrigation department was making arrangements keeping in view the information being shared on social media or through other means, which were insufficient to make accurate assessments. “In a recent meeting related to the flood situation and arrangements, a senior official of the irrigation department revealed that India continued to avoid sharing data since it had put the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance in April last year,” the source said. In light of this information, the commissioner directed the irrigation de... -
Dawn - 19:07 Jul 16, 2026
The recovery plan for war-battered Gaza, under US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace (BoP), has been significantly scaled back and, instead of reconstructing the entire territory, now envisions a small pilot project in the south of the besieged territory, the British publication The Guardian reported on Thursday. The board was initially proposed in September 2025 and formally established in January. Under its charter, the US government serves as its official depository and Trump has designated the Donald J Trump Institute of Peace in Washington as the Board’s headquarters. A UN Security Council resolution adopted in mid-November last year authorised the board, along with cooperating states, to establish an international stabilisation force in Gaza following a ceasefire that began in October under a Trump-backed plan accepted by Israel and Hamas. According to the publication, the new pilot project now aims to construct a small temporary camp for a fraction of Gaza’s population, with a Palestinian administ... -
Dawn - 18:26 Jul 16, 2026
The Trump administration moved on Thursday to tighten the duration of visas for foreign students, cultural exchange visitors and journalists. The new final rule from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) creates a fixed time period for F visas for international students, J visas that allow visitors on cultural exchange programs to work in the US, and I visas for members of the media. Those visas are currently available for the duration of the program or employment in the US. The effective date is 60 days from publication in the Federal Register, subject to congressional review. US President Donald Trump, a Republican, kicked off a wide-ranging immigration crackdown after taking office in January 2025. His administration has increased scrutiny of legal immigration, revoking student visas and green cards of university students over their ideological views and stripping legal status from hundreds of thousands of migrants. The latest action would create new hurdles for international students, exchange workers... -
Dawn - 18:15 Jul 16, 2026
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s oil supply chain players appeared nervous as petrol stocks declined to a 14-day cover on Thursday, prompting the government to urgently address procedural issues and activate enforcement mechanisms to discourage hoarding for profiteering in the market. The decline comes amid rising prices following renewed US-Iran hostilities. Informed sources said the government may have to revert to the fuel conservation measures adopted over the past couple of months as it reviews the latest regional situation. A session with the oil industry, urgently convened by the recently created National Coordination and Management Council (NCMC) — a civil-military body on energy supplies — “holistically” reviewed the availability of petroleum products across the country. Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema is the chairman, while Lt Gen Zafar Iqbal is the co-chairman of the NCMC’s executive committee. Informed sources said petrol consumption had risen over the past three weeks following a substantial ... -
Dawn - 17:45 Jul 16, 2026
Pakistan on Thursday became a founding member of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (WAICO) after Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar signed the agreement establishing the forum in Shanghai, China, the Foreign Office (FO) said. “Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar signed the agreement on the establishment of the WAICO on behalf of Pakistan at the signing ceremony held today in Shanghai, China,” the FO said in a post on X. As a founding member of WAICO, Pakistan reaffirmed its commitment to advancing international cooperation in the area of artificial intelligence, especially from the perspective of the Global South, it added. “Pakistan looks forward to working closely with fellow WAICO member states in efforts to help bridge the global AI divide and to promote equitable access to AI to advance development for all,” the FO added. Earlier in the day, FM Dar arrived in China to sign the agreement on behalf of Pakistan. China had proposed the creation of W...
12392 items