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Dawn - 01:56 Jul 12, 2026
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday termed Pakistan’s geographical location an asset “that needs to be fully explored, as the country lies at the crossroads of Central, South and West Asia”. “By improving connectivity, the country can achieve maximum economic benefits,” he said while chairing a high-level meeting on improving port connectivity. The maritime affairs secretary gave a detailed briefing to the participants on the current status of Pakistani ports and their utilisation capacity, the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement. The meeting reviewed measures to develop and enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of Pakistan’s ports. The discussions also focused on improving port connectivity, streamlining operational processes, strengthening inter-agency coordination, facilitating trade and logistics, and advancing reforms to position Pakistan’s ports as efficient regional trade gateways. ‘Promoting economy’ At a separate meeting, Mr Dar also emphasised the imp... -
Dawn - 01:55 Jul 12, 2026
KARACHI: Dr Ayesha I. Mian has been elected as the president of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP) for the 2026-2030 term. According to a press release, her election makes her the first Pakistani and the first South Asian to lead the organisation since its establishment in 1937. Dr Mian’s election marks an important moment not only for Pakistan but also for the growing recognition of expertise emerging from low- and middle-income countries. An alumna of Aga Khan University, Dr Mian previously served on the faculty of the University of Texas and Baylor College of Medicine. After returning to Pakistan in 2013, she became Founding Dean of Student Experience and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at AKU, where she established Pakistan’s first Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship training programme. She currently serves as the Founder and CEO of Synapse — Pakistan Neuroscience Institute, where she continues to advance evidence-based clinica... -
Dawn - 01:55 Jul 12, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Saturday ruled out any wheat shortage in the country, saying seasonal production targets had been achieved and output was estimated to be 1.36 million metric tonnes higher than last year’s harvest. The announcement was made during the ninth meeting of the Wheat Board, chaired by Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain. Provincial representatives informed the meeting that sufficient wheat stocks were available across all regions to meet national requirements. Food officials also warned of a strict crackdown against hoarding, artificial price hikes and market manipulation. “The strategic production goals set for the season have been successfully accomplished,” the board said, expressing satisfaction over the country’s wheat situation. The meeting was attended by the secretary of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, chief secretaries of Punjab and Sindh, agriculture and food secretaries from all provinces, senior ministry ... -
Dawn - 00:35 Jul 12, 2026
Jude Bellingham scored twice, including the extra-time winner, as England ground out a 2-1 victory over a battling Norway side at Miami Stadium on Sunday to reach the World Cup semi-finals for the fourth time. The teams were locked up 1-1 at the end of regulation time after Andreas Schjelderup had opened the scoring for Norway with a wonder strike in the 36th minute and Bellingham skipped into the area to equalise just before halftime. Three minutes into extra time, though, Morgan Rogers fired a long-range shot at the Norwegian goal that Orjan Nyland could only parry and Bellingham stole in to bury the rebound, delighting the white-shirted fans in the crowd of 64,478. England will face Argentina or Switzerland in Atlanta on Wednesday in their fourth semi-final in their last five major championships, looking to stay on course for a repeat of their sole World Cup triumph of 1966. “The result is fantastic. We’re in the last four. It’s amazing, but I’m not happy with the performance,” England coach Thomas Tuch... -
Dawn - 21:06 Jul 11, 2026
ISLAMABAD: Geo News was allowed to resume its transmission on Sunday after remaining suspended for 15 days as ordered by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) over its regulatory violation. On Saturday, Pemra upheld its earlier decision to suspend Geo News for 15 days over the depiction of religious figures in the channel’s transmission aired on Muharram 10, warning that any future violation could lead to the cancellation of its licence. As the suspension period expired on Saturday, the channel resumed transmission at around Sunday midnight. In its final order, issued after the authority’s 191st meeting, Pemra said it had conducted a detailed review of the matter, taking into account the recommendations of the Council of Complaints, Lahore, the record of proceedings, the written and oral submissions of the licence holder, the Pemra Ordinance 2002, the relevant rules, and the Electronic Media (Programmes and Advertisements) Code of Conduct, 2015. The Council of Complaints deliberated on th... -
Dawn - 18:07 Jul 11, 2026
GWADAR: Gwadar Port has conducted its first commercial bunkering (ship refuelling) operation as part of efforts to expand its maritime operations. The operation was conducted between July 9 and 11 through a collaborative effort involving the Gwadar Port Authority (GPA), National Logistics Cell (NLC), Gwadar International Terminals Limited (GITL) and global energy giant Vitol Asia. During the operation, the LNG carrier Enugu — jointly owned by world-renowned companies QatarEnergy, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Vitol — was supplied with 2,500 metric tonnes of very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) at Gwadar Port. The refuelling of the 285.4-metre-long vessel was carried out by the bunker barge Marine Ista. Pakistan Customs, port authorities, and local shipping agent Pak Traders Gwadar were involved in ensuring the safe and efficient completion of the operation. The operation expands the range of services available at Gwadar Port, which can now provide bunkering and other marine services to international vessels... -
Dawn - 17:04 Jul 11, 2026
A speedboat carrying Indian tourists capsized off southern Vietnam’s Phu Quoc island on Saturday, killing at least 15 people, state media reported. The boat was carrying 36 people when it overturned around 400 metres off May Rut Ngoai islet, according to the VNExpress website. Multiple tourist and coast guard boats participated in a rescue effort during which some people were plucked safely from the water. The Tuoi Tre newspaper quoted local police as saying 21 people had been transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, two of whom were in critical condition. India’s embassy in Vietnam confirmed the capsized boat had been carrying “several Indian tourists” but said that “exact details of the incident are being ascertained”. Nguyen Tien Hai, a provincial official of the ruling Communist Party, said authorities were still confirming the exact number of survivors, according to the state media report. Hai said initial assessments suggested that the speedboat may have overturned due to heavy winds and high ... -
Dawn - 16:15 Jul 11, 2026
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on Saturday vowed revenge for the US-Israeli killing of his father and predecessor, hours after President Donald Trump warned against any attempt to assassinate him. Both sides dialled up the rhetoric after exchanges of fire this week rocked an interim agreement aimed at ending their war, which broke out on February 28 with massive US-Israeli strikes. Trump has declared their ceasefire over, while mediators have been trying to salvage diplomacy, with Iranian media reporting that a delegation from Qatar travelled to Iran on Friday. “Vengeance is the will of our nation and must inevitably be carried out,” Mojtaba Khamenei wrote in his first message since his father Ali Khamenei’s funeral this week. He became Iran’s supreme leader after his father was assassinated by US-Israeli strikes on the first day of the war. He has not been in public since before the war. “This matter depends neither on my personal existence nor on that of other officials. Whether we are pre... -
Dawn - 15:45 Jul 11, 2026
Citing security sources, state media reported on Saturday that 23 more terrorists had been killed in ongoing operations in Balochistan, taking the overall tally since July 5 to 102. 102 12 terrorists belonging to Fitna al Khawarij were killed by security forces in the latest round of operations, state media reported, quoting security forces. Security forces also killed two terrorists linked to Fitna al Hindustan during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) near the N-25 crossing in in the province, Radio Pakistan reported. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, while Fitna al Hindustan is a term designated by the state for terrorist organisations in Balochistan. The security sources added that security personnel recovered weapons, hand grenades, a motorcycle, mobile phones, flags of a banned outfit and other equipment from the two men. The kinetic actions in the province are being carried out under Operation Shaban, a high-intensity count... -
Dawn - 15:15 Jul 11, 2026
Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Chairman Bilal bin Saqib on Saturday said he held a “constructive discussion” with religious scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani on the Shariah status of digital assets. Their meeting comes after it surfaced that Mufti Usmani and six others had declared purchasing goods with cryptocurrency “impermissible” in a fatwa (religious decree) issued on June 10. It described cryptocurrency as “merely the recording of fictitious numbers in an account”. Subsequently, Saqib — who has been leading Pakistan’s efforts to adopt cryptocurrency since early 2025 — posted on X: “Today, I had a constructive discussion with Mufti Taqi Usmani sahib on digital assets and the ongoing conversation around their Shariah status.” “We are united on one fundamental objective: protecting Pakistanis from fraud, exploitation, and financial harm.” The crypto czar said he shared with Mufti Usmani that “blockchain, digital assets, stablecoins, and tokenised real-world assets represent a broad spectrum o... -
Dawn - 15:15 Jul 11, 2026
The Balochistan government has announced several measures to restructure administrative units in the province, including splitting Quetta district into East Quetta and West Quetta, it emerged on Saturday. According to a notification issued by the Balochistan government’s Revenue Department on July 8, new divisions, districts, sub-divisions, tehsils and sub-tehsils have been created, while the boundaries of existing divisions and districts have also been realigned. As a result, the number of divisions in Balochistan now stands at 11, and the number of districts has risen to 41. One of the major decisions was the bifurcation of Quetta district into East Quetta and West Quetta along the railway line. East Quetta now comprises the Saddar, City and Sariab sub-divisions, while West Quetta consists of Kuchlak and the newly created Brewery and Panjpai sub-divisions. Brewery tehsil has also been introduced. Mastung district has been detached from Kalat division and included in Quetta division, which now has three dist... -
Dawn - 14:49 Jul 11, 2026
As brightly coloured kites climb above Burin, a Palestinian village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, children race across a sun-baked hillside, watching their creations soar into the sky. Behind them, the red-roofed houses of Har Bracha, an Israeli settlement, overlook the village below. Established in 1983, the settlement, illegal under international law, is one of several that encircle Burin, a village of a few thousand people. Palestinians and solidartiy activists fly kites towards the Israeli settelment of Har Bracha from the village of Burin, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank on July 10, 2026. —AFP Every summer since 2009, residents have gathered on this hill for a kite festival, held on land that has been partly lost after being illegaly occupied by settlers. “We want to tell the settlers that this is our land, this is our sky. If we can’t reach those lands anymore, our kites can,” Ghassan Najjar, one of the festival’s organisers, told AFP. While the festival is primarily for children, it also... -
Dawn - 13:46 Jul 11, 2026
When four-time World Cup winners Italy failed to qualify for the 2026 tournament, then head coach Gennaro Gattuso lamented that Africa had so many places at the global showcase. “Africa deserves fewer World Cup slots,” he said, referring to the number of automatic qualifying places allocated to that continent rising from five to nine in an expanded 48-nation event. It became 10 when the Democratic Republic of Congo won an inter-continental play-off and returned to the World Cup after 52 years. Was Gattuso, a midfielder in the Italian 2006 World Cup-winning team, correct? Was Africa over-represented in the United States, Canada and Mexico? Apart from a disastrous showing by Tunisia, who axed coach Sabri Lamouchi after their first group game and lost all three matches, African flag-bearers proved competitive, justifying their presence. The other nine representatives reached the knockout stage, five as group runners-up. The other four were among the eight best third-placed teams. That represents 90 per cent succ... -
Dawn - 13:39 Jul 11, 2026
US President Donald Trump faced questions about the security of his new Air Force One plane gifted by Qatar, after he took an older jet home from a NATO summit this week. The billionaire president has been unable to contain his excitement over the retrofitted Boeing 747-8 aircraft, which took him to Ankara on its maiden trip outside the United States. Trump then abruptly announced in Turkiye that he would send the aircraft ahead to a British airbase saying the decision was made to allow US troops to tour the luxury plane. The New York Times reported on Friday that the new plane lacked the same security countermeasures boasted by the older jet, including anti-missile defenses. US media also reported that the Secret Service had advised the switch. Speculation was fueled by the fact that US hostilities had flared again with Iran, which borders Turkey, and because journalists on the old plane out of Ankara were also told to keep their window blinds down, a step normally reserved for war zones. Trump himself denie... -
Dawn - 12:53 Jul 11, 2026
England lock horns with Norway in a World Cup quarter-final in Miami on Saturday that pits Harry Kane against Erling Haaland in a mouthwatering battle of elite strikers. The teams are competing to face either reigning champions Argentina or surprise package Switzerland in the semi-finals. Kane has once again been England’s hero, dragging his teammates through an attritional last-16 meeting with Mexico at the Estadio Azteca that they won 3-2 despite having a man sent off. The Bayern Munich forward has scored six goals to fire the Three Lions to the quarter-finals. Haaland appears to have been enjoying himself ever since he touched down in the United States and began smashing in the seven goals that have carried Norway further than ever before. Their run, which included eliminating Brazil, has been accompanied by their fans’ joyous rowing celebration that has turned venues across the US into giant human Viking ships. A young Norwegian fan prepares to participate in the “Viking Row,” a cheer created by Norwegian... -
Dawn - 11:34 Jul 11, 2026
US Democratic lawmaker Ro Khanna said he was detained by Israeli settlers armed with US-made rifles during a West Bank visit this week that he cast as an unfiltered look at the human toll of Israeli occupation as he weighs a 2028 presidential run. Speaking with Reuters on Thursday in a Palestinian village, Khanna said his group’s van was surrounded by settlers wielding M4 rifles a day earlier while touring a part of the southern West Bank, where residents face frequent settler attacks. “We were at a village that Israeli settlers had destroyed, they had destroyed the school, they had destroyed that village, and we were just looking at it,” said Khanna, a progressive lawmaker from California in the US House of Representatives. “And these hoodlums come in with machine guns, M4, an American-made machine gun, and they detain us. They block off the road. And then they call the IDF, and the IDF is on their side, not on the side of the Americans,” Khanna said, referring to the Israeli military. US Democratic Represen... -
Dawn - 11:23 Jul 11, 2026
Islamabad is set to host the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) 9th Ministerial Conference on Women on July 12-13, with delegations beginning to arrive on Saturday. The conference, with the theme “Socio-Economic and Political Empowerment of Women in the OIC Countries: Challenges and Way Forward”, is being organised by the human rights ministry and will be held at the Jinnah Convention Centre. It will bring together ministers responsible for women and family affairs, senior government officials, representatives of OIC institutions, international organisations and development partners to deliberate on advancing the socio-economic and political empowerment of women across the OIC member states, state-run APP noted. Minister for Law, Justice and Human Rights Azam Nazeer Tarar will chair the conference on behalf of Pakistan. As the chair, Pakistan will lead the conference proceedings and work closely with OIC member states to foster dialogue, build consensus and advance collective efforts towards the empo... -
Dawn - 09:30 Jul 11, 2026
Citing security sources, state-run Pakistan TV reported on Saturday that nine more terrorists had been killed in the ongoing operation in Balochistan, taking the overall tally since July 5 to 88. “Operation Shaban continues across Balochistan as the Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps and police intensify coordinated air and ground operations against terrorist hideouts,” it said on the social media platform X. “According to security sources, nine terrorists were killed in the latest action, taking the total eliminated under Operation Shaban to 52 and the overall tally since July 5, including intelligence-based operations, to 88,” it said. “Security sources say the operation will continue until the last terrorist is eliminated,” it added. Security sources said on Friday that security forces, including the Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps and police, had been conducting a joint operation in Quetta district’s Shaban area since July 5 against terrorists involved in the killing of 27 police personnel during an attack on a ... -
Dawn - 09:25 Jul 11, 2026
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday called for recognising Pakistan’s rapidly expanding populace and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to “responsible” population planning for an equitable and prosperous future. The premier’s message on World Population Day focused on Pakistan’s annual population growth rate of 2.55 per cent. He urged all stakeholders to recognise the urgency of the population rise as a national issue. The figure has sparked a national conversation about the demographic growth placing pressure on the country’s economy, health and other vital systems. The government recently formed a high-level committee, including the army chief as a member, to tackle the issue. In his message on World Population Day on Saturday, PM Shehbaz urged all stakeholders — including the federal and provincial governments, parliamentarians, development partners, civil society, academia, the private sector, religious scholars, the media and local communities — to fulfil their shared responsibility by promoti... -
Dawn - 08:25 Jul 11, 2026
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Saturday issued an alert for glacial lake outburst floods (Glofs) in the upper regions of the country, including Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, due to a fresh westerly wave expected during the coming week. A Glof refers to the sudden release of water and debris from a glacial lake, leading to the loss of lives, property, and livelihoods in mountain communities. Over 7.1 million people in GB and KP are vulnerable to the phenomenon, according to the Ministry of Climate Change. In an alert issued on Saturday, the department said partly cloudy to cloudy weather accompanied by moderate to heavy rain and thunderstorms was expected to affect the glaciated valleys of GB and KP. It highlighted that daytime temperatures were already “running above normal” in glaciated valleys. “The combination of substantial warming and precipitation is likely to substantially accelerate snow and ice melt in the glaciated valleys of these regions,” it said. It said that water le...
12682 items