Pakistan

Reverence for the saffron-robed Buddhist monkhood is deeply woven into Thai society, but a sex extortion scandal has besmirched the clergy and left the devout questioning their faith. Thai police this week arrested a woman accused of bedding at least 11 monks in violation of their vows of celibacy, before blackmailing them with thousands of secretly taken photos of their trysts. The monks are said to have paid nearly $12 million, funnelled out of their monasteries, funded by donations from laypeople hoping to increase their merit and prospects for reincarnation. The scandal provoked outrage over hypocrisy in the monkhood, concern that their status shields them from scrutiny, and soul-searching across society about the role of religion. This aerial photo taken on July 18 shows the giant Buddha statue at the Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen Buddhist temple complex in Bangkok, Thailand. — AFP “I’m not involved in the religion like I used to be,” 33-year-old motorbike taxi driver Mongkol Sudathip told AFP. “I don’t have ...

In an innovative combination of customised tradition and technology, an AI portrait of King Charles III was revealed at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva during the 2025 AI for Good Global Summit. The artwork, named ‘Algorithm King’, was the creativity of the world’s first lifelike humanoid AI-Da robot artist. AI-Da was the development of […]

The United States has rejected an agreement adopted by members of the World Health Organisation to improve preparedness for future pandemics following the disjointed global response to Covid-19, the American government said on Friday. The State Department and Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement they had transmitted on Friday the official US rejection of the legally binding pact, which was adopted in Geneva in May after three years of negotiations. The pact aims to ensure that drugs, therapeutics and vaccines are globally accessible when the next pandemic hits. It requires participating manufacturers to allocate a target of 20 per cent of their vaccines, medicines and tests to the WHO during a pandemic to ensure poorer countries have access. US negotiators left discussions about the accord after President Donald Trump began a 12-month process of withdrawing the US, by far the WHO’s largest financial backer, from the agency when he took office in January. Its exit means the US would not ...

KARACHI: The business community in Pakistan exhibited division regarding a planned nationwide shutter-down strike, as the Karachi and Lahore Chambers of Commerce announced the closure while the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) decided to abstain. The business community had opposed the expanded powers of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and […]

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Calls for aligning civil service with modern technology

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NEPRA moves ahead despite review motion by Centre

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Says only a trial court can examine factual controversy after reviewing evidence

Aqeel Malik says fund's devolution to be taken up before CCI

Flooding at Punjab’s Kalabagh and Chashma on the Indus river reached a “medium” level on Friday, prompting the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) to issue a high-level flood warning for the two points, as water flows surged due to heavy monsoon rains. Rescue operations continued in Punjab after recent deadly rains wreaked havoc and claimed at least 63 lives across the province. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has forecasted that five more such spells of rain are expected in the coming days, leading to rising water levels, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported. The next spell is expected to begin from July 21 and last till July 28, while the fifth is expected in the first week of August, the sixth in the second week of August and the seventh in its third week. “The flow of water in rivers is increasing due to monsoon rains and glacial melting,” a statement issued by the PDMA spokesperson said. According to the data released by the Met Office’s Flood Forecasting Division at 6p...

The first tickets for ‘The Odyssey,’ directed by filmmaker Christopher Nolan, have sold out within hours of going on sale. To Read Lifestyle Stories in Urdu- Click Here According to US media outlets, Universal Studios put the tickets for the opening weekend on sale on Thursday, July 17. Fans were quick to grab their tickets […]