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World’s coral reefs crossing survival limit, experts warn

PARIS: The world’s tropical coral reefs have almost certainly crossed a point of no return as oceans warm beyond a level most cannot survive, a major scientific report announced on Monday. It is the first time scientists have declared that Earth has likely reached a so-called “tipping point” — a shift that could trigger massive and often permanent changes in the natural world. “Sadly, we’re now almost certain that we crossed one of those tipping points for warm water or tropical coral reefs,” report lead Tim Lenton, a climate and Earth system scientist at the University of Exeter, said. This conclusion was supported by real-world observations of “ unprecedented ” coral death across tropical reefs since the first comprehensive assessment of tipping points science was published in 2023, the authors said. In the intervening years, ocean temperatures have soared to historic highs, and the biggest and most intense coral bleaching episode ever witnessed has spread to more than 80 per c...
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Pakistan may witness ‘coldest winter in decades’

• UN-OCHA sit-rep says cold conditions precipitated by La Nina will especially impact KP, GB • Phenomenon likely to disrupt Kharif crop harvesting, raise Glof risk ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is likely to face one of its coldest winter this year in decades due to the La Nina climate pattern. According to the latest situation report on Pakistan’s monsoon floods, compiled by the Intersector Coordination Group in collaboration with other partners, this could lead to colder-than-usual winter conditions, further stretching coping mechanisms of households affected by the floods, particularly in the mountainous regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan. A La Nina occurs when sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean cool abnormally, triggering extreme weather shifts worldwide. In its forecast for October, the report published by UN-OCHA says that the continued marginally negative phases of both the El Niño Southern Oscillation and the Indian Ocean Dipole will drive rainfall acr...
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Pakistan urges Afghanistan to respect non-interference, focus on its own internal issues

The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday night issued a strongly-worded statement telling Afghanistan to focus on issues pertinent to itself and not to interfere in Islamabad’s internal affairs. The FO was responding to a statement by Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid slamming the police crackdown on the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). The TLP, which began its protest march in Lahore on Friday, was planning to reach Islamabad and stage a demonstration in support of Gaza and Palestine outside the US embassy. On Monday, police and law enforcement agencies launched an early-morning operation to disperse the protesters, who were encamped in Muridke. The clashes left a police officer and four civilians dead, including three TLP workers. Mujahid issued a statement earlier today in which Kabul expressed its condolences and said it was “profoundly saddened” by the violence and deaths and noted that the demonstrations were carried out “in accordance with the country’s legal framewor...
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Trump ties could power a nuclear pivot

Pakistan’s energy landscape remains burdened by circular debt , stranded capacity, and excessive reliance on imported fuel . These structural flaws deepen economic fragility and expose the limits of stopgap solutions. The answer may lie not in the next megaproject or short-term tariff adjustment, but in the next generation of nuclear technology — micro and small modular reactors (SMRs) capable of delivering reliable, clean, and decentralised power. For once, diplomacy and energy may align. The recent warming in relations with the Trump administration provides Pakistan with an opportunity to reset its energy diplomacy. Instead of seeking aid or debt relief, Islamabad could aim for a strategic energy partnership centred on advanced microreactors — turning goodwill into tangible infrastructure. Unlike the unwieldy nuclear projects of the past, SMRs are compact, factory-built units designed for rapid deployment and modular scaling. A single 10MW microreactor can power an industrial clus...
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Rangers, police surround TLP camp in Muridke as ‘operation looms’

• Authorities foil two attempts by protesters to break blockade, head to Islamabad • Lahore DIG confirms reinforcements sent • Mobile data partially restored in twin cities • Around 170 TLP members held in Sahiwal division • PM, Naqvi review situation LAHORE: Law enforcement agencies, including Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) and large contingents of police from five districts, were dispatched to Muridke early on Sunday and reportedly surrounded the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) protest camp , in what appeared to be preparations for a large-scale operation. They also foiled two attempts by the party’s supporters to move beyond the city as authorities dug trenches and sealed routes to block the march on Islamabad. Officers were placed on high alert to respond to any emergency. Senior Lahore police officers were instructed to remain on standby to lead deployments pending final orders. Meanwhile, mobile data services were partially restored in Rawalpindi and Islamabad after talks wit...
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‘Display of institutionalised repression’: BYC criticises jail hearing of Mahrang Baloch, other group leaders

The latest hearing of cases against Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) chief Dr Mahrang Baloch and other group leaders was held in Quetta District Jail instead of an anti-terrorism court (ATC), it emerged on Sunday, with the advocacy group terming the development a “disturbing display of institutionalised repression”. The BYC, a Baloch advocacy group working against enforced disappearances since 2018, posted in a statement on X that the judicial remand of the detained BYC leaders was further extended for ten days. Mahrang and other BYC leaders, including Sibghatullah Baloch, Beebow Baloch, Beebarg Baloch and Gulzadi Baloch, were arrested under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO) in March and have remained in custody since then, being remanded multiple times. Israr Baloch, the counsel for Mahrang, confirmed Saturday’s developments to Dawn.com . The case was heard by Judge Muhammad Ali Mobin of ATC-1, he said. “Instead of presenting the BYC leaders in ATC-1, the BYC leg...
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Half a million return home as Gaza ceasefire holds

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• Displaced Palestinians came back to ruins as prisoner exchange begins • High-level diplomatic summit, led by the US and Egypt, planned to oversee the deal’s implementation GAZA CITY: More than half a million displaced Palestinians have streamed back into the ruins of Gaza City since Friday’s ceasefire took hold, confronting a landscape of devastation that has transformed entire neighbourhoods into fields of rubble. Long columns of residents travelled north along a coastal road, with many stunned by the destruction, after Israel agreed to the truce on Friday and pulled troops from several areas of the territory. Raja Salmi was amongst those making the arduous journey home, walking for hours through the debris-strewn streets to reach what remained of her house in the once-affluent al-Rimal neighbourhood. “I stood before it and cried,” she said, surveying the pile of rubble where her home once stood. “All those memories are now just dust.” The mass return, confirmed by Gaza’s civ...
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