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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...

• 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...

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...

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...

• 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...

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...

• 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...

Former US president Joe Biden is undergoing radiation and hormone therapy to fight prostate cancer that was revealed in May, a spokesperson said Saturday. “As part of a treatment plan for prostate cancer, President Biden is currently undergoing radiation therapy and hormone treatment,” the spokesperson said. In May, the 82-year-old ex-president’s office announced that Biden had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that spread to his bones after he experienced urinary symptoms and a prostate nodule was found. “Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places,” Biden, whose son Beau Biden died of cancer in 2015, said at the time in a post on X. “Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.“ Biden’s health had been in the spotlight due to a new book detailing his declining health as he campaigned last year for a second presidential term against Donald Trump. In July 2024, Biden announced he...

AS unconfirmed reports continue to circulate regarding the elimination of banned TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud in Kabul, Pakistan’s civil and military leadership must formulate a policy that protects the country’s borders, stabilises internal security and prevents a major flare-up with Afghanistan. As per reports, explosions were heard in the Afghan capital on Thursday, though the Taliban government spokesman claimed there was no harm done. When the ISPR chief was asked during a presser on Friday to comment on Mehsud’s reported elimination, he neither confirmed nor denied it but repeated the official demand that Afghanistan take action against terrorists on its soil. He also added that Pakistan will do “whatever is necessary” to protect its citizens and territory. On Thursday, the defence minister had also raised the issue in the National Assembly, saying that the state was deliberating over sending another delegation to Kabul to convince the Taliban to “dismantle safe havens” that w...

Multiple people were dead or missing after a massive blast rocked a US explosives factory on Friday, sending emergency responders rushing to the site and prompting official warnings for the public to avoid the area, authorities said. “We can confirm there has been an explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems in the Bucksnort area,” located in Hickman County, Tennessee, the local sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook. “Emergency services are currently on the scene working to address the situation,” it added. The mayor’s office in Hickman County told AFP that it could not immediately confirm any fatalities or the cause of the explosion. Hickman County Mayor Jim Bates told CNN the plant did not have a history of safety problems, although there was a small ammunition explosion there in 2014. That incident killed one person and injured three, according to the Tennessean newspaper. However, Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis reported “some” fatalities and added that several people were ...

AS Pakistan’s battle against militancy persists, a heavy toll is being extracted as the country continues to lose a large number of security men in confrontations with terrorists. Frequent terrorist attacks also raise the question of the use of foreign soil — specifically Afghan territory — by anti-Pakistan militants. Eleven personnel, including two officers, were martyred in KP’s Orakzai tribal district earlier this week as they battled TTP terrorists during an intelligence-based operation. Meanwhile, ISPR said on Thursday that a major was martyred during a counterterrorism operation in Dera Ismail Khan, while officials confirmed a policeman was martyred when TTP militants attacked a checkpoint in a separate incident in D.I. Khan. Taking note of the uptick in violence, the corps commanders’ conference on Wednesday pledged to continue CT operations “across all domains” in order to crush the banned TTP and Baloch separatist insurgencies. Moreover, the country’s top generals highligh...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he spoke to United States President Donald Trump on Thursday, adding that they “reviewed good progress achieved in trade negotiations” and agreed to stay in close touch over the coming weeks. Indian commerce ministry officials have said that after the latest meetings of trade officials in Washington, another round of trade negotiations is expected soon in either country. Trump imposed a 50 per cent tariff on most exports from India, among the highest for any US trading partner. The move impacts about $50 billion of Indian exports to the US, mainly hurting labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, gems and jewellery and the shrimp industry. The tariffs were doubled on Indian goods from 25pc due to New Delhi’s continued imports of Russian oil. Washington earlier said India’s purchase of Russian oil helped fund Moscow’s war in Ukraine and that New Delhi also profits from it. India had rejected the accusation as a double standard, pointing t...

KABUL: Afghanistan’s Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi left for New Delhi on Wednesday, the ministry said, in what would be the first visit to India by a Taliban leader since they seized power in 2021. Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi will hold talks with Indian Foreign Minister Subra­hmanyam Jaisha­nkar and other officials on political, economic and trade issues, the Afghan foreign ministry added. The visit comes just a day after Muttaqi attended a regional meeting in Moscow where Afgha­nistan’s neighbours including Pakistan, Iran, China and several Central Asian countries issued a joint statement opposing the deployment of foreign military infrastructure in the region. The statement was regarded as a signal of opposition to US President Donald Trump’s stated objective to retake control of the Bagram military base near Kabul. So far, Russia is the only country to have formally recognised the Taliban administration. Historically, India and Afghanistan had frie...

Zoofishan Ayyaz already knows who’ll be on the women’s national cricket team in the coming years. She, for one, hopes to make it. The dream could very well be a reality given that she captained the Strikers to a four-wicket win against the Conquerors in the National Women’s Under-19 T20 Tournament final, and a performance that saw her take the player-of-the-match award. But she knows, with the firmest of convictions, that the cohort of teenage girls she plays with and against will be the future of women’s cricket in Pakistan “I’m telling you, in the coming times, cricket is about to change so much. We have incredible talent coming up,” Zoofi, as she is known to her teammates, told Dawn.com . “You’re going to see players that make you say ‘wow, Pakistan has this kind of talent’?” Over at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Pakistan recorded their third straight loss in the ICC Women’s World Cup match as they struggled against defending champions Australia. But the 18-year-old fro...

ISLAMABAD: In an apparent bid to capitalise on the bad blood between the two coalition partners, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja on Tuesday announced that his party would support any move for the ouster of the government, including no-confidence motion. Addressing a press conference alongside with Dr Babar Awan and other party lawyers, Mr Raja said he had no doubt that the PPP and PML-N spat was merely “friendly firing”, because both parties were beneficiaries of the same system. “We will not form a coalition with the PPP, but we will support it if it moves a no-confidence motion against the government. We will cast our votes in favour of the no-confidence motion because it will pave the way for the fresh elections,” he explained. He said that Imran Khan has been in jail for two years just because he was not ready to compromise on principles. When asked that why PTI was supporting “outsiders” as candidates for opposition leaders in both houses, Mr Raja chalked it up as ...

PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja on Tuesday aired concerns about party founder Imran Khan being transferred from Adiala Jail to some unknown location to prevent his access to his family and legal team. “Another matter that is coming to the fore is that Khan sahib is being transferred somewhere from Adiala Jail,” said the PTI leader addressing the media. “We have great concern about this, and apparently, it seems that this is part of the plan of cutting Khan off from his family and lawyers.” The PTI leader said Imran had given clear directions to the party a day ago to resist any such move and protest against it. “We will never accept this injustice and won’t allow Khan to be lost to any solitary cell. This is a clear announcement from our end, if there is any such plan and action is taken on it, then our response will be that of an honourable people.” A day ago, Imran’s sister Aleema Khanum had aired similar misgivings, saying there were plans to shift him from Adiala...

In flood-prone regions of Bangladesh, solar-powered “floating schools” ensure children do not miss class when rising waters cut off roads and villages. One of them is 10-year-old Safikul Islam. Each morning, he waits on the edge of his flooded village in Bhangura, western Bangladesh, for the solar-powered classroom that sails right to his doorstep. His home lies deep in Chalan Beel, a sprawling 26-square-kilometre (10 sq miles) wetland where seasonal floods often cut off roads and submerge entire villages. Students get off the boat-school, built by an NGO named Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha, after the class, in Bhangura area of Pabna, Bangladesh, on September 25. — Reuters But for Islam and hundreds of other children, education floats. The initiative, launched in 2002 by architect Mohammed Rezwan using $500 of his scholarship money, has grown into a nationwide model run by the non-profit Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha (SSS). Now, more than 100 boats serve as schools, libraries, ...

ISLAMABAD: The Centre has urged provincial governments to urgently resolve their backlog of issues related to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help ensure the smooth and successful completion of ongoing talks for the second review of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) by the weekend. Informed sources told Dawn that the Prime Minister Office (PMO) reached out on Sunday night to federal officers posted at the provincial capitals to use their good offices in streamlining the progress on pending matters and upcoming targets in line with commitments to the IMF, not only under the EFF but also the climate-related $1.4bn Resilience and Sustainability Facility. Similar instructions were also issued to key federal ministries. The provincial chief secretaries and finance secretaries were directed to submit an update on their implementation status within 24 hours and to provide clear justifications for any unmet targets or delays. Informed sources said the Ministry of Finance ...

The dissenting note in the reserved seats case, authored by Justice Ayesha A. Malik and Justice Aqeel Abbasi, was released on Monday, highlighting divisions within the bench over last year’s dismissal of government appeals. In June 2024, the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) eligible for seats reserved for women and minorities, dealing a major setback to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ruling coalition. The verdict was announced by a 13-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa. Following the verdict, the PPP, PML-N and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) filed review petitions, which were later rejected. Justice Abbasi and Justice Malik then released a dissent. The dissenting note stated that all three review petitions were filed against the brief verdict issued on July 9, 2024, and only the ECP submitted additional petitions based on the detailed verdict dated September 23, 2024. “All arguments raised ...

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who was arrested by Israel when they intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla, called out world governments for continuing to enable Tel Aviv’s genocide in the Gaza Strip after she arrived in Greece on Monday. The 45-vessel flotilla, with activists and politicians on board, left Spain last month to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza, where the United Nations has warned of famine. The flotilla was intercepted by the Israeli navy, with commandos boarding the boats and arresting participants. Former Pakistani senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan was also on board and is currently in Israeli custody. In her first public comments since her release by Israeli authorities, Greta emphasised that the real story is not the interception of the flotilla, but the genocide being carried out in the Gaza Strip. “The Global Sumud Flotilla was the biggest-ever attempt to break Israel’s illegal and inhumane siege by sea,” the Swedish activist said. “It is a story of global, internat...

The Sindh cabinet on Monday approved the waiver of the death certificate registration fee for the general public across the province at the municipal, union council and town committee levels. The decision was taken in a provincial cabinet presided over by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah at the CM House. A press release issued today said that under the new arrangement, the Sindh government will bear the cost of the National Database & Registration Authority service charges, ensuring that citizens can obtain death certificates free of cost. “This step aims to facilitate citizens, promote digital registration of vital events under the Sindh Local Government Act, 2013, and strengthen the province’s CRVS (Civil Registration and Vital Statistics) system,” the press release said. It added that the decision followed the cabinet’s approval of free birth registration in September 2024 in line with the Sindh government’s commitment to the United Nations and international partners...

Pakistan’s business environment is undergoing a period of visible transition. The undocumented economy continues to challenge tax-compliant companies that find it increasingly difficult to compete. The recent transition of Procter & Gamble (P&G), one of the world’s largest consumer goods firms, away from direct operations in Pakistan has drawn attention precisely because the country is consumption-driven, where savings remain low and spending relatively high. In the past, profits for consumer firms were strong, but shrinking purchasing power has now become the main concern. International companies bring leadership, technology, and governance. Despite repeated efforts to attract inflows, foreign direct investment (FDI) has remained subdued . According to the State Bank of Pakistan, net FDI stood at $2.46 billion in FY25, compared with inflows of over $30bn annually into Bangladesh and more than $70bn into India in recent years. Pakistan’s investment-to-GDP ratio has slipped to...