Posts

Iran indignant after Trump says military ‘locked and loaded’

• US president says ready to intervene if Iran kills protesters; Tehran warns intervention will put US troops, regional stability at risk • Israel mounts online campaign urging Iranians to revolt; shares fake AI-generated videos, images DUBAI: Donald Trump warned on Friday that the US was “locked and loaded” to respond if Iran’s security forces killed protesters, prompting Tehran to caution that any intervention would destabilise the region already on edge as unrest spread across the country amid a spiralling economic crisis. Clashes between demonstrators and security forces were reported in Iran’s several cities on Thursday, with at least six people said to have been killed in the first fatalities since protests over prices and the plunging rial escalated this week. What began with shopkeepers striking in Tehran on Sunday has since rippled to at least 15 cities, largely in the west, in the most serious challenge to Iran’s clerical establishment since the nationwide protests of ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Gunmen attack brother of PTI’s Sheikh Waqas Akram in Jhang; guard killed, 3 others injured

LAHORE: Gunmen on Friday attacked the convoy of Jhang Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Sheikh Fawad Akram — the brother of PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram — leaving one of his guards dead and three others injured near Jhang’s General Bus Stand (GBS), said police. Reports said the incident took place near a petrol pump near GBS, as Fawad was headed to his office. The four security guards who were injured in the attack were rushed to DHQ Hospital. However, hospital authorities referred a critically injured guard to Faisalabad, but he succumbed to his injuries. Jhang police, meanwhile, arrested four suspects, including two alleged gunmen and Fawad’s stepbrother, a statement from a police spokesperson read. Police said that Fawad and his stepbrother were travelling in separate convoys when their vehicles collided with each other. The collision triggered a scuffle between guards from both groups. The gunmen of another suspect, who was travelling with the stepbrot...
Post a Comment
Read more

New York Mayor Mamdani vows to enact democratic socialist agenda

Democrat Zohran Mamdani became New York City’s mayor on Thursday, vowing during a public swearing-in ceremony on the steps of City Hall to enact an aggressive agenda aimed at making the nation’s largest city more affordable for working people. Mamdani, a member of his party’s left-wing democratic socialist faction, was elected last November in a prominent victory that could influence this year’s midterm elections that will determine control of the US Congress. Some Democrats have embraced his style while Republicans portray him as a foil on the national political stage. The 34-year-old campaigned heavily on cost-of-living issues and was sharply critical of Republican US President Donald Trump, whose approval rating has fallen over the past year amid economic concerns. Many of New York’s 8 million residents — some with hope, some with trepidation — expect him to be a disruptive political force. In a speech following his public swearing-in, Mamdani promoted core campaign promises of ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Afghan border closure brings down terrorist violence in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has recorded a significant drop in cross-border terrorist attacks and violence-linked fatalities after it closed down the border to Afghanistan on October 11. Terrorist attacks went down by almost 17 per cent in December, preceded by 9pc decline in November. Terrorist violence-linked fatalities among civilians and security officials also fell in the last quarter of 2025, by nearly 4pc and 19pc each in November and December, shows data collected by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) as part of its annual security report 2025. With an almost 34pc surge in overall violence, the year 2025 went by as the most violent year for Pakistan in a decade, says the report. The country has suffered a sustained escalation in violence for five consecutive years since 2021, coinciding with the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan; with almost 38pc in 2021, over 15pc in 2022, 56pc in 2023, nearly 67pc in 2024, and 34pc in 2025. The comparative data for 2024 a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Basant to be celebrated only in Lahore; no plans for festival in rest of Punjab: home department

LAHORE: In a major policy shift, the Punjab government on Wednesday announced that it has no plans to celebrate the Basant festival across the province and that it will instead be celebrated only in Lahore. Basant is returning to Lahore after 18 years, following the passage of the Punjab Regulation of Kite Flying Bill, 2025 by the provincial assembly on December 24. So far, only the Lahore deputy commissioner has notified the three-day festival starting on February 6, 2026, while deputy commissioners in other districts were expected to follow suit. However, the 46th Cabinet Committee on Law and Order — chaired by Khawaja Salman Rafique — met at the Punjab Home Department today and noted that Basant would be celebrated only in Lahore and on a limited scale. Though there was no need for all divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners to be present at the meeting, sources in the Home Department told Dawn that they were specially invited to attend via video link, particularly f...
Post a Comment
Read more

PTCL completes acquisition of 100pc issued share capital of Telenor Pakistan and Orion Towers

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) on Wednesday completed the acquisition of 100 percent of the issued share capital of Telenor Pakistan and Orion Towers, said a press release. The Pakistan Tele­communication Authority (PTA) approved the merger of Telenor Pak­i­stan with PTCL earlier in December. The regulator, however, imposed strict conditions to prevent abuse of market power and to bind the new entity to invest in upcoming spectrum auctions. “Telenor Pakistan and Orion Towers will operate as 100% owned subsidiaries of PTCL, alongside Pak Telecom Mobile Limited (PTML) commonly known as Ufone 4G, and U Microfinance Bank.” However, Telenor Pakistan will continue to operate as a separate entity during the transition period, said the statement, adding that PTML and Telenor will then be merged as a single entity in “due course of time”, subject to regulatory approvals. Acknowledging the contribution of Telenor to Pakistan’s telecom landscape, PTCL said the telco “pla...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pakistan to enter 2026 as fifth-most populous country

ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says that as Pakistan enters 2026 as the world’s fifth most populous country, with a population exceeding 225 million, high population growth and fertility rates, persistent gender inequality, and rising climate vulnerability, the urgency of addressing population dynamics has intensified. These realities underscore the need to view population not as a burden but as a strategic driver of sustainable and inclusive development, UNFPA Pakistan said in a statement on Tuesday. Looking ahead to 2026, UNFPA called for a shift in how population is reflected in national planning and financing, particularly in the NFC formula. Moving beyond population size as the primary det­e­rminant, a forward-loo­k­ing appro­ach should rew­ard provinces for measurable progress in gender equ­ality, climate resilience, bal­anced population outco­mes, and improvements in the quality of health and education services. Such reform would align fiscal inc...
Post a Comment
Read more