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Art and supernatural lovers were left spellbound as the ‘ Yokai Parade — Supernatural Monsters from Japan ’ exhibition closed its doors for Karachiites. The three-day exhibition, held from Monday to Wednesday, showcased pieces reproduced from various art forms that depicted yokai — best described as “Japanese folkloric imaginary monsters”. Words such as ghosts and jinns do not suffice to categorise what yokai are, since these imaginary beings dating centuries back have various shapes, sizes, myths, and even behaviours, thanks to the creativity of Japanese artists. As time passed, the art medium for these depictions changed from picture scrolls to woodblock prints to card games and popular media, which were displayed at the event (most of them being fine-quality replicas). The Karachi exhibition was organised by the Japan Foundation in collaboration with the Consulate-General of Japan in Karachi, the Pakistan Japan Cultural Association (PJCA), and the State Bank of Pakistan Muse...

https://aurora.dawn.com/news/1145259/saving-karachis-oxygen-islands from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/RQYukDn

Commonwealth countries want talks on slavery reparations but the United Kingdom — engaged in soul-searching over its former empire for several years now — is not open to financial compensation, officials and analysts say. “I think segments of British society might be ready to talk about reparation but you have other sectors, the majority really, that strongly oppose it,” Sascha Auerbach, director of the Institute for the Study of Slavery at Nottingham University, told AFP . Meeting last week at a summit in Samoa, the Commonwealth’s 56 members said the “ time has come ” for talks about the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade, in a landmark declaration that raised the prospect of future reparations. African, Caribbean, and Pacific nations want Britain — and other colonial powers — to apologise for slavery and other ills of colonisation, and to start talks about compensation. Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer , a former human rights lawyer, has rejected both requests, arguing tha...

https://aurora.dawn.com/news/1145238/batteries-are-the-future-they-are-the-core-missing-piece-in-the-energy-transition-puzzle from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/PfwtmT5

A Pakistan Army major and two soldiers were martyred during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district on Wednesday, according to the military’s media wing. A press release from the Inter Services Public Relations said security forces carried out an IBO in the district’s general area of Bakka Khel based on the reported terrorist presence. It added that the troops “effectively engaged” the militants at their location, killing eight and injuring seven. “However, during intense exchange of fire, Major Atif Khalil (age: 31 years, resident of Sudhanuti district, Azad Jammu and Kashmir), a brave officer, who was leading his troops from front, fought gallantly and embraced martyrdom along with his two men. “The two soldiers who paid the ultimate sacrifice include Naik Azad Ullah (age: 36 years, resident of Kara districtk) and Lance Naik Ghazanfar Abbas (age: 35 years, resident of Layyah district),” the ISPR said. It added that a sanitisation operation w...

Arnold Schwarzenegger, the “Terminator” star and former Republican governor of the US state of California, endorsed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris on Wednesday as the only way to “turn the page” on Donald Trump’s divisiveness. The former bodybuilder, 77, said that while he had issues with both major parties, Trump’s rhetoric calling the United States “a trash can for the world” had made him “furious”. With just days until the November 5 election, Schwarzenegger becomes the latest of dozens of prominent former Republican officials — including former vice president Dick Cheney — to endorse the Democratic candidate for president over Trump. “To someone like me who talks to people all over the world and still knows America is the shining city on a hill, calling America … a trash can for the world is so unpatriotic, it makes me furious,” said the actor. “I will always be an American before I am a Republican. That’s why, this week, I am voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz,” he wrot...

GAZA / BEIRUT: An Israeli air strike on a single residential block in Beit Lahiya killed nearly 100 people on Tuesday, leaving rescuers scrambling through rubble for survivors, with medics saying that at least 20 children were among the dead. Meanwhile, at least 60 people, including children, were killed and 58 others wounded in Israeli attacks on Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley. Separately, eight Austrian soldiers belonging to the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) sustained injuries in a rocket strike on the force’s headquarters in Naqoura. Palestinian rescuers and desperate family members gathered round the demolished five-storey block in Beit Lahiya in the north of Gaza. A charred body with long hair hung out of an upper-storey window and corpses wrapped in blankets were lined up in the street below, as stunned relatives sought to identify the dead. Nearly 100 killed in Beit Lahiya airstrike; 60 dead in attacks on Bekaa Valley; US envoy presses Israel on Gaza humanitari...

QUETTA / GWADAR: Mil­itants killed five private security guards dep­loyed on the construction site of a dam in Panjgur district of Makran division on Tuesday, officials said. A Balochistan government spokesman said the attack took place in the early hours of Tuesday. Late on Tuesday night, the outlawed Baloch Libera­tion Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack. The victims were hired by the contractor for security duty at the dam site in the Promom area of Panjgur, officials added. A senior police official told Dawn that the assailants, armed with automatic weapons, arrived at the site on motorcycles. Victims were protecting dam construction site “Over a dozen armed men attacked the dam site where the victims were looking after the equipment and machinery,” the police officer said, adding the victims briefly returned fire but they were outnumbered. The Balochistan government spokesperson, Shahid Rind, said all five victims were locals. He said security forces mov...

https://aurora.dawn.com/news/1145236/a-womans-right-to-inherit from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/kusU5Nn

KURRAM: Two Fron­tier Corps (FC) personnel were martyred when unidentified shooters opened fire on Tall Scouts in the Char Khel area of Lower Kurram district on Monday, police sources said. The attack was carried out at a time when half a million residents have been facing acute shortage of daily commodities due to uncertain situation in the district, with several roads closed and public transport off the road. The police sources said that the FC personnel were deployed for the pro­tection of road users when some unidentified armed men attacked them. The two FC personnel suffered injuries in the attack and were rushed to Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Tall. Later, police sources said both personnel could not survive. Residents seek security instead of road closures, say children can’t go to school Meanwhile, locals complained that roads were closed and patients could not be transported to hospitals, adding that there was acute shortage of medicines in the area. Medical su...

https://aurora.dawn.com/news/1145239/pakistans-canal-emergency from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/t3Q5TXY

LONDON: After lobbying UK parliamentarians to write to their government about Imran Khan’s incarceration , the PTI is going full steam ahead to campaign and build awareness overseas around the prolonged detention of its leader, with a planned protest at an event where former chief justice Qazi Faez Isa will be a key guest. A group of parliamentarians has issued a formal letter to UK’s Secretary of State for Foreign, Common­wealth & Development Affairs David Lammy, urging action on the detention of ex-premier Khan, while a PTI leader confirmed to Dawn on Sunday that London-based leaders and supporters of the party would protest at an event later this week where ex-CJP Isa would be a key guest. Speaking to Dawn , PTI’s UK-based leader Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari said, “Naturally, overseas Pakistanis are going to protest. Faez Isa has left a miserable legacy and destroyed the judicial system in Pakistan. He has a long charge sheet from depriving us from our symbol, to reserved seats...

• Minister stresses need for ‘DNA change’; says database to be utilised to identify tax evaders • After Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi airports to also go under the hammer • World Bank agrees to provide grant for capacity-building WASHINGTON: Not trading with your neighbours doesn’t make sense, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Sunday, when asked a question on increasing regional trade, particularly with India. Speaking at a wide-ranging presser, held at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington, he clarified that while “political connotations” or “geopolitical issues” affecting regional trade were outside his purview, Pakistan was “already engaging with its neighbours”. He noted that all intergovernmental organisations effe­ctively serve as “regi­onal corridors,” citing examples from south-east Asia and the countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). “We recently attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conference and are keen to joi...

Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said on Sunday that he would not follow the Supreme Court’s order on the reserved seats case, stating that he would wait for a decision by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) before taking action. Speaking on the Geo News programme ‘Jirga with Saleem Safi’, the speaker also said that the Supreme Court cannot challenge the recently passed 26th constitutional amendment , stating that doing so “would go against the Constitution itself”. “It is the Election Commission’s job to notify members,” Sadiq said. “If we start listening to courts, there are many decisions … We won’t do it on the court’s order, we will wait for the ECP to notify it,” he added. The speaker added that he would receive court orders, but would not act on them, instead wait for a notification from the ECP. In July, the top court declared the PTI eligible to receive reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in the national and provincial assemblies, giving it a ...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan issued a strong condemnation on Saturday of Israel’s missile strikes on Iran , describing them as a “grave violation” of the country’s sovereignty and international law. In a statement , the Foreign Office warned that the attacks posed a significant threat to peace and stability in an already volatile region. “Israeli military strikes against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iran are a grave violation of the UN Charter and international law. “These strikes undermine the path to regional peace and stability and also constitute a dangerous escalation,” the FO said, holding Israel responsible for an “escalation and expansion of the conflict”. Starmer says Israel has right to self-defence; Biden hopes ‘this is the end’ after strikes Pakistan also urged the UN Security Council to step in and halt “Israeli recklessness in the region and its criminal behaviour.” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif echoed these concerns on social media, condemning the att...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has been ranked the third-worst among 142 countries in terms of law and order, according to a new report. The World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index is an annual survey which ranks nations on eight factors: Constraints on Government Powers, Absence of Corruption, Open Government, Fundamental Rights, Order and Security, Regulatory Enforcement, Civil Justice, and Criminal Justice. In the 2024 edition of the report, Pakistan was ranked 140th for Order and Security, which measured three factors: crime control, protection from armed conflicts and the use of violence to resolve civil disputes. Only Mali and Nigeria were below Pakistan in terms of law and order and security. Gets overall ranking of 129 out of 142 nations on Rule of Law Index Pakistan ranked 103rd for constraints on government powers, 120th for corruption, 106 for open government, 125th for fundamental rights, 127th for regulatory enforcement, 128th for civil justice and 98th for criminal jus...

GUJAR KHAN / ISLAMABAD: Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan, the sisters of PTI founder Imran Khan, were released from the Jhelum District Jail on Friday after a judge granted them bail . Noreen Naizi, Mr Khan’s third sister, family members and party workers gathered outside the prison and welcomed the two women, who were detained for allegedly leading a protest in Islamabad earlier this month. The crowd showered them with rose petals and chanted slogans in support of Mr Khan and his sisters. In a brief talk with reporters, Ms Aleema claimed she and her sister were kept isolated from other inmates and not allowed facilities like TV and telephone calls. The release of Mr Khan’s sisters came two days after his wife, Bushra Bibi, was granted bail in the Toshakhana case. Ms Aleema said her brother was also detained in the same case and demanded his release as well. Ms Niazi dismissed the speculation that back-to-back bails were a result of any “deal” with the powers that be. Sources said...

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on Friday that Ukraine has twice approached Russia with peace proposals, mediated by Turkiye, only to abandon its initiatives soon after. In an interview with the Russian channel Rossiya 1 , Putin urged Kyiv to clarify its stance on peace talks. “Our Turkish partners … have approached us with what they described as initiatives from the Ukrainian side. But each time we agreed, the Ukrainians had already withdrawn their proposal. This has happened twice. Ultimately, we need clarity on their readiness and intentions,” he said. Putin said Turkish representatives had given him “Ukraine-related materials” on the sidelines of the Brics economic bloc summit in the city of Kazan, which he said required careful review and that he had not yet had the chance to examine them thoroughly. He, however, emphasised that any agreement would need to consider and respect Russia’s interests. Russia’s started its “special military operation” in Ukraine in Febru...

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has set aside the Capital Development Authority (CDA) Safa Gold Mall sealing order. IHC Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz noted that the CDA initially allowed the owner to construct on the extra space, but later on realized the permission was granted erroneously. The judge held that the private businessman could not be penalized for the mistake of the CDA’s employees. CDA had auctioned plot No 5 in Jinnah Super Market in 2010, where its health department was once located. But in a highly questionable move, the civic agency converted the health facility in to a commercial plot. While sealing the building in 2022, CDA defined that the floor-area ratio of the building would be 1:5 with 100pc coverage and the number of storeys was ground-plus four, thus capping the height of the building. Later, the plot owner, in connivance with the CDA officials, constructed three additional and unauthorised storeys. Though he got permission from CDA for three ...

Current climate policies will result in global warming of more than three degrees Celsius by the end of the century, according to a United Nations report on Thursday, more than twice the rise agreed to nearly a decade ago. The annual Emissions Gap report , which takes stock of countries’ promises to tackle climate change compared with what is needed, finds the world faces as much as 3.1°C of warming above pre-industrial levels by 2100 if governments do not take greater action on slashing planet-warming emissions. Governments in 2015 signed up to the Paris Agreement and a cap of 1.5°C warming to prevent a cascade of dangerous impacts. “We’re teetering on a planetary tightrope,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a speech on Thursday. “Either leaders bridge the emissions gap, or we plunge headlong into climate disaster”. Global greenhouse gas emissions rose by 1.3 per cent between 2022 and 2023, to a new high of 57.1 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, the report ...

KARACHI: TikTok, in collaboration with the Pakistan Telecom­m­u­nication Authority (PTA), has annou­nced the launch of the #DigitalHifazat contest, an initiative aimed at raising digital safety awareness among the youth across the country. The contest invites TikTok creators to produce short, impactful videos highlighting six key areas: resp­onsible social media usage, combati­­ng online harassment, preventing online fraud, ensuring youth safety and well-being, understanding TikTok’s safety tools, and addressing misinformation on social media platforms. Through the #DigitalHifazat contest, TikTok and the PTA aim to inspire the platform’s users to help spread the message of digital safety and foster a culture of verifying information before sharing. By participating, users will play a role in educating others about resp­onsible online behaviour, contributing to a safer digital environment for all. Users aged 13 and above can take part in #DigitalHifazat contest TikTok, a short...

Lawyers protesting the alleged beating of their colleague and inaction by the police triggered widespread and prolonged traffic congestion along Karachi’s main arteries on Wednesday evening, according to officials and witnesses. The traffic police spokesperson said in a statement that the lawyers staged a demonstration on main Korangi Road near Kala Pull at around 3:15pm, protesting the non-registration of a first information report (FIR) by Mehmoodabad police against the alleged torture of lawyer Iqbal Inayat Jatoi. Police did not disclose details about the alleged assault when contacted by Dawn.com for comment. Both lanes of Korangi Road were closed and traffic was diverted to alternative routes. “Please take a U-turn at the CSD signal towards Jinnah Hospital Road and Boulevard Signal,” said an alert from the Traffic Police posted on X. “At around 9:42pm, the lawyers shifted their demonstration to Sharea Faisal, blocking both lanes of the main road near the Finance and Trad...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and India on Tuesday announced a five-year extension of Kartarpur Sahib Corridor Agreement , ensuring continued access for Sikh pilgrims to the revered Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur. The announcement was made by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and India’s Ministry of External Affairs through separate statements issued from Islamabad and New Delhi. The corridor agreement was initially signed on Oct 24, 2019, for a five-year period. The extension will, therefore, allow the corridor to operate beyond its original expiration date of Oct 24, 2024. Inaugurated on Nov 9, 2019, the corridor connects Dera Baba Nanak in India’s Punjab to the Gurdwara in Kartarpur, Pakistan. The agreement that governs the use of corridor provides for up to 5,000 pilgrims on a daily basis to visit the shrine without a visa from dawn to dusk, although they are required to carry a passport. They are, however, not allowed to stay overnight. The corridor operates throughout the y...

Pakistan and India have renewed their agreement to facilitate pilgrims via the Kartarpur Corridor for an additional five-year period, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Tuesday. A statement issued by the FO said that the “Agreement between the Republic of India and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for the facilitation of pilgrims to visit Gurudwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, Narowal, Pakistan” had been signed for an additional period of five years. Originally signed on October 24, 2019, for a five-year term, the agreement was set to complete its initial duration on Thursday. “Its renewal underscores Pakistan’s enduring commitment to fostering interfaith harmony and peaceful coexistence,” the statement read. “The agreement continues to offer visa-free access to pilgrims from India enabling them to visit the sacred site of Gurudwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, where Baba Guru Nanak, the revered founder of Sikhism, spent his final days,” the statement read. Since its i...

QUETTA: Balochistan Governor Jaffar Khan Mandokhail met Dr Ruediger Lotz, the German consul general in Karachi, on Monday and discussed with the latter investment opportunities in the province’s minerals sector. The governor said Pakistan and Germany had enjoyed friendly relations for several decades and there was now need for further strengthening these relations in line with the modern-day requirements. The governor praised the German government’s support in the fields of education, health, technology, capacity-building and especially scholarships for the youth of Balochistan. He expressed the hope that Germany would continue its cooperation for the development of Balochistan. Published in Dawn, October 22th, 2024 from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/XUHJQZF

National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Monday night notified the Special Parliamentary Committee that is set to deliberate on the appointment of the upcoming chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) from the three most senior Supreme Court judges. CJP Qazi Faez Isa is set to retire as the top judge on October 25. Originally, senior puisne judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah was set to be the next CJP. However, earlier today the 26th Constitutional Amendment was passed into law. Among the many changes in the act, the greatest number of amendments are to Article 175A, which deals with the process of appointment of judges to the Supreme Court, high courts and the Federal Shariat Court. Under amendments to clause 3 of Article 175A, instead of the president appointing the “most senior judge of the Supreme Court” as the CJP, the top judge will now be “appointed on the recommendation of the Special Parliamentary Committee from amongst the three most senior” SC judges. The next two most senior ap...

Palestinians inspect the damage after an Israeli air strike at Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, on Saturday.—AFP • 87 dead or missing after Saturday’s air strike in Beit Lahiya • Tel Aviv claims attack on Hezbollah’s intelligence office leaves three commanders dead; group says its rockets targeted Israeli bases near Haifa, Safed, Tiberias • Israel says its colonel killed during combat in Gaza BEIRUT: Israel said it had struck Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in Beirut on Sunday, while officials in Gaza said they were still trying to recover bodies from the rubble after an Israeli strike that killed dozens. At least 87 people were dead or missing following the air strike on Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza late on Saturday, the health ministry in the Palestinian territory said. Fighter jets killed three Hezbollah commanders, including Alhaj Abbas Salameh, a senior figure in the group’s southern command, the Israeli military claimed in a statement. Reuters witnesses...