As the maiden meeting of the National Finance Commission is set to put a spotlight on performance of provinces, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in particular, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has proposed multiple options to redistribute resources that would benefit the Centre and smaller federating units. Despite giving more weight to the variables that strengthen the fiscal position of […]
Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Nurgozhoevich Zhaparov on Wednesday arrived on his maiden state visit to Pakistan, at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. As the Kyrgyz president came out of his special aircraft at Nur Khan Airbase, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warmly received him. Two children attired in traditional dresses […]
Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives held their first direct talks in decades on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said, under a year-old ceasefire monitoring mechanism in the war with Hezbollah. The two sides met at the UN peacekeeping force’s headquarters in Lebanon’s Naqura near the border with Israel, as part of a mechanism […]
The shooting of National Guard members in Washington, DC, over which an Afghan immigrant has been charged, has nothing to do with Afghanistan’s people or its government, Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said on Wednesday. Muttaqi’s comments are the first on the incident by the Afghan Taliban government, and come a week after […]
James Cameron’s return to Pandora with ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ is gathering momentum as early reactions praise the film’s scale, technical audacity and emotional reach, even as the director publicly reinforces his refusal to let generative AI replace human actors in the franchise. Journalists offered their first impressions after a recent screening, describing the third […]
Paris offered an unexpectedly decadent spectacle when some of France’s most decorated pastry chefs turned chocolate into high art, drawing generous bids at an unusual charity auction that blended culinary mastery, craftsmanship and a heartfelt cause supporting children with leukaemia. The event, staged in the French capital and led by renowned pastry chef Pierre Herme, […]
The International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3 offers a yearly moment to honour visibility, rights and the creative contributions of people with disabilities — including many high-profile performers whose careers have reshaped representation in Hollywood and beyond. Their stories show how visibility can drive policy, access and cultural change while reminding us that […]
The Eurovision Song Contest faces a “watershed moment” on Thursday (today) when members of the body that organises the competition may vote on whether Israel can participate in 2026, as several countries threaten to withdraw over the Gaza war. Members of the European Broadcasting Union will meet to consider new rules intended to prevent governments […]
Following the brutal killings of lawyers in Jhang and Vehari, the Punjab Bar Council’s ban on the entry of police officers, investigation teams and personnel into 43 district bar associations and 170 tehsil bar associations across the province has come into effect. On Wednesday, the judge of the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC), Amjad Ali Shah, arrived […]