Category: Featured

Trump’s Pentagon chief under fire as scandals mount

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WASHINGTON: US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is under mounting pressure from scandals surrounding strikes on alleged drug boats and his use of Signal to discuss sensitive military information, sparking growing criticism and calls for him to quit. Hegseth — a former Army National Guard major who went from Fox News co-host to leader of the world’s most powerful military — is no stranger to controversy and was only narrowly confirmed by the Senate earlier this year. The strikes on alleged narcotics smugglers — especially an incident in which survivors of an initial attack…

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Macron’s China visit reinforces multilateralism

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BEIJING/PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron’s three-day state visit to China from Dec 3 to 5 has injected fresh momentum into bilateral ties and reinforced the two countries’ shared commitment to multilateralism at a moment of global instability. Former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin described the trip as a “significant opportunity for Beijing and Paris to recalibrate their partnership and deepen their joint vision for global governance.” Macron concluded his visit in Sichuan with cultural engagements after a day of high-level diplomacy in Beijing. There, he held what both sides termed…

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Netanyahu expects to move to Gaza truce second phase soon

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JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday he expected the second phase of the US-sponsored ceasefire plan for Gaza to begin soon, and said he would meet President Donald Trump this month. The truce, in effect since October 10, has halted the war that began after Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. But it remains delicate as Israel and Hamas accuse each other of violations. Under the terms of the ceasefire that entered into force on October 10, Palestinian militants committed to releasing the remaining 47…

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Qatari PM calls for dialogue with non-state actors for regional peace

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In a region grappling with conflicts from Afghanistan to Gaza, Qatar on Sunday pushed for inclusive political engagement, even with non-state actors, as the only realistic path to lasting stability. Speaking at the 23rd edition of the Doha Forum, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said that durable peace requires direct communication with all parties involved in a conflict, including armed groups often shunned by Western capitals. In a session moderated by US journalist Tucker Carlson, Sheikh Mohammed said regional crises, whether…

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Justice Aurangzeb sworn in as permanent SC judge

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Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb has taken the oath as a permanent judge of the Supreme Court. The oath was administered by the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Yahya Afridi, and the ceremony was held at the Supreme Court. Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, who is already working as an acting SC judge, was proposed to be appointed as a permanent judge at SC by the Judicial Commission on December 2. Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court (IHC) Sarfraz Dogar, Justices Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Babar Sattar, Tariq Jahangiri, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq, and Justice…

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Field Marshal Munir receives guard of honour at GHQ as Pakistan’s first CDF

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A guard of honour ceremony was held at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi to honour Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military), Hilal-e-Jurat, on his appointment as Pakistan’s first chief of defence forces. During the ceremony, contingents from the three armed forces presented the COAS and the newly appointed chief of defence forces with a formal guard of honour. Field Marshal Munir was also presented with a general salute and inspected the guard of honour, the state broadcaster reported. The event was attended by senior military…

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SC orders reinstatement of 36 Teachers, citing tribunal’s use of ‘hallucinating’ AI

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The Supreme Court has ordered the immediate reinstatement of 36 Secondary School Teachers in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, while expressing concern that the provincial Service Tribunal may have relied on “hallucinating” AI to produce fake legal citations. The ruling, delivered by a bench composed of Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi, Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, overturned a consolidated judgment dated July 14, 2025, by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Service Tribunal (KP-ST), which had upheld the teachers’ termination. The Directorate of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) K-P had repeatedly sought to…

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Indonesian President Subianto lands in Islamabad for his first two-day official visit

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Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto landed in Islamabad on Monday for a two-day official visit on the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The Indonesian president is accompanied by a delegation comprising key ministers and senior officials. His visit carries added significance as it coincides with the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Indonesia. State broadcaster PTV News reported that PM Shehbaz and President Asif Ali Zardari welcomed the Indonesian leader at the Nur Khan airbase. Earlier, in a post on X, the Foreign Office of Pakistan detailed…

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Will the new Cybersecurity Act strengthen defences, or create bureaucratic conflict?

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ISLAMABAD: As the federal IT minister is all set to present the new Cybersecurity Act 2025 for establishing an independent National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA), fundamental questions remain unanswered regarding funding, institutional coherence, and the inherent tension between security and telecom companies. The government has stated that new secure digital infrastructure will be built under the World Bank-backed Digital Economy Enhancement Project (DEEP). This strategic choice prompts a key question: why is a World Bank-funded project (DEEP), focused on digital public services, being positioned as the backbone for a national security…

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A global shift in robotics and AI is underway, and Pakistan must keep pace

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KARACHI: The global economy is undergoing a seismic technological shift. Robotics, automation, and AI are no longer futuristic ideas, they are now mainstream drivers of productivity, competitiveness, and innovation. According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), the industries worldwide deployed over 553,000 new industrial robots in 2023, marking a historic peak in automation demand. Meanwhile, global AI investment is projected to exceed $300 billion by 2026, as estimated by the International Data Corporation (IDC). The world is accelerating rapidly, but Pakistan risks being left behind unless decisive and strategic…

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