Families relive distressing phone calls

KARACHI: The oil tanker, sailing under the Somali flag, was transporting oil from Oman to Somalia when pirates seized it on April 21. Among the ten abducted Pakistanis, eight are from Karachi. Mehwish becomes emotional recalling the moment on April 21 when she was speaking to her husband, Yasir Khan, on the phone around 4:30pm;…

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GCC mulls response to Iranian strikes

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman receives the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in Jeddah. Photo: REUTERS JEDDAH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman chaired a consultative meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Jeddah on Tuesday, state media said, the first in-person meeting of Gulf leaders since their states became…

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Indonesia train crash toll tops 15

. JAKARTA: The death toll from a train collision near the Indonesian capital Jakarta has risen to 15 with another 88 injured, a senior minister said on Tuesday, as emergency teams completed work to rescue passengers trapped in the wreckage. The collision between a commuter train and a long-distance train happened late on Monday in…

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Govt relaxes rules for 25kW solar users

ISLAMABAD: In a major relief for solar consumers, the government on Tuesday abolished the licensing requirement for users installing solar systems of 25 kilowatts (kW) and below under the net metering scheme. Following the special directions of Federal Minister for Power Awais Leghari, the Power Division formally approached the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra),…

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Pakistan still central to Iran-US diplomacy

ISLAMABAD: With chances of imminent talks between Iran and the United States diminished, the focus has also shifted away from Islamabad, at least for now. Pakistan has remained in the global spotlight since the US and Iran first agreed to a temporary ceasefire three weeks ago, which led to the groundbreaking direct talks between the…

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Gulf dynamics shift as UAE exits OPEC

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday announced its withdrawal from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its wider OPEC+ alliance, marking one of the most significant ruptures in the history of the oil producers’ bloc. The UAE, one of the group’s largest and most influential producers, said it would formally…

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‘Outspoken’ trio of IHC judges transferred

JCP moves three judges to provincial HCs Kayani, Sattar, Imtiaz transferred out of IHC CJP Afridi objects, fails ISLAMABAD: The present government has secured another victory on the judicial front by succeeding in transferring three outspoken judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to different provincial high courts. The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), by…

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Part of BRT Red Line project given to FWO

In first phase, phase roads currently in use as alternative routes will be repaired KARACHI: The Frontier Works Organization (FWO) has begun work on a section of the BRT Red Line project. After the contractor for Lot 2—from Mosamiyat to Hasan Square—was stopped from working and their office was sealed, this portion of the project…

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Uplift projects see massive cost escalation

Ring Road, Kachehri Chowk projects near completion but face billions in cost overruns RAWALPINDI: Two state-of-the-art projects in the city – the Rawalpindi Ring Road and the Kachehri Combined Flyover and Underpass – have turned into white elephants for the national exchequer due to massive cost escalations and repeated deadline extensions. The Ring Road project…

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a badge of status or a journey of inquiry?

. The writer holds PhD in Administrative Sciences and teaches at the University of Plymouth, UK. Email: zeb.khan@plymouth.ac.uk There was a time when a PhD signified more than a credential. It reflected immersion in a field, intellectual discipline, and the ability to question assumptions/knowledge rather than merely reproduce them. Today, that ideal feels increasingly distant…

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