A new World Bank report, titled “Reclaiming Momentum Towards Prosperity: Pakistan’s Poverty, Equity and Resilience Assessment,” is the first comprehensive evaluation of poverty and welfare trends in the country since the early 2000s, according to a press release from the bank today. The release indicates that Pakistan’s national poverty rate, after a steady decline from 64.3% in 2001-02 to 21.9% in 2018-19, has been on the rise again since 2020. This is primarily due to compounding shocks like COVID-19, inflation, floods, and macroeconomic stress. The report also suggests that the consumption-driven growth model, which once delivered gains, has reached its…
Author: Raja Zahid Khanzada
District Police Officer (DPO) Zahoor Babar Afridi confirmed the details to Dawn.com, stating that “the police have collected evidence from the explosion site and are continuing their investigation.” According to a statement from Mardan Rescue 1122, the injured have been identified as 40-year-old Abbas, 17-year-old Saeed, and 24-year-old Amrad. “The injured were immediately given first aid and taken to Mardan Medical Complex,” the statement said. Mardan Rescue 1122 spokesperson Syed Abbas Shah separately told Dawn.com that the “injured are in stable condition with most of the injuries located on their legs.” Earlier this month, three people were also injured in…
An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi was hearing a case against Imran Khan regarding the May 9, 2023 attacks on the army’s General Headquarters (GHQ), which occurred during widespread protests following his arrest. These protests resulted in the burning and vandalism of government buildings and military installations. During today’s hearing, the court had Imran Khan appear via a WhatsApp call, after rejecting a request for his physical presence last week. His lawyers, Salman Akram Raja and Faisal Malik, requested permission from Judge Amjad Ali Shah to speak with him. However, due to a disrupted voice and a blurred image of…
The United Nations Session, Palestine’s Blood, and the World’s Conscience By Raja Zahid Akhtar Khanzada In New York City, around the towering structure of the United Nations, the streets carry an invisible weight. The September air trembles with unrest, echoing chants of protest and the unending tears of centuries past. On September 9, 2025, the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly began. This is the very hall where the world’s most powerful leaders have stood, making lofty promises of peace, reciting verses of justice, only to later sign their names in the ink of silence. But this time,…
Russian resellers unveiled Apple’s new iPhone 17 in stores on Saturday, with major retailer Restore: reporting a sharp rise in pre-orders this year. The strong demand for Apple smartphones suggests that consumer interest in popular products has yet to falter, even with a wider economic slowdown in Russia, which has seen a 20-year high in interest rates and a budget deficit of over four trillion roubles this year. The iPhones’ popularity in Russia has endured despite Apple halting sales in 2022 and suspending services like Apple Pay following Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine. In Russia, the phones also…
A senior White House official said on Saturday that a US-China agreement on TikTok’s U.S. operations will allow China’s ByteDance to choose one of seven board members for the new entity, with Americans holding the six other seats. President Donald Trump is trying to prevent the short-video app with 170 million U.S. users from being banned. This follows a 2024 law passed by Congress that ordered the app to be shut down by January 2025 if its U.S. assets were not sold by its owner, ByteDance. Trump has delayed enforcement of the law until mid-December as efforts continue to separate…
The iPhone 17 series is receiving glowing reviews and strong sales, but early buyers are flagging a possible durability concern. Reports suggest certain color options, particularly the Deep Blue iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max and the Space Black iPhone Air, may be unusually prone to scratching. According to Bloomberg, several iPhone 17 owners have noticed visible marks within days of use. Many scratches appear on the glass panel beneath the camera block, with some photos also showing wear on the camera housing. A viral post on X by @amisecured highlighted the issue, sparking debate among buyers who had just received their…
Microsoft is once again raising the price of its Xbox consoles in the United States, with the changes taking effect on October 3, 2025. This adjustment impacts all models of the Xbox Series X and Series S lineup, marking another price hike in response to economic pressures. The company announced that the price increase is due to “changes in the macroeconomic environment,” which is widely understood to be linked to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. While the increase is not uniform across all models, every console in the Xbox lineup will be affected. The updated pricing will be as…
Federal Secretary Information Technology and Telecommunication Zarrar Hasham has informed an NA panel that repairing undersea internet cables damaged off the coast of Yemen could take four to five weeks. Responding to a question during a National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology meeting, he explained that several cables near the coast of Yemen had been cut, as reported by The News. “Many submarine cables near the coast of Yemen have been cut, while two cables coming to Pakistan have been affected; the restoration of the damaged cables may take four to five weeks,” he told the NA committee. He…
For sky watchers, a partial solar eclipse will cross the skies overnight on September 21-22, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced. However, this rare celestial event won’t be visible in the United States, but those in Australia, Antarctica, and across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans will get a front-row seat. Unfortunately, Pakistan will miss out. The Climate Data Processing Centre of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) states that the eclipse will begin at 10:30 PM (PST) on September 21, reach its peak at 12:42 AM, and conclude by 2:54 AM, but the spectacle will remain invisible from…
